#the outsiders steve randle

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Greasers x mean girl/boy/person (think Regina George, Heather Chandler, Bryce Tankthrust) s/o who uses their status to protect their greaser and is kind of nice under all the cutthroat boss bitch-ness. Like the top rank of social that most other socs are afraid of.

(tried to make it gender neutral of my best ability, but it’s hard to fit phrases like “ queen bee” into gender neutral terms)

Inspo:

*socs approach and start making jeering comments* Hey Grease…

*you get in front of them* if you ever talk to them like that again, I will make it my personal life goal to ruin yours, and no one will hire your sorry ass again. Oh, and you can consider *insert secret* spilled.

<matching hcs with @sadie-bug345 please go check out her blog she has amazing outsiders headcanons>

Ponyboy Curtis

-intimidated by you fs

-he knows your life ruining rep

-sukrised when one day you tap on his shoulder

“Ponyboy… right?”

“U-uh yeah that’s me!”

“Great you’re tutoring me. Every Friday.”

“U-uh ok?”

-you guys actually get along and he helps with with your grades a lot

-You actually become friends and stand up for him against other Socs and even your own friends

-One night he’s walking home alone from the movies and four Socs approach him and start threatening him

-you on one of their shoulders and the Soc blanks and realization as he remembers your long-standing friendship with Pony

-“if you ever mess with him again I will ruin your life. You know I will.”

-the Socs all back up, and you stand there, smirking

-I feel like that’s when pony boy realizes his feelings for you and kisses you right there on the spot

-you guys are actually a really great mix, the popular person and the kind of more quiet guy

Johnny Cade

-he was so scared of you

-thought of all the possible ways you could ruin his life even more

-one day he comes to school and his locker is spraypainted with “Bastard Greaser”

-he’s even more suprised when you approach him at lunch break

-“Johnny Cade, right? Yk, you’re kind of cute… *you smirk* Anyway I have a dear friend… well, ex friend with me that wants to apologize for so crudely vandalizing your locker. RIGHT, Jessica?”

-his head is spinning, the queen/king bee of the whole school just flirted with him and made a bully apologize?

-you start coming to the lot more and more after that, and realize he often doesn’t have a place to sleep

-you invite (drag) him to your home where you set up a room for him, and being rich, it’s pretty damn nice

-I feel like that’s when he realizes his feelings for you and one night, when he’s about to go to sleep in his bed, he leans over and kisses your cheek

-you guys become a new couple and it shocks everyone

-yall are cute tho ❤️❤️

-you make sure no one gives him shit. If they do then LORD help them

Sodapop Curtis

-ok so you guys are a more expected couple

-prom royalty fr

-soda probably made you nice 💀💀

-you guys met in school and started dating, and he helped you kind of be the nice kind of popular

-you also spoil him with your money fr

-his brothers are skeptical of you at first (especially after sandy) but once they see your do really like him they totally ship you

-POWER COUPLE

-fr you guys are what everyone wants to be

Darry Curtis

-you were both popular and kind of ran in the same circles but didn’t like eachother

-he didn’t think he would like you because he doesn’t like mean girls/guys/people and thought you’d be all fake n stuff

-but one day yall got assigned to work on a history project and you both got along pretty well and you put in a pretty good effort

-that’s when he realized that you weren’t so bad and you two became friends

-eventually he caught on feelings for you and asked you out

-sweet couple, and everyone ships it

Dallas Winston

-you two met in detention FS

-you spread a nasty rumor about a boy who cheated on one of your close friends and he vandalized something

-enemies to lovers energy

-yall didn’t like eachother that much

-he sat behind you and kept making crude remarks and messing with you so you bit back

-“There’s no way in hell if ever dream of being with a lowlife like you”

-after a bit of banter and insults you somehow end up on his lap making out with him

-the teacher walks in and is like wtf- my eyes-

-you guys are the best power couple people cower in fear with you two together

-calls you prince/princess or doll fr

-it’s a typical bad boy x mean girl/guy/person thing

Two Bit Matthews

-you fits me at the mall when you were making fun of another stuck up girl

-he joined in with the teasing

-you were like ohhh this one’s kinda funny and you two actually hit it off really well

-you liked his wisecracks, they made the world all the more entertaining and he admired your cutthroat bitch attitude

-yall started dating after a while

-class clown x mean girl/guy/person and it’s SO iconic

-you two are surprisingly healthy for eachother, you both kind of get to see the under layer

-like you get to see what’s beyond his wisecracks and he gets to see beyond your plastic mean girl facade

Steve Randle

-he was suprised

-when you went up to him instead of Sodapop

-but when you pulled up in your red Ferrari with a scratched tire that was totally not just an excuse just to talk to him and started heavily flirting

-he wasn’t impressed, he still thought you were fake

-which bothered you, you didn’t know anyone who didn’t like you or at least pretend to

-so you kept showing up and one day a group of Socs stopped by the gas station, spitting on him

-you got furious and nearly ruined your car trying to ram them

-Steve was kinda in love after that

-he realized you really weren’t plastic

-you guys got together and are sooo cute

-when you go on long rants he listens to you while he fixes his cars

-and you have a free new handyman

[theemosiders]

More stevepop pretty please??????

here’s this whole stevepop sketch page i drew!! just in time for this request :3

[canonickero]

I'm gonna say it. I did not like The Outsiders musical. I did not. It was disappointing. The songs refused to get stuck in my head for once. I could not tell which character was what. There were too many new characters. Steve has no hair and that is a CRIME. Steve IS his hair. How could they dare cast someone who doesn't have the most obnoxious, grease-filled hair on this earth. Blasphemy. Also he spelled Steve's last name wrong in his bio. Also blasphemy.

💥💥💥

[sealixp]

Uhhh low quality Steve Randle doodle I did on discord whiteboard thing 💔 I've never drawn him before

[creepiecreator]

Steve deserves..little tooth gap

[4-ustin]

The Outsiders Drawings + Design headcanons :)

[Ponyboy Micheal Curtis]

-Palest of his brothers

-All the Curtis's have sunkissed cheeks, his are pretty moderate

-2nd most freckles out of his brothers, gets it from his mom

-Scars on his neck and chin

[Johnathan Andrew Cade]

-His hair is usually very unkempt because he doesn't tend to stay in his house too long in the mornings

-Has issues with sleep and very prominent bags under his eyes

-hooded eyes

[Dallas Tucker Winston]

-Omg GUYS THEY MADE DALLAS WINSTON WOKE 😨😨 /j

-Wanted to combine all 3 versions of Dallas

-Book Dallas traits : Sharp teeth, sharp jaw, sharp ears, platinum blonde hair

-Movie Dallas traits : Big eyes, big bushy eyebrows

-Musical Dallas traits : Skin tone, curly hair

-I gave him vitiligo because I like pale Dallas but I also like Joshua Boone's Dallas

-Lip scar because why not

[Keith David "Two-Bit" Matthews]

-Has a mullet and curly hair

-Messy, bushy eyebrows

-Almost perfect teeth somehow??

-Mickey Mouse tattoo

-Pretend you can tell his leather jacket is Mickey Mouse themed

[Sodapop Patrick Curtis]

-he has dimples

-Most freckles in the family - had even more than their mom

-Sunkiss usually borders on sunburn

-Straight, thin eyebrows

[Steve Jacob Randle]

-Horrendous teeth (we already knew that though)

-Birthmark over his right eye because why not 🤷

-Small bit of beard/stubble

-super hooded eyes

-Butt chin hehe

[Darrel Shaynne Curtis Jr.]

-2nd least sunkissed

-least freckled - takes most from his dad

-Somewhat beard/stubble, thinks it makes him look mature

-Big eyebrows

[cosmos-tent]

Steve randle would be one of those ppl that if he likes something he will go out of his way to gatekeep it. Or if someone else likes it he'll be like 'what do YOU know about (whatever it is)' and then he'll go to the Curtis's house n rant abt it

He does and it's especially bad if it's somebody he doesn't like he'll try to throw hands or back talk them about how "Their not a real fan" and Sodapop just has to nod along because most of the time he doesn't really care

[canonickero]

My wife serves HELLA cunt I fear

No one ever talks about it but steve randle was fr serving Cunt with the whole cropped denim vest thing going on

Like HELLO?? bro had that shit ON.

The silhouette was absolutely killer i fear. The hem meeting his waistband.. the popped collar.. simply not enough credit. wow

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Steve Randle headcanons?? Not dating one’s just headcanons about him

Yessirrrrrrr (Happy Late Birthday to him btw)

Steve Randle Headcanons

Check out @lonelyseasoning-numero-uno for more Steve HCS!

-anger issues I’m sorry ANGER ISSUES

-he rarely talks about his feelings unless it’s on a pretty bland/baseline level

-he only really ever opens up to Sodapop

-it would take at least months of knowing him to crack open his exterior

-he’s actually one of the “toughest” greasers besides Dal

-I feel like working on cars is how he mainly blows off steam/expresses himself

-when soda isn’t there cars usually are

-speaking of which probably has to mask his excitement for when someone asks about cars

-bro has the urge to jump up n down

-I feel like he doesn’t like coffee or tea, but he likes drinking milk

-he’s really used to being in sodapops shadow

-he gets to be the “ugly best friend”

-it doesn’t bother him most of the time, no

-he gets why everyone thinks soda is so amazing, he really is. He’s lucky to have his place by his side

-but sometimes… he wishes he could step out of sodas shadow

-scared as shit of police (this is more movie canon)

-I think he is super careful around police

-I think he really does care about Ponyboy but doesn’t quite know how to show it

-and he sort of sees Ponyboy as competition for sodapops attention which is hard enough to get

-because…. Sodapop, wether he’s resenting him or not, is all he really has

-he dreams of opening up his own place to work on cars, and maybe even going into engineering

-he never tells anyone though

-it’s not like he’d belong there anyway….

-also he loved chocolate cake before throwing up after eating too much at the Curtis’s and now he can’t stand it

[canonickero]

Random head canon that affects nothing: Steve's heart is on the wrong side of his body. Or right side, I suppose(pun joke ahahahaha)

Ponyboy puts his hand on Steve's chest where his heart is SUPPOSED to be(to Steve's left) and goes "yep, I knew you were a heartless bastard"

Ponyboy is a smart mouthed kid, but unlike Dally, Steve doesn't ever hit him or threaten to. He just takes the disrespect because he loves that kid to death. They can joke sometimes. Maybe Steve shoves him a little bit or challenges him to a very unfair arm wrestle.

Steve knew all his life that his heart should be on the left, but he never mentioned that his heart was on the wrong side to anyone because he thought he was crazy.(Irregular heartbeat Steve, anyone?)

Maybe all of his organs are switched, he wouldn't know. Very few greasers go to their yearly checkups, let alone one like Steve. And even fewer of them get anything like that checked out. He just kind of lives without even thinking about it. And then he thinks about it randomly and he thinks about it for way too long, and then forgets again. Steve probably looked weird with his hand shifted to the right on his chest when they made him do the pledge of allegiance in grade school. But he knows damn well that his heart isn't on the left, he will put his hand over his heart exactly as he was told(autism) so he doesn't care. It's just a fun fact about him that nobody believes until they check for themselves.

Soda probably comments on it more than Steve ever thinks about it. Soda's a curious guy, he's probably got his hands and ear all over Steve's chest to find exactly where his heart rests. And that's where he lays at night when Steve comes over and Soda has to camp out on the couch(Sodapop is lactose intolerant and sleeps on the couch when he can't resist ice cream or other dairy besides his morning chocolate milk. He does that so that he doesn't bother Ponyboy with his tummy ache. Occasionally one of the guys ends up coming over, but they have an armchair anyways. Steve the type of guy to lay with his "best friend" though. Steve helps soothe the aches.[little bit of Stevepop... S.E. if you didn't want us to ship them why did you make them so god damn queer.])

