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Reality Ensues: Difference between revisions
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This can sometimes be seen on the hard end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]], though [[Dystopia Is Hard|it isn't necessarily so]]. See also [[Twist Ending]], [[Mood Whiplash]], [[Ascended Fridge Horror]] and [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]. [[Defied Trope]] may lead to this, as may [[Deconstructed Trope]]. Commonly found in the company of [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]. Not to be confused with [[Hilarity Ensues]], although they can overlap, depending on usage. Compare [[Magic A Is Magic A]]; it's very important that these instances are ''consistent'' with the setting. Contrast [[This Is Reality]], where a character ''believes'' that reality will ensue, but it doesn't. [[Reality Ensues]] may also be defined as forgoing [[Genre Consistency]] in favor of [[External Consistency]].
'''[[No Real Life Examples, Please]]''', as that would just be [[Department of Redundancy Department|redundant]]. We all know that reality is not a work of fiction, [[Wild Mass Guessing]] notwithstanding. Reality already ensues all the time in [[Real Life]].
'''Warning: As this trope frequently occurs at the climax of a work, spoilers are likely to be unmarked. Caution advised.'''
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* Sprite did a series of commercials based around subverting [[Cereal-Induced Superpowers]] by invoking this trope. One features a kid spotting NBA player Grant Hill drinking Sprite, and thinking Sprite will make him a basketball player -- which he quickly disproves by drinking Sprite and then attempting a slam dunk, failing, and falling on his ass.
{{quote| '''Announcer''': If you want to make it to the NBA... practice. If you want a refreshing drink, obey your thirst. Sprite.}}
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-aFQtiPzFk An even harsher one] had a visibly preteen boy thinking that drinking Sprite would transform him into a [[Professional Wrestling|professional wrestler]]. He then [[Bullying a Dragon|challenged]] [[WCW]]'s [[Wrestler/Sting|Sting]] to a match - and was promptly [[No
** In one Sprite commercial, a mom takes out some [[Bland-Name Product|Sun Fizz]] to give to her children. The sun logo comes to life to sing the drink's praises. The mom and kids respond by doing what a real life mom and kids would do: freak out and run away, screaming. This troper recalls that commercial winning some kind of award.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpReQprVjag One depressing European ad against child abuse] had a man [[Amusing Injuries|beating a cartoon kid]] for a while before cutting to a real, unconscious kid on the floor and the legend "Real children don't bounce back".
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* In ''[[Irredeemable]]'', the [[Ax Crazy]] [[Face Heel Turn|superhero-turned-supervillain]] [[Villain Protagonist|titular character]], in a flashback from his early teens, hears his foster mother is about to commit suicide. He gets here in a fraction of a second. But sounds takes almost ten seconds to travel two miles. She was already dead before he left his school desk.
* Amusingly one of the first times [[Empowered (Comic Book)|Empowered]] comes across as actually being badass. She points out, quite effectively, that driving an SUV at 75 miles an hour into a villain's back is much more effective than hitting him with a thrown one at about 5 miles an hour. This allows her to defeat a villain that the entire superhero squad she's a [[Butt Monkey]] for was defeated by. Unfortunately, the car is totaled, leaving her tied up and unable to brag, and her superhero squad walks off, assuming they and the villain knocked each other out. ([[The Woobie|Forgetting about Empowered in the process.]])
* In the first ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'' comic, they're tied up on top of an active volcano and a husky cult leader intends to kill them. [[Convection, Schmonvection|The large amount of heat from the volcano]] causes the cult leader to spontaneously combust. However, the comic decides to play it off as a [[Deus Ex Machina]] for the sake of humor.
* This is pretty much the central premise of [[Watchmen]]: what happens to superheroes when [[Reality Ensues]]? What becomes of people who dress up in costumes and take the law into their own hands in a world as full of political and social complexities as the real world? They die. They go insane (presuming they weren't [[Black and White Insanity|insane already]]). [[He Who Fights Monsters|Or they become monsters.]]
* Similarly to [[Watchmen]], [[The Boys]] works on a decidedly more realistic take on Superheroes. They have PR agents and are fighting over defense contracts, among other things. It's shown that The Seven (DC analogues) spend most of their time being faces for the [[Mega Corp]], doing very little, if any, actual hero work, since there are no villains to fight. The one time they actually try to fight evil, The Seven find out very quickly that having superpowers doesn't automatically mean they know how to fight crime. {{spoiler|Cue September 11th.}}
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** Later on, River is facing a group of vengeful pirates. She's on the ground, and they're in their ship. She starts running for cover behind some boulders where they can't shoot her, only to get hit by the backwash of their engines and get thrown into said boulders, breaking her legs and back.
