History Main / MovingTheGoalPosts

* ''VisualNovel/RideOrDieABadBoyRomance'': Logan says even if hey finish the job the Brotherhood tasked them with, they'll still ask for more.

* ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'':

* A literal variation where Advertising/SegataSanshiro, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dhx1Li69gE as a soccer goalie]], gets a "nice save" by [[flipping it onto its side.]] [[spoiler:[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome He gets a red card for this.]]]]

* A literal example where Advertising/SegataSanshiro, while as a soccer goalie, gets a "nice save" by, well, [[TitleDrop moving the goalpost.]] [[spoiler:[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome He gets a red card for this.]]]]

* Jack Thompson wrote a "Modest Video Game Proposal", wherein he promised to donate $10,000 to a charity of the choosing of Paul Eibeler (then-chairman of Take-Two Interactive, publisher of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' and a frequent target of Thompson's ire) for the creation of a video game involving the player going on a killing spree against people in the gaming industry. Such a game was made, in the form of ''VideoGame/ImOK''. Thompson reneged on his end of the deal, though, claiming the game had to be published and sold commercially. Thankfully, ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' jumped to the rescue, donating the 10K in Jack's name to the Entertainment Software Association Foundation Charity "''for Jack Thompson, [[TakeThat because Jack Thompson won't]]''". [[FrivolousLawsuit And then Jack Thompson tried to sue them for it.]]

* This trope came up in the Salem Witch Trials, as part of their larger tendency towards finding accused people guilty pretty much no matter what. In the early days, those conducting the trials asserted that a person under the control of the Devil would be incapable of reciting the Lord's Prayer. When accused people seized on this and began reciting the prayer in hopes that it would demonstrate they were not in fact witches, those same authorities were quick to add in some additional supposed caveats to explain why this did not in fact prove their innocence.

* ''Fanfic/PlusFiveToCharisma'': When the rest of the Madrigals want to throw a belated Quinceañera for Mirabel, Alma attempts to do this, claiming that other events naturally take precedence over a late birthday party. The other adults call her out on this, as she's using this as a delaying tactic to keep Bruno and Mirabel from leaving... though they also accuse her of simply not wanting to celebrate Maribel's existence.

* This trope came up in the Salem Witch Trials (as part of their larger tendency towards finding accused people guilty pretty much no matter what). In the early days, those conducting the trials asserted that a person under the control of the Devil would be incapable of reciting the Lord's Prayer. When accused people seized on this and began reciting the prayer in hopes that it would demonstrate they were not in fact witches, those same authorities were quick to toss out reasons why this did not in fact prove their innocence.

* In Ohio in 2023, polls showed a referendum to amend the state constitution to guarantee abortion rights would handily pass with support in the high-fifties. Republican legislators then tried to pass a [[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-special-election-in-ohio-shows-voters-still-care-about-abortion/ ballot proposition]] that would require 60% voter approval to change the state constitution. Ohio voters rejected the proposal.

* n ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11701126/9/Anything-Goes-Game-Changer Anything Goes Game Changer]]'': When Uzume starts getting enough money to pay for Chiho's medical bills, Higa starts jacking up the prices until eventually what used to cover a full month's treatment now only pays for ''three days''.

* In one ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''/''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' story, Neji seems to be doing this, claiming that he'll admit the Gentle Fist is flawed if [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Ranma]] can beat him. Then if Ranma can beat a given trainer, then another trainer, all the way up to the Clan Head. Tenten, however, notes that after the first trainer lost, Neji just kept doing it so he could watch Ranma beat up Main Branch members.

** Palpatine does this to Anakin in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', stringing him along with promises of teaching him Plagueis' ability to save people from death. When he's being threatened by Mace Windu, he claims to have the power himself, but after Anakin saves him he immediately backtracks and states that only Plagueis ever knew it but they can discover the secret together if Anakin keeps doing his bidding. Ultimately he drops the pretense after Padme's death, and it's left ambiguous whether he actually knew the ability- and, at least in the films, whether or not it ever existed at all. Anakin, for his part, did realize Palpatine was manipulating him, but went along with it out of inertia and desperation.

** A more benign version happened in ''Film/ANewHope''. Luke Skywalker has been promised that he can enroll in the Imperial Academy "next year" by his Uncle Owen for the past few years or so. Luke is understandably frustrated, since many friends have long gone on to the Academy and he feels that his uncle is stringing him along. [[note]]In hindsight, it's even more sympathetic, as it's likely that Owen was trying to prevent the Empire from becoming aware of Luke in order to protect him.[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': [[DaChief Chief Bogo]] attempts this on Judy. When Bogo allows Judy to take on a missing person case, Bogo adds the condition that Judy solve it in 48 hours; if she can't, she has to resign. Later, Bogo responds to an emergency call from Judy and Nick about a savage jaguar that is not present when Bogo arrives. Bogo then orders Judy to turn in her badge immediately, even though her 48 hours aren't up yet and resigning after one mistake wasn't part of their deal. Thankfully, [[WhatTheHellHero Nick calls Bogo out on his behavior]], saying that Judy has done more in half a day to solve the missing person case than Bogo has in months. [[{{Touche}} Bogo concedes the point]], and the case is allowed to move forward.

** In various series and films, the [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Prime Directive]] is the ultimate in moveable goalposts. [[FrequentlyBrokenUnbreakableVow When, where and how it is applied is completely variable]], and Starfleet and the Federation government, which are the ones imposing it, are highly-prone to treating it as anything from an inviolable law with a specific set of conditions to an abstract moral ideal that is more of a guideline than a rule. In general, its applicability is driven by RuleOfDrama on an episode-by-episode basis.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11701126/9/Anything-Goes-Game-Changer Anything Goes Game Changer]]'', when Uzume starts getting enough money to pay for Chiho's medical bills, Higa starts jacking up the prices until eventually what used to cover a full month's treatment now only pays for ''three days''.

