The Scrappy: Difference between revisions

:In addition, if the writers begin relying too heavily on an already-present character with some potentially annoying quirks (like [[The Unintelligible]] or the [[Non-Human Sidekick]]), the viewers may begin to find him/her very annoying indeed. Sometimes even a very popular character is at risk of becoming a Scrappy when he or she wears out his or her welcome [[Wolverine Publicity|by being overexposed]].

:Occasionally, a character intended as a [[Butt Monkey]] will backfire and become a Scrappy, too. This usually happens when a writer attempts to make his mishaps even funnier by making him an unlikeable person to whom it's very satisfying to see horrible things befall. A great idea, but sometimes it backfires when the [[Butt Monkey]] becomes so annoying that whatever happens to him in the story, audiences are haunted by the feeling that it will never be enough. An especial risk when the [[Butt Monkey]] gags are prolonged, after which even a character who's not inherently unlikeable can stop being funny and become a [[Damsel Scrappy]]. It also comes full-circle in a way; note also that many Scrappies can easily become [[Butt Monkey]]s when touched upon in fan discussions and literary parodies. In any given [[Hate Fic]], and even in the occasional straight-up [[Fanfic]], the author may very likely go a step further than making '''The Scrappy''' into the [[Butt Monkey]], killing him or her off (often brutally), or giving a "hero" Scrappy a [[Face Heel Turn]] so he becomes the villain; after which he again will likely be killed off.

:Strangely, at the other end of the spectrum lies another common scrappy, the [[Author Avatar]]. Unlike a [[Butt Monkey]], they lack any sort of shame on principle; instead serving as the voice of reason, or whatever contrived argument the writer ''thinks'' is reason. If bad things happen to this character, it will be to prove that everyone else is allegedly stupider.

:Some people conflate [[Hate Sink]] characters with '''The Scrappy''', on the fact that both types are hated by fans; but the difference is that in a high percentage of cases the Hate Sink is ''[[Intended Audience Reaction|intentionally]]'' written that way -- usually to give fans a character on whom project their irritation if the nominal villain is [[Orcus on His Throne|inactive]] or [[Rooting for the Empire|relateable]]. As the trope namer proves, a Scrappy could have been written with the initial intention of being relatable and sympathetic (and maybe was, at the beginning), but their gimmick overstayed its welcome and the fans become increasingly irritated by its existence instead.

:Not all Scrappies are doomed to their status. If the writers notice what's happening, they may [[Rescued from the Scrappy Heap|change the character in order to make sure they are no longer hated]], give them a [[Alas, Poor Scrappy|tragic death scene]], simply [[Shoo Out the New Guy|send them away]], or at the very least [[Take That, Scrappy!|show that the other characters are as annoyed by them as the fans are]]. If the character is a [[Jerkass]] [[Straight Man]], [[Butt Monkey]], or [[The Chew Toy|Chew Toy]], though, don't expect anything to change; these characters are meant to be unlikeable on purpose, as it's part of their charm.

:On the other hand, if the writers take a shine to The Scrappy and add some elements of [[Mary Sue]], or otherwise put more focus on them over more popular/liked characters, this will add gasoline to the flames - they've just turned The Scrappy into the dreaded [[Creator's Pet]]. Expect anti-websites (and, in the social media era, ''dozens'' of Orkut communities/Tumblr blogs/Twitter accounts against the character); message threads that [[Flame War|degenerate into flamefests]]; and [[Fan Dumb|a hard fast descent into loonydom]].

:Of course, writers may also [[Hate Sink|make a Scrappy character intentionally]] in order to spoof the concept. A [[Temporary Scrappy]] exists to get on the viewers' nerves and then get thrown out at the end of the episode.

:Whenever fanfiction (especially [[Shipping]]) is involved, The Scrappy will very likely [[Die for Our Ship|die for the writer's chosen pairing]]. Even if they aren't technically involved in the Ship. They'll also become the frequent subject of [[Ron the Death Eater]] treatment.

:In rare instances where the Scrappy has an unexpected [[Dying Moment of Awesome]], it's [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]] (''very'' subjective).