#john marston deserves better

[johnmarstonisawolf]

I love both John and Arthur

“RDR1 Represents John’s Character Growth” Argument… 

I’ve seen people get blocked for disagreeing with the types of posts that complain about “Rdr fans disliking John’s characterization in rdr2”.  I’d rather just agree to disagree but if anyone doesn’t like where this post is going, please feel free to use the block button.

Also, in this post, I am repeating some things I’ve written in past responses/posts. Plus I have read other fans’ posts and opinions about this topic, which will be sprinkled throughout this post. 

Here it goes… Mainly for me, it’s the ret-con. It’s not that John can’t be this man with flaws, but in the first game (rdr1) they hint a lot at John (when he’d been in the gang in the past tense, before the events in rdr2) being this quixotic, well-spoken, “right-hand man of Dutch”, which were traits that were all given to Arthur in rdr2. Even Bill and Abigail hint at this. If you want to hear another rdr fan go more in-depth about this, read here. Plus Rockstar in so many words had explained why they made John a humiliation conga because they didn’t want John to “overshadow” Arthur. 

Yes, Arthur is older and yes, John could’ve been influenced by Arthur (but only by so much, I mean, c’mon John and Arthur are their own person). Yet the fact that Arthur is not even mentioned in rdr1 (yes, rdr2 hadn’t even been created yet. I know.) and they decided to “downgrade” John in rdr2 and give all of these admirable traits (they allude to in rdr1 about John) to Arthur is what baffles me. 

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Arthur’s character. However, it’s the high pedestal that this fandom puts him on, emphasizing his positive traits while continually bashing John in the process, that does me in.

We get it, John wasn’t a good father or a good husband, he treats his wife and kid like crap (he gets better tho), he deserves whatever criticism he gets for those horrible actions of his, but we got to remember this is the Wild West; Abigail nor John had the resources or skills to deal with their own trauma much less even raise a boy in a gang, especially Abigail. But that’s not downplaying the fact that John is a very emotionally-mentally damaged person (as a result of many forms of abuse and being raised by Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur, who aren’t the best examples) while at the same time, Abigail is a very emotionally-mentally damaged person (as a result of many forms of abuse and being raised and working in a brothel) who’s had to carry a kid for 9 months and march on through with barely having much help, aside from some individuals in the gang who helped her—I’m not gonna go with the narrative that not a single person in the gang helped. 

Listen, it’s not that we can’t handle seeing John being this pathetic version of himself that the devs chose to portray him as in rdr2 (so he wouldn’t overshadow Arthur and lazy writing) or that we can’t watch him grow from this immature and flawed human being to a man who loves his wife and child and would do anything for them… but it’s how it was done and how rockstar did it. 

They also did Johnny boy’s physical character design very poorly in the epilogue; in the epilogue (1907) he barely showcases any of the traits we see in (1911) rdr1 (a four-year difference, timeline-wise, which really isn’t that long). Although NPC John and Epilogue John might look different from each other, their personalities aren’t much different. So there’s not much of a change in my opinion.

Also, I just want to clarify that this post isn’t about the fandom preferring Arthur over John but more so about how John’s characterization was done in rdr2 compared to rdr1, which can’t merely be attributed to “character growth” rather than lazy writing.  Understandably, many people prefer Arthur over John. Hence compared to the first game, rdr2 has better accessibility, players get to go more into the protagonist’s mind, and many game mechanics have improved/developed since rdr1 was released. But rdr1 was an acclaimed game when it came out with many fans that still remain in this fandom, in spite of rdr2’s wider exposure. 

And if I was going to mention anything that the games were kind of consistent with when it came to John’s characterization, is that he has a dry and cynical personality that reflects the protagonists of old spaghetti westerns, and the unforgiving world that makes up the Wild West.

Personally, while I do like his character in both games (he’s my fave) I still feel like there’s a bit more they could’ve done with his character in rdr2, in regards to missions and stuff, I would even say the devs had put more effort into some supporting characters compared to John, but that’s just my opinion. And I was really hoping for a rdr1 remaster but more so in a Yakuza Kiwami way (amped-up gameplay, fixed plot holes, better character detail, quality improvements, etc…)

[fablexdreams]

John and Dutch's relationship has me sobbing on a good day and having a full on mental breakdown on a bad one. If Arthur is like Hosea, then John is like Dutch; authority issues, conflicting emotions, false bravado, and all. If John seeing Dutch in rdr2, "broke his heart," I don't even wanna imagine what he was going through during and after THAT scene in the first game. It's clear, and literally stated by John himself, how much he loves Dutch, and how conflicted his feelings are toward him. The thought of John finding out that Dutch, the only father figure he has left alive, the man who saved him from hanging and gave him a family at the age of 12, was gonna leave him die in prison, and then later on the train...it...I'm so normal about this; it's fine.

[ghost-qwq]

silly little characters in my screen, surely nothing will go wrong with them ^^

[daisydood]

why cant the red dead developers leave ONE main character happy. they made three protagonists and they either died in a horrible way or are now extremely sad and lonely. jack has absolutely no one unless he can track down Sadie or Charles i am gonna be SICK

[choco-1601]

Sometimes I find it amusing how people seem to dump all of their anger on micah when it was dutch who started this whole mess. Micah deserves the blame obv but let's not forget dutch was so eager to rob that train in the FIRST CHAPTER instead of laying low. Even hosea was against him. They barely escaped the heat from Blackwater too. Look hate micah all u want but remember dutch also has blood of all the gang members that has passed away in his hands as well as micah. He's stupid, narcissistic and pretty much a cult leader. He has a brain but he lost the ability to think after the Blackwater shit. Can't believe people still blame the trolley accident for his brain damage lmfao thats the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.

I hate dutch bc he abandoned John and eventually abandoned Arthur too. Him killing micah didn't mean anything bc he became way way worse in rdr

[im-a-mcsimp-for-mchotties]

did i just cry about john marston dying?

yes.

do i regret it?

no.

[mango-harvest]

and that folks, was my first time ever drawing bill, and just as i expected i fucking hated it

[lesbian-for-arthur-morgan]

Request : first time holding hands

I’d love to see their reactions 😭

First Time Holding Hands

Short Headcanons || Gender Neutral Language!

Genre: Fluff Featuring: Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Dutch Van Der Linde, Javier Escuella, Charles Smith, Sean MacGuire, and Sadie Adler Warnings: None

AN: A shorter post today! Thank you so much for requesting these were so fun to write I literally love doing cute little moments with these characters ~ I hope I answered the way you meant !! lol I feel like I got a little off track in some ---> Requests are open! Check out guidelines if you have any questions :)

<><><><>

Arthur Morgan:

This man is a nervous wreck around you. Especially when you first start showing feelings for each other.

It took a million years for him to even admit that he was a little sweet on you, he is definitely not initiating anything past that point.

He can barely believe that you like him back.

The first time you grab his hand is not during anything special.

You’re sitting in the front of a wagon with him while on the way into town. The sun is casting a golden sheen across the earth, the air is warm but not hot, and the birds are swooping and playing in the sky overhead.

Without much thought you reach down to where he’s resting his arm on his thigh and envelope his hand with your own.

He tenses up at the contact, scared to make any sudden moves in case he might scare you away.

He doesn’t look at you directly, instead just glancing at you from the side of his eye. He wonders if you meant to do that or if you just did it by accident.

How your hand would end up on his on his thigh he doesn’t know.

When your thumb starts stroking the skin around his knuckle, tough and calloused from a few too many brawls, he starts to melt and relax a little bit.

He flips his hand around, which makes you pull away slightly, and fits his fingers in between yours. That way he’s holding your hand back and it’s a mutual.

There’s a blush on his cheeks and a grin on his lips. Not a word is spoken, but Arthur relishes the comfortable silence as he tries to think of what on earth he could have done to deserve something so perfect - to deserve you.

John Marston:

John is not a touchy-feely kind of guy. Not at first anyways. He doesn’t get what you see in him. He doesn’t understand why of all the men in the world - Hell, all the men in camp - you chose to waste your time with him.

He’s angsty like that.

He knows of your feelings for him and he gave a strong inclination that he might like you back but never confessed anything really. He figured you understood him enough to know.

You did, but he’s hard to read sometimes.

The first time you hold hands, he actually initiates it. You try not to overstep any boundaries with him, so he always has to make the first moves.

While playing a few practice rounds of poker (John is trying to teach you to play/play better), jokes are being thrown back and forth and rocks are being used as chips for show.

When John’s focus is pulled to the cards in his hands, you take the opportunity to try and grab a few rocks from his pile to add to your own as a little joke.

John catches you and places his large hand on top of your own making you freeze. A smug grin is plastered on his face and he doesn’t even look at you before placing his cards down, showing off a winning hand.

“Read ‘em and weep, Darlin’,” He laughs but never removes his hand from yours.

A small blush rises to your cheeks and his gaze falls to your combined hands. He curls his fingers under your own so that he’s fully holding your hand in his.

You try to catch his eye, but he’s so focused on his large, scarred hand covering your softer skin. It eats at him a little; a guilty feeling settles into his chest.

You place your other hand on his cheek and press on it lightly to direct his head to look at you. You smile one of your so-sweet smiles that makes his stomach ache a little with admiration, and he grins.

The two of you sit there for a while and continue trying to play poker each with one hand.

Dutch Van Der Linde:

Dutch has always been really hands-on with you. (Wink Wink)

He’s flamboyant, a show-off, cocky, and passionate. He loves to show you off and show off to everyone that you are his.

The first time he holds your hand, it’s to explicitly show that you are his and he is yours.

Most times after that, when Dutch holds your hand it means that the two of you are connected, not two people but one. Not just a couple but a unit.

He’s dramatic that way.

The very first time he holds your hand is during an argument with Hosea. A few things about camp affairs come up, plans are being thrown around, and Hosea makes a comment suggesting that you don’t need to be there for their conversation.

Dutch glares at the older man and reaches down to grasp your hand in his.

“But Daddy I love him!” Vibes I’m not going to lie.

He stands a little taller now that he’s touching you, it makes him feel stronger and more sure of what he’s saying. He puffs out his chest and looks down his nose at Hosea.

Hosea rolls his eyes a little and puts his hands up in surrender, telling Dutch that he can do what he wants.

When Hosea leaves, Dutch uses your entwined hands to pull you towards his side a little bit and hold you in an embrace.

He calls you his partner in crime, his other half, and a million other sultry things he can think of that causes a heat to rise in your chest.

He doesn’t let you go for the rest of the night after that, choosing to show off to the rest of the gang members that you two belong together and will always be.

Javier Escuella:

Javier values romance in a relationship.

Maybe nothing incredibly grand - but sweet notes, acts of service, small gifts here and there - he likes to show you how much he loves you through actions more than anything else.

All that and more is shown later on in your relationship. At first, though, Javier is more protective than romantic when it comes to you. It keeps him from showing his emotions at times, and makes him oblivious to your feelings other times.

He just doesn’t know what’s too much because he feels a lot of things, but he wonders if showing all that too soon will scare you away. His feelings are so intense that he gets scared away from you sometimes.

The first time he holds your hand is when you knick yourself while trying to do tricks with one of his knives.

You envy the way he’s able to just do the flips and graceful switches with the blades, and even how he can effortlessly play that five-finger-fillet game.

So, naturally, you try to replicate a trick you’ve seen him do a million times and it ends with a little gash on the heel of your palm.

It’s barely bleeding and looks more like a scrape, but as you hiss in pain Javier has forgotten his chore as he rushes to see what you’ve done to yourself.

