Kevjro 7 / Tropers

Hello.

All you need to know about me is that I'm just another guy making his way on the internet.

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Tropes I Launched

Disco Sucks: March 7th, 2021. (part of a TRS project)
False Prophet: September 20th, 2020.
Female Groin Invincibility: September 27th, 2021.
Guilty Until Someone Else Is Guilty: December 22nd, 2020.
No Origin Stories Allowed: February 28th, 2021. (adopted)
Robosexuals Are Creeps: February 3rd, 2021.
Thinks of Something Smart, Says Something Stupid: October 10th, 2021.

Work Pages I Launched

False Swipe Gaming: March 21st, 2021
Republic at War: May 27th, 2021

Pet Peeve Tropes

I hate tropes that cheapen death because they're a sign the writers are cowards, but I'll usually make exceptions for works that are primarily (cartoon) comedies.
- Back from the Dead: Bringing back characters from the dead just makes me care less and less about death each time someone dies unless it's handled extremely delicately.
- Death Is Cheap: If this trope is in effect, you might as well make an announcement on Twitter saying "No one you love or hate will ever die."
Mentor Occupational Hazard: It's just lazy, and the mentor surviving can lead to many interesting developments.
Status Quo Is God: It's interesting when the show's status quo actually changes, and this trope stands in the way of that.

Tropes That Describe Me

Berserk Button:
- Seeing people not using em dashes when they're supposed to, or using them incorrectly with hyphens. It happens way too often on this website, and I've even seen some edits of people undoing correct usage of them. Using em dashes correctly—like this—is not hard.^note
- Trying to downplay plagiarism or make it understandable why people would do it. I've seen at least two people here do this, and they didn't get called out for it as hard as they should have. Plagiarism is one of the most blatantly bad things anyone can do that it enrages me that people try to make excuses for it.
Broken Pedestal: The events that led to A Guy's ban have shattered my faith in this community.
…But He Sounds Handsome: On this wiki, I sometimes say this whenever one of my activities gets mentioned but the other troper doesn't mention I did it. See here.
Critical Backlash: I've always felt that The Phantom Menace got more flack than it deserved, even before the Disney movies were released.
Dark Is Not Evil: I own a lot of black clothes, but I'm not evil. Same goes for my (now deceased) dog.
Hype Backlash: I didn't find Knights of the Old Republic to be nearly as good as everyone else thinks.
Meaningful Name: I invoked this for my dog. I named her Darkness because almost all of her fur was black.
Know When to Fold 'Em: I've conceded to a few arguments on this wiki when it's clear that I can't win.
Padding the Paper: I've done this many times, you've done this many times, and everyone will continue doing this.
The Quiet One: I've always been a quite person ever since I was a kid.

A Challenge

With the exception of the "And finally, two special cases" section, explain how the following tropes can be played with under everything on Playing with a Trope.

