❝ a mind needs books like it needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. ❞ ❝ a lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep. ❞ ❝ nothing burns like the cold. ❞ ❝ i’ve angered you. that was never my intent. ❞ ❝ do the dead frighten you? ❞ ❝ the day will come when you need them to respect you, even fear you a little. ❞ ❝ did i offend you? my pardons…but you are scum. ❞ ❝ folly and desperation are offtimes hard to tell apart. ❞ ❝ you must put your dreams aside. they will only break your heart. ❞ ❝ a man in your place should count himself fortunate that his head is still on his shoulders. ❞ ❝ every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better. ❞ ❝ life is not a song. someday you will learn that, to your sorrow. ❞ ❝ once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use that against you. ❞ ❝ the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. ❞ ❝ make no mistake. i fought for you, but i do not love you. ❞ ❝ some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word. ❞ ❝ fear cuts deeper than swords. ❞ ❝ if i look back i am lost. ❞ ❝ your mind is as deft as your blade, it would seem. ❞ ❝ i cannot think of anyone whose company i desire less than yours. ❞ ❝ sleep is the great healer. ❞ ❝ when you play a game of thrones, you win or you die. ❞ ❝ most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it. ❞ ❝ the things we love destroy us every time. remember that. ❞ ❝ death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities. ❞ ❝ what, lost your taste of adventure? ❞ ❝ i have seen dead men with more humor than you. ❞ ❝ there are times when you give me cause to wonder whose side you are on. ❞ ❝ what good is it to wear a crown? the gods mock the prayers of kings and cowherds alike. ❞ ❝ the gods have fashioned us for love. that is our great glory, and our great tragedy. ❞ ❝ i have a tender spot in my heart for broken things. ❞ ❝ laughter is poison to fear. ❞ ❝ love is the bane of honor, the death of duty. ❞ ❝ we need men of your courage. ❞ ❝ my crimes and sins are beyond counting. ❞ ❝ perhaps i was wrong to distrust you. ❞ ❝ do you always find murder so amusing? ❞ ❝ i will not soften the truth for you. if you lose, there is no hope for any of us. ❞ ❝ every flight begins with a fall. ❞ ❝ oh, my sweet summer child, what do you know of fear? ❞ ❝ the man who fears losing has already lost. ❞ ❝ the things i do for love. ❞ ❝ all the grief has been burned out of me. ❞ ❝ i make no threats. that was a promise. ❞ ❝ spare me your empty little compliments. ❞ ❝ i will not forget the help you gave me. ❞ ❝ let them see that their words can cut you and you’ll never be free of the mockery. ❞ ❝ a lord must learn that sometimes words can accomplish what swords cannot. ❞ ❝ you wear your honor like a suit of armor…you think it keeps you safe, but all it does is weigh you down. ❞ ❝ a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. ❞ ❝ you look well, but…tired. ❞ ❝ love is sweet, but it cannot change a man’s nature. ❞ ❝ if you tell anyone, i’ll kill you. ❞ ❝ minds are like swords. the old ones go to rust. ❞ ❝ there’s something wrong here. can’t you feel it? listen to the darkness. ❞ ❝ everything’s better with some wine in the belly. ❞ ❝ grief can derange even the most strongest and most disciplined of minds. ❞ ❝ in life, the monsters win. ❞ ❝ damn it. you might at least humor me with a smile. ❞ ❝ why is it when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what’s on the other side? ❞ ❝ if you must hate, hate those who truly do us harm. ❞ ❝ tell me again what you saw. all the details. leave nothing out. ❞ ❝ what do you think might’ve killed these men? ❞ ❝ you are too hard on yourself. you always were. ❞ ❝ such eloquence. i never suspected you had it in you. ❞ ❝ if i need instruction, i will ask for it. ❞ ❝ if there are enemies in this wood, a fire is the last thing we want. ❞ ❝ what is it? you’re shaking. ❞ ❝ i am out of wine and out of patience. ❞ ❝ i am pleased to see there are still men of sense in this city. ❞ ❝ i do not mean to frighten you, but neither will i lie to you. ❞ ❝ we have come to a dangerous place. we have enemies who mean us ill will. ❞ ❝ you have the wildness in you. ❞ ❝ i can only stomach so much ineptitude in any one day. ❞ ❝ what you are is weak. ❞ ❝ why, that almost sounds like praise. ❞ ❝ none of us wants trouble, but i fear these are troubed times. ❞ ❝ keep out of matters that don’t concern you. ❞ ❝ i trust you as i would my own blood. ❞ ❝ just where do you think you are going? ❞ ❝ give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and i’ll sleep more soundly at night. ❞ ❝ i am in no mood for your insolence today. ❞ ❝ you weren’t supposed to be here. no one was supposed to be here. ❞ ❝ you are shaking. do i frighten you so much? ❞ ❝ there is small honor in tricks. ❞ ❝ we who presume to rule must do vile things for the good of the realm. ❞ ❝ should war come again, how many soldiers will die? how many towns will burn? ❞ ❝ it is one thing to be clever and another to be wise. ❞ ❝ even in a place like this, one never knows who may be watching. ❞ ❝ forgive me. i am tired. ❞ ❝ if friends can turn to enemies, enemies can become friends. ❞ ❝ all alone, are you? ❞ ❝ we are about justice here, and what you seek is vengeance. ❞ ❝ i promise you, no harm will come to you. ❞ ❝ you will dishonor yourself forever if you do this. ❞ ❝ we all need to be mocked from time from time, lest we start to take ourselves too seriously. ❞ ❝ open the door. we need to talk. ❞ ❝ come share my fire, the night is cold. ❞ ❝ make certain i never look on your face again, or i swear, i’ll have your head on a spike. ❞ ❝ you dare give commands to me? to me? ❞ ❝ we all need to be mocked from time from time, lest we start to take ourselves too seriously. ❞ ❝ you do not love me and you do not want me here. ❞ ❝ nothing was harmed save my dignity. ❞ ❝ be strong. the gods are cruel. ❞ ❝ have you no shred of honor? ❞ ❝ something’s wrong. something’s very wrong. ❞ ❝ i want to be by myself for a while. ❞ ❝ do you take me for a servant? ❞ ❝ i never asked for this. ❞ ❝ i did warn you not to trust me. ❞ ❝ duty, honor, friendship, what’s that to you? ❞ ❝ i hope you are not thinking of doing anything stupid. ❞ ❝ save your pity for yourself. i want none of it. ❞ ❝ i think i will try to sleep. wake me if we’re about to die. ❞ ❝ never show them you’re afraid. ❞ ❝ i am doing the right thing, so why do i feel so bad? ❞ ❝ you must not do this. don’t die on me. ❞ ❝ it is not for you to tell me what i cannot do. ❞ ❝ it stinks. the stick of death. ❞ ❝ you are as fair as ever, a welcome sight in troubled times. ❞ ❝ there’s someone out there, isn’t there? ❞ ❝ can’t say i’ll be sad to see the back of this place. ❞ ❝ travel by night and hole up by day, avoid the road while we can, make no noise and light no fires. ❞ ❝ mercy is never a mistake. ❞ ❝ i don’t wish to hurt you, but i will if i have to. ❞ ❝ i swear it, you will have your vengeance. ❞ ❝ i bow to serve you, to obey you, to die for you if need be. ❞ ❝ a man who fights for coin is loyal only to his purse. ❞ ❝ we have won a battle, not a war. ❞ ❝ do i look like a liar too? ❞ ❝ more than once, i have dreamed of giving up the crown. ❞ ❝ distrusting me was the wisest thing you’ve done. ❞ ❝ poison is a coward’s weapon. ❞ ❝ how many times must i tell you to hold your tongue? ❞ ❝ you have done all i could have asked of you, and a hundred times more. ❞ ❝ i have made more mistakes than you can possibly imagine, but that was not one of them. ❞ ❝ sometimes the gods are merciful. ❞ ❝ go ahead, call me all the names you want. ❞ ❝ not now. you have no time for grief. ❞

