Tomhas rose, keeping his arm around Ky. "Okay. We'll talk later."
"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 stood and moved with him, body shaky and weak, but grateful he wasn’t leaving her alone.
"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 supported her. "Good luck." He opened the door, helping her out.
"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 leaned against him and shuffled into the hall.
“You did that.” Jerica said, voice quiet and angry as the door closed behind Ky and Tomhas. She gestured, making eye contact with Zander. “Your fucking lies and games.”
“It wasn’t a game, Jer,” he sighed.
“No,” she agreed. “It’s our lives. And you just stomped all over them. You’re fucking awful!”
"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 glanced at Zander. He'd warned him they'd be better off not knowing.
Tomhas closed the door behind them. "Where to?" he asked softly.
"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
Zander sighed softly. “…I’m sorry, Jer. I know it hurts.”
“I’m not hurt I’m pissed,” she snarled. Deflection. The only way to save face. “You just let me believe my entire fucking life was a lie! How am I supposed to trust you now?”
“I’m still me,” Zander said softly.
“No. You’re a liar. Who took me from my family.” Jerica started pacing angrily to burn off some of the anxious energy.
“… I don’t know,” Ky said weakly. “I think I need to sit down.”
"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]
"Okay." He started toward one of the second floor parlors.
"He is your family," Gaius pointed out. "Again--he did it as a last resort."
"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 let me believe I was a fucking orphan,” Jerica spat, then looked at Derik accusingly. “You both did. You fucking let me grieve parents that weren’t even mine and you knew it.”
“I didn’t have many options, Jer,” Zander sighed. “I was in a crisis mode trying to get you safe. I made the best choice I could with the resources I had at the time… and it hurt you, and I’m sorry for 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]
"It's okay." He rested his head on hers as he walked. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner."
"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
“…How long have you known?” she asked shakily. “Did Zander tell you?”
"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
(Bruh I just had Dominoes pizza for the first time in years and it’s actually really good now??? It used to be shit lol)
“Oh… when the Ainsleys came? … the not-Ainsleys?”
"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 nodded. "Gaius noticed Derik looked a lot like Zander and he asked about 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
(I wonder if it’s location dependent. My boss was raving last week about how good dominoes is and how I wasn’t being fair saying it was shit if I hadn’t had it in years because they’ve improved. There’s a dominoes like a mile from my house and all the other pizza shops are like 10 miles away and I didn’t feel like driving so I tried it and it was good. Maybe there’s just this one singular location that is good haha)
Ky nodded. “He does… and like 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]
(I mean. I don't hate it but the thin crust is like the emoyees threw knives until they had some amount of pieces haphazardly cut from the dough)
"Yeah." He winced. "I'm sorry, Ky. I didn't want them to tell you. I knew it would hurt."
"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
