Line #31 Main/HateSink


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4	[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/MickeysMellerdrammer https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hate_sink.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:300:The InUniverse reception of [[Literature/UncleTomsCabin Simon Legree]].[[note]]Played by [[MeanCharacterNiceActor Horace Horsecollar]], a friend of WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse.[[/note]]]]
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10	%% This page received a rework in the Trope Repair Shop: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1628824070036034800&page=9 . Please do not add further subtropes without discussion and ensuring they meet the standards agreed on there.
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13	A Hate Sink is a character who is ''intentionally'' made (by the work's creator) to be vile and unsympathetic to the audience. While your average {{Jerkass}} or CompleteMonster can fill the bill, an ordinary scumbag works just fine, especially in stories where the main antagonist has no 'face'--such as a film about a natural disaster or killer animal(s) acting out of instinct rather than malice--or the BigBad's motives remain sympathetic even when their deeds are evil. This character is written to draw fire, and to provide appropriate [[CatharsisFactor catharsis for the audience]] when karma finally catches up to them.
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15	The Hate Sink is not TheScrappy: the writers ''wrote'' the Hate Sink to be hated, while the Scrappy garnered a {{Hatedom}} on his own. But it is possible for a Hate Sink to become a Scrappy if the audience hates him for reasons ''other'' than what the creators intended. [[labelnote:Example]][[ManipulativeBastard Bendy]] from the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' episode "Everyone Knows It's Bendy" was deliberately written to be despised for breaking the rules of the Foster home and [[WoundedGazelleGambit framing other imaginary friends in the house for the rule-breaking]]. However, because he became a KarmaHoudini at the end of the episode, he [[TheScrappy got more hate than was intended]]. As a result, the episode actually [[GoneHorriblyRight got so much backlash]] that its writer, Creator/LaurenFaust, eventually apologized for it, and Bendy was not featured in any more episodes.[[/labelnote]]
16
17	So to summarize:
18	# The Hate Sink is a character created by the author with the '''express intention''' of being loathed by the audience.
19	# The Scrappy is a character which was not created to be loathed, but still is.[[labelnote:Examples]][[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Scrappy-Doo]] and [[Franchise/StarWars Jar Jar Binks]] are definitely still hated, but they were introduced to their respective franchises ''without'' the intention of being loathed by the audience, thus rendering them as Scrappies (or in the German version of TV Tropes, [[De/DerJarJar Jar Jars]]).[[/labelnote]]
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21	Often overlaps with CompleteMonster, which is [[AudienceReactions a character whose vile deeds have cost them the audience's sympathy]], though even a Complete Monster can be charismatic, while a Hate Sink never can. Also compare AntiRoleModel, where the character is designed to be a bad example to the audience; LoveToHate, when the viewers actually enjoy this character ''because'' of how effective they are at being hatable; TheHeavy, which is about the impact for the story; {{Jerkass}}, who may be unlikable but not loathsome; and JerksAreWorseThanVillains, which is when fans hate the jerkass character more than the actual villain.[[note]]TheScrappy tends to fall under this trope for all the wrong reasons[[/note]] Contrast with AntiVillain, when a villain has sympathetic traits; and LaughablyEvil, when a villain is funny and thus entertaining (though in some cases a villain can be both sympathetic and funny).
22
23	If all of the work's other ''characters'' hate this individual, they are HatedByAll and not necessarily a Hate Sink, though the two tropes can and frequently do overlap -- a character being Hated By All is often a good indication that the audience is supposed to hate them as well.
