Berserk Button: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"However, you called me by that name. Anyone who calls me by that name dies. That's the policy."'' |'''Touko Aozaki''', '''''[[Kara no Kyoukai (Literature)|Kara no Kyoukai]]''''', right before [[Cruel and Unusual Death|siccing]] an [[Eldritch Abomination]] on a magus.}}

You have just pressed the [['''Berserk Button]]'''.

The [['''Berserk Button]]''' is one type of [[Useful NotesTrigger/TriggerAnalysis|Trigger]], where the response is one of extreme anger.

In comedic works, the Berserk Button tends to be a physical feature that the character is insecure or in denial about, like his [[The Napoleon|height]]. Animals also don't seem to like having their [[I Am Not Weasel|species misidentified]]. Comedic [[Berserk Button|'''Berserk Buttons]]''' are often used to make an otherwise unflappable character lose his or her cool and go off on a hilarious rant. In cartoons, you can usually tell when a Berserk Button has been hit when the character who has it turns bright red and steam starts shooting out their ears.

In dramatic works, the Berserk Button is often tied to something important about a character; a particularly hated enemy, or a painful failure that hits too [[Close to Home]]. Insulting the memory of a [[Dead Little Sister]], for example, or pitying someone who insists "[[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]]." Many characters, particularly heroes, have a Berserk Button over someone messing with or threatening [[Protectorate|people they care about]]. If you're unfortunate enough to hit someone's Berserk Button in a dramatic work, being on the receiving end of a rant is the ''very'' least of your worries depending on the situation and the character.

* [[Wife -Basher Basher]]

A [[Trigger Phrase]] can produce externally similar results if a seemingly innocent word or phrase makes the character go berserk. The key difference is that a [['''Berserk Button]]''' is a personality trait, often with a specific [[Hollywood Psych]] cause, while a [[Trigger Phrase]] is a result of hypnotism, brain programming or another kind of [[Mind Control]].

Contrast against [[Corner of Woe]], where the offended person ends up depressed instead of enraged. If nearly everything seems to be a person's [['''Berserk Button]]''', they have a [[Hair-Trigger Temper]].

{{examples|Examples ofon where Berserk Button shows up:subpages}}

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