#mary linton even says so

[wyllsravengard]

john in rdr1 is so special to me i feel crazuyzuzyszy

#z.gen #rdr1 john is just . so . #like hes like the best of himself embodied and hes so unbelievably duty bound to abi #he loves her so much. and he goes against everything for her and jack. the progression of stupid deadbeat #to worlds most loving and dedicated husband makes me sick #and it makes me feel so unwell that john in rdr1 isnt like arthur. #arthur is a good man. to me it makes sense that he is canonically intended to be moral and upright #mary linton even says so #but i dont think thats true for john. i dont think john is 'moral' as much as he is dutiful #nothing is his concern other than his wife and son and i loveeee that about him so much #i know a lot of people find this to be a fault and surely if you like more heroic characters arthur is much closer to it #but john is so. he is so. #theres something about the way he does anything to protect them that makes me weak #its not self serving like dutch nor is it moral like arthur #everything is for them. everything. every single thing. #he embodies in such a way that it makes me unwell. hes so morally gray but for them? he'd do anything and he does #i just . love how john is bound by duty and not morality #hes not particularly remorseful or good or upright #but he is painfully dutifully. to me because i think thats what he took from the sort of life arthur lead #even though i think arthurs goodness was truer. i think john realized that he isnt arthur #but he became the sort of man he could be and became someone who always paid his debts #and did whatever it took protect what he believes is family. whats important to him #when i think about how deeply his love is tied with loyalty and duty i just get sooo insane. like you dont even get it #and rdr1 john is soooo protective and kind to women and sooo hateful to men which helps #i think rdr2 john is so hateable but rdr1 john is like the most perfect man to ever exist and appeals to me #on a personal level more than arthur. like i just cant stop thinking about him #hes so like. attractive hngfmgkjdf #i can hardly play the game its sooo distracting to listen to him

[arthursfuckinghat]

Say what you want about Mary, but nothing makes my heart ache for Arthur more than how fucking much they loved eachother and how much they knew it would never work.

Meeting Mary the second time, she absolutely lit up seeing that Arthur actually came to help her again. Even despite the rough circumstances with her father, they both went and had a wonderful evening at the theatre.

Mary had no idea that would be the last time she'd ever see Arthur alive again.

#and she didn't even say goodbye to him at the trolley #the last letter she wrote to him was about moving on and gave back the ring arthur gave her #I can't even imagine how much the guilt and grief ate at her for that #oh mary arthur loved you so much #he had a dysfunctional family just like you why couldn't you both see that #oh man #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #mick squeaks #mick thinks #arthur morgan #mary linton #mary gillis #red dead redemption 2 spoilers #she probably wanted it to be the last time they'd meet because she wanted to move on #but how was she to know #how was she to know she would never see those blue eyes again

[gavinwhereareyou]

I know it’s been talked about, “who convinced Arthur he was dumb?” We hear Hosea and Dutch both make jokes/comments about his intelligence, and even if they’re just jokes eventually they add up, and who knows what he heard from his father and other adults he interacted with as a child.

But who convinced him that he was ugly? I know we all think he’s beautiful and I think he’s conventionally attractive, but the comments he makes are persistent. The comments he makes in the mirror, the things he says at the portrait place in Saint Denis, the “no one would have me” comment, and probably a lot of others I’m missing. I’m not sure if any other character in the game calls him ugly, in fact Tommy calls him “pretty boy” and Albert Mason takes a picture of him that he includes in his gallery.

So now I’m just curious who convinced him he was ugly because I definitely don’t think it was Mary Linton and it likely wasn’t Eliza.

#rdr2 #rdr2 arthur #arthur morgan #red dead redemption 2 #gavinwhereareyou

[slicedmayonnaise]

what are your thought on Mary Linton???

Let's talk about Mary Gillis Linton!

First of all, I love Mary. She's literally so pretty, I can see why Arthur can't get over her. Second, I can really relate to her T^T She has eldest sibling syndrome. And by that I mean, she was forced to mother Jamie at a young age. Since their actual mother died, she felt obligated to step up and take care of him since he doesn't really have anyone else. Their father is a piece of shit, for crying out loud. I feel really bad for her and Jamie tbh.

I hate how a lot of the fandom demonizes her because of her and Arthur's relationship, but y'all need to take a step back and look at it from her perspective. Yes, she loved Arthur, but Arthur was a wanted criminal who lived his life on the run. Mary comes from a rich, (seemingly) respectable family whom she has obligations to. She has to keep up her family's image as well as take care of her brother. She tries over and over to get Arthur to change and go straight so they can be together, but as she says: "You had to live by your code." Arthur couldn't change for the better, and she couldn't just drop everything and live her life on the run with him. She didn't want to live her life as an outlaw, and she couldn't just abandon Jamie to run off with Arthur. You may argue "Why doesn't she just take Jamie with her?" Because she doesn't want him, a young boy, living a dangerous life of crime as well.

She had to sacrifice Arthur for (seemingly) the better of her family. Even her father whom she still holds a caring sentiment towards despite knowing what an awful person he is.

