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| 5 | [[quoteright:349:[[Manga/EdensZero https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kleene_suppression_4.png]]]] |
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| 9 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 15 | ->''"Well, that's it, then -- you had a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything -- and why you can't express yourself."'' |
| 16 | -->-- '''Azula''', summing up her friend Mai on ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Human emotions can be quite an obstacle. [[PrimalFear Fear]] can make you unable to face the danger. Compassion can prevent you from [[ShootTheDog shooting the dog]] even if it's necessary. Love can make you [[LoveMakesYouCrazy crazy]], [[LoveMakesYouDumb dumb]] or [[LoveMakesYouEvil lead you straight to the Dark Side]]. Let alone [[LoveHurts it hurts]]. And then there are such things as anger or hatred. Anyway, emotions cloud your mind and [[StrawVulcan impede logical thought]]. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | So, what do you do with them? Well, in the world of fiction you can find a way to relieve yourself of this burden. Via some sort of [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower training]] or some AppliedPhlebotinum you can completely remove your capacity to feel emotions. Results and consequences depend on [[AuthorTract the author]] and how exactly the emotions are suppressed. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Portrayed as a good thing, Emotion Suppression can be used to enter HeroicSafeMode, to escape MindRape or simply to concentrate on the fight clearing your head of unimportant thoughts. TheSmartGuy may enter a state of pure impartial logic to perform AwesomenessByAnalysis, and the master of PolitenessJudo can calmly [[SilkHidingSteel suggest to the ambassador that it would be wise for his kingdom to withdraw their invading troops before the Fantasic Nukes are launched]] without dropping her polite and reserved facade for an instant. More combat or magically oriented characters likewise can benefit from a MeditationPowerup. This kind of suppression is almost always temporary and voluntary. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Sometimes it is portrayed as a bad thing. In that case the character in question [[StealthPun can at best hope]] to be [[LonersAreFreaks a loner]] or an EmotionlessGirl not knowing [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove this thing you call love]]. Alternately, when a character has been emotionally hurt previously, or seen someone close to them be hurt, they may decide to seek SafetyInIndifference, and often need time before they [[PowerOfTrust feel comfortable letting down their guard again]]. At worst, the character will be put in a sort of UncannyValley, being human in appearance but not human in behaviour -- arguably the worst form being the StepfordSmiler. Any sort of permanent Emotion Suppression will probably turn out this way, especially if it is not voluntary. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | On the neutral side, Emotion Suppression is often portrayed as a form of PowerAtAPrice: a character's SuperPoweredEvilSide may demonstrate TranquilFury or take the [[PragmaticHero pragmatic]] approach to solving problems, or TheEmpath may have to practice Emotion Suppression to prevent PowerIncontinence. Occasionally a hero must also remember that GoodIsNotSoft or [[GoodIsNotNice Nice]], and that they may be occasionally called upon to set aside their personal feelings [[TheNeedsOfTheMany for the greater good]] when solving a ColdEquation. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | |
| 29 | This trope can also be carried out on a massive scale. There can be a human or alien culture where every representative has their emotions suppressed. This situation also has little chance of being undeniably good. At best, (other) humans will just leave it as it is, perhaps after [[StrawVulcan some demonstrations of how emotions can be useful]]. If it's done by an EvilOverlord or... uh... [[BigBrotherIsWatching a caring and benevolent ruler]] who is unable to [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul paint smilies on their subjects' souls]] but at least wants to remove tears from there, you've got a ready {{dystopia}}n setting. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | This is part of the basis of TheStoic and the EmotionlessGirl, IceQueen and TheQuietOne characters, TheBaroness, the DeadpanSnarker (and LittleMissSnarker), the BrokenBird, the SugarAndIcePersonality and the AloofBigBrother. Compare and contrast GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul or LotusEaterMachine: Emotion Suppression does ''not'' make you happy, it just makes you not-sad, not-angry, you know, ''emotionless''. |
| 32 | ---- |
| 33 | !!Examples |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 38 | %%* In ''Manga/AngelBeatsHeavensDoor'', Yusa voluntarily undergoes this. |
| 39 | * Kleene in ''Manga/EdensZero'' seems like an EmotionlessGirl with [[ExpressiveAccessory Expressive Accessories]] emoting on her behalf at first, until it's revealed those accessories are also suppressing her emotions because she suffers a condition that triggers potentially lethal [[FreakOut mental breakdowns]] whenever she feels anything. [[spoiler:Once the root of the problem -- a [[TraumaInducedAmnesia repressed memory]] of being ForcedToWatch her big brother get dismembered when they were just little kids -- is removed via LaserGuidedAmnesia, Kleene is able to emote normally again.]] |
| 40 | * ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'': The 'conditioning' the cyborg children undergo includes this, though the effects vary, as it's up to TheHandler how much conditioning they receive. |
| 41 | * Sai from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', being a member of a special ANBU branch, has undergone a training that removed his emotions. It also left him with NoSocialSkills. |
| 42 | * In ''Manga/OnePiece'', the Vinsmoke brothers Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji had their ability to feel and understand empathy surgically removed by their {{Abusive Parent|s}} Judge ''while in utero'', [[TykeBomb so he could weaponize them]]. Their mother, Sora, took a gene modification-reversing drug to save her sons, but for some reason, the drug only worked on [[spoiler:the fourth Vinsmoke brother, Sanji]]. The other three have just a tiny shred of humanity left, which throughout the Whole Cake Island arc only shows once: when the three guys [[EvenEvilHasStandards freak out]] over [[spoiler:[[EvilMatriarch Big Mom]]'s [[AndIMustScream "living library"]]]]. |
| 43 | * ''Manga/Overlord2012'': Ainz' lich body comes with a built-in emotion suppressor that prevents from from feeling excessive emotions. Unfortunately, this also extends to things like empathy for humans, leading to a lot of avoidable tragedy. |
| 44 | * In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', the emotional suppression technique "Soul of Ice" is needed in order to generate a cold BattleAura, which is a vital component in the "Hiryu Shoten Ha" CounterAttack technique. |
| 45 | %%* Seta Sojiro from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/SPYxFamily'': |
| 47 | ** Spy training and years of espionage have formed the main protagonist, Loid Forger aka Agent Twilight, into the emotionally-absent secret agent that the series introduces us to. The years of traumatic experience and depression as an orphan has also invoked this on him. However, ever since he formed his fake family for Operation Strix, he steadily starts to feel ranges of normal emotions, but he often refutes them or tries to shut them away (thankfully, his adoptive daughter is able to read his mind and know what he's feeling, greatly reducing the potential for emotional neglect). |
| 48 | ** A similar example is his fellow agent, Fiona Frost aka Nightfall. She notably takes it even further than him, hiding every single feeling she has under a mask of absolute stoicism. Ironically, she began doing this after taking Twilight's advice to never let her true feelings show too much as a spy, even after he warned her about taking it to an extreme. It's deconstructed that her cold stoicism winds up alienating her coworkers despite her noted skills. |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 52 | * ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': |
| 53 | ** In the ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' event, the focal characters use this to avoid the Black Lanterns, who pursue characters with strong emotions (before triggering them and ripping out their hearts). |
| 54 | ** In ''ComicBook/RiseOfTheThirdArmy'', the Guardians of the Universe, when preparing plans for their new InternalAffairs officers, decide to include protocols to this effect as part of the cyborg conversion, represented by a permanent link to the Book of Oa, intended to make them perfect, impartial and logic-driven, since by then they've begun to fear all emotions except willpower, and they think that restricting them will only improve the officers they envision. To no one's surprise, the conversion winds up creating idiotic martinets without any emotions to back up their willpower, with the added downside of making them extremely vulnerable to DemonicPossession and even common ''hacking''. |
| 55 | * ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': One arc of the 2004 fifth volume sees several of the Legionnaires trying to lead a RagtagBunchOfMisfits against a well-organized team of supervillains. In an effort to boost their chances, Saturn Girl uses her powers to suppress the misfits' ability to feel fear. |
| 56 | * To deal with her life, Maika from ''ComicBook/{{Monstress}}'' appears to experience no emotions besides hunger and rage. It's unclear -- even to her -- whether her other emotions are gone or just suppressed. |
| 57 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', Nico once magically stripped Klara of her emotions in an attempt to rein in her powers, which were going haywire as the result of Klara suffering a panic attack. in the short term, this worked out sort of okay, but in the long term, it turned Klara into even more of a nervous wreck. |
| 58 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': In some continuities, Kryptonians have "outgrown" everything not related to cold rational science, sometimes to the point of replacing sex with artificial reproduction. Jor-El for his part is a cultural rebel, and one of the motivations for sending his son to Earth is that humans are like what Kryptonians used to be instead of what they are now. |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 62 | * ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': Rei has been unwittingly doing this to herself with various pharmaceuticals until Asuka and Shinji find out and convince her to stop. |
| 63 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has the tragic example of [[spoiler:Maddie Pryor]], who was raised to be a TykeBomb by [[TheSociopath Essex]], a cold, unfeeling, and obedient HumanWeapon without anything in the way of a normal moral compass -- the fic even notes how traditional fairytales were given a HardTruthAesop to reinforce the 'human terminator' mentality. The level of control reaches MoreThanMindControl levels; even after months, if not ''years'', of [[spoiler:Gambit]] [[TheCharmer working every wile and charm]] he has on her [[DefusingTheTykeBomb to encourage her to embrace the fact that she is a person, not just a weapon]], it takes a while to get through to her that she is more than just a weapon. Even after her epiphany and HeelFaceTurn, she's [[TheStoic very reserved]], quite shy, and has a lot of trouble dealing with her newfound emotions. All of this, when contrasted with Jean Grey [[spoiler:(her twin sister, who she was stolen from at birth)]], is [[PlayedForDrama played as tragically as possible]]. |
