Line #43 Main/HighOnHomicide


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7	%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=ju8ngqwd
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9	[[quoteright:317:[[Film/KillBill https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_4966.PNG]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:317:[[BloodSplatteredWarrior Reveling in the blood]] of the [[PaedoHunt pedophile]] {{Yakuza}} [[TheDon boss]] [[YouKilledMyFather who orphaned her]].]]
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12	->''"It was definite now... I had absolutely... killed him. There was no sense of accomplishment, nor one of regret. ''[...]'' Instead, right now... I was feeling like my heart had been stolen by the downpour ''[...]'' and how comfortable it felt."''
13	-->-- '''Keiichi Maebara''', ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', Ch. 3 -- ''Tatarigoroshi''
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15	So you've just killed a person... and it feels ''[[EvilFeelsGood good]]''. Like, ''[[DrunkOnTheDarkSide really]]'' good.
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17	This trope is common both to [[BestServedCold vendettas]] and to {{serial kill\|er}}ings. Vastly different motivations aside, the following euphoric calm can be one and the same. All that bided time, all that anticipation and planning, finally pays off. Now able to admire their work, the killer basks in the moment and takes it all in. If the main motivation was {{Revenge}}, then RevengeIsSweet.
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19	Compare EvilFeelsGood and SmitingEvilFeelsGood, with either of which this may overlap. May lead to ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil if the killer chases this high again. Contrast LaughingMad, which is [[AxCrazy Ax-Crazier]] (though that certainly may follow this trope); {{Bloodlust}} and OrgasmicCombat, where the ecstasy is fairly sexual but not necessarily derived from killing; BloodKnight, where the fight is enjoyed as much as (or more than) the kill; and DissonantSerenity, where the killer is this calm ''during'' the struggle. Not to be confused with TranquilFury, which wouldn't kill a fly but is no less terrifying. Frequently combined with BloodIsTheNewBlack. VengeanceFeelsEmpty is one type of [[InvertedTrope inversion]].
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21	Since the notoriety of more recent real-life killers can deeply affect their victims' loved ones, '''''please'' be cautious when adding Real-Life examples!'''
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23	----
24	!!Examples:
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': Hansel and Gretel, the twin serial killer assassins, were raised from a young age to perform for {{snuff film}}s and have become totally engrossed by the act of brutal murder.
29	* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
30	** While Light Yagami starts off as a KnightTemplar who kills criminals out of an extreme sense of justice, he becomes more corrupt over the course of the story and it becomes increasingly clear he enjoys killing and takes glee in it.
31	** Teru Mikami, Light's hand-picked Hand of Kira, is similar and goes way off the deep end during the warehouse scene toward the end, where he's writing down names with a psychotic fervor and has what can only be memetically described as an ''orgasm'' toward the end.
32	* ''Literature/HeavyObject'': Skuld Silent-Third is a SerialKiller who experiences a near-sexual pleasure in the act of killing. A glimpse in her mind when she's getting ready to murder shows her seeing psychedelic colors.
33	* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' is effectively built around this trope, with many of the bad (and on occasion even the ''good'') Ghouls murdering huge amounts of humans for the fun of it. This is one of the more justified examples, as Ghouls need to eat human flesh to survive, but on rare occasions, it's this trope played straight.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* ''ComicBook/FromHell'' posits this started happening to Jack The Ripper around his third victim. In the footnotes, Creator/AlanMoore added this aspect based on his extensive research into interviews with serial killers.
38	* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'': An eventual revelation of the Shun-Leep School of SupernaturalMartialArts (which is used by various heroes) is that it has a series of forbidden techniques called "The Killing Blows" -- they are so powerful that are a near-OneHitKill TouchOfDeath (and pretty violent, at that), but the side-effect in the user's body is a heroin-like euphoria that is incredibly addictive, which leads people who use the Killing Blows to eventually become hyper-violent BloodKnight types and even the occasional SerialKiller. This plot point overall is a double-barreled ShoutOut to the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' Satsu No Hadou and ''Franchise/StarWars''' Dark Side of the Force (never let it be said that Fred Perry doesn't know how to apply his {{Reference Overdose\|d}}).
39	* ''ComicBook/SinCity'': According to Patrick Henry Roark, Kevin [[{{Confessional}} came to him with guilt]] over murdering and [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalizing]] prostitutes, despite feeling in it "the touch of God Almighty." This led the cardinal to [[SinisterMinister not only cover up his crimes but join him in them as well]].
