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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