#newsies spy au

[sk1ttery]

Hello, I never use this acc but I have recently fallen back into the Newsies fandom and am thinking of rewriting some of my old aus… I may infodump about them here if anyone is interested

[str4wb3rry-fire]

whats the best sprace fic youve ever read ? ill go first.

"the universe is pitted against us" by thespiritscalling on ao3

[dear-ao3]

Saph what’s the longest you’ve spent working on a project?

Mines a Sonic fanfiction I’ve been working on since April 2021 that I’m pretty sure is continuing to be worked on purely because of teenage passion (for context I was 17 when I started working on it and I turn 19 at the end of the month). In other words a Sonic darkfic is a teenage passion project of mine idk

ummm *kicks my 5 year long newsies fbi spy gang slowburn au that i’ve tried to write 3 times under the rug* funny you should ask…

the longest i worked on a completed work was probably like 6 or 7 months, it was a witcher 1920s au fix that i wrote for the lambert big bang and it got illustrated, one of my favorite projects to date

and honorable mention for the witcher polish deli au katya and i have been writing for like 2 years. still on chapter 4 :)

[whoops-im-obsessed]

Tagged by @radioactivepigeons - thanks so much for the tag, this is so fun!!!

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.*

First Fic - God, I think my first fic was some spin off of a teenage spy series on wattpad *shudders* but my first ao3 fic was a silly little abandoned newsies fic which was. Interesting. I will not link it but its up for archive purposes, I owe @radioactivepigeons a lot for the encouragement, not sure if I would be still writing now if it wasn't for that kindness :)

Latest Fic - is Queer Eye-Eye Captain! Which is an ofmd queer eye au and I will link it because it took me a year to write and I think its very fun. Its my first 'long fic' (ie. Its over like,, 2K) and it took a lot of effort to actually finish it instead of getting excited, posting it, and abandoning it 😅

Fic in a Fandom I Only Wrote Once For - there are a couple but I think we'll go with There's No Such Thing as Stupid Pain which is a little startrek disco one I wrote after a night shift when I hurt from lifting a patient weird. I adore startrek discovery but I've just never written anything else for it yk?

Favourite Fic in the Fandom I Wrote Most For - are any of us surprised that its newsies after my train wreck of a brain (and bank account) last year? I think my favourite is probably Go to Bed just because its cute and I like the UK Davey/Crutchie dynamic, with an honourable mention to Hear Her Voice and Hear it Still which isn't that well written but I love the concept for.

Fic I Wish More People Read - ooh hard one, maybe I am to See to it That I Do Not Lose You which was for the fic exchange, just because I wrote and rewrite it So. Many. Times.

Fic I Agonised Over the Most - It is what it is because it's an excerpt of a much larger fic sitting planned out in my wips that I really want to write but idk if it will ever happen. Shout out to Build a Problem which I accidentally abandoned bc it started sounding too much like something I would write in high school and it needs serious revisions

Fic that Sprang Fully Formed - Babywipe Blues it's only little but it practically wrote itself, only took me 10 minutes. Amazing what procrastination can do.

And a Work I'm Proud of - Queer Eye-Eye Captain! Again just because I'm loving it now and also You're Safe Now because even though I don't love how it was written now, someone liked it enough to translate it into French which I think is very cool :)

That was such a cool little fic review, I loved doing that, thanks for the tag!!!! Tagging @emmedoesntdomath and @baura-bear :)

[inked-out-trees]

happy 3000 to band(it)!

to be honest i haven't thought about it for quite some time, but as i was going through my stats page a few weeks ago I noticed it was close, and well - lo and behold. thought maybe it was time for a little introspection.

in some ways it feels like the person who wrote that fic is so far divorced from the person who now commandeers thespiritscalling and writes tens-of-thousands-word aus on silly theatre stuff. some things change, some don't, etc - it's been such a wild amount of time since i even consumed newsies content at all. for one, i actually plan fics now and finish them before posting (the idea of writing myself into a corner and having it all published is horrifying, what was i thinking!!) and real moments slip in more subtly. even so i can read my dedication to hope and family inside this, even when i hadn't yet discovered that it would permeate every bit of me, and i must say it's quite comforting. knowing that those band camp shenanigans are somewhat immortalized and things are - at least for them - frozen in a state of hope and wellness.

i never got to finish my final year at band camp. i was there for about three days until a personal event brought me home again and soured summers for years to come. so in a way, band(it) was my last version of that camp. i find that just a little bit poetic. all the goofies that happened (and the many more that were just fantasies... how i wish spy day had been a real thing) now exist to remind me of the goodnesses, the exhilirations, and the overwhelming love inside those campus walls. so that's pretty cool.

anyway, thanks to band(it) for kickstarting my romance of multichapter fics, featuring my first (but not last and never only) self-insert npc because i'm self-indulgent like that, and as always helping me flex my word skills. love always.

