part Of Arthur Didn't Seem To Want To Breathe With Hope So Close. The Smell Of Her Clung To

     the glow of his cigarette is the only real way to tell that arthur morgan was there at all. he leans against the thick trunk of an oak tree, which shields him from the moonlight that's bathed miss baxter during her goodbye. it makes her dress nearly as PALE as her skin - almost white, in fact. as if she were already in her fancy wedding gown. the careful steps to meet him like the walk down the aisle.

     he forces that thought from his mind as she approaches him. pulls on his cigarette again, making the end glow like a tiny wildfire. ❝ alright, then, ❞ arthur says, pushing off the tree with a sigh.

               but he doesn't approach the horses. not yet.

     with a thumb hanging from his gun belt, arthur instead steps closer to hope baxter. eyes utterly UNSEEN under the darkness of his hat. nothing but a dark silhouette as he takes a moment to properly size her up. arthur's met her kind before - polite & put together on the surface. maybe even kind. but utterly innocent & ignorant.

     ❝ i dunno what your daddy told you 'bout me, but lets get a few things straight - you do everything i tell you. no questions. no backchat. i ain't a couch driver, ma'am ... i KILL people. an' your daddy hired me to kill anyone who might wanna take you. so please, do bear that in mind whenever you wanna go frolicking or whatever it is you like to do. ❞

𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 @quastari !

it  was  decided  they  should  head  out  before  the  crack  of  dawn  ,  utilizing  the  cover  of  𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔  to  slip  out  of  town  unnoticed  .  there  had  been  a  brief  introduction  to  her  hired  guide  ,  arthur  morgan  ,  but  her  father  had  done  most  of  the  talking  then  .  she'd  offered  a  polite  smile  &  nod  ,  but  not  much  else  ,  unsure  what  the  social  norms  in  this  situation  are  -  if  anything  about  this  could  be  considered  'normal'  .

❝  please  be  careful  ,  ❞  is  the  last  request  damien  baxter  makes  of  his  beloved  daughter  before  she  departs  ,  his  hands  squeezing  both  of  hers  tightly  -  𝑹𝑬𝑳𝑼𝑪𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑻  to  let  her  go  .  they  had  scarcely  been  apart  since  her  mother's  death  ,  &  even  less  so  since  her  sister  had  run  off  -  all  they  have  left  is  each  other  .  it  shows  in  the  way  they  embrace  ,  holding  tight  for  a  good  long  moment  .  he  presses  a  kiss  to  the  crown  of  her  head  before  sending  her  off  .

 ❝  i'll  be  okay  ,  promise  ,  ❞  her  smile  is  𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆  ,  but  her  eyes  are  sad  .

with  goodbyes  concluded  ,  there  is  nothing  left  to  do  but  mount  her  horse  -  whom  she's  staunchly  refused  to  part  with  for  even  these  few  short  weeks  .  she's  only  packed  the  bare  minimum  for  the  journey  ,  or  as  close  as  she  is  able  to  get  .  had  hope  been  another  woman  of  her  stature  she  might  have  dreaded  ,  even  𝑳𝑶𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑫  the  prospect  of  roughing  it  like  this  -  but  she  finds  herself  actually  looking  forward  to  the  simplicity  of  it  all  .  despite  going  to  these  great  lengths  in  the  interest  of  her  safety  ,  she  is  actually  quite  happy  to  have  some  time  away  from  the  pressures  &  constraints  of  her  typical  life  .  the  whole  affair  feels  like  a  breath  of  fresh  air  ,  the  last  one  it  seems  she'll  ever  breathe  .  hope  intends  to  savor  it  .

after  a  final  wave  &  one  last  look  toward  𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆  ,  she  turns  toward  arthur  .  ❝  i'm  ready  .  ❞

arthur wanted to stay in the room all night. it wasn't all too smart to go gallivanting around town - sure, they've had a quiet couple days. made good time without any bullets flying their way. perhaps that's what made arthur COMPLACENT. easy to be convinced for a drink or two when they outta stay hidden away.

hope baxter may have had the ability to sweet-talk him all the way to the saloon, but she couldn't stop himself from keeping an eye on the doors. or mad-dogging everyone who walked a little too close to their table. or keeping hope tucked away between himself and the wall.

the whiskey bites, & arthur is careful not to INDULGE too much - out of the ordinary but necessary. a few uneventful days is all it takes for anybody's guard to drop.

her question prevents him from taking another sip. his brows pinch together, nose scrunching a bit as arthur considers the question. ❝ different how ? ❞

but he's got an inkling on what hope means. it's a sentiment he considered once upon a time - when he was a young man being pulled two different ways. wondering what could change in his life that would allow him to have everything and give up nothing.

it was a fool's GAME to wish. nothing never came of it.

𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺 ( accepting ! )

@quastari said : ∗ 53﹕ sender buys receiver a drink at a bar . ( from arthur )

❝ - thanks . ❞ it's not her first of the night & with the way things are going , it's not going to be her 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 . he's hardly set the glass down before she's reaching for it - tossing the liquor back so fast she can't think too hard about whether she ought to go back to at least pretending to be a sensible young lady .

with each passing day of their journey , hope has only grown more & more disquieted . her thoughts have been far too loud & far too 𝑫𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑺 . it's become impossible trying to ignore the overwhelming sense of panic her betrothal inspires , at times the weight feels so heavy in her chest she can hardly breathe . driving her even more insane , she can't express any of it . well , she could - but what good will that do ? regardless of her feelings on the matter , she made a promise to her father & the stakes of the situation far outweigh one woman's happiness . . .

even if she's already given so much of herself to others , even if she feels like something inside of her is dying . . . even if she can't stop fantasizing about being a little 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉, just this once .

so here she is , 𝑫𝑹𝑶𝑾𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 her worries for at least a short while . the last thing hope wants to do tonight is think - & thankfully arthur doesn't seem all that opposed to indulging her coping mechanism of choice for the evening .

lord , & then there's arthur morgan - 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 personified . in her inebriated state , hope's lingering gaze has become much less subtle than her typically fleeting glances . while not completely unabashed , she's allowing herself a slight respite from the usual spiral of guilt & shame . besides , it's not a crime to look - is it ? it takes every ounce of self control not to reach out & feel his solid frame beneath her fingertips , hands tightening & bunching up her skirts as an attempt to ground herself . it's not working , she needs a distraction - now .

turning to face him more , a bubbling giddiness present in her voice as the drink 𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑴𝑺 her inside & out , she throws out the first question that comes to mind , ❝ d'ya ever just wish things were . . . different ? ❞

Kaidan I Citadel DLC

jonathan archer tag drop.

pioneering something called "gritted teeth optimism" where everything is gonna turn out okay even if i have to bite and claw and gnash my way through it

     ❝ it was a bear, alright. hungry one at that, ❞ is barrett's rumbled reply. with the shelving now upright, he could make out faint scours of claw marks etching the metal. tufts of fur sticking out of crooks in the corners. but aside from all the physical signs, the room simply REEKED of the creature.

     an adult male. black bear, maybe. stinking lightly of garbage when it went scavenging for a meal. he was only here for ten minutes, if that. gone for a couple hours.

     barrett's brow twitches when he inspects the cabinets. unlike daniil, a stab of SYMPATHY hit him in his gut. hunger was something barrett understood very well.

     ❝ why so much morphine, doc ? ❞ barrett casually rumbles out as he approaches the broken vials of the drug.

"The state of a bear isn't my foremost concern," Daniil shoots back, carefully sweeping away the glass shards from his shattered equipment. True to form, all he can think about is the money wasted—some of the broken instruments had come directly from the last days of Thanatica.

Barrett's help is appreciated, but he's not the sort of person who would understand the terrible miasma of frustration and apathetic concession Daniil can't help but feel, looking at the minor carnage in his lab. It feels, in the moment, like he lives a doomed life—all progress will inevitably and invariably be halted by some outside force that wishes him and his research to meet its swift end.

An ill twist of fate; he'd call it that, if he believed in fate. As it stands, Daniil knows he's only unlucky.

"But if you are indeed right about the perpetrator being a bear, it almost definitely got into the morphine," a downward quirk of the lip as further antsy frustration pulls at him, "and the fentanyl, judging by the state of my cabinets. Even half of what I was storing would be lethal for a human, and it'll be about as costly to replace as an arm and a leg."

     a smirk pulls on joel's lips at her response - of course, he didn't believe a word of what she said. hope asking for sugar was like joel asking to borrow a tool. such a clear & BLATANT excuse that's so easily debunked but warms joel's face all the same.

                ❝ well, i reckon we can SCROUNGE somethin' together for ya. ❞

     subconsciously, joel leans his hand against the doorframe while the other comes to rest on his hip. while hope's unexpected arrival was definitely welcome ( he's so glad sarah's at school ), it means he didn't have much of a chance to pick up the house a bit. there's too much evidence laying around the house of joel's ARDUOUS work hours & sarah's soccer team hanging out after practice.

     he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. ❝ you, uh - ya need it right now ? ❞

𝒃𝒈𝟑 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒔 ( accepting ! )

@quastari said : ❝ let me guess - you need something . ❞ from pre outbreak joel

❝  𝒖𝒉  .  .  .  ❞

even  from  where  she  hovers  behind  his  screen  door  ,  her  caught-red-handed  sheepish  smile  can  be  easily  detected  .  mischief  𝑺𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑲𝑳𝑬𝑺  within  her  blue  sky  gaze  ,  hinting  at  an  ulterior  motive  joel  has  already  astutely  picked  up  on  . 

