#i wanna rant about newsies

[a-ragtag-gang-of-raggamuffins]

do you ever just

wanna rant

but don’t wanna bother your friends

so you keep it to yourself

[djevelbl]

So. 341, IM!Cup & Holly...

I read one (1) comment on Inky Mystery's Cup & Holly's dynamic and now feel the need to go on a vague-posting rant about them--

TLDR: if we're critiquing Holly's reaction to Cup's rejection & her actions in the aftermath of the gala in regards to him, we gotta talk about his as well; it's a symbiotic conversation - you can't talk of one's fuckups without at least giving an honorable mention to the other's mistakes either, aknowledging they happened and all that.

I have thoughts, and all of them stem from a convo I saw in my fyp about Holly's most recent interactions with Cup in 341 - rant ahead y'all, the TLDR is there for a reason. Good readin'.

Sure, Holly outright ignoring Cuphead and making excuses to not talk to him about what happened is not okay - especially when he's making an effort to talk to her (shit he doesn't do with anyone unless they're Mugs) and I'm like. the first person to scream at the screen for them to talk, but I typically go about it in the sense of "this motherfucker really let her go on a trip without so much as a SORRY or even trying to rectify the situation, thus letting her form all the wrong conclusions, huh." And sure, he's trying, I'll give him that - I'm sure that's fucking hard for him considering all his love-related endeavors ended in him jaded & hurt, but she doesn't know that - to her, this is just a man who's deeply hurt her with a straight face that only fell and let her see his real emotions & feelings about the whole thing when the "find out" part of "fuck around and find out" came to slap him in the face, shaped like a tree-charmed bracelet. He lied to her face, saying to her such wonderfully nice and beautiful and forgivable quotes like: "... you are in way over your head. What you wanna tell me amounts ta bunk 'cause the truth is you don't. Cussin'. Know me.", or "Because you’re a pretty little princess. You have no idea what the real world is like. Hell, half the time you’re out there causin’ the rest of us more work gettin’ these cussin’ parts. Coulda spared us the hell of Nightmare Night if you’d just kept your damn hands to yourself. Couldn’t keep outta the way even when it should have been easy. Not since the moment I met ya. Not even one damn time. Ya think I could ever like someone like you? You’ve been a thorn in my side ever since that first starfallen night I stuck ya in a tree."

He demeaned her, humiliated her by leaving her waiting at the gala to get a taxi of her own when he'd gone there with her (I'm sure no fucking blood-in-the-water-sniffing newsie noticed that and talked about it on a tacky tabloid, huh), insulted her for literally no reason as he rejected her, played with and preyed upon her insecurities of feeling like she's in the way of the quest (and of everyone in her life tbh) to emotionally hurt her - all for what? To send the message across that he didn't wanna date her? He could've just said "not right now, we're busy with the quest" and I'm sure she would've understood! And that's also a lie! All she wanted was an answer: did he or did he not like her back. A yes or no question, a simple thing to respond to. And instead of answering like a normal fucking person, Cuphead dropped a nuke on her: "... And that’s if you really thought we were friends ta begin with. So I think it’s best for you to go."

She asked if there was reciprocity in her feelings. He told her that they weren't even friends to begin with. And sure, Cuphead is the least normal man ever - the least socially adept, the worst at romance we've ever seen (bar Bendy maybe), I'm not necessarily expecting him to be a Don Juan, to be the perfect man who's perfect at relationships and can do no wrong, but there's a limit; and when his interactions with Holly go from 0 to 100 - from good, supportive friend who's developing feelings to immediate self-hating nuking of a friendship - I'm sorry, but that's crossing the fucking line. He's fucked up, he knows he's fucked up and in an ideal world he'd throw himself at his knees and beg for forgiveness, making it up to Holly every day. And in that same perfect world she'd forgive him, because he's not perfect, he's gone through deep, deep shit, shit neither you nor I could fully comprehend, things that funamentally break and change a man, especially one as young as Cup (can y'all really believe he's barely in his early 20s?? Crazy shit, that is.) I'm not saying he's completely reprehensible, that there's absolutely no redeeming quality about him - he's loyal to a fault, he'd go to bat for you the moment you asked, he'd help you with anything and everything you ask for. He's only mortal, after all - he's not perfect, that's what being alive fundamentally is: imperfect, rough edges and some of which are sanded down, some of which will never be. Growing beyond what you once were, and Cup is doing that - slowly, but getting there. Yet we're the readers. We know this. Holly doesn't.

In any critique towards any two characters in a relationship, especially if we're discussing how they treat each other and how they react to each other's presence and actions, one must consider things from their point of view and whatever information they got access to - it's only in chapter 341 that Holly realizes that the more she waits, the less ready she'll be to talk to Cup. It's only now that she's processed her emotions, feelings and the situation enough that she can notice that Oh shit yea, maybe she should talk to his dumb ass. She wasn't ready for that conversation with Cuphead before, and maybe she's not ready yet - has that stopped her at any other point, though? She jumped in basically head first to study on Toon Town, even when her mother wasn't completely sold on the idea. She joined the Questers on a whim, believing she had to see things first hand before she could go ahead and judge them (unlike the news at the time). She's battled creatures ten times her size and strength with her wits and runes, barely any training, and lived to tell the tale. God-fucking-damnit, she started confessing before she could question herself any further! She's strong, resilient and determined - yet she doesn't read minds! Cup's never talked about his struggles on any area of his life, let alone his love-life, how is she supposed to know she should give him a second chance right off the bat bc he's just inexperienced?! Do you think she knows what she's doing? NO! Of course not! I don't think she's had any significant romantic relationships over the course of her life - she was basically babied as she lived in her hometown, being a human in a zany residence! Everyone was afraid of hurting her beyond repair - d'you think she knows what she's doing? That she's got any experience to draw from? That romance books would tell her what to do?? NO! Of course they wouldn't! They're fiction! She's in her early twenties, just like Cup. She's inexperienced when it comes to romance, just like Cup (debatable on his side, but I won't go there) - why are we letting him off the hook, but we're dogpiling on her?

She's barely keeping it together as is - she got called naive, dumb, a thorn in Cup's (her crush!) side, she got called a little girl in one of the worst ways a woman can be called that: demeaningly, with full intent to insult, because women's value is typically regarded in how young they look, in how pretty they are (both things depicted in the mind when we call women "girls") yet is twisted when right after Cup says that he "like(s) a woman that knows what reality looks like."

Uh oh, he talked about knowing reality - they just got out of the fucking Labyrinth! Low blow Cup, low blow. Even for you.

And what has she done? Putting distance between them because she's been emotionally beat down mercilessly just a month (maybe) ago? Desperately try and piece herself back together after being so thoroughly dissected apart by cold, calloused words that weren't even true? Be a tiny bit of a dickhead to the man who brought a metaphorical loaded gun to a conversation? Not let the person who's hurt her the most up until today (bar her mom) have any more opportunities to damage her? Would you have done it any differently? 'Cuz I would've - I would've done it worse. Holly has handled herself with a surprising amount of grace considering what Cup did - I would've been depressed all fucking day in my room had that happened to me. I would've starved not feeling the need to get up from the bed, I would've let it fucking show how much it actually hurt what he said. She didn't. She gave herself the time to process and understand the situation and grieve their friendship - because in her eyes, that shit's well and truly dead, buried in the backyard of her memory. Her talent is memory y'all - that conversation is recorded into her psyche for the rest of her life most likely. She probably has to do a conscious effort to repress such an awful night. She went there expecting it to be a wonderful night - she'd rectified her lie, explained why and asked Cup herself if she could accompany him to the gala as his plus one - only to come out of there with emotional scars that won't heal just bc he says sorry, or explains the situation. That conversation will open the wounds that have tentatively - tentatively - started to heal, he's gonna have to rip them bloody and gory open again for his own healing to happen, and she's willing to let it. Because it's for her own healing too. What he did is unforgivable, unhorthy of hearing him out - yet the ending of 341 whispers implications of a conversation happening between them at Holly's decree. Can we, instead of raging about Holly being rude to him one fucking time, direct our anger and sorrow and grievances towards Cuphead? He's our favorite character, sure, the he can do no wrong and if he does I still love him one, but he's still flawed. I don't know about y'all, but my favorite thing about my blorbos is when they're broken and imperfect, when I can criticize them and see them build themselves back up - bc wholly morally good or wholly morally bad characters are just boring, and sometimes you want someone you can love and yet hate. Can we, instead of fixating on the one instance of Holly being unable to handle what's been thrown at her, and throw it back at her face, commend and celebrate every instance she's been able to keep it together? Can we talk about and appreciate how calm and collected she's been over all of this? How nice she's been playing it? Can we cherish and revel in how she hasn't broken his nose and gone for the throat even though I find it a worthy escalation to make?? Can we not demean the one female lead who's been given this much screentime within a high-stakes, emotionally-charged conflict like this one, and has managed to keep it together??

[newsworthy-rust]

i was in an online class today and the teacher said to put our favorite movie in the chat and someone put newsies and it was all i could do not to dox them right there and burst in their house and have someone in real life to rant about newsies to but then i remembered they might be neurotypical and their every waking thought might not always be newsies and theyd think im crazy but still i wanna talk about newsies rahhhhh

[take4slice]

My intro !!

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Hello, I'm Charlie. I also go by Perrine. I don't care for nicknames so call me what you like.

I use he/they/it pronouns. I also use neos as well. Just ask.

I am Half Guatemalan and half white. I mainly know English but I'm learning Spanish.

I am a transmale and also gay, aroflux, asexual, queerplatonic, and polyplatonic.

I'm currently single !! but not immediately looking, so please don't try to do anything, thank you.

I have DID and ADHD

My timezone is EST (:

I am 18 years old but please don't be weird regardless.

I have lots of interests and my following interests are Fnaf, OPQ, True crime, Newsies, QSMP, BATIM, Sander Sides, Gacha, Minecraft, Music Freaks, Pokemon, Little Club, Yaelokre, and Hermitcraft.

If you want to know my favorite music artists, just ask!

I'm also a huge Ranboo enjoyer :3 , if you wanna know more streamers / YouTubers I enjoy, let me know!

I DO NOT SUPPORT ANY PROBLEMATIC CREATORS AND I DO NOT SUPPORT THE D TEAM, FOREVER, PUNZ, AND WILBUR. I DON'T SUPPORT ANY CC WHO ARE CRIMINALS.

I also really love death duo, I'm very ADHD about it. It's basically a brainrot. I'll like any au of death duo you wanna rant to me about as long as it's not like weird weird, creepy and fetishizing. I also love death family!!

Also I don't reblog stuff much so it may be little or to none. Unless I decide to in the future or soon.

That's my intro, have a good day!!

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[the-woild-is-ya-erster]

A little West Endsies rant for the sake of it-

So, I think it's been talked about on here which versions of Newsies are best for the ships you adore, but I just wanna talk about why Jack and Katherine in Newsies London is so. Much. Better. Than it was in the livesies show

First of all, Bronté's Katherine is just so damn good. She was a stronger character in this. I'm a firm believed that Katherine was just not written all that well, her motivations and story don't match up, and the direction Kara Lindsay took the character was different to the way Bronté Barbe took it.

Katherine in this version seemed to (even when annoyed by Jack's flirting in the first few scenes they share) be attracted to him, and the retorts are playful but also have this tension to them - before, Katherine just seemed annoyed by Jack, whereas here, she seems interested by the challenge of him

The scene where Katherine tries to sell her case as the reporter for the strike (before WWH) is always a super interesting one, and this version was so different, I'm almost tempted to make a whole other post for it.. but, as a little summary, its just less sexist, and power is more evenly dispersed in the new version.

Plus (and super importantly) Londons Jackrine has so.much.more.chemistry!! I don't know how to explain it, the characters just seem to click whenever they're on stage together, they have an electricity surrounding them, and you believe in them

While I'm always gonna think Jack and Katherine's 'Something To Believe In' just... doesn't quite make sense for them both, (same with 'ace up your sleeve' but more on that in a sec) in this, they seemed drawn together, pulled towards one another. The staging had them so. Close. As if they couldn't bear to be further away, couldn't bear to break the moment apart

Yeah. Ace up your sleeve bit. It will never make sense to me that Kath was willing to abandon her dreams of being a reporter with her own stake in the world for the sake of a guy she met like less than a week ago. Just don't like that as a piece of writing. So even in this version, I can't say that's my favourite thing.

Buttttt back on the positives, Jack and Katherine were made more believable through body language and small, unscripted moments. The ways they turned to one another. The way that they acted when she found out the newsies won the strike. Even in bows, they were messing around and acting up, not taking one another seriously - agh it was so good

Jack and Katherine seemed less like fated lovers, though. Their scenes were full of snark and flirting, but I wouldn't necessarily say end-it-all love, so STBI was for sure just out of place. I'd have liked to see their version of that cut song 'when I see you again' cause I think that one just would have fit a little better (even if it still contains that sappy quality, it's less serious, somehow, and explains the feelings better)

I loved them <3

[aceofspades-sml]

1, 10, 26 for the ask game :) - @news-bois

1. What was the first musical you saw ?

First musical experience ever was les mis !!! But the first (and only) musical I saw live was newsies because yes france is great but it has no musical ever

10. A musical that closed and you’re still bitter about. Rant a bit.

Honestly I wanna say Dear evan hansen ? I don't really have big feelings it just one of the few I would have really liked to see. Also tuck everlasting

Also I am obviously projecting here but in August I am gonna become insufferable about newsies uk being closed and I may not ever shut up about it

26. Best on stage chemistry ?

Super biased here but I wanna say jack and davey especially because they are 1- my favs and 2- the only ones I actually saw live

Anyway Michael and Ryan specifically own my heart

[thenopequeen]

Hehe I get a new interest and make it all I think about for weeks/months lol

Anyways, Newsies.

So I've been like analyzing the songs a lot for Reasons (I am a music lover at heart) and one think I noticed was that in the Watch What Happens reprise, Jack and Davey kinda... switch the names around?

By that I mean Jack calls Davey 'Dave', the literal only time in the show that he uses something other then 'Davey' and Davey calls Jack 'Jackie' which on its own is funny and it's once and never again. I think it's funny.

And I got thinking about how it kinda shows they've switched roles around, with Davey now needing to convince Jack to go through with the strike rather then Jack bringing Davey into a seemingly hopeless battle on a whim. Which is such a small thing but it kinda adds to the song by showing the role reversal!

A lot of the songs have very subtal ways of showing a change in tone, or showing a theme and it's so SO good. I love Seize the Day because of how it starts out slow and kinda sad, then slowly builds into an upbeat and strong song as the newsies gain confidence! Also because the verse that Jack and Davey sing will make me wanna cry every time I listen to it. I am very weak to found family and simluar troupes.

Also do not get me started on my... very over the top analyzation of the entire musical to figure out if Racer is a side character or a supporting character. I have a roughly 10 minute rant about this. I have deduced that he's somehow both and neither at the same time. Mostly going on vibes but also other stuff.

According to my Newsies Sister, who has definitely not watched it 22 times and been doing music for 16 years, Race is a supporting character. Other than that: *contemplatively eats a whole pizza*

[carryingthebanner]

Unpopular opinion: Race is very overrated

I don’t even know what to say because I’ve never even thought about this

[tarantulas4davey]

more hc’s!! even though i’m in school!!

al mining all the way to bedrock with race and being like ‘hey babe can you get this block for me i’m gonna build our house try to get at least five okay?’

and race, clueless, is like ‘sure babe!’ and after twenty minutes race is loSING HIS MIND and al is like uhhh babe i kinda need it?? and race is like, near tears, IM TRYING IM TRYINF I SWEAR I SWEAR

eventually al tells him and race unplugs al’s computer

race speaking italian bc he’s stressed and al doesn’t know what he’s saying but dear god that’s so hot

people make a million gifs abt al’s face and race is like ‘oh so italian is a turn on for you huh?’ but race, little bitch, says it in italian and watches al live up to his nickname of red

one time al is rly tired as he’s streaming and just falls asleep at his computer and race is facing his computer and eventually he realizes he’s been rambling and that al hasn’t said much? and he’s like ‘uhh babe you okay?’ and then looks over and you can see the exact moment his heart bursts bc al just dozed off and he’s so cute and the comments r going crazy

al is pretty shy abt it he’s like oh my god they saw me sleeping that’s so embarrassing hey race stop!! it wasn’t cute!!! and race is like uhhh yeah it was but he’s still sweet ofc and al (who’s slowly becoming more comfortable with himself) is like oh. okay. and the fans are like THATS SO ADORABLE

someone points out at one point that race and al have the exact same follower count and they’re like !!! that’s actually so cute!!!

race’s background is him and al and al’s is just race and they’re so cute and so in love

race n al both getting super into the game and they’re put on opposite teams and become like. lethal. like race is super smart ofc but he’s not saying anything so al has NO idea where to find him, but alternatively, someone keeps killing race’s teammates and no one can seem to beat them theyre so strong??

at one point al walks in and race is like hey hey hey! it’s radioactive red! and starts playing radioactive by imagine dragons and al, bright red, is like i’m going to kill you slowly and race, cheeky bastard, is like ha that’s kinda hot babe and winks and al’s just turning even more red

and ppl are like????? wait wait wait how is al the top did you see how flustered he got?

race n al literally laying on top of each other and full body cuddles but they both get so red when they hold hands and everyone’s like? you just literally sit in each other’s laps but ok

izzy these are fucking incredible i’m dying 😭

- al is such a little shit he totally would do that. race unplugs albert’s gaming monitor but the one with chat is still up and the cameras still going for the stream so everyone can see race whack al in the head with rolled up magazine from his desk and albert just throws race over his shoulder and spins around in circles while chat is loosing its fuckin mind

- whenever albert and race end up on different teams in a game race isn’t as good at and can’t just,,,,, math his way out (i.e. rocket league) he babbles in italian and it got to the point where al would get so distracted he would end up loosing the game cause he’s too busy internally going holyshitthatsreallyhotholyshitholyshit. albert went absolutely scarlet when he saw all the gifs of it and he’s sitting on the couch scrolling through twitter and race walks up behind him and leans down and whispers “why didn’t you mentioned you liked my italian” in italian and albert just ✨looses it✨

- SLEEPY 👏 ALBERT 👏 he doesn’t fall asleep on stream very often, but they do 12+ hour charity livestreams at least once a month so,,,, tired red is a common occurrence. he lives in a perpetual state of,,, ruffled? messy hair sticking up in every direction, a voice that always kinda sounds like he just woke up, constantly reaching for some form of affection from race that’s vaguely reminiscent of a toddler that just woke up from a nap between games, the like. he’s also a very deep sleeper, and it makes his already young face go from about,,,, 19? 20? to like 16 at best. he’s definitely getting better about seeing himself more accurately and all the fans think it’s so cute he doesn’t vehemently reject all of race’s compliments anymore.

- of course these two would be cute about having the same follower count. at one point someone follows albert but not race and race threatens to unfollow albert just to fix it, but about 10 seconds later the person follows him too and all balance is restored to the universe

- they’re 100% eachothers phone backgrounds. their lock screens is that cute thing where race has the half of the picture with albert in it and albert has the half of the picture with race in it and when you set their phones next to eachother in makes one picture. albert’s home screen is art jack made of them for his birthday. and race’s is a picture from the disney trip when al proposed.

- race is trying to pick albert’s teammates off from a distance, and he does fairly well for awhile, but as smart as he is race doesn’t have that much experience (especially compared to albert) so race’s teammates are dropping like flies literally ALL OVER the map and race is just like “?????? how the hell who is doing that” and albert is just silently chuckling to himself from his desk. eventually race is the only one left and albert finds him and just laughs maniacally while race dramatically falls out of his chair when he dies.

- y e s ok so albert blushes REALLY EASILY and race is,,,, race, so he’s honestly not that easy to embarrass and the general ‘red being flustered’ thing makes people confused how he’s the top. that is, until once race is laughing at how red albert is and albert just leans over and whispers something to race and race’s mouth snaps shut and his eyes get all wide and he just immediately changes the subject and albert has the smug look on his face and suddenly,,,, it all makes sense and that face race made gets so memed and albert laughs for 20 years over it

- honestly yeah it’s like

race: *kisses al’s neck and sits in his lap to try and distract him while albert keeps playing with a straight face*

also race: *can’t stop giggling for 5 minutes cause albert locked their pinky’s while showing him something and using the mouse*

~ or ~

albert: *carries race around the gaming room in victory or will randomly kiss him full on the mouth cause he just thinks he’s pretty*

also albert: *goes pink every time race calls him any sort of pet name, especially in italian*

this was written while also trying to keep track of the one year old and six year old i’m babysitting so i apologize for any random mistakes. no small children were harmed in the making of this post 😆

thank you for all of these i love them so much jdhdjdjd

[we-are-inevitable]

OKAY BIG AU RANT BUT I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS (even though i posted all of this in the discord last night) AND UH:

modern au where most the newsies are straight and in a frat and jack is the frat president

very stereotypical frat bro, wears his letters everyday (whether it's a t-shirt of a cap or a pin on his bag), throws a whole bunch of parties and is really respected and stuff

he gets around, and has been with a bunch of girls throughout college- nothing really serious, but whatever.

everything is going great, until he meets David Jacobs at a party the frat is throwing.

and obviously jack has seen him around campus before (they're in their fourth year of college by now), and they had a few labs together back in like. freshman year, but they've never *talked*

and now, here's david, at a party with Katherine, and jack decides to talk to him.

they actually hit it off pretty well, but then jack mentions something about david taking Katherine home and David laughs and says, "Yeah, she's gonna help me weed out my grindr matches."

cue jack being like "???" because OH! jacobs is gay. huh. okay

and jack obviously makes a big show of it ("oh, sick! being gay is okay, bro, y'know, love is love and shit like that") and it's so obvious that he's out of his element but he doesn't wanna be like. homophobic or anything

and they kind of talk for a bit longer before jack drifts off to another group of people, and he doesn't think much of the interaction- at least, not until he runs into david at another party on campus the next weekend. this time, they're alone; jack is only there bc one of his buds in another frat told him to come, and david has lost Katherine in the crowd, so jack and david talk in the kitchen and get to know each other a bit more. again, everything is pretty New and they kind of friends now but they're talking and that's fine.

later on that night, jack sees david making out with some guy on the staircase, and to get his mind off of it, jack makes out with a girl in the kitchen.

over the next few weeks, david and jack run into each other a lot- enough times for them to exchange snapchats, and follow each other on Instagram. and they talk more on social media; jack invites david to some parties and david always comes, and they always end up talking- for longer and longer each time, like ACTUAL conversations about the past and their future goals and stuff

about three months after their initial meeting, though (after they've become good friends, who talk/snap everyday and hang out at least once a week), they're at a party, and jack gets pretty drunk, and he sees david making out with some guy on the couch. and jack doesn't know why, but he feels bad. angry. kind of upset. he approaches and tells david he needs to talk to him, and David says no ("uh, i'm kind of in the middle of something?")

and jack tries getting him to move and the other guy- the one David is making out with- starts getting in jack's face and calling him names, so jack... decks him.

he decks him, and he's immediately feeling guilty and bad and the commotion has stopped all around him and everyone is staring and david looks so confused and pissed off

and all jack can do is say "i'm so sorry" and run off

it's not until he's home that he realizes that, the reason he punched that guy in the face, was because he didn't like the idea of him having his hands on david.

because jack wants to be the one with his hands on david.

as soon as that realization hits him, though, jack basically has a meltdown. he's frustrated and crying and kind of throwing shit around but not really because, no. he can't be gay. right? he can't be. he literally has like 3 gay friends and he doesn't know anything about being gay and he's never been into a guy before but, fuck, he's into david.

naturally, though, jack avoids david for as long as he can. he avoids him like the plague

until one night, about six days later, when jack is drunk again (not from a party; more like self pity) and around two am one night, he walks to David's dorm room and knocks really loudly. and it takes a minute, but David answers, and as soon as the door opens, jack starts talking.

"Davey! Hi!"

"...Jack, what are you--"

"Listen, I'm very drunk. Very drunk. and I get it, ya probably don't wanna see me ever again, but I need to talk to ya, because- cause I ain't talked to ya in days, and I miss you, and I'm sorry."

"Jack, it's late, and--"

"Y'know, no one has been talkin' to me since the party. None'a my friends, no one from class... I fucked up, and I'm sorry, and I don't have an excuse, but I just... Do you know what's goin' on right now? 'Cause I sure as hell don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you been flirtin' with me?"

"I- I'm sorry, what--"

"'Cause I can't tell if you've been flirting with me or not, and I can't tell if i like it or not, but if you're flirtin' with me, then I've been likin' it, and thats fucking terrifying. Seein' you with that guy... I- I know we ain't a thing or anything, but it fuckin' sucked, and I don't even know why! Okay? Because I think I like you, but I've never been into a dude, and you're a dude and that's- that's fuckin' scary, man. But it'll be fine, and I'll deal with it, and I'm sorry. Night, davey."

and all david can do it watch jack stumble back down the hallway, and pray that jack remembers this in the morning.

and obviously jack remembers, because around noon the next day- a sunday- david gets a message from jack that says, 'we need to talk.'

so, david meets jack at one of the benches in front of the library, and jack looks so... broken, and defeated, and hungover as fuck.

"...You remember last night, huh?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. Look, Dave, I... I'm sorry. All of that was- was a lot, and you shouldn't have had to deal with my bullshit, and--"

"Did you mean it?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I did."

and they're silent for a long time, until david rubs his arm and says

"For the record, I don't even know the name of the guy you punched."

"You two ain't--?"

"No, we aren't together. I... I've sort of had my eye on someone else."

and then david slowly takes jack's hand, and he san feel how tense and how shaky jack is, and he can see how scared he is, but then jack squeezes david's hand, and things start looking up. obviously they still have to deal with the fallout (and david is still very ,, Not Happy about jack punching that guy), but for the most part, they take things slow and figure it out as they go.

when jack comes out to the rest of the guys, he's really nervous and he does it in one of their weekly frat meetings, and of course there are a few of the guys who try to start shit, but the majority of the frat (other newsies included) are fine with it and are proud of jack.

i imagine all if this happening around,, December, so then once second semester hits, jack is less focused on partying and more focused on developing his relationship with david and working on accepting himself for who he is.

also HUGE shout out to the discord server for dealing with me spamming the chat with these paragraphs last night, namely @tarantulas4davey , @starz-in-our-eyes , and @santagae !!!!!

[starboystation]

I think my interest (? Not the best wording) in Crutchie and Newsies as a whole is starting to fade :( it's still my special interest and Crutchie is still my silly little guy but I'm not like. Obsessed anymore. It's weird !! I don't think about him nonstop and I hardly ever go on gushy rants about him anymore .. It's so much harder to infodump about him and Newsies in general?? I still get excited about it and I wanna talk about it and stuff but nowhere near as much ..

I've stopped wearing the Crutchie necklace when I go out (used to wear it every day when I went out) and I've stopped wearing my Crutchie n Crutchy n York kandi bracelets nonstop .. and and I hardly EVER talk to imaginary friend Crutchie anymore he's just kinda poof disappeared .. and Tiny Crutchy doesn't come with me anywhere anymore, just today I moved him off my bed to my nightstand because I'm so detached from him now that I can just Do That. It's weird .

I was so terrified of having to let go of him one day but I think it's already happening just like. Naturally? I don't need him to cope with the extreme loneliness and Psychological Torture I was dealing with so I guess I'm just. Naturally starting to let go.

It's almost bittersweet I guess .. like your kid goin off to college !! Not that I would know what that feels like but I assume it feels kinda like this somehow . You know you have to let go and you already have a little but it's still scary

Idk. It's almost nice to be able to focus on things Other than him and to have proper relationships again . I mean I have an amazing partner now and we hang out all the time and sometimes we still joke about Crutchie and stuff !! My partner even calls him it's "husband-in-law" because we're both polyam and it's pretty funny ..

Idk. Very bittersweet . Does this explain why I haven't posted about him at all idk you guys are probably so confused. Me too bud 👍

[burtonsdoodles]

Beautiful Ghosts

So another random thought that's popped into my head.... and rant.

I've just rewatched the 2019 film, now with a better understanding of the original musical and the characters, and I think Beautiful Ghosts would actually be an interesting fit for Demeter. (Stage Demeter, not film Demeter.) Maybe not perfectly - but when I hear it - I think of her and can believe the emotion/pain being released. I do not feel this way with Victoria.

Personally, I think it’s a nice song, but it doesn’t fit the story well enough to be needed - especially with the way it’s filmed and directed. It’s an internal monologue song, so it should be shown as her singing to herself, unaware of anyone that may be around/listening (like in Santa Fe in the 1991 film version of NEWSIES). Yet the way it’s filmed, she’s directing it at people. First at Grizabella, which devalidates her pain to say victoria has even less than her but is still making an effort to find what she’s never had. I don't like this.

Then she starts singing at the camera in the direction of Old Deut - but she doesn't know Old Deuts watching - so is she singing to the audience -- but she’s supposed to represent the audience - so she can’t be singing to them --- so then who is she singing this to!? It should be no one but that’s not how it comes across on film - if it did - I don’t think it would feel as out of place as it does. Though I really wish they’d stop adding these original songs just to get award nominations. They are fine in the credits but not in the actual story - unless they genuinely benefit it - which they usually don’t.

Also, other than her being abandoned, the film doesn't actually do anything to show/tell the audience more about this tragic past Victoria is supposed to have had which makes this song valid. Why was she abandoned? Was she treated badly? What was her relationship to her owners? Was it a shock to be abandoned? or did she fear something like this might happen? How old is she supposed to be?! Because I can’t unsee the fact that she is a kitten in the musical - but I know she isn't one in this, because other than Dench and Mckellen, everyone looks the same age.

