History Quotes / BeenThereShapedHistory

->I mention [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance the Renaissance]], not because it was an important time for the family, but because our more distant relatives as a whole linger over memories of the age, [[NostalgiaFilter savoring them like a soup bone]]: the elders who played at sophistication sharpened their fangs on [[Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli Machiavelli]], and discovered that this interesting Alighieri person [[Literature/TheDivineComedy had been composing some poetry]]. Most remarkable - most ''frustrating'' - of all was the incredible way that they began to claim that [[SelfServingMemory they'd been involved in these advances all along]] - as if they'd been sipping vitae in [[Creator/GiovanniBoccaccio Boccaccio]]'s studio instead of cowering under bridges, hiding from Inquisitors.
-->--''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade - Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)''

->Everything is my fault apparently. Ate the last spotted dick pudding in the fridge: my fault. [[BrickJoke Crashed a car into the worlds' first British]] ''Dairy Queen'': my fault. [[UsefulNotes/WWI Unknowingly shot Archduke Ferdinand and blamed it on some other guy]]: oh, ''MY FAULT!''

->It was 1204. Need I remind you of a singular emergence in Mongolia just two years later? Of course not, his name was Temujin - later UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan! With a party of Uighurs I joined him and helped subdue and unite the last of the rowdy Mongol tribes, until all Mongolia was finally united. I proved myself a capable warlord and he showed me some respect. With some small effort I was able to [[MasterOfDisguise change my features until I looked the part]]; that is to say [[VoluntaryShapeshifting I willed my vampire flesh into a new mould]]. The Khan knew that I was not a Mongol, of course, but at least I was acceptable. And later he would have many [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenaries]] in his command, so that my participation was in no way a rare thing. I was with him against the Chin, when we penetrated the Great Wall, and after his death I was there to see the total obliteration of the Chin Empire. I passed my 'loyalty' down to Genghis's grandson, Batu. I could have offered my services to other Mongol Khans, but Batu's objective was Europe! It was one thing to return a man alone, but another to go back as a general in a Mongol army!

->She glided through vital points of history. She watched Mesopotamia rise. [[ImmortalityBisexuality She called pharaohs and queens lovers]]. She confounded emperors in Rome, manipulated popes. She has been Isthar, Athena, and Juno - [[HighPriest priestess]], [[TheVamp seductress]], [[MadScientist scientist]], [[GodGuise goddess]]. She led cults to sun worship. She led armies of demons. She watched holy wars, sometimes with glee, sometimes with regret.

->[[StingyJack The Irishman]] paused his tale to answer a question on the television. “Would anyone happen to know who opposed UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart in the [[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades Third Crusade]]?”
->“B,” Yulric answered.
->“Saladin? Are you sure?” asked Jack suspiciously.
->“Quite,” responded [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Yulric]], his hand unconsciously straying to the place where his throat had met with the blade of Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub.
-->--''An Unattractive Vampire'' by [=Jim McDoniel=]

->You're worse than animals. Your instincts revolve around ''fear'' - you hate, you covet, you cause centuries of agony, and all because you're scared to trust the other guy. Your fear is a palpable thing, John. You wear it like a second skin. I should know. I killed the first man on Earth. Believe me, he was ''dripping'' with it. And before you accuse me of planting poisoned apples in your spiritual Eden, let me point out that two hours before I found him, the idiot had killed his eldest son... in an argument... over a mango.

-> '''Marcus Parks:''' And here's another interesting thing to ponder. Russia would have gotten into UsefulNotes/WorldWarI with or without [[UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk Rasputin]], and the chaos and failures of World War I helped to push Nicholas out of power. The question is, would the Romanovs have been able to hold onto their power had they not allowed Rasputin into their lives?
-> '''Ben Kissel:''' [[TheWatson Would they have been able to hold onto their power if they had not let Rasputin into their lives?]]
-> '''Marcus:''' ''(increasingly frantic)'' Would Russia have emerged from World War I as a constitutional monarchy instead of the eventual Soviet Union, possibly morphing even further into something resembling what England has?
-> '''Ben:''' [[WhatHeSaid What- what your question was, to you!]]
-> '''Marcus:''' That definitely isn't for us to say-- [[SelfDeprecation we're not historians]]. But, the fact that we're even questioning the role of this country bumpkin flim-flammer in the context of the spread of Communism, the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, and even [[TheNewTens the mess we find ourselves in today with Russia]] is a testament to how one man can bumble his way into changing the course of history for ''centuries'' to come.
-> '''Henry Zebrowski:''' Film/ForrestGump, but horny.

-->--'''Faethor Ferenczy,''' ''Literature/{{Necroscope}} II: Wamphyri''

-> '''Sabrina:''' ...so that's why [the Parthenon]'s in ruins?
-> '''Hilda:''' Yes. But History blamed the Turks.

