History Main / MoreThanMindControl

Mind control is an effective weapon, but your garden-variety [[{{Brainwashed}} brainwashing]] or hypnosis is too mundane for some viewers, too predictable for some plots, too weak for some [[HeroicWillPower heroes]], and too unambitious for some villains.

To that end, mind control in some cases requires a lot of foreplay, independent of magic influence, on the part of the villain. You can't force someone to reject ThePowerOfFriendship until you pick away at their jealousy and convince them they ''want'' to turn on their friends. You can't erase someone's memories until you talk them through the most painful and convince them they ''want'' to forget everything. You can't [[IControlMyMinionsThrough make someone join you]] without convincing them their current life is worthless and they don't ''want'' to continue with it. It's ''essentially'' mind control, yes, but it's [[TitleDrop MoreThanMindControl.]]

Also, it can overlap directly with actual mind control. In many instances, MoreThanMindControl is simply a method of making the process of the takeover ''easier'', because by removing their resistance to your ideas, you remove the struggle in taking control of their thoughts. By having them ''submit'' to you, they essentially hand their free will over to you, making your spell or device much more effective on them. It also makes it harder for them to revert, because they now have an active resistance towards their own original beliefs.

MoreThanMindControl requires [[TheCharmer charisma]], finesse and a lot of patience, but villains usually don't mind because they find it so much more satisfying. They also get a great deal of amusement out of telling the victim's friends, "[[NotBrainwashed I didn't force him to do anything he didn't want to do]]." It's also more resistant to the powers of [[ThePowerOfFriendship friendship]] and [[ThePowerOfLove love]]. Plus, it's just a lot cooler to watch. Villains don't even necessarily need special powers to do it, if they can goad the hero into doing something they'll regret by pushing the right buttons.

* Bonnie in ''TheVampireDiaries'', briefly. YMMV, but this troper reckons her prejudice toward vampires made it that much easier for [[spoiler:Esther to sleepwalk her into feeding Alaric to complete his transformation into a vampire meant to destroy all vampires.

* In ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'', in the episode "Reckoning Part One", Replicator Sam appears to Daniel as Oma Desala to make the process of mining his subconscious easier for her. She convinces him, using the disguise, that he has the information he wants in his subconscious, and he unwittingly opens it for her.

* Kirakishou from ''Manga/RozenMaiden'', most notable in the 2013 anime. [[spoiler:She starts sending texts to Unwin!Jun, making them look like if they were from his younger self, so he could make a new doll using his desire to change the world. Since he knows that Shinku will have to leave his world in a week to return to his younger self, and he'll be left behind in a world he sees with JadeColoredGlasses, so when Kirakishou's sweet offer comes, he doesn't consideres it could be a trap (because Shinku told him the world can't be changed), he just does because he ''wants'' to change the world.]]

To that end, mind control in some cases requires a lot of foreplay, independent of magic influence, on the part of the villain. You can't force someone to reject ThePowerOfFriendship until you pick away at their jealousy and convince them they ''want'' to turn on their friends. You can't erase someone's memories until you talk them through the most painful and convince them they ''want'' to forget everything. You can't [[IControlMyMinionsThrough make someone join you]] without convincing them their current life is worthless and they don't ''want'' to continue with it. It's ''essentially'' mind control, yes, but it's MoreThanMindControl.

* [[spoiler: O'Brien]] in Literature/NineteenEightyFour uses torture to make people believe that they love BigBrother, though it may have been subverted depending on what the ending paragraph was trying to portray.

* Series/BurnNotice lives off this trope, Michel and his friends end up on both sides of it, convincing people to act against their own interests and make it seem reasonable and get convinced to act against their own interests.

* Towards the end of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights: Hordes of the Underdark'', the BigBad [[spoiler:[[MagnificentBastard Mephistopheles]]]] does this to [[spoiler:all your party members]] with short but well-prepared [[HannibalLecture Hannibal Lectures]], prompting a FaceHeelTurn from each just before the final battle. You may persuade each one back by being more convincing than he, but depending on the circumstances and your abilities, it may be impossible. This is [[spoiler:an archdevil]] we're talking about here, after all. Deekin is a notable exception, he doesn't require a roll or special skills to stay with you, just an assurance that you're his friend. Aww...
** Morag does this to Aribeth in the original campaign by throwing all of her doubts and fears back at her in incessant nightmares until she finally falls under the lizardperson's full mental domination.

* [[spoiler:Sovereign]] from ''MassEffect'' slowly does this to [[spoiler:whoever comes close to him]]. And considering that [[spoiler:he's a [[SapientShip massive ship]]...]]
** Not just [[spoiler:Sovereign]], but [[spoiler:all the [[EldritchAbomination Rea]][[AbusivePrecursors pers]]]] are capable of indoctrination, even when inactive. It's one of the things that makes them so terrifying.
** It's also stated that it's an absolutely horrible experience as the [[FateWorseThanDeath person can feel his/her free]] [[AndIMustScream will slowly being destroyed during the process.]]

