It's All My Fault

You see characters blaming themselves for major messes fairly often, especially when they're not the only ones who are suffering as a result. It's a universal phrase used in every genre and medium. Frequent replies: "It's not your fault": A stock reply to an apology, and like the main phrase, it's often followed by why. Often implies the main phrase as well. "There's no way you could have foreseen this" is also popular as is "You Did Everything You Could" when the other failed to prevent bad things from happening. "I am also to blame"/"We're all to blame": As stated above, when the penitent one is neither completely blameless nor solely to blame. "So what are you going to do about it?": This puts the emphasis on fixing the problem rather than assigning blame and offers the character a chance to redeem himself by cleaning up the mess he made. In the future, it is likely that a Big Bad, The Rival, or an Evil Counterpart will take some opportunity to remind the character of this culpability. May be the result of failing to make amends. May end up being a Career-Building Blunder. May be uttered by someone laboring under The Chains of Commanding. See also My God, What Have I Done?, in which case it typically is all "my" fault, and "I" have just realized the consequences of "my" actions, and Failure-to-Save Murder. When death ensued, see These Hands Have Killed. If a character has so many It's All My Fault moments that it becomes almost a character trait, it's a Guilt Complex. Characters may irrationally think of this if I Wished You Were Dead. Contrast with Never My Fault. May lead to a Guilt-Induced Nightmare.