Chapters: 3/?
Fandom: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hosea Matthews & Dutch van der Linde, Hosea Matthews/Dutch van der Linde, Hosea Matthews & Leonard "Lenny" Summers, Hosea Matthews & Arthur Morgan, Hosea Matthews & Molly O'Shea
Characters: Hosea Matthews, Dutch van der Linde, Leonard "Lenny" Summers, Arthur Morgan, Molly O'Shea
Additional Tags: POV Hosea Matthews, Hosea Matthews Lives, What-If, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Video Game: Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), Chapter 4: Saint Denis (Red Dead Redemption 2), Mentioned Angelo Bronte, Minor Hosea Matthews/Dutch van der Linde, but they're still an old married couple, so basically exactly how they are in the game lol, Red Dead Redemption 2 Spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change, Introspection, Morality, Deep Conversations, Molly O'Shea Deserves Better, Mission: Urban Pleasures (Red Dead Redemption 2), Mission: Country Pursuits (Red Dead Redemption 2), Mission: Revenge is a Dish Best Eaten (Red Dead Redemption 2)
Summary:
âYou get ten seconds,â said Milton. âTen⊠nineâŠâ
Hosea could glimpse movement from inside the bank. Bill rushing to the back of the room. Dutch handing the saddlebag over his shoulder off to Micah.
âEight⊠seven⊠sixâŠâ
For as long as he had known him, Hosea had known Dutchâs greatest strength and his greatest failing to be one and the same. He was willing to do anything.
âFive⊠fourâŠâ
What would be the consequence this time? What new direction would Dutch send the gang spinning off in? Hosea couldnât predict it. He never could.
âThree⊠twoâŠâ
When it came down to the wire, when all other options were exhausted, when lives were on the line, what would Dutch van der Linde do?
âOne.â
A what-if alternate universe in which Hosea survives the St. Denis bank robbery, lives to see the downward spiral of the gang, and knows he has to do something.
Finally coming back to this work after so long! More chapters to come soon!
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Hi so I wrote a prose adaptation of a scene from @contact-guy's Watson's Sketchbook - part 7 of The Hound of the Baskervilles - as half writing exercise in Victorian/Doyle-esque writing style and half outlet for the Sherlock Holmes Disease that Watson's Sketchbook has infected me with lol
The original comic:
đŹ 80  đ 1861  â€ïž 4549 ·Â
This is part of a series, read these first! (pt 1) (pt 2) (pt 3) (pt 4)(pt 5) (pt 6)
HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES pa
My writing under the cut!
That night I found myself pacing back and forth in my bedroom slippers before the door to our accommodationsâ living-chamber, behind which I knew Holmes sat awake, reading. The letter I had discovered weighed like a lead sinker in my breast-pocket, the question of its validity around my heart like a vise. I came to the conclusion that if I failed to act at that moment, the act would never be done.
I seized the door-knob and swung the door open with the dramatic bang I had intended. Holmes, seated at the fire with his back to me, did not look up from the volume in his hands.
âAh, Watson,â he said. âTraditionally a knock will serve to announce oneâs presence. There is a 9:12 back to town. I plan to stop by my old digs to gather a few personal effects-â
âI have at least one of them,â I interrupted him, reaching into my pocket and holding the letter, unfolded, out to him at armâs length.
It was rare for Holmes to ever be surprised - rarer still for I to be the one to surprise him - yet I could not take any pleasure in the look in his wide grey eyes as he recognized the scrap of paper. His gaze turned from it in an instant and he stood abruptly from his chair, the hem of his dressing-gown falling about his legs. âYou were not meant to read that,â he said quietly, taking up his pipe and lighting it. His hands trembled slightly as he did so.
