Line #15 PlayingWith/MiseryPoker


1	'''Basic Trope''': When someone responds to another person complaining about their problems by bringing up their ''own'' issues, with the implication that the other should be grateful that ''their'' issues aren't as bad.
2	* '''Straight''': Bob complains to his buddy Dick about his recent problems dealing with his [[BettyAndVeronica two]] {{Love Interest}}s, [[GirlNextDoor Alice]] and [[AloofDarkHairedGirl Eva]]. Dick responds by revealing that his last date stole his wallet and went on a spending spree with his credit cards, leaving him struggling to recover his finances.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Bob complains about his girl problems. Dick proceeds to rant about how he lost his own girlfriend, his house, his job, [[IHaveNoSon his father disowned him]], he's living out of his AllegedCar, and is barely scraping by and wishes he ''only'' had to deal with a couple of hot girls fighting over him.
5	** Everyone narrates their own DeusAngstMachina over the other.
6	* '''Downplayed''': Bob has one essay to write for next week. Dick has two, ''and'' an exam.
7	* '''Justified''':
8	** Dick has pretty everyday problems while Bob's seem relatively petty and Dick is helping him put things in perspective.
9	** Dick is [[ItsAllAboutMe very self-centered]] and thinks Bob's problems aren't nearly as bad as his.
10	** Alternatively, Bob is the selfish one because Dick's actually are worse, but Bob acts like his (easily fixable) issues are objectively more severe than anything anyone else is going through.
11	** Dick is trying to sympathise with Bob by sharing his own worries, but it comes across as trying to one-up him.
12	** Dick has problems, Bob has problems; Bob isn't aware of Dick's problems so he has to bring them up.
13	** Bob caused his own problems, while Dick's problems are through no fault of his own. To Dick, Bob wouldn't have problems if he wasn't so [insert character flaw] here, so Bob is no victim, and has no right to complain.
14	** Misery loves company; Dick and Bob sharing their respective problems helps them cope.
15	* '''Inverted''':
16	** Dick and Bob each try to prove their StiffUpperLip is stiffer than the other's.
17	** Bob gets a promotion, and tells Dick, who immediately brags about how much better his life is because he won the lottery.
18	* '''Subverted''':
19	-->'''Dick''': Oh, ''come on'', Bob! Your problems are so trivial, I can't believe ''anyone'' would complain about them. Ask yourself this: who do you want to spend your time with, Alice or Eva? Then ''ask her out''.
20	* '''Double Subverted''':
21	-->'''Bob''': Look, it's not that easy. What if it turns out badly?\
22	'''Dick''': What, like your date lifting your wallet and charging ten thousand dollars on your credit cards? I'm telling you, you're worrying about ''nothing.''
23	* '''Parodied''':
24	-->'''Eva''': Ow! Damnit, a hangnail!\
25	'''Dick''': [[MemeticMutation MY PARENTS ARE DEAAAAAD!]]\
26	'''Eva''': ...'Kay.
27	* '''Zig Zagged''':
28	--> '''Bob''': Alice and I broke up.\
29	'''Charlie''': I just got some bad news from my doctor.\
30	'''Bob''': She was cheating on me!\
31	'''Charlie''': I have cancer.\
32	'''Bob''': I only found out, cause she gave me AIDS! She's only HIV positive.
33	* '''Averted''': Dick lets Bob vent without bringing up his own issues, even if they're comparatively worse.
34	* '''Enforced''': The writer wants to promote AnAesop about complaining about one's own problems.
35	* '''Lampshaded''': "What is this, a contest?"
36	* '''Invoked''': Bob is far less stoic than Dick and it would be out of character for him to not complain. However test audiences found him too whiny so they threw this in to give him good reason to be quiet.
37	* '''Exploited''': ???
38	* '''Defied''':
39	** Bob realizes that his issues are lesser compared to the epic trauma Dick suffered through. [[AllLovingHero Dick]] is sympathetic and points out that just because he suffered worse doesn't mean Bob's suffering is any less real. As a result, we get this exchange:
40	--> '''Bob''': Damn... Y'know, I kinda feel like your problems are worse than mine.
41	--> '''Dick''': HEY! Load of bullshit, I tell ya. And I want you to stop with it! Sure, I may have gotten into some horrible shit myself, but that don't make your problems any less real! Don't hold this idiotic belief that you don't get to be sad because some bonehead on the other end of this planet's sadder than you. It's like saying you don't get to be happy because someone else is happier than you are, and you know that's a pretty stupid belief! This ain't no "who's life is the worst?" contest. I only aired out my own problems because I'm sure as hell you'd be willing to listen, y'know? Think of this as therapy, and maybe we'll get better in no time!
42	** Elly suddenly comes out of nowhere and tells them to [[QuitYourWhining shut up about their miseries]] and focus on the current, more important matter that could be done instead of wailing in despair. Realizing that Elly has a point, both Bob and Dick stop their whining and work together without even mentioning their miseries again, lest Elly decides to beat them up if they even ''complain'' about anything right now.
43	* '''Discussed''': "You know, it feels like I can never talk about my problems to ''anyone'', since there's always someone else who has it worse than me, and expects me to just forget my problems and expect me to feel bad for even bringing up my problems. I'm really, truly sorry that your husband is an alcoholic, or that you're drowning in debt, or that your sister is in the hospital with a broken arm, but I wasn't aware that this was a "who's life is the worst?" contest. I'm sorry."
44	* '''Conversed''': ???
45	* '''Deconstructed''':
46	** Dick refuses to [[NoSympathy show any sympathy]] for Bob's problems, and Bob stops telling him about them, even when he really ''does'' need help dealing with it all.
47	** Due to Dick's MiseryPoker tendencies Bob becomes more resentful and when then time comes when Dick needs a listening ear, Bob gives Dick ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine and leaves Dick out to dry.
48	** George overhears their conversation, and tells them his last girlfriend [[{{Yandere}} tried to kill him]]. Therefore, by Dick's own logic, he has no more right to complain about his problems than Bob does.
49	** Bob has clinical depression, which makes his problems seem worse than they are, but Dick expects him to magically snap out of it. As a result, Bob falls victim to toxic positivity, thinks [[HappinessIsMandatory he has a duty to be happy at all times]], and beats himself up for inevitably failing. His mental health worsens, but he refuses to address it because he thinks he has nothing to complain about, instead bypassing his pain by abusing alcohol and/or drugs.
50	* '''Played For Laughs''': Dick replies to Bob's lament with "You think that's bad? [Laughably Minor Complaint!]"
51	* '''Played For Drama''':
52	** Up to this point, Dick hasn't given any indication that anything was going wrong with his life. But Bob's complaining about his laughably minor-by-comparison issues has finally pushed him too far, and he snaps, [[DidYouThinkICantFeel revealing all his issues]] and calling Bob on never asking how ''he'' was doing.
53	** Alternately, Bob has been dealing with a never-ending string of problems that always seem to be one-upped by someone else's whenever he tries to talk about his problems. Dick's last date stealing his wallet trumps his dilemma with Alice and Eva, last week Elly's car crash trumped Bob's broken window, Charlie's dead aunt trumped Bob's dead dog, Frank's broken arm got priority over Bob's sprained ankle, and so on. Bob feels like a ButtMonkey or even a CosmicPlaything, and [[BewareTheNiceOnes eventually snaps at everyone for having]] NoSympathy, [[SuddenlyShouting culminating in a huge]] TheReasonYouSuckSpeech directed at everyone. This can have a variety of outcomes.
54	** Bob has a ruined date and lost his wallet. Those are bad things with easy (or -ier) solutions. Alice has a just come back from pulling the plugs on her massacred family. She ''[[RageBreakingPoint really]]'' has no desire to deal with Bob's crap.
55	----
56	Back to MiseryPoker.
57	----
58	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
59	%%* '''Implied''': ???

Context PlayingWith / MiseryPoker