I have a scene in my head of Joe stumbling into Adam's room right after he was put to bed and asking Adam "What's a half-brother?" because some older boys at school kept saying Adam and Hoss weren't his "real" brothers.
And Adam realizes that Joe doesn't know Marie wasn't Adam and Hoss' birth mother because Marie had met Adam and Hoss where they were and didn't try to force her way into their lives and because of that she actually did become their ma
So seventeen-year-old Adam takes five-year-old Joe downstairs to Pa's desk and motions for Hoss to join them and he shows Joe Pa's pictures of Elizabeth, Inger, and Marie and explains what being half-brothers means
And Ben is sitting in the living room but he doesn't interfere because he just got back from his month long grief bender and Adam is still basically Joe's father because Ben hasn't earned that back yet
And despite that, Ben is damn proud of his boys as Adam and Hoss insist that them being half-brother don't matter at all and they are Joe's real brothers
links to other similar posts and image descriptions below! as always, let me know if i’ve unintentionally copied any similar meme that’s already out there. hope you enjoy! 🏜️
bonanza + text posts (pt.2): x
bonanza + headlines (pt.2): x
bonanza + text posts (pt.1): x
bonanza + headlines (pt.1): x
hoss cartwright + headlines: x
[image 1:
a screencap from the episode “the last hunt.” in one of the ponderosa’s guest rooms, adam, joe, and hoss surround the cradle of a newborn baby, making faces and offering baby talk. adam and joe watch as hoss lifts up the infant, bundled up in a brown and yellow afghan. hoss looks at the newborn’s mother, out of shot, smiling widely as he shows the baby to her.
overlaid in the bottom left is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Shit Yeah, Another Baby.”]
[image 2:
a screencap from the episode “blood on the land.” ben and adam are on horseback in a rocky and forested area. ben looks to be frustrated and mid-sentence, as if speaking of something that upsets him. adam, slightly behind him, frowns at the rant, looking doubtful.
overlaid in the bottom left is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “True Courage Is Knowing You're Wrong But Refusing To Admit It.”]
[image 3:
a screencap from the episode “the storm.” joe kneels on the floor of the cabin he and his brothers built for his childhood sweetheart and fiancée, laura, who recently passed away. he reaches out and begins to rock a baby’s cradle, handcrafted by adam for him as a wedding gift. notoriously, as is the case with most deceased romantic interests on the show, neither the character or her passing is ever brought up again.
overlaid in the top right is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “TV Character Knows All This Hardship She’s Experiencing Now Will One Day Be Nothing More Than A ‘Previously On’ Clip.”]
[image 4:
a screencap from the episode “caution: easter bunny crossing.” in candy’s bedroom, hoss stands at his bedside, covering his mouth to keep him from calling out and covering his eyes to keep candy from seeing him. hoss is there to ask candy for help buttoning up the back of his costume, as he is going to play the easter bunny for the children at a local orphanage.
overlaid in the bottom left is a reductress headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Chosen Family Starting to Get Kinda Annoying Too.”]
[image 5:
a screencap from the episode “the ponderosa birdman.” ben and hoss stand in the yard of the ponderosa, the former with a blue kite in his hands. ben is flabbergasted beyond words after coming across hoss and joe fighting after joe teased the elder brother for playing with said kite. hoss looks wide-eyed and slightly embarrassed as ben begins to scold him about acting so immature.
overlaid in the bottom right is a reductress headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Free-Spirited Man Informed It Time To Grow Up And Stop Being Happy.”]
[image 6:
a screencap from the episode “elizabeth, my love.” elizabeth stoddard- played by brunette actress geraldine brooks- and ben stand side by side, glasses lifted in a toast. ben wears a blue first mate’s uniform as they ask elizabeth’s father and ben’s ship captain if he will approve their marriage.
overlaid in the top left is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Sailor Regrets Getting Married To The Sea So Young.”]
[image 7:
a screencap from the episode “the tin badge.” in the ponderosa living room, hoss sits on the arm of a chair, his arms crossed and wearing a grin, and adam stands at his side. adam has his mouth covered in an attempt to suppress his amusement, but he is laughing so hard at hoss’ teasing of joe- who stands out of shot- that he is bent down and falling into hoss’ shoulder.
overlaid in the bottom right is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Nation's Older Brothers Recommend Not Being Such A Little Bitch.”]
[image 8:
a screencap from the episode “the burma rarity.” ben and clementine hawkins- an older redheaded women played by beatrice kay- stand before an open window, broken after hoss and joe staged and escaped a robbery. ben tries to explain away the evidence against his sons by claiming hoss’ forgotten hat is his own. clementine disproves this by dropping the hat on his head; it falls down to and covers his eyes.
overlaid in the top middle is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Report: Dad Won't Admit He Feels Cute In New Hat.”]
[image 9:
a screencap from the episode “enter thomas bowers.” adam and joe sit in the audience at an opera performance held in virginia city. an untrained singer performs very poorly, much to the brothers’ amusement. adam has turned away from the stage, both looking upward at the ceiling and shutting his eyes, trying to distract himself and remain relatively collected and calm. joe covers his mouth and pinches his nose in an attempt to silence his giggles. the screencap was taken from this gifset.
overlaid in the top right is a reductress headline with a white background and black text. it reads “How to Stop Being So Judgy Even Though People Continue to Act Like That.”]
[image 10:
a screencap from the episode “my brother’s keeper.” adam sits in his father’s chair in the ponderosa living room, his book lowered to his lap as hoss comes up to him. hoss puts a foot up on the stone work of the fireplace and leans against his thigh, and the brothers discuss the east where adam was educated versus what some consider the ‘uncivilized’ west.
overlaid in the top left is an onion headline with a white background and black text. it reads “Man Thinking About Just Packing Up And Making Exact Same Mistakes Someplace Far Away.”]
• Eyes flicking to someone’s mouth mid-sentence
• Forgetting what they were about to say
• Leaning in unconsciously
• Mirroring posture without realizing
• Smiling at something that wasn’t that funny
• Adjusting hair or clothes when the other person enters
• Noticing and remembering details no one else bothers to
• A pause before pulling their hand away
• Shoulders softening
• Looking away first and then back again
• Swallowing before speaking
• Voice lowering slightly
• Turning their body fully toward the other person
• A delayed reaction to a touch
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