#maybe abigail is just as dumb as john

[lucasoliko]

I was just thinking that if I was Abigail and John gave me a kid and then just LEFT for a year and came back and didn't even want to take care of said kid. That man would've died the same night he returned to camp like I'm just saying

And even if I didn't end up killing him why would I stay with him (when he still doesn't want to take care of HIS FUCKING KID) if there's a BEAUTIFUL recently widowed woman that just arrived to camp like c'mon now let's be real

[dazednstoned]

Modern Rdr2 hcs:

-Abigail dresses like it's the 2000s (I'm talking miniskirts, low rise jeans, heeled flip flops w the fucking sparkles). She will never change too.

-Charles and Arthur go on dates to those adoption events to pet all the dogs and cats

-the whole gang frequently gathers for family bbqs. Every time someone ends up getting punched, passing out, or storming off

-Abigail puts Jack on one of those backpack leashes for kids (John too if we're being honest)

-Tilly, Karen, and Marybeth do full goodwill, garage sale, and vintage market days. They do not mess around either

-the only thing hosea knows how to do on his phone is play chess

-Sean still can't read in modern time

-john plays guitar and writes really horrible love songs for Abigail

-Javier and john r for sure in a band together, they're pretty good when they sing the songs Javier wrote

-Lenny and Sean co-parent an extremely neglected widgetable

-Arthur listens to facebook reels on full volume in public w no shame. Isaac is mortified every time

-john has various tattoos, half of them are god awful. He definitely got Abigail's name or initials tattooed somewhere and she was livid

-Karen gives herself piercings with a really shitty piercing gun

-arthur and John work together in construction, an auto shop, or in the equestrian field.

-Dutch has a very rigid and lengthy skincare routine

-john uses 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner, but he says it's 3 in 1 bc it also counts as bodywash

-Tilly is the only one of her family to graduate college (Arthur dropped out of hs when Eliza got pregnant and john never went)

-Hosea is one of those old people you just see walking around the neighborhood at like 8am

-john and Arthur don't wear sunscreen or put on lotion. Abigail sometimes manages to force some sunscreen on John's face before he goes to work tho

-bill refuses to go to gay bars but uses Grindr

-Abigail cuts John and Jack's hair bc she refuses to pay for something she thinks she can do herself (she cannot do it herself)

-Kieran is a hair braiding god. I'm talking French braids, fish tails, you name it.

-john owns a really shitty pick up truck. Jack was either conceived or birthed in the backseat of it (maybe both)

-Sean falls for those free iPhone scams every time

-the only videogame charles plays is stardew valley. He thought it would be relaxing, it wasn't.

-Tilly and Mary Beth are in a book club together

-Abigail is the type of parent to not let her kid play w nerf guns or watch pg13 movies (John is the exact opposite)

-Sadie spends her weekends at rage rooms

-everyone's fridges are covered in drawings Jack made for them

-John, Javier, and Sean game together. Violence always ensues

-dutch does not tip waiters

-john tried to play catch w Jack once and ended up getting hit in the groin by a baseball. He didn't know 4 yr olds could throw that hard

-Abigail and Karen (& sometimes Charles) drink cheap wine together every Sunday and discuss the dumb things their boyfriends did that week

-Lenny and Hosea do the wordle everyday

-Jack is in little league soccer. John sits back drinking a beer as Abigail shouts at the referee

-Abigail got a tramp stamp of a little bow when she was 17 (she regrets it)

-Hosea exclusively sends emails

-Abigail hides John's weed socks bc she doesn't want Jack to see and "fall into a life of drugs" when he's older

-Arthur is a hiking dad through and through. While John is a sit on the couch drinking a beer w his kid in his lap kinda dad

-uncle is the old drunk that lived in the same trailer park as Abigail and John did when Jack was a baby. He kinda just stuck around after

-Miss Molly O'Shea would be a makeup god and u cannot convince me otherwise

I might do a pt 2 late in the future!

[taolaoo]

There are a lot of things that make me despise dudebros. One of them is when Abigail and Arthur's relationship becomes the object of their stupid jokes.

So, Abigail and Arthur's relationship. If you ask me, I really don't think Arthur was head over heels in love with her. Absolutely not. The way he describes her and Jack in the journal is more like grieving for what was taken from him. It's so painfully obvious that he's comparing them to Eliza and Isaac in his mind. It's not love, it's just a glimpse of a lost feeling. But even if it is love, it's not in a healthy way.

An important clarification, but I also don't think Arthur ever slept with her. How could he if he had women of his own at that time? (Eliza and Mary, we don't know for sure which one he got into a relationship with first). Arthur doesn't seem to me like a man who can sleep with someone when he's already in a relationship, you know.

Bill's words in rdr1 about Abigail sleeping with everyone sound very funny coming out of his mouth in my opinion. Because first of all, it's Bill; secondly, he's a bastard who always likes to say things to piss others off; thirdly, why do you expect me to take him seriously after he said he slept with her too? I'd rather believe in flat earth than that Abigail, strong woman that she is, would let this smelly boykisser too close to breathe next to her.

What is certain between Arthur and Abigail is trust. From the way Jack is very friendly with him and not afraid to ask for his help, you could tell that Arthur has always been there for him and Abigail, especially after John left. And that's totally understandable. Because Arthur is the only man in the camp who seems normal, kind, and good enough to look after a child. (Hosea too, I'm sure he and Arthur were that strong support for Abigail when she was having a hard time, but that's a bit beside the point right now).

Because Abigail is careful and smart, maybe she even saw something in Arthur that he didn't want to tell anybody (you always know that a man can only be gentle and caring to a child when he has one of his own). That's why they have such a strong friendship, that's why Abigail can ask Arthur to take Jack fishing without a problem.

And yeah, it may be hard for Arthur because he sees ghosts of his past around them, but he doesn't say no. Because he's kind, selflessly kind to those he cares about no matter how hard he tries to deny it.

Their friendship is so underrated, I wish for once it was talked about in terms of strong friendship and trust, not some dumb pseudo romance that doesn't exist.

[nthspecialll]

Hola Alex! Do you remember my ask for an AU where Bonnie was part of the gang? Well, I was wondering if you could write her interactions with the other gang members, like Arthur, Dutch, Hosea, Grimshaw, Pearson, Charles, Javier, Sadie, the girls and the others.

I even think that her relationship with John could change if they both know each other for a long time, and maybe Bonnie doesn't like that John doesn't take responsibility for Jack.

You don't have to tell me how Bonnie would get along with the whole gang either; you can summarize by saying things like: "She would get along great with John and Arthur, she would respect Dutch and Hosea, she would dislike Uncle for being a lazy dirty old man and she would hate Micah for being himself and stuff like that."

I absolutely remember it yes! So, "camp interactions" and relations with Bonnie:

Dutch Van Der Linde: Bonnie would not be afraid to point out flaws in the plan, but she would do it in a way that wouldn't make Dutch feel threatened, so instead of critizing the whole thing she is pointing out small bits and pieces in this way "who is on guard here when the law comes around that way?" Dutch might not have thought about it before but she says it in a way of "ofc he thought about it but just forgot to map it down." She is normally a very straight on, no bullshit person but she also knows he is who is allowing her to be there, she can't just anger him. She wants the others in the gang to be safe even if she doesn't go herself, so she makes sure to patch any holes in the safety.

She would probably be immune to his speeches but she listens anyways, curiously watching. I imagine her being quite indifferent to him.

Hosea Matthews: Probably a lot of casual chit chatter, I imagine that she likes his stories a lot. They might even go hunting together.

Arthur Morgan: She sees right through his "dumb" facade, she notices him watching, but I don't imagine they talk a lot by themselves. Of course they say hi as they pass each other or chat if they sit by the table or camp fire, but I don't see them going out together to do something. Morgan is often out working and she doesn't do illegal stuff, the only thing I can see them doing is grocery shopping or maybe horse "shopping" if another is needed for camp.

