The best thing that can happen to a hero suffering from a BSOD is meeting a friendly Warrior Therapist the worst thing is meeting a hostile Warrior Therapist, as such a foe can ensure that the hero crashes completely, driving them over the edge into the Despair Event Horizon.Įven after regaining some function, a BSOD sufferer may evince a Thousand-Yard Stare, or go into 10-Minute Retirement. Other people can attempt to reboot the character Get A Hold Of Yourself Man may work (especially in the stories where violence is always the answer), as may telling them to Quit Your Whining. When the trope is Played for Laughs or used for melodramatic effect, the cause can be less substantial deranged behavior from someone supposedly sane, seeing something completely surreal, or being hit with a Wall of Text, say.

Other tropes such as These Hands Have Killed often overlap. having to choose between using 'evil' methods or laying friends open to attack), or being hit with a Breaking Speech or Armor-Piercing Question. Possible triggers include failing in something crucial such as saving a loved one or being restricted in what you can do to help, being betrayed by a close friend, being forced to make an 'impossible' choice (e.g. Also, an outright villain suffering a similar effect will usually experience a Villainous Breakdown (often involving them going completely crazy instead of shutting down) or a Villainous BSoD (whereby they gain a conscience). But a BSOD is never brief or trivial the effect must involve some kind of total mental shut-down to qualify. However, if something like this happens to a more ambiguous or mundane character, it is much more likely to be Played for Laughs or just taken less seriously. The trope name notwithstanding, the character suffering a Heroic BSOD may not necessarily be a fully-fledged hero. A Shell-Shocked Veteran may have a BSOD in their back story. Alone in a Crowd typically represents a milder, non-disabling form of BSOD a related trope is Heroic Safe Mode, wherein the hero 'defaults' to a fight or flight mindset before rebooting in safety.

They may run off and have to be tracked down by their friends for Epiphany Therapy. Alternatively, if, say, this occurs during a fight, a hero may have a violent outburst, killing Evil Minions and hurling their own companions aside. The effect is similar to passing a Despair Event Horizon, but is temporary rather than permanent. Durkon, The Order of the Stick, Strip #247.Ī stunning revelation or horrible event affects a character or someone they care deeply about, leaving them shocked to the point of mentally shutting down for a while, analogous to the Blue Screen of Death.

Powerpuff girl buttercup dolls