History TakeAThirdOption / FanFiction

* Many fanfiction writers, when faced with LoveTriangle issues, will decide not to go with a OneTruePairing, but instead a OneTrueThreesome.
* Likewise, you have two (or more) continuities in a fandom and you like them both too much to disregard one canon entirely? Go with PatchworkFic.
* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Should [[NiceGuy Italy]] choose [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Germany]] or should Italy choose [[BirdsOfAFeather Japan]]? He chose [[{{Polyamory}} both]].
* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': Due to her growing bond with Asuka and Shinji Rei considers neither [[AssimilationPlot Gendo's way nor SEELE's way]] are acceptable anymore, and she will find another way to protect her friends:
-->''Decision firmed in her chest. Her friends. Their love. The possibility of her own one day... They had to be protected. Rei no longer wanted to see a world where any of those things could not exist. The Commander's Scenario for Instrumentality was no longer acceptable. Nor was SEELE's. There had to be another way. And Rei would fight for that path, the path that ensured her friends would live to be happy.''
* In ''Fanfic/RiseOfEmpressMidnight'', Twilight gives Midnight the option to either [[spoiler: stay in her destroyed world or join Twilight and reform herself.]] Midnight instead calls for a third option [[spoiler: and attempts to kill Twilight and herself via the destroyed world.]]
* In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'':
** Take A Third Option: Haruhi can't unbottle her feelings about the consequences of her powers because it will cause even more strain to others, and she can't ignore it either because she cares about the SOS Brigade. In order to prevent a HeroicBSOD she [[spoiler: runs a MemoryGambit on herself so she doesn't destroy the world on an accidental whim.]]
** [[spoiler:What do you do if you are part of a [[HaremGenre Harem]] but don't want anybody to lose? MarryThemAll.]]
* In ''FanFic/{{Exoria}}'', Leonore wants Zelda to stay in her safe room during the Valentine invasion and wait for rescue teams to arrive. Zelda wants to [[HonorBeforeReason find her military and lead them as commander-in-chief, even if it means risking capture]]. They eventually reach a compromise; Zelda will go to Gerudo to cement an alliance with Ganondorf and command her forces from there.
* Harry Potter SSHG fic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6408692/1/The_Occluded_Soul The Occluded Soul]]. It's all about Snape's Third Choice.
* In another HP fic, [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5444360 primum mobile, or ten forgotten things ]], Draco Malfoy realizes he may have [[spoiler:moved he and Harry Potter to a reality where the wizarding world does not exist]] as a subconscious example of Taking a Third Option:
-->'''The Dark Lord gave me [[SadisticChoice two choices]]: one bad, the other worse. I suppose this is door number three.
-->Eventually, [[spoiler:both Draco and Harry begin to [[IdentityAmnesia forget the wizarding world altogether.]]]]
* Discussed and defied in ''Fanfic/LostInTheWoods''; as Q observes, Picard has always prided himself on being able to find an alternative to Q's initial ruthless suggestions, but in this case Picard literally found himself with only the two options of killing the Reavers or letting them destroy the Alliance, [[spoiler:and had to choose the option of killing them all]].
* The WisePrince protagonist of [[Fanfic/DragonAgeTheCrownOfThorns this]] expansive ''Franchise/DragonAge'' fanfic actually started off by ''creating'' a third option for a certain situation that came to pass later, after his [[spoiler:ZeroApprovalGambit.]]
* In ''FanFic/RainboomsAndRoyalty'', after Rainbow rejects Nightmare Moon's [[TheFinalTemptation temptation]], the dark alicorn, after restraining Fluttershy's wings and preventing Twilight Sparkle and Rarity from using their magic, hurls the Mane Cast sans Rainbow to their deaths. Nightmare Moon then taunts Rainbow to choose who to save, because as fast as she is, she can't save all of them. [[spoiler: Rainbow manages to pull off a Sonic Rainboom for the first time since her fillyhood, and ''does'' fly fast enough to save all of them.]]
* In the ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}[=/=]WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' {{crossover}} Fanfic/AStickySituation, Aayla is kidnapped by Cad Banes and questioned for useful information before he intends to kill her on Darth Sideous's orders. The clear choices are for her to submit to the torture and share a secret that could alter the entire war if the Separatist find out (and die) or remain silent while suffer intense pain at the hands of the bounty hunter (and die). Instead, because she has learned to think outside of the box thanks to her time with the digimon and tamers, [[spoiler:she decides to ''pay'' her captor more than Darth Sidious did and have him both release her, keep the digimon a secret, and start working for the Jedi]].