âIt has my name on it,â I pointed out.Â
The smoke poured lazily from Holmesâ mouth as he exhaled. âYes, your mental prowess knows no bounds.â
I had not the patience for Holmesâ petulant sarcasm. âIs this a trick, Holmes?â I asked him.Â
His eyebrow raised, and he looked upon me for the first time since my entering the room. âA trick?â He then turned away from me again and advanced toward the window. âPerhaps it is,â he said. âA clever bit of manipulation, designed to some end you cannot hope to fathom-â
âFor Godâs sake, man.â Had he not the decency to say a thing outright? âAfter everything - if I have ever been useful to you in the slightest - if you have any regard for me at all - please.â
My friendâs thin shoulders tensed, then he sighed and they relaxed. âThe letter you hold is a first draft,â he explained. âI daresay there is a good deal I would have phrased more elegantly. I was still weighing my options, you see. I had determined this⊠revelation⊠could not be done face-to-face, and must be carried out in a manner-â
âSherlock-â The man started at my unprecedented use of his given name, yet still would not meet my eyes. âWhy could you not say this to my face?â
âBecause, quite frankly, you are a man of action,â Holmes replied. âIn the likely case of a poor response, I had no wish to add injury to insult.â
The idea that I should strike Holmes in any circumstance was so unthinkable, the thought that I had given him reason to believe I would so unbearable that it caused me to pause and glance at my own hands.Â
Holmes still stood with his back to me. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder, and was surprised to feel the great Sherlock Holmes, who looked killers in the eye and chased deadly adventure as if his life depended upon it, flinch under my gentle touch. I turned his body and then, when he refused still to look at me, his head to face mine, with one hand upon his bony cheek. âHow terribly we have misunderstood one another.â I drew my face to his and kissed the thin lips.
âWatson!â He drew back and raised his hands in alarm, a bright flush across his cheeks, the pipe clattering to the floor. âIf you are acting from some misguided sense of decency-â
âI love you,â I declared. âI have for - years - perhaps since we first met-â
âBut you are not âthat way,ââ Holmes protested. ââExperience across three continentsâ and all that.â
âI have spent my life in school and then the army,â I corrected. âThere were not a surfeit of women in my âexperience.ââ
Holmesâ grey eyes blinked twice, and this time I could revel in the fact that I had surprised him once again. âI have been blind.â The flush had returned to his cheeks and a small, sheepish smile had crept across his lips. âHow on earth do you manage?â
âOne learns to muddle through.â
Within moments, the wiry arms of my friend were around me, and mine around him, his lips pressed firmly to mine.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
âYou get ten seconds,â said Milton. âTen⊠nineâŠâ
Hosea could glimpse movement from inside the bank. Bill rushing to the back of the room. Dutch handing the saddlebag over his shoulder off to Micah.
âEight⊠seven⊠sixâŠâ
For as long as he had known him, Hosea had known Dutchâs greatest strength and his greatest failing to be one and the same. He was willing to do anything.
âFive⊠fourâŠâ
What would be the consequence this time? What new direction would Dutch send the gang spinning off in? Hosea couldnât predict it. He never could.
âThree⊠twoâŠâ
When it came down to the wire, when all other options were exhausted, when lives were on the line, what would Dutch van der Linde do?
âOne.â
A what-if alternate universe in which Hosea survives the St. Denis bank robbery, lives to see the downward spiral of the gang, and knows he has to do something.
This idea has been *well* over a year in the coming-up-with and will likely be just as long (or even longer) in the actually-writing. So come along with me as I set out on another extremely long passion project labor of love. I hope you enjoy the ride!
And of course thank you as always to the ever wonderful @rhys-is-puffs for helping me get this crazy idea off the ground and for their endless support :)
WHIRLING-IN-RAGS HOTEL ROOM - Your eyes flicker open against their will, forcing you to stare at the blank white ceiling of your hotel room as you lie on your back.
RIGOUR [Trivial: Success] - The way you will lie in bed every night of your life.
YOU - Why am I awake? I should be resting.
LAWMAN - You are awake because I told you to wake up.
YOU - Iâm off duty.
LAWMAN - Not right now, youâre not. Youâve got a job to do. *Right now.*
- Close your eyes again.
- [Vigilance - Challenging 12] Why do you feel like you need to be awake right now?
LOW
22%Â
-2 It is very late at night. Or early in the morning.
CHECK FAILURE
VIGILANCE - [Challenging - Failure] You donât know. And you *really* donât like not knowing.
SANGFROID - [Medium: Success] Youâre just on edge after a long day. Thatâs all it is. Relax.Â
YOU - What the hell time even is it.
