We don't want to clog this thread since Surprisingly Realistic Outcome is an Overdosed Trope. Before posting here, check if the example you're analyzing qualifies for summary deletion from the three criteria below by keeping this trope's rigorous definition in mind.
- Does the example involve Applied Phlebotinum (Functional Magic, Science Fiction, Artistic Licence) or a character reaction? If so, it instantly violates the definition's second bullet point's realism requirements, and you should delete it without question.
- Is the example a Discussed Trope or an instance of Conversational Troping? If so, it violates the definition's third bullet point's emphasis on only counting outcomes, and you should delete it without question.
- Considering the definitions, would the example qualify better for Deconstructed Trope or Deconstructed Character Archetype from the trope page's rules? If so, move it to the appropriate one on the spot.
If the example survived all three tests, it satisfies the second and third bullet points, so you don't need to change it immediately. If you feel like it meets the first bullet point's requirements for being surprising, you can leave it. However, if you believe it doesn't meet the first bullet point or aren't sure, talk it over in the cleanup thread before deciding.
Many Stock Phrases you'll see used in this thread describe a particular type of misuse:
- Not surprising. — The outcome described isn't a Bait-and-Switch and merely follows expected genre conventions.
- Plot happens. — The example merely describes an event or series of events but not why we would expect something different.
- Too fantastical. — The causes/outcome described included the presence of stuff Impossible in Real Life such as Applied Phlebotinum, Functional Magic, or Science Fiction, meaning they're too unrealistic by default.
- No character reactions. — The outcome involves a character reacting in a certain way or having certain emotions, which we can't gauge the realism of because people's emotional reactions vary far too much.
- Not realistic. — Exactly What It Says on the Tin, but this one requires you to write a short description for why it isn't realistic.
- Too implausible. — The outcome describes an outcome that happened because of things too unlikely to count as relatively realistic compared to what they were subverting.
- Cuttable ZCE. — Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
- Not an outcome. — The example is either a Discussed Trope, Lampshade Hanging, Conversational Troping, or happens over too much time to be momentary.
- Too unclear. — The example is too convoluted or obtuse to judge.
- Irrelevant. — The example describes stuff utterly irrelevant to the definition of SRO.
- Bad indentation. — Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
A big thing I've noticed is that it's often used for anything remotely realistic, or something that's realistic but doesn't necessarily affect the story. Another problem is that the trope seems to be cherry-picked, where any instance of reality ensuing is put there, as well as when another trope could serve the example better.
Problematic examples from one sample page, SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome.Disney Animated Series:
"Despite his attempts Wander can't make friends with Dominator who constantly rebuffs his friendly gestures throughout season 2. Even at the end of everything, she still refuses. Sylvia even lampshades it, telling him some people are just like that."
"Spider-Man's fight against Sandman and Rhino, where Spidey uses Rhino's weight against him. rather than fighting him directly."
"Beshte gets sunburns all over his body and is easily exhausted while he is lost in the Outlands. Justified due to the fact that hippos need water to survive to avoid sunburn and overheating."
"It's heavily implied that being the leader of the Lion Guard has taken a toll on Kion's social and private life."
"Milo Murphy's Law is about a boy named Milo Murphy whose entire life is centered around Murphy's Law. In another cartoon, being The Jinx would cause people to be afraid of them, resulting in an unsocial lifestyle. That does not apply here. While everyone does watch their step around Milo, they do not hate him for it. Being The Jinx does, however, give everyone Paranoia Fuel, given that Murphy's Law can happen at any time, so chances are you might need insurance, a phone in case of emergencies, among other things. Milo himself (as well as his friends Melissa and Zack) just learned to adapt to his condition, being prepared for anything. He has lived with Murphy's Law his entire life after all. That being said, that does not mean that they don't panic all the time. Examples include Milo panicking over his monthly doctor's note, and Melissa panicking over riding a rollercoaster with Milo."
" Hiro is initially not allowed to use Tadashi's former lab, as it can only be accessed by upperclassmen who earned the privilege. Subverted in the second half of the pilot when Professor Granville decides Hiro using the lab would benefit him. On a related note regarding Granville, she is tough, but fair when interacting with the students. She might be, as Wasabi describes "a hard case", but Granville being a complete sadist and picking on Hiro would be unrealistic. She is actually a decent person."
-Edited with permission from the OP-
Edited by lalalei2001 on Aug 10th 2022 at 5:47:25 AM
- Bitter Tears: An Anon-A-Miss Fic
- As Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo learn the hard way, you will not be let off easily if you commit a huge act of cyberbullying and frame an innocent person as being the culprit. They are given detention for six months, banned from all extracurriculars until the next school year, banned from the school computers entirely unless it's for class, banned from any cell phone use on campus (and aren't even allowed to have their cell phones on their person during the school day), and their Christmas presents and their technology were confiscated (especially the ones that can access the internet).
- The CMC trying to break apart their sisters' friendship with Sunset for selfishly petty reasons utterly disgusted the Humane Five. In Rainbow's case, she can't bring herself to forgive Scootaloo and more or less breaks all ties with her. Everybody including their own families loses all trust in the Crusaders for what they did, and they became targets for vengeful CHS students. In fact, it's made clear that the only reason why the Crusaders were still allowed to attend the annual Apple Christmas party was so they could help clean up afterwards.
- Sunset, the one who was framed for being Anon-A-Miss, had even her own friends turn on her on extremely flimsy evidence. As soon as her name is cleared, she is not willing to forgive her so-called "friends", no matter how sorry and remorseful they are; she even takes it as proof that the Humane 5 never trusted her at all.
- While Nurse Redheart figures out what's going on when the bullying against the CMC for revenge starts getting physical, she can't actually do anything about it other than tend their injuries because of school rules and policies. Redheart is only allowed to interfere when she sees bullying occur herself (which the bullies are careful to avoid), or the CMC confess where their injuries came from. The moment the CMC finally confirm her suspicions and provide evidence, Redheart takes it straight to Principal Celestia, saying that she would have done it sooner if she was able to do so.
- In Chapter 6, it's revealed that Sunset quit MyStable after the Anon-A-Miss incident, and that if she didn't need it for homework, she would never have anything to do with the internet ever again. Being a victim of cyberbullying, especially if you get framed for it, would sour anyone's experience with social media.
- When a group of students comes up to Sunset in Chapter 5, the students apologize for how they treated her, saying that while they never submitted secrets to Anon-A-Miss, they still feel bad about blaming Sunset for it all based on nothing. Sunset doesn't believe them, as not only is this not the first time they've treated her this way, but the way Anon-A-Miss worked means that no one can know who submitted secrets and who didn't, and Sunset figures they're just trying to soothe their guilty consciences. Word of God confirmed that the students were telling the truth and truly hadn't sent secrets to Anon-A-Miss, but there's no way Sunset can know that. Sunset only pretends to forgive the group in question so they won't keep bugging her with how sorry they are.
- During a mental breakdown, Sunset hits a Rage Breaking Point and slams her fists and forehead into a mirror. The mirror breaks, severely lacerating Sunset's hands and face, and the blood loss, combined with the severe emotional stress she's under, causes her to black out. She ends up in the ER.
- When the girls run into the Sirens outside the hospital, Applejack proclaims that they thought they had seen the last of them. Aria points out that that she and her sisters have been banished from Equestria and expelled from CHS, and that moving to a new town requires a lot of money, which the Sirens don't have. When Rarity states that they belong in prison for the trouble they caused in "Rainbow Rocks", Adagio mockingly points out that there's no way the police would believe a story about "evil sea ponies from another dimension tried to take over a high school with pop music." With all that in mind, the Humane Five are essentially stuck with the Sirens, and are bound to run into them from time to time.
- After the CMC finally fess up about the physical assault they had been through, Principal Celestia chews the entire school out for their behavior and harshly punishes the tormentors. Being angry at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo for Anon-A-Miss is understandable, but it does NOT give any of the other students a free pass to physically assault them.
I question these examples since Reality Ensues is about unexpectedly realistic outcomes and these are the expectation for for this genre. Cut?
Thoughts on adding this to Square Peg Round Trope:
- Reality Ensues is oft misapplied to any "realistic" outcomes. This trope is about surprising audiences with a realistic outcome instead of the expected for the series or genre. If the realism is expected in the work, it's not an example. If the outcome relies on something fictions (like time travel or magical powers) it can't apply since it's not a realistic outcome.
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for the cut and add, though change "fictions" to "fictitious".
What Crossover-Enthusiast said!
Done.
How about making all Reality Ensues example require they explain the series/genre/trope expectation that is being subverted in favor of a realistic outcome. (I realized the distinction between Reality Ensues and Deconstruction is deconstruction isn't necessarily done as a subversion. That worth mentioning somewhere?)
I think the first bit would be good to have. A lot of misuse is due to the entry failing to explain what is expected in the genre/narrative convention/etc. and turns into "thing happens as result of another thing that happened".
The page already mentions how Deconstruction and Reality Ensues differ: in a deconstruction, established elements in a setting are used to come to a logical outcome, while in Reality Ensues, such elements might not even exist in real life.
Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel
From Amphibia S1-E24 "Hop-Popular":
- Reality Ensues: Hopediah won all of the votes in Wartwood, but neglected to campaign for the entire rest of the valley and thus lost by over 20,000 votes.
I'm not sure the situation here is depicted realistically, since Hop Pop was running for mayor of his village, so realistically one wouldn't need to campaign in other cities. This actually bothers quite a few fans, and it's commonly theorized that the election was rigged since the current mayor is known to be extremely corrupt.
Troper CASCHero restored the examples on Man of Steel even though I was given the all clear to delete them, justifying them as "Find the changes and change them with good reason, please don't delete examples outright. "That's how the film world works" is not an excuse if you disagree and a lot of these example are still valid."
I always thought Reality Ensues only applied when a work of fiction is about to follow some fictional convention only to subvert viewer expectation and instead follow real life rules. Almost every example on that list is about how "realistic" and "grounded" the story is, without mentioning a fictional convention the story is trying to subvert.
- Though Clark still uses his powers for good, those powers isolate him from other people until he becomes Superman. His neighbors don't assuage this.
- When superhumans are about to fight, people don't cheer but duck for cover.
- The US government treats Superman as a potential threat, but trust him enough to stop shooting at him after he proves himself an ally against the other Kryptonians.
- When Clark first develops super hearing and heat vision, it's painful. Similarly, Zod and his henchmen don't have the luxury of years of experience adjusting to the enhanced senses offered by Earth's yellow sun that Superman has. Faora-Ul has to withdraw from her fight with Superman when one of his heavier hits tears a hole in her helmet and painfully exposes her to all her newfound super-senses at once.
- Cool as it is seeing Superman and Zod battle, the film showcases how such a fight between two superhumans would happen in a real world. Namely a lot of collateral damage and people getting caught in the crossfire since the fight is isn't restricted to one area (Likely purposefully done by Zod). Synder stated this was intentional to show the reality of such a brawl.
- The movie is intentionally trying to depict a battle between superhumans as destructive as possible. There is no subversion about that.
- Lois, being a good reporter, manages to fairly easily track Clark down through simple logic and interviews with those that encountered him, way before he even donned the cape.
- The movie tries to reconstruct the idea of a Secret Identity by getting Clark to use multiple aliases and the people he saved keeping quiet out of gratitude.
- Zod thinks he can convince Clark to help him since he's a fellow Kryptonian and a way to revive their planet. However when Clark finds out Zod means to do so through subjugation and destruction of Earth, he utterly refuses. Clark may have been born on Krypton but he was raised on Earth and, even with all the hardships he endured, wasn't going to forsake the people he did care about for a planet he never even knew.
- While bullets bounce off Kryptonians, heavier weapons still stun them if they successfully connect since it's much heavier artillery moving at a high speed. Even tanks get jostled by explosions after all.
- It fits into the deconstruction them the movie is trying to present.
- Superman enters into a no-win situation where he more-or-less has to break his no-killing code in order to save an innocent family. Divisive as that scene is, it should be remembered that at this point, Superman never had to fight someone on his level. All of his opponents before then were humans and could easily be subdued with minimal effort allowing him to hold back. But Zod was different, he was from Krypton, ex-military at that and quickly adapting to his newfound powers over time making him a very serious threat. He refused to be talked into co-existing with humans and when losing the only chance to save Krypton, wasn't going to stop until Earth was destroyed now that he had nothing to lose. There was nothing in the world that would be strong enough to hold him even if he was subdued. It's essentially the live action version of what happen with Vash and Legato in Trigun: The opponent was too powerful and had innocents hostage. There was no getting out of that position with someone not dying. Ultimately Supes had to make a choice even if it went against his morals.
- Shoot the Dog. Also, was the Trigun reference even necessary?
- Superman has to learn to leap before he can fly, and it's not the perfect flight present in most prior Superman adaptations. Like a lot of skills in life, it's a slow learning curb.
- Do you know anyone in real life who has flown under own their power? Is it easy?
- Perry White is not immediately pleased when Lois Lane first brings him a story about Superman, saying that it could ruin her credibility as a Pulitzer-winning writer and could cause panic in the world. He is also less than pleased when Lois sells the story to a conspiracy theory blogger in order to get it out, and garnishes her wages in response.
- Again, this fits into the deconstruction theme the movie is trying to present.
- It isn't elaborated too much upon, but Jonathan Kent expresses a few times that his existence will challenge religious beliefs. Clark at one point even asks if God was responsible for his powers.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice continues this theme and some characters refer to it as a paradigm shift.
- X-Ray vision, far from being a source of cheap jokes about seeing through women's clothes or a simple mechanism, is practically nightmarish as the Kryptonians see people's internal organs operating and see their skull when looking at their faces. Considering Clark developed his powers while still young, it was near traumatizing.
- The only time the name Superman is said, the soldier saying it gets a look as though it is an utterly ridiculous name to call someone by.
- And this is realistic how?
What do you think?
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Yeah, but the movie as a whole applies a deconstruction to Superman by giving him a realistic treatment. I thought Reality Ensues when a work of fiction is about to follow some fictional convention only to subvert viewer expectation and instead follow real life rules. Almost every example on that list is about how "realistic" and "grounded" the story is, without mentioning a fictional convention the story is trying to subvert. Rather than just a few moments here and there, the movie gives a realistic treatment to Superman's presentation and development and, in my opinion, that's more of a deconstruction than Reality Ensues. That's the whole point.
Edited by MasterHero on Jul 25th 2019 at 8:45:49 AM
Considering that the rest of the Superman movies have glossed over these by making Superman an Instant Expert and an Ideal Hero, I think the entries have some merit.
Edited by RoundRobin on Jul 25th 2019 at 11:59:28 AM
- Fly, robin, fly! - ...I'm trying!
I don't think any of the RealityEnsues.Harry Potter examples fit the trope as it's meant to be used.
The Protomen enhanced my life.
Yeah, those examples are simply the way things are written or how the characters are portrayed, not "the story tries to follow some fictional convention and then subverts it by playing by real life rules."
By the way, could please somebody help me with the Man of Steel examples? That'd be awesome, thank you.
Reality Ensues is about things that are about to follow fictional conventions but then, they subvert viewers' expectations and instead follow real life rules. I don't think the Man of Steel examples qualify is because those examples don't even try to follow fictional convention. From the very beginning, Man of Steel was intended to give a realistic treatment for Superman and if that's the authorial intent, then that qualifies as deconstruction. The realistic treatment is the movie's meat and potatoes, not just something that happens here and there.
Edited by MasterHero on Jul 26th 2019 at 6:02:50 AM
If they're going to stay, they should mention how in previous Superman stories/movies x happened or would be expected, but instead y happens.
The Protomen enhanced my life.
Ferdinand Von Aegir fan
Someone made the following page for Reality Ensues: Beyblade Burst. I already removed a large amount that did not fit and wanted to get opinions on these. I don't think the work needs a page for itself.
- Episode 2: Valt defeating Rantaro in the pilot episode leaves him feeling invincible. As Shu warns Valt, a normal person getting overconfident after just one win instead of trying to improve will hurt them in the long run, evident by Valt’s near loss to Ken in the same episode.
- Episode 9: Shu sustains a shoulder injury and is told by the doctor to take some time off from beyblading to give his body time to recover. However, he still insists on practicing for his upcoming matches, which ends up causing his shoulder to take longer to heal.
- Episode 37: Training hard is important, but train too much and you’ll strain yourself and perform worse, so it’s important to take a break every now and then. Even Valt agrees with that logic.
- Episode 49: No matter how hard a bey improves or has the strength to go on, if you don’t take proper care of your bey or send it in for repairs, then it could break in the middle of a match.
- During Evolution, Valt and Rantaro face hatred and judgement from almost every member of BC Sol, especially from Stan and Django. Showing up as a newcomer and stealing the spotlight won't appeal you to a lot of people.
- Evolution Episode 7: Relying on a new device can help you win, but without proper training you’ll only be able to rely on luck, which can only get you so far in the long run. Similarly, no matter how powerful you are, underestimating your opponent can be suicidal.
- Evolution Episodes 10-12 prove that when the leader of a team leaves, some people can see it as motivation to improve themselves. However it does not mean that they will immediately come to that conclusion.
- Evolution Episode 34: Being able to counter the specifics of your opponent’s bey is smart, but you can still lose if you don’t know about the other features of said opponent’s bey.
- Evolution Episode 35: Regardless of whether you win or lose, all members of the team must put aside personal vendettas and listen to the manager of the club. Joshua ignoring Theodore and choosing to send himself into the final battle instead of Free is what costs his team the match.
- Evolution Episode 38: Shasa gives Free an earful when he returns to Spain and rejoins BC Sol after suffering his first loss to Lui Shirosagi. Acting like you can just waltz right in and reclaim your spot on the team after leaving is not going to get you into good graces with your peers.
- Evolution Episode #50: Free is forced to forfeit his match with Valt after injuring his arm due to overexerting himself in a previous episode. The reason why is because he is already naturally strong and has never really needed to train, so when he tried physical training for the first time, he hurts himself because his body couldn't handle the sudden physical strain.
- Episode 41 of Turbo establishes that while he may have gotten a new Bey, is free of the dark power, and now on the right path to becoming a better Blader, Aiger still hasn't gotten over the trauma of his Z Achilles being destroyed.
I agree that there's nothing worth salvaging on the Harry Potter page. Most of it is just summarising events of the story, explaining back story, characterisation, character development, Fridge Logic, the Big Good not being able to do everything (which is why there's a story at all), the villain coming from a dysfunctional background, the Big Good knowing enough about the villain to educate The Hero, the Malfoy family meeting Even Evil Has Standards... and so on.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Since those events detail crucial plot points and aren't just one-off things, I think they should be deleted.
Could someone help me do a wick check for Reality Ensues? It's obvious that it's heavily misused, but without actually checking the wicks, the case wouldn't stand much ground in TRS. The amount needed is 110, and the related tab
is ridiculously long - so long that my kindle fire can't handle it.
Found in 12,179 articles, excluding discussions.
Since January 1, 2012 this article has brought 76,972 people to the wiki from non-search engine links.
Edited by lalalei2001 on Aug 19th 2019 at 4:42:50 AM
The Protomen enhanced my life.
That's not what a Wick Check is.
I'll do whatever I can to fix the page. Reality Ensues is a good trope but, over these last few years, it has been subject to heavy amounts of misuse. I'm still waiting for the all clear to fix the DCEU page.
Ferdinand Von Aegir fan
Question regarding a possible entry that I wanted clarified to see if that fits, and also to use as an example of correct usage.
This is from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Putting spoiler tags to be safe.
In Hubert's paralogue, he helps save some of Those Who Slither in the Darkness, and as thanks takes a highly advanced spear found. After, in a conversation with Byleth, he brings up the idea of reverse engineering it and using it to arm the Empires soldiers. After considering it for a moment, Hubert decides against it, citing that because Fodlan's technology is not advanced enough, it would be impossible to replicate the weapon even though he'd like to, and instead hands it over to Byleth to use.
Would this be an example, or is it still incorrect?
Muramasa got.
I don't think it's an example. It makes perfect sense that someone so far behind in another's technology would be unable to reverse engineer it.
Usually the trope subverts a common trope or narrative convention (of a genre, series, or whatever), so if the description doesn't name what's being subverted, I'm suspicious of whether it's really an example or just a logical consequence as a result of something happening.
Aspirant Creativity Wizard
x2 Agreed on that being misuse and voting in favor of cut.
Ferdinand Von Aegir fan
It wasn't an example anymore, but more as an example of it would fit or not. Thanks for the clarification.
Muramasa got.
Are people okay with me removing the following entries:
Show: RWBY (Page: Recap.RWBYV 5 E 5 Necessary Sacrifice)
- Reality Ensues:
- Adam's violent temperament isn't ignored just because he's the leader and makes a convenient tool. Corsac and Fennec are concerned by how unstable he's acting. They imply he only became leader as a result of their support; if his vendetta against the Belladonna clan does damage the White Fang's ability to achieve its goals, such as making a martyr out of Ghira that turns Menagerie against the White Fang, the brothers indicate they will remove him and replace him with someone else.
- In a previous episode, the Belladonnas revealed Adam's plan to stage a coup. While the global communications network is down, preventing that information from spreading, it is pointed out that this means the people of Menagerie are going to see right through Adam's bullshit excuses.
- While discussing Ghira's planned assassination Fennec worries that it will only turn Menagerie against the White Fang, rather than silence those who would speak out against them.
None of the above explain how reality is interrupting narrative expectations. These are all just examples of plot points.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 13th 2019 at 6:49:12 PM
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
he/him | Image Pickin' regular
All of the Reality Ensues entries on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice look like misuse to me.
Keet cleanup
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Ask them to come to this thread?
The Protomen enhanced my life.