So, the main conflict of the story you're in is all saved. It seems like a Happy Ending, but what's this?! Something scary happens just before the screen goes black. What to do depends on the specific situation.
The evil creature appears to be dead, but then it opens its eyes, or it is dead, but there's another one.
- Try killing it again.
- If it doesn't work, or that's too dangerous, run away.
- Try looking for its weakness—it could be anything, even something harmless to humans!
- If it's a vampire, just put it out in the sun.
- Try grinding their head to a pulp—that nearly always works!
- Never lean over the monster.
- If you're in a horror movie, follow the standard horror movie rules: don't go to the woods, don't have sex or act lustful, don't climb up stairs, don't wear heels, don't say you'll be right back, etc.
- If it's more interested in the viewers than you or your friends, don't sweat it. It's forgotten about you and your friends and, try as it might, it will never be able to hurt the viewers.
- Try putting the monster on another bad guy's property and let them deal with it.
- Unless you know for sure that the creature's species is evil as a species trait, if it's a whole different creature, don't assume it's evil. Be prepared in case it is, but don't try to kill it until you're sure it's evil and can't be dealt with peacefully.
- Turning the creature to stone or somehow containing it is not foolproof, so if you do this, be extra careful. Burning the creature is more effective, but not completely foolproof. Making them fall from a very high height is quite effective, but slightly less effective than burning.
The supernatural explanation is practically disproven, but then along comes an implication or even actual proof that it's Real After All.
- Don't jump to conclusions. We're not suggesting you deny the existence of monsters when there clearly is a monster right there, but do try to use your rational mind:
- Just because Alice was in a monster suit, then another monster appears that is clearly not Alice in a monster suit, doesn't necessarily mean it isn't someone else in a monster suit. Unless it directly attacks you, take a good look to see if it realistically looks like a creature.
- Is the "evidence" of the supernatural actually something pretty normal/mundane that just seems scary because you've been thinking about the supernatural? For example, if you've been telling ghost stories and then it feels cold, and it's winter, that doesn't, by any means, mean that ghosts are even likely to be nearby.
- If somebody implies verbally that they might be a vampire/alien/werewolf/whatever, are they known for being a joker? If so, they're probably just messing with you.
- Are the mysterious glowing eyes in the darkness pretty small, almond-shaped, green, blue, yellow or orange, and with slits for pupils? If so, then it's probably a cat. Yes, even if you don't have one—they get around.
- So, you don't know whether it's supernatural or not? Make like a detective and investigate! If the ambiguity is due to darkness, shine a torch. If it's a creature, take a look for any proof that it's real or fake.
- And if you find out it's actually supernatural?
- Determine if it's a friend or a foe. Even if they have a sinister reputation: sometimes Dark Is Not Evil, after all.
- If it is a foe, try to follow the steps under the first item on the list, which deals with evil creatures. And don't worry if you're some kind of paranormal specialist (a Ghostbuster for example)—you can deal with it; it's your job!
You had a nightmare, and then some aspect of the nightmare was there when you woke up!
- Is the aspect of the nightmare actually pretty common? For example, if it's a blue shirt, then it's probably just a coincidence. Likewise, if it's a song, is the song actually quite a popular one?
- If the nightmare is impossible in the universe you're in, remind yourself of that. For example, it can't have happened if Word of God is that centaurs don't exist in your work and your dream involved a centaur.
- Make sure the important parts of the nightmare didn't happen. If the disturbing part of the nightmare was that Alice blew up and, despite an aspect of it being there, she's still standing there good as anything, you don't have to worry. (An example of this was the Arthur episode "D.W.'s Name Game": yes, the Saurus was there, but Arthur hadn't really melted and that's the main thing.)
- If there's no clear evidence that the dream's events either happened or didn't happen, you could always ask people who featured in the dream if they remember the events. If they seem confused and don't seem to be lying about not knowing what's going on, then it probably didn't happen.
- If the dream's events didn't happen in reality, but now they are, you may have had a prophetic dream. Yes, even if you're not psychic. However, you can probably prevent actual deaths based on the dream.
- If it turns out that the dream's events actually happened, then either someone/something has manipulated your dreams somehow, you have a superpower that's activating, you were having an out-of-body experience, or you were somehow put to sleep without your knowledge after the events. What to do next depends on the exact scenario.
Someone got sick, then another person has started showing symptoms.
- First off, make sure they're really sick. Do they have a fever? Do they seem groggy? Do their eyes and throat look infected? And if it's a made-up disease, is that symptom something only the disease can make? If they seem fine, they probably are: sneezing and coughing can come from something as simple as dry air or dust.
- Read the instructions on Analysis.Sick Episode for how to avoid catching it yourself.
- If they just "feel weird" but otherwise seem fine, it could well be the Placebo effect.
- If they are sick, did something special cure you? Use it to cure them.
- Remember, that if they are a different species, they have a good chance of not being sick. If it's an alien or something and they say, "My species don't catch that disease," it's probably true: they probably know more about their species than you do. And pets? Well, they could possibly catch a sci-fi/fantasy illness off you, but if it's a normal disease like a cold, they couldn't catch it off you. Check if they're OK, and if they are sick, take them to the vet and remember that they didn't catch it off you.
There's (at least probably) a villain, a strange creature (or a villainous strange creature) around, and then something implies that it's your friend! Or your friend did go a bit haywire, but they're back to normal, but then you get an "or are they?" moment.
- Think back. If they're possibly a different species and it's implied they've always been that way, did they get scanned, tested with a biopsy or similar, operated on or a combination? That probably would have revealed them.
- If their alleged species has a species-specific trait, has this friend ever proved they didn't have the trait? For example, a supposed vampire who is fine in the sun and/or likes garlic and/or has a reflection, or a supposed werewolf who remains completely human on a full moon.
- If they did an Evil Laugh, remember that they could be joking. Only treat evil laughs seriously if the person is normally deadly serious.
- If they were implied to be evil, their good acts could have been pretending to be good, but did they do something like blow up a spaceship with members of the evil organisation on it? If they are willing to harm the bad guys, they're probably not working for them.
- Remember that it could be a villain and/or strange creature pretending to be your friend. Do a Spot the Imposter test.
- This is easy to do if the villain/creature knows nothing about your friend's life, is a bad actor, or if it has powers and the friend doesn't or vice versa.
- If they went haywire and there's still a bit of it left behind, remember that unless they actually did something bad, it could just be a side effect that will probably go away.
- If they have powers associated with the bad guys, remember that unless specified otherwise, powers don't necessarily mean your friend is evil, just that they have powers.
- If they turn out to be an evil creature and you can't resolve the situation peacefully, follow the advice about killing evil creatures.
- Take a look at what tone your work is. If it has Negative Continuity, then even if the friend is evil and/or a strange creature, they'll probably turn back. If it doesn't, but is still quite silly and comedic, then they probably were never evil/a strange creature in the first place. If it's horror or a thriller, there's a better chance, but the more strong the bond between you and them, the less likely it is. Don't know the tone of your work? Count the number of bad things that generally happens and judge how bad they were exactly.
You get news that something similar to the main problem is happening.
- Don't worry. You've dealt with it once, you can deal with it again.