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25	'''Notes:''' Just because a villain goes out of their way to be cruel doesn't necessarily mean they are a Hate Sink. A Hate Sink is a very specific type of character who is written to provoke the audience's disgust and loathing. You will never sympathize with their motives or acknowledge their EvilVirtues, only feel revulsion and want to see them get their comeuppance as quickly as possible (preferably in a cathartic, horrifying, and/or undignified manner). Villains like [[Franchise/StarWars Emperor Palpatine]] and [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]] lack sympathetic qualities and can be incredibly vile in their worst moments, but the audience is merely meant to root for the heroes to succeed against them, whereas Dolores Umbridge, [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Shou Tucker]] or [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 the MCU iteration of the High Evolutionary]] embody a [[EvilIsPetty spiteful, petty]], and [[RealismInducedHorror 'ordinary' evil]]. Not only can you hate them, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you ''should''. Of course, absent a WordOfGod confirmation, it can be hard to determine if a character is ''meant'' to be hated, or at least hated to the extent that a Hate Sink is.
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27	%% Please ensure subtropes added to this list are inherently hateable ''characters''. If the trope is not a character archetype, it doesn't belong here. Consider adding tropes that don't qualify to NoSympathyForThisIndex.
28
29	[[folder:Sub-tropes under Hate Sink]]
30	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: A person in charge that none of his underlings like, usually because he's such a BadBoss.
31	* AbsoluteXenophobe: Aliens who kill anything that isn't their own species.
32	* AbusiveParents: Parents who harm their own children, which is likely to start the child's own StartOfDarkness.
33	* AlphaBitch: The popular girl of the school also happens to be a {{Jerkass}} and a bully.
34	* AssholeVictim: A victim of murder or some other violent crime remains unsympathetic if they were a {{Jerkass}} beforehand.
35	* BadBoss: A person in charge who treats their employees like garbage.
36	* BarbaricBully: An ObviouslyEvil bully.
37	* BigBrotherBully: An older sibling who treats their younger sibling horribly.
38	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Someone who puts on a façade of kindness to hide away their true vile nature is usually not sympathetic or entertaining.
39	* TheBully: Someone that loves to pick on those weaker than him.
40	* TheCorrupter: An individual intentioned to make the others just as terrible as them.
41	* DirtyCop: Someone with the duty to protect the others uses their position for selfish goals.
42	* DirtyCoward: These villains will try to save their hide instead of coming up with a plan or LastStand.
43	* EmbodimentOfVice: A character who exists to represent a negative trait.
44	* EntitledBastard: A {{narcissist}}ic character who sincerely believes they deserve respect from the very people they disrespect, and/or believes they have the right to do whatever they want and nobody has any right to object.
45	* EvenTheLovingHeroHasHatedOnes: If [[{{NiceGuy}} even]] [[{{The Cape}} he]] [[{{AllLovingHero}} hates]] you, it's likely that the audience should.
46	* EvilColonialist: Cruel exploiters who enslave, sell and/or outright brutalize the local people.
47	* EvilIsPetty: Besides being a villain, the character is also a nasty individual on smaller scale.
48	* FalseFriend: Forming a "friendship" with another solely to take advantage of their trust.
49	* TheFundamentalist: A person who openly mocks (or is hostile towards) those whose beliefs don't align with theirs.
50	* HatedByAll: A villain so despicable that nobody likes them.
51	* {{Heel}}: The {{professional wrestling}} version: bad guy personas who exist to anger the crowd and antagonize the {{Face}}s.
52	* HopeCrusher: Villains who are out to drive people to despair are almost ''never'' sympathetic, especially if [[{{Sadist}} they enjoy it]].
53	* HumanTraffickers: People who enslave and sell other people.
54	* {{Hypocrite}}: Someone doesn't follow what they claim to preach and lecture about.
55	* InsufferableGenius: A smart character that is full of hubris. Very likely to boast about their intelligence at the expense of everyone else.
56	* InsufferableImbecile: Not only are they jerks, they are also absolute morons.
57	* {{Jerkass}}: An unpleasant, nasty and overall unsympathetic person.
58	* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: A nasty character seems to have sympathetic qualities, but they are actually just as nasty as they seem.
59	* KarmaHoudini: That character who doesn't get his comeuppance, though this quality may also interlap with TheScrappy.
60	* KillerCop: Someone who's supposed to protect others uses their position to kill them.
61	* TheKlan: The UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan and substitutes.
