Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Success Hallucinations

 Success Hallucinations
type
FeatureClass
 Success Hallucinations
label
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations
page
SuccessHallucinations
 Success Hallucinations
comment
If you're struggling to do something, nothing can give you more satisfaction than success. That's why thinking you've succeeded at something when you really haven't can be really annoying or even downright torturous. Considering that, you have to wonder why the minds of people, both real and fictional, insist on forcing them to experience visions of such things as having dead relatives come back to life, marrying lost loves, escaping life-threatening situations, becoming rich/famous and even just getting out of bed when we're tired in the morning, even though they all have to inevitably end with the rug being pulled out from under you.
Basically, if you don't know the meaning of "I can take the despair, it's the hope I can't stand," this clearly has never happened to you.
Often in fictional works, the audience is led to believe along with the character that the hallucination/dream is real. We learn it wasn't real only in usually very creepy and ominous reveals, a reveal that usually involves somebody saying something like, "But you never really got out!!!"
Compare: All Just a Dream, Daydream Surprise, Dying Dream, Lotus-Eater Machine.
 Success Hallucinations
fetched
2023-04-30T10:14:34Z
 Success Hallucinations
parsed
2023-04-30T10:14:34Z
 Success Hallucinations
processingComment
Dropped link to BigBad: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Success Hallucinations
processingComment
Dropped link to WolfensteinIITheNewColossus: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
 Success Hallucinations
processingUnknown
WolfensteinIITheNewColossus
 Success Hallucinations
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Success Hallucinations / int_173a029a
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_173a029a
comment
In some episodes of The Drinky Crow Show, the titular character gets drunk and thinks that he's doing something well when in reality he's doing it horribly. In one episode, Drinky is trying to perform surgery on a physically deformed man. In his mind, Drinky made the patient normal-looking, when in reality he smashed the man to a bloody pulp.
 Success Hallucinations / int_173a029a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_173a029a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Drinky Crow Show
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_173a029a
 Success Hallucinations / int_1825e407
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_1825e407
comment
In Astonishing X-Men, the planet-busting bullet sends out a hypnotic suggestion, making all the heroes gathered to stop it stare vacantly, imagining them stopping the bullet instead of actually doing something about it. Spider-Man breaks free when he realizes his powers couldn't possibly stop the bullet.
 Success Hallucinations / int_1825e407
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_1825e407
featureConfidence
1.0
 Astonishing X-Men (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_1825e407
 Success Hallucinations / int_1faea70b
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_1faea70b
comment
Requiem for a Dream ends with Harry's mother Sara living in a fantasy world where she won a game show's grand prize and Harry and Marion are happy and successful together, while in reality, all three of them have become drug addicts with zero prospects for the future.
 Success Hallucinations / int_1faea70b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_1faea70b
featureConfidence
1.0
 RequiemForADream
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_1faea70b
 Success Hallucinations / int_215b4c88
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_215b4c88
comment
In 127 Hours, when a sudden storm comes, Aron moves the boulder under the flooding waters, and imagines running off to meet his girlfriend. Instead, he realizes at the last moment that he's still in the canyon.
 Success Hallucinations / int_215b4c88
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_215b4c88
featureConfidence
1.0
 127 Hours
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_215b4c88
 Success Hallucinations / int_2275c659
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_2275c659
comment
Dr. House hallucinates sleeping with Dr. Cuddy and getting over his Vicodin addiction. It takes him a full day to figure out that it didn't really happen.
 Success Hallucinations / int_2275c659
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_2275c659
featureConfidence
1.0
 House
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_2275c659
 Success Hallucinations / int_237a86c
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_237a86c
comment
Happens in Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger frequently. In the first episode, for instance, Nobuo is riding his bike when he sees a thief steal a woman's purse. He rides the bike down a flight of stairs, takes down the thief with some Bike Fu, and hands the purse back to the woman- only what actually happened was that he fell off the bike on the way down the stairs, and the woman picked it up and tossed it at the thief herself. Indeed, the entire premise of the show starts out as one of these, as rather than really becoming a Sentai team as they first thought, their battles take place only in their minds. However, after some encouragement, they're okay with this, thinking it'll improve them as people. Later episodes give their battles real consequences.