* ''FanFic/JusticeLeagueOfEquestria'': During the second arc of ''Mare of Steel'', ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} sets up Rainbow Dash/Supermare with a SadisticChoice: [[spoiler: either save Cloudsdale from a bomb capable of destroying the whole city, or save Scootaloo from being electrocuted]]. Being a creature that runs on pure logic, Brainiac [[EvilCannotComprehendGood is unable to anticipate]] that Rainbow Dash would be unwilling to let ''either'' happen, and thus acting to prevent both.
* In the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''[=/=]''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' {{crossover}} ''FanFic/DeadOrAlive4TheDevilFactor'', this is Dante's reaction to Kasumi's [[SadisticChoice dilemma]] (be pursued by her former brethren in the Mugen Tenshin for the rest of her life, or enter into an ArrangedMarriage and sever all ties to her clan for good, thus never being able to return home). He explicitly says that when someone only gives him an A-and-B choice, he'll choose C every time.
* Calvin [[DefiedTrope defies]] this in the original version of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheMovie''.
* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', when faced with a SadisticChoice, the President decides to stall Dr. Wily until help can arrive.
* ''Fanfic/ReimaginedEnterprise'': Meta-example. Many fans disliked the overly [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]-like aesthetic from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' and most fan reimaginings give ''Enterprise'' a more [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries TOS]]-like aesthetic instead. Rather than doing this, [=BlackWave=] instead created his own 22nd century aesthetic that's halfway between contemporary spacecraft like the Space Shuttle or Dream Chaser and TOS, logically enough.
* Discussed in ''Fanfic/DoctorInTheUnderworld'', as the Doctor tells Erika that he wishes he could find another way that doesn't involve anyone dying, but when Marcus has spent literally centuries planning to release William from his imprisonment and now has the means to turn his brother into a hybrid, he acknowledges that they don't have the time to try and talk to Marcus with his current power so killing him is their only option.
* During the events of ''Fanfic/TheTeacherOfAllThings'', Tai and the other V-Tamers are left with a conundrum: When you can't get to Odaiba because the bridge has collapsed and the waters are too full of enemies to swim- not that Greymon are great swimmers anyway- and flying in would only get you noticed and mean you have to fight off an entire army at once... what do you do? [[spoiler: Why, take the still-under-construction tunnel, of course!]]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7003562/19/Harry-Potter-and-the-Chalice-of-the-Moon Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Moon]]'' the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, due to a centaur prophecy that death would take place on that day, is faced with either killing Harry's twin brother Mark or letting him kill her with the Sword of Gryffindor, costing Harry a mentor figure and important ally. At the last second she decids to knock Mark out and kill the only one for whom death won't be permanent - Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes.
* In the ''FanFic/Gensokyo20XX'' series, earlier we have it where Ran, Chen, and Flandre encounter a starving Reimu. At first, Ran has the notion to take Reimu to a hospital but acknowledges that cannot really be done without either Reimu dying en route from the cold, as a hospital is a long ways off from where they were, or having a risk of being captured for being youkai, something that could lead to all of their demises, so Ran decides to eliminate both possibilities by placing her under a hibernation spell (Think Sleeping Beauty) that wasn't to be broken until Yukari returns.
* ''Fanfic/{{Sight}}'' has Ichigo's hollow try and fight for control. If Ichigo loses, the hollow takes over his body and if he wins, the hollow doesn't try anything for awhile. To everyone's surprise, Ichigo vehemently refuses to fight at all, which results in a forced truce where the hollow can't fight him, but still hangs around. It's also lampshaded.
-->"Where do ya get off choosin' a third option?"
* In Labyrinth fanfic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/170403/chapters/248828 Her Kingdom As Great]]'' Sarah is embodient of the third option, and doesn't understand how one would not choose it:
-->"That too. But no, I still think it's a false alternative. He made a choice between the two dreams, forsaking one to have the other, because you told him he could only have one and he believed you. When you told me the same thing, I believed you too, for a time. Then I decided I could have both, and so I can. But here he is sixty years later and he still thinks his ability to write poetry is lost."
* In ''Fanfic/HalkegeniaOnlineZeroHour'', Shino is confronted by the Laughing Coffin guild and is given the choice of joining them or being killed by them. Instead she chooses to kill them all.
* ''Fanfic/{{Intercom}}'': In chapter 13, Riley admits about Tracey accusing her of being Schizophrenic. When Bill probes on whether she's hearing voices, Riley mentally thinks that if she lies, she'll be found out. But if she tells the truth, they might send her off to a psychologist. So instead, she storms out on them, fuming that they'd never believe her if she told the truth.
