#i also have a missouri fox trotter

[professional-nutria-enjoyer]

somethibg something rdr2 horse symbolism

mmmh i dont know if this has been discussed before but well, here is my take on it that no one asked for.

Attention! I may be overanalyzing some aspects

Oh and ❗ SPOILERS ALERT❗

Dutch: flashy, fast, expensive arabian and commonly thought of as the best horse.That alone tells you a lot of his personality, he is materialistic, possessive and his current mood changes as fast as his horse speed. His status is equivalent at the one of an arabian, at least among his gang. It's worth noting that it's not pure white, but cremello. Dutch isn't the light he promised at the people who follow him, it's just a facade, a play; something that gets close, but not enough. An Arabian the player can find up in Ambarino is actually pure white. The Count is such a badass name btw

Note 1) it's neat that they are both known for being hard to please

Hosea: second in line so his horse should be considered the second best (in terms of speed and stamina). Slim, athletic, fast, the silver Turkoman is the embodiment of agility. Hosea may not be physically agile, but mentally? He is a fast-thinker, deceiving bastard. He is known for his cunning personality and his ability to speak his way out of the most dire of situations. But he didn't have an arabian and his stamina run out before the former.

note 1) lovely tumblr user @i-will-bite corrected me with their golden and very appreciated addition to the post. Here i quote their words:

"It's not that Turkoman has less stamina than Arabian - they can go for days without food and water and cover great distances. The difference is: Arabians are made to gallop, Turkomans are made to trot; they need to go far, so they would rather save energy.So you can read that as "moving forward with determination but caution" :)"

Thank you so much again, i-will-bite. I think you can also read as how different Dutch and Hosea's thinking is, Hosea is willing to look after the immediate action, to what said action will bring to their future. Dutch instead only thinks about the here and now, any resemblance to some sort of plan (spoiler: he doesn't have one) was probably almost made on the spot. He deceived the gang by 'appearing' as the light they needed and he doomed them by trying to be the Hosea they lost.

Note 1 bis) sure, he was far gone even before Hosea's death but surely that was the very last straw he could take before going completely nuts.

Arthur: we know that Arthur's dead horse is named 'Boadicea' and I read somewhere (reddit or tumblr) that it's likely that his former equine friend was a Silver Dapple Pinto Missouri Fox Trotter. For one, it's commonly thought as the third best horse in the game (and Arthur is third in line) and in one of Albert Mason's side quests you get to see one, Arthur immediately recognizes it despite the player not having see it before, which means Arthur knows his business with this specific horse breed. The Silver Dapple Pinto mane is one of the most beautiful in the game (if not the most) and this could represent Arthur's ability in seeing beauty in the world surrounding him.

Micah: now I don't remember the specific horse breed (and I can't look it up online right now) but I think it was a horse useful for long distance riding which can explain why it took 6+ chapters for Micah to get ''''''''control'''''''' of Dutch's actions. Something everyone has surely noticed is that his horse is literally masked, and just like in Dutch's fashion it serves as an example of how he too is trying to deceive others by looking like the exact opposite of the rat that he is. Also his horse is literally the horse you get in the low honour ending of red dead redemption (1).

Will add more later

#Rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #horse #symbolism #hosea matthews #dutch van der linde #arthur morgan

[feuer-bluete]

Part 7 of my Canon Rdr2 Horses - Buck

After loosing Tasha the choice of my next horse wasn't easy.

With Arthur I didn't really care about getting the fastest horse I wanted the one that looked the best, too me. With John and my hunt for 100% I had other requirements tho, plus of course after finishing the epilogue I finally had enough money that I felt I could splurge.

But I also still have requirements for my horses, size and coat colorwise. I didn't want the dark bay nor the gold turkoman and the arabian are all to small for my taste. So I was left with the Missouri Fox Trotters. The Silver Dapple Pinto sure is stunning if it weren't for his blue eyes but still better than the Amber Champagne.

It took me a while to get used to Buck but his speed, his speed is everything and the two of us crossed all over the map, in all states, many many times while finishing the 100%, the compendium and all story mode achievements. He is still my fast boi whenever I go back to my original save.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |

#rdr2 horses #rdr2 horse #my rdr2 horse #Missouri Fox Trotter #rdr2 #rdr #rdr2 arthur #arthur morgan #red dead #red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption two #rdr2 john #john marston #sorry for not posting this early the queued up posts ran out #then I was sick #then I realized i need some better pics of Buck #yes buck is short for Bucky #to fit in with Tasha #short for Natasha and Clint from Part 6

[eaaaazygurl]

Take A Gamble That Love Exists (Part 1 of 2)

Possibly Chapter 1 of 3 (If I continue the story!)

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x F!reader

Summary: You and Arthur Morgan, Dutch Van Der Linde's right hand man, have been good friends for just over a year now since he rescued you from the O'driscolls. After fleeing Valentine and the Heartlands from the law and playing two families like a fiddle, Arthur is in dire need of some downtime. You manage to convince Arthur to take some time away from his duties and visit Big Valley, but unbeknownst to the both of you, your true and most deepest feelings for eachother make themselves secretly known to you both.

Wordcount: 3000+ (A long read, feel free to come back and finish it as and when if it's too long.)

Some little visual keys:

Pandora - White Arabian, female, Arthur's mount.

Starstreak - Roan Blue Missouri Fox Trotter, male, Your mount.

Arthur is dressed in his Colter clothes for the first half of the story and then in pretty much all black atire in Big Valley. Use the GIF as a reference!

Disclaimer: I am aware that there are no legendary fish in Big Valley. Let's just say for the purpose of this writeup that there is ^^ Also I've changed Sean being captured from Bounty Hunters to O'driscolls for story purposes! Also, I'm not the best writer so apologies for that. It's a hobby afterall ^^

Feeling a sharp snapping gust of cold icy wind catch your already frozen face, you narrowed your eyes over towards the white Arabian mare who struggled against the breeze, whinnying in complaint. The man mounted upon the beautiful white steed gently brought his hand over her opalescent neck fur, gently cooing praises and calming chatter as she began to slow her pace and relax a little, struggling somewhat to keep her footing on the steep upward climb of the track ahead in the dimming evening sunlight.

You and Arthur Morgan, notorious Outlaw and right hand man to the infamous Dutch Van Der Linde, had been trekking this particular stretch of mountain for some hours now, just north upon the border of Mount Shann and Hawks Eye Creek. On a bright sunny day, the conditions of Big Valley would often present itself as delicate and gentle towards travellers like yourselves, but unfortunately for the both of you, a hidious snow storm trailing upon a flurry of wind from the Grizzlies had pulled in overnight as you pitched up a stay inside the little hotel within the confines of a small town named Strawberry. The conditions seemed manageable from the town, though as you gained height on your accent having taken a wrong turn, those conditions only grew worse. Icy winds and the occasional flurry of snow would feel like the tip of a knife against your sore cheeks as you went onward.

"How's Pandora holdin' up?" You attempted to call over the bluster of wind catching the lip of a small cliffy overhang, creating an almost squeal as it passed through blades of dried grass.

Arthur had turned back briefly to look at you,  making sure you were close by and not falling behind, "Agitated but otherwise okay, how about Starstreak?"

Starstreak was your mount; a large Blue Roan Missouri Fox Trotter Stalion with a streak of white across his muzzle earning his name. Although less bothered than Pandora by the sharp temperatures, the burly horse still expressed signs of displeasure at the continuous bout of frozen wind, "Really not appreciatin' this wind very much. Do ya think we should find shelter?"

"Think we should. This ain't any good on the horses, nor fair. How about we go over to that overhang?" Arthur had pointed his gloved hand to the left, towards a section of cliff from the mountain, his thick blue winter coat also struggling to maintain it's formality during the storm.

You followed his hand towards the suggested shelter and gave Arthur a loud, "Sounds good to me!" Before following him along, finally slipping under the cover of the natural roof of stone where no wind or snow could touch you. Both you and Arthur dismounted, encouraging both horses into the deepest section of the overhand to evade the weather and began gathering some wood for a small fire. Anything warm right now would be a blessing.

As you left and soon there after returned, a cradle of twigs within the loop of your arm, you met Arthur's amused gaze with a confused, "What?"

"Oh nothin'," Arthur sniffed, "I jus' thought this was meant to be a relaxing trip away from Dutch's constant erands. Now I'd rather endure an entire week of the old fool in my ear."

Arthur had a very dry sense of humor and a life times supply worth of excellent sarcasm, something - one of the many things - you admired about the Cowboy, "Well you know me," you chimed in with a smirk as you stumbled over to a ring of rocks placing down the twig bundle,"I like the adventure, crave the adrenaline!" You slumped down onto your knees, prodding the stick pile, watching as Arthur began to light it. The man gave you a side glance, a brow raised, "Yes and you seem to enjoy getting yourself into near-death situations on a lot of those adventures of yours as well, especially where O'driscolls are involved."

"Well what can I say?" It was true, you spoke with a fond memory of almost having scooted off of a cliff with some O'driscoll lad that had attempted to capture you in an abandoned lawman wagon. The horses had escaped their reigns and split off sideways luckily enough, and you had lept from the cage just before the wagon itself had barreled over the edge of a deep overhang, the O'driscoll meeting his fate along with the wagon itself as they collided with the ground a long distance below, "Life would be very boring without a bit of danger."

