John Marston - Blog Posts

(from the top) Kid!Arthur, Charles, Javier, John, Karen, Bill and Hosea 

Campfire

When life gives you a little brother…

[My twitter –> @PPitteArt]

[Do not repost]

I've been thinking about rdr2 atla au and just mkay hear me out:

RDR2 AS THE PLOT OF ATLA (+ A ROUGH PLOT)

John: The fucking Avatar, left the temple when he realised, walked the land, when he realised war was about to start he wanted to fly back to the air temple, the storm caught him on his way. Very mad that he is the avatar but also really wants to kick firelords ass, just doesn't know if he is capable enough.

Arthur: The adoptive son of the southern water tribe chief, a firebender but keeps it a secret bcs FUCK FIRE NATION. Knows the ways of the water tribe and is pretty mad the chief left him and Charles here. At the beginning of the series he only knows basic firebending- his technique is very much akin to waterbending (WHICH ALSO MEANS eventually mf will have no problem with lightning bending wink wink) Finds John with Charles while fishing.

Charles: Biological son of the southern water tribe chief and will soon be the new one, with Arthur they are true brothers ALSO he knows Arthur is a firebender. Takes him out to fish regularly to calm both their minds, is also frustrated their father didn't take them with but also understands someone has to protect their tribe. Waterbender, knows basic healing. (The idea is that their father had Charles quite young therefore while he is old, that man is STRONG AF like yes grey hair but also just an incredible water bender, he took in Arthur as a young child/toddler).

Dutch: Zuko and Azula in one. A firebender and a firenation ex-general, kicked out because he spoke out of line. His punishment is looking for the avatar because the firelord knows it's a goose chase. At this point he wants to find an avatar AND overthrow the firelord. (Don't worry Hosea I have a plan).

Hosea: You know he is the uncle Iroh, firebender ofc. Dutchs bestfriend, goes to look for avatar with him, because of that he is no longer a general. Did attack Ba Sing Se, failed and his wife died during. Conflicted on the war, connected with spirit world, taught Dutch his techniques, protective over his and Dutchs soldiers.

Mary Linton: Princess of the northern water tribe, TURNS INTO THE MOON, poor Arthur.

Sadie Adler: Firenation killed her husband, earthbender and is the one to teach John earthbending.

Javier Esquella and Bill Williamson: Send after avatar by firelord, their tactic is to befriend John, end up being conflicted if they want to turn him in or let him kill the firelord

Micah: the firelord- no, I'm kidding, but the guy that got appointed into Dutchs place. When the word spreads that avatar is back and the firelord realises Javier and Bill aren't as efficient as he thought, he hires Micah to find and catch the avatar. At some point teams up with Dutch.

THE ROUGH STORY (i choose to age down the rdr2 characters and subsequently age up their character forms in atla)

Young John is raised at the temple by the air nomads. He is pretty fiesty and overall not a great student, but the monks know he is the avatar. When John finds out, he is very conflicted and unsure of himself. He gets intense airbending training, but because he is not a very well mannered student, they decide to send him away to continue his training (they know war is in the air). John, overwhelmed, runs away and walks the land for few years, somehow managing to never be found. As a young adult, he realises how bad everything is and goes back. He finds his sky bison still waiting, surviving in a cave. Guilt sets in and he flies off, but gets caught in a storm AND FROZEN.

100 years later, Arthur and Charles are the only two men who didn't go with the others to war. They go out fishing and because Arthur is frustrated (they didn't get a message from their father for a long time), Charles suggest him trying some firebending to "blow out steam". It gets out of hand and their ship burns, melting some of the ice. And so they see John and get him and his bison out of the ice. The explosion alerts nearby Dutch and Hosea. But worry not, John kicks their asses.

John, Charles and Arthur start their way to the northern water tribe. Arthur tags along because he thinks that when John finds a firebending master, he could finally learn something new. In the north, Arthur has a romance with Mary, but who turns into the moon while saving the moon spirit. Dutch and Hosea do catch John for a while, but he gets saved by the others. In the end, he and Charles learn new waterbending from the waterbending master.

In a village near Omashu they find Sadie, a strong earthbender and a widow whose husband was killed by the firenation. She agrees to teach John earthbending. They also find the kyoshi island, where Susan, Karen, Tilly and Mary-Beth promise to help if the avatar ever needs it.

During their time they have Dutch and Hosea on their tails but also Javier and Bill. Their tactic on befriending them ends up causing Javier (because he is a way stronger firebender than Bill) to teach John firebending. But the learning is not finished when a huge fight happens between them all AND Micah, who starts it. Javier and Bill show their true colours, so it's Dutch, Micah, Bill and Javier againts Arthur, Charles, John and Sadie. Hosea (at that point againts firelord), gets killed by John when he is in the avatr state. It ends with John being hurt while in avatar state.

Now on the run, John, Charles, Arthur and Sadie end up on a small island in the sea around the north. There he gets healed by a waterbender aka Abigail.

Sozins commet is close and so the final fight comes. John againts the firelord, Arthur and Charles againts Dutch (agni kai, Arthur is able to send back Dutchs lightning), Sadie and Charles againts Micah (they find out Javier and Bill never came back to the firenation, instead they deserted).

In the end John comes back to the island and finds out Abigail is pregnant (cough cough they had a one night stand) and so he spends most of his time there. ALSO PLOT TWIST WHY WAS ARTHUR SUCH A POWERFUL FIREBENDER WELL HE IS RELATED TO THE ROYAL FAMILY and so by some paperwork lies he becomes the new king (during their travels they find more firebenders who helo him with ruling + his father helps). Sadie stays with Arthur mainly just to look for excuses to kill- I mean be mean to ex-firenation soldiers. Charles is now the chief of the southern water tribe and when he and John have time, they look for any airbenders that could leave the temples and survive in hiding.

people that say Arthur and John hated each other were not playing the same Red Dead i did. i don't think they even disliked each other.

like there’s concern on Arthur’s face when he hands John off to Javier once they find him. sure he's being a smart ass the whole time, but the second John's back is to him, he's got these damn puppy eyes.

at the start of Who the Hell is Leviticus Cornwall? Arthur's checking on John. the only people in the cabin are Swanson, John, and Arthur. they have a few lines of dialog before Dutch comes barging in, A: "You're still here, then?" J: "I owe you." A: "And you'll pay me...but for the moment, just rest." there was literally no venom in Arthur's greeting to John. like at all. was it sarcastic? sure. but that's all it was. and the way Arthur says just rest is so damn soft. i would have loved more than three lines of dialog between them, but alas. Dutch. just found it of note that Arthur will check up on John, but only when there's no one else around. can't let the others know he still cares about that dumbass.

some of their exchanges can be read as "mean-spirited", but i think Arthur is just...kind of mean. every time Arthur takes a jab, John ignores it and continues their conversation like it's normal. i think that's just how John and Arthur interact. which honestly makes sense for two guys that have known each other for ~15 years.

Arthur is a grouchy bastard for the whole duration of Paying a Social Call, and John even comments to Kieran that if Arthur treats his friends like this, imagine how he treats his enemies. i think Arthur was acting like a banty and puffing out his chest to intimidate Kieran more than anything.

BUT (ok this may be a reach here) Arthur didn't deny him and John being friends, which is something Arthur has absolutely no issue correcting if he feels differently. and here would have been an opportune moment to get one last jab in on John, but he didn't. it was almost like John and Arthur were playing off of each other in the moment: Arthur throws the initial punch, John brushes it off, instead of changing the subject/tone to more joking—Arthur keeps going, John does get a little heated but then makes the remark about friends and enemies. it felt like a show, ooh look how big and bad our enforcer is.

i think the best display of their relationship is the mission The Sheep and the Goats.

John could have gotten Javier, Bill, hell maybe even Hosea to rustle some sheep, but he chose Arthur.

there's a bit of a power play between them the whole time, John is being cagey and evasive about what exactly the plan is, and at the first opportunity Arthur is taking control over the job.

they argue, but it's short lived and neither seem to put much heart into it. Arthur even voices something that could be seen as doubt in Dutch's abilities to John. J: "Dutch says that we—" A: "Dutch says a lot. Now, that's his gift...saying things." J: "Oh yeah? What do you mean by that?" A: "I was the prize pony once, now I'm the workhorse. Listen. Dutch is...but...but, well...you was at that thing in Blackwater."

overall the job goes smoothly. they work well together. even when dealing with the man at the stockyards they work well together. Arthur tries to throw his weight around, and John shuts him down before Arthur can push a little too hard.

i've said it before, but the scene where Cornwall's men have Strauss and John, the way John looks to Arthur—gets me every time. there's irritation on John's face, but not panic. he trusts that Arthur won't let him die.

