89 Quotes & Sayings By Seanan Mcguire

I stared at her. "But she drugged us."" That is no longer news, dumbass. Are you going to ask why she drugged you?"" Allright, " I said, narrowing my eyes. "Why?""Because, dear October, you're the most passively suicidal person I've ever met, and that's saying something. You'll never open your wrists, but you'll run headfirst into hell. You'll have good reasons. You'll have great reasons, even. And a part of you will be praying that you won't come out again. Seanan McGuire

In the interests of friendship, I hope you’ll forgive me what I’m about to do.”“ Forgive you wha–” My sentence was cut off as he clamped his mouth over mine, kissing me deeply..“ Ready to make a scene?” He raised an eyebrow. “Do I have a choice?”“ Not really. To quote something someone said to me recently, in the interests of friendship, I hope you’ll forgive what I’m about to do.” I drew back my hand and slapped him across the face. The smack of flesh striking flesh echoed through the hall. Conversations stopped as people whipped around to stare at us. Raising my voice to something just below a shout, I snarled, “You asshole! . Seanan McGuire

Anyone who thinks cryptozoology is the study of the impossible has never really taken a very good look at the so-called "natural world." Once you get past the megamouth sharks, naked mole rats, and spotted hyenas, then the basilisks, dragons, and cuckoos just don't seem that unreasonable. Unpleasant, yes, but unreasonable? Not really. Seanan McGuire

I think the rules where different there. It was all about science, but the science was magical. It didn't care about whether something could be done. It was about whether it should be done, and the answer was always, always yes. Seanan McGuire

Why does Eleanor let you have that much acid?" he asked. "Why would you want that much acid? You don't need that much acid."" Except that it appears I do, since I have just enough to dissolve a human body, and we have a human body in need of dissolving, " said Jack. "Everything happens for a reason. And Eleanor didn't 'let' me have this much acid. I sort of collected it on my own. For a rainy day."" What were you expecting it to rain?" said Christopher. "Bears?. Seanan McGuire

This isn't an army marching on the Mists. This isn't a case you have to solve. It's just a bunch of nobles coming to puff their chests out at each other an try to look important. Do what I do. Bring popcorn. Seanan McGuire

Brenna Kelly, meet Alice Price-Healy. Grandma, meet Breanna. No one is shooting, stabbing or immolating anyone in this hotel room."" Please, " added Dominic. "I have to sleep here."" H A I L! " Rejoiced the mice. "HAIL THE LACK OF STABBING, SHOOTING AND FLAME! Seanan McGuire

If it had been my decision, you would still be sleeping, and I would be hoping every hour of every night you lived was filled with the foulest of dreams.”“ My only nightmare in this moment is the quality of the mattress you saw fit to place me on, ” said Simon. “Really, brother, have you never heard of lumbar support? Seanan McGuire

Sometimes, when it seems like the pain is never going to end, I wish I’d gotten a different suite of magical talents from my mother. Like the power to avoid situations that end with me willingly jamming my arm into a door made entirely from animate, apparently angry rose briars. Seanan McGuire

Hey! " I turned, crossing my arms and glaring. "I was talking to him! " Tybalt eyed me with amusement, which just made me glare harder. "No, you were inciting him to stab you with a toothpick. Again, the difference is small, but I think it matters. Seanan McGuire

None of this is real, my dear. Not this house, not this conversation, not those shoes you're wearing--which are several years out of style if you're trying to reacclimatize yourself to the ways of your peers, and are not proper mourning shoes if you're trying to hold fast to your recent past--and not either one of us. 'Real' is a four-letter-word, and I'll thank you to use it as little as possible while you live under my roof. Seanan McGuire

There was still something unfinished around her eyes; she wasn’t done yet. She was a story, not an epilogue. And if she chose to narrate her own life one word at a time as she descended the stairs to meet her newest arrival, that wasn’t hurting anyone. Narration was a hard habit to break, after all. Sometimes it was all a body had. Seanan McGuire

Growing up in my family meant ambushes on your birthday, crossbows for Christmas, and games of dodge ball where the balls were occasionally rigged to explode. It also meant learning how to work your way out of a wide variety of death traps. Failure to get loose on your own could lead to missing dinner, or worse, being forced to admit that you missed dinner because your baby sister had tied you to the couch. Again. . Seanan McGuire

