#gloriousrivals

Dinner is usually hosted at the Grayson's

Acacia and Lyra's Mum are BEST FRIENDS (I'm calling her Rachel I'm sorry it's just too perfect) and they are always deep in conversation about life, parenting, writing, just anything really. (Acacia needs more friends, she's so wonderful)

Keith and Savannah talk a lot during the dinners, they have quite a good (unexpected) bond. Keith sees a lot of hidden resentment in Savannah and it reminds him of himself when he was younger.

Lyra's little brother and Grayson always sit near the end of the table, and they have quite substansial conversations as well (which mostly consist of Lyra's little brother spamming Grayson with questions about being rich and famous and old)

I have this headcanon where Lyra's brother met Jameson once and loved him because he was funny and they played pranks on Grayson together so he's just in love with 'Jamie' and constantly asks Grayson about him, and Grayson answers all the questions without hesitation.

"Grayson, is Jamie your favourite brother?" Grayson is lost for words.

"...Yeah, yes i think he is." Lyra's brother grins.

Gigi and Lyra always sneak drinks from their mothers glasses and they reprimand them everytime (but they don't mind all that much)

Rachel ADORES Grayson so she always asks him about his life.

Rohan came for the first time because Acacia loves him, and everyone but Lyra's brother had met him so Lyra's brother asked him "Why do you talk funny?"

He sat between Lyra and Savannah, and one time Rohan did something stupid and Lyra immediately called him out on it in FRONT OF SAVANNAH, suffice to say his ego didn't last very long that night.

Savannah smiled when she realised how sad he was that she saw him do said stupid thing and whispered something into his ear that made him feel much better.

Rohan smiled smugly at Lyra and she gagged

Grayson and Lyra don't sit next to each other because Grayson is legitimately terrified of Keith.

So he just looks across the table sulking, seeing Lyra with his sisters instead of him.

But they text ADORABLY under the table every time. Until Gigi catches them and then claims she has to bleach her eyeballs.

THIS. MAN.

okay so first of all. update. I LIKE LYRA NOW 🎉🎉🎉 i love her character development in glorious rivals, jlb you've done it again. now that that's all settled. rant time. jameson thought he was going to die. he was in such a dire position that he was fully convinced he was going to be killed that night. he got threatened. the people he loved most in the world lives were put on the line. he was terrified. jameson admitted his fear. he ADMITTED to his brothers in glorious rivals that he thought he was going to die. this is the same person who never, ever was truly open with his emotions if he could help it with anyone. even GRAYSON admitted that. "fear wasn’t just ice in your veins or a beast at your throat. fear was loving someone so fiercely that there was no point in your heart beating if hers did not" (games untold) he would die for avery. he would kill for avery. if avery died, he'd probably do a romeo and die with her.

"there was no point in your heart beating if hers did not."

DO YOU HEAR ME SCREAMING???? i am not excusing his actions. i am justifying and validating his fear. i have seen so many people being like 'oh even if he was scared he shouldn't have said those things to lyra." AND HE SHOULDN'T HAVE. however, what people have to realise is that avery is quite literally his everything. is that kind of co-dependency healthy? absolutely not. but that's not what we're here to assess. he loves her, that all-consuming unconditional eternal love. i think that if you don't like a character, it's way easier to critique them. but if you do, it's so much harder. i dislike lyra in the grandest game, i'll admit that. but now i actually like her character. before it was easy to take jameson's side, and now im kind of on hers as well. what jameson said to her was unfair. but also, we don't get his point of view. we only got lyra's, so we have now way of knowing what he's thinking, unlike lyra.

he was cruel. he was wrong. and she didn’t deserve that. but context matters. and the context is that this boy was hanging on by a thread. and avery is his thread avery is his anchor his constant his whole world, so when her life was in danger. when he thought he might lose her. he broke

“there was no point in your heart beating if hers did not” i mean COME ON that’s not love that’s devotion that’s soul-deep this-life-or-the-next i’d rather die than be without you kind of love and that’s who jameson hawthorne is. that’s who he’s always been jameson makes mistakes. he hurts people. but he’s trying. and he’s terrified. and he’s finally letting it show. and i think that matters. so yeah. this man. he’s not okay. but maybe now he doesn’t have to pretend to be

like it or not, jameson hawthorne DID show his character development this book. i don't really care how many people disagree with me. because GUESS WHAT? I AGREE with me. AM I FOCUSING ON THE WRONG THING HERE? PROBABLY. BUT THIS. IS. THE. CONTEXT. DO NOT DARE TAKE TWO LINES OUT OF THE BOOK WITHOUT THE EXTREMELY LENTHY TRILOGY-SPANNING CONTEXT THAT COMES WITH IT. IT HAS BAGGAGE. DON'T IGNORE THE BAGGAGE.

statement: lyra kane did not deserve that. she was innocent in this book. she didn't DO anything to deserve being told to 'go to hell.' it was cruel of jameson.

however, jameson winchester hawthorne does not share. not pain. not vulnerability. not fear. that moment with his brothers? that was monumental. this boy who once treated emotion like a game piece on the board finally, finally, said it aloud to his most loved people in the world who he never dared showed vulnerability with before: I thought I was going to die.

"Did you just put that coffee in the microwave?" Lyra asked in mild horror.

"Yeah, it was cold," Max replied, looking at her as if she were being unreasonable. Lyra stared at her. Xander sipped his hot chocolate, watching intently, not fazed by Max’s beverage quirks.

"It’s iced coffee," Lyra deadpanned.

"Yeah, well, not anymor—what the elf!" she yelled as two figures whooshed past her.

"I swear, Lib, I’m not sick! God, what is your problem?" Avery yelled while still running.

"If you’re not sick, why the heck aren’t you letting me check your temperature?" Libby replied, sounding out of breath.

"Because there’s no reason to! I’m not sick!"

"So you are sick."

"No, I just don’t understand why you’re so determined to—"

"Stop."

A country drawl sounded throughout the room. Lyra turned her gaze to where Nash was standing in the doorway, Grayson at his side, an eyebrow raised. He caught her gaze from where she sat on the kitchen counter and sent her a questioning look. She shrugged, because she genuinely had zero idea what was going on. Avery and Libby had both stopped where they were—Avery with her back against the staircase, Libby facing her, back toward everyone else.

"What’s happening?" Xander asked helpfully.

"Yeah, I was wondering as well," Lyra added. Max just nodded eagerly.

Avery rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Nothing."

Libby complained to Nash, "She’s ill and won’t admit it! She won’t even let me take her temperature!"

"If you’re not sick, as you’re claiming, why aren’t you letting Libby take your temperature?" Grayson asked Avery plainly.

Avery glared at him. Abruptly, Grayson smiled slightly—though Avery didn’t seem to notice. Her body was still in a defensive stance, as if she were ready to run if anyone attempted to move toward her.

"Because, obviously, your collective blatant distrust in me is downright offensive. After years of living together, you continue to doubt me and assume immediately that I would lie about something as trivial as feeling sick. I mean honestly…."

Lyra zoned out slightly and looked around to find the source of Grayson’s smile, her eyes travelling to where she saw Jameson making his way down the staircase behind Avery. She smirked as she saw Nash silently signal something to him, to which he gave a nod.

In true Jameson Hawthorne fashion, he reached the bottom of the staircase and swiftly wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her against him. Avery started slightly, but after a moment, sighed in exasperation, seemingly knowing there was no point in running anymore.

"What am I doing?" Jameson asked Libby, smiling slightly at the girl in his arms.

"Check if she has a fever." Libby smiled, thankful for the help. Jameson frowned lightly.

"I thought you said you weren’t sick," he reminded Avery, his voice low.

"I’m not! Libby’s just being assumptious," she said back to Jameson.

"How am I assuming anything when you look like you’re about to collapse?" Libby shot at her.

Lyra looked at Avery. Jameson pressed the back of his palm to her forehead, keeping his other hand firmly around her waist. To Lyra, Avery didn’t look ill at all—or like she was about to collapse. Just perhaps slightly tired. Maybe Avery wasn’t lying?

Jameson looked concerned now.

"You’re burning up, Ave," he told her softly, worried, his hand still pressed against her forehead, then moving to her cheek.

Or maybe it was sibling intuition, and Lyra should never be a detective.

"YOU LIAR!" Libby yelled. Nash and Grayson watched in both slight concern and amusement.

Max whispered to Lyra, "It’s like watching a soap opera."

Lyra laughed. She felt Grayson come to stand by her side, his arm around her shoulders, rolling his eyes at his brother and sisters-in-law. Lyra smiled.

"Well, how am I supposed to know if I have a fever?" Avery argued.

"BY LETTING ME CHECK FOR YOU!" Libby looked exasperated—very un-Libby-like.

"Okay, okay. You—bed." Jameson pointed at Avery and gestured upstairs, amusement and concern evident on his face, his voice stern.

"I have meetings," she said, turning around to frown at Jameson.

"Heiress, you’re sick. You’re not risking your health for some random idiots who are unorganised enough to schedule meetings on a Friday morning. You’re overworked as it is. You need rest." Jameson’s tone indicated that they had had this conversation numerous times.

"Well, I have things to do, love. I can’t just drop everything—"

"I can take your work for the day, Avery. You should take the day off," Grayson told her. Lyra looked down at the counter and smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"Gray, I can’t do that to you. You have just as much stuff to do today as I do. We can’t—"

"Then he can delegate. You need rest, Avery. You can’t go on like this without taking days off," Jameson said firmly, his thumb tracing her jaw. They looked at each other for a moment, something unspoken passing between them.

"Fine. Fine! God, I’ll take today off. But only today, okay?" Avery sighed in defeat.

"Done," he stated.

Libby smiled at him. Avery clearly had forgotten tomorrow was the weekend.

"Fine," Avery rolled her eyes.

"Good." He smirked. Grayson looked at Lyra, and they shared a smile. Lyra thought it was endearing how much Jameson cared about Avery, no matter who was watching.

After Avery went upstairs, Libby made her way to the other side of the kitchen.

"Well, now that that’s all finally settled, thank God—does anyone know where my cookie dough from yesterday went?" she asked, opening the fridge and looking through it.

Xander’s eyes widened almost comically as he mumbled an incomprehensible response and left the room hastily. Libby smiled and rolled her eyes. Lyra was too busy laughing to notice Grayson swiping her croissant off her plate—until it was too late.

"Oi!" Lyra yelled at him.

"You have four other croissants on your plate, Lyra."

"So? What are you insinuating?"

"I’m insinuating that I have a busy schedule today, and that if you can’t sacrifice one croissant for my efforts, we may have to rethink this whole relationship."

"Our relationship?"

"No, your relationship with those croissants."

"Don’t judge my relationship!"

"Speaking of schedules—Gray, you will delegate Avery’s work, right? That alone is too much for one person," Jameson asked, his back to everyone as he made a sandwich for Avery.

Lyra smiled at Jameson’s obvious concern for his brother, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Jameson glanced at Grayson, and Grayson nodded.

"Promise?" Lyra asked.

"Promise," Grayson replied, his eyes still on his brother, who shot him a smirk and turned back around carelessly—although Lyra noticed some of the tension leave Jameson’s shoulders.

Nash, who had been silently watching this whole exchange, smiled and shared a knowing look with Lyra.

They all had so much pride, and yet were secretly concerned about each other’s wellbeing.

God, how she loved them.