cowboy au for fun thoughts / rambles.
danny og from the same small mining town kels mentioned leland's from, but his daddy died in a mining accident when he was a baby and his mama was caught up more in being involved with the saloon and brothel to make ends meet but also bc she enjoyed it. her bringing danny to "work" with her from when he's a baby up til he's a toddler so he can sit downstairs with the nice people running the bar. danny ends up taken one day. his mother never knows. might even be sort of relieved that maybe he's got a better life now.
danny becoming a gunslinging outlaw tho. runs with a few different groups as he's growing up. at least until he's older then he just sort of becomes more of a lone drifter sort of outlaw.
rolls up a mystery into town, minds his business, doesn't cause too much trouble but his presence is enough to get people riled up usually. not afraid to shoot first, ask questions later.
danny trying to make a more honest living and he's good with his hands so he works on the railroad or helps out with farm / ranch work in towns he passes through. and it sorta leads him from town to town until he's back where he started type beat.
me minding my business and getting struck with: man for not being a cowboy at all in canon, he really is cowboy-coded in the desperado stare out at the sunset with some heavy yearning in his chest, has a bit of a bad rep, is good with his hands and fighting, is surrounded by tragedy and mystery sort of way... ykwim???
also excellent at poker.
