Could You Repeat That? CLVIII

The Vegetarian, Han Kang
She didn't look at Yeong-hye as she stood beside her. Instead, she looked down at the bright early-winter sunlight as it splintered over the larches, which had not yet shed all their leaves.

Magic for Nothing, Seanan McGuire
Maybe I was being paranoid, but the nice thing about paranoia is the way it can keep you alive.

Version Control, Dexter Palmer
She left the loops of R and B behind her, the calling card of an intruder, do not think about the music, do not think about the noises coming from the bedroom, you still have a few seconds of ignorance remaining to you, treasure each and every one.

Citizen, Claudia Rankine
He said, I don't know what the water wanted. It wanted to show you no one would come.

Bitch Planet: Extraordinary Machine (Volume 1), Kelly Sue Deconnick
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I ain't broke.
...And you bastards ain't never gonna break me.

Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
Jo had worked hard so that his children wouldn't have to inherit his fear, but now he wished they had just the tiniest morsel of it.

Ms. Marvel: Civil War II (Volume 6), G Willow Wilson
But the future keeps undoing itself, even with me standing right there, ready to fix things. It just keeps unraveling.

Green Arrow: The Death & Life of Oliver Queen (Volume 1), Benjamin Percy
OLIVER: Why are you doing this?! My father loved you. Doesn't that mean anything?
SHADO: Love only brings disgrace!
OLIVER: Lady, you write the WORST greeting cards!

Invincible Iron Man: Reboot (Volume 1), Brian Michael Bendis
TONY: Did you know I have a bad reputation with the ladies?
FRIDAY: Only based on your life choices.
TONY: (Why didn't I create an A.I. that will lie to me?)

Borderline, Mishell Baker
Memory is a sketch artist, not a camera. People add and subtract whatever detail they need to. They say they forgive you, but they don't.

Sweet Lamb of Heaven, Lydia Millet
This is what we do for the people we're close to, all in the name of comforting. We ease the path for them to excuse their own failings.
We let them off the hook and call it love.

This Census-Taker, China Mieville
Thinking my own past self is mostly a mystery story.

My Name is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
I loved him; he was gentle.
He told me to be ruthless.

The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle
Nobility didn't pay well enough to make Tommy want the job.