#gh

No one blames her." "That never matters," said Alec. "Not when you blame yourself. ↗

— Cassandra Clare

#blame #cassandra-clare #city-of-lost-souls #guilt #the-mortal-instruments

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. ↗

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

#creative #darkness #decide #destructive #every

Meghan,” whispered a voice, heart wrenchingly familiar, drawing me out of the void. I recognized it immediately, just as I realized it was a figment of my desperate imagination, because the real owner of that voice would never be here, talking to me. Ash? “Wake up,” he murmured, his deep voice cutting through the layers of the darkness. “Don’t do this. If you don’t come out of this soon, you’ll fade away and drift forever. Fight it. Come back to us.” I didn’t want to wake up. There was nothing but pain waiting for me in the real world. If I was asleep, I couldn’t feel anything. If I was asleep, I didn’t have to face Ash and the cold contempt on his face when he looked at me. Darkness was my retreat, my sanctuary. I drew back from Ash’s voice, deeper into the comforting blackness. And, through the layer of dreams and delirium, I heard a quiet sob. “Please.” A hand gripped mine, real and solid, anchoring me to the present. “I know what you must think of me, but…” The voice broke off, took a ragged breath. “Don’t leave,” it whispered. “Meghan, don’t go. Come back to me. ↗

— Julie Kagawa

#love #meghan #dreams

So,” I demanded, trying to sound confident, “where can we find this trod to New Orleans?” “The frost giant ruins,” Ash replied, looking thoughtful. “Very close to Mab’s court.” At Puck’s glare, he shrugged and offered a tiny, rueful smirk. “She goes to Mardi Gras every year.” I pictured the Queen of the Unseelie Court flashing a couple of drunken partygoers, and giggled uncontrollably. All three shot me a strange look. “Sorry,” I gasped, biting my lip. "Still kind of giddy, I guess. ↗

— Julie Kagawa

#mardi-gras #meghan #confidence

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ↗

— John F. Kennedy

#express #forget #gratitude #highest #live

Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. ↗

— Augustine of Hippo

#right-and-wrong #morals

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. ↗

— Leonard Cohen

#light #living #perfection #determination

The thing about a hero, is even when it doesn't look like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, he's going to keep digging, he's going to keep trying to do right and make up for what's gone before, just because that's who he is. ↗

— Joss Whedon

#because #before #digging #end #end of the tunnel

But there was a cost. Being near Ethan was just... incendiary. Part animosity, part ridiculous chemistry, neither conducive to a peaceful home environment. And this was only my first night under his thumb. Not a good sign of things to come. ↗

— Chloe Neill

#environment

There is one fairly good reason for fighting - and that is, if the other man starts it. You see, wars are a great wickedness, perhaps the greatest wickedness of a wicked species. They are so wicked that they must not be allowed. When you can be perfectly certain that the other man started them, then is the time when you might have a sort of duty to stop them. ↗

— T.H. White

#fighting #right #war #duty