Sandbox / Break The Cutie Wick Check

Break the Cutie is when a sweet, lovable character (aka The Cutie) suffers at least one horrible experience that threatens to break their spirit. This is a wick check to see how Break the Cutie is used.

Wicks checked: 108/108

Correct: 17/108 (15.74%)
Misuse: 45/108 (41.67%)
ZCE: 46/108 (42.59%)

I: Correct — examples /poholes agree with the description (see above)

1. BreakTheCutie.Literature: In Nightmare Alley, the main character Stan subjects this upon his sweet hearted and painfully naive wife Molly. After they wed he begins neglecting and mistreating her, and things only get worse when he starts cheating on her with the ultra manipulative Lilith. Character has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Domestic Abuse
2. BreakTheCutie.Naruto: Happened to Sasuke TWICE. Despite how he is now, in flashbacks he was shown to be a cute, naive kid. Until Itachi murdered their family... and then showed it to him... twice. The second time leading to his Face–Heel Turn.
   • To be more specific, the first mind rape and the actual massacre occur when he's about seven, and the second time, aged twelve-thirteen, had him forced to watch everyone being slaughtered hundreds of times, over and over, leaving him in a coma that only Tsunade is able to bring him out of. No wonder he freaks out, and then he gets worse and worse. Other than wrong indentation, example qualifies because character has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Innocence Lost and Dark and Troubled Past
3. BreakTheCutie.Western Animation: Max from Capitol Critters is a sweet little Midwestern fieldmouse from Nebraska with Puppy-Dog Eyes. In the first episode, he watches his own family get gassed to death. In later episodes, he nearly dies from smoke inhalation and a forced drug overdose from a gang member and in another episode, he breaks down in tears when he thinks he accidentally killed a cat, falls in love with a girl who has to move back to Japan and in general plays to Only Sane Man to a bunch of jerkasses. Poor Max... Character has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Trauma Conga Line
4. Characters.Babar: He was a playful and innocent little tyke in the twilight of his life, but the death of his mother made him a bit more formal and solemn. "Playful and innocent" are Cutie traits, so pass
5. Characters.She Hulk: During Hulk (2016). She went from one of the most fun characters in the Marvel Universe, to someone suffering from depression and PTSD after she was put into a coma by Thanos in Civil War II. "Fun / comic relief" is a Cutie trait, so pass
6. Characters.South Park Butters Stotch: Butters is a naive, wide-eyed, sweet-hearted little boy who Matt and Trey exhaust their imaginations thinking of new torments to inflict upon, including beatings, attempted murder by his mother, a ninja star in the eye (which was ignored in favor of everyone being outraged over Cartman being naked in public), etc. Character has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Wide-Eyed Idealist and Trauma Conga Line
7. ComicBook.Star Wars Kanan: The first issue has Caleb joking around with the Clone troopers under Billaba’s command — moments before they turn their guns on them. He’s fourteen, and gets to witness people he thought to be friends killed by his parent figure before she ultimately goes down. And all he could do was follow her order and run. "Joking around + minor" are Cutie traits, so pass
8. DeconstructedCharacterArchetype.Blaz Blue: Noel Vermillion is a dark Parody Sue. She has been accused of being a Creator's Pet due to all her powers... but actually, all of her "Sue qualities" put her in positions that the poor girl is very clearly unfit to handle, her social interactions have suffered quite a bit (ie., being Jin's sort-of sister was something that Hazama used to manipulate her close friend Tsubaki Yayoi, who's obsessively in love with Jin, into a Face–Heel Turn) while her powers remain unknown to her and get exploited by others for their own gain. (Not to mention how despite being very pretty, she still has low self-esteem and a fixation on what she lacks rather than what she already possesses). Noel's character has also had little chance to develop due to constant manipulation, resulting in her being a super shy Shrinking Violet with no small amount of emotional baggage and no small amount of traumatic things experienced. However, closing her "Eye of the Azure" might have lead to the possibility of her becoming mentally/emotionally stronger - and if a month with her other best bud Makoto is any indication, things are looking up for her. Entry features character with Cutie traits, so pothole is correct
9. Fanfic.Nymerias War: Missy is already broken by the time the story starts, but there is the implication that she has once been a very innocent noble girl, which is outright confirmed in Myke's Histories&Lore part, where he interacts with a younger Kortney Caron. By the time of the story, she is so deeply sunken into her madness that she is way past her breaking point. Would be better if the example includes why she broke
10. Fanfic.Pokemon Retold Black: Marlon goes from a chipper and friendly Plasma recruit to Ghetsis' pack mule, with years worth of abuse wearing him down until he's become a shell of his former self. It gets to the point that he's willing to escape Team Plasma and doesn't even care if he's killed for his transgressions, because in his eyes being dead means that he doesn't have to suffer under Ghetsis again. "Chipper and friendly" are Cutie traits, but context overlaps with The Friend Nobody Likes
11. Film.The Hunt 2012: This entire movie is devoted to the breakage of Lucas. He begins as a likable, enthusiastic kindergarten teacher, but slowly degrades as gossip fans the flames. He is beaten, rejected and held in contempt. "Likable, enthusiastic kindergarten teacher" is Cutie, but context overlaps with Malicious Slander
12. Recap.My Hero Academia S 1 E 1 Izuku Midoriya Origin: As a small child, Midoriya was heartbroken to learn he was among the 20% who'd never develop a Quirk. "Small child" is a Cutie trait, but context overlaps with Innocence Lost
13. Theatre.Hamlet: Ophelia is gentle, perceptive, and compassionate. Her sometime sweetheart apparently goes mad, hurls abuse at her when they meet, and kills her father. Her mind breaks, and then she dies. Character has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Trauma Conga Line
14. Theatre.Merrily We Roll Along: A lot of it is their own choices, and we see the broken versions first, but Frank starts out Endearingly Dorky and ends up a rich, self-loathing asshole, Gussy's Large Ham becomes violently bitter, Mary goes from an idealistic teetotaller to spending her life drinking, and Beth is a trusting Genki Girl at first then wanting to kill Frank after he cheats. Charley is the only one who keeps his ethics, but even he has a breakdown on air. Would be better if the example includes what events that cause them to be broken
15. VideoGame.Elona: After finishing the Main Quest Act 1, the little girl Gwen the Innocent in Yowyn who likes to collect flowers and follow you around will grow up into the warrior woman Gwen the Pitiless whose dialogues are implying that the constantly hostile world and monsters forced her to kill everything just to survive. Character has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Had to Be Sharp
16. VideoGame.The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time: A variation of this involves breaking a large group of lovable characters called the Gorons. A peaceful, friendly group, they just want to live in peace and harvest their crops, but are content to welcome outsiders as well. However, when Ganondorf shows up and demands they turn over their spiritual stone, they refuse to do it and he punishes them by sealing off their primary food source. Later in the game, when Ganondorf takes over, he has several Gorons locked up in cages in the Fire Temple and is going to feed them to a dragon as a warning to those who might oppose him. Once you get to the Fire Temple, you see the Gorons trembling in their cells, evidently terrified, begging for mercy, and not being given any. And then you get to march in there, save each and every one of them, and smash the dragon's head in with a shiny new hammer. Group has Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Perfect Pacifist People
17. Webcomic.Zack Dragonblade And The Excalites: May, who is normally carefree and happy, is sent into despair after she learns that her family is dead along with her whole village. "Carefree and happy" are Cutie traits, but context overlaps with Despair Event Horizon

II: Misuse — character in question isn't mentioned to be Cutie / has no Cutie traits breaks (aka. bad things happen to character)

1. AccompliceByInaction.Anime And Manga: 7 Seeds: Ban refused to stop the others from Team Summer A from fatally shooting their teacher when they awoke in the future. It's unclear if he was so broken from the final test, where he was incapable of saving several people despite being The Medic, that he honestly believed he was incapable of saving him through his medical knowledge... or showed a darker side by letting the others get away with it, and refusing to administer help to someone he thought didn't deserve it. Unclear whether character in question is Cutie or not
2. Anime.Sound Of The Sky: Save Kanata, all of the female soldiers experience this to some extent. In particular, Noël suffers greatly near the end of the series, due to having helped revive a weapon system that wiped out several towns and killed lots of people, which Colonel Hopkins is only more than happy to point out repeatedly to her. Simply being female doesn't necessarily mean Cutie
3. Arrow.Tropes A To D: The series does this to quite a few characters. Except that none of them are Cuties
   • Oliver: A rich party boy who’s stranded on an island named ‘purgatory’. And earns that name.
   • Thea: Her brother and father were killed in a boating accident which caused her mother to become emotionally distant for a while. Then when her brother does come back he’s suffering from PTSD. Then she discovers her mother cheated on her father and his biological father is a mass murderer, and then is murdered right before her protecting her and her brother. Then, just as she seems to be coming to terms with her legacy said father drugs her and makes her murder a friend, just to use her as leverage against Oliver. It's telling that when a guy tries to kill her when he's barely dressed after sex it hardly makes a blip on her "my life sucks" radar.
   • Laurel: Her sister and boyfriend were killed while cheating on her. Her parents divorced because of her sister’s death and her father became an alcoholic. Then her boyfriend comes back, tells her that her sister died and becomes distant. Then her new boyfriend dies and she becomes an alcoholic, and then her sister comes back and gets killed not long afterwards, this time for sure right before her eyes, and she has to hide it from her father because he's got a heart condition and the news might literally kill him. When he finally finds out, it damages their relationship forever.
   • Felicity: Starting in season 3, Oliver outright rejects a relationship with her due to It's Not You, It's My Enemies. In season 4, she's paralyzed from an attack by Malcolm Merlyn, leaves Oliver over the revelation of his son, is responsible for the nuking of Havenrock, is fired from her position as CEO of Palmer Tech, and it's revealed her father is a cyber-criminal. In season 5, her new boyfriend is accidentally killed by Oliver, which leads her down a path of cyber-vigilantism of her own accord away from Team Arrow. Finally, in seasons 7-8, Oliver is whisked away forever from her due to his pact with The Monitor, and are only rejoined much later in a "paradise dimension" after Oliver's death, and implicitly hers.
   • McKenna Hall: A vice detective given the prime job of hunting down The Vigilante only to be injured and have to leave town.
   • Tommy: His mom was killed when he was eight then his father disappeared for two years. Then his best friend is killed in a boating ‘accident’. And then there’s what happens in season one, ending with his death.
   • Sara: Same as Oliver, though she left the island early and ended up running with the League of Assassins, and carrying out assassinations with them lead to her hating herself.
4. Blog.Adventures In Lurning: Sketchbook averts this after getting tortured by the Money Man. Just annoyed that he keeps using her paper to write notes. Context fits Subverted Trope better, but the issue remains — no Cutie
   • Happens for real when Duck Guy is killed in the canonical 5th episode. She is blamed by the asker for starting something like this, which causes her break down. No Cutie
5. BreakTheCutie.Animated Films: Big Hero 6: Hiro completely snaps when he learns that Callaghan, the man his beloved brother Tadashi died trying to save, not only set the fire that killed Tadashi but also (at least superficially) feels no remorse for his actions or Tadashi's death. The resulting Heroic BSoD provides a rather rare example of a Disney hero trying his hardest to murder the villain, not in self-defense but in a fit of pure rage. No Cutie
6. BreakTheCutie.Anime And Manga: Night Wizard: Poor Eris. She learns that she is the reincarnation of Shaimal, the God of Destruction; all of her memories before meeting Renji and the others were fabricated; of her friends, only Renji stays with her and he ends up fighting Akari and (almost) Kureha; and finally, just as Kureha joins them, she is killed by Kirihito, who then reveals himself to be Eris' mysterious benefactor and planned everything so that she'd fall into a Despair Event Horizon and awaken Shaimal within her. She gets better though. No Cutie
7. BreakTheCutie.Berserk: Griffith was once a nice guy (albeit with a Manipulative Bastard streak), highly charismatic, who lead a mighty group of mercenaries and, through his leadership and strategy, was on the fast-track to becoming a noble and realizing his dream of leading his own kingdom. Then Guts, his best friend and closest confidant, decides to leave the Band of the Hawk in his own effort to be Griffith's equal. Beside himself with grief, he sneaks into the Midland Kingdom's castle and takes the virginity of the princess, getting him arrested and tortured over the course of a year, leaving him unable to speak, walk, or even use his hands. Then his closest friends, who rescue him, take pity on him, something he wanted least. After all that, it's not so hard to see why he would decide to become a demon, kill off his men, and make Guts and Casca's lives a living hell from that day forward... No Cutie
8. BreakTheCutie.Fan Works: The Jackson Legacy: In Road Of Defiance, we read a passage of Piper seeing a vision of an alternate Leo cradling Piper's dead body, and then suddenly breaking into laughter, implying that he lost his mind. No Cutie
9. BreakTheCutie.Live Action Films: Glorious39: Anne is the victim of gaslighting, her family are completely corrupt, her boyfriend is murdered, two of her friends apparently commit suicide, and then her family lock her in a small room and sedate her, possibly for years. No Cutie
10. BreakTheCutie.Live Action TV: Extraordinary Attorney Woo: Young-woo was hurt so badly from all of the negative comments towards autism from an internet video and from the words of an evil rival attorney who looked down on neurodivergent people in general that, by the end of Episode 3, it was enough to make her resign from her position at Hanbada. Fortunately, she bounces back in Episode 4. No Cutie
11. BreakTheCutie.Video Games: Yandere Simulator: No Cutie
    • Yandere-chan/Ayano can kidnap classmates and torture them until she can program them to serve her, mainly to kill a rival. Once they complete their task, they will turn their weapon against themselves, which gets rid of two people for Yandere-chan.
    • Since Senpai has become the object of Yandere-chan's affections, he/she will eventually undergo this. If the rivals are handled a certain way, it will affect his/her mental state. This also includes how Osana and his/her little sister are eliminated as rivals. The worst thing that can happen is Senpai suffering from severe mental illness such as PTSD.
    • This has already happened to Mr. Aishi. He was the reason why Ryoba went around killing people (canonical information for 1980s Mode says she killed a total of six girls), was kidnapped, was implied to have been sexually assaulted by his captor, and eventually developed Stockholm Syndrome. When you play one of the later Basement Tapes, you can hear the empty tone in his voice, signifying that he has been broken by his wife.
12. Characters.Dream SMP Quackity: He started out as an aspiring, idealistic politician who believed that Rousseau Was Right and preferred words to weapons, but ends up jaded to the point of having many of his beliefs turned around entirely after going through a trainwreck of a Trauma Conga Line rife with abuse and abandonment. "Aspiring and idealistic" is not enough for character to be a Cutie — they have to be cute and lovable; Context fits Jade-Colored Glasses better
13. Characters.Elena Of Avalor Esteban:
    • He's directly responsible for the murders of his aunt and uncle and supposedly cousin, the indefinite sealing of his younger cousin and their abuelos, doing nothing when his best friend was exiled, and a 41-year-long regime. He's realized since that he just wants to be loved and that his sins will surely cause him to lose exactly that. When that happens, he's desperate for another chance, only for Elena to tell him that it simply isn't possible and that he has no home or family to return to now, which finally sends him over the Despair Event Horizon into a wholehearted Face–Heel Turn. No Cutie
    • Happens again after Cahu petrifies Francisco and Luisa and "gives" him the position of King of Avalor, to which he believes it's too late for him. Doubles as ZCE
14. Characters.Hack Slash: Oh, yes. Just check the Broken Bird entry below to see. And that's without counting the times it happens over the course of the series, such as her torture by Doctor Gross. No Cutie; Broken Bird doesn't necessarily equate to The Cutie; Examples should stand on their own
15. Characters.Iji: So much. The constant threats of death wear on her spirit, and Dan dying causes her to snap. No Cutie
