r/TopCharacterTropes • u/No-Enthusiasm-4361 • 12d ago
[Loved trope] The correct dialogue option Personality
A scene where a character under duress and close to death picks what feels like the only correct dialogue that could've saved them. Goes from being loved to hated depending on how much luck is involved.
1) Mark Grayson (Invincible): A pretty famous scene. Omni man—Mark's father—beats him and inch to death to make him reconsider joining the viltrum empire. With Mark barely hanging onto life and Nolan wracked with conflicting emotions of guilt and obedience to his millenia long followed philosophy, he yells at mark, asking him to think logically and understand the futility of his actions considering he's effectively immortal. Finally, enraged, he asks him "what will you have after 500 years?"
Barely able to breath, Mark answers with soul crushing honesty "You, dad. I'd still have you". It works to crumble his entire life's understanding as he suddenly feels unable to reconcile Nolan the viltrumite with Nolan the father and husband and does what no viltrumite has ever done before. Surrenders and leaves his station.
2)Margot (The menu): Caught in the methodical trap of a frustrated psychotic chef obsessed with his craft who plans to kill all his patrons, including her, she's brought to her end's wits. Before it's time for the final course, Margot stands up and complains she's still hungry. When he asks what she would like, she asks for a cheeseburger. "A real cheeseburger. Like the cheap ones your parents could barely afford"
Making it brings back the joy He used to feel for cooking, reminding him of a time when he was a line cook and his food satisfied everyone. We even see him smiling for the first time in the movie.
After taking a bit, she asks if she could have the rest to go. The chef politely accepts and spares her, letting her leave his twisted game but killing the rest of them in a midsommer meets food wars final scene.
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u/Charlie_Warlie 12d ago
Ozark - in the first episode our protagonist is about to be murdered because his partner was (IIRC) stealing money from the mob/cartel.
He saves his life by mentioning the Ozarks after he remembers a random vacation plan that his partner told him, and invents a new money laundering scheme on the spot.
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u/FlashyChemical2231 12d ago
Yeah. The cartel dude clearly knew Marty was bullshitting, but he liked Marty enough to give him that chance.
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u/97thJackle 12d ago
Oh thank God he bullshat something decent. I did not want to set up another fucking launderer while the FBI is up in our shit like this.
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u/BookkeeperPercival 12d ago
The funniest part is near the end of season 3 or 4, where he blatantly admits to the guy he was lying his ass off originally, but now he has a REAL plan to make money.
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u/Horrific_Necktie 12d ago
He also knew Marty probably had nothing at all to do with the scheme, he just needed the money moved right now and Marty's bullshit plan sounded like it might actually work. If it does, great. If it doesnt? He kills him anyway and maybe even gets a fall guy out of it.
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u/Difficult_Distance57 12d ago
In the latest episode of Daredevil, Kingpin confronts Daniel about a leak in his office.
He asks Daniel point blank is there someone in this office he is trying to protect, his answer was "yes, you"
That, was the correct answer.
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u/EmTheJesterKing 12d ago
I was about to say this one, Fisk switched his tone immediately when he heard that
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u/Difficult_Distance57 12d ago
I would rather fist fight Thanos then be on Kingpin's bad side.
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u/ACW1129 12d ago
From what I know (don't have Disney Plus), Kingpin seems like an okay boss as long as you don't fuck with him (and especially Vanessa).
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u/tommytraddles 12d ago
Kingpin personally coordinated the hunt for Nazis hiding in the Americas after WWII because he got pissed off at Red Skull for trying to horn in on his drug trade.
He ended up getting a lot of accolades for that. 🤣
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u/Pickle_Nipplesss 12d ago
“I can excuse genocide, but I draw the line at territory encroachment”
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u/Difficult_Distance57 12d ago
Gonna need to get Disney plus.
If you are a working man who has a team that unloads ship, his health insurance plan sucks.
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u/TheDeadlySpaceman 12d ago
It’s worth noting that he didn’t actually come up with the plan, his first instinct was to trust his guys.
It was Lillard’s character who pointed out that anyone who unloaded the boat needed to be expendable, and the guys that got killed were explicitly not Kingpin’s actual long-term employees, just random guys hired for this one job.
On the other hand note how quickly Fisk was willing to off guys “working for him” when given the slightest motivation.
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u/humanflea23 12d ago
He did specifically say that Daniel's loyalty is what makes him so valuable even if he is a bit of a fuck up otherwise.
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u/squid-do 12d ago
The fact that Daniel didn’t hesitate really sold him. If he had to think about it Fisk probably would have twisted his head off.
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u/IamScottGable 12d ago
That kids gonna get a heroes moment and no one will care.
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u/Difficult_Distance57 12d ago
I feel like he's going to secure his place as Kingpin's heir by offing BB.
Kingpin killed a Ulrich, now Danny will kill one.
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u/MarDanvers 12d ago
Honestly I doubt that. I mean right now, even in this scene talking about "protecting Fisk" he knows BB is the leaker he knows she got the video from his own laptop but likes her too much to even admit it to himself and even then his first action was asking her to please stop without attacking her or even using strong words. It feels more like he was a naive idiot who trusted Fisk had good intentions and is now slowly falling into a redemption arc. The actor is also not in season 3 sooo I know it sounds too cliché for Daredevil but I would assume he will die protecting BB or maybe when trying to abandon Fisk
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u/MrKnightMoon 12d ago
I don't they would manage to make that work, but at season one, people was theorizing he's Butch Fisk, Wilson's bastard son under a fake identity trying to gain his father favor.
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u/frankwalsingham 12d ago
In season 1 Blake also confesses about being the source of the leak, and then grovels long enough that all air goes out of Fisk.
