The Tricky Pacifist is not a trope, although maybe it should be.
The pacifist's views on human potential fall on the extreme left of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. By contrast, the Tricky Pacifist's views of the present state of human society, including the so-called "democratic" nations, is on the far right of the scale.
The troper naturally believes that Rousseau Was Right, and can sometimes be an insufferable Love Freak. The troper is introverted and nigh unflappable, but very congenial and affirming, and most acquaintances seem to find them a very nice person. The troper has been known on occasion to produce a deadpan so appropriate, it provides its own snark. The pacifist is also good at witty comments though, frequently directed at the ultimate Acceptable Target. When told "You're pretty clever" the pacifist replied "On very rare occasions." And, upon getting the "You won second place in a beauty contest" card in Monopoly: "Must've been the only entrant."
The Tricky Pacifist is a big fan of literature, TV, and movies, especially fantasy/sci-fi. Some favorites include:
Lord Of The Rings (books and movies); Discworld, Good Omens and most things written by Terry Pratchett; Almost everything written by Timothy Zahn; Many things written by Diana Wynne Jones; Just about anything written by Terrence Real; Several of Brandon Sanderson's works; Powerful Peacemaking, by George Lakey; Engaging the Powers, by Walter Wink; A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn; Debt, by David Graeber (in fact, most things by David Graeber); A Paradise Built in Hell, by Rebecca Solnit, On The Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta; Morganville Vampires series; Vampire Academy; most essays written by Dan Hemmens of ferretbrain
(heck, most of the essays on that site), Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy; Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl; Doctor Who; House MD; The Avengers; Thor The Dark World; Captain America The Winter Soldier, Star Trek in general; Buffy The Vampire Slayer; Angel; Sleepy Hollow, Digimon Adventure; Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy Tactics, despite the ending; ... and Kingdom Hearts
Has a Love/Hate relationship with Firefly. Smart, funny, good characterization for the most part, and more original than most. Unfortunately, there's also the disturbing racial subtext, the hamfisted and Anvilicious approach to feminism, and oh yeah, constantly trying to get me to admire a guy who kicks helpless prisoners into engine intakes ...
There's also Dollhouse which has its own problems with pretentiousness, morality, and pseudo-feminism. And on top of that, it's boring.
The Tricky Pacifist is also a huge fan of almost everything Star Wars ... up to Star by Star. Everything from that book onwards—and especially Legacy Of The Force—Does. Not. Happen. (The pacifist is generally mild spoken, Legacy Of The Force: Sacrifice is one of the few things known to provoke a Cluster F-Bomb.)
The pacifist generally prefers stories on the idealistic end of the scale (big surprise), but is open to cynical stories if they don't get too depressing. (The pacifist greatly admires Matthew Stover, but had to give up on Blade of Tyshalle after he stuffed the female lead into the refrigerator.
Favorite Tropes:
Actual Pacifist (when they aren't depicted as losers, idiots, or Straw Pacifists), Anti-Villain (so much more interesting than their card-carrying cousins), Badass, Badass Boast, Badass Bookworm, Badass Crew, Badass Normal, Badass Pacifist (this editor unintentionally badgered them into adding the trope), Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Character Development, Crowning Moment Of Awesome, Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming, Crowning Moment Of Funny, Deadpan Snarker, Deconstruction, Determinator, Earn Your Happy Ending, Everybody Lives, Future Badass, Grey-and-Gray Morality (often what it comes to in real life); Handicapped Badass, Hannibal Lecture, Happily Ever After, Heroic Bastard, Heroic Bystander, If You Kill Them You Will Be Just Like Them played straight, Indy Ploy, I "Uh" You, Too, Magnificent Bastard; Man Behind the Man (love it when plots aren't as straightforward as they first seem), Neutral Good, Nice Person, One-Liner, Rousseau Was Right, Save the Villain (when it isn't subverted, which happens so often it's past the point of cliche); Sweet Dreams Fuel, The Messiah, This Is Gonna Suck (gotta love that cavalier attitude); Thou Shalt Not Kill (seriously), Took a Level in Badass, WAFF (I'm a sucker for it), Xanatos Gambit, Xanatos Speed Chess
Some rather Less-Favored Tropes:
Redemption Equals Death (cop-out); Heroic Sacrifice (waaay overdone); Disney Villain Death (specifically the part about the heroes not killing the villain, but the villain dies anyway, talk about cop-out); Save the Villain (Disney Villain Death variety); Deus ex Machina generally; Stalking is Love (need I comment?), Rape Is Love (exponentially worse); Character Derailment; Violence Really Is the Answer (bullshit); True Art Is Angsty (utter bullshit, and one of the main reasons for the Star by Star and Legacy Of The Force debacles); Manly Tears (as if men weren't just as capable and in need of crying as women); Women In Refrigerators (sexist); Chickification (ditto); Neutral Female (do something, dammit!); Token Girl / Token Minority and tokenism in general; in fact, pretty much everything in the Double Standard section and most Race Tropes, though one or two of the latter may not be so bad. Maybe.
The pacifist pointedly refrains from giving away any information regarding sex, race, age, sexual orientation, class status, nationality, religion, disability status or any other information that has been used and is used to oppress different peoples the world over up to the present day. The pacifist is first and foremost a sentient being, a human being, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof.
