Hey, that's on you. You should know better than to wear underwear you want to keep when we go out.
I haven't thought much about potential fledglings. If I start drumming up a wishlist, I'll never take one on. It took you hundreds of years to find someone that matched your criteria and I'd be just as picky.
Not that I plan to half-ass the choice but I'd rather not put myself in a box.
I do want someone teachable, though. Not fixer-uppers like yours, but I miss having students.
Did Harlan and Jesse actually meet your high standards or did you get tired of searching?
[Jesse is. Harlan was his own man before Rosalind came along; the work comes from trying to educate him in the ways of being a vampire, but that's every fledgling. Jesse . . . ah, Jesse. He's grown so much in the past few years. He's intelligent, for all he'd tried to bury it under years of drug abuse as a human. But he's willful and stubborn, and oh, so moralistic, and that comes with its own sets of challenges.
Not like her, Rosalind thinks, frowning down at her phone. No, she's never stubborn, or at least not like that, digging her heels in to be obstinate. If she insists on her way, it's only ever because she's right.]
Harlan met my standards. I observed him for a while before I turned him— although admittedly, he forced my hand by a good year or two. But it was not loneliness that had me seeking him out; he fascinated me. He still does. And Jesse—
He's a work in progress. But there is far more to him than meets the eye. More, I think, than even he realizes or wants to admit. If nothing else, he has something we all the rest of us lack.
[Another pause.]
I want him to meet your father sometime soon, if Jacob would be amiable towards it. I think it would do him good.
Right. Got it. Harlan is ~*~fAsCiNaTiNg~*~! Bully for him.
[Jealousy is not exactly what he would call the emotion he feels when Rosalind praises her precious fledgling. It can't be jealousy when he's still so confident that, between the two of them, Newt will always reign supreme in Rosalind's mind.
But, still. He doesn't like the guy, and thus doesn't love hearing how interesting and unique he is. Like, sure, he technically asked, but Ros was supposed to say "no, I got lazy and Harlan just happened to be within arms reach".
Anyway, he doesn't much care for Jesse either, but for different reasons. Jesse isn't a threat. He's entertaining, but benign. Newt at least understands why Rosalind chose Harlan, but Jesse... Newt's been scratching his head over that one for years.]
Something the rest of us LACK? Doubtful, unless you're talking addiction problems and an unchecked temper.
Oh, and an appreciation for orgies. :)
Which begs the question: why, exactly, do you want him meeting my dad?
I want him to meet your father because he could use a positive male presence in his life, and your father has the admirable tendency to parent anyone he feels might be in need of it.
[Herself included.]
And it would do Jesse good to have someone he does not feel he needs to prove himself towards— he does, you know, when it comes to you and I and Harlan. Even Fenris. He feels he has to present a front.
And what he has that we LACK is a moral center. He's still human in his mind, for all that he's leaned into the decadence of this lifestyle. He still has his morality, and . . . I will not say that will not be a problem in the future, but it's certainly something the rest of us have long since disconnected from.
He feels the need to prove himself because he DOES have to prove himself, you know. That's how the lot of us are and how court works. Species and lineage don't cut it, at least not socially.
Buuut hm, I agree that a softer presence might do him some good. And you're right, my father is good for that sort of thing. Maybe because he spent so long without a coven of his own.
I'll talk to him. I'm sure he feels Jesse is, in a sense, his grandchild.
Of course I won't, don't be silly. If anything, he's his stepgrandson.
And I don't think so, no. Certainly you occupy a position he doesn't. But "bully for him", Newt, really? He is fascinating. Why does it irk you I say so?
Dooooooon't. Don't. He'll latch on and it'll be a whole thing.
He'd start treating Jesse like a "step" grandson, how about that? He'd start slipping him five bucks when you're not looking and offering him Werther's originals. It'd ruin the whole "positive male presence" thing you're hoping to cultivate.
Anyway he's not that fascinating, Rosalind. He's a murderer. You find him interesting because he was a murderer BEFORE you turned him, but that just makes him an asshole. He's a rabid dog you collected and put in a petri dish, that's all.
