Discussion The Power of Brevity: The Fanfic Quotes Thread

“Words strike the air and the mind, they act on the senses and on the soul.”
– Jan Potocki, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa​

We’ve all had such moments while reading a fanfic: we encountered a passage that packed so much in so few words that we wanted to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear. It made us laugh, or it made us cry, or we found it exciting, or we thought that it encapsulated a character or a situation perfectly. Well, here’s a thread to post all these amazing quotes and give them their moment in the sun.

The House Rules

1. One quote per post – if you have more than one quote in mind, just wait until someone else posts one and post again.
2. Keep the quotes short – you should limit yourself to a few lines, a paragraph at most (as a ballpark, 150 words)
3. Don’t forget to reference the author and the story you’re quoting from! Maybe people reading here will want to go over there and have a look.
4. You can also add a little blurb to explain why the quote resonated with you.
5. Please keep the selection diverse and refrain from quoting the same authors/stories over and over again.
6. Don't quote your own fics (d’oh!) – this isn’t a thread for self-promotion.
7. All fanfic and board rules apply as usual, but you awesome people know that already.

Ancestors of this thread:
Fanfic Quotes (2002-2009)
“You can say that again” (2004-2009)

 

(reserved, just in case it turns out to be necessary)

 

And I'll go first! (Can you tell that I had this one ready?)

“Zak Ghent looked over the scene in front of him. In total, there were nine sets of students. Nine was a good number, a square. Nine could be a very friendly number.”
– from Greater Than the Sum of his Parts by @divapilot

It’s a well-known fact that I never read anything by divapilot I didn’t like, but this particular story is one of my favourites. The quote above is from one of the earlier paragraphs of the story, where we see Ghent in school and not fitting in; but the moment I read the line “nine could be very friendly number” I realised that this was going to be so much more than a fic about a loveable dork. The always amazing divapilot really really gets inside Ghent’s mind to show us how he ‘translates’ everything to numbers in order to handle the world and his place in it; and while you’d expect such a subject to be a bit dull and arid, she manages to make the mathematics so alive that, as a reader, I found myself waiting for the next moment the numbers would make an appearance. So basically, while I quoted above the bit that got me hooked, I could also quote entire passages of the story, and I can’t recommend it enough.

 

“I think Lord Vader got what he wanted for Life Day, although it's hard to tell, since it seemed like it only made him angrier. Maybe Sith Lords are happy about being angry-I don't know.”

Anyway, that's how a Sith brought Life Day that year, or at least one did for my mother and I. Because-apart from the occasional person who wants the name of a Rebel Jedi Death Star destroyer-what most of us want for Life Day is family.”

The Sith Who Brought Life Day by @poor yorick. (I think that’s their current handle.).

I read this every year because it’s the story of an imperial analyst who loses a bet and has to give Darth Vader a Life Day present. Knowing that Vader is obsessed with the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, he tracks down proof that it’s a kid named Luke Skywalker.

It’s so weirdly funny and I cry at the ending every time.

 

"Renewal"
by @Gabri_Jade

Mara led the way down the hall to the refresher, where she washed her face, then let her mother comb and re-braid her hair. She felt vaguely ridiculous—she’d handled all her own grooming since she was five—and yet profoundly content all at the same time.

“There you go,” her mother said, fastening the end of the braid. Mara angled herself between the mirrors so she could look at the back of her own head.

“It’s fancier than I usually do,” she said, eyeing the new style. A braid ran down each side of her head, with each section of hair left slightly loose to accentuate the wave of the braid. At the nape of her neck the braids joined each other twice: the upper joined braid had been twisted and pinned into a loose coil at the top of the lower joined braid, which ran down her back like normal. It resembled nothing so much as a flower on a long stem.

“Your sister went through a rather long ‘fancy braid’ stage,” her mother said with a smile. “Shocking, I know.”

Mara laughed and patted her hair. She’d certainly arranged her hair in any number of styles for formal occasions, but this somehow felt more special than any of them. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” her mother said, and wrapped her arms tightly around Mara again. “My baby girl. I’ve missed you so much.”[/i]

I love the family Mara finds, reconnects with. They are so totally lovable and nuanced. They're snarky and tender at the same time.

 

From Skycrawler by @vader_incarnate

Just funny and well-written.

 

From Enter the Foreign by @ViariSkywalker

There's so many quotable bits to this epic story, but I like this one that so concisely characterizes that particular flavor of Anakin Skywalker we all know and love from the movies and Vi's version of Ben Skywalker who now lives in my head as THE default interpretation of the character. And it's so Star Wars in its inherent humor and hopefulness but also pain; there's that hint of tragedy that doesn't get delved into too deeply (here. elsewhere ...) but that of course lingers even in moments of victory.

 

"Nervously, FN 2187 peered into the bathroom. A cat shower curtain hung to one side of the bathtub; the bathmat depicted a curled-up tan cat. The sink displayed a cat-shaped soap dish and toothbrush holder. The knob on the medicine cabinet was a silver cat head.

FN 2187 bolted through the living area (a wall sign that read “Cats Welcome, Others Tolerated” hung over a cat light switch plate) and into the kitchen. The theme continued: cat-shaped cookie jar, refrigerator with cat magnets, salt and pepper shakers (white cat for salt, black for pepper, of course), even measuring spoons with cats’ ears and faces. He began doing breathing exercises to keep his composure. "

From "The Pawful Truth" by @Seldes_Katne

I write a lot of weird cat stuff with weird cat stuff accessories, but not quite so well as this quote from Seldes Katne's story. In this quote she has truly captured the essence of cat and the steer terror of Finn being surrounded by cat things. And while reading this quote, do play "the Twilight Zone" theme in the background because I sincerely believe it's a perfect fit to describe this scene.

 

From "The Steel In Our Hearts Will Be Monuments" by @ViariSkywalker:

HK-47 the murder droid reminds me of my relationship with my smartphone whenever I get ambitious about getting fit and download a bunch of apps to remind me of all the stuff I'm not doing. He's also the perfect companion for a pair of Sith twins who have a surprisingly wholesome bond as they leave a trail of corpses on their many adventures.

 

This one isn't precisely a fanfic quote, but the introductory post to the thread The Dear DAIRY Challenge: Being the Udderly Cheesy Adventures of Luke by @Findswoman, @Briannakin, @Raissa Baiard and @Ewok Poet. However, in this very particular case I'd argue that the author's note, being as zany as the fics it introduces, is part and parcel of the stories, so I'll let it speak for itself:

Once in a while, a plot bunny comes along that just gets the butter of you—one that you just have to milk for all it’s worth. And indeed, that is exactly what happened near-simultaneously to four of us one Thursday in late October, when the inimitable Gamiel posted the following in the Plot Bunny Donation and Index Thread:

As the wild, wacky story ideas started churning in our minds, we four—Briannakin, Ewok Poet, Findswoman, and Raissa Baiard—decided we would whip up this little anthology of stories centered around Luke’s encounters with nonblue milk at various points in his life and career, in both Legends and NuCanon continuities. And the results, if we do say so ourselves, are whey cool.

So sit back, relax, and lait yourself be transported to a far-off galaxy of udder fun!

Wishing you all the dairy best,
Finds

In case some of you didn't get the subliminal message, this should be one of your go-to threads for the day you need a good laugh.

 

“It's extralegal, Zokk," Braken said with a tone that implied this concept was simpler than breathing. "That means it's even more legal than usual.”
– from Braken Starblaster, Space Attorney by @The_Face

Sixteen years later and I still quote this all the time IRL.

 

I was thinking about Braken Starblaster the other day. I really miss Face's stories.

 

Here's one from NSWFF for me, from The Captain and the Commodore by @Mira_Jade.

"And yet, very few step quite purposefully into love – they fall, and quite unexpectedly."

I'm currently re-reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time since high school and for the very first time in English, and now that I'm not a mopey teenager anymore I appreciate Mrs Jennings more than I can say. I could quote virtually every single line of dialogue that Mira attributes to her, but the one above is simply perfection.

 

-from Color Me Pink by @Mira_Jade

This is a beautiful quote in Mira's beautiful story about identity and self-acceptance and friendship (and some amazing world-building as well!). But it's also a quote that resonated with me on a personal level the first time I read it, and it's stayed with me IRL ever since.