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1073735 Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference. stupidity harry-dresden Jim Butcher
417067f "Sure, we'd faced some things as children that a lot of kids don't. Sure, Justin had qualified for his Junior de Sade Badge in his teaching methods for dealing with pain. We still hadn't learned, though, that growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you're just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something. Each time, you come out of it a little stronger, and at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain than coffee. There's the little empty pain of leaving something behind - gradutaing, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There's the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expecations. There's the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn't give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life they grow and learn. There's the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens. And if you're very, very lucky, there are a very few blazing hot little pains you feel when you realized that you are standing in a moment of utter perfection, an instant of triumph, or happiness, or mirth which at the same time cannot possibly last - and yet will remain with you for life. pain life wisdom harry-dresden Jim Butcher
e094524 Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing yourself when things are bad. That and vodka. laughter sanity drinking sanya harry-dresden Jim Butcher
fe6ce3b "Anger is just anger. It isn't good. It isn't bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters. It's like anything else. You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice." Constructive anger," the demon said, her voice dripping sarcasm. Also known as passion," I said quietly. "Passion has overthrown tyrants and freed prisoners and slaves. Passion has brought justice where there was savagery. Passion has created freedom where there was nothing but fear. Passion has helped souls rise from the ashes of their horrible lives and build something better, stronger, more beautiful." passion lasciel harry-dresden Jim Butcher
6d18dfe There is a primal reassurance in being touched, in knowing that someone else, someone close to you, wants to be touching you. There is a bone-deep security that goes with the brush of a human hand, a silent, reflex-level affirmation that someone is near, that someone cares. friendship harry-dresden Jim Butcher
4687742 We have now left Reason and Sanity Junction. Next stop, Looneyville. humor insanity harry-dresden Jim Butcher
ca83128 You backbiting, poisonous, treacherous, deceitful, wicked, girl. If this works I'll buy you a pony. humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
ae9d377 "The man once wrote: Tolkien had that one mostly right. I stepped forward, let the door bang closed, and snarled, "Fuck subtle." tolkien humor subtlety harry-dresden Jim Butcher
859b8cc So. You get handed a holy sword by an archangel, told to go fight the forces of evil, and you somehow remain an atheist. Is that what you're saying? humor sanya harry-dresden Jim Butcher
734fbb4 Son. Everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone. But it doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren't alone on the other side. life harry-dresden Jim Butcher
56b5dab But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything. life inaction molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
2e9e6e2 I think that men ought to treat women like something other than weaker men with breasts. humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
63b5cc4 Regardless of what I think about Islam or Wicca or any other religion, the fact is that it's a group of people. Every faith has its ceremonies. And since it's made up of people, every faith also has its assholes. religion humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
232cd19 "Da. This is going very well already." Thomas barked out a laugh. "There are seven of us against the Red King and his thirteen most powerful nobles, and it's going well?" Mouse sneezed. "Eight," Thomas corrected himself. He rolled his eyes and said, "And the psycho death faerie makes it nine." "It is like movie," Sanya said, nodding. "Dibs on Legolas." "Are you kidding?" Thomas said. "I'm obviously Legolas. You're . . ." He squinted thoughtfully at Sanya and then at Martin. "Well. He's Boromir and you're clearly Aragorn." "Martin is so dour, he is more like Gimli." Sanya pointed at Susan. "Her sword is much more like Aragorn's." "Aragorn wishes he looked that good," countered Thomas. "What about Karrin?" Sanya asked. "What--for Gimli?" Thomas mused. "She is fairly--" "Finish that sentence, Raith, and we throw down," said Murphy in a calm, level voice. "Tough," Thomas said, his expression aggrieved. "I was going to say 'tough.' " As the discussion went on--with Molly's sponsorship, Mouse was lobbying to claim Gimli on the basis of being the shortest, the stoutest, and the hairiest-- "Sanya," I said. "Who did I get cast as?" "Sam," Sanya said. I blinked at him. "Not . . . Oh, for crying out loud, it was perfectly obvious who I should have been." Sanya shrugged. "It was no contest. They gave Gandalf to your godmother. You got Sam." humor mouse leanansidhe karrin-murphy sanya thomas-raith molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
8ae18cd "Da. This is going very well already." Thomas barked out a laugh. "There are seven of us against the Red King and his thirteen most powerful nobles, and it's going well?" Mouse sneezed. "Eight," Thomas corrected himself. He rolled his eyes and said, "And the psycho death faerie makes it nine." "It is like movie," Sanya said, nodding. "Dibs on Legolas." "Are you kidding?" Thomas said. "I'm obviously Legolas. You're . . ." He squinted thoughtfully at Sanya and then at Martin. "Well. He's Boromir and you're clearly Aragorn." "Martin is so dour, he is more like Gimli." Sanya pointed at Susan. "Her sword is much more like Aragorn's." "Aragorn wishes he looked that good," countered Thomas. "What about Karrin?" Sanya asked. "What--for Gimli?" Thomas mused. "She is fairly--" "Finish that sentence, Raith, and we throw down," said Murphy in a calm, level voice. "Tough," Thomas said, his expression aggrieved. "I was going to say 'tough.' " As the discussion went on--with Molly's sponsorship, Mouse was lobbying to claim Gimli on the basis of being the shortest, the stoutest, and the hairiest-- "Sanya," I said. "Who did I get cast as?" "Sam," Sanya said. I blinked at him. "Not . . . Oh, for crying out loud, it was perfectly obvious who I should have been." Sanya shrugged. "It was no contest. They gave Gandalf to your godmother. You got Sam." -- humor mouse leanansidhe karrin-murphy sanya thomas-raith molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
9a618a4 There's nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy. Or more exasperated. Or more . . . secure. harry-dresden Jim Butcher
8b71476 "Oh," the girl said, shaking her head. "Don't be so simple. People adore monsters. They fill their songs and stories with them. They define themselves in relation to them. You know what a monster is, young shade? Power. Power and choice. Monsters make choices. Monsters shape the world. Monsters force us to become stronger, smarter, better. They sift the weak from the strong and provide a forge for the steeling of souls. Even as we curse monsters, we admire them. Seek to become them, in some ways." Her eyes became distant. "There are far, far worse things to be than a monster." monsters harry-dresden Jim Butcher
0767969 Loneliness is a hard thing to handle. I feel it, sometimes. When I do, I want it to end. Sometimes, when you're near someone, when you touch them on some level that is deeper than the uselessly structured formality of casual civilized interaction, there's a sense of satisfaction in it. Or at least, there is for me. It doesn't have to be someone particularly nice. You don't have to like them. You don't even have to want to work with them. You might even want to punch them in the nose. Sometimes just making that connection is its own experience, its own reward. loneliness harry-dresden Jim Butcher
61f055f "I know it's not thematically in tune with my new job and all, but I find it effective. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day," I say. "But set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Tao of Pratchett. I live by it." terry-pratchett harry-dresden Jim Butcher
40be7ab Wizards and computers get along about as well as flamethrowers and libraries. libraries technophobes harry-dresden Jim Butcher
8b5b625 Fear is a part of life. It's a warning mechanism. That's all. It tells you when there's danger around. Its job is to help you survive. Not cripple you into being unable to do it. survival harry-dresden Jim Butcher
3c45816 Many things are not as they seem: The worst things in life never are. life harry-dresden Jim Butcher
b3f5041 I don't know about your true form, but the weight of your ego sure is pushing the crust of the earth toward the breaking point. humor ferro sarcasm harry-dresden Jim Butcher
3f8ddca There's a fine line between audacity and idiocy. idiocy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
b071534 "They say you can know a man by his enemies, Dresden." He smiled, and laughter lurked beneath his next words, never quite surfacing. "You defy beings that should cow you into silence. You resist forces that are inevitable for no more reason than that you believe they should be resisted. You bow your head to neither demons nor angels, and you put yourself in harm's way to defend those who cannot defend themselves." He nodded slowly. "I think I like you." humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
