Donovan: I wanted to rat him out, but the jerk has saved the world and your mother was devastated by his loss.
Dominic: So you kept quiet...so Mom could remember him as a hero.
Donovan: I'm a bard. We know the power of legacy.
Dominic: So you kept quiet...so Mom could remember him as a hero.
Donovan: I'm a bard. We know the power of legacy.
Rest, rest in peace
In the story that I wrote, you can fly in freedom
Let me cast my final spell
So your light may not know the darkness
May the wonderful golden dream not be soiled
By the sadness of truth
— "Ricordando il pasato" ("Remembering the Past"), Umineko: When They Cry
Vidal: Tell my son... Tell him what time his father died. Tell him that I—
Merecedes: No, he won't even know your name (shoots him).
Jayne: What are you going to tell the others?
Mal: About what?
Jayne: About why I’m dead.
Mal: Hadn’t thought about it.
Jayne: Make something up. Don’t tell ’em what I did.
Mal: About what?
Jayne: About why I’m dead.
Mal: Hadn’t thought about it.
Jayne: Make something up. Don’t tell ’em what I did.
— Firefly, "Ariel"
[Team RWBY is calling out Ozpin on his constantly keeping secrets]
Weiss: You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me.
Yang: Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?
Ozpin: Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth. And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years.
Yang: Missteps?!
Ozpin: What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently, but does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good? Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him.
Weiss: You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me.
Yang: Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?
Ozpin: Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth. And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years.
Yang: Missteps?!
Ozpin: What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently, but does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good? Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him.
—RWBY, "Uncovered"
Nobody would believe that Tanya could be Zhao's real murderer after word of that speech got out. The right to rename captured cities was afforded to generals as a way of recognising their achievements, and to date had only been used to rename somewhere after the general themself in a vain attempt to immortalize their own name, or after whatever wealthy lord the general was hoping to impress. It had never been used to honour the memory of a fallen soldier before, and you could bet that the ignorant masses would lap it up when they heard. When stories were told of Tanya's victory, Zhao would now forever be cast as the wise and kindly mentor who led her to greatness. And that same wave of goodwill would strangle the rumours of the truth in their crib.
