39,327
edits
You Are Who You Eat: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (revise quote template spacing) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 2:
{{quote|''Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you who you are.''|Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, gastronomy expert (quote taken from a [[Iron Chef|particular cooking show]])}}
No one takes the saying "you are what you eat" literally; it's not as though being a vegetarian will make you a [[Plant Person]], or eating pure beef will make you a [[Beast Man|Minotaur]]. Some [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|non-human critters]] didn't get the memo though, because for them [[I'm a Humanitarian|eating people]] means ''being'' people. For some supernatural, alien, or stranger creatures to pretend to be human at all requires that they make a periodic consumption of [[Human Resources]]. Or simply put: Ghoulie has to eat people to look like one.
For the non-human, this will allow them to [[Shapeshifting|shape shift]] into a human form, potentially [[Cannibalism Superpower|that of the eaten]], though it may only allow them to become a human version of themselves. The non-human may use non-cannibalistic methods as well, for example a [[The Fair Folk|fae creature]] might steal [[The Shadow Knows|the shadow of a human]] to maintain their [[Glamour]], a [[Mutant]] might graft skin (or [[Appendage Assimilation|new appendages]] from healthy humans to avoid [[Power Degeneration]], a robot or alien may use [[Replicant Snatching]], and a vampire may have to drink blood to avoid [[One-Winged Angel|turning]] into a [[Evil Makes You Monstrous|hideous monster]]. It's worth noting that perfectly normal humans may be able to do this through a spell, ritual, or if they have the [[Cannibalism Superpower]].
Depending on what the non-human takes is how severely the victim is injured or killed. Some may be able to make a complete recovery, others will be [[Scars Are Forever|scarred or crippled for life]], and some unlucky souls will end up an [[Empty Shell]]. Needless to say, this makes [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire|being nice]] pretty [[Sliding Scale of Vampire Friendliness|difficult.]]
Most non-humans do this in order to maintain a [[Masquerade]], and pose as human. Especially [[Tragic Monster|Tragic Monsters]] may be doing this because they want to [[Become a Real Boy]]. Especially monstrous ones will enjoy [[Showing Off the New Body]]. If the non-human ''doesn't'' eat people, whether out of [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire|niceness]] or inaccessibility, they will revert to their [[Shapeshifter Default Form]]. Things may [[It Got Worse|get worse]] from there though if that entails turning into an [[Fate Worse Than Death|unthinking ]], horrific monstrosity that can never fit in among humans. And of course things will [[Go Horribly Wrong]] if their cannibalism is also caused by a [[Horror Hunger]], and deprivation has the nasty side effects of making them [[Warm Bloodbags Are Everywhere|dangerously hungry]]. Subtrope of [[Face Stealer]]
Line 23:
== [[Film]] ==
* The vampires in ''[[Daybreakers]]'' have to drink human blood or else they transform into subhuman monsters. Expanding on this, drinking ''vampire'' blood (even their own) causes the mutation to accelerate.
* In ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'', the alien roach skins a farmer near its crash site and wears him to pass as human. As the film wore on the skin decayed more and more, making the impersonation all the creepier. They call it an "[[Mobile Suit Human|Edgar-Suit]]".
* Wesker in the film ''[[Resident Evil Afterlife]]'' needed to feed on uninfected humans to keep from going the way of the boss monsters in the last three films.
* ''[[The Thing (film)|The Thing]]'' is based on this trope.
* ''Phantoms'' (1998) featured underground creatures that absorbed the memories of the humans they ate. The film claims flatworms can do the same thing but that was disproven long before the script was written.
Line 40:
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* One demon in season 1 of ''[[Buffy]]'' had to eat the brain of a human in order to maintain his disguise.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Doctor Who
* The Wraith of ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' look humanoid, but are actually technically insects. Thousands of years of feeding on human energy/life force introduced trace amounts of human DNA into their gene pool, which caused the many-legged, foot-long insects to evolve into the sentient, two legged, two armed, human-sized, human shaped Wraith of the present.
* In the ''[[Fear Itself (TV series)|Fear Itself]]'' episode "The Eater", the eponymous [[Serial Killer]] Claude Mellor consumes parts of his victims in order to assume their forms. It works.
Line 51:
== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
* ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]''. The Consume Likeness spell allows a sorcerer to take the form of a dead person by eating their body.
* In ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'', the Kroot and Tyranids evolve primarily by eating other beings and absorbing their genetic traits. In fact, the reason Kroot are able to build spaceships is because they ate a bunch of Orks and absorbed the Mekboyz' genetic memory. Kroot also have a taboo against eating Tyranids to avoid creating some sort of horrendous feedback loop.
* Lunar Exalted from ''[[Exalted]]'' can take the form of any creature whose heart's blood they've tasted.
* Skin-Changers from [[GURPS]] Monster Hunters are [[Embodied Spirits]] who can shapeshift into any animal (including humans) by wearing their skin. Unlike the [[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]] example, Skin-Changers are clever enough to preserve the skins, and save them in jars when they're not being worn.
Line 61:
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Kirby]]'' is able to [[Power Copying|assimilate the special abilities]] of many of his enemies by swallowing them. Fan works often exaggerate this to Kirby assuming the characteristics of anyone ''and/or anything'' he eats -- notably, this is the [[Running Gag]] of ''[[Brawl in the Family]]''.
* Vampires in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]: [[Oblivion]]'' have this in effect, not feeding regularly (a good thing!) will make you scare off anyone you come near (a bad thing, no quests!). Interestingly, this ''also'' gives you access to lots more vampire powers.
* In ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'', Alex Mercer's disguise ability works like this. When he consumes the individual, he uses their genetic code to reproduce their appearance and voice while their memories are directly absorbed.
Line 69:
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'' [[Trapped in TV Land]] episode, Pinocchio wants to be a real boy by eating human flesh, specifically Billy's.
{{quote|'''Mandy:''' If you are what you eat, I could be you by morning.}}
* In ''[[Invader Zim]]'', Dib tells Zim that he knows he's an alien because humans don't have a squeedlyspooch, and Zim doesn't have any normal human organs. Zim's solutions is to stalk his classmates, steal their organs, and stuff them inside himself.
{{quote|'''Dib:''' I suppose you have a heart?
'''Zim:''' Six of them.
| |||