| 64 | * Enforced upon all Psyches in Psychelia (including Empath) in ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf''. Even information about emotions is suppressed. |
| 65 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13226631/1/Shigeko-Kageyama-AKA-Mob Shigeko Kageyama AKA Mob]]'', Reigen, after he develops empathy powers as a consequence of borrowing Mob's powers during the 7th Division arc, has to control his emotions of he'll write them to other people. Instead of learning emotional control his actually regresses as it's easier to hide in Mob's aura. This comes back to bite him in the separation arc as without having Mob to hide within he then drinks to suppress his emotions. |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Film]] |
| 69 | * ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' takes place in a society where people have to use a drug called Prozium to suppress their emotions. Refusal to administer it is [[{{Dystopia}} punishable by death]]. [[spoiler:Hypocritically, the higher-ups [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem don't take it]] and freely indulge their emotions and senses.]] |
| 70 | * ''Film/MoscowCassiopeia'': The sequel ''Teens in the Universe'' features a planet where robots driven by [[AIIsACrapshoot crapshoot AI]] decide to make all people "happy" by removing most of their emotions. People are forced to undergo this operation with a form of MassHypnosis. It did not end well: the entire race almost died out because of no desire to love and procreate. |
| 71 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei initially tries to suppress her emotions in order to suppress her red panda transformations. [[spoiler:Her mother, Ming, has also been doing this ever since she was a teenager. By the time, her animal spirit is released, the emotions she kept within her after all these years has turned it into an angry, rampaging giant.]] |
| 72 | * ''Film/VoyageOfTheRockAliens'': Everyone from the aliens' home planet has to go through an emolectomy, a procedure that removes their ability to feel emotions. It makes life much simpler, especially when they're doing taxes. It does have to be refreshed after charged experiences, like a romance with an earthling. |
| 73 | [[/folder]] |
| 74 | |
| 75 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 76 | * ''Literature/TheBlackWitchChronicles'': ''Light Mage'' reveals that the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Alfsigr]] give every child a pendant, the ''Zalyn'or'', at the age of 12 that has this effect. Anyone who refuses to wear it is either exiled or imprisoned. |
| 77 | * In ''Literature/{{Borderline}}'' by Mishell Baker, one magic-practicing character casts a spell to create a temporary familiar made up of all her cast-off emotions, that usually takes the form of a small, ghostly dragon-shaped spirit. When she does so, she becomes an EmotionlessGirl, but all her feelings return when the spell ends. This makes it easier to do her job and cope with a variety of stressful situations, since she has PTSD from some very bad things that happened in her childhood, but the spell is very draining and makes it difficult for her to perform any other kind of magic while it is active. Nearly everyone in this book would benefit from it, since all the main characters have some kind of mental illness and a history of traumatic events in their pasts, and the protagonist, who has borderline personality disorder, is both awed and deeply envious when she sees the other character cast a spell to temporarily split off her emotions from the reasoning part of her mind. |
| 78 | * Nezumi in ''Literature/BrokenGate'' has done a ''very'' extreme version of this, as she disregarded anything not related to guarding the gate, in which case, she cut off her own thoughts and feelings, emotions included, turning her into an EmotionlessGirl who could no longer feel nor express them. |
| 79 | * ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfGrimmDragonblaster'': The titular character has to repress his emotions using dangerous addictive drugs in order to confront a demon mage who draws magic from negative emotions, rendering him emotionless and logical. |
| 80 | * ''Literature/DocSavage'': The primary weapon of the villain in ''The Men Who Smiled No More'' is a drug that prevents its victims from feeling emotion. This makes the victims very suggestible, and also capable of committing casual murder as they cannot see anything wrong with the act. |
| 81 | * The ability to suppress or control one's emotions is a common ability in the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' series, often as a result of training and meditation. The most famous example is the Litany Against Fear, a SurvivalMantra whose associated mental exercises are used by the Bene Gesserit order to suppress fear. |
| 82 | * The telepaths in the ''Literature/FirebirdTrilogy'' possess this ability. However, the stronger the emotion, the harder it is to completely suppress; only the best telepaths are truly capable of controlling all their emotions. The suppression is completely voluntary; it is generally used to ignore painful or unhappy emotions. |
| 83 | * In ''Literature/GenocidalOrgan'', the {{Super Soldier}}s have B.E.A.R (Battle Emotion Adaptive Regulation) enabling them to stay calm in combat conditions and kill without remorse. The plot involves the soldiers hunting a linguistic expert who's developed a [[LanguageEqualsThought language of genocide]] that he claims works in a similar manner to B.E.A.R by repressing the conscience, [[HatePlague enabling ordinary people to commit atrocities]]. |
| 84 | * In ''Literature/{{Genome}}'', the specs (specialists who are [[BioAugmentation genetically augmented]] for certain jobs) have certain emotions suppressed and others modified as part of their specialization. |
| 85 | * ''Literature/TheGirlWhoDrankTheMoon'' has two examples: |
| 86 | ** The madwoman realizes that her captor is benefiting from the madwoman's sadness, and so learns to hide that specific emotion behind hope. |
