Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"John Marston was dying. He was, he knew he was. No way a person could feel as bad as he did right now, and not be dying."
In which there is a fever, John is a touch dramatic, and a less-than-willing Arthur plays nursemaid for the night.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 1: "Fever" + Alt: "Tears"
Series
- Part 1 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"If Arthur never visited the ocean again, it would be too soon. Not that he had ever considered himself much of a sailor in the first place, but now he could say with absolute certainty he wasn’t cut out for such a profession. Hell, right about now even Flat Iron Lake sounded like far too much water for comfort. He suspected Dutch felt the same way, but he couldn’t be sure; he couldn’t be sure about much of anything regarding Dutch, these days."
In which the boys travel back from Guarma, Arthur isn't feeling well, and in spite of Dutch's efforts, the end is already beginning.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 2: "Sickness"
Series
- Part 2 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"'G-goddamn st-stupid ice... God-d-damn s-stupid lake... Goddamn stup-pid f-fish...'
Charles sighed, ignoring Arthur’s furious muttering in favor of continuing to guide both of their horses toward the tiny cabin that stood at the far northwestern end of Lake Isabella.
Arthur needed help quickly, he knew; he was soaked through, and even with Charles's heavy coat now draped over him instead of his own sodden one, the bitter cold could easily kill him if he didn’t get warm and dry soon. But considering Arthur still had energy enough to hiss and spit like a hungry cougar guarding its kill, Charles reckoned he wasn't likely to be knocking on death's door before they reached it."
Whumpcember 2023 Day 3: "Hypothermia" + Alt: "Ice"
Series
- Part 3 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"Arthur was late, and Hosea was worried.
'I’m sure he’s fine,' Dutch told him. 'Arthur’s a man now, he can look after himself.'
Hosea shook his head. 'Somethin’ ain’t right, Dutch.'
He couldn’t explain it, not in a way that made sense. But Hosea just knew, in the way he always knew when it came to Arthur. There would be no sleep for him, not until he laid eyes on their boy himself."
In which Hosea has good instincts, Arthur has a concussion, and Dutch has a bad time.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 4: "Hidden Injury + Alt: "Concussion"
Series
- Part 4 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"One day in Cholla Springs, and Hosea Matthews was ready to leave New Austin behind and never look back. He should probably have known better than to let his partner take the two younger men out exploring while he finished making camp. But he had, against his better judgment, and as expected they almost immediately found trouble. Unusually, though, this time it was Dutch who wound up getting himself quite literally caught up in it."
In which Hosea lets his guard down for one second, a wild cactus appears, and Dutch learns exactly how "Cholla Springs" got its name.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 5: "Impaled"
Series
- Part 5 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"When Micah blinked his bleary eyes open, he expected to see the pronghorn-leather table cover he’d been resting his whiskey-addled head on for a few minutes. Instead, he was confused to find himself not at their camp in Clemens Point, but stretched out on the cold, rocky ground, somewhere on a dark mountainside.
'What the hell?' he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. He remembered snippets of his conversation with Javier from earlier that night, raucous laughter and mumbling something about being 'drunk as a lord' while that creep Morgan nursed a beer and watched the pair of them in silence. He remembered pouring himself another drink, the pleasant warmth of the alcohol in his chest, and laying his head on his arms, just for a second.
After that, though, he didn’t remember anything, especially nothing that made any of this make sense."
Whumpcember 2023 Day 6: "Nightmares"
Series
- Part 6 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"Javier Escuella was no stranger to lean times. Hunger was a familiar foe, always dogging his steps from the shadows no matter how long it had been since their last encounter. He didn't enjoy it, of course, but he also didn't fear it the way some of their number did. He also knew his limits, better than probably anyone else, and he knew how far he could push them if need be before he was no longer useful.
So when the gang arrived at their snowy little refuge in Colter with only the barest of supplies, Javier wasn't too worried. He had survived worse, they had survived worse, and they would again before all was said and done."
In which Javier does what he must to care for his family, miscalculations are made, and his family cares for him in return.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 7: "Fainting" + Alt: "Hunger"
Series
- Part 7 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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"'It'll be alright, Miss O'Shea,' he told her as they lay together in their bed, huddled in their coats and mittens beneath a thin blanket and too miserable to share anything more than chaste kisses. 'We've been through worse.'
'I know. I'm just... worried about them, you know?' About you, she wanted to say. About us.
'Everyone's worried,' Dutch said, his tone sharp. 'But I'll see us through this. Just have faith.'
