Staring Down Cthulhu: Difference between revisions

[[File:FlutteryHowDareYou_2433FlutteryHowDareYou 2433.jpg|link=My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|rightframe|...Mercy.]]

{{quote|''"But why--but why should any wish to kill me?" said Mowgli.''<br />

''"Look at me," said Bagheera. And Mowgli looked at him steadily between the eyes. The big panther turned his head away in half a minute.''<br />

''"That is why," he said, shifting his paw on the leaves. "Not even I can look thee between the eyes, and I was born among men, and I love thee, Little Brother. The others they hate thee because their eyes cannot meet thine; because thou art wise; because thou hast pulled out thorns from their feet--because thou art a man."''|Lampshaded in ''[[The Jungle Book (Literaturenovel)|The Jungle Book]]''}}

When a character is faced with a creature that should have him running away or cowering in fear -- orfear—or which could at least finish him off with one bite -- butbite—but instead beats it in an impromptu [[Staring Contest]].

Picture the scenario: [[The Hero]] is cornered by the villain. Forget civility, reason, logic, ''God'', this is serious. The [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can]] is about to be opened on the world, probably in the form of an [[Eldritch Abomination]]. The villain is locking the hero in a [[Cool Gate]] to [[Another Dimension]] with no chance of return. The [[Gladiator Games]] have commenced and it's one unarmed, wounded person against a whole pride of hungry lions. And ''there's nothing anyone can do''. There's no backup, no escape, no [[Big Damn Heroes]]. All is lost, the world is undone, the lions are going to eat good tonight, etc. [[The End of the World Asas We Know It|HE COMES.]]

But... wait. Despite having every reason to do so, [[The Hero]] hasn't turned her head in fear or closed her eyes to [[Face Death Withwith Dignity]]. She just stares straight ahead. And she keeps staring, unaffected, unafraid; at the hungry lions, at the [[Complete Monster]], even at that hideous, inhuman '''''[[Eldritch Abomination|thing]]'''''.

The hero, through sheer [[Badass]], has intimidated something which had an infinitely superior advantage over him. Where the situation goes from here depends. Perhaps the bad guy turns tail and runs away. Maybe the hero's staredown has distracted the villain long enough for [[The Cavalry]] to arrive or the [[Big Damn Heroes]] to show up. Or maybe the villain gets over it and kills the hero after all, but they -- andthey—and the audience -- willaudience—will remember that the hero may have died but [[Defiant to Thethe End|he was never defeated]].

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* [[Teen Genius]] Light Yagami of ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'' stares down Rem, a [[Shinigami|God of Death]]. Subverted in that the Death God is a [[Token Good Teammate|nicer person]] [[Knight Templar|than he is]] and {{spoiler|[[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?|through his manipulations]] he has turned her into an [[Unwitting Pawn]].}}

* ''[[Casanova (Comic Bookcomics)|Casanova]] Quinn'' is forced into a psychic staring contest with a hive mind of evil monks. {{spoiler|Cass wins by having [http://www.4thletter.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/c1p12.jpg a mind full of spiders.] }}

* This is how Mowgli defeats Shere Khan in the live-action ''[[The Jungle Book (Filmfilm)|The Jungle Book]]''. Much is made of him being the one who can stare down the tiger and live.

* The above scene from ''[[The Jungle Book (Literaturenovel)|The Jungle Book]]'' (the ''book''!), quite obviously.

{{quote| '''Bear''': "You're on your own!"<br />

* [[Hercules (Disney1997 film)|Hercules]], when riding CERBERUS to meet Hades in the underworld.

* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'': Fluttershy (pictured above) has subdued a dragon (who was so large each of his eyes was around the same size as her body) and a cockatrice (whose gaze was ''turning her to stone'' as she did so, but who still gave up first) by staring them down and scolding them.

[[Category:LovecraftianCosmic Horror Tropes]]

[[Category:Staring Down Cthulhu{{PAGENAME}}]]