Crossovers
- In Amazing Fantasy, Jirou still has this as one of her defining traits. When Izuku asks if she feels ready for the U.A. Entrance Exam, she replies with an immediate, "Hell no." to his shock. It's also deconstructed later on, as she has trouble maintaining a circle of friends because of her unfiltered commentary.
- In The Boy Who Fell from the Sky
, Naruto and Korra decide that the best way they can get to know each other better is to meditate together while sharing their worst fears and regrets in life. - Cardcaptor Rad: When Hot Shot demands to know what Red Alert's problem with him is, the latter quite bluntly lays out all his faults.
- Child of the Storm:
- In the sequel, Bucky Barnes occasionally demonstrates this, at one point underlining a You Are Not Ready speech to Ron by bluntly pointing out that if he tried to help out in a certain fight, without the necessary skills, experience, or training, he'd be The Load at best, or dead in short order. He then demonstrates it by flattening and disarming Ron without even missing a beat.
- Carol is prone towards this, which is part of what makes her so valuable to Harry - she'll give him affection, sure, but also her completely unvarnished opinion. Especially if she thinks he's being an idiot, or that his ego needs deflating.
- Maddie also qualifies, given that she was trained from birth to report accurately and with total precision, so even after her Heel–Face Turn, she tends towards this - though she is trying to be tactful.
- In A Discordant Note, Adrastia Zabini has no problems brutally disabusing Lyanna Stark of her notions regarding her dreams of being a warrior. Being a warrior isn't heroic quests and epic duels but fighting and killing until someone kills you. Furthermore, as Lyanna is unlikely to ever be a large woman, she will be far weaker than the average man so she will lose very quickly. If she's lucky, the one who defeats her will tell her to stop playing silly games and send her home; if not, she'll likely be raped and murdered.
- In Echoes of Yesterday, Taylor Hebert finds herself at the receiving end of Kara's blunt honesty when the latter questions if Emma was truly Taylor's friend given how suddenly and completely Emma turned against her so-called bestie.I wanted to throw my glass on the ground. I wanted to scream at her, how could she possibly know that? How could she know how it felt to have your closest friend turn around and stab you in the back!? I didn't, I just tightened my grip on my glass and closed my eyes tight, because I knew on some level she was right. It hurt so much to think about, but I knew she was right. Maybe Emma had been genuine at some point, but if a single summer was all it took to turn her into my worst enemy, then our friendship clearly meant more to me than it did her.
- The Gunslinger Hero: Flintlock:
- Tsuyu practices this, a lot, to the point where some of the things she says can get a little out of hand.
- Izumi also practices this when someone is being an idiot, or in need of a wake-up call.
- Jon Snow in Knights, Magic, & Dovahkiin does not sugarcoat his words when he tells everyone that Ned is partly at fault for everything in King's Landing going to shit, such as giving Cersei incentive to kill him and trusting Littlefinger.
- In Necessary To Win, after the practice match between Oarai Academy and BC Freedom, BC Freedom's coach, which the outnumbered Oarai forces narrowly lost, Yasuko Fujita says that if they intend to enter the tournament, the odds won't be in their favor, especially when they go up against stronger schools. Unlike in Saki, however, Yasuko concedes that they have the potential to improve.Yasuko: What I'm saying may sound harsh. But as you are now, your school doesn't stand a chance in the tournament. And neither does ours.
- In Neither a Bird nor a Plane, it's Deku!, K.E.L.E.X. has little sense of tact or empathy despite being installed into Izuku's spaceship as his tutor and caretaker. He bluntly denies any possibility of another Kryptonian making it to Earth and flatly criticizes Izuku's "counterproductive altruism" during the U.A. Entrance Exam, which left him with just 15 Villain Points.
- The Night Unfurls:
- Kyril Sutherland is never a person who deceives, sugarcoats his words, or spares one's feelings, even if he tries. The instances where he plays this trope straight is portrayed both in a good way (e.g. his accurate assessment on his apprentices' progress, which shows that he is a well-meaning mentor) and in a troublesome way (e.g. him admitting to Olga that there's nothing she could do for the recovering, but battered Chloe, which comes off as unempathetic).
