#it's a sacrifice he's willing to make to keep others safe. which makes the fact that his name is isaac even tastier

[ruvviks]

bones please spare some isaac facts...tell me about the vibes and lore and everything you want. also what's his fave blood type to drink if he has one perhaps..(i'm taking notes)

HEHEHE THANK YOU SM i have so much to say about this man. but also he hasn't existed for very long in my brain yet so there's still many things missing from his lore currently. but here is a start for you :^)

isaac is a couple centuries old by now and from a (currently unnamed) bloodline that's a bit different from other bloodlines. all vampires have double fangs, their puncture fangs which are the regular ones they use to draw blood with, and their venomous fangs, which only come out when they want to change someone. for isaac's bloodline, the venomous fangs are a lot smaller which makes them less painful to extend and the process is quicker; but at the same time, even the smallest mistake in dosage could kill a victim rather than change them. this is why his bloodline is very small in comparison to others and changing a human into a vampire is always done in a big ritual rather than on impulse, to make sure they get the right dosage. this is how isaac was turned into a vampire :(

his bloodline is also more likely to have their feral sense (uncontrollable mode in which they hunt for blood until they're no longer feral) activated which is why they have to feed regularly and CANNOT miss any meals unlike other bloodlines who can usually miss a meal or two. their feral sense can sneak up on them without a warning and it will cause them to go feral until either their hunger or their "urge" (something vamps get sometimes when they want to change other humans. it's like a vampire ovulation) is sated. this is why many vampires of isaac's bloodline are pretty rich or important people who have other vampires working for them to provide them with enough blood so they'll never go feral by accident

isaac is VERY different from his bloodline though. he grew up in a modest family somewhere in the east of the united states and after he was turned he hid himself away in an old abandoned chapel for many many years, feeding on wildlife and the occasional unfortunate soul who wandered too far into the woods. he ended up hunted down by heavenly, my other oc for this story, who is a vampire hunter but at that point was still very young and on his first ever vampire hunt without his father; heavenly was unable to kill isaac and let him go, after which isaac moved to jericho :]

jericho is a big city on the west coast of the united states and it's essentially a vampire hub, in the sense that the government knows about the existence of vampires but isn't telling the general public but the general public tends to also know about the existence of vampires but it's also not uncommon to come across people who've never heard of them. but at the same time it's also not a huge shock to find out that vampires exist. and in jericho there's many of them and it's like a safe haven for them. am i making sense here

anyway isaac runs a church in jericho now! it's less used as an actual church and more just a homeless shelter and general shelter and community center and food bank AND blood bank all in one, for humans and vampires alike, and he's a very important member of the community he lives in :^) he really wants to help people and improve lives despite the reputation of his bloodline

it's at the same time pretty dangerous for him to be in such a lively place because if he misses a meal even once he could go on a murderous rampage. but it's a risk he's willing to take, knowing he's making a difference and not wanting people to lose their stability in life because he decides to leave or something like that

i don't have much for the story yet but the idea is that heavenly shows up in jericho give or take 2-3 decades after first meeting isaac and they reunite :^) heavenly ends up helping isaac with the blood shortage crisis and also ends up as his personal blood bag because he's a freak and a weirdo who likes getting his blood sucked by vampires. and also he's gay for isaac. and i get him. me too

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#56: The Real CRM (1.06)

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Will the real CRM please stand up? 😁 The thing I most liked about these Rick and Beale exchanges is that while Beale was peeling back the curtain on what the CRM is really about, Rick got to let Beale know about the only CRM he and I recognize - and y’all, that’s Carl, Rick, Michonne. 💅🏽😌...

Beale sees major potential in Rick as he tells him he thinks the next decade's leader might be Rick Grimes. It’s like Okafor said, even though Rick has never wanted power, it’s undeniable that he has it and is a natural-born leader. But I think this natural-born leader is very eager to retire and just be a family man and the world should finally let him. 🙏🏽

Beale notes how Rick came back to them even after so many escape attempts and even despite having had the perfect out because they thought he was dead. They cut to several moments of Rick during his time in the CRM and then Beale says that Rick has become a powerful story that they can essentially parade around to others to convince them of why the CRM is the answer.

Even saying that is so detached and reductive - treating Rick as not a person but a persuasive story.

gif cred: @taiturner

Beale talks about how he and Okafor have sacrificed and he says Rick has already sacrificed too as he holds up his prosthetic, a reminder of Rick's willingness to sacrifice his own hand for his family.

Then Beale gets personal yet still seems so detached as he asks, “Who’s the person closest to you who’s died in all of this?” And Andy’s acting is so good as he pauses for a moment and then says, “My son.” I could shed several tears from those two words alone. 🥺

One; I love how often Carl was acknowledged in TOWL. He’s so impactful to Rick and Michonne so it’s only right. And the way Rick says 'my son' here, it's viscerally evident how personal this is to him. I love how there’s this vulnerability to the way he says it while also trying to keep a guard up.

Rick somberly says, “He’s who I saved tearing out that man’s throat.” Because truly there isn’t anything Rick wouldn’t do for Carl. 😭 And the pain on Rick's face when he says this hits hard. It's like you can visibly see him mentally returning to two extremely heavy moments from his past - the night he killed those Claimers to save Carl and the night he lost Carl in Alexandria.

And then, despite the fact that this is clearly an extremely hard loss and not easy to talk about, Beale seems like he doesn’t have a heart with his insensitive response.

Beale says, “But you couldn’t save him in the end.” And him disrespecting Rick and Carl had me wanting to swing on the Major General tbh. 🥊

After Beale's unfeeling remark, they show a quick clip of Rick and Michonne standing at Carl’s grave. 💔 Then Rick shakes his head and somberly answers, “No.” Which is just 🥺🥺🥺. 

A big element of the pain of this is that, before Carl passed, Rick viewed the weighted act of killing a man with his teeth as an act that kept Carl alive. But now, when he thinks about that moment he also has to think about how Carl still didn't make it, even despite what Rick was willing to do to protect him. 😞

I guess normally this would be an effective tactic from Beale. He gets the soldiers thinking about the person they most loved and lost and how they couldn’t save them, convincing them that committing to the CRM would be a way to prevent those losses and that pain from ever happening again.

But fortunately, after some heart-to-hearts in a crumbling apartment with Michonne, Rick is no longer susceptible to thinking the CRM can’t be beat so they must be joined.

Beale says, “What if I told you, you would never have to suffer that kind of loss again, that wherever you were running to, whoever you were running to…you could keep them safe, you could bring them to us?” For some reason, I doubt the sincerity of this offer.

And it seems Rick isn't buying it either. Plus, even if it was a legit offer, Rick would never just be content with keeping his people safe while the CRM exterminates mass amounts of other innocent people.

When Beale says, “Family, friends, a love…I don’t give a damn.” the not giving a damn part is clear. You can tell Beale has been so far removed from having people he loves for a long while.

Somewhat adjacent to a mindset that Rick nearly adopted before Michonne helped him return to himself, Beale thinks protecting people is a sufficient replacement for loving people.

Beale says he’ll spare the people Rick loves because he’s willing to take that chance on him. Rick continues to hang onto his knife under the table and Beale can’t tell that he has an increasingly feral Rick in front of him.

Like the way Rick looks at Beale...it was clear that the Major General was about to meet Red Machete Rick real soon. 👌🏽

gif cred: @riickgrimes

Beale goes on to tell Rick about how “The Next World will begin” and my extra self just liked hearing the title of Richonne’s s6 canon episode in TOWL lol. 😊

The time finally comes for Rick to swear on the sword and then we’re brought back to the moment in ep 1 when Beale wanted to ask a question and get the answer by looking in Rick eyes. And then here in the finale, Beale also gets an answer from Rick’s eyes because rather than swear on the sword and 'not let it take' like Okafor advised, Rick refuses to swear on the sword at all.

Rick's done playing along. So after they show a series of clips of Rick and Michonne taking down opponents in TWD, Beale quickly realizes that he’s got the wrong one as Rick’s expression shifts. He can tell Rick is very clearly in kill mode as Beale then grabs his weapon and says, “No.” But it’s too late.

gif cred: @coltseavrs

Rick chuck’s his knife at Beale and slides across the desk to tackle him down. 👏🏽

Beale and Rick get into some hand-to-hand combat, with Rick’s prosthetic again shielding him from getting cut up when Beale swings his sword. Beale wants to know why Rick came back if he hadn’t really conformed. Rick doesn’t believe the world is gonna end and Beale says the world won’t but he’s trying to make sure that the human race doesn’t end.

When Rick gets a hold of Beale’s sword he plunges it right through Beale’s hand and Beale’s first response is one of regret that he trusted Okafor enough to give Rick a chance. Cuz clearly that didn't work out too well for Mister Beale. 🙂

And then, after Beale’s long speeches and disrespect throughout this ep, it was finally Rick’s turn to speak. 😌

gif cred: @nobleriver

Rick lets Beale know, “I never lost my son. I lost myself. He brought me back.” 😭 I love how Rick now knows his son was always with him, even when he thought he lost him. And even after losing himself, his son was still able to bring him back.

Carl brought Rick back so many times as he lived and it’s heartwarming to know he continues to do that from the other side.

gif cred: @nobleriver

And then y’all already know I am beyond here for the fact that Rick then says, “My wife brought me back.” The way he puts that emphasis on “my wife.” 🔥 Oh he meant this. 💯

And you know it probably felt extra great for Rick to now be able to say 'my wife' knowing he's finally been able to give Michonne a ring like he wanted. 💍😌

gif cred: @machonnes

Hearing Rick call Michonne his wife will always be music to my ears. And I love that he can't help but say it with so much passion each time. 😊

And once again Rick has a perfect track record of giving Michonne her flowers. He knows the reason he’s here, and back to being himself, and fighting this fight, is because of his wife. Fighting for him, believing in him, and bringing him back are some of the many ways Michonne saved Rick's life.

I love the way this connects back to Michonne telling Carl that he and Rick brought her back in their heartfelt season 4 finale scene. Carl, Rick, and Michonne all brought each other back. 😭

(And little does Beale know that the wife Rick’s talking about is one Consignee Bethune. Looks like Beale was right to have her on his radar. 😋)

Rick says, “We’re the sword that kills. We’re the sword that gives life. One life. One unstoppable life.” I like that Rick gets to tell Beale this after the CRM thought they were the only answer.

gif cred: @likeafantasy

Again, he’s letting Beale know who the real C.R.M is and it was moving to see Rick doing this in the name of Carl and Michonne. His son and wife. He represented the Golden Trio well here. 🥹

(And I know some people wanted/expected TOWL to be super focused on CRM content. But the way I see it - it was.👌🏽 Because Carl, Rick, & Michonne sure got a whole lot of focus. 😌)

Rick's final scene with Beale made it ultra clear that Michonne and Carl give Rick so much strength. They did back then and they still do years later. His wife and kids are why he fights. 👌🏽

And I like that Rick reframed Beale’s mantra to see that it’s the people you love who really are the ones who give life. Hearing Rick say “one unstoppable life” also made me think about how he mentioned in the TWD series finale that Michonne showed him that they’re one unstoppable life.

And that’s why they don’t have to succumb to the doomsday fear of the world ending again because, as this apocalypse has shown, - their one unstoppable life doesn’t end even when the world does. 

gif cred: @likeafantasy

Then Rick concludes by saying, “We’re not dead…You are.” as he, in a bit of poetic irony, kills Beale with his own sword. It’s nice hearing Rick declare “We’re not dead” having lived the last few years feeling like a dead man. The real Rick is alive and well now. 🙌🏽

And the real Rick is also a little crazy, but that’s how it’s always been and we love him for it. 😌

Also, the snarl with that delivery.👏🏽❤️‍🔥 Rick can be at his most feral and every time I'm still just like...

Killing the CRM’s most powerful leader right here and now certainly qualifies as putting a major wrench in Richonne's plan, and so Rick has to quickly cover his tracks by telling Pearl that Beale went to the woods alone.

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Then he sees a crate and gets an idea on how to remove the body which leads to another elevator scene. And while that lovely elevator scene in episode 4 was lighthearted and steamy, this next elevator scene is pure suspense. 😨👌🏽

[animekpopsimp]

Honkai Star Rail as your big brother

Dan Heng

Dan Heng is a very calm, yet caring older brother

Since being banished from his home, you're the only person he's got left

He doesn't trust most people, but you're one of them

The two of you spend a lot of time together

Dan Heng is also a protective older brother

He's always keeping an eye on you, making sure your safe

He would hate himself if anything happened to you

While he seems quiet, Dan Heng is great at comforting you

You can always turn to him when you need to

Welt

Welt is a very responsible older brother

He can seem a bit harsh at times, but all he wants is to make sure you're safe

He knows you can be reckless, and he wants to make sure you don't get hurt

He also makes sure that you are taking care of yourself

Welt makes sure to let you know that he's there for you when you're feeling upset

He teaches you how to protect yourself since he knows that he can't always be there

He refused to let anything happen to you if he can do anything about it

Argenti

Argenti is a very kind older brother

He cares about you a lot

He pays close attention to your well being at all times

He knows when you're feeling upset and need comfort

He knows when you aren't taking care of yourself

You can't keep anything from him

He's great at comforting you, so you never feel upset for long

He's also very protective, not wanting anyone to hurt you

You're his precious little sister and he wants the best for you

Sunday

It goes without saying, but he's a super protective older brother

That goes for you and Robin

He's always got an eye on you

If anyone ever thinks about trying to hurt you, he'll take care of it

He also spoils you, even if you tell him to stop

He's a very scary older brother

Gepard

Gepard is a very sweet brother

He may be busy most of the time, but he still makes sure to spend time with you when he can

He does feel bad that he can't spend time with you and your other siblings, but he also knows that he has a duty to keep Belabog safe

Gepard knows you can take care of yourself, but he still feels the need to keep you safe

Though, he won't be overbearing since he knows you don't like it

He just really cares about you

Boothill

The fact that you're the only person Boothill has left means he's protective

Both of you having witnessed your home being destroyed means you both rely on each other a lot

You rarely leave each other's side

You're also very protective of each other

Neither of you want to lose each other

Between the two of you however, he's the more protective one

Boothill feels that since he's older, it's his responsibility to take care of you

He's more than willing to put himself in danger for your sake

You are also willing to do the same, even if he doesn't like it when you do

Both of you just want the other to be safe

Adventurine

You and your brother had a rough life

Your home had been destroyed and you were both made into slaves

During that time, Adventurine did his best to keep you safe, even if it wasn't easy

Even when you both started working for the IPC, he still didn't let up on his protectiveness

You two are often together

You both get nervous when you're away from each other due to the things you've endured

You also have nightmares, which Adventurine is always there to comfort you

You're precious to him and all he wants if you to have freedome, even if he has to sacrifice himself

Jing Yuang

He's a more relaxed older brother, but still protective

He won't always keep an eye on you, he trusts that you can handle taking care of yourself

He may also have someone else looking out for you if he feels like he needs to

He also trains you to be able to protect yourself since he knows it's an important skill

He also makes sure to spend quality time with you since he doesn't want you to feel lonely

If you ever start dating, he will be keeping a close eye on you

He won't let you get hurt if he has anything to do with it

[betaray-jones]

Since epic tye musical still has me in its grip and since I keep seeing takes on mutiny here are my thoughts on Odysseus sacrificing the six men to Scylla.

Firstly, how informed was the crew that they were going to face Scylla?

I think it is reasonable to assume that the crew had no idea. When the Siren told Odysseus about Scylla he immediately knew the sacrifice this path required, which in my opinion makes it reasonable to assume that at least Eurylochus would also have heard about Scylla and the fact that her six heads required the sacrifice of six men. Additionally Eurylochus calls Scylla by name at no point instead saying that "something approaches" which further suggests he didn't know where exactly they were going. Also the crew all had wax in their ears during the Siren scene so unless Odysseus told them afterwards there is no way for them to know about Scylla. So why didn't he?

I feel like Odysseus has a good grasp on the spirit of the crew and knows how disillusioned they have become. Based on Eurylochus in mutiny it's safe to assume that at least some members have given up on reaching home. Odysseus knows that if he asks this crew to now further sacrifice six men that chances are good that the crew will refuse, so he doesn't tell them and just tells them that the sirens revealed a way to make it home.

For the majority of the crew the captain not sharing the route would probably not be noteworthy but I think Eurylochus as second in command would normally have insisted on knowing. Here of course Eurylochus guilt about the last time he didn't follow orders would then play in Odysseus favor, keeping him from questioning their direction and Odysseus plan.

This leads me to the second part, the torches.

In the Lifestream it was visible that Eurylochus was originally carrying one of the torches before dropping it in order to help a crew mate implying that Odysseus intended for Scylla to kill him. Most people I've seen discussing this proposed that this was revenge for opening the windbag on Odysseus part but I disagree.

Maybe I'm giving Odysseus too much credit for intelligence but I think this man-made monster Odysseus is too calculated for quick revenge.

But Odysseus knows Eurylochus and he knows that he is willing to question him more than any other character in Epic. I think at least subconsciously he knows that if he sacrifices six men to Scylla and Eurylochus figures out that this was on purpose that his next step will be mutiny. But he also knows that Eurylochus is the voice and acting arm of the crew and their concerns. Take him out of the equation and Odysseus might be able to keep control of the crew.

Therefore I do think that Odysseus did intend to sacrifice Eurylochus to Scylla though not necessarily for revenge (though Eurylochus confession probably worked as further justification in his mind). This would also explain why he was so resigned to Eurylochuses questioning in mutiny and why he didn't even try to defend himself when called out.

In conclusion, the mutiny was essentially just the last inevitable step in the paths both characters chose up to this point.

[fduck0]

Im also gonna put my little ramble here bc its silly (also go follow Catherine)

(Quick thing, i have kind of big problem with putting my thoughts into words so keep that inmind pls)

I wanna talk ab how sacrifice is a really important part of Wendy's character. Abigail is summoned in DS through blood sacrifice, which is now translated into DST with the shadow Abby buff by having Wendy murder mobs to boost her damage. Telling Wigfrid she can "take her heart" when she examines her ghost, implying that Wendy is willing to die to bring her back. Harming herself while trying to revive Abby with the new skilltree altar and by making telltale hearts for spectral cure-alls. Along with sacrificing her whole life by going into the constant just to be with her sister.

(We can also talk ab how Abby does the same, constantly getting herself killed just to keep Wendy safe, which creates a cycle BUT NOT THE TOPIC RN)

This all gives us a pretty good picture of Wendys view the world and on herself. Sacrifice is not only one of the only ways her bond with Abigail stays alive but is also a way to show Wendy's poor self image. She is willing to harm herself both mentally and phisically for the sake of the people close to her. We already know that in her own eyes, Wendy thinks she's worthless , so its not a really big surprise that she'd throw away her life to bring back someone that's "useful" and that actually wants to live.

AND THIS IS WHERE WEBBER COMES IN. The moon stone quote "Perhaps it thirsts for a sacrifice. Where's Webber..." MAY seem like a slap in the face to what i just said ab keeping ppl safe BUT ITS NOT.

From other quotes, its clear that Wendy values her life as much or less then the creatures around her MOST of the time. As much as she kills butterflies, she also wants monsters like bearger to kill her. To Wendy, death is the only present she wants.Cue to conclusion number 1. Webbers sacrifice can be seen as Wendy trying to give Webber the only thing she wants in life, which is dying.

BUT THERES MORE. Human sacrifice is a bit of a mixed bag, since it can either be "i will sacrifice someone dear to me" or "fuck this criminal im gonna send them to hell" depending on the culture. CONSIDERING THE "you could never be a monster, Webber" quote, the general dynamic and context, its clearly the first one thankfully. This leaves us with conclusion number 2. Wendy views Webber as someone dear to her and worth sacrificing.

But now we get into the deep shit bc this is Wendy. And like this is the most headcanon-y one so if this makes no sense idk beat me with sticks ANYWAYS.

We have to remember her fear of attachment. I've already talked in another post about Wendy's nihilism being a defense mechanism and all of that so im not gonna repeat it, (i havent uploaded that thread on tumblr and its 4 am rambles) but i feel like this can also be part of it. Webber represents exactly what shes avoiding, which includes moving on and vulnerability. While Wendy is constantly driving herself crazy over Abigail's death in fear of forgetting her, Webber tries to make the best out of his situation and enjoy his life, even when lets be honest, it also sucks ass. Its the opposites attract trope. BUT I FEEL LIKE IN THIS SITUATION THERES ALSO THE COMPLEXITY OF THAT AVOIDANCE.

In DS this mf considers bandages pointless because "she'll only get hurt again" and says in dst that its "too painful" to get a pet kitcoon because of that fear of losing it. From this we could easily point to the fact Wendy is probably not only scared of losing Webber, but also the fact being around him DOES make her happy. So the solution for that?

3. Sacrifice him. He's too good for the constant, so the least Wendy could do is try to free him from the pain of living, losing him both to try to do him a favour in her eyes, along with keeping herself safe by sticking to her miserable life instead of trying to work on getting better. BUT OOPS CLEARLY YOU CANT DO THAT SOOOO. That and the way dst has progressed their friendship over the years its kind of too late for that by now so L Wendy. BUT YEAH final conclusion, I think Wendy seeing Webber as someone worth sacrificing is sweet in her own insane way.Like that mf would probably die for Webber, kill for him and sacrifice him on an altar.

Gold star to whoever read all of this insanity ig

[lewmagoo]

a curse i cannot lift | rhett abbott

description: in which everything he holds dear is ripped from his grasp

warnings: 18+ only, werewolf au, pregnancy, allusions to sex, perry abbott assaulting people (idk how else to word that lol), murder, violence, blood, kidnapping, angst, werewolves are unfairly targeted in this world

pairing: werewolf!rhett abott x f!werewolf!reader

listen to the playlist here

notes: this is part of 'the wolf' series! you technically don't have to read the first part but it'll make more sense if you do. access the first part here. access the series masterlist here

dedication: to @lovinglyeternal, without you this series wouldn't have been born. also dedicated to @bro-ooke ; thanks for beta reading this for me!

From a young age, Rhett Abbott had been taught that there was no greater honor in life than to obtain a mate. In wolf culture, finding one’s mate was a fateful, sacred occurrence. It was the joining together of two souls as one entity.

And he had found that oneness when he found you. The moment you walked into his life, his entire world changed. His fierce loyalty had always been dedicated to his family, but when the two of you joined your bloodlines, his loyalties changed. 

It wasn’t that he’d turned his back on his family. Far from it, in fact. But they no longer came first. It was you that came first, above all others. Together, you were responsible for loving and protecting each other. You had made that pledge to one another on your wedding day, a blood oath that was unbreakable and would withstand the test of time. 

Rhett had heard stories of the sacrifices mates were willing to make just to protect one another. But he’d never fully understood the magnitude of such a thing until he had a mate of his own. Sometimes it scared him, and made him feel a little wild, knowing the lengths he would go to to protect you. 

But he wasn’t alone, because you were just as territorial over him as he was of you. You had one another’s backs, and swore to each other that you would keep the other safe. However, he would one day find himself unable to fulfill his part of that promise to you, all because of the foolish actions of one man. And those actions would result in Rhett losing you. 

But hell hath no fury like a wolf whose mate is stolen from him. And when Rhett Abbott’s fury was unleashed, no one would walk away unscathed. 

Neither of you could have ever imagined your lives would be turned upside down. You had only just begun your mateship together. You had made a home for yourselves on Abbott land - an old barn at the edge of the property that Rhett had converted into a living space for the two of you and the family you would soon create together.

Life together was sweeter than you ever could have imagined. From the moment you met him, you felt an all-consuming sense of peace, knowing this was who you were meant to spend the rest of your life with. He was the one that had been formed for you by the cosmos before either of you was even born. A collection of burning, blinding, brilliant stars all forged together into one beautiful man with ocean-blue eyes. 

But, even for mated werewolves, life still had its difficulties. One’s hardships didn’t miraculously disappear once one found their mate. In fact, the joining together of both of your packs posed its fair share of brand-new issues. 

Particularly, the issue of keeping secrets. 

The Abbott family was very secretive. There were things weaved through the fabric of their family history that Royal had done his best to bury. Chief of those secrets was the fact that the land they lived upon was not their own. 

Historically, werewolves were not treated like high-class individuals. In fact, they were often treated like the scum of the earth. The bottom of the barrel. Humans were afraid of their wild tendencies, and this resulted in irrational, widespread fear. 

The wolf community had fought long and hard to obtain equal rights, and after a seemingly never-ending battle, they had finally made some headway. Laws had been put in place, protecting werewolves and their families from discrimination and inhumane treatment. 

Laws had also been put in place against hunting werewolves. These laws had been passed in all fifty states before you or Rhett were even born. The werewolf hunting business had once been very successful, but these days, hunters were almost non-existent. Hunting and killing werewolves was now considered a federal crime. 

You were of the belief that hunting for sport had been eradicated. The elders in your pack had lived through the days of the hunters, and had seen the laws passed forbidding hunting. They all believed the worst of it was behind them. 

But little did you, or your pack, know that there was a family of hunters right in the very town you were living in. A prestigious family at that, one whose money was tainted by the blood of hundreds of innocent wolves.

The Tillerson family had been hunting for centuries. The only reason they decided to stop was all thanks to a little truce made with Royal Abbott.

Long before either of his boys was born, Royal had struck up a deal with Wayne and Patricia Tillerson. The Abbotts were to remain on a specified plot of land. As long as they held up their end of the bargain, the Tillersons would not harm a single hair on any of their heads. But if the Abbotts or their future offspring tried to move to unapproved plots of land, they were fair game. 

The reason for this was that they didn’t want werewolves sullying the reputation of Wabang. It was a beautiful town with rich land and even richer oil wells. Werewolves would only drive away tourists and potential buyers that might come through seeking land and agricultural gain. 

So, Royal and his wife settled on that specified plot of land, and it became known as the Northeast Wyoming Wolf Reservation. After that, all was seemingly fine and dandy for decades. until your pack came along. 

Your pack originally left your hometown because tensions were rising with a neighboring pack. Your family had every right to live there, but the other pack harbored animosity against all of you, and instead of enduring an all-out war, your family, namely your alpha, decided it best to move elsewhere for the safety and well-being of the pack. 

So, you found yourselves in Wabang, Wyoming. You joined forces with the Abbott pack, and in a twist of wonderful fate, you met Rhett, the son of Royal, which proved to you that you were always meant to come here, because in any lifetime, in any universe, you would always find him. 

Royal was the alpha of the Northeast Wyoming Pack, which wasn’t much to speak of, as it was only him and his family. Royal was old and tired. When your pack came along, and it became clear that you and Rhett were to be mates, Royal willingly gave up his alpha status, because there could only be one alpha over a pack.

He allowed your uncle, Malakai, who was already the alpha of your own pack, to take leadership of the now-conjoined pack. Royal was willing to wash his hands of all of it, and it struck you as odd at first. What wolf willingly gave up their statues like that? But It would all make sense when you eventually learned of his motives. He didn’t want to be the one held responsible if anything happened to the pack. He knew if the Tillersons ever targeted the pack, the responsibility of protecting them would no longer fall upon himself. It would fall upon Malakai. And any wolf who was incapable of protecting their pack would face consequences from the National Werewolf League.

But there was, of course, the fact that Royal hadn’t been honest with your family from the beginning. He had welcomed you into the reservation, allowing you to settle there and make homes for yourselves. He had given over his alpha status. For all intents and purposes, he seemed genuinely happy to welcome your ragtag group into the fold. But he never bothered to warn you that if any of you decided to live elsewhere, outside of the reservation, you might just encounter some hunters. 

Rhett hated that his father refused to tell the truth. Royal had even made his family swear they wouldn’t say anything. His reasoning was that it might cause a full-blown massacre if word got back to the Tillersons that the wolves were trying to rebel against the guidelines put in place. 

While other state governments recognized werewolf hunting as illegal, the Tillersons had a particularly close relationship with the governor of Wyoming, and the leader of the state had essentially promised that he would look the other way if the wolves violated this agreement and ended up dead. He was just as money hungry as the Tillersons, and he harbored a hatred for werewolves. He was in agreement that the wolves were bad for business and was perfectly content to get rid of them if it meant protecting the state. 

While Rhett understood his father’s fear, he believed it was wrong and dangerous not to tell your pack the truth. So, in the early days of your marriage, he finally decided that he could no longer sit on this secret and potentially allow it to put a rift in your marriage, or result in your family being harmed. He wanted to reveal everything to you.

So, one night, he called for a family meeting with just your pack. He had already revealed the truth to you privately, and together, you had agreed that it was only fair to inform the others. So he stood before your family that night and explained to them that they were not as safe as they thought they were. 

It took guts for Rhett to go against his father like that. In your eyes, by putting the good of the pack before everything else, he displayed true alpha qualities, and something in you made you believe that someday in the future, he had what it took to take on the role as the new alpha of your pack.

But until then, there were things that needed to be sorted through. Such as the fact that there were hunters in your midst. Your family took the news better than you were expecting, but they were, of course, angry about being lied to. 

“But hunting is illegal. How the hell are there even still hunters around?” One of your cousins, Jace, asked. 

Rhett sighed. “The Wyoming government doesn’t give a shit about us. The Tillersons have the governor by the balls, he’ll look the other way if wolves end up dead.”

“We could report it to the League.”

“Y’ could,” Rhett replied, “I don’t know how much good it’ll do ya. They’d need proof that the Tillersons were actively hunting wolves. And so far, they aren’t. They’ve kept their noses clean for years. Without proof, the League won’t do anythin’.”

Finally, Malakai, the alpha, spoke up. “This is why your dad gave up his alpha status and let me keep mine when we joined packs, isn’t it? So none of the responsibility would fall on him.”

Rhett grimaced, nodding slowly. “I think so. But you’ll have to talk to him about that. Like I said, he didn’t want me t’ tell any of you. He was tryin’ to avoid a war with the Tillersons. If we start violatin’ our agreement with them, they might get trigger-happy.”

A murmur went through the pack. They didn’t like this situation, but at the moment, there was nothing that could be done. As long as everyone followed the contract put in place, there would be no trouble. And for the time being, it seemed as if nobody had a choice in the matter. Until another course of action could be figured out, things would remain exactly the way they were. 

Rhett felt awful to have to break such news to the family. But in the end, you quietly assured him that he’d done the right thing. “I know going against your dad wasn’t easy. But I’m proud of you for making the right decision.”

“How come I still feel lousy about it?” He grumbled. 

“It’ll pass,” you assured him. 

And it did. 

After that moment of honesty, his relationship with your family deepened. They all respected him for what he’d done. He felt loved and accepted in a way he never had before. He found a family that loved him for him. Not for what he could do for them. Not under any conditions. They just loved him. And he could hardly fathom why, but he was grateful. 

But above all else, the purest of loves he’d ever felt was your love. Undying, withstanding the rest of time. You adored him, you would lay down your life for him, and he, you. Sometimes the realization stole the very breath from his lungs. Being with you just felt right. He was no longer held down by the binding loyalty he had to his own family. While he still remained loyal to them, you came first, before anyone else. 

He made a pledge in his heart, determining that when the two of you had children of your own, he would never put them through what he’d had to endure as a child. A ‘tough love’ father who thought men displaying emotion was weak, and a mother who ultimately loved her children, but her loyalty to her husband overshadowed them, and made them feel like they were not as important. 

Rhett would love his child unconditionally and allow them to express their emotions without fear of judgment or consequence. He would be gentle and forgiving and kind, because children deserved such mercies.

As fate would have it, he would one day receive that opportunity.

After your marriage, it didn’t take long for you to fall pregnant. With the way you went at it together during your first heat, there was no doubt in your mind that it would result in conceiving a child. And sure enough, a little while after that initial heat cycle, it happened. 

Funnily enough, it was Rhett who figured it out before you even came to the conclusion yourself. And it was all because your scent had changed. 

Between werewolves, one’s mate was attracted to them by scent. A mate’s scent was unique and intoxicating to the other. Neither of you would ever forget the first time you caught the eachother’s scent, when you initially met. It was overwhelming and all-consuming. 

But now, something was different. 

Your scent had changed. That intoxicating, spicy, sweet scent you emitted, for his senses only, had changed into something lighter. Sweeter. Almost like cotton candy. It caught his attention one morning as you were getting ready for the day.

“Stop,” he spoke, his tone low and even. He’d caught you by the arm, his large hand gentle against you.

You smiled curiously as he tugged you closer. “What?” You asked, a breathless giggle on your lips at his behavior.

“Y’ smell different.” He buried his nose against the side of your neck and inhaled deeply. It tickled, but you remained still, watching curiously as he trailed his nose lower, intent on finding the source. He froze for a moment, only to quickly drop to his knees before you. There, he nuzzled your abdomen, breathing in again. 

A look of tender amazement softened his features, and he gasped, lifting his hand to press over your tummy. Then his gaze flickered up to meet your own. There were tears in those bright eyes. “You’re carryin’ my pup,” he whispered. 

Your own eyes widened, and you lifted your hand, covering your mouth in surprise. It wasn’t entirely unexpected, because you had been hoping this would happen. But you were still overcome with wonderful, all-encompassing elation. 

You laughed for joy, kneeling on the floor with Rhett and throwing your arms around his neck. “A baby! We’re having a baby!” You cried happily.

But he leaned back, a strange sense of wonder illuminating his features. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards into a sweet smile. “We’re havin’ a daughter,” he whispered in response, throat tight as tears glimmered in his eyes. 

You stared at him in amazement. “H-how…?”

“Your scent. When Rebecca was pregnant with Amy she had that same kinda scent. Like pink cotton candy. Or maybe bubble gum. You smell the same.”

That revelation pulled a musical laugh from you, and you threw your arms around your husband again, bubbling with an excitement that warmed your belly like fizzy champagne. 

“

Laughing with you, Rhett leaned back, nuzzling his nose against your own before he kissed you fervently. You melted into him, bodies fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. 

“I knew it wouldn’t be long before I put a pup inside ya,” he murmured against your lips, mouth hot on yours. 

You smiled into the kiss. “I knew it, too.”

He pulled back to fully admire you. “My beautiful mate,” he murmured in adoration, splaying his palm over your abdomen. “Mother of my child.”

He spoke with such reverence, but beneath it was a possessive air that made you shiver. You were his. He was yours. Your hearts belonged to each other, intertwined by the Fates themselves. 

“Love you,” you sighed, eyes fluttering shut as you let yourself lean into his warm touch. 

“I love you too, little wolf.”

You relished in that quiet, intimate moment together, overjoyed that you were finally starting your own family. 

There were a few select moments in your lifetime that you would consider the best moments of your entire life. Discovering that Rhett was your mate was one of them. Your marriage to him was another. And finally, learning you were expecting a baby was the cherry on top. 

You couldn’t hide your happiness if you tried. As mates, it was your shared dream to further your bloodline. It was considered the highest honor in werewolf culture. You were teeming with excitement, eager to reveal the news to the rest of the pack. 

It wasn’t easy to hide, as it was. They would be able to sniff it out no matter how much you tried to hide it. So you didn’t bother hiding it at all. That very day, you shared the news with your families, receiving an emphatic “I knew it!” From your mother, and an excited “I can’t wait to have a baby cousin to play with!” From Rhett’s niece Amy.

That night, a grand celebration followed, and you swore that you didn’t stop smiling once . Oh, how your life had changed. After you announced it to your loved ones, you were happily thrust into the process of making preparations to welcome your little one into the world.

This, of course, included visits to your pack doctor, Rose Tenpenny. You had known Rose your entire life. She was a skilled pack healer and midwife who subscribed to ancient remedies and medicines, the knowledge of which had been passed down to her from her mother, and her mother’s mother before her. There was no one else you’d rather have look after your and your baby’s health than her. 

You were on cloud nine as baby preparations followed. The women of the pack got together to make a memory quilt for your baby. All the men set to work building furniture for the nursery. And, best of all, Rhett took it upon himself to build a cradle for the babe. He was skilled with his hands, and he considered it the greatest honor to build this little bed for your child. He put so much love into the creation of that bed, and it touched your heart. 

Everything seemed so perfect. Too good to be true. It felt as if nothing could ever take this joy away from you. That is, until it all came crashing down like a mountain avalanche. 

Ever since your union with Rhett, you had had a rocky relationship with his brother, Perry. Rhett himself had a complicated past with the man, and since your marriage, he had distanced himself from his brother. He didn’t like the way Perry behaved toward you. Both of you knew it was because Perry harbored jealousy against Rhett. 

He was jealous of what you had. Jealous that his little brother had a mate and he didn’t. But the reason Perry didn’t have a mate was because of his own stupidity. He had tried to force it to happen on his own rather than waiting for fate. He fell for a girl named Rebecca. She wasn’t his mate, but he insisted she was. Claimed everyone else didn’t know what they were talking about. 

Perry had somehow manipulated Rebecca into believing they were mates. Or, at least, from what Rhett could see, she just went along with it to keep Perry happy. If she wanted to leave, the intention was dashed when she fell pregnant with his child. 

She made the decision to stick it out and see if a baby would change Perry’s demeanor. But it didn’t. In fact, it seemed that he only got worse after Amy was born. Rebecca put up with it for the first seven years of Amy’s life, and finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She disappeared into the night, seemingly without a trace. 

Perry insisted something had happened. That she would never leave of her own free will. Someone had to have taken her. Rhett, however, believed that she did leave on her own. 

You knew things had to be bad for her to leave her own child behind. That went against every instinct of a mother wolf. It made you wonder if there was more to the story. If she’d left with the intention of coming back for her child, but she had met an untimely demise in the process. You supposed you would never receive an answer to that question. 

Perry delusionally claimed that he could still feel her out there. Between mates, it was a natural occurrence to be able to feel the other’s presence. And many times, when one was in danger, the other could sense it. Perry insisted he had this with Rebecca, but you knew he didn’t. He had no idea where she was because she wasn’t his to begin with. 

In the meantime, his jealousy against his brother only continued to fester. Their relationship had already been strained as it was, but since Rhett had brought you into the picture, it was even worse. The only good thing to come out of it was your relationship with young Amy. 

She was sweet as pie and even at her age, she knew the way her father behaved was wrong. It broke your heart that she had to deal with such things, but she didn’t let it slow her down, or change the way she felt about you and Uncle Rhett. 

Perry attempted to remain civil while Amy was around, but there were times when he just couldn’t help but run his mouth and get himself in trouble. It had happened on numerous occasions, to the point where Rhett didn’t like bringing you around him 

And after you found out you were expecting, your mate grew all the more protective of you. This primal need to keep you safe burned in his belly, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to harm or disrespect you. 

But no matter how protective of you he became, Rhett always had full control over his wolf at all times. He could shift at will, and even when he was intensely angry or upset, he could still control the shift and keep himself from going off the rails. But Perry did not have that same control, and because of this, Rhett was always on guard when he was present around you. 

His older brother was notorious for losing his temper. Rhett had seen it time and time again. Perry had always been like this. Even as a young boy. 

When werewolf pups are born, they are born entirely human, and do not yet possess the ability to shift. That ability usually comes at around ten years of age. 

And Perry gained that ability like clockwork on his tenth birthday. Teaching him how to control the shift was a beast in and of itself for Royal and Cecilia. They struggled like hell to help him learn how to shift at will rather than involuntarily. 

Around that time, Rhett was still very small. It proved incredibly difficult to raise a little one and train a brand-new wolf. Some things fell by the wayside. Rhett did not receive the love and attention he so desperately needed during that moment in time. It was hard for him to get acclimated as he grew older. 

But he saw the way Perry was, how wild his wolf was, and he decided that when his own wolf came in, he would be nothing like his brother. He would learn control. 

And he did. Royal and Cecilia hoped Rhett’s ability would rub off on Perry. But, unfortunately, it did not. Instead, Perry got into trouble, and Rhett was always lumped in because he followed his brother around everywhere. 

But the worst moment of all was the day Perry lost control at school. 

There had always been high tensions between the Tillersons and the Abbott brothers. The three boys had an innate hatred of wolves, a prejudice ingrained within them thanks to their parents. Luke and Billy weren’t particularly aggressive toward Perry and Rhett. But Trevor? He and Perry especially hated each other. 

Trevor was known for mouthing off. He’d mouth off at his parents, at his teachers, at innocent passersby in the school hallways. He was a loose canon, and it was only a matter of time before he went off on the wrong person. 

Trevor foolishly decided he was going to mess with Perry that day. He caught him in the empty hallway as Perry and Rhett were leaving school. He started jeering Perry, daring him to “go werewolf” on him. Rhett, who was only twelve at the time, and significantly younger and smaller than Trevor and Perry, tried his best to pull Perry away. 

But it was no use. The situation escalated until Perry was lunging, and suddenly, there was screaming, and Trevor was on the floor, clutching at his throat as blood poured from a slash wound caused by Perry’s claws. 

“What did you do?!” Luke shouted as he knelt beside his wounded big brother. “You’re dead, Abbott! You hear me?! Dead!” 

A teacher heard the commotion and came out, only to realize in horror what had happened. 911 was called, as were the Abbott and Tillerson parents. Perry was kept locked in a classroom, alone, until further help could arrive. 

In the end, Trevor’s wound was only superficial, and he would go on to make a full recovery. However, he would walk away with a permanent scar on his neck. Four claw marks, acting as a permanent reminder that he’d been attacked by a wolf. 

The offense should have garnered a heavier punishment. Patricia Tillerson was out for blood. She wanted to kill Perry for what he’d done to her son. But Wayne had a different approach. As money hungry as he was, he was fine to settle on a payment for what had happened. 

Royal paid the Tillersons a hefty sum of money, which nearly drove his own family into financial ruin. They were already struggling to stay afloat as it was, and giving away that big of a sum of money set them back severely. But if he paid the sum, the hunters would leave the Abbotts alone. 

So he gave them the money, and after that, the Tillerson boys were enrolled in a private school the next town over, and the instance was swept under the rug. 

Angry over how it was handled, and the lack of justice for her son’s pain, Patricia threatened to leave Wayne. He told her to go, but his condition was that she couldn’t take her boys with her. He refused to let his sons go, and he threatened blackmail if she went ahead and took them anyway. So she left, alone and angry, determining that one day, she would gain the retribution she sought. 

It took many years, but that opportunity finally presented itself when Wayne Tillerson dropped dead. 

You’d heard about his death. The whole town had. But you didn’t care in the least. As far as you were concerned, one less werewolf hunter in the world, the better. But that still left three of his sons. 

When Wayne was alive, he refused to let anyone but his lawyer and his accountant read any legal or financial papers. He didn’t let his sons get involved. But when his health started failing him, it became necessary for the boys to step in. As the eldest, Trevor took that mantle upon himself. 

But it wasn’t until his father died that he really started doing a deep dive into the seemingly endless paperwork. Financial statements, property deeds, the whole nine. For Trevor, it was the property deeds that caught his attention. Specifically the deed for the land on which the Abbotts lived. 

He noticed an interesting little tidbit. It appeared that the property line had been mistakenly marked, and needed to be moved back a significant distance. But it just so happened that that specific plot of land was where you and Rhett lived. 

Driven by greed, Trevor took the deed to the family lawyer, insistent upon getting the go-ahead to deliver the news himself. It wasn’t difficult, and soon, he was headed right for the reservation, smug as could be, ready to deliver the blow to your family. 

However, when he came lumbering up to your house and knocked loudly on the door, he received no answer. “Abbott!” He shouted, banging a little louder. But the house was empty. You and Rhett had left earlier that morning so you could go in for your monthly prenatal checkup with the pack doctor. You were both blissfully unaware that your lives were about to be turned upside down. 

Back at your house, Trevor was tempted to shove the legal paper he held in his hand in your mailbox, but his heart was set on delivering it in person. However, he saw the next best person to deliver it to when he caught a glimpse of Perry just down the way, saddling up his horse. 

A smirk tugged at the eldest Tillerson’s mouth. He brushed his fingers over the claw marks that scarred his neck. Maybe this could be his way of getting back at Perry for what he’d done to him all those years ago. 

So he marched right toward the stables, and when Perry saw him coming, he visibly tensed. He hadn’t seen Trevor in a long time. As volatile as Perry was, even he himself had no desire to get into it with the man. He knew he’d end up killing him if given the chance, so he kept his distance. 

Now, however, Trevor was coming right at him, and there was no way of keeping his distance any longer. 

“Hey, Abbott!” He called. 

Perry sighed. “What?”

“Any idea where that brother a’ yours is?”

Perry shrugged as he tightened the cinch on the saddle. “Fuck if I know,” he mumbled. 

“Well, I have a little somethin’ for him.”

“Huh, guess you’ll have t’ wait ‘til he gets back.”

“I figured I’d just give it to you instead, an’ you can pass the word along.”

Perry rolled his eyes, stepping back toward the stable when he realized he’d set his hat down inside. “I ain’t your messenger, Trevor. Just leave it at his doorstep or somethin’.”

“Thing is, I really wanted to deliver it in person,” Trevor continued, following Perry into the stable. “I want you to read it, too.”

Again, the Abbott brother rolled his eyes, whirling around to snatch the paper from Trevor. “Fine! I’ll give it to ‘im, if that’ll get you off our fuckin’ property.”

At those words, Trevor’s smirk turned into a wicked grin. “Actually, it ain’t your property.”

That caught Perry’s attention. “What?”

“Read it.”

With furrowed brow, Perry quickly unfolded the paper and his eyes skimmed over its contents. Heat flared in his chest. “This is fuckin’ bullshit.”

“You wish. It’s legit. Either you all move that fence of yours back, or you’ll get fined by the state. And you and I both know you ain’t got the money to pay that fine, since your daddy gave it all away to get us to keep our mouths shut about what you did to me when we were kids.”

That struck a chord. The heat in Perry’s chest grew hotter. “You’re just lucky it wasn’t worse,” he grumbled. 

Trevor scoffed. “So you’re saying I should be thankin’ you for not ripping out my throat?” He laughed heartily, though it was fake. “Fuck you, Abbott.” His first mistake was reaching out to shove at Perry. 

The wolf growled, his eyes flashing yellow. “Get your goddamn hands off me.”

“What are y’gonna do, hm? Kill me? Maim me?”

Perry got in his face. His body trembled as he fought to control his shift. But he had no control, because he’d never learned it. “You got five seconds to get the fuck outta here.”

But Trevor wasn’t afraid. He stood chest to chest, hunter to wolf. “Do it. I dare you. Then they’ll come lookin’ for me, and when they find out you killed me it’s over for you wolves. Is that what you want? To destroy all that civil rights shit your kind fought for?”

Perry seemed to consider his words, and Trevor nodded in satisfaction. “That’s what I thought. You don’t have the balls.” And then, as he was prone to do, he had to add one last blow to his monologue. “Bet that’s why your wife left you. She realized you were a spineless fuckin’ co-”

He never did finish those words. In mere seconds, Perry was lunging, growling, out of control. And then, Trevor was on the hay-scattered floor, bleeding out, his throat slashed like it had been so many years ago. Except, this time, he wasn’t walking away alive. 

Perry stood over his body, his chest heaving, growling like a wild animal. The paper he’d been holding had fluttered to the floor, and the breeze blew it into a corner to be forgotten. 

Just like that, Trevor Tillerson was dead, and as the blinding red rage cleared from Perry’s vision, he realized what he’d done. He stood there, staring at the blood on his hands, and the blood on the floor, and he felt as if he was frozen in place, his feet fastened to the floor with concrete.

What should he do? He’d just killed a goddamn human. If news got out about this, it would be very, very bad, not just for the Abbott pack, but for the entire werewolf community. But Perry was very quickly beginning to panic, unsure of how to fix the egregious crime he had just committed. 

So he did the only thing he knew how. He scrambled out of that barn, climbed onto the back of his horse, and set off at a gallop to his father’s house just down the way. It was nearly lunchtime, so he knew that Royal would likely be home, in the kitchen, waiting as Cecilia prepared his lunch for him.

The kitchen was quiet, save for the sound of Cecilia humming as she readied the food. Until, suddenly, Perry came bursting through the door like a bat out of hell. She dropped the knife she was holding. “Good Lord, Perry!” She exclaimed.

Royal looked up, brows raised. And that’s when he saw the blood. Cecilia also noticed, and she put a hand to her mouth. “What on earth happened?!”

Perry looked at Royal, entirely ignoring his mother. “Dad, I need help.”

Just by looking at his son, Royal seemed to know what ‘help’ entailed. He stood from his seat, already moving to grab his hat from the peg near the door. 

“Royal, what-”

“I’ll be back soon, save me a plate,” he simply said as he followed his son out the door. 

Cecilia fought the urge to chase after them. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what that blood meant. And she’d picked up on a specific scent when Perry came in. A scent she knew, but was too afraid to admit it. The less she knew, the better. But she had a feeling she was going to find out what had happened sooner than later. 

Outside, Royal had a plan. “C’mere,” he said to his son, motioning him toward the garden hose. “First of all you need to wash this shit off so you don’t get it everywhere.”

Perry proceeded to scrub the blood from his hands, and then Royal led him to the truck. “You mind tellin’ me what the fuck happened?” He asked, voice low. 

Perry sighed, lowering his head. “Trevor Tillerson came snoopin’ around.”

“Yeah, I know that, I can fuckin’ smell him on you. How did it end with you covered in his goddamn blood?!”

So, Perry recounted what had happened. Every last detail. And as he spoke, Royal paced back and forth, his boots kicking up gravel as he did so. Once his son finished, he stopped, turning to look at him. “Alright then. Let’s fix this. Before your brother gets back. The less people are involved in this, the better.”

“You…you ain’t callin’ the sheriff?” Perry asked in disbelief. 

“I call the sheriff, not only do you go to jail, but it puts this whole fuckin’ pack in danger. I ain’t gonna let a group of humans run us outta our home. So we’re takin’ care of this ourselves.” He jabbed his thumb toward Perry’s horse. “Go take the tack off that horse and toss it in the back of the truck. You probably got blood all over it and that’s just gonna act as evidence if anyone comes snoopin’ around here.”

And so, the two Abbott men set about covering up the crime. They placed Trevor’s body in the back of the truck, they scrubbed the stables clean, and then, Royal instructed Perry to get into Trevor’s truck and follow after him. Royal drove his own truck and Perry followed him deep into the west pasture and as far up into the woods that the vehicles would allow them to. Then they carried Trevor the rest of the way until they came upon a good spot to bury him. 