John Marston: Heavily disliking his deadbeat dad approach to things. She is a woman of responsiblities, she also expect others to take care of theirs. As the time goes with chapter four and six where John "wakes up" a bit, she would be cautious with John, seeing what he does and that he is serious about it, would likely also ask him directly what he is planning. Once she sees he is actually taking responsiblitiy, would likely help them escape.

Javier Escuella: Very sympathetic over his backstory and his time being a revolutionary in Mexico, really likes his music, thinks it is a good addition to the camp, they might even go fishing once or twice, does Bonnie know how to fish? I don't know, but if she doesn't she will learn. Heavily dislikes him in chapter 6 though, she would know why he acts like he does but it doesn't excuse him.

Bill Williamson: She is throwing sarcastic comments at him, she sees exactly how much he wants to be recongized but also doesn't notice sarcasm. She isn't being mean about it, just more "friendly batter" that confuses Bill and makes him a bit upset. Not taking any of his bullshit.

Micah Bell: Bonnie is similar to Abigail in a lot of ways, John himself said so, and Micha likes Abigail so I got a feeling he would like Bonnie too. That rough girl who is still taking the feminine roles when needed. She doesn't take any of it though, will slap him or point a gun at him.

Charles Smith: Don't see them talking much, she likes to talk but she needs someone to ping pong with and he doesn't really give that. Once or twice they probably both went to chop more wood and was like "oh do you-?"

Sean MacQuire: She finds his flirting kinda funny, not the cute funny but like a "that is fucking hilarous" funny. He probably tried to nudge her a few times, she would play along in the sarcastic way but that is about it. Probably asked her a few times to join on a job in the beginning so he could save the day and the lady.

Lenny Summers: Likes his calm attitude, points out flaws in his plan if she sees him planning though but in a more direct way than with Dutch "they could come from here too, and also this is too big for a one man job," tells Arthur about it.

Sadie Adler: I feel they would get along fairly, Bonnie might take her smoke where Sadie is on guard duty and the other way around. Just to have an excuse to chatter more they would clean the camp guns. She dislikes the impulsiveness Sadie can get when angry though.

Karen Jones: Stands up for Karen when Susan is around, not getting all up Susan's face but just saying "she did work seven hours earlier, she is allowed rest."

Tilly Jackson: Likes chattering with her when they are working. Respects her seemingly innocent appearence but the fact she had handle herself plenty. Probably tries to get the girls to go out on trail rides with her when they aren't just because she is tired of being in camp doing nothing.

Mary-Beth Gaskill: Bonnie will tell her stories of her love life (that one washed ashore dude you can find), it isn't in a gossippy way but a rather story telling way. Mary-Beth lovess it. They keep in touch when the gang is broken apart.

Uncle: Doesn't talk much to him but loves pointing out flaws in his lies, or ask for details Uncle can't provide thus exposing him. Uncle finds it a bit annoying but likes the challenge.

Abigail Roberts/Marston: Huge respect for the single mother. Will help her out in any way possible and also try to arrange days where Tilly can watch Jack and Abigail can go out to the movies or something, might even take her to the saloon to play piano.

Susan Grimshaw: 50/50 relationship. Bonnie is happy to take on the jobs needed, works hard when she is working, but also knows that it is okay to take a break, Susan is not particually happy about the last bit. Bonnie doesn't allow her to lay hand on her.

Simon Pearson: Having grown up as the single woman in the house, she can cook. Might slip some new recipes to Simon, he is reluctant at first but agrees. Doesn't talk more than that.

Leopold Strauss: She doesn't really like his business but she can see it is nessesary. They don't talk much but I imagine she is willing to go with him in to town to set up the mail when they arrive a new place, it is mostly just an excuse for her to get out of camp because she can't handle being stuck up there. Very shocked when she hears his backstory and understanding of it, probably a little impressed how he managed to make a living in a criminal world even with his health problems.

Josiah Trelawny: She wants to know how he does his tricks, it is a need, she will ask him directly and indirectly to get an answer but he does not tell. He finds it hilarous. Once saw him in Saint Denis with his family, was a bit shocked but respected his privacy.

Orvillie Swanson: Does not like his drunkenness but she is more than proud and happy for him when he gets back on track.

Kieran Duffy: Talks about horses together and horse health and how to keep animals healthy. Shares stories of working on farms, maybe also goes fishing together?

Molly O'Shea: She feels a little bad for Molly, but is annoyed with her because she doesn't take responsibility.

Jack Marston: Finds him very cute and will take care of him for Abigail sometimes.

That totally didn't take me like an hour but oh well I had fun. Hope it semi answers your question, and thank you for the question!! :D

[verdemoun]

is there some info about your timewarp au that you really wanna talk about?? if so i am all ears

bless one of the core timewarp au scenes is really the moment they are all just settled and okay and don't really know when it happened but realizing yes this is good this is the life we were meant to have the gang together again

it was meant to be one of their usual family bbq gatherings but grimshaw couldn't get out of work and in no man left behind fashion they decided they would crash the bar. open mic night

sean and lenny meant to be singing a ballad to their respective wives but instead just staring at each other while karen and jenny are entirely amused/delighted over how in love they are with each other. most wholesome dynamic

jack being too young to buy drinks and grimshaw not willing to lose her liquor license for him. big bossy rule enforcing queen entirely undermined by isaac persistently buying himself double shots and slight of hand sliding them to jack until they are both plastered.

hosea just being old this is post 1911 gang warping so he is approaching 70 bessie is retired they are sitting in a comfortable booth enjoying pub meals and whiskey watching their massive family be happy but also just in their own loved up world where they are the only two people that exist

someone with a spray bottle trying to keep javier and kieran off each other for 10 minutes ffs there's children present

john thinking he is the best parent letting his daughter sip beer while abigail yells at him because she's only like 8. he argues they were both already drinking at that age. fighting like an old married couple but also can't stay mad at each other. abigail rolling her eyes but smiling as john kisses her. addie jr helped herself to a whole beer while they were fighting

arthur and charles both responsible adults still getting white girl silly drunk. tripping over each other cackling arthur trying to catch charles and instead completely faceplanting himself. drunk dancing together not realizing they are the center of attention

micah and bill leaning on the bar having the 'why are you gay' 'who says i'm gay' 'you are gay' but also micah in a trying to be a better person/must prove he is the best at everything giving bill dating tips despite being the worst straight man in history

dutch being allowed to come along (molly and her wife were busy being lesbians elsewhere. if molly is coming dutch is not invited (for His safety, not hers)) dutch having a few too many drinks and slipping into 'y'know maybe we could overthrow the government' and annabelle having to play babysitter 'No Dutch'. Hosea still likes listening to Dutch's tangents he may have his arms around his wife but he is just smiling affectionately listening to Dutch go off

no one realizing just how happy but also out of hand things are getting until jake adler pulls out the fiddle playing live music while his beautiful immaculate stunning spectacular bisexual wife sadie adler sings hell's coming with me. everyone just vibing until she switches the line to 'then colm o'driscoll was hanging by a rope'. hollering cheering screaming drinks being raised noise complaints being filed it is never too late to celebrate colm's execution

poor eliza pulling out the 'oh arthur' as she tries to get arthur, charles, isaac and jack home because they are all blind drunk. john having to help force them all into the car. jack and isaac are attached at the hip he is going home with them

also drunk jack going through absolute swings and roundabouts one second it's 'fuck you dad i'm gonna start my own gang with blackjack and hookers' isaac in the distance 'fuck yeah sex work is real work' only to be 'i'm sorry i let you down and i made mistakes and i keep making mistakes' as john carries him over his shoulder to the car. john very tentatively trying to assure him he didn't let him down and it's just further proof he is his son and that he's sorry jack inherited making the same dumb mistakes from him

uncle eating every single bowl of peanuts at the bar and falling asleep in a booth. grimshaw still closing and locking down the bar with him still inside to try and teach him a lesson

[miguel-owhora]

I just saw the most horrific take on who the VDL gang would vote for, so I'm here to accurately, dare I say factually, correct take on who they'd vote for. (or the few characters that I can remember)

Realistically, none of them would vote. They're against the government, against the system that's set up. They're felons, but I suppose that's never stopped anyone, has it?

