I'm so excited I was hoping someone would send me this because I'm currently working on a very tiny mini fic that's for pride :) not really involving like... Relationships? Moreso the mention of them? But idk I just think it's a cute one and I'm hopefully gonna finish it tonight bc like I said it's super small like probs less than 2k words. I'm filing it under my 'Ranch AU' which is kind of developed in my head and I've even made dialogue fics for (like 2 iirc) but I've never actually made a post on the settings.
But also!!!
So, I'm developing a new AU that's gonna have an Arthur x series and I'm not sure when to announce what the au is, because I don't have any fics yet and I also don't think anyone is going to care much bc it's not like.. idk. I just don't think people will be as excited as me? It's just an AU that's like... Me. Like I've lived adjacently to this world and it's been very important in my life, like super influential to me as a person in a lot of ways. It also comes with my own backstory, like, how I'm related to it.
Also, I'm on the bus and this old lady keeps telling everyone how she's so excited bc she's never taken the bus before but her friend takes it and she meets her friend for lunch some days and she usually gets a ride but today she's taking the bus and her friend doesn't know she's gonna be on it. And I'm so happy for her lol but also she needs volume control but that's okay I'll deal she's too happy to be mad at.
ANYWAY
Here's a little hint for my new AU!
@gluechugger is not allowed to guess about what this is anywhere public bc they're the only person I've discussed it with 😂
That is Miss Shirley. She passed in 2015, but her family encouraged sharing her pic because they love her so much 💕
RIP MISS SHIRLEY! You always knew when the onions were burning 45 seconds before they actually started burning lol
In West Elizabeth, which is now 'West Elizabeth County'.
The lower Montana River runs through in-game West Elizabeth. Above the Montana River, it's more green and woodsy, with pine trees and timber in many areas, and below it, it’s more arid and scrubby.
Why Texas?
• Cowboy culture 🤠
• Close to the Mexican-American border and Gulf of Mexico for shipping and distribution of products
The Montana River in-game is based on the Pecos River, which is in Texas and New Mexico (even though it's in NW Texas)
People speculate that Blackwater is based on Houston (among other cities).
Texas has a range of different biomes.
Oil industry presence and history
(First mention of the gang and VDL Enterprises lore are under the cut. Jump there if you aren't interested in the historical development of the AU's world.)
Regional History and Development
Growth and Fall of Valentine
In 1918, the Spanish Flu hit the United States hard. It destroyed populations, estimates of deaths worldwide being from 17 million to 50 million, though some say it was up to 100 million by the end. 675,000 were those living in America. It affected a disproportionate amount of younger adults, teens, and children.
It started in the spring of 1918 with an initial wave and then hit again in the fall of that same year. The fall wave was far more deadly and hit Texas and other states in the south. This was when many died from the pandemic. And then, a third and final deadly wave swept through the next year, in 1919, less deadly but still adding to the mortality rate.
Before 1918, the city of Valentine grew, still a livestock town but bigger than it had been in the 1890s. Conditions became more unsanitary and crowded. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough…
When reports of the flu started coming in, residents were skeptical that it would become serious.
By summer, it seemed to have passed, and the world was at peace again. When the fall hit, the flu came back with a vengeance. Reports coming in from oil boom towns in Texas and other areas in the South scared the residents of Valentine, the death toll rising and the future looking grim. But, stuck in their ways, many residents stayed in the town and kept doing as they normally would.
A select few families fled while they could, seeking a place where the flu wouldn't reach quite as easily and where the population was lower. The ones who stayed ended up paying the price with their lives, the flu ravaging the town and families there, leaving the population null.
The Formation of New Valentine in West Elizabeth County
The families who left crossed rivers and went into West Elizabeth to escape the illness and find a new place to settle. They found the small, rural Riggs station, a place that was established but not big, meaning it was big enough for them to establish a new town with room to grow.
Riggs Station simply had a post office, trapper, and train station when the new settlers arrived.
Those families renamed it New Valentine. It grew slowly but steadily through the next 30 years, and by the 1950s was a well-established smaller town/city.
