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Anime and Manga
"Equivalent Exchange doesn't encompass everything that goes on here, but I still choose to believe in its principle, that all things do come at a price, that there's an ebb and a flow, a cycle, that the pain we went through, did have a reward, and that anyone who's determined and perseveres, will get something of value in return, even if it's not what they expected."
— Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
"There is no point to lessons that don't bring with them pain. People can't gain anything without sacrificing something after all. A lesson without pain is meaningless. But once you overcome that pain and make it your own, you will gain an irreplaceable Fullmetal heart".
— Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist
"I don't smile, huh? You're right about that. I don't know a single person who would agree with me, but... I believe that a boxer has to earn his right to smile. And when he does, it's something that only a boxer could experience."
— Miyata Ichirou, Hajime no Ippo
"Would you like to see again the writing of this world?
Take the colours that He has chosen for you to paint with.
Take the good, the bad, and without sorting them out, accept them.
Don't cover your eyes, look at them all."
Take the colours that He has chosen for you to paint with.
Take the good, the bad, and without sorting them out, accept them.
Don't cover your eyes, look at them all."
Comic Books
Annie: One of the things about finding out what the world's really like is, you start to realise things. Connect things. You're harder to fool, because you don't want to fool yourself anymore.
Wee Hughie: An' what's the world really like, then?
Annie: It's... harder than I thought. Colder. [moves to hold his hand] But there's good stuff if you know where to look for it.
Wee Hughie: An' what's the world really like, then?
Annie: It's... harder than I thought. Colder. [moves to hold his hand] But there's good stuff if you know where to look for it.
— The Boys #26
"And though the story may have dark turns, it is so the ending might become all the brighter by comparison."
— The Clockmaker, "The Clockmaker's Daughter", Flight (2004)
Fan Works
"It's a story about happiness, and happiness—as it so happens—is all the more potent when it takes a great deal of work to get to it."
— The Narrator (Scootaloo), Appledashery
Leo: Do you really think I am that dense? That I don't realize that actual lives are on the line here? I've been part of this adventure from practically the beginning. I've seen people lose their homes and lives even before I joined this team, or did you forget that my town was practically ruled by a ravenous dragon for several years?" Do I treat this adventure of ours like a story? Certainly I do. But not all stories are nice and light and fluffy tales of happy people. I'm well aware that ours isn't. Stories can sometimes go to very dark places. So dark that sometimes it doesn't seem like there's any light at the end of the tunnel.
[...]
The point is, Ash... do I treat this like it's a story? Yes, I do. Because life is a story, and definitely not a stupid one. And there's no reason it can't have a happy ending if you work for it. After all, the best stories are the ones where characters have to earn their happy ending, and I honestly think we're on our way there, after everything we've been through. All of us are.
Ash:...You... you really think there's a happy ending? For all of us?
Leo: Hell yes. I have to, because otherwise, we might as well just give up now and let the Nilhilators win.
Ash:... Thank you, Leo. You've... given me a lot to think about.
[...]
The point is, Ash... do I treat this like it's a story? Yes, I do. Because life is a story, and definitely not a stupid one. And there's no reason it can't have a happy ending if you work for it. After all, the best stories are the ones where characters have to earn their happy ending, and I honestly think we're on our way there, after everything we've been through. All of us are.
Ash:...You... you really think there's a happy ending? For all of us?
Leo: Hell yes. I have to, because otherwise, we might as well just give up now and let the Nilhilators win.
Ash:... Thank you, Leo. You've... given me a lot to think about.
— Brave New World, Chapter 62
Nanoha: I was wrong.
Fate: Wrong?
Nanoha: There are happy endings. Maybe not always, but not never, either. You just… have to work for them. Earn them. Do something worth it.
Fate: Was it? Worth it, I mean.
Nanoha: Yes. Yes. It was worth it.
Fate: Wrong?
Nanoha: There are happy endings. Maybe not always, but not never, either. You just… have to work for them. Earn them. Do something worth it.
Fate: Was it? Worth it, I mean.
Nanoha: Yes. Yes. It was worth it.
— Game Theory, when Alicia finally wakes up
She'd made it.
After all this time and all the heartbreak, bloodshed, horror and insanity that had been flung at her, she'd finally made it to the end of her self-imposed mission. This demented quest had led her from failed rebellions to overwhelming personal loss, from dimensional travel to a war between international superpowers. It had pitted her against the vagaries of her own temper, her long-suffering loved ones, against porcelain-skinned supermen, obsessive skinless boogeymen, and her own alternate self. And now, here she was, with everything she could have possibly wanted: victory, friendship, love, maybe even genuine contentment, and best of all, a bright future on the horizon. There was still so much more to do... but for the first time, she could honestly believe that she could meet the future with a clear heart.
After all this time and all the heartbreak, bloodshed, horror and insanity that had been flung at her, she'd finally made it to the end of her self-imposed mission. This demented quest had led her from failed rebellions to overwhelming personal loss, from dimensional travel to a war between international superpowers. It had pitted her against the vagaries of her own temper, her long-suffering loved ones, against porcelain-skinned supermen, obsessive skinless boogeymen, and her own alternate self. And now, here she was, with everything she could have possibly wanted: victory, friendship, love, maybe even genuine contentment, and best of all, a bright future on the horizon. There was still so much more to do... but for the first time, she could honestly believe that she could meet the future with a clear heart.
The sad teenager she had met almost ten years ago was now a fine young man. The angry German girl was now a beautiful young woman. Shinji and Asuka had been through the worst the universe could throw at them, and while there had been stumbling blocks, they had managed to overcome them.
I will do my best. I will find my own path. It may be rough and winding, with driving wind and rain, and some days may be freezing cold. But, I know the sun will light the way, Shinji philosophized to himself. The road to here was long and arduous, but he had made a promise that he'd give his all for this exam.
Films — Animation
"You can't see paradise if you don't pedal!"
— Fowler, Chicken Run
"I'll trust my heart. What else can I do?
I can't live in dreams if my dreams are to come true.
There's a better life that's waiting! Past the mountains I must climb.
I will take a chance on love to get my once upon a time!
Oh, I want so much more, so much more than a dream!"
I can't live in dreams if my dreams are to come true.
There's a better life that's waiting! Past the mountains I must climb.
I will take a chance on love to get my once upon a time!
Oh, I want so much more, so much more than a dream!"
— More Than a Dream, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
"I remember Daddy told me
Fairy tales can come true,
But you gotta make them happen,
It all depends on you"
Fairy tales can come true,
But you gotta make them happen,
It all depends on you"
— Almost There, The Princess and the Frog
Films — Live-Action
Child: Does it come with a happy ending?
Percy: I'm afraid we can't guarantee that.
Percy: I'm afraid we can't guarantee that.
"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo; the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end... because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was, when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why."
— Samwise Gamgee, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
"When the veil of dreams has lifted,
And the fairy tales have all been told,
There's a kiss at the end of the rainbow
More precious than a pot of gold."
And the fairy tales have all been told,
There's a kiss at the end of the rainbow
More precious than a pot of gold."
— Mitch and Mickey, A Mighty Wind
"James... earn this. Earn it."
— Captain Miller, Saving Private Ryan
"The sun never sets on those who ride into it."
— The Narrator, Shock Treatment
"The idea at the ending is that in a strange way everybody gets exactly what they want although it took a mess to get that."
— Edgar Wright, on The World's End.
"This is space. It doesn't cooperate. At some point, everything's gonna go south on you... everything's going to go south and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem... and you solve the next one... and then the next. And if you solve enough problems, you get to come home."
— Mark Watney, The Martian
"Andy Dufresne: the man who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side."
— Red, The Shawshank Redemption
"Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up."
—Alfred Pennyworth, Batman Begins
"The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming."
—Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight
Little CJ: We go home now?
Christopher Johnson: Yes.
Christopher Johnson: Yes.
Literature
"Seven long years I served for thee,
The glassy hill I clomb for thee,
Thy bloody clothes I wrang for thee;
And wilt thou not waken and turn to me?
He heard, and turned to her."
