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* ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodAndEvil'': Sophie believes she's destined to live out her own fairytale as a PrincessClassic, meet her Prince Charming, and live HappilyEverAfter, and strives to keep herself beautiful and do good deeds like the heroines in the books she reads. Meanwhile, her best friend, Agatha, with her black frocks and odd interests in the graveyard, is believed to be on the right track to become a WickedWitch in her fairytale. Of course, when the time comes for the girls to be taken to the titular fairytale schools, Agatha is enrolled at [[RoyalSchool the Good School for princes and princesses]], and Sophie is taken to [[AcedemyOfEvil the Evil School for villains]]. At first, both think that there was a mix-up until they realized that while Agatha does seem to fit the witch stereotype, she has a genuinely good heart, and thus is the true princess at heart, while Sophie might be beautiful, but all her "good deeds" came from selfishness rather than wanting to be good, and is not a true heroine.

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* ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodAndEvil'': Sophie believes she's destined to live out her own fairytale as a PrincessClassic, meet her Prince Charming, and live HappilyEverAfter, and strives to keep herself beautiful and do good deeds like the heroines in the books she reads. Meanwhile, her best friend, Agatha, with her black frocks and odd interests in the graveyard, is believed to be on the right track to become a WickedWitch in her fairytale. Of course, when the time comes for the girls to be taken to the titular fairytale schools, Agatha is enrolled at [[RoyalSchool the Good School for princes and princesses]], and Sophie is taken to [[AcedemyOfEvil [[AcademyOfEvil the Evil School for villains]]. At first, both think that there was a mix-up until they realized that while Agatha does seem to fit the witch stereotype, she has a genuinely good heart, and thus is the true princess at heart, while Sophie might be beautiful, but all her "good deeds" came from selfishness rather than wanting to be good, and is not a true heroine.
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* In ''Ayesha At Last'', Faraza believes she’s the ParentsAsPeople in a GenerationalSaga plotline, meddling in her children’s lives because she wants what’s best for them. In reality, she’s the MyBelovedSmother in a romantic dramedy. When she learns that she’s the bad guy, it’s essentially too late to [[spoiler: save her relationship with her daughter and her son is keeping her at arms length.]]

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* In ''Ayesha At Last'', Faraza believes she’s the ParentsAsPeople [[ParentsAsPeople flawed yet well-intentioned mother]] in a GenerationalSaga plotline, meddling in her children’s lives because she wants what’s best for them. In reality, she’s the MyBelovedSmother in a romantic dramedy. When she learns that she’s the bad guy, it’s essentially too late to [[spoiler: save [[spoiler:save her relationship with her daughter and her son is keeping her at arms length.]]
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* ''Literature/TheSunEater'': Over 15,000 years in TheFuture, protagonist Hadrian Marlowe thought himself to be essentially an "enlightenment" hero in a cosmos that's just suffering from the ills of ignorance, bigotry and class elitism. With a bit of pluck, some compassion and empathy to aliens conquered by the Sollan Empire, Hadrian'll usher in a utopian world. And to be fair he has some successes, many of the aliens in the empire are InnocentAliens who were too primitive to resist human invasion. Unhappily, Hadrian learns he's actually in a LovecraftLite, sci-fi version of DarkFantasy universe that's not too different from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', so his hope for a benevolent cosmos is doomed.

