Line #96 Main/ShowerOfAngst


1	[[quoteright:330:[[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Vesper_in_the_shower_8398.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:330:[[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} Will all great Neptune's ocean]] wash [[TheseHandsHaveKilled this blood clean from my hand?]]]]
3
4	->'''Spencer:''' She takes really long showers when she gets depressed.\
5	'''Sam:''' Well, when do you think she's going to come out?\
6	'''Spencer:''' I don't know. She took a chair in there.
7	-->-- ''Series/ICarly''
8
9	[[BrokenBird A character (often female)]] has had a rough day. She's [[BreakTheCutie suffered some sort of physical or emotional trauma]] that makes her want to run home and [[TroubledFetalPosition curl up into a ball]].
10
11	Naturally, the first thing the woman wants to do is go home and take a nice, long, hot shower. This is not surprising; many people find the best way to relax after a hard day is to take that shower, put on fluffy pajamas, and just let it all go. [[KillItWithWater Water is also an archetypal purifier in general]], capable of symbolically washing away sins or past events -- though that doesn't mean it'll ''work''.
12
13	Of course, when it comes to {{fanservice}}, these showers of angst are solid gold. You can't argue with the titillation provided by seeing a hot-bodied person nude, soaking wet, and [[TheWoobie in desperate need of support]] (though in most cases of Shower of Angst, the person showering will be so distraught or depressed that he or she will shower with clothes on, resulting in a SexySoakedShirt scene). However, in some cases, [[FanDisservice this can border on creepy]], such as when a woman takes a shower of angst after being physically or [[RapeAsDrama sexually abused]] (or is [[BathSuicide suicidal and trying to kill herself by slashing her wrists and letting the running water bleed her dry]]). That particular version of the trope is common in soap operas, most serious movies, and cable dramas.
14
15	The post-rape shower also has ramifications in a CrimeAndPunishmentSeries scenario -- if the victim takes a shower before a SAE kit has been collected, then vital forensic evidence is lost. Unfortunately, it's TruthInTelevision.
16
17	Men are not in the least exempt from this trope, since every shower scene is also a ShirtlessScene. The male variant often features a hunky male leaning towards the wall, typically resting on a forearm against it so the water can run over his elbow, down his neck or fall on his back.
18
19	Contrast RedemptionInTheRain -- a joyful, liberating shower in the rain. Can also be an instance of ScrubbingOffTheTrauma if the showering is because a character is trying to wash away an awful experience. SisterTrope of BathroomStallOfAngst.
20	----
21	!!Sub-pages and Examples:
22	[[index]]
23	* ShowerOfAngst/AnimeAndManga
24	* [[ShowerOfAngst/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
25	* ShowerOfAngst/{{Literature}}
26	* ShowerOfAngst/LiveActionTV
27	* ShowerOfAngst/WesternAnimation
28	[[/index]]
29
30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Advertising]]
33	* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyWtpatW--8 "Shower" ad]] from the Montana Meth Project.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* After a story in which ComicBook/GreenArrow was tortured, his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary found him huddled in the bathtub, half-dressed, with the shower on full blast.
38	* In ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'', ComicBook/{{Batman}} allows [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] II to spend the night at Wayne Manor, and he becomes so troubled by flashbacks of his DarkAndTroubledPast in the shower that he scrubs his scalp to the point of bleeding.
39	* ''ComicBook/QueenAndCountry'': Tara showers while drinking from a bottle at the end of ''Operation: Saddlebag'' after blowing the mission and being told off for it.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
43	* In one ''ComicStrip/LibertyMeadows'' strip, Dean the Pig takes one, after he hit on Ralph by mistake (he even sings "the crying game"). Ralph was in drag at the time, to catch an unruly beaver that was causing trouble at the sanctuary. Said beaver ends up with his own shower scene afterwards.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Fan Works]]
47	* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': After [[spoiler:getting kissed by Shinji]] Asuka feels confused, frightened, and needed, so she decides to have a shower in order to try to clear her mind.
48	* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': Shinji and Asuka in chapter 7. After spending [[spoiler:two days locked and insolated, without being allowed washing the LCL off their bodies or changing clothes]], and being dragged out of their cells only to [[spoiler:get fired]], they return to their home feeling confused, hurt, miserable and dirty. So that they decide to have a shower together to clean their bodies and lift their spirits. During the shower they mostly held each other while they washed, looking for reassurance and affection.
49	* ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': Jordan Thurlow and Galbraith take a shower in different chapters of the work.
50	* ''Fanfic/CodeWings30'': After a strong nightmare, Cassidy goes into a shower to try and calm herself.
51	* ''Manga/Evangelion303'' has ''many'', the first of them happening in the ''second'' chapter. Usually Asuka takes one when she gets distraught, upset, or angry (and she often feels like that in this story).
52	* In ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'' Asuka takes a shower every day to try to forget her nightly, worsening nightmares.
53	-->All in all, this entire process had become less of a morning shower to her than a morning ritual. Not in the least because she had increasingly needed the hot, soothing water to wash away the dark shades that haunted her sleep… even if she would never admit it to anyone. Least of all herself.
54	* In [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120417150147/http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4263492/1/Broken this]] ''Manga/DeathNote'' fanfic by [=SekushiAi=], Light starts taking these to an obsessive extent after [[spoiler: being raped]].
55	* In AKK's ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]'' fanfic "The Lie," the fact that Zachary spent longer than usual in the shower after being rescued from the Queen was one of the factors that tipped off [[spoiler: Goose]] to the fact that, contrary to the official report, the Queen ''didn't'' toss Zach in the Psychocrypt right away.
56	* Also from ''Series/ICarly'' in the fanfiction [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5986982/7/iFind_And_Keep_You "iFind and Keep You"]], a wedded Carly and Freddie steps into this (along with ShowerOfLove) after Carly goes into an emotional meltdown in reliving her childhood memories with their late best friend.
57	* In the ''Series/{{Glee}}'' fanfic ''FanFic/HuntingTheUnicorn'', Blaine takes ''a lot'' of cold showers to deal with his ParalyzingFearOfSexuality.
58	* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8818635/17/ This chapter]] of an Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic has Toph crying in the shower after she ran away from her parents home after a brutal fight.
59	* In ''Fanfic/{{Ponyfall}}: The Dawning of Twilight'', Twilight Sparkle angst-showers after a traumatic experience in the ER where her brony friend Matt works, where she had to help him save someone from bleeding to death.
60	* Done twice with [[{{Webcomic/Homestuck}} Gamzee]] in {{Fanfic/Hivefled}}, first in Reprise after the first time he is raped by the Grand Highblood and has to clean himself up alone while wishing his friends were there, and later in Hivefled proper when the trolls are on the ship.
61	* In rthstewart's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' fanfiction ''The Queen Susan in Tashbaan'', Susan takes one after [[spoiler: Bardon/Guy's death]], completely calm and not hysterical at all... except for thinking she's back in Narnia.
62	* Played for laughs in ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/206382/1/stealing-the-deed/better-property-management-through-breaking-and-entering Stealing the Deed]]''. Early in the story, Rarity is doing this, though for a practical reason, being a NeatFreak in the aftermath of battle with a [[CoveredInGunge slime creature]] and freaking out. Later in the story, however, Twilight ends up wondering if Rarity needs any help screaming in the shower after having [[{{Yandere}} Trixie's]] [[{{Squick}} obsessiveness]] shoved in her face.
63	* Parodied in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' where Tristan is washing himself up in a lake, he's muttering "Must... wash... away... the sin..."
64	* ''Fanfic/MutantStorm'': After Harry kills for the first time (Lucius and Bellatrix), including one person with his bare hands, he spends about an hour sitting in a shower making washing motions with his hands.
65	* ''Fanfic/TalesOfTheOtherverse'': In the aftermath of the battle between the Triad team and the Hunter-Killer, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} takes a shower to wash her worries and frustration away.
66	-->Kara sighed as the hot water cascaded over her body. For a long moment she just stood there, allowing the shower to ease the tension away.
67	* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'':
68	** Played with for Chloe. After Chloe pushes Lexi out of the way so he doesn't get his papers soaked from a hot tea kettle, she ends up with a serious burn on her left shoulder and is taken to a washbasin where water is constantly pouring down on her to cool her skin. It's described as her going through a rough time although the next chapter clarifies that the burn wasn't that serious. However, it acts as the impetus to get Lexi to snap out of wanting to hurt his father since he was completely unaware of how Lexi was [[spoiler:BuriedAlive in their car for the past eight years.]]
