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“The men watched as Annwyl the Bloody took a stand against something from their darkest nightmares. Too afraid to fight, but too terrified for their leader to run away.
And then Brastias saw the girl do something he would never forget.
She kicked the beast. Right in the knee.
Brastias and Danelin exchanged glances.
“Well, you always thought she was insane,� Brastias offered.
“I didn’t think I was right.�
“You lying toe-rag!� she yelled up at him.
“Let me explain.�
“Go to hell!�
“A²Ô²Ô·É²â±ô.â€�
“N´Ç!&°ù»å±ç³Ü´Ç;
― G.A. Aiken, Dragon Actually

“To love, and be loved, this is the greatest challenge that any of us face in our lives.”
― T. Scott McLeod, All That Is Unspoken

“My love, you are always on my mind. I love you so much.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

“We are all Romeos looking for our Juliet, but never finding her.”
― Rae Hachton, Frankie's Monster

“When I threw the stick at Jamie, I hadn't intended to hit him with it. But the moment it left my hand, I knew that's what was going to happen. I didn't yet know any calculus or geometry, but I was able to plot, with some degree of certainty, the trajectory of that stick. The initial velocity, the acceleration, the impact. The mathematical likelihood of Jamie's bloody cheek.

It had good weight and heft, that stick. It felt nice to throw. And it looked damn fine in the overcast sky, too, flying end over end, spinning like a heavy, two-pronged pinwheel and (finally, indifferently, like math) connecting with Jamie's face.

Jamie's older sister took me by the arm and she shook me. Why did you do that? What were you thinking? The anger I saw in her eyes. Heard in her voice. The kid I became to her then, who was not the kid I thought I was. The burdensome regret. I knew the word "accident" was wrong, but I used it anyway. If you throw a baseball at a wall and it goes through a window, that is an accident. If you throw a stick directly at your friend and it hits your friend in the face, that is something else.

My throw had been something of a lob and there had been a good distance between us. There had been ample time for Jamie to move, but he hadn't moved. There had been time for him to lift a hand and protect his face from the stick, but he hadn't done that either. He just stood impotent and watched it hit him. And it made me angry: That he hadn't tried harder at a defense. That he hadn't made any effort to protect himself from me.

What was I thinking? What was he thinking?

I am not a kid who throws sticks at his friends. But sometimes, that's who I've been. And when I've been that kid, it's like I'm watching myself act in a movie, reciting somebody else's damaging lines.

Like this morning, over breakfast. Your eyes asking mine to forget last night's exchange. You were holding your favorite tea mug. I don't remember what we were fighting about. It doesn't seem to matter any more. The words that came out of my mouth then, deliberate and measured, temporarily satisfying to throw at the bored space between us. The slow, beautiful arc. The spin and the calculated impact.

The downward turn of your face.

The heavy drop in my chest.

The word "accident" was wrong. I used it anyway.”
― David Olimpio, This Is Not a Confession

“No one wants to get into an argument with a partner who can repeat back what they said word for word."
"I hope you're not referring to me." Jack made a mark on the graph he'd drawn in his notebook. "I didn't make any promises."
"Of course not," I snapped. "You didn't have time for promises. You were too busy running out the door with your ass hanging out of your pants.”
― Sara Desai, To Have and to Heist

“If have the gift of prophesy, all wisdom and knowledge and have no love, I have failed to manifest my true soul.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

“If a couple can’t argue well, nor will they be able to live together well.”
― Donna Goddard, Love's Longing