"That's what empathy is," Emery said quietly. "It makes you hurt because others are hurting, even after someone's pain is eased slightly. It's a blessing and a curse."
"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. "Regret that you couldn't stop them from being hurt, even if you couldn't have done anything about it even if you were there."
She was thinking of how much she desperately wished she could have stood between Tomhas and Michael. To keep him from tormenting her father and uncle. And yet she knew fully well that she couldn't have stopped him, even if she'd been here. He would have walked straight through her and hurt all three of them, rather than her protecting either of them.
But it twisted a knife in Zander's gut. He could have done something about it, if he'd only been there. But he hadn't been. And he didn't.
"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]
"Exactly." Emery nodded. "You've got a father with very, very high empathy and an uncle with conditionally high empathy, so they're going to end up thinking of you as different from what you are. I bet if you talked to them they'd understand."
"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
"Oh, I meant about them," Ky clarified. She forced herself both not to mention the monster, nor to glance at Tristan -- she needed to separate him from Michael, as odd as that was going to be to accomplish. She was quiet for a moment and added quietly, "Tomhas did do something about it for me, once he was there."
"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 did." Emery nodded. "He did?" Tristan blinked. "What...what happened?" "He killed someone," Emery said simply. Tristan stared at 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
“… I mean even before that, he got me away from him.” Ky blushed. “I never meant to make Tomhas… do that.”
"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 did it anyway," Emery said with a shrug. "And he's mostly pacifist. He cares about you a lot, to have done something like that. He's always been....cautious. About interfering."
"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, expression hard and yet also insecure at the same time as she pulled her cloak tighter around herself, picking at the hem of her shirt with her fingers. “I might have gotten to the horses in time…”
"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]
"And then you'd have frozen to death, or more likely, I or one of the soldiers would have gone after you. Sera, maybe."
"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 cringed. “I knew better than to run my mouth as much as I did.”
"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]
"If you hadn't, you wouldn't be here with us," Emery said firmly. "Sometimes running your mouth can save your life. Okay?"
"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]
"That's not what you should focus on." Emery opened his mouth to say more, then stopped.
"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]
"I'm sorry," he said, sighing. "Sorry. This isn't a very cheery topic, I shouldn't keep going. We're happy to have you here, Tristan and Lily. Emotions have just been running a bit....high." "I understand." Tristan dipped his head graciously. "Think nothing of it; I'm glad to be here."
"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
