#rdr2 college au

[cowboyfromh3ll]

For the college au

I hc Sean as being drunk or high half the time and never showing up to class

Javier is a music major, maybe

Charles has got a environmental science/zoologist thing goin on

John is an engineer, maybe even a carpenter? He built that house pretty damn well, not to mention how sexy and strong he--

🥵🥵

Anyway,

Dutch would probably be an english professor

Hosea maybe a theater/acting professor

YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT SEAN LMAOO. And YES I agree with Javier, he definitely owns a classical guitar and sits on the campus lawn playing guitar while a swarm of girls sit around him and watch.

Charles being a zoology major is so true because I myself am considering switching my major to zoology hehe. But yes it's very fitting. If not zoology I can imagine he'd major in anthropology.

And YOU ARE SOOOOO RIGHT ABOUT JOHN RAHHHH HE IS SO DAMN FINEEEE. Idgaf what he major in he can get it any day of the week. Also he definitely has an emo band on the side.

Dutch is either an English professor OR a business professor istg I can see either so well and he'd be INSUFFERABLE he'd have a 2.3 on rate my professor to which he brings up on the first day of classes and talks about all the ways in which he is not deserving of a 2.3

Hosea definitely theatre. Hands down it's perfect.

[miguel-owhora]

His haters would go crazy when they realize that Reaction Youtuber!Micah isn't actually some homophobe, but actually gay and gets topped by some art student lmao

oh god they absolutely would 😭 just to preface this but i feel like this version of micah is just borderline -phobic; he comes for everyone. white people, poc, straight ppl, gay ppl — absolutely everyone, he does not discriminate. he aims to be as borderline offensive as possible without actually outright saying a slur.

that being said, people are obviously going to come for him and cancel him, and for good reason.

like in the games, he's pretty private about his life and doesn't really talk about it. the less people know, the better. but people probably still find his address and either swat him or dox him😭😭😭 but i feel like he dgaf, he'll just double down. he's been suspended and banned countless times but he just keeps coming back.

anyways, somehow, like with all things, people find out he has a boyfriend. and twitter goes wild.

some of his more younger and edgy humored, right-wind pipelined fans probably lose their minds over this, and get so corny about losing him. micah's other older haters are probably more stunned that someone like him could bag someone like arthur 💀

and because he's the biggest troll, micah's next video includes arthur.

[wizard-on-whales]

Modern AU! for rdr2 characters

These are my headcannons for each character and what I think they would do in modern times.

Characters included: Arthur, Micah, Dutch, John, Abigail, Mary-Beth, Karen, Tilly, Sadie, Strauss, Charles, Susan, Bill, Lenny, Hosea, Sean, Molly, Javier, Swanson

_______________________________

Arthur Morgan: 

He works a blue-collar job. He would most likely be a ranch hand, but for some reason, I can also imagine him being a plumber or welder. In his free time, he does art and sells prints on Etsy. He is still an old-fashioned gentleman (In a good way), and all of the ladies he meets swoon for him, but he is a himbo and doesn't realize they are practically in love with him. They will give him the most obvious hints, but he will think the women are just being nice. 

Micah Bell:

He's the creepy uncle that you avoid at every family gathering. He hasn't had a job in like 15 years, and no one knows how he can still pay his bills. And he also always smells like lingering alcohol and cigarettes. He will lean too close to his nieces and say extremely concerning things everyone would choose to ignore. Im also getting the vibes that he went to prison for several years, but no one knows what for.

Dutch Van Der Linde:

He sells people scams or owns a pyramid scheme business. Similar to Scentsy products, he somehow convinces all of these people to buy his products to sell to other people, telling them they will get rich by selling these products, but, in reality, he's screwing them over and making most of the money himself. 

John Marston: 

If we are talking about early Red Dead 2 Marston, he still lives in his parent's basement and plays video games on his PC all day. He also watches Andrew Tate and would try to boss Abigail around and tell her he's an alpha male. (She'd slap him and tell him to get over himself) Late rdr2 and rdr1, he's grown out of that mindset and has become a working family man. Potentially also a welder, like I said for Arthur. But any high-paying physical job works.  

I feel like Abigail, Mary-Beth, Karen, and Tilly would all have a mom group they host every week to discuss their child's newest achievements. Their husbands think that is all they do at the meetings, but they also have in-depth conversations about women's suffrage and how the world caters to men. They think of ways to better the world and bring more women together to discuss these topics and bring light to issues regarding women. The girls would run a pretty popular Facebook group where they let other women express their opinions on those topics. (Arthur is a part of the Facebook group and likes every post he sees and comments shit like, “You're doing great, ladies! Keep up the good work! 😁🥰👍”) 

Sadie would probably occasionally attend these meetings (Although I dont see her having children, she would go for the cheap wine and to hang with her friends). Sadie would also go for the in-depth conversations and bring new thoughts to the table because she is a CEO or manager for a very successful company. She would share her experiences of what it's like to be on top of the men who work for her but still be looked down upon by them simply because of her gender. She would also probably share tips on that Facebook page on how to create a successful business without having to attend years of college and give tips for all stay-at-home moms who want to be more than just moms and wives. (She would also be the cool rich aunt)

Leopold Strauss: 

He would do the same thing. He gives loans to people who he knows won't be able to pay back the money, and then when the bill comes, he'd ruin their lives and probably end up breaking up families/ relationships and send people to jail for not paying back the money in time. 

Charles Smith:

I can see him being a park ranger or working in any conservation field. Potentially even a firefighter who deals with all of the forest fires that happen in places along the West Coast. He’d also be one to do something similar to what he did in the game, but he would work with the local native tribes against companies to try to win back their lands before it gets plowed over for an Amazon factory or something. 

Susan Grimshaw:

I can see her being the mean substitute teacher who yells at everyone to get to work, and then when someone does something slightly wrong, she would yell at the whole class and be like, “In all of my years of teaching, I have never seen a class behave this badly.” Either that or she would work at the front desk of the business Sadie runs. Miss Grimshaw would NOT play with anyone who would try to be rude towards her. 

Bill Williamson: 

Ehem…a police officer. I feel like this one is self-explanatory. But he would mostly sit in his car and do nothing his entire shift. Occasionally pulling someone over for speeding. If they are a white dude, he'd would let them off with just a warning. Poor Lenny would probably get the ticket. 

Lenny Summers: 

I feel like he would be the one to graduate high school early and go to college as soon as possible. I dont know exactly what he would choose for his degree, but I feel like it would be something involving politics. Maybe that wouldn't be his major, but he would take a government class. Or Potentially going into journaling. 

Hosea Matthews:

He's the retired grandpa who used to work in a factory where he made a surprising amount of money and was able to retire early. He spends most of his days walking up at 5 in the morning to watch the sunrise and read the morning paper. And he’ll spend every opportunity he gets to take his kids or grandkids fishing. And if you stay at his house overnight or for the weekend, he gives you a bowl of ice cream every night before bed and recounts every story he could think of that happened from the last time you saw him. (Some of them are surprisingly concerning, but he is one of those badass grandpas)

Sean Macguire:

Similar to John, Sean would spend most of his time gaming on his PC and arguing with children on COD or Fortnite. But he also works at a local bar as the bartender and won't hesitate to argue with the drunk assholes and would slap a bitch if needed. But he also embarrasses himself by flirting with women who will give him dirty looks or tell him that they are gay. (I feel like Karen would also work late-night shifts at the bar with him, but shes also taking online college classes because she wants to be a social worker) 

Molly O’Shea:

Instagram and TikTok influencer 100%, and lots of brands like to sponsor her and send her free stuff (Mostly because of Dutch’s business.) and she posts videos of her and Dutch, and everyone in the comments freaks out about how he is grooming her because of their age difference but she denies it all and says that they are actually in love.  But then she would post a video to that one sound, “My god this reminds me of when we were young.” And Molly be like 8, and Dutch be in his mid-to-late 20s. 