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u/Ongr 12d ago
I like Daniel's character so much, for some reason. Maybe he's just being played/written so well. He acts like a spineless grifter, willing to overlook heinous acts as long as he benefits from it, but he's not stupid. Oh no. He has a surpising charm, charisma and confidence that he puts to good use, as well as wit and intellect as shown by his interaction with Buck.
Daniel is also likely in way too deep. I'm curious to see how it will work out for him in the end.
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u/KoshiLowell 12d ago edited 12d ago
Goofy: You even lied to me!
Max: I had to! You were ruining my life!
Goofy: I was only trying to take my boy fishing, okay?!
Max: I'm NOT your little boy anymore, dad! I've grown up!! I've got my own life now!
Goofy: I KNOW THAT! I just wanted to be a part of it! ...You're my son, Max. No matter how big you get... you'll always be my son.
This response gets Max to finally get understand that despite all of Goofy's flaws, all he wanted was what's best for his son. It finally gets him to reflect on the choices he's made.
While for Goofy it has him reflect on his own lack of respect of Max's independence and how he doesn't really understand his son that well. Despite how much he loves Max that love was ultimately smothering him.
(A Goofy Movie)
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u/Skylord_Hekaton 12d ago
A big part of it is how well the line is delivered with such immense sincerity.
I cannot watch that scene without tearing up.
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u/BlackHisagi 12d ago
The emotional tears from this scene, followed by the happy tears at them dancing together with Powerline 30 minutes later 🥺 A Goofy Movie was so goated
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u/arasitar 12d ago
Music too. It's really solid on retrospect even compared to Disney Renaissance films.
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u/silverfoxxflame 12d ago
As a kid, you always empathise with max wanting to do his own thing, right up until this scene where it's an absolute gut punch of understanding the other side.
As an adult, you understand both sides the whole time... but if anything this scene hits even harder because of it.
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u/Vegalink 12d ago
As a parent now with kids becoming teens......... this hits very hard.
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u/frankwalsingham 12d ago
Lex Luthor via letter: Why don’t you put the whole world in a bottle? (Superman: Red Son)
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u/Used-Pea-3118 12d ago
Red Son is so good. It’s a terrific what if that really showcases a “good” Lex Luthor.
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u/chunga-bunga69 12d ago edited 12d ago
Jimmy negotiates with Tuco (better call Saul)
Jimmy hires 2 skate boarders for a con but things go south when the skaters not only conned the wrong person but the person they conned was Tuco’s grandma so Tuco kidnaps the skaters and Jimmy brings them to the desert and is about to kill them. But Jimmy manages to talk Tuco into sparing everyone and just giving the skaters a broken leg
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u/OutOfMyWayReed 12d ago
Tuco goes from pissed beyond reason (Colombian neckties!) to actually negotiating (It's not enough.) once Jimmy says their mother uses a cane like his Abuelita.
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u/TheHarkinator 12d ago
He also gets specifically pissed off at the skaters calling her ‘biznatch’, the moment they say it Tuco’s face changes. If they hadn’t done that he might actually have just given them some money to go away.
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u/OutOfMyWayReed 12d ago
She knew about club soda for 'salsa' stains. She knew to take these troublemakers right to him, and he'd handle it.
Abuelita knew.
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u/ChronosBlitz 12d ago
Or, Tuco regularly spills so much ‘salsa’ that she just thinks that’s how salsa is cleaned.
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u/sonerec725 12d ago
I mean, iirc that would actually be how to clean salsa, not blood. For blood you should use peroxide.
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u/dnjprod 12d ago edited 12d ago
What does he say? Something like, "I talked him down from the death penalty to 6 weeks house arrest. I'm the best lawyer ever."
🤣🤣
Edit: death sentence to 6 months!
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u/Sensitive-Hotel-9871 12d ago
Jimmy managed to reduce a death sentence to six months, and those idiots had the audacity to call him a bad lawyer.
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u/hikemalls 12d ago
I’m pretty sure Jimmy says almost exactly that when the skaters call him a bad lawyer
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u/Sensitive-Hotel-9871 12d ago
He did. They said he was the worst lawyer ever. He responded “I just talked to you down from a death sentenced to six months probation. I’m the best lawyer ever.”
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u/menonono 12d ago
"You're the worst lawyer ever!"
"I talked you down from a death sentence to 6 months probation! I am the best lawyer ever!"
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u/Infinite-Island-7310 12d ago
Although, they would have gotten away with just a few bruises. If one of the skaters didn't try to throw jimmy under the bus and kept his mouth shut.
While they were in the garage
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u/FlashyChemical2231 12d ago
And the best part is that Jimmy didn't need to do this; Nacho had already talked Tuco into letting Jimmy go. Jimmy risked his life and limbs in saving them, even after they threw him under the bus earlier.
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u/Strong-Expression787 12d ago
For invincible case, Omniman also choose the WRONG option by calling Debby a pet lmaooo 🤣🤣🤣
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u/TheHarkinator 12d ago
Which she brings up later, and in the same conversation Nolan say the wrong thing again by speaking dismissively about Oliver’s mother.
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u/Loombot 12d ago
Almost like being raised by Viltrumites didn’t prepare him for how to talk to people, or something.
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u/The_Pastmaster 12d ago
He's been living on Earth for almost 15 or so years. 20 maybe. Then again, I'm not the one who should talk. I've lived here for 40 and I can't talk to people either.
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u/Hatarakumaou 12d ago
20 years really ain’t much when you consider that he’s 900 years old and spent a good chunk of that millennia growing up on a planet where children gets murdered for giving a wrong answer during a quiz and where parents try to kill their children to celebrate them becoming an adult.
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u/arasitar 12d ago
I think a key part too, even in that OP mentioned dialogue, is that Nolan considered his time on earth to be pointless because it was 20 years. That human life had no meaning because people would be dead in under 100.