- Tact has never been Sanakan's forte. One of her best examples is her remark on how Ansur providing the best mercenaries in bulk severely weakens Eostia's militarynote , spoken out loud for everyone, including Bergen, Alicia and Olga, to hear. Another example would be the one time she calls Sinister Minister Grishom "a flabby old cunt" during a council meeting.
- In Raptor, Madame Maxime gets far more respect from her graduated muggleborns and halfbloods than Dumbledore and Karkaroff because she tells them from the start that the current political climate makes it unlikely they'll find jobs post-graduation unless they stick to muggle subjects and give up on Wizarding Europe. Dumbledore on the other hand lies and tells them that they have just as much a chance to succeed as the purebloods.
- Turnabout Storm:
- When prosecutor and local jerk Trixie gets informed that a piece of information was hidden from her:
- Cruise Control after Twilight mentions certain locks and chains (Psyche-Locks) that nopony else can see.Cruise Control: Don't worry, I don't think you're crazy or anything! (Beat) ...Ugh, NO! You do think she's crazy! DON'T LIE!
- Witches Wizards Shadows and Souls: Yami Yugi asks Harry if he thinks he (Yami) is evil during a Shadow Game that requires of the participants to answer truthfully to proceed. Harry thinks about it for a moment and settles on a "no", but doesn't stop there. He proceeds to break down to Yami that he thinks he's insane, has a bad case of Blue-and-Orange Morality and can't grasp or accept that the world doesn't work the same way it did in his era, and that Yugi is basically his Morality Chain. Ron is mortified hearing all this, but Yami is impressed and has no hard feelings over it.
- Blaze in The Demon's Song is quite the hot head that it gets her into a lot of trouble and Allen Hamiliton (her own brother) tells her if she doesn't get her act together, she will be sent home with her tail between her legs.
- In Three Strikes, after the mission to defend Stonehenge, Wiseman lays down the hammer on Trigger for both recklessly swooping in on Cyclops' targets when her squadron hadn't finished with their own targets and trying to pull rank on Count. He tells her she needs to start playing ball and stop being so mistrusting of everyone but the former Spares, and that she doesn’t, she could be shipped back to Oured to face another court martial. This gets Trigger to sober up quickly.
- Sasha and the Frogs: Hop Pop tells to Sasha bluntly that she sometimes scares him. This ultimately makes her paranoid, leading to hijinks at the convenience store.
- A Protector's Pride:
- Orihime tells the rest of the gang she wants to help fight Aizen's army. Urahara immediately shuts her down pointing out how her Actual Pacifist nature would put everyone in danger and how she should stick to being The Medic.
- Later Ichigo and Kon tell Tatsuki and Karin respectively that they have no chance against the enemies Ichigo is facing. Ichigo even demonstrates by cutting Tatsuki's forehead so quickly she couldn't see him move then explaining that his enemies are stronger and faster than he is.
- In Misconceptions and Corrections, when Buffy asks Xander why he isn't telling her about his road trip, protecting that friends are meant to tell each other things, he casually replies that they're not friends. Sure, they were friends once, but then she used him to make Angel jealous, completely humiliating him in the process; now they're more like casual acquaintances or coworkers.
- In Danganronpa Abridged Thing, in Episode 5, Alter Ego asks about what happened to its creator, Chihiro Fujisaki.Alter Ego: By the way, I don't see Onii-chan anywhere. Onii-chan? Daijobu?
Naegi: Okay, Kirigiri, you're going to need to be super tactful here, so don't—
Kirigiri: (ignoring Naegi and typing to Alter Ego) Oowada crushed their head. - Shigeru and Kazumi of Despair's Last Resort invoke this trope. The former because he doesn't care what others think, and the latter because of her upbringing. Miyako also tends to do this from time to time, though it's unknown why she does.
- In Where Talent Goes to Die, Sora Hoshino, the Ultimate Astronomer, has no problem telling others precisely what he thinks, from how he doesn't trust or think much of Reiko Mitamura to how the first murderer's execution was their own fault. Unfortunately, given that he's a highly cynical and rude individual, this often causes problems, although he often makes many harsh but ultimately true points.
- Nar-Es from Kara of Rokyn never minces his words, as noted by Kara when she is disabused of the self-delusion that her motivations for making a movie about her cousin’s love life are entirely altruistic:Nar: But Kal might exercise an option, Kara. He might cut you out of his life.
Kara: He won’t do that.
Nar: You sure?
Kara: It’s a gift, Nar. The best gift I think I can give to Kal.
Nar: You sure about that?
Kara: What do you mean?
Nar: What I mean is that it seems more like a gift to yourself. You show your acting chops, you put together a movie that’s bound to break the barriers at the box office, you make a lot of money and you’ve got a triumph. All you have to do to get it is break Kal-El’s heart.
Kara: I can always count on you for the truth, Nar. Or a truth I don’t want to face.
- In DISGAEA, when Flonne gave Laharl the idea to gather all demons who wanted to become overlord in one place like what he did in Disgaea: Hour of Darkness everybody is surprised that Flonne had an actually smart idea. Flonne later asks Aramis if he thinks she's dumb.Aramis: Big time.
- Happens twice in The Lion King Adventures:
- Tojo tells Tama outright that she's a monster in Goodbye, Nala.
- Haiba lambasts Simba for his evil actions in The Final Task.
- Evelyn Trevelyan in Walking in Circles runs on this trope. If she's wrong about something, she'd apologize for it and if you're wrong or do something stupid, she'll call you out on it with no hesitation. Solas, being who he is, often finds himself getting called out directly by her for his thoughtless comments. This trait of her only gets stronger after she gets the mark and recovered from being Tranquil.
- Final Fantasy VII: Another Side: Sephiroth; Cissnei says he tells the truth whether people want to hear it or not. And he doesn't pull punches with it either.
- In A Brighter Dark, Azura speaks bluntly and without mercy when telling Sakura the myriad ways she could have prevented the deaths of several Nohrian prisoners that Sakura had promised protection to, after they are killed by a mob of Hoshidans angered at the death of Queen Mikoto.Azura: Ryoma would have used his authority to force the magistrate to release them. Corrin would have charged in and freed them with her own two hands, consequences be damned. Mother would have used diplomacy and force them to acknowledge their hidden conscience, forcing them to want to let them go. Any of these options were available to you, so you cannot act as if you were powerless to save them and that's what makes you a failure. If you actually were powerless, it would not be your fault, there would have been nothing you could have done to change the outcome. But because you had the power to save them, that meant you had the obligation to save them; the fact that you refused to meet that obligation is what makes you a failure.
- Anthony Caine had this in The New Retcons, to the point of being rather blunt when he told his children and Frank Day about Elly Patterson's death.
- In build your wings on the way down, Hughes asks Mustang whether Edward has any chance of reversing Nina's transformation into a chimera. Mustang bluntly says that Ed will fail and probably kill Nina in the process.
- Abraxas (Hrodvitnon):
- San prefers to be completely honest and upfront where possible, partly on account of the fact Ghidorah didn't even have a concept of lying before humans introduced it to such, partly on account of him deriding the concept of lying as nonsensical once he wraps his head around it; and he seldom minces his words, especially if he wants to communicate clearly.
- San's middle brother, Ni (Ghidorah's right head) likes to be as upfront and in your face as possible with hard truths, whereas Ichi (Ghidorah's middle head), unlike his younger brothers, is all too happy to use exact words once he understands the concept of dishonesty.
- In Choosing Life Verse, Aloy admits that she's not much of a politician, finding the whole idea of tactfully getting around to the meat of the matter eventually frustrating, but a skill she needs to learn eventually. In the meantime, her family and allies usually do the talking when it calls for it.
