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* At the end of Brandon Sanderson's ''[[Mistborn]]'', they kill the [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|who betrayed the hero of ages past, stole the power of the Well of Eternity for himself, dislodged the Earth from its proper orbit, brought up volcanoes that constantly choke the air with ash, created a permanent underclass of slaves, and turned HIS OWN FRIENDS into monsters.}} Good riddance, right? Well, no. The second book then details the political consequences of such a sudden power vacuum, and trying to go from a totalitarian dictatorship directly to a constitutional monarchy (hint: [[It Got Worse|a lot of people die]].)
* At the end of Brandon Sanderson's ''[[Mistborn]]'', they kill the [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|who betrayed the hero of ages past, stole the power of the Well of Eternity for himself, dislodged the Earth from its proper orbit, brought up volcanoes that constantly choke the air with ash, created a permanent underclass of slaves, and turned HIS OWN FRIENDS into monsters.}} Good riddance, right? Well, no. The second book then details the political consequences of such a sudden power vacuum, and trying to go from a totalitarian dictatorship directly to a constitutional monarchy (hint: [[It Got Worse|a lot of people die]].)
* In the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' novel ''On Basilisk Station'', the Bronze Age-tech Medusans manage to brutally kill some Manticorans by swarming them. Then, the Manties bring out the heavy weapons and air support. The aliens die. And die. And die some more.
* In the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' novel ''On Basilisk Station'', the Bronze Age-tech Medusans manage to brutally kill some Manticorans by swarming them. Then, the Manties bring out the heavy weapons and air support. The aliens die. And die. And die some more.
* The ''[[Discworld]]'' books play this for equal parts comedy and drama. Among other things, characters frequently react realistically to outlandish situations (in ''[[Discworld/Going Postal|Going Postal]]'', after tricking a banshee into getting killed by a malfunctioning sorting machine, the protagonist is too busy being ill to shoot off a [[Post Mortem One Liner]]), and the narrative often points out that happy endings [[This Is Reality|in "real life"]] are never as simple as they are in stories (at the end of ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'', the protagonist and her companions end up stopping the war between Borogravia and Zlobenia, but some months later in story-time the ruthless ruler of Zlobenia just tries to start another war). Complicating things is the influence that [[Theory of Narrative Causality|narrative causality]] has on the Discworld, making the line between "reality" and "fiction" as blurry as it gets.
* The ''[[Discworld]]'' books play this for equal parts comedy and drama. Among other things, characters frequently react realistically to outlandish situations (in ''[[Discworld/Going Postal|Going Postal]]'', after tricking a banshee into getting killed by a malfunctioning sorting machine, the protagonist is too busy being ill to shoot off a [[Bond One-Liner]]), and the narrative often points out that happy endings [[This Is Reality|in "real life"]] are never as simple as they are in stories (at the end of ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'', the protagonist and her companions end up stopping the war between Borogravia and Zlobenia, but some months later in story-time the ruthless ruler of Zlobenia just tries to start another war). Complicating things is the influence that [[Theory of Narrative Causality|narrative causality]] has on the Discworld, making the line between "reality" and "fiction" as blurry as it gets.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, there are a number of points where the protagonists forget basic things as a result of their panic at a situation. A prominent example is in the first book, when Hermione is so freaked out at the sight of Harry and Ron being strangled by the Devil's Snare that she forgets that she can use magic to save them. This is given a callback in the last book, when they are trying to get into the Shrieking Shack via the tunnel by the Whomping Willow. Ron panics because there's apparently no way to freeze the tree, prompting Hermione to remind him that they can use magic.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, there are a number of points where the protagonists forget basic things as a result of their panic at a situation. A prominent example is in the first book, when Hermione is so freaked out at the sight of Harry and Ron being strangled by the Devil's Snare that she forgets that she can use magic to save them. This is given a callback in the last book, when they are trying to get into the Shrieking Shack via the tunnel by the Whomping Willow. Ron panics because there's apparently no way to freeze the tree, prompting Hermione to remind him that they can use magic.
* ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'':
* ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'':
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* The series ''[[16 and Pregnant]]'' deals heavily with this, as the young mothers-to-be face the reality of their decisions. Turns out that [[Babies Make Everything Better|babies do]] '''NOT''', in fact, make everything better.
