Save the Princess/Playing With

Basic Trope: A standard plot where The Hero must rescue a Damsel in Distress.
 * Straight: Princess Velvet has been kidnapped by Emperor Evulz, and Albert and his friends set out to save her.
 * Exaggerated: Emperor Evulz has been busily kidnapping every single princess, noblewoman, village girl and whatnot of a certain age. Naturally, it falls to Albert to rescue them all.
 * Downplayed: Emperor Evulz did kidnap the Princess... doll!
 * Princess Velvet managed to sabotage Emperor's plan and makes the rescue much easier from Albert.
 * Justified: Princess Velvet is a Barrier Maiden, and Emperor Evulz kidnapped her in order to deal with that.
 * Inverted: Princess Velvet has to save Albert and his allies after they were captured by the emperor.
 * Albert and his crew have to save Emperor Evulz from Princess Velvet.
 * Subverted: The princess doesn't need to be saved. Or want it.
 * It turns out that Emperor Evulz was granting Princess Velvet asylum to protect her from her brother, Prince Satin.
 * Double Subverted: The princess doesn't need to be saved... at first. But she winds up in serious trouble before long and has to be rescued by the hero after all.
 * Emperor Evulz is granting Princess Velvet asylum to keep her safe from Prince Satin, but he can't confront Satin directly without risking a huge, bloody war. Albert can and will, and with his help, Princess Velvet can finally return home safely.
 * Parodied: Princess Savmi of the Help-Help Kingdom was born and bred to be the model Damsel in Distress, to the point that almost all she can say is her name and her homeland.
 * Emperor Evulz doesn't even have any plans for Princess Velvet. He just collects princesses as a hobby.
 * Deconstructed: The princess resigns due to not being able to rule the kingdom well when she's captured most of the time.
 * Emperor Evulz kidnapping Princess Velvet and upon realizing he has absolutely no use for her and that she's more trouble than she's worth he kills her and has the hero trapped in the castle when he comes to rescue her.
 * Reconstructed: After Princess Velvet resigns for being repeatedly kidnapped her evil brother Prince Satin takes over and rules. She gets a Mentor and trains over the years. When Prince Satin eventually becomes Emperor Evulz and kidnaps another princess, she goes to rescue her using all of her genre savviness.
 * Zig Zagged: Albert hears that Princess Velvet has been kidnapped and comes running to help, only to find that those were merely rumors and she's actually gone undercover and joined La Résistance. But he accidentally lead Evulz' men right to her, and she's captured. Velvet then manages to escape before a rescue attempt can be launched -- good thing, too, as Evulz ambushes her would-be saviors and arrests them, forcing her to rush to save them before they can be executed.
 * Averted: Princess Velvet never needs rescuing.
 * Enforced: "Okay, he's evil, but that can't be the only reason why our hero wants to stop him! Let's give him a potential Love Interest and have her get kidnapped! Plus, hey -- built-in Standard Hero Reward!"
 * Lampshaded: "Why do the villains always kidnap the princesses? Wouldn't it make more sense to kidnap somebody who is an actual threat to them?"
 * Invoked: Emperor Evulz kidnapped Princess Velvet specifically because he knew this would draw heroes out of the woodwork to save her, helping him single out and dispose of troublemakers all the easier.
 * Or the heroes set up bright lights around the Princess so Dr Evil will come and kidnap her and catch him.
 * Exploited: Princess Velvet arrange her own kidnapping as part of a Xanatos Speed Chess.
 * Emperor Evulz turns Princess Velvet into a Manchurian Agent.
 * Defied: Emperor Evulz makes a point of killing any princess he gets close enough to.
 * Discussed: Bob and team are going to the palace and on the way discuss the chances of there being a princess and how they would save her from Dr Evil.
 * Conversed: Bob and Alice watch a television show with a Save the Princess plot and talk about it.
 * Plotted A Good Waste: Princess Velvet turns out to be the mastermind behind it all, deftly maneuvering herself into the perfect position to secretly steal all of Emperor Evulz' power while he was preoccupied fighting off the hapless heroes trying to rescue her.
 * Played For Laughs: Princess Velvet is a bit of a Deadpan Snarker who berates the player for taking so long to rescue her.
 * Played For Drama: Velvet's kingdom is one of the last strongholds against the emperor's forces, and her capture comes as a major blow to everyone's morale.

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