#skittery is not having a good time

[sk1ttery]

My AU, named the ‘Wallflower Au’ is a modern AU where the Newsies are seniors in highschool. I will be writing various parts and posting them to my AO3, but I will be infodumping here. It will contain both 1992sies and Livesies characters (and some of those cryptid newsies the fandom essentially wrote).

It may end up being VERY Skittery, Swifty and Bumlets centric because I adore them and they are a completely comfort ship and OT3.

I am open to questions about it!! Feel free to ask me about lore :))

I have put a LOT of thought into this AU and have notes on LOT of things.

They also have a giant discord together which progresses and grows as the story does.

My OCs will also be making appearances because I adore them.

[dollarstoreartsupplies]

ohohoho welcome back to my brain palace newsies 1992

[tubbytarchia]

Traffic/Life series roster as dinosaurs

A lot of these don't make for very good hybrids unless you wanna get into freaky territory or full on centaur but... Hope it's a fun scroll nonetheless!

Grian - Novialoidea

A small birdie... The name also means "New wings" which I find fun. New lives and death games to be part of, new wings to accompany him... (Honorable mention to "Shuvuuia" the "desert bird" who unfortunately is not a pterosaur (doesn't fly)) (Yes we're including pterosaurs! Just using "dinosaur" as a conveient blanket term)

Tango - Aratasaurus / Pyroraptor

Fire raptor! Either works just fine and Tango as a skittery little raptor is perfect for a creature like him

Scar - Apatosaurus

"Deceptive Lizard" harkening back to Scar's scamming tendencies. Though I've always liked the idea of him being some larger gentler animal in any hybrid scenario and a long-neck fits the bill well. He can poke his nose into people's conversations easily to start marketing something useless to them and swishes his tail to ward off anyone who's about to stop him

Impulse - Nasutoceratops

Ren - Regaliceratops

Horns. COOL horns. I don't know what else you want from me ceratopses are just way too awesome. Nasutoceratops is a wicked cool dinosaur for having its horns point so forward much like a bull and I for one can jive with some Impulse bull symbolism. Bulls are often viewed as strong, sturdy and loyal, traits also assigned to Impulse a LOT of the time. But though he IS intensely loyal in many cases (+ Ceratopses are also known for how they defend their own!), and he's not very outward about the following traits, he can get quite petty and bitchy and hold grudges. Still, you don't think of that when you look at him and he seems to agree! Eg him feeling like he should be accepted into Cleo's alliance in 3rd life without actually proving himself when Cleo was rightfully hesitant, at which Impulse more or less rolled his eyes. And him proclaiming "betrayal!" when killed by Bdubs when their alliance was as firm as a rat's tail

(And I feel the need to point this out too just in case: "bulls are also known for their temper" yeah but they're not like that! Bulls like many animals become defensive when exposed to aggravating behavior or movement! Which you could work into Impulse's grudge holding and intense loyalty...? I don't know enough about him sorry but do with that what you will)

Regaliceratops! Regal!! Crown shaped frill!!! Need I say more?

Gem - Therizinosaurus

Theris are so bad bitch coated to me and I would love to have one as my wife I mean um I couldn't decide on a less generic specimen so Gem can just be a Theri! A herbivore - often associated with the belief that herbivores are gentle passive creatures, but far from it, especially with Gem! She bares her claws like it's no one's business

Martyn - Stygmoloch

A Pachy with a tough head and a tendency to bonk people - I think it fits Martyn's tendency to perpetuate drama haha. The Stygmoloch's name though more or less translates to "demon of the styx river", the river of the underworld representing loathing of death. To me this makes sense with all the watcher lore (that I have a hard time understanding but whatever!!) especially with how Martyn became in LL. The watchers themselves don't loathe death (??) of course. They're death games. But someone within the game trying to stay alive and win? Probably loathes the idea of themselves dying. I have no clue what Im saying

Pearl - Carnotaurus

Ok maybe a hot take not to make her into a pteradon or even a raptor with wing-like features but those just didn't fit that well in my opinion. Rather I wanted her to have some kind of horn motif in place of her wings as visual symbolism for her character. I'd like to imagine her having fine horns, to then have them damaged (one broken off) and simultaneously the other more grown out. Think of how domesticated goats for example have their horns trimmed. I think human hybrids with horns would do the same to keep them from becoming a bother but Pearl would neglect to after her heartbreak in DL. I was heavily considering the Diabloceratops for this, especially because of the name (Devil horned face - good ostracizing material) but Pearl strikes me a lot more as a carnivore and there are only two horned carnivores out there so... Carnotaurus it is haha. And even now I'm making her horns unrealistically big but.... We can suspend some belief

BigB - Oryctodromeus

"Digging Runner"! I've already talked plenty of why BigB is very rabbit behavior to me and my reasons for assigning this burrowing dinosaur to him are similar. Tldr he is fidgety and cautious yet clever and constantly buries himself underground

Lizzie - Anurognathidae

I don't even fucking know man it made me think of Lizzie and then I wasn't able to assign anything else to her. Lizzie often claims to be confused and if any dinosaur looks to be in a perpetual state of confusion then its this one. I know a lot of people like to portray Lizzie as a butterfly also so there you go, wings!!! And it's quite cat-like too for those who like to draw her as a cat

Mumbo - Leinkupal

I really struggled with Mumbo... So many different dinos fit him imo but I figured it should be at least something moderately large (so "Technosaurus" was out of the question lol). Then I rediscovered this dinosaur whose name translates to "vanishing family" and then I thought about LL and SL and how Mumbo went out quickly after the initial death/s and left a very felt absence in someone's alliance and then I became really emotional and forgot what I was doing

Joel - Nodocephalosaurus

Bdubs - Psittacosaurus

"Knob Headed Lizard"

Joel as an Ankylosaur has been stuck in my head from day one of assigning dinosaurs to the Lifers and I'm frustrated that I can't truly explain why. You'd view an Ankylosaur as a slow and docile creature, even compared to other herbivores, but...

1. Maybe not so much nowadays, I don't know what non-dino nerds think, but I feel like ankylosaurs were largely believed to be HUGE back in the day, much like velociraptors, when in reality they're not that big. The Nodocephalosaurus is especially small even among other ankylosaurs. But, well, we all know what Joel loves to say about himself

2. Joel is or likes to make himself look well in control, just as ankylosaurs have little to worry about as far as predators go. Especially in earlier series where he was content basing mostly by himself. It's always when things get dire and he enters his red life that he becomes very impulsive and erratic like an ankylosaur flipped on its back

3. I know there's a distinction between Traffic Joel and Empires Joel and whatever other Joel but... Even in death games his more charitable traits shine through here and there. He really becomes a dangerous rascal for a large majority of the time and he's very good at it, he's not putting on a mask or anything, but I like to remember that underneath that tough spiky armor is gentleness and caring. His care towards Lizzie and Pearl and Etho etc etc

4. The image of Joel as a hell of a spiky creature is just really fun to me. Yet heavy and blunt ones! And someone once proposed the idea of him having a club tail but having chiselled it to be sharp to mirror him being a menace. (Added benefit also that it's lighter that way haha) To me he's always been an obvious heavy hitter rather than stealthy or particularly creative etc. Him as a carnivore just doesn't work as well for me

The name bares no fitting meaning but when I look at Bdubs I think of Psittaco. All other species close to it in looks are already ceratopsians and we have like... 3 of those already lol. Im sorry Bdubs you look so stupid

Cleo - Lythronax

There's so few predators in this roster lol oops, but Cleo deserves to be an apex one! The name translates to "Gore King" because you know, zombies... and you know, Cleo is very king so true. If any of the Lifers should be able to boast rows of razor sharp teeth to gore others it should be ZombieCleo

Scott - Theiophytalia

I've been really struggling with Scott but how about the dinosaur whose name translates to "Belonging to the garden of Gods". There's only one known specimen of this species and it's an Iguanadon looking dinosaur which I think a lot of people would regard as the most basic, possibly boring type of dinosaur (if it weren't for the Allosaurus which already takes the title of "basic straight white guy") but that further fits Scott imo. It's always been a strong point of appeal to me how MUCH there is to his character that so often goes under the radar or unexplored, and how he's very often portrayed as just some handsome looking guy as opposed to a hybrid etc. He's not at all extravagant yet has mastered his craft of bending fate in his favor, he so often has things perfectly under his control just as he wants them, etc... reflective of the name "Theiophytalia" even if you wouldn't think such a dinosaur to sport one of the most prolific names a dinosaur can have. Also garden something something flower husbans. Basically whatever Bree's take on Scott is lol. I don't wanna blab for 5 paragraphs about that blue mf here but. I hope this makes sense

Jimmy - Yinlong

I struggled with this mf the most because he's another very hashtag deep character. I felt really bad to remove his bird motifs completely because the canary is so essential to him, but a raptor nor a pteradon fit my image of him at all. I spent so much time looking into various species but it just aint it, but Yinlong was possibly quilled and we can still cover him in feathers, even if he has nothing close to wings haha... BUT ANYWAY. Yinlong is a small kind of pathetic looking dinosaur, and Jimmy definitely isn't small but he'd sure be made to feel that way. Yinlong translates to "Hidden Dragon" however, a rather thought-provoking name for such a dinosaur. Given his character, it sure does feel like there's a soul of a dragon laying dormant somewhere in him, buried by all the self deprecation and curse labels. Honorable mention to Tianyulong, a very similar dinosaur who was named after a museum, but "Tianyu" also translates to peace and content. Something that Jimmy can't yet but deserves to be

Etho - undefined raptor

Already made a loong post about raptor Etho haha which I assume yall have seen since the support towards that post is the only reason I'm even making this post

Skizz - Olorotitan

"Titanic Swan" close enough to an angel right. I feel the whole angel thing is a bit overdone when Skizz can become a malicious little creature every now and then, but swans much like angels do get viewed as beautiful and taken as symbolism of love. Much like Skizz is largely viewed as an angel and often as someone who can do no wrong. But mostly I wanted Skizz to be a hadrosaur/duck-billed dinosaur, because those are dinosaurs known for their speculated vocalizations. And what is Skizz good at? Talking and voicing his love and appreciation? Yeah? Yeah... I'm so sorry Skizz btw this hybrid idea does not work out

Again, a lot of these don't work so well as hybrids... Some like the long-neck ones I cant imagine to have more than a spiky spine back and a tail, but! These picks aren't based on hybrid potential but rather what I think genuinely fits. I did really work on this all day looking through a bunch of dinosaurs and research haha, but I do love dinosaurs a lot... If you disagree with any hey thats cool! Feel free to give me your opinions if you've any and I hope this was fun to scroll through regardless

[trans-pickles]

can't get the thought of a kierthur vdl!kieran au out of my head and i'm burdening you all with the forbidden knowledge now

the teeny-tiny gang, comprised only of dutch, hosea, susan, arthur, john, tilly, and uncle (oh, and copper of course) has no choice but to enter a tenuous but necessary truce with the far larger o'driscolls

the law is on both their tails and they're in for a cold, long winter

dutch used to run with colm when he was younger. he doesn't talk about it beyond strict warnings to tilly and his boys to know what kind of man colm is, truce or no truce

arthur, freshly nineteen, doesn't feel much like socializing with anyone

he thought it would be a grand romantic gesture, giving mary his mother's ring and asking to run away together

in the end it had been pathetic, just like their relationship (at least from his perspective. we up self hating.) him, throwing himself at her feet. her, overwhelmed by the intensity this carefree cowboy is suddenly showing, still bound to her family both by honor and love

he wants to hate her. it would be easy to hate her. but by god he can't, not with the way she pushed the ring back into his hands and wept and embraced him the last time

so without anything to hate but himself and dutch and hosea's bickering he continues through the blizzard to the dilapidated hunting lodge where colm and his boys are holed up

introductions are useless, of course to colm he's a disposable gun for hire. all he does is wave him off to his skittery, good-for-nothing stablehand.

for an o'driscoll, the boy's hands are gentle. he avoids eye contact with arthur but his nerves belie a deep understanding of horses

boadicea, just as headstrong as her rider, somehow allows him to undo her bridle. his actions are soft but firm.

enough tenderness to show he's not a threat, with the sureness to show he's ultimately the one in control

arthur watches him. maybe he isn't blown away, but he's pleasantly surprised not to have to yell at some blockhead o'driscoll for mishandling his horse, or worse yet have to stop boadicea from trampling him

when the boy finishes arthur realizes he wasn't even told a name. he has to pry it out of the boy - it's kieran. kieran duffy.

kieran's fine sleeping in the stables, he says. the horses keep him warm. arthur remembers dutch telling him that the o'driscolls "ain't like us, son" and awkwardly says that he's free to use boadicea's blanket if the cold gets to him

kieran smiles for the first time. he thanks arthur. tells him, a little nervously, that his horse is a "beautiful animal, mister"

arthur laughs, tells him not to call him "mister", why kieran must be barely even younger than he is

"okay then, mister arthur"

"well i guess this is good night, mister kieran"

kieran looks confused before realizing it's a joke. and not even one at his expense! he grins a big dopey sunny grin, arthur thinks of mary, of drunken rendezvous with other farmhands in bars across the states after heartbreaks like this tips his worn-out hat, and starts to make his bed in the hay

arthur's glad to see him grab the blanket before he turns around to leave for his own quarters

he might not be as hard up for company as he thought here

[i-didnt-do-1t]

Newsies Goil

“Dat goil over there s called Emma.” Jack says pointing her out to Racetrack.

The newsie goil was far better than that bitch Sarah, who fooled CowBoy and then cheated on him.

“I’s love you.” Emma said and Jack smiled at her.

“I love that you’se a Newsie Goil. Dat’s so much better than Sarah. I’s love you too.”

Too show his love, Jack begins to serenade her.

“Wow.” She says. “I never knew you could play the piano.

“I’m full of surprises.” Jack says back with a wink. “Did you know that I have enough money for a wedding. You can get a dress and be the prettiest goil there.”

“I don’t wanna wear a dress.” She says frowning. “Those are so girly.”

Jack laughs and keeps singing Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri.

“Yous is right bout dat.” He says. “That’s like you wearing make up.”

They both laugh at his joke as they both know she doesn’t wear make up like Sarah to try and impress the boys. Her face is naturally pale and flawless with her green eyes bright even with no mascara.

She watches intensely as Jack keeps playing the piano. He must still be sad about Sarah cheating on him with Blink and Skittery two separate times she thinks, because how much emotion he puts into the song as his eyes tear up.

Tears start to stream down his cheeks as he sings about ice in her soul and Emma wants to hug him.

Her raven black hair covers her face as she looks down. She likes to stand like this so no one can see how ugly she is although she always has boys chasing her. She doesn’t understand why.

Jack finishes his song and she doesn’t look up.

“I won’t cheat on you like dat bitch Sarah.”

