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* ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'': In "The Way of the Samurai", Usagi befriends the elderly General Oyaneko who has been ReassignedToAntarctica after his lord's brash son succeeds him, and is slowly dying of old age. When Usagi leaves the village, he is surprised to see Oyaneko waiting for him, demanding a duel to the death because he wants to die as a samurai, and because he feels that he failed his ''daimyo'' by failing to wisely counsel his son. Usagi tells him that if he cannot serve his lord, he can still serve his people. After a tense pause, Oyaneko lowers his sword and tells Usagi that he's wise beyond his years. He dies a few months later, after overseeing the successful completion of an important canal project near his village.
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* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible states that the one sacrificed is Isaac, while in Literature/TheQuran, it's Ishmael).
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* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his His loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible states that the one sacrificed is Isaac, while in Literature/TheQuran, it's Ishmael).
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SubTrope of ThePenance and HonorBeforeReason and may involve an attempted SuicideByCop. See also PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou, and TalkingDownTheSuicidal. This is a SuperTrope to the HerosSlaveHarem, as it is explicitly the owner's refusal to abuse their slaves which makes them "heroic".
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SubTrope of ThePenance and HonorBeforeReason and may involve an attempted SuicideByCop. See also PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou, PercussivePrevention and TalkingDownTheSuicidal. This is a SuperTrope to the HerosSlaveHarem, as it is explicitly the owner's refusal to abuse their slaves which makes them "heroic".
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->"For a warrior there is nothing other than thinking of his master. ''[...]'' The lower classes will live in tranquillity if certain matters are a bit overlooked or left unheard. This fact should be understood with regard to people's conduct."
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* ''Manga/OnePiece'': During the Onigashima War, [[spoiler:while Usopp is fighting hordes of mooks to protect Kin'emon and Kiku, Kin'emon begs him to leave and let them die in an honorable way, following the tradition of bushido. Usopp however criticizes this statement, instead believing that it is better to survive at any cost, and keeps on fighting until they all have the chance to run away safely]].
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* In ''Film/FortySevenRonin'', the titular ronin are going to commit seppuku because they have pulled a coup on Lord Kira. The shogun, however, decides to spare at least the ronin leader's son so that he could tell the story of the brave, heroic ronin to other people.
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* In ''Film/FortySevenRonin'', the titular ronin are going to commit seppuku because they have pulled a coup on Lord Kira. The shogun, however, decides to spare at least the ronin leader's son so that he could tell the story of the brave, heroic ronin to other people.
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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Rukia Kuchiki resigns herself to death for her "crime" of transforming a human into a Soul Reaper, and actively [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike yells at Ichigo for coming to rescue her]]. In the end, she manages to survive not just from the valiant efforts of her friends, but also the wise old Commander Yamamoto realizing that, although the law was broken, there are more pressing matters to attend to.
** After all of that, Rukia later submits herself to the Shiba family for killing their former leader, Kaien (who was also Rukia's mentor). After teasing her a bit, they decide they to let her off the hook.
** Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his daughter/clone Nemu have an abusive (and [[IncestSubtext implied incestuous]]) relationship whereas Nemu is completely subordinate to Mayuri and even suffers his abuse with only apology and regret for disappointing ''him''. Quite a few characters call out Mayuri on being a heartless, evil bastard for his treatment of Nemu--until later on, it's revealed that because Nemu is the first-ever ArtificialHuman and Mayuri's scientific MagnumOpus, he's willing to abuse and beat her to an agonizing state of near-death, but he is ''NOT'' willing to see her die, as it would be a "pain in the ass" for him to try and make another like her, and she's a unique design besides. Nemu sees this as Mayuri's version of "compassion".
** Rukia Kuchiki resigns herself to death for her "crime" of transforming a human into a Soul Reaper, and actively [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike yells at Ichigo for coming to rescue her]]. In the end, she manages to survive not just from the valiant efforts of her friends, but also the wise old Commander Yamamoto realizing that, although the law was broken, there are more pressing matters to attend to.
** After all of that, Rukia later submits herself to the Shiba family for killing their former leader, Kaien (who was also Rukia's mentor). After teasing her a bit, they decide they to let her off the hook.
** Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his daughter/clone Nemu have an abusive (and [[IncestSubtext implied incestuous]]) relationship whereas Nemu is completely subordinate to Mayuri and even suffers his abuse with only apology and regret for disappointing ''him''. Quite a few characters call out Mayuri on being a heartless, evil bastard for his treatment of Nemu--until later on, it's revealed that because Nemu is the first-ever ArtificialHuman and Mayuri's scientific MagnumOpus, he's willing to abuse and beat her to an agonizing state of near-death, but he is ''NOT'' willing to see her die, as it would be a "pain in the ass" for him to try and make another like her, and she's a unique design besides. Nemu sees this as Mayuri's version of "compassion".
