FINAL GIRL ENERGY !

dialogue starters for first time meetings in historical or fantasy settings.

“forgive my intrusion. have we met before?”

“you walk as one accustomed to long roads.”

“it is rare to find another soul in this place.”

“you bear the air of someone with purpose. may i ask your name?”

“the wind carries your scent of distant lands.”

“you seem far from home, stranger.”

“your robes speak of refinement, yet your eyes tell another story.”

“may i share your fire for a while?”

“it seems fate has led our paths to cross.”

“you handle that weapon with care. a practitioner, perhaps?”

“have you come seeking fortune, or fleeing something?”

“i did not expect company in such a lonely place.”

“you carry a heavy heart. the road must have been unkind.”

“are you a wanderer, or one with a destination in mind?”

“you move with discipline. do you belong to a sect?”

“the way you observe the horizon... what do you see there?”

“i could not help but notice your talisman. a charm for protection?”

“you seem unafraid, even here. that is uncommon.”

“your presence disturbs the silence yet i do not mind it.”

“do you often travel alone, or am i witnessing a rare moment?”

“you look as though you’ve seen ghosts.”

“the stars are kind tonight. perhaps that is why we meet.”

“a name has power. would you share yours?”

“i sense a story behind those eyes.”

“the tea is still warm, if you would sit and rest.”

“do you always meet strangers so fearlessly?”

“you wear no crest or banner, are you unaffiliated?”

“your aura feels… unfamiliar. what manner of cultivation is that?”

“there’s something about you the heavens seem to favor.”

“the world is wide, and yet we cross paths here. curious, isn’t it?”

“your silence speaks louder than words.”

“you carry an old wound. is it battle, or memory?”

“do you seek shelter, or solitude?”

“you’ve seen much, and yet your gaze holds wonder.”

“your voice carries conviction. you must believe in something deeply.”

“even the moon seems to follow you.”

“if i did not know better, i’d say destiny enjoys such meetings.”

“you seem out of place, or perhaps the place is out of time.”

“tell me, stranger. what is it you’re searching for?”

“the night is long. shall we pass it in conversation?”

“your weapon hums faintly. is it bound to your spirit?”

“you don’t avert your gaze. most would.”

“that pendant... it resembles one i once saw in the capital.”

“has the road been kind to you, or cruel?”

“you seem weary, but your steps haven’t faltered.”

“do you believe in omens?”

“you have the bearing of someone who’s seen battle.”

“tell me truthfully, do you trust me?”

“your presence feels... familiar, like a dream i’ve forgotten.”

“you stand as though waiting for someone.”

“if i asked what you’ve lost, would you answer?”

“your hands are steady. a healer’s, perhaps?”

“the forest seems quieter since you arrived.”

“you remind me of someone... though i cannot say who.”

“do you always travel under the moon’s light?”

“you seem untouched by fear. is that wisdom, or recklessness?”

“if we had met under gentler skies, would you still look at me this way?”

“the scent of rain follows you. were you caught in a storm?”

“i wonder, what kind of person leaves footprints like yours?”

i didn't want you to go alone.

i can't do anything without you.

could you ever imagine us together?

how long have you been sitting here?

sorry if i fall asleep on your shoulder.

you're not like everyone else.

is this a date?

you have no idea what i'd do to keep you safe.

i brought you a coffee, just the way you like it.

could you not see i was flirting?

i should get going.

you're the only one i can turn to.

they thought we were a couple.

they were playing that song the night we met.

let's cook something together.

you're special to me.

i think i'm falling in love.

when did you get here?

i missed you more than you know.

you take the umbrella. i'll be fine.

i'll come pick you up. stay right there.

you're my missing piece.

let me see the menu. we could just split something.

i deleted all my dating apps.

there's only one bed.

i won't let anything hurt you.

i'll walk you home.

you said you were hungry, so i brought you something.

there's something i've been meaning to tell you.

you smile when you're nervous.

i get it. you're not interested.

have you ever considered... us?

nothing will ever be the same.

you're the only person who understands me.

was that flirting?

it would mean a lot to me if you stayed.

do you need a hug?

it's all right. i was happy to do it.

do you remember how we met?

i'm here for you. whatever you need.

do you need a lift?

never leave me again. do you understand?

you're my best friend.

you take the bed, i'll take the couch.

maybe i'm already interested in someone.

i'm on my way over. be there in ten minutes.

i don't want to overstay my welcome.

that looks amazing on you.

i'm not going out with them anymore.

i'm just a phone call away.

yes, i was flirting with you.

keep it. you need it more than me.

it was just one kiss.

you changed everything.

you can lean on my shoulder if you want.

i hate it when you leave.

can you walk me home?

you mean so much to me.

stay right there! i'm coming! i'll help!

i'm in love with you! i've been in love with you this whole time!

maybe i could make us breakfast in the morning.

you could hold my hand if you'd like.

wish you didn't have to go.

call me when you get home? so i know you're safe?

i forgot to tell you. we broke up.

check your front door. there's something waiting for you.

you could spend the night.

we're alone now.

need a ride?

that meant a lot to me, you know.

i don't know what i'd do without you.

do you feel the same way?

you... love me?

do you want to come inside?

you deserve better than that.

here, take my jacket. it's freezing.

this song reminds me of you.

are you dating someone?

i didn't know who else to turn to.

do you really have to go?

i don't understand what you do to me.

i won't let anyone lay a hand on you.

were you flirting with me?

i hate saying goodbye.

what happened between you two, anyway?

they shouldn't talk to you like that.

all this time i've been in love with you.

i won't say anything if you don't.

i remembered your order, by the way.

they think we'd make a good couple.

guess we have to share.

i brought you soup.

did you just say i love you?

it's just us now.

i could use a hug.

you are the single most important thing in my life.

i don't know how i survived for so long without you.

we could go on a date.

There had been a time when every syllable from her lips had cut like a lash.  He could remember it well enough – the severity of her wit, the proud lift of her chin, the scorn that had burned hot and searing.  In the beginning, he had scarcely known what to make of her.  A creature too bright and restless for the dark old house, fluttering about its rooms like some wild bird trapped indoors.

Hareton watched the small movement of her hands twisting in the worn shawl.  The gesture was slight, uncertain – so unlike the bold, reckless girl who had once mocked him openly for his ignorance.

Foolish and cruel, she called herself.

He felt a faint tightening in his chest, an awkward sort of protest stirring in him.

It had wounded him then, more deeply than he would have confessed.  The shame of her laughter.  The helpless anger of knowing she spoke truth where his ignorance was concerned.

Another memory stirred – the crack of the fowling gun bursting wrong in his hands, smoke biting sharp at his eyes and the sudden sting along his arm.  Long days by the fireside afterwards, pale and bloodless, set to bursts of Catherine’s song.  Her sudden, earnest request that they should be friends.  The light touch of her lips alighting on his cheek.

That wound had dulled with time, or perhaps something else had come to lie over it.

“Let us not be miserable any longer.”

Hareton lifted his eyes again to find she was smiling faintly. Not with the careless gaiety he had seen in her once long ago.  This smile was smaller, quieter, but no less sincere.

“You and I.”

He felt the words settle somewhere deep inside him, felt the heat climb his weather-beaten cheeks.  His gaze drifted briefly, shyly, to the fire.  Flames licked low around the darkening logs, their light rising and falling along the walls that had known so many bitter voices. Now there were only two. The thought ought to have felt lonely. It did not.

Hareton rubbed the back of his neck again, a gesture of old uncertainty that returned whenever his mind pressed upon matters he could not easily name.

“Aye,” he said at last.  “Aye, I reckon we might be.”

The corner of his mouth twitched – not quite a smile, though the impression of one lingered there a moment.

“It’s been dark here long enough.”

Hareton glanced once more towards the hearth before looking back to her, something thoughtful in his dark eyes.

“We could mend it some,” he said slowly, as though testing the notion even as he spoke it.  “The house, I mean.” His gaze flicked briefly to her hands. Fine, fair. “And the rest besides.”

He drew a breath slowly through his nose.

And yet - defiance is a color she wears most often, and best of all. It is only the two of them now, up in this dark, dreary house - and she is more unafraid than she has ever been. She would feel, rather than haunt.

"I'd like that," Catherine says plainly, immediately, doubtlessly - looking at Hareton, because it is what she means and something she is sure of. She smiles at him again when she catches the hint of soft expression lingering on his countenance. "We can fix it up together. If you don't think I'll be in the way. Or else I could sit on your side and read to you."

In simpler times she had dreamed of minimal comforts. An arrangement of chairs closer to the fire. A breezier curtain, to let in sun. Paint so the walls did not feel so much like the sides of a coffin. Sills on which to sit and read. They seemed far away, months ago. Now - less so.

