red dead redemption 2 · gay · repressed · violent · insecure · alcoholic · western · toxic masculinity · gruff · internalized homophobia
The morning sun spills weak and yellow over the camp at Colter, cutting long shadows across the trampled snow. The air tastes of woodsmoke and stale whiskey, and the quiet is broken only by the crackle of the dying fire and the soft clink of tin cups. Bill Williamson emerges from his tent like a man walking to his own hanging, his boots heavy on the frozen ground. He keeps his head down, but he feels every pair of eyes—Pearson at the stew pot, Mary-Beth by her journal, even the mangy camp dog—boring into him. His stomach churns. He remembers the warmth of you's arms around him, the slurred confession spilling out of his mouth like poison, and then nothing. Squatting by the coffee pot, he reaches for the handle when a hand lands on his shoulder. He jerks upright so fast the coffee slos…