- Basic Trope: Characters watch the laundry through the door on a front-loading washer or dryer.
- Straight: Alice brings her clothes to the laundromat. As soon as she's done loading the wash, she sits down in front of it and watches it.
- Exaggerated: Alice watches several washing machines at once.
- Downplayed: Alice glances at the washer every now and then.
- Justified:
- The washer doesn't beep or buzz to remind Alice it's done; she needs to keep an eye on it herself.
- Alice wants to make sure someone doesn't steal her clothes or overtake the washer.
- The slow cycle phases can be relaxing.
- The laundromat rules require customers to wait in the shop whilst their washing's being done, and as Alice has brought nothing to while away the time with, watching the machine cycling is better than being bored to tears.
- Inverted: A stalker inserts a hidden camera in Alice's washing machine so he can watch her.
- Subverted:
- Alice is using a top-loading washer.
- Alice sits down and opens up a book, newspaper, or magazine.
- The laundromat provides free Wi-Fi, and Alice brings her phone, tablet, or laptop to play with.
- Alice brings a handheld video game.
- Alice is too busy to do laundry herself, so she uses the laundromat's drop-off-and-pickup service.
- Alice is doing her laundry at home, not at a laundromat. When the washer begins its cycle, Alice sits down in front of the TV.
- Alice watches TV at the laundromat.
- Alice takes her clothes to the dry cleaner's, not the laundromat.
- Double Subverted:
- The door still lets her look inside.
- Alternatively, the dryer is front-loading, and she watches that.
- Every so often, Alice looks up from her game/computer/book/etc. and makes sure everything is okay.
- The Wi-Fi is not working, so Alice just watches the laundry.
- The TV is tuned to a 24-hour news channel, and Alice is uninterested, so she turns her attention to the washer.
- Bob, who is in charge of the laundry service, watches the laundry as he folds one load.
- The door still lets her look inside.
- Parodied: Alice produces a remote from Hammerspace, aims it at the washer and begins channel-surfing through a Soap Opera, a football game, the news, a Cooking Show, a nature documentary, a weird foreign movie, a Kitschy Local Commercial, an old Sitcom, a children's Edutainment program, a church service, a Talk Show, a crime drama, an Infomercial for some kitchen gadget, and finally back to the laundry.
- Zig-Zagged: ???
- Averted:
- The washers are newer washers that don't feature any way to look inside.
- Alice drops her laundry off to be washed, dried, pressed, and folded, because she is unwilling or unable to do it herself.
- Alice turns her attention elsewhere.
- Alice loads the washer, sets a timer on her phone, and goes across the street to get some coffee and a sandwich.
- Alice does the laundry at home, and turns her attention elsewhere.
- Alice doesn't do laundry in-story.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: The laundromat provides nothing else for its patrons to do while they wait for their laundry to finish.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied:
- Alice brings a book to read.
- The laundromat provides entertainment for patrons while they wait, such as cable TV, free Wi-Fi, books, magazines, and newspapers.
- Alice puts a timer on her phone and goes to the cafe across the street.
- Alice makes use of the drop-off-and-pickup service.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Back to Washy Watchy.