Javier Escuella: 

He’d be a musician. He would have started out in a shitty garage band with Sean and John or something, but then he’d realize he actually wants to be a serious musician while the other guys were just messing around. So he’d leave and make solo music that blows up, and he ends up going on tour, and making a lot of money and becoming hugely successful. 

Reverend Swanson:

The preacher you always see in the corner of the bar Sean works at. And if you went up to him and started talking to him, he’d tell you the most profound things. He would tell you about his life when he was younger and what happened that made him lose hope, but he would motivate you to never give up. He’d be that person you meet by chance for a few seconds that you would never forget. Hosea probably invites him to go fishing with him from time to time. But instead of fishing, Swanson stares at the water ripples in silence. Hosea would let him sit in silence and let Swanson enjoy the company and the time to think while being sober. 

----------------------------

[babyaiker]

What’s up party people!

With my college classes starting up, I’ve been shifting my focus to more original ideas/projects and practicing Adobe, so I haven’t had much time to work on red dead fan art for this blog. But with that, I’m still gonna be here interacting ^^ art’s just gonna be a bit slower

Currently have a big piece in the works (wip shown above) to work as my Adobe tablet’s wallpaper. That’ll be finished sometime this month heh

By all means tho! My ask box is open to both doodle requests (OC’s, rdr/rdr2, other fandoms I’m in) and questions about random stuff (questions about my aus, opinions on rdr characters or other fandoms)!

[verdemoun]

Truelly intrested in how Jack is doing in the timewrap, like his relationship with the gang, whats his favorite thing in this era. I know in this AU he past away just 3 years after abgail, but in some datas in the game and other theories said he lived enough to write a book; in my headcanons he should have had a friend who fought in WWI who also get very traumatised, and probably being part of one this early mafia gangs from the 1920s. When John argue with Jack about him becameing an outlaw he would just reply " at least i didn't had to go to the army and dying in a horrible way some random battlefield in a senseless war, or surviving and get traumatised for life" then Jack leave the room that got in silence, who heard that probably got curious about the war, hope they were intrested about knowing what heppended in this 100 years they were dead.

I know you said you got a lot of asks but I like to share this ❤

this ask has been haunting because i love jack so much. he is my boy like i just want him to be happy and get a chance to act his age and find fun and happiness. but boy his relationship with john in timewarp is so far away from good. accidentally wrote 1k words so below the cut

jack has almost no memories of the gang. he remembers being told they're not meant to discuss arthur because it upsets his father, and that if he sees 'uncle dutch' around he's meant to stay well away

it is a lot like meeting those long distance relatives who say 'wow i haven't seen you since you were 'this' tall!'

he gets along pretty well with most of them because a) he is a very polite young man and b) they're such a fun group to be around in modern era. damn straight at a cookout none of them care he is technically under modern era drinking age they see him as an adult and encourage him to be an adult in that rdr2 a quiet time style

he wishes arthur was his dad a little bit. he is constantly trying to inch his way into isaac and arthur's father son activities (which isaac encourages and arthur allows)

hosea getting to see how him teaching jack to read has become such a major part of his identity like jack is a nerdy little bookworm and how exciting they both find it when hosea ask about what jack's been reading and jack can talk to someone about books again

the silent assurance of getting to know lenny. lenny being an adult with a job and very settled into modern era with a life so far away from what he was in 1899 who died at the same age as jack. lenny is proof he can get used to modern era and settle and leave the mistakes and trauma of canon era behind in a healthy way

his favorite thing about modern era is without a doubt isaac morgan. having someone his own age who Gets It. even though they had wildly different experiences of timewarping and general lives, being the child of a VDL gang member is a very specific niche they both know too well

also just - time. not having a ranch or to hunt for food, with the gang still helping each other out so jack isn't expected to rush off and get a job all the hours that would have been spend doing ranch work jack can spend exploring his interests, reading, learning about modern era and getting into trouble with isaac but having the actual time of day required to be a kid (he is 19. he is a kid who never got to be a kid)

i think eventually they would have gotten into a screaming match. john getting sick of jack sulking in his room reading and glaring at him like it was his fault he became what he is vs jack seeing how john changed over 3 years to raise addie alone when he timewarped and how quickly abigail runs back into his arms as if john didn't leave them ruined and with nothing when he died. in timewarp au, abigail died at the end of summer 1914 and jack didn't make it to christmas of the same year.

