Quotes / When She Smiles

Anime and Manga

"The woman I love burns with jealousy,
leaps to conclusions, cries, and turns to ice.
But when she laughs, the world is mine."

— Yusaku Godai, Maison Ikkoku

"Things we think are cool:
A factory worker's shy smile!"

— Mio and Yukko, Nichijou

"Can you see, Midoriya, Sir? She smiled...! She smiled!"

— Mirio Togata about Eri's first real smile, My Hero Academia

"I feel a bit uneasy around her. But even though I'm not reserved or quiet, and I don't keep my thoughts to myself... It's still a bit embarrassing to say that she shines when she smiles."

— Arisa, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's The Comics

Fan Works

Rosalie's expression normally said, you'll have to do better than that to get my attention. That might have been what made her happiness so arresting when she displayed it, come to think of it.

— Luminosity

And then he did smile, and it was worth it. That sense of security she got when he gave her an almost identical smile after saving her from enemy yakuza, or reassurance that he didn't regret being involved with her.... It was that smile, so everything was okay after all.

— Kyon: Big Damn Hero

"You have no idea what that dazzling smile of yours does to my insides..."

— Sherlock Holmes, Children of Time

Luna understands, in that instant, but still gives him that look. That look of utmost respect, and that happy, trusting smile that could melt anyone down to acid. Luna is Luna, and she always seems to be in love when she gives that smile.

— affairs and occurrences, a Virtue's Last Reward fic ^note (Spoilers for the game)

She gave him a rare sheepish, simply pure smile then, making Shinji sit petrified at her beauty. God, thought the boy as he admired her, that's just… beautiful. Perfect… Her smile, it was devoid of any pain, any remorse or disgust, it was the purest smile he had ever seen. Simply breathtaking.

— Scar Tissue, Chapter 12

She gave me her most beautiful smile, before reverting to her arrogant self. If I had not been seated on my bed, I might have fallen on the floor. For that brief moment, she had really been the most gorgeous person I had ever seen.

— The One I Love Is..., Chapter 3

Then, to his considerable surprise, she smiled at him, something she hadn't done since before the last Angel battle. Shinji felt his heartbeat accelerating as he looked at her.

— Superwomen of Eva 2: Lone Heir of Krypton, Chapter 16

"I will never forget that smile you gave me when you said 'I do' in front of the priest. And it may take my entire life to repay you for that smile, but I'll do it."

— Shinji to Asuka, The Child of Love, Epilogue

Asuka. He imagined her standing at the end of a long polished corridor. She was in her HERZ uniform with her usual eye patch and arm harness. She held Akiko in her arms and smiled at him. It was a smile that could break his heart.

— HERZ, Chapter 10

Once they were almost alone on the bus, Asuka felt safe to talk to him, and rested her head on her arms on the back of Shinji's seat. Shinji was staring out the window, a faintly sad look on his face. She poked him in the back of the head. "Why the glum look, Shinji?"
Shinji blinked and snapped out of his distracted fugue. "Uh? Oh, it's nothing."
She poked him again. "Bullshit. Talk, Third. I like it when you smile too."

— Advice and Trust, Chapter 3

He accepts it without thinking twice, ignoring the blood. I'm not sure, but I think I manage to smile as well, because he suddenly smiles back as he grips my hand with both of his.
I would have moved the universe to see that smile.

— Higher Learning, Prologue

Then Asuka's lips curled up, an almost-smile. It was the most beautiful expression Shinji had seen on her face since before she took Keiko into combat.

— Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide

He never managed to say to her face that it was all worth it to see that wisp of a smile and hear her calling him ‘baka’ again in that softer voice.

— A Crown of Stars

If Asuka had fought that day in her usual manner, he might have been able to persuade her. But he hadn't stood a chance against the still tired yet serene smile that she had worn the whole time, so he eventually had given in when she softly asked him to just drive extra carefully.