The glassy hill I clomb for thee,
Thy bloody clothes I wrang for thee;
And wilt thou not waken and turn to me?
He heard, and turned to her."
"Seven years ago we all went through the flames; and the happiness of some of us since then is, we think, well worth the pain we endured."
— Dracula
"Suddenly he was afraid... The woman in front of him was an almost complete stranger. Though he had never stopped thinking about her and how much he wanted to be with her in the prison camps, it struck him so forcibly that in their nine years of marriage, this was just their fifth day together as man and wife."
— Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad
"Stepsisters slicing off toes to fit into glass slippers, little girls cutting their way out of wolves' bellies... Happily ever after doesn't come cheap, that's for sure."
— "For Lizzy", a short story by Anton Strout.
"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape."
— Estella, Great Expectations
"All that is very well," answered Candide, "but let us cultivate our garden."
"It would be a happy ending, but boy, would they go through a lot to get there. That seemed right to me. Here's to hard-won happy endings. For them and for you."
— Victor LaValle, in the Acknowledgements of his novel Lone Women
Michael Banks: Shall we, too, Mary Poppins?
Mary Poppins: Shall you, too, what?
Michael Banks: Live happily ever afterwards?
Mary Poppins: Perhaps. It all depends.
Michael Banks: What on, Mary Poppins?
Mary Poppins: On you.
Mary Poppins: Shall you, too, what?
Michael Banks: Live happily ever afterwards?
Mary Poppins: Perhaps. It all depends.
Michael Banks: What on, Mary Poppins?
Mary Poppins: On you.
Do you know I had almost lost faith in the goddess? I almost stopped believing in Her. But I realized I had to become something. I had to take what was done to me and use it to make myself into what I wanted to be. And I wanted this. And when I called Her, the goddess came.
—Julia, The Magician King
Did you mark how naturally—as if he'd been born for it—the earthborn vermin entered the new life? How all his doubts became, in the twinkling of an eye, ridiculous? I know what the creature was saying to itself! "Yes. Of course. It always was like this. All horrors have followed the same course, getting worse and worse and forcing you into a kind of bottle-neck till, at the very moment when you thought you must be crushed, behold! you were out of the narrows and all was suddenly well. The extraction hurt more and more and then the tooth was out. The dream became a nightmare and then you woke. You die and die and then you are beyond death. How could I ever have doubted it?
— Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters
Live-Action TV
"Who'd have thought? I ended up with a family. [...] The funny thing is, I fought all these battles for all these years... and now I know what for. This. I've never been so happy in my life."
— The Fourteenth Doctor, Doctor Who
"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen."
— Conan O'Brien, in his last episode of The Tonight Show
Music
"Happily ever after just takes time
Once upon this broken heart of mine."
Once upon this broken heart of mine."
— The Beu Sisters, "Once Upon a Broken Heart"
I've fought reptilian monsters;
I've crossed a bloody sea
Just to -- Meet you here --
And now I'm coming home, my dear.
"The light is warm,
Outside at dawn.
The garden has no weeds,
No grave beneath the tree.
Through the silent house
My love, after all,
Curled up in a ball,
There you are..."
I've crossed a bloody sea
Just to -- Meet you here --
And now I'm coming home, my dear.
"The light is warm,
Outside at dawn.
The garden has no weeds,
No grave beneath the tree.
Through the silent house
My love, after all,
Curled up in a ball,
There you are..."
— The Broken Bride, Part 3: The Lamb and the Dragon, by Ludo
"Badlands!
You gotta live it every day,
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you gotta pay.
Keep pushing 'til it's understood
That these Badlands start treating us good!"
You gotta live it every day,
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you gotta pay.
Keep pushing 'til it's understood
That these Badlands start treating us good!"
—Bruce Springsteen, "Badlands"
"Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones."
— Fix You, Coldplay
"only one thing really matters:
we’re still here. we’re still here.
through the static,
through the ashes
we were brave..."
we’re still here. we’re still here.
through the static,
through the ashes
we were brave..."
— "We're Still Here", by Ryan O' Neal
", by Ryan O' Neal"I've paid my dues, time after time,
I've done my sentence, but committed no crime.
