History Main / TheyDiedBecauseOfYou

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', WideEyedIdealist Asseylum Vers Allusia, crown princess of the [[TheEmpire Vers Empire]] of Mars, comes to Earth to promote reconciliation between the two planets. However, the royal convoy is bombed - [[spoiler: by [[FalseFlagOperation a Martian faction]], no less]] - which the Orbital Knights of Mars [[PretextForWar immediately seize as the cause]] for a devastating, planet-wide invasion. Asseylum, unbeknownst to both factions, survives the attempt but is consumed by guilt.
* In ''Manga/{{Btooom}}'', Ryouta applies this trope to himself when he realizes [[spoiler: Taira's death]] was largely because he seemingly ignored other people's thoughts and feelings, as well as [[ItsAllAboutMe doing whatever he wanted to do]]. As a result, his friend started going insane due to his injuries, which ultimately led him to attack both Ryouta and Himiko when he starts to hallucinate about his family and meeting them again.

* Though it wasn't intentionally directed at her, Claire Cruz in episode 4 of ''Literature/ThePilotsLoveSong'' is able to piece together the events that Kal-el tells her about his past to realize that [[spoiler: as her alter ego, Nina Viento, she was indirectly responsible for causing the overthrow of his royal family during a rebellion a few years earlier, and subsequently their deaths]]. She's shocked enough by this to be uneasy around him for the rest of the episode, and partly into the next one as well.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

* In ''Fanfic/MarieDSuesseAndTheMysteryNewPirateAge'', Monkey D. Madelyn, by [[spoiler: wishing for Luffy to be delayed in the race for Raftel so Trafalgar Law could become King of the Pirates]], inadvertently sets off a series of events resulting in the deaths of all the Straw Hat Pirates and virtually all of the Heart Pirates. Toward the end of the fic, when Madelyn admits that she made "mistakes," Law angrily lays into her, listing the names of everyone who died because of her and saying that it's all her fault.
* In ''Fanfic/NecessaryToWin'', this is said practically word for word by [[spoiler: Teru, to Saki, regarding their adopted sibling, who perished in a tankery accident while Teru saved Saki]]. On the other hand, someone close to the speaker doubts whether she actually truly believes this.

[[folder: Films -- Animated]]
* This happens in ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' when [[spoiler: Hans tells Elsa she killed her sister to get her to cross the DespairEventHorizon so that he can finish her off. Anna's not dead yet at that point (Hans only thinks she is), but she does freeze to solid ice a few moments later as a result of the freezing curse Elsa (accidentally) put on her. She is then saved by the act of love she performs to save her sister]].

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/ShutterIsland'': [[spoiler: Leonardo [=DiCaprio's=] character's family is dead because he ignored his wife's mental illness and when she murdered his kids he killed her then "imagined" that he was looking for his family's real killer. It's implied this truth is so horrible that the ''second'' time he realized it he chose to get a lobotomy instead of living with what he's done.]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

--->'''Rose''': They're all dead because of you!\\
'''Dalek''': THEY ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF '''US'''!

-->'''Haesten''': Aethelflaed! How many more men and women must die to save ''your'' bony arse?!
** In the same episode, Brida angrily accuses Brida of causing [[spoiler: his beloved older brother Ragnar's death by taking off to aid Aethelflaed and leaving Ragnar surrounded by ambitious enemies]].
--->'''Uhtred''': [[spoiler: Where is Ragnar? I will go to him.]]\\
'''Brida''': [[spoiler: He's dead! [[WhamLine Ragnar is dead!]] He doesn't feast in Valhalla! Instead, he lies under a pile of stones at a lake near Loidis! He will [[FateWorseThanDead spend eternity in the cold of Niflheim because of ''you'', Uhtred of Bebbanburg! I should kill you]], but [[CruelMercy I want you to live with the pain of his death]]. He was your brother!]]
** In Season 5, [[spoiler: after Stiorra and a handful of her maids evade capture in Eoforwic's Roman sewers when Brida's [[ReligionOfEvil cultists]] occupy the city, Brida starts carrying out [[HumanSacrifice mass executions of prisoners]] to draw Stiorra out of hiding, taunting her with this after every killing]].
* In ''Series/TheMentalist'' serial killer Red John leaves Patrick Jane a note on his bedroom door making it quite clear that his wife and daughter are dead directly because Jane said unflattering things about Red John on national TV. Patrick's resulting guilt puts him in a HeroicBSOD that takes [[spoiler: six months in a mental hospital]] to break out of, then on a years-long crusade for revenge.

[[folder: Video Games]]

-->'''Master Li''': Do you remember your fellow students? They certainly remember you. They remember how you left them to die. ''[...]'' They died so there would be nothing holding you back. Their deaths ensured that you were properly motivated; without you, they would still be alive!

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

* Zigzagged with the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''... with a line that he himself gives. He says that he killed twelve people by [[spoiler: starting the avalanche]], and it’s first hinted at and later confirmed that two of those twelve were his parents. And the press reinforces this by calling him a mass murderer. No wonder he’s so depressed at the beginning of the story.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Sickness}}'', [[spoiler: If Sara is killed in your route, Suoh's Sickness will make sure to remind him that it was ''him'' that left her all alone while he was out trying to have fun with Misa]].
* In ''VisualNovel/VA11HALLA'', when Gaby shows up in Chapter 2, she tells Jill that [[spoiler: Jill's ex-girlfriend Lenore died because of a nanomachine rejection disease that gave Lenore a heart attack. While Gaby doesn't outright accuse Jill of murder, the fact that Jill broke up with Lenore just a few days before she died means that Gaby believes that Lenore and Jill's break-up contributed to her death. However, Jill staunchly refuses that she had anything to do with Lenore dying, saying that only now did she even learn that Lenore was sick. Either way, Gaby calls Jill an idiot and leaves, prompting Jill to go into a HeroicBSOD because she NeverGotToSayGoodbye]].

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': [=BoJack=] is actually the first to blame himself for the death of [[spoiler: Sarah Lynn after encouraging her to go on a six-week-long bender with him]]. He shares how big the funeral was and how everyone was thinking [[AddledAddict that it was bound to happen]], "[[ToxicFriendInfluence but it wasn't]]." However, in season five, he begins playing the victim in many situations. Diane calls him out, possibly acting as the show-writers LeaningOnTheFourthWall to make the viewers realize his actions have been inexcusable. She goes on a long rant about [[spoiler: how he's begun painting himself as the "main character of the Sarah Lynn story"]] which visibly hurts him.

One of the most devastating {{Awful Truth}}s a character can recieve.

Often a WhamLine, there is no more reliable way to send a heroic character [[HeroicBSOD spiralling into grief]] than to reveal that they were responsible for the death of someone close to them. The surprise element is the important part here; the character has hitherto been living perfectly happily and innocently, completely oblivious to what they've done. Common consolations include telling the character that obviously, its not their fault if they weren't even ''aware'' of the damage they were causing, but this is often of little comfort to the stunned recipient.

Telling someone this with the direct intention of hurting them is [[KickTheDog one of the cruelest things any character can do]]. [[MoralEventHorizon Doubly so]] if they're telling BlatantLies.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', WideEyedIdealist Asseylum Vers Allusia, crown princess of the [[TheEmpire Vers Empire]] of Mars, comes to Earth to promote reconciliation between the two planets. However, the royal convoy is bombed - [[spoiler:by [[FalseFlagOperation a Martian faction]], no less]] - which the Orbital Knights of Mars [[PretextForWar immediately seize as cause]] for a devastating, planet-wide invasion. Asseylum, unbeknownst to both factions, survives the attempt, but is consumed by guilt.

** In episode 12, Shirley does this unintentionally when she tells Lelouch that her father died during the previous episode in a landslide which Lelouch (in his alter-ego Zero) triggered in order to gain an advantage against the Britannian forces. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Made more painful]] to Lelouch when Shirley asks how the Black Knights can call themselves protectors of the innocent when they kill people like her father, who was always kind, loving and gentle man through and through.

