“And he'd definitely never expected to ever have to tell someone, "All right, no killing and eating me, okay? I'm ready to go.”

“Those are some of the most powerful people in the world, and you swamped them in sewage! If you had real friends, they'd have told you that you're an idiot for even thinking about doing that!"Tom bristled, indignant. "My friends do tell me I'm an idiot. All the time!”

“She needs a proper supervillain name. Man Hands isn't doing it for me.""You're right. How about 'Evil Wench from the Darkest Reaches of Mordor'?”

“You're a spelling bee champ, aren't you, White Fang? How do you spell, 'If I don't learn to speak to my betters with more respect, I'm going to get my face smashed in'?"Tom laughed, unable to resist. "That one's easy. It's K-A-R-L.”

“He began to understand suddenly what friends were for: they reminded you that things weren't so bad after all. Reminded you never to stop laughing at yourself.”

“Medusa's lips split with that challenging smile, and for a second he recognized her somehow, he knew her on some primal level, the same way he'd recognized he behind the face of Brunhilde, the helmet of Achilles, or in hat ship maneuvering in space ,and then she flickered away. The simulation darkened around him. Tom pulled out his neural wire, Medusa's dangerous smile lingering in his brain.”

“Tom became distracted by the sight of his own boobs. He reached down to grab them. Wyatt cleared her throat."What?" Tom said defensively. "They're mine.""You aren't seriously planning to just sit there groping yourself in front of me, are you? That's kind of rude."Tom dropped his hands, a bit sheepish. "What, come on. You've got some new equipment, too. You're not curious?"Wyatt's armor clanked as she shifted awkwardly in her seat. "It's not like I haven't played sims as men before.""Right." Tom grinned. "So you've already done the groping thing.""That's not what I said! ”