# I Never Asked for This The gravelly line "I never asked for this," delivered by Adam Jensen in the 2010 reveal trailer for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, stuck in the heads of gaming forum posters months before the game shipped[1]. By mid-2011 it was bouncing around NeoGAF and 4chan as a stock response, later spawning image macros, an Advice Animal template, and one of the more unlikely brand tweets of 2016[2]. ## Origin The line comes from the Deus Ex: Human Revolution reveal trailer that Square Enix and Eidos Montréal put out on March 12th, 2010, where Jensen mutters "I never asked for this" over shots of his mechanical arms[1]. An extended CGI trailer released December 13th, 2010, reused the same line, hammering it into anyone who watched pre-release marketing[4]. In the finished game, players can also trigger the line during the "Motherly Ties" side quest in conversation with Cassandra Reed[2]. The first sign it was getting stuck in people's heads came on February 4th, 2011, when NeoGAF user Kinyou posted that they couldn't shake it[2]. Popular use kicked in a few months later, with NeoGAF user Dizzy-4U firing it back as a punchline on June 15th, 2011, and NIN90 using it as an image reaction on June 23rd, 2011[2]. - **Platform:** YouTube (trailer) / NeoGAF (viral spread) - **Creator:** Eidos Montréal (line written for Adam Jensen) - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview "I Never Asked for This" is a catchphrase pulled from a single, weary line spoken by protagonist Adam Jensen about his forced cybernetic augmentations in Deus Ex: Human Revolution[1]. The delivery is heavy, self-pitying, and just theatrical enough to sound funny out of context, which is exactly what NeoGAF and 4chan latched onto in 2011[2]. In practice the meme took two shapes. First, a straight reaction: a screenshot or clip of Jensen dropped into a thread whenever someone got saddled with something they didn't want[3]. Second, an "I Never Asked for X" snowclone plus an Advice Animal-style image macro built on Memegenerator, which let posters swap the object of complaint while keeping Jensen's face and the same put-upon tone[2]. Fan art carrying the line kept the joke circulating on gaming subforums well after Human Revolution's August 2011 release[2]. ## How It Spread Once the phrase caught on, YouTube rips did the heavy lifting. On July 20th, 2011, roughly a month before the game shipped, user purpleleantx uploaded a clean clip of Jensen saying the line, ripped from the leaked demo build; the video collected more than 700,000 views over the next decade[5]. A second cut posted by JackobKreuztraeger on August 28th, 2011, added another 195,000-plus views in the same span, giving posters an easy asset to link in threads[6]. From there the joke settled into the standard gaming-meme rotation: Advice Animal macros on Memegenerator, "I never asked for X" snowclone tweets, and Jensen reaction images on 4chan and NeoGAF whenever a bad patch, tie-in product, or forced feature dropped[2]. The line's afterlife peaked publicly on June 24th, 2016, when the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account replied to the official Deus Ex account with a mocking "@DeusEx August 23rd can't come soon enough. #AskSonic" post, using the meme to needle a fellow franchise[7]. ## How to Use Typical usage is one of two moves. As a reaction, drop a Jensen screenshot or the trailer clip in reply to any post about being handed something unwanted, common conventions include tech updates, life events, or forced game mechanics[2]. As a snowclone, swap in your own object of complaint: "I never asked for this expansion," "I never asked for a live-service reboot," and so on, often paired with the Advice Animal template featuring Jensen's face[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is I Never Asked for This? It is a catchphrase and reaction meme built around a line Adam Jensen says about his cybernetic augmentations in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, later used as an image macro and "I never asked for X" snowclone[1][2]. ### Where did I Never Asked for This come from? The line first appeared in the March 12th, 2010 reveal trailer for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, then in the December 13th, 2010 extended CGI trailer[1][4]. ### What does I Never Asked for This mean? In the game, Jensen is venting about the mechanical augmentations that were installed on him without consent; online, it is used sarcastically for anything unwanted or forced on you[3]. ### How do you use I Never Asked for This? Post a Jensen screenshot or the trailer clip as a reaction, or write "I never asked for X" with your own complaint filled in, often using the Memegenerator Advice Animal template[2]. ### Is I Never Asked for This still popular? It is a classic gaming catchphrase that had its peak run on NeoGAF and 4chan in 2011 and got a mainstream moment in 2016 when Sonic's Twitter used it against the Deus Ex account[2][7]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXVNi1yQT7Y]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-never-asked-for-this]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdiBsyF_D7o]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoRwOux7Ofw]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXpuRIZzJog]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYA6Y67NXMc]() 7. [https://x.com/i/status/746418364919078912]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/i-never-asked-for-this Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library