Reg Khoo

Reg Khoo of the Singapore Khoos and English Winthrops. Society born and bred. Cross Country and occasional baseball player. Academically gifted. Gifs used by stefansalvatored

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

Christian didn’t know what to say to Reg that hadn’t already been said. Or that he would accept in his usual ‘elite bro’ way. “I’m sorry, mon complice. Consider founding an art movement. It worked for Tzara.”

He sighed. “I thought I said that already.” Pretentiousness and aristocracy went hand in hand. “Posh pretension, then.”

“You’ve always had far more…” endurance “…tolerance for those things than me.” A severe understatement, even with the correction. “We’ll have to try, you know, meaningful connection. And not just with pretty girls.” He gave Reg a small elbow. “Pretty people, excuse me. But that is the trouble. I think you may have to be seen doing it.”

Christian groaned, letting his frustration fully out for once. “You’d think, but he actually encouraged them to form a union. Naive little psychopath. You might think you can control that shit with goodwill, but you can’t.” He shook his head at Reg’s caution. “No, no, he offed his dad. Seems like the org is happy about it though. They’re on their way to IPO.”

[thekhoolest]

"No way in Hell, dude. Back when Tali was dating Mia, she brought her over a few times. Everything that Mia showed me did not look comprehensible, but I googled a few of the pieces and they were worth millions." He'd been polite, but he really didn't get it. Owning art as an asset was easy to understand, but actually liking that shit? Not for him.

He chuckled. "It was implied, but I like stating it. Not everyday you meet former aristocracy in America." His father knew more than his fair share of royals in England, but none of them were as fun as Christian.

Ah, so Christian had been paying attention to things. Even when he played the aloof layabout he was still keeping his eye on stuff. "Yeah, well, it might be easier to scope things out in the next few days. I thought I was going to make a real run at being a boyfriend but," She seemed more into his best friend, "This doesn't seem like the right place to test that out." Not wanting to dwell on his lack of viable alternatives, he changed tactics. "What does meaningful mean here? Blackmail material or, like, actually trying to be a friend to these people."

Reg tried to puzzle through Christian's revelations in his head. Caleb was pro-union and pro-patricide. There was something a little strange about being in both camps, but who was he to judge? "Good for them, sometimes it's the easiest option in business." He'd never had confirmation that his family had gone that far, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

[danteeckman]

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Dante mumbled almost under his breath. His hand was tipped, but he’d also already agreed to offer him the seat, so he might as well let him in on the secret that was about to explode since he doubted Nell would let it stay quiet for long, whether this worked out or not. “Noah Nixon. You know, the guy Tony tore a new asshole in front of everyone? He kidnapped him later that night and beat him up in a bunker. And no one’s seen him since. That murder. Did you miss the not-at-all-subtle note on that sophomore’s board? Was Finn’s sister the only underclassmen you have at that house? How do any of you know what’s going on?”

Dante allowed himself another laugh at Simon’s expense before letting it go. “Yeah. Because he’s a coward.” There was an implication there, but Dante didn’t mind it.

“Exactly. Now, I need to make sure the rest of the Council is on board with this, but it’s the most practical option considering the numbers we’re looking at.” They were deadlocked without Anu unless Tee also came to their senses. But he doubted that he was that lucky. “We might eventually need to look at a special election, but seeing what happens around those, I imagine people will be a little more reluctant. We’ll have to work on that.”

[thekhoolest]

Reg did not break a sweat. He could hear Dante, but he wasn't going to acknowledge that he'd messed up. He had needed this information and now he had it. "The past few days have been a lot. And I know he's not the only murderer in town, so I wanted to make sure our intel was on the same level."

Then again, for all of Dante's bluster, he hadn't put the pieces together before Noah died. Hindsight always made it easier to judge a situation. And Reg wasn't the only one here who had bad judgement. That's why Reg had a best friend who judged him, it kept him honest.

"He's always been a coward. And I don't think now is the time for cowards." Truthfully, was there ever a time for them? Probably not, but in his more cowardly moments he liked to think of himself as pragmatic.

If he'd known what he was getting into, he could have talked to Christian about this. Then again, given that Christian said they should be branching out, this might be a decent opportunity for that. "You've been in the council longer. I trust your read of the situation and I'll back your play."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

“Unnerving.” Christian said. Watching all of the Anaconda franchise one day while he was a little too high had given him a healthy (or perhaps unhealthy) fear of very large CGI serpents and the wilderness in general. (In the wilderness, you see, no one could get to you if your pain or heart meds wore off.)

Christian nodded, leaving most of the matter unsaid. “I could say the same, but I’d have to bundle the pretentiousness in there, too.”

“Flattering.” He replied with a smile. “But wrong.”

Christian was tiring of this, and he knew it would end if he simply gave Reg the last word, but he also knew, deep down, that he wasn’t the type to do so. “They should be careful, then, about revealing those pieces, when the second highest voted person just said that the pieces are community property. Far be it for me to bring history into this, Reg, but one of the primary ways capitalism and oligarchy sustain themselves is the proletariat must not spend their free time observing their true circumstances. This can be handled with bread and circuses, yes, but both of those are in limited supply in the end, no matter how deep Tony’s pockets are. I am dismayed to say it, but we may have to actually… help.” It was making him nauseous already. “Or branch out.”

Branching out really was the solution. He knew that. His ‘assistance’ with Fern’s initial campaign was one of the few aces in the hole he still had, even if she’d now proven should could take power on her own, at least for now. She didn’t need to know that she had Dumbo’s feather. That would really be counter productive.

“Also. A thing you should perhaps know about new guy.” Christian looked a little bit like he was in one of the Candlish family’s cow shit filled fields. He could practically feel his nose wrinkling, just thinking about the way the kid’s eyes had roved over Fiona at the church a week ago. “He’s a murderer. In the most cliché, Gothic sense.”

[thekhoolest]

"I saw the aftermath, though, and it'll haunt me for the rest of my life." He looked down. There was a part of him that was angry at the situation, but mostly he was furious that he couldn't get these images out of his head. It lived in him now and he didn't get why everyone else got to just go on like it had never happened.

He nodded his head, "And the aristocracy, too." It gave Christian character. Everyone should have an eccentric former nobleman for a friend. His own father's title had been lost several generations ago for money, but he did have a knighted great grandfather so things evened out.

Branch out? Reg hadn't realized the situation was that dire. "I know they've taken steps in the bread and circuses directions. But you're right. I don't know how long that will hold. You can only go to so many parties and hook up with so many people before it all starts to feel," Meaningless. "Boring."

Where were they supposed to go? Tony had offered protection, but if the tides turned against him... well, Reg's family didn't amass their wealth by being paragons of virtue. They saw the writing on the wall and made a smarter choice.

And then Christian gave him reason to pause. "Huh? Didn't realize he had that in him. All those genteel manners really lead your head towards the trafficking direction, but good to know. I can be... politic around him."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

“Fuck.” Christian agreed. There was little else to say than that. It made his own concerns feel positively maudlin. “I think we’ve got antivenom around here somewhere. Sarah’s so paranoid. But antivenom is species specific. I don’t suppose you know if it was a cottonmouth or a rattlesnake.”

He gave that perhaps too long a think, once again deciding to not point out how very queer this all sounded. “I don’t know if it’s confidence exactly. Maybe more… naïveté.” He’d overly French-ified the word, but he couldn’t really help it. “Imagine being that slow on the uptake. You have to protect yourself from the knowledge or you couldn’t ever function.”

Christian mimed nearly falling off the stairs as if he’d caught a bullet. “You wound me. How shall my enormous ego recover? I’ve been assassinated by a politician.”

He did his best to listen. Really, it was a good sign that his friend was feeling secure again. But there was danger in that kind of cockiness, as the election had just proven. “Reg. I say this with deep respect and, need I say yearning in my heart–” He needed a joke in there to get to the last bit. “Do not tell me who’s gunning for me. I’m not concerned about Tony. Thanks for that. But there are a lot more interests at play here, several of which I was holding in check. But now we ended up playing fucking backgammon somehow and the chains that confined them now seem less consequential.”

[thekhoolest]

"I didn't see it." There had been one witness to the attack and he wasn't sure if she was the kind of religious that was an asshole or the kind that claimed to see visions. So, he wasn't sure that they could take her word as gospel. "The description I heard made it sound like it wasn't from this region, at least."

He chuckled. He wasn't as good as Christian when it came to insults, but he didn't need to be. "I can't imagine it. My confidence was built into my bloodline." So were his insecurities.

"That same way you handle everything. With style and a little bit of mockery." If he could keep him away from the guillotine, Christian would have a pretty good setup in this new world. Not a fortress a la the Alessis, but something respectable. And enough social clout on both sides that he should be able to navigate major hurdles. Maybe even some leverage to help people see things his way.

And then Christian changed the game on him. "Okay, got it." He raised his hands in surrender. "I won't tell you your business, but I think you're underestimating Tony and Anu here. They are holding a lot of pieces, more than most people know about, and they have more influence, too. Those parties do a lot for people. And Tony won't let the chains of society break too far unless he's the one breaking them. You can count on that." They never talked about it directly, but everyone knew where Tony's power came from. He knew how to wield it and the miscalculation everyone else had made was deciding to give it to him. "I imagine your other interests are hush hush, but I'm not seeing a lot of danger from other sources. Maybe that new guy since I haven't figured him out, but even he's made overtures to Tony's side."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

Christian sighed, trying to adjust his posture enough to make the steps not hurt. He’d need to move soon. Which would suck. “Weird shit indeed.” Still, curiosity got the better of him. “It really was a snake? Half of me wondered if… Well, I don’t know. It’s just like you said. Weird.”

At least Reg was seeing some sense now. It made things a little less awkward for sure. “A million options, really, Reg. He has one avenue for possible success in life, and that’s two concussions away from being non-existent. Honestly, I’m surprised said girlfriend isn’t panicking constantly.”

