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emmedoesntdomath · 11 months

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RACETRACK MOTHERFCKING HIGGINS YOU GOSH DARN HISTORY NERD

RACERACERACERACERACERACE

also, i feel so seen rn *wipes away emotional tear*

so, ed ‘racetrack’ higgins was a newsie who helped lead the 1899/1900 newsboys’ strike against william randolph hearst and joseph pulitzer with louis ballat (who was known as kid blink), dave simons (who we don’t know the newsie name of), and (reportedly, because there aren’t that many sources with him) spot conlon (and, honestly? they could have been the same kid. not likely, but possibly). he was a brooklyn newsboy (from brighton beach specifically), and was between the ages of 16-21. he spent a considerable amount of time between the two racetracks he was near (hence the nickname). he had talked about william c. whitney, who owned a private racetrack, trained horses, and spent a lot of time at sheepshead (he said he had run horses for him, but that could be false). in just about every article he was interviewed for, it was noted that he talked A LOT about the races, even when they weren’t mentioned. like, at all (I love that for him, actually). he was charismatic, bold, and a natural-born leader. unfortunately, after the strike, he essentially disappears. there were a lot of ed higgins in the new york/jersey area, and it’s hard to track an idividual person, especially after the war started.

for more historical racetrack stuff, go check out @musicalcuriosity ‘s blog, they’ve got some great stuff over there.

now, because this isn’t actually my historical area of expertise, AND because I have actual hcs, we’re going to move on to the fun stuff.

ANTONIO ‘racetrack’ higgins is a manhattan newsie. he’s the second in command to jack kelly and more or less the ambassador to brooklyn. he’s snarky, loves gambling and spot conlon, and is probably the reason adderall was invented. he’s brilliant with numbers, but couldn’t tell you how to spell algebra to save his life. he’s petty, smokes more than anyone should, and will risk life and limb for those that he loves. he doesn’t plan to make it to 25, but will lie to anyone who asks and says he wants to be doctor for kids.

he becomes a newsie at nine, right after his mom dies, and he looks (maybe) seven, so he’s immediately taken under the wing of an older newsie. he’s dragged to the races after they finish selling, and it’s like something just clicks inside of him. he notices the trends, gets good at counting the cards, finding the tells of a good bet.

when asked, he would just shrug, a jaunty grin on his face. “it’s jus’ numbers,” he would say.

he meets a young francis sullivan (newly jack kelly) and charlie (now crutchie) when he stumbles upon their hiding spot in an alley. he recognized jack, and laughed instead of cowering when he threatened to soak him. he cheerfully informs them of a better place to hide on top of the lodging house, and from then on, they’re brothers friends.

he travels to brooklyn by himself the first time on a dare from albert (who has since become his best friend), and gets caught by hotshot within thirty minutes. he gets told to never come back with a hearty punch to the ribs for good measure.

he returns the next day.

he’s not allowed coffee (per jack), because he’s apparently “too damn jittery” as it is.

he can speak a little bit of italian, and converses with itey when they’re both at the lodging house. if he’s in public, he pretends he doesn’t know any.

when finch and albert start dating, part of him is sad, no matter how happy the rest of him is. it’s not fair, and he doesn’t know why, but it feels like a door’s shutting. he laughs, and holds spot a little tighter afterwards.

skittery taught him how to throw his first real punch, and then immediately started a fight with him “to make sure he understood the lesson”.

he’s scared of loud thunderstorms.

he hates the sound of a creaky wheel on a carriage.

he doesn’t mind girls, but he would prefer short brunettes with a temper (he’s very much got a type, and he’s not ashamed of it).

he would love harry potter, but despise JKR.

he believes in god, but doesn’t go to church.

if he had a kid, he would name them either maria or sebastian, after his mother and uncle respectively.

#i love this man #newsies #92sies #uksies #livesies #racetrack higgins #sprace #race x spot #antonio higgins #racetrack newsies #spot conlon #jack kelly #crutchie morris #crutchie newsies #francis sullivan #emme’s bad ideas

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monoclegraphic · 4 months

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quand je me tourne vers... 2023

Encore une année à me chercher, un style variant qui bouge souvent selon mon envie. Du simples comme plus élaborés, une indécision constante dans ce que je fais, mais une satisfaction lorsque je regarde ce que j'ai pu faire durant la dernière année.

