History DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu / Literature

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'' opens with BadassNormal Frank Bryce meeting the BigBad Lord Voldemort, who by that point has become a HumanoidAbomination after creating multiple {{Soul Jar}}s, and who even in his weakened state (temporarily occupying a rudimentary body resembling a grotesque infant) retains enough power to cast a [[OneHitKill Killing Curse]]. Voldemort and [[TheIgor Wormtail]] are camped out in an empty house that used to belong to Voldemort's late {{Muggle|s}} father, where Frank works as the CrustyCaretaker. Assuming that "Muggle," "wizard," "Ministry of Magic," and so on must be SpySpeak, and that Voldemort and Wormtail must be mundane (albeit clearly dangerous) criminals occupying the abandoned house, Frank threatens to call the police. His last words before Voldemort kills him? "Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, ''my Lord''. Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't you?" At the novel's climax, when Voldemort's MagicWand inadvertently produces an echo of Frank, the Muggle is unfazed even in death and remarks to Harry: ""He was a real wizard, then? Killed me, that one did. . . . You fight him, boy."

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'' opens with BadassNormal Frank Bryce meeting the BigBad Lord Voldemort, who by that point has become a HumanoidAbomination after creating multiple {{Soul Jar}}s, and who even in his weakened state (temporarily occupying a rudimentary body resembling a grotesque infant) retains enough power to cast a [[OneHitKill Killing Curse]]. Voldemort and [[TheIgor Wormtail]] are camped out in an empty house that used to belong to Voldemort's late {{Muggle|s}} father, where Frank works as the CrustyCaretaker. With no comprehension of what Voldemort and Wormtail are discussing, Assuming that "Muggle," "wizard," "Ministry of Magic," and so on must be SpySpeak, and that Voldemort and Wormtail are criminals occupying the abandoned house, Frank threatens to call the police. His last words before Voldemort kills him? "Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, ''my Lord''. Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't you?" At the novel's climax, when Voldemort's MagicWand inadvertently produces an echo of Frank, the Muggle is unfazed even in death and remarks to Harry: ""He was a real wizard, then? Killed me, that one did. . . . You fight him, boy."

* In K.A. Applegate's ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'', Jake to Crayak, repeatedly. In the third ''Megamorphs'' book, the rest of the team does this to Crayak by [[spoiler:bringing Jake back to life.]]
* ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'' by Creator/RickRiordan:

* Creator/JimButcher likes writing characters who box outside their weight class. In ''Literature/CodexAlera'', Tavi of Calderon flips off arch-mages, ancient wolf warriors, zerg knock-offs, and physical gods on a roughly weekly basis. Like his TakeAThirdOption tendencies, it becomes possible to ''track him by invoking this trope''.
* In the ''[[Literature/DeptfordMice Deptford Mouselets]]'' book ''Whortle's Hope'', Virianna taunts the [[GodOfEvil rat goddess]] Mabb to get her to come out of hiding and fight with her. She says she is "naught but a shifter of shadows and a causer of bad dreams".

* In N. R. Eccles-Smith's HighFantasy series, ''Literature/{{DragonCalling}}'' the satyr, [[PluckyComicRelief Norf]], has a tendency to spout angry insults as a coping mechanism during moments of stress; unfortunately he also does this at the creature/s causing the stress, e.g. when he hurls insults at the harpies of Mistwood that have surrounded their camp, or when he verbally abuses Scimitar Dancer, despite being at the hemlan captain's mercy.
* In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' last book, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, a member of the Kender race -- which are chronically bored, are impulsive kleptomaniacs and considered little more than a pest by the other people of the world -- managed to do this to [[BigBad Chaos]] the father of ALL the Gods, using lots of insults -- Kenders are able to come up with insults against anything -- to [[WeNeedADistraction distract him]] while the other people in the battle attempt to make him bleed, for his blood is required to vanish him. In the end, he not only distracts Chaos efficiently, but, using his small knife, cuts him, and the blood coming from that cut is the one used to win the battle.
** In the Dark Disciple trilogy, Atta (a dog) bites Chemosh (the god of Death) in the ankle.
*** That didn't just distract him -- another god Majere used Atta's teeth as the vessel of his wrath to let Chemosh know that he was ''not happy'' with Chemosh's recent actions.

--->'''Harry:''' ''[to Lasciel the Temptress]'' And by any chance does all this knowledge and power and good advice come for only three easy installments of nineteen ninety-five plus shipping and handling? Or maybe it comes with a bonus set of knives tough enough to saw through a nail, yet can still cut tomatoes like ''this''.
--->'''Lasciel:''' You aren't nearly as funny as you think you are.
--->''[also]''
--->'''Harry:''' ''[to Cowl]'' Touché, O dark master of evil bathrobes.
--->''[also]''
--->'''Harry:''' ''[to Cowl (again)]'' And again I do answer thee. Bite me.