And bad mistakes, I've made a few.
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face,
But I've come through."
— Queen, "We Are The Champions"
"We're neither pure nor wise nor good.
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house, and chop our wood,
And make our garden grow."
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house, and chop our wood,
And make our garden grow."
— Candide, "Make Our Garden Grow"
"The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell."
—Imagine Dragons, "It's Time"
"When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime
But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime
But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."
—Bruce Cockburn, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time"
"I fought all through the night
Oh, oh, but I made it alive
The sun's starting to rise
Oh, oh, these are beautiful times
This fight of my life is so hard, so hard, so hard
But I'm gonna survive
Oh, oh, these are beautiful times"
Oh, oh, but I made it alive
The sun's starting to rise
Oh, oh, these are beautiful times
This fight of my life is so hard, so hard, so hard
But I'm gonna survive
Oh, oh, these are beautiful times"
—Owl City, "Beautiful Times" ft. Lindsey Stirling
♫ Into a life of pain came something beautiful
Someone who loved me much as I love her
There have been trials and tribulations, and not just a few
But we made it through
And now the time's at hand... ♫
Someone who loved me much as I love her
There have been trials and tribulations, and not just a few
But we made it through
And now the time's at hand... ♫
— Randy Newman, "We're Gonna Get Married"
I know what it means to burn
That's how I began to learn.
That's how I began to learn.
— Masterplan, "Spirit Never Die"
Across the highest mountains and through the endless seas
Our journey ever onwards, fight until we all be free
Through the darkness shining the neverending light
On through the days of glory, rise towards the fight
And one day we will find a way
Towards this distant golden age
The cries of war will sound the day
We stand before the dawn of a new world.
Our journey ever onwards, fight until we all be free
Through the darkness shining the neverending light
On through the days of glory, rise towards the fight
And one day we will find a way
Towards this distant golden age
The cries of war will sound the day
We stand before the dawn of a new world.
—DragonForce, "Dawn Over a New World''
Tabletop Games
The tenth and final Sphere is Judgement: bliss and damnation are at hand.
As mages progress, they suffer. Thus it always has been regardless of time, place or culture. Mystical understanding blossomed into the nine-sided jewel of the Spheres, but the singular brilliance of that achievement is hidden behind a veil of pain. The Traditions call the journey the Path of Thorns: a trail that has bled their fellowship to the last drop. Now we reach the end of that bitter road, to discover why Ascension and Armageddon are one. Their torment is, in the end, the key to victory.
—Mage: The Ascension - Ascension
Video Games
"No more crying. Smile. My wrath... is finally... gone. Durga... I'll be home soon..."
— Asura, Asura's Wrath
"Only the strong ones
Can stand the test of time
Caught in between these two worlds
Finding our way
The sun will rise
To pierce the skies
When this wonderful world
Starts to shine"
Can stand the test of time
Caught in between these two worlds
Finding our way
The sun will rise
To pierce the skies
When this wonderful world
Starts to shine"
— Dark Chronicle, "Time is Changing"
If you would ever see peace again, make war now with all your heart!
— Farseer Taldeer, Dawn of War
"People who want happy endings have to write their own."
— Paine, Final Fantasy X2
"now, the grand star rises.
did you ever see it from here?
everything that I have become
you
stayed
near
let our days as deities shuffle quiet into the past
you and I, can live and die
as lovers at last."
did you ever see it from here?
everything that I have become
you
stayed
near
let our days as deities shuffle quiet into the past
you and I, can live and die
as lovers at last."
— Gyossait, Gyossait
"Dawn of A New Day"
"It's time to walk away, for good this time, leaving the pain and the ugliness behind. After all I've been through, I've earned a little peace."
Kings and queens of wasteland we were
And already forgotten the reasons to fight
From the day we were born was bloodshed forever
We've seen enough comrades go dead in the night
And kings and queens of wasteland we still are
After so many fights, the ground all in blood
Today is the day we all call ourselves free
And we throw all our weapons into the sludge.
