A god-like, magical, or other powerful force that is around the absolute least amount required to keep a plot moving, but is not exploited or around enough to be more useful than minimally necessary.
"The eagles in 'The Lord of the Rings' and the sentient ocean in 'Moana' are jerk-ass ex machina: They could have solved the entire problem right away by taking the McGuffin straight to its destination without subjecting anyone to a perilous adventure filled with murderous obstacles."
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A myspace model named A SUPERMODEL SUICIDE, formerly a scene kid. More emo due to the fact she only ever wore black and white. Currently either dead or on facebook.
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In works of fiction; the use/revelation of a character’s sexuality to advance the plot. Similar to Deus ex Machina, but gayer.
Girl 1: “Omg, Madonna was literally dying till she realised she was actually in love with Shakira, then she got up and started dancing! That’s the power of love for you.”
Girl 2: “No, that’s the power of Gayus ex Machina and bad storytelling.”
In Dungeons and Dragons or any other pen and paper RPG, when the Dungeon Master (or DM) invents or gives a way for the players to live when they normally would have died.
Our DM is really easy to play with. Any time we're about to die, a little De-eMus ex Machina comes along and saves us.