idk i think a lot of it is that Arthur is the ultimate grudge holder. and i think that John turning tail and running made Arthur face the fact that he isn't any better than John. Arthur was a garbage father, that did pretty much the same thing. only Eliza and Isaac didn't have an entire gang to fall back on, it was probably just her providing and the few bucks Arthur would give her every couple of months.

with how comfortable Abigail is with asking Arthur for things with Jack, i would assume Arthur took on a role that could loosely be labeled "father" in John's absence (and i doubt any of the other men [except Hosea] would be willing to do that).

ok i got off track.

i never felt like their relationship or interactions were anything other than sarcastic banter between old friends. old friends that aren't as close as they used to be, but still they trust each other with their lives.

there might be a little rivalry between them, but i think it's mostly because they're both stubborn, arrogant bastards. and i'm sure Dutch helped fan the flame with their rivalry when it suited him, shifting his favor from Arthur to John.

there's a rift there, and Arthur doesn't let John forget it. John can hardly get a thank you out when Arthur helps him get Jack back, so something like an apology/heart to heart with Arthur is out of the realm of possibility. so they're stuck in this awkward in-between.

friends, but not really. close, but not too close. rivals, but only on the surface.

soft idea: Arthur learns to braid and practices on the boys at camp (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ

also bonus micah at the end

who up thinking about how arthur john and Javier were all nothing but scared hungry strays when dutch picked them up. idk. all three of them, all they had was fear until dutch held out his hand to them. theyre all the same in the end. they were all scared. they bear the same wounds, caused by the same hands. ate out of those same hands and leaned into the hot slick blood that coats those palms. each looking at each other with pity, pity for the clueless kid that gets strung along, pity for the bitter previous cradled one now thrown aside for the new younger follower. kicks a rock.

John and Arthur’s Established Dynamics With Dutch And How This Impacts Redemption: An Analysis

What makes Dutch Van Der Linde such a compelling antagonist is his extreme narcissism, both covert and apparent. Red Dead Redemption 2 is particularly keen on showcasing this, as players get to experience Dutch’s charisma and mental decline through the eyes of Arthur Morgan, who loves Dutch dearly. On the contrary, Red Dead Redemption 1 displays John Marston grappling with the order to eradicate his former gang members, including Dutch. Through John’s perspective, players get to understand the complexities that come with having to confront a path that has both benefited and destroyed you. Yet, both protagonists serve the same purpose: the complex relationship one may have with a narcissistic “parent” figure. While both John and Arthur appear to have conflicting personalities with one another, they find a common understanding with one another through their sibling-like bond that has arisen from both being raised by Dutch.

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Arthur was only fourteen when he was taken in by Dutch. After a childhood filled with death, brutality, abuse, and homelessness, Dutch was able to swoop in, take Arthur off the streets, and give him a sense of security. This meant everything to Arthur, and with Dutch, Arthur was able to finally have a stable, present, and attentive father figure in his life. However, what Arthur consistently struggled to pick up on was Dutch’s true intentions, which were not as loving and fatherly as Dutch wanted them to seem. By recognizing Arthur’s underlying anger and need for validation, Dutch was able to condition Arthur into being the perfect bodyguard: violent, strong, and eager to do the job right.

Arthur is heavily reliant on Dutch to the point that he sacrifices self-autonomy for Dutch’s sake. The storyline with Mary Linton is a prime example of this. In actuality, Arthur could have chosen to protect himself and run away with his former lover, but Arthur’s entire life has been centered around Dutch’s gang. When Mary says that there is a good man inside of him wrestling with a “giant,” there is a reason why she does not claim that this “giant” is evil or inherently bad; it is only larger than Arthur is. This internal struggle centered around remaining loyal to himself or to the people he calls his family is central to Arthur’s redemption arc, especially through the use of the honor system. Both low and high honor result from a series of cations that allow Arthur to redeem himself, but high honor means that Arthur’s time concludes with the acceptance that he was able to fight for what felt true to himself, while low honor is Arthur getting killed fighting against the very thing that caused the gang’s destruction.

Either way, Arthur redeems himself by fully embracing the notion that Dutch is a flawed and selfish individual who has proven his own safety to appear more vital than protecting the gang as a whole. Yet, it takes the duration of Red Dead Redemption 2 for this truth to be fully embraced by Arthur, who continues to base his actions and existence around pleasing Dutch. Getting called “son” or “my boy” by the man Arthur has been conditioned to rely on is what pushes Arthur to continuously combat his own moral code. Additionally, Arthur cannot fathom the idea of being disappointing to Dutch in any sort of way, even if it causes him to abandon his own sense of right or wrong. By beating up Thomas Downes despite feeling wrong about it, Arthur contracts tuberculosis and is forced to run on dwindling time as a result of his vile actions. Yet, this extreme realization that self-betrayal is equally as harmful as rejecting the expectations of somebody you love is what ultimately catalyzes Arthur’s journey of change.

