Current Events > Worst fiction cliches.

(+) Yeah! (+)

"it takes decades to learn this ability but we dont have decades so im going to teach you in 3 days"

AceMos posted...

"it takes decades to learn this ability but we dont have decades so im going to teach you in 3 days"

Kind of like in YuYu Hakusho, where it's supposed to take a person 40 years to learn Sacred Energy, but since Sensui has seven different personalities, he was able to master it in less than 10 years.

"I'm not scared of you anymore!" -> Scary thing leaves

ROBBAN posted...

this isn't really something i hate, i just find it odd

when protagonist is looking at something, camera shifts to the thing, then back to protagonist, then back to the thing, but the thing is gone. or camera moves temporarily behind a tree, with same effect.

sure, for the audience it's this "how did it disappear?" mystery vibe thing, but the protagonist was looking at it the whole time

Or the protagonist is carrying a flashlight and is panning it across the room, pans over a scary/odd thing that anyone else would have spotted immediately, then stops and moves back, and the thing is gone.

speaking of scary jumpscare they are cheap and annoying when a movie goes ham with it

Villain monologuing

Starting a fallout due to a simple (and incredibly dumb) misunderstanding. *cough*House of the Dragon*cough*

"there's no time to explain, just trust me."

No, fuck you. We're not doing shit and we're not going anywhere until you open your mouth and tell us what's happening.

Oh and the horror movie trope that the good guy(s) defeated the big scary monster/ghost/invasive oversized species but wait cue final cut where the bad guy is actually still a thing.

It was all a dream (infamous Dallas bit)

The MacGuffin was never going to work the way the villain wanted it to, anyway (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

A long-lost identical twin that none of the other characters even knew existed shows up and takes the place of their recently deceased sibling (Beerfest)

Hexenherz posted...

Oh and the horror movie trope that the good guy(s) defeated the big scary monster/ghost/invasive oversized species but wait cue final cut where the bad guy is actually still a thing.

Monster stealth kills entire cast except main character.

Then, for whatever reason, it decides to formally challenge our hero to a duel of slooooowly creeping toward him.

A character conveniently has amnesia (happens far to often in fiction).

character: i need to tell you something ''later scene dies before they tell the plot thing''

When the villain beats the shit out of the heroes but chooses to spare them because "they're not worth the effort" or some such.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Monster stealth kills entire cast except main character.

Then, for whatever reason, it decides to formally challenge our hero to a duel of slooooowly creeping toward him.

related: monster can kill anyone instantly with claws or tearing people apart, but when it attacks the main character, they just pick them up and throw them against a wall over and over until they land next to the monster-killing weapon

Hero and villain fight each other for days to get a powerful artifact that could do a lot of good for the world. Hero defeats the villain, decides the world isn't ready for this artifact and destroys it.

Can we have a story where the world IS ready for it, then? Imagine the storytelling potential that has!

more to add
getting shot is just a flesh wound
randomly shooting at a car makes it explode
gun's don't run out of ammo
protag hero who chased bad guys via car and endangering people doesn't get charged for reckless endangering civilians

gikos posted...

more to add
getting shot is just a flesh wound
randomly shooting at a car makes it explode
gun's don't run out of ammo
protag hero who chased bad guys via car and endangering people doesn't get charged for reckless endangering civilians

Characters fall through a floor to the next level and break zero bones and just get up and keep going

"You can't die! You promised we would do that trivial thing we talked about earlier in the story!"

A_Good_Boy posted...

"there's no time to explain, just trust me."

No, fuck you. We're not doing shit and we're not going anywhere until you open your mouth and tell us what's happening.

Helena from RE6 dragging Leon halfway through 7 level of hell in a zombie apocolypse instead of just saying "My sister was kidnapped*

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Monster stealth kills entire cast except main character.

Then, for whatever reason, it decides to formally challenge our hero to a duel of slooooowly creeping toward him.

Reminds me a little of the ending of Robocop 3

The main bad guy is this badass fast moving cyborg Samurai. But he does some flashy sword act BS which gives this 10 year old time to wirelessly hack the system and control it to kill itself instead of Robocop. It was so hokey.

Just finished one of the LAD games huh, OP?

hyperskate65 posted...

Just finished one of the LAD games huh, OP?

That cliche is in freaking everything, yo.

Long pauses for dramatic effect

gikos posted...

getting shot is just a flesh wound

If someone is shot, you must immediately remove the bullet or they will die, because bullets are PeopleKryptonite and/or radioactive.

Once it's out they'll basically be fine.

getting shot
not reacting even at all
put hand to wound
pull hand away, see blood. confusion
fall down

HighSeraph posted...

Heroic sacrifice

That ends up not actually being a sacrifice.

gikos posted...

character: i need to tell you something ''later scene dies before they tell the plot thing''

gah, this one is the most annoying

In horror movies when someone sees some horrible monster and/or killer then warns another person, but they dont believe them for most of the movie.

Basically any plot that requires a character who isn't normally especially stupid or mean to be much stupider / more of an asshole than normal

It can be funny but a lot of the time it is baffling writing to me

YugiNoob posted...

