“Let me say right now for the record,
I’m still going to be here
asking this world to dance,
even if it keeps stepping on my holy feet.
You, you stay here with me, okay?
You stay here with me.
Raising your bite against the bitter dark,
your bright longing,
your brilliant fists of loss.
Friend, if the only thing we have to gain in staying is each other,
my god that is plenty
my god that is enough
my god that is so so much for the light to give
each of us at each other’s backs
whispering over and over and over,
“Live. Live. Live.”
― The Madness Vase
I’m still going to be here
asking this world to dance,
even if it keeps stepping on my holy feet.
You, you stay here with me, okay?
You stay here with me.
Raising your bite against the bitter dark,
your bright longing,
your brilliant fists of loss.
Friend, if the only thing we have to gain in staying is each other,
my god that is plenty
my god that is enough
my god that is so so much for the light to give
each of us at each other’s backs
whispering over and over and over,
“Live. Live. Live.”
― The Madness Vase
“Absolutes are the hallucinations of culture.”
― Viscera
― Viscera
“What strange beasts people are, she thought. We adjust to everything so quickly. Perhaps we would even get used to Hell.”
― A Skinful of Shadows
― A Skinful of Shadows
“Humans are strange, adaptable animals, and eventually get used to anything, even the impossible or unbearable. ... Terror is tiring, and difficult to keep up indefinitely, so sooner or later it must be replaced with something more practical.”
― A Skinful of Shadows
― A Skinful of Shadows
“If someone throws aside their pride and begs with all their heart, and if they do so in vain, then they are never quite the same person afterwards. Something in them dies, and something else comes to life.”
― A Skinful of Shadows
― A Skinful of Shadows
Karen’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Karen’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Karen
Lists liked by Karen










![アフターグロウ [Afterglow] by Wagimoko Wagase アフターグロウ [Afterglow] by Wagimoko Wagase](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1710510659l/209992103._SX50_.jpg)



![アフターグロウ [Afterglow]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1710510659l/209992103._SX98_.jpg)

































