| rdfs:comment
| - A character plays a small and/or unlikely but crucial role in some horrible development. The character being put on task, meanwhile, only serves to bumble in and botch the hero's hopes of a surefire victory, and worse, quite possibly deprive the story of its Happy Ending, all the while often remaining oblivious to the overall implications of the situation and their role in it. Their actions have no real necessity in elevating the drama, often taking it to Beyond the Impossible levels, making them a walking Diabolus Ex Machina. Examples of Unwitting Instigator of Doom include:
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| abstract
| - A character plays a small and/or unlikely but crucial role in some horrible development. The character being put on task, meanwhile, only serves to bumble in and botch the hero's hopes of a surefire victory, and worse, quite possibly deprive the story of its Happy Ending, all the while often remaining oblivious to the overall implications of the situation and their role in it. Their actions have no real necessity in elevating the drama, often taking it to Beyond the Impossible levels, making them a walking Diabolus Ex Machina. A more temperate soul may simply wish that person were Put on a Bus prior to the critical moment, assuming that this character may have acted out of idiocy rather than malice, and that their presence and actions at that moment were their only errors. The audience, fully aware of the For Want of a Nail implications, will hate this character nearly as much as, if not even moreso than, the people who could more accurately be called responsible for whatever happened. This hatred can be understandable, in that the antagonist more directly responsible in the development is playing their role in the story, for the sake of Rising Conflict. An Unwitting Instigator of Doom can be basically complicit with the villain, but in that case, they're generally seeing only a small portion of the picture. If they're being specifically manipulated but does not realize, s/he's an Unwitting Pawn. Other times, they're simply blundering in like a wrench in some particularly highly valued machine. Do not expect the levels of venom to differ between the scenarios. Will be seen as The Scrappy by some fans. If worse comes to worse, they may also end up as the Idiot Houdini. Expect no shortage of Fix Fics or Revenge Fics on account of this character. Often causes A Tragedy of Impulsiveness to occur. Compare Nice Job Breaking It, Hero and Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds. See also Interrupted Cooldown Hug. Examples of Unwitting Instigator of Doom include:
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)