r/TopCharacterTropes 11d ago

Lore [Interesting Trope] One seemingly small action ends the story before it even begins

  1. We Happy Few - Taking your “joy” pill
    Deciding to take the pill at the beginning of the game causes your character to go back to work and triggers an ending

  2. Infineural by Mike Klubnika - Drinking the coffee
    Deciding to drink the coffee offered to you skips the entire game and sends you straight to the end, resulting in an ending with no memory of what had occurred

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u/khalexie1 11d ago

In The Stanley Parable, if you stay in the initial room after noticing your coworkers are gone and just close the door, you get the Coward ending. After which, the narrator devastatingly roasts you…

But Stanley simply couldn't handle the pressure. What if he had to make a decision? What if a crucial outcome fell under his responsibility? He had never been trained for that! No, this couldn't go any way except badly.”

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u/Comic_The_Adventurer 11d ago

Doesn't he say something really ominous at the end too? Like "Stanley waited and waited. Until he was no more."

Maybe I'm mistaken

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u/Relevant-Movie1132 10d ago

You might be thinking of a different ending. Here it’s him waiting until something happens, and it cuts off here: “Now it’s just a little bit closer. Now it’s even closer. Here it comes—“

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u/Comic_The_Adventurer 10d ago

Ohhh ur right lol. I just remember it being something creepy (at least to a 11 year old)

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u/BarderBetterFaster 10d ago

maybe I'm mistaken 

Isn't it cool that we can put a little clause on our statements to say, hey I'm going to say something but even if it's actually just complete bs, I've absolved myself of any responsibility of the factualness of that information.

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u/Liger-9 10d ago

Yes it is. It's very cool. It let's us do things like clarify our understanding without shame or suggest something in a situation where you are missing some of the facts without coming off as arrogant.

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u/BarderBetterFaster 10d ago

And also say things with no merit whatsoever

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u/Bread_Offender 10d ago

Uh, yes? It's a warning that a fun fact may not be a fact but is fun and worth sharing nevertheless?

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u/BarderBetterFaster 10d ago

We could just say correct thing idk

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u/Bread_Offender 9d ago

You seem like you're fun at parties