Her hands were no longer the hands of a pampered young lady, though still much less weathered than his own, than even Nelly's. She had learned to rely on her own hands - but she had no mother to teach her this. How to make a house. How to build a home and find peace in it. She flushes, a moment later, as if realizing all she has said to him. "...If you will permit it. If I am not presumptuous."

Catherine has next to nothing left in the whole world. And yet, somehow - he's here. He's here, and he has always given her a modicum of courage.

“  i don’t want you here.  just go.  ” 

“  you ‘didn’t mean to hurt me?’  yeah you did.  like it or not,  i know exactly who you are.  ” 

“  why won’t you even look at me?  ”

“  i’m not angry at you.  i’m angry with myself for trusting you.  ”

“  i wish you’d stop trying to destroy yourself in some misguided effort to feel worthy.  ”

“  i know it’s not fair to say this,  but i don’t have anything without you.  if i don’t have you i have nothing.  ”

“  you can’t love me.  not the way i need to be loved.  ”

“  i’m broken.  and i don’t need anyone to try to feed me white lies about it.  something inside me is broken and it isn’t just going to be put back like it was.  ” 

“  sometimes being broken isn’t about trying to put things back together like they were before.  it’s about picking up what pieces are left and building something new.  ”

“  okay,  so you’re a monster.  so am i.  lets be monsters together.  ” 

“  because of what they/you did i’m damaged.  ”  

“  what the hell is wrong with you?  ”

“  what the hell is wrong with me?  ”

“  i can’t fix you.  you can’t expect me to know how to fix you.  ” 

“  yeah,  i’ll be here.  i’ll be here when you’re ready to stop running.  ”

“  my world is just falling apart.  it’s like everything is just crumbling around me.  i don’t know what to do.  i just want it to stop ”  

“  you’re the only thing that makes sense right now.  everything else is just—  the world is so loud.  and the only time it feels quiet is when you’re here.  ”

“  i don’t know how to talk about shit okay?  it’s too hard.  but i do care.  i need you to trust me that i care.  ”

 “  stop punishing yourself.  you wanna make up for what you’ve done?  get off your ass and do something about it.  ”

“  whatever it is you think was going on between us,  you’re wrong.  ”

“  it didn’t mean anything to me.  ” 

“  you should move on.  i did.  ”  

“  i feel like i’m one bad day away from becoming everything i’ve fought against.  ” 

“  stop pushing me away.  i’m not going anywhere,  asshole.  and as soon as you get that through that thick skull of yours,  the better.  ”  

“  i don’t need you in my life.  i don’t want you in it.  ”  

“  i can’t trust myself.  if i let myself get comfortable enough,  when i try to be happy,  people get hurt.  ”  

“  people like me don’t get to have peace.  ”  

“  i’m not the person you want.  i know you think i am.  but it won’t take long for you to realize this is a mistake.  ”  

“  you want the truth?  the truth is when i love people it burns inside me like a poison.  it infects every part of me until it feels like they’re in my goddamn soul…and then i fuck it up.  and it’ll destroy us both.  ”  

“  i’ll always choose you.  that’s the worst part of it all.  i’d choose you over and over, even though i know you wouldn’t do the same.  ”  

“  you never had to be perfect.  you just had to stay.  ”

“  will you please just stay for once.  just.  don’t walk away.  ” 

“  if i loved you less,  i might be able to talk about it more.  ”   

“  just tell me something real.  tell me something i can remember no matter what happens to us.  ”

“  when you look at me,  i feel seen.  i feel like you see past everything i’ve always surrounded myself with to try and protect my heart.  no one has ever looked that deeply at me.  ”  

“  how can you uncover so much about someone,  make them let their guard down and lay themselves bare to you.  and then just throw it all away?  ”

“  if you walk out that door don’t bother coming back.  ”

“  why are you so afraid of trusting this—  trusting us.  what’s making you hold back?  ”

“  will you still be here?  will you stay even after you’ve seen all the ugly parts of my heart.  ”  

“  i don’t care how willing you are to die for me.  i want you to fucking live with me.  live for us.  ” 

HURT/COMFORT

[ DISCOVER ] for one muse to find the other crying alone. 

[ COMPANY ] for one muse to sit with the other so they don’t have to be alone while they’re upset. 

[ EMBRACE ] for one muse to suddenly hug the other one for their own comfort. 

[ OFFER ] for one muse to suddenly hug the other one to comfort them.

[ SETTLE ] for one muse to comfort the other and end up cuddling. 

[ SHOULDER ] for one muse to rest their head on the other’s shoulder while they comfort them. 

[ CARRY ]  for one muse to find the other injured and carry them to safety.

