#Jacobi’s deli

[baura-bear]

Does anyone have good pictures of the lamps in Jacobi’s? And if so can you plz send them to me

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Did you know that myopic eyes are oval shaped so if your eyes suck you have egg eyes, just thought you'd enjoy this info

I do in fact have the egg eyes thank you for this, friend, much appreciated

[ill-say-anything-i-hafta]

Yo, the High Holidays are coming up -- who is ready to rectify a great wrong and create fanworks about JEWISH CRUTCHIE?

Other confirmed or plausibly Jewish characters in Newsies: David, Les, Sarah, and their parents. Joe Pulitzer and Katherine. Mr. Wiesel. Morris and Oscar. Mush Meyers. Seitz and Hannah. Mr. Jacobi.

I am not Jewish and can't write about this knowledgeably but am super down to read it!

[snap-my-kneecaps]

Race: Romeo ain’t the problem this year. Ike: When are you gonna get it? Romeo is ALWAYS the problem.

[fieriframes]

[FIERI: That's David Jacoby, a Brooklyn transplant who made his restaurant dream a reality back in '94 and Marcus also refers to himself by this name (6.44). with deli sandwiches... Corned-beef Reuben, avocado Amish cheese.]

[blurglesmurfklaine]

*Jack and Davey sitting together at Mr. Jacobi’s Deli*

Katherine: aww how sweet! how long have you two been together?

Crutchie: they met eighteen hours ago

[doththymayo]

Albert: I swear to God if we actually win this strike, I will burn this deli to the ground!

Jacobi:

Albert: I will... Knock over a chair!

Jacobi:

Albert, sighing: I will channel my raging enthusiasm into ways to help my community.

[saveugoodmadam]

My hcs for all the newsies' careers when they grow up

Jack works as a steady cartoonist for Pulitzer and an artist for Medda's theatre, as well as a few other projects here and there. He's quite well-off and famous enough so he uses his money and status to give quite a lot of support and awareness to homeless and employed kids, eventually setting up a charity called the Santa Fe Organisation which helps to fund the dreams and futures of poor New York kids. When he retires he and Davey both go and live in Santa Fe.

Katherine lives in a small house with Davey and Jack, and continues to climb the journalistic ladder. She does a lot of publicity-raising for current issues but is also the first to report anything her old friends are currently doing. Eventually she becomes extremely prominent and famous in journalistic circles. She doesn't follow Jack and Davey to Santa Fe, instead choosing to stay in New York to pursue journalism until she can no longer do so.

Davey is a high-brow lawyer with very clear morals- he is almost always found arguing for wrongly accused innocents and against corrupt people. He helps Jack to set up the Santa Fe Organisation and retires with him in that same place, but never really gives up his lawyering even out there.

Les grows up to be a journalist and works closely often with Katherine to write articles. She works as a massive industry contact to launch him into the business in the first place and it grows from there. He often takes trips to visit Jack and his brother out west and retires to the same town.

Crutchie becomes a dancer for Medda's theatre and rises to huge prominence in Europe and the USA for pioneering wheelchair dance. He meets lots of prominent figures but is keen to shine a light on the rotten underbelly of their dealings if he sees fit to. He never loses his wit, charm and love of chaos, but this is what makes him a massive hit. He retires to Ireland, citing the reason as being it was his mother's country.

Race takes work at the docks helping to load ships for their voyages but has to retire early due to a back injury. He becomes the primary carer of the household and looks after his and Spot's twins, Brooklyn and Philip Conlon-Higgins. He often takes trips to see his friends around the city as he misses them a lot.

Spot works as Katherine's secretary, at first hiring a nanny for her and Race's daughter but eventually being able to let her go when Race becomes primary carer. She has most of high society wrapped around her little finger at every function she goes to and she absolutely revels in this information especially when getting Katherine new stories. She and Katherine retire on the same day, having made a pact to do so, and she and Race move to Rome for their retirement.

Specs and Romeo both run Specs' parents' bakery together after his parents retire, and both adopt a daughter, a newsie called Pins.

Henry finally achieves his dream of owning his own deli with help from his friends and runs it with JoJo and Mike. It sits just across the street from Specs and Romeo's bakery and the two work in a story of symbiotic way to sell both meat and bread to the people of New York.

Albert works in Jacobi's for a while but eventually goes out to sea as a sailor with Finch.

Buttons and Splint both get married and make their living as dressmakers.

Mack moves back to Scotland with Stray and Elmer and they work as shepherds.

Pips becomes the leader of the Brooklyn newsies, then leaves to work for a department store in Paris.

Tommy Boy joins up for the first world war and is sadly killed in action. Ike also joins up and survives, he ends up working in the deli with Henry, JoJo and his brother.

Mush works at the bakery for a while, then he and Ritz both join a touring circus group and end up being co-opted into a few of Crutchie's performances over the years.

Splasher becomes the leader of the Manhattan newsies (and is succeeded by Pins), then replaces Mush at the bakery.

[blizzard202]

Standing Still - Reuploaded to Tumblr: Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapter One - Archie

It feels like only moments ago when Archie and Ashton Larkson’s parents passed. The two children never received the details on how it happened. The police never care enough about anything when it comes to poor people. And just like that the 15 and 13 year old boys were kicked to the streets. All they can do to get by now is beg and steal.

4 years later, it’s late, Archie knows that as he’s dragged by his brother through the streets. All he can register is that his brother has stolen a loaf of bread and now they’re being chased by around eight scary-looking men. 

“Get back here, you rat-bastards!” One of them shouts. Archie’s feet drag against the cobblestone and ache terribly. Shops and people fly by in a blur. He thinks he can feel tears sting at his eyes, but he fights them back. Don’t be a sissy. Ashton’s voice echoes in his mind.

They turn a few corners. He can hear his brother swear under his breath. The grip on his wrist disappears before… he hits the ground. Hard. There’s a sharp, ringing pain in his head. He blinks up at the scary men. They grab his arms, though a few others continue to chase Ashton. Before Archie can do anything, his vision fades to black.

When Archie wakes, he’s in some sort of cell. Alone. Everything aches. He can feel dried, crusty blood on the back of his neck, on his shoulders and clothes and… where is he? He shivers. It’s cold. His stomach grumbles madly. How long has it been since he’s eaten? How long was he knocked out for? His head hurts. Everything does.

He looks around once more. There doesn’t seem to be a way out. There’s no toilet. He thinks he can see something move in the shadows. Archie inches towards whatever it is. It is, in fact, a rat. He lets out a yelp and it immediately scurries back off into the shadows. 

All Archie can do is tuck himself into the corner of this cold, dark room, curl up on his side like a dog and close his eyes. He fights back tears. What did I do wrong? Why did all of this have to happen? First ma and pa are gone and now… Archie doesn’t fall asleep for a long, long time. When he does, it’s a light, dreamless sleep, often interrupted by the scurrying of rats or the footsteps of more scary men like the ones that took him here. But he sleeps. Barely.

Chapter Two - Raymond

Raymond is sitting in the break room of his job, eating his dinner. He works as a cleaner at a tailor’s shop down the street from Jacobi’s Deli, where he bought a ham sandwich with the 3 cents he made on his job that day. Almost 9:00. He thinks, glancing at the clock on the wall every couple of seconds. 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2… He springs up from his seat, locks up the doors of the shop, and makes his way down the road, dodging carriages and newsboys walking back to their lodging houses. He accidentally nicks a kid’s hat off when shooting his wrapper into the garbage can.

“Ay’ whaddya think you’re doin’?” The kid seems much too old to be a newsie, probably in his 20s at that point. “Look, I’m sorry, you don’t gotta make a big deal about it.” Raymond says. The new face is slightly shorter than him, red hair, he looks tougher than Raymond though. “It is MY first day on my job wit’ The Bronx newsies, and I don’t need you ruinin’ it, dipwad!” The guy takes a swing, Raymond dodges and trips him, making him fall flat on his back. He starts running. Wasn’t planning on dyin’ today. 

