#being encouraged to abandon their identities to assimilate and never being seen as “man enough”

[idkaguyorsomething]

thinking about the potential of chino/anybodys again.

the boys who wanted to join their respective gangs so badly. to fight and protect their loved ones and be respected. who looked up to bernardo and tony so much, but in the end weren’t ever fully considered a member of the side they were aligned with even though they were arguably their most effective members.

just imagine them getting to know one another and realizing that maybe their situations aren’t so different. chino learning how to fight from anybodys and anybodys finding maybe the first friend he’s had since tony. them finding the respect they never got from the jets or the sharks in each other, and in the process, pulling themselves out of the cycle of violence as their priorities shift.

it could be tragic as well, of course. it’s the 1950s, and life is even harsher for boriquos and trans men. when the gangs are fighting over their home even as it’s literally being demolished, tensions are bound to run high, and if a secret like this gets out, it could be nasty…

even with a comedic slant it’s immaculate. the guy who beat the shit out of an entire police department and the dorky nerd are friends now somehow. they insist they’re not. they’re more emotionally intimate and honest with each other than they are with any other person in the world. the delinquent with perpetually split knuckles will run around town looking for whatever you ask for even if you openly hate his guts while the anxious dork will shoot you dead if you hurt his friends (he still has never done anything wrong). even if they found out, no one would have any clue why they hang out. once they start working together they run circles around the police. at the school dance they have literally zero swag.

any way you slice it they would be an amazing duo.