my characters don't drink alcohol and it's on purpose

Frankly, I think you're approaching this in a strange way. Having characters that don't fit in is a strong part of what makes most stories interesting (google "literature trope misfit" for details). In YA especially, the outcast saving the day and achieving glory is a very frequent topic, to the point of being clichéd. However "not fitting in" is obviously not something determined by the character alone but by their surroundings as well. It could be the gay guy in the conservative Christian village, but it could also be the straight guy in a travelling circus who wants nothing more than to find a wife and have kids and settle down in suburbia. It could be the morally pure gal who never does drugs and saves herself for marriage among lots of happily fucking teenagers, or it could be the girl with the guitar tripping on LSD and being in touch with her spirituality against a hard working class background.

Whether or not your characters drink alcohol is totally irrelevant. (Unless you're funded by a brewery maybe.) It's whether you can engage your readers that counts.

 

I heard an airport security horror story involving those gummi bears.
Long story short, I'm glad I'm not the guy who does those kind of
security checks.

 

People don't like being called out for their shit but someone has to do it

 

alcohol kills people
Don't forget that

 

-sips my Mike's-
Yep

 

Dihydrogen oxide has been responsible for many, many more deaths than alcohol.

 

See, I don't think I like this here. Good people drink alcohol too. Some do drugs. There are plenty of reasons not to, but you're equating abstinence to morality, and that's just not fair. You seem to believe that only people like you are "actually good people." Unless I've misunderstood you entirely, that's very judgemental, and I think your work will probably reflect that.

 

Obesity leads to more than 1.5x the amount of preventable deaths. Are your characters also of ideal weight leading a moral crusade against obesity?

 

One of my favourite character compositions is where a pair opposing themselves sternly on a certain point agree on many other ones. And where character conflict is derived from a protagonist discovering that the other side they held as "opposition" and "enemy" hold as much valour and honour as they do.

Building on your example, the character I would really enjoy there is a member of the Voodoo Sluts somewhat different from the rest who goes out of their way to accommodate Kirk and help them fit in, going as far as to stand up for Kirk in an in-band debate. And Kirk forced into the realisation that he doesn't only face the dissonance of his past values with his current place, but also the fact a friend and fellow he found to respect the most is engaging in the lifestyle he despises.

 

YES! OMG, if I had to read only books that reflected real life, I would quit reading altogether. I completely agree writing is a total escape and should be treated as such.

 

If I met a group of people who were all like this I would assume they were a cult. Are your characters a cult?

 

I know, right. The cult thing didn't cross my mind, but yeah. Now that you say that....

 

A woman smoking a cigarette is shorthand for something, I'm not sure what but I use it a lot.

 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Sometimes it's not.

 

Ceci n'est pas une pipe

 

I was thinking of the same painting! But couldnt remember how to spell it (and didnt feel like googling )

 

All I can think about is this song.



Am I close?

 

So a group of a bunch of idiots getting drunk isn't a cult but a group of friends who live sober/drug free lives are?

I guess your logic died a long time ago