Soda comments on Steve's heartbeat as per usual, makes them both think about it for a while, and then they just pass out and forget about it until next time. Steve says he's been meaning to get that checked out. He probably never will unless someone drags his ass to a hospital and makes him an appointment with a cardiologist.

[cosmos-tent]

Outsiders HC

pleaseeeeeeeeeee fill our inbox with your outsiders hc and we’ll like give you a couple of our own bouncing off of what you said it’s gonna be like so cool fr

[canonickero]

Also the sun is ALWAYS in his eyes. He is constantly blinded by the light. He must glare or he will die.

pony thinks steve hates him because steve is always giving him nasty looks but actually steve just has the most aggressive resting bitch face in the world

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Could you do school with the greasers POV soda, (if he hadn’t dropped out) centering mostly on soda, steve and two?

I decided to do headcanons and then a fic for this one fam but yes ofc pookie also love ur account btw @sodapopprotectionsociety is freakin gold (natures hardest hue to hold) ((sorry I couldn’t help myself))

———————————————————————————

-their dynamic during school

-it’s fuckin comical

-I mean, the pretty boy, the class clown, and the mechanic? It’s a combo alright

-always goofing off in class

-I think that the teachers hate Sodapop more than Two Bit 💀💅😭

-because they think he doesn’t care when really he’s just a lil slow

-they think he’s such a himbo 💀💀

-and I feel like the teachers hate having them in class together 💀💀

Mini Fic incoming !!!!

“Oh, look, it’s the Golden Trio. Better have my damn coffee this morning.” That’s the sentence I was greeted with whenever I walked in the classroom with my best buddies, Steve n’ Two Bit. “Boy, Mrs. Brown sure does hate us.” Two Bit said with a teasing smile. I grin, winking at Two Bit. “I ain’t know why. We ain’t nothin less of angelic.” Two Bit laughs loudly, walking over to Steve as we take our usual seats by the window. Not too far up front, not too far behind, and close enough to the window we get free entertainment whenever class gets boring. And it almost always does. I mean, I ain’t stupid. Well, maybe I am. Just a bit. I guess I sorta gave up tryin’. I mean, I tried at first, listenin’ to the teachers and such but the words always kinda blended into each other, always too slow or fast. No one ever really gets it. But, if I’m forced to be in this classroom that ain’t mean I can’t have fun. The teacher is ranting on about The Great Gatsby or somethin’ like that, meanwhile I practice my shooting skills on a cute girl sitting on the other end of the room, grabbing a white sheet of paper and crumpling it, and chucking it at her with Two Bit. She gives us an irritated look, giving us a lovely finger gesture as we cackle, and before I know it the very familiar sound of Mrs. Browns footsteps make their way to the front of my desk. I give her my most charming grin, which usually works in my favor, but apparently not for her as she gives me a pointer finger towards the outside of her classroom, only spitting out two words: “Principal, now.” “Whoa Whoa Whoa Mrs. B, we was only havin some fun!” Two Bit exclaims with a grin a little too smug. “Now!” She repeats impatiently, and I give her a nonchalant grin and finger guns, swaggering out of the classroom with Two and Steve, wincing as I try not to think of the lecture i’m surely going to get from Darry as soon as my ass is home. I give Two and Steve a knowing smile “You two really feel like going to the principals?” I ask as they shake their heads. “Why don’t we go treat ourselves to a coke for our… outstanding behavior?” Steve quipped with a smug grin as me and Two began walking out the front doors of the school. “Y’know, I think that may just be the best idea you’ve had in a while, Stevie.”

