#bmttobu

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*psst* when Rex is really sick or sad or upset and Wolffe goes to comfort him sometimes he drops a ‘it’s okay, baby’ bc that’s his baby for reallllll also Cody and Fox give him so much shit for this

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Better Men Than The One Before Us Headcanons - getting their drivers license

Wolffe - has to take Rex with him for the test and has no one to leave him with while he does the driving portion. everyone at the DMV is confused and sad for this kid who is freshly 16 and is there on his birthday with a three year old who looks just like him but has blond hair and is clearly having a bad time. Wolffe has a cut on his lip that everyone looks at but doesn't comment on because his eyes are already so haunted and dull that they don't think it'll make a difference. there is no adult there to sign any of the papers. he forges every signature he needs to make this work. someone has to drive his brothers to school since he's not entrusting that to a man who can't be trusted to be sober long enough to do it. And it's the only way he'll get out of that damn house in that damn town for college. Studied the hardest he ever has in his life and passes on the first try.

Fox - never studies and fails the test at least four times because he is a terrible driver. he doesn't even want to drive which wasn't a problem before with Wolffe driving them everywhere but now that his brother works full time and can't be there to take them to and from school or to after school activities he has to get a license to be able to do it. he refuses to even look at the book because maybe if he fails enough times no one will make him do it. he's wrong. Wolffe needs another driver in the house. Fox gets his license on the fifth time only because Wolffe tells him at this rate Cody will get a license before him and he can't let that happen.

Cody - can't wait to drive. wants to have a license more than anything and does every single tiny requirement necessary to make it happen. he is up at the crack of dawn on his birthday and wakes Wolffe up to drag him out of bed so they can go and get his test done and get his license. he passes everything perfectly and on the first try and is so intense about it the instructors are kind of convinced that he is the best driver in the world but also concerned that he has crippling anxiety and needs to relax. Wolffe is half asleep int he lobby when Cody comes back, freshly licensed, and begs to drive home. Wolffe is fine with that if he can sleep in the passenger's seat which is, frankly, frowned upon but no one is going to tell this gruff man with bags under his eyes and a scowl that he can't.

Rex - doesn't want to drive but understands that he must get his license because he is going to move away for college in a few years and Wolffe has explained in great detail how he needs to be ready to take care of himself in any way and that includes knowing how to drive. Wolffe goes with him and Rex is nervous but he has studied... a moderate amount and is a fine driver. Gets his picture taken and has to be told twice not to smile with his teeth (he has always smiled real big for pictures when they tell him to) and Wolffe has to fight down every instinct in him to hug him and kiss the top of his head in the DMV because he's got a teenager now and he knows it's embarrassing. Waits until they're in the car instead and Rex still grumbles but lets him do it.

babies they are my babies this au is my baby

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Better Men Than The One Before Us Headcanons - Tattoos

Wolffe - has a ton of tattoos. gets them the second he has any sort of extra money and isn't anxious about using it to take care of his brothers. He isn't really a 'this tattoo means something deep and important to me' person but he does have a tattoo for each of his brothers that he got before any of the other ones. He has a crown that wraps around his bicep for Rex, in the place his brother tends to hold when he's scared or sad, a lion for Cody because even after all this time that little stuffed lion is still Cody's in his brain and it's all he can think about when he thinks of the animal itself, and for Fox he got a small dagger. partially because he thought Fox would think it was cool but also because they have protected each other since day one.

Cody - followed in his brothers footsteps of getting tattoos but is far more selective about it. he has a sun tattooed on his hip (that matches one of Rex's), a tattoo of saturn on his arm that he will periodically add space imagery around, and one on his upper thigh he got in college that says 'eat me' because he thought it was funny and also very indicative of the person he is. Sunshine, kind, idealistic, but also a snarky son of a bitch.

Fox - has miscellaneous tattoos that he gets every so often, usually in tandem with someone else getting a tattoo who either is afraid to get it done or wants to match with him. He has one that he got when Rex got his first tattoo that is a tiny frog because he had no idea what to get because he wasn't prepared so Fox let Rex pick it and that was a mistake. Boy thought it would be fun and silly and, to be honest, Fox wanted to be annoyed but Rex looked so pleased with himself that he just embraced tiny frog. It's his favorite tattoo now.

