Quote Drop #3
Characters vs. Vulnerability
You’ve met Legacy— the match hiding in the shadows, Eltan— the whisper echoing secrets, and Quinten— the spark glowing in the embers of their fallen world. Now meet the full cast of survivors.
Born to be politicians. Trained to be killers. Scarred by their journey.
When it comes to Vulnerability…
Legacy resists it
“My scars are my failures, reminders of the past where I couldn’t save anyone— a forbidden boy, a family, or myself. So now I hide, waiting for Death to claim me. But dying looks different for everyone—sometimes it’s not a sinking knife. Sometimes it’s a pair of devastating green eyes offering you his world and more. The only thing he asks is the one thing I can’t give— vulnerability.”
“Every second of my life has been a lesson in avoiding vulnerability, pain, or emotion. These are all weaknesses according to society. But he wants to see them. He wants to be a part of my vulnerability.”
Quinten embraces it
“At the end of the day, I ask myself ‘Was it worth it? Was it worth the blood, the pain, and now the nightmares that follow. It never was. Not until they offered me freedom. Freedom for a life. One last kill. But then I met her and all I had to offer was a bloodied crown that she would never take. So instead, I gave her my life. Because I realized that it would be worthless without her.”
“I told you darling, every touch from you is worth it. Even if you leave me bleeding out”
Eltan craves it
“I paint a smile on my face as easily as I paint a sunset on my canvas. My friends are filled with pain, they don’t need to see mine. All the while I slowly break, helping them shoulder what they can’t— even as their secrets eat me alive. All I want is love. All I need is an escape. And I think I’ve found both in him.”
“If you trust no one, then you’re alone in the world. If you’re alone in the world, nothing is worth living for”
Avery heals it
“I hate the scars my sister bears. Some of them were from me, and I hate myself for that. For what our Father made us do. So I make solemn vows that no one will ever hurt her again. Protecting her is my life… until I find someone as broken as me, yet with a smile that hides the pain. Someone who helps me heal. Someone else worth defending. But I can’t protect her and my sister.”
“I love you Ace (his nickname for his sister Legacy)”
Darrack fights it
“The system is broken. The scales are rigged. So I tip them in other’s favor. I help the hopeless escape to new lives, risking my own in the process. But I do it because I believe there are good people out there. I need to believe that they’re just hiding. That they can be healed. Because otherwise, I’m fighting for nothing.”
“The Code only divides people instead of uniting them, and if that’s the case, that’s not a Code I want to live by”
💭Your Thoughts
Vulnerability is something my characters inevitably face. Who handles it best?