starts with john asking what happened to jack's college fund. jack had already applied to college and gotten rejected very politely on financial grounds prior to 1911, but with the assurance he was extremely intelligent for a young man who lacked formal education.

jack began corresponding with the literature professor regularly (simply because he still craved that paternal bond and quickly came to love having someone he could actually discuss books with instead of just talking at). john began saving every cent he could to have the money tucked away to get jack into college because he always wanted his son to be happy and better than what they were.

jack laughed and said they had to use that money to survive. he wouldn't have gotten in anyway, and even if he did he couldn't leave abigail on her own.

john, maybe drunk or just too frustrated to hold back, snapped he was too smart to be that much of an idiot, he could have gone to college after abigail died and lived a normal life

jack finally losing it. what did john expect? he was going to survive the great war, and then world war ii a few decades later? forget the first 19 years of his life, survive two wars that ended or ruined millions and millions of lives, settle down with a nice wife and be old enough to watch the moon landing on a boxy black and white tv?

he only made it to 1914 and was still devastated by the war - because the literature professor, his one escape from what life was after john died, a canadian who volunteered to go fight because it was a noble cause, didn't even make it to the front line. the ship he was on sank. there wasn't a funeral or burial, just a letter that might as well have read 'any chance of salvation for you is gone'. jack learning that dying for a noble cause was just as stupid as dying for revenge, because once you're dead you're dead

jack admitting he was planning on dying anyway because what else was there the only thing killing edgar ross did was give jack the satisfaction of knowing at least one of them outlived the bastard

john not actually having the words to express he's been there and he knows what that's like, the survivor's guilt he felt over arthur's death and needing to kill micah and how sorry he is jack had to experience the exact same thing

jack still did have a book published and when he found out he was mortified. in writing to the professor over 3-4 years he'd started sending him drafts of a biographical novel heavily based on his childhood memories of the van der linde gangs and sneaking into john's room to read arthur's journal (which john held all those years). when the manuscript was found in the professor's desk, the university was impressed enough to have it published on a very small scale.

isaac morgan, who had a very bizarre morbid fascination with the idea of jack, the little cousin he never got to meet, who exists somewhere across time as simultaneously younger than him but has already reached 19 and killed edgar ross and been executed for it, stole a copy of it from the university's library when he was only 12 and has read it over a dozen times by the time jack timewarps.

jack is horrified because it was a draft and he started writing it at 15 imagine jumping 100 years into the future and finding out something you wrote unedited at 15 was not only published but considered a valuable and significant part of narrative history.

when jack is in a mood, isaac with read excerpts to him and jack will be so overtaken by cringe and trying to snatch the book off him he will forget whatever passing thought was making him depressed

[miguel-owhora]

being ugly is part of his character i fear. but in other words,

Wip of @miguel-owhora’s modern college au! Micah. He looks a bit ugly (I’ve never drawn Micah before) but he will get better, swear.

[j0nesy]

Ive been horrendously depressed for the past week and havent felt much of anything but sadness. Until today, as when I was scrolling through ao3 I see a modern college AU for RDR2. And in its summary I see the words "Redredemption University".

Now I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or the manic absurdity of everything ( or both) but that was so funny to me. It's like if I made a college AU for Fortnite like...Battle Royale University....or A Way Out with A Way In University.

NO hate to the Op of the fic, it actually made me laugh for the first time in awhile.

