#Shoot the Shaggy Dog (trope)

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

Ultimately, the Inspector and Emerald were unable to save anyone from AceSpace,

since the AceSpacers believed that their youth was enough to protect them from whatever the world outside of the dome had in store for them.

‘We could save you lot, if you just let us. You don’t know what’s waiting for you out there.’

[malachi-walker]

P, T, Z?

P (Architect or Gardener?)

Picture a garden growing atop a bitchin' set of ancient ruins. Generally I have all of the major events/story beats planned out in advance, and inevitably new ideas/scenes/directions for said scenes pop up as I fill out those bits.

T (Any fandom tropes you can't stand?)

Not a huge fan of genderbending (especially when it's for the sake of wlw representation, because it usually just highlights how thin on the ground that it). But I'm also not a huge fan of massive power imbalances between characters unless it's something activity being addressed/overcome, i.e. the point.

Z (Major character death--do you ever read or write it?)

No. I have to deal with enough dead lesbians in mainstream media without going for it in my off time. That and I'm a fucking sap who will go through a bonus twenty circles of hell if I'm promised a happy ending, but won't even go through one if it's just gonna be a shoot the shaggy dog story. The only exception is non-fanfic stuff that I know going in will be a tragedy, since I am a huge fan of both Renaissance revenge tragedy (lookin' at you, Duchess of Malfi and The Spanish Tragedy!) and the byronic hero archetype.

[itisweselton]

😏

//I’ve always been fond of the ‘shoot the shaggy dog’ tropeor anything to do with unrequited love.

[multicore-headspace]

Just watched Mortal Engines. Overall enjoyed and recommended, but I have to complain about the changes. Major spoilers.

When I was rereading the book, I thought “Wow, this is such a shaggy-dog, trope-averting ending. You don’t usually see movies end like this.” I guess I was right.

The original ending has the superweapon just kind of blowing itself up due to a technical fault before even touching the shield wall, and taking London with it. Our protagonists’ efforts end up not really mattering. Everyone dies, with Tom and Hester the only survivors. Tom has lost his city, and Hester has lost her chance to take revenge on Valentine. They realize that they’ll probably never be real heroes but that they can build a life together.

The new ending has Hester haxxing into the mainframe to shut the system down in the nick of time, and Tom doing crazy cool stunts in the airship to blow up London’s engines before climactically shooting Valentine out of the sky. The Londoners then pour out of the city and make friends with the Anti-Tractionists The original theming is a bit lost.

Valentine’s character was the greatest casualty of the new script. Valentine is supposed to be a tragic villain. He’s a lying, murdering son of a bitch and London’s finest agent of chaos, but he’s ultimately driven by wanting his daughter to have a better life than he did and forced into some of his deeds by Crome’s blackmail. Crome is the one who unleashes the weapon, and has megalomaniacal intentions that extend into the very stars. But Crome after all is the Lord Mayor, and just following Municipal Darwinism to its logical conclusion.

The movie shunts Crome’s ambitions onto Valentine and just makes him an even bigger asshole, either because having two villains was too hard or because having complicated villains was too morally grey.

But actually, the changes to the MEDUSA arc make London seem more morally justified and more sane somehow. In the book the weapon is an ancient terror that should not have been reawakened. It reduces a massive city to scrap in a flash, and causes an artificial sunrise hundreds of miles away. When it fails, it obliterates the platform holding it. 

In the movie, the weapon is maybe on par with the bombs the US military has used against the Taliban. It does its job and takes down the wall, but leaves the surrounding area and its loot relatively unharmed. When it is sabotaged, it shuts down gracefully. Valentine isn’t messing with powers beyond his grasp, he’s striking a heroic blow for Traction against Anti-Traction.

The movie also left out a lot of the scenes from the book that made London look bad, like petty criminals being worked to death in a pool of literal shit, or the contents of the museum being fed to the furnaces in the great push to the east.

And like, the movie ending makes it seem like everything is happy and peaceful, but now the shield wall is gone along with the weapons protecting it. Isn’t the next traction city to wander by going to sweep through Shan Guo like a knife though butter?

Overall, boo to the dark machinations of Hollywood Market Appeal.

Miscellaneous things I noticed:

I was kind of disappointed that Shrike was the Terminator. I always pictured him as a gentleman who just wanted his friend to live forever with him.

In the book, other cities won’t accept Tom’s London money, but in the Movie the slavers are bidding in Quirkes.

Agree with the reviews I saw that the Minions and Twinkie jokes were forced.

In the movie Katherine and Pod get less screen time than the book, and I think the movie just forgets that Pod exists at some point. To be fair, the book kills him off fairly unceremoniously.

I read a few online reviews prior to watching the film, but they were super unhelpful because not a single one of the reviewers had read the book. I couldn’t tell if they were complaining about things inherent to the IP or about things the directors had actually fucked up.

I can’t imagine them doing it any other way, but Hester’s scarred and deformed appearance is the most Hollywood Ugly thing I’ve ever seen. Come on, her mouth is supposed to be twisted into a permanent grimace or something.

