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10[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/JLATowerOfBabel https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tropim.png]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:300:The other heroes always get annoyed when ComicBook/{{Batman}} breaks out the puppets to illustrate [[BatmanGambit his plans]]...]]
12
13->'''Ben:''' I can convince him to do it.\
14'''Juliet:''' How?\
15'''Ben:''' Same way I get anybody to do anything: I find what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it.
16-->-- ''Series/{{Lost}}''
17
18While TheChessmaster is the master manipulator of events, the Manipulative Bastard is the master manipulator of people, in essence, a character who manipulates others through their emotions, perspectives, psychologies and any other way they can get them dancing to their tune. This is the person who gets off on playing head/mind games -- clever and dangerous and lacking comedic overtones [[ComedicSociopathy (usu]][[BlackComedy ally)]]. They always have [[ThePlan a plan ready]], but rather than do any work, the Manipulative Bastard prefers to play on other characters' emotions and mental states and then watch the victims destroy themselves as they waste their energy on fighting against [[WindmillPolitical fake dangers]] or [[LetsYouAndHimFight their friends]].
19
20In many cases the Manipulative Bastard personally is [[TheStoic rarely emotional]] and seldom burdened by notions such as empathy, yet is all too willing to [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter abuse it in others]]. The Bastard is [[LackOfEmpathy unmoved by the pain of others]], if not [[{{Sadist}} actively basking in it]]. Thus the frequent association of how someone who does manipulative bastardry too often can come across as a [[TheSociopath sociopath]]. After all, too many PetTheDog moments may lead this character to [[BecomingTheMask become the mask]] and care about the people they previously saw as playthings.
21
22Like Chessmasters, Manipulative Bastards will have some larger scheme in mind but tend to lose sight of it more easily and simply enjoy the control they have over their peers. A highly-focused/ambitious Manipulative Bastard is scary indeed; not only achieving their goal, but then ensuring permanent supremacy by destroying the souls of everyone they used to get there. A hell of a lot of HeroicWillpower, and often [[ShootTheDog Shooting the Dog]] is required to topple this character.
23
24While this character type seems inherently villainous, many of them are at least nominally on the heroes' side. A cunning branch of the AntiHero family sports this trope and many a [[PragmaticHero pragmatic]] and/or GuileHero uses many of the same tricks. Indeed, TheTrickster may also overlap into Manipulative Bastard territory. The hero will probably survive a relationship with this character, but their [[EtTuBrute trust in people will not]].
25
26Manipulative Bastards often fall into the KarmaHoudini trope -- after all, [[MoreThanMindControl they never "forced"]] anybody [[MurderBySuicide to do anything]]... which leads the audience to scream, "Why do you keep falling for this?" at the other characters.
27
28Different methods of Manipulative Bastardry exist, depending on these characters' favorite tricks to manipulate people:
29* TheVamp, the FemmeFatale, and TheCasanova mainly use their devastating powers of seduction.
30* The PsychoPsychologist, who uses their [[MasterOfAll professional training and education]] in the workings of human nature to masterfully manipulate people.
31* TheCharmer relies on general charisma.
32* The [[TheSpock coldly analytical character]], user of the tricks of PsychologicalCombat, who pins the heroes' [[FlawExploitation weaknesses]] in one assessing glance and then [[BreakThemByTalking hits all their sore spots to devastating effect]].
33* The BunnyEarsLawyer and other characters who use their ObfuscatingStupidity to mask and distract from their manipulations.
34* The ConMan who lies and builds elaborate tricks professionally.
35* The [[ConsummateLiar great liar]] who uses {{Sarcastic Confession}}s, {{False Reassurance}}s, and the MotivationalLie to dissimulate the truth.
36* The SatanicArchetype, a [[DealWithTheDevil tempter]] who [[TheCorrupter takes advantage of people's worst flaws and desires]] in order to make themselves give up into them.
37* The HighSchoolHustler: Expert in [[ZanyScheme Zany Schemes]], charming people into getting what they want, and remaining sympathetic while doing so.
38* Certain EvilMatriarch[=/=]MyBelovedSmother types will use copious amounts of guilt tripping to ensure that their "loved" ones dance to their tune.
39* The last subtype is the ApparentlyPowerlessPuppetmaster who is genuinely powerless and only has as much power as their opponents see fit to give them. To this end, they fake [[ObfuscatingStupidity stupidity]] or [[ObfuscatingInsanity insanity]] so that they can avoid being assassinated while still being able to manipulate events as they please.
