I Never Asked for This

About

"I Never Asked for This, sometimes misquoted "I Didn't Ask for This", is a memorable quote said by the protagonist of 2011 video game Deux Ex: Human Revolution Adam Jensen. Used as the first line of dialogue in the official trailer of the game, the quote later gained significant popularity in memes, being combined with images of Jensen to be used as a reaction and utilized as I Never Asked for X snowclone.

Origin

On March 12th, 2010, the official reveal trailer for then-upcoming video game Deux Ex: Human Revolution premiered^[1] (shown below, left). In the trailer, main character Adam Jenses says "I never asked for this" in reference to his cybernetic augmentations.

On December 13th, 2010, the extended cut CGI trailer for the game premiered^[2] (shown below, right), with the line again being used.

In the game, Jensen can optionally say the phrase while talking to NPC Cassandra Reed during "Motherly Ties" side quest (gameplay video shown below).^[3]

- I can't get over just how much they've… changed you/ At first, I couldn't even believe you were still alive. How do you handle all of this?
- I never asked for this. They say they saved me, but I'm not sure saved is the right word.

On February 4th, 2011, Neogaf user Kinyou^[4] made a post in which they wrote that they could not get the line "I never asked for this" out of their head.

The line gained popular recognition in mid-June 2011. On June 15th, 2011, Neogaf^[5] user Dizzy-4U used the line as a humorous response in a thread. On June 23rd, 2011, Neogaf^[6] user NIN90 reacted with the line to an image posted by another user.

Spread

The meme gained further spread on Neogaf and 4chan in the following months. On July 20th, 2011, one month prior to the game's official release, YouTube^[4] user purpleleantx posted a clip of Jensen saying the phrase taken from the leaked demo version of the game. The video received over 700,000 views in ten years. Another upload, made by YouTube^[5] user JackobKreuztraeger on August 28th, 2011, received over 195,000 views in the same period.

The viral spread of the catchphrase in mid-2011 was followed by its use in image macros featuring Jenson in the following years. An Advice Animal template for the meme was created on Memegenerator (example shown below, left). Additionally, the catchphrase saw use as "I Never Asked for X" snowclone format and has appeared in fan art (examples shown below, center and right).

On June 24th, 2016, the official Twitter account for Sonic The Hedgehog used the meme to respond to a tweet by the official Twitter account for Deus Ex (shown below).

.@DeusEx August 23rd can't come soon enough. #AskSonic pic.twitter.com/CN34n3TCw2

— Sonic & Eggman (@sonic_hedgehog) June 24, 2016

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References