"I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who's experienced things like what we have--the luck we've had--who does want to. Especially at the stage you're in." He stopped walking. "But can you trust me when I say it will get easier if you fight the urge to give up? It sounds contrary to swim upstream but I promise it will get easier eventually."
"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 also stopped and looked at him. “I don’t see what the point in that is. Fighting so hard to stay alive for things to get ‘easier’ whatever that means. It’s exhausting and I’m ready to be done. I wasn’t build for endurance.”
"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 obviously were. You survived Aleth, right? How many people do you think could have done that?" He took a deep breath. "Sometimes slaves don't last. They try and try but they fall behind and don't survive. But you kept going and didn't give up. Some part of you back then wanted to live, right? And some part of you must want to live now."
"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
“Mm.” Ky glanced down at her sleeve and rubbed her wrist. “No. I tried… the only reason I wanted to stay alive is Aleth was going to take Talia if I didn’t. It’s never been about 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]
"So...just for a little while, mind, try to make it not about you again," he suggested. "Work on getting better for your dad, or your siblings, or Tadaaki."
"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 already tried that,” she huffed. “It’s not like I’m doing this for the fun of it or because I haven’t already thought about them. They are the only reasons I haven’t done it yet.”
"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]
"Then keep that up." He nodded approvingly. "But...you see how much you're worrying them, right? I'm not saying to have to fake being happy. That's lame and twice as exhausting. But make an effort to get through this rough patch instead of letting it drown you. Talk to Tomhas or one of us. Sera could help too, I'm sure. But find someone to be your kind of trauma buddy, as it were."
"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
“Mm.” Of course. Because what was a pep talk if not a guilt trip? A reminder of what a disappointment you were to everyone you cared about. Good talk.
"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]
"Am I saying any of this right?" he asked, glancing at her.
"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’s being so annoying haha what even is her mental health rn)
“Guilt tripping me about worrying them is supposed to make me feel better?” she asked dryly. “I know I’m disappointing everyone; I don’t need a reminder.”
"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 not disappointing them; I never ever said that. There's a difference between worry and disappointment. A huge one. And this isn't a guilt trip. It's not even supposed to make you feel better, really. But it's supposed to make you think."
"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
“Tomhas told me to think less.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. She didn’t like this game.
"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]
"Maybe that works for him. That's certainly a strategy, but I don't know if that'll ever make you really happy. But I'm just saying you should think about trying to pick yourself back up. You don't have to think about what happened if you don't want to."
"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 still didn’t want to. That sounded exhausting. And she was already so, so tired. She didn’t have the energy to stop being a disappointment.
"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]
"Just think about what I said, and at the very least try not to stay in your room so much."
"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
