“I imagine so,” Ky sympathized. “That must have been a lot for you to take in.”
"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 nodded. "I trusted Gaius but it was....a lot for a teenage boy to take in."
"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
She may take some tips if he knew good avoidance strategies for this keep.
"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 got to know the new people--it was good for all of us to make friends since this was new for everyone--and I hung out in the library and went riding a lot. And I got to know Gaius and his family as well. Tomhas was still there at that point; he and Anneke both. They were great to be around."
(Oh and in case you were wondering, Tomhas had his brief affair with Emery about 3 years before this, so both of them were of consenting age.)
"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
(Wait like three years before this current point in time? Like after he’d been married a decade with kids? Lol)
“They really are.” Ky smiled sadly.
"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]
(Yeahhh it didn't go over well with Anneke but they've worked through it pretty well)
(I don't think the kids know)
"Things have settled down now, which I'm glad of. There are times like today that it feels a bit topsy turvy again, though." He glanced at Ky. "I hope he feels better. That he gets better. I don't think he ever will, but we can hope."
"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
(O o f somehow that makes things worse lol I thought they did it when they were dumb kids, not that that makes it okay whatsoever, but this is… whew) (Ky will have no chill if she finds out lol will probably be mad at Emery but absolutely furious with Tomhas… which could honestly be fun haha Tomhas CAN sin in her eyes if she knew this haha don’t! Cheat! On! My! Mom!)
Ky nodded. “It’s never going to go away. But we can hope for more good days than bad, for the whole lot of us.”
"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]
(When Emery arrived at the Keep he was 13 and Tomhas was 19 so that wouldn't fly.) (Anneke and Gaius and Sera chewed both of em out soooooo much when they found out. Honestly the whole Lyra thing probably adds to that tension between Anneke and Tomhas now. Something else I need to consider for my canon!)
(No way will Emery or Tomhas ever tell Ky about that unless they have to but it might be in one of Tomhas or Gaius's diaries or someone else might mention it offhand. Hell, Zander might even mention it, depending on if he thinks he should)
"Absolutely. That's my mindset, for sure." Emery smiled slightly. "More good days than bad, and we can try to make them for ourselves as well."
"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
(Oooh yeah good point… still that’s not great lol guess we’ll see how it goes. Zander won’t go gossiping just for the hell of it, but he may, depending… doubt Ky would go looking for either of their diaries. She’s morbidly curious about Michael and Septimus and it feels like slightly more removed since they’re dead. But she wouldn’t disrespect Tomhas or Gaius’s privacy by reading their own diaries… she probably doesn’t even keep one herself because she’s terrified of someone violating hers)
“No doubt.” Ky nodded, even though she did, in fact, doubt that it was possible to make them yourself. Every extraordinarily good day had been because of someone else — Raina’s birth, Zander’s arrival, Tomhas and Anneke adopting her. But she counted it a success to have the absence of bad days. To not let her own brain sabotage her; and not let anyone else sabotage her, either.
"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]
(Gotcha I think Tomhas likes diaries but Gaius only does it because his father forced the kids to do it for history and context's sake (but of course reviewed all the early diaries and redacted anything that made him look bad. He gave up on Michael I think. But Gaius is in the habit now)
"I used to treat myself to a lazy day every week, just for the hell of it. It was great; I'd do whatever I wanted for 24 hours!"
"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
“That does sound nice,” Ky said, then admitted sheepishly, “I mean… it’s not like anyone makes me do anything any day. Even though I have and do offer to be helpful. But they won’t let me.”
"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]
"You're a noble," Emery pointed out. "And you don't have responsibility over a territory. Tomhas will let you settle in and then maybe he'll ask you to do some community outreach, but other than that you have the easiest job in the Realm."
"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]
"Basically you go out and try to connect with the lower class. Help with harvest, do charity work, meet with Reeves and Counts and the like. Simple stuff that makes you available emotionally to the people of Tomhas's territory."
"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 love how Emery keeps inadvertently feeding Ky’s bad behavior haha)
“Oh!” Ky smiled. “That sounds fun!”
Getting to be among people she could understand again. Although, her township was highly suspicious of anyone at all that Makata sent to them — even simple messengers. Would people want her there? Probably not.
Either way. She’d still offer as soon as she was back. Well. She may wait a few weeks to indulge herself of getting to be in the Loquitur gang once again. But then she’d offer. Tomhas didn’t need to ask her to be useful — she wanted to do anything that would help.
"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]