[qprpbj]

i actually have some headcanons for the silly au (i call it “an unlikely pair”)

- modern!au

- (headcanon) pony knows how to skateboard and is trying to teach paul and Chet (Chet keeps falling, bro has like 74953 bruises)

- where paul hasn’t beat up pony but like knows of ppl that do (after becoming closer w pony him and Chet make a pact to not hurt anymore greasers)

- paul and pony definitely do workouts in the summer (paul has his college packet of football workouts) and pony runs the track to keep in shape for the szn

- pony loves to infodump to paul about his fav books (also i headcanon that pony loves music as well!) and paul listens intently bc he too loved reading and used it as an escape before he found his love of football

- pony Loves playing rdr2 (he loves the scenery and Arthur’s character as a whole!!!)

- Paul has a big ass house (obvi. rich boy) and he has a redone basement that has a pool table and pony is so fucking good at pool and Chet & paul are like ???? And pony just shrugs and smiles “it’s just math guys!”

- movie nights happen at Paul’s place w the soc gang (marcia, cherry, chet, paul) and pony (sometimes Bev as well!)

- bev does makeovers with pony (puts him in Paul’s socy clothes and takes pics for blackmail purposes hehehe) (posts them on her priv insta story, chet and paul ofc screenshot them) cherry ofc screenshots it and sends it to soda and soda sends it to the gang and they all dog on him like CRAZY (pony is defending himself over FaceTime w twobit like “bro they Made me Please”

- Chet & Paul are basically like ponys protective older bros and guard dogs (he’s the same way w them tbh, like if some soc beats up paul bc he’s hanging w a “dirty greaser” pony fucking sees red and basically almost kills the guy for hurting paul) (pony is collecting older bros like pokemon at this point)

- marbit and cherrycola have double dates (two & soda tolerate paul bc of their girls (and pony), they ain’t besties but they are civil)

- chet will buy pony cokes bc he knows he loves them (will hide them behind his back and be like i got you somethingggggggg and be all smiley)

- Chet and marcia call pony “cowboy” because pony Always brings up how Marcia said it sounded like he belonged in a western film

- i know for a fact that the socs drag race just like the greasers do sometimes, so paul is def taking Cherry, pony, marcia, and chet (chet is the one driving in the race, Paul is w him as a passenger to watch for cops) pony would be so nervy for chet and just be like "pls don't die" and like be concerned and chet is like "I've been doing this since i was like 15 'll be good kiddo" and Chet just ruffles ponys hair ))):

— okie yapping over!! Here’s another moodboard (I love sharing my silly thoughts about this au, do you mind if I randomly just share them in ur dropbox?)

ok wait pony and paul doing workouts and conditioning together is making me sooooo. sigh. pony running track to keep himself ontop of tryouts whenever track comes back and paul practicing for football. ur killing me actually. both of them collapsing on the field when they’re too exhausted to even moveeeee. pony correcting paul’s running and form. it’s so special to Me

also yapper/listener bffs will always be sooo real sigh. the darry pony and paul pony parallels… i think pony loves classical music idk why but i’ve always thought this. nerds out soooo bad over ancient composers and his friends r just like ok whatever you say kid 👍

CHERRYCOLAAA i love you for this. soda being like wtf are you even doing there and pony’s just 🧍🧍. again. dare i bring up the pony darry parallels. pony in the bigger boys socy clothes and all it reminds darry of is when that used to be him bc pretending to be something ur not is so much more fascinating than accepting the shitty life you were born into!!!!!

marbit cherry cola double dates….. goofy little greaser boy best friends trying to impress their sweet pretty lil girlfriend best friends. sighhh

pls keep yapping as much as you want i love this lil au of urs so far <3

[tossball-stick]

in my modern au theyre all a biker gang thats more of a cult. dutch is pulling in vulnerable people from all sorts of walks of life, convincing them theyre gonna be the modern american revolution. started with dutch and hosea biking together doing petty crime which slowly morphed into them gathering more and more people, and getting involved in bigger and bigger scandals and heists, eventually getting involved with corporate america and thinking they can con those who are most corrupt.

i do not have an actual plan for how it all follows the story though.. they mostly just exist in my mind to have them be at least a little happy now. just a bunch of vulnerable people living rotten double lives

do you guys view modern au rdr2 as a kind of gang, adoptive family, they all just know each other some how, or something else? im acc super curious!