Arthur would, of course, support Kamala. The majority of the gang would, obviously, but this is a very obvious choice. Arthur's a good man; flawed, yes, with very loose morals, but otherwise open-minded and accepting of women, POC, etc. That being said, he wouldn't vote. I think he mentions something about voters being fools, or something along those lines. He's against the government and would be against Kamala for being part of said government, but otherwise would choose her if he had no choice.

Dutch wouldn't vote. He's against the government, looks down on both candidates and any other third party candidates. He has no issue with Kamala for being a woman nor a WOC, but despises her and every other candidate for being government officials.

Hosea also wouldn't vote. The same reasons above. Except I think he'd commit voter fraud if he did vote. Probably looks down on the voting/electoral system as a whole.

John wouldn't vote, too. 😭 Unless, of course, Abigail voted for him, otherwise his ballot would be for Kamala.

The women would vote for Kamala, obviously. I like to think Grimshaw gets the girls to campaign for her, or attend one of her rallies.

Micah wouldn't vote and he'd be unregistered. He's a white man, he's been a criminal his entire life—you think he cares about anyone? So he doesn't care about either candidate because it wouldn't affect him. If anything, I think he's the person to set the mail-in ballots on fire 😭

Bill would be one of those gay Republicans, unless if someone manages to get through his skull and yell at him to vote blue. Otherwise he's a gay red. Or doesn't vote. One or the other.

Sean either doesn't vote or writes in someone for the 'joke.'

Lenny, of course, votes blue. Probably stresses about anyone who doesn't vote/blue. Like Hosea, he looks down at the system and probably argues on why it's dumb. Probably goes with the girls to campaign and to the rallies; amusingly, probably drags Arthur with him.

Trelawny I think would either vote for a third party or for Democrat. One or the other. Maybe he commits voter fraud, too.

Pearson I think would be a registered independent but would vote for whoever he thinks has the best policies; he's one of the few who actually looks at the policies and not the candidate themselves.

edit bc i forgot my homegirl Kieran: I think he's unregistered. But if he did vote, hmm he'd probably be in the same boat as Pearson, but leans towards voting democrat.

[scarfacemarston]

the way you wrote about John is gorgeous. 😔 He's such an amazing character and has been since forever my favourite charcter, the hate he gets on tiktok, twt ect is heartbreaking. I wish ppl would stop disrespecting him like that. Way too many ppl act like he's an villain while Arthur is an saint for some sort. I love John and I wish, people would see the charcter he is. His personality and arc which ppl try to strip down. The bond between John and Jack, ppl say that "Charles teached Jack everything" which is not true. those ppl did not play rdr1 obviously. Oh "Jack only looks up to Arthur and wrote a book abt him" which is bullshit. They call John shitty, boring, horible and his death being dumnh but I promise you will get jumped at if you say the SAME things about Arthur. The hypocrisy.

Do people SERIOUSLY say that Charles taught Jack everything and that Jack wrote a book because of Arthur? Like, that's seriously a hot take people have these days? I have posted every Charles conversation and every Jack conversation. Charles and Jack have one, only one conversation together. It is in Beecher's Hope where he is teaching Jack tracking, correct. However, they have zero other interaction in forms of conversations. Also, Charles is only there for a short time after Abigail and Jack reunite with John. I never saw Charles with Jack in the main story which only takes place over few months. Charles had been there less than a year. That means Charles had only known Jack for maybe a year in the main story line. He did not meet Jack again until the epilogue and was only there a few weeks or a few months at most before leaving and we never see him again. How is it physically possible for Charles to teach him everything? It's just not. As for Arthur - Jack in rdr 2 AND rdr 1 says BLUNTLY he wants to write a book about John. Not Arthur. Do people really say this? Do people really say his death is dumb? That's just harsh because it's a very horrific one. I'm totally fine with people not liking John, but some of these are crazy.

If this is how people are on tiktok and "X", then I'm glad I don't have those, but I am seeing some of these type of things on tumblr now.

[icarianed]

who: abigail marston & john marston @seccndchances where: a park in radian hills

though john has been less than enthusiastic about his involuntary stay in this strange place, his predicament has been made considerably easier with the company of his dog. or, well, jack's dog, but with the two of them being each other's only reminder of home (other than arthur, though he's still having trouble processing that whole encounter, really), john has found himself growing rather attached to his furry companion. it’s something, at least, for the loneliness he feels here, and he’ll take whatever he can get after the hole left behind by jack and abigail- hell, even uncle. he misses the lot of them and it's all he can do to hope for their safety while he tries to figure out a way back home. if there even is one, that is.

ruffling the dog's fur, john grudgingly pulls himself out of his thoughts. no point in self-pity, as he always tends to remind himself. “that’s a good boy, rufus,” he says before pushing himself up to his feet. but before the two can resume their walk through the park, something catches rufus's attention— something that makes him sniff the air wildly and bark perhaps a tone too loud than usual.

“hey, you're alright, boy-” john starts in an effort to calm him down only for the dog to then bolt with such force that the leash slips right through his fingers. “rufus!” he shouts, barely registering what happened before his companion disappears into the near distance. “shit,” he huffs before taking chase, sparing no thought to how frantic he must look to the passerby. “rufus? rufus! c’mon- where’d you go you dumb dog?” and what the hell's gotten into him? he's never acted like this before. maybe it’s the absence of jack setting him so on edge— something john can relate to, not that he makes it anyone else’s problem.

john doesn't let up in his chase until he finally catches sight of rufus in the distance, his eyes squinting to see him cozying up to what looked like the figure of a woman. “there you are, rufus,” john begins to say, trying to catch his breath as he approaches the two. “sorry 'bout that, miss. he doesn’t usually…” but his words die on his lips as soon as he locks eyes with just who exactly his furry companion has found. heart in his throat, he stops dead in his tracks, and if he wasn't already winded from chasing his dog halfway across the park, then he certainly is now. “abigail?” 

[ivypond11]

i've been obsesing over a tlt twilight au solely because of the silly edit with harrow seeing alecto alla bella seeing edward and.

it's so silly and dumb but gideon being the vampire and ianthe being the werewolf and they both obsessively pin over the weird loner wet rat harrow that just moved into town. i wanna say camilla, palamedes, dulcinea (the real one), protesilaus, jeannemary and isaac are part of the same family, all vampires, with abigail and magnus being the parental figures (basically the cullens). the third and second houses i'm thinking are all the werewolves, maybe the eight too. i just love the idea of ianthe and coronabeth being raised to maybe one day both take over the pack until they find out coronabeth is in fact not a werewolf. john and all the remaining of the first would be the volturi ofc but all the cavaliers would actually be alive? i haven't thought that far.

[bombshelllblonde]

a snippet

a piece from the colter chapter uwu

XXX

“Hello, Arthur,” Abigail said, looking up at the tall man.

          Arthur leaned down by the fire to try to keep himself warm. “Abigail,” he responded.

          She stood up and walked near him. She had an eager expression on her face, but didn’t want to say what she was thinking out loud. “Arthur…how you doing?”

          He picked up on her tone and faced her. She wanted to ask him something. “Just fine, Abigail…and you?”

          Abigail looked down for a moment. “I need you to-“

          Arthur huffed and rolled his eyes.

          “I’m sorry. I’m sorry to ask, but-“

          “It’s little John. He’s got himself caught into a scrape again,” Arthur finished for her.

          Abigail stood up tall. “He ain’t been seen in two-“ she stopped herself and took a breath, hopeful to calm herself a bit. “Two days,”

          “Your John’ll be fine,” Arthur spat. “I mean, he may be as dumb as rocks and as dull as rusted iron, but that ain’t changing because he got caught in some snowstorm.”

          Eleanor let out a cold laugh behind everyone. “Maybe he’s frozen somewhere,” she looked straight at Abigail. “Maybe he’s dead,” she called out, her hands cupped around her mouth to project and echo louder.

          At that moment, Hosea gave a swift smack to the back of Eleanor’s head. Thankfully the layers of scarves wrapped around her head protected her from blunt force to her skull. She looked to her right and saw Hosea frowning at her. She shrugged her shoulders at Abigail and sheepishly looked at Hosea with apologetic eyes.

          “That’s enough outta you,” Hosea said firmly. “Or I’ll send you on your own to find your brother in this weather.” It was an empty threat, sending her out by herself, but Hosea was getting tired of the constant feud between with two Marston siblings. Eleanor sank into her chair without another word – out of all the people in the gang, the last person she wanted to be angry with her was Hosea.

[yeehawbutalilgay]

the last of the real ones, prologue

A young woman comes into Rhodes on a mission. So when she sees one of the most wanted men in the country picking up his mail, she approaches him with a job offer.

Clemens Point. 

“Get them supplies off the wagon!” Ms.. Grimshaw barked as everyone trailed into camp. Arthur watched with thinly veiled amusement at the haggard looking wagon train. John had clearly missed his chance to hide from the crotchety older woman, and was now the subject of her full attention and ire. Everyone seemed to be on edge after the way things went down in Valentine.

It was hotter than hell out here. Between the humidity and the work, it seemed like half the camp was a step away from strangling each other. Tilly and Karen were having a shouting match on one side of the camp, while Bill and Javier heckled the O’Driscoll on the other.

What a mess. 

Arthur was still worried about the business in Valentine. Mr. Cornwall had made it perfectly clear he wasn’t gonna let the train robbery go. John had been a little closer to death than Arthur would’ve ever liked. Not that he’d ever admit it to the dumb bastard. Between that and getting stranded up in Colter, Arthur wasn’t sure how Abigail hadn’t dropped from the nerves yet. Or killed John.

“Arthur!” Dutch called, striding towards him. Hosea wasn’t far behind.

“Why don’t you come for a ride with me? Get away from all this, hmm?” Arthur glanced back towards the rest of the camp. Hopefully Ms. Grimshaw wouldn’t argue if Dutch gave the go ahead.

“Sure. Where we heading?” Arthur stood up with a grunt, falling into line behind Dutch. 

“Fishing.” Hosea offered as they sauntered towards their horses.

The Count, Silver Dollar, and Victoria were all tacked up, tied to a tree on the outskirts of camp. The hitching posts hadn’t been set up yet. 

“Sure we’re okay to leave them to their devices?” Arthur asked as Dutch and Hosea mounted up.

“They’ll all be just fine, don’t worry about them.” Dutch huffed. “It’s been a long time since the three of us have gone out and done something. Let’s go!” 

The three of them mounted their horses, and rode off, towards Rhodes.

They didn’t make it back until it was nearly dusk. Arthur dragged the boat onto shore without much ceremony, and the three men scattered to their respective haunts. Arthur handed off all the fish they’d caught to Pearson, Dutch meandered over to his own tent, and Hosea lingered by one of the campfires, chatting quietly with the girls.

Between helping the sheriff and the actual fishing, Arthur didn’t have much energy left in him. Maybe it was because he was getting old, but he felt like he was getting tired so quick nowadays. 

So he made his way back to his own cot, ducking between tents to avoid Ms. Grimshaw or anybody else who would ask for help tonight. And he began writing in his journal as the sun started to drift below the horizon.

That same sun shone brightly into a woman’s eyes as she stepped onto the train station platform in Rhodes, nearly blinding her. 

She was one of a small handful of people getting off. Rhodes was not a popular vacation destination, it seemed. As a few older men brushed past her, she set her bag down on one of the benches. She dusted her skirt off. 

Hell’s bells. This heat was going to be miserable.

“Can I help you with your bags, miss?” A young man, one of the train attendants approached her. He was bright-eyed and full of energy, completely contrary to her. 

“That’s alright, it’s just the one.” She responded, wrapping her fingers back around the handle.

“But you could point me in the direction of the hotel.” She offered at his disappointed look. One of them helpful types, clearly. 

“The hotel’s just down that road, but your best bet is to rent at one of the nearby houses. I wouldn’t recommend the hotel, necessarily.” He stammered, caught between pointing and trying to take her bag. 

If he had been paying closer attention, he would’ve caught the flash of a scowl on the woman’s face. But as he turned to face her, all he saw was the genteel smile painted on. 

“I’ll get to looking for that then. Thank you.” She snatched her bag and started walking. The smile dropped the moment she turned around.

What a dump. She mused as she surveyed the town. The dry, small town couldn’t have had a population of more than a hundred, and from the rumors she had heard, they were some of the nastiest folk she would ever have the misfortune of meeting.

The hotel in question sat in the middle of town, directly next to the sheriff’s office. As she trudged over, carrying her bag, she couldn’t help but curse the misfortune of picking this miserable job in this miserable town. She should’ve just taken the New York job. Even the city would be better than this. Now the closest thing to civilization down here was St. Denis. The city couldn’t hold a candle to her usual haunts.

“How can I help you today, miss?” An older man with a well maintained mustache asked as she stepped inside. 

The interior was nice enough, not riddled with bullet holes. There had been a few men lounging out on the front porch, smoking and conversing. They had all watched her as she walked inside, but none had made a pass at her. That meant that the folks here at least made an attempt to be decent. And it certainly helped that the sheriff’s office was next door.

“I’m here to see about renting a room?” The woman asked as she approached the front desk.

“I’ve got just one left, I believe. What’s the name?” The clerk asked, pulling out a fountain pen. He looked up at her expectantly.

She smiled. 

“Margaret Caldwell will do just fine.”

[stagcowboy99]

I’m in the epilogue now and I realized I forgot to mention a few

Molly, who only wants to be seen and loved by Dutch, or just to be loved period, uses her last moments to lie to him for an ounce of the affection she so desperately craves

Miss Grimshaw, who’s been in the gang for years and has been this mothering figure. The one who takes care of the camp from the inside so they don’t “rot in their own filth” and cares so deeply even if she doesn’t show it. Dead by Micah’s hand as she tries to side with Arthur, the boy she helped Dutch and Hosea raise. In her final moments knowing that the gang’s downfall is at least partially Micah’s fault and likely hoping Dutch sides with Arthur, their son. And it’s all futile

And Arthur himself. The one who so desperately tried to get everyone out safe, seeing Grimshaw dead and Dutch not even flinching. The man who once loved Grimshaw and has a “soft spot for her�� pointing his guns at Arthur and Micah, unsure how to believe. He sees John, his brother limping back, the brother he thought was dead when in reality, he was just left by Dutch. Seeing how far Dutch has fallen he begs Bill and Javier to think for themselves. To see through the blind loyalty as Arthur has seen through it. And again this attempt is futile. He flees with John, he sees both of their horses die and stays back just to whisper a meaningful “thank you” to the horse that helped him on all his journeys, and then he gets up the mountain. He can’t keep going. He knows he’ll die, whether it be his illness, Pinkertons, or the gang he used to love, his family, his home. He has to tell John, his dumb kid brother John that he can’t keep going. That he’ll hold everyone off so John can be safe, so he can take care of his family and be a “goddamn man” He fights Micah, the reason Hosea and Lenny are dead, the reason the gang fell apart. And then Dutch comes. Maybe Dutch can be reasoned with, maybe, just maybe Arthur’s last breaths, his last words will mean something. So he tells Dutch, he’s done his best, he’s worked his hardest, and in the end he sees Dutch walk away, he sees that maybe he got through to him, but oh how wrong he is.

