Synchronization: Difference between revisions

If the link can ensure the death of a participant but doesn't otherwise transmit pain or other feelings, then it isn't a Synchonization but a case of [[Can't Live Without You]]. [[Soul Jar]] may work either way.

== Anime &and Manga ==

* This happens in many mecha series, in fact, such as:

** ''[[Fafner in Thethe Azure Dead Aggressor (Anime)|Fafner in the Azure: Dead Agressor]]'' takes this to an extreme.

** In ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'', Jogress Evolution (DNA Digivolution in the dub) was achieved (three times) when two of the human characters synched emotionally with each other, merging two Adult/Champion Digimon into a single Perfect/Ultimate. At least one of the three examples came along with a synchronized ''heartbeat'' from the two characters in question.

* At one point in ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]'', Van became synchronized to Escaflowne. While this allowed him to win the battle in that episode, it also resulted in him taking serious injuries, and the only way to treat them was to get Escaflowne fixed (with poor Van screaming and [[Heroic BSOD|BSODing]] in pain as it's done, since fixing Escaflowne is almost like fixing any machine, only more complex and taking the mental/physical link in consideration. And considering that Escaflowne [[Paint It Black|turned black]] when it happened, synchronization could also count as a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]].

* In many ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' battles, the duelists seem to be physically weakened by the carnage going on in the card game. In many cases there is some sort of supernatural explanation for this, but it sometimes happens even when no supernatural forces are at play. There is some sort of weak implication that the realism of the holographic systems used causes a stress response in dedicated players -- inplayers—in one early duel, Yugi's grandfather Sugoroku actually has a heart attack when he loses. Kaiba certainly seems to believe that using his own advanced holographic systems gives him an edge, as his opponents are overwhelmed by the realism of the simulation.

* This is also implied (but not confirmed outright) to be the case in ''[[Rah XephonRahXephon]]'' -- in—in one fight, the RahXephon is impaled through the shoulder, and Ayato is seen clutching his own shoulder afterwards.

* The Stands in ''[[Jo JoJoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' are effectively astral projections, and damaging them results in corresponding damage to its user. Additionally, in Part 3 a Stand user named Steely Dan had the power to inflict a "Corsican Brothers"-type bond on another person (for example, getting tapped in the leg with a stick led to his victim almost breaking his and having his back scratched caused the sensation of being flayed alive). He used this on Jotaro's grandfather and threatened to kill him if Jotaro didn't play along. He then proceeds to abuse him until the Stand is removed, upon which Jotaro (having written down all the abuse suffered against his person) beats the crap out of him with his own Stand. ''For three whole pages''.

** The Knights are synchronized with the [[Humongous Mecha|Rune]] [[Mechanical Lifeforms|Gods]] they've [[Bond Creatures|established a contract with]]. If the Rune God they're riding is injured, it will wound the Knight herself -- toherself—to the point that breaking the Rune God's weapon will destroy the Knight's own Escudo sword. This synchronization is particularly evident in the [[Alternate Continuity]] [[OAV]], where Alcyone's hand was torn apart (and remained a bloody mess afterwards) when Hikaru punched through her Rune God's claws.

* The whole plot of ''[[Loveless]]'' revolved around the empathic connection between "Fighters" and "Sacrifices", in which the first are capable of commanding spells while the second suffer the effects of attacks in combat. The connection between both parties is vital to ensure victory and survival.

* Subverted in a rather cruel fashion in ''[[MaiMy-HiME]]'': {{spoiler|1=The HiME Childs are powered by the feelings their user has for another (their "Most Important Person"). When the Child dies, so too does the person (though not vice versa, apparently). When this comes into play in the anime (as it happens to pretty much every HiME by the end), the HiME, whilst surviving, enters a [[Heroic BSOD]] (the first one even goes catatonic). There's also a sticky battle between two HiMEs who share their 'Most Important Person' -- it's the same guy for both of them. As a result, whoever wins kills their Important Person... and in the end, the guy ends dying.}}

* In ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Nini]]'', Rika is implied to share this sort of connection with Hanyuu, though it is played for laughs rather than drama, with Rika threatening to eat spicy food whenever Hanyuu fails her. One would assume that either the connection is one-way, or Rika has a much higher pain threshold than Hanyuu {{spoiler|due to all those horrific deaths}}.

* ''[[Naruto]]''

* In ''[[Eureka Seven (Anime)|Eureka Seven]]'', Coralians are linked to the Scab Coral. If the Scab is being attacked, all Coralians will feel the pain at the same time, hinting that Eureka will die if the Scab Coral is dead. It becomes an important reason for the protagonists to stop Dewey's plan to annihilate Scab Coral. This synchronization caused Renton {{spoiler|to lose his beloved Eureka in the manga ending}}, while in the movie ending, {{spoiler|Eureka managed to "work around" this fate (The explanation of how it happened is up to debate, but you can't deny that [[Power of Love]] plays a huge part in this happening).}}

* In ''[[Ronin Warriors (Anime)|Ronin Warriors]]'' (''Yoroiden Samurai Troopers''), the first Dynasty Warrior that Ryo fights causes this effect between himself and Mia (Nasuti) and Yulie (Jun), so if he gets injured, they suffer all of the pain. Ryo eventually defeats him by using his armor's power. (Though how this didn't kill them is not explained.)

* Piccolo and Kami in ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]]''. If either one dies, the dragon balls are rendered useless.

* In [[The Anime of the Game]] for ''[[Persona 4]]'', [[Astral Projection|Personas]] act more like [[Jo JoJoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Stands]] than in the games. The protagonists do all their fighting through their Personas, and feel any harm that afflicts said Personas.

* Meldy from ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' links Gray and Juvia together so she only needs to kill one to kill the other. Despite being burdened by experiencing each other's injuries, the two are too tough for Meldy to defeat, so she resorts to linking ''herself'' to them, [[Taking You Withwith Me|then attempting suicide]]. {{spoiler|Meldy is stopped because the link allows the targets to feel each other's emotions, and [[The Power of Love|Juvia's feelings for Gray overwhelm her]].}}

== Comics --Comic Books ==

* In ''[[Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', Topspin and Twin Twist have "vicarious preceptionperception" (basically a fancy name for this trope). {{spoiler|Eventually, Twin Twist ends up being tortured by Decepticons, and the other Wreckers are at a computer where the password-bypass system is for someone to sacrifice themselves. Topspin decides, knowing that his brother is in serious pain anyway, to [[Heroic Sacrifice|offer himself to the computer]].}}

* In the original Marvel Comics Transformers series, Megatron and Ratchet ended up fused together after a freak accident. They were seperatedseparated, but Ratchet wound up seeing (and feeling) what Megatron did.

* In ''[[Dragonheart]]'', a dragon can bestow part of its heart on a person, making him immortal -- soimmortal—so long as the dragon lives.

* The [[So Bad It's Good]] [[Jackie Chan]] film ''Twin Dragons'' has him playing twins [[Separated Atat Birth]]. They can influence each other's movements... somehow. The specifics aren't ironed out, but examples include Engineer Fighter Jackie finding his fingers tapping oddly while Musician Jackie is playing the piano in concert, and Musician Jackie being able to fight off [[Mooks]] while Engineer Jackie is in a cage because Engineer Jackie starts making the correct punch and kick motions.

* One sub-story in ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]'' features a pair of African twins, sold into slavery aged twelve and separated when they're sold on. They never see each other again in the flesh... but when the boy is bitten by a poisonous spider and loses an arm as a result, his sister's arm withers for no reason her owner's doctors can explain. The brother also appears to the sister one last time after his death.

* ''[[Septimus Heap (Literature)|Septimus Heap]]'': A sought-for art for Dragon Riders {{spoiler|that Septimus and Spit Fyre use in ''Darke'' to win the duel with Merrin Meredith.}}

* In ''[[Fringe (TV)|Fringe]]'' a boy becomes synchronized with a fungus. If it dies, he dies, and he senses what it senses (light, heat).

* ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]''

* In ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]'', the Justice Field reflects any criminal acts back upon the actor. If you try to light the sheets on fire, you end up lighting yourself on fire (and the sheets stay unburnt). "It's the ultimate deterrent," as Rimmer says. This situation leads to a marvelous fight in which hitting your opponent hurts ''you'' instead. The bad guy, a Simulant (think the Terminator with ''really'' bad BO) [[Too Dumb to Live|is too dumb to realize what's going on]]. So he tries shooting Lister and throwing a knife at him. Twice. Lister even draws a target on his groin and presents it for kicking. Then he hands the Simulant a few giant vases, to be smashed over Lister's head. The Simulant then tries to strangle Lister, thus strangling himself. With the bad guy defeated, [[Cloudcuckoolander|The Cat]] turns up, armed with a spade...

* In the dramatization of ''Longitude'', one of the cranks seen by the Longitude Committee suggests using a "powder of sympathy" to link dogs in this way. The idea is that a dog on land would be injured at noon each day, causing its counterpart aboard a distant ship to bark in pain. In this way the sailors could keep track of Greenwich Mean Time. Not surprisingly the Committee didn't think much of the idea -- Untruthidea—Untruth in Television, you might say. (Of course, they didn't think much of John Harrison's practical methods either.)

* In one episode of ''[[Star Trek: theThe Next Generation]]'', Capt. Picard and Dr. Crusher are (slowly) synchronised by alien technology implanted into their brains as a prisoner control device (they experience debilitating pain and nausea if separated too far). Slowly because the implants gradually get more effective as they "learn" their hosts' brains. Mostly though, the whole episode is an excuse to get them to talk to each other about their feelings.

* ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'': The urRu and Skeksis are connected, so that when a member of one race dies so does one of the other (so their numbers are always the same), and when a Skeksis is injured one of the urRu suddenly sustains an identical injury. The nature of this connection is a subtle clue to [[Fusion Dance|the film's ending]].

* ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]''

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

** Some powers can induce synchronization between two living beings, like the psionic science "Fate Link" or the "Death Link" spell. Both creatures will lose [[Hit Point|Hit Points]] if one is wounded, but death isn't necessarily automatic for both if one is reduced to zero. Can be useful as a bargaining chip (to dissuade an enemy from getting violent), or to wound a creature otherwise immune to many forms of attack. Can also work in reverse, rejuvenating both creatures by using healing magic on just one. Or, by constructing a triangle of "Fate Links", to mean that any damage to one participant results in [[Game Breaker|infinite damage to all of them.]] There is at least one build that deliberately inflicts this on ''themselves''. Combined with the [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|"Masochism" feat and "Delay Death" spell]], the character gets a single round with an infinite bonus to all rolls.

** Still with ''D&D'', aA minor synchronization also exists between a magic-user and his [[familiar (or a creature like a homunculus)]], although the exact effects vary from one Edition to the other. Same applies to some other [[Bond Creatures]], such as [[homunculus]]. Though it doesn't concern mere wounds, a wizard will suffer badly if his familiar or homunculus is killed, and a homunculus never survives his creator's demise.

* In the ''[[MegamanMega Man Battle Network]]'' series, Lan and his Net Navi MegaMan.EXE often synchronize with each other.

* In ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'' the characters ''have'' to synchronize themselves with another player, if they want to win the game. This, however, comes with all of the above explained consequences. This works the same way during battles, as enemies and Players alike share life force on the top and bottom screens. If Neku defeats an enemy on the bottom screen, it is also [[Deadly Euphemism|erased]] on his partner's side.

* The final boss in ''[[Planescape Torment|Planescape: Torment]]'' is {{spoiler|The Transcendent One, the Mortality of the Nameless One}}. Both it and the protagonist are immortal {{spoiler|due to being separated magically}} and one way to end the game is to {{spoiler|use a weapon that can permanently kill the Nameless One, the Blade of the Immortal, on yourself; this will destroy both of them.}}

* {{spoiler|The Shadow and Sakura}} in ''[[Fate/stay Stay Nightnight]]''. {{spoiler|The Shadow is actually her subconscious mixed with and powered by the Tainted Grail (most likely, it is a shadow familiar of hers). So although she is usually not actually leaving her room, the Shadow is going out and eating people, providing her with prana. Although, she does go out herself sometimes as well.}}

** {{spoiler|Also Shirou and Archer. Because Archer is the (possible) future version of Shirou, being in the same timeline as his past self causes Shirou to unconsciously leech Archer's power's and skill's. This allows Shirou to gain several [[Took a Level Inin Badass|level's in badassery]] (Although it largely depends on the route.)}}

* It used to be in ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]'' that [[Powerup Mount|Yoshi]] eating a powerup would affect Mario. This is not longer the case in ''[[New Super Mario Bros Wii (Video Game)|New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', but in that game, using a held powerup affects all players, unlike powerups found in levels.