->I mention [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance the Renaissance]], not because it was an important time for the family, but because our more distant relatives as a whole linger over memories of the age, [[NostalgiaFilter savoring them like a soup bone]]: the elders who played at sophistication sharpened their fangs on [[Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli Machiavelli]], and discovered that this interesting Alighieri person [[Literature/TheDivineComedy had been composing some poetry]]. Most remarkable - most ''frustrating'' - of all was the incredible way that they began to claim that [[SelfServingMemory they'd been involved in these advances all along]] - as if they'd been sipping vitae in [[Creator/GiovanniBoccaccio Boccaccio]]'s studio instead of cowering under bridges, hiding from Inquisitors.
-->--''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade - Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)''

->''If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history. It's me.''
-->--'''The Doctor''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Fires of Pompeii"

->'''Inquisitor''': This Elder One thinks he can become divine? That's the oldest conceit of mortals!\\
'''Envy Demon''': [[spoiler: He knows. He was ''there''.]]
-->-- ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''

->''How many historic events have only the two of us witnessed together, Ronald? How often did we make or change history? And our names can never grace any pages of record. No monument will ever bear our image. And yet once again, tonight, the course of human history will be set by two unknown men... standing in the shadows.''
-->-- '''[[NoNameGiven The Cigarette-Smoking Man]]''', ''Series/TheXFiles'', "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man"

->She glided through vital points of history. She watched Mesopotamia rise. [[ImmortalityBisexuality She called pharaohs and queens lovers]]. She confounded emperors in Rome, manipulated popes. She has been Isthar, Athena, and Juno - [[HighPriest priestess]], [[TheVamp seductress]], [[MadScientist scientist]], [[GodGuise goddess]]. She led cults to sun worship. She led armies of demons. She watched holy wars, sometimes with glee, sometimes with regret.
-->--'''The Buzzing,''' on [[spoiler: Lilith]], ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld''

->It was 1204. Need I remind you of a singular emergence in Mongolia just two years later? Of course not, his name was Temujin - later UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan! With a party of Uighurs I joined him and helped subdue and unite the last of the rowdy Mongol tribes, until all Mongolia was finally united. I proved myself a capable warlord and he showed me some respect. With some small effort I was able to [[MasterOfDisguise change my features until I looked the part]]; that is to say [[VoluntaryShapeshifting I willed my vampire flesh into a new mould]]. The Khan knew that I was not a Mongol, of course, but at least I was acceptable. And later he would have many [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenaries]] in his command, so that my participation was in no way a rare thing. I was with him against the Chin, when we penetrated the Great Wall, and after his death I was there to see the total obliteration of the Chin Empire. I passed my 'loyalty' down to Genghis's grandson, Batu. I could have offered my services to other Mongol Khans, but Batu's objective was Europe! It was one thing to return a man alone, but another to go back as a general in a Mongol army!
-->--'''Faethor Ferenczy,''' ''Literature/{{Necroscope}} II: Wamphyri''

->[[StingyJack The Irishman]] paused his tale to answer a question on the television. “Would anyone happen to know who opposed UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart in the [[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades Third Crusade]]?”
->“B,” Yulric answered.
->“Saladin? Are you sure?” asked Jack suspiciously.
->“Quite,” responded [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Yulric]], his hand unconsciously straying to the place where his throat had met with the blade of Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub.
-->--''An Unattractive Vampire'' by [=Jim McDoniel=]

-> '''Sabrina:''' ...so that's why [the Parthenon]'s in ruins?
-> '''Hilda:''' Yes. But History blamed the Turks.
-->-- ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch''

->'''Pocus:''' I'm an old [[{{Familiar}} pooka]], [[ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} kid]]. I've seen things. \\
'''Zatanna:''' How old is old? \\
'''Pocus:''' Well, you know the story of Myth/KingArthur and the Round Table? It was triangle-shaped before I talked him out of it.
-->-- ''ComicBook/ZatannaAndTheHouseOfSecrets''

->''"I am not a caveman. I am a visionary. A veteran and orchestrator of every significant war mankind has ever had. And I will continue to shape the world for the war of tomorrow. My tomorrow."''
-->--'''ComicBook/VandalSavage''', ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica''

->''"So many of us pretend to be something that we're not. But you, you've lived. A man who's walked through history. To have known Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler..."''
-->--'''The Witch Queen''' to '''Kaulder''', ''Film/TheLastWitchHunter''

->''"My father helped defeat Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown, would call that being a hero."''
-->--'''[[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]''' on '''Howard Stark''', ''Film/IronMan1''

->[[HumansAreBastards You're worse than animals]]. Your instincts revolve around ''fear'' - you hate, you covet, you cause centuries of agony, and all because you're scared to trust the other guy. Your fear is a palpable thing, John. You wear it like a second skin. I should know. [[TimeAbyss I killed the first man on Earth]]. Believe me, he was ''dripping'' with it. And before you accuse me of planting poisoned apples in your spiritual Eden, let me point out that two hours before I found him, the idiot had [[PaterFamilicide killed his eldest son]]... in an argument... over a mango.