40
41Sometimes overlaps with DevilInPlainSight, but is often the "grown up" version, where the "look cute" fallback has become a fairly professional strategy. A Manipulative Bastard who mixes personal manipulation with more [[TheChessmaster complicated schemes]], more [[CriminalMindGames mind games]], and [[PsychoticSmirk sufficiently scary facial expressions]] -- and does it all with style -- can get promoted to MagnificentBastard. Compare ClockKing, who does the same thing with people's schedules instead of their emotions and/or minds. Manipulating people specifically to bring out their worst natures is the mark of TheCorrupter. May engage in a BattleOfWits, if anyone can match the Manipulative Bastard. For the much more heroic equivalent, see GuileHero. Not to be mistaken for a {{Troll}}, for whom their manipulations often don't have a purpose other than cruel amusement. See also OpportunisticBastard. Almost always overlaps with TheSocialExpert, though not all examples of that trope are manipulative.
42
43[[noreallife]]
44----
45!!Example subpages:
46
47[[index]]
48* ManipulativeBastard/AnimeAndManga
49* ManipulativeBastard/ComicBooks
50* ManipulativeBastard/FanWorks
51* ManipulativeBastard/{{Film}}
52* ManipulativeBastard/{{Literature}}
53* ManipulativeBastard/LiveActionTV
54* ManipulativeBastard/VideoGames
55* ManipulativeBastard/{{Webcomics}}
56* ManipulativeBastard/WesternAnimation
57[[/index]]
58
59!!Other examples:
60
61[[foldercontrol]]
62[[folder:Manhua]]
63* In ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'', Xiaxi slowly master the skills of manipulation.
64** First, she adopts the persona of a dedicated, extremely humble and supporting servant to appeal to Mingluan, then makes her get concerned about him by knowingly putting herself in a position where she'd be abused. There's a temporary setback when his sister Yixin finds out what Xiaxi has been doing and reveals it to her brother, but she eventually plays it off as having been blackmailed into it. Despite this not really making a great deal of sense and being really easy to check, he eats it up and falls in love with her as planned.
65** Next, she goes to his brother, who is a trickier person. Knowing that the same kind of devoted appeal won't work on him, she instead puts up a mask of utter ''rejection'', taking on a cultured but lonely woman complete with [[CaptivityHarmonica playing a flute quietly by herself]] in a place where he's sure to stumble across her. She rouses his concern by conspiring with one of his concubines to be attacked and when his growing obsession reaches a peak she 'accidentally' reveals that she totally fell in love with him along the way, soothing his raging ego and completing the capture of his heart.
66** After leaving the brothers' household, she ends up with the crown prince and takes on a new name and a completely different attitude, portraying herself as a sage in training complete with (fake) magic powers and unearthly wisdom, such as middle school level math. To make sure he gets interested, she adopts an air of complete stoicism to make him want to get an emotional rise out of her. Before long he's completely hooked on every word she says and she even has the tacit approval of his family because of the good influence she's been on him.
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Manhwa]]
70* Doe-Doe from the manhwa ''Manhwa/PigBride'' is a very subtle seductress: She's a violent, foul-mouthed, girl-gangleader-bully of the whole school disguised as a sweet and innocent girl trying to win the heart (and money and political power) of the main character. So far it's worked, although the main's friend really dislikes her but can't put his finger on why other than the fact that she doesn't know her target's heart at all ("He must love living in such a luxurious house!" "Actually he hates this house and couldn't care less about luxury").
71* ''Manhwa/WitchHunter'' [[BigBad North]] is the mastermind who was pulling the strings on many people for her own benefit (most of the time bad, few times good), but the standout example is probably [[TheProtagonist Tasha Godspell]]. [[spoiler: (Hint: [[MacGuffinSuperPerson Reincarnation]])]].
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
75* ''Literature/TheBible'': '''THE''' Ultimate Manipulative Bastard Himself: {{Satan}}. His modus operandi is to tempt humanity and make them fall to their own worst sins. He had been doing this since Adam and Eve were created... [[ForbiddenFruit and it was effective the first time]], damning humanity to death and {{Hell}}. He will also target vulnerable, sinful or malicious people, [[DealWithTheDevil offering immense temporal power in exchange for their soul]]. It will only take someone with a lot of HeroicWillpower, like [[MessianicArchetype Jesus]], to resist him, his offers and his psychological manipulations.
76* ''Literature/BookOfEsther'': Haman the Agagite exploits his position as the Emperor's [[EvilChancellor vizier]] to obtain power, and to convince the latter to permit him to perpetrate genocide against Persian Jewry.
77* ''Literature/BookOfGenesis'': Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, deceived her oldest son Esau into giving up his birthright for a meal to Jacob, his younger brother.
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
81* Former Wrestling/{{ECW}} president and SmugSnake extraordinaire Wrestling/PaulHeyman fits this troop to a tee. He stole most of his ideas from other promoters like [[Wrestling/EdFarhat The Sheik]], Joel Goodhart, and Atsushi Onita, and was not only able to convince his fans that they were his ideas, but that anyone else who used them was stealing from him. He was also able to convince them that they were watching only high quality wrestling, and that the WWF and Wrestling/{{WCW}} wrestlers were crap, while he made stars out of people like [[Wrestling/{{TPE}} the Public Enemy]] and [[Wrestling/AlPoling 911]]. Then there is the way he treated his wrestlers, which made them loyal to him despite the fact he had not paid them for the last six months. Even though most people that worked for him realize what a bastard he was in retrospect, he still has a strong CreatorWorship following today despite his all his failures in the industry.
