No, Seriously

You're sitting on a bus or in class or in a theater or somewhere with rows of seats. A friend is sitting behind you. He likes to think he's funny. He likes to give you a hard time. He kicks the back of your chair. Again. Again. You tell him to quit, but you're both still laughing. He kicks your chair again, and this time too hard. It whips your neck juuust enough for a little twinge.

Now we're going to find out the most important thing about you and your humor. Because you can go in one of two directions:

1. You turn around, and raise your voice just enough to add some aggression, but you're still kinda laughing. You say 'Quit it asshole!' You might add 'I'm gonna kick your ass!' You might raise a fist or even give him a charlie horse.
2. You grab your neck and realize there was some real pain there. So you turn around and lower your voice to defuse the fun. You furrow your brow and say "No, seriously man: that hurt." No laughing. No irony.

Both directions are fine. I'm not judging anyone here. I've got friends in both camps. And I have to say, those who go for option #2 tend to be called 'nice.' They're trustworthy, loyal, humble... I have no complaints about these fine people.

But I probably wouldn't make a crack about their mother.