Fanfic / Old West

Old West is a Rango fanfiction by DONOVAN94.

The story is set one year after the ending of the movie. The town of Dirt has prospered after it gained a permanent water source that created a lake next to it. Now it is called Mud, with Rango as the well-respected sheriff.

The peace of Mud is disturbed when the citizens are attacked by mercenaries for unknown reasons. Hearing from the mercenaries that they're looking for a snake, Rango recalls Rattlesnake Jake. He seeks Jake out and hires the outlaw to keep Mud safe from the mercenaries. Having been lately between jobs, Jake accepts the deal begrudgingly.

Soon another snake is involved: a glossy snake named Grace Glossy, a boar-farmer and single mother who lives close to Mud. When her farm seems to become another target of the mercenaries, Rango includes to Jake's duties protection of Grace as well as her home and son Teddy. Neither the hired outlaw or the law-abiding civilian like the arrangement, but they're over time forced to trust each other in the face of the unfolding threats.

Now with a Character Sheet

Official Description: In the old west, there's only one law: survive. The citizens of Mud are being attacked by mercenaries. But if Rango's going to save his town again he'll need to call in an old enemy: Rattlesnake Jake. But the rattler is not so willing to cooperate, especially when a glossy snake named Grace is involved. Whether they like it or not they'll need to work together to save the town.

Be careful of Late Arrival Spoilers regarding the movie.

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This story provides examples of:

• Above the Influence: Jake doesn't take advantage of Grace when she's in a drunken state, despite her flirtation and the kiss she gives him before passing out.
• Abusive Parents: Jake's father James Douglas was a drunk who beat Jake's mother Selena upon returning home every night. During their last night together, he forced little Jake to watch the final beating that sealed Selena's fate.
• Adaptational Heroism: The movie's Rattlesnake Jake was portrayed as a Psycho for Hire with enough honor to qualify as a Noble Demon. The fanfic gives him a backstory with traumas and enough Pet the Dog moments to mark him as an Unscrupulous Hero.
• Affectionate Nickname: Benjamin has "Gracie" for Grace, but she doesn't appreciate him calling her that these days. She has also stopped calling him "Bennie".
• The Alcoholic:
  • Dufayel indulges in brandy in every scene taking place in his office, apparently to cope with his frustration over the situation that's not improving in his favor.
  • Jake's father James Douglas always returned home under the influence, leading him to beat Jake's mother every night.
  • Doc, Mud's doctor. Even though he's constantly intoxicated, he's good at his job.
• Alcoholic Parent: Jake's father James Douglas was one.
• Alliterative Title: Several chapters are titled this way; Pieces of the Puzzle (Chapter 12), Forbidden Fruit (Chapter 19), Drinkin' Doubles (Chapter 21) and The Sunset Shot (Chapter 34).
• Almost Kiss: With Jake and Grace at the end of the 19th chapter.
• Amoral Attorney: Averted with Catridge, Mud's attorney. Upon being asked, he gives an unbiased opinion about the documents concerning Dufayel's claim of the town. He also doesn't go blindly along with Benjamin Hares' attempt to sell Grace's home as her husband when it's clear she's against it and Benjamin doesn't have a marriage certificate with him.
• Anger Born of Worry:
  • Beans reacts several times this way toward Rango. After his first encounter with Tomson and his cohorts, Beans berates him for nearly getting himself shot. She does this again when Rango first brings Jake to Mud and addresses the furiously distrustful crowd.
  • After Grace nearly dies while reopening Mud's blogged water source, Jake is furious with her for endangering her life like that and demands her not to do so again.
  • Jake reacts this way again after Grace is offered money for her lands by Dufayel in person and turns him down.
  • The final chapter has this moment once again with Beans who forgives Rango's act of lying to her after she hears about his heroics in the final battle.
• And Your Reward Is Edible:
  • Realizing she can't fix the damages caused by rustlers by herself, Grace swallows her pride and hires Jake to help her. After the day's work, she rewards him with a meal instead of money like he expected. He's not happy about this at first, but settles for the best meal he's had for ages.
  • After Jake teaches Teddy to overcome his visual impairment, a grateful Grace makes the rattlesnake another good meal.
• As the Good Book Says...: The mongoose bounty hunter Mon Hellsing has a habit to citing the Bible.
• Asshole Victim:
  • Amos, the previous sheriff of Dirt, had an unfortunate encounter with Jake's venom, and it killed him slowly. It's hard to feel sympathy for Amos because he openly showed contempt toward Jake's abused mother and killed her while she was dying due to one of her husband's domestic beatings.
  • Another posthumous example: Jake's memories reveal that he tortured Tortoise John for days before ending him with venom.
  • Benjamin Hares also had a bad run-in with Jake's venom, like Amos before him, after Benjamin lied to Grace, tried to sell her lands behind her back and battered her when she tried to throw him out.
  • A third posthumous example: the first creature Jake killed (yes, venom was heavily involved) was a human who enjoyed skinning and toying with rattlesnakes caught for the rattlesnake round-up Jake ended up in as a child.
  • All the villains killed during the climax (Kepper, Irvin Worst, Ramirez Arvenga, and Dufayel) qualify.
• Badass Boast: Jake gives one to Dufayel when the fox is done with his first meeting with Rango and the citizens of Mud.
  Jake: Yer damned lucky the Sheriff's so soft. What's the matter, boy? Yer shakin' a little. How's it feel to be so helpless? In the face of death, it don't matter whether yer rich or poor, we all die in the end. Don't you ever forget that, 'cause one day I'm gonna be the one who comes callin' to claim yer soul. Now look into my eyes... I want you to remember them for the rest of yer life. 'Cause next time you see them this close, it'll be the last thing you ever see.
• Bad Boss: Dufayel hasn't much respect for his hired muscles. He shoots Tomson for bringing news of another failure.
• Bald of Evil: Tomson is balding.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Jake and Grace immediately start hating each other and continue fighting over things even as they get to know each other, but their slowly developing attraction for each other is obvious to the reader.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't hurt Teddy in front of Grace.
  • Jake really hates liars, which is why he's constantly annoyed by Rango's habitual pretentiousness. However, he's livid with Grace when she nearly kills Bad Bill's gang: the woman who has harped on about upholding the law for the entire time he has known her turns out to be capable of killing as mercilessly as him and has actually killed a group of outlaws and acted superior to them afterwards.
  • The sight of Grace being battered by Benjamin drives Jake into murderous rage, partly because it reminds him of his mother suffering the same way because of his father.
• Beta Couple: Rango and Beans serve as this to Jake and Grace's main pairing.
• Better the Devil You Know: Rango quotes this trope in the first chapter when Jake notes that the chameleon's act of hiring the rattlesnake is a Deal with the Devil. The chapter's title is named by this trope.
