Everyone Can See It/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Two characters whose sexual/romantic attraction is obvious to everyone except them.

  • Straight: Alice and Bob very clearly seem to have romantic feelings for each other, but for whatever reason, neither will act on it.
  • Exaggerated: Alice and Bob make out with each other at regular intervals and routinely go on what could be considered dates, but neither seems to think anything of it.
  • Justified: One or both is Oblivious to Love; that, or they've been friends for so long that this is just normal behavior for them.
  • Inverted: Alice and Bob are dating, and no one can figure out why.
  • Subverted: They really are just friends...Bob is like that around all women.
  • Double Subverted: ...but he really cranks it Up to Eleven around Alice...
  • Parodied: Carl is talking to Bob about Alice, telling him to "go for it". Bob has no idea what he means.
  • Deconstructed: The failure to recognize what's in front of them costs Bob and Alice down the line. Both of them miss out on what would have been a fulfilling relationship.
  • Reconstructed: The two are eventually able to realize their feelings: cue Relationship Upgrade.
  • Zig Zagged: They really are just friends, but Bob seems to value Alice's company more. But we later find out that that's just because he values her friendship that much more.
  • Averted: Bob or Alice is upfront with their feelings.
  • Enforced: "We've got a loyal community of Bob/Alice shippers in our fandom, but we've got to drag this out as long as possible to keep 'em watching! Let's have them be unaware of their feelings!"
  • Lampshaded: Alice wonders why she can't find a good guy - then lists off a number of qualities that Bob clearly fulfills.
  • Invoked: Bob's previous relationship ended because they jumped into it too quickly - he therefore decides that he's going to take as long as he has to to find the next one.
  • Defied: Once Bob starts feeling attracted to Alice, he sits her down and asks her if she feels the same way.
  • Discussed: "Here comes Bob and Alice. They're such a cute couple." "They're not a couple." "They should be." "That's what everyone says."
  • Conversed: "Think the writers can do a Bob and Alice scene without piling on the UST?" "...nope."

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