* Braid of the Limbo Clone Squad. When he was facing his demise he was plucked from his universe by a mischief god and given his choice of powers. His choice: the natural laws of his Earth will always rule him. How does this count as a power? {{spoiler|Well, the universe he was thrown into is an anime universe, meaning that the only reason the heroes haven't died is that the universe's laws seem to want to protect them. Which means he can see through the [[Paper-Thin Disguise|flimsy disguises that most people use]] and has no problem just killing the fuckers when they're not powered up with a simple sniper shot to the head.}}
* Like the Fic above, a very old Latin Fanfic called "Strata" [[Lost Forever|(deleted since 2003)]] had this premise with a Ranma 1/2-[[Sailor Moon]] crossover. An elite army of very [[Genre Savvy]] [[Military Science Fiction|black ops]] end in their Universe and by a series of hi-jinks ended [[Kill Them All|targeting martial artists]] for the government agency. They break [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty|every]] [[Killed Mid-Sentence|loophole]] in battle, using [[Combat Pragmatist|ambushes, snipers]], heavy weapons, reinforced vehicles and even bioweapons, mowing down and nearly killing the main characters. It doesn't get ''truly'' brutal until Kuno gets shot in the middle of his rambling. {{spoiler|He [[No
* Frequently [[Played With]] in ''[[Hunting the Unicorn (Fanfic)|Hunting the Unicorn]]''--[[Troperiffic|lots of tropes]] show up naturally, but everyone who ''actively tries'' to [[Invoked Trope|invoke a trope]] will end up just failing at best, or running into [[Deconstruction|consequences]] at worst. Most notable is {{spoiler|Blaine}}'s past attempt to invoke ''[[Sex Equals Love]]'', which... [[Break the Cutie|didn't work.]]
** Another case is where Blaine hits his head and the [[Easy Amnesia]] / [[Tap On the Head]] tropes are ''very'' much averted.
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* Although less violent than most examples, this ends up happening in ''[[Ratatouille]]'' -- {{spoiler|after everything seems set for a [[Happily Ever After]], it gets derailed into more of a [[Bittersweet Ending]]. Despite everyone's efforts to revive Gusteau's, it's shut down for good when the Health Inspector is entirely unmoved by the fact that the rats in the kitchen are perfectly sanitary and are cooking the food. Remy, Linguini, and Colette ''do'' bounce back and open up another restaurant, though, keeping it from falling into a full [[Downer Ending]].}}
** There was also one earlier; {{spoiler|Linguini reveals his secret to the kitchen, only to have everyone, even the waiter and his girlfriend, walk out.}}
** Linguini and Colette's [["Falling in Love" Montage]] is [[Mood Whiplash|rudely interrupted]] when Remy falls off Linguini's head, and is abruptly faced with the very real danger of being a rat in the middle of the street.
* In the [[Final Battle]] of the first live action ''[[Kekko Kamen]]'' film the title character is fighting a very butch mook who is revealed, with much gloating from the [[Big Bad]], to be immune to all of her powers. The heroine then picks up a gun from a fallen mook and uses it.
* In the Macaulay Culkin movie ''[[Richie Rich]]'', the [[Big Bad]] spends the entire movie trying to break into the Rich family vault so he can steal their money. By the time he actually makes it in, however, he finds that is full of nothing but keepsakes and photo albums, leading to this:
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** ''"[[Turbine Blender|NO CAPES!]]"''
** Really, the central premise behind the movie itself is somewhat similar to [[Watchmen]]: the real-life consequences of superhero activities. Mr. Incredible saves a suicidal man, who promptly sues him for the injuries he caused. He stops a runaway train, and is sued for damages. Holding superheroes responsible for the collateral damage they inadvertantly cause is the reason they disappear.
* ''Bodyguards & Assassins'': The final assassin is a highly-skilled martial artist. [[Instant Death Radius|Death in close quarters]], [[Hero
* ''[[Escape From LA]]'' Snake goads some mooks to see how fast they can shoot, by getting them to put their guns and not fire till his can hits the ground. When he flips it he shoots them all before it hits the ground.
* In the film of ''Wild West'', when West is up against a mook, said mook fights with elaborate kicks and punches, saying "I learned that from a Chinaman!" West simply hits him over the head with a shovel, stating "I made that up."
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** Or in ''Mattimeo'', where a gang of slave traders disguise themselves as entertainers to sneak into Redwall Abbey and abduct the children (for underground mining labour). {{spoiler|At an ensuing festival inside the abbey grounds, they manage to spike all of the partygoers' drinks, and get them to drink them at the same time by calling out a toast.}} All seems to be working according to plan.<br /><br />'''''Or does it?!'''''<br /><br />Actually it turns out that {{spoiler|the cooks and kitchen aides naturally didn't drink anything, and try to stop the slavers by themselves. The slavers, on the other hand,... simply slaughter them and calmly proceed loading the Unconscious on their cart}}. Two '[[Reality Ensues]]' moments in one.