Christian let out a laugh at Reg’s clarification, before taking a quick look around. He respected Reg’s decision to stay in the closet, but it was also his slight obligation to tease him every now and then. “ ‘No homo’? Are you really, truly sure you don’t want to try again?” He gave him a playful shove of the shoulder. “You’re just so sexy when you’re being nice to me. Gets me to at least a 1.2 Kinsey.”

“Oh Reg. If I wrote these down, I’d be all out of my precious deniability. And that is how I stay alive.” He forced himself to swallow his own nerves. “Perhaps literally in this case.” No. That was a darker thought than he’d allow. “But get me drunk and I’ll tell you all about it. Once I know.” Fuck he hoped he’d know soon. He raised an eyebrow at Reg. “Only like 20% homo on the getting drunk part.”

[thekhoolest]

"It really was." Reg nodded his head solemnly. "Her leg turned colors and it... it wasn't a fast death until the very end. Shit was... a lot." He could still remember her shallow breathing as her eyes leaked tears. She'd looked so small. He hoped it didn't haunt him for the rest of his life.

Christian was making a great point, but he still couldn't resist the urge to try and bully Drew when the opportunity arose. "The guy just gets under my skin. I know my life is a million times better than his, but it's his, like, confidence that annoys me. What does he actually have to be proud of, you know? That's probably dumb, but it's how I feel around him."

He couldn't stop laughing. It felt nice to feel something other than anger for a second. "Yeah, I probably should but I'm gonna leave it where it was. It's funnier that way."

There was something Christian wasn't fully saying. "Dude, you're not at serious risk. I can guarantee that right now. No one is gunning for you." He had been maybe a bit too aggressive in interacting with the leaders of their new little collective. He knew what they were worried about and it wasn't Christian. "Keep it at that level. Any higher and you're going to embarrass yourself in front of me and we can't have that."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

Christian let out a wry laugh, more in affirmation than any kind of mocking. “They were freaked out enough by Rals not embalming her. If 90% of them went through what you went through, they’d be convinced the dead themselves were walking.”

At least Reg was seeing what he was doing. Christian really hated feeling like he wasn’t being listened to. It was an ugly and unfamiliar feeling. “You know I will support you in whatever drama causing behaviors you want to participate in as long as they make you happy. It’s good for business. Especially if it keeps our newest cops distracted.” He’d thought all he’d have to worry about in this situation was Dante and by extension Kaia getting too much power. But this community maintenance thing was getting out of hand. His business model depended on people feeling like they had no possible solution other than going to him.

“Flattery will… well, not give you much, but I appreciate it.” He winked at Reg. “People don’t say enough nice things about me.”

Christian looked down at the asphalt. It was starting to look strangely dull. It hadn’t rained in days. “It’s my job to write the manual, Reg. If I don’t, they will.” He wasn’t sure he knew who “they” were yet. And that unnerved him too. But without a system in place to exploit, he’d have nothing. And he didn’t know how to have nothing.

[thekhoolest]

"That's a fair point." Reg had been so focused on the homecoming that he'd lost sight a little bit of how people were handling the rest of things. The funeral was a giant blur to him, his anger clouding everything that transpired. "But you never know, they said there were no animals and then Britt died of a snake bite. Weird shit."

He laughed, shaking his head slightly. "I do what I can for your business." It definitely benefited him that Christian had tabs on nearly everyone. And tipping the board slightly in his favor was always a good thing. "But you're right that I should pick a topic outside of his girlfriend. There's a lot of other options."

He could imagine most people viewing Christian more as a necessary evil than a beneficial part of the community. They were wrong. "I've always got your back. If you're feeling low, just text me and I'll reinflate your ego." Okay, that definitely sounded queerer than he meant it. "In a no homo way."

There had been a bit of a power vacuum since things started. Fern was headstrong but he wasn't sure she had the instincts of a leader. Tony was taking his sweet time. If that meant Christian had more pieces on the board, Reg wasn't going to fight it. "Send me a copy when you finish it. I'd love to read it. This whole thing has me more than a little... unbalanced."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

“I am aware. Vividly.” The amount of times someone had offered him a quote-unquote valuable rumor and it was just who Britt was fucking. Again. “Not to speak ill of the dead.” He wasn’t Taliesin, after all.

Christian gave Reg a slightly odd look. “You flirted with her to piss him off? Reg…” Did he dare speak to it? It could be pretty close to kicking the man while he was down. Even if it was getting a little Woman in White in here.

“…I’m sure you got in his head.” It was more likely to be about Magnus anyway. Reg couldn’t shoot at the actual golden boy, so he went for the golden retriever. This is what friendship is, Christian observed quietly to himself. Choosing not to state the obvious in hopes that they will remember soon enough. Sometimes it pays off. Look at Lou. To a certain point.

“I won’t argue with you there. I’m almost always the better choice.” He said it as matter-of-factly as he could. “I just wish I could be of more concrete help at this moment. Next time, for sure.” He had a vested interest now.