He tsks at you and gently wraps his fingers around your wrist to get a better look at the wound.

You’ve forgotten the scrape at this point as his touch is sending jolts of adrenaline through your arm and his face is so close to yours you could count his eyelashes if you wanted to.

He doesn’t notice, too busy looking to see if you’ve mortally wounded yourself. When he’s satisfied that you won’t die, he looks up at your face (Which is dark with a blush and you’re trying to avert your gaze from him, but you just can’t).

He doesn’t understand what’s gotten into you until he sees your joined hands and a knowing grin cracks into his face.

“I’ll kiss it, make it better,” He murmurs and presses a slow, tender kiss to the palm of your hand while gazing up into your eyes the entire time.

He knows what he’s doing.

Charles Smith:

I genuinely feel like Charles is the most well rounded of the group when it comes to his emotions and how he conveys what he’s feeling to you.

Communication king for sure.

The first time Charles holds your hand it’s like he’s always done it.

It’s so natural to him that there really is no concrete first time that changed the meaning of your relationship or created some big deal.

Charles isn’t really someone who likes to show off and isn’t into public displays of affection. Brief hugs and hand holding are the only things he can bring himself to do with you if there are other people present.

He likes to hold your hand a lot despite that. Kissing, groping, or anything even a little heated is a big no for him (in private it is another story), so he likes to have your hands intertwined more often than not.

At first he would come up to you and hold his hand out, palm up, with a quirked brow as if asking you to place your hand in his. You oblige, of course, and he would follow you around camp or vice versa.

Now, Charles doesn’t even bother asking before he comes up to you and just grabs your hand whenever he sees you.

There’s no question about it, the two of you are always connected.

If he can see you he is by your side holding on to you.

It’s not possessive (unlike Dutch cough cough), but it’s more for his own comfort. He likes being near you and he likes that you seem to enjoy being near him.

Charles finds his twin flame in you, his other half. Much more than a soulmate, but his person.

Sean MacGuire:

Sean never really knows where the two of you stand in terms of a relationship.

He flirts with you over and over and over again. You laugh and blush occasionally, but end up telling him to shut up and wandering off.

He knows that he can come off as a sarcastic ass, but he didn’t realize that it’s so intense that you can’t even tell that he’s genuinely trying to get you to notice him as more than a friend/fellow gang member.

The thing is, it is hard for you to tell. Sean isn’t known for being the most serious guy in the world and you’ll be damned if you let him make fun of you by flirting with you and making you swoon or something.

The first time you hold hands with Sean is also consequently the first time you see Sean’s feelings for you are genuine, not some trick.

You turn away from Sean after he’s thrown yet another flirty remark at you, but before you even have the chance to mutter “Shut up, MacGuire” He’s shot out and wrapped his fingers around your own in a strong grip. It doesn’t hurt, but you can’t just pull away and tell him to stop messing around.

You turn back and look down at your conjoined hands.

“Please,” He begs and pulls you an inch closer. “Listen to me.”

You can hardly focus on anything but the warmth of his hand in yours and the way it makes your heart swell and tingle.

He explains his feelings for you, every last one of them. Some were a little more explicit and detailed than you expected, but you appreciated the straight forward honesty.

Let’s just say after that conversation the two of you hold hands and more pretty often in the future.

Sadie Adler:

Sadie and you hold hands all the time. She literally cannot tell how you feel about her.

Is this a friendship? Is it more? She has no idea because you’re so comfortable with her that the line between friends and partners is so blurred Sadie isn’t even sure if there was a line to begin with.

One night, you and Sadie are lying outside the tent that you share stargazing. Sadie is telling you what she knows about the stars and you chime in every now and then with your own little details. She loves the excitement in your voice when you remember the story to a constellation or find one that you hadn’t notice last time.

Your bodies are close, but your hands are closer. Lying in the grass, Sadie can feel the heat from your fingers and hers twitch and beg to touch yours.

She’s nervous, though, to take the relationship further. She doesn’t know if she’s ready to admit what she wants.

While she’s debating if it’s worth it, your pinky finger stretches and curls around her own. She audibly gasps at the action and her head whips over to see if you realize what you’re doing.

You’re already gazing at her with soft eyes and a small smile. It makes her bones turn to jelly at the sight and she tries to speak, but the only thing that escapes her mouth are sharp exhales as her words get tangled in her throat.

She tightens her pinky finger around yours, and you understand the meaning behind it.

It was all still confusing, but Sadie knew one thing: Friends don’t look at each other like that.

<><><><>

I love Sadie so much y'all don't even know

Hope you enjoyed!!

[yourlocalhistorynerd315]

God, why does Jack Marston have to have such a sad life. He loses so many people he sees as family, especially Arthur, in RDR2. Micah wanted to leave him orphaned in RDR2 when the Pinkertons took Abigail to hang her and when John was presumed dead. He loses so many people that were close to him so quickly, he didn't even have time to process it. Then in RDR1 He loses Uncle and his father in a matter of minutes and then loses his mother not even four years later. There's dialogue from Jack in RDR1 (dependent on your honor level from what I heard) that just shows Jack is incredibly depressed. He deserves so much better

[pinkysberg]

i may adore john marston w my whole heart and soul but u will never catch me saying he deserved better treatment from abigail at any point. EVER. 1899, 1907, 1911, you name it and abigail was treating him exactly how he deserved.

[fablexdreams]

Do yall think that John was hurt and jealous when he found out that Dutch and Hosea went fishing with Arthur at the start of chapter 3 but didn't bring him? Idk, the mission just felt...wrong without him, y'know? Maybe I'm projecting, but I'd feel so left out and alone if I was John lmao. Everyone always thinks and says that John is Dutch's favorite, that he's the 'golden boy', but he is left out of things and pushed aside an awful lot for being so golden. Even with the random stories we get about the 'old days' from the gang sometimes, it hardly ever feels like John has any of them. John has always given me lonely vibes, and i know a lot of people argue that its just his lone wolf personality, but I can't help but wonder if it's by choice or not. If that's how John wanted it to be, or if it was just what he had always known. I just wish we could have gotten more moments of Dutch, Hosea, Arthur, and John all together. It all started, and ended, with them after all.

[brothermoth]

songs that give me rdr2 feels

Dust in the Wind — Kansas (it's Arthur's song, full stop. Themes of futility and the realization that life is fleeting? It's him, baby.)

All the Pretty Horses — Laura Gibson (Kieran's song without a doubt. That grubby little man deserved so much better)

For a Few Good Men— Amigo the Devil (another Arthur song. It feels so bittersweet and full of longing, really just makes me think of him and Mary and the life they could have had).

Welcome Home, Son — Radical Face (God this song just has Jack vibes. Its very Marston family coded).

Borealis— The Huntress and Holder of Hands (John and Abigail song. Thank you)

Wolf— First Aid Kit (Marston family depression. I love them so much guys)

[softrozene]

Rdr2 Masterlist 2020-2021

As the title says, this is all my rdr2- One Shots, Scenarios, and Headcanons from these years when I wrote it under @/lovingoutlaws!

Headcanons/Scenarios usually have 2-3 characters in it while the Character list focuses on that character!

*If a work doesn’t specify a gender the reader is Gender Neutral/Non-Binary!

Started January 10, 2020

Ended January 6, 2021

ao3 backup link.

Headcanons:

Character Reactions to Dutch wanting a night with their girl: Arthur, John, Javier x Female Reader. They ain’t happy about Dutch having the audacity to ask to have a night with their woman.

Comforting Female Reader who has experienced an assault: Male!Various x Female Reader. Just hurt/comfort for some rdr2 men finding out reader experienced a past assault on her.

Doing the little romantic things for their s/o : Headcanons. Arthur, Charles, and John doing little romantic things for reader.

Being Romantic with Their S/O: Headcanons. Javier and Kieran being romantic with their partner, reader.

New Relationship with a Male S/O: Abigail Roberts/Marston and Sadie Adler headcanons in a relationship with a new partner.

Reader Getting into a Fight: Headcanons on how Arthur, Dutch, and John would react to Reader getting into a fight.

Reaction to Shy Adopted Girl: Headcanons on how Arthur, Dutch, and Hosea would react to adopting a shy girl into the gang and how their protectiveness is wholesome.

Short and Feisty Female S/O who Likes to Cuddle: Arthur, Charles, Javier, John, Sean x Female reader. Headcanons on how they react to this type of partner. Fluff.

Stargazing Headcanons: Arthur, Charles, Hosea x Reader. Just some fluffy stargazing headcanons.

Characters:

Abigail Roberts (Marston):

Deserve Better: Abigail x Female Reader. Reader confesses to Abigail after she asks for advice on what to do about John.

Arthur Morgan:

Arthur Turning into a Parent : Arthur x female reader (Father-daughter relationship) fluff headcanons and bonus scenario.

Arthur Comforts reader with past assault: Arthur x Male Reader scenario. Arthur gives some advice/words of comfort when Reader vents to him about a traumatizing experience.

Arthur with a Touch-Starved Reader: Arthur x Reader. Headcanons on how he notices reader is touch-starved and just pure fluff.

Father Headcanons: How Arthur would be with a son, pure fluffy and wholesome headcanons.

Just a Few Minutes: Arthur x Female Reader (Slight n s f w). Arthur is really riled up from seeing how pretty his woman is. He just wants a few minutes with her during a mission. F in chat for Molly’s shawl.

Charles Smith:

Getting Caught: Charles x Female Reader (n s f w). You and Charles get caught doing the do ; )

Hurt Little Bird: Charles x Female Reader. Charles is worried when his partner is taking a while from coming back to camp after a hunt. He goes to search for her and is relieved to find her.

Dutch:

Dutch with a Super Affectionate S/O: headcanons on how Dutch would act with a super affectionate partner both sfw and n s f w.

Dutch with a Younger S/O: headcanons on how Dutch would act with a younger female partner. Both sfw and n s f w

Javier Escuella:

Jealous Javier: Javier x Reader. How Javier reacts when he gets jealous in a n s f w way.

Spanish Flirtations: Javier x Male Reader. Male reader tries to flirt with Javier in his mother tongue only to fail a few pick-up lines. Javier finds it endearing.

John Marston:

Birthday Trip : John Marston x Female Reader. John takes reader on a ‘romantic’ trip for her birthday only for a bunch of accidents to happen along the way. But no worries, it was still a good trip.

John with a Pregnant S/O: John x Female Reader. Reader is worried about telling John about her pregnancy after she heard what happened to Abigail. Arthur reassures her when John finally comes back from a mission.

Josiah Trewlany:

Miss Me: Josiah x Reader. Josiah comes back beat and battered worrying poor reader who would really miss him if something were to happen to him. He is grateful since reader holds a special place in his heart.

Kieran Duffy:

Kieran Reacting to Panic Attacks: Kieran x Reader. How he will help reader during a panic attack.

Lenny Summers:

Fear: Lenny x Male Reader. Lenny wants to come out to the gang since he and (Name) are official, but reader has some fears to talk through.

Molly O’Shea:

Dutch Gets Bamboozled: Molly x Female Reader. Molly finally accepts the offer of the woman she has been seeing behind Dutch’s back. Dutch is livid.

Dutch Gets Bamboozled Part 2: Molly x Female Reader. Part 2 of the other one. Dutch finally gets to see how they are truly living after years have passed by and he is jealous.

Sean MacGuire:

Sean is Struggling: Sean x Female Reader. Ever since Sean has been tortured by the bounty hunters he has PTSD and has some problems with touch. Reader notices and wants to help him.

Sad Yee Haw Hours:

This is just an angst scenario starter event I did on the old tumblr, that I named Sad Yee-Haw Hours because (guess what) I was sad and wanted angst in my life lol. So literally all of these are just angst scenarios. Uh besides that I give warnings before each scenario.

“Everything is going to be okay”: Javier x Male Reader. Reader tells Javier that time heals all wounds :’)

“Please don’t leave me.”: Charles x Reader. Charles is begging reader not to leave them.

“Stop pushing everyone away.” Arthur x Reader x John. Reader is breaking these cowboys’ hearts.

“Just Go.” Josiah Trelawny x Female Reader. Reader finds out Josiah’s secret that he never wanted her to find out.

“Who is it going to be?” Molly x Female Reader. Reader finally asks Molly who she truly wants to be with. Her or Dutch? Reader gets the answer she expected but it still hurts.

“You Can’t Play the Victim Here.” - Arthur Morgan x Female Reader. Reader wants to leave the gang with Arthur and Arthur is confused to why until she reveals something.

“I Thought You Were Dead.” - Charles Smith x Female Reader. Charles finally finds Reader after searching for her (and losing himself) for so long. He wishes he can turn back time.

“Please Look at Me.” Charles Smith x Reader. Reader royally messed up by hurting this man.

“Everything is Going to be Okay.” Arthur Morgan x Male Reader. Very angsty, in which reader stays with Arthur during his last moments.

“You Remind me of Someone.” Sean Macguire x Female Reader. Sean is a complete jerk in this as he messes with Reader’s feelings.

“This Will Never Work.” Andrew Milton x Male Reader. Andrew and Reader have one last meeting before things go terrible for Reader.

[nthspecialll]

Jovier Hanahaki Disease

John Marston had been sick for a year, coughing fits so violent that his body had compulsed, but he had told no one, not a single soul because he barely dared admit to himself what it meant for him and his fate. The death that awaited him when his body would no longer have the strength to force up the flowers blooming in his lungs and tearing his throat to blood as he tried not to suffocate on them. He wondered if the thorns left the same scars on his lungs as the wolves had on his face, if he finally was as ugly inside as he felt outside.

He could feel the thorns poke at his insides, stabbing him at every rapid, enchanted breath he took when he laid eyes on the man he knew that he could never have, the man with the most beautiful voice he had ever heard, the man with the wonderful personality that always knew when to comfort and when to tease John. The man with his silly little mustache and humor that always made John laugh, a laugh that by then was deadly and could cost him his life, not that he could stop himself.

The man that no doubt deserved better than broken, scarred John Marston.

It wasn't that he didn't love Abigail, because he did, he loved her with all his heart but he never loved her in the same way he loved him, he had never been able to. He had tried, oh how desperately he had tried, it had never been an issue before he ran away, before he truly learned what it meant to love, before he got sick. But then he got back and there he was, that man sitting in the glow of the campfire, looking so beautiful as his voice was carried off into the night after warming John's heart and planting the seeds of painful yearning.

It had been nighttime, a quiet night after the day's tough work and an even more painful evening listening and admiring the person he held so dear, when John had felt his throat itch and he had had to run out of his tent. He fell to his knees in the soft sand by the beach separating the camp at Clemens Point and the surrounding lake, one hand at his throat, another in the sand as he began to cough.

His eyes were watering and his body jerked as a thorn grabbed onto his throat and refused to budge like a piece of Pearson's terrible strew getting down the wrong throat, except a thousand times more agonizing.

In his pain-filled moments, merely trying to make it to the next day, he had no way of noticing the person coming up behind him as he finally got the rose free and spat it into his hands where blood seeped off it and formed a pool in his palms.

"It was never me you loved, was it? Your heart belongs to someone else."

John froze. He did not need to turn around to know who it was, to be able to hear the hurt in Abigail's voice and know that her eyes would hold the exact same hurt as the one he was in. John Marston knew that his unrequited love for Javier Escuella would in the end cost him his life, he only prayed his wrongful desire wouldn't cost Abigail Roberts hers.

___

I love Hanahaki Disease so much, I don’t even know if people like Hanahaki disease anymore but i remember it being popular years back and it still has a firm grasp on my neck so here we are.

[verdemoun]

is there like a comprehensive guide somewhere about the timewarp au thing because i keep seeing you post about it but i've only been following you for a little while so i'm not at all as caught up on the lore as i'd like to be 💔 could you maybe summarise the most basic important info and aspects of it like you were explaining it to a complete outsider ?

I will hopefully be making one is the not too distant future because timewarp definitely got way bigger than I ever anticipated and is still providing me loads of fun to write. pinned post coming in the next month hopefully and a better tagging system so people can find stuff easier

origins: timewarp part 1, timewarp part 2, how does death work in timewarp, timewarp timeline

td;lr: the van der linde gang and other important characters from rdr canon are transported exactly 100 years into the future from their moment of death - which may or may not be due to the whims of magical time travelling quasi-deity josiah trelawney

as part of timewarping the gang still experience and remember their deaths and the events of canon. they also often need to wait years to be reunited following the dates of canon wherever possible, and pass the time learning how to live in modern era and otherwise getting up to antics they didn't have time to while outlaws.

the canon timewarp cast, in rough order of death: bessie matthews, annabelle, eliza, isaac morgan, mac callander, davey callander, jenny kirk, jake adler, sean macguire, kieran duffy, hosea matthews, lenny summers, molly o'shea, susan grimshaw, arthur morgan, eagle flies, karen jones, alden carruthers, leopold strauss, micah bell iii, sadie adler, charles smith, abigail (addie) marston jr, javier escuella, bill williamson, dutch van der linde, uncle, john marston, abigail marston, jack marston.

some funky ocs who turn up: kai bell (descendant of amos bell), maeve macsummers (daughter of sean macguire and karen jones), lucy shelley (molly o'shea's wife)

characters who did not timewarp due to me thinking they deserve a fix-it happy ending in canon era: mary-beth gaskill, tilly jackson, simon pearson, reverend swanson, rains fall, mary linton.

i will however answer asks about how i think absolutely any character would react to being timewarped (special shoutout to darragh macguire)

[lesbian-for-arthur-morgan]

do you have any headcanons for arguing and making up? i’m a slut for angst with comfort 🙈

Making Up After a Fight

Gender Neutral Language!

Genre: slight angst, fluff Featuring: Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Dutch Van Der Linde, Javier Escuella, Charles Smith, and Sean MacGuire Warnings: Dutch is kind of toxic | Not edited

AN: Sorry it took me so long to get these written! I went through some nasty writer's block and decided to play the game a little to help out but all that did was distract me for a week. This is definitely pretty roughly written - I'm also a huge slut for angst with comfort, though, so I hope you like these! <3 ---> Requests are open! Check out guidelines if you have any questions

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Arthur Morgan:

Arthur gets frustrated easily when he feels like he’s not being listened to or understood. It’s not really anyone’s fault, but his emotions can get the better of him and he’ll say something that he doesn’t mean.

“You got bait for brains or are you just being an idiot for fun?” (or something like that)

You know in the back of your head that he doesn’t mean it, and he regrets it the second the syllables bounce off his lips. Your brain can know something but your heart will still hurt all the same.

Usually when Arthur is getting too big for his britches with you, you can shut him down and put him in his place. It’s something he highly respects about you - not putting up with his bullshit when he gets like that. Sometimes, though, your eyes will start to water and you can’t say anything without feeling a lump in your throat constricting your vocal chords.

You have to turn and walk away or else you’ll cry in front of him. That would just make everything worse.

Seeing your form retreating, knowing that you’re running off because you’re hurt rather than angry, made Arthur’s chest grow heavy with guilt. His first instinct is to follow after you and hold you until you’re feeling better.

But since he’s the one who hurt you, he just lets you walk away and he goes to pout since he thinks he deserves to be outcast for a little while.

He’ll give you as much space as he can bear, avoid you for an hour maybe two, but he comes crawling back with those puppy dog eyes and a singular wild flower in his fist.

He’ll go to his cot where you’re sitting with his hat in your lap. You stopped being upset five or ten minutes after the argument. Once you took a few deep breaths you understand, but you also had to understand that Arthur would come back to you after he was done punishing himself.

So you waited.

When you saw him approach with that sheepish expression and slouched posture your heart bled for him. He was a brute and an ass at times, but he meant well.

“’M’sorry, Darlin’,” He’d mumble and get on his knees in front of you. “I didn’t mean it, I never mean it.”

He places the flower in your lap by his hat and gazes up at you. His hair is long and falling in front of his eyes a little, so you brush the strands away from his forehead to get a better look at him.

His blue eyes are a little red and there’s a deep crease in his forehead from an hour or so of constant worrying.

“You can be so mean sometimes, Arthur Morgan,” You scold him lightly and he sighs, nodding.

“I know.”

He spends the rest of the week making it up to you. Truly it doesn’t matter exactly what was said or what the argument was about, when you are truly hurt by his words/actions it kills him. He’ll punish himself for a bit then come back ready to spoil you with words, presents, kisses, and anything else you could possibly ask for.

John Marston:

He’s constantly arguing with you about something. A lot of the time he just picks at you to get a rise out of you - he thinks it’s funny.

Things can get out of hand quickly with him if he grates on a nerve of yours and you bite back though. His first instinct is to give a smartass retort and it just spirals into a full-blown fight from there.

“John Marston you are a pig!”

You storm off and hide in your tent for a while. He’s just standing there dumbfounded. He starts asking himself why he let it get to that point, why did he have to open his big ol’ mouth and antagonize you?

He tries to get you to talk to him, he’ll pace in front of the tent and start calling your name nicely. He won’t ever open the flap though, he doesn’t want to invade your space and risk riling you up anymore.

When you ignore him he’ll eventually get the hint and wander off.

He tries to figure out something to do while he thinks about how to make it up to you. He offers to help Arthur out with any bounty hunts or little jobs, he’ll offer to take Bill or Lenny into town, or he’ll just pick up extra shifts of being on lookout for the camp.

When you finally come out he has to restrain the urge to run to you and scoop you up, demanding that you forgive him so that he can stop pouting.

He does drop whatever it is he’s doing to approach you and makes small talk to test the waters.

“How are you?”

“Fine, John.”

“That’s good… You still mad at me?”

You roll your eyes and try to walk away, but he shoots out and grabs your hand before you can get too far. He doesn’t hold you tightly; his fingers gently encase your own, if you wanted to leave you could easily. But, you falter with your back turned to him and wait for him to speak.

“I’m sorry, really. You know I’m an idiot.” He’s practically whining as he says it, begging for you to look at him.

You turn your head slightly to give him a side glare. At first, the sight makes his heart drop into his feet and he thinks he really screwed up this time, but when a small smirk starts to quirk the corner of your mouth upwards he lets out a low sigh.

“You are cruel,” He chuckles and tightens his grip as he pulls you into his arms and wraps you up in a bear hug.

Your laughs are loud and genuine as he twirls you around, pressing chaste kisses to your cheeks as he does so. Your voices echo throughout the camp once again.

Everyone in camp knows what’s going on with you and John whether you’re fighting or making up, your business is everyone else’s.

Dutch Van Der Linde:

I want to start out by saying Dutch never actually apologizes when you two fight. He’ll buy gifts, say pretty words, whisper sweet nothings, and all the like, but the words “I’m sorry” have never left that man’s lips in his entire life. He will not start now.

