#dark

I love you,” she said, speaking clearly so that there might be no confusion. “I love you utterly and completely. I love your elegant hands and the way you smile with only one side of your mouth — when you smile at all — and I love how grave your eyes are. I love that you let me invade your house with nearly my entire family and yours, and never even turned a hair. I love that you made love to me when I asked you, purely for politeness’ sake, and I love that you got mad at me later and made me make love to you. I love that you let Her Grace and her puppies construct a nest out of your shirts in your dressing room. I love that you’ve spent years selflessly saving people in St. Giles — although I want you to stop right now. I love that you killed a man for me, even if I’m still mad at you about it. I love that you saved my letters before we even knew each other well, and I love the curt, overly serious letters you wrote to me in return.” She looked at him very seriously. “I love you, Godric St. John, and now I’m breaking my word. I will not leave you. You may either come with me to Laurelwood or I’ll stay here with you in your musty old house in London and drive you mad with all my talking and relatives and… and exotic sexual positions until you break down and love me back, for I’m warning you that I’m not giving up until you love me and we’re a happy family with dozens of children.” She paused at that point because she’d run out of breath and looked at him. His face had gone still and for a moment her heart sank and she had to fortify herself for a battle. But then his mouth quirked like that and he said, “Exotic sexual positions?” And she knew even before he said anything else that it was all going to be fine—more than fine. It was going to be wonderful. ↗

— Elizabeth Hoyt

#declaration #godric #lord-of-darkness #love #maiden-lane

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. ↗

— Carl Jung

#along #balanced #better #cannot #come

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people. ↗

— Carl Jung

#darkness #dealing #knowing #method #other

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. ↗

— Carl Jung

#being #darkness #discern #existence #far

Understanding does not cure evil, but it is a definite help, inasmuch as one can cope with a comprehensible darkness. ↗

— Carl Jung

#cope #cure #darkness #definite #does

I don't know anyone who actually likes the dark or night-time. I don't care how much they say it doesn't bother them. That's why we used to huddle in caves and light fires when the sun went down. ↗

— Paul Kane

#anyone #bother #care #caves #dark

Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck. ↗

— Immanuel Kant

#lighthouse #many #metaphysics #ocean #philosophic

Dawn cackles as she guides me through the all-glass porch. Thinner, paler Reina shuffles about behind Dawn, watching as I slip my boots off. Although she tries to hide her hands, her fingers flicker nervously. I place my boots neatly on the floor of the porch beside the other pairs in the shadows under the coats. Music drifts through to us from a distant room – it’s the Beach Boys’ California Dreamin’. Dawn looks at me and I smile – they’ve put the record on for me. Dawn nods along happily. ‘Hear you’re a surfer boy!’ she says and she mimics riding a wave. ↗

— Amaya Ellman

#dark #dysfunctional-family #fear-and-suspense #fiction #psychological

A work will only have deep resonance if the kind of darkness I can generate is something that is resident in me already. ↗

— Anish Kapoor

#darkness #deep #generate #i #i can

The Cold War in Africa is one of the darkest, most disgraceful pages in contemporary history, and everybody ought to be ashamed. ↗

— Ryszard Kapuscinski

#ashamed #cold #cold war #contemporary #contemporary history