History Main / RashPromise

* ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkside'' the Movie had a segment called "Lover's Vow" where a man and his friend are assailed by a gargoyle. The man's friend is killed and he expects the same fate to befall him when the gargoyle speaks and offers to let him go if he promises to never speak of their encounter again. The man agrees. On the same night, he meets a woman and falls in love. Ten years later, they're married with kids and life is pretty good, except the man is still guilty about lying to his wife about how they met. H breaks down one day and tells his wife the story of the gargoyle. She seems disturbed, only to condemn him for breaking his promise and turn into the gargoyle. Her children turn into baby gargoyles when she transforms. She kills him, breaks through the skylight of their apartment, and flies away with her young.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': In an emotional moment, Elrond promises to Durin that he wont tell anyone about the existence of the mythril. Later, Elrond in caught in an ethical conflict, where he has to choose keeping his promise to his best friend and risking his own people dying, or reveal the existence of mythril to be exploited by his people in order to save themselves, but betray the trust of his friend.

*** After Jacob's wife Rachel steals her father Laban's household idols, Laban catches up to them and demands them back. Not knowing who stole them, Jacob vows that whoever is the thief is will be put to death. Fortunately for he and Rachel, Laban doesn't find them.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' :

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[BigGood Ozpin]] mentions in Volume 1 that he has made more mistakes than anyone else on the planet. One of those includes a promise he made in the heat of the moment, which has come to define his entire existence, for both good and ill. [[spoiler:A rash acceptance of the God of Light's [[TheChosenOne offer]] to [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnate]] to redeem humanity, allows Ozma to reunite with his lover, [[CompleteImmortality Salem]], in defiance of the god's warning that she's [[LoveMakesYouEvil changed for the worse]]. It takes him [[LoveMakesYouDumb too long to recognise]] the truth, and their tragic falling out locks them into a [[DestructiveRomance cycle of pain and violence]]; the pair have been fighting over the fate of humanity [[ForeverWar for millennia]], both lying to their allies for different reasons: heroes tend to turn on Oz [[DespairEventHorizon when they learn]] Salem's an InvincibleVillain, and villains tend to turn on [[BigBad Salem]] [[HeelRealisation when they learn]] she's trying to [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum destroy the world]] instead of creating a new world order.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': At the end of "Yesterday's Lie", a character is pressured to make a promise which puts them into some pretty bad ConflictingLoyalty. [[spoiler:As Luz is getting dragged back to the Boiling Isles, her mother Camila forces Luz to promise that once Luz finds a way back, she has to remain on Earth. Luz agrees in the heat of the moment, but once she's back with her friends, it's made clear that she wishes that she hadn't said it. All of Luz's friends, as well as her LoveInterest Amity, are on the Boiling Isles. The only reason that Luz wants to go back at all is that she loves her mother with all her heart.]]

* ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkside'' the Movie had a segment called "Lover's Vow" where a man and his friend are assailed by a gargoyle. The man's friend is killed and he expects the same fate to befall him when the gargoyle speaks and offers to let him go if he promises to never speak of their encounter again. The man, of course, agrees. On the same night, he meets a woman and falls in love. Ten years later, they're married with kids and life is pretty good, except the man is still guilty about lying to his wife about how they met. H breaks down one day and tells his wife the story of the gargoyle. She seems disturbed, only to condemn him for breaking his promise and turn into the gargoyle. Her children turn into baby gargoyles when she transforms. She kills him, breaks through the skylight of their apartment, and flies away with her young.

** In the Literature/BookOfJudges, the Israelite general Jephthah vows, if he defeats the Ammonites, to sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house when he gets home. It turns out to be his daughter. (Note that Jewish scholars disagree about whether the story implies that he literally kills her.)
** The Literature/BookOfProverbs says, "It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows." (Proverbs 20:25)

* ''VideoGame/DrawnToLife'': In the second game, Watersong's main conflict stems from the fact that Mayor Rose foolishly gave up her voice in a bet with Salem, against her son's wishes. She made the deal to the promise conch, which cannot be unbroken without the conch's magic, so when she lost the bet, her voice was gone as a result of her impulsiveness and {{pride}}... which isn't great for a village that literally requires music to exist.

* In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', Beatrice makes reference to rash vows made in stories like the biblical tale of Jephthah's or the myth of Agamemnon to give AnAesop about how bad to jokingly or lightly swear an oath.

* The whole reason Kratos spirals into a god-killing spree in ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is because he made an oath to serve Ares that the god used to force Kratos into killing his family. He only did so in the heat of battle, but an oath is an oath and he could only break it by killing the god of war The terrible repercussions of breaking such a vow would be seen in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension'', when the Furies tortured Kratos for his betrayal.

* The whole reason Kratos spirals into a god-killing spree in ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is because he made an oath to serve Ares that the god used to force Kratos into killing his family. Kratos was on death's door when he made the promise, but the deeds he was compelled to do under it pushed him to kill Ares to escape his bond. The terrible repercussions of breaking such a vow would be seen in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension'', when the Furies tortured Kratos for his betrayal.

This almost always goes hand-in-hand with ThePromise, since why have a character make a rash promise if it won't come into play later? Those who make these risk becoming TheOathbreaker and have a higher than average frequency to say something like IGaveMyWord. This can be a vehicle for morals like the HonestyAesop or TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil. This can overlap with a DealWithTheDevil, if the Devil gets the character to make an ExactWords promise without thinking too much about it. On that note, compare SoldHisSoulForADonut (which can overlap with this trope where an oath is required in exchange for the figurative donut).

This is much more prominent in ancient works, created when {{Blood Oath}}s, {{Heroic Vow}}s, and the odd {{Geas}} were believed tended to be enforced by supernatural powers. Expect more examples in the sections on ancient mediums like literature, mythology, and religion as a result. Plenty of modern examples still exist, though many of them are doing so in tribute to old folk tales and myths.

* "Literature/TheTaleOfEinarSokkason": Arnald will only go to Greenland as a bishop if Einar swears in front of King Sigurd to always defend the rights and the property of the bishop and "to punish those who transgress against it". Years later, Bishop Arnald's selfish and ungenerous behavior leads to crisis when, after claiming the ship of the dead Arnbjorn as stranded goods, he first denies Arnbjorn's heir Ozur a share of Arnbjorn's goods; then, when Ozur in frustration damages Arnbjorn's ship, demands of Einar to have Ozur killed in retribution. Einar makes clear that he disapproves of Arnald's course of action, but nevertheless fulfills Arnald's wish because of the oath he swore. Ozur's death leads to further escalation of the feud and eventually Einar's own death.

This is much more prominent in ancient works, created when {{Blood Oath}}s, {{Heroic Vow}}s, and the odd {{Geas}} were much more powerful ideas given that people tended to believe in the power that enforced these oaths. Expect more examples in the sections on ancient mediums like literature, mythology, and religion as a result. Plenty of modern examples still exist, though many of them are doing so in tribute to old folk tales and myths.

* ''Literature/GotrekAndFelix'': The series starts when Felix (an unsuccessful poet) starts a protest against the Empire's latest tax (on windows), which is broken up by heavy cavalry. He's yanked out in the nick of time by the dwarf Gotrek (a Slayer looking for a heroic death), and drunkenly agrees to become Gotrek's rememberer (a chronicler accompanying a Slayer so their death can be immortalized). He's repeatedly tempted to give up once sober (and indeed throughout the series) since his oath leads to him being in near-constant mortal danger, but never does, despite Gotrek never managing to die in battle.

* ''Anime/{{Doraemon}}:

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDinosaur'' have Nobita, after finding a live dinosaur, deciding to raise it as a pet (naming the dinosaur Piisuke) and show it off to his friends when Piisuke reaches adulthood. When Suneo and Gian taunts Nobita over his claims, an enraged Nobita rashly said he'll "eat spaghetti with his nose for lying". This ends up biting Nobita in the butt when he's forced to give up Piisuke ''before'' showing off his dinosaur, with Gian and Suneo later coming to Nobita's house with a plate of spaghetti to personally "remind" him of the bet.

* Music/MeatLoaf's lengthy single "Music/ParadiseByTheDashboardLight" details how excited teens start a make-out session until the girl suddenly exploits a LysistrataGambit: "Will you love me forever?" Unable to think clearly with raging lust, the singer makes a poor choice, and ultimately laments, "Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you."