“I trust you.” Jack says and they kiss.

Jack goes home to tell davey and the other boys that he’s in love.

Emma is about to leave to but then she spots a man in the corner. One she never thought she’d see again.

Morris Delancey. A bully of the newsies.

She quickly tucked her hair under her hat to disguise herself as a boy again like she did for a year, it always helped her sell the most papers when she pretended to be a boy, especially because there were no goil newsies.

she was surprised when Morris started to cry.

“What’s wrong.” She asked trying to keep her voice low to disguise she was a girl, it was difficult because her long eyelashes could give her away so she had to disguise everything good.

“I don’t need no help from a newsie.” Morris says but his eyes are sad.

She hates him for hurting her friends but she feels bad for him also.

She decides to help him because if she wanted to she could beat him in a fight. She would take the chance at talk to him.

She did it last week when he had made a comment at Jack, the love of her life. She had punched his r face and broke his nose and was too fast for him.

“Even delanceys can get sad.” She says as comfort and he nods. “What’s wrong.”

“Ise in love with the prettiest girl I ever seen with raven black hair and green eyes. She’s 4 ft 5 inches but she disappeared before I could tell her I love her.”

Emma gasps. There’s no way he can be talking about her can he??

But she is that short she thinks. She always needs Mush’s help to climb into her bunk and reach things cause she’s too tiny.

It’s hard being the only news goil.

——-

Pops head up from behind walls

Waves. Hi guys sorry it’s been a few months-

Spot: a few months! Dat ain’t good enough goil the people was waiting

Me: I knowwwww

Didn’t watch newsies for a bit

Jack, looking offended but ripped: I thought you loved me

(My eyes tear up) ignore him!!

Anyway I’m back in newsies now and the next chapter is comingsooooon

Spot: (rolls his eyes)

Me: hey! Don’t roll your eyes at me! I could kill you off.

(Takes deep breath and smooths out shirt)

*anyway* should be back with the next update soon!!

Rawr XD (rolls out on mini convertible)

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

Only Then

Past =-= Next

Author's Note: Next part of Claude in Husbandry

Warnings: Let me know if I need to add anything.

Summary: Claude goes on a walk about and finds one of his fellow Primaris Marines in a little sea side town. He's glad that Jophiel's doing a lot better.

Tagged: @barn-anon, @bleedingichorhearts, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @egrets-not-regrets, @kit-williams,

Tagged continued: @sleepyfan-blog, @whorety-k, @ms--lobotomy @bispecsual @thevoidscreams

Tagged continued: @i-am-a-dragon34, @gra93fruit-blog

Claude was given freedom and punishments eased, since he technically didn’t do anything wrong and had just called for help. The First Born cousins were terribly curious how he managed to contact Cedric when the other didn’t have a vox or a spot of armor that would let him know or be contacted by others.

Obeying Orders is something that they are supposed to do, as well as answering their superiors politely and promptly. The answers of how and why Cedric was able to hear his call for aid and find him so quickly. The words were locked in his throat and he’d just curled in on himself as he mumbled something about Primaris Communication Things.

Which… had the older cousins staring at him like they knew what he said was complete grox shit. But since Claude kept sliding further down the chair, and with only a little shame hid under the table they had, for now, decided to believe that grox-shit and would not be asking him or Cedric about.

For now. Which was great, in the future he could deal with that Threat at a later time. And likely curse past him for being vague about Things. He'd been jogging for an hour or so when he hit the beach. Listening to the sounds of the ocean as he stared at just how pretty Ancient Terra’s oceans are. 

He’s thinking of trying to find something to bring back for Cedric, who is still stuck in the base for punishment due to an infraction that he was understandably unrepentant about. Claude had found it entirely understandable why Cedric had done what he did, and the fact that Cedric hadn’t tried to kill the bastard Chaos Marine spoke more of Cedric’s trigger control than anything.

Saying that where some of their older cousins could hear him was something he was careful not to do. One does not argue about punishment. It would only lead to more, and far, far worse punishments at that. He hears a voice and blinks in surprise as he sees his brother-cousin Jophiel land in front of him.

Wings visible. Jophiel, for understandable reasons, tended to not show his wings. At least he didn’t do so when they were back in their own Era. Claude knows how much more difficult using Psykery has become.

“Greetings Jophi!” Claude says giving him a bright grin. “It’s. good to see you once more.”

“It’s good to see you, Claude!” Jophiel says with a bright smile, that only shows a flash of his sharp teeth as he goes to embrace one of his favorite brother-cousins.

They hug briefly and they talk about where they have been, and when they had been, before they had arrived on Ancient Terra. Claude talks about where he’s been and how he’s been doing. Also about how Cedric and Catius are at the Salamander and Imperial Fist base that has been set up a few hours run inland. He spots the skittery look in Jophiel’s eyes that means that he’s rather avoiding First Born brethren. 

“Do you want me to tell Cat and Ced that you’re on Ancient Terra?” Claude asks. “Ramiel arrived recently and is… recovering.”

“Yes,” Jophiel says after a moment or two of thought, “And let them know that I’m glad that they are whole, hale and healthy.”

They talk about a whole lot of everything important and nothing much of importance either. Jophiel talks about his bonded, and he’d asked after that human who’d captured a piece of Jophiel’s soul. 

Jophiel talked about them for hours with a happy smile and sparkling eyes as he waxed poetically about what they were like. That had Claude smile indulgently, if a little confused.

“You seem, a lot happier and more settled,” Claude says after a few moments of quiet.

“I feel a lot better,” Jophiel agrees to gamely. “Do you want to meet my bonded?

“I would like to meet the person who’s so important to you, yes.” Claude says. “I didn’t know that there was a war band of blood angels or their successor chapters so close to this part of the ocean.”

He has a lot of new information to tell Cedric and the others about Jophiel. He notices the way Jophiel twitches and his eyes sharpen and flash teal for a moment before settling back to night dark.

“Jophiel.” Claude says lightly, trying not to frown at his brother. “Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters, especially at our age, are supposed to be monitored by older sons of the Ninth Holy Primarch due to… Temperament issues.”

“I’m fine,” Jophiel says, “I … don’t get the thirst as strongly as other Primaris Blood Angels and I can hold my Temper better than most.”

Claude stares at Jophiel hard for a moment before saying, “I’m telling Claude that you’re on your own on Ancient Terra in a baseline human city.”

“You say that like it’s a threat,” Jophiel protests, although from the way his wings flutter a little as he continues to speak, however, he knows what Claude is getting at.. “I’m fine, and there is another Astartes that lives in the area, he’s a fellow Primaris and a Dark Kraken. So I do have that sort of socialization going on.”

“Hm,” Claude hums unconvinced.

“I want you to meet my bonded,” Jophiel says as he carefully grabs one of Claude’s arms and drags the shorter Astartes along with him as he takes him to you.

In English he chirps out to you, “My brother-cousin. Claude.”

“It’s nice to meet you Claude,” You say as you look at the other space marine. You hadn’t realized more space marines had showed up to your sleepy little seaside town.

He had dark eyes and hair, and very light skin, it looked almost sickly in the light of the sun. Jophiel translated the conversation in careful, stilted English between the two of you. 

Apparently, he’d grown up with Claude and sometimes trained with him sometimes before they’d been split into their different legions. It was nice meeting one of Jophiel’s Space Marine friends.

Claude stayed the night and helped with the farm chores as well as cooking. Even though you protested that, as a guest he should not have to do chores. He had explained, through Jophiel's limited translation capabilities, that he wanted to help. It was nice having an extra set of very large and strong hands.

He leaves next day around mid morning after helping with morning chores around the house and farm. Saying his goodbyes to the pair of you as he heads off. You'd gifted him some of your farm's cheeses and other goods that you made. Knowing how much Jophiel adored the food stuffs, saying that it tasted better than any food he's ever had in his life.

Jophiel had also, even though he'd been conflicted, very bravely and nicely gave some of the pastries and cookies that the kindly old woman, who works at the Community Center to teach English made for him.

Claude tucked the food back into his satchel, carefully making sure that his running wouldn't jostle it too much as he runs back to base. He checks in and heads to where Cedric usually is at this time of day and greets his brother-cousin. Helping Cedric with some of the punitive chores and once they are in private tells him.

"Jophiel's a few hours run towards the coast," Claude says casually.

He knows, even if they are in a more or less private location. That other people listening in can happen. Claude scratches one of his cheeks as Cedric's eyes sharpen and an assessing look fills the Apothecary's eyes.

"He's healthy," Claude says, "at least as far as I can tell. A bit... fluffy at the moment. Also avoiding his first-born brothers."

[chaosfairy18]

Spelling lessons

A short (2k) fic with the idea that I posted recently of Dutchy not being able to understand English spelling (and being annoyed about it) and then accepting some help from Specs

It has some Decs (DutchyxSpecs) at the end because it was too cute not to (Also Dutchy's name is Zacharias and Specs' Victor, there is only a small scene that is relevant, but it can't hurt to say)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

English spelling might be Dutchy‘s nemesis actually.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t write, he’d learned back in elementary school in the Netherlands, he knew the alphabet, thank you very much, and he also knew how to speak German – they lived close to the border – and even read most of it because it just looked similar, he could at least guess the meaning if he had to and since he knew how to speak it, it wasn’t too difficult to grasp reading or writing, all in all.

French was harder, but since there had been some people speaking French in his little town, he’d also learned speaking that.

He might have been an annoying kid, always hanging on their lips and asking for more words, more things to learn, but it was just too interesting to him.

Now he couldn’t really write much in French, he’d learnt a bit back then, but it wasn’t enough, not really.

Then he’d gone on that ship to America with his aunt and uncle. The time they had took to get to America was more than enough to grasp the basics of English, especially due to its similarities to French, Dutch and German. The men and women Dutchy had spent every day learning the language from mostly hadn’t been able to read though, and it wasn’t like he had to learn that. He knew how to read, it couldn’t be that hard.

After being basically ditched by his aunt and uncle he’d quickly found the lodging house – after all he had learnt the language and could ask around where a boy with some money could find work or a place to stay – and Kloppman hadn’t believed he was only there for less than a day, though he was even more impressed when he correctly guessed his accent and started talking in German which was still easier than English though it wouldn’t take long until he didn’t care what he spoke.

Now all that was well and good if it weren’t for the fact that he had to sell newspapers that had headlines. See, these newspapers were sometimes available in Dutch or German, but of course most were in English and for some reason the Americans or the Brits had decided to make their spelling the most confusing thing in existence. If he heard one of the other newsies say the headline, he knew exactly what it meant, but combining that with the letters he saw on the board? It felt impossible, even now.

Maybe it was his pride in knowing languages that kept him from asking anyone for help, maybe it was that he avoided the language classes in the lodge and instead took the ones on math, but at this point he was almost dead set to not comply with this idiotic spelling in newspapers.

That didn’t mean he could read the headline any better.

“What’s it say?”, he asked Skittery, pretending he was just cleaning his glasses and therefore couldn’t see it right now.

Skittery, who had been reading a novel of some kind as he was standing in line scoffed and snapped his book shut, obviously annoyed. “It says ‘learn to read, idiot’.”

Dutchy froze as he was just about to put on his glasses again. What had he just called him? He could read, in two (and a half) languages even, he could even write and speak more languages than Skittery could probably name, and he dared call him an idiot-

“Says the guy that fell into the river last week.”, interrupted Specs, subtly pushing Dutchy away from Skittery before he really could let the situation escalate and call Skittery names in 4 different languages and whatever else he had picked up over the years.

“That don’t make me an idiot, clumsy maybe. And I got shoved.”

The tall boy quickly got engrossed in his novel again, only looking up if Tumbler was running around him, otherwise ignoring them.

“You aren’t an idiot.”, was the first thing Specs said to him, all quiet as if it was a secret.

“I know. It’s not my fault English is so-“

“You can’t keep not learnin’ because you don’t want to, Dutch.” Specs pushed his hands in his pant pockets. “I could help you, if you want.”

Dutchy’s first instinct was to bite back that he didn’t need help, but maybe he did. And Specs was his closest friend, it wasn’t like he was making fun of him. “If you’re offerin’.”

“You could read books if you learnt. Spoil the ends for Skitts.”

He snorted, hitting Specs with his elbow. “You’ve seen me read books.”

“Not in English.”

“Fine. I’ll let you help.”

They got their papes from Wiesel – every day Dutchy had to bite back a comment on it was actually Weasel because he knew how to read that word – and split up to sell, Specs saying he’d come by later to start their ‘lessons’.

Of course, Specs had to keep his word, one unsold pape and a book in hand, bowler hat and vest already discarded somewhere in the bunk room. He wouldn’t get out of it then.

Shame.

Dutchy let himself be dragged to the roof, the evening sun making the temperatures comfortably warm rather than sweltering. Specs dragged some crates to the middle of the roof, and they sat down around them, the newspaper and book placed on them.

“So, you can read the alphabet fine, right? That’s the same.”

“Again: You’ve seen me read a book and write my name.”

Specs rolled his eyes. “Yes, just wanted to make sure.” He opened up the first article of the World. “Maybe it’ll help if I read it to you. You know the words, then you’ll see the spelling as I say it.”

Shrugging, he moved a bit closer to Specs so he could properly see the line he had his finger under to indicate what he was reading. He didn’t want help like this, but since at a first glance he could only read the shorter words in the article he probably did need it.

Sadly.

“Man with parachute leaps from Brooklyn Bridge-“

“Wait that’s how you spell bridge? Where is the e coming from?” He could live with silent letters, at least if there was an explanation for them.

Specs pinched the bridge of his nose. “I dunno the rules, Zach. Just- read with me, okay?”

The rest of the article was interesting enough – the man had used a modified umbrella to jump of the bridge and had only barely survived – but Dutchy wasn’t sure how much he was learning yet. Some words he knew and recognized, others he was completely stunned as to where that spelling could come from and if he could remember them.

“I don’t think it’s working.”, he sighed after the third article.

“We just started today. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all’at.”

Dutchy bit back his retort and just kept listening to Specs read, trying to recognize words he’d heard today before.

Of course, the lessons didn’t stop after a day. Contrary to what Dutchy had hoped for, Specs was very good at remembering it every evening and dragging him to the rooftop, going through more articles or through a chapter of a book.

And even worse: He had to admit it was working.

Especially in papes there were headlines that came again and again, so he recognized almost everything on the chalkboard every morning now, there were just a few words that he had to quietly ask Specs about.

That also meant that he began to slack a bit in their lessons. It was working, but he didn’t like admitting to being wrong, so he still sat there – he was Specs’ friend after all and he was going through a lot of trouble to teach him – but he wasn’t listening to his every word anymore, instead looking up to see his dark eyes trace the words and his mouth open again and again.

At first it wasn’t that intense, just looking at his friend a bit before going back to the tiny black words, but the more he looked at him, the more he had to admit that he was fascinating to watch. His eyes were dark, even in the light, pupil and iris not much different in colour, almost as dark as the coffee they got from the nuns in the morning when they were lucky.

Specs didn’t seem to notice whenever he wasn’t paying attention, so it happened more and more over the days.

And not just in their lessons either. Dutchy’s gaze was drifting to Specs more and more frequently while selling, eating in the lodge, standing in line at the distribution centre and when they got ready for the day in the morning.

As already stated, Dutchy wasn’t an idiot, there weren’t a lot of reasons why he would be drawn to his friend so much. It was obvious, really, and the last few lessons he had spent his time half listening to Specs – he always looked so sad if Dutchy didn’t get any of the words they already went over – and half planning to show his affections to him.

Reading out loud a chapter of one of the few romance books they had down in the lodge didn’t work – Specs was only happy that he had gotten through it with almost no stumbling over words – and the extra touches while selling together didn’t seem to work either.

Maybe he’d just have to be direct about it.

The next evening they sat on the rooftop of the lodge again and Dutchy let Specs talk a bit, attempting to explain why a specific word was spelt how it was – because of course after Dutchy complained that he didn’t get the rules he had looked them up and asked Kloppman because he was invested into helping his friends like that – and only getting distracted by the way his lips moved and his eyes shone just a bit brighter than usual.

It seemed as good a time as any.

Dutchy made Specs trail off by tilting his friend’s chin up with his finger and leaning in close. “Maybe for today I can teach you something, Victor.”

The other’s eyes grew wide and taking his quickly reddening face as confirmation Dutchy kissed him for a short moment, smiling as Specs chased after his lips just a bit when he leaned back.

“So you’re okay with that?”

“Very.”, croaked out Specs, still not completely convinced this was actually happening.

Smiling wider, Dutchy pulled his glasses off – he’d felt them press into each other uncomfortably in the first brief kiss – and leaned in again, just trying out how Specs’ lips felt against his, how it felt like to hold his jaw as he did so, how he reacted when he moved his hair out of his face.

Everything was as good as he’d thought, Specs also getting more comfortable throughout the minutes, he almost wasn’t burning red anymore when they separated again, Dutchy leaning his forehead against Specs’.

“Hope you liked the lesson.”, he whispered, glad he’d begrudgingly accepted the offer for spelling lessons weeks ago.

Specs looked at him like he’d just taught him all the secrets of the universe. “Yeah. I’d love more. Only if you-“

He gave him a peck on the cheek. “Of course, darling.”

That made Specs burn up again, putting his head in his hands and groaning. “You can’t just say that!”

“I can call you whatever I want, darling.”

Specs curled even more in on himself, ears completely red. “Stooop.”

Laughing more about his friend’s state, Dutchy leaned in closer and put an arm around his waist, closing his eyes and enjoying the heat of the evening sun and his new partner next to him.

[hexmari]

Hi Ari! Since you're already asking for asks on headcannons how could I refuse? So, how about the favourite boy ever, Spot.

Yeah he's getting along with Race of course but what about some of the other Manhattan Newsies (particularly the lesser known ones and the littles)? For example I think he'd at least find Swifty funny as he's one of the only ones who can consistently beat Race, though it isn't sure if that's due to his skill at cards or his particularly good and swift with cheating. Do you have any thoughts about the others?

Spot Conlon the most newsie of all time‼️

First of all, I think Spot is just good with kids in general. But in a stand offish way if that makes any sense, to keep up his persona. Like he won’t baby any of the younger kids but he’ll buy them candy and slip them extra money.

I think this would apply to the Manhattan littles too. He’d walk into the Manhattan lodging house and all the littles would be so scared because oh-my-god-Spot-Conlon and he’d just give one of them a peppermint and go find Race or Jack.

With the older newsies it depends, he doesn’t feel the need to be nice to them. There are some he would respect like David, and some he would despise. I can’t imagine he’d get along with some of the older older newsies (Blink, Skittery, etc.) And I think the preteens would just get on his nerves sometimes. But he would quickly change sides to mess with Jack or Race. If he was approached and asked if he wanted to dump ants in Jack’s bed how could he refuse?

[distressednoise]

WIP Wednesday

Sometimes @notasapleasure lets me ramble at her about my terrible AU idea where Syril and Cassian are rival hockey goalies who despise each other, because she is too indulgent for her own good. And while part of me does sincerely mean to write this (because doing an AU of your old fandom in your new fandom is a proud tradition), I'm also not going to be able to for months, so I'm just going to put some porny Brassian chatfic under a cut and pretend it's a WIP Wednesday post, and you're all going to humour me that I will one day finish it.

For context:

Cassian has spent years slogging away in the minor leagues, where he can't admit to being injured because he's already too small, the doctors are terrible, the drugs are worse and Syril fucking Karn is always looking to chase him out of the lineup.

And now he's arrived in the promised land, where physio Brasso is advancing toward him with some designer drugs and perfect arms, ready to make all Cassian's nagging aches go away, at least temporarily. 

And there are just so many excuses for Brasso to touch him. Cassian learns to reach for them easily: Hi Brasso shoulder's not great. Hi Brasso feeling real tight, could you -? Brasso my leg's cramping again. Brasso Brasso Brasso.

At some point he decides he should probably return the favour.

Very carefully taking Brasso's hand in his and working it over. Focused so much on getting it right and not messing up Brasso's beautiful hands that he briefly forgets about Brasso's beautiful face, but when he looks up Brasso is staring at him with the kind of possessive, hungry expression that Cassian has wanted from him all season.

One of those hands comes up, catching on a crease in Cassian's expression, smooths it out. "It's ok," he says. "You can just ask."

Cassian can't "just ask". Cassian has "just asked" for things over and over again, and his entire career has been built on being clever enough to know what to do when "just asking" gets you a flat no. But this is Brasso.

He's not brave enough to do it straight. It's too much. He splits the difference and says "Anything else I can help you with?", leery, easily joking if it needs to be, ready to give brasso a just-buddies shoulder smack and laugh it off. But Brasso's reels him I'm by a fistful of shirt and doesn't stop until Cassian's straddling his lap, newly-loose hips stretched wide by Brasso's thighs. Their faces are so close. Cassian wonders if this is going to be a kissing hook up. Then Brasso lifts one leg a little, shuffles and bumps them closer, and Cassian thinks fuck it and makes it one. He asked. He's asking. Brasso makes an approving sound and opens up, lets Cassian lick into his mouth and scrape along his jaw

The NHL isn't the easiest environment to pick up guys in and Cassian told himself he wasn't missing it, but now that it's happening again, he's greedy for it. He wants all of Brasso all at once, wants to keep kissing him and suck him and stay grinding down on the growing ridge of his dick all at the same time. His hands have found skin. He can't open his eyes. He doesn't want to keep them closed. He's stuck there, skittery with indecision, until Brasso goes for his belt, which is wrong enough for him to say "No no no, you're not meant -" 

Brasso stops, unwraps his arm from behind Cassian. Holds them up in surrender. 

"I worked hard on these," Cassian says, taking him by the wrists. "You can't go and, and -" Cassian didn’t really think he'd ever want Brasso not to touch him, but this is - . He knows what he's doing. He needs Brasso to know that he knows. He presses Brasso's hands back to the wall. "Keep them there, OK?" 

Brasso smiles in a quiet, private way, but he doesn't laugh, and when Cassian lets go he doesn't move his arms.

As soon as Cassian leans back up and finds he has to rebalance, he's aware he's not made the best decision, but when has he ever? He reaches back for Brasso's thigh, and by silent agreement they manage to get one of Brasso's feet braced against a desk so he can lift his legs and simultaneously keep Cassian's weight forward and bring them close enough together for Cassian to get their trousers open, get his hand on Brasso's cock so he can feel the weight and the heat of it, thumb over the slit where it's wet and red and let himself think yeah, he's missed this a lot.

He's acutely aware that they're in medical and that there are beds and lube and all sorts of things around that would make this easier, that brasso would let him make this easier, gladly, but anything that involves breaking the bubble they're built between them feels dangerous. If he gets down he'll never get back up. If he turns away there's a chance Brasso will realise this is a mistake. He has one hand on the back of Brasso's neck, tight, and it won't let him let go. 

He's got just enough room to get his cock out, to line them up. He's trying to think of the least off-putting way to spit in his hand this close up to someone when Brasso says, "Hey, hey," and Cassian thinks this is it, the realisation, the suggestion that they awkwardly scuttle across the room to find something to make this more dignified and accidentally turn into colleagues again in the process. But then Brasso says "give it here," nodding at Cassian's hand, and when Cassian brings it up to his mouth it turns out Brasso is on the same page as him, wants to get him wet but not enough to move. Cassian feels the hot wet scrape of Brasso's tongue on his palm and thinks yeah, this is going to be fine.

He gets stuck for a moment on his hand over Brasso's mouth, on the drag of Brasso's stubble against it, on the fact that if he wants to hook a thumb behind Brasso's teeth and tug his head down he can, Brasso will just go with him. He reaches down with one hand to start working them in earnest and moves the other from the back of Brasso's neck to the hinge of jaw, fish hooks him, keeps tugging. Brasso's face is red and smeared with spit and Cassian is making it worse and Brasso is moaning and licking at the thumb hooked is his mouth, is trying to turn more into Cassian's hand. Cassian messes up everything and Brasso is happy to be messed up and when they are done he will put his hands on Cassian so carefully, Cassian can almost feel it already.

He keeps working, finds a level of pressure that makes Brasso curse and sticks to it, spits more, buries his face in Brasso's shoulder so he doesn't have to see Brasso's reaction to that and then regrets it when Brasso makes a low, guttural noise. When Cassian looks up he's got that expression again, the good one, the one that says he's seen through to some part of Cassian no-one else has managed to and wants to sink his teeth into it.

Cassian kisses him again, sloppier than last time, lets Brasso nudge his head back and worry at his neck even though it makes them lurch sideways precariously. He tries to get back to kissing after that, but Brasso pants, "I want to see, let me see," and wedges his head against Cassian's chest so he has a full view of where Cassian is jerking them both off. Cassian can see his hands hovering off the wall, can see Brasso pressing them back because he asked. He doubles down and Brasso swears loudly, sinks his teeth into Cassian's shoulder through his shirt.

"Proud of yourself for that?" Brasso manages after a second and Cassian is, yes. He’s enjoying the way that Brasso's shaking, and close enough that he can nip at Brasso’s ear and say "very," then spit again while Brasso is looking and keep going. Brasso looks like Cassian used to feel, like he can't decide whether he wants to look at Cassian's face or his dick or keep burrowing into his shirt. He settles on his face, surges up to bite at his jaw. No-one ever looks at Cassian and Cassian never blinks at anything but Brasso's teeth are on him and Cassian closes his eyes and comes.

Brasso's hands on him are as careful as he expected, pulling him forward and tugging up his shirt so he can rock himself over the edge against the taut plane of Cassian's stomach. Cassian thinks briefly about how far it is to the car, who might be here. Who might notice if he left here covered in Brasso, whether Brasso would follow him home and add to it. Whether he'd get to drive along with Brasso's hand pressed up under the edge of his shirt, scratching at this mess they've made together.

So when Brasso vanishes for a minute and reappears with a length of medicals ubiquitous blue paper, Cassian thinks fuck it, and asks.

[missamyrisa2]

Tickling isn't a masochistic thing for me. It's just pure, unadulterated pleasure. I look forward to it every time and hate when it ends. I could be screaming and crying and still begging you for more because I just want to feel it as long as I can.

My ribs are a fluff spot, along with my armpits and back - if you tickled me there for a long time I would show absolutely no signs of distress. My tummy is so incredibly ticklish, fully connected to my pussy and my clit, so any tickles there radiate downward and up to my nipples. My belly button and pelvis are the most ticklish of all, and also the most pleasurable.

How would you keep me for up to an hour, begging you for more and letting you know how much it tickles and how much I love it, as I am guided into multiple tickly orgasms?

I am super squirmy, so you may want to find a way to secure me so my body (tummy) is nice and exposed for you and i can't put my arms down or close my legs. Please, please tickle me!!!!

~witchdoctorwonttell 💋

AAhhhhh~~ I loooove your vibeeee~ I'm sooo the sameee~ likeee when I've had sessions my ticklers have been like do you want a break and through my gaspy whimpering barely able to form words I'm just like nahhhh~ or even weakly shaking my head with my little wantyyyy mewling~Which of course makes it all the harder to explain to someone who doesn't know especially when those reactions are mixed with my begging~ pleading for them to stop and to don't stoppp~

But you knowww~ youuuu knowwwe exactly the ticklebug glutton vibeee~ which is whyyy I would absolutely be wearing you down with my taunting ticklesss~ I'm quite adept at overloading a wantttyyy darling like youu~ because you seee~

I'm a glutton tooo~

Your giggles are never enough~~~ I will alwaysss want moreee~

Your thrashing as I attack your underarms and tackle you to the bed will only feed my fire~ and all you're getting right now is the emberss~ just me getting you worked up and worn down as I dig into those ticklish pitttiess~ ooh digging is a harsh word because realllyyy it's my thumbs rubbing tight little circles on those tender crevices~ which of coursee it's just the diversion~ you can't not pull those arms down which means it's all too easy to roll you over so I can reallly work out your resistances with back tickles~

Mmmhmm~ that's brisk tickles on your sides and skittery strokes up your ribs and ooooh~ lookiee looksie I'm in your underarms again! It's so adorable how you think you can block these tickles just failing around ~ whyyyy I don't think you realize the backs of your arms and shoulders are spotsss tooo~ mmh get those arms alll nooodly for me~ I'm gonna make sure you're soooo tickleweak for what comes next~

Which of course, is youuu~

Because once I have you worn down I'm gonna tie you with my colourful scarves~ silkkkyyy bindings are sooo teasy huh~ I mean you're so weak and wannntttyy with your whimpers and moans and snickergasps that I could probably keep you untied butttt it's ever so better to strap your wrists and ankles to my fluffy bed and let you feel those gentle teases, let you try to squirm and find yourself unable to close your arms or legss~ mmh sooo leggyyy~ why I do believe that's my makeup brush trailing your thighs my giggledolllll~ too bad you can't close those thighs huhhh? You're just open to alll the tickles I give youuu~ liitle massages on your inner thighssss ~ blushy brushyyy along those twitchy musclesss~

What about that bellybutton? That bellybutton hmmmm? Oh yes I saved ittt darling ~ don't think I didn't see how it bounced and twitched and wannnnnted all through your tickless~ and it's sooo sweet and sensitive huhhh? You see cutieee what you need is the good old fashioned side tickle zerbert~ We take these rubbbyy rolling thumbsss ~ put them on each sideeee~ and coochie cooooo~ and thennnn mmmmhzzzttt~ riiight on that cute buttonnn~ And againnn~ mmmpph~ and again bzzzzztt~ and oooh~! Again! Giggle it out now, I'll tickle these sides allll the way throughh~

Oooh I knowww I knowww sweetheart ~ I know exactlyyy what these tickles are doing to youuu~

What about your royal girly chest buttons huhhh? Look how perky they are! Perkyyyy! I think theyy want a feathering ohhh yes I doooo~ yeahh! Just take my stiffff white feather and get a little taste, just a liiiitle taste of those swollen buttonsss~ glide that tip up and down~ like a fine point painting~~ say that five times fasttt~ nooo really, sayyyy it cutieee! fine point painting? Mmhmmmm ~ that's what you areee such a work of art sooo beautiful and sensitive and sweeet~! Mmhmm we loooove feather tickles on our nipplesss!!

Now what's this alll aboutttt~ ooh no oh yesss of course I know what's going on down here my ticklebugg~ my gooodness you could heat a 5 bedroom house with all the hot you're cooking up down here in the royal zone~! I bet you wannnt all the tickly attention on your girly parts huhhh? Yeahhh? No? Yeah? Mmmh tickle tickle? That's whyyy I'm gonna give you justttt the tip~ just the tippy tip of my feather featherrr! Yesss feather in the heatherrr~ liiiight lightest pixie ticklesss for your most royal girlyyy button~

Such an eager lil button toooo~ ooh yes, thrust and bounceee thrust and bounce for me darling~ I guess I found your button for pelvic thrusts huhhh? But nooope nope just the little tiny dainty petite poco ticklesss for youuu~ you're gonna have to gigglemoan it out nowww~ come on ~ gigglemoan for your gigglegasms~!! Aww thereee there we gooo! mmhmm that feels good huhhh~ nice massages on your thighs and hipsss and hip dips and waiiistttt~

Let's see if the blushy brush can do it nowww~ can the blush brush do itttt? Little soft fluffyyyy on your clittyyy~ girly tickles for your girly button mmmhmm~ and don't you worryyy I have all the kissies for your belllyy while my brush fluffs up your royal pearlyyyy~ noo no one's gonna take away your ticklyyy teasyyy kissisessss~! Muuah muahhh darling I'll kiss youuu all the way through mmhh~ and nooope the makeup brush isn't stooooping~!! You keep up that cuteness and we're getting mr. wand for your nextttt one~<33

[spot-conlons-pimp-cane]

HI YES BINCH (buttons + finch) FIRST KISS??? PERCHANCE??? /NF

okay this one is quite short

words: 589

(like I said before, I have been turned into a binch shipper, though I don't mind cuz they cute af)

Finch was annoyed.

He got in a fight, and now has a busted face.

Buttons is trying to keep him still while he tries to stitch up a cut on his cheek.

"Fi, you have to stop moving!" Buttons said, lighthearted yet still exasperated.

"I'm sorry, Benji, it just hurts" 

Finch tried to stay still while Buttons finished patching him up, but he still flinched every once in a while.

The only thing that helped him keep still (for the most part) was his spiral of thoughts.

Well, it was really only one thought.

Finch has always been prone to injury, whether it's from falling over, or getting hit, he was almost always sporting some kind of cut or bruise.

That's not the problem.

The problem is that when they were around 4 years old, a couple months after they became friends, Buttons had started a ritual of kissing Finch's wounds better.

It started kind of as a joke, but now it was something he always did without fail.

The only issue Finch had was that he was head over heels for Buttons.

And right now, he has bruised his lip.

He knows, logically, Buttons will just kiss his cheek, where he is patching him up now.

But Finch kind of wants Buttons to kiss his lip better.

Though he isn't expecting it, just wishful thinking.

So, imagine his surprise when his best friend/crush kisses his cheek, then his lips.

It was a quick, soft kiss, and as soon as they pulled back Buttons ran back to the main floor of the lodging, his face the colour of a tomato.

Finch was sitting on his bunk in shock.

Did Buttons really just kiss him?

He couldn't believe it.

"It was just because you are injured, not because he wants to" he though

Either way, he had to find out.

So, he sprinted down the stairs to the main floor where Buttons was playing some sort of game with Ike, Albert, Skittery, Kid Blink, Bumlets, and Mush.

"Hey, Benji" Finch said, unable to hide the nervousness in this voice

"Yeah?" Buttons was clearly also very nervous, maybe that meant he liked finch too?

"Can I talk to you for a second? In private?"

"Sure!" Buttons responded, handing his cards to Race, who was spectating after being banned from playing any sort betting games, the ban being set in place by Jack.

Once they got up to the bunk room Finch made sure to go to a back corner, so that no one could hear them.

"Benji," Finch started, deciding to stare down at his shoes instead of the boy in front of him.

 "I don't really know how to say this, but when you kissed me, I know to you it was probably just because I got hurt, but it meant much more to me. I have liked you for a long time, and if you don't mind me saying, I would like to kiss you more often?" 

Finch ended his rant in a questioning tone rather than a statement, scared of what Buttons would react.

That fear went away the second he felt the other boy's hands cupping his jaw and kissing him once more.

This kiss lasted longer than before, but was just as soft. Which was probably for the best seeing as Finch's lip was injured.

"I guess that means you feel the same way?" Finch asked softly, once they had pulled away.

"Of course I do" Buttons replied, smiling and resting his forehead against finch's

(REMEBER MY ASK BOX IS ALWAYS OPEN FOR FIC PROMPTS OR HEADCANON PROMPTS <33)

HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT YALL

[finchesslingshott]

i play like four newsies in this rp server so here are their love languages

finch cortez — words of affirmation + physical touch

despite having trouble reading/writing (DYSLEXIC KING!!!), finch values words a lot. he finds sappy, romantic poetry and gives it to buttons. he makes sure to check on his friends every single day. if something says something about him, good or bad, it'll stick to him for days.

his sensory issues go thru the roof and he really doesn't like physical touch from people he isn't super close with. only really allows it from buttons, race, davey, crutchie and mush — and even then, sometimes, it's a stretch. if he lets you hug him/hold his hand/play with his hair, know he cares about you a lot

mush meyers — quality time + physical touch

mush might just be the clingiest person known to mankind. after he and blink start dating, the latter gets an abundance of hugs, forehead/nose/cheek/literally anything kisses, hand-holding, hair-playing, and a lifetime supply of cuddles.

it means a lot to him when someone takes time out of their day to hang out with him. you don't even have to talk to him — just laying in bed with blink in his arms, or sitting in newsies square vibing with skittery and bumlets — anything he can do just to spend time with those he loves

crutchie morris — acts of service + quality time

crutchie is a lot like mush in the sense that when someone deliberately tries to spend time with him, it means the absolute world and then some to him. some of his favorite memories that he constantly goes back to are him sitting on the rooftop at night with jack— teaching finch and buttons how to fold different things out of not-sold papes— listening to davey read to him and the others. there's something about deliberate attention and care being given that just makes him happy

being disabled, naturally, a lot of things come a lot harder to crutchie than someone with both legs good and functional. he feels guilty and weak for asking for help, so he rarely does it (example a: "no i wanna get down :/"). but when someone does something for him without him asking for it, it makes his day. it reminds him that he's cared for, that he really does matter to someone.

i also play bumlets but i haven't had time to establish his character much yet; when i do, i'll rb and add his in :) enjoy losers

[emmedoesntdomath]

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.

