History InsultBackfire / FanWorks

[[AC:Unsorted]]
* In the ''{{Series/House}}'' fanfic "I Know This Much Is True", Chase refers to House's girlfriend as "Yoko", implying House is overly obsessed with her. She calls him a hypocrite for listening to Bjork, thinking he's making a derogatory comment on her singing.
* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Professor Quirrell responds predictably to being called "evil":
-->"Miss Granger," Professor Quirrell said gravely, "it can be dangerous to give people compliments like that when they have not been truly earned. The recipient might feel bashful and undeserving and want to do something worthy of your praise..."
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7140785/11/The-Little-Prince The Little Prince]]'', Coriakin from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' ([[EccentricMentor an eccentric magician]] [[BarefootSage with a penchant for going barefoot]]) was the mentor for young Dumbledore and Grindelwald from ''Literature/HarryPotter'', and Grindelwald, being the arrogant jerk he is, criticized his mentor for not wearing shoes... which just made Coriakin want to laugh.
* This exchange from chapter 19 of ''Fanfic/AceCombatTheEquestrianWar'':
-->'''Rainbow Dash''': You know what? I’ve met many psychos and weirdos in my life, but you... You are downright ''insane!''\\
'''[[BigBad Red Cyclone]]''': That’s your opinion.

* [Literature/SherlockHolmes Dr. John Watson]] is a Victorian gentleman to his core, but he does have advanced ideas regarding drugs. And when drugs ''do'' pop up in ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime''...

* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'':
** Vegeta tells Ginyu that he expected him to be polishing Freeza's boots. Naturally the sycophantic captain replies that Freeza doesn't actually wear boots, and then says that even if Freeza DID, Ginyu would have already polished them.
** During his fight with the [[IAmAHumanitarian people-eating Cell]], Trunks chooses the wrong death threat.
--->'''Cell''': I'm impressed! Behind all that angst and ridiculous hair there's a real fighter!\\
'''Trunks''': And behind all that insufferable smarm is a '''dead man'''!\\
'''Cell''': Trunks, you couldn't ''fathom'' the amount of dead men behind me.

* From ''FanFic/ThatEpicPlan'':
-->'''Light:''' You know I used to think I took the prize for obnoxiousness, but what do you know, I bow to the champion.\\
'''Beyond:''' Thank you, you're too kind.
* From the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' CrackFic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5432341/1/The-Black-Bunny The Black Bunny]]'':
-->'''Harry:''' You're evil.\\
'''Tom:''' Thank you.\\
'''Harry:''' [[LampshadeHanging That wasn't a compliment!]]
* After [[DatingCatwoman L and Kira have a lover's quarrel]] in ''Fanfic/OfficePolitics'' and [[SerialKillerKiller Kira]] sends L a message via [[AssholeVictim dead rapists]]:
--> ''Raito stormed off, and four hours after that, all the detectives gather around the television, torn between [[CrossesTheLineTwice laughter and louder laughter]] when a gang known for kidnapping, gang-raping, and trafficking young girls and boys into prostitution all die of what appears to be autoerotic asphyxiation--bodies falling conveniently in a public square.\\
The chief squints. "Does that--?"\\
L narrows his eyes and drinks more coffee.\\
"Yeah," one of the others says.\\
"It totally does," another detective chimes in.\\
"L SUCKS DICK," the Chief reads.\\
Just under his breath, L mutters, "Not anymore, that's for damn sure."''
* [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Dr. John Watson]] is a Victorian gentleman to his core, but he does have advanced ideas regarding drugs. And when drugs ''do'' pop up in ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime''...
-->'''Milo:''' A doctor, seriously? Mate, I worked for doctors before this move — you look nothing like one.\\
'''Watson:''' *dryly* I'll take that as a compliment...
* Examples from [[Fanfic/Swing123AndGarfieldodiesCalvinverse the Calvinverse]]:
** From ''Fanfic/RetroChill'':
-->'''Susie:''' Man, you ''are'' evil!\\
'''Evil Calvin:''' Why, thank you.
** From ''Fanfic/ThePezDispenserAndTheReignOfTerror'':
-->'''Calvin:''' You absolutely '''''SICKEN''''' me. You killed one of your own men because he was too hurt to fight. But the part that sickens me MOST…is knowing that in my present state; I can't do ANYTHING about it.\\
'''Evil Calvin:''' Thanks for the compliment.

* ''Fanfic/JimmysVisitWithDrFranklin'':
-->'''Jimmy Osgood:''' you...you monster
-->'''Ebon:''' I know and if you and your little corpse don't want to see how much more of a monster I can be you two better get out of here!
* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'' has one between antagonists, with Trixie responding with satisfaction to Sonata's expression of distaste for her.
-->'''Sonata:''' I dislike you... Just thought I'd reiterate that in case it wasn't clear enough.\\
'''Trixie:''' Oh, thank you! Trixie gets that a lot.\\
'''[[FirstPersonSmartass Phoenix]]:''' ''([[LampshadeHanging That... wasn't a compliment, Trixie...]])''
* Celestia's admonishment of Nav in ''FanFic/DiariesOfAMadman'' over his underhanded tactics backfires when he takes it as a compliment. Later on, his attempt to insult Cadance also fails, [[HaveAGayOldTime due to differences in language]].
* ''[[FanFic/MLPNextGenerationKnowFear MLP Next Generation: Know Fear!]]'' has this exchange after [[CoDragons Shadow Wing]] [[spoiler: destroys the Core Driver holding up Cloudsdale]]:
-->'''Starburst''': ARE YOU INSANE?!
-->'''Shadow Wing''': Jury's out.

* Dipper walks into this in ''FanFic/FakingIt''.
-->'''Dipper:''' You? Bill? ''Not a problem?'' It’s the ''only'' thing you are. You’ve ruined my life, you asshole. You are the worst thing that’s ''ever happened to me.'' That ''could'' ever happen to me.
-->'''Bill:''' ''*blushing*'' Aw. Ha! You were even sincere about that! Flattery will get you everywhere, sapling.
-->''Dipper, with slow regret, realizes that was a compliment. A pretty big one, by Bill’s standards.''
* In ''Fanfic/OpeningDangerousGates'', Natsu angrily tells a Tengu to stop hiding behind his illusions and fight like a man. The Tengu smirks and says he's not a man, he's a demon.
* In an omake for ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5380842/1/Code-Geass-Lelouch-of-the-Second-Chance Lelouch of the Second Chance]]'', Kallen gets fed up with C.C. and irritably tells the latter to eat her. C.C. responds that [[DoubleEntendre she fully intends to]].
* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', Grand King Ghidorah boasts that Irys, Gigan, and Megalon are [[PitifulWorms cockroaches compared to him]]. Megalon points out he actually resembles a giant cockroach.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11951614/1/Not-Those-Gates Not Those Gates]]'', a ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' fic set after [[spoiler: Caleb shot Castle and Beckett toward the end of the series finale]], Beckett's former captain Victoria Gates arrived at their loft just in time. Later when Beckett woke up in the hospital, she realized that she had called Gates by her nickname "Iron Gates" while under the influence of painkillers, and that Gates overheard it. Gates shrugged it off, saying, "As if I wasn't aware of that name. I bear it with pride, you know...it paid tribute to my tenacity. I don't see anything wrong about it."
* In ''Fanfic/AManOfIron'', Sansa tries to hurt Arya by calling her a bastard. Only, Arya has a major case of BigBrotherWorship and takes the insult as meaning she has another similarity with her brother Jon Snow.
** In the sequel, ''A Crack of Thunder'', Jaime tries something similar by alluding to Ned cheating on his wife and siring a bastard (the aforementioned Jon). Ned, however, never actually did that, as Jon is actually his nephew. Ned turns the insult around by pointing out that Cersei has been cheating on Jaime.
* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/6137923/chapters/15315319 Inheritance of Magic]]'' has Rin playing Snow White for the school's play and the priests from the monastery trying to tease him over wearing a dress. Which falls flat, as for Rin it was only clothing and acting, no big deal.

[[AC:''LightNovel/FateStayNight'']]

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10686253/1/Mission-Report-Impossible Mission Report: Impossible]]'', Rocket complains that Drax writes like a girl. Drax's planet prides itself on striving for perfection in everything, and girls tend to write much more neatly than boys.
* Overlapping with AnalogyBackfire, a sidestory of ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' centered on Twenty Gyarados Bill shows that he began as a simple crewman in a fishing boat, and his crewmates gave him a Magikarp as a mock gift, calling Bill "the Magikarp of all humans" (weak and useless). Of course, these men forgot that [[MagikarpPower with enough training, Magikarp can become]] [[TheDreaded one of the strongest and more destructive Pokémon, Gyarados.]] So Bill took this comparison to heart and [[FromNobodyToNightmare eventually rose to become the terror of coastal Johto.]]
* ''Fanfic/LadybugInAHalfShell'': Casey's biggest trick when arguing with Chloe is when he sarcastically responds to her insults as though they were compliments.
--> In the middle of a rant about how Casey probably got his clothes from a dumpster which he replied to, "Yes, but it was from a fairly upscale neighborhood"...
* Due to his wide variety of creations (whiskey, penicillin, lingerie, spy glasses, and more), the SelfInsert Son of [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire King Baratheon]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12869868/4/No-Promises No Promises]]'' ends up with the derisive name of "Prince of This and That". While Robert is upset by the nickname, his son's only response is that he is not the Prince of This and That, but the Prince of Everything.

* In Fanfic/BiomassEffect: Desolas Arterius calls the Blacklight species a blight on the galaxy, and is surprised when Blacklight [[IfOnlyYouKnew agrees with him.]]
* In ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia'', Pyrrha's former manager, Arata, derides Izuku as a [[CountryMouse country bumpkin]] for coming from Mountain Glenn and finds it ridiculous that anyone would become a Huntsman for anything other than profit. Izuku proceeds to hang up on him out of disgust, but not before flipping that insult on its head.
-->'''Izuku:''' I'd say that it was a pleasure speaking with you but, like you said: I'm a country bumpkin and we're raised to be honest.
* In ''Fanfic/FromMuddyWaters'', Shinsou marches into Class 1-A and accuses them of being arrogant assholes who are being paraded around on high horses after the USJ attack. Izuku is so pissed, exhausted, and anxious that he walks up to Shinsou and gives him a scathing TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that stuns everyone present, including Izuku himself.
-->'''Shinsou:''' Considering how you’ve been acting, though, I doubt that anyone here would be content with just slipping into an empty slot. Rather, I think we’d all prefer to drag as many of you off of your high horses as possible.\\
'''Izuku:''' ''[voice low and full of menace before Shinsou can speak anymore]'' Our high horses? Our high horses? Arrogant? You’re acting as if we wanted those villains to ambush us. Like we’re marching around, bragging about nearly being murdered during our first week of classes. ''[Shinsou's face pales as Izuku walks closer]'' Thirteen-sensei got thrown around and then tortured to try and get two of my classmates to give up. Aizawa-sensei nearly got beaten to death by one of the villains in front of us.

-->''[steps so close that their chests are almost touching]'' Then [[spoiler:that villain grabbed me, and pinned me down by my neck until I couldn’t breathe while another started disintegrating my helmet]]. ''[leans forward until they can feel each other's breath]'' I’m only alive because of that helmet. If it hadn’t been there, I would have been [[LastSecondWordSwap — stolen — dead]] before All Might could have arrived. Do you know what that’s like? Knowing that you came within less of a second from dying, and then having to come to school like nothing happened?

-->''[hissing]'' Before you start calling people arrogant, maybe you should check the mirror.

[[AC:''Literature/FateStayNight'']]

* At some point in the past in ''FanFic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness'', Marisa attempted to insult Yuuka by calling her a pansy. Considering that Yuuka is known in-universe as "The Flower Master of the Four Seasons", it comes as no surprise that she took it as a compliment. Marisa herself doesn't know why, though.

* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Bakugou attempts to insult Lexi Luthor by calling her "Baldy" due to her grandfather's alopecia. She finds this so hilarious that she has to have her bodyguard/best friend Mercy carry her out the door.
-->'''Lexi:''' ''[between laughs and wheezing for air]'' Baldy! Baldy! Mercy, he-he-he called me Baldy! It's-It's amazing! It's so stupid that it loops around to being brilliant!\\
'''Bakugou:''' Stop laughing!
* ''Fanfic/NerveDamage: [[https://fichub.net/?q=https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13165010/1/Nerve-Damage-Season-2-Sensory-Overload Season 2: Sensory Overload]]'': The heroes end up facing Adolf Hitler. Saber angrily calls him a dog because of his atrocities. Hitler retorts, "Then you're all ''dog food''." before trying to kill them.

* Emerald in ''Fanfic/RelicOfTheFuture'' is so attached to her foster father Jaune, that she treats being called DaddysGirl as a compliment.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11674317/1/When-Harry-met-Wednesday When Harry Met Wednesday]]'', some time after Dumbledore is replaced as headmaster by Professor Tofty, a couple of students with Death Eater ties attack Wednesday Addams. One of the aurors investigating the incident tries to shame Tofty by claiming Dumbledore would've known to keep an eye on them. Instead Tofty's outraged that Dumbledore knew some of his students had Death Eater ties and said nothing.
* This exchange from [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries one of Marik's Evil Council videos]]:
--> '''Teddy:''' [[YourMom Your mother plays card games in hell!]]\\
'''Marik:''' I know! That's because [[DeathByChildbirth I killed her]]!

* Emerald in ''Fanfic/RelicoftheFuture'' is so attached to her foster father Jaune, that she treats being called DaddysGirl as a compliment.

* Invoked in ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry''. After seeing Rei smile in response to Shinji being rescued from Unit-01, Asuka commented that "one could actually mistake her for a human being", something which Rei noted was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever said to her. The thing is, Asuka meant for her to take it as a compliment; she knew about Rei's CloneAngst and deliberately worded in such a way that anyone else listening would think it was one of her standard insults as part of her cover.
* In ''WebVideo/MyLittlePonyTheMentallyAdvancedSeries'', when Rarity says that she heard Princess Cadance was an 'apocalyptic slut', Applejack quips that Rarity would know what that's like. Rarity says she's flattered, but at best she's a 'tri-county slut'.
* Two occur in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15523485/chapters/36034302 One National Hero to Another]]'' regarding Romania's superhero team.
** First, Shuri refers to [[OriginalCharacter Crina]] as a colonizer, to which the latter retorts that Romania has never colonized anywhere, being too far inland for it to be practical.
** Later, Steve refers to the entire team as "a bunch of bastards". Crina informs him that only she is, her brother Radu was legitimate.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13492643/3/Kyrat-Zindabad Kyrat Zindabad]]'', after [[VideoGame/FarCry4 Ajay Ghale]] realizes that [[DirtyCommies Amita]] has ended up [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn becoming another tyrant]] after Ajay killed Pagan Min for her]], he furiously stabs her with a [[KukrisAreKool kukri]] and calls her out before throwing her in a river to be eaten by the [[FiendishFish demon fish]].
-->'''Ajay:''' He[[note]] [[ReligiousBruiser Sabal]] [[/note]] was right about you.
-->'''Amita:''' What?
-->'''Ajay:''' You ''are'' no better than Pagan. You're Pagan with a [[CountryMatters pussy]].
-->'''Amita:''' [[DefiantToTheEnd Not quite]]. I didn't [[spoiler:fuck your mom]].

* ''Fanfic/HuntersOfJustice'' sees Team WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} forced to work with the ComicBook/SuicideSquad. Upon learning about the explosives used to keep the Squad in line, Yang says "You bitch" to ComicBook/AmandaWaller. Waller simply retorted she isn't "a bitch," but "''the'' bitch."
* ''Fanfic/ADovahkiinSpreadsHisWings'' has Cersei serving undercooked meat to her guest Serana whom she pettily hates, and being very nonplussed when the other woman is ''delighted'' by the dish -- that's what happens when you unknowingly feed blood to a vampire.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13141582/11/Sora-and-the-Princess-of-Power Sora and the Princess of Power]]'' has a LameComeback variant when a very tired Sora accidentally compliments Adora while trying to insult her.
-->'''Sora:''' So. Tired.
-->'''Adora:''' ''(leans in and sniffs Sora)'' Phew! I actually think you're starting to smell like a fish!
-->'''Sora:''' Your face smells like a fish!
-->'''Adora:''' Yeah, real good one.
-->'''Sora:''' Your face is a real good one!
-->'''Adora:''' Aw, thanks, I think so too.
* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', Luffy says to Zambai that he's fine with taking Franky to join the Strawhats because he already decided that Franky will be their shipwright... without consulting Franky beforehand. Cross then explains that Luffy's method for recruiting usually involves charisma, persistence, strength, and a dose of blackmail. The other Strawhats each list their own experience [[note]]Holding Zoro's swords hostage, threaten Nami to kill him, almost destroy the Baratie when trying to recruit Sanji, knock Cross and Soundbite out a tree, knock Vivi out while she was incognito, and chase Chopper around the castle he lived in.[[/note]] and Luffy is happy for the compliments.
-->'''Everyone''': WE'RE NOT COMPLIMENTING YOU, JACKASS!
* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'' sees [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Megatron]] take being called [[YouMonster a monster, demon, and the Devil incarnate]] quite well from [[Anime/CodeGeass CC]].
-->'''Megatron:''' "Foolish girl. You only realize that ''now''?"

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11191235/80/Harry-Potter-and-the-Prince-of-Slytherin Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin]]'' Lucius says that he can't keep a disloyal house elf in his employ and offers to sell Dobby to Harry, stating that the only alternative is to kill Dobby in order to encourage Harry to agree to the sale.
-->'''Harry:''' That's manipulative and underhanded, Mr. Malfoy.\\
'''Lucius:''' Thank you, Mr. Potter. Your compliment is appreciated.
* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainKnightOfTheOrangeLily'', [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Mad Ben]] calls [[Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS Specter]] a dog in the midst of Specter using his mind games.
-->'''Specter:''' And what if I am a dog? I am loyal to my master [Ryoken] and if my collar is servitude to his will, I will proudly wear it for the rest of my life.
* ''Fanfic/AngerManagement'': One of Lynn's attempts to rile up Lincoln is telling him he smells of lavender (perhaps because she thinks that's an "effeminate" smell?). However, Lincoln likes the idea of smelling like lavender and when he finds that he doesn't, he considers using Lori's deodorant.