Bonus Round 4: Quotes

[referees]

A shipping olympics favorite, this round uses quotes of all sorts to fuel your creative endeavors.


This round is CLOSED as of 7PM on July 21 EDT. Late fills may be posted, but they will not receive points.

RULES

• Submit prompts by commenting to this post with a quote attributed to a specific person or character, along with any ship/ot3/etc. from one of our nominated fandoms.
  • Example: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - M. Gandhi
  • The quote can come from anywhere. Famous people, poetry, songs, books, movies, your neighbor, etc.
  • Your prompt MUST include some kind of relationship. (This is not the sports anime gen olympics.) Platonic relationships are indicated by an "&" between the names (e.g., Makoto & Rin). Non-platonic relationships use "/" (e.g., Makoto/Rin). Please don't say "Any pairing," either!
• Fill prompts by replying to the prompt with your quote-inspired fanwork.
• Remember to follow the general bonus round rules, outlined here.

FORMAT

Bonus round shenanigans all happen in the comments below. Brand-new works only, please.

Required Work Minimums:

• 400 words (prose)
• 400px by 400px (art)
• 14 lines (poetry)

There is no max work cap.

Format your comment in one of the following ways:

If PROMPTING:	If FILLING:	If FILLING as a TEAM GRANDSTAND participant:
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to, including Grandstand or Sports Teams Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Place the prompt's relationship in the first bolded line of the comment. Including the canon isn't required, but it's nice. Below that, place applicable major content tags (when applicable; otherwise write "no tags" or "none") Visual example	FILL: TEAM [YOUR SHIP], [RATING] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Replace RATING with the rating of your fill (G - E) Place applicable major content tags and word count before your fill (when applicable) NSFW FILLS: Please cross-link these fills and use clear tags in your comment. Written/text fills should be hosted at AO3 ONLY as a new, unchaptered work. Art/visual fills can be hosted anywhere. You may include a small safe-for-work preview of the fill in your comment. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" alt="DESCRIPTION OF YOUR IMAGE"/> Visual example	FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, [RATING] Replace RATING with the rating of your fill, G - E, as explained in the rules Place applicable major content tags and word count before the fill, where applicable NSFW FILLS: Please cross-link these fills and use clear tags in your comment. Written/text fills should be hosted at AO3 ONLY as a new, unchaptered work. Art/visual fills can be hosted anywhere. You may include a small safe-for-work preview of your work in your comment. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example

Posts not using this format will be understood to be unofficial discussion posts, regardless of what they contain. They, like all comments in this community, are subject to the code of conduct.

SCORING

These numbers apply to your team as a whole, not each individual teammate. Make as many prompts/fills as you want!

For prompts: 5 points each (maximum of 50 prompt points per team per round)

For fills:

First 3 fills by any member of your team: 20 points each
Fills 4-10: 10 points each
Fills 11-20: 5 points each
Fills 21+: 2 points each

All scored content must be created new for this round.

Etc.

If you're hunting through the prompts looking for what to fill, a good trick is to view top-level comments only.

Have a question? Check The FAQ first. If you still need help, feel free to contact the mods. Happy fanworking!

Comments

Prompt: Team Grandstand

[factorielle]

Kominato Haruichi/Maezono Kenta, daiya no ace
tags: internalized homophobia

"This is wrong
And when you open up that door and you're not ashamed about it anymore
There's a calm after the storm
So don't be afraid about it anymore
And it's ok to keep your head held high
And it's ok to doubt yourself sometimes
And it's ok to fall in love with someone unexpected"

-- Matt Fishel - Testament

Re: Prompt: Team Grandstand

[clefairy]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa a aa aaaa

i love this..........

Prompt: Team Tennis no Ouji-sama

[caeslin]

Onoda Sakamichi/Makishima Yuusuke or Onoda Sakamichi/Manami Sangaku or Onoda Sakamichi/Midousuji Akira, Yowamushi Pedal

no tags

"You can't express your true feelings over e-mail!"

-- Himeno Kotori, Koi no Hime Hime Pettanko

PROMPT: Team Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

[underscored]

Ayase Eli/Kousaka Honoka OR Kira Tsubasa/Kousaka Honoka, Love Live!!
petplay

FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G

[kiyala]

consensual psychological experimentation
word count: 552

"The most important part of an experiment is that the participant needs to give informed consent," Eli says, and she's smiling in the warm way that she does, that always makes Honoka want to make her proud. "So we'll go over the basics again, and you can ask me questions if you're not sure about anything, okay?"

"Okay," Honoka nods.

"I'm going to use this clicker here," Eli explains, holding it up for Honoka to see, and then clicking it once. "We're going to see if I can manage to shape your behaviour into something specific. It's just going to follow the basic rules of operant conditioning. Do you remember what that is?"

Eli explained it to her when she first had the idea; Honoka remembers learning about positive reinforcement and the way it can encourage certain behaviour. She nods eagerly, curious to see if it's going to work.

"If you want to stop at any time," Eli reminds her, "you just have to say so, and we'll call the whole thing off. As interesting as this is going to be for both of us, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Of course," Honoka replies, and Eli smiles warmly.

Pressing the clicker, Eli leans forward and kisses Honoka.

She does it all throughout the day, catching Honoka in breaks. Honoka finds herself smiling whenever she hears the clicker, because it's always followed by a quick kiss, or Eli's hands stroking through her hair, or murmured praise be fore she's on her way again.

Before she even realises it, hearing the click itself makes her happy. It makes her even happier than it's always followed by a quick kiss or, if there are other people around, a fond smile that makes Honoka feel warm inside.

"Honoka," Umi says, as they change into their practice clothes after class. "We should do our homework after we finish practice, so we have time tomorrow morning for practice before class."

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Honoka replies, and hears a click.

"Excuse me," Eli murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to Honoka's cheek before moving on.

Umi, who has politely averted her eyes, smiles a little, and continues changing. "Come on, Honoka."

She doesn't realise what's going on for another few weeks. She's been trying to figure out what Eli has been using the clicker to encourage, but it's not until her teacher points out that she's been handing her homework in on time for the past two weeks that it all falls into place.

"Are you using your clicker," Honoka asks Eli, "to make me do my homework?"

"I'm encouraging you to do it," Eli corrects gently. "And rewarding you for it. I can't actually make you do anything, with this."

"Still," Honoka says. "You could have taught me to do any kind of behaviour in the world, and you picked getting me to do my homework. Umi-chan helped you, didn't she?"

Eli smiles. "She worries about you. I was trying to think of what I could do to help when I had the idea. I hope you're not upset—"

"It's pretty great," Honoka replies. "Sensei hasn't yelled at me for two whole weeks. You're the best, you know that?"

Chuckling softly, Eli pulls Honoka into a kiss. "You're pretty amazing too, you know."

Prompt: Team Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

[doxian]

Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru (HQ!!) or Toudou Jinpachi/Makishima Yuusuke (ywpd)

nsfw, watersports

A: how are watersports a kink ive been hear about it recently and its so confusing?? how is something as oddly specific as watersports a kink are you attracted to jet skis? water skiing??? DOING IT on a boat? am i missing something

A: why is this getting notes im worried what did i stumble upon

B: it’s piss buddy

A: my god

- this Tumblr post

Fill: Team Azumane Asahi/Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, M

[putsch]

sexual mentions, WATER SPORTS TALK LMFAO
word count: 605


There's an art to listening to Toudou, one that Makishima's learned on the steepest curve with no help from the other Hakone teammates who simply bolt as soon as they see Toudou latching onto Makishima so they can be free of all his chatter themselves. The trick isn't to listen to every single word (you just can't, there's no way), but to listen to the most important ones, to figure out where his mouth is going before he gets there so you can anticipate how much brain power to use when he speaks. After so many phone calls and lectures after races, Makishima can get away with doing even less - he knows some of Toudou's usual rants like the back of his hand, nodding appropriately and saying the things Toudou needs to hear.

So he is understandably thrown for a loop when Toudou goes out of his usual vocabulary of food and biking and homework and cute animal videos to discuss weird shit on the Internet. He hadn't realized that somehow between being told what food to eat for dinner and discussing the newest bikes in the European races, that Toudou had gotten so comfortable with Makishima to talk about these kinds of things.

"Maki-chan!!" He begins with the inflection that makes Makishima listen, because this is going to be on the test, "You're into that weird gravure stuff right??"

Makishima flinches, and is so glad they're over the phone. "It's not weird, but yeah."

"Okay I knew I remembered you saying something about that! Anyway, I was looking around online at slang phrases and stuff, cause you know, I want to be in with my fans! I'll never keep them if I'm out of the loop! I have to stay on the cutting edge for my fans Maki-chan! So one of the ones I found sounded so strange, I thought you might know about it."

"Uh, maybe."

"Yeah, you might not-- not because I don't think you're smart Maki-chan! You totally are to be my rival!! But it did seem sorta niche, you know?"

"Mm."

"And I want to be totally clear about it before it talk about it to my fans, or, uh." He clears his throat, and Makishima snaps right back to listening instead of zoning out.