Finally after a few attempts, the small campfire had smoldered and lit. Small dancing orange flames ushered in a soothing warmth for your close-to-frostbitten fingertips, and the gentle snorts from both mounts finally confirmed their enjoyment and thankfulness for the heat.

"Ah, all things considered though," Arthur's low voice had you snap your attention towards him as you dug through your satchel and unravelled a few meaty bits, handing Arthur one and you keeping the other. You began to cook a chunk of venison over the flames, listening to Arthur as he spoke onward, "I really needed this. Thank you Y/n."

"You hardly ever give yourself a break Arthur, I'm just grateful that you did choose to come along." You gave Arthur a cheerful smile, pulling your hand back once the chunk of meat had browned and cooked. It was true, Arthur did need this. After things went awry back in Valentine and half of the town had been gunned down, the gang had migrated further East from all that they briefly knew, and better yet, further East from the money they had desperately needed to start a new life elsewhere. Whilst you may not have been a member of Van Der Linde's infamous gang that Arthur held dearly, Dutch did know of you; the Valentine Massacre had almost been a fatal blow to Arthur, Dutch, John and Strauss until you and your small band of Posse members had lept into action to shield them from gunfire until they had escaped. You thought that day would have been the last you ever saw of Arthur Morgan, and he had thought the same, but a simple hunt out in the dry grasslands of Lemoyne had brought you both back together after sticking two separate arrows into the same deer.

Arthur hadn't had a decent break since then. Dutch was more addimant than ever to solve the gang's drying supply of money, and so he had Arthur on his feet constantly.

"Well," the burly man outstretched his arms in a deep yawn. It was still half a day's climb towards the valley's purple ocean of flowers where the two of you intended to reach, and the sun was beginning to drown under the horizon bringing with it a much deeper chill, "Think we best set up a few tents and camp here for the night. Best shelter we will probably find for now, and the horses seem content."

You gave Arthur an approving smile and a small nod, pulling yourself up and away from the warmth and glow of the fire to retrieve your camping equipment and bed roll from Starstreak. It wasn't long before you noticed something was amiss: "Ah shit- for goodness sake!"

Arthur, who was pulling the a wrapped up tent and bedroll from Pandora, glanced over towards you with a concerned frown, "Everything okay there?"

"Nope." Your fingertips trailed over the clean cut upon Starstreak's saddle where your tent and saddlebags originally were attached, "Some asshole has stolen my tent and saddlebags..." fingers pointed towards the damage and missing luggage, "Lucky for me I decided to put my guns inside the hotel or they'd have been stolen too." Expelling an irritated huff of air from your nose, you stood back a few steps and placed a hand to your forehead, "How did I not realise when we saddled up?"

A gentle hand met your shoulder as Arthur took to your side, investigating the damage, "Don't blame yerself Y/n, I missed it just as well as you."

"What am I gonna do now? They even took my goddamn bedroll! Who takes someone's bedroll?!" Your arms were up in the air, fingers outstretched and eyes wide as your expression soured. Arthur on the other hand had crossed his arms and snorted a laugh, amused at your priceless expression as he shrugged, kicking a loose stone under his boot, "That? I can't answer."

"I guess it aint that bad out to sleep without a blanket," A gust of harsh winter chill caught your back as the wind pulled at the neck of your burgundy leather jacket, earning a shiver that ran the length up your spine,  "Okay, it's pretty rough. 'Least I don't wear dresses and skirts though, I'd be frozen solid." You weren't like many women out here in the wild country of America. Most women were quiet, soft spoken people who tended to washing dishes and cleaning dirt from men's garments. Faces were powdered with rouge lips and frilly dresses with corsets to boot. You on the other hand couldn't care less about dawning dresses to impress the numbers. You hadn't a care in the world for all of the men and women who curled their lips in disgust at your fashion sense; tight dark grey pants, an oaky brown gunbelt, a yellow and black checkered long sleeve shirt with black suspenders and a lovely Tiltham hat you held close like your own child. That hat had been your father's and the silver-gold crow branded hair pin that kept your plait of hair together, your mother's. On colder days like the one you and Arthur were surviving, your burgundy leather jacket came in useful, although it didn't entirely keep the heat in and cold out. Still, you were grateful to not be in a dress.

As you investigated the cuts further, you caught Arthur staring from the corner of your eye. His crystal blue eyes were dead set on you, his brow slightly furrowed and his lips pressed together tightly. Just from that expression alone, you could tell he was deep in thought and horribly conflicted.

Pulling back from your saddle, you raised a brow and lent heavily on one leg whilst the other splayed out to the side, foot tapping against the stone surface below. Your arms were crossed and there was a small smirk forming across your lips, "Okay, what's got you in a bother Arthur?"

You watched, amused, as Arthur attempted to collect himself, standing upright and tense as he brushed his hand against the back of his neck, squinting as another blistering pulse of frozen air hurtled down past you both, "Me? Ain't bothered I just-- well you know, I guess I-- oh for Christ sake." The Cowboy spun on his heel and made for the fire, the daylight now completely seeped from the sky and replaced with a sheet of black. He threw down the camping equipment and began to unravel the rope that held it all together, keeping the tip of his boot against the fabric as to not allow it to be dragged away by the wind that managed to pass through the overhang. You followed close behind, offering a hand in help to prop up the wooden poles that held the tent upright, "Hey, come on now what's wrong?" Your voice was gentle, softer than velvety rose petals. Arthur couldn't hold his composure at all every time to used 'that' voice. It was sweet, innocent... and something he couldn't ignore no matter how hard he tried.

You and Arthur had been extremely close friends ever since the day he had rescued you from the O'driscolls that Summer just under a year ago. The tail-end of winter was slowly drifting away into a pleasant Spring, despite what the weather brought right now. For those months of yours and Arthur's frequent meet-ups, you had become closer with each passing day, confiding in eachother about your past and present dilemmas. Arthur saw a lot of himself in you, and you saw a lot of yourself in him; two orphaned Outlaws destined to traverse the wild west in search of a dream that always seemed just out of reach. You were both seen as the 'enforcers' of your respective group of people, the protectors if it were. A responsibility that bothered you both more than you liked to imagine. Arthur had also trusted you enough to speak about his past relationships with Mary Linton and Eliza, the barmaid. The thought of ever crossing paths with Mary had always filled you with dread, not because you were terrified of her but for the fact that you were convinced she wouldn't be leaving your path looking entirely human. From the way Arthur spoke about himself in such a negative way and how Mary had always strung him along just to disappoint him, you could see that the woman had damaged him. Broke his self esteem and made him a shell of his former self. Now that empty hole had been replaced with regret, self doubt and self hatred, though even still, Arthur retained those beautifully well mannered and kind qualities about him. He still had a heart even if he himself didn't believe in it, and despite all of that and Arthur's unwillingness for physical affection towards anybody, he was comfortable enough to allow you to embrace him when he needed it. There had even been a few times on your longer missions together, where wagons were involved, that you had accidently fallen asleep against Arthur's shoulder, waking some hours later to find his arm around your waist so that you didn't fall from the wagon.

You knew now at this very time, Arthur was panicked about something. You tied the last of the poles down and waited for him to finish up with the tarp before you came to stand in front of him.

"Can't hide anythin' from you can I?" His voice hinted defeat, but he relaxed and sat himself down in front of the fire, "Guess I just don't want you freezin' to death out here... I mean-- you can take my bedroll. I have a thicker coat, can use it for a blanket-"

"Arthur." You were quick to stop Arthur from an inevitable slew of worried gibberish, placing your hand against the back of his, "I won't let you do that."

"But-"

"What is it you're worried about?" You already guessed what it was, but you wanted to hear it straight from Arthur's mouth. It took a few long seconds before the man sighed outward with a wince, "I don't wanna share the bedroll cause it ain't right, invading your personal space. I probably stink and I'm sure you don't wanna be sharin' a bed with someone like me."

There it was, the same old self depreciation that Arthur more often than not spoke of. There was a moments silence, your sad eyes meeting Arthur's much more anxious fleeting pupils. He glared down into the floor.

"Arthur." You started, shuffling over to sit close beside him. You rose your hand to place underneath his stumbled chin, forcing him gently upwards to meet your gaze, "First and foremost, you don't stink. We literally had a bath yesterday at Strawberry." You then smiled softly, taking your hand away now that you had Arthur's full attention, "and I ain't worried about you sharin' your bedroll with me. If anything you'd probably keep me warm!" There was an amused twang to your voice, and you watched as Arthur's shoulders relaxed slightly. "But of course if it's too much I can always sleep outside of the bedroll, that's no fuss. Whatever makes you comfortable, Arthur."

The flames crackled and spat, sending a beautiful amber glow upon your skin. Arthur watched intently as the licking flames cast a wonderous light show upon your figure, the shadows created by your lashes and falling strands of hair only adding to your complexion. The sound of a coastal horned owl cooed overhead, chittering crickets encased the surrounding grasses and a jack rabbit lolled on past in the dead of night. Gentle clopping hooves bounced off of the cliff face as Starstreak and Pandora rocked slightly at a standstill, lazily huffing as though they were sound asleep.

Finally, Arthur bowed his head in agreement, "Okay, we can share the bedroll but only if you're comfortable."

"Are you?" You didn't want to invade on Arthur's privacy and comfort, and gave him a particular look that ensured he was telling the truth.

"Only if you're okay with it, then I'm comfortable." Nestling into the confines of the small tent, Arthur stripped off his clothes until he was in his red union suit, folding his discarded fabric into piles ready for morning.