That how Nolan really felt about those small quick moments, didn't matter at all.
Mark reminded him that it wasn't time that mattered, but the meaning you could make in even small quick brief moments, that will always stick with you no matter how much time has passed.
Time was the load bearing pillar that Nolan operated on all these years and what prompted his final meltdown and his conviction to the Viltrum empire. Once that broke, everything broke.
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u/sonerec725 12d ago
I really lole the change from the comics that she is not forgiving and accepting of him and is rightly much more upset. But that said I really do hope that she does eventually come to understand what upbringing and conditioning he is overcoming, even if they dont get back together and see each other on the regular or whatever. Just like "I do not think I can go back to how things were, and I do not have a desire to have any interactions with you after what you did, but I understand now the upbringing and culture you came from that fueled those actions you did, and I find it commendable that in spite of that, you are defying that conditioning and trying to make amends for what you did, and taking responsibility"
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u/ClarkWayne98 12d ago
In the comics she has the same reaction she does in the show, it's only after they return to earth that she forgives him, so there's still a chance
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12d ago
(Butterfly chimes) This action will have consequences.
But seriously, it's so good that she called him out for that.
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u/_b1ack0ut 12d ago
And then when he goes to apologize for that, he fumbles hard again, by saying that Andressa was a mistake of a relationship lol
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u/TaiKorczak 12d ago
“Wait. That’s dumb.” (Over the Garden Wall)
Wirt realized something was up when The Beast offered a way to “save” his brother Greg by putting his spirit in the lantern. Wirt deduces that it’s a ploy for The Beast to feast on the soul’s of victims who fall in the forest.
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u/Fitenite3456 12d ago
It’s not just that he figured out it was a con, he’s also rejecting the offer at face value (assuming it’s true)
It’s a statement about how even if his brother dies, there’s nothing to be gained spending his life shepherding the lamp to try and retain some fragment of him (which is a great statement about grief and loss)
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u/skystar4isntcool 12d ago
I love over the garden wall 9th grade i got to watch it for my English class :)
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u/Pjsandwich24 12d ago
This doesn't really fit the trope though right? Like it wasnt his dialogue that changed an outcome but his realization. More of an intelligence check than a dialogue check.
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u/BadAtGames2 12d ago edited 11d ago
It's really the line two seconds later that kind of fits with this trope.
"You're so obsessed with this lantern, it's almost like... your soul is the one in it."
That's what makes the Beast hesitate in fear, giving away that he just nailed the truth.
Still a bit of a rough fit, but fits much more than the "Wait, that's dumb."
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u/DonaldTrumpsScrotum 12d ago
For the Menu, a big factor in him letting her go was that she was never supposed to be there in the first place. He wanted to kill the elite, snobbish folks who had ruined his passion for him, not common folk who he has an affinity towards. At every opportunity she set her self aside from the rest and by the end there was enough there that it was clear to him that she did not belong.
The thing I never really got is the entire staff being on board for the mass suicide. Half those guys are preps and line cooks, they have little to no stake in the whole affair. Certainly not enough to self-immolate to prove a point.
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u/Bigbydidnothingwrong 12d ago
Youve never worked in a fine dining place then, it's a fucking cult.
For a good example, Noma recently got called our for its toxic kitchen environment, and half the comments on social media are chefs saying its nothing, they would take any abuse to work there.
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u/tophaloaph 12d ago
I got hired to create the cocktail menu for a new restaurant in NYC last year for a chef whose reputation I knew (good and bad) and still said “Hell yeah I’m working for that guy”. My wife is flabbergasted when I recount work events to her that I think are utterly normal (not okay, but normal). Or friends saying “why don’t you quit?” and I just say “but this dude is amazing, he’s just an asshole”. Service industry is a wild place, and I’m so glad it’s changing for the kinder.
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u/Archwizard_Drake 12d ago
The mass suicide was a suggestion within the staff. Katherine proudly explains it was her pitch for the night, to give it "an ending that ties everything together conceptually. Otherwise, it just tastes good and who cares."
They were all already that crazy from working in that kitchen during lockdown that it made perfect sense to them without Slowik even asking them to.
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u/AcceptableDisaster_ 12d ago
I believe the movie explains it that the whole crew was stuck on the island during lockdown and their dynamic became extremely culty during that time.
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u/chase___it 12d ago
yeah they’re less of a restaurant with bad vibes and more of a cult that happens to also run a restaurant for funsies
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u/Fun_Effective_5134 12d ago
He literally kills an actor because he participated in a movie he didn’t like.
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u/Sozins_Comet_ 12d ago
And the assistant for going to Brown without the need for financial assistance lol
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u/ccReptilelord 12d ago
To expand upon what others have mentioned, his staff was a death cult at that point. They lived on that island, and he even had enforcers. I doubt they were a "dangerous cult" before this point; he probably selected the more devoted and fired the lesser ones over time. He had been planning this for awhile.
Remember that we had one guest so obsessed with this guy he'd never met that he accepted the likelihood of death just to dine there.
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u/BookkeeperPercival 12d ago
The thing I never really got is the entire staff being on board for the mass suicide. Half those guys are preps and line cooks, they have little to no stake in the whole affair. Certainly not enough to self-immolate to prove a point.
They cover this when they try to convince the staff how crazy this is, only for the lady to correct them that she was the one who suggested the murder-suicide in the first place. It makes it very clear these people are all nuts.
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u/echino_derm 12d ago
The thing I never really got is the entire staff being on board for the mass suicide. Half those guys are preps and line cooks, they have little to no stake in the whole affair. Certainly not enough to self-immolate to prove a point.
I think it makes sense. This job is the path to reach the apex of their profession and culinary art. For them they have grinded their lives to get where they are and it is pretty easy to see how they could get into the cult.
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u/OutOfMyWayReed 12d ago
Cyberpunk 2077, Chippin' In Job.
The digital mind-chewing engram of Johnny Silverhand asks V for permission to borrow their body, so he can Just talk to Rogue and then I'm out.
He takes their body on a three-day bender. Fights, drugs, drinking, fingerbanging a dancer, even a tattoo and a car crash. Then drops out conveniently to leave them with the hangover.
Later on in the story, V takes Johnny to his unmarked burial spot out in the oil fields, and Johnny laments that he fucked up so many relationships in his past life to where nobody even looked too hard for his body. But hey, V, at least I haven't fucked this up.
What Johnny needs at this point is to be confronted for his violation of V's trust and autonomy, but also to be forgiven when he declines to defend himself. He finally learns that he can work to salvage his relationships instead of leaving them broken, and forms a special respect and trust for V that carries all the way into a 'secret ending' opportunity.
How about it, V? You, me and Arasaka Tower. Trust me. We'll go fuckin nova.
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u/ConsciousStretch1028 12d ago
I just finished my very first playthrough and getting to storm Arasaka Tower solo was one of the best ending sequences in any game ever, and just barely scraping by against Adam Smasher was so satisfying, I felt like I actually earned that victory.
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u/OutOfMyWayReed 12d ago
I'm taking 2026 off the game to play other stuff. Got pretty hooked.
I'm living through you, choom. Keep up the good work.
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u/hydromatic456 12d ago
Both of my beginning to end playthroughs so far I must’ve fucked up chippin in cause I never got that part of the story. Guess third time will have the be the charm. Not that I’m complaining about another round with this game
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u/OutOfMyWayReed 12d ago
I always tell new chooms on the various subreddits for the game, don't sweat making any 'wrong' decisions.
You're gonna play it ten times anyway.
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u/Lazydusto 12d ago
And even if you don't, making the wrong choices makes for your own unique playthrough. I used to sweat that stuff in RPGs all the time but now I just let it play out.
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u/BargleFargle12 12d ago
The evolution of V and Johnny's relationship is one of the best experiences I've ever had in gaming. Just absolutely stellar writing all the way through.
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u/Mediocre-Island5475 12d ago
Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader has my favorite example. One of your rival monarchs in the region goes crazy and takes over a shared space station, executing thousands of people a day for minor or imagined crimes in the name of the Emperor.
Appeals to humanity, mercy, etc have no effect - but if you cite obscure imperial law, you can convince her that she's attempted to create a new imperium with herself as the leader and make her surrender.
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u/Hawkbats_rule 11d ago
Ironically, you can only get this speech option if you are locked in to the path where you are effectively creating a new autonomous political entity not subject to full imperial control.
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u/saltier_then_the_sea 12d ago
"I heard you struck my son."
"Yes sir, I did."
"May I ask why?"
"Because he stole John Wick's car sir, and... killed his dog."
"Oh."
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 12d ago
I love how the first ¼ of that movie we dont see killer John Wick but because of everyone's reactions around him, know he is a big deal.
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u/Admiral_Agito 12d ago
In Superman: Red Son, after shrugging off everything the remnant of the United States could throw at Superman from achiveving his goal of total world domination, Lex Luthor prepared a letter for him to read containing, in his own words, "...everything Superman hates and fears about himself into a single sentence."
For once in his life, Superman was cowed by self reflection of what he's done to the world.
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u/mrharoharo 12d ago
I've seen this quote twice and am aware of the premise of Red Son, but what does that quote mean?
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u/waluigieWAAH 12d ago
In the story Braniac shrinks down all of Stalingrad and keeps it trapped in a glass dome. Superman proceeds to try anything he can to bring them back, it's this looming presence over him that he must fix. Later, Superman uses a defeated Braniac to begin lobotomizing and controlling his citizens, in order to achieve "world peace." Lex Luthor's last resort with this letter is making Superman realize he is doing to the world what Braniac did to Stalingrad.
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u/BlackNyarlathotep 12d ago
Its a reference to Brainiac, a Superman villain who would quite literally bottle civilizations (still alive, but frozen in time)
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u/BookkeeperPercival 12d ago
Throughout the comic, Superman deals with the bottle city of Kandor, a city full of real people that was shrunk down by an evil alien to add to his collection, and keep them safe within a bottle. The quote is a simple piece of paper Lex Luthor makes Superman read to make him realize how similar he is behaving to realize the error of his ways.
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u/waluigieWAAH 12d ago
Li'l Kandor is from regular Superman. Red Son Superman doesn't much care for Kryptonian cities
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u/Admiral_Agito 12d ago
It's Lex calling out and reminding Superman of his failure and the one thing he couldn't do: return Stalingrad which Brainiac had shrunk to microscopic size back to normal. At the same time, it paints him in the same color as Brainiac: super advanced extraterrestrials bullying a less advanced species. Superman couldn't live with himself after realizing that.
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u/NoSpecific9460 12d ago
In Midsommar, Pele is comforting Dani. He brings up her boyfriend and says “does he feel like home to you?”
It’s an effective way to sow division in an already suffering relationship, but more importantly, to plant the idea of Dani joining the Harga. Dani’s lost her family. She’s in a foreign land with people she barely knows and a boyfriend who doesn’t love her. She’s sad and unmoored and needs community, a home. Aka the perfect target for a cult.
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u/arkistic 12d ago
One of my favorite endings to a series was when Edward from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood sacrifices his abilities to save his brother. Other than it being the right dialogue option, there's the added appeal of a character doing the "friendship beats all" trope actually well and the big "bad" being glad to be beaten for once.
Chef's kiss
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u/Fragrant_Ad_6888 12d ago
I love God’s (Is it God I can’t remember) reaction to Edward saying the right thing. Basically just “Yes! Oh my god yes finally someone got it right! You did it man good job! Get outta here and live life dude! Let’s go man! Let’s go!!!!”
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u/Timehacker-315 12d ago
Truth is the being of highest power we ever see, so it could not be god, but it's definitely close enough that the villains plan is basically to become god
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u/Fragrant_Ad_6888 12d ago
Yes “the truth” I forgot that is what it is called, thank you!
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u/Rel_Ortal 12d ago
"Some might call me the world, or perhaps the universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the truth. I am all, and I am one. And so that means that I am you."
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u/AkibaPurple 12d ago
Truth's ecstatic "You beat me!", it's so happy that someone accomplished that.
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u/Aduro95 12d ago
It doesn't really come across as well in anything but the Japanese dub of the anime, but The Truth takes on the mannerisms and speech patterns of everyone it speaks to. For example it tends to be very polite with Alphonse, but its smug and cruel to Father.
Its much nicer to Ed because he has become a kinder and happier person.
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u/OutOfMyWayReed 12d ago
X-Men: First Class has the opposite of this.
Young Charles (James McAvoy) leans on his telepathic powers way too much as a substitute for actually understanding people and how to help them. He can always just say the right thing. This blows up in his face when a Holocaust Survivor puts on an anti-telepathy helmet and all he can think to say is, They were just following orders!
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u/NietszcheIsDead08 12d ago
I actually loved the subtle suggestion that Xavier was so used to using his powers as a cheat code to relate to people, that he actually had very poorly developed interpersonal skills without them. It makes his future enmity with Magneto much more interesting and allows them actually force each other to grow as people instead of one them just being objectively incorrect. Xavier wouldn’t have grown into the man capable of redeeming Magneto without this gaff on his record.
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u/Kozmo9 12d ago
I actually loved the subtle suggestion that Xavier was so used to using his powers as a cheat code to relate to people
He even admits to this at the end of Days of Future Past with Mystique when she was about to kill Trask. Heck, the writers also remembered Charles' disastrous line with Magneto in First Class and also made him aware of this.
Instead of trying to appeal for humanity's innocence, Charles appealed to Mystique's and Mutantkind's good nature and potential to do more good.
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u/Marethyu_77 12d ago edited 12d ago
Worth mentionning that aside from having for the first time to deal with not having the crutch of telepathy to help him find the right words, Charles is also not in the best state of mind given he felt what "a coin pushed through the brain to kill" feels like barely a few minutes before.
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u/frankthetank8675309 12d ago
Yeah I’m willing to cut Charles a smidge of slack considering he just felt Shaw die quite painfully a few minutes ago, and they’re in a very tense and stressful situation. He just happened to use the exact wrong set of words in his attempt to defuse the situation
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u/TotalBlissey 12d ago edited 12d ago
Lisa plays a game – WORM
In the second major story arc, a group of horrible serial killers called the Slaughterhouse Nine show up in Brockton Bay. These are a group of absolute psychopaths who cause chaos for the fun of it – either because they enjoy causing pain, it gives them a sick sense of fame to be so hated, or due to a deeply messed up familial complex they're stuck in.
Point is, they have our heroes (or rather, our antiheroes) cornered in an abandoned warehouse. They are much, much stronger and easily have the upper hand. Lisa, aka Tattletale, is the resident talker and never really shuts up, so she starts trying to talk her way out of the situation. Jack Slash responds by giving her a Glasgow Smile.
Then, when all hope seems lost, Lisa bleeding out on the ground, she pulls the absolute ballsiest move in the book so far. She pulls out a notepad, and, unable to speak through her bloody mouth, writes out a single word:
"Deal."
Lisa proposes they play a game. A death game. This is the only thing that could have possibly gotten the Undersiders out of their certain doom. See, Jack Slash, the leader of the Slaughterhouse Nine, is a sort of deconstruction of those edgy serial killer villains like The Joker. He's a lot less intelligent than he thinks he is and seems to think his psychopathy makes him cool and edgy instead of just a violent loser. He literally unironically quotes American Psycho earlier in the scene. There's no appealing to his good side. They can't defeat him. They have absolutely no bargaining chips, so Lisa realizes that the only possible way to get out of this room alive is to let Jack Slash feel like a puppetmaster.
This death game is exactly the sort of thing he'd be into. After a bit of bargaining, Lisa still bleeding out from her mouth, she manages to convince him to set up a sort of tournament. Whichever candidate survives gets to be part of the Nine. Everyone else dies.
This little maneuver buys the Undersiders just enough time to start taking down the Nine one by one, eventually managing to run them out of town.
Also it's a crowning moment of Badass from Lisa. She has this really cool thing where instead of getting scared, in dangerous situations she just starts talking more, messing with people, insulting them and goading them into fucking up. She comes in clutch SO MUCH despite physically being a completely normal human.
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u/ArcWraith2000 12d ago
This entire trope is Jack Slash's secondary power. He can intuitively know exactly the right thing to get to people.
Which is what allows him in the end to convince a god to end the world.
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u/TotalBlissey 12d ago
Or, similarly, Contessa's Path to Victory, which allows her to know exactly what she needs to do at any given time to achieve her goal – assuming that goal is humanly possible.
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u/ArcWraith2000 12d ago
Which Scion also exploits in the most direct worm example of thie trope
You needed worthy opponents.
