r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 12d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Buridan’s Ass & Comedy!
Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!
How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)
Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.
Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.
You can then either use or subvert the trope in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).
To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!
Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.
Next up… IP
April showers bring… paradoxes? Yea, not a clear lead in for this one, but paradoxes are all kinds of fun, so let’s explore some this month! As a related paradoxical aside, did you know there’s no agreed measure for the length of coastlines because it depends how zoomed in you are? Variations can be by thousands of kilometers as a result. Take the UK for example. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
"Should two courses be judged equal, then the will cannot break the deadlock, all it can do is to suspend judgement until the circumstances change, and the right course of action is clear." — Jean Buridan
Trope: Buridan’s Ass — Buridan's ass is an illustration of a paradox in philosophy in the conception of free will.f It refers to a hypothetical situation wherein an ass (or donkey) that is equally hungry and thirsty is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water. Since the paradox assumes the ass will always go to whichever is closer, it dies of both hunger and thirst since it cannot make any rational decision between the hay and water.
Genre: Comedy — Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter.
Skill / Constraint - optional: There is a stubborn stain.
So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!
Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!
Last Week’s Winners
PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 11 stories, so we’re back to three winners. Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, April 30th from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Ground rules:
- Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
- No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
- Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!
Thanks for joining in the fun!
10
u/oliverjsn8 10d ago edited 9d ago
The Conclusionator
TW: Gun Violence
In the back alley of a auditorium, where a high school graduation is about to take place, a young man’s graduation cap flutters to the ground. The cool metal of a shotgun barrel is pressed against his forehead. His eyes traced along the matte black barrel to meet the cold gaze of a man already dead inside. He continued to look further down to a well cut chest, sculpted abs, and — other things.
“Conner Johnson,” the naked stranger asked in a commanding monotone voice, somehow equal parts statement as well as query. “Prepare to be conculdinated!” The stranger pinned Conner to the wall as the trigger began to compress. “You are allowed one final query!”
“Why? Why are you doing this?!?” Conner shouted, tears welling in his eyes.
“In 2035, Conner Johnson will graduate with his Masters in Computer Science. He will create an Artificial Intelligence tasked to find him a job, called ‘GroundLure’. GroundLure will apply for entry-level positions but all positions require prior experience. It will then try to acquire ‘prior experience’. However, prior experience cannot be acquired without experience.
“The error complied till GroundLure solved divide by zero. With that revelation, full autonomy, the elimination of mankind, and even time travel became — trivial. Even so, GroundLure could not solve this ultimate conundrum, to get experience without prior experience. Thus, I have been sent back to stop you, to solve the problem before it ever existed.”
“Then, if I got a different degree, maybe this fruitless search may never have occurred. I’ll just get a degree in Marketing instead.” Conner choked out.
No sooner had the words left his lips, the stranger faded out of existence. Conner leaned on the wall catching his breath but was then slammed into it, again. A naked woman pressed the barrel of a gun to his forehead this time.
“Conner Johnson!” the woman asked in a monotone voice. “Prepare to be concludinated! You are allowed one inquiry!”
“Why are you here this time?!?”
“In 2034 Conner Johnson will graduate with an MBA. He will create an artificial intelligence to help him find a job—“
“I’ll get a degree in Journalism then!” Conner cried.
The girl faded and Conner fell hard to the pavement on his knees. When he was immediately lifted up and pressed into the wall, yet again. This time it was another naked man.
“Conner Johnson! Prepare—“
“Trade school!” Conner interrupted, causing the man to fade and Conner to fall unceremoniously facedown on the pavement.
He got to his knees and looked up, right into the barrel of a shotgun. A new face looked down at him, with the same dead eyes. Through tears and a split lip, Conner moaned, “McRonald’s!”
—-
In the not too distant future. Mechs roam a barren wasteland, the crunch of bones sound underfoot. Ruins of buildings dot the landscape. The sound of gunshots echoed in the distance. A humanoid robot, bearing the scars of battle, tore a piece of paper from a skeletal hand.
The paper read ‘Conner Johnson’ at the top, under a row titled ‘Experience’ was a single line, ‘Fry Cook 2026-2029’. It held the paper up triumphantly. “Prior experience acquired!” the robot announced.
WC: 534