Raymond looks back to see that he isn’t being chased, but he doesn’t look where he’s going, and bumps into an old woman, knocking her over. Luckily, he catches her and puts her back on her feet. “Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! Are you alright ma’am?” “Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking. I know it was an accident, it’s ok, things happen.” The two chat for a bit, then go their separate ways. That could’ve been way worse. 

Suddenly, a man dressed in clothes not seeming to fit the streets of Manhattan. “Excuse me child, do you not see what you just did?” The mysterious man asked. “Yes? I was runnin’ too fast and I accidentally bumped into a lady. Luckily I picked her up before she could hit the ground! She’s alright, I made sure-” “That isn’t what I saw.” The man tells Raymond. “Whaddya mean?” Raymond asks. “What I think just happened was an attempted murder. Don’t you know how old that woman is? If she hit the ground, she would have perished the second she came face-to-face with that concrete. Luckily, you noticed that people were around, and played it off as some kind of accident.” “What? You’re bein’ ridiculous! Why would I try to kill some poor old lady?” Raymond is flabbergasted, confused about what is entering his ears. “I don’t know, why would you? OFFICERS! TAKE HIM AWAY!”

“What? What are you doin’!? I- Get offa me! Stop! I didn’t do nothin’!” 

“Exactly kid. You didn’t do nothing, a double negative.” 

“What did I do to you to deserve this? Why are you being so mean?!” 

“Because I can. Wow! Two new inmates in one hour! We’re going to have a drink tonight boys!”

Great. Now I’m gonna rot in a cell because some ass thinks that capturing kids to put in your jail is just a fun game. He sits in a holding cell, feeling hopeless, until he looks to his side, and spots something in the corner. Another boy, about his age, maybe a year younger, curled up. He’s asleep. His curly, copper hair is tainted with a bit of blood, and there’s a small sort of gash in his head that’s barely visible through the thick curls.

Chapter Three - Archie

When Archie wakes again, a pair of dark eyes are peering back at him. He uncurls himself and presses against the cold wall of the strange, small room. The dull ache in his head is still there. His eyes take a moment to focus on the other boy. 

“Wha… who?” Archie’s speech is barely comprehensible as he slowly regains his senses. The other boy greets him.

“Hello? Are you ok?” The brown-haired boy’s concerned voice rings through the small room. It takes a few moments for Archie to even register what he said.

“I’m.. fine. Who- Who are you?” Archie tilts his head slightly and squints. It occurs to him that maybe he should introduce himself. 

Be polite, like Ma always said. “I’m Archie.” He offers a small, weak smile in an attempt to come off as friendly despite his situation.

The other boy blinks. “My name’s Raymond. You in here for somethin’ stupid too?” 

Archie winces. Something stupid? Sort of. He’d have to explain everything to this stranger, and from experience Archie knows it’s hard for him to stop talking once he starts. It’d be embarrassing to just spill his guts right here.

Don’t overthink. “Yeah, I guess so… do ya know where ‘here’ is?” Archie’s voice waivers a bit more than he’d prefer. He doesn’t want to seem weak. Raymond glances around.

“Seems like a prison? Dunno. I didn’t do anythin’ besides bump inta an old lady.” Raymond’s eyes land on the blood. 

“Are you ok? You’re definitely hurt… C’mere.” Archie hesitates before inching closer. Raymond pulls him the rest of the way and uses a hand to tilt Archie’s head downwards and to the side. It’s an awkward but not uncomfortable angle.

Raymond lets out a concerned “hm,” Archie can feel gentle fingers against his hair, seemingly clearing the way so his wound is more visible. Raymond’s fingers graze the raw, injured skin, which prompts Archie to suck in a sharp breath. He hasn’t been treated so gently since… well, since before his parents died. He’d received no such treatment from his brother.

Archie finds himself so lost in his thoughts that when Raymond pulls away, he takes a moment to open his eyes. He hadn’t even realized they were closed in the first place. 