40	[[/folder]]
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42	[[folder:Fan Works]]
43	* in the Literature/{{Discworld}} of Creator/AAPessimal, mature entrant Assassin Joan Sanderson-Reeves ruefully admits that she inhumed too many people too quickly, finding the thrill of planning her kills, the pleasure of the pursuit and the job satisfaction of the inhumation, were getting to be something of a drug addiction after a while. Mr Mericet, her professional mentor, agrees that this is a subtle hidden danger of being an Assassin, and something we should all guard against as sooner or later, anyone can lose sight of what the profession is actually ''for'', and get careless and overconfident.
44	* The single point of divergence from canon in ''Fanfic/TheKillerRarityverse'' is Rarity discovering this feeling at a very young age. She quickly becomes addicted to the high of murder, setting in motion a lifetime of hurt for her and her family.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48	* O-Ren Ishii during the anime sequence of ''Film/KillBill'' (see image). Satisfied with [[YouKilledMyFather the vengeance she got for her parents]], she tilts her head back and blissfully sucks in a deep breath. When the late Boss Matsumoto's subordinates arrive on the scene, all she can do [[DelayedReaction at first]] is flick her narrowed pupils their way in a look of ''[[DullSurprise Oh, it's you...]]''
49	* In ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', when the eponymous Witch kills [[CrystalDragonJesus the eponymous Lion]], she has a brief expression of clear euphoria on her face, complete with closed eyes. It's unclear whether this is typical for her or if it's just due to this one specific kill, but she definitely takes an excessive amount of good feeling from the act.
50	* ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'': After [[DissonantSerenity calmly brutalizing]] his two new prison guards and [[LawmanBaton billyclubbing]] the one to death, Dr. Lecter closes his eyes and [[AirGuitar waves his hand once more to the tune]] of a [[Music/JohannSebastianBach Bach]] variation. His moment of calm self-indulgence ends as the remaining guard's desperate struggle [[DontCelebrateJustYet calls him back to reality]]. Lecter, nonetheless hardly fazed, picks up the dead guard's pocket knife and [[OminousWalk ambles over to the latter's partner]]:
51	-->'''Dr. Lecter:''' [[IronicEcho Ready when you are, Sgt. Pembry...]]
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53
54	[[folder:Literature]]
55	* ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'': {{Downplayed\|Trope}} when a vampire feeds on a human while they die. It's described as a "wallop" and a "rolling delirium" for the vampire, but not particularly addictive compared to their obsession with blood itself.
56	* ''Literature/VattasWar'': After Kylara Vatta [[ItGetsEasier kills for the first time]] in [[KillingInSelfDefense self-defense]], she discovers that [[SmitingEvilFeelsGood she gets a thrill of victory from doing it]] -- something that recurs throughout the series, and she considers [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil similar to a drug addiction]] she has to [[HeroicWillpower avoid feeding if possible]].
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59	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
60	* ''Series/BlackMirror'': {{Invoked\|Trope}} in the first {{vignette\|Episode}} of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorBlackMuseum Black Museum]]", which features a doctor with a prototype implant that lets him [[ElectronicTelepathy feel the pains of others]] to help him make better diagnoses. While it worked wonderfully, the implant malfunctioned after he was reading somebody as they expired, causing him to start feeling pain as addictive pleasure (which was explicitly compared to a drug). After habituating, he eventually resorted to torturing a guy to death and had the high of his life, and then fell into a coma. In the "present day" of the story, the doctor is still comatose and awaiting trial.
61	* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': One of the discussed reasons why {{Serial Killer}}s continue killing even after they allegedly reached their goal (such as [[VigilanteInjustice misguided vigilante-types]]) is that they achieved a serious adrenaline high when they committed their first murder and will do ''anything'' to get it again, refining their methods or maybe even [[SpreeKiller going on a rampage]], but they never will precisely because they are [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror getting used to killing people]]. One example of said "looking for a high" killer is Norman "The Road Warrior" Hill of the episode "[[Recap/CriminalMindsS4E11Normal Normal]]".
62	* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The title SerialKillerKiller gets a rush out of killing -- one of the few emotions he ever feels -- and [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil likens it to an addiction]], complete with withdrawal symptoms. He's often shown sighing in relief after claiming another victim.
63	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E1E2Spyfall Spyfall]]", [[spoiler:the Master]] admits to the Doctor that he gets a buzz in his chest when killing someone for no reason.
64	* ''Series/{{Forever\|2014}}'': Adam calls Henry after [[spoiler: he's manipulated Henry into killing a mortal for the first time.]] He talks about how it feels, and [[spoiler: interestingly, Henry doesn't deny it….]]
65	-->'''Adam:''' [[spoiler: You just killed a man.]] There's no other rush like it, taking a life. It's thrilling, tell me I'm wrong!
