A review by allzen_nochill
Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

So I mostly liked this. While the prose can get a little fanficky at times (if you know, you know), the snappy dialogue and smartly written characters more than make up for it. I would have liked a little more exploration of Pony & Ted's relationship, because I think that would have made that part of the story feel a little less rushed. I also think that Pony totally has a point - coming out is so often something that ends up being co-opted by the people we are coming out to and we end up having to manage fragile cishet emotions rather than just sharing a piece of ourselves. It's personal, it's important, but I also cannot WAIT until the day coming out becomes obsolete. So therefore all of his friends who really wanted him out get a raised eyebrow, and Georgia gets a MAJOR raised eyebrow by being obsessed with Pony's deadname (though realistically, cis folks do act this way so... hard line to walk between portraying the reality we live in & the reality we want. This line is also why I have a raised eyebrow at Pony's dabbling in toxic masculinity). But all I wanted out of this was for a trans character to get a happy-ish ending and it delivered.
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