You however didn't tend to wear union suits or night gowns, so you decided to simply kick off your boots and leather jacket, placing your hat against them in a separate pile.

Next you began wriggling yourself down into the bedroll, silently thankful for the warmth it brought. Then, a much deeper and more welcoming warmth caught your back as Arthur joined you. You had both embraced before, but this was different. The bedroll was really only meant for a single person, so Arthur was pressed up against you.

"O-oh. Sorry I--"

"I'm fine Arthur, but if it's making you feel comfortable then I'm more than willing to--"

"No it's fine! I mean... if you're alright with being this close?" His voice was stricken with worry, paranoid that he may be making you feel odd and in discomfort, but you simply giggled softly, "It's perfectly fine Arthur, keeps me warm."

With that, Arthur settled. His breathing began to slow and you guessed he was already slipping into slumber. The day had been long and Arthur was already encumbered with the previous stresses of camp life and Dutch prattling on about money, especially with his newfound position as Deputy Sherrif of Rhodes. Soon you found yourself drifting. The heat and crackle of the fire sent you into a relaxed spiral until finally you felt your world drown out into nothingness.

Sleep.

* * *

A harsh ray of sunlight caught the lid of your eye, disturbing you from your strange dream filled with galloping deer within the Heartlands. It had been a rather comfortable sleep, one that you found yourself enjoying much more than any night at a hotel, despite being asleep upon hard ground. As you attempted to shift, you found yourself locked into one position. You attempted to move once more, but again, you didn't budge, and soon you felt a pressure around your waist drag you somewhat backwards, a soft groan echoing behind you. Your eyes slowly trailed downward to catch sight of a strong arm encased around your figure: Arthur...

Admittedly the sensation of Arthur pressed up against your back whilst having you in such a soft and warm embrace made your stomach flutter, though you weren't quite sure why. In fact, the more you thought about it, the heavier the scent of tobacco and mint became as it caught your nostrils and the sensation of Arthur's hot and heavy breath catching the rim of your ear, the stronger that gut feeling grew. It felt extatic, sending a sudden shockwave of strange emotions rippling throughout your nervous system. Your bright eyes widened, freezing you in place as the strange feelings engulfed you like a tsunami.

Arthur groaned outwardly, shifting as he stirred. The beam of morning light had now traveled to shine upon his own face, disturbing him from his own slumber as he twisted awkwardly, releasing some tension around your waist but not fully letting go. Now you had a chance to roll around and face him, even if you weren't quite sure why you felt the sudden urge to do so.

With great caution, you slowly swiveled your way around to face the Outlaw that had you encased in his arms. He was still very much asleep, his eyes were closed and mouth ever so slightly parted open. Oh how peaceful he looked right now, the tension that usually lased his expression was all but absent, the wrinkles now lax and so much less defined. His brows didn't furrow, lips weren't twisted with anxiety and those beautiful eyes weren't squinting. As you gazed at him some more, you couldn't help but focus on all of the smaller details of his face. Brown-blonde stubble that coated every inch of his jawline apart from two small scars that were carved into his chin. Crows feet forming at the corners of his eyes. His semi-medium length blonde-brunette hair fell so gracefully over his face.

You suddenly caught yourself gawping. What were you thinking? This was your best friend and yet here you were, drooling over his features like a drunken harlot. Yet, you couldn't help but think about how beautiful and handsome Arthur was, so relaxed and peaceful in front of you. Silently cursing yourself again you bit down on the inside of your cheek with protest. You were confused. These emotions were all brand new to you and you didn't quite know what to make of them. Maybe it was the cold, or dehydration? Maybe you were simply famished.

"Y/n?"

Shit.

"O-oh my god Arthur- I'm sorry I didn't intend to be so close I-" now you were the one stuttering. Arthur on the otherhand seemed far less stressed than last night. He let out a soft smile and small sigh, shaking his head at the sight of your scrunched up face, "Hey, it's okay! I didn't mean ta grab you like that either I..."

Arthur trailed off. At least you weren't the only one feeling the pinch of embarrassment. Though... you rather enjoyed being in his embrace, even if the thought of you enjoying it so much made you confused, "It's okay Arthur. If anything, I'm well rested and didn't freeze to death during the night. I am very much alive." You attempted to calm to mood with a bit of humor. This worked, Arthur chuckling lowly as he blinked the sleep from his eyes, "Fair enough."

You relaxed. The sound of Arthur's husky morning voice sent another strange pulse of confusion through your veins and you felt your heart rate pick up it's pace suddenly.

"You seem a lot less stressed this morning," You attempted to make small talk in hopes of pushing your odd thoughts to the side. Arthur shrugged, "Guess I am. You have a fine way with words Y/n. Thanks for last night and uh... not freakin' out this mornin'." As he thanked you, he pulled himself up to sit, gently pulling his arm away from your back, "Got a lot of ground to cover though. Best we get a bite to eat and be on our way."

The empty feeling of Arthur's presence leaving you made you feel oddly disappointed, but you shook your head, shooing those thoughts and feelings away and replaced the shaking with a smile and a nod, "I am starved."

It hadn't taken long for you both to change, take down the tent and replace the items onto Pandora's saddle. Arthur tended to cooking the rabbit you had caught the day prior just outside of Strawberry whilst you brushed the dirt from Pandora and Starstreak, feeding them a well deserved carrot each as you prepped them for the rest of the journey.

"At least the storm has passed, don't think I'll even be needin' my jacket." You spoke with a chipper tone as you slumped down next to the fire and across from Arthur, who too hadn't bothered to put his blue winter coat on.

"Yeah it does seem a lot warmer now. Horses will be happy," with a beckon Arthur tempted you over and you accepted, shuffling across to sit beside him as he offered you a cooked rabbit leg. You happily chewed down onto the stringy flesh. It wasn't much pleasant, but you appreciated the food you had, you could have both been out of pocket if it wasn't for that rabbit.

Just as the day went on and the sun rose into the cloudless blue stratosphere, you and Arthur had both ventured onward. Without the battle of wind and snow to contend with you had both made excellent progress over the toughest section of your trip.

"Oh finally..." your voice left you as you pointed out towards a pleasant stream, a spare hand gripping onto the reins of your mount, "Almost there, just gotta follow the river now."

Among all of the vast countryside you had toured Arthur around, Big Valley had to be your favourite. You both made your way on horseback, following the weaving stream until the treeline opened up into a vast open meadow surrounded by mountain ranges and a thick ring of dense pine forest. Your senses were immediately hit with the fragrant smells of purple lavander and fresh spring water.

Letting out a thankful sigh, you pulled against your reins and joyfully let out a hearty "Hyah!" Urging Starstreak onward. Arthur was quick to join you, gaining on you quickly as Pandora sprinted after you. Soon they had come to your side, Arthur beaming a playful smirk, tipping his hat with a wink before thundering off.

Finally skidding to a hault some ways away, Arthur lept off of Pandora and turned to face you as you began to slow your stalion with a "Woah there boy!"

That's when you felt the weight of you become lighter than air, feeling a gust of wind and a sudden gasp as you finally realised Starstreak coming to a standstill without you upon his saddle, better yet your world had spun upside down.

Arthur had somehow managed to whip you off of the giant beast and hoist you over his shoulder, a long hearty laugh leaving his chest as he began to spin in circles.

"Arthur!" Your squeal was full of amusement and joy as he slowed, gently placing you down onto the ground, "You're full of surprises aren't ya?"

"S'pose I am." It wasn't a common occurrence for Arthur to have this much fun. He was tough as nails and often pushed away the idea of 'fun' unless it had been on simple outgoings with you. At least with you, hidden away from the prying eyes of the gang, he could let loose a little.

After your playful little spat, you both began to prep a fresh and much more inviting camp for the few days ahead. This area of the Valley was one of the most beautiful, painted green and purple with the most wonderful of scents.

Arthur had rebuilt the tent and prepared a cooking pot as well as a make-shift hitching post and horse feeding station. You sauntered off into the treeline just some meters ahead to gather firewood, a leather sling resting over your shoulder.

Pine was a decent sort of wood for a campfire, but the sap didn't make for a pleasant surprise when it would catch light and spit hot embers at your legs. Nevertheless, it's what you had and you were fully aware of such occurrences.

It must have been midday by now, you had spent a good half an hour picking your way across the tree-lined terrain, nestling the various twigs into the sling as you went. Pausing you took a quick glance through the treeline to spot Arthur resting lazily against a fallen tree trunk, his hat covering a majority of his face to block out the sun. He really needed the rest.

Humming softly with a content smile at the sight of a snoozing Arthur, you made your way deeper into the forest, flicking a few brave insects away with your hand as you pushed on through the undergrowth.

The serene sound of songbirds filled the midday air as you picked your way across the soft undergrowth, eyes focused downward for any loose sticks and twigs. It hadn't taken you long to gather a large wad, bending down to pick up the last of the tree debris needed for the fire before a sudden snap alerted you. Your hands froze, head flicking upward and your breath hitching in your throat. Wide eyes scanned your surroundings like a hawk until finally you caught the intruder in your sight.

It was just an ordinary man thankfully. He had stopped just ahead of you, leaping down from his chestnut stalion with a hunting bow strapped to his back: "He must'a come this way."

Guess I better make myself known before I end up like the next animal he's huntin'.

Raising to your feet, you let out a clear cough, waving your hand innocently with a greeting smile, "Hey there, mister. Fine day for huntin'."

You'd clearly startled the man, because he almost whipped the bow from his back as he spun to face you, chest heaving, "Christ lass you almost gave me a heart attack! This ain't no place for women. Go back to your man or somethin'."

That hit a nerve. You hadn't even known the man five minutes and already he was belittling you, "Excuse me? I can handle myself just fine out here, thanks."

"Y'wanna bet? Can you down a 200 kilogram Grizzly with one arrow?" He sounded awfully confident. You'd been up against those beasts before, nothing but fur, teeth, claws and muscle. Even you knew that one simple arrow couldn't defeat the king of the forest, though you humoured the man for the fun of it, snorting sarcastically: "One arrow won't cut it tough guy. Unless you wanna prove it to me."

The jaws of the man parted in dismissal only to be cut off by the deep gurgling cry of a Grizzly bear nearby. You saw the excitement spark in the strangers eyes, spinning to face the direction of the sound whilst he readied his bow. His Chestnut stalion whinnied an anxious complaint before turning tail to charge off into the opposite tree line. You couldn't blame the poor creature, even you readied your knife and pistol, though you were certain that simply wouldn't be enough.

"I will prove I can down the beast, miss. Just you see!" With a childish skip the stranger scrambled further up the rooted slope, scrambling on various pebbles and fern leaves as he went.

It didn't take long before you spotted a disturbance a little further up from the stranger; brown fur, full of muscle... beady devilish eyes...

With a foolish cry of victory, the man began to wave his bow in the air, "Woohoo! There he is! Come down from your castle you big beast! I'll have your pelt for a throw rug!"

He'd got the attention of the beast alright. The thundering of paws crashing against pebbled terrain had you step back a few paces as the brown terror came barrelling through the treeline, jaws parted in a terrifying roar. You watched intently as the stranger pulled his bow back, arrow settled against the string. With a grunt, his hand released. He was a good shot, that arrow had dove deep into the eyesocket of the creature earning a pained cry as he skidded to a hault. For a moment you wondered whether he had actually downed the animal and the stranger too began to let out a victory cry, spinning to face  you with a smug laugh.

The earth shifted. A shadow began to loom over the man and his face dropped, pailing with fear. Your feet began to shuffle back some more, but you just couldn't pull your eyes away. Not a sound was able to leave your throat no matter how wide your jaws parted in a silent cry for help. Running won't do him no good now. Fate had ultimately been at work here. All you could do was try and help.

Your hands met the wooden handle of your pistol, whipping it from your belt as you began unloading bullet after bullet into the creature's skull.

It wasn't enough.

Great jaws swung down and latched onto the strangers head. Only his jaw was visible. The man let out a horrific scream before the inevitable crunching sound of his skull popped and cracked under the pressure of the Grizzlies jaws. Blood spurred, pouring down the chest of the now obviously deceased man before his head was completely removed from his body.

You went to unload your gun once more, but the clicking sound your revolver made had you feel an icy terror build within your chest. You'd ran out of bullets. Your satchel had been left at camp and that was too far to run to without the bear barrelling you down first.

Your veins ran cold. You wanted to run but it was impossible. You were like a deer in a trains headlight. Frozen.

The Grizzly slammed his forepaws onto the ground, wet rouge liquid dripping from his sodden jaws. He then made his advancement, colliding with various natural debris as he gained on you.

An explosion ringed out beside you, the flash and bang startling you from your frozen state. Within a matter of moments the giant creature came crashing down, gravel encasing his blooded muzzle and eventually came to a standstill just inches from the tip of your boots.

"What the hell were you thinkin' standin' there like that?!" Arthur's terrified growl had you almost buckle at your knees as you let out a terrified choke of a sound, spinning round to throw yourself into Arthur's chest, arms coiling around him tightly.

It took a moment for Arthur to understand the sudden explosion of emotions, but as soon as he relaxed, his eyes investigating the Grizzly for any movement to which none came, he embraced you. Arthur pressed his head against the parting of your hair, eyes closed firmly as he began to rock ever so slightly to calm you, "Shhh there, there... 's alright now darlin'. You're safe." Fingers carded throughout your hair as Arthur comforted you. His eyes trailed the landscape until eventually it came to fall upon the decapitated victim, a hand still gripping the bow tightly. Arthur's throat bobbed as he gulped down, adams apple rolling in his throat.

He then quickly whipped his rifle onto his back and slipped his arms to the back of your legs and shoulders, pulling you upwards to carry you out of the treeline.

"I'm so sorry." Your voice was but a whisper as you buried your head into Arthur's chest.

"Got nothin' to be sorry for, sweetheart." Arthur's voice was so angelic in this tone; soft and sweet and yet held so much deep masculinity that gave you a sense of protection. Those strange butterflies in your stomach began to hatch from their chrysalis' once more.

"I'm meant to be this big-shot Outlaw who can put a bullet through a man's skull within the blink of an eye... yet here I am. How embarrassing..."

Arthur shot you a stern look as if to silently scold you for being so negative about yourself. He knew who you were; an O'driscoll's worst nightmare. They may have had you captive twice, but Colm had created you through murder and dispare. Killing your parents and giving you that scar across your right eye had brewed you into a woman tougher than a workhorse. The old fool had created a threat for the gang he ran. That, however, didn't mean you weren't allowed to fear things. It didn't mean you weren't allowed to show emotion.

"Y/n... y'do realise you're allowed to feel like that?"

You returned Arthur's gaze with a sigh, "You might change your opinion of me though."

He froze, eyes boring down at you intently. His face was emotionless until eventually a smell cracked from his rough exterior, "Seriously? That's what you're worried about? Y/n, you're the one who told me to be true to who I am, take yer own advice!"

Eventually Arthur came to a hault just in front of the little campfire, setting himself down so that, as he sat, you ended up upon his lap. Slowly Arthur removed the strands of hair from your eyes, gazing into them with his own beautiful oceanic sparkle, "So... now we've got that oudda the way... how you feelin'?" His gaze remained, fixated on your own. You wanted to desperately for Arthur to stop staring into you, but something instinctual and intense kept you there. For a second you didn't respond, before finally clocking on with an awkward giggle, "Well," you sighed outward, "I did try to warn the man. One arrow would never take down a Griz' unless it had dynamite attached to it."

You both discussed the situation for a while longer. Eventually your conversation ceased, and the Cowboy just sat there, watching as the sun began to set upon the horizon. In comparison with your previous night, this one was much more enjoyable. Arthur had gently placed you down next to him after a while, proudly presenting his perfect catch: a downed Pronghorn and one with a good amount of meat. You both spent the next few hours feasting until you could no longer fill your bellies, and soon there after the whisky you had purchased at Strawberry had popped open. You both enjoyed yourselves well into the night, not drunk enough to make fools of yourselves but also tipsy enough to crack a joke and find that particular sentence for the next half hour extremely

Finally you had met your match, yawning heavily until your eyes began to water, "I am exhausted..."

Arthur let out a bellowed laugh, smirking as he did so, "Told ya you'd yawn before me!" But as he said that, a drawn out yawn escaped his jaws. You gave Arthur a snort of content victory, a brow raised as you sauntered over to the tent, "Oh what a shame. I also said I'd get your hat without you noticing," as you spoke, your hand rose slowly to reveal Arthur's worn gambler hat, winking playfully before disappearing into the tent.

Arthur was left gawping, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he slowly pushed his jaw closed, "You son of a..." He paused. Smiled. Shrugged and finally strode over to the tent, gazing in at you. Unsurprisingly you had already fallen into a deep sleep, and so Arthur carefully shuffled into the blankets himself.

For a long while he simply lied there, eyes tracing your blonde hair as he lazily messed with the strands. A strange warm feeling began to encase him as he studied you, a smile forming on his lips. That's when he froze, clearing his throat and bit his bottom lip, "Oh no Arthur don't you dare." He spoke to himself in a low tone, "We ain't doin' this. Not to her. She deserves so much more than me." He then shuffled deeper into the blankets, sighing heavily, "Jus' the drink talkin'..."

* Part 2 will be uploaded shortly! I had to separate it into two parts as it was too long to fit all into one post! *

#arthur morgan #rdr2 arthur #rdr2 community #rdr2 fanfic #arthur morgan x reader #rdr2 #red dead redemption

[pinewoodpipit]

so long, we become the flowers - Cowboy AU Fic Meta - Horses

An extra fic meta post for my cowboy au!

Now the fic is done, I wanted to talk about the characters' horses for a bit!

I've also got a Sims 4 depiction of Strike and Karabasan back in this ancient post!

This is a long post, so I've put it behind a cut.

-

Main horses

Fade - Karabasan

Karabasan is based on an RDR2 / RDO Turkoman, specifically the black variant. He's solid black except for a snip marking on his nose, which is a little white/pink strip between his nostrils. He's big, muscular, a pretty decent balance between strength and speed. He's an extremely good horse for a person like Fade to have.

-

Neon - Strike

Strike was also inspired by a RDR2 horse, the silver dapple pinto Missouri Fox-Trotter. He's a dapple-grey tobiano horse, which is surprisingly difficult to find a picture of. He doesn't have a specific breed in this fic, but he's a speedy type. He's meant to be smaller but built for speed. The pictures here show off the coat colour, not the breed - he's meant to be little and nimble, not this bulky.