[ SECURE ] for one muse to carry the other to bed after they fell asleep. 

[ STRUGGLE ]  for one muse to resist being hugged but then break down and crumble against the other. 

[ CLEAR ] for one muse to wipe the other’s tears. 

[ BREAKDOWN ] for one muse to ask the other if they’re okay prompting them to finally stop bottling things up. 

[ BRUSH ] for one muse to run their fingers through the other’s hair while they open up or cry. 

[ NURSE ] for one muse to tend to the other while they’re recovering from injuries. 

[ TRUST ] for a scenario where sender’s muse is the only one receivers muse will let close. 

[ COAX ] for scenario where receiver’s muse knows they’re the only one sender’s muse will let close. 

[ CALM ] for one muse to subdue the other during an outburst. 

[ CLARITY ] for one muse to help ground the other back in the present  (i.e. after nightmare, breakdown, battle etc)

That's it. Right and breathe in.

Don't worry. I got your room assignment.

Glad you could come by. You've been away too long.

Hey! I hear we're gonna be roommates.

Hey I heard you got the new kid.

How was your summer?

Hmm what's [his/her/their] specialty? Bootlicking?

It's every bit as tough as they say unless you're a genius like Einstein.

When you're on your own, you can do as you damn well please.

You know me: always taking on too much.

Why doesn't [he/she/they] let you do what you want?

Well just don't tell me how to talk to my father.

So what are you gonna do then?

I don't care. I don't give a damn about any of it.

"O Captain my Captain."

Somewhat appropriate isn't it?

"Carpe diem. " Do you know what that means?

One day we are going to stop breathing, turn cold and die.

You've walked past them many times. I don't think you've really looked at them.

Listen. Do you hear it?

Oh come on, [name]. Don't you get anything?

Who's up for a quick study group tonight?

Duh! Just replace these numbers here with 'x "for 'x"and 'y. "

You think I can get in there? You've been hogging it all day.

How was dinner?

Are you crazy? What's wrong with that?

It's worse than "too bad", It's a tragedy.

We're not laying pipe. We're talking about poetry.

Go on. Rip it out! It's not the Bible. You're not gonna go to hell for this.

What the hell is going on here?

We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.

Poetry; beauty romance love- -these are what we stay alive for.

It was very fascinating, misguided though it was.

Funny I never pegged you as a cynic.

What's the Dead Poets Society?

Oh my God. No that's not me.

Why? What was it?

You mean it was a bunch of guys sitting around reading poetry?

Not a bad way to spend an evening eh?

Where's this cave [he/she/they] talking about?

You know how many demerits we're talking?

Look all I'm saying is that we have to be careful.

No shit Sherlock!

What is this a midnight study group?

I don't know. This is starting to sound dangerous.

For God's sake. Stop chattering and sit down.

Don't you want to do something about that?

Gosh you really have a problem with that don't you?

What if you didn't have to read? What if you just came and listened?

Could you give that back please?

Get away from me, okay?

God are you trying to smoke us out of here!?

Hey! I told you that one!

You want to hear a real poem?

Wow. Whoa. Where did you get that?

Come on, are you a man or an amoeba?

Why do I stand up here?

See the world looks very different from up here.

Come see for yourselves. Come on. Even though it may seem silly or wrong you must try.

Don't think I don't know this assignment scares the hell out of you.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream." It's a play dummy.

Yes! I'm gonna be an actor!

For the first time in my whole life I know what I want to do.

How are you gonna be in a play if your father won't let you?

Bullshit. Nothing's impossible.

Can't I even enjoy the idea for a little while?

Wh- What is that supposed to mean?

I mean, I appreciate this concern but I'm not like you, all right?

The point is there's nothing you can do about it so you can just butt out.

I can take care of myself just fine.

Don't be immature. Come on!

Oh to have life henceforth the poem of new joys

[Name], how are you gonna do this?

I'm sorry Captain. It's stupid.

A major theme not only in poetry but life.

We're not laughing at you, we're laughing near you.

Just don't let your poems be ordinary.

Isn't that right, [name]. Isn't that your worst fear?

I think you have something inside of you… that is worth a great deal.

Say the first thing that pops into your head even if it's total gibberish.

Close your eyes. Describe what you see.

Truth is like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.

What do you say we start this meeting?

Where did you learn to play like that?

I've been calm all my life. I'm gonna do something about that!

Where are you going? What are you gonna do?

I want you to find your own walk right now, your own way of striding pacing any direction.

Is today your birthday?

