Beat It by Compulsion: Difference between revisions

A lot of supernatural beings are described as having certain compulsive ways of behaving, which can be used against them. There are several varieties:

 

This is when there is either something magical that forces them to act compulsively, or some magical consequences for not doing so. Examples include a [[Magically-Binding Contract]] or [[Restraining Bolt|geas]] that is in some way related to the nature of that creature.

 

This type, similar to the [[Real Life]] condition known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, is when there are unpleasant emotional consequences to breaking the compulsion, such as extreme anxiety. [[Heroic Willpower]] may make it possible for them to overcome this.

 

This is when they act compulsively because they ''want'' to act that way. Maybe it's really fun to [[Evil Laugh|laugh maniacally]] or answer riddles or whatever, to the point where it's hard to restrain yourself from doing so.

 

This is when the character is apparently unaware of the consequences of following the compulsion. In these cases, it can be hard to distinguish from [[Too Dumb to Live|ordinary stupidity]], but a highly patterned way of outsmarting a certain kind of creature suggests some sort of compulsiveness. If this is present in AI, then it goes under [[Artificial Stupidity]].

 

Compare [[Idiosyncrazy]]. Often a subtrope of [[Sanity Has Advantages]].

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* In [[Soul Eater]], Death the Kid has a crippling obsession with symmetry, resulting in him stopping mid-battle to chew out one of his [[Empathic Weapon|Weapons]] for being off center, going home in the middle of a mission to check whether the picture in his room was centered properly (it was), refusing to attack a symmetrical opponent and going berserk and obliterating an asymmetrical one.