Tyler

“Dantine knows that these things are called Little Lords, and he is still mystified as to what their purpose is, or why they are tolerated. They are disgusting sacs, ranging in size from a fist’s clench to a full lung. They strut and caper like foul infants, letting loose gouts of flatus or breaking into vicious little fights. And yet Slert reaches down for it now, picking it up gently. It settles into the crook of his arm, gurgling contentedly.”
― Chris Wraight, The Lords of Silence

“Tall and straight I may appear, but I will always be Adah inside. A crooked little person trying to tell the truth. The power is in the balance: we are our injuries, as much as we are our successes.”
― Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

“If you evade suffering you also evade the chance of joy. Pleasure you may get, or pleasures, but you will not be fulfilled. You will not know what it is to come home.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia

“The subject of today’s lesson will be plants.” He sat down, pulled off his satchel, and emptied the contents onto the grass. Out spilled an assortment of plants and powders, the severed arm of a cactus, several bright red poppy flowers with pods still attached, and a handful of sun-dried mushrooms. “Are we getting high?” Rin said. “Oh, wow. We’re getting high, aren’t we?” “I’m getting high,” said Jiang. “You’re watching.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War