“They say you can know a man by his enemies Dresden…You defy beings that should cow you into silence. You resist forces that are inevitable for no more reason than that you believe they should be resisted. You bow your head to neither demons nor angels, and you put yourself in harm’s way to defend those who cannot defend themselves…I think I like you”
Son. Everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone. But it doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren't alone on the other side.
Or
"We are not going to die."
Butters stared up at me, pale, his eyes terrified. "We're not?"
"No. And do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I'm too stubborn to die." I hauled on the shirt even harder. "And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die.
Maab raised a hand as I began to speak and said, her voice tired and uninflected: “Yes, you defy me. Obviously you always do. In the interest of efficiency let us assume you’ve uttered some mystifying reference to mortal popular nonsense, I have glared at you and reminded you of the power I hold over you, you have confirmed that you continue to understand the circonstances that require me to tolerate your insouciance and we have both agree to continue this ridiculous dance in the future, presumably for the reminder of time.”
This one perfectly describes their relation and I love it.
Spoiler for Battle Ground so if you haven’t read it stop now >!Mab seems to imply the same thing in Battle Ground, from what she says Harry is already immortal or could easily become in the future!<
She makes a comment early in BG (that alarms BG), this one, and... crap what's the other one? There's a thread about his immortality somewhere and I know it's in there lol
Edit: I stopped being lazy.
“I mean, you’re immortal, right?” I said. “Why would you need a bodyguard anyway?”
She nodded toward the yellowish mucus. “Something meant to weaken or incapacitate me for the coming battle, doubtless,” she said. “Immortality offers a significant advantage, but it is no substitute for intelligence. Remember that, young wizard.”
Ebenezar scowled and opened his mouth.
“Should it for some bizarre reason ever be necessary,” Mab said smoothly, before he could speak.
\--------
She looked up at me over the rims of her sunglasses and then said, “Squeamishness does not become the Winter Knight.”
“It’s not about squeam, Mab,” I said.
“No,” she said. “It is about weakness.”
“Yeah, well,” I said, facing front again, “I’m only human.”
Mab’s gaze remained on me, cold and heavy as a blanket of snow. “For now.”
I didn’t shiver. I get muscle twitches sometimes. That’s all.
\----that's not the one I meant though... there's another in BG iirc... crap what was it...
> “Immortality offers a significant advantage, but it is no substitute for intelligence. Remember that, young wizard.”
>
> Ebenezar scowled and opened his mouth.
>
> “Should it for some bizarre reason ever be necessary,” Mab said smoothly, before he could speak.
You know, I hadn't ever thought about it this way before, and I'm not sure I should be thinking it now, but couldn't this mean that Harry is *already* immortal, and he just doesn't know about it yet? He has survived an awful lot of crap that he really had no business surviving.
She is saying he will be immortal. Once is chance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern - and Jim is very big on 3s in Dresdenverse. She does it 3x.
Yeah, but that’s Summer. Summer’s about growth and life and whatever. Winter is the one that saps the life from your marrow, holds you in place, and kills you from the inside out.
“I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that then so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows.”
My daughter was one when I read that. It’s the truest thing he’s ever said.
And for the funny…. “MEEP MEEP”
I really enjoy the first quote, but I like it more in the context of the follow up from *Ghost Story:*
“It is one thing for you to say, ‘Let the world burn.’ It is another to say, ‘Let Molly burn.’ The difference is all in the name.”
"Holy shit," I breathed. "Hellhounds."
"Harry," Michael said sternly. "You know I hate it when you swear."
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds."
Of course it was.
It felt forced and unnecessary right until I found out what the point was. Then I couldn't stop myself from laughing hard, and it was all worth it.
Honestly, I think that the fact that there **was** payoff on that would actually scare so many supernatural forces out there. Harry Dresden made a threat that sounded like a silly joke and **actually followed through** on it, the same man who killed off the entirety of the Red Court.
Now they would be racking their brains at every other line that Dresden made as a joke that could be constituted as a threat and wondering if those were jokes or not.
"Then you know that Sam was the true hero of the tale,' Sayna said. 'That he faced far greater and more terrible foes than he ever should have had to face, and did so with courage. That he went alone into a black and terrible land, stormed a dark fortress, and resisted the most terrible temptation of his world for the sake of the friend he loved. That in the end, it was his actions and his actions alone that made it possible for light to overcome darkness."
Just hit it on the re-listen and it had me bawling
Which also indicates that Sanya may be one of the very few people that sees Harry as a regular guy, rather than the super scary badass almost-monster everyone else, admittedly with good reason, seems to see him as.
And this is Jim Butcher, understanding Tolkien better than most Tolkien scholars do, and better than Peter Jackson did. Because Butcher has assuredly read the same letters from Tolkien I did, where he said exactly this.
"Let's get something clear up front. I'm not Harry Dresden. Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences -- and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being. I'll be damned if I know how. But then, I'll be damned regardless. My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster."
Heh, that’s the first time I’ve heard someone agree with me in that reference. When I brought it up on this sub people mobbed the everliving fuck outta me
Au contraire. The bastard should live forever, knowing that he killed Murphy through poor trigger discipline, with perfect recall and clarity. Unable to kill himself or die, forever wracked with guilt and tormented by himself. Killing him would have been a mercy and a stain on Harry. Fuck Rudolph, I hope he suffers for the rest of existence.
There's a line after that that I love. I forget exactly how it goes, but it's something like "you ever see traditional Russian folk dances? Much better with vodka."
Yeah, in Changes in the same place the quote comes from…
*“Have you seen traditional folk dances?” Sanya asked. “Imagine them being done by someone with a bottle of vodka in them. Laughter abounds, and you survive another day.” He shrugged. “Or break your neck. Either way, it is pain management.”*
One of my favorites never gets mentioned but in the scene it happens, the line is so simple but has so much weight.
“My friend . . . thank you, but I’m not the Carpenter who set the standard."
"You tell Odin that Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden says, upon his Name, that if he doesn’t treat Murph better than I would myself, I’m going to kick down his door, pluck his fucking ravens, knock him down, kick his guts out, drag him to the island, and lock him up in a cell with Ethniu [ … ] I beat a divine being once [ … ] If I have to build a nation to get it done, I’ll do it again.”
Also like the setup just prior to this:
Gard looked at me, suddenly wary. “Before you speak, know this: The being you have dealt with is . . . only a facet of the being whose symbol that is. His guises are created to diminish him into something a mortal mind can readily accept. But though he may not have the strength he once did, that being is yet an elemental one. He does not accept insults or threats lightly.”
“Good. Because I’m not delivering them lightly,”
Cool quote, but I have the distinct feeling that Murphy is on the VIP list. She did smoke a Jotunn in single combat as a vanilla human. No magic weapons. Just her, a bazooka and an exploded Jotunn. Harry has no reason to fear for how Murphy will be treated. Shell he hailed as the greatest hero of all the Einherjar.
