Hi, honestly I‘d love to hear some sad quotes from your books/novels. I searched on the internet and I found a lot of lovely quotes, so I thought it‘d be fun to share. Here are my favourites from my story (I translated them because I write in German. Sorry if they‘re a bit messy.): 1. She didn‘t fall for him the moment they met. She fell after a thousand moments, a million of heartbeats and a billion of unspoken words. 2. Leaving him didn‘t break her heart; it broke her spirit. 3. "I don‘t know what you want from me.", he muttered. The woman‘s gaze was sharp and seemed to not only past his exterior but past anything even he believed to be true. "It‘s different with living beings.", she said. "You may love her beauty and strength but believe me, boy. Broken things are rarely fragile. Catastrophes are rarely ugly. And this girl is not a blessing but a curse." 4. If she wanted to feel their warmth, she had to burn them to the ground. 5. She wondered if it was the first he saw it. The emptiness in her eyes and the fire in her soul. Her lips twisted into a crooked smile. What an irony. In the end he was just a boy in love with roses but afraid of thorns. 6. "You love her." That wasn‘t question. It was a statement. She felt her heart skip several beats. Silence. "You can‘t love her. She …" "I know." "So then why?" "I‘ve seen it, you know. She thinks in extremes. She‘ll be as high as the clouds just to fall and crash into the cold ground, destroying everything around her. But she always gets up. Like a tornado she destroys everything to make place for something new. I kinda admire this strength. I probably would have never loved anyone if she hadn’t torn my entire existence into pieces.“
I agree sad quotes can be lovely. Not from mine but from the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams: 'Of what use was it to be loved and lose one's beauty and become Real if it all ended like this? And a tear, a real tear, trickled down his little shabby velvet nose and fell to the ground.'
Mood. Just the other day I had a forum post where I tried to translate "Das Spiel um die Macht ist nicht zu gewinnen - Die Last der Geschichte ist nicht zu bezwingen". I've had some; not precisely sad more so moody or brooding. “It is unlike scar or injury; for I know it will never heal. A part of my soul that I offered to her willing; and in exchange I received her light into my life. Now it is missing, and filled emptiness; I fear such will only grow over time to devour me from the inside. The day I concede will be the day we re-unite in love." Spoken by the only high noble in my project who married out of love. "I lived a life of tragedy, pain and disappointment. And I did not regret a single moment of it." Said by an imprisoned noblewoman who climbed the ranks of blueblood society through schemes, plots and some rather dark deeds. "I pursue a romantic life. I shun the ordinary, I escape to adventure and maintain my fantasy as a sanctuary of troubled mind." Quote from the same character as above; though before her exploits and rise. "Optimists were blind to notice the inevitable; pessimists were keen on seeing it become reality." Spoken by the minute political leader on the realization of "no-turning-back" in societal downfall. “There I stood believing I was observing the end of the world. When I raised the federal flag, I realised I was witnessing the birth of a new one.” A soldier recounting the moment the heavily-bombarded capital city fell and the civil war finally ended. "Wellestria may fall, but Wellestrians live on." Spoken by an optimist in a speech. She alludes to the fact that they already know the nation / federation will fall apart; she continues with explaining her intentions of an eventual re-unification. "You may have a home, but you will never have a homeland." and "Our Fatherland has conceived many bastards." A nobleman mocking another with a foreign culture / ancestry in Wellestria - one that ironically is the native culture to the lands. Imagine Basque in Spain mocked by Spanish, or Welsh in Britain mocked by English. "I only wish our historians detailed as much gore, as much death and suffering as they write about the glory of war." Spoken by a progressive nobleman after he is complimented on his successful campaign during the civil war. "In our effort to turn the trees, the snow and the skies black, we forged so many weapons, so much horror that one of them will eventually find its way back to crumble our cities to the blackened dust they spews." Spoken by the nobleman whose lands are the most industrialized (same as above). After the civil war he tries to change his lands from arms production to railways smithing and to connect the world. "A collapse of society does naught more than to scrape away the civil layers from men and women. Apocalypse is a mere surfacing of the beast within." Spoken by the veteran of the civil war who has seen the anarchic collapse of the capital city during its first siege. “True heroes have unmarked graves.” Spoken by the last Grand Marshal of Wellestria. She eventually falls in battle and finds herself venerated as a hero, and buried in a mass-grave.
All right, here's one from my W.I.P. It's not classic literature, but oh, well: “I’d rather be miserable with you than happy with anyone else,” he’d told her once, and now he was learning how utterly miserable misery over her could be.
From something I wrote 9 years ago, featuring a journey through a somewhat twisted version of Dante's Inferno: And now, surrounded on both sides by this immense suffering and apocalyptic violence, I'm filled with an intolerable despair—my very soul seems to cry out in anguish that it cannot for long bear. Unable to look upon anything else now, I lock eyes with King Diddy, who perhaps doesn't realize how fortunate he is not to be able to see into the trench nor far into the field of suffering souls—and I know my face must be wracked with anguish even as his. Oh why must we endure this? Just being here is torment beyond belief. It must end soon. I don't think I can withstand it much longer. I feel at any moment, utterly beyond my control, I will break down and begin to weep inconsolably or perhaps to scream and not be able to stop. From a little later in the same story: But now all my attention is on DeMonica racing heedless toward that beautiful forest. She doesn't seem to have noticed what I have; that the trees are unnaturally shaped—twisted and distorted until it seems they possess almost human features—all of them. In fact as if they once were human. But on she runs, overcome with joy, to sweep into that forest. It's hard to blame her really, considering all we've been through here, and how heavily the torments of the damned seem to have weighed on her. I can imagine she'd be powerfully tempted to run headlong into this sweet wood and disappear there—perhaps even at cost of becoming one with it forever. And then it occurs to me—perhaps she has noticed the trees. And perhaps she's not wrong.
No names to avoid spoilers. "I always knew I'd have to do this," he said. "Ever since the day my brother died." His hand spasmed as he ripped the crossbow bolt from his arm. The others in his back were next. "Please, stop," she said, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry!" His golden eyes were dead, lifeless. "You killed the one person who loved me. The one person I trusted, the one who would never look at me like I was a monster. He died, maybe not by your hand, but his blood is on your hands nonetheless." He began to glow, fires engulfing the air, and then there was light. And there were no more words, just ashes, and wings that blotted out the sky from horizon to horizon.
By the main antagonist from my fantasy series. ”After my mother died I had nothing, I was left all alone. So yes, I have been a thief, a murderer and even a whore. I did whatever it took to keep myself alive, because I know the truth. No one in this world even cares about a halfbreed like me. Not then, and not now. So don’t say they don’t deserve it!”
Oooooh, my book is saturated with them.... here's one: "You don’t think much of yourself, and you don’t have much confidence, but you’re braver than you think, and so much stronger. You’re also terribly fragile, and you’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to get things wrong and that’s ok. You’re going to give in to your weaknesses—just like everyone else; just like all the people you grant forgiveness to, no matter what they do. And just as you forgive them, you’re allowed to forgive yourself. I wish you could do that. I wish you could understand. And I wish you could love who you are instead of hating yourself so fucking much, you know; instead of suffering a penance to prove that you’re worthy of life. You don’t have to atone for the sins of the entire world. They’re far too much, Mykhaila Podrebinsky, and you’re far too small. "
And: "Despite knowing the truth—that he does create harm, that he does leave a mark—Dan still isn’t sorry or ashamed about what he does to me. He’s just melancholy. Fuck love, he mutters all the time. Fuck dreaming about the future. Fuck hope. It’s not good for people like him. It just leads to more disappointment. It’s nothing but a painful infection. There’s no point in wishing and wanting for something impossible when all it leads to is constant misery. He’s come to accept the grim reality that he is not a husband or father, a climber or explorer, or even just a good moral citizen. No. He’s a monster. He is a foul and disgusting monster, and that’s just the way it is. So why should he keep on pretending that he’s something else? Why deny what everyone keeps telling him that he is? A spider can’t become a butterfly, no matter how much it dreams and tries. And spiders, as we all know, are hated. The simple truth is that we can’t all become the people we’d like to be."
And finally (this one is a bit melodramatic rather than sad, tbh) I highlighted the most quotable bit (and yes, it's 100% my original quote): Oksana grabbed Yosyp’s rifle, thrusting it flat against his chest and demanding that he shoot her. Escape was impossible and she could never go back to the camp. Punishment would be public and horrific. There was no other option. She had to die. Now and quickly. Shoot me, she cried. She prayed. She begged. She begged him, but he couldn’t do it. It was hopeless. I mean, how can you kill a person you value more than your own life? How? How the fuck do you do that? Even if you know it’s the best thing for them. I’ll be safe with God, she assured him, and I’ll be watching you from Heaven. I’ll be fine. Tears were lost in the snow around her knees. Please. Yosyp didn’t cry, but he was quiet. The guards came closer and closer, rifles unslung and held in both hands, ready to shoot if they had to. He thought about taking a shot to hit one of them so they could run. But the snow was soft, and the field was open. There was nowhere to hide. If he didn’t take aim and pull the trigger, she said, they would both be dead. Then he thought about taking a shot at the others so they would shoot back. An execution, in a way, avoiding first being brutally tortured. And then they would both be together in Heaven. But he didn’t believe in Heaven. And he didn’t move. He didn’t do anything. There was still no way he could kill her. As long as he didn’t, she would still be alive. And as long as she was still alive, they would still have a chance. There would still be hope. Never give up. Even while Oksana lowered the end of the rifle with both of her hands and then pressed the barrel flush against her chest, right at her breaking heart, he wouldn’t give up. She told Yosyp how much she loved him, but there was no point in both of them dying. For me, she said. Don’t do it for you. Do it for me. She wanted him to live, and to marry, and have kids. She wanted him to give the gift of love to another. In that moment she was an Angel, he said; she was salvation. Yosyp closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. Her body fell back in the snow. She stained the cold white red. The other guards rushed over and thought they knew what they saw. Yosyp killed the fugitive. He shot her right through the heart. It was cold. It was brutal. It was heroic. He was given double rations for a month, then served out his time, then got sent home, then got married, had a child, started a family, just like she wanted. His life went on and on but Yosyp was never the same. When he fell in love with Oksana she became a part of him, they became one, and for the rest of his life he was already half dead. My cheeks would be wet when he told me that story, but Yosyp never cried. He never cried, but after he always went quiet. He once told me that if you ever want to know about God, about his generosity and his cruelty, then all you need to do is fall in love.
Yeah, these are all good. But the quote that gets me, every time, is the very last bit of your story that you've not quoted here (for obvious reasons ...it's a spoiler with a capital S.) No matter how many times I read it, I still get tears. It's a combination of release of pressure, unexpected beauty, and the inevitability of it all. It's a stunner.
Reminds me of some lyrics from a little known aussie singer Holly Throsby from many years ago that I really like: He says 'I cannot be around you because god knows it hurts But I cannot be without you 'cause it's much, much worse'
Here's mine. It's the end of the penultimate chapter in my book, where my main character, Joe Tatyaghi, is lying in bed, envisioning his twin brother's face in what looks like the mirror they both looked into as children. He's remembering one of their final actual times together, in which he told his brother, in the heat of a despairing moment, that he wished his brother was dead. Now he finally makes the decision he has avoided making throughout the book. His brother Jenő has gone beyond him, in every way possible, and finally IS dead now. The pull between them is still strong, but he knows he has to let guilt and regret go, and move on. It's not easy, letting go of feelings that have motivated you for your whole life.
A short poem by a fictional poet, told by a secondary character that kinda explains how the important people in her life cast her out. (Dialogue only, tags and such removed). I know I'm no poet so... “Upon my grave they raked the smoldering coal. Though dead and buried it seared my soul, Into darkness I fell and my heart felt their spite in lashes, Knowing my life meant nothing to them but ashes, I hit bottom of this abyss undefined, A voice called out to not be terrified, I ran into the black to outrun my fate, Feeble it was against their gait, Caught up in strong arms, And promise that I would not see harm, Cradled me to his breast like a babe, I sobbed as he began to explain, You and I disavowed by my father above, His warped perverted sense on that of love, You, like I flew to high and far, Dared to see what lay beyond the farthest star, To follow your heart and dream, Only to have your wings torn from you, you scream, To be down cast and forlorn, Your spirit, hopes, and life all battered and torn, Cast asunder a mistake to be left behind and forgotten, Knowing full well your intent was pure and not rotten, Lo you chose a path and did stray, Eternally outcast you’ll be in their dismay, Take comfort my child upon this level, For there are far worse creatures down here than I, the Devil.”
I don't tend to write a lot of sad things, but I've had some nice feedback about this part of Gravity (warning for swears below), where Jaeden reveals to Connor how his boyfriend died: "The accident caused a pile-up. Seventeen other people were hurt. Concussions, broken bones, cuts from shattered glass. Over twenty people whose lives were changed forever because I didn't find it worth my time to pick up the fucking phone for the man I supposedly loved. So if you wonder why I call bullshit when people try to tell me the accident wasn't my fault? Now you know it was."
I don't have any quotes because I haven't got to that bit yet, but the saddest non-spoilery one is probably about 2/3 of the way through part one when Tara realises that Brynjar is growing up. Even though when he was bonkers he drove her up the wall so much that she literally drugged him just so she could have some peace and quiet for a while.
In my WIP, one of the protagonists has a little sister who is vehemently opposed to her brother and her friend opposing the main antagonist. While the antagonist does usually let them go (He wants them to get stronger and essentially become gods), he's growing frustrated with how weak they are, and the little sister is constantly worried that he'll just decide to kill them one day. At the end of one of the books, he is actually going to kill them, but a masked figure appears and fights him. The fight doesn't last too long, but the masked figure puts up a really good fight until their back is broken and they're thrown into the ocean. The antagonist, too exhausted to risk fighting the protagonists again, decides to back off for now. It's only until later that night that they realize that the little sister is nowhere to be found. They look through the basement, a room she had personally locked up and never let anyone into, that they find several weapons and backup masks that the masked figure had. They realize that, not only had the little sister been preparing for something like this, but she had also just died saving them. I kind of wish I'd written this part already, but it'd be too long to comfortably include in one of these posts, anyway.
From memory because I don't have the original here "I'm tired of the fighting, so tired" and her voice did seem like it was about to crack. "All I see everywhere is blood, I just want a nice house and a nice garden. I want to grow old all alone, I want it so bad. I will sit in the shade of a tree, one that make fruits. Perhaps a cherry tree, that will be nice. Perhaps there will be a fig tree as well. Perhaps all the blood will wash away." "So you'll refuse when the Okren's people come ? You'll tell them to go to the front without you ?" I said, "Many of the other wounded are leaving for the freeholds." "No. When the Okren comes for me, I'll go to war." "Why ?" "Because I hate the enemy more than I like myself little girl, just like him." If there was anything I could say, I didn't think of it.
Amen. My quote similar to this is: "Yosyp once told me that after you’re broken you can’t ever really be fixed. You can put yourself back together, sure, and go on with your life, but you’ll always be weaker at the scars."