62	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: An arrogant and insufferable person that always claims to be right despite being obviously wrong.
63	* LecherousStepparent: A stepparent who makes advances on their stepchildren.
64	* ManipulativeBastard: An individual that plays around with the others, usually for their own gain.
65	* MoreDespicableMinion: A minion written to be worse and more detestable than their (often sympathetic) boss.
66	* MoreHateableMinorVillain: A minor villain written to be loathsome when the BigBad cannot fill that role.
67	* {{Narcissist}}: A very arrogant and self-centered individual that always demands love and attention from everyone else.
68	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Fantasy-counterpart Nazis.
69	* NeverMyFault: A character that never takes any responsability for their actions, possibly shifting the blame to someone else.
70	* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Someone who claims to be a WellIntentionedExtremist, but whose motivations turn out to be selfish.
71	* OpportunisticBastard: Someone that takes advantage from any situation for petty self gain.
72	* PedophilePriest: A priest who sexually abuses children.
73	* PervertDad: A father who makes sexual advances on his biological children.
74	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: A bigoted villain.
75	* ThePrimaDonna: An overbearing, egocentric, and unlikable counterpart to TheDiva.
76	* PsychopathicManchild: An adult villain with immature aspects such as [[NeverMyFault never taking any responsability]], [[EvilIsPetty pettiness]], [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centeredness]] and [[EntitledBastard entitlement]].
77	* RabidCop: A cop who regularly commits PoliceBrutality.
78	* {{Sadist}}: Someone that enjoys inflicting pain and suffering on others.
79	* SerialRapist: A rapist with multiple victims.
80	* {{Slimeball}}: A sleazy, morally repugnant slob who does terrible things for petty self-gain.
81	* SmugSnake: An overconfident villain with delusions of grandeur.
82	* TheSociopath: A ruthless, self-centered and manipulative social predator that doesn't care about anyone else.
83	* SpoiledBrat: An unsufferable, immature and arrogant brat that always demands to be given everything at everytime.
84	* SpreeKiller: A murderer who attacks multiple locations without a break.
85	* StrawCharacter: A character intended to (mis)represent views the creator disagrees with.
86	* StrawHypocrite: A character whose "ideals" are nothing but a front for selfish goals.
87	* TemporaryScrappy: A temporary addition to the main cast who is intentionally written to be unlikeable so the audience will want them gone.
88	* TerroristsWithoutACause: Terrorists who don't have any mission or intentions behind causing terror.
89	* TheUnapologetic: A horrible jerk who is never sorry for their acts of cruelty.
90	* UngratefulBastard: Someone who doesn't properly thank people when they do good things for them, or even repays them with TheFarmerAndTheViper treatment.
91	* VeryPunchableMan: A minor character, usually a petty criminal or some other variety of {{Jerkass}}, who only exists for the heroes to beat up.
92	* VillainsWantMercy: If the villain [[{{Moral Event Horizon}} is]] [[{{KickTheDog}} particularly]] [[{{Complete Monster}} nasty]], and has the nerve to beg for mercy after all his atrocities, this is an easy way at getting the audience's loathing.
93	* VilerNewVillain: A new villain is introduced who is comparatively less likable than the previous one.
94	* VillainyFreeVillain: An antagonist who doesn't do anything truly villainous, but has an unpleasant personality so the audience will root against them.
95	* WickedStepmother: A stepparent who is mean and cruel to their children.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	----
99
100	!!Example subpages:
101	[[index]]
102	* HateSink/AnimeAndManga
103	* HateSink/ComicBooks
104	* HateSink/FanWorks
105	* [[HateSink/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
106	* [[HateSink/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
107	* HateSink/{{Literature}}
108	* HateSink/LiveActionTV
109	* HateSink/VideoGames
110	* HateSink/VisualNovels
111	* HateSink/WebOriginal
112	* HateSink/WesternAnimation
113	* HateSink/OtherMedia
114	[[/index]]

Context Main / HateSink