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Anime & Manga
"So...? Which of you instigated it? Hatsuharu? You? Which of you will incur my displeasure? You see, when I get mad, I can't really see what's around me. Hatori's left eye - that was unfortunate."
— Akito, Fruits Basket
"When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure and death. For example..." [puts a kunai to Sasuke's throat] "Sakura! Kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies! ...That's what happens on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage, and you've got an impossible choice... and someone ends up dead."
— Kakashi Hatake, Naruto
"I'll give you two choices. Either I shoot you here and now, or you free yourself and get out on your own. And if you do, there will be nowhere to hide."
— Galvatron to Thrust, who's being crushed to death in Unicron's gears, Transformers: Armada, "Union"
Comic Books
When we were back on Earth, you picked up certain germs on your person, common bacteria from the air. These germs would normally perish during your voyages from one planet to the next, but this time I teleported you directly to Salaria. Microscopic life, harmless to you and all Earth creatures... but quite deadly to the inhabitants of Salaria. The plague should be well established within the Salarian community by now. During our teleportation sessions, I took the liberty of manipulating our position in the time flow. I calculate that nearly 50% of Salaria's population has perished by now. But if you hurry, you can still save the other half. Or you can waste time pitting your powers against mine.
— Thanos, Silver Surfer: Rebirth Of Thanos
"Okay. Now, suddenly, the situation has become very, very straightforward, Marvel Girl. You either get over about this shyness you have about following orders,note or we detonate the sub-cranial homing device in young pretty boy here's head.note "
— Wraith, Ultimate X Men
"I know it's a bit of a cliche, but I couldn't resist. The heroes, forced to choose between the masses, or the ones they hold dear... It's a classic!"
— Dr. Starline, Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)
Amalak: "I assume you recognize the star-cannon, Superman...and are acquainted with its power! So I am prepared to propose a trade: I let you take Nam-Ek back to Earth [to cure the plague]— and in exchange, Supergirl remains here as my prisoner! Either that— Or I'll kill her right before your eyes!"
Superman: (thinking) ''"What can I do? The minute I leave, he'll kill Supergirl— and yet there's Central City...And Lois—!
Superman: (thinking) ''"What can I do? The minute I leave, he'll kill Supergirl— and yet there's Central City...And Lois—!
"Yeah, you see, we really got too many hostages. And I don't think you're all fit for my new world. So I'm gonna let The Hand use one of them for target practice. Either the boy or the little girl. Pinch, you get to choose."
—Sabretooth, Wolverine
"Soon your Earth will be torn asunder, totally destroyed— just like Krypton was, eh? But I will save one city, even as I spared Kandor from Krypton's unexpected demise. Which city would you save if given the choice? Which city will I save, Superman— New York? London? Moscow? Metropolis?"
— Brainiac, The Planet Eater Trilogy
Fan Works
Misato: I don't want to heal them. I know I can't do that. I just want to protect them. Just talking about it isn't going to make that happen. I had a plan, but now that plan means abandoning other people who depend on me. No matter what I do, someone is going to get hurt.
Rei: That is always going to happen. The only thing you can do is choose. We all have.
Rei: That is always going to happen. The only thing you can do is choose. We all have.
Anne stared into Lies eyes, shaking with the impossible choice. Nothing could be worse than her father, mother, sister and Peter falling into the gloves of this monster. But after Lies had stood by her, only a monster would abandon the Dutch girl to unthinkable torture. Every lie the Nazis roared out to Europe that Jews cared for nothing but their kin would become true in Lies' death. Anne's love for her family, the purest part of herself she had held through years of fighting, would become black and filthy. She was destroyed and damned, whatever she said.
My son... you have two options... Option one is you jump down that hole and survive the best you can in hell, or by the slimmest of chances allow yourself to be rehabilitated in my niece's hotel. Option two is that by the time my eyes rise and lock with yours, I erase your soul.
— Jesus Christ to Philip Wittebane, Archivist Angels
Film — Animation
"This is what it's all been about. This! You, me, him! Now is the time you decide! If you won't kill this psychotic piece of filth, I will! If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me!"
—Red Hood to Batman, Batman: Under the Red Hood
Andy as Dr. Porkchop: You must choose, Sheriff Woody! How shall [Bo Peep] die? Shark? Or death by monkeys? Choose.
