#Davey is so blunt and I love him for it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

donotexterminateupgradepudding · 2 years ago

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Black Sails meta - an excellent example of show, don’t tell.

Season two of Black Sails does an excellent job during the flashbacks to tell us where Captain Flint came from, his relationship to Miranda and of course, his intimate relationship with Thomas Hamilton. Over the course of those first five episodes we get snippets of events that run in parallel with the current timeline and why Flint is so goddamn dedicated to doing crazy shit in the name of Nassau and pirates.

The first set of flashbacks are around the first meeting of Lord Thomas Hamilton and rising star in the Royal Navy, Lt. James McGraw. In this entire sequence we see that McGraw is wearing black gloves while everyone else in the background and Thomas have bare hands. The fact in this far shot that you can’t see his hands is the best indication of those black gloves.

Thomas is wearing one of the super fancy long wigs and we can see a ring on his right pinky finger as well on his bare hand. In contrast, James has his hair tied back in a simple ponytail and he wears his officer’s uniform.

James takes the naive Lord on a field trip in their second meeting to point out issues with piracy, specifically around the Caribbean. I love how Flint is just like, “the pirate is Davey something or other” with such a dismissive attitude that these men can all be lumped into one defining group.

For this, Thomas Hamilton is no longer wearing the super fancy wig but has switched it out for a little less formal one. It results in one of my favorite conversations from the entire series. I didn’t capture it in these shots, but our stoic Lt. McGraw is still wearing his black gloves.

This conversation also adds to the solid INTJ personality of Flint - one can have great ideas but knows that most people are likely to fuck them up; this also is shown in season one as Flint made sure to have Gates as his quartermaster for what was clearly years since he’s absolute shit at office politics.

The main point of the flashbacks in the first episode of season two want to make it clear that Flint is pragmatic, blunt and distant with closed off body language. The second episode has another flashback where Thomas starts off with the creation myth from Genesis and adds in extra bits that everyone needs a partner. This is in his office where he’s still wearing the white wig while seated at his desk while Flint stands before him formally. The only thing which has changed for him is the fact his hands are now bare, but held behind him.

Flint is still cautious of the man as a cold rain falls outside.

This is the only scene with the two of them - the rest of the flashback is between Flint and the Admiral who is both his father figure and professional mentor. We learn that some time has passed between the scene with Thomas and the one at the pub as when left alone, other officers try to gang up on Flint and bully him speaking poorly of the Hamiltons which unleashes has rage, which only his mentor can stop. These conversations reveal additional information, James is on first name basis with Thomas, indicating he’s become closer than from the opening scene above and he’s close enough with both Thomas and Miranda that he feels obliged to defend their collective honor. Admiral Hennessy has a good read on McGraw. He knows everyone has a sort of ‘primal emotion’ in himself but McGraw’s is one that is darker and wilder than most. Granted, he admits it is likely why his mentee has been an excellent naval officer and moving through the ranks smoothly and effectively. But the Admiral is also concerned how deep that darkness is and what it would make McGraw capable of.

I’m sure that this conversation stuck in the back of Lt. McGraw’s head and reminded him that when pushed he could do very dark and effective things.

Episode three has two flashbacks, the first one continues the intellectual discussion about what to do about the ‘pirate problem’ and shows how comfortable James has become in the presence of the Hamiltons and them with him. Thomas is now without any wig or jacket and James has his sleeves rolled up and he’s comfortably seated in the chair also wearing only his military waistcoat. This is a huge jump from episode one where both men are dressed for their respective stations and roles.

The table has half drunk wineglasses, papers and books scattered about. We even see an empty plate with the silverware neatly off to the side indicating that James had eaten a meal with Thomas while working. More importantly, this is a direct contrast with episode two where Thomas is seated while James is standing. Now, James is seated and controlling the conversation while Thomas tries to determine how to fix Nassau.

True to form, the issue is laid out plainly. The difficulty with Nassau is it is in a hard place to govern indirectly. The anti-pirate propaganda pamphlet they look at shows that the current governor has been corrupted by the pirates and it is very easy to do.

Thomas can only listen across the table as his friend explains that the entire governmental set up for a place like Nassau is doomed to fail, due to the inherent nature of men and that anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence will do more for himself and fuck the government.

And with this Lt. James McGraw has laid out one part of the goals of the infamous Captain Flint and those he works with, and against in the current timeline of the series. Their entire conversation, the elements around them show that these two men have grown close and are not only at ease with each other physically, but can speak very openly with each other.

Their serious conversation is broken by Miranda entering to make sure that they are still alive, apparently having worked in the office for several hours non-stop, hence the food eaten in the room and the wine to help lubricate their sticky brains. . . What is clear is that the relationship between Thomas and Miranda is a good one.

The two of them have a fondness that may not be defined by unbridled passion but they love each other and support each other. This is also when Miranda loans James Don Quixote to help him to understand Thomas better, which I mentioned in my previous meta about the role of books).

We then get a flashback where our stoic navy man is more than willing to open his door to his apartment without a shirt to be met with Miranda Hamilton. He seems completely confused why she’s there as though he were expecting someone else. Miranda explains that she got his address from the carriage driver and invites herself into his place since it is awkward standing in the hallway of the apartment building. I’m more than willing to read between the lines that 1.) he was expecting Thomas to come to his door which is why he so willingly opened it and 2.) Thomas may have given the information to Miranda worried or concerned and wanted her to reassure him with things. I think that by this point, James was already involved with Thomas, but that Thomas had been paying him visits to his small flat.

James is able to get his undershirt on but his entire body language is super awkward. He’s not keen on the idea of going to visit some other members of the aristocracy in lieu of her actual husband.

He’s quite cheeky in his reply with a large smirk as he tries to dissuade her until she cuts him off to explain that he’s worried how it would look to the rest of civil society. Though the amount of flirting between the two of them is just - wow - kind of adorable how cheeky it all is. They try to outwit each other while making smirks at each other.

Of course, Miranda won’t be defeated by his concern for appearances and she changes her argument to ask is he is happy. And man - does this question cause his brain to come to a grinding halt.

I think that this argument is how Miranda is setting James up to agree with her and allow himself to experience what she calls happiness. She is incredibly straightforward and makes it clear to him to not worry about all the rumors and that she loves her husband and it is obvious that they do love each other.

The flashback concludes with them in the carriage and James admits that he told the carriage driver to take her back home. Miranda tells him theory of the two types of men who make their life at sea 1.) those who out of sense of duty are willing to leave their identity behind to and 2.) those who find the loss of identity to be the attraction of the career. James playfully asks her which of the two men he is and she replies that he is very good at managing how people perceive him. With this skill he is able to get what he wants without anyone realizing he set everything into motion in the first place. She tells him that he’s concerned about what people think he might be doing behind closed doors; as opposed to the actual acts that he is doing behind those closed doors. He’s not a prude who doesn’t do things because of morality or propriety - he just wants to appear so and he does exactly what he wants in private.

The two flirt a little more as he takes her hand in his and they kiss in the carriage. However, Miranda is the one who makes the move to sit on him as the flashback ends, showing that she is the one driving the physical relationship between them.

He doesn’t have an issue per se with kissing her, but when they briefly pull back, Miranda is eager while he seems distant. By this point in the show, we know that Miranda is a very sexual woman and she has a high libido. No judgement - just fact.

She is more than willing to meet those needs but it is also clear that it is still better to be involved with someone who has a good relationship with Thomas. We already know from the first season that Captain Flint and Mrs. Barlow are still sleeping together, but it is entirely for her and out of habit. I can’t help but think that there is a sort of guilt or need to sleep with her out of obligation to Thomas when he was alive or how he promised to take care of her. Honestly, if I were him, I’d see the logic of sleeping with her; Miranda is intelligent, attractive, and fun.

Even if you weren’t madly in love with her, she’d be a good fuck. He still loves her, but not in the same way that he loves Thomas. The two of them have ten years of hardship and suffering and their lives are incredibly intertwined, you can’t just sever than and not have it impact the two of them.

Episode four has the flashback when things start to go wrong in regard to Lord Hamilton’s plans to deal with Nassau. Thomas calls James over in a rush because he wants him to talk him out of his plans. I love the casual flirty reply that James gives him at first before realizing things are more serious. He flippantly replies that they don’t have a problem and even laughs a little.

But oh no, this is more serious as Thomas states that he has grown close to him and trusts him deeply. And that is when James begins to look concerned. Again, James is seated in a chair with his sword as they go over the plan. Until Thomas says he wants to pardon all the pirates and that look on James’ face of ‘oooohhh fuuuccckkk’ as they know that Lord Alfred Hamilton is coming over for dinner and they will have to discuss this with him.

Interestingly, Thomas is the one standing while again, James is seated trying to be the voice of reason, aware of the situation in Nassau, in Whitehall, in the Navy etc.

When he gives his advice both as a member of the navy and then as a friend.

His words cut Thomas to the core and we end with a scene where he looks like he’s about to cry looking at James.

This is followed by the awkward dinner scene where Thomas’ father begins to argue with him over the plan Nassau. Miranda tries to speak up and is cut down ruthlessly by Lord Hamilton as he can’t help but remark on her sexual activities making the mood worse. Honestly, I don’t know why this is such a big deal; countless members of the upper classes had all sorts of affairs and as long as heirs were produced it wasn’t a horrible scandal. But I don’t know exactly why the writers took this direction.

It all comes to a crashing halt when James explodes in a very polite fashion (for him) telling the Lord of the house to leave his own home as Thomas laughs at the situation.

To try to prevent the plan from failure before even reaching the floor for debate, Thomas, Miranda and James try to rally support from his intellectual salons (which were likely a delight for Flint even if he didn’t speak, just watching and thinking through everything).

Only one person is willing to assist, Peter Ashe, who finally is formally introduced to Lt. McGraw, though they must have seen each other in these various salons and other events.

Episode five has too many flashbacks that are interrupted in my personal opinion, but I guess they were going to the frantic pace that is set by the concurrent events.

First off, we learn that some time has passed since the flashback left off. Thomas has been fighting for his political cause while James was away to see Nassau for himself. This is reflected in his new facial hair and highlighted by Thomas’s comment that it has been three months but felt twice as long.

Okay, we get it, you really missed him Thomas and I’m sure the feelings are likewise - but James has no good news for you.

None of the news that our Lieutenant has is good for the cause. The governor got in a fight with a pirate over money and it resulted in punishment - the governor’s wife and son were drug out into the street and killed but he was kept alive to spread the word. Yet, despite all of this we learn that James remains dedicated to Thomas’s plan, even emboldened by what he saw he reveals to Miranda.

However, everyone’s emotions are roiling. Even before James had returned, Miranda wanted to leave town to take the heat off of Thomas . . . and with their continued push to fight back at Alfred Hamilton, James also is naive about things. He falls back on the idea that he can still do what he wants ‘behind closed doors’ because he thinks the truth itself is too much to risk being made public. This is where he’s wrong - it is the very truth (well through a not quite well known source) that ruins his career and he and Miranda are forced to accept the affair story and leave London.

The bitterest part is that Admiral Hennessy assigned James McGraw to this because of his pragmatic attitude; unfortunately, since McGraw has been ‘swept away’ by the silly ideas of Thomas Hamilton and worse likely seen as seduced by him intellectually and romantically, the Admiral berates him. Honestly, it is the most heartbreaking scene in the flashback for me, since the Admiral never considers that James saw the logic and promise in the plan, thus throwing his full support behind it. He is the most skeptical and realistic person and seeing Nassau in person hasn’t shaken him from the plan it only causes him to double down. This is even more bittersweet and ironic in season three when Woodes Rogers shows up with a ton of pardons and tries to use a variation on the plan that Thomas and James had originally created in 1705.

Only at the end of the episode do we have a return to the awkward dinner scene where Thomas seeks comfort and support in James at the dinner table as Miranda simply sits there as they begin to make out. You damn well know that the two of them likely retired elsewhere for a bit before trying to rally more support. Come on, there is no way that anything that James has started is going to stop until well, it is the full stopping point. The man never does anything halfway.

Miranda returns the copy of Meditations to James as we finally learn it was gifted and dedicated to him by Thomas. That Thomas did not want James to be ashamed of their relationship, but this is directed to a man who wanted to craft a careful image of himself before others.

Was he ashamed of things? I honestly don’t know, it really could go either way. All of his actions are for Thomas and his vision for Nassau in his mind. We never hear the conversation he had with Miranda when they were told to leave, but it is clear that he convinced her to join him in Nassau as they fulfilled their role as the fallen Lady and her Naval lover. Personally, I like the INTJ angle that James preferred total privacy in regard to his relationship. It is clear that Thomas was someone he let into his inner world and thoughts and he might just be doing the classic ‘I don’t talk about my relationship ever.’ but very INTJ move. How he truly felt about Thomas was for him and Thomas alone. I think more of his anger would stem from how their lives were ruined, his career destroyed, all punishments of ‘civil society’. Obviously, the logical solution to this is to say ‘Fuck you England! I’ll just go to Nassau and become a very successful pirate instead and use my power and influence to fix Nassau without England.’ Yeah . . . I guess that’s an option most people would take a hard pass on, but not when you can create Captain Flint to do it for you.

Our last dramatic flashback has another glimpse of a flashback as James reflects on his soft moments with Thomas; making out in his room, listening to Meditations read aloud by Thomas.

They are all so - soft. Incredibly soft and this is through the eyes of the man who would become the feared Captain Flint. One of the few instances of true softness in the entire show. I love how gently he caresses the book before opening it to see the little note to him. Awwww, again so soft.

Another point that I’d like to bring up here is that with this soft book scene, we see Flint wearing his two rings. I about drove myself nuts in the first two seasons spending too much time trying to track them to glean any additional information. Season one episode eight shows his starting set up for the rings below.

In short, there is something there, but I’m not sure how much we can read into it compared to all of the book related plot points and character development. There is a ring on his right ring finger and one on his pinky. We know that he’s from a working class background so he wouldn’t have a family ring or anything like that. I’d guess it has something to do with being a seaman or some sort of professional thing, since people are inclined to wear professional rings. Furthermore, in all of the flashbacks to 1705 he wears ZERO rings. Never. Nothing. The rings are clearly something that are a part of Captain Flint.

I’m not expert on ring meanings but the ring finger one could have the lazy interpretation it is representative of a relationship. Since he’s very careful about how others perceive him, it likely could double internally as a link to Thomas and externally to Miranda since those in the know, think she is his woman. In season three he will outright refer to her as such to rile up his own crew. Was she actually his woman? No, but having people think that his ring is linked to her helps shape his image. Aka our Captain is involved with a bookish Puritan woman . . . Plus, Miranda still wears what is likely her wedding ring on her left ring finger from 1705 to her death in Ashe’s estate.

