Basic Trope: A character experiences something so traumatic that they shut down mentally (Blue Screen of Death
).
- Straight:
- Bob discovers that Alice has been killed by Lord Bloodstone and just stands there, tears streaming down his face, unable to do anything else.
- Alternatively, it's Bob who (inadvertently) killed Alice while they fight Lord Bloodstone.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob discovers that Alice broke her arm. He stands stock still in the middle of the room, mouth open.
- Bob discovers that Alice just got a minor scratch on her arm. He goes into a coma for eight weeks.
- Despair Event Horizon
- Break the Cutie
- Downplayed: Bob freezes for a second when he learns that Alice is dead.
- Justified:
- Alice has been Bob's trusted friend and confidant for years and a possible love interest.
- Alice and Bob promised each other that they will get out of this situation alive and get married and live a happy life without bloodshed... and now Bob just killed her...
- Bob has suffered many losses during the story, but managed to persevere. Alice's death is the straw that breaks the camel's back, the trauma slamming into him very hard.
- Inverted:
- Bob brings Alice back to life and Lord Bloodstone suffers a Villainous Breakdown.
- Bob discovers Alice has been killed and goes into overdrive.
- Subverted:
- Bob is using his BSOD moment to lull Lord Bloodstone into a false sense of security and lowering his guard.
- Bob enters Heroic Safe Mode.
- Double Subverted: Except Lord Bloodstone doesn't fall for it and defeats Bob even worse this time, triggering a real Heroic BSoD.
- Parodied:
- Bob becomes a Large Ham in this instance, falling to his knees, cursing the gods, and letting out a Big "NO!", because he left the oven on.
- Bob is a heroic robot powered by a Windows OS, and he literally bluescreens upon discovering his girlfriend has been killed.
- Zig Zagged: The constant battles with Lord Bloodstone have turned Bob into a Stepford Smiler. No-one knows how Alice's death has affected him.
- Averted: Bob uses Alice's death to fuel his battle fury as he charges towards Lord Bloodstone in order to avenge Alice.
- Enforced: "We need some drama here. Let's have the hero's oldest friend be killed, causing the hero to break down out of grief."
- Lampshaded: "I think Bob just... broke."
- Invoked: Lord Bloodstone's plans involved killing Alice, knowing this would mentally and emotionally cripple Bob and leave him vulnerable.
- Exploited:
- Lord Bloodstone attacks Bob the second he is informed, while Bob is too devastated to retaliate effectively.
- Alternatively, Lord Bloodstone kills Alice right in front of Bob.
- Defied:
- Bob's BSOD moment is brief, as Alice faked her death and comes back in time to tell Bob to get a hold of himself, bringing Bob back to reality.
- Conversely, the BSOD moment triggers a Battle in the Center of the Mind as Bob wrestles with his feelings of worthlessness. Bob comes out of it a changed man and is ready to restart the battle with renewed vigor.
- Bob doesn't even so much as blink when Alice dies.
- Discussed: "Bob's tough, we all know that. But I feel like he's gonna snap if somebody else dies."
- Conversed: "Why is it that just one thing always causes the hero to break down. Don't they expect this sort of thing to happen?
- Deconstructed: Alice's death shows Bob how powerful Lord Bloodstone is and how he can never hope to defeat him. Bob has lost the will to fight. Alice's death has caused him to view himself as a failure, dragging him into a deep depression ending in Bob's suicide.
- While Bob is experiencing a mental breakdown, Bloodstone promptly shoots him dead, easily killing him while he's too deep in the throes of trauma to respond.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob has gone through Hell and back fighting Lord Bloodstone, every fight taking its toll on him. This was the final straw and everyone's aware of it.
- Bob's suicide is an epic Taking You with Me attack that catches Lord Bloodstone completely by surprise. If Lord Bloodstone didn't kill Alice, he never would have pushed Bob to such lengths.
- Implied: When Bob hears news of Alice's death, he remains stoic and composed, at least outwardly. In a later scene, he has a haunted look on his face.
Snap out of it, Troper! We gotta get back to the Heroic BSoD page!