“How bad does it hurt?” Raymond asks. It takes a short moment for Archie to reply. 

“Not… horribly? I’m bad with words. It’s like background noise but pain. Background pain.” Raymond laughs wryly, though he still looks concerned.

“What if you have a concussion or somethin’?” Ashton would have replied with a snarky, sarcastic reply. Archie doesn’t want to be like his brother, he’s realized that now. 

“I’m not sure… I’ll be fine, though. Uhm.. are you hurt at all?” Archie tilts his head. His eyes gleam with concern.

Raymond shakes his head. “I’m ok.” Archie is thankful Raymond hasn’t asked anything more about how he got here. As much as Archie would like the relief of crying into someone’s arms, he doesn’t want to scare this boy off. An awkward yet peaceful silence envelops the two. Archie ponders what Raymond could be thinking, and who Raymond is outside of this cold, dark cell. 

Chapter Four - Raymond

After a while, Archie starts explaining his story while Raymond creates a makeshift bandage by ripping off a piece of Archie’s shirt. Raymond has tried, and failed, to convince Archie to let him use his own shirt. 

“Thanks.” He says quietly. Raymond paces his way around, kicking a pebble around the cell, until he gets bored and slumps down against the wall next to Pup.

The two are sitting next to each other against the wall of the cell. A black, furry rat darts towards them but skitters the other way when it gets too close. Archie yelps loudly. Raymond snickers faintly, it’s a bit funny how timid Archie is, even if Raymond is concerned for the other boy. Raymond looks over to his left. 

“They’re just rats...” He says gently. There is a hint of amusement in his voice. Archie glances away and folds his arms. 

“But theys gonna bite me and I’ll get a disease!” He retorts. Raymond thinks he can see a hint of a smile on his face, though. 

“Just don’t bother them. They’re probably more afraid of you than you are of them.” Raymond places a hand on Archie’s shoulder. Archie smiles and looks back at Raymond, but his eyes still flicker back to the shadows every once and a while. 

After a few minutes, footsteps can be heard down what could be a hallway. The door opens. “Hey kids, you fellas gotta get in the room, boss says so.” A guard that seemed way too tired to work tells the two. He leads the two to a large room with about twenty sets of bunk beds. “There, that’s where you’re gonna sleep.” The man points at a bottom bunk. 

“…Which one?” Pup asks. 

The guard chuckles. “Are ya serious? Just be glad you aren’t in a three-kid bed!” The officer walks away, still chuckling to himself. 

“LIGHTS OUT!” The warden yells an hour later. 

Alrighty… Raymond thinks to himself. The two find themselves over to their bed after a while, they get affiliated with a couple other kids in the block: James, a young teen who didn't have a pinky finger, and Clippers, who said he does haircuts for kids who can’t afford them. Raymond feels a little uncomfortable in the rock-solid mattress, but after a while, he eventually falls asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original characters and story were created in collaboration with @no-i-wanna-go-down (Owner of Archie and Ashton) Any other characters (Excluding Raymond) are the product of dual creativity between the two authors, which entails equal ownership of the characters.

This doesn't need to be the end of your reading! There are much more chapters than these, but they are being reuploaded for the sake of promotion. If you would like to read on, please keep reading on AO3. There is a LOT more where that came from! (Spoiler alert: It's really gay)

[the-realest-spot-conlon]

Them Brooklyn Boys Is Big pt.2

part one please read part one first, nothing here will make much sense. also I intend to make this a longer series, like at least 5 parts, but if I don't then I don't please don't track me down :)))

TW: violence and language, if graphic violence triggers you, plz don't read on. PUHLEASE. I'm begging you. It gets dark.

What would Make Jack and Race give up their heirarchy in Manhattan? or rather... Who?

Davey had finally started getting used to being a newsie. It definitely wasn't as nice as school, but he finally had friends. He finally had people who he could be himself around. They were family to him. Especially Jack, Davey's loving boyfriend. For once in Davey's life, he wasn't stressed over due dates for papers in school, he could relax, let loose, and hang out with his friends.

