Moment Killer: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:Nerfnow moment killer 5869.jpg|link=Nerf NOW!!|frame|[[Team Fortress 2|He just couldn't keep his mouth shut...]]]]

 

{{quote|'''Leela''': ''We're heading straight into a black hole!''

 

 

It's really going to happen this time. They are about to share with each other their feelings after [[Unresolved Sexual Tension|years of keeping them hidden.]] They come closer together and look into each other's eyes; there has never been a moment so perfect. The stars are aligned, the moon is full and one of them says, "I've never had the courage to tell you this before..."

 

Basic staple of any [[Will They or Won't They?]] set up. The most common subtrope is the [[Almost Kiss]]. If the moment is about to lead to a declaration of love, then it might be an [[Interrupted Declaration of Love]].

 

== Advertising ==

* More than one beer commercial has used the idea of a Moment Killer, usually demonstrating how the advertised beer will aid in thwarting him.

* This trope might have been taken a bit too far in ''[[Code Geass]]'''s second season, where the [[Tsundere]]s, Lelouch and Kallen, rarely have ''a single conversation'' that did not go down this path (with each Moment Killer becoming more ridiculous than the one before it). (Note: ''[[Code Geass]]'' is not a romantic comedy.) It could be assumed that this some-what tortured the fans of this pairing. To make it even more torturous for them, the only uninterrupted conversation they have during the whole season ends with {{spoiler|Kallen kissing Lelouch, but since he's moments away from turning himself into the enemy of the entire world and doesn't want to drag her into it, he doesn't respond to any of it, leaving Kallen with the impression that he feels nothing for her, resulting in Kallen bidding him farewell and walking away, with him sadly whispering goodbye once she's out of earshot. }}

** Ironically, in R2 episode 24, {{spoiler|Lelouch and C.C. have a very touching moment together, and it's interrupted by Kallen bursting through the wall to kill Lelouch.}} A few fans joked that this was revenge for {{spoiler|C.C. interrupting a near-[[Accidental Kiss]] between Lelouch and Kallen earlier in the series in a very "mother walking in on her son and his girlfriend making out" fashion.}}

* Taniguchi [[Sorry to Interrupt|barging in]] on ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'', when Kyon and Yuki were, erm, ''close'' to each other could be counted as a Moment Killer. Of course, it's [[Played for Laughs]]. Haruhi disrupting Kyon and Mikuru ''twice'', too.

* ''[[Full Metal Panic!|Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid!]]'' - Sousuke is ''finally'' about to [[Cooldown Hug|embrace Kaname when she breaks down in tears]] at the end, but then an entire classful of girls enter the corridor and start shouting at him for upsetting Kaname again.

* ''[[Bleach]]'': Good job, Nel, you kind of ruined the quiet, subtle, heart filled moment between Ichigo and Orihime, which essentially counted as their true reunion. Not that you diving into Ichigo's, uh, lower abdomen area wasn't cute in its own way, it's just, you killed that sweet moment.

** In chapter 228, Rukia and Orihime are veering dangerously close to a [[Les Yay]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20120405235413/http://manga.bleachexile.com/bleach-chapter-228-page-3.html moment], and Hiyori quite literally falls from the sky and drags Orihime off. Moment killer much?

* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' - Kotarou [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v25/c228/17.html manages to kill] what even the [[Fourth Wall Breaking|translator called]] a [[Portmanteau Couple Name|NegiNodo]] moment, with some ill-timed comradery. [[The Medic|Konoka]], you could've left him partly [[Taken for Granite]] a ''little'' longer.

** Konoka has her own share of [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v28/c250/4.html moment killing]. On the same pair nonetheless. One [[Your Mileage May Vary|may suspect]] [[Alternate Character Interpretation|that what Konoka]] does is actually sabotage to support [[Shipper on Deck|her own preferred couple]] {{spoiler|[[Incest Is Relative|(Negi/Asuna)]]}}.

* In ''[[Gintama]]'', [[Cool Old Lady|Otose]] and [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]] [[Badass Grandpa|Jirochou]] are recovering in the hospital after the harrowing attack on Kabukichou. After all the killing and mayhem (including Jirochou putting Otose in the hospital in the first place), the two old friends finally get to say what they need to say to each other after so many years and so much heartache. Then the hospital room doors bust open and pretty much the ENTIRE SUPPORTING CAST falls into the room from where they had been eavesdropping. The guy in the third hospital bed in the room chews them all out for interrupting "just when it was getting to the good part."

 

* The ''[[Strontium Dog]]'' arc "Bitch" sets up what appears to be the end to all the [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]] between Johnny Alpha and Durham Red when Johnny joins his female colleague in the shower ... until a naked Ronald Reagan ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]) decides to enter the fray and immediately drop the soap.

* In ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'', Beast Boy and Raven go on a "[[Not a Date]]" and have a sweet, tender moment... which is ruined when her brothers show up and beat the crap out of Beast Boy. I guess they don't approve.

