"Destiny, chance, fate, fortune—they're all just ways of claiming your successes without claiming your failures."
—Gerrard
of the Weatherlight, Magic: The Gathering
of the Weatherlight, Magic: The Gathering"I don't run from prophecies."
"We're not asking you to run. We're asking you to reconsider a possibly dangerous and unnecessary course of action."
"It's the same thing."
"No, it's not. It's using foreknowledge to anticipate the future and then changing it."
"And if the future cannot be changed, it's simply delaying fate. Better to meet the future face-to-face, than have it sneak up on you when you're not expecting it."
Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts.
That's when you find out who you are.
You'll see what I mean.
That's when you find out who you are.
You'll see what I mean.
—Whistler, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Becoming"
Tara: Willow says that things always happen for a reason.
Buffy: But you ever notice people only say that about bad things?
Buffy: But you ever notice people only say that about bad things?
— Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Triangle"
"The question that once haunted my being has been answered. The future is not fixed; my choices are my own. And yet, how ironic... for I now find I have no choice at all."
— Dinobot, Beast Wars, "Code of Hero"
"Destiny is equal parts chance, free will, and necessity."
— Virgil, Mighty Max
Bender: So do you know what I'm gonna do before I do it?
God Probe: Yes.
Bender: What if I do something different?
God Probe: Then I don't know that.
God Probe: Yes.
Bender: What if I do something different?
God Probe: Then I don't know that.
—Futurama, "Godfellas"
Oracle: Candy?
Neo:...Do you already know if I'm going to take it?
Oracle: Wouldn't be much of an oracle if I didn't.
Neo: But if you already know, how can I make a choice?
Oracle: Because you didn't come here to make the choice. You've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it.
Neo:...Do you already know if I'm going to take it?
Oracle: Wouldn't be much of an oracle if I didn't.
Neo: But if you already know, how can I make a choice?
Oracle: Because you didn't come here to make the choice. You've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it.
Smith: You must be able to see it, Mister Anderson, you must know it by now! You can't win, it's pointless to keep fighting! Why, Mister Anderson, why, why do you PERSIST?!
Neo: Because I choose to.
Neo: Because I choose to.
"You have known the Shadow as nothing but horrors. The Shadow sees the Light in the same way. Neither viewpoint is true. Neither is wrong. The Light seeks one path and shuns all others as lies. The Shadow seeks every possible path and sees them all as truth."
—Locus-Walker, World of Warcraft
"I don't know if the future is written or unwritten. My mind could travel up and down these paths, and they were like memories. But like memory, the mind would shape them to suit its ends. Were these my fears or my hopes? It takes a cold eye to see the future for what it is."
—Shelob, Middle-earth: Shadow of War
