My tiny scary friend is coming

It was sadness, lostness, and the worst thing about it was the way it seemed like a default—like it was there all the time, and all her other expressions were just an array of masks...

You really think joy is easier to come by than pain? What have you had more of?

It is a condition of monsters that they do not perceive themselves as such. The dragon, you know, hunkered in the village devouring maidens, heard the townsfolk cry ‘Monster!’ and looked behind him

His lips made a grim twist that was like the joyless cousin of a smile.