History Main / HandWave

* In the episode "The End of the Whole Mess" in Stephen King's ''Nightmares and Dreamscapes'' series of TV movies, Howard Fornoy hand waves the issue of how he and his brother raised the vast amount of money needed for their experiment in such a short time. Justified in that an explanation would kill the story's momentum, Howard genuinely doesn't have time to go into it and nobody really cares.

* In ''LightNovel/TheAmbitionOfOdaNobuna'', it's never clearly explained how Sagara Yoshiharu not only [[FishOutOfTemporalWater traveled back in time]] to the UsefulNotes/SengokuJidai, but many of the major people he remembered as old guys are instead young women. And the one guy who saves his life at the beginning was UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi, who is conveniently killed off, and tells the young lad to take his place and help Oda Nobuna to achieve her dreams of uniting Japan.

* ''Dr. Horrible's Unofficial Singalong Sequel'' is a FanSequel to ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' and naturally doesn't feature any of the original cast. The very first thing the fan sequel does is explain this via callback. It's mentioned in the original series that [[{{unobtanium}} wonderflonium]] should never be bounced but we never learn why: according to the unofficial sequel, the wonderflonium did end up bouncing, and the result was that anyone who was ever exposed to it becomes "genetically rearranged" - since that includes every major character, everyone looks different. They are consistent about it, complete with characters not recognizing each other at first.

* ''Dr. Horrible's Unofficial Singalong Sequel'' is a FanSequel to ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' and naturally doesn't feature any of the original cast. The very first thing the fan sequel does is explain this via callback. It's mentioned in the original series that [[{{unobtanium}} wonderflonium]] should never be bounced but we never learn why: according to the unofficial sequel, the wonderflonium ''did'' end up bouncing, and the result was that anyone who was ever exposed to it becomes "genetically rearranged" - since that includes every major character, everyone looks different. They ''are'' consistent about it, complete with characters not recognizing each other at first.

* There is a phenomenom called the Illusion of Knowledge, which basically means if you try to think about something but don't know all the details your brain will [[AssPull simply make up details on the spot to fill in the gaps.]] In most cases, this is completely subconscious and the person really believes the story their brain concocted.

* In the children's science fiction novel ''I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X'', the main character is transported to Dimension X. Shortly after finding himself able to communicate with one of the locals there, he asks how he speaks his language. The local responds that the opposite is happening and the protagonist is speaking the language of Dimension X, which he quickly realizes is true. The explanation given is a quick bit about cross-dimensional travel's effect on the mind, and is never brought up again. [[FridgeLogic Nor is it really a very good explanation]], if someone from Dimension X came to our dimension, what language would they speak? (Considering in the series it includes not only the hundreds of languages on Earth but also alien ones.)

** ''[[{{VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap}} The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap]]'' seems to be, at least in part, Nintendo's attempt to do more than simply hand wave the fact that Link is able to find money in random bushes and patches of grass, by explaining that the tiny race of people known as the Minish like to scatter the money for big people to find. They also scatter bombs, arrows, and hearts, and may be responsible for some of the ubiquitous treasure chests. Meanwhile, the [[NoExportForYou Japan- and Europe-only]] ''VideoGame/FreshlyPickedTinglesRosyRupeeland'' states that Tingle was the perpetrator of the above, so it's not really clear.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' pulls a bit of one in the justification for why the Gnomes had failed to retake Gnomeregan for four years and the Darkspear Trolls had failed to recapture the Echo Isles, despite each being held by an elite boss [[EasilyConqueredWorld capable of being killed by low-level players]]. Apparently, the thousands of Thermaplugg's and Zalazane's heads turned in by players over the years were all from fakes, not the real deal.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc:
** Monokuma explains, or rather doesn't explain, [[spoiler: the method used to erase the students' memories of the previous two years]] this way. He outright states that they wouldn't be any more likely to believe him if he explained how he did it, and dismisses it as irrelevant.
** Junko doesn't bother to explain why [[spoiler: she and her twin sister have different surnames]].
[[/folder]]

** It gets worse. In ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' when you're hacking you have access to special software that help you beat the security system. That software is expendable. In the future, UsefulNotes/{{DRM}} will be better than the hackers?

* The manual for the UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar version of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' puts the blame for the game's less than stellar performance during multiplayer on the fact that the game takes place in Hell... which is only true for the third episode.

* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'': Later films in the series brush off the fact the depiction of dinosaurs in the franchise [[ScienceMarchesOn have become increasingly inaccurate with more discoveries made]] since their [[ShownTheirWork relatively accurate]] appearances in [[Film/JurassicPark the first film]] with some throwaway lines that they were "genetically-engineered theme park monsters" specifically designed to be crowd-pleasing hybrids or the result of frog DNA influence rather than "real" dinosaurs, allowing them to keep using outdated (or even outright made-up) depictions that have long since been disproven.

* The in-universe explanation for the Wiki/SCPFoundation deleting gratuitously dangerous entries that nobody liked? The article was infected with [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-732 SCP-732]], a.k.a. the {{Fanfic}} Virus, and the actual SCP was something else entirely.

* ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'': The Architect tells Neo that he must either reboot the Matrix or allow it to crash, killing all humans inside of it. When Neo asks why the machines would allow the Matrix to crash, since they rely on it for power, the Architect says only that there are levels of existence that the machines are willing to accept. No further details on how the machines can survive without the Matrix are provided.

* In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', the first cross-examination is Bobby Fulbright explaining how he helped people evacuate after a bombing. Apollo asks Bobby why he was there, since he's a homicide detective, it wasn't known at the time of the bombing that a murder (done with a knife, not a bomb) had occurred, and another detective who does specialize in bombings was already present. Bobby hand-waves this by claiming that he's a champion of justice who's always there when people are in need, but the player can guess that the true reason is because he's the game's main detective, and the other detective, Candice Arme, didn't have a 3D model, so it'd be easier to just have Detective Fulbright testify about the evacuation. [[spoiler:Except that's not the reason after all. The ''real'' reason Detective Fulbright was present was because he's actually the game's BigBad and orchestrated the bombing and murder to destroy evidence of another murder he committed in the past.]]

* Halfway through ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'', Ratchet obtains the Thruster Pack upgrade for Clank, which, unlike the Heli-Pack that you get much earlier, grants Ratchet a hover function that allows him to strafe, and a [[GroundPound Power Slam]] that can be used to attack enemies and press switches. In most other games in the series, Clank still has it, but it's reduced to an alternative to the Heli-Pack, as every other game lets Ratchet strafe on his own and the Power Slam switches are removed entirely. The official explanation from ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'' is that the two abilities were removed due to Bogon Galaxy bylaws when Ratchet and Clank were brought there.

* Halfway through ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'', Ratchet obtains the Thruster Pack upgrade for Clank, which unlike the Heli-Pack that you get much earlier, grants Ratchet a hover function that allows him to strafe, and a [[GroundPound Power Slam]] that can be used to attack enemies and press switches. In most other games in the series, Clank still has it, but it's reduced to an alternative to the Heli-Pack, as every other game lets Ratchet strafe on his own and the Power Slam switches are removed entirely. The official explanation from ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'' is that the two abilities were removed due to Bogon Galaxy bylaws when Ratchet and Clank were brought there.

* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'':
** The research camera analyzes the creatures you photograph and will give you "research bonuses" towards greater damage. Atlas explains this with a lot of five dollar words, but it still doesn't eliminate the fact that it's just a camera.

** The Vita-Chambers [=handwave=] ''Bioshock'''s system of allowing the player to respawn at the instant of his death, with opponents retaining the damage you have already dealt them. Not that it does [[spoiler:Ryan]] any good later on. He did state that he has disabled the nearest Vita Chamber before letting you in to see him. Perhaps it does have an effective range. It's implied that Suchong created them using the research he did on [[spoiler:quantum transdimensions in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'']]. The Vita-Chambers don't really make sense otherwise.

* ''{{VideoGame/Borderlands 2}}'' has a few in-universe examples in the ''[[MagicAmpersand Bunkers & Badasses]]'' DLC, such as "Because... REASONS!"

-->'''Link:''' Luckily I brought my Smart Sword. It won't hurt anyone friendly. In fact, it makes them talk!

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', Kuzco and Pacha arrive at Yzma's lair, only to discover Yzma and Kronk are already there...despite the fact that the latter duo had just dropped into a chasm after getting hit by lightning. They even lampshade it:

* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'': Unlike other spells that produce overtly unnatural effects, {{Healing|Hands}} isn't classified as Vulgar magic and therefore doesn't automatically threaten a MagicMisfire. One sourcebook attributes the inconsistency to the [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Oracles]] tweaking the rules of magic to cut some slack for people who are already in a bad situation.

* Three endings in ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' are given explanations like this. The third ending has expository dialogue which is [[{{Macekre}} particularly ambiguous and poorly written.]] The fourth ending's explanation trumps them all, though, with a [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands hastily-written and somewhat nonsensical fable]] being the justification for a suicide run against the FinalBoss in the hopes that the fable will be re-enacted. Given, the circumstances were pretty dire, so the characters could almost be excused for thinking what they did. The fifth ending, well, [[DroppedABridgeOnHim is supposed to be anticlimactic.]] What else do you expect to happen after vanquishing UltimateEvil? The sequel clears up a lot of the fog presented here, but that's no excuse.

** Of course if they knew their space history they'd pure oxygen is far too big a fire hazard to use in space.