"So tell me, Maki-chan, what's watersports?"

Makishima has never wanted to fall into the void and never be seen again more in his life than he does in this moment.

"It can't mean like sailing or surfing, they'd just say that, and it never seems to be in the context of that kind of--"

Makishima hangs up.

"No." He stands up at his desk, pushing his chair up and turning around from his desk, heading out the bedroom door. "No, no no no."

He doesn't even make it two steps before the phone starts ringing again.

"No."




"I can't believe Maki-chan won't call me back!!!! He's being so dramatic, I don't understaaaaand."

"What did you ask him about?" Shinkai asks, chewing his powerbar as usual.

"I just wanted to know about water sports." Toudou says, and quickly furrows his brow when he sees Shinkai's eyes go wide. "See! You're being weird too! What the heck is it, I just wanted to see learn some new stuff to do with Maki-chan and this is the response I get!"

"Isn't it piss?"

Toudou freezes, looking back at Manami, who showed up out of seemingly no where.

"Excuse me."

"He's right." Shinkai says in the smallest, most pained voice he's ever heard.

Toudou stares down at his phone in abject horror.

"Oh my god."

Prompt: Team Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

[doxian]

Ennoshita Chikara/Nishinoya Yuu/Tanaka Ryuunosuke (or Ennoshita with either of the other two) (HQ!!)

nsfw

"always practice safe sex!! until you have mastered it. then you are permitted to practice Danger Sex"

- this Tumblr post

Fill: Team Azumane Asahi/Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, M

[putsch]

implied sexual situations, sex shops, mentions of sexy toys
word count: 409



"No"

"Come onnnn babe!" Ryuu whines, putting on his best puppy-dog eyes, Yuu beside him doing the same.

"Absolutely not." Ennoshita says, firmer this time, trying to look anywhere but the gaudy sex shop in front of him with it's even gaudier displays of lingerie and bondage gear. He should've known better than to let his boyfriends drag him anywhere with the weak excuse of It's a surprise, just trust us, you'll love it!, but they were so adamant about it and it's really, really difficult to deny both of them anything when they get like that.

"What, you think you're gonna look less weird just standing outside here by yourself while me 'nd Ryuu go in?" Yuu asks, and Ennoshita flinches because once again Yuu is dead on about his assessment of the situation.

"Why are we even here?" He asks instead, hoping that the reason is a good one so he stops feeling so damn awkward.

"Welllll," Ryuu starts, putting his arm around Ennoshita's shoulders, "It's our anniversary, and I know we started kind of rocky in bed with the three of us, you know, like the hotel---"

"Get on with it." Ennoshita hisses, refusing to even hear about The Great Hotel Incident of 2015 ever again in any lifetime. Ryuu jumps, clearing his throat, looking away.

"Well anyway! We've gotten really good at this, you know, the three of us! So we were thinking, we could, you know..."

"We wanna try something spicy!" Yuu pipes in, "And of course, we want you to like it, so we want you to be here with us when we pick somethin' out!" Both of them grin, and Ennoshita can feel himself crumbling. "There's no point if we don't all agree, right?"

Goddammit. "Why can't we like, do this online, you know, like normal people."

"Pssh, this is way more fun!"

"Yeah, plus I bet if anything we can at least get some funky condoms!"

"Oooo, good one Yuu, I bet they got flavored lube too!"

"Oh my god you two." Ennoshita rubs his temples, and hates how his heart skips a beat from the hopeful smiles Ryuu and Yuu give him. "Alright. Let's do this, but no promises on buying anything."

"Yessss!" They both shout and plant smooches on each of his cheeks. "Time to gear up for Sexy Times with Ryuu Yuu and Chika-boom!"

"...Never mind. I want a divorce."



please rename all ennotananoya tags to "ryuu yuu chikaboom" circa immediately, all credit to me

PROMPT: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA

[krankran]

Asahi Azumane/(&)Sugawara Koushi/(&)Sawamura Daichi Haikyuu!!
possible bullying?

"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on."
The Truth- Terry Pratchet

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

kuroko tetsuya/ogiwara shigehiro (kuroko no basuke), akashi seijurou/ogiwara shigehiro (kuroko no basuke), or oikawa tooru/kageyama tobio (haikyuu!!)
NO TAGS. i prompted this last year. but i love this prompt. so.