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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''
** Rukia Kuchiki resigns herself to death for her "crime" of transforming a human into a Soul Reaper, and actively [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike yells at Ichigo for coming to rescue her]]. In the end, she manages to survive not just from the valiant efforts of her friends, but also the wise old Commander Yamamoto realizing that, although the law was broken, there are more pressing matters to attend to.
** After all of that, Rukia later submits herself to the Shiba family for killing their former leader, Kaien (who was also Rukia's mentor). After teasing her a bit, they decide they to let her off the hook.
** Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his daughter/clone Nemu have an abusive (and [[IncestSubtext implied incestuous]]) relationship whereas Nemu is completely subordinate to Mayuri and even suffers his abuse with only apology and regret for disappointing ''him''. Quite a few characters call out Mayuri on being a heartless, evil bastard for his treatment of Nemu--until later on, it's revealed that because Nemu is the first-ever ArtificialHuman and Mayuri's scientific MagnumOpus, he's willing to abuse and beat her to an agonizing state of near-death, but he is ''NOT'' willing to see her die, as it would be a "pain in the ass" for him to try and make another like her, and she's a unique design besides. Nemu sees this as Mayuri's version of "compassion".
** Rukia Kuchiki resigns herself to death for her "crime" of transforming a human into a Soul Reaper, and actively [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike yells at Ichigo for coming to rescue her]]. In the end, she manages to survive not just from the valiant efforts of her friends, but also the wise old Commander Yamamoto realizing that, although the law was broken, there are more pressing matters to attend to.
** After all of that, Rukia later submits herself to the Shiba family for killing their former leader, Kaien (who was also Rukia's mentor). After teasing her a bit, they decide they to let her off the hook.
** Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his daughter/clone Nemu have an abusive (and [[IncestSubtext implied incestuous]]) relationship whereas Nemu is completely subordinate to Mayuri and even suffers his abuse with only apology and regret for disappointing ''him''. Quite a few characters call out Mayuri on being a heartless, evil bastard for his treatment of Nemu--until later on, it's revealed that because Nemu is the first-ever ArtificialHuman and Mayuri's scientific MagnumOpus, he's willing to abuse and beat her to an agonizing state of near-death, but he is ''NOT'' willing to see her die, as it would be a "pain in the ass" for him to try and make another like her, and she's a unique design besides. Nemu sees this as Mayuri's version of "compassion".
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* Defied with Li Chin-Ming in Film/TheKidWithTheGoldenArm; Despite Hai Tao's best efforts, Li goes out of his way to fight Golden arm to maintain his reputation as a hero, [[spoiler: only to get effortlessly killed afterwards]].
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* Defied with Li Chin-Ming in Film/TheKidWithTheGoldenArm; ''Film/TheKidWithTheGoldenArm''; Despite Hai Tao's best efforts, Li goes out of his way to fight Golden arm to maintain his reputation as a hero, [[spoiler: only to get effortlessly killed afterwards]].
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%%** The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS1E9PrimeFactors "Prime Factors"]]: What Tuvok ''tries'' to do for Janeway's sake. Ultimately he determines it was logical, but an immoral breach of trust, to act behind his captain's back.
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* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible states that the one sacrificed is Isaac, while in the Qur'an, it's Ishmael)
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* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible states that the one sacrificed is Isaac, while in the Qur'an, Literature/TheQuran, it's Ishmael)Ishmael).
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** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "A Taste of Armageddon", the ''Enterprise'' encounters a planet that has been waging war with a neighboring planet for 500 years. To prevent damage to infrastructure, they've been "attacking" and calculating "casualties" via computer. Everyone on the planet has a fanatical devotion to the plan, to the point that "casualties" willingly commit suicide to uphold it. When the landing party takes one such lady captive while escaping, Spock instructs an ensign to keep her from killing herself.
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** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In [[Recap/StarTrekS1E23ATasteOfArmageddon "A Taste of Armageddon", Armageddon"]], the ''Enterprise'' encounters a planet that has been waging war with a neighboring planet for 500 years. To prevent damage to infrastructure, they've been "attacking" and calculating "casualties" via computer. Everyone on the planet has a fanatical devotion to the plan, to the point that "casualties" willingly commit suicide to uphold it. When the landing party takes one such lady captive while escaping, Spock instructs an ensign to keep her from killing herself.
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* VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition:
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* VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition: ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'':
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* In the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' episode "Code of Hero", Dinobot is seen ready to commit Seppuku, fresh from the events of "Maximal No More" and his rejection from the rest of the Maximals. He ends up stopping from his own volition, trying to pursue a redemption path that leads to [[HeroicSacrifice the events of the rest of the episode]].
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* In the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' episode [[Recap/BeastWarsS2E9CodeOfHero "Code of Hero", Hero"]], Dinobot is seen ready to commit Seppuku, fresh from the events of [[Recap/BeastWarsS2E5MaximalNoMore "Maximal No More" More"]] and his rejection from the rest of the Maximals. He ends up stopping from his own volition, trying to pursue a redemption path that leads to [[HeroicSacrifice the events of the rest of the episode]].
