Basic Trope: Someone goes through a bad event on their birthday.
- Straight: On Alice's birthday, her best friend Bob decides to stop being friends with her.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice goes through a Trauma Conga Line on her birthday: both of her parents suddenly die in a car accident, all of her friends leave her, she gets chased by wild animals, and her least favorite song plays on the radio.
- The entire cast shares a birthday, and everything bad happens to them.
- Alice is usually extremely lucky, it's only on her birthday where horrible things happen to her.
- Alice outright dies on her birthday.
- Every birthday Alice has is a horrible day, to the point in which she becomes a Birthday Hater.
- Downplayed: Alice has an argument with Bob on her birthday, but they manage to get over it.
- Justified:
- Alice already has a lot of bad things happen to her.
- The universe at large doesn't care whose birthday it is — any given day is a birthday for some 21.6 million people. There's going to be overlap between that and people having a bad day.
- Someone who hates Alice plans something nasty for her birthday specifically to spite her.
- Inverted:
- Alice's birthday is the best day ever.
- Alice is the series' Butt-Monkey, and a lot of bad things tend to happen to her. Her Birthday Episode, on the other hand, decides to Throw the Dog a Bone and she has a great day instead.
- Subverted: Although Bob seems like he's going to stop being friends with her, he claims that this is not the case.
- Double Subverted: And then Alice gets a call and finds out that her mom has just died.
- Parodied:
- Everyone's birthday is just a series of hilariously awful things happening to them.
- Alice prepares for her birthday by wearing a full set of armor.
- Alice is convinced that this is the worst birthday she's ever had because her least favorite song started playing on the radio.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice goes through multiple events on her birthday, some of which are good, and some of which are bad.
- Averted:
- Nobody's birthday happens.
- Nothing bad happens to anyone on their birthday.
- Enforced: "We should add some drama to this Birthday Episode."
- Lampshaded: "Because of course this had to happen on my birthday."
- Invoked:
- Bob waits until Alice's birthday to tell her he doesn't want to be friends anymore.
- A Serial Killer targets victims on their birthdays.
- A curse is put on Alice so that she'll have something bad happen to her every birthday.
- Exploited: Alice realizes that people tend to feel guilty or sympathetic when something bad happens on someone's birthday, so she intentionally fabricates a bad event to gain attention or favors from others.
- Defied: Everyone decides to treat Alice well on her birthday, even Emperor Evulz, who thinks that something bad happening to someone on their birthday is too much, even for him.
- Discussed: "It's already bad enough when something bad happens to you, but it's especially bad when it's on your birthday."
- Conversed: "A Birthday Episode can go two ways - amazingly, or horribly."
- Implied: Alice is a Birthday Hater, and it's stated that it's because something bad once happened to her on her birthday.
- Played for Laughs: Alice's birthday becomes a comical sequence of unfortunate events, with each mishap getting more ridiculous and absurd.
- Played for Drama: Alice's birthday serves as a pivotal moment in the story, highlighting her emotional struggles and personal growth as she confronts the recurring pattern of bad events on her special day.
- Played for Horror: The bad event on Alice's birthday takes a horrifying turn, involving supernatural elements, dark rituals, or a terrifying antagonist specifically targeting her on that day.
- Unparodied: Despite the comedic nature of the story, the trope of bad events on Alice's birthday is presented seriously and without any satirical or mocking elements.
- Untwisted: It initially seems like the bad event on Alice's birthday will be subverted or avoided, but ultimately, it occurs as expected, reaffirming the trope.
- Deconstructed: The story explores the psychological impact and trauma caused by the recurring bad events on Alice's birthday, delving into her emotional state and the toll it takes on her well-being.
- Reconstructed: While the bad events on Alice's birthday are still presented realistically, the story emphasizes her resilience and ability to find joy and meaning despite the challenges, ultimately turning the trope into a symbol of her strength and determination.
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