* Near the end of a short oneshot comic arc, Ultimate Daredevil is confronting Ultimate Punisher and trying to talk him out of his [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]. The Punisher has his guns leveled at the superhero, but is listening. And slowly, very slowly, he starts to lower them. That's when a well intentioned but horribly timed kick from a passing by Spider-Man breaks the moment and destroys what Daredevil had almost accomplished.

* A preemptive one can be seen in ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'' as Scott's plan to cuddle with his girlfriend is ruined by his gay roommate sitting around in his underwear.

 

== Fan Works ==

* ''[[WALL-E]]'' - Another subversion (or aversion, depending on your point of view) of this trope pops up in the final scene: {{spoiler|WALL-E and EVE finally hold hands, staring lovingly into each other's eyes while WALL-E's tape of ''[[Hello, Dolly!]]!'' reaches the "It Only Takes a Moment" scene. Just then, the broken robots and M-O arrive to greet the two. Fortunately, M-O recognizes that [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone|WALL-E and EVE need to be left alone]], and he shoos the other 'bots away.}}

* ''[[Cars]]'': McQueen and Sally are interrupted by Mater on the Dinoco helicopter.

 

== Film - Live Action ==

* In ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', summarizing what was pretty much his role in all the ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies, C-3PO interrupts Han and Leia kissing with, "Captain Solo! Captain Solo! I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling!" [[Sarcasm Mode|"Thank you.]] [[Death Glare|Thank you]] ''[[Death Glare|very much]]''." [[Does Not Understand Sarcasm|"You're welcome, sir!"]]

**And he ruins their reunion in ''[[The Force Awakens]]'' by suddenly stepping in between them.

* ''[[Zenon]]'': Zenon and Greg mutually are guilty of a fatal fumble on this one. At one point they are sitting side-by-side, facing the same direction, with awkward silence. Zenon tells Greg that if he wants to kiss her he should just do it already. After a pause, they both turn towards each other at the same time - and accidentally smash their faces into each other.

* Mikaela in the ''[[Transformers Film Series|Transformers]]'' film improvised and used this as an excuse why Sam was acting nervous and jittery when his parents came into his room: "He was hiding a girl." And his parents fell for it enthusiastically, actually really happy about it. Of course the real reason was that anxious alien robots were in the backyard.

** Pfft. This is obviously just karma for Harry being a [https://web.archive.org/web/20120511084642/http://adventuresofcomicbookgirl.tumblr.com/tagged/THIRD-WHEEL third wheel.]

* ''[[Imagine Me and You]]'': the long-awaited make-out scene between Luce and Rachel is interrupted by the sound of Rachel's husband's voice.

* In ''[[Notting Hill]]'' just before the "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy" speech, Will and Anna are interrupted by a random customer and by a phone call from Will's mother.

* From ''[[Enchanted]]'', during the ball scene, Robert and Giselle were [[Dance of Romance|dancing together]], including Robert singing softly in Giselle's ear (when he earlier claimed that he didn't sing), leaning quite close to each other, when Nancy and Edward interrupted them.

* A much earlier example of the meddling robot (a la [[Star Wars|C-3PO]]/[[Spaceballs|Dot Matrix]]) appears in the [[Robert Sheckley]] short story ''Human Man's Burden''. Every time the man and the woman start edging towards expressing their true feelings, an obnoxious marrying-bot bursts in, ruining the moment. Some other robots finally physically restrain the intruder long enough to allow the couple to clinch.

* ''[[Thursday Next]]'''s time-traveling father does this to Thursday and Landen in the first book when he shows up (freezing time for everyone but himself and Thursday) to have a chat with his daughter about the invention of the banana—while she and Landen are having a moment.

** Later, Harry takes a turn as moment killer for Ron and Hermione - though he does have a good reason.

{{quote|'''Harry:''' OI! There's a war going on here!}}

* In ''[[Time Enough for Love]]'', when Lazarus and Maureen are headed off for an adulterous <ref>and [[Parental Incest|incestuous]] by virtue of [[Time Travel]], but that's not relevant to the example</ref> tryst, their moment is well and truly murdered by the abrupt appearance of Maureen's five year old son [[My Future Self and Me|Woodrow]], who stowed away in the car in the hopes of getting a trip to the amusement park. Their reluctance to continue is prompted not so much by concern for Woody's [[Children Are Innocent|innocence]] as much as his complete inability to [[Mouthy Kid|keep his mouth shut]].

* Happens multiple times in ''[[Audrey Wait]]''. Random Accident varieties are from the customers in the Scooper Dooper, and Sharon is the jealous rival type.

 

== Live Action TV ==

'''Liz''': That's what they all say }}

* from ''[[Mad TV]]'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne9dGT5Cs-I "My Gay Dad"] which is about a girl whose gay dad steals her boyfriends.

 

== Music ==

* Billy Joel's song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bAKX2DIooA "Leave a Tender Moment Alone"] is about this but the Moment Killer is the narrator himself breaking up the moment between himself the girl he fancies.

