ridin' roads

Chopper was the youngest of Decker clan, and aside from knowing his instagram handle - she had to admit she didn’t know that much about her younger brother, aside from the fact that like all younger siblings he worked her last nerver most of the time. However, she promised to try and play nice this weekend, and thus meant spending a least a quarter of her time with Chopper. “I don’t care what you do, but if you puke in my car, I will personally place your head on a stick.” Sawyer threatened as she looked back down at her phone, trying to anwser emails as they came in. The time she spent at the county fair was time away from work, and she was starting to feel the aftermath as countless emails made their way into her inbox. 

     “damn, you’re a real sourpuss, you know that?” chopper rolled his eyes. truthfully, he had been looking forward to sawyer spending some time with him at the fair, even if they both felt weird about it. he didn’t know much about his older sister, only that she cut and run when she turned eighteen. clearly, she didn’t care about the ranch as much as he and bash did. “why’d you even come back here, sawyer? since you’re so miserable and everythin’. maybe you need some time away from your phone to stop and smell the manure - i mean roses,” he snickered before snatching her phone away and holding it above his head. he had at least a foot on her with his arm in the air. “oh no, miss city slicker has no phone to play on. whatever will she do?”

closed starter for: @choppcrdecker​

 location: at the seating area, cascade county fair 

 lucy was sitting down enjoying her snack when she saw him. chopper. who the hell names their kid chopper? she didn’t know him well but being here for the last four years, lucy knew of him and his reputation. hell, the blonde had to stop him from doing something stupid a couple of times. he was a good kid and in some ways chopper reminded her of remington. she was sitting there enjoying her snack when the blonde saw it happen. getting up from her seat, lucy walked over to him and held him back for a moment “chopper. don’t! don’t do it.” lucy said, holding him back for a moment. taking a deep breath lucy looked at him “you good?” lucy ask him firmly 

     this wouldn’t be the first time that lucy intervened before chopper could do something he’d regret (or not). taking a deep breath through his nose and exhaling, he almost struggled to answer. “yeah, yeah.. i’m good.” he was tense, his jaw was clenched, but he tried his best to loosen up. closing his eyes, he let his fist unfurl. it wasn’t every day that someone said something about the decker family to his face, and as much as he resented them, they were still his family. he’d defend them to the death, even his prissy older sister, sawyer. turning around, he managed to force a fake half-smile. “are you stalkin’ me, detective? you seem to always show up durin’ questionable times.”

“you’re… moderately sized.” just not a six foot five type of dude. he flexes and she puts on a show of gasping and placing a hand on her chest. “almost knocked me over with those guns.” but then he throws the insult just as smoothly and she smiles because she can respect it. “you’re gonna have to give me your work out routine. i guess i’m not eating enough pies” he was right about the last part, though. “it was traumatizing but don’t say i didn’t warn you.”

     chop grins. he always liked a woman who could give it as well as she could take it. “i can give you my workout routine, sure. you should come by the ranch sometime, i’ll give you a tour and everythin’. show you the ropes,” he flirts. “i might even let you touch my guns as an added bonus,” he adds with a wink. “what’s your story, darlin’? what traumatized you?”

Bash had been damn near all over the fair. It brought back memories, and considering it’s an event he wouldn’t dream of missing there are plenty of them. He remembers having his first kiss in the parking lot, he remembers watching friends win a crown for their beauty, talents, or the animal they brought up. Bash wasn’t one for the spotlight but watching others in it was something else. However, his little brother talking of the honor of ‘pie-eating champion’ or whatever in the Hell they called it– did not sound like much of an ‘honor’. “Are you kidding?” he asks, brows furrowing at Chopper. “I mean you can win, maybe, but are you going to survive it? Mom didn’t enter any of her pies this year so it’s the luck of the draw,” Bash shrugs. “Do you win something? I don’t get the point of it– wasting pie.”

     “it’s not like her pies are exactly worthy of bein’ entered,” chop shot back. whether or not that was true, he didn’t care. twenty-four years old and still held a grudge against his parents for selling the ranch. the resentment towards his older siblings had softened a bit over the years, but it was still there. “i don’t know if you win somethin’ or not, i just wanna cover my face in that sweet shit and savor it. not everythin’ has to have a prize, bash. is that why you never do anythin’ fun durin’ the fair? afraid of losin’?”

The best time to realize you haven’t even eaten all day was in the middle of a fair, sugar and grease calling your name. Ryder had already shoved a piece of pizza in his mouth while standing in line for the ferris wheel with Maddie, but there was something about the popcorn straight ahead that was pulling him in like a lighthouse. About to take a step toward the line, Ryder heard a voice next to him. 

Glancing to his right, Ryder raised an eyebrow at his cousin, who was looking at Dolly’s pie stand. “Y’signin up?” He asked with a snort. “Ya got a strategy planned?”

     “strategy?” chop questioned with a huff. “you don’t need no strategy for an eatin’ contest. what’s there to plan? when you’re gonna need to take a sip of water or somethin’?” he shook his head. surely his cousin jested. “i’m just gonna go in and inhale that shit like i’m takin’ a long drag off of some mary jane. sweet and simple. but enough about me, dear cousin. what’ve you been into? same ol’ shit every year, ain’t it.”

OPEN / Everyone LOCATION: Cascade County Fairground Parking Lot

Two minutes. She’d had all the intent in the world to only step onto the fairgrounds for two minutes — to smell the disgusting fried food from the stands and rub the dust from her eyes for exactly one hundred and twenty seconds, and then Liza swore to herself she’d be out of there. Of course, that hadn’t happened. She’d been in line, waiting to get her father his goddamn funnel cake he just had to have (and Liza, despite her best efforts, had a difficult time saying fuck no to a dying man), when she’d been offered a beer. And then one beer turned into about seven and now she’s here, stumbling back to her truck with her keys and heels in one hand and no funnel cake in the other. That’s when she spots them.

“Hey! Fucking Christ— HEY!” Two kids are sitting in the bed of it, getting a little too close for comfort and although it looks innocent enough, that doesn’t stop Liza from losing her damn mind. “Get your horned up teenage asses off my fucking truck!” The decent sized rock she launches at the kids ends up hitting the boy straight in the fucking skull, which she surprisingly hadn’t been aiming for — but it does the job and the two of them sprint away like spooked rabbits. She fishes a cigarette out of her bag to light it while she watches them go, and it’s then that Liza realizes she’s got a witness to the crime. “You wanna be next? I’ve got great aim.”

     “christ almighty, don’t get your panties in a twist y’old red heifer,” chopper joked as his held his hands up in front of him in defense. even though he himself had been up to no good in the parking lot, he knew better than to mess with anything that belonged to elizabeth ward. “got a spare?” he motioned to her cigarette before hopping up on the back of her truck. “looks like you had a hell of a time. let me guess - you two-steppin’? boot scootin’ boogie? shame i missed it” 

This County Fair had been going on for years and with that came Buck’s favorite weekend, the last one. It was probably everyone’s favorites but he honestly always tried his best to come home when he was on the road for it. The sweet smell of pies had him distracted as he wandered over to the source of the smell. “I dunno. I couldn’t eat in this heat but that’s just me. I’m sure people are crazy enough to enter. I guess you’re one of ‘em this year.” He had no problem calling Chopper crazy, considering that he was a newer ranch hand. They all had to deal with his hazing, if one could even call it that. “You know what flavor you’re gonna need to eat?” 

    “can’t eat in this heat?” chop questioned. “didn’t take you for such a lightweight, mister hall of fame. didn’t take any ward for a lightweight honestly. besides, ain’t you used to the heat by now? or is that old age catchin’ up to you?” he couldn’t help but take a jab at the older man. “i figure if i can get a puddin’ or custard it’ll go down easier and quicker. if i get stuck with somethin’ like apples though pretty sure i ain’t gonna be worth killin’ afterwards.”

There was so much to do and Gracia was lost deciding what was next. Sure she could try her hand at the game she kept losing, but she figures it might be better if she does something else first and then go back to it. She was pretty insistent on winning one of those cute gifts the games offered. However, no luck so far. “I think so. Isn’t it one of the more popular things in the fair? Last year had a lot of people entering, I recall.” A pause as she attempts to remember what it was like before last year. Pie-eating contests were simply a classic. She smiles when he announces wanting to try it out. “Yeah? So, you’re, like, the number one fan of pie?” She giggles lightly. “You should try it! I’ll cheer you on.”

     “i gotta be, at least when it comes to the county anyway,” chop answered her question with a grin. problem was, he had no idea that eating contests required training and strategy - one just couldn’t enter a contest and expect to win. then again, he probably wouldn’t care if he did know. “why don’t you enter it with me, get your pretty face all dirtied up for once,” he nudged her shoulder with his own. “c’mon, it’ll be fun. when’s the last time you had any fun?”

she hated a lot about this fair. the people, the sweetness of all the deserts, the wet cotton candy on the ground, but nothing more than the godforsaken eating contest. at least not after she watched fat joe eat his weight in pies and then miss the garbage can. it had traumatized her for life and even listening to him, she was turning a little green as the memory fought its way out of the box she’d tried to burry it in. “yeah,” she said as her hand moved to her stomach. “i don’t know why they keep doing it. their mothers must not feed them.” she swallowed the lump in her throat and grimaced at him. 

“it’s a lot of pie for someone as small as you.” she said honestly, doubtful on his skin. “you also wanna make sure this isn’t gonna trigger some dramatic experience. imagine you can’t eat pie ever again because you got sick. a lot at risk, if you ask me.”

     blinking a few times in disbelief, chopper turned his head to beatriz. “did you just call me small? does this look small?” he asked, flexing his arm to show off what muscle he had. “see this? this is called bustin’ your ass all day on the ranch,” he quipped. “don’t think it’d work for you though, heard somethin’ about it gettin’ harder to get fit the older you are,” he snickered. “Sounds like you’re the one who’s had a dramatic experience if you ask me.”

     chopper was bored. sure, the fair had enough entertainment to keep everyone and their brother happy but for chop there was only so many times he could lure an unsuspecting victim onto the ferris wheel only so he could swing the seat and scare the living daylights out of them. needless to say, things were getting old. taking off his ballcap and shaking out the sweat, his attention was caught by the sweet aroma of freshly-baked pies. and if there was one thing chopper couldn’t resist, it was pie. in fact, miss dolly always had a piping hot slice ready for him anytime he visited the diner. maybe this would be the year chop entered the pie-eating contest. 

     “you reckon there’s gonna be a lot of folks entering?” he asked the closest person next to him as he pulled his ballcap on backwards over his head. “think i might give it a shot, got a pretty good chance of winning i’d say. nobody loves pie more than me.”

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name: Mercury

Age: 29

Pronouns: She/Her

A fun fact about yourself: I’m obsessed with pizza and can play a variety of musical instruments?

IN CHARACTER

Name: Chopper “Chop” Decker

Birthday: December 10th, 1998

Age: 24

Occupation: Ranch hand @ Centurion Ranch

Resides: On the ranch in some shed he converted into a house