69	** Goh starts the beginning of Chapter 11 suffering through one after having a nightmare of being unable to find Chloe and realizing that he can't recall a happy memory with her since he isolated himself from her to focus on Mew.
70	* ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfZeldaParadiseCalling'': Malon breaks down crying in the bath after returning to Lon Lon Ranch, having narrowly escaped being raped and murdered the day before.
71	* Invoked in ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'': In the fourteenth chapter, Asuka takes a shower after getting physical with Shinji while musing over their relationship's new stage and her own conflicted feelings regarding romance and relationships.
72	* ''Fanfic/SuicidalOverconfidence'': The fanfic ends with Helen going back to the Brandenham Hotel to take a shower in an attempt to relieve her anxiety over [[spoiler:Bitsy's death]].
73	* ''Fanfic/FuturesFreakMeOut'': Shinji walks Asuka to the shower after she has suffered a serious breakdown. While feeling the "blessed water" pouring down on her face, Asuka reflects on how her life has been gradually falling apart since the end of the War against the Angels, and she would have hit rock bottom long ago without Shinji.
74	* In ''Fanfic/TotalDramaComebackSeries,'' Tyler wakes up from a FlashbackNightmare and immediately takes a shower, both because he's covered in sweat and to try and calm himself down.
75	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10449001/8/Crossed-Paths-and-Karaoke Crossed Paths and Karaoke]]'' Harry scrubs himself raw every time he's reminded of the war against Voldemort.
76	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13686679/1/Tones-of-Gray Tones of Gray]]'' [=McGonagall=] scrubs herself raw after finding every single house elf in Hogwarts, including her personal elf, brutally and messily killed.
77	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14110171/4/The-Great-Escape The Great Escape]]'' Daphne starts screaming and crying in the shower after being sexually assaulted.
78	* In ''Fanfic/ItGetsWorse'', Contessa collapses into the fetal position in the shower when she realizes Taylor's Shard has killed Scion and that the same thing will happen to Cauldron in short order if they even try looking at her funny in even the slightest way.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Films — Animation]]
82	* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': In a flashback montage, Peter B. says that he handled his divorce from Mary Jane "like a champ." [[UnreliableExpositor Then we see Peter curled up and crying in the shower]] while [[NonNudeBathing still wearing his Spider-Man costume]].
83	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei angsts about her giant red panda form while in the shower.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Music]]
87	* Toni Braxton does this in the video for "Unbreak My Heart," as she mourns her boyfriend who had been killed in a motorcycle accident.
88	** Overlaps with ShowerOfLove as she also recalls how they used to frolic in the same shower stall.
89	* As does Amy Lee in the video "Everybody's Fool". Complete with a shot of her underwater in the tub with her eyes wide open.
90	* Music/{{Pink}} in her music video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_l4pa0IkOo&feature=fvsr Nobody Knows.]]
91	* The lead singer of ''Pop Evil'' is briefly seen taking one in the music video for ''Torn to Pieces''.
92	* Music/ImagineDragons frontman Dan Reynolds seems to have a DeliberatelyMonochrome one in the "Roots" music video, submerging himself in a bathtub while {{singing\| in the shower}} about how he needs to reconnect with his past, and reflecting on childhood memories and his explorations of remote New Zealand locations. The memories (including some taken from home movies) play in full color, as does Dan's rise out of the tub at the end of the video.
93	* In the Music/WeirdAlYankovic song, "Couch Potato", Al notes how he needed a long shower after watching ''Fear Factor''.
94	* Mentioned in David Heatley's song "Suburban White Girls."
95	-->"Go home, go to sleep\
96	Start again tomorrow\
97	Cry in the shower\
98	Cry in your pillow."
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Theater]]
102	* ''Theatre/PrimaFacie'': After [[spoiler:her colleague rapes her]] Tessa takes a searing hot shower, trying to rationalize if and how she can cope with the situation from both legal and personal perspectives. She beats herself up for it afterward because [[spoiler:it would have washed off any physical evidence of the rape]].
103	* ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'':
104	** Blanche frequently takes a hot bath to "calm her nerves." Later on, after her [[spoiler: rape at the hands of Stanley]] she takes a really long one. Only at this point she's too permanently traumatized for the bath to be much help.