[thekhoolest]

"Hey, I would never say we couldn't talk shit about her. It's more the casual way people are approaching how she died. If they'd seen it," Reg trailed off. The smell was still haunting his nose. Learning that bodies could squish and ooze was something he could have gone his whole life without knowing.

As he heard Christian rattle off what he'd just said, it started to sink in. Well, fuck. "Yeah, I am...realizing the folly of my actions." Would it be enough to stop him? Depended on how irritating Mr. Perfect was being. It was the dude's only real weak spot.

"I think I live there rent free now." He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to feel proud over that or just weirded out. The only time he obsessed about Drew was when the guy was right in front of his face. The rest of the time he was way too busy with his own problems. His dad's crushing disappointment. His mom's disinterest. Magnus's... everything. But when Drew was standing right there shining in the sun like the fucking golden boy, it really pissed him off.

"You are." Tony would kill him for saying it, but Christian was the most interesting person to talk to in town. It's just the way things were. "And you did enough here. It's a shit situation and there's no manual for any of this. We're ill equipped for it and figuring out how to handle it."

[danteeckman]

“The murder, Reg. I’m talking about the disappearance and very likely murder.” Dante answered. “In the interest of coalition building, I would ask that you not treat me like an idiot, and I won’t assume that you have intimate knowledge of Tony’s predicament. Fair?” He swallowed. How would Kaia handle this? Well. Who was he kidding? He didn’t know how to handle things the way Kaia would. But she’d probably prefer he not piss off a potential ally on day one. So he let his regret show in the next breath. “Sorry. Bad morning. I figure you know how that conversation with Anu went.”

Dante let out a chuckle at the dig at Simon. “Yeah. I’m kind of surprised he wasn’t a member of the Dicks for Fern contingent, but I’ve never seen him take an overt position on… anything really. It can be of some political benefit. Up to a certain point.”

He gave Reg a genuine smile. “You would’ve scored higher if you weren’t tied to the Alessis. We both know that. Applies to me, too, if it’s any consolation. And I think Anu has miscalculated badly here. We’re both our own men.” He meant it, too. There were plenty of puppets in West Ham, New Ham, whatever, but it had always puzzled Dante to think of Reg ending up as a subordinate in anything, even the strange set of constellations that was the Alessis. Lots of people, including Tony, seemed to think that if you kept company in that house, you bent the knee. Dante never had, not really (frankly, Anu had been into that) and he wondered, genuinely, if Reg had.

[thekhoolest]

Reg's eyebrows raised slightly before he schooled his face into a more composed reaction. "Deal. Remind me, uh... who got murdered?" He didn't have a good way to put this. As far as he knew, no one had died. He did, however, appreciate the respect that Dante had showed him. It was a step up from his recent treatment.

Dante was referencing another conversation that Reg had no idea about, but he just nodded his head like he knew what was going on. Maybe he could fake it until he made it.

"I have trouble picturing him even saying the term Dicks for Fern. Though I see what you mean, he's very politic in how he talks about things. Never too far to one side." Reg was supposed to act in a similar fashion, but he hadn't found the right balance for himself yet.

He wasn't entirely sure if he agreed with Dante's view of the situation. The Alessi contingent had scored him points. He didn't have his own social capital in this world, he floated in between several contingents that all had their preferred leaders. He'd found safety in having options, but that had left him with less popularity overall. "We've always been our own men and we'll govern accordingly." It was a genuine compliment to Dante.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

“Frequently, yes.” Christian confirmed. Not pointedly, exactly. Breezyily, perhaps. But there was no point in denying it. There was a benefit in being above it all. He might recommend it to Reg if he’d thought the approach was something his best friend Tony would allow.

He nodded, conceding, then added in a wry tone. “I’m not sure I’d want to die in the Viceroy, to be honest. Only a 15 meter pool, I mean come on, Reg. We can do better.” There was no risk of them being photographed after all, so there was no need to feel confined, er, secluded. Or perhaps he was simply projecting their present predicament on top of a rather draining family trip.

Christian resisted the urge to point out that Reg also technically ‘threw rock good’, but he knew he played football more for the status than the impact. He knew the minute he got his first concussion, his mother was pulling him out of there. So he just offered him a good natured chuckle in confirmation.

Then he found himself in a tricky situation. He unfortunately knew far more gossip than he’d prefer to know, and that included tracing all the little connections between people he cared very little about. He knew exactly why Drew had been waiting at that house. But Reg wouldn’t care. He was too injured right now. A time would come when Christian would have to make Reg understand, but now was the time for inconvenient things. Like empathy. “I’d offer to ruin his life for you, but he’s done that enough already with his love life. The second least interesting school slut, a space case, and then a fucking sophomore? The Artemio pity only goes so far.”

[thekhoolest]

Reg laughed and shook his head softly. He couldn't argue with that. Christian lived a charmed life. So did he, but they came with different strings. As far as he was aware, Christian's life didn't have any. Lucky guy.

"Oh, neither would I. But that Britt's whole thing, roughing it." And the Viceroy had become a rougher experience for the elite lately. Too many tourists. Too many look loos trying to pretend they were richer than they were. It was distracting.

