#which theron thinks is going to be a handshake but instead he just holds his hand very delicately

[eorzeashan]

man I've been trying to latch onto the story beats for KOTET but mostly failing; and I think it's because Eight's whole deal with it only worked for KOTFE. would he beat Valkorion's ass for trying to hijack his and Jadus' bond? absolutely. would he be there for the Vaylin stuff? not... so much.

The way he sees it, he's repaying a life debt to Lana (since Koth pretty much opted out of it by taking the Gravestone as his reward) that is equal in worth to Arcann's death. Once that happens, he's out. And he hasn't enjoyed this whole stint one bit either; in fact, I can say he's even more miserable than he was under the Castellan Restraints. At least there he was thrilled by it and motivated by his own purposes. Here, he feels trapped. Alone.

You could say he has a choice to walk away, but at this point he's too mired in the war and it's...well, he takes burdens. He has that code to always repay what he owes even if he hates it. Lana doesn't realize it either-- or she only noticed one time via that letter, but didn't do much about it because what she asks him to do is so tied to what she doesn't give a second thought about: it's necessary. She thinks he has a personal stake in this and projects her own frustrations at the state of the world onto him because she doesn't know. And perhaps, that means.... she doesn't know him, either.

Their relationship was basically the same before too, only this time it's tipped drastically in her favor because he no longer has that choice to disobey. He could've had worse masters, but Lana's pragmatism and way of pointing him at what needs to be done (killed) has been horrible thus far. Even Jadus/Acina were both more receptive and open to him and while Lana does in essence, care, she does not hesitate and doesn't question her motives or the one she's shouldering these tasks to.

It's mostly the BuyowareTM effect of mission-ordained bestie and the plot railing, but it also does feel like... she doesn't realize how satisfied she is when he's finally following her orders after a long, long time of him openly resisting and making no effort to respect her chain of command, which was like a subconscious reaction on his part each time he sassed her because he didn't want to be under her thumb. Then when he agrees and does what she asks, she's more than pleased, happy even.

Yet from Eight's pov, it does something to him each time where he sinks even further into being that unfeeling weapon who no longer wants to think.

Would she be mortified if she knew how miserable he was having her as a taskmaster? Most likely. She's just doing what she thinks is best for the people she knows and her galaxy-- but it's her unawareness of this, her extreme pragmatism and eagerness to use him to the best of her ability that shifts their power dynamic to something less benevolent. Even under the kindest of Sith who treats him as a friend, he suffers because of his nature as a weapon to be used by her and her iron-clad ideals.

It's also a detriment on his part where Eight makes no effort to sway other people or change them because he believes in witnessing their true selves without his interference, and when Lana admitted she only saved him so he could save them, she sealed her fate and his. In that way, he tends to enable the worst in others around him because he lets them go unchecked, convinced it's who they are at their core. It's made worse by Eight honoring his debt to Lana, as he can only follow what she wishes and not completely override her decisions as he did before in SoR.

You could also say Theron helped to balance that out but as he's taken a backseat this time, it's also become damaging to him to watch Eight lopsidedly defer to a much colder side that clashes with Theron's way of doing things. So much so he's started "other"-ing him and blaming it on heartless Imps. That's another reason why every time Eight gets separated from them, he briefly considers using the opportunity to run away, but of course, he never does. Using Dromund Kaas' assassination attempt as a cover for his death was so tempting, and how bad does it have to be if you want to fake your death to your friends of all things?

I feel like this is all going to reach an untenable point somewhere as it has to, I'm just unsure as to what form it'll take given the unpredictable nature of the current story to either provide me with all the story revelations or nothing at all.

The current idea i'm entertaining is that Theron puts the pieces together of Eight's downturn into extreme coldness and avoidance of them, an overhead discussion involving Koth once again arguing with Lana over her treatment of him (i.e. that one letter), and then the final subplot where he is given the extra mission during the Traitor Arc to not only destroy the Gravestone but take away their other weapon, Eight himself, by convincing him to leave the Alliance-- only that isn't a ploy from Theron because he catches onto just how bad this is for his former friend and ends up helping Eight "get out".