And already forgotten the reasons to fight
From the day we were born was bloodshed forever
We've seen enough comrades go dead in the night
And kings and queens of wasteland we still are
After so many fights, the ground all in blood
Today is the day we all call ourselves free
And we throw all our weapons into the sludge.
— Nuclear Throne, "Kings and Queens of Wasteland"
"If we were ever to do another Portal, I would like for Chell to kind of... she's been through a lot. Let her have her day."
— Erik Wolpaw, Portal 2 writer
Kerrigan: You about ready to get out of here, cowboy?
Raynor: (smiles) Hell, it's about time.
"The blackest night yields to brightest dawn."
— The Leper, Darkest Dungeon, on becoming Stalwart
"This life is a hardship, Billy. It is long and it is paved with heartbreak. You will be old before you reach road's end. Just remember, my boy; it will end better than it began."
—Zofia Blazkowicz, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
I am free — after everything Mother has done to me — I am alive and sane enough to be curious about the sun. When you rescued my new Sisters, I felt every one. And it gave me hope for the first time in years. Now, I will do the same for all the others — starting with this one.
—Eleanor Lamb, Bioshock 2
"It's our turn
To get back
To grab the future which we fully believe
And it's not given to us
It's earned."
To get back
To grab the future which we fully believe
And it's not given to us
It's earned."
— Persona 5 Royal, "I Believe"
"Morinth haunted my dreams and waking hours equally. For the first time in four hundred years, I am free. I am a ruined vessel of sorrow and regret, but I am free. It is not a feeling I can describe."
— Samara, Mass Effect 2
Visual Novel
Our pasts may be scattered and at times overshadowed by sadness, but they're also an irrevocable part of our lives and personalities. Even if I could change a single thing, I wouldn't, because my past was what led me here. That's why, even with all that's happened to us before, and all that may well befall us... together, we'll keep walking forwards. Forwards... towards the future. Our future.
—Katawa Shoujo, "Forwards, with Gusto!", Lilly's Good Ending
...And for the first time in a long, long while, you feel like everything is going to be okay.
—Mother of the Year, after the protagonist goes through a long custody battle with her abusive ex to keep her daughter and finally wins.
"HAPPY ENDINGS SHOULDN'T ALWAYS COME EASILY. REALITY... IS NOT SO KIND."
"BUT YOU'VE EARNED THIS ONE. HERE'S YOUR TRUE ENDING."
"BUT YOU'VE EARNED THIS ONE. HERE'S YOUR TRUE ENDING."
—TRAGEDY, BAD END THEATER
Webcomics
"Do not check up on me if you think she's asleep. You need to make her your world tonight. You both need to trust I'm as cool with this as I say I am. I know that's tough for you, but happy endings ain't for wimps."
Roy: C'mon Elan, time for you to go to bed.
Elan: But I'm waiting for my happy ending!
Roy: Elan, you can't just stand around waiting for that prophecy. You have to go out and make it happy.
Elan: But the Oracle said—
Roy: Yeah, I know, but trust me on this: that happy ending of yours will be a lot more satisfying when you end up earning it on your own.
Elan: But I'm waiting for my happy ending!
Roy: Elan, you can't just stand around waiting for that prophecy. You have to go out and make it happy.
Elan: But the Oracle said—
Roy: Yeah, I know, but trust me on this: that happy ending of yours will be a lot more satisfying when you end up earning it on your own.
Western Animation
Eddy: We did it, Double D! Everyone loves us! We're finally in, baby!
Edd/Double D: And it only took 130 episodes, 4 specials, and a movie, Eddy!
Ed: Let's sing a song!
Edd/Double D: And it only took 130 episodes, 4 specials, and a movie, Eddy!
Ed: Let's sing a song!
Chief Wiggum: Well, we made a terrible, terrible mistake. Uh, it won't happen again.
Krusty the Clown: IT BETTER NOT, you dimwit!
Homer Simpson: Krusty, I'm man enough to admit I was wrong, and I'm sorry I fingered you in court. I sincerely hope that the horrible stories I heard about what goes on in prison are exaggerated.
Krusty: Well, the important thing is that I regain the trust of the children. But there was one boy who trusted me all along. Bart? (to Bart) Bart?
Bart: Yes?
Krusty the Clown: Thank you!
[after the camera shot of Krusty and Bart, we see new merchandise in Bart's bedroom as Krusty is bailed out of jail]
Krusty the Clown: IT BETTER NOT, you dimwit!
Homer Simpson: Krusty, I'm man enough to admit I was wrong, and I'm sorry I fingered you in court. I sincerely hope that the horrible stories I heard about what goes on in prison are exaggerated.
Krusty: Well, the important thing is that I regain the trust of the children. But there was one boy who trusted me all along. Bart? (to Bart) Bart?
Bart: Yes?
Krusty the Clown: Thank you!
[after the camera shot of Krusty and Bart, we see new merchandise in Bart's bedroom as Krusty is bailed out of jail]
— The Simpsons, "Krusty Gets Busted" after Sideshow Bob is arrested.
"Girls, call the police! This crook isn't going to deceive us, Anymore!"
— Professor, The Power Puff Girls 1998, "Mommy Fearest"
"It made us feel good again too! And I got my trophy back! Now I am really the happiest citizens of Townsville! HOORAY!!!"
—- Bubbles, The Power Puff Girls 1998, "The City of Frownsville"
I know I was in a pretty dark place after I was poisoned. But I finally understand why I had to go through all that. I needed to understand what true suffering was so I could become more compassionate to others. Even to people like Kuvira.
[Asami interrupts, and Korra secures her happy ending.]
[Asami interrupts, and Korra secures her happy ending.]
— Korra, The Legend of Korra, "The Last Stand"
Rutabaga: Hey. Do you need the movie star speech?
Carolyn: Yeah.
Rutabaga: Okay. Carolyn, you are the star of a movie. This is the part of the movie where you get your heart broken. Where the world tests you, and people treat you like shit. But it has to happen this way. Otherwise, the end of the movie, when you get everything you want, won't feel as rewarding. There are assholes out there, but in the end, they don’t matter. Because this movie's not about them. It’s never been about them. All this time, the movie’s been about you.
Carolyn: Yeah.
Rutabaga: Okay. Carolyn, you are the star of a movie. This is the part of the movie where you get your heart broken. Where the world tests you, and people treat you like shit. But it has to happen this way. Otherwise, the end of the movie, when you get everything you want, won't feel as rewarding. There are assholes out there, but in the end, they don’t matter. Because this movie's not about them. It’s never been about them. All this time, the movie’s been about you.
— Bojack Horseman, "Higher Love"
Spider-Man: Well, Madame Web, where to now?
Madame Web: Face front, true believer. We are going to find the real Mary Jane Watson.
Spider-Man: (amazed) What?
Madame Web: It has been a long, hard journey, and I think you are finally entitled to some happiness.
Spider-Man: Amen to that, dear lady. Amen to that.
— Spider-Man: The Animated Series, "Spider Wars Part 2: Farewell, Spider-Man"
"I think we finally won."
— Sypha Belnades, Castlevania (2017)
Dracula: (holds hands with his wife Lisa) I'm not going to be better without you.
Lisa Tepes: And I was never going to be better without you. We have a second chance.
Dracula: And a brand-new future. (closes his eyes smiling, then goes to sleep with Lisa in their room together as the lantern turns off, later showing Dracula and Lisa still holding hands while forming a heart shape, symbolizing their love and their newfound happiness at their new life as the screen fades out to black)
— Castlevania (2017), "It's Been a Strange Ride".
Wrestling
"Sometimes it is hell trying to get to heaven."
Real Life
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
— G. K. Chesterton, paraphrased by Neil Gaiman
"In a fairy-tale our heroes have to walk through the dark forest, kill the monsters, evade the giant spiders but the important thing, without which the story could never be written, is that they emerge from the other side, into the light. [...] You need tragic relief. You need darkness for the light to show up. A truly dark novel would be a forest with no way out."
"Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
"Sometimes you have to go through hell to get to heaven."
— Unknown
"I think we deserve a soft epilogue, my love. We are good people, and we've suffered enough."
—Nikka Ursula
