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Old
West Stories
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Updates:
October 18, 2009. Wow. Apparently, I haven't updated since
2004. Five years is a very long dry
spell, eh? Short story added, called
"The Ballad of Mr. Mead." It's
located down below.
Disclaimer:
The Magnificent Seven are
owned by MGM, the Mirisch Corporation, and Trilogy Entertainment. The characters were developed by John Watson
and Trilogy, and I make no claim to them.
I won't make any money from this and no infringement is intended.
Some Notes:
The stories are in order,
chronologically, meaning they should be read from the top down. You don’t have
to, since they pretty much all stand on their own, but some do refer to others
and some may be a bit confusing without background. For example, I know that in the canon, there
is no relationship between Josiah and Ezra, but I liked the idea of it so much
that I decided to find a way to create it. Anyway, the newest stories are at the
bottom. Right, that’s it! Hope you like
them. Oh, and crossovers are
in yellow.
Penance –
Missing Scenes
On the day of the murder, where do Ezra and Buck disappear to when everyone else is rallying around Josiah? Here’s a missing scene to explain Ezra’s strong reaction to Irene’s body at the undertakers…and why he wears a gold band on his ring finger. Ezra and Buck.
When Rivers Rise
Playing with timing, I placed this one about six months after Serpents. It’s April, and the weather is terrible, complete with unseasonable rains and flooding rivers. In the beginning, Chris and Buck are fighting, Vin is developing a bad cold (too much city living) and Ezra’s, well, being Ezra.
The Quiet
Week
It’s a hot summer week, and Ezra is predictably getting on Chris’s nerves. As punishment, he sends him out on the trail with Vin to teach him a lesson, and, of course, it all goes downhill from there. Chris, Buck, Vin and Ezra mostly, but the others are there too.
Trust,
Truth and Other Fictions
A short story about learning to live and let live. Mostly Ezra.
Adverse Possession
A land hungry Frenchman causes problems for the Seven. This is pure story, folks, containing a healthy dose of totally unnecessary destruction. Got love the genre! All Seven.
That Night (Winner
of 2003 Gold Ezzie)
A little piece of slightly supernatural fluff. Must be that desert (October) air. Mostly Ezra.
Three of a
Kind
This is a crossover fic with Maverick. If that frightens you, please don’t let it! The story requires no prior knowledge and is really just for fun. Basic idea: when Bret and Bart Maverick come to Four Corners, things become even more interesting than normal…. All Seven.
Lady
Marshal
(nominated for 2003 Ezzie)
A Lady Marshal arrives in Four Corners and enlists the help of the Seven in taking down some infamous cattle rustlers. I promise, no Mary Sues and no romantic involvements, it is an action story. All Seven.
Silver
Linings
(nominated for 2002 Ezzie)
This one is pure Ezra. I love this one, so be nice. In this story, a piece Ezra’s ugly past comes back to haunt him just as the cold winds of early December begin to pick up.
The Story
of Boston Bound
This one’s a mystery, a la Agatha Christie. As January snowstorms blanket Four Corners, a stagecoach arrives bringing a figure from Nathan’s past…and one from Ezra’s. There is romance, murder, and three determined detectives named Chris, Buck and Vin.
Greene’s
Knights
Mr. Greene, the local apothecary, is kidnapped. All Seven.
False
Fathers
(nominated for 2003 Ezzie)
Josiah comes to the fore for this one, and we learn about his past as he tries to sort out his feelings for Four Corners and for Ezra. This one is one of my bloodiest – you’ve been warned. Now that I know what it means, I can say with absolute certainty, this is an h/c fic.
Moon Boxing (nominated
for 2002 Ezzie)
My favorite story. It involves a jewel heist, a boxing match, and an Australian blackguard. And that’s just the beginning. All Seven.
Bodyguards
My best friend loved this one. I don’t know, I think I might have been in some other place altogether when I conceived it. Basic idea: Mary hires Chris, Vin, Ezra and Josiah to act as her bodyguards when she goes to investigate the disappearance of one of her oldest friends, but Mary soon falls to the background when disaster takes one of them away. All Seven.