* In ''Fanfic/TheChaoticThree'', when Poe is forced to make a bet with Jabba the Hutt for Aayla Secura's freedom and the return of BB-8, after Poe wins the initial bet, Jabba offers to return BB-8 while playing another game for Aayla's freedom, but Poe refuses to take this further and has to be rescued by Finn.
* Ash's father in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12202396/1/Clash-of-the-Ketchums Clash of the Ketchums]]'' claims that Pokemon Training is both a waste of time and one can't learn any valuable skills from it. When Ash shows that he knows how to balance a budget (due to paying his own bills on the road), use a computer (the pokedex), and speaks three languages, his father states it's a huge money sink that gives no returns. Ash retorts that he actually makes a significant payday (over a hundred million yen per league), causing his father to claim he's nothing but a glorified golfer. His father doesn't take it well when Ash [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out]] on the fact he's only making such claims because he's a failure of a trainer who never made it to League level.

* Harry in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13034223/14/A-Discordant-Note A Discordant Note]]'' initially refuses to bed Queen Rhaella, citing that he morally opposes inbreeding. When Adrastia points out that he's not even from the same dimension as her, Harry insists Rhaella is inbred enough for both of them. Similarly, he dismisses the idea of using magic to get around that problem because he "morally opposes saving people from the consequences of their own stupidity". Adrastia quickly puzzles out that Harry's real reason is that he finds the woman too boring to bother with.

* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'': After abducting her baby brother Toby, Jareth the Goblin King gives Sarah [[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13 hours]] [[WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve to make it through the labyrinth to his palace where he's holding him prisoner]]. At one point, Jareth decides to check in on Sarah's progress. When she says the labyrinth is a "piece of cake", [[DoNotTauntCthulhu he decides to take an hour away from her remaining time]].

* ''Fanfic/BuiltDifferentSignlessAcolyte'': After the Crew completely a mission for Faraday ''precisely'' the way that they were instructed to, he refuses to pay them the bonus he'd promised, as Maxim switched drivers between jobs. An Interlude chapter later reveals that Faraday does this on a regular basis, latching onto any excuse he can find to avoid handing over the extra cash.

* Ash's father in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12202396/1/Clash-of-the-Ketchums Clash of the Ketchums]]'' claims that Pokemon Training is both a waste of time and one can't learn any valuable skills from it. When Ash shows that he knows how to balance a budget (due to paying his own bills on the road), use a computer (the pokedex), and speaks three languages, his father states it's a huge money sink that gives no returns. Ash retorts that he actually makes a significant payday (over a hundred million yen per league), causing his father to claim he's nothing but a glorified golfer. His father doesn't take it well when Ash [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out on the fact he's only making such claims because he's a failure of a trainer who never made it to League level]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Dekugate}}'': The titular community of {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s are convinced that All Might and David Shield are StarCrossedLovers, kept apart by the Hero Commission because they believe it wouldn't be profitable for their Number One Hero to be out and proud. Even though All Might and David are both openly bisexual -- apparently, it [[NoBisexuals only counts]] if they're ''currently'' in a relationship with another man!

* In ''Fanfic/{{Dekugate}}'', the {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s from the titular online community have convinced themselves that the Hero Commission forced All Might into a sham marriage with a fake wife and child because they deemed it 'unprofitable' for the Number One Hero to be anything but heterosexual. Thing is, All Might is openly bisexual; the 'Dekugaters' just refuse to acknowledge that, claiming it doesn't count unless he's ''currently'' in a relationship with another man.

** Mr. Pepper provides a more {{Downplayed}} example during his cooking class in the first chapter. All of his students are making curry, and he chides Chloe for simply following the recipe, declaring that she needed to "make it her own". While Chloe protests that following the rules ''precisely'' has its own merits, he dismisses her argument entirely. Much later on, the incident is brought up again, and it's made clear that Mr. Pepper hadn't specifically ''told'' his students that he wanted them customizing their curry, meaning he slapped Chloe with completely arbitrary criticism on a whim.

* ''Fanfic/MeanRabbit'': [[SadistTeacher Aizawa]] repeatedly does this to Izuku, as part of his desire to 'teach him' that LifeIsntFair to the Quirkless:

* In ''Fanfic/SpiderManFindingHome'', after going to considerable lengths to acquire the strength to face Spider-Man, Kraven [[spoiler:declares that he has no interest in facing his previously intended prey if the wall-crawler can’t survive the challenge of holding up a collapsing building, even though this feat of strength should have nothing to do with his skills as an opponent]].

** The curry incident in the first chapter is a more {{Downplayed}} example. Mr. Pepper has all of his students fixing curry, and isn't impressed with the fact that Chloe simply followed the recipe, declaring that she needed to "make it her own". Though Chloe protests that following the rules precisely has its own merits, he dismisses her argument entirely.

** The curry incident in the first chapter is a more {{Downplayed}} example. Mr. Pepper has all of his students fixing curry, and isn't impressed with the fact that Chloe simply followed the recipe, declaring that she needed to 'make it her own'. Though Chloe protests that following the rules precisely has its own merits, he dismisses her argument entirely.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': When you first encounter the younger Beaver brother, he will offer you an empty bottle if you can complete his swim-through-the-rings minigame. When you do that, the older Beaver brother will show up, stating that you must now also complete ''his'' slightly harder version of the minigame before giving you their bottle.