Basic Trope: A character tends to blame someone or something else, even when it's their fault. Also, this character may see themselves as a victim who can do no wrong.
- Straight: Alice blames Bob for endangering her life. All Bob did was tell her not to go wandering around Emperor Evulz's base alone and unarmed, but to Alice, it's his fault because he should have been more convincing.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice blames Bob for everything that happens to her, no matter what his actual relation to the problem was. He could have been off skiing on the other side of the world, and Alice would still find a way to blame him for her own mistakes.
- Everybody blames Bob for their problems, even if it's obviously their own fault.
- Every time someone tries to point out that something is Alice's fault and how, she keeps coming up with excuses to blame Bob, no matter how ridiculous.
- Alice unleashes a savage No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Bob, then blames him for the bruises on her knuckles from punching his face repeatedly.
- Downplayed:
- Alice will admit when she screwed up big time and notes that wandering around Emperor Evulz' base was a bad move, but she still gets on Bob for not trying to stop her.
- Although Bob forgot to warn Alice not to wander off Emperor Evulz' base, that still didn't stop her from blaming him for not keeping an eye on her at all times even if he couldn't.
- Justified:
- Alice has a very unique view on the fault-responsibility fallacy, and is saying that she is not to blame for an incident, but will be happy to take responsibility and help mediate the issue.
- Alice is incredibly proud and self-righteous, to the point where she's lost the ability to recognize her own flaws. She can only accept bad things happening if they were other people's fault because she's too used to thinking of herself as above that sort of thing.
- Alice is a princess and was thus raised as being beyond punishment. Because she was always assumed to be right and never had to face consequences for her actions, she never learned to stop being a Spoiled Brat and thinking she could do no wrong.
- Alice is a downright Narcissist who is psychologically incapable of admitting fault.
- It really wasn't and isn't Alice's fault. She's simply reacting how anyone else would to something that could possibly endanger them. Even if it's nobody else's fault either.
- Alice was raised in an abusive environment where she was the scapegoat and was constantly blamed and punished for everything that went wrong, and her pathological refusal to accept responsibility, perpetual blameshifting, and adult tantrums and frequent social media tirades about "toxic people" whenever she can't talk her way out of facing responsibility are all the toxic results of the defense mechanisms that she developed as a result of her upbringing.
- Alice is only able to avoid dealing with the unimaginable guilt of her actions by completely refusing to accept responsibility for them.
- Alice knows that if she admits fault, it will be the one thing everyone in the world remembers about her. Alternatively, she believes that admitting fault or taking responsibility for her actions only leads to further punishment.
- Alice would be in a more advantageous situation if she blames others rather than herself, so rationally, she does not admit fault.
- Alice has an ambitious subordinate who wants to take advantage of her failure, and to protect her own position, she passes the buck onto the subordinate.
- Inverted:
- It's All My Fault
- Guilt Complex, AKA Always My Fault: Alice takes the blame for Bob getting Charlie in danger she also takes the blame for everything even if it's not her fault.
- The Scapegoat
- Alice was sent into Emperor Evulz's base to scout it out. Bob screwed this up by assuming she needed rescue but he is Easily Forgiven.
- It really is not Bob's fault, but Alice tosses the blame in his face anyway to show she has No Sympathy.
- Subverted:
- Alice chews out Bob for endangering her life, and then says "But I suppose I must thank you for saving me."
- Alice blames Bob for the fact that Alice broke into the Evulz' base, even though Bob tried convinced her not to. Flashbacks, however, reveal that Bob goaded Alice into breaking in while pretending to persuade her otherwise.
- It really isn't Alice's fault: She had already been sent in to search around the base. Bob was messing up her assignment.
- Alice is taking responsibility for her actions, she just wants Bob to do the same.
- Double Subverted:
- However it's very clear after that she feels Bob saving her made up for putting her in danger.
- Alice was so dead set on going to Evulz' base that she saw everything Bob says as urging her on ("Hey, Alice, could you please put 'turkey' on the shopping list?" "Bob knows that Emperor Evulz loves turkey, so he probably wants me to spy on the Emperor's kitchen. And therefore, I need to break into Evulz's base!")
- It's not Bob's fault either: He was sent to back up Alice in case her life was in danger. Alice doesn't know this yet, but she often ends up blaming the wrong person anyway.
- However, Alice still at least played a bigger part than Bob actually did. She's just overestimating his involvement in the whole debacle. (Not that she might not realize this part)
- Parodied:
- Alice routinely dips into Implausible Deniability and Insane Troll Logic in her blame-shifting, to the point where somebody only asks "How does that make sense?"
- Alice is only a little upset with Bob, who's immediately overwhelmed with guilt over what he's supposedly done. Alice is confused by this and simply rolls with it, because she doesn't think it's such a big deal.
- Alice is very accusatory and blames everyone else ... for positive things that she's done.
- Zig-Zagged:
- One time, Alice blames Bob and everyone else, while the next time, she owns up to her mistakes. The third time everything goes wrong, she blames herself for it all.
- Alice's inability to recognize fault causes her to deny responsibility, but it also causes her to wrongfully accept blame.
- Averted:
- Alice doesn't blame anyone and takes responsibility for her own actions.
- Alice doesn't blame anyone, but she isn't sorry for what she did.
- Alice doesn't blame anyone because whose fault it is isn't immediately obvious, so blaming it on herself or another is pointless.