[canonickero]

so

New mootie

I wanna hear absolutely all the lore you have about Steve's parents/home life

Because I suspect you have more than I remember from the book or the movie

*hands mic*

I am going to fucking explode YES FINALLY SOMEONE ASKS ME ABOUT STEVE

This may not be entirely coherent it is 00:34 when I begin typing this and maybe I'll remember an end time who knows. But I'll start with a slight character analysis and stuff

So Ponyboy doesn't go very deep into Steve's character. Ponyboy seems to think that Steve hates him, and he despises Steve back. But Steve takes care of him like a little brother. Most notably; he takes care of Ponyboy in ways that Sodapop does. But Ponyboy doesn't even think about his efforts and actions, he just mentions them in passing. Steve is always backing him when the Socs are around and he is specifically stated by Ponyboy to buy him pop and candy when he visits at the DX. Soda does too, which makes it sort of just a passing mention, but I think it's interesting. Steve also spends his hard earned money on spoiling Ponyboy a little. He doesn't have to take Ponyboy to the DX for their shared school lunch break. He could take the hell off and go see Soda himself. It'd probably be safer for Ponyboy to stay at school, even. But Steve totes him around just because he feels like it. And Steve only works part time at the DX because he's in school full time unlike Soda. Steve makes less money, but he still wastes his gas and spends money on Ponyboy, like he would an annoying little brother that he doesn't actually hate. Like when your parents insist you take your little sibling with you when you go somewhere, or when they want to get in on everything you do because it's cool. That's probably how Steve feels about Ponyboy. Sodapop is his best friend and has been since grade school, he's been around Pony since he was a baby. No doubt Steve was there for some pretty important moments. Steve addresses Pony by name and as "kid" rather than anything rude and he doesn't ignore Pony. He's the one to draw attention to his picture in the paper and makes him feel like the hero he is, even if Pony isn't too happy about it. He's supportive, if a little blunt. But he doesn't actively try to annoy or hurt Pony aside from little jabs, like siblings would.

Steve doesn't seem to have any siblings of his own. Two-Bit is offhandedly mentioned to have a kid sister, but Steve gets nothing. He's just got a drunk old father who would rather him gone. When his father gets drunk and angry for whatever reason, which is all the damn time, he kicks Steve out and Steve runs to the Curtis house. And while Soda is his best friend, Steve wouldn't torture himself. He wouldn't keep going to the Curtis house and stay during the mornings and engage in conversation with Ponyboy if he hated him. He loves Ponyboy to death. The gang is like the family Steve never really had. No sign of his mother, whether she's dead or left Steve with his dad is unsure. But he doesn't have a mother, and he hasn't had one in a while. He doesn't even offhandedly mention her, like Two-Bit mentions his mother or Dally mentions his father. Steve doesn't mention his family at all, really. It bugs Steve that his family is so broke. He's got one of the more fucked up families of the gang.

Two-Bit still has a loving mother and a kid sister. Johnny has a home to go back to, though it's horrible(but they do leave him alone quite often. Just whenever they're pissed at each other or the world, they take it out on Johnny. He is left alone and can go home at least some days, and sometimes he can avoid his parents. And Johnny's mother went to visit him in the hospital, though her intentions were unclear. She only started yelling when Johnny refused to see her, which, good on him.) Dally doesn't need family, he's past that at his point, but he's got a place at Buck's if he ever needs it. Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy all have each other. But who does Steve have at home waiting for him? A drunken father who throws him out for whatever reason he could find. And he apologizes by giving Steve a couple bucks, which would have pretty much been his next few cases of beer. So for a good while in a week, Steve gets to go home. But his father isn't exactly there for him. Steve doesn't have a loving father, really. Just a guilty one. A guilty father left with a child he didn't want. He tells Steve to get out and never return every damn week at the very LEAST once a week, with absolutely nothing on him. He just kicks Steve out and expects him to be fine with never returning, with only the shirt on his back. Only when Steve's father is sober does he feel bad and give Steve some money, and then he does it all again. He doesn't love Steve enough to get better. He'd rather have the booze.

So other than Johnny, Steve has one of the worse home lives of the gang. No mother, a drunkard father that's likely passed out on the couch half of the damn day and never sees him.

