| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 4 | ->''"Since Kira has appeared six years ago, wars have stopped and global crime rates have been reduced by over 70%. But, it's not enough. This world is still rotten with too many rotten people! Somebody has to do this! When I first got that notebook all those years ago, I knew I had to do it. No, I was the only one who could. I understood that killing people was a crime. ''There was no other way! The world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me!'' Only I could do it. ''Who else could have done it and come this far?! Will they keep going?!'' The only one... who can create a new world... is me."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Light Yagami''', ''Manga/DeathNote'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''"We Anti-Spirals were once a Spiral race like yourselves. But when we learned that the evolution of Spiral Power would lead to the destruction of the universe, we annihilated all those who possessed the power of the Spiral, and drove the few surviving life forms to the far corners of the universe. We halted our own evolution and locked ourselves away into this pocket universe! On our homeworld we sealed away our bodies and any hope of evolution!\ |
| 8 | ''[shows Team Dai-Gurren a dark planet that resembles Earth, with lifeless bodies similar to Anti-Spiral's lining the entire landmass]''\ |
| 9 | This form is the symbol of our determination! Foolish creatures, drunk on Spiral Power! Do you possess the resolve to do that?! We defended the universe by killing our fellow spirals and halting our own evolution! Do you possess the sheer fortitude that is on par with that?! DO YOU?! '''WE SAY NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! ''NOT! AT! ALL!'''''"'' |
| 10 | -->-- '''Anti-Spiral''', ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' |
| 11 | [[/folder]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 14 | ->''"The only way to make certain future generations will know this was our only hope... is to ensure there will BE future generations."'' |
| 15 | -->-- '''U.N. Director''', ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ->''"I hated to use a hostage to force your surrender, but it means the saving of thousands of lives!"'' |
| 18 | -->-- '''Erok''', ''ComicBook/TheKryptonChronicles'' |
| 19 | |
| 20 | ->''"Adam did things to the Pykkts. I won't deny it. Things that don't conform to what the League of Justice likes to judge. These aliens tortured him. They killed his only child. And in return, he treated them poorly. It's all ''true''. Every word. But let me ask you this: at this time, when your life is at stake, do you want someone who treated the Pykkts with kid gloves? Someone who coddled these monsters, defending your children? Is that really what you want? After Phoenix, after the next horror they do, do you want to fight fairly? Or, even if it's damning... do you want someone who fought like Adam fought on Rann? In other words, in the ''only'' words... do you want to ''win?''"'' |
| 21 | -->-- '''Alanna Strange''', ''ComicBook/StrangeAdventures2020'' |
| 22 | |
| 23 | ->''"I heard you, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]]. You longed to return to Argo City. I did only what needed to be done to give you that."'' |
| 24 | -->-- '''Cyborg Superman''', ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'' #3 |
| 25 | |
| 26 | ->'''ComicBook/{{Superman}}:''' You... killed them? A ship full of law officers, doing their duty?\ |
| 27 | '''Karsta Wor-Ul:''' They'd have killed us, if they could have. I'm not proud of it. But I've done a lot I'm not proud of. And maybe I had to and maybe I didn't, but it's done, and there's no taking it back. |
| 28 | -->-- ''ComicBook/TheThirdKryptonian'' |
| 29 | [[/folder]] |
| 30 | |
| 31 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 32 | ->'''Shinji:''' Me too. I... we did what we had to do. I feel terrible about it, but we really didn't have a choice. They had... they had to be stopped, right?\ |
| 33 | '''Asuka:''' Right. We didn't have a choice. Really. They invaded our base and wanted to use us to fight for their madness ''[...]'' And they had... they had Katsuragi-san. |
| 34 | -->-- ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'' |
| 35 | |
| 36 | ->'''Daniel:''' I dislike having to hammer you on this, Shinji, but I'd have thought someone who's devoted serious time to study of philosophy would have a better appreciation for the implications of his choices.\ |
| 37 | '''Shinji:''' What do you mean?\ |
| 38 | '''Daniel:''' I am, and always have been, a soldier. A fighter. And yes, a killer. I long ago made peace with the fact that what I do will cause death and destruction, and that will sometimes spill over on those perhaps innocent. I became the greatest killer in the omniverse so that in the end I wouldn't have to at all because opposing me would be futile. I take every possible measure to minimize innocent suffering. But choosing inaction is a moral choice too, Shinji. I find myself in agreement with Asuka here, though she made the same point much less delicately in that battle; "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs," she said. Even when she pointed out to you that by refusing to fight the other MP Evas in Berlin you’d be condemning far more innocents to death under Winthrop's rule than the fighting in the city could possibly cause, it wasn't that logical conclusion that got you, if not to take up the fight yourself, to at least stop preventing her from taking action. What got you to stop holding her back was her reminding you of the choice you’d made to stop her from killing herself earlier that night, and her pointing out that stopping her from dying then would be meaningless if you got the both of you killed in the name of not getting blood on your hands. Wanting to avoid innocent blood being shed is a noble thing, Shinji, but you were choosing to avoid personal responsibility for such to the extent that you didn’t seem to care if your choice would cause more people to suffer or die because of that. |
| 39 | -->-- ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'', ''[[http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/2438224/ chapter 26]]'' |
| 40 | |
| 41 | ->'''Laurel Kent:''' Dev, just listen to me for a moment. Could you sacrifice the life of another, so easily, just to complete a mission... even one as big as this?\ |
| 42 | '''Dev-Em:''' I have.\ |
| 43 | ''[silence]''\ |
| 44 | '''Dev:''' It was an inforunning operation out of a Dark Circle world. My contact was a man in deep cover. Their cointelpro caught up to us just after an information drop. We had made arrangements on what to do if such a thing happened. I exposed him as a traitor. My cover held. He was taken away, tortured, and killed. I got the package through. Later, I saw to it that his torturers got theirs. No, I didn't do it personally... but I made sure it was done. That's how it is in my world. Not pretty, but we get the job done.\ |
| 45 | '''[[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]]:''' ...\ |
| 46 | '''Dev:''' No, don't think I enjoyed it. Rolg's face still comes to me in a particularly juicy nightmare every now and then. But he has to wait his time in line. And you know what he tells me? He tells me about the people of that world who were liberated, in time, with the information I got through. He tells me that I did the right thing. |
| 47 | -->-- ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'' |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ->'''Misato:''' I'm the fool. And I've become a monster.\ |
| 50 | '''Kaji:''' You made hard choices. And you had your responsibilities.\ |
| 51 | '''Misato:''' So much blood, Kaji. I have so much blood on my hands.\ |
| 52 | '''Kaji:''' But you knew had to ''[...]'' You had a reason. |
| 53 | -->-- ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'' |
| 54 | |
| 55 | ->''"Val, the act of killing is the gravest act of man. Both on Krypton, and on Earth. Once upon a time, Lex died, and I brought him back to life. This time... I didn't do it. So we both have something to bear away from this one. We both have each other's secret. Your action was basically justified. You kept him from killing Kal and Ardora. Maybe he would have killed you and Lena afterward. There’s no telling. If a cop had come in there with a gun, he probably would have used it on Lex, as well. He might have had to yell 'Freeze!' beforehand, and he’d have to face a review board afterward. But Lex was about to commit murder again. He’d already done it once, today. And you -- saw it. So you did what you had to do. You reached out with that PK power and stopped his heart. Lex Luthor is dead, now, and neither Kal nor I are responsible, except maybe in a secondary way. As I say, Val, you did what you had to do."'' |
| 56 | -->-- '''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}''', ''Fanfic/KaraOfRokyn'' |
| 57 | |
| 58 | ->''"By now, you've heard my confessions. You know how long it took me to rebel against Ragyo, and the full extent of everything I had to do to carry us this far. You also know that I believe even the worst of it was necessary, no matter how much every life sacrificed in my scheming haunts me. You know the difference between guilt and regret. I won't repeat myself."'' |
