#from rdr2 with the car

[blooperblank]

Squid doodled :]

Aren’t they adorable?

[mirandasedai]

To @nightbloodraelle, on one Dutch van der Linde

(by ‘his podcast’ I do mean his own, the one he hosts)

[trbotunnel]

hey guys do we like my home screens

[carneflower13]

lord forgive me..... ive fallen in love with a modern country song

[mostbrilliantidiot]

Maybe one day I'll have time to really be online again. One day.

[intoxicated-chan]

𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐭

Summary ➳ Gambit lends an ear and his comfort to you. 

(A/n) ➳ I feel like I spent too much time writing this because I wanted to get his accent right. But I thank all those who gave me advice, especially @a-roguish-gambit. I also started playing RDR2 so you guys can expect content for the game soon too!

Word Count ➳ 1.1k 

Content Warnings ➳ Female Reader, swearing, violence, blood, pet names (cher), mentions/fear of abandonment, light sexual content, cock blocking??  

It wasn’t your choice to be pushed into the Void after Wade and Logan. When you watched their bodies disappear, you too were taken to the Void without putting much of a fight. And from the moment you arrived, you knew you were over your head. 

From the moment you arrived, Wade and Logan’s bickering and banter was constant, and their fights weren’t often but deadly. You stood on the sidelines whenever they fought because you knew they could easily take you out. 

Especially now.  

What was supposed to be a ride to find the Resistance members became a bloodbath, the first sign of a fight starting was your cue to leave the car and wait for them to calm down. 

You sat against the tree, watching the two grown ass men throw kicks and punches that could kill a person with ease. Logan's claws pierce Wade’s body and how Wade’s katanas and knife slice through Logan’s outfit and skin.  

“Guys, seriously?” You muttered, this fight would’ve been much entertaining if she had food with her. You were tired of it, physically and emotionally, and you weren’t surprised when you fell asleep to the sound of them battling.  

But when you awoke, you were in a different place. Some kind of hideout.  

But with three others who you learned to be Blade, Elektra and Gambit. All of them talked about getting back into Cassandra’s lair, but Wade did most of the talking as Logan did all the drinking.  

“You?!” Wade suddenly shouting in some kind of encouragement, pointing directly at you.  

They all stared at you, waiting for a response but you had no idea what they were agreeing on, going back in her lair or getting a way out.  

“It’s the same thing, kid.” Logan interrupted your thinking, as if he read your thoughts. But it seems he was tired of the fighting and wanted to a seat to drink in peace.  

“Sure, I guess.” You said, mainly to get the stares off you. 

Everyone agreed that they would set off early in the morning, giving you the chance to look around the hideout. You peeked your heads in the room as you already felt like you were trespassing, so you promised yourself that this would be the last room before you ate something. 

“Bonjour, cher.” Gambit’s voice made you jump, quickly pulling your head out to turn and look at him. “Ain’t polite to be peekin’ in on folks, now is it?” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” 

Gambit reached out to push the door open further. “Ain’t no harm done.” With a wave of his hand, he welcomed you in. “Don’t be shy, cher.” 

You walked in once you got his approval, he followed right behind you, closing the door with a click. The room was not what you expected, with mismatched furniture and some playing cards lying around, it spoke of him.  

It was Gambit’s space, and it felt like an extension of him. 

“So, how long you been stuck in dis here Void?” Gambit asked, sitting on his couch and patting the cushion beside him.  

But you shook your head, choosing to lean against the wall. “Not long. I got caught up in Wade’s mess.” 

Gambit raised an eyebrow, his expression changing to surprised. “You’ new to all dis chaos, eh? Coulda fooled me.” He grinned.  

You shrugged, trying to laugh. “More like I got dragged into it. Wade... He stopped getting in trouble for some time but this time, I wasn’t quick enough to dodge it.” 

“If dere’s somethin’ on your mind, cher, you can talk. Sometimes it’s easier t’spill your guts to a stranger.” Gambit noted. 

You looked at him, seeing sincerity in his eyes. For a moment, you hesitated, but you broke. “I’m worried. Scared.” You admitted, whispering. “That this plan won’t work. If it doesn’t, everyone in my universe... They’ll forget me. It’ll be like I never existed.” 

You didn’t mean to say much, but once you started, you couldn’t stop. “I’ve been abandoned once before, left to fend for myself. I worked so hard to make a name but now it’ll be for nothing. Everything I’ve done, everyone I’ve known... Gone. Just like that.” 

You felt embarrassed after you finished ranting. Your eyes widened as you raised your hands, stumbling over your words, a poor attempt at explaining yourself. “Shit! I-I know you said-” 

But before you could finish, Gambit was there in front of you, pulling you into a tight embrace. His arms wrapped around you like a shield, protecting you from your worries.  

“It’s alrig’t cher. You’re alrig’t.” He whispered, his voice soothing as he held you close. “You ain’t gotta apologize for feelin’ like dis. Everyone gets scared, even Remy.”  

You felt yourself slowly relax in his embrace, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed you a little. In that moment, you didn’t care about the fear that’s been eating you away.  

You hesitated at first, but then you wrapped your arms around him. You both stayed like that for a while, neither of you saying a word, just taking comfort in each other’s company. 

Eventually, Gambit pulled back slightly, just enough so he could look down at you. You met his faze, your breath hitching as you realized how close you were. 

And then, he leaned in, his lips meeting yours in a gentle kiss. It was slow soft at first, a mere brush of lips, but it deepened as the seconds passed, both of you losing yourselves in the moment.  

You felt his fingers running through your hair as you reached to cup his face. You shut your eyes, your hands moving to his coat and attempt to take it off him.  

The door flew open with a loud slam. You jumped, darting away from Gambit. 

“Hey, what’s going on in here?!” Wade shouted as he strutted into Gambit’s room. His tone was annoyingly cheerful. “We don’t have the budget for intimacy coordinators! Johnny must’ve taken it all.” 

You cleared your throat, crossing your arms as you felt your face become warm. “Wade! I... Uh... Nothing, nothing’s going on.” 

You could tell by how the whites of his suit widened that he was smirking under that dammed mask. “Oh really? ‘Cause it looks like I interrupted something juicy!” 

“Jus’ havin’ a lil’ chat, mon ami. Nothin’ to get excited ‘bout.” Gambit fixed his coat, seemingly normal. 

Wade then shrugged, turning around. “Alright, but if I hear any smoochin’ sounds, I’m comin’ right back!” 

As soon as the door closed behind Wade, you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, your heat still racing from the near discovery. You glanced at Gambit, who was watching you with a smile, and couldn’t help but laugh. 

Gambit stepped closer to you, hooking his finger under your chin to have you look at him. “As we were, cher?”  

© Intoxicated-Chan 2024, I do not allow my work to be copied, translated, modified, adapted, or put on any other platform without my permission. 

[bombshelllblonde]

arthur in rdr2 when people ask for help: ok???? yes i’ll help??? do you need a warm blanket??? i can bake you a cake too?????? here are the keys to my car and my credit card and my social security number and i’ll help file your taxes and knit you a sweater. do you need me to walk your dog?????? i can do that. i can tutor your son in organic chemistry if you need me to and i can pick your car up from the mechanics as well

john in rdr1 when people ask for help: how’s that my problem. i’m looking for my ex friends AND i hate the government

[omgwhatchloe]

REASONS WHY HAVING SOME RDR2 CHARACTERS AS YOUR PASSENGER IN YOUR CAR SUCKS:

Charles: Only talks to points out every single animal he sees. Other than that, it’s just silence unless you start the conversation or you’re Arthur. Oh but trust me, he wants the AUX. He’s just not gunna ask.

John: Either demands the AUX cord or just connects it anyway, then proceeds to be musically inconsiderate with what he plays. You despise this song with every ounce of your being? Too bad. This song reminds you of your lowest point? Suck it up buttercup. This was playing in the car when you crashed and killed the person in the passenger seat? Womp womp.

Dutch: Seems to think it’s his car. In fact, he feels completely free to change the music, turns up the heat as much as he pleases, winds the windows up and down, moves his seat constantly etc etc.

Reverend Swanson and Mary-Beth: Car sick. So very car sick. Your two options when driving them anywhere is the sound of heavy breathing with the sounds of the highway being blasted in through the open window, or bags rustling with the sound of puking and groaning. Trust me, they’d rather have walked as well.

Javier: Awful navigator. It’s fine when you know where you’re going, but absolutely awful when you need navigation. Half the time, you look over and he’s gone off the navigation app and is playing subway surfers and texting. The other half of the time, he’s misreading the directions then yelling at YOU. Not to mention it’s completely unsurprising to wonder why you’ve been driving for so long then find he’s clicked on the entire wrong destination without a second thought.

Sean: Acts like he’s never eaten before in his life as soon as he gets into the car. Sees a Wendy’s? He’s suddenly starving. Burger King? He hasn’t eaten in three days. KFC? He’ll pay you back, he swears! In fact, the man has absolutely no problem being late for anything if you stop for food. You could be on the way to Davey’s funeral, already running late and suddenly pull into the Krispy Kreme carpark and you would not hear a single protest from him.

Micah: Yaps a whole lot of waffle about how he’s all this n all that to the point you don’t even know what he’s saying anymore and neither does he. Also enjoys flipping random people off and yelling shit out of the window. Expect to be chased by an angry driver for at least 12 miles.

Bill: Eats and then just throws his trash on the floor without a single second thought. If you ask him to pick it up, he will, but not without angrily grumbling and snatching it up. Is in a bad mood for about 2 minutes before he realises he wants to yap so does.

Karen, Uncle, Abigail and Sean: Distracts the driver. Whether it’s with yapping or loud videos or drinking or messing with the music volume, they somehow keep it up from the start of the drive right to the end.

Hosea: Puts his feet up and puts his seat back like he’s in bed. Just won’t sit normally. Will give you a ‘look’ when you ask him to put them down.

Lenny: Makes things awkward, because the first thing he does is comment on the dirtiness of your car then looks extremely shocked and uncomfortable at himself for saying that for about 7 seconds before pulling out his phone and facetiming Sean for the whole drive and giving you the same looks Hosea does when you try to speak to him. When not on the phone, he tends to respond with shrugs and “Okay then,” while folding him arms and staring out of the window. Seems to be in an awful mood until he’s out of the car. He hates car rides if it’s not with his favourite people.

Molly: Acts like you can’t drive. Struggling to see what’s right in front of you? Molly’s got your back! Seriously, she will yell at you to stop at the red light you had already seen 7 seconds ago and started to slow for. Old woman crossing (while you’re already stopped)? She will yell at you not to go so loud you debate kicking her out and making her get her own car, since she knows so much.

Tilly and Strauss: Tries to get you to speed. It’s like they’ve never heard of laws before, and will insist you ‘go faster’ even though your way is blocked by other cars. It’s painfully obvious they both can’t drive and have never had to pay for gas money.

Miss Grimshaw: Absolutely disgusted by your car and wants to make that very clear. It wouldn’t be surprising if halfway through, she started to clean it herself.

Jack: Really really really wants to press that horn. You’d find it cute at first, but so goddamn annoying when your car starts honking in the middle of a busy crossing. It’s like a constant slap-fight except you’re pushing his hands away every-time they come for the horn.

Arthur: Constantly asking to pull over. He’ll casually say “stop here” as if you’re a taxi, not to mention you’re in the middle of nowhere on the highway and you really don’t understand what a stranger mission means. Commonly, you have to explain things like how you’re already an hour late and you literally do not have the room to drive that family of five that’s broken down anywhere, nor can you stop at an empty warehouse and potentially get arrested for trespassing because he wants to explore.

Kieran: Terrified when you go slightly over the speed limit. He acts like he’s in an F1 race with no seatbelt being hung out of the window.

[notsofriendlyfriendlyreminder]

FUCK YOU

RDR2 F1 AU

FERRARI

Hosea Matthews - team principal, doing his best, very chill about most things and somehow they keep winning? Once said in an interview "I don't know why we won, it was just pure ferrari spirit." became a meme for manifestation and the power of ferrari

Arthur Morgan - ferrari number 1 driver, literally Kimi Räikkönnen, short answers in the interviews untill you ask him about his WAG Mary Linton, several times world champion, used to drive for Red Bull

Sean Macguire - ferrari number 2 driver, a meme, very young, didn't stay in f2 for long and went nearly straight to f1, rude to older drivers, the fans call him and Arthur the "Spongebob and Squidward", the ferrari budget is fucked because of his crashes, doesn't have a world champion title but was 3rd in his second season by a few points to 2nd

RED BULL

Dutch van der Linde - OF COURSE HE IS THE TEAM PRINCIPAL, questionable choices, only cares about how the drivers drive, if they have a good personality that's the bonus, he and Hosea are seen many times gossiping between the sets, used to be a driver back in the old days but stopped because of a bad crash that majorly fucked up his back, will talk about his career in interviews unpromted, "we have a plan for the next season"

John Marston - number 1 driver, suffering because his car is fucked, won world champion title once (by 1 point, Arthur came second, big drama because at the time Arthur was the 1st driver at red bull and John was second, next season Arthur we to ferrari), Abigail brings Jack around everytime they drive in the US

Javier Esquella - 2nd driver, LOVED IN MEXICO, very active fanbase, will flirt with the female interviews, but also tends to drive quite agressively, went from red bull academy to visa cashapp to redbull, unfortunately was never the number 1 driver which is FRUSTRATING, the king of media day

MCLAREN

Susan Grimshaw - team principal, worked for the team for a long time, once nearly cancelled because said that female drivers aren't agressive enough, trying to undo it by supporting the f1 academy, keeps the team running after the previous principal (Orville Swanson, do not ask) made a mess, thanks to her the team is back on top

Lenny Summers - 1st driver, came at the right time and is now fighting for his first world title, Arthur and him are best friends (a random fan on twitter: "Arthur smile when winning a title :), Arthur's smile talking with Leny :D"), agressive on the track, a sweetheart outside

Sadie Adler - 2nd driver, A WILD CARD, drove in literally EVERYTHING before coming to f1, had to fight for a spot and it was really ironic when she started driving under Grimshaw, drove for Sauber first, managed to score points in it.

[notyetjae]

RDR2 Coffee orders.

an: this is a modern au if it isn’t clear,

Arthur Morgan:

Black coffee

And he orders like “A large regular coffee” and if you ask if wants cream or sugar he’s like “Nope, regular.”

He gets oddly pissed off about that, (High honor arthur doesn’t show it tho.)

He’ll put like 2 sugars in if he’s feeling fancy.

John Marston:

Black coffee in front of the gang, coffee with french vanilla creamer by himself

He used to drink it with creamer in front of Arthur but he made fun of him.

He’s just takes care of his tongue okay. He’s sensitive.

I feel like he would sip Abigails super sweet latte and be like “eww wtf” and inside he would be like THAT SLAPPEDDD

Let John Marston drink a pumpkin spice latte.

Dutch Van der lin:

Black coffee OR Cappuccino

Modern Dutch would be a coffee nerd, an annoying one too, if you’ve encountered a coffee nerd irl you know.

Spends 20 minutes explaining the intricacies of a cappuccino to Molly. (Poor thing)

He hates flavor though, he thinks it’s the devil.

Charles smith:

Coffee with cream and sugar/flavor, maybe a latte as a treat.

I feel like he would like coffee over a latte, too much caffeine makes him feel crazy.

He’s such a plain jane I’m sorry.

Hosea Matthews:

Proud latte enjoyer.

This man has such a sweet tooth, even if he gets a coffee with cream he’ll add like whip cream onto it 😭

He has no problems with black coffee, but go big or go home right?

He would fuck up one of those signature lattes from Dunkin

Lenny Summers:

Not a coffee enjoyer, will shot gun a bang energy however.

Mary-Beth Gaskill:

Iced latte with caramel + vanilla and cold foam with cinnamon sugar

Listen now that we’re onto the girls shit’s getting serious.

I also believe she’s an avid cold brew enjoyer.

SHE LOVES SEASONAL FLAVORS.

Dunkin > Starbucks girlie.

Also probably gets a choco muffin.

Tilly Jackson:

Cold brew 3 mocha, 2 caramel, 1 french vanilla, oat milk and sugar with cold foam and mocha drizzle.

She gets this like 4 times a week.

And no one batted an eye until Karen saw the sticker on the cup and was like girl ur gonna die by 30.

Genuinely confused about how her order is “too much.”

Karen Jones:

Iced coffee girl FOR LIFE.

Honestly her order changes alot, She’ll order the same thing for a few weeks and then switch it up.

Also a dunkin > Starbucks girlie.

Will ride or die for Caramel. (Also she says it “car-mel” aka the right way.)

The type of girl to have like an absurd amount of reward points because she doesn’t use them.

Sadie Adler:

Honestly prefers sweet tea to coffee.

But when she does need energy she’ll get an Americano with an extra shot (she’s tired of Pearson’s bullshit.)

No cream or sugar, like a real woman.

[verdemoun]

I wonder, how's Kieran doing, from the side of his neurodivergency? Was it diagnosed? Does he get support? An AAC perhaps, seeing as the poor guy's semi-verbal? How'd the rest of the gang accept it? I'M JUST SO CURIOUS ABOUT HIM I AM HOLDING HIM I AM SHAKING HIM LIKE A TOY HOW IS HE HANDLING HIS NEURODIVERGENCY

I am so normal about Kieran

You come into my house, the certified kieran duffy hyperfixation page, ask about my blorbo, my boy, the sole reason why RDR2 has infected my brain and completely changed my ability to engage with any other form of media, while also addressing my special interest of neurodivergence as a fellow brain wonk and career disability support worker all while finishing with the line 'I am so normal about Kieran'? Like shit I mean can I take you out for dinner?? Marry me maybe??

I am also so normal about Kieran

kieran duffy is autistic thank you goodnight!

no i will write a 2k word essay. kieran is pretty mid-spectrum (brief pause to acknowledge spectrum language lowkey outdated and problematic but no universally accepted alternative) he has chronic anxiety and mild aversion to eye contact, misses a lot of social cues, is hyper fixation central, but executive function-wise if he had spent his whole life in any one time period he would have been a-okay at being independent with some adaptive strategies

side tangent literally the first conversation he has with mary beth is so autistic he completely misses a rhetorical question, happily answers it, and then jumps straight into 'you're very pretty'. he apologizes for being forward he can and does acknowledge social conventions but just autistic brain does not understand why. is aware his brain is not wonking in the same direction as other people's brains.

but so. many. common sensory issues are a direct result of advances in technology. sure in 1899 wanting to cover your ears during a gunfight is a minor disadvantage but you know what isn't?? having every instinct in your body tell you to run away from the overwhelming loud noises. it took more effort to go into a city than to avoid them. going from horses, campfires and comfortably worn in clothing to the constant noise of cars, searing of artificial lights and synthetic fabric with clothes tags? bad time. Bad Time.

the real big issue for kieran in timewarp au is the c-ptsd autism combo meal. in general, buddy's got trauma. very clearly articulates how bad being an o'driscoll was physically and mentally. his intro is literally colm grabbing his collar and slapping him. gets starved and threatened with genital mutilation and still begs to stay with the VDLs because he hates colm. talks about the absolute power and control colm has. anxious whimpers telling arthur he saw o'driscolls riding around. it ain't just hate he is terrified of colm. you ever have a hypothetical anxiety situation become real and feel that knot of dread as your skin turns cold? knowing your literal worst nightmare was unfolding. and in this case, worse than he imagined. yeah. that's what it would've been like when kieran got taken at shady belle. immediately knowing he wasn't going to survive. only thing he could do is make sure he protected the VDLs and he instead he talked. it's canon kieran talked, whether tortured or manipulated into talking he did. first people to treat him decent, people he considered friends, and he died feeling like he betrayed them.

timewarp means dying. memories of dying. personally hc eye gauging was first but even - being beheaded. intentional deliberate time taken to make a show of it and inflict maximum psychological torment knowing what's going to happen opposed to the immediate bang and bullet of being shot. already autistic chronic anxiety man helpless to stop what's about to happen. i wonder if he thought the VDLs would care enough to try to rescue him and tried to hold onto that faint belief or if he immediately knew he meant so little they wouldn't? he died as he lived - alone.

only to immediately be thrown into modern era. fending for himself for approx a month before the gang stumble across him. with those memories being recent. with the overstimulation of suddenly being thrown into modern era saint denis. he is a homeless autistic man with no idea where he is what's happening what is a car why are they so loud why are street lights so bright and he just went through literally dying. having all his anxieties and the memories of the pain of whatever he went through with the o'driscolls. and the guilt? he is so terrified of the consequences of talking and betraying the gang that he literally runs from lenny and hosea when they first find him in timewarp. a month of starving, surviving on loose change and corner store coffee and occasional apple he may have picked out of a bin and still chooses to run because he's so completely traumatized by being taken/betraying the gang.