* "Your Mama Don't Dance" (1972, Loggins and Messina), set in [[The Fifties]] ("And it's all because / Your mama don't dance / And your daddy don't [[Rock and Roll]]"), describes an [[Overprotective Dad]] angrily pulling his daughter from the back seat of a motorcar at a [[Drive-In Theater|drive-in]]: "Out of the car, Longhair!" – "Louise, you're comin' with me / And no more movies."

 

== Theatre ==

* In Act 2 Scene 3 of ''[[Othello]]'', Othello is called down from being in bed with Desdemona to break up a fight between Cassio and Roderigo. It's implied that they interrupted his attempt to consumate his marriage.

 

== Video Games ==

** Much later, in the final chapter of the canon route, there's a scene after the battle of the day has been won where Gulcasa and Nessiah take a few moments to praise each other on their good teamwork. Their happiness is, of course, short-lived: Jenon comes charging in to interrogate Gulcasa with no small lack of subtlety or sensitivity, leaving him very confused and upset. Nessiah then cuts in to inform Jenon that now is kind of a bad time, and proceeds to drag Gulcasa off so that the two of them can have peace and quiet. Among other things, this scene is very much meant to be a more somber [[Call Back]] to the early one between Garlot and Siskier.

** In yet another scene from the canon route (taking place before the Gulcasa and Nessiah one), Siskier comes out to chat with Garlot one night while the latter is worrying about the future, and over the course of their discussion, she comes very close to confessing her feelings for him several times but [[Cannot Spit It Out|continually cuts herself off]]. Just when Garlot has finally figured out that something is weird about the way she's acting, there's a surprise attack from the enemy.

 

== Visual Novels ==

{{quote|"Oh wait, you mean someone who uses someone else! Never mind."}}

* In the ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' games, Sakura tends to walk in at bad moments. This is especially bad in ''[[Fate/hollow ataraxia]]'' where she manages to walk in on just seemingly every scene that Shirou and [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Rider]] have together. Perhaps justified though—Sakura is Rider's Master, also likes Shirou, and the few times she doesn't walk in, {{spoiler|Rider and Shirou tend to end up naked.}}

 

== Web Animation ==

{{quote|'''Homestar:''' Ah, good evening ungodly couple, my name is Waiter, I will be your Homestar for this evening. Can I start you two off with a glass of "Breaking Up", or perhaps "Never Seeing Each Other Again" with capers?}}

* In one of the early ''[[Bionicle]]'' animations, Hewkii and Macku appear to be [[Almost Kiss|about to kiss]] when they turn around and realize their friends are right behind them. [[Luminescent Blush]] ensues.

** Then, of course, that moment got [[Killed Off for Real]] via [[Retcon]], since Bionicle characters aren't [[No Hugging, No Kissing|supposed to be capable of having romantic feelings]].

 

== Web Comics ==

* Forgath has become this in ''[[Goblins]]'' whenever he shows up as Minmax and Kin discuss their feelings...and lately {{spoiler|as the two are sharing a very tender hug after Minmax saved Kin from imaginary Goblinslayer/the mysteriously growing forest.}}

* This becomes a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Kid Radd]]''.

** Later, having realized he's in love with her, Torg tries to win Zoe's heart with a giant bejewelled necklace he found in a pyramid as a Christmas present. She's quite taken with the gift, until she puts it on and it turns her into a camel.

** Subverted in "Love Potion," when Torg and Zoe look at each other by accident while they think they're under the influence of a potion that makes people madly attracted to the first person they see. As they're staring at each other, Gwynn pops up to tell them the potion's effects have worn off. After she leaves, Torg finally asks Zoe out and she readily accepts.

** Done for all sorts of drama in the "bROKEN" [[Story Arc]]. Zoe has just realized that Torg's in love with her, and, to her own amazement, that she loves him back. And Torg's rushing to her location right at that moment. {{spoiler|Then the assassin mentioned above ''sets Zoe on fire'', seemingly killing her just as Torg arrives on the scene.}}

* Deliberately set up in ''[[Blip]]''. When Hester gets set up on an unwanted date, she arranges for her friend K to "accidentally" run into them and act as a third wheel for the remainder of the date.

* In [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s countdown of songs about sex, the Chick manages to kill the moment ''herself'' when, after [[Todd in the Shadows]] agrees to sleep with her (out of boredom) she puts on one of the songs from her list and he immediately [[I Need to Go Iron My Dog|runs away.]]

** There's also Mignon, her puppy, who likes to nom on her mistress even when Dark Nella is being all threatening.

 

== Western Animation ==

* In an episode of ''[[G.I. Joe]]'', Cobra Commander [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlIWSfjYVMc&feature=related spots Destro and Baroness making out and immediately orders them to stop.]

* ''[[The Simpsons]]'': In the "New Kid on the Block episode, the Simpson's babysitter, Laura Powers and Jimbo Jones are making out at second base when Moe Syzlak charges into the Simpsons' house to threaten Jimbo with a rusty and dull butcher knife in retaliation for making prank calls that Bart made in his name, causing Jimbo to break down in tears. Laura then dumps him.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==