--->"I DON'T BELIEVE IN FAIRIES!"[[note]]This being a ShoutOut to the line from Peter Pan "...and every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies', there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead."[[/note]]

--->'''Murphy:''' Do you have to piss off everyone you meet?
--->'''Harry:''' If I didn't, he might feel left out.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'': Shortly before being burned at the stake, [[PosthumousCharacter Agnes Nutter]] told the mob that was out for her blood these last words:
-->"Gather ye ryte close, I saye, and ''marke well the fate of alle who meddle with suche as theye do none understande.''" She then looked up at the sky and said "That goes for you as welle, yowe daft old foole."
** [[spoiler:Subverted, as she was actually addressing Shadwell in the future, as she was psychic and knew Shadwell would have a dream about her death.]]

* ''Literature/{{IT}}'' by Creator/StephenKing evokes this when Eddie sprays his asthma inhaler on It. He does it twice, once when he's a kid and again a few decades later; it works because Eddie believes it will hurt It, and what really hurts It is [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve belief]]. Unfortunately, it doesn't work so well the second time around when [[spoiler: It bites his arm off, killing him.]]
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Zettai has one such moment in ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', when she mouths off to the local [[TheGrimReaper Grim Reaper]]. "You're not a god; you're a worm on a power trip". This gets her soul ripped from her body. [[spoiler: Fortunately, she's a Bladi by this point so she's still conscious enough to put it back in, after an assist from Kallen and her Campione Cannon.]]
* ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'': ''Homeland'' gives the [[FountainOfExpies original]] [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch drow turncoat]] a badass EstablishingCharacterMoment when he calls [[GodOfEvil Lolth]] a ''lying bitch'' to his sister Vierna's face (Vierna being a high-ranking Priestess of Lolth). There is a lot of tension in the resulting scene where it is unclear whether his sister or another drow will kill him for suicidally spitting on the name of the drow's chief goddess.
* In ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'', after a flying party ship is attacked by [[spoiler:Krikkit robots trying to steal the award for the most gratuitous use of the word "fuck", or "Belgium" in some editions]]. (ItMakesSenseInContext.) Arthur Dent and the others prepare to flee but are delayed by Thor (yes, THAT Thor) who wants to keep Trillian with him. Arthur then asks him one question:
-->'''Arthur:''' Do you want to step outside?
** This works as intended, as Thor steps outside (read: steps off of the flying party and into thin air) and the others flee without fear of a long argument killing them.
* The ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novel, ''Literature/TestOfMetal'', has the protagonist, Tezzeret, tells Nicol Bolas, the nigh-omnipotent 25,000-year-old Elder Dragon, that he's "stupid" and condescendingly tries to explain what the words 'thank you mean'. Bolas is not amused. [[spoiler:Then it turns out the Bolas he flipped off was just an inferior copy the original made to carry out his plans.]]

** Quick Ben, a mage, does this for fun--and gets away with it. There is a very long list of gods and rulers he has pissed off during the course of his career.
** Three gods once cursed Kallor to live forever and never Ascend. He cursed them right back. And it ''worked''.
* In ''Literature/TheStand'', Glen Bateman responds to Flagg [[KneelBeforeZod asking him to kneel]] with mocking laughter. Glen finds it hilarious that he and his friends [[NotAfraidOfYouAnymore ever feared Flagg]]. Glen gets shot to death for his trouble, but he does contribute to Flagg's VillainousBreakdown.
* In the ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'' books, series hero Owen makes it a point to tease the enormous Agent Franks every time they meet, even after he learns that Franks [[spoiler: was the inspiration for FrankensteinsMonster]].
* In Creator/EricFlint and Creator/DavidFreer's book ''Literature/PyramidScheme'', our heroes find themselves trapped in the world of Greek mythology and caught up in a war against the gods of Olympus. At one point, Zeus, king of the Olympians, is about to start blasting people with thunderbolts. Henri Lenoir, visiting French botanist, proceeds to deliver a blistering salvo of insults in true Gallic fashion, [[WeNeedADistraction distracting Zeus]] at the cost of his own life until the others can escape.
* In ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'': [[http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=118769&highlight= Armageddon]], happens when Gordon Brown says "Sod off, Baldrick" in reply to [[BrownNote The Message]] and Satan's message that humanity now belongs to him, then revealing that he [[Series/BlackAdder has a cunning plan]] to deal with the situation.
** And in a hilarious use of the trope, [[spoiler:Michael the archangel ''intentionally'' does this to Yahweh when he delivers a heap of bad news to him. He doesn't insult Him directly, but he does do his bit of snarking... and he KNOWS what Yahweh's reaction would be to the news]].
* ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'' has Billy The Kid threatening [[spoiler:his master, Quetzalcoatl]] with an ax. Considering the [[NoImmortalInertia potential]] [[RapidAging consequences]], that took balls. In ''The Sorceress'', after Cernunnos points a sword at the heroes, Sophie tells him it's not polite to point.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' novelization trilogy ''Literature/TheWarOfTheAncients'' pulls this off, combining it with DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Brox actually managing to ''injure'' [[CosmicEntity Sargeras]]. It was a small scratch, but when you realize how powerful we ''know'' Sargeras is (about three levels above the Big Bads normally seen; the "destroy planet with a flick of the hand" level of power), not to mention that little trick is what ultimately won the war, it's quite a feat.]]

