Anneliese's hands kept fidgeting. "But I'm not talented. I just read and regurgitate those stories. Who am I supposed to be?"
"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
“You’ve got a whole lifetime ahead of you to figure it out,” Ky said encouragingly. “When I was your age, I still lived with my papa on our farm. I thought I was going to become a baker or a blacksmith — I was arguing with my Papa on that one — but never planned to leave my township ever. And then… well, stuff happened… but now I know a bunch of languages and secrets and am becoming one of your sisters and I didn’t even know anything about any of this. I didn’t even know any of you existed three years ago.” Ky flushed. “Much less know how much I would come to care for all of 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]
"Peter and Regulus didn't exist," Anneliese said with a crooked smile. "I'm glad you like us; when I first met you I was worried you'd think we were all weird. But I guess if you met Father first you've gotten the weirdest of us." Her brow furrowed. "But you met Lyra first, right?"
"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
“Kind of,” Ky mused. “But neither of us could really…” she stopped herself before she went down a path of gossip involving Lyra. The poor girl didn’t deserve that. “Well, I… it was hard. Your father is the first person I was able to be honest with…. The first person in three years, really.”
And she still hadn’t been fully honest with him. And at this point, she wasn’t sure she ever would be.
"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]
"Really?" Her eyes were round with disbelief. "That's a really long time. I'm not sure I could ever lie for that long. Not that you're a liar," she said quickly.
"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 was,” Ky said with a grim smirk. “I didn’t want to be, but I had to be or I got hurt… I still half expect to get hurt when I talk, honestly. I’m trying to unlearn the anxiety but it’s so hard still. Even though I know you’re all so lovely. I still… it’s just…” she sighed. “You can reform a liar; I don’t know there’s any hope of salvaging 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]
"If we can Uncle Gaius to laugh, we can do anything," Anneliese said firmly. "I refuse to believe you're a lost cause, Ky. And I bet talking to Father about it might help. Or Uncle Gaius. I talk to him sometimes when I'm upset about Mother or Father doing something annoying. He seems scary at first, but he gives amazing advice. Both of them have great strategies for all sorts of things."
"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 tucked her legs under herself and picked at the hem of her shirt. “I’ve already been given so much. I’m not going to burden them with my anxiety.”
At least not until she broke down. Again.
"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 not a burden, it's family. Family leans on one another and helps each other 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
“It’s… more complicated than that.” Ky sighed and shook her head. “It’s… complicated.” Ky wrapped her arms around herself. “I make everything complicated — just by being around.”
"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]
"Please." Anneliese chuckled. "Ky, everyone makes everything complicated. Did you see that mess just now? That was a simple conversation. You don't want to see the complicated ones. You're just like everybody else in this family: doing your best."
"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 smiled sadly. “I hope you’re right. I just don’t want to make things worse. None of you deserve to have my bad luck brought upon yourselves.”
"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]
"Uncle Gaius says there's no such thing as luck, so you don't have to worry about that. It's Lord Tarr that's making things difficult 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
“He certain is,” Ky said skin a nod. “Hopefully this whole situation can be resolved quickly.”
"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]
"Me too. But it sounds like Tarr likes to fight, so..."
"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
