Line #45 Main/MiseryTrigger


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11	These characters tend to be pretty upbeat most of the time they appear onscreen. While they may get angry on occasion, they still remain active. That is until you find the very thing that hits them in the feelings the hardest.
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13	Whether it's a word, an action, or anything else, these characters will fall apart when this button of theirs is pushed. Effects of pushing this button include but are not limited to crying, moping, loss of focus on their task, going into a corner to pout, etc.
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15	These characters may even trigger their own button unintentionally. Whenever the button is pushed, it often takes the effort of other characters to get them moving again. Alternatively, they may get over it after a certain amount of time, but they will still collapse in sadness if the switch is pushed again even if they got over it seconds earlier.
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17	If everything makes the character sad, then they are more than likely to be TheEeyore. Compare TraumaButton, when the trigger is past trauma. Compare to BrownNote, where something can induce sorrow just from exposure. Compare EmotionBomb, which inflicts sadness on anybody. Compare and contrast BerserkButton which is an action that sends a character into a state of rage when pushed. See also MadeMyselfSad for self-inflicted versions.
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21	!!Examples
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23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26	* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Nakai is still stuck as an assistant, despite being in his 30s and not only older than his fellow assistants Fukuda and Mashiro, but also his boss Nizuma (who, in all fairness, made waves by debuting as a teenager). As such, Nakai tends to become depressed when Fukuda points out that Nizuma's editor Aida doesn't have much faith in Nakai's potential as a manga artist.
27	* According to Whis in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Magetta's metalman race are quite sensitive. Throwing an insult at them is enough to reduce them to a crying mess. This is after Vegeta calls Magetta a piece of junk, which caused the metalman to lose his will to fight.
28	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Momo Yaoyorozu's ability, Creation, allows her to make just about anything depending on how much mass it requires and how much food she's eaten. As she herself puts it, the more she eats, the more she makes. When another student compares this to poop, Yaoyorozu becomes instantly depressed.
29	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
30	** Foxy the Silver Fox tends to be pretty full of himself, but he has a really hard time taking insults as he becomes extremely mopey whenever somebody says something to offend him. In the anime, Nami and Usopp take advantage of this by constantly pushing this button and also his pride in an effort to keep him from firing his slow-slow beam.
31	** Brook frequently makes jokes at his own expense, but he gets pretty sad when somebody steals his punchlines.
32	* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': When Brock [[TheBusCameBack rejoins the team]] after [[PutOnABus staying at Professor Ivy's lab]] for the duration of the Orange Islands arc, any reference to Ivy is met with him curling up in a fetal position and muttering, "Don't mention that name."
33	* Parodied in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', where pretty much any aspect of the modern society can trigger the main character's very theatrical despair phases -- and usually does OncePerEpisode.
34	* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Being left alone or ignored tends to activate Dororo's "Trauma Switch" and send him to the CornerOfWoe.
35	* ''Manga/SoulEater'': Lack of symmetry is more often than not a BerserkButton for Death the Kid. However, pointing out that Kid himself isn't symmetrical because of his hair is enough to turn him into a NervousWreck. This also extends to when he unintentionally ruins something symmetrical. When he accidentally destroys a symmetrical tomb, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he feels he has committed a crime against humanity]].
36	[[/folder]]
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38	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
39	* ''Animation/{{Lamput}}'': In "Origins", during their years in school, Skinny Doc does a malevolent beckoning motion to Specs Doc whenever he finds him, and they both later use that motion on another student. They end up having this turned against them and scream in horror as [[spoiler:Mr. Moustache, the student they were bullying,]] does the same thing in the present day.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Fan Works]]
43	* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': Unless you are [[TheRival Goku]], proving to Vegeta exactly how much you outclass him is enough to make him start crying [[RunningGag like a bitch]]. Freeza and Cell both manage to push this button, while Cell also pushes Vegeta's {{berserk button}}s at the same time just because he felt like adding insult to injury.
44	[[/folder]]
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46	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
47	* In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', Dory [[CryingCritters cries]] whenever she thinks her friends don't like her.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', this is the reaction of cowardly Wizzard Rincewind whenever he is plucked away from a blissful life of dullness and obscurity to save the world - again. His reaction to being forced into the hero role is invariably one of existential misery and angst.
52	* Lyrah is this for Daylen in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' enough that it takes a lot of effort on his part before he can even look at her without [[AngstComa collapsing in misery]]. During one of their early conversations, the sight of her causes his legs to give out and him to stumble, prompting her to ask him if he's injured. Daylen's extreme reactions to just seeing her [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness puzzle Ahrek]], who knows that it's out of the ordinary even by [[MoodSwinger Daylen's standards,]] but he doesn't learn the real reason for it until Cueseg gives him TheReveal and a CerebusCallback.
53	[[/folder]]
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55	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
56	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In a season two episode, every time Ben is being held or even moved close to Monica, he instantly starts crying. This, in turn, pushes Monica's button, causing her to start worrying about her maternal abilities.
57	* Eleanor in ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' has minor breakdowns when she runs into family-related stuff, at one point bursting into tears over a family pack of toothbrushes, as a TraumaButton courtesy her [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood almost sarcastically neglectful parents]].
58	* ''Series/HorribleHistories'': In the Proms special, the mere mention of her late husband's name causes Queen Victoria to burst into tears.
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60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
63	* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', Johanna, who is very upbeat for the entire story thus far, becomes downright miserable when she walks in on the protagonist and Tamara when they’re about to have sex.
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66	[[folder:Web Animation]]
67	* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Whenever Homestar sees a picture of Li'l Brudder, he ends up being reduced to a crying mess. In Li'l Brudder's debut, it's downplayed as his appearance is capable of [[EmotionBomb making anybody cry]]. Played a bit more straight in later appearances, in which Homestar is the only one shown to have a reaction to him.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Web Novel]]
71	* ''Literature/CanYouSpareAQuarter'': When Frank mentions the possibility that Jamie might become his apprentice at the car repair shop, Jamie is reminded of what he had to do to make a living and breaks out crying.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Western Animation]]
75	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Sheen is such a big fan of Ultra Lord that telling him that Ultra Lord was cancelled is enough to make him have a crying fit.
76	* The premise of ''WesternAnimation/BadDog'' is that the titular dog, Berkeley, [[DogsLoveBeingPraised wants to be a good dog]], but due to being so LiteralMinded, ends up hurting more than he helps. The means that OnceAnEpisode, he gets called a bad dog, which makes him so sad that he falls unconscious. Only calling him a good dog will wake him up.
77	* In both ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' and ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', the normally happy-go-lucky Launchpad [=McQuack=] becomes miserable any time someone he cares about rejects him or seems to have replaced him with someone/something else. Given that Scrooge and Darkwing are both [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold somewhat harsher than the typical Disney hero]], they've both tripped the trigger on occasion.
78	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Pinkie Pie is almost always a very cheerful pony, but telling her you never want to be her friend can cause her a lot of grief.
79	** Anytime a pony feels like they're not living up to their [[BirthmarkOfDestiny cutie mark]] causes depression at best, [[SanitySlippage desperate and dangerous overcompensation]] at worst. This drives the plot of the week often enough that the fandom coined a term for it.
80	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': In one episode, Tommy is kidnapped by two thugs. Every time Tommy is crying, one of the thugs try to give him a banana. By the end of the episode, Tommy is happily back home, but the moment his mother [[TraumaButtonEnding attempts to give him a toy banana]], the sight of it [[BehavioralConditioning causes him to start crying]].
81	* ''[[WesternAnimation/UncleCrocsBlock Wacky and Packy]]'': Packy always cries whenever he hears somebody say the word "home". Even when it comes from his own mouth.
82	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MiseryTrigger