#modern college!morbell au

[miguel-owhora]

a rough timeline of the modern!morbell au

where they're in college and micah is also a youtuber who gets cancelled a lot, with a plot of being illegal lawyers. this is just a pre-tl to the actual college meeting, if that makes sense. might make other parts

Granddaddy Bell had connections to shady people with even shadier and illegal activities. He created Bell Inc., a law firm that would later grow into a powerhouse in its own right, as a cover up to do his shady business. He'd raise Daddy Bell to be his successor, and would instill his teachings into Jr., and pass down his years of crimes to his son. Later on, after his passing, Micah Bell Jr. would become the CEO of Bell Inc.

Around the time a then young Bell Jr. would take control of the firm, a few other firms popped up. In a similar fashion that Granddaddy Bell had taken, these firms would only open up to be a cover up for, again, shady business. Among these businesses would rise two household names: Van der Linde Ent. and O'Driscoll Corp. Both companies were once business partners, but after a case gone wrong, they ended up parting on bad terms, sparking a rivalry that would, behind doors, more often than not end in bloodshed.

A couple years down the line, Van der Linde founder and co-founder, Dutch Van der Linde and Hosea Matthews, would adopt a young boy by the name of Arthur Morgan, who would retain his last name. While Hosea clearly wanted to adopt a son for the sake of having a son, Dutch figured it'd be good for the business. He did, however, end up loving Arthur like a son. So much so that they ended up adopting another boy a couple years later, followed by their last child and only daughter; John Marston and Tilly Jackson, respectively. The age in which all three kids are adopted will be left up to interpretation, though it can be established that they were all above six years old.

During all of the Van der Linde-Matthews family growth, Micah Bell Jr. is raising his sons, Micah Bell III and Amos Bell, by himself, with the help of various nannies and maids, because, well, they come from old money. Surprisingly, despite his apparent darker and nihilistic views on life, Daddy Bell isn't a terrible father. Sure, he's strict and expects only the best from his sons, but which parent doesn't? No, Daddy Bell does try to be a good dad, and does try to raise his sons to be the best versions of themselves, and truly does love them.

Both set of parents, VDL-Matthews and Bell respectively, each try to instill similar teachings to their children. Both want their children to be lawyers so they can take over the firms, both want their children to know the way of crime and criminals, and both want their children to be the best versions of themselves.

It's around Micah Bell III's 14 years of being alive that does he begin to rebel. He becomes more argumentative and abrasive, he spends his allowance on the newest games and begins to skip classes to spend his time elsewhere. It's around this time that he uploads his first video, a ragebait of all topics, to YouTube, marking the beginning of a troll.

Timeskip to a couple years forward, Micah finds himself in college of all places. He has a decent following online, mostly of other people who either love him for his humor or hate him. He skips going to CC and jumps straight to university because, hello, he has the money, and though he doesn't want to be there at all, he studies pre-law, or something like that. Contrary to popular belief, he is rather intelligent, and having been raised by a lawyer of a father who read him law books to sleep, he has a good grasp on it.

A couple years later, Arthur Morgan enters the scene. Much like Micah, Arthur doesn't find his passion in law. But unlike Micah, Arthur's dads are understanding and support his aspiration to study art (or something similar.) Which is how Arthur finds himself at the same college as Micah, and how this AU came to be.

[miguel-owhora]

ITS HIM ITS HIM ITS JIM TIS MY FAVORITE. LOSER

i feel like im going to throw up, he's so gorgeous to me and looks exactly like the rat bastard he is 😭😭😭 meeks you have ate once again

fan art for the college AU Micah Bell (commentary YouTuber Micah AU?) based off of a desc @miguel-owhora game be.

[miguel-owhora]

please do, come join us PLEASE. i love this au so much it's so fun like genuinely.

but!!!!!! idk how designs work but :3 For the most part, they all look like their game designs, obviously. im only gonna do Micah n Arthur for now, since they're the main characters of this AU, but i might do other characters later on.

Micah still looks the same, same hair and same facial hair, and same body shape. His hair only gets greasy when he forgets to shower, but otherwise it's pretty soft and healthy, and whenever he wears a cap, he pulls it into a short ponytail. He still has the same staring problem and same heavy bags under his eyes. I like to think he wears glasses, but sometimes he just doesn't, so it's 50/50 if he'll wear them. He will, however, wear them around Arthur because he once called him 'handsome' when he was wearing them and it did wonders to his ego.

He generally wears comfortable clothing, both online and in person. Sweatshirts, worn out and well used, often colored in a washed out red color, and sweats (off whites or grays) are also common. Half of the time he wears flip flops with white socks that are in desperate need of some throwing away. He has a couple of hair ties he has on his wrists at all time for either 1. his hair, or 2. to play around with. I think he'd be a big fan of energy drinks, or straight up alcohol whenever he needs a quick booster.

However, I do think Micah does know how to dress himself if he needs to go to some fancy event. Let's not forget he comes from a line of lawyers, and I imagine his daddy drilled into his sons on how to properly dress themselves because "no son of mine will dress like a slob." So he definitely knows where to get suits and has tailors phone numbers written down, so when he's needed at some event that requires proper clothes, he comes in looking well-groomed. He probably carries Arthur around like some arm candy.

Speaking of Arthur, he still pretty much looks the same as he does in the same. I think everyone in college looks a bit younger, but still the same appearance as they do in the game, if that makes sense. Anyways, he still has the same hair cut but his beard is more trimmed, more of a stubble really. He has an almost soft and quiet vibe to him, as in he's a chill guy who looks kinda grumpy lmao. Blue is still his favorite color, he probably also wears sweatshirts like Micah, but wears jeans instead of sweats. When he is at home, he definitely mostly wears shorts, and also wears sandals with socks, like Micah. Probably wears some sort of cap with either some stupid fish joke on it, or a little deer. He always has a tired look on him, because he's almost always tired of dealing with everyone's shenanigans when he just wants to sit down somewhere and draw something.

He probably has some hair ties on his wrists, too, because he happens to know a lot of people with long hair. Anyways, I don't think he's really that deep into his family's shady business. While his dads were a little confused when he chose to study art, they were actually pretty supportive and fund his tuition. Well, more so Hosea than Dutch, because Dutch had been expecting him to follow in their footsteps. Still, he does drill some law facts into Arthur's brain.

Anyways, that being said, since Arthur isn't that deep into the family business, he doesn't really attend any fancy events. That's more of John's job, who does end up following in the lawyer path. But, considering Micah eventually does work his way into Dutch's good graces - which leads to a semi-friendly rivalry between John n him (which could be a nod towards the events of RDR) - Micah gets a higher position and rank within the company, he's forced to attend several events, which he despises. But he does deal with it, and gets cocky and in a pleasant mood whenever Arthur joins him, mostly as his arm candy.

Whenever he does attend these events, Arthur wears a basic and simple suit. Of course, considering he comes from a wealthy family and his sweetheart does have money, it's simple but of high quality, tailored to fit him. And goodness gracious, does it really emphasize his beauty.

[miguel-owhora]

MODERN COLLEGE!MORBELL AU MASTERLIST

with reaction youtuber!micah

SEP. 2024

I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX - X - XI - XII - XIII - XIV - XV - XVI - XVII

OCT. 2024

I - II - III - IV

[miguel-owhora]

Modern college Au!Micah would def bully kids on Dress to impress 😭

micah would just bully kids, and adults, online in general 💀

[miguel-owhora]

being ugly is part of his character i fear. but in other words,

Wip of @miguel-owhora’s modern college au! Micah. He looks a bit ugly (I’ve never drawn Micah before) but he will get better, swear.

[miguel-owhora]

The "reaction youtuber!micah would definitely run people over, or at least try to" post reminded me of the random thought I had about Dutch driving a nice white Rolls-Royce while Arthur is still rocking his shitty country-looking ass truck that he brought when he was in high school

omg, they absolutely would 😭 Dutch definitely falls into the 'old money' vibes I feel like, so I think he'd dress the same way in the game, just more modern-like, including his car.. which, well, I guess would be white and he'd name it The Count (I also think they still own horses.)

And Arthur would definitely own some beaten truck. I think he has a similar 'aesthetic' to Hosea, where both have some sort of woody vibe to them lol

[miguel-owhora]

Average micah youtube thumbnail:

deadass 😭 and the names are either straight to the point or something that's not even related to the video

[miguel-owhora]

on the topic of conservatives, do you think college!micah would be a conservative? who is he voting for

arthur would probably pressure him into voting, or commit voter fraud and fill in his ballot, bc otherwise micah dgaf 😭 that being said, for the sake of this au, i dont think he is 100% conservative. he might share some views, but doesn't consider himself one — nor does he consider himself a liberal, even if he does share some of their views.

if anything, he probably isn't even registered to vote 😭😭

[miguel-owhora]

Based on what Meeks said, I now believe that Arthur and Charles met through hunting in this AU

I also think Hosea is lowkey rocking the Howard Hamlin fits/suits while Dutch has his RDR1 haircut because it is more modern ig + fancy black suits for the job.

