#[ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / interaction.

[loyalpromise]

@monmuses liked for a dialogue starter ( mary-beth to grimshaw ) ! ♡

" this  place  is  cursed...  i  can  feel  it. "

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@bloodxxandxxspirit​ asked: “ i’ll try to find us somewhere to spend the night . ” (John to Mary-Beth) ❥     𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒    [   𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂    ]   . | no longer accepting.

          as much as mary-beth enjoyed the rain - finding the melancholy of it romantic in a way - thunder storms were NOT her cup of tea. getting caught in one, especially at night when it’s dark and hard to see, wasn’t exactly very high on her list of favorite things, either.

          really, they should’ve been back to camp hours ago, but a simple scouting mission had turned into more than either of them had bargained for. it seemed like everyone was out to get them- even people mary-beth hadn’t had the DISPLEASURE of knowing. though, she supposed that was the price she paid while rolling with the van der linde gang.

          and now it was simply too dark and stormy outside to be able to make the trip back. just their luck. 

          still, mary-beth was trying to hold out hope, nodding at john’s words before responding, “ i hope we’ll find somewhere soon. don’t think i can stand bein’ out in this weather for much longer. ”

[loyalpromise]

starter for @worsethanwolves from mary-beth !

          it’s  been  what  feels  like  a  long,  exhausting  day,  and  it’s  hardly  past  noon.  all  mary-beth  knows  is  that  she  is  in  dire  need  of  a  break—grimshaw  be  damned—and  she  fully  intends  on  taking  one.  she  can  already  hear  the  unread  books  calling  her  name  as  she  passes  by  arthur’s  tent—only  to  stop  short  once  she  notices  that  he’s  focused  and  hunched  over.

          she  really  should  mind  her  own  business,  but,  well…she  can’t  help  herself;  curiosity  killed  the  mary-beth.  she  hesitates  for  a  few  moments  before  inching  towards  him,  shyly,  and  finds  herself  subtly  peering  over  arthur’s  shoulder,  unable  to  keep  herself  from  asking,  “ what  cha  drawin’  there,  arthur ? ”

[loyalpromise]

❛ i thought you’d like some company . ❜ - for mary-beth !

          mary-beth  was  grateful  to  her  boys—without  them,  she’d  still  be  pickpocketing,  if  her  luck  wouldn’t  have  finally  run  out  by  now—but  to  say  that  she  enjoyed  doing  the  things  that  those  around  her  deemed  proper  to  pull  her  weight  around  camp  would  be  the  furthest  thing  from  the  truth.

          she’d  forever  be  thankful  towards  dutch  and  hosea,  but  if  she  had  to  hear  grimshaw’s  nails-on-a-chalkboard  voice  crowing  on  at  her  one  more  time—well,  she’d  lose  it.  cleaning  up  after  men,  doing  their  laundry,  patching  up  their  clothes—it  hadn’t  been  what  mary-beth  had  ever  envisioned  for  herself.

          maybe,  if  she  worked  quickly  enough,  she  could  get  this  done,  sneak  off,  and  stick  her  nose  in  a  good  book.  maybe  if  she  hid  well  enough,  no  one  would  be  able  to  find  her  for  a  few  good  hours.

          before  she  could  put  the  plan  in  motion,  arthur  had  caught  her  attention,  making  her  jump  a  little,  and  successfully  ripping  her  out  of  her  thoughts.

          “ oh !  arthur— ”  she  said,  trying  to  brush  the  surprise  off  and  offering  him  a  smile.  “ well,  i  wouldn’t  say  no  to  that.  though  i’m  afraid  i’m  not  too  great  in  the  way  of  company.  still—if  you  have  any  interestin’  stories  to  tell,  i’m  certainly  all  ears. ”

          things  could  be  so  dull  around  camp  that  mary-beth  swore  sometimes  she’d  rather  be  dead.

[loyalpromise]

53﹕ sender  buys  receiver  a  drink  at  a  bar . / for Mary-Beth!

          mary-beth  didn’t  drink  too  often—she’d  seen  the  way  it  made  the  men  in  camp  lose  their  heads—but  every  so  often,  she  didn’t  mind  it.  today  happened  to  be  one  of  those  days.  she  had  full  intentions  of  swindling  the  bartender  out  of  a  drink  or  two—not  that  she  didn’t  have  the  money,  but  if  she  didn’t  have  to  pay,  well,  that  just  made  it  all  that  much  more  sweet.

          in  the  midst  of  her  sweet  talking,  however,  a  gruff  voice  reached  her  ears  and  a  beer  was  sat  down  in  front  of  her.  she  didn’t  even  have  to  look  up  to  see  who  it  was.  her  lips  twitched  upwards  in  slight  amusement  before  her  eyes  trailed  over  to  the  man  beside  her.

          “ well,  aren’t  you  just  the  gentleman ? ”  she  asked,  a  soft  playfulness  to  her  tone.  “ how  will  i  ever  repay  you ? ”

          she  lightly  clinked  her  beer  against  his  before  taking  a  swig.  it  could  certainly  be  an…acquired  taste,  but  she  needed  something  to  take  the  edge  off.

[loyalpromise]

∗ 26﹕ sender  lights  receiver’s cigarette / for miss mary-beth!

          it  wasn’t  often  that  mary-beth  got  angry—annoyed,  sure.  stressed,  of  course—but  sometimes  she  had  bad  days;  days  where  nothing  seemed  to  go  right  and  she  could  almost  find  it  in  herself  to  throw  someone  in  the  bayou  and  let  the  gators  have  their  way  with  them.  it  was  a  gruesome  thought  for  sure,  but  that’s  how  their  lives  were,  anyway.  she’d  learned  from  a  very  young  age  that  there  were  no  such  things  as  fairy  tales,  and  the  people  in  camp  were  keen  to  constantly  remind  her  of  it.

          she  hadn’t  heard  sadie  come  up,  starting  only  slightly  when  the  woman’s  raspy  voice  reached  her  ears.  her  eyes,  once  trained  on  sadie’s  face,  quickly  shot  down  the  offered  cigarette,  taking  it  and  murmuring  out  a  ‘thanks’  when  sadie  lit  it  and  mary-beth  had  taken  a  drag.

          her  eyes  wandered  back  out  to  the  mossy,  smoggy,  greenery  as  they  both  stood  on  the  outskirts  of  their  camp,  but  not  too  far  off  to  be  snuck  up  on  by  snakes  or  alligators.

          she  took  another  drag  of  her  cigarette,  exhaling  the  smoke  in  silence,  and  letting  it  linger  for  a  few  moments  before  she  decided  to  break  the  silence.

          “ whaddya  reckon  grimshaw’s  chances  of  survival  would  be  if  we  threw  her  in  the  swamp ? ”

[loyalpromise]

“Hey, you did nothing wrong…” / for miss mary beth, from sadie <3

          she  knows  that  she  didn’t,  but  it  didn’t  make  the  guilt  subside.  it  hadn’t  been  her  fault  that  kieran  had  gotten  taken,  tortured,  and  then  put  on  display  for  all  to  see,  but  she  couldn’t  quiet  the  voice  in  her  head  that  blamed  herself,  anyway.  she  could’ve  done  something  and  maybe  it  all  could’ve  been  different.  she  knew  that  thinking  about  ‘what-ifs’  wasn't  going  to  change  anything,  but  she  couldn’t  just  turn  her  brain  off  from  them.

          hearing  sadie’s  words  of  reassurance  and  sympathy  brought  mary-beth  out  of  her  thoughts.  she’d  been  keeping  to  herself,  not  too  keen  on  allowing  others  to  see  her  grieving  the  loss  of  a  man  who  had  hardly  been  liked  by  the  group  as  it  was.  she  didn’t  like  the  attention  that  could  be  brought  to  her  from  her  grief,  either,  but  it  seemed  as  though  sadie  had  caught  her  and  her  red-rimmed  eyes  gave  her  away.