*** Even more frightening is the realization that [[spoiler: also [[PlayingThePlayer the player gets indoctrinated]] if he does not choose to destroy the Reapers at the end.]]

* The Horcrux locket in ''HarryPotter [[HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows and the Deathly Hallows]]'' did this, to Ron in particular. When wearing it, it basically turns people depressed and messes with their heads a bit, eventually causing Ron to [[spoiler:leave Harry and Hermione for a while]]. Just before [[spoiler:Ron destroyed it]], the locket tries to do this again to Ron via HannibalLecture.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall Z'', Babidi controls his minions by finding the evil in the person's heart. He did this to Vegeta, who actually refused his orders and wished to fight Goku, as he's the [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou only one allowed to defeat him, in his mind]]. He later revealed ''he'' was [[UnwittingPawn using Babidi]] as he felt he needed to be reminded [[EvilFeelsGood how good evil feels]] in order to gain more power.

*** For that matter, [[spoiler:Golbez himself is also under More then Mind Control by Zemus. Basically his own self-loathing was taken advantage of and then expressed toward the rest of those of the Blue Planet.]]

[[TheDarkSide Magic forces may be at work]], but it's really the trickery, lies, and despair that are thrown in that successfully break the victim's spirit. Instead of the villain forcing a victim to do something against their will, the villain ''changes'' the victim's will.

* In [[FanFic/{{Luminosity}} Radiance]], Chelsea is able to mess with people's relationships to others, including [[NightmareFuel completely destroying them]], but she can't create new relationships from nowhere. When Elspeth comes along and gets duly mindraped, she is able to help Chelsea by conversing with some of the Volturi's prisoners and creating the seed of a relationship, which Chelsea can then exploit.

** Not just [[spoiler:Sovereign]], but [[spoiler:all the [[EldritchAbomination Rea]][[AbusivePrecursors pers]]]] are capable of indoctrination, even when inactive. It's one of the things that makes them so [[NightmareFuel terrifying]].

* In ''PennyAndAggie'', one of the antagonists, [[spoiler:Cyndi]], successfully performs this on [[spoiler:{{Heel Face Turn}}ed [[AbusiveParents victim]] Charlotte]], quite effectively - [[TalkingYourWayOut while restrained and seconds away from being murdered]]. It goes like this: starting with about [[http://www.pennyandaggie.com/index.php?p=1068 here]], [[spoiler:Charlotte decides to end [[ManipulativeBastard Cyndi]]'s interference with the protagonists' lives... [[MoralDilemma with]] [[AntiHero drastic]] [[KillHimAlready measures]]. Cyndi, tied up and held hostage, responds angrily to Charlotte, at first believing that [[YouWouldntShootMe Charlotte would never actually attack her.]] After being [[OhCrap proven]] [[PistolWhipping wrong]], Cyndi attempts to explain that she [[SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness isn't quite]] [[SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat that bad]], though admittedly a bit of a [[RichBitch Bitch]]. Even to the readers, she comes across as more of a JerkassWoobie than the villain she's been perceived as for the rest of the series, and you end up hoping she can [[TalkingYourWayOut talk Charlotte down]] from committing murder - she even seems to counsel Charlotte on dealing with properly directing her bottled-up anger [[TheNotSecret due to her abuse]]... [[MoralEventHorizon THEN]] she suggests [[TheFundamentalist Charlotte]] take a leaf from the Bible's pages to figure out [[TheAtoner how to atone for]] the hurtful things she's done before. [[GenreSavvy To the readers]], [[OhCrap her tone]] [[CompellingVoice visibly changes]]. At first, [[DrivenToSuicide it doesn't look good for Charlotte]]. Don't worry, though, she [[BungledSuicide DOES]] get [[UnexplainedRecovery better]], and Cyndi DOES get [[SecretDiary found out]] before she can do any more harm.]]

* This is done in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/41146/Twilight%2C-Revised Twilight, Revised]] by Nightmare Moon to Twilight Sparkle, gaining her cooperation by [[spoiler: rewriting her memories so that she thinks Nightmare Moon was her mentor and teacher.]] The control doesn't seem to be perfect, though, as the HopeSpot at the end of the chapter implies.

** Grima was basically running Rohan by doing this to Theoden.
** This was also how Sauron brought down Numenor in the "Akallabêth", and Melkor suborned Fëanor in the ''TheSilmarillion''.

* In [TheHalfbloodChronicles ''Elvenborn'']], this is Aelmarkin's favorite pasttime. He picks his favorite concubine, deliberately picked to be easily duped and manipulated, and tricks them into believing that he is eternally kind, loving, and right... and then uses that belief to deliberately destroy their self-esteem and mental faculties, until they're anorexic-bulimics starving and purging themselves in a desperate attempt to be 'beautiful' even as he pretends to be concerned for their well-being and asking them to eat more. If he's feeling particularly generous, when they're near death he'll memory-wipe them and have them retrained as normal concubines again.