"I have scars on my hands from touching certain people." — j.d. salinger, the catcher in the rye

FILL: Team Tennis no Ouji-sama, G

[karahashi]

no tags

okay but i also love this prompt and these ships thank you??? i hope this gets filled a thousand times with better formatting and everything

Line Count: 78
Word Count: 483


-



(i)
every so often, tetsuya looks down at his phone and sees

    [hi]

stamped out in a font that fails to capture the sky
behind a smile; the warmth
in shigehiro's eyes. his phone beeps again
and again (but never enough) --

[practice was fun today]
    a picture of a boy, sweating, spinning the ball
    on his fingertip like the world,
    like tetsuya's heart tilting
    over and around at the sight of it,
    held up by a couple of kilobytes speeding across the cables.

[dinner now]
    a close-up of a hand, shaking,
    a pair of chopsticks hovering near the camera lens,
    and a smile behind it,
    unforgettable,
    tetsuya thinks.
    he knows.

[how was your day?]

each word is a reminder of what he has missed
each text a reminder of what he is lucky enough
to still have.


(ii)
there are creases in shigehiro's palms --
deep cracks from the rough skin of the ball,
the skin flaking off dry as it leaves his hands.
and all too often he looks at the court
wondering where
are you now: playing basketball
              on a court somewhere else in Japan
              with the teammates you have chosen yourself
          and are you having fun?

games leave him shaky these days,
muscles burning from old injuries that never healed,
and every time his shoes thump against the ground
he wonders why
    am i here at all? does my presence make a difference
    here, now, and in the future
    how will i look back on this moment?

there are still times when he falls
looking at the scoreboard and seeing nothing
but an endless row of 111-11 emblazoned in his mind.
when he picks up his phone, he calls
kuroko
and he remembers what was missing that match,
when every eye was cold as ice and he was frozen
at the very last.

he would have stayed there forever,
a stiff statue on the verge of tipping over
about to break.
but he thinks: kuroko wasn't there
that day.

this makes the difference.


(iii)

mochida tells him
  your friend came to see you.
kuroko? asks shigehiro, though the question mark is
  superfluous. he doesn't need an answer
though he gets one anyway, in the rumours that spread over the networks
faster than a phone call. they say there's someone strange at seirin
and shigehiro knows --
seirin, and kuroko, and what this all means.
what they don't tell him is the black band still fastened
  to kuroko's wrist,
the scars it hides
in memory and in plain sight
(to shigehiro, at least).

he thinks, i hope it's kept you warm.
he thinks, i want to play again.


(iv)

so he does.

it hurts, and it never stops hurting
but it's the good kind of pain,
the sort that heals over after.
it makes him think:

i'm glad i did.

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

akashi seijurou/mayuzumi chihiro, kuroko no basuke
NO TAGS. last year but i still wanna see it filled

“Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.” — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

akashi seijurou /& ogiwara shigehiro (kuroko no basuke) or tsukasa eishi/yukihira souma (shokugeki no soma)
no tags

"A man can be destroyed but not defeated." — Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

aldini takumi/yukihira souma, shokugeki no soma
no tags

"I do not stick to rules when cooking. I rely on my imagination." — Akshay Kumar

Re: PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[flippinflakes]

you always make the best soutaku prompts srslyyyyy

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

tadoroko megumi &/ yukihira souma or yukihira souma & shinomiya kojirou, shokugeki no soma
no tags

"Cooking is in an honest profession where you cannot hide and let others do the work for you. You have to show up, work hard and prove you can do it faster and better. And find a mentor who will recognize your talent and push you in the right direction." — Marcus Samuelsson

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

manami sangaku & toudou jinpachi, yowamushi pedal
no tags

Re: PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[yusukesjeans]

I'm so glad somebody brought wolfpupy

Prompt: Team Grandstand

[babster]

Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Haikyuu
no tags

"I knew you then, I know you now, I shall know you again when you come home.
-Rachel Hartman, Shadow Scale

Re: Prompt: Team Grandstand

[knights_watch]

i made a small, broken noise as i saved this

Prompt: Team Grandstand

[babster]

Mihashi Ren &/ Abe Takaya Oofuri
no tags

"I'm still not quite used to it, having someone touch you because they want to touch you.
Hannah Johnson, Know Not Why

Re: Prompt: Team Grandstand

[horchata]

Oh.

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

kuroko tetsuya & generation of miracles, kuroko no basuke
no tags

I can feel the shifting in my bones
Enclosed are the senses so unknown
I've been changing, falling, fading
There's demons at the door patiently waiting

— pvris, "demon limbs"

Prompt: Team Grandstand

[babster]

Natsuo Ishido/Mawatari Yuzuko (or /Sawamura Sanae or /Ringi Cordeiro), Teppu
no tags

"Hey, here's a thought, when I'm done kicking your face in/You and me, grab a bite, and some flirty conversation"
Kirby Krackle, Then Again Maybe Not

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

kageyama tobio/oikawa tooru, haikyuu!!
no tags

I'm skin and bone
Just a king and a rusty throne
Oh, the castle's under siege
But the sign outside says, leave me alone.

