History Main / ScrewYourUltimatum

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}:'' During their fight at the end of series 2, Diane demands Sam not tell her to go, because otherwise she'll never return. Sam just silently glowers at her.

* In Literature/TheSalvationWar, the British PM responds to a demand from [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu Satan himself]] for the surrender of humankind to the LegionsOfHell with [[Series/{{Blackadder}} "Sod off, Baldrick!"]]

* On the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', faced with [[Characters/DreamSMPDream Dream's]] demands of surrender, Wilbur defies Dream to his face, declaring he'd rather die than have L'Manburg rejoin Dream's half of the SMP server. Dream happily helps him and his allies with the "die" part, [[spoiler:having planted TNT underneath L'Manburg and using the moment to [[NukeEm detonate it and destroy a good 80% of the land]]]].

* On the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'', faced with [[Characters/DreamSMPDream Dream's]] demands of surrender, Wilbur defies Dream to his face, declaring he'd rather die than have L'Manburg rejoin Dream's half of the SMP server. Dream happily helps him and his allies with the "die" part, [[spoiler:having planted TNT underneath L'Manburg and using the moment to [[NukeEm detonate it and destroy a good 80% of the land]]]].

** [[Recap/FireflyE10WarStories "War Stories"]]: Zoe tries to buy back her captain and her husband, who are both held hostage. [[spoiler: She then uses Wash's piloting skills to launch a surprise attack on Niska's base and rescue the captain.]]

-->'''Gul Dukat:''' ''(on viewscreen)'' Captain Sisko. I don't suppose you would like to surrender and avoid unnecessary bloodshed.\\

* ''Literature/BattleGround2020'': Harry Dresden to the White Council [[spoiler: after they vote to expel him and give him a new suspended death sentence ''in absentia'' for using magic to kill human Fomorians during the battle. This essentially puts him back into the legal situation he was in all the way back in ''Literature/StormFront''.]] Harry, however, is in a ''historically'' bad mood after the events of the past two books, and tells Ramirez flat-out that he has officially had it with the Council's {{Lawful Stupid}}ity, that he's going to continue doing whatever he has to do to protect Chicago and his loved ones, and that if the Council has a problem with it, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections he's still the Winter Knight so they can tell it to Queen Mab]]--if "the guy who soloed [[spoiler: a Titan]]" doesn't come for them first.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', Detectives Ryan and Esposito are captured by the VillainOfTheWeek and are given an Ultimatum: Tell the bad guys what they want to know and die a quick painless death or "Jerk us around, and by tomorrow, you will wish you were." They take one look at each other and respond.

* Jupiter does this to [[spoiler:Balem]] in ''Film/JupiterAscending''. He can kill her [[spoiler:and her family]], but the alternative is just as bad and this way she's screwing him over in the process.

** Criston Cole, facing an enemy army with superior numbers, demands a trial by combat with the enemy commanders. He's instead told he can shove it, and is promptly and fatally riddled with arrows.
** After [[FedToTheBeast killing his half-sister and rival for the throne]], Aegon II imperiously demands Rhaenyra's supporters in the North, Vale and Riverlands stand down and face punishment for supporting a usurper. Having already heard about the reprisals Aegon meted out on Rhaenyra's loyalists in the crownlands, and realising their armies ''vastly'' outnumber the forces Aegon has left, they tell Aegon to shove his demands and march on King's Landing with the intention of deposing him and putting Rhaenyra's son on the Iron Throne.
** In his latest attempt to get his way over the Small Council of Aegon III, slimy bastard Unwin Peake says they can either do as he says or he'll resign on the spot. The unanimous response is "don't let the door hit you on the way out."
* ''Literature/BattleGround2020'': Harry Dresden to the White Council [[spoiler:after they vote to expel him and give him a new suspended death sentence ''in absentia'' for using magic to kill human Fomorians during the battle. This essentially puts him back into the legal situation he was in all the way back in ''Literature/StormFront''.]] Harry, however, is in a ''historically'' bad mood after the events of the past two books, and tells Ramirez flat-out that he has officially had it with the Council's {{Lawful Stupid}}ity, that he's going to continue doing whatever he has to do to protect Chicago and his loved ones, and that if the Council has a problem with it, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections he's still the Winter Knight so they can tell it to Queen Mab]]--if "the guy who soloed [[spoiler:a Titan]]" doesn't come for them first.

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}:'' An odd example where no-one's a villain, exactly. During one episode, Frasier's favorite coffee shop gets a terrible musician in who Frasier ([[ItsAllAboutMe and only Frasier]]) objects to. As he's making a scene, the manager comes out, and Frasier tries declaring that either the musician goes or he does. Frasier doesn't even get halfway through his demand before the manager sides with the musician.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E26CallToArms Call to Arms]]" is an interesting example. Ben Sisko ''knows'' he's going to lose Deep Space 9; his plan is merely to HoldTheLine until Jadzia and O'Brien can finish [[SpaceMines mining the Bajoran wormhole]], while inflicting as many casualties on the Dominion and Cardassians as he possibly can.

** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E7Reunion Reunion]]", as Worf fights Duras to avenge [[spoiler:the murder of K'Ehleyr]], Duras tells him that if he gets killed, Worf will never get his family honor back after having lost it in "Sins of the Father", since Duras is the only other Klingon who knows the truth about the cover-up. Worf responds "Then that is the way it shall be!", before driving his Bat'leth into Duras' chest. [[spoiler: And he gets his family honour back ''anyway'', in part because killing Duras left his major political rival Gowron owing Worf a very large favour.]]

