Reverse Stories: Idea to Formulate Ideas!

Firstly, as a newcomer, I'd like to say that I'm new here, and I have absolutely no idea if this conversation has been had before, so bear with me, and kindly redirect me to the proper location if you can. So with that out of the way, allow me to throw this out there.

Now, I'm only using the names of the original cast for easy reading. Any character can be replaced with anyone, as long as the overall story stays the same, backwards or forwards. The concept is playing a story backwards and editing it so that you have an entirely new story. I'm just using the Wizard of Oz because: 1. I seriously doubt that anyone HASN'T seen it by now, and 2. It is something that like I said earlier, is a very familiar story, and I doubt that anyone on this site has NOT seen it.

If you take the story and play it backwards, you get an entirely new thing. The wizard sends Dorothy and the gang to investigate some ruins, accidentally resurrect a witch that causes chaos across the land, and sends the wizard of Oz into hiding. The group decides to go off and end this witch. Then f***ed up s**t happens.

The Lion becomes scared, as his life narrowly escapes the jaws of death and leaves the group. The Tin-man loses his heart, and betrays Dorthy and Scarecrow, leading to the two nearly killing him and abandoning him in the woods. The Scarecrow loses his mind, going insane as he is crucified and Dorthy has to employ a mercy kill. Finally, Dorthy realizes that the place that she is trying to protect is seriously messed up as her entire troupe is gone and she is left to face the witch alone. And it all ends in a battle which leads to Dorthy dropping a building on the witch and going back into retirement.

I mean, if you take the characters and setting to fit in a fantasy setting and modify them, this would be a great (book, film, TV show? Take your pick)!

So, I want to see what everyone else can do with this trick. Try thinking up a witty story through this technique, or post something that has already done this.

Sounds like that Red Dwarf episode in which they land on a parallel-universe Earth where time runs backwards. Hitler is considered a hero because millions of people come to life while his army liberates France and Poland as it retreats across Europe, Santa Claus is that mean old guy who steals kids' favorite toys on Christmas Eve, and St. Francis of Assisi is a sadist who tortures animals.

edited 7th Jan '16 7:56:34 PM by pwiegle

OK, so a princess is married to a prince and her prospects look great to wind up Queen when the prince ascends to the throne.

However, the prince - for nefarious reasons of his own - drugs her (which puts her into a coma) and dumps her in the wilderness, figuring she'll die in a way that won't point directly back to him (exposure, wild animals etc).

However, the princess' step mother is a powerful witch and uses her magic to restore the princess to health and hides her in the woods with a group of dwarfs until such time it is safe for her to return to her loving father and step mother.

Shouldn't it be a divorce?

I skipped back past the marriage to the "waking with a kiss" and reversed that...

Another musical, and I realize this is technically based on a true story, and I’m taking dramatic liberties, but here it goes.

A captain, his children, and their musical housekeeper hike over the mountains in search of a better life in Austria. Unfortunately, they quickly discover that the region has been overrun by Nazi soldiers, so they hide in a nearby convent. Luckily, the captain has a friend in Austria who disguises them as a singing musical family. The leader of the soldiers adore the family’s singing, believing that they are pledging allegiance to them, so they allow them to tour Austria for a few days and let them stay in a large fancy house for comfort.

When it is discovered that the captain is not actually married to the housekeeper, an excuse is quickly made that allows the two to have a sham wedding. The family is a success, but the relationships between them slowly start to crack. The captain prefers that his children treat their singing as strictly professional while the housekeeper encourages them to embrace their abilities. The housekeeper also finds herself falling for the captain, but when she realizes that he has his sights on a local woman, she leaves for the convent temporarily to clear her head. The captain’s eldest daughter begins a relationship with a Nazi soldier against her father's wishes.

After some time in the convent, the housekeeper returns and tells the captain that she has decided to annul their sham marriage, as she has realized that her true calling in life is as a nun and that she cannot prevent him from seeking true happiness with the woman he truly wants. He agrees to this, they spend a few happy days together (albeit with mischievous protesting from the children), and she leaves, joyous to begin her new life.

edited 13th Jan '16 9:11:42 PM by Coujagkin

Great idea. I'll whip something up!

Here goes!!!: No wait! I need to change some things! Be right back!

Okay:

A king uses his iron magic to curse his country. The king changes his younger brother into solid steel. A duke from a neighboring country threatens to kill the king unless he breaks the curse on the prince. The king chases the duke to the castle, while an iron imp tells the prince that a blacksmith loves him.

The duke reveals his plan to take control of the kingdom from the prince after they’re married. The king takes refuge in his forge-castle in the mountains, where the duke and his mother lead a party to capture him. The iron imp and the blacksmith take the prince to a temple that magnetizes his heart. The prince and blacksmith defeat the king’s thunder demon guard and enter his castle; the king removes the magnetization from the prince’s heart.

The iron imp is destroyed by the king before the prince and the blacksmith part ways. The prince reclaims the kingdom, while the king dismantles his castle and returns to the palace. The king breaks the curse on the country. The king and prince argue after the former refuses to bless the latter’s engagement to the duke.

After the ball, the prince sends the duke away with his mother. The brothers’ parents return and imprison the elder prince. The king and queen take the younger prince back to the temple, where his heart is magnetized once again. The younger prince dies as knives, forks, and nails burrow into his heart, while the elder wastes away in a cell that drains his magic.

edited 16th Jan '16 3:55:50 AM by nekomoon14