* In ''Fanfic/TheWitchOfTheEverfree'', Sunset does this when cornered by guards on the train to Ponyville, [[HighDiveEscape teleporting off a bridge]] rather than either fighting them or talking to them.
-->'''Guard:''' There isn’t anywhere to run, so you can either listen peacefully or we can do things the hard way.
-->'''Sunset:''' There's always a choice, as long as you’re willing to accept the consequences.
* Sunset Shimmer is faced with a choice: Remove all magic from the human world, or allow Equestrian magic to transform all of humanity into ponies. She instead asks the personification of human magic what she wants; Magic chooses to meld human and Equestrian magic together. Thus starts the ''Fanfic/OversaturatedWorld...''
* ''Fanfic/AGoodCompromise'': Captain Tyria Sark puts herself in a bind in part one, which is lampshaded by her comms officer Azira Shelon. Her orders say she's supposed to abandon the [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E24TheQuickening Teplans]] if the Dominion makes an issue of the Federation putting them under their protection, but she promises the Teplan head of state that, "I'll do right by you." [[spoiler:When the Dominion comes, a third option presents itself: turns out ''neither'' side wants to fire the first shot, and Tyria is able to convince the Vorta to resolve the situation diplomatically: the Teplans become independent but the Federation cannot arm them or use their planet as a base. There's also a third option ''within'' the third option, as Tyria notes that the agreement ''only'' prevents the Federation from arming the Teplans; other factions in the Alpha Quadrant aren't restricted by it.]]
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11309061/16/Consul-of-the-Underworld-The-Game-Begins Consul of the Underworld: The Game Begins]]'': When Dumbledore [[BullyingADragon tries to blackmail Alkaid]] into helping him to drive Narcissa Malfoy from Hogwarts or he will reveal her existence to her uncles, Alkaid chooses to silence him before he gets the chance to blow the whistle on her.
* In the movie ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' Eggsy is presented with a SadisticChoice: shoot his beloved dog JB or fail and lose any chance of becoming a Kingsman. In the fanfic [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/7589053/chapters/17268946 Trials]] he takes a third option: he shoots Arthur. [[spoiler: This puts him on the fast track to become the next ''Arthur'', as a knight does what he's told, but a ''king'' does what is ''right''.]] Predictably, Arthur is ''pissed'' at the current turn of events.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12590041/1/Into-Darkness Into Darkness]]'' Harry's late father tells him that according to the Fates, if Harry doesn't break up with Hermione so she can go back to Ron then she'll never learn to control her dark side; while if Harry tries to teach her to control it she'll eventually decide it's a lost cause and end up [[BadFuture destroying the world]]. Harry eventually decides to go dark right along with her.
* In ''Fanfic/RWBYSecondGeneration'', Verse is forced to make a SadisticChoice. With his teammates held at gunpoint, he is given the option to either kill himself or watch them die in front of him. Instead, he shoots the people behind the gun, allowing them to escape.
* In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/269242/1/time-enough-for-friendship/making-the-stars-right Time Enough For Friendship]]'', Star Swirl the Bearded must try to manipulate the timeline to allow the Bearers to become strong enough to defeat Tirek. The problem is that both ends of the timeline are fixed (the Bearers first gain their Elements when the Nightmare returns and not a moment before, and Tirek's escape cannot be altered by even Star Swirl's chronomancy). When Star Swirl tries to fit all the necessary challenges into the time he has to work with, they become overwhelming and break the Bearers instead of strengthening them. But if he gives the Bearers time to recover between adventures, Tirek comes for them before they are ready. Star Swirl's ultimate solution? With Discord's aid, he decoheres time for the Bearers, rendering it impossible to track or define what happens when. Effects still follow from causes, but unrelated causes cannot be placed in any kind of order. And so the Bearers may have as much time as they need to adventure, rest, and grow close.
* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has a pretty big one in [[WhamEpisode Chapter 34]]. Sabrina kidnaps Ash Ketchum using an Abra to teleport him to her gym, and intends to force him to fight his way through her hordes of Psychic-type Pokémon. He could try and go to the top floor to get a Marsh Badge, or to the basement [[spoiler: where she has Ash's Primeape captive]]. In the end, [[spoiler: Ash's Pokédex uses a group of Exegguttor Ash caught in the Safari Zone to teleport all of Ash's Pokémon from Oak's ranch, [[DynamicEntry and they break through the ceiling]] [[BigDamnHeroes to join the fray]] [[TheCavalry and level the playing field]]. During the break in, a few Marsh Badges fall from above, and Squirtle snatches one, while Ash sends the Raichu that used to belong to Paul to the basement to rescue Primeape.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11800934/1/Heir-and-Pride Heir and Pride]]", this defines Hiccup's situation; with Stoick insisting that he train the dragons to basically serve as weapons for the Vikings, [[spoiler:and Valka willing to teach him the secrets she's learned about dragons but only if he abandons all human ties to the extent of leaving Astrid to be raped and murdered by the Outcasts]], Hiccup rejects both of them and pursues his own path of trying to teach others about dragons.
* In ''Fanfic/WolfAndCub'' After the Kumo incident Hiashi Hyuuga is faced with two difficult choices. Either hand over his brother to be killed by Kumo or let Konoha be dragged into a war that they cant afford to fight. He instead invents a political fiction that Hizashi had a psychotic breakdown, kidnapped Hinata, went missing-nin and killed the Kumo ambassador on his way out of Konoha. That allows everyone to keep face.
** Later on he has to chose if his nephew Neji is going to be branded, as the elders demand, or defy tradition. He instead emotionally blackmails Asuna into making Neji his apprentice and taking him to the Twelve Ninja Guardians.
* If [[Literature/{{Redwall}} Lord Brocktree]] and [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Aslan]] had to fight each other ([[LetsYouAndHimFight they]] [[RuleOfCool don't]]), [[http://www.unboundworlds.com/cage-match-2018/cage-match-2018-round-2-lord-brocktree-vs-aslan/ who would win]]? Answer: food.
-->''The animals feasted for hours, occasionally singing folk songs and reciting poetry to entertain their guest.''
* In [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18474643 this]] ''Manga/BungouStrayDogs'' fanfiction, Ryuunosuke Akutagawa has the choice between going with Chuuya to do paperwork, or go with Kouyou to do preparations for a birthday. Halfway, Dazai mixes in the choice panel, who wants him for training. At the end, he decides to go with none of them and go out for food with his sister. [[note]] It should be noted that this story is based on the ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAdventuresInCareALot'' episode ''Erased'', where the third option doesn't return at the end, and the character Akutagawa represents isn't seen responding to the choices it's given at all [[/note]]
* ''Fanfic/StarfallStarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': An engagement challenge can only end in death or surrender. Knocking an opponent unconscious does not count as surrender; they have to actually ''say'' they yield. If the other fighter refuses to kill them, they will themselves be executed. [[spoiler:During the challenge over Star's hand, Marco knocks Tom unconscious, then throws a spear at his heart from a fair distance away. Empress Ishtar, unable to let her son just die, saves him with magic. This is a clear case of outside interference, allowing Marco to win by default]].
* ''Fanfic/ViridianTheGreenGuide'': In his first deliberate act as a [[VigilanteMan Vigilante]], Izuku comes across a mugger in an alleyway. Being unable to take on the mugger himself not leave the helpless bystander at the mugger's hands either, he instead heckles the pro-hero Amplifier into following him into the alleyway by throwing a rock at him, managing to slip away when Amplifier noticed the mugging and watching the battle from a safe distance.
* ''Fanfic/CatRa'': The story's take on the scene in "No Princess Left Behind" where Catra lets Adora go with the sword instead has Adora giving Catra the choice to come back to the Horde, or leave without the sword. Catra manipulates their friendship to give Adora a hug making her think she's coming back, only to steal the sword and run.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15862719/chapters/36952671 Deliverer]]'', Aeon (Megatron's reincarnation) has to choose between leaving the former Decepticons to suffer unfair treatment from the Autobots or allowing another war to occur. He tries to invoke a third option by taking the Star Saber (believing that the Autobots will listen to him if he approaches them with the sword in hand) but only manages to summon the ghost of Optimus Prime, who, upon hearing his story, gives him the true third option by turning him into the new Prime.
* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'': Hinata finds herself at a stalemate while she's fighting [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Toneri]] [[StalkerWithACrush Otsutsuki]], who's commanding a [[HumongousMecha giant statue of Hamura Otsutsuki]] that she tries to match with her Avatar of Kalika (the Tenseigan's counterpart to the Mangekyo Sharingan's Susanoo). The statue won't stop fighting unless Toneri dies first, and it'll always regenerate no matter how many times she destroys it. But in order to kill Toneri, she needs to get past the statue first, as it'll keep fighting to protect its master no matter. So what does she do? Remove the statue from the fight altogether, by ''tossing it out of the Moon'' and leaving it drifting in space, giving her a clear shot to kill Toneri off.