Explosions
Total wanton destruction begins this one (hence the name). When the seven meet some dynamite happy bank robbers, it causes repercussions that none could predict, including a surreal foray into Ezra’s civil war past. Mostly Ezra.
Figure of Speech
My response to JeanG’s birthday and chiseler challenges. Ezra’s down a hole, and he’s not too happy. Vin, meanwhile, uses his own brand of “subtlety” to find out where Ezra is.
Demons
and Lovers
(Winner of 2002 Diamond Ezzie – Best Romantic Story)
When five of the Seven return from a mission in Red Fork looking battered and broken, emotions run high between two of them. Then some baddies arrive hoping to take advantage of an under-protected Four Corners. Mostly Buck, Ezra and JD.
Alpha Males (Winner of 2002
Diamond Ezzie – Best OW Crossover)
A Crossover between the Mag7 and the A-Team in the Old West. It reads like any other episode, for the most part, and you don't need any prior knowledge of the A-Team to read it. Basic Idea – when the A-Team come to town with a couple of nuns, they not only bring a boatload of trouble, they really piss off Chris. Mostly Ezra and Chris in this one.
Under Pressure
Another JeanG challenge response. "On a dusty outcropping, with the unforgiving desert sun beating down on their heads, two men lie in wait..."
Charades
Josiah agrees to help Ezra out with a little charade of his mother's, and it all goes downhill from there. Pretty short piece, about half my usual length, but not as short as my usual challenge fics.
Pop Psychology
Vin is having nightmares, and they are killing him. Vin mostly, with Nathan, Ezra, Josiah and Chris all playing key parts. Can I suggest you read Three of a Kind first? You don't have to, but this story has a small part that relates back to that one.
Coming to an End
The challenge was to write a story from the villain's point of view, so I picked on Stuart James. It's just a short little piece.
The challenge this time was to write a story about what might happen if five of the seven went to Tascosa to clear Vin, or what might happen to the two who remained behind. I chose the former, and tried my hand at a courtroom drama. Well, I'm no John Grisham, but, heck, who is?
What's Really Real
Can you tell I like challenges? Here's another. Nathan had to be a main character and the story had to include the line: "A seed of doubt once planted, sown deep, had begun to grow and crack the very foundation that united them." The premise for this is that Ezra has finally gotten everything he ever wanted. Is this the end of the Seven?
Spring Waters
a prison escape across a fat river. Nothing is ever easy. This is a polished up challenge answer of mine.
Cornerstone (nominated
for 2002 Ezzie)
A single letter causes the loss of the one man Ezra thought he could always count on when the bullets start to fly.
The Clod and the Pebble
(or Songs of Experience) (winner of 2002 Gold Ezzie)
Sequel to Cornerstone. Ezra's still hurting, Vin's wracked with guilt and Evelyn Starr is stillin town.
Going
Home Again
This is a crossover with my NYC AU (the first story of which is Equitable Action, by the way) and is also a challenge answer. Michelle asked us to write a supernatural story, and the guy's reaction thereto, and to include and otherworldly figure of some kind. I did. Totally got away from me, but, ah well. Chris, Vin and Ezra.
Diamonds
and Beans (nominated for 2003 Ezzie)
An old friend of Nathan's has been accused of stealing a hundred thousand dollars in diamonds. When the boys go to clear his name, you just know things are not going to go well. Nathan and Ezra.
A Certain Tactile Sensitivity
(nominated for 2003 Ezzie)
A Challenge answer. After Ezra rescues JD, the repercussions of the act nearly destroy him.
The Englishman (nominated
for 2003 Ezzie)
The judge requests the seven's help to protect a visiting English Lord. Everyone but Nathan and JD.
Of Fish
Short challenge answer. The smell from the kitchens of the hotel bring back some haunting memories for JD.
The Golden
Hart (nominated for 2003 Ezzie)
Is Maude a murderer? Someone very powerful thinks so and is prepared to stop at nothing to find her. Ezra, Chris, Maude, Buck and the others all play a role.
The Poem Challenge (offered by Beth
Baker – to write a fic inspired by a poem)
This very short descriptive vignette was my first answer. WB Yeats’ “The Mask” was the inspiration.
“Here’s
to Many More Lively Conversations”
Dorothy Parker’s “Resume.” Ezra and Josiah.
Edna St. Vincent Millay. “She Was Overheard Singing” as well as “First Fig” and “Penitent.” Burning the candle at both ends, baby. Short. Inez. On her own
Edward Dowden “By the Window.” This one is more of a story, and I think it’s the best one. It is a “Missing Scene” from the Pilot, concerning Ezra’s decision to go with Chris instead of just taking off on his own (which he could have done and right after he saw them…so why didn’t he?).
Two
Fish Run Into a Wall (Winner of 2003
Diamond Ezzie – Best OW Crossover)
A sequel to Alpha Males (above), meaning it’s a crossover between the Mag7 and the A-Team in the Old West. About as serious as the last one, and again used my memory of the A-Team eps for fun. Katherine spotted four. All Four A-Team members and All Seven.
The Road
Answer to the April Challenge, to base a story on a photograph supplied by KT. I chose the picture of, yes, a road. Ezra with a touch of Nathan.
The Magpie
the theft of an opera singer’s brooch starts a chain of events that sends JD up a tree, Ezra into hell, and Chris fighting not to lose one of his men, meanwhile…there are all these birds…. Ezra, Chris and JD, primarily.
Lost At Sea
Short answer to Katherine’s June Challenge to create some parental/ancestral history for one of the boys. Surprisingly, I chose Ezra. I tried to do something a little different from the normal, and I’m told it came out a little sad. Ezra, and a hint of JD.
A
Betting Man (NOTE: formally titled A Lucky
Man) – medium length answer to two challenges – July
2003 (the Weather Challenge offered by Twy) and January 2003 (the Missing Horse
challenge offered by Ang). Ezra is
taking a break from Four Corners when, needless to say, things go wrong, and
the fog blanketing the region is the least of his problems. Ezra, Chris and
baddies.
medium length answer to the August 2003 myths and legends
challenge. Four Corners is holding a
foot race and, of all people, Buck is the one working all the angles. Warning: juvenile behavior by grown men
involved. Buck, Vin, Ezra, Chris, JD and
Casey mostly, though Josiah and Nathan do show up.
Yet another short story, this one in response to the MARCH challenge
(the "Keepsake Challenge").
This is a conclusion, of sorts, to a tiny side story in Obsession that,
as an Ezra person, always niggled me. It
still does, so this may not be my only such "sequel," but it’s a
harmless and sort of sweet one. Anyway,
this story answers the question: whatever happened to that diamond? Ezra and Josiah.
A very short piece in answer to the May challenge. Basically, its Vin and Ezra in a quiet Four
Corners, not learning their lessons. Vin
and Ezra.
another short piece—no real excuse for this one. Not even sure I wanted to post it, but what
the hell. PWP. Ezra gets lost in the desert, and then lost
in his own mind. Ezra, Chris and Josiah.
a short character piece. Answer
to Jen B's August challenge to write a story inspired by a song. This
should take place several days following the events in One Day Out West. In other
words, the boys are still getting to know each other and the town is still
getting to know them.....Ezra and the Seven.
Challenge answer to cross the Mag 7 with another Western. I chose Bonanza. Gist is, Chris, Vin, Ezra and Josiah are on
the run from corrupt lawmen, and the Ponderosa is their best bet to stay alive.
Crossover. Chris,
Vin, Ezra, Josiah and the four Cartwrights.
Inez and
Ezra are awoken by the sounds of someone downstairs in the saloon. Put it this way, it's not the cat. Complete, October 18, 2009.
Ezra, a villain, and a dash of Inez, Chris,
Josiah and Nathan.
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