| 87 | ** The villain suffered terrible grief when her entire village was destroyed and used magic lock away her emotions like an oyster forming a pearl. |
| 88 | * In the world of Literature/HonorHarrington, [[BondCreature bonded treecats]] have the ability to block powerful emotions, such as fury or extreme depression, in their human bondmates. However, the 'cats only do this in extreme circumstances. They understand how horribly easy it would be to do this too often and leave the human with no strong emotions at all. Being scrupulously ethical creatures, they will ''not'' do something like that to their beloved humans. |
| 89 | * ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Ordercrafters face this as an occupational hazard because the source of their power, Order, is a god without emotion. The longer they are ordercrafters and the more they use their power, the more their emotions are suppressed until they can't feel anything at all. They have ways of managing this, such as aid from a chaotic deity. |
| 90 | * In ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'', Kvothe learns a mental exercise called "Heart of Stone" which places the practitioner in a state of dispassionate calm where all other emotions are temporarily shunted aside. [[ForgottenPhlebotinum Which he then doesn't use for the three years he needed it.]] |
| 91 | * In ''Literature/MachineMan'', Dr. Charles Neumann is not very emotional to begin with. However, after [[spoiler:mapping his emotional responses with an MRI, he chemically suppresses any traces of guilt or regret]]. |
| 92 | * "Soothing" in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' is a power that allows the user to dampen other peoples emotions. In the original Trilogy this is mostly just used as [[EmotionControl a way to manipulate people]], but in the SequelSeries, we see "Soothing Parlors", where patrons can go to have their fears and worries suppressed as a form of relaxation. This is a legal and regulated industry, but at least some characters seem to view people who regularly visit such establishments as somewhat akin to drug addicts. |
| 93 | * A spell in ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' has a temporary effect like this. Known as the Bureaucratic Rat, the spell creates a construct that seeks out the target (like a real rodent) and bites it. The bite temporarily disconnects the person from all emotions. Since the Others' magic is tied directly to their emotions, the bitten is unable to use magic for about an hour, until the effect wears off. As a side effect, the person also tends to indulge in SpockSpeak, hence the "bureaucratic" part of the name. |
| 94 | * In ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Log_of_Phileas_Fogg The Other Log of Phileas Fogg]]'', Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer's retelling of ''Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'', Phileas Fogg is actually an agent of an alien race. His habitual reserve is due to a mental ability to shunt aside negative emotions so he can act normally. |
| 95 | * This forcefully happens to Satoru Suzuki in ''Literature/Overlord2012'' when he becomes Momonga, his [[OurLichesAreDifferent lich]] video game character, as the undead cannot feel emotions. This is both a good and a bad thing. While he does not feel emotions like fear, disgust or rage which could cloud his mind, he also [[LackOfEmpathy loses his empathy]] and becomes completely inhuman. |
| 96 | * In ''Literature/ThePillarsOfReality'', the Mages teach their people to suppress all emotion (and indeed, that everything to which someone might emotionally react is just an [[TheTreacheryOfImages irrelevant illusion]] anyway). Alain starts to lose this when he's forced to interact with someone outside his Guild, though he still remains TheStoic. |
| 97 | * In ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', Kel keeps her emotions under tight control at all times, reciting mantras in her mind to keep her face blank even in the face of the harshest bullying. She learned this from the Japan-like Yamani culture in which she was raised, and though the boys training for knighthood alongside her nickname her "the Yamani Lump" for it, it constantly works to her advantage, as she keeps a cool, practical head in battle and never lets her enemies or other detractors see any vulnerability to use against her. |
| 98 | * ''Literature/RealQuickFlashFic'' has a story where a murderer is using meditation to try to suppress his emotions; not with the greatest of success. |
| 99 | * ''Literature/SavingMax'': The stronger Max's emotions are, the less he shows. Danielle knows he's terrified when he looks bored out of his skull. |
| 100 | * In one of the early ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' novels, the protagonist seeks help from a criminal she'd been involved with a few years before. He reveals he's been taking an Emotion Suppression drug non-stop ever since she dumped him; as he's been on it so long, he doesn't dare stop taking it because several years' suppressed feelings all at once would be too painful to catch up on. |
| 101 | * ''Literature/SkeletonKnightInAnotherWorld'': |
| 102 | ** The titular character, Arc, wakes up in the form of his game character, an elf that has been customized to look like a skeleton knight, and finds that he doesn't feel emotions as intensely as he used to when he was human. [[spoiler:When he bathes in the water of the Holy Crown, he temporarily regains the elf form his character originally had, and the return of a month's worth of emotions causes him to pass out for a while.]] |
| 103 | ** Similarly, [[spoiler:[[BigBad the pontiff of the Holy Hilk Kingdom]] is revealed to have been a skeleton for several years, similar to Arc, and the return of his emotions caused by Arc dousing him with water from the Holy Crown causes him to [[RapidAging age rapidly]] and then crumble into dust]]. |