Rex - has a tattoo over his heart that is a bundle of stars that represents each of his brothers. he thought it matched the moon he has on his arm that matches Cody's sun. He is selective and has a theme but is also indecisive so he wants it to be the perfect match before he commits. Most of the time he designs the rest of their tattoos so they have his artwork permanently on their bodies and he, of course, insists on signing his name under them sometimes when he is reminded that, hey! you have my art on you!

they let him

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What is your favorite BrotherDad tendency that Wolffe has in the Better Men Than The One Before Us series? Mine is the little moments where you can tell he’s making the choice to be the exact opposite of his father.

that and him never resisting the urge to run his fingers through their hair bc he loooooves them 🥹

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question... would anyone be interested in a more detailed character/setting sheet for Better Men Than The One Before Us? I'm thinking a map of sorts of the city they live in, more detail on what their house looks like, their birthdays and ages, what their hair cuts and fashion styles look like, and any other information that I've put together.

It might take me a bit to put together because I'd kind of like to try and draw the map myself or at least put it together in a way that looks nice. I will probably put one together for myself anyway but I wanted to know if you guys would like something like that.

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liiiiiisten since @girloffourhouses mentioned wanting to know what a bad day for Wolffe looks like in Better Men Than The One Before Us after this post let's just say I genuinely could not resist. don't threaten me with a good time as they say ;) this one got super heavy btw like whewwwwww I couldn't stop

on the worst days Wolffe is always home late. it's usually a Thursday because those are the nights he often picks up an extra shift or an odd job. those days are long. especially in the beginning when he's so anxious about keeping enough money in his accounts to keep them in a house, keep putting food on the table, and to make sure he buys them new clothes whenever anything gets a hole in it.

he's grown quite anxious about their clothes, actually. Rex refuses to wear anything other than his favorite pair of overalls that are so worn through and thin and they are getting short at his ankles. Wolffe dreads the day they have to get him new ones. they will inevitably be too rough for his skin and he will cry and beg to have his old ones back. it happened with the one short sleeved shirt he wouldn't fuss about. it'll happen with the overalls too. and if their clothes don't fit right or have holes or tears then someone might think he isn't fit.

when he opens the door the house is quiet. an unnatural, tense quiet. his brothers all look up from where they're sitting in the living room. the way they look at him makes him sigh. something happened while he was gone. An extra bag of garbage, limp with empty air, and something blue and pointy showing through the bottom of the bag.

"We knocked over one of the bowls trying to have dinner. Rex grabbed it and it..." Cody trails off. they know they aren't supposed to let Rex use the glass bowls, even when he begs to. they are breakable and they can't replace them right now so there's a whole stack of plastic ones so there aren't any accidents.

the tentative air reminds him that he sets the tone for the house, the same way their father did. they're used to broken dishes and things that Wolffe doesn't want to think about but an angry man doesn't live at this house. not anymore.

so he tells them it's okay, they cleaned up the mess, it's just a broken dish. he'll take out the garbage. he doesn't bother to change or stop in the kitchen to see what they decided to make for dinner. he just grabs the bag and takes it outside, placing it in the trash bin.

he looks up at the sky then and just stares. tries to decide how many stars are really up there and if he can count them. if the breeze is cool enough to leave the windows open and avoid putting the AC on for as long as possible because last summer the bill was over $100 a month and it nearly killed him. he has to go back in. he has to hold himself together and ask about their days and make sure everyone gets to bed on time. he has to. but today he doesn't want to.

he doesn't want to have to shoulder so much when he's not even twenty years old yet. everyone else his age is thinking about college and what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Wolffe is still trying to figure out how they make it to next week. he's failing so miserably at being their guardian, at keeping them safe, that he wonders in that moment of weakness if being with him is really the best thing for them.

if there isn't someone out there who is better. who can give them things he can't. who can be there when they get off of school. someone who doesn't have to unplug every appliance in the house just to keep the bill something close to manageable. someone who doesn't have to work so hard just to hold it together.

