Seamless Spontaneous Lie: Difference between revisions

As such, the [['''Seamless Spontaneous Lie]]''' is when someone is prompted to lie, and instantly comes up with a lie so incredibly detailed that there's little left to break or counter. The liar has lied so thoroughly that the interrogator could only reveal their lie if any of the following (or combination thereof) happens:

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', this is pulled not by the characters, but by way of [[Dub -Induced Plot Hole]]. In the Japanese version of the Arlong Park Arc, Arlong gives Nami a knife to prove her loyalty by stabbing Usopp. She decides to fake it - she puts her hand in front of Usopp and stabs it, then telling Usopp to pretend to be hit and fall into the lake/pool. In the 4Kids version, through very cheap copy-pasting of scenes, Nami elaborates an impossibly convenient plan with Usopp while preparing to "stab" him: Usopp had to replace Nami's knife with a rubber knife (that he conveniently had with him, and that conveniently looked exactly the same as Arlong's knife), Nami hits him with it, and the rest of the scene is played more or less the same. And in the next episode, Nami's hand is injured, for absolutely no reason.

* ''[[The Idolmaster (Animeanime)|THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - The Producer (helped by Haruka) to Makoto when she's having a fit for being recognized as a Prince instead of a Princess.

* In the ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'' fanfic ''[[Fever Dreams (Fanfic)|Fever Dreams]]'' Light comes up with an elaborate one {{spoiler|when cornered- [[The Starscream|he claims he was coerced into working for Kira and then betrayed him]] and though he conveniently can't go into details, he has now backed Kira into a corner so he can't kill anymore.}} L finds to his annoyance that he can't disprove it and the taskforce (though wary upon realizing that Light really is that [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative]]) becomes convinced of his innocence and some even begin to see Light as a hero.

* ''[[Murder Onon the Orient Express]]'' by Agatha Christie is centered on the murder of an American businessman on a train. As Poirot interrogates the passengers of the train. In the end, {{spoiler|we find out that everyone on the train was a part of the murder. They had to make up several lies to throw him off their trail. This was something like a dozen people. That kept up a lie under the scrutiny of Poirot. On a train in the middle of the Alps.}}

* [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] features so many talented [[Manipulative Bastard|Manipulative Bastards]]s playing [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] that this happens quite frequently. One example that is surprising because it ''doesn't'' come from such a character is when Sansa tells Tyrion that she doesn't want to stay in the part of the castle he has chosen because {{spoiler|her father's men were all killed there}}, (the real reason being that it would interfere with her escape plans). Tyrion, who is quite a [[Guile Hero]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] in his own right, accepts this (very reasonable) explanation immediately, perhaps [[Foreshadowing]] that Sansa might not be totally out of her depth in this [[Crapsack World]] after all...

* Anne Fine's book ''The Tulip Touch'' has this as one of Tulip's most notable characteristics. Being an abused child who craves attention, she frequently makes up implausible stories, but does it very well; [[Consummate Liar|the book's title refers to her habit of putting in that one little detail that always makes one wonder if she might be telling the truth just this once.]] She also fits this trope, because even when she is challenged, she is able to make up another, surprisingly plausible, explanation for the inconsistency.

* A frequent tool of ''[[Scrubs (TV)|Scrubs]]''.

{{quote| '''J.D.'s Narration''': Now you're gonna lie here. Don't be too specific!<br />

'''J.D.''': Since 1:42 yesterday afternoon. His wife did not want him to do it. She's beautiful, by the way - one green eye, one blue. She's from Luxembourg. They're both from Luxembourg. I believe they're, uh, Luxem... bourgian.<br />

'''Dr. Cox''': Where in Luxembourg? I spent two weeks there.<br />

'''J.D.'s Narration''': What are the odds? Just stay vague.<br />

'''J.D.''': Uh, outside Mertert, near the German border.<br />

'''Dr. Cox''': Ah.<br />

'''J.D.''': They say what they miss most are those lazy summer afternoons on the Moselle River.<br />

{{quote| '''Carla''': Are you wearing boxers?<br />

'''J.D.''': Yes, I am, Carla, because I know when Turk's sad, he likes me to come over in my boxers because he likes to call me his Honky Adonis, and that's what friends do.<br />

''[Elliot and Carla look at each other and shrug.]''<br />

* On ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', Lucille uses a lie like this to cover up the fact that her children's Nana died, and she's been keeping the inheritance money they want for herself. By this point in their lives, the kids know not to believe her. This just makes Lindsay try even harder to find out what happened in order to get the money.

* Barney from ''[[How I Met Your Mother (TV)|How I Met Your Mother]]'' sums this up pretty well: "If someone questions you, distract them from the original lie with more lies."

{{quote| '''Barney:''' Here, let me demonstrate: [[Blatant Lies|I own a pony.]] Ask me a question.<br />

'''Marshall:''' Okay. Um, what color is your pony?<br />

'''Barney:''' Well, when I first got Dandelion she was a deep, chestnut brown, but, sadly, her stable is located near a chemical plant which contaminated the drinking water. So, over time, she's turned a sickly, grayish-white color and there's nothing the vet can do to fix her.<br />

'''Marshall:''' My God, I'm . . . that's horrible! Is Dandelion going to be okay? ''([[Beat|beat]])'' Okay, all right, you are ''good''. [[Comically Missing the Point|Dandelion's not even sick, is she?]] }}

** Walter does this fairly frequently as well. It starts out as clumsily handled [[Multitasked Conversation|Multitasked Conversations]]s, but becomes increasingly complex.

* On ''[[Unforgettable (TV)|Unforgettable]]'' a murder suspect being interrogated by the cops, realizes that they have discovered that the murder scene was staged so he has to come up with a new story to distract the detectives. He uses the "[[Line-of-Sight Name|take names from the bulletin board]]" technique to tell a believable story and the detectives spend a fair chunk of time chasing this red herring.

* Roger of ''[[American Dad (Animation)|American Dad]]'' frequently manages to utilise one of these (given his multiple dress up personas, he is likely come to be accustomed to it).

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