Andy as Woody: I choose Buzz Lightyear!
Andy as Dr. Porkchop: What?! That's not a choice!
Andy as Woody: I choose Buzz Lightyear!
Andy as Dr. Porkchop: What?! That's not a choice!
Film — Live-Action
"Listen, we don't have a lot of time. They told me that only one of us was going to make it, and that they were going to let our friends choose."
— Rachel Dawes to Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight
"Don't worry, I'm going to tell you where they are, both of them. And that's the point. You'll have to choose."
"Tonight you're all gonna be part of a social experiment. Through the magic of diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate, I'm ready right now to blow you all sky high. Anyone attempts to get off their boat, you all die. Each of you has a remote... to blow up the other boat. At midnight, I blow you all up. If, however, one of you presses the button, I'll let that boat live. So, who's it going to be: Harvey Dent's most wanted scumbag collection, or the sweet and innocent civilians? You choose... oh, and you might want to decide quickly, because the people on the other boat might not be so noble."
—The Joker, The Dark Knight
"Choose between one life or the other. Your friend, the district attorney, or his blushing bride-to-be."
—The Joker, The Dark Knight
"You either fire the fatty, or fire the cripple, or I fire all three of you."
—Bobby Pellett, Horrible Bosses
"No, I'll take him. I'll take all of you! And I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear. Or you just leave us be. I'll take him - only him. Then I will have my long rest, and you will all live to grow and thrive and lead happy lives. Until old age takes you back to the weeds."
—IT/Pennywise the Dancing Clown, It (2017)
SS officer: You may keep one of your children.
Sophie: I beg your pardon?
SS officer: You may keep one of your children. The other must go away.
Sophie: You mean, I have to choose?
SS officer: You are a Polack, not a Yid. That gives you a privilege, a choice.
Sophie: I can't choose. I can't choose!
Sophie: I beg your pardon?
SS officer: You may keep one of your children. The other must go away.
Sophie: You mean, I have to choose?
SS officer: You are a Polack, not a Yid. That gives you a privilege, a choice.
Sophie: I can't choose. I can't choose!
"In 3 minutes, this building will be demolished. I can get out easily. Now you have a choice: Die trying to save her or save yourself and live with the pain."
— Franz Oberhauser/Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Spectre
"Now what's better: The look on your face when I stab her, or the look on her face when I stab you?"
—Stitches, Stitches (2012)
"I don't know how. I'm not a teacher, Ice. I'm a fighter pilot. Naval aviator. It's not what I am, it's who I am. How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it's not what Rooster wants. It's not what the Navy wants. It's why they canned me the last time. The only reason I'm here is you. If I send him on this mission, he might never come home. And if I don't send him, he'll never forgive me. Either way, I can lose him forever."
— Maverick, Top Gun: Maverick
Literature
Crayak: Their orbit is badly destabilized. You can see that they will slip slowly, then faster, wobbling, tom by shattering earthquakes, slide down and down the gravity well, atmosphere boiling away, suffocating, a few surviving in trapped pockets of air - until of course they are roasted alive by their own sun.
The Ellimist: Some of them can still be saved!
Crayak: Yes. And you can stay here and save them, Ellimist. Or you can follow me to the next game. Save a few of these creatures, or perhaps save entire worlds. Your choice. It's all a part of the game.
The Ellimist: Some of them can still be saved!
Crayak: Yes. And you can stay here and save them, Ellimist. Or you can follow me to the next game. Save a few of these creatures, or perhaps save entire worlds. Your choice. It's all a part of the game.
— Animorphs - The Ellimist Chronicles
As she moved her head she caught sight of the moon through the unglazed window. Between the light and the dark... Well, sometimes that's where you had to be.
Indeed. Granny didn't bother to turn round. "I thought you'd be here," she said, as she knelt down in the straw.
Where else? said Death.
"Do you know who you're here for?"
That's not my choice. On the very edge you will always find some uncertainty.Granny felt the words in her head for several seconds, like little melting cubes of ice. On the very, very edge, then, there had to be... Judgement.
"There's too much damage here," she said, at last. "Too much."
A few minutes later she felt the life stream past her. Death had the decency to leave without a word.
Indeed. Granny didn't bother to turn round. "I thought you'd be here," she said, as she knelt down in the straw.
Where else? said Death.
"Do you know who you're here for?"
