"Hmm. Maybe. But that's what I'm here for!" He reached out to pat her shoulder, and his hand went straight through. He frowned and tried again, then one more time, blinking incredulously. "What's this? What's going on?"
"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 him with wide eyes, panicked. His hand felt weird going through her — like her skin was crawling. “I-I don’t know.” She shook her head quickly. “Are… are you back all the way?” Gaslighting at its finest.
"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]
"Of course!" he snapped, huffing. "This should work."
"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
Okay perhaps gaslighting wasn’t the best option here. Not that he could touch her. That made her feel better. It meant it was working. “Sorry… I don’t know. Perhaps I’m the one fading then. Like. My ability to interact with the spiritual realm?”
"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 tried a couple more times, face growing red as he was unsuccessful. "That doesn't make sense, that doesn't make sense!"
"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 shied away from him, fearful of his increasing fury. Could she just shut the door in his face? That’s what she wanted to do. But then he could always just wait in the hall for her. So. Probably best to defuse the situation as much as she could. Though she didn’t have the first idea how to go about it.
"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--" He rubbed at his heard, pacing away from her. "I have to go, I'll be back."
"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
“Okay.” She bobbed her head and shut her door quickly, locking it behind her. Oh gods she hadn’t expected him to figure it out this quickly. Why was her luck always so bad?
"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
(I’m good to skip! Or you could have someone come by but she’s absolutely not leaving haha we could switch to Tomhas/Derik/Gaius?)
"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 was considering having Septimus come by but I think it's too soon for him to say what he needs to say)
(Let's get Derik meeting Tomhas!)
"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
(And cool! I’ll let you lead since he’s kind of at the mercy of Gaius now 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]
"So who are we waiting for again?" Tomhas paced around Gaius's office. "Derik Ainsley." Gaius watched him, massaging his temples. "Stop moving for one second, please, I've called him here and he shouldn't be too long." Tomhas sighed. "Can't you tell me more?" "You should hear it from him." "He's from the South, right?" "Yes. Tomhas, sit. Please?" Tomhas flopped into one of the chairs.
"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
Derik arrived soon thereafter, accompanied by two guards this time. Apparently, he was a threat now.
He supposed he couldn't blame Ash too much.
Still. He'd had a chance to calm down and get his wits about him. As long as Ash didn't undermine him, he expected the conversation with the younger brother to go better than it had with the elder one earlier. He should have waited longer before. As it turned out, he had plenty of time before they got back from the village. There hadn't been the time crunch he'd expected.
Oh well. Hindsight and all that.
He waited for the guard to knock or announce him or whatever it was that they were supposed to do.
"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 guard knocked and, upon being invited in, opened the door. "General Ainsley, as requested, milords." Tomhas shot to his feet; Gaius remained seated.
"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