❝ i don’t like seeing you nervous. ❞ ❝ the risk of doing nothing becomes the greatest risk of all. ❞ ❝ i’m gonna do us a favor and not mention this happened. ❞ ❝ you’re gonna get us both in trouble. ❞ ❝ i’m not moving. you want it, you take it and i walk away. ❞ ❝ if it’s not important, why not tell me? ❞ ❝ don’t tell anybody you saw me. don’t tell anybody you know where i am. ❞ ❝ you don’t look so good. ❞ ❝ you need to get as far away from here as you can. ❞ ❝ you’re like me. we were born in a hole. all we know is climbing over somebody else to get out. ❞ ❝ it’s all about you, isn’t it? it’s always all about you. ❞ ❝ ah, you’ve remembered how to mock me. ❞ ❝ that’s as close to an apology as you’re gonna get. ❞ ❝ maybe we should quit while we’re ahead. ❞ ❝ welcome. and just in time for dinner. ❞ ❝ there’s no way out alive. of that you must be sure. ❞ ❝ my anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight…they’ve set me on a path from which there is no escape. ❞ ❝ i’m struggling to understand why my faith doesn’t calm me. i believe in something. why am i so unsettled? ❞ ❝ you don’t have to worry about me anymore. ❞ ❝ i thought you left without me. ❞ ❝ you have a different path, and i’m not judging you. ❞ ❝ it’s better you don’t know. ❞ ❝ you’re avoiding the question. ❞ ❝ hey. you know something i don’t? ❞ ❝ i told you, i’m doing everything i can. ❞ ❝ you might as well wear a sign that says, “i promise to disappoint you.” ❞ ❝ you’re bleeding on my floor. ❞ ❝ you knew where this was going. you’ve always known. ❞ ❝ i need to hear you tell me you can follow the plan. ❞ ❝ pull yourself together, all right? ❞ ❝ this time…you can’t stay, and i can’t go. ❞ ❝ i burn my decency for someone else’s future. i burn my life to make a sunrise that i know i’ll never see. ❞ ❝ i said i know you. i know all about you. ❞ ❝ why don’t we do something fun tomorrow night? ❞ ❝ i knew i could count on you. ❞ ❝ i am going to ask you a question. i expect an honest answer. ❞ ❝ i yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time i looked down, there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. ❞ ❝ that’s cold. even for you. ❞ ❝ you’ll stay with me. i need all the heroes i can get. ❞ ❝ i’m thinking clearly and you’re not. ❞ ❝ is that your defence? you’ve been ‘careful’? ❞ ❝ any civilized being knows an open invitation is no invitation at all. ❞ ❝ rule number one: never carry anything you don’t control. ❞ ❝ what’s the hurry? got some place to be? ❞ ❝ you come all this way to scold me? ❞ ❝ i’d never lie to you. ❞ ❝ you’re not here to save anybody but yourself. ❞ ❝ what, not happy to see me? ❞ ❝ i’ve never loved anyone the way i love you. ❞ ❝ i won’t have peace. i’ll be worried about you all the time. ❞ ❝ turning back will be impossible. ❞ ❝ there’s no room for doubt on the path to success. ❞ ❝ two guys jumped me. it went too far. ❞ ❝ you fall here, you fall alone. ❞ ❝ i’m just saying out loud what you already known. ❞ ❝ you love me because i show you what you need to see. ❞ ❝ it’s just me against everybody else. ❞ ❝ you don’t want to hear what happened? ❞ ❝ hey. i won’t forget this. ❞ ❝ you think it’s hopeless, do you? freedom? independence? justice? ❞ ❝ no one’s more at risk than i am. ❞ ❝ you wanted to leave? this is what it comes to. ❞ ❝ what are you staring at? ❞ ❝ we’ll die with nothing if we don’t put aside our petty differences. ❞ ❝ you’ll make an effort tonight if it kills you. ❞ ❝ i write when i can’t sleep. ❞ ❝ you haven’t been listening to me, have you? ❞ ❝ us? i don’t know you. ❞ ❝ i’m not gonna put my people at risk for someone else. ❞ ❝ your father’s looking for you. ❞ ❝ why would i go anywhere with you? ❞ ❝ i’m glad you’re here. no matter what the reason. ❞ ❝ that’s what a reckoning sounds like. you want it to stop, but it just keeps coming. ❞ ❝ come on. we need to get out of here. come on. ❞ ❝ being a leader isn’t just something you can turn on and off. ❞ ❝ it’s been a day of surprises for all of us. ❞ ❝ you lived because you ran. ❞ ❝ i imagine that no matter what you tell me or tell yourself, you’ll ultimately die fighting these bastards. ❞ ❝ you think i haven’t thought this through? i’d be the first one to fall. ❞ ❝ wouldn’t you rather give it all at once to something real than carve off useless pieces till there’s nothing left? ❞ ❝ you’re wasting energy. you know i’m right. ❞ ❝ i just want what’s mine. ❞ ❝ must everything be boring and sad? ❞ ❝ you have a problem, you come to me. ❞ ❝ i’m starting to think we’re in over our heads. ❞ ❝ everyone has their own rebellion. ❞ ❝ can one ever be too aggressive in preserving order? ❞ ❝ the day before is always hard. too much time to worry. ❞ ❝ don’t touch me. ❞ ❝ i wake up every day to an equation i wrote fifteen years ago from which there’s only one conclusion, I’m damned for what i do. ❞ ❝ i’m just trying to clear my name. ❞ ❝ working with other people is never easy. ❞ ❝ just being in your presence…i’ve realized that life is worth living. ❞ ❝ do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in right now? ❞ ❝ i knew you were lying. i knew it. ❞ ❝ losing hope? your mind? keep it to yourself. ❞ ❝ must everything be boring and sad? ❞ ❝ the axe forgets, but the tree remembers. ❞ ❝ perhaps my deranged belief that there was something better fated for me in the future was a dream worth clinging to. ❞ ❝ i’m not here for career advice. ❞ ❝ there’s a difference between fear and losing your nerve. ❞ ❝ you’re slouching. is that how you present yourself to the world? ❞ ❝ perhaps you should have a rest. ❞ ❝ i didn’t deserve what happened. ❞ ❝ you should go. i didn’t realize how late it was. ❞ ❝ i’d forgotten how sensitive you can be. ❞ ❝ you’re lucky to be alive right now. ❞ ❝ so, that’s it? that’s why you’re here? revenge? ❞ ❝ you can wear a ball gown if you’d like. ❞ ❝ this is the last place you should be. ❞ ❝ so much going wrong, so much to say, and all of it happening so quickly. ❞ ❝ it’s easier to hide behind forty atrocities than a single incident. ❞ ❝ what were you gonna do if i wasn’t here? ❞ ❝ i’ve been worried you might do something like this. ❞ ❝ don’t you dare talk to me like that. ❞ ❝ the very worst thing you can do right now is bore me. ❞ ❝ if you’re not willing to risk your conscience, then surrender and be done with it. ❞ ❝ we’ve come a long way from where we started. ❞ ❝ i show you the stone in my hand, you miss the knife at your throat. ❞ ❝ people blame you for what happened. ❞ ❝ i think about you constantly. ❞ ❝ i dreamt you came back. ❞ ❝ you pull in the net and the easy thing, the quick thing, is to assume that everything you’ve dragged to shore is a fish. ❞ ❝ i should…i should say thank you. ❞ ❝ i’ve given up all chance at inner peace. i’ve made my mind a sunless space. i share my dreams with ghosts. ❞ ❝ don’t die until you put up a fight. ❞ ❝ you came here to kill me, didn’t you? ❞ ❝ i’ve been shamed enough for one night. ❞ ❝ if you wanna say something, you should say it now. ❞ ❝ i would rather die trying to take them down than giving them what they want. ❞ ❝ is that meant to scare me? ❞ ❝ i’ve been turning away from the truth i wanted not to face. ❞ ❝ you’re bleeding. ❞

the commander heaves a sigh, desperate to dispel the tension that's blanketed the room. while she's had her whole life to practice the art of control, ivy understands that control is the one weapon anakin has yet to master. " save this anger for the reapers. they're the ones who who deserve your wrath. the council will get theirs no matter what. simple law of karma. "

burning like a fusion torch, anakin turns around, eyes synonymous with lava as his gaze meets ivy's once more— his anger grabbing him by the collar and pulling him forward. the dragon yanks on his chain, wishing to be unleashed. [the slave boy inside of him bellows, clawing at the lining of his stomach. there are no butterflies, only moths eating away.] “if the law of karma exists— let them burn for what they've done. they've earned it, ivy.”

it seems, in your anger, you killed her.

well, that way you’d kill two souls. is that what you want?

❛ I will not fight you. I came as a messenger, not a warrior. ❜