After Gates death, Flint moves the two rings over to his left hand. They stay there for most of season two until he and Miranda go to meet their old friend Peter Ashe. Again, with my limited knowledge of things the left hand is more about his intellect and feelings while the right hand is about power and presentation. After they take the unnamed Spanish Man O’ War, we see him thinking in the background as he devises his return to Captain before they reach Nassau. I think while he retools and revises things he’s going for the more subtle ring position; that he’s focused on what to do next and how to move forward now knowing that the Urca gold is practically theirs. As long as they can turn around and do so.

So, maybe he’s regained his bravado and needs to really impress upon Ashe that he’s fully in charge of things and his willingness to seek out a compromise. Which is why only at the end of season two does he wear the rings on the right hand again.

I wasted too much effort trying to determine if his pinky ring is the same one that Thomas has in the flashbacks but that is not the case. Thomas has one that he always wore on this right pinky and it also had some sort of gemstone set in it. As you can tell I’m totally into jewelry and know all sorts of things about them - I hope you can read my dripping sarcasm as I’m not sure if I could even stand to wear a ring in the first place.

Flint’s pinky ring does not have any sort of stone set in it. It would have been a clever detail to have him wear Thomas’ ring, but in no way in hell would have happened with how ruthless Alfred Hamilton was.

They were swiftly removed from London and Thomas was spirited away before Miranda or James even knew or could do anything about it. And you’d guess that Thomas was likely wearing his ring when he was taken sooooo, yeah, cute fanfic idea but not supported by what the show has shown us visually. I’m sure the most important gift from Thomas to James was that book above, since we know to quote Dufrense, ‘he likes his books’.

Overall though, Black Sails is a show that excelled in showing you what was happening in addition to telling you things through conversations between characters. What confuses me is anyone who was watching this show and then got to episode five in season two and was completely shocked by the visual reveal that Thomas and James were deeply in love. You can go all the way back to the sex scene with Miranda and James to know that it wasn’t romantic love there. The fact that James wraps his arms around Thomas, yet can’t bring himself to even touch Miranda makes it quite clear how he saw his relationships with both of them. Well, that is all for now.

#black sails #black sails meta #black sails captain flint #captin flint #james mcgraw #james flint #thomas hamilton #miranda hamilton #miranda barlow #show don't tell

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livesincerely · 4 years ago

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Keepsakes from Jack’s POV? (That fic broke my heart and fixed it all at once. Absolutely beautiful!!)

trinkets

Also on Ao3. Davey’s pov here.

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Even after all the trouble he went to getting the address, Jack almost decides not to go. Les’ text message stares up at him accusingly when he double checks his phone, Davey’s new apartment number listed with the blunt instruction, ‘Don’t fuck this up.’

Easy for him to say. Jack’s still not sure how things fell apart in the first place.

He rings the doorbell, his stomach rolling with nerves, and for one terrible second he thinks that maybe no one’s home, or even worse, that maybe that Davey just won’t answer for him.

But the door creaks open.

“Jack,” Davey says, more of a statement than a question, his eyes wide with shock.

Jack’s heart swirls and swoops in his chest at the sight of him. Davey looks just the same as he did when they last saw each other, just the way he always looks in Jack’s dreams and his nightmares—long and lean, with big blue eyes made even brighter by the lush lashes that frame them.

“Hi, Davey,” Jack says, shoving his hands into his pockets so he doesn’t drag Davey into a desperate embrace.

“You...” Davey pauses, visibly uncertain, his fingers clenched in a death grip around his doorframe. “What are you doing here?”

“I got the address from Les,” Jack explains, and it sounds like such a flimsy excuse now that he’s saying it aloud. “I’m in town for the week visiting Ma and Charlie, thought I could swing by and see you for a sec.”

“Oh,” Davey says.

“So, uh, can I come in?” Jack asks, nervous.

“Oh, right,” Davey mutters, holding the door open wider and beckoning him forward. “Yeah, sure. Please, come in.”

It’s a nice apartment. Jack recognizes a lot of the furniture in the entryway and living room from when they were living together, and he spies a few picture frames hanging in the hallway that he’s pretty sure he picked out himself—the scattered reminders help something settle in his chest even as something else fizzes and buzzes behind his eyes.

“You moved out of the old place,” Jack can’t help but point out as he takes it all in; he’s been wondering about the change ever since he found out Davey moved.

“It was a bit too much for just one person,” Davey says quietly. “A smaller apartment is easier to keep up with.”

There’s a brief pause where that statement hangs in the air between them, heavy and awkward. Jack feels like an absolute heel—of course Davey wouldn’t be able to make rent on their old place by himself, and it’s not like there’d been space for a housemate. Of course he’d had to move.

Davey continues, “Can I get you anything? Soda or coffee or...?”

“Coffee would be great, actually,” Jack says, not really all that interested in a drink, but happy for an excuse to linger for a while. “But, uh, only if it won’t put ya out.”

“It’s no trouble,” Davey says, and Jack can’t tell if he’s being honest or just being polite. “Here, go ahead and sit down and I’ll fix you a cup.”

Jack settles down onto one of the stools at the island while Davey putters around the kitchen, taking a moment while Davey’s back is turned to just look at him.

He needs a haircut, Jack thinks, noting the way Davey’s fringe falls into his eyes as he fiddles with the coffee maker—just long enough now that it’s starting to curl up at the ends, making him look even softer then he usually does—then sort of hating that he’s noticed.

He shouldn’t care. He knows he shouldn’t.

But he does.

“So, how have you been?” Davey asks, head ducked down to watch the coffee brew. “How’s Santa Fe been treating you?”

“‘S good,” Jack says, talking out his ass, too focused on the motion of Davey’s fingers as he drums them against the countertops, on the delicate line of his wrists peeking out from under his shirt sleeves, to pay attention to what he’s saying. “It’s great, it’s got everything: clear skies, gorgeous sunsets. If you go out to the desert at the right time of day the views are unreal. So, uh, life’s pretty good.”

Davey still doesn’t turn toward him, still won’t lift his head. It’s making something go uncomfortably tight in Jack’s chest, his pulse beating a few ticks faster in his ears.

“And work’s going well?”

“Real well,” Jack tells the back of Davey’s head, and as he watches, Davey’s shoulders stiffen. “Now that I’ve been there a while they’re startin’ to give me my own projects to work on, which is great. Nerve racking, and I’m constantly terrified that I’m gonna fuck it all up, but great. Honestly, the studio space and the stipend I get for supplies on its own is pretty incredible, let alone all the experience and connections I’m getting too. So, yeah, things are goin’ well.”

“That’s great, Jack,” Davey says, and he actually sounds like he means it, but he still won’t meet Jack’s eyes. It’s kinda starting to piss him off. “I’m glad things are working out for you.”

“Couldn’t ask for much more,” Jack says, but he’s not quite able to mask the hint of bitterness that creeps into his tone—the one thing he’d ask for is standing right in front of him, but he might as well be on Mars for how vast the distance between them feels.

It’s just Jack’s luck that this is the moment when Davey finally, finally looks at him. It’s only a brief glance in his direction before his gaze falls away again, but even just that almost feels like too much: those eyes are as gorgeous as ever, and vividly, brilliantly blue.

Jack’s breath hitches in his throat—if he wasn’t still hopelessly, haplessly in love with Davey, he’s pretty sure that would’ve caused him to fall all over again. But he isn’t so distracted that he doesn’t notice the wealth of emotion swirling in that gaze: something vulnerable and pained tucked beneath Davey’s calm facade.

“How’re you doin’, Davey?” he asks carefully.

“Good,” Davey says to the coffee maker. “I’ve been good.”

“Yeah?” Jack presses, watching him closely. “Anythin’ interestin’ goin’ on?”

“Just the same old, same old,” Davey says, which doesn’t sound like a lie, but isn’t really an answer. “Nothing new to tell, honestly.”

“Nothing at all?” Jack says, relieved and annoyed all at once at this response, but trying to sound like he doesn’t care as much as he does. This is the best answer he could’ve hoped for, probably—he’s honestly not sure what he would’ve done if Davey started talking about how wonderful his life has been without Jack in it. He tries, “Did you ever end up gettin’ that transfer you wanted?”

Davey crosses his arms across his chest. “I, uh, rescinded the request after you— after everything,” he explains softly. “There wasn’t really a need, and it was easier to just stay at my old branch.”

“Oh,” Jack says.

The silence is punctuated by the drip drip drip of the coffee finishing up. Davey pulls a couple of mugs out of one of the cabinets and fixes them both a cup.

“Here you go,” Davey says, passing him a mug.

Jack goes to take a sip, the freezes midway through the motion, heart seizing in his chest as he realizes what he’s holding.

The pottery place had been his attempt at a unique, memorable first date, figuring that he might as well weigh the dice in his favor by going with something artsy. He’d been so fucking nervous the entire week leading up to it, had wanted so badly to impress the beautiful, brilliant boy that had just transferred in, because he’s been in love with Davey almost since the moment they met and it’s not looking like that’s gonna stop any time soon.

So the fact that Davey’s throwing that back in his face, taunting him with the reminder of how something so wonderful has since shattered to pieces... Jack’s whole body tenses up, fury sparking hot in his stomach.

“What the fuck, Davey?” he spits out. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

Davey has the fucking gall to look startled, maybe even a little hurt.

“Why do you still have this?” Jack demands, slamming the mug down so hard that some of the contents spill out, coffee pooling on the counter. “Why would you keep—?”

“Why wouldn’t I keep it?” Davey asks, like he honestly doesn’t see what the big deal is. “It’s mine, isn’t it?”

And that is just... Jack almost wants to laugh, except he thinks he’s never heard anything less funny in his life.

“Oh, so that’s where you draw the line, huh?” Jack says, voice tight with anger. “That’s how it is? Knick knacks, keepsakes, sure, those you’ll keep around, but the stuff that’s actually worth having? That’s actually worth fighting for? You can just let all that go without ever sayin’ a fuckin’ word otherwise because who gives a shit—”

Davey’s expression twists.

“Right, because you were so fucking eager to stay?” he asks with a derisive scoff. “Give me a break, Jack, you couldn’t wait to leave. Just fucked off to the other side of the country and left me here to pick up the pieces—”

“You were all but pushing me out the fucking door!” Jack accuses, throwing his hands up. “‘It’s a wonderful opportunity, Jackie,’ ‘You’d be an idiot not to take it, Jackie,’ ‘It’s what you’ve always dreamed of, Jackie!’ What a load of horseshit—”

“Oh, so it’s my fault for being supportive?’ Davey asks, incredulous—as if Jack’s the one that’s in the wrong here. “Are you serious?”

“I’m just sayin’, you weren’t exactly bent outta shape at the thought of me leavin’,” Jack says, frigid, because if he lets himself think about it too much, if he lets himself remember the gaping hole that had formed in his chest when he’d realized that loves Davey more than Davey loved him, he thinks he might shatter completely. “Didn’t seem to bother you one fuckin’ bit. Probably relieved to finally have an excuse to get rid of me—”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Davey hisses, and he strides forward until they’re standing nearly chest to chest—the closest they’ve been in almost a year. “I’ve missed you like you wouldn’t believe, missed you every single goddamn second of the last eight months, don’t think for a moment that I didn’t, you fucking asshole.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jack bites out, not believing this for a second. “If you missed me so fucking much, then why’d we break up?”

“Because you were moving to Santa Fe!” Davey yells back. “You were leaving, Jackie! What else was I supposed to do, except let you go and try my best to be happy for you?”

Jackie. It sounds different coming out of Davey’s mouth. Something prickles at Jack’s eyes, and the threat of tears almost makes him angrier.

“If you really wanted me to be happy,” Jack growls, “you would’ve come with me.”

“You didn’t ask me to come with you!” Davey shouts.

“And you didn’t ask me to stay!”

“Ask you to stay? Ask you to stay?” Davey says, and his eyes are wild, burning and blazing as he stares Jack down. “Of course I didn’t fucking ask you to stay, I was never going to ask you to stay! It was Santa Fe, it was all you ever fucking talked about, it was your dream, Jack! It was everything that you wanted! I would never even suggest that you give that up, God, what kind of shit-ass person do you think I am, that you thought I would ever, ever try to stand between you and Santa Fe when I know how important it is to you—?”

“I’m not fucking hearing this,” Jack says, shaking his head, because he isn’t. He can’t be. Because it sounds like Davey is saying... Like he’s telling him that... “I am not fucking hearing this. I— You—“

Jack turns on his heel and storms out of Davey’s apartment, slamming the door behind him as he goes. He only gets a few steps down the hallway before his knees give out from underneath him, leaving him staggering into the nearest wall, his breaths coming in ragged pants.

Davey.

It’s like it’s seared into the space behind his eyes, woven right between his heartstrings—the look on Davey’s face, the sound of Davey’s voice, the shape and color of Davey’s eyes.

Davey. Always, always Davey

Jack loves him. It’s not like it’s a surprise, but then, Jack’s always known that.

Maybe Davey hadn’t known. Maybe Davey hadn’t known that there’s nothing on this earth that Jack loves more than him, maybe he hadn’t realized how utterly, impossibly, eternally in love with him Jack is.

Maybe Jack needs to tell him.

When he enters the apartment again he finds Davey right where he left him, and Jack can’t help but be reminded of the last time they parted, when Jack left for Santa Fe all those months ago. But this is the part he hadn’t seen back then, the part that Davey had hidden from him: he’d never been privy to the way Davey’s whole body can wilt in on itself when he’s heartbroken, had never witnessed the way Davey’s usually steady hands tremble when he’s holding back a sob.

Davey’s head jerks up as Jack steps back inside and his lips quiver when he shuts the door behind him.

His eyes are wet.

Jack steps forward, bunches his hands in the fabric of Davey shirt, and pulls him into a desperate, scorching kiss.

“I love you,” Jack says fiercely. “I love you. I loved you before I got the job offer, I loved you while I was searching for apartments and planning the move, I loved you every time I talked up Santa Fe to you, tryin’ to convince you to come with me any way I could think of. I loved you when we broke up, I loved you when I left, I loved you when I landed, and it’s been eight fucking months and I’m still so fucking in love with you—”

Davey kisses him this time, and the press of his mouth against his own, the tangle of his fingers in Jack’s hair as he tugs him closer, the taste and heat and feel of him—it’s like coming home.

“I love you too, Jackie,” Davey promises, and hearing the words finally soothes something deep down in Jack’s very being. He hadn’t thought he’d ever hear them again. “I love you and I’ve missed you so much—”

“I missed you,” Jack says, punctuating the declaration with another kiss. “You’re it for me Davey. There’s just you. And I… I can’t give this up again. Santa Fe ain’t worth nothin’ if you’re not there with me.”