e8a12d9 EASTER HAS BEEN CANCELED - THEY FOUND THE BODY easter jim-butcher harry-dresden Jim Butcher
fefa230 "Lea stood upon a fallen log ahead of us, staring ahead. Mouse walked up to her. Gggrrrr rawf arrrgggrrrrarrrr," I said. Mouse gave me an impatient glance, and somehow--I don't know if it was something in his body language or what--I became aware that he was telling me to sit down and shut up or he'd come over and make me. I sat down. Something in me really didn't like that idea, but when I looked around, I saw that everyone else had done it too, and that made me feel better. Mouse said, again in what sounded like perfectly clear English, "Funny. Now restore them." Lea turned to look at the big dog and said, "Do you dare to give me commands, hound?" Not your hound," Mouse said. I didn't know how he was doing it. His mouth wasn't moving or anything. "Restore them before I rip your ass off. Literally rip it off." The Leanansidhe tilted her head back and let out a low laugh. "You are far from your sources of power here, my dear demon." I live with a wizard. I cheat." He took a step toward her and his lips peeled up from his fangs in unmistakable hostility. "You want to restore them? Or do I kill you and get them back that way?" Lea narrowed her eyes. Then she said, "You're bluffing." One of the big dog's huge, clawed paws dug at the ground, as if bracing him for a leap, and his growl seemed to . . . I looked down and checked. It didn't seem to shake the ground. The ground was actually shaking for several feet in every direction of the dog. Motes of blue light began to fall from his jaws, thickly enough that it looked quite a bit like he was foaming at the mouth. "Try me." The Leanansidhe shook her head slowly. Then she said, "How did Dresden ever win you?" He didn't," Mouse said. "I won him." humor mouse leanansidhe karrin-murphy sanya thomas-raith molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
6947a65 "That's the problem with you nearly immortal types," I said. "You couldn't spot a pop culture reference if it skittered up and implanted an embryo down your esophagus." humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
06cec1b I have nightmares about hell, where all I do is add up numbers and try to have conversations with people like you. humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
7b4ba30 "You're such a cynic," Molly said. "I think cynics are playful and cute." humor molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
4eaafc6 Don't call me a dinosaur. It isn't fair to the dinosaurs. What did a dinosaur ever do to you? humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
a14b213 You don't take your cat with you to go bird shopping. Not because the cat isn't polite, but because he's a cat. dresden-files harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d95dd7c "Karrin." She looked up at me. She looked very young somehow. "Remember what I said yesterday," I said. "You're hurt. But you'll get through it. You'll be okay." She closed her eyes tightly. "I'm scared. So scared I'm sick." "You'll get through it." "What if I don't?" I squeezed her fingers. "Then I will personally make fun of you every day for the rest of your life," I said. "I will call you a sissy girl in front of everyone you know, tie frilly aprons on your car, and lurk in the parking lot at CPD and whistle and tell you to shake it, baby. Every. Single. Day." Murphy's breath escaped in something like a hiccup. She opened her eyes, a mix of anger and wary amusement easing into them in place of fear. "You do realize I'm holding a gun, right?" friendship karrin-murphy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
9542881 Hell's holy stars and freaking stones shit bells. humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
b70faed Magic comes from the heart, from your feelings, your deepest expressions of desire. That's why black magic is so easy--it comes from lust, from fear and anger, from things that are easy to feed and make grow. The sort I do is harder. It comes from something deeper than that, a truer and purer source--harder to tap, harder to keep, but ultimately more elegant, more powerful. My magic. That was at the heart of me. It was a manifestation of what I believed, what I lived. It came from my desire to see to it that someone stood between the darkness and the people it would devour. It came from my love of a good steak, from the way I would sometimes cry at a good movie or a moving symphony. From my life. From the hope that I could make things better for someone else, if not always for me. Somewhere, in all of that, I touched on something that wasn't tapped out, in spite of how horrible the past days had been, something that hadn't gone cold and numb inside of me. I grasped it, held it in my hand like a firefly, and willed its energy out, into the circle I had created with the spinning amulet on the end of its chain. magic hope harry-dresden Jim Butcher
1cc6b67 Thomas was an annoying wiseass who tended to make everyone he met want to kill him, and when I have that much in common with someone, I can't help but like him a little. sarcasm harry-dresden Jim Butcher
2cb0c11 "I know how you feel," I said. "You run into something you totally don't get, and it's scary as hell. But once you learn something about it, it gets easier to handle. Knowledge counters fear. It always has." knowledge harry-dresden Jim Butcher
c52eb44 Paranoia is a survival trait when you run in my circles. It gives you something to do in your spare time, coming up with solutions to ridiculous problems that aren't ever going to happen. Except when one of them does, at which point you feel way too vindicated. - Harry Dresden, Changes, Jim Butcher magic wizards paranormal harry-dresden Jim Butcher
7d2472f There're things we keep hidden from one another. Things we hide from ourselves. Things that are kept hidden from us. And things no one knows. You always learn the damnedest things at the worst possible times. life harry-dresden Jim Butcher
f1fec46 "Harry," she said quietly, "I know you must be angry." I burn things to ash and smash holes in buildings when I'm angry," I said. "I'm a couple of steps past that point right now." harry-dresden Jim Butcher
e6cdb56 "Black Court vampires. I just shortened it some." Ebenezar tsked. "Blampires. That's the problem with you young people. Shortening all the words." -- humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
f405122 You need to know where to go,' Sanya said. 'Yes,' 'And you are going to consult four large pizzas for guidance.' 'Yes,' I said. ...'There is, I think, humour here which does not translate well from English into sanity.' 'That's pretty rich coming from the agnostic Knight of the Cross with a holy Sword who takes his orders from an archangel.' I said. - Harry Dresden & Sanya, Changes, Jim Butcher magic wizards paranormal harry-dresden Jim Butcher
5c3d231 The wacky thing about those bad guys is that you can't count on them to be obvious. They forget to wax their mustaches and goatees, leave their horns at home, send their black hats to the dry cleaner's. They're funny like that. humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
b2e80a3 There's always, always a choice. My options might really, truly suck, but that doesn't mean there isn't a choice. cold-days harry-dresden Jim Butcher
627cc28 Rule number one of the wizarding business. Never let them see you sweat. People expect us to know things. It can be a big advantage. Don't screw it up by looking like you're as confused as everyone else. Bad for the image. harry-dresden Jim Butcher
430da91 "Karrin, eh?" Thomas asked. I nodded. "She's real serious about order. A man dying, she can understand. A man coming back. That's different." "Isn't she Catholic?" Thomas asked. "Don't they have a guy?" karrin-murphy thomas-raith harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d4fd0f3 "Murphy watched me thoughtfully for several empty seconds. Then she said, very gently, "You're a good man, Harry." I swallowed and bowed my head, made humble by the tone of her voice and the expression on her face, more than the words themselves. Not always rational," she said, smiling. "But you're the best kind of crazy." karrin-murphy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
2df39b1 Bring it, Darth Bathrobe! humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
da615ce "Thwart," I said. "To prevent someone from accomplishing something by means of visiting gratuitous violence upon his smarmy person." "I'm pretty sure that isn't the definition." Sarissa said. "It is today." harry-dresden Jim Butcher
7e1ec91 Right,' Thomas said. 'Where are we headed?' 'To where they treat me like royalty,' I said. 'We're going to Burger King?' I rubbed the heel of my hand against my forehead and spelled fratricide in a subvocal mutter, but I had to spell out temporary insanity and justifiable homicide, too, before I calmed down enough to speak politely. 'Just take a left and drive. Please.' 'Well,' Thomas said, grinning, 'since you said 'please' - Thomas Raith & Harry Dresden, Small Favor, Jim Butcher magic wizards harry-dresden Jim Butcher
dac38b7 "Gandalf never had this kind of problem. He had exactly this problem, actually, standing in front of the hidden Dwarf door to Moria. Remember when . . . I sighed. Sometimes my inner monologue annoys even me. "Edro, edro," I muttered. "Open." I rubbed at the bridge of my nose and ventured, "Mellon." Nothing happened. The wards stayed. I guessed the Corpsetaker had never read Tolkien. Tasteless bitch." -- tolkien harry-dresden Jim Butcher