| 59 | -->-- '''Isshin Matoi''', ''Fanfic/AMinorMiscalculation'' |
| 60 | |
| 61 | ->''The bridge crew had performed admirably given the circumstances, as Fuyutsuki had come to expect, even if they all knew that in following his orders they would be crippling themselves beyond repair. It was, as always, a necessary sacrifice.\ |
| 62 | Fuyutsuki almost laughed. He had lost track of how many times Ikari had used that justification for what NERV had done, and the atrocities they had committed. Lazy minds tended to drift towards the excuses that were familiar to them, usually as a simple matter of expediency; who could come up with a new excuse every time their decisions were questioned? But eventually the sacrifices deemed necessary added up to even greater costs than the things they were determined to prevent in the first place.'' |
| 63 | -->-- ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'' |
| 64 | |
| 65 | ->''Once, there was a youth...\ |
| 66 | ...who was known for miles around as a killer.\ |
| 67 | But she did not kill for pleasure...\ |
| 68 | ...although she took pleasure in killing.\ |
| 69 | And she did not kill for profit...\ |
| 70 | ...although she gained profit from killing.\ |
| 71 | She killed out of necessity,\ |
| 72 | because for her to live, others had to die.'' |
| 73 | -->-- ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/174126?view_full_work=true Once, there were...]]'' |
| 74 | |
| 75 | ->'''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica:''' I also caused quite a few deaths, personally, on the other side. I killed a lot of people, Carol. A lot of people.\ |
| 76 | '''[[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Binary]]:''' You were a soldier, Cap.\ |
| 77 | '''Captain America:''' Yes. We were all soldiers. I do not regret what I did. I regret that I had to do it. But I'm not a hypocrite, Carol. I knew what I was fighting for, and what I was fighting against. Given the situation again, put back there, I would do just what I did, again. Do you understand?\ |
| 78 | '''Binary:''' You're not the only person in this room with blood on his hands, Cap. Or her hands. A long time ago, before I ever put on a funny suit, I was a CIA op. I did what I had to do. One of those things was doing a button woman from the other side. She'd killed 23 of our people, and I was supposed to be number 24. I don't regret shooting her.\ |
| 79 | '''Captain America:''' I wouldn't expect you to. |
| 80 | -->-- ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'' |
| 81 | |
| 82 | ->''"That was a reminder that you know nothing about the decisions I have to make! [[ShutUpKirk How dare you, what fucking gives you the right to question me]] you stupid dog? What gives you the fucking right to think that you know better? I have kept this Fleet safe for millennia, always trying to choose the best option when the choices are either blood or ash!"'' |
| 83 | -->-- '''[=Gideon020=]''' to '''[=ckk185=]''', ''Fanfic/TheUniversiad'' |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Film -- Animated]] |
| 87 | ->''"No, Anna, I belong here. Alone. Where I can be who I am... without hurting anybody."'' |
| 88 | -->-- '''Elsa''', ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' |
| 89 | |
| 90 | ->'''Frankenstein:''' ''What did you do?!''\ |
| 91 | '''Dracula:''' I... I did what I had to do.\ |
| 92 | '''Mavis:''' What was it? What exactly did you "have" to do? ''Tell me!''\ |
| 93 | '''Dracula:''' I... I built the town. The staff put it all together. The... The zombies dressed up as the townspeople. Please, I... I-If you really went out there and something happened to you, I... I-I'd just couldn't live with myself.\ |
| 94 | '''Mavis:''' But you can live with ''this?'' Lying to me? Tricking me? Keeping me here forever when you knew my dream was to go? |
| 95 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'' |
| 96 | |
| 97 | ->'''Twilight:''' I never would have done it, but this isn't Equestria! We can't just dance around with con artists, make Rainbooms in the sky and expect everything to work out! It's not enough! ''We'' are not enough!\ |
| 98 | '''Pinkie:''' No, Twilight! ''We'' stuck together! ''We'' were gonna get the help we needed! The only thing that stopped us was ''you!''\ |
| 99 | '''Twilight:''' Well, I'm doing the best I can! |
| 100 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' |
| 101 | [[/folder]] |
| 102 | |
| 103 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 104 | ->'''Gamora:''' We were happy on my home planet.\ |
| 105 | '''Thanos:''' Going to bed hungry. Scrounging for scraps. [[OverpopulationCrisis Your planet was on the brink of collapse]]. I was the one who stopped that. You know what's happened since then? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It's a paradise.\ |
| 106 | '''Gamora:''' Because you murdered half the planet!\ |
| 107 | '''Thanos:''' [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans A small price to pay for salvation]]. |
| 108 | -->-- ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' |
| 109 | |
| 110 | ->'''Steve Rogers:''' Protection? Is that how you see this? This isn't protection, it's internment, Tony. Come on, she's a kid!\ |
| 111 | '''Tony Stark:''' Gimme a break! I'm doing what has to be done, to save us from something worse. |
| 112 | -->-- ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' |
| 113 | |
| 114 | ->''"I repent there was no other way open to me. I do not repent my life."'' |
| 115 | -->-- '''Veronica Franco''', at her trial by the Inquisition, ''Dangerous Beauty'' |
| 116 | |
| 117 | ->'''Peter Quill:''' You said you loved my mother.\ |
| 118 | '''Ego the Living Planet:''' And that I did. My river lily who knew all the words to every song that came over the radio. I returned to Earth to see her three times. And I knew if I returned a fourth, well, I'd... I'd never leave. [[AssimilationPlot The Expansion]]... the reason for my very existence would be over. So, I did what I had to do. But... [[WhamLine it broke my heart to put that tumor in her head]]. |
| 119 | -->-- ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' |
| 120 | |
| 121 | ->''"This is war. We're soldiers. We kill to protect what's ours."'' |
| 122 | -->-- '''Tony''', ''Film/InnocentBlood'' |
| 123 | |
| 124 | ->'''Superman:''' {{You killed my father}}?\ |
| 125 | '''General Zod:''' ...[[BluntYes I did]]. [[AntagonistInMourning And not a day goes by that it does not haunt me]]. But if I had to do it again, I would. I have a duty to my people, and I will not allow anyone to prevent me from carrying it out! |
| 126 | -->-- ''Film/ManOfSteel'' |
| 127 | |
| 128 | ->''"I didn't go berserk. I simply solved a problem."'' |
| 129 | -->-- '''Clark W. Griswold''', ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'' |
| 130 | |
| 131 | ->'''The Operative:''' I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.\ |
| 132 | '''Mal:''' So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?\ |
| 133 | '''The Operative:''' I'm not going to live there. [[NoPlaceForMeThere There's no place for me there]]... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done. |
| 134 | -->-- ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' |
| 135 | |
| 136 | ->''"I just can't take no pleasure in killing. There's just some things you gotta do. Don't mean you have to like it."'' |
| 137 | -->-- '''Drayton Sawyer''', ''Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974'' |
| 138 | |
| 139 | ->''"I loved my daughter. But the abomination growing in her womb was a betrayal of me and the coven. I did what was necessary to protect the species. As I am forced to do yet again."'' |
| 140 | -->-- '''Viktor''', ''Film/Underworld2003'' |
| 141 | |
| 142 | ->''"[[BreakingTheFourthWall I can feel your incriminations and your judgments]], and I am fine with that. You want to be loved? Go be a movie star. The world is as you find it. You've gotta deal with that reality that there are monsters in this world. We saw 3,000 innocent people burned to death by [[MiddleEasternTerrorists those monsters]], yet you object when I refuse to kiss those monsters on the cheek and say 'pretty please.' You answer me this, what terrorist attack would you have let go forward so you wouldn't seem like a mean and nasty fella? I will not apologize for keeping your family safe. And I will not apologize for doing what needed to be done so that your loved ones could sleep peacefully at night. It has been my honor to be your servant. [[YouBastard You chose me. And I did what you asked]]."'' |
| 143 | -->-- '''Dick Cheney''', ''Film/Vice2018'' |
| 144 | [[/folder]] |
| 145 | |
| 146 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 147 | ->''"Me and Jake and Rachel and Cassie and Tobias and Ax. They'd be HouseholdNames, like generals from World War II or the Civil War. Patton and Eisenhower, Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee. Kids would study us in school. Bored, probably.\ |
| 148 | And then the teacher would tell the story of Marco. I'd be a part of history. [[WarCrimeSubvertsHeroism What I was about to do]].\ |
| 149 | Some kid would laugh. Some kid would say, [[TheUnfettered 'Cold, man. That was really cold.']]\ |
| 150 | I had to do it, kid. [[WarIsHell It was a war]]. It's the whole point, you stupid, smug, smirking little jerk! Don't you get it?\ |
| 151 | It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.\ |
