Shutting Up Now

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    Optimus Prime: "Bumblebee, my small little friend. You look...different."
    Bumblebee: "Yeah, I just totally got rebuilt. I feel better than ever. I feel like a gold bug."
    Optimus Prime: "Ha Ha! And that's who you'll be from now on, Bumblebee: Goldbug!
    Goldbug: (uneasy laughter) Uh...thanks...Uh, gee, Optimus, I was kinda thinking I could still be called Bumblebee."
    Optimus Prime: "Quiet, Goldbug."
    Goldbug: "Shutting up now, Optimus."

    This is where a character 'voluntarily' decides to be quiet, removing themselves from the argument/conversation. This can be through defeat (being proven wrong), threat, everyone staring at them accusingly or suggestion.

    Common phrases would be "I'll be quiet now" or "Okay, I'll just shut up" or simply silence. One key theme of this trope would be that they really do want to talk but humiliation or perhaps painful humility stops them.

    Another form of this is when someone realises they're babbling, are clearly making a losing argument and/or are getting increasingly off topic, ending their spiel with "I'll just shut up now".

    See also Digging Yourself Deeper for the reasons people may end up shutting up and Chewbacca Defense for a discussion of why this is an admission of defeat. Compare And That Would Be Wrong, Change the Uncomfortable Subject, I Have Nothing to Say to That.

    Contrast Preemptive "Shut Up".

    Examples of Shutting Up Now include:

    Fan Fiction

    Kyon: Part of me wants to say that your reaction to this is incredibly unreasonable. Rather, only you would look at something so incredibly unreasonable, and choose to be so reasonable about it.
    Haruhi: (gives a pointed look to the other person in the conversation) I'm the only one who's reasonable? What about your fiancee?
    Kyon: I am going to forgo speaking privileges for the rest of the day.


    Films -- Animation

    • In A Bug's Life, Molt starts babbling when the grasshoppers threaten the ant colony, and plays this trope when Hopper threatens him into silence.
    • Shrek 2:

    (Donkey and Shrek stare accusingly at Puss in Boots)
    Puss in Boots: Uh. sorry. I did not realise that question was not directed at me. (shuts up)


    Films -- Live Action

    • C3PO in Star Wars: "Shutting up, sir."
    • Jessica Biel's character in Summer Catch rambles endlessly to her love interest and eventually says, "I am going to shut up now."
    • In What's Up, Doc?, a bailiff repeats everything a rage-filled judge says:

    Judge: Order in the court!
    Bailiff: Order in the court!
    Judge: Everybody be quiet!
    Bailiff: Everybody be quiet!
    Judge: (to bailiff) You, too.
    Bailiff: Me, too.

    • The Lion King subverts this. Banzai promises Mufasa: "Okay, we're going to shut up right now," but never actually does so. Neither do his compatriots.


    Literature

    • Animorphs. Usually a result of banter between Rachel and Marco:

    Marco: (whining because this is INSANE)
    Rachel: (Death Glare)
    Marco: I'm shutting up.

    • Star Trek the Next Generation novel Imzadi depicts how Troi and Riker first met while he was stationed on her home planet. During his time there, Riker meets and is frequently mentored by a tough Sergeant Rock who has a Running Gag of saying that something is "all part of the service." The sergeant tries to counsel Riker when it looks like Riker isn't going to get the girl, but by that point Riker is tired of it and just tells the sergeant to shut up. After a beat, the sergeant says "Shutting up. All part of the service, sir".


    Live Action TV

    • From the Buffy musical episode, where they're trying to figure out who's made them all sing:

    Xander: It could be witches! Some evil witches--
    (he sees disapproval from witches Willow and Tara)
    --which is ridiculous, 'cause witches they were persecuted,
    Wicca good and love the earth and woman power
    and I'll be over here.

      • After Willow's alternate dimension vampire self appears and Willow comments that she's evil, skanky, and kind of gay, Buffy comforts her that the vampire has nothing to do with the actual person.

    Angel: Well actually - (Buffy gives him a Death Glare) - that's a good point.

      • Willow is feeling ill after eating too much.

    Tara: Oh, baby, want me to rub your tummy? (to the others) She likes it when I ... (quietly) stop explaining things.

    • Friends: Joey sets Monica up on a blind date

    Monica: You've never met him, have you?
    Joey: Well, uh, technically...
    Monica: Oh my God, Joey, for all we know this guy could be horribly--
    (stunningly handsome guy walks in)
    Monica: ...horribly attractive. I'll be shutting up now.

    • The Fast Show -- "I'll get me coat."
    • The IT Crowd—Moss's "I'm talking, aren't I?" and Jen's "I'm sorry, did that sound like words?"
    • On a Whose Line Is It Anyway? game of Questions only (In which the dialogue of the scene must be composed strictly of questions), Drew buzzes out one of the contestants.