DIGITAL ALARM CLOCK - The bright red angry numbers spell out 2:47.
TAXONOMY [Easy - Success] - You will be awake again in just over four hours.
CONSTITUTION - Why have you done this to us?
HOTEL ROOM WINDOW - The overcast sky diffuses the moonlight filtering in through the window above the bed.
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium - Success] - You can hear the occasional shout from the courtyard outside.
SAGE - Why are those children not in bed like reasonable people?
JOIE DE VIVRE - Oh, theyâre not what *youâd* ever call âreasonable peopleâ and you know it.
YOU - Close your eyes again.
VIGILANCE - The pit that has just formed refuses to dislodge itself from the bottom of your stomach.
FANTASTIQUE [Hard: Success] - Something *wants* you to be awake.
- Donât be ridiculous. (Inhale deeply and exhale.)
- You really think so?
- (Tune out the noise.)
RIGOUR - The breaths come to you as second nature, falling into a steady rhythm.Â
SANGFROID - But it isnât enough. Youâve been disturbed from your rest. Itâll take more than your usual deep breathing to return to it.Â
- No. Itâs not worth it. Just let me go back to lying here in peace.Â
- (Sigh and sit up.)
HOTEL ROOM FLOOR - The linoleum is cool under your bare feet as you sit at the edge of the bed. As your eyes adjust, you begin to make out the vague shapes of the furniture in the room, aided by the grey light coming from the window.
YOU - Fine. Iâll just get a quick glass of water, then back to bed. (Stand up.) [Conclude.]
TASK GAINED: GET A DRINK OF WATER
BATHROOM DOOR - This is the door to the bathroom you share with room #1 next door, with your partner, with Harry Du Bois.Â
YOU - (Open it.)
SHARED BATHROOM - A burst of humidity hits your skin as you enter. Hot water gushes from the broken sink faucet, fogging up the mirror as well as the rest of the room.
SYNTHESIS [Medium - Success] - It would not surprise you in the least to learn that the broken sink was a result of your partnerâs apparent drunken rampage before your arrival.
- (Wipe off the mirror.)
- [Interfacing - Legendary 14] (Try to stop the flow of water.)
LOW
3%
-10 Tool not equipped
3. - Nix the drink of water, I guess. (Leave it alone)
NAVIGATEUR [Easy - Success] - The door that connects the bathroom to room #1 is wide open.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium - Success] - No, scratch that - the door is *gone.* It has been *removed.*Â
SYNTHESIS - See above.
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Hard - Success] - Over the sound of the rushing water you can make out - nothing.
RIPOSTE - And thatâs important why?
PERCEPTION - Trust me. Too much quiet is not a good thing.
SYNTHESIS [Easy - Success] - A man of his build would almost certainly snore.
TAXONOMY - Alcohol consumption would also contribute to that.
- (Poke your head through the doorway.)
- [Perception (Hearing) - Medium 10] (Listen again.)
HIGH
86%
3. - (Let it go.)
CHECK SUCCESS
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium - Success] - Again, nothing. Except for rushing water and distant wind rushing. Not even so much as a breath apart from your own.
COMPASSION [Easy - Success] - This is it, isnât it. The pit. The knot. Can you be sure of where he is right now?
SANGFROID [Trivial - Success] - You saw him enter this room after your debrief. He closed the door behind him.
COMPASSION - Can you be sure of where he is *right now*?
- This isnât my problem right now. Not at 2:50 in the morning.
- The detective is a grown adult. Whether or not heâs in his hotel room is his responsibility.
- I canât.
COMPASSION - UnlessâŠ
YOU - (Poke your head through the doorway.)
MACHINIST - You cough slightly as chilled air enters your lungs, irritating the residual smoke from your nightly ritual.
ROOM #1 - The hotel room looks as if a tempest hit it. The blurry shapes of bottles, various scraps of trash, and miscellaneous debris litter every surface.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Legendary - Failure] - The shapes would be less blurry if you were sporting your proper eyewear.
DISHEVELED COUCH-BED - The pull-out couch against the wall is a mangled heap of towels, blankets, and pillows.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Legendary - Failure] - Itâs dark. Youâre glassesless. You canât make out any signs of life.
YOU - (Take a step closer.)
DISHEVELED COUCH-BED - No motion. No nothing. Just a stale, lingering odor of sweat and alcohol.
YOU - (Gently reach out a hand.)
DISHEVELED COUCH-BED - Your hand pats at the crumpled blanket and askew cushions.Â
PERCEPTION - Thereâs no one here.
COMPASSION - Oh god, thereâs no one there.
YOU - (Turn on the lights.)
CEILING FAN - You fumble for the chain, feel the lightbulb on the end of it, and pull it.
RESILIENCE - Light floods the room and makes you squint.Â
YOU - [Perception (Sight) - Easy 6] (Scan the room again.)
HIGH
93%
+3 Lights are on
-1 Glasses are off
CHECK SUCCESS
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - There is no one else in the room apart from yourself.
SAGE - Oh, come now. Is a grown adult not being in his room when you expected him to any cause for alarm?
COMPASSION - It is when said grown adult is in the condition this one is in.
1. - [Rigour - Challenging 13] (Go back to bed.)
LOW
19%
-2 Compassion is worried
-1 Previous incident involving a folding chair
2. - (Go back to your room. Get ready to go outside.) [Look for Harry.]
COMPASSION - Thereâs no telling what could have happened. Hurry.
RESILIENCE - And remember your jacket. Itâs cold out there.
YOU - [Leave.]
TASK GAINED: GRAB YOUR GLASSES, JACKET, AND BOOTS
ITEM GAINED: ROUND GLASSES
ITEM GAINED: LACE-UP BOOTS
ITEM GAINED: AEROSTATIC PILOT JACKET
AEROSTATIC PILOT JACKET - As you pick up the neatly folded jacket from the console table, you reveal the dark shape of your holster, the Kiel A9 Armistice nestled safely inside.
VIGILANCE [Trivial - Success] - Take it. You need it.
VOX POPULI - No you donât. You wonât. Not now. Not for this. Â
COMPASSION [Hard - Success] - He would notice if you brought it. You know he would.
- (Take the holster.)
- (Leave it.) [Leave. Go outside.]
***
PERCEPTION - Stop! You almost stepped on something.
YOU - (Pick it up.)
Item gained: Harryâs Police Ledger
HARRYâS POLICE LEDGER - You stoop to pick it up. Itâs the ledger Detective Du Bois fished out of the Whirling trash bin earlier today, still covered in refuse.
YOU - Then that means⊠(Look around.)
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Easy - Success] - Yes. Barely visible in the shadow of the crumbling bench from the single lamppost lies a huddled mass of a body on the cold, cracked ground.
YOU - (Hurry to his side.)
HARRY DU BOIS - Eyes closed, pale, and clammy, the detective makes no response to your hand on his shoulder.
- âDetective?â
- âHarry?â
HARRY DU BOIS - No answer. No sound.
TAXONOMY - [Trivial - Success] - No good will come of him just lying on the ground like that.
NAVIGATEUR - [Easy - Success] - The Kineema. Just a few metres away. With lights and a water bottle.
YOU - [Machinist - Hard 10] (Lift the detective onto your shoulder.)
EVEN
48%
CHECK SUCCESS
MACHINIST [Hard - Success] - He doesnât weigh quite as much as you had expected him to. Youâre able to lift him off the ground and walk with him carefully towards the motor carriage.
HARRY DU BOIS - Before long, you have him situated in the driverâs basket of your Coupris Kineema.
YOU - (Pry his eyelids open and examine his pupils.)
HARRY DU BOIS - No signs of drug use, at least not recently. His pupils contract in the brightness of the headlights, but otherwise show no signs of consciousness.
YOU - (Unscrew the cap of the water canister and raise it to his lips.)
HARRY DU BOIS - The water flows over his mouth and down his chin.Â
- âWake up, officer.â
- âDetective, can you hear me?â
- âCome on, Harry⊠come onâŠâ
HARRY DU BOIS - The water is beginning to make it into the detectiveâs mouth. A tongue emerges, as well as a soft groan.