“I thought that was what you wanted,” Davey murmurs, holding him tight. “I thought I had to let you go.”

Jack shakes his head.

“I wanted you to keep me,” he confesses—he’s never been brave enough to say it aloud before. “And I wanted to keep you too.”

“Then keep me,” Davey says, and it rings like a promise. “Keep me.”

00000

Tags! @yahfancyclamwiththepurlinside @corbinthecowboy @stroopwafeldetective @lyydiiaak

#newsies #javid #jack kelly #davey jacobs #*editor's note #*the writing desk #*final cut #*ask #*ask game #different perspectives #this ended up being very long #and I stayed up wayyyy to long finishing it #but I’m really happy with it #😊

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oof-musicals · 4 years ago

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Together, me and you//Chapter one

This is the first chapter of a project I haven't been able to stop thinking about. I'm so excited about it and I just,, I'm really proud of this guys. I’m not the too educated on travelling out of the occasional trips I’ve been on, so thank you so much to Chandler for talking it out with me, you are a lifesaver. Anyway, here it is guys, I hope you enjoy it:)

Tag list: @tarantulas4davey, @racecrack-higgins

(let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list!)

“Racetrack Higgins has always been apart of the busy city of Manhattan, he loved the busy streets and lively aspects that accompanied the state. He had never thought about leaving until now.

Albert DaSilva moved to Manhattan from then the never-sleeping New York. In the 6 years he'd lived here, he had started to build his life in the city he now called home. But from time to time, he can't help but want to experience the quietness of a small town again.

With impulsiveness and desire, the two set out on a trip across the country. 50 states. Two boys set out for an adventure. One trip.

They got this.”

Road trip au

Content Warnings: Implied child abuse (Not explicit and it’s like 0.2 seconds), Self-esteem issues.

Words: 3142

Read on Ao3

Anthony "Racetrack" Higgins was a city boy. Living in Manhattan and visiting nearby boroughs often since the day he was born made navigating the subway - though he opts to walk instead - fairly easy. He loved the city. The lively energy of the city and the never-ending busy streets made him feel at home. He'd never thought about leaving before, could you really blame him? He’s been here for twenty-five years. He has a great life. He loved it here. Why would he leave?

Albert DaSilva, unlike Race, grew up in a city in Illinois. He moved to New York shortly after his two years of community college and never looked back. That’s what he needed. An escape from his family. Well, his father. He hadn’t seen his brothers since his sophomore year of high school. And his father was just… not the best. So moving away was probably one of the best things he could’ve done. He had a great job and he made a family here. He had good friends and a boyfriend he loved very much. Still, as much as he loved New York, he missed the quietness of the Midwest - how could he not? His hometown had friendly faces that were much more common than in the active streets of Manhattan and the way some nights were just simple. When he was growing up, he loved falling asleep to the cicadas outside his window. Falling asleep to cars honking just wasn’t the same. Sometimes, the desire to go back to that was too much to handle.

Right now, the desire was too much.

He doesn’t know what brought it on, but Albert recognized the feeling of homesickness the moment he woke up. He felt selfish to feel like this, especially when he had a good life with his boyfriend of five years. Race was his rock, the love of his life. To say he missed Illinois felt like he was saying he never wanted to meet Race. And while Race would probably understand that’s not at all how Albert meant it, it troubled Albert deep down.

Albert had decided to open up about it to Finch a while ago. It was probably the best decision Albert has made in a long time. Finch was actually pretty good when it came to giving advice. Davey would’ve been too pushy - not that it was totally Davey’s fault that he came on a little strong sometimes, that advice was not something Albert was particularly looking for. He didn’t want to go to Race - Race was amazing and great and Albert didn’t want to bother him with any problems he might have. Finch was the best person he’d had to give him advice lately. And today was no different.'

It was hard to concentrate on work all day. Sure work was never the best but he had the job of helping design video games. This was a teenage boy’s dream and he had trouble concentrating because he was missing his hometown. It sucked. He hated his hometown for the nineteen years he lived there, and now he couldn’t help but miss it.

Finch noticed. He noticed almost immediately. Albert noticed Finch eyeing him multiple times throughout the day and Albert could tell what he was concerned without him even needing to say anything. And, almost predictably, he brought it up when they were finally alone during a lunch break that they thankfully had together, despite them having separate jobs.

“Okay, I’m just gonna get to the point,” Finch announced as they sat down to eat lunch. “You’ve been off. What’s going on?”

“First of all, you’re blunt.” Albert sighed. “Second of all, what are you, my therapist?”

“Albert.”

“Okay okay, fine.” Albert stirred his water with a straw. “I’m just, missing Illinois and shit, and I kind of want to go back.”

“Like, move?” Finch’s voice had the slightest hint of sadness to it.

“Nonono not move,” Albert replied quickly. Sure, he missed home a lot but he couldn’t leave his new life behind. Not his friends. Not Race. “I don’t want to be in New York for the rest of time either.”

“Okay then, what about just visiting?”

“No, I can’t just go.” Albert opposed Finch’s suggestion. “I’d love to but, Race and I have a great relationship and I don’t want to mess that up with my own issues. I don’t want whatever I have with him to crumble.”

Finch was silent for a moment before he finally spoke his mind. “Albert. You are my best friend and I completely understand where you’re coming from but can I say something, as your friend?” Albert nodded. “You are such fucking idiot. Race loves you. He never shuts up about you! Even when you are around. You’ve been together five years. If he wasn’t completely in love with you, he would’ve left a long time ago. And Al we both know he’d be down for the idea to travel the world with you if he could. I get that you feel that you are one step away from messing things up with Race but seriously, I don’t think he could love you more than he already does. Just, talk to him. And if something horrible happens, which it won’t, I’m only a phone call away.”

And that’s why he went to Finch for advice. Albert smiled a bit. Even though he wasn’t the most convinced that his relationship was a landmine, Finch was probably right. Race has done crazier things than just travel to a different state (even when he’s never been to a different state). Really, what’s the worst that could happen?

___________

The first thing Albert was greeted to when he entered the front door to his apartment he shared with Race was their cat, Fishy, rubbing up against Albert’s legs. It was an interesting name to give a cat, and it was definitely a joke Race had stolen from the stage adaptation of Waitress, but the little guy seemed to love the name. So it stuck.

“Hi Fishy,” Albert kneeled down to scratch behind the cat’s ears gently. “Where’s your papa?” He asked, getting a purr in response. Albert checked his phone to see a text from Race, saying he had to go out and help Jack with an unspecified project - which kind of worried Albert, but not to the point he should be - and would be back with dinner in a couple of hours.

That left Albert to himself. Well, himself and Fishy. He didn’t do anything special during his time alone. Just put on an episode of The Good Place and played with his cat.

Soon enough, Race came home with dinner, The two rarely actually ate out, both opting to eat actual meals together. But tonight, neither of them had the time to get up and cook - so rice and dumplings made a good substitute.

“Jack wouldn’t stop calling me to help him with this top-secret project for Davey and he annoyed me enough I gave in.” Race rolled his eyes as he recalled the reason he left. “I swear ever since they got engaged Jack has talked more about Davey.”

“Well, do you think that’s going to change once they actually tie the knot?” Albert took out two plates from the cabinet and set them on the table.

“Don’t know, but he’s still gonna annoy the hell out of me. Even if he’s my best friend.” Race fed a tiny bit of rice out for Fishy - which was, fortunately, one of the things they were a hundred percent sure she could eat. Regarding Jack and Davey, they, despite being the second-worst couple to get their shit together, had gotten engaged 2 months ago and become the first couple in their friend group to do so. Jack was Race’s best friend, so of course, he was excited for him and Davey, but he was also annoyed. So so annoyed.

The two spent most of the meal enjoying each other's company. Race took up the opportunity to talk about his job as an astrologer, which Albert didn’t really know anything about, but still loved when Race talked about it, and Albert spent the whole time listening to his boyfriend and just adoring the boy in front of him. As the conversation drifted from stars to life back on the ground, however, Albert’s homesickness started to creep up on him again. Race must’ve noticed because he didn’t push Albert to talk and opted out of talking about everyday life. Soon the conversation became a comfortable silence between the two. Just them. No talk about work, no talk about life. Just them.

"Do you ever just get tired of the busy life in the city?” Albert said suddenly, looking up from his plate. “Like, do you ever want to get out?”

“Well, I’ve never thought about actually leaving.” Race admitted. The idea of leaving was intriguing once he thought about it. But Manhattan was home, he couldn’t leave all that as much as he wanted to. That’s the reason Jack didn’t move to Santa Fe out of college and was now getting married to Davey in New York. Family had a strong tie. “Manhattan has always been home for me.”

“I’m not saying we should move away from family, I’d never make you do that if you don’t want to,” Albert assured. “I’m just saying, do you ever just - want to get out of the city? Even if it’s just for a day?”

“I mean- I guess.” The blond set his fork down before standing up and taking his plate into the kitchen. “I’d love to see what life is like outside of a major city, someday. And you’re bound to miss home at some point, so I’d be open to going with you if you’d ever think about going back.”

Wow. Well, Albert was worrying over nothing.

“You’re the best boyfriend in the world, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do.” Race smirked. God damn. Why was this man so amazing? And amazingly sarcastic? “Seriously though, if that’s what you want, I’m down. I’ve never been out of New York and cities close by, so getting the chance to travel with you is something I’d be down for.”

Albert chuckled. “At this point, we need to take you to every state.”

“Why don’t we do it now?” Race suggested, setting his plate in the sink.

Albert snorted. “Yeah, let’s do it,” It took a second for him to realize what Race really meant. “Wait Tony are you serious?”

"Hell yeah! Let's just - travel the country!" Race turned around to Albert. "We can get a rental car to visit the connective states or whatever shit it's called we can buy plane tickets to go to the last two states and it'll take like what? A month at most? Let's do it, baby."

"I meant traveling the country as a joke, T,”

“I know, but honestly, Al,” Race walked over to the table, placing a hand on Albert’s cheek. “We’re young and stupid. It’s arguably the best time to do something like this.”

Now that he thought about it, Race was the perfect one to travel the country with. As dramatic and annoying Race was even when driving from Manhattan to Brooklyn, Albert would drop anything to be with the blond. And they were young and stupid, just like Race said. If down the road they got married and had kids, having the chance to do this - which with the help of amazing friends, they wouldn’t have to worry about their apartment or Fishy (as much as they would probably want to take her) - would be now. He wanted to do this with Race so bad. But there was still that part nagging at him. Something that stopped him from throwing caution to the wind and doing this with Race.

“Can I think about it?” Albert tried not to feel guilty when Race nodded silently. But he just needed a minute. A minute to reassure himself. Just a minute.

The rest of the night, Albert kept thinking about what Race said. He was definitely down for the idea, but some part of him was fairly hesitant. Hesitant that sometime on the trip Race may realize that he and Albert would probably not work out long term. Hesitant that

When he was comfortably sleeping in Race’s arms, Albert realized he had definitely lucked out with the boy. To have someone who not only understood Albert missed his home but also was down to get up and travel the country with him. In his few serious relationships he’d had, Albert had never come close to someone as lovable as Race. Sure, he still was worried about the possibility that Race would realize he may not want to make this a long-term thing but Finch was right. It’s been five years, and here they still were.

And if Albert was being honest, he’d be more than happy to travel the world with Race if he asked.

“You know what? Let’s do it.” Albert broke the silence. “Let’s go travel the country.” The redhead turned to Race, who grinned sleepily.

“I knew you’d say yes.” Race laughed quietly.

“Yeah, right.”

_______________________

They hadn’t finalized the idea of going across the country that night. Of course they hadn’t made the decision in one night. Traveling to all the states in the country took lots of planning - even for the most impulsive couple on the planet. First of all, they needed some form of transportation. Both Albert and Race had driver’s licenses - even if the idea of Race having a legal document allowing him to be on the road was terrifying - sure, but they favored using public transportation or just walking to get around. Luckily, New York has numerous car rentals. Second, this trip was going to be expensive. Really expensive.

That’s what they were discussing now. It was nearly one am and probably not the best time to be discussing where a huge amount of their finances will go but nevertheless, here they were. Discussing money over microwaveable pies in the middle of the night.

“What about where we sleep?” Race asked, throwing away the box for the pie in the recycling before shoving half the pastry in his mouth “Should we set aside a chunk of money to stay somewhere occasionally?” He asked between chewing.

Albert drew out a breath before rubbing his eyes. “I don’t know, hotels are expensive and motels are shady. For the sake of our wallets and safety, we can sacrifice a month of comfortable sleeping and we can sleep in our car."

“Motels aren't shady." Race rolled his eyes, setting the other half of the pie on a plastic plate.

"Yes, they are."

"You just don't want the extra excitement."

"I don't want to get murdered."

"Okay, okay valid point," Race finished off the pie. "I'm going to bed."

Albert let out a hum of acknowledgment. “I love you, Racer.”

“I love you too.” Race kissed Albert’s cheek. “Don’t stay up too long though. We may be prone to pulling all-nighters but doing math isn’t the best at one am, and this is coming from a math whiz.”

“Shut up I hate you.” Albert pushed Race jokingly, a smile forming on his face.

“You love me.”

Yeah. He really did. He really really did.

___________________________________

It only took a week or so to get everything in order to hit the road. It's honestly crazy how fast the most spontaneous couple in their friend group put so much thought into a trip. At least it was a crazy thing to Davey, who somehow found himself helping his friends load up a rental van to travel the country.

Traveling the country was not for Davey. For his boyfriend - no fiancé. He and Jack were engaged. For his fiancé, the idea would be sold. A trip around the country was probably high on Jack's bucket list. The idiot was almost as impulsive as Race and Albert. But for Davey, not so much. He loved traveling, sure. But that's something he wanted to do after he got married. Not on a whim in the middle of June.

But his preferences aside, here he was on a Saturday morning, helping Albert and Race pack up a rental van for their trip to visit 49 states. That and get their apartment key so he could be in charge of watching their house and cat for upwards of a month.

“Are they really taking five different blankets?” Jack’s voice interrupted his thoughts, holding a clump of said blankets. “It’s the middle of summer.”

“Different climates, Jackie.” Davey kissed his fiance's cheek before taking a box full of very unhealthy snacks to the car. He definitely was friends with some of the most impulsive people ever, it seemed.

Outside, Race set his duffle bag into the trunk. Well, one of his duffle bags. Davey might’ve rubbed off on him a little and he ended up overpacking a little. Granted, they didn’t know how long this trip was going to take in days, but he was pretty sure 4 duffle bags was a little extreme. Still, it’s not like he really cared.