- Alice doesn't apologize to the people that served as the reason why she did it in the first place, despite admitting fully that the entire situation was because of her own choice, and isn't very sorry because the people had mistreated her.
- It really was Bob’s fault.
- At Least I Admit It
- Enforced: The writer wants to characterize Alice as a proud Alpha Bitch, and blame-shifting is a very obvious trait for such a character.
- Lampshaded: "Look, I never do anything wrong. It's not possible, I'm just too good for that."
- Invoked: Blame Game
- Defied:
- "No, no, I'm a real woman, not a teenager or a child. This was my fault."
- "It is your fault, you son of a bitch!"
- WHAM!!! "Own up to your own fucking responsibilities, Alice! YOU infiltrated Evul's lair, YOU didn't listen to me, and now YOU are knocked out on the goddamn floor because you can't seem to realize that all of this was YOUR fault! Jesus!"
- Exploited:
- Evulz taunts Bob about how a friend is very soon going to fall into his hands. Bob ignores it and fails to notice that Alice gets curious about the secret base, where he really could have prevented it.
- Alice is framed, knowing that her claims of innocence will fall on deaf ears.
- Discussed:
- "Wow, Alice really tore Bob a new one ... for her own mistake."
- "Alice never seems to grasp that if the majority of your interactions with other people are negative, there's a common denominator there and you can find it by looking in a mirror."
- Conversed:
- "Why is it so hard for people these days to own up to their own wrongdoings?" "Having a sense of accountability calls for a modicum of humility and maturity, which aren't valued virtues anymore these days."
- "I'm gonna start keeping a running tally of all the times Alice makes yet another post about 'becoming my best self' and 'moving forward' while conveniently neglecting to mention why her reputation is shit and almost everyone dislikes her." "You know, I don't think she's ever actually taken responsibility for any of the many shitty things she's done to people. She just makes another post about her personal growth and leaving the past behind without even a cursory acknowledgement of why so many people have a problem with her - cancer is growth too, sweetie, and that's exactly what you are."
- Deconstructed:
- Alice blames Bob for something she did, and other people capable of rational thought view her as a bitch and immature. Alice ends up losing sympathy because of this.
- Bob calls her out on this and her difficulty accepting responsibility damages their friendship.
- Alice's inability to see herself as the one at fault leaves her unable to learn from her mistakes, ensuring that she will continue to make those mistakes and others, ultimately hurting herself far more than anyone else.
- Alice repeatedly blaming Bob for something she did even when everyone else points it out to her simply costs her the remaining friends she has.
- Bob gets pissed off that all of his so-called friends keep blaming him for things that they did for no good reason, demands that they all grow the hell up (maybe even punch several of them) and leaves them behind, viewing them as toxic people.
- It's revealed that the whole situation is partially everyone's fault in some form or fashion, but many of them are either unwilling to face the truth of their own complicit behavior, unwilling to forgive or make any amends, or even willing to actually find out the full truth and nuances of the situation properly. They instead search for the easiest scapegoat and willingly distort the truth in order to exonerate themselves, while the people who are willing to take responsibility are raked through the coals on a far greater level than they actually deserve. The other parties also do not hesitate to loudly proclaim their moral superiority to prove their superior virtue twisting the event into being about themselves for easy clout and fame. Meanwhile, outside forces who have been watching realize that this whole situation is an opportunity to create even more discord and chaos without much risk, since everyone is so judgmental and fearful of being wrong that people will just go along with the mob to save their own skins. And even if it is found out, people will be so desperate to avoid the blame for the new scenario that it only ensures that this will happen again ad infinitum.
- Reconstructed: Alice finally decides to own up to her actions, if only because she sees them as so minor and irrelevant that it seems kind of stupid for her not to do so.
- Played for Laughs:
- Alice has a tendency to shift the blame on Bob for things that she obviously can't, such as sneezing on him, or if Emperor Evulz commits a deed that neither of them would be able to stop. No reason, she's just stupid.
- Alice is joking around and everyone knows it. She takes mild humor in blaming minor mistakes that she makes on her friends (ex. I missed that shot because you smell).
- Played for Drama: Alice becomes a villain, seeking revenge on Bob for a perceived wrong that was actually her own fault. This only leads to Bob giving her a crushing defeat to make her realize Vengeance Feels Empty.
- Played for Horror:
- Alice's constant game of blaming Bob for anything wrong that happens is very clearly a symptom of some mental derangement, and it's only getting worse.
- Alice blames Bob for pulling mind games on her, leading her to commit (a lot of) murders. Furthermore, her blaming turns him into the target for some very angry people who will make damn sure that he "won't get away with it" in a very brutal fashion.
- Bob doesn't even exist. Alice is either blaming a completely fabricated hallucination, or a man who was Dead All Along.
- Implied:
- What went wrong isn't shown but Alice is quick to say, "Not my fault!"
- Bob is shown viewing a Snap story from Alice with a caption about cutting loose toxic people, and Bob scoffs, shakes his head, and mutters "yeah, sure, Alice, everyone else is totally the issue here".
- Untwisted: Alice often accepts blame for her actions, but deep down believes that she is "acting as a scapegoat to keep the peace".
This way to the main page. What, it doesn't link to Never My Fault? Clearly, the wiki messed up the hotlink.