I'd also like to mention Steve's view on Ponyboy again. Steve is described as tall and lean. Based on his job as a mechanic, he's muscular. His drunkard father wouldn't have enough sense to keep any protein in the damn house. He's known to be uncaring, and he probably doesn't think of groceries until the last second(speaking from experience, I have a drunkard father). Steve likely has to feed himself(or help himself to the food in the Curtis's fridge). But he spends a decent amount of his paycheck on Ponyboy, the tag-along kid he pretends to hate. Steve is lean. Just like the other greasers, he's poor. He feeds himself. But he'll damn well buy Ponyboy a Pepsi and a candy bar to keep him happy for lunch. But we don't ever get to know what Steve eats. Other than the chocolate cake, Steve doesn't seem to eat much. We know that Two-Bit has beer and chocolate cake for breakfast when at the Curtis', but he's got a mother at home that most definitely feeds him. We know how the Curtis' eat, we know kind of how Dally likes his food, we know that Johnny eats what he needs to. But Steve? No clue. He's a hungry teen like the rest of them. He's tall and muscular and needs to eat his fill. But you know damn well that he'd kill for Ponyboy. He likely makes minimum wage and works only part time. Sure, he gets money from his father, but there's not much there. In today's money, that's quite a lot for an apology, but it probably goes to gas and food. Otherwise, Steve takes care of Ponyboy in the exact same ways that Sodapop does. But Ponyboy doesn't appreciate it at all because it's Steve, and he thinks Steve hates him. And all Steve wants is to have a day with his best friend without Soda bringing Pony along. It's not much to ask for.

Also, Ponyboy casually sits on Steve's car when the Socs approach him later on in the book. He wouldn't do that if Steve would skin him for it. Steve is amazing with cars, he can drive anything on wheels. He'd take good fucking care of his car, greaser or not. Two-Bit's breaks go out on his car, but Steve is never seen to have a problem with his. If he's letting Ponyboy sit on his car and lets him BREAK A BOTTLE ON IT, you know damn well Steve loves that kid. Sure, there were Socs. But he and Two-Bit were backing Pony and Steve could have given him hell right after. And he didn't. Ponyboy is the little brother Steve never had. The gang is the family he deserved but never got. He's allowed to raid the damn fridge. I'm sure if Tim Shepard did that he'd get some odd looks. But Steve is one of them. As much of a side character as he is, Steve is always one of them. He's never faced with disdain from the others. It's all just Ponyboy. Soda was only ever mad at Steve once and there weren't many disagreements other than maybe one time when he called Darry "all brawn and no brain." Clearly there's SOMETHING about Steve that makes him one of them. There's SOMETHING that makes him Sodapop's best friend. Ponyboy is just a younger teen who can't see what the gang does for him. In the movie, do you see the excitement and love in Steve's general demeanor when he enters the Curtis household? He feels completely at home there. Even though Darry almost shattered his jaw once, he feels safe. Not a hint of discomfort. He feels comfortable enough to go into Darry's bedroom, where Soda's jeans are after he ironed, and start a pillow fight with Darry's pillows. Steve is at home there. He never snubs Ponyboy. He pokes fun at him, but he's never actually a jerk like he's portrayed to be. But he is cocky. He's confident. He's a little self centered.

But how could he not be? He never had a mother to tell him he was handsome growing up. His father never kissed his nose to reassure him it wasn't too big or wonky. His mother was never there to tell him that his smile was gorgeous. Steve never got that validation growing up, so he acts like he's the best. But he doesn't think that. Sure, he's confident in himself. But that's a learned skill. You don't just pop out the womb all confident. You get it from yourself and the people around you. The gang are all confident and loud around each other, so Steve is loud and confident too. He loves himself because he taught himself that love. He got it from elsewhere, because his family wouldn't love him.

Steve is constantly fixing his hair. He can't have a single hair out of place. He's always worried about his appearance subconsciously. He lets himself be a gross dumb teenage boy with his pals, but he's also a self-conscious, smart kid who had to figure these things out at some point. And he had to figure it all out on his own.

