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I always go with the third one. It's the most flexible and informative.
Why would it not be allowed? It depends on the work and the chunk you want to quote; sometimes the part that illustrates the trope is all in the spoken words, and trimming out the narrative makes it clearer, but sometimes the narrative bits can be an important part of how the quote illustrates the trope.
For example, on Talking the Monster to Death, in the Hitchhiker's Guide examples, the narrative text "and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic" is important to the example and works better left as narrative.
I think my only concern is that we need to accurately represent the text.
If we have:
...then I'd expect the 'stage directions' version to cover all relevant aspects, and use "nasty smile" rather than just "smile".
As long as we do that, it seems fine and in line with Administrivia guidance.
^^ I've misunderstood the placement. It should be fine and is prefered.
"Stage Directions" When Quoting Text
When quoting a text work, is it acceptable to use the Bolded Name: + [bracketed actions] format when quoting text if it'd be cleaner or clearer than quoting the text in full? Or is it better to just leave the would-be bracketed part out altogether?
E.g., in the middle of a conversation:
The second one feels weird because "there" doesn't have a referent. It just feels incomplete. In some cases, it may also make it unclear that Bob is pointing towards Charlie. (The rules are, however, plenty clear that this is the correct format when you're solely quoting dialogue.)
The third one solves both of these problems, plus a third one: if including all the narration would be unnecessary, it lets you only mention the important parts (such as, potentially, just that he was pointing behind himself or just that he was pointing at Charlie). The (possible) problem that it's using a format that the rules imply is for visual media.
Edited by Kestrelguy