* In ''Retribution Falls'' the heroes {{spoiler|find the legendary pirate port Retribution Falls to be exactly what a city built by pirates would be like: a badly built [[Wretched Hive]].}}
* In ''[[War of the Dreaming (Literature)|War of the Dreaming]]'', there is an [[Out
* James Patterson has this as a side effect of the [[Author Tract]] in ''Cross Country'', Alex Cross's ex girlfriend gets brutally murdered by an African mercenary. He heads to Africa. {{spoiler|The second he gets out of the airport, he's kidnapped. By the police. Then it gets worse.}} You could basically cut out several hundred pages from the middle of the book, and all you'd miss would be the [[Author Tract]] and Reality Ensuing, over and over again.
* [[Reality Ensues]] plus [[Deus Angst Machina]] is pretty much the entire reason for the ''[[Lawrence Watt Evans|Three Worlds Trilogy]]''. [[This Loser Is You|The protagonist fails]] [[Boring Failure Hero|at everything]] and a whole bunch of people die because he's just an ordinary person up against insurmountable odds. [[Grimdark]] only begins to describe it.
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'''Wash:''' I didn't think of that... }}
** In another episode someone takes a cremember hostage and starts making demands. Malcolm just shoots him.
* In the ''[[
** And then there's "Midnight", which savages the Doctor's usual bluster and approach to problem-solving. Instead of managing to get the people's trust, they view him with suspicion and think him very arrogant. It's all part of the [[Monster of the Week]]'s plan.
* In ''[[Torchwood (TV)|Torchwood]]'', Tosh and Ianto find themselves confronted by three hooded, scythe-wielding men who spout fire and brimstone, then ominously start walking towards them as the music swells. They gun them down without a pause.
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* The pilot episode of ''[[Bones]]'' has one where Brennan confronts the killer, who is dousing a room with evidence in gasoline. When Brennan says she can't let him destroy evidence, he pulls out a lighter and does the whole "try and stop me and we both burn" thing. {{spoiler|Brennan immediately whips out her revolver and shoots him in the leg. And in even more ensuing reality, she is promptly arrested for it. By Booth. And later fails to get a gun-carrying permit, because of this incident.}}
** {{spoiler|Shooting him in the ''leg'' is excused by her co-workers: [[Completely Missing the Point|"It was her first shooting, you can't expect her to be perfect right out of the gate!"]]}}
* ''[[CSI: Miami]]'':"Guerrillas in the Mist". The bad guy has a weapon that's basically a [
{{quote| '''Bad Guy''': You're on the losing side of this one, Lieutenant. I could fire a thousand rounds before you get a shot o--<br />
'''Caine''': (shoots him, shoots his accomplices. Walks over to the [[Big Bad]]'s body and [[Glasses Pull|removes his glasses]]) [[Quip to Black|Apparently, it only takes the one]]. }}
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* [[Chappelles Show]] : "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong" skits are all about this.
* The ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' "Hero Song" features Andy Samberg as a businessman singing about how he's distressed by crime in the city and donning a superhero cape and mask to clean up the streets. Until he finds a [[Distressed Damsel]] played by Amy Adams being menaced by a [[Mooks|mook]] played by Jason Sudeikis. In mid-''line'', the singing hero takes a [[Talk to The Fist|punch to the face]], at which point the mook proceeds to beat the hero. ''[[Squick|Brutally]].'' [[Overly Long Gag|For over a minute.]]
* ''[[Blue Mountain State]]'' is a comedy series built firmly upon the [[Rule of Funny]]. The acts committed by the team shown in the show would get a real NCAA team in serious trouble with the NCAA but hey, it's a comedy, so that kind of talk is brushed aside. {{spoiler|Then comes the end of season 3. [[Wham! Episode|It turns out that the NCAA has been investigating BMS and the Goats are in serious trouble.]]}}
* The series two finale of ''[[Sherlock (TV)|Sherlock]]'' hinges on the police no longer implicitly trusting Sherlock on the basis that he's Just That Good, and the reaction of their superiors to a PI being given access to classified information (repeatedly).
* ''[[Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'' uses this trope often for comedic effect. In one episode Mac and Charlie attempt to fake their deaths by blowing up a car. Their attempts to do it by invokeing various action movie tropes result mostly in the duo injuring ''themselves''. Later it turns out that their attempt to fake their demises failed naturally and that no one but Frank thought they were dead.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* Any tabletop RPG player knows this can happen to the heroes or the villains. It doesn't matter how dramatic the story has made it, one lucky roll from either side can make a climactic showdown [[Chunky Salsa Rule|very, very brief]]. The extent to which this happens can tell a lot about the nature of a game and GM. [
** Games that heavily avert this trope (such as ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' and ''[[Star Wars]] D20'') tend to create a very heroic, action-movie like feel.
