Stacey

“This is my home, however unsettled it has always been on the inside. I've never thought of it as the place I might die in before I've had a chance to live. There must be a life beyond this fort that I feel so trapped inside. It can't end this way before it's even begun. A meaningless life ended by meaningless death. The silence around me is of a city that has warred with itself all day and is now pretending to sleep.
I am sick of pretending.
I want to stay up, keep watch, turn on every light in every home so no one can sneak up on us in the dark.”
― Zara Chowdhary, The Lucky Ones: A Memoir

“Sometimes the conscience makes demands that are non-negotiable. Courage has nothing to do with it. We weren't here because we were brave. We were here because we had to be here.”
― Robert Charles Wilson, The Chronoliths

“You know Robert is going to get material for a new book. Aren't you, Robert? That's why he's leaving me. He's decided I don't film well. You see, he was so busy all the time that we were living together, writing on this book, that he doesn't remember anything about us. So now he's going out and get some new material. Well, I hope he gets something frightfully interesting.
"Listen, Robert, dear. Let me tell you something. You won't mind, will you? Don't have scenes with your young ladies. Try not to. Because you can't have scenes without crying, and then you pity yourself so much you can't remember what the other person's said. You'll never be able to remember any conversations that way. Just try and be calm. I know it's awfully hard. But remember, it's for literature. We all ought to make sacrifices for literature. Look at me. I'm going to England without a protest. All for literature.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

“Can no one stop her?

Zeus could, or your father, if they wished to. But why would they? Monsters are a boon to gods. Imagine all the prayers.”
― Madeline Miller, Circe