#bill x alden hc lore

[charlybird]

I'm not sure if I have made Alden's suit too fancy for a working class guy, I just wanted him out of his work clothes. But if it is too expensive then I guess Bill is just his sugar daddy ahaha I see Bill and Alden as a bit of a miss-match but in the best possible way. Their relationship is meant to be very healing where they can just be themselves when they're alone. Alden kind of represents the side of Bill that always got stomped on his whole life, and I think Bill kind of represents an escape and excitement for Alden. Plus Alden has someone who would fight for him if needed. I don't think these two would be in a long committed relationship but they'd be close enough to always stay in touch over the years that they can't be together. Just my thoughts on it though. edit I also think that with Alden straight up flirting first that it helped break that initial barrier with Bill this is also a version of Bill that doesn't turn into RDR1 Bill

[charlybird]

Had to do one for Bill :)))

[charlybird]

Some random cute sketches These two both seem to be searching for some kind of respect and self worth. Alden is definitely in an unhappy marriage, there's a few lines of dialogue that suggest that, and his job is crushing him a bit I think. He's good at his job and I think he likes the job itself but wants the recognition and respect he deserves. I think the job is also more of a "making the best of things" kind of job, it's possible he wants something else but I think he sees self worth in this job but just isn't really getting it from anyone else. Alden also seems to respect Soldiers as he has a voice line where he's disappointed people don't even glance at the statue in town to remember fallen soldiers. Bill is quite touchy on his time in the army as it sounds like he didn't do very well and had a terrible time of it but everyone laughs at him for it when it's probably the only thing he feels he's ever accomplished. He hasn't got anything else to show off and I think the reason he joined was to try and make something of himself. So basically I feel like Alden wouldn't laugh at this. Bill has been dealt a bad hand in life and has never really fitted in anywhere no matter how hard he tries. He lashes out a lot because of this too I think. I mean when life constantly kicks you down I kind of get it, but I'm not defending his really bad behaviour or anything. I think Bill's self hate and desperate need for positive attention causes him to do a lot of bad things. If he actually felt needed and appreciated I think he'd calm down. Alden has a surprising amount of dialogue and I'm just guessing with all this stuff but at the same time this is an AU and I like the "healing relationship" side of this, especially with how I see them as both as closeted. They're opposites who are struggling with a bunch of similar things. Didn't mean for this to go on forever sorry

[charlybird]

this made me laugh That first one is obvs for a modern AU and I could see it as being true XD but I imagine Bill getting real annoyed over that lolly pop story and probably pretends he doesn't know Alden

[charlybird]

Bill x Alden ship In the past I have been asked about what pet-name/nick-name would Alden give to Bill and I couldn't really think of anything.... but I think I just found it XD XD

this is from an old superman comic btw. I have no idea what's going on though.

[charlybird]

Modern Alden is probably semi-popular on tiktok. After a lot of convincing, he is allowed to post a tiktok with Bill in it. Bill’s general opinion about himself is that he isn’t anything special or handsome, and then the comments section goes *nuts* for Alden’s handsome bear of a boyfriend.

haha I love this <3 This is also funny to me as I feel like Alden looks older than Bill in the game. Maybe I'm wrong and he just looks older than he is but I do kind of HC Alden a little older than Bill. Maybe in a more modem AU Alden might use cosmetics (like creams and gels etc) to look a bit younger? or doesn't. I personally think he looks great as he is, I'm just thinking about what he might think. In game sometimes random NPCs ask "how's your luck" and Alden can sometimes respond with "I have a face like sour piss for a reason, what's your excuse" Makes me howl that he's so randomly catty sometimes. I can't tell if he's saying he's ugly because he's unlucky or because he's unhappy with his life and it's making him ugly or making him frown etc. Either way I still feel like in a modern setting he might be a little concerned with his image even if he's happy with his life overall. His social media content could be about cosmetics to look younger and stuff, but in more of a hobby way.

[charlybird]

I'm not sure who hurt this dev but this was kind of a sadistic challenge to put into this game. Required me to figure out how to actually play this game and I know they included instructions but sadly they just made NO sense to me so I had to figure it out the hard way. I spent maybe 2+ hours losing/figuring out how the game works and then 40 minuets playing to get 3 in a row in Emerald Ranch (the simplest version of Dominoes). Was horribly stressful and I got really mad at it before I figured it all out but I'm glad I got all the gambling ones done now. Never playing Dominoes again if I can help it aha. Couldn't help but think about Bill and Alden playing some of these games whether it's Dominoes or Poker. Bill would need some help understanding the games like myself aha, and I don't know if Alden is much of a gambling man so he might not know how to play cards straight away but I'm also going to suggest they'd play something like Strip Poker XD I don't know who would lose more as Alden has said his luck isn't great. But I still want to say Bill would lose more hjjfgdk. Not a particularly interesting HC I just like thinking about these two all the time

[charlybird]

how do u think Bill and Alden deal with fights? Like the two of them are in a fight.

oh difficult question aha I mean my version of this ship is a very healing one, so it's not that fights don't happen but I don't see them being serious or sounding too hurtful. So nothing like Mr Black and Mr White ahaha Bill and Alden are opposites so they will squabble but no major insults or anything. I feel like if Alden gets annoyed it's probably because Bill is being a bit lazy aha. I do feel like Bill does actually try hard to impress Alden but sometimes he still just wants a nap aha. Maybe Alden learns to chill a little. Also it depends on how we see Alden's lore. I kind of do HC that he doesn't get a long with his wife but in a sad "she's horrible to him" kind of way. Just based off his dialogue. I feel like he had no backbone with her but Alden's relationship with Bill gave him more confidence so he doesn't feel so timid around Bill. Which might be a surprise to some as I know Bill can be very violent. But my take on Bill is that he was never allowed to be soft so an awful lot of his violence is a result of covering up who he really is. And he can be quite hostile to people who tease him/make him feel small. And his bullying seems to be a way to make himself feel better. So basically I don't see him ever being really mean or violent to Alden especially with Alden being the only really good thing to happen to Bill. And I don't see Alden being mean to Bill about the army, or being soft etc. When Bill talks about when he met Dutch he said Dutch saved him from a really bad time in his life and said Dutch gave him purpose. It actually makes me really sad listening to that dialogue as Bill just seems to give so much of himself to anyone who is nice to him, even if the nice stops after a while. So I'd like to think that Bill would be similar towards Alden but the love doesn't just suddenly stop and this is partly what actually helps Bill to grow as a person. I also had this HC that after a while of being with Alden, the gang members insults start to just roll off Bill's back. Like he doesn't care as much anymore now that he has self-worth. And they all think it's weird but maybe also tease him less as it's not as fun to not get a response. I know this is an incredibly soft ship but I'm just very attached to the idea of two very different people helping each other to be the best version of themselves But these are just my thoughts on it

[charlybird]

that photograph drawing has me thinking more about bill and alden's wedding/proposal. brown jack was the ringbearer ofc, but who do you think popped the question? did their parents walk them down the aisle? where did they go for their honeymoon? i have lots of ideas hehehe

yes I think about this sometimes and if we keep Alden's first relationship/marriage similar to the game, a really bad one that he felt trapped in, then I don't see Alden wanting to rush off and get married again. Not even with how comfortable he might be with Bill, and Bill isn't really the wedding type. So I feel like it was less of a proposal and more of a conversation over time. Discussing Alden's previous relationship/marriage, how he feels about the future, what he wants etc. Then eventually the "question" would be more of a "do you want to?" But I don't know who would ask. Also the wedding would probably be kind of chill, not very traditional, but I would guess Alden's first wedding had nothing that he wanted so I feel like Bill would suggest the wedding to be catered just towards Alden, and while Alden is touched by the idea he insists it be more 50/50. I had a HC for their early relationship being great to start with but then dipping a bit as Bill didn't have enough self worth and kind of had Alden on a pedestal too much. (so always trying to please Alden as he loves the attention he gets from it. Being too much of a simp basically haha) But I think Bill's depression would eventually hit back kind of hard because doing this doesn't give him proper self worth. So eventually Alden realises this and tries to make sure Bill knows he's worth something too. Again this ship, in my HCs at least, is self healing and two damaged people fixing each other. It's not without bumps but it's overall a good and strong one. And yes Brown Jack is the ringbearer absolutely :3

[charlybird]

what kind of pet names do you think Bill and Alden use for each other?

