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Playing With / The Ditherer

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Basic Trope: A character has difficulty in making a decision.

  • Straight: Bob can't decide whether he goes with Alice on a date or hang out with Charlie at the movies.
  • Exaggerated: Bob can't decide which hand he would use to open the door.
  • Downplayed: Bob can't decide which one of the two cars he should buy.
  • Justified: Bob doesn't want to get Alice or Charlie upset with him if he chooses one over the other.
  • Inverted:
    • Bob can make a decision in every situation, even when he is awoken in the middle of the night.
    • Bob makes decisions frivolously without considering the consequences.
  • Subverted: Bob can't decide whether he goes with Alice on a date or hang out with Charlie at the movies. Then he calls Charlie.
  • Double Subverted: And then he calls Charlie again: "I'm sorry, Charlie, I've got something to do... I will call you again later". Then he starts thinking again.
  • Parodied: Bob is presented with a giant sandwich and a cake. He can't decide what would he eat first and sits in a decision for days until he becomes malnourished and the food starts to spoil.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob can't make an important decision, but can make an everyday decision pretty quick.
  • Averted: Bob has no difficulty in making a decision.
  • Enforced: Bob is needed to be portrayed like The Ditz.
  • Lampshaded: "Have you made a decision yet, Bob? It's been a very long time."
  • Invoked: ???
  • Exploited: Bob really annoys his friends. They make him decide where would they all go today, and while Bob's deep in his thoughts, the others quietly walk away.
  • Defied: Bob finds another decision.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: "Imagine such a guy sitting here choosing what show he would watch. Should he choose this one, he'll probably laugh at Bob."
  • Deconstructed:
    • Bob's dithering leads to the situation spectacularly imploding on all ends, and he realizes after the fact that it would have been a whole lot better if he had made a decision and stuck with it.
    • Bob's dithering leads to him not helping a person in need who had no one else to turn to, even though he had the means to help them. This causes people to see him as a coward a best, and a selfish, sociopathic asshole at worst.
    • Bob's inability to make decisions is a sign that he has some serious untreated mental health issues.
  • Reconstructed:
    • Bob's friends leave decisions that require a lot of thought to him, knowing that he will never make an ill-thought-out move.
    • After seeing the consequences of his indecision, Bob is remorseful, so he decides to help that person after all.
    • As a result of going to a therapist, Bob learns to cope with his mental health issues in a more healthy way, and he becomes more confident in himself. This increase in confidence makes it easier for him to make decisions and stick to them.

Hmmm... Should I go back to the main page through this link, or from the top? Such a difficult decision...

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