But that’s what family is, isn't it? It’s traditions and trinkets that only matter when we hold them up against the mirrors of our lives, lending them meaning, lending them weight, until they become heavy enough to endure without us. We create the past in the things that we choose to remember about it. We turn everything into stories, and those stories matter because we say that they do. It’s all a wheel, and ours are the hands that turn it. . Seanan McGuire

Parthenogenesis means never having your mother tell you to stop doing that or you'll go blind. Seanan McGuire

Adversity doesn't exist to make us stronger. Adversity exists because this world is a damn hard place to live. Prove that you're better than the things it throws at you. Live. Seanan McGuire

I didn't look back. Sometimes, not looking back is the only mercy the world has left to show. Seanan McGuire

He was still so very young. Faeries–true faeries, not their changeling throwaways–live forever, and when you have an eternity of adulthood ahead of you, you linger over childhood. You tend it and keep it close to your heart, because once it ends, it’s over. Quentin was barely fifteen. He’d never seen the Great Hunt that came down every twenty-one years, or been present for the crowning of a King or Queen of Cats, or announced his maturity before the throne of High King Aethlin. He was a child, and he should have had decades left to play; a century of games and joy and edging cautiously toward adulthood. But he didn’t. I could see his childhood dying in his eyes as he looked at me, silently begging me to answer for him. Seanan McGuire

My lord was never sane, but he was my love, once. He always will be, somewhere. Wherever it is that the once upon a times go when they die. Seanan McGuire

Quentin quieted and watched her for a moment, hungrily, like he was trying to memorize every detail. Maybe he was. Forever is a long time. You have to burn the edges of memory onto your heart, or they can fade, and sometimes the second loss is worse than the first one. Seanan McGuire

I didn't even feel my face hitting the pond. Everything was darkness, glorious darkness and the final, perfect absence of pain. It was done, all of it, the running and the fighting, and the pain. After everything that I'd gone through, it was finally over, and this time, the water would carry me home. Seanan McGuire

Faeries are real. Magic is real. My tendency to greet dangerous situations by plunging in headfirst and seeing how long it takes to get myself covered head to toe in blood is also real. Seanan McGuire

Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world. Seanan McGuire

I wondered how much time they'd spent practicing entrances like this one, smoothing away their rough edges and rendering them brief but potent expressions of effortless grace. I decided to stop thinking about it, and just be grateful that there was no circumstance, however, unlikely, that could put me in their place. Seanan McGuire

If you wish to find your answers, you’ll need to begin thinking, not merely reacting.-- Lily Seanan McGuire

We hated each other so well and loved each other so badly... Seanan McGuire

If something happened to Gillian, I'd rip the world down to save her, even if she spat in my face when I did. That's what parenthood means. Seanan McGuire

The night-haunts never lie. They could, if they wanted to, but they don’t really see the point. The truth is so much more dangerous than a lie. Seanan McGuire

He said that he was sure you would be amendable to this course of action." April paused, eyes widening, before she said indignantly, "I believe he may have lied to me! Seanan McGuire

I would love a sandwich, ' said Tybalt, with enough gravity to make it sound like a formal proclamation. Resolved: that we will have ham and cheese sandwiches. Seanan McGuire

You want to go back, and so you hold on to the habits you learned while you were traveling, because it's better than admitting the journey's over. Seanan McGuire

I watch him go, and wonder if being good isn't its own punishment as much as it's supposed to be its own reward. Seanan McGuire

There's always time for tea. Seanan McGuire

For us, places we went were home. We didn't care if they were good or evil or neutral or what. We cared about the fact that for the first time, we didn't have to pretend to be something we weren't. We just got to be. That made all the difference in the world. Seanan McGuire

Doors opened everywhere. Maybe one day, the children of this world who had gone to that world to save themselves would see a door that didn't fit right with the walls around it, something with a doorknob made of a moon, or a knocker that winked. Maybe they could still go home, Seanan McGuire