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* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', every ancestor of Lieutnant Dan Taylor died on a battlefield, and Dan himself indented to keep on this tradition in Vietnam. He was initially distraught Forrest saved him.
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* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', every ancestor of Lieutnant Dan Taylor died on a battlefield, and Dan himself indented intended to keep on up this tradition in Vietnam. He was initially distraught Forrest saved him.
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-->--'''Yamamoto Tsunetomo''', ''Literature/TheHagakure''
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* ''Literature/TheTamuli'': The Atan {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}} sold themselves into nominal "enslavement" (citizenship, effectively) by the Tamul Emperor when their code of honour became too extreme for their society to function. Mirtai once explains that if she were free, she would be obligated to kill anyone who touched her with their shadow.
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[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'': The AntiVillain Lord Kaneko is stuck in a MortonsFork where he's bound [[IGaveMyWord by honour]] to grant SacredHospitality to Laurence but required by law to give him up for interrogation and execution. While he's stalling for time, [[TakeAThirdOption Laurence escapes]].
[[/folder]]
* ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'': The AntiVillain Lord Kaneko is stuck in a MortonsFork where he's bound [[IGaveMyWord by honour]] to grant SacredHospitality to Laurence but required by law to give him up for interrogation and execution. While he's stalling for time, [[TakeAThirdOption Laurence escapes]].
[[/folder]]
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* In the prequel comic for ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', we're treated to the aftermath of Scorpion's humanization: turns out that the killings he did for Quan Chi took a heavy toll on him, and was about to commit seppuku after being turned back into Hanzo, thinking he didn't deserve to live. Then Kenshi snaps him out of the action, and Hanzo dedicated the rest of his life to rebuild the Shirai Ryu.
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* In the prequel comic for ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', we're treated to the aftermath of Scorpion's humanization: turns out that the killings he did for Quan Chi took a heavy toll on him, and was about to commit seppuku {{seppuku}} after being turned back into Hanzo, thinking [[DrivenToSuicide he didn't deserve to live.live]]. Then Kenshi snaps him out of the action, and Hanzo dedicated the rest of his life to rebuild the Shirai Ryu.
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* In ''ComicBook/MortalKombatX'', we're treated to the aftermath of Scorpion's humanization: turns out that the killings he did for Quan Chi took a heavy toll on him, and was about to commit seppuku after being turned back into Hanzo, thinking he didn't deserve to live. Then Kenshi snaps him out of the action, and Hanzo dedicated the rest of his life to rebuild the Shirai Ryu.
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* In ''ComicBook/MortalKombatX'', the prequel comic for ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', we're treated to the aftermath of Scorpion's humanization: turns out that the killings he did for Quan Chi took a heavy toll on him, and was about to commit seppuku after being turned back into Hanzo, thinking he didn't deserve to live. Then Kenshi snaps him out of the action, and Hanzo dedicated the rest of his life to rebuild the Shirai Ryu.
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* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible doesn't specify which of Abraham's two sons he was supposed to sacrifice: Jews and Christians believe it was Isaac, Muslims say it was their own progenitor Ishmael.)
to:
* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible doesn't specify which of Abraham's two sons he was supposed to sacrifice: Jews and Christians believe it was states that the one sacrificed is Isaac, Muslims say it was their own progenitor Ishmael.)while in the Qur'an, it's Ishmael)
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* At the end of ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}'''s first arc, NobleTopEnforcer Benawi intends to follow his Lord Inkalla [[spoiler:(whom he himself killed)]] to the grave, as is expected of a mononofu. The protagonist manages to convince him that it's better to [[HeelFaceTurn help rebuild the nation into something better]] than to waste his life here, even if it means living in dishonor.
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->"For a warrior there is nothing other than thinking of his master. ''[...]'' The lower classes will live in tranquillity if certain matters are a bit overlooked or left unheard. This fact should be understood with regard to people's conduct."
-->--'''Yamamoto Tsunetomo''', ''Literature/TheHagakure''
A character is honor-, duty- or love-bound to perform some self-destructive action, but is stopped by someone whom they trust or answer to, who tells them that hurting themselves is wrong.
This situation gets across the selflessness and "goodness" of both characters; one is willing to harm or ruin themselves to prove their integrity, resolve, loyalty or bravery, and the other party proves their benevolence by stopping them from carrying it out.
This trope is OlderThanFeudalism to the point that it's mentioned in old writings, such as ''Literature/TheHagakure''. While not unique to Japan, this is an ''extremely'' common {{Japanese Media Trope|s}} and {{Stock Aesop|s}}; subordinates must act with utter selflessness for their superior, but the superior must also be benevolent enough to know when following the rules too strictly is bad. It's a system that assumes (A) all people [[RousseauWasRight are inherently good]], and (B) [[SmallStepsHero doing good is more important than the outcome]]. The concept is also the SuperTrope for {{Moe}}; in theory, [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute making oneself cute, pleasant and lovable]] will make it more likely to receive such benevolent treatment.
