Gaius dipped his head. "It will be done. I trust the dormitory accommodations were satisfactory up til 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
“Of course… though I imagine Jerica being separated from us is highly distressing her. I understand the rationale… but… she’s not accustomed to it… so at some point, preferably soon, I’d like for her to be returned to 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]
"You'll all end up sharing a room, I expect," Giaus replied. "I'd like for unisex dormitories to become the norm, but we're still living in a rather difficult world."
"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
“Like I said, I understand the rationale.” Derik nodded. “Levin’s still living in the dark ages and doesn’t permit women in his military at all, so you’re leaps and bounds ahead of us there. Jerica is the only one. And the men have better sense than to ogle the dependent of their commander… plus she just sleeps in her room in the Palace since we’re at home, which helps.”
"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 helps to have had women in positions of substantial power back in the tribal days," Gaius mused. "Some of the most efficient war strategists of that time were women."
"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 believe it.” Derik nodded. “I think Jerica would intimidate my men, without even the weight of me behind her. She’s a determined one. I imagine there are other excellent warriors out there Levin is missing out on due to his misogyny… especially now that I’ve witnessed D’Ara and her soldiers in action.”
(Bruh I’m not technically supposed to be on my phone but I can get away with it unless someone walks by and this one chick is printing individual pages at a time and has walked past me like thirty times in the past half hour and I have to hide my phone every time and it’s getting on my nerves lol like cmon print all, don’t print and retrieve individual pages)
"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, I'm not going to recommend he expand his military." Gaius leaned back. "Do tell him to come in person, next time he wants to establish trade connections. I'll hold off until he does."
"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
(Nah bruh I need mini-hits of dopamine throughout the day I literally could not sit and read my training manual for 8 hours straight if my life depended on it)(but things have improved now not to worry lol I have actually woken up now so it’s easier to be responsible in balancing my time than it was in zombie mode this morning)
“So you want to approach a dangerous country to ask for trade unsolicited but you don’t want to accept a trade that you were interested in an hour ago when it’s offered?” Derik asked dryly.
"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 still interested in the trade offer, but it was a poor move on his part not to engage with us directly. Your country has more exotic items that my territory has a higher demand for--I'd approach it through my King rather than directly, so we might secure trade for the whole Realm."
"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 nodded thoughtfully, considering it. Rather, considering how he wanted to respond. He took a deep breath.
“Eh, screw it, I’ve already told you worse.” He shrugged. He had bigger problems to worry about than telling the truth about this. “Levin doesn’t care about this trip. We’ve got everything we need. It was my idea because I want to teach Jerica and Rek how to negotiate… I am legitimately interested in learning more and teaching them more about foreign cultures… and it will greatly help me if you continued to negotiate with me so I don’t have to go back empty-handed. That one will be hard to explain if I don’t come back with some trade deals to show for my effort. But my objective was as many negotiations as possible for my kids to witness rather than the greatest quantity of output… though I’ll consider reaching out to the king in the future, maybe. Thank you for the suggestion.”
"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]
Gaius gave him a long look. It was obvious this man wasn't meant for any sort of political office if he was just making negotiations willy-nilly. "I will consider it," he said finally.
"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
“Thank you.” Derik inclined his head, not shrinking from his gaze. He glanced around. “Do you want me to send anything else to Zander? Or…?”
(Rip Derik is such a badass in canon and he’s blundering so much here xD)
"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]
"No. Thank you." Gaius picked up the mead bottle and poured himself some more. "I need to think on all that you've told me."
"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
“Me as well,” Derik agreed, glancing at Gaius’s cup and then his own. He hadn’t touched it yet. But he finally took a little sip.
"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