Mais je n'oublierai pas le plaisir que j'ai eu en février 2023, lancer le challenge : #native challenge , pour faire découvrir ces visages autochtones qu'on voit si peu dans l'univers rpgique (comme ailleurs), je met quelques réalisations, mais n'hésitez pas à les découvrir sur la toile !

Kiki Harper (Anachnid)

Cherokee Jack

D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai

Shina Novalinga

Jessica Matten

Quannah Chasinghorse

Voyons ce que 2024 m'inspireras !!

Soon !!!

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blown-blooms · 4 months

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Terror airline au. Is that anything?

#Sir John is the captain Francis is the co pilot James is the technician #everyone else is. everyone else.#air disasters are a fixation of mine ok #morri mumbles #the terror

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glitter-ink · 7 months

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some newsies film & broadway musical theories that i've read (disclaimer, these are not my original theories):

jack's biological dad can be linked to alfred borden's character in "the prestige." this connection is evident in their physical resemblance & shared predisposition for legal troubles. borden's history includes visits to new york & numerous romantic liaisons.

jack's evolution into a vigilante reminiscent of the iconic batman takes shape in a unique narrative. his backstory is shrouded in tragedy, with the absence of his parents casting a long shadow over his life. perhaps their untimely demise occurred in a dark alley, thrusting jack into a life of orphanhood. alternatively, his journey might follow a path where he embarks on a quest to acquire the skills necessary for combating crime in the gritty underworld of 1920s gotham (which is also an old nickname for new york city). these acquired abilities encompass the realms of stealth, martial arts, & even the art of synchronized dance—a mysterious & unconventional arsenal he aims to employ in his quest for justice.

the outcome of "independence day" can be likened to a whimsical twist of fate. in a humorous interpretation, it could be suggested that an extraterrestrial species watched "newsies" & concluded that the incumbent president would respond to their threat with dance, anticipating an easy conquest. however, their expectations were wildly off the mark. instead of encountering a docile figure, they were met with a resolute leader in bill pullman. this unforeseen turn of events resulted in a level of resistance far beyond what the alien race had anticipated.

the delancey brothers' backstory indicates a history of childhood abuse & neglect. oscar's disclosure in the musical reveals that their father failed to provide proper care for them. additionally, their living arrangement with wiesel, who is referred to as their uncle in the film, adds a layer of complexity to their upbringing. oscar & morris exhibit signs of excessive aggression & violence, extending beyond the demands of their occupation. morris, in particular, displays a proclivity for resorting to intimidation whenever possible. these behaviors are often characteristic of individuals who have survived childhood abuse without addressing the underlying trauma. these experiences may also elucidate the pervasive anger exhibited by these characters, despite their youthful age, as violence can frequently be a learned response in such cases.

david & les have not been explicitly identified as jewish in the final version of the movie or the musical. however, an original script for the film suggests this aspect of their background. there are subtle clues in the narrative that allude to their potential jewish heritage. for instance, the name david jacobs implies a connection to jewish culture, & david's articulate & scholarly manner of speaking aligns with the jewish tradition's emphasis on education. the reason david & les do not openly discuss their heritage in the story could be attributed to various factors. one possibility is that their parents have a long history in america, spanning several decades or more. alternatively, they may be recent immigrants who have faced significant discrimination, prompting them to encourage their sons to assimilate fully into american society.

crutchy's previous stay at the refuge is a matter of record. he confided in jack that if anyone suspected he couldn't fend for himself, he'd be detained there indefinitely. it's possible that crutchy had a prior stint at the refuge, & if that were the case, jack might have played a role in securing his release. despite crutchy not fitting the typical profile of a criminal, his disability might have driven him to resort to theft as a means of survival. in the year 1899, opportunities for individuals with disabilities to secure employment were scarce or virtually non-existent. moreover, it's plausible that crutchy ended up at the refuge simply because of his disability, as the prevailing belief may have been that he had limited prospects for adoption, academic success, or societal contribution according to the standards set by able-bodied individuals.

jack's father shared tales of santa fe with him. mr. kelly (sullivan) harbored aspirations of relocating his family to that enchanting place, where they could pursue a ranching life, well before the bustling streets of new york had worn him down. jack became captivated by this vision, & he might have even harbored intentions of upholding his father's dream as the head of the household, had the family endured.

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closetofcuriosities · 19 days

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A Clockwork Orange - 1971 - Dir. Stanley Kubrick

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personinthepalace · 1 year

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New Photos of Peter Pan Goes Wrong on Broadway!!