• Big Bad: Dufayel, a wealthy fox and the former investor of the late Tortoise John. The plot is driven with him doing anything in his power to make the people of Mud and anyone else in the area (like Grace and Beans) to leave so that he can harvest the great gold deposit situated under Mud.
• Big "WHAT?!":
  • Beans shrieks this when Rango confesses that he's going to seek out Rattlesnake Jake, prompting her broken defense reflex to kick in.
  • This is used twice by several of Mud's townsfolk when Dufayel first appears to make his intentions clear to them, Rango and Jake. The first one is exclaimed when Rango speaks out loud his realization that Dufayel owns the gold mine underneath Mud. The second (and louder) one comes when Dufayel claims himself to be the legal owner of the town.
  • Rango lets out one when Angeligue announces her intention to leave Mud with her children before Dufayel returns to end the town.
• Birdcaged: Teddy and later Grace are locked up in a small birdcage by Dufayel's goons during the climax.
• Blood from the Mouth: Grace's No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Bad Bill makes him spit blood.
• Bond One-Liner:
  • After Delilah kills Kepper with Grace's help, she comments about the Forceful Kiss he gave her during their duel.
    Delilah: Should've listened to the stories, Kepper. No one survives a scarlet kiss.
  • When Rango kills Ramirez who's just trying to use the You Wouldn't Shoot Me trope, he just says "Try me."
• Boom, Headshot!:
  • Jake kills one of Tomson's cronies this way. Later Tomson himself gets his ending this way at the hands of Dufayel.
  • Ramirez is killed this way by Rango of all people during the climax.
• Break His Heart to Save Him: When Jake notices Henry lurking near Grace's property, he attempts to sneak away at night before any of the bad guys come there for him. Grace catches him and pleads him to stay, so he says cruel things to make it easier to leave with her angry at him. He succeeds, sadly.
• Breath Weapon: The outlaw Irvin Worst is known as the fire breather because of his ability to set on fire the air he's about to spit out.
• Bridal Carry: A serpentine version of this is done when Jake is taking the intoxicated Grace back home, holding her in his coils. She finds this funny, for she wasn't carried through the front door by Benjamin when they were married.
• Calling Card:
  • "The Carpenter" Reth is a desert iguana who's known for leaving a little wooden figure for everything he steals. Jake thinks leaving a calling card like that is stupid.
  • Everyone that died because of "the Scarlet Kiss" Delilah Rangler gets a bright red lipstick-kiss on their cheeks.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Beans says Rango to be a lightweight because he had his first drink only after he was freed from his tank.
• Cats Are Mean: The female outlaw Delilah Rangler, commonly known as "the Scarlet Kiss", is a bobcat.
• Cats Are Snarkers: As soon as she first appears, Delilah the bobcat shows herself to be habitually sarcastic.
  Delilah: Surprised you don't know me, honey... and here I thought I was quite infamous. Well, I was until this new Sheriff stole my thunder.
  Beans: Stole your—?
  Delilah: Don't worry, sweet-eyes, it went over your head.
• Cliffhanger:
  • The Grim Reaper (Chapter 2) — Beans tells Rango and Jake of Grace Glossy's existence and Rango decides to pay her a visit.
  • Midnight Rodeo (Chapter 4) — Following the showdown on Grace's farm, Rango insists her to visit Mud in the morning and give a statement, with Grace agreeing reluctantly.
  • Prejudice (Chapter 5) — Grace fumes as she's talked over by Rango to accept Jake's protection.
  • Unwelcome Guest (Chapter 6) — After Grace is offered by letter a large sum of money in exchange for her property, Jake notes the coincidence of the offer arriving just a day after much of her livestock was stolen.
  • Accidents (Chapter 9) — Jake deduces that Mud's Convenient Store was purposefully set ablaze by the Hellhounds.
  • Back to Dirt (Chapter 10) — While investigating the tunnels beneath the drowned lake of Mud, Grace discovers something breathtaking.
  • What Rivers Run Beneath (Chapter 11) — Grace is being taken to see the doctor after she's rescued from the resurfaced water by Jake.
  • A Binding Contract (Chapter 13) — Dufayel leaves Mud after making his intentions clear, with Jake vowing to collect his soul.
  • The Lawman (Chapter 20) — Dufayel hires Mon Hellsing to hunt down and bring him Benjamin Hares alive.
  • Drinkin' Doubles (Chapter 21) — Jake leaves Grace to sleep away her inebriation, wanting to continue from where they were left by her unexpected kiss.
  • Boiling Point (Chapter 22) — Grace retreats to her house when Jake kisses her, much to his anger.
  • You And Me (Chapter 23) — Jake and Grace lose themselves to their passions.
  • After Glow (Chapter 24) — Benjamin Hares is brought before Dufayel who has an offer to make.
  • Surprise (Chapter 25) — The heroes are approached by Benjamin Hares, much to the shock of Grace.
  • A Very Bad Day (Chapter 27) — After Jake kills Benjamin for beating Grace, the battered and hysterical Grace throws him out.
  • Missing You (Chapter 28) — Jake passes out due to his injuries, faintly aware of someone calling out for him.
  • Something's Still There (Chapter 29) — Upon being informed of the turmoil with the Gunslinger Court, Jake orders Delilah and Reth to prepare for a run-in.
  • Heart of Stone (Chapter 31) — After the Hellhounds attack Mud and burn Beans' home, Grace remembers her unprotected home and hurries back.
  • Taken (Chapter 32) — Knowing from Henry's message where Dufayel is keeping Grace and Teddy, Jake prepares for a Roaring Rampage of Rescue.
• Close to Home: Finding Grace abused by her husband causes Jake to remember how his mother was in the same situation with his drunk of a father on the last night she was alive. He then attacks Benjamin Hares in utter fury before pumping Ben full of all the venom Jake's got.
• Come Alone: Dufayel invites Rango to a private meeting in the 26th chapter.
• Composite Character: Henry, one of Dufayel's guys and a violent kingsnake besides, is an Expy of Frank from Once Upon a Time in the West. He also has the motive to avenge his brother that the character of Harmonica had in the same movie.
• Con Man: Benjamin Hares' tendency to sell things caused him to sell everything he owned with his wife and leave her to escape his debts.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Naturally there's a lot of references to the events of the movie. For example, when Jake and Beans first meet one year after the movie, he says that it's nice to see her "pretty brown eyes" again, purposefully referring to how he threatened to squeeze those eyes out of her skull.