❝  would  you  believe  me  if  i  said  i  came  over  to  borrow  a  cup  of  sugar  ?  ❞  is  her  deceptively  innocent  reply  .

of  course  ,  we  all  know  that baker  extraordinaire  hope  baxter  would  never  be  caught  with  any  less  than  3  full  bags  of  sugar  stored  within  her  perpetually  well  stocked  pantry  .  it  seems  she's  come  to  visit  his  residence  seeking  another  kind  of  𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔  -  should  he  be  receptive  .  they  haven't  exactly  labeled  whatever  they  are  to  each  other  just yet  ,  it's  all  still  so  new  &  delicate  .

❝  just  lookin'  for  a  little  𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑵  𝑯𝑶𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑻𝒀  ,  that's  all  .  ❞

RED DEAD REDEMPTION II ᨖ

part of arthur expected hope to reject his idea. scoff at the idea that a high-society girl like her should DEVOLVE into the hobbies of an outlaw like him. but that was just a brief flash of a dreadful fantasy - one arthur had partly hoped would come true before remembering who hope baxter was.

& even if she said no .... well, arthur couldn't quite rid his mind of the image of her holding his revolver with quivering hands. he'd looked over to her as soon as the shot rang out, half-expecting to see her body crumble to the dirt. instead, hope was quickly regaining control of the gun - eyes wide & chest heaving with FEARFUL adrenaline.

arthur would much rather see the latter, should this happen again.

❝ a'ight ... well, good. you gotta be able to PROTECT yourself. we had a close call - next time, we might not be so lucky. ❞

his voice rumbles out - as hard & serious as looming thunder. all the girls in the gang knew how to shoot, at least. he'd taught tilly himself. it should be no different.

with a jerk of his head, arthur leads away from camp & the river toward a tall, thick oak in the middle of a clearing. he makes his way over, pulling out his hunting knife & a rag as he goes. in one quick move, he impales the rag against the trunk of the tree at head height.

❝ there's your target, ❞ he says, unsheathing his revolver as he returns to hope's side. ❝ now, a shot in the shoulder is a good start. but if your life's in danger, you gotta give 'em somethin' more permanent. ❞

finally  he  looks  up  ,  &  if  her  heart  had  been  straining  before  she's  pretty  sure  it  just  𝑺𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑫  .

she's  not  an  idiot  ,  hope  knows  that  her  hired  chaperone  isn't  remotely  like  any  of  the  pious  law-abiding  gentleman  from  back  home  (  &  despite  herself  ,  that's  exactly  what  intrigues  her  so  much  about  him  )  .  he's  seen  things  ,  certainly  done  things  she  can't  even  imagine  .  even  so  ,  she  just  can't  ignore  her  instincts  .  there's  𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆  to  mr  .  morgan  than  his  circumstances  dictate  ,  &  the  tragedy  of  it  all  is  that  he's  so  damn  sure  there  isn't  .

hope  isn't  exactly  known  for  her  𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑰𝑵𝑻  ,  &  as  much  as  it  pains  her  ,  now  isn't  the  time  to  get  into  it  .  still  ,  she  tucks  away  his  reaction  to  her  reassurance  ,  choosing  to  voice  her  convictions  at  another  time  .

allowing  him  to shy  away  from  her  absolution  ,  she  quickly  picks  up  what  he  is  putting  down  &  visibly  perks  up  at  the  offer  .  it  shouldn't  excite  her  so  much  ,  but  the  prospect  of  learning  something  new  ,  something  so  𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚  contradictory  to  everything  she's  ever  been  taught  to  be  .  .  .  just  the  concept  has  an  eagerness  bubbling  up  inside  her  chest  .  ❝  -  really  ,  y'mean  it  ?  ❞

realistically,  when  would  she  ever  get  an  opportunity  like  this  again  ?  in  a  couple  of  weeks  she'll  be  stuck  in  this  role  that  has  been  written  for  her  .  her  whole  life  she  has  felt  caged  ,  wings  𝑪𝑹𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑮  under  the  desire  to  spread  them  wide  &  fly  far  .  soon  they  will  be  clipped  forever  ,  &  she's  never  even  gotten  off  the  ground  .  a  tightness  forms  in  her  throat  that  she  tries  to  ignore  ,  to  shove  down  &  bury  deep  .

this  is  all  for  her  family  ,  she  has  to  keep  reminding  herself  of  that  .  they  have  so  little  left  .  this  marriage  is  the  only  way  forward  .  the  only  one  she's  ever  known  ,  anyway  .  never  once  has  she  veered  from  the  path  laid  out  before  her  .  .  .  𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈  her  own  had  never  occurred  to  her  ,  it  wasn't  even  a  possibility  .

until  now  .

❝  that  would  be  -  i  mean  ,  just  .  .  .  ❞  now  it's  her  turn  to  babble  ,  she  stops  herself ,  shaking  her  head  at  her  own  overzealousness  .  don't  make  him  regret  this  ,  hope  .  ❝  -  yes  ,  ❞  she  finally  manages  , offering him a grateful smile . 

❝  that  sounds  like  a  𝑮𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻  idea  .  ❞