Examples of "What an Idiot!" that can't be classified as Idiot Ball

WhatAnIdiot.Pokemon

On a similar note...
You'd Expect: Ash and his company to recognize Jessie and James's hair colors, styles, and voices after all the constant encounters, and learn to identify them through such. Not to mention notice that one of the "people" they're dealing with is blatantly a talking Meowth wearing clothes.
Instead: They fall for the disguises almost every time. At this point, I'd argue that it'd be out-of-character for Ash to recognize their disguises for once. In other words, them falling for the disguises every time is in-character.
"Pokemon, I Choose You": As mentioned by CinemaSins, Ash wakes up late and runs to Professor Oak's lab in his pajamas. He is ready to choose a Pokemon, but most of them have been claimed. All except a disobedient Pikachu.
You'd Expect: Professor Oak would explain that before Ash chooses Pokeballs randomly.
Instead: He watches Ash waste his time selecting Pokeballs and finding they're all empty.
The Result: Ash desperately begs for the last one, even though Pikachu shocks him for giving him a hug, Professor Oak for giving Ash his tools, and Mrs. Ketchum calling the little mouse weird. The two get off to a rocky start, and only mend their bond when Ash prepares to make a You Shall Not Pass! stand against a flock of Spearows that he agitated so as to protect Pikachu. Oak not telling Ash this has no impact on the plot whatsoever.
Barry is battling Ash. Ash's Chimchar defeats Barry's Staraptor.
You'd Expect: Barry to send out his Empoleon, taking advantage of Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors and the fact that Empoleon is a fully evolved Pokémon with powerful attacks, unlike Chimchar.
Instead: He sends out his Roserade, giving Ash an Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors advantage.
Surprisingly: Roserade actually does end up defeating Chimchar. The plot would've turned out the same, regardless if Barry did the smart thing or the stupid thing.
Pokémon Red and Blue
- The player infiltrates the Team Rocket Hideout, but can't use the elevator to get to Giovanni. One Rocket Grunt off the beaten path is "guarding" the Lift Key needed to use the elevator.
  You'd Expect: For the Rocket Grunt in question to tell the player to leave, or to mock them for going the wrong way.
  Instead: He pretty much gives away that he has the Lift Key, and upon being defeated in a battle he not only drops the Lift Key on the ground (the player does have to talk to him after defeating him in Red/Blue, but in Yellow he drops it immediately after the battle), but he doesn't even bother to pick it back up again or make any attempt to prevent the player from picking it up for themselves.
  As A Result: The player is able to gain access to the rest of the Rocket Hideout and dispose of the remaining Grunts and Giovanni, forcing them to abandon the hideout. Oh, and "Oh, no! I dropped the LIFT KEY!" became a meme. A random grunt has no character to be out of.

WhatAnIdiot.Star Wars

The Phantom Menace

Nute Gunray has been convinced to have the Trade Federation orchestrate a blockade of Naboo. This is not an insignificant expenditure of resources, not to mention something the galactic community would condemn immediately if not for their extremely tight media blackout of the planet.
You'd Expect: Given the guy is running something called the Trade Federation, you'd think he'd be a little more business savvy and not blindly follow the orders of a hologram of a man he's never met or even seen the face of. Even if he knew Palpatine was behind it all, Palpatine couldn't do him any favors considering his position.
Instead: Not only does he do so, but he continues to be involved in a losing effort in a role that just screams "expendable fall guy." Sure enough, he gets arrested and the Trade Federation scapegoats him so they don't lose their empire.Gunray being a moron is in-character.
Nute Gunray gets orders from Darth Sidious to kill Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan immediately.
You'd Expect: Nute Gunray would fill the waiting room with poison gas, seal the doors, then wait for several hours until they were good and dead. Eventually, someone could go into the room and dispose of the corpses.
Instead: After pumping said gas into the room, Gunray waits about ten seconds before ordering his Battle Droids to open the door themselves and "destroy what's left of them." Who knew that opening the door after such a short amount of time would provide an easy escape route for two armed Jedi? Gunray being a moron is in-character.
Nute Gunray has Queen Amidala under his control and sends her off to be processed at a prison camp called Camp Four.
You'd Expect: Given it's a major plot point that they need to force her to sign an agreement which will make this whole invasion worth it, she'd be under heavy guard at all times.
Instead: He sends her away, guarded by a small squad of light Battle Droids who are outnumbered by their prisoners two to one, despite knowing that there are two Jedi in the area, unaccounted for, and probably looking for the queen. Guess what happens. Gunray being a moron is in-character.
After Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan rescue the queen and her party, they need to escape Naboo and get to Coruscant. The trouble is that the Trade Federation blockade is in their direct path.
You'd Expect: That the pilot would take advantage of space being really, really big to go around the blockade instead of going through it. If nothing else, they could leave from the other side of the planet, which the Trade Federation doesn't seem to have blockaded, and go from there.
Instead: They proceed to ram the blockade, sustain damage to the shield generator and the hyper-drive, and need to stop to make repairs, leaving them in a position that makes it very unlikely they'll get to Coruscant at all. Everyone in Star Wars doesn't take advantage of the third dimension.