This was why he and Christian were friends. The guy just got it. "Yeah, I mean I can't defend most of that nor would I want to. I had a brief phase where I liked Bronte, but now it's more about flirting with her to piss him off, you know? Don't want him feeling too confident, even if all she does is moon over him."

He could feel his shoulders starting to droop, some of the adrenaline of his anger fading out of his system. "Thanks for this. I've tried to talk to other people, get some of these problems solved and they just turn it around on me. I shouldn't have even bothered."

[danteeckman]

“Tony is facing some trouble. But I suspect I don’t have to tell you that.” Dante watched Reg for a reaction, wishing he was the kind of person who knew how to read people the way he knew how to read numbers.

“In any case, the council is in a position where we’re forced to address it, which gives Anu a conflict of interest.” It had taken all of his powers to talk her down. They’d said horrible things to each other, worse than they ever had even during the breakup. She’d protected Tony, like deep down, he knew she would. But it still hurt. It still made him feel ugly and small and delusional for ever thinking they had a future.

He pushed forward, doing his best to keep his voice clipped, even happy. This was good news after all, at least for Reg. “She’s agreed to step aside in favor of a candidate of her choosing. I said it should be the next person after her in the election. Luckily, they’re the same person.”

He smiled almost shyly. “Reg, would you still like to be on the council?”

[thekhoolest]

"You're going to have to be more specific. Tony's always in trouble these days." He wasn't going to inadvertently give anything away. Anu had been right that one slip up from them could have disastrous consequences, but she was wrong in doubting their alibi plans.

He nodded his head slowly. That had been something on his mind as this whole situation started to unfold. Would they still give the Alessis a seat at the table after this? Looked like the answer was no. It was interesting that Dante was shouldering the news. He'd love to know if it was Dante's decision or if his old feelings had stirred up some kind of resistance to leaving Anu in the cold.

The last part was a surprise. For all her anger, he expected she might kick his ass. This was an acknowledgment of his power. It was also an olive branch from Tony. They weren't co-leaders, but Reg commanded a certain amount of respect that was useful for both of them. "Nice to know that I was sixth place. If Simon had beat me," he looked into the distance, "That guy has no charisma. It's weird."

This was the moment he'd wanted. He told Christian he wanted a place here, he didn't want to live in Magnus' shadow. Now, he had the opportunity for one but it came with some dangerous strings. The council wouldn't hesitate to throw him under the bus if he played it wrong. "I accept. I'm very passionate about how this new place should be governed and I have some useful experience here. Thanks for offering. I appreciate it."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

Christian caught himself. Reg was not the right audience for his Fern propaganda. The trouble was that it was habit at this point, doing his very best to cover his tracks, studiously avoiding referencing Kaia or Dante for that matter. Play positive, the strategists frequently said, and no one will notice your fixers burying the competition. And then business continued as usual without Kaia Jenkins being able to influence a single thing. Really, the Alessi camp didn’t know how much they owed him for installing Fern when he did. “I suppose that’s true. You and Tony were kind of the only voices that stuck with me.” A lie. Far too many of the little “statements of principle” had left him unnerved. The natural order wasn’t being upended so much as shifted. He had Lou to protect him, but he didn’t want to put her in that position. She got so annoyed when she was reminded of his mortality.

He had absolutely no idea what Tony’s ability to hit things had to do with his clumsy attempts at leadership. But Christian was good enough at reading people to see Reg needed this. Just like he’d needed that victory. And Christian hadn’t moved fast enough to provide it. He hadn’t even realized he’d have needed to. Anu’s little thought experiment was sticking with him. These people’s influence needed to be contained, and he couldn’t trust Reg to do it. Not when he was this enmeshed. No. Enamoured. “That was… sensitive of him.” Christian was trying to be nice, even though it wasn’t exactly his habit to be. “That is a comfort to know she had that at the end.”

He wanted so badly to tell Reg that death never meant something. Death didn’t care. But Reg wouldn’t believe him. He’d pull rank, and maybe he deserved to. But Reg didn’t have a fucking bomb in chest, did he? So all he could say was “I believe you. I believe you.”

He let Reg admit he was scared. Just another thing he needed. Look how giving Christian was. And how contained. “She was fearless. It was the hottest thing about her. But he doesn’t have any other kind of smile, Reg.” Christian gave him a surprisingly jocular nudge with his willowy shoulder, glad to have found something they agreed on. “I don’t see it, but I’m told that the big, goofy smile is part of the appeal. That and his ‘kinetic intelligence.’ ”

Fuck you, Fiona for distracting me. Seriously. Fuck you sideways.

[thekhoolest]

"Lucky you." He chuckled softly. There were so many voices crowding out the conversation these days. He would have loved to be able to narrow in to just one or two and let those guide him. His parents never trained him to weigh several advisors. That was Magnus's domain. He was supposed to do as he told and he there were too many people trying to tell him what he should do. And none of them sounded like what he wanted to do.

Reg shrugged softly. "I get that it wasn't the Viceroy in Bali, but he was trying. Hell, he even flirted with her a little bit." That tiny bit of normalcy had been the only thing to calm him down in a shitty situation. Even if you were dying, you still wanted someone to pay full attention to you. Britt was, in some ways, achingly human.

Hearing someone say they believed him did more for him than he would let on. He'd struck out hard with Wes. Drew was a non-starter. Tony respected him, but only to a limit. There hadn't been anyone willing to be on his side until this conversation. "Thanks, man." He wasn't going to make a big deal out of that. Christian would lose respect for him over it.

Reg's brow furrowed, "Kinetic intelligence is just a fancy way of saying he throw rock good." It was a horrible neanderthal impression, but it wasn't supposed to be good. "Drew is not the person I would turn to in an actual crisis and I didn't appreciate his approach. Maybe if one of his buddies hadn't been too chicken shit to volunteer, they would have welcomed it. As it was, the only people that stepped up don't really get along with him, so why did he think he was the right person to be the welcoming committee?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

“I know.” Christian agreed. He never had to do anything. Neither of them did. It was a convenience of station. “Have we?” He left the question open ended. He wasn’t going to get into defending Fern, especially around the Tony contingent, so he hoped one could assume he meant perhaps there actually weren’t any successes rather than his annoyance with the ways people’s sex lives were impacting his business.

“Protection.” An unimaginative turn of phrase. Or perhaps just very on the nose. “From what?” A loaded question, maybe, but Alessi really didn’t have the usual mobster ‘protection from the other guys / the cops / the union bosses, etc.’

It took a great degree of self control for him to not get too in the weeds about Britt. Christian knew he was too protective of Lou. He’d learned that less than two days ago. But the implication that Tony and Reg’s odyssey was the only reason someone gave a shit was irritating. He schooled his tone back to neutral before speaking. “I thank both you and him for your role in getting her back here, but she would have been mourned, Reg. With or without a body. With or without answers for what happened. We shouldn’t forget who she was before she went out there. It’s not just what she represents for where we are now. It’s the hole she left in the people who stayed here, the people who saw her as so full of life that she was untouchable. The horror is not that she died, it’s that she died. There’s death enough to go around, believe me.”

[thekhoolest]

Reg laughed. "Yeah, have you been sleepwalking through the town meetings, the nominations, the election? Hell, even Tony's little speech was about Fern. I feel like I've heard more about her in the last week than I did all year which includes her first presidential run." He didn't hate her, he voted for her once and almost did again. But he didn't agree with how she'd handled things and he found it hilarious that Christian was ready to extol about her. It didn't vibe with his usual outlook. At least, that's what he thought. "Tony's speech wasn't glowing, but everything else has been."

The rest was harder for him to explain. "Look, I'm not going to go deep into what was in the woods but there's stuff here I don't understand. I am not equipped to fight for anything outside of a boardroom. Tony's a boxer. He was groomed to be a leader from birth. He helped me figure out how to bring Britt back. He even held her while she died." His throat felt tight but he kept going. "Guess she finally got to spend time in his arms."

"I trust him. I know him. He says the worst can happen - an apocalypse, aliens, secret operation, whatever it is, he's the guy that will do his damnedest keep me alive. And if that's not possible, he'll make sure my death means something." He hated this. He hated that he even had to think about this. He was supposed to be dreaming about an empire he could one day squirrel away from Magnus, not his own mortality. He hadn't spent a day without a bodyguard until this week. His life had always been assured.

Reg's eyes met the ground. "I do mourn her. That loud laugh and the louder hair. The slutty outfits. Her incessant hitting on Tony. I miss how she was fearless, this whole thing didn't scare her at all. She charged into those woods like she owned them." He wasn't doing this again. It was getting old, having to rip open these wounds constantly. Why did it have to be so emblematic of what was happening? "Some people don't seem as affected by it. And I don't understand that. But I'm certainly not the mourning police. I just wish someone would have stepped up on this side, so I hadn't been greeted by Drew fucking Rogers with his big goofy smile like it was some kind of party."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

At least 40% of Christian’s life centered on holding his tongue. It was a remarkably high percentage for someone in his income bracket, he knew, but this was what took to connect with people on a human level (a skill many of his extended family members were truly terrible at.) He knew that he could have pointed out to Reg that an apology wasn’t an entirely fair prospect when Fern had asked for volunteers with the information she had and had no means of predicting a death by snake bite. Did Reg expect someone to grab him by the shoulders and say ‘have you considered perhaps not going into the mysterious woods that have eaten the road’? Because if anyone had been in a position to do that for Reg it would have been Christian himself.

He was the planner. The risk assessor. The fixer. Instead he’d been lying in bed until he heard what happened. Not what he would have preferred. It had seemed worth it at the time. Perhaps the apology Reg actually needed was more along the line of an idiom from a neighboring country - Es tut mir leid. ’I’m sorry that you are hurting.’ not 'I’m sorry because I’ve done or haven’t done a thing I desperately should or shouldn’t have done.’ So all he said was “I understand.” Because now he did. “And I’ll see what I can do.”