[thatoneandlonelyemo2005]

Cannon era my beloved<3 (Skittery is Michael if anyone doesn't know still) thanks again to @chaosfairy18 for editing it a small tad, really does mean a lot

-

Skittery sighed as he looked around the distribution center. Everyone was wide awake as always, some of the littles ran around excitedly, he could even see Tumbler bouncing on his feet around Bumlets while Flipper was jumping up and down alongside him. They all were only a few feet away as well. He wished he could be as lively as them but as usual he had another nightmare.

It kept him up most of the night until Swifty crawled in his bed. Arms already wrapped around him asking if he wanted to talk about it. “No.” He whispered while still staring at the ceiling. “It’s okay Skits, I’m here.”

Skittery was grateful for him being right next to him in the bunk room. Skittery thought that he had some sort of magic when knowing that he was in distress. Or maybe it was him thrashing in the bed sheets. Bumlets usually also knew, but he slept further away and probably didn’t hear.

Either way Swifty was there to help him, even if he didn’t have to. He hadn’t even thanked him yet the more he thought about it. Swifty had only woken him up and let him lie there for a few more minutes. Now Skittery looked around at the boys and everyone was talking with their partner or reading the headlines. Then without further thought he stood on his tiptoes and kissed Swifty's cheek.

“Thank you for last night.” He whispered into his ear.

Once back down he saw the way Swifty blushed. Skittery smirked since he made him blush, he and Bumlets always had a fun time if they could do that to him.

Swifty cleared his throat, “No problem Michael.”

Skittery laughed lightly while he leaned on him. Swifty kissed the top of his head before they had to move in the line. Despite having a horrible nightmare today was gonna be good due to his boyfriends making sure he was alright.

[transingthoseformers]

Various idw villains in sg, in my opinion:

Tarn: mixed tones of red and orange, some white, i just realized those are commonly considered medic colors in baseline and i am KEEPING IT. Blue optics. A simplified version of the mask, but still a mask. Hides his insecurity under a false confidence (and his mask) and an intense focus on the Decepticon code, may i gift him "i can fix this"–itus? Still obsessed with Megs, but unlike baseline it's more benign.

Sunder: navy blue and richer teal. Orange optics. His vibes are insanely off but he's secretly a himbo who means well, which isn't viewed upon so nicely in the sg autobots. Torn between replacing mnemosurgery with some other flavor of doctor, or having him reluctantly be a mnemosurgeon who tries to use his job for good like baseline Chromedome (angst time???)

Froid: black and gold with deep blue highlights. Mist blue optics. He's just a little guy™️ who's got a "I'm not paid enough for this shit" attitude, but he means his best for his patients. I like to think his theories are different in sg, but I'm unsure how to strike a balance between still keeping influences from Freud and it being less evil than what Froid's theories are in baseline.

Getaway: primarily black and deeper red/vivid green. Amber orange optics. Still an escapeologist, pretty amiable and sees good in everyone (despite being surrounded by assholes in the sg autobots). Would be immensely funny if, instead of being good at pretending to be a good guy, he's bad at pretending to be a bad guy.

Pharma: I'm squinting at my reference for him which is Not My Fave but I'm thinking of him maybe being charcoal gray, grape juice stain purple, and green or white highlights? Red optics. As far as his personality he used to be more confident but now he's a skittery thing, he downplays his several accomplishments and always puts others first (even if it means he's in a shit sandwich like SG Delphi). After Delphi he works with Tyrest for a while, which isn't ideal, and i feel like his behavior at this stage is like baseline but without the murder. He will get help.

Tyrest: maybe primarily a wine purple and tropical blue with a light brown-gray? Light lavender or white optics. i admit i haven't thought much about sg Tyrest as his personality is stickety to Shatter, but i feel like it's similar to baseline but minus the murder. He's haunted by his actions and up the shit crick without a paddle, but he'll get better i swear.

Atomizer: tropical green and sea blue with silver highlights? Blue or purple visor. sg Getaway's ride or die. Wow there's like nothing on tfwiki in his summary, so I'm going to make shit up and suggest in SG he's the skeptical type. I can see him having Opinions on some of getaway's plans but generally still helping

Scorponok: whoo boy why is he so many colors. Mostly yellow and red, replace the bright blue with bright red and keep the black? Definitely a blue visor. if i Shatter him, would he be a more benevolent scientist who cares for his creations type?

Trepan: i am absolutely lost on his personality because on one hand since he's so entwined with functionism and medical warcrimes i want to Make Him Worse, but on the other hand i want to see what it'd take to twist him away from that in Shattering his personality. Oh and color palette wise so far in tinkering he looks best with his brown swapped for a nice blue and yellow optics swapped for magenta/pink

Overlord: this sort of peach color with blue optics. Absolute sweetheart gentle giant in SG, probably.

[chaosfairy18]

Three little words pt. 1

A kind of 5+1 scenario thing focusing on Bumlets/Skittery/Swifty because I have an obsession and I need to let it thrive. For a start we have Skittery/Swifty and their first "I love you"

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

The moment he’d opened his eyes in the morning with Kloppman banging on the bunks to wake them Skittery knew this would be a long day. He had barely slept, if at all, even though he must have passed out sometime in the night because he couldn’t remember seeing the sun rise. After the morning edition – which felt like even more of a chore than usual – he walked back to the lodge, left Tumbler with the other littles, and intended to go back to his bunk and at least get some more rest, hopefully. Even if he knew it would most likely get loud in here soon, the others returning after their own selling, but it was his only option for now.

The bunk room was actually empty, and he was relieved to find it so, hurrying to get off his pants and shoes so he could lie down. The room didn’t even stay vacated until he had done that though, as he suddenly found Swifty next to him, a little notebook in his hands that he must have just picked up from his bunk. A while ago he would have startled, but he was more than used to the other’s quiet steps by now.

“Are you okay Skitts? Not feeling good?”

“’M okay, just tired. Trying to take a nap.” He knew that Swifty wouldn’t keep him from it if he’d known, and that he would cut the conversation short.

They both turned their heads to the door as they heard a commotion from downstairs, more boys returning from work.

“I can make sure they won’t be loud in here. Watch over you for a while.”, offered Swifty, a small smile on his face.

Skittery had gotten better at accepting help, but he still didn’t want to force the other into doing anything for him, especially as he couldn’t go out and do anything worthwhile while looking over him and shushing the others but… he really needed sleep.

“Fine. But only if it ain’t any trouble.”

Swifty kissed him in the cheek and then sat down on the neighbouring bunk. “It never is for you.”

Skittery didn’t know when he woke, but he must have slept since he couldn’t hear as many noises from downstairs and he felt like he’d lost a bit of time. Just opening his eyes a fraction, he found the sun lower outside the windows as well and Swifty still sitting on the top bunk opposing his own, fixated on his notebook. The sun was shining softly into his face, his hair was ruffled, and his tongue stuck slightly out in concentration. Even in his still fuzzy mind after his sleep he knew one thing.

He was beautiful.

“I love you.”

It wasn’t much more than a whisper, but in the quiet room everything would have been heard. Swifty startled up and almost let his notebook – and pencil he had held in his other hand – fall to the floor.

Blushing, he looked to Skittery and blinked a few times, clearly not having expected to see him awake, much less say this out of the blue. “I- Damn, Skitts, that’s… I love you too. Just don’t scare me like that again.”

Skittery murmured something about payback for all the times the other had snuck up on him and Swifty laughed, jumping down to the ground and going up to him to kiss his curls.

While he was distracted with that, Skittery grabbed the notebook he only held loosely in his hand, finding what he’d been doing for the last hours.

It was a drawing of him, sleeping, sun shining in his hair.