-

Jett - Orion

Orion is Jett's pride and joy, although she's very quiet about that fact. She's not super into horses, but she makes it a point of pride to make sure Orion's always well-groomed and taken care of. Grey horses (what most non-horse people would call white) are especially difficult to keep clean because horses by nature are not tidy animals and white coats don't hide messes well.

He's meant to be a thoroughbred, but with feathered front legs because I think that's cute.

-

Phoenix - Soot

Soot is a typical blanket appaloosa. Phoenix liked how she looked like she was ashen, and their personalities mesh well. He's not really a horse guy, but he likes his horse.

-

Deadlock - Eivind

Eivind is based on a Fjord horse. He's hardy and powerful, well-built to colder weather and with that lovely two-coloured mane they have, although Deadlock doesn't crop it. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I really don't like cropped manes on any horse, including fjords. They need their manes!

-

Astra

Astra's horse is a lovely blue roan mare. She's an extremely easy-going horse, especially for a mare, and she's getting on the older side now. She sees Harbor's horse more like a grown foal of her own rather than an irritating male she needs to swat away, so the two work very nicely together.

-

Harbor

Harbor's horse is a skewbald bay gelding (i.e. a brown-black castrated male horse with white patches across its body). He's a sweet horse and he gets the job done. Astra absolutely loves how the white cuts patches of white into his mane, and she often braids his mane. Harbor playfully thinks this is demeaning for such a strong young man and teases her for it, but it's all in good fun and Astra continues to braid his mane because it makes her happy.

-

Aykut

Aykut's horse was a powerful draft (Shire) horse. He was black with a bald face (meaning a broad white stripe down his nose stretching out to his eyes) and white socks, and was stolen off a cart while the owner wasn't looking. He's inspired by a horse I used to ride as a child. He's a pretty typical shire and he did the job well.

-

Horses which didn't get mentioned

Brimstone

Brimstone would likely have a large breed, think Andalusian or something of the like. It would probably be a simple bay and he'd take pretty good care of it, or pay someone to do so for him.

-

Sage and Viper

Sage and Viper work and live together similarly to how Jett and Phoenix do, and they share a horse. She's a blonde leopard Appaloosa - white with blond flecks all over her body. Sage loves her very, very deeply, and she's more her horse than she is Viper's.

-

Skye

Skye would have a curly horse. He'd be a chestnut and a happy guy, overall. Skye takes very good care of him.

-

Chamber

Chamber would have a highly expensive seal mare. She'd be gorgeous and very well taken care of, for bragging rights if nothing else. He probably sees his horse more as property than a living being, but she's still taken care of beautifully, so it doesn't matter too much.

-

Breach

Breach works in real estate and builds a lot of houses. He wouldn't own riding horses but would own several draft horses to help with his carts to help haul supplies. Fade would probably find this funny because it would remind her of her brother and his stolen cart horse.

-

I think that's everyone who was mentioned in this fic, or at least everyone I can think of who played some meaningful role. I really enjoy thinking about this stuff, so I hope you enjoyed hearing more about it :)

#pipit writes #fic meta #cowboy au #fanfic #valorant #fadeshock #own post #queued

[christopher-bryant]

the missouri fox trotter has been my horse since i started the game. i ditched the crappy horse you start out with and bought the mft because i have ridden them irl and their gate and speed are incredible. in the game it was proven the same. all of my friends have all different horses and say theres many better breeds and everyone i meet in the game at random have said the same. the consensus being that its too skittish and hard to handle but i have swayed a few of my friends onto the mft train by way of showing just how brave he is and how incredible the speed and stamina are. last week i was with my buddy rick and my horse got surrounded by wolves and stayed perfectly still. no bucking, no running, nothing. that turned him onto buying one and he's praised it. then friday i was huting cougars with another friend crystal and one came charging up at me and nipping around my horse's feet and again, stood absolutely still while she tried to shoot it. that sold her and she bought one saturday and has been using it since. one thing i will never spend money on in this game, is buying another horse. the mft has all the best stats and a wide variety of uses across the board. also does surprisingly well in the snow and doesnt slow down.

#rdr2 online #red dead redemption 2 online #red dead online #rdr online #rd online #missouri fox trotter #horses

[charlessmith]

OK so this is Arty, he's a silver dapple pinto Missouri Fox Trotter <3

Harlow caught him and broke him in 1908, a few months after Silver Dollar passed (he got Silver after Hosea..y'know :) ). He's named after Arthur bc Harlow remembers how much he loved silver dapples. After the gang got disbanded, Harlow settled down (mostly), so Arty is usually just a spoiled horse living it up in Saint Denis. But you know if there happen to be Unnamed Ex Gang Leaders that need to be hunted down, he can also climb mountains super well and isn't afraid of gun fire.

His personality is super Chill. He's ridiculously protective of Harlow's kids & is great for teaching them how to ride. I think he's the bestest boy. Just an all around chill loyal Boi

Ok so for starters, the backstory. This is so cute. I love the idea of people seeing similarities between horses and how they look, it brings about a canon where people truly care about the animals they see every day, enough so to pick them out of a crowd. Most people modernly see a bay as a bay as a bay. But I could pick my mare out of 10,000. I love that the looks of this horse mean a lot to Harlow.

As for the coloration (and this was the giant part I lost originally) I love the design. You chose a mane with reddish fade, when it would have been very easy to just pick a silver or black/white theme. But the fade is not only very complimentary, it matches the tiny amounts of red hues on the coat. Near the shoulder, on the nose. And the saddle even follows the plot, where you could have just easily chosen a white one. The entire color scheme is very very put together as well as unique. The mane and tail, while being unique, are also realistic, which is the main thing I am picky about when viewing usermade horses. It's very nice, very thoughtful.

I normally avoid this horse color like the plague (too fancy for me) but you've definitely made it relatable. I love the close up pic, his eye is very kind, and he looks like a horse that I couldn't just lasso in game. He fits in very nice.

I love that he's laid back and very casual (like a stereotypical gelding) but you added a spice to his personality usually only seen in fictional mares. It's so cute that he's protective of the children, even though characteristically he's normally laid back. It's super endearing about him. And breaks that "gelding" mold.

I give him a 9-9.5/10. I really like this horse.

#my post #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdo #red dead online #horse rating #harlow1898

[mysfts-aa]

𝑷𝑬𝒀𝑻𝑶𝑵 𝑷𝑨𝑳𝑴𝑬𝑹   -    𝑅𝐸𝐷 𝐷𝐸𝐴𝐷 𝑅𝐸𝐷𝐸𝑀𝑃𝑇𝐼𝑂𝑁 𝑉𝐸𝑅𝑆𝐸  .   THESE ARE BULLET POINTS , BUT A VERY DETAILED CHAPTER ONE PLOT ! i just need to figure out how to bring it together to make it coherent in a verse box . 

PERSONAL HORSE  -  missouri fox trotter named starlight - starlight is a little stupid, but loyal, the embodiment of staring at an animal where you’re like “i think you’re human, but you’re also a lil too stupid to be human... whats the truth?” and in response star is just the eye and lip emojimeme WORKING HORSES - two appaloosa’s , a spotted black and white one named moonlight and a white with brown spots named jupiter - yes, peyton knows about the space theme going on, it was an accident . LOADOUT  -  buck cattleman revolver x2, litchfield repeater, bow and arrows, hunting knife. ACCENT  -  while it’s not realistic for peyton to keep the thick yorkshire accent, she still has it, as a treat, because its fun :) sick of londoners, its time for some spice.

peyton grew up in a small cottage surrounded by a handful of animals . a ranch , but its slightly laughable calling it that with how compacted the place is in comparison to others along the way .  they have a coop for chickens, a cow and three horses -  it’s around a three hour drive to valentine ; surrounded by forest, a good bit of land to enjoy to themselves ; but the living vicinity is small . but , for peyton , its home , humble - but its hers, and its more than what most people have . peyton also goes out hunting regularly, another way to try and pick up the paycheck is selling animal skin and meat to the local butcher.

her mother died when she was eighteen years old , cause of death , typhoid fever ; it was horrible , and something that certainly traumatized her witnessing ; going from getting through the world together, to having no one there at all  -  peyton did her best to take care of everything, to bring in as much money as possible so aveline could get the top tier care she deserved  -  but in the end, there was nothing the doctors could do . it’s a death that peyton still hasn’t gotten over, and even as the years pass and she’s on her own , it just gets worse . but, she’s coping, as best as she can and in the end that’s all that matters.

a regular in valentine, first name basis with a lot of people  -  always greeted with smiles and waves when riding into the town. she still deals with her fair share of sexism, just as anyone else, but luckily its not as bad as it could be when going out into civilization. though, she doesn’t have many friends - or any friends, for that matter. the property is isolated, and she’s far too busy trying to keep the place standing to socialize on that sort of level. as a result, peyton is incredibly lonely, but it’s something she tries not to acknowledge ; blocking the voices out with writing and book reading. 

peyton has had many run ins with the o'driscolls, given where the property is and going back and forth from valentine pretty much daily, its only a matter of time. it was slow building encounters, depressingly  giving away some eggs because they demanded, some milk there  -  eventually it became routine and half of her income was going down the gutter, eventually hunting and  animal hides became her main source of income, it wasn’t something they hadn’t caught onto her doing yet - or if they did, they didn’t see it worthwhile.

#struggling for chapter 2 stuff yet but ... :( im gonna put a starter out for this .. i know im getting ahead of myself but IM SOO EXCITED #FOR THIS OKAY #━━ 𝑃𝐸𝑌𝑇𝑂𝑁 𝑃𝐴𝐿𝑀𝐸𝑅 ✗ red dead redemption .

