It's not too bad being a footnote to a legend.
Everything is my fault apparently. Ate the last spotted dick pudding in the fridge: my fault. Crashed a car into the worlds' first British Dairy Queen: my fault. Unknowingly shot Archduke Ferdinand and blamed it on some other guy: oh, MY FAULT!
— Alucard, Hellsing Ultimate Abridged
In the centuries after, he collected eyewitness testimonies. Pliny the Younger and other historians gave a great accounting of the disaster that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. Some eighteen hundred years later, the first excavations of the cities revealed grotesqueries, shapes of despair frozen in ash and preserved in plaster by archaeologists. Gray husks of mothers bent over children, of dogs chained helplessly to walls. They had known they were going to die. They'd had moments to prepare, to wait. Squeeze shut their eyes, hold their breath, and hope that they would survive the flood of ash. Seeing photographs of those cast figures so many years later, Gaius felt that stab of triumph all over again. That thrill of realization: he had done it, he had caused this terrible thing to happen, this explosion of the Earth.
And he could do it again.
—Bellum Romanum, by Carrie Vaughn
If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history. It's me. I caused it.
—The Doctor, Doctor Who, "The Fires of Pompeii"
Inquisitor: This Elder One thinks he can become divine? That's the oldest conceit of mortals!
Envy Demon: He knows. He was there.
Envy Demon: He knows. He was there.
"I've lived hundreds of lifetimes and sat in the shadows of countless figures. I was a priest to Ramesses the Second, a personal scribe to Hammurabi of Babylon, a general in Julius Caesar's army, caretaker to Peter the First of Russia, a counselor to warlord Genghis Khan, adjutant to Napoleon Bonaparte, advisor to Adolf Hitler, and a friend and ally to Alexander the Great. I helped many of these great leaders in their quests to conquer the world… and only a handful of them ever succeeded. But now… I intend to take their dreams a step further."
— Kaiser Talos, Dragonball Z: Legacies
Dr. Vivienne Graham: All those nuclear bomb tests in the 50s. Not tests.
Dr. Ishirō Serizawa: They were trying to kill it.
Dr. Ishirō Serizawa: They were trying to kill it.
— Drs. Graham and Serizawa explaining the existence of Godzilla to Ford Brody, Godzilla (2014)
"You're worse than animals. Your instincts revolve around fear - you hate, you covet, you cause centuries of agony, and all because you're scared to trust the other guy. Your fear is a palpable thing, John. You wear it like a second skin. I should know. I killed the first man on Earth. Believe me, he was dripping with it. And before you accuse me of planting poisoned apples in your spiritual Eden, let me point out that two hours before I found him, the idiot had killed his eldest son... in an argument... over a mango."
—The King of the Vampires, Hellblazer: Rough Trade
"My father helped defeat Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown, would call that being a hero."
—Tony Stark on Howard Stark, Iron Man
"I am not a caveman. I am a visionary. A veteran and orchestrator of every significant war mankind has ever had. And I will continue to shape the world for the war of tomorrow. My tomorrow."
Marcus Parks: And here's another interesting thing to ponder. Russia would have gotten into World War I with or without Rasputin, and the chaos and failures of World War I helped to push Nicholas out of power. The question is, would the Romanovs have been able to hold onto their power had they not allowed Rasputin into their lives?
Ben Kissel: Would they have been able to hold onto their power if they had not let Rasputin into their lives?
Marcus: (increasingly frantic) Would Russia have emerged from World War I as a constitutional monarchy instead of the eventual Soviet Union, possibly morphing even further into something resembling what England has?
Ben: What- what your question was, to you!
Marcus: That definitely isn't for us to say— we're not historians. But, the fact that we're even questioning the role of this country bumpkin flim-flammer in the context of the spread of Communism, the Cold War, and even the mess we find ourselves in today with Russia is a testament to how one man can bumble his way into changing the course of history for centuries to come.
Henry Zebrowski: Forrest Gump, but horny.
Ben Kissel: Would they have been able to hold onto their power if they had not let Rasputin into their lives?
Marcus: (increasingly frantic) Would Russia have emerged from World War I as a constitutional monarchy instead of the eventual Soviet Union, possibly morphing even further into something resembling what England has?
Ben: What- what your question was, to you!
Marcus: That definitely isn't for us to say— we're not historians. But, the fact that we're even questioning the role of this country bumpkin flim-flammer in the context of the spread of Communism, the Cold War, and even the mess we find ourselves in today with Russia is a testament to how one man can bumble his way into changing the course of history for centuries to come.
Henry Zebrowski: Forrest Gump, but horny.
