I Cannot Help That Readers Will Always Insist On Adventures, And Though You Can Have Grief Without Adventures,

I cannot help that readers will always insist on adventures, and though you can have grief without adventures, you cannot have adventures without grief.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente (via the-poetic-mathematician)

English loves to stay out all night dancing with other languages, all decked out in sparkling prepositions and irregular verbs. It is unruly and will not obey—just when you think you have it in hand, it lets down its hair along with a hundred nonsensical exceptions.

Catherynne M. Valente, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland (via circumnavigating-fairyland)

“There are a number of recommended methods of dealing with ghosts—salt and iron, harmonic resonance, some people swear by exorcism, and not just the priests—but that’s the first time I’ve seen anyone try a left hook.”

KJ Charles - The Magpie Lord (via platypusreads)

I have been seeing lots of Vorkosigan references on my dash and it has made me curious about the series but this ^  This is what has moved it from “Oh I should probably add that to my reading list’ to ‘Yes, I need to add this to my reading list’.  No sure when I will get to it since I just started the 10 book Whyborne and Griffin series and I have a backlog of Seanan McGuire books to catch up on but I definitely need to read this.

I’m halfway into the first Miles Vorkosigan book, and so far it’s basically been “How to DM Around a Diplomancer: Space Opera Edition.”

Miles: “I tell the mercenaries I’m a mercenary commander and I bought up all their contracts from their captain, so they’re part of my company now.” DM: “Roll for Bluff. :)” Miles, who has a higher Bluff bonus than most gods: “34.” DM: “They want to know when copies of the regulation handbook will be distributed and what the health insurance plan is like. (: (: (:” Miles, sweating: “UUUUUUHHH”

Trying to loosen up…

‘There are important rules in Fairyland. I am afraid that if you trample upon the rules, I cannot help you. You may be ticketed or executed, depending on the mood of the Marquess.’ 'Is she very terrible?’ The Green Wind frowned into his brambly beard. 'All little girls are terrible,’ he admitted finally, 'but the Marquess, at least, has a very fine hat.’

Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making (via porchwood)