February 2012
China: You know, there was a time where nobody threatened me. I just wouldn't stand for it. The amount of people I killed, of bodies I twisted and bones I snapped, all because they had allowed their anger to momentarily overwhelm their good sense. I regret it all now, of course. I was out of control. I was indulging the darkness inside me far too often. I was not, Mr. Prave, a very nice person. But I have changed. I have allowed the years to mellow me. Now I find joy in simple pleasures. A good book. A fine wine. Good company. All of these things make me smile. They make me happy. But once in a while, I get the urge. You know what I'm talking about, don't you. The urge for destruction. The urge to hunt, maim, kill. It's quite a thing, to experience that urge, to let it wash over you, to give into it. It's addictive. It's all-consuming. You lose yourself to it. It's quite, quite wonderful. I can feel it, even as we speak, tapping around the edges of my mind, trying to prise me open, to slip it's fingers in. And it would be so easy to let it happen. But we're all like that, aren't we? We're all barbarians at our core. We're all savage, murderous beasts. I know I am. I'm sure you are. The only difference between us, Mr. Prave, is how loudly we roar. I know I roar very loudly indeed. How about you? Do you think you can match me?
Valkyrie: We should have another code for when you're about to hit someone.
Skulduggery: Very well. How about the sparrow flies south for winter?
Valkyrie: Seriously?
Skulduggery: What's wrong with it? It's a classic.
Valkyrie: And how would you work that into the conversation?
Skulduggery: With my usual aplomb.
Valkyrie: So if that had been our code, and [Bison] Dragonclaw had just told you that all we have to do is pull the lever, how would you have worked 'the sparrow flies south for winter' into the conversation?
Skulduggery: I would have said 'OK, Bison, so you're sure we only need to pull a lever?' And he would have said yes, and I'd have said, 'excellent, thank you. Did you know, by the way, that the sparrow flies south for winter?' And then I'd have punched him.
Valkyrie: I'm going to do my best to ignore the ridiculous things you say from now on.
...
Oblivious: Hey! You! Where do you think you're going? We have our orders! You think they don't apply to you? You think just because our enemies are massing at the gates, we should abandon our posts? Is that what you think?
Skulduggery: Uh, the stream of death carries us where it may.
Oblivious: That may be true, but we are still bound by the oaths we swore. Or have you forgotten them?
Skulduggery: My duty is to death, but death's duty is to itself. As of life, as of death, as of the stream between...
Oblivious: What?
Skulduggery: In the stream of life, we are but paddlers.
Oblivious: I'm not sure I... who are you? Let me see your face.
Skulduggery: The sparrow flies south for winter. *punch in the face* See? It's a perfect code.
Valkyrie: We're paddling in the stream of life?
Skulduggery: I'm not very good at being pretentious. It's one of my few flaws. But there's no denying-- that code worked.
Valkyrie: And you slipped it into the conversation seamlessly.
All We Can Do Is Keep Breathing: My dearest Allie: →
countingdownatthegreenlight:
I couldn’t sleep last night because I know that it’s over between us. I’m not bitter any more, because I know that what we had was real. And if in some distant place in the future we see each other in our new lives, I’ll smile at you with joy and remember how we spent the summer beneath the…
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“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.”
– - Jimi Hendrix. (via ashleyannlongquotes)
“A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view.”
– - Wilma Askinas. (via ashleyannlongquotes)
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