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1[[quoteright:232:[[Webcomic/SchlockMercenary https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schlock20071207.png]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:232: PuppyDogEyes aren't going to get you a cake, Schlock.]]
3
4->''"The Enrichment Center is committed to the well being of all participants. Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the test."''
5-->-- '''[=GLaDOS=]''', ''VideoGame/Portal1''
6
7[[SelfDemonstratingArticle There will be cake for readers at the bottom of this page.]]
8
9A character, usually an antagonist, promises another character, usually the hero, a reward if they can complete some task for them. This can be anything from fame, to riches, to anything to do with a LoveInterest, to [[FoodAsBribe frosted desserts]], or pretty much anything generally considered desirable.
10
11But wait! "ILied." It turns out that there is no reward! Upon either finding this out or completing the task, it's discovered that the villain simply wanted something to be done for them, and now plans to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness dispose of the hero now that their usefulness to the villain has ended]]. At this point the villain may [[DidYouActuallyBelieve taunt the hero about their foolish trust]].
12
13Often a crucial part of many a MacguffinDeliveryService. May make use of FalseReassurance. Sometimes employed by a MissionControl that is [[MissionControlIsOffItsMeds off its meds]]. The "cake" may consist of a promised [[WorkingForABodyUpgrade Body Upgrade]].
14
15When the other character isn't necessarily evil, doesn't plan on hurting the hero, and simply raises their standards whenever the other character comes near to completion, this becomes MovingTheGoalposts. Compare DealWithTheDevil, RewardedAsATraitorDeserves, YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo, ReleasedToElsewhere. Contrast VillainsNeverLie. May double as SchmuckBait if the lackey never had a logical reason to expect cake in the first place. See also DoomAsTestPrize, when there ''is'' a reward at the end... just one you ''really'' don't want.
16
17Only overlaps with IWasToldThereWouldBeCake when the reward the villain promises is actually cake.
18
19'''Caution:''' Since this trope involves plot twists, spoilers may be left unmarked.
20
21----
22!!Examples:
23
24[[foldercontrol]]
25
26[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
27* In ''Manga/LiarGame'', during the Contraband game, Yokoya enforces a point-based loyalty scheme to guarantee loyalty from the members of his team that they would spy on the other members and report any dishonesty to him, where he would give more money to the snitch. Fukunaga suspects that Yokoya didn't even keep count; he just wanted the members to feed him as much information of the others as possible.
28* This occurs to Lina Inverse in the first ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' movie. The character in question isn't evil and doesn't plan on hurting Lina per se, but it's definitely not a case of Moving The Goalposts. Needing Lina to risk her life by going back in time hundreds of years in order to save a much younger version of himself, his love, and a group of elves from a mazoku, the elderly ghost of an adventurer promises Lina to show her the location of "the fountain of growth", which she interprets, and is led on to believe, will finally make her tall, curvy, and stacked. In reality, the ghost has lied, and the fountain in question is the reverse of the fountain of youth, aging things that touch its waters to death, making Lina's trials and tribulations completely meaningless (in her eyes). However, since Lina was particularly dumb for believing him, and since he's really the ancestor of her (not-yet-encountered-yet-at-the-time) love and life-long partner Gourry, it worked out in her favor anyways.
29* ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
30** In the Battle City arc, Arcana, one of Marik's servant's, is promised a reunion with his lost love upon fulfillment of a mission; Marik even put a mannequin shrouded by curtains in the room to persuade him. He fails his mission, and the last thing he sees before Marik kills him is that he never intended to keep his end of the deal. To make it even worse for Arcana, Yugi continually told him during the duel that [[IWarnedYou this was likely the case]]. Arcana actually seemed to have doubts once or twice, but never enough to truly believe him until the end.
31** Noah Kaiba recruits the Big Five by promising to allow them to take over the bodies of the heroes if they can defeat them in duels so they can escape the virtual world. When the Big Five are all defeated, Noah [[YouHaveFailedMe deletes them]], but not before laughing at them and revealing he never intended to give them bodies or let them leave the virtual world.
32* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''
33** The ''Fairy Dance'' Arc fits this well. According to given sources of ''Alfheim Online'', one can try the "Grand Quest", which would give his or her race a meeting with the Fairy King Oberon and promote the entire aligned race to the powerful Alfs. However, because only one can complete such a task, there is a lot of competition between the races, despite the alliances. [[spoiler:It turns out the whole thing is a hoax. The "Grand Quest" is an ImpossibleTask and the main entrance impassable to normal players. What's more, there is no city or castle at the top of the tree that was said in the game, as it is merely a research center for the psychopathic administrator and staff to experiment on human brains.]]
34** In the ''Alicization'' Arc, Quinella motivates her henchman Chudelkin, who openly lusts after her, by swearing an oath to the goddess Stacia that if he can defeat the heroes, she will have sex with him. She later reveals she has no intention of giving him his reward; since she doesn't believe in Stacia, her oath is meaningless.
35* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
36** When Cologne first appears, she traps Ranma in her female form via a special pressure point that makes her unable to stand any sort of heat, including hot water. Eventually she reveals she has a special pill that can cure Ranma of her affliction, but the only way to even get it would be to master a speed based attack. Ranma ultimately is able to do so and succeeds in getting the pill from Cologne, only for Cologne to reveal that at the last minute that she'd substituted the real pill for a candy drop.
37** The three-legged race story involves a race with the prize being a trip to China. It was a race through crazy obstacles no one could possibly get through, in short, it was meant to be unwinnable. To the organizers’ shock, they underestimated the tenacity of the Nerima Wrecking Crew since to them, the stakes were very high. They then try to sabotage the last remaining contestants to prevent any of them winning to get out of honoring the China trip prize.
38* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the nation of [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Marley]] uses the promise of full citizenship to lure Eldians into [[ChildSoldiers volunteering their children for military service]] in the [[SuperSoldier Warrior Program]]. These children are raised to be fanatically loyal to Marley, and believe that if they can prove their loyalty and rack up enough military achievements, their kinsmen still living in the ghettos will be given better treatment or even freed someday. This is a complete lie, of course. Marley leverages their families to keep the Warriors in line, and uses them as disposable resources. Once their usefulness as a military asset comes to an end, Marley intends to [[FinalSolution answer the Eldian Question by exterminating them all]].
39* ''[[Literature/FailureFrame Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells]]'': Goddess Vysis promises the group that they will be sent back home, if they can prove they killed the Demon King by collecting a certain jewel that can only be done with said demon's death. After several casualties caused by "training accidents," and the fact that Mimori was "disposed of," they slowly, but surely, starts to wonder if she will follow through with her promise, even if they do manage to defeat the Demon King and get said jewel.
40* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', the world of Amberground is lit by an artificial sun and divided into three districts- Akatsuki, the capital and the area closest to the sun; Yuusari, the middle-class district in the center; and Yodaka, the dark and poor outermost lands. Travel between these districts is restricted, and the citizens of Amberground seek to become worthy of entering the capital. Unfortunately, those who enter the capital [[spoiler:have their hearts fed to the artificial sun]], a realization that breaks Garrard, a man who'd earned the right to enter the capital and had hoped to become Head Bee.
41* In ''Literature/HeavyObject'', Elites are scouted as children and will usually spend the rest of their life piloting Objects. Legitimacy Kingdom Elites have the option of retiring to a civilian life, but must first meet the requirements of the Civilian Acclimation Assistance System to prove they are capable of functioning outside of combat. However, the training and modifications needed to prepare an Elite are so massively expensive and time-consuming that the military has no intention of letting any resignation be accepted. As such, the final interview of the System will always end in a rejection.
42* In ''Literature/CheatMagicianLifeThatStartedFromBeingJudgedUseless'', Princess Camilla Resenberg promises Kento, the protagonist, a place in her army of conscripts if he survives making it across a dangerous forest, that she shoved him into at sword-point, to an allied border fortress. Not only was the fortress in question in another country, and thus ''not'' an ally, the forest itself is home to many different species of monsters. Naturally, she never expected him to survive even if he somehow made it to the other side. For the rest of the class, she promised to reward and repatriate them if they managed to do their job as soldiers well enough, after she tricked them into putting on slave-bracelets. Turns out she never planned to keep that promise either. [[spoiler: In fact, the repatriation spell doesn't even exist. When Kento found out, he nearly killed Camilla on the spot, only sparing her because his own undead summons stopped him.]]
43* In ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold'', Commander Gomez promises to spare his hostages should Zia decipher the quipu supposed to lead to the Cities of Gold. She complies, and he moves to execution.
44--> '''Zia:''' You gave me your word!
45--> '''Gomez:''' Well, I'm taking it back.
46* ''Anime/TenchiMuyoWarOnGeminar'': Kenshi Masaki gets somehow sent to another world. Dagmyer and his men take him in and promise to return him to Earth if he assassinates Lashara. When Kenshi fails, Dagmyer [[YouHaveFailedMe orders his men to kill him]], then mocks him and confesses that he was already [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness planning to kill him even if he succeeded]] and he doesn't how to send someone to Earth and thinks it is impossible. This backfires when Kenshi kicks all his men's asses and escapes, the betrayal galvanizing him to join Lashara.
47* ''Manga/YuGiOhGX'': Midori Hibiki duels Reggie [=MacKenzie=] in a Shadow Game with Reggie promising to tell her what happened to her brother Koyo and how to save him from his coma if she wins. Reggie wins, and right before Midori falls into a coma as a penalty for losing, she reveals she does not know how Koyo got into a coma or how to save him.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Comic Books]]
51* There was a ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' comic story where Chuckie had all but one of the collectible Reptar cards, and Angelica claimed she would give him the one he was missing if he performed a series of chores for her. When he finished them all, it turned out the card she gave him was a phony drawing.
52* In the Gunslinger comic, one of the villains ask an addict for information on the heroes, implying that they will give him "metal" in exchange. After they are finished, the addict asks if he is getting gold or silver, the villain replies 'lead' and shoots him. (This is a visual re-telling of the incident from the original source, the novel ''Literature/WizardAndGlass''.)
53* In ComicBook/PowerGirl (Issue #12 to be exact), super-villainess Satanna wants MadScientist Dr. Sivana to make her a super-weapon to kill Power Girl (Kryptonians being rather hard to kill). Sivana wants some bouncy-bouncy in exchange. Despite her disgust, Satanna complies, and afterwards Sivana points out that they are both "bad guys," and as long as he got his, he doesn't care that she doesn't get anything. So not only has she debased herself for nothing, he adds injury to insult by making his robots beat her up and throw her out of a fourth-story window. So not only is Sivana a ''complete'' pig, he's made Satanna's list--he'll be showing up in revenge-oriented tropes in the near future.
54* The obscure French comic book ''"38e parallèle"'' features the story of the French expeditionary force in UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar. An officer promises his commando a treasure behind the enemy lines; it was actually an undercover operation seeking a Vietcong agent.
55* ''ComicBook/ShadowQuest'', a Malaysian graphic novel, revolves around a Tournament in becoming the "Champion of the City of Dreams" where the book's hero, Zion, is adamant to win in order to discover the whereabouts of his missing father, Zeo, after Zeo went to compete in the Championship a decade ago and never comes back. [[spoiler:It turns out the Championship was a lie - the City of Dreams' Grand Chancellor, Zerz, intends to have the tournament's champion sacrificed to an Eldritch God to attain ultimate power, and the losers were forcefully stripped of their will and converted into Zerz' werebeast minions. Zeo found out the truth a decade prior and was turned into one of the beasts against his will, and have been hiding ever since as Zion finds out]].
56* Subverted in an arc of the ''[[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]]'' comic from TheNineties. The [[Characters/MarvelComicsSkrulls Super-Skrull]] promises [[ComicBook/IronFist Ward Meachum]] "the most beautiful woman in the galaxy" to betray his species. Ward accepts, but when somebody points out to him, "Even if the Skrull was going to keep his promise, what's beautiful to a reptilian alien?" he turns on the Super-Skrull, accusing the latter of betrayal. Kl'rt insists he hasn't done anything of the sort, but an enraged Ward isn't listening and the Super-Skrull kills him before he destroys a vital piece of equipment. Then we see a beautiful Skrull woman waiting to be given away to some lowly human (out of love for the Super-Skrull). The Fridge Logic is, Skrulls are shapeshifters. Kl'rt could send the ugliest woman, and she could change into the most beautiful.
57* Subverted in the second issue of ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'', the [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries animated Batman spin-off comic]] from the 1990s. ComicBook/TheJoker hijacks a cable television outlet and uses it to broadcast himself onto a closed-circuit TV set delivered to Selina Kyle's apartment. After revealing that [[ParanoiaFuel he knows Selina is Catwoman]], Joker tells her that he has concocted a foolproof plan for stealing the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, and asks her if she'd like to attempt the feat. Selina, who relishes this ultimate test of her burglary skills, still feels suspicious, even asking Joker, "What's the catch?" Turns out, Joker also wants her to snatch something ''else'' for him while she's in London (we're never told exactly what this is, but it's apparently microcircuitry or something similarly electronic). Once Selina has heard all the details, she goes through with Joker's plan--but Batman outsmarts her and manages to prevent her from swiping the jewels, and Catwoman barely escapes capture. She does, however, manage to acquire the technology Joker requested, and sends it to him at the end of the comic. (In the next issue, it's finally revealed that whatever Joker had Catwoman steal for him allows him to override every other TV station in Gotham City, so that he can broadcast his sadistic variety show on every channel.) But even though Catwoman didn't get what she wanted, Joker didn't care: she managed to get him on TV, and whether or not she also got the Crown Jewels was irrelevant.
58** As one of [[AntiVillain the more sympathetic villains]] in Batman's RoguesGallery, Catwoman tends to have this happen to her from time to time. In ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', the trope is [[SubvertedTrope double-subverted]] when [[GirlOnGirlIsHot Poison Ivy puts her under a love spell]] in order to make her a slave for one of her schemes. Catwoman does get her...uh, "cake" - but in this case it is something she did not desire, never asked for, and is very angry about receiving once she breaks free of the mind-control.
59* ''ComicBook/ThePulse'': In the first issue, ComicBook/JessicaJones agrees to give Jameson an exclusive on the birth of her and ComicBook/LukeCage's child as an unwritten clause of her consulting contract with the ''Daily Bugle''. [[spoiler:In the penultimate issue, Jessica breaks the handshake deal and gives the exclusive to one of Jameson's competitors, in retaliation for his publishing a negative story on the Avengers offscreen, as the organization now includes Luke.]]
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
63* In "Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin", the town offers a handsome reward for ridding them of the rats. When the piper succeeds flawlessly, they flatly refuse to pay him (or offer him a fraction of what they'd promised) and boot him out of the town. It [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers turns out pretty badly]] for them.
64* Happens from time to time in ''Literature/AesopsFables:''
65** In "The Lion in Love" a lion falls in love with a young woman and asks for her father's blessing to marry her. The father, knowing it would be very foolish to say no to a lion, says he will consent if he agrees to have his claws and teeth removed so that he does not accidentally hurt her. The lion agrees, but after this is done, the father merely drives the neutralized lion away.
66** In "The Wolf and the Crane": A wolf has a chicken bone lodged in his throat and says that he'll reward a crane handsomely if he sticks his lone beak down his throat and removes it. When the crane does so and asks for his reward, the wolf says that allowing him to stick his head into his mouth without biting it off was just that.
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Fan Works]]
70* From ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'':
71-->'''Marik:''' Shut up! What we came here to do is defeat Yugi Muto, once and for all!\
72'''Bonz:''' Brains. ''[I came here [[JustHereForTheFreeSnacks for the free tacos]].]''\
73'''Marik:''' By the way, there are no free tacos; that was a lie.\
74'''Bonz:''' Brains... ''[It figures.]''
75** From later in the same series: Kaiba is in training, because he ''actually has to learn how to play Duel Monsters. (Dun, dun, DUN~!)''
76** Which in turn is a shout-out to ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
77-->'''Duel Robot:''' Welcome to the Aperture Science Duel Monsters Training Programme. If you win this children's card game, ThereWillBeCake.\
78(''some time later, after Kaiba trounces the Duel Robot with Obelisk'')\
79'''Kaiba:''' TheCakeIsALie, [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch.]]