  • Rango recalls Wounded Bird's "that was a bad idea" line after he has taken the bullet Dufayel aimes at Grace and Teddy.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Dufayel to Tortoise John. Tortoise John was the mayor of Dirt's desert town who was good at hiding his villainous nature with charisma. His investor Dufayel is a wealthy city slicker who, despite his politeness, never really hides his motivations or condescending nature in-story. They both intend to wipe out the town of Dirt (renamed as Mud) by claiming the land, but for different reasons; Tortoise John was a Visionary Villain who wanted to create a modern city, but Dufayel's entire motivation is to claim from underneath the town the gold he was promised and needs, because he's dead broke without it. They also contrast each other in their relationships with Rango and Rattlesnake Jake. Mayor John turned Rango into his pawn by making him Dirt's sheriff and hired the services of Rattlesnake Jake, pitting them against each other until he tried to kill Jake. Dufayel in turn quickly makes himself an enemy to both Rango and Jake who work together against him right from the beginning.
• Cowardly Lion: Rango is no less easy to startle as before, but for the sake of his hero imago, he will attempt to face the trouble.
• Creepy Child: The canonical Priscilla. However, it is actually advantageous in getting Teddy a playmate, because such a morbid girl is the most likely candidate to get along with a snake.
• Creepy Souvenir: Ramirez keeps teeth and claws hanging from his belt.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Rango is still a seemingly ditzy oddball who talks himself into trouble and gets out by bluffing, but he still shows occasionally how he is the one who defeated Rattlesnake Jake one year earlier.
• Cruel Coyotes: Ramirez Arvenga, The Dragon to Big Bad Dufayel, is an Ax-Crazy coyote who is a vicious outlaw. He also scornfully taunts Rango at one point about how he doesn't have it in him to kill the coyote, whereas Ramirez has killed plenty of people throughout his life with no remorse for what he has done.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: After rustlers storm Grace's farm and steal half of her livestock, Rango believes them to be the same guys he tasked Jake to keep away from Mud and adds to Jake's duties protection of Grace, Teddy and their home. While Grace thinks the sheriff has too many screws loose to not consider it a coincidence, Rango is right.
• Cucumber Facial: Rango is napping with cucumbers over his eyes and a facial cleanser on his scales when the panicked citizens rush to inform him that the lake's water supply has suddenly stopped.
• Cue the Rain: When Grace's trying to stop Jake from leaving in the 31st chapter, it starts raining.
• Cunning Like a Fox: The Big Bad Dufayel.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Jake is early on implied to have experienced this. He lost his rattle as a child when a hawk tried to eat him, and he gained his tail gun in its place through an operation that might have killed him. He's then revealed to have been raised by a drunkard father who beat his mother every night. He was Forced to Watch one of those beatings one night. It led to his father being driven out of town, and his dying mother was "put out of her misery" by an unsympathetic deputy. Jake was left on his own, and he lost his rattle only a day after. He was then caught for a rattlesnake round-up and witnessed other snakes being killed and skinned. While escaping, he made the sadistic human his first kill.
  • Grace was head over heels in love with Benjamin Hares and practically rushed to the altar. One year later after their marriage, he suddenly left without a word, leaving Grace pregnant with his eggs, penniless and homeless. Since then, she hasn't tried anything serious with another man. After she laid her ten eggs, robbers smashed nine of them while trying to rob her, after which she to kill them in blind fury. That incident left her prejudiced against outlaws, which Jake happens to be.
  • Rango doesn't like remembering his time as a pet living in a glass container, isolated from the rest of the world.
• Dark Secret:
  • Grace lost nine of her ten unhatched babies because of robbers. After she killed them in blind fury and buried the bodies, she has presented herself as a law-abiding woman as repentance. Learning this secret makes Jake livid with Grace until she explains herself further and asks for Jake's forgiveness.
  • The Hell from which Rattlesnake Jake crawled from was a rattlesnake round-up he was caught for after he lost his mother and tail as a child.
• Deal with the Devil: When Rango hires Jake, the rattlesnake says that Rango's basically making one of these.
• Deconfirmed Bachelor: Jake has never had other than one-night stands with hookers and believes marriage to be a waste of time due to his father. When he starts hitting it with Grace, however, he finds himself drawn to her in a way like never before with any woman.
• Demoted to Extra: Bad Bill, Tortoise John's most prominent henchman (besides Jake, of course) in the movie, appears in one single chapter to perform a failed gig for Dufayel.
• Destination Defenestration: This happens to Henry when Dufayel decides he's too much of a loose cannon, though he survives.
• Determined Homesteader: Both Grace and Beans.
• Dirty Coward:
  • Benjamin Hares proves himself to be one of these before his death.
  • This trope's exploited in the climax when Jake intimidates Johan Quall to flee and abandon Irvin Worst, convincing the bobcat that he can't possibly survive against the Grim Reaper he tried and failed to assassinate.
• Disappeared Dad: Teddy has never met his father because Benjamin left Grace on her own before Teddy was even born. When they first meet, Teddy makes it clear right away he doesn't consider Benjamin his father.
• Dishonored Dead: After Jake kills Benjamin Hares for assaulting Grace and the townsfolk learn of this, they dispose of Hares' corpse in the desert as food for buzzards.
• Disney Villain Death:
  • Two downplayed examples occur during the Final Battle with Kepper and Dufayel; they're both shot fatally, and then they fall from a height.
  • Subverted with Henry; he's aggressively defenestrated out of Dufayel's office, but he survives.
• Dodge the Bullet: Jake does this when Johan Quall is firing at him with his two revolvers. It's a justified trope because Jake figured out how Quall tends to shoot, in case of betrayal.
• Domestic Abuse:
  • Jake's father James Douglas used to beat his wife Selena every night as soon as he returned home under the influence.
  • When Grace has had enough of Benjamin's lies and tries to throw him out, he gets violent and batters her.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Jake says this to Grace after revealing more about his Dark and Troubled Past.
• The Dragon: Ramirez Arvenga, the Mexican coyote leader of the Hellhounds, acts as Dufayel's right hand.
• Dramatic Drop: When Rango mentions Dufayel's name to the fox's niece Angelique, she drops her glass of water.
• The Dreaded: In addition to the canonical Jake, there's his associate, Delilah Rangler, a bobcat outlaw known as the Scarlet Kiss.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Subverted. A week following Benjamin's assault on Grace, Rango finds Jake in the saloon... just sulking and holding a glass of untouched glass of whiskey which he eventually smashes, making it clear that he won't succumb the same way his father did.
• Ear Notch: Ramirez Arvenga's left ear has a tear that resembles a bullet hole.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: It sure takes a considerate amount of heartaches, quarreling and struggling, but in the end, Dufayel and most of the other bad guys are gone, Mud can continue its life in peace, and everyone (Jake and Grace included) are living happily.
• Emerging from the Shadows: Jake first appears by coming out of a cave by Rango's calling, with the eyes appearing first.
• Epigraph: Every chapter starts with little pieces borrowed from various country songs.
• Et Tu, Brute?: After losing her home, Beans feels this way about Rango's lie of having talked Dufayel to get out of their hair.
• Evil Counterpart: Benjamin Hares, Grace's estranged husband, is this for Rango. Both of them are cowardly, tend to get into trouble, and are quick to fall to bluffing. This fits their species because Rango is a chameleon and Benjamin is a gopher snake, a species that mimics rattlesnakes to ward off predators. However, the serpentine conman is much more selfish and honorless than the chameleon sheriff. The difference is demonstrated perfectly in the climax when Rango takes a bullet aimed at the wife and son of the posthumous Hares, who didn't really care about either of them.
• Evil Uncle: Dufayel is Angelique's uncle.
• Expy:
  • Henry is based on Frank from Once Upon a Time in the West. However, he also borrows from another character from the same movie a motive to avenge his dead brother.
  • Delilah Rangler/"the Scarlet Kiss" has more than a passing resemblance to Kissin' Kate Barlow.
• Extreme Mêlée Revenge: When Jake finds Grace beaten by Benjamin Hares, he's absolutely incensed because of what was done to Grace and how it reminds him of how his mother suffered because of his father. He proceeds to give Benjamin a bloody battering, which includes a loosened tooth from a headbutt and no use of bullets because Jake's that angry. It ends with Jake injecting into Benjamin all the venom his fangs can provide, much more than would have been needed.
• Family Eye Resemblance: Teddy is nearly identical to his father, but he has his mother's brown eyes.
• Fan Art: In addtion to the cover, the author has posted in her DeviantArt page pictures of Grace and Teddy among other things.
• Fantastic Racism: Snakes are in general feared and despised by other animals, much to the chagrin of Grace and Teddy.
• Faux Affably Evil: Dufayel acts polite and sophisticated in addition to preferring to handle things in a "civilized" way, but he also makes it clear that should his charm fail, he'll show how dastardly he can be.
• Feathered Fiend: Dufayel has a hawk which he eventually unleashes to assist Irvin Worst, Johan Quall and Kepper in taking down Jake. Though noticeably smaller than the hawk Rango killed, it takes Jake by surprise and mauls him so badly that he comes close to the death's door.
• Final Battle: The plot of the entire 33nd chapter.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: After Grace's husband Benjamin Hares suddenly left her behind with her being pregnant as well as high and dry, she hasn't tried her luck with other men, even if she'd sometimes like to have another child or two.
• Foil:
  • Benjamin Hares to Jake. Grace's estranged husband gives an outward image of respectability, but he's actually a cowardly and honorless con artist. He also seduced Grace by first showing her niceness, only to reveal her his bad qualities after they were married. Jake in turn is a notorious outlaw who does have a code of honor. He starts out on hostile terms with Grace before gradually showing her his kinder side. Fitting to his personality as a fraud, Benjamin is a member of a non-venomous snake species that mimics the venomous rattlesnakes to ward off predators.
  • The kingsnake Henry is also this to Jake. They're both big, short-tempered and dangerous snake cowboys for hire who show interest toward Grace. However, Henry is younger than Grace, and his scales are (at first) smooth and vivid with their black and white pattern. Jake in turn is older than Grace, more grizzled, and his scales are darker and rougher. Henry's interest toward Grace is just plain lecherous, while Jake comes to appreciate Grace for more than just her appearance. Their differences are foreshadowed with the way Grace feels their touches on her scales; Henry's touch feels too uncomfortable while Jake's touch feels quite right.
• Forceful Kiss: Kepper gives one to Delilah during their duel. This turned out to be a bad idea. After he's dead, she comments how unwise it was to kiss the Scalet Kiss.
• Foreshadowing: Grace has only one child, but her thoughts reveal early on that she has laid ten eggs...
• Foul Fox: Played straight with the Big Bad Dufayel, averted with his niece Angelique and her husband Charles/Chuck.
• French Jerk: The Big Bad Dufayel speaks with a heavy French accent.
• Freudian Trio: The Terrible Trio between Irvin Worst, Johan Quall and Kepper. The ambitious yet careful Worst is the Ego, the composed and calculating Quall is the Superego, and the rather uninhibited Kepper is the Id.
• Functional Addict: Doc is a good doctor even though he's not always sober.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: At the beginning of the 21st chapter, Beans has to slap Rango when he's hyperventilating over the upcoming court.
• Get Out!: Grace attempts to do this to Benjamin following his attempt to sell her out again. Unfortunately for her, she only manages to make him violent. After Jake kills Benjamin for his bad decision, the battered and traumatized Grace is so hysterical that she throws Jake out.
• Giggling Villain: Kepper is quick to giggle.
• Give My Regards in the Next World: Before Jake shoots one of Tomson's mercenaries, he tells him to say hi to the Devil for him.
• A Glass of Chianti: Dufayel enjoys a good glass of brandy in his office. A lot of good glasses, in fact.
• Gray Rain of Depression: When Jake's about to leave Grace in the 31st chapter, the raining begins in the midst of their argument.
• Grudging "Thank You": Grace gives one to Jake after he shows up to deal with the rustlers who came for her livestock.
• Guns Akimbo: Johan Quall is armed with two revolvers.
• A Handful for an Eye: During his confrontation with Irvin Worst, Johan Quall and Kepper, Jake throws sand over them and gains the upper hand.
• Handicapped Badass: When Jake was a child, he lost his rattle due to a hawk that almost caught him. Reth surgically grafted Jake's now-famous gatling gun onto his tail. Grace finds it admirable for Jake to have overcome his loss.
• Happily Married: Charles/Chuck with Angelique.
• Hates Being Touched: Grace gets this problem as part of her Heroic BSoD due to being assaulted by Benjamin.
• Hero-Worshipper: Teddy starts idolizing Jake after the rattlesnake outlaw helps to chase away the rustles from their farm. This concerns Teddy's law-abiding mother before she gets to know Jake better.
• Heroic BSoD: Grace has this after she's assaulted by Benjamin and witnesses his death at Jake's fangs, resulting in her isolating herself and Teddy for a week.
• Heroic Fire Rescue: When Mud's Convenient Store is set ablaze by the Hellhounds, the store owner's wife and baby are trapped inside. With her maternal instincts setting in, Grace rushes inside and saves them. This act of bravery results in most of Mud's residents to become less hostile toward her and Jake's esteem for her to grow.
• Hidden Villain: Dufayel doesn't appear until the 13th chapter.
• Hostage Situation: One occurs in the penultimate chapter when Dufayel — who's all out of henchmen by this point — forces Teddy against the edge of a pit with his gun. His demand is to be allowed to leave. Jake makes the fox focus on him while subtly instructing Teddy who suddenly bites the fox in the arm and escapes to his mother.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Jake and Grace, as is illustrated in the author's artwork .
• Hypocrite:
  • When Grace and Teddy first come to Mud and face distrust from most of the townsfolk, she's angry at them for scorning them just for being snakes and having the audacity to consider themselves to be without sin. That being said, Grace herself is very prejudiced toward Jake and other outlaws. She has her reasons for this: she's eventually revealed to have killed a group of outlaws in blind fury for smashing nearly all her unhatched eggs and covering it up. This makes Jake disgusted with her for acting like a law-abiding citizen who's above outlaws like him.
