Oblivious to Love/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character who is completely unaware of any romantic intentions.

  • Straight: Alice has a thing for Bob. She repeatedly hints that she'd like to ask him out on a date, but he either doesn't understand or ignores her hints.
  • Exaggerated: Alice goes the whole nine yards - she writes songs for Bob and buys him gifts. But at the end of the day, Bob still doesn't realize that she likes him.
  • Justified: Bob is completely unaware of things like love and romance, so Alice has her work cut out for her.
  • Inverted: Bob thinks everything that Alice says is a come-on - even when it's not.
  • Subverted: Alice is able to get through to Bob - he agrees to go out on a date with her.
    • It turns out that Alice is an Unreliable Narrator, and never really got enough courage to give any good hint.
  • Double Subverted: However, he had a vastly different understanding of what a "date" is.
  • Parodied: "What a strange thing for a woman who's not interested in me to do!"
  • Deconstructed: Alice gives up on Bob because he never gets the hint. He misses out on what might have been an incredibly fulfilling relationship.
  • Reconstructed: Alice eventually succeeds in letting Bob know how she feels.
  • Zig Zagged: Alice ignores Bob's advances, but then blushes towards small flirts, which she forgets, and then he moves on. Alice becomes jealous and takes Bob back for herself, but then forgets why the next day. Essentially, Green-Eyed Epiphany meets Groundhog Day Loop.
  • Averted: Bob understands what Alice means the entire time.
  • Enforced: "Alright, how can we drag out the sexual tension between these two?"
  • Lampshaded: "I don't get it, Maria. I keep trying to ask him out, but he keeps giving me these vague answers."
  • Invoked: Bob is very aware of Alice's interest in him but doesn't want her as a girlfriend. So he hopes that by invoking this trope and feigning obliviousness she'll eventually stop trying to woo him.
  • Defied: Alice decides to sit Bob down and clearly enunciate her feelings for him.
  • Discussed: "I don't understand it. How can Bob be a whiz at picking up non-verbal cues from everyone around him but fail to notice I'm crushing on him? He can't be faking it... right?"
  • Conversed: "It's a wonder Bob is so clueless.", "Don't forget Alice, she could always just ask outright and see what happens."

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