#this is why loud and outright support and solidarity is so important

[madohomurat]

trans women are everywhere and are so eager to be seen and heard but only if they feel safe around you. if you hardly ever have trans women interacting with you, especially online, then consider there might be a reason for that and you should address it

#the same thing happens with black people #black people are everywhere! especially online! black gay and black trans people! #but when your community is suspiciously devoid of them then theres something wrong and you need to acknowledge it #even if its not intentional you need to think about how theres minority groups who do not feel safe around you at face value #this is why loud and outright support and solidarity is so important #black people and trans people and etc minority groups will assume you are unsafe unless you explicitly state otherwise #you can't just sit there and say 'well they didnt approach us so its not our fault for not including them!' #like did you TRY to get them to approach you?? #cy texts

[noxexistant]

davey and morris getting to be friends - or some semblance, eventually - is so important to me. davey would take absolutely none of morris’ shit and say it outright every time morris steps out of line, he’s direct and honest and just the right kind of sharp, but he’d also Understand morris in a way even oscar can’t, and be able to offer the sort of support morris has never gotten in his life. gotten the exact opposite of all his life.

of course, in-period, even davey doesn’t know he’s autistic (but i also have many thoughts about modern au where davey is diagnosed and supported from a very young age whereas morris is undiagnosed) but he’s grown up with loving parents and been given the platform to learn how to accommodate and understand himself. it’s why he understands morris too, sees all these things in him that he’s never seen in anyone but himself, triggering this sort of kinship and desperation to reach out that davey can’t explain.

davey teaching morris non-destructive stims when he notices morris constantly self-harming to stim. encouraging the few safe stims morris does have - rocking back and forth, bouncing on his feet, tapping - rather than trying to beat them out of him like everyone else has. he listens, even when morris is talking too fast and jumbled and slurring his syllables and using made-up words, and he tries to understand. helps morris translate all his thoughts and feelings into words that others can understand too. (oscar helps - he’s near fluent in morris’ “language”, can read his body language and facial expressions, and most of the time he’s the only person morris is willing to even try and talk to. most importantly, he knows - all about the awful things that morris can only have made-up words for, or can’t express at all.)

morris listens to davey too. really listens. sits quiet and his own version of attentive and lets davey talk about whatever he needs to or wants to, and he laughs at davey’s jokes - the ones that none of the other newsies ever seem to understand, or even recognise as jokes - and he offers quiet support when davey’s struggling or expressing insecurities he feels he could never express to anyone else. morris leans against davey or headbutts his shoulder when he can’t express his solidarity in words.

davey reads to morris, as soon as he learns that morris can’t read and has never been read to, because ma didn’t read and oscar doesn’t have the attention span. les offers up his books for davey to borrow for morris, and they’re a little juvenile but morris seems to love them so davey doesn’t mind. he tries to teach morris to read too, as well as to write because all morris can manage is a clumsy scrawl of his own name and oscar’s - spelled incorrectly, more often than not - and he’s patient even though morris is slow. and morris is grateful, even though davey’s sure he’s not a very good teacher.

morris sticks by davey’s side when davey’s anxious and breathing’s getting difficult, and davey sticks by morris’ whenever something happens - one of the boys shouting too loud, or saying a certain word, or sometimes something that davey doesn’t notice or understand at all - and morris goes all stiff and distant and scared. what used to be the precursor to morris getting aggressive, seeking control and self-preservation by initiating the violence he thought was about to befall him. davey teaches him how to breathe to calm down, and how doing things like counting things he sees can help remind him of where he really is, and tells morris over and over that he’s safe and that nobody’s gonna hurt him while davey’s here.

“i like bein’ with you,” morris tells him quietly one day, when they’re sat together - away from the chaos of the other newsies. davey no longer has to pick between being overwhelmed or being alone.

“yeah?” he replies, soft, and reaches out gentle when morris starts trying to chew at his thumb. morris lets davey take his wrist, and starts tapping instead.

“yeah. ‘s’safe with you.”

davey has to swallow hard. he’s grateful when the door opens a moment later, even though morris flinches hard - he relaxes marginally when he sees it’s jack, who’s a little tense too at the sight of morris but offers a smile all the same, for both morris and davey. he lifts the sketchbook and pencil in his hand by way of explanation.

there’s definitely a tension still there, particularly when jack comes over and sits beside davey, on the far side from morris, but it steadily melts as jack starts drawing and davey starts talking again and morris drifts as he listens, slowly inching closer and closer to jack to watch him sketch with complete fascination. he clearly doesn’t feel half as safe as he does with just davey, he flinches every time jack moves a little too much, but he doesn’t bolt or lash out when jack glances up at him.

“you’re really good at that,” he says, earnest, ‘cause davey’s always telling him to try and say stuff out loud. jack can’t help but smile, ducking his head but taking the compliment for once.

“what d’you think i should draw next?” he asks morris.

“davey,” morris tells him, and jack’s face splits into a grin.

“great idea.”

davey’s sure the drawing that’s about to follow won’t be flattering, judging solely by jack’s mischief-filled face of concentration - tongue poking out from between his teeth, eyes alight - but he supposes it’s worth it for the way morris glues himself to jack’s back, giggling, face screwed up into shameless amusement.

or, davey thinks when the paper is finally turned around to him and he looks past it to both jack and morris beaming, maybe this is the worst thing he’s ever accidentally mediated.

#this is DUMB and LONG and SELF INDULGENT #newsies #morris delancey #david jacobs #davey jacobs #jack kelly #my writing