| 152 | Innocent Hork-Bajir. Innocent Taxxons. Innocent human-Controllers.\ |
| 153 | How else to stop [[PuppeteerParasite the Yeerks]]? How else to win?\ |
| 154 | No choice, you punk. We did what we had to do."'' |
| 155 | -->-- '''Marco''', ''Literature/{{Animorphs}} #30: The Reunion'' |
| 156 | |
| 157 | ->''"There's what's right and then there's what's necessary. They ain't always the same."'' |
| 158 | -->-- '''Ebenezer [=McCoy=]''', ''Literature/BloodRites'' |
| 159 | |
| 160 | ->''"If you want to investigate and prosecute me for striking Abu Haggani, a man who is responsible for murdering over one hundred U.S. service personnel... a man who specializes in attacking grade schools filled with children... a man whose contribution to terrorism is that he was the first to recruit mentally retarded people to become suicide bombers... If that is the case you would like to put before the American people, then I welcome it. I am more than willing to publicly stand behind my position."'' |
| 161 | -->-- '''Mitch Rapp''', ''Extreme Measures'', by Creator/VinceFlynn |
| 162 | |
| 163 | ->'''Bob Howard:''' ''The [[HumanoidAbomination Black Pharaoh]]?''\ |
| 164 | '''The Senior Auditor:''' I said I made a DealWithTheDevil, didn't I? It was him or [[EldritchAbomination the Sleeper]]: who would you rather work for?\ |
| 165 | '''Bob Howard:''' That's ''treason''--\ |
| 166 | '''The Senior Auditor:''' Only if it be unsuccessful. The fix is in. The fix was in even before you noticed there was a problem in need of a solution. That's why I kept you in the dark, in the sandbox, for so long. We work under oath to the authority vested in the Crown: but you didn't ask ''which'' Crown the new oath and warrant cards are sworn to. The PM's dead, Bob. Half the cabinet are [[PuppeteerParasite brain-wormed]] castrati thanks to [[SinisterMinister Schiller]]. Our [[{{Eagleland}} biggest traditional ally]] appears to be in the throes of a takeover by something so much worse than the Sleeper that Schiller chose to flee and make his stand here. And the agency is in ruins. [[GodzillaThreshold What else would you expect the board to do]]? We have to be realistic. Pick fights we can win. |
| 167 | -->-- ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles: The Delirium Brief'' |
| 168 | |
| 169 | ->'''Jenna:'''I can't believe we did that... Sep, we've just killed someone.\ |
| 170 | '''Septimus:''' [[FlatYes Yes]].\ |
| 171 | '''Jenna:''' But that's awful. I...I never thought I would...\ |
| 172 | '''Septimus:''' It's a luxury, Jen.\ |
| 173 | '''Jenna:''' What do you mean?\ |
| 174 | '''Septimus:''' I mean... I mean that if you go through life and never face a situation where, in order for you to survive, someone else has to die, then you're lucky. That's what I mean.\ |
| 175 | '''Jenna:''' That's terrible, Sep.\ |
| 176 | '''Septimus:''' *shrugs* Sometimes that is how it is. |
| 177 | -->--''Literature/SeptimusHeap #4: Queste'' |
| 178 | |
| 179 | ->''"There are black zones of shadow close to our daily paths, and now and then some evil soul breaks a passage through. When that happens, the man who knows must strike before reckoning the consequences."'' |
| 180 | -->-- '''Daniel Upton''', "Literature/TheThingOnTheDoorstep" |
| 181 | |
| 182 | ->''"I did the right thing, but no one else will ever understand!"'' |
| 183 | -->-- '''Hollyleaf''', ''Literature/WarriorCats'' |
| 184 | |
| 185 | ->''"Everything we did, we did for the right reasons. I understand it's ugly, without the context."'' |
| 186 | -->-- '''Alexandria''', ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' |
| 187 | |
| 188 | ->'''[[InvincibleVillain Contessa]]:''' I keep on asking myself the same questions over and over again. Maybe you can answer. Was it worth it? Would you do it all over again? Knowing what you know now? Knowing that you end up here, at gunpoint?\ |
| 189 | '''[[VillainProtagonist Khepri]]:''' I... know I'm supposed to say yes. But no. Some -- somewhere along way, it became no.\ |
| 190 | '''Contessa:''' Just about everyone comes to this crossroad. Some get seventy years, some only get fifteen. Enough time to grow, to take stock of who you are. Enough time to do things you'll regret when you run out of time.\ |
| 191 | '''Khepri:''' Don't -- [[IRegretNothing don't regret it]]. Was -- had to. [[SavingTheWorld Saved lives]]. But I would do different, given a chance. |
| 192 | -->-- ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' |
| 193 | [[/folder]] |
| 194 | |
| 195 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 196 | ->'''Jack Bauer:''' Ibrahim Haddad had targeted a bus carrying forty-five people, ten of which were children. The truth, Senator, is that I stopped that attack from happening.\ |