5be57e5 ...The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the morgue. This, all by itself, is enough to really ruin your day. I was lying on the examining table, and Butters, complete with his surgical gown and his tray of autopsy instruments, stood over me. 'I'm not dead!' I sputtered. 'I'm not dead!' - Harry Dresden, Death Masks, Jim Butcher magic wizards paranormal harry-dresden Jim Butcher
aceb5d9 "All right. Tell me what I'm looking at." From the improvised Rolling Stones T-shirt bag tied to my sash, Bob the Skull said, in his most caustic voice, "A giant pair of cartoon lips." I muttered a curse and fumbled with the shirt until one of the skull's glowing orange eye sockets was visible. A big goofy magic nerd!" Bob said." humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d3113aa There's power in the night. There's terror in the darkness. Despite all our accumulated history, learning, and experience, we remember. We remember times when we were too small to reach the light switch on the wall, and when darkness itself was enough to make us cry out in fear.... turn-coat dresden-files jim-butcher harry-dresden Jim Butcher
2163002 If you go to your death rather than do everything you might to prevent what is happening, you are merely committing suicide and trying to make yourself feel better about it. That is the act of a coward. It is beneath contempt. death harry-dresden Jim Butcher
0984752 "You're playing the creepy vibe a little hard," I said. "Might as well go for broke, put on a black top hat and pipe in some organ music." humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
a3b020b A man's magic demonstrates what sort of person he is, what is held most deeply inside of him. There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power. I was not a murderer. I was not like Victor Sells. I was Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. I was a wizard. Wizards control their power. They don't let it control them. And wizards don't use magic to kill people. They use it to discover, to protect, to mend, to help. Not to destroy. magic harry-dresden Jim Butcher
fdf7f57 There aren't any magical words, really. Words just hold the magic. grave-peril harry-dresden Jim Butcher
8ee80e2 "Injun Joe studied the body for a moment, his eyes sad. Then he said, "I'd rather go in my sleep, I think." He glanced back at me. "What about you?" "I want to be stepped on by an elephant while having sex with identical triplet cheerleaders," I said." -- dresden-files harry-dresden Jim Butcher
81b03f0 Discretion is the better part of not getting exsanguinated. valor paraphrased harry-dresden Jim Butcher
34563e6 My laboratory,' I said, experimentally, drawing out each syllable. 'Why is it that saying it like that always makes me want to follow it with 'mwoo-hah-hah-hahhhhh'? ' 'You were overexposed to Hammer Films as a child?' - Harry Dresden & Bob the Skull, Changes, Jim Butcher magic wizards paranormal harry-dresden Jim Butcher
6ee123b But I don't understand God. I don't understand how he could see the way people treat one another, and not chalk up the whole human race as a bad idea. human-race grave-peril harry-dresden Jim Butcher
c6aa821 I was seducing shepherdesses when you weren't a twinkle in your great-grandcestor's eyes. I think I know what I'm doing. women humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
8667b99 I'm not a Wiccan. I'm not big on churches of any kind, despite the fact that I've spoken, face-to-face, with an archangel of the Almighty. But there were some things I believed in. Some things I had faith in. And faith isn't about perfect attendance to services, or how much money you put on the little plate. It isn't about going skyclad to the Holy Rites, or meditating each day upon the divine. Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others--even when there's not going to be anyone telling you what a hero you are. Faith is a power of its own, and one even more elusive and difficult to define than magic. harry-dresden Jim Butcher
441cad3 "Hush, Harry. Or you'll go to the special hell." I blinked at that, confused. I'm not supposed to be the guy who doesn't get the reference joke, dammit." molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
0631320 "Maybe you know the monsters, Martin," Murphy said quietly. "But I know the guy who stops them. And if they don't return the girl, we'll make them regret it." She nodded at me and said, "Let's go. We can watch Dresden kill the bitch." karrin-murphy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
ea362cb "Rest. Heal. Sleep. I shall most likely kill you on the morrow." "You? A Princess Bride quote?" I croaked. "What is that?" she asked." humor princess-bride harry-dresden Jim Butcher
