Emotion Eater: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Some monsters [[Cole Porter|get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill them at all.]] It's the ''[[Evil Tastes Good|taste]]'' out of someone else's emotions that sustains them. An '''Emotion Eater''' is someone who [[Horror Hunger|draws psychic nourishment]] or power from another person's emotions, and will usually do what they can to instill those emotions in others.

 

{{examples}}

* The [[Big Bad]] in ''[[Mnemosyne]]'' likes the taste of suffering. He also has an army of monstrous angels and godlike powers at his command. Not a good mix.

* Xelloss from ''[[The Slayers]]'' draws power from negative emotion, to the point where [[Care Bear Stare|cheerful, happy emotions]] actually cause him pain.

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' {{spoiler|has the cute and adorable mascot devour the negative emotions given off by [[Eldritch Abomination|Witches]] to stop the universe's entropy.}}

* In ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'', the runaway spirits hide in girls to feed off of their negative emotions. {{spoiler|The Goddesses feed on love instead to get stronger.}}

 

* The Evrons from ''[[Paperinik New Adventures]]'' draw power from emotions and use them to power their technology.

** And nourishment.

** Which... doesn't always work that well for her, like the time she did it to [[Flying Brick|Captain Britain]], who got so irritable that he started waving his arms around as he walked. One 'KLUDD!' later, and Scatterbrain was sprawled crosseyed against the far wall.

* Darkseid from [[The DCU]].

* ''[[X-Men]]'' supporting character Caliban feeds off fear as part of his mutant power. He's basically a good guy, [[Heel Face Revolving Door|except for the times when he isn't]].

* Raven of ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'' fame is somewhere in between, she ''does'' feed on negative emotions, like sadness, but has a hard time not absorbing ''any'' heightened emotion, such as excitement or joy. All she does is leave people feeling neutral though, so it's okay.

* Powerhaus from ''Dv8'' absorbed emotions to fuel his growth and super-strength. He ''can'' use his own emotions, but he's so mellow that it's not very reliable.

* The Black Lanterns in ''[[Blackest Night]]'' feed on the emotions of sentient beings to power up their battery. They come back in the body of people with emotional connections to those that still live (heroes, villains, emotional spectrum welders, lovers, friends...) and incite emotions in many ways, usually but not always by giving them Hannibal Lectures while fighting. They feed on Rage, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Hope, Compassion and Love, which means its just as dangerous to feel hopeful as it is to feel afraid. Their vision is full of black and shades of grey, and the only things with color are sentient beings full of emotions, which makes it possible to run from them if one contains his own emotions. When their targets are full of emotion, they rip out their hearts and feed on them, powering up their black power battery.

* The Japanese assassins Gakidou and Sakki, The Hate Furnace not only have [[Intangible Man|intangibility]], but can feed on negative emotions like lust and anger to boost their strengths to astronomical levels. [[Supergirl]] defeated them by simultaneously beating them up and [[Unstoppable Rage|overloading them]].

** In the same story, Powerboy revealed he can channel others' emotions to fuel his abilities, but the excess emotions caused him to [[Domestic Abuser|go psycho on his girlfriend]], Supergirl.

{{quote|'''Powerboy''': (to a restrained Supergirl) "I ''feel''. Feel everyone else's hate, love, pain, fear... and it becomes ''this''..." (forms ball of black energy) "Of course, you saw what happens when it goes the other way. But I hope you understand... I did it for you."}}

* The Emotion Entities of [[The DCU]]. As long as there is at least one being in the universe that can feel the emotions they embody, they will always exist.

** Although it must be noted that they do not feed on the emotions they embody. They are in fact the avatars of the combined power of each emotion (rage, greed, fear, will, hope, compassion, love) felt by every being in the universe.

* In the [[Marvel Universe]] the demon D'Spayre feeds on the fear, anguish and despair of his victims.

* Psyklops from the ''Atari Force'' comic book psychically feeds off the pain of his victims, and uses his power to trap his victims into reliving painful past memories.

 

** Chapter 37 revealed Kaze to be a {{spoiler|Defacer}}.

 

* The Heart of Atlantis of ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'' is a malfunctioning example, in the sense that it thrived on ancient emotions instead of recently gathered feelings.

* The monsters of ''[[Monsters, Inc.]].'' power their society through the screams of little children. {{spoiler|It turns out laughter works a lot better.}}

{{quote|'''Mr. Dark:''' Your torments call us like dogs in the night. And we do feed, and feed well. To stuff ourselves on other people's torments. And butter our plain bread with delicious pain... Funerals, marriages, lost loves, lonely beds, that is our diet. We suck that misery and find it sweet.}}

** ... wait, ''marriages''? Cynical, much?

* The Merovingian's wife in ''[[The Matrix]]'' craves the emotions of others, especially love. This is why she keeps making people kiss her.

* The [[Eldritch Abomination|Harvesters]] in ''[[The Deaths of Ian Stone]]'' primarily feed on fear, and encourage tales of boogeymen throughout [[The Multiverse]] so as to have an easier time harvesting it. Some time back, they discovered that the most delicious fear comes from the instant before death, and became addicted to slaughtering their victims. {{spoiler|It turns out they're ''not '' [[Exclusively Evil]], and if they get into an [[Interspecies Romance]] they can also sustain themselves on love.}}

** Seriously, who could hate a dancing toaster?

 

* The White Court vampires of ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' are all psychic vampires that draw power from other people's emotions. The vampires of House Raith draw power from lust, and are incubi and succubi down to the last; the vampires of House Malvora draw power from fear; and the vampires of House Skavis draw from despair, and usually try to drive people to suicide so they can feast.

** Thomas Raith presents an interesting angle on the feeding issue; his lover, Justine, suffers from derangement and schizophrenia. Thomas' feedings act as a form of psychic therapy and keep her condition under control sans the negative side effects seen with medications. Without him regularly feeding on her, she rapidly slips back into madness.

* Dementors from the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series drain happiness and warmth from their surroundings, and can make someone relive their darkest memories. For this reason, they're kept as guards in the wizard prison of Azkaban, so that the prisoners can't work up the will to escape. You can fight off their effects with [[Weaksauce Weakness|chocolate]] (chosen because Dementors' effects are like depression, which is weakened by chocolate) or creating a Patronus; a projection of your happiest memory which at its strongest takes the form of an animal spirit.

** You can also get around them two other ways, more indirectly. If you're an Animagus, your emotions are simpler in animal form, so you won't suffer as much. If you have a reason to escape that isn't fueled by a good emotion- like guilt or revenge- you should be able to do so. {{spoiler|This was how Sirius Black escaped; he took the form of a dog, and wanted revenge for being sentenced for a crime he didn't commit.}}

* The Spectres from the ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy drain their target's attention, turning them into mindless, apathetic bodies.

** So do the slakemoths in ''[[Perdido Street Station]]''.

* In Nina Kiriki Hoffman's ''Spirits that Walk in Shadow'', there are the viri. Most viri feed off of many different people in a subtle way that causes very little effect, but one viri got addicted to the main character's depression and was making her perpetually depressed in order to feed on that feeling.

* [[The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries|Sookie Stackhouse]] meets a maenad, a wild woman who feeds off of pride and drunken violence (as well as eating meat).

** Too bad for him that when he starts preying on a community of recent Eastern European immigrants, they find the old ways of dispatching vampires work just fine.

* The vampire nobles in Nancy A. Collins' ''Sonja Blue'' series feed on emotions as well as blood, and thus were closely involved with historical events like Stalinism and Nazism.

* In ''[[The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel]]'', [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampires]] feed on emotions. Even blood-drinking vamps (who are considered the weakest class of vampire because of this. Stronger vampires don't need to drink blood to get emotions). This is used by a heroine, with permission, to make a scared and overwhelmed comrade feel better. Always nice to see a positive use of this trope.

* S.L. Wright's ''Confessions of A Demon'' has immortal shapeshifting demons who can sense and feed off of the emotions of humans as well as other demons. Some of the more benevolent demons will feed on the sorrow and pain from others in order to alleviate their anguish. Each individual demon is associated with a particular emotion that they like to feed on most of all, although they can absorb any emotion. The emotion a demon is associated with stems from what the demon's progenitor was feeling at the time that demon was spawned, and gives each demon a particular aura that makes them inspire that emotion in others. Demons usually name themselves after the emotion they are associated with, such as Bliss, Shock, Pique, etc.

* In the book ''[[Demon Envy]]'', the demon, Levi, feeds off of envy.

** [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Fancy that.]]

* Stormwings, from Tamora Pierce's [[Tortall Universe]] feed off fear. Doesn't make them evil though.

* Lord Loss from ''[[The Demonata]]'' feeds off of human pain and suffering.

 

* Polymorphs from ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' drain negative emotions, such as fear and anger, from whoever they touch.

** Oddly enough it doesn't always have negative consequences. When encountering a domesticated version The Cat is turned into his geeky counterpart Duane Dibley but [[The Chew Toy|Rimmer]] gets turned into his heroic alternate universe self [[The Ace|Ace Rimmer]]. [[Running Gag|What a guy!]]

* ''[[Power Rangers Jungle Fury]]'' features [[Chinese Vampire]] enemies who grow stronger from the power of fear. Any enemy can do this, but the primary application is to allow [[Mooks]] to upgrade to [[Monster of the Week]].

** Naturally the Japanese source material, ''[[Juken Sentai Gekiranger]]'', did this too.

** The Utopia Dopant, the [[Big Bad]] from ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'', doesn't actually eat emotions but rather gains power by drawing upon the positive emotions of those around. So when our heroes charge in full of righteous fury and hope...[[Curb Stomp Battle|he pounds them into pudding]]. Eventually defeated when {{spoiler|Shotaro exploits the fact that inanimate objects don't ''have'' emotions to draw upon, and the emotion behind him and Phillip during the final battle is too much for Utopia to take. Katsumi Daido also exploits a weakness of Utopia's powers, as it can't draw emotions from dead things, and Katsumi just happens to be a [[Our Zombies Are Different|Necro-Over]]}}.

* One year prior to ''Gekiranger'', "Minus Energy", created from chaos and fear, was the primary collection goal of the Jamanga in ''[[Madan Senki Ryukendo]]''.

* Barbas in ''[[Charmed]]'' is the demon of fear, and feeds on the greatest fear of his victims. Hilariously, his [[Mirror Universe]] [[Good Counterpart]] is the demon of ''hope''.

 

* The Nine Inch Nails song "The Collector" is about one of these.

* The [[Ghostapo|Undead Panzer Elite tank crews]] in Sabatton's "Ghost Division" feed on the fear the Nazis generate.

 

* [[White Wolf]]

** In ''[[Wraith: The Oblivion]]'', all wraiths have a number of ruling "Passions" that define their drives in life and in death. They can draw "Pathos" (the game's unit of [[Mana]]) from humans who are exhibiting the emotional state that underlies said Passion; the stronger the Passion, the more energy they can potentially draw.

** ''Mixed Doubles''. The super villain Orgy can control other people's emotions. He must be exposed to strong emotions at least once per week or suffer damage.

* ''Hot Chicks'' RPG. Demons feed off negative human emotions such as terror and suffering.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* In some ''[[Castlevania]]'' games, it is stated that Dracula can come back just by absorbing the negative emotions of humans.

 

* The gods of ''[[A Moment of Peace]]'', are a rare example of peaceful, useful emotion eaters that have a symbiotic relationship with the mortals they feed off of. They eat gruel made of human sorrow and baked cheer, and in return answer prayers and perform metaphysical chores that benefit humanity.

* The [[Horny Devils|'cubi]] in ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' feed this way, with each demon usually having a favorite "flavor" that's more filling for them. It doesn't remove the target's emotion, though, they're sustained just by being around someone who's emitting emotion. Although it's common practice for them to provoke the emotion they want through non-supernatural means.

* In ''[[Megatokyo]]'', it's suggested that the magical girls gain their power from the emotions of other people and are compelled to cause said emotions. What exact emotions seems to depend on the particular girl.

** It also mentioned that there have been Cubis who fed on Fear, Joy, Depression, etc.

* ''[[Oglaf]]'' has a spirit that [http://oglaf.com/withsympathy/ feeds on fear] (an SFW page).

 

* More than a few interpretations of the [[The Slender Man Mythos|Slender Man]] suggest/theorize that he consumes the fear of his victims. What a [[Sarcasm Mode|shocking development]].

 

* Spectra of ''[[Danny Phantom]]''. By posing as a school counseler, she is able to meet with teenagers, discover their insecurities, and pick at their pain and misery, which she in turns feeds on to [[Vain Sorceress|keep herself looking young]].

* The Knights of Destruction in ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' fed on hatred, anger, fear, and anguish. Tridart became enormous during the first attack on Kandrakar, which terrified the goodies.

* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die", after getting revenge on Scott by {{spoiler|tricking him into eating chili made from his dead parents}}, Cartman literally drinks Scott's tears of despair, and comments on [[Evil Tastes Good|how delicious they are]].

{{quote|'''Stan:''' Dude, I think it might be best for us to never piss Cartman off again.}}

* Paddywhack from ''[[Darkwing Duck (animation)|Darkwing Duck]]'' devoured negative emotions.

* Bit of a twist in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' with the [[Face Stealer]] Koh. He doesn't eat emotions- but he will eat your face if you ''show'' any emotion.

** Changelings, from "A Canterlot Wedding", feed on love, and use it to power their spells.

** [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|A case could even be made for Pinkie Pie]]. She certainly seems to thrive off other ponies' happiness, to the extent of spending most of her time boosting it in Ponyville. Read the lyrics for "Smile, Smile, Smile" carefully: Pinkie will go out of her way to make you happy whether you want to be or not, because it's everything to her...

 

* Internet [[troll]]s get a kick out of people's emotional reactions to them, and the best way to stop them is not to respond ("don't feed the trolls").

** Sometimes this works with [[The Bully|bullies]] too.

** Real people are a lot more likely to "feed off" of ''positive emotions'' than fictional people though. This is also known as liking to make someone happy.

 

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