“Seriously," Albert said, "One or two was enough."

"I'm sorry I wear more than sleeveless shirts and snapbacks."

"How about three?" Albert ignored Race's comment and took out two of his duffle bags, despite the disapproval whine Race let out. "We can always wash clothes."

"Whatever."

Jack eventually appeared out of the apartment complex with the blankets, nearly tripping around four times, catching himself almost every time. The last time he ran into the rental car. It was kind of funny to Race. Jack glared at the blond's snicker, causing Race to smile innocently.

Soon, Davey came out with the rest of the stuff they really needed plus a backpack that the nurturing side of him probably put together. He made a switch of giving Albert the snacks and Race the bag that included chargers, a list of numbers in the event they needed to contact someone without having their cell phones, a book or two, water bottles, and actually healthy snacks. He really was the mom friend. Race gave him a key to the apartment and Albert snuck him a short list of what to do with Fishy that only consisted of 'remember to clean her food & water bowl' and 'she has sharp claws. Race was supposed to take her to get them cut but he didn't so sorry about that'. Race and Albert said goodbye to Fishy and then to Jack and Davey.

And then, they were in the car. Ready to go on a trip across the country.

“Holy shit. We’re doing this.” Race breathed, buckling his seatbelt.

“We’re doing this,” Albert repeated.

They were actually doing this.

#newsies #ralbert #racetrack higgins #albert dasilva #newsies fanfiction #audrey writes #I'm so proud of this yet so nervous at the same time #Ralbert road trip #tw abuse #javid #javey #david jacobs #davey jacobs #jack kelly #finch cortez #long roads au

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violetwolfraven · 4 years ago

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Brooklyn Ain’t Home

In honor of the first draft of the javid portion of the Reincarnation AU being done (here comes obsessive editing! chapters 2 and 3 will probably be out within a few days!) here’s a thing that takes place after the sprace portion!

Tw: major character death mentions, grief, and referenced past death.

...

Spot was unhappy, and Race didn’t know why.

They’d found each other again after a century apart two days ago.

Well, technically, they’d found each other a couple weeks ago, but they’d only remembered two days ago.

Race was happy. He finally had Spot back, after peaceful decades floating in the void and then years not knowing who he was missing.

Naturally, his old insecurities from last time were flaring back up. That he wasn’t enough. That Spot didn’t love him as much as he loved Spot.

Race wanted to smack his insecure, angsty, 1899 15-year-old self with a broom to make him shut up.

That was still weird. Having two lifetimes in his head. Sure, the first one had been cut short, but Race remembered as much about his first life as he did about this one. He felt somewhere between the kid he’d been before remembering and the adult he’d been when he died. It was complicated.

But he was still... himself, just like each of the others were still themselves. Circumstances in this lifetime had somewhat mimicked the previous enough to preserve everyone’s personalities. Jack was still fiercely protective. Crutchie was still sarcastic yet compassionate. Romeo was still eccentric and big-hearted.

And Spot was still strategic, smart, and untrusting. Race hadn’t quite had his trust yet in this lifetime before they remembered, so he wasn’t really sure where they stood right now.

He didn’t know how to bring up this conversation, to ask what they even were, to ask if Spot was confused by his feelings or anything in this big bright world where being gay was legal, but it wasn’t currently the biggest concern.

The biggest concern was helping Spot move in with Denton, because he’d gone back to his parents’ house Saturday morning to grab a bag, and then run to the Larkin house. Since Medda had a rather strict rule about her boys’ boyfriends sleeping over, they had to look for somewhere else for him to live, which was when Jack piped up that Denton was looking at adopting a kid, and when asked, was happy to let Spot crash with him.

So far, his parents hadn’t come looking for him. They’d just have to hope it stayed that way.

And... and so far, neither Denton nor Medda were showing any signs of remembering anything. According to Davey, Sarah, and Les, neither were Mr. or Mrs. Jacobs.

Well, you couldn’t have everything. This whole reincarnation thing was trippy.

And if none of the good adults remembered, that meant none of the bad ones remembered either. At least, Race hoped so. He had to believe that. Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine Snyder the Spider would be happy about being outwitted by Jack Kelly and Racetrack Higgins in two lifetimes.

Not that Race was too worried. Medda and Denton didn’t remember, after all. And he had Spot to protect him if Snyder did somehow remember.

At least... he hoped he had Spot. He still wanted Spot.

His insecurities just weren’t sure if Spot still wanted him.

Race was thinking of all this as he and Spot sat on the couch at Denton’s house, watching a movie.

‘Watching a movie.’ Neither of them was really watching it.

Race knew what was on his mind, but he wished he knew what was on Spot’s. He didn’t know if he should ask.

“They ain’t all here.”

“What?” Race asked.

When he looked, he was alarmed by the amount of pain on Spot’s face.

“They ain’t all here,” he repeated, “Vince. Graves. Twitch. They ain’t here. Ain’t home.”

Oh. Spot had never been especially good with emotional talks. This was his rather blunt way of letting Race know he needed to talk.

“They’ll come eventu—“

“No,” Spot interrupted, “We all remembered on Friday cause we was all in one place for the first time that night since 1917. All. Everyone who came back.”

As much as Race wished he could argue, he had assumed that logic, too.

But he had known those Brooklyn kids, too. He hadn’t thought to miss them yet, but—

“Blue,” he realized, “Bluebird. She’s not—“

“I know,” Spot said tightly, “Scarf ain’t, either.”

Scarf and Bluebird had been two of the younger Brooklyn kids. The two Spot probably had felt the most responsible for, considering he’d practically raised them and had to kill once to protect each of them.

Bluebird had taken over as king when Spot aged out, because she had all his strategic mind and toughness and all Race’s charisma. The two of them had practically raised her. They’d taught her to fight after Spot killed a gangster to protect her. She’d been as close as they ever got to a daughter, or at least a little sister to both of them.

Scarf hadn’t been close with Race, the kid was so shy, but he’d moved into the Brooklyn Lodging House early, too, after Spot killed his monster of a father. He was later Blue’s second for a while.

Race remembered seeing Scarf around camp when they were at war. He remembered how devestated Spot was when he died.

Neither Scarf nor Bluebird were here. Hell, Race didn’t even know how Bluebird had died, though she must be dead by now.

“We got a choice whether to come back or not,” he said slowly, trying not to let his voice shake, “I guess... I guess not everybody took it.”

Spot nodded, clearly trying hard to control his emotions, too, “Yeah, I guess not.”

Still, a kind of morbid curiosity overwhelmed Race. It was probably a bad idea, but he needed to know.

He pulled out his phone, “Did Blue ever tell ya her last name? She only ever told me her first.”

“Yeah, it was ‘Li.’ Why?”

Athena Li. There couldn’t be that many obituaries on women named Athena Li, could there?

There were, actually, but only one could possibly be her.

A picture on the internet of a newspaper from 1918. Checking the birthdate, it matched up.

“She died not a year after we did,” Race breathed, “In the influenza pandemic.”

Spot was silent for a heavy few seconds, and his answer was choked up when he spoke.

“She did?”

Race nodded, swiping his sleeve over his eyes. God, he knew Crutchie was the last to die, but he’d really hoped Blue got a long life, too.

She was 29. Unmarried and alone. Crutchie had apparently written her obituary because nobody else alive cared enough to do it. All her friends—her family—were already dead.

“Do ya think she got the offer and just... turned it down?” Spot asked quietly.

Race shrugged, “I think we all got it ‘bout the same time, so... I guess she really ain’t comin’ back. They ain’t comin’ back.”

“I guess it’s only fair.”

“How can ya say that?”

Spot sighed, “Brooklyn and Manhattan got a second chance, but have ya seen anybody else? Huh? Those of us back, most of us died in the same unit, but what about those who didn’t? I ain’t seen any former Bronx kids back. Or Midtown, or... guess it’s only fair we don’t get everybody.”

Fair, maybe, but that didn’t make it pleasant to think about.

“Do ya know Scarf’s real name?” he asked quietly, “I could look for...”

He stopped, because Spot was already shaking his head.

“I don’t wanna know, Race. I don’t wanna know what—if anythin’—got put in a pape for him. I watched him die. And he was so skittish, I ain’t really surprised he didn’t take a second round.”

Scarf had been skittish. Race remembered that much about him. But that had never stopped him from being best friends with Bluebird, and later Les. Those three were quite the chaotic trio when they were kids, and when they got bigger, Race remembered how Les had cried when Scarf got shot. How much it had hurt to write to Blue and tell her he was...

...wait a second.

“We’s all the same age this time around,” Race realized aloud.

“Yeah, and?”

“And Les ain’t. He’s the same amount younger than Davey and Sarah as he was last time.”

Spot was silent for a second, realizing what he was saying.

“I can see Scarf not takin’ the offer,” Race admitted, “But Bluebird? You know our girl would do it. She just ain’t here cause... cause she didn’t die with the rest of us!“

“Crutchie didn’t, either,” Spot pointed out.

“Exactly,” Race grinned, “That just proves it. Crutchie got to come back, and he wasn’t in our unit—neither was Joey or York or any of your other kids that came back ‘cept Hotshot.”

“But we could only remember once everyone met each other again. Race—“

“I’s been thinkin’ ‘bout that. I don’t think that was what it was. I thinks it was Les. He was the final piece—he was with the last group of us in the war when we died.”

“Kath, too,” Spot muttered, “They were what we was missin’.”

“Exactly.”

Spot smiled hesitantly, “So... the other Brooklyn kids might be out there. And if they are, we’ll find ‘em someday. Bring ‘em home.”

“We will,” Race promised, “I’ll help ya look.”

“You don’t even know any of their real full names.”

“Shut up. I’m tryin’ to be helpful.”

“You do help,” Spot assured him, smiling softly, “Love ya, Racer.”

“I love you, too.”

#newsies #reincarnation au #sprace #spot conlon #racetrack higgins #oc: bluebird #oc: scarf #angst #violet’s writing

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fanficimagery · 5 years ago

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Natalie’s Half-Sister [Part 1 of 3]

Summary: Imagine being Natalie's half-sister and visiting her. Your week long vacation gets prolonged into a month and you hit it off with quite a few of the group.

Words: 4.3K Warnings: Language. Drinking. Most likely OOC since this is my first time writing for the Vlog Squad. I told myself I'd never write for real people, but the Vlog Squad got me fucked up, man. That said, I'm 95% sure I'll only keep these imagines platonic-friendly because I find it weird shipping someone with a real person. Then again these are the Vlog squad boys and they're quite flirtatious.

Having finished filming for David's latest video, a few members of the squad stick around to help David and Natalie clean up.

So after all the glass and broken drywall is swept up, the water all mopped up from where Zane threw a bucket of it on a small fire, and the demolished trash cans and ping pong balls taken out to the curb, everyone drops onto the couch with a tired sigh as Mariah proceeds to order a smorgasbord of food through Postmates.

"So David," Natalie drawls, attention focused on her phone as she addresses her friend. "I have a favor to ask."

"No, Natalie! You can't go on another vacation."

Those surrounding them laugh, Natalie included, but she rolls her eyes fondly as well. "Shut up. Y/N is coming to visit and I was wondering if she could stay with us."

"Y/N?" David lowers his camera. "Your sister Y/N?" He then slowly grins.

"Wait, what?" Zane leans forward in his seat, gaze darting between his two friends. "Natalie's got a sister and we're only hearing about this now?"

"It's because she's hot. She's hot, isn't she?" Todd laughs.

"She's my half-sister," Natalie says at the same time David answers, "Definitely hot."

"Wait a minute." Jeff looks up from his phone to address his friends. "So does this mean that if Natalie won't go on a date with me, then I can ask her sister?"

"Jesus," Natalie groans and then grips a couch pillow to swat Jeff with. "No hitting on my sister."

"No promises," He, Todd, and Zane all muse at the same time.

The room erupts with laughter.

Then finally, David says, "Y/N can stay with us. I don't mind."

"Thanks. She's only staying for a week, so.."

"That's fine," David assures her. "When does she get in?"

"Two days from now."

After a three and a half hour flight, you're more than ready to find your sister in the busy airport and go wherever it is she's putting you up for the week.

With the strap of your duffel bag hooked over your shoulder and you pulling your rolling suitcase behind you, your tired gaze scans the crowd waiting for their loved ones. It doesn't take you long to find your sister in the crowd, a familiar face at her side with a camera attached to his hand. David still looks the same, but it's obvious he's grown into his dorky appearance. The other two men, however, is what gives you pause. Both are incredibly good looking, dark haired, one clean shaven and the other with a fair amount of facial hair.

They're all joking and laughing, and you already know your week with them is going to be an entertaining one. The two unknowns with your sister put their heads together, laughing as they play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. The clean shaven one loses and after David has his camera pointed at him, the stranger stands up on a chair and shouts that he loves penis. Several people stop and stare while others laugh and continue walking. A few young teens get excited over seeing them, so while the guys are busy taking photos with their apparent fans, you pull down the sunglasses over your eyes and attempt to walk on by.

You've barely made it a few feet before someone is rushing in front of you, shoving a camera in your face. "Did you really just walk on by us, Y/N? How rude!"

You laugh and playfully shove the camera away. "Well if it isn't Dobrik all grown up. Tell me, David, have you boned my sister yet?"

David only cackles in response, lowering his camera to give you a brief hug. "You haven't changed a bit. Thank god."

"Neither have you," you say. "Well I lied. You finally grew into your looks."

"Hey!"

Laughter erupts and you watch the two other men join David, smiling. Arms wrap around your waist from behind and you manage to turn your head just so in order to spot your sister's beaming expression. "Natty. God I've missed you." You turn in her arms and give her a proper hug, sighing. "LA suits you, sister-mine."

As soon as she pulls out of the hug, she gestures to her two other friends with David. "Sorry for the welcoming committee. The whole squad has been non-stop trying to dig information up on you since I told them about you, and these two threw themselves into the back of David's Tesla when we were leaving to come here."

"Hey. I'm Jeff."

"And I'm Todd."

You laugh at their too charming smiles, shaking your head as David films the entire encounter. "Y/N," you say. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. And let me take that for you," Jeff says as he reaches for the strap of your bag. "It looks kind of heavy."

"It's not."

"And I'll take the suitcase," Todd's quick to jump in, taking your suitcase from your hand.

You laugh as your sister groans. "Aw, Natty, your friends are adorable."

Arm in arm, you and your sister then walk out of the airport as David continues to film you and his friends acting a little too chivalrous. David and Natalie end up taking the driver and front passenger seats, leaving the boys to play yet another game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would be sitting with you in the middle seats. Todd wins.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" Natalie asks after setting up David's camera on the dash.