  • Benjamin Hares acts all righteous while slagging his wife of adultery, ignoring the fact that he betrayed her first by abandoning her for ten years.
• I Am Not My Father: The reason Jake's not a fan of drinking is because of his Alcoholic Parent James, who was also a domestic abuser. When he finds Grace beaten by her husband, his following Unstoppable Rage inflicted on Benjamin is partly influenced by the memory of his parents and his father's words of Jake becoming a man like him. In the following chapter, Jake continues acting on this trope by ultimately deciding not to drown his sorrows in regards to his strained relationship with Grace.
  Jake: My daddy had his weakness. It destroyed him. Now I've got my own.
• I Choose to Stay: Played with. Jake is still an outlaw who travels after work, but now he has Grace's farm as a home, and he keeps his business outside Mud and the Glossy farm.
• If You Die, I Call Your Stuff: While being introduced to Teddy, Priscilla asks if she can have his skin should he die.
• I Gave My Word: Jake doesn't go back on his contracts, at least not as the first one.
• Interspecies Romance: Jake (rattlesnake) and Grace (glossy snake) in the same way as Rango (chameleon) and Beans (desert iguana); they're the same type of reptiles, but quite different species. Grace also used to have a romance like this with Benjamin Hares (gopher snake).
• Intimate Healing: After Jake rescues Grace from drowning, he's forced to hold her in his coils and keep her from freezing until she regains consciousness and can be warmed properly.
• I Own This Town: When he first appears, Dufayel says that since he was Tortoise John's business partner, all the business assets of the late Mayor now belong to him, the town itself included. Angelique confirms this later, and even later, a lawyer arrives on Dufayel's behalf. In response, Rango challenges the issue to be dealt in court.
• Ironic Echo: The Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Grace gives Bad Bill's gang is similar to what Jake said to Tomson's mercenaries in the beginning of the story.
  Chapter 2:
  Tomson: You're outnumbered Sheriff, and you're outgunned. We ain't afraid of you no more.
  Jake: It ain't him ya gotta worry about...
  Chapter 18:
  One of Bad Bill's cohorts: The Grim Reaper...
  Grace: It's not him you should be afraid of...
• Is That a Threat?: Rango and Dufayel have this exchange during their private meeting in the 26th chapter.
  Rango: For your own sake, I'm asking you to leave us be.
  Dufayel: Is that a threat, Monsieur Rango?
  Rango: You don't wanna corner a wild animal.
  Dufayel: And you had best not attempt to outfox a fox. It goes badly for you in your cause.
• I Want Them Alive!: When Dufayel hires Mon Hellsing to hunt down Benjamin Hares, the mongoose is upset that he has to keep the target alive instead of killing them like he'd usually do and agrees to do it only for a raise.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jake proves himself to be one of these over time...
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: ...and then there's Ben Hares, Grace's estranged husband. Ten years earlier, he left his pregnant wife high and dry to escape the debt he accrued as a conman. He then appears out of nowhere, acting like he's concerned about Grace and Teddy and wants a chance to make everything up. He then attempts to sell Grace's lands, claiming it to be for their own good. He loses all credibility and proves himself to be worse than just a liar and a coward by starting to guilt-trip Grace again for his own undoings and reveals his darker side by unashamedly assaulting her. This ends about as well for him as you'd expect.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Ramirez by Rango during the climax.
  Rango: I got enough reason to shoot you after what you did to Beans. Remember: it only takes one bullet...
  Ramirez: You won't do it! You don't have the stomach for-- [gets the head shot]
  Rango: Try me.
• Kissing Under the Influence: Grace first kisses Jake after getting drunk in Mud's saloon.
• Kiss of Death: Delilah Rangler has earned her nickname — "the Scarlet Kiss" — from her habit of leaving a red kiss on every person she's killed. Kepper gives her a forceful kiss during their duel. After she kills him, she gives a Bond One-Liner about this trope.
• Knight of Cerebus: The role of Benjamin Hares is small, but the chapter where he subjects Grace to domestic violence is one of the darkest ones of the story. Though he gets his comeuppance, the once happy relationship between Grace and Jake becomes more troubled than before with the Heroic BSoD Grace has in the following chapters. Also, Dufayel decides that with Hares' failure to legally sell him Grace's property, it's time to throw aside the pretenses of lawfulness and utilize more drastic measures.
• Knotty Tentacles: Grace's body is pulled into an uncomfortable knot by the Hellhounds when they capture her in Dufayel's hideout.
• Lecherous Licking: Jake likes using his tongue on Grace whenever they're making out to make her receptive.
• Look Behind You: When Tomson's gang threatens Rango with guns, he points at the sky and shouts "Hawk!". The mercs immediately cover themselves before they realize that Rango's making a run for it and chase after him.
• Makeup Is Evil: Delilah Rangler, the third highest in the pecking order of the Gunslinger Court, wears bright red lipstick and uses it to leave a red kiss on the cheek of everyone she kills, earning her nickname "the Scarlet Kiss".
• Mama Bear: Grace won't let anyone harm Teddy. The only reason she accepts Rango's request to accept Jake's protection is the possibility that her son might get targeted by the mercenaries harassing Mud and her farm. When Bad Bill's gang beats up Teddy, she reacts very violently and beats them all by herself. Her backstory plays this to a traumatic extent: robbers killed nine of her ten unhatched children. None of those scoundrels lived long enough to tell the tale.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: Dufayel is sophisticated and rich, dresses immaculately even under the desert's hot sun and dislikes uncivilization.
• Mexican Standoff:
  • While escaping Tomson and his two mercenaries, Rango jumps in a barrel. As Tomson is about to yank him out, the sheriff points his gun at the rat's face while the other two mercs point theirs at the chameleon. The stalemate is broken by the townsfolk coming to Rango's rescue.
  • During Grace's introduction scene, Jake attacks her and pins her to the ground with his coils. When she struggles, Jake attempts to strangle her, but then Rango points his gun at Jake's head with deadly seriousness and tells him to release Grace. After a long moment of glaring contesting, Jake admits his precarious position and backs off.
  • When Delilah first comes to Grace's property and Beans points her gun at her, the bobcat whips out her own gun and points it at Beans until Jake arrives.
  • In his first appearance, Irvin Worst places his ax against Dufayel's throat, but Dufayel is unconcerned because he has his revolver's barrel placed cunningly up against the lizard's gut. Before the stalemate can get messy, the fox starts talking business, prompting Worst to back off.
• Molotov Cocktail: Irwin Worst uses one while first attacking Jake, and so do the Hellhounds when they attack Mud and Beans' ranch.