Steve is incredibly intelligent. He knows what people are thinking and he knows what he's doing. He doesn't think Ponyboy has enough street smarts to be out on his own. He thinks Ponyboy is dumb for not using his head. But by god, Steve loves that kid to death. He probably knows that Ponyboy mostly hates him. He knows that Pony will still take the Pepsi and candy bars and rides to the DX even though he's hated. Steve knows damn well that he's not exactly a comforting presence to Ponyboy, despite always being stretched out on his couch and always being nearby due to his brother. Steve reassures Ponyboy that nothing bad will happen to him when he's put in the paper. But he says it like he doesn't believe it either. He just wants Pony to be okay, he knows that Ponyboy doesn't want his opinion. So he never says his opinion about the situation, he just states the facts about it and reassures Ponyboy that he wouldn't be put in a boys home. Steve's opinion isn't wanted at home and it isn't wanted by Ponyboy either. But Steve is used to that. He's good at keeping his mouth shut, just like Ponyboy is.

They're incredibly similar, but Ponyboy just hates to see it. They're both smart-mouthed greasers in their little gang of boys that all grew up together. They're both school smart, they're proud of being greasers and they do stupid shit. They go to the same school and eat at the same places, they travel together and they know enough about the other to not get clobbered. Steve protects Ponyboy, both physically and protects his feelings. They love sweet stuff and eat like horses. Steve and Ponyboy both love their hair and they both have an attachment to Sodapop.

But it's curious how Soda doesn't explode under all that pressure. Surely, he's venting to someone. To Steve, probably. But there's only so much Steve can do to help when Ponyboy hates him and Darry will shatter his jaw if Steve dares to call him dumb and burly, even if that does prove his point. All he can really do is listen as his family fights, just like at home. It's not fair to any of them, really.

And when Johnny and Dally die, Steve is heartbroken. They were his brothers, his friends, his gang. They were special to him like they were to everybody else. But he doesn't get to mourn. After the rumble, his ribs are broken and he's beat to all hell. But he still goes into a full sprint to get to Dally after Johnny dies. He still does what he can to protect his family. When Ponyboy is first jumped, he throws rocks at the car(and in deleted scenes, absolutely beats the shit out of the Socs inside) for Ponyboy's sake. That's his family. His home. He's not going to let anybody hurt his kid brother and get away with it.

Steve is scared of cops. He acts all brave and mighty, but when Dallas is shot, his hands go up and he's in absolute shock. He's shaking. He's scared that he'll be next. Because as hellish as his life is, he doesn't want to go just yet. Not like that he doesn't. But his father wouldn't care if he never showed back up home. That would just be another six or seven bucks saved for his next few cases of beer. He wouldn't have to feel guilty when his son showed back home if he didn't have a son to show. And Steve probably knows that. But that doesn't mean he wants to die too. He has the gang, what's left of it. He still has his best friend and his kid brother, his older brother and father figure who actually wants him to eat. He still has Two-Bit, but there were no jokes to be made at that point.

Steve is pretty sad, actually. He does what he can and yet it's never enough. Ponyboy still hates him, they don't grow closer after the deaths of two of their closest friends. Ponyboy still thinks Steve hates him. And Steve's father will continue to be a drunk; he wouldn't ask about Steve's day or wonder what was wrong. He would be passed out on the couch after too many beers, and Steve would have to deal with his grief on his own. Because his father wouldn't care and his mother isn't around. Because his home life is depressing and losing two of the gang feels like he lost more than that. Because the gang was all he had. His entire family. His father doesn't even count.

Why would he? His father makes him go run off to his best friend's house with nothing but the clothes on his back every damn week. His father would rather drink himself to death than care for his son. Steve is set up for failure in life, but he does what he can and then some. He's just not appreciated. At all.

1:48

[cosmos-tent]

@buzzybeexoxo @edwardallenpoe @jasmine145946 @nataliedoesnotlie @codythesouthparkfan @immisswor1d

[canonickero]

Steve Randle they could never make me divorce you

steve randle they could never make me hate you. two-bit matthews they could never make me reduce you to comedic relief. dallas winston they could never make me see you as the villian. johnny cade they could never make me see you as a baby. soda curtis they could never make me think of you as dumb. darry curtis they could never make me hate you. cherry valance they could never make me hate you. ponyboy curtis they could never make rely on your narration (see what i did there)