"Honestly? I just want to keep things chill. And that goes for my entire stay here. Don't go out of the way to plan something special. If you're gonna stay home and edit videos, that's fine with me. I'm seriously okay with whatever."

The entire car goes quiet and the group start to nervously chuckle.

"Goddammit," you grumble. "What did you do?"

"There may or may not be a party happening tonight to welcome you," David giggles.

Smiling, you shake your head. "You're really trying to get me to relive my party days. Shame on you, Davey."

"Party days," Todd muses. "That makes you sound old." Laughter fills the car, it dwindling when you shrug.

"Well I am older than Natty."

Todd quirks an eyebrow. "How old?"

"Old enough."

"Yes!" Jeff cheers from the back. "I can hit on this one without feeling weird."

Glancing over your shoulder, you wink. "Flirt all you want, hot shot, but I don't do hook-ups or relationships."

Natalie turns around in her seat, smirking. "Fun fact about my sister, guys, is that Y/N doesn't have sex."

Todd practically gapes. "Like at all?"

You shake your head. "I will hold hands, I will cuddle, and I will make-out, but nothing more. I'm just- I'm not hardwired like everyone else."

David suddenly cackles, he pulling over to the side of the road and picking up his camera. Turning around in his seat, he says, "Look at Todd and Jeff, guys. They just found out that Natalie's sister doesn't do sexual intimacy and they look like someone murdered their dogs."

You and Natalie laugh, and you reach over to grab Todd's hand. "Aw. Don't pout. If it helps any, you and Jeff are really attractive. I just don't feel the need to have sex with you."

Jeff leans forward. "But you will make-out with us. Right?"

You glance at him again, grinning. "We'll see."

- X - X - X - X - X -

David's house leaves you in awe when you get there. He and Natalie give you a tour when Todd and Jeff take their leave to get dressed for the party, and you end up shedding a couple of tears over how proud you are of him. David laughs it off, but you and Natalie can see how much it means to him to hear that you're proud of him.

Natalie then ends up ordering the three of you a late lunch/early dinner and encourages you to eat as much as you can because the alcohol will be flowing later that night and she doesn't want you to get too sick. Then after you nap off your food baby in the guest room Natalie had set up for you, you shower and dress in a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans and a white sports bra that's visible through your mesh crop top.

You go searching for your sister, only to find her in David's room and helping him choose a decent outfit. Laughing, you fall onto his bed and then snatch up one of his numerous Clickbait caps.

"Hey, can I wear this?" David glances at you and watches as you put his cap on backwards, fixing your wavy hair to drape in front of your shoulders.

"Yeah." He turns back around, but then quickly faces you once more. "Hey, I forgot to ask earlier, but is it okay if I use the footage with you in it? I kind of need your permission to post anything you're in."

"Yeah. Go for it. I don't mind."

"Thanks."

People soon start showing up and you're introduced to every one of Natalie's friends. Zane is, by far, the loudest and most blunt with his first impression of you. Being called baby and hot amuses you to no ends, and then you're relieved to see that when the camera is turned off their personalities are a lot more calmer.

There's a bit of pre-gaming before David turns his camera back on, Todd and Jeff letting everyone know about your personal choices pertaining to dating, or the lack there-of, when Jonah and Dom take their flirting a little too far. Everyone seems a little surprised, but you're relieved when they respect your choice and a few volunteer themselves to make-out with you should you feel yourself wanting to kiss someone. You laugh it off, but make no promises.

When everyone is loose-limbed and loose-lipped, David finally turns his camera back on. Lights are dimmed, multi-colored lights flash, and a tray of shots are passed around.

"A toast!" Zane shouts, already glassy-eyed. Everyone gathers around, shot glasses raised. "To Y/N! Baby girl, you are a hottie and I honestly hope you let loose enough to stick your tongue my throat. I'm game." The group cheers and you snort, laughing.

"To Y/N!" Everyone then shouts before downing their shot.

"Y/N. Y/N, wake up." You startle at the voice and the gentle nudging of your shoulder, flinching as the lights are suddenly flooding the room. David laughs and you groan when you see the camera in hand, pulling up the sheet to cover your face. "Wake up, sleepy head. Your sister went out to get some lunch."

"Screw you. I'm never drinking with you guys again." David laughs some more. Then after making sure you're not going to barf, you shove the sheet away. "How bad was it? I feel like shit, so.."

"You and Mariah ended up dancing atop my pool table. I've never seen Heath look so happy before."

"Anything else?"

"Not as bad as you're thinking. The squad really likes you. Natalie was happy you got along with everyone."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Now get up and shower. Natalie will be home soon."

"Okay," you mumble, rolling over onto your side and letting your eyes close once more.

"I'm serious, Y/N. If you don't get up in five minutes, you're not going to like your wake up call."

Unfortunately for you, you don't listen to David and then someone's bursting into the room. Water splashes you and you shriek, sitting up only to see a hungover Zane cheering. "Ice bath, baby! Get 'ya perky ass up. Food's here."

"You. Are. Fucking. Dead."

Zane blows you a kiss and takes off running.

- X - X - X - X - X -

After taking a warm shower, you dress in a pair of leggings and yet another sports bra beneath a baggy tank top. You accept Zane's hug and apology for the rude wake-up call, and then eat the greasy burger and fries Natalie had slid in front of you.

Your sister and David have hours of footage to go through and edit for his next video, so you have absolutely no problem dropping onto the lovesac (giant beanbag) in the living room while they edit on the couch several feet away from you, but only after you've down some ibuprofen. You're in and out of sleep, eyes fluttering open every time someone pops in real quick for a visit.

Todd, Scott, and Jason stick around, laptops in front of them and headphones plugged in as they edit their own stuff.

You end up falling asleep, only to be jolted awake by something jumping onto your lap. "Wha-" There are sounds of panting and then slightly heavy footsteps walking up your body until a flat tongue is sweeping across your cheek. "Aw. Doggie," you sleepily chuckle, petting the animal.

"Nerf, no! Get down."

You manage to fully open your eyes and spot Jeff looking a bit alarmed that the dog has jumped on you, but you wrap your arms around the dog as it lays down atop your chest. "He yours?"

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout him."

"Don't be," you smile, gently scratching around the dog's neck. "Dogs are my favorite." Turning onto your side, Nerf slides off of you but he doesn't go far. In fact, he lays right in front of your chest and snuggles in. Then chuckling softly, you curl around the dog. "Oh my god. I want one so bad."

"Hey Jeff," David suddenly pipes up. "How does it feel to have the hot girl cuddling your dog rather than you?" His friends all laugh, including your sister who snaps a picture of a pouting Jeff as he stares down at you.

"Like a cosmic joke."

"Aw, Nerf, daddy seems jealous. Should we allow him to cuddle too?"

"Yes." Before you can even laugh, Jeff is sliding up behind you.

Everyone laughs louder and more video/pictures are taken. "I'm down for some good cuddling, but if your hand ends up on my tit I'm gonna throat punch you."

"She'll do it too," Natalie muses. "Trust me."

"Noted." Jeff's arm stays draped over your bare waist and you soon find yourself drifting off back to sleep.

"That dog is seriously the luckiest little shit I've ever met," Todd grumbles.

You have no idea how long you've been asleep until a phone ringing startles you awake. You're no longer cuddling a dog, but a person instead, and as you glance up at the equally sleepy face you grimace. "I did it again, didn't I?"

Jeff yawns. "Did what?"

"When I get cold I tend to curl into the nearest source of warmth. I'm so sorry."

He chuckles as you unwrap yourself from him. "Don't be. That was the best nap I've had in a while."

Then glancing around, you notice the living room is empty and it's starting to get dark outside. "Where is everyone?"

"Hey, you guys are finally awake!" Natalie enters the room and she readily pulls you up from the giant beanbag you'd fallen asleep in. "Since last night was a bit wild, David rented out a theatre for ourselves. We can watch a movie and still be loud little shits without ruining anyone else's movie night."

"That's fine." You stretch and then guiltily glance at Jeff before looking back at your sister. "I really wish you'd have woken me earlier. I only met your friends yesterday and already I wrapped myself around one like a-"

"Y/N," Jeff chuckles. "It's fine. Really."

"It really isn't," you frown. Natalie faintly smiles as she wraps an arm around your shoulders. "We only met yesterday and if I made you uncomfortable-"

Natalie snorts. "Doubt it."

"Listen to your sister," he tells you. "It was only cuddling. I know where you stand and I'm cool with it. At least this way I know you're the only girl I can actually just sleep with without you trying to wheedle anything out of me."

You nervously chuckle at his pretty smile. "You sure? Like I didn't cross any lines?"

"I'm positive. In fact, if you want a cuddle buddy for the rest of your stay, all you have to do is ask."

Sighing in relief, Natalie finally laughs at you. "Now that that's settled, you two need to shower and get dressed. We're getting dinner before heading to the movies."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

The next few days are a whirlwind of drinking, laughter, cuddles, and pranks. You seemed to fit in rather flawlessly with your sister's friends and it was a running joke that you'd end up in a threesome with both Jeff and Todd because after that night with you cuddling Nerf and then cuddling Jeff, the boys seemed to find you fair game as a cuddling partner. More often than not, it was Jeff or Todd cuddling you or placing their head in your lap and falling asleep when your nails lightly raked against their scalps.

Now it's the morning of the day before you're set to fly back home, but instead of doing anything, you're laying in bed with your sister as you lazily scroll through social media.

"You ready to head back home tomorrow?" Natalie asks.

"No," you mumble. "I've forgotten how much I loved being around you and I've grown quite fond of your friends."

"They're your friends too," she grins. "Even though some might secretly wish there was something more going on."

"Christ," you chuckle, rolling onto your side to face your sister. "I've never met a more attractive group of people. I recently found myself wishing I was sexually attractive to people just so I could sit on one of their faces."

"Oh my god!" Natalie cackles, her phone falling and hitting her in the face. Her hands then cover her face as she continues to laugh, it completely masking the sound of her bedroom door opening.

"Room for one more?" You turn and see David standing there, still a little sleep mussed with his camera and laptop in hand.

"Sure."

As Natalie tries to control her giggles, you roll out of bed and let David take the middle. Then once he's situated, you climb back in. "What did I miss?" He asks, absentmindedly turning on his camera and angling the lens towards you three. When you only smile and shrug, he then says into his camera, "Look, guys, I'm living the dream right now." He moves it around to show you and Natalie on either side of him.

You flip off the camera just in time for Natalie to tell him what he had missed moments ago. "Y/N admitted to wanting to be sexually attractive to our friends so she could sit on their faces."

David cackles as a blush heats your face. "Who?" He wonders.

"Nope. Not telling. Knowing you, you'll tell them what I said or put this clip in your next video and surprise them. I'm not stupid, Davey."

"Come on, Natalie, tell me since your sister won't."

"I don't know either!" She laughs. "We didn't get that far into the conversation."

Luckily for you, before David can pester you for any more information, your phone starts to ring and you see Boss Lady flash across the screen. "Oh shit, guys. I need to take this." David and Natalie instantly calm down, and you sit up to answer the call. "Hello?"

The call goes no way near what you expected and your blood slowly starts to boil as your boss reprimands you over the phone. You can feel yourself getting agitated, so you crawl out of bed, choosing to pace by Natalie's closet. "So let me get this straight," you say, voice cold. David and Natalie lose their grins, the snickering coming to a full fledged stop as they watch you. "Because no one wanted to listen to me when I said nurse Tyler wasn't ready for solo rotations, I'm the one being punished for her screw up?"

The bedroom door slams open, making you flinch, but before a clearly exuberant Zane can say anything, David and Natalie wave him off and gesture for him to join them on the bed. Seeing your eyes flash and jaw clench as you remain on the phone, Zane clamps his mouth shut and plops down on the foot of your sister's bed. "With all due respect, ma'am, this is such a bullshit call. I'm well aware I was the one in charge of her training, but I warned you before I left for vacation that nurse Tyler wasn't picking up as quick as you'd hoped. I told you she wasn't prepared to be on her own and even left clear instructions for the other nurses on shift to help nurse Tyler should she find herself overwhelmed."

Once again the door opens and it's almost comical as the three other occupants of the room wave their arms in hopes of catching Jeff's attention to not make any noise. His smile quickly falls and he warily joins the others on the bed as you huff over the phone. Aware of all eyes on you, you will yourself to not cry the angry tears threatening to fall.

Your boss' next words have you freezing, eyes subtly widening. "Suspended without pay?" You repeat the words back, almost in disbelief. Even your sister and friends seem shocked. "Are you kidding me!? It wasn't my call to let nurse Tyler out on the floor!" More words are had until your shoulders slump in defeat, but the anger is still there simmering. "Aw. Bless your heart, ma'am," you mockingly coo. Natalie snorts. "But I have a better outcome for you: I quit." With that you end the call, squeezing your phone until you just let it drop with a sigh.

The room is eerily quiet until, "Did you just say bless your heart?" Zane muses.

Natalie starts to giggle. "In Texas speak, she just told her boss fuck you."

David and Zane laugh, and Jeff appears surprised. You shrug. "She wanted to punish me for someone else's mistake. The hospital I work for has been having a lot of problems lately and a couple of the doctors are sketchy as fuck. I've been meaning to look elsewhere for a job and she just gave me the push I needed to finally quit."

"Hold up!" Zane sits on his knees, staring at you intently. "You're a nurse!?"

"Yes." And before Zane can ask anything else, you hold up a hand. "And no I don't own a sexy nurse costume, nor will I model one for you."

He deflates. "You're such a buzzkill."

Everyone laughs and it's David who then finds his voice, realization dawning. "Holy shit. Did you really just quit your job?"

"Yep."

"You know what this means. Right?" Natalie then asks. "You don't have to fly out tomorrow. With no job, you don't have to be back home for anything."

"What? No," you laugh. "I've already disrupted your lives for a week."

"So? Lets make it a month." You gape at David, content to let him record whatever plan he's no doubt concocted in that brain of his. "Anyone got a quarter?"

"Yaassss, baby," Zane cheers. "Where we going?"

"What?" You glance around in confusion and it's Jeff who takes pity on you as Natalie searches for a quarter.

"The last time David flipped a quarter, if it lands on heads, we go on a trip of his choosing."

"Oh."

You tiredly sigh and pick your phone up from the floor. "You okay?" He then asks.

"Hmm?" You see Jeff's concerned expression and flash him a small smile. "Yeah. I really have been meaning to find a job elsewhere. My boss just gave me an excuse to finally quit and get on with it."

"You can always find a job out here," he then muses. "It's LA. There are jobs everywhere."

"Aw. Are you gonna miss me, Jeff?" You tease.

"Maybe." He shrugs. "But Natalie will miss you more. Since you've been here, she's been a lot more happier. Everyone can see it."

"You say that now. Just wait until she has to see me day in and day out for a month. She'll be ready for me to leave then."

Jeff grins, but then Zane catches everyone's attention as he makes phone call after phone call to the rest of their friends. He tells everyone to get to David's asap without giving away the surprise and half an hour later you find yourself with your legs draped over Jeff's lap as you both absentmindedly look at hospitals hiring around the area just in case.

"Okay so what's going on?" Heath asks as he and Mariah are the last to show up.

David stands, camera in hand, recording. "Y/N just quit her job earlier today and from the sounds of it she had a real shitty boss." Everyone boos and glances at you in sympathy. "So to cheer her up, I thought we'd play a game." David pinches a quarter between his forefinger and thumb, holding it up for all to see. "Heads we go to Vegas tonight, tails we move Y/N out here tomorrow."

"What!?"

"Deal." Natalie snatches the quarter from David, beaming. "Its a win-win for me," she says. "I either get to go to Vegas with you or I get to live with you. I'm taking this deal for us." And before you can refuse, Natalie flips the coin.

Everyone seems to hold their breath and then when it lands, David zooms in. "WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS!"

The whole group cheers simultaneously, laughing hysterically. Natalie rushes over to you, falling into your lap and making Jeff groan. "This is going to be so much fun."

#fanficimagery #imagine #vlog squad x reader #vlog squad imagine #natalie mariduena imagine #david dobrik imagine #jeff wittek imagine #toddy smith imagine #zane hijazi imagine #natalie mariduena #david dobrik #jeff wittek #toddy smith #zane hijazi #heath hussar #nerf #vlog squad

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jubilantwriter · 4 years ago

Text

Heart Shaped like Sea Glass

(Part 1) (Next)

Part 2: Unfavorable Choices to Ideal Circumstances

Summary: A moment’s hesitation demands that Daniel come up with a reason for why he takes concern in his prey’s well-being, and why he finds himself refusing to eat his prey.

i guess i’ll be dropping drabbles for this au every once in a while as a little treat

// // // // //

(Do the humans know that the ocean speaks to them all? Every day, he hears the cries and songs of the sea, but he can never answer back. For a siren, it's heartbreaking. The sea is their home, and yet, it finds new ways to reject them everyday. Do they know? Do they know the words the ocean speaks to them? How envious, to be so ignorant of the ocean's love for them. He wishes he could be deaf to the cries of the sea, if only so he could ignore the judgement that it passes each day.)

There once was a time where Daniel wondered why it was that sirens resembled humans so much. From the navel up, they look just like humans, save for the talons at the ends of their fingers, and the wings that lay pressed against their backs. Though some sirens have feathers dotting the edges of their face, as if to signify that yes, they are definitely not human. As if to show that they have just enough differences to separate themselves from the humans they hunt.

As if that's enough to justify devouring man as natural prey. But natural prey they are, as human meat can be so delectable if the right specimen is lured by their songs. The healthiest, happiest humans taste the best, Daniel has found. Meat tender and flavored with so much emotion - sweet from happiness, tangy from adrenaline, and so very savory from the exhilaration of having their desires granted. And while some catches aren't always the most flavorful, he can rely on the easy hunts to at least keep him full until his next hunt.

So why is it that he hesitates now?

A human clutches tight to him, calling him by a name he assumes belongs to the illusion that came with his song. This human desired a bygone love - he wasn't that special, Daniel has eaten plenty of humans that tasted like bitter regret and salty heartbreak. They don't taste the greatest, but they make for a filling and quick meal. But as he inhales more of the human's scent, he gets a whiff of... rot. Well, no, not quite like rot. But the smell reminds him of the struggling fish that swim around the ocean, sick and diseased and afflicted by infection that makes their flesh taste only a little more palatable than the bloated corpses he comes across every once in a while.

Again, this human isn't that special in regards to that. He's had his share of less than delectable humans. But then the human cups his face, and Daniel sees eyes bluer than the depths of the ocean. It's... striking. And a bit heartbreaking. For those eyes, they lack a shine to them. He imagines that if this human were not so inflicted, he'd have eyes that shine like the ocean when the sun casts its rays on the surface, and oh, what a beautiful sight it would be to behold. Carefully, Daniel rests his clawed hands on the human's shoulders and looks over him once more.

"...Are you alright?"

(The ocean threatens to crash over him, but falters at his question. He can hear its whispers, but can't make out the words.)

He's not sure why he asks that. It's clear from the stench and desire that reeks from this human that he's not okay. But again, not the worst meal he's had.

Still.

"Please," the human begs, and Daniel catches a whiff of another desire, "please." Daniel wasn't always a fan of these desires, but they made catching prey so easy that he'd always hone in on these ones for a fast meal. However, the ocean crashes against the rocks they sit upon and he remembers the human's dull eyes, and thinks.

Gently, he pushes the human off of him and takes a better gander at him. The human is healthy - just the right balance of muscle and fat. Had it not been for the stench, Daniel would have happily partaken in his flesh.

But.

There's always a but, isn't there?

Salty tears continue to pour from the human's eyes as his smile falters and he slumps forward. "Please..." Daniel catches him, and he thinks, and thinks, and thinks.

There's this... activity, he's seen humans do. They raise animals, yes? To later kill and eat. When he's up in the sky, hiding among the clouds, he sees the humans raise all sorts of animals to eat later. Raise them up until they are the right age, fed the right diet, and killed when the right time comes. Easier than hunting. Easier than lunging for fish and hoping to catch one that's healthy and plump and not infected by a wound or sickness.

Easier than luring prey.

He hums softly, and the human relaxes in his hold.

Yes. Yes, that's what he'll do. Perhaps, that's what he wants to do.

(The ocean howls, and the spray hits the back of his wings. It screams to him, "Liar!", but aren't all sirens liars in the end?)

"Aren't you going to eat me?" The human's voice is muffled against his shoulder, and Daniel runs his talons through his dark, soggy hair.

"Oh no, not yet." The human jolts, but doesn't pull away. Interesting. "You're not good enough to eat."

"...Oh."

"But I can fix that." Daniel pulls back enough to grin, showing off his sharp fangs as the human stares. Yet another difference between them. He can't understand how humans have managed to thrive for so long with just blunt teeth. "I can make you a meal to die for."

He expects the human to react in fear. To try and get away from Daniel now that the spell is broken. But he stays in place, looking ever so sad. Ever so defeated.

It turns his stomach.

"...Alright."

It almost ruffles his feathers how easy it is to get this human to comply. He expected a little bit of a fight at least! Maybe a little bit of excitement! Instead, he huffs and quickly scoops the human up. The human makes a startled yelp and clings to Daniel.

Warm.

The thought sticks to Daniel as he spreads his wings and takes off of the rocky outcropping... only to splash haphazardly into the ocean. They would have sunk like stones if it weren't for the down covering his legs, but Daniel refuses to give up as he beats his wings even harder. The human is heavier than he realized, and he can hear the ocean laughing softly at his struggle. Still, he manages to keep them both afloat, and his wings do enough work to lift them out of the water just enough that he skirts the surface with his feet. He runs across as his wings propel him forward, leaning towards the beach as he keeps the human clutched tightly in his arms.

(Surprisingly, the ocean pushes him forward, almost making him ride the waves as it aids him to his destination. The ocean has never helped him before.)

With a grunt, he lands on the sandy beach with only half of him thoroughly soaked. The human shivers in his arms and he remembers, right, that humans can die if they’re too wet and cold. He's seen a number of them perish this way.

And it'd be awful if his meal perished before he could make good on his word.

...Right?

Right.

Daniel walks towards the shack he's seen the human exit from earlier and kicks it open violently. The large wooden slab of planks slams against more wood, making the human flinch. He almost apologizes, before remembering that the human is a meal he's preparing for the long run, and nothing else. Quietly, he dumps the human on the ground and folds his arms.

"I'll be back in the morning to make sure you're still alive." He steps out of the human abode and watches as the human groans and rubs his lower back. "Until then, get yourself dry and stay warm. It'd be a shame if I came back and you've already perished like some abandoned chick." Daniel waits for a response from the human, but gets nothing. Frowning, he turns his back on the human and is about to start his running takeoff when he hears a soft sniffle.

...The scent is stronger than before. It's enough to make him hesitate, before remembering the original desire that lured the human to him earlier. A throaty hum is all he needs to warm himself up.

"...Take care of yourself, okay?" A soft gasp escapes the human as he hears a scrambling behind him. "I'll be back before you know it!"

"Davey-!" The human shouts behind him, but Daniel is already running and taking off. The heavy beat of his wings drowns out the cries of the human as he makes his way to the cliffs nearby.

The human will be fine.

He ignores the gnawing in his chest as he flies to his nest.

...The human will be fine.

(He thinks the ocean hates him and his kind. It shouts to him, "Cruel monster!" as he lies and baits and tricks yet another human. But perhaps his beloved ocean is correct in its assessment. As he stares out towards the shack with the sobbing human, he wonders for just a moment if he has taken it a step too far. And he wonders, perhaps, if killing the human would have provided a better, kinder mercy than what he has settled on.)

#camp camp #cc jasper #cc daniel #siren au #drabble #there's one scene in here where i was just #muttering to myself over and over again #just like ponyo! just like ponyo!!!#less angsty and more contemplative #but i promise more angst in the future #and also a few goofs #boy oh boy do i have a goof in the future

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timetogoslumming · 5 years ago

Note

Could I get some Spavey please?

YES oh my god.

so, i did a post about spavey as a friendship within the mountain ridge universe here. give that a read if youre interested.

today, lets do something a little different. lets do something ive thought about, but never done.

let’s do some spavey romance headcanons.

when they met, davey was intimidated by spot after everything he heard. spot was unimpressed by davey, who didnt do much to speak up for himself.

they quickly realized that they were totally wrong. davey snapped at spot one day when spot was really bothering him, and it impressed spot. after that, davey wasn’t intimidated anymore.

i only write modern era but when the strike (or whatever stand-in for it) happened and jack disappeared, davey stepped up. he and spot joined forces as the two leaders and from that point on, they were equals. from that moment on, spot immediately ranked davey above jack in terms of respect.

they were friends for a long time first. spot didnt really realize that he was gay. he had some ideas that maybe he could be, but didnt think it was really real. davey served as his gay guide, helping him figure it out. he also sort of guided spot through lgbtq culture and history.

spot is extremely blunt. at first, his jokes were kind of hurtful, but davey realized eventually that he didnt mean them that way. he developed a thicker skin and started dishing out the barbs as much as spot.

when they finally got together, it was during an argument. one moment, they were yelling at each other and the next, they were kissing. its really unclear what happened between points a and b.

neither of them are the type to have a lot of close friends. theyre not clingy. some people express concern over their relationship and how its not very LoViNg, but they just shrug it off. they dont need to hold hands and tell each other constantly how in love they are to know its true.

theres a lot of quiet time in between them. its not awkward silence. they just dont feel the need to fill their time with talk when they could be reading or working or doing whatever. being in the same space is enough.

with that silence and closeness, theyve developed a sort of nonverbal way of communicating. when theyre out in public, all it takes is one look from spot for davey to know its time to go home. davey can tap his fingers impatiently and spot knows that hes getting hungry and they need to grab some food. its almost like they can read each others minds.

this post is getting a bit long so im gonna stop here but just know im literally always down to talk about spavey, platonically or not.

#newsies #spot conlon #david jacobs #spavey #Anonymous

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grotesquegabby · 5 years ago

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What do Rory and Clara think of the other kids/adults? Since you can answer for whichever age uwu

Lets see~ lets do kid wise, uwu

@post-itpenny since some of Maggies kiddos are here and Andromeda :3

Rory:

Carney- considers them a wild one no doubt,but doesnt mind him. uwu Cant see these two hanging out very much or willingly on Carneys end x3 But Rory does like Carney uwu

Bingo- Definitely sees her as very serious but theres nthing wrong with that. She also seems very responsible and loyal. Which are traits Rory is fond of in friends. uwu

Ally- She is so sweet, ad Rory can honestly see Ally growing up to be a very kind person, very trustworthy too. They can imagine shed keep secrets well uwu I imagine Rory would definitely try and befriend Ally out of these three first.

Davey- this boy is...a trouble maker x3 a genius, but completely oblivious to the point its painful....like Rorys sister actually but with Davey its easy enough to be blunt with him. One is able to be blunt with him and give him tough love.

Cordelia- Her energy can be a bit much for Rory but they do not dislike her no, the opposite in fact. Rory is just one who enjoys some quiet time more often than Cordie does. But These two will have their moments together most likely doing some art projects or puzzles.

Harper- Does quite enjoy the clothes that Harper wears, these two will end up spending a lot of time together. Rory being the quiet intimidating one while Harper is the loud intimidating one x3 they will certainly have an interesting friendship.

Penelope- shes much more sneaky than she appears to others. Rory knows a thing or two about being sneaky and not what they appear to be. So I imagine these two might get up to hijinks together

Benjamin- Very tall, one can definitely find these two enjoying quiet moments with each other, either reading or just enjoying a nature walk together. uwu sometimes its the simplest things in life that are very enjoyable.

Greta- dont know why yet but these two arent really going to get along as kids. When they are adults yes but as kids nope~ x3 I think Greta may have accidently pulled a prank on Rory that didnt turn out so well and well....being kids misunderstandings happen. uvu

Rudy- sweet boy, precious boy. Gotta keep an eye out for him. uwu Rudy is a good person Rory knows this. And Rory knows how Rudy feels about their sister. This is fine x3 Rory approves. A sweet and a sweet

Andromeda- Why do I get the feeling Rory would sneak her sweets for shits and giggles x3 Rory does enjoy some chaos. Would enjoy watching what happens.

Phoebe - She is probably one of the people Rory is closest with. Plus they can sew together and make all kinds of things. I imagine Rory might even want to sew a few outfits for Phoebe for her modeling uwu Rory would most likely make things star themed for her~

Clara:

Carney- dont know if these two would get along as kids. x3 Clara might be somewhat intimidated by Carney uwu

Bingo- shes very serious but hopes they can be friends. Clara I imagine would feel at ease around Bingo uwu she seems very calming.

Ally- yes this here is a friend, a true friend in deed uwu Definitely would love to spend time with her and they could talk about anything and everything. Would receive a doll that looks like her as gift x3

Davey- thinks the same as her brother. He is smart but trouble. Bad combo x3 but she can seee that Ally really likes him. Maybe she can help if Ally is alright with that x3

Cordelia- Shes very fun and exciting, Clara isnt super extroverted like her but she can enjoy herself with her uwu Cordelia might even get Clara to come out of her shell a bit more.

Harper- Harper makes her nervous, his stance is usually very standoffish to her so she actually tries to avoid him as much as she can when they are kids.

