Quotes / Used to Be a Sweet Kid

Comic Strips

Rob: [Bucky] was so cute when he was a kitten... what the ✰@#% happened?

Satchel: I think we may be, um, "enablers".

— Get Fuzzy

Fan Works

"She was so sweet back then. When we were kids, she never hurt anyone. She liked animals, mainly bunnies. She cried a lot, but that was okay, because she had Rarity and... me..."

— Standard Rainbow Dash on Standard Fluttershy, Chrono Reflect

She'd once believed that Bran had died in that cave, but by now she knew for a fact that it had been so much worse than that: bit by bit, revelation by revelation, the sad, kindly little lordling she'd once known had been rendered down into nothingness. Broken by the horrors of the world, he'd been shaped into something heartless and lethal – not as dead and unfeeling as she'd first thought, but infinitely more horrific.

—Il Logical Conclusions: Chapter 8

Elphaba quickly realized that her previous encounters with children had utterly failed to prepare her for the non-step avalanche of enthusiasm that was the little girl's daily routine. She had no idea if this was just a side-effect of having her brain irrevocably altered, or if Morrible had actually been like this as a child – and if that was the case, what, if anything, could have been able to transform her into the joyless, self-important careerist nightmare she'd been as an adult.

—The Land of What Might-Have-Been

David, dear, our daughter's been acting so queer. I don't think she's our girl anymore. Whoever she is, she's not our daughter.

—Mrs. Gower about Emily, Sixes and Sevens

Literature

"That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead."

— Jaime Lannister about himself, A Song of Ice and Fire

Captain Feyorn: <Young warrior, do you think I don't know what happened to Alloran? Do you think I don't know about the Quantum virus he unleashed in the battle for the Hork-Bajir world? Alloran was my friend. When we were young arisths together he was a gentle, decent youngster. And funny! He loved to joke and play tricks.>
Elfangor: <Alloran?>
Captain Feyorn: <Yes. Alloran. But war does terrible things to people. Some it raises to greatness. Others it destroys.>

— Animorphs - The Andalite Chronicles

"After everything you've done, she hasn't stopped hoping you'll come back and be the boy that she remembers. The one who could always sing and make her laugh with every verse of "Sweet Fronda Fane."

— Zero, Maul: Lockdown

As a boy, Sonny Corleone had been truly tender-hearted. That he had grown up to be a murderer was simply his destiny.

— From the novel of The Godfather

Live-Action TV

"Look at you, Jen. You were a sweet kid. Look at you now, the stuff of nightmares."

— Cleaves, to Jennifer's Ganger, Doctor Who, "The Almost People"

"He wasn't like that as a child, he was a good, honest boy." [sigh] "I don't know what happened. I'm to blame, probably."

— Atia describing Octavian, Rome

Music

I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing, 'til they
Got a hold on me
I opened doors for little old ladies
I helped the blind to see
I got no friends 'cause they read the papers
They can't be seen with me
And I'm getting real shot down, and I'm
Feeling mean

— Alice Cooper, "No More Mr. Nice Guy"

They used to be just like me and you
They used to be sweet little boys
But something went horribly askew
Now killing is their only source of joy

— The Decemberists, "The Shankill Butchers"

Video Games

"It's strange... Nobody ever, um, cherished the universe the way you once did... And yet, you've been made to destroy it..."

— Nastasia to Count Bleck, Super Paper Mario

Derrick: Of course I sorted out the charge! What you think I been doing all day?
Packie: I dunno. Nodding off with a needle sticking outta your arm?
Derrick: Patrick, you was such a sweet little boy when I left this city ...
Packie: You was gone a long time, Derrick.

— Grand Theft Auto IV

"You were such a sweet child once... Where did we go wrong?"

— Roselia, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV

"She was a sweet soul. Quiet. Loved her family. Always seemed strong, as I recall, but she didn't come across as no fearless military leader back then. She was just a girl." [Beat] "People... do change, don't they?"

— Nebora on Dallis, Divinity: Original Sin II

Ryunosuke: I understand Lord van Zieks is a friend of yours from your university days?... What was he like back then?
Harebrayne: Hm, a good question. Unassuming... Gentlemanly... An all-around nice fellow, really.
Ryunosuke: ... Sorry, I, I think you misheard me. I'm talking about the cold-hearted, merciless prosecutor Barok van Zieks.

— The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Web Animation

"Now, this seiso friend. She used to be SO seiso! I thought she would be as traditional as me. But after-... after that time period in our life... She went nuts! She-She found herself! Does that make sense? She used to be a lot more uptight with a religious background. She... She... She went NUTS! So many NUTS! L-Like Jesus Christ! Like... She... I... I was like... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

— Shiori Novella, hololive

Web Original

"You were a good boy, Maxwell. Shame you were such a shit man."

— Alexander Anderson, Hellsing Ultimate Abridged

Western Animation

"That sweet little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers."

— Zuko, regarding a picture of a baby Ozai, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ikki: Remember when [Meelo] used to be so nice and sweet?
Jinora: No.

— The Legend of Korra

Gretchen: [speaking of a hypnotized Principal Prickly, who is acting like a first grader] Although we may be feeling a certain affinity to the six-year-old Petey, we mustn't forget that he is, after all, the cold-hearted authoritarian we've come to fear.
Mikey: Gee, and I was starting to like the little guy.

— Recess, "The Hypnotist"

Heidi: What's the matter, Kyle? You don't want me around because you had the hots for me and I shut you down?
Kyle: I would never have the hots for the person you are now.

— South Park

"I was a fairy princess once too. Everything was so nice and peaceful. But one day it all went horribly wrong!"

— Ms. Bitters telling one of her numerous, conflicting backstories, Invader Zim

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