maybe if he can't hold it together he'll be just like their father. a man who takes out every frustration on people who can't fight back. a man who can't control himself. that fear at the thought makes his chest hurt. is he just as bad? are they really better off with someone else?

he thinks of what his father would do if he felt like this. how he would've broken three more bowls to add to the shattered remains of the one. how he would've reached for the bottle and disappeared into the night for who knows how long. he thinks of what their house used to sound like and shudders.

he blinks back as much of the burning in his eyes as he can before going back inside.

they get more lively after he reassures them that it's not a big deal that they broke something. he lets them carry on and talk and argue. it is much better than the dead quiet he walked into. he stays relatively quiet the rest of the night, though. not ignoring his brothers. not because he's angry. because he's tired. because he doesn't want to get frustrated and snap at one of them or say something he regrets. being quiet is easier. he doesn't have to overthink everything he says if he just doesn't speak.

he falls asleep on the couch in the middle of them all watching a movie. he had wanted to go upstairs a whole hour ago but couldn't miss Rex's bedtime. by the time he blinks his eyes open the living room is empty, tv screen dark. he tries to sit up before he even noticed the blanket that had been laid over him, a pillow stuff under his head. somehow Rex got his stuffed lion to squeeze in Wolffe's arms before they carted him off to bed.

he smoothed his fingers over the fabric, feeling the softness of the fur and the spots where it had been held tight over the years, squishing the fluff inside so it grew floppier. the house is quiet again but this time it's not with that oppressive, dimness like before. he could go upstairs. Fox likely wasn't asleep, even if he was trying, so he didn't have to fear waking him. but there was something nice about the couch. about the signs that his brothers were there and had made sure he was comfortable before going upstairs on their own. it had nothing to do with not wanting to give up the lion quite yet absolutely not so he settles back down and pulls the blanket tighter and tries to ignore the way his throat tightens.

he isn't sure he's doing this right, never is, and sometimes that feeling threatens to choke him. but he wonders on nights like this, even when he can't seem to knock the storm cloud over his head, how their father could justify being so cruel. he doesn't understand how someone can claim to love you and yet hurt you every chance they get.

he hopes he never understands.

~~

OKAY WELL THIS ONE GOT HEAVY AND LONG I'M SO SORRY

to me, Wolffe on a bad day is someone who really doubts himself and compares himself and is afraid of himself. someone who knows the responsibility he has and is afraid of ever abusing it. he gets depressed and melancholic and his brothers notice but let him have his space to sit and be quiet and to himself (this idea of Wolffe always being left to kind of wrangle his own feelings and no one ever making him talk will come up later)

he's such a good man with so much heart and so much sadness and anger and absolutely nowhere to put it. i love him so much :')

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I said I’d write something for Better Men Than The One Before Us and post it on tumblr tonight and I am here to deliver 😄

This is what was going on with Wolffe while him and Fox waited for Cody to get home, something @girloffourhouses mentioned wanting to see after chapter 2 of Older. It’s a little look into what happened, not everything, but boy oh boy. I simply couldn’t resist writing something for it. Also tagging @captaineyayah bc you liked the post earlier asking about this 😊

Prepare for the angst 🩶

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All Wolffe could do was pace, phone pressed to his ear as it rang. Soon he'd burn a hole in the living room floor. All of his brothers were supposed to be home when he got in. Safe inside the house, having dinner, getting ready for bed. Instead Cody was out 'studying'. If he was really doing that then why wasn't he answering his phone?

It went to voicemail again. Wolffe sighed, pausing as it beeped to let him leave a message.

“Kid, I need you to pick up. You haven’t answered in hours, it’s not… Just call me back.”

Wolffe hung up. This was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. Stand in the living room and hope that any minute Cody would call. Or, better yet, come home.

A car passed by the front of the house but, as much as Wolffe wanted it to be Cody the car just drove by. Sighing, Wolffe ran a hand down his face. Motor oil covered his hands, smudging over his cheeks. Changing his clothes was last on his priorities list. Not until he knew where his brother was.