          taking  quick  swipes  at  her  puffy  cheeks  with  the  backs  of  her  hands,  mary-beth  let  out  a  slightly  shaky  sigh.  she  couldn’t  bring  herself  to  meet  sadie’s  gaze,  instead,  training  her  eyes  on  the  grass  at  her  feet  as  she  murmured,  “ i  know,  i  just…  keep  thinkin’  there  was  somethin’  i  coulda  done—i  dunno… ”

/ @wildlcck

[loyalpromise]

mary-beth tag dump:

[ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / answered. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / about. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / headcanon. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / interaction. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / style. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / aesthetic. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / likes. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / fc. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / reply. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / musings. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / music. [ novelist dreamt. ] mary beth g. / visage.

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@forbiddenwoodlands​ asked: Shelter for Mary Beth non-verbal starters | accepting

          plans like these were supposed to be simple; they usually were. sometimes, however, whenever mary-beth would flirt and act all feather-brained, the man she was trying to swindle would take notice. this was one of those times.

          she knew how to handle herself, sure, but even she wasn’t too proud to admit when she needed some assistance. the only thing was: she wasn’t sure why lyell had stepped in to help her in the first place. surely there would be some CATCH. there usually were in situations like this.

          “ i, uh- thank you for your help, ” she says, once the man is warded off, still a little stunned at lyell’s kind gesture. “ you didn’t hafta step in like that, y’know... ”

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@forbiddenwoodlands​ asked: “I just want to be normal.” to Mary beth b/ut i’m a c/heerleader s/entence s/tarters | accepting.

          mary-beth can relate to that sentiment, at least to some degree. she’d never envisioned this kind of life for herself; to have ‘ideas above her station’ as grimshaw would put it, but in a way, she was almost grateful for it. it was a dangerous life, but she’d learned to read and write and had people who cared for her. even though camp morale seemed to be dwindling these days, she tried to keep this in mind.

          “ oh, lyell, ” she sighs, hand reaching over to place over his, “ i don’t actually know if anyone can be ‘normal’, but... i think it’s a bit overrated, anyway. ”

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@forbiddenwoodlands​ 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗗 for a 𝗢𝗡𝗘-𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥 from 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬-𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗛 !

          “ OH MY- ... ! that was a CLOSE ONE, huh? ”

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@deathwis​ asked: aid help them with a task ( nonverbal starters ) » for abigail or mary-beth from tabitha in her rdr2 verse? nonverbal starters | accepting

          mary-beth knew the struggle of trying to get something done while having grimshaw breathing down your neck. she’d been slapped and bitched at more times than she could count, really. she feels bad for tabitha for that, on top of an illness she knows nothing about. fetching water to trek it all the way back across camp is exhausting, but with two people, mary-beth is sure that i’ll get done much faster.

          “ oh, hey, tabitha, ” mary-beth calls out to her as she approaches. “ lemme help you with that! ”

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins​ said: ∗ 49﹕ sender  brings  receiver  [ coffee / tea ]  in  the  morning . ( Sean @ Mary-Beth! ) 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺 . | no longer accepting.

          it’s early morning, mary-beth having been jostled awake but the rumbling of thunder. it seemed that, between the weather, and mary-beth’s inability to sleep well the night prior, it was going to be a miserably, sleepy day.

          by the time she’d forced herself to get up and get dressed, and made her trek across the campgrounds to stand near pearson’s wagon, she could already feel the sparse drops of rain, spattering against her head.

          she needed a coffee. this day was already miserable enough without forgoing her caffeine.

          as if having read her mind, mary-beth glanced over to see sean coming closer. once he’d approached, she watched as he extended a cup out to her. coffee. 

          a smile slowly tugged at her lips and mary-beth gratefully reached out to take it from him.