It "irks" me because you're wasting your time with him. Surely you've got better things to research.
[Well now she's definitely going to let that slip to Jacob. Petty warfare and all, it won't backfire on her in the least.]
Oh, you have standards for me now. I see. Zero for two, apparently. Tell me: am I to sire now purely based on potential worth?
I get along with him. I like him. There's few enough people I can say that about; does that not count for anything?
And I'll thank you not to insult him. A rabid dog— you wonder why I think you jealous? Because there's no easier way to rile you up than to mention him in any capacity.
[Never mind the time she and Harlan pointedly banged within Newt's earshot, my, my.]
You know that's not what I mean. Sire whomever you want, it's your decision. I just don't like your decision.
Same as how I don't like that you like him. Aside from being an actual serial killer, he's rude and crass and insubordinate. You let him get away with too much.
Remember how he called me a Nazi? Remember how the two of you fucked damn near in front of me and he STILL gloats about it? Remember how Peter ripped out his throat because even he can see that Harlan steps out of line far too often?
He's got his benefits, I'll grant you that, but he's a loose cannon. It's purely luck and your intelligence that's kept him from causing some irreversible catastrophe.
It's not jealousy you're reading, it's frustration. If he brings you down with him then he'd better hope he's killed himself in the process.
And have you noticed that Peter hasn't executed him? That, in fact, Harlan defers to him now, swiftly and without question? His court manners are near-impeccable, and far better than some in the palace.
I do not let him get away with too much; believe me when I tell you that I scold him. I've had rows with him on why it was a bloody stupid thing for him to call you that; we've spent ages going over what I will and will not allow from him.
He's learning. I would not tolerate him if he ignored my teachings, and frankly, I find it insulting you think I would. You know me better than that. You know damn well I would do near anything to keep my position in court; do you really think the prospect of my having found a friend and companion would blind me to potential pitfalls? He is far from perfect, but he is learning.
[Ah. This is not quite what he wanted, but then, that's on him for expecting anything less.]
Well, good, I'm glad you've got him on such a tight leash. Good for you, managing to collar a murderer.
I mean that genuinely. Talk him up all you want, but that's your hard work paying dividends, not his. You're likely the only person who has both the skill and the patience to rein him in.
And you know, that's the weird part for me. You're right, I do know you, and I know how rare it is for you to have this kind of patience with anyone. You can't tell me it's unfair of me to ask, why him? Why of all people did you choose to take on a serial killer as a fledgling? I was hoping it was because you saw some sort of utility in him that you thought you could master, but no, apparently you like him.
[...So, maybe Newt's more jealous than he thought he was.]
Look, you know ME well enough to know I didn't mean any of this as an insult. Sorry it came off that way. Maybe you're not blind but I do think you're playing with fire and excuse me for not loving the sound of that.
And FOR THE RECORD, the sex may have been your plan but that doesn't make it better. He still went along with it and continues to throw it in my face! Where's my apology for THAT?
[Well, at least some of her hackles settle at that tonal clarification. Not all of them, but some.]
Did you ever apologize to him for nearly getting him executed? I know you did to me, but that isn't the same thing.
[But ah, that's more a pointed message than a real question.]
What are you afraid will happen to me? Trust I'll answer your question on why him in more detail, but tell me that. What do you fear I'm not cautious enough over?
I didn't nearly get him executed, come on. You know damn well that was a strategic play and I was never going to let him actually take the fall for it.
I apologized to you because between the two of us, it looked like a betrayal, me throwing your fledgling under the bus without consulting you. He is an actual murderer, and I had every right to suspect him in earnest. I owe you my loyalty, not him.
But I did apologize, for the record. I went above and beyond.
[He pretty much just gave Harlan the same spiel he just laid out to Ros with a "sorry you're mad about it" tacked on, but if Harlan gets points for a technical apology then so does he.]
Someday Harlan is going to snap or get too cocky. He's going to dig himself a grave and it'll be well past the point where you're able to do anything about it. It won't be your fault, likely; he's a psychopath and you've done your best with him, but there's an upper limit to the amount of trust you can safely place in a person like him.
When that happens, I'm afraid you'll suffer for it, whether it's your reputation or your life that's at stake.
You're as cautious as you can be with him, I know that. But all the caution in the world won't save you from a time bomb.
That's the difference, then. You think him a time bomb, but I know— and it is know, Newt, for I have probed his mind more deeply than he realizes, and know him almost as well as I know myself— that he isn't. I believe fully that he has control over himself. He's simply never had reason to bother before.
And yes, I know how that sounds. But the words serial killer have far less weight in our world than they did in the human one. My god, you and I toy with our prey more than he does, and relish their fear aside. He sticks to humans, for he knows that to disobey me on a rule like don't kill other vampires would mean I would drop him in an instant.
[Would she? Well, it depends on what vampire, and why he killed, but tonight is about broad strokes, not details.]
And really, Newt . . . I do like him. He is important to me, just as you are important to me. Both of you are going to have to reconcile that at some point. Be wary if you wish, and if you see something you think good to warn me over, by all means, but until then: you are both mine, and I refuse to give either of you up.
Do you know how often I've had to do this dance with him about you?
[...Mmm. He doesn't love it, but Rosalind does have an incredibly good point: she can see into Harlan's mind and thus her analysis of him objectively carries more weight.]
Fine. If you're really that sure about him, I trust you. I won't ask you to choose between us but all the same, don't ask me to appreciate what you see in him.
We'll be stuck together for an eternity anyhow so he's got plenty of time to change my mind, but I still think he's bad news. What we do when we hunt is different than what he is. Our playing is a hobby; his maiming is an obsession.
[Is it? He doesn't actually know Harlan that well, let alone the nuances of how and why he kills, but it does feel very different to Newt. He'd never had a thirst for bloodshed when he was human. The fact that Harlan clearly did makes him wary.]
If that distinction is a drop in the bucket for you, so be it, but it's a hard line for me. Would he stop if you told him to, do you think?
And I imagine the two of you have been around the block more than once re: me. I'm well aware the dislike runs in both directions.
[Oh, but that's a very good question from Newt, and she pauses for a notable few minutes.]
Yes. I believe he would. Especially if he knew why I was asking him to do such a thing. I would not order him into it, though. Ask, but not order. He deserves that much.
And it certainly does. And yet every single time he asks me to pick favorites, I tell him the same thing I do you.
[Newt hasn't at all called her loyalty into question, but maybe she wants that established a little: that she fights fiercely in both directions.]
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no subject
I haven't thought much about potential fledglings. If I start drumming up a wishlist, I'll never take one on. It took you hundreds of years to find someone that matched your criteria and I'd be just as picky.
Not that I plan to half-ass the choice but I'd rather not put myself in a box.
I do want someone teachable, though. Not fixer-uppers like yours, but I miss having students.
Did Harlan and Jesse actually meet your high standards or did you get tired of searching?
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They aren't fixer-uppers.
[Jesse is. Harlan was his own man before Rosalind came along; the work comes from trying to educate him in the ways of being a vampire, but that's every fledgling. Jesse . . . ah, Jesse. He's grown so much in the past few years. He's intelligent, for all he'd tried to bury it under years of drug abuse as a human. But he's willful and stubborn, and oh, so moralistic, and that comes with its own sets of challenges.
Not like her, Rosalind thinks, frowning down at her phone. No, she's never stubborn, or at least not like that, digging her heels in to be obstinate. If she insists on her way, it's only ever because she's right.]
Harlan met my standards. I observed him for a while before I turned him— although admittedly, he forced my hand by a good year or two. But it was not loneliness that had me seeking him out; he fascinated me. He still does. And Jesse—
He's a work in progress. But there is far more to him than meets the eye. More, I think, than even he realizes or wants to admit. If nothing else, he has something we all the rest of us lack.
[Another pause.]
I want him to meet your father sometime soon, if Jacob would be amiable towards it. I think it would do him good.
