"You know what accounting's all about? Calculating how much is coming in and how much is getting spent. Every last yen. People who half-ass their numbers never do it once. The mistakes pile up and it hurts the company. Hurts people too. How long are you going to keep half-assing your own numbers, huh? If you keep giving out more than you're getting back in return, eventually there ain't going to be anything left. You get what I'm sayin'?"
— Ton, Aggretsuko
"You do not take from me. You only give."
— Archangel Mourningstar being brutally honest about its expectations of its worshippers after zapping Dorian to death for trying to bargain with it, Cassette Beasts
It was true: the other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold. In the other mother's button eyes, Coraline knew that she was a possession, nothing more. A tolerated pet, whose behavior was no longer amusing.
— Coraline
“He may be sleeping next to you, but you know damned well you’re not exactly ‘together’,” the pregnant Asuka retorted. “He’s almost had sex with you, Hell, he’s practically almost had sex at you for all you were part of it, but you’ve never made love together. That was part of the deal, right? He gives you everything, and you don’t have to give anything back. Because I was too burned-out and soul-weary to even try anymore. And I didn’t even feel worth it, deep down. But I still wanted someone to be there with me. So I wouldn’t have to be alone.”
— A Crown of Stars, chapter 1
"You fell for me, I fell for you
You think I'm great, I think you're good
And that's enough to prove
The point once more
Everybody's stupid, that's for sure"
You think I'm great, I think you're good
And that's enough to prove
The point once more
Everybody's stupid, that's for sure"
— The Sparks, "Everybody's Stupid"
"I'll share your toys, I'll share your money,
I'll share your toast, I'll share your honey,
I'll share your milk and your cookies too —
The hard part's sharing mine with you."
I'll share your toast, I'll share your honey,
I'll share your milk and your cookies too —
The hard part's sharing mine with you."
— "Sharing", Falling Up (Silverstein)
Black Siren: I don’t see why [[Laurel]]’d want to return to the living. What does she have to come back to? Zoom’s told me everything, you know. Let’s see...a mother who abandoned her, a sister who slept with her boyfriend. The boyfriend. Friends who use her for pep talks or as their personal legal aid office. It’s no wonder she just gave up and died, her shoulders were probably aching from everyone crying on them all the time.
Quentin: (after an uncomfortable silence) Well, there’s your answer. That’s why she’d want to return. To help people. Friends, family, complete strangers. It didn’t matter. She was a hero, and heroes a lot of times, they’re taken for granted. It’s a mistake I’ll never make again. But that’s who my daughter was — who she’ll always be.
Mokey: Begoony, being friendly is not about saying yes all the time. If all I do is give and give and give... then, before you know it, there's nothing left for anyone to take.
— Fraggle Rock, "The Incredible Shrinking Mokey"
Yeah I’ve been your crutch, your smell sight and touch
Yeah I took you home when you’ve drunk too much
But I can’t survive, with you by my side
See I’ll never get laid, while I’m running your life
Yeah I took you home when you’ve drunk too much
But I can’t survive, with you by my side
See I’ll never get laid, while I’m running your life
— Sia, "The Girl You Lost To Cocaine"
"Besides, what's your sister (Mabel) done for you, lately? How many times have you (Dipper) sacrificed for her, huh? And when has she ever returned the favor?"
— Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls defining Dipper and Mabel's relationship
"And where do you get off thinking being handicapped gives you the right to take and never give?'
— Jonathan Smith, Highway to Heaven "Aloha"
""I'm telling you, all them kids do is beg! 'Give me..', 'Loan me...', 'Can you spare...', and not a one of them would say, 'Here dog, here's a bone.' Now, the mother, every time I turn around, she's at my door with a cup! 'I need some flour...I need some sugar...I need some eggs...' You need to take your ass to the supermarket, that's what you need to do!"'
Narrator: Take? Is that all you think about? How about "giving" for a change? Would that be so bad?
"Always took a penny, never left a penny."
— Earl, My Name Is Earl
Raymond: She just doesn't seem to realize that love must only be granted when certain expectations are met.
Darrell: Right? It's like she learned nothing from Daddy!
— OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, "Rad Likes Robots"
"Asuka... when I'm with Rei... I feel... how could I say it... safe. I feel good. Comfortable. There's nothing for me to do. I know that she's the kind of girl... who'll love me no matter what. She'll never do anything to hurt me. She'll never scold me or tease me. She'll do everything I'll ask of her with a smile... Asuka... I... I..."
[...]
"I... I don't want a comfortable life! I don't want someone who'll make me the only goal of her existence. I'd only be hiding from reality again. And it wouldn't be fair to Rei."
[...]
"I... I don't want a comfortable life! I don't want someone who'll make me the only goal of her existence. I'd only be hiding from reality again. And it wouldn't be fair to Rei."
— Shinji Ikari, The One I Love Is..., chapter 12
"They want the same kind of one-way loyalty that Trump enjoys. They want employees who give and give, over and above their job description or what they're paid for, because 'we're a team'. But when they can qualify for a slightly higher executive bonus by firing 400 workers just before Christmas, guess what? We're a business after all."
— Amtep on American corporate management, Patheos
"Take what you can..."
"...Give nothing back."
— Jack Sparrow and Mr. Gibbs, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
"See? That just proves how little you understand your Pokémon. Your 'dream' doesn't taste good anymore. Its flavor has changed. Munna doesn't want to eat the dream inside your head anymore. Munna only stayed with you this long because you were feeding it. In exchange, Munna fought for you in Pokémon battles and enabled you to channel some amazing perception and deduction skills. You and Munna merely had a relationship of convenience. A relationship that only lasted as long as your dream. But now that your dream has ceased to appear in your head, Munna has no incentive to stay with you any longer. You and Munna never had a real friendship."
— N to Black, Pokémon Adventures
"You miss someone that loved you so much you never had to love 'em back."
— Morty, Rick and Morty, "Rest and Ricklaxtion"
"Wrecked? Check. Heart in debt
All you do is come around, just came here to collect
Wrecked? Check. Heart in debt
Don't you know that I cried tears of gold for you?
I sit here poor for you
Collect my pennies and my dimes
That's why you love it when I cry
Platinum love for you
I'd give no less for you
Generosity is my enemy
So I'm broke and your heart's rich
Because of me"
All you do is come around, just came here to collect
Wrecked? Check. Heart in debt
Don't you know that I cried tears of gold for you?
I sit here poor for you
Collect my pennies and my dimes
That's why you love it when I cry
Platinum love for you
I'd give no less for you
Generosity is my enemy
So I'm broke and your heart's rich
Because of me"
— Faouzia, "Tears of Gold"
She takes until she's had enough
And you keep paying for her love.
She says that nothing comes for free.
Well that girl's not me.
And you keep paying for her love.
She says that nothing comes for free.
Well that girl's not me.
— Miranda Murphy, "That Girl"
"Let's straighten things out here, sponge. It's give and take around here! You give it to me and I take it."
— Master Shake, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, "Super Spore"
