History Main / InfallibleBabble

When provided information in a work, you need not ever take it with a grain of salt. Given the limited amount of time and lines of text allotted to exposition, the law of ConservationOfDetail ensures that the information provided to the hero by casual bystanders is both entirely accurate and nearly always relevant to the plot. This holds true even if the information is [[TheLegendOfChekhov a vaguely remembered myth]], [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight a prophecy spouted by a raving preacher]], a hypothesis posited by a scientist ([[MadScientist mad]] or not), or a rumor that [[InevitableTournament some event or other is taking place somewhere]].

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', where the people of Zozo ''always'' lie, so you basically know what the truth is because you know [[AntiAdvice what it isn't]]. This is especially true when you're trying to find the Chainsaw, which requires you to TalkToEveryone and narrow down its location by process of elimination. The culmination of this is one character saying, "Zozo? [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Never heard of it!]]" Even the boss will tell you that he dislikes fighting and he'll let you pass by him unscathed, immediately before attacking you. The only guy in the town who ''does'' tell the truth is of no significance until the second half of the game.

When provided information in a work, you need not ever take it with a grain of salt. Given the limited amount of time and lines of text allotted to exposition, the law of ConservationOfDetail ensures that the information provided to the hero by casual bystanders is both entirely accurate and nearly always relevant to the plot. This holds true even if the information is [[TheLegendOfChekhov a vaguely remembered myth]], [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight a prophecy spouted by a raving preacher]], or a rumor that [[InevitableTournament some event or other is taking place somewhere]].

* Averted in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', especially with the various vampire characters and their minions. Almost everyone you meet is trying to manipulate your actions and influence your opinions in various directions based on their agendas. Even relatively benign vampires have plenty of cause to deceive and control you, even if it's just to learn more about you - or for a laugh.
** Played straight with the Malkavians that appear. Their ramblings are often tainted by madness, couched in weird metaphor or just strangely phrased, but no Malkavian is ever outright wrong about anything, and what they say is never less than plot-relevant.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', where the people of Zozo lie. ''Always'' lie, mind you. Nobody ever tells a normal rumor. This [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments culminates]] with one person saying "Zozo? Never heard of it!" There is one guy in the town who tells the truth, but he's of no significance until the second half of the game. The boss of the area even goes so far to say that he dislikes fighting and that he'll let you pass by him unscathed, immediately before attacking you. To find the Chainsaw hidden in the town, you need to TalkToEveryone to find out what time it ISN'T, to set the clock appropriately and open the door.
* On the planet Dezo from ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarII'', there are two kinds of TranslatorMicrobes available. If you use the wrong one, everybody lies to you -- but just like Zozo, it's absolute pathological lying. The same planet in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarI'' has a town where everyone on the eastern side will lie to you.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/StarControl II'', where some rumors are true, others incomplete or false. The game is largely about figuring out (and fixing) what's been going on, and it's comfy with never giving the player a Cliff's Notes version. Note, however, that all of the information you ''pay'' for is both true and relevant, if not always useful; this is because the {{Knowledge Broker}}s are much better informed than everyone else.
* In the beginning of ''VideoGame/Persona3'', while you're being told things like "Time never waits, it delivers all to the same end," you're also told that [[spoiler:the main character has one year]]. Even if you did read it in the beginning, the meaning you get from it would be painfully different from what actually happens.
** You will occasionally hear students talking about rumors in the entrance of the campus. Most of which reflect the current state of the city, or plot. While some would give a hint about newly-introduced characters, clubs, or stores - a clue about a potential Social Link that you might unlock from that day onwards.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' where you have the ability to spread rumors and make them come true. Some of those affected are kinda confused... "I don't know what the mob is, but here's some of their stuff for sale."
* Quite darkly inverted in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'' in the case of [[spoiler: Grovyle]], who everyone including the hero and partner believes is a wicked criminal intent on [[spoiler: stealing the Time Gears and [[TimeCrash cause the planet's paralysis]]]] but later turns out to be [[spoiler: the hero's friend, and they traveled together from the future where the planet is paralyzed, to steal the Time Gears and bring them to Temporal Tower, which would stop the planet's paralysis and prevent the bad future from happening.]] It also turns out that [[spoiler: Dusknoir]], who is made up to be the good guy, is actually [[spoiler: a henchman of the BigBad sent back in time as well, with the intent of killing the hero and Grovyle.]] Thing is, the protagonist would have known all of it if he didn't have a case of LaserGuidedAmnesia for the entire game. Pretty dark indeed.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'' for the NES. The manual warns you that what the villagers say may not be the truth. Indeed, while some things the {{NPC}}s say are true, some are only partially correct, and others are completely wrong.
** This was originally believed to be the result of bad translation, but it was found that the Japanese script for the game was just as incomprehensible.
** Some of the townsfolk tell you things like what Dracula's rib does or where you can find some of the thirteen "scriptures" which explain what to do at the impassable cliffs and lakes etc. One villager tells you how to get through the poison marsh, another that it's necessary to get the cross at Laruba's Mansion... Not everything is useless or lies, and the manual does warn you that some of it is. Talking to some of the townspeople is also necessary in order to find out which ones sell you items. The dialogue sets the tone for the atmosphere and type of people you encounter in each town, deepening the game, and some of the utterances are quite funny, adding to the entertainment value. Also you know you're getting nearer the end when the townsfolk are more scared in the towns you come across, which is a useful clue and adds to the ambiance as well.
** Of course, their lies are perfectly justified: you spend most of the game trying to resurrect Dracula, the townspeople don't want Dracula back (despite Simon only doing it so he can slay Drac again to lift a curse on himself), so they lie to you to slow you down.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/NetHack''. There are fortune cookies throughout the game, which pull fortunes from two massive files of information: the "true rumors file" follows this trope to the letter, while the "false rumors file" is filled with irrelevant, useless, and even dangerous information ([[YetAnotherStupidDeath "A cockatrice corpse is guaranteed to be untainted!"]]). The game also includes an Oracle, who can be paid to tell facts from the true file only, and can even be paid a massive sum to tell you major true secrets, one of which is the answer to an obnoxious Mastermind puzzle in the mid-to-late game.
* Subverted in the ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest''. The FinalBoss tells you that the whole "legend of the chosen one" was a rumour ''he'' started...and then you go on to make him dead anyway.
* ''VideoGame/VivaPinata'' has the character Leafos, who guides you through the tutorial and gives you hints. This is subverted later, as 50% of what she tells you turns out to be totally false gossip. Making this a case of GuideDangIt.
** One of the things Leafos says, it's that one of the best games she ever played is VideoGame/GrabbedByTheGhoulies, another game by Rare, a possible case of SelfDeprecation since the game was panned by critics and sold poorly, GBTG gets the same treatment in VideoGame/BanjoKazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
* Played straight in ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}''. The downside of this is that people, including members of your party, barely ever know anything about the important stuff, and it all comes in the form of speculation. The same beings can be referred to as either the Grotesqueries, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic the Watchers]], [[RageAgainstTheHeavens the gods]], as the characters don't know what they are and are just guessing. Anything people tell you that happens to be a concrete fact is almost completely unimportant or irrelevant.
* ''VideoGame/OgreBattle'':
** Subverted with Sirius. You encounter Sirius at the beginning of the Lake Jannenia level, and he tells you that the local boss is great, he's thinking about joining your rebellion, and it's best to visit him at night. However, doing so is an incredibly bad idea: [[spoiler:the local boss turns out to be Sirius, who is actually a werewolf.]] Played straight in that other people you talk to will mention odd things that hint at what's behind the spoiler (one hidden town will flat out tell you what's going on, but the rest merely hint at it).
** Averted in the Valley of Kastro. There's a recruitable character there, and every town you visit has a different description of that character. Even the most accurate description doesn't describe that character properly (since the character is described as a member of one class, but is actually a member of another and just considered one of the first class in spirit).
** Amusingly enough, the Sirius example has a grain of truth - [[spoiler:while fighting him in his Werewolf form is a great way to get your ass kicked, units killed off by Sirius can come back as Werewolves themselves, having contracted lycanthropy after being beaten down]].
** Note that otherwise this trope is played straight: If a town you liberate tells you of a rumor or legend. It's 100% true.
* The RPG Cliche quote derives from the red dragon Ruby in ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'', who takes offense to being called a flying cat at every opportunity.
* Exception: ''VideoGame/UltimaIII'' was notorious for having objects mentioned in one piece of dialog that never appear within the game.
** For that matter, ''most'' PC [=RPGs=] are immune to this trope. This is almost the exclusive province of console games.
* ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion''. Very, very early in the game, when you're touring the lands of your allies who just so happen to be embroiled in civil wars, you always hear one NPC mention a "wandering magician" who made a small contribution to the chaos. During the game's final chapter, [[spoiler:Nessiah]] says hello.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Generally played straight throughout the series. If you come upon some lunatic NPC babbling about something, there's a very good chance that he's involved with a quest.
** One exception occurs in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'', where [=NPCs=] have bits of random dialogue that occasionally hint that certain political figures in the gameworld are cannibals or doppelgangers. They aren't (at least, so far as you can find out), with one partial exception[[note]]Explanation: The 'cannibal' and 'doppelganger' rumors are some of several random rumors possible for [=NPCs=] in cities, with the figure it points to being the ruler of the city. Towards the end of the game, you visit the Imperial City, whose ruler is set as Emperor Uriel Septim -- who you found out is an impostor right at the ''start'' of the game. No evidence of cannibalism, though.[[/note]]
** Subverted in the main quest of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', which involves finding the correct interpretation of a certain prophecy. You find out pretty early on that the most commonly available interpretation is inaccurate.
** Every game in the series since ''Morrowind'' has had M'aiq the Lair, a recurring EasterEgg LegacyCharacter, in this role. M'aiq is a known a FourthWallObserver (and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Leaner]] and ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaker]]'') who [[AuthorAvatar voices the opinions]] of the series' creators and developers, largely in the form of {{Take That}}s, to both the [[TakeThatAudience audience]] (given the ''ES'' UnpleasableFanbase) and isn't above above [[SelfDeprecation taking some at Bethesda itself]]. His comments often mention features that the fanbase wanted in the series, elements from past games that were removed from later games, and comments on features Bethesda ''finally'' delivered after years of fan demand. Much of what he says is (at least from an in-universe perspective) blatantly falce, though in a few cases, his statements do have some truth to them.
* Played straight in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}''. Early on, you can take a job in the den to collect a loan from a local hobo. Not only is he unable to pay the full amount, but he also immediately wants to borrow some of the money he ''does'' give you back, with a promise to return it to you at some unspecified point in the future. Amazingly enough, he ''will'' fulfill that promise, and repay you with massive interest when you return later.
** But then averted with the Jet addict prostitute in Redding; the dialogue options make it look very much like you can do the unprovokedly saintly act and get her and her boyfriend out of Redding...but when you come back, she's still there, and Lou laughs at you for falling for her scam. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential In fact, in the Restoration Project at least she'll actually end up ODing if you keep giving her money.]]
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}''. You're told that Xenia Onatopp might be on board the Frigate, so you expect to encounter her. It turns out there's no trace of her ever being there. It was a last minute change. The large helipad was [[DummiedOut originally]] going to be a boss fight area.
* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', you encounter No-Bark Noonan who sounds like he's lost his last marble (and all the other residents of Novac confirm this, even down to interpreting his nickname as having some sort of meaning towards "being crazy"). Turns out, a lot of what he's saying is true, particularly about anything going on in Novac, but between his disheveled look and backwoods-y way of talking about things (he tells you about the ghouls that have taken over a nearby rocket test site and Nightkin appearances near the town, for instance, but conflates the two into a story about "Commie ghosts" that want to "paint the moon pink and draw a Lenin face on it"), he's pretty well doomed to telling {{Cassandra Truth}}s.
** It can sometimes border on subversion, however; a resident is complaining about cattle mutilations, and No-Bark is the only person who has apparently encountered one of the culprits. No-Bark's theory is completely and utterly insane ("It was the work of the chupacabra, I know it! But people don't believe me! 'There's too many holes in the cows', they say, 'and there's bullets in them!"—which he explains away as [[InsaneTrollLogic a chupacabra with an automatic weapon]]) However, the ''specifics'' of what he cites as evidence are more than enough to let a player know who the culprits really are.
** If asked for his take on Carla Boone's "disappearance," he'll spout some BlackComedy philosophy about how everyone's a little crazy; his opinion being that anyone who doesn't act eccentric from time to time is hiding an eccentricity even their own mother couldn't forgive. If the player keeps this in mind during their investigation, and thoroughly searches the home of the only creepily-polite resident of Novac, they will find the physical evidence needed for a sure-fire [[BoomHeadshot "conviction"]].
** Players at the start of the game are warned by residents of Goodsprings not to head north on the Interstate-15 freeway because the quarry up that way is having problems with critters that "just get mad when you shoot 'em." Guess where the [[TheDreaded deathclaws]] like to hang out...
* In ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing'', Lyril, the Temple's sacred ward and storyteller, mainly serves to provide your objective for the rest of the game and some backstory to the world you're in, but her [[RepetitiveAudioGlitch malfunctioning life support system]] jumbles her speech. On top of that, she won't let you leave until every possible line of dialogue has been exhausted, though there is a holographic recording you can watch that delivers a much more thorough retelling of the backstory.

* [[spoiler: Completely, utterly subverted]] in the first ''VideoGame/BioShock1''. You spend half the game being led around by [[MissionControl Atlas]], [[spoiler: only to find out that he's been lying to you since the beginning about everything, up to and including his name]].
** The above is related to a straight example: [[spoiler:the clearly imbalanced Peach Wilkins tries to kill you because he believes you're working for Frank Fontaine despite the fact that by this point the player has been potentially exposed to a ton of evidence that Fontaine has been dead for a long time]]. Whaddya know, he's right.
* Averted in the NES game ''VideoGame/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''. If you ask someone for help (i.e. to find out whether there are any goodies in the building), an answer phrased a certain way indicates they are lying.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/EarthBound,'' where a woman in the FirstTown says she would love to tell you a story, and it's not relevant to your quest, but she decides not to tell you because it wouldn't be relevant and hearing strange stories like that from [=NPCs=] would make you more likely to ignore then when they're telling the truth.

* In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', the Jolly Swagman's [=ECHO=] recording describes [[spoiler: an ancient temple in a great, glowing, purple rift that echoes with the deafening silent prayers of its long dead worshipers]]. If you've played either of the earlier games, this sounds an awful lot like [[spoiler: the Eridian ruins surrounding the Vaults]].

* The ubiquity of this trope may be why, when ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' playtesters were told by a guard that they weren't allowed to go upstairs, accepted this completely at face value and did not even ''attempt'' to go upstairs, leaving them wandering around aimlessly and unable to complete the mission.

->''"Whenever anybody comes up to you with a patently ludicrous claim (such as, 'I'm not a cat, I'm really an ancient Red Dragon') there's an at least two-thirds chance they're telling the truth. Therefore, it pays to humor everyone you meet; odds are you'll be glad you did later on."''

When provided information in a work, you need not ever take it with a grain of salt. Given the limited amount of time and lines of text allotted to exposition, the law of ConservationOfDetail ensure that the information provided to the hero by casual bystanders is 1) entirely accurate; and 2) nearly always relevant to the plot. This holds true even if the information is [[TheLegendOfChekhov a vaguely remembered myth]], [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight a prophecy spouted by a raving preacher]], or a rumor that [[InevitableTournament somewhere, some or other event is taking place]].

For example, if someone tells you that, "I think King Samuel's apprentice keeps an ingot of Asagron Mythril in the desk of his workshop", you can be absolutely certain that not only will you find it there if you ever need to forge the SwordOfPlotAdvancement, but also that you'll have to do it in the first place.

Nor do you ever need to consider the source; the delirious town drunk is just as trustworthy as a respected high-ranking government official ([[EvilChancellor often more so]], [[WisdomFromTheGutter in fact]]). The only exception seems to be [[ShroudedInMyth gossip about your own adventures]], and even then, they've got the bare bones right.

Commonplace in other media. Indeed, one reason why we are often presented with the true facts before the MaliciousSlander is because the audience will often take the slander as true otherwise, relying on this. As a result, any aversions show the characters actively pointing out to the audience how they were being misled.

Contrasts TreacherousAdvisor and TreacherousQuestGiver, who often misguide you with false information.

This often happens in the same kind of story where AllMythsAreTrue.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* This is the Rumor's power in ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'', anything she says, preceded with "I heard a rumor that" or something to the same degree, [[RealityWarper automatically becomes true]].
* Downplayed in ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "Pastoral" because not all of Roustabout's backstory -- labeled online (in story) as speculation -- comes up, but enough does that Cammie realizes he may have told the truth all along.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', the four are bombarded with sayings, poems, rumors, and suchlike. They're told that these things are the only way the Pyar gods usually have to communicate with their imported heroes, so George dubs the stuff "Gods Chat." Some of what they find is relevant to them, but much isn't.

[[folder: Film ]]

* Played with in ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'', in which absolutely everything the zany ConspiracyTheorist spouts turns out to be down-to-the-minute true... except for [[spoiler: the arks being spaceships rather than big boats]].
* [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]] in ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'': all strange events notwithstanding, the local folks' babbling about the witch seems to be just that... until the very last scene, where it turns out to be at least partly true.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the 6th ''Literature/{{Harry Potter|and the Half Blood Prince}}'' book, Dumbledore openly states that everything from this point on regarding Voldemort is unconfirmed theory and speculation. Despite this, nearly everything Dumbledore says is pretty much dead on. This isn't as farfetched as it sounds as they do have a decent amount of information to base these theories on (and hey, it's Dumbledore).
** Well really, Dumbledore was [[FromACertainPointOfView stretching the truth to breaking point]] when he said that everything was just speculation, since he later says that he considered his theory confirmed ''as early as the second book''. And as book seven reveals, there are certain elements of his BatmanGambit that he ''never'' tells Harry, despite his promise. Though it's not that relevant to the plot, Dumbledore was wrong about the victims used to create the horcruxes: They were not all significant murders. They varied in importance from his biological father to a Muggle Tramp.
*** He was also wrong about the victim used to create the Horcrux in Nagini. He speculated it was Frank Bryce, but WordOfGod that it was actually Bertha Jorkins, earlier on.
** Harry's own babble is apparently infallible, as all of his ludicrously specific wild guesses about the Hallows turn out to be dead on. For instance, [[spoiler: "I bet the Resurrection Stone was in the ring that Voldemort just happened to also turn into a horcrux! And I'm just positive it's inside the snitch Dumbledore gave me!"]]
*** The cursed ring was a stretch, but there isn't much else the snitch could have been for, particularly since it was implied it would "open", and was therefore containing a plot gizmo.
** [[spoiler:The Deathly Hallows themselves are a bit of an inversion as well: the Invisibility Cloak is not ''completely'' impenetrable (Moody's magic eye was able to see through it, for example) and the Elder Wand is not unbeatable (Dumbledore managed to beat it, but only after what was later and universally dubbed ''the greatest wizarding duel in history''). Nevertheless, both objects are ''much'' more powerful than any other in their class, which explains how their legend came about.]]
*** [[spoiler:And the Resurrection Stone is basically useless. Not only do the people brought back [[CameBackWrong belong with the dead]] (as in the story), but you can't actually see them unless you're holding the stone, and they seem otherwise to be about one shade above ghosts. Really hammering home that [[FantasticAesop no magic can raise the dead thing]].]]
*** [[spoiler: Actually, it's implied that the Resurrection Stone has varied powers. For example, Dumbledore surmised that Grindelwald would use it to create an army of [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Inferi]]. Harry probably subconsciously used it to call the spirits of his loved ones to bolster his courage. He could have probably raised them from the dead "enough" so that others could see them, but likewise, they still wouldn't "belong" in the world of the living, and bad things would happen.]]
** In earlier books, the fake "prophecies" that Ron and Harry whip up in Divination class have an ironic tendency to come true, despite having been deliberately concocted ''because they'd both failed to divine anything''.
*** Professer Trelawney's predictions also have a tendency to come true. Occasionally, this is because she uses cold reading and other staples of Muggle "psychic" methods, such as looking at [[TheKlutz the clumsiest, most nervous guy]] in the room and then telling him he'll drop his teacup soon, or simply makes [[CaptainObvious fairly self-evident predictions]] ([[WeirdnessMagnet Harry]] will be in GRAAAAVE DAAAANGER). However, she [[MadOracle also makes completely accurate]] prophecies about ludicrously specific, plot-critical details. Hers is TheProphecy that kicks off the series, due to being vague enough about who [[spoiler:the child destined to defeat Voldemort will be: both Harry and Neville Longbottom qualify, but Voldemort's actions force Harry into that role.]]
* {{Aversion}} and {{Lampshading}}: Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' books have tons of rumors popping up, most of them false. But the series is stuffed with PoorCommunicationKills, so the main characters can be very gullible, which is mocked very well in [[http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386600 ISAM's parody summaries]].
* Sort of comes up in ''Literature/StarWarsAllegiance''. Two Imperials have betrayed Mara Jade, and now they're trying to kill her. She recognizes a tactic they're using, in which one sneaks after her while the other gets talkative, distracting her and covering any noise the first makes. But, she thinks, you are not supposed to give out actual useful information while doing this, and in this case it means they're either stupid or very, ''very'' confident. The talking one mentions stormtroopers deserting, which happens to be plot-important.

** "Literature/ShadowsInZamboula": Conan is thoroughly warned about staying with Aram Baksh, where he hired a room.
** ''Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon'': the rumors that Conan is NotQuiteDead spread over the entire kingdom without getting mangled.
** "Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword": Conan has heard the rumors on Epemitreus's ghost, down to his purpose being to aid Aquilonia; Epemitreus has only to explain that Conan's destiny is tied to the land.
* In most of Creator/HPLovecraft's stories, especially ''Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth'', in which, in the titular village, the insane ramblings of the town drunk all seem to be horrifically true.
* Tyrion in ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'' treats [[spoiler: his father]]'s last words "wherever whores go" as this, considering them to be a crucial hint as to where his lost love Tysha disappeared to.
** There's also a small inversion of this in the [[Literature/AGameOfThrones first book]], where Arya hears wildly different rumors in the crowd at [[spoiler: her father]]'s execution regarding the death of [[spoiler: the king]]. The reader knows most of the facts ([[UnreliableNarrator probably]]), but Arya doesn't.
* Subverted in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice''. The newspapers make every rumor easily available to everyone, and very little of what they say that the characters notice is true.
* This is an actual magic power in ''Literature/{{Xanth}}''. Princess Ida's magical talent is the "idea"; anything she believes is true [[RealityWarper becomes true]]. Provided that the idea came to her from someone who does ''not'' know about her abilities. So if you can trick someone who is unfamiliar with her to engage in this trope, the babble will in fact be infallible.
* Lampshaded in ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeatimeOfTheSoul''. Dirk tries to make some cash on the side by becoming a PhonyPsychic. Every prediction he makes, no matter how off-the-wall or strange, is absolutely true. He primarily finds this [[CursedWithAwesome irritating]]. [[spoiler: At one point he even sarcastically fingers a random bystander who ticked him off as the BigBad. He's right.]]

** Subverted. Characters bandy about various theories about the Reavers. Mal suggests they've been separated from civilization too long, and Kaylee suggests they reached the edge of space, saw nothing beyond, and went insane as a result. [[spoiler: All of these turn out to be wrong in TheMovie, where the Reavers were made via GovernmentDrugEnforcement that all [[GoneHorriblyWrong went horribly wrong]].]]
** Played straight with River, whose [[TalkativeLoon seemingly random utterances]] often have a ring of truth to them. It is justified though, as [[spoiler:she has psychic powers, allowing her to read minds and see the future. Unfortunately, the medical experimentation used to boost her abilities left her without proper control of them, and she often has trouble understanding what's going on.]]

** In far too many episodes, Mulder will randomly spout a random guess about the nature of the MonsterOfTheWeek. No matter how little information he has, whether that information is remotely reliable, or how many other explanation there could be for it, his random guesses are almost always right.

* Inverted in ''Series/{{Psych}}''. Shawn regularly tells outlandish lies in an attempt to make himself sound more interesting. And he does this ''in addition'' to the gimmick where he claims to be a psychic. An inversion because Shawn knows they're lies and they end up being true in spite of this.

** In ''The Doctor's Wife'' Idris [[spoiler:aka the TARDIS in human form]] says a lot of things, very fast and with pretty much no context. You would be excused for thinking it's utter nonsense, but much of what she says [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadows]] something either later in the episode or coming up in the next few episodes. Aside from random observations, like how much fun kissing and biting are, and wondering if fish have fingers.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' a guard remarks that a Venjix hardware detector has been giving him false positives all day when it goes off on [[TheDragon Tenaya 7]]. In the two-part finale it turns out [[spoiler:they weren't]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Giles' first line in "I've Got A Theory" (from "Once More With Feeling"): "I’ve got a theory... that it’s a demon! A dancing demon? No, something isn’t right there". Actually...
** Also done in "Earshot." [[spoiler: When Buffy tells the Scoobies that someone in the cafeteria is planning to kill everyone, Xander quips that he told everyone the lunch lady would do them all in with her mulligan stew.]] Guess who it turns out to be, and how they were going to do it. Go on, just guess.
* The fourth season premiere of ''Series/TheFlash2014'' has Barry doing this after [[spoiler: he is brought back from being in the Speed Force for six months]], [[RoomFullOfCrazy writing unusual symbols all over the walls]] and saying random phrases that he's said in the past, or will say in the future, serving as {{Foreshadowing}} even after he gets better and doesn't remember anything he said. One example is him [[spoiler: claiming that he hasn't killed anyone]], and in the mid-season finale [[spoiler: he is framed for murder]], and he ends up saying those exact same lines later [[spoiler: during his trial]]. Another notable thing he said was [[spoiler: "Nora shouldn't be here"]], which turns out to be a reference to [[spoiler: his daughter from the future travelling back in time to meet him]]. He actually says that line in the premiere of the fifth season.

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* The ''Enemy Within'' campaign for TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Fantasy Roleplay gave the [=GM=] several rumours that the players might encounter while talking to people. Some had a grain of truth, most were just rubbish.
** One held that the mayor of some town was a Chaos Cultist who was feeding his cat milk mixed with human blood. Several people swear they heard the mayor telling his cat to "drink your bloody milk!".
* The infamous story of the [[http://www.blindpanic.com/humor/vecna.htm Head of Vecna]] is an {{Aversion}}. In the tale, a DM for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' was playing two groups of players against each other. The first group had the idea to come up with a rumor of a third example of one of Vecna's magical remains (the Eye and Hand being objects that grant you their power if you remove your own eye or hand and replace them with the ArtifactOfDoom). The rumor was given to the local townsfolk and was then overheard by Group Two, who then marched their way into the dungeon where a fake head was placed and attempted to graft it on to one of their numbers by [[OffWithHisHead decapitating themselves.]] HilarityEnsues.
* Subverted in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', where many adventures have a list of rumors provided for the Gamemaster to drop to players. Given that virtually everyone in Alpha Complex lies constantly to protect themselves, though, this means the occasional ''true'' rumor will be disregarded as well.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', you encounter No-Bark who sounds like he's lost his last marble (and all the other residents of Novac confirm this, even down to interpreting his nickname as having some sort of meaning towards "being crazy"). Turns out, a lot of what he's saying is true, particularly about anything going on in Novac, but between his disheveled look and backwoods-y way of talking about things (he tells you about the ghouls that have taken over a nearby rocket test site and Nightkin appearances near the town, for instance, but conflates the two into a story about "Commie ghosts" that want to "paint the moon pink and draw a Lenin face on it"), he's pretty well doomed to telling {{Cassandra Truth}}s.
** It can sometimes border on subversion, however; a resident is complaining about cattle mutilations, and No-Bark is the only person who has apparently encountered one of the culprits. No-Bark's theory is completely and utterly insane ("It was the work of the chupacabra, I know it! But people don't believe me! 'There's too many holes in the cows', they say, 'and there's bullets in them!") However, the ''specifics'' of what he cites as evidence are more than enough to let a player know who the culprits really are.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Giles' first line in "I've Got A Theory" (from "Once More With Feeling"): "I’ve got a theory that it’s a demon! A dancing demon? No something isn’t right there". Actually...

* Sort of comes up in ''Literature/{{Allegiance}}''. Two Imperials have betrayed Mara Jade, and now they're trying to kill her. She recognizes a tactic they're using, in which one sneaks after her while the other gets talkative, distracting her and covering any noise the first makes. But, she thinks, you are not supposed to give out actual useful information while doing this, and in this case it means they're either stupid or very, ''very'' confident. The talking one mentions stormtroopers deserting, which happens to be plot-important.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', where the people of Zozo lie. ''Always'' lie, mind you. Nobody ever tells a normal rumor. This [[CrowningMomentOfFunny culminates]] with one person saying "Zozo? Never heard of it!" There is one guy in the town who tells the truth, but he's of no significance until the second half of the game. The boss of the area even goes so far to say that he dislikes fighting and that he'll let you pass by him unscathed, immediately before attacking you. To find the Chainsaw hidden in the town, you need to TalkToEveryone to find out what time it ISN'T, to set the clock appropriately and open the door.

