Offscreen Inertia: Difference between revisions

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This is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_momentum Conservation of Momentum] applied to narrative, and the only forces capable of change must appear onscreen.

Often the reason children find [[Nightmare Fuel]] in "innocent" things, and if combined with [[Fridge Logic]], can have the same result in adults. Also a prime source of [[What Happened to The Mouse]], which can be [[Lampshade Hanging|acknowledged]] with a [[Brick Joke]].

Often the reason children find [[Nightmare Fuel]] in "innocent" things, and if combined with [[Fridge Logic]], can have the same result in adults. Also a prime source of [[What Happened to The Mouse?]], which can be [[Lampshade Hanging|acknowledged]] with a [[Brick Joke]].

A particular, porn associated version of this where the porn doesn't end where the story does, is called [[No End In Sight]]. If deliberately invoked as a [[Fate Worse Than Death]], it's [[And I Must Scream]]. See also [[Tailor Made Prison]], [[Rule of Perception]].

A particular, porn associated version of this where the porn doesn't end where the story does, is called [[No End In Sight]]. If deliberately invoked as a [[Fate Worse Than Death]], it's [[And I Must Scream]]. See also [[Tailor-Made Prison]], [[Rule of Perception]].

May be a [[Bolivian Army Cliffhanger]] (or, more optimistically, [[And the Adventure Continues]]). See also [[Black Screen of Death]]. The [[Yeah Shot]] is a much more optimistic variant.

== Newspaper Comics ==

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* In one entertaining scene in ''[[Code Geass]]'', a very upset Lelouch abuses his power to command some street punks to dance, do push ups, and so on for his amusement. The [[Fridge Horror]] comes when you realize that they are bound to perform that action until they die, and he can't stop them.

** There was also that girl that was geassed to mark a wall at Ashford Academy every day. {{spoiler|Even though half the academy gets destroyed. Supplemental material revealed that [[All There in the Manual|she was evacuated during the Black Rebellion. Every night (accounting for timezones) she begins sleepwalking in the direction of the school...]]}}

* October 2009 and March 2010 were ''very'' long months for fans of the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' manga, thanks to this-- respectively, {{spoiler|Riza was bleeding out from a [[Slashed Throat]]}} and {{spoiler|[[Kill Em All|everyone not at the center of Father's circle was dead]]}} for an entire month. [[Cliff Hanger|Curse you, Arakawa!]]

* October 2009 and March 2010 were ''very'' long months for fans of the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' manga, thanks to this-- respectively, {{spoiler|Riza was bleeding out from a [[Slashed Throat]]}} and {{spoiler|[[Kill'Em All|everyone not at the center of Father's circle was dead]]}} for an entire month. [[Cliff Hanger|Curse you, Arakawa!]]

* Taken to the extreme in ''[[Nabari no Ou]]'' when Raikou and Gau were left lying on the ground with a sword through the gut and slashes across the face respectively for 8 chapters before they were shown again. This was ''EIGHT MONTHS''.

* Similarly, the battle against Pain for ''[[Naruto]]'' fans. Where they'd spend an entire chapter or two on the fight itself while the whole time, {{spoiler|Hinata is lying a short distance away, ''bleeding to death.''}}

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== Comic Books ==

* ''[[Preacher]]'': Jesse at one point uses The Word to compel a bad guy, Hoover, to count the grains of sand on a beach... and only offhandedly adds that he can stop once he's reached three million. He's later shown counting carefully... a wave strikes, messing up the grains... and the guy, anguished, starts over. Ultimately averted, as Hoover ''actually finishes counting'' and shows up later, half-crazed and pissed off. He later confronts Jesse about it and Jesse compels him to forget the sand-counting counting and have a nice rest, as an apology.

* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'': Jesse at one point uses The Word to compel a bad guy, Hoover, to count the grains of sand on a beach... and only offhandedly adds that he can stop once he's reached three million. He's later shown counting carefully... a wave strikes, messing up the grains... and the guy, anguished, starts over. Ultimately averted, as Hoover ''actually finishes counting'' and shows up later, half-crazed and pissed off. He later confronts Jesse about it and Jesse compels him to forget the sand-counting counting and have a nice rest, as an apology.

** Also, in one of his badly thought out uses of the Word:

{{quote| Jesse: "FUCK OFF, YOU ASSHOLES!"<br />

''Soldiers begin to run away from him.''<br />

Soldier: "F-F-Forever?" }}

* This is what happened to the last ''[[Tintin]]'' book, since Hergé [[Author Existence Failure|died before finishing it.]] For all we know, Tintin is held captive by the bad guys without a way out.

* This is what happened to the last ''[[Tintin (Comic Book)]]'' book, since Hergé [[Author Existence Failure|died before finishing it.]] For all we know, Tintin is held captive by the bad guys without a way out.

* Played with in ''[[Cerebus]]''. Yes, he really ''does'' spend issue after issue after issue sitting on a stool outside in a drunken stupor while the world moves on without him.