this is a hard one aha. In my comics where I had them texting each other I couldn't think of any pet names for their phone contacts name XD Maybe they just wouldn't really use them. Or if they did maybe just not often or more casual ? I don't know if Bill would use any but Alden might. Maybe just saying something like "hey big guy" in a sweet way every now and then. After they get married Alden *might* use the word Hubby XD but overall I have no idea about the pet names haha

[charlybird]

do you think that Alden would try and get Bill to cut back on drinking post-gang? Especially if Bill told Alden about his father.

hm ok so I do think that Alden would be kind of put off by this side of Bill. More the laziness than anything but still. He has a voice line where he says that the layabouts are disgusting and should be whipped XD XD I had wanted to make a stupid joke about this where Bill is just awkwardly standing there, slowly puts his drink down, and just says " ....... you..... you could whip me if you want" But I never ended up drawing it, it is very stupid. Anyway sorry. I think Bill drinks because he's depressed and it helps him to escape, but because of this and his self loathing he ends up drinking too much sometimes. If Bill is going to stop drinking so much it will take a lot of effort on his part but at the same time I feel like Alden being in Bill's life would help Bill feel better naturally so then Bill wouldn't have as much need to drink if that makes sense. But I'd like to think Alden would also try to help Bill to stop but more out of love than anything. I just think it can be amazing when you suddenly find something or someone that makes you feel better and I love to run on that idea.

[charlybird]

(Modern) Alden’s sleep conditions: Multi step skincare routine done, humidifier on, room at the perfect temperature and light level, white noise machine, weighted blanket, at least 3 pillows,

Bill’s sleep conditions: eyes closed and body vaguely horizontal. Especially if you tie in the common HC of him being a trucker. He’d be really used to sleeping in his seat. I also am a firm believer that Bill is the little spoon.

oh cute! I've never heard of the trucker HC before. But I always thought Bill would just sleep like he does in the game which is just face down ahaha So yeah I saw him cuddled up to Alden as the little spoon too. But I think Alden deserves to be the little spoon every now and then. I always prefer alternating stuff over 1 person does 1 thing. But that's just me.

[charlybird]

An amazing idea came to me last night: Brown Jack as the ring bearer/flower pup in the modern AU :3

haha very cute :')

[charlybird]

Okay you might have to help me with this one, I’m not all the way done with the game, but does the gang ever rob the Rhodes train station? Because that could bring some really interesting ideas into play.

Even if they don’t, there could be a wrong-place-wrong-time situation; Bill ends up pointing his gun directly at Alden on accident, and freezes.

well as far as I'm aware there's a bonus mission in the special edition of the game where you rob the Rhodes bank with Charles. I have two playthroughs going on and the special edition is sadly the one I'm not progressing quickly so I'll have to wait to play it. Though I don't love the idea of robbing the Rhodes bank if there isn't some company moving it's money through there or something. Don't want to make things harder for Alden aha. But I'd like to think if there were any plans to do something with gunfire or threat in Rhodes Bill would warn Alden about it? My thoughts on it anyway. I did have these ideas about Bill and Alden kind of setting up a robbery situation where Bill kidnaps Alden to try to help him escape Rhodes without his wife ahaha It could be done really seriously or accidentally goofy with Alden pretending a little too hard "ooh no ~ this bear of an outlaw is trying to kidnap me ~ what ever shall I do" I HC the serious one where it's more believable but I like the goofy stuff a lot. There was even a drawing I wanted to do ages ago, before I properly got into Bill x Alden, where I was going to have Alden hold up some worthless vase saying out loud "Boy I hope no scary outlaw tries to take this incredibly expensive vase - *eagerly looks around* then later when someone is robbing him he flirts and says "take me with you maybe?" Alden's wife getting mighty sick of this bullshit ahaha

[charlybird]

An interesting idea for the modern AU, what if (strong what if) Bill was dishonorably discharged? I have no idea what it would be for, because obviously it couldn’t be for being gay anymore. But either way, it’s really really hard to get a job with a dishonorable discharge on your record, so Bill was in a really rough spot until Dutch offered him a job, or vouched for him, or similarly helped him out.

that's so funny as I was literally thinking something similar earlier today. edit / also being discharged for deviancy doesn't actually mean gay specifically, it could have meant a few things. / In my AU the discharge would have been for a fight that broke out. I couldn't help but wonder if in the game Bill wasn't very good in the army and possibly a bit of a coward. There's a couple of lines that make me wonder this. Arthur says "when you were pretending to fight Indians" and Dutch mocks Bill saying all he was good for was digging latrines. They might just be bullying him though but still. They often make him feel bad for being soft, gay or not it's still not nice. (Bill being violent in a gun shoot out is a very different atmosphere to war - and his violence is possibly a cover-up for being soft at heart) So I was thinking it would be similar in the modern one too. Maybe he fucked up so bad that he got a soldier killed because he didn't fight. And the others often bully him anyway so a fight eventually breaks out and he gets kicked out or something. Then, like you say, he's struggling and Dutch offers him an office job but just like a secretary. The business is actually failing and Dutch is trying his best to keep it going but a lot of the others are losing faith. It struggles on for a few years though before ending. I thought about Bill being a secretary with Tilly and Karen and they kind of stick together but maybe not so much outside of work. Maybe a little I don't know. Micah might even be there as that co-worker that no body really likes but the boss keeps him around anyway. Micah has a couple of co workers that he hangs out with (like his group he brought in at the end of game 2) and peer pressure Bill into joining in on horrible pranks but Karen and Tilly convince him out of it (this mirrors the peer pressure bullying he got in the army). The end of the business could even mirror the game but Bill joins Tilly, Karen, Arthur this time. I originally had Alden as like some kind of mail man in this HC before thinking he should just work in the train station. And when he delivers the mail he'd often flirt with a lot of the guys but Bill always tried to slyly flirt back but everyone knows he's got a crush on Alden. But if Alden isn't in this job then I'm not sure where he comes in yet but I'm mulling it over aha. I do know that I don't want it to have anything to do with Alden's social media page. I'd rather it be they meet not knowing each other at all. yeah I've been thinking about this one a lot ahaha sorry

edit / Just thought I guess they could have met at the office job and then after Alden could work at the train station. /

[charlybird]

Du u think Bill and alden Fell out of touch during the 6th chapter because of guarma and the gang tention

yeahhh soo. I think about this sometimes but not THAT much because it's too stressful to think about XD But Alden has a voice line where he basically says he's not sentimental at all, at least not like Rhodes is where they mourn heavily. "no point crying over spilled milk or dead bodies, what's done is done" ( hjkfdnjds ) But I don't know if this is because he doesn't have love in his life or if that's just how he is. I think it's a bit of both maybe? But if Bill was to suddenly stop replying to Alden I'd like to think Alden would be a little concerned and would miss the interactions. They're probably one of the best things in his life. So I think he'd be relieved to know Bill wasn't ignoring him and relieved to know Bill is ok. As for the tension thing ... my HC with Alden kind of changes Bill quite a bit - which is the whole point tbh, giving Bill some self-worth. So as much as I feel like Bill would still struggle letting go of Dutch and figuring out how he feels about the whole mess at the end, I'd like to think he'd be way better off in this HC. He'd either side with Arthur or just go his own way. But for him to side with Arthur I feel like someone from that side would have to have made Bill feel wanted and not just tolerated. (and when I say this I don't mean they tolerate his bullying I mean the gang bully Bill quite a bit. He tries to be nice and connect with them but they can often just shut him down. It's sad and I know Bill can also be a jerk too but like .... I think he bullies because he gets bullied)

The ending hurts a lot as I like the gang, including Dutch even though I hate what he does.

But maybe the gang would have shown better affection if Bill had more self esteem? I don't really know. I think ultimately it's a toxic masculinity thing so it might not have changed. So Bill could just leave everything behind because he's got Alden. And obvs Alden would have to leave everything behind too but Bill going missing might have helped him to do this. Plus he's getting old. Bill also had some dialogue where he says he finds it hard to care about things, then asks John if he ever "thinks about dying". I assume these two things are related, he finds it hard to care because he could "die tomorrow or in 10 years" But I also wonder if Bill is depressed and this could also add to that feeling. So again, being able to just run away with someone who isn't sentimental and when nothing really matters so just do what makes you happy because fuck it. also - Alden could probably be a voice of reason for Bill as I'd like to think Bill would respect Alden for making him happy. I've said this before but Bill's heavy respect for Dutch lies in him "cheering me up and saving my life" type of thing. I will always HC the happier stuff because I'm a sop like that haha