Dutch’s obsession with the O’Driscoll’s can cloud his judgment on many things, it makes him blind to reason. Further than that, it makes him hateful and sometimes just plain mean.

He trusts you, he loves you. So, you’re stuck listening to his plans and his grievances with the gang, the law, the O’Driscoll’s, and any other misfortune he has had to endure in his life.

He’ll go on and on, plotting, groaning, whining. One night, after being sat on his cot for hours, you’ve had enough. You beg him to do anything but complain and come up with a half-brained plan to get rich quick.

It hits a nerve and he blows a fuse.

“You don’t understand what’s at stake, do you?” He’s practically yelling. “It’s so easy for you - I spoil you!”

You’re stunned into silence as he shouts at you. You didn’t expect him to blow up.

“Get out of my tent, get out of my sight!” He sends you away. In a daze you stumble out of the tent and into the dark camp.

There’s a few people still up wandering around. Mary-Beth is singing by the fire and Kieran is trying to sing with her, but doesn’t really know the words. Your feet start moving on their own and you take a seat across from the two at the fire.

“What’s going on, gunslinger?” Karen shuffles to a seat beside you and settles down. Mary-Beth’s singing falters for a minute but she continues on, just quieter.

“Dutch is pissed.” You mumble, staring into the flames.

“When is he not? Have a drink,” Karen shoves a bottle of beer into your hand and watches as you take a long swig. She continues, “Have some fun without him for once.”

The night takes a turn from there. You sing and dance and laugh. A few more people join in until it’s gone from moping around the fire to a proper party around it. Javier even brings out the guitar. The noise is enough to draw Dutch from the dark hole in his tent to see what’s going on.

When he sees you, the tears on your cheeks have dried and your face is flushed from the drinks, he can’t help but feel a little guilty. To him, afterall, you were just naive. You didn’t understand what was truly going on in the camp, didn’t understand his plans.

He creeps out of the tent and sneaks up behind you as you’re dancing along to Javier and Mary-Beth. When a pair of arms wraps around your waist, you let out a little squeal.

Dutch spins you around so that you’re facing him, your bodies pressed flush together causing a heat to flare in your stomach.

“My beautiful dancer,” Dutch mumbles and presses a soft kiss to your lips. You don’t fight, don’t ask any questions. You’re just happy that he seems to be sorry for what he did. He’s holding you after all of that, kissing you. He must be sorry, and so are you.

When he pulls back you gaze at him with half-lidded eyes. “I’m sorry, Dutch.” You whisper.

“Hush now,” He starts swaying as he holds you, leading you into a dance.

Your fight is practically forgotten by the end of the night. In the early hours of the morning, everyone is stumbling back to their respective beds. Stomachs are full and heads will be aching come noon, but to you it was all worth it. So long as you and Dutch aren’t fighting anymore.

Javier Escuella:

He hates fighting. I mean not in general, but just with you.

He won’t allow himself to be taken advantage of or walked all over, but if there’s some stupid argument that’s making you mad he will roll over and apologize. Just to keep the peace.

He loves you more than he loves being right, and if it makes you happy to just admit that then so be it.

When y’all do fight, though, it’s over something big. Stupid quarrels are so rare that the first time anyone catches wind that the two of you had a falling out it shocks half the camp to the core.

Javier would only truly get upset with you in a life or death situation. Like when you decided to not tell anyone you were heading into town really quick and met a few O’Driscoll’s in the general store.

When you saw them you recognized them as few that had gotten into a fight with Javier in town a few weeks ago. Javier let them walk away to save face, there was a large group of witnesses that would have pretty much guaranteed him an execution if he had taken their lives.

Your heart skipped a beat as one of them turned to look at you, but they left shortly after you entered the store and you prayed that would be the end of it.

After you finished at the store, though, you walked through the door to find the three men standing in the road before you. Their arms were folded across their chests and their legs spread in a dominant stance.

You clutched the items you bought to your chest and tried walking away from the trio, but one of them called out and made you stop in your tracks.

“You’re one of Dutch’s people ain’t you?” The tallest one said. It wasn’t really a question, he knew who you were.

“And what’s it to you, mister?” You shot back, reaching for the dagger in your belt.

“I’ve got a few questions for you about your boss.” The three of them started moving towards you. They surrounded you and backed you to the wall of the general store. You whipped out your dagger to tell them to back off, but it wouldn’t do much against three of them - you knew that and so did they.

The only reason you had made it out of that situation without even a scratch was because Arthur happened to be riding through town on his way back to camp and noticed the commotion.

He brought you back to camp, and that’s where you saw Javier standing at your cot with this arms crossed and a scowl darkening his features.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He practically shouts at you.

You didn’t mean to, you held them back as long as you could, but tears start flowing freely down your face in large, hot drops.

Javier’s scowl disappears almost immediately. He didn’t expect you to cry. Maybe yell back or explain yourself, but not cry. He drops his arms and grabs both of your hands in his.

“Are you okay?” His voice is low and laced with worry. Arthur got to him first and told him what happened briefly, so he knew you weren’t physically hurt, but other than that he didn’t know what happened.

“They surrounded me. I was - I was so scared, Javier.” Your throat was thick and it was hard to speak. Javier embraced you, rubbing your back and holding the back of your head as you cried harder into his shoulder.

“You’re safe now,” He assures you and presses soft kisses into your hair.

He spends the next few days feeling guilty for being mad at first.

You tell him you understand his reaction and that you were sorry,but he just says sorry back to you and claims he shouldn’t have been angry when you were scared.

You’re both equally sorry, I guess.

After that, though, Javier refuses to let you go anywhere alone. You don’t have to go with him but you have to have a traveling buddy in case anything like that happens again.

Charles Smith:

Doesn’t fight with anyone, really.

