And then there is Quincy Brown's story. A peasant who slew a dragon, and yet he has never been one who wanted to play the hero. He had no desire to be the eldest, to be the responsible one. He had no desire to be the one to care for his brothers when his father was absent, or his mother indisposed with alcohol. He sowed and he sewed, he reaped and he cooked, he cleaned up messes that were not his and all rather begrudgingly. Quincy Brown is 27 years old.
— Narration, Absent-Minded Theater
Astrid: So, when I spotted the cave from the air, it got me thinking. Last time we were here, the Snow Wraith was on us right away. Remember? Why not this time? Maybe because it's hiding out or hibernating or something in that cave.
Fishlegs: Yeah, that's not a bad theory.
Hiccup: I agree. I'm just wondering how it was you came all the way out here when you and I were scouting in the opposite direction.
Astrid: I must've gotten lost.
Hiccup: Lost?
Astrid: Fine. I got carried away, okay? You know how I am.
Hiccup: Yes, I do. But, you can't just go off on your own like that, Astrid. I rely on you.
Astrid: Okay.
— Dragons: Riders of Berk, "Snow Way Out"
Nero Wolfe: Archie, bring Saul.
That shows you you his opinion of Saul. Not "Archie, see if Saul is around." Frost was Saul's [surveillance] subject, so, since Frost was here, Saul was in the neighborhood.
That shows you you his opinion of Saul. Not "Archie, see if Saul is around." Frost was Saul's [surveillance] subject, so, since Frost was here, Saul was in the neighborhood.
"I should get back in there before my sisters destroy something," he sighed.
"Let them," she said, fidgeting with his handkerchief. Her feet were swinging a little beneath the bell of her skirt, all flattened against the bench.
"I can't," he said. "I'm the responsible one."
"That's why you should," she insisted. "If you don't make them deal with the consequences the first time, they'll just keep doing it. Every time, you'll tell them their actions have consequences, and every time they'll tell you that it will be fine, but then you'll take care of it and so they'll be right. It adds up. The next thing you know, you're managing the entire house and you have a side business selling barely-worn dresses, on top of being the only one who remembers that chimneys need to be cleaned, and it's all because you didn't have the foresight to just let the house burn down the first time."
"Let them," she said, fidgeting with his handkerchief. Her feet were swinging a little beneath the bell of her skirt, all flattened against the bench.
"I can't," he said. "I'm the responsible one."
"That's why you should," she insisted. "If you don't make them deal with the consequences the first time, they'll just keep doing it. Every time, you'll tell them their actions have consequences, and every time they'll tell you that it will be fine, but then you'll take care of it and so they'll be right. It adds up. The next thing you know, you're managing the entire house and you have a side business selling barely-worn dresses, on top of being the only one who remembers that chimneys need to be cleaned, and it's all because you didn't have the foresight to just let the house burn down the first time."
