Armor-Piercing Question in Web Original.
- A humorous example in The Salvation War. A succubus is hosting a talk show and is interrogating some corrupt politician about his misdeeds. When he tries to flip the script and says the she must've commited some terrible atrocities herself in the past, she responds that yes, she most certainly had, but then she's a literal demon from Hell. What's his excuse?
- Apparently this has become a catchphrase for Luga, the succubus in question, though by the second book it's become clear that the demons aren't Always Chaotic Evil and the phrase might be getting retired (Luga herself is self-serving at worst but ultimately sided with Humanity during the war)
- In Hitherby Dragons, this is the method Ii Ma uses to trap others within the Place Without Recourse. They are given a question that they cannot answer without negating everything they believe in — and while that question remains unanswered, they're left in a place where nothing they can do matters at all.
- In The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Jane asked Lizzie what she planned to do with herself after her degree and the normally vocal Lizzie is rendered speechless with only a few words.
- In Death By Dying: At the end of episode three when the Obituary Writer breaks the Grief Support Group out of their forced happiness an upset Charlotte confronts him with a question he doesn't have a response to."You write about death O.W. but how much do you know about what it feels like to lose someone?"
- Critical Role:
- "What's my mother's name?" Scanlan asks this of the group after he's brought back from the dead, during his blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech. He's furious with the others for letting his daughter, Kaylie, see him dead, and now he's accusing them all of not really knowing him or caring about him. No one can answer the question. He leaves the party in that episode to be with Kaylie, and doesn't return for some time.
- In the second campaign, the final fight against Lucien turns into an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight as the Nein realize that trying to call out to Mollymauk causes something inside him to react. Lucien is not happy about it, and arrogantly tells the Nein that That Man Is Dead.Lucien: That person is dead! He never really existed! You're shouting into nothing, my dear!
Jester: Then why is this working?!
- The Music Video Show has this in the second part of Episode 100. The third season host calls out the flaws of second season host's episodes, who admits to those problems.Second Season Host: "Why didn't YOU come back after three months?" Cue "The Reason You Suck" Speech against the third season host, who can only respond in silence.
- Nostalgia Critic
- In his phone call to the director of My Pet Monster, the critic's self-loathing starts to seep in when he gets asked why he's in his twenties and is still watching kids' movies. The next episode finds him in a depressed state reviewing old commercials (this became an annual tradition that usually comes out the week before Thanksgiving).
- Santa Christ gives an armor piercing question and statement in Christmas Story 2 that causes the critic to show guilt.Nostalgia Critic: Santa Christ, I need your help on something. I just threw out this really annoying person named Hyper Fangirl.
Santa Christ: Well, what did she do?
Nostalgia Critic: She tried to make me appreciate Christmas. (he just realizes his mistake)
Santa Christ: Wow. You're a douche.
Nostalgia Christ: No no no, it's not like that. She did all these terrible things and she deserves to be punished for it.
Santa Christ: Well last I heard, she was flying 35,000 feet through the air completely set on fire. Sounds like punishment enough to me.
Nostalgia Critic: You're not gonna be on my side, are you?
Santa Christ: I don't think you're on your side.
- In Welcome to Night Vale Earl Harlan is trying to talk to Cecil about being stuck at nineteen years old for a century while Cecil is reminiscing about their last days in high school together and glossing over Earl's concerns, until Earl asks him what year they graduated. After several seconds of absolute silence Earl prompts him with "You don't remember, do you?" and Cecil abruptly changes the subject.
- In Worm, Emma uses one of these on Taylor in Chapter 2.4
as part of her bullying campaign. - In Crash Course: US History, John Green mentions a time this happened to him in Real Life when learning about The American Civil War:"Me-From-The-Past, in your senior year of high school, you will be taught American Government by Mister Fleming, a white southerner who will seem to you to be about a hundred and eighty-two years old. And you will say something to him in class about States' Rights, and Mister Fleming will turn to you and he will say "A State's Right to what, sir?", and for the first time in your snotty little life you will be well and truly speechless."
- In Red vs. Blue: Singularity, Big Bad Chrovos is taunting Donut about how he cannot hope to defeat her, only to slip up and say a little too much in the process. Her evasive responses to Donut's realization confirm the first step towards stopping her plot.Chrovos: Don't feel bad, my boy, you just have no distance left to run. Time became chaos from the second the paradox was created, backwards.
Donut: And... after that?
Chrovos: ...Hm?
Donut: You said time's all weird from the paradox backwards. What about after the paradox? What's happening in that time? - No Evil features one in Episode 39: Sorrow when Charles is inside Ichabod's mind, attempting to free him from the Black Tezcatlipoca, by letting him win at a game.Charles: Trust me. What I want really isn't important.
Ichabod: What? You're keeping me here!
Charles: Am I?
Ichabod: You're... You...
Charles: So what do you want?
Ichabod: I want... I don't want-
Charles: WHAT do you WANT? - On Not Always Working, a company realizes most of their job applicants are deliberately botching or no-showing the interview, so they can claim to be seeking work on their unemployment applications. The company starts reporting so to the unemployment agency so those claims can be denied. When one applicant complains, they get asked two questions they are unable to answer: "What is the company's name?" and "What do we do?"
- Heart of Elynthi: Spade the Warforge asked Buck two of them. One, he asked Buck if the only reason the latter has faith in his goddess is for a big pay off, then would that even be worth it. And two, he asked Buck if the latter finally gets that pay off, then what will Buck do after that. Buck was visibly shaken by those questions, but Spade reassured Buck that he can take his time finding his answers.