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* In ''[[Predator]]'', Billy apparently never turns around while standing on that log. Unless you've seen the movie uncut, in which case you know exactly what happened to him; it ain't pretty, so maybe a Tethercat situation is actually ''preferable'' in this situation.

* ''[[Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid]]'': This is pretty much the whole reasoning behind the original [[Bolivian Army Ending]], and one imagines, most of the subsequent imitations. If you don't see the heroes get overrun and killed then maybe, just ''maybe'', they're still fighting, and managed to win.

* In the 2009 ''[[Friday the ~~13 th~~ (Film)|Friday the 13 th]]'' remake, Jason shoots an arrow at a guy piloting a speedboat. The guy [[Deadfoot Leadfoot|falls dead on top of the controls]], the speedboat hits a topless waterskier in the head and is never seen again. Horror fans have joked that a better ending for the movie (or closing credits stinger) would be to show the speedboat reach Manhattan or {{spoiler|run over Jason as soon as he surfaced from the lake.}}

* In the 2009 ''[[Friday the 13th (Film)|Friday the 13 th]]'' remake, Jason shoots an arrow at a guy piloting a speedboat. The guy [[Deadfoot Leadfoot|falls dead on top of the controls]], the speedboat hits a topless waterskier in the head and is never seen again. Horror fans have joked that a better ending for the movie (or closing credits stinger) would be to show the speedboat reach Manhattan or {{spoiler|run over Jason as soon as he surfaced from the lake.}}

* The British original version of ''[[The Descent (Film)|The Descent]]'' makes use of this - it ends with the main character {{spoiler|waking up from her hope spot dream and then just sitting there, not moving, staring at a hallucination of her daughter, who died at the beginning of the film. Then, as the camera pulls out, we hear the screeches of the resident cave monsters, and Sarah's still just sitting there, apparently not hearing them at all - the implication is that she stayed like that until the crawlers found her.}}

* In ''[[D War|D-War]]'', the hero is left in the scarred wastelands of a forgotten realm, completely alone, with no obvious way of getting back to present day Los Angeles.

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* Invoked on an episode of ''[[Supernatural (TV)|Supernatural]]''. Castiel calls Dean to tell him about some new task that needs doing and Dean tells him to wait for a few hours so he can get some sleep. Castiel hangs up and just stands where he was on the corner, unmoving. Cut. {{spoiler|He shows up at the end of the episode just in time to save the day. When Dean points this out, he says he was simply showing up on time, as arranged.}}

* Played with on an episode of ''[[The Colbert Report]]''. Musical guest [[Rush]] starts playing "Tom Sawyer" at the end of the show while Colbert prepares to go to sleep. Next night, as the show starts, Rush is still playing "Tom Sawyer . . .

* People on forums about ''[[Twenty Four]]'' tend to makes jokes of this sort about the plethora of characters that have disappeared without really being [[Put On a Bus]] and are never to be seen or [[What Happened to The Mouse|mentioned again.]] In particular people joke about whether or not the season 4 character Behrooz is still riding around with terrorists that had kidnapped him the last time he appeared in the middle of the season.

* People on forums about ''[[Twenty Four]]'' tend to makes jokes of this sort about the plethora of characters that have disappeared without really being [[Put On a Bus]] and are never to be seen or [[What Happened to The Mouse?|mentioned again.]] In particular people joke about whether or not the season 4 character Behrooz is still riding around with terrorists that had kidnapped him the last time he appeared in the middle of the season.

** On the same note, hopefully Wayne told someone to free the bank manager's wife [[It Makes Sense in Context|he and Jack tied up]] back in season 5...

* According to the ''[[Gilligans Island]]'' [[Reunion Show]] ''Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History'', this was the impetus for the first reunion movie ''Rescue from Gillgan's Island''. From 1966 to 1978 proto-Tropers discussed the castaways being stranded on the island for all that time.

* Played with in ''[[Police Squad]]'': the last scene will seem to stop on a still image as the ending credits start, but it soon becomes apparent that the characters are actually frozen in place.

* Played with in ''[[Police Squad!]]'': the last scene will seem to stop on a still image as the ending credits start, but it soon becomes apparent that the characters are actually frozen in place.

* In [[Castle]] Beckett has been {{spoiler|shot in the heart and dying}} for an entire summer break, and now her and Castle are {{spoiler|in coitus}} for another.

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* If you've never seen the video for [[Tom Petty|Into the Great Wide Open]], Eddie's career is this trope.

* Subverted by [[The Beatles|"I Want You (She's So Heavy)."]] It seems like the coda is going to go on forever and fade out, but instead it gets cut off abruptly mid-phrase.

* Also subverted in [[Blue Oyster Cult]]'s "Flaming Telepaths" (1974) which appears to be wrapping up with excessive repetitions of "And the joke's on you!" while the guitars get louder and louder, seemingly either building toward ''some'' kind of climax or just getting infinitely more dramatic. But then, after a final "And the joke-", the song just comes to a screeching halt - which is [[Fridge Brilliance]], because [[Self Demonstrating Article|that was the joke]].