“And what might these extracurricular protection plans be?” He watched his tone carefully to make sure it didn’t sound like a challenge, even if deep down some part of it probably was. Christian didn’t really have a vested interest in Gabe Roberts’ nose, but that and his little display at the funeral were a strong indication that Tony Alessi was just as impulsive as ever. “Yours and his. The Venn diagram of it all.”

[thekhoolest]

"You don't have to do anything." It wasn't Christian's job to clean up their mess. They made it and they'd have to live with whatever bad faith it brought them from other people. Reg wasn't even sure if his opinion was popular. Certainly the way Wes reacted made him think it wasn't. "It's important to identify the weaknesses of your government in addition to the strengths. I think we've all heard about Fern's successes at this point."

Christian's tone was casual, but it was hard to pinpoint how interested he was in Tony's plans. Discretion was something that Reg promised Tony and he meant it. "Given his father's interests, he's expressed a certain level of protection that he's prepared to offer." That felt like a fairly open secret at this point. "And he volunteered to go deeper than the rest of us when it came to the woods. He lost Britt and he made sure she was mourned." He had other plans in the works, but Christian would have to wait for those. As much as he liked to sit on the fence, there was starting to be less of a use for ambiguity.

[danteeckman]

“I’m good, thanks.” Dante said. He’d become embarrassingly sensitive to the conception of any resource, even soft drinks, and he’d always been a carry a reusable water bottle with you everywhere guy ever since he was little. (Having a physician for a mother would do that to you.)

He was pretty well practice at looking unimpressed when wandering around other people’s houses. You didn’t survive long in West Ham if you couldn’t do that, really. But the kitchen had so much… personality, he supposed. It had opinions in a way he hadn’t thought Reg did. Another sign that Anu’s fears of Reg’s potential agency weren’t unfounded. “Did Anu call you? She wasn’t supposed to or anything. I just don’t want to tell you anything you already know.”

[thekhoolest]

Reg felt strange not being able to give Dante anything. Some kind of gift was customary for his family. He grabbed a gatorade for himself and chugged half of it in one gulp. He needed to hit the hydration harder if he was going to push his body to the limit.

Anu. Reg wiped his mouth slowly. He was half tempted to take another sip, just to see if anything came to his mind. He'd had conversations with her recently, but they weren't about anything related to Dante.

The best defense was playing dumb, right? Let Dante lead the conversation so he could figure out where he was supposed to stand. "I haven't spoken to her today." That was mostly true. She did quite a bit of yelling and he was just...in the same room listening to it. No talking required. "What's up?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

[danteeckman]

Dante was so. tired. He hadn’t been sleeping well in the first place but the blackout had been the longest two hours of his life, not even including double and then triple checking that the fire at Noah’s house was out. It had been more than suspicious. Transparent even. So he texted Anu.

So what do you think your options are?

They’d bickered. They’d argued. She’d called him and then hung up midcall twice. But in the end, she’d made what he would concede was at least partially the right call. At least you’ll still have a presence. Reg was runner up. Yet he knew the pause that echoed through the phone. Anu didn’t trust Reg to tow the party line, which could be very good or very bad depending.

So now he was on his way to the Winthrop-Khoo residence with a very thick binder under his arm. Dante knocked on the door, trying to force his posture to relax as he waited. You could hear the distance in the space within. He couldn’t even blame Reg for taking a while to cross the space. Fancy as it was, the door creaked a little when Reg opened it. “Hi, Reg. Council business. Can I come in?”

@reguluskhoo

[thekhoolest]

Reg had worked himself to the bone for the last two hours in his gym. He'd alternated between cardio and weights, waiting for the calm that came when your body was tired from exertion. He didn't get it. His body was still wired from the night before.

He couldn't even discern what had led to his agitated state. He'd done his job beautifully at the party. There had been enough of a stir caused that no one was questioning him. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something hadn't gone to plan. It felt too easy.

Then there was Sera. His potential dream girl that really might have been nothing more than a dream. Bronte's advice had been helpful but it also wounded him. Why couldn't he or Finn figure out how to have a girlfriend?

His thoughts died out as he heard the door bell. Reg grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat away from his brow and back. He threw on a muscle tank and walked towards the front of the house. A quick check of the camera system told him Dante was here. He hadn't expected that.

Reg opened the door and leaned against the frame with faux-casualness. Council business sounded promising, but he'd been let down by them in the past. He eyed the binder, wondering if this was some strange form of arrest. A reading of rights that no one had memorized yet.

"Hey," he gave him a quick nod, "Come on in." He led Dante across ancient polished wood floors and into the stainless steel kitchen with red and gold accents. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

Christian gave Reg a small salute. What else were friends for? Reminding people of the inherent frailty of life? Not really.

“You’re doing your best to keep it from ending faster, which I appreciate as an apolitical animal by necessity.” Much like his parents, Christian preferred to throw his significant capacity for support around quietly. They knew first hand what happened when you were too obvious with your wealth. Eating cake, ominous knitting, excessive bargaining.

