->''"It's about the boy, goddammit, Private Wyatt. He should be here instead of me. He was young, he... he had potential. He could have given us a future. You and me, we're... two fucking mummies from the past. Running on nothing but willpower."''
-->-- '''Reid''', ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder''

->'''[[NewMeat Wyatt]]:''' Wing Commander [[CoolOldGuy Fergus Reid]]... he would've known what to do. He could've saved so many...\\
'''B.J.:''' I made the wrong choice?\\
'''Wyatt:''' You made a [[SuddenlyShouting STUPID CHOICE]]! ''YES YOU DID!'' You left a boy in charge of a man's work! [[SadisticChoice I should've died on that day]], Captain, on that slab, [[MoreExpendableThanYou and Fergus Reid should've lived]]!
-->-- ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder''

->''"He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. [[TitleDrop Soldiers live]], [[ArcWords and wonder why]]."''
-->-- '''Croaker''', ''[[Literature/TheBlackCompany Soldiers Live]]''

->''"Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she's gone. But I'm still here."''
-->-- '''Pearl''', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E45RosesScabbard Rose's Scabbard]]"

->''"What could I possibly say to you? Even if you could forgive me... I wouldn't deserve it. I'm supposed to go back to normal school tomorrow... like none of this ever happened. But it's just ''me''. We were all supposed to go to high school together, and now I'm... because I couldn't... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."''
-->--'''Tessa Quinn''', [[TalkingToTheDead to the graves of her teammates]], ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain''

->'''Ruby:''' I'm so happy you're okay. I-I'm sorry I-I couldn't--\\
'''Pyrrha:''' Ruby? Why am I alive?\\
'''Ruby:''' Pyrrha?\\
'''Pyrrha:''' It was my idea to go after that woman. I was the one who got seriously hurt. Not him. It should have been me, Ruby. I should have died instead of him.
-->-- ''Fanfic/RWBYScars''

->'''Annie:''' When that bomb went off...\\
'''Jack:''' I know.\\
'''Annie:''' I thought that was it. I thought that was the bomb, and I was dead. And when I saw her body fall under the bus, it was like...\\
'''Jack:''' You were glad you were still alive.\\
'''Annie:''' Mm-hmm. ''[cries]'' I'm so sorry.\\
'''Jack:''' Don't be. You should be glad. We all are. It doesn't mean you don't care.\\
'''Annie:''' I know, but she was so scared.\\
'''Jack:''' She was scared. She was a nice lady who didn't deserve to get killed, but if she'd gotten off, it would have killed us all. He's the asshole, Annie, [[MadBomber the guy who put us here]]. Remember that.\\
'''Annie:''' [[WhenSheSmiles Big asshole]].
-->-- ''Film/{{Speed}}''

->''"This is Captain Martin Walker... Requesting immediate evacuation of Dubai... Survivors... one too many..."''
-->-- '''Walker''', ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''

->'''Shepard:''' There was a boy back on Earth. Couldn't have been more than six or seven. I watched him die as the Normandy escaped the attack. Somehow, I'm still alive...and he's not.\\
'''Garrus:''' Being right about the Reapers has never felt much like a victory, has it?
-->-- ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''

->''"Oh my friends, my friends forgive me\\
That I live and you are gone.\\
There's a grief that can't be spoken.\\
There's a pain goes on and on..."''
-->-- '''Marius''', "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", ''Theatre/LesMiserables''

->''"It calculated that I had a 45% chance of survival. Sarah only had an 11% chance. ''That was somebody's baby''. 11% was more than enough."''
-->-- '''Det. Spooner''', [[UnwantedRescue berating his rescuer]], ''Film/IRobot''

->"''I'm sorry I'm the one who didn't die.''"
-->-- '''Julia Masterson''' to her father, on being the only member of his family not killed by tuberculosis, ''Series/CallTheMidwife'' [=S02E06=]

->''"It's not that I don't want to remember. I have to remember... for those who can't."''
-->-- '''Ratchet''', ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''

->"The circumstances leading to your being in a survival setting are sometimes dramatic and tragic. It may be the result of an accident or military mission where there was a loss of life. Perhaps you were the only, or one of a few, survivors. While naturally relieved to be alive, you simultaneously may be mourning the deaths of others who were less fortunate. It is not uncommon for survivors to feel guilty about being spared from death while others were not. This feeling, when used in a positive way, has encouraged people to try harder to survive with the belief they were allowed to live for some greater purpose in life. Sometimes, survivors tried to stay alive so that they could carry on the work of those killed. Whatever reason you give yourself, do not let guilt feelings prevent you from living. The living who abandon their chance to survive accomplish nothing. Such an act would be the greatest tragedy."
-->-- ''FM 21-76 US Army Survival Manual'' on guilt.

->''"The commander is responsible for the lives of his crew, and for their deaths. I should have died with mine."''
-->-- '''Matt Decker''''s final words, ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine The Doomsday Machine]]"

->'''Dr. Baker:''' When she wakes, [[BrokenAce Asuka]] will be facing very different challenges.\\
'''[[TheHero Shinji]]:''' What... kind of challenges?\\
'''Dr. Baker:''' It's called Survivor Guilt. As you know... Asuka holds her achievements very dearly. The fate of Unit 04 -- of Jessika -- can be more dangerous to Asuka than any physical trauma...
-->-- ''Manga/Evangelion303''

->'''Karl:''' Little fellow's back with us, then?\\
'''Owen:''' Aye, and all alone in the world. And past that solitude, what? Guilt at surviving? Pitiable lad...
-->-- ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault''

->''"Do I walk? Have I feet still? I raise my eyes, I let them move round, and turn myself with them, one circle, one circle, and I stand in the midst. All is as usual. Only the Militiaman Stanislaus Katczinsky has died. Then I know nothing more."''
-->-- '''Paul''', ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront''

->'''Psychiatrist:''' I've been working with the survivors of the ferry bombing earlier this year. Their trauma is similar to yours. More extreme, of course. Many of them experience a sense of responsibility for what happened.\\
'''Finch:''' Survivor's guilt. I'm familiar.\\
'''Psychiatrist:''' Well, then you're also familiar with what I'm about to say next -- that you think your friend's death was your fault. Otherwise, you'd have to face a very painful truth.\\
'''Finch:''' Which is what?\\
'''Psychiatrist:''' That you are not God. You don't control who lives or dies. That powerlessness also means that your friend's death is not your fault. I assure you, Mr. Wren, in time, the guilt you feel will pass.\\
'''Finch:''' Let me ask you a question then. Does survivor's guilt pass when everything that has happened actually is, in fact, your fault?
-->-- ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', "[[Recap/PersonOfInterestS03E10 The Devil's Share]]"

->'''ComicBook/DoctorFate:''' In you, Supergirl, can you imagine the poison, the pain, the dark that resides in your psyche?\\
'''Supergirl:''' Wait, you're saying I'm manifesting this change in me?\\
'''Dr. Fate:''' Color of costume, color of eyes? Not much change outwardly, the rest... the bulk of it is your attitude. Recently, the loss of your planet all over again. And your father. And your mother. I'd say you have a pretty obvious case of "Survivor Guilt".\\
'''Supergirl:''' And it's killing me?
-->-- ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', ''Reign of Doomsday''

->''"I remember my first unit, the boys and I were deployed to Onderon to bring peace and security to a troubled world. We were on a routine patrol when we ran into one of your rebel friends, a Lasat mercenary who worked for Saw Gerrera. I was lucky, knocked out by the first blast. I came to, but found I couldn't move, and then I saw him. The Lasat calmly walked through smoke and fire to finish off my unit off, one by one. The injured never had a chance, always wondered why he let me live."''
-->-- '''Agent Kallus''', ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''

->''"...Sire, I...I cannot bear this! Failing to protect His Majesty... then leaving my brothers to die, slinking away like some coward... This indignity is too much to bear! One day I will repay them in kind. I will avenge the fallen... I swear it!"''
-->-- '''Cain''', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight''

->''"Ruth... I feel guilty just being alive."''
-->-- '''Carter''', ''Series/{{Disjointed}}''

->''"If it wasn't for her, it'd be me [[AlmostDeadGuy lying there]]... ''I wish it was.''"''
-->-- '''Lyse''' regarding '''[[spoiler:Y'shtola]]''', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Stormblood''

->''"A brave and true Temple Knight, I was. Slayer of countless Dravanians. A commander beloved of and respected by his men. They would follow me into the seventh hell... and indeed, that is where I led them. Time and time again. They would fall, and I would earn the accolades. And then they would give me more green boys with dreams of glory.\\
Green boys with red blood, spilled on white snow. Again and again and again... And then, one day, I couldn't... I couldn't remember the first one's face. I had forgotten the face of the first boy who gave his life for me... That was the day I left the Temple Knights."''
-->-- '''Ser Ompagne''', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Stormblood''

->''"...It's over. And yet again I'm the one left behind. Grandfather, Raha, Minfilia... and now Ejika. They all did what they believed they had to do. And they're all gone. Why am I always the one who survives? The one who has to suffer the heartache?"''
-->-- '''Krile Baldesion''', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Stormblood''

->''"I... am fine... Completely... and utterly... fine! Better than fine! Hale and hearty and still alive to mourn those who are not. Who I failed to protect when they needed me most. We've come so far - so ''godsdamned'' far! I could have sworn the end was in sight. And now... Now they will never see it."''
-->-- '''Captain Lyna''', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Shadowbringers''

->''"I... I loved them all... I loved Laphi, and Celica... Arthur, everyone... To have it all stolen from me... Why them? Why not me?"''
-->-- '''Velvet''', ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria''

->''"She held their hands as they died, hoping they would drag her with them."''
-->-- '''Jericho Swain''' regarding [[BrokenBird Riven the Exile]], ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''

->''"I figured out why I cried at Loretta's funeral: survivor's guilt! ''[...]'' It means I fell out of that bathtub more times than could possibly be funny, and never a scratch. She falls out once, breaks her neck, and gets Quagmire'd. It could have been me."''
-->-- '''Cleveland Brown''', ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow''

->''She was living, the others were dead. That was the great evil. How cruel it was to have to be alive.''
-->-- '''Ikuta Tomoko''', ''Literature/DeathInMidsummer''

->''"Why not me?"''
-->-- '''John Rambo''', ''Film/RamboLastBlood''

->''"I had a life there. Years of memories. I had so many people I loved... Friends I laughed with. Silly crushes I daydreamed about the future with -- and they are all dead. And I'm still here. You can never understand how I feel."''
-->-- '''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}''', ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton''

->''"That's what this thing has been...I should be down there...with them. I should be down in that sub! I should be dead! And all this NOISE, see this POUNDING! This CLANGING! That's them guys down there! They're calling muster on ME!"''
-->-- '''Chief Bell''', ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' "The Thirty-Fathom Grave"

->''"Michelle... I missed her with every part of my being. I hated the world for not killing me with her, and I hated myself for allowing this to happen to her and our little girl."''
-->-- '''Max Payne''', ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3''

->''"I woke up one morning strangers say hello to me\\
Tomorrow their names will be carved onto stones\\
"We're going home alive" I'm a terrible liar\\
Forgive me, that's not the Arc de Triomphe!"''
-->-- '''"Hellfire"''', Leo Whitefang's theme from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive''

->'''[[ClarkesThirdLaw Galen]]:''' I carried out her last request. Honored her memory. If it were you, wouldn't you do the same?\\
'''[[TheCaptain Captain]] [[SoleSurvivor Matthew Gideon]]:''' I've already made that promise, times three hundred.\\
'''Galen:''' Have you kept it?\\
'''Gideon:''' No, not yet.\\
'''Galen:''' Then when the time comes I'll help you keep yours as you have helped me keep mine. Perhaps then we can both forgive ourselves our common crime.\\
'''Gideon:''' What crime?\\
'''Galen:''' Being alive.
-->-- ''{{Series/Crusade}}'', "The Well of Forever''

->''"Sometimes in war, it's hard to be the one that survives."''
-->-- '''Commander Cody''', ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''

->''"Fifty of us made it down to the life deck. But, uh-oh, there's just one life pod. Ten seats. Now, the thing is, we were all friends, they were all my Jack Crusher. We weren't... we didn't fight over who should live and who should die. No, we... we waited for orders. And then, finally, some lieutenant comes down, and she just starts... pointing. You, you, and you. Now she's pointing at me. Why-why me? I'm just some dipshit from Chicago. Now I'm... lucky number ten. She didn't count herself. 'Get in,' she says, 'that's an order.' I know, I know, I know. I ask myself the same thing. She make a mistake?"''
-->-- '''Liam Shaw''', ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', "No Win Scenario"

->''How am I different?''\\
''I did and they didn't''\\
''And it doesn't feel right''
-->-- '''Music/DemiLovato''', "DEAD FRIENDS"

->''"When you lose over six thousand men in four hours, it's easy for one death to become just another number. But all I knew was my best friend was gone, and a part of me wished that I had been taken instead."''
-->-- '''Jack Mitchell''', ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare''

->''"I'm sorry... If only I was the one who died..."''
-->-- '''Sakuta Azusagawa''', ''[[Literature/RascalDoesNotDreamOfBunnyGirlSenpai Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl]]''

->'''Francine:''' Do you know how guilty I feel? Knowing that fireman ''died''... so ''I'' could live. And now, next week, I'm s'posed to tell everyone what I ''did'' with that life?! I've done ''nothing'' with my life!
->'''Klaus:''' Kill yourself. ''Do it!''
->'''Steve:''' Shut up, Klaus! ''(to Francine)'' You've done stuff with your life. You made ''me'', Mommy.
->'''Francine:''' Any dumbass can have dumbass kids.
->'''Steve:''' ''(gasp)'' Mama, no!
->'''Hayley:''' Come on, Mom. You raised a great family.
->'''Francine:''' Says my brain surgeon daughter.
->'''Hayley:''' Come on, Jeff. She's got [[DrowningMySorrows Chablis mouth]].
-->--''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': "National Treasure 4: Baby Granny: She's Doing Well: The Hole Story"

->'''Winston:''' (after the Marquis shoots and kills Charon) It should have been me.
->'''The Marquis:''' You're right. It should've. [[CruelMercy Now go and think about why it wasn't.]]
-->--''Film/JohnWickChapter4''

->''"It should have been me, not him! It's not fair!"''
-->-- '''Yami Yugi''', ''Anime/YuGiOh''

->''Fifth squad leader of the Vespers, the Arquebus Group's augmented human squad.\\
Like [[TheParanoiac Swinburne]], Hawkins is a member of Generation Seven, and has lost a great many colleagues and subordinates to the progress of science in revolutionizing the surgery.\\
However, he has reached a certain peace with their sacrifices, knowing that his generation of surgery is far safer than those of the past—free of the loss of humanity inflicted on the Coral technology generations, or the grisly accidents of the interim generations.''
-->-- '''V.V Hawkins'''' Arena profile, ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon''
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