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90smovies · 1 year

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nomilkinmyteaplease · 2 years

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Hands and their owners part 2

#the terror #the terror amc #thomas jopson #francis crozier #thomas blanky #the terror gifs #liam garrigan #jared harris #ian hart #john bridgens #henry peglar #bridgens x peglar #John Lynch #Mr Morris #John Morfin

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cinematicct · 19 days

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Game Night (2018)

🎲💥🌌

This modern action comedy is about a group of friends, whose weekly game night suddenly becomes a real mystery when one of them is abducted.

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star as married avid gamer couple Max and Annie Davis. The supporting cast includes: Jesse Plemons as police officer/next-door neighbor Gary Kingsbury, Billy Magnussen (aka Jed Milgrim/Grimsson on Netflix’s Maniac), as Max and Annie’s friend Ryan Huddle, Sharon Horgan (aka Eva Garvey on Bad Sisters) as Ryan’s co-worker/love interest Sarah Darcy, Lamorne Morris (aka Winston Bishop on New Girl) and Kylie Bunbury as high school sweethearts Kevin and Michelle Sterling, Michael C. Hall (aka Dexter Morgan) as a dangerous arms dealer known as The Bulgarian and Kyle Chandler as Max’s brother Brooks Davis. A crucial animal character in the film includes Gary’s West Highland Terrier named Bastian.

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams make a great team creating the perfect balance between wry eagerness and deft wordplay, which can be twice as fun to watch. Jesse Plemons sure knows how to make an audience laugh without even trying to be funny, hence his ability to play a straight-faced character. Billy Magnussen is especially hilarious given that his character (who initially brought a different date with him on game night) is an outgoing gamer who’s also quite dumb. Kyle Chandler has literally got his game face on playing an ultra-competitive alpha male.

In terms of observing the competitive streak of the film’s principal characters, Max and Annie’s relationship is essentially built around their intense love of games. Jesse Plemons’ character is an intensely strange person who, after his wife left him, desperately wants to be invited to the extent that he gradually resorts to subtle (and comedic) underplay. Brooks is a highly successful guy who not only takes game night up a notch, but he takes great pleasure in beating his brother every opportunity he gets (hence, Max’s sibling rivalry literally throws him off his game and is thus unable to conceive a baby with Annie).

The script is insightfully written in both skill and originality, setting the stage for a convoluted narrative that advances to the next level of dark comedy and unforeseen thrills. One moment, you’re in for a legit role-playing murder mystery, but the next you’re caught up in life-threatening situations involving real criminals.

Throughout the course of the movie, references to real-life board/party games are clearly implied. A few examples include: Guess Who? (Kevin and Michelle’s argument on which “celebrity” the latter slept with), Operation (the impromptu surgery in which Annie removes a bullet from Max’s arm) and “Hot Potato” (the scene where the group toss a Fabergé egg from person to person while being chased by guards). What’s more, some three-dimensional aerial camera shots of the city/neighborhood allude to the Game of Life, a clear nod to a “game-within-a-game” concept.

The soundtrack contains a selection of classic songs that fit conveniently into the film. Such specific tracks range from Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” to Engelbert Humperdinck’s cover version of “Quando Quando Quando”.

Finally, underneath the over-the-top comedy and overall adrenaline rush is the idea of just enjoying the things you plan. In closing, I recommend this unexpectedly winning (though criminally underrated) cinematic romp to everyone.

“YES! OH NO, HE DIED!”

-Annie Davis

#game night 2018 #black comedy #action thriller #crime thriller #john francis daley #jonathan goldstein #jason bateman #rachel mcadams #max and annie davis #jesse plemons #billy magnussen #lamorne morris #kylie bunbury #Bastian the dog #the Bulgarian #faberge egg

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spotconlonsbabe · 8 months

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how it goes for them

(kath, jack + crutchie)

#broadway #jack kelly #francis sullivan #jackkelly #jeremy jordan #livesies #newsies #newsies broadway #santa fe #katherine newsies #katherine plumber #katherine pulitzer #charlie morris #crutchie morris #crutchie newsies

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emmedoesntdomath · 1 year

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Not an increase in difficulty but I want Crutchie content 😤😤

P l e a s e

aughshdidncosndn how has it taken me this long to do crutchie????? how dare I put him off??????