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* ''Literature/TheSunEater'': Over 15,000 years in TheFuture, protagonist Hadrian Marlowe thought himself to be essentially an "enlightenment" hero in a cosmos galactic neo-Victorian empire that's just suffering from the ills of ignorance, bigotry and class elitism. elitism. With a bit of pluck, some compassion and empathy to aliens conquered by the Sollan Empire, Hadrian'll usher in a utopian world. And to be fair he has some successes, a few successes as many of the aliens in the empire are InnocentAliens who were too primitive to resist human invasion. Unhappily, Hadrian learns he's actually in a LovecraftLite, sci-fi version of DarkFantasy universe that's not too different from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', so his hope for a benevolent cosmos is doomed.
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* ''Literature/TheSunEater'': Over 15,000 years in TheFuture, protagonist Hadrian Marlowe thought himself to be essentially an "enlightenment" hero in a cosmos that's just suffering from the ills of ignorance, bigotry and class elitism. With a bit of pluck, some compassion and empathy to aliens conquered by the Sollan Empire, Hadrian'll usher in a utopian world. And to be fair he has some successes, many of the aliens in the empire are InnocentAliens who were too primitive to resist human invasion. Unhappily, Hadrian learns he's actually in a LovecraftLite, sci-fi version of DarkFantasy universe that's not too different from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', so his hope for a benevolent cosmos is doomed.
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* In ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'', it's a matter of mild comic embarrassment -- and sometimes a matter of life or death -- to be wrong about which 'plot' you're on. Worse still is to forget the Tradition entirely, which usually does mean that fairytale plots stop happening in your area, but if a dragon ''does'' suddenly appear, you won't have a clue how to make it go away.
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%%* In ''The Mug and Spoon'' by Anastasia Kharlamova, Lord Austreigh believes he has just woken up Snow White with a TrueLovesKiss. He never finds out the truth, which is that [[spoiler:he is in a FracturedFairyTale and said "Snow White" is a lowborn girl who was never cursed to begin with. Her entire hometown is involved in the con: one girl after another pretends to be the cursed princess to attract potential wealthy husbands]].

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%%* * In ''The Mug and Spoon'' by Anastasia Kharlamova, Lord Austreigh believes he has just woken up Snow White with a TrueLovesKiss. He never finds out the truth, which is that [[spoiler:he is in a FracturedFairyTale and said "Snow White" is a lowborn girl who was never cursed to begin with. Her entire hometown is involved in the con: one girl after another pretends to be the cursed princess to attract potential wealthy husbands]].



%%* ''Literature/TeaWithTheBlackDragon'' has a minor example, since it only lasts a moment and never affects the character's actions, but still striking: When Fred first notices Mr. Long's MarkOfTheSupernatural, he briefly wonders if Mr. Long is an alien detective who has taken human form to track down alien criminals, before accepting the more prosaic truth that the malefactors Mr. Long is after are ordinary human criminals in an ordinary crime drama plot. (He wasn't entirely wrong about Mr. Long being something in human form, but he still had the genre wrong: Mr. Long is a dragon.)

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%%* * ''Literature/TeaWithTheBlackDragon'' has a minor example, since it only lasts a moment and never affects the character's actions, but still striking: When Fred first notices Mr. Long's MarkOfTheSupernatural, he briefly wonders if Mr. Long is an alien detective who has taken human form to track down alien criminals, before accepting the more prosaic truth that the malefactors Mr. Long is after are ordinary human criminals in an ordinary crime drama plot. (He wasn't entirely wrong about Mr. Long being something in human form, but he still had the genre wrong: Mr. Long is a dragon.)



%%** Don Sebastiano thinks that he's in a standard ''Film/SkyHigh2005''-esque superhero story, he's the BigBad and that he and Hekate can do anything they want. Problem is, they're actually in an X-Men-esque superhero story. He's more the DiscOneFinalBoss, Hekate is his [[TheDragon dragon]], and he's underestimated the value of politics -- without them, he'd be dead or maimed, because he's playing in the same league as a bunch of people who could kill him without any effort and have already gone up against bigger enemies. (Seriously, the Don or Hekate -- or both of them -- versus Tennyo? No contest.)
%%** Fellow Whateley student Josie Gilman is WrongGenreSavvy played for laughs. She really does think she's in an X-men (or at least New Mutants) story when she's actually the ButtMonkey in a Lovecraftian CosmicHorror story. In her case being wrong genre savvy is probably the only thing keeping her sane.

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%%** ** Don Sebastiano thinks that he's in a standard ''Film/SkyHigh2005''-esque superhero story, he's the BigBad and that he and Hekate can do anything they want. Problem is, they're actually in an X-Men-esque superhero story. He's more the DiscOneFinalBoss, Hekate is his [[TheDragon dragon]], and he's underestimated the value of politics -- without them, he'd be dead or maimed, because he's playing in the same league as a bunch of people who could kill him without any effort and have already gone up against bigger enemies. (Seriously, the Don or Hekate -- or both of them -- versus Tennyo? No contest.)
%%** ** Fellow Whateley student Josie Gilman is WrongGenreSavvy played for laughs. She really does think she's in an X-men (or at least New Mutants) story when she's actually the ButtMonkey in a Lovecraftian CosmicHorror story. In her case being wrong genre savvy is probably the only thing keeping her sane.
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* ''Literature/You2015'': Joe thinks he is a DoggedNiceGuy and is the hero in a RomanticComedy. He is in fact an extremely obsessive StalkerWithACrush and eventual SerialKiller who responds to any attempt to stop him living out his rom-com dreams with lethal force, and the villain in a dark psychological thriller.


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* ''Literature/You2015'': ''Literature/YouKepnes'': Joe thinks he is a DoggedNiceGuy and is the hero in a RomanticComedy. He is in fact an extremely obsessive StalkerWithACrush and eventual SerialKiller who responds to any attempt to stop him living out his rom-com dreams with lethal force, and the villain in a dark psychological thriller.


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* Sooni from ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' lives in a DungeonPunk world that draws heavily on ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' in particular, yet seems to consider herself an {{Anime}} heroine. Among other things, she strongly believes that DefeatMeansFriendship.


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* Literature/WhateleyUniverse: it should come as no surprise that a series so heavy on {{Deconstruction}} would have a number of these.
%%** Don Sebastiano thinks that he's in a standard ''Film/SkyHigh2005''-esque superhero story, he's the BigBad and that he and Hekate can do anything they want. Problem is, they're actually in an X-Men-esque superhero story. He's more the DiscOneFinalBoss, Hekate is his [[TheDragon dragon]], and he's underestimated the value of politics -- without them, he'd be dead or maimed, because he's playing in the same league as a bunch of people who could kill him without any effort and have already gone up against bigger enemies. (Seriously, the Don or Hekate -- or both of them -- versus Tennyo? No contest.)
%%** Fellow Whateley student Josie Gilman is WrongGenreSavvy played for laughs. She really does think she's in an X-men (or at least New Mutants) story when she's actually the ButtMonkey in a Lovecraftian CosmicHorror story. In her case being wrong genre savvy is probably the only thing keeping her sane.
** Wannabe HunterOfMonsters Nightbane is obsessed with ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', and sees herself as their world's equivalent, to the point that when she decapitated the NighInvulnerable HumanoidAbomination Carmilla (who was meditating at the time, and didn't even notice until she found her old head, still alive, a few days later), she was surprised that Sara didn't turn into a pile of dust.
---> [[BuffySpeak “Aren’t you, like, supposed to disintegrate or something?”]]
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* ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodAndEvil'': Sophie believes she’s destined to live out her own fairytale as a PrincessClassic, meet her Prince Charming, and live HappilyEverAfter, and strives to keep herself beautiful and do good deeds like the heroines in the books she reads. Meanwhile, her best friend, Agatha, with her black frocks and odd interests in the graveyard, is believed to be on the right track to become a WickedWitch in her fairytale. Of course, when the time comes for the girls to be taken to the titular fairytale schools, Agatha is enrolled at [[RoyalSchool the Good School for princes and princesses]], and Sophie is taken to the EvilSchool for villains. At first, both think that there was a mix-up until they realized that while Agatha does seem to fit the witch stereotype, she has a genuinely good heart, and thus is the true princess at heart, while Sophie might be beautiful, but all her “good deeds” came from selfishness rather than wanting to be good, and is not a true heroine.

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* ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodAndEvil'': Sophie believes she’s destined to live out her own fairytale as a PrincessClassic, meet her Prince Charming, and live HappilyEverAfter, and strives to keep herself beautiful and do good deeds like the heroines in the books she reads. Meanwhile, her best friend, Agatha, with her black frocks and odd interests in the graveyard, is believed to be on the right track to become a WickedWitch in her fairytale. Of course, when the time comes for the girls to be taken to the titular fairytale schools, Agatha is enrolled at [[RoyalSchool the Good School for princes and princesses]], and Sophie is taken to [[AcedemyOfEvil the EvilSchool Evil School for villains. villains]]. At first, both think that there was a mix-up until they realized that while Agatha does seem to fit the witch stereotype, she has a genuinely good heart, and thus is the true princess at heart, while Sophie might be beautiful, but all her “good deeds” "good deeds" came from selfishness rather than wanting to be good, and is not a true heroine.
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--->'''Vetinari''': I've always thought there was something slightly sinister about rocking horses.

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--->'''Vetinari''': --->'''Vetinari''': ...I've always thought there was something slightly sinister about rocking horses.
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\n* ''Literature/You2015'': Joe thinks he is a DoggedNiceGuy and is the hero in a RomanticComedy. He is in fact an extremely obsessive StalkerWithACrush and eventual SerialKiller who responds to any attempt to stop him living out his rom-com dreams with lethal force, and the villain in a dark psychological thriller.

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-->'''Vetinari''': Possibly ''on this very site'' a strange cult once engaged in eldritch rites, the very essence of which permeated the neighborhood, and which seeks only the rite, ahaha, circumstances to once again arise and walk about eating people?
-->'''William''': They made rocking horses here.
-->'''Vetinari''': I've always thought there was something slightly sinister about rocking horses.

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-->'''Vetinari''': --->'''Vetinari''': Possibly ''on this very site'' a strange cult once engaged in eldritch rites, the very essence of which permeated the neighborhood, and which seeks only the rite, ahaha, circumstances to once again arise and walk about eating people?
-->'''William''': --->'''William''': They made rocking horses here.
-->'''Vetinari''': --->'''Vetinari''': I've always thought there was something slightly sinister about rocking horses.
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** Even Vetinari can occasionally fall into this. During ''Literature/TheTruth'', he prowls about William's newspaper offices trying to determine if the printing press is yet another newfangled creation about to cause a magical catastrophe like the events of ''Literature/SoulMusic'' and ''Literature/MovingPictures''. He remains ''very'' skeptical of the idea this might be an actual crack in the MedievalStasis of the setting and something that'll play a part in a more mundane criminal conspiracy targeting him.
-->'''Vetinari''': Possibly ''on this very site'' a strange cult once engaged in eldritch rites, the very essence of which permeated the neighborhood, and which seeks only the rite, ahaha, circumstances to once again arise and walk about eating people?
-->'''William''': They made rocking horses here.
-->'''Vetinari''': I've always thought there was something slightly sinister about rocking horses.
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** The most tragic example is Prince Quentyn Martell, who is sent by his father on a mission to find Daenerys Targaryen [[EngagementChallenge and convince her to marry him]] in order to forge an alliance between their houses. Quentyn doesn't really want to go, but feels duty-bound, explicitly comparing the mission with [[TheHerosJourney stories of heroes]]. He does manage to make it to Daenerys, and is granted an audience, but the alliance doesn't suit her needs, and his [[SociallyAwkwardHero nervous attempts to make his case don't convince her]], meaning that his journey with a pitying rejection. He remains convinced that his mission has to have a heroic end, and so comes up with a plot to steal one of her dragons for his house. [[spoiler: He's burned to death off-screen, and the other characters wonder what possessed him to try something so stupid.]]

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** The most tragic example is Prince Quentyn Martell, who is sent by his father on a mission to find Daenerys Targaryen [[EngagementChallenge and convince her to marry him]] in order to forge an alliance between their houses. Quentyn doesn't really want to go, but feels duty-bound, explicitly comparing the mission with [[TheHerosJourney stories of heroes]]. He does manage to make it to Daenerys, and is granted an audience, but the alliance doesn't suit her needs, and his [[SociallyAwkwardHero nervous attempts to make his case don't convince her]], meaning that his journey ends with a pitying rejection. He remains convinced that his mission has to have a heroic end, and so comes up with a plot to steal one of her dragons for his house. [[spoiler: He's burned to death off-screen, and the other characters wonder what possessed him to try something so stupid.]]

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** Discworld runs on a force called Narrative Causality. This is that it follows the logic of epic stories. However, characters are explicitly warned that they should be wary of casting themselves. You might think yourself the seventh shoemaker who will defeat the monster through wit and cunning, while Fate decides that you are the seventh victim before the heroic knight comes to save the town.



%%** This can even occasionally happen to [[MagnificentBastard Vetinari]], who is usually a master of being GenreSavvy. In ''Literature/TheTruth'' ee wrongly thinks that the dwarven printing press has some sort occult or supernatural connection, and also wrongly thinks that MedievalStasis means that the printing press will only be a passing fad.

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%%** ** This can even occasionally happen to [[MagnificentBastard Vetinari]], who is usually a master of being GenreSavvy. In ''Literature/TheTruth'' ee wrongly thinks that explicitly invoked with the dwarven printing press character of The Lady. While she is effectively the goddess of fortune, and she explicitly has some sort occult favorites, including Rincewind, naming her or supernatural connection, and also wrongly thinks that MedievalStasis means that the printing press will only be a passing fad.relying on her in any way is guaranteed to turn her against you.
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mssngwrd


* ''Literature/TheMagicians'': Quentin Coldwater is a longtime fan of fantasy novels, most prominently the ''Fillory And Further'' children's books, and frequently imagines himself as the hero of his own fantasy story, though to be fair he ''is'' studying as a WizardingSchool. Once he discovers the Land of Fillory, he sets out on a journey into it, jumping at every opportunity for adventure under the impression that it'll result in him becoming a true hero and a king. Not only is he being manipulated into providing MacGuffinDeliveryService by the Beast, but he's not even the real hero of the story, doing very little to help anyone and proving of little use in any of the fights: he's the SupportingProtagonist the real hero of the story, Alice.

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* ''Literature/TheMagicians'': Quentin Coldwater is a longtime fan of fantasy novels, most prominently the ''Fillory And Further'' children's books, and frequently imagines himself as the hero of his own fantasy story, though to be fair he ''is'' studying as a WizardingSchool. Once he discovers the Land of Fillory, he sets out on a journey into it, jumping at every opportunity for adventure under the impression that it'll result in him becoming a true hero and a king. Not only is he being manipulated into providing MacGuffinDeliveryService by the Beast, but he's not even the real hero of the story, doing very little to help anyone and proving of little use in any of the fights: he's the SupportingProtagonist to the real hero of the story, Alice.
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* ''Literature/TheShadowProject'': Sir Roland, Carradine, the kids, and other agents serving them think they are in a straightforward UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror SpyFiction story with ScienceFiction elements that they can plan for accordingly, when really they are in an UrbanFantasy DivineConflict story.
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* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' has Catarina properly recognize that she is in an [[RomanceGame otome game]] after recalling her past life, and holds the role of the villainous bitch who gets in the heroine's way and is meant to meet a horrible death or exile at the end of the game. Her mistake is assuming that she's ''stuck'' as the DesignatedVillain when, in actuality, she became the protagonist of what is now a romantic harem comedy as soon as she regained her memories and began acting as a friendly goofball (i.e., the polar opposite of [[{{AlphaBitch}} her intended characterization]]). As a result, not only are her several (ridiculous) countermeasures rendered pointless by the time the game proper begins, but she's left wondering why all her friends -- including the intended heroine -- are constantly giving her presents and saying how much they care about her.

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* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' has Catarina properly recognize that she is in an [[RomanceGame otome game]] after recalling her past life, and holds the role of the villainous bitch who gets in the heroine's way and is meant to meet a horrible death or exile at the end of the game. Her mistake is assuming that she's ''stuck'' as the DesignatedVillain when, in actuality, she became the protagonist of what is now a romantic harem comedy as soon as she regained her memories and began acting as a friendly goofball (i.e., the polar opposite of [[{{AlphaBitch}} her intended characterization]]). As a result, not only are her several (ridiculous) countermeasures rendered pointless by the time the game proper begins, but she's left wondering why all her friends -- including the intended heroine -- are constantly giving her presents and saying how much they care about her.

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