Body Count Competition/Playing With

Basic Trope: Two or more characters keep track of how many Mooks they kill during a battle in order to see who's the bigger Badass.

• Straight: Ace and Barbara make a bet before a big battle: who can kill the most of The Empire's soldiers?
• Exaggerated: Ace and Barbara keep a running tally of their kills throughout the entire series; judging from how the numbers jump, there's either a lot going on offscreen or both keep inflating their number.
• Justified:
  • The battle is a simulated training exercise, so Ace and Barbarra have to keep track of their kills to know when they've finished their "reps."
  • Alternatively, it's a way of coping with the emotional stresses of battle.
• Inverted:
  • Ace and Barbara deliberately defeat their enemies without killing them; whoever ends up killing a Mook first loses.
  • Alternatively, Ace and Barbara compete to see who can rescue more innocent bystanders.
  • Alternately Alternatively, Ace and Barbara are in charge of two divisions of the Redshirt Army, and decide to hold a Minimal Casualties Competition.
• Subverted: Ace challenges Barbara, but she refuses to participate.
• Double Subverted: ...But after the battle ends, she abruptly announces her number of kills; either she won, or Ace didn't keep track and she wins by 'default'.
• Parodied: Ace breaks a tie by killing Barbara. With her last breath, she scolds Ace for cheating. Depending on the mood, she may or may not be fine in the next scene.
• Deconstructed:
  • Ace and Barbara reduce slaughtering the enemy to a game to avoid thinking about the fact they're taking all these lives.
  • Ace and Barbara are so focused on their kill counts that they neglect their primary mission and get chewed out by Charlie afterwards.
• Reconstructed:
  • Ace and Barbara do this to know the true cost of their actions as well as their contribution to the war. They take their hats off to their enemies after the battle is over acknowledging that even though they were on the wrong side they were still honorable soldiers.
  • Ace and Barbara realize this, and only go after mooks when it doesn't interfere with their primary mission, reasoning that Charlie will let their Body Count Competition slide as long as they accomplish their missions.
• Zig Zagged: Ace challenges Barbara, but she refuses, it turns out she was keeping track all along, but his number was higher than hers. They are scolded by a higher-up for trivializing the deaths of enemies, but the commander than announces they won because they killed officers, whereas Ace and Barbara had just killed mooks.
• Averted: Neither Ace nor Barbara bother to count their casualties.
• Enforced: We don't have the time for ten minutes of Ace and Barbara plowing through mooks, but we want to show that they are stupendous badasses. Let's just show them taking out a few mooks while counting the kills, then we can make the numbers as big as we like and they look all the tougher for making a game out of a life and death situation.
• Lampshaded: "Somehow, I knew those two would have a contest over killing mooks."
• Invoked: Ace and Carol had Barbara count her kills to keep her busy while they carry out plan delta.
• Defied: "Don't be ridiculous, there's more to winning the battle than the number killed. Carrol does more by killing the upper officers than I do by taking out entire squads."
• Discussed: "Actually, Dave, I think the smart money's on Mimi this time."
• Conversed: "Do you think they actually count how many Mooks they kill? I'd think staying alive would place higher in their priorities..."
• Played For Laughs: Despite all their efforts, neither Ace or Barbara is actually able to score a 'kill' during the battle as other characters end up defeating each and every mook.
• Played For Drama: Ace and Barbara's team is going up against horrendous odds; to have any chance of survival (or, alternately, to ensure others survive even if they're killed in the process), they both have to take down as many enemies as possible.
• Plotted a Good Waste:
  • Promotions are based on kills, so soldiers are expected to keep track.
  • War is a Blood Sport.

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Back to Body Count Competition, mates! Drinks are on me if you win!