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Gendo: When Shinji is near me, all I ever do is cause him pain. I thought it was better when I did nothing at all.
Yui: Were you afraid of Shinji?
Gendo: I didn't believe that anyone could love me. I never deserved to be loved.
Kaworu: So, you were running away. And you rejected the others around you, so there was no chance that you would ever be hurt.
Yui: And you were terrified by the invisible bonds that people form.
Rei: You were afraid and so you closed off your heart.
Gendo: And so this is my retribution. Forgive me, Shinji.
Yui: Were you afraid of Shinji?
Gendo: I didn't believe that anyone could love me. I never deserved to be loved.
Kaworu: So, you were running away. And you rejected the others around you, so there was no chance that you would ever be hurt.
Yui: And you were terrified by the invisible bonds that people form.
Rei: You were afraid and so you closed off your heart.
Gendo: And so this is my retribution. Forgive me, Shinji.
"There's only so many lives I can give a damn about."
— Mikasa, Attack on Titan
Film
"Apathy is the solution. I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life. It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs: it takes effort and work."
—Detective Somerset, Se7en
"You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned. Look around you. Did you think these people made a plan to sleep in the sports hall with you? But here we are now, sleeping together on the floor. So, there's no need for a plan. You can't go wrong with no plans. We don't need to make a plan for anything. It doesn't matter what will happen next. Even if the country gets destroyed or sold out, nobody cares. Got it?"
—Kim Ki-taek, Parasite (2019)
"I found that if you have a goal, that you might not reach it. But if you don't have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta tell ya, it feels phenomenal."
—Peter LeFleur, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
Literature
"I don't want to care. If I care about things, it'll just be worse, it'll just be another thing to worry about. It's less painful if I don't care."
—Clay, Less Than Zero
"Though there was one thing [Kaladin] clung to. An excuse, perhaps, like the dead emperor. It was the soul of the wretch. Apathy. The belief that nothing was his fault, the belief that he couldn't change anything. If a man was cursed, or if he believed he didn't have to care, then he didn't need to hurt when he failed. Those failures couldn't have been prevented. Someone or something else had ordained them."
Live-Action TV
Karen: And that...everyone you ever cared about left you.
Matt: Can we not do this now?
Karen: Is that why you insist on doing everything alone?
Matt: I don't insist on—
Karen: Pushing me and Foggy away?
Matt: I'm not pushing you away, I've told you I'm trying to protect—
Karen: I don't think you're trying to protect us, I think you're trying to protect yourself. [...] Look, I was never gonna leave you up there, and I'm not leaving you now. Neither is Foggy. Despite the fact that you've been a complete asshole to him, he'd still follow you off a cliff.
Matt: Can we not do this now?
Karen: Is that why you insist on doing everything alone?
Matt: I don't insist on—
Karen: Pushing me and Foggy away?
Matt: I'm not pushing you away, I've told you I'm trying to protect—
Karen: I don't think you're trying to protect us, I think you're trying to protect yourself. [...] Look, I was never gonna leave you up there, and I'm not leaving you now. Neither is Foggy. Despite the fact that you've been a complete asshole to him, he'd still follow you off a cliff.
— Daredevil (2015), "Reunion"
Desi: Look, it's not personal. It's just I've had to bury more than a few coworkers, which is hard enough. But when they're also your friend...
MacGyver: I get it. But, at the same time (he indicates the bag of chips Desi brought) this is pretty thoughtful. So if I didn't know any better, I'd say you are open to being friends with coworkers.
Desi: The store was on my way. It took, like, zero effort.
MacGyver: I get it. But, at the same time (he indicates the bag of chips Desi brought) this is pretty thoughtful. So if I didn't know any better, I'd say you are open to being friends with coworkers.
Desi: The store was on my way. It took, like, zero effort.
Sherlock: Look at them. They all care so much... Do you ever wonder if there's something wrong with us?
Mycroft: All lives end. All hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock.