And John. Poor John who had to see his normally strong older brother Arthur stay back, to stop and not go with him. The guilt John must feel for leaving him even though he knows it’s what Arthur wanted. He doesn’t know what happened with Dutch or Micah, he doesn’t know who was left and what happened and what was said, he doesn’t know his brother’s dying words. But he knows the life he had, the family that raised him, his home. Is gone. He has a new home, a new family but even it falls apart briefly. He can’t get to the future when he’s so focused on the past (the blind man says something similar to this) and so Abigail leaves him, with Jack, the only two family members he has. And eventually that focus on the past is what kills him

And Charles. Charles “I won’t kill just for the sake of it” Smith is forced to fight in the streets of Saint Denis for a few bucks. He has to leave his ideals behind to survive, after burying two more gang members, two more family members. And then he sees John again, barely believing it that he’s alive and manages to get out of the fights to help John on his farm. He is the first one who John is honest to about Abigail leaving him

And from Charles we find out the fate of Leopold Strauss. That he was taken by Pinkertons and tortured to death without saying a word. That despite Arthur kicking him out and saying later that maybe it was better to get him out of the gang before it deteriorated more, Strauss still stayed loyal until the very end

All of these characters are so well made and I wish the less popular ones (ex. Grimshaw, reverend, Strauss, etc) were discussed as Mitch as Dutch or John or Arthur

I was listing to Thus Always to Tyrants by The Oh Hellos and imaging rdr2 situations and then I realized something about who dies

Note: I haven’t finished the game yet because I’m trying to do a lot of side missions as Arthur but the first people who die at the beginning have people to go back to

Assuming there is an afterlife in rdr2 then Sean can see his da who he so desperately tried to tell stories about but getting shut down every time.

Kieran has his ma and pa who he lost so early on to cholera, maybe even the first gang he rode with

Hosea can be reunited with his dear Bessie, who he talks of only fondly in all of his memories and even feared he would “be going south” and never get to see her since she would be in heaven

Lenny who has his dad who wrote him a letter about how proud he was

And then those who don’t die have to watch as the members die. As they lose family members to either death, where their loyalties lie, or just plain paranoia and delusions. Some get their act together with drinking like Uncle and Reverend and some fall further off the saddle (pun intended) like Karen. They either die before being able to keep the gang sane or they live long enough to watch it fade and perish.

[redeadepression]

Abigail can’t read so when she takes Jack to buy new books she has no idea what he’s buying. The shop-keeper gives her a weird look and asks if she’s sure she wants to purchase these for her son. Abigail gets offended, doesn’t ask questions and tells him off because she knows her son and what’s good for him, thank you.

She stews over the interaction for a couple of days. It’s not until weeks later when John picks up one of the books left lying around and starts to read that they both realise Jack’s been taking Abigail with him so that he could buy erotic novels without them knowing. 

[that-sarcastic-writer]

That's my girl- Arthur Morgan

Fandom: Red dead redemption 2

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x F!Reader

Summary: sometimes Micah Bell deserves to be punched in the face, so you do just that

Warnings: cursing, some inappropriate remarks from Micah, reader being a badass, Arthur being a protective boy

WC: 2.6k

A/N: so i know this will probably be such a flop, but since im doing a replay of red dead i just fell in love with arthur all over again. so yay im writing for him for a bit. this one was kinda based on how much i wanted to punch micah the entire time. so here it is. Also I call reader miss jones, since in this game people are called by their last name a lot I felt itd be more fitting to come up with one rather than use L/N which I dont really like. I'll probably use that last name if I do more oneshots. Other than that, reader still remains neutral with no further specifications.

Most days you loved the life you chose, the decision you made after the Van Der Linde gang found you all alone, scared and with nowhere to go was probably the best of your life. The day you chose to stay with them was the day you found a family. Sure it was tough, the constant running away, going from camp to camp, the killing, the robbing, sometimes both and to innocent folk. But you had people that cared about you, loved you and protected you. And then you had the love of your life. The man that saved you when you first met, the man that took care of you and taught you all you had to learn about this life. Arthur Morgan was the reason you didn't just break down when some bad people killed your parents. It was Arthur that took care of you, helped you grieve— in his own way. If it weren't for him you probably would still be the same scared girl you were 5 years ago. Now? Well, now you were as mean and as tough as Mrs. Sadie Adler. And it was all thanks to Arthur.

You still remember the day he taught you to ride a horse. He knew you were terrified, you could barely even touch the poor animal without jumping 5 feet away right after. It was Arthur that assured you the animal meant no harm to you, that you could ride it for miles and it wouldn't buck you. He was right when he said you'd fall in love with it once you no longer feared it.

Teaching you how to shoot was probably the hardest thing he's ever had to do. He thought no one could have such a shitty aim. The bullet wouldn't even fly close to the bottle. Poor soul couldn't hold the goddamn gun properly. That day was the first time you were in his arms as he guided you through it, it was the first time you felt safe in someone's arms, especially after what you went through. And it was in his arms.

But what sealed it for you was that of your first kill, the very first time someone died by your hand, at the barrel of your gun. When people say the first kill is always the hardest, they're not exaggerating. The nightmares lasted for days, every night you saw the face of that man, the sheer terror in his eyes at the sight of your gun pointed at his face and his lifeless eyes staring back at you. It haunted you. And Arthur was there for you, to hold you in his arms until your breathing went back to normal and your body stopped shaking, every single time. "He was a bad man, he deserved it. You didn't do nothin' wrong" he'd say. And you believed him.

Eventually it got easier, the nightmares were less, it didn't wake you in a sweat anymore. But when it did, Arthur was always there to calm you down, to make you feel safe, loved.

He might've been a bad man, but he was a bad man that made you feel safe and loved, and you'd do anything for him.

But some days, just some days, fuck did you wish you weren't his wife. You wished that maybe you hadn't done the dumb thing John Marston and Abigail did, get married. I mean who in their right state of mind marries an outlaw? A wanted man. But then again you weren't exactly sane and neither was he. Unfortunately your insanity meant that all tasks the other girls would do for him, the laundry, the cleaning, the things you despised doing were now your responsibility. At least when it came to him. Of course you couldn't have another woman do your man's laundry. So as much as you would very much rather be out and about town with Arthur, Miss Grimshaw had given you an earful about not doing your tasks, and that you would not step foot outside of camp until you finished them. And god forbid you don't do as she says, you cared too much about your wellbeing to do that.

God you despised doing laundry. If there was something you hated most out of any task it just had to be laundry. Especially Arthur's. Because that man would get his clothes dirty. Mud, dirt, liquor, sometimes shit and most times blood could be found in his shirts and vests. And you hated having to wash off blood the most, it would take a lot of scrubbing to get that damn blood off. You might as well be shooting something with the amount of effort it took to scrub his clothes clean. And yet here you were.

"Ugh, goddamn you Arthur Morgan. Every single time." You groaned loudly, harshly scrubbing a particularly stubborn bloodstain on his, of fucking course— white dress shirt. You were sitting by the river you were lucky enough to camp by, Karen, Tilly and Mary-Beth sitting around you doing their own tasks, occasionally bringing their attention to your senseless cursing.

"You're such a lovely wife, cursin' at your husband while furiously washin' his clothes." Karen teased, poking fun at what was always such a predicament. You lifted your gaze from the damp dress shirt, blowing out a breath to get some wild hairs that escaped your tight fishtail away from your face and you glared at the blonde, scoffing loudly.

"He could wash his own damn clothes, but nah Miss Grimshaw wants me to do it. But you don't see her naggin' and yellin' at Sadie to wash clothes." You scoffed, rolling your eyes and rinsing off the shirt as the group of girls giggled at your complaints.

"Yeah well, Sadie ain't married, you are." Mary-Beth pointed out with a hushed tone, knowing that it was a sore subject for Sadie, you looked at her knowing she was right, damn well knowing you were lucky to have the man you loved with you, tasks and all and you sighed heavily, carefully looking over the white fabric and you smiled triumphantly when you saw the stain was no longer there.

"Right, we're married now so I'm stuck here washin' his clothes while he goes into town. Marriage can be one hell of a thing." You laughed, joking about how you hated domesticity and shook your head, standing up to place the soaked fabric over the line of rope tied to some trees where you usually left your clothes to dry.

What you didn't notice was a certain presence behind you, one that you usually avoided at all times, especially when Arthur wasn't around, but this time you didn't have enough time to walk away.

