Basic Trope: Supposed expert handles a gun in a unsafe way.
- Straight: Officer Bob jokingly points his gun at Charlie, something you should never do out of chance the gun might be loaded.
- Exaggerated: Officer Bob pulls the trigger at Charlie several times.
- Downplayed:
- Officer Bob stores his gun on in unlocked drawer.
- Officer Bob accidentally gives a very brief sweep over Charlie during a dangerous situation - an error certainly but one of insufficient drilling rather than recklessness.
- Justified:
- Officer Bob is a rookie, and has not used guns before.
- It's the first hint in the narrative that Officer Bob has gone insane. In later parts, his crazy behaviour becomes even more pronounced.
- The 'guns' are magical and despite their appearance require literal intent to harm to fire. One could literally juggle them and pull the trigger in a friend's face all day without a risk unless they actually wanted them dead.
- The series takes place in a time period where guns have just been invented, and thus safety precautions have not yet been developed.
- The trigger-happy setting just doesn't care about gun safety.
- Inverted:
- Officer Bob tries to kill Charlie with a gun, but he forgets that the gun was set on safety mode.
- Officer Bob clearly keeps his gun aimed into a safe backstop three feet away and his finger off the trigger when he is about to 'shoot' Charlie.
- Even people who are supposed to be reckless or suicidal maintain perfect trigger discipline and gun safety - without a justifying background making it second nature.
- Alice, a Professional Killer who should know better, is reckless in handling blades; she mindlessly points her knife at people, walks with it pointed forward in everyday situations, puts it away directly into her pocket without a sheath or scabbard, etc.
- Subverted:
- Officer Bob had emptied the gun before the prank.
- "Officer Bob" is a conman impersonating one who is used to style getting people to go along with him. He doesn't even know how to reload the gun!
- The gun is actually prop or toy that doesn't shoot.
- Double Subverted: ...but there was a round on the chamber.
- Parodied:
- Officer Bob enters the room twirling the gun with his eyes closed.
- Officer Bob constantly puts himself in danger by using a fully loaded gun to perform mundane activities, such as scratching his back, flipping light switches, and feeding his dog.
- Bob checks to see if his gun is loaded by putting it to his temple and pulling the trigger repeatedly.
- Zig Zagged: The way Bob handles guns varies depending on the day.
- Averted:
- Everyone handles guns safely.
- Police and military handle guns safely. Amateurs are less careful, but any expert who witnesses a safety rule being broken is appropriately alarmed and sets it straight.
- No guns or other ranged weapons with similar safety concerns (e.g. crossbows) appear in the work.
- Enforced: The author does not know about gun safety.
- Lampshaded: "Shouldn't a cop know better about gun safety?"
- Invoked: Bob does this to scare a suspect.
- Exploited: Alice loads Bob's gun when he is not looking, making sure he accidentally kills Charlie.
- Defied: Officer Bob studies and follows the gun safety rules.
- Discussed: "Be careful Bob! The gun might be loaded!"
- Conversed: "I thought Bob would know better than to use a gun like that."
- Implied: Danny mentions how somebody was using his gun the other day, but doesn't elaborate.
- Deconstructed: Bob pulls the trigger and accidentally kills Charlie.
- Reconstructed: Charlie survives somehow, and Bob is slightly more careful about carelessly using guns. Slightly.
- Played For Laughs:
- Bob fires at Charlie several times, but completely misses Charlie.
- Juggling Loaded Guns
- Played For Drama: Bob accidentally kills Charlie because Alice loaded Bob's gun the day before.
Back to Artistic License – Gun Safety
