Line #9 PlayingWith/ElectiveMute


1	'''Basic Trope''': A character who is physically capable of speech willingly chooses not to talk.
2	* '''Straight''': Alice can speak, but chooses not to, instead communicating by other means like [[TalkingWithSigns notes]] or [[SilentSnarker expressive gestures.]]
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Alice eschews ''every'' possible means of communication, including sign language and notes.
4	* '''Downplayed''':
5	** Alice is usually silent, but speaks up in really important situations.
6	** Alice is silent around most people, but would speak to some of them (for example, to her best friend Bob).
7	** Alice is capable of saying long sentences, but prefers being a TerseTalker.
8	* '''Justified''':
9	** Alice took on a religious [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner vow of silence]].
10	** Alice [[EveryoneHatesMimes is a mime]].
11	** Alice [[GranolaGirl has some hippie/New Agey]] ideas that "words are meaningless", and "those who would not take pains to understand my sign language communication are not worth my time".
12	** Alice has a CompellingVoice and [[PowerIncontinence doesn't know how to control it yet]]. [[BadPowersGoodPeople She has morals]] and doesn't want to risk mind-controlling people into doing things unless there's no other choice.
13	** Alice has been [[SamusIsAGirl disguising herself]] [[SweetPollyOliver as a man]]; her clearly feminine voice would break her disguise.
14	* '''Inverted''': Alice is physically mute, but she is very talkative by nature, so she "talks" to everyone by making incomprehensible grunts and noises.
15	* '''Subverted''': Alice has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_mutism selective mutism]], a condition which renders her actually incapable of speaking to certain people or in specific situations - but is wrongly believed to be silent by choice.
16	* '''Double Subverted''': Alice is silent by choice, but pretends to have selective mutism so that people wouldn't pester her about her unwillingness to speak.
17	* '''Parodied''':
18	** [[StarfishAlien Alice]] [[StarfishLanguage speaks to everyone by connecting]] [[BrainComputerInterface wires]] [[BodyHorror into their brain]] [[StarfishLanguage and activating the neurons related to her thoughts.]] She can actually speak normally, but she doesn't want to.
19	** Alice's vocal cords have [[SightGag cobwebbed over.]]
20	* '''Zig Zagged''': It's never made completely clear whether Alice is actually mute or just silent by choice, and she hints at both possibilities.
21	* '''Averted''': Alice speaks normally, just like every other person.
22	* '''Enforced''':
23	** Alice's voice actor died or left the project, so the character had to go mute by choice.
24	** Alice is cast by an actress who can't speak in English, and the production team decides to make her an elective mute in order to omit the need of dubbing.
25	** Alice was originally a [[Creator/KikukoInoue fine 17 year old anime character]] who would speak a lot, but the production team lacked the budget to hire a good voice actress, nor do they have time for preparing her script, so they decided to [[DummiedOut remove all of her dialogues]] and portray her as a [[TheStoic stoic]], mute-by-choice character instead.
26	* '''Lampshaded''':
27	** "Alice, so you're not mute? Then why do you communicate by writing notes?"
28	** "Alice really isn't talkative around us, is she?"
29	* '''Invoked''': Alice never speaks because if she spoke, her SuperScream would [[BrownNote kill everyone]] in a six mile radius.
30	* '''Exploited''': Bob needs backup on a stealth mission, so he brings Alice, who won't chatter and give him away.
31	* '''Defied''': ???
32	* '''Discussed''': "..." "Honestly Alice, [[YourAnswerToEverything that's your answer to eveything.]]"
33	* '''Conversed''': "We have seen that Alice can speak, so why does she write notes instead?" "I...honestly don't know."
34	* '''Deconstructed''':
35	** Alice never speaks in most situations because of emotional trauma, a severe stutter, or brain damage.
36	** Alice's speechlessness leads to a case of PoorCommunicationKills.
37	* '''Reconstructed''':
38	** Alice is teaching herself to speak again by singing, or learning sign language. She is only comfortable doing so with a few people right now, but she's working hard and getting better at it.
39	** Alice stays silent most of the time, but speaks [[TheQuietOne when it is really needed]].
40	* '''Played For Drama''': Alice used to be a real chatterbox... Until some horrible incident. Bonus points if the incident was caused or enabled by something she said.
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42	Back to ElectiveMute
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45	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
46	%%
47	%%* '''Implied:''': ???
48	%%* '''Deconstructed''': ???
49	%%* '''Reconstructed''': ???
50	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
51	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / ElectiveMute