— The Last Podcast on the Left Episode 312 ("Rasputin Part III: The Rise of Rasputin")
"I swear to you, every single mother and daughter, father and son taken from us by the Black Plague will be avenged! It is their Witch Queen who brought this curse upon our lands!"
—Belial, The Last Witch Hunter
"So many of us pretend to be something that we're not. But you, you've lived. A man who's walked through history. To have known Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler..."
—The Witch Queen to Kaulder, The Last Witch Hunter
Supposedly the Thames dragon wrote most of Pink Floyd's stuff. At least after Syd Barrett left, but there's no way to prove it.
—Poppy, The Magician King
Caleb Colton: How old are you?
Jesse Hooker: Let's put it this way: I fought for the South.
Caleb: South?
Jesse: We lost.
Jesse Hooker: Let's put it this way: I fought for the South.
Caleb: South?
Jesse: We lost.
It was 1204. Need I remind you of a singular emergence in Mongolia just two years later? Of course not, his name was Temujin - later Genghis Khan! With a party of Uighurs I joined him and helped subdue and unite the last of the rowdy Mongol tribes, until all Mongolia was finally united. I proved myself a capable warlord and he showed me some respect. With some small effort I was able to change my features until I looked the part; that is to say I willed my vampire flesh into a new mould. The Khan knew that I was not a Mongol, of course, but at least I was acceptable. And later he would have many mercenaries in his command, so that my participation was in no way a rare thing. I was with him against the Chin, when we penetrated the Great Wall, and after his death I was there to see the total obliteration of the Chin Empire. I passed my 'loyalty' down to Genghis's grandson, Batu. I could have offered my services to other Mongol Khans, but Batu's objective was Europe! It was one thing to return a man alone, but another to go back as a general in a Mongol army!
— Faethor Ferenczy, Necroscope II: Wamphyri
Sabrina: ...so that's why [the Parthenon]'s in ruins?
Hilda: Yes. But History blamed the Turks.
Hilda: Yes. But History blamed the Turks.
She glided through vital points of history. She watched Mesopotamia rise. She called pharaohs and queens lovers. She confounded emperors in Rome, manipulated popes. She has been Isthar, Athena, and Juno - priestess, seductress, scientist, goddess. She led cults to sun worship. She led armies of demons. She watched holy wars, sometimes with glee, sometimes with regret.
—The Buzzing, on Lilith, The Secret World
The Irishman paused his tale to answer a question on the television. "Would anyone happen to know who opposed Richard The Lion Heart in the Third Crusade?"
"B," Yulric answered.
"Saladin? Are you sure?" asked Jack suspiciously.
"Quite," responded Yulric, his hand unconsciously straying to the place where his throat had met with the blade of Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub.
"B," Yulric answered.
"Saladin? Are you sure?" asked Jack suspiciously.
"Quite," responded Yulric, his hand unconsciously straying to the place where his throat had met with the blade of Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub.
— An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel
I mention the Renaissance, not because it was an important time for the family, but because our more distant relatives as a whole linger over memories of the age, savoring them like a soup bone: the elders who played at sophistication sharpened their fangs on Machiavelli, and discovered that this interesting Alighieri person had been composing some poetry. Most remarkable — most frustrating — of all was the incredible way that they began to claim that they'd been involved in these advances all along — as if they'd been sipping vitae in Boccaccio's studio instead of cowering under bridges, hiding from Inquisitors.
—Vampire: The Masquerade — Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)
How many historic events have only the two of us witnessed together, Ronald? How often did we make or change history? And our names can never grace any pages of record. No monument will ever bear our image. And yet once again, tonight, the course of human history will be set by two unknown men... standing in the shadows.
— The Cigarette-Smoking Man, The X-Files, "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man"
Pocus: I'm an old pooka, kid. I've seen things.
Zatanna: How old is old?
Pocus: Well, you know the story of King Arthur and the Round Table? It was triangle-shaped before I talked him out of it.
Zatanna: How old is old?
Pocus: Well, you know the story of King Arthur and the Round Table? It was triangle-shaped before I talked him out of it.
Let me tell you a story. Sicily, 1912. Picture this; two young girls, best friends, who shared three things; a pizza recipe, some dough, and a dream. Everything is going great until one day, a fast-talking pepperoni salesman gallops into town. Of course, both girls are impressed. He dates one one night, the other the next night; pretty soon, he drives a wedge between them. Before you know it, the pizza suffers, the business suffers, the friendship suffers. The girls part company and head for America, never to see each other again. Rose, one of those girls was me. The other one, you probably know as Mama Celeste.
— Sophia Petrillo, The Golden Girls
