"Good for him," Ada said dryly. She would never understand why nobles insisted on acting smarter than everybody and then were surprised when others didn't know what they were talking about. It was so stupid.
"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 shrugged. “I’d probably be proud if I had a toy like that, too.”
"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]
"Hmph." She might agree. But it was silly for a grown man to be that excited about a solar system, whatever that meant. She was sure there were hundreds of others just like it out in the world--nothing to lose your mind over.
"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 shrugged, not willing to argue. She didn’t care enough.
"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 sank back into silence again, content to listen to the wind in the trees and the twitter of birds overheard. Her face had gone numb, she realized--and she reached up to warm her cheeks. Her toes were feeling stiff as well, though she had been sure to put on double layers of wool stockings before going out.
"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
“Should be interesting to be here,” Ky rambled, unable to handle the silence. “Between the reading and the language and the swords.”
"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]
"Lots to be learned at Serpent Keep," Ada agreed. "Rickard said you're going to teach him to read?"
"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!” Ky smiled. “And he’s going to teach me Nortung.” She was pleased Rickard was pleased about his lessons. She’d need to start them soon.
"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]
"I'm glad you're getting him to do that," Ada said approvingly. "He needs to interact with someone other than Sera and the rest of us. It'll be good for him."
"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. “I mean… I’m nothing special. But he seems nice and I’d like to make friends with him if I can.”
"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]
"He needs friends," she sighed. "He's so frightened all the time; I tried to be mad at him when I first knew him, but it was like being angry at a baby rabbit."
"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 glanced at her, very narrowly resisting the urge to point out that perhaps she should stop trying to be mean to people and then maybe she wouldn’t feel guilty about it. But that would be another argument. “He seems very kind.”
"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]
"He is," Ada agreed. "I don't know how he manages it, but he's the most selfless person I've ever met." Part of that was definitely conditioning--there was no doubt--but she could tell even with all the horror he'd been through, Rickard had always been that way. She couldn't say why, but she knew it was true.
"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. “Some people are gentle by nature. I feel like abuse takes you to whatever extreme you naturally tend towards — either excessive kindness, or harshness. It’s hard to survive otherwise.”
"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 an interesting thought," she mused. "I guess we know where you and I fall, then."
"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
When your heart gets pierced with arrows, don't rip them out and pierce those around you in retribution for your hurt. You'll only unnecessarily wound others and bleed to death yourself. — LadyMysterio
