#✎ some jobs aren't for saving and some legacies are for pissing on || headcanon

[pursued-by-a-memory]

Outlaw vs Criminal

When I write Arthur I write him as truly wanting to go clean, get out. He wanted to get to California like Dutch promised buy some land go peacefully into the night if you will, even if it meant struggling to get his footing at first.

Because Arthur was tired of being a criminal.

See with Arthur, I feel there is a big difference, in his eyes, between an outlaw, which when he was younger he truly believed he was and by his and John's accounts, they were. Men living outside the law, helping those who suffered from it's corruption. While keeping a little something to help them keep going.

But at some point, it's not clear when this stopped and they became criminals. No longer helping those just trying to live, and now even preying on those same people they once helped.

Arthur always makes it clear he doesn't like it, and only does it because Dutch kind of guilts him into it by explaining the gang needs it to survive. Basically Arthur acts on the idea, his family needs him to provide.

So I'm not saying Arthur was tired of being an outlaw. He was tired of being a criminal. And I think he knew before the game started, he could never go back to it and it work. The goodwill the gang burned with communities, and the pure changing of times. He couldn't go back and be Robin Hood. And he wasn't happy with the man he became. So the best option, not for him, but for the young people in the gang who had a life to still live? They needed out, and he just didn't want to always be skirting the line that was getting thinner each day that separated him from other gangs like The O'Driscolls.

Arthur didn't want to be a criminal anymore.

[pursued-by-a-memory]

I've been waffling over if this is really a headcanon because it's honestly more me explaining why I have a verse that I do, which is silly, after all, my blog my verses, but nonetheless, here we are!

So I was watching this video on Bonnie and Clyde, and it was a good watch as it didn't romanticize them or their gang, and it really showcased something I try to explain to people when it comes to Red Dead and where it ventures off into Hollywood: A lot of criminals, like now, often avoided death penalties by plea deals, a lot of their gang avoided life in prison or the chair because they entered in plea deals. Now most never got to enjoy this because they went right back to fucking around and finding out, but they had a legit chance.

And these people killed cops, much like Arthur had been accused of, and yes realistically killed a few (not as many as the game implies, but that's a whole other post, lol), so it isn't outside of the realm if Arthur did make an offer, not even promising Dutch, but other bigger issue gangs for the government as a whole and not one rich dude, they would listen.

Also, it wasn't overly rare to have a wanted man turn bounty hunter or even lawman. Wyatt Earp was technically a wanted man when he became a lawman. It was a shit job, with shit pay and you had to be it all, the investigative team, the clean-up crew, all of it. And always on call. So finding someone who knew how to fire a gun, could get shit done? Fuck it, give him a chance, better than nothing.

Because I have the timeline veering off in chapter 3. I for sure see Arthur going to the actual law, not the Pinkertons, who were starting to lose favor then as well (don't quote me not sure on that), and offers Colm's head and his gun to pay his debt. A US marshal is going to jump on that.

So, Arthur isn't happy, but the idea is doing this will give him more leverage to help more get out safely. Because he's loyal to what matters: his family and their safety.

[pursued-by-a-memory]

"Take Charles with you. Oh, the sight of the pair of you would make a statue sing out its secrets" -Dutch Van der Linde.

When it comes to Arthur's height more than his build "canonically" it gets muddy because Arthur before the game takes away the choice in later chapters, Arthur can be really skinny or looks like a shaved bear. However, there is a "perfect weight" and I do believe it is safe to assume that is Arthur's "canon" build.

So he looks like a gods damn tank. Like Charles, he is broad and looks like he can lay out a bull if pressed. His height is where the real issues comes in. The average height for men at that time was like 5'6 or something.

Now the problem is the people motion captioning everyone in this game is clearly from modern times, and it's clear R* overlooked this because everyone in the game, generally looks around the same height. Only a few of the men stand out for their size. So this feels more like time oversight.

Because when you listen to how everyone describes Arthur it is very clear he stands well above everyone in the room. He is imposing because of his size entirely. He looms over you and is much bigger than you. You don't want him mad.

So personally, I see Arthur standing at around 6- 6'1. A giant among men. And probably weighed a good 250-260 when food wasn't scarce.

[pursued-by-a-memory]

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