That's probably too messy of a story to write, but we'll see-- but also because the Traitor Arc would hit much differently if Lana simply sic'ed Eight on Theron like she did on Arcann and Senya and Vaylin to some essence. For one, he might end up dead. And nobody likes a dead Theron. Two, Eight really is the Alliance's other weapon, and much less of a personality as the game makes out the Commander/Outlander to be. Vinn Atrius might have noticed by then who that white-haired attack dog is who keeps entering the battlefield and killing their top contenders: another one of the Alliance's trump cards. He and the Gravestone have been synonymous in their effectiveness and use from the beginning, so it's only natural they'd want to take him out of the picture.

Lastly, I just really want these two to reconcile. It kind of broke my heart that Theron used to find common ground with him and now doesn't see him at all, and I also thought the idea of a little bit of truth being behind him being a traitor was spicy if... the Outlander was one who was more burdened by the Alliance than protected or saved by it. The idea of taking down everything you've built thus far because it's hurting the person who made it all possible... it's sweet, isn't it? It's the kind of thing the last spy with a heart would do. Maybe that's ooc. But I do like the idea of exploring just how far all of them are willing to use weapons who may even be their own friends just to get ahead in this damn galaxy, and course-correcting from that when you realize you'll never stop having another Arcann or Vaylin, with too many Senyas and Master Surros in between.

This has to end somewhere, but mostly I just want the Rishi trio to come to terms with the way they are now :'I.

[youngtheron]

"Four targets. It's definitely doable." Alexei's fingers brushed against the four pictures that were paper clipped to the thick files. "Now, these three will be no problem. They aren't too high up, so they won't have too much security around them. However, this one is going to cause me some trouble."

Konstantin looked over Alexei's outstretched hand to get a look at the target he was talking about. "Ah, yes, Nathaniel Harlow. CEO of a huge record label in the West.”

Olev flipped open a file and slid it over to the pair. “He was supposed to be part of an expansion deal into the States, but he backed out at the last minute and took his money with him. It cost us quite a bit to clean up his mess, but now he thinks that he can get away with it. I would have forgiven him if not for his arrogance.”

“Bastard that backed out of a deal, that I can understand.” Alexei hummed as he continued to flip through the file. He began to frown and as he continued to search through the paperwork, the frown only deepened. “His position in the company allows him a lot of security detail, and he’s sure that we’re coming for him. He’s moved his calendar around to give us the smallest windows to get at him. Normally, I can work with small windows, but he’s made them impossible without going into the field.”

“Which is exactly what we’ll have you do.” Before Alexei could protest, Olev spoke up again. “I know you aren’t the biggest fan of going into the field-“

“I was shot last time.”

“-Nevertheless, you’re the only man that can do this hit and the only man qualified for the uncover role.”

Olev was just appealing to his ego, but Alexei couldn’t deny that it made the job at least a little bit better. Rather than continuing his complaints, he sighed and sat back in his chair. “Alright, fine. What’s the role?”

“Every year, Harlow attends a party for his label. All his big name signees attend and due to their celebrity status, the list is kept to a minimum which means there’s less cameras around. His security is stationed outside of the building and out of the way of the party. Meaning, if you can get into the party, you’ll have a clean shot.” Olev explained.

“Okay. How do I get in?”

“The only people allowed into the party are the actual celebrities, their guests, and their photographer, if they choose to bring them.”

“Well, I’m not famous, so I convince the celebrity to take me as their guest, right?”

Konstantin hesitated. “Well… no. You aren’t exactly- how do I say this without insulting you…” Konstantin exchanged a look with Olev. “You don’t really get along well with strangers.”

“I absolutely do get along with strangers.”

“You broke Elias’ arm the first day you met him.” Olev interjected.

“And he broke my nose. But we’re friends now!”

Konstantin just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The point isn’t that you’re friends now. The point is that you need to be appealing from the beginning, and you suck at that sometimes so we aren’t willing to risk that. Instead, you’ll become a photographer.”

As soon as Konstantin had said that, Alexei could see him start to get excited. “Whose photographer?”

Like a child that couldn’t hold back a secret anymore, Konstantin blurted, “Young Theron!”

The silence that followed was enough time for Konstantin’s expression to fall the moment he realized Alexei had no idea who he was talking about.

“Who?”

Konstantin huffed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Alyosha. Young Theron? Xander Theron? Either of those ring a bell?” Alexei’s silence was enough to answer his question. “And sometimes I wonder why we were ever- uh, friends.”

“You know I’m not in tune with media. Especially American music.”

