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bird-likes-to-fandom · 10 months

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Borough What Gave Me Birth (Friendliest Place on Earth)

Ao3 is down, so I'm posting this here! It's a newsies (Specifically uksies!) one-shot based on an idea/joke one of the ensemble actresses had for her newsie, Splint, dying after the rally. It features all of the Brooklyn girls, but mostly Splint, Scope, and Spot.

Enjoy!!!

The rally is over, the newsies have won, and Scope is almost ready to celebrate. Almost.

She hadn't wanted to come here at all. She hadn't wanted to risk her friends. She told Spot not to come — of course, Spot overruled that decision and came anyway (a little later than expected, but still came) and saved the day like she always did. Scope supposes that Spot's gut was right, because the other kids would have been up the river before you could say "strike" without Brooklyn.

Scope came to follow orders and protect her friends. She'd do anything for Spot, even when she didn't want to. And she had to look after the other girls. There weren't many of them, but the only person who watched them just as sharply as Scope did was Spot, and Spot had business to take care of.

When all is said and done and Brooklyn reunites with the addition of Stray's Manhattan brother and the infamous Racetrack Higgins (holding Joey's hand in one of his and Spot's hand in the other), Scope notices that one person is missing: Her bunkmate, Splint.

Alarm bells sound in her head. She interrupts whatever triumphant smiley conversation the other newsies are having to inform Spot about Splint, and they all run off to look for her.

It's not like Splint is defenseless. In fact, she fights well when she's not injured. It's just that she's always injured. The only time Scope has ever seen her completely healed was when she picked a fight with a boy who looked at Pips wrong, and she won the fight but fell on her face and rebroke her arm immediately after.

Spot, Joey, and Race come with Scope, and it takes them a while to find Splint, but eventually they locate her in the back of a dark alley, and she doesn't look so good.

Stray and her brother are already there, crouched over Splint. A dog is sitting next to Splint and resting its snout on her chest. Her broken arm is elevated and resting on the dog's back, except it's twisted the wrong way and bleeding profusely. There's a gash on the side of her face, from her cheek all the way to her neck. Stray is holding Splint's good hand in her own, telling her a story. Scope rushes in and takes her spot, trying not to cry.

"What the hell happened?" Spot asks, her voice cold as steel with rage. Spot's anger is never warm like fire or wet with tears, always cold as ice — or a blade.

"I got soaked," Splint croaks, and just hearing her speak was painful. Blood dribbles out of her mouth, and Scope wipes it with her sleeve.

"Two on one… no — no chance." She says.

"Im going to rip this city down brick by brick," Scope promises. "Let's get you back home." She says, trying to lift her friend up. Splint is limp in her arms, and seems to be fading far away. Scope stifles a sob and sits down, Splint draped over her knees.

"Hildy! Lucky! Ritz! Raf! Pips!" Spot calls to the rest of Brooklyn, who stand at the mouth of the alley. They run over and Pips hides in Rafaela's side when she sees Splint, and Hildy claps a hand over her mouth.

"Splint's hurt. Bad." Is all Scope can manage to say. She doesn't say that Splint might die right here in her arms partly because she doesn't want to scare Rafaela and Pips, who are the youngest of them, and partly because the child part of her brain reasons that if she doesn't put that thought into the world, it won't come true.

"Girls?" Splint asks weakly, and Scope gives her a squeeze as Spot assures her that they're all there.

"Stay with us, Splint, please stay." Scope murmurs.

"'m gonna be fine. C'mon, let's get to the… let's go home. Scope'll fix me right up again like always." Splint says. She tries to sit up but barely makes it halfway before falling back into Scope's lap. Scope cradles her head in her arms.

"It's alright. We don't hafta go anywhere just yet. I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Whatever you say, Scopey. Your gut's always right." Splint smiles and laughs to herself. "Except that one time. Remember when you thought — ow, ah, gee it hurts to talk —"

"When I thought there was a man outside of the lodge house and it was just one of Stray's dogs? Yeah, of course I do." Scope says quietly. She'd woken up after a particularly bad nightmare from her life on the streets and got paranoid about the noises outside. It was the only time she'd ever been wrong, and the other newsies wouldn't let her live it down. Especially not Splint, who she'd woken up in the middle of the night to warn. But Splint was also the only person Scope told about the nightmare, and had comforted her the rest of the night — even letting Scope climb into her bunk.

"That gave us all a good laugh," Stray chuckles.

"Don't let her forget." Splint coughs, and more blood spills out of her mouth.

"We won't." Spot promises. She's trying to hold it together. Scope can see it on her face. She's trying so hard to be strong for her girls, but what about herself? She needs to feel, too. Then again, Scope knows Spot doesn't like to feel. She thinks feelings get in the way of her purpose. Scope knows because she feels the same. She needs to be strong for Splint. She doesn't want to be a blubbering mess in her best friend's last moments.

"Don't go. You don't have to go, do you? You said I'd — You said I'd bring you home and fix you up. Maybe…" Scope whispers, but she trails off when Splint lifts a finger to her lips.

"I know what I said. But I ain't no fool, Scope. You know that."

"Oh, Splint…" Scope watches a tear fall from her own face onto Splint's and wills herself to stop crying. She remembers a story a young woman told her while she was on the streets about a girl crying onto her dying love — her tears had been magic, and brought her love back to life. That was a child's story, though, and Splint didnt magically heal.

"Don't let Ritz take my bunk and keep you up all night with her tapping and singing."

"Splint, don't talk like that…"

"I can talk… however I like, thank you very much."

"Damn right." Lucky says, and when Scope looks up at her, she's holding onto Ritz for dear life, who's covering her face and shaking.

"I —" Splint says and reaches out with her good arm before wincing and settling back down, looking more pained than before.

"It's okay, Splint. If it hurts, you can let go." Joey murmurs, moving forward to push Splint's hair out of her eyes.

Spot nods. "Brooklyn's here." Her voice trembles as she speaks.

"Loud and clear." Everyone repeats softly.

Splint smiles. "I love you all." She closes her eyes, and they don't open again. Each newsie come up and says their goodbyes, and Scope finally lets herself cry.

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violetwolfraven · 2 years

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A New World Is Gunning For You Chapter 4: Bravado

Otherwise known as… Crutchie and Race have a chat, Spot locks down Brooklyn, Sarah bonds with her fellow powered kids, and Jack and Davey have a lot of awkward silence.

…

Crutchie pats the crate next to him, and he sits without hesitation.

“Talk to me. We’re co-leaders now. If there’s a problem, we gotta figure it out together.”

Race shrugs, “Yesterday was normal, you know? And then today wasn’t, and I was already wound up pretty tight from that. Then you laid it out, how we can’t save Jack, and that hurts for obvious reasons.”

Crutchie nods, “Yeah. Losing Jack is… even knowing we’d be in charge if it ever happened, I don’t think anything could’ve prepared us for the reality of him not being around.”

“He’s not even dead.”

…

Read the chapter here!

