Berserk Button/Playing With

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:
  • Brad, normally the Extreme Doormat, turns into a blood thirsty psycho when somebody messes with his shoes.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper
• 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.

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