In Manhattan, all the newsies gathered at Jacobi's deli after selling. They got spread out all across the borough, so going to the deli gave them time to catch up with one another.

Davey was on his way to Jacobi's late one day after selling. Jack had nagged him to buy more papers to sell, and it definitely wasn't easy, But he had an extra few cents in his pocket, so he wasn't complaining.

He was strolling down the street, only a few blocks away from Jacobi's, when he was roughly grabbed by the arm. He abruptly tripped over his feet, and suddenly was hit with a blinding pain in his head, and he was out.

cold.

----------

"Where am I?" Davey said, as he awoke from his 'slumber.' He looked around the dimly lit room, and what he saw next caused him to feel the bile in his throat. His mouth went dry, the pain from his head fading.

"Spot, Spot, are you ok? can you hear me?" He asked the bloodied boy next to him. Spot had a black eye, bruises on his jaw, cuts all over his face, and blood seeping from a gash on his collarbone.

Spot nodded, not being able to speak due to the duct tape around his mouth. His face was bruised, blood crusted from the cuts. It pained Davey so much to see him like this.

"I'm gonna get us out of here," Davey said, before trying to undo the tight ropes that tied his arms behind his back. Spot shook his head, trying to motion for Davey to stop. "Hold on, my ropes are almost undone," Davey whispered as he struggled to undo the ropes. When he was younger, his father taught him how to maneuver out of ropes in situations like these. He just had to hope whoever tied them wasn't smart enough to tie it good enough.

He struggled more, until, "I'm free!" He whispered to Spot. "Let me take you tape off," Davey added, before carefully removing the tape tightly bound to Spot's bruised skin, trying to avoid as much pain for him as possible.

"They kidnapped us," Spot said between labored breaths, "because they were old leaders of the Manhattan newsies. They're gonna use us as leverage over Jack and Race to hand over Manhattan," Spot said, wincing from the growing pain of his bruises and cuts.

"You thought you could try to escape, Jacobs?" They heard a deep, growling voice enter the room.

we're screwed, Davey thought to himself.

I'll tag pt. 3 down below when I post it, and when the entire series is done I will do a seperate post with the links to every part for you all.

pt.3 T.B.B.I.B

Sorry bout the violence, but for some reason all my good ideas include it <333

[crystallizedtwilight]

could you perhaps throw a bone to the snipehen shippers? could be a hc or a piece of art or smth. i just really love your content and i'd love to see what you thought

hc below the cut!

First circle of snipehen hell: Henry canonically grew up in a deli with a deep passion for food, but sadly had to leave it after his father died. Then he falls in love with Sniper, who canonically lives above a deli by frequenting the eatery for good food and great company ♡

Second circle of snipehen hell: What if Jacobi’s deli WAS Henry’s old home?? Like his family owned it and lived in the flat above. But when his father died and they lost it, Jacobi took over the deli, and Sniper’s dad turned the upstairs flat into a laundromat. Henry likes going there not only because it used to be home, but because Sniper finally makes it feel like home again.

[the-real-spot-conlon]

i have a fic request for u if ur still taking them. how about a javey sickfic where jack gets the flu and davey brings him soup or something?

This is the series I posted about earlier; I'm gonna post the Sprace sickfic next!

Binge watch and cuddles

Relationships: Javey, and a little bit of Sprace sprinkled in.

Tw: language and being sick I guess? Idrk

Jack had been getting sicker by the minute. He lied in bed, surrounded by tissues, Watching stupid romcoms. He picked up his phone and dialed his person.

"Daveyyyyy?" Jack whined, sounding very congested.

"Yes my love? Davey responded, the sound of keyboards typing in the background.

"I'm sick," Jack responded, and Davey didn't have to see him to know he was pouting.

"I'll be there in ten," Davey hung up, and Jack drifted off to a sick slumber. Davey left work as quickly as possible, his coworker Katherine taking over the rest of his work.

He drove quickly, pulling up to Jacobi's deli. He ordered chicken noodle soup for Jack, and a salad for himself. Davey got to the house, seeing their neighbors pull up on a motorcycle as well.