• Momma's Boy: Teddy loves his mother above everything else and would do anything for her, for Grace has been his sole care-giver for his entire life.
• Multiple Gunshot Death: Jake kills Dufayel by using his gatling gun to fire a dozen bullets in the fox.
• Never My Fault:
  • Dufayel blames his imminent bankruptcy and his harassment of the heroes on ex-mayor Tortoise John, who asked the fox to invest the mayor's Evil Plan in exchange for the big gold deposit.
  • Benjamin Hares was a chronic guilt-tripper while he still lived with Grace. He hasn't changed at all after ten years of staying away.
• Nice Guy:
  • Teddy is quite a friendly and excited boy.
  • Charles/Chuck. He's one of the few people who can act in a civilized way toward Grace and ignore her species.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Had Tomson not told Rango vaguely that he's looking for a snake and caused him to locate and hire Rattlesnake Jake, Dufayel would have had fewer obstacles in claiming the land.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Grace delivers one to Bad Bill's gang for hurting Teddy. She loses herself to attacking them so much that only Teddy calling out for her snaps her out of it.
• No True Scotsman: Jake hasn't allowed Ramirez Arvenga to join the Gunslinger Court because he thinks that like the Jenkins Brothers, the coyote doesn't have what it takes to be a true outlaw.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Both Jake and Grace have past traumas that make them guard themselves in order to prevent themselves from being hurt by others. Grace admits this to Jake when she finally confesses her feelings toward him. Also, they can both be utterly terrifying when provoked, with Grace admitting that as much as she hides it, she has the same capacity to take a life in utter fury as Jake has.
• Oh, Crap!:

• Angelique becomes scared spitless the moment she's informed that her uncle Dufayel is the one behind everything.
• Benjamin Hares realizes how far up the creek he is when Jake attacks him in murderous rage for hitting Grace.

• Only in It for the Money: Jake accepts Rango's request to protect Mud only because he's been between jobs lately and is offered Tortoise John's stuff as his reward.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: The original cover picture featured above includes an orange sunsetting sky over Mud, the blue lake next to it and a dark cave.

• Pay Evil unto Evil: Jake avenges Grace's battering by Benjamin Hares in a fashion most murderous.
• Pet the Dog: When Jake discovers that Teddy doesn't see too well, which causes him to stumble, he feels familiarity despite himself and teaches the boy to use the scents gained from his environment with his tongue in order to navigate.
• Please, I Will Do Anything!: When both Grace and Teddy are caught by Dufayel in the climax, she resorts to groveling to guarantee her son's safety, promising Dufayel her farm he's been trying to claim. Unfortunately, Dufayel is VERY far past bargaining by this point.
• Poker: When Grace's planned night at Mud's saloon becomes withcalled due to Teddy getting a cold, she instead engages in a poker match with Jake. They play with secrets instead of money: the winner of a round asks one question and the loser has to answer truthfully.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
  • Jake gives one to Tomson and his mercenaries when he first meets them.
    Jake: Ya boys was real stupid in thinkin' you could claim hell without payin' the devil his due. I don't like sloppy work... and you boys just made one hell've'a mess.
  • When Bad Bill's gang is caught in the act of beating up Teddy, they are scared at the sight of Jake. Both to their and Jake's surprise, Grace gives them this line before she beats the crap out of them all by herself.
    One of the thugs: The Grim Reaper...
    Grace: It's not him you should be afraid of...
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner:
  • Jake gives one to Benjamin Hares before flooding his system with venom.
    "Burn, asshole."
  • In the climax, Jake does this again to Dufayel before flooding HIS system with lead.
    "My turn."
• Psycho Knife Nut: Both Ramirez Arvenga and Kepper prefer fighting with knives. The former is fond of collecting Creepy Souvenirs, while the latter is known by the trope name.
• Rage Breaking Point:
  • Dufayel has one in the 18th chapter when he's informed of Bad Bill's failure by Tomson. The fox cannot hold back his anger, prompting him to shoot the rat.
  • Dufayel's Villainous Breakdown in the 28th chapter is caused by Ramirez telling him to stop drinking.
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • Dufayel uses his legal claim to Mud and calls a lawman and a lawyer to tell Mud's residents to leave peacefully. When Rango blurts out in desperation that they want to challenge Dufayel's claim in a legal court, both men accept it and excuse themselves.
  • When Benjamin tries to use his status as Grace's husband to sell the lands left to her by her father, a representative of the bank becomes suspicious of him and fetches Grace. Catridge the attorney then hinders Benjamin's efforts by saying that the case is postponed until he's provided the required legal documents.
• Recruiting the Criminal: Jake is hired by Rango to protect Mud from Dufayel's mercenaries. Jake in turn has Delilah Rangler to seek out the Hellhounds' hiding place while he has to keep an eye out for Grace's property.
• Red Baron:
  • Ramirez Arvenga prefers himself being called "El Azote Negro" or "The Black Scourge". Jake regards him too spineless to live up to the title.
  • The Gunslinger Court is composed of outlaws who are best at what they do, and they seem to have a trend for badass nicknames. There's "the Grim Reaper" (Jake), "the Carpenter" (Reth), "the Scarlet Kiss" (Delilah Rangler), "the fire breather" (Irvin Worst), "the fickle thief" (Johan Quall) and "the knife nut" (Kepper).
• Reminiscing About Your Victims: In the first scene portrayed from his POV, Jake remembers with sadistic satisfaction the way he killed Tortoise John for his betrayal.
• Riding into the Sunset: Lampshaded by Grace who thinks Rango would call the moment of Grace and Teddy watching Jake slithering toward the desert a perfect "Sunset Shot".
• Rising Water, Rising Tension: When the blocked water pipe that provides Mud's water is unblocked, Grace is forced to escape the following flood from the underground caverns. She nearly makes it out before she's trapped by debris and is left in the danger of dying from the lack of oxygen or warmth. Fortunately, Jake manages to pull her up in time. Ramirez Arvenga as well as the men working in the gold mine also have to flee, though some of them don't make it out in time.
• Roll in the Hay: When Grace finally dares to admit her feelings toward Jake, it leads to lovemaking in her barn.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • When Angelique is informed that Dufayel is the one trying to make Mud's townsfolk to leave, she decides to take her children away from Mud, fearing that her evil uncle will start an open war to get what he wants. She also convinces her husband Chuck to come with her.
  • After Bad Bill and his gang fail to fulfill the assignment given to them by Dufayel and end up getting their butts kicked by Grace, and then again by Jake, they disappear. It's stated by the author that as soon as they were healed, they decided this all to be way over their heads and skipped town.
  • During the climax, Johan Quall is intimidated by Jake to run while he still can.
• Sequel Hook: The author has left it ambiguous whether or not a sequel will be made in the future, but there's still the matter of Henry being at large and seeking revenge on Jake. Grace also owes him a favour (for telling her where Dufayel is keeping Teddy) which he promises to claim someday.
