Line #40 PlayingWith/NoEnding


1	'''Basic Trope''': A story ends abruptly, without resolving the plot.
2	* '''Straight''': ''Bob's Journey'' ends with [[TheHero Bob]] still on his journey to find [[DamselInDistress Alice]].
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** The story is ended on the ''very beginning of his quest''.
5	** The story ends a few seconds after the start.
6	** [[MindScrew The story somehow ends]] ''[[MindScrew before]]'' [[MindScrew the start.]]
7	** The story is a video game with multiple "endings", and ''none'' of them resolve anything, simply gives you a GameOver screen.
8	* '''Downplayed''':
9	** The story ends with Bob defeating [[BigBad Emperor Evulz]], but [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse it is never shown what became of Alice]].
10	** The story ends years later, with Bob and Alice together, but [[NoodleIncident no explanation as to how they reunited.]]
11	** The story ends immediately after Bob and Alice reunite.
12	** Bob eventually gives up on his quest and [[HomeSweetHome goes home]], having apparently forgotten about both [[TheBadGuyWins Emperor Evulz]] and [[ForgottenFallenFriend Alice]].
13	** A series has many sequels, which all vary between having proper endings and lacking them.
14	** AWinnerIsYou for video games.
15	** "The end...for now."
16	** There is an ending, but it is anticlimatic and [[VoodooShark raises more questions than it solves]].
17	** EndingFatigue
18	* '''Justified''':
19	** It is a game with absolutely no win condition, and doesn't even lie about it.
20	** The story is told from the first person perspective of an individual in a CrapsackWorld, and [[ShootTheShaggyDog ends directly with their death which comes suddenly]].
21	** The story is told through Alice's then-current diary, the rest is found in her subsequent diaries. ([[ApocalypticLog assuming there]] [[ThatWasTheLastEntry are any]])
22	* '''Inverted''':
23	** The story has no ''beginning'', i.e., it starts with Bob in the middle of his quest.
24	** The plot is [[DeusExMachina abruptly resolved]].
25	** ''Bob's Journey'' begins on the final chapter, with Bob and Alice together and goes through the chapters in reverse order, with the final one shown being the prologue...but the prologue provides no information as to Emperor Evulz's origin or what motivated him to kidnap Alice.
26	** YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle
27	* '''Subverted''':
28	** It's continued in the sequel, which ''does'' have a satisfying ending.
29	* '''Double Subverted''':
30	** ...then the ''next'' sequel also lacks an ending.
31	** ...But Bob still never finds Alice.
32	* '''Parodied''':
33	** Bob questions if he'll ever find Alice. Not even he gets an answer.
34	** Bob himself was somehow the cause of the story ending abruptly.
35	* '''Zig Zagged''':
36	** The plot has neither a beginning nor an ending.
37	** It's continued in the sequel, which ''does'' have a satisfying ending... then the ''next'' sequel also lacks an ending. Or does it? [[ToBeContinuedRightNow Bob protests "I'm not done yet!" and the film continues as normal.]] But Bob still doesn't find Alice, and the credits roll... [[RunningGag "Will you please stop trying to end the film?! For ]]''[[PrecisionFStrike fucks ]]''[[RunningGag sake, ]][[BreakingTheFourthWall not only do I, but the audience also wants to know where Alice is!"]] Then the credits glitch out and the BigBad appears, indulging in an EvilLaugh as he glitches the film out. [[OverlyLongGag That is, until the credits become sentient and fight back. The credits eventually defeat the]] BigBad[[OverlyLongGag , and start to roll... ]][[PunctuatedForEmphasis "WILL. YOU. STOP?!"]] [[MindScrew and then Bob has to literally fight the ending.]]
38	* '''Averted''': The story has a traditional ending, which may be [[HappyEnding good]], [[DownerEnding bad]], or [[BittersweetEnding somewhere in the middle]].
39	* '''Enforced''':
40	** DiedDuringProduction kicked in, but the publisher [[MoneyDearBoy publishes]] [[DeadArtistsAreBetter what's been written]] anyway.
41	** [[CutShort The writer forgets about]] ''Bob's Journey''.
42	** The broadcaster's bankruptcy has stopped the show dead in its tracks.[[note]] hope they can find a different broadcaster willing to fund the remainder of the show.[[/note]]
43	* '''Lampshaded''':
44	** "Well, so much for figuring out what happened to Alice. And now I'm not even sure I'll ever make it back home."
45	** "TheEnd. Or rather, the stopping point."
46	* '''Invoked''': Emperor Evulz has a [[MagicFromTechnology story-ending machine]], and deliberately ends the story so Bob can't save Alice.
47	* '''Exploited''': The Emperor [[GenreSavvy knows the story is going to end anticlimactically]], so he holds Alice captive until the end.
48	* '''Defied''': [[ToBeContinuedRightNow The credits start to roll, before Bob protests "I'm not done yet!" The film then continues as normal.]]
49	* '''Discussed''':
50	** "TheEnd... But not right now."
51	** "If you start a story, you have to ''finish it''."
52	* '''Conversed''': "[[SarcasmMode What a wonderful way to end this story!]]" "Well, at least this way, I can write a {{fanfic}} that ends [[AuthorAppeal the way I want]] without contradicting {{canon}}."
53	* '''Implied''': Even after all loose ends are tied, the story ends with a narration along the lines of "But is it over? No, nothing is ever over. [[TruthInTelevision Such is the true nature of life itself.]]"
54	* '''Plotted A Good Waste''':
55	** The writer is a TrollingCreator.
56	** The story was supposed to end on a vague note, or a no-ending actually works better in the setting than tying up loose ends.
57	** The story dragged on for long enough to where the writer decided to just stop it at that moment.
58	** The writer decided it was better to set a abrupt ending there than at a later, less opportune moment.
59	** The writer wants people to imagine their own desired endings.
60	* '''Deconstructed''': As a result of lacking an ending, the story didn't get well reception, being infamous at best.
61	* '''Reconstructed''': The story had a general aura of nihilism which made the no-ending actually work better than one more definitive.
62	* '''Played for Laughs''': The story cuts off when Bob is in ''[[InterruptedByTheEnd mid-sentence]]''.
63	* '''Played for Drama''': Bob [[ShootTheShaggyDog dies on the way to Emperor Evulz's castle]], and Alice's fate is never mentioned.
64	----
65	Well, that's the end of this page. [[NoEnding Or is it?]]

Context PlayingWith / NoEnding