Get out of the way, Micah, there’s a new #1 Baylock fan.

Baylock

Summary: "A horrible thought finally occurred to him. What if it was already too late? For all that Micah Bell was a nasty, hard-hearted sonofabitch, he made an exception when it came to Baylock. He truly loved that horse, as deeply and fiercely as he had ever loved anything in his life. And the idea of losing him now sent a pang of icy-cold, helpless fear through his chest, the likes of which he couldn't remember feeling since he was a tiny child and hadn't thought he ever would again."

In which Baylock suffers a health scare, Micah is forced to grapple with the concept of losing his only true friend, and Kieran Duffy shows there's much more to "The O'Driscoll" than first meets the eye.

Warnings: None Rating: Teen & Up Audiences Category: Gen Fandom: Red Dead Redemption Relationships: Micah Bell & Baylock, Micah Bell & Kieran Duffy Characters: Micah Bell, Baylock the Horse, Kieran Duffy Chapters: 1/1 Word Count: 4,415

@photo1030 @micah-bells-baby-daddy @micahsrevolvers @amrass @fru-89 @og-doeiika

I love them all so much

Limbo

little guys

didnt really draw this week have actual honses

you just know baylock evil af😈

Fuck you *miniaturizes your horse*

More evidence that Micah cares about his horse.

[The video's not mine, but I reference it.]

I just completed a weird project where I made note of all of Micah's "incidental" lines (like those that play as reactions and responses rather than scripted conversations, which can be listened to via Rampage Trainer). I was going to do this with more characters, but I'm reevaluating that since a lot of characters have pretty generic reactions for most scenarios (Dutch is on the more interesting side, but I'm sorry to say that Charles is not...However, certain reactions, like shooting a bird, or a non-enemy ped, tend to be pretty unique and characteristic, so it might be worth noting those types) and just doing this ONE character took me literally hours.

Anyway, while I plan to share the document somehow (for what it's worth without having the sound of the line reads, which I knooooow are essential with Micah) and report some of the lines that I found the most interesting, I wanted to highlight something in particular because I can't get it off my mind: Micah's reaction towards the player shooting his horse.

We in the RDR2 fandom who don't immediately demonize Micah have already accepted that the oft-repeated rumour of "Micah abuses his horse" isn't true but I think there is evidence to argue that Micah might have the strongest relationship with his horse compared to the other NPC gang members (or at the very least is definitely in the top three).

Under the file name "player_shoots_horse" all NPCs have two lines, and while all characters have an upset "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!?" sort of line, the level of intensity and

Micah's lines are "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN'!?" and "BAYLOCK!" in probably the most terrified tone of voice he expresses in the entire game. The second line is especially interesting to me because I've checked this line from all of the characters you ride out with who have their own horse, and Micah is the ONLY character who refers to their horse in the first person or uses their name.

The next most emotional reactions are Bill, who sounds shocked and heartbroken when saying "You shot my horse!" and Charles who says "Why did you shoot my horse!?" with a quiet anger.

I could certainly be reading into it too much, but I thought it was really surprising. There are other times in the game that characters mention the names of their own horses,of course, but nobody else does in this instance. I'd also like to note that the list of lines that Rampage Trainer can play does not appear to be comprehensive, as Micah has OTHER reaction lines where he refers to Baylock which I have heard while playing: When you're carrying a hay bale in camp, he might say "Make sure Baylock gets some of that." and when Arthur's horse is in a great condition, he can say "That's looking almost as strong as Baylock now...almost."

SO YEAH, MICAH LIKES HIS HORSE. And he's always calling him "Baylock" instead of just "my horse"! You can say a lot of things about Micah, but saying "He abuses/doesn't care about his horse" is like saying "Micah doesn't care about his guns" in that we have no evidence for that claim, and indeed have evidence that contradicts it.

i like to think that the dark horse from rdr1 IS baylock, i know its not intended but its such a cool headcanon. like oh baylock either ran away or was given away by micah or just became wild again after he died, horses have a decently long lifespan so i could see him living that long, + hes more worn down and shit with all the scars (probably damage from predators) but hes still kickin’, and johns later like “hey wait a minute i know that horse”

i just think thats awesome

Same badass as his owner~ Quick sketch.

Baylock humanization

WIP Update

Alright, y'all, just a quick check-in to let you know how the fics are coming. I am a little behind (what else is new?) but almost done with Chapter 11 of "25 Days of a Cowboah Christmas" and am planning to post that today. It's centered on the "Fearsome Foursome" of Dutch, Hosea, Arthur, and John in their younger days, enjoying some time playing on the ice.

Fic #11 for the Whumpcember series is coming after (it's the Micah whump fic inspired by a scene from Lonesome Dove I mentioned, like, a week ago.)

HOWEVER, since tomorrow (1/20) is my birthday, I decided to go off-schedule and write another unrelated fic that's been giving me brainrot a little early. It's Micah-centric too (he's my stinky, nasty, unpleasant blorbo, what can I say?) and centers around a bit of friendship between him and Kieran after the latter helps Baylock out of a sticky situation that Micah isn't knowledgeable enough to solve.

After that it's back to our (semi) regularly-scheduled programming. So Whumpcember 11 should come out either later tomorrow or on 1/21, but either way, 2 Micah fics in a row. Yaaaay! 😁 (For the, like, 9 weirdos on here who are excited about that, you're welcome. lol)

You ever think about which horses in the gang are friends and which don’t like each other because my brain won’t shut up about it