#newsies #newsie powers/rebellion au #a new world is gunning for you #javid #sprace #crutchie morris #oc: jitters #racetrack higgins #jack kelly #davey jacobs #spot conlon #rafaela newsies #hotshot newsies #sarah jacobs #albert dasilva #violet’s writing

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orangesand-lemons-234 · 1 month

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In my brain, all of the Brooklyn Newsies I've ever seen are canon to my brain, and now I just have, like, a whole universe mapped out in my brain.

Spot is the head, while Mack and Hotshot are her second and third in command. The three run the Borough with an iron fist. Well, the iron fist is probably hollow as they let their newsies away with just about everything.

Pips and Graves are extremely close, always being selling partners and usually selling by the Brooklyn Bridge. They always sell the most papers, mostly because they win over the adults with puppy dog eyes.

Splint, Joey, and Bart can't stand each other. Nobody knows why, but they won't even speak with one another. Ritz thinks it's incredibly funny to put them in situations together and watching as they try to do it without even looking at each other.

Speaking of Ritz, her and Snaps are siblings, Snaps being older by 2 years. Despite the short age gap, Snaps does tend to baby her sometimes, but she has put him in his place on numerous occasions.

Scope, Rafaela, and HoHo escaped the refuge together when they were each 14, 9, and 11. Lucky found them trying to steal apples from a stand and brought them straight to Spot, who made them Newsies the very next day.

Specs used to be a Brooklyn Newsie with his sister, Stray, but was far too scared of Spot to stay any longer and joined Manhattan instead. Stray still picks on him for this.

Hildy and Myron both help out at Medda's theatre when they aren't selling papers for some extra money. Hildy sells the food outside the stage, and Myron works as an usher. The Bowery Beauties have a soft spot for them and allow them to hang out backstage with them from time to time.

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undescribed1mage · 8 months

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Trying 2 figure out which Marriott Girl is who even though literally none of them are wearing costumes I recognize <//3

#annie.txt #newsies #marriott newsies #im thinking.#hildy in the back with the pigtails #joey up from in the red hat #rafaela on the other side in blue #but im not 100% on that #also in their big promo video the girl in blue is wearing joeys hat &#in every other photo of Joey & Rafaela they're both wearing red #so.#idk #im almost positive on hildy though

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newsies-squared · 6 months

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Newsies name comparison's

So obviously everyone has different headcanons for the newsie characters names and even gender identitys,here's the difference between me and stillts headcanons.

Stilts:

Jack Kelly (He/Him)

David jacobs(he/him)

Race: Luca Higgins (He/Him)

Crutchie: Evangeline Morris (She/They)

Spot: Sam Conlon (He/Him)

Specs: Benji Samuels (They/Them)

Romeo: Rowan De Jesus (He/Him)

Buttons: Brielle Davenport (She/Her)

Sniper: Noelle Wah (She/Her)

Smalls: Tessa Davidson (She/Her)

Roxy Jacobs (Trans Fem Les) (She/Her)

Katherine Plumber-Pulitzer (She/Her)

Sarah Jacobs (She/Her)

JoJo: Josephia Jorgelina de la Guera (She/Her)

Micah Guzman (Genderfluid, so depends)

Ike: Issac Guzman (He/They)

Myron Hernandez (He/Him)

Elmer Kasprazak-Zas (They/Them)

Abby Dasilva (Trans Fem Albert) (She/They)

Henry Rios (He/Him)

Finch: Robin Cortes (She/Her)

Tommy Boy: Theresa Domeski (She/Her)

Kenny: Kenneth Ellenbury (He/Him)

Hotshot: Peter Ferrari (He/Him)

Blink: Louis Batteli (He/Him)

Mush: Charles Skyes (He/Him)

Skittery: Richy Brooks (He/Him)

Boots: Grover Gibson (He/Him)

Bumlets: Eddie Livingston (He/Him)

Snipeshooter: Percy Harris (He/Him)

Dutchy: Levi Burns (He/Him)

Itey: Felix Mitchell (He/Him)

Odette Delancey (Trans Fem Oscar) (She/They)

Morris Delancey (He/Him)

Barney Peanuts: Ginny Scott (She/Her)

Snitch: Harley Brooks (He/Him)

Tumbler: Owen Glenn (He/Him)

Pie Eater: Max Livingston (He/Him)

York: Jasper Rowe (He/Him)

Joey Higgins (She/They)

Rafaela Storrs (She/Her)

Hildy Keller (She/Her)

Stray: Becca Bailey (She/Her)

Lucky: Dani Wildman (She/Her)

Splasher: Will Stelle (He/Him)

Splint: Lily Evans (She/Her)

Scope: Cherry Saroki (She/Her)

Ritz: Alyssa Moss (She/Her)

Pips: Kitty Cony (She/Kit)

Knobs: Dallas Bead (He/Him)

Mack: Jeanie MacDonald (She/Her)

And Here's mine

(Just to clear up there's 2 Mike's and 2 snipers due to a personal headcanon and technically there like 3 smalls and also 2 Splashers but I'm only adding leader of the bronx smalls and the older Splasher,I'll explain why I did this in a later post)

Jack kelly|he/him

David jacobs|he/him

Race:Diego Higgins|he/him

Crutchie: casey morris|he/him

Spot: Riley Conlon|any pronouns

Specs:linus willamsburg|he/they

Romeo:cosmo howard|he/him

Buttons: Benji davenport|he/him

Sniper(queens):Nikola Alekseev|he/him

Sniper(Brooklyn): Elaine wah|she/her

Smalls(bronx): Enya Gallagher|she/he

Les:Leshem jacobs|he/him

(This is inspired by someone else here on tumbler I can't remember them for the life of me)

Kathrine pulitzer|she/her

Sarah: Sarahya jacobs|she/her

Jojo:Josephino Jorgelino de la guerra|they/he

Mike(Manhattan): mike sawyer|he/him

Mike: Miguel Cardoso

Ike: Isaque cardoso

(I believe the idea for Mike and ike's first names are from sparkedblaze on here but I'm not 100% sure)

Myron windsor|he/him

Elmer Ostrowski|he/him

Albert DaSilva|he/him

Henry day|he/him

Finch: patrick cortes|he/him

Tommy boy: carter Simeon|he/him

Kenny: Kenneth Phillips|he/him

Hotshot: Issac jones|he/him

Kid blink: Kesten Bennett|he/they

Mush: Gabriel Myers|he/him

Skittery: dakota riggs |he/him

Boots: Avery clive|he/him

Bumlets: noah lopez|he/him

Snipeshooter: Bernard Melvin|he/him

Dutchy: Ruben brouweer|he/him

Itey: Nicos franco|he/him

(OK the delanceys are next and so I headcanon them using "fake" names so I'm gonna include there legal names and there "fake" names)