[dgcatanisiri]

Do you at least not mind the basic idea of the Indoctrination Theory? Not factoring in how it looks when applied to the finished product, just focusing on the general idea. Do you think it would've made for a neato ending/plot twist? And do you think the events of Arrival would've been good as a starting point for it going into ME3?

I hate the whole thing. It just does not work for me at all. Especially using it as some kind of twist - turning our actions into helping the Reapers honestly just makes the whole thing seem like the definition of the trope Shoot the Shaggy Dog, where the story is pointless and the characters all end up dead. Shepard being under indoctrination just could never have worked, especially on the replay value side - knowing you’re helping the Reapers? Who’d want to replay that?

Honestly, while Indoctrination is a part of the fabric of the series, I honestly don’t think it could ever have been implemented in the game in a way that would have worked anywhere near as well as they’d want it to, and it’s best that they ultimately avoided the entire possibility towards Shepard.

One of the books, Retribution, does the concept credit, having a character undergo Indoctrination, and the prose allowing the reader to see how the Reapers turn his thoughts to what they want, even managing to stop him from committing suicide to not be their pawn. That works as a direct result of the format of a book. 

If Indoctrination HAD to be utilized as a plot point in ME3, then I’d rather see us dealing with the consequences of the paranoia about the concept, where you don’t know if you can trust the people who work with you, rather than seeing Shepard be Indoctrinated themselves.

[stories-by-shanna-p]

Tale Teller’s Daily Writing Challenge Master Post (4/5)

Below is a list of the authors and stories that were written for this challenge.  The writers in this challenge chose a certain character to write for and each day was given a new prompt to create a new story from (a total of 28 days!).  They all did absolutely fantastic, and I loved reading them all!  I hope you enjoy them too!!!    The list of prompts is at the bottom of the post.  Because of the number of links, I had to make the Master Post multiple posts. XD

Stories are below the “Keep Reading” line. 

Marvel Fandom

James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier) by @epicallychrissy   (WINNER)

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Loki Laufeyson by @angelwriter3895

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Steve Rogers (Captain America) by @girl-next-door-writes   (WINNER)

An Uneasy Reunion (Prompt 1)

Senior Games Night (Prompt 2)

When the Smoke Clears (Prompt 3)

Clothing Optional (Prompt 4)

Not Built For Bowling (Prompt 5)

A Promising Start (Prompt 6)

Language (Prompt 7)

Hand Gestures (Prompt 8)

Hugs With Steve (Prompt 9)

Up the Wooden Stairs (Prompt 10)

The Unspoken Danger of Hoodies (Prompt 11)

Rogers Hearts Stark (Prompt 12)

Strays (Prompt 13)

Responsible Grown Up (Prompt 14)

The Last 24 Hours (Prompt 15)

The Confession (Prompt 16)

A Secret Sing-A-Long (Prompt 17)

A Shaggy Dog Story (Prompt 18)

The Book of Love (Prompt 19)

How Does It End (Prompt 20)

Jump (Prompt 21)

Steve’s Song (Prompt 22)

Must Be Tuesday (Prompt 23)

Inner Monologue (Prompt 24)

That’s Not My Bucky (Prompt 25)

Dear Tony (Prompt 26)

The Choice (Prompt 27)

Insomnia (Prompt 28)

The Accidental Hero (Bonus Prompt)

Tony Stark (Iron Man) by @waitingfordark

Do You Know the Enemy (Prompt 1)

Endgame (Prompt 2)

To Do List (Prompt 3)

Oh Say Can You...Oh My God (Prompt 4)

Whee!!! (Prompt 5)

Now You See Me But Do You Really See ‘Me’? (Prompt 6)

Are You Serious (Prompt 7)

A Warning to All Who Enter Here (Prompt 8)

Hush...Hush...The Children Are Sleeping (Prompt 9)

I Ship It!!!!! (Prompt 10)

Clint Barton (Hawkeye) by @grace-for-sale   (WINNER)

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Bruce Banner (Hulk) by @sorta-sirius-black

The Lonely (Prompt 1)

The Inevitability of Sacrifice (Prompt 2)

The Silent Point Between Rage and Serenity (Prompt 3)

Like Teenagers (Prompt 4)

Home (Prompt 5)

As Nature Intends (Prompt 6)

Provocation (Prompt 7)

Silent Language (Prompt 8)

Parallel Line (Prompt 9)

Lazy Sunday (Prompt 10)

Happy Accidents (Prompt 11)

Perception (Prompt 12)

Strays (Prompt 13)

Blueprints (Prompt 14)

Sunrise (Prompt 15)

Reflections of Desire (Prompt 16)

Control (Prompt 17)

Metal Pets (Prompt 18)

Deep Roots (Prompt 19)

One Third of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll (Prompt 20)

Bloody Knuckles (Prompt 21)

The Run and Go (Prompt 22)

Tradition (Prompt 23)

Anything But Pretty (Prompt 24)

Frank Castle (Punisher) by @angelsandhuntersgalore    (WINNER)