— The Second Try

She turned and smiled at him. Her smile, he thought, had power enough to illuminate the darkness between Earth and Aldebaran.

— Hellsister Trilogy

That luminous smile returned, lending, just for a moment, a breathtaking beauty to her face. For the Doctor, smiles such as that were worth all the pain in the universe.

— The Man with No Name

Jean Grey studied the framed picture she was holding. She'd managed to capture one of Scott's rare unguarded smiles in the photograph. No one else had ever seen this particular picture of Scott. She'd made sure of that. This was her picture, and it made her heart skip a beat every time she saw it. Scott had been sending that smile to her and only her that afternoon in the park. That's the reason no other human being would ever see this picture. This was her Scott and no one else's.

— X-Men: The Early Years

For the first time since she began talking, she smiles. A moment later a giggle slips out of her mouth. She looks… unburdened. She looks like she was in chains and is at long last finally free.
And she is overwhelmingly beautiful.

— Futures Freak Me Out

"Pearl felt her heart lurch into her throat as she watched Marina's lips twitch upwards into the faintest of smiles, her teal eyes shining with inaudible laughter as she quietly chewed on another bite (of the grilled cheese sandwich that Pearl made for her).

Pearl realized it had been too damn long since she last saw that incredible smile, no matter how small it was. That was the award-winning smile that belonged to the Marina she knew, and she didn't realize how much she had truly missed it until this moment."

— I've Got Your Back, Chapter 6

And in the end, he never did figure out whether he would have been better off without her in his life. But he did realize one thing. Whether it be right or wrong, whether he loved it or hated it, he would always live or die by Asuka's smile.

— When She Smiles (Fresh C)

Literature

Vince grinned, and for a second, he didn't look at all nondescript. He had the kind of smile that could change the climate of a room.

— Turn Coat, The Dresden Files

But his smile when he turned it on you was quite remarkable. It seemed to be composed of all the worst things that life can do to you, but which, when he briefly reassembled them in that particular order on his face, made you suddenly feel, "Oh. Well that's all right then."

— So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

"Oh, do that again!"

— Cordelia Naismith seeing Aral Vorkosigan smile, Vorkosigan Saga

Sita smiled her warm white smile that had never an equal then in all the worlds, nor ever shall.

— The Ramayana (trans. William Buck)

He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.

— The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway upon meeting Jay Gatsby

It wasn't a beautiful face. But it was a nice face. It wasn't a face that could launch a thousand ships. Maybe two ships and a small yacht. That was, until she smiled. When she smiled, her eyes lit up like a pinball machine when you win a bonus game. And she smiled a lot.

— Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

Loor wasn't the smiley type. But when she did, it made my heart melt.

— The Pendragon Adventure book #4, The Reality Bug

A small, astonished smile creased her mouth. The smile transformed her face into an affliction of beauty that Gideon had heretofore managed to ignore.

— The Locked Tomb: Gideon the Ninth

Shelby was one of those people who looked miserable, almost funereal, when she wasn't smiling. When she did, it seemed like she could outshine the sun.

— InCryptid

In life, Ser Miles Toyne had been ugly as sin ... Myles had been possessed of jug ears, a crooked jaw, and the biggest nose that Jon Connington had ever seen. When he smiled at you, though, none of that mattered.

— A Dance with Dragons

"I had known Nicol for a few weeks now, but never once had I seen him smile. I had heard from Sophia that her brother did not, in fact, usually smile very much at all.
But Nicol was now... smiling. Smiling, like as if he were truly happy. Athough he was already beautiful in his own right, that heartfelt beauty seemed to amplify that beauty several times over."

— Catarina, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

"At that point, her expression, which was like some European fortress city, relaxed into a smile, and that smile made an impression that has never left my mind."

— The Protagonist, about Akashi, The Tatami Galaxy

He wasn't sure how it would be, but when Laurent saw who was beside him, he smiled, the expression a little shy but completely genuine. Damen, who hadn't been expecting it, felt the single painful beat of his heart. He'd never thought Laurent could look like that at anyone.

