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“But what he hadn’t expected was that when everyone feared him and flattered him, Lan WangJi scolded him right in his face; when everyone spurned him and loathed him, Lan WangJi stood by his side.”
― 墨香铜臭, 魔道祖师 [Mó Dào Zǔ Shī]

“I don't feel that way anymore," Nico muttered. "I mean... I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I- I don't..."

His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary-eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn't imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would've been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone- even more isolated than other demigods.

"Nico," he said gently, "I've seen a lot of brave things. But what you did? That was maybe the bravest.”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“I think the heart is kind of like a string.

It's difficult and hard, and there are times it can't be helped. And that's because it hurts as if a string, stretched across the chest, is being torn apart. Like strumming a guitar string tightened to its limit.

Sometimes it snaps, and you think it can't be fixed anymore.

But, if you put a new string like this, and have someone fix it for you, won't the wound heal, even just a little bit?”
― Natsuki Kizu

“I spent half my time loving her and the other half hiding how much I loved her.”
― Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo