7 Works in Manipulative Dutch van der Linde
Listing Works
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saying somethin' stupid (like "i love you") by saltyaga
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
14 Jan 2026
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Summary
Arthur Morgan had been with the Van der Linde gang for just shy of eight years, and his loyalty to those who gave him refuge and purpose was not to be questioned. After sneaking out of Chicago following havoc they may have inadvertently caused, the gang move from bustling Illinois to the prairie fields of northern Kansas and are in need of money. Looking for honest work to keep his hands clean as a newcomer of the state, Arthur gets a job at Old Stone Ranch, owned by one esteemed but covetous and dour entrepreneur and businessman, Henry Gillis. What Arthur soon learns is that the ranch is a family business set to pass down to Gillis’ eldest child, Mary, who Arthur takes a liking to. As the duo from two different worlds get closer and closer, Arthur is forced to reflect on where his loyalties lie: can he fight and change for the woman he loves despite all odds, or continue giving in to the outlaw life he has been moulded to fit into?
Or: An interpreted story on how Arthur and Mary met, fell in love and ultimately fell apart.
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Forged by Grief, Annealed by the Lost Son by Jae_Cillian
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
06 Nov 2025
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"Fatherhood is a precious gift, Arthur. Live a life your son will be proud of." Hosea's words solidified Arthur's decision to leave the gang; but when he returns to Eliza and Isaac, he's too late. He returns to the gang a broken man, the ghosts of Eliza and his son lingering in every shadow. And when Jack gets kidnapped by the Braithwaite woman—shipped off to Saint Denis—they find not one lost son, but two in the big city.
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A story of how grief and tragedy shaped Arthur, of misguided loyalty in a leader, of a man reuniting with a son he thought dead, of Arthur protecting his son—his family—from the man who raised him.
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he lives in daydreams with me. by planetcleer
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
20 Jul 2023
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“Arthur, this here’s Colm O’Driscoll.” He turns back to Colm across the fire, “Colm, this is Arthur. He’s been running with me, what, three years now? Since he was fourteen. Oh, you should’ve seen him then, all skin and bones, small as a jackrabbit, but I’d say he’s grown up just fine. Just fine.”
“That he has,” Colm is looking at him in a funny way, with those dark, wild eyes, and it seems awfully similar to how Dutch looks at him but the feeling it gives him in the pit of his stomach is far more unsettling. “Fourteen’s a little young for you, ain’t it? Must be somethin’ real special about him.”
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Arthur meets the O'Driscolls.
Series
- Part 3 of but usually, he's the best man i know
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Summary
Everyone has to do what they can for the wellbeing of the Van der Linde gang. And if you're not willing to rob or kill, you're going to have to find another way to contribute.
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i wish that we could be real, too. by planetcleer
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
05 Oct 2021
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“Arthur! Are you having a good time?”
And all Arthur can do is smile all big and eager and warm. Dutch’s presence is intoxicating. His heart is racing, he can hear it rushing through his ears. Eventually, his brain processes the question and he hurries to assure Dutch, “M’havin’ a great time. Best birthday since the first one with you.”
“You’ve only had one other since, Arthur,” Dutch reminds him, amused, “But I’m glad. You deserve it, my boy.”
“Thank you, Dutch.” Arthur is preening. This is exactly what he wanted.
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The gang celebrates Arthur's seventeenth birthday.
Series
- Part 2 of but usually, he's the best man i know
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but honey, i don't know (what you're doing to me) by planetcleer
Fandoms: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
23 Aug 2021
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Summary
Dutch chuckles, low and deep. He sounds like he’s still sitting by the fire. “It’s alright, my boy, I’m only kiddin’ you,” he says, and Arthur feels the tension bleed out of him like a stuck rabbit. How special it is to be my boy. “Oh, c’mon, I know you’re awake. Just come and sit with me awhile.”
So Arthur does. Of course he does. Dutch calls, and he comes, because what else would he do?
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All it takes is one night, and Arthur begins to unravel.
Series
- Part 1 of but usually, he's the best man i know
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Summary
Arthur wasn't entirely sure why he drank the mysterious liquid he found in a cauldron in the Grizzlies, but he did. Somehow, the world seemed different after. Seeing their circumstances through fresh eyes, Arthur was beginning to wonder when the gang lost their way.