105	** Earlier, Stanley's friends shove him under a shower spray fully clothed in an attempt to sober him up after he got drunk, subsequently lost his self-control, and hit Stella.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Video Games]]
109	* Norman Jayden from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' technically ''does'' have a shower scene, but considering that he's hallucinating and suffering from painful [[DeadlyNosebleed withdrawal symptoms]] at the time, it's not really meant to be {{Fanservice}}.
110	* ''VideoGame/TheRoomTheGame'': Each morning you get to watch [[FanDisservice Johnny take a shower]] as he gets ready for work. However, if you use the shower when [[spoiler: Johnny is in his UnstoppableRage mode after finding out Lisa's cheating]] he'll instead curl up in fetal position and cry under it, fully clothed.
111	* Implied to be a part of Angela's backstory in ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', from how you find the tablet resembling her in the prison's shower room. [[spoiler:Considering her father raped her]], it's not so surprising.
112	* Kiryu has one at Tachibana's apartment in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' after being framed for murder, leaving the Dojima Family, and finding out his adoptive father Kazama is going to suffer blowback for his actions.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
116	* ''VisualNovel/{{Happiness}}'': Yuuma after he almost kills Sumomo.
117	* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' has a few of these too. Keiichi finds a depressed Satoko passed out in the bathtub. [[spoiler:She was hallucinating that her abusive uncle had told her to stand under the boiling hot water and count to 10,000, since moving into his house meant she stopped getting treatment for her Hinamizawa Syndrome. She went along with all of the horrible things he did to her because of a combination of guilt (blaming herself for Satoshi's disappearance), blackmail (he constantly threatened to burn down Satoshi's room), and plain old fear.]] Yeah, [[TheWoobie Satoko has it rough]].
118	* Kaede Fuyou in ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' goes {{Yandere}} on her friend Asa when the boy they both love, Rin, shows interest in her. She has one of these before [[spoiler:climbing into Rin's bed ''naked to cuddle with him''.]]
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Webcomics]]
122	* In ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'', Lithuania is seen having a bath of angst in Poland's house, and [[spoiler: we get to see the scars on his back.]]
123	* In ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'', after the latest setback in getting back to normal, Ash soaks himself in the shower for over an hour, unwilling to leave the bathroom and face the world. [[http://www.misfile.com/?date=2008-11-03 Emily has to go in and snap him out of it]].
124	%%* PlayedForLaughs in [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=128 this]] ''Webcomic/VGCats'' strip.
125	%%* Same in [[http://www.fanboys-online.com/index.php?id=78 these]] two [[http://www.fanboys-online.com/index.php?id=80 pages]] of ''Webcomic/{{Fanboys}}''. [[spoiler:It ends… um… [[ShowerOfLove happily]].]]
126	* This is used in ''Webcomic/AGirlAndHerFed'' to show that the titular girl is not nearly as confident in the outcome of a situation as [[http://www.agirlandherfed.com/1.821.html she appears.]]
127	* ''Webcomic/LivingWithInsanity'' has one at the start of its [[http://www.livingwithinsanity.com/index/?p=624 Vendetta arc]].
128	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Ellen [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-01-03 has one]] while suffering from CloneAngst.
129	* Happens in a ''{{Webcomic/PvP}}'' strip concluding a storyline about Brent becoming a gamer after wearing Skulls "Fez Of Power". After escaping the influence of the Fez, Brent finds out that during his brief delusional state, he (a hardcore Mac fanboy) ordered a Windows-based gaming PC. Cue Brent crying hysterically in the shower.
130	* ''Webcomic/{{Clarissa}}'' has the grade-schooler treat her baths like this, [[ParentalIncest and for good reason]].
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Web Original]]
134	* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': [[https://whateley.academy/index.php/story/spring-and-a-young-squirrel-s-fancy After an incident]] in which her [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway squirrel-related]] [[MatingSeasonMayhem mating instincts]] nearly got the better of her, Aquerna flees for refuge in the showers in Dickenson Cottage. Because [[ThereAreNoTherapists there]] ''[[ThereAreNoTherapists are]]'' [[ThereAreNoTherapists therapists]] at Whateley, her house mother quickly gets her out of there for a trip to a school counselor.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Web Videos]]
138	* Parodied in ''WebVideo/TheGuild'' when a fully-clothed Vork takes one of these in someone else's shower after learning that Clara had betrayed his trust (i.e. [[SeriousBusiness corpse-camped him]] in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.)
139	* Website/ChannelAwesome:
140	** WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic suffered an absolutely epic psychotic meltdown when he reviewed ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIII''. He tells us all to sit back and enjoy it. Five minutes later, he's having a Shower of Angst, as pictured above, spews {{Angrish}} and yells a long stream of psychotic screams and grunts.
141	** Sean Fausz of ''Epic Fail'' has crying in shower to Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" as a RunningGag.
142	** And in reference, WebVideo/PawDugan did the same thing in his review of Total Distortion with it being a music game that is devoid of good music.
143	** Also from Channel Awesome is WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob's meltdown halfway through his synopsis of ''Sadomania'' when he discovers the attractive warden is played by a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} woman. Cue shower scene and frantic phone call to his girlfriend:
144	--->'''Snob:''' Honey we need to have sex. Right. Now. I'm very, ''very'' confused...
145	** WebVideo/TheFanFictionCritic will occasionally announce after reading a filthy or horrible fanfiction that she needs to take a shower, bordering on ScrubbingOffTheTrauma when she does this several times per review.
146	** WebVideo/{{Phelous}} does this during his review of ''Film/ASerbianFilm'' ... after a particularly horrifying scene.
147	** WebVideo/MikeJ also does this after waking up from a dream sequence that ends with him [[spoiler: kissing Film Brain]].
148	** WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows has had a couple as well, in the reviews of Music/ChrisBrown's "Deuces" and Music/FloRida's "Whistle" after each of those songs had particularly blatant {{Double Entendre}}s.
149	--->'''Todd:''' CAN'T...GET...CLEAN!!!
150	* Used in WebVideo/TheOrangeInsanity's [[http://youtu.be/AcJMqIyOVL8?t=17m39s review]] of ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'', as a reaction to the scene where [[spoiler:The Cat yells "Son of a bitch" in front of the children]], together with [[InelegantBlubbering loud sobbing]] and [[StylisticSuck screaming an utterly broken]] version of ''Unfaithful'' by Rihanna.
151	-->'''The Orange Insanity:''' I DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE!! I DON'T WANNA BE THE REASON WHY-- OH MY GOD ''WHY-HY-HY-HYYY?!! [wails violently]''
152	* Parodied hilariously in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-dWLh450jA Kyle Riabko and Trevor Jackson Are... ]].
153	* Parodied, like nearly every other breakup trope in ''WebVideo/{{Manwhores}}'', with Kevin having a shower with his clothes still on during his post-breakup montage.
154	* ''WebVideo/{{yourchonny}}'':
155	** He comically acts out one of these in his [[http://youtu.be/qqh9CKDJldE?t=45s "Getting out of the shower"]] video. While sobbing, goes to wipe his tears...with underwear his dad hung on the shower door. Cue horrified scream.
156	** Parodied again in the "Things I do when I'm home alone" video, where this is his response to a hater (a chair with clothes and a wig thrown on it).
157	* ''WebVideo/PeanutButterGamer'' ended up in one at the end of his ''To Kill An Avatar: Pikmin'' video, when he [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes that he just killed innocent Pikmin]].
158	--> '''PBG:''' "They're dead! The pikmin are ''dead''!"
159	* Two "Regretting the Past" episodes on ''WebVideo/{{Rocked}}'' had the albums in question driving Luke to do this.
160	** In the episode for Music/{{Nickelback}}'s ''Silver Side Up'', Luke feels he's not getting into the proper mood to listen to Nickelback. So he goes into the shower and cries to the music. It didn't work as expected.
161	** The lyrics to Music/{{Buckcherry}}'s songs on their album ''15'' (specifically, "Next 2 You", "Crazy Bitch", and "Brooklyn") cause him to do this ''three times'' due to [[BrainBleach how dirty they made him feel]]. By the third time, he's washing himself (and his mouth) with bleach. He tries to take a fourth one at the end of the review, [[spoiler:only to find the Denny's Stalker waiting for him in the bathroom]].
162	* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00nwJcEzXIM this]] ''Sims 2'' machinima set to My Chemical Romance's "Helena", the protagonist is a woman in an [[DomesticAbuse abusive relationship]]. One scene has her crying while sitting in the shower.
163	* ''Cynical Reviews'' has one in the intro to his ''The Kissing Booth 3'' video after tossing & turning in his bed as various voices of the people who requested him to review since he already reviewed the other 2.
164	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ShowerOfAngst