As one can suspect, this is often a {{Catch 22|Dilemma}}, because complete power still lies with the superior; one might ask what happens if the victim wants to chop off their hand and someone ''doesn't'' intervene. Well, that's the rub. The usual answer is: "Any good superior ''would'' intervene, but if they don't, [[DoomedMoralVictor the victim is still a good person]]. Sucks about the hand, though."
Also, this doesn't have to be an explicit "master/subordinate" relationship, but ''any'' situation where TheFettered surrenders their own fate, such as [[TheAtoner trying to atone]] or [[DespairEventHorizon sinking into deep despair]]. In most cases, ThePowerOfFamily, ThePowerOfFriendship, or ThePowerOfLove, will save them because straight examples involve everyone doing what is noble or "right", and thus this falls heavily on Idealistic side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. It can be reversed or subverted to the ''far'' cynical side either by the victim [[ISurrenderSuckers pretending]] or [[HesitantSacrifice "chickening out"]] on their sacrifice, or by a HopeSpot where the "rescuer" [[ComeToGawk does nothing]] or [[KickTheDog even twists the knife]].
SubTrope of ThePenance and HonorBeforeReason and may involve an attempted SuicideByCop. See also PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou, and TalkingDownTheSuicidal. This is a SuperTrope to the HerosSlaveHarem, as it is explicitly the owner's refusal to abuse their slaves which makes them "heroic".
Sometimes overlaps with CantKillYouStillNeedYou or SparingTheAces, where the character is saved because they're "useful" or skilled, but this is still intended to make one party seem benevolent.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/KillLaKill'':
** Ira Gamagori is defeated by the protagonist Ryuko and prepares to commit seppuku. However, his master Satsuki appears and tells him that his sacrifice isn't necessary.
** Later on in the same series, Satsuki asks Ryuko what she can do as an apology for the way she acted earlier, and Ryuko says that she wants to punch Satsuki in the face at full strength (which would kill her). Satsuki agrees, but when Ryuko tries to punch her, Gamagori and the rest of the Elite Four each decide that they will take Ryuko's punches on Satsuki's behalf, and are actually ''pissed'' when the punch isn't fatal. After seeing their display of loyalty, Ryuko suddenly decides that she doesn't feel angry anymore.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''
** Rukia Kuchiki resigns herself to death for her "crime" of transforming a human into a Soul Reaper, and actively [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike yells at Ichigo for coming to rescue her]]. In the end, she manages to survive not just from the valiant efforts of her friends, but also the wise old Commander Yamamoto realizing that, although the law was broken, there are more pressing matters to attend to.
** After all of that, Rukia later submits herself to the Shiba family for killing their former leader, Kaien (who was also Rukia's mentor). After teasing her a bit, they decide they to let her off the hook.
** Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his daughter/clone Nemu have an abusive (and [[IncestSubtext implied incestuous]]) relationship whereas Nemu is completely subordinate to Mayuri and even suffers his abuse with only apology and regret for disappointing ''him''. Quite a few characters call out Mayuri on being a heartless, evil bastard for his treatment of Nemu--until later on, it's revealed that because Nemu is the first-ever ArtificialHuman and Mayuri's scientific MagnumOpus, he's willing to abuse and beat her to an agonizing state of near-death, but he is ''NOT'' willing to see her die, as it would be a "pain in the ass" for him to try and make another like her, and she's a unique design besides. Nemu sees this as Mayuri's version of "compassion".
* ''Anime/TweenyWitches'': [[spoiler:Atelia]] surrenders her life to the angry mob in [[spoiler:her half-human son's]] place by publicly confessing that she has hidden [[spoiler:her past forbidden relationship with Jidan to come to and stay in power]]. Her family interrupts her SuicideByCop [[spoiler:and, in the finale, the grand master not only spares her and her son but also restores her to power, allowing both of them to help rebuild the Magical Realm]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/MortalKombatX'', we're treated to the aftermath of Scorpion's humanization: turns out that the killings he did for Quan Chi took a heavy toll on him, and was about to commit seppuku after being turned back into Hanzo, thinking he didn't deserve to live. Then Kenshi snaps him out of the action, and Hanzo dedicated the rest of his life to rebuild the Shirai Ryu.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': When Frank believes he's killed a little girl during a raid on a criminal warehouse, he's about to shoot himself ("I must be punished") when [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane he thinks he sees the girl's ghost]] show him the bullets that killed her, which aren't the ones he used. He gets the body autopsied to be sure and then goes after the killers, completely out of his funk.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/BenHur1959'': After Quintus Arrius is knocked overboard and dragged to a makeshift raft by Judah, his first act on regaining consciousness is to try to kill himself, believing he'd lost the battle and the Roman fleet. Judah wrestles him into submission and knocks him out, and when they're rescued by a Roman ship, the consul learns that the Romans won. His gratitude is such that he not only keeps Judah close to him as his charioteer, but eventually adopts him as his son.
* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', every ancestor of Lieutnant Dan Taylor died on a battlefield, and Dan himself indented to keep on this tradition in Vietnam. He was initially distraught Forrest saved him.
* In ''Film/FortySevenRonin'', the titular ronin are going to commit seppuku because they have pulled a coup on Lord Kira. The shogun, however, decides to spare at least the ronin leader's son so that he could tell the story of the brave, heroic ronin to other people.
* Defied with Li Chin-Ming in Film/TheKidWithTheGoldenArm; Despite Hai Tao's best efforts, Li goes out of his way to fight Golden arm to maintain his reputation as a hero, [[spoiler: only to get effortlessly killed afterwards]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "A Taste of Armageddon", the ''Enterprise'' encounters a planet that has been waging war with a neighboring planet for 500 years. To prevent damage to infrastructure, they've been "attacking" and calculating "casualties" via computer. Everyone on the planet has a fanatical devotion to the plan, to the point that "casualties" willingly commit suicide to uphold it. When the landing party takes one such lady captive while escaping, Spock instructs an ensign to keep her from killing herself.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E16Ethics Ethics]]", Worf suffers a debilitating spinal injury and asks Riker to ritually kill him so he can die with honor. Riker points out to Worf that by Klingon tradition, the ritual in question must be performed by a family member, meaning Worf's two-year-old son Alexander would have to do it. This convinces Worf to try an experimental medical procedure instead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible doesn't specify which of Abraham's two sons he was supposed to sacrifice: Jews and Christians believe it was Isaac, Muslims say it was their own progenitor Ishmael.)
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition:
** Blackwall, as part of his personal questline, eventually reveals [[spoiler:he isn't a true Grey Warden and is actually a former mercenary named Thomas Rainier, and is a wanted man in Orlais for leading a mercenary company responsible for killing the family of an Orlesian general. The real Blackwall was a Grey Warden who crossed paths with him, and saw the potential Thomas had for good, but was killed by Darkspawn before Thomas could become a true Grey Warden. Thomas took Blackwell's name and decided he would try to aspire to be the man Blackwall believed he could be.]] After joining the Inquistor's party, he leaves for Orlais to take responsibility for his past. The Inquisitor can later intervene and order Orlais to release Blackwall into their custody to be judge. If the Inquisitor pardons him or releases him to the Grey Wardens, he redoubles his decision to help and, in turn, inspire others.
** Ser Ruth, another Grey Warden, turns herself in to the Inquisition after [[spoiler:the Inquisitor stops the Wardens from making the disastrous decision of raising a demon army to fight Darkspawn]]. She begs the Inquisitor to execute her or render some other form of harsh punishment [[MakeAnExampleOfThem to make an example]] to send the message that even Grey Wardens are not above judgment. The Inquisitor can instead choose from an extensive list of relatively light sentences (such as releasing her back into custody of her fellow Wardens or even completely absolving her). If her punishment is too normal or unremarkable for a Warden (such has sentencing her to fight in the Deep Roads), she will be upset because no one will learn from it. If the player absolves her completely, she dedicates her life to spreading word of The Maker and telling others of the Inquisitor's kindness. She sends the Inquisition a letter requesting aid in spreading her message in hostile areas, which many of your advisors believe is just another roundabout attempt at self-sacrifice. The player can, again, deny her outright or misdirect her to a different route (both of which lead to her survival) or send her equipment and let her do as she wants (in which case, she [[UncertainDoom is never heard from again]]).
* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'': Fittingly, this is a prevalent trope in the "Samurai" job questline. The [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]]'s samurai master, Musosai, demonstrates this trope at one point when a repentant traitor surrenders himself to his judgment, expecting to be beheaded for the offense. Instead, Musosai uses his sword to symbolically "cut" the evil out of the person, allowing them to go on with their life. Later, [[spoiler:Musosai reveals himself as a wanted fugitive from Kugane. Dying from an unspecified illness, Musosai trained the player for the explicit purpose of defeating and killing him in a DuelToTheDeath to enact penance for his crimes. Though the WOL does defeat him, and Musosai lay dying of his illness, the player instead repeats the same action of "cutting the evil" from Musosai so that he can die in peace. Musosai dies happily, stating that [[SoProudOfYou he has never been more proud]].]]
* At the end of the Lesuss arc in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Samara attempts to shoot herself so she doesn't have to honor-kill her last surviving daughter Falere, as the [[CodeOfHonour Justicar Code]] demands of her. A Paragon interrupt lets [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] stop her, giving Falere enough time to propose a compromise that both satisfies the Code and lets everyone live on.
* ''Videogame/XenobladeChroniclesX'':
** At one point, the Wrothian (the game's Japanese FantasyCounterpartCulture) AntiVillain Ga Buidhe decides to disobey her master Ga Jiarg and kill the protagonists, intending to protect him and her people against them despite his willingness to negotiate. When she fails, she tells the protagonists that she's willing to pay with her life, until Ga Jiarg arrives and says that, despite her disobedience, her death isn't necessary.
