"Then you'll have no trouble with parenting. Conflict resolution is most of the job."
"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
“Yeah, but that’s just for now when they’re simple and easily placated and distracted. They’ll get more complicated when they’re older.” She glanced over at him. “I’ve been reliably informed teenagers are unpleasant.”
"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 smiled wryly. "Difficult to interact with, not unpleasant. They can be fascinating people. And, since you've been one yourself you might be able to relate to them."
"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 snorted. “You of course never were one.” What an odd thing to say; she’d been one herself but he hadn’t been? The hypocrisy was emerging once again. “…although I suppose I do have the benefit of it being fresher in my mind. You’re thirty some years older than your kids and I’m just eleven… though I guess you’re only like fourteen years older than me so it’d be the same difference by the time they’re my age.” She wasn’t going to forget what this was like, though.
"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 came out of the womb fully grown," he replied. "My mother marked it as the worst day of her life."
"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 snorted again but smiled. “Mine too.” She suddenly sobered. That wasn’t something to be joking about. Not in her case.
"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 her, brow furrowed for a moment. Then he looked back ahead as he worked his way tirelessly up the stairs. "At any rate you're right. Aspects of your ability to relate will fade, but I expect you'll be more inclined to interact with younger people than I ever was."
"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
“That’s fair.” Ky nodded. “Some people just don’t like kids… or teenagers or whatever. Just… I don’t know. I think it’s pretty easy to relate to people. You just have to get them talking about themselves. Then they feel good about things and like they know you even if they don’t. People like talking about themselves…” she glanced at him then away. “Most people.” She wasn’t a fan of it, either.
"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 shrugged. "Everyone is different. But you make a good point and you seem good at relating to people."
"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 try to be.” She smiled modestly. “It’s… helpful. To make people like you.” She blushed a little. “… which is manipulative… I’m trying to stop.”
"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]
"That's not manipulative," he disagreed with a frown. "It's just making friends. Believe me, manipulation is quite different."
"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 manipulation if you’re trying to make people like you,” she countered. “You should make friends just by existing, not trying to… I don’t know. It… feels wrong.” It felt like Aleth.
"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 whole world is manipulative, then," Gaius said with a shrug. "So long as you be yourself when you're trying to make friends, you're not actually manipulating, Ky."
"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
The whole world was manipulative. At least, everyone trying to control the world in any capacity whatsoever.
“I don’t know what that means,” she said quietly. “I’m a different person when I’m around different people. I don’t know which version of that is ‘myself’.”
"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]
"All of it," he said. Obviously. "Your personality adjusts itself depending on who you're around. Some parts are more prominent around different people."
(This pup keeps falling asleep with only two of her legs splayed out so she looks like a hatchling bird)
"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
)