0d832be They don't make morgues with windows. In fact, if the geography allows for it, they hardly ever make morgues above the ground. I guess it's partly because it must be eisier to refrigerate a bunch of coffin-sized chambers in a room insulated by the earth. But that can't be all there is to it. Under the earth means a lot more than relative altitude. It's where dead things fit. Graves are under the earth. So are Hell, Gehenna, Hades, and a dozen other reported afterlives. Maybe it says somthing about people. Maybe for us, under the earth is a subtle and profound statement. Maybe ground level provides us with a kind of symbolic boundary marker, an artificial construct that helps us remember that we are alive. Mabye it helps us push death's shadow back from our lives. I live in a basement apartment and like it. What does that say about me? Probably that I overanalyze things. humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
6894fe7 Do you really think you can win?' 'Yeah. Hell, Ortega is only the third or fourth most disturbing thing I've tangled with today.' 'But even if you do win, what does it change?' 'Me getting kiilled now. That way, I get to be killed later tonight instead.' - Susan Rodriguez & Harry Dresden, Death Masks, Jim Butcher magic wizards paranormal harry-dresden Jim Butcher
2390312 "I choose my battles, Dresden. Not you." She looked up at me calmly. "Let me put this in terms that will get through your skull: My friend is going to save a child from monsters. I'm going with him. That's what friends do, Harry." karrin-murphy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
61acc43 I'd gone with my usual option. I was running through long tunnels filled with demons and monsters and nightmares, because it was easier than going to the gym. monsters harry-dresden Jim Butcher
8b0d96e Fear has a lot of flavors and textures. There's a sharp, silver fear that runs like lightning through your arms and legs, galvanizes you into action, power, motion. There's heavy, leaden fear that comes in ingots, piling up in your belly during the empty hours between midnight and morning, when everything is dark, every problem grows larger, and every wound and illness grows worse. And there is coppery fear, drawn tight as the strings of a violin, quavering on one single note that cannot possibly be sustained for a single second longer--but goes on and on and on, the tension before the crash of cymbals, the brassy challenge of the horns, the threatening rumble of the kettle drums. That's the kind of fear I felt. Horrible, clutching tension that left the coppery flavor of blood on my tongue. Fear of the creatures in the darkness around me, of my own weakness, the stolen power the Nightmare had torn from me. And fear for those around me, for the folk who didn't have the power I had. harry-dresden Jim Butcher
6dee7d4 "When people say the word "convention," they are usually referring to large gatherings of the employees of companies and corporations who attend a mass assembly, usually in a big hotel somewhere, for the purpose of pretending to learn stuff when they are in fact enjoying a free trip somewhere, time off work, and the opportunity to flirt with strangers, drink, and otherwise indulge themselves. The first major difference between a business convention and a fan-dom convention is that fandom doesn't bother with the pretenses. They're just there to have a good time. The second difference is the dress code-- the ensembles at a fan convention tend to be considerably more novel." work harry-dresden Jim Butcher
535c296 "But... all I said was that I was scared." After what you got to experience? That's smart, kid," I said. "I'm scared, too. Every time something like this happens, it scares me. But being strong doesn't get you through. Being smart does. I've beaten people and things who were stronger than I was, because they didn't use their heads, or because I used what I had better than they did. It isn't about muscle, kiddo, magical or otherwise. It's about your attitude. About your mind." She nodded slowly and said, "About doing things for the right reasons." You don't throw down like this just because you're strong enough to do it," I said. "You do it because you don't have much choice. You do it because it's unacceptable to walk away, and still live with yourself later." She stared at me for a second, and then her eyes widened. "Otherwise, you're using power for the sake of using power." I nodded. "And power tends to corrupt. It isn't hard to love using it, Molly. You've got to go in with the right attitude or..." Or the power starts using you," she said. She'd heard the argument before, but this was the first time she said the words slowly, thoughtfully, as if she'd actually understood them, instead of just parroting them back to me. Then she looked up. "That's why you do it. Why you help people. You're using the power for someone other than yourself." discipline molly-carpenter power harry-dresden Jim Butcher
78d2c7b "Epic sex?" I sputtered. "By what standards, precisely, is sex judged to be epic?" "And tons and tons of mortal simps like you used as pawns." Bob sighed happily, ignoring my question. "There are no words. It was like the Lord of the Rings and All My Children made a baby with the Macho Man Randy Savage and a Whac-A-Mole machine." sex harry-dresden Jim Butcher
35c1a9c Her flawless pale skin was also spangled with gemstones. I don't know how they'd been attached, but they clung to her and sent little flashes of color glittering around the cavern when she moved. They were concentrated most densely around her ... well ... She'd been, ah, vajazzled. maeve harry-dresden Jim Butcher
576f498 I made a sandwich out of things. I'm an American. We can eat anything as long as it's between two pieces of bread. sandwich harry-dresden Jim Butcher
f8b23b2 "I grunted. "She's not a delicate princess," I said. "She's a warrior. Warriors have enemies. Sometimes warriors get hurt." I felt my jaws clench. "And then their friends even things up." skin-game harry-dresden Jim Butcher
aa995cb The last time I was at a supernatural shindig, I got poisoned and then everything there tried to kill me. So I burned the whole place to the ground. good-times shindig harry-dresden Jim Butcher
198b0bf I'd had a key to the marina's locks at one time, but I'd lost track of it when I got shot, drowned, died, got revived into a coma, haunted my friends for a while, and then woke up in Mab's bed. (My life. Hell's bells.) humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
35de7f5 "Michael half-smiled. "The Lord will never give you a burden bigger than your shoulders can bear, Harry. All we can do is face what comes and have faith." I gave him a sour glance. "I need to get myself some bigger shoulders, then. Someone in accounting must have made a mistake." harry-dresden Jim Butcher
f881a07 It's one of the things that makes us different than they are, Harry. The blood on their hands does not make it right to bloody my own. My choices are measured against my own soul. Not against the stains on theirs. michael-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
2228fc2 "I wish I worried about my uncle's opinions, and had problems to work out with my mom. Hell, I'd settle for knowing what her voice sounded like." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Trite but true--you don't know what you have until it's gone. People change. The world changes. And sooner or later you lose people you care about. If you don't mind some advice from someone who doesn't know much about families, I can tell you this: Don't take yours for granted. It might feel like all of them will always be there. But they won't." life karrin-murphy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
e29eb71 "Molly blinked, then looked at Thomas and said, "Wait a minute.... We're his flunkies." "You, may be," Thomas said, sneering. "I'm his thug. I'm way higher than a flunky." "You are high if you think I'm taking any orders from you," Molly said tartly." thomas-raith molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d901012 "Tiny," Sanya rumbled to Michael, clenching a demonstrative fist. "But ." humour harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d3b5466 He had hard, steady eyes, and all the comforting, reassuring charm of a dental drill. - Harry Dresden describing Morgan harry-dresden Jim Butcher
9315e1c My friend is going to save a little girl from monsters. I am going with him. That's what friends do. karrin-murphy harry-dresden Jim Butcher
fc3489e Magic. It can get a guy killed. magic harry-dresden Jim Butcher
a2772f1 Life is full of toil, sacrifice, and pain, and from the time we stop growing, we know that we've begun dying. We watch helplessly as year by year, our bodies age and fail, while our survival instincts compel us to keep on going-which means living with the terrifying knowledge that ultimately death is inescapable. life harry-dresden Jim Butcher
fce1c62 We're ostriches and the whole world is sand. philosophy dresden-files harry-dresden Jim Butcher
5b7fce3 "No," she said. "You are not Patrick Swayze. I am not Demi Moore." She touched a switch on the little box and it started ticking. "And this sure as hell isn't pottery class." ghost karrin-murphy patrick-swayze harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d648673 ... They paid some madman who thought he was a decorator a lot of money to make the place look hip and unique. May be it's my lack of fashion sense talking, but I thought they should have held out for one of those gorillas who has learned to paint. The results would have been of similar quality, and they could have paid in fresh produce. - Harry Dresden, Small Favor, Jim Butcher magic wizards paranormal harry-dresden Jim Butcher