Arthur’s conflict with John also tells a lot about Arthur's life and for other people. When John turns his back on both Abigail and the gang as a whole, Arthur struggles to find the reason for this. Rather than recognizing the deep-rooted fear and self-doubt that John has been facing, especially when it comes to continuing to live for the gang, Arthur berates John because John is doing something Arthur himself has done and regretted: making the wrong choice when it comes to standing by a loved one. While Arthur chose to “love” the gang more than Mary and then had to endure the consequences for such a choice, John, who is both terrified of disappointing Abigail and conflicted about his changing perspective on the gang, is choosing to avoid both entirely and run away for an entire year. Upon John’s return, Arthur is furious that the gang, especially Dutch, is willing to welcome John back with open arms. This makes Arthur resent John for the choices John has made, but at the same time, have a deep-rooted jealousy over the fact that Dutch treated John well for being disloyal, while the expectation from Arthur is that he will never act in such a way, and thus, Arthur feels John is receiving blind loyalty from Dutch. However, Arthur is misunderstanding a much more complicated relationship dynamic.

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Like Arthur, John also has an underlying incapability of living apart from the gang. Despite his issues with Dutch, John will always have a complicated sense of reliance on Dutch whilst resenting the life John believes was given to him. However, while Arthur falls into the role of being Dutch’s “golden child,” being Dutch’s trusted right-hand man and gang enforcer, John gets a much more complicated role. John is Dutch’s scapegoat child who is heavily criticized and berated no matter how hard he may try to prove himself worthy; however, if John tries to reject Dutch following this treatment, Dutch knows how to masterfully reel John back in. For example, even though Dutch welcomed John back into the gang, it is something that gets used against John in his weaker moments for his guilt to corrupt him into obeying Dutch. Additionally, Dutch making John say “yes, Dutch” out loud is a way to force John into a position of submission and lower status in the instances where he dares to challenge Dutch. John tends to be much more direct when it comes to critiquing Dutch as opposed to Arthur’s display, which comes across as concerned rather than combative. Thus, John and Dutch kind of have this established dynamic where John acts as a defiant child whom Dutch must remind to be loyal and obedient, consistently forcing John to align with an outlaw lifestyle that he is contemplating the morality of.

John is more independent than Arthur in the sense that he is deciding who he wishes to be dependent on. Throughout both stories, it is evident that John resents authority figures, and this is where his childishness shines through. While Arthur will respect authority if Dutch tells him to or if Arthur feels that person is worthy of respect, while John is much more weary and combative from the start. This is simply part of his nature, and Dutch understands and fuels this so that John can serve him. However, Abigail offers a stark comparison to Dutch. While Dutch ultimately demands blind obedience, Abigail demands change in John because she wants John to be less afraid of himself. Abigail understands John’s internal struggle with power, loyalty, and abuse cycles, and she directly combats it. She is somebody who challenges John to do better, which is something he has lacked his entire life. In a world where he is expected to serve for the sake of others, Abigail pushes him to serve himself, which will ultimately allow John to serve her, too.

It could be argued that John’s sense of “redemption” is vastly different from Arthur’s. The very fact that John ran away for a year following Jack’s birth is very telling of the internal conflict eating him alive; John knows he cannot exist on his own, and he must now decide who to be loyal to. While in his heart, he wants to dedicate his life to Abigail and Jack, John does not know how to live a life independently from the world he was brought up in. John wants to be a good dad but never had a good father himself, and John wants to leave the gang, but this would isolate him from both Abigail and the only community he knows. This endless feeling of servitude is something John understands he cannot escape. In Red Dead Redemption 1, this sense of being used by others is crushing John, especially because the United States government has kidnapped John’s family and will only release them if John vows to kill former members of the now-disbanded gang. John wants to protect his family more than anything, but he still struggles with obliterating people from his past who once meant everything to him. As a result, John’s avoidance is displayed through his acceptance of impending death. Throughout both games, John acts in reckless, death-seeking manners, putting himself in high-risk situations where death is a possible reality, such as straight up walking to Bill Williamson, essentially setting himself up to be shot. Yet, to John, being rescued from death serves him as a sign that his purpose on this Earth has not yet been completed, and there is more work to be done for those he loves before death can finally greet him. Ultimately, this shapes John’s redemption arc; John has to keep pushing forward so that he does not die at the hands of the gang and, instead, can conclude his life protecting the people at the core of his heart, which is why his death at the hands of the government following John’s completion of taking down his former gang members is both tragic and beautiful.

