Mind fuckery is such a piss poor crutch.
Finally, someone who has the same thoughts as me. It's like replacing Prof. Moriarty's skill and cleverness with magic voodoo nonsense. Because authors are incapable of writing characters cleverer than themselves.
Authors need to learn we don't mind the plot developments. What we despise terrible worldbuilding to get there.
Another one is "bad guy mysteriously escaping". Where despite evil monsters lurking around every corner, or nation's best knights hunting them down -- somehow "for plot" the villains pull a Houdini disappearing act. Without the necessary investment of resources, time, or any loss whatsoever.
Extracting a VIP from a warzone takes millions: trained special operations forces, military resources, logistic, planning, etc. But when a bad guy needs to be recycled by author? Poof. No escort needed. Teleports directly to destination.
Good metric is to reverse the protagonist/antagonist. And ask yourself if the story would be a Mary Sue/Gary Stu at that point.