Tldr: I love Mary. She deserves better <3

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption #red dead fandom #red dead redemption community #rdr #red dead redemption two #red dead #red dead 2 #mary linton #mary gillis linton

[ravengards-rogue]

dont take any of this too seriously. just spewing my thoughts. some rdr2 / johnigail stuff. mostly talking 2 myself. a lot of spoilers lmao

i really. i really like the relationship that john and abigail share both in rdr2 and later in rdr1. and what i like about it is that it, explicitly, is not a story of true love.

don't misunderstand, i think john and abigail love each other to death and ever after. they share such a deep and solid relationship and both make mutual connections to each other over the course of the game. but what makes them compelling to me is the deep realism rooted in their romance and the way that love is depicted as choice rather than fate.

rdr2 poses this more than once through out the story, with the most obvious example being mary-linton and arthur. when presented the choice to leave the gang or go with mary, arthur chooses the gang due to various internal and external factors. but the implication remains that things might've been different had arthur learned how to choose other things. himself. his future. etc. there's examples of this with hosea and bessie (said by hosea himself "she knew what i was"), with dutch and his varying models of young women. the van der linde gang chooses the outlaw life chronically, habitually, instinctively.

abigail joins the gang as a working girl. she sleeps with most of the camp, and then with john. they're sweet on each other. and she has a boy that she believes to be johns. john is hesitant to believe that (and maybe some of that is warranted) but most of it is him being a complete jackass. the kid is born. john is presented the option of fatherhood. he, like the rest of the gang, comes to a point where he feels he must choose what is going to take priority in his life.

(and this is important - because in my mind, so much of this pressure is so self-imposed. it's inherited in the way most sons inherit from their father or like most younger brothers inherit for their older ones. it's possible no one told john to choose explicitly. not then at least.

but well, john has seen this all play out before. and loyal men choose the gang, almost always. the gang is family, was family before jack and abigail. and if john owes anyone loyalty, it's dutch who raised him as a golden boy)

john, for better or worse, chooses neither. he leaves the gang entirely, for a year which is a huge point of contention. he leaves both things behind. he doesn't choose. he doesn't want to choose. but he comes back, and presumably makes the choice made many times before him. he chooses the gang and completely shafts responsibility of fatherhood and husbandry. but there is obvious uncertainty there.

the choice john makes to leave is interesting when you consider it thematically, and you consider arthurs specific advice to john before his death - that you can't be two men at once. something that is reiterated to john in the epilogue and that he acts on in rdr1. it's also interesting when keeping in mind some hidden dialogue hosea has with john, in which john says he knows that jack is his.

to me, john understands very well whats going on around him. and that his actions are informed explicitly by that choice.

and this to me is what makes his relationship to abigail so interesting. john is no doubt a loser, a deadbeat, and a bum (he is my favorite character) - but all of this information together makes me interpret his actions (coldness towards her and jack) not as genuine resentment but an externalized projection and defensive mechanism.

johns uncertainty is not towards jack being his or even towards abigail, but a baseline questioning of the violence he's been steeped in his entire life. what was once a simple, intuitive choice to be an outlaw is called into question by the legitimate possibility of something else.

arthur has a line to john, where he says that if you don't think jack is yours - why does it bother you so much? and it's a good question indeed, why does any of it bother him so much? why does abigails nagging bother him so much? why is it that john chooses to be actively antagonistic towards her when he could choose to simply be apathetic or choose to reject or stonewall her?

a lot of it is projection. its hypocrisy on johns behalf. he unloads his questioning and beliefs about the gang unto abigail who serves as a semi-constant reminder of his own problems. abigail during the main story game doesn't ask john to choose, but john knows that he has too. that's what that whole thing leads to.

when the gang starts to fall apart and when jack gets kidnapped, john immediately changes his tune. he's in clear disarray. the seeds of doubt planted in his head about dutch during blackwater only get increasingly extreme and as the game goes on into guarma and johns prison arc. he starts more clearly distinguishing where his loyalty will lie as the game closes, john is finally encouraged to make the cemented choice of jack and abi and not gang life (not all at once and something he will continue to struggle with) but he makes it all the same.

and then all of that intersects with abigail. and this to me is where the basis their relationship stems from because it's largely abigails influence, personality, and persistence that allows john not to make the same mistakes. abigail doesn't ask john for love, but she refuses to yield to him when it comes to jack. i know so many people see abigails nagging as nagging, or clinginess - but in my mind, it's simply her not letting john get away with being wishy-washy. abigail makes herself known and doesn't relent even when john continuously acts like a massive dick. she's not a pushover about it though either.

abigail loves john and probably understands him better than people give her credit for. especially with her calling him silly so often (a WHOLE different meta post) it's out of genuine love for john and in many cases, a genuine concern for john as a person that she acts the way she does. she gets on his case because she doesn't really want to give up on him, even though she probably very well could.

and she'd definitely be more at peace if she did lmao.

at a human level, abigails constancy and her both 1. not taking johns shit when he acts like a dick and 2. still wanting more and whats best for him is probably one of the base reasons john has full strength to make it out. and john knows that. abigail chooses john. she wants to choose john. she believes in him and so much of that contributes to the fact john doesn't end up somewhere much worse when the main story ends.

but again its not easy. for either of them. and it's not something that works until john gets his shit together. their relationship doesn't mend overnight, either. in the epilogue of the game, you see them face the same struggles they did through the main story. but like i said, abigail is no pushover. when john keeps choosing outlaw life, abigail leaves because she feels there's no helping him and john has to prove himself to her once more. he has to choose them.