— Captive Prince: Prince's Gambit

Live-Action TV

"Every morning, I bring you a cup of coffee just so I can see a smile on your face."

— Richard Castle to Det. Kate Beckett, Castle, "Always"

Thea: Oh my God...what is wrong with your face?
Oliver: What do you mean?
Thea: There's something really weird on it...like this thing, with your mouth. [Oliver's grin widens] It looks like it's in the shape of a...smile?

— Arrow, "An Innocent Man"

Music

I was so happy when you smiled
Your smile breaks through the clouds of grey
Far from the sunny days that lie in sleep

— "For Fruits Basket", Fruits Basket opening theme

I'm in he-eaven
I'm in he-eaven
I'm in he-eaven
When you smile.

— Van Morrison, "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)"

I'm standing here
I really don't think you could know
That I'm in heaven when you smile

— The Stone Roses, "Standing Here"

It's like I never had to
See it in your eyes, or feel it;
I could tell, when you smile

— The Flaming Lips, "When You Smile"

When you shine
You know you take
A massive part out of me
And when you smile
You know you blind me
To all the horrors I see

— Spiritualized, "Smiles"

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed, sing like bird
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

— Uncle Kracker, "Smile"

Feel like I'm in heaven when you're with me
Know that I'm in heaven when you smile

— Tom Waits, "Little Trip To Heaven (On The Wings Of Your Love)"

Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it.

— "Breathe", Anna Nalick

Whenever I see your smiling face
I have to smile myself
Because I love you (Yes, I do)
And when you give me that pretty little pout
It turns me inside out
There's something about you, baby (I don't know)

— James Taylor, "Your Smiling Face"

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

— Nine Days, "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)"

And when she smiles she makes the sun shine
And fills the day with mornin' dew
Happiness runs in the family
She's a girl from the good earth and the high tree forest
And she's just about the happiest girl I ever knew

— Matthews' Southern Comfort, "And When She Smiles (She Makes The Sun Shine)"

I was born to make you happy,
I think it's just my style.
Everywhere I go, I'll tell everyone I know,
I love to see you smile.

— Randy Newman, "I Love to See You Smile"

When you smile, we can see the sun

— Supertramp, "Know who you are"

Video Games

(I think it's the first time I see her smiling, without being on her guards. It feels like she's a different person.)

— The Main Protagonist musing about Kaori Yae, Tokimeki Memorial 2 Substories: Dancing Summer Vacation

(She smiles in a way I have never seen before. My heart feels warm for some reason. That smile was good. That smile was for herself. Not a smile from watching over someone's safety. But a smile because she is happy herself.)

— Shirou's reaction to Saber's genuine smile in the Fate route of Fate/stay night

"There! That's it! That's the Naminé I remember. Yeah...I really liked it when you used to smile. Of course, that was really only in my fake memories. But what I'm feeling now definitely isn't fake. It's real."

— Sora, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

"She has a smile like the sun...I would do much to feel its warmth upon me once again."

—Great Deku Tree, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

"Slowly her hardened exterior began to soften"

— Cammy's Ending, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

Western Animation

"'Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile (Yes I do)
it fills my heart with sunshine all the while (Yes it does)"

— Pinkie Pie, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

Real Life

"A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those that give. It takes but a moment, but the memory lasts forever."

— Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

"...It looks out of the eye first with a merry twinkle, then it creeps down on its hands and knees and plays around the mouth like a pretty moth around the blaze of a candle, then it steals over into the dimples of the cheeks and rides around in those whirlpools for a while, then it lights up the whole face like the mellow bloom on a damask rose, then it swims up on the air, with a peal as clear and as happy as a dinner-bell, then it goes back again on gold tiptoes like an angel out for an airing, and it lies down on its little bed of violets in the heart where it came from."

— Josh Billings, on his favourite kind of laugh/smile

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