- In Daphne Greengrass and the Boy Who Lived, Daphne does a diplomatic version of this in the first Care of Magical Creatures class of fourth year when she tells Hagrid that the blast-ended skrewts might be too dangerous for a group their age, helping Hagrid acknowledge that he needs to take his students' greater vulnerabilities into account.
- For Love of Magic: Both Harry and Luna share this trait, Luna due to No Social Skills (though she's gotten better over the years) and Harry because he can't be bothered to lie to spare someone's feelings. An example comes up when Ginny was asking about joining Harry's group before Molly interrupts and demands to know what they were talking about.Ginny: Nothing important.
Molly: Then you won't mind telling me about it.
Luna: Harry, did Mrs. Weasley just miss the subtext? Didn't you say that when people said they weren't talking about anything important what they really meant is that it was none of the other person's business?
Harry: She didn't miss the subtext so much as ignored it because she's completely unable to keep from sticking her nose where it isn't wanted. - The List: Initially, Hermione is reluctant to tell Professor McGonagall what the titular list is about but once the woman gets her going, she quickly breaks down why exactly certain instructors are ranked as they are, including why she and Dumbledore share the bottom of the list with Umbridge for how well they do their jobs. When asked why she never intended McGonagall to see the list, Hermione bluntly states that she didn't expect it'd make any difference, referencing back to how none of the Gryffindors feel they can go to their Head of House with their problems. At best McGonagall will ignore their problems, at worst she'll make things worse by increasing any unfair punishment they've received.
- Mirror of Maybe gives this as the reason for Severus' canon callousness and biting comments; he genuinely believes what he is saying, and finds it distasteful and even immoral to remain silent about it or cover it with polite lies. Moreover, he considers many Gryffindors hypocrites and cowards for not being willing to face hard truths.
- Asylum of Doom: As Dib is filming their exploration of the asylum, Gaz dryly comments that he shouldn't get his hopes up, as he usually gets more dislikes on his videos than actual views. Later, she also points out that no matter how hard he tries, no one ever believes him, and his efforts to expose the paranormal just make him look crazy.
- In Weekend at Hisao's, Hisao meets with his old best friend Takumi, who is now in a relationship with Iwanako, the girl who confessed to him on the day of his first heart attack. He asks Takumi why he didn't tell him, and Takumi, after a little beating around the bush, says "You were an asshole back then," earning a Flat "What" from Hisao. Takumi goes on to explain that he understands Hisao was depressed, but his gloomy demeanor and refusal to talk made it difficult to be around him, leading them to give up after a few weeks, a statement Hisao agrees with.
- Peter Parker's Field Trip (Of course it's to Stark Industries): When Peter admits to Tony how he feels like a fraud for not being able to tell everyone the truth in regards to his "internship", Tony admits to him that yes, the whole reason why he was there was that he was Spider-Man. He then elaborates that while Spider-Man got him a foot into the door, Peter's ingenuity is still going to get him far regardless and that building good connections is important too.
- CONSEQUENCE
- CHAT BLANC: Alya questions the heroes' willingness to trust her with the Fox Miraculous after she fell so hard for Lila's claims. Ladybug reassures her that everybody makes mistakes, and that what matters more is how they address them. Cat Noir adds that they need the Fox for their plan to work, much to Ladybug's annoyance.
- CUTTING THE STRINGS: When Max and Kim aren't feeling sure about being the temporary Ladybug and Black Cat respectively after an akumatized Lila captured Marinette and Adrien, Tikki tries to encourage them by saying that they don't need to be as special as the long-time heroes but strive to do whats good for the world. Plagg is the one to tell them that this is a temporary gig and that if they fail, it'll be the end of everything.
- Cut My Life Into Pieces, This Is My Last Resort: While Master Fu is unfailingly kind and sympathetic to Marinette's plight after she fakes her death, he's very upfront about the fact that there is no way she can make things clear to Chat Noir about her plan without making him angry about her deception.
- In Dodged a Beetle, Tikki tells Marinette that it was probably for the best that she passed the Earrings over to Lila, showing No Sympathy for her anxiety issues or any comprehension that her callous comments are making said issues significantly worse. Especially as she goes on to blithely inform the girl that her current status as a Secret Secret-Keeper makes her a liability, and that she needs to avoid akumatization at all cost.
- Lady Luck:
- Lady Luck gets a reputation for "tough but fair," saying what needs to be said despite how it makes people feel. Chloé, on the other hand, gets called a bitch for doing the exact same thing. Considering she is Lady Luck, she does not appreciate the Double Standard.
- When Vanisher shows up, Marinette says Sabrina was akumatized because Chloé is a bad friendnote . Chloé comments that that's rather blunt.
- In Scarlet Lady, upon undergoing her Heel–Face Turn Lila completely loses her brain-to-mouth filter.
- In When Reason Fails, when Izuku questions Ibara if she has a long-term plan to get impregnated by him, she bluntly answers "yes".
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- The Differentverse: Moondancer is straightforward, to the point, and at times, downright blunt. It's part of why Twilight likes having her around because Moondancer won't hold back when Twilight's unwittingly offending someone. Such a moment is later revealed to have been key to their becoming friends in the first place.
- In Loved and Lost, this trope is deconstructed twice, with the first time being also exploited by a Manipulative Bastard.
- Right after Twilight Sparkle has stopped the Changeling invasion, Prince Jewelius demands Shining Armor to tell in front of the wedding guests if he was completely under the effects of Queen Chrysalis' mind-control spell when he rebuked his sister and banned her from the wedding for trying to warn him about the (fake) bride. Ashamed with himself, Shining Armor answers that the spell didn't dictate all of his actions back then. Unfortunately, Jewelius uses this confession to make Shining Armor look like a complete jerk who was willing to disown his sister and neglect his duties as Canterlot's protector in favor of his wedding, purposely leaving Twilight's own mistakes undiscussed. Twilight herself doesn't take very well her beloved big brother's confession that his harsh words to her weren't completely caused by mind-control, and this blow helps Jewelius in corrupting her to lose all trust in Shining Armor and disown him in retaliation.
- When the original bridesmaids (whom Chrysalis replaced with Twilight's friends and hypnotized to keep Twilight and Princess Cadance imprisoned in the secret caves) demand the imprisoned and disgraced heroes to tell them why no one else but Twilight cared about their disappearance, Shining Armor tells them straight out that Chrysalis claimed she fired them because they only wanted to meet royalty in the wedding. Utterly mortified that such lies were believed about them, one of them bursts into tears, and everyone else gets more angry with Shining Armor because of this.
- RainbowDoubleDash's Lunaverse by truth is a scourge, which not only compels its subjects to speak only truth and to keep babbling, but seems to cause the subject to speak those specific truths that will must upset, enrage, or discomfort the listener. There's a very good reason it's called "truth poison".
- A Voice Among the Strangers: Made Manifest, a Canterlot noble who is on good terms with the Princesses for precisely this reason — he tells Luna that their plan to bring Jessica to the castle in hopes of provoking the Changelings is "a bloody stupid idea," but notes that he would have said the same about Celestia's plan for Nightmare Moon if he'd been aware of it.
- Escape From The Hokage's Hat: Hanabi loses her position as heir and ends up either bullied or treated with indifference by her clan. She does eventually get to voice her frustration to Neji and asks why they are treating her like that while they only have nice things to say about Hinata. Neji replies by telling her that it's because she isn't a nice person and Hinata is liked because the Branch members don't want to torment the only Main branch Hyuuga who is genuinely nice to them.
- A Growing Affection: Early in the story, Tsunade describes the holes in Naruto's and Hinata's skill sets quite frankly, nearly bringing Hinata to tears.
- your move, instigator (draw your weapon and hold your tongue):
- Sakura, having grown up as a Child Soldier thanks to the Third Ninja War lasting up to her childhood, doesn't have any tact or restraint when making her thoughts known. Inoichi had to teach her about politics when she detailed Neji's final thoughts about the Hyuuga's clan in her report.
