Permissions/Bio

[faithandplans]

Name: Dutch Van Der Linde

Age: 44

Attraction: Straight, mostly. (Played straight unless/until told otherwise)

Profession: Outlaw, leader of the Van Der Linde Gang, Robin Hood, and king shit of turd mountain

 

 

Backtagging: Yes!

Fourthwalling: Nope!

Threadhopping: Nope!
Cross canon: Yes!
Cross medium: Yes!

 

IC:

 

Physical affection: Not FROM him, necessarily, but he won't say no unless he's in his own head, which is often.

Flirting with this character: Go for it!

Physical violence: Go for it!

Psychic/psionic: Charlatans, the lot of them (Susceptible but not capable)

Magic: None

Medical: Physically fit as a fiddle, though mentally not entirely there. Due to his occasional head trauma, the man's been known to make a brash decision or two, and then spent his time excusing it away. Things had to happen, to make better things happen.

Triggers: Try and step out of line. Try it, I dare you. There's only so much a man can be pushed until he's at his limit.
 

 

Dutch was born in 1855 in the northeast of the US, nearer to Philidelphia than anywhere. His mother was the one who raised him, after his father died in the Civil War. As such, Dutch has a deep-seated hatred of the rebel states. Not exactly the most obedient or civil child, Dutch set out at fifteen to make his own blazing path, regardless of moral implications. He lost most contact with his family, though he occasionally touched base with relatives when he was in their area.

 

The man wanted to be free. Freedom was a cornerstone to Dutch's ideals and standpoint. Trying to seem more learned than his counterparts, Dutch took up reading and writing as a part of his outward persona. Considering himself a philosopher and a charismatic leader of men, Van Der Linde spoke a pretty line, and offered the best deal. However, under the guise of a man of culture, was a man out for his own means.

 

Meeting Hosea Hosea in his 20s, the two worked some of the best cons, learned from and taught each other, and eventually, Hosea became much like a father figure (and conscience) for Van Der Linde, who greedily absorbed all the knowledge of running a good line as he could, to reach that brass ring of freedom and prosperity that the American Dream had once promised. However, with civilization encroaching on Free and Wild America, Dutch found things harder and harder to get footing on an unstable and growing country.

 

Growing his gang was a happy coincidence, rather than a concerted effort. At the time, Hosea and Dutch had been pulling two-man cons and jobs, when they met a young Arthur Morgan, who was ready and willing to be molded into the third man in their family. The young man was incredibly loyal to his teachers, seeing both Hosea and Dutch as father figures which treated him respectfully and kindly, in comparison to his biological father, who was a nasty piece of work. Dutch's compassionate air, intellect, charisma and intelligence set him up for being a fine father figure, while only being Arthur's senior by a small number of years.

 

Along the way, Van Der Linde gathered more people into his gang, either by his smooth talking, easy and personable demeanor, or ideals of a making a better world. In his mind, he was keeping the wilds of America wild and free, and doing as thou wilt, with no holds barred on what they could accomplish. No roots to speak of, the gang roamed the country, although their reign of the wild nation was getting smaller and smaller with each passing month. The more the gang grew, the more enemies they made.

 

Vengeance drove Van Der Linde as much as the pursuit of liberty, although one of his core tenants of belief was survival and prosperity came first, and vengeance was always lower priority. From hating southerners for the death of his father, or the O'Driscolls for being associated with a man whose ideals were wildly different from his own, (and who killed one of his beloved paramours, Anabelle,) Dutch found himself racking up more adversaries than friends.

 

Throughout the travels with his family of outlaws, he kept a compassionate mentality. He would gladly give his life to save the lives of those he led. Considering himself something of a personal savior to most, a father figure to many, and a kind benefactor to some, he felt that being gregarious outwardly would attract better fortune to himself and his group. Though he was kind to those which needed him, he was a ruthless, unrelenting force to those who crossed him. While he saved the young, he destroyed the wicked with no mercy.

Soon enough, Dutch began to despise the concept of society, finding it easier to prey upon those who he had considered brainwashed into the idea that a more structured life meant a safer one. After many years of being an outlaw by societal standards, Dutch had come to hate what the law, government, and the what word 'progress' meant to the new world that was cropping up around him.

This retelling has already gone on long enough. Brevity is the soul of wit, and this biography has become daft and dry. Onto better things!