| abstract | - His girlfriend is about to explode, and he's at ground zero, often without a bomb kit or a prayer. Maybe he honestly did something wrong, like cheating with another girl. Maybe the compromising position she found him in isn't really what it looks like (anything from being assaulted by a Clingy Jealous Girl to suffering an Accidental Pervert moment or even a completely Unprovoked Pervert Payback). No matter what the cause, she's hurt by his (apparent) betrayal and she won't stop until he feels her pain. If he had no idea why she was angry, or if she were a stranger, or if he were a total jerk, he would defend himself. Which is why this trope almost never happens to anyone but the guy who knows exactly why she's mad (whether or not he's actually at fault), regularly associates with her, and is at least half-way decent. Even if this guy is a master martial artist and if she hasn't taken a single karate class in her life, she'll smack him silly because he all but lets her. Why is the guy so powerless? Because it's Different for Girls. She's very, very angry -- so angry that it frightens and intimidates him into a panic reaction. But he can't fight back, because he Wouldn't Hit a Girl. And he can't run away, because she'll just get madder and he'll have to face her eventually. He's stuck. Even if he doesn't quite understand it himself, he instinctively knows that if she doesn't hurt him now, her wrath will fester into long-lived anger. Their association or relationship will be soured if not broken off altogether. Compared to that, a bit of mind-numbing pain seems the lesser of two evils -- if she's allowed to take her pound of flesh, maybe she'll be more inclined to hear apologies or explanations later. And so, the slap effectively pierces his armor. Truth in Television, as anyone who interacts with young girls on a regular basis can attest. See also Mundangerous and the Megaton Punch. Not related to Armor-Piercing Attack or Armor-Piercing Question. Examples of Armor-Piercing Slap include:
|
