Wow. A mirror. A full circle.

I am not ready for this.

Except I do want to write this.

This isn't going to be too too long I don't think (but we never know haha).

Well, here's to the end.

Enjoy! :)

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They all go about their day selling papers, and what they do when they're done is when their paths diverge.

In the darkness of backstage of Medda's theatre, while Les is watching the show, Jack explains everything about his past to David.

Denton and Katherine walk back to the apartment, ready to write the story up, arms around each other. Katherine's other hand is holding Sarah's.

Race and Spot go to Sheepshead, making playful bets against each other of which horse is going to win.

Kid Blink and Mush walk around the city together, holding hands, talking, laughing. They brush noses and grin and blush, just like they did when they first got together.

Crutchy, Boots, Skittery and Tumbler, Bumlets, Specs, Itey ... all the newsies, really, have found something to do. They smile up at the sun, happy for how this day has gone. They all feel like finally, everything is going to turn out okay.

And, by the end of the day, they all go home.

David and Jack are the last to make it to the Manhattan Newsies Lodging House. 

On the inside, Jack is ecstatic that David agreed to come. On the outside, he tries to remain as calm and collected as possible. Heart beating faster than a speeding train from nervousness and excitement, he opens the door and gestures for David to walk inside.

David takes in all his surroundings, and it's like being washed over by a gentle wave of safety and love.

All around him, newsies are talking, laughing, smiling. There's a cadence to it. 

In all this chatter David hears many languages being spoken; some are newsies teaching others their first language, some speaking their first language fluently with others. And there's not a single disgusted face as they do so.

There are lots of newsies fidgeting with their hands, too. Those who are sitting down bounce their leg. Newsies who are talking excitedly a million miles a minute about the things that they're interested in. Some making animal noises at each other. And there's not a single disgusted face as they do so.

Older newsies playing with younger newsies, smiling at them fondly.

Bonds between newsies so close it's like they truly are related.

There are the newsies who are unwrapping the bandages layering their chests, knowing that it's not good for them to keep their chest bound for much longer. There are newsies approving them as they unwrap their chests, smiling. They call them he and him to help them feel better. And there's not a single disgusted face as they do so.

And then there are the couples. There's Kid Blink and Mush holding hands and brushing noses, then kissing, then their foreheads pressed together, smiling. There's Race and Spot (who came here after Sheepshead with Race), holding hands, grinning at each other. Spot gets bold and kisses Race on the cheek. Race's eyes widen in surprise, and then he kisses Spot back. And there is not one single disgusted face as they do so.

"This place..." David says breathlessly, "this place is perfect."

Jack smiles. "Yeah it is, isn't it?" 

"Mhm."

Jack swallows. "Davey." David turns to face him. Jack works up his courage. "Can I-can I-er, um ... can I-can we-" He sighs and starts over. "Can I kiss you?"

David doesn't answer. Instead, he kisses Jack on the lips.

Jack, though surprised, closes his eyes and wraps his arms around David.

It's soft and gentle and sweet, just like they both need.

This is so much better than just a kiss on the cheek.

And in the lodging house, they know that they're safe.

"Finally!"

That startles them, breaking them apart, turning to face everyone who exclaimed that.

"We was waitin' for you two to get together!" Mush exclaims happily.

"We were definitely hopin' it was gonna happen by the end of the week!" Blink adds.

Jack huffs goodnaturedly. "Of course you were." He eyes Race. "Are there any bets involved?"

Race looks the other way innocently. "Whaaat? Nooooo..." 

They all chuckle. 

Except, surprisingly, there weren't any bets.

"We all just wanted ya to get together," Boots says smugly.

"No matter what, though, you two make a cute couple and it's obvious that you genuinely care for each other," Crutchy tells Jack and David. All the newsies nod and murmur in agreement.

"So, let me get just one thing clear," David says. "So a lot of you have all different ethnicities and some come from immigrant families and speak more than one language-" there are lots of mhm!'s and nods in agreement. "-And a lot of you have minds that work differently from everyone else and have a unique way of seeing the world-" more nods and mhm!'s and yep!'s in agreement. "-And a lot of you have a different gender identity than what society assigned to you-" Race, Spot, Crutchy, and more raise a fist in the air, Yep! with Jack looking at David, wondering how he ended up with someone so perfect. David smiles fondly at Jack. Jack's heart warms knowing that David accepts him--all of him. Now for the last one, the big one. "-And a lot of you love in a different way than the rest of the world wants?" It seems that every newsie agrees with this one. Kid Blink and Mush kiss and Race and Spot kiss for further affirmation.

David's grin grows. "So what I'm hearing is that not a single person is this room is normal, whatever normal may be?"

"NOPE!" everyone cheers. "Not a single one of us in here is normal!"

David smiles. This is where I belong. "I love it."

Jack kisses him. They are so, so happy. They all are.

And so time keeps moving.

