History Main / ThePowerOfApathy

* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsFriendshipSouls'': Weaponized by Harshwhinny. Her power, The Uncaring, produces a powerful sense of apathy in her targets that leaves them sapped of their willpower, such as their will to fight or defend themselves against attacks, leaving them vulnerable to enemy attacks. [[spoiler: [[HoistByHisOwnPetard It ends working against her when fighting the Fourth Espada.]] While it makes him care less about his ally [[TeethClenchedTeamwork (which he only because of politeness)]] it also makes him more focused and determined to kill all threats while blocking out his deeper emotional turmoil.]]

* In ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', apathy is a source of power for an improved variant of the Killing Curse. Whereas the basic hate-based Avada Kedavra spell can usually be cast only once during a battle, as it is difficult to hate somebody that much, the True Killing Curse only requires you not to care about somebody's life and can be cast without limit.
* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': Marinette discovers that cutting ties with her [[FairWeatherFriend Fair-Weather Friends]] is much easier than she originally believed it would be, as by the time she transfers out of her class, she's completely given up on her classmates.
* ''WebComic/ScarletLady'' defeats Volpina's attempts to take hostages by [[ShootTheHostage not caring if the Akuma kills them]], since she can bring them back via her WorldHealingWave. Even using her crush Adrien as the hostage doesn't faze her, since she thinks she'll either save him for a romantic moment, or bring him back after the fight. [[EvenEvilHasStandards This shocks Volpina]], who hadn't quite realized just how much of a NominalHero Scarlet was before.

* In ''FanFic/UninvitedGuests'', Hitsugaya eventually snaps and takes on a very Zen-like perspective. One of the things this perspective teaches him is that he can rely on the plot to solve all his problems eventually. Since he [[RuleOfDrama has no internal conflicts]] to entertain potential readers with, the plot consequently resolves itself much faster and smoother.

* In the ''Fanfic/FeralnetteAUBigFatBreak'', [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Marinette]] [[StoppedCaring stops caring]] about the civilian side of her life, deciding it's less important than her responsibilities as Ladybug and the Guardian of the Miracle Box. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment in the series involves [[https://bigfatbreak.tumblr.com/post/635907329912700928/ grabbing an akumatizing butterfly]] out of the air and [[BringIt daring Hawkmoth to do it]], declaring that "Every leash has two ends! I just have to pull until I find out where you're holding it!"

* The evil wizard Ommadon from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'' tries to frighten and cow the her by expanding himself to giant size, with multiple hydra-like heads. The protagonist however, is a man of science, who refuses to believe in Ommadon's magics. Instead, he cites principles of physics and biology that refute Ommadon's powers. By remaining TheStoic throughout the contest, he sees the Ommadon expend himself entirely in fruitless bluster and theatrics.

* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsFriendshipSouls'': Weaponized by Harshwhinny. Her power, The Uncaring, produces a powerful sense of apathy in her targets that leaves them sapped of their willpower, such as their will to fight or defend themselves against attacks, leaving them vulnerable to enemy attacks. [[spoiler: [[HoistByHisOwnPetard It ends working against her when fighting the Fourth Espada.]] While it makes him care less about his ally [[TeethClenchedTeamwork (which he only because of politness)]] it also makes him more focused and determined to kill all threats while blocking out his deeper emotional turmoil.]]

Sometimes dispassion is the best motivator.

In fiction, like enthusiasm, the ''lack'' of enthusiasm can be harnessed as a weapon. It takes more than just turning around and trying to pretend your problems don't exist. You have to mean it. Feel your lack of investment in the conflicts around you and declare to yourself and the world "[=I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS!=]"

The Power of Apathy is usually done under cynicism. Just as the form of media the trope manifests in is meant to represent an absurd deconstruction of the monomyth or the genre that it inhabits, The Power of Apathy is meant to be a twisted parody of ThePowerOfLove, ThePowerOfHate, ThePowerOfFriendship and whatever power you can get out of all of the other emotions.

Common applications of The Power of Apathy are usually done in circumstances too immense for a character to realistically overcome. Perhaps the protagonist is facing against TheHorde spanning infinite legions, or a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant]], indestructible {{Kaiju}} parent who just won't let me hang out with my cool new friends cause he is, like, a total b-word! What is the solution? JustIgnoreIt. And not ''just'' ignore it; get on with your life and find something better to do. The armies and the monsters will get frustrated getting your attention and either go home disappointed or the apathy will physically hurt them as a LiteralMetaphor. Because of this, The Power of Apathy is a power usually PlayedForLaughs[[note]]which is often why serious villains will try targeting people at large, or the hero's loved ones, rather than just the hero; ideally he/she ''will'' pay attention this way, unless they're absolutely unfettered enough to stay apathetic [[/note]]. The times it is not is usually to counter those empowered by ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve. Compare SheatheYourSword, which involves winning by deliberate inaction rather than apathy per se, and SafetyInIndifference for characters who are deliberately (and usually unsuccessfully) trying to invoke the trope. They may sing an OdeToApathy while doing it.

* The evil wizard Ommadon from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'' tries to frighten and cow TheHero by expanding himself to giant size, with multiple hydra-like heads. The Hero however, is a man of science, who refuses to believe in Ommadon's magics. Instead, The Hero cites principles of physics and biology that refute Ommadon's powers. By remaining TheStoic throughout the contest, The Hero sees the Villain expend himself entirely in fruitless bluster and theatrics.

* Lumpy Space Prince in the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS6E9ThePrinceWhoWantedEverything The Prince Who Wanted Everything]]" defeats his monster parents through the power of apathy, screaming "[=I DON'T CARE=]" at them through a microphone, reducing them to a lifeless pile of lumps.

* At the end of the ''Comicbook/{{Warrior}} #4'' [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]]/[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] Crossover review, Spoon and Linkara realize that the time and effort they took bashing the titular comic is what was causing the multiverse to collapse and that they must stop caring about it in order to prevent the apocalypse. They reach out to the audience and plead with them to announce that "these comics suck and I don't even care anymore." The spacial rift diminishes and the multiverse is saved, but Spoony, Linkara, and Insano end up turning into Grey Lanterns, the Guardians of Not Giving a Crap, complete with everything becoming black and white. This soon goes away when Insano asks if they want to watch ''[[Wrestling/{{TNA}} TNA Impact]]''.

* Music/{{Eminem}}'s Slim Shady character represents this. He does not give a fuck about anything, and encourages the audience to use him as an EscapistCharacter alter-ego to help ''them'' not give a fuck about anything either. In an interview, when asked about how Not Giving A Fuck connected to his extreme pettiness, sensitivity and tendency towards overreaction, Eminem explained that, to him, Not Giving A Fuck is a concept that encompasses two different things. The first is just not caring about anything, which is not really possible for most people. The second is taking action about what you care about ''while not caring what the judgement or consequences will be'', which is motivating, liberating and inspires people to make positive changes in their lives.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', there's an enemy in the Daily Dungeon called the Apathetic [[LizardFolk Lizardman]]. While it's not a tough opponent for its level, the true danger comes from attacking it in melee, which causes its sheer apathy to spread to the player, making them apathetic and giving a huge reduction to all the player's stats for a good few adventures.