And I Must Scream/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: When somebody for any reason is trapped and unable to communicate with the outside world. Death is no longer an option.

  • Straight: Bob is locked in a box and is never allowed to suffocate, starve, die etc.
  • Exaggerated: Bob has seen the end of the universe multiple times. Even deities are unable to save him.
  • Downplayed: Bob is in a coma, is aware of it, and is bored.
  • Justified: Bob angered a god through many mistakes and showed no remorse.
  • Inverted: Bob has a link to every mind in the universe, can communicate clearly, and is actually rather fragile.
  • Subverted: Bob may be locked in a box, but there is a switch to open it and disconnect the life support.
  • Double Subverted: The switch just so happens to be broken.
  • Parodied:
    • Bob has been around long enough for the universe to break down and start up many, many times, but the only thing he worries about is overcooking the meal he made before being locked up.
    • Alternately, Bob is locked up for millions of year before realizing that it's not even locked.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob finds out there's a switch to unlock the box, but it's so old it's rusted. Then the food fails to arrive the next day, but the day after that it works. Eventually he finds a way to turn off life support, but it fails to work.
  • Averted: Nobody gets locked away.
  • Enforced: "We need somebody that no matter how terrible, the audience still feels horrible for them."
  • Lampshaded: "For the love of god, let me out of here!"
  • Invoked: ???
  • Exploited: Bob and his evil alter ego, Bill, are fighting out forever, and the only way to stop Bill is to lock each other in that box, because past experience shown Bill will only fake being a better person.
  • Defied: Bob notices a "Nev-r-brake" box falling towards him, but moves out of the way before it traps anyone inside.
  • Discussed: "I don't want you to die, I want you locked up, and kept alive, forever."
  • Conversed: "Woah, I hope I never experience that."
  • Deconstructed: Bob finds a pencil and starts writing his thoughts on the walls of the box. The story is told through Bob's writings, and as the years pass, it is clear he is becoming insane from being trapped for so long.

I have no back button, and I must return.

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