(He/him)Oscar-

Legal name: Oskar Antosha Ehrlich

"Fake":Oscar Guillaume delancey

(He/him)morris-

Legal name:Maurice Pascal Ehrlich

"Fake":morris beau delancey

Barney peanuts: Emerson Truman|they/them

Snitch: Allen Sommers|he/him

Tumbler: Sanjay robbins|he/him

Pie eater: vernon Kingsley|he/him

York: Virgil smith|he/him

Joey: joesph Hudson|he/him

rafaela Haddad|she/her

Hildy: Hilda Swanson|she/her

Stray:Cheyenne willamsburg|she/her

Lucky: Della Patterson|she/her

Splasher(Brooklyn): William Steele|he/him

Splint: Cassidy Harrison|she/her

Scope: Juliet Tudor |she/her

Ritz: Lydia Harrison|she/her

Pips: sawyer Andrew|she/her

Knobs: Johannes Theodore Andersson|he/him

Mack: jeanie Macdonald|they/she

(Oh my God that took so long I'm going to explode, I know some of my names are really weird but my irl name is odd aswell,I don't know I'm tired)

#92sies #the delancey brothers #morris delancey #newsies #newsies broadway #newsies live #1992sies

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queenadabronx · 2 years

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Newsies Super Power AU

What super powers I think the Newsies would have

Jack: can sense if someone has super powers

Davey: Can come up with a solution to any problem, but he has to give the answer

Sarah: Can turn invisible

Les: Walking through walls

Crutchie: Can control light

Race: Super Speed

Albert: Can control Fire

Buttons: Has the ability to heal people

Smalls: Can change her size

Sniper: Perfect aim

Tommy Boy: Super strength

Elmer: Can tell if someone’s lying

Mike: Shapeshifter

Ike: Can mimic people’s powers

Jojo: Can make things float

Finch: Levitation

Romeo: Can get what he wants via flirting

Specs: X-ray vision

Spot: Immune to other powers (works with mind related powers AND powers like Alberts- the fire won’t burn him)

Joey: Can control emotions

Rafaela: Telekinesis

Hotshot: Teleportation

Graves: Can talk to the dead

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brooklynbadboys · 11 months

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How canon they are is sort've dubious but for your Newsies list, there's also Joey, Hildy, and Rafaela from Marriott (all Brooklyn girlsies)!!

They’re valid to me, but the list is of the newsies from disney’s productions of newsies. I’m unsure if the Marriott one is one? Thank you though!

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ao3feed-newsies · 7 months

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i paced around for hours on end (i jumped at the slightest sounds)

by, Undescribed1mage by Undescribed1mage Spot Conlon does a head count every hour after the strike. Spike, Pips, and Scope are the first to get back, fifteen minutes after Spot does; a bit dirty, Spike’s knee is skinned, but otherwise unharmed. Pips is breathing heavily, and Spike seems so exhausted she's about to start getting cranky, so Spot tucks them both into their respective beds and lets them take a nap, “Just as long as you wake up for dinner, alright?” Or — the few hours after the Great Brooklyn Newsie strike of 1896. [WRITTEN FOR WHUMPTOBER DAY 7'S LYRIC PROMPT!] Words: 1508, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 11 of Newsies, Part 7 of Whumptober 2023 Fandoms: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Spot Conlon, Scope (Newsies), Pips (Newsies), Mack (Newsies), Splint (Newsies), Ritz (Newsies), Lucky (Newsies), Hildy (Newsies), Rafaela (Newsies), Joey (Newsies), Stray (Newsies), Brooklyn Newsies, Spike (Hard Promises) Relationships: Brooklyn Newsies & Spot Conlon Additional Tags: Whumptober 2023, Pre-Canon, Worried Spot Conlon, Female Spot Conlon, injuries, Mentioned Warden Snyder (Newsies), Past Child Abuse, Set During The Brooklyn Newsie Strike of 1886 except I move it up 10 years, I. actually have a full fic about that which is fun, Big Sister Spot Conlon, why isn't that a tag, Based on Newsies!: The Musical (UK), Marriott (2017) Newsies, ft Spike Hard Promises, The Brooklyn Newsies Are Girls read : https://ift.tt/iZPhcoU - October 07, 2023 at 04:55PM

#AO3feed #newsies #fanfic #newsies fanfic

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a-blazeof-glory · 2 years

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💬

Willie walked with the newest little newsie on his shoulder. Blaze was nervous, she wanted to stay with the newsies, they were the one's who helped her. But she was nervous about meeting this Spot that people had told her about.

Willie stopped at a table with four other newsies standing around, two boys and two girls. Willie set Blaze down and she held onto his hand, which was much larger than her entire head.

"Aye, boss, we found a new kid."

A boy looked at her. He was about average height, had light colored hair and he had a cane at his side. He gave Blaze a good look over, his eyes firm but not harsh.

He knelt down to Blaze's level. "What's ya name, kid?"

Blaze glanced up at Willie, then looked to the boy in front of her. "Blaze."

The boy nodded, "Spot Conlon. I's the boss 'round here. Them back their is Hotshot, Hildy, and Rafaela."

Blaze looked over his shoulder and waved at the three people behind him. The boy, Hotshot she presumed, smiled crookedly and nodded at her. The two girls waved back at her.

"Ya sure now that this is where ya wanna be?"

Blaze looked back at Spot and nodded. "Yeah! I'll do good, I promise."

Spot smiled slightly. He spit in his hand and extended it. Blaze was confused, but she spit in her hand as well and shook his hand.

"Welcome to the newsies, kid."

#asks #memories

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licensedfool · 3 years

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my newsies playlist covers!! u can kinda tell i have a pattern when it comes to cover vibes LOL

#newsies #spot conlon #jack kelly #albert dasilva #kid blink #joey newsies #rafaela newsies #mush newsies #playlist

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that-one-bi-wizard · 3 years

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Pride is almost over, so time for some Newsies hcs cuz I wanna share some

Jack - Genderfluid biromantic asexual (He/She/They)

Davey - Gay Demiboy (He/They)

Sarah - Pansexual (She/Her)

Les- Bisexual (He/Him)

Crutchie- Panromantic asexual (He/they)

Katherine - Trans bisexual (She/Her)

Spot - Bisexual (He/him)

Race - Trans Polyamorous pansexual (He/him)

Albert- Gay asexual (He/Him)

Kid Blink - Gay (He/him)

Mush - Gay (He/Him)

Smalls - Aromantic asexual (She/they)

Romeo- Pansexual (He/they)

Specs- Bisexual (He/him)

Sniper- Non-Binary (they/them)

Joey - Lesbian (she/her)

Rafaela - Lesbian (she/her)

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passelofopossums · 3 years

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I think it’s pretty homophobic I can’t be hanging out with the brooklyn newsies right now

#`` [ 📦 ] posting ``#newsies #newsies live #livesises #newsies broadway #brooklyn newsies #hotshot newsies #york newsies #bart newsies #myron newsies #rafaela newsies #spot conlon

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racetrackhigg · 3 years

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Hunger Games AU

kinda

thank you so much to @bitchiaintanonymous for helping me with this!!! she wrote all the descriptions of the districts and she helped me figuring out stuff for the characters!

also i wasn’t supposed to make morris’ moodboard, but i didn’t realize until too late- so whoops

please don’t let it flop ive been working on this literally all day akdhsksbw

!!! TW: DEATH (kinda graphic? i mean i say how they died but that’s it), ABUSE, CHILD ABANDONMENT, MENTIONS OF STARVATION !!!

please don’t continue reading if any of those things trigger you

District 1: luxury

They produce jewelry and the people take pride in living there because of it. Most of the people from there are named after expensive material like “Cashmere” and “Glimmer” and as you know, they train and volunteer for the games so they have a higher chance of winning.

Oscar Delancey

Morris Delancey (died)

Morris lived with his uncle and his brother

He had a fairly privileged life, living in the richer side of the district.

However, his uncle was an abusive drunk and he usually took the hits from him to stop his brother from getting hurt

He trained for the games his entire life and eagerly volunteered to be a part of them when he was 17, hoping that if he won it would mean him and his brother could get away from their uncle and have a better life

Sadly, he died during the games by being stabbed in the back by the one and only Jack Kelly

He made 2nd place

District 2: Masonry and Defense.

These people work on weapons for peacekeepers and even have a training center for the peacekeepers, and they also volunteer for the games. It’s illegal for them, but because they’re so buddy buddy with the Capitol, they’re let off. They usually have Ancient Roman and Greek names.

Romeo (victor)

Romeo grew up having a somewhat decent life

Hs mother died when he was young, so he lived with his father and younger sister (who’s only 5 when he goes to the games) (he’s 15)

He trained for the games since he was young, and at first. he wanted to volunteer

However, as the reaping came near, he was starting to regret his decision, especially after overhearing some of his friends talk about the true horrors of the games

His dad threatened to kill him himself if he didn’t volunteer, claiming he would rather have no son at all than one who was a coward

So Romeo was forced to volunteer

Jojo (his mentor) becomes like an older brother or even father figure to him

Jojo de la Guerra (former victor, died)

Jojo lived in the poorer side of the district

He used to work a lot in weaponry to provide for his family Jojo was 17 when he participated in the games, and won

He was 22 when he mentored Romeo

And 23 when he died

He “trained” for the games for years, but unlike Romeo, he never volunteered

By “training” i mean that he was just a sparring partner for people who wanted to volunteer for the games

Because of this, he just picked up different fighting techniques over time

Unlike most people in that district, he hated the games and was not eager at all to be a part of them

He was assigned as Romeo’s mentor

At first, Jojo thought he was just another cocky kid who was overconfident he’d win

But then he actually met him. and realised Romeo didn’t want this

He made it his goal to make sure Romeo would get out of the games alive. After all, he was just a kid.

He was killed by peacekeepers after trying to protect Romeo. Pulitzer wanted to prostitute Jojo, and he refused, so as a warning they went to kill Romeo, but Jojo managed to stop them the cost of his own life

District 3: Technology.

They produce technology and electronics for the Capitol and usually use their knowledge of that in the games. They’re really smart and in the 10th Hunger Games, it’s said that a district 3 tribute hack into a drone that delivered supplies to use for themselves (doesn’t work that great cause they get killed though) but they’re still really smart.

Antonio “Racetrack” Higgins (victor)

Race never met his mother, She died a few days after he was born

So he was raised by his father

When he turned 6, his father started drinking

When he turned 7, he started hiring him

He met a girl named Sarah after trying to steal from her, and instead of reporting him to a peacekeeper, they actually became friends over time (even though Race was 2 years younger than her)

He often went to hide at the Jacobs’ house when things got too bad at home

Just a year after David volunteered, on the next reaping, Sarah’s name was called

So Race volunteered. (he was 16)

The jacobs’ had already done so much for him, and Sarah didn’t deserve to go through that, chances were she wouldn’t come back alive.

Race knew he probably wouldn’t either, but he had nothing to lose. He wouldn’t be leaving any family behind, because the man that called himself his father was not his family.

David was his mentor.

Much like David had before him, Race used parts of traps to make his weapons better, though he mainly used a bow and arrow.

For most of the game, he made a truce with a guy named Albert from district 4, and they became /very/ close.

He was killed by a guy from district 6, Finch, who was also the last person remaining apart from him.

Race killed him by shooting an arrow directly in his heart. It’s the only kill he doesn’t regret so much.

David Jacobs (victor)

David lived with his parents, twin sister and younger brother.

He was especially close to his sister.

His father got sick and died a few years later, when he was 15, so he had to work extra hard to help support his family

When he turned 17, his worst nightmare came true and his younger brother, Les was selected for the games

He volunteered to save his brother, and was determined to make it back alive, wanting his family to have a better life.

He trained a lot in physical combat, since he knew that without at least a somewhat proper training, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Once in the games, he spent most of his time trying to avoid other people, not wanting to kill anyone else and not wanting to risk his own life.

However, he ended up having to kill a boy from district 10, Mike, to save his own life using a makeshift explosive he made out of parts from a trap he disarmed (or however it’s said).

He wins by tricking the last person left, Itey, into eating poison berries.

He never forgave himself for the lives he took, and it’s something that would always haunt him.

Just a year after that, he became Race’s mentor.

District 4: fishing.

First off, people say that this district had the most “decent-looking” people. As you may have guessed, these people specialize in “aquaculture” It sounds useless, but a character named “Mags” actually won her games because she was the only one able to swim the longest when the arena was flooded. They also use tridents and things like that and volunteer as “Careers” too.

Albert Dasilva (died)

Albert came from the more poor side of the district

He lives with his father, who fell ill a few weeks before Albert was selected for the games.

He’s only 16

He never really trained for the games, unlike many people. He didn’t have the time or money for that.

One of his friends, Sniper, promised to take care of his father while he was gone.

Albert knew he probably wouldn’t be coming back.

Early in the games, he befriended Race, and they survive throughout almost the entire games together.

He knew one of them was going to have to die, but Albert decided to ignore that. He was going to find a way around it.

However, while Race went out hunting, the only other tribute left strangled him to death and stole all their supplies.

He never made it back home to his father.

Sniper (victor)

Sniper was an orphan

Her family abandoned her when she was 5, and she lived in the streets for a short while until a kind man took her in

It was Albert’s father

When she got older, she started working to make her own living

Albert became her best friend, despite being 4 years apart. He became almost like an older brother to her.

Her best friend, almost brother, got sent away for the games and never returned.

Sniper moved back in with Mr. Dasilva to take care of him as he fell ill, and his son was no longer there to take care of him.

He got better, eventually, and was horrified and heartbroken at the news of his son’s death.

A year after his best friend was sent away to die, she got chosen for the games.

She vowed to make it back alive, no matter what.

She learned everything there was to know about the plants of the arena. She was already good at combat.

She won by poisoning the last other tribute.

Much like David, Sniper was never able to forgive herself for the lives she took.

District 5: power.

They specialize in providing power for the Capitol with electricity (they power homes and stuff so not technology like in district 3). They’re pretty smart and they use the coal district 12 mines to generate the power.

