The petitioner's problem is to avoid Scylla without being drawn into Charybdis.
Teachers wondered why I didn't speak up more in class. Why would I when I knew how precarious words could be, how betraying they were, how vulnerable they made you?
But even quashed rebellions leave us different. Because freedom may be a forbidden fruit in tyrannies, but once tasted, it is unforgettable.
No power was total, no power permanent, no power absolute.
You know, sometimes the most direct route isn't the right one. - Jacob
Silence, too, can be torture.
From her dubious tone alone, I could see how Karin had no idea how terrifying words spoken quietly could be. How words chosen precisely to wreak maximum damage ticked like a bomb in your head, but exploded in your heart hours later, leaving you scarred and changed.
Make jokes. No stress. Love. Live Life. Proceed. Progress.
As time went on, I did campaign to lighten the character a little bit, to introduce some romance into the episodes, outside activities, horse riding and fencing and mountaineering.
You make alterations, affecting your pose, a new house, a new car, a new job, a new nose.
I have always held the view that decisive force should be used in addressing a military conflict. The reason is simple: Why wouldn't you, if you could?