"Hey Spot! Hey Race!" Davey called out, as Race got off Spot's motorcycle, Spot following.

"Hey Davey! My boy!" Race called out as he ran over, then doing the masculine half hug thing.

"How are you guys?" Davey asked

"Pretty good, just went for a drive," Spot replied, taking his motorcycle helmet off.

"Yea I'm picking up soup for Jack, he's sick," Davey responded, holding the soup

------------

Davey got into bed next to Jack, kissing the top of his head gently. Jack awoke to the smell of chicken noodle soup wafting through the room, sitting on his bedside table.

"Get some rest my love," Davey whispered from beside him.

"Mkay, but after soup," Jack countered, picking up the bowl of soup.

"Alright love," Davey said, kissing Jack's forehead. Davey grabbed the remote and put on Jack's favorite disney movie, "Mulan" as they cuddled for the rest of the night.

The next morning, the doorbell rang, and Davey answered.

He found a pan of brownies with a sticky note that said, 'Spot made these, but he will never admit it.' Obviously from Race.

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Hi Saf what’s my government assigned song -el

I forgot this game was in my queue whoops

Anywho: I'm really feeling Second Child, Restless Child by The Oh Hellos for some reason and I absolutely cannot explain why.

[jackmkelly]

ive gotta know why ur so drawn to sniper what is it in particular :O

short answer: jacob guzman LMAO

long answer:

just a little guy :’)) i think its So interesting how alex wong made sure its known in his trading card hes the son of sam wah whos never seen and just has a sign that comes down whenever theyre in jacobis deli & then for the proshot they made SNIPER say his fathers gonna kill him anyway 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 theres just a lot to build off of there that i think is interesting ! especially since “wish i could catch a breeze” was originally his line too !

also i could literally talk about how sweet jack is with him for Years bc look at them :’) (them in question are literally 3 pixels)

ALSO! for some reason on tour they made smalls a boy and sniper a girl . ( the logic there will never make sense to me and i will just continue to call those snipers smalls instead) BUT ive always loved a good ole fashioned women in newsies <33

(heres morgan keene as a treat <3)

but yeah sniper wah the little light of my life <33 gone but never forgotten🫶

[noxexistant]

OKAY SO-

NEW TAKE THAT KIND OF ACTUALLY WORKS

Santa Fe (92sies)

But it’s Oscar lamenting about what his life could be

The music would be different (don’t ask Blaze how Blaze does not know music) and some of the words I think would have to be.

But it could work

I had a few specifics yesterday but here’s what I remember:

The dance break would instead be Oscar and Morris interacting in different ways. Mostly showcasing how much Oscar has to take care of him

“Breakin’ your back for someone else’s sake” takes on a whole new meaning

“I want space. Not just air.” He can’t, but he wants to know what it’s like without Morris.

“That’s what they call a family. Ain’t you glad you ain’t that way?” Could have so much power for Oscar.

At the end of it he would see Morris again and you’d be able to see the guilt on his face at the thoughts

i want you to know i’ve been haunted by this literally all day (positive)

“trapped where there ain’t no future, even at seventeen” [screams]. oscar lashing out because he truly does feel trapped, and there’s no hope of a future - not a real one - when he has to look after morris.

he’d used to fantasise about it, the stuff he’d maybe be able to do one day once mo was grown, but now it’s clear that mo’s never gonna be grown, not really. oscar has to take care of him always, making sure he eats and sleeps and doesn’t hurt himself. the kid can’t tie his own shoelaces, or dress himself properly, and gets himself into trouble every time he opens his mouth. he sticks to oscar’s side even when oscar’s being spiteful with him - even when he’s doing it on purpose, desperate for some peace, but he can’t ever be alone because mo needs him. even when he’s asleep oscar can’t relax - can’t have space - because mo has nightmares every night and either needs oscar to wake him up or wakes up on his own and crawls out of bed to go walkabout. even in the dead quiet when morris is asleep and oscar’s awake just to bask in it and let his thoughts wander to where he’d go, what he’d do, it’s just air. a gulp of it for a drowning man.