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[Jealousy is not exactly what he would call the emotion he feels when Rosalind praises her precious fledgling. It can't be jealousy when he's still so confident that, between the two of them, Newt will always reign supreme in Rosalind's mind.
But, still. He doesn't like the guy, and thus doesn't love hearing how interesting and unique he is. Like, sure, he technically asked, but Ros was supposed to say "no, I got lazy and Harlan just happened to be within arms reach".
Anyway, he doesn't much care for Jesse either, but for different reasons. Jesse isn't a threat. He's entertaining, but benign. Newt at least understands why Rosalind chose Harlan, but Jesse... Newt's been scratching his head over that one for years.]
Something the rest of us LACK? Doubtful, unless you're talking addiction problems and an unchecked temper.
Oh, and an appreciation for orgies. :)
Which begs the question: why, exactly, do you want him meeting my dad?
1/2
[From orgies to his father, good grief.]
I want him to meet your father because he could use a positive male presence in his life, and your father has the admirable tendency to parent anyone he feels might be in need of it.
[Herself included.]
And it would do Jesse good to have someone he does not feel he needs to prove himself towards— he does, you know, when it comes to you and I and Harlan. Even Fenris. He feels he has to present a front.
And what he has that we LACK is a moral center. He's still human in his mind, for all that he's leaned into the decadence of this lifestyle. He still has his morality, and . . . I will not say that will not be a problem in the future, but it's certainly something the rest of us have long since disconnected from.
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Are you jealous of Harlan?
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Buuut hm, I agree that a softer presence might do him some good. And you're right, my father is good for that sort of thing. Maybe because he spent so long without a coven of his own.
I'll talk to him. I'm sure he feels Jesse is, in a sense, his grandchild.
(Please don't feed into that notion.)
[...]
SHOULD I be jealous of Harlan?
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And I don't think so, no. Certainly you occupy a position he doesn't. But "bully for him", Newt, really? He is fascinating. Why does it irk you I say so?
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He'd start treating Jesse like a "step" grandson, how about that? He'd start slipping him five bucks when you're not looking and offering him Werther's originals. It'd ruin the whole "positive male presence" thing you're hoping to cultivate.
Anyway he's not that fascinating, Rosalind. He's a murderer. You find him interesting because he was a murderer BEFORE you turned him, but that just makes him an asshole. He's a rabid dog you collected and put in a petri dish, that's all.
It "irks" me because you're wasting your time with him. Surely you've got better things to research.
[Someone's still bitter over that Nazi comment.]
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Oh, you have standards for me now. I see. Zero for two, apparently. Tell me: am I to sire now purely based on potential worth?
I get along with him. I like him. There's few enough people I can say that about; does that not count for anything?
And I'll thank you not to insult him. A rabid dog— you wonder why I think you jealous? Because there's no easier way to rile you up than to mention him in any capacity.
[Never mind the time she and Harlan pointedly banged within Newt's earshot, my, my.]
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Same as how I don't like that you like him. Aside from being an actual serial killer, he's rude and crass and insubordinate. You let him get away with too much.
Remember how he called me a Nazi? Remember how the two of you fucked damn near in front of me and he STILL gloats about it? Remember how Peter ripped out his throat because even he can see that Harlan steps out of line far too often?
He's got his benefits, I'll grant you that, but he's a loose cannon. It's purely luck and your intelligence that's kept him from causing some irreversible catastrophe.
It's not jealousy you're reading, it's frustration. If he brings you down with him then he'd better hope he's killed himself in the process.
1/2
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[Oh, they're going to address the rest of that, but one thing at a fucking time.]
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Again: what does that matter?
1/2
And have you noticed that Peter hasn't executed him? That, in fact, Harlan defers to him now, swiftly and without question? His court manners are near-impeccable, and far better than some in the palace.
I do not let him get away with too much; believe me when I tell you that I scold him. I've had rows with him on why it was a bloody stupid thing for him to call you that; we've spent ages going over what I will and will not allow from him.