— Panic at the Disco, "Always"

PROMPT: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru

[kiyala]

Aomine Daiki/Kuroko Tetsuya, Kuroko no Basuke
no tags

your existence is enough
to repaint my world
my swirling jet black darkness
being dyed in dazzling light

— New World Order by SHINGANCRIMSONZ (Show By Rock)

Fill: Team Furuya Satoru/Miyuki Kazuya, G

[lemontongues]

no tags

poem, 18 lines

shadow, he calls himself.
bullshit.
there is no such thing as a shadow
that puts light in your eyes.
no shadow that makes you rise in the morning,
or makes your cheeks sting, burnt,
when you step too close.

shadow, he calls himself,
but i know better than to believe him.
i have bathed in light,
blinded myself with it,
and i have lived so long in darkness
that my eyes watered to see the dawn.

i have known shadows, seen them
under my eyes,
dogging my steps, and
bullshit
to call him anything but the sun

this is my first time writing poetry in a really really long time, i hope it's okay....!

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

kageyama tobio/oikawa tooru, haikyuu!!
NO TAGS

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall;
I want it all or not at all.

— Claire Wyndham, "Kingdom Fall"

FILL: Team Kuramochi Youichi/Miyuki Kazuya, T

[kitaiichis]

major content tags: none!

rise & fall
28 lines, AO3

i.
in another world the cards fall differently.
in another world there are no cards, no sleight of hand
to trick you away nor ways for try and pretend.
pretend what? that you are
here, or that you are real, or that you are
here and real for me. with me. there is
not a place in the world i wouldn’t know
you. there is not
a place in the world i wouldn’t trade to be
beside you, instead.

ii.
all i have is one or the other, a hand
or a footfall. a place to rest, a heart no
more than my own. i want you
right before me. i’m always
pulling back. and still you stay, falling
behind, reaching too far forward. we know
each other in shadows,
the echo places, not here or there, not
anywhere. the very space unmaking,
forgetting your name, your touch.

iii.
if i can’t leave you then it’s best
to never meet at all. like plays of light,
dreams neither half nor whole. your
eyes, a smile that couldn’t
remember to fade away. between
what burns and stays, the accidents
where hope can’t quite cut it almost
always hurt the most.

PROMPT: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru

[kiyala]

Himuro Tatsuya/Kagami Taiga, Kuroko no Basuke
no tags

Ah... Onto my scar covered heart
Ah... Endless pain rained down incessantly
Ah... My scar covered heart bleeding crimson, wandering...

— Falling Roses by SHINGANCRIMSONZ (Show By Rock)

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

kageyama tobio/oikawa tooru, haikyuu!!
WARNING FOR BLOOD AND POSSIBLE VIOLENCE.

Re: PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[dynamite]

YOU MADE ME SMILE WITH SO MUCH FONDNESS

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

futakuchi kenji/oikawa tooru (haikyuu!!) or aomine daiki/kise ryouta (kuroko no basuke)
WARNING FOR POSSIBLE NSFW.

PROMPT: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru

[kiyala]

Akashi Seijurou/Nijimura Shuuzo, Kuroko no Basuke
no tags

There's no need to wait in bonds
Release your passion
Let's aim for the peak together
Everything is so divine

— Crimson Quartet by SHINGANCRIMSONZ (Show By Rock)

FILL: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI, G

[winterstuck]

no tags

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

kuramochi youichi/miyuki kazuya or narumiya mei/miyuki kazuya, daiya no ace
maybe giant robots or something (listen to the whole song to see what im talking about)

i loved, and i loved, and i lost you.
— fleurie, "hurts like hell"

Re: PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[kazuyas]

xy why do you hurt me like this

PROMPT: TEAM ALDINI TAKUMI/YUKIHIRA SOUMA

[intricacies]

takigawa chris &/ miyuki kazuya (daiya no ace) or matsuoka rin/yamazaki sousuke (free!)
WARNING FOR SPORTS INJURIES MENTION, PROBABLY.

“But there are forces that don't let you turn back and undo things, because to do so would be to deny what is already in motion, to unwrite and erase passages, to shorten the arc of a story you don't own.” — Salvador Plascencia, The People of Paper