Attack of the Clones

After having miraculously escaped from the Naboo Crisis with his job intact, Nute Gunray is contacted by Count Dooku to join his Secessionist Movement. Gunray, however, wants revenge on both the Republic and former Queen Padmé Amidala, who is now a Senator opposed to the Republic's militarization.
You'd Expect: Gunray to consider that, thanks to the Separatists's gigantic military power, Amidala is actively giving his side the advantage by opposing the Republic from gathering a matching army. He should join Dooku and company and propose to secretly support Senatorial pro-peace movements while at the same time getting the Separatist navy ready for their invasion of the defenseless Republic, which will allow him to eventually get his hands on Amidala and destroy all she loves and cherishes without risking his own power.
Alternatively: In the unlikely case the Separatists lose interest in waging war against a peaceful Republic, Gunray to arrange for Amidala's death by himself. He has enough money and resources to hire competent assassins and make it look like a work by another of Amidala's growing list of enemies, and now he would operate from the safety of the rising Confederacy of Independent Systems, ensuring the Trade Federation heads would not be legally investigated again. Expanded materials inform that it was rumored Gunray had already put a price on Amidala's head, so he really only needed to be a bit more active if he wanted her dead.
Instead: Gunray demands Dooku to get Amidala killed as a condition to join the movement. Dooku complies because he knows Palpatine will lead the Republic to war with or without her opposition, but from the Separatist perspective, Gunray is shooting them on their collective foot by driving the Republic to be overriden by militaristic movements and make things much harder for the Separatist plans. However, not a single complaint about this is heard in their council. Gunray being a moron is in-character.
Right from the start, Padmé survives the first assassination attempt by Wesell, so Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to guard her.
You'd Expect: Obi-Wan to, first and foremost, arrange a secure accommodation for her. Unless she's claustrophobic, a room without windows might be fine for starters.
Instead: She sleeps in a room with a huge, unguarded window, where a flying droid can approach unseen and easily cut through. Padmé being stupid is consistent with her character.
You'd Then Expect: Padmé would appreciate how much danger she's in, considering someone's tried to assassinate her twice.
Instead: She is more concerned about Anakin snooping on her and turns off the cameras in her room. Has no impact on the plot.
In one of the worst Strangled by the Red String moments in recent memory, Anakin and Padmé's interactions throughout the theatrical film. From the moment he meets her as an adult, Anakin comes off as very unprofessional and somewhat creepy. He makes inappropriate and arrogant remarks whenever he's around her, openly defies her authority on at least one occasion (in front of the new queen of Naboo, no less!), makes bizarre, leering gestures towards her, shows open support for dictatorships (stating that politicians who don't agree should be "made to"), and attempts to justify his massacre of the Sand People - including women and children - to her (with her reaction making it look like she's incredibly freaked out by this revelation).
You'd Expect: That, after all that, she'd politely cut off ties from him after the threat is over and avoid him as much as possible, seeing as he's already proven multiple times over that his actions are incredibly inappropriate. Or, if she's attracted to him, wait a few years so the somewhat perverted nineteen-year-old boy can grow into a (hopefully) more mature adult.
Instead: She not only flirts with him by wearing revealing clothing (and toys with him by saying that she can't love him because she's a senator), but she marries him at the end of the theatrical film after knowing him for about two weeks tops! Padmé being stupid is in-character.

Revenge of the Sith

Anakin has a terrible dream (possibly a Force premonition) about Padmé suffering and dying in childbirth and becomes convinced that it will come true unless he does something about it, which is understandable due to him once having a similar dream about his mother, who did die.
You'd Expect: That Anakin would ensure that there's no chance of Padmé dying via using methods he should know and understand. He could try and convince Padmé to have an extensive medical check (in case the cause of death is a pre-existing condition they don't know about) and get ready a discreet private medical center to take her to at the first sign she gets ill. He could also arrange to have her give birth and recover from it there in secret if he thinks someone will try to assassinate her when she's having the kid.
Instead: He decides to join up with a Sith Lord, who claims that the Sith have the ability to save people from dying (a concept so unspecific that it sounds suspiciously word by word like what Anakin would want to hear). Palpatine states that if Anakin follows his orders, which at a very early point include the deaths of children, Padm&eacute will be saved. There is also the fact that Anakin remains convinced of this throughout and never asks himself what any of this has to do with saving Padm&eacute.
Result: Anakin's actions turn Padm&eacute against him, which leads to him Force choking her in a fit of rage. Both of these things lead to her dying after she gives birth to their kids; he ended up fulfilling the very prophecy he wanted to prevent. Anakin being stupid is in-character.
Master Yoda has arrived to Kashyyyk, the Wookie homeworld, to help fight off the Separatist invasion of the planet. The opposing forces have established their land bases at both sides of Kachirho city and its lagoon.
You'd Expect: Given how fond are Separatist tacticians of the good ol' droid Zerg Rush, Yoda and Commander Gree to avoid the lagoon's large beach plains, which have no real covers aside from a few low walls and would just make the Separatists's droid waves more effective. Only by placing their forces a bit behind, near the gigantic wroshyr trees, the Republic could have excellent fortified positions to snipe down the droid charge. Moreover, the Republic also has the advantage of their massive A6 Juggernauts, so they should place them at the front of their formations in order to shield the native infantry and the more fragile AT-AP artillery behind.
Instead: The Republic commits here the same mistake as the Trade Federation in Naboo and voluntarily meet the Separatists in the middle of neutral terrain. Also, oddly enough, the Republic forces are positioned in the least intuitive order: first the Wookie infantry, then the AT-AP charging forward, and only then the A6 following by. As a result, the clash ends up being an uphill battle for the Clones and one of the bloodiest fights ever for the Wookies. This is Hollywood Tactics, not Idiot Ball.
Palpatine reveals himself to Anakin as the Sith Lord behind the whole conflict and tempts him with promises to save Padmé.
You'd Expect: Anakin to remember that the whole war began with two attempts to assassinate Padmé and one attempt to execute her, put two and two together, and realize Palpatine gave the order either directly or indirectly and also tried to have her assassinated when she was 14.
Instead: Anakin's fears of Padmé dying, a fear Palpatine seems to know a bit too well, are only alleviated by the possibility of the chancellor's help to save her. Anakin being stupid is in-character.
Windu is in a position where he can kill Palpatine, but Anakin is at his side trying to talk him into taking him alive.
You'd Expect: Windu to remain serene and try to calm Anakin down, as the latter is visibly flustered and could commit a mistake fatal for both of them. Windu could propose cutting Palpatine's limbs off and taking him into custody: Palpatine would be rendered unable to use a lightsaber and severely impaired to use the Force in an offensive way while awaiting trial, and in the outlandish case he'd be found innocent despite they have now irrefutable proofs he's a Sith Lord, they have the technology to replace his limbs. Even if Anakin had his own reasons to be nervous, it would have greatly placated his moral scruples about the execution.
Instead: Windu rudely ignores Anakin, forgetting he's still a significantly dangerous Jedi who is openly unsure of his alignment at the moment, and instead moves in dramatically for the kill, which drives Anakin to act reflexively to stop what he sees as a murder. His reaction ends up making Windu lose his arm and his lightsaber, which leaves him open to be killed by Palpatine. Windu being an arrogant asshole is in-character.
Anakin agrees to be Palpatine's apprentice on the condition that he saves Padmé's life.
You'd Expect: Palpatine to tell Anakin that a deal is a deal. Even if he doesn't have the power to cheat death, it's completely in-character for Palpatine to lie for personal gain.
Instead: Palpatine admits that he can't cheat death. Fortunately, Anakin still decides to help Palpatine anyway. Palpatine being out-of-character doesn't affect the plot. And this example isn't even on the page—I wrote this example here.