“That’s the thing. He’s worldwide, known in every country. How the fuck do you not know who he is?”

“That’s besides the point, Konstantin.” Olev rolled his eyes. “Alexei will learn who he is. We have everything on him. His schedule, his finances-“

Alexei began leafing through the papers before his eyes went wide. “Holy shit. He’s worth one hundred and three million? You’re shitting me. And he’s, what? Fuck, he’s only twenty one.”

Sure, he was wealthy himself, but it was nothing compared to what this man had. He couldn’t fathom spending that amount of money any day. There was no way this almost twenty-two year old, white boy rapper knew how to spend it either.

“Yes, he’s quite successful.” Olev’s phone began to ring and he checked the caller ID before standing. “I have to take this. If you have any more questions, Konstantin should be able to answer them. Otherwise, call me.”

As soon as he left, Alexei and Konstantin both leaned in to get a better look at the picture with Xander’s file.

“He’s kinda hot.” Alexei commented as he studied the picture. The man’s smile was absolutely cocky. His hair was slicked back in the picture, a look that accented his already severe facial structure. The shadows in the picture only enhanced his cheekbones and jawline and if he didn’t give off such a dickish vibe with that smile, then Alexei would have considered trying to bed him.

Alexei’s gaze moved from the picture to the rest of the information attached to it. “Oh. Fuck, he’s South African.”

“There’s nothing to worry about there. We’ve tracked his roots and he has nothing to do with Excetra.”

“You better be right about that.”

“We are, Alyosha.” Konstantin grabbed his chin and gently turned Alexei’s head to look at him. “You know I’d never intentionally put you in harms way.”

“And I appreciate that, Kostya.” Alexei leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Now, I need to start getting ready. I need to know this all by heart by the time my flight leaves.”

***

For the last three days, Alexei had been listening nonstop to Young Theron's music. Half of the reason he was doing it was so that he would be familiar with everything and would be caught up with all of his music history. The other half was to be able to get a read on what kind of a man he was.

From what he had found so far, he wasn't a fan. All he seemed to rap about were getting bitches and money, both of which were probably true, but it came across in such a cocky way that Alexei wasn't too fond of. It just became braggy and immature.

He seemed arrogant and dickish. Xander sounded so sure of himself, sure that he was on top of the world and looking down on anyone else that was trying to reach the same heights. This kid had no idea what the real world was like.

Despite his dislike of the actual words, Xander had a great voice. It commanded attention, had a sharp, rich quality to it that made Alexei want to hear more. If anything, he at least had that to hold onto.

Alexei couldn't guess what it would be like to work for Xander, so when he was picked up by a private car once his plane landed in Atlanta, he decided to ask the driver.

"Hey, do you know what it's like working for Young Theron? I just figured-"

"I don't know, man. He just hired me to drive you to his studio. I don't know him."

"Oh. Thanks." Alexei sighed and leaned his head back against the seat before closing his eyes. A fourteen hour flight was enough to make him exhausted. It would have been faster to take a private jet, but it would destroy his cover and would cause too much of a splash in the underworld. Alexei had a reputation among criminals. There were plenty of people that wanted his head.

"Say, are you Russian?"

Alexei just hummed in confirmation.

"That's so fucking cool."

When Alexei didn't respond, the driver fell quiet and continued to drive. Clearly, the man wasn't in a good mood, and it was possible that he was already sleeping.

Alexei was startled awake when the car came to a stop. He rubbed his eyes and sat up before collecting his things from the car. He stepped out of the vehicle and immediately put on his sunglasses. He was tired and it was far too bright outside for him to be comfortable. It was hot too, and he regretted not wearing shorts and short sleeve. Instead, he rolled up the sleeves of his black button down to his elbows and picked up his camera and duffle bag before heading to the place where he had been given directions to enter.

He reached the studio quickly and could already hear people laughing on the other side of the door. Alexei paused with his hand on the door handle and took a breath. He could do this.

Alexei swung the door open a little too hard but didn't flinch when it slammed against the wall. He entered and his gaze immediately fell on the rapper who was currently drinking from the bottle of whiskey.

"You." Alexei became aware that his tone was harsh as silence fell over the room. His intimidating and sudden appearance paired with his accent had the entire room staring at him.

"I'm your new photographer." Alexei set down his things in the middle of the room before striding closer to Xander, with his hand outstretched for a handshake. "Alexei."