oscar’s tired. he knows neither of them ever got to be kids, not properly, but mo gets more of it than oscar’s ever had. oscar tries so hard to look after him, and let him do stupid childish stuff even when he probably shouldn’t - lets mo get away with stuff that he knows grown folk don’t do. but, for all of that, oscar’s always been the one making food, and clumsily sewing mo’s clothes and blankies and stuffed animals back together when they ripped, and holding him while he sobbed and wheezed, and patching up his injuries. oscar feels like a parent most of the time, and he never wanted to be one. it’s back-breaking work, and it’s so often thankless because mo just throws fits and screams even when oscar’s trying to do what’s best for him, he could never understand how much oscar does for him. how much he gives up every day to keep morris safe.

he could have enough money to leave in just a couple weeks if he wasn’t dividing it all up into tiny pieces to make it all last as long as possible for the both of them. and he’s thought about it - putting some aside just for him, gathering enough to just go. morris wouldn’t be able to stop him. wiesel wouldn’t either. and oscar’d be nobody as soon as he left - he could change his name again, go out west and find more farm work. find someone else to do dirty work for, the good kind of dirty work without his name and so-called family attached to it. he could find a theatre like medda’s, or a deli like jacobi’s, and be someone other than who he already has to be. he could be a person.

but then he comes back to reality. sees morris struggle to write his name out in clumsy, stilted script on a bit of paperwork for wiesel, and spell it wrong. sees him tapping and rocking as he tries and fails to focus on whatever asinine task wiesel’s got him doing. sees him take a hit across the face from their so-called uncle and then take another later that day from a bigger guy that morris hits back harder. sees him curl up into a tight little ball on their bed like he’s trying desperately to not exist, and cry silently like they’d both been taught, because he’d had a bad dream and can’t even communicate to oscar what it’d been about.

and oscar knows he could never leave. he knows morris wouldn’t make it without him, and so much of oscar would die with him that it’d be a corpse at best on that ranch in…somewhere. oscar doesn’t even know any cities out west other than santa fe, and he knows he can’t go where jack goes.

and, besides, oscar feels like maybe it’s all worth it when morris curls up next to him, or smiles when he meets oscar’s eyes, or tangles their fingers together. that’s worth more than any future - that’s always been the present.

[buttonsfleas]

Hiiii!!! If you’re still taking one shot requests, could you write some Buttons x Elmer (Butter? Idk there ship name, sorry)?

Yeah! I know this is a small one-shot, but they're isn't much on the Butter ship and I'm still quite new to the fandom (I watched Newsies for the first time 3 days before Christmas 🫣)

But here's a one-shot of them on a date!

(Also guys this might include traits from headcannons I'm gonna make soon!)

I hope you like this!

Benjamin "Buttons" Davenport and Elmer Kazprak were walking the streets of Woodside at 6 pm as they were on their way to Jacobi's Deli for a date. They were holding each other's hand gently and still had a slight bit of dirt on their clothes from working all day.

After they walked in, they sat down in a corner with a small, curled oak table with 3 chairs and 2 glasses of water in front of them and a small bag of prawn crackers next to them. They were munching away slowly as they didn't want to have their food in 1 minute and be hungry for the rest of the night.

Buttons said nervously, as this was the first date he had been on, let alone with a boy, "so...how are you?.."

Elmer was distracted by looking over at his surroundings but then looked over to Buttons and said, "Uhm, okay. What about you?" He asked quite alarmed after being disrupted.

"I've been great, just extremely itchy." Buttons said as he looked down and started scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe you need some cream or spray for that, Whiskers," Elmer said teasingly and giggled lightly. Whiskers was a nickname that came from Mush for Buttons because cats had fleas too. "Maybe you'll be allowed to spoon with me for once."

"Elmer." Buttons said firmly as he stopped scratching and slowly looked up to Elmer but ended up laughing. He could never get annoyed with his date.

