Anime and Manga
"Weed, your spirit is too pure."
— Jerome, Ginga Densetsu Weed
Fan Works
"I came to Miss Granger in the hallways wearing the appearance of Professor Sprout, to offer her a conspiracy. My first attempt at suasion failed. I Obliviated her and tried again with a new presentation. The second bait failed. The third bait failed. The tenth bait failed. I was so frustrated that I began going through my entire library of guises, including those more appropriate to Mr. Zabini. Still nothing worked. The child would not violate her childish code."
— Professor Quirrell / Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Film
"Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth."
''"This rotten town. Those it can't corrupt it soils. It soiled you, John Hartigan.""'
—Nancy Callahan, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Literature
Watchmen across half the continent will say that Sam Vimes is as straight as an arrow, can't be corrupted, won't be turned, never took a bribe.
"People have tried to use him from the moment he put out his hand and summoned his lightsaber to come to him. Vader wanted to turn him. Palpatine wanted his services. Palpatine's clone managed to enslave him for a time. But Luke is strong, stronger than he knows. And Luke has a single purpose. I suppose you could say that he has a pure heart. Luke doesn't hunger after power. In some ways I don't think he understands those who do."
— Callista, about Luke Skywalker
Good characters in fiction are the very devil. Not because most authors have little material to make them of, but because we as readers have a strong subconscious wish to find them incredible.
— C. S. Lewis, The Novels of Charles Williams
But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.
— Raymond Chandler, "The Simple Art of Murder"
"Chaos claims the unwary or the incomplete. A true man may flinch away from its embrace, if he is stalwart, and he girds his soul with the armour of contempt."
— Gideon Ravenor, The Spheres of Longing
Music
She was like April skies
Sunrise in her eyes
Child of light
Shining star
Fire in her heart...
Sunrise in her eyes
Child of light
Shining star
Fire in her heart...
— "October & April", by The Rrasmus
Video Games
You appear to be... The docile type. You're very kindhearted. Very helpful. You can make friends with anyone. You're a wonderful person. ......Is that going overboard? I don't think so. You yourself should be the best judge of that.
— The first Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game, if you get a docile character on the opening quiz
Tempered by the fires of Hell, his iron will remained steadfast through the passage that preys upon the weak. For he alone was the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, who sought retribution in all quarters, dark and light, fire and ice, in the beginning and the end, and he hunted the slaves of Doom with barbarous cruelty; for he passed through the divide as none but demon had before. And in his conquest against the blackened souls of the doomed, his prowess was shown. In his crusade, the Seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples. He set forth without pity upon the beasts of the nine circles. Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doom Slayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.
— Slayer's Testaments II and III, Doom (2016)
Webcomics
"This girl is ... absurd! I can clearly sense spells I should be able to give her. She clearly has fantasies of transforming other people with reckless abandon! Transformations based in irony, comedy, new experiences, lesson teaching, complete randomness, pure fetish, and more! And yet, she has goodness so central to her core that I can't actually give her any of them!"
— Pandora thinking about
Ashley, El Goonish Shive
Ashley, El Goonish Shive"Elan is the best man I've ever met. Sure he's a little dumb sometimes. Most of the time. But he's... I don't know. Pure. Honest. Better than I am, that's for sure. He makes me a better person just by being around, and I like feeling that way."
— Haley Starshine, The Order of the Stick
"Askin' Madeline to explain goodness is like askin' a fish t'explain water."
— Mimic, Rusty and Co.
Web Video
Whoa, that's weird. I have a sudden urge to conquer the Universe. Which is odd for me because; well that would take actual work. I think I'm just gonna fall asleep instead.
— Pvt. Dexter Grif after being possessed by Omega, Red vs. Blue
Western Animation
"You are pure pureness in its purest form. It's almost irritating."
— Reverend Putty, Moral Orel
Rubilax: What's the matter Shadowfang? Why can't you steal [Yugo's] shadow?
Shadowfang: Well, my dear Rubilax, I believe we are in the presence of an extremely rare case of.. absolute purity. This darn kid is as white as snow, it's impossible to steal his shadow.
Rubilax: What? There's no such thing. Nobody's like that. Not in this world, anyway.
Shadowfang: We represent absolute evil; that has to be balanced out from time to time.
— Wakfu, "Remington Smisse"
Real Life
"Must be President some day. A man you can't cajole, can't frighten, can't buy."
— Bram Stoker, on Theodore Roosevelt in 1895.
"[David] Robinson’s overt faith was never an issue on the Dream Team, a mature group (you can point to Barkley as an exception to that, but by now you understand how he blended in) that was able to gather in all the individual foibles, expose them to some kind of cleansing process, and have it all come out okay. But a golf course – certainly one with Charles Barkley on it – is a very tough place for a true believer. Our fivesome went on, insults flying like molecules under heat, four-letter words our lingua franca, at least for Barkley, Drexler, Hubbard, and me. I could tell Robinson was getting squirmy with all the blue being thrown around, and at one point he complained to Hubbard about Drexler’s cussing and also wanted Barkley to tone it down. Charles seemed to comply, but then at one point – I believe around the fourteenth hole – he let loose with another barrage, all of it good humor, of course, but salty.
"So Robinson shook his head, smiled beatifically, picked up his bag, and left.
"...In my mind’s eye, I still see Robinson walking off the course on that day. I didn’t necessarily want to be like him, but I knew that it took much personal commitment, inner strength, and conviction to do that. Most athletic teams and most athletic relationships are built on a foundation of sophomoric humor, insults, and dick jokes, all of it wrapped in testosterone. To stand with your team, yet somehow have the strength to stand alone from time to time... now, that takes a particular kind of man."
"...In my mind’s eye, I still see Robinson walking off the course on that day. I didn’t necessarily want to be like him, but I knew that it took much personal commitment, inner strength, and conviction to do that. Most athletic teams and most athletic relationships are built on a foundation of sophomoric humor, insults, and dick jokes, all of it wrapped in testosterone. To stand with your team, yet somehow have the strength to stand alone from time to time... now, that takes a particular kind of man."
— Dream Team by Jack McCallum
