Berserk Button/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Something that sends a character into a violent rage.

  • Straight: Brad, normally the Only Sane Man, turns violent when somebody calls him a bastard.
  • Exaggerated:
  • Justified:
    • Straw that broke the camel's back -- or a violently sensitive topic.
    • Brad's shoes were custom made for him by a dear now-deceased friend just before they died, the shoes now serve as a symbol of the lost friendship.
  • Inverted:
    • Brad being called a bastard causes him to mope.
    • Alternatively Brad is The Berserker when he's not baking, referring to pastries really mellows him out.
    • Brad usually has Hair-Trigger Temper when it comes someone talking to him unless someone calls him imbecile at which point he doesn't care.
  • Subverted: Brad looks like he's going to snap, but he doesn't...
  • Double Subverted:
    • ...but then some more jeering sends him down the deep end completely.
    • Or it just looks like he didn't snap, because he went into Tranquil Fury.
  • Zig Zagged: After being pushed too far, Brad picks a fight with the scoundrel but is horribly outmatched. Now his face makes his shoes look intact by comparison.
  • Parodied: Brad's occasionally driven to violence, even to the point of challenging someone to a chicken race once, whenever someone messes with his shoes.
  • Deconstructed: Brad's reaction to his Berserk Buttons get him into deep trouble with horrifying consequences for all.
  • Reconstructed: ... but he has made sure NO ONE will ever make fun of his shoes again
  • Averted: The things that would be Brad's berserk buttons don't bother him at all.
  • Enforced: The writers want to show that even nice guys can break.
  • Lampshaded: "Don't do that. He'll break your neck if you do."
  • Invoked: "I heard that he's sensitive about his shoes. Let's spill mustard on them and see what happens!"
  • Exploited:
    • Jack, the hero, uses Bob's Berserk Button to take down the Dark Lord.
    • A villain uses Bob's Berserk Button to get him in serious trouble with the authorities or get him killed.
  • Defied: "You think that's going to piss me off?! Ha! You're wrong!"
  • Discussed: "Just...don't mention that one thing around him. Trust me on this one, okay?"
  • Conversed: "Oooh, that character is being set up as an idiot." "How do you know?" "He just called Brad a bastard... a second time."
  • Played For Laughs: Bob's Berserk Button itself and/or his reaction when it gets pressed is utterly ridiculous.
  • Played For Drama: Bob's Berserk Button leads to someone getting hurt or even killed, leading to everything going to hell for him.

Don't go back to Berserk Button, OR I WILL BREAK YOUR FACE BITCH!