Line #20 PlayingWith/ArbitrarySkepticism


1	'''Basic Trope''': A character in a world where strange things happen finds it difficult to believe in another strange thing.
2	* '''Straight''':
3	** Bob fights vampires every day, but refuses to believe in aliens.
4	** Bob is a vampire, but refuses to believe in werewolves.
5	** Bob uses magic every day, but refuses to believe in unicorns.
6	** In the episode of the last week, the earth was attacked by aliens, and the earth was saved by a bunch of giant robots, and everyone saw it, yet, in the episode of this week, Bob is trying to warn everyone about the vampire on the loose, but his friends and the authorities don't believe him and laugh at him.
7	* '''Exaggerated''':
8	** FlatEarthAtheist -- a character refuses to believe in something that appears ''right in front of them'', that can't be easily dismissed as an illusion.
9	** Through the episodes of this series, the earth was attacked by {{alien\|Invasion}}s, the city had a ZombieApocalypse, Alice becomes a superhero that prevented many disasters, in the [[SavingChristmas Christmas special]], SantaClaus is missing and no one is getting any more presents, the city had a problem with vampires, had a demon invasion, the local zoo had a dragon as an exhibit, gravity stopped working thanks to a MadScientist, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte and his army come to the present by {{time travel}} and attack the city, and all these events were witnessed by everyone and shown in the news, but in the newest episode, nobody believes [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Bob's new dog is talking]] and they even laugh at him.
10	* '''Downplayed''':
11	** Bob believes that unicorns are pretty unlikely to be real.
12	** Bob accepts the existence of unicorns, but doubts that there is anything magical about them.
13	** Bob and his friends fought aliens in the previous episode, only they witnessed, but his friends have a little doubt about the recent vampire rumors.
14	* '''Justified''':
15	** Unicorns don't actually have anything to do with magic, so why would one existing automatically prove the other?
16	** Bob has proof of magic and expects the same amount of evidence for unicorns.
17	** Bob lives in an UrbanFantasy world where magic is common knowledge and an integral part of society, and is thus used to it. Unicorns, on the other hand, are something no one's ever seen.
18	** Bob assumed someone used magic to make unicorns then claim they have always been real.
19	** Bob is in a universe where MagicAIsMagicA and unicorns don't fit in with the rules, such as they are, or at least not the version of the rules that Bob knows.
20	** Because MagicAIsMagicA, and there are too many types of magic around (and mundane things that just look at first glance as magic), Bob is just being diligent about making damned sure that the "unicorn sighting" is neither a hallucination (mental imbalance or "pink elephant"-related), an imp with illusion magic or an elf with a brand-new drone with hologram projectors being cute.
21	** When all the supernatural events of the previous episodes were witnessed by the population, they made sure to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia erase the memories of almost everyone]].
22	** Even with all the crazy stuff Bob has had to deal with daily, even facing off against dragons, as far as he knows the only kind of alien life mankind has officially encountered is fossilized bacteria.
23	* '''Inverted''':
24	** IfJesusThenAliens.
25	** [[EskimosArentReal Bob believes in unicorns, dragons, faeries and trolls, but thinks fish are a myth.]]
26	** Alice is from a world with magic and refuses to believe that earth never had any magic despite talking to a human with lower magical potential than wards specifically designed against magic.
27	** No matter how many times Bob the paranormal investigator exposes a ScoobyDooHoax, he'll always assume that whatever supernatural being he confronts is real.
28	* '''Subverted''':
29	** Bob finally agrees to believe in unicorns when presented with the proper amount of evidence.
30	** Bob presents a legitimate argument for why he doesn't believe in unicorns.
31	** When presented with evidence of a unicorn in a FantasyKitchenSink world, Bob disagrees with it not out of this trope, but because he's seen unicorns and doesn't think it fits the pattern.
32	* '''Double Subverted''': Bob was only claiming to believe in them to get people to shut up.
33	* '''Parodied''': Bob believes in dragons, but will rant on at length about how ''green'' dragons are impossible, and every green dragon seen thus far was painted that color.
34	* '''Zig-Zagged''': Bob doesn't believe unicorns exist just because dragons do, but his bias is because he thinks unicorns are girly and stupid, but he admits he would still disbelieve in the existence of unicorns even if they were [[VideoGame/RobotUnicornAttack awesome robots.]]
35	* '''Averted''': When informed of their existence, Bob easily accepts unicorns as real.
36	* '''Enforced''': The author wants to put a {{Masquerade}} in a fantasy setting.
37	* '''Lampshaded''': "You're right, unicorns are crazy. As crazy as that ''magic crystal ball'' you've been using."
38	* '''Invoked''': "Yes, magic is real. That's no reason to stop being a skeptic."
39	* '''Exploited''':
40	** Unicorns can get away with their schemes around Bob, since he won't believe that they're responsible.
41	** The unicorns manipulate Bob to help enforce TheMasquerade.
42	* '''Defied''':
43	** After seeing the impossible once, Bob decides to believe anything he hears as long as it comes from a trustworthy source.
44	** Bob decides to apply a Pascal's Wager approach to the situation, which means that unless he gets absolute proof that what is running around causing mayhem is ''not'' a unicorn (and no, the fact it [[MagicAIsMagicA breaks some rules of what allegedly makes a unicorn]] does not count because it could be that he's in one of those stories where "[[Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead the movie lied]]") he cannot dismiss the possibility out of hand.
45	* '''Discussed''':
46	** "Just because we've proven several myths have basis in fact (if not literal truth) doesn't mean AllMythsAreTrue."
47	** "Normally, I would think that Alice should go to therapy for her delusions. But I saw vampires and unicorns just yesterday, so I'm not sure what's real anymore."
48	* '''Conversed''': "Ooh, poor Bob. Doesn't he know skeptics ''always'' die in Horror movies?"
49	* '''Deconstructed''': The world's magic runs on ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve; Bob's refusal to believe in unicorns without evidence spreads until they are driven extinct.
50	** Bob is also a harden and cynical/realist reporter... and despite seeing the likes of dragons, zombies, and even aliens... unicorns and floating islands seems way too much at best... thus rendering a forgotten world to the void of time... thus Bob is fired from his job for being a well-made butthole.
51	* '''Reconstructed''': However, once Solipsist Steve points out to Bob that he erased a perfectly real creature because he spitefully refused to allow for the possibility it existed, he is forced to realize he wasn't being a skeptic but a dogmatic. He then reaffirms his willingness to believe unicorns exist and not be a pure naysayer.
52	* '''Plotted a Good Waste''': The author is trying to say that this is present in most or all people to some degree, and uses Bob as an extreme example to make that point.
53	* '''Implied''': Bob is the only main character who doesn't go after the MonsterOfTheWeek, with Alice saying offhand that he didn't believe it could be there.
54	----
55	Just because there's a main page for ArbitrarySkepticism doesn't mean it's possible to go there! Why don't you prove it, then?
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57	%%Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
58	%%* '''Played for Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / ArbitrarySkepticism