History Main / UpsettingTheBalance

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': As it turns out, the reason why Remnant is stuck in a {{Forever War}} was because [[BigBad Salem]] [[spoiler:asked the Brothers of Light and Darkness to bring [[BigGood her loved one Ozma]] back from the afterlife. After the Brothers had an argument about what was actually happening, they eventually killed him off again and cursed Salem with {{Complete Immortality}}. As long as she doesn't accept the balance between life and death, she can never [[BarredFromTheAfterlife pass on]].]] Not that she learned her lesson, of course.
* In ''WebAnimation/{{Glitchtale}}'', an animation based off of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Frisk goes BeyondTheImpossible to prevent Sans from getting killed in a [[KillEmAll Genocide Route]]. This sets up the rest of the story by causing Chara to come back to life, the SAVE file to corrupt, [[spoiler: the RESET button to be unusable, and a [[ObviousRulePatch checksum]] in the form of the [[HumanoidAbomination Bête Noire]] to be created]].

* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': [[GodEmperor Lucian]]'s use of a PhlebotinumBomb against the elves is revealed to be the cause of the [[EldritchAbomination Voidwoken]] incursion -- the elves' EthnicGod was weakened by the loss of so many worshipers, which let the Voidwoken God-King slip through the gap in the Seven Gods' defenses and influence the world directly.

But guess what? Your actions will come back to haunt you. Because, wouldn't you know it, you just broke a taboo against nature's will. Maybe you stole the {{Cosmic Keystone}} that was holding the world together. Perhaps your local god saw your actions as a RageAgainstTheHeavens, or even caught you making a [[DealWithTheDevil bargain with his arch-nemesis]]. You might also have been caught trying to break the rules of EquivalentExchange, or attempting a CosmicRetcon that rewrites the rules of the world. Regardless, you will inevitably be punished for Upsetting The Balance.

Compare GaiasVengeance for tainting nature in a more physical manner, and DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu when defying a more powerful being that isn't necessarily God. Also shouldn't be confused for a RealityBreakingParadox, which tends to have even more extreme consequences; you didn't just break the laws of nature there, you broke the universe and reality! Works as a SuperTrope to BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil when specifically the conflict between heroes and villains is unbalanced, TheProblemWithFightingDeath for specifically attempting to cheat death, and ButterflyOfDoom when time -- as a balance of the cosmos -- is altered by time travel (especially if [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct killing Hitler is involved]]).

But guess what? Your actions will come back to haunt you. Because, wouldn't you know it, you just broke a taboo against nature's will. Maybe you stole the {{Cosmic Keystone}} that was holding the world together. Perhaps your local god saw your actions as a RageAgainstTheHeavens, or even caught you making a [[DealWithTheDevil bargain with his arch-nemesis]]. Regardless, you will inevitably be punished for Upsetting The Balance.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': The episode "My Fair Mandy" focuses on getting [[CreepyChild Mandy]] to smile. When she does reality itself begins to fall apart which causes the episode's narrator to scream out:
-->'''Sir Raven:''' You fools! You messed with the natural order!

So you've finally done the impossible. You've [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]] your loved ones, found a way to [[ImmortalitySeeker live forever]], or maybe even reached [[AGodIsYou Godhood]]. But guess what?

Your actions will come back to haunt you. Because, wouldn't you know it, you just broke a taboo against nature's will. Maybe you stole the {{Cosmic Keystone}} that was holding the world together. Perhaps your local god saw your actions as a RageAgainstTheHeavens, or even caught you making a [[DealWithTheDevil bargain with his archnemesis]]. Regardless, you will inevitably be punished for Upsetting The Balance.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'' and ''VideoGame/OracleOfAges'', each game's BigBad has this as their plan. ''Seasons'' has [[GeneralRipper General Onox]] capture Din, the titular Oracle, to throw the seasons of Holodrum out of order (the main city of the game changes its time of year every few minutes or so), while ''Ages'' has [[WickedWitch Veran]] possess Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, to [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight mess with the time stream]] in Labrynna and cause all manner of trouble in the past and present. Playing a linked game reveals that Onox and Veran were actually [[TheDragon just minions]] of the BiggerBad Twinrova, who use the chaos in Holodrum and pain in Labrynna to light the Flames of Destruction and Sorrow, respectively, which are keys in their plot to resurrect [[GreaterScopeVillain Ganon]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}, TheTrickster demigod Maui steals the legendary Heart of Te Fiti, a MineralMacguffin that grants Te Fiti--the PhysicalGod who begat all life on Earth--the power of creation. This leads to a slew of horrific events, including the ferocious attacks of the fire demon Te Ka, Maui himself being separated from the source of his powers (a giant fishhook) and stranded for centuries on a small island, and a slow WorldWreckingWave that spreads rot and decay to all natural life on the Polynesian Islands (and, it is implied, will continue until the whole world is ruined). [[spoiler: As it turns out, this trope was in effect all along: Te Ka ''is'' Te Fiti, whose anger and pain at losing her Heart transformed her into the demon and led her to start destroying life instead of creating it. After Moana returns the Heart, Te Fiti is freed from her anger, and she promptly sends out a WorldHealingWave to fix the damage she caused in her rage.]]

* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' ends with Jackie and Jade successfully destroying the demon Shendu by blowing up his [[TakenForGranite statue form]] after robbing him of the [[MagicalAccessory Twelve Talismans]] that grant him his powers, including immortality. Instead of celebrating, though, [[BigGood Uncle]] outright panics and tells them that they've [[NiceJobBreakingItHero messed up big time]]--to successfully balance the universe, they had to ''seal'' Shendu, not kill him. His absence creates an EvilPowerVacuum, and each subsequent season sees the Chan Clan dealing with a new BigBad or BigBadEnsemble that's trying to fill the void (in order: Shendu's own siblings, Uncle's EvilCounterpart Daolon Wong, the AffablyEvil Tarakudo, and Drago, Shendu's son from the future who wants to prove himself EvilerThanThou). [[spoiler: It isn't until the GrandFinale that the group is ''finally'' able to seal a fully-powered Shendu, along with Drago, within the void, which fulfills the universe's sense of balance and stops the constant threat of full-scale destruction.]]

* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' ends with them actually destroying the demon Shendu, which makes Uncle freak right out at them. The balance required them to ''seal'' Shendu, not destroy him, and as a consequence it enables his seven evil siblings to be released and wreak havoc on the world which inevitably forces them to revive and seal Shendu to deal with the cosmic EvilPowerVacuum.

Compare GaiasVengeance for tainting nature in a more physical manner, and DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu when defying a more powerful being that isn't necessarily God. Works as a SuperTrope to BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil when specifically the conflict between heroes and villains is unbalanced, TheProblemWithFightingDeath for specifically attempting to cheat death, and ButterflyOfDoom when time -- as a balance of the cosmos -- is altered by time travel (especially if [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct killing Hitler is involved]]).

!!Examples

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Web Video]]

-> '''Freddy''': Y'know, I... don't actually have an answer for that.
-> '''Foxy''': Not even a sarcastic one?
-> ''[{{Beat}}]''
-> '''Foxy''': [[SuddenlyShouting TELL ME TO SHUT UP!]]
-> '''Freddy''': ''Shut up...''
-> '''Foxy''': Ah, the balance has been restored!

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

--> '''Sir Raven''': You fools! You messed with the natural order!
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Wishfart}}'' episode "Cartwheel! Cartwheel! Cartwheel!", Dez grants Akiko's wish to be alive, but is told by the King Of The Underworld that he has upset the balance between the living world and the ghost world, resulting in TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt unless Akiko turns back into a ghost or someone else takes her place. Dez volunteers to take her place, but Akiko decides to return instead, saying that Dez is too soft to live in the underworld and that she has grown tired of being alive anyway.
[[/folder]]

--> '''Narrator''': You fools! You messed with the natural order!

** In ''So You Want to be a Wizard'', the first book of the series, main characters Nita and Kit are forced to use what's known as a "blank check" spell to recover a TomeOfEldritchLore needed to stop the [[BigBad Lone Power's]] plans. The spell basically asks the Universe to perform a great magical action (in this case, moving an entire creature's lair OneSecondOutOfSync to protect his hoard of treasure), and in exchange, the Universe can ask for repayment of an equal or greater amount, "filling in" the check as it sees fit. We only discover the price demanded in the second book, ''Deep Wizardry'': the Universe fully expects [[spoiler: Nita to ''die'' in another ritual. The only way she's able to get around it is by transferring her role in that ritual to a willing being; when this creature fulfills her part by dying himself, the Universe considers the ledgers balanced]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'' and ''VideoGame/OracleOfAges'', each game's BigBad has this as their plan. ''Seasons'' has [[GeneralRipper General Onox]] capture Din, the titular Oracle, to throw the seasons of Holodrum out of order (the main city of the game changes its season every few minutes or so), while ''Ages'' has [[WickedWitch Veran]] possess Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, to [[SetWrongWhatOnceWasRight mess with the time stream]] in Labrynna and cause all manner of trouble in the past and present. Playing a linked game reveals that Onox and Veran were actually [[TheDragon just minions]] of the BiggerBad Twinrova, who use the chaos in Holodrum and pain in Labrynna to light the Flames of Destruction and Sorrow, respectively, which are keys in their plot to resurrect [[GreaterScopeVillain Ganon]].

* This is a major theme in the tragedies of Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Whenever a rightful ruler is murdered (as in ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' or ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'') or otherwise removed from the throne (as in ''Theatre/KingLear'', wherein the titular character decides to retire), the entire order of the natural world is dangerously disrupted. All of the plays mentioned above feature characters delivering speeches about the horrific things they've seen--prey devouring predators, terrible weather, the dead rising from their graves, and more--because the human world isn't the way it should be. There's a bit of RealitySubtext here: Shakespeare was writing during the height of England's monarchy, when people (and especially rulers themselves) believed that kings and queens were appointed by God. Since those monarchs were the ones allowing Shakespeare to write, he naturally had to agree with the idea that they were [[CosmicKeystone the embodiment of sanity, order, and law]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'' and ''VideoGame/OracleOfAges'', each game's BigBad has this as their plan. ''Seasons'' has [[GeneralRipper General Onox]] capture Din, the titular Oracle, to throw the seasons of Holodrum out of order (the main city of the game changes its season every few minutes or so), while ''Ages'' has [[EvilSorcereress Veran]] possess Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, to [[SetWrongWhatOnceWentRight mess with the time stream]] in Labrynna and cause all manner of trouble in the past and present. Playing a linked game reveals that Onox and Veran were actually [[TheDragon just minions]] of the BiggerBad Twinrova, who use the chaos in Holodrum and pain in Labrynna to light the Flames of Destruction and Sorrow, respectively, which are keys in their plot to resurrect [[GreaterScopeVillain Ganon]].

-> '''Narrator:''' "You fools! You messed with the natural order!"

The possible punishments can vary greatly, from being BarredFromTheAfterlife to losing your [[YourSoulIsMine soul]]. In some cases, especially mythological cases, the punishment will involve a KarmicDeath to match up with the offender's "crime" towards the world's balance. If the god who punishes you is feeling particularly grumpy, they might go even [[DisproportionateRetribution further]] by causing something similar to an WorldWreckingWave or an EarthShatteringKaboom. They might not care if an innocent civilization is harmed in the process, turning this into ThePunishment. If the Balance is vital to the very structure of the universe, disrupting it can even cause the universe to be thrown into chaos and [[CosmicFlaw fall apart at its seams]], capable of causing an [[ApocalypseHow Apocalypse ranging from Class X-4 to outright Z]] if not restored.

The possible punishments can vary greatly, from being BarredFromTheAfterlife]], to losing your [[YourSoulIsMine soul]]. In some cases, especially mythological cases, the punishment will involve a KarmicDeath to match up with the offender's "crime" towards the world's balance. If the god who punishes you is feeling particularly grumpy, they might go even [[DisproportionateRetribution further]] by causing something similar to an WorldWreckingWave or an EarthShatteringKaboom. They might not care if an innocent civilization is harmed in the process, turning this into ThePunishment. If the Balance is vital to the very structure of the universe, disrupting it can even cause the universe to be thrown into chaos and [[CosmicFlaw fall apart at its seams]], capable of causing an [[ApocalypseHow Apocalypse ranging from Class X-4 to outright Z]] if not restored.

Your actions will come back to haunt you. Because, wouldn't you know it, you just broke a taboo against nature's will. Maybe you stole the {{Cosmic Keystone}} that was holding the world together. Perhaps your local god saw your actions as a RageAgainstTheHeavens, or even caught you making a [[DealWithTheDevil bargain with his archnemesis]]. Regardless, you will inevitably be punished for [[TitleDrop Upsetting The Balance]].

The possible punishments can vary greatly, from being {{Barred From The Afterlife}}, to losing your [[YourSoulIsMine soul]]. In some cases, especially mythological cases, the punishment will involve a KarmicDeath to match up with the offender's "crime" towards the world's balance. If the god who punishes you is feeling particularly grumpy, they might go even [[DisproportionateRetribution further]] by causing something similar to an WorldWreckingWave or an EarthShatteringKaboom. They might not care if an innocent civilization is harmed in the process, turning this into {{ThePunishment}}. If the Balance is vital to the very structure of the universe, disrupting it can even cause the universe to be thrown into chaos and [[CosmicFlaw fall apart at its seams]], capable of causing an [[ApocalypseHow Apocalypse ranging from Class X-4 to outright Z]] if not restored.