#caleb's and kenneth's dynamic is something i'm already looking forward to exploring

[not-poignant]

Hey, I just got back from reading chapter 9 of Underline The Red! I don't know if this is too spoilery, but do you have any potential conflicts with Caleb over Kenneth in store? It's something I wondered about since he's been introduced! ^J^

Hello!!

I'm answering this one not privately because I think it would be helpful to a lot of people!

The first answer is very honestly - I can't say for sure, because I'm not working to a chapter plan.

The second is that it's likely there will be some conflicts between Caleb over Kenneth, but that I think they will be quite respectful when they come up. There's a really interesting power dynamic I get to set up here which really helps in the future, which is that Caleb meets Kenneth first as his student, and Kenneth is his teacher, who Caleb has to yield respect and time to, and be humble around, because he is learning from him.

So Caleb must come to Kenneth in the plot first, from a position of grace and yielding (as an alpha yielding to the superior knowledge of a beta), and consultation.

And this sets them up really well honestly when it comes to Faber, because it means Caleb isn't automatically used to throwing his weight around with Kenneth, or being immature around him, or even possessive around him. Because they were consulting literally over someone Caleb was bonded to, and Caleb couldn't afford to be possessive and hostile in those moments.

So while I foresee that there will be conflicts because I'm me and I write the stories I write, there is already an interesting power dynamic in place between Kenneth and Caleb to shield them and all of us from the worst kinds of conflicts.

I think the biggest sticking point between them will mostly be Kenneth being concerned for how Caleb has treated Faber in the past, and how he might treat him in the future. But Caleb is actually a pretty thoughtful, compassionate guy, he's good at taking things on board once he is actually given knowledge, even if it's 'how dare you hurt him that way' knowledge. I'm actually really looking forward to showing the more mature sides of Caleb's personality!