[that-one-fandom-vore-blog]

Some details on the spy au!

So, let’s start with some backstory.

The World isn’t exactly a secret facility. As a newspaper, they’re successful enough, and over the ages, they’ve continued putting out papers to be sure nobody questions their legitimacy. It’s run, naturally, by Joseph Pulitzer, and has been run by generations of his family before him, though there’s been a big change in the means of how it’s operated.

Mainly, in turning the old newspaper headquarters into an intelligence base for The World’s operatives, or, put plainly: spies.

Spot Conlon is their weapons expert, and boy, does this guy know how to make things explode. Never seen without field agent Higgins, Spot always has something new for The World’s agents to test out. He’s great at hiding knives, guns, and anything that goes boom in seemingly innocent places, and it’s saved the skin of several agents. Higgins, more often than not, “borrows” weapons to test out on the field. He gets out of it easily enough with a cuff to the shoulder, though when another cocky, stand-alone agent tries, Spot retaliates. “Ask, Kelly.”

Jack Kelly is at the top of his field. As a spy, he’s completely brilliant out on missions. Though he tends to be reckless and a bit of a loose canon at times, he’s more than an asset to the team. It’s his job to do pretty much anything above the level of their normal agents, and Jack has no qualms about pulling dangerous stunts. He loves the rush of it, loves the feeling of an explosion at his heels, loves the feel of his gun in his hand, loves all of it. He’s saving the world one mission at a time. A bit cocky, sure, but it’s why Pulitzer has paired him with a newer agent.

David Jacobs is the newest recruit The World has, pegged for his high IQ and his ability to think calmly under pressure. David, reluctantly, pairs with Jack Kelly, and is fairly certain he’s only not on his own because of the fact that he’s a sizeshifter— able to turn into a giant at will. Naturally, he’s standoffish with Jack to begin with, and he prefers to be the guy in the van with the headset, looking at security layouts, but when he gets firmly booted out onto the front lines, Davey suddenly realizes why Jack enjoys it so much. Unable to resist, Davey keeps his level-headed nature and ends up falling in love with the job. That, along with a certain agent...

Keeping it a secret is hard, but they manage. They have to, for their own sakes. They work together as normal, if not with more stolen glances, and all is well until a mission to lift nuclear weapon plans takes a turn for the worse. In a flash of heat and the noise of ceiling beams straining, Jack realizes that he didn’t give the pair of them long enough to escape— and that the whole thing is coming down. They’re nearly out when Davey’s hit in the shoulder with a bullet and collapses. Jack does the only thing he can. Jack leaves his partner to die, and all he remembers of Davey— no more memories of gentle handling and soft, whispered secretes— is a guttural cry for help, then a bang, plumes of smoke and... nothing.

Jack hands in his resignation the day of Davey’s funeral.

And like that, it’s over. Or so he thinks.

Because all of a sudden, a journalist going by K.P. seems to know far too much, and an influx of attacks by a rouge organization are threatening to shake The World’s foundations. Pulitzer, at a loss, calls in the only man he knows who might be able to get them out of their mess. Jack Kelly. A very irritated, very bitter, very hung over Jack Kelly, who had been staying at the humble abode of Charlie Morris. Forced out of his slump and stuck on K.P.’s case, Jack starts to realize that the rouge journalist is going to be the least of The World’s problems— at least compared to the criminals she’s been collecting information for... and the information is even more troubling: weapon plans, lists of names, a chemical serum, and records of almost every single thing The World has stepped in to save.

Safe to say, Jack isn’t going to have an easy time.

At least he can’t drag anyone else down with him... right?