    Karen: Gaah, what's the matter with you? How do I look?
    Drew: (hits the buzzer) That was a question and a sta-- Oh, no, that was two questions. (Karen gives Drew a Death Glare) I'll be over here if you need me.
    Colin: Where were we?


    Radio


    Video Games

    • Mass Effect 2, when Tali explains to female Shepard about quarians linking suit environments as a show of trust and intimacy.

    Tali: I haven't trusted anyone enough for that, though. Except... well... um, no quarians. You know what I mean.
    Shepard: I appreciate the thought, Tali, and I feel the same way, but you don't have to prove anything to me.
    Tali: I know. But I would be honored to join suit environments with you... i-if you were a quarian, and we weren't already on a suicide mission, and--I-I'm going to tinker a bit more, thanks for coming by.

      • EDI and Joker are bickering over something. One of the dialog options makes Shepard get fed up with it.

    Shepard: What is this, high school? Both of you, find something better to do with your time.
    EDI: Understood. It is a minor matter.
    Joker: With a nuclear response!
    Shepard: Joker!
    Joker: Shutting up now, commander!

      • Tali causes Garrus to have this response, when she threatens the guy with her shotgun, after he started teasing her in the stairwell.

    Garrus: You ever miss those talks we had on the elevators?
    Tali: No.
    Garrus: Come on, remember how we'd all ask you about life on the flotilla? It was an opportunity to share!
    Tali: This conversation is over.
    Garrus: Tell me again about your immune system!
    Tali: I have a shotgun.
    Garrus: Maybe we'll talk later.

    Spidey: Why can't we ever go to an alternate dimension filled with lonely supermodels?
    Wolverine: 'Cause we're going to save Nightcrawler, you got a problem with that?
    Spidey: Nooo. I'll... just... be quiet now.

    • Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword. In the mission where you first get to command her, telling Florina to move to a space other than the one the game wants you to send her will have her correct you and say, "I'll shut up now..."
    • The Prinny Commentator from Hour of Darkness' DS incarnation will say "I'll shut up for a while" when the dialogue becomes abnormally serious.


    Web Animation

    Mario: Hey, it isn't my fault if you can't remember your own name for some dumb reason!
    Vincent Weatherfoot Pain: (pulls out enormous Cracker Launcher)
    Mario: And oh my goodness I mean uh... yeah... (coughs) shutting up now.

    The Punisher: So why am I here? I need time. Time to think. To plan. To question... why? Why couldn't Thomas Jane hang on just a little bit longer? Isn't there something he could have said or done? Doesn't he know that outside, there are countless armies of scum and trash just waiting to kill and maim and rape the innocent-
    Spider-Man: -people of the world. I agree, man; you totally got screwed out of a good thing there! He really was the right guy for- (Punisher cocks handgun loudly) I'm walking away, I'm slowly walking away...


    Web Comics

    • From Freefall: 484, and 68
    • Girl Genius: Two-part example involving Agatha and Moloch, in this strip.
    • Megatokyo: Kimiko trying to explain about how she got mad because people were sneering at pathetic fanboys like Piro.
    • It takes three knives to the head from Black Mage to get there, but Red Mage does get there.
      • Much earlier in the story, when Black Mage returned to the world after his death (and having forcibly taken over Hell in the few minutes since he died) Thief tried to argue that due to a contract that Black Mage signed before his death, he was still technically Thief's minion. Black Mage disagreed, and gave a little demonstration of his power. This trope was Thief's reaction.

    Thief: Ah. In that case, I will just be over here in the corner where I will concentrate on not gaining your ire.
    Black Mage: You do that.

    Pompey: Shutting up, yessir.


    Western Animation

    Doofenshmirtz: You know, Perry the Platypus, that dress sort of suits you, if, you know, you just accentuate the positive, as they say... Um... I'm going to stop talking now, I'm moving into a weird area...

    • In Looney Tunes, after having had enough of Foghorn Leghorn telling them what to do, the person he has harassed throughout the episode will yell "AW SHUT UP!" while smacking him and he will reply "Okay I'll shut up, when someone tells me to shut up I'll shut up..." while continuing to talk.
      • Also Bugs Bunny confronted by a gangster in "Bugs and Thugs":

    Rocky: Shut up!
    Bugs: Shut u-up? Why certainly! You don't think I'm the type that would keep on blabbin'? Some people never know when to stop. When I'm told to shut up, I shut up...
    Rocky: [sticks gun in Bugs's face] Shut up shut-in' up!

    • Beast Wars: One of the numerous Running Gags of the series is Rattrap proclaiming "we're all gonna die!" when a situation looks dire, which would immediately be followed by someone replying "shut up, Rattrap!". In one episode, Rattrap says "we're all gonna die!" and, before anyone else can respond, he adds in "I know, I know, 'shut up Rattrap!'"
      • But it should be noted that between his two lines, the others glared at him.
    • Beast Boy in Teen Titans says this word for word in the first episode with Terra.


    Real Life

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