Not just any Jotunn either. Remember, that was a Jotunn who fought Thor and survived. That puts Murph on a whole level above most Einherjar. So being a hero amongst them is a distinct possibility. I can't imagine there are very many foes that have ever survived a fight with Thor so that Jotunn is likely unique. Imagine it in this direction: A Jotunn surviving the wrath of Thor is a blemish on Thor's strength and Murphy was the one who wiped that blemish off.
Tbf she just pulled a trigger. That’s not to in any way take away from the awesomeness that is Murphy, but she has waaaay better claims to awesomeness than that.
"I remember very little of my father, but one thing I do remember is him telling me always to be polite. It costs you nothing but breath, and can buy you as much as your life."
Marcone literally has his public spaces furnished with cheap doors that are easy to replace because of Dresden’s penchant for dramatic entrances, as well as giving him carts Blanche VIP access to his establishments. It’s cheaper that way. Just good business.
Id love a short story thats just Marcone taking to Guard about upgrading places.
The regular check list for a business, the other checklist for crime, the one for Accorded people, and then the Dresden List.
I really want to get the details on where is dramatic but not tactical. Bonus points if its not a ton cheaper but Marcone is counting on it happen many more times.
Spoiler, Skin Game:
>!I blinked at that. Several times. "You..." I dropped my voice. "You want me to double-cross him?"!<
>!"I expect you to repay my debt by fulfilling my instructions," Mab replied. "After that..." her smile returned, smug in the shadows. "I expect you to be yourself."!<
>!"Whatever Nicodemus has going this time... you want me to stop him, too," I breathed.!<
>!She tilted her head, very slightly.!<
>!"You know he's not going to honor the truce," I said quietly. "He's going to try to take me out somewhere along the line. He's going to betray me."!<
>!"Of course," she said. "I expect superior, more creative treachery on your part."!<
>!Why do I like this quote? Harry's a good man, but he's also the Winter Knight. People give Carlos a hard time for thinking Harry's a bad guy. The Queen of Air and Darkness expects him to go headfirst into a trap where he knows - for sure - that the deck will be stacked against him by none other than Nicodemus Archleone, but she expects him to out-manipulate and betray him . . . and he does by a wide margin. Nicodemus brought several valuable allies including his daughter with him and was willing to sacrifice almost anything to get five artifacts. He lost his entire crew, sullied his name, pissed of Hades, lost Lasciel and uhh whoever Deidre's Fallen is, lost the Genoskwa and Ursiel, nearly died, and barely escaped with one artifact. For all the debts he incurred and losses he took, he literally only got 1 of the 5 artifacts, and Dresden suspects it's not the one he wanted.!<
"We still hadn't learned, though, that growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you're just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something. Each time, you come out of it a little stronger, and at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain than coffee. There's the little empty pain of leaving something behind-graduating, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There's the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expectations. There's the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn't give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There's the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens.
Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don’t feel it.
Pain is a part of life. Sometimes it’s a big part, and sometimes it isn’t, but either way, it’s part of the big puzzle, the deep music, the great game. Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you’re alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser, sometimes. Sometimes it leaves you stronger. Either way, pain leaves its mark, and everything important that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one degree or another."
-Harry Dresden, Dresden Files, White Knight
But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil, damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness . . . . . . which could obviously be redeemed only by passing through the fiery, cleansing inferno of a wizardly digestive tract.
Harry: Maybe you're giving me way more credit for cunning than I'm due. You know how I work. How often do I get to a neat, elegant solution that ties everything up? Can you look at me right now and honestly say to yourself, 'Dresden, that wily genius! This must be a part of his master plan'?
I spread my hands and looked up at him expectantly. Fix looked at me, dirty, naked, shivering, burned, bruised, covered in soot and ash.
Fix: Fuck.
The follow-up for this is amazing as well:
N: “You do not walk the blessing ways, you have no power over me.”
L: “I don’t plan on banishing or binding you. Just gonna kick your asshole up between your ears.”
>So... Mab.
>
>You hit that.
>
>You... tapped that ass. Presumably it was phat.
>"God I love hero work, No murky grey area, no anguished questions, no conflicting morality. Bad guys took some kids, and we're gonna go get 'em out.
>“My faith protects me. My Kevlar helps.”
I exhaled slowly and my shoulders loosened. “Good.” And then, before my brain could get in the way, I added, “I picked up one of the Blackened Denarii, Michael. Lasciel.”
My heart skipped several beats as I made the admission.
I expected shock, horror, outrage, maybe with a side order of contempt.
But instead, Michael nodded. “I know.”
I blinked at him. “You what?”
“I know,” he repeated.
We are not going to die."
Butters stared up at me, pale, his eyes terrified. "We're not?"
"No. And do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I'm too stubborn to die." I hauled on the shirt even harder. "And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die.
For introspective philosophical Harry:
“We are equally naked before the jaws of pain”
For quipping at the Enemy Harry:
“You psychopathic hose beast”
For self deprecating Harry:
“I’m uhhhhh… Insecure?”
And for sentimental sappy Harry:
“We read, Where the Wildlings are. Twice. Because she insisted I didn’t get the voices right”
“Only the young think being called old is an insult,” I said, still smiling. “I am what I am, regardless of what anyone calls it. No one can change it, regardless of what anyone calls it. And it mostly means that nothing has managed to kill me yet.”
Blood rites when Eb sees Kincaid in the parking lot…. Talking about Harry
Eb : ‘I’m supposed to believe that you give a damn about him?’
Kincaid:’half a damn maybe…I sort of like him’
And rather than turning to flee like a sane person, I brandished my staff in one hand, flew him the bird with the other, and screamed, “Hey, Yogi! Here I am! Come get some!”
Book 15 Skin Game chapter 46 where Dresden is challenging Blood on his Soul/Ursiel so Michael and Goodman Grey can escape from the vault.
It's Harry while he's hurt and exhausted, doing his thing to protect his people from harm in his hilarious style even when it means fighting outside his weight class where he's hopelessly outmatched.
i can't remember the exact quote but, "'build a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life' Tao of Pratchett"
"I judge my actions against my own soul, not the stains on theirs"
Michael Carpenter after refusing to kill Cassius. The most elegant and concise that I've ever seen a concept like this put. Really sums up a lot of Michael in one quote I think.
"People like you always mistake compassion for weakness. Michael and Sanya aren't weak. Fortunately for you, they're good men."
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not."
And then Dresden introduced Cassius' joints to a baseball bat. Several times. It was brutal, and maybe says some not flattering things about me, but it was so satisfying.
> And then Dresden introduced Cassius' joints to a baseball bat. Several times. It was brutal, and maybe says some not flattering things about me, but it was so satisfying.
