[ go on, lecture him. he will happily inform you of his inability to die once more. and yeah, maybe he shouldn't have been smoking back in the day when he actually had terminal tuberculosis, because that certainly... hadn't... helped matters... but there were many things the 1880s were unaware of. ]
Unfortunately, [ he says with tangible reluctance weighting down his voice. doc didn't ask to be black badge, but black badge didn't give a fuck about what he wanted. what any of them wanted. ] But that's more of a recent development. The deputyship that history records was a temporary affair in a time of need, something I immediately surrendered once it was no longer necessary to hold.
Salvation. [ doc follows that up with a half-snort, half-chuckle. (dude, you live in a town called purgatory. don't throw stones.)
he drops the cigarette, pressing it into the dirt with his heel. better, ray? ] I do know how it is, though likely for very different reasons. Unless you were dyin' of something you're not showin' signs of or spent some quality time at the bottom of a well.
[ he misunderstands, as happens when a person wants to apply their image of another person onto them. and only half listens because he's a jackass. but ray does express his sympathies with a grimace. ]
Oh, right yeah. I guess that would put a damper on the whole deputy thrill, huh?
Thrill? [ misunderstanding indeed. ] You modern folk seem to have this collective misconception that we wanted to be deputies. I was a dentist, and Wyatt— [ yes, wyatt earp is now a factor of this conversation. ] Wyatt wanted to be farmer, settle down somewhere and start a family for himself. But life doesn't always let you decide what you want to be or where you'll go. Now, Morgan and Virgil? They were the lawmen. The rest of us were just along for the ride. Not sure what we stepped into the O.K. Corral as, but we emerged gunslingers regardless of whether we wanted to or not.
[ that sharpens ray's focus from eager superfan to concerned citizen face. ]
Oh, I-- [ but he realizes quickly that doc's got some stuff to get off his chest, and uh yeah. ray can see that he fully deserves that and more. his smile doesn't disappear but it turns lopsided in guilt. ] Sorry, you're right. I get swept up in the romance of it all, but it seems like a lot of people who got into the work didn't exactly do so willingly.
[ even ray, who sought out the ability to help people, didn't just wake up one day wanting to build a technosuit to fly around in. it's not fair, and maybe it's overstepping his bounds, but ray tries again: ]
But stories about you and Wyatt Earp, you know, they inspire other people who fall into the life. Who have to make due with imperfect circumstances.
Tell that to his great-great-granddaughter and the curse she inherited from him. I'm sure Wynonna would get a good kick outta that.
[ not that she probably hasn't heard such things a dozen times before, what with growing up earp an all. it's a hazard of purgatory. "wyatt earp country," or so the town liked to proclaim. drove doc mad, considering the number of places wyatt lived, that this godforsaken, cursed little spec of a town got to claim that supposed glory. ]
Wynonna Earp. Wyatt Earp's great-great-granddaughter, or were you not payin' attention?
[ as for the curse— doc resists the urge to get out another cigarette. he takes his hat off instead, running a hand over his hair. he'll get to the curse in a second. ]
The whole family is. [ doc fiddles with his hat, fingers pressing into the brim as he turns it around in his hands. ] Wyatt made a mistake, and now the rest of his line is forced to deal with his slain outlaws until the end of time. They rise from the depths of hell in the form of human-like demon revenants, and the eldest of the family — the heir — has to send them back using Wyatt's gun. Wynonna is the current heir. The task of takin' care of the revenants is currently hers.
She also happens to be here and is going to be none too pleased when she finds out you not only know who I am, but who she is, as well.
Scout's honor. I mean, I have a little experience with progeny having to deal with the fallout of my mistakes. And I know people with destinies they didn't ask for-- Wynonna's not a reincarnation of Wyatt or anything, right?
[ nope. lies. he presumes enough — except for the part where he and wynonna are still involved. doc may have kind of sort of dumped her? but how do you dump a person when you were never officially together? it's facebook levels of #complicated. ]
Again, you presume too much. [ he says, a little too sharply. either his poker face is not as good as it once was, or this fellow has a few things in common an earp whose presence is absent from wonderland. ]
[ ...in common with an earp... let's pretend the narration can properly stock her sentences with the words required to make sense. ]
What's there to discuss? [ he resists the urge to light another cigarette. ] Girl doesn't know what she wants. [ or who. ] It is not my place to dictate that. Not here, and most certainly not there.
No, not dictate. But it's not that black and white, either. It sounds like she's got a complicated life and a lot to deal with. I know a little about being in love with someone like that.
[ he shrugs, but ray actually sounds more confident now than he probably does ... ever. a little sadder than he likes to project, but a lot more genuine than he usually seems, too. there's no way he can help the warmth that enters his voice when he talks about kendra. ]
It was worth the journey, and I wouldn't change a single minute of it. Except to maybe treat her as a true partner sooner.
And what of feelin' that way [ because not saying it himself allows it to remain a tolerable, ambiguous burden ] about your former best friend's great-great-granddaughter? Do you have experience there?