80* Discovered at the very end of ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World''. The four had been told by the gods that if they were part of the Power Group that brought the Black Tower down, they would get their hearts' desires, which mostly meant being able to take their magic home with them under the most favorable conditions possible. They were also told that even if they weren't part of the right group, if the Black Tower fell they would at least be sent home. However, [[spoiler: they discover they're actually in a giant telepathic {{MMORPG}} and every single thing they were told was a lie. [[BigBad Jeft]] is actually going to use them in other games if they prove suitable, or abandon them on C'hou if not. Revenge will ensue in Keys: The Hard World.]]
81* In the ''Fanfic/UniverseFalls'' chapter "Li'l Gideon" (based on "The Hand that Rocks the Mabel"), while Gideon Gleeful baits Dipper to his family's hilltop factory with the promise of an interview with the Gravity Falls Gossiper, he also baits Steven Universe to the same location with the prospect of a free sundae bar.
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
85* In ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas'', Forte promises a musical solo for his henchman Fife in exchange for performing many of the tasks that would help Forte challenge/endanger Belle. Near the end of the movie when Forte gets confronted by Belle, Beast and the gang, Fife finds the pages for his solo to be blank.
86-->'''Forte''': [[LampshadeHanging So naive]]. You're second fiddle, Fife, and that's all you'll ''EVER'' be!
87* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea'': Morgana wants vengeance on Ariel and Eric for killing her sister Ursula by killing their daughter Melody and taking over the sea. After being withheld from the sea without being told the reason, Melody runs away from home after an argument with Ariel about the issue, and goes out to sea in a boat, at which point Morgana lures her to her lair, where she uses some of Ursula's magic to temporarily turn her into a mermaid and promises that if she retrieves her stolen trident in Atlantica (actually King Triton's, as the audience knows), she will use it to make her a permanent mermaid. When she does so, not only does she ''not'' honor her agreement, but she [[WouldHurtAChild imprisons her in a cave for her to drown when her mermaid transformation wears off.]]
88* ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansIIPatchsLondonAdventure:'' Thunderbolt is convinced by his co star Lil-Lightning that he needs to do some heroic work in order prove he's still a capable host in order to retain his position on his show (Lightning in actuality was attempting to get him to leave the studio so he could take his place on the show) but is hopeless without someone to guide him. So he tricks his avid fan Patch into helping remind him of his heroic antics on the show under the guise that it is a "junior deputy test" to see if he's capable of starring in the series with him (as Patch believes that all of the heroic stuff Thunderbolt does on the show is real). When the two of them get captured while attempting to rescue the other puppies from Cruella, Lightning cruelly reveals Thunderbolt's true intentions to Patch, to which Thunderbolt sadly confirms, much to Patch's dismay.
89* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'', Cartman suggests bringing in potential members to LaResistance by promising punch and pie. When the meeting starts...
90-->'''Kid:''' Uh, we were to understand there'd be pie and punch?\
91'''Kyle:''' There isn't any.\
92'''Kid:''' Oh.\
93''[so the kids leave...]''
94* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': The old beggar in the dungeon promises Aladdin that he'll give him a reward should he go into the Cave of Wonders and fetch the magic lamp for him. When Aladdin brings back the lamp, he says he'll give Aladdin his reward... his ''[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness eternal reward]].'' Of course, with Abu's help, Aladdin manages to get free before the "beggar" (Jafar in disguise) stabs him.
95* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'': When Robyn has escaped from Aunt Figg with the help of the titular cat and mouse to find her father, Lickboot suggests they get her back by offering a million dollar reward. When Figg points out that they don't actually have a million dollars (since they have been cut off from Robyn's father's fortune until she is recovered), Lickboot smugly points out that that's what makes it so sleazy. Figg applauds his craftiness.
96* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sing}}'', everyone in the city flocks to audition to Buster Moon's singing competition because of the $100,000 prize offered. Except Buster barely has ''1,000''. This isn't trickery or deceit (At first), it's the result of a wayward glass eyeball hitting a few extra zeros on the keyboard, and an open window and fan scattering the flyers before Buster could see them. And thus Buster is forced to find a way to raise the money before the contest or his contestants find out.
97* In ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun:'' Rocky needs to see that the chickens start getting results with his flying lessons, so he makes a deal with the rats Nick and Fetcher to bring him items to make it appear that the chickens are making progress in exchange for every egg he lays for the month. When Ginger calls him out on deceiving the rats, Rocky casually insists that he never lied to them, and he will give them what he promised...[[ExactWords it's just that what he promised them specifically was nothing.]]
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
101* In ''Film/DangerousLiaisons'', when Valmont breaks off his relationship with Madame de Tourvel and comes to collect his "reward" from Merteuil, she simply tells him "no," and [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech mocks him to his face]].
102* Therefore, also seen in ''Film/CruelIntentions''.
103-->"You're just a toy, Sebastian. A little toy I like to play with."
104* The Collector does this in ''Film/DemonKnight'', enticing one of the heroes to the evil side with promises that include a bunch of hot dancing women. The Collector congratulates him on his wise choice, and...
105--> "One more thing: I lied". (Women revert to demon form, and lunge)
106** The Collector does this to everyone who listens to him. Another character agrees to betray the others and removes the barrier keeping the demons at bay in exchange for his own freedom. As he is about to leave, the Collector admits he lied, and [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves the demons tear the guy apart]].
107** The Collector gets to people by promising them things such as love and friendship. Inevitably, the only thing they get is DemonicPossession.
108* In ''Film/{{Clonus}}'', the clones are told that they are preparing for a trip to America, which is portrayed like paradise.
109* In ''Film/CaptainPhillips'', the Navy Seals attempt to rescue Phillips convince the pirates to allow them tow the lifeboat towards their rescue ship, where they tell them their elders are waiting to discuss a ransom negotiation with the pirate captain Muse. Muse agrees and boards the ship while the lifeboat is towed, and by the time the pirates realize that they're being screwed, they have reached gunpoint range and and shot to death by the Seals, whom take Phillips on board to safety and have the captain brought to America to face trial for his crimes.
110* ''Film/TheIsland2005'' is based on "The Clonus Horror" and has a similar lie. The clones are told that they are preparing for a trip to "The Island," the only haven from a "virus outbreak."
111* In ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer'', the reward that Queen Taramis promises to Conan for his assistance is a lie.
112* In ''Film/NachoLibre'', Ignacio and his wrestling partner Steven seek a guru for advice on winning matches. The guru tells them to climb a cliff to an eagle's nest, break open an egg and drink its yolk which contains powerful nutrients. After doing so, they lose their next match anyway.
113--> '''Ignacio''': Those eggs were a lie, Steven. A LIE!!
114* In ''Film/Oblivion2013'', Earth is devastated by alien invaders, and survivors have taken refuge on the saturnian moon of Titan. Jack and Victoria are technicians monitoring and repairing various machinery being used by a salvage operation administrated by a massive space station called "The Tet" (due to it being roughly a tetrahedron in shape). They're constantly dealing with stragglers of the alien invaders called "Scavs". They have two weeks to go before they're done with their stint and are off to Titan themselves. [[spoiler: There is no colony on Titan. The Tet is the alien invader, and plans on disposing of the two. The remaining "Scavs" are actually remmants of humanity. And Jack and Victoria are clones of two crewmembers of a manned international mission to Titan who were intercepted by the Tet before the invasion and used as a clone army whose original memories are lost in [[TitleDrop oblivion]].]]
115* ''Film/KindergartenCop'': [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger John Kimble]] goes undercover in a school to locate the ex-wife of a crazed drug dealer, believing she stole $3 million from him, this making her a valuable witness against her ex-husband. [[spoiler: Turns out she never stole anything: the drug dealer told these stories so people would track down his ex-wife and reunite him with his son]].
116* In ''Film/CloudAtlas,'' the Fabricant underclass of 22nd century Korea all work in the hope that, at the end of their period of service, they will be rewarded with Exaltation and allowed to retire in peace. Newly-eligible Fabricants are even given a lavish ceremony, complete with stunning white robes, heavenly choirs, and a personal escort to the ship that will carry them off to their new home. [[spoiler: In reality, the ship is essentially a floating abattoir: the moment Fabricants take their seats on board, they are promptly executed via cattle gun, before being unceremoniously decapitated, flayed, and rendered down into [[HumanResources recyclable biomatter]]. This biomatter, by the way, is either used [[PoweredByAForsakenChild in the creation of]] ''[[PoweredByAForsakenChild more]]'' [[PoweredByAForsakenChild Fabricants]], or to make Soap - [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies the only food that Fabricants are allowed]].]]
117* In ''Film/TheRunningMan'', the winners of the titular show are promised an amnesty and a life on a resort island. Halfway through the movie, Amber stumbles across the burned corpses of last season's "winners".
118* ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'': Many of [[TheDragon Vector’s]] henchmen and [[BloodSport Motorball]] players are promised that, in exchange for their services, him and [[BigBad Nova]] will take them up to [[FloatingContinent Zalem]], usually once they’ve made enough money or win enough games. [[MetaphoricallyTrue This is completely true]]. [[spoiler:Conveniently left out of the pitch is that you’ll go up as a BrainInAJar, with most of your body parts harvested for [[MadScientist Nova’s nightmarish experiments]].]]
119* A clever variation is used in ''Film/Stalker1979''. There is a miraculous Room at the centre of a militarised exclusion zone somewhere in Russia that grants you your innermost desire should you reach it. [[spoiler:'''Your innermost desire''', [[WhatYouAreInTheDark not what you consciously ask for]]. There was a guy named Porcupine who wanted to use the Room to wish for his dead brother to back to life, and instead the Room gave him a lot of money. The revelation that he wasn't as noble as he believed broke Porcupine's mind, and [[DrivenToSuicide he killed himself out of shame and guilt]].]]
120* ''Film/{{Wadjda}}'': Wadjda wants a bicycle, so she joins a Koran competition so she can win the 1000 Saudi riyal that will enable her to buy one. She wins, but when she makes the mistake of admitting that she wants to buy a bicycle, the bitchy fundamentalist headmistress donates her prize to the Palestinians instead.
121* Discussed and averted in ''Film/{{Exam}}''. The job is real and it seems the CEO really was wondering about hiring more than one person.
122* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'': Domingo Montoya, Inigo's father, was once hired to craft a rare sword for a mysterious six-fingered man. When the job was done, the six-fingered man was only willing to pay a tenth of the agreed-upon price. Predictably, Domingo refused the sale, and the six-fingered man murdered him for it, [[YouKilledMyFather prompting Inigo to seek revenge]].
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Literature]]
126* This is also sometimes known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_tomorrow "jam tomorrow"]] for the White Queen's promise in ''Literature/ThroughTheLookingGlass'' to provide "jam every other day" ... which [[ExactWords turns out to mean]] jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today.
127** Explicitly referenced by Terry Pratchett in Literature/{{Discworld}}'s ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}''.
128* In Creator/OscarWilde's "The Devoted Friend", Hans' neighbor Hugh Miller is just about to offer Hans a dilapidated wheelbarrow; Hans mentions that the plank he has will help fix the wheelbarrow. Soon afterwards, Hugh mentions that the plank will be perfect for fixing the hole in his barn roof. Soon after, Hans is busy with numerous wearisome tasks: taking Hugh's flour to the market, mending Hugh's barn roof, taking the sheep out to pasture. Unfortunately, Hans never receives the wheelbarrow which Hugh had promised; on a rainy night, Hans goes out to fetch a doctor to tend to Hugh's youngest son, and the rain gets so heavy that Hans loses his way and drowns in a nearby pond. At the end, Hugh still has the wheelbarrow which he mever gave Hans; it is in such bad shape that it can't be sold or given away, with Hugh resolving never to give anything away again, remarking how much one suffers for being generous.
129* Played with in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' spin-off novel ''Pretty Maids All in a Row'': The novel focuses on Spike and Dru, who are hired by a demon to do a job for him, with the promised reward being a powerful magical artifact Dru has decided she wants. A third of the way through, there's a flashback revealing that this artifact was stolen off the demon sixty years ago -- but then two-thirds of the way through, there's another flashback revealing that thirty years ago the demon took it back. [[spoiler:Finally, when Spike and Dru come to claim the reward, he admits that when he hired them he'd already given it away to somebody else he wanted a favour from. Final score: DoubleSubversion.]]
130* In the Creator/PhilippaGregory book ''The Boleyn Inheritance,'' [[spoiler: Norfolk did this to Jane Parker/Rochford/Boleyn with a promise of setting up another marriage for her. This ended not just with him denying her the prize, but offering a brutal, scathing commentary on her personality, and leaving her to be thrown in jail and executed while he got off scot-free.]]
131* ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'' plays with this. [[spoiler:In ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'', Henrik Vanger's "dirt" on Wennerström is not nearly as damning or damaging as was implied when the promise was made; however, Wennerström gets his just deserts in the end anyway, and Blomkvist still gets the otherwise sizable payday promised.]]
132* In Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's first published novel ''Literature/KnightsOfTheFortyIslands'', several hundred children are kidnapped and put into an artificial environment consisting of small islands connected by bridges. They are given swords and are told that anyone who conquers all islands gets to go home. The thing is, the captors know full well that HumansAreBastards and that even children can be turned into monsters given the right conditions, meaning there is no way for any one group to realistically conquer such a large area, and alliances are doomed to fail. Also, [[spoiler:all the captives are actually duplicates, so the captors have no intention of sending them back home]].
133* In Sommerset Maugham's story ''A Friend in Need'', a wealthy businessman tells the narrator about an incident in which he promised a RemittanceMan a position at the firm if he could successfully swim a treacherous length of water. The Remittance Man drowned to death, and the business man then casually reveals that he never had a position open in the first place.
134* In one of the stories in Alvin Schwartz's ''[[Literature/ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark Scary Stories]]'' series, two girls perform a series of escalating bad deeds on their mother and brother in the hopes of collecting a magic drum from a gypsy girl. After they have [[spoiler:driven away the rest of their family with their behavior]], the gypsy girl tells them they will never be naughty enough for her standards, and leaves.
135* ''Literature/SeptimusHeap: Flyte'': After having been destroyed by the Undoing of the Placement, [=DomDaniel=] reveals that [[spoiler:Simon Heap]] was just a delivery boy to be discarded one he had done his job.
136* ''Literature/TheBible'' Has [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis 29:20]] where Jacob worked for seven years to win the hand of Rachel from her father. He dumps his other daughter Leah on Jacob, who realizes the next morning he banged the wrong woman. He ends up having to work ''another'' seven years to actually get Rachel.
137* The SF short story "Jennings' Operative Webster" is about an agency which sends operatives back in time to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong. It turns out that the only time they make any money is when they fail, and then it's only the retainer.
138* ''Literature/TheLostStars'': Ten years before the Battle of Ulindi, Dupree's unit managed to HoldTheLine against heavy Alliance forces for six hours. They were interviewed extensively by news crews and promised early discharge from the armed forces as a reward. As soon as the news crews left, their discharges were canceled, and they were sent back to the front lines.
139* In ''Literature/TheDragonHeir'', the wizards who are after the protagonist form alliances, each promising the other something, with no intention of keeping it. In one instance, the wizard's servant who was sent to make a contract with his former enemy makes her own contract with said enemy, and assassins are sent to get rid of the first wizard immediately. An unexperienced evil wizard is killed immediately upon giving important information to someone he considered an ally.
140* Almost all the short stories in the North Korean anthology ''Literature/TheAccusation'' involve the main characters realizing and struggling to cope with how much the North Korean government has taken from them and how little they've received in exchange.
141* In Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's ''Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado'', Montresor claims he has just bought a pipe of Amontillado in order to lure Fortunato into his palazzo's catacombs and murder him.
142[[/folder]]
143
144[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
145* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
146** "Yes, I lied, it's a jammy dodger. But [[ItMakesSenseInContext I was promised tea]]!"
147** Rule #1: The Doctor lies.
148** In the two-parter "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem The Sontaran Strategem]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky The Poison Sky]]", the Sontarans attempt to wipe out humanity by altering the atmosphere, and seek out the aid of TeenGenius Luke Rattigan so that they can covertly enact this scheme via a device fitted in cars supposedly to suppress carbon emissions. Luke helps them [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation due to the alienation his brilliance invites]], and is seduced with the promise of a new planet dubbed "Castor-36" that he and other young geniuses in the academy he set up can inhabit.[[note]]Luke dubbed it Earth.2, and more vainly, "Luke's World", though he was possibly joking.[[/note]] Once Luke gives the offer to them, they refuse, and upon returning to Sontarans, the general admits he was yanking his chain with that whole "Castor-36" thing, and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness would've had him and the whole group killed the moment they arrived on their ship]]. Indeed, Luke barely escapes with his life shortly after learning this.
149* The premise of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' episode "Scott's Tots." Michael made a promise to send some kids to college, but by the time they graduated high school he reneged on said promise. In this case, Michael had ridiculously optimistic expectations about what his life would be like by the time the kids graduated, so it wasn't an ''intentional'' lie.
150* ''Series/BurnNotice'': Sam is trying to clear out an office temporarily so Michael can steal some information from one of the office computers. So posing as an office manager, he tries to herd everyone into a meeting room to work on "team work activities". It's not until he promises cake do people start listening to him. They're very grouchy later when they find out he lied.
151* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': In "Chuck vs the Wedding Planner" the team sets up an elaborate con Wedding reception, including a cake made of fondant, icing... and Styrofoam.
152* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld''. When Mr. Feeney has trouble getting Shawn to attend his SAT preparation class, he makes up a lie on the spot about there being delicious cake at the class. But later we see Shawn at the class, and he is in fact eating a big piece of cake. Given that Mr. Feeney would have felt guilty about lying to Shawn, it's likely that he arranged for the cake himself.
153* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E25TheSilence The Silence]]", a talkative man bets another member of his exclusive club a fortune that he can't remain silent for a full year. He succeeds [[spoiler:by having his vocal cords severed in secret]], but the man he made the bet with admits that he's flat broke and could never have paid the agreed-upon sum.
154* The crew of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' once visit an agricultural world where tomorrow is ''always'' a rest day, but it never comes because the workers' memories keep getting re-written as to what day it is.
155* In a ''Series/MrShow'' sketch, John goes off to meet his friends, under the impression they set him up on a blind date. They just wanted him to come to an intervention for another friend of theirs. He claims "You don't have to trick me, you're my friends." It turns out they pull this trope on him every time they have an intervention. Interestingly enough, he gets increasingly angrier the further back in time they flashback to.
156* In as much as a cake can be considered the culmination of an organized party, during the Season 3 ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' episode "April and Andy's Fancy Party" April and Andy ask Chris to bring a cake their dinner party. Instead he brings a vegetable loaf because "it's healthier" prompting this remark from [[MemeticBadass Ron Swanson]]:
157-->'''Ron''': So, not only does this thing exist but you have also deprived everyone of cake!
158* ''Series/MadamSecretary'': Trying to get a deceased Iranian spy's flash drive from Turkey after a CIA extraordinary rendition attempt on the Iranian blows up in their faces, Liz negotiates a deal for the Turks to buy US natural gas at discount prices. The Turkish foreign minister then gives the flash drive to the Iranians in defiance of the deal, which he can get away with because that part of the deal was never written down. [[spoiler:Fortunately the Iranian foreign minister then gives the drive to Liz anyway.]]
159-->'''Turkish foreign minister:''' Never. Violate our sovereignty. Again.
160* Something of a variation in season six of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. [[spoiler:The angel Castiel]] makes a deal with the demon Crowley, the agreement being that the two of them would work together to open Purgatory to harness the power of the souls there, and each would then receive half of whatever souls were found. Crowley does most of the actual work/research towards getting to Purgatory, while his partner essentially provides protection for him during his machinations. When the plan is nearing completion, however, [[spoiler:Castiel]] decides that giving a ''demon'' access to that much SoulPower would be stupid, and revokes the agreement (though it's never confirmed whether this was the plan all along, or if it was a last-minute decision), denying Crowley his share of the souls. This does not end well. [[spoiler:For Crowley.]]
161* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Jenna Maroney herself served as the million-point prize for collectors of "Surge Points" in late 90s commercial--clearly meant in context to be a joke by the advertiser. An obsessed fan who had collected the points for 15 years showed up and demanded Jenna as a slave; Jack got her out of it by pointing out the ravages of depreciation on an aging c-list actress and calculating her actual value as $2,000. The fan took the money, saying back home in Arizona that much would buy him "a castle and a pillowcase full of meth." (Loosely based on a few RealLife incidents.)
162* ''Series/CobraKai'': Sam and Miguel use the false promise of a Christmas keg party to get their respective dojos (Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang) together to iron things out so they can ally against Cobra Kai.
163* ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'': Eugene Porter is having a breakdown over the disappearance of his girlfriend Stephanie and has shut himself in his apartment trying to deduce where she went. Princess comes to his door, and though Eugene initially asks her to leave, Princess says she brought a tray of lasagna for them to eat if he lets her in. Eugene acquiesces, only to discover the tray was a Trojan horse to let her in to talk to him.
164[[/folder]]
165
166[[folder:Music]]
167* A song written by songwriter Ed Pickford, and popular with many folk singers, is Pound a Week Rise. The workers of the coal mines are fed up and want a raise. When they confront the then chairman of the National Coal Board (Lord Robens), he tells them that he used to be a miner and knows how hard it can be so he makes them a deal. If he can get their output to break records, he'll give raise their pay by a pound per week (hence the title). When they finally accomplish this, he laughs at them, denies them the raise he promised and yells at them to get back to their jobs.
168* The Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} "The Golden Vanity" takes this and puts a rather...dark spin on it. [[spoiler: The captain promises the hero (the ship's boy) money and his daughter, if he will swim to the enemy vessel and drill holes in it, but when the hero sinks the enemy ship, the captain leaves him in the ocean to drown]].
169* In the original version of the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain," the tale of the enchanted hobo's paradise is being told to a child to recruit him as a partner. In the end, the child tells the hobo that the Big Rock Candy Mountain is a lie.
170* Jamie O'Neal's "There Is No Arizona" is a variant. The narrator is promised a better life in Arizona by her man, who claims to set out in advance to set things up for her. He leaves for Arizona but, other than a single postcard with no return address, she never hears from him again. She then realizes that his promises of a better life in Arizona are a lie, and that "there is no Arizona."
171* An anecdote related by Music/{{MC5}} member Wayne Kramer in the book "Please Kill Me" tells how he concocted a plan to recover a drug money debt from Music/IggyPop by asking the latter to pay him up front for some heroin and then simply refusing to provide the drugs. Kramer met Iggy accompanied by a big roadie to watch his back in case there was trouble. When Kramer revealed that there were no drugs, however, Iggy was reportedly so distraught that he broke down crying, causing the hired muscle to give him a [[PetTheDog consoling hug]].
172* Music/UnleashTheArchers: The Matriarch promises to free the Immortal once he has slain her three sons for her so she can achieve immortality. Once done, the Matriarch goes back on her word, which the Immortal was half-expecting all along.
173[[/folder]]
174
175[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
176* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' the Silver Prince created a religion around the fact that everyone turns into a ghost after death and reincarnate, but some people stay behind to help the living. The truth is that most ghosts are dragged off to a secret island where they are forged into [[HumanResources soulsteel which is used to build giant warships]], while anyone considered important or useful in some way to the Silver Prince's plans is left behind to keep the lie going until he has enough warships built to destroy all of Creation.
177* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' games, this is, way too often, what the "run offered by Mr. Johnson" turns out to be--especially if the GameMaster [[KillerGameMaster really likes screwing his players over]].
178[[/folder]]
179
180[[folder:Video Games]]
181* In ''[[VideoGame/AchievementUnlocked Achievement Unlocked 3]]'', following a sign that states, "Free Candy", the protagonist ends up in the lair of the Hamster King. "Are you here for the free candy? There might be some later," says the Hamster King. But after completing dozens and dozens of achievements with not a single candy in return, one may conclude that the Hamster King is offering a reward founded upon BlatantLies.
182* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'': {{Trope Namer|s}} ("THE CAKE IS A LIE" being written on walls in various places by Doug Rattmann, an employee turned test subject). Note that there actually ''was'' cake--it just wasn't for ''you''.
183** Moreover, note the wording by [=GlaDOS=]: "There will be cake" (and similar vague statements, like "cake will be served" and "cake ... will be available"). It's not until later (when her lies become more transparent) does [=GLaDOS=] suggest that Chell will be the one to eat it ("Okay, the test is over now. You win! Go back to the recovery annex for your cake.")
184** Averted in the Portal level of ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'', possibly due to the Trope Naming line becoming a DiscreditedMeme. Not only does the cake exist, but it's an important part of the foundation of the entire multiverse. The free-roaming Portal Adventure World has a Quest in which a minifigure adept at technology[[labelnote:examples]]The Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'', Doc Brown from ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', Benny from ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie''[[/labelnote]] can help the Cake Core bake a new cake...though the use of "[[spoiler:fish-shaped solid waste]]" as an ingredient makes one wonder if it actually seems edible.
185*** In the ''VideoGame/Portal2'' level, you can, of course, find Doug Ratman's (in)famous "The Cake Is A Lie" graffiti... but instead of trailing off ominously it ends with "The cake is in the kitchen on floor 2."
186* In the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' mod Tales of Arterra, if you complete the obstacle course in Vannik the Red's hideout you find a large chest containing a sheet of paper: "Congratulations! Your reward is knowledge! Word: bamboozled. Synonyms: hoodwinked, befuddled. Definition: to be deceived. Example: The foolish adventurer was bamboozled into thinking there was loot at the end of the obstacle course!"
187* In ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'', Gary prompts you to follow him through the school's [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer basement]], promising nothing [[CrypticConversation specific]], just having something to ''show you''.
188* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
189** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', you may stumble upon a woman in the wilderness who has dropped her ring into a small pond below. She implies that she'll be, eh-hem, ''sexually'' grateful if you retrieve it for her. However, as soon as you find the ring, she and her invisible archer friend will attempt to rob you from the high ground.
190** Similarly, in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', a mage offers to recommend you for membership to the Arcane University if you retrieve his magical Ring of Burden from the bottom of a well. Turns out he was just hoping you'd drown while down there.
191* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate''
192** The player is offered a quest with a 10,000 gp reward--big money [[MoneyForNothing at that point in the game]]--by [[spoiler:Jierdan Firkraag]]. Once you reach the quest area, however, you're manipulated into [[spoiler:killing several knights, and you find out that Firkraag is not only a dragon in disguise, but trying to destroy your reputation as payback for some half-explained slight]].
193** Several other characters do this as well, [[spoiler:Kangaxx the Demi-Lich]] and [[spoiler:the Chromatic Demon from Watcher's Keep]] come to mind.
194** By the time of [[spoiler: the Chromatic Demon]], [[HelloInsertNameHere CHARNAME]] has apparently become wise to this, as (s)he observes in the diary: "As I expected, [[spoiler: the Chromatic Demon]] attacked me as soon as I released it from its prison..."
195** As a rule of thumb, almost every evil guy who gives you a quest in the Baldur's Gate series will end up fighting you. Which doesn't mean you shouldn't do the quest, since you will find the reward they promised you over their dead body anyway, as well as valuable loot that's probably more useful than the money.
196* This is the ending for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns''. The protagonist's old partner promises a reward for solving his murder. That reward is a lie. Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Through sheer serendipity, unraveling the convoluted plot behind the murder involves working with a megacorp's president who coincidentally rewards the original amount your old partner promised. Although your partner may have lied about the reward, you wind up getting it anyway.]]
197* ''VideoGame/CorpseOfDiscovery'' the main motivation for the PlayerCharacter is the promise of rescue from the alien world and retirement. However each time he completes a mission he blacks out and wakes up for yet another Final Mission with yet another promise.
198* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}''. You're offered a reward of one million dollars by Sergei to escort his lieutenant, Josef, to a meeting late in the game. Both you and Josef can tell that it's an obvious trap. [[spoiler: Once you get to the meeting and successfully protect Josef, he takes over the Russian Mafia from Sergei and pays you the promised million dollars]].
199* In ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III: The Shadow of Death'', Sandro hires Crag Hack and Gem to retrieve minor artifacts for seemingly benign purposes and promises them generous payment. Both times he runs off without paying the moment he gets all of the artifacts. Even worse, said "minor" artifacts are actually two sets of artifacts that combine to form extremely powerful artifacts.
200* In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', all the Junkyard tribes are fighting against each other to reach Nirvana, whis is supposed to be paradise. However, as the game progresses it becomes obvious that there is something terribly off with that promise. [[spoiler: It turns out that Nirvana is actually a ruined version of Earth, and it's just as bad as the Junkyard.]]
201--> '''ex-Solids member''': So it's Nirvana time? Count me out. I have a feeling I'm better off here.
202* In ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'', at the Free Mine, there's a guy named Baloro who will give you a quest to get him some food for a party. In return, he promises you [[SchmuckBait a weapon that can kill anything]]. By this point, you probably know better how things work at the Colony... but if you are used to more "traditional" [[Main/RolePlayingGame RPGs]], you think quest=reward, especially since this particular quest is even named "Baloro's Weapon"; so you go all over the valley searching for the items he ordered -- some of them surprisingly hard to find. Of course, when you deliver the goods and ask for the weapon, he [[spoiler:just mocks you for your troubles and gives you nothing, not even some Ore. The bastard doesn't even invite you to the party]]! Oh, well, at least it was worth the experience... 300 XP, to be precise.
203* ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' has a very literal example of this. It's implied heavily that the killer was able to lure his unfortunate [[WouldHarmAChild child victims]] into a windowless, camera-less back room by dressing up in a mascot costume and promising the kids cake and pizza if they follow him, meaning the promise he made and then didn't follow through with was ''literally'' cake.
204* ''VideoGame/VenusBloodFrontier'' follows several demon candidates competing for the Heart of Yggdrssil to become the new Dark Lord. [[spoiler:Ymir]] ends up getting it, but for the ceremony, he is supposed to hand it over to his assistant Menia. He then drops the facade of not knowing starting his coup.
205-->'''[[spoiler:Ymir]]:''' The Dark Lord’s throne and sword belong to Surt alone. I was only a pawn in getting [[spoiler:the key]]. He wasn't going to give me anything, was he?
206* ''VideoGame/{{Descent}} II'' ends with your spaceship suffering a near-fatal TeleportationMisfire just when you finish your last job. ''Descent III'' reveals that your employer sabotaged your warp engine in advance so he could get out of paying you once you [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived your usefulness]].
207* ''VideoGame/{{Devotion}}'': When you start the game, you're told to complete puzzles in three rooms (representing your apartment in three different years) to reach the 'Flawless Present'. When you finally do, you find out that you can't reach it, [[spoiler:because the Flawless Present doesn't exist. The protagonist ruined any chance for it existing by listening to Mentor Hueh and becoming abusive to his family, and the game is his attempt to stay in denial of what his own mistakes had cost him.]]
208* ''VideoGame/DisneyIllusionIsland'': Subverted. [[spoiler:While the initial picnic promised to Mickey and friends was just a lie by Toku to lure them to the island, the heroes of Monoth ultimately reward them with a real picnic at the end of the game.]]
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:Visual Novels]]
212* Averted in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. Dennis says he’ll enable the protagonist to sleep with Ms. Walsh, and he does just that.
213[[/folder]]
214
215[[folder:Web Animation]]
216* In ''Ark Warriors'' by WebAnimation/Qem95'', Qem tells Malcolm that there will be 10 gallons of alcohol waiting for him in the staff room if he receives a fraction of the Okanima. Of course, there is no alcohol.
217* Mackenzie Zales pulls this on Deandra in ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'' by sending her a text about pie in order to learn more about the Atchison Cheer Squad (Deandra having transferred from Atchison). Deandra's livid, especially when Mackenzie claims she never actually said she had pie to which Deandra pulls out her phone with a text message featuring a pie emoji and the words "Want some?" Two seasons later, Deandra's still sore when Mackenzie pulls this again only this time Mackenzie had an actual slice of pie to give.
218* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
219** In the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "4 branches", during the "Bureau of Doing Stupid Things at the Office" segment, Homestar gets Strong Bad's attention with the promise of free bagels.
220--->'''Strong Bad:''' Aw, man! This isn't free bagels.\
221'''Homestar:''' No, but it is free...ing Homestar from the water cooler. That's pretty sweet.
222** In the short "Somber Vacation", Strong Sad shows off a BoringVacationSlideshow to Strong Bad, Bubs, and Homestar. Strong Bad complains that Strong Sad claimed to have found [[NightmareFetishist a dead body for them to gawk at]], and Bubs complains he was told there would be [[FoodAsBribe free casserole]].
223[[/folder]]
224
225[[folder:Webcomics]]
226
227* ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'': Jared discovers that there ''is'' cake... but it's just the gross cake perimeter after somebody ate the inner parts of the cake. [=GlaDOS=] says she was protecting him from the truth, and asks if he would prefer a comforting lie instead. He looks her dead in the eye as he eats the cake perimeter.
228-->'''[=GlaDOS=]:''' [[AC:If your parents actually loved you I am sure one of them would shed a single tear for your glorious passage into adulthood]].
229
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Western Animation]]
233* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "Around the World in 11 Minutes", Francine's cat Nemo offers Pal a lamb chop if Pal, Amigo, Kate, and Mei-Lin can successfully circumnavigate the globe in 11 minutes. The dogs and travelers accept the challenge, going to Italy first. After a sawed-through tree branch falls on their car, they continue on towards Egypt and then China. Just as they are about to head for home, their hot-air balloon has been sabotaged, and so they catch a plane, with Nemo stowing away. By the time they make it back and are ready to claim their prize, Nemo has already eaten the lamb chop. Pal, Amigo, Kate, and Mei-Lin mention that going on the journey was a prize in itself.
234* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': In "The Big Bash", Timmy and Remy compete in a time traveling scavenger hunt held by Cupid for items such as the largest egg and banana ever, a pot of Irish gold, The Grand Treasure of the Peruvian Pyramid from Ancient Peru, etc., the grand prize being thirty seconds of rule free wishes, which Remy intends to use to wish away Cosmo and Wanda. However, when both boys come in a tie, Cupid reveals that he lied about the rule free wish period and that the entire scavenger was actually just his grocery shopping (with the items such as the pot of gold being a pot of Irish gold ''potatoes'' and The Grand Treasure of the Peruvian Pyramid merely being Peruvian coffee beans). The boys declare a truce and wish up all of the obstacles they encountered during the scavenger hunt to whoop Cupid's ass.
235* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "Headhunters", Grunkle Stan advertises the re-opening of a lost exhibit with the promise of free pizza. There is, of course, no pizza. When questioned by the press, Stan says "That's just a typo. GOODNIGHT, EVERYBODY!" and runs off with everyone's admission money, to the disappointment and frustration of the attendees--particularly a guy wearing a "Free Pizza" t-shirt.
236* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': In "Home of the Ancients", Grim tries to help the elderly monsters get their groove back by setting up a campfire for the kids to sit around, giving them an opportunity to scare them. He welcomes them to a night of scary stories and free food. Irwin asks where the free food is, but Grim immediately clarifies there isn't any.
237* In ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', the skool has a fundraiser, with a "secret prize" for whomever sells the most candy. [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], sure that this is something amazing which will help him TakeOverTheWorld, manages to win through screaming threats and [[MoreThanMindControl borderline mind control]]. However, [[ApatheticTeacher Ms. Bitters]] then informs him that the prize was just made up to motivate kids to sell more, and offers him [[RuleOfFunny a can of tuna]] in consolation. The episode ends with Zim's SkywardScream. Interestingly, the crummy lesser prizes ''were'' real, so technically [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] came out ahead.
238* ''WesternAnimation/JumanjiTheAnimatedSeries'': At the beginning of "Masked Identity," Rock invites Peter to play football with him and his gang if he gets their ball down from the tree. When he does so and asks whose team he's on, Rock pushes him into the mud and mockingly says "nobody's" before running off with his gang to play without Peter. He tries this again at the end of the episode, but Peter is not fooled this time.
239* In ''WesternAnimation/ObanStarRacers'': It's the entire premise and the biggest plot twist. Every 10,000 years, teams from all over the galaxy are gathered to compete in the Great Race of Ōban. According to legend, the winner is awarded the Ultimate Prize, which is rumored to grant any wish; from large-scale destruction to, perhaps, the resurrection of a loved one. However, the true nature of the Prize is not what it appears to be. As it turns out, the prize was to be the next Avatar. The Creators of Ōban were an ancient race who were almost wiped out by one of their own who [[FaceHeelTurn turned Evil]]. And in order to maintain the evil one, Ōban and the universe, a new Avatar is chosen every 10,000 years. This revelation chattered the dreams of everyone who knew about the prize's true nature.
240* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
241** [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E1KampKrusty Kamp Krusty]] turns out to be a dangerously unsafe hellhole where the campers are forced into indentured labor. Bart only holds on to his sanity due to the promise that Krusty the Klown will eventually visit them. When "Krusty" turns out to be Barney Gumble in a terrible costume Bart finally snaps. He leads the other kids in revolting against the counsellors and taking over the facility.
242** Used in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E20WhackingDay Whacking Day]]". On the same day that Superintendent Chalmers is due to visit the school for an inspection, Principal Skinner curiously announces via the intercom that the five most unruly boys in the school, including Bart, have inexplicably been awarded free mountain bikes, which they are to collect from a utility room in the basement. Skinner shuts them in and locks the door, revealing what should have been obvious all along: it was just a ploy to get them out the way for the inspection (even then, Nelson asks "[[TheyJustDontGetIt when are we gonna get our mountain bikes?]]"). Becomes a BrickJoke at the end of the episode, when Skinner [[OhCrap suddenly realizes]] that all of the boys except Bart are still locked in the room; he and Willie rush to the school with a collection of mountain bikes, hoping to trade them for their silence.
243** Bikes--in fact, ''hover'' bikes!--are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebSAotH6B7w used again]] in "The Joy of Sect," when Marge tries to cure the kids from [[ChurchOfHappyology the Movementarians]]' brainwashing.
244--->'''Bart:''' Can we at least keep the bikes?\
245'''Marge:''' Oh no, no-no-no-no-no. They're due back at the store by six. Get off 'em! Get off! Off! Get off!
246* In ''WesternAnimation/{{SpongeBob SquarePants}}'':
247** In "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic", [=SpongeBob=] wants to join a jellyfishing club held by his idol, Kevin the sea-cucumber. Kevin agrees to allow them to join them on a jellyfishing expedition and says that if he proves his worth he'll be allowed in the club, but in actuality just wants to see [=SpongeBob=] continuously get stung throughout the whole ordeal and run home crying for his own amusement. While [=SpongeBob=] succeeds flawlessly with all of the tests (with ''Kevin'' being the one continuously hurt), when he reaches his final test of catching a queen jellyfish, he and the other members prank [=SpongeBob=] by flying around in a giant robotic queen jellyfish bent on finishing him off. After which, they reveal their true intentions and mock [=SpongeBob=] for actually thinking they'd let him join their club.
248** In "Band Geeks", Squidward invites the town to become his marching band, with his ads promising free refreshments. On their first night, after Squidward makes a lame joke that earns no laughter from his bandmates, Mr. Krabs asks when they will get the free food. Squidward doesn't reply.
249** In "Moving Bubble Bass", Spongebob and Patrick are offered lunch if they agree to move Bubble Bass' furniture from his basement to his new apartment. By the time Spongebob and Patrick have finished moving the furniture, Bubble Bass claims he got so tired and hungry that he ate the lunch by himself. After Spongebob and Pat give Bubble Bass a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, the last laugh is on Bubble Bass: Spongebob and Patrick wrecked Bubble Bass' furniture and collectibles as well as packing up Bubble Bass' mom, who nags him as she drags him back home. Given Bubble Bass' gluttony and conning the pair into doing all the hard work for him, he almost certainly never truly intended to give them the free lunch.
250* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Wacky Molestation Adventure", Kyle's parents tell him that he can only go to a concert by a band named Raging Pussy if he cleans out the garage, shovels the driveway and [[ImpossibleTask brings democracy to Cuba]]. [[RuleOfFunny Kyle does all of these things]], but they still renege, explain that that was supposed to be an impossible chore and, to their credit, admit that lying was probably a bad parenting move. Kyle responds by [[DisproportionateRetribution having them falsely arrested for child molestation]], which kicks off [[TeenageWasteland the main plot]] of the episode.
251** Similar to the "punch and pie" example above, the boys offer a free hat to anyone who will attend their rally against unnecessary edits of Star Wars. They don't make enough hats, though the phrase "Free Hat" is misconstrued by a huge group of people who want to see convicted baby murderer Hat [=McCullough=] freed from prison.
252[[/folder]]
253
254[[folder:Real Life]]
255* Around the 1930s, shaving cream manufacturer Advertising/BurmaShave put out a promotional contest in which they promised a half-pound jar of their product to anyone who sent them the ripped-off fender of their car. It was meant as a joke, but after receiving dozens of fenders from participants--even those taken from toy cars--the company made good on its promise. When it made a later attempt in 1955 at an even sillier announcement in hopes that people would only find it amusing and not actually ''try'' to fulfill it--in this case, announcing that 900 empty jars would net the sender a free trip to Mars--someone actually did anyway. Burma-Shave obviously couldn't fulfill the promise this time, but they did [[http://www.snopes.com/business/market/mars.asp provide the "winner" a free trip to Moers, Germany]]. Which just so happened to be pronounced similar to "Mars."
256** In a similar case in the 1990s, Pepsi had run TV ads advertising their latest promotion in which customers could accumulate "Pepsi points" from bottle caps and redeem them for various merchandise. The TV ads ended with a kid landing a AV-8 Harrier II jump jet in a school parking lot claiming you needed 7,000,000 points (most merchandise was in the 15-500 range). One person seeing the ad, managed to collect the required amount (in actuality he collected the minimum number of points and sent a certified check for the rest at $.10 a point, which the contest rules allowed) and attempted to claim the fighter jet. Despite this obviously being a joke, the contestant [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc sued]] to enforce the offer. The judge ruled the advertisement was obviously a joke, noting, among other things, that the Department of Defense would never allow it to begin with. He attempted an appeal, which was immediately dismissed. Just to be safe, Pepsi raised the number of points to 700,000,000 (a number that meant it would no longer make financial sense to do it at the $.10 a point method), and adding a [[IWasJustJoking "Just Kidding" disclaimer]] for subsequent airings of the ad.
257* UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus promised a reward of 10,000 silver coins to first member of his crew who spotted land. But when crewman Rodrigo de Triana did so, Columbus got out of honoring his claim by stating that he had already spotted land in the form of a flickering light the previous night, and thus he was the technical winner, while Triana had only ''confirmed'' the sighting.
258* Burrell Smith (who designed the hardware for the original [[Platform/AppleMacintosh Macintosh]]) would often promise to [[http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=I%27ll_Be_Your_Best_Friend.txt&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium be your best friend]] in order to get you to do something. This relationship, however, only lasts a few milliseconds.
259* Although the exact amount is disputed, UsefulNotes/ThomasEdison reportedly promised $10-50,000 ($1.1 million today) to anyone who could solve the crippling inefficiencies in his prototype automobile motors and electrical generators. When UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla solved them both, Edison refused to honor his agreement (in what can only be described as a dick move, Edison told Tesla that he didn't understand "American humor").
260* Jodee Berry, a former Hooters waitress in Panama City, Florida, won a contest for most beer sales held by her boss, who announced that the grand prize was a new Toyota. On the day of the presentation, she was blindfolded and led to the restaurant's parking lot to receive her prize... [[https://www.boredpanda.com/toy-yoda-toyota-hooters-prank-gone-wrong-jodee-berry which turned out to be]] a [[{{Pun}} Toy]] [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]]! She quit immediately and won an undisclosed settlement against Gulf Coast Wings, Hooters' parent company, a year later. [[https://www.heraldnet.com/news/former-hooters-waitress-settles-toy-yoda-lawsuit Part of the settlement included a Toyota car of her choice.]]
261** In a similar case, a radio DJ announced a contest with a prize of “100 Grand” (which turned out to be [[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/candy-bar-prize-no-sweet-reward/ the candy bar of the same name]]).
262* Swedish-Finnish journalist, writer and talk-show host Mark Levengood once said this happened to him. His mother told him that if he did not start smoking before his 18th birthday, she would pay for his driver's license. When he turned 18 and asked for his reward, his mother [[ParentalHypocrisy lit another of her cigarettes]] and told him she had never planned to pay his driving lessons. "The important thing was that you did not start smoking, and it did succeed, didn't it?"
263** A similar arrangement led to the famous case ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamer_v._Sidway Hamer v. Sidway]]''. William Story promised his nephew, William Story II, $5,000 (nearly $125,000 in 2012 dollars) if he refused to smoke, drink, swear, or play billiards until he was 21. The younger Story did this. The uncle declared that he'd be more comfortable holding onto the money for the nephew until some time after the nephew turned 21, and that the money would accrue interest between when the nephew turned 21 and when it was transferred. The uncle died without making any payment; in the meantime, the younger Story transferred his rights to the money to his wife, who transferred it to Louisa Hamer. The elder Story's estate refused to pay, so Hamer sued the executor of the estate, Franklin Sidway. The New York Court of Appeals unanimously sided with Hamer, and first-year law students for the last hundred years have learned about it to clarify the concept of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration consideration]] in contract law and explore the mechanics of unilateral contracts.
264* ''[[http://www.quatloos.com/taxscams/protcase/newman.htm Newman v. Schiff]]''. Tax-avoidance charlatan Irwin Schiff appeared on CBS News, and offered to pay $100,000 to anyone who could identify the section of the United States Code requiring citizens to pay income tax. When a lawyer named John Newman called in with the correct answer, Schiff refused to pay. A judge affirmed Newman's answer, but since he didn't call during the time specified by Schiff, Schiff did not have to pay.
265* During the Warring States Period of Ancient China, Qin advisor/strategist Zhang Yi promised King Huai of Chu 600 square miles of land if the latter breaks up his alliance with the State of Qi. When the king does that, Zhang Yi told him that he'd only get 6 square miles of land instead; [[MagnificentBastard this prompted Chu to attack Qin but without their alliance with Qi, who decided to aid Qin in retaliation of Chu's "betrayal", led to their defeat]].
266* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Nazis [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresienstadt_%28film%29 made a propaganda film]] to trick the opposition into rejecting the reality of Nazi death camps. They dressed up the concentration camp/ghetto, ''Theresienstadt'' (located in what is now the Czech Republic), to look like a pleasant little settlement, with phony mock-ups of quaint store-fronts and cafes and forced the prisoners to pretend to be happy and entertained. They enlisted the film making know-how of professional actor and director, Kurt Gerron...a Jew who was a prisoner there. The Nazis promised Gerron that he would be spared if he did this project. Upon completion, however, Gerron, along with most who appeared in the film, were shipped off to Auschwitz to their deaths.
267* In 2005, Florida "attorney" (we use the term loosely) and notorious anti-video game activist Jack Thompson sent an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Video_Game_Proposal open letter]] to the president of the Entertainment Software Association saying he would donate $10,000 to the charity of {{Creator/Take|TwoInteractive}}-Two CEO Paul Eibler's choice if someone made a "murder simulator" game to his specifications. When someone [[VideoGame/ImOK did just that]], Thompson refused to pay, saying his offer was satire. So the ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' guys did it instead, with a note on the check saying "For Jack Thompson, because Jack Thompson won't."
268[[/folder]]
269----
270->...IWasToldThereWouldBeCake.

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