** Grittier, meaner, more brutal games (''[[The World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|The World of Darkness]]'', ''[[Dark Heresy]]'', ''[[Call of Cthulhu (Tabletop Game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'', and so on) intentionally invoke this trope to help create the feel of danger, failure, and high stakes. Some games, such as the old [[West End Games]] ''D6 [[Star Wars]]'' adaptation, have rules written to invoke this trope and then blatantly tell the GM to lie and keep the PC's relatively safe, allowing them to feel like reality may ensue when it probably won't. Some games even shoot to overplay this trope in the name of schadenfreude; for instance, in ''[[Paranoia (Tabletop Game)|Paranoia]]'', your character is incompetent, your boss is insane, and your teammates will throw you under the bus at the drop of a hat-- so sure enough, you're pretty much guaranteed to suck, fail, and die repeatedly [[Black Comedy|for laughs]].
** ''[[GURPS (Tabletop Game)|GURPS]]'' defaults to a gritty, dangerous rule system where this trope is in full force, and combat is lethal. But the GM can change that, for example by using the various Cinematic Combat rules, or ignoring the bleeding rules. And then there are the ''Silly'' Combat rules, which throw reality right out the window in favor of rules like Bulletproof Nudity, [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]] (the [[Trope Namer]]), [[Bottomless Magazines|Infinite Ammunition]], and [[Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting|Martial Arts Anonymous]].
** ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' generally averts this trope. However, when it comes to 2.5 Edition, if one were to implement the [[Critical Hit|critical hit]] system from [[Expanded Universe|Combat & Tactics]], players can find themselves in need of [[Death Is Cheap|a resurrection spell]] fast. And, [[It Got Worse|to make matters worse]], depending on the type of damage inflicted (e.g., [[Hollywood Acid|acid]], [[Man On Fire|fire]], [[Gale Force Sound|vibration]]) a player may require a [[Reincarnation|reincarnation]] spell, [[Make a Wish|a wish]] [[Be Careful What You Wish For|spell]] or worse yet, [[Killed Off for Real|a new character]] [[Final Death|to continue playing]]. <ref>After all, what do you expect to happen when a 3rd level illusionist receives [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|TRIPLE damage]] from a rampaging [[Smash Mook|umber hulk's]] fists? Not to mention the damage [[Impromptu Tracheotomy|an arrow through the throat can do]], the horrific effects of the various kinds of [[Our Dragons Are Different|dragon's]] [[Breath Weapon|breath]], the many [[Universal Poison|venomous/poisonous beasts]], the [[Brown Note|long term effects]] [[Telepathy|of getting]] [[Mind Rape|hit with a]] [[Psychic Powers|psionic attack]], and let's not even get started with [[The Undead]] and the many ways they can kill a PC [[One-Hit-Point Wonder|in one turn or less]]. While we're on the subject of creatures of the night, getting mauled by a [[Our Werebeasts Are Different|werebeast]] will more likely end in a [[Gorn|bloody death]]; becoming a therianthrope is a rather remote possibility.</ref> [["Stop Having Fun!" Guys|When]] [[Killer Game Master|played straight]], D&D can be [[Everything Trying to Kill You|far more]] [[Death World|dangerous]] than [[Real Life]], since [[Wizard Needs Food Badly|you can starve]], [[Hostile Weather|die from exposure]], [[Super Drowning Skills|drown]] [[Captain Obvious|(take off your armor before you attempt to swim)]], and having a [[Light'Em Up|light spell]] [[Eye Scream|cast on]] [[Blinded By the Light|your eyes will]] [[Sense Loss Sadness|blind you]]. [[Light Is Not Good|Permanently]]. And occasionally [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies]].
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** When homer builds a church in an island, he believed in the Flintstones by using a pelican as a cement mixer, as he gives it a pat, the bird just falls on the ground.
* ''[[Archer]]'' often plays the various injuries encountered in [[Spy Fiction]] realistically:
** Whenever a character is exposed to explosions or gunfire, they suffer temporary deafness, sometimes accompanied by a [[Shell
** When Ray gets knocked out via a [[Tap On the Head]], he has to see a neurologist.
* In ''[[Frisky Dingo]]'', Killface and Xander run against each other for presidency for most of the second season before it's pointed out that neither of them are eligible, as Killface wasn't born in the US and Xander is under 35.
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[[Category:Example As a Thesis]]
[[Category:Reality Ensues]]
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