Penelope- very sweet girl doesnt see what Rory sees. These two when its just them will enjoy quiet moments with each other. Watch a movie while the two just draw and color. maybe make some snacks.

Benjamin- Would love to spend time with Benjamin. Hes a gentle giant uwu at least in her mind he is. She wonders why he spends so much timee with Davey and Harper when he appears to be so vastly different from them. but ...will witness their shenanigans and realize ..ah x3 thats why okay. She likes Ben the most out of the whole petty gang.

Greta- oh yes these two will get along swimmingly. Having tea and cookies, while talking. Greta is very good at sculpting so I imagine shed also be teaching Clara while they hang out. uwu

Rudy- This is her friend yes uwu Rudy is so sweet and kind, she would love for him to visit her and for her to visit him. He gets a doll too!

Andromeda- Would really abide by the no sugar rules for Andromeda but would love to find an alternative to perhaps let her enjoy sweets with her. (- uwu-) would love to invite her over for tea and watch movies with her. Will get a doll in her likeness x3 hope shes alright with dolls

Phoebe- definitely would want to be friends with her. Plus....she can see the crush x3 on Rory in the future. Shes aware of peoples feelings for others but not herself.

basically anyone Clara is very comfortable around gets a doll or puppet of themselves even if I didnt mention it x3

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somedayonbroadway · 5 years ago

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The Office AU 😍

Oh absolutely!

The Office AU

Characters-

Jack- Jim Halpert

Katherine- Pam Beesly

Pulitzer- a less friendly, less attention getting version of Michael. More just mean and good at making people feel uncomfortable

Crutchie- Andy

Race- Oscar

Romeo- Kelly

Specs- Ryan

Davey- Toby

Spot- Dwight

Smalls- Angela

Morris- Kevin

Oscar- Creed

Hearst- David Wallace

Okay!

So this isn’t exactly like the office. But it’s the same general idea of the office.

Jack & Kath

Jack is the top salesmen at Dunder Mifflin, but he is a bit immature and loves to pull pranks on his desk-mate, Sean, who begins to call ‘Spot’ because of the freckles all over his face.

Jack loves to draw and create things, but thinks that pursuing his dreams of becoming an artist are futile and pointless.

Katherine is the receptionist. She dreams of one day becoming a serious reporter. Her father is the manager and hired her to help her, but also to keep a close eye on her, like fathers do.

She’s engaged to someone in the warehouse. His name’s Erik. (He’s an OC. Yes, he’s Roy. But the newsie version)

They’ve been engaged for eight years.

Jack is hardcore pining from the second he meets Katherine and is always flirting with her until he sees Erik (this sexist, big idiot who Jack secretly hates).

Katherine likes Jack too. But she thinks it’s just a phase.

They are best friends for years. In those years, Katherine gets drunk and kisses Jack whilst she’s still engaged, Jack manages to find someone who reminds him of Katherine subconsciously and starts dating her, Jack breaks up with said girl and tells Kath he loves her, Erik and Katherine break up, Jack transfers to another branch and dates another girl, Katherine tells Jack she misses him, Jack and his girlfriend break up when Jack realizes he still has feelings for Katherine and then they start secretly dating after Jack gives up a job at corporate for her.

Jack buys a ring a week after they start dating.

Jack goes to art school through the company. He proposes at a gas station halfway between New York and Scranton.

Spot & Race

I know that Race isn’t Angela. But yep. This is how this is gonna work.

Spot is an odd character. Jack constantly pulls pranks on him and he hates them. They range from putting his stapler in jello to staging a murder scene in his hotel room.

Spot is gay. But he refuses to admit it.

Race is a deaf accountant. He wears a hearing aid and turns it off whenever he gets sick of his coworkers.

Him and Spot start seeing each other secretly and continue to over the course of nine years. On and off, of course.

Race also hides the fact that he’s gay, not sure how the rest of the office will feel about it.

But they have codes and signals that mean to meet down in the warehouse to... ya know... have sex.

Spot is constantly trying to prove that he is the best salesman in the office. He is a nerd at heart and falls for plenty of Jack’s pranks.

Race has some of Angela’s qualities. But mostly, he’d be like Oscar. He’d always have to correct people. He would be really smart and blunt and he’d blatantly show his annoyance with people.

Katherine finds out with the help of the camera crew that they were dating.

Jack finds out after catching them in the office after hours.

Somehow Race and Spot would work, even though both of them were pretty stuck up and independent, but it would just work.

Until Spot killed one of Race’s sick pets. He grew up on a farm. He doesn’t really know better.

Race and Spot would split. Race would start seeing someone else. He’d get engaged. To a woman

Spot would be a wreck. And Jack would feel bad and try to make him feel better.

Race would still sleep with Spot after he got engaged. Because he refused to sleep with his fiancé.

And when his fiancé is invited to a Christmas party, the secret gets out somehow.

But Spot would be mad at Race.

Race and Spot have a very rocky relationship. But nine years into their on and off relationship, Spot proposes to Race after almost literally running him off the road after work.

Race would be so mad at him but the second Spot got down on one knee he’d start crying and say yes.

Jack is Spot’s best man. Katherine is Race’s best woman.

Spot ends up as the manager of Dunder Mifflin. After nine years, he considers Katherine his best friend, after all she helped him out with, and Jack a brother.

What other characters/relationships/moments do you wanna hear about?

Also! Check out my list and send me an ask if you wanna hear more about my AUs! 👇

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we-are-inevitable · 2 years ago

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Okay so I love all your aus too much to just pick one but do you have any angstyish headcanons for jack and davey

-charlie✨

oh. oh

jack kelly would do anything for family. he likes to think that he has a strong moral compass and he's stubborn as a mule, but he runs on desperation; he needs that affirmation that he's doing good, that people are proud of him, that he's not a burden. they say jump, he asks how high- that kind of thing. he needs family like he needs to breathe and he would do anything for it.

david jacobs would do anything for freedom. he loves his family, he truly loves his family, but they can be suffocating. stifling. he feels obligated to provide- and don't get me wrong, he would help his family through anything- but he craves time to be alone. to figure out who he is as a person without worrying about how his actions will affect four other lives.

neither of them sleep well. jack doesn't sleep because every time he closes his eyes he sees all of his failings, even though he's being too harsh on himself. his mistakes haunt him like ghosts in an attic and if he does get good sleep, it's because he pushes himself to the brink of exhaustion. davey, on the other hand, purposefully doesn't sleep; the nighttime is his only break from the world. often, he'll sit on the fire escape for hours in the dead of night, reading and writing and just being alone with his thoughts- it's his time alone and his time to reflect and figure things out. he's an overthinker by nature. he can lose a few hours of sleep if it means having the time to himself.

davey is often just kind of shoved into the role of the parental friend, and he hates it. he feels like it's an automatic way for people to say he's not fun, he's not cool- he's the one who ruins everything. they ask him what he's doing when he starts showing he can be spontaneous too, and they ask him if he's okay, what happened to the "real" davey, little jokes like that, but they make him feel like shit. he doesn’t want to be the one cleaning up messes and getting such with all the responsibility

jack is so rooted in emotions that in most cases he doesn't think rationally. he's not stupid by any means- he knows body language like he knows the streets of New York and his emotional intelligence is matched by none- but when it comes to figuring things out, he becomes overwhelmed. defensive. afraid. it rarely ends well and he cam be temperamental at times, but that's where davey comes in.

because davey gets the logic and the rationale, but he's hopeless at emotions. he can rally a crowd with a speech and put in some feel good here and there, but one on one? he can't recognize it. he flounders, because he doesn't know how to react or how they want him to react and it's overwhelming all the time. davey is direct and blunt and sometimes that bites him in the ass (also he's autistic can you tell he's autistic he's so autistic).

#thank u sm !!#jack kelly #davey jacobs #david jacobs #newsies #livesies #ask a jac !#jac txt.#newsies musical #javid #javey #newsies on broadway #newsies live

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jack-kellys · 6 years ago

Text

it’s me, with another AU! this is based off this ask I got a little while ago.

——————

like him

words: 2000 whoops

warnings: cursing, weed, bit of a mental breakdown, mentions/implications of abuse

——————

Everyone had some sort of power.

Passed down through generations, it manifested in every child at the start of adolescence, a fifty percent chance on either parent passing theirs down, like it was simply a hair color gene.

Well. It seemed like everyone had a power.

For what seemed like years, all of Albert DaSilva’s friends have had their powers. Race could control electricity and move faster than the rest of them, Romeo could charm the pants off anyone, Mush could heal with just his hands, and Finch had perfect aim and could see farther and clearer than the norm. And Al was just….Al. Nothing inherited, no specific talents that were randomly bestowed to him. Nothing. No special qualities.

He’d tried, he could say that. He taught himself to fight over the years, he was quite flexible, able to do a bunch of parkour bullshit (half for compensating, and half to say “parkour!” whenever he jumped off of something and be able to mean it), anything he could to just prove himself that he was enough. He could compete with his friends, even if Race would always be faster than him, Davey always smarter, Spot always stronger. He was enough. He had to be enough.

As Albert entered his house that afternoon, the first thing he saw were all the leaves on the ground. His dad must not be there, or else those definitely wouldn’t have been there.

“Liam, you gotta clean these up,” Al sighed, bending down to scoop them into a cleaner pile. They were a perfect emerald green, and soft, too. “Damn, I think you’re gettin’ even better at this, kid.”

Al’s younger brother skidded into the room, grinning, vines trailing up his arms and legs like he was part tree.

Albert burst out laughing at the sight. “What the hell? How long’ve you been experimenting?”

“Hours,” Liam beamed, bobbing his head. “You think Ma’d be impressed if she could see ‘em?”

Al gave him a smile. Plants had been their mother’s specialty. She never got to see Liam inherit her powers, but Al thanked the stars every day that her botanical abilities hadn’t died with her. She was still with them, he liked to think.

“She’d be so proud, Tiger,” Al said, gesturing at the leaves. “These look beautiful. Much nicer than the gross yellowy crinkled ones you were makin’ last week.”

“Shush! No talking about that!” Liam huffed, finding a paper bag after rummaging through cabinets and shoving the leaves into it.

“Fine,” Al relented, smirking. “I just came by to check on you. I’m gonna head over to Racer’s, will you be alright?”

“Yep! All good here, Allie!” Liam chirped. “Go on with your friends, I gotta make some more vines.”

Al scoffed. “Alright, alright, but make sure you clean everything up before Papa comes home. Y’know how he gets about your powers.”

Liam nodded slowly, solemn even. “I’ll be okay,” the child reassured.

Albert ruffled his hair. “Good. I’ll see you soon, bud. Love ya.”

“Love yaaaah!” Liam called, dragging out the word as Al left the house.

• • •

“Heyyyyyy Albie!”

Al ducked into Race’s basement to see Mush, Jack, Crutchie, Race, and Romeo passing around a few blunts in the haphazard circle they were sitting in.

“You guys look like a cult who gave up halfway through the ritual,” Al said as he sat down next to Race, who whapped his arm lightly.

“We did out best, sir,” Crutchie whined with a smile. “What took you so long anyway?”

Albert shrugged. “I wanted to check in on Liam before our dad came home.”

“Dads,” Race mused. “Fuck ‘em.” And then he took a long drag.

Albert pulled the blunt with two fingers out of Race’s lips and put it to his own, holding the weed in his lungs before exhaling out in a short sigh. “Fuck ‘em,” he muttered.

“Cheers, I’ll drink to that, bro,” Romeo mumbled, picking up a glasses filled with…with….

“Bro, is that apple juice?” Albert asked, lips quirked a smile. “What the fuck?”

“I swear to god he has the weirdest cravings,” Jack sighed, shaking his head. “He really is the baby of the group.” Romeo whined at that, making Jack let out a scoff of laughter and point at him, as if his whininess was evidence.

“Is apple juice really stranger than fruity pebbles?” Mush snickered, glancing at Al. Al frowned as he took another hit from the blunt, shoving Mush over from across Race. Mush shoved him back, the two boys hitting each other over Race’s lap.

“Boys,” Race rolled his eyes, gripping their wrists at lighting speed. “You’re both pretty, even if you’ll never be me.”

“This ain’t my argument, but shut your trap, Racer,” Jack grumbled. He started to trace his fingers in the air and the boys groaned.

Jack had the peculiar power of being able to conjure things by “drawing” them out first, and often used harmless bullshit on his friends to make them look stupid. Once he stopped tracing, he flicked the product in Race’s direction, who flinched in apprehension.

A dark mustache and giant black round glasses now framed Race’s face, as well as an L on his forehead. The boys burst out laughing, their giggles lasting longer than normal due to their high.

“You—stupid,” Crutchie managed before dissolving into wheezes, which only made everyone laugh harder as Race scowled.

“You want stupid?” Race threatened. Al shook his head no in unison with the boys’ nods of approval. “I’ll give ya stupid.”

He stood up from where he was sitting and moved to a more open part of the basement, gesturing for everyone to stand back. Once everyone did, he started running inn a circle.

It looked kind of ridiculous at first, the boys watching in confusion as Race slowly increased speed.

Al squinted. It was getting kind of hard to see Race clearly, he realized. He was blurring into one shape, one circular outline. Al could see little bolts of lighting crackling through the blur, and felt wind blowing his hair back.

“Race,” he called out, “we get it, you’re dumb and fast. You can stop.”

The blur got faster instead.

Mush made eye contact with Albert, his worried frown reflecting Al’s own. Hopefully they wouldn’t need Mush’s powers tonight for a stupid stunt.

“Racetrack,” Al said, sterner. “Just stop, alright? Don’t burn yourself out.”

“I can—n’t. Ca-n’t. I- sto—p. I can’t sto-top,” came the choppy, distorted reply, making Al’s heartbeat quicken. The blur was still speeding up.

“Fuck, what the fuck,” Al said, abruptly standing. But he was frozen. There wasn’t anything he could do.

“How the fuck do we stop him?” Crutchie said, a nervous waver in his voice and in how he forced himself into standing on his good leg alone. The rest of the boys stood too, Crutchie’s hand finding Jack’s shoulder to steady himself on.

“Well, I’m ready for whatever aftermath this’s gonna cause,” Mush sighed, wiggling his hands.

“He’s not gonna stop unless we force it,” Al said slowly, biting his lip. “So we force it, and Mush just has to heal ‘im up.”

“Race,” Romeo started, Al feeling the familiar compulsion to listen, which happened whenever Romeo used his power. “Please try and slow down a little, at least, if you can hear me?”

No reply from the blur came back.

“Alright, well, that didn't work,” Romeo huffed. “How the hell do we actually wanna force it?”