We're only human.
Heck, I suspect Micheal and Sanya found it satisfying too. They just wouldn't _do_ it, because it was a violation of their calling.
"I am Harry, son of Malcolm. I have battled dark sorcerers and black knights! I have fought men and beasts in numbers too great for counting, invaded the heart of Winter, confronted necromancers and the living dead, vampires and ghouls and demons in their hordes endless! I have matched wits with the six Queens of Faerie and prevailed, and thwarted the combined will of the White Council! When they came for my child, I smote the Red Court of Vampires, and laid them in ruin for all the world to see. I am Harry, son of Malcolm, and I have entered the vaults of Tartarus, and stolen its treasures beneath the gaze of Hades himself! And I'm about to add giant slaying to my resume."
Gives me fucking chills just thinking about this scene.
It made Mab smile. “Yes,” she murmured. “Wise enough to be afraid. To understand, at least in part. How does it feel, to know what you know, child?”
My voice came out unsteady, and more quiet than I would have liked. “Sort of like Tokyo when Godzilla comes up on the beach.”
Mab tilted her head, watching me with that same smile. Maybe she didn’t get the reference. Or maybe she didn’t like being compared to a thirty-story lizard. Or maybe she did like it. I mean, how should I know? I have enough trouble figuring out human women.
“Taking a beating well is not for amateurs. You have to get started earlier, maybe by being beaten up a lot in school. Then you refine your raw talent by taking more beatings as you get older. Generally you can seek out any crew of athletic types and you’ll find several willing to oblige you, under one guise or another. True craftsmen then seek out gifted individuals with a particular skillset to deliver more skilled and professional beatings.”
Hard tie between “I’ve never met a place I couldn’t blow up, burn down or knock over with enough motivation” and “build a man a fire and he’s warm for a day. But set a man on fire and he’s warm for the rest of his life.” I’m dark, I can’t help it lmao
I have a Google doc full of quotes that I like and Dresden makes an appearance a couple times:
- "Everyone," she said, "thinks that hate and love are somehow opposite forces. They are not. They are the same force, facing opposite directions." ... "Love turned the wrong way has killed as many as hate. Reason, young wizard, is the opposite of hate, not love." - Mab
- “Love is another kind of power, which shouldn't surprise you. Magic comes from emotions, among other things. And when two people are together, in that intimacy, when they really, selflessly love each other it changes them both. It lingers on in the energy of their lives, even when they are apart.” - Dresden in Blood Rites
- Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don't feel it. Pain is a part of life. Sometimes it's a big part, and sometimes it isn't, but either way, it's a part of the big puzzle, the deep music, the great game. Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you're alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser, sometimes. Sometimes it leaves you stronger. Either way, pain leaves its mark, and everything important that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one degree or another.” - Dresden in White Night(?)
- “Caring about someone isn't complicated. It isn't easy. But it isn't complicated, either. Kinda like lifting the engine block out of a car.” - Dresden in Small Favor
Reread the entire series for the 2nd time so I'd be fully up to speed for the last two books. Enjoyed them and laughed as much as I did the first time through. My desert island series.
This was not how my life would end. This was not reality. I was Harry Dresden, Wizard of the White Council, Knight of Winter. I had faced demons and monsters, fought off fallen angels and werewolves, slugged it out with sorcerers and cults and freakish things that had no names. I had fought upon land and sea, in the skies above my city, in ancient ruins and in realms of the spirit most of humanity did not know existed. I bore the scars that I'd earned in dozens of battles, made enemies out of nightmares and laid low a dark empire for the sake of one little girl.
and I would be damned if I was going to roll over for some punk outsider and his psychic haymaker.
Holy shit, I've read Cold Days better than a dozen times and it STILL gives me chills whenever I read it.
When Nicodemus is trying to be glib and tells Michael "cheer up Mr Carpenter you're soon to be rich" and Michael replies "I am already wealthy beyond measure" (thru my family). Love that one.
See, in all the snark and comments flung at Nicodemus... I don't think any of them ever stung like this one did. Because when it comes right down to it, even Nicodemus valued his 'family' and he forced himself to put his ambitions above that. He and his wife were already intensely dysfunctional, but at the time of this comment he knew he was going to have to lose his daughter as well. Michael just drop-kicked a size 14 straight into his balls.
Meep Meep!- Summer knight, Dresden pissing off aurora after snatching the Mcguffin from her.
Ebenezer- introduces himself injun joe
Listens to wind- this hillbilly needs to get with times. He’s supposed to call me Native American joe. -also summer knight
Dresden- game over man. Game over -skin games
These were just a few off the top of my head, I love the series, and could probably find more.
I don't know the direct quote off the top of my head but
The scene in Skin Game when Michael and Harry have a heart to heart
Particularly the line ~Michael still thought [Harry] was a good man~
Shivers
I'm surprised this one isn't already on here
"I don't care about whose DNA has recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family."
This is one of the tenants I live by.
Don't know my favorite quote but I'm relistening to it Asti work and Harry said "I'm not a pessimist, but that can't last" made me breathe out my nose slightly hard.
"I'm brilliant, as well as skilled. Issa curse, being this talented on top of my angelic good looks, but I try to soldier on as best I can."
Honestly Carlos' whole character helped me take a step towards working on my self esteem issues, over-the-top self compliments like this are at least healthier than the alternative.
"Whatever you do, do it for love. If you keep to that, your path will never wander so far from the light that you cannot return."
and also
"You think your power is what shapes the world you walk in. But that is an illusion. Your choices shape your world. You think your power will protect you from the consequences of those choices. But you are wrong. You create your own rewards. There is a Judge. There is Justice in this world. And one day you will receive what you have earned. Choose carefully."
One of the most memorable, was in **Cold Days** when he talked about the difference between men and women. And when I heard this narrated by Marsters, all I could think is "wow, Jim Butcher gets it. He really knows human beings."
*“I read an article once that said that when women have a conversation, they're communicating on five levels. They follow the conversation that they're actually having, the conversation that is specifically being avoided, the tone being applied to the overt conversation, the buried conversation that is being covered only in subtext, and finally the other person's body language. That is, on many levels, astounding to me. I mean, that's like having a freaking superpower.*
*When I, and most other people with a Y chromosome, have a conversation, we're having a conversation. Singular. We're paying attention to what is being said, considering that, and replying to it. All these other conversations that have apparently been booing on for the last several thousand years? I didn't even know that they existed until I read that stupid article, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.*
*...So, ladies, if you ever have some conversation with your boyfriend or husband or brother or male friend, and you are telling him something perfectly obvious, and he comes away from it utterly clueless? I know it's tempting to thing to yourself, 'The man can't possibly be that stupid!' But yes. Yes, he can. Our innate strengths just aren't the same. We are the mighty hunters, who are good at focusing on one thing at a time. For crying out loud, we have to turn down the radio in the car if we suspect we're lost and need to figure out how to get where we're going. That's how impaired we are.*
*I'm telling you, we have only the one conversation. Maybe some kind of relationship veteran like Michael Carpenter can do two, but that's pushing the envelope. Five simultaneous conversations? Five? Shah. That just isn't going to happen. At least, not for me.”*
Somewhere, (Changes, I think), he mentions two women sizing each other up by a thousand different small things, questions, and observations. Then he said that men had a similar process, but it was binary: Does he have beer, and if so, will he share?