          “ oh, thank you, sean, ” she said, feeling the warmth of the beverage through the metal cup. after a moment, she brought it to her lips, blowing on it before attempting to take a sip. still a little too hot. “ there ain’t no catch to you bringin’ me coffee, is there? ” she asked after a moment, tone equal parts cautious and amused.

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@chaermolypi​ asked: ∗ 97﹕ sender has hidden an injury from receiver , and receiver finds out . [ charles to mary-beth! ] 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺 . | no longer accepting.

          she’d already felt awful, having bumped into him whilst her nose was in a book, but the feeling worsened when she discovered that he’d tried to hide the wound from her.

          “ oh, charles, ” she started, upon seeing the cut. thankfully the nail he was hammering hadn’t actually gone through his hand, but it had certainly scrapped against it, leaving a bit of a diagonal gash in its wake. “ please, let me clean and dress your wound for you. it’s- it’s the least i can do given that i caused it. please- ”

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins​ asked: five times touched:      ( five times the receiver touched the sender (platonically or romantically or otherwise!) ) ( For Sean & Mary-Beth maybe? Platonic of course ’ 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴𝚂 ’ 𝙳𝚁𝙰𝙱𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂. | selectively accepting.

ONE. What’s Love Got to Do with It?

 It was really none of her business, Mary-Beth knew that, but she still couldn’t help the way her eyes glanced up, over her book, watching the scene play out before her, just a few feet away. The interactions between couples—or those who had feelings for each other, at the very least—would never not fascinate her. She blamed her hopeless romantic nature.

 “Aw, c’mon!” Sean called out to Karen, boisterously, reaching to grab her hand and pull her back to him. “Ya know ya’d miss me if I was gone!”

 “I would do no such thing!” Karen vehemently denied, struggling against him as he pulled her in close enough to tightly wrap an arm around her waist. “Now, get off of me, ya moron!”

 “Oh, sure ya would! Ain’t no denyin’ that!” Sean insisted with a laugh, leaning in to try to kiss her cheek.

 Before he could, however, Karen had wriggled free of his grasp, shoving him off of her and glaring over at him. “Go on somewhere and leave me alone, wouldja?!”

 Despite being rejected, Sean just laughed and bellowed after her as she walked away, “Ya know ya love me, Karen! Ya know ya do!”

 Mary-Beth had never been in love, herself, but she imagined it must have been complicated.

 Sean and Karen sure had a weird way of expressing their fondness for one another—one minute sharing a moment of intimacy, and the next, yelling in each other’s faces. Sean always seemed to play it off as Karen just trying to play hard to get, but Karen always got so worked up and seemed so serious whenever she’d tell him off. It was very confusing.

 Mary-Beth watched as Sean scuffed his boot against the ground, the book she’d been reading forgotten. Underneath the shit-eating grin that adorned his lips, he’d almost look a bit dejected if Mary-Beth didn’t know any better.

 Mary-Beth set her book down and rose to her feet, making her way over to Sean, and fought back a giggle upon noticing him start when he’d finally noticed her approaching.

 “Oh, don’t mind Karen,” she said softly, in lieu of greeting, hand lifting up to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure she likes you just fine.”

 —

 TWO. Safe Return.

 Mary-Beth had just finished her stew, forcing it down with the lack of seasonings. She didn’t have the heart to tell Pearson that a little rosemary and oregano went a long way. The thought to ask Arthur if he could maybe bring her some herbs back from one of his trips was interrupted by the exuberant exclamations of people returning to camp.

 Mary-Beth looked up from setting her plate into the washtub behind Pearson’s wagon, eyes settling on Javier, and just behind him—

 “Sean!” Mary-Beth called out, a smile tugging at her lips as she rushed over, crowding around the two men along with other members of camp.

 She stood back, letting Dutch and Hosea get their words of greeting out, watching as they ushered Sean back into camp.

