brainscrambl3r

[brainscrambl3r]

#the outsiders #sodapop curtis #steve randle #dallas winston #dally #darry curtis #johnny cade #ponyboy curtis #two bit mathews #lol

[brainscrambl3r]

In defence of Steve Randle

Listen guys, Steve Randle gets a lot of hate in this fandom and as much as it pains me, it's valid. Everyone has their own interpretation of the source material, and fandom is supposed to be fun, so it is absolutely valid and ok to hate or love any character you want. You can hate Steve for many reasons or for no reason at all! This is fandom! That's ok! The story is for you interpret and love and play with and hate on to your hearts content. HOWEVER, to say that Steve Randle isn't an important character to the novel is simply not true, and to say that he hates Ponyboy requires ignoring or downplaying some pretty key moments of the book. This is especially true for those of you who love Dally but hate Steve, because Steve gets a lot of hate for being kind of a dickhead (which lbr, a lot of seventeen years old are, especially to their friend's little siblings) while Dally gets less for doing a lot worse (harassing Cherry, jumping kids, etc). This isn't to say that either character is better- they're both great, nuanced characters who have done bad things, but the fandoms attitudes towards them when they share a lot of characteristics is really telling. Even Ponyboy's narration about them is pretty similar- Pony doesn't particularly like Steve, and he was canonically scared of Dally, but they're both members of his gang and he doesn't hate either of them. You don't have to like Steve as a character, just like you don't have to like Dally or Darry or Tim Shepard or even Ponyboy, but he is important- and he doesn't hate Ponyboy, nor does Ponyboy hate him.

A really important moment in the book is when Ponyboy and Johnny defend Dally after he harasses Cherry and Marcia.

"Dally's okay," Johnny said defensively, and I nodded. You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stickup for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang any more. It's a pack. A snarling, distrustful, bickering pack like the Socs in their social clubs or the street gangs in New York or the wolves in the timber."

This line here is super important. Pony and Johnny were willing to defend Dally after he sexually harrassed Cherry and Marcia- soc girls who they clearly liked and were intimidated by- in the name of being a good friend, because that is what's important to them and their gang. If they're willing to do it in this context for Dally, you'd best believe they'd do the same for Steve, and him for them. Steve can and will rag on Ponyboy within the gang, but he'd never dream of bad mouthing him to anyone else. Dependability is important to the gang, and Steve would never publicly shit talk Pony, and vice verca. Regardless of their squabbles within the gang, at the end of the day they've got each others backs. They're buddies. We see evidence of this at the end of the book, when Pony grabs the bottle and threatens the socs with it.

"You really would have used that bottle, wouldn't you?" Two-Bit had been watching from the storedoorway. "Steve and me were backing you, but I guess we didn't need to. You'd have really cut them up, huh?"

The important thing here is that along with Two-bit, Steve was backing Ponyboy, no questions asked. Sure most of it boils down to Pony being a member of the gang and that deep rooted loyalty to one another, but the context for this scene is that Ponyboy was sitting on Steve's car waiting for Steve and Two to stop flirting with some girls. The three of them were hanging out- without Darry, without Sodapop. It's their school lunch break. We know Ponyboy has middle class friend's at school, or that he could've spent time in the school library. It was a deliberate choice to hang out with Two and Steve. He wasn't forced into it. Canonically, Steve and Ponyboy hang out. Never alone, but they're decent enough friends to hang out together in a group. Doesn't everyone have friends like that? I do. This isn't the only textual instance either where they hang out without the entire gang being present. Early on, Pony offhandedly mentions that sometimes Steve and Soda will buy him pop and teach him about cars if he hangs around the DX.

"I had walked down to the DX station to get a bottle of pop and to see Steve and Soda, because they'll always buy me a couple of bottles and let me help work on the cars."

He could've just said Soda's name here but he didn't. Steve buys Pony pepsi and teaches him about cars, even though he gets annoyed with him when Soda invites him to hang around with them too often. And honestly, who wouldn't? I'd be annoyed if my best friend always invited her little brother along with us, even if I liked the kid. Wouldn't you?

Now, we do need to address the elephant in the room. I'm talking of course, about this quote;

"I'd never tell Soda, because he really likes Steve a lot, but sometimes I can't stand Steve Randle. I mean it. Sometimes I hate him."

