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He's a Lover, Not a Fighter, but he's also a fighter so don't get any ideas.
Anime and Manga
"I'm a healer, but ..."
— Dr. Tex Farzenberg, cocking a pistol, After War Gundam X
"We declare peace, but with weapons in our hands. The choices we are making may be evil. But please, lend us the strength to halt this string of battles with no end in sight!"
Unico: Please, Kuruku— break the spell and release all your puppets! If you don't, I'll be forced to fight you, and I might have to... destroy you, and I would rather not do that.
Lord Kuruku: Why, you insignificant little brat! I'm through playing games with you! [summons a huge pillar] How do you like that? Now you have no place to run, you four-legged glue pot!
Unico: I don't plan on running anymore! You leave me no choice but to fight you, Kuruku.
Lord Kuruku: Why, you insignificant little brat! I'm through playing games with you! [summons a huge pillar] How do you like that? Now you have no place to run, you four-legged glue pot!
Unico: I don't plan on running anymore! You leave me no choice but to fight you, Kuruku.
Comic Books
"We have a saying, my people. Don’t kill if you can wound, don’t wound if you can subdue, don’t subdue if you can pacify, and don’t raise your hand at all until you’ve first extended it."
— Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman
"Those people were scum. Cold-blooded killers, they'd fired at women and children, killing dozens. Batgirl knew this. She also knew how I felt about it. How little I'd have minded any extra... zeal... on her part. But... there wasn't any. At her speed it must've been difficult, but she did just enough to take them out. No more. She was... it wouldn't have looked this way to anyone else, mind you, but she was... gentle. Even with them."
— Bruce Wayne, on Cassandra Cain
Film
Daniel-san: Hey, can you break a log like that?
Miyagi-sensei: Don't know. Never been attacked by tree.
Miyagi-sensei: Don't know. Never been attacked by tree.
"Hurting people's not a good thing! Sometimes it is, but not when it's a bunch of people looking for something to eat!"
— John Spartan, Demolition Man
"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack."
— Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back
I use hands to hold my fellow man
I use hands to help with what I can
But when I face an unjust injury
Then I'll change my hands into fists of fury.
I use hands to show my friendliness
I use hands to give a kind caress
But when a man slaughters his fellow man
Then I'll change my hands into fists of fury.
I use hands to help with what I can
But when I face an unjust injury
Then I'll change my hands into fists of fury.
I use hands to show my friendliness
I use hands to give a kind caress
But when a man slaughters his fellow man
Then I'll change my hands into fists of fury.
— Opening theme of Fist of Fury
"Fighting not good. But if must fight, win."
— Mr. Miyagi, The Next Karate Kid
A wise king never seeks out war, but he must always be ready for it.
— Odin, Thor
Literature
Prard'ras'kleoni: If we hesitate too long before launching a counterattack, the subsequent battle will take place near the nursery and risk injury to the women and children. That is unacceptable.
Chak Fel: I thought launching attacks in general was unacceptable to the Chiss.
Prard'ras'kleoni: They fired first. They are now fair game.
Chak Fel: I thought launching attacks in general was unacceptable to the Chiss.
Prard'ras'kleoni: They fired first. They are now fair game.
"I detest violence of all kinds...except in self-defense."
— Erowin, Trapped on Draconica
"Silajana demands that I warn you, you have been given this rebirth to bless, encourage, and uplift those around you. By your actions here, you prove this gift wasted. If you are destroyed today by resisting my defense of these innocents, you reject your great blessing—and may not be given rebirth again for many, many centuries. Lay down your weapons and let us pass, or suffer my wrath."
Live-Action TV
Nafrayu: Why do you want to fight [the Goa'uld]?
Jack O'Neill: I don't want to.
Nafrayu: Then don't.
Jack: It's not that simple. Look, I believe in peace, just like you. I do.
Nafrayu: Then why do you fight?
Jack: Because our enemy gives us no option. Sometimes turning the other cheek just doesn't work.
Jack O'Neill: I don't want to.
Nafrayu: Then don't.
Jack: It's not that simple. Look, I believe in peace, just like you. I do.
Nafrayu: Then why do you fight?
Jack: Because our enemy gives us no option. Sometimes turning the other cheek just doesn't work.
— Stargate SG-1, "The Nox"
Rassilon: Is the firing squad afraid of the unarmed man?
