Ada wrinkled her nose. "He sounds like he's better off dead and strung up for the vultures."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded. She still hated that she agreed with that sentiment. It still made her feel uneasy. “I am, anyhow… and most of the world.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“I am, too,” Ky agreed quietly. “I’m sorry he ever got you in the first place, though. You didn’t deserve him.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Nobody deserves him," Ada muttered. "And you didn't deserve the other one, either."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded in agreement. “It was my own fault— he outsmarted me, or none of it would ever have happened… but he didn’t need to be as terrible to me as he was. I… he was dramatic. Didn’t need to be like he was.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"That's victim blaming," Ada said sternly. "You shouldn't say that, Ky. It just makes you feel worse about yourself."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky was startled to have it said so directly to her. Victim blaming was gross. And yet.. well… maybe Ada was right. “… maybe so.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Definitely so." She kept walking, looking up at the trees.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky almost wanted to ask how Ada had gotten taken. And yet she knew that was obscenely rude. She pulled her furs tighter and shivered a bit at a gust of wind. “I always forget how cold it is outside.” And much she disliked it.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"It's utterly frozen." Ada wrinkled her nose. "Again, I'd love this scenery without all the cold. The gods here must hate everything to make it this cold. But I guess it's bearable."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded in agreement, deciding not to comment on the gods. Ada clearly thought they were real, if she hypothetically eavesdropped on their dreams. But Ky had a hard time believing both of them. Still. She was curious. “…do you get to pick which god you dream about?”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Ada's brow furrowed. "I've only got one god. Rishi, the sun god down South. It sends me dreams. The ones up here have their own Seers to worry about."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded. “What sorts of things does it send you?”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
She thought for a moment. "Well...a few weeks before I was taken, I dreamed I was bound in bleeding twine. I was locked in a wicker cage, and when I looked out I could see enormous men tossing corpses down a gaping hole. One of them saw me looking and came over, and he had a wolf's head."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one's literary and philosophical principles. — Lemony Snicket
