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{{trope}}
When the plot (usually courtesy of the antagonist), in a last ditch effort, [[Leave Your Quest Test|tempts the hero into abandoning his potentially painful and tragic cause]] to pursue what would be [[Home, Sweet Home|a fairly ordinary and happy life]], especially with a vision or daydream of said situation. The true hero, naturally, doesn't fall for this, or at least acknowledges he has a higher calling.
Occasionally, the dream implies whatever the hero was doing has been ''done'' somehow, and they shouldn't worry about it now. Although sometimes the quest still exists but is suddenly [[Someone Elses Problem]].
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* The infamous [[Elseworld|Schoolyard Comedy]] sequence in the final episode of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. It's up for debate whether Shinji's fantasy world was a real possibility or just [[Lotus Eater Machine|an Instrumentality-induced illusion]], which is probably [[Mind Screw|intended]].
* In the anime ''[[Mai-HiME]]'', Mai experiences this at one of her lowest points courtesy of another HiME's powers. Her temptation is an idyllic life free of the many tragedies that have afflicted Mai's thus far but she rejects it for harsh reality. (And mind you, this is not even her ''last'' temptation; that would be [[End of the World Special|the temptation to remake the world to her liking]], which she eventually rejects as well.)
* This happens to [[Tenchi Muyo!]] near the end of ''Tenchi In Tokyo'', in which the temptation is to be with his girlfriend Sakuya forever in a [[Lotus Eater Machine|dream world]] after she was [[Ret-Gone|erased from the real world]]. This comes after the revelation that Sakuya was created by [[Big Bad|Yugi]] for the sole purpose of preventing Tenchi from being able to stop Yugi's evil plan. Ironically, it's ''Sakuya herself'' (having gained a will of her own) who gets Tenchi to leave, [[Disappears Into Light|at the cost of her own life]].
* In the last episode of ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'' Setsuna creates a picture perfect world in which there are no angels fighting, Sara is not his sister and mass destruction has not occurred. It doesn't last long, of course.
* Arguably, ''[[Ergo Proxy]]'' provides an example of this trope as Vincent {{spoiler|dreams/conjures/creates a version of Romdeau in which he holds the high position of Head of Security, Real is his fiancée and Deadelus her friendly genius kid brother.}}
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* ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' sees the crew of the titular [[Cool Ship]] deserting it late in the series and trying to find happiness in normal lives they had before... only to fail the last part miserably and return to battle like real heroes should.
* Similarly, the Solo crew in ''[[Space Runaway Ideon]]'' are tempted to leave Solo Ship and Ideon behind in Earth or Buff Clan's possession, ending their hopeless and endless [[Stern Chase]] across the universe for good. Eventually, they don't and it [[Kill'Em All|doesn't end well]].
* ''[[
* [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] has Evangeline trying to convince Setsuna to give up her swordsmanship in favor of living the life of a normal girl. [[Take a Third Option|It doesn't go as planned.]] ''[[Alternate Character Interpretation|Maybe.]]''
*** In chapter 296, {{spoiler|Zazie<ref>(or her sister)</ref> appears to be springing a [[Lotus Eater Machine]] version on one or more of the members of Ala Alba, giving them all their greatest desires, and the only way to escape is to reject it. What does Negi experience? [[Tear Jerker|He finally gets to be with his parents]].}}
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== Film ==
* The Nexus in ''[[Star Trek Generations]]'', which offered to anyone who entered their happiest fantasies come to life. It didn't work on Picard. {{spoiler|He was always at his happiest when on the Enterprise, and the Nexus deprived him of that, giving him the chance to see through the illusion. Even so, the chance to see his beloved (but recently deceased) nephew again and to live with the family his career never left time for is almost enough to tempt him into staying, if lives weren't hanging in the balance}}
* Jareth does this at the climax of ''[[
== Literature ==
* One of the earlier examples is from [[
* Samwise Gamgee in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', the only Ringbearer in history to refuse the temptation of the One Ring. Being the quintessential hobbit, this was attributed to his "plain hobbit sense." He imagines [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am-piARxy4U a garden the size of an entire realm], then realizes it'd be impossible to manage and unfulfilling to have servants do it for him.
** Frodo's visit to Lothlorien is also [[The Final Temptation]] for Galadriel, which is played up in [[The Lord of the Rings (
* [[Greek Mythology|Achilles]] is told early on that if he does not go to the war he will find peace and have a family of his own but he will eventually be forgotten; if he goes to Troy, his name will last for eternity but he will die there.]] [[Jumped At the Call|Guess which one he took.]]
* [[Andre Norton]]'s ''Storm Over Warlock'': the telepathic Wyverns put Shann Lantee through a test involving illusions, including reunion with a pet he'd had a few years before -- "the only thing Shann had ever known which he could love wholeheartedly...." To pass that part of the test, he had to force himself to recall in detail how his pet died, in pain from an injury Shann was powerless to heal. He was, understandably, in a rather bad mood for some time afterwards.