Gastron: There was a saying, sir. In the Time War.
Rassilon: A saying?
Gastron: The first thing you notice about the Doctor of War, is that he's unarmed. For many, it's also the last.
Gastron: There was a saying, sir. In the Time War.
Rassilon: A saying?
Gastron: The first thing you notice about the Doctor of War, is that he's unarmed. For many, it's also the last.
— Doctor Who, "Hell Bent"
"Where zen ends, ass-kicking begins."
— Steven Hyde, That '70s Show
Music
Peace, not war, shall be our boast,
But, should foes assail our coast,
Make us then a mighty host,
God defend our free land.
Lord of battles in Thy might,
Put our enemies to flight,
Let our cause be just and right,
God defend New Zealand.
But, should foes assail our coast,
Make us then a mighty host,
God defend our free land.
Lord of battles in Thy might,
Put our enemies to flight,
Let our cause be just and right,
God defend New Zealand.
— "God Defend New Zealand", third verse
Video Games
"You kill people because they're beneath you, they're in your way. I kill people because they leave me no choice."
— Commander Shepard to Nassana Dantius, Mass Effect 2
"Anduin, I now believe as you do that peace is the noblest of aspirations. But to preserve it, you must be willing to fight!"
— High King Varian Wrynn, World of Warcraft: Legion
"It is honourable to resist, And fight for what thou believe is just. This is the law of Armadyl.
Thou shalt avoid war; but, if thou must fight, Believe, and thou shalt strike true. This is the law of Armadyl."
Thou shalt avoid war; but, if thou must fight, Believe, and thou shalt strike true. This is the law of Armadyl."
—Armadyl's Book of Law, RuneScape (notably, Armadyl is the only god in modern times to kill another god)
Webcomics
"Pree Ashma. Yis-Asram, the Blooded One. Yis-Prama, Hansa and Prat Pavam, who temper my heart. YISUN Atru Vyam. Forgive me for this violence I am about to inflict."
— 82 White Chain Born In Emptiness Returns To Subdue Evil, Kill Six Billion Demons
"It has been my observation that dudes who incorporate ritual penitence into their Kung Fu warmup are dudes that one should retroactively not have fucked with, if it is within one's capabilities to not have done so."
— A commenter, in reaction to the above quote
"One side effect of the prayer of forgiveness is a rather long period in which an angel will do nothing but defend themselves. This is commonly held by many Throne criminals to be a grace period in which you may safely believe you can actually do something to an angel in close combat."
Web Video
"Look at Josh, Mr. Peaceful, just ripped someone's jugular out. He's fucking biting them to death like a vampire. Hey, good work Josh. For someone who doesn't like violence you really laid that law down."
"Cell, you don't get it. I hate this. The vibrations through my fists on contact, the taste of blood in my mouth, the sound of my heart in my ears? I hate it. I always have. But right now, in this moment, the only thing I hate more than it — is you. Because you were right about me. I was a coward. Scared of what would happen if I snapped. Afraid that... if I lost it this time, I'd never come back. That I'd finally... kill someone. But I'm not scared anymore, Cell. Because there's no point in being afraid of the inevitable."
—Gohan, Dragon Ball Z Abridged
Western Animation
"The first rule of being a ninja is 'Do no harm.' Unless you mean to do harm. Then do lots of harm!"
— Master Splinter to the turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), "I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman"
"I may be a pacifist, but even a pacifist has to stand up for himself once in a while!"
— Professor Honeycutt AKA the Fugitoid, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
"Normally I'm a pacifist, but today, I'm passin' fists."
— Og, Sonic Boom, "Robots From The Sky Part 3"
Real Life
"I do not like war, gentlemen. If I should reign, I would never make it."
— Prussian Crown Prince Frederick the Great to two French journalists.
"My system is to be a friend to everybody and to make myself respected by them."
— King Charles III of Spain
"Speak softly but Carry a Big Stick."
— US President Theodore Roosevelt
"Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery."
— Malcolm X
"I don't start fights. I finish them."
— Fun T-Shirt quote.
"Do no harm, take no shit."
— Another Fun T-Shirt
"Choose peace rather than confrontation. Except in cases where we cannot get, where we cannot proceed, or we cannot move forward. Then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence."