[ask-arthur-morgan]

On a scale one to ten, how would you rate all the horses?

Oh boy... this is gonna take awhile, but I’m all game! Disclaimer before hand: This is just how I view these horses! I do not mean anything bad or hurtful okay? Besides we all just ride whatever horse we like regardless if it is not or is a  “10 star” horse anyway! Now, let’s proceed! 

American Paint Horse: I will give it a 7/10! It’s a very beautiful horse, all the coats are different so you can pick what coat you like best! But I personally think it could be braver! Iv’e been killed a lot of times on one of these horses because of gunfire!

American Standardbreed: 10/10! These horses are also very pretty, brave and have good stats! I gave it a 10/10 because this breed is the only horse you can get in all black!

Andalusian: 10/10! I feel like these horses don’t get much love! All the coat colors are stunning and bright! These horses were used by knights, soliders ect. All the coats look super bright in the sun! Plus, if you're looking for a horse a gang member doesn’t have, this is the horse to get! 

Appaloosa: Imma say 8/10! These guys are good mounts! The blankets are different on each horse! Their base coat color is pretty! I say 8/10 because they get me killed a lot but not as bad as the American Paint Horse. 

Arabian: 9/10! These horses haven’t been as “scared” or “uneasy” (for me at least) as most people say! I have done lots of hunting on the White one and the Rose Gray Bay and the Bay one was more brave to me. I love the gray one and I even named mine Arthur! I rate it a 9/10 because (to me) Arthur looks really big on the back of one of these horses and bothers me but for John it looks good!

Ardennes: 10/10! I haven’t rode this horse so I can’t really say anything! But I rate it a 10/10 because I love the size of this horse and I love BrownJack’s looks! I wasn’t able to steal this horse yet! But if i can i’ll update this ask!

Belgian Draft Horse: 10/10! These horses are large, beautiful and fearless! These horses make Arthur or John look bad ass! Another plus, if you're looking for another horse a gang member doesn’t have this horse is the one too! 

Dutch Warmblood: 9/10! I feel like this horse doesn’t get a lot of love either! The horse is tall, pretty and a sturdy mount! I bought the Chocolate Roan one as Arthur and loved him. This horse is good overall. I give it a 9/10 because I wish there were more coat colors that’s all! This horse is also another horse that no gang member has, another plus! Three plus! Buell is a Dutch Warmblood and he’s a sight to behold! I love that horse as well!

Hungarian Halfbreed: 9/10! I love these horses! I haven’t rode one in forever so I can’t say much! But I will say I love Old Boy’s coat color and I loved that one that Arthur left Van Horn on! I only rate 9/10 because I lost that horse and couldn’t get it again! These horses are brave and super easy to handled I think!

Kentucky Saddler: 8/10! These horses are super pretty! I really love the red pinto one and the buckskin one! Great starter horses or even long term pals, these horses are lovely and are easy to break or steal! I rate them 8/10 because they aren’t good with hunting (for me) but they were fine with gun fire as long as you calmed them down quickly. I loved Uncle’s horse with the mustache! 

Missouri Fox Trotter! 10/10! The Silver dapple pinto is super breathtaking! That horse is a beauty with hooves, I didn’t want to buy it so i stole it from the stable... but anyway, the horse is brave, sturdy, great around gunfire and around hunting animals! The blue eyes against the gray muzzle warms my heart! I do wish I could get this horse as Arthur or even Micah’s Baylock! I loved Baylock’s looks!

Morgan: 7/10! This horse has some really pretty coats! A lot of people bought this horse from the hunting mission with Hosea, and then resold it! I didn’t buy this horse because I did a lot of other things so i had more money to get another horse. I did ride one for this ask, and I didn’t like the lack of stamina or health. I kept forgiving it’s cores were smaller than my other horses and was pushing the poor thing! But overall, it was semi brave, pretty and was on the smaller side. That is why I rate it 7/10!

Mustang 9/10! I love this horse a lot! This horse is brave, fearless, sturdy and has pretty coats! I used this horse a lot with Arthur and was happy! I only rate 9/10 because you can’t get the Tiger Stripped Bay with Arthur and more coats would be nice! Another thing, these horses are the hardest to break, but once broke they are good mounts!!

Shire horse: 10/10! Love the colors of these horses and the feathering on the feet are so cute! These horses are huge, brave and the gang doesn’t own one! These boys or girls will guide you through the rough wild west with ease!

Suffolk Punch: 9/10! I loved this horse! It has the same ways of the shire horse but just smaller! It’s a well rounded horse that I think a lot of people sleep on, the gang also doesn’t own this horse so It’s perfect for that too! I rate it 9/10 because these horses are slightly harder to find shires and drafts but that’s it!

Tennessee Walker: 10/10! These horses are stunning, tall and iconic! Arthur’s first horse (with us) is a TW! All the coat colors are neat and beautiful! They have great cores for long distance, and they have pretty head shapes! I loved and kept the horse Arthur took from Colter! This horse was great around gunfire and animals! The only animal that scared this breed was the crocodiles. Thomas bucked me off when he smelt them!

Thoroughbred: 9/10! These horses are tall, bright looking and are great around gunfire! Not so much hunting for animals! I’ve been killed a lot by cougars and wolves because this horse bucked me off but I still love this breed! A plus though, the gang doesn’t own this horse! That’s why I rate 9/10!

Turkoman: 8/10! This horse comes in a sleek sliver or a dashing brown! Both colors are super stunning! It’t tall, great for hunting and gunfire and this horse tends to stick out in a crowd! I rate 8/10 because this horse trips over EVERYTHING (for me) and nearly kills us both! I could ride over a flat road and this horse would still trip! Another reason, needs more coats!

Nokota: 5/10! These horses are little beauty bullets! They are great travel pals and are easy on the eyes! As long as there’s no drama! I really loved the one from Saint Dennis but (for me) they kept bucking me off! Near gunfire and animals! Even on level four bonding, I was always getting bucked off! Even calming the horse down, soothing it, taking it away from the drama.. it still bucked me off! I ended up selling him because I was tired of eating dirt. I was more on the ground than riding the horse! These horses (for me) weren’t very good. They were too scared of everything! I did find out that the white one was the “bravest” one. 

I didn’t add online horses because I don’t play online!

#rdr2 #horses #enjoy anon! #thanks for the ask!

[strandsofgold]

it's revswanson!

3, 9, 13, 15, and 18 😄

RDR2 Story mode questions

3. Main missions or stranger missions?

main missions, no doubt about it.

the stranger missions are fun, certainly, and they do give us a better insight into arthur when he's not surrounded by gang members, but i mean, come one. the dialogue, the story, all the other gang members, those are what make rdr2 into the brilliant game that it is.

9. Arthur's hat on or Arthur without hat?

with hat. his hat specifically. i have other hats, but they're not his hat so i only have him wear that one. it feels special and significant, and i think he looks really handsome and also more mysterious and imposing when he wears it.

13. Repeater or rifle?

shotgun. the automatic shotgun is the best goddamn weapon in the entire game.

but like, seriously, i guess it would be rifle. i love sniping npc's from an ungodly length away. like, going to the top of the lighthouse in van horn and getting arthur into trouble for just sniping people from afar is really fun. i also really enjoy hunting with the scope.

15. Draft horse or war horse?

probably war horse? draft horses are pretty average all around, as opposed to the war horses that are a generally slower but got better health and stamina and i like that, it feels very... arthur-like. like, they're usually pretty calm in combat, don't really get startled, and perform well under pressure, and that's just something i think arthur appreciated in a horse.

the only upside to draft horses is that they are big and i like that for arthur, but the ardennes', which are war horses, are also pretty large and usually the horse i go with before i can get my beloved missouri fox trotter in chapter four.

18. High honor or low honor?

like most other people (i think? maybe it's just the tumblr bubble i'm in when it comes to rdr2), i believe that high honour is the canonical arthur. it's the man capable of both great violence and great kindness.

i enjoy playing as low honour arthur, i would be lying if i said didn't, but i enjoy and love playing as high honour arthur more.

#thank you for sending these in <3 #they're so much fun to answer

[ocean-moonlight]

For real tho, why can’t we get Baylock online at least, he’s just 👌🏻😫 I steal him from Micah every time I play. Same with Old Boy tbh

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #rdr horses #baylock #old boy #the count #i also have a missouri fox trotter #i need a good name for her #i dont really like the one i have now #dutch van der linde #micah bell #arthur morgan #john marston #my screenshot #i steal baylock every time i play

[koukoupepia]

god help me ive been playing red dead online again

#RDO is NOT a good game but i beat the story a couple months ago and i still feel like riding horsies #also other players on rdo so far have generally been pretty nice i havent been grievedyet #but the player lobbies seem to be pretty small #theres more people since rdo became available as a standalone game i feel like whenfirst tried playing i never saw anyone in free roam #finally got enough money to buy one of the new missouri fox trotters that arent rank locked #rdo fuckin sucks though dont play it #maybe i'll get into ffxiv. i dunno.

[namesonboats]

Non-spoilery tips for people starting Red dead redemption 2

Here are a few things I wish I'd known before I started the game:

- Chapter 1 is a tutorial. The game doesn't start to feel like the game until you reach ch 2.

