F.C. Yee > Quotes

“What you do when no one is guiding you determines who you are.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“People shouldn't have everything they want. No one is entitled to their every desire. To live in balance, we must willingly decide not to take all that we can from the world, and from others.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“The illusion that the self is separate from the rest of the world is the driving factor that limits our potential. Once you realize there's nothing special about the self, it becomes easier to manipulate.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“The Avatar can be reborn. But you can't, Kyoshi. I don't want to give you up to the next generation. I couldn't bear to lose you.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“You either accept the risk of winning, or the guarantee of losing.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“People can always say I don't look impressive enough, but they can't argue over how strong I am once I punch them in the face.”
― F.C. Yee, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

“You must give up your desire for someone to tell you your choices were correct in the end.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“The stupid, smug whims of one unworthy man had left fingerprints on history that weren’t likely to be erased.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi

“They’re all the same, Kyoshi thought. Every single one. Whether they clothe themselves in business or brotherhood or a higher calling only they can see, it doesn't matter. They’re one and the same. They look at themselves like forces of nature, as inevitable ends, but they’re not. Their depth is as false as the shoals at low tide. They twist the meaning of justice to absolve themselves of conscience. They’re humans like us, made of skin and guts and pain. They need to be reminded of that fact.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“I wish I could give you your due,” Rangi muttered after some time had passed. “The wisest teachers. Armies to defend you. A palace to live in.” Kyoshi raised an eyebrow. “The Avatar gets a palace?” “No, but you deserve one.” “I don’t need it,” Kyoshi said. She smiled into Rangi’s hair, the soft strands caressing her lips. “And I don’t need an army. I have you.” “Psh,” Rangi scoffed. “A lot of good I’ve been so far. If I were better at my job you would never feel scared. Only loved. Adored by all.” Kyoshi gently nudged Rangi’s chin upward. She could no more prevent herself from doing this than she could keep from breathing, living, fearing. “I do feel loved,” she declared. Rangi’s beautiful face shone in reflection. Kyoshi leaned in and kissed her. A warm glow mapped Kyoshi’s veins. Eternity distilled in a single brush of skin. She thought she would never be more alive than now. And then— The shock of hands pushing her away. Kyoshi snapped out of her trance, aghast. Rangi had flinched at the contact. Repelled her. Viscerally, reflexively. Oh no. Oh no. This couldn’t—not after everything they’d been through—this couldn’t be how it— Kyoshi shut her eyes until they hurt. She wanted to shrink until she vanished within the cracks of the earth. She wanted to become dust and blow away in the wind. But the sound of laughter pulled her back. Rangi was coughing, drowning herself with her own tears and mirth. She caught her breath and retook Kyoshi by the hips, turning to the side, offering up the smooth, unblemished skin of her throat. “That side of my face is busted up, stupid,” she whispered in the darkness. “Kiss me where I’m not hurt.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi

“It’ll never get easier. If you had a strict rule, maybe, to always show mercy or always punish, you could use it as a shield to protect your spirit. But that would be distancing yourself from your duty. Determining the fates of others on a case-by-case basis, considering the infinite combinations of circumstance, will wear on you like rain on the mountain. Give it enough time, and you’ll bear the scars.” He spoke out of kindness and sorrow, perhaps not as immutable as he claimed to be. “You will never be perfectly fair, and you will never be truly correct,” Lao Ge said. “This is your burden.” To keep deciding, over and over again.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi

“You will never be perfectly fair, and you will never be truly correct,” Lao Ge said. “This is your burden.”
― F.C. Yee, Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi

“You can have your past, or you can have your future. Not both.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Both sides' was a rhetorical weapon used by hypocrites and the ignorant.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“Nope! Gonna cut you off right there. The last time I listened to a Firebender talk about 'honor' my ears nearly rotted off my skull. Had to kick him out of my bed with both feet.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“No fire is ever the same fire. No Avatar is ever the same person. You and the flame change with every moment, every generation. You are one flame, and you are many.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“My friend is not a diplomat. She is the failure of diplomacy. She is the breakdown of negotiations. There is no escalation of hostilities beyond her.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“What’s the matter?” my mother snapped. “You sick?” I pulled my body back inside and bumped my head against the window hard enough to make the glass rattle, but the pain was inconsequential right now. “No, I . . . I just needed some fresh air.” She squinted at me. “Are you pregnant?” “What!? No! Why would you even think that?” “Well then if you’re not sick and you’re not pregnant then ANSWER ME WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME!”
― F.C. Yee, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

“All this fretting about the spirits. I'm trying to teach you about the mind. An infinite world that's been neglected by far too many explorers.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“Enemies are enemies, but no one can shame you like your own family.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Weakness is practiced and learned as much as strength is!”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Honor cannot be coveted too dearly, young lady. Sometimes it must be laid down for the good of others.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“I was about as spiritual as a Chicken McNugget.”
― F.C. Yee, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

“Certain people... they turn you into what you were before.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Kiss me where I’m not hurt.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“Quentin took a deep breath.

“My true name,” he said, “ . . . is SUN WUKONG.”

A cold wind passed through the open window, rustling my loose papers like tumbleweed.

“I have no idea who that is,” I said.

Quentin was still trying to cement his “look at me being serious” face. It took him a few seconds to realize I wasn’t flipping out over whoever he was.

“The Sun Wukong,” he said, scooping the air with his fingers. “Sun Wukong the Monkey King.”

“I said, I don’t know who that is.”

His jaw dropped. Thankfully his teeth were still normal-size.

“You’re Chinese and you don’t know me?” he sputtered. “That’s like an American child not knowing Batman!”

“You’re Chinese Batman?”

“No! I’m stronger than Batman, and more important, like—like. Tian na, how do you not know who I am!?”

I didn’t know why he expected me to recognize him. He couldn’t have been a big-time actor or singer from overseas. I never followed mainland pop culture, but a lot of the other people at school did; word would have gotten around if we had a celebrity in our midst.

Plus that was a weird stage name. Monkey King? Was that what passed for sexy among the kids these days?”
― F.C. Yee, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

“I believe I have to make peace with my own choices, just like everyone else.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Where you go, I go. Besides, there's only one bison, rocks-for-brains.”
― F.C. Yee, The Rise of Kyoshi

“She had the obligation to be more than the sum of her grievances with the world.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi

“Water was calmness and tranquility, but it was the rage of a storm as well.”
― F.C. Yee, The Shadow of Kyoshi