That's not my choice. On the very edge you will always find some uncertainty.Granny felt the words in her head for several seconds, like little melting cubes of ice. On the very, very edge, then, there had to be... Judgement.
"There's too much damage here," she said, at last. "Too much."
A few minutes later she felt the life stream past her. Death had the decency to leave without a word.
"I am in too great doubt to rule. To prepare or to let be? To prepare for war, which is yet only guessed: train craftsmen and tillers in the midst of peace for bloodspilling and battle: put iron in the hands of greedy captains who will love only conquest, and count the slain as their glory? Will they say to Eru: At least your enemies were amongst them? Or to fold hands, while friends die unjustly: let men live in blind peace, until the ravisher is at the gate? What then will they do: match naked hands against iron and die in vain, or flee leaving the cries of women behind them? Will they say to Eru: At least I spilled no blood?"
"When either way may lead to evil, of what worth is choice? Let the Valar rule under Eru! I will resign the Sceptre to Aldarion. Yet that also is a choice, for I know well which road he will take."
"When either way may lead to evil, of what worth is choice? Let the Valar rule under Eru! I will resign the Sceptre to Aldarion. Yet that also is a choice, for I know well which road he will take."
— Meneldur, The Fall of Númenor
Live-Action TV
My daughter, or that abomination. Choose.
— Empress Novia, Farscape, "Look at the Princess Part I: A Kiss Is but a Kiss"
Aeryn: This is what you want. This is what you want?
John: No, Aeryn, this is not what I want! It's just that fate keeps blocking all the exits! And no matter what I do, I just keep circling closer to the flame!
John: No, Aeryn, this is not what I want! It's just that fate keeps blocking all the exits! And no matter what I do, I just keep circling closer to the flame!
"Which of my friends do I condemn to death?"
— Captain Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Immunity Syndrome"
"Look, three options. One, I let the star whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful and innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, 'cos I won't be the Doctor any more."
— The Doctor, Doctor Who, "The Beast Below"
"Sometimes, the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose."
— The Doctor, Doctor Who, "Mummy on the Orient Express"
"'Cos sometimes this team structure isn't flat. It's mountainous, with me at the summit in the stratosphere, alone, left to choose. Save the poet, save the universe. Watch people burn now or tomorrow. Sometimes, even I can't win."
— The Doctor, Doctor Who, "The Haunting of Villa Diodati"
Doug: This is brutal. Now I either gotta fire my wife, or just let the team fall apart. It's like... it's like Sophie's Choice.
Deacon: Not really.
Doug: No? ...What was Sophie's Choice again?
Spence: She had to decide which of her children to give to the Nazis.
Doug: ...Okay, yeah, that's harder.
Deacon: Not really.
Doug: No? ...What was Sophie's Choice again?
Spence: She had to decide which of her children to give to the Nazis.
Doug: ...Okay, yeah, that's harder.
"When every choice hurts, how do you know which is the right one?"
— Mike Anderson, Storm of the Century
Smallville (yes, it needs its own folder)
"Swear allegiance to me and I'll allow the ones you love the most to live. Kneel Before Zod."
—Zod (possessing Lex), Smallville, "Zod"
"I give you my word, Ms. Lang. If you don't honor the promise that you made to my son, or I find out you told anyone about this conversation, I will kill Clark Kent."
"It's time for you to face your defining moment. You can walk away, sacrificing innocent lives to stay together, or defuse the bomb...and sacrifice your love forever."
(Zatanna's spell is about to resurrect her father at the cost of Chloe's life)
Zatanna: No! It is supposed to be me.
Clark Kent: We don't get to choose. But we do get to choose how we live the life that we've been given.
Zatanna: I'm sorry. (She is saying sorry to her father, not Chloe.)
Zatanna: No! It is supposed to be me.
Clark Kent: We don't get to choose. But we do get to choose how we live the life that we've been given.
Zatanna: I'm sorry. (She is saying sorry to her father, not Chloe.)
— Smallville, "Hex"
Amanda Waller: Maybe this will help your indecisiveness. (screen shows Chloe Sullivan Bound and Gagged and held at gunpoint)
Clark Kent: Let her go.
Amanda Waller: I'm not being unreasonable. If you step forward, out of the shadows, I will let Watchtower go.
Clark Kent: (steps forward) Release her now.