All of this took quite some time, and by the time the body was in the ground, Royal breathlessly turned to Perry. “Drive the truck up to Lover’s Lake and let it sink.”

And so, Perry did what he was told. 

Just like that, the crime was covered up. Trevor Tillerson was six feet under, and the only two people in the world who knew about it were Royal and Perry. But it wouldn’t stay that way for long. 

In the meantime, you and Rhett were just arriving home from your midwife appointment, blissfully unaware of what had just taken place. You were purely, incandescently happy. Doctor Tenpenny had given you a gleaming bill of health. The tiny babe within you was growing just as she should. 

You were still quite early on, so you hadn’t begun to show yet. But that didn’t stop Rhett from resting his large hand against your belly from where he sat beside you in the rickety old GMC Sierra he drove. He was so very excited to be a father. The excitement sparkled in his eyes and you swore that blue had gotten impossibly brighter.

“I am so fuckin’ in love with you, little wolf,” he murmured once he’d thrown the truck into park. He leaned across the seat to kiss you sweetly. 

You smiled against his mouth before you replied. “I’m so fuckin’ in love with you too.”

“M’ sweet wife.” His thumb ran circles over your abdomen. “Can’t wait to see you all round with my pup.”

You hummed, eyes fluttering shut as you relished in his warm touch. “Soon,” you assured him. 

“I know. It’ll happen quicker than we can blink. Then we’ll be holdin’ our brand new baby girl.”

You kissed him again, unable to voice your feelings, because the words got caught in your throat. But that was okay, because no other words were needed. 

Soon, Rhett slipped away and rounded the truck to open your door for you, which you gratefully accepted. “I was thinkin’,” he said, his arm slung around you as you walked up to the house. “Maybe I’d stop in town and grab us some lunch? I gotta bring the horses in from pasture first but after that I’ll get goin’.”

“Oh, would you?! I’ve been craving fries from Lucinda’s!” You exclaimed. 

He smirked. “I know. As if you didn’t give me enough hints by sayin’ ‘I could really go for some fries!’ all mornin’,” he teased. 

“Sorry, I’m just starving,” you said with a laugh. 

“I’ll get ya your fries,” he assured you, “an’ a milkshake, too.”

Happily, you leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I know,” he said right back with a knowing glint in his eyes. 

You pushed at his chest as you shook your head at him. “Go tend to the horses, wolf boy.”

He stole another kiss from you, playfully swatting at your ass before he finally slipped away, allowing you to head back inside, your heart warm as you did so. 

He headed over to the stables, and when the grazing horses saw him they immediately perked up. Particularly his mare, Esmeralda. She trotted up to the fence, letting out an excited whinny. 

“Hey t’ you too, girl,” he said, reaching out to scratch her chin, her favorite place to receive pets. She eagerly searched his flannel pocket for treats, but came up with nothing. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Got tied up takin’ mama to the doc. I’ll bring ya somethin’ next time.” He kissed her muzzle, and then he pulled back to saunter over to the stable so he could pull the doors open. 

On his way up the lane, he caught sight of Perry approaching on horseback. But he noticed something a little off. The horse wasn’t saddled, nor was he wearing a bridle. 

“The fuck you ridin’ bareback for?” Rhett asked with a slight laugh, raising a brow at his brother as he got closer. 

“Cause I felt like it,” Perry mumbled as he slowed the horse and finally slid to the ground, boots kicking up gravel. 

“I’ve never seen you ride without a saddle in my life,” Rhett continued. 

“There’s a first time for everythin’,” Perry dismissed. 

Rhett eyed him. He seemed a little…off. Not like himself. “Per, you feelin’ alright?”

“‘m fine,” he snapped. 

Rhett sighed, shaking his head at his brother’s antics. He wasn’t sure what had gotten up his craw, but he decided it best not to ask questions. 

Until he stepped into the stable as Perry led his horse to his stall. A strange scent hit Rhett as soon as he crossed the threshold. Strong and chemical, like bleach. But there was something else, something underlying. He breathed in deep, his face comforting in confusion. 

“You smell that?” He called to Perry. 

His first clue as to something being wrong should’ve been that Perry froze. “I don’t smell anythin’,” he said as he opened the stall door. 

“Bullshit, it’s strong as hell,” Rhett countered. He stepped further into the building and breathed in. “I smell blood.”

Perry didn’t say a word, but just from his posture, Rhett knew he was lying. He never was good at hiding his guilt. As soon as he pulled away from the stall and moved to leave the stable, Rhett stepped into his path, blocking him. 

“Why the fuck does it smell like blood and bleach in my stable?” He demanded, voice low, gaze hard. 

Perry’s wide, brown eyes flickered away, looking everywhere but his brother’s face. He didn’t say a word, and it sent a flash of sizzling anger through Rhett, like a bolt of lightning. “Perry!” He barked. 

“Get outta my way, Rhett.”

“No! What did you do, huh?! Hurt one of my horses?!” Rhett wouldn’t stand for harm to come to any of his animals. He’d beat Perry to a pulp if he found out he’d hurt one. 

“I didn’t touch y’re fuckin horses!” Perry snapped. 

Rhett could hear how fast Perry’s heart was beating, pounding erratically against his rib cage. He was lying. “If it ain’t horse blood, then whose is it?”

A beat of hesitation. Then another. And soon, it became clear that Perry wasn’t going to say a word. Rhett growled angrily and finally stepped aside. “Get the fuck out.”

And he did. Perry hightailed it out of that stable, guilt weight at his shoulders. Rhett was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. But for now, he had a group of restless horses to tend to. 

With a deep sigh, he rolled his head to loosen the tension in his neck, and then proceeded to get the horses gathered and into the stable. Just to be safe, he checked each one over for any potential injuries. But they were all unharmed, as he’d expected. 

Rhett wasn’t stupid. He knew that the scent he’d caught wasn’t horse. It was human. This was someone he knew, because he recognized the underlying scent. But he didn’t want to say it out loud, didn’t want to admit who it was because then that would mean… surely his brother hadn’t killed someone, right? Perry was volatile at times but he’d never killed anyone. However, Rhett knew perfectly well what the man was capable of. 

He’d seen him lose his temper. He’d seen the way Perry couldn’t control his wolf. He was capable of killing. He was one step closer to going rogue and that thought made Rhett’s stomach turn. 

He hoped it wouldn’t come to that point. 

In the meantime, there were other things to tend to. Rhett decided he didn’t want to go snooping. He was afraid he would find something that he wished he never knew. So, he shook the thoughts out of his head and proceeded to get the horses situated. 

A little while later, he was finally making his way back to the truck, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. A shower sounded appealing, but his first order of business was, of course, picking up lunch for you. 

It was a thirty-minute drive into town, so by the time he returned, it had been over an hour that he’d been gone. In that time he’d tried to push the incident with Perry out of his mind. He knew that you would notice something was wrong, and he didn’t want to potentially drag you into whatever mess his brother had just made. You were meant to be enjoying this time as you prepared to welcome your little one, he didn’t want to put any undue stress on your shoulders. 

So he put his best face forward and sauntered into the house with milkshakes and bags of French fries in hand. You’d heard him pull up, and you eagerly hopped up off the couch, where you’d been reading a book that your midwife had given you. 

“I was about to start gnawing on the couch,” you remarked with a smile as you scurried up to kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks for picking this up. You’re so good to me.”

“Anythin’ for you, little wolf,” he hummed. He never thought he’d turn into such a sap, but having a pregnant mate will do that to a guy. Not that he minded. You were worth getting sappy over. 

“You still gonna call me little wolf once our little is born?” You asked him as you settled at the kitchen table, eager to tear open your bag of fries. 

Rhett smiled as he sat across from you. “You’ll always be m’ little wolf. Even when we’ve got a little wolf of our own.”

His words warmed your chest. He made you feel so loved. You couldn’t wait to see that love translate into the way he handled your daughter. He was going to be a wonderful father, you just knew it. 

Your meal progressed with comfortable conversation, the two of you discussing your plans for the rest of the day, and what the schedule looked like tomorrow. It was a sort of domesticity that you loved. 

After lunch, it was back to business as usual. The day continued like any other, with nothing seemingly out of the ordinary. Rhett had even sort of forgotten about his encounter with Perry in the stable, and went about his work day like normal. 

By the time evening rolled around, everything seemed perfectly fine. Rhett came inside to shower, and you got dinner on the table like you usually did, one of your favorite records playing on the antique record player you kept in the living room. 

Rhett was still in the shower as you began setting the table, and you were interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up. Then there were hurried footsteps, and seconds later, the sound of pounding on your door. 

Brow furrowed, you set the plate you’d been holding onto the table, tuning in to the agitated voices of two men on your porch. Something was wrong. Wiping your hands on your apron, you strolled over to the door, rolling your eyes when the pounding came again. 

You pulled the door open to reveal Luke and Billy Tillerson. You stared at them in surprise. You’d heard of them plenty of times. You knew what the Tillerson name meant. But you’d never met them. Now here they were, standing right in front of you, and you could tell something was wrong. 

“Can I help you?”

“Beggin’ your pardon, Mrs. Abbott. Is your man home?” Luke spoke. He offered a charming smile, as if it fixed everything. 

“He’s busy. Why do you ask?”

The man shrugged. “Just need to ask him a couple questions, is all. We can wait right here for him.”

“We’re about to sit down to dinner. Can you come back tomorrow?” You offered. You got the sense that they suspected your husband of something. It made your heart quicken in your chest. 

Luke narrowed his eyes, still fighting to be polite. “Now would be preferable. Really gotta talk to him.”

“Well, like I said, we’re about to—”

Suddenly, there was a strong hand on your shoulder, and Rhett was gently pulling you back, placing you safely behind him as he stepped into the doorway. “Hope you ain’t botherin’ my wife,” he said. 

Luke raised a brow. “Botherin’ her? I was askin’ where you were. Mind steppin’ outside so we can talk?”

Rhett had a sneaking suspicion as to what this was about. So he turned to you. “Stay inside. I’ll be back in a minute.” He left no room for debate. 

Quickly, he stepped outside, pulling the door shut. He motioned for both men to follow him off the porch, leading them a little ways away from the house, hoping your enhanced hearing wouldn’t pick up on the conversation. 

 “What do ya want?”

“Trevor came up here earlier today. He hasn’t been home since.”

Rhett remained neutral in expression, but the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. “Really? I didn’t see him. You sure he was here?”

“Yes, I’m sure! Came here himself to give you papers about the land you’re on.”

Rhett’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Papers? What papers?”

Behind his brother, Billy huffed. “Oh, come on. Don’t play dumb with us.”

“No, I’m bein’ serious! What papers?!”

Luke folded his arms over his chest, shifting his weight to one foot. “He came up here around 9 o’clock this mornin’ to give you papers tellin’ you that you have to move the property line back. The land you’re on right now isn’t yours.”

Rhett felt his chest tightening. “I don’t know anything about any fuckin’ papers. But I do know this land belongs to my pack and you ain’t takin’ it.”

“Look, I’m not the one who wanted to kick you off the land. If it was up to me I wouldn’t really give a shit, as long as you all keep to yourselves. But Trev cares. He talked to the lawyer. Got him to put some papers together tellin’ you to move. You’re really tellin’ the truth when you say you never got the papers?”

“I didn’t get the damn papers. I never saw Trev. I was gone this mornin’ with my wife. Didn’t come back ‘til around 10:45. Then I brought m’ horses in from pasture and went into town. I didn’t see hide nor hair of Trevor the whole time and that’s the God-honest truth.”

Luke sighed deeply, nodding his head. “Alright, alright. I believe ya. Thing is, we haven’t been able to get ahold of Trevor all day. Somethin’ happened.”

Rhett could take a pretty good guess as to what had really happened. He was putting the puzzle pieces together in his head, and his blood was beginning to boil with rage. He was tempted to tell them to go ask Perry, but he held his tongue. Part of him feared what might happen if he blew the whistle. What would it mean for the pack? Even so, he kept himself calm and steady and refused to give away 

“Listen, if I hear or see anythin’, I’ll let you boys know. Until then, I’d like t’ have a nice dinner with my wife.”

It didn’t seem like Luke wanted to let it go, but he finally relented. “Fine. But this isn’t over.”

He nodded at Billy, and the two brothers turned and walked back toward their shiny new truck. Rhett remained fixed upon the driveway, his arms crossed over his chest, making sure that they actually left. 

As soon as they were out of sight, he sighed deeply, bowing his head. He was torn. Should he confront Perry and try to get him to confess? Or should he just leave it? After all, the less he knew, the better. 

Rhett thought of you, and the daughter you were expecting. He didn’t want anything to endanger your future. What would happen if it got out that a wolf had killed a human? All eyes in America would be on their community. Years of rights that had been fought for could be threatened. 

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. In reality, it could only end up being Perry who would pay for the crime. Maybe justice would be served fairly. But in his heart, Rhett knew that wasn’t the case. Trevor Tillerson had been looking for an excuse to run the wolves into the ground. Maybe he’d get his wish from beyond the grave. 

“Rhett?” Your soft voice pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to find you standing in the doorway of your home, a look of concern on your face. “What’s going on?” You’d only caught bits and pieces of the conversation. Your heightened hearing was very useful, but you had to really focus to be able to utilize it. You had thought it best not to listen to what the men were saying, even if you were curious. If Rhett told you to stay inside, you knew he must have sensed some sort of danger. 

He didn’t want to involve you in this any more than he had to. He worried that he might get pulled into it, and he didn’t want to take you down with him. He shook his head, letting out a sigh as he sauntered back to the porch. “Just…just don’t worry about it, alright? Let’s eat supper.”

“You’re not in trouble, are you?” You asked in fear. The prospect of hunters on your property made you uneasy. 

“Nah, nothin’ like that. It’s better if we don’t talk about it for now. Let’s just eat supper.”

So you dropped it, even though you didn’t want to. The way his features had gone tense told you not to keep pushing. If he wanted you to know more, he would tell you. 

Dinner continued as normal that night, but Rhett was quieter than he usually was, very clearly troubled by something. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” You reiterated as you stood at the sink washing dishes, with Rhett beside you drying them. 

“Darlin’, I’m askin’ you right now not to bring it up. I…I don’t like keepin’ things from you but I’ve gotta think this one over before I say anythin’. Understand?”

You nodded, turning your body to face him. “Okay. You’re just worrying me, is all.”

Rhett sighed softly and tossed his dish towel aside before he reached out, large hands resting on your hips and pulling you close. “I’ve gotta do what I have to to protect you and our pup. And that’s what I’m doin’ right now. Protectin’ you. And askin’ you to trust me.”

You placed your hands on his chest, meeting his gaze. “I do trust you.”

That was all he needed to hear. 

Over the next few days, he was still waging a war in his mind, trying to decide what to do. It was almost as if he was in denial. If he didn’t acknowledge Perry, if he didn’t confront him about the crime, it didn’t happen. Everything was fine. 

But as he was cleaning out the stalls in the stable one morning while the horses were out to pasture, he came across something very incriminating. A crumpled piece of paper shoved away in a corner of a stall, forgotten.

Curious, Rhett bent to grab it, straightening up and letting his pitchfork rest against his side as he opened the paper. He scanned the words printed across the page, and his stomach dropped. So this was what Luke had been talking about. 

Rhett stared at the paper, trembling in his grasp because his hand was beginning to shake from the anger bubbling up within him. This only confirmed what he suspected. But before he flew off the handle, he needed to get to the bottom of this. He needed to ask Perry what had really happened. 

So Rhett tucked the paper in the pocket of his jeans, set his pitchfork aside, put his hat back on his head, and set off toward the Abbott house up the lane. He walked with purpose, his eyes set hard ahead of him. 

He could see his brother and his father up ahead, both working on a repair in the corral fence that stood in front of the house. Royal was the first to catch sight of Rhett, and he nodded in silent greeting, curious as to why his son was in such a hurry. 

“Rhett,” he called out to acknowledge the younger man’s presence. 

But Rhett wasn’t there for Royal. “Can I borrow Perry for a sec?” He asked. His tone was urgent. He didn’t miss the way Perry went tense. 

“Can it wait?” Royal asked. “Gotta get this fence done, we got a new horse comin’ in today and it needs to be ready.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes,” Rhett countered. 

Perry sighed, but relented, setting down the crowbar in his hands before he turned and stepped out from under the fence. Rhett was already moving, encouraging his brother to follow him as he walked away from the corral. 

When Rhett finally stopped, he pulled the piece of paper he’d found in the stable from his pocket. “Mind tellin’ me what this is?” He needed to hear it from his brother’s mouth. 

Perry went still as a statue, his face pale. That reaction sent fire through Rhett, and his grip tightened on the paper, crumpling the end. “What the fuck did you do?” He hissed. 

“N-nothin’!” Perry tried. 

“Bullshit! I want you to say it! What happened in my stable, huh?! The blood I smelled? Now this paper? I know Trevor Tillerson was up here the other day. Luke came lookin’ for him that same night. I didn’t wanna believe that you were capable of somethin’ like this, but maybe you are.”