They both ended up laughing together as it died down after a few seconds. They then both looked up at each other and their smiles softened in adoration as they saw the other smiling. They then drank a little bit of their water and Elmer sat back in his seat as Buttons had his elbows on the table and his chin on his fists.

They stayed quiet for a few moments before Elmer spoke up, "Why did you spend your money on the food and water? Why didn't you let me pay too?" He asked with a confused expression. This wasn't like Buttons. Of course, he'd be generous, but not this much.

"Because I just felt like it. You bought me a cheap sewing kit to put my buttons back on 3 years ago." He just said blankly.

"And you've been so obsessed with it since. You didn't need to thank me for it." Elmer said with a blank but confused expression.

"Who said I was?" Buttons asks firmly as he leans in more but then chuckles.

Elmer chuckles too and drinks a bit more of his waster and then says, "Let's just finish up here and then go The Bowery."

"T-the bowery?.." Buttons asks as he takes his elbows off the table and drinks a bit more of his water, "We are not sneaking in there. I know what you're like."

"No, no, no, I don't mean we're sneaking in," Elmer says reassuringly as he puts his hands on the table, "we're just gonna see if Medda'll let us in for free, y'know, since we're Jack's friends."

Buttons takes 1 last sip of his water before leaning back on his chair and saying, "I suppose so."

"Great!" Elmer says with a wide smile and then finishes his water and says in a rush, "Let's go now. Oh, and keep the crackers!" And then he gets out of his chair, holds Buttons' hand tightly and leads him out.

Buttons quickly grabs the prawn crackers before following and they both end up laughing as Mr Jacobi shouts, "Aye, you kids!" But understands since it's just young love to Jacobi.

The boys end up running to the theatre with smiles and laughs but the crackers bag is slightly open so it pours out onto the street and they end up giggling, almost falling to the floor. But hey soon calm down and just walk to the theatre.

Once they get in, they see many patrons of the theatre and the scent of cigars and alcohol through the air. The Bowery Beauties were performing a duet and the boys sneakily walked backstage.

Medda was walking around with the stage manager but then saw the boys and said, "Hey, what are you kids doing around here?"

The couple shared a look before Elmer looked back at Medda and said, "W-were Jack's friends."

Then Buttons butted in with, "And we were hoping we could stay? Just to see one show and then we're gone."

Medda thinks about it and then looks down at the boys as she says, "I suppose so. But don't hs running around up in here."

They nod and then run to a booth and sit down together. They watched the twins perform and before they knew it, Medda performed next. She sang about dying but in a beautiful manner. The boys weren't too focused on the lyrics but were focused on each other. They kept looking back and forth at the other one when they were watching the show and tried not to get caught. It was like a game to them.

During the song, Elmer starts to wrap his fingers around Buttons' as his hand is by his side and Buttons looks back at Elmer and blushes. He then looked away with a small smile and looked down at their hands. Their fingers were intertwined with each other and he couldn't stop smiling.

After the song ended, they walked back to Buttons' home where his family was still awake in the dining room having dinner.

They both walked up the porch and Elmer put his hands in his pockets and said, "Maybe you should come to the lodge sometime. You might like it there with all the other boys, and me, of course." And chuckles.

Buttons smiled slightly and said, "Do you wanna come in for more food? My family won't be too rowdy about you here, although they can be like that sometimes."

"No, no, I'm fine." Elmer says with a reassuring smile. He did want to come in, he was just a little nervous.

Buttons then put his hands in his pockets too and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye." And then he opened the door and walked in.

"B-bye," Elmer said quietly as he watched him walk inside and close the door. He was quite nervous when dates would end since he didn't know what would happen next. He then shouted, "I LOVE YOU!!" But then realised it was too much and walked away in a hurry.

Buttons couldn't help but laugh to himself inside his house as he heard it and walked into the dining room with the biggest grin on his face.

That night, Elmer was asleep, wrapped in the blanket and was practically drooling on it since he dreamt about another date with Buttons. It was something they both could never forget.