COMPASSION - The air youâve been unintentionally holding in your lungs escapes all at once.
YOU - âDrink -- water.â
HARRY DU BOIS - âYouâre here?â
YOU - âMhmh. Now drink.â (Raise the container.)
HARRY DU BOIS - The water pours down his throat. The tightness around his eyes begins to soften.
YOU - âDrink.â (Tilt the canister.) âYou havenât drunk water in two days. Did you know the human body is not made to survive on alcohol *alone*? You need a secondary form of hydration.â
HARRY DU BOIS - With greedy gulps, he downs half a litre of cold water.
YOU - âWhat happened?â
HARRY DU BOIS - âI should ask you the same.â
- âI had a gut-feeling.â
- âI was worried about you.â
- âI couldnât sleep and happened to look in your room and notice you werenât there.â
HARRY DU BOIS - âI was out here.â
YOU - âYes, you were. Iâm glad I got here in time.â
HARRY DU BOIS - âHow long was I out?â
YOU - âI donât know. It could have been quite a while.â (Look him in the eye.)
HARRY DU BOIS - This is a broken man. Possibly even more so than when you first met him.
HARRY DU BOIS - âI came in contact with the burnt out ruins of the past, lieutenant.â
LAWMAN [Trivial - Success] - Youâve spent your entire career skirting around smouldering craters of the past. Every police officer you know has.Â
YOU - âThat does sometimes happen.â (Hand him the ledger.) âI found this next to you.â
Item lost: Harryâs Police Ledger
HARRY DU BOIS - He takes the clipboard and shoves it into the pocket of his cloak, as if he never wants to see it again in his entire life.
FANTASTIQUE [Medium - Success] - Even so, something tells you he would have missed it if you didnât give it back.
YOU - âIt is extremely late. You need sleep. Are you okay to stand up?â
HARRY DU BOIS - He nods and shakily rises to his feet.Â
YOU - âGood.âÂ
***
HARRY DU BOIS - The two of you have reached the second floor of the Whirling-In-Rags, with you walking alongside him instead of at your usual position behind him. You stand in front of the door to room #1.
HARRY DU BOIS - He fumbles his room key out of his pocket and fumbles it into the lock. It pops open.
VOX POPULIÂ [Medium - Success] - He has a faraway look in his eyes. It is impossible for you to not recognize it.
HARRY DU BOIS - âI canât decide if going back would be the best or worst decision Iâve ever made.â
COMPASSION - He doesnât mean back into his hotel room.
- âIâd wager youâll end up back there eventually.â
- âItâs behind you. Youâll never see it again. I promise.â
- âNo oneâs asking you to make that decision right now.â
HARRY DU BOIS - âThank fuck for that.â He swings the door open.
VOLTA DO MAR - KEEP YOUR BALANCE. YOU WILL NOT FALL ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. YOU WILL REMAIN ON SOLID GROUND, CIRCLING BACK TO THE SELF.
HARRY DU BOIS - âKimâŠâ He pauses in uncharacteristic apprehension. âThank you.â
YOU - âDonât mention it. Get some rest.â
- âGood night, detective.â
- âGood night, Harry.â
HARRY DU BOIS - He gives you a nod and disappears through the doorway. The door closes with a soft click behind him.
YOU - (Stand there for a second longer, staring at the door.)
YOU - [Leave.]
If you open the ledger and read the card without Kim with you, the game assumes he's not there because he's away taking the body for processing. The dialogue makes no sense if you read it after he goes to bed. Hence *gestures at all of post*
Inspired by the amazing work of @even-disco-baby and the Kim skill tree made by @mindblownie!
KORTENAER - You see two cold eyes looking at you -- through all the smoke and the panic. And a pistol, raised, aiming at your chest, point blank. Then the man squeezes the triggerâŠ
1. - Wait -- Kim -- I canât see KimâŠ
2. - Look him in the eye.
3. - [Reaction Speed - Impossible 20] Evade the shot.
4. - Let it happen.
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant is not visible in your peripheral vision.
YOU - Then where--
LOGIC - He is behind you.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - As he so often is.
VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - In dodging Ruudâs shot, you stepped to the left of the lieutenant. After the chaos of the last few seconds, you now stand between him and the mercenary Kortenaer.
INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - Thatâs right. You can feel his presence behind you. You know what it feels like by now. Heâs there.Â
EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - Donât. Move. Stay right where you are.Â
COMPOSURE - You mean--
VISUAL CALCULUS - Yes. If the bullet that is about to emerge from the barrel of that gun does not hit you, it will hit Kim Kitsuragi.
PAIN THRESHOLD [Trivial - Success] - No. No, you canât do what youâre thinking of doing. Have you forgotten the *automatic weapons* already? Getting shot by one of them wonât just *hurt.* It will *exterminate* you. Just standing here deliberating is going against every animal instinct in your primal-brain.
SAVOIR FAIRE - You could make it, if you dodge. Thereâs got to be a chance.
REACTION SPEED [Medium: Failure] - There could be. As far as you know, there is.
EMPATHY - It doesnât matter if thereâs a chance or not. Not with whatâs on the line. Any chance is too much of a risk.
YOU - Canât I warn him?
REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - There is no time. By the time the signal from your brain reaches your mouth and the sound of your words reaches his ears and the signal from his brain reaches his muscles, it will be too late.Â
VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - The lieutenant cannot see what is about to happen. His eyes are still on Ruud, and the aftermath of his miraculous shot.Â
DRAMA - You are in an advantageous position, my liege. Only you are aware of the imminent peril. Do you dare use that knowledge to betray him?
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - There will be no exit wound. Your body will be enough to slow the momentum of the bullet and it will come to a stop somewhere inside of you.
RHETORIC - All that to say: a bullet in your chest will keep it out of the lieutenantâs.
HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - This bullet, at least.
ENDURANCE Â - You wonât be able to take it. That bullet will tear through you and leave nothing left. Youâll fall to the ground and feel every drop of life leak out of you. You donât want that. Believe me. Take the chance.
VOLITION [Easy - Success] - What would that make you? Think about it. Would you be able to stand it? Would you be able to stand knowing that you were a person who would sacrifice a solitary spark of warmth in a cold world just to continue breathing the very air that chills and freezes your lungs with every inhale?
INLAND EMPIRE - That spark will keep you warm. No matter where you go. Hold it close. Cling to it.
KORTENAER - The explosion rattles your back teeth as the bullet rips through the air.Â
REACTION SPEED - Your time has run out. Decide. *Now*.
1. - Fuck this. I was insane for even thinking it. Iâm dodging that bullet.
2. - I need to try. Iâm too scared to stand still.
3. - God⊠I donât know. Donât make me decide.
4. - Itâs taking everything in me. But I canât move.
5. - Iâm not moving a muscle. I wonât do it.
VOLITION - Why? Why for him?
1. - Because heâs my fellow police officer. Heâd do the same for me.
2. - Because heâs my fellow human being. We all have a duty to each other on this planet.
3. - Because heâs Kim.
KIM KITSURAGI - There was never a decision to be made here, you realize. You have already made it. You made this decision when you felt a hand on your shoulder as you sat in despair on a swing set. You made this decision every time the sensation of the neatly folded handkerchief in your breast pocket steadied your buckling knees and strengthened your fracturing resolve. You made this decision when you were released from paralyzing, furious agony in a dark underground tunnel and your first thought was to turn around because, despite your quarry standing right in front of you and the throbbing pain still ringing through your own ears, the safety of the man behind you was most important -- and still is. Because you made this decision a fraction of a second ago, when you stared down the barrel of a gun and didnât immediately leap out of the way of danger, because ensuring this man would come to no harm came first, before anything else.
INLAND EMPIRE - Somewhere in a parallel yet distant universe there may be a world in which you can bear to knowingly step away in refusal to protect him. The one you exist in is not one of them. You know this.
Donât you?
1. - Look him in the eye.
2. - [Reaction Speed - Impossible 20] Evade the shot.
3. - Let it happen.
YOU - Let it happen.
REACTION SPEED - You simply blink. Then something inside your pelvis explodes. Your entire lower body is on fire and your legs canât support you⊠you fall down like a rag doll.