| 104 | * The society of the Grey Men from ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' indoctrinates their youth into being totally emotionless. In ''The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!'', the hero finds the home planet of the Grey Men; he describes an eerily quiet classroom full of schoolchildren (no smiling, no laughter, no gum-chewing), with two posters on the wall reading "DO NOT SMILE" and "DO NOT FROWN". |
| 105 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': |
| 106 | ** Jedi are expected to be able to suppress their emotions in order to think clearly; in practice, it depends. |
| 107 | ** [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dengar Dengar]] from ''Literature/TalesOfTheBountyHunters'', a man TheEmpire [[WeCanRebuildHim rebuilt as an assassin]], had his emotions surgically cut away, all but anger, despair, and hope, as those would be useful to an assassin. Hope is the driving force, the hope that if he does well enough, they will restore him to his old self. They also accidentally left him the ability to feel loneliness. Interestingly, when they ordered him to assassinate children, he left Imperial service -- he wasn't able to ''feel'' why it was wrong, but he could still logically recognize that it was [[WouldntHurtAChild not something he wanted to do]]. He did get what he wanted, sort of, in the end; a woman who used cybernetic implants to share sensation and emotion fell in love with him and was able to partially restore him after they were married. Everyone but her still found him rather cold, though. |
| 108 | ** In ''Literature/RebelForce'', an Imperial has developed brainwashing techniques to similarly create assassins, though without surgery, and it's repeatedly said that these assassins are without any emotion at all, though they can convincingly [[CrocodileTears fake any]] while infiltrating on the way to a target. The best of them, X-7, finds while tracking Luke Skywalker that anger is returning to him. |
| 109 | * "Dissociation" in ''Literature/{{Strata}}'' is a type of meditation with this effect. |
| 110 | * In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', Chad has the ability of [[MasterOfYourDomain total body control]]. One thing he does is suppress most emotions, as he considers them detrimental to his goal of becoming a Hero. However, some emotions are able to break through the suppression, especially those that deal with [[spoiler:his father's murder]] or seeing Angela flirt with a bar patron. In the latter case, Roy suggests that he turn off the suppression for a short while and see if that helps him figure out what he's feeling. It's then that Chad realizes that he's [[spoiler:completely in love with Angela]]. Oddly enough, Chad's father was always friendly and caring, implying he rarely used that part of his ability. |
| 111 | * ''Literature/{{We}}'': People of the [[OneWorldOrder One]] [[{{Dystopia}} State]] are calculating, emotionless and strive only to follow only logic. In the end [[spoiler:a way is discovered to truly erase an individual's ability to feel emotions by [[PhlebotinumDuJour irradiating a certain spot of the brain with X-Rays]] and everyone is irreversibly brainwashed.]] |
| 112 | * ''Literature/WeAreLegionWeAreBob'': Since most strong emotions come from glands, which are simulated for the replicants anyway, replicants are fitted with an endocrine suppressor program to keep them from feeling much more than "deep concern". Bob removes it soon after he leaves Sol, but turns it back on for battles. |
| 113 | * ''Literature/TheWitchlands'': In Nomatsi culture, a proper Threadwitch is supposed to do this, called "stasis". Iseult constantly strives for this because, as she can't do everything a Threadwitch is supposed to do, she sees herself as a failure. |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 117 | * The ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' episode "Chuck vs the Tic Tac" revolves around an emotion-suppressing pill called the Laudenol, which military soldiers used to take to be stronger warriors in battle. Casey was blackmailed into delivering it to his former commanding offer to save the life of his ex-fiancée. Towards the end of the episode, Chuck swallows the pill and it unleashes the full power of the Intersect (due to Chuck's feelings always getting in the way) allowing him to dispatch an entire army of goons in less than a few seconds. |
| 118 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Cybermen have no emotions because they have them removed when they get changed; in the past series, this was due to being subsumed by the Cyberman HiveMind system practiced by Cyber-Controllers and Cyber-Planners, and in the new, it is done through emotion-nulling firmware. Breaking them out of this ends with the Cyberman writhing in horrific pain as ''everything'' they've ever denied rushes into them. |
| 119 | * In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Crichton spends the first half of Season 4 taking drugs which are intended to [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies suppress his love for Aeryn]]. She's... not happy when she finds out. |
| 120 | * ''Series/TheMagicians2016'': Battle magic requires cold focus to be used reliably -- without excessive training, it comes in fits and starts. However, hedge witches sometimes use a loophole: They literally bottle up their emotions, turning themselves into deadpan automatons but allowing them to easily use battle magic. The problem is that when you stop bottling up your emotions, you get hit with all of them at once, and it hits '''hard'''. The main characters end up collapsed in their rooms crying for hours. |
| 121 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': The Vulcan culture has Emotion Suppression at its core. While it's widely believed in-universe that Vulcans are emotionless, and they're generally fine with letting others believe that, the reality is that Vulcans are innately ''more'' emotional than humans and most other intelligent species. After having experienced centuries of warfare in which they descended into savagery, Vulcan society became focused on strictly controlling their emotions in order to keep the peace. |
