Laney

“A thousand desperate wishes have been spoken on these shores, and in the end they were all the same: Make me someone new.”
― Leigh Bardugo, The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic

“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“I know who I am without anyone there to tell me.”
― Leigh Bardugo, The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic

“Villains. Stories are nothing without them. Heroes cannot rise to greatness without them. In the absence of an enemy, our beloved protagonists are left kicking rocks in the Shire or taking tea and biscuits in a mind-numbingly cheery Spare Oom. We love villains because they turn their aches into action, their bruises into battering rams. They push through niceties and against societal restraints to propel the story forward. Unlike our lovable protagonists, villains - for better or worse - stop at literally nothing to achieve their goals. It's why we secretly root for them, why we find ourselves hoping they make their grand escape, and it's why our shoulders sag with equal parts relief and disappointment when they are caught. After all, how can you not give it up to someone who works that damned hard for what they want?... Look into a villain's eyes long enough and we might find our shadow selves, our uncut what-ifs and unchecked ambitions, a blurry line if ever there was one.”
― Ameriie, Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy