Courtney

“and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada, I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat are you?" I blanched. My fingers which had seconds before had been taste buds savoring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. I wiped them guiltily on my napkin. He had no idea how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh.”
― Yann Martel

“Even through the dulling effects of the pill, he wanted to be rid of his itching brain, his ignited skin, the flesh beneath, to in some way become so ethereal and Unbound to the earth that he could unsee, disavow, disavow”
― Jeff VanderMeer, Authority

“When I was a little girl my uncle
Was a veterinarian
And I was a little girl who loved animals
I had a cat and a dog

And once I asked my uncle (who was a veterinarian)
Why does my dog love belly rubs
But they make my cat attack?
I showed him scratches up and down my arms.

He said the thing about cats you have to understand Is they are predator and prey
They can hunt and pounce and kill
But they’re small and light and probably
Delicious
So they take some things very very seriously

I was a little girl when he said this
But when I became a woman in this world
I understood what he meant.”
― Nat Cassidy , Mary