[apple-of-my-pie]

not to be Absolute Newsies Trash but

assassin!davey and govt agent!jack where davey has to infiltrate jack’s organization to sabotage his investigation into the group davey works for. jack is on a sort of revenge quest to find the assassin who killed his father, totally unaware that the mysterious Rattlesnake is the sweet, awkward guy he flirts with at crime scenes

[somedayonbroadway]

I found your AO3 and uhhhh. My fucking heart? Top Secret is fucking *killing* me! Just. Holy shit??? It's amazing yet is killing me.

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! That one’s one of my favorites! The relationships there are so fun. But I can admit here that I definitely started writing that because I was watching cars 2 one day and writing a Newsies fic at the same time and was like... I could do something with this 😂

Thank you so much!

[incorrectmulti]

Spot: Why don’t you come back down so we can have a nice little chat?

Race: A little chat with a guy who tried to grab me in an alley?

Spot: A couple days ago you tried to kill me.

Race: Touche.

[vincentferard]

Masterlist

Amphibia-

Flossie Stuff

Bill & Ted-

Emotional Support Stoners

My Best Friend

My Bill and Ted head-canons that no one asked for 😌❤️

NSFW head-canons for Evil Bill and Ted (sorry not sorry)

Right Where You Belong

Trans!Bill and Ted Cuddles

Black Butler-

Sebastian x Reader (OLD)

BNHA-

Shigaraki x Overprotective!S/O

Ho Hey (and EraserMic oneshot)

Reunion -a short Kiribaku thingy-

Can I Pet Your Dog?

Not Just A Bruise -EraserMic-

Wish That You Were Here (EraserMic)

Dead Poets Society-

AnderPerry Idea :)

Charlie Cuddles

Charlie 'Nuwanda' Dalton

Spotify Playlists

Why I Believe Charlie 'Nuwanda' Dalton Is A Trans Lesbian

Disenchantment-

Oona

F/O & S/I-

Cuddling your F/O

(Ask) Favorite thing to do with your F/O(s)?

How could you like that character? They're bad! Well...

Imagine watching a movie/show while your F/O(s) fall asleep against you

Supportive F/O

Tired

They're Good, I Can Tell

Fullmetal Alchemist-

Newsies-

Kimblee x-reader (OLD)

4th Of July

80s AU

80s AU Idea

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! (Sprace kinda)

Javid/Jatherine Proposal Head-canon

Javid Cuddles

Pillow Fort

Punk!Albert

Santa Fe AU Masterlist

Scraps Stuff

Strawberry Kisses

The Road To El Dorado

Pokemon-

Put that thing back where it came from or so help me

Two Birds (A Guzma x-reader)

Volo redemption arc when?

Ripper (2013)-

Emeril x Jackson one-shot

Plot Twist

They're Besties, Your Honor

No fanfiction? 🥺

Spies In Disguise-

Fireworks

Talk To Me (Walter Beckett x Reader)

Star Wars-

Tazer/CT-1382 Masterlist

Dragon Heart

Team Fortress 2-

Bang Bonk???

Broken Bones (Medic x Injured!Reader)

Holding On (Medic × Reader -angst)

Scout × Pregnant!Reader head-cannons

So Big/So Small

Spy & Parenting

Thanksgiving Head-canons

The Mercs & Puppy Faces

Trans!Sniper Icons

The Midnight Gospel/Wander Over Yonder-

What does it mean?

The similarities are endless

TMNT/ROTTMNT-

Headcanons!

Misc/Multiple Fandoms-

Javid & AnderPerry

[sk1ttery]

Newsies Masterpost

Wallflower Au (More to come)

Introduction Really Specific Memes

Part One Part Two

Newsies Discord RP Highlights

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten (Rest of the parts are linked in the posts)

Tags I use for aus:

Newsies wallflower au / wallflower au

Camp larkin 

The wingmen

Newsies discord

[violetwolfraven]

Peace and Joy

@spot-king-of-brooklyn I’m your secret Santa! @newsies-secretsanta

You said your favorite ships are sprace and/or javid and you’re good with pretty much anything so I’m gonna write two separate vaguely holiday-related oneshots in the reincarnation AU. Don’t worry though nothing heavy, just fluff. No COVID because I’ve had enough of that dude and I say so. Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Tw: referenced past period-typical homophobia.

...

Spot couldn’t remember being this happy... ever. Not in the early 1900s or in the early 2000s.

Well, the closest he could think of was 1902, when he and Race moved on from being newsies and from being leaders of their respective boroughs and rented that old apartment in Brooklyn together. But that had been muted by the need to be careful. They couldn’t be normal young people in love because they always had to hide.

And that was fine at the time because it was expected. It was them doing whatever it took to be together not knowing they’d ever get the chance to do it another way.

Now, in the bright, beautiful, forward-thinking 21st century, they could be safe. They could be in love without fear of the consequences. They could go out Christmas shopping together, and Spot didn’t know if that counted as a date, but it kind of felt like one as he watched his boyfriend bop a little to Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You as he looked around.

He ended up having to look away before he started blushing too hard. Even if he wasn’t the King of Brooklyn this time, he still had a bit of a reputation as a stone cold badass. For all he knew, one or more of their more mischievous friends could be spying on them right now. And besides, this thrift store probably had stuff he could get the few Brooklyn kids who’d come back, too.

He was still deciding if Hotshot would think it was funny if he got him a tank top that said ‘hot stuff’ on it. The others would find it funny, but Spot honestly wasn’t sure if it would make his former second uncomfortable.

“Hey, Spottie, ya think my little brother would like this?”

Spot turned back to see Race holding up a bright purple worm on a string, but a giant version of one. One that was big enough to be a scarf.

“Knowin’ your family,” he admitted, “I think any of ‘em would be happy to get one of those.”

It was true. Honestly, the most sensible Larkin brother was the second-oldest, Crutchie, but Spot could still see him proudly wearing a worm-on-a-string-scarf to school after winter break ended.

Besides him, Medda, Race’s mom, tended to embrace whatever unique fashion choice she could find. And Jack, of course, didn’t let being the oldest of four stop him from being a theatrical little shit who liked drawing attention to himself.

And Romeo was somehow even more eccentric than Race, so he would definitely like that thing.

Race grinned, “I’m gonna get Ro a worm scarf for Christmas.”

“Your family is ridiculous.”

“Thank you. So, what’re ya gettin’ for Denton?”

Oh, shit. Spot had completely forgotten about getting anything for Denton.

He really should get something for him. After all, the teacher hadn’t even known Spot when Jack asked if he could stay with him. All he’d needed to know was that Spot needed a place to hide from his terrible parents and couldn’t stay with the Larkins, mostly because Medda had a strict rule about her boys’ partners sleeping over unless it was absolutely necessary. (it was also because Spot couldn’t think of anyone he’d want to live with less than Jack Kelly, but Denton didn’t really need to know that, did he?)

So far, Spot’s parents hadn’t shown any signs of missing him, and Spot couldn’t decide if that hurt or not, but it barely mattered anymore.

Because Denton didn’t really have any rules beyond ‘do your homework’, ‘take a shower occassionally’, and ‘if you leave the house, let me know where you’re going.’ He helped Spot pick out a Halloween costume, let him spend Thanksgiving with Race, and gave him money for Christmas shopping. He was fine with Spot being gay and having a boyfriend, even if there was an added rule with that of ‘you can’t have the door closed if you’re alone in your room with Race.’

He gave Spot space, but also made it clear that he could come to him for anything he needed help with. He never hit him, never pushed when Spot wanted to be alone, never even raised his voice unless they were in an already-loud room and he needed to get his attention.

In short, in only a few months, he’d become the best adult Spot had ever had in his life. He wasn’t his father, but he was closest thing Spot had ever gotten to a dad.

The Denton they’d known in their last life had been kind of like that, too. He’d helped as best he could whenever one of the newsies got into trouble, always being there for anyone who needed him since Kath first introduced her new reporter friend to her newsie friends. Of course, Spot hadn’t been living with Denton then, so he’d never really thought about it.

“What do you even get a middle-aged man for Christmas?”

Race shrugged, “Power tools?”

The idea of getting Denton power tools was so ridiculous that they both laughed.

“Uh... he’s a writer,” Race pointed out, “So... fancy pens?”

“Fancy pens? We’re at a thrift store, Racer.”

“Well we don’t gotta stay here forever. There’s a Barnes and Noble across the street.”

He wasn’t wrong about that, but Spot wasn’t sure about the whole ‘fancy pen’ thing. It seemed a little generic.

“Yooooo! Spot, check this out for Jack!”

He was holding up a bright blue sketchbook that said ‘Sketchy Bitch’ on the cover.

“Oh yeah, ya definitely have to get that for Cowboy.”

Spotting (no pun intended) something else on the shelf behind him, Spot grinned.

He had the perfect thing to get for the man who’d taken him in.

...

“This is gonna be so fuckin’ awesome.”

Davey snorted, “You’re way too excited ‘bout this, Jackie.”

He loved his boyfriend, but he had a tendency to get overenthusiastic about things.

Well, he loved that about Jack, too. And he loved being able to call him his boyfriend, now. That they didn’t need to hide this time.

He and Sarah had both been a little worried about their parents’ reaction, but it had turned out to be for nothing. They’d each gotten a t-shirt with their respective pride flag for the first night of Hanukkah, and Jack and Kath were always welcome to come over as long as at least one parent was home.

Davey loved Jack just as much in this lifetime as he had in his first, but it was different, not having to hide it. It was good different, but definitely different. Being able to be who they were and be in love and knowing that it was generally frowned upon to be homophobic now, at least where they lived.

And being able to do random shit that was romantic and fun as hell, but not something would even occur to most people to do.

After a sleepy conversation once Crutchie, Race, and Romeo had fallen asleep watching White Christmas (which Davey appreciated for the choreography in the dance numbers) one time about how there weren’t really any Hanukkah movies, Jack had collaborated with Kath to write a lesbian Hanukkah musical romcom to post to YouTube.

Objectively, it wasn’t that great. It was good for a movie made by a bunch of high school juniors, but they couldn’t afford good cameras or microphones or anything. Plus, it was appealing to a very niche audience, so Davey doubted this movie would get more than twenty views.

Still, it meant a lot that Jack was so excited about it, that he was working so hard on props and editing in the lighting and music for it so Kath and Saz could play Jewish lesbians fake-dating at a holiday party who fall in love. It was cute.

“It ain’t gonna win any awards,” Jack admitted, “But I think we’s got somethin’ good here!”

“We do,” Davey agreed.

Was he actually talking about the romcom starring his sister and her girlfriend? Partially. It was a pretty good movie for something produced by teenagers.

But they had something good there that wasn’t on the screen of Jack’s laptop, too.

Jack seemed to share those thoughts, with the way he was smiling.

“What’s with the look, mi amor?”

Davey rolled his eyes as the other boy put his arm around his waist.

“Like you don’t know, love,” he chuckled, “Remember the last time we did somethin’ like this? And by ‘we’ I mean ‘you.’”

“Shh,” Jack shook his head, “Nope. We don’t talk about the latkes incident.”

“You mean when you almost burned down our tiny little kitchen trying to—“

“We don’t talk about it!”

Davey laughed. It was funny, how Jack couldn’t, in any lifetime, cook anything more complicated than like... chili or stew. While he could make something edible, he couldn’t make anything that was really considered good.

“Davey, love, luz de mi vida, it was literally over a hundred years ago, so stop. Bringin’. Up. The. Latkes. Incident!”

He punctuated the sentence by hitting Davey with one of his mom’s throw pillows.

“Okay, Jackie, I get it! Stop hitting me!”

“Fine,” Jack grinned, “I ain’t almost burned down a kitchen in over a century, babe. I thinks that’s a good record to have.”

“Most people never almost burn down a kitchen,” Davey pointed out, “I know I—wait, did you just call me ‘babe’?”

Jack was definitely not meeting his eyes to try to hide how he was blushing, “Uh... is that okay?”

Davey smirked. Jack didn’t get flustered that often, but it was adorable when he did.

And even if he had almost burned down their apartment, it had been cute back then, how he’d tried so hard to try to do something nice for Davey for the holiday season. It was cute now, too.

That was one thing that hadn’t changed through the decades, he guessed.

“It’s definitely okay, babe.”

...

“Spot, is this a... ‘Best Dad In The World’ mug?”

“...if you cry, I’m outta here.”

[bitterpossum]

Anyways @captainkirkk made a dimensional dad au, and I’m love it so I made some refs for my take on it! The basic plot is that aizawa ends up being thrown through various different worlds via quirk highjinks, and ends up saving the kids of class a1 who live in said worlds and their lives suck

Here’s the lay out of my take on the worlds! Sorry for the long post I’d put it under a cut but I’m on mobile lol

Midoriya- Just straight up normal human world, he ends up following aizawa by accident probably

Uraraka- Lone Space Station Survivor, the rest of her family is back on earth and she is the lone survivor of some disaster that happened on her ship

Asui- Hunted Frog Spirit, the locals believe that she’s bad luck and would rather kill her than politely ask her to leave

Iida- Cyborg, his brother and him lost their legs in an accident and had them replaced by cybernetics. His parents are grooming him to follow in his brothers footsteps and become some sort of robot cop or something

Todoroki- Magic prince, same abusive dad but this time with the extra drama of political drama! Quirks are replaced by magic here

Bakugou- monster hunter, he doesn’t subscribe to the whole ‘kill all magic shit’ his mentors believe but is being forced to hunt and kill monsters

Kirishima- Half Dragonling, caught in a hunting trap, was either going to be killed or sold if the hunters found him before aizawa did

Kaminari- Super Soldier Test Subject, government attempt at giving solders powers to better fight wars

Sero- Vigilante Bar Worker, kinda a SpiderNoir type hero in a 1920s world, but he has the man made webs like Tom Holland Spider-Man

Ashido- Alien, she crashed on earth and is being held and experimented on in Area 51

Jirou- 1920's Musician, she ran away from her parents to follow her musical passion and ended up on the streets (newsies anybody?)

Yoayorozu- State Alchemist (FMA:B), her parents used their power to get her into the state alchemists and now she’s a child solder, which this au seems to have a lot of

Hagakara- Government Child Spy, government spy with tech that makes her invisible, she is not invisible. They’re using kids cause they’re not sure the tech is safe yet

Ojiro- Victorian Steampunk Theif, living on the streets and stealing stuff to survive, and if he nicks a little extra to tinker with who cares?

Tokoyami- warlock type magic user being possessed by a trickster demon, his parents are both warlocks and promised their first born as a demon host in exchange for power. He can turn bird and let dark shadow take over for more power

Shoji- Arm-less Waterbender (A:TLA), a master bender and probably another child solider idk

Aoyama- musical, no clue the plot yet so leave comments below! If he sings others join in as background dancers

Satou- Zombie Apocalypse Survivor, pretty self explanatory

Koda- Cursed Beast with a fondness for animals, he lives scorned in the forest away from the town after his family was cursed. The townspeople revolted and killed the rest of his family

Shinsou- Half Siren, outcast both in land and in the sea shinshou has no where else to go

[offspring-of-calliope]

Pins and Needles (Newsies Gang AU)

Chapter 3

Description: Davey's and Les' first day as Newsies and they already meet the famous Katherine Plumber.

words: 1675

warnings: There's no warnings on this chapter but if I did miss something triggering, feel free to tell me.

A/N: I know that there are only approximately two people and a shoelace who are even interested in this story but still - I'm sorry for not having updated this in ages. I kinda had a big writer's block which I've overcame for now, I guess, but we'll see how long that may last.

Also, just stating the obvious here but considering latest complications between my gender and me, I changed my username from "daughterofcalliope" to "offspring-of-calliope", I hope that's not too confusing.

As always, feel free to tell me if I've made some mistakes considering grammar or spelling. Comments in general are very appreciated.

I hope you enjoy it at least a little bit,

Sincerely me,

Lélo

-----

If David had thought that the Manhattan Newsies had been loud before, now he was convinced that the concept of volume got a whole new meaning when being around these boys. Selling with them was like sitting in the front row of an opera performance you hadn't even planned to attend.

David sighed. His thoughts were so misleading that he feared that people who he'd tell them to might think he hated the Manhattan Newsies. It was quite the opposite. Despite his urge to keep everything in order, to not overstep boundaries and to behave like a mature boy his age, being with the chaos that were the Manhattan Newsies filled his insides with joy.

The people he talked to at school couldn't really classify as real friends, seeing as their discussions were always aimed at topics they'd covered in their lessons or some other things that didn't relate a lot to something like free time. They were always so serious and David sometimes felt as if the other people didn't even want to talk to him more than absolutely necessary. With the Newsies, it was different. Some of them were even regularly trying to include him in their conversations, to find out about him as a person. Ironically, every one of them seemed to make a better spy than him, who couldn't even think of important questions to ask them that would lead to something that Sarah could work with.

Right after leaving the circulation gate, some kids named Kid Blink – a guy with an eyepatch and a charming smile –, Race – who constantly had an unlit cigar dangling between his lips – and Jojo – who had the most animated facial expression David had ever witnessed – had pestered him to tell them if Italian or Spanish was the more beguiling language. (While they'd been bickering, David had started to regret telling them that he was currently teaching himself Spanish. That had been the trigger that had started his inclusion to the debate.) The whole conflict had been postponed when a guy named Romeo had loudly declared that neither Spanish nor Italian was the real answer and that no language was as enthralling as his love language. Then, he'd proceeded to lure a pretty woman to buy a paper from him – the other Newsies were too nice to make him aware of the fact that she'd only bought the pape to escape his flirting – by sweetly talking in a language David didn't know. (It had been Tagalog, as Jack had later explained to him.)

Yet in his defence, David had also managed to overhear some conversations that hadn't been for him to hear – cue his bad conscience. One conversation in particular had irritated him. Some redhead – Albert was his name, he distantly recalled – had at one point asked Race if “it was cloudy up there”. That in itself hadn't been confusing since it was indeed very cloudy this day but Race's answer had been: “Oh, don't worry, I was just thinkin' 'bout somethin'. Everything's sunny as could be.” The sun didn't even shine! But maybe that was just a code David simply didn't understand.

“Sing 'em to sleep, will ya?” A voice was breaking through his thoughts and David only now registered that he had been blaring the words “Extra, extra! Does somebody want a paper?” for quite some time without actively concentrating on actually selling some newspapers.

The owner of the voice, Jack, - because of course it was Jack, why did Jack always seem to be near him? - took the most recent newspaper from his hand and exclaimed: “Extra, extra! Terrifying flight from burnin' inferno! You can hear the story right here!” It didn't take long for some guy to come and buy the paper.

David scoffed. “This story isn't even in the paper.”

“Well, I didn't say that, did I?” Jack retorted, a cheeky grin on his face.

“My father taught us not to lie,” David said, clutching the remaining newspapers in his hand tighter. He didn't want Jack to take papers from him again, or else it might become a habit for the other boy.

Jack only shook his head, holding one of his own papers into the air. “And mine taught me not to starve. Seems we both got an education.”

“Jack, Jack, look how few papes I got left now! I did everything you said I should do and the people just wouldn't stop buying the papes!” An excited Les ran over to them, smiling brightly and holding up some money for David to put away. “This is so much better than school,” he added.

“Don't even think it.” David tried his best to put on his strict-older-brother face.

A few feet away, Jack laughed. “At least someone listens to me.”

“Yeah, maybe if you'd start to actually say some things that are true, it'll be something worth listening to,” David answered. He didn't even know where the sudden burst of confidence came from. At first it had been difficult for him to focus around the leader of the Manhattan Newsies. However, after getting to know Jack a little, focusing was still difficult but now he couldn't suppress taking out his frustration on the other boy.

“I see you're making a habit out of attracting people who will put you in your place some time.” Suddenly there was another voice and upon turning around, David surprisingly found himself face to face with Katherine Plumber.

“Hello, Miss. Can I interest you in the latest news?” Jack said and his smile grew somehow even bigger. It made David's stomach twitch.

Katherine chuckled and held her hands up. The fabric of her dress wrinkled around her elbows and David noticed some spots on her clothes that were patched up. He'd always assumed that rich people would just buy new clothes when their old ones were torn but apparently Katherine didn't fit this assumption. “I'm sorry to disappoint you, Kelly, but I've bought two papers already. One from Specs this morning, the other from the little boy here.” She was pointing at Les. “He truly is a talented student of yours.”

“Hey!” Les exclaimed. “I'm not that little!”

“Of course not! But compared to Jack's ego, everything is little,” Katherine conceded amused.

Jack, who had somehow managed to sell a paper during the former exchange, crossed his arms before his chest. “Why are you all hating on me now? First Davey, then ya, too. That reminds me – Les, Davey, meet the wonderful Katherine Plumber. Kath, that's Davey and his brother Les.”

