James T. Callum > Quotes

“Give up, it said. Why bother, you’ll be dead soon enough anyway. The struggle will only make it worse. But it wasn’t a voice. That was part of the problem. It was a sensation deep in her soul. You could fight a voice, argue, yell, kick and spit. But a feeling? How did you combat weariness? Depression? You could not brandish a sword at existential despair.”
― James T. Callum, Mist Wardens

“All things considered, he had expected to die, and barring that, to end up like Anakin after he failed to claim the high ground.”
― James T. Callum, Voidknight Ascension

“People don’t need to be perfect. You just need to find somebody you are happy with, so long as you’re not hurting each other or somebody else, what’s it matter?”
― James T. Callum, Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer 2: A LitRPG Adventure

“Ashera stirred the stew and tried not to fall prey to Angram’s teasing charms. One cracked smile, one laugh, and the man would be incorrigible. From then on it’d be his life’s goal to make you laugh again, only harder than last time. She’d seen it time and time again over the years”
― James T. Callum, Exiled Lands

“Only once you truly master the internal, will you possess the ability to affect the external. As it is, you strike out from a foundation of shifting sand. Priorities constantly shifting. Fear, concern, anger, all warring for your attention. “Without a solid foundation of self, you will forever feel that unease that sits heavy in your heart. When you possess such a foundation, when you understand your strengths and your weaknesses, only then will you be able to transcend them.”
― James T. Callum, Exiled Lands

“suppose you could call it that, yes. I must confess, I am not sure whether it is magic that does it or if we are just doing our best to soldier on. As your insightful little friend put it, we may simply be coping because when the choices are to laugh or cry, all some of us can do is laugh.”
― James T. Callum, Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer 2: A LitRPG Adventure

“It is not the wound that makes us stronger, it is the healing. If you do not heal, you can never become stronger. And to heal you need rest, compassion, and above all, time. The world is not so simple as I once thought. There is no way to avoid all pain, and so there must be healing to prevent those wounds from festering, from scarring. When we heal, we become stronger than we were before, but when we are denied that ability to heal, we are lessened for the wounds we suffer. Everybody should be allowed to heal, Sel.”
― James T. Callum, Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer 2: A LitRPG Adventure

“That’s great Komachi,” he said to her. And it was, because it meant that soon it would sound like a child blowing on a flute instead of somebody sticking it into the wrong end after an all-you-can-eat meal at taco bell.”
― James T. Callum, Voidknight Ascension 2

“There is a utilitarian philosophy about this,” Cal mused. “Should we help those who are in the most immediate need, eschewing the greater threat that may or may not be solvable right now, or do we chase the bigger issue with the most potential for loss of life? And in doing so, we will have to hope that, on the balance, the ends justify the means.”
― James T. Callum, Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer 2: A LitRPG Adventure

“[Buquiko”
― James T. Callum, Mist Wardens

“Love,” Shrubley said, counting off on his wooden fingers, “friendship, happiness, good food, a pleasant memory… many things are better to hoard and amass than money.”
― James T. Callum, Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer 2: A LitRPG Adventure

“In short order, the dwarves had the cups passed out and filled with an oily amber liquid that smelled like paint thinner.”
― James T. Callum, Mist Wardens