"Do the right thing; Karma will get you laid!"
If fictional characters knew that being good
gets you good sex, there might not be any villains. One common way this shows up, especially in
Comedy, is with Sexual Karma. Though not just in the sense of "you give good sex, you get good sex back" (which can certainly come into play, but is not the end of it). What happens is that good characters will, through wacky and unpredictable happenstance, usually end up falling into a veritable
harem of highly desirable and willing members of their preferred gender, while the
Jerkass will be dumped into a veritable harem of their
least favored members of their (un)preferred gender.
While in chains. Where no one can hear them scream.
Implementation varies, they don't always fall through a skylight onto a pile of cushions with various scantily clad concubines (though that
is the classic). Even sex need not be involved, it might just be a single guy ending up alone with a
bus full of volleyball players they helped save and who are grateful enough to flirt with and/or dote on him. Or the good character might mope that, after spending all the movie helping the lead solve his or her love problems they're still single... to the unbearably attractive bar-person
who happens to be single! Alternately the wingman and winggirl of the two leads
may become a happy
Beta Couple. Depending on the rating, they may only be implied to start dating, get it on, or
actually get it on screen.
In contrast, most
Jerk Asses (and a fair number of heroic
Butt Monkeys) will somehow find themselves socially or physically trapped alone with one
(or more!) overly amorous people of a group that isn't just outside their target demographic, but may well
scare or repulse them. Of course, to these people, "no means yes" and their struggles just set them in the mood. For extra points, he or she will have previously insulted or put down the same person or people that he or she is now trapped with
due to their own actions. If the jerkass was
kicking dogs,
rape is implied to happen.
It's not always a person, though; animals, "monsters", or aliens can also be substituted in
either case. Even a
Nice Guy may have to endure a dry-humping pet of their
Love Interest's as part of the romance. Extra points if it's a gorilla, which is a favorite.
Depending on how it's used, this trope may carry
Unfortunate Implications. Please don't ask us to elaborate,
therapy isn't cheap.
A subtrope of
Rape as Comedy, and closely related to
Laser-Guided Karma. See also
Redemption Equals Sex.
Examples:
Anime & Manga
- Sanji from One Piece ends up on an island full of cross-dressers after Bartholomew Kuma rockets the Straw Hat Pirates away from each other. He spends a lot of time unknowingly saying that he likes dressing in women's clothing to a cross-dresser he believed was a beautiful woman. Hilarity Ensues.
- Also, Absalom's molestation and ogling of Nami/Robin is repaid with the affections of Lola. Who is a zombie. And ugly. And a warthog. This is more detailed in the anime.
- Luffy, on the other hand, for being such a good hearted moron, wins the affections of Boa Hancock, the World's Most Beautiful Woman, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and leader of the all-woman kingdom Amazon Lily, which means her subjects love him too. Being Luffy, he doesn't quite 'get' how lucky he is.
- In Jura Tripper, instead of being requited by any of his love interests, Jerkass God only receives affection from pet dinosaur Miyu.
- A Yakuza member in Witchcraft is dropped into a pit full of bored homunculi. We don't see precisely what happens to him, but the homunculi were created for sex, and despite their feminine forms, they have penises rather than vaginas.
Comic Books
- Starr in Preacher orders an incompetent minion to set him up with a prostitute. He gets a male one who does not take no for an answer. This is actually quite early in Starr's Humiliation Conga.
- In Ernie, a sleazy boss tries to get Doris to sleep with her, threatening to fire her if she don't go along. She beats him up and quits on her own. However, this was apparently not enough punishment for some people (the next strip is of the artist being chewed out by his wife and banished to the couch because the sleaze "got away with it"), so the boss is later on vacation and tries the hot tub... which is then occupied by several recently-conceiving mothers. Uh, yeah. If this seems a bit convoluted to you, you're not alone.
Film
Web Comics
- The wife of David Hopkins, author of Jack, was stalked for a while by her creepy ex. Apparently, among other problems, the creepy ex had bragged to her about his habit of finding beached dolphins and doing unpleasant things with their blowholes. She and Dave got their revenge on this guy by putting a cameo of a thinly-veiled avatar of him in the comic's Ironic Hell setting, condemned to be raped by dolphins for eternity.
Web Original
- Solange of the Whateley Universe gets the ultimate in
Crystal Hall.
- The fandom promptly exploded after the section where it happens was posted, dividing into three groups: the first felt that Solange deserved it and it was hilarious; the second felt that, no matter what Solange had done, she didn't deserve that; the third felt that while it was a terrible thing that no one — not even Solange — deserved, she did sign a contract that gave a telepath complete control of her body for a whole weekend, in a dorm that was completely hostile to her and if she didn't see the potential consequences inherent in that, then she was being incredibly stupid when she agreed to the terms. Bringing it up can still result in a more... heated... response than you might otherwise expect.
WesternAnimation
- In an episode of South Park, an antagonist who repeatedly tries to get Jimmy killed is raped by a shark. On-screen. Twice.
- Kid-friendly example: In the Tale Spin episode "The Time Bandit", Baloo's punishment for almost getting Rebecca executed with one of his Zany Schemes is having to go on a date with a woman who really likes him — but happens to be as fat as Baloo himself.
Real Life
- Intentionally invoked in prisons, where pedophiles are singled out as targets for Prison Rape.
- Rapists receive similar treatment. When they're not dishing it out themselves, that is.
- According to sex columnist Dan Savage, the Karmic Rule of Kink goes something like: If you dump the honest foot fetishist, you will marry the dishonest necrophiliac who waits until you have a shared bank account or a couple of kids before asking you to lie in the tub of ice so you'll get good and cold. Kinky people, if the indulgent vanilla person dumps you for being inconsiderate and only thinking of your own needs, you have only yourself to blame when you're not so lucky finding someone who'll let you cross-dress in the future.