None of this is answered or even vaguely implied - which leads to the conclusion that Victoria does not deserve to go up against Grizabella in the tortured souls and tragic past competition... but you know who does - Demeter. She would have been a way better character to construct a adapted plot around - instead of just making stuff up for Victoria. Also if they really wanted a romance subplot putting in - as films love to do - then they could have played with the Munkustrap and Demeter relationship, also there's a bit of angst there with her and Macavity’s relationship, and then there's the added bonus of an opening for conflict between Munkustrap and Macavity which lead to that brilliant fight scene which they DIDN’T PUT IN THE FILM! (That fight is my absolute favourite bit - I love it so much -- and it physically hurts me that they put that music over the barge 'fight' scene.)

Anyway...

This turned into something I didn’t intend it to be, but thoughts just popped into my head as I wrote so it mutated into a rant — sorry about that. It may make sense - it may not. Also I just wanna add that anything negative I say about the 2019 film isn’t intended to hurt/insult anyone who does like it. We all like what we like. My mind just like thinking of ways things could be changed in pretty much everything I see - and I can’t always turn it off - so it can be kinda exhausting. I have a lot of things I can say about it - both positive and negative - so I might do more of these opinion/rant posts - but we’ll see.

If you read this - thanks... or maybe I should say sorry. It’s late and I don’t know anymore.

[wide-eyed--wonderer]

Hey there! I just found your blog recently and its so good! Would I per chance be able to convince to write a newsies fic where Jack gets sick and the boys (or Davey) have to take care of him? Your work is sooo good, and I honestly think I fell into a little pocket of newsies writers because I seem to have found a lot of you this week lol Its totally fine if you don't want to write it! Thank you so much, and I love your Koi picture!

Hey! First of all welcome! Hope you enjoy our little corner of the Newsies fandom! I certainly love it. Also, thank you so much for this prompt, a had a lot of fun with it and it kinda got a little away from me (it's over 2100 words).  I’ve put the story under a keep reading.

And I love the Koi fish too!

It wasn’t even winter yet, which was why Jack getting sick was such a shock and huge worry for all the newsies. 

It wasn’t unusual for Jack or any of the newsies to get sick in the wintertime, and all the boys usually were able to sell more papes during the season to help cover the board of anyone who couldn’t sell. 

But nobody has any sympathy for Newsies during autumn when the temperatures are milder and the paper headlines are usually less exciting. 

So to say the newsies were worried (and frankly a little scared) when Jack, out of the blue, got sick one September, at a time where paper sales were average at best, and there was no cold weather to excuse the sudden decline in Jack’s health, would be a massive understatement. 

“Al, I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing right now.” Race ranted to his friend. “I’m running myself all over the city trying to sell double the papers to cover Jack’s board as well as mine. And with Jack, all laid up like this with God knows what, I’m supposed to be in charge of all the Newsies too. And we have a union meeting next week. I can’t speak at the union meeting! And I-”

“Race, hey Racer,” Albert Interrupted, “look at me, and take three deep breaths.” Albert exaggerated his breathing, trying to get his best friend to follow. Once he decided Race’s breathing had calmed down, he continued. “First of all, you don’t have to cover Jack’s board all by yourself, split the cost between a couple of us, and that’ll lessen the burden on you.”

“But -”

“I’m not done yet Race. Second of all, all the newsies love you, ‘specially the littlies, you are doing a wonderful job of that so I don't want you to worry about that. And about that union meeting, Davey’s vice president, and he doesn’t have the nickname mouth for nothing. Race, I'm sure he’ll speak if you don’t want to.”

“DAVEY'' Race exclaimed, interrupting whatever Al was planning on saying next. “Al, you’re a genius, if anyone knows how to help Jackie, it’ll be him.” Race ran downstairs to the communal floor where all the newsies were resting in between selling the paper. “Specs! Can you go get Davey, let him know what’s going on with Jack, see if he knows how to help.”

“On it Race!” Specs got up. “Romeo, you wanna come with, say hi to Les?” 

“Ooh yes please!” The younger newsie replied, and the two of them ran out of the lodging house.

Race turned to Albert, and Al could see the fear still present in his best friend's eyes, even if it had been dimmed but the hope that Davey promised. 

“Hey Race,” Al whispered leaning in close to him so none of the other newsies could hear. “Have you seen Jack yet today.”

“I -” 

“Go see him Race. Jackie always makes you feel better. I’ll watch the boys for ya.” Race shot Albert a grateful smile and he shot up the stairs to where Jack was laid.

He stopped out the door to catch his breath before he walked in. Jack was always calm and reassuring when he or the other Newsies were sick, and Race wanted (needed) to be that way for him too.

His resolve was harder to keep up when he walked into the room. 

Jack was laid out on the bed, eyes closed. Jack wasn't exactly tan on a good day, but he was paler than Race ever remembered seeing him. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering his head, which Crutchie was currently dabbing as with a wet cloth. 

And if Jack was asleep, Race figured he really didn’t have to be strong, and let the silent tears fall. 

“You wanna come sit Race?” Crutchie asked softly, patting the space on the bed next to Jack. Race quickly nodded his head and went and sat next to Jack’s feet. 

“Hey there Jackie.” Race sniffed, “you got everyone real worried you know? But don’t you think about the rest of the newsies right now, ok? I got them. You just get better.” Race started running his hand along Jack’s leg in what Race hoped was a soothing motion. 

“How you holding up, Race. ?” Charlie asked, looking at Race, whose eyes were yet to leave Jack's face. 

“I sent Specs and Romeo to get Davey, he’ll be able to help you Jackie.”

“You didn’t answer my question Race.” 

“What do you want me to say Crutch?” Race finally tore his eyes from Jack to look at Crutchie. Allowing Crutchie to get his first real look at Race. 

Race, who even with fresh tears on his face, looked like he’d cried his eyes out overnight because his red-rimmed eyes were surrounded by bags. In short, he looked horrible. There wasn’t much more Crutchie could do for Jack, but there was plenty he could do for Race. 

“You wanna swap places with me?” Crutchie asked, already moving to sit on the bed. Race sat numbly on the edge of the bed, until Jack moaned from the loss of the cool cloth, prompting Race to leap into Crutches old chair and replace the cloth on Jack’s face. 

“Shhh Jackie, it’s okay. We’ve got you. Shhh.” Race soothed, tears subsiding now that he had a way to help Jack.

