Skylar

so many responses of “its nice that you’re privileged enough to be able to steal from Target willy nilly!” and that’s not at all what this is about. like, yeah, shoplifting and loitering and graffiti and breaking the rules is, obviously, part of “do crime”. but they’re not parts you have to do.

would you help someone get an abortion where it was illegal?

would you help a trans friend get healthcare that had been criminalized?

would you shelter someone fleeing persecution, even if the law said not to?

would you help a gay couple stay together when the state decided their relationship was unlawful?

instead, would you report someone else for breaking the law? will you snitch on your hungry neighbors for stealing food? on your homeless neighbors for sleeping where they’re able?

short form writers look at people writing 100k+ fics as though this is some sort of talent given as part of a fae bargain, that the commitment required shows some sort of ungodly mental fortitude.

Steve, who was one of the first on scene, running to beat the life out of the socs who jumped Ponyboy, breaking his nose in the process.

Steve, who wants to keep Ponyboy from trouble, as he and Sodapop do reckless things & doesn't want to bring the youngest, vulnerable, and impressionable kid with them to do something like drag racing.

Steve, who is there as soon as Ponyboy comes home.

Steve, despite breaking 3 ribs, immediately looking to the door upon Ponyboy's return.

Steve, who watched in horror as Ponyboy broke that bottle and handled a group of socs on his own because he was scared of Ponyboy, the sweetest greaser, being like him.

Steve never hated Ponyboy, he just couldn't show Ponyboy that he cared. — Steve's character is one that I hold dear, as though his anger speaks volumes his actions speak miles. And though he doesn't have a role in the movie, his role in the book allows Ponyboy to sympathize with Randy.

Sodapop and Steve's friendship is a parallel to Randy and Bob, and without that relationship in the book, Ponyboy wouldn't have related to Randy's perspective.

People glance at Steve's character and only see him as a flat dynamic, however his character has more depth and personality than that, it's just we as the reader are in the same perspective as Pony. His depiction in both the movie and musical, though playing small roles, lets us observe the dynamic between Ponyboy and Steve throughout the book, and we observe Steve genuinely caring for the others in the story in his own way.

If you support queer people until they use multiple labels or micro labels, you are queerphobic.

If you support trans people until they are not conventionally attractive or do not fit into traditional gender roles, you are transphobic.

If you support queer people of colour until they criticise the present racism within the queer community itself, you are very much racist!

Being in the community itself does not exempt you from being bigoted.

this image made me think of them.

hamster size Johnny be upon ye

Curly is still. Stone in the shuttered, darkened window of the empty storefront. The police lights cut through the blinds, cast dark, even slices of shadow over his brow.

He's not marble. He's fuckin asphalt. He's cement that bears the name of every greaser kid quick enough to carve their names into. He's that weather-beaten ol angel in front of the church Pony's mama took him to when he was lil.

It had fallen. Last August, with the final tornado of the season. Heavy-handed fuckin symbolism.

A cop's voice comes from outside. Garbled n lost cause it doesn't matter. Curly turns, his eyes are dark. He's decided somethin. Made his mind up. N god knows Pony could never change it. Had wasted years n breath n love tryin to rewrite what had already been written.

Curly raises the gun. N Pony thinks of Dallas Winston. In the fall a lifetime ago. But Curly's hand doesn't shake. Doesn't tremble. Holds still n sure n rueful half shadow.

There's another difference there. To Dallas. His gun had been empty. Curly's is not.

He smiles. N it is a mourners smile. A Shepard's smile. One that has been grievin since they came bloody n fightin into this world knowin they'd go out of it the same way.

"I've never been good with words, Pony." Pony almost misses it. The dry rasp of his voice like a snake in the tall, dyin grass of autumn. Like the sound that beater they'd stolen when they were young enough trouble came easy n quick n slid off their backs like water made as it died. Like a gun as it cocked.

"I'm sorry."

He raised the gun. Framed in that crazed, flashin light like a hood in those movies they stopped makin back when Pony was still in school.

Of course, it's just a summarization of what she sees. A general statement. There's nuance lost in it, the way nuance is lost in most summaries. Still, it accurately reflects Johnny and Pony's characters. While the fandom often looks at Pony and Johnny and sees characters who are soft, anxious, twitchy, shy, and helpless, Cherry sees them for who they are. They aren't soft, they just don't see a point in needless violence. They're not anxious and twitchy, they're on guard and tense. They aren't quiet because they're shy, they're quiet because they're thoughtful. Introspective. Observant. They aren't helpless, they're just constantly faced against people and environmental/physical factors that anyone would struggle against, and they still manage to power through.