Distress Ball: Difference between revisions

 

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 Trope|justified]] version.

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== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'': Sora Takenouchi got hit upside the head with one of these during the Christmas episodes, by panicking when debris started falling around her and having to be pulled away by Matt; the other characters (including Sora's [[Bond Creatures|Bond Creature]]) ''ran away.'' "[[Chickification]]," fans screamed. Sora did recover and joined Miyako/Yolei in the World Tour arc, leading the Russian Digidestined. Unfortunately, that mission didn't go too well either; the girls nearly froze to death and had to be rescued there as well.

* ''[[Flame of Recca]]'' Mikagami Tokiya picked this up, ''twice'', despite his status as "the most cruel" of Hokage and one of the more efficient and intelligent fighters. First, in Sealed Lands arc. After completely ousting Mokuren and Mikoto in a 2-on-1 fight, without chance of recovery, he's pitted against Aoi, who completely overwhelm him stats-wise, even if he has recovered. The result is very obvious, he completely lost it and was later crucifixed and used as a hostage. And then in SODOM arc, he's was forced to pick up another ball ''for comic relief'', where he fails to notice a drugged teacup and then was in turn... strapped into a mechanism, whereas people with ''less intelligence'' like [[The Big Guy|Domon]] slips out of it (in his defense though, his perverted tendencies saved him), and after being pulled out of it, Mikagami was rained with taunts like "So much being [[The Smart Guy|the genius]]!"

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': Sayaka suffered from this several times in the original series, generally tied up. It also was played straight in ''[[Mazinkaiser]]''. [[Hilarity Ensues]]. And much [[Fan Service]].

* Faye in ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'''s Episode 5.

== Comics ==

* This happened a lot to Allan Quartermain in the first volume of ''[[League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]''. Usually Mina, Nemo, or Griffin had to save him, in a bit of a [[Gender-Inverted Trope|gender inversion]].

 

 

* Laurana from ''[[Dragonlance]]'' gets passed this in ''Dragons of Spring Dawning'', when, after having been previously shown to be a brilliant military leader, she suddenly accepts without question a message from her [[Arch Enemy]], Kitiara Uth Matar, claiming that their mutual love, Tanis Half-Elven, is with Kitiara but has been mortally wounded and wants to see Laurana before he dies. Laurana believes the message even though Kitiara: has an obvious motive to want to harm Laurana; provides no proof Tanis is even with her much less that he is dying; and requires Laurana to come to the meeting site without any guards. Laurana's friends Flint Fireforge and Tasslehoff Burrfoot even try to warn her that the message is obviously [[Schmuck Bait]], but Laurana is absolutely certain she can trust Kitiara, so she goes to the meeting site without taking any precautions and is promptly betrayed and captured and ends up having to be rescued by Tanis.

** In fairness Laurana, while ''far'' stronger and smarter than the [[Brainless Beauty]] she seemed to be during her first appearance, is still someone who just hasn't had that much experience of the wider world (even in ''Dragons of Spring Dawning'' she's only been away from elven society for a year or so). She hasn't completely lost her naïvity and faced with the possibility that Tanis is dying she isn't thinking too clearly. It was stupid yes, but a moment of in-character stupidity.

* Happens in ''[[Septimus Heap]]'', where {{spoiler|Sarah Heap in ''Darke'' runs back into the Palace after her duck and is overrun by the Darke Domaine mostly so that Simon can rescue her later}}.

 

** [[Eddie Izzard|"Doctor, Doctor! We've landed on a new planet! It's time for me to get captur--oh, I've been captured."]]

* There tend to be a number of them every episode of ''[[Ghost Whisperer]]''. Although there are plenty of subversions too—Melinda will often do something very stupid and dangerous, but [[The Fool|nothing will come of it]].

** "Arson & Old Lace" has Nancy held captive for six months. By an old man in his 70s. In a penthouse. With a phone and an intercom to a secretary who's not in on the plot. With an elevator that doesn't require any special code to operate, that leads right down to a very public and open office area. No, she's not tied up. She's not held under lock and key. And somehow the elderly gent is able to force her into an elaborate dress and hairstyle, too. She just passively waits for Frank Hardy to rescue her as the building is burning down.

** "Voodoo Doll". Nancy goes off on her own to investigate the [[Big Bad]]. Yup, gets caught. Yup, is held captive (again, untied up) with two other women, similarly untied, in an open warehouse with tons of crates. The only door INTO the warehouse area is locked. On Nancy's side of the door. With the hinges on HER side, too. Her one attempt to escape involves her climbing UP crates to go through a window, and is promptly caught. It takes the Hardys breaking into the warehouse through said door before Nancy can escape. *sigh*

* In ''[[Persona 4]]'', Chie Satonaka rushes off into Yukiko's Castle to save her friend, despite her previously having agreed to stay with the group, as she didn't yet have the power to protect herself. And yet, despite not having such power, [[Fridge Logic|she made it through a floor full of Shadows without anything happening to her.]]

** That actually makes perfect sense. Shadows do not attack normal people, as they do not perceive them as a threat. They only attack people with Personas (the Shadow of the actual person being the only exception).

** Happens to Princess Peach, a few times. A few others, things are just out of her control. A few other times, she's seduced by cake.

** And even Mario is not safe. He wandered off into a haunted mansion by himself in ''Luigi's Mansion''. The result is... predictable.

== Web Comics ==

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-03-08 this] ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' entry, where Sarah picks up the Distress Ball and runs with it.

 

 

* ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'' has Pepper Potts hold this most of the time. Occasionally she'll pass it to Rhodey and be competent for an episode, but the next episode we're right back to her being too dense to do anything but sit dumbly in the middle of a room where two factions of the Chinese mafia are duking it out.

* Princess Sally of ''[[Sonic Sat AM|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' despite being [[The Smart Guy]] of the team, often got captured rather handily.

** One time, she got captured, and three of the male Avengers became kidnapped after her.

* Pearl friggin' Pureheart from the original [[Mighty Mouse]] cartoons. In the Bakshi retool, she's usually quite capable of handling things but still requires the hero's assistance in dire situations once in awhile.