by the time charlie meets francis sullivan, he’s been in and out of the refuge three different times. they’ve released him all three times on what they call good behavior (which just means that charlie knows who he can insult and who he can’t, but hey, he’s not complaining), and each time, charlie makes it about a week before he starts struggling with food and has to resort to stealing.

francis, though. francis likes to help, and charlie’s not one for shooting himself in his one good foot.

suddenly, francis decides that he’s done with the refuge, and he’s jack kelly (charlie knows that he just picked it because it reminded him of the cowboys he always liked to read about). he asks charlie if he wants to come, and he just shrugs, not really expecting him to follow through. then charlie becomes crutchie (he thought it was funny, but francis jack shakes his head and tells him his sense of humor has problems. he still thinks it’s kinda funny), and then they’re gone.

slowly, their little family (because it’s a family, and screw you to anyone who says otherwise) grows, and crutchie gets some best friends, brothers, sisters, siblings, and honestly? he doesn’t remember all of their names, but he and race sell together twice a week; him, albert, and finch sell other times, and really, he’s never been better.

sometimes, crutchie- charlie- is sad. a lot of the time, if he really owns up to it. normally, he doesn’t want to move, or smile, or pretend that he’s happy with how his life is, and that’s just how it’s always been. but years before everything went to shit with pulitzer and hearst, before crutchie didn’t know which way was up, before he called his family broken for the first time, a young, tired boy with messy hair sat down next to him and gave him a new name and life, and well.

that was that.

#oh my god it’s like a mini fic #I kind of love it???#newsies #92sies #uksies #crutchie morris #crutchie newsies #jack kelly #francis sullivan #andrew keenan bolger #racetrack higgins #albert dasilva #finch cortez #emme’s bad ideas

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kaceyrps · 1 year

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GRACIE DZIENNY and MIDORI FRANCIS on INSTAGRAM

#gracie dzienny #graciedziennyedit #gdziennyedit #midori francis #midorifrancisedit #mfrancisedit #kaceyedits #c:mackenzie morris #c:sienna byrne

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adamwatchesmovies · 7 months

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Cinderella and the Secret Prince (2018)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

There's something particularly devastating about watching a bad movie that could’ve been good if circumstances beyond the filmmaker’s control hadn’t mucked things up. Right before the end credits of Cinderella and the Hidden Prince, we see concept art of what the characters should’ve looked like. They look great. As good as anything Disney has put on-screen. I'm certain the voice actors saw these images and got all excited. I can picture the art director/character designer telling their friends and family about this animated fairy tale they were working on and then dying of shame once they saw the final product.

Ella “Cinderella” (voiced by Cassandra Morris) is forced by her wicked stepmother and step-sisters to work as a scullery maid in her own home. When her mouse friends Alex (Chris Niosi), Manny (R. Martin Klein) and Walt (Tony Azzolino) discover an apprentice fairy godmother in the woods (Crystal, voiced by Kirsten Day), Ella gets the chance to go to the royal ball and meets the kingdom's prince. Unfortunately, Olaf (Stephen Mendel) isn’t a prince at all. He’s a puppet of the Wicked Witch (Stephanie Sanditz), who has transformed the real prince into a mouse!

If you’ve had the misfortune of seeing 2012’s Cinderella 3D, this one’s cut from the same cloth. Ugly characters are REALLY ugly but not in an intentional way. The "handsome" prince has his eyes set just a bit too far apart, making him look like he’s a fish man. Cinderella’s mouse friends (well, two are mice, one’s a hamster) are hideous creatures whose size changes from scene to scene. At best, this looks like a bargain-bin knockoff of Tangled. Most of the time, it doesn’t even reach the level of Happily N’Ever After. Some assets were obviously taken from an animation library because you can see their cycles end in the middle of a scene.

Despite the lackluster visuals, you can picture the movie this could've been if it weren’t trying to tell the Cinderella story. When you think of the classic fairy tale, certain elements come to mind: a poor girl forced to do labor, a fairy godmother and most iconic of all… a crystal slipper left behind at midnight. That last one? not in this movie! Instead, we have a quest for a magic ring to restore the not-so-secret prince to his human form. This mission takes over the entire film, which would be fine if it was what we’d signed up for.