• Sexy Discretion Shot: The narration of Jake and Grace's first lovemaking is abbreviated when they lay down in hays.
• Shadow Archetype:
  • After Grace witnesses Jake remorselessly killing that scoundrel Benjamin in righteous fury, she's terrified of a small part of her relishing in it and her own hidden capacity for doing the same (which the deceased robbers who killed nearly all of her babies can attest to).
    "Teddy watched as Jake beat the life out of his father. Jake didn't care that I saw the killer in him set to work. No matter the fact I'm glad the piece of shit is dead, he murdered someone right in front of me and my son. He showed us how easy it was. How good it felt... He showed me what I could easily become..."
    An uneven silence fell over the room. Of course, Beans knew nothing of the darker aspects of Grace's life, and so the whispered comment was more for Grace's own benefit. The confession made her feel lighter somehow, to speak the realised words and know they were true. The bulk of the reason she now kept Jake out. He didn't terrify her. She terrified herself. She'd seen him murder someone with absolute conviction and sense of righteousness. Hell, a small coherent part of her had even relished it... and that had frightened her.
  • Like with Rango, the vices of Benjamin Hares include pretension and cowardice. Rango was exposed as a fraud but returned to save Dirt as a true hero, and even though he hasn't fully lost his vices, he attempts to do the right thing as a sheriff. Benjamin in turn is an incorrigible conman who cares firstly about himself and secondly about his own safety. He charmed Grace to marry him and left her penniless to escape his debt, returning ten years later with false regrets to sell her out again and get said debt covered. In short, Benjamin is what Rango could have become if he didn't care about the well-being of others and had never decided to redeem himself by saving the people of Dirt and instead continued his life as a fraudster on the move. In the climax, Rango does something Benjamin wouldn't have likely done: jumping in front of a bullet aimed at Grace and Teddy.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Dufayel wears a neat burgundy suit even under the desert's hot sun.
• Shipper on Deck: When Priscilla asks Teddy if his mother and Jake are going to be married, the boy becomes excited with the idea and starts getting ideas on how to make that happen.
• Shoot the Dangerous Minion: Dufayel decides eventually that Henry is too volatile to be kept around and injures the kingsnake with help from Ramirez, tossing Henry out a window several stories. While they believe the kingsnake to have died, Henry survives and flees to have his revenge another day.
• Shoot the Messenger: After Bad Bill's gang fails to fulfill Dufayel's orders to intimidate Grace into relinquishing her lands, Tomson returns to report it. Anger becomes too much to bear for Dufayel and he shoots Tomson in the head.
• "Shut Up!" Gunshot:
  • When Rango has recruited Jake and returns to Mud with him, the townsfolk panic upon seeing the rattlesnake. Rango fires a shot in the air to make them listen to him.
  • Later Rango does this again when the panicked townsfolk rush to his office to inform him of the sudden stop of the lake's water flow. While the trick works again, the shot makes a hole in the sheriff's ceiling.
• Side Bet: Priscilla makes one with some other kid whether or not Jake and Grace would become a couple. Instead of cash, the loser owes two bug's winds.
• Small Role, Big Impact:
  • Bad Bill fails the assignment Dufayel gave him and doesn't appear in another chapter, but the vicious beatdown he gets from Grace for hurting Teddy leads the inquisitive Jake (as well as the readers) learn that nine of her ten unhatched eggs were smashed by robbers she killed in retaliation, which is why she's so prejudiced toward outlaws.
  • The mongoose bounty hunter Mon Hellsing appears just in two chapters to bring on board Benjamin Hares who heralds the darker part of the story.
• Snakes Are Sinister: Averted because there are different individuals among snakes as much as with any other species. Unfortunately, snakes in general suffer from prejudices because of their predatory nature and the bad apples. Grace and Teddy are both pretty nice, while Jake is an Anti-Hero. The villainous side includes a Psycho for Hire named Henry and Benjamin Hares, Grace's cowardly con artist husband.
• Snake Versus Mongoose: Mon Hellsing is a mongoose with loathes snakes and makes a profession of hunting them down. When he's hired to track down Benjamin Hares, he demands a raise to the usual fee in exchange of bringing the snake in alive instead of dead.
• The Social Darwinist: Jake has traits of being this with the way he thinks little of Mud's townsfolk for being merely "good people" who resign themselves to pack mentality.
• The Sociopath: Benjamin Hares is a short-sighted conman prone to blameshifting and running away from his own troubles. He charmed Grace to marry him against the wishes of her father, then betrayed her by abandoning her without leaving her anything. He returns ten years later just to sell her home in order to save his own hide again. When his flattery, guilt-tripping and feigned concern have failed him, he resorts to beating up his wife without any signs of remorse. He comes to regret this course of action not too long afterward, when karma finally catches up with him.
• Something Else Also Rises: When Grace first kisses Jake, his excitement is empathized by the rattling of his tail.
• Species Surname: Grace Glossy, who is a glossy snake. Teddy Glossy fits only by half because he's a part glossy snake and part gopher snake, courtesy of his parents.
• Sssssnaketalk: Averted with all the snakes, but Grace does once indulge in it, asking Jake to "trusssssst in her".
• Storming the Castle: The penultimate chapter has Jake, Rango, Delilah and Reth assaulting Dufayel's base (an abandoned car) in order to rescue Grace and Teddy.
• A Storm Is Coming: When the Hellhounds attack Mud and Beans' ranch, the night sky has storm clouds, and the raining starts shortly before the attack.
• Tail Slap: Grace does this off-screen to a rustler who believed he would get away with slapping her around, sending him flying through the air. She later uses this technique against Bad Bill and his gang.
• Taking the Bullet: When Dufayel shoots at Grace and Teddy, Rango jumps in the way. Though he bleeds heavily, he survives.
• Teeth Flying: This happens to Benjamin when Jake smashes his head against Ben's while beating the gopher up.
• The Teetotaler: Jake is a downplayed example; he does indulge in alcohol once in a while, but never enough to get drunk. His alcoholic father's actions in Jake's childhood made sure of that.
• Tempting Fate: Rango does this when he spends some alone time with Beans in the 20th chapter, figuring that he won't be needed at Mud. They then hear loud knocks on Beans' door and someone calling out for Sheriff Rango.
  Beans: You were sayin'?
• Terms of Endangerment: Grace is called "amiga" by Ramirez Arvenga and "sweetcheeks" by Henry.
• Terrible Trio: Irvin Worst, Johan Quall and Kepper, the three members of the Gunslinger Court whom Dufayel hires to help in getting rid of Jake.
• Thematic Theme Tune: Every chapter is initiated with short verses from various country songs in order to either capture the chapter's mood or describe certain characters. The author has chosen as the main theme "Bad Company" by Five Finger Death Punch.