Susan is definitely the secretary of Dutch for Vanders (Idk what to name the company yet). You also mentioned John and Tilly working on being lawyers, probably to replace Dutch and Hosea in the future, so I'm thinking John met Abigail through Arthur as she is also studying at that college. I can't think of her major, though. 

I also think it's funny how Arthur is just chilling at college, having a self-portrait due to 2pm or something while waiting for Micah, them having a date at some spot Charles told him about while his whole family is causing immense fraud at the moment, breaking regulations, and are faking statements/proof for some case that would get every single one of them in jail for decades if caught. 

OG Anon

I like to think Abigail studies education or nursing, or becomes an EMT of some sort, only because I think it'd be funny. That being said, I also don't know what she would study. It's up for interpretation me thinks. I think Arthur met her first, and then introduced her to Tilly and they became friends (Side info: I think Mary-Beth + Karen are both lawyers, like majority of the gang, and I think the two become Tilly's mentors while she studies and stuff.)

Maybe Tilly brought Abigail over for a playdate, or to do some studying - whatever the case, John just so happened to be there. I think the Vandermatthews' household has a dog or two, and John likes to roughhouse with them outside and always comes inside the house all dirty. So he didn't think much when he walked inside, covered in dirt and drool, and paused when he saw Tilly and her pretty friend.

He just goes red with embarrassment and all but flees, and Tilly's annoyed on his behalf and apologizes to Abigail about her "unruly and annoying, filthy mutt of a brother." Abigail, however, is just enamored.

I imagine they both reach out to Tilly about each other, and Tilly is disappointed that they like each other (jokingly, ofc. She's happy they're together but threatens John every time.)

And I love the idea of Charles and Arthur accidentally meeting each other whilst hunting. I'm not sure what Charles would study, probably something related to the environment/nature, but they immediately hit off and become BFFs. I think it'd be funny if Charles accidentally found out Arthur was dating Micah, because fr? He's dating Micah Bell, a man he's seen on the trending page on Twitter more times than he's seen his family in the past two weeks. So he's more than a little skeptical about Arthur's boyfriend.

...But I think it'd be even more funnier if they actually got along, like really good. Micah's abrasive and perverse humor with Charles' more reserved and deadpan humor? Arthur's just happy they're getting along.

It takes a lot of skill for Arthur to pretend his family and boyfriend aren't running a shady business. It's why he spends a lot of time in nature, to get away from everything and pretend he has nothing to do with it. It sounds angsty but it really isn't, he just does not want to deal with their shenanigans.

[miguel-owhora]

Yeah I’m also making college AU art of micah and Arthur prepare you asshole.

[miguel-owhora]

I think Micah grew out his stupid beard and got fat just to piss off people online lmao (I keep giving him shit related to Schlatt)

And to get back on when we talked about his haters/fans finding out that he has a boyfriend, and like you said, him including Arthur in his next video like the troll he is. Arthur definitely was just sitting there awkwardly, this being his first time on camera and all, while Micah just laughs like a manic at people's reactions to finding out he is gay on all platforms. It's like three minutes of that shit, and then he ends it with, "This is the end. We're going to have sex now off camera. Bye. You people can fucking leave now."

His father definitely has a professional Twitter account for Bell Inc. Amos just opens the app and gets bombarded with his brother getting canceled again, while their father is just praying that nobody notices that they are related. 

I also forgot Tilly when mentioning Dutch and Hosea's foster kids 😔😔😔

OG Anon

I was thinking of Tilly when I was writing my last post, and I think she'd definitely fit and become a lawyer as well, which could be how she meets her husband later on. She doesn't really mind Micah all too well, in this AU at least. Surprisingly, despite being a troll and not really caring about anyone other than Arthur, Micah can be respectful and polite if he wants to.

And I personally like how Micah looks with his usual mustache, but I can definitely see him growing out his side-whiskers. And I absolutely love if he gets fatter.

I think the next video he does with Arthur would be a mukbang, only because he likes to mock mukbangers and also because they're both foodies (and Micah's purposeful descent into getting fatter starts with this.) While I do think Arthur's a little awkward, he slowly gets comfortable around Micah in his videos, and becomes amused by Micah's exaggerated persona. I also think it'd be cute if there's some moments in the video where Micah's persona slips a little, so viewers get small glimpses of his genuine personality.

Anyways, Arthur doesn't really pop up in his videos, and Micah's good at ignoring things so he skirts around any topics of his sweetheart. Like I've mentioned several times, Micah cares about Arthur, and while he's fully aware that both are in positions of power (or at least connected to people with power), he's also well aware that people are crazy to refrains from sharing too much information.

On the topic of sharing too much info, Micah doesn't mention his family. Or maybe he does, but only a handful of times and never by name, so it goes undetected. Still, considering Amos and Micah keep low contact with each other, Amos every so often checks up on his brother's online presence and gets overwhelmed by everything. Daddy Bell doesn't talk to his name holder, so everything he learns about Micah is from Amos, and it's never good.

[miguel-owhora]

Because Arthur is studying art in this AU, this means that his connection to Dutch isn't from work or something but maybe more like Dutch fostering him and John (mostly to look good in the public eye, but who knows?). Well, it's hard out there as a man who began his own law firm on his own with just his close 'friend' Hosea, his competitors being Colm, an Irish immigrant who came here for the 'American Dream', and the Bells, who are originally from California but also have business locations here and have been in the business since Granddaddy Bell created the firm in the 70s.

OG Anon

I like to think Dutch and Hosea were an established couple when they began their company. Adopting Arthur, and later on John, was a decision pushed by Hosea, who wanted a kid. And Dutch, wanting to make his sweetheart happy, agreed and so they adopted Arthur, which well, I suppose was an act of love for Hosea and also a way to boost their image. But I do think Dutch does genuinely love Arthur, and adopting John was actually Dutch's idea.

While Arthur is studying art, Dutch does make it a point to try and instill some of his law knowledge into him, which explains why Arthur vaguely knows some information about it.

The Bell law firm has been around longer than the other companies, and while they're not the biggest company, they currently do have power and a solid standing in the field, producing successful lawyers for several generations. Of course, after Micah eventually ends up abandoning his family, the Bell Inc. quietly writes him out (me thinks at least)

Then Dutch and Colm formed their own law firms around the same time, and while they were originally business partners, this partnership ended after a case went wrong, which sparked their rivalry. 

[miguel-owhora]

Micah spamming saying this when people try canceling him in the college morbell au

https://x.com/obliquidenss/status/1840716841112485939?s=46

I think there's a running gag/bit that Micah pretends to not know what any of the new slang means, but unexpectedly drops it out of nowhere and actually uses it correctly.

[miguel-owhora]

The AU probably takes place in Louisiana or Texas considering RDR2 was inspired by New Orleans (or we could just use the places in the game).

We could name the firms Van der Linde & Matthews (VDLM) and Colm O'Driscoll & Associates, tbh (This is stolen from BCS because I'm mentally ill about that show). I also keep thinking about how Hosea canonically initially pursued a career as a stage actor, which failed, and I think this kind of happens in the AU as well. Idk how I gave this college/reaction YouTuber AU an illegal lawyer drama side plot, but I did. 

I also want to talk about Arthur and Micah's first meeting; Arthur didn't recognize him, because I don't think this man is that active on social media, so when he found out about Micah's channel, he was like, "Damn Bitch, You Live Like This?". John, after finding out about them, probably had to infodump a decade worth of YouTube lore onto him.

OG Anon

I like the idea of the companies just being named after the OG gang founders as in the gang, so VDL and O'Driscoll would still be used. if that makes sense.

Anyways, I can see that happening. I think Arthur likes watching movies but only on VHS or on DVDs, so he has a pretty swagger collection that he definitely shows off to anyone who comes to his place. Micah definitely thinks it's nerdy but he's enamored by it, and pulls out a gun on anyone who tries to make fun of Arthur.

And as a side note, most people definitely do still carry 😭 Or at least the ones I think would be funny, for a bit. Micah definitely carries, so does Sadie and Hosea, and Bill, probably John. It's definitely illegal on campus, and none of them legally carry, so it's funny.

Anyways, because John is younger than Arthur (in this AU it's only a small age gap, maybe 3-5 yrs), he probably had semi-unrestricted access to the Internet and stumbled upon Micah's channel (who, like canon, is only a few years older than Arthur.) So John is pretty familiar with him and his persona, and his YouTube lore. Which is how, as you've mentioned, he drops Micah's lore to Arthur.

[miguel-owhora]

Crazy thought but modern college!morbell have the healthiest relationship in the AU.