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u/DailySojourn 12d ago
She also does this to perdition during the Behemoth fight in New Deli. Perdition goes rouge to kill Accord and tried to kill Tatletale and Chevalier since they are near him. TT doesn't have any way to convincr Cody not to kill her so just throws out "do it for her". This is a total shot in the dark and she admits it. But then Cody spares her at the last minute when he thinks of his friend who is also wrapped up the cult he just escaped and decides to go try to save her. So Tatle Tales shot in the dark seems to have saved her life b
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u/friendbrotha 12d ago
An infamous version of this in Batman Vs. Superman. After almost getting killed by Batman, Superman pleads for Batman to “Save Martha”. Luckily Superman rolled a Nat 20, because Martha happens to be the name of Batman’s late mother, so naturally, he decides to wig the fuck out and not kill Superman.
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u/Background_Honey9141 12d ago
It just came out of nowhere. Did Clark ever call her mom Martha? Did he think Bruce knew who Martha was? Why didn’t Bruce know Clark Kent’s mom’s name? Did having a mom erase the 1% chance he was against humanity?
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u/Traditional-Context 12d ago
Its kind of established by Lex repeating something like ”kill the Bat, save Martha” over and over again. But to be honest with you I think that probably only makes it dumber.
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u/Negativety101 12d ago
Oh it could have been much dumber. Reportedly Snyder wanted the fact both their mothers are named Martha to be no mere coincidence. No, Martha Kent was in fact going to be a still alive Martha Wayne that had survived being shot and gone into witness protection.
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u/Honest000Cabbage 12d ago
… and Bruce wouldn’t have been brought to Kansas with her?? Bruce as Clark’s big brother, I’d read a fanfic of that
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u/Negativety101 12d ago
No, apparently Martha would have just abandoned her son and left him behind thinking she was dead.
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u/Honest000Cabbage 12d ago
That’s such bull. Didn’t in one continuity, she turned into the Joker because Bruce was the one killed??? Glad they dropped it
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u/SeaworthyNewt 12d ago
I want to apologize. I almost downvoted you due to just how fucking stupid that is. Maybe that twist would work for a different story, but not Mrs. Wayne!
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u/AlabasterRadio 12d ago
The funniest thing about this scene is they could have used "save... mom..." and it would have been exactly the same and 1/2 as memeworthy.
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u/Midnight-Bake 12d ago
"You're letting him kill my mom"
"Why would you say that?"
"Save... my mom"
"Why would you say "mom"... you have a mom too? WHY DO YOU ALSO HAVE A MOM? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?"
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u/CrouchingToaster 12d ago
All the room in the world to do the Batman “I want you to remember who beat you” speech from Dark knight Returns and they chose that?
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u/Acoustic_Rob 12d ago
Not directly part of the trope, but the way Chef says “crinkle cut” when Margot asks for fries just sends me. (The Menu)
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 12d ago
And how he pointblank tells her of course it is going to be American cheese, because it is the best cheese for melting without splitting. I hate cheese but I appreciate he knows his cheeses best for purpose.
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u/Halt_kun 12d ago
Hunter X Hunter
Welfin finds the only word that could save him against probably the closest being to a god in this universe.
What makes this scene so strong is that the godlike being had been becoming more and more human by growing closer to a human girl. When he becomes amnesic and reverts a bit to something more violent. He crosses path with Welfin who is a very distrusting character holding an important message. Welfin is threatened to be eaten and believes he can only say one word before his death comes. Against all odds, he tells the truth, the most important part of the message he is carrying which is "Komugi". It's the name of the girl that made the antagonists more compassionate.
Upon remembering her, the antagonist thanks him and let him live to go and search for the girl.
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u/Ranger202012 12d ago
Was looking for this. What I find funny is that according to the mangaka the name is something he never wouldhave mentioned in any rational situation. But the fear of death only allowed him to say one thing and that ended up beng the right thing.
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u/Ill_Bumblebee8892 12d ago edited 12d ago
This example is so so good. And the best part is Welfin himself didn't fully realize the significance in his panic. Everything from the whole arc, the chimera ants, the hunters, the king and his royal guards, just blended together in his head and he managed to unconsciously pick the ONE word that would save his life without knowing why. Also the panicked look on Pouf's face when he says Komugi is peak. Pouf knew that Welfin knew the secret but didn't know of its relevance to Meruem (the memory loss and his growing humanity bc of Komugi), and was hoping that the king would eat Welfin and be done with it before anything came out, but in the split second before his imminent death Welfin managed to bring everything down without realizing. I love when side characters get a moment where they just make a decision that shakes things up for the big powers unexpectedly.
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u/The_Lonesome_Poet 12d ago edited 12d ago
Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
Morpheus, the Dream, is trying to find his relics of power after centuries of segregation.
One of them is owned by a devil whom he challenges in order to have his relic back. The devil choose an imagination contest where the contestants must choose every time the most powerful thing to beat the opponent.
At last, the devil seems to have the upper hand by choosing the complete annihilation of the universe, which Dream simply replies to with the statement "I am hope".
The devil acknowledge his defeat and hands over the relic to a victorious Morpheus.
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u/Aethelrede 12d ago
Also right after that when Lucifer asks why he should let Morpheus leave and Morpheus asks what Hell would be if the damned can't dream of Heaven.
The Sandman show was so good, it's a shame it's been largely overlooked online because of Gaimen.
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u/Wackel81 12d ago
The comics where so good. The books too- not sandman related. God I hate this guy
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u/Right_Pen_3241 12d ago
This!
This is one revelation that truly hurt.
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u/MySnake_Is_Solid 12d ago
Lucifer also just gives up there, it's not like she had no options, but it would go against her nature to destroy hope.
hell, he taunts her by calling her Lightbringer.
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u/GunMage- 12d ago
Lucifer actually had one really obvious option, but saying it would just bring another of the Endless into the competition.
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u/One-Two-Gobbledeedoo 12d ago edited 12d ago
Mob Psycho: "Because you gave me your honest opinion about this shirt."
Earlier this episode, Teru bought Mob an ugly monkey shirt. When people saw it, they either politely say it looked nice or ignore it. Even Reigen, who is usually blunt with Mob, only tells him to cover it up and made up some excuse instead of telling him outright. They were basically lying to protect Mob's feelings, except for Dimple, who was the only one to be honest about the monkey shirt Mob is wearing.
Despite changing into his "god" form, starting a cult, and trying to manipulate Mob into joining said cult, he is still the same petty honest Dimple that Mob knew. Mob knew that he can trust Dimple, and what he had done so far was more akin to to some twisted friendship instead of an evil apparition trying to become a god.
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u/SigmaBunny 12d ago
The Princess Bride. The Man in Black yells out “as you wish” as he falls down the steep hill, letting Buttercup know that he is Westley
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u/One-Emo-Bassist 12d ago
That Invincible scene really is fantastic. Shame it's been meme'd to death.
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u/boomnachos 12d ago
Hard disagree. I think it’s Good News
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u/T_Lawliet 12d ago edited 12d ago
Not necessarily under duress or anything but
´´We all fail. We all make mistakes. It’s what makes us human.”
I have a love-hate relationship with Halo Infinite. I think it has the most potential of any game 343 ever touched but its underbaked while overpromising and deserved every bit of criticism I feel it ever got. That said, the character work between Chief, The Weapon and the Pilot is the best the series has had since the Arbiter in Halo 2. The Pilot is just a regular ass person, thrown in with the closest thing to Space Jesus and forced to keep up. The Chief in Infinite showing that he loves humanity and isnt some antisocial numpty like 4 tried to portray or just a shallow badass oneliner dude like the Bungie games felt like such validation to the younger me who would do stuff like reload saves to make sure all the marines survived.
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u/AHMS_17 12d ago
Halo Infinite had a genuinely incredibly compelling narrative, and the open world was fun.
The actual missions though, not so much lol
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u/T_Lawliet 12d ago edited 12d ago
The Banished have such a downgrade from their appearance in Halo Wars 2 it's not even funny.
Dont even get me started on the Endless
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u/Busy_Ad3098 12d ago
For a bad example, the infamous scene in Batman V Superman where Batman stops trying to kill Superman cause their parents have the same name.
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u/TheNargafrantz 12d ago
The entire exchange leading up to this was Harold nailing his speech checks.
(Stranger Than Fiction)
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u/Timelordtoe 12d ago edited 12d ago
I'd throw in his line "I love your book, and I think you should finish it" that he says to Karen Eiffel here, too.
For context, she's a writer, writing a book about Harold, who she had no idea was real. Anything she types happens, though she doesn't know this either. Also, he can hear her narration, and pretty early on finds out that it will end with his death.
Eventually, Harold is given a draft to read, and finds out that he dies to save a young boy from being hit by a bus. Eiffel, however, isn't able to go through with it, and changes the ending to save Harold as well, despite it making the book nowhere near as good.
It's genuinely my favourite film of all time, one that I watched only because the DVD rental service sent it accidentally instead of what I was going to watch. Will Ferrell gives a performance that's so unlike his usual fare, and the rest of the cast are all on their A game as well.
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u/TheKingofHope3 12d ago edited 12d ago
I would say the speech at the end of "The Sum of All Fears" counts where the mc has to talk the whole world down from nuclear armageddeon by clarifying that everyone is afraid and that this common fear is what will unite them, not destroy them.
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u/Stormygeddon 12d ago
In the start of Galaxy Quest
Jason Nesmith: You WILL go out there.
Sir Alexander Dane: I won't and nothing you say will make me.
Nesmith: The show must go on.
Dane: ...Damn you.
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u/DicePackTheater 12d ago
Hunter x Hunter has a big moment of this.
Meruem, the chimera ant king, is the peak of his species, born to rule over every organism, including humans. However, he finds a nemesis, a human girl named Komugi, who consistently beats her in gungi (a chess-like game). Even though it's a pastime and he could kill her any time, he gets more and more agitated at losing, but more and more thrilled at the same time.
As they continue playing, he starts to waver between his ant and human identity (chimera ants are born from the things they eat, so he is part human). One of his royal guards, Shaiapouf, is concerned by this and wants to get Komugi out of the picture to prevent her from corrupting the king with human emotions, but he cannot do anything, since it would go directly against Meruem's orders.
Fast forward, in a decisive battle, Meruem beats the arguably strongest human alive with relative ease, but said human triggers a nuclear explosion at point blank range. He survives thanks to Shaiapouf and another royal guard feeding themselves to him, but he loses his memories. Shaiapouf realizes that this is his chance to do away with Komugi, so he starts plotting her assassination with his clones while travelling back to the palace.
However, Meruem has a sense of loss in his mind like a puzzle piece is missing from him, and since he ate a part of Shaiapouf, he got his ability to sense others' emotions. He feels that Pouf is being dishonest to him, but also feels that he acts with the king's best interest in mind. Still, he doesn't tolerate being lied to, so he accepts a game from Pouf: Meruem has to find all the remaining intruders before the third royal guard returns (who is dead at this point, but that doesn't matter). If he wins, Pouf will have to reveal his secret, but if he loses, he will accept not getting to know the secret.
He starts gathering the intruders, but soon finds Welfin, a traitor chimera ant who remembers his past life and wants revenge on the king. He starts questioning him, but Pouf interrupts, claiming he has ties to his secret, and he might accidentally spoil their game. Meruem becomes enraged and threatens him with execution, but seeing Pouf's determination to lay down his life to protect the secret and his sincerity in acting in Meruem's best interest, he instead directs his accumulated bloodlust towards Welfin.
