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Fan Works
Lindy: It's a bit hard to picture, isn't it? The thought that in four days, our home might just be... gone.
Mizetto: Not to anyone who lived through the Testarossa Experiment. Or the 2nd and 4th Book of Darkness incidents. Or the Orion Cascade. Or the unearthing of the Panoptichron. Or the...
Lindy: Midchilda gets almost destroyed a lot, doesn't it?
Mizetto: Not to anyone who lived through the Testarossa Experiment. Or the 2nd and 4th Book of Darkness incidents. Or the Orion Cascade. Or the unearthing of the Panoptichron. Or the...
Lindy: Midchilda gets almost destroyed a lot, doesn't it?
— Infinity
Films — Animation
"No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved, y'know? For a little bit? I — I feel like the maid! 'I just cleaned up this mess, can we keep it clean for — for ten minutes?! [laughs] Please?'"
— Mr. Incredible, The Incredibles
Films — Live-Action
K: We do not discharge our weapons in view of the public!
J: Man, we ain't got time for this cover-up bullshit! I don't know whether or not you've forgotten, but there's an alien battle cruiser about to—
K: There's always an alien battle cruiser, or a Corellian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that's about to wipe out life on this miserable little planet. The only way these people get on with their happy lives is they do. Not. Know about it.
"No matter who wins or loses, trouble always comes around."
— Nick Fury, Avengers: Age of Ultron
Literature
"In those days, I thought that if we succeeded in our quest we would all live happily ever after. I did not dream the nightmare would go on and on."
— Lief, Deltora Quest
Anton: How come you, with all your vast knowledge, know nothing about the Two-In-One?
Gessar: Have you ever heard of the Granny-In-the-Dust? Or the Little Candle Man? Or the Manure Cabin?
Anton: No, I don't believe I have.
Gessar: That's a shame. Long story short, If the Granny hadn't been given water, the world would've ended. If the Candle Man hadn't been put out, the world would've ended. If the right man hadn't entered the Cabin...
Anton: ...The world would've ended.
Gessar: No, but it would've stunk to high heaven.
Anton: I get it, you've been otherwise occupied.
Gessar: Have you ever heard of the Granny-In-the-Dust? Or the Little Candle Man? Or the Manure Cabin?
Anton: No, I don't believe I have.
Gessar: That's a shame. Long story short, If the Granny hadn't been given water, the world would've ended. If the Candle Man hadn't been put out, the world would've ended. If the right man hadn't entered the Cabin...
Anton: ...The world would've ended.
Gessar: No, but it would've stunk to high heaven.
Anton: I get it, you've been otherwise occupied.
Live-Action TV
Angel: I helped save the world, you know.
Spike: Like I haven't.
Angel: Yeah, but I've done it a lot more.
Spike: Oh, please.
Angel: I closed the Hellmouth.
Spike: I've done that.
Angel: Yeah, you wore a necklace. You know, I helped kill the Mayor and, uh, and Jasmine...
Spike: Do those really count as saving the world?
Angel: I stopped Acathla. That saved the world.
Spike: Buffy ran you through with a sword!
Angel: Yeah, but I made her do it. [Spike gives him a disbelieving look] I signaled her with my eyes.
Spike: She killed you. I helped her! That one counts as mine.
Spike: Like I haven't.
Angel: Yeah, but I've done it a lot more.
Spike: Oh, please.
Angel: I closed the Hellmouth.
Spike: I've done that.
Angel: Yeah, you wore a necklace. You know, I helped kill the Mayor and, uh, and Jasmine...
Spike: Do those really count as saving the world?
Angel: I stopped Acathla. That saved the world.
Spike: Buffy ran you through with a sword!
Angel: Yeah, but I made her do it. [Spike gives him a disbelieving look] I signaled her with my eyes.
Spike: She killed you. I helped her! That one counts as mine.
Angel:Someone always uncovers some ancient scroll that says something terrible is coming. Do you know how many of these things I've seen?
Cordelia: Four?
Angel: Three, but don't worry.
Cordelia: Four?
Angel: Three, but don't worry.
"Oh, God, is the world ending? I have to research a paper on Bosnia for tomorrow, but if the world's ending, I'm not gonna bother."