Anakin has just inadvertently helped Palpatine to kill Mace Windu and kneels before Palpatine, saying he'll do whatever he wants if the Sith Lord helps him save Padmé. Palpatine then tells him more or less that he lied about keeping people from dying and utters some bullshit about "finding out together" how to do it.
You'd Expect: Anakin to gut Palpatine like a fish on the spot.
Or: Threaten to kill or expose him if he doesn't provide at the moment some substantial evidence that they can soon find this power, and if he doesn't, to gut him like a fish on the spot.
Or: Incapacitate Palpatine the best way he can come up with, search for any record system he should delete to cover up his own actions, and return to the Temple to warn the other Jedi about Sidious, claiming that the Chancellor killed Windu if they ask too many questions (which is technically true, even if it leaves out Anakin's own role in his death). After all, Anakin has lied to them before (all the time, in fact) and it would be both natural and in-character for him.
Instead: Anakin continues to do Palpatine's business for him, slaughters children, and eventually injures his wife by accident and gets dismembered, despite the fact that he now has zero evidence Palpatine can even fulfill his part of the bargain. Anakin being stupid is in-character.
Near the end, Gunray and other Separatists are hiding on a distant planet, Mustafar. Sidious contacts Gunray and promises to send his apprentice to them, who will "... take care of them."
You'd Expect: Gunray to say "thank you" to Sidious, end the communication, and have everyone immediately get the hell out from there, seeing how they had just been all but told that they had outlived their usefulness.
Or Maybe: Have Gunray and the other Separatists, already knowing they are marked for death anyway, flee to Coruscant as quickly as they can and reveal to the Senate all that they know of Sidious and his plans. With a bit of luck, further evidence can be found that ousts Palpatine as the one who started the war which caused millions of innocent deaths, destruction of countless planets caught in the crossfire, untold financial strain for the Republic, and murder of the entire Jedi order which included murdering children, not to mention that he had intentions of overthrowing the democratic system in place in favor of imperial one in which he is the sole ruler. With all of this, the Senate could arrange for forces still loyal the their cause (which could include the very Separatist armies now that their leaders know what to expect from Sidious and Vader) to stop the coup and try to hunt down Palpatine and Anakin through any means necessary, ending the threat for good.
Instead: They miss the hint and the several opportunities presented to them and just sit on their butts until Anakin arrives and... well, takes care of them. Gunray being a moron is in-character.
During the climactic duel on Mustafar, Obi-Wan jumps onto the lava bank and shouts to Anakin, "It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!"
You'd Expect: Anakin would stay on the platform and wait for a better opportunity. It's currently a stalemate, as neither can attack unless the other makes a move. Also, as the platform is a mobile vehicle, he could always ride it somewhere else and start the duel back up later. Alternatively, Anakin could use the Force to throw lava or his lightsaber as a projectile at Obi-Wan and attack him from a distance using any one of a dozen applications of the Force. Alternatively alternatively, he could simply leap far out of range of Obi-Wan's lightsaber onto the lava bank, as there was ample room for.
Instead: He says, "You underestimate my power". After Obi-Wan tells him "Don't try it", Anakin jumps at Obi-Wan right forward. With Anakin stuck on the momentum of his jump and open to attacks, Obi-Wan finds the perfect chance to do a lightsaber move that takes off as many of an opponent's limbs as possible. If Obi-Wan underestimated anything, he underestimated Anakin's tendency to lose limbs. Anakin being stupid is in-character.
Following the above, Obi-Wan and Anakin's lightsaber duel has ended with the latter minus every limb but his artificial one, slowly sliding into a lava flow. Obi-Wan senses that Emperor Palpatine is approaching via shuttle.
You'd Expect: He may be on the clock, but Anakin already has one foot in the grave and there are several methods Obi-Wan could use to finish him off in a few seconds. A simple Force-push into the lava or thrown lightsaber to the head would finish the job. Obi-Wan may be a Jedi, but surely mercy-killing a guy who is quite literally on fire isn't a Dark Side act.
Instead: He leaves Anakin to a painful death, assuming that it would be left to the will of the Force. However, Anakin survives, is rebuilt into a dark cyborg and becomes Sidious's powerful attack dog during the next 20 years of their reign over the galaxy, and Obi-Wan has to deal with the consequences. This is in-character for Obi-Wan.

Those are just some of the Star Wars examples from the prequels. If you read the rest of the examples in the folders and go further down the page, there's way more examples on the page that can't overlap with Idiot Ball.

[PURGED BY MODERATION: DO NOT RANT ABOUT OTHER TROPERS OR THEIR BANS HERE.]

Tropers / Kevjro 7

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WhatAnIdiot.Pokemon

WhatAnIdiot.Star Wars