"Well..." She paused. "Do you know what the Isi are, Ky?"
"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
“You’re a tribe of nomad women,” she murmured. She glanced at her then looked away. “I assume…” she hesitated. She didn’t know how to say it. “That… you have ways of keeping women who come to you safe… but I don’t know much.”
"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]
"All of our founders came from situations like yours. Wives or daughters or slaves of monsters, abused and beaten. They brought more and more women like them in until we were a thriving tribe. The only men there are the sons of these women, and they're taught respect and kindness. My mother fled my father and came to the Isi when I was two years old. She still has the scars to show for it."
"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
"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]
"We fight anyone who tries to take our people away from us," Ada continued. "We're warriors, but we don't pillage or steal. We just defend and seek out those who wish they were with us."
"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
"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 dipped her head, smiling slightly at that. "I'm glad you think so. I admire it a lot; it shows that patriarchy isn't the fixed way to a successful society."
"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
“God no,” Ky agreed, shaking her head and furrowing her brow. “Men are at the very top of the list of what’s wrong with the world.” She hesitated, glancing over her shoulder as if she half expected Gaius to appear to smite her, or, worse yet, for Tomhas to appear wounded by her words. She shook it off, looking back at her. “… that’s not fair. Some men are truly wonderful… but so, so many aren’t. And shouldn’t be in power.”
"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]
"Most of them are awful," Ada said dismissively. "The good ones can stay, I guess. But I think the bad outweighs the good."
"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
“Some are good.” Ky said firmly. “… I could probably only name a handful of men I trust out of the hundreds I’ve met. But each of them brings significant value to my life.” She sighed softly. “I just wish they all acted like how the men I love do.”
"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]
"Mm." Ada nodded in agreement. "After Wolf Keep I was ready to denounce every single one. Then Pratik helped me and Rickard turned put to be the kindest man alive. I couldn't be angry at either of them for very long."
"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. “Pratik is good, on the whole,” she agreed. She wasn’t sure if she’d list him as someone she trusted. But she certainly held him in higher regard than the vast majority of other men. “And Rickard does seem very kind… you’d like Tadaaki, if you could speak to each other.” She wasn’t sure Tadaaki would like Ada, but the more they talked, the less prickly she was getting. So maybe she just had some social anxiety to start with. Ky just needed to be patient with her. “Zander is good, too. I trust him most of anyone alive.”
"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]
"Your uncle?" Ada nodded warily. "He seems alright, I guess. And your big friend as well. What languages does he know?"
"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
“Tadaaki just speaks Upper and Totallisian, unfortunately. The same for the rest of his family.” She scratched her face. “I didn’t know Zander spoke Akarataran until last night, so I don’t know what all languages he knows. But he travels a lot. So I guess it would make sense for him to know several.”
"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]
Her brow furrowed. "You know so little about your uncle. How long ago were you separated?"
"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