16. Characters.Persona 5 Sumire Yoshizawa: When Maruki displays the truth behind Kasumi's identity in front of Joker, Akechi and "Kasumi" in order to warn them of the consequences of denying his reality, "Kasumi" doesn't take it well. Her Metaverse form breaks off, the bow on her hair peels off and she just outright goes into despair. It's also implied that regardless of whether Maruki is distorted or not, this is the inevitable and it is only a matter of time before the illusion peels off. No Cutie
17. Characters.Rage Of Bahamut Genesis: When she finds out that Charioce, the man who she hates with a passion, is actually Chris, the man she utterly fell for during the festival, she doesn't take it well. No Cutie
18. Characters.The Karate Kid Samantha La Russo: Oh boy, where to begin with Sam's troubles and turbulence the moment Cobra Kai comes back... No Cutie
    • She's had to deal with the fact that her first two boyfriends were abusive, with Kyler wanting to sexually exploit her and defaming her at school when she rejects him, and Miguel resorting to violence as a first-choice solution to his problems. Still, Sam doesn't break too easily on those occasions, not to mention Miguel does work his way to become nicer and more mature later on.
    • She is not so lucky when Tory enters her life, especially when the latter hooks up with Miguel and Sam still has lingering feelings for him despite trying to move on with Robby. One drunken moment leads to Sam kissing Miguel and all hell breaks loose on the following day at West Valley High School. Tory maims and bruises her in retaliation for her actions and Sam witnesses Miguel fall from the second floor and fracture his spine thanks to Robby, effectively giving her PTSD.
    • In Season 3, Tory becomes a Trauma Button for her, which shows when Sam becomes petrified and frozen in fear the moment Tory arrives in the midst of the brawl in the laser tag warehouse. Sam can do nothing as her fellow Miyagi-Do students are soundly beaten and hearing Hawk break Demetri's arm severely cripples her mental state for a while, to the point of having nightmares.
    • In spite of the training and confidence she built up throughout Season 4, San ends up losing to Tory in the 51st All Valley Karate Tournament. Sam can do nothing but cry and lament to her father that all her efforts ended up being All for Nothing and return home, despondent (unaware that the match had been fixed by Silver and she should've won).
19. Characters.Trapped In A Dating Sim The World Of Otome Games Is Tough For Mobs Alzer: In Volume 5, after learning Leon is already engaged, and being captured and tormented by Loic. No Cutie
20. Characters.Wandering Witch The Journey Of Elaina: Violent Elaina is the result of the trauma Elaina experienced during "Retroactive Grief": a self-loathing, angry, and depressed witch who hates herself for being unable to do anything despite her talents and power. No Cutie
21. Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool.Tropes General: Present in both Despair and Future. In Despair, we have the torture and Ultimate Despair-ification of Chisa, and the death of Chiaki being used to turn all of class 77 into Ultimate Despairs (with Mikan already being one at that point) and in Future we have Aoi and Makoto's reactions to the (apparent) death of Kyoko. No Cutie
22. DidNotGetTheGirl.Literature: Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park. Arkady Renko tells damaged love interest Irina Asanova to stay in America while he'll return to Cold War era Russia. It was her dream to escape the Soviet Union, and Renko doesn't find America to be any better than the USSR. No Cutie; Sinkhole
23. Fanfic.Friendship Is Grievous: More like ALL OF THEM. Every living creature in Equestria has been put through absolute hell from the orbital bombardment, the natural environment turning into ground zero, the destruction of most towns and cities, the attacks from the droids, and finally, the deaths of most of their friends and family. This vicious attack has no doubt forever scarred and changed everypony there for generations to come. No Cutie; Too general
24. Fanfic.The Sponge House: Just like SpongeBob himself, Leni Loud breaks down crying after the costumer harshly berates her for forgetting her drink in "Pizza Delivery". No Cutie
25. Film.Crimson Peak: Edith does not have the best luck. First her mother dies, then she has her book be rejected with each person telling her she should write about love instead of ghost stories, then her father dies quite brutally, and then it's revealed her new husband (mainly his sister) have been using her for her money and are actually in an incestuous relationship, all while being able to see ghosts at the same time. She even has her new dog killed while at it! Thankfully better by the end of it, even if it is a bit bittersweet. No Cutie
26. Literature.Lord Marksman And Vanadis: In Volume 13, Elen goes through Greast's Cold-Blooded Torture and his Attempted Rape. She gets better by the end of the volume. No Cutie
27. Literature.The Girl Who Could Fly: Piper. She is tortured for weeks and when she is seen again, has broken legs and has been brainwashed. She gets better. No Cutie
28. Main.Power Fantasy: The Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism shows two possibilities of this trope played seriously. In more cynical settings, a person stuck in this situation will never get to stand up against his abusers, always living under their heel and either will become a completely broken person as time passes or just cracked up. In more idealistic settings that person will at some point stand against those who turned his life into a living hell, either verbally or with fists. Context suggests that any person, not just The Cutie, who are under this treatment would crack up
29. Manga.Cells At Work Code Black: AA-2153, with his breakdown after his friend AC-1677 sacrifices his life to save him, and the poor Hepatocytes at the Liver when the body starts to drink excessively, daily. No Cutie
30. Manga.G Defend: When the previous Instructor died, Ishikawa had an incredibly hard time dealing with it, blaming himself even though he had also been injured during the tragedy. Many people though believed Ishikawa had intentionally allowed the Instructor to die, and adding insult to injury Ishikawa is confronted by Jou, the Instructor’s son, at his father’s funeral where he openly blames Ishikawa for his father’s death. No Cutie
31. Merlin.Tropes A To C: Morgana. Goes through a season of terror only to have the one person in Camelot she could trust poison her. Ouch. Not to mention being trapped in a pit for about two years straight. With a growing dragon. And in chains. No Cutie
32. PlayingWith.Evil Stole My Faith: Basic Trope: A religious character loses their faith because of something bad that happened to them. Basically sums up why the trope needs cleaning up
33. ReassignedToAntarctica.Live Action TV: Scrubs: Dr. Cox was temporarily reassigned to helping at the prison after he interrupted Dr. Kelso's Breaking Speech to Elliott (in an attempt by Kelso to Break the Cutie) with an unexpected punch to the face. Although shortlived, it still caused Dr. Cox plenty of grief, especially since it took away from his time with his young son. No Cutie
34. Recap.Charmed S 4 E 1 Charmed Again Part 1: Piper is broken by Prue's death and the failures to bring her back to life. No Cutie
35. Recap.Hell Girl S 1 E 18 Bound Girl: Poor Miki goes through an awful ordeal at the hands of Shimono. She can't even take comfort from sending Shimono to Hell in the end, and is last seen lamenting that she didn't pull the thread right away to save her dogs. No Cutie
36. Recap.Person Of Interest S 04 E 05: Finch was only able to get Samaritan to stop hunting Lee by destroying his self-confidence. No Cutie
37. Recap.Steven Universe S 1 E 16 Steven The Sword Fighter: Steven comes within inches of being broken after Pearl's "death", but Garnet and Amethyst managed to clear things up for him. No Cutie
38. Recap.Wander Over Yonder S 1 E 8 The Ball The Bounty: Wander of course. For the first time, he actually fails to save the planet, causing him to go insane by the time they flee. No Cutie
39. Theatre.We Are The Tigers: Mattie after the rest of the squad decides to accuse her of killing Chess, Farrah, and Clark, and she gets arrested. No Cutie
40. VideoGame.Astebreed: Estina breaks down tears in her sister's arms after a Heel–Face Turn. No Cutie
41. WebAnimation.The Frollo Show: Madotsuki gets broken a lot during Frollo's birthday party, and she's already a broken cutie to begin with. In fact, because Wilford's world is created from her sadness, she has to be depressed in order to help the heroes fight Wilford, which means more breaking. How is the character a Cutie?
42. WebAnimation.Les Kassos: The Canard Juniors get hit hard by this when they move in the 4000 Pâquerettes (4000 Daisies, a parody of the 4000, one of the worst urban ghettoes of France) and get bullied to insanity by the local thugs. They somewhat get better... by becoming thugs themselves. No Cutie
    Social worker: Wait, the 4000 Pâquerettes, that's the Seine-Saint-Denis...!
43. WebAnimation.Pokemon Generations: Cheryl and Chansey at the Old Chateau. Being chased by the shapeshifting butler and being scared by a purple faced ghost girl is enough to leave them scarred for life. No Cutie
44. Webcomic.Electric Wonderland: Shroomy's flashback in "Wings" has her fail to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a carnie for Art Lawsey's Imaginarium after it goes belly-up. She also loses her boyfriend Parker over the course of the fourth through sixth comics. No Cutie
45. Webcomic.Orange Marmalade: After a long, hard time of opening up her heart and getting together with Jae-min, Ma-ri finds out that he hates vampires, on the night she was going to confess to him no less. She tries her best to keep it a secret, but Jae-min finds out and coldly broke up with her. By the time he tries to make amends, he has already deeply hurt her. Then it gets even worse when Yoo Chae Rin reveals to the school that she is a vampire out of spite (in the middle of a huge vampire scare). No Cutie