[sweetronancer]

heres a random list of aus im working on rn! theyre all wips so like...

- werewolf!robin

- college ronance (in a way... brr this is scary)

- streamer!robin (sort of brainrotted)

- firefighter!stobin (ft. emt!ednancy)

- mechanic!stobin

- rdr2 au (sort of?!?!)

- titanic au (its like 40 words💀)

theres not a lot but i also have a ton of wips and theres like different like... idk man

[miguel-owhora]

MODERN COLLEGE!MORBELL AU MASTERLIST

with reaction youtuber!micah

SEP. 2024

I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX - X - XI - XII - XIII - XIV - XV - XVI - XVII

OCT. 2024

I - II - III - IV

[ellieslaces]

a deep and sincere apology — an explanation by ellieslaces

to begin — thank you all so much for the influx of likes and reposts and support I’ve received lately! It really does mean a lot. however, I would like to offer an explanation for my sudden absence on here

(warning; it gets a little personal, I discuss things such as health issues and mental health issues and some sexuality issues)

(img. 1: me reading some of my past works that I’ve posted / abandoned, realizing they are indeed, shit)

To begin, I know I was working on my Can’t Catch Me Now series (a resident evil/hunger games au) and I do have full intention of finishing it. I have big plans for it! I want everyone to know, my absence and sudden hiatus on CCMN was not planned. I quickly became overwhelmed with every thing going on in my life.

Can’t Catch Me Now really is my brain child, idk where the hell it came from and how I managed to weave RE and THG together the way I did, but I can humbly say I am proud of it. I don’t want to abandon it, I’m just trying to find time and motivation to work on it.

as for Dancing With Our Hands Tied… yeowch. it’s a mess, I’m so sorry. I kind of want to rework it, to rewrite it now that I have a little bit of a better grasp on Leon’s character. But, it’s so much work and I’m already overwhelmed by continuing CCMN. So, it’s not a definite promise, but I will try to rework it at some point.

I do however want to venture into writing for some other characters. I’ve dabbled in writing for Hazel Callahan from Bottoms and the piece did pretty well (with the exception of someone commenting that it was shitty smut (it’s not even smut) and that threw me off for a while). but, I want to write for more female characters as well as maybe starting to write for Arthur Morgan from RDR2 (I’ve been playing lately and the brainrot is real). But, I’ll keep you all updated.

(img. 2; deep diving into the shit show that my life has become the past couple of months. it gets rough here sorry)

To begin, I again want to apologize for my sudden absence. I had some backlash on a piece I wrote and it messed with my head. And after that, everything in my life kinda went downhill. I want to try to remain as vague as I can while providing a good explanation.

I am in my final semester of undergrad. I am a little over a month or so away from my degree and I couldn’t be happier. However, it’s not been without challenges. I have a shitty professor, my college is really terrible and I have a lot of issues communicating with them (I don’t live in the state where I attend uni, I’m an online student as I moved)

On top of that, I’ve been having health issues lately. I had some bad blood work, which caused increased amounts of anxiety which led to me being physically ill for multiple weeks. I went to the doctor who referred me for an ultrasound (which made me sicker with anxiety). It went okay, but I needed another scan (a fibroscan) due to some issues with my liver. So, it’s been a little rough from that too.

On top of all that, I started talking to a girl online. For a while, she was the brightest point in my life. So sweet and funny and I was genuinely interested in her. But, something happened and we fell out of contact (really she stopped answering me). It hit me harder than I expected.

