#charecter study

[dallasgallant]

What the gang smells like

*But realistic! Thought of this when I was falling asleep last night and I think it’s actually an interesting bit of character study (thats what everything comes back to for me apparently.)

Imagine all of these but there’d also be deodorant and Cheap cologne/scent on top of it .

Pony: Puberty and pencil shavings

He is freshly 14, he is a growing boy, enough said. He REEKS half of the time but is the most hygienic out of all the gang (even above Johnny and Darry) but he just can’t help it. I said pencil shavings as he draws a bunch—would say school work too but that was typically in pen or typed (on a typewriter).

Soda: Gas and Prell

He works the pump I can’t imagine he wouldn’t, sometimes my hands will smell after pumping my own I can’t imagine after all day. I said Prell too as it’s such a strong and distinctive smelling shampoo (it’s great to really deep clean hair if you put a lot of product in and still made today, I recommend it.)

Darry: Tar, sweat and leather

On good days, after showers, I imagine he smells like leather over anything else. It’s hard to describe past a good, rich, masculine smell that’s a bit sweet? Like Soda, he smells like work.

Steve: Gas, hair gel and soap

I say soap as I have a hc that his mother works as a wash woman, doing clothes for the neighborhood and some better paying clients. So his clothes are always clean even if he isn’t.

Cannot speak for it, but I also see Steve as someone who does Dip and chewing tobacco’s more than he’d smoke regular- don’t know of that smell but add that.

Two-bit : Beer and iron

Sort of the most self explanatory of the bunch. He smells like beer, usually his breath and iron from holding his switch all the time (usually trying to show it off) or snagging things. Sometimes that smell might be blood from a rumble, usually it’s not.

Dally: Horse and Menthol

Heard dally described once of smelling like horse and cigarettes and I thought it was really funny and really likely that he smells. He smells like work, sweat and Kools. A bit different from the regular cling of Smoke as his preference has a bit of a minty edge (it’s noted to smell slightly better/easier than plain tobacco)

Johnny: cigarettes, grease and Outside

Undoubtedly Johnny puts the most product in his hair of all of the gang (even Steve, whose book hairstyle (prob a jelly roll) would require a lot of maintenance.) it’s almost to the comical extent that you can smell it wafting off the poor kid.

I put “outside” too, stick with my I have sensitive… senses? You know when someone comes in from being outside for a long time and they smell like Sweat, sure, but also just— air? In a sense like they just smell like outside.

[dallasgallant]

What’s In their pockets?

For Soda and Dally they mix it up a little, Soda uses the front pocket of his flannel (or work shirt) and Dally uses his jacket pocket. Picture included of Pony as he doesn’t use his pocket for cigs but puts the carton in the waste band of his jeans.

[dallasgallant]

Steve is a character known for two things, his fantastic ability with cars and his temper. He’s one to fix and fight, he’s someone who’s much more practical with his hands. He’s so much more than his anger, hatred and liking to fight people… what I want to highlight is his sense of justice.

Sometimes he’ll fight for fightings sake— he and Soda are noted to have too much energy and feeling without any proper outlet for it but most other times he’s fighting for others. Steve is a protector at heart. Of their territory and of the other guys — out of all of them he’s the one to assure Johnny they’ll beat the Soc’s someday and finally have them leave him alone. It’s his sense of justice, of setting things right and Soc’s getting their comeuppance as that’s what would happen if things were just. But the world isn’t.

He can fix a car in record time and drive just about anything but he doesn’t stop there… he has a need to fix things. He also strives for this emotionally — he’s the one to assure Johnny, calls out Pony for bringing up Sandy, he tries to cheer up Pony with the hero thing and calls out Two-bit over complaining about his switch. Someone’s said it before but after Pony he’s one of the most emotionally open of the gang— he’ll say things how they are and how they should be.

This boy with his soft, bitter voice, sense of justice and at times brutal honesty. He admits to pain that others won’t. Steve is so much more than his temper…

[dallasgallant]

“Ain’t nobody call the Fuzz in this neighborhood cause they know better!”

This line sits with me as a very telling one that often goes overlooked, as it’s lost in the blur of energy before the rumble. Now most of this is going to be from existing knowledge but it did prompt me to dig into poor communities a bit more. The line is said differently between the Book and the movie but both are said within the idea of pride and community— when they’re caught up in the high of before a rumble, all the energy close to bursting out of them- repping their kind and going on this spree of yelling stereotypes and taking ownership. In the movie Steve’s much more happy and hyped as he yells it— in the book he also says it to correct Darry but in a more exact tone.