Sure, you can get mad at him and yell and hold a grudge, but he just lets you figure your emotions out from afar if that’s what you need. He gives you space when you need it, attention when you want it, and does anything that he can for you.

He loves you more than anything in the world, so when you’re mad at him it eats away at his insides until you make up. He’s literally the consent king, though, and will wait for you to come to him before he initiates anything.

It feels like he doesn’t care sometimes. It drives you crazy that he doesn’t chase after you and try to make up with you then and there or rectify the situation immediately, which turns into another argument.

“Do you even give a shit what I feel?” You frown at him one morning after a small argument that he just brushed off from the night before. He assumed since you slept with him in his bedroll, that meant you were over it.

“I love you! What are you talking about?” He rubs at the little stubble on his chin in exasperation.

“You never listen you just say ‘okay’ and move on. You don’t learn that way, Charles. You roll over and the same thing will keep happening because you aren’t listening.” You try to explain yourself. Charles nods but you can’t tell if he actually gets what you’re trying to convey since he never acknowledges it more than that.

You sigh and get up.

“I need a minute, come talk to me when you can.” You walk away from him and towards Miss Grimshaw doing the laundry.

Charles just stays where he is and lets out a long deep sigh. He thought it would be better for him to just agree with you, it would make you happy to be agreed with rather than continuing to fight over something so trivial.

He hasn’t been with the group for a super long time, but he’s created a strong bond with Arthur. So, that’s who he goes to to ask for advice on the whole situation.

Charles relays as much as he can back to Arthur and the cowboy just starts to chuckle at the absurdity of the conversation. He’s used to people coming to him for advice (he doesn’t really get why), but the situation with you and Charles came out of nowhere for him. He didn’t realize you two fought ever.

“No relationship is perfect, Charles.” Arthur suggests.

That’s literally no help to him so Charles walks off and tries thinking what to do. He comes up with nothing, though. Which makes him frustrated.

He starts walking towards you. You look up and see his determined face and scrunched brow and excuse yourself to meet him halfway.

“We need to talk.” He says, his words are intense but his gaze is still soft. You aren’t scared of him anyways.

“I think we do.” You reply and follow him to a private area right outside of camp.

The whole time he goes off about how he doesn’t get what you want from him. What you expect him to do or say when you get mad or annoyed.

“I just want to know you care about me and my emotions.”

“Dear, I care about you more than anything in the world. More than life itself, why do you question it?” He’s basically pleading with you to understand him, to finally see that just because he isn’t as forward with every single thought (good or bad) on his mind doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you or your emotions.

It takes little to no time for you to throw your arms around him in an embrace and mumble an apology into his hair.

Even your big fights aren’t really fights.

Sean MacGuire:

Sean does stupid stuff all the time. Literally he does stupid stuff more often than he does anything smart.

Especially when he’s drunk.

One night a small group of some of the gang decided to head into the saloon in town for a drinks for the night. You and Sean were always up for a good time and tagged along - obviously.

It presented opportunity for a little pickpocketing as well (if you didn’t get too drunk and sloppy to do it).

Everything went well for the first hour. Drinks were shared among the group and laughs were bellowing through the air with a contagious warmth. Better yet, no one seemed to be testing the waters and starting a bar fight.

Sean had his arm around you the entire night. He claimed it was to let all the scoundrels at the bar know that you were his and no one should even try to stake a claim to you.

You rolled your eyes but stayed nestled in the spot.

That is, until you were pulled away by your bladder. All the drinks were catching up to you and you slipped from under him to run to the restroom really quick.

When you came back, though, a working woman had taken advantage of your absence to catch Sean’s attention.

In his drunken state, Sean couldn’t even realize that the weight of the woman beside him wasn’t the same as when you were sitting there before. He didn’t say a thing as her arms wrapped around his torso or when she ran her fingers through his longish hair.

Tears fill your eyes almost instantly. You try to blink them away and get a better look at the scene in front of you, but it doesn’t change. It only gets worse as her lips start leaving rougey red stains on his neck.

“Sean!” You shove at his shoulder. When he sees you in front of him, his bleary red eyes turn to the woman beside him. His brain takes a minute to put two and two together, but by the time he has figured the situation out you are pushing through saloon patrons to get out into the night air.

Sean sobers up immediately. He pries himself out of the grasp of the other woman and follows your trail out the door.

He calls your name over and over again until he finally finds you sitting on the street corner crying into your knees.

“Please, Love!” He approaches you and your head whips up at the sound of his voice.

“You stay away from me you dog.” You snap and get up. You’re still pretty drunk as well however and you wobble and nearly fall over at the sudden movement.

Luckily Sean catches you by the arm before you can tumble into the dirt.

“I didn’t know she was there, honest. Thought you was there beside me.” He lifts a hand to your cheek, ready to brush away some of your tears, but you turn your cheek and shrug him off.

“Sure.” You say and try to walk away. He catches your arm again and turns you towards him once more.

“Honest, Love. Why would I pay for sex anyways - I’ve not a penny to me name and you give it to me for free.”

The sentiment was there, but definitely not the right thing to say.

You have to physically restrain yourself from hitting him upside the head at his words.

He sees the struggle on your face as soon as he says it and clamps a hand over his mouth.

“Sean MacGuire you bastard!” You shout at him, but can’t help a weak laugh from erupting from your throat at the end.

“I didn’t mean that, oh lord I didn’t.” The terror in his face only causes you to laugh harder.

The laughter surprises him and even yourself, so much so that the both of you are laughing. Though you don’t really understand why.

“If you ever-“ You say with a mocking glare, “Ever do something like that or say something like that again, I am leaving you Sean MacGuire.”

“I wouldn’t blame you one bit,” He says somberly, still with a small smile.

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I didn't write for Sadie because I genuinely could not think of a situation for her or how she would be, my brain died halfway through writing Sean's. I'll just have to write some Sadie focused hc's next time teehee~