Basic Trope: A character cowers and pleads before someone in power.
- Straight: Claire is brought before Emperor Drake, who makes her plead for mercy by holding an axe by her head.
- Exaggerated:
- Everytime Claire is at odds with a person in authority she begs for forgiveness, often with Tears of Fear.
- In Drake's first fight against the Badass Crew, Claire tries to surrender and submit while her teammates stop her.
- Emperor Drake can put anyone in a state of Heroic BSoD with a glare.
- Downplayed:
- Claire keeps a level head until she is set up on a guillotine.
- Claire tries to negotiate with Drake in exchange for her life or well being, but does so calmly.
- Claire makes sure to ask if there's truly no way for her to survive, before accepting death.
- Justified:
- Drake has broken Claire's will via Cold-Blooded Torture.
- Drake is a Hero Killer.
- Claire is a Dirty Coward.
- Drake has already made an example out of Jordan, and Claire knows better.
- Claire and Drake have a history, and there's a reason why she's scared of him.
- Claire knows The Cavalry is on the way, and is Holding the Floor.
- Inverted: Defiant to the End
- Subverted: Drake brings Claire before him, and demands she plead for mercy. She does so... in an obviously sarcastic manner that turns into a "Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Double Subverted: When Drake puts his axe to her throat, however, she breaks and starts begging for real.
- Parodied: Claire falls on her knees and begs for mercy in front of someone or something completely non-threatening, like a toddler or a vending machine.
- Zig Zagged: Bob begs to his kidnappers to stop "torturing him", but his begs are poorly acted and obviously exaggerated, revealing that he feels nothing at all from the torture, so their kidnappers get angrier because they think Bob is mocking them. As it turns out, Bob is not trying to mock them, but the whole situation is so boring that he wants them to "give him mercy" so he can go home.
- Enforced: "We need to make it clear that even heroes can be afraid enough to beg."
- Lampshaded: "What's this? Claire, with all her 'iron will', weeping before me? How pathetic."
- Invoked: Drake tests all of his prisoners to see which ones will crack, then takes advantage of those ones.
- Exploited: Drake decides to take advantage of Claire's fear to make her do things she normally wouldn't.
- Defied: "Kneel before Drake!" "NEVER!"
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: The Cavalry arrives to see Claire broken down and crying and Drake smiling sadistically at her, but they didn't hear the conversation in full.
Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me please! I'll go back to Ain't Too Proud to Beg!
