History RefugeInAudacity / FanFic

[[AC: ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'']]
* ''Fanfic/DavionAndDavionDeceased'' has John Davion financially cripple Amaris' supporters by taking out massive (and dubiously secured) loans from banks supporting the Usurper right before the Amaris Coup and then seizing their assets, i.e. the money he'd just borrowed from them. No one expected the notoriously honest First Prince to engage in financial shenanigans, much less on such a grandiose scale.

[[AC: ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'']]
* In ''Fanfic/TheOneWithTheAngelicFace'', although Giles discovers reference to Angelus in his books, and the gang soon establish that their ally of ensoulled vampire Angela was sired by Darla and sired Drusilla herself, it simply never occurs to any of the Scoobies that Angela and Angelus are the same person due to the obvious gender difference (Angelus having been transformed into a woman by the same curse that gave him/her a soul).

[[AC: ''Anime/CodeGeass'']]
* Due to being a PeggySue in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11292442/15/Nil-Desperandum Nil Desperandum]]'' [[GenderFlip Luluka]] manages to plan for every event in canon and every non-canon one as well. However, a long chain of events that starts with her and Suzaku missing their rendezvous with Genbu Kurugi, she's outed to the world at large as she tears through the [=JLF=] for killing Milly. How does Charles handle his apparently back from the dead daughter being a terrorist leader? Why, he declares it was part of a wager between them to prove her worth as a potential successor. Everyone in Area 11 gets full citizenship, the Black Knights become part of the army, and [[SparedByTheAdaptation Naoto]] becomes the new Viceroy. Luluka is completely thrown by the Emperor's decision and bitterly admits she lost.
* In another PeggySue fanfic, ''FanFic/RiseOfANewMoon'', Clovis dies some ways into it and renders [[GenderFlip Luna]]'s plans to use him as a [[PuppetKing Puppet Viceroy]] is rendered useless, she makes one last gamble to take Japan without having open war (brought on by the fact that, where Britannia is concerned, three royals have died there). She does this by having the JLF deploy all their forces to critical logistical locations (backed by the authority of the area government through [[TheMole Jeremiah and Euphie]]) and march with her into Tokyo where she declares herself Viceroy before Cornelia arrives. This stuns everyone into going along with it.
* In ''FanFic/CodesAndGeassEmbracingYourInnerMegalomania'', Euphemia, despite knowing that Lelouch (who is fused with an SI) will not go along with the idea, starts the SAZ, just as in canon. So what does Zero do? Go there in the Gawain while broadcasting and singing along with CC to "O Fortuna, Carmina Burana." And then proceeds to destroy the SAZ as an idea with a single speech. And to his great surprise, inspires Euphie to publicly repudiate the Empire and defect to his side.
* In [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13013248/1/Zero-of-The-Black-Crusade Zero of the Black Crusade]], Marianne has been planning Lelouch and Kallen's wedding for months. But just as the ceremony begins, Nunnally promptly announces that it'll be a triple wedding with Suzaku and Euphemia and Rivalz and Milly, with no way of undoing it. Marianne ended up being impressed and proud of her daughter's hijacking.

[[AC: ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'']]
* ''Fanfic/TiberiumWars'' has this happen multiple times. In fact, half of Havoc's plans involve them being so ridiculous no one sees them coming, and in Chapter Fifteen, the ruined remains of Lieutenant Wallace's Zone Trooper squad attacks hundreds of Nod soldiers, tanks, beam cannons, and Avatars.

[[AC: CrossOver]]
* ''[[http://forums.spacebattles.com/showthread.php?t=150127 An Entry with a Bang!]]'' has a part where an infantryman forces the surrender of a [[{{TabletopGame/BattleTech}} 'Mech pilot]] by strapping [=MREs=] to himself and pretending they're explosives. Then asks the pilot out on a date.
* ''Fanfic/AHero'': Dalek Sec's plans tend to fall into this trope. Considering his [[CosmicPlaything horrible luck at everything...]] this means that his failures tend to go into EpicFail, ''because'' of this trope.
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Harry's plans more or less run on these, with the basic premise that they're too crazy for anyone to predict. However, this doesn't always work out, as the ''Forever Red'' arc in the sequel brutally demonstrates - though after he starts building redundancies into said plans, they start working better.
* Fanfic/FiveScoreDividedByFour: The Feds and the cops are on high alert after a seeming terrorist bombing in Seattle. How do five technicolor mythical equines manage to get out of Seattle and halfway across the US? Charter a private plane and a limo, of course.
* ''Fanfic/IncarnationOfLegends''
** Kojiro attempts to gain entry to the Sanjouno household by fast-talking his way in, but he and Bell are thrown out on their rears. He also lampshades it when an exasperated Bell complains.
--->'''Kojiro:''' [[BlatantLies That went well.]]\\
'''Bell:''' Why did I believe you when you said we could just walk in?\\
'''Kojiro:''' Audacity is a plan on its own. ''[shrugs]'' It just didn’t work this time.
** Kojiro does this again with much more success when confronting the slaver hired to get Haruhime out of the country, claiming that he has proof of the arrangement and panicking the slaver enough to start a ruckus that draws the guards' attention.
* Fanfic/TheInfiniteLoops: Loopers frequently resort to this out of sheer boredom, and listing all of them would take a very long time, but points go to a WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Loop where several Loopers make their way into the Royal Canterlot Archives, singing "[[Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance With Catlike Tread]]" as they go.
* ''Fanfic/AvengersInfiniteWars'';
** While most of the Avengers are displaced to the ''Star Wars'' galaxy, back on Earth, Wakandan soldiers Okoye and Ayo take a walk through New York in variants of their usual clothing without attracting much attention, mainly due to New York having seen so much over the years.
** Later, while assisting Daredevil in interrogating Turk Barrett, Spider-Man takes advantage of this idea when he claims that he can talk to spiders; Barrett decides to confess rather than take the chance that the man who can climb walls, has superhuman strength and produce his own webbing can't actually summon a mass of spiders to eat him.
* ''Fanfic/ContactAtKobol'';
** As part of the Cylons’ attempts to learn more about Earth, three Sixes join the research program (one of them the would-be Caprica-Six and another Cain’s would-have-been lover Gina), with the three claiming to be triplets who don’t get along that well to justify how they never told any of their human contacts that they had sisters.
** A neat summation of the way the Tau’ri gain an advantage in the war from the beginning, exploiting the fact that so many of their technologies, such as cloaking and teleportation, are believed to be impossible by the Colonials.
* In ''Fanfic/AvengerOfSteel'', based on Matt Murdock’s reaction to learning that ‘Superman’ once needed his mother to pick him up from school because he had trouble with his enhanced senses, the general public all assume that Superman is just Superman all the time, which Clark is actually uncomfortable with as it creates high expectations of him that he isn’t sure he can fulfil.
* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMysticForce'', the Rangers manage to hide Harry in Hogwarts using a quick disguise charm and an alias that would be obvious as such to most muggles- specifically 'James Bourne'- because Xander reasons that nobody would expect Harry to be hiding in such a manner, and even Snape agrees that their ‘logic’ is sound.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10541324/1/First-Knight First Knight]]'', a [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Slayer]] was in the middle of a debate while running for sheriff when she realizes her opponent is a demon that feeds off negative emotions. After cutting off its head in front of the crowd, causing lightning to shoot out due to built-up energy, she plays it off by saying, "[[Franchise/{{HIGHLANDER}} There can be only one]]."
* In ''FanFic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, Admiral Nimitz's only safe spot is here. She claims that the Trans-Galactic Republic does not condone torture (directly or by proxy), but then hands a prisoner to a group that's known for its love of unaccountable secret agents whose actions can be washed away[[note]]The Citadel Council generally throws up its hands if its Spectres or other similar persons misbehave[[/note]]. When called on this, she cites the treaty that theoretically set this all up, resulting in a pile of LoopholeAbuse[=/=]HalfTruth[=/=]FalseReassurance all in one!
* In the ''Fanfic/DementedVerse'', Dean and Sam manage to pass themselves off as wizards without ever doing a single spell and only Harry's closest friends knowing the truth, starting with Harry claiming he met them while he was hunting for horcruxes, relying on Harry’s reputation to deter too many intimate questions and just give enough generic details to satisfy casual inquiries.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6175010/2/Water-under-the-bridge Water Under the Bridge]]'', the Blue Gloves send an agent with no infiltration skills to infiltrate [[Series/{{Firefly}} Serenity]] just as a reminder that they have their eye on the crew. They agent they send is so obviously an infiltrator (including telling them she's going out of her way to become indispensable and wearing her Blue Glove uniform) that the crew never suspects she's a Blue Glove.
* ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'';
** In ''In Hand and Foot'', Matt basically does this when he honestly tells Foggy that he's busy that evening because he's "helping Luke, Danny and Jessica in stopping a war between ninja clans aided by [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles a quartet of mutated turtles trained in martial arts by a talking rat]] from another reality", as Foggy assumes that Matt just doesn't want to tell him the truth.
** In ''Justice Like Lightning'', this is how Osborn convinces the Thunderbolts that he's Ross offering for them to work for the government. After the fall of SHIELD, it's more likely the public could believe a general/Secretary of State would get a pack of ex-cons and a former pop star to be a government-sponsored super-team rather than think it's something else.
-->'''Osborn''': People who believe in government conspiracies make two key mistakes. First, they think the government is competent. Second, they think the government can keep a secret.
** In ''Women of Wonder'', Zatanna reveals that she uses real magic in her act; people just assume she’s a standard stage magician using trickery to pull it off.
* ''Fanfic/WeissReacts'': Blake is the best example, among other things ''taking a universe-shattering mecha for a joyride'', but Cinder pulls this off by accidentally blowing up several cars that double-parked in front of her while she was attempting to buy burritos, and then proceeding to ''run across the roofs of Vale in a domino mask while clutching said burritos and being pursued by a veritable army of robot soldiers''.
* In ''FanFic/OriginStory'', Alex Harris's response to the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} showing up to interrogate her is to pick up [[CuteBruiser Bruiser]] and carry her to the buffet she and Louise were already heading to. Alex and Louise ignore any attempt to talk until they're both sitting at a table, plates full of breakfast foods in front of them.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9912827/2/Jokers-Wild Jokers Wild]]'' Naruto orders several Shadow Clones to delay Kakashi. They do so by turning into squirrels and attacking him with nunchucks. While incapable of harming or even really inconveniencing the man, it's weird enough to make him stop for a few minutes.
* In ''FanFic/ItachiIsThatABaby'', Sasuke has been captured and brought back to Konoha and is to be interrogated. However, the Military Police chief insists the interrogation falls under his jurisdiction and orders everyone out before interrogating Sasuke. Afterwards he refuses to allow Sasuke to be interrogated again, citing unnecessary cruelty. Thing is, ''Sasuke'' is the Military Police chief. Even when others complain, Tsunade admits he's technically right.
* ''FanFic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness:'' During what is technically a high stakes fight between [[WesternAnimation/MegasXLR Megas]] and [[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Yuuka Kazami]], Yukari catches Yuyuko eating a Philly cheesesteak and asks what she was snacking on. Yuyuko's response? To scarf down the rest of the cheesesteak on the spot and flat out deny that she ever had one.
* In ''FanFic/ChristianPotterChandler'', Barb refuses to believe Bob when Chris jogs into a strip club... and [[spoiler:[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext moonsaults into a stripper's tits.]]]]
* ''FanFic/TheBridge'' Xenilla's plan to kill the resurrected King Sombra includes improvising letting himself get locked in the dungeon under the castle. He figured his best chance was to be around what he knew King Sombra would go after, the royal family. With the jail directly under the castle, he could sense his approach and Sombra would believe he was held captive. Sombra couldn't expect he could easily break out and Princess Cadance never thought he'd use her as bait to draw in a returned Sombra she didn't even know was there.
* Xander combines audacity with MistakenForBadass in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5521051/3/Preconceptions Preconceptions]]'' when he trips and stakes a vampire pimp to help two demon girls he just met. Xander promptly talks to the guard the others are looking at and implies the girls belong to him but he doesn't want any trouble with the vampires while handing the vampire his boss's cane, jewelry, and hat. Believing Xander to be a ridiculously badass hunter, the new boss promptly agrees and that they didn't see the two girls arrive at the bus stop and will give the whole thing up as a bad loan to a client who disappeared.
* [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} PARIAH]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12361169/1/Wolf-in-Sheep-s-Clothing Wolf in Sheep's Clothing]]'' lives and breathes this trope. One good example is when he stole an ''Atlesian Paladin'' from the military [[NoKillLikeOverkill for the sole purpose of killing]] [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Zwei]] (who, as it should be reminded, '''IS A DOG''').

[[AC: ''Franchise/TheDCU'']]
* In Roleplay/DCNation, this is the standard operating procedure of Travis Grey (an OriginalCharacter Franchise/GreenLantern). A street kid and pickpocket, he steals Hal Jordan's wallet and spare ring. After donning the ring, he proceeds to go on a one-man cleanup spree through his rough New York neighborhood. [[http://community.livejournal.com/jla_watchtower/295143.html He tops it]] by making a SarcasticConfession to Guy Gardner and Hal about his activities, chiding Hal to keep better track of his stuff, and all but ''daring'' the two veteran Lanterns to steal the ring back. Hal's ticked, but Guy's about to double over laughing.

[[AC: ''Manga/DeathNote'']]
* In the CrackFic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/2645339 Kingdom Come]]'' Light explains away Ryuk as simply being [[SlashFic his husband]] and his owning a Death Note as a perk of being ambassador to the Shinigami Realm [[BlatantLies who was chosen to help them catch Kira.]]

[[AC:''Literature/{{Discworld}}'']]
* In ''Fanfic/TheNewGuild'', Sandra Battye picks up an hitherto lost and unclaimed title for her Trade Guild. She cannot use the appropriate title because another, larger and more powerful, Guild has pre-empted her. Against Mrs. Rosie Palm's vigorous objection, Lord Vetinari grants Sandra title to the name...

[[AC:''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'']]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4853002/1/Famous-Last-Words Famous Last Words]]'', when captured by Nicodemus and asked if he has any last words, Harry quotes Monty Python's dead parrot skit. It's so outrageous that Nicodemus decides to let Harry and his friends go out of amusement.

[[AC: ''Manga/FairyTail'']]
* In the Fanfic/AlternateTailSeries, Kagura distracts a group of Edolas soldiers by pretending she's a lost girl looking for her big brother, while her teammates commander the aircraft. Along the way, she describes her big brother as "really tall, has black hair and red eyes, and lots of piercing on his face." By the time they entered the ship, the other soldiers have been taken down by Gajeel, Levy, Lily, and Carla. And to top it all off, Kagura knocks out two of her escorts while calling Gajeel her missing big brother. It leaves the last two soldiers befudled enough to be knocked out quickly.

[[AC: LightNovel/FateZero]]
* This is essentially the hat of Fanfic/TheSagesDisciple. Crow deliberately uses this trope to invoke MistakenForBadass in his bid to actually survive the war. The more outrageous the plans, the longer he believes he will live. As a result, most of the participants think that he's a combination of MagnificentBastard and TheWonka.

[[AC: Franchise/{{Frozen}}]]
* The [[IncestYayShipping Elsanna]]/Franchise/DisneyPrincess CrackFic college AU [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/7648339 Biology Homework]] is built on this. When college roommate Snow White catches Elsa with her sister Anna, they insist they're doing biology homework. When Snow expresses doubt, Elsa (who still visibly [[spoiler:has her fingers inside Anna]] ) is ''indignant'' at the suggestion that she would have sex with her ''sister''.

[[AC: ''Series/GameOfThrones'']]
* ''FanFic/AndTheGiantAwoke'':
** The Frey archers in the southern castle are left dumbfounded when Tyrion's men use a [[spoiler: penis-shaped]] ram to bring down the doors, leaving them unable to react in time when the doors break down.
** Cleon the Butcher is going to attack Meereen. Daenerys has the numbers to defeat them, but knows it would turn into a PyrrhicVictory, and her dragons are not trained enough to be useful in warfare. So, [[spoiler: Jorah and others make dragon-like kites to trick Cleon's forces and distract them from the real attack coming from their backs.]]
** Part of Dellyne's backstory. Against his father's wishes, he wanted to be a bard, not a warrior. Then, he slept with both of his father's mistresses. ''At the same time.'' '''''And then he wrote a song about it.'''''
** Tyrion's BattleCry to his forces right before the showdown with the White Walkers.
-->"[[CallBack For tits and for wine!]]"

[[AC: ''Literature/HarryPotter'']]
* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3446796/1/Magical_Relations Magical Relations]]'', one of the myriad "Harry Sorted into Slytherin" fanfics, Parseltongue is a teachable language. Naturally, Snape offers to tutor Harry in nonverbal magic, dueling, Occlumency, etc. for as long as it takes Harry to teach him to speak snake. Eventually, Harry is learning Leglimency to improve his Occlumency (highly illegal without Ministry permission, not that they care), but now TheUmbridge is around to poke her nose in. Snape first tries to cover up the lessons by giving Harry detention, but when Umbridge shows up to watch the private, Headmaster-approved lesson anyway, [[BavarianFireDrill they treat it like business as usual]], and Snape starts quizzing Harry on his Occlumency reading ''in Parseltongue''. When Umbridge demands to know what language that is, Snape tells her that it's naturally the [[BlatantLies Ancient Mayan Wizards' language of Uspantek, because Harry is aiming for a job as a cursebreaker]], and the only way to learn a language is through practice (naturally, Umbridge will be less than familiar with either language that has only a handful of living practitioners). When Umbridge eventually demands that they speak in English, Snape starts quizzing Harry on his advanced Arithmancy (for curse-breaking, which he has never taken), and subtly prompts his student to ''Legilimens the answers from his head.'' (Which is, again, highly illegal).
--> '''Snape:''' ''(in Parseltongue) Excellent. I will take your essay after this saggy, cloying excuse for a dictator leaves us.''
--> '''Harry:''' ''(one scene transition later) So then I answer questions about advanced Arithmancy for the rest of the lesson, and when we're done, Snape looks at Umbridge and says, 'Thank you for your time. Your presence tonight has been invaluable.' (looks at his friends with wide, despairing eyes) It was madness.''
** In the same fic, Harry & Co defeat the Basilisk [[spoiler:using Ron's experience handling roosters]]. They could go to a teacher about the dead giant snake in the girls' loo... or they could hang an "Out of Order" sign on the door and turn the place into a lab for harvesting the thing for extremely valuable potions ingredients. After all, they killed the thing, and have as much a right to it as anyone. By the time they report it to Snape, they've already harvested the blood and are starting on the fangs and skin, and they offer him the extremely invaluable eyes in return for endorsing this stunt and giving them any pointers. This is deemed an... adequate... payment, and when the professor sees their organized, efficient system, he turns the eye extraction into an impromptu potions lesson.
--> '''Pansy:''' ''(after Snape's departure and a quick stunned silence) That went surprisingly well.''
* In ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'', Dumbledore ''revels'' in this when dealing with the Durmstrang defenders. "Dear me, jail? That sounds quite boring. I think I'd rather go home."

