ren’s Reviews > Stone Blind > Status Update

"I am the Gorgon head, the head of Medusa, born (or perhaps I should say created) in the moment she died. And I have a much lower opinion of mortal men than she. I am looking at their feet because I was determined not to look at their eyes. But I had to keep my eyes open, for the chance to lithify the one with the sword. I didn't yet know his name was Perseus. But I know he deserved to die."

making me think of ivy

"b: No, you're lying. She was asleep.
a: Until the final moment she was asleep.
b: If what you're saying is true, why didn't she open her eyes?
e: You know why.
d: You know why.
b: I don't.
a: Because she wouldn't kill him."

"a: She slept facing the cave wall that night, curled up with her arms folded in front of her.
d: Like a child.
e: Yes.
ē: He sighed with relief when he saw she was facing the wall.
i: He was a coward.
g: It didn't matter. He didn't need to be brave to kill her while she slept.
a: She was asleep until he held the sword above her neck. She woke when he was standing above her. He kicked two stones into her back."

"Is no one going to rouse Phorcys? Will no one call to Ceto? Will these immortals not rise up from the deep to protect their daughter? Perseus wants to save his mother from marriage: will neither of these sea gods intervene to save their daughter from death? From mutilation? Are they afraid of Zeus or has no one told them she is in danger?
Her sisters don't know what's coming, of that I'm sure."

"He has never stopped petitioning his father for aid. He knows he cannot do what has to be done without divine assistance. Some people, find humility an endearing trait. Others might wonder why one bastard child deserves so much attention.
And now he is closing in on the Gorgons, ready to kill a creature that has done him no harm just to acquire a trophy for a man he despises."

"'I don't mind being a monster,' Euryale replied. 'I would rather have power than not. I like being what scares them.' There was a pause. 'I like you having snakes,' she added. 'I didn't like how they hurt you at first. I didn't like how you lost your hair. But I don't see this change as any different from the others, except we know who caused this one.'"

"'So was I meant to have snake hair? Was I meant to be more like you?' Medusa asked. And this, Euryale realized, was the question that had been gnawing at her sister's heart.
'No. That was just Athene, finding a clever way to punish you. Clever, as she thinks of it, I mean. She would have been so pleased with herself, punishing you by making you a monster, like us.'
'You aren't monsters.'
'Neither are you.'"

"'Gorgons aren't supposed to be like gods. We belong here, in the place between the land and the sea, not on a lofty mountain. They put our image on the outside of temples, not within. We look out on mortals, not down on them. When Phorcys delivered you to our shore, he brought you to where you needed to be.'
'So I wouldn't die, or embarrass him.'
'Yes. And so we would become three, as we're meant to be.'"

"'You always changed and never changed,' Sthenno said.
'Then how did you know I was still Medusa?'
'Because of the ways you stayed the same,' Euryale said. 'Everything changes except the gods. We don't think the sheep have stopped being sheep because we sheared them.'
She ate in silence for a while. 'But you always had each other.' she said. 'And you never change.'
'We do change. You changed us, when you came.'"

"'We are one and we are many,' said Sthenno.
Euryale nodded, and Medusa raised her head towards the light of the evening sun.
'Are we one?' she asked. 'Even after everything?'
'We will always be one,' said Sthenno. 'One family of Gorgons.'
'But I've changed so much,' said Medusa. Sthenno could hear the frown that the bindings covered.
'You've changed every day,' said Euryale thickly. 'Since you were a baby.'"