"A game for kids and grownups!"
You've Gotta Be Kidding
is a Surreal Humor / Surreal Horror web series about Arthur made by BaileyVO_, based on the PBS Kids website's game "You've Got To Be Kidding!". They are spelled differently. Don't confuse the two.The video that started the series was based on memes about Binky fucking your mom, but as the series progresses, things take a darker turn.
Nobody said you can't join us, Troper.
- Adaptational Abomination: Binky. Although he was sometimes depicted as someone pretty strong for his age, here he's a highly dangerous eldritch being capable of inducing fates worse than death to those who mess with him, from fusing Arthur and Buster into one singular being (something which left them in unimaginable pain as evidenced by their screaming) to trapping Alan inside a void with nothing but a gigantic version of his own head, and also possessing the power to destroy the world, end all of its life and then survive it.
- Age-Gap Romance: Binky became Arthur and Muffy's dad. Assuming he's of the same age as in canon, this would apply.
- Apocalypse How: Apparently Binky planned to cause one of these (with the purpose of getting rid of all of his problems), and eventually succeeded, ending the life of every single being on Earth, with only him remaining. Or at least, until he realized that, with no more problems to solve (as well as nothing left to do besides that), he would no longer exist. Of course, this was an April Fool's joke, so it was (likely) not canon.
- Ambiguous Situation: After getting her eyes stolen, D.W. keeps briefly appearing around the treehouse. What this means, and her current relationship with Binky is unclear.
- And I Must Scream:
- Arthur and Buster's fate was to be fused together into a horrifying monster that's in constant pain, and although they CAN scream, their cries aren't heard.
- After Binky takes D.W.'s eyes, it's implied that Binky put them in his mouth but she can still see out of them somehow. The subtitles and video description for "TREEHOUSE DESIGNER" are implied to be from her point of view.
- Arc Symbol: A treehouse. In the original "You've Got To Be Kidding!" game that the series derives from, the objective of the game was to help the Arthur characters with their problems, going up one step of the treehouse for every good answer and two steps for every great answer. If the player made it to the top, the characters would throw them a party. The treehouse appears as a symbol throughout the series, with the implications that Binky desires to "solve" the problems of others so he can ascend to the top of the treehouse. However, it's implied that Binky's ultimate goal will not bring him any happiness. The non-canon April Fool's special takes place in a scenario where The Bad Guy Wins, but since Binky "solved" everyone's problems there is nothing left for him.
- Armor-Piercing Question: From Binky to Binky: "Now that there are no more problems, what happens now?"
- The Bad Guy Wins: Subverted. We see a timeline in which Binky solves all his "problems", but he soon realizes that without any problems he couldn't exist. This was in an April Fools video, so it's not canon.
- Cassandra Truth: When D.W. tells the others there is a monster (referring to Binky) in Elwood City, no one believes her, except for David.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The series may have started as a Black Comedy, but gradually becomes even more unsettling with every episode, especially the third one.
- Cruel Mercy: Binky doesn't kill Arthur's dad. By the 3rd episode however, David has lost both his wife and his son. He makes it clear to Alan that the "monster" took everything from him, and that Alan should be concerned about D.W's warnings.
- Daddy's Little Villain: Muffy to Binky, as it's implied he fucked her mom and took on the role of Muffy's stepdad. In turn, she threatens others to not interfere with Binky and accepts his rule as the way things are supposed to be.
- Dissonant Serenity: Often, characters other than Binky will continue delivering calm, casual advice even as Binky carries out horrific actions. For example, when Binky takes D.W.'s eyes, Emily gets the advice that she should take her out for ice cream to make D.W. feel better.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- In the 4th episode, Binky takes D.W's eyes away because she copied Emily's homework.
- In the 5th episode, Binky does something to Luke that leaves his face distorted and him whimpering because Luke insulted him. Binky then kills Angie when she admits that he could be quieter in the library.
- The Dragon: Muffy seems to have taken this role for Binky, warning characters against interfering with his plans and encouraging them to accept his twisted notions of friendship and family.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The first episode has Binky inexplicably sleeping with Arthur's mother and becoming Arthur's father, but while bizarre, Binky doesn't display any of his more eldritch qualities. The second episode on shows him as a total Reality Warper capable of changing the game's UI.
- Epic Fail: Apparently Emily somehow entered a blood pact with Binky that forced her to become his friend for all of eternity by complete accident. How she did that is anybody's guess.
- Even Evil Has Standards: In the fifth installment, Binky (who we all know by now as an Eldritch Abomination) seems hurt by Luke's insults.
- Eye Scream: D.W. gets her eyes ripped off by Binky in the 4th episode.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: The jumpscare from "TREEHOUSE DESIGNER" reveals there are two very creepy eyes inside Binky's mouth.
- Facial Horror: At the end of the 4th episode, Binky twists the faces of Lucy, James and George into themselves with his powers after Lucy tries to tell Emily to confront Binky about how he's acting… right after Emily said that Binky doesn't like when other people talk to her.
- First-Name Basis: Played for Horror. Binky refers to The Brain by his first name of Alan when telling him his intentions.
- Fusion Dance: Played for Horror and Played for Laughs simultaneously. After Arthur tells Buster to run away after he discovers that Binky stole his bank account, Binky manages to track them down and fuse them into a singular being, which leaves them in unimaginable pain, as they're both screaming at the top of their lungs afterwards.
- Interface Screw: Binky frequently messes with the game interface in frightening ways.
- In the first episode, he inserts himself into the advice section and forces David into the solution section.
- In the second episode, he replaces Buster in the question section and fuses him with Arthur in the solution section.
- In the third episode, he removes Brain from the question section before doing...something...to him.
- In the fifth episode, he punishes Luke by stretching his face across his dialogue box, and then kills Angie by opening his mouth and stabbing her from below.
- "Just Joking" Justification: Fern Walters dismisses Buster's complains about Binky stealing his mummy jokes and bank accounts with this.
- Kill and Replace: It's implied in "TREEHOUSE DESIGNER" that Binky did this to the original Binky from the "Treehouse Designer" game. When he asks the player to make him a "funky" house, he initially seems normal, but then when things start getting creepy, his skin turns noticeably pale and his face is replaced with that of You've Gotta Be Kidding's Binky, while his dialogue is replaced with "I want the treehouse".
- Madness Mantra:
- The other treehouses in "TREEHOUSE DESIGNER" have the words "12 steps" written repeatedly over the walls.
- In the fifth episode, following Angie's murder, the following is displayed repeatedly all over the screen: WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? ONE MORE PROBLEM.
- Nothing Is Scarier:
- Just after Brain is sent to the void by Binky, a gigantic red-tinted version of Binky's head manifests behind him and then the video ends, with what did he do to Brain afterwards being left ambiguous; all that is known is that it is far worse than death according to Binky.
- After making Binky's "funky" treehouse, checking the treehouses results in Binky's face floating toward the viewer. What happens after is unclear.
- Parent with New Paramour: After Arthur's serious talk with his mother, Binky becomes his new dad. Muffy insists it's okay, and that Binky is her father too, implying the same thing happened with her.
- Puff of Logic: In the April Fool's video, while talking about how happy he is that he no longer has problems (due to destroying the world, if not the universe), he realizes that, with no more problems, he would cease to exist. Which he does, causing wherever he was to horrifically collapse.
- Precision F-Strike:
- When Binky starts sleeping with Arthur's mother, his father says he's "so fucking mad" about the situation.
- George reacts to Binky stealing D.W's eyes by saying "Jesus fucking Christ."
- After Binky punishes Luke, Matt Damon retracts his earlier tips about magic not being real by saying that "magic is fucking real."
- Pyrrhic Victory: The end subtitles in the 4th video warn Binky about this; Should he manage to climb up to the treehouse, all he'll ever find is "sorrow".
- Skewed Priorities: After Binky takes D.W's eyes for copying Emily's homework, Emily's next question is about the fact that D.W. doesn't want to be friends anymore, rather than the fact that D.W. no longer has eyes.
- Serial Escalation: The series went from Arthur's mom cheating on her husband with Binky to Binky committing horrible crimes against the people of Elwood City and inducing fates worse than death left and right with his eldritch powers.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: No matter what horrific events happen in the series, the music will always be the cheerful Arthur theme.
- Vocal Dissonance: Binky has a very deep voice in comparison to his canon self.
- White-Collar Crime: In the 2nd episode, Binky seemingly steals Buster's identity and uses his credit card to make a bunch of fraudulent purchases. When Buster discovers this and Arthur warns him of this, he decides to fuse them into an abomination that's in constant pain.
- You Are Already Dead: Before Binky decides to take care of Brain by himself, the "You've Gotta Be Kidding" logo changes to "Alan Is No More".
- TIP: Tropes can't help you now.
