[Authoritarian Trope] Casually being questioned/threatened by an imposing authority figure out of nowhere

[u/TheWalkingBag]

One way to really set the oppressive atmosphere of a setting is by having our characters get randomly questioned or interrogated by a soldier/cop out of nowhere, often for very minor reasons

1. "Pick up that can." (Half-Life 2)

When Gordon first arrives to City 17, a Combine Civil Protection officer he's passing by suddenly drops a soda can in front of him and orders him to pick it up. If you comply here and throw the can in the bin he'll amusedly let you pass, but if you don't then he'll proceed to whip out his stunstick and attack you on the spot

1. "I'm just a tourist." (Andor)

In the episode "Announcement" of Season 1, a random shoretrooper on Niamos questions and threatens Cassian (using the fake alias "Keef Girgo") for nervously looking around too much while they're conducting a crackdown. The trooper asks if he's "a part of it" to which Cassian repeatedly protests that he isn't and that he's just a perfectly normal tourist; he's then violently arrested by him anyway and sentenced to hard labor in Narkina 5 without a fair trial

1. "Now, you. Show me your identification papers, please." (Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus)

A Nazi commandant randomly sits down at Papa Joe's Diner, orders a strawberry milkshake for himself and then very casually asks Blazkowicz to show his ID papers to him. Here you can show him your fake IDs (where you use the alias "John Smith") which seems to fool the commandant for a bit before he looks at a wanted poster on the wall and immediately recognizes your true identity, frantically pulling out his pistol before being shot by the diner's owner

[u/Far_Reindeer_783]

The wolfenstein scene is fucking genius.

First he compliments the milkshake, saying it's a great American invention. He says something about liking the owner a lot for it too. Then he says despite that, he thinks it should be more German. He also interrogates BJ on the fire station he's based out of, based on his firefighter disguise. It's not subtle but it has this revolting veneer of politeness

[u/psychonautilus777 → u/Far_Reindeer_783]

"Revoltingly veneer of politeness"

Only kinda a tangent, but I've struggled to find the words for midwest, southern, or just general WASPy type of judgy/fake politeness and this is it.

[u/Far_Reindeer_783 → u/psychonautilus777]

I don't disagree, but this interaction felt like a viper coiling back. He couldn't have put more implicit threat into it unless he'd reached for his gun. That being said I've heard of "southern hospitality" before