Blood Moon

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ: ʟɪꜰᴇ ᴄʜᴀɴɢɪɴɢ ᴅᴇᴄɪꜱɪᴏɴꜱ

Anyone who knew, or knew of, him would tell you the same thing: Ransom Drysdale is attracted to the darkness. Always has been. He'd say that it's in his genes and there's nothing he can do about it. As he grew up and finally started to really understand things, he learned something valuable; that darkness is made, not born.

He wasn't born with darkness, they forced it upon him. His parents.

Ransom's parents are very despicable human beings who justify everything they do by saying it's for the greater good. He doesn't have a single memory of them being nice to him, no I love yous, no I'm proud of yous. When he was younger, he didn't really think anything of it but when he turned into an adult, he couldn't help but wonder how different his life would have been now if he'd had parents that loved him.

He blames them for making him into the man that he is today. He blames them for every insult thrown his way, any dirty look he's gotten just by simply being there, he blames them for making him think he would never achieve anything and that he had peaked at being a ''trust fund asshole''. He wished he hadn't listened to them.

Ransom's a beautiful man, no one can deny that; whether you like him or not, but he's also smart. Very smart. Not that anyone cared. He just wasn't the type of guy to sit in class for 8 hours and listen to someone explain things they didn't even seem to understand themselves. After graduating high school, he went to college because that was what was expected of him and he liked it; but again the sitting for hours part got the better of him and he quit college.

People, including his family; especially his family, thought that he was useless. The only thing he could do right was being an asshole and spending his parents' money. Ransom was smart, he just didn't have any diplomas or certificates to show for it.

His reputation precedes him anywhere he goes and by now he's learned to just stick to the persona that was forced upon him. He tried to sleep with any woman that would smile at him, never going further than a one night stand, scared to be rejected if he tried something more meaningful. If his own family couldn't care for him or about him, why would a stranger?

He keeps everyone at arm's length and what better way to do that than by being feared and hated?

It was after a particularly painful Christmas family party that Ransom decided to fully embrace the darkness.

It wasn't a secret that the Thrombeys/Drysdales liked their alcohol. Alcohol was always flowing, no matter the reason that brought them all together in the first place.

Ransom drinks for the taste and not for the buzz, he's never drunk or even tipsy. He also didn't want to let his guard down around his family. Like sharks smelling blood in the ocean, they'd smell the weakness on him and attack, he'd never let himself be vulnerable around any of them; except maybe Nana or Harlan.

He doesn't remember the exact reason why that particular Christmas had been more difficult than others, he just remembers that that's when the shit hit the fan for him and he made changes in his life. Big ones.

When he first got to Harlan's mansion that night everything seemed normal. As normal as his family could be, anyway. His uncle was being a little bit more of a dick than usual, he noticed. He probably had a few drinks before coming over.

Ransom navigated through his family members, hearing insults coming from them but not really listening to what they were saying. Asshole and prick were usually their favorite words to use when talking to him. He sat in the living room, as further away from them all as possible. He'd stay for dinner to celebrate with Harlan and Nana and then he would leave, hopefully before things get ugly.