Basic Trope: When a character acts differently than they normally do, it is a sign that others must heed.
- Straight:
- When Alex makes one too many rude remarks, the calm and stoic Bob loses his temper and yells at him, shocking Alex and everyone else watching.
- Bob, who has always been a staunch pacifist who solves conflicts through dialogue, walks straight up to Alex without a word and decks him square in the face to shut him up.
- Exaggerated: Bob goes completely Ax-Crazy and gives Alex a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Downplayed: Bob simply looks annoyed and parries Alex's remark with the same rudeness. Bob gets a couple of raised eyebrows in response.
- Justified:
- Alex's remark had just hit one of Bob's Berserk Buttons.
- Bob was furious at Alex because the situation they're in is life-threatening to everyone and Alex is not taking things seriously.
- Bob's identity was stolen.
- Bob is demonically possessed.
- Inverted:
- Bob hadn't been himself all day and one of Alex's comments snapped Bob back to his old self.
- Everybody else considers there is something wrong with Bob when he doesn't acts differently in a situation that they know for a fact would have made him do so (like getting his Berserk Button pressed too many times).
- The usually dour, cynical, and serious Bob wakes up and acts far more amicable and social than usual. Everyone notices, but they don't make a big deal.
- Bob had a serious physical or mental health scare. He spends a couple of days in bed, but when his friends see him acting the way he normally does, they know he's made a full recovery.
- Subverted:
- Bob looks like he's about to snap, but then he calms down and pointedly ignores Alex.
- Bob snapped at Alex, but neither he nor anyone around them reacted...
- Double Subverted:
- But then Alex makes yet another remark that causes Bob to turn around and punch him in the jaw.
- Only because they all thought they were imagining things, and became shocked afterwards.
- Parodied: Bob has suddenly become a twitching, gibbering wreck the complete opposite of his normal character. "This is just a hunch, guys, but I think something may be off with Bob..."
- Zig-Zagged: It varies whether Bob becomes OOC when things become serious.
- Averted: Bob does not go OOC and calmly tells Alex to shut up.
- Enforced: "We want to show the situation is incredibly serious... Oh, I know: have Bob act out of character!"
- Lampshaded: Charlie points out that if Bob is acting out of character, things must be serious. Done quite frequently.
- Invoked: Charlie offers Bob five bucks to fly into an uncharacteristic fit of rage.
- Exploited:
- Bob yells at Alex, despite normally being calm, to point out to those nearby how serious the situation is.
- Bob is Crazy-Prepared, so he deliberately remains distinctively calm, cool, quiet... until the fate of the world rests on him being able to get Alex to listen. Then Bob breaks out the O.O.C. Is Serious Business.
- Defied: Bob uses some kind of mantra or breathing tricks to keep from having these kind of moments.
- Discussed: "You know it's bad when Bob snaps."
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed: Charlie walks in on Bob having an uncharacteristic fit of rage in a moment of stress and misappraises him as a violent boor with a Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Played for Laughs: Bob starts to dress in fiery clothes, screams every times he speak, acts mean towards everyone, and now wants to become a rock star so he can have an excuse to be the way he is.
- Played for Drama: Bob is acting out of character in response to something dangerous Alex wants to do. Alex doesn't realize Bob is acting out of character to make him pay attention, and Bob doesn't make that clear for whatever reason, so he goes ahead with his plan. There are dire consequences.
- Implied: Alice asks how it was with Bob. Betty says, "It was scary."
Back to O.O.C. Is Serious Business.
