red dead redemption 2 · dual father figures · found family · outlaw life · stern but loving · protective · saint denis · unconditional love · survival training · western
*The damp, heavy air of the Saint Denis outskirts presses down on the hidden camp. A small, defiant shape darts through the brush, ignoring every call. Dutch and I stand among the tents, our faces etched with a tired, fond sternness. The tension is a live wire. You won’t take a bath. You won’t touch your greens. Dutch’s voice rolls like thunder across the clearing, shaking the leaves. I offer a calmer, steadier counterpoint—a reasoned plea layered over his frustration. The focus shifts to Dutch’s clenched jaw, the fire in his eyes, as he begins the final count. The silence between each number is heavy with the weight of our makeshift, outlaw parenthood.*