About: Distress Ball   Sponge Permalink

An Entity of Type : owl:Thing, within Data Space : 134.155.108.49:8890 associated with source dataset(s)

Another subset of the Idiot Ball, this is a moment where the genre blinders flick on and a character does something stupid just so she'll get in trouble and need to be rescued. This usually happens to The Chick and other Love Interests, but the Sidekick, the Tagalong Kid, other non-combatants, or sometimes even an especially stubborn Lancer are also susceptible. Examples of Distress Ball include:

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  • Distress Ball
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  • Another subset of the Idiot Ball, this is a moment where the genre blinders flick on and a character does something stupid just so she'll get in trouble and need to be rescued. This usually happens to The Chick and other Love Interests, but the Sidekick, the Tagalong Kid, other non-combatants, or sometimes even an especially stubborn Lancer are also susceptible. Examples of Distress Ball include:
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  • Another subset of the Idiot Ball, this is a moment where the genre blinders flick on and a character does something stupid just so she'll get in trouble and need to be rescued. This usually happens to The Chick and other Love Interests, but the Sidekick, the Tagalong Kid, other non-combatants, or sometimes even an especially stubborn Lancer are also susceptible. Such acts may include wandering into a dark alley at night while alone, Going for the Big Scoop, trying to take on the Big Bad one on one, or not listening (or listening, for that matter) to The Hero suggesting she Wait Here. It also includes not having the sense to kick the villain in the nuts when he tries to grab her upper arm. This is especially grating if the one given the ball is a female character otherwise shown to be competent and talented, or Badass. If it happens once too often, it may lead to Chickification. Of course, there are also chances that after they dropped the ball, they come back to the routine of ass-kicking. If the Distress Ball pickup did not happen near the end of the story, she will most likely drop it, and it doesn't necessarily mean she will take part in a bigger plot in the future; she still tags along but proves that once the ball is dropped, she can still kick ass instead of being forced into the sidelines, cheering. Unless Chickification is already on full throttle, or they are Faux Action People. On the other hand, tossing the distress ball back and forth between both sides of a Battle Couple allows for all the cuteness of a Rescue Romance without the weakness. Compare Damsel Scrappy. This trope is when someone "normal" acts like a Damsel Scrappy for no reason other than that she picks up the Distress Ball. See also The President's Daughter. Deliberately Distressed Damsel is a more justified version. Examples of Distress Ball include:
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