'I have faith in you,' she whispered, staring into the unfathomable depths of his umber eyes. 'I'll always have faith in you, Dutch.'"
A closer look at the tragic life of Molly O'Shea, and the man who pretended to love her.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 8: "Isolation"
Series
- Part 8 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"In hindsight, they probably should have known stopping here was a bad idea. Javier was no fool, he knew the opinions people held about foreigners, especially in small backwater burgs. Those were the kinds of places where a man like him might just go missing if the wrong people took exception to his 'dirty' presence in their 'clean' settlement.
Pah! Que absurdo.
Still, he hadn't figured on Van Horn being one of them when he and Lenny dropped in for a quick drink at the saloon - and that mistake would end up costing them dearly."
In which Javier and Lenny just want to relax after a job well done, a group of bigots decide to make it their business, and things escalate quicker than either man was expecting, with frightening consequences.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 9: Alt "Stabbed"
Series
- Part 9 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway by Zana_Zira
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
15 Jan 2024
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Summary
"Cold. He was so cold.
John pushed himself back as close to the cliff wall as he could, a futile attempt to stay out of the howling wind, but it did nothing to help him. The ice-covered stone behind and below him stole his warmth just as effectively as the air, if not more so. He couldn't exactly start looking around for better shelter now though, not as torn up as he was. He'd tried that earlier, and nearly ended up toppling straight off the side of the mountain when his unsteady legs gave out beneath him. So, here he stayed.
'Don't go to sleep, you son of a bitch...' he thought to himself, his lips too numb and his shivers too violent to even attempt saying it out loud. 'You'll never wake up again.'"
In which the plan to rescue John from the mountains of Ambarino takes a different turn, and not for the better.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 10: "Freezing"
Series
- Part 10 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
Tiny tree. Big splinter. Huge problem.
In which Micah's stubborn pride turns a minor injury into a major issue, and he learns a little bit about compassion and human decency in the process. (Not that he'll ever admit it, of course.)
Whumpcember 2023 Day 11: "Infection"
Series
- Part 11 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Pour Me Somethin' Stronger (Than Me) by Zana_Zira
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
22 Feb 2024
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Summary
"He hated his mother, for birthing a bastard child into the middle of a gang of murderers; hated his father, for waiting so long to grow up and be the kind of man his family had always deserved; hated them both, for dragging an innocent boy kicking and screaming into a life that could only ever have ended in exactly the sort of tragedy that it had.
But more than anything, he hated himself for what he'd become, for allowing the darkness and misery to corrupt his soul like a poison until the man glaring back at him from inside the mirror was one even his parents would no longer have recognized. Jack Marston was a monster, a disgrace to the legacy his family had fought and died to leave behind for him, and he would hate himself for that until his dying day."
Edgar Ross is dead. John's murder has finally been avenged. Yet despite this victory, Jack's return home is anything but triumphant.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 12: "Touch-Starved" + Alt "Begging"
Series
- Part 12 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"'Mierda...' Javier whispered behind his hand, sounding like he might be sick. Even Charles, who unquestionably possessed the strongest constitution of the four of them, couldn't quite manage to keep the look of horrified disgust off of his face, though he carefully schooled his expression back into a mask of calm by the time Sean removed his other boot and looked up at him.
'I, eh... warned ya it weren't a pretty sight, boys,' Sean said with a shaky laugh, as if that weren't the understatement of the goddamn century.
'Not a pretty sight? Sean, they... what the hell did they do to you?'"
Arthur, Charles, and Javier come to Sean's rescue outside Blackwater after his capture by bounty hunters. Unfortunately, he's a little worse for wear than they expected.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 13: "Restraints" + "Collapse"
Series
- Part 13 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023
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Summary
"Micah froze when he rounded the corner, his mind having some trouble processing the sight that greeted him. He'd expected to find Arthur kicked back against the side of the coach, maybe smoking a cigarette and fuming over the fact that he was still alive to fight another day. Instead, to his surprise, he found the man lying face-down in the water, pinned flat beneath the weight of one of the enormous wheels which had fallen onto his back and legs. His arms were still outstretched, fingers bent and buried to the knuckles in the deep muddy furrows he'd dug as he clawed for an escape. But there was no movement now, no struggle, and the warmth of triumphant pride in Micah's veins immediately cooled into icy dread."
Set during "An American Pastoral Scene." In which a job goes wrong, Arthur's life is in danger, and Micah is forced to play the reluctant hero for a change.
Whumpcember 2023 Day 14: "Drowning"
Series
- Part 14 of Red Dead Whumpcember 2023