- This is a trait Sakura inherited from her mother Mebuki, who isn't afraid to confront the Hokage about allowing Danzo to have so much control after her husband is nearly killed in a Uriah Gambit.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide: Asuka tells Keiko that she isn't qualified to pilot an Eva and she should quit because she'll get herself or her teammates killed otherwise. Asuka was harsh but she was completely right.
- In Forever And A Mile, Todd gives some brutal honesty to Octavia in regards to her unkempt appearance, which is due to being The Insomniac and not getting a good rest, going from being an Incoming Ham to telling her that she looks terrible.Todd: Eh, don't say sorry to me — say sorry to your reflection.
- One Year on Probation: Futaba lacks any filter whenever she speaks. Her mother Wakaba has to point it out repeatedly.Wakaba: Futaba, what have I told you about tact?
Futaba: That I don't have any.
- In Puella Musicus Madoka Magica, Homura explains at length why she considers Sayaka a clueless buffoon, to the girl in question. This is not because Homura doesn't know to be civil, but because she doesn't care about it.
- Coeur Al'Aran:
- Service with a Smile: Ozpin doesn't mince his words when he enters Jaune's coffee shop and explains why Jaune wasn't cut out to be a huntsman which led to Ozpin rejecting his forged transcripts.
- Raise: Unlike so many others who covet Jaune's Semblance and use honey-layered words to try and get him on their side, Ironwood is completely frank and upfront with Jaune when telling him that Ansel will completely collapse if Jaune stays there.
- In Here There Be Monsters, Billy, Mary and Freddy stopped getting old when they became the Marvel Family fifteen years before. Freddy and Mary are going to ask for their aging back, even if it means relinquishing their powers, in order to get married, and Freddy is willing to change jobs so Mary's mother doesn't cut her out of the family fortune. Billy frowns and bluntly states they are making it sound like they care more for being rich than for being heroes. Mary gets angry but Freddy admits that Billy has a point.Billy: I'll do everything I can to see if I can get him to let you stay with the Family. But ultimately, it's his decision, not mine. He's the one who doles out the powers. What about your mother, Mary?
Mary: She'll just have to accept it, Billy. She'll also have to find a place for Freddy in one of the companies she's got voting power in.
Freddy: (glumly) I like running the newsstand. But Mary's, well, used to a certain way of life.
Billy: (looking at the two of them) So you can do without powers, but not without money?
Mary: Billy, that was uncalled for!
Freddy: No, honey. He's got a point.
- The Eclipse Of Marco: Dirrhenia was known as 'The Truthful' instead of 'The Heaped' once she was crowned because she refused to lie or sugarcoat how bad a state their kingdom was in. Refused to act like a perfect and infallible queen and worst of all, refused to tell her people that somebody else was to blame for the problems they made for themselves. This went over terribly with her people, who cheered when her younger sister took control of the crown and started telling them sweet lies rather than harsh truths.
- Total Shuffled Island Series: In Total Shuffled All Stars, Scott's main strategy is to use everyone's distrust in him to his advantage, by giving them genuinely good advice and warnings that his fellow competitors dismiss as lies. In doing so, they set themselves up for future eliminations.
- Unbreakable Red Silken Thread: Noah doesn't hold back when telling Cody of all the instances that prove that Gwen would never love him back and that Cody has an extremely idealized image of her. Partially subverted because Noah held back for a very long time to spare Cody's feelings, and only told him because of the story's events.
- In Intrepid, Tattletale gives to an entire speech to Emma about how she needs to actually make an effort to change herself rather than simply feel guilty or she'd end up betraying them as well.
- Rivals Series: Viktor's brutal honesty is deconstructed as he's honest in ways that are hurtful since he doesn't have the entire facts. When a young Yuuri tells Viktor that he wants to one day to skate on the same ice as him, Viktor bluntly tells Yuuri that he should lose weight if he wants to be a skater. Unbeknownst to Viktor, Yuuri was already on his way to becoming a professional skater so all Viktor does with his honesty is make a life-long enemy out of Yuuri.