 Success Hallucinations / int_237a86c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_237a86c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_237a86c
 Success Hallucinations / int_249b3519
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_249b3519
comment
In Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold imagines himself finally working up the nerve to flirt with his attractive neighbor Maria in the elevator. In actuality, he and Maria ride the elevator in awkward silence.
 Success Hallucinations / int_249b3519
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_249b3519
featureConfidence
1.0
 Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_249b3519
 Success Hallucinations / int_24ffd341
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_24ffd341
comment
On It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mac is given the chance to hit a goal at a Flyers game. He takes to the ice and nails what announcers call the best goal ever seen. Mac is cheered by the crowd chanting his name...which turns out to be Charlie calling out to him as Mac (who's never skated in his life) took one step on the ice, fell on his face and was knocked out to the laughter of the crowd.
 Success Hallucinations / int_24ffd341
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_24ffd341
featureConfidence
1.0
 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_24ffd341
 Success Hallucinations / int_261c8d3f
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_261c8d3f
comment
In The Simpsons episode "King of the Hill", Homer has one when he's climbing Springfield's tallest mountain and starts noticing the change in air pressure, to make the climb easier he decides to take the escalator up the mountain while a Yeti carries him further then finally using a bubble to float the rest of the way. He's actually sliding down the mountain while hallucinating.
 Success Hallucinations / int_261c8d3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_261c8d3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Simpsons
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_261c8d3f
 Success Hallucinations / int_2e3e7ac2
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_2e3e7ac2
comment
The Justice League episode "For the Man Who Has Everything", as part of his plan to conquer Earth, Mongul sent a plant called Black Mercy to Superman due to believing the Man of Steel was the only real threat to his hopes to conquering the planet. Once attached, the Black Mercy fed Superman a reality where Krypton never exploded, he was a simple farmer with a wife and son, and his father is a disgraced old man. Batman attempted fruitlessly to several different means to remove the plant but was only able to succeed when Superman himself realized that the reality was a fake. Unfortunately, the Black Mercy then attached itself to Batman and fed the Dark Knight a reality where his father and mother survived the night of their deaths and his father fought off the gunman that killed them. Wonder Woman managed to get through to Batman and remove the plant, barely getting caught herself. Wonder Woman then threw the plant at Mongul, incapacitating the former warlord.
 Success Hallucinations / int_2e3e7ac2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_2e3e7ac2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Justice League
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_2e3e7ac2
 Success Hallucinations / int_3e5de40b
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_3e5de40b
comment
In Scrubs, when JD has to deliver bad news to a patient, he stops, and instead spends the episode working to get the test redone, thinking the machine, known to be faulty, might have given incorrect results. With the help of his friends, he accomplishes it, and the results are good. We then cut back to the beginning of the episode, JD dismisses the fantasy we just saw as pointless wishful thinking, and steps forward to deliver the bad news.
 Success Hallucinations / int_3e5de40b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_3e5de40b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Scrubs
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_3e5de40b
 Success Hallucinations / int_44715363
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_44715363
comment
In one of the earliest installments of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime, Yami Yugi challenges a would-be psychic to a Shadow Game. When the fake psychic is clearly going to lose, he starts imagining himself having real psychic powers and winning the game, even as he winds up bitterly losing in reality.
 Success Hallucinations / int_44715363
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_44715363
featureConfidence
1.0
 Yu-Gi-Oh! (Manga)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_44715363
 Success Hallucinations / int_5755b96a
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_5755b96a
comment
The Order of the Stick: Girard's Gate, created by illusionist Girard Draketooth and guarded by his descendants, is naturally filled to the brim with illusions (at least it was before Girard's family was wiped out). One of the illusions traps the victim in their idea of a happy ending. Elan of all people breaks the Order out of it by realizing that his idea of a happy ending (his mom and dad getting back together) is totally infeasible, especially since he's learned that his dad is a scheming warlord and utter bastard.
 Success Hallucinations / int_5755b96a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_5755b96a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_5755b96a
 Success Hallucinations / int_5e9a5107
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_5e9a5107
comment
Parasite: at the end of the film, Ki-woo works hard, gains wealth, and eventually saves enough to buy the house where his father is trapped living in the basement. This is, of course, revealed to be merely his imagination- as fitting with the film's themes of classism and poverty, it is strongly implied he will never be able to.
