"You care too much what other people think," Ted said, whipping the stick off into the woods. "You can't be so nice that no one hurts you, Jay. People don't 'get what they deserve' - they get what they get."
JC hauled his bike upright and threw one leg over it. "I know."
"Do you? Cuz you spent a lot of time trying to be nice to that Archon-loving jerk. Time that could've been spent getting closer to the King."
JC looked down at his meaty 8-year old hands gripping the rubber of his bike-handles. "I'm not nice so they won't hurt me, Ted."
"That's a load of poop."
JC stared at his hand, tightening on the handle. "I care what people think because if I don't the whole thing unravels. If you don't care what other people think, the only thing that's left is what I think. If I don't care what other people think, they stop mattering. They stop being people and just become things that happen to be at the same point in space-time as we are. If I stop caring about what they think, they're just meat.
"I know the name of the Devouring Maw," JC said quietly. "I can flatten the arc of the Outside into a single point, injecting squamous bile into this reality.." He looked up at his brother. "I'm not nice so that they won't hurt me, Ted. I'm nice so that I don't hurt them."
JC hauled his bike upright and threw one leg over it. "I know."
"Do you? Cuz you spent a lot of time trying to be nice to that Archon-loving jerk. Time that could've been spent getting closer to the King."
JC looked down at his meaty 8-year old hands gripping the rubber of his bike-handles. "I'm not nice so they won't hurt me, Ted."
"That's a load of poop."
JC stared at his hand, tightening on the handle. "I care what people think because if I don't the whole thing unravels. If you don't care what other people think, the only thing that's left is what I think. If I don't care what other people think, they stop mattering. They stop being people and just become things that happen to be at the same point in space-time as we are. If I stop caring about what they think, they're just meat.
"I know the name of the Devouring Maw," JC said quietly. "I can flatten the arc of the Outside into a single point, injecting squamous bile into this reality.." He looked up at his brother. "I'm not nice so that they won't hurt me, Ted. I'm nice so that I don't hurt them."
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