Ironic Birthday/Playing With

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Basic Trope: A character returns home to find someone holding a surprise birthday party for him/her after something bad has happened to him/her.

  • Straight: On his birthday, Bob discovers that the cute girl he had a crush on is actually working for the Big Bad, and ends up losing an important Plot Coupon to the Big Bad. When he returns home, he's greeted with a surprise party.
  • Exaggerated: With all his friends dead, all his MacGuffins taken and his life in tatters after a shocking defeat by the Big Bad Bob arrives home to find his parents yelling "Surprise!" and throwing the world's greatest party.
  • Justified: It's Bob's birthday and he took a stupid risk the day before.
  • Inverted: Bob enjoys his surprise party, THEN bad things happen
  • Subverted: Bad things happen to Bob, he walks home, and then finds out that everyone forgot his birthday
  • Double Subverted: ...but it turns out they were only pretending to forget.
  • Parodied: Anytime anything bad happens to Bob, no matter when it is or what it is, somebody throws him a birthday party.
  • Deconstructed: Having to keep up the facade of happiness puts Bob under intense emotional strain
  • Reconstructed: The knowledge that his family and friends still love him enough to throw a party for him and remember his birthday helps Bob climb out of a depression cause by his defeat.
  • Zig Zagged: ???
  • Averted: Nothing bad happens
    • The party was planned in advance, so Bob knew it was coming
      • It's not Bob's birthday
  • Enforced: "We need to juxtapose Bob's defeat with a happy scene, have his family throw him a party!"
  • Lampshaded: "It figures that I'd be defeated on my birthday, and now I've gotta go to that party."
  • Invoked: The Mole hears about the surprise party his friends are planning, and she offers to keep him away from his house while they are setting up the party. She plans on using this opportunity to steal the Plot Coupon and ruin his birthday at the same time For the Evulz.
  • Defied: Bob's friend Alice knows that Bob isn't in the mood for a birthday party after what has happened, and takes Bob back to her house, telling him he can stay there overnight and then contacts the people that are waiting for him at his house to let them know what is going on.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???
  • Played For Laughs: ???
  • Played For Drama: ???

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