As Hoodwinked has taught us, all could've been forgiven if the writing had done some heavy lifting. At several points, it feels like there are scenes missing. One moment, Cinderella and her friends spot a colossal ice mountain all the way across the forest. Seconds later, they’re inside, exploring a cave that looks like it belongs to a completely different film. The characters are thin, unlikeable, or both. At several points, the story contradicts itself. We learn, for example, that the prince was turned into a mouse when he was five years old. When he’s restored to his true form, he suddenly knows how to ride a horse and is an expert swordsman. Did he master these skills when he was a toddler? Then there’s a reveal about the evil witch that makes no sense and an epic conclusion that raises far too many questions. It’s clear some people on the team were trying but they were outnumbered by people who just didn’t care.

You can appreciate a film wanting to take a familiar story in a new, fresh direction but good intentions don't mean anything if the end product is kind of ugly, often annoying and poorly written. Don’t get me started on the one musical number. It’s so bland and generic you'll forget the lyrics as soon as the following line begins. Even for little kids who don’t discriminate, Cinderella and the Secret Prince would be a hard sell. (May 7, 2021)

#cinderella and the secret prince #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #cinderella #lynne southerland #francis glebas #alice blehart #stephanie bursill #russell fung #Cassandra Morris #Tony Azzolino #Chris Niosi #R. Martin Klein #Kirsten Day #2018 movies #2018 films

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frombottlealleytotheharbor · 8 months

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N:MR - Prologue

rating - T

warnings - graphic descriptions of violence, horror, minor language, hallucinations, losing consciousness

words - 2.3k+

relationships - none

character’s mentioned- Jack Kelly, Mush Meyers, Crutchie Morris, Racetrack Higgins, Wiesel, The Delancey Brothers

I hope you all enjoy :D!!

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Everything was dark, feeling floaty even. Jack didn’t register that he’d been asleep until he felt the warmth of his forearms on his forehead. He lifted his head up, moving his legs forward from the position he’d been in to stretch them out; he’d been sitting, curled up into a ball. Once he opened his eyes, a wave of coldness and fear brushed over him. He was back in the refuge. Jack began to panic, his breathing picked up, not moving an inch from where he was sitting. The young newsie tried to remind himself that he’d had a nightmare like this several times; he wakes up in the refuge, panics, then wakes up again. He looked towards the window, which usually grounded him–telling him it was just a dream by how the outside was usually pitch black. However, before he could manage to fully awaken from what he considered a hell hole full of sick, abused, and most likely dying kids and teenagers, he noticed something.

A butterfy. A small, blue and black butterfly was on the bars outside the window. The outdoors looked… strange. It was colorful, there had been plants growing from the cracks in the cobblestone below that seemed to come straight out of some fairytale book. Cerulean water towers with red and gold tops sprouted from the tops of buildings, the lettering on them he couldn’t make out. Vibrant red and green vines grew from anywhere they could, unlike the plants below. Mushrooms that seemed to be either made of linoleum or porcelain grew from the roofs of the buildings mentioned to have the water towers sprouting from them.

While lost in taking in the world outside the building, Jack felt a light tap on his shoulder. He hadn’t noticed that he’d gotten up to stand to look out the window until now, which wasn’t too out of the ordinary, but he was usually more aware than this. He turned to find a short, blonde kid, though he couldn’t recognize their face. They weren’t within the distance to be able to make physical contact with Jack, which set off a few alarm bells in his head. He brushed them off, they might’ve just moved back a bit as not to get bumped into, it was normal. While turning, Jack noticed even the Refuge had looked strange at this point. There was moss in corners where mold would usually be, the walls seemed too saturated—looking a bright yellow instead of the dull tan they’d usually appear to be, the ceiling looking faintly rainbow where white paint would have been peeling off. Jack took the time to glance around the room. Nobody was moving. Their faces were blurry, and the only sign that they were alive was the swaying of their bodies. None of them were looking directly at Jack.

As he looked back towards the kid, they had been standing stiller than the others in the room, however, they had been twitching. Their hands, eyes, and head seemed to twitch uncontrollably. They were just. Staring. Directly into Jack’s eyes. Jack crouches down to the kid’s level, despite his senses screaming at him not to.

“Kid, you alright?” Jack tilted his head to the left a bit, “You don’t look too well.”

By now Jack had noticed the sound of someone calling his name, yet they sounded to be underwater. He briefly turned his head in the direction of the sound, then back at the kid. His head had still been tilted.

“Is something wrong?”

Snap.

