Red Dead Redemption II Preferences and Oneshots 2

Van der Linde Gang: Modern Reader

Van der Linde Gang & Modern Reader

Summary: The Misadventures of a Modern Reader in 1899, featuring the Van der Linde gang.

Word Count: 1200

Finding yourself in 1899 was more than shocking, to say the least. It was a huge change in lifestyle and you had to adjust fast or the chances were that you would probably die one way or another. It was a complete change in everything, nothing was the same from your time and it was a lot to get used too.

Luckily, it wasn't long before you can across the van der Linde gang. It was clear that you were lost and helpless, which meant that Dutch was happy to take you in and help you.

You were a new face in the camp and, whether the questions came from friendliness or suspicion, you got some questions about your life before the gang. Whenever they asked you where you were from or asked about anything personal, you would avoid it to the best of your ability. When they asked you about your clothing or the way you talked, you would just shrug and say that everyone dressed and talked like this where you're from

Without even knowing it, the gang made your transition into 1899 as easy as possible. You knew that this was easier than finding a way to buy property or get a job in an economy that you didn't even understand. You weren't exactly a history buff, you didn't know where to start.

You had to learn a lot of skills that you didn't need back home or learn how to do things differently, but you picked everything up pretty quickly.

Eventually you told the gang that you were from the future, which in turn explained the things about you that some of them sometimes questioned you about. And for some reason (plot convenience) the gang believed you. After learning about were, or when, you came from they obviously had a lot of questions.

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Hosea had asked you about the future, about what it was like, and you were honest with him. He didn't want to know out of crushing curiosity, he just wanted to know where you were from, he wanted to know about you.

Still, you knew that he was at least a little curious about what the future was like so you told him everything that you could. You told him about modern technology, medicine, education, government. Whatever he asked and you could think of, you would tell him. It made for very interesting and stimulating conversations when neither of you felt like drinking the night away with the rest of the gang.

Dutch had asked you about the future as well, he asked whether people like this gang were still free. You knew that he had a lot of ideas about his ideal future, about how this wonderful country would try out and it all ended up with people like him being free and people like the Pinkertons fell. You decided not to tell him that he was wrong, you couldn't break his heart.

Instead, you told Dutch about modern gangs and made them out to be the good guys. You didn't have the heart to break it to him that in the modern world he could very much be seen as the bad guy, a leader of a gang of criminals, a menace to society. You knew that he and the gang were much more than that but that's not how the history books would see them. So, you told him that gangs still exist and that some of them have a lot of power.

You knew that Dutch romanticised the lifestyle so you would too, he wouldn't see the modern world so you didn't think that he had to know about it. Maybe you should have told him, but you wanted to avoid an existential crisis.

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At some point you started trying to help Dutch plan jobs, just giving him some ideas and sharing your thoughts. You didn't think that you would be much help since you were new to all this stuff but he started coming to you for your thoughts more often. You were flattered and felt pretty proud of yourself for being useful.

When Dutch praises you for a good idea, don't tell him that you saw it in a film or something. Just smile and nod. Once you had the gang pretty much acting out a scene from Ocean's Eleven, it amused you a lot and nobody could figure out why you were giggling to yourself.

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It turned out that you and Javier could bond over music very well, the pair of you could talk about music and even teach each other a lot of things.

If you didn't already know how to play guitar, Javier would happily teach you. He would teach you the songs that you hear them singing around the campfire so that you could join in with them, and you would teach him new songs, songs from your time. The gang would often hear the pair of you playing and singing songs that they were completely unfamiliar with and Javier loved that you were introducing him to new music.

Javier would call you a genius for all these songs that you teach him, you assured him that you didn't write any of them but he was still impressed.

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You and Mary-Beth could talk for hours about books. She will recommend her favourite books for you to read and you will tell her about all your favourite novels from your time. She will listen intently as you tell her the plots of modern day love stories or books, stories that she will never get the chance to read for herself. She will always complain about how jealous she is that she can't read these novels that you gush about but having you tell her the stories is the second best thing.

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Every now and again you would slip up and reference something that nobody from 1899 will understand. This always leaves people confused and you amused while you apologise.

At some point you muttered to yourself, saying that you 'missed Google'. This lead to somebody asking you "who is Google?" and another person asking "What type of fucking name is Google?" You were laughing at these questions and nobody knew why.

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During your early days in the gang, when you had to learn all those different skills, the gang members offered you a lot of assistance.

Kieran had taught you how to ride a horse and everything that came along with horse care. He was extremely patient with you and made sure that you knew everything that you might ever need to know about horses. Once you knew how to ride, he and Arthur took you into town to buy a horse.

Arthur taught you how to shoot, taking you into town to get you some guns once you were a good enough shot. Sean had offered to teach you how to shoot but everyone was against that idea.

Charles taught you how to hunt and camp. The pair of you spent a few nights away from the gang's camp, he wanted to make sure that you knew how to survive and look after yourself if you ever got separated from the camp.

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