 Before she could move to follow, Arthur riding up behind her caught her attention and she turned to greet him. “Arthur! Sean’s back!”

 “Yeah, I know,” Arthur sighed, earning pursed lips and a raised eyebrow from Mary-Beth. “There goes our peace and quiet.”

 “Oh, Arthur, please,” Mary-Beth lightly chided, though she lacked the actual bite to her tone as she usually did when it came to talking to the older man.

 Dismissing herself, she turned back towards the camp, listening to Sean as he stood on a crate giving a lively speech.

 By the time she’d made it close enough, Sean had finished speaking and hopped down from the crate. She took that as her opportunity to approach him.

 “Welcome back, Sean!” she said, offering him a warm smile to which he returned.

 “Thanks, Mary-Beth!” he replied, tensing up a bit as she moved forward to pull him into a light hug, before bringing up a hand to lightly pat her on the back in return.

 —

 THREE. Teasing.

 Maybe Mary-Beth was too much of a sensitive woman—too naïve for her own good—but seeing the O’Driscoll that had been captured and kept prisoner begging for food or water pulled at her heartstrings.

 “Miss,” he called, gaining her attention. He looked pitiful as all get out. “Miss, please. Do you think you could get me some water?”

 Mary-Beth felt bad for him. She’d already seen Karen and Sadie teasing and belittling him. Hell, she’d even seen Jack throwing rocks at him before Abigail got on him about it and made him stop. Even if the guy was an O’Driscoll, there was no sense in letting him thirst to death.

 “Oh, alright, here,” Mary-Beth said after a moment of hesitation. Taking a quick look around, she made sure that no one was watching before she scooped up a cup of water from one of the troughs, bringing it over to him and holding it to his lips to let him drink.

 “Thank you, Miss,” the O’Driscoll said afterwards. “Thank you.”

 Mary-Beth nodded before discarding the cup and scurrying away.

 “Aha, I saw that, Miss Mary-Beth!”

 She jumped in her skin, turning around to see Sean standing there, grinning knowingly at her.

 “I dunno what you’re talking about,” she lied, crossing her arms over her chest and sending him a warning look. Sean wasn’t deterred.

 “Oh, right so ya didn’t just give that O’Driscoll some water, ay?”

 Mary-Beth instinctively reached over to smack him on the shoulder. “Hey, not so loud, wouldja?!”

 Sean let out a tumultuous laugh as he recoiled from her smack. “Alright, alright! Just didn’t know you were so soft!”

 Mary-Beth sighed, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at him.

 “I ain’t soft,” she denied with a huff. “Just ain’t no sense in lettin’ the man die of dehydration is all.”

 “Right, right, whatever you say…” Sean had his fun, deciding not to push any further, lest she actually try to hurt him.

 Rather than buy into his teasing any longer, Mary-Beth turned on heel and stalked away, just hoping he’d keep what he’d seen to himself.

 —

 FOUR. Gunshots Blazing.

 Mary-Beth had hoped that the stagecoach robbery would go smoothly this time. Last time they’d only barely gotten out of it alive by the skin of their teeth. If it hadn’t been for Arthur’s help, she didn’t know what would’ve happened. She very well may have wound up with a bullet in the head.

 Arthur wasn’t with them this time though—It was just her and Sean. He’d assured her that it would be an easy score this time, despite the two going along with the same schtick as before.

 Only this time, it had gone much, much worse.

 The men were much better armed and didn’t fall for her ‘Lost Maiden’ act quite as easily as the last fellers had. In fact, these men didn’t fall for it at all. A gun had been drawn on her immediately, and if Sean hadn’t managed to get in a good headshot when he did, she would’ve been a goner.

 After ducking for cover, she pulled her own pistol out from its holder, firing off a few shots. She landed them, even took down a few men, but there were still too many of them for her and Sean to feasibly be able to take down on their own.