In a surprise to no one cops aren’t friends to poor communities. Economically poor, crime heavy communities tend to be over policed and often met with force, brutality etc. We know the boys get hauled in a lot, sometimes just for the assumption they did something. Cops pick out, they stereotype and often target within the neighborhood.

There’s a social aspect as well that’s not so direct to do with police action and that is the social isolation. Lack of resources, mistreatment and disapproval from those outside creates strong communities that further isolate. In a lot of ways it’s a helpful thing, mitigating the effects of poverty by having a social net and trust. A detail I like is that Darry seems to be a part of a phone tree when Pony was late the first time (not exclusive to poor areas but a great example of having networks.) People help each other out “help their own” building networks. A lot of work is under the table or can be barter based - questionable legality of work, building/fixing things, way of general running of life. Perception of law is different.

This isn’t to say everyone in the neighborhood has broken the law at some point but it’s likely a lot have at least something of questionable legality or more likely have family members who are greasers, criminals etc but will protect them. All of the guys instantly flock to go help Dally after he robbed the store and have been stated to hide and protect the guys whenever they do something like this. It comes back to the “help/protect your own” … no one in the neighborhood is calling the cops because they know what will happen if they do. A family member or friend might be taken in, potential brutality, people coming in and uprooting the way you live your life because it’s “abnormal” etc etc etc.

If someone does call the cops who do you think they’re going to help? A bunch of no good, greasy hoods or the nice boys from the other side of town with their khakis and new cars and clothes? It was probably a greaser who threw the first punch too… doesn’t matter their side of town or what its over, or if some Soc is standing over some bleeding greaser kid. It’s systemic. (An aside but this is also why it drives me nuts people would assume the boys to be bigots because they’re … lower class in the 60s… let’s do some introspection there. Added to the fact that, there’s a lot of overlap with racial issues, their community would likely be FAR more integrated than the west or even rest of the town. Not that their wouldn’t be ignorance but the assumption— that’s not the point of this post but a pet peeve of mine)

Anyways, the Outsiders often gets reduced to a simplistic “use vs them” of just Greaser vs prep like it’s one of the beach movies they watch. When in reality it’s actually a lot to do with class and societal expectations/conditioning.

—

Papers if interested Here and here

Either for general interest or potentially helping with writing. Ones an older study (which skimming and certain sections I found interesting), the other IS Wikipedia but it’s for the general idea

[dallasgallant]

St. Christopher, Patron saint of Travelers.

He is either Dally’s patron saint or someone who cared about him gave it to him for protection. I’d like to lean into the side that he was born with the association and it became a sort of self fulfilling prophecy for Dal as he grew older. Part of his job involves travel, that being he probably runs for Buck’s bootlegging. Maybe it plays a part in his driving too, he’s fast and reckless yet never got in a crash or knicked a car.

But the real meat of it is, how Dally helps with travel himself. He has the plan to get Johnny and Pony safely out of Tulsa, provides them with what they need and the instruction. Even telling Johnny to stay safe. Now all of this is him sticking his neck out and helping to protect his friends I just absolutely adore the connection there.

[stuckasmain]

You ever thinks Dave is pissed that the monolith copied Floyd but didn’t kill him? Do you think he silently, far in the back of his mind thinks it’s unfair. He knows he was first, what happened to him had to happen in some sense but at the same time this proves he could’ve gotten to live?

There’s just a random Heywood mind clone in 2061

[stuckasmain]

In the grave

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Small exploration study fic of time spent buried. Being dead and coming back to life. I expanded off the small glimpse of it we get in the movie.

More of a charecter study fic

[thisangstriddenschoollifetragedy]

So Syobai in a DRA/Sdra2 class swap

Even for a swap as fascinating as the DRA/Sdra2 swap, Syobai’s character is perhaps one of the most fascinating. The thing with Syobai is that he refuses to care for or develop a bond with anyone as a personal rule in order to keep up his immoral lifestyle and not get hurt. However in the death game, he’d have his memories erased of becoming friends with everyone and letting his guard down around others, as is thematically appropriate for DRA and DR1.

The thing is, in the danganronpa games, it’s heavily implied some form of emotional resonance stays even after your memories get wiped. 

So Syobai’s like, fine I’m trapped in this death game. Probs gonna kill somebody to get out or whatever, but better stay back, you know, just incase someone is dangerous and to pick who the best target could be.

And then, people start dying and oh god this hurts, why am I so sad, what is this feeling, why am I feeling things, Noooooo?