In horror movies when someone sees some horrible monster and/or killer then warns another person, but they dont believe them for most of the movie.

Or the person trying to warn the other incredulous person(s) could use logic and reason, but instead, tries to convince them of the danger with "I am telling the truth!" and "You gotta believe me!" arguments.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5c735dbe.jpg

UnfairRepresent posted...

Helena from RE6 dragging Leon halfway through 7 level of hell in a zombie apocolypse instead of just saying "My sister was kidnapped*

Helena: you wouldnt believe me if I told you.

leon survived two dang games fighting zombies and parasite infected humans. How could he not believe you?! In the middle of another outbreak?!

Thompson posted...

Or the person trying to warn the other incredulous person(s) could use logic and reason, but instead, tries to convince them of the danger with "I am telling the truth!" and "You gotta believe me!" arguments.

Oh yeah, and that also reminded me: when the denying person is laughing at the person trying to warn them, then gets their head bitten off or something

This is something thats been cropping up in more modern movies lately and it usually happens if its based off a well known IP.

Stuff is happening, usually an action scene, then it goes quiet, music stops, characters can't quite see what it is, they hear a sound, OH SHIT I KNOW THAT SOUND, part of it starts to stick out or illuminate, OH SHIT I KNOW WHAT THAT IS, then the music ramps up to a high loud note as the thing emerges and proceeds to do something, cue audience roar.

I really hate when movies do this, it just feels so pandering and obnoxious. Like jingling keys in front of your face.

Off the top of my head I can name at least 3 movies that do this, mainly Godzilla 2014, Rogue One and The Batman.

When character A is going to say something good or helpful and character B says "wait I have something to say too" and goes first and ruins everything when it would have been avoided by character A talking first.

Rantman posted...

Basically any plot that requires a character who isn't normally especially stupid or mean to be much stupider / more of an asshole than normal

It can be funny but a lot of the time it is baffling writing to me

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdiotBall

The Lier Revealed.

Because its a cliche plot that usually takes up most of the entire movie/story, and the person who lies to look better is usually a total jerk while doing it. And everyone always just forgives him for everything he has done when he comes clean and says "I will help you guys deal with the mess that I probably caused in the first place."

Sephiroth_C_Ryu posted...

The Lier Revealed.

Because its a cliche plot that usually takes up most of the entire movie/story, and the person who lies to look better is usually a total jerk while doing it. And everyone always just forgives him for everything he has done when he comes clean and says "I will help you guys deal with the mess that I probably caused in the first place."

Or when a character kills like 1000 people, but REALLY gets in trouble because he told a lie.

I mean, those people were probably bad I guess?

Thompson posted...

The chosen one.

I remember reading Harry Potter for the first time and shaking my head when they start actually calling him that in the later books.

I really hate it when it turns out that the villain isn't played by Tim Curry.

-Crissaegrim- posted...

I really hate it when it turns out that the villain isn't played by Tim Curry.

He once auditioned for the role of Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" but was turned down for being 'too scary'.

It's a real nerd thing to be bothered by, but punching being the ultimate solution to all fighting.

Just choke a bitch out sometimes, everyone knows how to sleeper hold.

-Crissaegrim- posted...

I really hate it when it turns out that the villain isn't played by Tim Curry.

Legend would be unwatchable without him.

Evening_Dragon posted...

It's a real nerd thing to be bothered by, but punching being the ultimate solution to all fighting.

Just choke a bitch out sometimes, everyone knows how to sleeper hold.

This is actually a fiction vocabulary thing. Sure, if you were fighting for your life, you'd do whatever it took to survive. But you're not a character representing an ideal.

Kinda like how the guy with the sword obviously defeats the guy with the axe, simply because the sword is associated with skill and the axe with strength. Skill has to defeat strength. It's like a rule. Or rather, if it doesn't, the conflict is reprised later and skill wins in the end.

Similarly, the guy who wins the fight by drowning his opponent is a scumbag. Unless your hero is a scumbag, he's gonna win with his fists.

gikos posted...

another one is when the villain has the protag cornered or about to kill they ether gloat about long enough for table turns to some BS things happens that they get the upper hand

you gotta get them monologuing, it even played a key in the incredibles, which tried to lampshade superhero movie tropes

UnsteadyOwl posted...

When drama is driven by a misunderstanding rather than an actual conflict involving people with opposing goals or viewpoints.

This.

Also, I don't necessarily hate "the chosen one" stories but they're definitely overused IMO.

It drives me up the fucking wall when an entire conflict could be avoided by a character simply being forthright with a fact/plan/feeling/whatever. But no, they have to be prideful, or secretive, or just too in their feelings to do it.

TWD got bad about that - it was one of the reasons I stopped watching. If I can sit on my couch and, off the top of my head, come up with a line of in-character dialogue that would defuse the situation that's going to be driving a chunk of the show, the show can fuck off.

Humans are the real monsters

Also 100

True forms, idiot plots, and "everyone is redeemable" mixed with "villains are just evil for no reason" are definitely some of the worst ones out there.