I feel like very often people forget the context this quote comes from, and so it's magnitude is blown way out of proportion. Ponyboy has just been jumped and then immediately scolded by his brother who constantly makes him feel foolish and unwanted. He's already scared, embarassed, and defensive and then Steve goes and makes him feel even more unwanted. Of course he wants to lash out. Of COURSE he feels like he hates Steve in that moment. I did even reading it. But Ponyboy doesn't truly hate Steve. This moment is PEAK fourteen year old having a rough night energy, it's not truly representative of Steve as a character or of Ponyboy's feelings towards him. In truth, Steve actually kind of likes Ponyboy and is at very least protective over him. This is evidence by the previous quotes, but also when Ponyboy comes back from Windrixville, and is worried about the state placing him in foster care;

"'No, [Ponyboy said] 'they ain't goin' to put us in a boys' home.' 'Don't worry about it,' Steve said, cocksure that he and Sodapop could handle anything that came up. 'They don't do things like that to heroes.'"

It's subtle, and not immediately obvious to the traumatized fourteen year old who is used to Steve's cocky nature, but this is both a reassurance and a very bold claim. Not only is Steve trying to look out for Ponyboy the way the rest of the gang models- by treating him like a kid, letting the 'adults' worry about grown up issues in a misguided attempt to protect Pony- he is also throwing in his lot to make sure nothing does happen. Based on this quote and the rest of Steve's characterization throughout the book its not hard to infer that Steve would fight tooth and nail to make sure Ponyboy stays safe with his family. Sure, part of it is gang loyalty, part of it is his devotion to soda, but part of it is because he and Ponyboy are buddies in their own right, no matter how much they fight. They are friends- and Steve is an incredibly important character for many reasons, but particularly to add depth to Pony's character, to the bond between the Curtis gang, and to highlight how the Curtis gang differs from the other gangs in Tulsa. Steve is just as much an outsider as the rest of the gang, and it's disingenuous to say otherwise no matter how much you may hate him as a character.

#steve randle #the outsiders #steve randle enthusiast

[brainscrambl3r]

HOLLUUY SHITVSTEVE LUCAS RANDLE

TAHDNK YOU !!

#the outsiders #steve randle #steve lucas randle #steve randle enthusiast #asks

[brainscrambl3r]

I love him sm but he looks like he would pick his nose and eat it imo🤷‍♀️

[brainscrambl3r]

This is literally one of my favourite images for bts outsiders stuff

#the outsiders #sodapop curtis #darry curtis #ponyboy michael curtis #ponyboy curtis #dally #dallas winston #johnny cade #steve randle #two bit mathews #the outsiders 1983 #photo dump

[brainscrambl3r]

:D

YAYYAYSYSYAYSYAYYAYSYSYSYAYA THE SILLIES :V

#the outsiders #sodapop curtis #steve randle #steve randle enthusiast #asks

[brainscrambl3r]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

#the outsiders #steve randle enthusiast #darry curtis

[brainscrambl3r]

The 3D animated, plastic beach phase Murdoc is actually so hot it's not even funny.... I would do unfathomable things to that man lord help me I need him so badly like 😫😫😫😫😫😫🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

#so real #murdoc niccals #hes so hot omfggggg #😫🙏

[brainscrambl3r]

ITS HIS DAY TODAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BOY EVER !!

#steve randle #the outsiders #steve randle birthday #photo dump #the outsiders 1983 #i love him #sodapop curtis #dallas winston #dally #darry curtis #johnny cade #ponyboy michael curtis #ponyboy curtis #two bit mathews

[brainscrambl3r]

School drawingsssss xp

[brainscrambl3r]

people who say that darry would be like old people (tech illiterate, etc) kinda missed the point of his character, the entire idea was that he was forced to grow up too fast when he was still a kid. he's not 40 leave him alone he's 20, he's not much older than ponyboy

[brainscrambl3r]

Yasssss !!

I did this insanely quick idkk I just really love tbem sm T~T

#stevepop #the outsiders #sodapop curtis #steve randle #gay asses

[brainscrambl3r]

total solar eclipse cool as hell, glad it was like fully visible where i live

#solar eclipse #total solar eclipse #total eclipse of the heart

[brainscrambl3r]

Pls somebody get this😪😪

[brainscrambl3r]

Remembering that one time I basically wrote outsiders fanfiction for an English assignment

#the outsiders #the outsiders 1983 #it was a short story unit with a minimum of 500 words #i wrote over 900

[brainscrambl3r]

Tumblr art community is such a breath of fresh air cus the tiktok art community is just rotten

Like why are you making 100s of videos making fun of a 10 year olds drawing ??? Wdym I "blackwashed" Pinkie Pie ??? She's a horse ????

[brainscrambl3r]

I'm so sorry for not posting in a but idk what to do so an old doodle will do☝️🤓

#the outsiders #dallas winston #dally #johnny cade #the outsiders fanart #jally #doodle #wiener