The Outsiders one shots (cause why not)

Another Cherry Valence Rant

Okay, let's go over basically what people hate about her:

1. She rejected a guy she didn't want to go out with

2. She wants to fit in

3. She has conflicting feelings about what boy she likes

4. She tries to cheer up Ponyboy by telling him how their worlds aren't that far apart and that socs have problems too

Let's go though this one by one in case you don't understand

She rejects Dally at the drive-in. Let's review the situation from her point of view, okay. Imagine for a second that you're sitting watching a movie with your best friend late at night, right? Now suddenly some random guy you don't know shows up and starts being dirty and disgusting to you and your friend and flirting with you and acting like you should just hop on his dick right then and there even though you don't want to and you have a boyfriend. You try to kindly tell him to leave because you are trying to watch a movie and he is making you and your friend very uncomfortable and probably a little scared. He still won't go away. So you get mad and splash your drink on him and scream at him to go away. He still doesn't. Only when another guy sitting a few seats away tells the guy to cut it out does he leave you alone.

This is basically the drive-in part from Cherry's perspective. To her, he wasn't a friend; he wasn't harmless; he wanted to make her do things she didn't want. It didn't matter if Dally was a greaser or a soc; to her, he was a possible threat to her safety.

So if you hate Cherry for this, you better never reject a single guy who ever flirts with you; if you think Cherry was wrong for doing this, just hop onto the dick of whatever guy flirts with you whether you actually want to or not.

She wants to fit in. I know better than anyone that not fitting in is the worst feeling ever. In Cherry's world, and Ponyboy's world, the only way to fit in is by going with the flow and only hanging out with socs if you're a rich and only hang out with greasers if you're poor. And when violence is as regular as it is in 1960s Tulsa, it's even harder to break the status quo because there's the threat of actual physical injury and your assailant will probably get away with it. Also, her parents are likely socialites who go to parties and stuff and if she is their daughter, she has no choice but to have as many rich friends as she possibly can lest she embarrass her family who could never understand.

She has conflicting feelings about what boy she likes. SHE IS A FUCKING TEENAGE GIRL. Like, bruh, I don't even know what gender I like sometimes, let alone what person. Tell me, if you are a teenager like Cherry, how many people are you sexually or romantically attracted to? Hmm? Yeah Cherry isn't sure what guy she likes as a teenager- so what? It's not like Ponyboy is sure what girl he likes as a teenager. Or anyone.

She tries to make Ponyboy feel better. Okay, it never says what her problems are. They might be menial, but based on her actions and personality, I doubt it. She doesn't act at all like she is entitled or anything; she treats the greasers as equals when no other socs do. Guys, rich people travel a lot, so her parents might never be home. She might have anxiety or insomnia and her parents are never around to care and she doesn't want to tell anyone because her parents would just be concerned with outer image. Her parents might drink a lot and abuse her, forcing her to spend a lot of nights sleeping at friends' houses; if so, her parents might threaten her to keep it a secret and say if she tells anyone, they'll disown her and she'll be living on the streets with no money. Her parents might've arranged for her to get married to some guy she doesn't know without her permission. They could be the kind of rich people that treats their children more like toys than actual human beings. There's often a lot of pressure on children of wealthy socialites and they think they can't show any signs of their family life not being perfect. Maybe the only reason she's dating a total shit head like Bob is because she hopes it'll get her parents' attention. And don't say this is bullshit; you don't know what her problems are either.

In short, this fandom is much too quick to hate Cherry. She is a human character with human thoughts and human feelings and human flaws that make her human. She is a well-written character who doesn't get nearly enough of the respect she deserves. She is a strong, independent young woman who shows us that not all socs are bad.

I like Cherry and I will defend her.