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One other major element of Dutch’s manipulation is how he treats John and Arthur like they are too dumb to understand nuanced topics. Yet, this is far from the truth. While John and Arthur are not the most well-read or academically savvy, the two display a deep level of thoughtfulness and insight about the world around them. John is hyper-aware of both himself and the world around him, and he is even one of the first people who recognized something deeply troubling about Dutch’s increasingly erratic behavior. This allows John to read people and situations based on intention rather than bias or false judgment. Even in Mexico, when John is being manipulated by multiple people, he understands that the people he is involving himself with are untrustworthy, but since he has no other options, he must wearily follow through with the situations he gets put into. While John often appears highly pessimistic, this is just a portrayal of his awareness of the harsh realities of the world he exists in, and there are just menial means for him to express this. Even if he did, Dutch would likely berate him until John regretted speaking up in the first place. On the contrary, Arthur appears to be more sheltered than John is, likely because Arthur grew up knowing fewer people and crimes. Yet, Arthur has a much more artistic soul than he lets others see, taking a lot of time to analyze and sketch what he encounters in this world that he finds interesting. His journal displays introspective writing that highlights the faults of both himself and the world around him that he prefers to pretend do not exist, and Arthur gets along very well with people who are atypical thinkers or live alternative, authentic lifestyles. Yet, because neither John nor Arthur read philosophy or desire “high-society,” Dutch demeans the two into believing they are unintelligent and incapable of complexity. Thus, if either one questions what Dutch is doing, he knows that he has the power to make John and Arthur believe that they are too stupid to do so. Yet, John is much more combative to this perspective than Arthur is, and John frequently makes comments to Dutch that question his decisions. In these moments, Dutch feels the most challenged and resorts to harsh insults that directly call out a personal struggle either John or Arthur have, reestablishing that they must remain loyal to Dutch because otherwise they are “worthless.”

Red Dead Redemption is beautiful in many ways. The intricate world design, multitude of storylines, and raw portrayal of complex realities make for a story that is compelling, relatable, and thought-provoking. Yet, one aspect that I think sets the Red Dead Redemption franchise apart from other stories is its hopeful and honest representation of the struggle to find a meaningful conclusion for a life filled with violence, abuse, and uncertainty. Neither John nor Arthur displays a sense of dreading their mortality. Instead, death in Red Dead Redemption serves as a reminder that the future is never promised, so it is important to make the most of the present because what is happening now is the only inherent truth of life. For a multitude of years, Dutch prevented the acceptance of such a reality for John and Arthur, and Dutch sold the false truth that he is the only truth in either man’s life, and as their “God” and “father,” both must worship him above all else. Yet, as fate closes in more and more on both John and Arthur, the realization that Dutch is dangerous not only gets embraced, but it allows for the opportunity to spend the time both have left doing what feels right rather than remaining with what is familiar. While the past can never be altered and the reality of death cannot be evaded, there is a sense of power in the realization that life cannot be foreseen or controlled, and thus, one must live each day remaining loyal to oneself. You are the only thing guaranteed to be both born and ended with you, so why betray the very being that allows you to exist at all?

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Something I think about a lot is how Dutch managed to turn Arthur into this perfect and dependable killer/enforcer.. Like, I know Dutch basically saved him and therefore could use Arthur's gratefulness as a manipulative tool, but still - how did he manage to shape a teenage Arthur so precisely into what he needed him to be? (I never really questioned this before, but I've been working with/teaching teenagers lately and it's so fucking hard to get them to do basically ANYTHING??)

(part 2) I guess what I’m trying to get at is: Teenagers are so different from children, and I think teaching/influencing them is a LOT harder? (let alone shaping them into violent right-hand thugs, looking at you Dutch) Or maybe teenage Arthur was already like that so Dutch just had to use that rather than change or manipulate him? I just find it so hard to believe this whole thing worked out as well as it did…(I meant to ask for your thoughts on this but instead I just rambled, I’m so sorry)~~~~~~~~~~No need to apologize, Nonny.  <3  If I remember the phrase right, Arthur is described in his official bio at the point Dutch and Hosea took him in as “the life of a criminal is all he’s ever known”, “living on the streets ever since losing his parents at an early age”, and “particularly angry and damaged”/”seemingly a lost cause who responded well to some structure and mentoring”.We also know he barely remembers his mother, he watched his father die, his dad was a criminal, and he remembers his father with absolutely no fondness.  We see he’s overly anxious to please Dutch, to the point all Dutch has to do is issue a casual challenge implying Arthur’s doubting him or not measuring up, and Arthur scrambles frantically to fix that.  So what I’m thinking we have here is a kid who grew up suffering both psychological and physical abuse from his father, who was probably forced into learning criminal talents early (pickpocketing, in my headcanon).  He learned very young that he had no worth as a person, and the only value he had was to produce results.  He seems to have loathed his father so I doubt he worried about winning Lyle’s love, but he recognized that succeeding meant approval, at least insofar as probably being abused less.His father dies.  Arthur’s left living on the streets for several years, probably in a big city that he could so utterly disappear.  The message that he has no worth is further reinforced.  He’s alone, scared, fighting to survive, and there’s no Sister Calderon or anyone else to save him or tell him he’s worth saving.  Given the need to fight for food, sleeping space, safety, etc. against other street kids, he certainly lived in an environment of heightened aggression and anger and violence here.  He’s living the life of Dutch’s social Darwinism: the (violently) strong survive, the weak perish.So you’ve got a kid with shitty self-image, a history of abuse, and a lot of capacity for anger and violence.  Then Dutch and Hosea take him in at fourteen and things change.  He’s given a place to belong.  Clothes that fit and aren’t ragged.  A safe place to sleep.  Enough food to eat.  He learns to read and write.And Dutch isn’t hitting him, so Arthur assumes this new father figure is how it’s supposed to be.  But he’s missing the other facet: the psychological abuse.  The same produce results or you’re worthless to me mentality he likely got from his father, but Dutch is far cleverer than Lyle Morgan in it.  He gaslights.  He manipulates. He alternately flatters and praises, and then insults and questions, so that Arthur’s left always hungry for earning that love and approval again.You’ve got a pissed off teenager, and given Arthur’s got plenty of sarcasm I imagine he was, as I have Hosea put it fondly, “a smart mouthed little shit”.  But he’s also a scared boy who’s been repeatedly taught he’s dispensable trash.  He’s started to like this life he has and its comforts and security compared to the bleak hell he had before, started to become comfortable in it.  He’s terrified that if he screws up, if he gives Dutch reason to not value him anymore, he’ll be thrown away again.  So yeah, he’s going to jump through every hoop Dutch presents him eagerly, and even be trying to anticipate the man’s needs and wants if possible.  Because in his mind his place in this family, his continued survival, absolutely depends on this man still finding value in him.  The question of having worth as an intrinsic right as a human being doesn’t even register with him.  All he can see is constantly proving his having external value.  So he doesn’t have the luxury of typical teenage defiance and sometimes telling his self-proclaimed dad to go get fucked as part of the pursuit of discovering and asserting his own identity.  Because honestly, Arthur doesn’t have much in the way of his own identity.Given the emotional damage he’d already suffered, and the fact he’s being further abused and taken advantage of, that’s the status quo for the next 22 years.  Arthur doesn’t ever really get the chance to grow beyond that blind loyalty and eagerness to please and be regarded as valuable, and really form his own identity and principles, until the 1899 crisis forces him to do so.So if Dutch wants to teach Arthur to shoot, wants him to learn to rob a stagecoach, wants him to go teach someone a “lesson” with his fists?  It’s absolutely “Yes, Dad, I’ve got this.”  Anything at all to make Dutch happy and make himself more valuable to the man.  He’ll work until he drops to become the best man for the job, the one Dutch absolutely can’t do without.  If he protests at all, it’s a token grumble, but he’ll give in readily and go do it, because he prides himself on being able to get the job done.  Dutch clearly only values his brutal and violent skills–it’s Hosea who encourages other things in Arthur.I also think this is part of why Dutch openly favored and identified more with John as his clear “golden boy” while relegating Arthur to being the gang workhorse.  Arthur’s snarky defiance largely died down and transformed into awkward gratitude and absolute loyalty when he realized he could stay.  John stayed something of a cocky brat.  Arthur is far more versatile and useful, but Dutch enjoys John’s “unbroken spirit”–so long as he doesn’t question too much.

On that cowboy shit again (pls click for better resolution probably ♡)

🐺🦌

when you pissed off the good daddy...

saw this photo on twitter and it still makes me SICK. ugly squinting bug