(a lot of people critique abigail for being unfair to john and i understand that - but i think its mostly fear. john was in that life for years, and to abigails there's no telling if that siren song will take over and uproot her life again or not. i do think many times john took up the gun in the epilogue were completely fair, but i dont think abigails reaction is unwarranted.)

but again. again. the core of their love story is about choice. both john and abigail make the choice to choose their family and their love is founded on learning to choose each other. abigail straightens john out, and his character in rdr1 is so much more mellow than he is in rdr2. his loyalty to abigail is fierce and consistent, and john knows he owes a lot to her and never loses sight of that in the years they spend peacefully together.

he likes that abigail gives him shit and a hard time because he knows he deserves it and that it was one of the only things stabilizing him during some of the most tumultuous and difficult times of their life together.

they have such deep and genuine love for each other, built entirely in trying to believe and trust in one another and hold onto love in an era where everything was constantly at stake. it's not fairytale romance, but tried and true connection and choice. i love you because i chose you and i'd keep choosing you. they are so awkward with each other for so long because of the nature of their relationship to each other and that truly endears them to me all the more.

they just. they are so in love. but its not a fairy tale. and its not a case of john getting the girl because he's the hero or whatever. john loves her so much and she loves him and it all took a while and none of it was perfect. but it was real. so so so real between them. ack.

#john marston #zero.thoughts #z.rdr2 #z.meta #abigail roberts #johnigail save me.... save me johnigail..... #their love is so human to me it makes me feel so ill inside

[pinkysberg]

how men interpret female rdr2 characters is. so exhausting.

mary linton is a bitch who uses arthur (criticizes him for being a criminal and asks him for a favour that doesn't involve criminality at all whatsoever - unless he chooses to be one in the process, which she deliberately asks him not to. somehow she is responsible for the poor choices he makes because she knows how he is and should expect him to be violent.)

sadie is overrated and randomly becomes a gunslinger in a single chapter. (they forgot the part where she says that even before the gang she knew how to handle a gun. apparently they all overlook this and decide she's a mary-sue who simultaneity is OP but could be smoked by John and Arthur. because they don't routinely cite holding deep respect that borders on fear for sadie and her ability)

abigail is a nagging bitch. (asked john to stop murdering people and got fed up with his behaviour after a decade. i don't even feel i need to express more to illustrate what's stupid here)

my favourite thing i hear - from men, but also women - is that "i hated both mary and abigail. i love mary-beth though." and while i also love mary-beth and am not slighting her, what i hear is "i like female characters that don't challenge the MC, don't involve themselves in the narrative, don't display any agency and know their place"

#sorry im very ranty lately #the tiktok comments r getting to me #tiktok mention #thinky

[the-kcm-muggleborn]

Probably another unpopular opinion but that being said....

Mary Linton (Gillis)......

I'm aware she's (for some reason) beloved by fans. I, on the other hand, can't stand the woman.

I understand Arthur still has feelings for her. After (supposedly) years, out of all the people she might know, she asks ARTHUR for saving her family, not helping simply doing it all together.

I won't even comment on the ridiculousness of the mission ,,Fatherhood and Other Dreams II" If chosen to agree to help Mary walk around Saint Denis behind her drunken father big waste of time if I might say.

We are given many informations about Arthur's past, one of them being, feeling looked down by an unhonourable drunk and a careless father that Mary's father was.

You can say many bad things about Arthur all together, but being an unhonorable, careless man was NOT it

I always turn her down because it feels as if Arthur shouldn't be wasting his time on a favour for old girlfriend that hasn't even shown an ounce of gratitude for doing said favour.

The reason I find her so unpleasant is because she asks Arthur to help Jamie and then she leaves for train with a snarky little comment and no meaningful conversation, explanation, nor an apology, nothing.(I) Mary dear Linton also acts like she has the moral highground and then proceeds to ask Arthur for a fresh start with her. This woman is so confusing

I've always had a bad feeling about her...

Anyway, that'd be all about my dislike of that shadow of a woman. I hope you enjoyed my little Ted Talk. Thank you for reading, Follow me for more random gaming talks.

#red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #mary linton #rdr2 #unpopular opinion #rdr2 imagine

[bagelboys-withcreamcheese]

Modern Curious Couple Incorrect Quotes

So many kids, so many migraines

~

Hosea: You can’t have “hoes in different area codes” if you don’t pass geography, John.

—

Dutch: I’m one inconvenience away from becoming like my father.

John: ..dead?

Dutch:

—

Arthur, aiming a big water gun at John: Say sayonara, Marston.

John, frantically trying to get away: I DON’T SPEAK ITALIAN!

—

Arthur: How in the hell do you get “Dick” from “Richard”?

John: You ask him nicely

—

Dutch, deepening his voice to seem more intimidating: I will not stand for this behavior!

Tilly, mocking him: I will not stand for this behavior!

John: Okay, Batman.

Arthur: You sound like you have bronchitis.

—

Dutch: Your generation is so ungrateful!

Tilly: Wow! That sentence was so concise considering your senility!

—

John: We’ve all heard “finger-licking good,” but consider the opposite: toe-sucking evil.

Arthur: I had a full body reaction to that and not the good kind.

Hosea: What would be the good kind?

Arthur: That would be an orgasm, Hosea. Though, with Dutch as your partner, your unfamiliarity with the concept is of no surprise to me.

—

John: I wouldn’t put it in those words exactly.

Hosea: Why not?

John: Because I don't know what they mean.

—

Tilly, in a high voice, holding Barbie: Hey, Ken! I was thinking about going back to school and starting a career!

Mary-Beth, in a deep voice, holding Ken: Nonsense, Barbie. You’re staying home and having my kids.

Arthur: What the fuck are you guys doing?

Tilly: Playing systemic oppression!

—

John: How do you say “I love men” in Spanish?

Javier: Me encantan los hombres

John: You’re so gay

Javier: And you’re not? Stop projecting.

—

Dutch: if I killed someone, would you turn me in?

Hosea: No, but I’d use it against you all the time.

Hosea: Like, “are you going to do the dishes or do I need to make a phone call?”

—

Mary Linton: What do you people even get out of stealing?

John: What I stole? What kind of dumb question is that?

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #dutch van der linde #john marston #hosea matthews #tilly jackson #javier escuella #mary beth gaskill #incorrect quotes

[sky-is-the-limit]

I'm sorry but your posts questioning Mary's actions are so REAL bc what the actual fuck..that woman had the opportunity to have ARTHUR MORGAN!!! and threw it away like it was nothing and then people go on to ship them together and defend their relationship and I'm just like girl what are you even defending?!? her constantly calling on Arthur to do some chores for her and after he's done she just sends him on his merry way???! I'm sorry but that's not healthy at all and even if Arthur is a "bad" man who kills and robs he doesn't deserve to be played like that, hell all the camp women try to convince him not to go visit her but he just can't stop himself (I just need one night with him he'll forget what is a mary and what is a linton)

There's people who legit ship them?!?😭 What even???? That woman didn't deserve an inch of him and don't start with the "back in the day-" girl, if you legit cared about that man and wanted him, you'd try and do everything to be with him.

She literally told him to change his ways with that disappointing look like girl ik you agree with your lame ass dad, leave Arthur alone. Even if she genuinely loved and cared for him all those years ago, feelings can change and turn into manipulation.

She literally only reached out to him to use him for help. And I understand the first time, it was her little brother who had a good relationship with Arthur but her dad!??!?! Fuck that. I declined and don't regret it one bit, I'll do it the second and third time as well.

You knew that he was an abandoned kid who had nothing and got raised by a literal gang. What made her think that he'd be a lawman? Or ditch the only family he had ever known and change one of his greatest qualities which was loyalty to be in a suit and play 'lord'? As if they wouldn't hate him still and treat him like shit for the life he previously had.

The goodbye letter pissed me off so much. What was the reason? If you loved him, why torture him like that knowing that he still cared about you even though you hurt him. She literally made him feel unworthy of love. Sending back the ring? Something that he gave you with so much love? For what? And I don't remember which girl was it, either Karen or Mary-Beth, who said that 'that girl doesn't deserve you' damn right she doesn't. She never did.

No one says that she had to settle for an outlaw, but tormenting and manipulating a man who gave you his heart and more is messed up. Especially Arthur who was so kind and caring despite his upbringing. You were hopeless for your brother? Okay, ask for help and MOVE ON. Leave that man alone. Nah, fuck that girl.

If you wanna know what real love and loyalty is, take a look at Abigail.

#i can't believe there's people who ship them what 😭 #ask #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan

[faintingheroine]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but do you think Emily Brontë intended to call out the racism that was shown towards Heathcliff?

No, it isn’t a dumb question.

Yes, I think she does intend that. I mostly think that because of the scene in Chapter 6 with the Lintons’ mistreatment of Heathcliff. Lintons are so comically pathetic and bad in this particular scene that I have no doubt we are meant to view their views on Heathcliff critically:

““What prey, Robert?” hallooed Linton from the entrance. “Skulker has caught a little girl, sir,” he replied; “and there’s a lad here,” he added, making a clutch at me, “who looks an out-and-outer! Very like the robbers were for putting them through the window to open the doors to the gang after all were asleep, that they might murder us at their ease. Hold your tongue, you foul-mouthed thief, you! you shall go to the gallows for this. Mr. Linton, sir, don’t lay by your gun.” “No, no, Robert,” said the old fool. “The rascals knew that yesterday was my rent-day: they thought to have me cleverly. Come in; I’ll furnish them a reception. There, John, fasten the chain. Give Skulker some water, Jenny. To beard a magistrate in his stronghold, and on the Sabbath, too! Where will their insolence stop? Oh, my dear Mary, look here! Don’t be afraid, it is but a boy—yet the villain scowls so plainly in his face; would it not be a kindness to the country to hang him at once, before he shows his nature in acts as well as features?” He pulled me under the chandelier, and Mrs. Linton placed her spectacles on her nose and raised her hands in horror. The cowardly children crept nearer also, Isabella lisping “Frightful thing! Put him in the cellar, papa. He’s exactly like the son of the fortune-teller that stole my tame pheasant. Isn’t he, Edgar?”

‘While they examined me, Cathy came round; she heard the last speech, and laughed. Edgar Linton, after an inquisitive stare, collected sufficient wit to recognise her. They see us at church, you know, though we seldom meet them elsewhere. “That’s Miss Earnshaw?” he whispered to his mother, “and look how Skulker has bitten her—how her foot bleeds!”

“Miss Earnshaw? Nonsense!” cried the dame; “Miss Earnshaw scouring the country with a gipsy! And yet, my dear, the child is in mourning—surely it is—and she may be lamed for life!”

“What culpable carelessness in her brother!” exclaimed Mr. Linton, turning from me to Catherine. “I’ve understood from Shielders”’ (that was the curate, sir) “that he lets her grow up in absolute heathenism. But who is this? Where did she pick up this companion? Oho! I declare he is that strange acquisition my late neighbour made, in his journey to Liverpool—a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway.”

“A wicked boy, at all events,” remarked the old lady, “and quite unfit for a decent house! Did you notice his language, Linton? I’m shocked that my children should have heard it.””

(Chapter 6) (bolded part mine)

Cathy even laughs at their racism!

As Susan Meyer says in Imperialism at Home:

It is so not subtle that if this novel were written today I would have been kind of annoyed at how not subtle it is.

Now, we can discuss how much of a commitment Brontë makes to criticizing racism in the book as a whole. But in this fragment the criticism is blatant, which makes me believe that she was criticizing racism and knew what she was doing.

Also keep in mind that despite his evil actions Heathcliff is the character of the book. The most intelligent, the strongest, the most charismatic. He is a villain but he is also kind of a “super” one. On what to make of him fathering an exceptionally sickly and puny child, the opinions may vary. Some said Linton’s sickliness might be due to the belief at the time that the mixed race children would be sickly. But then Linton’s sickliness seems more a product of his Linton background. It is a difficult topic to parse, I have pondered on it here, though it is an old post.

All in all, could I confidently say that Wuthering Heights is a thoroughly anti-racist novel from start to finish in all of its implications? No. Do I think that Emily Brontë intended to criticize racism in parts of the book? Yes.

#wuthering heights #asks #anonymous

[sednonamoris]

life ain’t fair and the world is mean

Pairing: John Marston x gn!reader

Summary: Arthur’s decision after meeting with Mary Linton again leaves you caught between a rock and a hard place.

Warnings: Angst, so much dialogue, complicated love squares (?), sibling dynamics

Word count: 1,383

A/N: Felt absolutely deranged writing this ily all pls enjoy <3

Series masterlist • AO3

—

Everyone at camp knows Arthur got a letter from that Mary Linton.

As much as he swears up and down that whatever was between them is long over, you can tell the heartache hasn’t faded the moment his eyes land on the familiar cursive. He mouths along like he can taste her on the words she’s written.

You look away to give him his privacy and grimace something close to sympathy. Whatever it is she’s asking for after all this time, he’ll give it to her - at the very least he’ll go to her.

Poor bastard.

Almost-loves last longer and hurt more than real ones. You ought to know.

He rides off when early morning mist still clings to the lowest parts of the land with dewdrop fingerprints. Abigail watches him go with a pinched look on her face. John watches her watch him with a frown. You pretend not to notice any of it. 

Hosea does the opposite, actually seeking John out. John looks over at you helplessly, and you tip your hat with a faint smile just to watch his eyes widen with betrayal. You listen long enough to hear the beginnings of that wheezing cough you’ve worried over for weeks and a far be it from me interfering in your business before snagging an unmanned rifle and heading off on guard duty. Maybe Hosea will have better luck than you and Dutch and Arthur and Abigail and everyone else knocking some sense into him. 

It’s a pleasant spring day, warm with enough of a cool breeze to keep the worst of the heat and the bugs at bay. You find a spot to stand midway up the path and settle in against the bark of one of the taller maples. Sunlight filters through the canopy of leaves above and leaves everything dappled gold. You breathe in deep and sigh out springtime. Almost summer, now. 

Horseshoe Overlook has been good for the gang. Valentine is just big enough and just used enough to seasonal workers that you pass off fine, even despite Arthur’s determination to fight half the town. Strauss has him collecting debts already, and Dutch has asked that he see about Micah’s predicament over in Strawberry. You can’t say you miss having that one around, but loyalty is loyalty. Dutch would surely ask him to rescue any one of you if the situation were reversed.

In the meantime the girls have been sniffing out leads, and the boys have been robbing just about everyone they come across. For your part, you’ve been scoping out local homesteads and farms looking for anyone who seems to be sitting on decent animals or piles of cash. So far it doesn’t look like you’ll be lucky enough to find both. Guthrie Farms was your destination yesterday, and you think you’ll pay them another visit one of these nights to relieve them of some choice cattle. There’s a buyer up near Three Sisters in the market. 

In the back of your mind the concern about Cornwall and those bonds lingers, but so far it seems he’s been content to live and let live. Hopefully that lasts. You let the thought fade and settle in for a morning of boredom and birdsong. 

—

Your watch is almost up when someone rustles through the brush, approaching at a steady trot. 

“Who goes there?” you call out, and stand a little straighter with your gun. 

“Arthur, you dumbass!”

It’s only just afternoon - somehow you expected he’d be gone for the day at least.

“Such manners,” you mock, but pause once he’s close enough for you to see the look on his face.

He’s been crying, those cornflower eyes even sadder than normal. There’s a resigned stoop to his shoulders. A pinch between his brows. You wonder just what exactly Mary had to say after all this time.

He ducks his head and murmurs a halfhearted sorry.

“S’fine,” you dismiss with as kind a look you can manage. You tilt your head up at him when he lingers, looking like a deer caught out in the open.  

“Do you have a minute to talk, actually?” He can’t quite meet your eyes. 

“‘Course. Let me swap with Karen and I’ll meet you.”

He nods gratefully and rides up to the nearest hitching post while you do just that, a quick handoff with a look that begs her not to ask too many questions. Karen glances over to Arthur, then back to you, about as solemn as she gets. She nods you on your way before making her way into the treeline.

He’s waiting for you on the outskirts of camp, just past the chickens and partially hidden by a copse of half-grown saplings. 

“The hell did that Linton woman do to you?” you ask, hands on your hips. 

Arthur huffs a sarcastic laugh. “More what I did to her. She wanted my help - somethin’ to do with her brother. I told her it’s best we never speak again.”

You puff out a breath. “Damn.”

“Yeah.”

Arthur shifts in place, and you can tell there’s more to it. If he doesn’t know how to say it you doubt you’ll know how to answer, but you guess friends aren’t always for saying the right thing.

“Before I left she gave me back the ring I proposed with. I want, well,” he fumbles, “I been thinkin’ someone ought to do right by Jack and Abigail for a while now. Make sure they’re taken care of, since Marston won’t.”

Of all the things he might’ve said, you can’t decide if you should be more or less shocked that it’s this. Longing looks and stolen dances are one thing, but everyone knows Abigail and John are together, even when they’re not - especially when they’re not. 

“Jesus, is that why you told Mary you won’t see her anymore?”

“No! I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Why are you telling me?” The question is desperate, even to your ears. 

“Dutch an’ Hosea are too close to this, and everyone else is too far off. Guess I was hoping you’d be able to make more sense of it all than me.”

You laugh a terse, bitter laugh. “I ain’t too close? Really? All these years, Arthur, you been like a brother to me, but John— You know this ain’t fair.”

“Most things ain’t.” His eyes are pleading. Sad. Sorry. Damn him. “Just tell me if you think I’m bein’ a fool and I’ll leave it alone.”

And there you have to pause. Because is it really so foolish to want to give Abigail the partner she needs, and Jack the father figure he deserves? The way he looks at them is not lost on you. When he lost that young woman and little boy all those years ago he was inconsolable. In a lot of ways you think he still is, though he hides it everywhere but his eyes. More than anything you want him to be happy. You know that if Abigail will have him, he will be.

But you need John to be happy, too. 

And you feel like the worst person alive, because he isn’t happy with Abigail and he’s not happy without her, either. Mostly he just seems determined to be miserable and make it everyone else’s fault but his own. How the hell are you supposed to help Arthur without hurting John when every choice feels either selfish or spiteful or wrong. The love harbored deep in your bones marks you a traitor.

Because if you were any kind of friend you wouldn't say: “You’re always a fool, Arthur Morgan, but not ‘cause of this.”

But you do.

“Really?” he asks.

“Really.”

He smiles, a little bit of heartbreak and a little bit of hope. 

“After— Well, you know,” he cuts himself off, unable to say their names even after so long. “Feels like it could be a second chance, is all.”

“You believe in those?”

He sighs. “Not really.”

You try to smile, to reassure him, but it doesn’t reach your eyes. He clasps your shoulder in unspoken thanks before leaving you alone on the edge of camp with nothing but your thoughts and a sick feeling in your stomach.

—

When John comes around later that evening you can’t look him in the eye. 

#john marston x reader #rdr2 x reader #rdr x reader #ghost story #ch. 16 #fran writes

[downinthehull]

can you do age regression headcanons for arthur morgan please? around a toddler would be preferable if so

howdy friend!

of course! i have quite a few small arthur hcs!!! and I'd love to share some!

toddler arthur morgan;

doodles

obviously arthur is very good at drawing, and when he's small he's still quite the artist! i like to think that he has his own separate journal for his small scribbles, not wanting to mix them with his other drawings.

since he usually doesn't feel like leaving camp when he's small, he walks around and draws anything he can find! bugs, birds, the horses, and even a sleeping uncle sometimes.

one of the ladies always asks to see his pictures and makes sure to compliment them too.

loves cain

after cain gets comfortable around everyone, arthur takes a particular liking to the dog.

he loves giving him pets, cuddles, and taking him for short walks.

so many of his little doodles are of cain. laying down, sitting, begging for food, anything arthur finds him doing that he finds particularly interesting.

follows john around

when arthur feels like hanging out with john, he doesn't take no for an answer to anything. if john says he doesn't want to have to watch him right now, arthur just huffs and crosses his arms.

if john has chores to do, arthur will follow him around wherever he needs to go.

he sits close when john is carving something or sharpening his knife.

the two of them usually have a very nice time, plenty of brotherly bonding. with a side of playful teasing as well, of course.

plays around with the camera (from the gunslingers mission)

in between finding all the gunslingers, arthur would take a few more pictures of random things he likes.

his horse, cain, the gang, really just anything he thinks deserves to be memorialized. hanging up the pictures by the side of his bed with the others.

vent regresses

being an outlaw, having to worry about so many things and people, it should be no surprise that his regression isn't always happy and fun.

being the "workhorse" definitely takes its toll.

whenever he's feeling upset, sad, or angry when he's small, he prefers to keep to himself. not entirely because he wants to, but in large part due to feeling guilty for not being able to handle all that's going on.

of course, if someone notices when he's upset, they'll do their best to keep him company and listen if they need to. providing reassurance and trying to help him feel better.

caregiver???

there's quite a few different people that i think could be arthur's caregiver!

-obviously the first that comes to mind is hosea. as well as dutch, but i don't think dutch would be a cg without hosea (not because i think he'd be completely incapable, but because hosea is the more responsible one).

-charles is also another very good option! he's so kind, patient, and a very good friend to arthur. i can just imagine the both of them sitting around and charles going on and on about animals, plants, and whatever else he can think of.

-john would be more of a big brother than an actual parental figure, but i still think he'd love to look after small arthur. there would definitely be some teasing, but john would honestly love to be the older brother for a change.

-a few random others: albert mason, kieran duffy, and mary linton (previously, of course)

#📬 mailbox #tiny arthur morgan #fandom agere #rdr2 agere #age regression #sfw #little hcs #little cowboys <3

[virtual-person-enthusiast]

Hating Mary Linton for not staying with Arthur is misogynistic. Pure and simple.

Is she perfect? No, but neither is any other character in this game and some of y’all act like she betrayed Arthur worse than Dutch did.

She is not this master manipulator some of you make her out to be. Yes, her first letter is vague and probably gave Arthur hope but, regardless of if that was intentional or not, she sent that letter in a desperate attempt to save her brother; she didn’t just want to cruelly play with this man’s heart. Her second letter is clear in her intentions and she apologizes for even asking for his help because she doesn’t want to hurt him.

As for her saying “you’ll never change,” and such…you guys realize Arthur kills people, right? And that Mary was with him for awhile and probably spent a lot of time believing he could change and then he didn’t. Mary can be judgey in some less valid ways, but her not liking the idea of being with a man that murders people isn’t one of them. Most moral people would be uncomfortable in that situation. She does not owe it to him to compromise her morals just so he isn’t sad and, even if that wasn’t a factor, she does not owe it to him to stay with him, period. Plus this whole game is about the fact that Arthur is an incredibly flawed human that should change. To villainize Mary for believing that Arthur should choose to be better is to villainize the story you claim to love.

#mary linton #arthur morgan #rdr2 #like you don’t have to *love* her but to act like she’s evil is so stupid and blatantly misogynistic. #I get that it’s easier to love Arthur despite his flaws as a fictional character #but (within the fiction) this is her real life; there are real consequences to Arthur’s actions

[twola]

Wowie! I wrote that Arthur/Reader ask and anon #2 who just replied with such an amazing analysis and twola, both of you, thank you so much! Really helped a lot, when it comes to my own opinion, which is basically the same as what anon wrote in their ask, I think Arthur definitely holds a special place for Mary in her heart, but his love for her now goes more toward the longing of a peaceful life and what could have been rather than longing for Mary herself, ofcourse he loves her in his own way and misses her, but if he did love her so much i think he would have chosen the gang over her when he was younger or even in Saint Denis, he didn't do that because maybe, he just loves the idea of what could be with or what could have been in the past instead of actually wanting to act upon it, Arthur himself says "it's coming to an end, this time it really is" which proves he has given her hope of running away before this as well and hasn't gone through with it, and I think it is the same with Mary's perspective, she loves the idea of Arthur not being an outlaw, but as Arthur says, he never knew any other way of life other than being an outlaw, so Mary also sort of, has an ideal version of Arthur in her head, and she also longs for what could be. Coming back to Arthur though, I think he longs more for that peaceful life and how he had the chance but lost it rather than being absolutely head over heels for her and going "if not Mary, then no one else.", I mean, if it were to be that way, they would have never given him a second love interest, Roger himself said that Mary was just supposed to be one quest but then later on they decided to keep her (most likely after removing the second love interest), so I am pretty sure how it was originally supposed to play out was for Mary to ask for Arthur's help in Valentine and that was the first and last time we see her in the game, and then the second love interest develops. I think it was an okayish decision overall to add more Mary quests after cutting off the second love interest, I would have rather known more about Eliza and Isaac, this one post from Tumblr user @/americanoleander I read describes mostly of what I'm trying to say :

"im not a mary linton hater persay, i dont like her but i do think people villianize her a bit too much. however, i really wish we'd just learned more about eliza and isaac than her. the fact that arthur had a whole ass family that died and is only mentioned once but his fleeting and doomed from the start romance with a lady thats given near to nothing for her personality outside of "high society lady who used to date arthur" is given two whole missions is a little fustrating

id say ideally both could exist but tbh i just found the whole mary linton story to be shoe-horned in, as much as i ship arthur with every person under the sun i dont think the story *needed* romance if it was gonna be as flat as mary linton felt. the idea of her and arthur is very tragic but thats just the problem- it felt more like an *idea* rather than an actual plot point."