82** It was said of him in the DVD (''Rise and Fall of ECW'') that Paul always lied to the wrestlers, but he'd never lie to the fans.
83* Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s commentators don't refer to Wrestling/TripleH as "The Cerebral Assassin" for nothing.
84* Wrestling/{{Raven}}, especially during his first ECW run and his WCW run, is another prime example just for his ability to gain loyal follower after loyal follower. The man got [[Wrestling/JimFullington The Sandman]]'s ''own wife and son'' to turn against him, for god's sake.
85* There's a good reason Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} is known as the "Master Manipulator".
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Roleplay]]
89* ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'':
90** As a budding politician, Devin's spent years having to interpret people's true intentions, and as a result he's become a sweet talker who uses his words to deal with sticky situations.
91** Melissa realises that Daigo is gaga for her, and uses his feelings to manipulate him and his gang as she sees fit. She shows the same manipulative tactics when she convinces the Dark Dragon to attack civilians as part of her own plot, and when she attempts to sweettalk Irene into working together with her.
92* Ladies and gentlemen, ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'''s Aaron Hughes. This is a guy who, instead of killing an attacker, lets his ally get killed by said attacker, and goes back to his other allies portraying the poor victim as dying in a HeroicSacrifice in an attempt to encourage them to get revenge on the murderer. Yikes.
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
96* Chaos in general in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' is very good at this, and the god Tzeentch in particular. The C'tan, who tricked the entire Necrontyr race into letting them eat their LifeEnergy, deserve a mention too.
97** On the subject of Tzeentch, it is said that it has so many plans working in unison manipulating so many people and events that they effectively cancel each other out. Foiling one plan will cause a dozen more plans to initiate, which will in turn foil several dozen ''more'' plans... and so on and so forth.
98*** Essentially, no matter what you do, you're furthering one or more plans of Tzeentch. I'm straining to remember the title, but one short story had a fairly prominent sorcerer engaged in a pitched battle: the forces of Chaos had far greater numbers and armaments, but the defenders were well dug in and supplied. The battle took months, and in the end a last-ditch effort on the part of the Imperials routed the remnants of his army and caused him to flee. The sorcerer feared for his life and soul, but on the first night had a vision from Tzeentch ''congratulating him on accomplishing just what he was supposed to do''.
99*** Part of the reason why Tzeentch is seldom the first guy who comes to mind in the Warhammer setting is that none of the writers either in fiction or rules really knows how to show Tzeentch succeeding. Almost all the fiction is from a human Imperial viewpoint, which means they have to win, and so when Tzeentch crops up they tend to bust up one of his plans for reals, or at least genuinely setting him back because otherwise they may as well not have bothered. Tzeentch has never really gotten a chance to win or even be progressing and is always foiled by suitably clever and heroic imperials, which is somewhat contrary to his web of intrigue that has everything plotted out for every eventuality.
100*** The real question is exactly what Tzeentch's designs might be. Out of all the Chaos gods he is the least AlwaysChaoticEvil and could be attempting to achieve... well ... anything in the long term. If anything, since conspiring in general is praise to Tzeentch, he could be slurping power out of all the bickering and politicking in the Imperium with eventual plan to re-introduce magic into their ranks, participating in wars and invasions to provoke further in-fighting in the Imperium. We just don't know, no-one has ever really tried to tell us, and that's why Tzeentch SHOULD be a manipulative bastard but tends to more feel like a very clever scooby-doo villain with no specific motivations that the bad guys can stop.
101*** Tzeentch has plans, but he inherently has no agenda. Tzeentch, along with the other Chaos gods, is a psychic manifestation. He is the manifestation of plotting and change. He becomes more powerful simply by the existence of plots and change, not by them achieving any sort of actual objective. If Tzeentch ever definitively "won," he would cease to exist because there would be no one to plot against.
102*** More recent editions have tried to justify Tzeentch's inscrutability by explaining that Tzeentch has no specific end goal, and rather his scheming is done purely for its own sake; in the cosmic scheme of things, Tzeentch is the ultimate pot-stirrer, with no specific ambitions beyond trying to cause whatever disruption in the Status Quo that he feels like. Individual minions may have their own end-goals, but Tzeentch himself simply does everything ForTheLulz, and thus any confrontation against Tzeentch is inherently [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose rigged in his favor]]; no matter what you do, whether you succeed or not, you've made something change, and through that you have served the God of Change.