It seemed as if Katherine only now started to examine David closer. It made him so nervous that he completely forgot to tell her that it was actually David and not Davey – nobody had ever called him Davey before and he didn't know what to think of that – and without further ado, his hands started to flutter. Eventually, Katherine smiled and said, “Nice to meet you both. Say, do we know each other already? I feel like I've seen you before.”

Panic bubbled up in David's stomach. Did she somehow know that he was Sarah's brother? What if she suspected something and the whole charade – which hadn't really been that good to begin with – blew up? He looked over to Les, maybe to search for help, maybe to feel a little more at ease. And then he remembered that indeed, he had talked to Katherine before. Relieved, he let out a breath. “Yes, we already met each other once. Or better, we talked once on the street. I'm a big admirer of your work, Miss Plumber.”

“Oh, please, just call me Katherine. Kath is fine as well, friends of Jacks are also friends of mine. And thank you, I appreciate that. Perhaps we could talk more about this topic another time? I'm kind of in a rush right now but I would like to hear your opinion on some of my articles – I got this feeling that lately, something is missing but I haven't really been able to figure out, what.” Katherine was just as modest and friendly as he remembered. It was interesting that she also had a teasing side on her when it came to Jack, apparently.

David blushed. “It would be an honour, really.”

“Great,” Katherine said, then proceeded to pat both his and Les' shoulders. “Kelly, it was nice seeing you, maybe I'll stop by the lodging house later.”

“Well, it's not like you's paid a lota attention to me,” Jack retorted with a teasing grin. “Don't flirt with my colleagues that much, a boy might get jealous.”

David only registered Katherine's laugh after that. He didn't really know why but something in him refused to listen further. Well, he did know why but it was totally unfair and irrational of him to be jealous of Katherine. It was not like he was interested in Jack or something. The boy was frustrating and distracting, always had a snarky remark on his tongue and – as even Katherine had said – had a really big ego.

That was also really fragile, at least as far as he could see. The way Jack's smile had faltered for a second upon Kath's remark. The way he wouldn't take credit for the thoughtful things he'd do, like tying Crutchie's shoelaces or trying to help Romeo to court a pretty girl that had watched them doing an impromptu dance performance for a while.

“Hey, Davey.” Breath on his ear, Jack's presence right next to his – didn't he know of some thing called personal space? “If ya keep starin' at Kath like that, maybe I should draw a picture of her and pin it to yer head for a day, aye?”

David sighed and elbowed Jack in the side. Forget the thoughts of Jack being thoughtful – the boy was such an idiot.

[nottheleastbrave]

📓

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS. NEWSIES. AU. this one I'm actually kind of writing but I have to finish my current WIP before I really work on it in earnest

But seriously. The boys are already newsies, obviously, and then Julie and Carlos are the Jacobs siblings. Willie as Spot (key necklaces!). Mrs Harrison as Denton. Shenanigans ensue! Strike! Lots of found family vibes. Luke and Julie bond over their love of music and hang out backstage at the theater a lot. Ray Molina essentially adopts the boys obviously.

It comes out the Willie was spying on them for Caleb (/Pulitzer), but it's because Caleb threatened Alex so it's all very angsty. Luke gets caught at the rally and it comes out that he lied about his parents (he probably said they were dead so Julie thought they were bonding but then they turn up at the courthouse and she's like wtf). Luke goes to the refuge. They try to break him out. ALLEY SCENE HAPPENS AND THE TENSION IS OFF THE CHARTS. Caleb threatens everyone so Luke turns scab but then he saves everyone and I cry about it. Julie gets to yell at Caleb in his own office. THEY WIN. JUKEBOX KISS. WILLEX KISS.

Anyway somehow this fic doesn't just turn into a re-tread of the movie but the movie is so #iconic that that will be difficult. Hence the fact that it's not written yet.

THANK YOU FRIEND.

[inked-out-trees]

i need 45 more hits on the universe is pitted against us to get it to 3000. newsies folks if you still follow me tell your friends. mischief folks if you like newsies then have i got another giant fic for you. assorted other folks if you want to read my first ao3 fanwork and compare my writing from 6 years ago to now guess what! you can do that!

the universe is pitted against us. newsies modern spy au. 43k. user thespiritscalling. tell your friends tell your lovers tell your mortal enemies. if i get to 3000 i'll cry but in a good way