The train station was a large factor in the growth of New Valentine, providing easy access for new families to join the community and allowing workers from all over to come into the city during the oil boom in the 1930s.
Fall and Rise Again of Blackwater
Blackwater, which was already bigger, had a significant decline in population as well during the Spanish Flu. The city’s population dropped to less than half, particularly because crowded conditions resulted from the city’s current growth. The city was looking bleak, and the future for it and its remaining residents was uncertain.
Despite the setback, the oil industry boom helped expand the city very rapidly in the 1930s, doubling in size and growing exponentially in population.
Regional Oil Industry Development
The Early Con-Artist Nature of the East Texas Oil Region
The start of West Elizabeth's duplicitous history began in 1927. Columbus 'Dad' Joiner was a rogue wildcatter from Alabama. Starting in 1897, he moved to Oklahoma and made several small fortunes and lost them due to 'dubious' business decisions. At 67 years old, he and his family moved from Alabama to Texas in 1926. A year later, he leased the mineral rights to a 975 acre farm from the wealthy widow, Daisy Bradford.
Joiner had no intent of making money from drilling for oil in any official way. A con artist and smooth talker from Dallas, now abstaining from drinking, smoking, and cursing while preaching God’s opportunities for the poor, rural workers of West Elizabeth County. He was particularly kind to women and elderly widows (and the more land they had, the better). He was drilling on land previously dismissed by larger oil companies for the likelihood that oil wouldn't be found. And he sounded as if he knew what he was talking about.
He sold certificates of interest in a syndicate, offering a one-acre interest in the lease block and a proportional share in a drilling test for twenty-five dollars. He had a 'sucker list' of hundreds of people that he had conned in previous years and sent them copies of a misleading report by a non-professional geologist he'd previously partnered with, promising oil to all those who invested.
Doc Lloyd
This geologist was Joseph Ildebert Durham, otherwise known as A. D. 'Doc' Lloyd. The man taught chemistry in Philadelphia, then moved to Idaho to work in a pharmacy and learn and practice medicine. The government ended up giving him a better-paying job analyzing gold ores obtained in the gold rush. After his wife passed from consumption, he pursued a self-taught career in geology. He became a mining engineer and then went on his own hunt for gold in Mexico and the Yukon. Then, he pivoted his career to sell and patent medicines he made from oil, traveling across the country in 'Doctor Alonzo Durham's Great Medicine Show'.
Despite his informal education, he successfully gained the trust of many with his miracle cures, running cons all along the country, and also successfully predicted the continental United States' largest oil field.
Joiner was relying on both the larger oil companies' dismissal of the region and the amateur nature of Doc's report to support his con. As long as he never struck oil, he had no need to pay the investors back.
To keep investment attention, he used a poor oil-drilling company with outdated and rusted equipment to make three wells. He drilled for over three years, hitting dirt and giving up or seriously injuring the workers and machinery, the first two wells going bust. He sold 3 syndicates and managed to oversell the shares of the last one.
When the third well began to show the promise of oil, Joiner instructed the crew to work in ways that could potentially sabotage the operation, and workers and Daisy Bradford became suspicious.
Bradford used her power as property owner to fight for control of the well and drilling, pushing the workers to continue. Her efforts were rewarded when, on September 5th, 1930, the Daisy Bradford No. 3 oil well flowed live oil and gas in a drill stem test. On October 3, 1930, the Daisy Bradford No. 3 well was completed, flowing over 500 barrels a day and increasing to 3000 a day.
Upon realizing the well was a hit, Joiner was, notably, unhappy. He was said to have leaned against a tree with his eyes closed, saying, "Not yet, it’s not an oil well yet.”
Many independent companies rushed to the county the well was in and began getting mineral rights to start drilling in hopes of finding more oil. The rights hadn't all been bought by larger companies, nobody expecting to have struck oil in the area. Because of this, farmers and poor rural folk began working in the field, providing economic opportunities for anyone who needed money and was willing to work.
