History Main / WeirdnessCoupon

* The role of TheJester, or "[[TheFool fool]]", in olden times was closely tied to this trope. A fool could pretty much say anything he wanted, however offensive, because he was "just a fool". Either he was a professional fool--in which case he had been granted permission to act the way he did for comedic purposes--or he was a "natural" fool, a guy who was [[CloudCuckoolander eccentric]] or [[ValuesDissonance mentally ill]], in which case he "couldn't help" the way he acted and had to be excused. As a result, the fool often served as the DeadpanSnarker and/or OnlySaneMan, who had free permission to say whatever he liked...and in a lot of cases, it was what everyone else was thinking, but didn't have the guts to say themselves. The Weirdness Coupons only extended as far as the tolerance level of the Fool's master--if a fool went ''too'' far, the punishment was a whipping.

** The best demonstration of this may be from the episode "Party of One." While trying to figure out what her friends are doing behind her back, she dresses up as a haystack... wearing Groucho Marx glasses. In a world where Groucho Marx never existed[[note]]although a rugh pony equivalent might have[[/note]]. Rainbow Dash not only immediately recognizes and casually greets her, but her freak-out right after is ''completely unrelated'' to how Pinkie is dressed.

* An absolutely huge example occurs in ''{{Justice League Unlimited}}'', when the Question discovers [[spoiler:an alternate universe where {{Superman}} kills Lex Luthor leading to a coup where the Justice ''Lords'' rule the world]]. The Question, in response to what he thinks is a probable future, attempts to [[spoiler:kill Lex first]], because as he is a well known loon, the Justice League will be able to diplomatically calm things down afterward.

* In ''VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', Malkavian player characters can get away with behavior (using potentially insulting nicknames, suggesting you might know about things worth killing to keep hidden) which... granted, you're already being sent to get killed, but this ought to be hastening the process considerably. Everybody who knows about vampires recognizes that you're a Malkavian, which implies you can't help it. ''Some'' of the other [=NPC=]s react badly to you, though most take it in stride.
** It helps that in the tabletop game it's based on, every Malkavian is insane, just to varying degrees, so they really can't help it.

* ''Series/{{Noob}}'': The wake of the first WhamEpisode put a spotlight on the Weirdness Coupon the protagonists give each other. At the time, Omega Zell isn't aware of what happened and would be completely freaking out if he did. He runs into Arthéon and can tell something is on his mind, while Arthéon is surprised at his blissfulness. The following conversation happens:

* ''Series/{{Noob}}'': the wake of the first WhamEpisode put a spotlight on the Wierdness Coupon the protagonists give each other. At the time, Omega Zell isn't aware of what happened and would be completely freaking out if he did. He runs into Arthéon and can tell something is on his mind, while Arthéon is suprised at his blissfulness. The following conversation happens:

If somebody or something is really weird or fantastical, they're allowed to do things that "normal" people would never say or do. After all, they're either inimitable, or are in a situation nobody would want to emulate. A cousin to ElephantInTheLivingRoom and BunnyEarsLawyer.

* ''Series/{{Noob}}'': the wake of the first WhamEpisode put a spotlight on the Wierdness Coupon the protagonists give each other. At the time, Omega Zell isn't aware of what happened and would be completely freaking out if he did. He runs into Arthéon and can tell something is on his mind and the following conversation happens:

* "Manny being Manny.": Ex-Boston Red Sox, ex-Los Angeles Dodgers, ex-Chicago White Sox, now Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Manny Ramirez is a great hitter but has a tendency to be really flaky and tends to get away with a lot more because of his talent. It's (almost) always written off as "Just Manny being Manny". Though this was subverted in 2008 when Boston ran out of Weirdness Coupons and finally were sick of his crap and traded him. And again in 2010 when the Dodgers finally were sick of his crap and traded him. And ''again'' in 2011 when the White Sox... well, by now you get the idea.

* Everyone has known at least a couple of people like this in real life. People who are so out to lunch that it's normal, accepted, and even enjoyable, and them ''not'' acting this way [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness is probably a warning that something seriously bad has happened to them.]]

** The best demonstration of this may be from the episode "Party of One." While trying to figure out what her friends are doing behind her back, she dresses up as a haystack... wearing Groucho Marx glasses. In a world where Groucho Marx never existed. Rainbow Dash not only immediately recognizes and casually greets her, but her freak-out right after is ''completely unrelated'' to how Pinkie is dressed.

* Like the Creator/{{CLAMP}} example above, the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' series has a HoYay coupon that its fanbase either completely embraces and revels in or at the ''very'' least complacently tolerates. Anyone who has ever complained about it, even the EasterEgg in the fourth where Ocelot ''kisses'' Snake, simply isn't a fan of the game.

* As shown in the page quote, the ''{{Mythbusters}}'' can get away with a wide variety of bizarre requests and actions by virtue of their reputation at this point. It's a far cry from when they started out — the group originally had to jury-rig a rocket together due to the difficulty of obtaining one legitimately.
** Hilariously, when they first attempted to obtain a JATO rocket, the Air Force sent not one, but two letters of denial. The MythBusters interpreted this as a literal NoJustNoReaction--the second letter was just to reinforce just how denied their request was.

* Similar to the ''TheAddamsFamily'' above, Helga Pataki of ''HeyArnold'' fame gets away with some pretty risque stuff for what's nominally a kid's show, but depicting tortured adolescent female sexuality just doesn't have the same impact coming from a hilarious cartoon character who kind of looks like a billy goat.

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* Like the Creator/{{CLAMP}} example above, the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' series has a HoYay coupon that it's fanbase either completely embraces and revels in or at the ''very'' least complacently tolerates. Anyone who has ever complained about it, even the EasterEgg in the fourth where Ocelot ''kisses'' Snake, simply isn't a fan of the game.

** Somewhat related, the first couples to avert SleepingSingle in the early days of television had some type of Weirdness Coupon that made it not "count." Fred and Wilma Flintstone were animated, Samantha Stephens was a witch, Herman and Lily Munster weren't really considered human. Apart from UrExample ''Mary Kay and Johnny,'' all the way back in ''1947,'' who [[UnbuiltTrope snuck in before the rules were made,]] and are sadly forgotten due to no episodes of the show surviving, the first real, human, coupon-free couple sharing a bed on television were Mike and Carol Brady.

** Hilariously, they first attempted to obtain a JATO rocket, the Air Force sent not one, but two letters of denial. The MythBusters interpreted this as a literal NoJustNoReaction--the second letter was just to reinforce just how denied their request was.

** Also, when one of House's fellows wants to talk to her, she calmly cuts her off, saying "Sexual harassment claims go through HR, stress-related leaves through workman's comp., and any accusations of criminal activities go directly to the Princeton Plainsboro's police department."

** Also, when one of House's fellows wants to talk to her, she calmly cuts her off, saying "Sexual harassment complaints go to Human Resources, lawsuits go to the Legal Department, and criminal charges go to the Mercer County Sheriff's office."

* Invoked by Starfire in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. She invents a holiday from her home planet to cover up the half-eaten curtains from [[ExtremeOmnivore the mutant larvae she was hiding]], and earns nothing more than a dismissive comment from Raven.