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Because I'm Good At It: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''I detest violence. It's a pity I'm so good at it.''|'''Colossus''', '''''X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain'''''}}
Someone has a less than morally sound job, like a drug dealer, arms dealer, assassin, or [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|lobbyist]]. They usually get into the job to make ends meet, especially if the job is illegal, but when they become financially sound or even get a legal job, they refuse to stop. Why? -- because they're good at it. The fulfillment of being competent has surpassed the fulfillment of being a "good person." Or, they're willing (if in a legal job, like lobbyists) to let their job damage their personal lives and public facade for the simple reason of competence.
See also [[Do Wrong Right]] and [[Punch Clock Villain]]. Compare [[Evil Virtues]]. Contrast [[Reluctant Warrior]], who fights because he has to... and isn't that good at it.
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* [[Raymond E Feist]]'s ''[[The Riftwar Cycle|Riftwar Cycle]]'' describes [[Loveable Rogue|Jimmy the Hand]] thus:
{{quote| He took no pleasure in being a thief, but he took great pleasure in being a very good thief.}}
* ''[[Honor Harrington (Literature)|Honor Harrington]]'': Honor does what she does because she's "better at it than most other people" (almost direct quote from the book). Given as what she does is lead fleets into battle, and almost always wins, it might count. It's clear that she doesn't like it, just that she's very capable. She might not like the idea of killing hundreds of people on both sides in her actions, but even she admits at times that she enjoys the thrill of battle, especially if her target is [[Complete Monster|someone]] [[
* In ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', the [[Gentleman Bastard|Gentleman Bastards]] don't do anything with the huge amounts of money they acquire from their long cons. It just sits there. But they are ''excellent'' thieves, so why would they give up?
* In [[Dorothy L Sayers]]' ''[[Lord Peter Wimsey|Gaudy Night]]'', Harriet Vane discusses how she continued to write murder mysteries after being tried and acquitted for murder; she says that anyone with feeling would rather scrub floors, but it happens that she would scrub floors very badly and writes mysteries very well.
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* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'': At the climax, {{spoiler|Grey Fox}} laments that fighting was and is his only talent in life, but has some reconciliation in that he never sold out his beliefs and fought for a cause he felt was unworthy. This is a deliberate, non-callous comparison to Solid Snake at this point in the series, who is an even more gifted warrior yet has always blindly followed orders without philosophy.<br /><br />The plight of those who are natural soldiers versus the concept of peace is one of the oldest and most important themes in the series. Solid Snake is loath to admit it even under the most excruciating duress, but he loves battle, and while his enemies often seek the proliferation of worldwide conflict for the benefit of natural-born soldiers like himself, he has a selfless moral instinct which forces him to stop them at any cost. The secondary plot line of the series follows the journey of his father, Big Boss, which sees him face the same quandary yet reach a completely different conclusion.
* [[Latin Lover|Zevran]] from ''[[Dragon Age]]'' notes that even if he wanted to be anything other than an assassin, [[Sociopathic Hero|which]] [[Anti
** [[Pirate Girl|Isabela]] in [[Dragon Age II|the sequel]] gives this as an excuse for her continued career as a pirate (other than simply [[Chaotic Neutral|enjoying the freedom that comes with it]]), though other characters have pointed out that her skills could easily be put to use doing something else, and unlike [[Distaff Counterpart|Zevran]], she ''chose'' to become a pirate and there's no one threatening to hunt her down if she quits ( {{spoiler|Castillion comes close, but he really only cares about the tome she stole, not what she does with her life afterwords}}). One could make the case that this actually makes her come off as much more selfish, given how easily she can ignore the people her actions hurt. {{spoiler|The Qunari Incident perfectly demonstrates what happens when this tendency reaches its zenith, leaving ''several hundred people dead'' because of her, yet it also marks the point where she starts to go through a bit of [[Character Development]]. Provided she [[You Lose At Zero Trust|has a good enough relationship]] with [[The Hero|Hawke]] and doesn't [[So Long and Thanks For All The Gear|run off]] first.}}
== Web Comics ==
* Thief from ''[[
== Web Animation ==
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