Soft footfalls on the landing announced Fox's arrival. A deep frown pulled at his lips, bags deep and dark under his eyes. Rex kept fussing. Going to bed without Cody in the room was proving to be nearly impossible. His patience had worn too thin to handle it so Fox had been upstairs for the past half hour, trying to win a fight he simply wasn't. They all had the same stubbornness, hard headed down to their bones. It hadn't skipped their youngest brother, even if sometimes they wish it had.

He was staring at his phone, biting his thumbnail, body rocking from one foot to the other. Restless. Something was up. He knew that when he got home. Fox was never very good at keeping things from him. He told Wolffe everything from the moment he could speak. Even if it was embarrassing or upsetting or uncomfortable. No matter what it was, Fox told him. So there was something he didn't feel good about. What that was exactly was still a mystery.

It grew closer to 9:30 and still no Cody. Not even a text to tell them he was alive. Fell asleep watching a movie with Lii or was 'too excited about statistics' and couldn’t step away. Nerd. The longer this went on the more nervous Fox got. He'd been nervous the whole time, actually. Making excuses to be in another room. Offering to put Rex to bed. He hadn't once looked away from his phone. It was unlike him. Wolffe was starting to suspect that Fox knew more than he was letting on.

He waited for Fox to notice him staring, eyes flicking up from the screen to meet Wolffe's own. Guilt flashed in those dark brown eyes, giving him away in a second. If there was one thing he could count on it was their eyes always giving them away.

"Tell me the truth. Now." Wolffe demanded. He was done asking questions. Someone was going to actually answer him and tell him what the fuck was going on or he was going to implode.

Fox deflated, biting his lip in a way that looked painful. He looked at the phone screen again but let it go dark so it wasn't staring him right in the face. "I don't know where he is." Fox took a breath that shook. Fuck. Trying to compose himself was like pulling teeth. Wolffe ran his fingers through his hair, gripping the strands in frustration. Those sneaky bastards. For what it was worth Fox's voice fell into an apologetic tone as quickly as he could manage. "He swore he'd be back before eight."

Like that makes it better- Wolffe bit his tongue and counted to ten. The silence was deafening. Regardless, he let himself calm down before he spoke next.

"What was the plan? He gets back before I get home and you both just pretend he was here the whole time." The low tone, slow and disappointed, was enough to make a grimace form on Fox's face. Wolffe folded his arms over his chest. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

This was new. he'd always been the one to help his brother get away with shit. Hide it from their father. Their father was the one they needed to hide shit from. Not him! How could they do this? Why were they doing this? Had he really fallen that far out of favor with Cody that he had to do something as stupid and reckless as this?

"I didn't think it would be a big deal." Fox rubbed the back of his neck, eyes wide and glossy.

"No! You didn't think I'd ever find out." He accused.

"Wolffe, I-"

"It is bad enough that he's sneaking out, lying to me, but you… I never expected you to lie to me." Hurt carried in his voice. That feeling surprised him more than anything, eyes burning for no good reason. It hurt Fox's feelings too by the look on his face.

Crying from upstairs forced both of them to quiet. Irritation swelled under Wolffe's skin and he had to press his fists into his eyes to keep from outwardly groaning. Instead of going straight up like he usually would he turned away and walked towards the kitchen. He'd been following everyone around and trying to keep them all on the right path since he started taking care of them. Healthy, happy, safe. None of them were making it easy on him.

He didn't have it in him tonight to worry about two kids. One missing fifteen year old was enough.

He didn't have to. Fox climbed the stairs without even asking or looking back. He was good like that. Even when he fucked up.

Wolffe sat down at the kitchen table with a huff. When he first became an older brother he never pictured it like this. Up after a grueling day of work worrying that one of his brothers was off who knows where with god knows who. Hurt or in trouble. And he wasn't there. He wasn't there to protect him or fix it. Just stuck waiting. Hoping he came home soon.

He let his head fall into his hands.