The kid’s head was now completely horizontal. The happy, bright nature of the room had been flooded with a dark and unsettling color wheel of reds. The moss in the corners began to bleed, and black ooze flowed from where the ceiling met the walls. The eyes of the kid before him now seemed to be completely gone, replaced with the same black ooze dripping from the walls.

“SoMetHiNg WRonG?”

Their voice was distorted, crackily, and garbled. Their jaw dropped further than what was healthily possible. The black substance filled and dripped from their mouth and onto the floor.

The other occupants of the room began to walk towards Jack, the blurriness of their faces replaced with a black void. The atmosphere somehow began to become a deeper red and seemed to be angry. At what? Jack didn’t know, but he was not in the mindset to care.

He fell backward, letting out a yelp of both fear and surprise, and shuffled to the wall and bunk behind him. He attempted to move his arms up to cover his face and protect himself, but what felt like hard, glass-like doll hands grabbed at his arms and clothes, more appearing both in front and behind him. Two covered his eyes, and before he could manage to scream, the voice calling him vividly spoke up.

“JACK!”

Jack woke with a gasp, almost sitting up if it wasn’t for a pair of hands holding his shoulders in what he assumed to be an attempt to shake him awake. He was met with the worried–now smiling–face of his brother who’d been sitting next to him. The day felt hot and bright, which Jack internally cursed in his head about. Crutchie moved his hands off of Jack’s shoulders as he sat up, the brunette placing a hand on his head.

“You alright, Jack? It took a bit more to wake ya, you usually bein’ a light sleeper and all.”

Crutchie’s expression faltered a moment, Jack turning his head to look at him.

“I’m good, Crutch. ‘S just bad dreams.”

Crutchie looked a bit somber, breaking eye contact with Jack.

“The refuge again?”

Jack hums in response, the two sitting in silence for a few moments.

“It’s alright, Jack. Snyder ain’t gonna catch you again.”

“It ain’t about Snyder, it was…” Jack cut himself off. He didn’t necessarily know how to describe what he saw and felt, and he wasn’t in the mood to remember it. He took his hand off of his head, shaking it.

“It w’s just a dream, it ain’t worth dwellin’ on it.”

Crutchie nodded, then his expression change to be surprised. He sprung up–as fast as he could physically manage–and looked back at Jack when he got to be fully standing. Looks like he forgot all about selling while talking to him, now resulting in them being late.

“You comin’ Jack?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just give me a few, I’ll be down soon enough.”

With that, Crutchie limped over to the fire escape, gradually climbing down the ladder. Jack could hear a faint clang as the blond dropped his crutch to the lower level, the quiet sound of trembling metal as Crutchie hopped down the ladder filling the quiet of the rooftop. Jack thought deeply about what he saw. He’s had dreams about the refuge, sure, but never dreams like that. All the others had been of him reliving his trauma, no matter how much he tried to change the outcome. He reminisced on his choices. He should’ve woken himself up when he noticed the world outside, or the blurry faces of the other kids, but for a reason he didn’t understand, he just… didn’t.

He shook his head once again, attempting to rid himself of the memories of it. Like he said, it was just a dream.

Jack hopped off the fire escape, feeling a slight bit of vertigo as he hopped down from the ladder. It was later in the day as he took a bit of time getting ready, so the streets he had to walk began to fill with people. Not many, but enough to need to navigate through when walking quickly. It’s not like he hadn’t been late before, he’d seen the people who routinely walk the streets he was heading in the opposite direction of, but their faces didn’t ring any bells. He’d passed these people so many times but today he just… couldn’t pinpoint who they were. Not like he really knew them personally, he only knew what they looked like. He brushed off the thought, it was probably just the heat.

As he wound down more roads, he began to notice blurry faces poking out of alleyways. Anytime he’d stop to check, he’d pause his steps abruptly, leading up to him getting bumped into by people passing by. The faces would duck into the alleys before he got a good look at them, and if he tried to check, they’d simply disappear into thin air. The more he saw, the more his skin crawled. Jack pondered more about the dream, continuing to try to push it down to the deepest depths of his mind.

A soft meow broke him from his thoughts, and his journey. A small white cat stood before him. Its eyes were a pale blue, a black button tied loosely around its neck with a red string. Jack crouched down–the sudden drop making him realize how dizzy he’d become, his thoughts taking him partially away from reality–reaching to pet the cat, but it sprinted away from him. It ran down an alleyway, Jack standing up to follow behind. He wove through different streams of alleys, swiftly walking past people. The further he followed, the less and less populated the alleyways became.