Perry was hesitating. He’d gone dead silent, as if he was frozen in place. He didn’t know what to say. And that only served to piss Rhett off. 

“Talk to me, goddammit!” 

“He wouldn’t shut up,” Perry finally relented. “Kept runnin’ his mouth off and I just…I snapped.”

Rhett stared at him. Eyes wide. Chest heaving. He let those words wash over him, and they felt like searing acid on his skin. “You…snapped?”

“He said somethin’ about Rebecca and I just saw red! Next thing I knew he was on the ground covered in blood!” Perry was trembling. Tears were shining in his eyes. 

Rhett was vibrating. “You fucking killed him. In my stable.”

“Like I said, I just snapped!”

The younger Abbott could hardly bear to look at his brother. His head was spinning. Deep down he’d known Perry was guilty. That he’d killed Trevor. But now that he’d actually admitted it? It felt like a gut punch. 

“I can’t believe you…” Rhett trailed off, hands clenching at his sides. “No, I can believe it. You’re out of fuckin’ control, Per. This is serious, you hear me? You just put the whole pack in danger!” 

“I–” Perry started, but Rhett held up his hand. 

“No, y’know what? You’re gon’ make this right. You’ve got two days to clean up the mess you made. Either you go to the sheriff, or I will. And if I have to do it, it ain’t gon’ be pretty.”

He shoved the paper into Perry’s hands. Then he got in his face, chest to chest. “If they start goin’ after this pack, there ain’t gonna be a place safe in heaven and earth for you. And if you think I’ll protect you when they do, you’ve got another thing comin’.”

Then, Rhett turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving Perry standing there in the driveway, staring down at the paper that had started it all. For the first time since he’d killed Trevor, the severity of the situation seemed to set in. He thought of Amy, his young daughter, and how this would affect her. If he lost her, he had nothing left. Could he really go through with confessing to this crime? Even if it meant losing what was left of his family? 

Rhett was a man of his word. If Perry didn’t confess, he would do it for him, just as he said he would. But Perry felt lost. Uncertain. His judgment was clouded by his own guilt. So he turned to his father again, asking for help, because he didn’t know what to do. Royal would have an answer. Surely he would. 

“I’ll talk to Rhett,” the Abbott patriarch assured his eldest son. “See if I can talk him off the ledge. I ain’t gonna let Amy lose you like she lost her ma, alright? She needs her daddy now more ‘an ever. I’ll fix this, son.”

But this was not something that could easily be fixed like a downed corral fence. It was a sinking ship with a cracked hull that no amount of sealant could repair. And whoever remained left on board would surely drown in the depths of the ocean.

In the meantime, Rhett was reeling. Now that he knew the truth, he worried that the Tillersons might show up on his doorstep again. And this time, he wasn't sure if he could lie. He was worried that they had begun to suspect him of having something to do with Trevor’s disappearance. He might soon be faced with the choice of staying quiet, or exposing his brother's nefarious deed just to save himself from being accused of it. He would not go to jail for something he didn’t do. He had a wife and a child to think about. 

And when faced with a choice between his mate and his brother, Rhett would always choose you. 

He hoped that Perry would do the right thing and confess to his wrongdoing. But if he made no move to fix the mess he made in two days’ time, Rhett would have no choice but to intervene. It was necessary for the good of the pack. 

However, things were already spiraling out of control quicker than he even realized. 

Just across town, on the Tillerson ranch, a sleek, black limousine was just pulling into the expansive driveway. Luke and Billy stood outside the house, waiting for the lone passenger to step out of the car. 

The driver came around and opened the door, and moments later, Patricia Tillerson gracefully emerged from the back of the limousine, her heeled boots kicking up dust as she did so. 

She stood there for a moment, reaching up to remove her sunglasses as she eyed her sons. “First your father. Now this?” She finally spoke. She had been in town a few short months ago for Wayne’s funeral. Now, here she was again, under an entirely different circumstance. “Have you made any headway into finding your brother?”

Luke shook his head. “We were waitin’ for you before we did anything else.”

Patricia sighed. “This whole time you could’ve been– you know what? Nevermind. Let’s talk inside.” She stepped past the two boys and made her way up to the large house, walking with purpose as she did so. 

Luke and Billy dutifully followed her. 

Patricia’s first stop was the liquor cabinet, where she poured herself a glass of brandy. Then she turned to her sons. “Tell me again what you’ve been doing to find Trevor?” Her gaze was hard. She didn’t think they’d been doing enough. 

“We…we went to the reservation the other day to ask around about him. Rhett Abbott claims he never saw him. I believe him, he’s an honest man, and–”

His mother scoffed. “Man? Luke, honey, he’s an animal. A savage beast, if you will. There’s no telling the lengths he’d go to throw you off his trail.”

“But Ma, I don’t think he was trying to throw us off,” Billy echoed, shaking his head. 

“Shows what you boys know about wolves. They’ll say anything to get off the hook. That fuckin’ pack had something to do with Trevor disappearing. And I pray to God it’s not the case, but they’ve more than likely killed him. Or worse, turned him into one of them. Either way, he’s dead. No son of mine will succumb to the werewolf curse. I’d sooner kill him than let him be turned.”

“So what do you want to do, then? You told me not to call the sheriff, so I didn’t. I’ve stayed silent about this, waiting for you to get here. The more time we waste, the less chance of finding him alive,” Luke pressed, motioning his arms impatiently. 

Patricia downed her brandy in one go. “If they have Trevor, they aren’t going to give him up easily. So we give them a little…incentive.”

Billy and Luke shared a look. “What kind of incentive?” Asked Billy. 

Their mother folded her arms over her chest, squaring her shoulders. “They took one of ours? We’re going to take one of theirs. We’ll interrogate ‘em while we’re at it, try to get some answers as to what really happened to Trevor.”

They were hunters. And Patricia the best of the best. It would be easy to get back at the Abbott pack. They just had to find the most vulnerable member. 

There were plenty to choose from. Between the little ones in your own family, and Amy on Rhett’s side, any number of those pups would be a good target. But Patricia Tillerson had done her research. 

It was Rhett’s portion of land they were after. And Rhett just so happened to have a mate. What better way to find his ultimate weakness than to steal the one he loved above all others? 

So, she instructed her boys to stake out the property. To track yours and Rhett’s whereabouts so they could discreetly step in and carry out their intended mission without him intervening. Because they knew, if he caught them, he would not let them go without a fight. And it was very likely that they would have to put him down if he came at them. 

How fortuitous it was that the very next day after they began their stakeout, you left the property to head into town, without Rhett. The only other person you had in tow was Amy, and she wasn’t a threat whatsoever. 

Luke shared a look with Billy. “Guess that’s our chance,” he remarked, and his younger brother nodded in agreement. 

So they followed you into town, sure to stay a good distance back so you didn’t suspect anything right off the bat. 

In the cab of Rhett’s truck, you and Amy were entirely unaware of the impending danger. You had a few errands to run in town, and Amy was always up for going on excursions with you. Although she had packmates her own age now, she had spent her whole life surrounded by adults, and had essentially been raised by her grandparents and Uncle Rhett, so it was a little difficult for her to integrate herself in with kids her own age. Even if those kids were also wolves like her. 

Besides, she’d had to grow up fast because of what had happened with losing her mother. Your heart ached for the part of her childhood that she’d lost, but she seemed to have adapted okay. Even so, you always made sure to include her whenever you had plans by yourself. She was always eager to spend time with you because she loved you for the way you loved her Uncle Rhett. 

“I’ve never seen him smile so much,” she’d told you, early on in your relationship with Rhett. “You make him so happy. I’m glad he found you.”

And from then on, a bond was formed between you and the little blonde girl. She didn’t have a mother, and it made your heart ache. So, in a way, you took on that role. You couldn’t fully raise her in the way her mother would, but you reached out to her and spent time with her as much as possible, in hopes of providing some sort of nurturing. 

And now there was a new baby on the way, and Amy was teeming with excitement at the prospect of welcoming a little cousin. You could tell she was going to be a big help to you once the baby finally came. She was already asking to babysit, when she got a little older, of course. 

Today, you were doing a little shopping to pick up some groceries for Cecilia for the family dinner that you were all having that night, and to buy odds and ends for the baby’s nursery. Amy was just bouncing with eagerness to help you pick things out. You also planned to take her out to lunch at the little diner in town, and you were going to try out the brand new cafe that had just opened. Wabang had little to no coffee shops at all, so a new one was the talk of the town. 

Amy didn’t drink coffee yet, even though Uncle Rhett once let her try some of the black coffee he always drank. She said it tasted like dirt water, and it turned her against coffee altogether. Instead, she was looking forward to having a strawberry banana smoothie as a treat to drink on the way home. 

Little did you know that you’d never make it home that day. 

You set about your errands without a care in the world, listening to Amy rattle off facts and highlights about the book she’d been reading lately. She talked your ear off, but you were perfectly happy to listen. 

You were unaware of the eyes watching you as you eventually crossed the street to stop at the butcher’s shop. Or when you finally ended the day by stopping at Half Moon Coffee. 

You didn’t notice anything until you were finally back on the road, headed for home. And this time, Luke didn’t bother trying to be inconspicuous. He followed you closely, and when you glanced in your rearview, you realized who was in that shiny new F150. 

Your stomach dropped, and you let your eyes flicker back to the road. Without saying a word to alarm Amy, you pressed the gas down, speeding up. Luke sped up as well. Your heart quickened in your chest. A feeling of ice cold dread settled in your gut, spreading throughout your extremities. 

“What’s wrong?” Amy asked beside you. She could sense your discomfort and hear your pounding heart. Although she had not yet developed the ability to shift into her wolf, her heightened senses had begun coming in clear and sharp. She picked up on things a lot quicker than she used to. 

“Nothing,” you lied.

“Are you sure? You’re scared.”

You knew you couldn’t lie to her. You glanced at her from the corner of your eye. “We’re being followed. I want you to grab my phone and call Uncle Rhett, okay?”

You knew Rhett would be able to sense that you were in danger. That was how it worked with mates. But you wanted Amy to call him so he was immediately aware of the situation and knew exactly where to find you. However, she never got the chance to call him, because in a split second, your assailant sped up, shot around you, and then, several feet ahead of you, slammed on his brakes. 

You shrieked in surprise, jamming your foot down onto your own brake. Amy let out a yelp, and your phone flew out of her hands and onto the floorboards. Instinctively, your arm shot out in front of her, protecting her from going forward. 

As you skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding colliding with the other truck, your first thought was to back up and go the way you’d come. If you got close enough to town you might be able to ask for help. But something told you that it wasn’t going to be that easy. Even so, you tried it anyway, throwing the truck in reverse and frantically turning the wheel. You almost had it, too. If it wasn’t for Billy jumping out of the Ford and easily firing two arrows from a crossbow into the tires. 

You heard the hissing before you realized what it was. Then the truck shuddered, and you realized the tires were going flat. “No!” You cried. You hit the brakes again, and soon, the truck slid to a rough, jarring halt.  You could see the brothers quickly approaching through your side view mirror. 

“What do they want?!” Amy cried, trembling with fear beside you. 

You knew you had to protect her. So you turned to her, eyes locked into hers. “Get down on the floor. Stay in this truck and do not get out. See if you can call Uncle Rhett. I-I’ll get out and talk to them.”

But you never got the chance. Suddenly, your door was yanked open, and you gasped in surprise, coming face to face with Luke. 

“Get out of the truck,” he said. 

“Please, this isn’t–”

Billy lifted the crossbow, pointing it right at you. “Get out!” 

With trembling hands, you fumbled to unbuckle your seatbelt, chest tight with fear as you scrambled out of the truck. Behind you, you could hear Amy crying, scared out of her mind. 

“No!” She wailed, grabbing onto your arm in a futile attempt to keep you from going with them. 

“Amy, baby, let go of me!” You exclaimed, afraid they’d hurt her if she didn’t settle. But when you glanced back at her, you saw a wildness in her eyes. She’d already lost her mother, she was terrified of losing you, too. 

But in the blink of an eye, you were hauled out of the truck, kicking and screaming. Luke was strong, but you were a wolf, and you were stronger than him. It wasn’t that difficult to pull yourself out of his grasp, and you growled threateningly, whirling around to face both men, daring them to come closer.

But one had a crossbow fitted with silver arrows. You could tell by the way they glinted in the sun. If Billy shot you with one of them, it would not end well. Silver was was like poison for werewolves. And you thought of the babe inside you, and how it might harm her. You didn’t want to risk getting shot. 

But it was still your instinct to fight. “What do you want with me?!” You cried, baring your fangs, your eyes flashing gold. 

But both of them grabbed you at once, wrestling you against the side of the truck, even as you snarled and snapped and struggled. You managed to catch Luke by the face with your claws and leave a considerable slash in his cheek, at which he growled in pain. But it only angered him and his adrenaline made him even stronger. 

Amidst the scuffle, you felt something sharp against the side of your neck, like a pinprick, and then, a thick, metallic collar was fastened crudely around your throat just as your body began to betray you. 

You gasped, and suddenly, you had no control of your limbs. Your brain screamed at you to fight, to flee, to preserve yourself. But you couldn’t move. Before you even realized, you were plummeting toward the ground, and your vision swam with black spots until, finally, you succumbed to unconsciousness entirely. 

Billy looked at Luke as they stood over your crumpled form. “What should we do about the kid? Wanna take her with us too?” Billy asked. 

Luke sighed, reaching into his back pocket to grab a handkerchief to dab at the wound on his cheek. “Ma wouldn’t want us just to leave her. I’ll grab her, she could be useful. You get this one into the truck,” he motioned toward you before he sauntered around to the passenger side of your GMC. 

However, when he opened the door, expecting to find a distraught Amy, he came up with nothing. The cab was empty, and Amy was nowhere to be found. 

“What the fuck?” Luke whispered to himself. “Goddammit!” 

Where on earth could she have gone? All that surrounded the was open plains. In the amount of time it took to get you down, there was no way she could’ve found a hiding place that quickly. 

Hurriedly, Luke ducked to check beneath the truck, and the truck bed, only to come up empty-handed. He cursed again, kicking at one of the slashed tires. 

“She’s gone!” He exclaimed to his brother. 

Billy’s eyes went wide. “How?!” He asked as he shoved the bed cover closed on the F150, effectively covering up the fact that you were currently laying inside it. 

“I don’t know! I thought they couldn’t shift that young but maybe she did and that’s how she got the slip. I guess it’s not that big of a deal, but Ma will still be pissed we let her get away.”

Billy shrugged it off. “Whatever. We don’t even have to tell her the kid got away since she doesn’t know she was here to begin with. ‘sides, Rhett’s mate was who we were after anyway. We got what we came for. Let’s go.”

And so, the Tillerson boys climbed back into their truck and headed off toward their ranch, your unconscious body hidden in the back. 

Meanwhile, in that old, rickety GMC, a furry little wolf pup was just squeezing out from under the front seat, where she’d hidden herself from the view of the hunters. She crept toward the door, where she stuck her head out and sniffed at the air. She smelled the remnants of gasoline and exhaust, and she whimpered. 

Amy wasn’t sure how she’d ended up in this predicament. One moment, she was watching in terror as you were ripped away from her, and the next, she was shrinking, and when she looked down, her hands were little black paws. 

Driven by her fear, she managed to wedge herself beneath the bench and hide there until the Tillersons left. Now, she had no idea how to shift back to human, but she knew she had to get help. So she launched herself onto the dusty ground, and took off in the direction of home. 

Meanwhile, at the Abbott ranch, things were in upheaval. 

Rhett had been out with his father and brother, searching for a lost steer that had somehow gotten away from the herd. Rhett claimed a coyote probably got to it. Royal insisted the animal was simply lost. 

Halfway out into the south pasture, Rhett was hit with a sudden shock of anxiety, as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on him. 

“Whoa,” he gently spoke to his mare Esmeralda, tugging on her reins to bring her to a stop. He gasped sharply as, all at once, this horrible, consuming wave of dread began spreading within his chest. 

“No,” he croaked, and just like that, his entire world began to spin off its axis. He clutched at his chest as his heart began to pound. It felt almost like a heart attack, except he knew it was nothing of the sort. 

You were in danger. 

“Somethin’s wrong!” He desperately shouted ahead to Royal and Perry. He hardly recognized his own voice. It was a guttural, anguished cry. 

He urged Esmeralda into a gallop, hurtling toward the other two men. “Gotta go back!” Rhett cried. He spoke your and Amy’s names, and that immediately got their attention. Together, the three of them set off for the house, with Rhett urging Esmeralda as fast as she could go. 

As soon as he made it to the house, he eased the horse to a stop and, quick as lightning, jumped to the ground. Although he had the ability to sense when you were in danger, that ability did not allow him to pinpoint your exact location. He had to follow you by sense alone, and the closer he got to you, the stronger that terrible ache in his chest would get, letting him know he was on the right track to find you. 