I agree mostly with some things they said, but this one line :

it felt more like an *idea* rather than an actual plot point.

Really stuck with me, personally I do like Mary Linton and sort of have a huge crush on her(😭), yet, I just cannot help but wish we got to see more of Eliza and Isaac or just hear what Arthur's thoughts were about them and how their deaths deeply affected him even to this day, i hate how they just completely threw all of that away and made it so that he doesn't discuss it even once until chapter 6, and make it seem like all he thinks and yearns for is Mary Linton when his character is so much deeper than just that. It would have made the story flow in a better way if they did add more about Eliza and Isaac and also would've given so much more depth to Arthur's character, making it seen like those two didn't even exist for 99.9% of his storyline was such a bad idea in my opinion.

And that’s where we come to fandom. The joy of it is that it’s free of rules and not necessarily bound by canon.

Don’t like Arthur x Mary? Don’t read it! Don’t like the characterization someone has of an x Reader? Move on. Unlike the canon, we are given the choice of what storyline we want to consume.

Personally, I think there is room for an x Reader, but then again, that is my personal opinion and i don’t expect everyone to agree with me. The nuances of someone’s own feelings can be vast about the fandom. And those viewpoints make it great.

#red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #red dead fanfic #arthur morgan x female reader #mary linton

[threadbaresweater]

Not to be vulgar but do you think Arthur eats ass? On the one hand, I figure that he’s willing to try anything his partner may find pleasing. On the other (and I haven’t played rdr) none of the characters look like they’ve had a shower in a while

You're absolutely right about the fact that none of them have had a shower in a while. While there was indoor plumbing in 1899, the lifestyle Arthur and the gang leads isn't hygienic in the loosest sense of the word. They're camping out all the time, with minimal access to water. I imagine it's a crude, primitive existence. Arthur bathes when he goes into town; most of the saloons have a bath where you can pay a quarter for a hot soak, and an extra fifty cents for a "deluxe" bath (one of the working girls comes in an helps you wash, wink wink).

As far as his sexual experience goes, I have a feeling it's very limited. He probably lost his virginity at an early age to a prostitute. We also know that he had a son by a waitress (Eliza) he had a thing with. it's unclear if this was a one night stand or if they had a relationship, but he mentions that he sent money to her and their son and visited them when he could before they were killed by a home intruder over a measly $10.

He also was in love with Mary Linton, and I'm sure they were intimate, but I headcanon Arthur as the type of man to be really unsure of himself in sexual encounters, especially with someone he cares a lot about. I'm sure he's paid for sex on some lonely nights when he's drunk and feeling like he needs companionship, but I think he's a bit selfish and maybe even a little rough with the working girls. There's a scene at the saloon in Valentine where he meets Charles and Javier, who are chatting up a couple of girls. One of them calls Arthur a pussy cat, and Javier says "Yes, he's a pussy...cat." Arthur says to the girl "How much you cost, anyway?" to which she replies, "Ain't that a way to talk to a lady?"

"I didn't know I was talking to a lady", he says.

I think he lacks respect for women in this particular profession, and sees them as objects for his pleasure, so he's more apt to use them in a way that isn't the most...wholesome, as opposed to sex with someone he cares about. I wouldn't go so far as to say he lacks respect for women in general, but he's an outlaw. And while I do think he has capacity for sentimentality, it takes him a good while to really trust and feel at ease around someone, especially if he's caught feelings that he doesn't quite know how to process.

Anyway, this was an ask about eating ass. I don't think he would, honestly. I think he'd eat your pussy like a starving caveman. He likes the natural scent and taste of a woman. I think in his circumstances, he'd be used to the smell of the road and sweat and grit on a woman if she were part of the gang. If he's courting you, he'll most likely bathe before coming to see you (especially with the possibility of an intimate encounter).

#oh my gawd #what have i become #arthur morgan

[criticalrolo]

lord. mary linton occupies Such a strange place in my head. she is Right that Arthur’s way of life is not good for him and their relationship was doomed from the start. I don’t think it’s Wrong that she’s asking him for his help with several matters, because she does need a man with a Gun for a lot of her family problems. she acknowledges in her letters and everything that she’s asking a lot of him and he’s under no obligation to help her out with her problems but she has nowhere else to turn. that’s all Fine for real, she’s well within her rights to ask for help and she gives arthur plenty of room to refuse if he doesn’t want to give help.

I guess it’s just the throwaway comments throughout the missions where she’s like… “hmm. I should have run away with you” and Arthur goes “what?? do you mean by that??” and she goes “don’t be sarcastic it’s unbecoming” and so I’m just like. girl. why would you even say that if you both know you’re not going to do that. asking for his help is fine, but you don’t need to say stuff like that at the same time. you’re hurting BOTH your feelings and for what

#just a lot of Arthur saying you’re hurting my feelings and her going Oh Arthur…… and then that’s it #ugh she’s. certainly complicated