For so long being an older brother was easy. They had good days and normal fights and he protected them like he was always told he was supposed to. Becoming their guardian changed things. While he didn't regret it, he did wish someone had warned him beforehand. Maybe he'd be more prepared for this.

The burning in his eyes didn't go away. It only grew worse. He refused to cry, though. If any of his brothers saw him cry they'd think the world was ending and they'd need him to reassure them and he just couldn't handle it. Not tonight.

Not while imagining all the horrible things that could happen to his tough, precocious, hard headed little brother. In so many ways he was growing up too fast. So fast Wolffe hadn't even had time to realize it before he was already fifteen and worried about school dances and what college he wanted to go to and dating.

And yet all Wolffe could see when he looked at Cody was his kid brother. Small and excitable and fearless in ways that hadn't quite scared him yet. What happened to the kid that could sit on his shoulders at carnivals? The kid that was too short to ride the same ones him and Fox could go on. When had he gotten so much older?

One last time Wolffe pulled out his phone. His thumb dialed Cody’s number again, pressing the phone to his ear to hear the dull, annoying ringing. Please pick up. Pick up the phone. Just like earlier the call went to voicemail, automated voice telling him to leave a message at the sound of the beep.

The tone rang in his ear and Wolffe cleared his throat.

“Cody, I… I’m giving it twenty more minutes then I’m looking for you.” His hand gripped the phone as tight as he could manage. “I just want to know that you’re safe. That’s all.”

His throat constricted too much to keep going so he hung up and let the phone sit face up on the table.

The feeling in his chest grew from hurt to agony. Cody was alright. He had to be alright. There was still time. He knew he was supposed to be home soon, he was just running late. That’s all. He’d walk through that door right before curfew and be fine and all in one piece. It was fine. He spent all night worrying for nothing. Nothing at all.

Wolffe's watch beeped. It was 10pm.

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Better Men Than The One Before Us, the modern AU I’m writing, is really about how the children of absent and neglectful parents step up in shitty situations and how it fucks them all up in one way or another.

In this AU Jango is abusive, neglectful, and abandons his own children. He's an ever present character, not because he's in the fics, but because his actions have dictated the lives of these four kids. The story is not about him, though. It's about the children he left behind to fend for themselves. Wolffe steps up to provide for Fox, Cody, and Rex. Fox finds a way to manage a household (grocery shopping, budgeting, food on the table and in their lunch boxes) at 16 years old. Cody takes on most of the work of being Rex's caretaker. And Rex is still so little and is getting the opportunity to grow up without this dark cloud that was their father. The story is about them, not Jango, but his actions left wounds on all of them. Even the lives they lead afterwards carry trauma.

This series is about the ability of these kids to move on and have full and amazing lives despite the wounds left behind by a man who didn’t love them. Who chose to hurt them. Who couldn't give them the life and love they deserved.

Because he didn’t want to.

Being a parent is about putting your child first in every situation. Jango just doesn’t. He puts himself first. He loses his wife but his kids also lost their mom. And he could never grieve her. He put his pain and grief on an actual newborn instead of dealing with it. They lost him the same day they lost their mom, likely even before that. Yet Jango uses her as an excuse to neglect and harm the life they were trying to build.

Wolffe never got to grief his mom. He lost her and his dad the day Rex was born. And this thirteen year old kid never once blamed him. He never looked at Rex like he was destruction. Rex was never the reason their lives were upended.

It was always their father.

Wolffe is the one who stepped up and took charge and made his life about his brothers when their father never could. He loves his brothers. Would do anything for them. They'd all do anything for each other.

Yet, life is still difficult and carries hardship for them. Their dad being gone doesn’t mean they aren’t having experiences that impact them negatively. It doesn't mean everything is suddenly perfect. They’re going to fuck up, they’re people, it’s bound to happen. Those fuck ups have lasting impacts. But it’s what you do after fucking up that really matters. My hope with this series is not that this family is perfect now that their father is gone but to show that it is possible to heal from grief, to support your loved ones, and build a good life even after you've experienced something horrific. Even if it doesn't look like anyone else's. Even if it's hard. Even if it hurts sometimes.

It has always been about hope.