— Cordelia, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Helpless"
"Buffy. When I saw you stop the world from, you know, ending, I just assumed that was a big week for you. It turns out I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse."
— Riley, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "A New Man"
Buffy: This is how many apocalypses now?
Giles: Oh, well... uh, six at least. Feels like a hundred.
Giles: Oh, well... uh, six at least. Feels like a hundred.
Black Lightning: Why do we even need [a joint base]? I mean, how often does the world almost come to an end? [chuckles]
[the other heroes trade meaningful looks]
Black Lightning: ...Oh, it's like that?
[the other heroes trade meaningful looks]
Black Lightning: ...Oh, it's like that?
"I have recently calculated that I have saved every planet in the known universe a minimum of twenty-seven times."
— The Doctor, Doctor Who, "The Curse of Fatal Death"
Richard Nixon: So we're safe again?
The Doctor: Safe?! No, of course you're not safe. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But, if you want to pretend you're safe just so you can sleep at night, okay — you're safe. But not really.
The Doctor: Safe?! No, of course you're not safe. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But, if you want to pretend you're safe just so you can sleep at night, okay — you're safe. But not really.
"Oh, there it is. Silly old universe. The more I save it, the more it needs saving. It's a treadmill."
— Twelfth Doctor, Doctor Who, "Twice Upon A Time"
"This world looks as dangerous as ever, huh?"
— Captain Marvelous, in his guest appearance in Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger
Supergirl: Either of you ever save the world before?
The Flash: Mmm-hmm.
Green Arrow: Last year.
Supergirl: It doesn't get old, does it?
The Flash: Mmm-hmm.
Green Arrow: Last year.
Supergirl: It doesn't get old, does it?
Dean: This is stupid. Our quality of life is crap, we've got Purgatory's Least Wanted everywhere and we're on our third "the world is screwed" issue in, what, three years? When we've steered the bus away from the cliff twice already?
Sam: Someone's gotta do it.
Dean: What if the bus wants to go over the cliff?
Sam: You think the world wants to end?
Dean: I think that if we hadn't taken its belt and all its pens each year that, yeah, the whole enchilada woulda offed itself already.
Sam: Someone's gotta do it.
Dean: What if the bus wants to go over the cliff?
Sam: You think the world wants to end?
Dean: I think that if we hadn't taken its belt and all its pens each year that, yeah, the whole enchilada woulda offed itself already.
Music
But you tell me over and over
And over again, my friend
You don't believe we're on the eve
Of destruction
And over again, my friend
You don't believe we're on the eve
Of destruction
— Barry McGuire, "Eve of Destruction"
Tabletop Games
In constructing a narrative, beware of "false action," or action for its own sake. False action doesn't move a story forward, engage characters, or cause them to change. Many action movies suffer from false action, in which car chases, gunfights, and explosions abound but do little more than inconvenience the characters and eventually bore the audience with their repetition and lack of meaningful stakes. Some D&D campaigns fall into the same trap, stringing world-spanning disasters together one after another with little impact on the characters or the world. Thus, it's probably not in the DM's best interest to reorder the world every single time there's a lull in the action, lest world-shaking events become ordinary ... Let unexpected and terrible events regular afflict the world's smaller territories, but unless your story demands it, save the large-scale map-spanning events for the biggest, most important moments of your campaign.
— Fifth Edition Dungeon Master's Guide, Dungeons & Dragons
Exalted is a game where one of your main antagonists is Death, Creator of the Underworld. Except there's several of him, probably six or seven. Oh, and he's got 13 dread henchmen, one of whom was probably you at some point in time. Also, Hell has a personal grudge against you this time. Did I mention Magical America regularly trains and sends ninjas out for you personally? Ninjas specially trained in ass-kicking? Which, if they won't work, they keep giant robotic suits of armor on reserve for. Oh, and the Transformers have united under Omicron, and are invading. The Jedi have corrupted Heaven and usurped your rightful place as the Masters of Everything. Your ex-wife just dropped by, and she's a two thousand year old shape-changing man-eating monster now, interested in maybe going on a date next Thursday. Your best friend from your last life and while growing up now seeks to cover all the lands of Middle Earth in darkness, if he can just find this damn ring. And your God has the world's biggest crack habit, and needs some serious rehab.
— Darius Solluman on Exalted
"When the battle is over, your work is not done. Your duty is not a destination. It is a journey. Victory is merely a landmark on that road, you will never reach a point where your work is done and you can leave the fighting to others. You will die with the road still to be walked."
— Daenyathos, "The Bullet and the Skull", Warhammer 40,000
"How many times can you rebuild from apocalypse? On Dominaria, we've almost lost count."
Vraska: Does it make sense to raise a child in this Multiverse? Is repair even possible?
Jace: I'm sick of repair. What is the point of repair when everything will fall apart anyways?
Vraska: The Multiverse is too broken to fix.
Jace: So, what if we do something other than fix it?
Jace: I'm sick of repair. What is the point of repair when everything will fall apart anyways?
Vraska: The Multiverse is too broken to fix.
Jace: So, what if we do something other than fix it?
Video Games
"You win... BUT YOUR WORLD IS STILL DOOMED!"
— Lord Jaraxxus when conceding, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Commander Shepard: Trillions of lives are at risk!
Vendetta: Trillions of lives are always at risk.
Vendetta: Trillions of lives are always at risk.
"Now, prepare yourself. Hero work is tiring, yes? And endless. The stories repeat, and this is your turn in the cycle. Impending doom, resolute hero, miraculous salvation. Save the world and start again. That is the way of things."
— Khunzar-ri, The Elder Scrolls Online
"Shit... dammit! We saved Ferelden, and they're angry. We saved Orlais, and they're angry! We close the Breach — twice — and my own hand wants to kill me! Could one thing in this FUCKING WORLD just stay fixed?!"
— The Inquisitor, having had more than enough of all of Thedas's shit, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Jaheira: It was a lifetime ago. And for all our victories, the world is no more balanced than when we began. We fight, we die, and we just hope that when our time comes, there is someone else to take our place.
Player: Surely you made more of a difference than that.
Jaheira: The songs would have you believe we saved the Realms entire. Perhaps we did. They simply refuse to stay saved.
Player: Surely you made more of a difference than that.
Jaheira: The songs would have you believe we saved the Realms entire. Perhaps we did. They simply refuse to stay saved.
Web Animation
"Yes, yes, Eldrad, I know. I understand your meaning. The end of the Eldar race! Aah! Maybe you even think that's true. But let me ask you: when is it not the end of the Eldar race?"
Web Comics
Jean: Bob, she's not here to warn us about some kind of... impending apocalypse again, is she?
Bob: Uh, no! No. I asked! I think it's something nice this time.
Bob: Uh, no! No. I asked! I think it's something nice this time.
Web Original
Yesterday,
I watched the world nearly die in a thousand thousand terrible ways. Sometimes we would have had time to scream.
Today,
I'm alive to write about it. You want happy endings? Fuck you.
You're alive to read it.
God help us all.
Secure. Contain. Protect.
I watched the world nearly die in a thousand thousand terrible ways. Sometimes we would have had time to scream.
Today,
I'm alive to write about it. You want happy endings? Fuck you.
You're alive to read it.
God help us all.
Secure. Contain. Protect.
Web Videos
"It's the DC Universe, the end of the world isn't even an excuse for getting off work anymore."
— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall
"For some reason, every other week it was freaking Ragnarok in Ponyland, with some big baddie trying to enslave the ponies, steal some magical artifact, or wipe everything off the maps so they could just Take Over the World."
— Chad Rocco, Familiar Faces: My Little Pony Retrospective, Part 1
Western Animation
"Oh, we're doomed! Every year, we're doomed!"
— Professor Farnsworth, Futurama
Max: What's going on here?
Virgil: Oh, merely the end of the world!
Max: Oh, good. I was afraid it was something serious.
Virgil: Oh, merely the end of the world!
Max: Oh, good. I was afraid it was something serious.
Chase Young: You fools! You have just unleashed the greatest evil the world has ever seen!
Raimundo: Huh. Sounds like "end of the world time"... again.
Raimundo: Huh. Sounds like "end of the world time"... again.
Batman/Terry McGinnis: He expects me to work even harder while he's gone.
Max Gibson: Why?
Terry: He always thinks something bad's going to happen the minute he leaves town. (sky lights up) And somehow he's always right.
— Batman Beyond, "Inqueling"