“Race, that you?” Jack croaked, his eyes flickering open. 

“Yeah, it’s me Jackie.” Race replied, dabbing the cloth on Jack's neck.

“Thank you for looking after me and the boys. I love ya.” Jack finished before his eyes closed again and he returned to sleep. Race’s hand shot for his neck, finding Jack’s steady pulse point and holding his finger there. 

“He’s ok.” Race murmured to himself “he’ll get through this.”

“Breathe, Race,” Crutchie's voice interrupted Race before he could spiral. 

“Why does everyone keep telling me that today?” Race huffed out a small laugh and followed Crutchies instructions. 

“Cause sometimes, your brain moves too fast with too many thoughts and it forgets to tell ya to breathe.” Crutchie shot a small smile at Race, coming up with another idea to help his brother. 

“Hey, you gonna be okay alone with him for a minute?  I needa use the bathroom.” Race nodded, eyes focused back on Jack. 

Slowly Cructhie left the room and went and found Jojo downstairs with the other newsies.

“Heya Crutchie, how’s Jack holding up?” Jojo called once Crutchie was in earshot.

“Jackie-Boy’s doing fine, I was wondering if you and Al could do me a favour actually?”

“Sure. Hey, Al get over here for a minute.” Jojo called to Al, who was entertaining some of the littlies on the other side of the room. 

“Yeah, what’s up guys.” Albert lowered his voice, “how’s Race and Jack holding up?”

“Not much has changed for Jack. He woke up a little when Race came in though.” Crutchie shook his head fondly. “Its Race I’m worried about.”

“Me too,” Albert chimed in, “he looks like he’s falling apart at the seams with worry.”

“He’s trying to become our leader overnight,” Jojo continued, “that coupled with Jack getting sick has not been good for him.”

“I know. That’s why I called you two over.”  He paused, lowering his voice to a whisper, “How do you two feel about taking a walk up to Brooklyn?” 

Whatever Race and Spot had going on in Brooklyn was an open secret between most of the older boys, but there were some newer newsies that didn’t need to be let in on it. 

“Of course,” Albert said nodding his head. “Let’s go, Jojo.”

Satisfied that he’d done all he could for both his brothers at the moment. He headed back up to Jack’s room. 

He walked back in to find that Race hadn’t moved from the chair, although it did look like he’d stopped crying. 

Crutchie wasn’t sure whether to count it as a win or not. 

“I’m back,” he announced softly. Race looked up. “I checked on all the boys while I was out. You’re doing a good job with them.”

“Thanks,” Race sniffed. “I wish there was more I could do…” He trailed off looking at Jack, whipping the cloth along his forehead.

“Everything your doing is helping Jack, Race.” Crutchie put his hand on Race’s knee, causing him to look at him. “Jack is so proud of you, and I bet he can’t wait to tell you when he gets up. And I’m super proud of you too.”

“Thanks, Crutchie.” With that, both boys' eyes returned to Jack’s, and they sat in silence, with Crutchie continuing to rub circles on Race’s leg. 

“Hey boys,” Davey's voice interrupted from the doorway. Eyes travelling over the three brothers lingering on Race before finally landing on Davey.

“Davey,” Race sighed, “can you help?” Race pleaded, causing Davey’s heart to break just a little bit. 

“I’ve got 10 years of experience looking after Sarah and Les, I’m gonna do everything I can.” 

Race flung himself at Davey.

“Thank you,” Race whispered. Davey let him cling a little longer, before carefully pulling away.

“You can stay there Race,” Davey said, pointing to the chair Race had previously been occupying. “I can work from over here,” Davey said, gesturing to the opposite side of the bed. 

Race nodded and sat back in his chair. Crutchie moved to stand behind Race, putting his hand on Races shoulder. Race leaned his head on it. 

“Hey Jackie,” Davey smiled down at his best friend. “Specs told me you weren’t feeling so great, but I think he undersold it.” 

“Dave?” Jack called from the bed, attempting to turn his head toward the sound of Davey’s voice. 

“Yeah Jackie, it’s me. You just lay there and rest, You got the fellas real worried but I’m gonna make sure you get better.”

“Kay Davey, I trust ya.”

Race and Crutchie watched on nervously as Davey did his assessment. Neither boy really knew what Davey was looking for, but it certainly made them feel better than someone they (and Jack) trusted was looking over him.

“Hmm,” Davey muttered to himself, “definitely fever, glands are a little swollen, pulse steady.” Davey frowned. “Hey Crutchie, Race, when was the last time Jack ate?” Race looked up at Crutchie, trying to recall the last time they’d seen Jack eat. 

“Well, we haven’t managed to keep much food in him since he got like this 2 days ago, but the last proper meal was probably when he took Kath out for dinner to Jacobi’s the night before.” Crutchie looked back down at Race, “that sounds right to you Race?”

“Uh. yeah, I think so, I wasn’t really... Um..  around.. that night?”

Davey smiled at the two (younger, if only slightly) newsies. 

“Well, the good news is I think Jacks just got a stomach bug. Should clear out of his system in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I brought this.” Davey pulled a small flask out of his bag and placed it up to Jack’s lips. “Hey Jackie, Imma need you to sit up for a minute and drink this. It’ll help you feel better, promise.”

Jack, who was clearly too weak to say much more than a noncommittal grunt, accepted Davey's offer and took a sip of the drink.

“What’s that Davey?” Race asked.

“Just an old secret family soup recipe. My folks make it for me and my siblings when we get sick. Helps us feel better, and I bet it’ll work wonders on him too.” Davey stopped talking as the church bell rang. “That’s my cue to go boys. I’ll come back tomorrow after school to bring more soup for Jack. In the meantime, you too make sure Jack drinks plenty of water” and with that, Davey got out of his chair and made his way towards the door, only to be stopped by Race, who'd come barreling into him. 

“He’s really gonna be ok?” Race asked his arms tight around Davey's midsection. Crutchie came up behind Race and sandwiched him between himself and Davey, resting his head on Races shoulder.

“Should be, you’re doing an awesome job Race. See you, tomorrow boys.” And with that Davey turned and left the lodging, and Crutchie and race took back up their positions around Jack's bed. 