III: Zero-context Examples or insufficient context

1. Anime.Blue Gender: Alica is introduced as bubbly and optimistic. Then she happens upon Tony in a Blue's nest and her attitude changes rapidly. How did her attitude change?
2. Anime.Haibane Renmei: Rakka, to the point she hits rock bottom, literally (in a dry well) and figuratively. Then she gets better.
3. Anime.Romeo X Juliet: Things really don't work out for poor Hermione, and it really shows. Episodes later, Mercutio as well.
4. Characters.Assassins Creed Connor Kenway: While his life wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows prior, the final quarter of the game is one sledgehammer blow after another to the poor guy. Desmond Miles, his descendant, whose own life wasn't all that happy, admits that Connor's life was "painful". Context seems to fit Trauma Conga Line better, but a ZCE nonetheless
5. Characters.Kamen Rider Ex Aid Emu Hojo: It all started with Emu sending fanmail to Kuroto containing game ideas that his life turned upside down, especially in the Gorider special.
6. Characters.New Girl Main Characters: A gentle version of this happened to Jess at the beginning of Season 2. She became so downtrodden and discouraged (not to mention broke) by her professional efforts not working out that she essentially turned into the apartment's new Nick. No Cutie; what is "gentle version"; Needs elaboration on "professional efforts not working out that she essentially turned into the apartment's new Nick"
7. Characters.Ultraman Ginga: The last few episodes of Ginga really put her through the wringer. She ultimately goes through a brief Face–Heel Turn in the penultimate episode. No Cutie; What happened to the character?
8. ComicBook.DR And Quinch: Quinch's method of explaining to Chrysoprasia what her boyfriend, one Waldo "D.R." Dobbs, is really like.
9. ComicBook.Jellyfist: What happens to the little rabbit thing in the untitled comic after "Breakfast". Doesn't show whether the "little rabbit thing" is a Cutie
10. ComicBook.The Transformers Last Stand Of The Wreckers: Poor, adorable Ironfist. Also a case of Kill the Cutie. How did he break?
11. Elisabeth.Elisabeth Tropes A To L: Sisi, Rudolf and, to an extent, even Franz Joseph.
12. Fanfic.All The Drowned Ghosts: Finnick comes pre-broken.
13. Fanfic.Battle For Dream Island Again Do Over: Ruby after Pencil gets pissed off at her due to making a mistake that got her team up for elimination.
14. Fanfic.Tell Him All But The Truth: Victor is left nearly mentally broken by the end of Chapter 10. Though he gets better.
15. Film.Final Destination 2:
    • One year after the Flight 180 disaster, Clear is, emotionally, little more than an Empty Shell. She may still be breathing, but as Kimberly points out, she isn't really alive. Context fits Empty Shell better
    • Death was certainly trying to do this to Kimberly as well.
16. Film.Kiss Me Stupid: Orville tries to do this to Zelda to get her out of the house, but she knows how to call his bluff, so it takes a lot of work on his part.
17. FourPhilosophyEnsemble.Web Original: Homestuck: John (the Optimist), Rose (the Realist), Dave (the Cynic) and Jade (initially a second Optimist, but quickly becomes Conflicted). Optimist isn't enough for a character to be a Cutie, not to mention the example itself is a ZCE as well
18. FullmetalAlchemist.Tropes A To F:
    • The Elric brothers most prominently, with Winry trailing not far behind.
    • Riza's in there somewhere too, if you take the time to think about her Back Story.
    • Rose hopes and prays that Father Cornello could bring her boyfriend back, and the Elric brothers prove her wrong. Good thing it happens that soon and not later... How does she react?
19. GravityFalls.Tropes A To E: The backstories of Stan, Ford, and McGucket.
20. Literature.Agent Pendergast: Never works out well for those who try it.
21. Literature.Heart Of Steel: A rapidfire series of tragic events in Mechanus' forgotten past shattered his mind, which reassembled in its current state. Seem to fit Trauma Conga Line, but what tragic events?
22. Literature.Night Of The Living Dummy II: Slappy engages in some pretty effective psychological torment to force Amy into being his slave. How does Amy react?
23. Literature.Worm: So many get broken in this setting. Parian is probably one of the more prominent examples. Too general
24. Manga.Brynhildr In The Darkness: All the magic users come pre-broken for your convenience. You could think that further breaking is on the menu and we wouldn't blame you for it, anyways. Too general
25. Manga.Pandora Hearts: Happens (or has happened) to most of the cast. Much to the point that the housecat and his killer are not spared. Too general
26. Manga.Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle:
    • Used several times, and subverted with Fai D. Flourite, because it turns out he was already broken and it was an act.
    • Played straight with both versions of Sakura.
    • This also turns out to have happened to Kurogane, as seen in his backstory.
27. Manhwa.The Monstrous Dukes Adopted Daughter: Leslie is cute as a button, even comes pre-broken for your convenience. The Speràdo family still insists on breaking her more, however. What is her "breaking" process?