 So, once she saw an opening, she ran for it, and once she got close enough to Sean, she reached forward to snatch up his hand and pull him along with her.

 “C’mon!” she yelled. “We gotta make a run for it! There’s too many of them!”

 Once again, the two found themselves just narrowly escaping death. Mary-Beth didn’t know how they managed it.

 —

 FIVE. Quite the scuffle.

 It wasn’t unheard of for the men of camp to get drunk and have pissing contests—always having to show each other who was bigger and badder and stronger. It was ridiculous.

 So, of course, it also involved Sean.

 He’d gotten mouthy with Bill, and had in the past since Bill usually said something ignorant and Sean wouldn’t be able to resist making a smartass comment in return. However, every other time, the men had been sober and both had enough sense to know not to throw punches.

 The drink didn’t make common sense such a possible thing—at least not that Mary-Beth had ever seen.

 Bill had been yammering on about one racist thing or another, to which Mary-Beth had simply rolled her eyes at, unable to do much else. Sean, however, took it upon himself to call the miserable old drunk out.

 “Oh, shut your mouth, wouldja?” There was no hiding the distaste in his tone, even with the slight slur to his words.

 “What did you just say?” Bill sneered, words possibly even more slurred than Sean’s. He’d heard what Sean had said, and Sean knew it, but he decided to repeat himself for Bill, anyway.

 “I said: ‘Shut up, wouldja?’”

 The fact that Sean hadn’t scurried off with his tail between his legs, the fact that he was seeming to challenge Bill, only pissed the drunkard off even more.

 “You little pissant!” Bill bellowed through the slur in his tone. “C’mere!”

 Before Sean even had a chance to react, Bill rose from his spot around the campfire and lurched at him, rearing back his fist and punching Sean square in the cheek. He was knocked clear off the log he’d been sitting on, and didn’t get up right away.

 “How about you shut up, huh?!” Bill scoffed before stalking away to go brood at one of the tables instead.

 Once Bill had stormed off, Mary-Beth rushed to Sean’s side, crouching down and looking him over as he finally attempted to sit up.

 “Oh my god,” Mary-Beth gasped as she reached for him to help him up. “Sean, are you okay?”

 “I’m alright, I’m alright,” Sean groaned, trying to wave her off, but Mary-Beth persisted and he didn’t have it in him to stop her.

 “C’mon, lemme take a look at you.” Once she got him on his feet, Mary-Beth put one of his arms over her shoulder, holding onto it with her hand, and wrapped her free arm around his waist to keep him steady as they moved.

 “I’m fine, Mary-Beth,” Sean slurred, insistently, but she only shook her head in response.

 “Well, even if you are, I should still look at you just to make sure.” She sat him down on a barrel near one of the tables, on the opposite side of camp from Bill, before pulling up her own chair to sit in front of him. “Put off goin’ to sleep for a while, too. You might have a concussion.”

 Utterly exhausted, and head hurting something fierce, Sean decided not to try and stop her.

[fehlicitaes-archived]

@sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins​ asked: “   don’t  worry ,   i  have  a  plan .   ” ( Sean @ Mary-beth?) ❥     𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒    [   𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂    ]   . | no longer accepting

          it was just supposed to be another stagecoach robbery, with mary-beth putting on a show to distract the men while sean robbed them blind. what hadn’t been expected was for the men to get the upper-hand on them and take them captive. seemed like sean was starting to make a habit of getting himself captured, but mary-beth wanted no part in it.

          she could feel the tree bark eating into her shoulder blades and arms, far too uncomfortable for her liking. it was hard to formulate a plan while having to keep an eye on the men who’d tied them up and set up camp for the night. mary-beth still couldn’t believe dutch hadn’t sent out a search party yet- or if he had- she’s shocked that they hadn’t managed to find them yet.

          sean’s whisper tears her from her thoughts and she does a quick glance from him, to their captures, and back. with them being too distracted, she takes the opportunity to whisper back, “ i was afraid you’d say that. ”