He’d never felt this before. Not to this magnitude. He had always been told that it was an intense feeling, indescribable in every sense. And it was. It was the strongest sensation he’d ever felt. Like his heart was outside of his body, pulling him toward you. 

The second his feet hit the ground, he was running, sprinting into the house in search of Royal’s truck keys. He startled his mother, who was in the kitchen making preparations for the dinner that night. 

“Goodness gracious, what’s happened?!” She asked her son. He shouted over his shoulder that you and Amy were in danger, and Cecilia gasped, her heart dropping at the thought of her granddaughter and daughter-in-law being harmed. 

Keys in hand, Rhett threw himself toward the old Ford Ranger, flinging open the door, ignoring the voices of his family members shouting after him. His vision was tunneled. The only thing that mattered was getting to you. He was just about to turn and tell Cecilia to inform your parents of what was happening, but then, altogether, he froze.

A chill ran down his spine, and he sucked in a ragged breath. “No,” he wheezed. “No, no, no.”

“I-I can’t feel her,” he whispered. He wrenched the truck door back open, and he locked eyes with his mother, who was waiting concernedly nearby. His knees nearly buckled as his feet hit the ground. He stumbled forward, and Cecilia caught him. “Mama, I can’t…I can’t feel her!”

“What do you mean you can’t feel her?” She asked her son. But she knew. 

“She’s…she’s just gone! I can’t…I don’t…” Rhett could hardly speak. His throat felt like it was constricting, cutting off his airflow. A harrowing sense of dread washed over him. He knew what this meant. All of them did. If a werewolf could no longer feel its mate’s presence, it could only mean one thing. 

That mate was dead. 

And that realization drove Rhett to his knees. Cecilia caught him so he wouldn’t hit the ground hard. He clutched at his mother’s shirt, his face buried against her abdomen, and he wailed out his pain, the agony of which was too great for him to bear. 

Perry was demanding something above him. Shouting about finding Amy. But Rhett couldn’t hear him. He was deafened by the rush of blood in his ears. Deafened by the ringing sound. He thought of you, and the baby you carried, and he wept. 

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, he’d lost everything. 

To be continued…

-

tagging: (a mix of those already on my taglist/those who were tagged in the first part)

@cdauni @gothamrots @happyrebelruins @bobfloydsbabe @myfandomchangesalot @mikpieboo @petersunderoos96 @eighthwvnder @yanna-banana @bradshawsbaby @bradshawsbitch @sebsxphia @rhettabbotts @milesmillergf @briseisgone @laluneveillesureux @gohnspants @hangmanapologist @wkndwlff @damrlova @withahappyrefrain @michaego @whisperofsong @kmc1989

taglist form

[quirkwizard]

I'm not sure why I made this. I just thought it would be fun to do and now all you have to see the fruits of my labor. So, without further ado, the Pro Hero Parent Tier List. Hope you all enjoy it and try not to take it too seriously.

F Tier: Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, and Yoroi Musha: The simple fact is that these three characters are way too old to be parents. Maybe if this were a grandparent tier list, they'd be higher, but it isn't, so they're all going in the F Tier.

D Tier: Endeavor: Look, do I even need to explain this one? You all know what he did. One of the biggest problems in the story is the result of all the messed up stuff Enji did as a dad. His attempt at redemption was to remove himself from his family. Easy bottom tier.

Nana: While I'm someone who tries to understand Nana's position and decisions in regards to her kid and her role as a "One For All" user, she still didn't seem like a very good parent even when she was around. She herself even admits that, so that is what puts her so low.

Gang Orca: What few interactions we see him having with kids is screaming about their failures and throwing them when he is dissatisfied with their answers. That is bound to cause some trauma later. Like some Pavlovain response when they think of Free Willy.

Hound Dog: He may be a guidance consular that works with kids, implying some understanding of child psychology, but if his first reaction is to yell and growl at any emotional problems in front of him, he probably isn't going to communicate with his own kids.

Thirteen: I get that Thirteen is someone who takes a lot of care and consideration with her power and is quite safe to be around. That being said, I don't think that someone who is at risk of destroying their own child at the atomic level should really be handling children.

C Tier: Edgeshot: There really isn't a lot to say about Edgeshot as we don't get a lot of personality outside of being stoic, which could certainly be an issue for a parent. That being said, being willing to sacrifice yourself for a kid does push him above the bottom of the tier list.

Mount Lady: If we're considering her early in the series, she'd definitely be at the lower tier given how irresponsible and self-centered she is. Though considering her development and how mature she's gotten in general, she barely scrapes by as an average parent.

Kaumi Woods: Kamui Woods is just kind of average. There just isn't a lot going on with him that could give or detract merit from the little hero work he's done. He's here by default. His inability to hug his kids without giving them splinters would certainly be an issue.

Manual: Again, he's average. The most we have is that he seemed to do pretty well with handling Iida's whole situation but didn't seem to notice it in the first place. Otherwise, he's pretty plain. I could see him being the lame dad his kids don't want to talk to or be around.

Miruko: Definite Tiger Mom. She'd be making her kids do all kinds of sports stuff and getting them to exercise all the time. She cares, but she shows it by trying to make her kids excel at what they're doing. Great if they're into that, but I can see it fostering a lot of resentment.

Sir Nighteye: Like Miruko, but at the other end of the spectrum. He would be the kind of dad to make his kid study a lot because that's what he would think would be best for them. Cares and can loosen up when needed, but is emotionally distant most times.

B Tier: Ms. Joke: She is a teacher, meaning she must have some understanding of kids. She'd definitely be the "Fun Mom". She'd always try to keep a smile on her kid's face, even if that meant making terrible mom jokes. Be ready, she has been working on them for years.

Ectoplasm: He seems to be pretty good with kids, but the real clencher is his power. No matter what, he could always be around to be present in his kid's life. And hey, family dynamics are always changing. Who is to say a family can't be just a kid and their thirty-six identical dads?

Ryukyu: She can be hard on herself, but she seems to have a soft spot for children and do well with her wards, given how well they have turned out, being commanding without being harsh. And let's be real: who wouldn't want to have a dragon for a parent? That alone would put her pretty high up here.

Eraserhead: This may be a controversial pick putting him so low, but hear me out. I think Aizawa would try to be a good dad, but he's married to his job, being too tired and absent to really make it work. And did you see what he bought for Eri to wear? What self-respecting father would ever do this his child?

Fourth Kind: A good role model to any kid who tries to foster strong moral foundations and understanding of community in his wards. All around, a pretty stand-up guy to have as a dad. He loses points because punching kids is not a good way to punish them, even if it hurts him more than it hurts them.

Midnight: This could be because I read Vigilantes, but Midnight actually shows quite a few parental traits, like being highly empathic and understanding of those younger than her. Then again, I can only imagine the kind of teasing and general awkwardness that would come from having the R-Rated Heroine as a mom.

A Tier: All Might: If we're counting him without "One For All", otherwise he'd be working too much to be a dad, I think that he'd be a parent. If his students are anything to go by, he'd be a pretty effective parent. We can also tell that he plays favorites with his kids, and that knocks off a few points.

Present Mic: This may be a surprise pick, but I can see him doing pretty well as a parent. He can be the fun, comic dad that plays with his kids and can get on their level, but he can instantly go into serious mode if he needs to. The fact that he can do both so well, which you kind of need as a parent, puts him pretty high on the list.

Best Jeanist: Another stand-up guy, just trying to be a good role model and look amazing while doing it. I mean, the guy had an actual positive impact on early series Bakugou. That has got to count for something. Probably has all kinds of weirdly good life advice if you can understand fashion metaphors.

Rock Lock: One of the few real parents on this list, Rock Lock just seems like a responsible parent. He did try to call out the kids for being on missions, but he was kind of right in that regard and just looking out for them. Probably try to keep his kid from doing stupid stuff. He'd be a good, but restrictive father.

Hawks: Like Present Mic, I could see Hawks being a chill dad who doesn't seem to know what's going on but actually knows everything that happens and always has one eye open when it comes to his kids. He'll give his kids their freedom, but he's going to be there to catch and guide them when they really need him.

S Tier: Mandalay: Another one of the few real parents here, and one with a pretty bad hand. Mandalay not only had to take over as a guardian out of nowhere but had to do it with a heavily traumatized child while trying to lead a team as a pro-hero. The fact that she seems to be doing as well as she is puts her this high without question.

Fat Gum: No one should be surprised that Fat Gum is this high. He's super protective without being overbearing, tries to instill valuable lessons to make them develop, and does his best to encourage his wards to be the best they could be. And could you imagine him giving hugs? That would make any problem vanish.

Tensei: Tensei is just such a good guy. He's a good role model and leader for his team without it being detrimental. He knew Koichi for about a day and he was able to understand Koichi and tried to set him up for success. Imagine how well he'd do with his own kid. Plus, he's an older brother. That's like a being a parent with training wheels.

[arcadiabaytornado]

Hi! Happy Friday October 11 lol.

I’ve been hearing some people calling max and Chloe’s relationship codependent, and although I get the vibes, I was wondering if you could give some more in depth insight and explanations if you haven’t already/if you’re interested?

I am SO interested in talking about this! I love Pricefield, but easily the most unhealthy part of their relationship is the codependency they display.

Max will destroy herself for Chloe. I know that sounds like hyperbole.. but when you take lines like "I don't care what happens me. I have to make sure Chloe's safe." into account...it's not. And we see that it's not during the multiple times Max puts herself in danger on Chloe's behalf.

Just off the top of my head, Max: A: Tries to ambush Nathan during the Vortex Club party so Chloe can get her revenge, despite the fact that Max knows how dangerous he is. B: Confronts Frank at his RV to try and get information Chloe wants. C: Follows a weird text to the junkyard to try and protect the remains of someone Chloe cares about...which gets her kidnapped by Mark Jefferson. D: Drives through a dangerous storm to get to the diner so she can have the photo that will bring her back to Chloe.

There are more examples than the ones I listed above, but those are the four that first four that came to my head.

But it's not just herself Max will destroy for Chloe. She'll destroy the entire town. Which...LOOK. I always sacrifice Arcadia Bay. To ME that is the canon ending. HOWEVER...Max does bring a wave of death and destructive over a town to save the life of one person.

More Undercut

It's more complicated than that, of course. LIS is a game that asks the question "How far would you go for someone you love" and then waits for the player to answer. But like...at it's least nuanced core...the sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending is Max choosing mass destruction over letting Chloe go. Which does say something about their relationship that pairs uneasily with the fact that Max would also chose Chloe over herself.

Then we have Chloe. Chloe doesn't have time travel powers so she can't be quite as destructive as Max can...but she gives it a good effort. When Max leaves for five years without a word, Chloe spirals and becomes reckless and borderline suicidal. This is also because of the loss of her Father, but it's clear that Max's absence did a good amount of damage on it's own.

Chloe doesn't let Max go once in five years. She keeps photo's and memento's from their childhood strewn about her room, and when Max comes back, she becomes somewhat possessive over her presence. (EX: When she gets upset that Max answered Kate's phone call. And texting Warren to tell him that Max is off the table if they kiss.)

Chloe becomes just as dependent on Max as Max becomes on Chloe, which puts them in this cycle of dependency that lasts all the way until the end of episode 5. Where, ironically, Max saving Chloe and their relationship continues their pattern of codependency, while sacrificing Chloe breaks it in the most painful way possible.

So what does that mean for Pricefield if their relationship is codependent? Does it make their relationship unhealthy? Well...in my opinion as someone who loves Pricefield...I do think their relationship is unhealthy in a certain way. They're willing put each other before the world and before themselves....which is romantic on paper but when you really start digging into that it becomes not great.

However, I would also argue that their codependency is what makes their relationship so interesting to watch. After all, would it really be as compelling if Max just shrugged her shoulders and let Chloe go without a fight? Because I don't think it would be.

And I think that's really the entire point. Max and Chloe are two people willing to defy time and fate just to be together, and that makes them compelling. It also makes them destructive. But that destruction IS the intrigue.

[thebennettdiaries]

If you could invent/create Bonnie’s family(/family situation), keeping as much or none of what the show had to say about the Bennetts, how would you design things?

Ohh! Great question!

First of all, I like the set up of the Bennetts (both as the nuclear family for Bonnie and the mythology set up around them). I definitely think they should have played up the power of the Bennetts more. They set them up to be such a powerful line of witches, used Bonnie as their get out of jail free card when they wrote themselves in a corner (meaning only magic could solve it) but they never gave the Bennetts the in universe respect that they deserved. Other witches should have been a bit awestruck of the Bennetts. Vampires should have been wary of them more. They had the set up there but they dropped the ball (predictably because they were never really interested in Bonnie beyond the magic fix it role they put her in).

When it comes to her family, I like the idea that her mother had to leave after doing what she did to Mikael. We should have seen her father more --- right from the beginning. He was never around much even though he was the active parent. They should have built that bond and had him grapple with the fact that his daughter was a witch (which cost him his wife years before). I think in terms of death, Bonnie should have lost her Grams or her father but not both. It felt cheap to take both of those away from her especially since they killed her father when she was dead herself so she didn't even get to properly mourn him. I do think losing one of them is a good push in her story but two just feels like overkill, especially since they weren't going to invest in a proper fallout.

As for her mother, I like the idea of them reconnecting later in life but she should have stayed a part of Bonnie's life. She should have worked her ass off to be in Bonnie's life. The idea that she moved on, and became a mother figure to someone else was a bit of a slap to the face. Abby sacrificed a lot to keep Mystic Falls safe. I would have had her carrying that sacrifice with guilt, moving place to place trying to cope with missing out on Bonnie's life. If Grams was the one who died, then I would have had her come back then and try her best to make things right with her daughter.

Jamie would have never existed because the fact that Plec created a stepbrother just to have Bonnie make out with him was disgusting.

I would have had Lucy play a larger role. I would have shown other Bennetts. Bonnie needed witch support and family --- having both of those combined would have been nice.

Overall, I think the show had a nice set up but they obviously weren't willing to invest in the Bennetts or Bonnie really.

[meta-squash]

I'm obsessed with the parallels between Small Worlds and Children Of Earth.

For Jack specifically, CoE is the same events as Small Worlds played out on a much larger scale.

Something is happening with a child/children (Jasmine/the world's children). Turns out, it's an alien enemy Jack has seen before (Lahore 1909/Scotland 1965). It is established that the alien enemy is very very powerful and difficult to beat, and that they have made threats to the entire human race if their demands are not met. Both enemies demand children, and promise that the children they want will "live forever." A man is sacrificed as, essentially, a warning or an attempt to keep Torchwood away (Mark/Rupesh). Torchwood attempt to figure out different ways of beating the enemy. In retaliation, the enemy kills Jack's lover (Estelle/Ianto). The alien enemy also kills another person in its way (Roy/Clem) despite attempts to prevent the death. All this forces Jack to realize the extent of the threat and his grief also emotionally backs him into a corner. When he is faced with an ultimatum, he ends up painfully sacrificing a single child (Jasmine/Steven) for the good of the world, despite the pain it causes himself and the child's mother. He leaves feeling helpless, feeling like he had no other choice, with everyone angry at him and angry at himself as well.

I think what gets me the most about the parallels is the death of Jack's lover. It's obvious that Jack did and still does genuinely love Estelle. He says as much to Gwen. And he definitely feels guilt about her death; if he hadn't reunited with her, she would have been safe. I think his guilt and his feelings of responsibility towards both her and Jasmine and, ultimately, the world, are what cause him to sacrifice Jasmine to the faeries so readily instead of trying to negotiate or find another way. He's mourning the loss of Estelle and because of that grief I think he knows that he has to let Jasmine go. If he doesn't, more people will die, whether it's people he loves or strangers.

Similarly, Jack definitely feels guilty for Ianto's death, and I think there's guilt there that if Ianto hadn't come with him to Thames House he'd still be alive. In mourning the loss of Ianto, he's backed into a corner again, and he knows that no one else is going to sacrifice their own children to save the world. He sacrifices Steven despite the fact that it essentially destroys him completely, because he knows that if he doesn't, the whole world is at stake.

Every version of the parallel in Children of Earth is way, way more personal and in close proximity than in Small Worlds. In Small Worlds, everyone is a stranger, except Estelle. But while she was once Jack's lover, that's over 50 years in the past with all that time between them. After he sacrifices Jasmine, he's feels helpless, guilty, but she's a stranger and she wanted to go, in a way. He's blames himself but it's something he can bounce back from; he has distance. In Children of Earth, it is Jack's home and family that are destroyed or threatened, it is his current lover that is killed, and it is his own grandson that he has to sacrifice. All of those losses and sacrifices and guilts and everything totally break him, they're so close and personal and like he says to Gwen before he leaves, he has nothing left.

It establishes a certain kind of reaction in Jack. That when faced with a huge personal loss, if he finds himself trapped or in a difficult situation, he's willing to make a huge and often painful second sacrifice in order to protect the greater good, presumably because he's already in enough pain that this new loss seems like it can't make things that much worse (which ultimately ends up being untrue, but isn't necessarily the point), and because by showing emotional weakness, whatever he's up against can exploit him further by using that.