And later, when Spot came around, neither boy commented when he pulled race onto his lap and rested his fingers in his hair. 

And when Jack woke up two days later, fully better thanks to Davey’s miracle family soup (and time, Davey kept attesting, which Race, Jack and Charlie all protested) he couldn't have been happier to see his two younger brothers, asleep head on each other's laps, hand still firmly clutched around Jack’s.

Let me know what you think. Hopefully, this filled in what you were looking for!

[aceofspades-sml]

That's amazing!!! I love him :)

Gasps excitedly im so happy for you! I really wanna travel to England to see it! I've seen newsies Jr and high school productions, which were 11/10, but I've heard so much good about uksies so!!

Well!!! I ship race mainly with spot but am always open to new pairings and interpretations! Also wanna hear me ramble about davey?

JUMP ON A PLANE I HAVE A SPARE TICKET TO SEE NEWSIES IN JULY (/j but also I really hope you could go see it because it's awesome)

ALSO YES PLEASE RANT ABOUT DAVEY I LOVE THIS BOY I WANNA HEAR ALL YOUR THOUGHTS

[peroxideprinces]

mmmm rory i wanna rant abt one of my ocs but idk which one

charlie,, you should rant about. your newsies ocs. or wesley. or any oc of yours i love them all JKSLFDJKLDF

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

“Hey…oh…wait, sorry. What’s the situation?” for the prompt request? Any scenario you'd like :)

Jack was distracted. There was something that he was told earlier that morning that he couldn’t pull his mind from. He was sitting on the steps of the lodging house, half listening to what Race was going on and on about. He heard a few words but nothing was sticking as he was distracted by what Katherine told him earlier that morning as they got ready for their respective jobs. 

“Jack!” Albert nudged him as Race finished his rant about whatever was going on in the streets that particular day. 

“Hey…oh…wait, sorry. What’s the situation?” Jack’s cheeks turned a slight pink at the callout from his best friend. “Sorry can you go over that again?” 

Race took a seat next to him on the stoop before throwing his arm around Jack’s shoulder. “Yous distracted. What’s going on?” 

“Nothing that concerns you.” Jack bit back, harsher than he intended to. “Sorry, that was harsh. I didn’t mean to come off that way. Is got things going on in my mind that’s distracting me.”

Race nodded, tightening his arm around Jack’s shoulder. “Yous wanna talk about it?” 

Looking at the Newsies on the step, lots of the littles were hanging around, playing on the sidewalk. “If Is tell you and Albert, yous can’t tell anyone else, okay?” 

Waiting for the nod from both boys, Jack leaned in so just the three of them could hear what he would say. “Plums is pregnant . . . . Is gonna be a daddy.” 

Gasps came from Albert as tears clouded Race’s eyes. “Jackie . . . yous gonna be a great dad!” 

“Congrats Jack!” Albert whispered throwing an arm around Jack’s shoulder and squeezing it. “That’s fantastic news.” 

Jack pointed to both of them with a grin. “Yous gotta keep it quiet, at least until we tell everyone else.” 

“And when will that be?” Albert asked, giving Race a look. 

Shrugging, Jack smiled. “She just told me this morning so it’s very recent. It’ll be a few weeks at least, so shut your traps.” 

“Race can’t shut his trap for anything, not even a hot bet at the Racetrack!” Specs yelled, hearing Jack’s remark. 

Race took his cigar out of his mouth before giving Specs a look. “Shut your trap, Specs. I can too keep my mouth shut. You didn’t know about the dinner Kloppman threw last week did you?” 

“From what I hear, neither did you!” Specs shouted, causing Race to fly off the stoop in the boy’s direction, causing Specs to start running down the street. 

Albert looked at Jack, a rare moment for the two of them to be left alone with one another. “Yous gonna be a great dad, Jack.” 

“Yous think so?” Jack was very rarely doubtful of himself, but with the news, his mind had been working overtime whether or not he could be a great dad, not having one around for so long. 

Albert nudged his shoulders. “Of course. You’ve been a great father-figure to so many of the Newsies, including Race and me. Yous gonna be great. Plus, you’ve got one more thing up your sleeve.” 

“What’s that?” 

“A houseful of ready-made uncles who will be there every step of the way.” Albert smirked. “Yous didn’t think you and Plums were going to have to do this all on your own, did you?”

Jack was silent, letting Albert’s words sink in. He smiled, throwing an arm around Albert’s shoulders before pulling him into a hug. “Thanks Albert. Now what was Race freaking out about earlier?” 

“Oh.” Albert groaned, causing Jack to give him a look. “He was freaking out because Jolene, the factory girl he’s been trying to woo, asked him out on a date and he didn’t know what to say, as girls usually don’t ask the guy.” 

Jack’s laughter echoed off the buildings, as tears clouded his eyes. “That’s it? That’s what the big freakout was about?” 

“That’s it.” Albert smirked. “I told him he should be so lucky that she did the hard part and all he has to do is tell her yes.” 

“Yous a liar, Albert DaSilva!” Race’s voice boomed as he rejoined them on the stoop. “Yous told me to ask Jack for advice.” 

Albert shrugged. “You caught me when I didn’t have my thinking cap on. So Is telling you now, she did the hard part, you just have to accept.” 

Race looked at Jack to see if he had anything to add. “I agree with Albert. Just tell her yes, show up and have a good time. Simple and yous not committing your life to her, just a night. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to agree to a second date!” 

Jack chuffed Race over the head with a grin. “When did you become so nervous around a pretty girl?”

“I really like her and don’t want to mess it up.” Race groaned, leaning his head on Jack’s shoulder. 

Jack affectionately ran his hand through Race’s hair. “You’ll be okay. Just go with the flow and try not to be too nervous. She obviously likes you or she wouldn’t have asked you out. Go tell her yes.” 

Race stood, taking a couple of deep breaths before walking down the sidewalk without another word. Albert and Jack leaned over the stoop and watched him walk, both grinning at one another. It was just another day at the Newsies Lodging House, just this day he happened to find out he was going to be a dad and Katherine a mum.

Thank you for sending in the prompt @cutesiewoojin!!!!