| 122 | * ''Series/TillTheEndOfTheMoon'': Played with for Tantai Jin. While both he and other characters often claim he was born without a proper understanding of emotions, it's fairly obvious from his behaviour―crying, sarcasm, getting back at people who hurt him―that he does still feel at least some of them. And how much of his detachment is due to his demonic nature versus [[ParentalNeglect the circumstances he grew up in]] is anyone's guess. |
| 123 | * In ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'', the Tokkyou Division of the Space Police apparently train their officers to keep their emotions in check for the sake of efficiency, as seen with [[SixthRanger Tetsu/Deka Break]] when he first arrives. Tetsu's former mentor, Lisa Teegel/Deka Bright, is an even more extreme example, to the point she intended to take Tetsu back and retrain him to be "the perfect officer", until she saw how emotions can be a source of strength rather than a hindrance. |
| 124 | * Vampires in ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' have the ability to turn off their emotions, presumably to stop things like guilt getting in the way of their hunting. Apparently, this ability fades after a few centuries. In the first season finale, [[spoiler:Jeremy attempts to become a vampire so he can shut off his grief]]. In the third season, [[spoiler:Klaus compels Stefan into turning his off so he'll stop resisting his orders]]. |
| 125 | [[/folder]] |
| 126 | |
| 127 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 128 | * This is the unique ability of Stella Atlas' Shadow Charm in ''Roleplay/NothingIsSacred''. The majority of the time, [[BlessedWithSuck this is not a good thing]]. Stella is something of a BrokenBird who has spent a large portion of her life living with muted emotions due to [[ParentalNeglect the lack of emotional support she was given growing up]] as well as [[DarkAndTroubledPast an unspecified event that happened to her in the past]]. This comes to a sudden end after the results of a Shadow Game force Stella to actually feel and process her emotions...or, rather, it would if she didn't have her Shadow Charm to lean on, allowing her to avoid her problems with an emotional crutch. The Charm ''does'' come in quite handy however when Stella has to infiltrate [[spoiler:Doma]] with her Shadow Charm allowing her to counter the soul-altering effects of [[spoiler:the Seal of Orichalcos]]. |
| 129 | [[/folder]] |
| 130 | |
| 131 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 132 | * ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' supplement ''The Asylum and Other Tales'', adventure "The Asylum". One of the drugs Doctor Freygan has developed is called Mood Flattener. It temporarily suppresses all emotion in the recipient, whether positive or negative. |
| 133 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' |
| 134 | ** The ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin calm emotions]]'' spell has a variety of positive or negative applications, depending on the edition. It can be used to suppress the [[CharmPerson charmed]] or [[SupernaturalFearInducer frightened]] statuses from all humanoids in a 20-foot-radius burst for about a minute, remove the morale bonuses from positive effects such as the ''bless'' spell or a bard's "inspire courage" ability, bring a barbarian out of their UnstoppableRage, or make the targets so indifferent about their surroundings that they can't take hostile action unless they or an ally are attacked. |
| 135 | ** The joystealers, a type of fey who [[EmotionEater feed upon the emotions of other creatures]], like to cast their depredations a "refined culling" of "excess" emotions that reduce conflict and pain among other races. Other creatures aren't so appreciative of their efforts, however. |
| 136 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Many factions. The [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]] and the [[DeathSeeker Death Corps of Krieg]] actually have cybernetic augments that pump emotion-dulling drugs through their bloodstream. The [[OurElvesAreDifferent Craftworld Eldar]] do this through training alone, [[EasyRoadToHell and they need to otherwise their souls will be claimed by Slaanesh]]. |
| 137 | [[/folder]] |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 140 | * In ''VideoGame/CreepyCastle'', Darking intend to use a device called the Heartbreaker which removes emotions to achieve world peace. |
| 141 | * ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' has Gale, who stubbornly tries to remain an [[EmotionlessGirl Emotionless Guy]] even though he keeps having intense hallucinations wracked with emotions he can't explain. [[BewareTheNiceOnes When he finally explodes, the results are not pretty]]. |
| 142 | * The ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series has "the Tranquil": mages who have been entirely cut off from the Fade in order to prevent demonic possession. However, this not only robs them of their use of magic but also renders them entirely emotionless. Tranquil retain their memories of their former selves, but they lack any form of emotional response whatsoever, not only those such as happiness or fear but even boredom. Nonetheless they remain independent thinkers, and can think logically (they will not simply let themselves be killed, for instance). Tranquil often adopt a placid smile as a default expression -- not because they actually feel contentment, but because they know it puts others at ease and facilitates their work when interacting with others (many find the emotionally dead expression disconcerting). Reactions in-game are mixed. Some characters are horrified by the procedure. Others consider that if the alternatives were demonic possession or execution, becoming Tranquil was preferable. Asking the Tranquil themselves what they think gets the predictable response that they don't mind what they've become, but by definition the state they are in renders that answer meaningless. However the one Tranquil, who had temporarily regained his emotions due to proximity to a Fade spirit, ''begged'' to be killed before he became Tranquil again. |
| 143 | * In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Shadow tells Terra Branford that there are many people like him who have killed their emotions and warns her against forgetting that, implying that he thinks she'd be wise to not do the same. |
| 144 | * ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' features secrets reports written by members of Organization XIII. In one of them, Xaldin explicitly mentions that they became [[EmptyShell Nobodies]] to "avoid the shackles of emotion" only to realise later that "[[SenseLossSadness some things simply cannot be done without a heart]]". Notably, this is the only time in the franchise where it is stated that someone willingly became a Nobody. Everywhere else it is treated as a tragic side effect of trying to harness the power of darkness. Worth noting that in the same report, Xaldin expresses his strong disdain for "humans and their incessant need to be pinned down by feelings" so he's most likely projecting. |
| 145 | * ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': Vanilla H comes across as an EmotionlessGirl at first, but that's because her use of {{Nanomachines}} to treat wounds and illnesses requires huge emotional control. Unlike most other examples she seems to be self-aware of this trope and even apologizes to Tact for it. As the story advances she learns to express herself more, revealing a suprisingly warm side underneath her stoic facade. |
| 146 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' has this as a central plot point, as [[{{Nanomachines}} the SOP system]] used by [[PrivateMilitaryContractors PMCs]] suppresses emotions like fear, sorrow, anger and happiness in order to keep control over them. [[spoiler:When [[BigBad Liquid Ocelot's]] failed hack causes the System to go down, the soldiers' emotions return, causing them to react to everything they've done all at once. Needless to say, it's [[MindRape not pleasant]].]] |
| 147 | * ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'': |
| 148 | ** Fixer is a drug co-produced by the Citizens Alliance Research Institute and the Association of Victims of Avarice Crimes that suppresses a person's emotions and desires, making them numb to everything going on around them, even danger or the government's own crimes. It's mixed into rain so that the whole population can be Fixed at once, and AVAC bans umbrellas to force it on them. Stabilizers hunt down Floaties, or people who haven't been Fixed, and enforce Emotion Mitigation Treatment upon them, [[MortonsFork but if they can't afford it, they're labeled as an Avarice Criminal and are arrested and Fixed.]] Emotion suppression was enforced by the government during the Rainy Period (2076 onwards) because they believe it cuts on the costs for curing mental illnesses and removes emotional conflict. When AVAC officers arrest people for "Avarice Crimes", they force them to pay the fine to "prove their Apathy", otherwise they get Fixed. [[spoiler:Because Fixer wasn't tested thoroughly, it has fatal side effects such as convulsions and heart attacks a few days after it's administered, which was what happened to Yong Do, the suspect behind the CARI fire.]] |
| 149 | ** Because of their lack of emotion, Fixie customers do not care about subjective appraisals (blue-cornered cards), preventing you from accurately appraising an item with them unless you use the Private Card Slots, which secretly add the correct cards after appraisal. |
| 150 | * Tatsuya's scenario in ''VideoGame/Persona2: Eternal Punishment'' reveals Izanami, in the Kadath Mandala, wears a mask that crushes her emotions. When questioned, she reveals that though her fury at being abandoned by Izanagi in Yomutsu Hirakasa has faded, her ''sorrow'' has not, and thus she keeps the mask on until she can be with Izanagi once more. |
| 151 | * ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cyrus, leader of the Team Galactic, is trying to create a universe with no emotions so that there would be no conflicts. |
| 152 | * ''VideoGame/RadiantArc'': Deconstructed. Tamotsu and Undyne trained themselves to be unemotional because they believe emotions will get in the way of their duty of guarding the Aquamarine shard. However, Tamotsu realizes that this caused Undyne to lack the willpower to resist Seperus's control, since she didn't develop feelings of camaraderie with Twilight Village. Tamotsu also reveals that he originally became the Vessel of Twilight and sacrificed his emotions in order to become strong enough to protect his loved ones, but eventually forgot about his loved ones due to his lost emotions. |
| 153 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Koishi Komeiji was tired of being a Satori, a race of {{Youkai}} with extremely powerful mind-reading abilities, so she shut close her third eye. This thankfully sealed her mind-reading, but had the unforeseen side effect of shutting down her ability to read her ''own'' mind as well, taking her personality and emotions with it. |
| 154 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has an odd case where a character does this to himself. According to legend, Emperor Shaohao expelled his negative emotions from his body (thus creating the Sha) in order to save Pandaria from the Shattering. |
| 155 | * The BigBad from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' claims to be unable to experience any emotions at all, but it’s clear that he’s somehow trained himself to suppress them. The plus side of this is that he can call up genuine emotions at will, though he struggles to tie them to an appropriate external reaction. The downside is that his ability to suppress them isn’t 100% perfect, which the heroes are able to exploit. |