The Luidaeg sighed and put her arms around me, pulling me close. "Come here, " she said. "I need to hold someone, and you need to be held. It's a fair trade. Just for a little while, and then we can go on being what we are." I thought about objecting, but dismissed the idea and nestled against her, enjoying the feeling of security given by knowing someone bigger and stronger than I was would stop anything from hurting me. That's all childhood is, after all: strong arms to hold back the dark, a story to keep the shadows dancing, and a candle to mark the long journey into day. A song to keep the flights of angels at bay. How many miles to Babylon? Sorry. I don't care. Seanan McGuire

Then he looked back to me, and smiled. It was a terrible expression, filled with edges, and with knives. Seanan McGuire

But sometimes the pieces fall together the way they want to, and you can't change the story; all you can do is try to ride it out. Seanan McGuire

You’ll always come back to warn him, no matter how much danger it could put you in, no matter what it costs you, because he cared for you when you thought you were nothing. You were never nothing. That didn’t matter. Perception is everything in this world Seanan McGuire

Let's go commit senseless acts of science. Seanan McGuire

Luna had told us not to drop the rose, not to leave the path. But we never dropped the rose - it was on me the whole time - and we didn't leave the path, not really. We just took a shortcut through the shadows and the brush, something idiots have been doing in fairy tales since the beginning of time. Seanan McGuire

If anyone was going to get themselves murdered to guarantee they would remain the center of attention, it would be him. Seanan McGuire

For is it not said That Girl Knows No Fear, and Dammit, Fran, She's Going To Get Herself Et, and This Is From Your Side Of The Family, Jonathan, No One In My Family Has Ever Hugged A Basilisk Before? Seanan McGuire

Hello?” I peered into the shadows. Two green circles flashed in the dark. I yelped, jumping backward and pressing myself against the wall.“ And may I wish a very good morning to you, too, October.” The voice was amused, underscored by a chuckle like thick cream. “What happened? Did the prettiest little princess miss her carriage home? Seanan McGuire

Only an idiot would trust a Kelpie this close to the water. Getting on its back with the scent of the sea in the air would be a fast, painful means of suicide, and I'm not a fan of pain. Seanan McGuire

But you're so easy to sneak up on." He crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. "You should be honored that I bother, since there's no challenge to it."" Right, " I said dryly. Tybalt has never made a secret of his contempt for changelings in general and me in particular. Not even the years I spent missing could change that. If anything, it made things worse, because when I came back, I promptly removed myself from all the places he was accustomed to finding me. Hating me suddenly took effort - an effort he's proved annoying glad to make. On the other hand, it's actually been something of a relief, because it is something I can count on. Dawn comes, the moon rises and Tybalt hates me. Seanan McGuire

I’m a cat. We aren’t required to make sense. Seanan McGuire

When Rome burned, the emperor's cats still expected to be fed on time. Seanan McGuire

Cats never listen. They’re dependable that way; when Rome burned, the emperor’s cats still expected to be fed on time. Seanan McGuire

October–You were sleeping so peacefully that I was loath to wake you. Duke Torquill, after demanding to know what I was doing in your apartment, has requested that I inform you of his intent to visit after ‘tending to some business at the Queen’s Court.’ I recommend wearing something clinging, as that may distract him from whatever he wishes to lecture you about this time. Hopefully, it’s your manners. You are truly endearing when you sleep. I attribute this to the exotic nature of seeing you in a state of silence.– Tybalt . Seanan McGuire

Most cats don't like water, and despite her pretensions of tigerhood, Julie was no different. Yes, tigers have stripes; so do tabbies. If you want to know the difference, try tossing one of each into your swimming pool. Then I would recommend running. Seanan McGuire

In Tybalt's case, it means bloody control of the local Court of Cats. He became their king by right of blood; he's held the position by beating the crap out of anyone who tries to take it away. The Cait Sidhe take a more direct and bloody approach to succession than most of Faerie. Seanan McGuire

Humanity has always had a flair for guilt by association. Seanan McGuire

I have a swizzle stick shaped like a little monkey, ” announced Rose. “Let’s help the dead man with his problem. Seanan McGuire

Now, if you will excuse me, a dead woman is trying to convince me to drink something that comes in layers. Seanan McGuire

This isn't a place for lies or pretending everything's all right. We know everything is not all right. If it were, you wouldn't be here. Now. Where did you go? Seanan McGuire