• Thieves' Guild: The Gunslinger Court is sort of a hierarchy among outlaws formed in order to keep themselves from tearing each other apart. Through this hierarchy, they can contact each other for special jobs when needed. Only those outlaws who are best at what they do are allowed in. Jake ("the Grim Reaper") is the founder and the highest in the pecking order. Other known members are his Number Two Reth ("the Carpenter"), the third in command Delilah Rangler ("the Scarlet Kiss"), Irvin Worst ("the fire breather"), Johan Quall ("the fickle thief") and Kepper ("the knife nut"). In the latter half of the story, Dufayel helps Worst, Quall and Kepper in injuring Jake, allowing Worst to try and claim the leadership position and Ramirez Arvenga to try to claim membership.
• This Means War!:
  • After Jake's been injured with the help of Dufayel's hawk, Worst and Ramirez Arvenga use his disposal to try and claim leadership/membership of the Gunslinger Court, respectively. Upon hearing about this from Reth and Delilah, Jake decides to have hard payback when he's ready.
  • Once Dufayel gets a letter about his bankruptcy, he decides that "c'est la guerre" and gives Ramirez free hands in driving the people away.
    Dufayel: Assez! I will no longer be patient. C'est la guerre — It is war!
  • Jake gets a more serious example when he learns that Dufayel has both Grace and Teddy.
    Jake: Them boys are gonna have to think of the wrath that's about to set down on 'em...
• Those Wily Coyotes: Ramirez Arvenga, the Mexican coyote leader of the Hellhounds.
• Token Evil Teammate: Jake, the feared outlaw and contract killer, works with Rango, Grace and the people of Mud against the Big Bad.
• Trap Is the Only Option:
  • When Grace reaches Dufayel's hideout to rescue her son, she suspects the fox's goons are waiting to ambush her. They are, in fact, ready to do exactly that.
  • In the following chapter, Jake in turn enters the hideout with Rango, Delilah and Reth, knowing fully well a trap has been sprung for them.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: Jake has one of his mother beaten by his drunken father when he finds the abused Grace at the mercy of her husband.
• Undying Loyalty: When Irvin Worst tries to assume the leadership position of the Gunslinger Court by claiming that Jake was killed by a hawk, Reth and Delilah Rangler don't believe him and bolt to find Jake.
• Unscrupulous Hero: Jake is his old ruthless self from the movie. He doesn't like his contract with Rango, accepting it only because he's been between jobs lately. He also makes it clear that he should just be allowed to do what he's been hired for: get rid of the offenders. However, he does honor his contract and has enough Pet the Dog moments to keep him from being a Nominal Hero.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • Grace reacts this way when she finds her son being beaten up by Bad Bill's gang. If Teddy had not called out for her, she might have killed them. In fact, Grace has killed before. Years ago, a bunch of robbers ended up killing nine for her ten unhatched babies, an act for which Grace repaid them with their own deaths, realizing the bloody deed only afterwards.
  • This is Jake's reaction to seeing Grace battered by Benjamin. Benjamin doesn't get out of THAT one alive.
    The coldness of death had come over Jake, the unfeeling pit he delved into when a kill such as this overcame him. It was why he was named the Grimm Reaper, it was why he was the devil incarnate of earth. It robbed him of morality, of mercy, it was the ultimate point of no return for him. It was the place that could not be surfaced from until the addiction for blood and violence and death was sated. Years of anger, days of frustration, endless torment and a lifetime of loathing all focused into his entire being, the point of the sword that drove him to it.
• Use Your Head: Both Jake and Grace use their head to hit their opponents a few times.
• Villainous Breakdown: The continuous failures stretch Dufayel's patience bit by bit, with the demise of Benjamin Hares culminating in the fox smashing objects in his office with his cane. When he's later informed that his account is empty, he throws his chair against the wall and declares that all the bets are off.
• Villainous Legacy: While Tortoise John was killed by Jake in the movie, he still influences the plot by the virtue of having his Evil Plan invested by Dufayel in exchange for giving the fox the right to the gold beneath the town.
• Visionary Villain: Dufayel claims himself to be following the same path as the late Tortoise John in modernizing the West, only with gold instead of water. He's actually trying to avoid becoming broke for investing his entire fortune in Tortoise John's plans.
• Watching Troy Burn: Beans loses her home to the Hellhounds' arson in the 31st chapter, and nothing can be done to stop it.
• Weight Woe: This trope gets a reference when Grace feels self-conscious for not fitting into the doctor's office. While she knows that to be irrational (Mud usually hasn't patients as big as adult snakes), her womanly vanity still makes her feel that she needs to lose some weight.
• Wham Line: Chapter 20 ends with Dufayel telling that Mon Hellsing has to hunt down and bring him Benjamin Hares. Alive.
• Wicked Cultured: The snake-hunter Mon Hellsing often quotes the Bible, naming the exact sections accurately.
• Would Hurt a Child:
  • When Dufayel hires Bad Bill's gang to intimidate Grace to sell her lands, they run into Teddy and start beating him up. Unfortunately for them, the act makes Grace royally ticked off to the point that she doesn't need Jake's help to do the same to them.
  • Before Teddy or his nine siblings had hatched, their eggs were attacked by outlaw robbers. Only Teddy's egg was left after Grace killed the ruffians.
  • Dufayel heavily implies that he's willing to target Teddy to get to Grace. When he decides to pull out all the stops, he has Teddy captured to lure Grace (as well as Jake and Rango through her) into his clutches. After all his henchman have been defeated, he holds Teddy at gunpoint and threatens to kill him if he's not allowed to leave.
• Would Rather Suffer: The Scarlet Kiss states that she'd prefer screwing an exhaust-pipe over taking a bribe from Irvin Worst and enduring Male Gazes from his part.
• You Dirty Rat!: Tomson, one of Dufayel's hired mercenaries, is a rat.
• You Killed My Father: A villainous example; Henry's brother was killed by Jake and Henry wants to kill Jake for that. Ironically, Henry's paragon Frank was targeted for the same reason by Harmonica.
• You're Not My Father: Teddy outright tells this to Benjamin when his disappeared dad first shows up in the boy's life.
  Teddy: I want what's good for my momma and me.
  Benjamin: So do I.
  Teddy: No. You don't. That's why I'm not your son. Momma always said I was a gift from God. I'm gonna believe that instead.
• You Wouldn't Shoot Me: When Rango holds Ramirez at gunpoint in the 20th chapter, the coyote questions if the sheriff can live with having killed him. Rango sees the point, but doesn't retreat. Rango eventually shoots Ramirez in the climax while the coyote tries to use this trope again.
  Ramirez: Poor lizard. You are loco, aren't you? You know how to kill a man, si? But could you really stomach it? Go on. Find out. It's one thing to pull the trigger. It's another to watch your kill die.

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