gaming sideblop

I love how Arthur's dialogue changes between high or low honor. For example, when he has low honor, he'll cut off Tilly's goodbye short and tell her not to start with "that crap," whereas high honor he still cuts her off but flashes a soft smile before saying "me too sweetheart me too." Or his goodbye to Sadie and Abigail, with low honor he pushes Abigail away when she attempts to hug him before telling them to go save Jack, with high honor he still pushes her away but calls them "good women... good people." And with John, if he has low honor, he'll tell John to "take it. It ain't no use to me now." (referring to his hat and satchel). Whereas high honor, he'll tell John that "It'll mean a lot to me." Obviously referring to him wanting the Marstons to live a long and happy life and for John to change.

something I don’t see discussed too often is the vein in which arthur morgan panics when being perceived. in one of the colter missions arthur mentions to charles the severity of their situation— riding out from blackwater, weathering the storm, etc. and charles aptly responds “you’ve had a lot put on you.” arthur then backpedals and is like “i didn’t mean it like that, just.. a lot to think back on.” or later in chapter 2, there’s jimmy brookes recognizing arthur from blackwater & calling him out. arthur denies the accusation repeatedly, but jimmy doesn’t let up. lying low is difficult with having any loose ends, so naturally arthur chases him down. after choosing to rescue the guy from the cliff edge, jimmy commends arthur for saving his life and refers to him as “a good man.” the look arthur gives to this is like a switch being flipped. again, he backpedals, despite the added risk of being recognized, now reaffirming that he was not only in blackwater but a bad man who kills people. it’s pocketed moments like these that really put a spot on arthur’s insecurities. ones that chip away at the armor. he’s the right hand man in a gang— a surrogate family— the one who’s supposed to project strength when tumult falls upon them. he can’t been seen as anyone buckling under the pressure. arthur also has an innate goodness that’s lost in the fog of his misdeeds he believes define him. he should never be called a good man. arthur has a reflexive retreat when people peer beneath the surface level. it challenges the narrative he’s built around himself, the identity he’s convinced himself he must uphold. he wraps that persona around himself like a warm blanket & stretches that blanket thin because that’s all he understands. that’s all he knows. that’s all his life has allowed him

NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.