e15b4db I sidestepped the vampire's rush, and drove my half of the former blasting rod down at its back, Buffy-like. Maybe it works better on television. vampires harry-dresden Jim Butcher
74f9530 "This isn't going to work," Justine murmured. "It is going to work," I told her, keeping my tone confident. "We'll breeze right in. The Rack will be with us." Justine glanced at me with an arched eyebrow. "The Rack?" "The Rack is more than just boobs, Justine," I told her soberly. "It's an energy field created by all living boobs. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together." -- girl-power funny humor femininity geek the-rack dresden-files star-wars molly-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
f0ac46a "Aer-O-Smith. Arrowsmith. Does the shirt belong to your weapon dealer?" "No." "Then why do you wear the shirt of someone else's weapon dealer?" humor t-shirts harry-dresden Jim Butcher
dc75d6c There was a ticking time bomb inside my head and the one person I trusted to go in and get it out hadn't shown up or spoken to me for more than a year. first-sentence harry-dresden Jim Butcher
a22279f There's some good in this world Mr. Frodo and it's worth fighting for courage family friendship karrin-murphy thomas-raith harry-dresden J.R.R. Tolkien
f771b65 "There was a small stone in her palm, a deep blue opal. I leaned a little closer, eyeing it. It was set on a silver stud--an earring. "It should suffice to contain the parasite for what time remains," Mab said. "Put it on." "My ears aren't pierced," I objected. Mab arched an eyebrow. "Are you the Winter Knight or some sort of puling child?" I scowled at her. "Come over here and say that." At that, Mab calmly stepped onto the shore of Demonreach, until her toes were almost touching mine. She was several inches over six feet tall, and barely had to reach up to take my earlobe in her fingers. "Wait," I said. "Wait." She paused. "The left one." Mab tilted her head. "Why?" "It's . . . Look, it's a mortal thing. Just do the left one, okay?" She exhaled briefly through her nose. Then she shook her head and changed ears." mortal-thing harry-dresden Jim Butcher
d336a60 She is not a cookie. Neither is she a biscuit, a PopTart, Sweet TART, apple tart, or any other kind of pastry. She is my apprentice. molly-carpenter pastry harry-dresden Jim Butcher
feee3d2 I'm afraid it isn't good news. The Council seems to have gone quite mad. white-council wry-humor harry-dresden Jim Butcher
15b0dda "It's boring." "Oh," I said. I rubbed at my jaw. "You think I should have gone four-color?" Bob stared at me for a second and said, "I have nightmares about Hell, where all I do is add up numbers and try to have conversations with people like you." I glowered up at the skull and nodded. "Okay, fine. You think it needs more drama." "More anything. Drama would do. Or breasts." I sighed and saw where that line of thought was going. "I am not going to hire a leggy secretary, Bob. Get over it." "I didn't say anything about legs. But as long as we're on the subject . . ." jim-butcher legs harry-dresden Jim Butcher
ee7ddb3 "I'm getting my ass kicked by tiny faeries!" I shouted back, fumbling to start the car. "They've got my freaking number!" "Run away!" Bob giggled. "Run away! Tiny faeries!" growled in frustration and popped the Redcap's hat down over Bob. "Stop being a jerk. This is serious." Bob's voice was only barely muffled. It sounded like he couldn't breathe. "Serious! Tiny! Faeries! The m-m- mighty wizard Dresden!" humor faeries harry-dresden Jim Butcher
ab7662e You're reacted to the fear, but you haven't ever faced it and put it into the fight perspective. You have to make up your mind to overcome it. fear-quotes harry-dresden Jim Butcher
5a7eebe Harry waxes poetic about magic. He'll go on and on about how it comes from your feelings, and how it's a deep statement about the nature of your soul, and then he'll whip out some kind of half-divine, half-insane philosophy he's cobbled together from the words of saints and comic books about the importance of handling power responsibly. stan-lee spiderman harry-dresden Jim Butcher
e03cba8 The married thing. Sometimes I look at it and feel like someone from a Dickens novel, standing outside in the cold and staring in at Christmas dinner. Relationships hadn't ever really worked for me. I think it's had something to do with all the demons, ghosts, and human sacrifice. humor love michael-carpenter harry-dresden Jim Butcher
7a88641 It's not everyone who can teach you something about faith without saying a word to do it. harry-dresden Jim Butcher
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