July 24 - Tumblr Posts

On this day 125 years ago the newsboys of New York City had a rally, a meeting for all of them to discuss what happened. Several important strike leaders spoke at this rally and I think its so important to remember and talk about what happened.

As a fan of the movie and musicals and who recently did several deep dives into the real dark and huge history. I still have so many un answered questions that I think could only be answered by the newsies. But even if we don’t have all the answers we still know what happened.

So for the sake of all the newsies not just the ones we know the names of like Kid Blink, Racetrack Higgins, Annie Kelly, David Simmons, Morris Cohen, and Henry Butler, but all of the newsies who were in the strike and remember this amazing piece of history.

July 24: dealer | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 595

Game nights were James’ favorite.

Every Saturday evening, James would host a small game night at his flat with all of his friends. They’d have a few drinks, maybe order in some food, and play card games for hours. James looked forward to it every week.

But this Saturday was going to be extra special.

Sirius, James’ best friend, was bringing his little brother, Regulus, with him to James’ game night. James had never met Regulus and was thrilled to finally meet Sirius’ brother. 

Sirius had told James that sometimes Regulus was fairly mean and not to expect much out of him. James mulled over that and thought about a million exchanges that might go down between him and Regulus that Saturday. 

However, James hadn’t foreseen that Sirius’ brother would be the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. 

Regulus was the first person to arrive and he came alone. 

When James opened the door his jaw dropped just slightly at the sight of the man in front of him. “Um, hi,” James stammered, “I’m James.” He held out a hand for Regulus to shake. 

“I’m Regulus. Sirius’ brother. I’m sure he’s said something about me,” the other man responded in a cool voice, taking James’ hand. 

He dropped his hand from the shake and led Regulus inside. “You’re the first to arrive, so it’ll be a bit boring before other people show up with the drinks and cards,” James explained, showing Regulus to his living room and gesturing him to sit on the couch with him. 

Regulus nodded and sat down next to James leaving a small gap between them. 

They sat like that, in awkward silence, for a few minutes before James couldn’t bear it anymore and asked, “Um, Sirius said you’re still finishing up in uni?”

Regulus nodded again and turned his piercing grey eyes on James. “Yeah, I’m about done with my last year.”

James muttered something that sounded vaguely like “That’s cool” before blurting again with, “So have you ever played cards before?”

Regulus raised an eyebrow at him. “I wasn’t raised under a rock, of course I’ve played before. What are we playing?” Regulus assured James.

James grinned and answered, “Blackjack.”

The other man’s cheeks went pink, which James found insanely adorable. “Oh.” Regulus looked sheepish all of a sudden. “I’ve actually… never played blackjack before. Our family only ever played poker.”

“Oh,” James said a quick prayer in his head before risking putting his arm around Regulus’ shoulders. “I can teach you the basics right now, if you’d like!” He grinned at the man.

Regulus rolled his eyes good-naturedly and huffed, “I guess.”

“Great!” James exclaimed. “So, in blackjack all the players are trying to get closer to 21 than the dealer, but they can’t hold over 21. If you go over, you bust and get nothing. Each hand is played separate and the end goal is to have a higher hand value than the dealer.”

Regulus’ brows furrowed while he took in the information. When James finished his explanation, Regulus remained quiet.

“So, did you understand any of that?” James asked with an airy chuckle.

The corners of Regulus’ lips tipped up in a small smile that lit up his eyes. “Er, no,” he confessed, laughing a little too.

James waved his hand, dismissing the problem. “Lily’ll explain it better anyway.”

James and Regulus made eye contact and burst out laughing together. 

“PRONGS?”

Their heads snapped to the living room entrance where Sirius stood, bewildered expression on his face and a pack of 6 drinks in his hand.