Mycroft: All lives end. All hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock.
"Everyone always asks, what's our special weakness? Gamma rays? Iron daggers? Some ridiculous, stupid thing? The truth is our weakness is the same as anyone's. It's people. The people we care about. So I say, cut them loose. For your good and for theirs. That way you're really bulletproof."
— Queen Maeve, The Boys (2019)
Music
It's so easy to stay as cool as autumn rain
You start by sweeping standards down the well-known drain
Then swap your zeal
For nerves of steel
It's so easy and you feel no pain
You start by sweeping standards down the well-known drain
Then swap your zeal
For nerves of steel
It's so easy and you feel no pain
— Mass, "Easy"
I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship;
friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship;
friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
— Simon & Garfunkel, "I am a Rock"
I don't need no arms around me,
and I don't need no drugs to calm me!
I have seen the writing on the wall,
Don't think I need anything at all
No! Don't think I need anything at all!
All in all it was all just bricks in the wall!
All in all you were all just bricks in the wall!
and I don't need no drugs to calm me!
I have seen the writing on the wall,
Don't think I need anything at all
No! Don't think I need anything at all!
All in all it was all just bricks in the wall!
All in all you were all just bricks in the wall!
I've a rich understanding of my finest defenses.
I proclaim that claims are left unstated,
I demand a rematch.
I decree a stalemate
I divine my deeper motives.
I recognize the weapons,
I've practiced them well,
I fitted them myself
I proclaim that claims are left unstated,
I demand a rematch.
I decree a stalemate
I divine my deeper motives.
I recognize the weapons,
I've practiced them well,
I fitted them myself
— R.E.M., "World Leader Pretend"
Video Games
"Everyone I have ever cared for has either died or left me. Everyone...fucking except for you!"
— Ellie, The Last of Us
"If I do not feel... Then the pain can no longer reach me."
— Captain Spaceboy, OMORI
"Look at yourself.
You made all these great friends...
But now, you'll probably never see them again.
Not to mention how much they've been set back by you.
Hurts, doesn't it?
If you had just gone through without caring about anyone...
You wouldn't have to feel bad now."
You made all these great friends...
But now, you'll probably never see them again.
Not to mention how much they've been set back by you.
Hurts, doesn't it?
If you had just gone through without caring about anyone...
You wouldn't have to feel bad now."
— Flowey the Flower, Undertale
Web Animation
Hanazuki: It must be tough to love someone and have to let them go.
Chicken Plant: Hmph. Easier just to ignore 'em.
Hanazuki: I'll bet it hurts less, too.
Chicken Plant: Hmph. Easier just to ignore 'em.
Hanazuki: I'll bet it hurts less, too.
Web Comics
"Fighting alone means I don't have to worry about anyone else. I can just do my own thing, and if I screw up, I'm the only one who gets hurt. [...] It's easier to just keep to myself and try not to get too attached, y'know? But lately I've been thinking... maybe that's my own way of being a coward. Rather than protecting anyone else, I'm just protecting my own feelings."
— Heartful Punch, Sleepless Domain
Web Original
"Everyone I've ever met, aside from the six of you, were just dust. Just talking dust. Okay? So I started worrying a lot more about me, because what was the fucking point."
— Taako, The Adventure Zone: Balance, "The Stolen Century – Part 7"
"Create no emotional attachments to anything. Everything gets destroyed."
— Quackity, Dream SMP
"And everything is okay and fixed and will be good forever, and… we never lost anyone, because first, we would have to care about people to lose them, so let's just… play it safe."
— Acho, Pirates SMP
Western Animation
It's so easy not to try
Let the world go drifting by
If you never say hello
You don't have to say goodbye.
Let the world go drifting by
If you never say hello
You don't have to say goodbye.
— The Return of the King, "It's So Easy Not to Try"
"Elodie taught me a good lesson. If you don't care, you'll never be disappointed."
— Enid, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