[[AC: ''Literature/TheHungerGames'']]
* In ''Fanfic/ValkyrieOnFire: Viam Eorum'', when [[spoiler:Glimmer is injured by a Capitol bio-weapon that Prim can’t treat on her own, Madge has the idea that they get treatment from a hospital in District One as the most likely place outside of the Capitol to have an antidote for the weapon, intending to pass Glimmer off as some unnamed celebrity, Katniss as her girlfriend, Madge as her manager and Gale as her bodyguard to get them through the door]].

[[AC: ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'']]
* In ''FanFic/HeroesOfTheDesk'' this is half of [[FunWithAcronyms SPEAR's]] mode of operation--since they exist to [[TheWorldIsNotReady cover up magic]] ([[InsistentTerminology functional supernatural phenomena!]]) they reason that since people don't believe in magic, they won't believe other crazy things either ([[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece like notions of refitting World War II battleships into modern combat craft]]). ''Anime/UchuuSenkanYamato''[=/=]''Anime/StarBlazers'' exists in their universe, so they figure if something sounds like it was straight out of anime, nobody will take tales of it seriously it even if someone did try to reveal their secret operations.

[[AC: ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'']]
* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': Zim justifies using the [[SdrawkcabName simple]] alias "Miz" for the [[MalevolentMaskedMen alternate persona]] he creates for [[spoiler: his [[TheStarscream rebellion]] against the Tallest]] with the fact that it's so obvious that no one would think he'd be stupid enough to use it. And he's right, as the only person who sees through it is Tak, whom everyone ignores as they think it's her revenge obsession talking.

[[AC: ''VideoGame/KaiserreichLegacyOfTheWeltkrieg'']]

* ''FanFic/TheCrownAtomic'': Hermann Göring, [[EvilColonialist the colonial dictator of Mittelafrika]] and who is already being despised by the German government for tainting Germany's reputation with his cruel treatment to the native African population and living like a Roman emperor in his colonies, declares himself the Viceroy of Mittelafrika, the title which is secondary in precedence only to the German Kaiser himself in the terms of law. The German nobles are shocked but powerless to do anything about it.

[[AC: ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'']]
* ''FanFic/VigilanteTendency'' has Hibari. It was outright stated that Tsuna was never going to grow up normal thanks to living in the same suburb as Hibari.

[[AC: ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'']]
* To cover for the fact Tony Stark is (accidentally) setting himself up to take over the world in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10799406/chapters/23958186 The War is Far from Over Now]]'', his PR department turned the idea into a MemeticMutation so no one would take the idea seriously.

[[AC: ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'']]
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792883 Fox Rain]]'' Vorpika (Lila Rossi's alias as a superhero and Holder of the Fox Miraculous) decides to convince Gabriel to let Adrien back at school after he had been pulled out for stealing the Miraculous Book from his safe... So she claims she had brainwashed Adrien into doing it for her, hinting that Literature/ThePiedPiperofHamelin was a past Fox Miraculous Holder to give herself credibility and throwing in her suspicions on Gabriel being [[BigBad Papillon]] (in which she didn't even believe anymore), that she covertly declares having a small dick through an incomplete movie quote that most of the presents would be able to know (and laugh about), to keep him from thinking about it too much. ''It works''.

[[AC: ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'']]
* In ''Fanfic/ApotheosisMHA'', Midoriya/Apotheosis (a very dangerous and well known villain) manages [[spoiler:to convince several high-ranking politicians (including the Prime Minister) to create the Hero Regulation Department with him (Midoriya) as the Director while also giving him amnesty]]. Many of the Heroes are ''shocked'' at his audacity.
* ''FanFic/YesterdayUponTheStair'' has Izuku [[spoiler:pulling a ScheherezadeGambit during the USJ incident, buying enough time for the teachers to arrive.]]
** In Chapter 29, he [[UpToEleven repeats this tactic]] by asking [[EvilCounterpart Shigaraki Tomura]] [[spoiler:what his favourite video game is. This, again, buys him time until Uraraka and Kirishima arrive.]]
* In ''Fanfic/MastermindStrategistForHire'', [[VillainProtagonist Izuku/Mastermind]] (a notorious Villain whose plans are responsible for [[HeroKiller nearly a dozen dead heroes]]), following a Hero raid which nearly saw him being captured, takes the top 50 Pro Heroes in Japan hostage by threatening to release plans to kill them if he is captured or killed, to Tsukauchi and Nedzu's shock.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/17545865/chapters/41746844#workskin It Takes a Child to Teach a Village]]'', Izuku stops Stain from killing a hero by acting like a SternTeacher giving the man a history lesson. The real sticking point is Izuku pointing out he's NotSoDifferent from people who killed others over things like racism and homophobia.

[[AC:''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'']]
* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:'' [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste Immediately after helping Twilight Sparkle in stopping the Changeling invasion]], [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] proceeds to confront the other heroes over their roles in the events leading up to the invasion -- in front of the wedding guests and royal guards, no less. First, he not only angrily calls out Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, and Spike on [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass their treatment of Twilight at the wedding rehearsal]] and being too focused on the wedding preparations to listen to her about the imposter Cadance, but he also [[KickTheDog blames the real Princess Cadance]] for allowing the Changeling Queen to impersonate her [[spoiler:(even though it was really him who knocked her out)]]. Even Celestia is too shaken by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing previously mild-mannered]] nephew's sudden change of character to adequately defend herself against his aggressive accusations, and he even silences the Mane Five with a [[BigShutUp Big "SILENCE!"]] before they can even begin defending themselves. Finally, he delivers a NewEraSpeech to the citizens of Canterlot wherein he reveals to them the heroes' mistakes ([[PetTheDog sans Twilight]]), blames them for the collateral damage/casualties, and promises to make things right. [[OhCrap The shaken heroes become so panicked]] that they unsuccessfully try to escape. This majorly backfires and [[NotHelpingYourCase makes them look as guilty as Jewelius says they are]]. As a result, the guards imprison the heroes on his orders and [[HeroWithBadPublicity everypony in Canterlot turns against them]] while accepting Jewelius as their new ruler.
* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse:''
** Cheerilee manages to prove herself the Element of Laughter by making innuendoes at Corona about her "command of the tongue". When they next meet, she simply informs Corona "still single, by the way". Corona, being a thousand years out of touch, is horrified that someone would refer to her so crudely. Eventually, after regaining a bit of her sanity, Corona manages to get her own back on Cheer... [[spoiler:by hugging her and apologising for the attempted murder.]]
** Bootheel, who will hit on anyone he meets so long as they're female, tries hitting on ''Princess Luna'' at the end of ''Hero of Oaton''. [[spoiler:As everyone freaks out about his impending doom, Luna just whispers something to him that turns him cherry-red.]]
** Dr. Ritter, a sleazy archaeologist, tries to make both Princess Luna and Corona sign non-disclosure agreements about a hidden civilization he "found". [[spoiler:It's so they'll think he's dumber than he looks, while he gets up to what he's really there for.]]
** In the non-canon fic "Nightmares Yet to Come", Trixie asks Midnight what "her deal" is. Midnight calmly replies that she is in fact [[spoiler:a fragment of Tirek possessing a pony who has travelled back in time.]] Trixie gasps in horror at such an appallingly bad lie, and Midnight admits she was trying to joke. [[spoiler:But there's a lot of evidence to suggest the Tirek part is true.]]

[[AC: ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'']]
* During the Chunin Exam in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9920512/6/Reaching-for-a-Dream Reaching for a Dream]]'', Naruto cheats on his test by punching out one of the Chunin plants and taking his test.
** In later [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10623866/1/ stories]], Naruto and Xanna don't bother hiding their horns, claws, or slitted pupils and simply act like there's nothing odd about having them. Of course it helps they're in Japan and most people simply assume they're cosplaying.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4590441/1/Cheaters-Prosper Cheaters Prosper]]'' Naruto does something similar: he walked up to Kabuto, took his answers and left him his own blank sheet. ''Then'' he gets the team to pass the second part of the test by swiping the other necessary scroll before the start of the test, sealing the tied-up Sasuke and Sakura in a scroll, and transforming himself in a needle stuck to Anko's foot, resulting in ''the examiner carrying the whole team past the test''.
* ''FanFic/IAmNOTGoingThroughPubertyAgain'' has time travelers Team 7 and Hinata not even bothering to hide their remarkable increase in skill. The Hyuuga Clan simply believe that Hinata finally snapped from all the pressure, while Kakashi rules out his team as potential spies, as any infiltrator capable of replicating Naruto's seal or Sasuke's spinny eye of doom would be [[TooDumbToLive outright stupid]] to show off their strength so blatantly (Sakura is ruled out by association).
* During the written portion of the Chunin Exams in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8682503/10/The-Mirage-Blade-Fox The Mirage Blade Fox]]'', Naruto audaciously asks Ibiki for the test answers. Ibiki complies without a second thought, considering Naruto to be one of the bravest or craziest Genin he's ever met.
* Naruto makes Kankuro and Temari think they're being detained by Anbu in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10574684/22/Naruto-The-Gamer-Files Naruto: The Gamer Files]]'' to make them release Konohamaru. It helps that trying to harm a Kage's family would result in such a reaction.
* When Naruto accidentally kills Gatou in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3488198/18/What-If The Escapologist]]'' by jumping on the tree Gatou's men were cutting down, he acts like a furious customer to play it off.
-->'''Naruto:''' When you tell Naruto Uzumaki you'll have his shit delivered by Friday, it gets delivered by Friday! Let that be a lesson to all of you!
* In ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'', to solve the Hyuga affair, Jiraiya proposes that he and Tsunade go and confront the Raikage and demand that he acknowledges Hinata's kidnapping and apologizes to them. Since they never officially returned to active duty, Kumo has no way to know they're back in Konoha, and they could act as a deterrent in case they might want to go to war. Surprisingly, it works.
* To cover up her new body's miraculous recovery in ''Fanfic/{{Eroninja}}'', Kyuubi releases a pulse of healing chakra that fully heals everyone in the village. A single long-term coma patient suddenly recovering would raise several eyebrows, but with hundreds of patients recovering from illnesses, lost limbs, and more, she's not even a blip on the radar.


[[AC: ''Manga/OnePiece'']]
* ''FanFic/ThisBites'':
** How does Boss, Zoro and Sanji win their round in the Davy Back Fight? Beat up the opposition before the game even begins under cover of fog. How do they defend themselves when they're spattered with the opposition's blood? [[BlatantLies Declare that they went hunting under cover of fog.]] How do they rationalize ''that''? Easy; they're ''badasses.''
** Cross bursting into the Franky House, plopping down on the couch, and drinking Franky's cola is odd enough that Franky doesn't react until the Unluckies burst in.

[[AC: ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'']]
* This ends up working ''against'' Jaune in ''FanFic/ProfessorArc''. [[spoiler: After Cinder has him arrested by Ironwood for treason, he decides to confess to his lies to the General. Unfortunately, Ironwood doesn't believe him. Why? Because the idea of an inexperienced 17 year old with ''zero'' combat experience becoming a respected teacher and coming out on top of several altercations is too ridiculous to for him believe]].
* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'':
** In the backstory, this is what caused the whole AU. Nicholas Arc, a powerful huntsman, managed to survive the Grimm and ended up captured by Salem, the immortal Queen of the Grimm and eternal enemy of all humanity. After she tortured and interrogated him for a few days, she didn't know what else to do with him, so she decided to kill him, but offered him a LastRequest. [[DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu He requested to have sex with her]]. She was so impressed with his audacity that she decided to grant his request... and keep granting it. Twenty-five years later, they have eight children and are a loving family despite the whole "waging war against the entire world" thing.
** Both Nora and Ren manage to convince members of White Fang that they're Faunus despite having no visible traits. Nora claims to be a cow faunus and implies her breasts are her animal traits and that Ren is a sloth faunus whose pink eye and lazy demeanor are his traits. [[spoiler:In Menagerie, Ren is made second in command of Sienna's faction this way, including playing off his lack of visible traits by saying it'd "[[ExactWords be one ballsy human to walk up to the leader of the White Fang while pretending to be a faunus]]".]]
* Jaune and Neo in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12909945/31/Professor-Arc-Student-of-Vacuo Professor Arc: Student of Vacuo]]'' deal with Cinder's obvious suspicion of them and their own of her by simply confronting the woman and admitting what they're up to, with an offer of cooperation to secure the Relic. Cinder is distinctly wrong-footed and has to take a few minutes to think it over. She ends up agreeing with both sides fully aware they'll do their best to figure out the other's plans and backstab them the moment they can.

[[AC:''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'']]
* In the ForWantOfANail ''Fanfic/AYoungGirlsDelinquencyRecord'', Tanya is on the run as [[TheMostWanted the world's first international criminal]], when, in disguised as Jennifer Ecks, is in in the U.S. There, in a sequence of events caused by an drunken incident, she ends up staring in a supporting role as ''herself'' in a film that centers around her actions during the bombing of Arene, which is considered one of the, if not ''the'', worst action in the Great War. The movie ends up being the most successful film of its time and [[SpotlightStealingSquad Tanya overshadows her more top billed co-stars]]. When evidence is released that Tanya is Jennifer Ecks, everyone who saw the film consider it such a poor pseudonym for her to do such ridiculous thing that they view her role in the movie as nothing more than an [[{{Troll}} open taunt to her Interpol pursers]].

[[AC: ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'']]
* ''[[Fanfic/DeliverUsFromEvilSeries Mortality]]'': [[TheDragon Colonel Moran]] explaining his disobedience to [[BigBad Professor Moriarty]]. Deliberately invoked at the end of the scene when Moran summons up ''the colossal audacity to flash a smile''.

[[AC: ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'']]
* ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'': [[spoiler: Maledict secretly controlling the Metarex using an incredibly poor disguise]] was basically this, and the only reason it worked was because neither Dark Oak nor Tsali could believe that [[spoiler: Maledict]] would be able to pull it off.
** Basically everything Eric the Hedgehog does or says is this. Discovering that [[spoiler: Molly and Leon's refugee group are eating their dead]]? [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Ask for dessert]]. Taking on an entire Demon fleet led by Satan himself? ''[[LeeroyJenkins Charge in guns blazing]] and ram Maledict's flagship while blasting the 1812 Overture over coms''. Indeed, it's said in-story that the reason he's so dangerous is because he literally has no concept of fear.
** The entire background setting runs on this - among other things, it features space Muslims with mechanical spiders [[PoweredByAForsakenChild powered by molested girls]], literal SpaceJews that are [[ANaziByAnyOtherName basically Nazis]], and enough BlackComedy to rival ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.

[[AC:''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'']]
* ''Fanfic/StrangeTimesAreUponUs'': Ila'kshath's answer to Brokosh complaining about him talking to a 19th century American boy. (Ila'kshath, a Gorn, was hunting the same deer as the kid, got seen, and said, "Blink, boy--your eyes are stuck!" The kid fainted.)
-->“Who’d believe it? Seriously, think about it—a giant reptile that talks? He’d be laughed out of the room before he got three words out.”

[[AC:''Franchise/StarWars'']]
* In-universe subversion in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5858012/1/Sibling_Revelry Sibling Revelry]]'': when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Darth Vader waltzes in his throne room and demands that the frozen Han Solo is given to him]], Jabba and his entire court mistake the situation for this, and Jabba actually expresses his respect for whoever thought such a bluff... Then Darth Vader slaughters him with his lightsaber, feeds his body to the Rancor, leaves with Han, and [[KillEmAll has the palace destroyed via]] OrbitalBombardment. The only survivor is Lando, who, having recognized him as the real deal, ran away as soon as he recovered from the sheer surrealness of Vader appearing there and making those demands.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13545968/1/Wilhuff-Tarkin-Hero-of-the-Rebellion Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion]]'', this is something Tarkin does repeatedly:
** Tarkin's personal Rebel army is named Republic Outland Regions Security Force, that is the military that he controlled before the Clone Wars as governor of the Seswenna sector, and his code name is "Moff Night Hammer", featuring his rank and the nickname of his command during the Clone Wars (the 18th Army AKA Night Hammer Command)... And he's still serving as a Moff (and later Grand Moff). And when Mas Amedda confronts him in presence of the Emperor about the mystery Rebel whose name and army invoke him, he flat-out ''[[SarcasticConfession admits everything]]'', much to Palpatine's hilarity as those Rebels have ''obviously'' chosen those names to invoke the period the Seswenna sector cleaned itself up from pirates due the Republic's indolence plus including veterans of the old Outland Regions Security Force such as Maarisa Zsinj.
** Tarkin has raised a Stormtroopers legion and the Death Star Troopers corps using Imperial resources and recruits, openly hand-picking the members so he'll be able to turn them into Rebel units at a later date, something he did fairly early with the Death Troopers of his legion. While he's not too open with the Death Star Troopers, the Legion ''Executrix'', aside for a core of Clone Troopers, is chosen ''entirely'' from veterans of the Outland Regions Security Force that [[HeroWorshipper collectively worship him as a hero]] and would quickly follow Tarkin in the Rebellion the moment he'd announce his actual allegiance, and got away with it by dressing it up as maintaning their loyalty by honoring their valor.
*** The Clonetroopers of Tarkin's legion, that he ''also'' plans to subvert, are the 212th Attack Battalion... That is, ''Obi-Wan Kenobi's personal unit'' and didn't really believe Obi-Wan had betrayed (they justified executing Order 66 on him by making sure he wouldn't join the Jedi coup). He explained it away by simply wanting an excellent Clonetrooper unit.

[[AC:''Series/{{Supernatural}}'']]
* In ''Fanfic/ItsAllInTheDetails'', as part of the time-travelling Castiel's plan to basically merge with his past self and infiltrate Heaven, Castiel takes Dean to a club called Hell and ‘retrieves’ him from near the club’s toilets so that he can honestly report that he pulled Dean out of the pits of Hell. Castiel explicitly acknowledges that it’s a ridiculous loophole, but it’s easier for him if he doesn’t have to lie that much.

[[AC:''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'']]
* Brad frequently does this in ''Fanfic/{{FREAKINGENSOKYO}}''. They get up to such ludicrous hijinks that audacity is often the only thing they ''can'' take refuge in. Sailing [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] on a table, flying on a second table propelled by [[ImprobableWeaponUser magic plant hangers]], weaving a rope out of women's underwear, flailing in the mud in a [[GravityScrew gravity-destroying]] space suit; you name it, Brad's done it. Most of the time, his friends just sigh, shake their heads and get on with their lives.

[[AC:''Literature/{{Twilight}}'']]
* In ''Fanfic/BeforeTheDawn'', when the Cullens arrange to send a large group of vampires [[spoiler:after Joham]], Rosalie, Emmett and Alice acquire a large range of motorcycles and arrange a banner displaying "Muscular Dystrophy Association: Ride for the Cure", providing a plausible reason for large numbers of people to be travelling in the same direction while covered up.

----

[[AC:''LightNovel/YoujoSenki'']]
* In the ForWantOfANail ''Fanfic/AYoungGirlsDelinquencyRecord'', Tanya is on the run as [[TheMostWanted the world's first international criminal]], when, in disguised as Jennifer Ecks, is in in the U.S. There, in a sequence of events caused by an drunken incident, she ends up staring in a supporting role as ''herself'' in a film that centers around her actions during the bombing of Arene, which is considered one of the, if not ''the'', worst action in the Great War. The movie ends up being the most successful film of its time and [[SpotlightStealingSquad Tanya overshadows her more top billed co-stars]]. When evidence is released that Tanya is Jennifer Ecks, everyone who saw the film consider it such a poor pseudonym for her to do such ridiculous thing that they view her role in the movie as nothing more than an [[{{Troll}} open taunt to her Interpol pursers]].

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13545968/1/Wilhuff-Tarkin-Hero-of-the-Rebellion Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion]]'', Tarkin's personal Rebel army is named Republic Outland Regions Security Force, that is the military that he controlled before the Clone Wars as governor of the Seswenna sector, and his code name is "Moff Night Hammer", featuring his rank and the nickname of his command during the Clone Wars (the 18th Army AKA Night Hammer Command)... And he's still serving as a Moff (and later Grand Moff). And when Mas Amedda confronts him in presence of the Emperor about the mystery Rebel whose name and army invoke him, he flat-out ''admits everything'', much to Palpatine's hilarity as those Rebels have ''obviously'' chosen those names to invoke the period the Seswenna sector cleaned itself up from pirates due the Republic's indolence.

* ''FanFic/IAmNOTGoingThroughPubertyAgain'' has time travelers Team 7 and Hinata not even bothering to hide their remarkable increase in skill. The Hyuuga Clan simply believe that Hinata finally snapped from all the pressure, while Kakashi rules out his team as potential spies, as any infiltrator capable of replicating Naruto's seal or Sasuke's spinny eye of doom would be [[TooDumbToLive outright retarded]] to show off their strength so blatantly (Sakura is ruled out by association).

* In the ForWantOfANail ''Fanfic/AYoungGirlsDelinquencyRecord'', Tanya is on the run as [[TheMostWanted the world's first international criminal]], when, in disguised as Jennifer Ecks, is in in the U.S. There, in a sequence of events caused by an drunken incident, she ends up staring in a supporting role as ''herself'' in a film that centers around her actions during the bombing of Arene, which is considered one of the, if not ''the'', worst action in the Great War. The movie ends up being the most successful film of its time and [[SpotlightStealingSquad Tanya overshadows her more top billed co-stars]]. When evidence is released that Tanya is Jennifer Ecks, everyone who saw the film consider it such a poor pseudonym for her to do such ridiculous thing that they view her role in the movie as nothing more than an [[{{Troll open taunt to her Interpol pursers]].

[[AC: Disney/{{Frozen}}]]

* In ''Fanfic/BeforeTheStorm'', when the Cullens arrange to send a large group of vampires [[spoiler:after Joham]], Rosalie, Emmett and Alice acquire a large range of motorcycles and arrange a banner displaying "Muscular Dystrophy Association: Ride for the Cure", providing a plausible reason for large numbers of people to be travelling in the same direction while covered up.

[[ACL ''Literature/TheHungerGames'']]

* ''Fanfic/AvengersInfiniteWars'' sees a couple of these such moments among the Avengers back on Earth;
** At one point, Okoye and Ayo are walking through New York in variants of their usual clothing without attracting much attention, mainly due to New York having seen so much over the years.
** Later, while assisting Daredevil in interrogating Turk Barrett, Spider-Man claims that he can talk to spiders, and Barrett decides to confess rather than take the chance that the man who can climb walls, has superhuman strength and produce his own webbing can't actually summon a mass of spiders to eat him.

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:'' [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste Immediately after helping Twilight Sparkle in stopping the Changeling invasion]], [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] proceeds to confront the other heroes over their roles in the events leading up to the invasion -- in front of the wedding guests and royal guards, no less. First, he not only angrily calls out Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, and Spike on [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass their treatment of Twilight at the wedding rehearsal]] and being too focused on the wedding preparations to listen to her about the imposter Cadance, but he also [[KickTheDog blames the real Princess Cadance]] for allowing the Changeling Queen to impersonate her [[spoiler:(even though it was really him who knocked her out)]]. Even Celestia is too shaken by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing previously mild-mannered]] nephew's sudden change of character to adequately defend herself against his aggressive accusations, and he even silences the Mane Five with a BigShutUp before they can even say anything. Finally, he delivers a NewEraSpeech to the citizens of Canterlot wherein he reveals to them the heroes' mistakes ([[PetTheDog sans Twilight]]), blames them for the collateral damage/casualties, and promises to make things right. [[OhCrap The shaken heroes become so panicked]] that they unsuccessfully try to escape. This majorly backfires and [[NotHelpingYourCase makes them look as guilty as Jewelius says they are]]. As a result, the guards imprison the heroes on his orders and [[HeroesWithBadPublicity everypony in Canterlot turns against them]] while accepting Jewelius as their new ruler.

* ''FanFic/IAmNOTGoingThroughPubertyAgain!'' has time travelers Team 7 and Hinata not even bothering to hide their remarkable increase in skill. The Hyuuga Clan simply believe that Hinata finally snapped from all the pressure, while Kakashi rules out his team as potential spies, as any infiltrator capable of replicating Naruto's seal or Sasuke's spinny eye of doom would be [[TooDumbToLive outright retarded]] to show off their strength so blatantly (Sakura is ruled out by association).

* To cover up her new body's miraculous recovery in ''[[http://ficwad.com/story/213011 Eroninja]]'', Kyuubi releases a pulse of healing chakra that fully heals everyone in the village. A single long-term coma patient suddenly recovering would raise several eyebrows, but with hundreds of patients recovering from illnesses, lost limbs, and more, she's not even a blip on the radar.