 Success Hallucinations / int_5e9a5107
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_5e9a5107
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parasite (2019)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_5e9a5107
 Success Hallucinations / int_6244bca5
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_6244bca5
comment
For the Man Who Has Everything: The Black Mercy is an alien plant that causes hallucinations of everything going well for the person it ensnares (Superman is back on Krypton that never exploded, Batman's parents are still alive, etc.). In the end it get turned against Mongul, who sees himself dodging the plant, killing Superman, and taking over the universe.
 Success Hallucinations / int_6244bca5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_6244bca5
featureConfidence
1.0
 For the Man Who Has Everything (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_6244bca5
 Success Hallucinations / int_63230cb
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_63230cb
comment
In Dragon Ball Z Abridged, Goku battles Vegeta in his Oozaru transformation. When Goku fires a blast in Vegeta's eye he declares it time to make his cunning escape, while avoiding all of Vegeta's attacks... Goku unfortunately cannot move his body but thought it would have been awesome.
 Success Hallucinations / int_63230cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_63230cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dragon Ball Z Abridged (Web Video)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_63230cb
 Success Hallucinations / int_73d7930f
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_73d7930f
comment
In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Hard Time". Chief O'Brien said he frequently dreamed about flying back to the station during his 20-year prison sentence. The irony is that the 20-year sentence turned out to be an artificial dream.
 Success Hallucinations / int_73d7930f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_73d7930f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_73d7930f
 Success Hallucinations / int_778a73b9
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_778a73b9
comment
In a chapter of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., Saiki and Kaidou are cornered by some delinquents who want their wallets. A terrified Saiki asks what to do, but Kaidou tells him not to worry, because the time to release the power sealed in his right hand is now. And, amazingly, a force comes out of Kaidou's arm and defeats them all. Obviously, none of that actually happened. Kaidou just passed out from fright and started dreaming. An easy clue for the reader is that Saiki had no reason to fear and doesn't talk.
 Success Hallucinations / int_778a73b9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_778a73b9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Manga)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_778a73b9
 Success Hallucinations / int_7c802b66
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_7c802b66
comment
In the end of Brazil, the hero seems to be able to escape from the government torture chamber, but it's revealed that he's just hallucinating. Well, it's a kind of escape...
 Success Hallucinations / int_7c802b66
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_7c802b66
featureConfidence
1.0
 Brazil
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_7c802b66
 Success Hallucinations / int_8c6bc3c2
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_8c6bc3c2
comment
Street Fighter III: Sean's ending in 3rd Strike initially shows him celebrating over a fallen opponent, bragging about having become the U.S. Champion... cut to him severely bruised and laid out on the mat. He didn't even manage to get past the qualifying rounds.
 Success Hallucinations / int_8c6bc3c2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_8c6bc3c2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Street Fighter III (Video Game)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_8c6bc3c2
 Success Hallucinations / int_9bb5aad4
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_9bb5aad4
comment
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Atticus/Fubuki hallucinates that he is able to finish his duel with Fujiwara in a draw. Moments later, it turns out Fujiwara landed the winning blow a couple turns ago.
 Success Hallucinations / int_9bb5aad4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_9bb5aad4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_9bb5aad4
 Success Hallucinations / int_9ce851a3
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_9ce851a3
comment
Subverted in Malcolm in the Middle. A whole episode revolves around Lois imagining that she had daughters instead of sons (interspersed with the reality of trying to handle three boys). At the end, the imaginary daughters turn out to be lying and manipulative, with problems ranging from eating disorders to teenage pregnancy.
 Success Hallucinations / int_9ce851a3
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Success Hallucinations / int_9ce851a3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malcolm in the Middle
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_9ce851a3
 Success Hallucinations / int_9e2dbb4d
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_9e2dbb4d
comment
In the Regular Show episode "Return of Mordecai and the Rigbys" the gang accidentally destroy their instruments before competing in a Battle of the Bands, so they sing their song as an a cappella until the music within them generates new instruments and they win the competition. In reality, they passed out from heat stroke before competing and got last place, then woke up in the hospital.
