bakerstreet | THE COWBOY MEME

THE COWBOY MEME

HOW TO PLAY:
Post and either write a starter or note which starters you're interested in. Then tag out.

Don't just leave an empty top level.

⍟ There's a snake in your boot! - Yup. You thought it was safe to put on your boot, but it wasn't. Hope it didn't bite you.

⍟ Your horse just threw you! - It's embarrassing enough to get thrown off your horse, it's worse when the ornery critter dumps you into a watering trough or a cactus patch!

⍟ Camping under the stars! - Either you've stumbled onto a (hopefully friendly) camp or it was yours from the start! Cuddling up under the stars, shooting the shit, telling tall tales by the fire... Just gotta hope your cook avoided them damn beans

⍟ It's a cattle drive! Long months alone, just you and your coworkers, your friends, guiding the cattle across the country to the ranch. You've got to keep them there longhorns safe from wild animals, their own stupidity, the elements, and low-down bushwackin' bandits out to make a dishonest buck.

⍟ Bandits! Outlaws! Thieves! - You know the type. They rob little old ladies. They'll shoot a man in the back. They'll steal a horse and a head of cattle as easily as they'd steal a life, and now you're on the wrong side of them. Maybe you should've wired Paladin up in San Fransisco like the card advised. But it's too late now.

⍟ Bounty Hunters! Posses! - Now, you've never done a damn thing wrong in your entire life. We know this and we love you. But see that crowd of people, the one with the ropes and the rifles? Yeah, they don't know that, and you've been accused (hopefully falsely) of some horrendous crime. And they ain't gonna wait for no judge to pass down a death sentence. It's time to run.

⍟ Tar and Feathers! - So you didn't outrun that posse. Unfortunate. However, instead of killing you, they just dipped you in tar, poured feathers over you, and sent you to walk back to civilization. God, you'd best hope no one you know sees you like this.

⍟ Fistfight on top of a train! - Are you robbing it? Are you stopping the robbery? It's hard to tell at this point, but now you and your foe are trading fisticuffs on top of the speeding locomotive! You'll have to hurry, though, that tunnel's coming up awful quick!

⍟ You blew up the money! - Well, your partner's an idiot. That or you are. Whatever the case was, here you were. Robbing a train. You set up some dynamite on there and your dumb self ended up using too much! You blew up the train, but you also blew up the money!

⍟ Barroom Brawl! - Look. You walk into a bar like that, you say the things you did, and someone was bound to throw the first punch. And now the entire saloon is flinging chairs, sliding people along the bar, throwing people out the window... Someone better tip that piano guy, though, 'cause they're still playing!

⍟ Saloon Shootout! - Well, that escalated quickly. Turns out that the guys who threw down with you and your friends were wanted by the law! And now you're stuck in the crossfire as the Sheriff, his deputies, and the big boss of the badmen sling lead back and forth over your heads!

⍟ Kicked in the chest by a horse! - Ow.

⍟ Snake oil salesman! - They were everywhere back in the day. Offering miracle cures for everything from baldness to troubles performing in bed. Drinking whatever they're pushing is liable to kill you, though. Of course, if you're the one spewing the patter and searching for your partner in the crowds, a little thing like sick kids probably don't bother you none.

⍟ There's a new Sheriff in town! - And you're it. Time to rustle up some deputies, 'cause there's a town that needs cleaning up. Maybe that old prospector'll know some upstanding citizens.

⍟ That dog has the old prospector's dynamite! - The fuse is long, thankfully, but Ol' Yeller there thinks that you're playing a game, chasing him like that! He's taking the stick dynamite into town! Catch him before it's too late!

⍟ That ain't natural! - Now, you know you just saw that man get gunned down, but he's standing right up again! Is he a robot? Are you the robot? Or are there darker, more supernatural forces at work? Whether it's robots or zombies, y'all best get a move on.

⍟ Wildcard! - What, did we miss something you thought you'd like to do? Well, whip something up with this! Aces're high, jokers're wild, and it's up to you to craft some fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. Dorian is not completely inexperienced with horses. They have horses in Minrathous, after all. He has even ridden them before! Never mind that they were well mannered and highly bred. Nothing like the sturdy rugged stock he's seen since arriving. And certainly nothing like the rough little long eared jackass that's just dumped him into the watering trough outside the saloon, braying loudly.

2. It wasn't a completely terrible establishment, as far as bars in the middle of nowhere went. Dorian had the thought while making eyes at the gentleman at the end of the bar who was of the rather rugged sort that seemed prevalent in places like this. Which is about the time shots began firing. "Kaffas!!!" Dorian doesn't actually see who grabs him and drags him over the side of the bar, but that doesn't actually stop him from talking, "Is this a common occurrence?!"

3. The thing is that one really ought not trust anyone who dresses as well as Dorian. Which is problematic when one is the best doctor to ever take it into their heads to travel West, in his most humble opinion. It did not help that men like... those seemed to be more prevalent out in the wilds than one expected. Those men specifically were almost as smartly dressed as Dorian, smiling and charming and holding a bottle aloft, detailing the miracle cures this magical elixir will surely give.

"Ten to one it's tar," Dorian snarls, not as quietly as he ought.

4. WILDCARD!!!

THE COWBOY MEME

Dorian Pavus | Aged Dragons Inquisiting