Sam (Hissing Potatoes)

“Perks of refusing to play by the rules: you don’t have to choose between the boy who’d torture a man to death with you and the boy who welcomes you back with pastries.”
― Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

“That first night I was a novitiate. Soon, like the others, I would learn about the stars in the heavens by reading the astronomical tables they inscribed on my feet, shins, and fingers. Soon, I would grow to believe that I myself was an actual text, and that my skin without henna was like a holy book without words—a shameful, almost blasphemous, thing. Without henna, I wouldn't know how to read myself. With henna, I was as sacred as a sanctified Torah. With henna, I was the carrier of ancient tales—a living girl-scroll replete with tales of sorrow, joy, and salvation.”
― Nomi Eve, Henna House

“Sorry we're late. There was a bit of a traffic snarl on the way into the airport. You know how it is when you have to be somewhere in a hurry."

"Yes, I leave early.”
― Mira Grant, How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea

“There’s no such a thing as karma. Or if it does exist, it sure doesn’t give a shit about people like me. Some of us were born to be used and discarded. We can’t afford to simply go along with the flow of life, because nothing in this world has been created, built, or set up in our favor. If we want something, we have to push back against everything around us and take it by force.”
― Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow