History Main / VaguenessIsComing

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* ''WatershipDown:'' "I know now... a terrible thing is coming." ... "something ''very bad is about to'' happen...! ''It's all around us!"''
** (later) "There's a ''bad'' danger coming--" "--It's not good!" (it indeed proves to be [[SugarApocalypse very bad]])

* This is how the main conflict of ''TheSimpsonsMovie'' is set up. Abe Simpson has a "religious experience" in church, culminating in a [[MadOracle strange prophecy]] that everyone initially dismisses as just a foolish old man's eccentricities. His ravings during the episode are all in the form of riddles, so they sound incomprehensible and aren't taken seriously. Assuming that God was trying to warn Springfield, the intelligence of the churchgoers was clearly overestimated.
** It wouldn't have been nearly as effective dramatically if Abe had made to say outright: [[spoiler: "Don't dump pig waste in the lake or it will become permanently contaminated."]]

* In the ''FinalDestination'' (comics?) the words "it's coming", and "it's here" can be seen at various points.

* Ditto the Gray Warden from ''[=~Dragon Age: Origins~=]'', but about Darkspawn.

** Andrew and Johnathan misinterpret this as "It eats you starting with your bottom."

{{A Storm Is Coming}} is a specific subtrope. Related to {{Arc Words}}.

* The Jedi counsel deals with this in the three ''StarWars'' prequels. "Dark, his future is..." as Yoda describes it.

* The Jedi counsel deals with this in the three '''StarWars''' prequels. "Dark, his future is..." as Yoda describes it.

* ''LegacyOfTheForce'': Luke feel the coming ot the man who doesn't exist. Not kidding.

* in ''{{Bionicle}}'', Gaaki's Mask of Clairvoyance gives her visions of the future, and for some reason causes her to speak in extremely vague terms. However, her teamates are occasionally able to decipher her ramblings, eg "Seekers of Shadows" means the Dark Hunters.

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* Lampshaded by [[http://adventurers.keenspot.com/d/0134.html this]] Adventurers! strip.

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* From the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', for weeks prior to Dagon beginning his ritual to release the [[EldritchAbomination Great Old Ones]] onto the Earth, every mystic hero (and villain, for that matter) whose name wasn't "Dagon" started receiving the same warning, "They are coming!" The warning showed up in the dialog of TV shows, it would appear in casual conversations with friends, in crossword puzzles, in dreams, and so on. As Dagon's ritual neared completion, the warnings became more and more blatant and obvious until, at one point, a random stranger walked up to Warlock and screamed "THEY ARE COMING!" into his face.

** More ''Doctor Who:'' Planet Of The Dead had a woman with "low-level psychic abilities" or some such nonsense, who told the Doctor that '''''"He''''' will knock four times." in an ominous tone.

* In the [[MadeForTVMovie miniseries version]] of ''TheStand'', Mother [[MagicalNegro Abagail]] helpfully informs the heroes: ''"The Beast is loose in the fields of Bethlehem. The rats are in the corn!"'' She also says "{{A storm is coming}}. ''[[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed His]]'' storm!" And "the rats are his."

* In the [[MadeForTVMovie miniseries version]] of ''TheStand'', [[MagicalNegro Mother Abagail]] helpfully informs the heroes: ''"The Beast is loose in the fields of Bethlehem. The rats are in the corn!"'' She also says "{{A storm is coming}}. ''[[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed His]]'' storm!" And "the rats are his."

* In the [[MadeForTVMovie miniseries version]] of ''TheStand'', [[MagicalNegro Mother Abagail]] helpfully informs the heroes: ''"The Beast is loose in the garden of Bethlehem. The rats are in the corn!"'' She also says "{{A storm is coming}}. ''[[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed His]]'' storm!" And "the rats are his."

* In the [[MadeForTVMovie miniseries version]] of ''TheStand'', [[MagicalNegro Mother Abagail]] helpfully informs the heroes: ''"The Beast is loose in the garden of Bethlehem. The rats are in the corn!"'' She also says "{{A storm is coming}}. ''[[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed His]]'' storm!"

* The tutorial level of {{KingdomHearts}} has quite a lot of this. But don't be afraid - the door's not yet open.

* ZerothLaw example: The three witches of ''{{Macbeth}}'' go on and on about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin something wicked coming this way]].
** Not a very good example. "On and on" amounts to a single line meant to introduce the title character now that he's become an evil tyrant.

* More Beast example: "The Beast"'s arrival in season 4 of ''{{Angel}}''.

But you can't let the heroes, or the audience, know what that threat actually is. Hence we get [[MadOracle visions]] and [[InfallibleBabble prophecies]] and bits of [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness vagueness]] like "[[MadeOfEvil Evil]] is coming", "[[YouKnowTheOne The darkness]] will arrive" or possibly "{{The End is Nigh}}", or some such. The audience is reminded of a coming villain or threat but is never really given a clue what it might be. It could occur once, or in [[OnceAnEpisode every episode]]. Omens, like strange animals, or animals behaving strangely, or peculiar weather can also work.

But you can't let the heroes, or the audience, know what that threat actually is. Hence we get [[MadOracle visions]] and [[InfallibleBabble prophecies]] and bits of [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness vagueness]] like "[[MadeOfEvil Evil]] is coming", "[[YouKnowTheOne The darkness]] will arrive" or possibly "{{The End is Nigh}}", or some such. The audience is reminded of a coming villain or threat but is never really given a clue what it might be. It could occur once, or in [[OnceAnEpisode every episode]].

* "{{A storm is coming}}" in American Gods - the storm is mostly [[{{Foreshadowing}} metaphorical]].