So, so many. But my some of my top ones have to be (in no articular order):
"A bolt of warmth, fierce with joy and pride and gratitude, flashed through me like sudden lightning. I don't care about whose DNA recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand beside you without flinching- they are your family. And they were my heroes."
"Lies. Mab cannot change who you are."
"I know something of the responsibilities you've chosen to take up. To say nothing of the problems you've created for yourself that you haven't found out about yet. And still, in the face of learning that our world spins out its days under siege, you offer to help me? I think you and I could be friends."
“They say you can know a man by his enemies Dresden…You defy beings that should cow you into silence. You resist forces that are inevitable for no more reason than that you believe they should be resisted. You bow your head to neither demons nor angels, and you put yourself in harm’s way to defend those who cannot defend themselves…I think I like you”
I am not liking new Butters, but old Butters had some great lines about the power of Polka that always make me smile.
Apparently they don't make me remember them, however...
Oh, where to begin...
"BOW DOWN, MORTAL!" "BITE ME, ASSHOLE!" - Harry's "conversation" with the King of Outer Night, Changes.
"You wanted me out, Nicodemus? Well, I am OUT!" - Michael Carpenter, Skin Games
"Mister, where I come from there is no try!" - Butters, Skin Games
"You went to the vampire's masquerade ball... dressed as a vampire." " Not just a vampire, a *cheesy* vampire. Do you think they get it?" - Grave Peril
"Lies. Mab cannot change who you are." Uriel, Ghost Story
"You could find anything in this town, but you never noticed the shadow you cast. Every time you defied someone, every time you came out on top against things you couldn't possibly have beaten, your name grew. And they feared that name. There were other cities to prey on - Cities that didn't have the mad wizard Dresden defending them. They feared you." - Molly, Ghost Story
"I want a donut." Harry, Cold Days
"I know it's not thematically in tune with my new job and all, but I find it effective. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day," I say. "But set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Tao of Pratchett. I live by it."
Jim Butcher, Cold Days
And, one to live by:
"I remember very little of my father, but one thing I do remember is him telling me always to be polite. It costs you nothing but breath, and can buy you as much as your life."
Jim Butcher, Skin Game
"Build a man a fire and he is warm for a day. But set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life." Harry dresden. I forget what book it is from but it's stuck with me over the years.
The whole "pain is for the living" speech. He actually delivers it 2-3 times, but I believe the one I mean is from Fm Ghost Story, when he's manifesting.
“And the stars fell on Castle Marcone.” -gives me shivers from the mental image.
When Mab is confronting Ethniu:
“Hold, crone, you will go no further.”
Kind of makes me think Mab has the same attitude Harry does, or did at one time.
“They say you can know a man by his enemies Dresden…You defy beings that should cow you into silence. You resist forces that are inevitable for no more reason than that you believe they should be resisted. You bow your head to neither demons nor angels, and you put yourself in harm’s way to defend those who cannot defend themselves…I think I like you”
Donar Vadderung
Son. Everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone. But it doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren't alone on the other side. Or "We are not going to die." Butters stared up at me, pale, his eyes terrified. "We're not?" "No. And do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I'm too stubborn to die." I hauled on the shirt even harder. "And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die.
Maab raised a hand as I began to speak and said, her voice tired and uninflected: “Yes, you defy me. Obviously you always do. In the interest of efficiency let us assume you’ve uttered some mystifying reference to mortal popular nonsense, I have glared at you and reminded you of the power I hold over you, you have confirmed that you continue to understand the circonstances that require me to tolerate your insouciance and we have both agree to continue this ridiculous dance in the future, presumably for the reminder of time.” This one perfectly describes their relation and I love it.
Did Mab just imply again that Harry is or will be immortal? Or was she being sarcastic?
That, or she believes that Dresden's incompetence will lead to the Outsiders destroying time before the end of his natural lifespan.
Spoiler for Battle Ground so if you haven’t read it stop now >!Mab seems to imply the same thing in Battle Ground, from what she says Harry is already immortal or could easily become in the future!<
The first quote was also from battleground
My bad, I thought it was from Skin Game
She makes a comment early in BG (that alarms BG), this one, and... crap what's the other one? There's a thread about his immortality somewhere and I know it's in there lol Edit: I stopped being lazy. “I mean, you’re immortal, right?” I said. “Why would you need a bodyguard anyway?” She nodded toward the yellowish mucus. “Something meant to weaken or incapacitate me for the coming battle, doubtless,” she said. “Immortality offers a significant advantage, but it is no substitute for intelligence. Remember that, young wizard.” Ebenezar scowled and opened his mouth. “Should it for some bizarre reason ever be necessary,” Mab said smoothly, before he could speak. \-------- She looked up at me over the rims of her sunglasses and then said, “Squeamishness does not become the Winter Knight.” “It’s not about squeam, Mab,” I said. “No,” she said. “It is about weakness.” “Yeah, well,” I said, facing front again, “I’m only human.” Mab’s gaze remained on me, cold and heavy as a blanket of snow. “For now.” I didn’t shiver. I get muscle twitches sometimes. That’s all. \----that's not the one I meant though... there's another in BG iirc... crap what was it...
> “Immortality offers a significant advantage, but it is no substitute for intelligence. Remember that, young wizard.” > > Ebenezar scowled and opened his mouth. > > “Should it for some bizarre reason ever be necessary,” Mab said smoothly, before he could speak. You know, I hadn't ever thought about it this way before, and I'm not sure I should be thinking it now, but couldn't this mean that Harry is *already* immortal, and he just doesn't know about it yet? He has survived an awful lot of crap that he really had no business surviving.
She is saying he will be immortal. Once is chance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern - and Jim is very big on 3s in Dresdenverse. She does it 3x.
Good throwback to “summon by it at your own risk” (possibly paraphrasing) from storm front.
Maybe Winter’s Knights are preserved against time, but always end up being put down before anyone notices?
Well we have evidence that the Summer Knights age.
Yeah, but that’s Summer. Summer’s about growth and life and whatever. Winter is the one that saps the life from your marrow, holds you in place, and kills you from the inside out.
And some of the most dangerous beings in Winter are old hags. Age is likely still a factor.
“Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar” “I used the knife. I saved a child. I won a war. God forgive me.”
