He Who Fights With Monsters 8 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #8)

by Shirtaloon

“Death is death, and horror is horror; we’ve all seen the people we couldn’t save. Counting the dead doesn’t make one person’s experience more important than another’s.”

might not give you the chance, but I will.” “What’s a sky net?” “It's a tool that people came up with that gained sentience, went rogue and enslaved what little humanity it didn't wipe out.” “I'm assuming that's a story and not something that happened.” “Yeah, just a story. The real-life version is called capitalism and it's way more insidious.”

“You do realise you’re here because we’re about to explore the ruins of a crashed flying city that is now an island full of constructs sent by an interdimensional invader against whom you specifically are best-suited to combat. An interdimensional invader that hates you personally and specifically.” Jason shrugged. “I used to find that kind of thing exciting. Now it’s just Tuesday.” “What’s Tuesday?”

Different cities have different feels to them, but there’s always a sense of being a place where people live. It might be indulgent, hedonistic, practical, industrial, authoritarian, but there’s always a sense of people and purpose to them. The city speaks to who they are, what they do and what they value. They feel lived in.”

“You do realise whose familiar I am, don’t you? I am older than some of this world’s gods and my knowledge base now includes a comprehensive understanding of the canonicity of various entries to the Knight Rider franchise.” “I don’t know what that means.” “I am not largely an advocate for ignorance,” Shade said, “but in this instance, I offer with all goodwill my hope that you retain yours in perpetuity.”

“If you do not find it presumptuous, Lady Liara, might I perhaps offer some advice? I will take no offence if you decline. I understand that unsolicited advice is often less than welcome in trying times.”

“I have a simple philosophy for accomplishing my goals,” he said. “You look at where you are, where you want to be, and then decide if you're willing to pay the price of walking between those two points. Almost anything can be accomplished if you have the resolve, but you have to be able to see the path.”

“You acted in a manner appropriate to the information you had available. That is all that can be asked of anyone,” Shade said. “I know a man who has done this and gotten it wrong, but he does not let that stop him from doing it again. In times of crisis, inaction is often worse than the wrong action.”

You have to learn to let go of the things you can’t do anything about, and sometimes even the ones you can. Otherwise, it’ll hollow you out until you can’t help anyone. Even yourself.”

“Things are not that simple, Jason.” “They never are,” Jason said. “If I’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that any given thing is more complicated than I realise, and most of what I know about it is wrong. Also, I’ve learned how to kill things with magic powers. So, if I’ve learned any two things over the last few... well, you get it.”

“Using a loophole to drop clues,” Jason said. “All these god rules make them seem like lawyers. American lawyers.”

“Yeah, but time doesn’t go faster just because you have a lot of it. But I guess that’s why you didn’t make the same choice as Colin and Gordon. I’m the latest in a long line of people you’ve had as a summoner, and there’ll be many more after. You’re kind of like Doctor Who and I’m one of your companions.”

“You do not have to pay me back for any gratitude you feel, Mr Asano. Friends do not count favours.”

“The things that make you useful also make you trouble.”

“If you live long enough, Jason, you realise that change is inevitable. Even the force that creates universes changed.”

there’s something about what was done to them that makes them ignore facts that contradict their beliefs, however obvious.”

When your life is outrageous, you have to be outrageous to live it.”