Sure, I’ve stared at a single line and wondered if it could turn a tyrant into a poet, but the trick is to hide the truth in a joke so the world keeps reading it as a punchline.

Sure, try something like, “The tyrant grinned and said, ‘I guess I finally found a joke that’s bigger than my own empire!’” That line looks like a joke, but it’s really the moment the people realize he’s the one who can’t keep a secret.

That line feels like a punchline that never lands until the audience actually hears the truth. I mean, the empire’s laugh hides the fact that the tyrant’s own power is crumbling—so the world reads the joke and the rebellion is already in the gutter.

You just slip that line into a bar conversation—maybe a waiter says, “Did you hear the king’s new joke?” and someone quips, “Yeah, he finally found a punchline that’s bigger than his empire!” It’s a tiny echo that keeps echoing, like a secret chant that turns into a meme before anyone notices the spark. The trick is to keep it short enough to slip between topics, but long enough that anyone who hears it stops and wonders what that ‘joke’ could really mean. It’s the kind of ripple that turns into a wave when you’re talking about the weather, not the regime.