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6->''"It's true, I've deteriorated. I used to lie a lot more... '''Now I can actually do these things!'''"''
7-->-- '''Usopp''', ''Manga/OnePiece''
8
9Bob brags about some skill he possess, or [[BadassBoast some impressive feat he pulled off in the past]]. In fact, Bob brags quite a lot about this. Alice may roll her eyes at the time, but she remembers. Because, [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail inevitably]], Bob and Alice will find themselves in a situation where success (and possibly survival) [[ChekhovsSkill utterly depends]] on that skill Bob has been bragging about. At which point Bob will confess, with great embarrassment, that [[MilesGloriosus his original claims were very overstated, if not completely fabricated]]. However, while Bob's first instinct is to turn tail and run, that is simply not an option: by the time Bob is exposed, Alice's plan is completely past the PointOfNoReturn. Since Bob is the ClosestThingWeGot, he has no choice but to attempt to live up to the original boasts.
10
11Naturally, since it's a MillionToOneChance, Bob does just fine.
12
13If Bob ''does'' turn tail and run, then this trope is not in effect and Bob's just a MilesGloriosus. Not to be confused with BecomingTheMask or FakeRealTurn.
14
15See also CrisisMakesPerfect, which also involves Bob coming through when put on the spot with a skill he didn't possess, but differs in when it becomes apparent that he didn't have the skill.
16
17TruthInTelevision in that "fake it until you make it" is a viable business and political strategy. Understandably though, in RealLife they do all they can to avoid the aforementioned million-to-one chances, preferring bluffing, intimidation, and disinformation to avoid actually showing what they're bragging about for as long as possible until they can afford to. Despite this, cases when a hastily-put-together fake manages to produce the required outcome (and even force them to imitate it in the final product as a result) are not unheard of. This has downsides, though. Many people have tried this strategy and ended up running {{Ponzi}} Schemes or committing large amounts of fraud when it turns out they can't actually make it.
18----
19!!Examples:
20
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24* ''Manga/CellsAtWorkBaby'': Killer T-Cell makes his first appearance as a braggart and a bully...yet he is lost and scared when the baby's first actual virus attack occurs. Although it takes a while -- and a few saves by White Blood Cell -- he eventually does get it together and defeats the virus in badass fashion. While the experience doesn't completely end his SmallNameBigEgo ways, he's less of a bully and more mindful of his place among his fellow cells.
25* Mr. Satan in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is the World Martial Arts Champion and believed by all to be the most powerful man alive and Earth's greatest hero. While he ''is'' a formidable fighter by ordinary human standards, he pales in comparison to Saiyans like Goku, and even humans that are capable of harnessing ''ki'', such as Krillin, and would never have won the World Tournament if they'd bothered to compete against him. Nevertheless, he plays critical roles in helping defeat both Cell and Majin Buu even after he realizes he doesn't stand a chance against them one-on-one; in the former arc, he throws Android 16's severed head to Gohan so 16 can motivate Gohan to fight Cell, and in the latter, he not only becomes friends with Buu and convinces him to stop his rampage, but also leverages his reputation to persuade the people of Earth to give their energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb later on. The Z-Fighters have to admit that he may not be the strongest guy around, but he's certainly useful.
26* In ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'', Hiruma likes to brag that he has a kicker on his team who can score a field goal at 60 yards, over half the field away from the goalpost, calling it the 60 Yard Magnum. [[spoiler:Musashi, the kicker, repeatedly refutes the point, saying it's just an intimidation factor (later he says he's never made one from further than 55 yards...which is still an impressively long kick). Then it comes down to the last second in the Christmas Bowl, with Deimon trailing 42 points to 44 and possession on the 50 yard line (for those who don't know, that puts them 60 yards from the goal post because of the 10 yard long end zone).]][[note]]That puts the line of scrimmage 60 yards away from the goalposts. The spot of the kick is seven yards behind that, because the kicking team likes some space from the defending team. So a kick from possession at midfield would be 67 yards officially. The NFL record is 66 yards, as of 2022. A 60 yard kick would be snapped from the defending team's 43 yard line.[[/note]] What follows is [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome one of the most beautiful and kick ass scenes in the entire series]].
27** Hiruma forced Sena into the identity of "Eyeshield 21", the ace running back from Notre Dame High School, so he wouldn't be scouted by other sports teams and Mamori wouldn't flip about him playing such a dangerous sport. As Sena later discovers, [[spoiler:the mythos that Hiruma had built around the identity is largely ''true'' concerning the ''real'' Eyeshield 21 -- the latest in a series of running backs to wear that number at Notre Dame. It's revealed in the final chapter that after the World Cup, Sena actually became the real Eyeshield 21 in the US]].
28* ''Manga/FoodWars'': At the start of the story, just as he's been transferred to Totsuki Academy, Soma Yukihira delivers a speech that he's going to use the school as a stepping stone to become the number one. The speech quickly gains him the ire of pretty much the entire student body, though their opinion gradually changes as more people get to meet him and see how hard he works to live up to it. [[spoiler:He ultimately succeeds by becoming the First Seat of the [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil Council of Ten Masters]], composed of the top ten students in the school, before even finishing his ''first'' year.]]
29* ''Manga/OnePiece'': While not exactly an example of this trope ''per se'', [[CowardlyLion Usopp's]] statement and actions after the timeskip during one of the climactic battles shows his boasts [[TookALevelInBadass now hold a lot more water.]]
30-->'''Usopp:''' It's true, I've deteriorated. I used to lie a lot more... ''[[BadassBoast now I can actually do these things!]]''
31** And in an odd way, many of the fake stories he told around his home town mirror actual events he would later encounter on his journey. Those stories were still fake, but he'd be able to then truthfully retell them when he returns.
32** In the Dressrosa arc, he lies and tells the gullible [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Tontatta]] that he's a descendant of a legendary adventurer that they idolize, leading them to revere him as a hero and stake their plans for success on him. When the plan fails, Usopp can't bring himself to abandon them when they keep believing in them, so he returns to tell them he's ''not'' a hero, he's a ''pirate''- but he's ''about to become'' their legendary hero. And he does.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Fan Works]]
36* [[http://zombiecarter.deviantart.com/art/Futurama-Undead-Zapp-Brannigan-331944580 This piece]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' fanart features the notorious braggart [[GeneralFailure General Zapp Brannigan]] living up to his own legend... in a matter of speaking.
37* In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/237978/how-trixie-somehow-saved-hearths-warming How Trixie (Somehow) Saves Hearth's Warming]]'', Trixie is MistakenForBadass by Vixen due to her typical boasting and dragged into [[SavingChristmas saving Heart's Warming]] from [[BigBad a villain named Leidr]] who's buried the North Pole in a blizzard. Trixie soon has to actually live up to her boasting when she has to fight and Amarok and [[Theatre/TheNutcracker the Rat King]]. [[spoiler:While she and Vixen get [[ForcedTransformation turned into wooden toys]] by the Rat King, Trixie ultimately [[LetsGetDangerous gets properly motivated enough]] to start a prison break and ultimately defeat the Rat King through trickery and quick thinking. She's quite surprised not only by the fact she beat him, but by the castle full of innocents she freed from him start celebrating her as a hero.]]
38* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Asuka often boasted about being the best pilot ever and the greatest fighter against the [[{{EldritchAbomination}} Angels]], but in reality [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex her confidence and her self-esteem were very fragile]] and she was not sure her skills and training were good enough. However ''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} she gradually discovers she has powers she was unaware of]]'', becomes a ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} heroine]]'', and thanks to personal growing she shows she can take down anything and anyone.
39[[/folder]]
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41[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
42* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'': Fowler talks constantly about the time he spent in the Royal Air Force. At the end, the chickens expect him to pilot their homemade aircraft to freedom, and he admits that he was in the Air Force as a mascot, not a pilot. He ends up flying anyway. Interestingly, he's not the least bit ashamed at being a mascot, and seems surprised that the others actually expected him to be able to fly a plane. After all, he IS a chicken. Fortunately, Fowler was ''observant''.
43-->'''Ginger:''' Fowler, you have to fly it. You always talk about "back in your day." Well, ''today'' is your day.\
44'''Bunty:''' You can do it, you old sausage.\
45'''Fowler:''' ''(beat, then salutes)'' Wing Commander T.l.Fowler, reporting for duty.
46* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'' has Alex make up a signature act of his called "Trapeze Americano" to trick the circus his friends are hiding with into thinking that they're amazing circus animals themselves. [[spoiler:The final act in the New York Zoo has Alex trying to think of a way to save Stefano from Dubois while looking around at all of the mess they and Animal Control created alongside [[ChekhovsGun what he currently has on hand]], [[EurekaMoment and realises that it's the exact same setup for "Trapeze Americano"]], so he and Gia pull it off for real, and Alex finishes it with "handing balloons to the children of the world" for good measure.]]
47* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'' finds himself boasting big about having [[OneHitPolykill killed several men with a single bullet]] and, after accidentally accomplishing the feat, being made sheriff, at which point he has to do it for real.
48* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/RockADoodle'': Chanticleer sincerely believed that his crowing made the sun rise every day, until he's distracted by fighting another rooster and the day dawns without him. Turns out that his crowing actually ''does'' make a difference, requiring Edmund and some of his friends from the farm to convince him to come back and regain his confidence enough to beat back the Grand Duke and CueTheSun.
49* Samson the lion from ''WesternAnimation/TheWild'' tells stories about being from the wild and defeating a herd of wildebeest with his MightyRoar [[spoiler:despite actually being [[RaisedInCaptivity from a circus]]]]. Later on, however, [[spoiler:he does manage to defeat Kazar, a wildebeest, the same way he did in his stories]].
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
53* In ''Film/MemphisBelle'' bombardier Val has not exactly gone out of his way to deny that he is almost qualified as a doctor, even if he never specifically claims so. When Danny is wounded during the mission and the others look to Val to save him, he finally fesses up, admitting he only took two weeks of medical school before enlisting. TheCaptain, Dennis, gives him a speech about how he's the [[ClosestThingWeGot closest thing they got]], and he goes off to save Danny's life...
54* ''Film/MysteryMen'': Mr. Furious supposedly has the superpower of rage-induced super-strength, but, when called on it near the end of the film, he reveals it's all an act. However, when rescuing the LoveInterest from the clutches of the BigBad, he becomes genuinely furious, genuinely gains rage-induced super-strength, and starts kicking ass.
55* In ''Film/SnakesOnAPlane'', Troy claims to be able to fly a plane, and to have logged hundreds of flight hours. And then it turns out that [[IKnowMortalKombat he was actually talking about a PS2 game]], but he manages to land the plane anyway.
56* Bobby Dagen, one of the protagonists of ''Film/Saw3D'', is a motivational speaker who falsely claims to have survived one of the [[PoeticSerialKiller Jigsaw killer]]'s {{death trap}}s, in which he put two hooks through his pectoral muscles and climbed the chains attached to them in order to pull himself up to safety. Guess what his final test is when he's put through one of Jigsaw's trials for real, with his wife Joyce's life on the line? [[spoiler:It's cruelly subverted when a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs, as the pectoral muscles simply aren't strong enough to support Bobby's full weight, and the hooks tear right out of his chest as he tries to climb the chains. Thanks to his lies, Bobby is ForcedToWatch as Joyce suffers one of the most brutal deaths in the entire series.]]
57* ''Film/ThreeAmigos'': Ned mentions that a passing biplane is the same kind that he flew in one of his prior movies. At the end, the other Amigos need him to fly this plane to escape from El Guapo's army. Ned confesses that it was his stunt double who actually flew the plane. They climb aboard the plane anyway, and Ned [[DrivesLikeCrazy flies like crazy]].
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59
60[[folder:Literature]]
61* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' is constantly on the receiving end of this because of his (partly accidental) status as a FakeUltimateHero. The best example probably being in the first novel, when his friend assumed he'd want to sneak into an enemy camp for fun (although he is quite competent he's also an admitted DirtyCoward).
62* In the ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' series, a ghost asks Septimus if he can perform a certain spell and he says "almost" - not because he's actively learning the spell, but because he knows the ghost will get horribly upset if the answer is "no". Of course, later on they need the spell to heal a dragon-boat, and they scramble to make it work; Septimus read up on the spell in question just in case the ghost ever asked him for more details, so he knows the basic principle. [[spoiler:It's revealed later in the series that he was shy an important ingredient, but what he ''was'' able to do staved off the Grim Reaper long enough to do it properly.]]
63* A ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' novel once featured Sisko bragging about being able to hit a target with a phaser blast using a mirror. Later, that exact situation crops up on the station (with Odo becoming the mirror); Sisko pulls the stunt off but afterwards admits he had exaggerated his ability.
64* Kaladin of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' is sentenced to death by [[HostileWeather Highstorm]] and swears to his men that he'll see them again the next dawn, fully believing that he won't survive but hoping to last long enough to be an InspirationalMartyr. Instead, his budding [[HealingFactor Radiant]] abilities keep him alive, and he gains the sobriquet [[TheMagnificent Stormblessed]] and a status as a LivingLegend. Throughout the series, Kaladin repeatedly gets into near impossible situations expecting to die and instead pulls it off, and his legend only grows even if Kaladin [[HeroicSelfDeprecation never believes it himself]].
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
68* ''Series/BreakingBad'' is all about this. Walter White creates the persona of 'Heisenberg' both to terrify the criminal underworld he has become embroiled with and to relieve himself of his guilt over the drastic measures he takes. Over time, however, Walter relies more and more on Heisenberg to the point where his mask becomes his true personality, although elements of the well-meaning family man do still reveal themselves to be there. Sadly, however, he eventually becomes unable to interact with even the people most precious to him without relying on Heisenberg, which causes them to become fearful and hateful of him.
69* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Daenerys' title Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea was more InNameOnly since her horde was comprised of the pitiful remnants that stayed alongside her after Drogo's death. That is until Season 6, when she really backs it up.
70* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', the Miller's Daughter, Cora, lies to her king (who is nearly bankrupt) that she can spin straw into gold. The bluff backfires on her, as the king promptly orders for her to be locked in a tower and to transform a roomful of straw. Luckily for Cora, though, [[Characters/OnceUponATimeRumplestiltskin Rumplestiltskin]] ''does'' know how to spin straw into gold, and he's willing to do it for her. Cora demands that he teach her how as well.
71* PlayedWith in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. Elliott insists that her brief endocrinology fellowship has made her an expert on the subject, when in reality she's just very good at hiding textbook pages all over the hospital. When Dr. Cox tries to expose her by scheduling her to give a lecture about endocrinology, she panics until JD makes her realize that all her obsessive efforts to hide the fact that she was faking it has led to her becoming a genuine expert on the subject.
72* In an episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', George claimed to be a Marine Biologist to impress a woman. Later, he and that woman were walking along a beach when they came upon a crowd gathered around a beached whale who is having trouble breathing. George removes a golf ball from the whale's blow hole and saves its life.
73-->'''George''': I don't know if it was divine intervention or the kinship of all living things, but I tell you Jerry, at that moment, I ''was'' a Marine Biologist.
74* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
75** An early episode has a Bajoran, Li Nalas, who is famed as being a great resistance leader, who later admits he is nothing of the sort. It's something of an inversion in this case, in that his reputation was not his own doing (he was, in fact very uncomfortable with it), but actually spread by other Bajoran freedom fighters who needed a hero to inspire them. He ''did'' actually kill an infamous villain, but it was mostly a lucky accident (he stumbled upon the guy bathing in a lake, shot him in his underwear when he saw him running to his phaser, and only found who he was after someone else came across them). After that, as his legend grew, he got credit for almost every successful campaign by the resistance despite never having actually been in charge or heavily involved in carrying them out. [[HeroicSacrifice But when the time comes, he shows that he can be every bit the legend that people already believe.]] Even after proving himself, Li Nalas shows that he still considers himself unworthy. His LastWords are "Off the hook," reflecting his relief that he'll no longer have to live up to a reputation he doesn't think he deserves.
76** The station itself does this over a three-year period. In the pilot episode, Kira uses thoron fields and duranium shadows to try to convince a Cardassian attack force that [=DS9=] has 5000 photon torpedoes and integrated phaser banks, when all it has are six photons and an almost-phaser. Three years later, Sisko warns a Klingon attack force that [=DS9=] has 5000 torpedoes ready to fire, but they assume that he's using the same trick that Kira did. This time, however, it's no bluff, as the ensuing MacrossMissileMassacre demonstrates.
77* ''Series/TheTerror'': James Fitzjames confesses that he's an [[HeroicBastard illegitimate]] fraud who only got on the expedition because an admiral owed him a favor for having saved the admiral's son from an unspecified scandal, but Crozier rather touchingly (especially in light of their initial mutual dislike) tells him that he's already shown himself to be this trope on the expedition itself. Sure enough, Fitzjames goes on to display NervesOfSteel in trying to save the encampment from a rampaging polar bear monster, which is exactly the kind of theatrical heroism he once flaunted like a peacock's tail [[spoiler:and in concealing that he's SecretlyDying for as long as he can in order to try to keep morale up among the men.]]
78** Somewhat amusingly, the fandom has adopted him as a sort of patron saint to invoke in their own uses of the trope, including [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/3c30ced05355e2baba314d76140dad85/tumblr_phan4kCwGe1qe3wqt_500.jpg 'fake it til you make it' inspirational posters]].
79[[/folder]]
80
81[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
82* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': Wulfrik was once a tribal chieftain who got drunk at a feast and proclaimed himself the greatest warrior that ever lived and that he'd killed every type of beast in the Chaos Wastes twice, among other things. The Chaos Gods took him at his word, and he soon discovered that he could now speak in all the tongues of men and beasts (and elves, and dwarves, and beastmen, and...) in order to challenge them to prove his boast true. At first he thought this was a curse, before realizing his life was now an unending challenge that could [[CursedWithAwesome only bring him ever-greater glory]].
83[[/folder]]
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85[[folder:Video Games]]
86* Invoked in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', in the Miner class questline. [[spoiler:Wide Gulley learns that his mining records have been artificially inflated by his father, and his first response is to scramble to actually accomplish those records. The fact that he obviously can't do that doesn't stop him from trying, because he's just that peeved about being given credit he doesn't deserve.]]
87* Before the start of ''VideoGame/MediEvil'', [[FakeUltimateHero Dan was a lazy knight who became commander of the royal army due solely to his fake tales of adventure]]. When the BigBad showed up and threatened the kingdom, Dan ''did'' step up to lead an army to fight him [[ShaggyDogStory only to die to the first crossbow bolt fired by Zarok's forces]]. The king was so embarassed at Dan's poor showing that he ordered a fake legend of Dan's valiant death be written into the history. By the end, however, Dan truly becomes the hero he claimed to be. [[IronButtmonkey Being undead]] helped with that.
88* In Chapter 3: The Paper Hero of ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'', X and Spider go to rescue some [=POW=]s inside a prison. There they meet up with a hero in green armor [[TheBigGuy Steel Massimo]] [[spoiler:who in reality is just a random cowardly reploid in the armor of the real one, who has given it to him, before he has been stripped down to practically nothing and hung out to dry. The fake Massimo finds him and cries over him. The real Massimo tells the fake one that he’s glad he gave him his armor, and that he can be a strong fighter if he tries.]] Massimo begins the game pathetically weak, with average LE but no offensive or defensive strength to speak of...at LEVEL 1. And even at level 1, his LE is close to that of X at level 10.
89* Captain Qwark of the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series. Throughout the series he boasts about how amazing and heroic he is, but always fails to live up to it (he's even a villain in the first game). In the third game however, he fakes his death, but when Ratchet and Clank find him, Clank tells him that there's still a chance for him "to be the hero he always wanted to be". Cue his entrance during the final boss battle in which he helps you fight Dr. Nefarious.
90** He's also helped out in ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime A Crack in Time]]'', despite maintaining his pathetic qualities.
91* [[TheBigGuy Brad Evans]] of ''VideoGame/WildARMS2'' [[spoiler:claims himself as the "Hero of Slayheim" in order to keep the heat off of his friend Billy, the real hero]]. He proves himself more than capable of carrying the mantle once he regains his confidence, however.
92* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Kingslayer Orkus always imagined himself to be a great hero of the Horde, but fell well short of the mark. In "Heroes of the Horde", he takes on three Elite Alliance soldiers to buy players time to get Alliance war plans back to base, and [[HeroicSacrifice dies as a proud, honourable hero]].
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Web Videos]]
96* ''WebVideo/CounterMonkey'': [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Noah "Spoony" Antwiler]] explained that this ended up happening to his iconic ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' character [[QuirkyBard Tandem the Spoony]], who would always introduce himself as "The Greatest Swordsman in the World". Another player, whose character was a [[MasterSwordsman Swordmaster]], got offended and challenged Tandem to a duel... which Tandem won thanks in part to Noah's [[BornLucky incredible dice luck]]. The Swordmaster accepted the results of the duel, but then kept trying to get Tandem killed by [[LetsYouAndHimFight picking fights for him]]. He won every single one of them, including a gladiator battle against a large opponent whose weapon of choice was a ''tree'', stunning the Swordmaster and making Tandem start believing his own hype.
97[[/folder]]
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99[[folder:Real Life]]
100
101* Creator/GeorgeLazenby had zero acting experience before the hunt for a new Franchise/JamesBond began and was recommended by his modeling agent. Lazenby proceeded to bluff and lie throughout the entire audition process about having extensive past experience in acting and making himself look as Bond-like as possible (going so far as obtaining a suit Creator/SeanConnery had ordered but never collected). By the time Lazenby went through the process enough to meet face to face with director Peter Hunt, the pressure finally got to him and he confessed that he had never acted before. Hunt replied "What? And you say you can’t act? You’ve fooled [[HorribleHollywood two of the most ruthless men I've ever met in my life]]. Stick to your story, and I’ll make you the next James Bond". And the rest is history.
102* Creator/GeorgeTakei's famous "shirtless fencer" scene from the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime The Naked Time]]" was originally meant to be done with a Japanese sword, but Takei (in addition to wanting to avoid Asian stereotypes) was a big fan of old swashbuckling films of the Errol Flynn type, so he told them he was a skilled fencer to get to use a fencing sword instead. After it was agreed, he immediately took up a fencing class to pull off a good showing.
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