"My, my, is this little Miss Jones I see washin' clothes? This must be my lucky day then, mind doin' mine as well?" You heard a mocking laugh behind you and a voice you unfortunately knew too well, one that you despised to say the least. You had to suppress a groan of disgust and the urge to grab your gun from the holster that was always on your hips.

"For the last goddamn time, it's Mrs. Morgan now. I'm busy washin' my husband's clothes, so please just get lost Mr. Bell. Go annoy somebody else." You muttered, not bothering to turn around to face the man as you simply continued to arrange the clothes you wanted to dry. You heard a scoff behind you, but not footsteps.

"Oh husband huh? I still don't understand what you saw in him. Why marry a dumbass like Morgan when there's better men out there." He even sounded proud when saying those words. You couldn't help but burst out laughing and you actually turned around to face Micah, but only to laugh in his face.

"Better men? Better than Arthur? Mr. Bell please, find yourself something useful to do instead of talkin' nonsense, will ya? Get lost." You repeated, waving him off before turning around again, hoping that was the end of that. Oh boy it wasn't.

"I just can't comprehend how such a pretty lil' thing like yourself could open her legs to an idiot like Morgan and—" Your head snapped faster than it ever had as those words left his mouth, you've never felt your blood boil this much. You didn't even have to think about it, your fist flew by itself and you punched him so hard you knocked him off his stance. And when he regained his composure there was already a red angry mark, one that would quickly turn into a purple bruise.

"Watch your fuckin' mouth." You were fuming, boiling with rage even, you didn't even care that you caught the attention of the whole camp by then, hell you were so angry you didn't even see Arthur get off his horse and start to near the scene.

"No, you watch yourself before I—"

"Before you what, Micah?" Arthur's voice was loud and low like a growl, but it boomed through the trees as in a matter of seconds he hurried himself over to the scene with heavy steps, "you got exactly five seconds to get the hell away from my wife before I get over there and break your damn neck myself."

You were quickly met with Arthur's hard chest and broad shoulders, one of his hands instantly coming to grab your arm, as if to hold you back in case you wanted to jump at Micah yourself. You kept your stance though, back straight, head high and fuming.

With the sight of both you and Arthur ready to shoot the scowl off his face, Micah slightly backed up and scoffed, glaring at Arthur.

"This is none of your business, cowpoke. This is between your lil' wife and I.'' Micah seethed, spitting right by Arthur's feet before his eyes landed on you again, "watch yourself Miss Jones, Morgan ain't always gonna be here to watch that lil' ass of yours and you can't sleep your way through every problem."

Now you had to hold Arthur back. When you looked back at the blonde. You were sure he was actually about to rip Micah's spine out with his bare hands. Before Arthur could step around you, you got right in his way and placed both palms flat on his chest, slightly pushing him back, trying to plant yourself between him and Micah. Arthur was absolutely fuming and he was on fire, staring at Micah like he wanted to unload his pistol on his face, snap his neck and break his spine all at once.

"Arthur." You said loud and sternly, your eyes big as his blue ones looked down at you, the storm in them seizing for a second. When you felt his body no longer push against yours, you slightly turned to look at Micah, but never moved your hand from Arthur's chest in fear he'd charge at Micah. "C'mon." You muttered to your husband, crunching his shirt into your hand to drag him away so he could calm down. But Micah just wasn't backing down quite yet.

"Yeah, listen to your missus, Arthur. She's already more of a man that you are, with those clothes and her lil' guns, she might as well tell you what to do." Micah laughed mockingly slowly backing away as if provoking a bull he knew would charge at him sooner or later.

"Shut your goddamn mouth before I unload a round in it." Arthur snarled, his face bright red and jaw tight, having to hold himself back since you were practically clinging to him. "I won't tell ya again, Micah, get the hell away from my wife. I don't wanna see you breathe the same air as her or I swear to god I'll do more than just give you a black eye."

"I'm right here, old man, I dare you to try." Micah mocked, doing a little motion with his hands and a shit eating smirk wide on his face. You had to plant your feet dead on the grass and your hand flat against Arthur's chest to stop him from charging at Micah.

"That's enough goddamnit!" You snapped loudly, your head whipping around to glare at both men, "Micah, just fuck off. Leave us be before I forget I'm supposed to be a lady." You warned him, one of your hands instinctively falling to the revolver sitting in your holster. You weren't actually going to use it, you would love to, but it was against your code to kill one of your own, no matter how much you hated him.

Still, this was enough to make Micah finally back down, not willing to put up with two angry outlaws with a short temperament and hella good aim. Not today. He muttered a "calm down" and waved his hands around in a form of surrender before he was digging through the dirt with his angry footsteps and leaving a string of curses in his wake.

Once Micah was far enough, your whole demeanor changed, your body loosened and your shoulders relaxed, allowing yourself to be comfortable in your husband's arms. It would take him a lot more than just that to calm down though. Seeing as his chest was still rising and falling, his nostrils flaring and jaw was tight, you knew he was fuming still. You sighed heavily, placing a chaste kiss on his chapped lips before dragging him away by his vest.

"C'mon you." You muttered, not stopping until you were far away from the sight and earshot of the camp, a spot down the river where you usually went to be alone, with Arthur or otherwise. "Arthur."

"Hmph. You shoulda let me snap his goddamn neck." He huffed angrily, his words coming out with a growl. You sighed heavily, placing both hands on his face.

"Arthur no. Trust me I wanna kill Micah Bell as much as you do. That bastard is insufferable, I know that. But it's not worth it, alright?" You pressed a kiss to his cheek, not really caring if you could smell the scent of cheap cigarettes or liquor still on his skin. You felt him slightly loosen, slowly releasing the tension that built up in his broad shoulders.

"I guess that was a pretty good punch. You got him good, sweetheart." He chuckled quietly, smiling proudly at the idea that his girl, no— his wife punched another man like it didn't even phase her. And that he taught her that.

"Yeah? I mean I would much rather cut off his balls with my knife, but I guess a good punch and a good bruise is as good as any." You giggled, Arthur catching one of your hands with his lips, coincidentally the same one you had used to punch Micah.

"Hehe, that's my girl." He was now full on smirking proudly, head high and chest puffed with pride. You couldn't help but giggle as he placed feathery kisses over your red soon-to-be purple knuckles.

"I'm your wife, honey. Your wife." You reminded him, your words coming out with a happy hum, your stomach turning every time you said you were his wife. Arthur hummed in agreement, catching your lips into a soft kiss.

"My wife." He repeated with a wholehearted laugh and a heart warming smile, one of those that were very rare to witness from him. He was a tough, sour and emotionless man, there was no doubt in that, but when he was with you he just seemed to forget about all of that and he tried to be happy, to make you happy. "God I love saying that. I'll never get tired of hearin' it."

You giggled, your eyes bright as you looked up at his beautiful blue eyes, seeing them light up in the same way yours did and you caught his lips into another kiss, this time slightly deeper and more passionate.

"I'll say it all you want then."

[queenxxxsupreme]

Defender, Protector, Keeper (Arthur Morgan x f!reader)

A/N: This is one of those things I write that should have a first part but.... It doesn’t.... I do plan on making more within this little.... world??? With this mom!reader and her son Ben. So sorry for this mess. 

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: violence, nothing out of canon, Micah is mean to children, mute child (is that a warning?) fluff, Arthur being a father figureish thing, soft Arthur, I don’t know what else to tag, blood? it’s all canon to the game

Summary: Arthur steps in to help you with your son after a run in with Micah.

***

“Miss Y/L/N! Miss Y/L/N!”

You moved out of the tent upon hearing Mrs. Grimshaw calling your name. 

“Right here, Mrs. Grimshaw.” 

“There you are. Where is that boy of yours?” She looked around as if trying to peek into the tent. I’ve got a little chore for him and Jack.”

“He was just in here helping me with laundry, but he wouldn’t mind giving you a hand.” You turned to go into the tent. “Ben? Mrs. Grimshaw needs your help.”

