He's Back! often marks a character's full recovery, perhaps accompanied by a "No More Holding Back" Speech. Hope Is Scary is a frequent reaction to the beginning of recovery for any character.
THE SUFFERER AND THE WITNESS COVER ARTIST SERIES
Even comedy characters can find that a BSOD leads to Character Development, marking the start of a series of new experiences, or causing them to revise their world-view. If opponents discover a character's BSOD trigger, they may employ it as a weapon - although if they over-use it, the victim may wise up and seek treatment. A character in a slapstick comedy show may be thrown into several blue screens in one episode, as a Running Gag. Those who remain functional but don't find a cure for the problem may eventually find Safety in Indifference or Emotion Suppression other people may fear that they have become a Fallen Hero.Ĭomedy and melodramatic uses of the trope (such as a film or game reviewer having a Critic Breakdown) are far less likely to lead to long-term problems the character simply snaps back after a few minutes. A really long-term BSOD would be catatonia Go Mad from the Revelation is the worst case. In the longer term, a hero may become emotionally comatose (entering an Angst Coma), obsessive and guilt-ridden, mute, or in really bad cases, a jaded violent amnesiac. 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.
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