Amanda Waller: You sure are nice to look at. But I like to have my cake and eat it too. I want your loyalty to Checkmate. Anything happens to me, and bye-bye blondie. I know you're fast, but you can't stop a bullet when you don't know where she is.
Clark Kent: That would be murder.
Amanda Waller: It's not murder, it's strategy. [...] The Blur...he lets his most valuable ally fend for herself. [...] All you have to do to save her is to give me one simple address. (Clark uses superhearing to find Chloe, uses Super-Speed to get to her and curb stomps the government agents)
Clark Kent: Let her go.
Amanda Waller: I'm not being unreasonable. If you step forward, out of the shadows, I will let Watchtower go.
Clark Kent: (steps forward) Release her now.
Amanda Waller: You sure are nice to look at. But I like to have my cake and eat it too. I want your loyalty to Checkmate. Anything happens to me, and bye-bye blondie. I know you're fast, but you can't stop a bullet when you don't know where she is.
Clark Kent: That would be murder.
Amanda Waller: It's not murder, it's strategy. [...] The Blur...he lets his most valuable ally fend for herself. [...] All you have to do to save her is to give me one simple address. (Clark uses superhearing to find Chloe, uses Super-Speed to get to her and curb stomps the government agents)
— Smallville, "Checkmate"
John Jones: You don't have to join her.
Clark: No. But, like, she said, eventually I'll have to choose sides.
Clark: No. But, like, she said, eventually I'll have to choose sides.
— Smallville, "Checkmate"
"There's an explosion rocking the roof of the Daily Planet. You can stop the beacon from plummeting into the rush hour traffic, or you can save the woman you love. [...] Even you aren't fast enough to save both. Today, the world will finally lose faith in its heretic hero! And it will destroy you."
— LX-13, Smallville, "Lazarus"
Video Games
Marlene: Once they remove it [from Ellie], they'll be able to reverse engineer a vaccine. A vaccine.
Joel: But it grows all over the brain.
Marlene: ...it does.
Joel: Find someone else.
Marlene: There is no one else. [...] I get it. But whatever it is you think you're going through right now is nothing to what I have been through. I knew her since she was born. I promised her mother I would look after her.
Joel: Then why are you letting this happen?
Marlene: Because this isn't about me! Or even her. There is no other choice here!
Joel: Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit.
Joel: But it grows all over the brain.
Marlene: ...it does.
Joel: Find someone else.
Marlene: There is no one else. [...] I get it. But whatever it is you think you're going through right now is nothing to what I have been through. I knew her since she was born. I promised her mother I would look after her.
Joel: Then why are you letting this happen?
Marlene: Because this isn't about me! Or even her. There is no other choice here!
Joel: Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit.
Buzzo: See this person?
Buzzo pulls out one of your party members.
Buzzo: Do you like him? … Do you love him?”
Party Member: …
Buzzo: Do you care? Have you changed at all Brad?
Brad: …
Buzzo: Prove it to me… Your arm. You don’t deserve it… I want it. That’s not too harsh, right? How about it? Your left arm… For his life…
Buzzo pulls out one of your party members.
Buzzo: Do you like him? … Do you love him?”
Party Member: …
Buzzo: Do you care? Have you changed at all Brad?
Brad: …
Buzzo: Prove it to me… Your arm. You don’t deserve it… I want it. That’s not too harsh, right? How about it? Your left arm… For his life…
— LISA, end of Area 1
"Captain Blazkowicz, help me make a choice. In your opinion, which one of these two varieties would best support my research? I have inadequate room for samples. Should you decline my appeal, I shall have to put the scalpel to both of them, and we'd be here all day. I'll make matters simple. All you need to do is look to the one you would have me dissect."
— Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse, Wolfenstein: The New Order
"Even you cannot save everyone. Outlander. By choosing who shall live, you also choose who shall die. Are you ready for that burden?"
— Valkorian, Star Wars: The Old Republic
"Before you, I place a choice. Walk through the blue door, and continue to face even more failures at saving those closest to you. Your race will live on borrowed time and will, through your violent arrogance, wind up extinct. Walk through the red door, however, and I will release the humans whom I have collected. I will give them amnesty, and even a ship from my fleet to do with as they see fit. However, in choosing this door, you will willingly submit yourself to execution. This is the moment where you can choose to be the savior of humanity, or its absolute destroyer."
