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Fan Works
Duck: Feh! Would I ever let you down?
Lexi: You have before!
Duck: Well then, madame... I will make a conscious effort not to! In fact, I'll reform my way! You see, the instant before my death, I saw my life flash before my eyes...
Lexi You don't even remember it!
Duck Nevertheless, I have looked into my past and i have seen ugliness! Oh no, no more of that! I'm a changed man!
Lexi: You have before!
Duck: Well then, madame... I will make a conscious effort not to! In fact, I'll reform my way! You see, the instant before my death, I saw my life flash before my eyes...
Lexi You don't even remember it!
Duck Nevertheless, I have looked into my past and i have seen ugliness! Oh no, no more of that! I'm a changed man!
— The Fragile, Chapter 23
Thor: I've...never felt like this...it's...
Loki: It's character growth. Kicks in around the third act.
Loki: It's character growth. Kicks in around the third act.
Film — Animated
"Okay. Here we go. Focus. Speed. I... am... speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast. ...did I use to say that?"
— Lightning McQueen, Cars 3
"I came here for an arrogant little legend, who thought he was immortal. But I don't see him anymore."
— The Wolf to Puss, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Film — Live-Action
"I used to think I knew it all and then everything needed changing. Now I know the best thing is to contribute, to be part of a team. We're good at that, lions."
— Suki, Pride (2004 BBC film)
Literature
Kaya: Speaking Rain's different now, Kautsa.
Kautsa: Do you mean she's grown?
Kaya: She's a little taller, that's true, and her face is rounder. But she's grown inside. She seems older. I always looked out for her. Now, she doesn't seem to need my help anymore.
Kautsa: Do you mean she's grown?
Kaya: She's a little taller, that's true, and her face is rounder. But she's grown inside. She seems older. I always looked out for her. Now, she doesn't seem to need my help anymore.
"For all his faults, Quentin had been his best friend here, and really, he'd just been coming into his own. That last adventure had been good for him. It had worn away the last of his adolescent self-consciousness, letting his better nature - his curiosity, his intelligence, his fanatical loyalty, his wounded heart - show through."
"He cursed himself for his refusal of their offer, even while his stubborn manhood revolted at the thought, and he knew that were he taken forth and given another chance, his reply would be the same. He would not sell his subjects to the butcher. And yet it had been with no thought of anyone's gain but his own that he had seized the kingdom originally. Thus subtly does the instinct of sovereign responsibility enter even a red-handed plunderer sometimes."
"Kyoshi kept her eyes focused on her difficult path, sometimes stumbling but making sure to catch herself, taking one step at a time."
Live-Action TV
"You have come a long way G'Kar. Further than I could have guessed."
— Delenn, Babylon 5
"Well, people change. Living with you can't be easy, Sharon."
— Dorien Green, Birds of a Feather, "Three Up, Two Down"
Margo: Who are we now, El? We used to be glamorous, amazing mega-bitches. And now?
Eliot: We have... depth. And... character.
[Margo looks horrified]
Eliot: We have... depth. And... character.
[Margo looks horrified]
Q: I gave you something most mortals never experience. A second chance at life. And now all you can do is complain?
Picard: I can't live out my days as that person. That man is bereft of passion and imagination! That is not who I am!
Q: Au contraire, he's the person you wanted to be. One who was less arrogant, and undisciplined as a youth. One who was less like me. The Jean-Luc Picard you wanted to be, the one who did not fight the Nausicaan, had quite a different career from the one you remember. That Picard never had a brush with death, never came face to face with his own mortality, never realized how fragile life is or how important each moment must be. So his life never came into focus. He drifted for much of his career, with no plan or agenda, going from one assignment to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves. He never led the away team on Milika Three to save the ambassador, or take charge of the Stargazer's Bridge when its Captain was killed. And no one ever offered him a command. He learned to play it safe. And he never, ever got noticed by anyone.
Picard: You're right, Q. You gave me the chance to change and I took the opportunity. But I admit now, it was a mistake.
Q: Are you asking me for something, Jean-Luc?
Picard: Give me a chance to put things back the way they were before.
Q: Before you died in Sickbay. Is that what you want?
Picard: I would rather die as the man I was than live the life I just saw.
Picard: I can't live out my days as that person. That man is bereft of passion and imagination! That is not who I am!
Q: Au contraire, he's the person you wanted to be. One who was less arrogant, and undisciplined as a youth. One who was less like me. The Jean-Luc Picard you wanted to be, the one who did not fight the Nausicaan, had quite a different career from the one you remember. That Picard never had a brush with death, never came face to face with his own mortality, never realized how fragile life is or how important each moment must be. So his life never came into focus. He drifted for much of his career, with no plan or agenda, going from one assignment to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves. He never led the away team on Milika Three to save the ambassador, or take charge of the Stargazer's Bridge when its Captain was killed. And no one ever offered him a command. He learned to play it safe. And he never, ever got noticed by anyone.
Picard: You're right, Q. You gave me the chance to change and I took the opportunity. But I admit now, it was a mistake.
Q: Are you asking me for something, Jean-Luc?
Picard: Give me a chance to put things back the way they were before.
Q: Before you died in Sickbay. Is that what you want?
Picard: I would rather die as the man I was than live the life I just saw.
Tabletop Games
"Character is forged upon the anvil of conflict, hammered by circumstance and shaped by will."
— Warmaster Slaydo, Warhammer 40,000
Video Games
Ángel: Wasn't that gonna go to your escape fund?
Krohnen: That snivelling brat wouldn't stop whimpering. And her babysitters looked like they were about to start trouble. Consider it damage control. Wouldn't want them snitching on us again, either.
Ángel: Ahaha! You've changed, K9999... Not quite so immature anymore, are you?
Krohnen: That snivelling brat wouldn't stop whimpering. And her babysitters looked like they were about to start trouble. Consider it damage control. Wouldn't want them snitching on us again, either.
Ángel: Ahaha! You've changed, K9999... Not quite so immature anymore, are you?
"What can change the nature of a man?"
— Arc Words from Planescape: Torment
Webcomics
"Oh, what it must be like to see reflections of yourself and have these childish creatures staring back at you... Your mind is changing, Mary. You are beginning to see past your own selfish desires. To be honest, I find it quite admirable."
Yukimi: It's [...] funny to see you so confident now, giving love advice and such. I almost forgot how shy yet impulsive you were when we were younger. You've really changed a lot over the years.
Aruka: ...is that so?
Yukimi: Hey, but you're still you. Maybe a little more mature and less reckless, but you're still the easily embarrasssed girl I fell in love with.
Aruka: ...is that so?
Yukimi: Hey, but you're still you. Maybe a little more mature and less reckless, but you're still the easily embarrasssed girl I fell in love with.
"People don't just change who they are inside in an instant. It doesn't work like that. It takes time, so you don't even know you're changing. Until one day, you're just a little bit different than you used to be and you can't even tell what the hell happened."
— Belkar, The Order of the Stick
Web Original
"Your characters are like geodes. If you want to see what they’re really made of, you must break them."
— Writing tips blog
Web Video
"Everyone starts out as a generic character. A palette that we, the audience, can recognize as easily as we recognize shapes. Homer was a clumsy dad, Marge was the loving mother, Bart was the hellraiser, Lisa was the brainy kid, and Maggie was... well, the baby. It's only when you attach their individual stories and actions that they actually become unique characters."
"You're not the same scared little boy who escaped into Video Games: you've had a whole Character Arc n' shit!"
— Kazuto Kirigaya, Sword Art Online Abridged
Critic: So I'm just a character?
Doug: Well, you were at first, but now... you're something else.
Critic: What?
Doug: Evolved.
Critic: What do you mean?
Doug: Think about it. Would the dictator from Kickassia actually give a shit about his friends? Would the money-grubbing egomaniac from Suburban Knights actually give a crap about a dead Indian boy? (NC wiggles his hand and rocks his head back and forth as if to say, "Maybe") I didn't expect that when I started writing you long ago; but ever since then, you've changed. You've literally leapt off the page and taken on a life of your own. It became less of me writing you what to do and you telling me what to write.
Doug: Well, you were at first, but now... you're something else.
Critic: What?
Doug: Evolved.
Critic: What do you mean?
Doug: Think about it. Would the dictator from Kickassia actually give a shit about his friends? Would the money-grubbing egomaniac from Suburban Knights actually give a crap about a dead Indian boy? (NC wiggles his hand and rocks his head back and forth as if to say, "Maybe") I didn't expect that when I started writing you long ago; but ever since then, you've changed. You've literally leapt off the page and taken on a life of your own. It became less of me writing you what to do and you telling me what to write.
Kaiba: Mokey, I believe I'm experiencing character development.
Mokuba: Wow, what does that feel like?
Kaiba: It kinda tingles. From this day forth, I'm going to be a huge jerk with a stick up my ass the size of East Texas.
Mokuba: Wow, what does that feel like?
Kaiba: It kinda tingles. From this day forth, I'm going to be a huge jerk with a stick up my ass the size of East Texas.
— Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, ep. 48
Western Animation
Snotlout: I'm not leaving anyone behind!
Hiccup: Since when?
Snotlout: Since now! Don't ask me why! I suddenly feel like being selfless and heroic.
Hiccup: Since when?
Snotlout: Since now! Don't ask me why! I suddenly feel like being selfless and heroic.
Fluttershy: Everypony, stop! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, but I need everypony to respect mine. Other ponies may be experts in their fields, but animals are my field of expertise. And if I say this is what I want, then this is what needs to happen! Oh, um, for the animals of course.
Pinkie Pie: Wow! We should call you "Flutterbold" now!
Amity: And today, I'll show Luz that I am an awesome girlfriend.
King: Feels like just a few months ago that you almost got her dissected by your crazy principal.
Gus: That was a few months ago.
King: Feels like just a few months ago that you almost got her dissected by your crazy principal.
Gus: That was a few months ago.
Spider-Man: Y'know, for so long, I thought that I never got any breaks. But now, after all I've been through, for once I like my life. I like myself and for the first time ever, I wouldn't wanna change anything about me.
Stan Lee: Gee, you're definitely not the guy I've been writing about all these years.
Spider-Man: Well Stan, we all have to grow up sometime, I suppose. Even us characters of fiction.
Stan Lee: Gee, you're definitely not the guy I've been writing about all these years.
Spider-Man: Well Stan, we all have to grow up sometime, I suppose. Even us characters of fiction.
— Spider-Man: The Animated Series, "Spider Wars, Part 2: Farewell, Spider-Man"
Lars: That's pretty smart. When did you get so mature?
Steven: Somewhere in between learning to summon my shield and finding out my Mom was a war criminal.
Steven: Somewhere in between learning to summon my shield and finding out my Mom was a war criminal.
Miscellaneous
"Patrick's transformation is amazing. It's almost impossible to believe it's the same boy we met yesterday."
— Kiki King on Patrick Otema, Unreported World
, Unreported World