When the companies continued finding oil in individual wells, they eventually realized that it wasn't individual pockets of oil but rather a large oil reservoir beneath them. The East Texas Field is one of America's largest oil fields and spans 43 by 5-10 miles.
The field has produced over 6 billion barrels of oil and significantly boosted Allied victory in WWII, giving necessary oil and petroleum reserves.
It was a fortuitous discovery for all involved, except for Joiner and Lloyd. Joiner was forced to pay back his investors and died a broke man in the 1940s, and Lloyd left town to escape women claiming to have illegitimate children by him, and saw his picture in the paper.
Blackwater and New Valentine Oil
Blackwater became an oil boomtown and gained population, industry, and a major highway was built through New Valentine, over the Montana River, and through Blackwater.
Residents of both Blackwater and New Valentine began to work in the oil fields, bringing both regions economic prosperity.
New Valentine (shortened in usage to just Valentine) was smaller due to the difficulty of expansion from elevation differences and dense pine forests. Its land was also more desirable, with homes in the surrounding area being more spread out and private, and the town's center being very community driven, putting off a welcoming, inviting atmosphere. The people living there were still mainly blue collar, though some had moved up in wealth from the drilling of the Daisy Bradford No. 3, a few of the people having been investors in the operation. A large percentage of the population was middle class due to the abundance of available oil jobs.
Blackwater was bigger and had more development, a larger population, and more expansion opportunity because of the lack of forested area in the immediate vicinity. Land was more affordable, and oil companies even started to develop housing for workers. It was more diverse, but living conditions were more cramped and not as well maintained.
Still, it was growing continuously until it hit economic collapse in the 1980s during the oil bust. Prices of oil plummeted, and new legislation was put in place that caused profits from the oil industry to go down significantly. Layoffs were common, and many had to find new jobs or less expensive ways of living. The East Texas Field continued producing and exporting, just with fewer workers. Soon, it affected the entire regional economy, and abandoned factories and boarded warehouses lined the streets; unemployment and homelessness were on the rise.
While Valentine struggled less due to the already slightly wealthier population and the supportive community, Blackwater had difficulties keeping its residents from turning to drugs and crime.
(Historical information regarding the Spanish Flu and Oil Industry is written in bold font for accurate historical information and italicized for AU only historical information. As West Elizabeth County is a fictional place, the Daisy Bradford wells, including the historic Daisy Bradford No. 3, are located in Rusk County, Texas.)
The Gang
Dutch
Dutch van der Linde, in current day, is 49. When he was 8, his father, who was in the military, died fighting in Vietnam. Dutch took the loss hard, having always looked up to him. The man was his greatest hero. This made Dutch despise the military and government, his father having died fighting a battle that Dutch believed he shouldn't have had to fight in the first place. He began to use recreational drugs even though he was still young.
At age 15, he ran away from home, wanting to escape his mother's overbearing nature caused by his father's passing. He drifted through Pennsylvania through his teens and into his early 20s, and his experimentation with drugs continued. He made money through theft, drug running, and scamming.
At age 22, he met Hosea Matthews. The two of them hit it off, both having tried to scam one another and both recognizing what the other was doing. Hosea, being ten years Dutch's senior, saw the intelligence and potential in Dutch and helped him get and stay clean from drugs (mostly). The two left Pennsylvania and moved south, to where Hosea called home.
Hosea
Hosea was born as an illegitimate son of the illegitimate son of Doc Lloyd. Even when married, Lloyd had never been a faithful husband and took many women to his bed. At one point, he met and slept with a woman named Margaret Matthews in southeast West Elizabeth County, who bore a son, Alfred. Having been raised a bastard by his single mother, they were poor growing up. Alfred soon learned the way of his father: scams and cons, living recklessly, and gaining a more-than-healthy appetite for women. He had many children, one son being Hosea.
Hosea's mother, Mildred, assumed Alfred's last name, despite never having married the man. She did this to give the illusion that Hosea was not born out of wedlock, claiming her husband had passed just before Hosea's birth, and therefore escaping ridicule from her more religious family.
He met his wife, Bessie, while visiting the tourist town of Strawberry, where she was from. When he and Dutch went south, back to Hosea's home, Bessie joined them in their travels. Susan Grimshaw, a good friend of Bessie's, joined also as Dutch's companion. Dutch and Hosea become full partners in crime. Shortly after, they took in 14 year old Arthur.
Arthur
Arthur was a runaway from foster care. His mother died when he was young, and his father was killed while trying to rob a gas station. When he was placed into care, he went to an abusive foster family. He ran away and was on the streets for weeks until Dutch and Hosea found him. Seeing his potential and seeing themselves in him, Hosea called in some favors. He and Bessie went to a judge posing as a distant aunt and uncle to Arthur and were awarded immediate permanent custody. Shortly after, Arthur was fully adopted by the couple. The two men started teaching him the ways of their lifestyle and also brought him up to par with reading, writing, and math. He joined their criminal activities, and soon enough the Van Der Linde gang was formed.
Years pass along with rivalries and crime and money and blood and miles.
People come and go. Some die, but most live.
Dutch and Susan had split rather quickly, though she stayed with the gang. He had a few other women but eventually found Annabelle, the true love of his life.
John
In 1997, Hosea was contacted by a man who helped him adopt Arthur. He had a young orphan who had been through many foster homes in the last year, and he had nobody to take him anymore.
He asked him to consider taking the boy in, knowing his abilities to handle kids who had rough upbringings and attitudes.
John was only 10 when he came to the gang, and Hosea and Bessie eventually adopted him fully as well.
Present
Dutch Van Der Linde is now a successful businessman and entrepreneur (and criminal). Either nobody suspects or isn't *allowed* to suspect, whether it's due to loyalty, blood, money, or simple denial.
He is the owner and CEO of VDL Enterprises.
Dutch now owns:
The ranch, branded as 'Redemption Ranch'
VDL Warehouses (on the town's edge)
VDL Garage
A bar called 'The Saloon'
A diner named 'Pearson's Diner'
The warehouses are used as both a sort of meeting spot for the gang, and many gang members' official job titles are 'warehouse laborer.' It's also used for legal shipments… And not-so-legal shipments. Illegal weapons trafficking, counterfeit goods, luxury automobile parts, and narcotic and opioid smuggling.
The garage services the trucks from the warehouse but also takes customers from the public. Best mechanics in the county, pretty inexpensive fees. And it doubles as a chop shop.
Next, we have Pearson's Diner. Award-winning stew, sweet waitresses, and a rotating pie selection. Everyone goes there. VDL employees eat for a discount. Cops like to swing by for coffee. The mayor always comes by for the strawberry-rhubarb pie when it's in season. People think it's a nice little covert meeting spot to discuss all manners of things.
Just don't mind the waitresses lingering if they hear the name O'Driscoll.
The Saloon is a bar, used for money funneling of course, but also a decent place to get someone drunk and loosen their lips without them knowing. It's good for information gathering and 'client entertainment'. It's a good de-stressor for the employees of VDL. On-tap beers are free to them, so long as they mind the bartenders and their manners. Anything else is at a 10% discount as well if you're in good employee standing. Micah, of course, has to pay for every drink in full.
And the highlight of it all?
Redemption Ranch.
The ranch operates as a horse breeding and training facility. They've produced some fine horses, competition winners and race winners both. They also take in abused and neglected animals as a sanctuary. Mainly horses and livestock. There's a resident goat that has butted a few of the gang when their back was turned. It has particular disdain for Micah. Its only friend is a mule that likes to escape its pen and then laugh at you. They also occasionally take in dogs and numerous barn cats.
Then there are the other programs. There's a youth outreach program. They teach foster kids and juvenile delinquents alike the value of hard work, education, and self-worth, and to have faith in themselves (and in Dutch). Some main gang members arrived this way.
And the Redemption Ranch-Hand program. This is what turned Valentine around. VDL takes in parolees, working directly with their parole officers and providing food, lodging, and help to those who need it. The ranch takes in men fresh from jail release and starts them working. Dutch demands compliance with drug testing and education programs aimed to help them get their GEDs. If they prove a reliable asset, they can apply to work in the warehouse once off parole, becoming official employees. Loyalty and respect are number one. Keeping your mouth shut is number two.
All employees are treated with dignity and respect, and trust can be earned.
Anyone coming in is offered full family health benefits, including vision, dental, and rehab. Drug testing is mandatory. Medical use of marijuana is tolerated as long as it's not during company time or on business property. If facing homelessness, lodging is given for a probationary period until they can get on their feet, as well as food stipends for those families. Adult education and literacy programs are available. They partner with the local elementary school to help provide low-cost or free childcare. Medical leave is sometimes granted, and vacation time can be earned. They are well paid and well taken care of. Some employees leave once they can get certain qualifications. They're always in Dutch's pocket, though. Some employees get certified as mechanics or CDL drivers, hazmat drivers, etc. You can prove yourself and move up in the company. Maybe even in the gang. They are in the top 3 employers of all of West Elizabeth. All VDL Enterprises expects from you is loyalty…
VDL Enterprises saved New Valentine from the fate of the place across the river. Blackwater.
Blackwater
This is O'Driscoll territory. Dutch smuggles drugs and weapons, but he does it OUT of the county. Colm doesn't mind shitting where he eats.
The O'Driscoll gang is the largest manufacturer of methamphetamine in West Elizabeth. The mayor fears Colm, and rightfully so. The city has some areas that aren't so bad, but most of it has an O'Driscoll around every corner.
Strawberry
Strawberry. Third largest town in West Elizabeth. Not much has changed since the 1890s, maybe a little bigger but not much. The mayor doesn't like to get between the disputes of New Valentine and Blackwater but would side with New Valentine for their image if need be. It's still a tourist town, and people go there to enjoy nature and on retreats and such.
First Fanfic in VDL Enterprises AU series:
💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 0 · Dutch and Hosea: First Encounter · Poor Beth
Link to VDL Enterprises AU Lore Post:
💬 0 🔁 1 ❤️ 6 · Modern Red Dead Redem
Can any artist specializing in rdr stuff please lend me their hands for a bit? I'd like to copy paste them onto my body, and I swear you can have them back when I'm done!
Guys I had a dream that something happened and John was like this tiny thing like a little Thumbelina and I picked him up to carry him and he wouldn't talk to me 😭
He's so despicable yet so oddly likeable at the same time... Impulsive and cruel yet intelligent and cunning... He really IS Dutch's dark mirror
So many writers don't do him justice but you truly do
Oh my gosh thank you so much! 💕💕💕
(I saw this ask a while ago and idk what happened, I thought I answered it already 😔)
I feel like Colm is such a fun character to play around with when writing. (Wait, what? Who said that?)
Like he's vile and awful, and he doesn't care if you think that about him. And in a way, he's like... Idk, not charming because not that but kind of like that? Manipulation for sure, lol! Dutch and him use the same kind of tactics, it's just that Dutch wants people to admire him and like him and Colm doesn't give a crap.
I saw this post by @thebotanicalbrush:
"Colm O'Driscoll did not get enough screen time for how much they hyped that man up. Damn shame"
And I completely agree. I think he should have gotten so much more, like can you imagine??? He's got this whole personality that seems fleshed out by the game and we don't even get to experience it!
I'm so glad you think I'm doing him justice in my writing, thank you so much, I hope I can keep doing so 💕
Hiya! Do you have a tag for your writing or a masterpost for your writing? Thanks!
Hello, thank you so much for the ask and I'm sorry for the super late response!
I didn't have a Master Post and just realized, "Huh... I guess I should have one, shouldn't I?" And then I got sidetracked so...
But anyway! Here it is 💕 link to all the writing is at the bottom, some is on my main blog here but some is on my writing blog. Going forward I'm likely going to be posting mainly to there as far as any writing goes!