*** He was operating in the grand tradition of Laconic Greek replies to surrender demands there; the Spartans reportedly responded to Phillip of Macedon's message "If I enter Laconia I shall burn it to the ground." with "If." [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle And this is where the term 'laconic' originated.]]

** The Russian Warship in question was the ''Moskva'', the flagship of the Russain Navy's Black Sea Fleet. She would be sunk 2 months later by Uranian shore-launched Anti-Ship missiles.

* In the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWarsOfIndependence the revolutionay general Martin Miguel de Güemes was seriously injured for a gunshot wound, days before his death, two Spanish officers sent by José María Valdés, the man who shotted him, offered to transfer him to Buenos Aires, where he would receive the best treatment, on the condition that he would order a ceasefire against their army. Without responding to the envoys and in his presence, Güemes reunited his officers and told them to swear that they would never accept any kind of treatment to benefit the enemy on home soil; a request that was answered with the enthusiastic oath of the officers and gauchos from Salta.

* ''Manga/CrimsonSpell'': Vald manages to screw the ultimatum of TheDragon Gile before the offer is even out of Gile's mouth. Vald knows that since Gile is the most loyal servant of BigBad evil sorcerer Astador, it can't possibly work out in his favor, so he just rejects it out of hand. [[spoiler:And considering Astador frames his plan to use the power of his curse to summon enough demons to remake the world as their playground as a way of eliminating illness and death, Vald has every reason to refuse.]]

* ''Manga/CrimsonSpell'':

* ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'': At the end, when told by SHODAN WeCanRuleTogether, the until then [[HeroicMime silent]] unnamed player character replies with a deadpan "nah". People are divided on if this is cheesy, awesome, or hilarious.

** This isn't even the first instance of obscene Ukrainian defiance: the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossack_Hetmanate Cossack Hetmanate]] infamously sent an overtly offensive reply to Mehmed IV, Sultan of the UsefulNotes/OttomanEmpire, when he demanded their subservience after their independence from Poland-Lithuania. Even the most polite translation possible includes two YourMom insults, four references to Satan, and at least one outright accusation that the Sultan [[BestialityIsDepraved molested goats]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Amon offers to let [[spoiler:Lin]] keep her bending if she reveals Korra's location. She responds by all but spitting in his face.
** This happens again in Book 3, in an episode fittingly titled "The Ultimatum".

** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E10TheDefector The Defector]]", Picard's Enterprise is staring down two Romulan Warbirds after investigating a supposedly secret Romulan base in the Neutral Zone. With good reason in this case, Picard was CrazyPrepared [[spoiler: with three cloaked Klingon Birds of Prey surrounding the Romulans.]]

* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars2BlackHoleRising'': One mission has [[ActionGirl Sami]] and her troops surrounded by the Black Hole army, who demand she surrender. [[TheUnreveal We don't hear her response]], but judging by Eagle's men's... hesitance to say it out loud, and Eagle ''laughing his ass off'' when it's written down for him to read, [[NarrativeProfanityFilter it's implied it was extremely hilariously vulgar.]]

-->"Listen, Captain, there's a Covenant carrier hovering right outside my window! There's a sniper in my lobby, and you're threatening to have me fired? ''(slams phone)''"

* In the "Into the Blue" arc of ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', Kurz Weber answers Guen Bien Bo's 'join us in our mutiny or die' ultimatum by explaining that he has a much better plan: "I'll kill you, ask Tessa for a picture of herself in a swimsuit as a reward, then make copies of the picture and sell them to the other guys on the ship for twenty bucks apiece!" Then he brains Bo with a fire extinguisher.

* ''Fanfic/TheseFoolishThings'': A rare non-villain example. Upon learning Laurel still loves Oliver and seeing that Thea now holds her in contempt, Felicity issues Oliver an ultimatum over their relationship, stating that he can either have them in his life, or he could have her. Oliver, at this point understandably fed up with her behavior and noting it's not much of a choice considering both Laurel and Thea are practically (and in Thea's case, ''literally'') family, chooses them, much to Felicity's disbelief and fury.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'', when told by SHODAN WeCanRuleTogether, the until then [[HeroicMime silent]] unnamed player character replies with a deadpan "nah". People are divided on if this is cheesy, awesome, or hilarious.
* In the backstory to ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' Klingon Chancellor J'mpok delivered an ultimatum to the Federation to remove all Federation citizens from the disputed Hromi Cluster within three months. Federation President Aennik Okeg basically told him to go jump in a lake.

* One mission in ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars 2]]'' has [[ActionGirl Sami]] and her troops surrounded by the Black Hole army, who demand she surrender. [[TheUnreveal We don't hear her response]], but judging by Eagle's men's... hesitance to say it out loud, and Eagle ''laughing his ass off'' when it's written down for him to read, [[NarrativeProfanityFilter it's implied it was extremely hilariously vulgar.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', after delivering his contract to buy up the diner for liquidation, Saul returns to follow up. He says that the protagonist needs to agree to the sale right now, or else his offer will be cut in half. The protagonist refuses outright. Justified, as the ultimatum came on the back of the wildly successful reopening of the diner.
* In ''VisualNovel/DiesIraeInterviewWithKazikluBey'', Methuselah tells Reinhard and the L.D.O. that should they chase him or in any way get in his way then he will unceremoniously kill them all as they will not stand a chance. Reinhard's response? Shift [[BigFancyCastle Gladsheim]] into combat mode and rallying his troops for battle.