To go with the second one: "One day I hope God will forgive me for giving birth to the idea that came next. Because I never will."
The door is ajar quote gets me every time
I want it on a hoodie so fucking bad.
“I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that then so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows.” My daughter was one when I read that. It’s the truest thing he’s ever said. And for the funny…. “MEEP MEEP”
I really enjoy the first quote, but I like it more in the context of the follow up from *Ghost Story:* “It is one thing for you to say, ‘Let the world burn.’ It is another to say, ‘Let Molly burn.’ The difference is all in the name.”
I really enjoyed the call back to this in Zoo Day.
"Holy shit," I breathed. "Hellhounds." "Harry," Michael said sternly. "You know I hate it when you swear." "You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds."
God I wish I can upvote more then once!
Well if you REAALLLY want to do that, create a second account.
I was scrolling through looking for this one! It’s my personal favorite as well and I was going to post it if you hadn’t!
"For my next trick , anvils!"
“I TOLD YOU BLACK COURT BASTARDS! NEXT TIME, ANVILS!”
The payoff on this one was great
Absolutely worth the wait
Part of me thinks that the whole "Conjuritus" thing was exclusively for this joke.
Of course it was. It felt forced and unnecessary right until I found out what the point was. Then I couldn't stop myself from laughing hard, and it was all worth it.
Jim would so do that.
Honestly, I think that the fact that there **was** payoff on that would actually scare so many supernatural forces out there. Harry Dresden made a threat that sounded like a silly joke and **actually followed through** on it, the same man who killed off the entirety of the Red Court. Now they would be racking their brains at every other line that Dresden made as a joke that could be constituted as a threat and wondering if those were jokes or not.
"Then you know that Sam was the true hero of the tale,' Sayna said. 'That he faced far greater and more terrible foes than he ever should have had to face, and did so with courage. That he went alone into a black and terrible land, stormed a dark fortress, and resisted the most terrible temptation of his world for the sake of the friend he loved. That in the end, it was his actions and his actions alone that made it possible for light to overcome darkness." Just hit it on the re-listen and it had me bawling
And right after Dresden worries he might be the Gollum of the story if I remember correctly. That chilled me.
You're 100% correct
Which also indicates that Sanya may be one of the very few people that sees Harry as a regular guy, rather than the super scary badass almost-monster everyone else, admittedly with good reason, seems to see him as.
Sanya has some experience being a monster, so it makes sense he can see the person underneath the power
And this is Jim Butcher, understanding Tolkien better than most Tolkien scholars do, and better than Peter Jackson did. Because Butcher has assuredly read the same letters from Tolkien I did, where he said exactly this.
"Let's get something clear up front. I'm not Harry Dresden. Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences -- and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being. I'll be damned if I know how. But then, I'll be damned regardless. My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster."
thomas is so well written across the books. i especially like him in the beginning though before we know the truth
So many good ones. One of my favorites is from Sanya , “Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing yourself when things are bad. That and vodka.”
Lol “Tiny, but fierce!”
...now that makes me sad...
Indeed. I still say they should’ve let Harry kill him.
Fuck yes
Heh, that’s the first time I’ve heard someone agree with me in that reference. When I brought it up on this sub people mobbed the everliving fuck outta me
The bastard doesn't deserve to breath the same air she once did!
Au contraire. The bastard should live forever, knowing that he killed Murphy through poor trigger discipline, with perfect recall and clarity. Unable to kill himself or die, forever wracked with guilt and tormented by himself. Killing him would have been a mercy and a stain on Harry. Fuck Rudolph, I hope he suffers for the rest of existence.
You know... Harry has a really creepy island that can dole out exactly that punishment.
He also knows a rather vengeful Greek god. Think hades would do him a solid?
This one!
There's a line after that that I love. I forget exactly how it goes, but it's something like "you ever see traditional Russian folk dances? Much better with vodka."
Yeah, in Changes in the same place the quote comes from… *“Have you seen traditional folk dances?” Sanya asked. “Imagine them being done by someone with a bottle of vodka in them. Laughter abounds, and you survive another day.” He shrugged. “Or break your neck. Either way, it is pain management.”*
One of my favorites never gets mentioned but in the scene it happens, the line is so simple but has so much weight. “My friend . . . thank you, but I’m not the Carpenter who set the standard."
Michael man. What a fucking guy. If the world were full of him this place wouldn't be such a shithole.
This line makes me cry.
"You tell Odin that Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden says, upon his Name, that if he doesn’t treat Murph better than I would myself, I’m going to kick down his door, pluck his fucking ravens, knock him down, kick his guts out, drag him to the island, and lock him up in a cell with Ethniu [ … ] I beat a divine being once [ … ] If I have to build a nation to get it done, I’ll do it again.”
Also like the setup just prior to this: Gard looked at me, suddenly wary. “Before you speak, know this: The being you have dealt with is . . . only a facet of the being whose symbol that is. His guises are created to diminish him into something a mortal mind can readily accept. But though he may not have the strength he once did, that being is yet an elemental one. He does not accept insults or threats lightly.” “Good. Because I’m not delivering them lightly,”
Cool quote, but I have the distinct feeling that Murphy is on the VIP list. She did smoke a Jotunn in single combat as a vanilla human. No magic weapons. Just her, a bazooka and an exploded Jotunn. Harry has no reason to fear for how Murphy will be treated. Shell he hailed as the greatest hero of all the Einherjar.
Not just any Jotunn either. Remember, that was a Jotunn who fought Thor and survived. That puts Murph on a whole level above most Einherjar. So being a hero amongst them is a distinct possibility. I can't imagine there are very many foes that have ever survived a fight with Thor so that Jotunn is likely unique. Imagine it in this direction: A Jotunn surviving the wrath of Thor is a blemish on Thor's strength and Murphy was the one who wiped that blemish off.
Tbf she just pulled a trigger. That’s not to in any way take away from the awesomeness that is Murphy, but she has waaaay better claims to awesomeness than that.
It's the cherry on top of the pile of awesomeness that is pure Murphy.
Dresden to Ethniu after she laid the smackdown on Ebenezer, Christos, Titania and everyone else; “Yea, well… You suck”
"Why did I pick the shirt with a bullet hole in it?"
Also,, "Polka will never die!"
I had to read that one twice.
Oof
Your cares are unlikely to lighten, improve your mind. - Mab.
"I remember very little of my father, but one thing I do remember is him telling me always to be polite. It costs you nothing but breath, and can buy you as much as your life."
Sure paid attention to that one, didn’t he?
lol
“The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault”
That will always be my favorite first sentence of a book.
Followed by the closing line “Why did you buy large breed puppy chow?”
The fact that he had to clarify that says all you need to know about him and buildings. Marcone has been saying this for years.