Christian was glad he had a good poker face. And that he’d watched enough movies for the physical change Reg was describing to have at least been in his awareness as a hypothetical. “That is.” He agreed solemnly. Doing what needed to be done. Such an American concept. And Reg wasn’t even American. “What would have helped the most, if you’re willing to say?”

He’d wanted to start with the personal rather than the political because he had to admit he wasn’t sure how this truly amounted to an actionable political position. ‘Don’t go into the woods’ seemed to be a pretty general consensus. “I agree, but I must admit I don’t know what that looks like. Some are avoiding the existential threat completely, which is dangerous, but some also don’t know what they don’t know. If they admit they’re afraid, they’ll collapse. I wonder, Reg, honestly, if that might have been part of what you were up against. People don’t like to be reminded they might die.” Didn’t he know it. “Which is entirely out of your control, of course. But you know me. If it seems like it will help, I’ll say it. If it doesn’t, kindly inform me and we’ll move on.”

[thekhoolest]

"You're welcome." Reg grinned. He was glad that someone appreciated the work he was doing. While his family loved to look at him as the ornament in the photo, he had a lot to offer the world. He was ready to prove it. But he'd been so good at navigating other situations that people chalked it up to luck rather than skill.

It was always easier to complain than to articulate what would be helpful. That was one of those basic tenets of the world he understood intellectually but didn't always remember in the heat of the moment. "An apology, for starters. Some level of gratitude for dealing with something the others didn't have to think about. I know they can't promise that it won't happen again, but some compassion for us would have been welcomed. They got to see the cleaned up version, not the mess. They don't have to live with the nightmares." He could handle them, but that didn't mean that he didn't want someone to express sorrow that he had them.

"You're right. It's definitely because they don't want to deal with it, but that's part of being a leader." His mom had stressed to him that if the choices weren't hard, he wasn't actually benefiting the business. "If you say you can step up, you have to tell everyone that is trusting you how you're planning to keep them safe. We have that joke of a de-escalation team but that's for petty squabbles." As much as he liked to give Drew shit, he knew that he could handle that job well. He didn't feel nearly as confident about him handling the wilderness. "But there's been no meeting about updated safety protocols, monitoring of the woods...hell, none of them have even asked yet for a detailed explanation of what happened. They took Tony's dramatic entrance and decided that was the only thing that mattered."

He loved Tony. Dearly. The entrance was a distraction. There was more that they were up against. It had been days of silence. They genuinely weren't interested in the whole truth. "I want to feel like the people who won deserved to be in power. Until I see them actually take the lead, I'm team Tony. He, at least, volunteered for the woods, pushed farther than the rest of us,, and is making his own plans to keep people safe."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Seven

[christiandumotier]

“It’s what they wanted for the moment, Reg.” Christian said in his usual combination of soft spoken and matter-of-fact. “No value in discounting it. They were feeling petulant. That is valuable information. And that also bodes ill for your moral majority opponents. This is how all reformers are defeated. Give them a bit of power and watch things deteriorate. They consume each other. It’s just important to make sure you don’t end up devoured as well.”

He didn’t bother to point out that Reg had answered his own question. It wasn’t like him to sit in self pity, and he suspected Reg didn’t really want to sit in it either. “Seems as good a reason as any. No one runs without the intention of winning. Not anyone worth mentioning anyway.”

Christian unfolded his body a little in hopes of fighting stiffness. It wasn’t quite working, and talking about the ill fated trip didn’t help. “Do you want to tell me about that?” He let the question hang in the air. For all his ease with words, there didn’t seem to be an elegant way to broach the topic.

[thekhoolest]

Reg was more than willing to concede the point. Moral majorities rarely were able to achieve the success they promised. Whenever the next election happened, he would have a better chance. There would be a record of how optimism wasn't enough of a basis for solid policy. "You're right and it helps. Thanks for that. Appreciate it."

He took a sip of his boba, chewing on tapioca. Christian was great at cutting to the heart of something in a way that pointed out the obvious without sounding like an asshole. It was impressive. "Doing my part for the end of the world."

He'd tried with Wes and got absolutely nowhere. The barbs still stung. This kind of vulnerability didn't come easy to him. It required showing that he had weaknesses. His family would prefer that he didn't have any. Things were safer that way. But this was his friend, if he couldn't talk about it with him then there was no one he could confide in.

"There's two parts to what pisses me off about the whole thing. The first is that none of this little council made moves to do the important work. Someone died and they just acted like that was fine." He put his drink down, rubbing at his forehead. "It wasn't fine. Carrying her for hours as she decayed was the worst thing I've ever been through. Feeling her shape change..." He sighed, "That's real. That's signing up for the shit no one wants to do because it needs to be done." He wanted to think his family would be proud of him, but his mother might have honestly considered it a waste of his strength. She might have wanted him to press further, leaving Britt behind.

"I'm not asking for special treatment here, but I think the fact that someone died less than a week into this whole thing is a sign that we don't have this figured out." He swallowed. He certainly had more questions than answers. "We can all make speeches, but people should be addressing directly how they are going to save people's lives. That should be the first priority. No one else should have to carry a body."