103** Just ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
104*** Asdrubael Vect. Started out as a slave, got into what was at the time a minor Dark Eldar kabal, manipulated and backstabbed thousands of allies (including a particular [[DarkActionGirl Aurelia Malys]], [[WomanScorned who survived the backstabbing and is now currently gunning for him]]), eventually set up and executed a huge XanatosGambit which resulted in the destruction of every noble house and kabal leader in the Dark City, and is now the head of the Black Heart kabal and ''de facto'' leader of the entire Dark Eldar race. AllAccordingToPlan.
105*** Eldar in general. They're willing to do whatever it takes to preserve their DyingRace, and if that means manipulating millions of non-Eldar to their deaths to save one Eldar, then so be it. Farseers have the added edge of precognition to make manipulation easier.
106*** The Eldar Laughing God Cegorach. He's probably the only being who can play any of the above (except Tzeentch since Tzeentch has no real goals) like fiddles.
107*** Erebus of the Word Bearers managed to bring about the Horus Heresy with a few carefully timed manipulations. First, he teamed up with Lorgar's mentor Kor Phaeron to lead Lorgar to the Chaos gods. Then he followed up by executing a convoluted scheme to get Horus sworn to darkness. Unfortunately for him, he has trouble when the pieces in his plans act for themselves, leading to him [[TearOffYourFace getting his face peeled off]] by Horus (non-fatal, but certainly not fun).
108** Just ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'':
109*** The [[RatMen Skaven]] are an entire AlwaysChaoticEvil race of aspiring manipulators. Whether or not any Skaven attain this goal ... ''varies'' to say the least. Each one is almost constantly scheming against other Skaven, and they are pretty much so good at manipulating people that their society barely functions due to everyone backstabbing each other.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Theater]]
113* John Wilkes Booth in ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}''. After killing Lincoln, he goes on to encourage Zangara to shoot FDR. And later on, he uses all sorts of [[BreakingSpeech emotional manipulation]] to convince Lee Harvey Oswald to kill JFK. In a show where the audience is made to sympathize with almost every assassin (or would-be assassin), Booth is the closest thing to a full-out [[BigBad Big Bad]].
114* Very much dependent on the actor (especially in how much, if any, joy they take in the process), but Death from ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'' can be this. He spends the show scheming to get Sisi to commit suicide (i.e. choosing him), including manipulating her son Rudolf to [[spoiler: kill himself after a failed rebellion effort that Death encouraged him to participate in.]] so that Sisi would be driven further into depression. [[spoiler: It worked. Sisi accepted her death by ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice without questioning.]]
115* The Black Knight in Middleton's ''A Game at Chess'' -- a caricature of the Spanish ambassador Count Gondomar (who then had the play closed.) When told "Your plot's discovered", he exults "Which of the twenty thousand and nine hundred/Fourscore and five, can'st tell?"
116* Mayor Hector in ''Theatre/TheGoldenApple''.
117* ''Theatre/HeddaGabler''. While Hedda has been portrayed as a hero, tragic hero, victim, villain, feminist, basket case, [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes square dance caller]], and [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers two hard-boiled eggs]], one factor remains consistent from interpretation to interpretation: she is a Manipulative Bastard, particularly in an insanely ingenious "conversation" with Thea Elvsted. Judge Brack is certainly one of these as well, a sociable rival of sorts engaged with her in [[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} a constant battle of passive-assertive one-upmanship]], leading to a bizarre, diluted [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine Kis]][[AffablyEvil me]][[FauxAffablyEvil sis]][[SlapSlapKiss si]][[FriendlyEnemy tude]].
118* ''Theatre/HellBentFerHeaven'', which won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize for 1924, cribs liberally from Othello, with Rufe being a manipulative schemer just like Iago. Like Iago, he is manaically jealous, in this play over a woman. Rufe attempts to re-start an old FeudingFamilies war in order to get Andy to kill Sid, Rufe's rival for the affections of Andy's sister Jude. He does this in classic Iago style by whispering into Andy's ear in order to convince him that Sid's family is out to get him.
119* Surprisingly for a character most well-known for being a LargeHam InsufferableGenius constantly looking to prove himself that usually tends to annoy other people, Alexander Hamilton in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' demonstrates that he also knows how to play the political game in getting his plan to pool the various Revolutionary War-era debts among the states (chiefly the northern ones) into a single National Bank of the nascent United States. The plan was strongly opposed by the southern states, personified by Thomas Jefferson in "Cabinet Battle #1" because "if New York is in debt, why should Virginia pay for it?" Later in "The Room Where It Happens" Hamilton adopts an uncharacteristically quiet and laconic tone as he meets with Jefferson and James Madison in a dinner where they come up with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1790 Compromise of 1790]], where the southern congressmen agree to support the creation of the National Bank for a quid pro quo of moving the US capital to the South in what is now UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC. As Aaron Burr (acting as the narrator in this scene) points out (and true to RealLife), the only account we have of this meeting is from Jefferson which tends to aggrandize his own role and depict his rival Hamilton as meek and desperate in getting the debt plan passed, but the end result is still that it got passed and implemented, which Burr, with his view as the outside observer, realizes that it was Hamilton who played Jefferson by stoking the latter's ego to make the deal palatable. Hamilton spells out to Burr and the audience that this means the country's financial system, and the banks in New York that largely drive it, are now secured with a National Bank backing them up, saying this with a smirk on his face.
