Animal Eye Spy: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''Crebain from Dunland!''|'''Legolas''', ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]''}}

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* The witch Arachne from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' can see though the eyes of her spiders. Medusa is apparently able to do the same thing with her snakes (or anyone she's [[Body Horror|implanted]] [[Explosive Leash|with them]]).

* Ino from [[Naruto]] can use her clan's possession powers to do this after the [[Time Skip]].

* Fairly standard practice for familiars in [[Fate/Zero]]. Kirigistsu is unusual in that he prefers cameras since they can't be fooled by illusions while animal familiars still can be fooled.

 

== Comic Books ==

* The page image comes from the comic ''[[Film/North 40|North 40]]'', Luane lucked out with getting ''[[Lovecraftian Superpower|just]]'' this ability. More incredibly, she handles the [[A God Am I|godlike power]] with incredible humanity, enduring dozens of [[Fainting Seer|fainting spells]] to help stop the unsealing of the [[Sealed Evil in a Can]].

* The Flea in ''[[PS238]]'' appears to have this power at least to some degree when it comes to insects. After being swiped by a teleporter, the other characters were able to reunite with him by talking to random cockroaches, which he described as "better than cell phones."

 

== Film ==

* The Skeksies of ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' have bat like creatures that fly across the land and transmit visuals back to them through a piece of crystal embedded in their faces.

* Eric Draven from ''[[The Crow]]'' has among his powers the ability to see through the eyes of the title bird.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Discworld]]'' has this as one of the most useful applications of Borrowing (possession magic). A mouse can walk through cracks, an eagle can fly high and fast. The crystal ball has image quality problems, an Omniscope is hard to aim and scrying without enchanted hardware may or may not exist at all, so Borrowing has major advantages if the possessor is skilled enough.

** And if they're not skilled enough, the possessor runs a severe risk of having their mind almost [[The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body|inseparably entangled]] with that of the creature they're possessing. Also, the possessor had better make sure they aren't mistaken for dead while they're off gallivanting around in some animal's body.

* In ''The Bad Place'' by [[Dean Koontz]], [[Creepy Twins|creepy twin sisters]] Violet and Verbina have this ability. They share a constant mind link with each other and the dozens of cats occupying their home. Craving wild and evocative sensation, they often drift outward to possess the bodies of hunting animals and their prey to feel both the thrill of the hunt and the pain of death. They cannot do this to humans however.

* In ''[[Desperation]]'' by [[Stephen King]], the body-snatching [[Eldritch Abomination]] Tak can enter and control animals, seeing through their eyes and feeling their thoughts, but only for short periods. Its presence inside living things causes them to wither and die and it has to hop from one to the other fairly quickly. It prefers humans because they last the longest.

* In ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'', Voldemort has this connection with the snake Nagini. When Harry starts having dreams where he sees what Voldemort sees, there are several where he is experiencing the scenes through the snake.

* Wargs or skinchangers do this in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', mostly with wolves, but other animals are possible. With training, they can learn to actually control the animal, but this trope is the first hint that you've got the potential. All of the Stark children are potential wargs, though {{spoiler|Sansa never learned how due to her direwolf being killed, and only Bran and Arya have shown themselves to be able to use it on anything other than their direwolves. This can also be done to humans, though they don't like it - when Varamyr tries to take over a human she gouges out her eyes and bites off her tongue in the fight for control of her body.}}

* ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'': Bottle the squad mage was taught how to access all of the various Warrens (schools of magic), but his most important skill is his ability to control animals in his vicinity, something he insists is not actually a form of magic. This proves instrumental in keeping his squad alive while they're crossing hostile territory, as he can spread out over a large number of creatures at the same time if all he wants is their sensory input.

 

* BOB in ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' can see what goes on in the woods through the eyes of owls, although it may be that he can transform into them. It's ambiguous.

 

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]''

** There were a surprisingly large number of spells that allow to use other beings' senses, and not only the sight. Some work only on a limited group of creatures, such as the undead. Also, [[Psychic Powers|psionic powers]].

*** By fourth edition the 'scry on familiar ability' has gone missing. Arcane users can see though the eyes of a owl familiar and several others allow you to determine line of sight from their point of view.

* The Animalism discipline in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' and ''[[Vampire: The Requiem|Requiem]]'' allows kindred to do this with one animal.

* In the ''[[DC Heroes]]'' roleplaying game, this was an available superpower called 'Eye of the Cat'.

 

== Web Comics ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Stock Super Powers]]

[[Category:Pet and Animal Companion Tropes]]