PAIN THRESHOLD [Challenging: Failure] - The pain is too immense to scream. It pushes the air out of your lungs. Everything goes dark, a distant blur as you recede into itâŠ
YOU - (Try to open your eyes.) What do I see?
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Nothing. A persisting darkness. Dancing lights of pain. Distant shadows cast by them, like a hellish playâŠ
KIM KITSURAGI - âYouâre bleeding out!â Out of it -- a silhouette appears, crouching over you. You hear a familiar voice, filled with urgency and fear.
YOU - âKimâŠâ
KIM KITSURAGI - âYes, itâs me! Keep talking!â The lieutenant pushes down on your wound, hard.
YOU - âKim⊠youâre okay, right? I stopped itâŠâ
KIM KITSURAGI - âIâm -- Iâm alright, you stay with me!â The dots are connecting in the lieutenantâs mind, he is realizing what you have done. âGod, no⊠Stay awake! Look at me!âÂ
You want to. But you canât. Itâs so hard. Your eyelids grow heavy and the sounds ever more distant. And a cold comes over you. The lieutenant, too, is somewhere far away. Almost gone⊠when suddenly! You sense something behind himâŠ
DE PAULE - A slender white shadow, towering. Someone stands there -- raising her pistol at him. The lieutenant does not see it. Heâs pushing down on your wound with both handsâŠ
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - âNo,â you scream: âBEHIND YOU!â from your bloody lips. Your eyes are full of fear.
KIM KITSURAGI - There is no room for hesitation. The lieutenant turns around and fires, his body falling on yours in the course of the motionâŠ
DE PAULE - You hear a faint scream -- a womanâs. The darkness is rushing in on all sides, like the iris of a camera quickly closing. Everythingâs so far awayâŠ
YOU - (You canât go yet. Push the words out of your mouth.) â...You hit her?â
KIM KITSURAGI - âYes,â he replies breathlessly. âI hit her.âÂ
YOU - ââŠGood. âŠHad to make sure firstâŠâ
KIM KITSURAGI - Thereâs a clatter, his gun hitting the paving stones as he scrambles upright to resume compression on your wound. You canât feel it. âHey. Hey! No, goddammit, stay! Come on, keep your eyes open for me, okay?!â
But itâs impossible. Youâre slipping away from everything. Dimmer and quieter and colder. The woman is gone. So is Kim. Then the whole worldâŠ
âHARRY!â
YOU - Fall into total darkness.
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - You just canât stay away, can you, baby? You had the chance. But you didnât take it. You just had to come crawling back.
YOU - What are you talking about?
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Let me ask you a question, Harry-boy. This is death, you know. Look, thereâs the door. Is that what you were looking for? Is that the *real* reason you wouldnât even *try*?Â
1. - You got me. Lemme at that door.Â
2. - No. I did it for Kim. It was worth it.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Well, well, well. Looks like we were right about you, in the end. Love did you in after all, didnât it, Brother Coppo? No matter. Fall deeper. Take the door.
LIMBIC SYSTEM - Heâs *not* taking it. His body is not taking it. Oh god, no, heâs not disintegrating -- heâs swelling up instead. Over the hours. Hurting. Moaning in his sleep.
And rotting. And being disinfected. And smelling of drugs and feeling saliva in his mouth. Drifting in painkillers. Thrashing in his wound sleep.
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - The case doesnât care that you just died for your partner. Get up.
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - There is a radio in the distance. A radio of the world. Playing sounds: Good morning, Elysium. Soon you will return to the world.
LIMBIC SYSTEM - Hours turn to days. Soon he will get up again and go through it -- again! Again! Finally, we know what the infernal engine was -- outside, the clarion callâŠ
It was *him*. *He* is the infernal engine. He never stops. He only gets worse.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Go on then. Go through it again if you want. And when you come back -- and you know you will -- then you can tell us if everything, all the pain and the thrashing and the moaning, really was âworth it.â
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
KIM KITSURAGI - âSunrise, parabellum.â
Inspired by this piece by @tuinendraws that I've loved ever since I first laid eyes on it as well as the amazing work of @even-disco-baby!