“He could slip and fall out of the...storm he created,” Al offered.

“Oh, shit, I can help with that!” Crutchie beamed, raising his hand. A bubble of water appeared out of it.

“Flood ‘im then,” Jack nodded.

Crutchie returned it, letting go of Jack’s shoulder. He raised his hands slightly, palms towards the ceiling, pausing a moment. Then he shoved his arms out towards Race. A wave surged from Crutchie’s hands, Al being able to smell the salt water.

It toppled Race off of his feet, thank god.

But he was going so fast that he tumbled….straight through one of the walls in his basement, creating a large hole.

“Race!” Al yelled, bolting to where he had landed, Mush hot on his heels. He knelt next to the blond boy, who was sprawled on his back. Every few seconds, Race’s body would give a slight jolt, the extra electricity still coursing through him. His eyes were actively scrunched closed, but he wasn’t conscious.

“Jesus Christ,” Al muttered, pressing his lips together and letting his hands curl into fists. He closed his eyes a moment.

That was so fucking stupid of Race, Al thought bitterly.

Yes, they were all at varying degrees of high, but Race shouldn’t just abuse his powers to such a dangerous extreme. What a useless thing to do. And harmful, too. Who knows what could have happened if he kept going, if he could have caught on fire even from the speed, or maybe even-

“Al. Al. Hellooo,” Mush tapped Albert’s shoulder, effectively startling him out of...whatever that was. He wasn’t quite sure. “Help me lift this idiot onto the couch.”

Albert nodded wordlessly, both boys bringing Race to the couch so Mush could heal him.

“Might take more than a minute this time,” Mush grimaced, placing his hands on Race’s stomach as Al begrudgingly nodded.

It took eleven minutes, actually. Al counted.

And then Race was sitting up like nothing had ever happened. Like it was nothing.

“We all good, fam,” Race laughed. Jack gave a distracted thumbs up as he, Crutchie, and Romeo continued to try and clean up the wall and the water.

“No, we’re not all good, asshole,” Al snapped, surprising himself slightly. He didn’t think he was that mad.

Race looked confused. “I broke my own wall, dude. I know I fucked up,” he shrugged.

“That’s not the problem,” Al seethed, internally begging himself to calm down. He rubbed his hands over his arms. They felt colder. “The problem is that you could have fucking, like, combusted if you kept going. You realize that, right?”

Race faltered slightly. “Well, hey—“

Al shook his head violently, cutting Race off. He couldn’t stop himself. “You could have died, okay?! For a stupid-shit stunt! Jesus fucking Christ.” His voice was raised now.

“Albert,” Mush attempted, giving him the same concerned he had given Race earlier, “try to calm down.”

“I..I-I—“ Albert broke himself off, shoulder shooting up as he fought a shiver. Why was he so cold? And why couldn’t his breathing slow down? And why was he being so awful to Race? Questions shoved themselves through his head, wincing as he felt an anxious energy shoot through his palms, heart rate much faster than it should have been. Blood roared in his ears, his hands reaching up to cover them against the sudden noise. What was this? Frustration burned in his chest and he returned to hugging himself. Why the fuck was he so mad? Why couldn’t he just stop it? What was happening to him?! He screwed his eyes shut as the fear and anger engulfed him, a freezing feeling that both stopped and accelerated his heart. “Mush, I—can’t, I don’t know I just can’t calm-“

“Just take some deep breaths, okay?” Mush asked.

“I’m trying, okay?” Al growled suddenly, then froze. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s—I—“

“I get that you’re angry, but you—“

“I’M NOT ANGRY!” Al shouted, eyes flying open and hand slamming down on the armrest of the couch. He did his best to take a ragged breath in. “I was just really worried, that’s all. I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s happening with...me…”

Albert trailed off as he noticed everyone had stopped looking at him, and looking at something next to him. His eyes flicked to his right, widening at the sight.

What looked like an eerie dead tree in the form of solid ice now sprouted from the armrest, sharp icicle shards piercing the ceiling at some points. One rather jagged point was even poking at Race.

Race let out a low whistle, breaking off the icicle closest to him. “That’s my fuckin’ armrest, Al,” he simply said.

Al wasn’t listening to whatever his friends continued to say. He was staring at the ice, the structure of his own doing transporting him to a different time.

Al’s mother was still alive, in another fight with his father. Young Albert watched from behind a door frame as they yelled insults, angry shouts of discontentment filling the kitchen. Albert watched as his father picked up one of his mother's small potted plants, holding it tightly in his hand. Frost erupted around the pot, then froze and wilted the flower inside. Then he threw it on the ground, not watching it shatter into ice as he shoved Albert’s mother into a different room as she screamed.

Ice had ruled his childhood. Ice had threatened him, his brothers, and his Ma. Ice had hurt them, too. It was a hateful, angry, cold and unfeeling thing.

And now he had it. He...inherited that. He was that.

Albert looked away from the gnarled tree of ice and back towards his friends, whose expressions of awe were slipping off their faces as they took in Al’s scared eyes. Only Race gave him a sad, knowing look.

“I-I needa leave,” Albert managed. “I’m so sorry.” Then he bolted out of the basement, footprints creating patches of ice, ignoring his friends’ protests.

• • •

Albert to Elmer: im coming to ur house rn just so you know

Elmer to Albert: ??? okay hun what's wrong it's like late

Albert to Elmer: show you when I get there

The moment Al walked into Elmer’s house, he nearly collapsed into his boyfriend’s arms. He squeezed El tightly, breathing in how he smelled to calm himself down.

“Oh, baby, you're so tense,” El murmured. “Let's go to my room; lemme ease that for you.”

Albert nodded into his shoulder as Elmer led them upstairs. He set them on his bed, Al flopping down onto his back and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I don't know how it happened,” Al started, voice devoid of much emotion. “Something...weird just kinda came over me, and I was so angry, El, it almost hurt.”

“Baby,” El said, shifting closer with his eyebrows furrowed. “What happened at Race’s, if you don't mind me asking?”

“This,” Al muttered darkly, raising his hand. The now-distinguishable angry feeling unfurled in his gut as frost materialized over his fingers, then reaching to his palm, covering his whole hand in icy white. “Just like him.”

Elmer stared open-mouthed at Albert’s hand, poking it with one of his fingers before recoiling from the cold of it. “That's incredible,” El breathed. “After all this time, you do have powers.”

“And it sucks,” Al hissed. “They’re—his powers. I inherited the shit that I was terrified of when I was little. How fucked up is that?”

“Shhhh…” Elmer soothed, placing his hand on Albert’s cheek. Al sighed at the contact, feeling some of the stress leave his body. He was lucky Elmer was an empath, able to feel, absorb, and release emotions as needed, as long as he held physical contact with him.

“You're not your dad, Al,” Elmer continued, rubbing his thumb affectionately over Albert’s cheek. “You’re too kind, and really funny, and too smart and passionate…” Elmer punctuated each word with a kiss on Al’s forehead. Al’s stress ebbed away with each one, almost finding himself smiling.

“Okay baby okayy,” Albert groaned. Then he bit his lip. “When I used them though, I just...I didn't feel like me. Like I was a different person, or some batshit nonsense like that.”

Elmer sighed, indicating for Albert to move up on the bed. He complied, and felt Elmer curl around his back, wrapping his arms over Albert’s stomach.

“Then we’re gonna have to learn how to deal with that, and then fix that,” Elmer instructed. “You're powers are what make you you, and I want you to be able to feel like you.”

“That was too many you’s in one sentence,” Albert mumbled, pulling out his phone to text Liam that he’d be staying at El’s.

Elmer whapped Al’s back with a scoff. “You know what I mean though. I love you, okay, and I want you to be able to express yourself, in every part of yourself.”

“I love you too,” Albert said, his voice slightly hollow despite curling further into Elmer and closing his eyes. He didn't want to admit these powers were a part of him now. It didn't feel like his, and even after all this time of never having powers, he didn't want them, either.

Everyone had some sort of power, sure, but not everyone's felt like a curse.

————

to be continued, not just this story in particular, but this au in general, because it’s fun as fuck lmao

TAG LIST

@suddenly-im-respecsable @alberts-cigar @bencookisagod @felix-loves-albert-and-ralbert @spot-conlon-king-of-brooklyn @stopthe-presses @technically-whizzy @papesdontsellthemselves @fameworks-quicker @seasickdolphin @iamliterallyaghost @beep-beep-byler @the-newsies-justice-for-zas-blog @thomasbeingthomas @the-king-of-brooklyn @sunshine-e-cigarettes @thebroadwayaesthetic @spot-me50-papes @i-got-no-clue-what-im-doing @iwontfallinlovewfalling @timehops @kingofsantafe @we-dont-sell-papes @eveningpaper @sure-as-a-star @godhatesjordan @awkwardstranger98 @ireallyloveiainyoungwow @big-potato-asshole @have-we-got-news-for-you u @bxnesof92 @backgroundnewsies @orollyitsracetrackhiggins @a-most-auspicious-erster @modern-race-owns-airpods @asphodelnerd

#yayeet #my writing #fizz freaks #newsies #albert dasilva #elmer kasprzak #almer #rarepairs #practically accidental almer but hey im not complaining #racetrack higgins #mush meyers #jack kelly #crutchie morris #romeo #romeo newsies #newsies au #liam dasilva #:) aka my son

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klaineharmony · 6 years ago

Text

Why We Ship: Jack/Sarah (Newsies)

Just leaving this here to remind myself that I want to talk about these two later. There were a couple of great posts on my dash about them (from @youshouldseesantafe) and I’ve had a wonderful conversation about shipping with @jackabelle73, who very kindly reached across fandom lines to talk to me about Rumbelle, and so I want to talk about these two when I have a little more time.:) To be continued.

All right! *cracks knuckles* Here is my edited version of this post, where I talk about Jack and Sarah and how this ship fits into my lexicon of shipping. As I said above, I had a wonderful conversation with @jackabelle73 about Rumbelle, just out of true curiosity (see the post). She also asked me whether I would be able to say why I ship Klaine (we’ll see! I might have a go at that, too). And then there were two posts that came across my dash about Jack and Sarah, and said some very articulate things about them as a couple, and how they differed from the Jack/Kath relationship in the stage musical. Those posts are here and here. (Thank you, @youshouldseesantafe!)

Finally, I’ve been thinking about these two a whole bunch anyway, because of writing “We’ll Be There to Defend One Another,” and all of the dynamics that I’ve poured into that particular story (and it’s my love letter to 92sies, absolutely). So let’s see if I can be even semi-articulate about why I ship Jack/Sarah.

First of all, I should say, this might be one of the earliest ships I ever shipped, before I knew what shipping was, before I knew there was a word for it, before I was on the internet in any appreciable way. (Yes, I’m a Fandom Old. If you didn’t know it before, you know it now.) The only other ship that comes to mind that would have been even earlier than this is Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe.

And I will be the first person to admit that 92sies is problematic as a film. It’s got huge narrative gaps. It’s a structural mess. And Sarah has maybe ten minutes of screen time? We aren’t given a lot of on-screen dynamics to work with, but what is there is pretty extraordinary, in one particular way.

Jack and Sarah are gentle with each other. They’re vulnerable. And not because they have to be, but because they choose to be.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal. However, consider: most of the other times we see vulnerability in Jack are in situations where he has little to no control over it. When he’s in the courtroom with Snyder, and trying desperately to keep up a facade of cold indifference and hatred, but you can see plain as day that he’s terrified. When he’s surrounded at the end of the rally, and trying desperately to escape, and there’s nothing but desperation on his face. When he’s meeting with Pulitzer, and he has that same facade of cold indifference up, and then Pulitzer threatens Davey. Jack doesn’t choose to be vulnerable in those situations; in fact he’s doing everything he can not to be, and he’s vulnerable in spite of himself because he’s so afraid.

With Sarah, he chooses that vulnerability. He lets her in, because he can and because he wants to - and that’s an enormous thing for someone who has spent most of his life being wary of trusting others. And he doesn’t press her. He talks to her, is honest with her - blunt, even, and I could also talk about why, maybe, Sarah likes that about him - but he’s never in her personal space without her permission, never crossing any lines she doesn’t want crossed. The gif up above is a perfect example in terms of body language - he’s below her, looking up at her, and you can see in his expression that he thinks she’s beautiful (and seriously, don’t we all think Ele Keats is beautiful?). And he lets her see that, but he doesn’t go any further than that. She tells him, “Go up on the roof.” She’s telling him that it’s okay, that she feels it, too. She gives permission, which is such a rare thing even in current media.

And Sarah, in their interaction on the roof, never presses him about anything, just lets him talk. I think that’s the other reason that Jack feels like he can be vulnerable around her: she doesn’t ask for him to be one specific part of Jack Kelly. She’s not asking him to be Jack Kelly, the strike leader, or Jack Kelly, caretaker of the newsies, or Jack Kelly, cowboy - she accepts whatever part of himself he offers. And I’ve always thought that she appreciates his honesty - he’s too straightforward a person to be what he’s not, to give her false flattery, and she likes that he’s blunt enough to just ask if it matters to her whether he stays or goes. He doesn’t play games with her; he wants to know, so he asks. And again, honesty is a pretty rare commodity even in current depictions of relationships.

During their entire interaction on the roof, also, they’re fairly close together, particularly toward the end of their conversation, but again, there’s no physical boundary crossing, nothing that feels even remotely off when it comes to two people who are attracted to each other, but still getting to know one another as well. That’s also appropriate to the time period, but the point stands. They’re learning about each other, but respecting each other’s boundaries.

I will also say, Sarah is the first person in the film to suggest to Jack that Santa Fe isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (”it’s the same sun as here”). In other words, home is where you choose for home to be, and he could have a home in New York, if he chose to. Davey implicitly makes the point by bringing Jack home to dinner, and he verbally reiterates the point, later (”you had the newsies”), but Sarah says it first. Jack can have a home - with her, with David, in New York - but he has to choose it. Which is what makes his return at the end have such impact - he says, “Besides, I’ve got family here.” He’s figured it out, chosen New York and Sarah and the Jacobs and the newsies, in one monumental choice.

Last but not least, when Jack and Sarah kiss at the end, it’s another case of Sarah giving permission. She works her way through the crowd to him, not the other way around. She didn’t have to find him, but she does, and it’s her way of making clear that she’s his, if he wants her. And of course, then he reaches for her, pulls her close, and that’s a hell of a mutual kiss at the end. There’s something really profound about that for me - the fact that the two of them respect each other’s space, physically and emotionally, let each other choose, don’t push or press or ask for more than the other one wants to give. That still feels rare and precious, even in our current media landscape.

#Newsies #Newsies 1992 #Jack Kelly #Sarah Jacobs #shipping #Why We Ship

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