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:'' [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste Immediately after helping Twilight Sparkle in stopping the Changeling invasion]], [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] proceeds to confront the other heroes over their roles in the events leading up to the invasion -- in front of the wedding guests and royal guards, no less. First, he not only angrily calls out Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, and Spike on [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass their treatment of Twilight at the wedding rehearsal]] and being too focused on the wedding preparations to listen to her about the imposter Cadance, but he also [[KickTheDog blames the real Princess Cadance]] for allowing the Changeling Queen to impersonate her [[spoiler:(even though it was really him who knocked her out)]]. Even Celestia is too shaken by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing previously mild-mannered]] nephew's sudden change of character to adequately defend herself against his aggressive accusations, and he even silences the Mane Five with a BigShutUp before they can even say anything. Finally, he delivers a NewEraSpeech to the citizens of Canterlot wherein he reveals to them the heroes' mistakes ([[PetTheDog sans Twilight]]), blames them for the collateral damage/casualties, and promises to make things right. [[OhCrap The shaken heroes to become so panicked]] that they unsuccessfully try to escape. This majorly backfires and [[NotHelpingYourCase makes them look as guilty as Jewelius says they are]]. As a result, the guards imprison the heroes on his orders and [[HeroesWithBadPublicity everypony in Canterlot turns against them]] while accepting Jewelius as their new ruler.

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:'' [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste Immediately after helping Twilight Sparkle in stopping the Changeling invasion]], [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] proceeds to confront the other heroes over their roles in the events leading up to the invasion -- in front of the wedding guests and royal guards, no less. First, he not only angrily calls out Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, and Spike on [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass their treatment of Twilight at the wedding rehearsal]] and being too focused on the wedding preparations to listen to her about the imposter Cadance, but he also [[KickTheDog blames the real Princess Cadance]] for allowing the Changeling Queen to impersonate her [[spoiler:(even though it was really him who knocked her out)]]. Even Celestia is too shaken by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing previously mild-mannered]] nephew's sudden change of character to adequately defend herself against his aggressive accusations, and he even silences the Mane Five with a BigShutUp before they can even say anything. Finally, he delivers a NewEraSpeech to the citizens of Canterlot wherein he reveals to them the heroes' mistakes ([[PetTheDog sans Twilight]]), blames them for the collateral damage/casualties, and promises to make things right. [[OhCrap The heroes to become so panicked]] that they unsuccessfully try to escape. This majorly backfires and [[NotHelpingYourCase makes them look as guilty as Jewelius says they are]]. As a result, the guards imprison the heroes on his orders and [[HeroesWithBadPublicity everypony in Canterlot turns against them]] while accepting Jewelius as their new ruler.

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:'' [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste Immediately after helping Twilight Sparkle in stopping the Changeling invasion]], [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] proceeds to confront the other heroes over their roles in the events leading up to the invasion -- in front of the wedding guests and royal guards, no less. First, he not only angrily calls out Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, and Spike on [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass their treatment of Twilight at the wedding rehearsal]] and being too focused on the wedding preparations to listen to her about the imposter Cadance, but he also [[KickTheDog blames the real Princess Cadance]] for allowing the Changeling Queen to impersonate her [[spoiler:(even though it was really him who knocked her out)]]. Even Celestia is too shaken by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing previously mild-mannered]] nephew's sudden change of character to adequately defend herself against his aggressive accusations, and he even silences the Mane Five with a BigShutUp before they can even say anything. Finally, he delivers a NewEraSpeech to the citizens of Canterlot wherein he reveals to them the heroes' mistakes ([[PetTheDog sans Twilight]]), blames them for the collateral damage/casualties, and promises to make things right. This [[OhCrap causes the heroes to become so panicked]] that they unsuccessfully try to escape. This majorly backfires and [[NotHelpingYourCase makes them look as guilty as Jewelius says they are]]. As a result, the guards imprison the heroes on his orders and [[HeroesWithBadPublicity everypony in Canterlot turns against them]] while accepting Jewelius as their new ruler.

* In-universe subversion in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5858012/1/Sibling_Revelry Sibling Revelry]]'': when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Darth Vader waltzes in his throne room and demands that the frozen Han Solo is given to him]], Jabba and his entire court mistake the situation for this, and Jabba actually expressed his respect for whoever thought such a bluff... Then Darth Vader slaughtered him with his lightsaber, fed his body to the Rancor, left with Han, and [[KillEmAll had the palace destroyed via]] OrbitalBombardment. The only survivor was Lando, who, having recognized him as the real deal, ran away as soon as he recovered from the sheer surrealness of Vader appearing there and making those demands.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792883 Fox Rain]]'' Vorpika (Lila Rossi's alias as a superhero and Holder of the Fox Miraculous) decides to convince Gabriel to let Adrien back at school after he had been pulled out for stealing the Miraculous Book from his safe... So she claims she had brainwashed Adrien into doing it for her, hinting that Literature/ThePiedPiperofHamelin was a past Fox Miraculous Holder to give herself credibility and throwing in her suspicions on Gabriel being [[BigBad Papillon]] (in which she didn't even believe anymore) to keep him from thinking about it too much. ''It works''.

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:'' [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste Immediately after helping Twilight Sparkle in stopping the Changeling invasion]], [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] proceeds to confront the other heroes over their roles in the events leading up to the invasion -- in front of the wedding guests and royal guards, no less. First, he not only angrily calls out Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, and Spike on [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass their treatment of Twilight at the wedding rehearsal]] and being too focused on the wedding preparations to listen to her about the imposter Cadance, but he also [[KickTheDog blames the real Princess Cadance]] for allowing the Changeling Queen to impersonate her [[spoiler:(even though it was really him who knocked her out)]]. Even Celestia is too shaken by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing previously mild-mannered]] nephew's sudden change of character to adequately defend herself against his aggressive accusations, and he even silences the Mane Five with a BigShutUp before they can even say anything. Finally, he delivers a NewEraSpeech to the citizens of Canterlot wherein he reveals to them the heroes' mistakes ([[PetTheDog sans Twilight]]), blames them for the collateral damage/casualties, and promises to make things right. This [[OhCrap causes the heroes to become so panicked]] that they try to escape. This majorly backfires and [[NotHelpingYourCase makes them look as guilty as Jewelius says they are]]. As a result, the guards imprison the heroes on his orders and [[HeroesWithBadPublicity everypony in Canterlot turns against them]] while accepting Jewelius as their new ruler.