Specs

Itey (died)

Itey lived with their parents

They were an only child

Their life was pretty good- at least their family life

They were pretty poor, but still better off than a few other people, so they were grateful for what they had.

They were chosen for the games when they were 15

Their parents prayed Itey would make it back alive, but they knew it was unlikely, since he had no training whatsoever

They were right

Itey almost won, but they were starving, and didn’t know that the berries were poisonous

They came 2nd

District 6: transportation

The tributes shown from here are actually pretty nice and cool. During the 75th Hunger Games the tributes were nicknamed “morphlings” because of their addiction to the drug. The male tribute didn’t do much, but the female tribute sacrificed herself for Peeta and jumped in front of an animal that was trying to kill him.

Finch Cortez (died)

Finch lived with his younger brother

His parents died when he was relatively young (12 years old- his brother was 9) but they managed to scrape by

He started working pretty young to make sure his brother could have a roof over his head and not starve.

He was 17 when he was selected for the games, his brother was only 14

He was terrified, but determined to come back home to his only family

He made it to 2nd place

He was killed by an arrow straight through his heart.

Tbh if Race would’ve known Finch had a family to go home to, he would’ve eaten poisonous berries and let him win

Skittery

District 7: lumber.

They specialize in forestry and wood and paper and all that. They are strong-willed and hard headed, and don’t have many qualms about killing people. but more or less are loyal depending on the situation.

Sean “Spot” Conlon (victor)

Spot was an orphan

Well, kind of

He lived with his parents up until he was 10, when he ran away

They were both abusive and manipulative, and he knew if they kept this up, he’d end up dead

After he ran away, he made friends with a guy his age named Hotshot.

Hotshot had the perfect family. Loving parents and a younger sister.

Honestly, Spot was jealous

But they became quick friends, and Hotshot’s parents let him move in

Hotshot nicknamed him Spot because of the cigarette burns across his arms and back

He was 17 when he was selected for the games

Surprisingly enough, he didn’t think he’d come back

Because as strong and as much of a skilled fighter as he was, there were people out there that had been training for this their whole lives.

However, he managed to win. Had a pretty big kill count too- not because he wanted to, but because a surprising amount of people went after him. He had many good supplies and they wanted them.

The last person left apart from him was Buttons.

He won by bashing his head against a rock and then pushing him off a cliff for good measure.

In his defence, Buttons had tried to push him off a cliff first. Spot just took his chance.

Hotshot

District 8: textiles

Clothing. They fight for what’s right, and we’re actually among the first to rebel against the Capitol and follow Katniss, which, sadly, also made them the second most targeted district (the first being district 12 which was outright destroyed) A leader from district 8 actually became president after Katniss killed this woman named “Alma Coin” (the president of district 13)

Buttons (died)

Buttons lived with her younger brother, Elmer, and their parents

She was only 14 when she was selected for the games

She knew she wasn’t making it back

However, she let her hopes up w hen she was one of the only two left, and was a bit more careless with her actions

This is what led to her the death

Elmer

District 9: grain.

They specialize in grain, and salts. It’s the least mentioned of the districts, there is no known character mentioned from here, and all that is known is that both tributes died in the initial bloodbath

Henry

Smalls

District 10: live stock.

Believe it or not, no one except a crippled boy is mentioned from here. This is the second least mentioned one, it’s only known that a refugee from here told Katniss about district 13 so we can assume they know their rights and wrongs.

Mike (died)

Mike lived with his twin brother and parents

He was 15 when he was selected for the games, and he knew there was no chance he’d make it back alive

He was right, since he was killed by David, after trying to kill him and steal his supplies.

Ike

District 11: agriculture.

Common traits of this district are “dark skin and brown eyes” They are heavily abused by the Peacekeepers and are the most brutal treated ones. Their electric fences are activated 24/7, they have extreme knowledge of herbs and foods. Again, security here is greatly unforced and there are a lot of harsh measures like summary execution. (an execution where someone is accused of something and is immediately killed without a fair trial) It was one of the first districts to rebel, it was their response for what happened to Rue (a former 12-year old tribute who was Katniss’ ally and was killed during the games).

Graves

Rafaela

District 12: coal mining.

This district is divided into housing areas. The Seam is where people who work in coal mines live, and the others are centered around “The Square''. People from The Seam generally have dark hair, grey eyes, and olive skin, and the others have blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. Katniss and Gale are from The Seam whereas Peeta is a bakers son in the town. District 12 is the poorest out of the districts, and starvation is a big issue, and because of this, the Capitol usually bends the rules a little by turning off the electric fence surrounding them so people can go hunt for food for their families or sell their catches to the black market for money. District 12 is known for having only 2 victors in the history of the games before the 74th. A female named Lucy Gray Baird who died before the events of The Hunger Games happened, and Haymitch Abernathy. This is why the district is usually a laughingstock and volunteering for the Games is seen as suicide.

Jack Francis Kelly (victor)

Jack’s parents gave him up at a very young age, when he was only 2 years old

They sent him to live with an old family friend, William Snyder

Snyder was horrible to him.

He constantly abused and starved and neglected him, treated him more like a slave than anything else.

Jack had to balance doing whatever Snyder said and also making his own food and money by working so he could eat

When he was 14, his parents came to visit. He didn’t recognize them, and he didn’t know who they were until the end of the visit- when they were leaving

He was both hurt and furious

Although he was miserable and his life sucked, he did manage to make a friend

Crutchie

He was 3 years younger than Jac k, and his leg was injured beyond repair in a mining accident

When he heard Crutchie’s name at the Reaping, he immediately volunteered

Unlike him, Crutchie had a family. People who loved him.

Jack had nothing to lose

He didn’t expect to come back alive, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Multiple people tried to kill him throughout the game, thinking it as a fun game since he was of the “worse” district

Jack won by killing Morris

He didn’t know he had a brother, if he did, he wouldn’t have done it. Jack didn’t have anything to come back to, Morris did

He found out about this and his situation a day after his victory.

He was horrified, knowing he killed a man that was just trying to help his family.

Jack didn’t have a family. He just took a poor kids only family away.

So he made sure Oscar was away from his uncle and safe

It was the least he could do.

He was never able to forgive himself.

Charlie “Crutchie” Morris

District 13: nuclear weaponry.

Before they were “extinct” they made and built nuclear weapons for the Capitol, but after they tried to rebel, they were bombed and became “extinct”. In reality they lived underground and struck up a deal with the Capitol, that they’d be able to live in hiding, and in return, they would not rain war on the Capitol. Every food ration is cherished in this district and everything is very orderly as to not rouse suspicion. The lifestyle is very strict because of the circumstances. District 13 is the center for the rebellion in the books, and is where Katniss and everyone planned out the war between the districts and the Capitol.

Mush Meyers and Kid Blink

Blink came from district 12

He was an orphan, and his only family, his younger sister, died from starvation when he was 17, soon turning 18

She was only 10

Not even a year later, Blink snuck out of his district, except instead of just going hunting, he ran away.

He narrowly escaped a peacekeeper finding him

After a few days of being completely alone, he ran into Mush Meyers, who (slightly reluctantly) took him into his distract (he got into a shit ton of trouble for that)

However, Blink was allowed to stay.

Eventually, they got together (because we all need some Blush in our lives)

Capitol

Katherine Plumber

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undescribed1mage · 9 months

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OH btw me & the lovely bird @bird-likes-to-fandom have been talking abt a newsies pjo au in the rtccord so here is the list of godly parents we've came up with:

— Katherine is an oracle (Rachel Elizabeth Dare style)

— Jack & Crutchie are either children of Hermes or unclaimed

— Son of Athena Davey (& les. & sarah)

— Children of Ares Spot & Mack

— Children of Hecate Stray & Specs

— Son of Hephaestus, Apollo, or Hermes Race (same with Joey !!!)

— Buttons (& Buttons bc this goes w the uksies & marriott buttons are twins hc) as either Athena or Aphrodite kids

— Son of Hermes Finch

— Son of Kymopoleia Splasher

— Son of Ares Tommy Boy

— Son of Demeter Henry

— Sons of Nemesis Delancey Brothers

— Daughter of Tyche Lucky

— Either Daughter of Athena or Daughter of Hermes Rafaela

— Son of Aphrodite Romeo

— Daughters of Apollo Ritz & Splint

(If you wanna see any of these elaborated on you should totally send either of us an ask !!!)

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onthe-grounds-ofbrooklyn · 3 years

Text

OK so with this fandom?? With the non Canon/TOTALLY CANON characters?? Graves? Roger? Like I stg I thought for a solid 2 months that Rafaela and joey were just overpowered ocs that the fandom just adopted bc thATS JUST WHAT WE DO!

#tw caps #newsies #livesies #graves newsies #Roger the cryptid newsie #Rafaela newsies #Joey newsies

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violetwolfraven · 3 years

Text

The King’s Men

Hey @buttons-and-gulons I wrote this as a Christmas present for you! You said you liked sprace so I decided to flesh out my backstory for Spot and his friendships with other Brooklyn kids and also include his relationship with Race in there! Hope you like it! Happy Holidays!

Tw: mentions of abusive parents, period-typical homophobia, some internalized homophobia, minor character death.

...

Sean was 6 when he ran away from home.

His father had been gone a year, and his mama resented her son as a reminder of how she’d wasted her youth on a man who never loved her. And after months of stress and anger being taken out on him in the form of cigarette burns and slaps to the face, Sean finally got the message. He took off onto the streets while his mama was at work, slept in an alleyway, and barely survived the rest do the week alone, a kid with no money and no home to go back to.

It was six days before a red-haired girl noticed him in that alleyway and asked where his parents were, and Sean said he didn’t have any even though as far as he knew, both his parents were still alive.

The girl introduced herself as Palomino. She was 12. Six years older than Sean. She was a newsie, and she was willing to take Sean home with her if he’d use his cuteness to help her sell.

Sean, not having anywhere else to go, agreed, and with a scarred-up little kid fronting, he and Palomino sold so many papers that they had to go back in the middle of the day for more.

She introduced him as ‘Spot’ that night at the Lodging House, and when Sean tried to object, she pretended not to hear. But she introduced him to the other Littles, to Rafaela, a year older, who’s real name wasn’t Rafaela, and Scabs, who was Sean’s age, who’s name definitely wasn’t Scabs.

Sean didn’t have many good memories attached to his name, anyway, so he let his new friends call him Spot, and he learned the best ways to sell alongside them, learned to fight and lie convincingly from older kids, learned to survive on the streets and avoid the bulls. The three of them kept their heads down to avoid the latest Brooklyn king’s wrath, and looked out for each other as best as they could.

‘As best as they could’ wasn’t always enough.

Spot was 7, Rafaela was 8, and Scabs was dying of tuberculosis that winter.

When Spot tried to tell the king he needed help, the older boy just looked vaguely unhappy, mentioned that they lost kids every year, and took a swig of the whiskey he’d bought with money he could have spent on medicine.

Palomino wasn’t much more help, saying that sometimes kids died and there wasn’t anything you could do about it, so you had to just say goodbye and hope they ended up somewhere nice. And what made that worse was that she clearly cared more than the king did, but still wasn’t willing to even try to save Scabs.

Spot was 7 the first (but not last) time he ended up in the Refuge, for trying to steal medicine for his friend. Of course, Snyder didn’t show mercy even to a kid so young, and the beds were somehow cramped and cold, so Spot spent every minute thinking of when he’d get out. He was stuck in that hellhole for two weeks, and though Rafaela and Palomino were waiting for him by the gate when his sentence was over, Scabs was already gone.

Unlike the girls, Spot didn’t get to say goodbye, and he realized he should’ve just listened to Palomino.

He felt stupid, crying over a friend he hadn’t even known a year. It was stupid, how one person being gone could mean so much. Too much. And it was stupid how Spot had even more nightmares than before, and he flinched when Rafaela tried to help him.

He understood now why ‘Mino held her friends at arm’s length. Why she didn’t get attached to anyone. It was so she wouldn’t miss them too much—wouldn’t cry—when they were gone.

So, Spot pushed Rafaela away. He stopped selling with her, stopped letting her try to help when he had nightmares. He tagged along with any older kid willing to take him, knowing none of those broken, rough boys and girls would let him get too close. They knew better.

He tried not to think about how hurt Raf looked at first, or how angry she got as time went on. As months passed, and then years.

Spot was 8 when York came along. Raf’s age, full of scars and stories he didn’t tell. He was mostly silent and thoughtful where the other kids were loud and rambunctious. Still plenty angry, just quiet about it. Smart. When he committed minor crimes (as most Brooklyn kids did) he didn’t get caught. He never said that he held back his anger quietly because one time he hadn’t and it had ended in him losing that right eye of his, but everyone kind of knew.

York was good in a fight, but as with Rafaela, Spot didn’t let him get too close. He kept them both at a distance, and it absolutely didn’t hurt how they got close without him, because it was better if Spot kept them out of his heart.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t soak anyone who said something bad about either of them twice as fast as he would if someone said something bad about him, like when the latest king of Brooklyn made fun of York’s eye patch.

It was a different king than the one who let Scabs die, because of course it was. Brooklyn kings came and went fast, as soon as someone bigger/tougher/deadlier came along. But they were all indistinguishable from the others. Everyone was loyal to them only out of fear.

Spot should have known better. He was a Little. He was less than half the king’s size. He didn’t stand a chance.

But he threw the first punch anyway, and the only reason he survived that fight was because Palomino stepped in and reminded the king that he was a kid. He was young. And he had learned his lesson.

Spot absolutely had not learned his lesson. He was angrier than ever, but he let the older girl patch him up, anyway.

Spot was 8 and when he healed up, ‘Mino started teaching him to fight. Really fight. And no matter how many bruises accumulated or how many times he lost sparring matches, she wouldn’t let him stop learning. She kept pushing him harder, making him get stronger, goading him on until he could land a hit on her, until it didn’t matter that he couldn’t match her for strength or height, until he could knock down an opponent much bigger than himself.

She didn’t sell with him anymore, moving on to selling with Bart and Joey, a pair of siblings, the brother the same age and the sister two years older than Spot. It wouldn’t be until years later that Spot would realize she was doing that to protect him, so no one would suspect they were up to anything.

Spot was 9, Palomino was 15, and she showed up late to sparring sometimes. She sold at Sheepshead, but she’d never let him come with her. She’d never let anyone come with her anymore, but she slung a good 150 papes a day, so no one could argue.

Hildy showed up that fall, a 10-year-old who barely spoke a word of English, and while she fell in with the younger gang, the one Spot still kept at arm’s length, she was a bit separate, too, given that she had a hard time communicating.

She tried to make friends with Spot, and she was so innocent, at least at first, that it actually hurt to push her away towards the others, into that bubble Spot was always on the edge of but never let himself try to enter.

No one trusted anyone else completely in a borough that chaotic, but it definitely didn’t hurt how the others had a circle of at least relative safety and Spot wouldn’t, couldn’t let himself have even that much.

Spot was 10, and he was surprised to find that having made it to double digits didn’t make him feel much older or wiser. Palomino still occasionally made him spar with her, but she’d run out of things to teach him. Spot was getting big and strong enough that she didn’t have to go easy on him anymore, and sometimes he even won their sparring matches.

What was weird was that ‘Mino kept sneaking off to Manhattan, and Spot wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like there was anything interesting in ‘Hattan. Even the kids who lived there weren’t especially interesting, if the ones Spot saw who came over for negotiations and things were any indication.

When he asked why, she simply said that he’d understand the appeal of Manhattan someday, even if Spot was pretty sure he wouldn’t. What did ‘Hattan have that Brooklyn didn’t?

It was later that year when Spot found out that Palomino wasn’t the only one with a strange fixation with Manhattan, when he accidentally caught Moony making out with a ‘Hattan boy a few blocks from the Brooklyn bridge.

This was significant because Moony was a boy, too. And Spot was pretty sure boys weren’t supposed to kiss other boys.

Of course, Moony said he’d punch Spot’s daylights out if he told anyone about him and that Manhattan boy, who’s name turned out to be Skittery.

Spot didn’t understand that. Sure, boys kissing other boys wasn’t legal, but it wasn’t like most of the Brooklyn kids didn’t commit worse crimes on a regular basis. They all stole and cheated when they had to, and they all knew each other did these things, so why was one more illegal action any different?

When he asked Palomino about it (even though he told Moony he wouldn’t tell anyone) she just laughed, saying she hadn’t pegged Moony as queer and that he should know better than to make out where people could see, but that he had good taste in boys.

But she also said that Spot couldn’t tell anyone, because Moony could get kicked out of the Lodging House at best, arrested and killed in jail at worst, and no matter what happened, it wouldn’t be good if anyone found out he was...

There was that word again. ‘Queer.’ Spot didn’t see why anybody cared so much, but he understood that if it could have such bad consequences, it was best for it to stay secret.

Unfortunately, Moony being queer didn’t stay secret. And after the secret came out, Spot never saw him again. That was when it hit that being queer wasn’t just a secret; it was dangerous.

And he still wouldn’t let himself be friends with any of the others his age, but that didn’t mean he missed how Raf snuck glances at Joey as much as she did at York, or how Bart blushed when the new kid, Vince, grabbed his hand to keep track of him in a crowd.

And that meant, even if he couldn’t have them as friends, Spot had to protect them. Sarcastic Vince, quick-witted Hildy, defensive Bart, funny Joey, tough York, and stubborn Rafaela.

And Palomino, too, he guessed, even if she didn’t need it, but the point was that to protect anyone, he had to keep an eye on them, which was closer than he’d let himself get to any of them since he was 7 years old.

Spot was 11 when he found a 5-year-old girl alone in an alleyway and saw himself in her, so he offered her a home.

And he tried to keep her out. He tried to keep that little girl from worming her way into his heart, but somewhere between giving her a piggyback ride to the Lodging House and teaching her to sell, Bluebird got in, no matter how hard he tried. It was scary.

But then again, the latest king, Joe Harris, was even more corrupt and tyrannical than the others Spot remembered, so maybe Blue sticking close to him was for the best.

Letting one person in didn’t mean you had to let in anyone else, right? And besides, Spot could protect one person close to him. Probably.

Or maybe not, because it turned out Joe Harris could hurt even those who seemed untouchable, with how Palomino stood up to him once and it got her killed.

Spot was 12, and he wished he could say that he didn’t grieve his mentor when she was gone. Because despite himself, he had cared about her, and it hurt so much that she was gone.

Joe killing Palomino was meant to scare off any others thinking of rebelling, and it did just that to most of them, but Spot just got angry instead.

He never forgave Joe, and he made a promise to himself that no King of Brooklyn would take anyone else from him again.

It turned out Blue was just the first crack in a dam, because after her, Spot found himself caring about more people. Mostly in the form of the others his age in Brooklyn, despite how hard he’d worked to keep them out. He’d never really be one of them after isolating himself for so long, but in finally letting himself trust them as allies, Spot found that it wasn’t as scary as he’d always feared.

Well, it was scary. But he knew that the others could take care of themselves, and it was certainly easier to help them do so if they stayed close.

And keeping them close meant more allies for what Spot had planned.

Spot was 13 when he challenged for king.

He didn’t have a choice. Joe was getting increasingly cruel, soaking anyone who so much as objected to any of his decisions and taxing the kids whatever he decided was fair for the right to sell in Brooklyn. With the amount he was charging, none of them would last much longer.

Spot knew the fight would be to the death. He knew Joe was a lot bigger and a lot more experienced, at 19, and he absolutely would kill Spot for posing a serious challenge.

But if it gave his friends the chance to survive, if it gave someone else a chance at winning another challenge, it would be worth it.

Making his first kill was the hardest thing Spot had ever done, but he did it, and he became the king of Brooklyn.

It wasn’t his last kill, either.

Over the next couple years, he had to kill Scarf’s father, and a particularly bloodthirsty gangster, and a few boys who tried to challenge for king. But he never enjoyed it, and it was all in defense of his kids, because as king he had to care for all of Brooklyn now. They were all his responsibility.

Still, the title of king meant a certain level of fear, which meant that none of them could care about him the way they cared about each other. And though a few others helped as much as they could, he was largely running the borough alone.

Spot was 14 when Hotshot showed up, an big, strong, angry 12-year-old who’d fight anyone who looked at him funny. The perfect second for a young king who needed to establish his reputation. All he had to do was tell the boy where to aim his anger, and people assumed that if he could get a kid like Hotshot under his thumb, he had to be just as aggressive.

But Spot didn’t let his second soak people who didn’t deserve it. He didn’t do it himself, either. He wouldn’t be like the kings he’d grown up under and let innocent kids get hurt for no reason. Spot swore it that first night when he killed Joe Harris and he did his best to uphold it. He would rather die than be like those tyrants, those power-drunk boys who didn’t care who they got killed.

Well, at least there was one thing about Spot that set him apart from the other kings, but it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

If his friends (it still felt odd to call them that) had been cracks in the dam, Racetrack Higgins was the first wave of water that broke it down, only...

Race never pushed, never forced. He just proved that Spot could trust him over and over again, despite being Manhattan. He was kind and compassionate despite being willing to gamble grown men out of their pay. He was funny and brave and though he could talk his way out of most fights, he’d throw himself into one without hesitation for someone else’s sake.

And though Spot had known him since he was 12 and Race was 11, it wasn’t until years later that he realized.

Spot was 15, Race was 14, and Spot realized that he was well and truly screwed, because though he’d started letting others in a little, the problem was that the person he wanted to keep the closest, the person he trusted most, was a Manhattan boy. Was Race.

He loved Race. And that made him queer, and that was dangerous.

Of course that wasn’t exactly a fun realization, especially with how Race didn’t feel the same.

He couldn’t, right? Because Spot’s own mother hadn’t wanted him. Palomino had only cared for him as a sparring partner. His friends feared him and Bluebird and Hotshot only claimed he was like a big brother to them because they had no one else who even pretended to give a rat’s ass about them.

Race couldn’t want him, too, couldn’t love him back, because nobody really loved him. Spot had accepted that maybe him loving other people was inevitable, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think they would love him, too.

Spot was 16 and Race was 15 when he found out that wasn’t completely true.

Because they’d been in the middle of a fight. Spot was facing a potential king challenger and he’d wanted Race to sell in Manhattan for a few days so he’d be out of harm’s way. But while Race wouldn’t push on sensitive topics, he would fight against what he didn’t think was fair. He thought Spot needed as many allies close by as he could get.

Spot had gotten him pinned against the wall, yelling in the other boy’s face, and then he’d found out that his belief that no one wanted him couldn’t be true, because Race had kissed him to shut him up.

And Spot knew Race. He knew that he didn’t do anything halfway. If he was your friend, he was ride or die for you. Joey and Bart were his cousins, and they said he’d always been that way, diving into things head first, throwing his everything behind every move he made, confident that he was right.

Spot knew Race. He knew that Race didn’t feel anything halfway, either. He knew that to kiss him, Race would have to feel the exact same way he did, which was why he let himself kiss back, at least until he had to pull back and tell him again to leave the borough for a few days.

Race told him not to bother sending someone to tell him it was safe to come back until he was ready to talk, and Spot spent two long weeks winning against the latest challenger, but ultimately showing the kid mercy, then mulling over whether or not he wanted to send someone over to get Race.

He did, but he wasn’t sure if he should.

Spot was terrified.

He’d tried so long to keep everyone out of his heart. He’d fought even Race on that for a while after they met, not trusting that caring about him would lead to anything other than sorrow.

He still struggled with that, even as he sat with Bluebird and Scarf and the other Littles until they fell back asleep if they had a nightmare. Even as he enjoyed card games with Joey, Hildy, Hotshot, Vince, York, and Bart. Even as he attempted to make amends with Rafaela, his oldest friend, who was still cold to him.

Besides that struggle, any serious relationship was a stupid idea for a king. Spot had watched kings from his childhood lose anyone they genuinely cared about, one way or another. He’d watched them grieve siblings, lovers, friends, or were betrayed by one of the above and lost their lives for it. People you cared about were weaknesses, and weaknesses could be exploited if you weren’t careful, and that wasn’t even counting how Race was a boy.

Being a boy who loved another boy could make you disappear. And Spot was a hell of a lot better of a fighter than Moony had ever been, but that type of fighting was always only about protecting himself.

...or was it?

Spot had tried for years to not think of his old mentor, but now that he was thinking of her...

Palomino was a master manipulator because she knew how people’s minds worked.

She would know that even if she could win a challenge, Brooklyn wouldn’t respect her as king, a girl with no one but a bunch of Littles backing her up. But she would know that while she couldn’t be king, she could train someone to end the cycle of tyrants.

She would know that whoever she trained would have to be someone who wanted to be better than the bad kings they’d suffered under.

And she would know that whoever she trained had to be someone who had proved their willingness to fight for others multiple times.

What had she told Spot the one time he’d tried to ask her why she was teaching him to fight?

“Because you’s the only one who stands a chance. It has to be you.”

At the time, he’d thought she meant that he was the only one tough enough to survive her training, but...

She’d been playing the long game with Spot the whole time. She’d taught him to fight counting on the fact that he’d challenge for king one day and she hadn’t cared if she got to see it because she knew he’d win.

It hadn’t mattered that she didn’t live to see his reign because the king she’d made sure he’d have Brooklyn’s support out of loyalty instead of fear. A Brooklyn boy, born and raised, who could take care of himself in a fight but didn’t think of himself first.

It half made Spot want to punch her, for manipulating his entire childhood, but honestly, he wasn’t sure how much would be different if she hadn’t chosen him. He would have tried to challenge for king anyway, only he probably would have lost.

It was a hard decision, to be angry or grateful to her, and Spot’s verdict changed hourly, but he kept thinking about another thing Palomino had once told him.

That one day, he’d see the appeal of Manhattan.

Well, he saw that it was Race’s home, and he was safe there.

He saw that Jack Kelly himself was almost definitely queer, that there were plenty of teenage kids who fit the type and hadn’t disappeared yet. He saw how the Manhattan kids were unapologetic and how they didn’t even judge each other, for the most part. They were more of a family than Brooklyn and they weren’t scared to be who they were and love who they loved, be it platonic or something more.

Spot had to wonder how different he’d be, if he’d been taken in by Manhattan instead of Brooklyn. If he’d grown up alongside Jack and Race and Crutchie instead of Rafaela and York and Bart.

It was startling to realize that he didn’t want to know. Because despite the sacrifices he’d made, everyone he’d lost, Spot still loved his home and his fellow newsies.

But he also loved Race, and even if it would be easier to push him away, to use this as an excuse in his mind to push everyone away, Spot didn’t want to.

He was tired of pushing people away see. It never worked, anyway, and in the end, it didn’t make you any stronger. It just meant you were running from something you couldn’t escape.

So he sent Bluebird to tell Race to meet him on the docks that night, and as nerve-wracking as it was when he managed to get his courage up, he kissed Race first that night.

Spot was 16 when he finally stopped running away from his feelings. From letting himself care about people even if he still had trouble showing it.

Spot was 16 when he finally started running towards home.

...

Sorry this gets a little incoherent towards the end. I was tired when I wrote it.

#newsies #sprace #spot conlon #racetrack higgins #brooklyn newsies #rafaela newsies #york newsies #joey newsies #bart newsies #hildy newsies #vince newsies #hotshot newsies #oc: palomino #oc: bluebird #angst #character dive fic #canon era #violet’s writing

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