vdlinde

[vdlinde]

DUTCH VAN DER LINDE. _THE OUTLAW.

leader and co-founder of the van der linde gang, dutch advocates freedom and rebellion to the members of his bunch. notorious conman as well as bank and train robber, he pursues economical self - reliance and stands against the advancement of progress.

RELATIONSHIPS: hosea matthews _right hand man, partner in crime. annabelle _love interest ( deceased ), arthur morgan _adopted son, trusted advisor, john marston adopted son, protégé, susan grimshaw _former lover, close friend, molly o'shea _lover.

_PISCES. _THE FISH. _ENFJ. _THE PROTAGONIST. _CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.

strengths: reliable, passionate, bold, charismatic & inspiring, altruistic. weaknesses: overly idealistic, condescending, intense, unrealistic.

⎯ WRITINGS. STUDY. BLOG.

#companion sideblog. this space is meant for aesthetics purposes only. #all rp interactions will occur on @CULTFIC

[vdlinde]

You have none of me in you. You’re just a bastard from a basket.

There Will Be Blood (2007) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

#dutch. #john.

[vdlinde]

“you’re a mess of good intentions gone wrong. you strike a match on yourself to keep others warm, and now the whole goddamn world’s on fire. you try to put it out, and you try so hard. the dam breaks, and the waters of your sorrow pour free. you are sorry; so very, very sorry— and you will drown everyone to prove it.”

— the hero who couldn’t save anyone | m.a.w 

#dutch.

[vdlinde]

Light in the movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert

[vdlinde]

Daniel Day‑Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

#dutch.

[vdlinde]

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID dir. George Roy Hill | 1969

#trelawny.

[vdlinde]

LINDA DARNELL as NETTA LONGDON

HANGOVER SQUARE (1945) ↳ dir. John Brahm

#annabelle.

[vdlinde]

“I’ll be right back. You stay here. You understand? You stay here.” | There Will Be Blood (2007)

#dutch. #john.

[vdlinde]

“Well, legally, I have committed many crimes, but morally, I feel good about my standing.”

#dutch.

[vdlinde]

[vdlinde]

𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇   𝐕𝐀𝐍   𝐃𝐄𝐑   𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄   𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧 ☞   𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝   𝚢𝚘𝚞   𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛   𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎   𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎   𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎,   𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚛.   𝚒𝚝'𝚜   𝚊𝚕𝚕   𝚠𝚎   𝚐𝚘𝚝.

#dutch.

[vdlinde]

Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969, dir. George Roy Hill

#dutch. #hosea.

[vdlinde]

𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇    𝐕𝐀𝐍    𝐃𝐄𝐑    𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄    𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧        ☞        𝚌𝚊.    𝟷𝟾𝟾𝟻.

#dutch.

[vdlinde]

#dutch.

[vdlinde]

there’s a lot to be said about dutch and his downward spiral into an abyss of blinding paranoia, so i wanna preface this post by saying that none of his actions are meant to be excused here but because his character is so widely interpreted, i just wanna put in my two cents, as applicable to my portrayal.

first of all, i think it’s important to keep in mind that at the start of the game, the gang is already tangled in a web of trouble, with dutch forced to kill an innocent woman during their latest heist. this means that, when the player encounters him, he’s already burdened with fear that the law might catch them, as well as probable guilt over killing a bystander   ((  he does relentlessly advocate a no-killing attitude  )),   not to mention the deaths of some of his friends during said heist. taking these factors into account, most of dutch’s core personality (read: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐋 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇) is by that time already only hinted at through lines of dialogues.   he is the man who raised arthur, and even if the player decides to play a low honor version of the game, it will inevitably end in arthur redeeming himself for his actions and wrongdoings. MEANING THE VALUES DUTCH TAUGHT ARTHUR WERE FUNDAMENTALLY GOOD, despite the outlaw ways that he helped develop.

van der l1nde gang members are the living embodiments of dutch’s teachings and education. and in that regard, hosea, arthur and john, who have ridden with him the longest, are the best outlook we can base ourselves on to judge his character. we are talking about three people with wildly different personalities, who all spent decades of their lives with dutch, who have come to know him inside and out, and who have made the the personal decision to stay with him. this applies to any member of the gang.   because beyond being the man who rescued john from hanging, who saved tilly from years of abuse, who took javier in despite the language barrier and happily assisted in his learning english, beyond being the man who took in minorities and women regardless of their background, gave to the poor and donated money the gang stole to orphanages, he is the man who gave them all a second chance. in that day and age, it truly meant something.

DUTCH IS DRIVEN BY LOVE. he is motivated by love. twisted as they are by manipulation and paranoia by the end of the game, his actions can all be traced back to his will to protect the members of his gang. and because he loves them, he is also prone to forgive them.   which notably also applies to the worst people in the gang in terms of personality such as bill, whom dutch is often seen reprimanding for his comments, or micah, to whom dutch gave the same chance he gave everyone else when they first joined the gang, BECAUSE HE SAW IN HIM THE POSSIBILITY FOR SOMETHING BETTER, room for him to grow and become a better person.

because he’s been depicted a manipulative sociopath, i also wanna point out that he never forces any member to stay. SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY LEAVE THE GANG, LEAVE THE CAMP. it hurts him, of course, he cares for them more than anything   ((  always all comes down to LOVE  )),   but he lets john –his son, the one he watched grow from a very young age– leave, he lets hosea –the man who stood by his side for so many years and whom he always sought for advice– leave. he missed them incredibly, but they eventually come back, which stands as another sign of the emotional and personal gratification that they find, not only in the gang, but in its leader as well. beyond the sense of loyalty, it’s a proof of the respect and admiration they hold for him.   [[   ARTHUR   M0RGAN   TO   BROTHER   D0RKINS   :

and when they come back, he welcomes them home. i think it’s important to mirror his behavior with another gang that the game makes a point of presenting as the complete opposite of the van der l1nde gang, perhaps to insist on dutch’s status as leader, regardless of his downfall, i give you, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎'𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐒. unlike colm who takes no interest in the members of his gang   ((  up to the point where he ignores their names  )),   dutch strongly encourages the expression of individuality as well as creativity, a quality that, again, takes even more meaning in those days.

all this to say that, for all his misguided decisions, his general decline and crippling paranoia, he never intended to and was never actively trying to use anyone in the gang, never took advantage of anyone   ((  if that had been his goal, he’d have picked up random folk here and there and hired guns and outlaws to better discard them once their job was done  )).   HE COULD HAVE, AT ANY TIME, LEFT WITH THE MONEY of which only he knew the hiding place, BUT HE NEVER DOES. his actions were never self-centered like that. and deep down, surely, he hoped things would get better. that he’d find a way to sort their problems out, that things would go on being the way they used to be.

there’s a lot of indecision in dutch after hosea’s death, and micah saw the opportunity and took it. there’s a greater sense of fear, too. fear because the law is hot on their trail, because the entire gang   ((  including –and especially– arthur, who relentlessly complaints, questions, doubts  ))   is leaning on him, relying on him, COUNTING ON HIM TO HAVE A SOLUTION FOR EVERYTHING, but he doesn’t. not anymore. and the pressure is definitely causing him to doubt himself, believing any lie micah whispers in his ear to twist his perception.   he doesn’t have a plan, anymore, because he’s noticed that every decision he’s made, lately, has led to the death of a member of his family. some people he’s known nearly all his life.   and his refusal to go rescue john from sisika is purely justified by fear that he’d further endanger the entire gang if he did. they’re already wanted in so many states.

this could go on for much longer but i’m gonna conclude with mount hagen, where, in the end, dutch saves john and sadie, shoots micah, leaves the blackwater money behind for the marstons. abigail, jack. it’s probably easy for him to imagine uncle is with them, too. in the end, he never actively hurt any member of the gang by his own hands except for micah.   and by the very end, he chooses to sacrifice himself to avoid the burden of guilt to john. because john is like him, the child he’s proudly watched grow into a valorous, loyal father who’ll sooner avenge his fallen brother than surrender to defeat, traits he fondly recognizes as his own, for the very last time.

#sr