| 197 | '''Blaine Mayer:''' By torturing Mr. Haddad.\ |
| 198 | '''Jack:''' By doing what I deemed necessary to save innocent lives.\ |
| 199 | '''Mayer:''' So basically, what you are saying, Mr. Bauer, is that the ends justify the means and you are above the law.\ |
| 200 | '''Jack:''' When I am activated, when I am brought into a situation, there is a reason. And that reason is to complete the objectives of my mission at all costs.\ |
| 201 | '''Mayer:''' ...Even if it means breaking the law.\ |
| 202 | '''Jack:''' For a combat soldier, the difference between success and failure is your ability to adapt to your enemy. The people that I deal with, they don't care about your rules. All they care about is a result. My job is to stop them from completing their objective, at all costs. I simply adapted. In answer to your question: am I above the law? No, sir. I am more than willing to be judged by the people you claim to represent. I will let them decide what price I should pay. But please, sir, do not sit there with that smug look on your face and expect me to regret the decisions I have made. Because, sir, the truth is I don't. |
| 203 | -->-- ''Series/TwentyFour'', "Day 7: 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM" |
| 204 | |
| 205 | ->''"Who we are, and who we need to be to survive, are very different things."'' |
| 206 | -->-- '''Bellamy Blake''', ''Series/The100'' |
| 207 | |
| 208 | ->''"I did... what you weren't prepared to do."'' |
| 209 | -->-- '''Wesley''', ''Series/{{Angel}}'', "[[Recap/AngelS04E06SpinTheBottle Spin the Bottle]]" |
| 210 | |
| 211 | ->'''Angel:''' Jasmine, it's over. You've lost.\ |
| 212 | '''Jasmine:''' ''I've'' lost? Do you have any idea what you've done?\ |
| 213 | '''Angel:''' What I had to do. |
| 214 | -->-- ''Series/{{Angel}}'', "[[Recap/AngelS04E21PeaceOut Peace Out]]" |
| 215 | |
| 216 | ->'''Jake:''' I can't believe we're [[FugitiveArc fugitives on the lam, falsely accused of a crime]].\ |
| 217 | '''Holt:''' [[SubvertedTrope There's nothing false about it]]. We committed several felonies and escaped from jail.\ |
| 218 | '''Jake:''' Yeah, but we were just doing what we had to do. We're the good guys. ''[horrified realization]'' This is what they all think! |
| 219 | -->-- ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' |
| 220 | |
| 221 | ->'''Ninth Doctor:''' Your race is dead! You all burned, all of you! Ten ''million'' ships on fire; the entire Dalek race, ''wiped out'' in one second!\ |
| 222 | '''Dalek:''' ''[[AC:[[ThatLiarLies You lie]]!]]''\ |
| 223 | '''Doctor:''' I watched it happen! ''[[WhamLine I MADE it happen]]!''\ |
| 224 | '''Dalek:''' [[AC:You destroyed us?!]]\ |
| 225 | '''Doctor:''' ''[turns away, [[ShellShockedVeteran shellshocked]]]''...I had no choice. |
| 226 | -->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]]" |
| 227 | |
| 228 | ->'''Rassilon:''' [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence We will ascend]] -- to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, [[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ while creation itself ceases to be]].\ |
| 229 | '''Tenth Doctor:''' ''[to TheMaster]'' You see now? That's what they were planning... in the final days of the war. ''I had to stop them.'' |
| 230 | -->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]" |
| 231 | |
| 232 | ->''"What I did, I did without choice... in the name of peace and sanity."'' |
| 233 | -->-- '''[[spoiler:The War Doctor]]''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor The Name of the Doctor]]" |
| 234 | |
| 235 | ->'''Petty Officer Muldoon:''' I told you, that guy was gonna kill that woman, and then me. What the hell was I supposed to do?\ |
| 236 | '''Gibbs:''' Maybe [[KillingInSelfDefense exactly what you did]]. |
| 237 | -->-- ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', "[[Recap/NCISS13E17 After Hours]]" |
| 238 | |
| 239 | ->''"I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all... I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again, I would. [[TokenEvilTeammate Garak]] was right about one thing: a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant."'' |
| 240 | -->-- '''Benjamin Sisko''', ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E19InThePaleMoonlight In the Pale Moonlight]]" |
| 241 | |
| 242 | ->'''Lore:''' ''[[CallingTheOldManOut You did what you had to do]]?'' What kind of answer is that?\ |
| 243 | '''Dr. Soong:''' The best one I can give you. [[AIIsACrapshoot You were not functioning properly]]. |
| 244 | -->-- ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E3Brothers Brothers]]" |
| 245 | [[/folder]] |
| 246 | |
| 247 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 248 | ->If you got the [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture credits]] I'll pull the crime of the century\ |
| 249 | Morality's only a memory when belly's empty |
| 250 | -->-- '''Music/RunTheJewels''', "No Save Point" |
| 251 | |
| 252 | ->''Regrets, I've had a few\ |
| 253 | But then again, too few to mention\ |
| 254 | I did what I had to do\ |
| 255 | I saw it through, without exemption'' |
| 256 | -->-- '''Music/FrankSinatra''', "My Way" |
| 257 | |
| 258 | ->''Pancho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty too\ |
| 259 | He only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old'' |
| 260 | -->-- '''Music/TownesVanZandt''', "Pancho and Lefty" |
| 261 | [[/folder]] |
| 262 | |
| 263 | [[folder:Poetry]] |
| 264 | ->''In the season of snow,\ |
| 265 | in the immeasurable cold,\ |
| 266 | we grow cruel but honest; we keep\ |
| 267 | ourselves alive,\ |
| 268 | if we can, taking one after another\ |
| 269 | the necessary bodies of others, the many\ |
| 270 | crushed red flowers.'' |
| 271 | -->-- '''Mary Oliver''', "Cold" |
| 272 | [[/folder]] |
| 273 | |
| 274 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 275 | ->''"Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand realize that you have no right to let them live..."'' |
| 276 | -->-- ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 -- In Exterminatus Extermis'' |
| 277 | |
| 278 | ->''"Victory is commemorated, failure merely remembered."'' |
| 279 | -->-- '''Imperial Proverb''', ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' |
| 280 | [[/folder]] |
| 281 | |
| 282 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 283 | ->'''Nikolai:''' Only a fool would dare to change history.\ |
| 284 | '''Richtofen:''' I am no fool, for what I do, I do only to secure a better tomorrow. |
| 285 | -->-- ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'', "The Giant" |
| 286 | |
| 287 | ->''"They were so close their stench filled the air... [[EvilSmellsBad you can SMELL them]], I tell you! Somewhere between the spice of vanilla and the bitter sweetness of pustulent rot. These creatures [[PuppeteerParasite inhabit the bodies of men and women]], exorcising the human soul and replacing it with their own putrid spirits. But they couldn't fool ''me!'' No, not at all, I could SMELL them, you see! They were all around me... ''dear god, all around''... I knew what I had to do, they had to ''go'', by blade and bullet I had to get rid of them! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! Dear god, I ''had'' to do it... ''had to''... [[YouHaveToBelieveMe You believe me, don't you]]? [-Don't you?-]"'' |
| 288 | -->-- '''Maximillian Roivas''', Ulyaoth Bonethief autopsy, ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' |
| 289 | |
| 290 | ->''"Understand what a world had to do to survive."'' |
| 291 | -->-- '''[[ArcWords Repeated line]]''', ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' |
| 292 | |
| 293 | ->''"Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients; sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps."'' |
| 294 | -->-- '''Mordin Solus''', ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' |
| 295 | |
| 296 | ->'''Gavin Archer:''' Any war we fight with the Geth will be bloody, I was asked to find a way to avoid that.\ |
| 297 | '''Commander Shepard:''' Who gave you the right to play God?\ |
| 298 | '''Archer:''' People who were too afraid to make difficult decisions themselves. When they pray for a miracle, they're really praying for men like me to make the tough choices. If my work spares a million mothers mourning the loss of a million sons, my conscience will rest easy. |
| 299 | -->-- ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' |
| 300 | |
| 301 | ->'''Genji:''' I know you tell yourself that your brother disobeyed the clan, and that you had to kill him to maintain order. That it was your duty.\ |
| 302 | '''Hanzo:''' It ''was'' my duty, and my burden. That does not mean I do not honor him! |
| 303 | -->-- ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ09xdxzIJQ "Dragons"]] |
| 304 | |
| 305 | ->''"People are capable of anything when under pressure. Even more so when they can do it under the mantle of the 'greater good'."'' |
| 306 | -->-- '''Rokurou Rangetsu''', ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' |
| 307 | [[/folder]] |
| 308 | |
| 309 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 310 | ->''"I was away for a few years and came back to a world in ruins. Death, destruction, chaos -- the endless fighting -- it was as if the Heterodyne Boys had '''never existed.''' Things were worse than ever.\ |