Don't let anyone tell you, ever, that this is a zero-sum game. Your genius does not threaten me. It delights and inspires me. Seanan McGuire

The Argentine tango isn't here to play nicely with the other children. The Argentine tango is here to seduce your women, spill things on your rug, and sneak out your bedroom window in the middle of the night. Seanan McGuire

The mythology warped and twisted back along itself until Buffy Summers, the girl who once railed against the unfairness of being Chosen, looked at a squadron of girls who were just like she'd been and took away their right to Choose. Seanan McGuire

The moon is the friendliest of the celestial bodies, after all, glowing warm and white and welcoming, like a friend who wants only to know that all of us are safe in our narrow worlds, our narrow yards, our narrow, well-considered lives. The moon worries. We may not know how we know that, but we know it all the same: that the moon watches, and the moon worries, and the moon will always love us, no matter what. Seanan McGuire

Call me a sucker for a man who had a great ass who knows how to bake a macaroni casserole and can tolerate six hours of Sesame Street a day. Seanan McGuire

When the Root and Branch were young, when the Rose still grew unplucked upon the tree; when all our lands were new and green and we danced without care, then, we were immortal... We left those lands for the world where time dwells, dancing, that we might see the passage of the sun and the growing of the world. Here we may die, and where we can fall, and here King ___ has stopped his dancing. Seanan McGuire

And you shouldn't believe all the press about Ouija boards. They can't be used in an exorcism. Trivial Pursuit can, but that's another story. Seanan McGuire

Crazy gets all the knives. Seanan McGuire

I just feel like we’re starting to interfere on a level that’s sort of .. . extreme.” “But that’s what heroes do. Seanan McGuire

I just wasn’t sure it was a good idea to approach heroing the way I’d always approached detecting. Can you really shake the world until justice falls out? Seanan McGuire

I've never liked being looked at like I was a hero. I always wind up letting someone down. Sometimes I get lucky. Sometimes the only person who gets hurt is me. Seanan McGuire

After months - after years - of chaos and life-threatening situations and people stabbing me for no good reason, we'd somehow managed to find a moment to breathe. That didn't just deserve to be enjoyed. It deserved to be celebrated, held up as proof that the world was a good place and didn't actually need to be destroyed in order for me to have a nap. Seanan McGuire

Wisconsin doesn't look kindly on the weeks that slip in between the death of cold and the birth of warmth; Persephone may have left her husband, but she isn't home yet, and this is one state that'll be damned before it lets anyone forget it. Seanan McGuire

It's not hard to marginalize people when they've already done it to themselves. Seanan McGuire

Just thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve managed to wind up covered in blood, ” I said. “It’s like a new trend. A blood-free trend. Seanan McGuire

You are covered in blood, " Tybalt said again, stressing the words harder this time. "It makes me tense." There was a thud as the guard hit the floor, and Tybalt returned to my side." Wow. You must be tense a lot." He sighed. "You have no idea. Seanan McGuire

Everyone thinks of them in terms of poisoned apples and glass coffins, and forgets that they represent girls who walked into dark forests and remade them into their own reflections. Seanan McGuire

I squared my shoulders, trying to ignore the fact that I was standing in the apartment of the sea witch, wearing a fairy-tale prom gown, waiting for the attack of the mermaids. Seanan McGuire

Clichés are relatives of the fairy tale, and tropes aren’t bad; they go with the territory. Seanan McGuire

When you’re late in a fairy tale, people wind up dead. And not true-love’s-kiss, glass-coffin-nap-time dead. Really dead, the kind of dead you don’t recover from. Seanan McGuire

Sure. If she gets mugged, she can just flute them to death. Seanan McGuire

Even when she slept, she tossed and turned and squirmed, like she was secretly a hurricane forced into a girl-body and told to exist as best she could among people who had no idea what it meant to secretly be a weather pattern. Seanan McGuire

There is no fighting in the Library. Anyone who starts a fight or responds to a challenge will be thrown out. You may think you can take me. You're probably right. But none of you can take the Library. Seanan McGuire

The problem with people who say monsters don't really exist is that they're almost never saying it to the monsters." –Alice Healy Seanan McGuire