He's learning. I would not tolerate him if he ignored my teachings, and frankly, I find it insulting you think I would. You know me better than that. You know damn well I would do near anything to keep my position in court; do you really think the prospect of my having found a friend and companion would blind me to potential pitfalls? He is far from perfect, but he is learning.
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Well, good, I'm glad you've got him on such a tight leash. Good for you, managing to collar a murderer.
I mean that genuinely. Talk him up all you want, but that's your hard work paying dividends, not his. You're likely the only person who has both the skill and the patience to rein him in.
And you know, that's the weird part for me. You're right, I do know you, and I know how rare it is for you to have this kind of patience with anyone. You can't tell me it's unfair of me to ask, why him? Why of all people did you choose to take on a serial killer as a fledgling? I was hoping it was because you saw some sort of utility in him that you thought you could master, but no, apparently you like him.
[...So, maybe Newt's more jealous than he thought he was.]
Look, you know ME well enough to know I didn't mean any of this as an insult. Sorry it came off that way. Maybe you're not blind but I do think you're playing with fire and excuse me for not loving the sound of that.
And FOR THE RECORD, the sex may have been your plan but that doesn't make it better. He still went along with it and continues to throw it in my face! Where's my apology for THAT?
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Did you ever apologize to him for nearly getting him executed? I know you did to me, but that isn't the same thing.
[But ah, that's more a pointed message than a real question.]
What are you afraid will happen to me? Trust I'll answer your question on why him in more detail, but tell me that. What do you fear I'm not cautious enough over?
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I apologized to you because between the two of us, it looked like a betrayal, me throwing your fledgling under the bus without consulting you. He is an actual murderer, and I had every right to suspect him in earnest. I owe you my loyalty, not him.
But I did apologize, for the record. I went above and beyond.
[He pretty much just gave Harlan the same spiel he just laid out to Ros with a "sorry you're mad about it" tacked on, but if Harlan gets points for a technical apology then so does he.]
Someday Harlan is going to snap or get too cocky. He's going to dig himself a grave and it'll be well past the point where you're able to do anything about it. It won't be your fault, likely; he's a psychopath and you've done your best with him, but there's an upper limit to the amount of trust you can safely place in a person like him.
When that happens, I'm afraid you'll suffer for it, whether it's your reputation or your life that's at stake.
You're as cautious as you can be with him, I know that. But all the caution in the world won't save you from a time bomb.
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And yes, I know how that sounds. But the words serial killer have far less weight in our world than they did in the human one. My god, you and I toy with our prey more than he does, and relish their fear aside. He sticks to humans, for he knows that to disobey me on a rule like don't kill other vampires would mean I would drop him in an instant.
[Would she? Well, it depends on what vampire, and why he killed, but tonight is about broad strokes, not details.]
And really, Newt . . . I do like him. He is important to me, just as you are important to me. Both of you are going to have to reconcile that at some point. Be wary if you wish, and if you see something you think good to warn me over, by all means, but until then: you are both mine, and I refuse to give either of you up.
Do you know how often I've had to do this dance with him about you?
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Fine. If you're really that sure about him, I trust you. I won't ask you to choose between us but all the same, don't ask me to appreciate what you see in him.
We'll be stuck together for an eternity anyhow so he's got plenty of time to change my mind, but I still think he's bad news. What we do when we hunt is different than what he is. Our playing is a hobby; his maiming is an obsession.
[Is it? He doesn't actually know Harlan that well, let alone the nuances of how and why he kills, but it does feel very different to Newt. He'd never had a thirst for bloodshed when he was human. The fact that Harlan clearly did makes him wary.]
If that distinction is a drop in the bucket for you, so be it, but it's a hard line for me. Would he stop if you told him to, do you think?
And I imagine the two of you have been around the block more than once re: me. I'm well aware the dislike runs in both directions.
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Yes. I believe he would. Especially if he knew why I was asking him to do such a thing. I would not order him into it, though. Ask, but not order. He deserves that much.
And it certainly does. And yet every single time he asks me to pick favorites, I tell him the same thing I do you.
[Newt hasn't at all called her loyalty into question, but maybe she wants that established a little: that she fights fiercely in both directions.]