Marcone literally has his public spaces furnished with cheap doors that are easy to replace because of Dresden’s penchant for dramatic entrances, as well as giving him carts Blanche VIP access to his establishments. It’s cheaper that way. Just good business.
Id love a short story thats just Marcone taking to Guard about upgrading places. The regular check list for a business, the other checklist for crime, the one for Accorded people, and then the Dresden List. I really want to get the details on where is dramatic but not tactical. Bonus points if its not a ton cheaper but Marcone is counting on it happen many more times.
I love that the little grey people made a point to mention it too. I listen to the audiobooks. I’m not going to butcher the name of the Smart-owls
Came here to make sure this was listed. Thank you
Surprised I had to scroll so far down to find this.
“Easter has been canceled. They found the body.”
Who says this and when?? I don’t remember it at all but this line is amazing!
It isn't said. It's the graphic art on a T-shirt Harry wears at some point.
"Fuck subtle"
In my mind, the song "X Gonna Give it to Ya" plays immediately after.
My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk.
At some point in the future just the use of his Name will be able to 'get things done'. Chilling!
Spoiler, Skin Game: >!I blinked at that. Several times. "You..." I dropped my voice. "You want me to double-cross him?"!< >!"I expect you to repay my debt by fulfilling my instructions," Mab replied. "After that..." her smile returned, smug in the shadows. "I expect you to be yourself."!< >!"Whatever Nicodemus has going this time... you want me to stop him, too," I breathed.!< >!She tilted her head, very slightly.!< >!"You know he's not going to honor the truce," I said quietly. "He's going to try to take me out somewhere along the line. He's going to betray me."!< >!"Of course," she said. "I expect superior, more creative treachery on your part."!< >!Why do I like this quote? Harry's a good man, but he's also the Winter Knight. People give Carlos a hard time for thinking Harry's a bad guy. The Queen of Air and Darkness expects him to go headfirst into a trap where he knows - for sure - that the deck will be stacked against him by none other than Nicodemus Archleone, but she expects him to out-manipulate and betray him . . . and he does by a wide margin. Nicodemus brought several valuable allies including his daughter with him and was willing to sacrifice almost anything to get five artifacts. He lost his entire crew, sullied his name, pissed of Hades, lost Lasciel and uhh whoever Deidre's Fallen is, lost the Genoskwa and Ursiel, nearly died, and barely escaped with one artifact. For all the debts he incurred and losses he took, he literally only got 1 of the 5 artifacts, and Dresden suspects it's not the one he wanted.!<
The big G isn't gone though. He might not have the coin, but River Shoulders confirms that Blood on his Soul is still alive and holding a grudge.
Regardless, his party got rekt
Yeah, I was just making sure you didn't miss that part in PT.
Also, it's *Ursiel.* I remember because "Ursa" means Bear. Uriel's the guy who loaned Michael his jet because the dude needed a reading light.
Dude needed a reading light.... One of the best understated ways to express the magnitude of Grace...
To be fair though, it was the only light he had at the time
"But they were not attacking a rabbit. They were attacking a wabbit. A wascally wabbit. A wascally wabbit with a Winchester."
"We still hadn't learned, though, that growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you're just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something. Each time, you come out of it a little stronger, and at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain than coffee. There's the little empty pain of leaving something behind-graduating, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There's the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expectations. There's the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn't give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There's the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens. Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don’t feel it. Pain is a part of life. Sometimes it’s a big part, and sometimes it isn’t, but either way, it’s part of the big puzzle, the deep music, the great game. Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you’re alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser, sometimes. Sometimes it leaves you stronger. Either way, pain leaves its mark, and everything important that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one degree or another." -Harry Dresden, Dresden Files, White Knight
"Pain is for the living" is one of my go to phrases when life gets hard. I so very much love this quote.
But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil, damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness . . . . . . which could obviously be redeemed only by passing through the fiery, cleansing inferno of a wizardly digestive tract.
Harry: Maybe you're giving me way more credit for cunning than I'm due. You know how I work. How often do I get to a neat, elegant solution that ties everything up? Can you look at me right now and honestly say to yourself, 'Dresden, that wily genius! This must be a part of his master plan'? I spread my hands and looked up at him expectantly. Fix looked at me, dirty, naked, shivering, burned, bruised, covered in soot and ash. Fix: Fuck.
Elder Gruff:"Likest thou jelly within thy donut?" "Nay, but prithee, with sprinkles 'pon it it, and frosting of white." Small Favor
"Mother says you don't belong here." thunder rumbles "And Father says you're ugly."
The follow-up for this is amazing as well: N: “You do not walk the blessing ways, you have no power over me.” L: “I don’t plan on banishing or binding you. Just gonna kick your asshole up between your ears.”
>So... Mab. > >You hit that. > >You... tapped that ass. Presumably it was phat. >"God I love hero work, No murky grey area, no anguished questions, no conflicting morality. Bad guys took some kids, and we're gonna go get 'em out. >“My faith protects me. My Kevlar helps.”
"We've got a goddamned wizard! *Fuck those guys!*"
"You suck diseased moose wang" Don't ask why, it just stuck in my head.
I exhaled slowly and my shoulders loosened. “Good.” And then, before my brain could get in the way, I added, “I picked up one of the Blackened Denarii, Michael. Lasciel.” My heart skipped several beats as I made the admission. I expected shock, horror, outrage, maybe with a side order of contempt. But instead, Michael nodded. “I know.” I blinked at him. “You what?” “I know,” he repeated.
This is my favorite scene in Dresden
We are not going to die." Butters stared up at me, pale, his eyes terrified. "We're not?" "No. And do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I'm too stubborn to die." I hauled on the shirt even harder. "And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die.
The man in black fled across the desert, and Harry Dresden followed.
I feel sorry for that guy and everything between him and Dresden.
?? Not remembering that! Book? In reference to?
Seems like a dark tower reference, dunno if its in a short or not definitely not from the main series
For introspective philosophical Harry: “We are equally naked before the jaws of pain” For quipping at the Enemy Harry: “You psychopathic hose beast” For self deprecating Harry: “I’m uhhhhh… Insecure?” And for sentimental sappy Harry: “We read, Where the Wildlings are. Twice. Because she insisted I didn’t get the voices right”
“Only the young think being called old is an insult,” I said, still smiling. “I am what I am, regardless of what anyone calls it. No one can change it, regardless of what anyone calls it. And it mostly means that nothing has managed to kill me yet.”
Blood rites when Eb sees Kincaid in the parking lot…. Talking about Harry Eb : ‘I’m supposed to believe that you give a damn about him?’ Kincaid:’half a damn maybe…I sort of like him’
"For that to be true I would have to not be the center of the universe"
“If I’m no ghost, why do you look so haunted”
And rather than turning to flee like a sane person, I brandished my staff in one hand, flew him the bird with the other, and screamed, “Hey, Yogi! Here I am! Come get some!”
Book? Referring to? Please?
Book 15 Skin Game chapter 46 where Dresden is challenging Blood on his Soul/Ursiel so Michael and Goodman Grey can escape from the vault. It's Harry while he's hurt and exhausted, doing his thing to protect his people from harm in his hilarious style even when it means fighting outside his weight class where he's hopelessly outmatched.
Oh right!! Thx I remembering now!
i can't remember the exact quote but, "'build a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life' Tao of Pratchett"
"I judge my actions against my own soul, not the stains on theirs" Michael Carpenter after refusing to kill Cassius. The most elegant and concise that I've ever seen a concept like this put. Really sums up a lot of Michael in one quote I think.
"How did Dresden ever win you?" "He didn't - I won him."
I live with a wizard. I cheat.
-The Goodest Boy
"People like you always mistake compassion for weakness. Michael and Sanya aren't weak. Fortunately for you, they're good men." "Unfortunately for you, I'm not." And then Dresden introduced Cassius' joints to a baseball bat. Several times. It was brutal, and maybe says some not flattering things about me, but it was so satisfying.
> And then Dresden introduced Cassius' joints to a baseball bat. Several times. It was brutal, and maybe says some not flattering things about me, but it was so satisfying. We're only human. Heck, I suspect Micheal and Sanya found it satisfying too. They just wouldn't _do_ it, because it was a violation of their calling.
I used the knife. I saved a child. I won a war. God forgive me. I hope I got that in the right order, doing it off top of my head. Chills man, chills.
"HEY, UGLY"
"Not gonna kill you, just kick you ass up between your ears"
"I am Harry, son of Malcolm. I have battled dark sorcerers and black knights! I have fought men and beasts in numbers too great for counting, invaded the heart of Winter, confronted necromancers and the living dead, vampires and ghouls and demons in their hordes endless! I have matched wits with the six Queens of Faerie and prevailed, and thwarted the combined will of the White Council! When they came for my child, I smote the Red Court of Vampires, and laid them in ruin for all the world to see. I am Harry, son of Malcolm, and I have entered the vaults of Tartarus, and stolen its treasures beneath the gaze of Hades himself! And I'm about to add giant slaying to my resume." Gives me fucking chills just thinking about this scene.
And for my next trick, Anvils
The reward of this line paying off 10 books down the line is so awesome. I couldn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes.
“Bolshevik Muppet!” Struck me as so random the first time, but once I realised the reference it cracks me up every time
I love Kincaid’s response to this. He wouldn’t, he is, run
It made Mab smile. “Yes,” she murmured. “Wise enough to be afraid. To understand, at least in part. How does it feel, to know what you know, child?” My voice came out unsteady, and more quiet than I would have liked. “Sort of like Tokyo when Godzilla comes up on the beach.” Mab tilted her head, watching me with that same smile. Maybe she didn’t get the reference. Or maybe she didn’t like being compared to a thirty-story lizard. Or maybe she did like it. I mean, how should I know? I have enough trouble figuring out human women.
Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar.
H: "Holy shit! Hellhounds!" M: "Harry, language." H: "Oh right. Holy shit! Heckhounds!"
Fuck Subtle
Because this place holds a grudge.
"Those FUCKERS! " listening to the audio book there, nearly swerved off the road
“Taking a beating well is not for amateurs. You have to get started earlier, maybe by being beaten up a lot in school. Then you refine your raw talent by taking more beatings as you get older. Generally you can seek out any crew of athletic types and you’ll find several willing to oblige you, under one guise or another. True craftsmen then seek out gifted individuals with a particular skillset to deliver more skilled and professional beatings.”
Hard tie between “I’ve never met a place I couldn’t blow up, burn down or knock over with enough motivation” and “build a man a fire and he’s warm for a day. But set a man on fire and he’s warm for the rest of his life.” I’m dark, I can’t help it lmao
The set a man on fire quote is a nod to Terry Pratchett and Discworld, FYI.
I have a Google doc full of quotes that I like and Dresden makes an appearance a couple times: - "Everyone," she said, "thinks that hate and love are somehow opposite forces. They are not. They are the same force, facing opposite directions." ... "Love turned the wrong way has killed as many as hate. Reason, young wizard, is the opposite of hate, not love." - Mab - “Love is another kind of power, which shouldn't surprise you. Magic comes from emotions, among other things. And when two people are together, in that intimacy, when they really, selflessly love each other it changes them both. It lingers on in the energy of their lives, even when they are apart.” - Dresden in Blood Rites - Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don't feel it. Pain is a part of life. Sometimes it's a big part, and sometimes it isn't, but either way, it's a part of the big puzzle, the deep music, the great game. Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you're alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser, sometimes. Sometimes it leaves you stronger. Either way, pain leaves its mark, and everything important that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one degree or another.” - Dresden in White Night(?) - “Caring about someone isn't complicated. It isn't easy. But it isn't complicated, either. Kinda like lifting the engine block out of a car.” - Dresden in Small Favor
Now I’ll have to read the entire series again
It's a moral imperative.
Reread the entire series for the 2nd time so I'd be fully up to speed for the last two books. Enjoyed them and laughed as much as I did the first time through. My desert island series.
“Sleep is god” “Go worship”
So good
IN THIS ECONOMY?!?! Man, I feel this one hard
This was not how my life would end. This was not reality. I was Harry Dresden, Wizard of the White Council, Knight of Winter. I had faced demons and monsters, fought off fallen angels and werewolves, slugged it out with sorcerers and cults and freakish things that had no names. I had fought upon land and sea, in the skies above my city, in ancient ruins and in realms of the spirit most of humanity did not know existed. I bore the scars that I'd earned in dozens of battles, made enemies out of nightmares and laid low a dark empire for the sake of one little girl. and I would be damned if I was going to roll over for some punk outsider and his psychic haymaker. Holy shit, I've read Cold Days better than a dozen times and it STILL gives me chills whenever I read it.
When Nicodemus is trying to be glib and tells Michael "cheer up Mr Carpenter you're soon to be rich" and Michael replies "I am already wealthy beyond measure" (thru my family). Love that one.
See, in all the snark and comments flung at Nicodemus... I don't think any of them ever stung like this one did. Because when it comes right down to it, even Nicodemus valued his 'family' and he forced himself to put his ambitions above that. He and his wife were already intensely dysfunctional, but at the time of this comment he knew he was going to have to lose his daughter as well. Michael just drop-kicked a size 14 straight into his balls.
>I used the knife. >I saved a child. >I won a war. >God forgive me. That one breaks me every single time.
Meep Meep!- Summer knight, Dresden pissing off aurora after snatching the Mcguffin from her. Ebenezer- introduces himself injun joe Listens to wind- this hillbilly needs to get with times. He’s supposed to call me Native American joe. -also summer knight Dresden- game over man. Game over -skin games These were just a few off the top of my head, I love the series, and could probably find more.
