History Main / ASharedSuffering

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', trying the best they can to protect the only little sister they have, Tanjiro and [[spoiler:Gyutaro]] share this base trait despite their drastically different personalities and opposing sides of an ongoing struggle between humans and demons; [[spoiler:Gyutaro]] being the blatantly malicious demon that he is only wasted time to talk to Tanjiro, rather than just kill him when he had the chance, because he was curious about the relationship he had with Nezuko, his demon younger sister; after a tirade of berating comments over Tanjiro being too weak to protect Nezuko in his eyes, [[spoiler:Gyutaro]] actually offered Tanjiro the chance to become a demon, so they could be big brother "buddies"; naturally Tanjiro refuses and their battle resume. The anime even expanded the narrative where Tanjiro sees himself in [[spoiler:Gyutaro]], as a possible bad turn of events where he and Nezuko had become terrible demons only looking out for themselves.

* A blood variant in ''Literature/WarriorCats''. Brambleclaw is the son of [[BigBad Tigerstar]], who terrorized the Clans when he was alive. Because of this, the other cats hate and distrust Brambleclaw; he grows up feeling [[IJustWantToHaveFriends lonely]] and uncomfortable around them. (Brambleclaw had a sister, but she left the Clan to get away from this treatment.) When he finds out that Tigerstar had another son - Hawkfrost - he's overjoyed, and the two strike up a fast friendship because of this trope. However, while they share the same memories of prejudice, they deal with it in different ways: Brambleclaw tries desperately to impress his Clanmates and be the best warrior he can be, while [[spoiler:Hawkfrost tries to overthrow the Clans and make himself deputy.]] Unfortunately, when other cats try to warn Brambleclaw of [[spoiler:Hawkfrost's bloodthirsty ambitions]], he considers it a sign of the same discrimination that he endured, and refuses to listen.

** Sansa and Theon in season 5: [[spoiler:both of them experience horrific abuse under Ramsay, with Theon having been transformed into Reek through the torture Ramsay inflicted on him and Sansa becoming Ramsay's SexSlave and victim of DomesticAbuse after marrying him.]] It gets bad enough that [[spoiler:Sansa and Theon make a run for it.]] When they finally [[spoiler:escape Ramsay,]] both of them embrace each other in relief.

** Futaba Sakura was gaslighted by TheConspiracy into believing that her mother was DrivenToSuicide, and that the reason her mother died was because she resented her. As a result, she became a suicidally depressed shut-in.

** Tianyou Zhao joins [[spoiler:after he is ousted as the boss of the Yokohama Liumang, following a coup de'tat by his right-hand man.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', King seems sympathetic towards [[spoiler:The Collector for this reason. Their races (Titans and Collectors) wiped each other out in the past, leaving both as the sole survivors. Despite The Collector not understanding mortal suffering or fragility, King tries to stay with him and treat him well in the Finale, and by the end shares a heart to heart with him and the rest of the Owl House]].

* In ''Anime/DragonballZ'', Vegeta and Goku are the last of the Saiyans, so Goku asks Krillin to spare Vegeta's life. If Goku could change, so could Veggie, right? [[{{Bowdlerize}} However, this is only true in the English dub;]] [[SpiritedCompetitor in the original, he just wanted to fight him again.]]

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Maki recognizes [[LoveHurts what's going on with]] Iino, before any of the girl's friends or even Iino herself does, because she's in the same position.
* ''Manga/HoshinEngi'': Nataku becomes friendly towards Ko Tensho after hearing that he recently lost his mother. Since Nataku, in spite of his emotionless status, is extremely fond of his mother, he sympathizes with the young Tensho and with time he becomes a surrogate big brother for him.

* In the ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' story ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7205981/7/The-Eyes-of-the-Wolverine The Eyes of the Wolverine]]'', after Jo confided in his soon-to-be love interest Jada that he was put in foster care because his parents were abusive drug dealers, she confesses that her mother walked out on the family after seeing another man. She had previously told Jo that her mother was simply “travelling.”
* A factor in the powerful bond between the [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Heralds of Andraste]], in the ''Fanfic/TwiceUponAnAge'' series, is the fact that they ''are'' the Heralds of Andraste. They each have the Anchor upon their hands and, whether they're willing to be or not, are hailed as representatives of the Maker and His Prophet. It's especially difficult for Mahanon, who is a Dalish elf and doesn't even ''believe'' in the Maker and His Prophet, but at least neither of them has to go through it alone.
* Subverted in ''Fanfic/AForceOfFour''. ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/PowerGirl bonded over their "last survivors" status, but not fully because Kal tried to be a father to Kara, who was an adult woman and didn't want a parental substitute.
* ''[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-122/JohnnySnowball+Buffy+meets+Star+Trek.htm Buffy meets Star Trek]]'' opens with Data being possessed by an ancient demonic spirit that uses him to summon a demon army that sets out to attack Earth and open a Hellmouth in the ''Star Trek'' universe. At the conclusion of the crisis, [[spoiler:Data is left traumatised by what he endured, until Captain Picard helps to remind him that others have gone through similar experiences by reminding Data of his own history with the Borg, assuring Data that they can eventually draw a line between acknowledging the sins they committed while "possessed" and recognising that they literally ''couldn't'' have stopped themselves without help]].
* ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'':
** Every Earth in the multiverse has lost people, and hence all the heroes have lost people they love.
** In a lighter version, ''Tomorrow's Guardians'' has Black Siren and Nebula bonding on how they're each the only sane person on a ship of nutjob idiots.
* Shinji stating he lost his mother when he was a little kid in ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'' is all it takes for Asuka to regard him in a new light.
* In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and her boyfriend Dev-Em have a few conversations about how they are two Kryptonian survivors who don't quite fit in between present-day Earth people.

* ''Fanfic/OfTheDragonOfTheStars'': Akera and Turino first begin to trust one another because they find solidarity in each other. Ketara and Horned Tail establish a bond for a similar reason.
* In ''Fanfic/KaraOfRokyn'''s backstory, Kal and Kara bonded over the fact that they are survivors of an extinction event as well as orphans.
* ''Fanfic/ScarTissue'': Part of the reason that Shinji and Asuka would never, ever, think of leaving each other, no matter how unhealthy their relationship may get, is the deep conviction that no one else in the world can understand their pain.

[[folder:Film]]

* This is essentially the CentralTheme of ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment''. While the members of your party aren't immortal beings with memory problems like the Nameless One, all of them are drawn to him by their respective personal torments, [[spoiler:and many of said torments are ultimately revealed to be offshoots of his own original torment in the first place!]]

** The last thief to join the gang, [[spoiler:Goro Akechi, is the bastard son of [[BigBad the man leading]] TheConspiracy and a prostitute who was shamed into suicide, forcing him to become a ward of the state. He joined the Phantom Thieves as a means to [[TheMole not only destroy them from the inside]], but also part of his own plan for revenge against his father.]]
** In the game's climax, it is revealed that [[spoiler:the suffering the Phantom Thieves suffered was more interconnected than initially thought, as TheConspiracy was ''very'' far-reaching. The drunkard that had TheHero arrested is actually the leader of the conspiracy. Principal Kobayakawa was in on the conspiracy and knowingly allowed the perverted and corrupt volleyball coach to get away with his transgressions. Yusuke's mentor and the gangster who tried to blackmail Makoto helped bankroll the conspiracy. Haru's father used the services of the group's assassin (Goro Akechi) to eliminate his political rivals while also supporting the conspiracy's leader. All this on top of Futaba's mother being murdered for her research into the MentalWorld used by the conspiracy for their own gains, and gaslighting Futaba to avoid suspicion. And the conspiracy was ultimately put into motion by the game's GreaterScopeVillain as a (heavily rigged) social experiment.]]
** In the ''Royal'' re-release, [[spoiler:"Kasumi" Yoshizawa is living under the identity of her twin sister, who died saving her from being hit by a car after a nasty argument. The surviving sister, whose real name is Sumire, became depressed and suicidal, blaming herself for Kasumi's death. Her counselor used his research on [[RealityWarper manipulating cognition]] to brainwash her into thinking she was Kasumi.]]

* ''VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous'': Tiefling ([[OurDemonsAreDifferent fiend]]-[[UnevenHybrid descended humanoid]]) party member Woljif Jefto is quick to try to bond with a tiefling PlayerCharacter over their (not-unreasonably assumed by the game) shared experiences of the widespread FantasticRacism against tieflings. He's also baffled if a Good-aligned tiefling PC tells him they're fighting in the Crusade because it's the right thing to do, automatically assuming they're [[YouAreACreditToYourRace vainly hoping to be accepted in society by doing so]].

* The members of [[Literature/WhateleyUniverse Team Kimba]] bond together on their first day at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] because of this: they're more than just mutants. [[spoiler: They are all transgender in one way or another.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', King seems sympathetic towards [[spoiler: The Collector for this reason. Their races (Titans and Collectors) wiped each other out in the past, leaving both as the sole survivors. Despite The Collector not understanding mortal suffering or fragility, King tries to stay with him and treat him well in the Finale, and by the end shares a heart to heart with him and the rest of the Owl House.]]

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17039968010.01667600 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

It's hard being the [[LastOfHisKind only one of your kind]]. Therefore, if a character finds that ThereIsAnother, they tend to cling to the few members of their species/group/type left. They can be surrounded by friends, but that can't compare to having someone who can really understand what they're going through. Most of the time this other person is someone they don't even like -- occasionally even an enemy -- but their shared history or shared condition gives them a connection. A bond -- maybe not friendship, but at least a sort of grudging respect.

Subtrope of CommonalityConnection.

* In ''Anime/DragonballZ'', Vegeta and Goku are the last of the Saiyans, so Goku asks Krillin to spare Vegeta's life. If Goku could change, so could Veggie, right?
** [[{{Bowdlerize}} However, this is only true in the English dub;]] [[SpiritedCompetitor in the original, he just wanted to fight him again.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Superman is sometimes like this when ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} arrives, depending on the continuity and dimension. Just look at him being so grateful that he's not the only surviving Kryptonian! The pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} stories took it ever further when Superman rescued the bottle Kryptonian city of Kandor and for years had a whole community of Kryptonians to visit on occasion.

* Buffy and Kendra/ Buffy and Faith in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' have a few conversations about how they're the only ones who understand what it's like to be the Slayer (at least before "Chosen").
** Nicely subverted when Faith figures that the reason for her and Buffy's Epic Disagreements is because there was never meant to be two of them.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': The nature of being branded as L'Cie is what ultimately binds Lightning, Snow, Fang, Hope, Sazh, and Vanille together. The shared trauma is what makes them FireForgedFriends.

** In the game's climax, it is revealed that [[spoiler:the suffering the Phantom Thieves suffered was more interconnected than initially thought, as TheConspiracy was ''very'' far-reaching. The drunkard that had TheHero arrested is actually the leader of the conspiracy. Principal Kobayakawa was in on the conspiracy and knowingly allowed the perverted and corrupt volleyball coach to get away with his transgressions. Yusuke's mentor and the gangster who tried to blackmail Makoto helped bankroll the conspiracy. Haru's father used the services of the group's assassin (Goro Akechi) to eliminate his political rivals while also supporting the conspiracy's leader. All this on top of Futaba's gaslighting. And the conspiracy was ultimately put into motion by the game's GreaterScopeVillain as a (heavily rigged) social experiment.]]

** Makoto Niijima is being forced by the principal of her school to look into the Phantom Thieves' activities as part
of TheConspiracy. She is later victimized by an influential criminal who blackmails her.

** Makoto Niijima is being forced by the principal of her school to look into the phantom thieves' activities as part of TheConspiracy. She is later victimized by an influential criminal who blackmails her.
** Futaba Sakura was gaslighted by TheConspiracy into believing that her mother DrivenToSuicide, and that the reason her mother died was because she resented her. As a result, she became a suicidally depressed shut-in.

* Without getting into the specifics, Franchise/{{Batman}} tries to reach out to ComicBook/TheJoker in ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''. For a brief moment, it works.

* ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy:'' The founding members of the original version all bond, partly by sheer necessity, from being survivors of the Badoon conquest of mankind, and all being the LastOfHisKind (well, Major Victory's is more technical. Humanity as a whole survives, but he's a thousand years out of time). A few of the early stories show it wasn't always easy, as could be imagined, but they get there in the end.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} is sometimes like this when Franchise/{{Supergirl}} arrives, depending on the continuity and dimension. Just look at him being so grateful that he's not the only surviving Kryptonian! The pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} stories took it ever further when Superman rescued the bottle Kryptonian city of Kandor and for years had a whole community of Kryptonians to visit on occasion.

* Subverted in ''Fanfic/AForceOfFour''. Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/PowerGirl bonded over their "last survivors" status, but not fully because Kal tried to be a father to Kara, who was an adult woman and didn't want a parental substitute.

** Sansa and Theon in season 5: [[spoiler: Both of them experience horrific abuse under Ramsay, with Theon having been transformed into Reek through the torture Ramsay inflicted on him and Sansa becoming Ramsay's SexSlave.]] It gets bad enough that [[spoiler: Sansa and Theon make a run for it.]] When they finally [[spoiler: escape Ramsay,]] both of them embrace each other in relief.

** After Wesley has to shoot [[spoiler:a cyborg that uses a glamour to disguise itself as his father]], Angel and Spike try to sympathise by talking about the [[spoiler:family member(s)]] they killed centuries ago. Wesley quickly points out how ridiculously neither of them was in a similar situation to him.