120* J. Pierrepont Finch, protagonist of the musical ''Theatre/HowToSucceedInBusinessWithoutReallyTrying''.
121* Iago, from Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', is the absolute definition of a Manipulative Bastard and the inspiration for many other entries on this list.
122** Shakespeare was using a traditional Christian theatre character called a Vice, who was always scheming and bragging to the audience. (Obviously it was a coveted role.)
123** If we're including Shakespearean Manipulative Bastards, then we also need to include Theatre/RichardIII.
124** In Shakespeare's ''Theatre/KingLear'', the appropriately-named villain Edmund The Bastard gets his brother disowned and banished by framing him for an attempt to kill their father Gloucester, then arranges for Gloucester to be disowned and banished after having his eyes gouged out; he does this all for political gains. After Edmund becomes Earl, he seduces two different women with promises of being queen, even though they are both sisters, and already married. He also secretly arranges for their father to be killed, and another sister as well, to solidify his claim to the throne.
125** Lady Theatre/{{Macbeth}}.
126* Tonio in ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' is a particularly nasty case. After he fails to force himself onto Nedda, he begins pulling the strings of everyone around him, starting by arranging for Nedda's husband Canio to learn about her affair. By the end, two people are dead and Canio's life is ruined -- and [[KarmaHoudini Tonio gets everything he wanted without so much as a blemish]]. Many performances even have him slip Canio a knife at the right moment.
127* [[BastardBastard Hagen]] in ''Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen'', who manipulates his siblings, Siegfried and Brunnhilda. This leads to [[WomanScorned Brunnhilda]] telling him how to kill Siegfried which will enable him to take the RingOfPower. By the end he loses the pretence, killing his brother [[CainAndAbel Gunther]] to get the ring and trying to snatch the ring from the Rhinemaidens, getting him drowned.
128* Female example (her title ought to be Bloody Wonder): Nellie Lovett, from ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''. Not only does she fuel Sweeney's rage to her own financial gain, she conveniently leads him to believe [[spoiler:his wife is dead]], [[DieForOurShip just to get him for herself]].
129* Archie, who you would think would be ''Theatre/{{Thirteen}}'''s MoralityPet, is a more sympathetic version of this. He uses his Muscular Dystrophy to guilt people (mainly adults, as he is not one of the cool kids) to get what he wants. This is actually used as a ChekhovsGun when he uses his disease to guilt Mrs. Goldman into buying tickets to an R-rated movie.
130* ''Theatre/ThrillMe'': Richard spends the whole show playing on Nathan's love for him to get him to be his accomplice. [[spoiler:And it turns out that Nathan was fully aware of this and had planned ahead, effectively manipulating ''him''. When Richard realizes he's been had, all he can say is this:]]
131-->''"...You son of a bitch."''
132* Madame Morrible in ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''. The Wizard as well, but to a lesser degree, as he's too deluded and manipulated himself.
133[[/folder]]
134
135[[folder:Toys]]
136* Roodaka from ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'', with shades of TheVamp and TheStarscream.
137** Teridax is the Ace of this, [[spoiler:as he was able send Mata-Nui in another world, and take over his body, making a god.]]
138[[/folder]]
139
140[[folder:Visual Novels]]
141* The ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games have [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] from ''Justice For All'' and [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] from ''Trials and Tribulations''.
142** [[spoiler:Damon Gant]]. Not quite as manipulative as the above, but still a master at playing everyone around him.
143** [[spoiler:Kristoph Gavin]] is another good one, having befriended [[spoiler:Vera Misham]] solely to cover his tracks after [[spoiler:using her talents to forge evidence.]]
144** None of them hold a candle to [[spoiler: Morgan Fey]], whose machinations span two games. The second time, she even manipulates her ''eight-year-old'' daughter into becoming an UnwittingPawn.
145** From Investigations 2, [[spoiler:Souta Sarushiro]], whose plans revolved around people manipulation, [[spoiler: including Edgeworth.]] His plan [[spoiler:[[TheBadGuyWins went off without a hitch]] up until the final moment.]]
146* In ''VisualNovel/{{Demonheart}}'', Raze the demonspawn tries to manipulate the main character the entire time. Speaking inside her head, he tries to turn her against every other character in the game, and [[spoiler:he lies about his real identity]]. Whether or not she falls for it is up to the player.
147* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'':
148** Kirei Kotomine. He isn't even revealed as a bad guy despite his rather openly villainous attitude until late in each path, just as a jerk who likes messing with Shirou.
149** Even worse, Zouken Matou. He doesn't pretend to be a good/neutral guy or even bother masking the fact that he's a vicious and creepy old man.
150* Shizune of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo''. She's not the master manipulator Hisao thinks she is (probably...), but she is very cunning, her favorite game is Risk, and she has a lackey in Misha (well, a [[TheDitz ditzy]] lackey with no volume control, but still.) Misha says late in Shizune's route that while she often manipulates people, some of those instances are unintentional.
151* ''VisualNovel/ALittleLilyPrincess'':
152** Lottie is one in the making, as she has already figured out that throwing tantrums over not having a mother will get her attention and what to tell people to get gifts. At some point, she admits to having ''pretended'' to having been more convinced of having seen something scary in her room than she actually was just so she could have Sara reassure her.
153** After Sara becomes a servant, several events involving Lavinia, both inside and outside her route, consist of her either implictly or explicitly going out of her way to make Sara's life harder than in already is. This includes such things of complaining to Miss Minchin about invented incidents, sabotaging Sara's work or attempts to make her trade Emily for something else.
154** Sara is accused of being one by Miss Minchin in both Ermengarde and Lottie's routes. In both cases, an initiative to help Sara after she has hit RichesToRags that is entirely on the other girl's part is assumed to have been started by Sara herself, with the other girl being dragged into it.
155* ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'': Naoe Yamato is definitely one but he is also still a NiceGuy for the most part.
156* In ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'', Bethany, in the true sociopathic style, can charm and deceive lots of people in order to get her way.
157* ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative'''s Kouzuki Yuuko will do anything to ensure humanity's survival against the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts BETA]]. ''Anything''. [[spoiler:This includes surreptitiously releasing captured specimens on her own base to rattle the troops, not telling Takeru of the dire consequences of his going back to a branch of ''Extra'', in general manipulating the members of the cast, the Americans, and the rest of the UN to ensure the success of Alternative IV. Even her ''other self'' is shocked at the depths to which she can stoop so low should the circumstances be present.]]
158* ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateNinjaShadow'' has Tsubaki Kusunoki, a BadassBookworm with quite the way around words and lots of charisma, who wants to make gain strong allies for his ambitious plan to [[spoiler: overthrow the corrupt Tokugawa Shogunate]]. And to get this, he will do his best to either set the PlayerCharacter as his link to the Vigilantes [[spoiler: via [[HoneyTrap making her fall for him]] ]] or [[spoiler: try to bribe one of the Shogun's best warriors by using [[MacGuffin an item]] that he [[HealthcareMotivation desperately needs]]]], depending on the route.
159* Seiji the {{Yakuza}} heir from ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' is so efficient at exploiting people's weaknesses that it's said he even has high-ranking politicians and police in his pocket, despite still being in high school.
160[[/folder]]
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162[[folder:Web Original]]
163* While [[spoiler: Lear Dunham]], the BigBad of ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'' is the consummate {{Chessmaster}}, it is his [[TheDragon Dragon]] / [[spoiler: son, Gabriel]], who is fits this trope better; [[spoiler: he is easily able to earn Shandala's trust, play on Tui's jealousy like a drum, and keep the suspicious heroes calm long enough for the effects of his paralysis-inducing wine to kick in.]]
164* ''WebVideo/{{Dad}}'': PlayedWith. It seemed clear Cheryl was up to something, ensuring Dad keeps eating the FOOD that seemingly keeps him in the script of a man desperately unhappy with his marriage and unable to stop it from disintegrating. However, later videos showed her being controlled by outside forces as well, leading to the question of who is ''really'' in charge. [[spoiler:"Dad Elucidated" then reveals she really ''was'' in control.]]
165* While ComicBook/TheJoker is this in canon, ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' has him use this combined with WheresTheFunInThat to score a victory against [[VideoGame/TwistedMetal Needles Kane]]. By the time he does it, Needles had him at his mercy, with the Clown Prince of Crime impaled on rebar while Needles was in his [[TransformingMecha Sweet Bot]] only for Joker to play to Needles' psychopathy in order to convince him to exit the Sweet Bot and kill him personally, allowing Joker to hit Needles with his [[DieLaughing Joker Venom]].
166* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': [[EvilMentor Melinda]] used Melissa's thirst for knowledge and her need for companionship so she would become her apprentice.
167* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Her mind-controlling music aside, Stephanie uses Killdra's love for music to trick her into singing a duet with her and amplifying her power.
168* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmJEHibsURw Hiiragi]] is a heroic example, he tricks Akamatsu and Azami into selling their assets then abandons them with their money afterwards because he knew that they only want to adopt him so they can turn him into their money tree.
169* While not as extreme as some other examples, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick is pretty good at this. The best example is WebVideo/{{Kickassia}}, where she pretended to be sweet and nice to get her way, and then there's "Linking Up With Linkara" (along with WebVideo/MarzGurl) where they made Linkara think they had an epic, once-in-a-lifetime threesome.