* ''Fanfic/AHerosWrath'': [[spoiler:While suffering through his transformation into his Vajra Vlitra Form, Izuku is given a series of choices by the Golden Spider; the Gohma Path (where he becomes the new Gohma Vlitra and leads the Gohma to destroy humanity), the Demigod Path (repeat the mistakes of his Demigod ancestors) or the Golden Spider's Path (do whatever the Spider tells him). Izuku answers by waking himself up, deciding he wasn't going to play his game.]]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13617561/1/lovers-is-plural lovers is plural]]'' the [[VideoGame/Persona5 Phantom Thieves]] are [[SideBet split between the theories that their teammate Ann is dating either her best friend Shiho or her model rival Mika]]. With the bet split 50-50, they consult Morgana and Akechi. Morgana, who has a crush on Ann, suggests that she's dating neither of them. Akechi, however, analyzes the "selfies" Ann took with each girl and deduced that she's dating [[OneTrueThreesome Shiho and Mika together]].
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7263082/1/Flying Flying]]'' Harry is required to marry a sadistic man several decades older than him or be sent to Azkaban. He ends up [[DrivenToSuicide jumping off the Astronomy Tower]].

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13617561/1/lovers-is-plural lovers is plural]]'' the [[VideoGame/Persona5 Phantom Thieves]] are [[SideBet split between the theories that their teammate Ann is dating either her best friend Shiho or her model rival Mika]]. With the bet split 50-50, they consult Morgana and Akechi. Morgana, who has a crush on Ann, suggests that she's dating neither of them. Akechi, however, analyzes the "selfies" Ann took with each girl and deduced that she's dating [[OneTrueThreesome Shiho and Mika together]].

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13617561/1/lovers-is-plural lovers is plural]]'' the [[VideoGame/Persona5]] are [[SideBet split between the theories that their teammate Ann is dating either her best friend Shiho or her model rival Mika]]. With the bet split 50-50, they consult Morgana and Akechi. Morgana, who has a crush on Ann, suggests that she's dating neither of them. Akechi, however, analyzes the "selfies" Ann took with each girl and deduced that she's dating [[OneTrueThreesome Shiho and Mika together]].

* ''Fanfic/AHerosWrath'': [[spoiler:While suffering through his transformation into his Vajra Vlitra Form, Izuku is given a series of choices by the Golden Spider; the Gohma Path (where he becomes the new Gohma Vlitra and leads the Gohma to destroy humanity), the Demigod Path (repeat the mistakes of his Demigod ancestors) or the Golden Spider's Path (do whatever the Spider tells him). Izuku answers by waking himself up, deciding he wasn't going to play his game.]]

* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'': Hinata finds herself at a stalemate while she's fighting [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Toneri]] [[StalkerWithACrush Otsutsuki]], who's commanding a [[HumongousMecha giant statue of Hamura Otsutsuki]] that she tries to match with her Avatar of Kalika (the Tenseigan's counterpart to the Mangekyo Sharingan's Susanoo). The statue won't stop fighting unless Toneri dies first, and it'll always regenerate no matter how many times she destroys it. But in order to kill Toneri, she needs to get past the statue first, as it'll keep fighting to protect its master no matter. So what does she do? Remove the statue from the fight altogether, by ''tossing it out of the Moon'' and leaving it drifting in space, giving her a clear shot to kill Toneri off.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15862719/chapters/36952671 Deliverer]]'', Aeon (Megatron's reincarnation) has to choose between leaving the former Decepticons to suffer unfair treatment from the Autobots or allowing another war to occur. He tries to invoke a third option by taking the Star Saber (believing that the Autobots will listen to him if he approaches them with the sword in hand) but only manages to summon the ghost of Optimus Prime, who, upon hearing his story, gives him the true third option by turning him into the new Prime.

* ''Fanfic/CatRa'': The story's take on the scene in "No Princess Left Behind" where Catra lets Adora go with the sword instead has Adora giving Catra the choice to come back to the Horde, or leave without the sword. Catra manipulates their friendship to give Adora a hug making her think she's coming back, only to steal the sword and run.

* In ''Fanfic/WolfAndCub'' After the Kumo incident Hiashi Hyuuga is faced with two difficult choices. Either hand over his brother to be killed by Kumo or let Konoha be dragged into a war that they cant afford to fight. He instead invents a political fiction that Hizashi had a psychotic breakdown, kidnaped Hinata, went missing-nin and killed the Kumo ambassador on his way out of Konoha. That allows everyone to keep face.

* ''Fanfic/ViridianTheGreenGuide'': In his first deliberate act as a [[VigilanteMan Vigilante]], Izuku comes across a mugger in an alleyway. Being unable to take on the mugger himself not leave the helpless bystander at the mugger's hands either, he instead heckles the pro-hero Amplifier into following him into the alleyway by throwing a rock at him, managing to slip away when Amplifier noticed the mugging and watching the battle from a safe distance.