| 156 | [[/folder]] |
| 157 | |
| 158 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 159 | * A positive example in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''. Ren's Semblance temporarily calms the negative emotions of himself and others. Since [[AnimalisticAbomination the Grimm]] are attracted to such emotions, they are unable to sense him while it is active, even if they're looking straight at him. This makes it an invaluable tool when it comes to protecting groups of unarmed civilians. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 163 | * Magus of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has a "Calm" spell [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2423 that suppresses emotions.]] He uses it to [[spoiler:keep Ashley from panicking after he possesses Elliot and kidnaps her. [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2426 Bluntness is a known side-effect]]]]. |
| 164 | * ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Suppressing emotions that are dangerous distractions in the moment is part of a Smoke Knight's training, they have to do so consciously however and if the thing they were emotional about has lasting repercussions like the death of a friend they can be emotional about it later. |
| 165 | -->'''Varpa:''' Smoke feels nothing. |
| 166 | * ''Webcomic/LinesUncrossed'': [[spoiler:Speedy implies that he uses Xanax to stop feeling everything.]] |
| 167 | * Mob from ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'' suppresses his emotions to prevent his PsychicPowers from going haywire and hurting the people around him. When he first met Dimple, the latter mocked him for his stunted emotions until he couldn't hold back his Rage any longer and, well... |
| 168 | -->'''Mob''': They came out upon your request. [[SuperMode These are my emotions]]. [[CurbStompBattle This is what happens when I let them show]]. |
| 169 | * Violet from ''Webcomic/MonsterPulse'' is introduced as an EmotionlessGirl, implied to be a product of the monsterization of her brain (as a picture from before shows her smiling). She later reveals she's actually forced to suppress her emotions because they are now amplified to unhealthy levels. |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 173 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': |
| 174 | ** The page quote is about [[TheStoic Mai]], who appears unemotional because of her strict and controlling parents. |
| 175 | ** In "The Serpent's Pass", [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarAang Aang]] acts [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness uncharacteristically]] emotionally withdrawn for the entire episode in response to losing Appa and his HeroicRROD about it in the previous episode. He even agrees with the pass's warning about "Abandon hope", because being too optimistic will set you up for disappointment, right? In the climax, Katara tells him that it's okay to hurt and he should never stop caring, and HesBack when the characters-of-the-day give birth to a healthy baby girl. |
| 176 | * ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsInTheLandWithoutFeelings'' is about a boy, Kevin, who feels so terrible about having to move that he decides he won't care about anything or anyone anymore. |
| 177 | * ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'': In the episode "Dreamcatcher", [[Characters/ElenaOfAvalorElena Elena]] determines that the best way to control her new EmotionalPowers, especially in light of [[spoiler:Esteban's betrayal and the discovery of his role in the death of her parents]], is to suppress her emotions. We even get a neat song to go with it, though the events of the episode show that this is NotQuiteTheRightThing to do. AnAesop of the episode is delivered by Elena realizing that the real solution is to confront her issues about [[spoiler:Esteban]] so that she can have proper closure. |
| 178 | -->''The only thing to do to keep those around me safe''\ |
| 179 | ''Is to lock my feelings up inside and make sure they don't escape!\ |
| 180 | I must hide all my emotion,\ |
| 181 | For they cause too much commotion\ |
| 182 | From now on, stay cool and calm,\ |
| 183 | No waves in this here ocean,\ |
| 184 | So get used to the notion,\ |
| 185 | Of this path that I have chosen:\ |
| 186 | Keep my feelings to myself,\ |
| 187 | They're better left unspoken.'' |
| 188 | * In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy wishes to have emotions removed and stored in a box. This effectively makes him completely fearless and popular, until he realizes that it's not so great if you don't have any emotions to enjoy it with. |
| 189 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the episode “[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E2AllBottledUp All Bottled Up]]”, after Trixie accidentally teleports Twilight’s enchanted map table to who knows where and spends most of the episode making light of it despite the potential for it to get [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]] into a great deal of trouble, Starlight deals with her mounting anger with Trixie by magically siphoning off her negative emotions into a bottle whenever it seems like she might lose control. This works fine, until the bottle breaks. |
| 190 | * ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'': In one episode, Fred breaks down over the possibility that Daphne may have gotten hurt and scolds himself for caring too much, wishing he was as unfeeling and cold like his [[ParentalNeglect father]]. Daphne overhears and takes it the wrong way, causing a rift between them for the entire episode. Fred eventually realizes that he ''does'' care for Daphne and that it's okay, leading to them making amends by the end of the episode. |
| 191 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': Raven has to constantly suppress her emotions lest she lose control of her powers completely, hence the meditation. |
| 192 | [[/folder]] |
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