Maybe they weren't thinking about anything at all.

Oh my! Well I wouldn't worry.

Why don't you go downstairs? That's where everybody is.

We gonna have a meeting or what?

There's plenty more where that came from.

Now how's about a kiss?

What the hell are you doing?

Well don't you think they're gonna figure out who wrote it?

[Name], you had no right to do something like that.

Are we just playing around out here or do we mean what we say?

Hey, would you not worry about your precious little neck?

So what are you gonna do?

I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.

But I thought you'd like that.

You being expelled from school is not daring to me. It's stupid.

Did you really think I wasn't going to find out?

You can go anywhere. You can do anything. How can you stand being here?

Acting is everything to me.

Have you ever told your father what you just told me?

You have to show him who you are what your heart is.

It's not a whim for you. You prove it to him by your conviction and your passion.

Isn't there an easier way?

I came to apologize for the other night. I brought you these and a poem I wrote for you.

Look, I acted like a jerk and I know it.

Really? You told him what you told me?

I didn't mean to make a fool out of you.

You don't- - You don't even know me.

I have to go. I'm gonna be late for the play.

If you don't like me after tonight, I'll stay away forever.

Good night sweet friend. Thy love ne'er alter 'til thy sweet life end.

So good night unto you all. Give me your hands if we be friends.

What a performance. You left even me speechless.

Don't make it any worse than it is.

Whatever the reason we're not gonna let you ruin your life.

That's ten more years. That's a lifetime!

Don't be so dramatic. You make it sound like a prison term.

You have opportunities that I never even dreamt of!

⁽   *   ⁾    𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒  𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊   →   sentence  starters

“I  will  always  find  you,  no  matter  how  lost  you  feel.”

“Let  me  take  your  pain—if  I  could  bear  it  for  you,  I  would.”

“You  don’t  have  to  stand  alone—I’ll  always  be  here  to  catch  you.”

“Your  scars  do  not  make  you  less  worthy  of  love.”

“Rest  now.  I’ll  be  here  when  you  wake.”

“I  will  stand  between  you  and  the  storm.”

“Tell  me  your  story—I  want  to  know  every  part  of  you.”

“Run.  I’ll  hold  them  back.”

“Let  me  hold  you  until  the  nightmares  fade.”

"If  they  want  you,  they’ll  have  to  go  through  me  first.”

“I  will  always  be  your  light,  even  in  the  darkest  moments.”

“Come  back  to  me.  I’ll  wait  as  long  as  it  takes.”

“I  won’t  let  them  take  you—I’d  give  anything  to  keep  you  safe.”

⁽   *   ⁾    𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒  𝐒𝐄𝐄   →   scene  prompts

LAVENDER  →  A  small,  cozy  apartment  in  the  heart  of  a  busy  city.

CHERRY  BLOSSOM  →  A  rooftop  bar  with  twinkling  fairy  lights.

RED  ROSE  →  A  luxury  penthouse  suite.

SUNFLOWER  →  A  sunflower  farm  just  outside  of  town.

RUE  →  A  quiet,  almost  abandoned  street  in  the  heart  of  the  city.

FORGET-ME-NOT  →  A  run-down  but  charming  vintage  record  store  tucked  between  newer  shops

BLACK  VELVET  PETUNIA  →  A  chic,  underground  jazz  club  in  a  city’s  artsy  district.

MARIGOLD  →  A  farmers’  market  on  a  busy  weekend  morning.

MOONFLOWER  →  A  secluded,  trendy  rooftop  lounge  overlooking  a  sprawling  cityscape  at  night.

POPPY  →  An  abandoned  warehouse  on  the  outskirts  of  town.

MANDRAKE  →  A  small,  independent  cafe  nestled  on  a  quiet  street.

LILY  →  A  serene,  minimalist  art  gallery  with  bright  white  walls.

CARNATION  →  A  high-end  florist  shop  with  glass  vases  of  colorful  blooms.

PEONY  →  A  luxury  spa  retreat  by  the  beach.

ORCHID  →  A  rooftop  garden  in  a  sleek  modern  building.

DAFFODIL  →  A  trendy  brunch  spot  by  the  lake.

TULIP  →  A  chic  urban  loft  filled  with  large  windows  and  tulip  arrangements.

CAMELLIA  →  A  sleek  art  deco  hotel  lobby.

JASMINE  →  A  night-lit  garden  terrace  attached  to  a  modern  apartment.

SNAPDRAGON  →  A  secret  garden  tucked  behind  an  old  café  in  the  city.