** During Celica's Affinity Mission, we learn that her friend Rock is in danger of being kicked out of New LA because the city can't afford "idle citizens", and despite having SuperStrength, Rock [[ActualPacifist doesn't want to fight]]. Being told that Rock will be forced out unless some sort of compensation is made, Celica asks how she can join BLADE (a paramilitary operation) and is jokingly told by the Commander that she could do a mission by herself. Celica does so without question and almost dies before Rock and the protagonists show up to save her. Later, Chief Executive Chausson still says that this isn't enough and Rock sadly announces that he's willing to fight if it means he and Celica can stay. However, Chausson says that isn't necessary because Rock can instead use his strength for heavy industry. Everyone then applauds Chausson for his generosity, and later Rock says he's hoping to one day pay Chausson back for the favor.
** One side mission has another Wrothian who wants to go on a SuicideMission to fight against Ganglion forces. The only way to talk her down from this is to remind her that dying isn't '''what her friend''' would want.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' episode "Code of Hero", Dinobot is seen ready to commit Seppuku, fresh from the events of "Maximal No More" and his rejection from the rest of the Maximals. He ends up stopping from his own volition, trying to pursue a redemption path that leads to [[HeroicSacrifice the events of the rest of the episode]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ferdinand}}'': When Valiente gets sent to a slaughterhouse after losing one of his horns, Ferdinand and the other bulls go there to break him out. Valiente initially refuses the chance to escape because he, [[BloodKnight who lives for the fight]], takes his handicap as a sign of weakness and resigns himself to his fate, but Ferdinand convinces him that there's more to life than fighting and manages to save him from death.
* In mid-season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', Jack attempts to commit {{Seppuku}} after believing that he killed a horde of mind-controlled alien children. Ashi races to find him in time to stop him, in the process meeting several people Jack helped in previous seasons and giving her the information to pull him out of his DespairEventHorizon.
[[/folder]]
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-->--'''Yamamoto Tsunetomo''', ''Literature/TheHagakure''
A character is honor-, duty- or love-bound to perform some self-destructive action, but is stopped by someone whom they trust or answer to, who tells them that hurting themselves is wrong.
This situation gets across the selflessness and "goodness" of both characters; one is willing to harm or ruin themselves to prove their integrity, resolve, loyalty or bravery, and the other party proves their benevolence by stopping them from carrying it out.
This trope is OlderThanFeudalism to the point that it's mentioned in old writings, such as ''Literature/TheHagakure''. While not unique to Japan, this is an ''extremely'' common {{Japanese Media Trope|s}} and {{Stock Aesop|s}}; subordinates must act with utter selflessness for their superior, but the superior must also be benevolent enough to know when following the rules too strictly is bad. It's a system that assumes (A) all people [[RousseauWasRight are inherently good]], and (B) [[SmallStepsHero doing good is more important than the outcome]]. The concept is also the SuperTrope for {{Moe}}; in theory, [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute making oneself cute, pleasant and lovable]] will make it more likely to receive such benevolent treatment.
As one can suspect, this is often a {{Catch 22|Dilemma}}, because complete power still lies with the superior; one might ask what happens if the victim wants to chop off their hand and someone ''doesn't'' intervene. Well, that's the rub. The usual answer is: "Any good superior ''would'' intervene, but if they don't, [[DoomedMoralVictor the victim is still a good person]]. Sucks about the hand, though."
Also, this doesn't have to be an explicit "master/subordinate" relationship, but ''any'' situation where TheFettered surrenders their own fate, such as [[TheAtoner trying to atone]] or [[DespairEventHorizon sinking into deep despair]]. In most cases, ThePowerOfFamily, ThePowerOfFriendship, or ThePowerOfLove, will save them because straight examples involve everyone doing what is noble or "right", and thus this falls heavily on Idealistic side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. It can be reversed or subverted to the ''far'' cynical side either by the victim [[ISurrenderSuckers pretending]] or [[HesitantSacrifice "chickening out"]] on their sacrifice, or by a HopeSpot where the "rescuer" [[ComeToGawk does nothing]] or [[KickTheDog even twists the knife]].
SubTrope of ThePenance and HonorBeforeReason and may involve an attempted SuicideByCop. See also PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou, and TalkingDownTheSuicidal. This is a SuperTrope to the HerosSlaveHarem, as it is explicitly the owner's refusal to abuse their slaves which makes them "heroic".
Sometimes overlaps with CantKillYouStillNeedYou or SparingTheAces, where the character is saved because they're "useful" or skilled, but this is still intended to make one party seem benevolent.
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/KillLaKill'':
** Ira Gamagori is defeated by the protagonist Ryuko and prepares to commit seppuku. However, his master Satsuki appears and tells him that his sacrifice isn't necessary.
** Later on in the same series, Satsuki asks Ryuko what she can do as an apology for the way she acted earlier, and Ryuko says that she wants to punch Satsuki in the face at full strength (which would kill her). Satsuki agrees, but when Ryuko tries to punch her, Gamagori and the rest of the Elite Four each decide that they will take Ryuko's punches on Satsuki's behalf, and are actually ''pissed'' when the punch isn't fatal. After seeing their display of loyalty, Ryuko suddenly decides that she doesn't feel angry anymore.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''
** Rukia Kuchiki resigns herself to death for her "crime" of transforming a human into a Soul Reaper, and actively [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike yells at Ichigo for coming to rescue her]]. In the end, she manages to survive not just from the valiant efforts of her friends, but also the wise old Commander Yamamoto realizing that, although the law was broken, there are more pressing matters to attend to.
