The Presents Were Never From Santa: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

Bob thinks he has someone really special helping him. A guardian angel, a fairy godmother, the president of the United States, a wise alien, something like that. This fake or imaginary benefactor (Faux Empowering Entity) gives Bob (Faux Empowered Person) something that makes him feel special and chosen.

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'': In one story Tamama pretends to be a god (angel in the Funimation English dub) after being caught by a boy practising soccer. While he did help the boy become more confident he gave some rather strange advice, especially in the manga and English dub, not to mention teaching the boy a soccer kick fueled by resentment.

** Kyoko, in a mini version of this, has become Ren's [[The Obi-Wan|gag Obi Wan]] in costume as a rooster named Bou. His relationship with the rooster has evolved oddly and with no apparent introspection on his part over the course of the series, although he seems to think it's a guy older than himself. Since his reaction when this comes out will be primarily embarrassment (and amazement at how oblivious she can be, given Bou's been giving him advice about seducing the teenage girl he loves without Kyoko ever suspecting it's her), it's much easier to look forward to than the collapse of Ren's web of lies. It should be ''hilarious''.

* When a cute little cabbit-like creature offers to make you a magical girl in exchange for fulfilling your fondest wish, [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica|don't trust him]].

* In the world of ''[[Slayers]]'', there are plenty of real, actual demons, many of whom are openly seeking humans with whom to make an infernal pact with. So it's kind of [[Zero Punctuation|impressive, in a retarded kind of way]], that the [[Goldfish Poop Gang]] [[Harmless Villain]] manages to be a fervent worshipper of a demon who apparently doesn't actually exist.

* {{spoiler|Gil Graham}} from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's]]'' has provided Hayate with a home and allowance, even paying for hospital funds. {{spoiler|Turns out that this is his gambit to make Hayate the master of the Book of Darkness, [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|allowing him to seal the Book of Darkness away.]]}}

** Then again, Ryuk himself muses that he never expected what amounted to a prank to have such a massive impact on the world, and that it was a one in a million chance that the person who found the book had both a grandiose ambition for it and the intellect to achieve it. Even the [[Hero Antagonist]] says that a normal person would never have done with it what Light did, even if they still chose to kill with it (though, to his mind, that just means Light is crazy) and in the one-chapter sequel the owner of another Death Note ends up being just a pale imitation of Light. So, perhaps, Light is on to something....

== Literature ==

* In ''[[The Bible]]'', Satan arguably fills this role as he's tempting Jesus with empty/meaningless promises in the desert.

* Pip from ''[[Great Expectations]]'' believes his sudden endowment to be from Mrs. Havisham to groom him into a proper husband for her ward, Estella. He's quite shocked to find otherwise.

== Live Action TV ==

== Music ==

* In Clawfinger's song "God is dead," a unspecified audience is accused of killing each other on behalf of a deity they dreamed up in their own nightmares, the legitimacy of their holy wars against each other reduced to self-absorbed lunacy. Mistaking one's own fantasies for the voice of God might explain how some people who believe in the same God also believe that he want them to kill each other in his name.

** Lampshaded in ''[[City of Heroes]]'', where all villain characters are apparently potential "Chosen Ones" in some kind of prophecy based around the main villain. And in a notable [[Deconstruction]], the epic archetypes have an alternate introduction, where they ''hack into Arachnos's systems and mark themselves as one of the Chosen Ones''.

*** Or something else, as later on in the epic storyline you delete the last copies of the list to erase some of your tracks and see the re-divined list. Your name's on it.

* Lady Yunalesca in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' filled a role similar to this. For a thousand years she assisted summoners with the pen-ultimate step of their pilgrimage to obtain the Final Summon by {{spoiler|turning one of their guardians into it}}. Turns out, this is all a vicious, endless cycle of death destruction (and she knew it) and that her authority comes from her dad being the [[Big Bad]] that controls and recreates the monstrous Sin these summoners sought to destroy once and for all. Fortunately, the heroes reject her offer to "help" them, destroy her to end the cycle of pointless sacrifice, and [[Take a Third Option]] instead.

== Web Comics ==

** Considering the group committed the crime totally obliviously, and that the Paladins themselves had actively suppressed and hidden any information which might have let anyone outside their order even know it was a dangerous thing to do, the group probably would have been just fine with a real Angel (and it would have saved everyone some hassle/murder down the line when the fact the trial was rigged comes to light).