* Subverted in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls.'' In the [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena first game]], [=NPCs=] would occasionally hint to you that certain political figures in the gameworld were cannibals or doppelgangers. They aren't (at least, so far as you can find out), with one partial exception[[labelnote:Explanation]]The 'cannibal and doppelganger' rumour is one of several random rumours possible for [=NPCs=] in cities, with the figure it points to being the ruler of the city. Towards the end of the game, you visit the Imperial City, whose ruler is set as Emperor Uriel Septim -- who you found out is an impostor right at the ''start'' of the game. No evidence of cannibalism, though.[[/labelnote]].
** The Elder Scrolls game tend to avoid the trope, in fact, a good segment of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' consist of finding the correct interpretation of a prophecy, as most of the commonly avoidable ones are inaccurate.
** ''Morrowind'' also has the character M'aiq the Liar, who tells the player a bunch of obviously and blatantly false rumours... though a couple of them do have some truth to them.

* In ''VideoGame/BlackMirror III'', the player has the option to call a fortune teller. If you decide to do so, she gives you some cryptic advice which turns out to be helpful in the next chapter.

* This is an actual magic power in {{Xanth}}. Princess Ida's magical talent is the "idea"; anything she believes is true [[RealityWarper becomes true]]. Provided that the idea came to her from someone who does ''not'' know about her abilities. So if you can trick someone who is unfamiliar with her to engage in this trope, the babble will in fact be infallible.

* Creator/RobertEHoward's Literature/ConanTheBarbarian:

* ''YggdraUnion''. Very, very early in the game, when you're touring the lands of your allies who just so happen to be embroiled in civil wars, you always hear one NPC mention a "wandering magician" who made a small contribution to the chaos. During the game's final chapter, [[spoiler:Nessiah]] says hello.

* Averted in VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines, especially with the various vampire characters and their minions. Almost everyone you meet is trying to manipulate your actions and influence your opinions in various directions based on their agendas. Even relatively benign vampires have plenty of cause to deceive and control you, even if it's just to learn more about you - or for a laugh.

*** The cursed ring was a stretch, but there isn't much else the snitch could have been for, particularly since it was implied it would "open", and was therefore containing a plot gizmo. Looks like a case of GenreSavvy.

** It can sometimes border on subversion, however; a resident is complaining about cattle mutilations, and No-Bark is the only person who has apparently encountered one of the culprits. No-Bark's theory is completely and utterly insane ("It was the work of the chupacabra, I know it! But people don't believe me! 'There's too many holes in the cows', they say, 'and there's bullets in them!") However, the ''specifics'' of what he cites as evidence are more than enough to let a GenreSavvy player know who the culprits really are.

* ''OgreBattle'' subverts this with Sirius. You encounter Sirius at the beginning of the Lake Jannenia level, and he tells you that the local boss is great, he's thinking about joining your rebellion, and it's best to visit him at night. However, doing so is an incredibly bad idea: [[spoiler:the local boss turns out to be Sirius, who is actually a werewolf.]] Played straight in that other people you talk to will mention odd things that hint at what's behind the spoiler (one hidden town will flat out tell you what's going on, but the rest merely hint at it).
** Also averted in the Valley of Kastro. There's a recruitable character there, and every town you visit has a different description of that character. Even the most accurate description doesn't describe that character properly (since the character is described as a member of one class, but is actually a member of another and just considered one of the first class in spirit).

* The infamous story of the [[http://www.blindpanic.com/humor/vecna.htm Head of Vecna]] is an {{Aversion}}. In the tale, a DM for DungeonsAndDragons was playing two groups of players against each other. The first group had the idea to come up with a rumor of a third example of one of Vecna's magical remains (the Eye and Hand being objects that grant you their power if you remove your own eye or hand and replace them with the ArtifactOfDoom). The rumor was given to the local townsfolk and was then overheard by Group Two, who then marched their way into the dungeon where a fake head was placed and attempted to graft it on to one of their numbers by [[OffWithHisHead decapitating themselves.]] HilarityEnsues.

* [[DoubleSubversion DoubleSubverted]] in ''Film/BlairWitchProject'': all strange events notwithstanding, the local folks' babbling about the witch seems to be just that... until the very last scene, where it turns out to be at least partly true.

When provided information in video games, you need not ever take it with a grain of salt. Given the limited amount of time and lines of text allotted to exposition, the law of ConservationOfDetail ensure that the information provided to the hero by casual bystanders is 1) entirely accurate; and 2) nearly always relevant to the plot. This holds true even if the information is [[TheLegendOfChekhov a vaguely remembered myth]], [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight a prophecy spouted by a raving preacher]], or a rumor that [[InevitableTournament somewhere, some or other event is taking place]].