** After all of that, Rukia later submits herself to the Shiba family for killing their former leader, Kaien (who was also Rukia's mentor). After teasing her a bit, they decide they to let her off the hook.
** Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his daughter/clone Nemu have an abusive (and [[IncestSubtext implied incestuous]]) relationship whereas Nemu is completely subordinate to Mayuri and even suffers his abuse with only apology and regret for disappointing ''him''. Quite a few characters call out Mayuri on being a heartless, evil bastard for his treatment of Nemu--until later on, it's revealed that because Nemu is the first-ever ArtificialHuman and Mayuri's scientific MagnumOpus, he's willing to abuse and beat her to an agonizing state of near-death, but he is ''NOT'' willing to see her die, as it would be a "pain in the ass" for him to try and make another like her, and she's a unique design besides. Nemu sees this as Mayuri's version of "compassion".
* ''Anime/TweenyWitches'': [[spoiler:Atelia]] surrenders her life to the angry mob in [[spoiler:her half-human son's]] place by publicly confessing that she has hidden [[spoiler:her past forbidden relationship with Jidan to come to and stay in power]]. Her family interrupts her SuicideByCop [[spoiler:and, in the finale, the grand master not only spares her and her son but also restores her to power, allowing both of them to help rebuild the Magical Realm]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/MortalKombatX'', we're treated to the aftermath of Scorpion's humanization: turns out that the killings he did for Quan Chi took a heavy toll on him, and was about to commit seppuku after being turned back into Hanzo, thinking he didn't deserve to live. Then Kenshi snaps him out of the action, and Hanzo dedicated the rest of his life to rebuild the Shirai Ryu.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': When Frank believes he's killed a little girl during a raid on a criminal warehouse, he's about to shoot himself ("I must be punished") when [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane he thinks he sees the girl's ghost]] show him the bullets that killed her, which aren't the ones he used. He gets the body autopsied to be sure and then goes after the killers, completely out of his funk.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/BenHur1959'': After Quintus Arrius is knocked overboard and dragged to a makeshift raft by Judah, his first act on regaining consciousness is to try to kill himself, believing he'd lost the battle and the Roman fleet. Judah wrestles him into submission and knocks him out, and when they're rescued by a Roman ship, the consul learns that the Romans won. His gratitude is such that he not only keeps Judah close to him as his charioteer, but eventually adopts him as his son.
* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', every ancestor of Lieutnant Dan Taylor died on a battlefield, and Dan himself indented to keep on this tradition in Vietnam. He was initially distraught Forrest saved him.
* In ''Film/FortySevenRonin'', the titular ronin are going to commit seppuku because they have pulled a coup on Lord Kira. The shogun, however, decides to spare at least the ronin leader's son so that he could tell the story of the brave, heroic ronin to other people.
* Defied with Li Chin-Ming in Film/TheKidWithTheGoldenArm; Despite Hai Tao's best efforts, Li goes out of his way to fight Golden arm to maintain his reputation as a hero, [[spoiler: only to get effortlessly killed afterwards]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "A Taste of Armageddon", the ''Enterprise'' encounters a planet that has been waging war with a neighboring planet for 500 years. To prevent damage to infrastructure, they've been "attacking" and calculating "casualties" via computer. Everyone on the planet has a fanatical devotion to the plan, to the point that "casualties" willingly commit suicide to uphold it. When the landing party takes one such lady captive while escaping, Spock instructs an ensign to keep her from killing herself.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E16Ethics Ethics]]", Worf suffers a debilitating spinal injury and asks Riker to ritually kill him so he can die with honor. Riker points out to Worf that by Klingon tradition, the ritual in question must be performed by a family member, meaning Worf's two-year-old son Alexander would have to do it. This convinces Worf to try an experimental medical procedure instead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* "The Binding of Isaac" in the Literature/BookOfGenesis is a story in which Abraham is tasked by {{God}} to prove his loyalty by sacrificing his son. Abraham is about to fully go through with it, but is stopped by God at the last moment. Thus, God is benevolent for sparing his loyal servant's son, and Abraham is faithful for being committed to going through with it. (The details of the story vary with telling or belief. Literature/TheBible doesn't specify which of Abraham's two sons he was supposed to sacrifice: Jews and Christians believe it was Isaac, Muslims say it was their own progenitor Ishmael.)
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition:
** Blackwall, as part of his personal questline, eventually reveals [[spoiler:he isn't a true Grey Warden and is actually a former mercenary named Thomas Rainier, and is a wanted man in Orlais for leading a mercenary company responsible for killing the family of an Orlesian general. The real Blackwall was a Grey Warden who crossed paths with him, and saw the potential Thomas had for good, but was killed by Darkspawn before Thomas could become a true Grey Warden. Thomas took Blackwell's name and decided he would try to aspire to be the man Blackwall believed he could be.]] After joining the Inquistor's party, he leaves for Orlais to take responsibility for his past. The Inquisitor can later intervene and order Orlais to release Blackwall into their custody to be judge. If the Inquisitor pardons him or releases him to the Grey Wardens, he redoubles his decision to help and, in turn, inspire others.
** Ser Ruth, another Grey Warden, turns herself in to the Inquisition after [[spoiler:the Inquisitor stops the Wardens from making the disastrous decision of raising a demon army to fight Darkspawn]]. She begs the Inquisitor to execute her or render some other form of harsh punishment [[MakeAnExampleOfThem to make an example]] to send the message that even Grey Wardens are not above judgment. The Inquisitor can instead choose from an extensive list of relatively light sentences (such as releasing her back into custody of her fellow Wardens or even completely absolving her). If her punishment is too normal or unremarkable for a Warden (such has sentencing her to fight in the Deep Roads), she will be upset because no one will learn from it. If the player absolves her completely, she dedicates her life to spreading word of The Maker and telling others of the Inquisitor's kindness. She sends the Inquisition a letter requesting aid in spreading her message in hostile areas, which many of your advisors believe is just another roundabout attempt at self-sacrifice. The player can, again, deny her outright or misdirect her to a different route (both of which lead to her survival) or send her equipment and let her do as she wants (in which case, she [[UncertainDoom is never heard from again]]).
* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'': Fittingly, this is a prevalent trope in the "Samurai" job questline. The [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]]'s samurai master, Musosai, demonstrates this trope at one point when a repentant traitor surrenders himself to his judgment, expecting to be beheaded for the offense. Instead, Musosai uses his sword to symbolically "cut" the evil out of the person, allowing them to go on with their life. Later, [[spoiler:Musosai reveals himself as a wanted fugitive from Kugane. Dying from an unspecified illness, Musosai trained the player for the explicit purpose of defeating and killing him in a DuelToTheDeath to enact penance for his crimes. Though the WOL does defeat him, and Musosai lay dying of his illness, the player instead repeats the same action of "cutting the evil" from Musosai so that he can die in peace. Musosai dies happily, stating that [[SoProudOfYou he has never been more proud]].]]
* At the end of the Lesuss arc in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Samara attempts to shoot herself so she doesn't have to honor-kill her last surviving daughter Falere, as the [[CodeOfHonour Justicar Code]] demands of her. A Paragon interrupt lets [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] stop her, giving Falere enough time to propose a compromise that both satisfies the Code and lets everyone live on.
* ''Videogame/XenobladeChroniclesX'':
** At one point, the Wrothian (the game's Japanese FantasyCounterpartCulture) AntiVillain Ga Buidhe decides to disobey her master Ga Jiarg and kill the protagonists, intending to protect him and her people against them despite his willingness to negotiate. When she fails, she tells the protagonists that she's willing to pay with her life, until Ga Jiarg arrives and says that, despite her disobedience, her death isn't necessary.
** During Celica's Affinity Mission, we learn that her friend Rock is in danger of being kicked out of New LA because the city can't afford "idle citizens", and despite having SuperStrength, Rock [[ActualPacifist doesn't want to fight]]. Being told that Rock will be forced out unless some sort of compensation is made, Celica asks how she can join BLADE (a paramilitary operation) and is jokingly told by the Commander that she could do a mission by herself. Celica does so without question and almost dies before Rock and the protagonists show up to save her. Later, Chief Executive Chausson still says that this isn't enough and Rock sadly announces that he's willing to fight if it means he and Celica can stay. However, Chausson says that isn't necessary because Rock can instead use his strength for heavy industry. Everyone then applauds Chausson for his generosity, and later Rock says he's hoping to one day pay Chausson back for the favor.
** One side mission has another Wrothian who wants to go on a SuicideMission to fight against Ganglion forces. The only way to talk her down from this is to remind her that dying isn't '''what her friend''' would want.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' episode "Code of Hero", Dinobot is seen ready to commit Seppuku, fresh from the events of "Maximal No More" and his rejection from the rest of the Maximals. He ends up stopping from his own volition, trying to pursue a redemption path that leads to [[HeroicSacrifice the events of the rest of the episode]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ferdinand}}'': When Valiente gets sent to a slaughterhouse after losing one of his horns, Ferdinand and the other bulls go there to break him out. Valiente initially refuses the chance to escape because he, [[BloodKnight who lives for the fight]], takes his handicap as a sign of weakness and resigns himself to his fate, but Ferdinand convinces him that there's more to life than fighting and manages to save him from death.
* In mid-season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', Jack attempts to commit {{Seppuku}} after believing that he killed a horde of mind-controlled alien children. Ashi races to find him in time to stop him, in the process meeting several people Jack helped in previous seasons and giving her the information to pull him out of his DespairEventHorizon.
[[/folder]]
----