David's going to have to go home soon, and so will Sarah, who is still with Katherine. Soon Spot is going to have to go back to Brooklyn. But for now, they celebrate.

They celebrate the strike. They celebrate their differences.

True, it may seem strange to some that people can exist in harmony like this. That people can just naturally all accept and love one another. That they can all accept each other and listen to and love one another. And it may seem strange to some that diversity on this scale can even exist, but for these people, it's their normal. There is no such thing as too diverse. They are all just people who exist.

So, if someone asked you to describe the newsies, what would you say? Would you only talk about how they were poor and oppressed? Or would you talk about how they were able to take on the most powerful people in their world? How against all odds, they won? How they made history? Would you talk about how they are like family? That they accept everyone from everywhere, of every tongue, every culture, no matter how their mind works, no matter what gender they were born as versus what they identify as now, no matter who they love?

The newsies are a ragged and motley bunch, but they stick together. They're like family. And that's the only thing that matters as they carry the banner through it all.

THE END/DEIREADH/FINE/הסוף/FINIS

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So this is where it ends.

That was actually longer than I expected, but when is it not haha.

I wish I could include more ways to say the end. That would take awhile haha. Instead, I just went with English/Irish/Italian/Hebrew/Latin because that's what's most relevant to this story. Okay, Latin isn't entirely relevant, but like ... I really don't know; just ... Latin haha.

So what did you all think??

I really wanted to include this last bit somewhere in the story, but I could never figure out where it could go. And I'm glad I took the time to write it. Because true, the newsies aren't perfect, but they're always there for each other, and accept each other. I couldn't stress that enough.

Okay, I need to say it: Race is amazing with little kids. And so is Skittery. And Jack. And a lot of them, actually. And it makes my heart melt.

I love the big paragraph I gave David where he's pointing out all their differences and they're going along with it happily and he's like oh my gosh I belong. That whole bit is very important to me and it's the reason why I'm writing this thing.

I originally wanted to make him say "so let me get one thing straight" and have all the newsies snicker but straight wasn't used like that until the early 1900's when it was used to describe a heterosexual person, so I couldn't have that work.

So. This story is 18 chapters, with a prologue and an epilogue, making it 20 parts. 

This story means a lot to me. Because while some will go in depth about a character being gay/trans/neurodivergent and/or their ethnicity/ancestry, not all do, and none of them just truly explore it. I wanted to explore it here. 

And the movie is just so full of all these things, you know? And I wanted to write about it, because there is just so much there.

Also, I finally figured out why I like the movie more than musical. It goes deeper beyond I saw the movie first and I gravitate towards what's unappreciated. The thing is, for me, 92sies has always felt like a stage play. A lot of you are probably like uh, that makes no sense, Livesies is an actual show on a stage and yes, that's totally valid, and I love how Livesies is on a stage in Broadway and how they're performing live. But I recently figured out why my argument is still that 92sies feels like a stage play: it feels like a stage play that I could perform. Because let's face it, not many people actually can make it to Broadway. And not everyone can do the crazy dance moves that Livesies does. And because it's Broadway and only the best of the best, I feel disconnected from it, like I can never reach it. But 92sies? Where I can see the determination on their faces as they go through the choreography and the pure excitement on their faces as it all comes together? I get that—I've been there. That is something that I could reach, could participate in. It's no where near perfect, but they're actual teenagers, so excited to perform in this movie, and have so much passion and emotion in their voices as they sing, and I just connect to it way more than I ever did to the musical. I don't know if any of this makes sense, but hey, this is my take on 92sies.

Also, some of you may be wondering about the title Neuroqueersies. So the term neuroqueer actually does exist. This is also very interesting. I won't get too deep into it, because it's very messy and lots of people with slightly varying information, but the gist of the neuroqueer theory is how neurodivergence and genderqueer and queer sexualities all intertwine, and how someone who is neurodivergent is more likely to have an identity that's not cishetallo. Me, for example haha. I am neurodivergent, non-binary, bi, and ace. I am the exact opposite of neurotypical cishetallo haha. And the thing is, a lot of the newsies are too. So I really wanted to draw on that.

I should probably stop before this gets too long, shouldn't I?

Anyway, I hope you learned something. I hope I taught you something. Whether it was a historical detail, or a little/lot about being neurodivergent, or just anything about any aspect about this story. I hope I got you to think, to consider a perspective different from your own. So maybe some day we can all start accepting and understanding each other.

And, as always, I'm not perfect, I'm not an expert, so if I got anything wrong or if anything is rubbing you the wrong way, please, please tell me about it. I wanna fix it, and educate us all.

I can't believe this is the last time I'm writing the story of the strike. I'm not stopping writing Newsies stories, I just won't be going over the strike in such detail like this story and some of my other stories. I'm glad that this is the last one I chose to write.

I would love to know what all of you think.

Love you all <33

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!! :)
<333333333333

Please, no homophobia or transphobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who cannot believe that this is the end of the story; and who truly enjoyed writing every single bit of it)