* Though it wasn't intentionally directed at her, Claire Cruz in episode 4 of ''Literature/ThePilotsLoveSong'' is able to piece together the events that Kal-el tells her about his past to realize that [[spoiler:as her alter ego, Nina Viento, she was indirectly responsible for causing the overthrow of his royal family during a rebellion a few years earlier, and subsequently their deaths]]. She's shocked enough by this to be uneasy around him for the rest of the episode, and partly into the next one as well.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* in the ''Series/{{Emergency}}'' fic ''[[http://audreys-efanfic.freeservers.com/lostandfound.html Lost and Found]]'', John's captor torments him this way. Roy was his original target, but John begged to be taken instead, to spare Roy. Roy is shot, but survives. However, John's captor lies and says Roy died and suffered and would have lived if not for John's actions.
* In ''Fanfic/MarieDSuesseAndTheMysteryNewPirateAge'', Monkey D. Madelyn, by [[spoiler:wishing for Luffy to be delayed in the race for Raftel so Trafalgar Law could become King of the Pirates]], inadvertently sets off a series of events resulting in the deaths of all the Straw Hat Pirates and virtually all of the Heart Pirates. Toward the end of the fic, when Madelyn admits that she made "mistakes," Law angrily lays into her, listing the names of everyone who died because of her and saying that it's all her fault.
* In ''Fanfic/NecessaryToWin'', this is said practically word for word by [[spoiler:Teru, to Saki, regarding their adopted sibling, who perished in a tankery accident while Teru saved Saki]]. On the other hand, someone close to the speaker doubts whether she actually truly believes this.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* This happens in ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' when [[spoiler:Hans tells Elsa she killed her sister with the intent of getting her to cross the DespairEventHorizon so that he can finish her off. Anna's not dead yet at that point (Hans only thinks she is), but she does freeze to solid ice a few moments later as a result of the freezing curse Elsa (accidentally) put on her. She is then saved by the act of love she performs to save her sister]].

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/ShutterIsland'': [[spoiler:Leonardo [=DiCaprio's=] character's family is dead because he ignored his wife's mental illness and when she murdered his kids he killed her then "imagined" that he was looking for his family's real killer. It's implied this truth is so horrible that the ''second'' time he realized it he chose to get a lobotomy instead of living with what he's done.]]

-->'''Darth Vader:''' Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?\\

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'': The Fairy somehow wrote in a tombstone that she died of pain after being abandoned by Pinocchio in order to guilt-trip him.

** When Sirius is killed Harry blames himself for causing Sirius to put himself in danger and not listening to Hermione and forgetting Snape, Dumbledore for not explaining stuff to Harry and keeping Sirius cooped up, Snape for not being especially helpful and mocking Sirius about being useless, and Kreacher for locking Sirius in his room and lying.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

** Karen Page's crusade in season 1 to expose Wilson Fisk is in part because she blames herself for the death of Daniel Fisher, the Union Allied coworker that Fisk tried to have her framed up for. While Karen's guilt is somewhat alleviated by learning from Fisher's widow that he had been planning on blowing the whistle on the same stuff Karen had been about to expose, she is motivated further.

** After an attempted poisoning of Vanessa, Fisk feels that her simply being near him is the reason she ended up that way. Wesley has to reassure him that this isn't the case.

** In the "Trial of a Time Lord" arc, the Valeyard not only blames the Sixth Doctor for Peri's apparent death, but outright accuses him of routinely getting his companions killed. However, though companions have been placed in life threatening situations throughout the series, the number that had actually died at that point can be counted on the fingers of one hand. What's more, [[ItMakesSenseInContext unless you believe the scenes shown towards the end of "Mindwarp" were not faked]], only one of those companions, Adric, was a series regular.

--->'''Uhtred''': [[spoiler:Where is Ragnar? I will go to him.]]\\
'''Brida''': [[spoiler:He's dead! [[WhamLine Ragnar is dead!]] He doesn't feast in Valhalla! Instead, he lies under a pile of stones at a lake near Loidis! He will [[FateWorseThanDead spend eternity in the cold of Niflheim because of ''you'', Uhtred of Bebbanburg! I should kill you]], but [[CruelMercy I want you to live with the pain of his death]]. He was your brother!]]
** In Season 5, [[spoiler:after Stiorra and a handful of her maids evade capture in Eoforwic's Roman sewers when Brida's [[ReligionOfEvil cultists]] occupy the city, Brida starts carrying out [[HumanSacrifice mass executions of prisoners]] to draw Stiorra out of hiding, taunting her with this after every killing]].

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In certain missions during the various ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games, especially the ones that rely heavily on stealth, if you attract unwanted attention, say by shooting at a platoon of enemy soldiers instead of letting them pass you by undetected, you'll probably get a NonStandardGameOver, either by you getting killed by the overwhelming firepower, or your ally gets killed in the event you somehow manage to outfight/outrun them. The game makes sure to tell you caused their death.

* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'': The night before your traitorous Master Li's army besieges Dirge in the sixth chapter, he appears in your dream to sic three of your dead classmates on you in [[DoomedHometown the burning school of Two Rivers]]. Regardless of whatever you claim their deaths didn't bother you or say that you would have saved them if you could have, Master Li taunts you by saying that he masterminded their deaths to give you an incentive to act in accordance to his masterplan, so you ''are'' in a way responsible for their deaths.
-->'''Master Li''': Do you remember your fellow students? They certainly remember you. They remember how you left them to die. ''[...]'' They died so there would be nothing holding you back. Their deaths insured that you were properly motivated; without you, they would still be alive!

[[folder:Visual Novels]]

** In ''Trials and Tribulations'', Godot tells Phoenix that he was responsible for Mia Fey's death, and that he himself could have prevented it. In this case, Godot is wrong, and he knows it; he's actually projecting his own guilt for failing to protect Mia onto Phoenix (despite Godot being in a coma at the time of Mia's death).

* Zigzagged with the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''... with a line that he himself gives. He says that he killed twelve people by [[spoiler:starting the avalanche]], and it’s first hinted at and later confirmed that two of those twelve were his parents. And the press reinforces this by calling him a mass murderer. No wonder he’s so depressed at the beginning of the story.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Sickness}}'', [[spoiler:If Sara is killed in your route, Suoh's Sickness will make sure to remind him that it was ''him'' that left her all alone while he was out trying to have fun with Misa]].
* In ''VisualNovel/VA11HALLA'', when Gaby shows up in Chapter 2, she tells Jill that [[spoiler:Jill's ex-girlfriend Lenore died because of a nanomachine rejection disease that gave Lenore a heart attack. While Gaby doesn't outright accuse Jill of murder, the fact that Jill broke up with Lenore just a few days before she died means that Gaby believes that Lenore and Jill's break-up contributed to her death. However, Jill staunchly refuses that she had anything to do with Lenore dying, saying that only now did she even learn that Lenore was sick. Either way, Gaby calls Jill an idiot and leaves, prompting Jill to go into a HeroicBSOD because she NeverGotToSayGoodbye]].

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': [=BoJack=] is actually the first to blame himself for the death of [[spoiler:Sarah Lynn after encouraging her to go on a six week long bender with him]]. He shares how big the funeral was and how everyone was thinking [[AddledAddict that it was bound to happen]], "[[ToxicFriendInfluence but it wasn't]]." However, in season five, he begins playing the victim in many situations. Diane calls him out, possibly acting as the show-writers LeaningOnTheFourthWall to make the viewers realize his actions have been inexcusable. She goes on a long rant about [[spoiler:how he's begun painting himself as the "main character of the Sarah Lynn story"]] which visibly hurts him.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* On ''Series/{{The 100}}'' Clarke is very troubled to learn that Finn massacred a village because he was trying to find her, and that said massacre will likely lead to his execution. She feels so responsible that [[TakeMeInstead she tries offering herself up to be killed in his place]].

** In ''Trials and Tribulations'', Godot tells Phoenix that he was responsible for Mia Fey's death, and that he himself could have prevented it.

* Though it wasn't intentionally directed at her, Claire Cruz in episode 4 of ''LightNovel/ThePilotsLoveSong'' is able to piece together the events that Kal-el tells her about his past to realize that [[spoiler:as her alter ego, Nina Viento, she was indirectly responsible for causing the overthrow of his royal family during a rebellion a few years earlier, and subsequently their deaths]]. She's shocked enough by this to be uneasy around him for the rest of the episode, and partly into the next one as well.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'': Bun-bun uses this in a BreakingSpeech against Calix in "Oceans Unmoving -- Double Cross". Calix first accuses Bun-bun of doing something to cause Calix's people to lose a battle on a SpacePirate ship and be captured and possibly killed, but Bun-bun counters that he did nothing and it was Calix's own fault for expecting a bunch of primitive villagers to be able to captain a high-tech ship.

!!Examples

* Though it wasn't intentionally directed at her, Claire Cruz in episode 4 of ''LightNovel/ThePilotsLoveSong'' is able to piece together the events that Kal-el tells her about his past to realize that [[spoiler:as her alter ego, Nina Viento, she was indirectly responsible for causing the overthrow of his royal family during a rebellion a few years earlier, and subsequently their deaths.]] She's shocked enough by this to be uneasy around him for the rest of the episode, and partly into the next one as well.
* In ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', WideEyedIdealist Asseylum Vers Allusia, crown princess of the [[TheEmpire Vers Empire]] of Mars, comes to Earth to promote reconciliation between the two planets. However, the royal convoy is bombed - [[spoiler:by [[FalseFlagOperation a Martian faction]], no less]] - which the Orbital Knights of Mars [[PretextForWar immediately seize as cause]] for a devastating, planet-wide invasion. Asseylum, unbeknownst to both factions, survives the attempt, but is consumed by guilt.
* A particularly brutal version of this trope occurs in ''Anime/{{Landlock}}''. When Agahali confronts Zanark about whether or not he has been [[IAmNotYourFather lying to her about being her father all these years]], he first mocks her for not realising sooner. He then reminds her that she burnt an entire village of innocent people to the ground under his orders and, as an added cherry on top of that particularly vile cake, unknowingly but deliberately murdered her real father with her own sword and her own hands. Suffice to say, she does not take it well. Thank goodness she figured it our before she did the same to her brother and sister. The latter is quite forgiving, the former not so much.

* In ''Fanfic/MarieDSuesseAndTheMysteryNewPirateAge'', Monkey D. Madelyn, by [[spoiler:wishing for Luffy to be delayed in the race for Raftel so Trafalgar Law could become King of the Pirates]], inadvertently sets off a series of events resulting in the deaths of all the Straw Hat Pirates and virtually all of the Heart Pirates. Toward the end of the fic, when Madelyn admits that she made "mistakes," Law angrily lays into her, listing the names of everyone who died because of her and saying that it's all her fault.

* This happens in ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' when [[spoiler: Hans tells Elsa she killed her sister with the intent of getting her to cross the DespairEventHorizon so that he can finish her off. Anna's not dead yet at that point (Hans only thinks she is), but she does freeze to solid ice a few moments later as a result of the freezing curse Elsa (accidentally) put on her. She is then saved by the act of love she performs to save her sister]].

* In ''Film/{{Memento}}'', the main character eventually finds out from Tommy that his wife was a diabetic and that the story he made up about "Sammy Jenkis" killing his wife by giving her too much insulin was actually a self-protecting projection of what he did.
* ''Film/ShutterIsland'': [[spoiler: Leonardo [=DiCaprio's=] character's family is dead because he ignored his wife's mental illness and when she murdered his kids he killed her then "imagined" that he was looking for his family's real killer. It's implied this truth is so horrible that the ''second'' time he realized it he chose to get a lobotomy instead of living with what he's done.]]
* In the big battle scene in the middle of ''Film/{{Kagemusha}}'' one of the retainers points at a number of corpses of young Takeda samurai and tells Kagemusha (impersonating Shingen Takeda): "These men died to defend you."
* ''Film/IntoTheStorm2014:'' Allison blames Pete for Jacob's death. Though Daryl blames himself because he talked Jacob into staying.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In the "Trial of a Time Lord" arc, the Valeyard not only blames the Sixth Doctor for Peri's apparent death, but outright accuses him of routinely getting his companions killed. However, though companions have been placed in life threatening situations throughout the series, the number that had actually died at that point can be counted on the fingers of one hand. What's more, [[ItMakesSenseInContext unless you believe the scenes shown towards the end of "Mindwarp" were not faked]], only one of those companions, Adric, was a series regular.
** Attempted by Rose in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]]" against the titular Dalek. Doesn't work, because, well, it's a Dalek.
--->'''Rose''': They're all dead because of you!
--->'''Dalek''': THEY ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF '''US'''!