it's a lot more ptsd and that anxiety around 'i talked' that lead to semi-verbalism with autism reinforcing it opposed to the other way around. it only takes a few days of gentle encouragement + food + safe warm place to sleep (first time since long before even riding with the o'driscolls) for kieran to get comfortable with nods or the occasional one word response and most of the gang are happy to leave it there because they get he's been through a Lot. lenny and hosea saw what happened to him. hosea carried his decapitated head to his grave. they're all struggling and learning to adapt to modern era. kieran locking himself in a room for a week, flinching at any noise or touch like he's been scalded just seems reasonable after what he's gone through.

except despite being stray dog starved he's still picking at meals obviously only eating the meat and veggies which he has always done so they don't really think to mention it. and he doesn't really start settling in. he just. sits in room. might tremble into the kitchen like a wee lamb at 2am when he thinks everyone's asleep, grab an apple and vanish back to his room. gang increasingly confused because kieran is completely avoiding eye contact but clearly listening, answering questions as he stares in horror at the dishwasher no matter how many times they've explained it and let him like try to figure it out realise it isn't some sort of torture device. but maybe he was always like that how many actually talked to him??

resident tech lad lenny tries showing him a basic AAC app but having to remember to 1. charge phone 2. use phone 3. open app 4. scroll until finding image that probably means what he wants because he can't read 5. click button until gang charades out whole sentence is a lot of steps compared to just fidgeting/staring until someone asks the right question. it gets frustrating because he knows the complete sentence is 'hi sean what's the deal with you always bringing home pizzas also is there any way you could please bring home the one that's plain cheese again??' but he can't read so it's just guessing based on images 'sean why pizza? please pizza cheese' when he uses the AAC. instead he can eat his cheesy pizza, make a point of getting sean's attention, point at pizza, nod and get the point of 'i really like cheesy pizza please can you get more' across all while still chewing.

bessie, who is a history professor and absolutely talks to autistic people on a daily basis is embarrassed how long it takes her to realize hey wait kieran is a) only leaving his room at times where sensory load is reduced b) stimming to soothe when confronted with something new or higher anxiety than usual and c) only has multiple syllable conversations about horses and fishing. he went from terrified rabbit to genuinely excited to be talking about those things only to shut down immediately again when the conversation shifted or something happened that spooked him. she introduces him to noise cancelling headphones, slowly, gently explaining what they are, giving him multiple options to say no because still a new weird sensation but the relief is instant. kieran looked around, realized he couldn't hear damned buzzing and cars and just beamed leg bouncing in sheer excited relieved joy.

it's a lot more figuring out what works for kieran through trial and error because the gang have not heard of autism and don't really get it despite bessie's best efforts to explain. sean absolutely hit her with the 'wouldn't that make everyone autistic??' and she snapped back 'wOuLDn'T tHaT mAKe EveRYoNe iRiSH'. but they're all going through adapting to modern era and can empathize pretty well with how overwhelming a lot of the modern era is. electricity does have a noise most people get used to but every single one of the timewarpers went through a phase of looking over their shoulder in mild irritation because it's constant until their brains learned to filter the sound. kieran won't and wears headphones to cope with it? sure thing that makes sense!

trauma brain is desperate for assurances of safety by avoiding triggers (loud or new noises, green clothing, strangers, anything unfamiliar=dangerous) while autism brain is screaming safety is found in routine so that becomes a very important thing. with no horses to look after his routine is very much watch tv, do gardening, help out around house because feeling helpful is a dopamine hit for him. it's a lot of letting him do things at his own pace because he is a people pleaser and will do anything if he thinks he is being useful even at his own expense. but 'being helpful' goal setting a really easy way to gently expand his comfort zone. grocery shopping was withdrawn meltdown inducing but the second he has a job like being asked to push the trolley he will merrily shop for hours because he's just focusing on one task. brain suddenly content ignoring things that would otherwise be overwhelming, and once all the neurodivergency in his brain decides grocery shopping is not a potentially fatal experience he's suddenly wandering aisles picking up things they forgot or content going to the grocery store alone because he wanted a specific thing.

after catching kieran self-medicating anxiety with alcohol they do go through the process of at least getting him on SSRIs which is a lot easier than going through the process of a full diagnosis of adult autism but it's already a footnote in his medical file because it's pretty clear to anyone with an ounce of neurodivergent awareness that he is textbook autistic. and honestly modern era for kieran: it's not better or worse than canon for his particular brand of autism but definitely different. he's actually more comfortable around people in general because the odds of running into someone who has committed murder is a lot lower than it was in outlaw circles. because of supports like noise-cancelling and sensory toys he's more curious about things that would have made him want to tear his flesh off his bones in the past. genuinely enjoys when the gang decide to catch the train somewhere vs the heart attack the idea would've been in 1899. instead of needing to retreat and stim and be alone he will catch himself getting distressed over something (it's sean putting away dishes with reckless abandon) and pull on a weighted blanket and be at peace again. still would rather be in 1899 taking care of horses because there was less things to get used to but he can get comfortable with new things and actually find new things he enjoys

plus the gang do genuinely care about him. it started as crippling guilt of not realizing he was taken by the o'driscolls until horsemen apocalypses but they almost all come around to him being a really pleasant guy and are more than glad to support whenever he needs it. like hosea will merrily encourage an infodump because he also really enjoys fishing. in a sad but wholesome way the gang don't really notice how neurodivergent he is because they just didn't pay enough attention to him in canon era to see how the manifestations of autism have changed. just yeah there's duffy he don't talk a whole lot but do not ask him about seasonal fishing unless you have 3 hours to spare. do not go into his room that is his space he has hosea's permission to react violently to people messing with his things and the whole posse will rain hellfire upon anyone who takes his snacks without replacing them.

with it being clear kieran is not the biggest fan of the AAC lenny learns and helps teach kieran basic ASL so on less verbal days he can still ask for things and join in instead of getting frustrated with himself. most of the people he regularly hangs out with know enough words for it to be insanely helpful. his most used 'sign' is flipping people off. the gang's whiplash actually getting to know more of his personality as he feels safer around them than he ever did in 1899?? he might be a gentle buffoon but he is also a sass gremlin. arthur complains once about it being the 17th time kieran has watched spirit stallion of the cimarron and kieran sweetly threatens to reverse saving his life if arthur tries to reach for the remote again. he'll join in making fun of lenny and sean for how obviously they are simping for each other.

[thedailybullshit]

RDR2 Incorrect Quotes pt. 35

Sean: Are we flirting, or are we fighting right now? Because I’m kind of getting mixed signals.

Karen: I’m gonna sink my teeth into your fuckin’ throat!

Sean: Still proving my point . . . mixed - mixed messages.

John: What’s up guys, I’m back.

Arthur: What the - you can’t be here. You’re dead. I literally saw you die.

John: Death is a social construct.

Arthur: *comes back to camp at 2am*

Hosea: *lights a lantern & turns around in his chair* So, where were you!

Arthur: I - I was with Charles!

Charles: *turns around in his own chair* Wanna try again?

Arthur & Sadie Messing Around:

Arthur: We’re d-d-driving in a -

Sadie: CAR! Destination: drug dealer’s -

Arthur: BAR! Pass the mic right over to -

Both: Charles!

Arthur: *horrified* We forgot Charles.

Sadie: . . . But we can’t turn back, ‘cause we’ve gone too farles!

Arthur: *turning around* We have to turn back, though. W-we can’t leave him. It was a good rhyme, though!

