#hintonchallenge

Here’s a digital artwork of Dally, played by Matt Dillon, I created! :)) I’ve never shared my artwork on here before so this is a first, and I hope y’all like it!!

Dally is my favorite character in The Outsiders, I love him so much, and he’s changed my life forever, from when I was a preteen to now as an adult. I wanted to capture him in his element and signature fit. This was super fun to draw!

I never understood the Dally hate I see online… although he had a bad reputation and came off as cold, I’ve always felt he had one of the biggest hearts. Everything he did came from pain and love, he just didn’t know how to show it. He was so misunderstood. He died of a broken heart, knowing he could no longer protect Johnny from the world, thinking he’d failed him. In his final days, all he wanted was to protect Johnny and Pony from becoming what he thought he was in a world that had never been kind to him.

Anyways, Dally Winston, I’ll always defend you, rest in peace.🖤

Soda’s arm hooked around Ponyboy’s neck, pulling him out of his head. Soda was grinning, his dark gold hair messy from the wind on the roller coaster, but his eyes were too bright. It was the face Soda made when he was trying to force everyone around him to be happy so he wouldn't have to think about being sad.

"Steve thinks he can win that giant stuffed bear by knocking down the milk bottles," Soda said, pointing toward a game booth where Steve Randle was currently cursing out a carny. "He’s already spent two bucks. At this rate, we won't have bus money to get home."

"Steve couldn't hit the broad side of a barn tonight, he's shaking too bad," Two-Bit Mathews laughed, popping a piece of candied apple into his mouth. He looked older under the fairground lights, the easy-going grease paint on his face cracking just a little bit at the edges.

Darry was standing a few feet back, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasnt travking the games. His eyes never stayed on them for long. They always drifted back to Soda and Steve, like he was trying to memorize where they were before they disappeared. He’d spent years keeping his brothers out of trouble, out of the state’s hands, only for the two of them to sign up for a completely different kind of fight overnight; because of course Steve's name was the very next one on the list once he learned Soda was leaving.

Happy Dallas Winston appreciation week!

I went back and forth on whether I should post this drawing, but… here he is—my favorite greaser.

Dallas Winston.

This character did more for me than I ever expected a fictional person could. Growing up, I was quiet. I let people talk over me, treat me like I didn’t take up space, like I wasn’t allowed to. But something about Dally—his fire, his refusal to bow down to anyone—lit something in me. He made me realize I don’t have to take shit from anybody. I can stand my ground. I can have a voice.

People love to point out his mistakes, his bad choices, his rough edges… but that’s not the whole of who he was. Beneath the reputation and the armor was a kid who deserved better from life. Misunderstood. Untaught. Unloved. Someone with so much potential—just trapped in the wrong world with the wrong cards dealt to him.

I like to believe that in another life, he would’ve made it. He would’ve found peace, and people who saw past the walls he built.

He wasn’t perfect—but he was real. And that’s why he matters to me.

I like to believe that when Johnny reached heaven, he didn’t go in alone.

Somewhere along the way, he looked back at the world he left behind and said,

“Don’t forget Dallas. Bring him home too.”

I came across a post that put into words what I always felt:

When Dally died, the Archangel Michael came to take him to hell—because that’s what the world decided he deserved. And Dally, with every wrong move and every scar on his heart, truly believed that too.

But God stopped him.

I imagine God leaning down to Dallas—rough, broken, exhausted—and saying softly:

“Come on, kid. He’s been waiting for you.”

And just like that, Dally’s story didn’t end in darkness.

It ended with sunlight.

With Johnny’s smile.

With a boy who finally felt like he belonged somewhere.

Heaven wasn’t for perfect people—it was for wounded ones who loved fiercely.

And Johnny made sure Dallas found his way home.

All-in-all, it just goes to show that Dally was much more than just a “tuff” character. He was so much more than that and that’s why I’m glad we get to have a whole week to appreciate his greatness. ♥︎

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders (1983) Relationships: Ponyboy Curtis/Dallas Winston Characters: Ponyboy Curtis, Dallas Winston, Sodapop Curtis, Darrel "Darry" Curtis Jr., Johnny Cade, Steve Randle, Two-Bit Mathews Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston Live, Birthday, Dallas Winston is Bad at Feelings, Ponyboy Curtis Needs a Hug, Background Relationships, Pre-Relationship

Summary:

my submission for Valentines Fic BINGO for @hintonchallenge

welcome to the second challenge: greaser girl week!

the theme

the theme for this is focusing on works involving the canonical greaser girls (and women, as this extends to the parents!) from s. e. hinton's works. the challenge is to write about them, with a minimum of 2k words within the set time frame.

rules for works

as stated, these challenges are meant for all of s. e. hinton's books, tim hunter's adaptation of tex and the two coppola films. characters and plots from the television show and the musical aren't applicable. you can do crossovers with hinton canons for this as well! (ie: you can cross over tex and hawkes harbor but you cannot submit a work involving any musical or television version of canon or any characters found solely in those canons.)

you can submit works involving OCs, but OCs cannot be the sole main focus. ie, you can submit a work involving a Sylvia/OFC but you can't submit a work that only involves the OFC without any canon greaser girl present or prominent in the work.

this challenge is also only for participants who are 18+. i will vet everyone who wants to participate; that's why it's semi-public. if you're underage, you will not be allowed to participate and i reserve the right to deny participation if harassment or bad behavior occurs.

entries must hit the minimum for 2,000 total words since this is character focused. when i say that, i mean if you want to write three separate one shots, all three would have to add up to 2k or more in word count. or if you wanted to do drabbles or longer pieces, they still need to hit the 2k minimum total when they're submitted. you aren't obligated to write one whole piece that is 2k — all you need to do is get there whether it's over one work submitted or multiple.

yes, you may submit multiple works! just please submit them and then post them during the week of posting.

as stated elsewhere, your works will not be policed. that means that if someone writes a ship or tackles are more controversial subject or has a rating higher than T/PG-13, your works are fine and allowed. the only thing that is required is that you tag appropriately and rate appropriately on AO3 and you treat fellow people who are involved respectfully.

do not post your works until posting week! i understand you might get antsy, but please wait until submission week.

timeframe

signup open june 10th, 2025 and close june 19th, 2025. all i require for sign up is your tumblr url, your ao3 user, the idea you have and the greaser girl you intend to focus on. that's it. once you sign up, you can more or less begin to write unless i have a follow up question/clarification.

mid-way check in. since this is a shorter we'll have a check in around june 24th to see how things are going. this is going to be a tumblr post with responses, and maybe shooting a message.

challenge close date and posting week. fics are to be posted starting at july 1st, and will go on until the 8th. i'll be posting and promoting them, adding them to the ao3 collection if you haven't done yourself (please make sure your account is open for collections!). please feel free to comment others, give encouragement and engage.