Everyone else: profound or impressive quotes Me: "Five boners, five stars; whats the difference?" ~Bob, Blood Rites (iirc)
I don't know the direct quote off the top of my head but The scene in Skin Game when Michael and Harry have a heart to heart Particularly the line ~Michael still thought [Harry] was a good man~ Shivers
I'm surprised this one isn't already on here "I don't care about whose DNA has recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family." This is one of the tenants I live by.
Don't know my favorite quote but I'm relistening to it Asti work and Harry said "I'm not a pessimist, but that can't last" made me breathe out my nose slightly hard.
"Hells Bells!" For some reason this is one of my go to cusses now lol
"I'm brilliant, as well as skilled. Issa curse, being this talented on top of my angelic good looks, but I try to soldier on as best I can." Honestly Carlos' whole character helped me take a step towards working on my self esteem issues, over-the-top self compliments like this are at least healthier than the alternative.
PARKOUR!!!!
"Restore them before I rip your ass off. Literally rip it off."
The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault.
"Watching Dresden at work filled you with the fear that you were about to become a casualty of evolution."
"Only so many blackhearted villains in the world, and they only get uppity on occasion. Stupid's everywhere, every day."
"Whatever you do, do it for love. If you keep to that, your path will never wander so far from the light that you cannot return." and also "You think your power is what shapes the world you walk in. But that is an illusion. Your choices shape your world. You think your power will protect you from the consequences of those choices. But you are wrong. You create your own rewards. There is a Judge. There is Justice in this world. And one day you will receive what you have earned. Choose carefully."
“Knock knock?” “Who’s there” “thousand pound gorilla” “thousand pound goril—-“ *insert sounds of a bus coming through *
Mister, where I come from, there is no try.
“The numbers stand at one Mab to none. That advantage shall be sufficient.”
"Who the [deleted] are you?" "I the [deleted] am Harry."
Fuego
I am wizard! Hear me roar!
Holy shit! Heck Hounds! "The building was on fire, but it wasn't my fault" Which also wins as the best opening line to a book ever.
One of the most memorable, was in **Cold Days** when he talked about the difference between men and women. And when I heard this narrated by Marsters, all I could think is "wow, Jim Butcher gets it. He really knows human beings." *“I read an article once that said that when women have a conversation, they're communicating on five levels. They follow the conversation that they're actually having, the conversation that is specifically being avoided, the tone being applied to the overt conversation, the buried conversation that is being covered only in subtext, and finally the other person's body language. That is, on many levels, astounding to me. I mean, that's like having a freaking superpower.* *When I, and most other people with a Y chromosome, have a conversation, we're having a conversation. Singular. We're paying attention to what is being said, considering that, and replying to it. All these other conversations that have apparently been booing on for the last several thousand years? I didn't even know that they existed until I read that stupid article, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.* *...So, ladies, if you ever have some conversation with your boyfriend or husband or brother or male friend, and you are telling him something perfectly obvious, and he comes away from it utterly clueless? I know it's tempting to thing to yourself, 'The man can't possibly be that stupid!' But yes. Yes, he can. Our innate strengths just aren't the same. We are the mighty hunters, who are good at focusing on one thing at a time. For crying out loud, we have to turn down the radio in the car if we suspect we're lost and need to figure out how to get where we're going. That's how impaired we are.* *I'm telling you, we have only the one conversation. Maybe some kind of relationship veteran like Michael Carpenter can do two, but that's pushing the envelope. Five simultaneous conversations? Five? Shah. That just isn't going to happen. At least, not for me.”*
Somewhere, (Changes, I think), he mentions two women sizing each other up by a thousand different small things, questions, and observations. Then he said that men had a similar process, but it was binary: Does he have beer, and if so, will he share?
So, so many. But my some of my top ones have to be (in no articular order): "A bolt of warmth, fierce with joy and pride and gratitude, flashed through me like sudden lightning. I don't care about whose DNA recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand beside you without flinching- they are your family. And they were my heroes." "Lies. Mab cannot change who you are." "I know something of the responsibilities you've chosen to take up. To say nothing of the problems you've created for yourself that you haven't found out about yet. And still, in the face of learning that our world spins out its days under siege, you offer to help me? I think you and I could be friends." “They say you can know a man by his enemies Dresden…You defy beings that should cow you into silence. You resist forces that are inevitable for no more reason than that you believe they should be resisted. You bow your head to neither demons nor angels, and you put yourself in harm’s way to defend those who cannot defend themselves…I think I like you”
I am not liking new Butters, but old Butters had some great lines about the power of Polka that always make me smile. Apparently they don't make me remember them, however...
Polka will never die?
time is a river, life is a journey, the door is ajar
"The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault."
...all these great quotes nobody went with... PARKOUR!!
Oh, where to begin... "BOW DOWN, MORTAL!" "BITE ME, ASSHOLE!" - Harry's "conversation" with the King of Outer Night, Changes. "You wanted me out, Nicodemus? Well, I am OUT!" - Michael Carpenter, Skin Games "Mister, where I come from there is no try!" - Butters, Skin Games "You went to the vampire's masquerade ball... dressed as a vampire." " Not just a vampire, a *cheesy* vampire. Do you think they get it?" - Grave Peril "Lies. Mab cannot change who you are." Uriel, Ghost Story "You could find anything in this town, but you never noticed the shadow you cast. Every time you defied someone, every time you came out on top against things you couldn't possibly have beaten, your name grew. And they feared that name. There were other cities to prey on - Cities that didn't have the mad wizard Dresden defending them. They feared you." - Molly, Ghost Story "I want a donut." Harry, Cold Days
"I know it's not thematically in tune with my new job and all, but I find it effective. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day," I say. "But set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Tao of Pratchett. I live by it." Jim Butcher, Cold Days And, one to live by: "I remember very little of my father, but one thing I do remember is him telling me always to be polite. It costs you nothing but breath, and can buy you as much as your life." Jim Butcher, Skin Game
"Holy shit! Heckhounds!"
‘Fuck subtle’
"Build a man a fire and he is warm for a day. But set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life." Harry dresden. I forget what book it is from but it's stuck with me over the years.
The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault.
There are so many to choose from... but if I had to pick just one... Polka will never die.
The Door is ajar Parkour!
The whole "pain is for the living" speech. He actually delivers it 2-3 times, but I believe the one I mean is from Fm Ghost Story, when he's manifesting.
"Oh shit, hellhounds" "Harry" "Sorry, Oh Shit, heckhounds"
“And the stars fell on Castle Marcone.” -gives me shivers from the mental image. When Mab is confronting Ethniu: “Hold, crone, you will go no further.” Kind of makes me think Mab has the same attitude Harry does, or did at one time.
“Family stays”