170* Gaea from ''Series/{{Noob}}'' makes good use of her PuppyDogEyes to avoid contributing to her guild's fund, can do nasty blackmailing when she has the material for it and seems qui proeficient in the ConMan domain. Her plan involves accumulating all the in-game currency she can (''Film/NoobLeConseilDesTroisFactions'' reveals it was for bigger purpose all along). Cumulative info from media has her use PuppyDogEyes and general charisma in the webseries and comic, the novels indicate that she tends to make speed psychological profiling of people she speaks with, is frequently [[ConMan scamming people]] and has to do a little of the lying thing to cover it all up. A few lines spoken by other characters in Season 5 however hint that after four years of her playing ''Horizon'', "everyone knows that she's an opportunist".
171* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
172** ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheBloodGulchChronicles The Blood Gulch Chronicles]]'':
173*** Vic, the MissionControl for the Blues [[spoiler:[[RunningBothSides and Reds]]]], is this. [[spoiler:Since his job is to keep the simulation training running as long as possible, he often manipulates the two teams into doing what he needs them to do]].
174*** Fitting his [[CombatPragmatist pragmatic nature]], Agent Wyoming seems to specialize in manipulating others, such as when he manipulates the aliens. Rather fittingly, the A.I. he was paired with in Project Freelancer was Gamma, [[spoiler:the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Alpha's deceit]].
175*** Speaking of whom, Gamma, aka Gary, is most definitely this, [[spoiler:given that he's the personification of Alpha's deceit]].
176** ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheProjectFreelancerSaga The Project Freelancer Saga]]'':
177*** As this arc reveals, a major part of Aiden Price's job as the Counselor of Project Freelancer was manipulating the freelancers into following orders.
178*** Sigma, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Alpha's [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]], is this, [[spoiler:shown in both his and Gamma's ColdBloodedTorture of Alpha, as well as his [[TheCorruptor corruption]] of Agent Maine into the Meta]].
179** In ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy The Chorus Trilogy]]'', [[spoiler:Felix is revealed to be this once [[EvilAllAlong his true colors are revealed]]. Not only does he manipulate the New Republic and the Reds and Blues into escalating the Chorus CivilWar, he even manipulates Locus, ''his own partner'', by exploiting his PTSD to keep him under his control]].
180** While [[spoiler:Butch Flowers was initially portrayed as a NiceGuy and AFatherToHisMen]], [[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueSeason14 Season 14]]'s prequel episodes would reveal [[spoiler:he's actually a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] manipulator who will string people along and then [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness dispose of them once they're no longer needed]]]].
181** ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheShisnoTrilogy The Shisno Trilogy]]'':
182*** In Season 15, [[spoiler:Temple successfully manipulates Tucker into becoming suspicious of Dylan's motives, and also convinces Sarge to temporarily turn against the Reds and Blues]].
183*** Chrovos is this during ''The Shisno Paradox'', flawlessly manipulating Donut into working towards breaking him free of his prison.
184* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''
185** [[BigBad Salem]] is very skilled at manipulating other individuals, including the gods, whom she realized were fallible; she manipulates the rulers of the ancient kingdoms into believing that she stole immortality from the gods. [[spoiler:She later manipulated [[BigGood Ozma]] into attempting to fulfill his [[TheChosenOne divine mission]] by [[GodGuise posing as gods]] to unite humanity in harmony; by the time he saw through it, it was too late to avert tragedy. In the present day, she has deceived most of her followers into believing she was creating new world order through capturing and using the divine Relics that the God of Light created to help Ozma fulfill his mission; in reality, she's trying to turn humanity against itself so that she can summon the gods with the Relics, hoping they will declare humanity irredeemable and destroy Remnant, [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum ending her immortal curse]] in the process.]]
186** Cinder Fall’s talents extend beyond overwhelming power and into indirect control over other people via a silver tongue. She recruited all of her subordinates through different methods ranging from promising a place to belong (Emerald and Mercury) to straight-up threats (Torchwick and Adam). Cinder uses her oratory skills to kickstart the Grimm invasion of Vale by waiting until the right moment to broadcast a speech to the people calculated to shatter their trust in the authorities that protect them. Upon mastering the full power of the Fall Maiden, Cinder abandons this skill in favor of brute force to her own detriment, [[spoiler: which Watts calls her out on in Atlas. She picks it up again, convincing Neo and Watts that she's working for their benefit as much as hers, before throwing them under the bus to return to Salem's side with two Relics in tow.]]
187** Adam Taurus has this skill of manipulation to further his own agenda, he emotionally manipulates Blake into believing that he killed a human by accident and staying by his side after her parents left the White Fang. [[spoiler:During his last battle with Blake and Yang, the latter asked if Blake made a promise to him or the person he was pretending to be, implying he manipulated her all her life during their time in the White Fang.]]
188** In addition to manipulating technology, Arthur Watts also is skilled at manipulating people. He frames Penny for a massacre he engineers with Tyrian's assistance, leaving Mantle mistrustful of Atlas even after it's proven Penny didn't do it. He also entices Jacques with advice on how to get the upper hand in his conflict with Ironwood, resulting in Jacques firing all "non-essential" personnel, blaming Ironwood's embargo and telling to elect him a councilman if they want the embargo to end and their jobs restored. The news incites riots throughout Mantle, inflaming the division between Mantle and Atlas that the villains are seeking. [[spoiler:He rigs the election to ensure Jacques wins in return for Jacques' login credentials. Upon elevation to the Council, his upgraded security access gives Watts full access to Atlas' most sensitive systems, allowing him to shut down Mantle's heating grid and lock Atlas out of its own network. The panic and negativity this causes in Mantle's population, triggers a full-scale Grimm invasion.]]
189** The Curious Cat from Volume 9 is believed to be one [[spoiler: by Jaune because he believes it's a manipulative being that brainwashes and controls Afterans to accept DeathOfPersonality by portraying it as "healing" those who are lost or bereft of purpose. Thus, it presents itself as a friendly figure that is curious to learn new things while manipulating the individual into voluntarily giving themselves up to the Tree to nourish it. His instincts are not entirely wrong when it's revealed that the Cat was deliberately manipulating Ruby from the beginning to try and break her down until she became bereft of purpose. Once her soul was "empty", the Cat planned to possess her in order to travel to Remnant in the hopes of learning why their makers abandoned the Ever After in favour of creating Remnant. When Neo's vengeance prevents the Cat from possessing Ruby's body, they realise Neo's hollow victory has left her so empty that she's even more suitable as a vessel, and it possesses her instead.]]
190* Stephen Reyes from ''Literature/ShadowUnit''. ''With knobs on''. Just ask Chaz.
191* In ''WebVideo/StupidMarioBrothers'' Season Four, Professor Oak willingly tricks Gary and Brock into doing several mundane tasks for him just so they could find out from him which one of them sucks more. [[spoiler: Oak eventually claims they equally suck for not turning down the tasks. As a result the two fight over which one of them hates each other the most which Oak uses to his advantage once more.]]
192* [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=neighborhood+wars#/d4qmgw6 Toki]] and she can get ANYONE to do her dirty work, oddly, as sort of a subversion, as they don't seem to mind and are aware of what she's doing. [[http://akaichounokoe.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=manipulative+toki#/d4rwgie As per this description:]]
193--->She's not fighting directly rather she's manipulating others to do it for her, in addition to playing dirty. It should be noted and can be properly assumed that she uses manipulation and deception to get what she wants and when she wants it. However, due to the obedience that her friends and the children of the house have that is to her and Doki especially, it is obvious on how she uses them to do her dirty work, nonetheless, don't seem to mind
194** Actually, Toki has standards and wouldn't go too far.
195*** [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=giselle+revenge#/d4j6jyg Giselle]]. During the first story of ''Giselle's Revenge'', one would have to wonder how she would go, even if it meant harming a child.
196* Diane Roehaven, Duchess ''Tremontaine'', is a master of the SherlockScan, flattery, and lies. She often plays TheVamp in private and the sweet-tempered ProperLady in private. She [[spoiler: is actually a former serving maid who murdered and stole the identity of the real Diane; once her husband started cheating on her, she then decided to usurp his position by poisoning him with hallucinogens that drove him insane and exiling him for treatment, then petitioning the Chancellors to take his title in her own right and manipulating them one by one into supporting her.]] She's a VillainWithGoodPublicity -- only a few people have any idea of what she's really like. And, since the series is a prequel, it's a ForegoneConclusion that she'll at least for the most part be a KarmaHoudini. (But boy is she ever a bastard about it.)
197* Sylvester in ''Literature/{{Twig}}'' is constantly examining situations through the lens of how people interact with each other, thinking about why they might be interacting in that way, and considering how to best turn those interactions to his advantage. His favorite strategy in confrontations is to predict what his opponents will do if panicked or spooked, and then panic or spook them using his skills as TheSocialExpert. The story's first person point of view provides a notably in-depth look into the kind of mental effort and ability to rapidly reach conclusions needed to make all this work.
198* Literature/WhateleyUniverse: in "Ayla and the Networks" it's pretty clear that everyone is trying to manipulate at least one other group, but the only one who really wins is Phase. Because he made his moves in previous stories, setting up everything.
199* Jack Slash of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is the leader of the Slaughterhouse Nine specifically because he knows exactly which buttons to push to keep his menagerie of psychopaths in line. He also uses this against heroes and villains, often to recruit them and other times simply to enjoy their suffering. [[spoiler:He actually has a power that allows this with parahumans, letting him know just what to say and how to act around them]].
200* Njal in ''Fanfic/NjalGetsBurned'', who almost always manages to twist the law and get opposing factions of various feuds to agree on a settlement that just happens to be what he wants. [[SpoilerTitle It does catch up with him eventually.]]
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