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*** {{spoiler|The Trickster}} attempts this on Sarah Jane in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''.
** And in the second season (2006) episode "School Reunion", the Krillatines offer the Doctor the chance to share in the power of the [[Reality Warper|Skasis Paradigmn]], allowing him to bring his people back from extinction.
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', "What Is And What Should Never Be": Dean has to choose between his life as a hunter and a [[Lotus Eater Machine]] where his mother is still alive, his father died of natural causes, and Sam finished law school and got engaged to Jessica.
** Especially epic (and also arguably trope-subverted) in that Dean makes the decision to try and break free ''before he knows that its an illusion''. Regardless of how much better life was for himself and his family, Dean wouldn't accept it at the price of all the innocent lives him and Sam had saved as Hunters. He would have refused the temptation even if it had been true.
* The spores in the ''[[Star Trek:
* An episode of ''[[The X
* Not exactly the same sort of temptation, but fitting the trope: An episode of ''[[Scrubs]]'' introduces Dr Cox's friend Ben (an avid photographer who likes to take spontaneous pictures, claiming that 'posed pictures aren't real'), who gets diagnosed with cancer. JD takes a liking to Ben, and gets convinced that the diagnosis is wrong - all his friends have complained how important files have been mixed up and the wrong patients sent to surgery and so on, and JD believes that the same thing happens here. After convincing the lab doctor to redo the test, Ben is proven to be healthy, and everything is rosy... and the edges of the frame starts getting kinda blurry... when Ben wants everyone to gather together for a group pic, JD thinks it's odd because doesn't Ben think pics like that aren't real? And Ben replies, "Don't you see? None of this is real." And that's when JD's wishful daydream, which has been going on since just before the second blood test, ends.
** And in a later episode, Ben visits for Cox's son's birthday party, Dr. Cox blames JD for the death of a patient, and Ben manages to convince Dr. Cox to apologize. Later, Dr. Cox and Ben are on the way to the party, and {{spoiler|JD arrives, prompting Dr. Cox to realize that Ben is not there, that Ben was in fact the patient who died and that they are attending his funeral rather than Jack's birthday party}}.
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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Persona 3]]'' has an especially twisted and (for some) heart-wrenching variation: {{spoiler|It turns out that one of the main character's friends from school, Ryoji Mochizuki, is actually the [[Cosmic Horror]] who will bring about [[The End of the World
** Made especially painful because {{spoiler|everyone involved heavily plays up that [[Cosmic Horror|Nyx]] is unbeatable and invincible, a force of nature that cannot be destroyed or pushed back, that to resist is meaningless - merely slow and painful death, complete and total despair as you watch the sands of your metaphorical hourglass tick away in a battle that is impossible to win, instead of a swift, merciful, blessedly unaware death..}}
* Occurs in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' (Hordes of the Underdark, to be specific) if you try to oppose the Elder Brain. It's not very tough to overpower the illusion - but fighting off the three big uglies that show up when you do is another matter. (After which the Elder Brain dies almost anticlimactically, since it's... well... [[Exactly What It Says
* In a not-very-[[Secret Test of Character]] in ''[[
* ''[[Ratchet and Clank]] Future: Tools of Destruction'' plays with this right before the final boss fight with Tachyon, by {{spoiler|showing Ratchet the dimension the Lombaxes had escaped to, and offering Ratchet a chance to join them, leaving Tachyon unopposed}}. Naturally, Ratchet claims he has a [[Higher Calling]] (i.e. kicking Tachyon's ass).
* Part of the [[Secret Test of Character|Air Gem tests]] in the [[AGD Interactive]] [[Fan Remake]] of ''[[King's Quest II]]''. {{spoiler|Graham is thrust forward in time to his darkest moment - Daventry is in ruins, the three-headed dragon ravaging the land has demanded Graham's daughter as a [[Human Sacrifice]], and Graham's son was kidnapped by his enemies. That's when the [[Big Bad]] (who masterminded the whole thing in a [[Batman Gambit]]) shows up to gloat and offer a deal. He will send away the dragon, return Graham's kids, and restore the blighted kingdom in exchange for Graham's crown.}} It's playable, so you have several options. The one scoring the highest points is {{spoiler|telling him that the act of passing on the crown to someone like him would be treason against the principles that Daventry is founded on, and that certain values must be put above oneself and one's family. The fiend ends up being quite impressed with your sense of loyalty}}.
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== Western Animation ==
* Samwise Gamgee's temptation is played up in the animated ''[[The Return of the King (
* This happened to Shipwreck in ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' in the episode "There's No Place Like Springfield".
* In ''[[Barbie and
* [[Evil Sorceror|Dr. Facilier]] of ''[[The Princess and
* An episode of [[Batman:
** Trying to read something in a dream is a trick used by lucid dreamers to detect whether they are dreaming. Unless you have a photographic memory, your brain will have some trouble trying to remember or imagine a page full of text.
* Used in ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'' episode "The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel".
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