Maria (a)

“I am terrified and I am terrible. I am fearful and I am something to be feared.”
― Alix E. Harrow, The Once and Future Witches

“I kiss him to get him to stop talking. If he keeps talking I will love him, and I don't want to love him. I really don't. As strategies go, it's not my finest. Kissing is just another way of talking except without the words.”
― Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star

“Terlu flipped to the end to find a brief note about the authors: Kiela and Caz were the co-owners of a jam shop on the island of Caltrey. Kiela was formerly a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, where Caz, a sentient talking spider plant, had been her librarian assistant. She thanked her husband, Larran, as well as a list of friends. Caz thanked his partner, Meep.
Yarrow wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
She realized she was crying.
"He's okay," Terlu said. "I did the right thing.”
― Sarah Beth Durst, The Enchanted Greenhouse

“I'm my own audience, first and foremost. Shouldn't all things funny start out with a joke that's just for me?”
― Kristen Arnett, Stop Me If You've Heard This One