28. Music.Girls Day: A hidden camera prank on Beatles Code did this almost too effectively. Examples ought to describe what happened
    • Hyeri had a sudden burst of popularity thanks to her "natural aegyo" while crying after going through a gas chamber exercise on the show Real Men. Wrong indentation; same as above
29. Music.Little Boots: What happened to the girl in "Meddle". Uh, what happened? Also, being female doesn't necessarily equate to being a Cutie
30. OnePiece.Tropes A To B: Nami, Robin, Zoro, Chopper, and Franky's backstories all have at least elements of this.
    • The Impel Down and Marineford arcs are all one long and painful line of Break the Cutie for Luffy.
31. QuestionableContent.Tropes A To D: Marten after strip 1800.
32. Recap.Agents Of SHIELDS 2 E 17 Melinda: May before Bahrain is a stark contrast with May after. Being forced to kill a crazy child will do that to a person, especially if you're planning to start a family of your own. Do what?
33. Series.Chinese Paladin 3:
    • Xue Jian
    • Long Kui
    • Chan Qing
34. Series.Flash Forward 2009: Keiko, after graduating from the reputedly finest university in Tokyo and being employed at the workplace of her dreams, ends up having to serve tea because tradition demands a woman has to serve the tea and she is the only woman employed at the company. Other than absence of Cutie, needs elaboration on how the character reacts
35. Series.Oshin: The plot bends over and down to break the characters and specially Oshin herself. It fails in her case (coming very close to succeed in Saga and during WWII), but she does come close and so do many others like Oshin's sister, best friends, eldest son, and husband.
36. Series.Positive: The Series.
    • Episode 6: Janis. The Mood Whiplash doesn't help things. Plus wrong indentation
37. Theatre.Blue Remembered Hills: Happens to all the children by the end.
38. TomAndJerry.Tropes A To M: "Downhearted Duckling" is a huge one for Quacker after he reads the "Ugly Duckling". Since the duckling looks like him, Quacker thinks that he's ugly too. No Cutie; Not enough context to show that character is broken because he thinks he's ugly
39. TransformersPrime.Tropes A To C: After Bulkhead is nearly killed, Miko finds out revenge is not all it's cracked up to be. No Cutie, context is completely unrelated to trope
40. VideoGame.Onimusha Dawn Of Dreams: Jubei. Poor Jubei. Despite being the most cheerful and carefree member of the group, she undergoes some pretty harsh breakdowns, and she's the sole witness of Soki's Heroic Sacrifice. What breakdowns? How does she feel about the last event?
41. WebAnimation.Alfreds Playhouse: Poor Alfred.
42. WebOriginal.Chernobyl Curs: What will likely happen to the younger/more innocent competitors. What actually happens?
43. WebVideo.LA By Night: Annabelle undergoes this after being Embraced.
44. WebVideo.Sword Art Online Abridged: Let's just say episode 4 was not kind to Silica...
45. Webcomic.Roomies Its Walky Joyce And Walky: Walky, Joyce, Linda...
    • Joyce in particular could be the poster girl for this trope. Plus wrong indentation
46. Quotes.Daddys Little Villain: Sinkhole, unclear context
    Grace: If I went back and... became your daughter again... when would I be given the power you're talking about?
    The Big Man: Now?
    Grace: At once.
    The Big Man: Why not?
    Grace: So that would mean that I'd also take on the immediate responsibility, at once? I'd be a part of the problem solving. Like the problem... of Dogville.
    The Big Man: We can start by shooting the dog and nailing it to a wall, over there beneath that lamp, for example. Well, it might help - it sometimes does...
    Grace: It would only make the town more frightened, but hardly make it a better place. And it could happen again: somebody happening by, revealing... their frailty. That's what I want to use the power for, if you don't mind: I want to make this world... a little better.
    —Dogville

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Break The Cutie — final verdict

OP by El Rise
(Category: Misused, Duplicate Trope)

The correct definition of Break the Cutie is, "a sweet, lovable character (aka The Cutie) suffers at least one horrible experience that threatens to break their spirit".

Here are the results of Break The Cutie Wick Check:

• 15.74% wicks are examples / potholes that fit the definition (correct).
• 41.97% wicks are misused examples / potholes that boil down to "a character, The Cutie or not, suffers at least one horrible experience that threatens to break their spirit".
• 42.59% wicks are examples / potholes with insufficient context (ZCEs).

On paper, Break the Cutie suggests a pattern where any character that is designed in a way that conveys cuteness and has lovable traits is more prone to suffer and angst than any other character in order to increase Emotional Torque. In practice, the heaps of misuse and ZCEs indicate "bad things happen to character(s)", which is frankly what happens in all fiction due to Conflict and Rule of Drama.
Moreover, the examples have considerable overlap with similar tropes, like Innocence Lost, Trauma Conga Line, etc.

Suggestions:

• Make the trope page a Definition-Only Page
• Disambig