So What Do We Do Now?: Difference between revisions

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[[File:~~xkcd_693_~~-~~_Childrens_Fantasy_~~-~~_I_was_going_to_be_a_scientist_but_that_seems_silly_now_7654~~.png|link=Xkcd|right]]

[[File:xkcd 693 - Childrens Fantasy - I was going to be a scientist but that seems silly now 7654.png|link=Xkcd|right]]

{{quote|'''Arak:''' No more executions, torture, nothing.

'''Etta:''' It's all changed. We're free.

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This trope seems to suggest that life is like a [[Video Game]]: Beat the last boss and it's game over. Nothing else to do. You go back to normality and everything special goes away. While not always, typically this trope is applied to the ending of the series, where it might be the last step of [[Hero's Journey]].

Depending on the writer or director's choice, it can be a [[Downer Ending]] where the hero figures he has to just get used to it, or a more optimistic ending where things suggest that the Weird and Wonderful aren't entirely gone, or are coming ~~back -- or~~ that the hero can ''bring'' them back if he chooses. The optimistic version sometimes ties into a [[Sequel Hook]]. Alternatively, the writers can make it look like a happy ending, and [[Fridge Logic]] will kick in when you start thinking about this trope.

Depending on the writer or director's choice, it can be a [[Downer Ending]] where the hero figures he has to just get used to it, or a more optimistic ending where things suggest that the Weird and Wonderful aren't entirely gone, or are coming back—or that the hero can ''bring'' them back if he chooses. The optimistic version sometimes ties into a [[Sequel Hook]]. Alternatively, the writers can make it look like a happy ending, and [[Fridge Logic]] will kick in when you start thinking about this trope.

Subtrope of [[In Harm's Way]].

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== Anime and Manga ==

* Used in the first few episodes of ''[[Battle B-daman]]''. Yamato finally gets his own B-daman and his first battle is against [[The Lancer|Gray]], someone who's generally considered a really tough opponent. After this, even though Yamato now has the B-daman he's been wanting all these years, he gets bored with every last thing he does. [[Hot Shonen Mom|Mie]] [[~~Lampshade|lampshades~~]] this and suggests he goes out and look for Gray.

* Used in the first few episodes of ''[[Battle B-daman]]''. Yamato finally gets his own B-daman and his first battle is against [[The Lancer|Gray]], someone who's generally considered a really tough opponent. After this, even though Yamato now has the B-daman he's been wanting all these years, he gets bored with every last thing he does. [[Hot Shonen Mom|Mie]] [[lampshade]]s this and suggests he goes out and look for Gray.

* At the end of ''[[Buso Renkin]]'', when the kakugane are collected, Tokiko feels uneasy because she was so used to having hers. Then, of course, Kazuki promises that his will be with her forever...

* ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' both subverted and exemplified this.

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* [[Jim Henson]]'s ''[[Labyrinth]]'' ends with this trope: With everything back to normal, Sarah is disappointed that all her magical puppet friends are now gone and is hit with the hard realization that the payoff of her adventure boils down to her parents not blaming her for being the crappiest babysitter on Earth. Soon enough, though, the magical puppet friends appear to tell her that they'll always be there for her, "should [she] need [them]" - She doesn't ''have'' to give up the Weird and Wonderful, as long as she keeps her ''imagination''! ''Awww...'' EVERYBODY (DANCE, MAGIC) DANCE!

* ''[[The Proposition]]''. Charlie didn't enjoy his adventure, but the ending just screams of indeterminacy. It doesn't help that {{spoiler|both his brothers, including the one he'd set out to save, are dead}}.

* The gangster spoof ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'' has a [[Framing Device]] of the title character as a pet store owner, seemingly retired from his life of crime, and telling the story of his life to a ~~kid--complete~~ with [[The Aesop]] of "crime doesn't pay." Then a limo pulls up, and he remarks "Well, it paid a little..."

* The gangster spoof ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'' has a [[Framing Device]] of the title character as a pet store owner, seemingly retired from his life of crime, and telling the story of his life to a kid—complete with [[The Aesop]] of "crime doesn't pay." Then a limo pulls up, and he remarks "Well, it paid a little..."

* In [[Prince Caspian]] Peter in particular is none too happy to be a young teen dealing with stupid schoolboys again, as opposed to a full-grown man and a king.

* Almost happened to Inigo in ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]''. {{spoiler|Fortunately, Westley is on hand to suggest a new career option: "Have you considered piracy? You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts."}}

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* About half to two-thirds of the way through ''[[Persona 3]]'', SEES has a short battle with this after {{spoiler|defeating the twelfth Arcana-shadow}}. Not long after, cue {{spoiler|the clarification of Ikutsuki's [[Evil Plan]], followed by the build-up to [[Multiple Endings|either]] the [[Downer Ending]] [[Multiple Endings|or]] the [[Bittersweet Ending]].}}

* ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' manages to take this to downright [[Tear Jerker]] levels. Seriously, it has an honest-to-God [[Don Bluth]] ending.

* The ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games all end with [[The Stinger|Stingers]] which resolve plot points or serve as [[Sequel Hook~~|Sequel Hooks~~]]. [[Grand Finale]] ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4'' instead has a "What do we do now?" between {{spoiler|Snake and Otacon}}.

* The ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games all end with [[The Stinger|Stingers]] which resolve plot points or serve as [[Sequel Hook]]s. [[Grand Finale]] ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4'' instead has a "What do we do now?" between {{spoiler|Snake and Otacon}}.

* ''[[You Have to Burn The Rope]]'' features a little ditty at the end of the game that's mostly about this:

{{quote|''Now you're a hero / You managed to beat the whole damn game''

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* Happens in the time between [[Star Fox (series)|Star FOX]] 64 and Star Fox Adventures. After saving the Lylat System in the previous game the Star Fox team finds themselves out of work and with nothing to do. This causes Falco to leave the team and for all their fancy equipment to fall into disrepair. Same thing happens in the prologue of Star Fox Command, only this time the entire team breaks up.

* Shaundi asks this after the main story ending of [[Saints Row|Saint's Row 2]]. {{spoiler|The answer, of course, is "whatever [[Cluster F-Bomb|the fuck]] we want".}}

* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' [[Fanon]] embraces this trope for [[~~Continuation|continuations~~]], usually featuring [[Anti-Hero|Squall]] trying to come to terms with life after the war and a job that, now [[Big Bad|Ultimecia]] is no more, [[Deconstruction|is mostly paperwork.]]

* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' [[Fanon]] embraces this trope for [[continuation]]s, usually featuring [[Anti-Hero|Squall]] trying to come to terms with life after the war and a job that, now [[Big Bad|Ultimecia]] is no more, [[Deconstruction|is mostly paperwork.]]

* Lance Boyle brings this up in the intro to ''[[Megarace]] 2'': "[The winner] is crowned King Megaracer 2, he experiences a sense of achievement, and returns in regal triumph to reality, where he will probably never readapt."

* [[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]] reveals that, after saving Veldime in [[Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories]], [[The Hero|Adell]] has pretty much jack-all to do. Turns out the Demon Hunter skill set doesn't transfer to other jobs very well.

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* Season 2 of ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' starts with Taranee trying to get into trouble out of fear of becoming anonymous; subverted by her teachers going easy on her since she had always been such a good student. The episode ends with a heartwarming [[An Aesop|aesop]] about how she will never be anonymous as long as she has friends.

** {{spoiler|Plus she didn't have to worry about not being done as a Guardian as a new [[Big Bad]] was currently building her forces at the time}}.

** At the end of season 2 the heroes are relieved to have finally put that behind them and are eager to resume their normal lives, clearly excited at the prospect of [[So What Do We Do Now?]]... and then [[The Stinger]] shows one of the antagonists from the comics taking a position at their school, setting up the conflict for season three [[Too Good to Last|that will never happen]].

** At the end of season 2 the heroes are relieved to have finally put that behind them and are eager to resume their normal lives, clearly excited at the prospect of So What Do We Do Now?... and then [[The Stinger]] shows one of the antagonists from the comics taking a position at their school, setting up the conflict for season three [[Too Good to Last|that will never happen]].

* In the episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" of ''[[South Park]]'', [[That One Player|a griefer]] was killing each player discouraging them from playing, so in order to play again, the protagonists play for months, 21 hours a day, killing boars to gain experience points to achieve a level that allows them to beat him, and when they finally do with the help of the [[Infinity+1 Sword]], the question is dropped and the answer is: "Now we can play the game, I guess."

* [[Chuck Jones]]' latter-day [[Looney Tunes|Road Runner]] short ''Soup or Sonic'' ends with Wile E. Coyote finally catching his ~~prey -- but~~ unable to do anything with him due to {{spoiler|their difference in size}}. He holds up a [[Talking with Signs|pair of signs for the audience]] reading, ''Okay, wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him - Now what do I do?''

* [[Chuck Jones]]' latter-day [[Looney Tunes|Road Runner]] short ''Soup or Sonic'' ends with Wile E. Coyote finally catching his prey—but unable to do anything with him due to {{spoiler|their difference in size}}. He holds up a [[Talking with Signs|pair of signs for the audience]] reading, ''Okay, wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him - Now what do I do?''

* Averted at the end of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''; even with the defeat of Ozai, Aang and Zuko are clear on the fact that there is a lot of rebuilding to do, both in terms of damage caused by the war and in relations between the nations. It was long theorized that if there ''had'' been a fourth season, it would have focused upon rebuilding the lost Air Tribe.

** The [[Interquel]] graphic novels ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise]]'' and the [[Sequel Series]] ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' suggest that time was spent cooling what hostilities and power squabbles were left in the Fire Nation (you can't expect everyone to be happy about the war's end, after all), finding more air-bison, restoring some of Aang's culture, and building Republic City, a melting-pot for all nations.