"I don't know." She rubbed a hand through her hair. "You're so different from Gaius. I keep trying to figure out how to help but it's just....not the same. What do you think you should do?"
"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
“If I had a better idea than what I’m doing, I’d be doing that instead.”
"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 can't be this." Sara shook her head. "We're concerned for you, Ky. You just seem to be withdrawing further and further into yourself and we don't want that."
"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 took her tea and slowly took a drink. It was too hot. Oh well.
How the fuck was she supposed to answer 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]
"We don't want to leave you alone because that's not working, it seems. But we don't want to force interaction on you because then you might be uncomfortable."
"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
Kind of like this confrontation? Did she think this was comfortable? What even was this? An intervention? She didn’t need an intervention.
“I genuinely don’t know what you want from me,” Ky said after a moment. She was so tired. “Our options are me being quiet and me being an asshole. You don’t want me to be quiet; I don’t want to be mean to you. Where does that leave 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]
"I'd prefer you be unkind to you being quiet. At least then I have an idea of your thoughts and might be able to help that way?"
"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 eyed her for a moment then looked down at her tea. “I don’t think you understand what you’re asking for.”
"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
Ky looked at her then back at her tea and was silent for a long moment.
“If I lash out, then he wins.” She looked back at Sara, feeling stiff. “I won’t do that. I won’t prove him right.”
"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]
"Who, Aleth?" Sara shook her head. "Take absolutely everything he says with a grain of salt, Ky. You know he's a bad person, and he wanted to keep you under his thumb. Why should his words be 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
“He was always right,” Ky said, looking away again. “If he said someone was lying or going to do something or ask for something — whatever it was, he was right. Always. Just because he was cruel doesn’t make him wrong. About me or anything else. He’s just the only person who could see through me to know the truth of what I am, beneath all my… acting. Pretending to be a better person than I am. At least the only person who saw it that had the courage to speak it to my face. I… I can’t make myself be a good person. But I can control what I say. That is the only thing I can control. I’m not going to just, just… just roll over and die and let him laugh at me from the grave when I prove him right. Yet again.”
"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]
"Well, would you mind doing an experiment and trying to let yourself out? Just to spite 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 squinted at her. “How would it spite him to do exactly what he wanted?”
"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]
"But he would always try to keep you quiet before. Try this, just for a week."
"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