I wonder if the Torchwood writers noticed the parallels at all. The person who wrote Small Worlds was not involved in CoE at all. But it is interesting to have such similar storylines, yet one is played out on a much grander scale and with Jack made helpless in many different ways throughout the story rather than just at the end by the power of the alien itself.

[haisuu]

Hey can you do head canons with Damon, Mark, Wolfgang, and Ulysses were their s/o is like a motive for killing

I’m not exactly sure I did it correctly, but here you go!

Killings, Motives, Love

Damon; Mark; Wolfgang; Ulysses x Reader (separate)

You/Your Pronouns, KM=Killing Motive.

Established Relationship

Side note: The motive in Damon’s section applies to each section.

Summary: You’re the brightest light in their life, what will they do when it’s put at risk? How far will they go? There’s only one way to find out.

———————————

Damon Maitsu With KM!Reader

When he hears the news that if you’re killed, five people may be released from this killing game, his first instinct is to protect you.

And while he does want everyone to escape, he values your life above everyone else’s.

He’s always staying in your room or by your side, worried someone would break in.

Constantly has his hand on your shoulder or around your waist.

And on the very few times he isn’t by your side. He’s always watching anyone who dares to walk to you. Rushing over to pull you away if he thinks your in danger.

Whenever you two hold hands, you can see that he’s clutching it harder than usual.

Sometimes, you do lightly tap his shoulder when he’s doing too much, and then he slowly takes his hand off you.

“I’m sorry, Y/n..but I care about you way too much to lose you.”

Mark Berskii With KM!Reader

Holds your hand so hard sometimes that it turns red-

If you request some time alone, he will reluctantly but respectfully give it to you.

Makes relaxing beats in order to calm either of you down.

If his cuddles weren’t tight before, they were definitely tight now.

You may have to tell him to loosen his grip!

Needs a ton of reassurance before letting you go on your own.

He still keeps an eye on you to make sure you’re safe though!

“You are my lover, and I can’t ever imagine losing you…so please, stay with me.”

Wolfgang Akire With KM!Reader

His mindset has been set on bringing justice to everything. But he can’t ever imagine a world without you in it.

When you two are alone, he triple checks if the doors are locked.

Can only leave you alone for two minutes before he’s running to you. (To make sure you’re safe, and so he can spend more time with you!)

Kisses you with more fervor, treating every kiss like it’s the last one he’ll experience with you.

Is willing to sacrifice himself in order to make sure you stay alive.

Occasionally, when you two are alone, you may find him silently crying over the fact that you two may not escape together.

“We’ll be fine..I hope. I’ll do my best to protect you…”

Ulysses Wilhelm With KM!Reader

He already has a terrible sleep schedule, he’ll be pulling all nighters consistently without your help!

It’s the one thing that he thinks about at night, only your cuddles are able to soothe his mind.

Never breaks up apart from you, ever! (Unless you’re in the bathroom, I’m which you get your privacy!)

He looks at you sometimes and just cries softly, knowing that the chances that you’ll be here forever are very slim..

Has recurring nightmares of leaving you for a few seconds only to come back and find your corpse lying on the ground.

“Y/n…don’t leave me..I beg you, if I have to go through hell and back in order to be with you I’ll go through it.”

I’m so sorry that this took so long! I’ve been very unmotivated and so this has taken so long..unfortunately other requests will probably take just as much time so please be patient!

All in all, I hope you have a good day, and take care of yourself!

[c0ntr0l-c0re-angel]

Hi hi I wanted to ask for your deconstruction of Rhys. I love him to bits but I think it clouds my perspective and I would love an outside perspective on how to write him >.<

Hi!!

To start off, I am obviously not a professional, but i do have over 10 years of writing experience, and I like to think I’m pretty good! Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and I encourage you to come to some of your own conclusions as well :)

Splat, the co-owner of this account, has some things to say too! Rhys is one of his favorites, so he’ll tell you some things about him, and I’ll add some writing tips at the end.

Even though the choices you make can affect his personality in tales, there still is a lot of core features that remain the same through most, if not all playthroughs.

He's extremely loyal to his friends, it’s obvious that they're crucial to not only his arc but his characters, and he is quick to defend and help them to the best of his abilities.

Rhys does display fear in many situations in tales, especially in the starting episodes, but I believe he's a brave character. Despite being afraid, he moves forward regardless of that. If he WASN'T brave, he wouldn't have been able to brave some of Pandora's hardships. He's a lot more capable than people give him credit for.

He isn't without flaw, of course. he's ambitious, and he can be a real asshole. BUT, that doesn't erase the fact that he tries his best to be somewhat kind as well. The two statements can exist at once. We read a book analysis on the Borderlands franchise pre-bl3 that talked about how his masculinity is portrayed differently from most other boderlands men. (The book is called Ain’t No Place For a Hero, check it out.) It elaborates on the good in him, and despite starting out the story AS a "villian", he still has an actual heroic [kind, good, etc.] nature. As opposed to Jack, he is a foil in that way.

Rhys' is a very complex character, I don't blame people for having many interpertations. I think many of them can be good, and even I have some trouble writing him sometimes. Balancing out his core traits definitely helps, and not leaning too much into once of them can help lots.

-Splat

I concur!! lol

Anyway, they are right. The key to writing any canon character is to rewatch the series and take notes! Think about him as a 3D box instead of a 2D one. He has personality traits like ambition, yes, but there is always a reason for his ambition. He’s not just blindly like that- everyone was nurtured to act, or BE, a certain way

Is he a coward for being afraid of Vasquez, of Hyperion, or is he a brave guy for pushing through the fear to do what he believes he needs to do. Based off of that, you can keep expanding. He’s headstrong- he does what he needs to do because he BELIEVES he either deserves it, or it’s what he wants for him and his friends.

Speaking of his friends, at every turn in Tales, if you go what I consider to be the canon route (being that you refuse Jack at the end of the game) he chooses them over his end goal. This proves while he is headstrong- he’s not blind. He loves his friends, and is willing to sacrifice everything he ever wanted to keep them safe- which means he’s caring above being ambitious.

These are all personality traits you can pull from moments in the game. Your best friend when writing Rhys is to think of him as an onion. Yes, i’m quoting Shrek. He has layers- ambition and swagger on top- but when you peel it back, at his core, he does his best to do what he thinks is right (after leaving Hyperion).

Just keep in mind that every character does everything for a reason, and reread when you’re not sure you’ve done something right.

-Doglin

(and a good tip for writing dialogue is to repeat it with his voice in your head, and see if it sounds like him)

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

OKAY now I’m less sad. here’s my detailed hcs on church prime as a religion (bc too many people make it just reskinned Christianity and that’s just boring)

okay so. church prime is a very syncretic religion. it’s very widespread, but it’s not very stable and is intermixed with a lot of different faiths depending on location, time, ect. as such, there isn’t really a consistent pantheon of gods- many gods have been claimed to be a part of the primian religion, though mostly gods of life, nature, fertility, wealth and stuff along those lines. the main thing linking seperate churches together is simply its holy book- which is encouraged to be interpreted differently by every adherent. it’s a deeply personal faith, dealing with one’s relationship with the primes and piety as opposed to public displays of faith, and in fact tolerance of other beliefs is a central tenet of church prime teachings.

despite discouraging attempts to convert others, it’s flexibility means it’s a common religion- a lot of people take aspects of its teaching into their own faiths due to its friendliness with other beliefs. there is no official clergy- it is expected for everyone in a church to care for the holy lands together fairly, and work to uphold the values and beliefs that are shared universally through the primian holy book. this isn’t to say there aren’t more organised and zealous branches of the faith- but the vast majority of it is very isolated and often vastly different to interpretations just a few churches over.

the core belief of church prime is of the primes themselves- beings created by the gods to look after their followers. primes are everywhere, always watching over you, and they’re said to provide good fortune if given offerings. it is believed that primes often manifest to communicate with their favoured people in the form of chats- the few who don’t have some form of chat (such as, say, c!tommy and c!dream) are often either pitied or shunned. it’s expected to give monetary offerings and sacrifices of trinkets and food to the primes in an attempt to gain their favour, and there are donation boxes at most churches for this purpose, usually signified by a bell, as it’s ringing is said to attract the primes. as such, it’s seen as a holy object, and is used in funerary and wedding services, though those are also highly variable. it’s also seen as blasphemy to offer up items and money for free for this reason- that’s seen as treating people like they’re as sacred as the primes. how strict this is heavily depends on congregation- a few only expect minor prayers for aid given (and only by other faithful) and in fact see said aid as part of their duty, some shun any sort of exchange of goods that doesn’t involve some level of equitable trade, and most lie somewhere in between.

the primary tenets of church prime are to respect nature, respect family, honour the primes, and aid others in whatever way possible. how an individual interprets these commandments is often vastly different, and can cause conflict- to take two canon believers as an example, c!tommy and c!dream view the other as misguided on how they follow these teachings at best and outright blasphemous at worst. c!tommy respects nature by living within it and living a simple life, he respects his family and his friends through his undying loyalty, he honours the primes in quiet prayer, accepting the differing faiths or lack thereof of his peers and engaging in “fair” “trade”, and he tries to stand up and fight to keep others safe even if it makes him miserable and he hates the role he’s in. c!dream respects nature by trying to study and understand it- and control it, for its own benefit, he respects his family by, in his own mind, working for their greater good and happiness despite any moral or ethical setbacks, he views the gods as having abandoned this world and therefore becoming a new god to be honouring the primes they left behind, and he’s willing to sacrifice his own well-being for that goal because he believes if he has ultimate power it will ultimately aid others. they both believe very strongly in church prime, and are incredibly devout believers, but it leads to them expressing and practising their faith in near opposite ways. c!dream values protection and safety over freedom and happiness, c!tommy values freedom and happiness over protection and safety. (in their own heads, at least- c!dream isn’t actually helping anyone at all, but his faith is part of how he can justify it.)

[crowleyholmes]

Concerning the Metatron's "offer"...

So I've had some thoughts about season 3 and I've hesitated to post them because a little voice in the back of my head kept piping up telling me it's a bit fanficion-y, but, like... was season 2 not fanfiction-y? I feel like with the jane austen ball dancing and the match-making, and the "oh..." moment and the dramatic angsty kiss-and-immediate-break-up, anything is fair game.

So here's what I've been thinking about - it centers around the Metatron's offer to let Aziraphale reinstate Crowley as an angel.

So at this point we're all in agreement that the Metatron knew perfectly well that Crowley was never going to accept the 'invitation' back to heaven, right?

It was only a clever ploy to get Aziraphale to really consider it and to make him finally accept the 'promotion', so they could bring him back to heaven and use him for whatever it is they really want him for, without Crowley, because I think separating the two was a big part of why they want Aziraphale back in heaven. Maybe because their combined miracles are so incredibly powerful and heaven is worried about what they might get up to once they realize?

Anyway.

I don't believe that getting Aziraphale to heaven was the only purpose of the 'offer' to reinstate Crowley as an angel – I think it was a very calculated set-up for further manipulation. And I'm stepping from in-story facts to meta now, because what is it that Aziraphale needs to do next season? He needs to finally and irrevocably separate himself from heaven, right? If he wants to be with Crowley (which we know he does, more than anything), then he can not be with heaven (at the very least not as it is right now).

But heaven, for some reason, needs him to help bring about the Second Coming. So heaven needs to make sure of 3 things: a) to keep Aziraphale away from Crowley, b) to keep Aziraphale in heaven in general, and c) to absolutely turn Aziraphale against hell. Which he already is, but I don't think he is quite strongly enough against hell to satisfy heaven and to be willing to bring about Armageddon #2 and destroy them all. They need to re-brainwash him, fully.

The need to keep up and REINFORCE Aziraphale's desperate believe in heaven as unquestionably The Good Guys, and hell as irredeemably The Bad Guys. And what's the easiest way to Aziraphale's heart? What's the easiest way to manipulate him? What is the most important thing in the world to him? What could we possibly use as a tool to get this little angel to dance to our tune? What would make Aziraphale hate hell with a divine fury?

Mhm.

Something Bad is going to happen to Crowley (either arranged by heaven and convincingly blamed on hell, or done by hell but arranged at LEAST partly by heaven).

And THEN the Metatron can tell Aziraphale 'look what they've done/they're doing to your friend. Look how he's suffering, isn't it awful? He could be here with us right now, safe and sound, because we were ready to forgive him for all his sins and take him back, if only he had accepted our kindness, such a shame...”

I'll go off on a bit of a tangent here but...

This also works very well for another reason that is extremely important narratively: Aziraphale needs to be the one to rescue Crowley from something - it's happened the other way around Too Many Times, there's an imbalance there, a big one. Crowley gives and gives and gives and sacrifices and compromises over and over and over, and Aziraphale has been taking him for granted.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that Aziraphale would come to his rescue IMMEDIATELY the second he got the faintest whiff of there being any NEED for him to. He has, in the past, offered to do things for Crowley, asked him what he could do for him.

It's just that, so far, in his eyes and as far as he knows, Crowley has never needed rescuing, or given Aziraphale any kind of reason to believe that he cannot simply get himself out of whatever situations he might get into. In Aziraphale's eyes, Crowley is incredibly strong and unafraid and capable of anything and does not need him. Or at the very least, does not need his help.

And it doesn't help that Crowley is way too proud (and protective of Aziraphale) to ever admit that he needs help. Hell, he doesn't even tell Aziraphale that he's living in his car because he lost his flat.

Which brings me back to the Something Terrible that is going to happen to Crowley. Aziraphale will see him in whatever horrifying situation, suffering and completely alone, and he will DROP EVERYTHING to get him out of there as fast as he can.

I don't think this will go over well, because at this point Aziraphale will probably already be quite re-brainwashed and while he will likely get Crowley out of any immediate mortal danger, I don't think the two of them will reconcile there already – unless Aziraphale realizes during the rescue that what happened to Crowley was (at least in part but probably in LARGE part) heaven's doing and he'll finally be back on Their Side instead of heaven's or hell's, for good this time.

But even if he doesn't realize that yet, and sticks with heaven for the time being, I think it will be enough to show Crowley that he is loved. Really loved. That Aziraphale asking him to come back to heaven with him was never about making Crowley be an angel again. That was never the part Aziraphale cared about, not really. The part he cared about was that it meant that they would be together and they would be safe, Crowley would be safe.

Because, while I do think that Aziraphale never thought of Crowley as someone who needs saving from anything, Aziraphale isn't stupid. He is very aware that Hell deals out harsher punishments more frequently than heaven does, and he knows that Crowley does not deserve ANY punishment – has never deserved any punishment, beginning with the Fall itself. All he wants is justice and safety and happiness for Crowley, and I think after Aziraphale rescues him (for which, in order to do it, Aziraphale will have to make compromises and sacrifices himself, most likely to Heaven's detriment), Crowley will understand that. Aziraphale loves him exactly as he is. And loves him more than he loves Heaven.

Aziraphale only chose heaven at the end of season 2 because it was, in his eyes (and to be fair, also in my eyes) the right thing to do (as painful as it was), and Aziraphale's most FUNDAMENTAL character trait is that he always strives to do what is right, even if it goes against what Heaven tells him is good.

He chose heaven because he believes it can be saved, and Aziraphale would never give up on anyone or anything that he believes can be saved.

I think in the end, Aziraphale will either actually manage to make a difference, or he will realize that heaven can NOT be saved and that is when he will give up on it and realize that the only place for him to be is With Crowley.

[chevyslate158]

Archer Brown OC Info:

A/n: Here is Archer Brown's fact/information sheet so you can gain a better understanding of my OC in his upcoming appearance in my new fic Threads Of Freedom!

Basic Information:

Full Name: Archer Connor Brown

Age: 18

Date of Birth: 9th of January

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown and Residence: District 12, the seams located closer to the mines

Occupation: Miner

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim: Tom Blyth as Billy The Kid

Height: 6'2

Build: He is toned due to all of the physical labour that goes into working in the mines.

Hair Color, Style, and Length: Shaggy brown hair that curls towards the ends e.g. at the nape of his neck

Eye Color: Grey/Blue

Posture: Normal posture

Body Language: Despite his tall stature who when you first meet may come across as intimidating he is quite the opposite. Archer is reserved and quiet more often than not. He would much rather listen and observe than be put on the spot but when it comes to his family or you, he will not shy away from confronting said person no matter how much it is out of his nature.

Personality:

Personality Traits: -Positive traits: Loyal, hardworking, empathetic, humble, dependable, caring, self-sacrificing, responsible, practical, and cares deeply for loved ones. -Negative traits: Self-doubting, stubborn, overly cautious, prone to overworking, guarded and anxious about the future

Strengths: -Dedicated: deeply committed to helping his family and doing his part, never shying away from hard labour. -Resilience: Growing up in the mines has made him tough and capable of enduring physical and emotional hardships. -Protective: He’s willing to make personal sacrifices to keep those he loves safe. -Resourcefulness: He’s good at making the most out of limited resources, and thinking creatively to solve problems when necessary.