Stuck (Prompt 1)

Range (Prompt 2)

Point and Shoot (Prompt 3 and Bonus Prompt)

Break Through (Prompt 4)

The Day After (Prompt 5)

Dallas (Prompt 6)

Landslide (Prompt 7)

You’re Out (Prompt 8)

Sorry (Prompt 9)

My Lady (Prompt 10)

Sleep (Prompt 11)

Baseball Practice (Prompt 12)

Olivia (Prompt 13)

Dinner (Prompt 14)

Not Worth Living (Prompt 15)

Revealing (Prompt 16)

Gibson (Prompt 17)

Max (Prompt 18)

Get Rid of Him (Prompt 19)

Cpt. Castle (Prompt 20)

I Told You (Prompt 21)

God’s Gonna Cut You Down (Prompt 22)

Laundry (Prompt 23)

I’m Sorry (Prompt 24)

Father’s Day (Prompt 25)

Beloved (Prompt 26)

Lt. Frank Castle (Prompt 27)

It Was You (Prompt 28)

Prompts:

Shit happens.  But when your character gets stuck in a room, alone, with the person they hate the most...that shit is going to hit the fan.

“Have you tried getting good?”

Angst

Warning: Costume Malfunction

“I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!”  “You came in like a bouncy ball...”

Tropes.  Write your character into your favorite trope.

Everyone has a pet peeve.  What is your character’s and how do they react when someone keeps doing it?!

Warning: Language Ahead

Fluff

Ship it! Characters are always paired up in different ships.  Pick your favorite and write a ship story! Either a ship your character is in or a pairing that they themselves ship.

“I’m sorry,” they snickered, “You got attacked by what?”

High School AU (Alternate Universe)

Your character finds a homeless child.  What do they do?

The chaos and disruption in the room was evident.  Broken chairs, shattered glass, streaks of blood here and there.  There was only one response.  “So…dinner?”

Your character has been told they only have one day left to live.  How do they spend it?

“I love you. I have always loved you.  I will always love you.”

Guilty pleasure!  Write your character indulging in their guilty pleasure!

Your character decides they need a pet.  How does that go?

Your character is in love, what do they do?!

AU (Alternate Universe)--of yoru choice

Warning: Someone being a dumbass ahead

Anthem. Everyone has a song that is ‘their’ song.  What is your character’s and how did it become so?

Make your readers laugh so hard that they cry

Open up Tumblr gif search and type in your character’s name.  The 13th gif you count that has your character in it is the one you get.  Make a story around that gif.  Be sure to put the gif in your story somewhere so we all can see it.

Everyone has hat prized possession.  What happens when your characters lose theirs?

Apologies.  What is the toughest apology your character has ever (or will ever) make?

Perspective is everything.  Write a story about your character, but through their eyes and perspective of someone else.  

“Please,” they whimpered as a tear ran down their cheek.

Bonus: “You...You saved me.  And you’re hurt! Why are you hurt?!”

Tags:

@girl-next-door-writes @msjava1972 @legolas-bromance @evilskank-inthemegacoven @goofynerd-67babylove @super-not-naturall

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“I think I get it,” I told her.  I looked at Bullet, who had stopped running and was sitting in the middle of the field, watching others run.  “Do they all have stories like that?”

“Most.”

“Damn,” I felt a pang of sympathy for the animals.

Yeah, this place isn’t one filled with happy stories.

The herd of dogs returned to me, and a shaggy dog dropped the ball at my feet.

The phrase “shaggy dog” honestly just makes me think of the tropes “Shaggy Dog Story” and “Shoot the Shaggy Dog”... neither of which I hope we’ll be encountering here.

(Disclaimer: Krixwell Liveblogs dot Tumblr dot com limited trademark insert-more-bullshit-here incorporated is not responsible for time allegedly “lost” or “wasted” after following links to TVTropes dot org, be it on the scale of minutes, hours, days or years. No refunds.)

“Good dog,” I told it.  I threw the ball, aiming to get it near Bullet, and the herd of dogs rushed off again, with more than a few excited barks.

Bitch and I weren’t conversing, but neither of us were conversation people.  I was too socially clumsy to maintain small talk for any length of time, and Bitch was… well, she was Bitch.

Yeah, this is to be expected.

So we sat, minutes passed between each exchange of dialogue, and it somehow didn’t bother me.  It was letting me pick and choose what I was talking about very carefully.

Sometimes it’s nice to have this kind of friend. It might be what ultimately makes Rachel more positive towards Taylor, too.

“It’s too bad dogs can’t have trigger events,” Bitch mused aloud.  “If they did, some people might think twice.”

Well...

huh.

That would make for quite the chaos, now wouldn’t it. Imagine it - a whole bunch of abused dogs suddenly going wild with parapowers of their own! You’ve got flying dogs, dogs that can shoot lasers around corners, hyperintelligent Tinker dogs, dogs that can cause explosions without actually blowing anything up, dogs that can turn other humans into demons...

[mami-kouga0]

The tropes has a name- 'shoot the shaggy dog story'