Finuala

“The Athenians’ attitude to women is hard for us to understand today. The polis – the city-state and all the democratic institutions which contributed to it – was a male-only enclave. Only men could vote”
― Natalie Haynes, Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths

“The mistake we make is in thinking rape isn’t premeditated, that it happens by accident somehow, that you’re drunk and you run into a girl who’s also drunk and half-asleep on a bench and you sidle up to her and things get out of hand and before you know it, you’re being accused of something you’d never do. But men who rape are men who watch for the signs of who they believe they can rape. Rape culture isn’t a natural occurrence; it thrives thanks to the dedicated attention given to women in order to take away their security. Rapists exist on a spectrum, and maybe this attentive version is the most dangerous type: women are so used to being watched that we don’t notice when someone’s watching us for the worst reason imaginable. They have a plan long before we even get to the bar to order our first drink.”
― Scaachi Koul, One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter

“The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they don't wish to see anyone else suffer the way they did.”
― Jellal Fernandes

“If you can't beat the odds, change the game”
― Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows