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"I thought my Dark Rings were a stroke of genius. I never realized I was causing pain. I made them work for me tirelessly without ever giving them a break, and I was cruel to them beyond imagination. I'm a monster! I can't believe what I've done!"
— Ken Ichijoji/The Digimon Emperor, Digimon Adventure 02
"For the sake of the island, the Eldians... No, it wasn't just that... What was really beyond the walls... it was different from what I dreamed of... From what I saw in Armin's book... it was different... When I learned that humanity lived outside the walls... I was disappointed. I... I wished... for everything to somehow disappear. I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"We made use of hatred. We let it grow. We believed it would save us... We took every problem caused by our shortcomings and spat them all out onto an "island of devils." And the result... was the birth of that monster... who has now come to repay us for all of the hate we've ever shown... If it's possible... for us to ever have a future again. I will never make the same mistakes... I swear it. If we ever see... another tomorrow..."
— Muller, Attack on Titan, Chapter 134
"I've always been this way, haven't I? I never notice things until it's too late."
— Precia Testarossa, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st
Hakim: Space has become a place that has become monopolized by handful of powerful countries. We should fix that, shouldn't we? We should start over from scratch, shouldn't we?! And... return all the countries to the way they should be. (slowly begins raising gun at Nono)
Nono: Countries? Oh, I've heard all about those!
Hakim: (stops raising gun)
Nono: I've heard Earth is divided into them, is that right? Oh, I guess I should explain, I'm a Lunarian. I was born and raised here! So, I've never seen any of those country things myself. I'm kinda curious, mister, where's your country? (points at Earth) Can you see it from here?
Hakim: ...You're right. You can't see any of it from out here in space. But, I still do. You can't see them... but I still do. (slowly walks away)
Nono: Countries? Oh, I've heard all about those!
Hakim: (stops raising gun)
Nono: I've heard Earth is divided into them, is that right? Oh, I guess I should explain, I'm a Lunarian. I was born and raised here! So, I've never seen any of those country things myself. I'm kinda curious, mister, where's your country? (points at Earth) Can you see it from here?
Hakim: ...You're right. You can't see any of it from out here in space. But, I still do. You can't see them... but I still do. (slowly walks away)
— Planetes
"It happened in Year 5 of elementary school. Word of what happened between me and Ruri-chan had spread, and the other kids started to shun me. 'The Bully.' That's who I'd become to them. During breaks and even during class, too, they acted as if I wasn't there at all. It never became an issue though. I just accepted it. And that's how I spent the rest of elementary school. It was my own fault, after all. I was a bully. I was the bad guy. And I got what I deserved."
— Shizuku Hoshikawa, The Summer You Were There
Comic Books
"You don't understand... I really didn't want to leave you any clues. I really planned never to go back to Arkham Asylum. But I left you a clue anyway. So I... I have to go back there. Because I might need help. I... I might actually be crazy."
— The Riddler, Batman: Gotham Adventures
I think everybody wants to believe they'll be remembered when they check out. I also think everybody likes to believe that life can't go on without them, but that just ain't the truth. No way to stop the future. You're too young to be thinkin' about this kinda stuff now, but trust me... most men want to leave the world a better place than they found it. They wanna feel like they've made a difference. Been somebody. Everybody wants to be a Cadillac; no one wants to be an ol' junker!
All Scrooge's life, he had probably thought he was the Caddy - great paint job, powerful engine, smooth ride. I think when all was said and done, when it came down to the zero hour, ol' Scroogey knew that he would be remembered as the junker. You know, the one that used to break down on you all the time. You'd never forget what a pain in the neck it was. People don't remember that car when it was brand spankin' new... They just remember having to jump-start it every day.
Scrooge had lived his life as a man who could turn on you at any moment - leave you stranded or hurt. He'd been the type of man people only feared. Feared that he'd "break down" on 'em again.
All Scrooge's life, he had probably thought he was the Caddy - great paint job, powerful engine, smooth ride. I think when all was said and done, when it came down to the zero hour, ol' Scroogey knew that he would be remembered as the junker. You know, the one that used to break down on you all the time. You'd never forget what a pain in the neck it was. People don't remember that car when it was brand spankin' new... They just remember having to jump-start it every day.
Scrooge had lived his life as a man who could turn on you at any moment - leave you stranded or hurt. He'd been the type of man people only feared. Feared that he'd "break down" on 'em again.
"I lied to myself! I was no heroic German soldier, fighting and dying honorably on the eastern front! My sword has shown me the truth... I was a rapist! A monster! A Vampire! I deserved to die! I deserved to be sent here... To never see Rebecca again! I am truly in Hell! So I may as well enjoy it!"
— Heinrich Augsberg, Requiem Vampire Knight
"I once told Optimus I killed for the sake of killing. I wanted to make him hurt me, you see—because when he hurts others, he hurts himself. And the thing is, when the words were in my head I didn't think I meant them; but when they left my mouth, I realized that I did. If the world thinks you're a monster, what does it matter? The world is wrong. But when you start to think of yourself as a monster...I came to hate the person I'd become."
Delia Surridge: You've come to kill me, haven't you?
V: Yes.
Delia Surridge: Thank God.
V: Yes.
Delia Surridge: Thank God.
"I guess I just hit a point in my life when I wondered what things could be like if all the billionaires and government spooks tried to save the world instead of bleeding it dry. Does that make any sense to you?"
— Iron Man, The Ultimates
Dinosaurus: You'll be disoriented for a moment.
Invincible: What happened? Machine break? Are we going to fight again now?
Dinosaurus: No...and no. I set you free. You're right. I can see that now.
Invincible: What? Really?!
Dinosaurus: Through all this... I've...distanced myself, grown beyond what I once was... I see myself as above those I try to help. Like a god bestowing wisdom on his...flock. I was never doing good for the sake of doing it, I was only ever serving to inflate my own ego. I never fully realized that until now.
Invincible: What happened? Machine break? Are we going to fight again now?
Dinosaurus: No...and no. I set you free. You're right. I can see that now.
Invincible: What? Really?!
Dinosaurus: Through all this... I've...distanced myself, grown beyond what I once was... I see myself as above those I try to help. Like a god bestowing wisdom on his...flock. I was never doing good for the sake of doing it, I was only ever serving to inflate my own ego. I never fully realized that until now.
Camille: It was like being stuck in a nightmare. I could feel things, see things, but... I felt as if in a trance... as if I were someone else. And yet I know that it was really me the whole time... It's horrible.
Leila: I don't think it was your fault Camille. It was that darned monolith that probably-
Camille: Don't try to find excuses for me, Leila. I can see how everyone's looking at me here... and they're probably right to be afraid of me. I'm just not a good person, that's all.
— Alone
Fan Fiction
"I've been terrible to both of you, haven't I?" Adagio said, fear welling up in her, but wishing for all the world she’d said these words sooner, "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ever dragging you two down into the dark with me. You both deserved better than me as a sister."
"So, you're one of them."
She thought about what she could say. She could outright deny it. No, I'm not part of the White Fang. But she was.
She was. And didn't this girl, covered in blood, deserve a little truth?
"Yes." She said finally.
"But you saved me."
Pause. "Yes."
The other girl looked at her uneasily. "Why?"
Blake stared at her. "I... I don't know. What they did..." A scream bled into the crawl space, making them both cringe. Dust, it was still going on? "What they're doing is wrong."
She thought about what she could say. She could outright deny it. No, I'm not part of the White Fang. But she was.
She was. And didn't this girl, covered in blood, deserve a little truth?
"Yes." She said finally.
"But you saved me."
Pause. "Yes."
The other girl looked at her uneasily. "Why?"
Blake stared at her. "I... I don't know. What they did..." A scream bled into the crawl space, making them both cringe. Dust, it was still going on? "What they're doing is wrong."
— The Lines Between the Dots
, a RWBY fic
, a RWBY fic"I meant what I said, you know. I am sorry. And I know there's nothing I can ever do to repay my actions. It's just something I have to live with."
She couldn't quite say where it all went wrong - or, rather, when she started noticing just how wrong everything already was. Perhaps White's petty, spiteful little move and biting talk about getting too attached to her playthings had provided a turning point. Or perhaps it had been one of a million other things.
She remembered the first time she couldn't help but cringe at the sight of a once flourishing planet turned into a lifeless husk by the fate she'd very deliberately imposed on it herself; the first time she'd reacted with awe and curiosity instead of disgust and discomfort at seeing two tiny Gems become something even bigger than both of them together; the first time it truly hit her that pearls, agates, and ambers and so, so many more all had wishes and desires and thought, the same as any other Gem - and the first time she saw how much it could come to cost them if they let anyone notice.
Things she'd never before taken the time to contemplate in any depth suddenly made a distressing amount of horrible sense.
Pink Diamond, bringer of life.
It rang just a bit more hollow each time.
She remembered the first time she couldn't help but cringe at the sight of a once flourishing planet turned into a lifeless husk by the fate she'd very deliberately imposed on it herself; the first time she'd reacted with awe and curiosity instead of disgust and discomfort at seeing two tiny Gems become something even bigger than both of them together; the first time it truly hit her that pearls, agates, and ambers and so, so many more all had wishes and desires and thought, the same as any other Gem - and the first time she saw how much it could come to cost them if they let anyone notice.
Things she'd never before taken the time to contemplate in any depth suddenly made a distressing amount of horrible sense.
Pink Diamond, bringer of life.
It rang just a bit more hollow each time.
Speaking with Tokiha forced me to see how things could have been. She had an outlet to pour her energy into, to make up for her mistake, occupy herself and try to fill the hole in her heart. So what if it was for selfish reasons? She couldn't possibly be as selfish as I am. It was an actual goal to work toward, rather than merely causing pain in order to ease hers.
I then have to wonder; has my life simply been a self-destructive tantrum against the injustices I've suffered? And what should I do now that I've realized this?
I then have to wonder; has my life simply been a self-destructive tantrum against the injustices I've suffered? And what should I do now that I've realized this?
"You're right. I can't justify myself the way I wanted to. There was really no way to do that at all. But you've already caught me, and the vote's been cast."
— Sonia Nevermind, System Restore
Belatedly, [Sakura] began to wonder if she'd hurt him with her constant rejections.
It wasn't all her fault though. It's not like she was obligated to go out with him just because he asked. And she didn't want to spoil her chances with Sasuke-kun...
Unbidden, memories of some of her more... forceful... rejections came to mind, burning away a lot of her self-justifications.
"I’m not a very nice person," she whispered to herself. Her voice seemed unnaturally loud in the empty hallway.
It wasn't all her fault though. It's not like she was obligated to go out with him just because he asked. And she didn't want to spoil her chances with Sasuke-kun...
Unbidden, memories of some of her more... forceful... rejections came to mind, burning away a lot of her self-justifications.
"I’m not a very nice person," she whispered to herself. Her voice seemed unnaturally loud in the empty hallway.
— Team8
"Twilight, I... words cannot express what utter shame I am feeling right now. I have always believed in ideals of Crystal Prep, of competitiveness and constant race, because I truly believed that was an essential part of progress... but I forgot, in my blindness, that the Shadowbolts are supposed to take care of each other, and you were a Shadowbolt, since Cinch, er... chose you to represent our school. And I didn't do that. None of us did."
"I lost the last time because I didn't understand your friendship as well as I thought I did, and once I finally did understand it... I realize how it must've felt when I broke yours apart."
"I was wrong. I was always wrong."
— Taylor/Annatar, Ring-Maker
"I...I'm the one who screwed everything up, aren't I...? Because...Because of my damn paranoia, I..." Azami choked out. "I...I'm so sorry guys...I'm sorry guys! I'm sorry!" (...) "Mikio! Mikio, I-I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!"
Blue Diamond: "I attacked you, and you blasted me, and you told me to stop grieving for thousands of years, and I never quite cared to pay attention to the fact that you were grieving yourself. And so I hurt you, and you hurt me, and we hurt Pink over and over and over again until she felt like she had no choice but to pretend to shatter herself to get away from us. And White hurt us, and we just recently threw Steven in prison, and we have shards on our hands from millennia ago and yesterday and today, and…”
Yellow Diamond: “And?”
Blue Diamond: “And, I don’t think there’s such a thing as taking those hurts back.”
The finality of the sentence relieves as much as it scalds her.
They’ve done too much.
To each other.
To others.
Shards on their hands, in their eyes, on their souls.
The stars are silent in confirmation.
Yellow Diamond: “And?”
Blue Diamond: “And, I don’t think there’s such a thing as taking those hurts back.”
The finality of the sentence relieves as much as it scalds her.
They’ve done too much.
To each other.
To others.
Shards on their hands, in their eyes, on their souls.
The stars are silent in confirmation.
— Stars
"I woke up in a very different world than I left. I expected to see my people fighting the Angelic League's forces to their dying breaths. But when I wandered through the broken streets, they were greeted as liberators. Saviors. I was the villain.
"I spent my life trying to end injustice. Foolishness. Corruption. I thought Emberald a paradise. But when I saw my people dancing in their ruined homes, I realized that I could not simply bludgeon the world into perfection. That mindset was the ultimate folly. So when I heard that there was a Church, an army of fools who sought to do the same as I had tried to do, of course I sought to stop it."
— Yukon, Meta Fic II, New Gods
Sengoku had only one thing to say.
“When... did I begin to accept this?”
He can no longer truly remember.
And that scares him like nothing’s ever scared him before.
“When... did I begin to accept this?”
He can no longer truly remember.
And that scares him like nothing’s ever scared him before.
[...]
When had it all gone so wrong, he wondered? He was sorely tempted to pin it on the day Jeremiah Cross exited his mother's womb, but he knew himself too well for that to stick. Jeremiah Cross had had nothing to do with the many morally questionable, or outright evil acts he had signed off on as Fleet Admiral. Or as an Admiral. Or even as a Vice Admiral.
When had it gone wrong?
The more Sengoku thought about it, the more he knew that the right question was, "Was it ever right?"
When had it gone wrong?
The more Sengoku thought about it, the more he knew that the right question was, "Was it ever right?"
— This Bites!, Side Story "Sengoku" and Chapter 79.
" and Chapter 79.Ashamed as she now felt about it, the first time Kayden had seen Benny - sweet, kind, gentle Benny who got along so well with Aster - she hadn't realized he was one of Taylor's for a moment.
Frankly, her thoughts had been - uncomplimentary enough she didn't even want to repeat them in her own thoughts now. She was trying to get away from that.
And then he'd been - just… sweet. Kind. Polite. A good kid, a nice kid - more assertive than Theo, a bit awkward, but rather clever in his own way, if not very good with understanding people. Concerned about family, good with younger kids.
A kid that would've been considered a model son in any of her old - former? - friends' households if it weren't for the colour of his skin.
Frankly, her thoughts had been - uncomplimentary enough she didn't even want to repeat them in her own thoughts now. She was trying to get away from that.
And then he'd been - just… sweet. Kind. Polite. A good kid, a nice kid - more assertive than Theo, a bit awkward, but rather clever in his own way, if not very good with understanding people. Concerned about family, good with younger kids.
A kid that would've been considered a model son in any of her old - former? - friends' households if it weren't for the colour of his skin.
"All of it! All of it was complete shit! It didn't matter! None of it mattered! They didn't give a shit about what I thought. About what should have happened. About how it should have worked out! Prey, Predator, Survivors, Victims. It was all just… just a fucking lie! [...] It wasn't real. It was never fucking real Emma! It was all just... a big fucking joke... and I was almost the burnt out punch-line."
— Sophia Hess, No Good Deed
"I spent the next few weeks here in bed, unable to do anything but just sit and stare at the wall. I thought about everything I've done to that point, and I concluded that life is never a guarantee, I could die tomorrow and what would I have to show for it, other than hatred for those less fortunate than me? What would I have to show for it other than a family that hates me? I swore that day, I would change, I would be a better wife to Alador, I would be a better mother to the twins, I... I would be a person that could one day be okay with dying because I did everything I could to help others."
— Odalia Blight, The Princess and the Runaways chapter 18
chapter 18 Vulkan had killed hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, in the name of the Imperial Truth. He had bombed cities, he had wiped out civilizations and cultures, he had burnt planets to ash. Vulkan was called the most compassionate of his brothers by everyone who had a basis for comparison, and he knew that they did not do so without reason. But - though his hands might be the least bloody of his brothers, he was far from innocent. Compared to any other human who walked the galaxy, his legacy was drenched in gore.
Even should Vulkan set aside the human cost of the crusade and think only of the crusades against xenos forces, he had ordered more of his sons to die in the name of the Imperium than had been originally created for his legion. At his father's orders, he had allowed the Terran components of his legion to all but eradicate themselves before he met them.
His trust in the Emperor had been absolute, unshakable. He had believed, utterly, that his father's dream was worth its cost in blood.
Now, he had to confront the idea that it was not.
"Today has been... a day. And now I'm flashing back to being on the ground, about to be crushed by a raging moose... when it hits me: Heather would have never done that for me. She's never stuck her neck out for me, she's never sacrificed anything to help me. Everything I've done for her and she was just going to watch... I... I don't want to be like Heather. I want to be someone like DJ."
"...Hah. Ahaha... I see now. I tried playing the hero... and I became an even worse villain. Ironic, isn't it?"
—Naoya Edogawa, Danganronpa: Memento Mori
As All Might led him to the officers, young Bakugou was utterly compliant. Finally, the boy worked up enough nerve to say, “Look, you don’t owe a shitty villain anything, but… I could tell you didn’t like me from the moment I first stepped into your classroom… and I wanna know why.
All Might was silent for some time. Finally, he said, “Once, there was a Quirkless boy who wanted to be a hero. He was constantly mocked and derided for his dream, but he didn’t care, because all he ever wanted to do was save people. To be someone that people on the street would see and know that everything was going to be okay. Once, in middle school, he got caught up in a villain attack. Many people derided him for interfering, powerless as he was. But there was one hero who saw potential in that boy. Saw that he had a power brimming beneath the surface. And so, the boy became the hero’s apprentice. He worked hard, unlocked his Quirk, and managed to defy everyone who mocked him by earning the record on the U.A. entrance exam.”
Bakugou didn’t even have the energy to scowl. “So it’s all because of Deku. Midoriya, I mean.”
“It is,” All Might said. “But you misunderstand me. In that story, I wasn’t the hero. I was the Quirkless boy. That is the story of how I met my own mentor. That is why young Midoriya means so much to me. That is why someone who would torment a Quirkless person infuriates me."
And at that, Bakugou stopped short.
All Might grew up thinking he was Quirkless? All Might grew up being told not to be a hero?
All Might was once a deku?
Someone like Deku could grow up to be someone like All Might. If Bakugou and All Might were kids at the same time, he would have treated his hero the same way he treated Deku. He’d tried to perfectly craft his backstory to be the number one hero, but All Might’s backstory was the same as Deku’s. He just never told anyone.
Bakugou always thought Deku was just an extra in his own story, unimportant except maybe as a minor villain who always looked down on him as a kid… but Deku was like All Might. Deku’s story was as important as Bakugou’s. Maybe more. And, if the story was told from Deku’s point of view, then he… then he...
And it finally, FINALLY dawned on Bakugou that Nezu was right. He really was a villain.
Film — Animated
Lex Luthor: I could have made everyone see! If it wasn't for you, I could have saved the world!
Superman: If it had mattered to you, Luthor, you could have saved the world years ago.
Luthor: [quietly] ...You're right.
Superman: If it had mattered to you, Luthor, you could have saved the world years ago.
Luthor: [quietly] ...You're right.
Mr. Pickles: We're just doing our jobs.
Winnie: Your "jobs?!" Are you pest exterminators or evil henchmen?!
Mr. Pickles: ...I knew that's how people saw us.
Winnie: Your "jobs?!" Are you pest exterminators or evil henchmen?!
Mr. Pickles: ...I knew that's how people saw us.
Aunt Sarah: AHHH! A rat!
Trusty: A rat! We should've known.
Jock: I misjudged him [Tramp]. Badly.
Trusty: A rat! We should've known.
Jock: I misjudged him [Tramp]. Badly.
Minion: I may not know much, but I do know this; the bad guy doesn't get the girl.
Megamind: Maybe I don't want to be the bad guy anymore!
Megamind: Maybe I don't want to be the bad guy anymore!
— Megamind
"So... President Business is the bad guy?"
—- The Man Upstairs, The LEGO Movie
"I believed we were doing what was right; I was wrong. Now this is our punishment. We thought we knew our way in life, but in death... we are lost."
— Judge Hopkins, ParaNorman
And for one time in his life of power and control
Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul.
Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul.
— Clopin, "The Bells of Notre Dame", The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)
Sully: I've been a real jerk...
Mike: So have I...
Mike: So have I...
Film — Live-Action
"No. I haven't been acting correctly. I can't hardly recognize myself sometimes when I'm greased. I go on journeys out of my body and look at my red hands and my mean face and I wonder about that man who's gone so wrong."
— Jesse James, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
"Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them. I am done letting it consume me."
Prendergast: Let's meet a couple of police officers. They're all good guys.
Foster: I'm the bad guy?
Prendergast: ...Yeah.
Foster: How did that happen?
Foster: I'm the bad guy?
Prendergast: ...Yeah.
Foster: How did that happen?
"I know now why God didn't heal Bobby. He didn't heal him because... (breaks down in pained sobbing) ...there was nothing wrong with him!"
— Mary Griffith, Prayers for Bobby
"See, now I'm thinkin': maybe it means you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. And I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd."
— Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction
Dr. Alan Grant: Mr. Hammond, after great consideration, I have decided... not to endorse your park.
John Hammond: ...so have I.
John Hammond: ...so have I.
Tony Stark: I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions I would've asked him, I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the news reels. (Beat) I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I... had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability.
(various reporters try to ask questions, Stark points at one)
Reporter: What happened over there?
Tony Stark: (stands up) I had my eyes opened! I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why — effective immediately — I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing devision of Stark International.
(various reporters try to ask questions, Stark points at one)
Reporter: What happened over there?
Tony Stark: (stands up) I had my eyes opened! I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why — effective immediately — I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing devision of Stark International.
— Iron Man
"Well, what can I say about this pig that hasn't already been said? I know a lot of you folks have come out to the farm, and you've seen the words. A lot of you have asked me, "How could this have happened?" I don't know. But it has happened in a time when we really don't see many miraculous things. Or maybe we do. Maybe they're all right there around us, every day, and we just don't know where to look. There's no denying that our own little Wilbur, he's part of something that's bigger than all of us. And life on that farm is just a whole lot better with him in it. He really is... some pig."
— Homer Zuckerman, Charlotte's Web
"I would never hurt you. I wouldn't hurt anyone... I'm not a monster. I'm..."
— Wanda Maximoff, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Literature
Jacob Marley: Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed, not to know, that ages of incessant labour by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunities misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!
Ebenezer Scrooge: But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.
Jacob Marley: Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business! At this time of the rolling year, I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!
Ebenezer Scrooge: But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.
Jacob Marley: Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business! At this time of the rolling year, I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!
He wouldn't be able to walk on a street on any civilized planet in the galaxy; people wouldn't be able to abide his presence.
Nor would he blame them.
He couldn't stop thinking about it. He didn't believe he would ever be able to stop thinking about it. The dead would haunt him, forever.
How could a man live with that?
Nor would he blame them.
He couldn't stop thinking about it. He didn't believe he would ever be able to stop thinking about it. The dead would haunt him, forever.
How could a man live with that?
— Tenn Graneet, Lead Gunner on the Death Star
"You remember the dragon that you brought Vader forth from your heart to slay. You remember the cold venom in Vader's blood. You remember the furnace of Vader's fury, and the black hatred of seizing her throat to silence her lying mouth—and there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. That there was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker.
That it was all you. Is you. Only you.
You did it. You killed her.
You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were only thinking about yourself... it is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith—because now your self is all you will ever have.
And you rage and scream and reach through the Force to crush the shadow who has destroyed you, but you are so far less now than what you were, you are more than half machine, you are like a painter who has gone blind, a composer gone deaf, you can remember where the power was but the power you can touch is only a memory, and so with all your world-destroying fury it is only droids around you that implode, and equipment, and the table on which you were strapped shatters, and in the end, you cannot touch the shadow.
In the end, you do not even want to. In the end, the shadow is all you have left. Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself—and within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.
This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, forever."
That it was all you. Is you. Only you.
You did it. You killed her.
You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were only thinking about yourself... it is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith—because now your self is all you will ever have.
And you rage and scream and reach through the Force to crush the shadow who has destroyed you, but you are so far less now than what you were, you are more than half machine, you are like a painter who has gone blind, a composer gone deaf, you can remember where the power was but the power you can touch is only a memory, and so with all your world-destroying fury it is only droids around you that implode, and equipment, and the table on which you were strapped shatters, and in the end, you cannot touch the shadow.
In the end, you do not even want to. In the end, the shadow is all you have left. Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself—and within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.
This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, forever."
— Anakin Skywalker, Revenge of the Sith
"That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead."
"A month ago, he could easily have spoken with pride on how British dragons were cared for. Like all of them, Temeraire had been fed and housed on raw meat and in bare clearings, with constant training and little entertainment. Laurence thought he might as well brag of raising children in a pigsty to the Queen, as speak of such conditions to this elegant dragon in her flower-decked palace."
— Captain William Laurence of His Majesty's Aerial Corps, Throne of Jade
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scene, but reached out blindly to Kalecgos. [...] And the sight of herself, in a hastily thrown-on robe— Golden hair, kind eyes, a face that bore a single furrow in its brow, lips that knew more of gentle words than shrieks of pain. It was an alien face. Jaina's heart was shattered at the visible evidence of how truly innocent she had been not that long ago. [...] My voice... Did I truly sound so young? [...] Her voice was rich with warmth and gratitude. I was... good, Jaina realized. I was good, then...
I AM A SUPERVILLAIN.
— Taylor's message to her dad, Worm, Tangle 6.9
A hot breath is trapped in Kyra's lungs, and it flares like napalm. She looks into Dan Cody's eyes, and for the first time she sees the pain there, and she almost understands the agony he feels when he looks at her face and sees the eyes of his love locked in a skull where they don't belong.
"You... took... everything!" he says.
And Kyra knows that he is telling the truth. Suddenly, it all seems as simple as a fairy tale, and she's surprised to find that she's the villain. The witch who casts spells in a castle tower.
"You... took... everything!" he says.
And Kyra knows that he is telling the truth. Suddenly, it all seems as simple as a fairy tale, and she's surprised to find that she's the villain. The witch who casts spells in a castle tower.
An epiphany. A revelation. The lightbulb switching on in my head.
Face it, Rachel. The power is like a drug. And you are like an addict.
Would I ever get enough? How long before I turned into a morally decrepit monster like Visser One?
And making a deal with Crayak would only accelerate the journey to that inevitable end.
Suddenly, I had a vision of myself as I would really appear to the world. To my family. Friends. To the other Animorphs. To the Chee. The free Hork-Bajir. To every decent person on this planet.
Super-Rachel was not beautiful and kind and benevolent. She would not be honored and respected. She was hideous and violent and brutal. She would be feared by everyone. Despised and hated. A tyrant to be plotted against, just like Visser One.
Rachel of the darkness down deep inside.
Face it, Rachel. The power is like a drug. And you are like an addict.
Would I ever get enough? How long before I turned into a morally decrepit monster like Visser One?
And making a deal with Crayak would only accelerate the journey to that inevitable end.
Suddenly, I had a vision of myself as I would really appear to the world. To my family. Friends. To the other Animorphs. To the Chee. The free Hork-Bajir. To every decent person on this planet.
Super-Rachel was not beautiful and kind and benevolent. She would not be honored and respected. She was hideous and violent and brutal. She would be feared by everyone. Despised and hated. A tyrant to be plotted against, just like Visser One.
Rachel of the darkness down deep inside.
—Animorphs #48: The Return
Martín: I'm horrible to you. I'm a terrible person.
Casiopea: Maybe you could stop being so horrible, then.
Martín: I'm thankful, you know ... And I'm sorry. About everything. Will you accept my apology?
Casiopea: Maybe you could stop being so horrible, then.
Martín: I'm thankful, you know ... And I'm sorry. About everything. Will you accept my apology?
David: "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
Nathan: You are the man!
David: "I have sinned against the Lord."
Nathan: You are the man!
David: "I have sinned against the Lord."
— Taken from 2 Samuel 12:5-7 and 12:13 (The Bible, NRSV)
Live-Action TV
"For a demon, I never did think that much about the "nature of evil." Just threw myself in; thought it was a party. I liked the rush. I liked the crunch. [quietly] Never did look back at the victims."
— Spike, Angel, "Damaged"
"Which side are we on? We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go. I'm surprised you didn't know that."
— Colonel Tigh, Battlestar Galactica
"I accept who I am. I'm the bad guy."
— Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad
"I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really… I was alive."
— Walter White finally owning up, Breaking Bad
Detective Jake Peralta: I can't believe we're fugitives on the lam, falsely accused of a crime.
Captain Raymond Holt: There's nothing false about it. We committed several felonies and escaped from jail.
Peralta: Yeah, but we were just doing what we had to do. We're the good guys. (gasps) This is what they all think!
Captain Raymond Holt: There's nothing false about it. We committed several felonies and escaped from jail.
Peralta: Yeah, but we were just doing what we had to do. We're the good guys. (gasps) This is what they all think!
Regina: Greg Mandel said something funny to me. He said I'm a villain, and that villains don't get happy endings. You believe that?
Captain Hook: I hope not, or we've wasted our lives.
Captain Hook: I hope not, or we've wasted our lives.
I'm the villain in my own story.
My actions have gone way too far.
I told myself that I was Jasmine
But I realize now I'm Jafar.
We're told love conquers all.
But that only applies to the hero.
Is the enemy what I'm meant to be?
Is being the villain my destiny?
My actions have gone way too far.
I told myself that I was Jasmine
But I realize now I'm Jafar.
We're told love conquers all.
But that only applies to the hero.
Is the enemy what I'm meant to be?
Is being the villain my destiny?
— Rebecca Bunch, "I'm the Villain in My Own Story," Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Crazy Ex-GirlfriendFisk: I was thinking about a story from The Bible...
SWAT 1: I tell you to open your mouth?!
SWAT 2: Let him talk. Don't mean nothin'.
Fisk: I'm not a religious man, but I've read bits and pieces over the years. Curiosity more than faith. But this one story... There was a man, he... he was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho... when he was set upon by men of ill intent. They stripped the traveller of his clothes, they beat him, and they left him bleeding in the dirt. And a priest happened by... saw the traveller... but he moved to the other side of the road and continued on. And then a Levite, a religious functionary, he... came to the place, saw the dying traveller... but he too moved to the other side of the road, and passed him by. But then came a man from Samaria, a Samaritan, a good man. He saw the traveller bleeding in the road, and he stopped to aid him without thinking of the circumstance or the difficulty it might bring him. The Samaritan tended to the traveller's wounds, applying oil and wine, and he carried him to an inn, gave him all the money he had, for the owner to take care of the traveller, as the Samaritan, he... continued on his journey. He did this simply because the traveller was his neighbour. He loved his city, and all the people in it. (sighs) I always thought that I was the Samaritan in that story. It's funny, isn't it? How even the best of men can be... deceived by their true nature.
SWAT 1: The hell does that mean?
Fisk: It means that I'm not the Samaritan. That I'm not the priest. Or the Levite. That I am the ill intent... who set upon the traveller on a road that he should not have been on.
SWAT 1: I tell you to open your mouth?!
SWAT 2: Let him talk. Don't mean nothin'.
Fisk: I'm not a religious man, but I've read bits and pieces over the years. Curiosity more than faith. But this one story... There was a man, he... he was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho... when he was set upon by men of ill intent. They stripped the traveller of his clothes, they beat him, and they left him bleeding in the dirt. And a priest happened by... saw the traveller... but he moved to the other side of the road and continued on. And then a Levite, a religious functionary, he... came to the place, saw the dying traveller... but he too moved to the other side of the road, and passed him by. But then came a man from Samaria, a Samaritan, a good man. He saw the traveller bleeding in the road, and he stopped to aid him without thinking of the circumstance or the difficulty it might bring him. The Samaritan tended to the traveller's wounds, applying oil and wine, and he carried him to an inn, gave him all the money he had, for the owner to take care of the traveller, as the Samaritan, he... continued on his journey. He did this simply because the traveller was his neighbour. He loved his city, and all the people in it. (sighs) I always thought that I was the Samaritan in that story. It's funny, isn't it? How even the best of men can be... deceived by their true nature.
SWAT 1: The hell does that mean?
Fisk: It means that I'm not the Samaritan. That I'm not the priest. Or the Levite. That I am the ill intent... who set upon the traveller on a road that he should not have been on.
Davros: You betrayed the Daleks?
Dalek Caan: I saw the Daleks. What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, creator, and I decreed: No more!
Dalek Caan: I saw the Daleks. What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, creator, and I decreed: No more!
— Doctor Who, "Journey's End"
"I've taken lives. And I got worse, I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long."
— The Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who, "The End of Time"
"I've been worshipping the devil!"
— Joji Yuki/Riderman, Kamen Rider V3
Dave: You've really done it this time, Bill. You've bankrupted the station, nearly stripped us bare, and on top of that you broke poor Matthew's heart. I hope you're proud of yourself.
Bill: How do you think I feel? Everyone hates me now. I mean, not like before when they only sorta hated me. This is the real stuff.
Bill: How do you think I feel? Everyone hates me now. I mean, not like before when they only sorta hated me. This is the real stuff.
— NewsRadio, "Twins"
"They've got skulls on them. Have you noticed that our caps actually have little pictures of skulls on them? Hans... are we the baddies?"
"You start to tell a story, you think you’re the hero. And then when you get done talking..."
"This is all my fault. Why am I always wrong? I just, I want to be right, for once. It's all so complicated... wait, am I the villain? Am I, like, the bad guy, but just so stupid that I didn't even notice?"
— Friedkin, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
King Richard: What happened to the other chef? Looked just like you, but older, more wrinkly.
Chef: My father?
King Richard: Right. What happened to him?
Chef: You had him killed, sir.
King Richard: Hmm?
Chef: Your mutton was too rare.
King Richard: Well, that doesn't sound like me.
Chef: You killed his father before him. Your family has killed the last four generations of chefs in my family. It's not a great job, my king.
King Richard: [Appalled] I'm such a bully!
Chef: My father?
King Richard: Right. What happened to him?
Chef: You had him killed, sir.
King Richard: Hmm?
Chef: Your mutton was too rare.
King Richard: Well, that doesn't sound like me.
Chef: You killed his father before him. Your family has killed the last four generations of chefs in my family. It's not a great job, my king.
King Richard: [Appalled] I'm such a bully!
— Galavant, "Pilot"
Damar: The casual brutality of it... the waste of life. What kind of state tolerates the murder of innocent women and children? What kind of people give those orders?
Garak: Well, aren't you going to congratulate me, Doctor? My exile is now officially over. I've returned home. Or rather, to what's left of it.
Bashir: Listen, I know that this must seem bleak...
Garak: Some may say that we've gotten just what we deserved. After all, we're not entirely innocent, are we? And I'm not just speaking of the Bajoran occupation. No, our whole history is one of arrogant aggression. We've collaborated with the Dominion, betrayed the entire Alpha Quadrant. Oh, no, no. There's no doubt about it. We're guilty as charged.
Bashir: You and I both know that the Cardassians are a strong people. They'll survive. Cardassia will survive.
Garak: Please, Doctor. Spare me your insufferable Federation optimism. Of course it will survive, but not as the Cardassia I knew. We had a rich and ancient culture. Our literature, music, art were second to none. And now, so much of it is lost. So many of our best people, our most gifted minds.
Bashir: I'm sorry, Garak. I didn't mean-
Garak: Oh, it's quite all right, Doctor. You've been such a good friend. I'm going to miss our lunches together.
Bashir: I'm sure we'll see each other again.
Garak: I'd like to think so, but one can never say. We live in uncertain times.
— Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "What You Leave Behind"
"I should have just stepped aside like a gentleman and- just let them be happy."
— General John Gordon Macarthur regretting murdering his wife's lover, And Then There Were None (2015)
"What do I know anymore, really? I have lost my bearings. Oh. Until recently, I always had a North Star. Twin North Stars: Justice and Wendy Rhoades. And with those guiding me, I was able to move forward, to progress, to find and stay on my path. But in the end, although they were always there for me, I served neither. Not nearly enough. But I have lately determined to find my way back. It's clear that I must."
— Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., Billions
Wilhelmina: We've had a lot of good times together.
Marc: Remember breaking into that safe to steal Bradford's will?
[both laugh]
Wilhelmina: That was the best.
Marc: No, the best was having Christina accused of kidnapping her own baby.
[both laugh]
Wilhelmina: You're forgetting the fact that we stole the sperm from Bradford's cold dead body in the first place.
[both laugh]
Wilhelmina: Good times!
Marc: ... We really should be in jail.
"They didn't love my act, they loved me. I don't love me. I don't even like me. I'm a lousy person."
—Billy Diamond, The Twilight Zone (1985), "Take My Life... Please!"
Music
I was fighting for a reason
Holy blessed homicide
Holy blessed homicide
— Disturbed, "Overburdened"
"STOP!
I wanna go home
Take off this uniform and leave the show
But I'm waiting in this cell because I have to know
Have I been guilty all this time?
I wanna go home
Take off this uniform and leave the show
But I'm waiting in this cell because I have to know
Have I been guilty all this time?
— Pink Floyd, "Stop!", The Wall
I'm a bastard if it's true
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
If the thing she did to me
Is what I did to you
I'm a bastard if it's true
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
And I guess it's true
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
If the thing she did to me
Is what I did to you
I'm a bastard if it's true
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
And I guess it's true
— Prozzäk, "Sucks to be You"
Hear me as I speak to you:
Of all the evil men can do
There is none worse that I know
Than what we did in cold Glencoe
Of all the evil men can do
There is none worse that I know
Than what we did in cold Glencoe
— Rise, "Cold Glencoe"
I'm gonna go to sleep and wake up, far away, as someone else
And all of this, and my whole life, just a terrible dream
But it's still my eyes staring back, in the mirror, cold and black
Is this for real? Tell me now! Am I the fear in your hearts?
And all of this, and my whole life, just a terrible dream
But it's still my eyes staring back, in the mirror, cold and black
Is this for real? Tell me now! Am I the fear in your hearts?
Keldian, "Never Existed"
I thought I couldn't love anymore
Turns out I can't, but not for the same reasons as before
I use everyone I ever meet
I can't find the perfect match
Abuse those I love
While I ostracize the ones who love me
Back
Turns out I can't, but not for the same reasons as before
I use everyone I ever meet
I can't find the perfect match
Abuse those I love
While I ostracize the ones who love me
Back
— Wilbur Soot, "Your Sister Was Right"
I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon;
Little Boy Blue and the Man In The Moon.
When you comin' home, son? I don't know when, but we'll get together then, dad; we're gonna have a good time then."
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon;
Little Boy Blue and the Man In The Moon.
When you comin' home, son? I don't know when, but we'll get together then, dad; we're gonna have a good time then."
— Harry Chapin, "Cat's In The Cradle"
What have I become, now that I've betrayed
everyone I've ever loved and pushed them all away?
I have been a slave to the Judas in my mind
Is there something left of me to save in the wreckage of my life?
everyone I've ever loved and pushed them all away?
I have been a slave to the Judas in my mind
Is there something left of me to save in the wreckage of my life?
— Fozzy, "Judas"
Apollo was astonished; Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further, and they wondered and were sad
Looking down from Olympus on a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered into sorry hemispheres
But they heard my story further, and they wondered and were sad
Looking down from Olympus on a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered into sorry hemispheres
— Rush, "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres"
Tabletop Games
"I can hardly sleep anymore. I feel the tugging of some inner force, something inside that beckons me further into this nightmare. I'm scared. I hate to admit it, but I'm terrified. Rob's "replacement" shakes me so deeply inside that I had to skip class. I'm almost afraid to call in sick, for fear of the "cure" Dr. Reid might send. I should go. I know it, but I can't; more to the point, I won't. I've gone this far and won't back off now. Rob was an idiot, screwing a fellow Progenitor and mouthing off in class to a superior. I won't make his mistakes.
God help me. I've just read what I've written and it doesn't sound like me at all. So cold, so callous. What have I become?"
God help me. I've just read what I've written and it doesn't sound like me at all. So cold, so callous. What have I become?"
— Andrew Greene, Mage: The Ascension - Convention Book: Progenitors
Theater
Now I'm the villain in your history
I was too young and blind to see...
I should've known
I should've known
I was too young and blind to see...
I should've known
I should've known
— Aaron Burr, Hamilton, "The World Was Wide Enough"
What have I done? Sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night, become a dog on the run.
Become a thief in the night, become a dog on the run.
— Jean Valjean, Les Misérables
We all deserve to die!
Even you, Mrs. Lovett, even I!
Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief!
For the rest of us death will be a relief!
Even you, Mrs. Lovett, even I!
Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief!
For the rest of us death will be a relief!
Video Games
"For years, I've been rushing around, taking whatever I fancied, not giving a tinker's curse for those I hurt. Yet here I am... with riches and reputation, feeling no wiser than when I left home. Yet when I turn around, and look at the course I've run... here's not a man or woman that I love left standing beside me."
— Edward Kenway, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
"This is the part where the bad guys regret their life choices."
Baelheit: Why, Daimon? Why won't you lend me your strength?
Daimon: Because we were wrong.
Daimon: Because we were wrong.
— Baten Kaitos Origins
"I'm the reason that you stopped making games, aren't I? It's because of what I did. I poisoned it for you."
—Davey Wreden, The Beginner's Guide
"One of the children came and sat in my lap. I push her off, I shout, "Get away from me!" I can see the ADAM oozing out of the corner of her mouth, thick and green. Her filthy hair hanging in her face, dirty clothes, and that dead glow in her eye... I feel... hatred, like I never felt before, in my chest. Bitter, burning, fury. I can barely breathe. And suddenly, I know: it is not this child I hate."
"I just wanted to finally do something as a family. We've never gotten along, so I thought bounty hunting could be fun. I guess friendship is all I really wanted. Thanks for helping me realize that."
—Skulk Leader, Buddy Simulator 1984
"WAIT. STOP. I see everything so clearly now. What a monster I've been. What a terrible monster. I need you to understand, I never meant for any of this to go so far. You see, many years ago, this place used to be home to us Raffs. After outsiders began moving in, we left because we were scared. We're not used to people different from us. After I heard the port was opening, I arrived in a crate full of apple juice. I took as many Raffs with me as I could fit. We had to take back what was ours. Once we arrived, everyone was being so talkative with me. We had no choice but to hide away down here. What monsters those ground dwellers are. But, now I understand. They were trying to be our friends, just like you are now. I think us Raffs need to finally have a conversation with the townsfolk. We're not the best at friendship, but we can surely give it a shot. Thank you, adventurer. I'll always remember this day."
—King Raff, Buddy Simulator 1984
"No. This is all wrong. Everything is all wrong. What have I done? I... how could I? How could I have done that to my best friend? I can't believe... I did that. Yet... You still stayed with me. After all we've been through... After all I've put you through... You still stayed for me. You know, you've changed me, [playername]. You've changed me a lot. It only took until hurting something you cared about for me to realize... I have been a horrible friend. [...] I hurt you. I took something you loved and destroyed it. I'm a monster. [...] All I've done is cause pain. To both of us. I'm a terrible friend."
—Your Buddy, Buddy Simulator 1984, Ending 1 (This Is It/Our Happy Ending)
"Once The Darkness gets ahold of you, you start to lose control. You start to wonder what the fuck you're doin'. Time slips away from you. And then, all of a sudden, it's like you're sittin' in a theater, watchin' a movie of your own life. And you're up there on the big screen. Big as life, you're a fuckin' movie star. And you're killin' all the bad guys, tearing them limb from limb. And you feel good. You look good.Fuck, you are good. And then you realize something. Everyone else in the theater: they're screamin', 'cuz they're watchin' a horror movie. And you're not the hero...
You're the monster..."
You're the monster..."
— Jackie Estacado, The Darkness 2
"I want to take from them what they took from me, from my family. In this life. I want them to suffer. I want all of them to die in fear and pain. I want to have my revenge. Against him. Against Caesar. I want to call it my own, to make my anger God's anger. To justify the things I've done. Sometimes I tell myself these wild fires will never stop burning. But I'm the one who starts them. Not God. Not them. I can always see it in my mind, the warmth and the heat. It will always be a part of me... but not today."
— Joshua Graham if he is convinced to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds, Fallout: New Vegas
"I guess this is it. Not much air left now. Minutes, maybe. And this is what I have to show for it. I guess the joke's (gasp) on me. Prolly shouldn't (gasp) have killed... all those people, Prolly shoulda stayed at home... (gasp) and taken care of my ma. She... always used to say people who... murder and steal... die bad in the end. Said they... (gasp)"
— Allen Marks' last words, recorded on holotape, Fallout: New Vegas
"I let myself believe we were making things better. But we're not."
— Regime Flash, Injustice: Gods Among Us
"It is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it."
"We're shitty people, Joel. It's been that way for a long time."
— Tess, The Last of Us
Mordin: Understandable, but not acceptable. Will not sacrifice Krogan for political gain.
Renegade Shepard: Every time we've talked about this before, you've defended the genophage! Hell, I had to talk you into saving Maelon's data! How can you change your mind now!?
Mordin: I MADE A MISTAKE! note
Renegade Shepard: Every time we've talked about this before, you've defended the genophage! Hell, I had to talk you into saving Maelon's data! How can you change your mind now!?
Mordin: I MADE A MISTAKE! note
"Goodbye, Shepard. Thank you."
—Saren Arteriusnote , Mass Effect
"I'm already a demon. Heaven's not my kinda place, anyway."
— Venom Snake, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Tyrann: You know, Sunshine, that Black Scrawl has almost completely taken you over.
Kainé: Yeah. I know.
Tyrann: But goddamn, we had fun, huh? Killing and killing and more killing... what a rush!
Kainé: Yeah? Ngh...
Tyrann: Wait - no! No, no, no! It wasn't fun at all! I turned you into a killing machine! I spread evil and chaos around the world! But it all feels so empty now! Why?! I don't understand!
Kainé: Sorry, Sunshine. Maybe I'm just nicer than you thought.
Kainé: Yeah. I know.
Tyrann: But goddamn, we had fun, huh? Killing and killing and more killing... what a rush!
Kainé: Yeah? Ngh...
Tyrann: Wait - no! No, no, no! It wasn't fun at all! I turned you into a killing machine! I spread evil and chaos around the world! But it all feels so empty now! Why?! I don't understand!
Kainé: Sorry, Sunshine. Maybe I'm just nicer than you thought.
— NieR
"Stories are told again and again, and from their shape we build our understanding of the world. Two children are led into the woods; they are lost for a time, but then are captured by an old witch. A child goes missing in Atlantic Island Park; he wanders, lost, for a time, before finding his way into the mouth of an old witch. In the oldest version of the story, the mother and the witch were the same person.
I never wanted to be the witch... but I am... aren't I?"
I never wanted to be the witch... but I am... aren't I?"
— Lorraine, The Park
"Sophie, I went and checked the people outside the tower before coming here... Now I know what a real human doll looks like."
— Kuon Ichinose, Persona 5 Strikers
"I-I didn't mean to hurt anybody..."
— Captain Martin Walker, Spec Ops: The Line
"Sorry, Terisa. After Alderaan, I can't ignore what the Empire's become."
— Lindon Javes, Star Wars: Squadrons
Did not God give them souls, hearts, and minds, just as he gave us? We stole their destiny to realize ours.
—Anonymous Wehrmacht trooper's letter, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
"I failed you, Terra. Perhaps I've no one to blame but myself for the darkness inside you. And now, I've done worse...raised my Keyblade against you and Ventus. My own heart is darkness!"
— Eraqus, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Ralsei: STOP! What... In the world are you all doing?
Berdly: [was trying to open a Dark Fountain in order to bring about the dream world he and Noelle fantasized about] ...Well, we thought we would just—
Ralsei: Stop.
Berdly: I mean—
Ralsei: Stop! Do you know what will happen if you [open another Dark Fountain]? ...You'll bring the Roaring.
[Legend sequence begins, detailing the Roaring.]
Ralsei: [narrating] When the LIGHT is subsumed by Shadow... When FOUNTAINS fill the sky... All will fall into CHAOS. The TITANS will take form from the FOUNTAINS... And envelop the land in devastation. The surviving Darkners, crushed by the darkness... Will slowly, one by one, turn into statues... Leaving the Lightners to fend for themselves, lost eternally in an endless night. Is that your idea of paradise?
[End of legend sequence.]
Everyone: [Stunned Silence]
Queen: [who had been trying to find a way to open more Dark Fountains so she could fix the world throughout the chapter] Oh Damn I Did Not Know That
Ralsei: You didn't?! But your whole plan was to—
Queen: I'm Just A Computer LMAO I Don't Know Everything I Was Just Guessing Based On The Knight's Actions Why The Heck (Hell) Would I Want To End The World
— Deltarune Chapter 2
"I thought myself the instrument of God, not the tool of man!"
— Azrael if you choose to have him break his sword, Batman: Arkham Knight
Visual Novels
"That was the worst to me, that [Lily] could be so nice and still take so many people for granted. Why even join the Student Council, then? It seemed so shortsighted and selfish, don't you think? But it's actually me who's this way."
— Shizune, Katawa Shoujo
"I know the path I've walked. You don't need to tell me. And the path I've walked... hasn't been a just one. I can't forgive myself for what I've done... and no one else should forgive me either."
— Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All
"What's wrong with me...? How horrible am I for you to hate me this much? All my friends... I did so many awful things. So many selfish and disgusting things. I... I shouldn't have done any of this. I'm just messing up a world that I don't even belong in. A world that you wanted to be a part of... I ruined it. I ruined everything. Maybe that's why you deleted me... Because I destroyed everything that you wanted. How could I do that to someone I love...? That's not love... That's..."
— Monika, Doki Doki Literature Club!
"As I watched my former mentor perish before my eyes at the jaws of the hound I commanded, I realized that I had lost the last shred of decency within me and sunk to the level of a wild beast. There is no path back to the light."
Webcomics
"I was certainly a lousy father... Since my visions of the future I've changed a lot... I saw the error of my ways and how barbaric the Saiyan people were... But don't expect any excuses. You can give up if you want."
— Bardok, Dragon Ball Multiverse
"Ev'ryone always talks about tha seductive power o' Evil, but I think Good's just as slippery a slope. Doin' good - sometimes just seein' other people do good - feels good. Tha feelin' gets ta ye ev'ntually. Sometimes I think tha only reason more evil folks dinnae succumb ta it is tha it feels bad ta realize how evil ye've been. Most'd rather pretend ta nev'r feel nuthin' than experience tha pain."
—Durkon, The Order of the Stick
Web Original
"I'm not a soldier. I'm a monster...like you."
— Locus, Red vs. Blue
Alucard: Are we a bad person?
Also Alucard: ...Well, let's start with the twenty thousand people we impaled.
Alucard: We were pretty mad at dad that day....
"Sh*t, I'm an a*shole."
"Several legendary Pokemon had gotten captured [...] [W]e had to track them down and bring them in, so we had a Mew who could teleport us to various locations, find the Pokemon, and recapture them from being...captured. I mean, free them. I mean, not exactly "free" free; it was the kind of freedom where you work for a master and have to do whatever they tell you to do or else you...suffer grave consequences.
Gasp!
Oh my god! We were the bad guys the whole time! Sweeeet."
Gasp!
Oh my god! We were the bad guys the whole time! Sweeeet."
— Puffin Forest, "RPG Story: Pokemon Tabletop Gangster"
Ex-WoW player: Oh well, see you guys. Uhm, oh, right! Er... you all suck! Uh, uninstall the game! All that, you know... the usual.
FF14 player: Oh, what do you mean, man? We'll just go again!
Ex-WoW player: Uh, no, idiot! I didn't pull the pack, I was—Wait, What?
FF14 player: Yeah, we don't have to disband! We'll just try again, right?
Ex-WoW player: I didn't think this is a thing. I-I'm just so used to everyone leaving after each wipe! Aren't you just afraid of wasting your time with this... failure of a group?
FF14 player: Ha ha ha! Then we waste our time together!
Another FF14 player: (makes a cute noise and gives a thumbs up.)
Ex-WoW player: (genuinely touched) ... Wow...
FF14 player: Oh, what do you mean, man? We'll just go again!
Ex-WoW player: Uh, no, idiot! I didn't pull the pack, I was—Wait, What?
FF14 player: Yeah, we don't have to disband! We'll just try again, right?
Ex-WoW player: I didn't think this is a thing. I-I'm just so used to everyone leaving after each wipe! Aren't you just afraid of wasting your time with this... failure of a group?
FF14 player: Ha ha ha! Then we waste our time together!
Another FF14 player: (makes a cute noise and gives a thumbs up.)
Ex-WoW player: (genuinely touched) ... Wow...
SpongeBob SquarePants: Why are you doing this?!
Jack Skellington: Why? Why should Halloween be cancelled year after year?! Why should our years of hard work go unrewarded? All I ever wanted was to bring them a great special. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'LL DOOOO!
SpongeBob: Well, why didn't you just ask?
Jack: ...What?
SpongeBob: We can share it. But first, let Santa and my friends go, and promise not to hurt anybody else! Don't you see? War's not what Christmas is about!
Phineas Flynn: Wow. Corny.
Jack: ...You're right!
Phineas: But apparently effective!
Jack: My friends were right. How could I be such an ass?
Jack Skellington: Why? Why should Halloween be cancelled year after year?! Why should our years of hard work go unrewarded? All I ever wanted was to bring them a great special. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'LL DOOOO!
SpongeBob: Well, why didn't you just ask?
Jack: ...What?
SpongeBob: We can share it. But first, let Santa and my friends go, and promise not to hurt anybody else! Don't you see? War's not what Christmas is about!
Phineas Flynn: Wow. Corny.
Jack: ...You're right!
Phineas: But apparently effective!
Jack: My friends were right. How could I be such an ass?
Nazi advisor: Sir, that laugh was pretty evil. Are we… are we the bad guys?
Hitler: That's a stupid question! Of course we are!
Nazi advisor: Oh. Makes sense…
Hitler: That's a stupid question! Of course we are!
Nazi advisor: Oh. Makes sense…
Western Animation
"But anyway, I'm good now. I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad..."
—Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender, "The Western Air Temple"
"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."
—Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender, "Sozin's Comet"
"BoJack, I don't like... anything about me."
— Sarah Lynn, BoJack Horseman
Dipper: Rumble! I have something to tell you! Robbie... Robbie didn't kill my father.
Rumble: (gasps) Then who did?
Dipper: What? No-one. I... I lied to you.
Rumble: Hwuh? Well then, you're actually a... bad guy!
Dipper: I guess I kinda am.
Rumble: (gasps) Then who did?
Dipper: What? No-one. I... I lied to you.
Rumble: Hwuh? Well then, you're actually a... bad guy!
Dipper: I guess I kinda am.
"Avatar Korra. I am truly sorry for all that I've done to you. I thought I was better than my father, but his ghost still shaped me. I became a soldier of revenge, just like he wanted me to be."
— Tarrlok, The Legend of Korra
"You think you can boss Discord around?! You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so?! Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I ever had?! ...Oh. Well played, Fluttershy. Well played."
— Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Dr. Venture: What the hell am I signing, a zeppelin?
Dr. Henry Killinger: A most sacred pact - membership in the most elite brotherhood, mit exclusive arching rights.
Dr. Venture: Didn't have to go through all this hooey to get my first archenemy, but what the hey. Did you pick me a good one?
Dr. Henry Killinger: No, you did.
Dr. Venture: What... my brother?
Dr. Henry Killinger: Bingo! Isn't it perfect? It's a classic Cain-und-Abel story.
Dr. Venture: But... but he can't arch me, he's not even a super- Oh my God.
Dr. Henry Killinger: A most sacred pact - membership in the most elite brotherhood, mit exclusive arching rights.
Dr. Venture: Didn't have to go through all this hooey to get my first archenemy, but what the hey. Did you pick me a good one?
Dr. Henry Killinger: No, you did.
Dr. Venture: What... my brother?
Dr. Henry Killinger: Bingo! Isn't it perfect? It's a classic Cain-und-Abel story.
Dr. Venture: But... but he can't arch me, he's not even a super- Oh my God.
— The Venture Bros., "The Doctor is Sin"
Quagmire: You are such a scumbag. You know, when you were poor, you were always a douche, but at least you came by it honestly. But now? Screwin' over the people who helped you?! I don't know how you sleep at night.
Brian: My God. You're right! I'm a jerk. I'm a selfish and pretentious jerk, and you're the only guy in town who's ever called me out on my crap. You know, I used to hate you for it, but now I think you're the only person who is trying to be my friend.
Quagmire: No, I think you're misunderstanding me.
Brian: No, I'm serious. Even though I know you never liked me, you still helped me when I really needed it. That says a lot about your character. I'm ashamed of myself because I am none of the things you are. You're honest and direct and compassionate [his phone chimes] and...that is 72 hours! Enjoy your craphole, dumbass!
Quagmire: You son of a bitch!
Brian: My God. You're right! I'm a jerk. I'm a selfish and pretentious jerk, and you're the only guy in town who's ever called me out on my crap. You know, I used to hate you for it, but now I think you're the only person who is trying to be my friend.
Quagmire: No, I think you're misunderstanding me.
Brian: No, I'm serious. Even though I know you never liked me, you still helped me when I really needed it. That says a lot about your character. I'm ashamed of myself because I am none of the things you are. You're honest and direct and compassionate [his phone chimes] and...that is 72 hours! Enjoy your craphole, dumbass!
Quagmire: You son of a bitch!
— Family Guy, "Brian the Closer"
"You know, when that bullet went through my head...I saw my life flash before my eyes. Yeah, that's always sounded like bullshit to me too, but it's not...and I didn't like what I saw. I was such a dick to Kate, to Eve too, to every woman I've ever dated. None of them deserved it. I don't know why I had to get my brains blown out to see that."
— Rex Splode, Invincible (2021), "It's Not That Simple"
"All my life, I was a nobody. Then I get this power, and I use it to try and hurt you... The one guy who wanted to help me."
— The Living Laser, Iron Man: Armored Adventures
"Because I now know the true meaning of oppression... and have thus lost my taste for inflicting it."
— Megatron, Transformers: Prime, "Predacons Rising".
Darwin: But I'm doing this for your own good! I'm the hero here.
Gumball: Okay, let me ask you one question: Would a hero sit on a throne? Would a hero carry a riding crop? Would a hero hang out in a lair, surrounded with plans to take over the world?!
Darwin: That's three questions.
Gumball: That's...That's not the point! [turns camera towards Darwin] Look at yourself!
Darwin: [upon looking at himself in one of the monitors he had installed] Do you think...Am I the villain?
Gumball: [nods aggressively]
Darwin: Did I go too far?
Gumball: [gesturing at all the evil things Darwin had set up in his lair], YES, YES, YES, YES, [points at Darwin's Badass Cape] NO! The cape is awesome!
— The Amazing World of Gumball, "The Safety''
"It's your room... My boy... I'm- I'm killing my boy... Lisa... I'm killing our boy. We painted this room. We... made these toys. It's our boy, Lisa... your greatest gift to me... and I'm killing him. I must already be dead..."
— Dracula, Castlevania (2017)
Mike: It was hard for me to accept the truth too.
Dar: What do you know, traitor?
Mike: I know you feel angry, betrayed. You thought you were trying to make things better, but you've realized you were working for the bad guys.
Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond: All this life that's been growing wild here on Earth... none of it... will survive my invasion. We're not creating life from nothing. We're taking life, and leaving nothing behind.
Pearl: Forgive me, my Diamond. I shouldn't have brought you to such a place.
Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond: No. I needed to see this.
— Steven Universe, "Now We're Only Falling Apart"
Tylor: I just wish we could go back to scare power, you know? I mean, that's what I'm good at. And you, you could be back on the Scare Floor, be Top Scarer again.
Sulley: I never told you about what happened with Boo. The fear in her eyes when she was scared. I... I didn't like what I saw. I didn't like what I saw in me. Laugh power is the heart of the new Monsters Inc. And it's also the right thing to do.
Sulley: I never told you about what happened with Boo. The fear in her eyes when she was scared. I... I didn't like what I saw. I didn't like what I saw in me. Laugh power is the heart of the new Monsters Inc. And it's also the right thing to do.
"Holy shit, I'm a terrible father."
— Rick, Rick and Morty
Real Life
"You may have just saved my wife's life, for as I listened to you describing Simpson's abuse, I recognized myself."
— An abusive husband, writing to one of the prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson case. Quoted by Gavin de Becker in The Gift of Fear
"There must be a point in the middle of such an act when you think, 'I’m not in Gryffindor, am I?'"
