I am not as I once was. They have done this to me, broken me open and torn out my heart. I do not know who I am anymore. I must try to remember. N.K. Jemisin More Quotes by N.K. Jemisin More Quotes From N.K. Jemisin Loneliness is a darkness of the soul N.K. Jemisin lonelinesssouldarkness It is blasphemy to separate oneself from the earth and look down on it like a god. It is more than blasphemy; it is dangerous. We can never be gods, after all - but we can become something less than human with frightening ease. N.K. Jemisin natureeaselooks The priest's lesson: beware the Nightlord, for his pleasure is a mortal's doom. My grandmother's lesson: beware love, especially with the wrong man. N.K. Jemisin grandmotherlessonsmen They live forever. But many of them are even more lonely and miserable than we are. Why do you think they bother with us? We teach them life's value. N.K. Jemisin lonelyforeverthinking Rising from the dead? Glowing at sunrise? What did that make him, the god of cheerful mornings and macabre surprises? N.K. Jemisin glowingsunrisemorning We worship Him not because He is the best of our gods, but because He is, or was, the greatest killer among them. N.K. Jemisin killersworship The shadows of Ina-Karekh are the place where nightmares dwell, but not their source. Never forget: the shadowlands are not elsewhere. We create them. They are within. N.K. Jemisin nightmarenever-forgetshadow Calling something exotic emphasizes its distance from the reader. We don't refer to things as exotic if we think of them as ordinary. We call something exotic if it's so different that we see no way to emulate it or understand how it came to be. We call someone exotic if we aren't especially interested in viewing them as people - just as objects representing their culture. N.K. Jemisin distancepeoplethinking Funny thing, employment. If you keep doing it, you keep getting paid. N.K. Jemisin funny-thingsemploymentpaid If the gods do decide to wipe us out, is it such a bad thing? Maybe we've earned a little annihilation. N.K. Jemisin annihilationwipelittles I'm tired of being what everyone else has made me," I said. "I want to be myself." "Don't be a child." I looked up, startled and angry, though of course there was nothing to see. "What?" "You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I'm tired of your whining. N.K. Jemisin tireddonechildren There is no logic to grief. N.K. Jemisin logicgrief Immortality gets very, very boring. You'd be surprised at how interesting the small mundanities of life can seem after a few millennia. N.K. Jemisin immortalityboringinteresting It is important to appreciate beauty, even when it is evil. N.K. Jemisin appreciate-beautyappreciateevil I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a god wasn't something I had considered, but it did not surprise me. A mortal man's strength had its limits. He spent himself and slept. He could be a good lover, but even his best skills were only guesswork - for every caress that sent a woman's head into the clouds, he might try ten that brought her back to earth. N.K. Jemisin cloudsmenlying But when I got angry, my nerves sought an outlet, and my mouth didn't always guard the gates. N.K. Jemisin outletsnervesmouths It was very bad if the council had resorted to recruiting men. By tradition men were our last line of defence, their physical strength bent towards the single and most important task of protecting our homes and children. This meant the council had decided that our only defence was to defeat the enemy, period. Anything else meant the end of Darre. N.K. Jemisin homemenchildren Fortunately, where reason failed, blind panic served well enough. N.K. Jemisin panicblindreason You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I tire of your whining. N.K. Jemisin whiningtiredone