Weaknesses: -Self-doubt: He constantly worries he isn’t doing enough, comparing himself to his father and fearing he won’t live up to expectations. -Overly cautious: His fear of being caught or punished makes him hesitant to take risks, even if they could benefit him or others. -Fear of change: While he dreams of a better life, he’s also afraid of what he might lose by stepping outside his comfort zone. -Difficulty expressing emotions: He often keeps his feelings bottled up, which sometimes leads to misunderstandings with those close to him.

Fears and Insecurities: -Fear of letting his family down: Archer worries that he won’t be able to support his family the way his father has, and he feels immense pressure to be as strong as his father. -Fear of failure: He feels responsible for ensuring his family’s well-being and fears he might not be able to protect or provide for them. -Insecurity about his worth: Although he works hard, he wonders if he’ll ever be “enough” for those who rely on him or if he’ll just end up trapped like so many others in District 12.

Hobbies and Interests: -Wood carving: When he can, Archer likes to carve small figures or designs into pieces of wood. It’s a quiet hobby that helps him decompress. And he loves to make special ones for both you and his little sister and brother. -Occasionally hums or sings old folk songs he heard growing up that his mother use to sing. -He plays guitar out in the fields with you or in his house and loves playing songs his mother taught him as a child. -Secretly giving his last bits of dinner to a stray ginger cat that lives near their small home.

Favourite Things: -Freshly baked bread; the warmth and flavour remind him of rare moments of comfort and security and a reminder of when you two were both younger and helped the baker down the road occasionally. -Favourite colour: Deep blue because it reminds him of quiet, calm nights and stargazing.

Habits and Quirks: -Fiddling with his hands: When anxious or deep in thought, he often fidgets or carves patterns into whatever’s nearby. -Avoids eye contact when embarrassed or nervous: His humility and self-doubt often lead him to avoid looking directly at people when he feels unsure of himself. -Early riser: Due to years of working in the mines, he naturally wakes up at dawn, even on days he doesn’t need to. -Bites his lower lip when thinking hard: Especially when considering something risky or weighing difficult choices.

Background:

Family and Relationships: He comes from a close-knit family in District 12’s poorest area, the Seam. His father taught Archer from a young age the value of hard work, bringing him to the mines as soon as he was old enough to contribute. Archer deeply admires his father, although he constantly worries he isn’t doing enough to ease his family’s burdens. He has a younger sister Jane and brother Oliver, as well as his mother, who all rely on him and his father’s efforts to get by. Archer’s closest relationship is with his best friend (you), who he’s known since he was six. Although he's deeply in love, he’s afraid to confess his feelings, uncertain about his worth and fearing the consequences of making things complicated. He also has a small group of friends he met while working alongside his father in the mines.

Enemies/Rivals and Why: -Caleb: Caleb is a co-worker in the mines and constantly mocks Archer's family background, making comments about their struggles. He sees Archer's determination to support his family as a weakness and often tries to belittle him in front of others, hoping to assert his own dominance. -Jasper: Like Caleb, Jasper works alongside Archer and joins in. He enjoys making fun of Archer’s aspirations and dreams, believing that he’ll never amount to anything more than a miner. Jasper’s cruelty stems from a desire to fit in with the group, and he often targets Archer to gain their approval. -Brayden: Brayden is the ex-boyfriend of Archer's best friend (You). He is consistently rude to Archer, often making snide remarks about Archer’s loyalty to you and their plans for the future. Brayden’s bitterness over the breakup drives him to be antagonistic towards Archer, especially since he’s trying to win back you and sees Archer as an obstacle.

History and Significant Events: Archer’s life took a turn when he began working in the mines as a young boy to help support his family, sacrificing his childhood and education for their sake. Witnessing his father's struggles firsthand shaped his deep sense of duty and his fears about not being able to provide or protect. His bond with you, beginning when you were both six, has been a constant in his life, giving him hope and strength. However, his fear of rejection has held him back from ever confessing his feelings.

Social Status and Upbringing: Archer was raised in the poorest area of District 12, the seams, surrounded by hardship and deprivation. His family is unprivileged and struggles daily to make ends meet. This harsh environment has made him resilient, yet painfully aware of his limitations and the obstacles he faces.

Education and Skills: Due to working in the mines from a young age, Archer has minimal formal education, but he’s managed to learn the basics. His skills come largely from his work: he has knowledge of the mines, physical endurance, and an intuitive sense of survival. He’s also developed strong practical problem-solving skills, though he lacks book learning or broader academic knowledge. I also usually same down to you giving him small lessons as well in reading and writing.

[autumnmobile12]

D. Gray Man: Morality vs Victory (and Survival)

D. Gray Man has a unique situation as far as conflict goes. The enemy is an army of millions of demon machines that are commanded by a race of humans that are virtually immortal from the perspective of ordinary people...and they can only be harmed/killed by a weapon that is so selective that only a handful of people in the world can use it. This isn’t a situation where anyone can just enlist and train to become an exorcist nor can the Black Order simply conscript new soldiers; this is a world where the chosen few and only the chosen few are physically capable of fighting the enemy.

This is the reality. This is the shit hand humanity in this world was dealt. So from from the perspective of ordinary folk who have no power against this fate other that to rely on the exorcists, many of whom are children, it's easy to see how and why they got desperate.

The other thing to consider is this isn't a normal war. The Black Order isn't the aggressor and the Earl and Noah Clan's ultimate aim is complete and total annihilation of humanity. So there is no hope of a ceasefire. There is no treaty the Order can sign, no way to negotiate, no way to appease the enemy. The only outcome that can happen is the destruction of one or the other.

In the grand scheme of things, the Order has nothing to lose. Lo Fwa recognizes the barbarity of the Third Exorcist Program and says what a ‘good person’ would say,  “This is not how I want to win.” That is a noble thing to say, but for the above reasons, the unspoken (and even spoken) outlook of the Order's leaders seems to be, “Do we win or do we die?” 

In spite of his photography 'hobby' and unhealthy obsession with Lenalee (cause that part of this character is really fucking creepy when you look past the fact it's supposed to be a joke,) Bak is actually one of the better leaders as far as morality goes.

When the Third Exorcist Program was unveiled, Bak was the only one verbally against it. He's the only one to called out Epstain for her part in the project.

Taking his background into account, this is understandable. His parents both martyred themselves in order to shut down the Second Exorcist Program and to hopefully prevent any similar experiments from taking place in the future. On top of that, when the scandal of what Lab 6 was doing got out, he probably took the brunt of the backlash in his parents' place.

Adding to this, when the Level 3 attacked the Asian Branch, his primary goal was keeping Allen safe. He acknowledged he couldn't fight and refused to throw him into the ring with a 'figure it out' mentality. So Fou took Allen's place. Even at the cost of her life, neither she nor Bak were willing to sacrifice a child. (He was even willing to risk blackmail with the aforementioned photos.)

We've already seen that Komui's the one who put an end to the human experimentation and he actively advocates on behalf of his sister and the other exorcists. He's also the odd one out as far as the other leaders of the Order go as he's the only one who doesn't have a generational obligation to be there, as both Lenalee and himself came from outside the Order and are the only surviving members of their family. Which in an organization where nepotism seems to be the commonality, that makes his position in the Order pretty impressive. He's the Alexander Hamilton of the Order.

During the attack on headquarters, Komui mobilizes the remaining exorcists to repel the akuma and made the practical decision to destroy the Egg in order to prevent the Earl from reclaiming it. But with the Level 4's appearance and the unknown status of their fighters, he chose to retreat. Like Bak during the Asian Branch crisis, he chooses not to endanger the lives of the exorcists who couldn't fight.

However, during the Third Exorcists arc, this standpoint of his starts to waver. Like Bak, it is to Komui's credit he didn't know about the Third Exorcist Program, but there is still the undeniable fact that he did not oppose the project when it came to light. He's uncomfortable about it, for sure. You can see he is not at all okay with any of this.

But he still says nothing.

The likely consolation in his mind is the Thirds were willing volunteers for the project and are honored to sacrifice themselves if need be, but this is still undeniably a slippery slope that can blow up in their faces. Which it does, resulting in the loss of the Thirds and four exorcists.

A silence of Komui's that speaks louder, though, is the treatment of Allen during his last days at the Order. Komui was in a bad spot here. On the one hand, he still views himself as an advocate for the exorcists. On the other, one wrong word and he might be the next one they lock up. So rather than speak out, he stays quiet in order to protect the others, which effectively means abandoning Allen. He doesn't even seem to be advocating for the Science Division's efforts to help.

There's already conflict between him and Lenalee over this. She's shown arguing with him in Night 204. We don't know what about, but given the context of the chapter, this probably isn't a petty sibling disagreement. Furthermore, where the current chapters stand, she and Marie are refusing to give him any information about Kanda and Johnny's whereabouts. This goes to show that while he does have good intentions, he no longer claims the same level of trust he used to, and that is likely killing everyone on the inside.

There is a distinct divide between 'Komui is Lenalee's brother' and 'Komui is Lenalee's commanding officer.' All the way back in the Fallen One arc, he is rather withdrawn in his instructions for her to recover Suman's Innocence and telling her point blank that he is beyond saving. There is also the post-Barcelona funeral where he strictly adheres to the Order's policy of cremating their dead and refusing to allow the finders to contact the families. Later on, he is even telling himself he can't afford to be sentimental even though we can clearly see how much the losses have affected him.

After the disaster of the Second Exorcist Program, Bak and Epstain both swore they would never be a part of any experiment like that again.  They lost their parents, Epstain owes her life to the Changs for shielding her from Alma's rampage, and they were left picking up the pieces of the disaster. It was her testimony to Central that put an end to the program.

So why does she go and dredge up all that bad blood to create the Thirds?

Bak, Komui, and Epstain all definitely went through a period of recovering mentally from the attack on headquarters, the appearance of a heretofore unheard of Level 4 akuma, and had to contemplate what this would mean for their organization going forward. It's not entire clear exactly when Komui became the branch chief, but he was 23 when he and Lenalee reunited, so it was around that time. (Lenalee would have been eight when word of the Second Program got out, so he definitely would have heard about it.)

So these three made their promises when they were in their early 20s at the most. In Bak and Epstain's case, they were handed responsibilities that should have remained with their parents for a few more years. Komui was still a teenager when his parents died.

They weren't children, but they were barely adults. In the face of tragedy, they all said, "No. We can be better than this," and they upheld those ideals admirably.

However, after nine years, hundreds of casualties, and catastrophic loss of life later, the Level 4's attack called back everything into question. It's the brutal reminder of their situation and of the three, Epstain is left questioning the stance she took a decade earlier. In short, the appearance of the Level 4 and the prospect of near annihilation scared her.

It definitely scared Komui and Bak, too, but as stated above, only one of them verbally opposed the Third Program. And even Bak gave in eventually.

Fear fueled desperation and desperation blurs where the line should not be crossed, and all three of them are now grappling with the idea of surviving and hanging on to their morality.

And unfortunately, there are the members of the cast that say,  “Victory no matter the cost.”

Which brings us to this guy.

Leverrier is definitely in the category of 'Characters you hated more than the villain' and his character design definitely didn't help things. From his first appearance in the series, he's callous and cold-hearted towards the exorcists, regarding them as less than people and more weapons and property of the Church. During the Level 4's attack, when Komui gave the order to retreat, Leverrier disagreed and said they should stand their ground in spite of the fact they had a one in a million chance of winning the battle.

However appalling as this decision was, though...it still worked. Sheer, dumb luck that it was, but we still have to acknowledge that Leverrier's decision and Lenalee's resolve were the main catalysts that, for better or worse, led to the discovery of the Crystal Innocence.

Unlike Komui, Bak, and Epstain, we don't have much in the way of backstory for Leverrier's character. There is definitely an element of family pride behind his motives. That is apparent by the vague storyline of the 'daughter that was offered up as a saint' as well as his rant to Link in Night 213 about using Allen and the 14th to win the war and that it's his victory, not Central's.

But there are two moments for this character that I think are telling. One is Link's statement in Night 247. "I have someone whom I wish to save...someone who lives his life restrained and filled with nothing but hatred." Link is pretty biased, so it's hard to gauge exactly what is genuine loyalty vs blind brainwashing, but the point is Link still has some reason to stand in his employer's corner. However, the other key moment is the very brief flashback we get in Night 150 where Leverrier, as a child, is calling out Hevlaska for her part in the human sacrifices, telling her she is murdering her own people.

This is a really odd stance for an otherwise harsh character, which does maybe indicate there was a time where even Leverrier thought the extreme actions of the Order were wrong? If this is true, what happened? If he used to be like the others and did once regard the exorcists as people instead of weapons, why the change?

There's a bittersweetness to the events of Lab 6 and the perpetrators of the Second Exorcist Program.

What's important to keep in mind is that even though Alma and Yuu were lab experiments, the scientists didn't treat them that way at all. They didn't keep them locked up in cages, the pair had free range of the lab as we can see them wandering all over the place unsupervised. The scientists gave them gifts. Alma knew what winter was despite having never been outside, so that means someone had to have told him about snow. When they had to 'dispose of' Yu, Tui and Epstain are openly weeping, and even Sahlins looks affected.

It's not a stretch to say the scientists loved those two, and so the entire lab did not hesitate to say, "No more." They put an end to the project and martyred themselves.

I think there also was an element of fear in this decision. Tui and Edgar Chang also probably had a line they thought they would never cross, and then they did. Once you commit something you previously thought was unthinkable, the question then becomes, "Where is the line now? How far are we going to go?"

Were they afraid of what they could become?

Finally, we come to the last character we're going to examine:

On his deathbed, Zhu Mei Chang confesses he is the one who began the human experimentation, that he was 'proud and cruel' and sought only the glory of his clan as he trampled on the lives of hundreds. This was an unexpected point of development for a character who's first appearance was a joke. When he first shows up, he's humbly chopping cabbage in the kitchens completely oblivious to Fou yelling directly at him through a megaphone. This introduction is hardly indicative of a heartless man who possibly tortured and killed many innocent people to have the 'honor of winning the war.' So the humor of him working as a lowly cook in the kitchens takes on a quality of possibly him trying to repent for everything he'd done.

So I'd like to acknowledge the age gap again:

Komui, Bak, and Epstain are still young adults. In their early twenties, they drew a line and stayed firmly behind it. Now they are 29-30 years old and they are toeing the line they themselves drew. That's a nine year difference. Nine years of hardship and a hopeless war that's been going on for a century already. As the audience, we have the benefit of assuming this war is going to end within their lifetime; they don't have that luxury. If nine years, and the prospect of carrying on through this the rest of their lives, did that to them, what did twenty or more years do to Zhu Mei Chang and Leverrier. Tui and Edgar were 39 and 43 years old respectively when they were killed, so their sacrifice may also have been viewed as an escape from a lifetime of warfare.

Allen and company have lost Suman, Daisya, the other Barcelona casualties, Tapp, countless members of the Science Division, General Yeegar, and many others through the course of one year.

With that kind of odds, it's tragically understandable how characters like Zhu Mei Chang and Leverrier may have ended up where they did. I don't like the idea that a character is inherently evil. D. Gray Man is a series full of many characters who are complex and nuanced, so writing off some of them as 'just cruel for no reason' is kinda out of place. Especially when the main villains are just as detailed. With the way things are going for Komui, Bak, and Epstain, I do genuinely wonder if Zhu Mei Chang and Leverrier once drew their own line of morality (as the Night 150 flashback may imply) and then decades of losses led them both to ask, "Survive as sinners or die as saints?"

Personally, I think every last one of the characters listed above who are still alive are headed for a Thanos-esque, "What did it cost? Everything..." tragedy.

Further tragedy has the potential to push even Komui, Bak, and Epstain, further down an ever darkening path. D. Gray Man is not a normal war. Whether they fight for vengeance or pride or to protect those who are left or they feel winning the war no matter the cost is owed to the countless people who have already died, it's still victory or death in the most literal sense for the Order.

That said, for the characters who have already gone too far and crossed the line, there's no redemption nor should there be redemption.

Castlevania Dracula says it best:

There comes a point where even the most determined of soldiers have to ask, "Does the victory justify the atrocities?" and "If this is what it takes to win the war, then maybe we deserve extinction."

Honestly, I really hope Leverrier's character arc ends with him getting yeeted out a window like it's a Prague regime change.

So where's it all going for the younger generation of the Order?

While they don't have the audience's benefit of knowing the war could end within their lifetime and there is in fact a light at the end of the tunnel, they do have the hindsight of knowing what the Order has done, all the mistakes that have led them to this point. Similar to Komui and the other branch heads, they doubly have the stance, "Our predecessors fucked up. In spite of the odds, we can be better. We can break this chain of generational trauma and win the war without the abhorrent methods."

Wanting to be destroyers that save people.

Hanging on to hope.