** ''[[Literature/ThousandSons Ahriman: Unchanged]]'', Inquisitor Iobel inadvertently enters the [[EldritchLocation Labyrinth of Tzeentch]] while exploring Ahriman's [[MentalWorld mindscape]], and encounters [[PhysicalGod Magnus]] [[HumanoidAbomination the Red]]. She's initially cowed by Magnus when he commands her to do his bidding, but after realizing that he can't harm her since she's [[LivingMemory already dead]], she [[SpitefulSpit spits at him]] and starts insulting him.

** In ''Clonelord'', EvilutionaryBiologist Fabius Bile is at the mercy of a Slaaneshi daemon known as The Quaestor. At the time, Bile was a FlatEarthAtheist who clung to a twisted version of the Imperial Truth, refusing to believe that daemons or the Chaos Gods were self-aware creatures. As a result, even as it's causing his organs to fail he continues insulting its intelligence and ending with "[[BadassBoast Gods are for the weak. I am not weak.]]" Luckily for him, the Chaos Gods are [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly fueled by emotion]] and even his disdain made Slaanesh consider him useful.

** Most other minor characters in the series have to do a HeroicSacrifice to provide a distraction. All of the main characters in ''Book Of Night With Moon'' attempt or succeed in a HeroicSacrifice just to delay the BigBad, although most of them do get better later. Pitting preteen humans or housecats against the machinations of [[{{Satan}} the eldest, fairest, and fallen]] means any form of victory is going to fall between this and DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu.

* In N. R. Eccles-Smith's HighFantasy series, ''Literature/{{DragonCalling}}'' the satyr, [[PluckyComicRelief Norf]], has a tendency to spout angry insults as a coping mechanism during moments of stress; unfortunately he also does this at the creature/s causing the stress (eg. When he hurls insults at the harpies of Mistwood that have surrounded their camp, or when he verbally abuses Scimitar Dancer, despite being at the hemlan captain’s mercy).

** In the Dark Disciple trilogy, Atta (A dog) bites Chemosh (The god of Death) in the ankle.

** ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians''
*** In ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'', Rachel (whose only power is to see through the WeirdnessCensor that fools other [[InvisibleToNormals normals]]) saves [[HalfHumanHybrid demigod]] Percy from Kronos, King of the Titans, an evil creature older than the gods, by hitting Kronos in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush. Percy remarked that this earned her his permanent respect.

---> '''Grover:''' They're not going to like that. They'll think you're impertinent. ''[After inserting a few drachmas into the package, it promptly disappears with a pop]''
---> '''Percy:''' I ''am'' impertinent.

** ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': Iris, the Messenger goddess, is trapped in her store with an army of monsters, and Polybotes [[labelnote: who is]] the Gigantoi made by Gaea to kill Poseidon [[/labelnote]], outside. She throws a ding-dong at him.

** This becomes one of his tactics against [[OurTitansAreDifferent Ethniu]] in ''Battle Ground'' with fairly sound reasoning: Ethniu's [[MadeOfIndestructium Titanic bronze]] armor is impenetrable by most everything [[PsychoactivePowers so long as she believes that she's invincible]]. Therefore, by constantly insulting and snarking at her, she begins to think she's not all up to snuff, making her more vulnerable in the process. It also makes her ''furious'' which means she makes increasingly irrational decisions out of anger. Eventually Marcone catches on to Harry's plan and joins in on the snarking when it's just him and Harry against her.

-->''"Spoken like a true autocrat."''

*** In ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'', Rachel (whose only power is to see through the WeirdnessCensor that fools other [[InvisibleToNormals normals]]) saves [[HalfHumanHybrid demigod]] Percy from Kronos, King of the Titans, an evil creature older than the gods, [[Awesome/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians by hitting Kronos in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.]] Percy remarked that this earned her his permanent respect.

** ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': Iris, the Messenger goddess, is trapped in her store with an army of monsters, and Polybotes [[labelnote: who is]] the Gigantoi made by Gaea to kill Poseidon [[/labelnote]] , outside. She throws a ding-dong at him.

** ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': Iris, the Messenger goddess, is trapped in her store with an army of monsters, and Polybotes, outside. She throws a ding-dong at him.