Alli

“... It is not a curse to be confined to water.
Although to an onlooker, the poem argues, a fish might seem trapped in its pond—although to you and I, it may seem to know nothing of the world on land—it is not so. A fish can still admire the reflection of spring clouds on the water. It can still taste the blossoms that dapple its surface and imagine itself swimming among the trees. It understands more than we will ever realize.
His words were so beautiful, so vivid, that I could almost hear that injured fish speaking to me from amidst its suffering: Do not pity me.
My life might be smaller than yours, but it is full of joy and worth living.
Do not assume that I dream of greatness. Do not assume that I wish to be reborn in a different time or a different place, in a different life. I wish only to admire the blossoms in this one.
Do not pity me—for I am exuberant!”
― Shen Tao, The Poet Empress

“She was a non-active member of the Order of the Eternal Flame and did not fight.”
― SenLinYu, Alchemised

“Everyone who tells a story leaves a part of themselves inside it”
― Shen Tao, The Poet Empress

“Was that not how you loved someone? By hammering your body into whatever shape they liked best, and handing yourself to them like a hilt?”
― Alix E. Harrow, The Everlasting