Cannot Spit It Out/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A person wants to confess to a love interest, but can't for some reason.

  • Straight: Alice says that she wants to say something to Bob. A third party interferes with the moment, and Alice says she'll tell him some other time.
  • Exaggerated: Alice is visibly flustered, stuttering on the word "love". Bob is as dense as a black hole. Everyone else can see where their relationship is going a mile away.
  • Justified: Alice is a Shrinking Violet trying to open herself up to Bob. Alice decides that now's just not the right time for it.
  • Inverted: Alice tells Bob that she loves him, as blunt and straightforward as she possibly can.
  • Subverted: Alice, being Tsundere, musters up the courage to say, "I... I HATE YOU!!!"
  • Double Subverted: Bob, being Alice's childhood friend, knows what she actually means.
  • Parodied: Alice blushes and stutters Up to Eleven. Bob actually already knows, but he just wants to see if she can pull it off.
  • Deconstructed: Alice has been in a long series of relationships, each of which ended very badly once Alice confessed. Now she's having a hard time confessing to Bob for fear that he might do the same thing.
  • Reconstructed: Bob assures Alice that there are no words necessary to express what they feel for each other.
  • Zig Zagged: Before Alice could say it, the rest of Bob's Unwanted Harem jump out to confess that they love him. They proceed to bicker about who loves Bob the most, all in the process of glomping him, smothering him, and pulling on him in all directions. Alice, spectator to the silliness, simply sighs and joins in on the fun, confusing Bob even more.
  • Averted: In spite of the tension and build-up (or lack thereof), Alice and Bob have suddenly become lovers, much to everybody's surprise.
  • Enforced: "Hey, Alice is not the only one who wants to confess to Bob. Everybody in the Unwanted Harem needs a chance, no matter how unlikely, because our fans have their own opinions."
  • Lampshaded: "Do I have to be on the brink of death before you say you love me, Alice?!"
  • Invoked:
    • Alice keeps leaving Bob hanging so that he'll be more enamored with her.
    • "I don't know what your plan is, Alice... but I think it's working."
  • Defied: Bob stops Alice mid-sentence and flatly tells her he's not interested.
  • Discussed:
    • "Anyone wanna bet on how long Alice and Bob's silly love story will drag on?"
    • "I think we need to lock them in a room if we wanna see them progress."
  • Conversed: "No, Alice. Just standing there stuttering and blushing like an idiot won't make Bob instantly fall in love with you."
  • Played for Laughs
    • Bob has been wanting to hear Alice say that she loves him. However, the other girls in his Unwanted Harem keep preventing her from doing so.
    • ...or Alice just couldn't bring herself to say it because it's too embarrassing.
    • ...or Alice is spellbound that whenever she tries to say it, Bob gets electrocuted.
  • Played for Drama: Bob dies before Alice could confess. Alice then broods over why she couldn't be just straightforward with her feelings.

"I wanted to tell you something... but maybe some other time, let's just get back to Cannot Spit It Out."

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