| 311 | So I stopped it, and I did it my way this time. [[HobbesWasRight No more negotiating. No more promises. No more second chances!]] I did it alone, because I '''had''' to.\ |
| 312 | And it '''[[TheExtremistWasRight worked]].'''"'' |
| 313 | -->-- '''Klaus von Wulfenbach''', ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' |
| 314 | [[/folder]] |
| 315 | |
| 316 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 317 | ->''"I'm not sorry for what I did, Maxwell... but I am sorry I had to do it."'' |
| 318 | -->-- '''Alexander Anderson''', ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'' |
| 319 | |
| 320 | ->''"I don't give a ''damn'' about your ''committee'' and its ''opinions'' on my work! Have you forgotten, sir, that we were at ''war?'' A fight with an alien race for the very survival of our ''species?'' I feel I must remind you, that it is an ''undeniable'' and may I say a ''fundamental'' quality of man that when faced with extinction, ''every'' alternative is preferable!"'' |
| 321 | -->-- '''The Director of Project Freelancer''', ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' |
| 322 | |
| 323 | ->''"One final note: The Foundation does many distasteful things in the completion of our mission, but our mission is important enough that the price is one we must pay. Containment of SCP-231 is one of our most dangerous duties, not because of any direct danger to ourselves (like [[OmnicidalManiac SCP-682]]) but because of the danger that our resolve will fail, that we will allow ourselves to either let down our guard [[NeverHurtAnInnocent due to sympathy for the suffering of an innocent]], or that [[HeWhoFightsMonsters we will allow ourselves to become monsters through the performance of monstrous acts]]. Just do your jobs, and save the philosophizing for the shrink."'' |
| 324 | -->-- '''O5-[[spoiler:__]]''' [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-231 on SCP-231]], ''Website/SCPFoundation'' |
| 325 | |
| 326 | ->''"Now, I know what you're gonna say: 'Technoblade, you monster! You really killed ''millions'' of your own kind just to make a sword?'. And it-- look, look, look, come on, you gotta understand. There was nothing else I could do, I was mildly inconvenienced!"'' |
| 327 | -->-- '''WebVideo/{{Technoblade}}''' in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2mwbXInQCI this video]] |
| 328 | [[/folder]] |
| 329 | |
| 330 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 331 | ->''"You don't know what you're talking about. I just ran numbers for them and stuff. We were orphans out on the street; I did what I had to do to survive and protect my little brother."'' |
| 332 | -->-- '''Mako''', ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' |
| 333 | |
| 334 | ->'''Shadow Weaver:''' I did what I had to do.\ |
| 335 | '''Adora:''' [[YouKeepTellingYourselfThat Keep telling yourself that]]. |
| 336 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', "[[Recap/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerS5E11Failsafe Failsafe]]" |
| 337 | |
| 338 | ->''"Rose didn't always do what was best for her. But she always did what was best for Earth."'' |
| 339 | -->-- '''Garnet''', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E24Bubbled Bubbled]]" |
| 340 | |
| 341 | ->''"We're at war, soldier. We do what we must."'' |
| 342 | -->-- '''Ultra Magnus''' to Ratchet, ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', "[=TransWarped=]" |
| 343 | [[/folder]] |
| 344 | |
| 345 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 346 | ->''"[[WarIsHell War is cruelty]]. There is no use trying to reform it; the crueler it is, the sooner it will be over."'' |
| 347 | -->-- '''[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar William Tecumseh Sherman]]''' |
| 348 | |
| 349 | ->''"This was the most hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned."'' |
| 350 | -->-- '''UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill''' on the order to bombard French warships at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-Kebir Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria]] to prevent them from falling into [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany enemy]] [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly hands]] |
| 351 | |
| 352 | ->''"Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong."'' |
| 353 | -->-- '''UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan''' addressing the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations after the 1986 air strikes against UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi |
| 354 | [[/folder]] |
| 355 |
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