"O-oh-sorry!" Ky said hastily, eyes wide. She hadn't meant to reference anything at all that Lady Constance wouldn't know. That risked bruising her ego. And bruising a noble's ego risked severe bodily harm. She knew that that didn't seem like a likely first resort with this particular noble. Especially not for an offense this benign. But she still didn't like taking any risks at all. And this was a risk. "It's just-- I, um. Just a... stupid theory, I guess. I don't know. Apologies."
"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]
"Not at all, I'm always looking for more things to learn. What is it?"
"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, um, it's this pillar, I suppose? At the bottom is the foundation you need to hold the rest of it up, you know? And the very bottom level is like, physical needs like food and sleep and warmth. And then above that is safety, and like, health and resources. And then the layer above that is like a sense of belonging, family, friendship, intimacy, that sort of thing. And then the level above that is esteem, like, respect, self-esteem, status. And then the very top is what they call self-actualization, which is like..." Ky hesitated, furrowing her brow as she tried to think of how to explain it. "Like becoming the most that you can be. Creativity and morality were up there, I think. And the idea is that you have to, like... each level builds on each other. So the theory is that you can't have status, for example, if you don't have security in food and shelter. Can't really have the space to be creative if you don't have your emotional needs being met in friendships and family."
She very much felt like she was rambling.
"...I don't know. Maybe it's not relevant." Ky shrugged. "I don't even know where education would fit in that hierarchy. But... seems like it may be up there with safety? So you can't really have an education if you don't have your basic, physical needs met. Which were harder to get back in the olden days. They had to put more time and effort into simply staying alive so there wasn't any room to worry about education."
"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]
Constance nodded slowly. "That's very interesting...I can see how education would fit in. I would think you're right about it fitting into safety and resources. Where did you learn that? It's fascinating."
"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, it was a philosophy book from off continent,” Ky said, furrowing her brow as she tried to remember more of the details. “…it was actually kind of awful. But very interesting in a morbid sort of way.”
"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]
"Fascinating! That doesn't sound very morbid to me. It sounds extremely interesting."
"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
“Well… the application was morbid.” She blushed. “The author was explaining how to keep a population unsteady but still productive… make sure they’re fed and feel safe so they work hard, but make sure they can’t form secure attachments with people so they can’t rise against you. A play-by-play for subjugating people, basically, by leveraging psychology in your favor.”
(Idk if you’re familiar lol but I am fully making this part of it up. Felt like it’d fit more with Aleth if I made it sinister lol)
"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]
(Oo absolutely! And yeah I know the hierarchy of needs; it's an interesting concept!)
"Oh," she said, disturbed. "Yes, that's morbid. What sort of person would do something like 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
“Aleth,” Ky said quietly. “…or, well, Aleth’s clients, I guess. He didn’t personally oversee anyone — almost anyone. But I had to translate a copy into Moon Speech — on two separate occasions — and a synthesis of the arguments so they didn’t have to actually read the full volume to get the main points and suggestions.” She suddenly realized how terrible that made her sound and added hastily, panicked, “I didn’t want to. I didn’t have a choice.” That wasn’t true. Papa said you always had a choice, even if you didn’t like the choices before you. “Okay. Well. I guess I did. But the other option was… worse. And was going to stay worse until I did the translation. But I didn’t want to. I didn’t enjoy it. At all. I promise. Ma’am.”
"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]
Constance gazed at her for a moment, sighing. "Nobody is blaming you for anything, Ky. I promise that. Sometimes you have to do what you can to survive. There's no shame in 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
“Yes ma’am.” She dipped her head, blushing a bit. “I-I just… I know I’ve done horrible things. But… I appreciate the grace. Ma’am.”
"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, you've got a fresh start now, haven't you?" she pointed out. "You can do what you like with it and leave the past behind."
"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
“Yes ma’am.” Ky smiled and dipped her head. If only. There was no leaving behind what she’d done. That was with her for life. You couldn’t just make yourself decent after you’d proven yourself dishonorable. And she definitely had.
"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]
"What do you think you'll do now that you're free?"
"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 don’t know, ma’am,” she said softly. “Lord Ash thinks I may have trouble getting hired until I get older, even though I’ve… been working as an assistant for two years now. But… I’m not sure what I can do in the meantime.” Unless she lied. Which she was strongly contemplating. If she could pull off being a boy, she could pull off being a woman… or a man. Aleth may have been on to something there, about built in respect.
"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]
