[ STILL ] : following a massive shock/stress/trauma, receiver's hands are trembling from the distress of it all. sender, seeing this, gently reaches out to cover and hold their hands, both as a comfort and as a way of calming them with their presence.

❝  my father has never been able to imagine the world without himself in it.  ❞ ❝  there is a twisting feeling in my chest, like cloth being wrung dry.  ❞ ❝  the grudges of the gods are as deathless as their flesh.  ❞ ❝  it was my first lesson. beneath the smooth, familiar face of things is another that waits to tear the world in two.  ❞ ❝  you think just because you are a daughter of the sun, you may uproot the world to please yourself.  ❞ ❝  even the best iron grows brittle with too much beating.  ❞ ❝  fear of failure is the worst thing for any spell.  ❞ ❝  those who fight against prophecy only draw it more tightly around their throats.  ❞ ❝  did you smile a little? perhaps i only flatter myself.  ❞ ❝  i have a better idea. i will do as i please.  ❞ ❝  what can i say? the world is an ugly place. we must live in it.  ❞ ❝  how many of us would be granted pardon if our true hearts were known?  ❞ ❝  you threw me to the crows, but it turns out i prefer them to you.  ❞ ❝  give me the blade. some things are worth spilling blood for.  ❞ ❝  it is very close. a perfect sleeping spot to ease your weary bones.  ❞ ❝  all my life had been murk and depths, but i was not a part of that dark water. i was a creature within it.  ❞ ❝  most men do not know me for what i am.  ❞ ❝  i suppose i could weep and rub my eyes to please you, but i choose not to live so falsely.  ❞ ❝  there is no wound that you can give me that i have not already given myself.  ❞ ❝  i will not be a bird bred in a cage, too dull to fly even when the door stands open.  ❞ ❝  i stood there for a long time fearing such things, and waiting, as if someone would come and reassure me.  ❞ ❝  this is how zeus felt when he first lifted the thunderbolt.  ❞ ❝  i had a little pride, and that was good. more would have been fatal.  ❞ ❝  will you not come to bed, my love?  ❞ ❝  if my childhood has given me anything, it’s endurance.  ❞ ❝  if you had asked me, i would have said i was happy.  ❞ ❝  that is another thing about you. you make me want to spill my secrets.  ❞ ❝  they do not care if you are good. they barely care if you are wicked. the only thing that makes them listen is power.  ❞ ❝  as for that safety, i do not want it. it is only more chains.  ❞ ❝  all those years i had spent with them were like a stone tossed in a pool. already, the ripples were gone.  ❞ ❝  war always seemed to me a foolish choice from men. whatever they win from it, they will only have a handful of years to enjoy before they die. more likely they will perish trying.  ❞ ❝  are you always so suspicious?  ❞ ❝   in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth.  ❞ ❝  i can bend the world to my will, as a bow bent for an arrow.  ❞ ❝  will you do me the honor of dining with me?  ❞ ❝  i know what we owe you. what i owe.  ❞ ❝  i’m afraid i might have floated on, believing those dull memories were all there was, until the end of days.  ❞ ❝  do not be too happy. it will bring down fire on your head.  ❞ ❝  you are a poison snake, and i am another, and on such terms we please ourselves.  ❞ ❝  your words are like a secret. a thing that looks like stone, but inside is a seed.  ❞ ❝  you cannot know how frightened gods are of pain. there is nothing more foreign to them.  ❞ ❝  bold action and bold manner are not the same.  ❞ ❝  a golden cage is still a cage.  ❞ ❝  i am surprised to see you so plain after such boasting.  ❞ ❝  your voice is like balm upon my raw skin.  ❞ ❝  does no one have the courage? will no one dare to face me?  ❞ ❝  those who love me a little do not care to say.  ❞ ❝  it is easily to speak so open with you. your face is like a quiet pool that will hold everything safe in its depths.  ❞ ❝  humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. as if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.  ❞ ❝  you are weak and blind, and it is worse because you choose it.  ❞ ❝  you can teach a viper to eat from your hands, but you cannot take away how much it likes to bite.  ❞ ❝  i should have known you would be good for nothing to me.  ❞ ❝  gold does not give back a life.  ❞ ❝  it is funny, that even after all this time, you believe you will be rewarded, just because you have been obedient.  ❞ ❝  i have done your work for you, and all you give me is mockery and contempt.  ❞ ❝  where would you go, if you might escape?  ❞ ❝  you are right. this world is a wild and terrible place, and worth shouting at.  ❞ ❝  i cannot bear this world a moment longer.  ❞ ❝  i owe you nothing. you will have of me only what i want to give.  ❞ ❝  however gold you shine, do not forget your fire.  ❞ ❝  that is what you desire most of all: to drive others into doubt, keep them wondering and fretting, stumbling behind your dancing feet.  ❞ ❝  sorry that you thought i was weak, but you were wrong.  ❞ ❝  trickery is for cowards, men not bull-necked enough to show true courage.  ❞ ❝  i have a little pride. if they do not weep, i will not either.  ❞ ❝  you have as many coils as a snake, and an eye always to your advantage.  ❞ ❝  i want the sun to burn me. i want it to scorch me to the bone.  ❞ ❝  what of me? shall i rot?  ❞ ❝  how long would i cling to that handful of minutes, trying to cover myself as if with some threadbare blanket?  ❞ ❝  i have been old and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. but that is only a shape i’ve been poured into. i do not have to keep it.  ❞ ❝  i am not weak. and i will never be sorry not to be like you.  ❞ ❝  you draw me in as if you are winding up a thread.  ❞ ❝  the fragility of mortals breeds kindness and good grace.  ❞ ❝ come, there are blankets here, laid for you upon the soft grass. ❞ ❝ there will be no songs made for you. no stories. you will live a life of obscurity. you will be without a name in history. you will be no one. ❞ ❝ those heroes. you should see the look on their faces when i run straight for them. ❞ ❝ those who fight against prophecy only draw it more tightly around their throats. ❞ ❝ see? we do not need anyone. ❞ ❝ have you not always insisted on being difficult in everything you do? ❞ ❝ you cannot think of it. it will only torment you. ❞ ❝ and that is the least of my powers. ❞ ❝ you are lucky i do not kill you where you stand. ❞ ❝ you do not understand the dangers that wait for you in the world. ❞ ❝ your threats are crude. i had hoped we might discuss this reasonably. ❞ ❝ you showed me your scars, and in return you let me pretend that i had none. ❞ ❝ my whole life, i have waited for tragedy to find me. ❞ ❝ it is not for such as you to question my purpose. ❞ ❝ i felt a weariness in me so great i thought i would sink into the earth. ❞ ❝ have patience, your strength will come in time. ❞ ❝ you have never understood how strong i am. ❞ ❝ you do not know what i can do. ❞ ❝ i have said all i will say. do not ask me again. ❞ ❝ perhaps no parent can truly see their child. when we look we see only the mirror of our own faults. ❞ ❝ i cannot bear this world a moment longer. ❞ ❝ there is no profit in chasing riddles of the fates. ❞ ❝ why can you not be more peaceful? why must it be so hard? ❞ ❝ come. let’s do something fun. i will show you magic. ❞ ❝ at last. i have met the thing the gods can use against me. ❞ ❝ clever. you were testing me, weren’t you? ❞ ❝ i must tell you, all my past is like today; monsters and horrors no one wants to hear. ❞ ❝ you cannot come. it is not safe for mortals. ❞ ❝ come forth, and speak to my face. or do you only do your murdering from the shadows? ❞ ❝ you are safe. we may be happy at last. ❞ ❝ what else have you kept from me? ❞ ❝ all heroes are fools. all heroes but me. ❞ ❝ i know what i was in those days: unsteady, inconstant. ❞ ❝ i will be fine, i promise you. ❞ ❝ i have a better idea. i will do as i please. ❞ ❝ will there never be an end to it? ❞ ❝ i will wear that shame all my life. i cannot undo it, but i will spend my days wishing i could. ❞ ❝ if you want to join me, i will not stop you. ❞ ❝ if i do this thing, it will be the last i will ever do for you. ❞ ❝ i am sorry i put you in such danger. ❞