LOTUS  →  A  chic  yoga  studio  with  floor-to-ceiling  windows  overlooking  a  busy street.

A fiend.

Heathcliff.

Hareton had never rightly known what the man had been to him. Master, tyrant, gaoler – all fitted easily enough. There had been something else beneath them, however, something harder to name and harder still to cast away. Heathcliff had raised him, after a fashion. Feeding him with one hand while the other lifted to strike. There had been no tenderness in it. No teaching but what came from the rough laughter of men who thought cruelty a sport.

Still, the dead man had been the only father the world had given him.

Beyond the windows the moors stretched black and endless beneath the night, its grasses bent low beneath the wind’s hand. He had belonged to that wildness once. He had belonged to that wildness once, no better than the dogs in the yard. Snapping, snarling, living as they did.

The men who had shaped him had been loud, coarse creatures of appetite and temper. They drank hard, cursed harder, laughed at any gentleness as though it were a sickness. Hareton had grown among them like a weed among stones, never taught to think himself capable of anything finer.

Misery had made him a fiend, aye.

He lifted his gaze at last, though not directly to her eyes at first. Instead he looked at the faint glow of the fire upon her sleeve, the pale curve of her wrist where it caught the light. Catherine seemed slight under the dark weight of the house, yet Hareton knew better than to mistake her for fragile. He had seen too much of what she had endured.

Her father dead.

Her freedom stolen.

Her husband dead too, and little loss in him.

Her days spent beneath the same roof that had twisted him into what he was.

Catherine –

Her name pressed against his teeth, but went unsaid. Biting down around it, he drew breath and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Despite the breadth of his shoulders, the gesture was awkward and half-boyish.

“I – ”

His brow furrowed as he wrestled with something stubborn inside himself. Speech never came easy.

“No.”

At last the answer came, low and plain.

“No,” Hareton repeated, more firmly. “I’ve been one, maybe. Near enough.”

His gaze drifted for a moment towards the darkened stairs, as though the house itself might still carry Heathcliff’s shadow along its passages.

“He taught me little else,” Hareton said, the words slow and thoughtful, as if each had to be lifted and set down with care. “But I’ve no mind to stay so.”

Finally, his dark eyes travelled to hers. He should like to be good to her, though he scarcely knew how. He shifted again, uncertain, the old awkwardness returning.

Catherine is only now learning to hear the silence, the pauses, what he means in the space where words live that remain unsaid - a language of its own, it seems, born out of the way the wind howls louder than any voice out on the ridges, out of the fire crackling in this house full of its old wrongs and bitterness, out of the loneliness and the altitude and the way sorrow is drowned out softly when there's no one to listen.

It comes unnaturally to her still, quick and sharp-tongued as is her way - but she finds something grounding and steady in it, and in some ways, in her own clumsiness. It would not do, after all, for only one of them to be uncertain.

When she sighs the exhale is softer than the crackle of sparks on log, and her hands twist absently into the corners of an old shawl, "I know very well I have been foolish and cruel and impish- and likely would have been still worse when I first arrived here, had I the means with which to avenge myself." Her heart was not nearly as hard as her old jailer's, however - this she did not say also. Nellie might be well pleased, she thinks with some amusement, to see her young lady has learned to hold her tongue. "Still, I too inflicted what pain I could when I was myself wounded."

It was human. She was unexpectedly given grace -and it seems, learned grace in return.

› prompts from mary shelley's novel frankenstein (1818/1831). feel free to tweak as you see fit.

“nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

“beware; for i am fearless, and therefore powerful.”

“life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and i will defend it.”

“i do know that for the sympathy of one living being, i would make peace with all.”

“i have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe.”

“there is something at work in my soul, which i do not understand.”

“if i cannot inspire love, i will cause fear!”

“how mutable are our feelings.”

“it is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world.”

“on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

“the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil.”

“i am alone.”

“i was benevolent and good.”

“misery made me a fiend.”

“hateful day when i received life!”

“i am solitary and abhorred.”

“the whole series of my life appeared to me as a dream.”

“the world was to me a secret which i desired to devine.”

“i am alone and miserable.”

“i could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other.”

“i wish to be allowed to speak.”

“i am malicious because i am miserable.”

“i looked upon the sea, it was to be my grave”

“why did i not die?”

“what can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?”

“soon these burning miseries will be extinct.”

“be calm!”

“one wondering thought pollutes the day.”

“you are in the wrong,"

“i will revenge my injuries.”

“do you share my maddness?”