While she was a bright part of my life, I also struggled with it. I grew up religious, taught that homosexuality is a sin. I have known for a little over a year that I’m not straight. I’m not sure what I am, more unlabeled. But, I struggled because no one knows. I had a few long discussions with my therapist and she encouraged me to take it at my pace. My parents don’t know, and that’s been rough on me.

There’s also been some issues in my family that mess with my head. But that’s not my business to discuss with anyone.

Essentially, the last couple months have been heavy. This, despite being a little vague, is my reason. I’m sorry I didn’t give a warning, I just needed time. And there’s no promise I’ll be as active as I used to, but I want to be present on here. I just want to thank you all for your patience.

(img. 3; me at 3am ready to crack down on some works bc i miss writing)

As for what to expect with my newfound motivation and want to write, I have a few things. Obviously you can expect me to hopefully produce chapters Can’t Catch Me Now semi-regularly (maybe a chapter every week or two weeks). I want to finish that up and have it fully released.

I do have some other Leon works brewing, some standalones that I really love. So expect some of those.

Like I said, I want to work on writing for some female characters too. I have some works that aren’t fully completed for Jill, Hazel, Ellie, and Abby. But, as I’ve previously stated on my page, I want to be careful of what I post in terms of TLOU due to Druckman’s alliance to Israel. So, I make no promises in terms of that.

I stated I wanted to venture into writing for Arthur Morgan, and I do. I want to figure out how to write his character and get some works for him done. But I’m not sure when that will be.

As for now, all I ask is patience. I’m still trying to find my groove, get it back so I can write again. But, I hope to have some stuff out soon. All the best and thank you all.

Bunches and bunches of love,

ellieslaces.

[wastelandwolff]

more modern au Jovier because no one can stop me

[yarnshoes]

Me, a stressed out college student *sees any fictional media*: c😳college..au?? .?👀😩😩👌🔥 (part 1).

Feel free to send/add any hc ig i dont rly kmow either bro.

[wildwesternwoman]

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (Modern!Arthur Morgan x Reader) Part One

Author’s Note: This was originally just supposed to be a one shot imagine, but I think I’m going to end up doing three, if you guys are into it. Feedback is always appreciated. 

           You grew up fascinated with cowboys. John Wayne, Matt Dillon, Willie Nelson. No one in your family really knew what kickstarted that, it had been natural, like you were born with this infatuation. As a child, it was rather sweet. You’d watch old westerns with your grandparents and sit wide eyed as your great uncle told you about the cowboy stories he used to hear on the radio when he was your age. As a teenager, you devoured every Western book you could get your hands on. Louis L’Amour, Lucia St. Clare Robson, Elmer Kelton. You would’ve given your heart to any of those Texas Rangers he wrote about. And, God, did you adore a young Clint Eastwood. You were a polite, educated young lady, but you longed for the day your cowboy would arrive and you’d be highwaymen together.

But it wasn’t the old west anymore. This was the 21st Century and you were quite certain there weren’t any cowboys anymore. Not real cowboys. Sure, there were actors who played them in TV shows and movies and singers who really, truly, thought that wearing a cowboy hat and singing about a horse made him a cowboy. But what had happened to the Andy Pickards? The Doc Hollidays? Hell, even the Marlboro Man was more cowboy than modern day cowboys.

That’s what you truly believed.

Until you started college. You’d applied for every university within a reasonable tuition range in the West. Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, even California. Somewhere where you might find a kindred spirit. Someone with a cowboy soul, just like you. Even if there weren’t any real cowboys left in this world.

And that, that is where you met Arthur Morgan.

Arthur was a “non-traditional” student. He was a little bit older, but still incredibly handsome. He worked at the school’s ag farm, helping to tend to the animals. But you met him in an English class your sophomore year. He was generally quiet and kept to himself, but he had this unmistakable laugh. The first time you heard it, you were certain it was angels singing.