* In ''[[War CraftWarcraft]] 3'' tauren spirit guides could use spirit link to bind several people together. However it was used defensively, because instead of the damage being duplicated it was split between them, causing an enemy's attacks to be dispersed though a larger group of people and thus easier to keep people alive through.

* ''[[BioBioShock Shock(series)]] 2'' reveals that the first series of Big Daddy would fall into a coma and die if their Little Sister were killed. Or if they just wandered off too far.

* In [[Kid Icarus: Uprising (Video Game)|Kid Icarus Uprising]], Dark Pit is connected to Pit, since he's really the physical manifestation of Pit's "dark side" (not that Dark Pit is actually dark - more neutral than anything). When Pit {{spoiler|gets trapped in a ring}} for three years, Dark Pit is unconscious the whole time - so he realizes that he's connected to Pit, much as he dislikes it.

* ''Killroy & Tina'' are linked thus. They also [[Wonder Twin Powers|share super powers]] as long as they're within five kilometers of each other.

* ''[[Trinton Chronicles]]'' Aurora is linked to her duplicates the same way by feeling their pain and their death, kind of screws her up mentally.

* Demona and Macbeth from ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'' were synchronized by a magic spell that caused them to feel each other's pain whenever they are in close proximity, implied to be intended to keep Demona loyal as Macbeth's protector. Since they came to hate each other's guts, there has been a series of violent confrontations where they're essentially beating ''themselves'' up by fighting the other. This is the source of their immortality compact, handed out by the mystical tricksters that granted the wish; they cannot die unless one kills the other, at which point ''both'' will. It's seemingly Macbeth's [[Death Seeker|life goal to do just that.]]

* Tomax and Xamot from ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' are an example of synchronized twins. It seems to end at pain (and possibly pleasure), though -- Xamotthough—Xamot has a facial scar that Tomax lacks.

** Referenced on ''[[Family Guy]]'' when Stewie and Brian pretend to be them.

{{quote| '''Stewie:''' I'm Tomax and this is Xamot. We're twins who can feel each other's pain.<br />

'''Brian:''' ''(after Stewie steps on his foot)'' Ow!<br />

'''Stewie''': No Brian, I'm supposed to say 'ow!' You ruin everything!<br />

* In the fourth season of ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]'', Ben gains an alien form called Ditto that can split into multiple copies of itself, with the catch being that they all think autonomously, albeit with the same personality, but are synchronized so that pain inflicted on one Ditto is felt by the others.

** ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force (Animation)|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'' gives us Echo Echo, essentially Ditto with a [[Make Me Wanna Shout|sonic scream]]. He ''doesn't'' have Synchronization, with the duplicates acting more like ''[[Naruto|kage bunshin no jutsu]]'', as seen in "Singlehanded".

* ''[[Captain Planet and Thethe Planeteers]]'': Captain Planet is synchronized with Gaia (whenever she's hurt, his powers fail). Gaia is linked to the Planeteers (if they turn on her or abandon her, she loses her powers). And of course the whole team is connected through Ma-Ti, and Gaia is synchronized with the whole Earth... oh... as they say on ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', everything is connected. Example: When Gaia temporarily lost her powers, Captain Planet was depowered and couldn't dissipate, meaning that the Planeteers rings didn't work.

* The subject of the ''[[Men in Black (Animationanimation)|Men in Black]]'' episode "The Psychic Link Syndrome".

* ''[[Wakfu (Animation)|Wakfu]]'': Amalia (like any Sadida) is somewhat synchronized with her animated puppet, which she uses to fight (though this doesn't transmit wounds; in fact she can use it as a shield). This turns out quite problematic in episode 7, where Amalia gets poisoned and thus delirious, and the puppet becomes a nasty, evil little pest.

* In one episode of ''[[Futurama (Animation)|Futurama]]'', Bender feels what Leela feels due to an emotion chip installed.

* In ''[[Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (Animation)|Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness]]'', "Bad Po" has this happen between Po and his [[Evil Twin]], used for genuinely hilarious effect.

* In ''[[Transformers Prime (Animation)|Transformers Prime]]'', Starscream makes an army of clones, only to find out that he feels whatever pain they experience. He discovers this when Bulkhead ''beats one to death''.