-->'''Lexa:''' But Finn is guilty.
-->'''Clarke:''' No! He did it for me. ''(almost sobbing)'' He did it for me.
-->'''Lexa:''' Then he dies for you.
* In Season 3 of ''Series/TheLastKingdom'', Haesten tries to get Aethelflaed to surrender to him by preying on her guilt over [[TheChainsOfCommanding how many people have died protecting her]] over the course of the series. It nearly works until Uhtred snaps Aethelflaed out of it.
-->'''Haesten''': Aethelflaed! How many more men and women must die to save ''your'' bony arse?!
** In the same episode, Brida angrily accuses Brida of causing [[spoiler: his beloved older brother Ragnar's death by taking off to aid Aethelflaed and leaving Ragnar surrounded by ambitious enemies]].
-->'''Uhtred''': [[spoiler: Where is Ragnar? I will go to him.]]
-->'''Brida''': [[spoiler: He's dead! [[WhamLine Ragnar is dead!]] He doesn't feast in Valhalla! Instead, he lies under a pile of stones at a lake near Loidis! He will [[FateWorseThanDead spend eternity in the cold of Niflheim because of ''you'', Uhtred of Bebbanburg! I should kill you]], but [[CruelMercy I want you to live with the pain of his death]]. He was your brother!]]
** In Season 5, [[spoiler: after Stiorra and a handful of her maids evade capture in Eoforwic's Roman sewers when Brida's [[ReligionOfEvil cultists]] occupy the city, Brida starts carrying out [[HumanSacrifice mass executions of prisoners]] to draw Stiorra out of hiding, taunting her with this after every killing]].

-->'''Karen Page:''' They killed him...because of me.

* In ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]],'' Miles Edgeworth believes that he (accidentally) killed his father, Gregory Edgeworth, by throwing a gun that went off and hit him. When his former mentor, Manfred von Karma, decides to get rid of him by framing him for murder, he times it near the anniversary of that incident to reopen Edgeworth's emotional wounds, hoping he'll confess to it. (It works -- and then spectacularly backfires on von Karma, who was the real murderer).
** In the third case of the second game, a variant of this happens when Regina is forced to face the fact that her DeadlyPrank was why Bat went into a coma.
** In ''Trials and Tribulations'', Godot tells Phoenix that he was responsible for Mia Fey's death, and that he himself could have prevented it.
** In ''Dual Destinies'', Edgeworth himself suggests that Athena Cykes could have accidentally killed her mother. It's left somewhat ambiguous whether he himself believed it to be true or just figured someone had to be brave enough to put it on the table for Phoenix and co. to disprove.
* Zigzagged with the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''... with a line that he himself gives. He says that he killed twelve people by [[spoiler:starting the avalanche]], and it’s first hinted at and later confirmed that two of those twelve were his parents. And the press reinforces this by calling him a mass murderer. No wonder he’s so depressed at the beginning of the story.

* In certain missions during the various ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games, especially the ones that rely heavily on stealth, if you attract unwanted attention, say by shooting at a platoon of enemy soldiers instead of letting them pass you by undetected, you'll probably get a NonStandardGameOver, either by you getting killed by the overwhelming firepower, or your ally gets killed in the event you somehow manage to outfight/outrun them. The game makes sure to tell you caused their death.
* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', [[JerkAss Saionji]] tells Kuzuryuu that because he played the game that was Monokuma's "motive," he caused the deaths of Saionji's best friend, and Kuzuryuu's childhood friend and bodyguard; the latter killed the former while believing herself to be carrying out his will, and was executed for it. Kuzuryuu agrees, then attempts {{Seppuku}} as penance.

* In ''VisualNovel/{{Sickness}}'', [[spoiler:If Sara is killed in your route, Suoh's Sickness will make sure to remind him that it was ''him'' that left her all alone while he was out trying to have fun with Misa.]]
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'': When Ivan learns his employer Hammet is being held for ransom in Lunpa, he beats himself up over it (if Ivan hadn't lost the Shaman's Rod entrusted to him, Hammet would have left earlier before the bridge leading back to Kalay was destroyed, forcing him to take shelter in Lunpa and be taken prisoner there).
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'': The night before your traitorous Master Li's army besieges Dirge in the sixth chapter, he appears in your dream to sic three of your dead classmates on you in [[DoomedHometown the burning school of Two Rivers]]. Regardless of whatever you claim their deaths didn't bother you or say that you would have saved them if you could have, Master Li taunts you by saying that he masterminded their deaths to give you an incentive to act in accordance to his masterplan, so you ''are'' in a way responsible for their deaths.
-->'''Master Li''': Do you remember your fellow students? They certainly remember you. They remember how you left them to die. ''[...]'' They died so there would be nothing holding you back. Their deaths insured that you were properly motivated; without you, they would still be alive!
* In ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', the protagonist, samurai warrior Jin Sakai and his blacksmith friend Taka are both taken prisoner by [[BigBad Khotun Khan]], leader of the Mongol army invading Tsushima. After Jin refuses an offer to join Khotun, the latter tells Taka to kill Jin in exchange for his freedom. Instead, Taka attacks Khotun and is swiftly overpowered and killed. Afterwards, Khotun hisses at Jin "Your friend died for you", insinuating that Jin [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre encouraging Taka]] [[DareToBeBadass to be bolder]] got him killed.

* In ''Webcomic/UniversalCompass'', Two's sadness parallel tells her she died because Two died. This trope has the potential to happen to every character because the empty parallel and emotional parallel's lives are linked.

-->''"I was... ten years old..."''

* From the end of Episode XCVI to the end of Episode XCVII, ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' believes he is responsible for the death of mind-controlled alien children. The Omen even lampshades this trope to try to get Jack to commit seppuku. The trope is subverted in both ways in that the children are alive and Ashi tells Jack so.
* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': [=BoJack=] is actually the first to blame himself for the death of [[spoiler: Sarah Lynn after encouraging her to go on a six week long bender with him]]. He shares how big the funeral was and how everyone was thinking [[AddledAddict that it was bound to happen]], [[ToxicFriendInfluence "but it wasn't."]] However, in season five, he begins playing the victim in many situations. Diane calls him out, possibly acting as the show-writers LeaningOnTheFourthWall to make the viewers realize his actions have been inexcusable. She goes on a long rant about [[spoiler: how he's begun painting himself as the "main character of the Sarah Lynn story"]] which visibly hurts him.

* The ''Franchise/TheLionKing'' franchise: Multiple:

-->'''Brida''': [[spoiler: He's dead! [[WhamLine Ragnar is dead!]] He doesn't feast in Valhalla! Instead, he lies under a pile of stones at a lake near Loidis! He will [[FateWorseThanDead spend eternity in the cold of Niflheim because of ''you'', Uhtred of Bebbanburg! I should kill you, but [[CruelMercy I want you to live with the pain of his death]]. He was your brother!]]

* In ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', the protagonist, samurai warrior Jin Sakai and his blacksmith friend Taka are both taken prisoner by [[BigBad Khotun Khan]], leader of the Mongol army invading Tsushima. After Jin refuses an offer to join Khotun, the latter tells Taka to kill Jin in exchange for his freedom. Instead, Taka attacks Khotun instead, and is swiftly overpowered and killed. Afterwards, Khotun hisses at Jin "Your friend died for you", insinuating that Jim encouraging Taka to be bolder got him killed.

* Played with a fair bit. [[spoiler:For the first few chapters, it seems Death's Hand and the Lotus Assassins are the true power behind the throne, using Death's Hand's favour with the Emperor to follow their own goals. Then you discover that the Emperor is aware of everything they've done... Naturally, you go and defeat him. At which point your Master, the Emperor's brother, kills you and takes the throne for himself.]]

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' loves this trope. Just a few examples:

** Attempted by Rose in "Dalek" against the titular Dalek. Doesn't work, because, well, it's a Dalek.

** ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' loves this trope. Just a few examples:

** In episode 12, Shirley does this unintentionally when she tells Lelouch that her father died during the previous episode in a landslide which Lelouch (in his alter-ego Zero) triggered in order to gain an advantage against the Britannian forces. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Made more painful]] to Lelouch when Shirley asks how the Black Knights can call themselves protectors of the innocent when they kill people like her father, who was always kind, loving, gentle man through and through.

* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun2001'': When Ivan learns his employer Hammet is being held for ransom in Lunpa, he beats himself up over it (if Ivan hadn't lost the Shaman's Rod entrusted to him, Hammet would have left earlier before the bridge leading back to Kalay was destroyed, forcing him to take shelter in Lunpa and be taken prisoner there).

-->'''Rose''': They're all dead because of you!
-->'''Dalek''': THEY ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF '''US'''!

* In ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'', [[JerkAss Saionji]] tells Kuzuryuu that because he played the game that was Monokuma's "motive," he caused the deaths of Saionji's best friend, and Kuzuryuu's childhood friend and bodyguard; the latter killed the former while believing herself to be carrying out his will, and was executed for it. Kuzuryuu agrees, then attempts {{Seppuku}} as penance.

* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheBrokenSeal'': When Ivan learns his employer Hammet is being held for ransom in Lunpa, he beats himself up over it (if Ivan hadn't lost the Shaman's Rod entrusted to him, Hammet would have left earlier before the bridge leading back to Kalay was destroyed, forcing him to take shelter in Lunpa and be taken prisoner there).

* Though it wasn't intentionally directed at her, Claire Cruz in episode 4 of ''LightNovel/ToaruHikuushiENoKoiuta'' is able to piece together the events that Kal-el tells her about his past to realize that [[spoiler:as her alter ego, Nina Viento, she was indirectly responsible for causing the overthrow of his royal family during a rebellion a few years earlier, and subsequently their deaths.]] She's shocked enough by this to be uneasy around him for the rest of the episode, and partly into the next one as well.

-->-- '''Prince Hans''', ''Disney/{{Frozen}}''

* In ''Disney/TheLionKing'', right after killing Mufasa, Scar tells Simba that he's responsible for Mufasa's "accidental" death. Much later, [[JustBetweenYouAndMe rescinding his lie]] was one of his last mistakes.
** They did it again in ''The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride''. After watching Nuka try to climb an unstable log dam after Simba and subsequently fall to his death, Zira turns on Kovu, claws him across the eye, and snarls, "Nuka is dead because of ''you''. [...] You've killed your own ''brother''!"
* This happens in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' when [[spoiler: Hans tells Elsa she killed her sister with the intent of getting her to cross the DespairEventHorizon so that he can finish her off. Anna's not dead yet at that point (Hans only thinks she is), but she does freeze to solid ice a few moments later as a result of the freezing curse Elsa (accidentally) put on her. She is then saved by the act of love she performs to save her sister]].

* This happens in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' when [[spoiler: Hans tells Elsa she killed her sister with the intent of getting her to cross the DespairEventHorizon so that he can finish her off. Anna's not dead yet at that point, but she does freeze to solid ice a few moments later as a result of the freezing curse Elsa (accidentally) put on her; she is then saved by the act of love she performs to save her sister]].

** In the "Trial of a Time Lord" arc, the Valeyard not only blames the Sixth Doctor for Peri's apparent death, but outright accuses him of routinely getting his companions killed. However, though companions have been placed in life threatening situations throughout the series, the number that had actually died at that point could be counted on the fingers of one hand. What's more, [[ItMakesSenseInContext unless you believe the scenes shown towards the end of "Mindwarp" were not faked]], only one of those companions, Adric, was a series regular.