Eventually, they both had reached a dead end, buildings surrounding the two. The cat jumped up a few bricks jutting out of the walls, perching on one and meowing at Jack. He reached his hand up, though he didn’t follow. The cat disappeared up to the rooftop, and Jack lost focus on the cat altogether. Returning his gaze to his own eye level, Jack froze. All the faces he’d seen while walking to… wherever, he couldn’t remember, had all collected in front of him. They weren’t moving, they seemed to be staring at him—he assumed it to be staring, their heads had been turned to face him directly. Jack took a few steps backward, raising his hands halfway up. His legs shook.

There was a hand on his shoulder. Jack whipped around, his hands up as if he’d been ready to soak someone—that is until he realized who had been behind him.

“Woah! Settle, Jacky-boy, it’s just me.”

Jack’s fight or flight dropped. He knew that voice, the one who’d hung out with Blink most often; Mush. He let out a breath of relief, turning his head back in the direction of the other children. They were gone.

“Where’re ya goin’? Distribution’s that way,” Mush pointed somewhat in the direction of the centre, briefly turning his head in the direction of it.

“Better question is where’re you goin’? You late or somethin’?” Mush nodded, “And to answer ya, I… I dunno. I followed a cat, must’ve gotten distracted by it for longer than I thought–”

“Damn right! The fellas have been wonderin’ where you’ve been, yous never out this late,” Mush stepped a bit closer to Jack, getting a better look at him.

“Hey, speaking of which, you feelin’ alright? Ya look a bit pale,” Jack backed a few steps away from Mush, softly shaking his head.

“‘M good, Mush, didn’t catch a lot of dreams last night,” Not any pleasant ones, Jack thought.

“Glad to hear it. Make sure y’get to the centre before the Delanceys lock it up, savvy?” (Savvy - slang for “Got it?”)

Jack nodded, reaching his hand out to the slightly shorter newsie. Mush firmly shook Jack’s hand before sprinting off into an opening to the street. Jack followed by walking shortly after, taking into account what Mush said. Did he really look pale? As he pondered the words, he stumbled to the side, catching himself on a wall next to him. That answered his question. Jack continued to walk to the centre, taking the roads he memorized.

Everything felt heavier, he’d forgotten about the heat, dizziness, and all he’d seen throughout the day. Faces don’t look right, people don’t look right, was it something to do with the dream? It couldn’t be, it was just the heat. At least that’s what he told himself.

Jack stumbled through the gates of the centre, out of breath and disoriented. The first thing he heard was the voice of Wiesel bickering with the newsies, the newsies arguing right back at him. He wasn’t too sure what it was about but he couldn’t process any of the words. Crutchie took notice of Jack’s current condition, lightly bumping Race with his elbow–who’d been the main newsie raising his voice at Wiesel. Crutchie spoke in a low volume.

“Jack don’t look so good, he looked spooked when he woke up this morning.”

“Did he fall back to sleep? He’s never this late,” Race raised an eyebrow at Crutchie, now taking more note of Jack’s current state.

“I’m not sure, you wanna go check on ‘im?”

Racetrack nods, jogging over to Jack, letting the other newsies to bombard Wiesel with both insults and rhetorical & angry questions. Jack had been hunched over, hands on his knees. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Race reaches him, crouching down to his level.

“Jack, you stable? You don’t look so good–”

“I’m good, Racer, I’m good.”

Jack glances up at the newsies arguing with Wiesel, the Delanceys seeming to get defensive towards them. His eyes followed the line of newsies, noticing everybody’s bags. They were all empty. He looked back towards Race, the corners of his vision fading.

“Why ain’t anybody got their papes yet?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Race took a moment to let Jack respond. He took his minor eyebrow raise as a no. “They raised the price to sixty per hundred, Jack. We don’t know what to do.”

Jack swayed, whispering a quiet “What?” before losing consciousness. Race called his name, catching him before he’d been able to hit the ground. The last thing he needed was a concussion.

Jack blinked. And he was falling through the sky.

————————

All other chapters will be posted on AO3 when they’re finished.

My AO3: v4vampirez

#newsies #newsies broadway #newsies the musical #jack kelly #crutchie morris #mush meyers #racetrack higgins #wiesel newsies #the delancey brothers #alice madness returns #n:mr fic #newsies: madness returns #francis sullivan

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