You had never whipped your head around so quick. You were just in time to see the way his eyes crinkle as he laughs. A smile spread across your face. God, what a beautiful man. He caught your stare and you thought your heart would thump out of your chest. He gave you a polite head nod and you had to consciously look away before he thought you were a weirdo. You could just picture him going home with you at Thanksgiving. Meeting your family, seeing your hometown, sweetly poking fun of your childhood bedroom. Your grandmother would just love him. Your mother would love him. Hell, your dog would love him. You could see yourself loving him. You knew that was a lot to gleam from just a laugh, but damn, what a laugh.

           You really did not mean to bump into him as your tried to exit the class a few moments later, honest you didn’t. You were just that distracted by your fantasy life with him. By the time your shoulder bumped his hands, you guys had already grown old together in your mind.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” You said as he let out a soft oof.

“Nah, don’t you worry. I wasn’t paying much attention either.” He said as he stooped to pick up his books. He cast you a gorgeous smile as you stood there, somewhat awkwardly.

“Um, I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself, holding your hand out.

“Arthur Morgan,” he shook your hand. His hands were big. Big and rough. Calloused, like a cowboy’s. You wondered what all he could do with those hands. The pleasure he could bring you, but not just sexually, from holding your smaller, softer hand in his, from bringing you coffee in the mornings, from picking you wildflowers. God, those hands.

“It’s nice to meet you, Arthur.”

“You too, Miss Y/N.”

           After that chance encounter, Arthur often waved at your when he saw you on campus or said hello or goodbye in English class. You didn’t have any real substantial conversations, other than to maybe ask how one of you thought you did on the last test. But then, your science class took a field trip to the ag farm to learn about the science that goes into running a farm. A necessary topic since many of your classmates were ag majors themselves that would eventually return to running their family farms and ranches.

           You really shouldn’t have wondered off, but the sound a familiar voice called to you and you couldn’t ignore it. Besides, the professor would never notice. She was so scattered; she’d hardly miss a student or two. Many were starting to poke around on their own, anyway. And you had to find the source of the voice you could just barely place.

“Yer alright,” It spoke softly. “That’s a good girl.”

           You found Arthur in a pen with a large black horse trying his damnedest to calm it down. You seated yourself on the gate and watched as he approached the animal and it reared up over him. He only laughed and mumbled something about the horse being feisty and needing to calm down. It took him only three tries under your gaze to approach the horse and get his hands on her.

“That’s it, girl. You’re ok,” He spoke gently, then added, without missing a beat. “You just gonna sit there and grin or you gonna come over here and see her up close?”

You faltered. Was he talking to you? But there was no one else around, so he must’ve been talking to you. “Can I?”

“Sure. She won’t bite. Probably.” He laughed and you could’ve died and went to heaven with all those angels.

           You climbed over the gate and into the pen, incredibly grateful that you’d opted for your trusty cowboy boots today. You walked over to the horse, staying as close to Arthur as possible. He just smiled at your timidness.

“You ever been face to face with a horse before?” He asked.

“Yes,” You shot back defensively. As if you’d never touched a horse before. You had. But maybe not as often as you’d like.

“Alright then, cowgirl, saddle ‘er up and take her for a spin.”

“Oh, hell no!” He laughed. Again. You wanted to make him laugh forever. He took your hand and placed it gently against the horse’s neck.

And he looked at you with that sweet smile you’d been daydreaming about and those little lines around his beautiful blue eyes and you realized that, for the first time in your life you were face to face with a cowboy. Just like you’d always wanted. A real cowboy. The last of your heroes. And you don’t know what he felt, but you were certain you were in love.

[my-funky-little-cowboy]

Hot take:

Arthur is smart, he doesn't believe it so he works 3x as hard on things. He makes sure jobs get done because he is terrified that people will see him as a failure, he pushes himself much harder than ANYONE else ever could.

In college he would 1000% be that kid who is up for days studying even though he knows the content, because he is terrified of failing. He goes to every office hours and talks to the teacher about anything he can do and the teacher is like MYDUDEYOURETOPOFCLASSGOTOBED and Arthur doesn't believe him.

He is totally the student living off Monster and protein drinks, because food takes time to make and he has to study so he doesn't fail!