[ doc's aware he's being a dick. he does that. when someone strikes a nerve, either he doesn't say anything or what he does say comes out sounding pretty damn asshole-ish. ]
How fortunate for her that you managed to come around. However, Wynonna is not my partner, nor will she ever be.
[ it doesn't seem the dickishness will land, and in fact ray doesn't take it personally. he's used to being snapped at-- it usually just means he missed a back-off signal somewhere. if anything, he appreciates people like doc, who are willing to bite a bit before walking away entirely. ]
Gosh, no. I wasn't implying that our situations are the same. Just-- offering a place to commiserate a little. Blow off some steam.
[ and if talking isn't the right way to do it now, ray figures more target practice might help. he queues up the track again and turns to take a few of his own shots-- hard light blasts that hit perfectly thanks to technology rather than his own skill. ]
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Unfortunately, [ he says with tangible reluctance weighting down his voice. doc didn't ask to be black badge, but black badge didn't give a fuck about what he wanted. what any of them wanted. ] But that's more of a recent development. The deputyship that history records was a temporary affair in a time of need, something I immediately surrendered once it was no longer necessary to hold.
[ doc eyes him. ] Were you, now?
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Ayup. [ ray. ] Cleared Salvation all outta riff raff. I couldn't stick around, either. [ ray pls. ] You know how it i--
[ aaand there's the coughing. doesn't seem likely to stop any time soon... ]
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he drops the cigarette, pressing it into the dirt with his heel. better, ray? ] I do know how it is, though likely for very different reasons. Unless you were dyin' of something you're not showin' signs of or spent some quality time at the bottom of a well.
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Oh, right yeah. I guess that would put a damper on the whole deputy thrill, huh?
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Oh, I-- [ but he realizes quickly that doc's got some stuff to get off his chest, and uh yeah. ray can see that he fully deserves that and more. his smile doesn't disappear but it turns lopsided in guilt. ] Sorry, you're right. I get swept up in the romance of it all, but it seems like a lot of people who got into the work didn't exactly do so willingly.
[ even ray, who sought out the ability to help people, didn't just wake up one day wanting to build a technosuit to fly around in. it's not fair, and maybe it's overstepping his bounds, but ray tries again: ]
But stories about you and Wyatt Earp, you know, they inspire other people who fall into the life. Who have to make due with imperfect circumstances.
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[ not that she probably hasn't heard such things a dozen times before, what with growing up earp an all. it's a hazard of purgatory. "wyatt earp country," or so the town liked to proclaim. drove doc mad, considering the number of places wyatt lived, that this godforsaken, cursed little spec of a town got to claim that supposed glory. ]
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[ that's a good shove right down off that soap box for ray, at least ]
...Wynonna?
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[ as for the curse— doc resists the urge to get out another cigarette. he takes his hat off instead, running a hand over his hair. he'll get to the curse in a second. ]
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And Wyatt Earp's granddaughter is ... cursed? [ mumblemumble ] Sounds like a time aberration to me.
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She also happens to be here and is going to be none too pleased when she finds out you not only know who I am, but who she is, as well.
[ temporal aberration indeed. ]
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[ spoiler alert no he can't ]
Scout's honor. I mean, I have a little experience with progeny having to deal with the fallout of my mistakes. And I know people with destinies they didn't ask for-- Wynonna's not a reincarnation of Wyatt or anything, right?
[ look it can't hurt to be sure ]
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Lord, no. [ doc looks more alarmed by that notion than he should. downright perturbed. ] No. No. Nothing of that sort. No.
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[ ray's emotional-baggage-o-meter cranks to 40000000000 and his eyes pop wide. ]
Whoa, sorry. I didn't realize you were involved. That would be kind of weird...
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[ nope. lies. he presumes enough — except for the part where he and wynonna are still involved. doc may have kind of sort of dumped her? but how do you dump a person when you were never officially together? it's facebook levels of #complicated. ]
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She doesn't know you love her, huh?
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[ ray's hands go up in a surrender motion, though he doesn't move at all. ]
Do you...want to talk about it?
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What's there to discuss? [ he resists the urge to light another cigarette. ] Girl doesn't know what she wants. [ or who. ] It is not my place to dictate that. Not here, and most certainly not there.
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No, not dictate. But it's not that black and white, either. It sounds like she's got a complicated life and a lot to deal with. I know a little about being in love with someone like that.
[ he shrugs, but ray actually sounds more confident now than he probably does ... ever. a little sadder than he likes to project, but a lot more genuine than he usually seems, too. there's no way he can help the warmth that enters his voice when he talks about kendra. ]
It was worth the journey, and I wouldn't change a single minute of it. Except to maybe treat her as a true partner sooner.
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[ doc's aware he's being a dick. he does that. when someone strikes a nerve, either he doesn't say anything or what he does say comes out sounding pretty damn asshole-ish. ]
How fortunate for her that you managed to come around. However, Wynonna is not my partner, nor will she ever be.
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Gosh, no. I wasn't implying that our situations are the same. Just-- offering a place to commiserate a little. Blow off some steam.
[ and if talking isn't the right way to do it now, ray figures more target practice might help. he queues up the track again and turns to take a few of his own shots-- hard light blasts that hit perfectly thanks to technology rather than his own skill. ]