A John: I’m the real John!

Another John: No, I’M the real John!

Tilly: Who do we shoot?

Arthur: There’s only one way to tell.

Arthur: What is . . . seven times four?

One of the Johns: TWENTY-EIGHT!

Arthur: *shoots him* Wrong answer.

Tilly: What? Seven times four is twenty-eight!

Arthur: Yeah, but John does the little finger thing.

John: *muttering while finger counting* Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty, twenty-four, twenty eig - TWENTY EIGHT!! *notices dead imposter* Ooh . . .

Dutch: So, Annabelle is the woman I’ve been seeing recently.

The Gang:

Annabelle: . . . Why are they looking at me like I’m a zoo animal?

Arthur: Well, Dutch acts as sort of the dad of the Gang, so emotionally, this is kinda like being told that you’re our new mom.

Annabelle: But you know it’s nothing like that, right?

John: Absolutely. Do you cook macaroni?

Hosea: *parking the wagon* Hey, can you get us a table?

Dutch: Sure.

~A Few Minutes Later~

Dutch: *sprinting out of the saloon carrying a table* GET THE WAGON GOING!!

Hosea: SHIT -

Hosea: Can you guys just TRY to see it from MY perspective?

Arthur: *gets down on knees*

John: *crouches down*

Hosea:

Hosea: I’m killing both of you in your sleep.

Mary-Beth: Karen, can I talk to you for a second?

Karen: Yeah, what’s up? Lemme guess: you and Tilly are having problems and you want me to teach you how to kiss?

Mary-Beth: What? No, stop that. I know how to kiss. I’ve read books.

[drizzledrawings]

Are Mattie and Flora in the RDR2 universe with Arthur, or is it established separately from the game? If they’re in the same one, do their storylines ever intertwine?

There’s two versions of them now, they started as being apart of the rdr universe where I let them interact with the gang (there’s a bunch of me rambling about that in the #cowbians tag)

But now I’m making them their own thing, specifically for portfolio building, and because I feel like I can tell a whole story with them! I already love their dynamic a lot, I have a lot of things I can design and other characters I can create to really build up a strong narrative portfolio! Kind of a passion project

So I’m sorry to all y’all who really liked them being interwoven into the gang, but I’ll be moving away from that for now (though I can always dabble in it,, maybe have it as an AU! Next to the car mechanic au!)

[silken-threads-bah]

Hii could i get a headmate pack for a member that is masculine, protective, and fatherly/nurturing? if emojis help, heres some: 🐺🥩🍽🥪🐶☕🥧🍷🥃

ty!!

Went a bit off script with this one. He feels very cowboy-esque to me and I have no idea why lol. I hope this works even though it diverged from the emojis/theme

Name: Harvey, Hendrix, Ace

Age: 36

Pronouns: he/him

Gender(s): male

Orientation: bisexual (preference for men)

Source(s): n/a

Role: Protector, caretaker

Personality: despite his rugged appearance, he's very kind and caring. Outwardly he may seem strict and mean, but he's a total softy on the inside. He loves to listen to others' interests and has a knack for remembering everything they've said. He's extremely protective and loyal, although a bit grumpy around the edges at times. The basis I'm going for is Joel Miller from the Last of Us, but you can feel free to ignore that if you'd like.

Interests: cooking, watching cooking shows (he thinks Gordon Ramsey is hilarious although he prefers to watch things by Martha Stewart. Not that he'd admit that of course), reading about dog breeds, history (especially the world wars), motorcycles and old cars

Extra info: he's a werewolf (at least in my mind) and has an aversion to silver even when fronting. He stays away from all silver jewelry and silverware.

Faceclaims: the picture was created by AI, but I don't support the use of AI over actual artist's drawings. However it was already created so might as well use it or whatever. In my mind, he also looks like pedro pascal's Joel Miller and/or Arthur Morgan from rdr2.

[celosindion]

There's so little left for us [Chapter 1. Element ]

I would like to point out right away that the reader is male!

Sorry for any mistakes!

THE TIMELINES IN TWD AND RDR2 MAY BE A LITTLE BREAKED!

Warnings: blood, walkers, massive storm, gunshot, fang injuries and gunshot wounds, threats and much more.

Paring: The Walking Dead (series) male reader x Red Dead Redemption 2.

Legend:

*** - The beginning or end of a chapter of the story

--- - Time Skip

enjoy reading!

*****

The world has changed. Not for the better. The world has changed for the worse. Everything, literally everything, fell apart in a matter of minutes. A nasty epidemic has taken over the world. She turned the dead into the living dead, but the living were also in danger. Every person, even if not bitten or scratched by a walker, was infected with the virus. The virus doesn't choose. A small child, a pregnant woman or a decrepit old man - everyone is infected and sooner or later will turn into a walking corpse... Unless you eliminate the most important organ - the brain. If you stab a walker in the head, he won't come back to life again. This was the reality now. Gloomy, dangerous... But on the other hand... So wonderful because she was able to bring people together. Thanks to this reality, man learned everything from scratch. How to cope in the wilderness, how to survive, how to live again... How to love...

A crowd of people milled around the main square in Alexandria. Everyone was getting ready for the Kingdom fair, where the three communities could live a normal life for a while,exchange nice words, ask how your husband, wife or children are - Hill, Alexandria, Kingdom.

An elderly woman with long gray hair tied in a loose bun loaded a crate of pumpkins into a carriage decorated from half a car wreck. As soon as she put the heavy box down, she leaned against the cold metal of the side of the carriage and sighed. Her arms hurt, she had been working since morning. She raised her pale blue eyes and looked at the dark clouds moving at a snail's pace across the white sky. An unpleasant twinge of worry appeared in her stomach. She had a bad feeling, and as everyone knows, a woman's intuition rarely fails. She glanced slightly to her left when she heard a commotion. Another crate with drinks was loaded into the car by a tall man with a well-built figure. Years of fighting for survival, wrestling and working on farms to have something to eat, clearly helped him

- Do you think that's enough? We take quite a lot of it with us. - He murmured to the woman and looked into her old, tired but wise eyes. - I know we have to share and other such crap, but isn't a little too much?

The woman looked at the man and smiled slightly. She looked ahead, collecting her thoughts. She nodded in amusement and looked at the younger man again.

- Listen Y/N... This fair is important. We... Our communities complement each other, we help each other... This is the only day of the year where we can experience peace, at least for a moment. - The woman's voice was hoarse, as if she had been talking continuously. The man nodded in response and said in a quiet voice, as if someone had scolded him for a small thing

- You're right... I'm sorry, Carol. - Y/N raised his E/C at the woman, and as soon as he saw her smiling, he couldn't help himself either, the corners of his mouth lifted a few millimeters. However, the pleasant atmosphere was interrupted by Carol.She waved her hand towards Y/N as if scaring away a wild animal and said in a firm voice.

- No more talking. Go get dressed nicely, because we're leaving soon. - With that, the woman stepped closer to the young man and elbowed him teasingly but gently in the ribs. A soft chuckle escaped Y/N's dry, peeled lips. He raised his hands in surrender and walked away towards the estate.

He climbed the steps to the terrace of the house. From the outside, the house was covered with gray boards, the paint was already peeling off.He pushed the wooden door with the opening onto the screen instead of the window and went inside. He saw the warm decor of the house. Fluffy, cream carpet, light furniture, kitchen island made of marble. Y/N walked deeper into his home. He climbed the stairs to the first floor, to his bedroom. Alexandrians will be going to the fair, so you need to look good! He put on a black shirt that fit his figure, dark navy blue suit pants, and a jacket of the same color as the pants. He had a gun belt around his waist. He also put on a black, shiny tie. He was finally ready!

He looked at himself in the mirror in the corridor, and the cracked corners of his mouth slightly turned upwards. He left the house and headed towards the gathering of people at the gate.Most of the Alexandrians were already seated either in carts or on horses. He noticed that Aaron, sitting on the horse, was holding the reins of Y/N's horse, already saddled. Y/N's horse was a strong mustang, a stallion with a hot temperament, and very brave, with a mouse gray color.

Y/N nodded in thanks to Aaron for taking care of his horse. Yes... Aaron... a man who once resembled a puppy, now a big man, missing one arm, who didn't give up, even when life brought him to his knees many times. Y/N got on her horse and patted it on its strong neck. Finally, one could say that the procession from Alexandria moved forward. They were heading towards the Kingdom, so they had a long way to go. The sun, which had been pleasantly warm on their backs, was obscured by thick, dark storm clouds. Y/N had a strange feeling that Carol might be right. These clouds are disturbing.

----

Definitely, if there was an award for foresight, Carol would probably have won two by now! Firstly, she knew that there was something wrong with the clouds, secondly, being a few kilometers from the Kingdom, she predicted that the storm would catch them. Daryl was sitting right in the front, riding a motorcycle. He tried to lead the group to the Kingdom as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible.

Y/N was right behind Daryl. Loud, ear-piercing thunder boomed and it began to rain like crazy. Y/N raised his E/C eyes up and squinted as the rain was falling directly on his face. He noticed that the clouds began to flash suspiciously and terrifyingly... And it wasn't because of lightning! Something was wrong... Something was happening that shouldn't have happened...

- Daryl! We need to hurry up! There's something I don't like about these clouds! - Y/N tried to shout over the thunder and the noise of the rain hitting the trees, the ground and the rock-hard path.Y/N's voice was slightly hoarse from screaming and stinging. The entire group was soaked and freezing, women, men, animals and children.Everyone now wanted to hide somewhere and dry off, to avoid this nasty storm, but they had nowhere to hide!

- I'm just trying! We're getting close! - Daryl shouted. He could barely be heard. Y/N looked up again. The clouds began to flash faster and faster, accompanied by a loud bang.

Suddenly there was a blinding white light and an overwhelming heat, and a loud sound from the clouds made everyone in the group start bleeding from their ears.

Y/N started shouting for everyone to be careful, but he didn't even make it halfway through the sentence

Everything turned black. You couldn't hear anything except your own breathing and heartbeat. All this was accompanied by a feeling of levitation. Was death coming for them?

----

Y/N suddenly felt extreme pain in his limbs. He squinted and lifted his eyelids slightly, which he immediately regretted when he was greeted by blinding light. He raised his hand and covered his eyes so that the sun wouldn't hit him. He propped himself on his elbows and sat down slowly and carefully. He looked around. He felt various emotions begin to overwhelm him. Fear, relief, confusion. The rain was gone... But neither was his group! Where did they all go? And where is he now? He didn't recognize this place.

Lush green meadows, lightly trodden paths, nearby tracks... And voices... Barely audible, but voices! Someone had to be some way from here. Y/N got to her feet and started walking forward. He didn't get very far before he tripped over something and fell to the ground. He spun to the ground, his E/C eyes immediately going to the cause of his fall. He didn't see a root or a stone... He saw a crater! The crater is several centimeters deep.

Y/N climbed up and climbed out of the crater with a grunt. He looked around at the area around him again and saw another crater and a large, gray shape within it. He carefully approached it and saw Y/N's horse lying in it! Without thinking, the man jumped into the crater and crouched next to the stallion's head. He stroked its muzzle gently and whispered.

- Hey boy... Hello... Get up, tough guy. - Y/N smiled to himself as his horse rose to its strong feet. He led the stallion out of the crater and mounted it. He started driving towards the sounds.First, he had to find out where he was. Secondly, he had to find out where the rest of his family was!

----

The journey didn't take long. He found himself near a small town. For now, he stood from a distance and looked at the town. Wooden houses, full of people with horses, old-fashioned clothes Plus, these inscriptions on the signs... These letters... They looked like they came from a cowboy movie. He swallowed... After all, just an hour ago he was close to the Kingdom with his group, and now he is close to some town he doesn't even know!

Y/N started to panic... What happened to him? Where did he end up? Where is he?

Y/N suddenly heard a male voice behind him, hoarse and quiet.

- Are you lost, buddy?

****

OH CHRIST. I wrote it! I'm sorry that so long. This first chapter is especially devoted to more twd, I don't want the action to change from second to second (I also hope I didn't do that). Either way, enjoy reading!

[gluechugger]

Soul of my Suit

☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️

Fallout 4/RDR2 crossover where Arthur is the soul survivor and my OC, Louise is an institute reject. This is Chapter 1.

CWs; violence, blood, surgery on a conscious patient, drug use, Arthur being a bit of a creep in general. (No excuses but he’s got a lot going on.)

Word count: 3,391

This also exists on google docs where it might be easier to read and includes all of the art I did.

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She had to be some kind of hallucination. Hallucinations certainly weren’t unusual to Arthur. Only 6 months in the wasteland he was far past counting murders he had committed on one hand. Murder only made his visions worse. His gang called it ‘The Sight’, suggesting his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him, but giving insight into the otherwise unknown. This made no difference to how Arthur perceived his visions. Most of the time, they were just part of his daily life.

This hallucination was distinctly anachronistic. She wore a laundered green day dress with no wrinkle in sight. It appeared to have been freshly pressed. Her hair was clean too, golden blonde and falling past her shoulders. The ringlets had been formed in a roller-set overnight. Arthur could tell because that’s how his wife had done her hair nightly. He was convinced she couldn’t be real, and still found himself following her, staying three car lengths behind.

He knew this wasn’t right. He’d been discreetly following her for several blocks by the time she opened the door to the Boston Public Library, something his hallucinations were never able to do. He followed her inside, thinking she might be in danger. The last he had checked, the library was crawling with super mutants, but when he reached the interior, he only saw about four corpses and the rest of the building was silent, except for the blonde fiddling about on a terminal, pulling books from her satchel to drop into the return slot.

Unable to keep himself quiet any longer, Arthur opened his big mouth, “What the hell are you doing?” He asked, his amusement not successfully hidden.

She startled and looked back at him but didn’t seem particularly frightened. Was she standing her ground or just ignorant? “Have you been following me?” Her voice was distinctive too, almost shrill. Her pronunciation was educated, much more so than the average wastelander. Still, she had a thick Boston accent. Her tone made it hard for Arthur not to smile at her. She didn’t sound fearful.

“Yeah, you looked lost. Like I said, it’s dangerous out here.” He excused his bad behavior, lighting a cigarette.

“I could ask you the same thing then, that’s awfully strange to follow someone through the streets of downtown Boston. For how long?” She pressed him, shifting her weight to her other hip and eyeing him.

“Little longer than I’d like to admit.” Arthur knew he wasn’t gifted in the charisma department. It wasn’t worth lying. “Do they still give you something for returning books?” He asked, approaching the terminal and flipping through some of the options on it. He ashed his cigarette, took a drag and then put it out on the metal exterior of the terminal.

She didn’t move. Arthur still couldn’t make a distinction. Her posture didn’t change. She was already standing with her hands on her hips, watching his eyes. “I’m not aware, this is the first time I’ve made it here myself.”

Before Arthur could assess her tone or come up with a response, he heard footsteps in the next room that drew his attention away from her.

“Step away from the girl,” A monotone voice commanded. Arthur heard the woman cross the room, trying to move away from the voice. He turned his head to see what he presumed to be some kind of mercenary. A tall man dressed in a dark leather trench coat with sewn-in boning, which Arthur assumed worked as some kind of armor. The man went straight for Arthur, raising his gun and pointing it at his head.

Arthur wasn’t particularly prepared to fight, but he was ready if things came down to it. He drew his revolver quicker than the mercenary could fire and shot him in his shoulder, disarming him. The man dropped his laser weapon but didn’t fall. Instead, the mercenary came for Arthur, who fired again. The man’s armor was soaking up his bullets and Arthur ended up having to reload.

Arthur wasn’t keen on any kind of violence after the war, but headshots were particularly brutal. He would avoid taking them unless his life depended on it. This hesitation was certainly something that had put Arthur in a lot of close quarters combat. Arthur hadn’t noticed, but as the mercenary approached, he had a piece of metal rebar he’d picked up and was aiming it at Arthur’s gut. The man pushed him to the ground and the two began to struggle. Arthur was disarmed in the conflict as well, but his hands quickly found the man’s throat while the rebar pressed uncomfortably against his middle. “What t’hell?” Arthur demanded of the mercenary before the rebar broke his skin and drove into his guts. He let out a loud cry and his hands slipped from the mercenary’s neck.

The mercenary stood up and crossed the room to the woman who had been too transfixed by the conflict to flee. She began to fight against him, beating her fists against his chest.

Arthur wasn’t dead yet. The woman looked over to him and as his eyes connected with her celadon ones, he knew exactly what had to be done. Almost as if he had been silently commanded to do so, Arthur picked up his western revolver and fired it at the mercenary’s head, dropping him to the ground. Arthur was shaken by the almost unconscious decision, but when he felt his jeans begin to dampen from the blood leaking from his wound, he was brought back into his body.

The woman blinked a few times and ran over to Arthur who was already pushing himself up off the ground and trying to make sense of what had happened.

“How’d you– How’d you do that?” She pressed, “I mean- um, thank you.” The correction made Arthur smile through his pain.

“Ain’t no problem, Miss.” He choked out a quick lie, “We shouldn’t stay here, though. It don’t feel safe.”

“You look like you’re hurt.” She tried to look at his wound, but he turned away and kept his left hand there to catch the blood, which quickly became too much and pooled onto his jeans. “You need someone to take a look at that.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t see no doctor here, let’s get moving.” He urged.

☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️

The two of them had been walking for a while by the time they reached the hotel, but it was the only place Arthur knew was free of threat. As long as they could get behind a locked door, he could die in peace and wouldn’t feel so guilty about leaving this woman to the wolves.

Once they entered the elevator, Arthur noticed Louise was still looking at his injury. “What’chu lookin’ at?” He pressed her, knowing the answer, but shooting back a pointed glance. Her furrowed brow unlocked and her celadon eyes flashed back up to him.

“You’ve got a piece of rebar protruding from your midsection. You need to be operated on. Isn’t there a better place to go? I’ve heard Diamond City has a doctor.” She sounded concerned for him, moving toward him to inspect his injury.

He wouldn’t tell her he wasn’t welcome in Diamond City, being a known Raider. His face could be on wanted posters there as far as he knew. He’d certainly seen them elsewhere in the Commonwealth. “I’ll be fine. They ain’t open this time of night.” He lied as the elevator bell rang for the sixth floor before he had to slink away from her touch. As Arthur lost more blood, his perception started to fail. All he had to do was get this door unlocked. He managed to cross the room and drop down by the door. His left hand had been over his injury for so long that removing it to pick the lock pained him. He choked out a cry and got to work, doing his best to focus on the sounds of the tumbler instead of the blood rushing in his ears. The lock clicked open just before Arthur collapsed into the room, face first onto the ground.

Louise rushed inside and pulled him with her. She was weak, but she managed to drag him just enough to shut the door and lock it behind them. Arthur couldn’t hear or see much at this point, but he could feel the thudding of Louise’s panicked footsteps as she paced around him and her gentle cries of “This is bad, this is bad!”

Arthur, still conscious, rolled over and looked up at her. “Oh, I’ve seen worse.” He tried to joke, mostly for his own comfort rather than hers, the sentiment accompanied by a bloody cough.

Still, his voice seemed to offer Louise some composure. She stopped her pacing and looked down at him. Arthur could feel his makeup running from tears. Was he really crying? “Okay.” She let out a big sigh and turned her back to him. She ran her forearm over the coffee table to clear it. “We have to get that piece of metal out of you.”

“How do you expect to do that?” Arthur choked, “Don’t look like you have ‘combat medic’ on your resume.” He reached up with his clean hand and tried to wipe some blood from his mouth.

“Get up on the table,” She instructed, taking him by the shoulders and helping him haul himself up. He complied, having no other choice. She crossed the room to the kitchenette and started fiddling around. Arthur couldn’t see her from where he was laying. “I’ve performed surgery before, but only on gen four synths. My instructors wouldn’t let us work on human cadavers at University.” She explained, bringing back a collection of implements. She laid them out on the TV tray next to him and lowered herself onto her knees to see what she was working with.

“Well, you certainly know more than I do.” Arthur sighed, but was brought little peace of mind.

Louise helped him remove his armor and his shirt. Both were excruciating processes, not only because of Arthur’s injury, but because the proximity made his skin crawl. She smelled like home, not in a specific way, but like manufactured perfume, shampoo, and conditioner. Jasmine and petrichor. Arthur couldn’t tell if this was just because he was dying. There was no way he’d survive this if she didn’t have several bloodpacks on her.

“Alright. I’m going to open you up, so if you could be quiet and stay as still as possible, I would seriously appreciate that.” She warned him, picking up the knife and aligning it with the opening of the wound, right where that piece of rebar protruded from Arthur’s middle.

“Try not to describe everything in such detail, Doctor.” Arthur quipped, again more to ease his own mind. “I can see just fine for myself.”

As he felt the knife go in, Arthur had to look away. From where he was, there wasn’t much to distract him. Behind Louise was a small kitchenette with a shelf holding a series of ingredients Arthur might have been able to use to craft chems, chems that would make this experience leagues more bearable. At this point, that luxury cruiseliner had sailed. To the left of Louise was a calendar which remained on the day the bombs dropped and to the left of that, a canvas print of a kitten. This canvas print had been mass produced and was in almost every doctor’s office and old folks home Arthur had ever been to before the bombs dropped. This print had never struck him as being attached to any emotion before, but left with nothing else to focus on, it reminded him of some expectation of serenity that could never be met. Arthur found his eyes resting mostly on the kitten print. If he looked at Louise’s face too long it would twist from focused composure to horrified shock.

When Louise eventually pulled the metal rebar from his middle, Arthur couldn’t help but watch his blood splash weakly onto Louise’s otherwise pristine dress. “Oh shit,” he gulped out before his vision went black.

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When Arthur woke up, his side was only sore and he’d been re-dressed in his undershirt which had been mended. His jeans had been laundered and his overshirt was hanging up over the sink to dry. How long had he been asleep? How much of the Abraxo detergent had Louise used? He tried to look around the room and noticed Louise holding his journal, about to open it.

“What the hell you think you’re doing with that?” Arthur was enraged at the possible violation of his privacy and tried to push himself off the sofa where he was laying. This movement pulled too tightly at his stitches and he fell back with a grunt.

To Arthur’s surprise, Louise put the journal down and walked over toward him. “You’re awake!” She smiled, a little too sweetly. Arthur didn’t like the effect it had on him. He wanted the Daytripper in his bag, not whatever this distracting feeling in his chest was.

“Good morning.” Arthur noted tentatively. “You didn’t open that up, did you?” He had his eyes narrowed on her.

She took a seat next to him, unphased by his threatening glance, pushing his legs back so she could make room for herself. He didn’t like how willing she was to lay her hands on him. “No, what do you write about?” She asked, disregarding his irritation.

“I don’t really like to write, I prefer to draw.” He corrected her.

“Right.” She drew out the vowel sound like she didn’t quite believe him and smirked, adjusting herself to face him. He appreciated the space she gave to extend his legs. “Then tell me what it’s like up here. Show me what you’ve drawn.”

“You ain’t getting your hands on my journal again. And what do you mean up here? Where did you come from?” He asked, undeniably curious about what she meant. He’d heard her say a few things the night before that might indicate her background, but Arthur wasn’t conscious enough to take note.

“Oh,” She looked a little surprised he hadn’t understood her situation, like it was obvious where she must have crawled out. “I grew up in the Institute. And before you start, I’ve read what the Commonwealth thinks of us.” She shook her head. “So however you decide to judge me, just know I think they’re wrong, playing God like that. Ruining families, creating life on their own terms. They have no respect for humanity.”

“Hey now,” Arthur began, trying to make sense of all this. Louise clearly had some strong feelings on the matter, but Arthur just wanted to understand the bigger picture. “I’m gonna be honest witcha, I don’t know much about the Institute. I’ve heard about it in passing, but no one seems to say all that much,” He rubbed his chin, considering why this could be. “Least not in my circle. It has something to do with the colleges used to be around here pre-war?”

“The colleges?” Louise’s surprise lingered. “How do you know about that– I mean, I figured not too many wastelanders could read. I was lucky to get a formal education.”

Arthur smirked at her ignorance, “No, plenty of wastelanders can read and write. I said ‘I don’t like to write,’never that I couldn’t.” He was almost caught in his own subversion and tried to change the subject. “I take it you don’t want to go back to school, do you?”

Her expression became solemn. “Well, I’ve graduated, but if you’re asking about going back home to the Institute; No, not particularly.” She shook her head and rang her hands together nervously.

“Doesn’t sound like a very, uh, encouraging environment.” Arthur noted, rubbing his face and trying to sit up. Her emotions were very pervasive, scratching at the weak points of his mental armor. “You can come with me, I suppose. Back to my camp. I mean,” He stopped himself. An inarguably bad idea. He felt like Louise must have when he was bleeding out on the carpet the night before. ‘This is bad, this is bad.’ He swallowed, “I mean, you ain’t got no place else to go, do you?”

He could see her trying to read into his pause. She responded in the same way, with hesitation, “I imagine wherever I go, they’ll send Coursers after me, just like last night.”

“Is that what that thing was? Barely seemed human the way he was eating my bullets.” Again, curiosity got the best of him.

“Yes. It’s complicated. They’re human for all intents and purposes, but the Institute creates life to be used as slave labor. The SRB has replaced Commonwealth settlers with synths, breeding paranoia, ruining families and communities. These synths are almost completely indistinguishable from you and me, which is why I was able to suture you up successfully, of course, but there’s nothing right with playing God. It’s not only sick but blasphemous.” Louise’s intensity spoke to her truth.

He might have been a raider, but his crew never engaged in any kind of enslavement, in fact, they mostly kept to themselves. They weren’t associated with the gangs from Nuka-World apart from a few squabbles here and there. As raiders, members of the gang weren’t allowed in most major settlements. The majority of issues Louise expressed were out of his purview. “I don’t really subscribe to religion, but none of that seems right.” He concurred. The soreness from his wound met a point he could no longer bear. He extended his hand for his bag which was just out of reach. “You mind grabbing that for me?”

Louise got up and brought back his bag, laying it on the floor beside the sofa so he could access it. He started digging around in it and produced a small pill bottle. The vessel only contained one or two capsules, but Arthur unscrewed the top and poured its contents into his hand and downed whatever was left with a sigh. The Daytripper wouldn’t help his pain, but at least he might be able to stop thinking about it for a while.

“What’s that?” Louise asked, snagging the empty bottle from him to inspect the label. “Oh! They tried to give me this!” She was back to her cheery self, smirking as her finger ran over the scientific names of the ingredients. “This is terrible for you. I could barely read while I was on this.”

“They gave you Daytripper?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Her emotions were so infectious that Arthur felt a small smile tugging at his lips. Maybe that’s why the Institute tried to put her on drugs. “You don’t need that shit. I know it ain’t good for you but, it's the only thing keeping The Sight quiet.” He cursed himself again for leaving her with too much information. Surely she’d figure all this out on her own if he planned to bring her back to camp. Why on earth had he suggested that in the first place? The gang were the only folks who offered him any kind of community in this literal wasteland, her introduction could compromise all of that.

Almost as if she was reading his mind, she changed the subject. “So if I go back to your camp with you, you aren’t going to trade my organs for caps or sell me into slavery?” Her posture changed to project this facade of demure energy that made Arthur have to stifle laughter. Arthur, enchanted, noted her knack for charisma.

“A couple fellas you may need to watch yourself around, but that ain’t no different from anywhere else in the Commonwealth.” He leveled with her.

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The two of them would have to get moving soon. Even if Arthur was still injured, they couldn’t stay here more than a couple of days. The longer Arthur considered his decision to escort Louise back to the gang hideout, the more he regretted suggesting it out of confusion and blood loss in the first place. Maybe eventually he’d strike up the nerve to leave her behind somewhere. Was it safe to keep her around? Would more of those men in trench coats show up to try to take her away?

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(Thanks so much for reading! There are lots of mistakes in this due to the original formatting but I’m not going back to fix them lol hopefully the next chapter won’t be so confusing since I’ve done this before. This shouldn’t be longer than 5 installments.)