Narm/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A moment that's supposed to be not funny turns out funny.

  • Straight: Edmund murders Bob with a revolver. However, Bob dies with one of the inappropriately used Stock Screams, making it funny.
  • Exaggerated: Bob leads his army into battle. However, his ridiculous Battle Cry of "WAAAIGAYYYAYUUUYAAAH", accompanied with his bulging eyes and facial expression during that make it hilarious.
  • Justified: Bob's whole existence revolves around being funny, so that even when a serious moment comes up, the best he can do is sound like a Stock Scream.
  • Inverted: Dude, Not Funny
    • Bob makes a funny joke about his social skills, but due to his character and events based on him, the moment unintentionally turns out to be sad instead.
  • Subverted: Narm Charm
  • Double Subverted: What was Narm Charm at first, has become Hilarious in Hindsight.
  • Parodied: Stylistic Suck
  • Deconstructed: Bob wants to be taken seriously, but the harder he tries, the more he gets laughed at. This makes him hateful and distrustful of everyone around him.
  • Reconstructed: Bob realizes that even though he's not getting the reaction he was looking for, the Narm Charm still makes his performance enjoyable for the audience.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob's murder turns out to be extremely narmy, but Alice's death is extremely tragic.
  • Averted: A dramatic moment succeeds in being, well, dramatic.
  • Enforced: Executive Meddling demands that the scene be softened as they think it's "too scary" and it goes too far.
  • Lampshaded: "Stop that laughing, I'm being serious!"
  • Invoked: "I think they're taking this too seriously, so I'm going to join in as ridiculously as possible."
  • Defied: "I'm not going to be funny at all here. Nope, gonna avoid all silliness. This is going to sound serious, because I am serious."
  • Discussed: "If he'd be more over-the top when saying that, it would actually be rather funny"
  • Conversed: "That was supposed to be dramatic? HA!"
  • Intended: When Bob gets shot and dies, he makes a funny face, turning this would-have-been tragic moment into a funny one. Word of God confirms that it was intended to come off as funny.

BAAAAACK.... TO......... NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!


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