 Success Hallucinations / int_9e2dbb4d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_9e2dbb4d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Regular Show
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_9e2dbb4d
 Success Hallucinations / int_a037ae41
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_a037ae41
comment
In Fate/Zero, Matou Karia hallucinates that he was able to save Sakura as he dies right in front of her.
 Success Hallucinations / int_a037ae41
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_a037ae41
featureConfidence
1.0
 Fate/Zero
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_a037ae41
 Success Hallucinations / int_b2b8158
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_b2b8158
comment
At the end of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, Yoshikage Kira believes that he was able to activate Bites The Dust and defeat all the heroes. But as he cackles about his victory, he notices that a bird just flew through him... leading him to come to the slow realization that he was killed and is now a ghost stuck in the Ghost Alley. Reimi, his first victim from many years ago, then appears to him and forces him to remember the real ending of his fight with the heroes, where Kira is not only stopped from activating Bites The Dust by Koichi and Jotaro's combined efforts, but is also subject to an Undignified Death at the hands of an ambulance meant to save him.
 Success Hallucinations / int_b2b8158
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_b2b8158
featureConfidence
1.0
 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (Manga)
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_b2b8158
 Success Hallucinations / int_d148f51d
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_d148f51d
comment
In the Christmas episode of The Looney Tunes Show, when Daffy and Foghorn Leghorn are looking for a power outlet in the North Pole to plug a giant fan into, Daffy suffers hypothermia and hallucinates that he finds Santa's workshop. When they play the recording from the camera attached to his helmet, it shows that in reality he found a cave and Santa and his elves were a polar bear and its cubs.
 Success Hallucinations / int_d148f51d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_d148f51d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Looney Tunes Show
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_d148f51d
 Success Hallucinations / int_ea4f62db
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_ea4f62db
comment
In the Family Guy episode "Deep Throats", Peter and Lois enter a talent show and start taking pot to help their creative process. The night of the show, they imagine they're singing a duet about God accepting all people despite their appearance, when in reality they're just making a whole bunch of loud noises.
 Success Hallucinations / int_ea4f62db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_ea4f62db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Family Guy
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_ea4f62db
 Success Hallucinations / int_f0a86c12
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_f0a86c12
comment
In How I Met Your Mother, Barney goes to the brunch to tell Nora about his feelings, but stops at the door, seeing Nora and her family. He enters the restaurant, making a heartfelt apology. Nora forgives him, and introduces him to her parents, for whom Barney performs a magic trick. However, the scene turns out to be a figment of Barney's imagination, and he leaves before Nora sees him.
 Success Hallucinations / int_f0a86c12
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_f0a86c12
featureConfidence
1.0
 How I Met Your Mother
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_f0a86c12
 Success Hallucinations / int_fa85cc4f
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_fa85cc4f
comment
In the first episode of OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, K.O. goes off to fight Darrell in his first day working at Lakewood Plaza. At first he appears to be winning, giving Darrell a good trashing, but then he's woken up by A Real Magic Skeleton and informed that he was knocked out cold as soon as the fight started.
 Success Hallucinations / int_fa85cc4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_fa85cc4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_fa85cc4f
 Success Hallucinations / int_fbf33963
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_fbf33963
comment
The ending of Inception is a heated debate on whether this is the case or not. Cobb leaving his totem spinning while he chooses to see his children's faces for the first time, not actually confirming whether he's still dreaming before the film ends.
 Success Hallucinations / int_fbf33963
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_fbf33963
featureConfidence
1.0
 Inception
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_fbf33963
 Success Hallucinations / int_ff2165b
type
Success Hallucinations
 Success Hallucinations / int_ff2165b
comment
in the season six finale of Cold Case, Detective Lilly Rush's car gets run off the road and into a river. She hallucinates escaping and solving the case of who did it. Weirdly, she apparently guesses right, going by the shots of arrests in the real world at the end of the episode.
 Success Hallucinations / int_ff2165b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Success Hallucinations / int_ff2165b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Cold Case
hasFeature
Success Hallucinations / int_ff2165b

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Success Hallucinations
processingCategory2
Madness Tropes
 The Drinky Crow Show / int_4e8a3928
type
Success Hallucinations