Ben, your five-year-old son, put the clothing in his hand down and looked at you. 

“Come on with me, Ben. I’ve already got Jack over by the woods.” Susan gestured for him to follow her.

“What are the boys going to do?” You asked her. 

“Help Lenny and Sean pick some firewood. The little fellas ain’t gonna pick nothin’ but some small kindling. The fellas– Well, Lenny won’t let the boys hurt themselves.”

You fought the urge to volunteer to follow your son. It was just little kindling sticks and twigs. It wasn’t like they were going to chop down entire trees.

Susan, sensing your hesitation, stopped just at the edge of your tent.

“They aren’t going far into the woods at all, Y/N. Charles and Bill are on guard duty and Sean and Lenny are going to be with them. Nothin’s gonna happen to those boys.” She assured you.

You nodded your head, reaching down to run your fingers over Ben’s hair. 

“Go on and help Mrs. Grimshaw, Ben.”

He silently followed alongside her. 

You continued to fold laundry until it was finished. Once that was complete, you decided to go out and see if there was anything else around camp you could help with. 

It seemed to be a rather mellow evening. No one was out doing any jobs nor was anyone talking about any jobs, which was a rarity. In the three months that you had been staying with the Van Der Linde Gang, you had quickly realized their lifestyle was fast paced and there was almost always something to do. 

You made your way over towards the tent the girls in camp stayed in. 

“Hi, Y/N.” Tilly greeted you first. She was reading a book.

“Hey, Y/N!” Mary-Beth was also reading. Karen sat on a chair next to the two singing. “You wanna sit with us for a bit? You’ve been working hard all day.”

“That’s okay, Mary-Beth. I think I should go see if Ben is doing okay with Sean and Lenny.” You looked around towards the woods.

“What’s he doing with those two fools?” Tilly put her book down in her lap. 

“Mrs. Grimshaw had him and Jack helping them with firewood.”

“Last I saw, Lenny and Sean were sitting over by the fire.”

A knot began to form in your stomach. Why hadn’t your son returned to you?

You moved to search for Lenny and Sean, but they proved to be easy to find. They were sitting at a fire with a few other gang members. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” You cut off Sean. “Where is Ben at?”

“Hi, Miss Y/L/N.” Lenny gave you a charming smile. “Ben and Jack went over towards John and Abigail’s tent. Jack said they were going to play.”

“Thank you, Mr. Summers.” 

***

You did indeed find your son at John and Abigail’s tent. He sat outside of it with Jack. Jack was talking about some sort of story that Hosea had told him about a bear while your little Benny just kept playing with his half of the deck of cards. 

“Y/N.”

You looked up to Abigail. 

“Hi, Abigail.”

“I hope you don’t mind that Jack brought Ben over. I know Susan had them working earlier.”

“I don’t mind.” You shook your head, smiling. You crossed your arms as you watched Ben. Jack didn’t seem to care that Ben was silent and wasn’t responding to him. Jack had learned since you both arrived at camp that talking wasn’t something Ben did, so he usually did all of the talking for Jack. You were thankful for this. In the beginning, you weren’t sure how young Jack would react to your quiet son. 

“Do you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with me?” Abigail asked. “I don’t usually get much down time, but neither do you. You’re always running around.”

“Have to keep busy, you know.” You chuckled a little. “Coffee sounds nice.”

The both of you got your drinks and then sat down at a table not too far from the boys. 

“They grow like weeds.” She thought out loud, shaking her head softly. “I’m gonna have to get Jack some new clothes soon. He’s about to be too big for nearly all the pants he’s got. Maybe Ben could fit into what Jack can’t wear. Ben is a little thing. That way you don’t have to go out and waste money. I mean, the clothes aren’t perfect. Jack has needed them patched more than once. But they work.”

“That’s very kind of you, Abigail. Thank you.”

She gave you a smile.

“Momma! Momma!” Jack called as he ran over to Abigail. 

Ben rushed up to you, a smile on his lips. His hair fell into his face and he tried to wipe it out of his eyes but he didn’t do too good of a job.

“Hi, love.” You smiled down at him, brushing your fingers through his hair. “Are you having fun?”

He nodded, looking over to Jack. 

“Momma, can we go give Sean his cards back?”

“Where is Sean at?” Abigail asked, looking around the camp. 

“He’s just on the other side of camp at one of the other fires.” You told her, recalling where you had seen him earlier.  

“If Miss Y/L/N says that Ben can go, then yes. You can. But you have to ask her.”

Ben tugged on your skirt as if to ask you.

“Miss Y/L/N! Can we take Sean his cards?” Jack waved the stack of cards around.

“I don’t see why not.”

“I’ll race you over there!” 

You watched as Jack took off first with Ben just behind him. 

“I’m glad Jack finally has someone to play with and keep him company.” Abigail smiled. 

“They get along so well.” You nodded. “I was a little…. worried at first, if I’m honest.”

“Oh really?”

“Just because…. Well, sometimes it’s hard for Ben.”

Abigail nodded her head understandingly. 

“He’s a sweet boy, Y/N. You raised him well.”

“Thank you-,”

“You dumb little rat! Watch where you’re going next time!”

You stood up upon hearing the sound of shouting. Feeling the urge to find out what had happened, you ventured across camp until you found your son and Micah Bell. Micah had a hold of Ben’s arm and was holding him at an awkward angle. 

“When someone speaks to you, little boy, you’re supposed to answer them!”

“Micah!” You raised your voice. 

Micah turned his head to look at you but didn’t let your son’s arm go. 

Anger bubbled in your veins. 

“Ah, the whore. Maybe someone better teach this boy manners before he ends up worse than his ma.”

You pushed against Micah’s chest. Ben was crying at this point, trying to grab onto your skirt anywhere he could but Micah was finding amusement in pulling the boy away from you. 

“Micah! Get your hands off of that boy!” Abigail shouted. 

The next few moments happened all too quickly for you to know what exactly happened. But Micah released Ben and he fell backwards to the ground. Your hand flew up to smack him and you landed a nice hit on his cheek, but he was quicker than you and far more skilled in fighting so the backhand to your cheek came out of seemingly nowhere. 

You took a few steps back to keep from falling flat on your ass. You ended up hitting something solid. A hand found your side and another your arm. 

It was Arthur Morgan. He only took a couple seconds to make sure you were steady on your feet before moving around you to deliver two punches to Micah. The nasty man fell back as blood began to pour out of his nose. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” Abigail rushed to one side of you and Mary-Beth came to the other. 

You didn’t answer them. You only pushed them away to get to your son. 

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sat in the dirt where he had fallen. 

There was a hand on your wrist that stopped you just before you could get to him. 

Arthur turned you back around to face him. You pulled against him, wanting desperately to get to your son.

“You’ve got blood on ya, pumpkin.” He murmured quietly, using his thumb to wipe away the little bit of blood from your busted lip. “He don’t need to see that.”

“Th-Thank you.” You whispered. 

“Can I pick him up? Move him somewhere else for you?”

You nodded. 

Arthur let you go and moved towards Ben. 

“Come here, Benny. You alright?”

Ben nodded his head, shyly tucking his face into Arthur’s neck.

Arthur took him to a table and sat him down on it, then pulled out a chair for you. But you couldn’t sit down just yet. You had to make sure he was okay. 

Your hands cupped his face and tilted his head up so you could check him over for any marks. 

“Are you okay, love? Does anything hurt?”

He held up his hands to you, showing that his palms were scraped up and bleeding a little. He sniffled, his bottom lip quivering. 

“I’ll get somethin’ to clean those up, Y/N.” Mary-Beth spoke, moving towards Strauss’s wagon.

Upon seeing the scratches and bleeding scrapes from Ben falling back and catching himself on his hands, anger welled up inside of Arthur. 

He turned and started to make his way towards Micah. 

“Arthur! Arthur Morgan!” Abigail called after him, but she couldn’t stop him herself. “John! Mr. Smith! Please!”

You couldn’t pay attention to what was happening with Arthur right now. Ben was important and took priority. 

You brushed his hair back and sat down in front of him. 

“I’m so sorry you got hurt, love.” You leaned forward to kiss his cheek. 

He wrapped his arms around your neck, careful not to touch you with his injured hands, and then slid down into your lap. 

A few moments later, Mary-Beth returned with a bowl of water and a few rags. Tilly was with her too, helping to carry bandages. 

“Are you alright, Benji?” Tilly asked. He nodded his head without lifting it from your chest. “He didn’t get too hurt by that nasty Micah, did he?”

“Think it just spooked him more than anything.” You answered her. “Thank you, girls.”

The items were placed on the table and then they left. 

“Ben, I need you to sit on the table so I can reach you, love.”

He shook his head. 

“We’ve got to get these scratches cleaned up, okay? We don’t want them to get yucky.”

A hand found your shoulder. You looked to see Arthur moving around your chair. 

“Lemme give ya some help. That way Benny can stay on your lap where he’s comfortable.”

You nodded your head, giving him a little smile as a thank you. 

“Hey, Benny? Can I see your hands?”

Benny shifted around on your lap so that he could easily face Arthur. He gave Arthur one hand. 

“This might sting just a bit, but I promise it’ll be over soon.” 

Arthur got a rag wet and began to clean the dirt and little bit of blood from Ben’s small palm. 

“You’re a strong fella, Benny. You know that?”

Ben sniffled. 

“I heard you helped Sean and Lenny with getting firewood. Did you carry all the big logs by yourself?”

A little grin tugged at your son’s lips. He shook his head. 

Once he was cleaned up and Arthur had carefully wrapped up his hands, Ben looked around for Jack. He was with Hosea. The two weren’t very far away at all. Ben shimmied down from your lap but stayed by you. His eyes were focused on Jack. He wanted to go play with his friend. 

“You can go on, love.” You told him. He flashed you a little toothy smile before taking off in the direction of Hosea and Jack. 

Arthur stayed on his knees beside you for a few moments, watching Ben go. He let out a breath through his nose and shook his head. 

“That bastard is lucky I don’t put a bullet in him.” He rose to his feet, shaking his head. 

“Ben is okay, Arthur.” You turned your head to look at him. “He just…. He was just shaken up a bit. But he’s okay.”

“He hit you too. No man should ever treat a lady like that.” 

You admired his words, the way he viewed things. 

A little smile came to your lips and you watched him sit down next to you. 

“Well, Mr. Morgan. Not everyone has the same ideals as you.”

Arthur shook his head, fingers curling into a fist. He was still worked up over the situation. 

“It’ll be okay, Arthur.” You reached over to place your hand on his. “I can take a hit just fine. But I do appreciate you stepping in. It was really kind of you to help clean up Ben.”

He became a bit sheepish at your words, tipping his head down so you couldn’t see his eyes completely thanks to the brim of his hat. He cleared his throat. 

“Just-Just hate seein’ the little guy cry is all.”

You smiled a bit and gave his hand a squeeze before moving away from the table he sat at. 

Arthur watched you leave, then turned his head to watch the two youngest members of the gang with Hosea. Hosea was telling a story while Jack and Ben listened. 

Arthur turned his head back to see where you had gone off to. You were standing with Abigail near Pearson’s tent. Abigail said something that caused you to look at Arthur, a smile pulling at your lips then you looked back at her, shaking your head and bringing your hand up to cover your mouth. It was a poor attempt to hide a giggle. 

Arthur fixed the hat on his head and decided to go towards his horse. 

“When are you gonna tell her?” Charles spoke from his horse. He was messing with a strap of Taima’s saddle. 

“Tell her what?”

Charles rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

“I’m not oblivious to it, Arthur. I don’t think any of us in camp are.”

“To what?”

“That you fancy her.”

Arthur mounted his horse, shifting around in the saddle a bit.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Mr. Smith.” He adjusted his hat. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t.”

“You wanna come with me? Or keep standing there goin’ on about it?”

Taglist: @winterwolf @lauramb7 @caraqas @bluscryn @krenee1drful @zodiacaldust @nonodino @cal-lifornication @thefirelordm @sargeantsea @sokkasdarling @thecollection @mayday1284 @kashasenpai @misskrql @brooke-supernatural16 @lassiee @hocdolliday @micahs-bird 

If your name is in italics, it wouldn’t let me tag you :(

[bg3kagha]

Adult Jack Marston hc’s

[rolls up sleeves] fine, I’ll do it myself--

within a relationship, I feel like he’d probably be rather argumentative, especially early on. He’s angry at the world and at himself, and seems to be prone to lashing out and being rather passive aggressive in-game. And I think he needs to be held accountable for that, while he works through all the fears and frustrations he’s carrying.

his lines to sex workers often get mocked for being awkward and embarrassing - quite rightly - but I think they’re also rather disrespectful. He has a tendency towards being rude and, ngl, saying “I hope you like it rough” to a sex worker who canonically is not interested in him is... gross. v. unpleasant. his attempts at ‘flirting’ aren’t attractive, and don’t do him any favours in pulling. It’s him being a dumb 19 year old.

ironically, however, he is actually rather capable of being charming, given that he has lines of dialogue when played with high honour where he’s polite to women (he meticulously remembers to address women with the appropriate honorific - ma’am or miss). (plus, making jokes like “and they say romance is dead” (when hogtying a woman) & “let me take your coat, madam” (when skinning an animal) make me think he’s aware of romantic conventions, and could be able to pull off more conventional flirting if confident enough to do so). But it’s just almost accidental on his part.

I think, therefore, that Jack’s relationships will be hugely moulded by how confident he is. He seems to have a lot of self-doubt & insecurities, which get in the way of his ability to communicate properly. He’s also high strung, and can come across as entitled and self-important. He desperately needs validation, and can resort to anger when he doesn’t get what he wants. a good, tastey Jack ship really should rely on a back and forth, or tug of war, between attraction and frustration. Jack being rude or entitled should not to be gratified, but likewise, he needs support and praise where it’s deserved.

I feel like any relationship would be an incredible slow-burner; he would likely shoot himself in the foot by saying some stupid shit and pushing his luck (“they tell me I'm at my sexual peak, sweetheart” / “I hope you're as aroused as I am” / “you got me feeling all funny inside” / “I'd give anything to be that petticoat right now” / “I could bring a smile to your face”) and get snubbed, and not really have the confidence to actually be intimate and genuine with the person.

I do like the idea of the person he’s with taking the lead -- perhaps being the one to initiate things. Give him all the praise and physical touch he needs.

he mentions depending on alcohol once or twice (referring to alcohol as “the freedom to forget our troubles”) which makes me think he is perhaps self-medicating his depression with alcoholism.

I like the idea that he doesn’t really do bounty hunting all that much going forward. Sure, he has his fathers’ skills (and guns), and he seems to have sought out adventure like that as a child -- but he was a child. Let him pursue carpentry and writing, and farming and ranching if he wants to. I feel like often he’s put in the position his father occupied, ignoring the fact that that position very clearly came at a steep cost - and it was one that John and Abigail (and Arthur et al.) desperately wanted Jack to avoid. 

I also like the idea of Jack getting out of the West, maybe out of America entirely. at the moment, he’s completely alone in the shadow of a time and place that is largely dead by the point where he reaches maturity - we literally take control of him at the outbreak of WW1, the ‘death’ of the ‘old world’. It’d be cute if he maybe met someone from a totally separate environment, rather than being haunted by ghosts and memories forever.

Jack absolutely does not serve in WW1 - he’d dodge the draft if he had to, but I do not think he’d even get drafted, as a single home-owner of a ranch, he might well avoid it, if they track him down at all. If he had kids, they might serve in WW2, though. big oof.

in general I’m not looking forward to Jack in the 1930s; he’s got the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, eugenics and fascism are rife ......... HONEY, YOU GOT A BIG STORM COMIN’

altho... my kingdom for Jack Marston ship fic that is conscientious of social etiquette of the period. Mostly bc it creates for delectable drama and pining potential.