* The series ''[[16 and Pregnant]]'' deals heavily with this, as the young mothers-to-be face the reality of their decisions. Turns out that [[Babies Make Everything Better|babies do]] '''NOT''', in fact, make everything better.
* In the [[Star Trek]]: [[Deep Space Nine]] episode Blaze of Glory, Sisko and a wounded [[Anti-Hero|Michael Eddington]] have rescued several surviving members of the maquis from a planet controlled by the Dominion. Due to his wound Eddington asks to be left behind to [[Heroic Sacrifice|hold off the Dominion soldiers]] in order to [[Death Equals Redemption|give the others time to escape]]. However, as he gets up for the last stand ([[Theme Music Power-Up|even joking if anyone knows a rousing song to play]]) he is promptly shot at least half a dozen times in the chest and thrown against a wall.
* In the [[Star Trek]]: [[Deep Space Nine]] episode Blaze of Glory, Sisko and a wounded [[Anti-Hero|Michael Eddington]] have rescued several surviving members of the maquis from a planet controlled by the Dominion. Due to his wound Eddington asks to be left behind to [[Heroic Sacrifice|hold off the Dominion soldiers]] in order to [[Death Equals Redemption|give the others time to escape]]. However, as he gets up for the last stand ([[Theme Music Power-Up|even joking if anyone knows a rousing song to play]]) he is promptly shot at least half a dozen times in the chest and thrown against a wall.
* In the ''[[Miami Vice]]'' episode "Glades", [[The Dragon]] is holding a shotgun to a little girl's head as Sonny Crockett approaches with this pistol drawn and aimed. [[The Dragon]] begins threatening to shoot the girl if he's not let go, saying "If I so much as twitch, she's go--" '''''BLAM''''' Sonny shoots him right between the eyes, with the [[Post Mortem One Liner]], "Maybe you won't twitch."
* In the ''[[Miami Vice]]'' episode "Glades", [[The Dragon]] is holding a shotgun to a little girl's head as Sonny Crockett approaches with this pistol drawn and aimed. [[The Dragon]] begins threatening to shoot the girl if he's not let go, saying "If I so much as twitch, she's go--" '''''BLAM''''' Sonny shoots him right between the eyes, with the [[Bond One-Liner]], "Maybe you won't twitch."
* In the first episode of ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'''s second season, Starbuck tries to shoot Sharon for being a Cylon, and then Starbuck and Helo have a tense confrontation where Helo convinces her not to shoot Sharon because Sharon is pregnant and different from the other Cylons. Just in time to hear the engine noise as Sharon high-tails it out of there in Starbuck's stolen Raider - because, of course, when your baby's life is at stake, you're not going to stand around and wait to see if the crazy lady with the gun changes her mind.
* In the first episode of ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'''s second season, Starbuck tries to shoot Sharon for being a Cylon, and then Starbuck and Helo have a tense confrontation where Helo convinces her not to shoot Sharon because Sharon is pregnant and different from the other Cylons. Just in time to hear the engine noise as Sharon high-tails it out of there in Starbuck's stolen Raider - because, of course, when your baby's life is at stake, you're not going to stand around and wait to see if the crazy lady with the gun changes her mind.
* '[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]' is based around this trope. Raylan has been cautioned about killing people after the first episode because he has earned a reputation for it, which doesn't make the police look good, and besides, every time he kills someone it involves more paperwork for him and his boss. As a result there are many situations where he could kill somebody but can't because of his position, so has to find more intelligent ways around it. In a later episode, Loretta really wants to kill Mags, but Raylan (who is behind her), points out that the police are in the room next to her and they will arrest her if she does it (even though the killing is justified by her - and the audience's - standards).
* '[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]' is based around this trope. Raylan has been cautioned about killing people after the first episode because he has earned a reputation for it, which doesn't make the police look good, and besides, every time he kills someone it involves more paperwork for him and his boss. As a result there are many situations where he could kill somebody but can't because of his position, so has to find more intelligent ways around it. In a later episode, Loretta really wants to kill Mags, but Raylan (who is behind her), points out that the police are in the room next to her and they will arrest her if she does it (even though the killing is justified by her - and the audience's - standards).
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