- Read Arthur's journal. Not only is it a great insight into that man's thoughts and character, it's more or less the only way to understand why he's stuck in a mountain with his gang at the start of the game (you can talk to people about it, but you only get fragments of what happened).

- Reading the newspapers will also keep you in touch with what's going on in the world. It's fun and costs very little.

- Never buy a horse. At the start of the game, you're going to be short on money. Don't spend what little you have on horses. Tame them wild. Steal them. Keep the big black boy Hosea gives you in ch 2, it's awesome. The only horses you'll want to buy in the game are the Missouri Fox Trotter and the Turkomans, which are available from ch 4 (some are only available from the epilogue), and by then, you'll have the money.

- Continuing on horses, don't bother taming the Saddlers or the Morgans. Go for the more rare variants, like Mustangs, Nokotas, Appaloosa, or American standardbreds. I value speed above all other qualities in horses because I roam around in the game a lot, so I especially love the Thoroughbreds.

- Take care of your horse! Feed them at least twice per day, hay, carrots, apples... Buy the brush from the stables and make sure to keep them clean. It will make them bond with Arthur faster and a fully bonded horse is the best thing you'll have in the game.

- The saddles that the trapper makes you are great. They boost stats. Check them out once you find him and hunt the required animals for pelts.

- Take care of Arthur! Like your personal cowboy Tamagotchi, he needs some attention. I made the mistake of only eating when his stats were low, and that rewarded me with an underweight Arthur. Like normal people, he needs a meal at least twice per day. Shoot a deer or a boar, pick some herbs, and cook him some meat. Use canned food for filling up his health and stamina core. Let him take a bath once in a while, it boosts his stamina. Let him sleep, or else his stamina core drains faster. Buy a new shirt for him once in a while. It won't affect his stats but our boah looks so nice in new clothes.

- On the subject of Arthur, don't worry if you don't like him at first. I didn't. Actually, let him be an asshole in the start; there are plenty of opportunities to augment his honor as the game processes. That's what redemption is. He slowly grows on you until you can't help but feel like he's... you. And yet not. I went from "ugh ok tough cowboy" to "I can't live without this man" in a matter of days.

- Whenever you're robbing homesteads, make sure to check the fireplaces or hearths for a bit of extra loot.

- Don't shoot people left and right; some can be intimidated to show you where they keep their valuables.

- Buy the varmint rifle for hunting small game like birds and rabbits, and the Springfield rifle for hunting larger game like deers. The game provides you with opportunities to get other important weapons, like the rolling block rifle, shotgun, and bolt action rifle, for free. Use high velocity bullets for larger animals like cougars.

- COUGARS. Don't feel bad if they straight up murder you whenever you see them. I've died so many times because of these hellcats. They are silent and deadly and will appear out of nowhere. Equip your bow with improved arrows or the Springfield rifle with high velocity bullets.

- Speaking of hunting (and killing people) the bow you get in the first chapter is often the best (and stealthiest) weapon in the game. Shoot a few birds, get the flying feathers, and craft improved arrows. Craft small game arrows for animals like squirrels. Once you get the recipe for the poison arrows, you can kill anything, even huge grizzly bears (but don't eat the meat.)

- Speaking of recipes. You have to read the pamphlets to learn them. It's not enough to buy them and keep them in your satchel. D'oh.

- Treasures. They're fun and allow you to explore the map but they're not needed to have enough money. In fact, my biggest problem with the game was having too much money and nothing to spend it on because I found all these awesome treasures.

- Don't worry about not having the time to loot a lot of bodies. One or two is fine, they usually don't yield a lot anyway.

- Take it slow. Don't stress. Avoid main quests whenever you want and just enjoy spending time with Arthur. Whenever you start feeling bored, do a main quest and the story will advance.

- Play the game how you want it. Don't feel like doing the bandit challenge? Then don't. It's your gameplay.

- Buy the leatherworking tool from the ledger. Pearson can craft you some awesome satchels, and some nice things for the camp.

- My favorite part of the game? Hunting. And spending time at camp at night, the banter and singing. The interaction between characters is like nothing I've ever seen in a game before. It pulls at your heartstrings and hardens your guts.

Anyways, feel free to add in if you wish!

#rdr2 #tips and tricks #long post

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style? #16)

I forgot to shave before passing out in the street… damn it.. 

Also I love (and hate) the idea that this guy just found me in the street and decided to DRAG me to the doctors (or maybe he just dragged me out of the middle of the road… cause he does try to get Arthur to wake up and the doc isn't far from where we fell over)

"Not good news" Yep here come the water works.

I made a gif, i’m sure there’s a bunch of these out there of this but I made one anyway..

I'm sure the game didn't think I would actually choose to leave the horses after taking the canoe up river and actually WALK all the way to the cave judging by how Arthur and Charles were yelling despite walking a foot apart. 

But guess what game, I just needed to take a long walk through spooky woods with my boy, the only guy (okay one of two cause John counts but he's not here right now) that has my damn back in this damn camp. 

It was actually rather relaxing… if I didn't think about where we're going or where we were or the fact that Arthur is DYING (I'm not okay)

Damn it the last mission in chapter 5 is just full of so many "oh shit" moments where I remember or hear a line that reminds me what's about to happen. Bringing Meredith home I almost started crying, hearing Molly I had to pause and take breath first… this game is so well done to provoke emotions like this even after years and knowing what’s coming

Oof and the music "I did… I told them!" And the music just gets so much darker and dramatic and UGH I don't like this pain. Yelling at my screen "no she didn't! She's drunk! Susan no!!!" DX but fuck man… she's so heartbroken she's lying so he'll shoot her and/or she's lying cause she knows it'll hurt him cause he’s hurt her… I hate it. 

The fact that Molly didn't get a fucking grave and that they didn't bury her but burned her… I know they didn't know… but she deserved better… and the fact that the chapter screen pops up on that image…

Chapter 6: loads in

Me: I hate it here...

Dutch is giving a speech… does he even realize NO ONE is looking at him. Like for his other speeches he had people stop and turn to look or walk over to listen… I think everyone has realized his speeches are just the same. He'd throw himself in the ground in their stead. Yeah, we got it Dutch…

Basically saying pick his side… dude there shouldn't be sides in the first place. You're a self fulfilling prophecy my man… 

Also seeing how the list in my “people” folder for camp stuff keeps getting shorter just HURTS

I am excited about doing Bronte's house's post. Dude has his fucking initials on his damn wallpaper xD

I think you can go inside it in Red Dead Online so I might go back for some more photos (it was very annoying to angle the shots I did take so bodies weren't in frame) if not I can just replay the mission.

Might have to see if I can go into the Mayor's house too cause the party doesn't really let you wander in there unless Luca is with you or you're sneaking

Apparently you have to use a wagon to get to the second floor then go through a window… well this’ll be interesting… just hope I don’t get a session with a lot of players in Saint Denis… ugh I wish it was like GTA V online where you have private lobbies. I hate going onto RDO alone cause I always run into assholes who just wanna kill npcs and players for fun. Well, I will ‘document’ my online adventure as Evangeline (my online OC) who looks like Ciri from Witcher 3 and her Missouri fox trotter Trevor.

Well I found a wagon immediately but it had an open back so i couldn’t climb onto it… now i’m waiting on the either side of a bridge for a good wagon… If i had a trader wagon that might work but I don't… wait... O_O Target acquired.

*Hacker voice* I’m in.

Obviously these photos won’t be as clear cause I can’t turn off blur on the 1st person view thing… Gonna do the same kinda thing I did with the Braithwaite manor post where there is a lil mini map to show which room it is. Gonna make a separate post for the garden in back… and honestly… probably have to make a separate post for each floor… I took a lot of photos...

So yeah that might be the next thing to come out cause I really wanna get that up.

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #blog progress update

[ms-rampage]

Nice to Meet You

Charles Smith x [OC] Kate Winchester (or female reader)

This is my first RDR2 writing. I've had this swimming around in my head for awhile now, and this is one my favorite ships 😁😁💕💕. This is pretty much one of the ways I would have Kate and Charles meet. My writing requests are closed for now, but I'll save your request in my queue.

Warnings: None, maybe some slight language but thats normal for my writings. Awkward Kate/Y/n? 😅😂

A/N: Feel free to insert yourself as my OC as you read on. 😁😊

Photo of Charles isn't mine

Camping out near the Hanging Dog Ranch in Big Valley, West Elizabeth. The lavender field is such a beautiful place to set up camp, its even more beautiful with the snowy mountains from the West Grizzlies of Ambarino.

Kate always had this connection with nature. This spot is great for star gazing, and sometimes hunting. She normally didn't like hunting unless it was really necessary, such as for food, or to make a few dollars to sell some pelts for food. Being a naturalist can be difficult sometimes. You study animals, but sometimes cravings kick in, and you sometimes gotta hunt animals for food. Saloon food doesn't do it sometimes, so you gotta cook your own food.

Camping can be dangerous, even by yourself and especially if you're a woman, but for Kate she's a natural and somewhat of a veteran at camping alone, especially for her size. Being 5'4 and very easy to miss, especially when sitting or laying down, but that's why she has her guard dog Haley watching over the campsite while she's away. She's a good dog, German Shepard.

She's just relaxing, drinking some coffee as the cold West Elizabeth breeze blows past her, and that's when something startles her Missouri Fox Trotter, Lily. She somehow manages to unhitch herself, and takes off running into the wooded area nearby.

"Lily!" she exclaims dropping her cup of hot coffee to chase her horse. "Lily come back!". She sprints after her.

[Charles POV]. Normally he doesn't go this far from the gangs camp, but sometimes a good ride is good to clear your head. The areas around Strawberry is good for hunting. Getting away from the gang even for couple hours or a couple days can be a good thing.

Charles sets up his camp near the Black Bone Forest, not far from where Kate is set up, but of course he doesn't know this. Fixing up the fire as the evening sun is less than an hour away from setting. Warming up his hands as the cold weather starts to pick up, and night time will be arriving soon.

As he warms up his hands, he hears the voice of a woman calling out for someone, sounding distant but very close. He continues to warm up by the fire then a black, white tovero horse with saddle, and everything on, trots by looking a bit agitated. Putting two and two together, he figures it belongs to the woman calling out for it.

He gets up from his spot near the fire, and slowly approaches it, not wanting to startle or scare it away.

[Kate's POV]. "Lily!" she shouts, the tracks her horse had left now fading. Feeling like hours since she's been tracking her down. Normally she's really good at tracking animals, but it's close to night time and she left her lantern at her campsite. As well as her dog, hoping she doesn't get attacked by wolves, bears or cougars.

"Fuck" she sighs, "Lily!". She whistles for her, waiting for the whinny and heavy hooves of her horse, but to no avail. No sign of her. Not realizing she had chased her down a little too far. Kate is now nowhere near her campsite and is now in an area where there are dangerous predators lurking in the dark somewhat terrifying forests.

[Charles POV].

"Hey there girl" he says softly to the horse. She whinnys softly at him, digging her hoove into the dirty, not sure who he is. He continues to slowly approach her, when he gets to arms reach of her, he calms her down. "You're okay girl".

[No POV]. Patting her, Lily then calms down. He guides her towards his campsite, hitching her near Taima. 10 minutes had passed, "Lily!" the voice of the horse's owner echoes through the trees, followed by footsteps not far from Charles campsite. After another few minutes, a woman comes into view.

Charles sees her walk into view of his camp, "Ma'am is this your horse?" he asks. Relieved to see her horse is alive and well. Kate lets out a sigh of relief, "Oh fuck. Oh my God. Yes, thank you so much sir. I don't know what she saw, she just took off from her hitching spot". She unhitches her horse from the spot.

"I can escort you back to your camp" he tells her, knowing that this is O'Driscolls and Skinner brothers country. "Oh no its fine but thank you for the offer. I don't want to be a burden" she tells him.

"I insist" he tells her, "Its dark, and I don't want you to get attacked. This is a O'Driscolls and Skinner brothers area".

"Are you sure? My campsite isn't set up far" she asks, "I hope it isn't trouble?". This little lady can easily get attacked by any bandits and robbers. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't escort her, and made sure she was safe.

"I'm sure. I don't want you to get hurt" he tells her.

"Well if you insist then thank you sir". she tells him. She mounts Lily, and Charles mounts Taima. "I'm set up at the lavender field. Near the Hanging Dog Ranch" she informs him.

"Near the O'Driscolls hideout?" he asks, looking at her with a look of concern.

"There's no one at the hideout. I checked it out earlier, its empty". she replies. He escorts her to her campsite which is less than a 10 minute ride.

As they're riding, Charles gets a better glimpse at Kate's face. He knows he's seen her before but he's not sure when and where though, she's very beautiful, and also very small, short but height and size isn't really important to him. He knows she can probably hold herself in fight, but he wants to be a gentleman, and guide her to her camp.

When they reach her campsite, her dog greets with a bark of excitement and tail wagging. Kate hitches Lily. Charles gets off his horse. "Have I seen you before?" he asks her, "I feel like I've seen you before".

Kate did recognize him, but like him, she wasn't 100% sure. Getting a better look at his face and other features from the fire and a bit of light from the moonlight. He's most likely half African American and Native, he's also very handsome. "Outside the Smithfield Saloon in Valentine" she tells him, "I believe one of your friends got into a fight with Big Tommy".

He lets out a soft chuckle, and a slight smirk "I thought so. That was Arthur".

"And also in the Heartlands" she tells him, "Well you didn't see me, but I saw you with that same man... Arthur, who fought Tommy. I was studying bison, and you two were riding by. I recognized you".

"Studying bison?" he asks, intrigued by her response.

"I'm a naturalist. I study animals, and wildlife. I'm also a herbalist". she tells him, "I usual camp by myself to clear my head... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name".

"I'm Charles" he introduces himself.

"I'm Kate. It's finally nice to meet you" she was always terrible at introducing herself because she's very awkward, "But yeah, I study animals. Bison, Buffalo, cattle in general, I find very interesting... Sorry I'm just rambling on about my interests". She chuckles nervously.

"No worries. It's fine" he tells her, giving her a soft smile. Finding this woman very interesting and very attractive, also getting this strange feeling in his stomach that he has never ever gotten before, "I should be getting back to my camp now. Have I nice night, Kate".

"You too Charles, and thank you for the escort" thanking him with a smile. He hitches his horse and rides back to his camp. The whole time Kate was on his mind, even when he would try to sleep. Just something about her, her interests, and her demeanor. How sweet and down to Earth she is.

#rdr2 charles smith #oc: kate winchester #rdr2 ocs #charles smith x reader #rdr2 x reader #red dead redemption 2 fanfic #red dead online #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption 2 ocs #rdr2 screenshots #kate winchester x charles smith #charles smith x kate winchester #rdr2 x oc #charles smith #rdr2 charles #rdr2 #red dead redemption fandom

[shadowglens]

colter, valentine, rhodes & clemens point!!! 🤓

clemens point answered here!

colter - your favourite chapter?

i'm a sucker for chapter 6 for all the angst, and also because the north-eastern part of the rdr2 map is my favourite area! i also enjoyed chapters 2 - 4 though.

valentine - which horse do you ride?

i had a few horses with arthur, but my favourite (and the one that died at the end 😭) was a leopard coat appaloosa. as john i have a silver dapple pinto missouri fox trotter, and a black arabian.

rhodes - something you dislike about the game?

that like everyone dies rip. or that you have to buy ammo (which i know is realistic but god i hate games where you have a limited amount of ammo).

#asks #villainthirst #ty saskia <3 #john gets all the expensive horses cause i didn't realise where the cool horses were before arthur died adfsdsg

[rdrthingies]

i will share my oc for @kitsuonyo and you alone TW for r*pe but only mentioned and child abuse

Aight so meet Tayen (Smith)

She’s 20, Comanche and white mix, autistic, and bisexual!

this is a commission from the very good @jaegervega​ !!

she was born because her Comanche mother was r*ped by a white soldier, and so she never felt like she belonged within her tribe despite the Chief and Elders welcoming her as one of their own.

When she was 7 years old the soldiers returned and took all the children to a reform school run by a Catholic Church. She was there for two years and suffered heavy child abuse as was common within the reform schools.

At 9 she stabbed one of the priests in the eye with a stake and stole a horse and ran away. She wandered the wood lost and hungry and came across a lone camper and decided to try to steal from him.

Tada! that was Charles Smith and he was like “uuuhhh there’s A Child here” but even though he thought he should’ve taken her to another tribe to look after her, he decided to let her stay. (He also saw her pick a fight with a coyote over some jerky she dropped and thought it best if she stayed with him).

So now they’re Siblings bc I crave that good sibling relationship and she is just about the exact opposite of Charles in that she is loud and angy and WILL fight you.

“I’ll kick anyone’s ass! I’ll kick your ass, I’ll kick Gods ass, I’ll even kick my own ass!”

She’s also autistic and commonly stims via flapping her hands, playing with her hair, and humming and hooting like an owl. (fun fact! The hooting is what inspired Charles to nickname her “Little Owl”)

Fast forward to 1899: she steals John’s saddle bags bc why not but doesn’t know he’s part of the gang. She’s actually been reaaaalllyyy wanting to join a gang to have Friends.

Later they join the VDL gang and they’re getting the tour, she sees John and John is like “YOU” and she’s like “haha F” it’s okay though they’re Good Friends now.

She also has a major crush on Javier bc who doesn’t and in my little au they end up together.

But she is Very Traumatized of sex bc of something that happened in the reform school and so she doesn’t... really know a lot about that kinda stuff which does make for some pretty fun discoveries

the first time charles mentioned sex around her she was eleven and hissed at him and hid in a tree for two hours

She likes to wear face paints as Comanches will wear face paint for decoration as well as war. She mostly likes to wear it as to draw attention away from her blue eyes (they’re her least favorite thing about her body). The colors she commonly wears is Red for power, green for endurance, and yellow to show that she is not afraid to die (she may also have depression)

So yeah she likes to pick fights with just about anyone and will constantly get hurt. Her least favorite gang members are Micah, Bill, and Reverend Swanson in that order.

Her weapons consist of a LeMat revolver (it has that sweet, sweet shotgun option). A sawed off shotgun, a hunting knife, tomahawk, and a bow and arrow.

Her horse is the black brindle Missouri Fox-Trotter named Inola or “Black Fox” and he is a Little Shit they’re perfect for each other.

anyways this is her she’s my Child and I Love Her

#thingy writes thingies #this is her #oc sharing #tayen smith #it was fun to do research on the comanche people #i'll share the links if people ask #i don't remember if Inola is a shoneshone language (the language of the Comanche people) but I figured Charles and Tayen stayed with many #different tribes and picked up on many different languages so