* Also subverted in [[Blue Oyster Cult]]'s "Flaming Telepaths" (1974) which appears to be wrapping up with excessive repetitions of "And the joke's on you!" while the guitars get louder and louder, seemingly either building toward ''some'' kind of climax or just getting infinitely more dramatic. But then, after a final "And the joke-", the song just comes to a screeching halt - which is [[Fridge Brilliance]], because [[Self-Demonstrating Article|that was the joke]].

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== Video Games ==

* One reason ''[[The Legend of Zelda]] [[Majoras Mask]]'' was considered so sad as well as scary was because the final three-day cycle erases any quests you can't take care of without resetting time, and the game doesn't show the results of any quests you didn't finish in the post-finale sequence (although averting it, when you ''know'' what happens, [[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)/Nightmare Fuel|doesn't always make it better]]). Failing to complete {{spoiler|the Romani Ranch quest}}, for example, leaves you wondering if a traumatized friend ever recovered, and {{spoiler|the ghost character who gives you the rock mask}} may stay there ''[[Who Wants to Live Forever|forever]]'' whether you complete the task or not. It actually is possible to [[~~Videogame~~ Caring Potential|run Link ragged and complete all of the quests]] in ''MM'' (with the exception of two inconsequential and mutually exclusive branches,) but it also contains application of the Tethercat Principle: The ending. Does the Link of ''MM'' ever get home and complete his quest?

* One reason ''[[The Legend of Zelda]] [[Majoras Mask]]'' was considered so sad as well as scary was because the final three-day cycle erases any quests you can't take care of without resetting time, and the game doesn't show the results of any quests you didn't finish in the post-finale sequence (although averting it, when you ''know'' what happens, [[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)/Nightmare Fuel|doesn't always make it better]]). Failing to complete {{spoiler|the Romani Ranch quest}}, for example, leaves you wondering if a traumatized friend ever recovered, and {{spoiler|the ghost character who gives you the rock mask}} may stay there ''[[Who Wants to Live Forever?|forever]]'' whether you complete the task or not. It actually is possible to [[Video Game Caring Potential|run Link ragged and complete all of the quests]] in ''MM'' (with the exception of two inconsequential and mutually exclusive branches,) but it also contains application of the Tethercat Principle: The ending. Does the Link of ''MM'' ever get home and complete his quest?

** The ending ''does'' show cutscenes for sidequests that you finished at ''some'' point in the game, whether you did them on your final cycle or not. This ''might'' imply that everything you did merges together, playing with the [[Offscreen Inertia]] a bit, but it ''can'' still apply to quests that you never did at all. Saving {{spoiler|Romani}} at ''some'' point means that she's safe, but don't do the quest at all and she ''is'' traumatized forever.

** A similar instance is shared with the end of ''[[The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening|Link's Awakening]]'', where the credits roll while Link is still ''stranded in the middle of the ocean with no food or fresh water''. Does he just keep drifting on a wooden plank? Does he ever get rescued?

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== Web Original ==

* It seems one of the classic [[~~LO Lcats~~]] will always be sad about [http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/04/24/funny-pictures-why-no-one-comes/ no one coming to his party].

* It seems one of the classic [[LOLcats]] will always be sad about [http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/04/24/funny-pictures-why-no-one-comes/ no one coming to his party].

** Inverted however by [http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/01/07/funny-pictures-gifs-cat-eternal-kiss/ the eternal kiss]. You may awww now.

* Presumably the first person to discover the fact that [http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/ the badgers] go out of sync after several loops was trying to test this.

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== Western Animation ==

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' Season 2 finale, {{spoiler|Toph traps her kidnappers in a metal box with her new Metalbending skills, out in the middle of nowhere. We never see them get out, and since Toph is the only person in the series to develop Metalbending, we're left wondering if they ever got out.}} Made worse by the fact that one of the characters actually says "{{spoiler|I'm going to be stuck in here forever with you, aren't I?}}"

* Any cartoons that end with a character [[Exit Pursued By a Bear|being chased into the sunset/horizon by an angry animal]]

* Any cartoons that end with a character [[Exit, Pursued By a Bear|being chased into the sunset/horizon by an angry animal]]

** Many ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', ''[[Tom and Jerry (Animation)|Tom and Jerry]]'' and ''[[Pink Panther]]'' episodes deliberately invoke this, showing the villain (or unfortunate hero)'s situation carrying on into the night before fading or irising out.

** An especially Tethercat-esque example occurs in the MGM-[[Tex Avery]] 'toon "Ventriloquist Cat", which ends with the titular cat on a telephone pole, sliding repeatedly between his canine nemesis at the top and a whole pack of dogs at the bottom, until night falls and the cartoon ends.

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[[Category:Ending Tropes]]

[[Category:Offscreen Inertia]]

[[Category:Trope]]

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