66	* Though Dr. Franchise/HannibalLecter's kills in ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'' more often exemplify DissonantSerenity, some of them -- such as of [[spoiler:his old colleague Dr. Sutcliffe]] -- show him overtaken by tranquility specifically ''after'' his work is done. Then, of course, there's the whole [[ImAHumanitarian cooking-them-for-himself]]-and-[[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies for-unwitting-guests]] bit.
67	* Of the serial killers in ''Series/{{Mindhunter}}'', Edmund Kemper and David Berkowitz describe their actions, and the reliving the events in their fantasies, in very euphoric terms, and both speculate that the then uncaught BTK is similar in that regard. Paul Bateson also talks about his one confirmed murder in similar terms but is careful not to say anything implicating him in the series of death he is suspected of.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
71	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Inverted with Angron and several of the World Eaters marines, who have cerebral implants known as the Butcher's Nails that cause them to feel pain whenever they ''aren't'' killing something.
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73
74	[[folder:Theatre]]
75	* ''Theatre/{{Rope}}'' (and its film adaptation) opens with two elite young Manhattanites, Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan, murdering their classmate as part of their belief that they've committed ThePerfectCrime as a pair of [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinists]] who believe themselves better than others. A few minutes later, Brandon admits that the actual act of killing was euphoric for him. A lot of dialogue between the two is [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar intentionally coded to sound like it could be about gay sex]].
76	--> '''Phillip:''' How did it feel... during it?\
77	'''Brandon:''' I don't remember feeling very much of anything... until his body went limp and I knew it was over. I felt tremendously exhilarated. How did you feel?\
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Video Games]]
81	* The Cyclops Killer of ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'' was unable to produce the hormone oxytocin, which rendered him incapable of feeling positive emotions except through killing. He claimed his first victim at the age of twelve. [[spoiler:When he undergoes a FreakyFridayFlip, he is unable to get the same rush when he murders, so he hunts down the person with his original body, who happens to be the main protagonist Kaname Date. The reason why Date hadn't gone psychotic like the BigBad Saito and is a pretty friendly guy outside of being perverted is because his AI-Ball partner Aiba was giving him oxytocin in his body's defective brain's place so he could form healthy relationships.]]
82	* In ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', Jason claims that he was upset the first time he killed somebody, but that he's [[ItGetsEasier gotten so used to it]] that he's not just no longer bothered -- it actually feels very, very good.
83	* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', [[OutWithABang Ardat-Yakshi]], asari with a rare genetic disorder, are considered dangerous because they experience this trope in a very literal way. Asari reproduce by mentally linking with their partner's nervous system to read their DNA and use it to randomize their own. When an Ardat-Yakshi does this, she causes a brain hemorrhage, with the most extreme cases of the condition causing instant death to their partners. The feedback from doing this causes a narcotic effect that proves extremely addictive, and the ones who turn into serial killers leave behind astronomical body counts in their never-ending quest to experience this high as much as possible.
84	* The {{Roguelike}} ''[[http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=Serial_Killer Serial Killer]]'' features a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin serial killer]] whose homicidal urges have to be fulfilled by emptying the [[SanityMeter bloodlust bar]], lest the player became an OmnicidalManiac.
85	* Rubi Malone in ''VideoGame/{{Wet}}'' occisionally goes into "Rage Mode" by killing an enemy at close enough range to completely cover her face in blood. When this happens, Rubi gives a deranged smile before the level proceeds in a red monochrome filter to symbolize how bloodthirsty she's become. While in Rage Mode, Rubi gains attack speed and damage bonuses and each kill extends Rage Mode.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
89	* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
90	** In the ''Tatarigoroshi'' arc, Keiichi recalls no visceral reaction to [[KnightTemplarBigBrother having finished off Satoko's abusive uncle Teppei]]. He notes instead a sublime comfort [[PartlyCloudyWithAChanceOfDeath beneath the heavy rain]].
91	** [[spoiler:Rena]] experiences a deep fulfillment in ''[[spoiler:Tsumihoroboshi-hen]]'', having killed [[spoiler:the woman who had [[HoneyTrap seduced her father in a "badger game"]]]]. Of course, [[spoiler:Rina/Ritsuko]] was about to kill [[spoiler:''her'']] for [[HeKnowsTooMuch knowing too much]], so it was ''technically'' [[KillingInSelfDefense self-defense]]... though try gauging that from [[spoiler:Rena]]'s [[SmitingEvilFeelsGood reaction]].
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Webcomics]]
95	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': After [[spoiler:Crystal]] is [[CameBackWrong reanimated]] as a pain-riddled [[spoiler:FleshGolem]], she finds that she [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0981.html feels better]] when she's killing somebody. [[spoiler:Haley immediately tosses her into a lava pit to stop her.]]
96	[[/folder]]
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