— Zinyak, Saints Row IV
Wizard Grayzag: So glad you could join us. You're just in time; I need your help.
Player: I'll never help you.
Wizard Grayzag: Oh, but you don't have a choice. You see, the cubes have drained the Valluta, and I used that power to open the portal, but I need a death to catalyse the summoning of the queen. I can kill Jessika, here, or I can order my pests to kill Korasi. I think it'll be more fun to let you decide.
Korasi: Don't worry about me, I'm prepared to lay down my life. Save Jessika!
Jessika: No! This is all my fault. I deserve this! Save Korasi!
Player: Why don't I kill you, Grayzag, and save us all the trouble?
Wizard Grayzag: No, no, no. If you kill me, they both die and the Pest Queen will still be summoned. I'm growing tired of you stalling... Make. Your. Choice.
Player: I'll never help you.
Wizard Grayzag: Oh, but you don't have a choice. You see, the cubes have drained the Valluta, and I used that power to open the portal, but I need a death to catalyse the summoning of the queen. I can kill Jessika, here, or I can order my pests to kill Korasi. I think it'll be more fun to let you decide.
Korasi: Don't worry about me, I'm prepared to lay down my life. Save Jessika!
Jessika: No! This is all my fault. I deserve this! Save Korasi!
Player: Why don't I kill you, Grayzag, and save us all the trouble?
Wizard Grayzag: No, no, no. If you kill me, they both die and the Pest Queen will still be summoned. I'm growing tired of you stalling... Make. Your. Choice.
— "The Void Stares Back", RuneScape
"You've got two options here, Henry: You stay in there...Or you return with us back to the complex. What's it going to be, Henry?"
— Dmitri Johannes Petrov, in the Presumed Dead ending of Henry Stickmin: Fleeing the Complex
Joker: So. What our friend Bane holds in his hand is - a heart monitor. Once he clamps it on, every beat of his vacant little heart will charge the battery on this electric chair. And when it's fully charged... (theatrically screams and convulses) So either you kill Bane-
Batman: No. I won't kill him.
Bane: But you will. You will fight me with all your resolve. Or you will die. Someone is going to die: you, me, or the clown. The question of which one of us it is - is in your hands.
[...]
Joker: Oh. And - just in case either of you were thinking of getting smart - try to remove the heart monitor and... KABOOM! More minced meat on the walls than a house made of hamburger. How's that for a helpful hint, Bats?
Batman: No. I won't kill him.
Bane: But you will. You will fight me with all your resolve. Or you will die. Someone is going to die: you, me, or the clown. The question of which one of us it is - is in your hands.
[...]
Joker: Oh. And - just in case either of you were thinking of getting smart - try to remove the heart monitor and... KABOOM! More minced meat on the walls than a house made of hamburger. How's that for a helpful hint, Bats?
Web Animation
(Quackerjack, Louie, and Dewey are near the gondola system.)
Quackerjack: Behold! My master plan! On one gondola, dozens of innocent citizens. On the other, convicted criminals. And both gondolas are filled with high explosives. Hehehehe!
Dewey: So?
Quackerjack: So, I gave the people on each gondola a detonator for the other. Now, each side is faced with a moral dilemma. Kill or be killed, and they have 15 minutes to decide before I do! Hahaha!
(A gondola blows up.)
Quackerjack: What the...?! What just happened?!
Louie: Looks like the criminals blew up the civilians.
Quackerjack: But they weren't supposed to do that! I wanted to push the button!
Dewey: Then you shouldn't have given them detonators.
Louie: Especially to the criminals.
Quackerjack: Behold! My master plan! On one gondola, dozens of innocent citizens. On the other, convicted criminals. And both gondolas are filled with high explosives. Hehehehe!
Dewey: So?
Quackerjack: So, I gave the people on each gondola a detonator for the other. Now, each side is faced with a moral dilemma. Kill or be killed, and they have 15 minutes to decide before I do! Hahaha!
(A gondola blows up.)
Quackerjack: What the...?! What just happened?!
Louie: Looks like the criminals blew up the civilians.
Quackerjack: But they weren't supposed to do that! I wanted to push the button!
Dewey: Then you shouldn't have given them detonators.
Louie: Especially to the criminals.
—Ducktalez 6: The Duck Knight
"Time for you to make a choice, Mr. Fudd... Between the ACME Automatic Haircutting Machine or the B2000 Gadgetized Galvanized Beauty Salon in A Box! All parts not under warranty, offer may not be valid in your area."
— Top Salesman, The Matwix
Webcomics
Here is your final test. Take this gun... And shoot one of these two people! Your beloved girfriend Sheila or your beloved dog, Salty!
— Some evil person, Nedroid ''[[this strip
Web Original
Quora question: Atheists, imagine you're going skydiving with a Christian baby. Suddenly the baby tells you he won't open his parachute until you renounce atheism and accept Jesus as your lord and savior. What would you do?
Moore: I mean, this is deranged enough that I'm actually confident just calling it satire without needing to investigate. Start with the sheer insanity of the premise: how is the baby fucking skydiving? Why has the baby been given responsibility for his own chute? How is the baby talking? The whole point of it being a baby is the idea that saving a baby's life is a paramount moral duty, but that's grounded mostly in a baby's helplessness, his dependency on others for survival. This fucken baby is voluntarily going skydiving and can operate a parachute. I'm actually only half joking here - moral hypotheticals are always at least slightly absurd, because they're intended to create an artificial moral binary - the trolley problem, for example, depends on perfect knowledge that you can only save the five people by killing the one. But this scenario isn't just very specific and arbitrary, it has an almost hallucinatory strangeness to it - it's more like an elaborately constructed fantasy than a moral hypothetical.
Moore: I mean, this is deranged enough that I'm actually confident just calling it satire without needing to investigate. Start with the sheer insanity of the premise: how is the baby fucking skydiving? Why has the baby been given responsibility for his own chute? How is the baby talking? The whole point of it being a baby is the idea that saving a baby's life is a paramount moral duty, but that's grounded mostly in a baby's helplessness, his dependency on others for survival. This fucken baby is voluntarily going skydiving and can operate a parachute. I'm actually only half joking here - moral hypotheticals are always at least slightly absurd, because they're intended to create an artificial moral binary - the trolley problem, for example, depends on perfect knowledge that you can only save the five people by killing the one. But this scenario isn't just very specific and arbitrary, it has an almost hallucinatory strangeness to it - it's more like an elaborately constructed fantasy than a moral hypothetical.
— David Thomas Moore on Twitter
on Twitter Web Video
"Pacifism, defending yourself, both are imperfect. Misery, failure, and suffering are inevitable parts of being human, and no matter what you believe in, what meta-narrative you follow, you'll always have to confront this eventuality. A distraught Pascal asks you to either kill him, or wipe his memories. Both options are equally horrifying. Both of these options once again represent the dual failed ideologies on display. To kill Pascal would end his meaningless existence, but it does nothing but perpetuate the meaningless cycle he spent his whole life trying to escape. To delete his memories is to sacrifice everything for an imaginary ideal— the damage is done, and if Pascal's memories are deleted, will Pascal as we know him will die too? You’re left with nothing but a hollow shell filled with nothing but the same timid, pacifistic rhetoric that caused this whole mess to begin with. I did neither. I walked away, leaving Pascal to his suffering."
Western Animation
Justice Lord Superman: Everything he does from now on is your fault!
Superman: It's a high price, but it's better than the alternative.
Superman: It's a high price, but it's better than the alternative.
— Justice League, "A Better World"
"The second I'm away, I'll hit the remote and blow the ship to bits...[Satine,] if you shoot me, you'll prove yourself a hypocrite to every pacifist ideal you hold dear. And you, Kenobi, you are no stranger to violence. You'd be hailed as a hero by everyone on this ship. ALMOST everyone. Come on then! Who will strike first and brand themselves a cold-blooded killer?"
Optimus: "Give up the Allspark, or give up the Earth. How am I supposed to decide?"
Ratchet: "Heroes are the ones who make the hard choices."
Ratchet: "Heroes are the ones who make the hard choices."
"A weighty choice is yours to make: / The right selection or a big mistake. / If the wrong choice you choose to pursue, / the foundations of home will crumble without you."
— Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Destiny has cheated me, by forcing me to decide upon: the woman that I idolise, or the hands of an automaton. Without these hands I can't complete, the opera that was captivating her but if I keep them, and she marries him, then he probably won't want me dating her...
—Philip J. Fry, Futurama, "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"
