History Main / JustEatTheMacguffin

* In Kyou Kara Maou, there are four keys needed to unlock the SealedEvilInACan, which can bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the worlds as we know them]]. Four easily destroyed keys. Of course, there are [[MacGuffinGirl several]] good reasons not to...

* In ''The Moonstone'', the heroine inherits an enormously valuable diamond from her uncle. She soon learns that it he had stolen it from an Indian cult, murdering several cultists in the process, and that 3 cult members are in England trying to get it back. Given that they were the stone's rightful owners, if she had just given it to them (or sold it to them for a penny to make everything legal), this could have saved everyone a lot of trouble.
** The central family of the story is very scared and suspicious of the three cultists - after all, [[ValuesDissonance right to the stone or not, they]] ''[[ValuesDissonance are]]'' [[ValuesDissonance Indian.]] Plus the diamond is stolen before they can figure out long-term goals - or even that the diamond is being hunted.

*** The Tablets of Fate listed each of the gods and their duties. They didnt have any signifigance and and of themselves, being true [==MacGuffins==], and their theft was merely a large scale act of [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority rebellion]] by [[spoiler:Myrkul and Bane]] and their return was a condition of ending the [[DisproportionateRetribution Time of Troubles]] by Ao. Basically, the Godly equivalent of clean your room or no supper.

**** No, {{Superman}} has said multiple times that his 'do not kill' oath doesn't apply to machines. {{Batman}}, WonderWoman and TheFlash are all like that.

** Much earlier on, [[SealedEvilInACan Piccolo]] [[CardCarryingVillain Daimao]] actually swallows two of the titular [[MacGuffin Mac Guffins]], though he's able to spit them back up with ease.

* Goku literally attempts to do this to one of the Dragonballs in an effort to stop Syn Shenron from becoming Omega Shenron (again). The results are: a CrowningMomentOfFunny / WallBanger watching him nearly choke to death in the attempt to swallow it, a W-T-F moment when the ball APPEARS IN HIS FOREHEAD for no discernible reason, and eventually failure when Syn Shenron manages to re-absorb it anyway.

* Subverted in Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron, where the good guys would like nothing better than to eat the titular {{MacGuffin}}, and half of the plot of the book is them trying to figure out how to destroy the damned thing. As it turns out, [[spoiler: to destroy the Cauldron, you have to willingly jump into it, sacrificing yourself in the process.]] The climax of the book is the good guys [[spoiler: all running for the Cauldron, attempting to throw themselves in it before the bad guys can get it, or before [[ItGotWorse one of their friends jumps in]], instead.]] It also includes a {{Tearjerker}} and {{Crowning Moment of Heartwarming}}, when [[spoiler: one of their former foes reaches the Cauldron first]].

* In Kyou Kara Maou, there are four keys needed to unlock the SealedEvilInACan, which can bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the worlds as we know them]]. Four easily destroyed keys. Of course, there are [[MacGuffinGirl several]] [[SavingThrow good]] reasons not to...

Well, there are [[JustifiedTrope reasons]]. A common one is to make the [=MacGuffin=] completely indestructible, and thus a major inconvenience for anyone to try to effectively get rid of. It could regenerate. There could be so many of them that simply getting rid of them all in this way isn't an option. The [=MacGuffin=] might serve some essential purpose that would screw everything up if it was obliterated. And even then destroying the [=MacGuffin=] is floated as a possible last resort should it get in enemy hands. Or it could turn out to be [[MacGuffinGirl a person]] and the only way to get rid of it is to kill her...AndThatWouldBeWrong.

Well, there are [[JustifiedTrope reasons]]. A common one is to make the [=MacGuffin=] completely indestructible, and thus a major inconvenience for anyone to try to effectively get rid of. It could regenerate. There could be so many of them that simply getting rid of them all in this way isn't an option. The [=MacGuffin=] might serve some essential purpose that would screw everything up if it was obliterated. And even then destroying the [=MacGuffin=] is floated as a possible last resort should it get in enemy hands.

* In ''SkiesOfArcadia'', the characters all live in a world where falling off of an airship is as good as death. Even assuming the Moon Crystals are indestructible, tossing them overboard would make them impossible for anyone to acquire; certainly harder than traversing elaborate dungeons.
** Of course, [[spoiler: it turns out that the Moon Crystals were sealed away in case the Silvites wanted to use them ''again'', not because of their destructive potential -- they were meant to be just difficult enough to find that your average schmuck couldn't run into one and use a Gigas to take over the world]].
** As an Addendum: [[spoiler: It's revealed during the final DeLoco mission that the Empire had been developing ships with powerful sonar equipment that could withstand the pressure of the low altitude. Throwing them over would have been a delay tactic more than a final solution.]]

* In ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'', Elizabeth is brought on board the Black Pearl, and while negotiating with the pirates she threatens to drop the gold piece they want into the ocean. If she had actually dropped it, the pirates wouldn't be able to find it for ages, and they couldn't kill her because they (thought they) needed her blood to break the curse. CursedWithAwesome, for once, provides the justification needed here -- the pirates may hate it, but they're immortal. And it isn't in anyone's best interests to keep them that way, since if they have nothing, they also have nothing to lose.
** Well seeing as how at that point Elizabeth was aware of neither their curse nor the fact that her blood was what they needed to undo said curse, her decision to not drop the gold piece seems rather justified.
** And if she did, they could just take her captive or just kill her and bottle up some blood.
** And the Black Pearl isn't in deep water at the time, so the pirates could have just gone skinny-dipping. [[DemBones Boney-dipping]]. Whatever.

* In ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'', Elizabeth is brought on board the Black Pearl, and to negotiate [[strike: an audience with the captain]]the pirates' leaving [[DoomedHometown Port Royal]], she threatens to drop the gold piece the pirates want into the ocean. If she had actually dropped it, the pirates wouldn't be able to find it for ages, and they couldn't kill her because they (thought they) needed her blood to break the curse. CursedWithAwesome, for once, provides the justification needed here -- the pirates may hate it, but they're immortal. And it isn't in anyone's best interests to keep them that way, since if they have nothing, they also have nothing to lose.

** And no, taking an axe to it will not work.

Another excuse is to JustThinkOfThePotential.