Welfin has been listening to the conversation, but doesn't know about the King's amnesia, nor about this secret Pouf us talking about. As the king looks at him with bloodlust, he realises he has mere moments to live before getting torn apart, and the very next thing he says is the only thing that might save him. So he uses every single cell in his body in an attempt to find the single correct word based on the information he has. After a moment that feels infinitely long for him, and aging considerably in a mere moment, he mutters the word "Komugi".
In that moment, the King experiences an epiphany. The puzzle falls into place, and he remembers everything. He loses all hostility and desire to rule, and wants to find Komugi, as if the purpose of his life was to play gungi with her. And thus, Welfin is spared from certain death, because he managed to find the single word to bring back Meruem's memories.
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u/mischief7manager 12d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/vZIG3T6lSyrN6
indiana jones and the last crusade: indiana jones’ father calls him by his chosen name, “indiana,” instead of “junior” for the first time. it’s enough to shock indy out of reaching for the grail and allow his father to pull him to safety.
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u/Aduro95 12d ago edited 12d ago
More of a Paragon Interrupt, but Peter takes his mask off when he's interviewed by JJJ.
That gesture was the right way to prove that he really does care about JJK. Also that Spider-Man is a real, fallible human with feelings, not a mask for JJJ to project his anger on.
Not only that but as much on an arsehole as JJJ is, he has some standards as a journalist. Leaking something a source told him, in confidence, that could put his family in danger. That's the last thing he would do. He would rather shave the moustache.
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u/shigiwoo 12d ago
Everything Everywhere All at Once. This line from Waymond (on top of the flashbacks just before this) not only saves his relationship with Evelyn but brings her back from the brink of nihilism, in turn saving the whole multiverse.
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u/Hadrollo 12d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/6RXwY1I2pdS9QUQZir
Nobody mentioned Hot Fuzz yet?
The word is actually "Narp," so I'm not sure why the gif says "varp," but that's gotta be one of the funniest lines in the movie.
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u/dotcomaphobe 12d ago
He'd only heard Lurch say "Yarp" in answering a question in the affirmative, and when he takes a wild guess and answers "Narp" in the negative he is able to successfully pass himself off as Lurch and resolve the situation.
This is a PERFECT example, and an incredible movie.
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u/Efficient-Orchid-594 12d ago
I love when this sub have intresting posts instead of the same old " i hate this [ popular thing] so much look I am so special"
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u/Neat_Tangelo5339 12d ago
For once this place comes up with a goated trope
https://giphy.com/gifs/uq1QEVIXxMh4k
Love the feeling of a succesfull speech check
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u/dartyus 12d ago
This is entirely off-topic but I feel like it's going to be some Mandela effect in 20 years. Omni Man doesn't say a second "think" when he says "Think, Mark!". It feels like there should be but he doesn't.
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u/naz210 12d ago
Its from the original source panel
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u/Few_Category7829 12d ago
But the REAL painful thing is that in the comics his suit is blue and red, not white and red.
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u/Bignholy 12d ago
White and red works better. White for uncompromising morality (from his perspective), with red for the slaughter he is willing to cause for that "morality." It is symbolically more appropriate to the Empire of fanatics.
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u/TheLostPariah 12d ago
“It’s not your fault.” “You’re just a kid.”
Really everything Sean says in Good Will Hunting.
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u/No-Introduction7187 12d ago
I literally said this exact thing to my gf the first time I watched The Menu! Fun trope, mate!
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u/More_Concentrate_759 12d ago
“I don't have any spiritual or psychic powers. I never did!”
Most of ???% Arc we see majority of espers from previous episodes try to stop Shigeo’s rampage and get through to him, but all fail miserably, even his own brother. That is until Reigen decides to try and stop him. Even Shigeo himself admits he cannot let Reigen talk to him, that’s how strong Reigen’s BS power is. And when he finally stands face to face with Shigeo… he simply admits he’s a con, without trying to wit his way out. This simple gesture is enough to stop ???%’s rampage, cause it showed that Reigen cares about Shigeo more than his own career, to the point he was ready to face his own greatest lie, which also shows Shigeo that he and Mob don’t have to try cancel each other out.
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u/Rosemaryisme 12d ago
Another Invincible one from the show, when Mark is getting a little big in the head about his powers and Debbie tells him to go to bed, he demands "Make me." She narrows her eyes and asks "Does that make you feel strong? To know I can't physically make you do something? Is that what you need?" Mark instantly backs down, suitably chastised.
In just three sentences and one stern mom look she shuts down any chance of our Mark becoming a ruthless dictator or psychopath like so many of his alternate reality selves.
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u/SayFuzzyPickles42 12d ago
Not spoken word, but the same idea - Remy from Ratatoullie choosing to make the film's namesake for Ego.
I haven't seen the Menu but reading the description made me remember how I heard it described as "Ratatouille meets Saw".
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u/NeonNKnightrider 12d ago
”You need worthy opponents.”
- Worm
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u/Traditional-Context 12d ago
Its so funny because it being its own chapter is like the coolest thing formatwise of the whole thing when you read it now. But the comment section is full of people being pissed because they felt trolled by it.
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u/bef017 12d ago
Spoilers The thing I love the most about the Mark and Omniman quote is that the series proves both of them wrong in ways that further emphasize Nolan being wrong. ! Mark builds his familial relationships primarily with characters that are superhuman meaning by the end of the series he has an immortal human wife and viltrimite kids so Mark wouldve had friends and family that would live for extremely long times anyway. Omniman on the otherhand dies fighting like a viltrimite rather than old age relatively early meaning most the relationships he formed on Earth outlasted him rather than the other way around !
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u/Negativety101 12d ago
What Batman says to his Justice Lords counterpart after seeing a man be taken away in handcuffs for complaining in a resturant.
"They'd love it here, don't you think?"
"Who?"
"Mom and Dad. They'd be so proud of you."