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)
Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens), Gabriel (Good Omens), Hastur (Good Omens), Adam Young (Good Omens), The Them (Good Omens)
Additional Tags: Post-Almost Apocalypse (Good Omens), Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Old Married Couple, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Bickering, Aziraphale's Bookshop (Good Omens), Crowley's Love Language is Acts of Service (Good Omens), Aziraphale and Crowley Become Human After Almost Apocalypse (Good Omens), Concerned Aziraphale (Good Omens), Identity Issues, Established Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale is a Mess (Good Omens), Metaphors, Crowley's Bentley (Good Omens), Mortality, Aziraphale and Crowley in Love (Good Omens), Aziraphale's Love Language is Quality Time (Good Omens), Protective Crowley (Good Omens), Gabriel Being an Asshole (Good Omens), Crowley Hates Gabriel (Good Omens), Alcohol, Drunken Kissing, Drunk Aziraphale (Good Omens), Drunk Crowley (Good Omens), Reminiscing, Hastur Being an Asshole (Good Omens), Aziraphale Loves Crowley's Eyes (Good Omens), Difficult Decisions, Happy Ending
Summary:
It's been a little over a year since the world almost ended. Aziraphale and Crowley's respective head offices have left them alone and their lives on Earth have been quite pleasant and relatively uneventful since. Until, that is, at the end of a seemingly ordinary day, they become aware that they have inexplicably become human. Crowley adjusts relatively quickly. Aziraphale... takes a bit longer. The new states of being come with ups and downs, discoveries and realizations, and, hopefully, the answers to a few questions.
All ten chapters are up, after over a year and a half, Anthropomorphosis is finally finished!! What a journey lol. Give it a read if you like! :)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Disco Elysium (Video Game)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi, Harry Du Bois & Kim Kitsuragi
Characters: Harry Du Bois, Kim Kitsuragi
Additional Tags: Failed Karaoke Attempt (Disco Elysium), POV Harry Du Bois, POV Kim Kitsuragi, POV Alternating, Cool Kim Kitsuragi, Smoking, Unhealthy Relationships, Song: The Smallest Church in Sussex (Sea Power), Song: The Land Beyond (Sea Power), Touch Starved Kim Kitsuragi, Whirling In Rags, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, First Kiss, Fade to Black, Morning After, One Shot, Tags Are Hard, Singing, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Disco Elysium Spoilers
Summary:
âI donât believe thereâs nothing particularly unique about you,â says Harry matter-of-factly. âI donât believe thereâs anyone else like you in the whole world.â
Heâs done it again. Heâs caught Kim off guard. Found a hair-thin crack -- likely without even realizing it. Itâs a startlingly novel experience. Kim fails to stifle an incredulous smile. âYou really just say things like that, donât you?â He shakes his head. âYou may be the most surprising person I have ever met, Lieutenant Double-Yefreitor Du Bois.â
Harry raises an eyebrow. âOh, you like surprising?â
âNot usually, no.â
âDoes that make me special?â
Kim slips again, and barely notices. He lets out a chuckle and looks Harry up and down, mulling it over. âYou know what, detective? Sure. Why not?â
To Harry, Kim may as well be glowing, so brightly it hurts his eyes. He looks into him anyway. His presence radiates warmth, and if Harry could, he'd use it to light himself on fire.
In which Harry is tired of wanting and Kim is tired of pretending he doesn't.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)
Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens)
Additional Tags: Post-Almost Apocalypse (Good Omens), Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Old Married Couple, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Bickering, Aziraphale's Bookshop (Good Omens), Crowley's Love Language is Acts of Service (Good Omens), Aziraphale and Crowley Become Human After Almost Apocalypse (Good Omens)
Summary:
It's been a little over a year since the world almost ended. Aziraphale and Crowley's respective head offices have left them alone and their lives on Earth have been quite pleasant and relatively uneventful since. Until, that is, at the end of a seemingly ordinary day, they become aware that they have inexplicably become human. Crowley adjusts relatively quickly. Aziraphale... takes a bit longer. The new states of being come with ups and downs, discoveries and realizations, and, hopefully, the answers to a few questions.
This is going to be quite the undertaking lol. But pleeeease check it out itâs such a labor of love.