The Shadow of Kyoshi Quotes

“People shouldn't have everything they want. No one is entitled to their every desire. To live in balance, we must willingly decide not to take all that we can from the world, and from others.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“You either accept the risk of winning, or the guarantee of losing.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“You must give up your desire for someone to tell you your choices were correct in the end.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Weakness is practiced and learned as much as strength is!”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Enemies are enemies, but no one can shame you like your own family.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“You can have your past, or you can have your future. Not both.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“No fire is ever the same fire. No Avatar is ever the same person. You and the flame change with every moment, every generation. You are one flame, and you are many.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Honor cannot be coveted too dearly, young lady. Sometimes it must be laid down for the good of others.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“My friend is not a diplomat. She is the failure of diplomacy. She is the breakdown of negotiations. There is no escalation of hostilities beyond her.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Certain people... they turn you into what you were before.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“I believe I have to make peace with my own choices, just like everyone else.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“She had the obligation to be more than the sum of her grievances with the world.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Water was calmness and tranquility, but it was the rage of a storm as well.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“This is what you must forgo, Kyoshi, the easy answers. You must give up your desire for someone to tell you your choices were correct in the end.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Human beings could drape themselves in titles and etiquette, but at their hearts they were all the same animal.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“She wouldn’t allow herself to become a human scar, a compendium of personal loss. She had the obligation to be more than the sum of her grievances with the world.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Some of my friends in the other nations would argue that, on occasion, truth and beauty must be defended with ugliness. They would claim a gardener who nurtures a flower so others can enjoy it bloom for a few moments must spend much time with their hands buried in dirt.” Kyoshi would have chosen a less pleasant word than dirt. “What do you believe then?” Jinpa smiled sadly. “I believe I have to make peace with my own choices, just like everyone else.” The tint of pain in his expression reminded her too much of Kelsang for her to believe Jinpa was at complete peace with himself. Outsiders enviously and condescendingly assumed Airbenders lived in a state of innocent bliss, but that didn’t give the monks and nuns enough credit for their inner strength. From what Kyoshi knew, belonging to the wandering nation meant a constant struggle with your own morals against the world’s.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“If one path of a fork promised you oblivion, it didn't really matter what the other path held in store.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“It wasn’t the reaction Rangi was looking for, but Kyoshi swelled with a sudden happiness. She couldn’t help it. Rangi acting so completely, utterly normal tugged on a rope connected directly to her heart. It always would.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“I’ve heard the stories about you, Kyoshi, and I know the things you’ve seen. What do you care if a single peasant lives or dies?” She crossed the distance between them and thrust a closed fan under his chin, stopping short of his throat. “I care more for his life than I do for yours right now,” she said, examining the growing whites of Zoryu’s eyes. “Let me make myself perfectly clear. You live on top of what I control. Your islands are surrounded by my waves. You fill your very lungs at my discretion. So if I hear any news about ‘Yun’ being executed, you will truly learn what it’s like when the spirits forsake you in the face of the elements.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Only home could make you feel this bad.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“...at the cost of sufficient effort, sometimes heroic, inhuman effort, things could get better over time.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Rebuilding always took longer than destruction, cleaning a mess more time than making it.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Fortune was an invisible, unconquerable creature that ruled commonfolk and noble alike.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Some people in my country like to believe Avatar Yangchen watches over them. But you, Fire Lord. I can assure you that Avatar Kyoshi watches over you.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“I’m sorry for saying you had to live with your pain.” Kyoshi put her palm to his chest in a gesture of comfort. “Because you won’t.” The cold she sent through his body formed a tunnel of ice between his ribs. It happened so fast, and with so much force, the moisture in the air behind him turned to frost. His back sprouted vaporous wings of crystal that disappeared just as quickly. With his heart and lungs frozen solid, Yun fell to the side. Kyoshi took the hand with which she’d killed one of the two people she’d loved and placed it against the wound of the other. Water. She needed more water. Her tears of light weren’t enough.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“The instant the facts disagreed with their preconceived notions, people lost their minds.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Better than open war was not a standard to live by. And yet people seemed content with it.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“All right then. In that case, I only have one question.” Kyoshi cast her gaze around the room. “Are you sure this is all of you?” The Triad members glanced at each other. Mok’s face swelled with rage, reddening like a berry in the sun. It wasn’t insolence so much as pragmatism, her instinct for tidiness and efficiency rising to the surface. “If not, I can wait until everyone arrives,” Kyoshi said. “I don’t want to have to go back and check each floor.” “Tear her apart!” Mok screamed. The hatchet men charged from all directions. Kyoshi drew one of her fans. Two would have been a bit much.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Certain people . . . they turn you into who you were before.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi