History Main / TookALevelInCynic

* ''LightNovel/KazeNoStigma'': Following the [[spoiler:[[CynicismCatalyst Death of his love interest]] as a sacrifice for a demon]], Kazuma Yagami went from being a NiceGuy to being a cold and brutal AntiHero who wouldn't allow anyone to get close to him emotionally, even his own [[MoralityPet younger]] [[MoralityChain brother]].

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': After all the shit that the asshole royalty [[spoiler: (with the two sole exceptions being Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty, though both were busy at the time with cleaning the enormous mess just waiting to be ignited due to the remaining bumbling royals summoning all Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc alone instead of one hero for each country to fight off the Waves of Catastrophe as was agreed upon by all four countries initially that is happening not just in Melromarc, but the ''entire world'')]] did to Naofumi after his first day (which already showed [[ChillyReception bad signs]] for the Shield Hero before it even ended), is it ''any wonder'' he transformed from his former [[WideEyedIdealist happier self]] to his now cold-hearted/armored-self?

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': After all the shit that the asshole royalty [[spoiler: (with the two sole exceptions being Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty, though both were busy at the time with cleaning the enormous amount of an oily mess just waiting to be ignited due to the remaining bumbling royals summoning all Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc alone instead of one hero for each country to fight off the Waves of Catastrophe as was agreed upon by all four countries initially that is happening not just in Melromarc, but the ''entire world'')]] did to Naofumi after his first day (which already showed [[ChillyReception bad signs]] for the Shield Hero before it even ended), is it any wonder he transformed from his former [[WideEyedIdealist happier self]] to his now cold-hearted/armored-self?

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': After all the shit that the asshole royalty [[spoiler: (with the two sole exceptions being Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty, though both were busy at the time with cleaning the '''enormous''' amount of an oily mess just waiting to be ignited due to the other remaining bumbling royals summoning all Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc alone instead of one hero for each country to fight off the Waves of Catastrophe as was agreed upon by all four countries initially that is happening not just in Melromarc, but the '''entire world''')]] did to Naofumi after his '''first day''' (which already showed [[ChillyReception bad signs]] for the Shield Hero before it even ended), is it '''any wonder''' he transformed from his former [[WideEyedIdealist happier self]] to his now cold-hearted/armored-self?

* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Harry had a mildly cynical streak to begin with, but it mostly manifested as wry self-awareness. Then ''[[DarkestHour Forever]] [[TraumaCongaLine Red]]'' happened. The result is him swinging rapidly from sweet and idealistic kid to someone who's innocence is ''gone''. Thoroughly embittered and [[ShellShockedVeteran massively traumatized]], he lies to and manipulates his friends when it's convenient or he deems it necessary (the two overlap a lot), has a HairTriggerTemper and very little patience with rules ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers something he sometimes uses his powers to demonstrate]]), and tends yo use intimidation to get what he wants. The rest of the second book is his MentalHealthRecoveryArc, and eventually, he settles on the view that [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers "cynicism is a good way to survive, but a bad way to live,"]] becoming a determined KnightOfFaith. However, it's acknowledged more than once that he is not, and never will be, the sweet and innocent kid he once was. He's okay with it. Not everyone else is, however.

* ''Fanfic/BloodMoon'': Four years of prison and one killing later, and poor Katara has completely lost her innocence and childhood.
* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Harry had a mildly cynical streak to begin with, but mostly manifested as wry self-awareness. Then ''[[DarkestHour Forever]] [[TraumaCongaLine Red]]'' happened. The result is he swings rapidly from sweet and idealistic kid, to someone who's innocence is ''gone''. Thoroughly embittered and [[ShellShockedVeteran massively traumatised]], he lies to and manipulates his friends when it's convenient/he deems it necessary (the two overlap, a lot), he has a HairTriggerTemper and very little patience with rules [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers (something he sometimes uses his powers to demonstrate)]], and an inclination towards using intimidation to get what he wants. The rest of the second book is his MentalHealthRecoveryArc, and eventually, he settles on the view that [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers "cynicism is a good way to survive, but a bad way to live"]], becoming a determined KnightOfFaith. However, it's acknowledged more than once that he is not, and never will be, the sweet and innocent kid he once was. He's okay with it. Not everyone else is, however.
* Sonic in ''Fanfic/{{Entropy}}'' and even more so in its sequel ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7555886/1/Entropy-II-Chaoskampf Chaoskampf.]]''. Both fics portray an ongoing struggle against the forces of darkness and have tonnes of MindScrew. A combination of horrible events ([[spoiler:Including the deaths of his two closest companions]]) and a CrypticConversation churn Sonic from being the hero we all know and love who fights on to save the world out of fun and genuine vigilantism to one who only fights out of obligation. He feels the world keeps piling on the hurt time and time again, as it seems like no matter what he does, he can't seem to control and get the outcomes he expects to happen. It eventually comes to a point where the only person he really cares about anymore is [[LoveInterest Amy]], who's gone through equal amounts of trauma, but still fights for the world's salvation, because, well, it's [[TheHeart Amy.]]
* Tonks in ''Fanfic/ForLoveOfMagic'' managed to keep some level of idealism for years, but events conspire to slowly erode it away until she's a BrokenBird. While things like learning that the [=DMLE=] doesn't actually pursue people who rape muggles greatly lessened her idealism, the straw the broke the camel's back was Voldemort taking the Weasley family hostage then launching a massive attack on London. After failing to save the Weasleys and the catastrophic damage done to London, Tonks listlessly states that they should have ignored the hostages as they would've died anyway and it'd teach Voldemort not to bother using hostages against them.
* After Izuku manifests [[ShockAndAwe his powers]] in ''Fanfic/JadeLightning'' and confesses to his mother just how hard he has it, Izuku becomes far more bitter and stoic than his wide-eyed canon counterpart. He tries and fails to keep to himself - his new friends comparing him to Todoroki and calling them "Ice Kings" - and Izuku takes every opportunity to bait Bakugo, usually at around the time when Aizawa catches Bakugo causing him trouble. He also seems to [[BrokenPedestal no longer look up to All Might]], taking the time during the Sports Festival Award Ceremony to reveal to him who he was and rubbing it in his face just how wrong he was about him.

* In ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'', ComicBook/CarolDanvers decides she can't trust the Avengers when they allow Marcus take her away without realizing she was being mind-controlled by her rapist. Later she quits the X-Men when they let Rogue, who nearly killed her, join. She becomes so jaded that she decides to leave Earth for a while.
* Lisa Lavender in ''Fanfic/ARabbitAmongWolves'' wanted to be a hard hitting investigative reporter who acted as a beacon of truth in the world. Then she wrote her first big story, one exposing a major corporation for exploiting their workers to the point of multiple ambulance calls weekly and firing someone for having a heart attack at work. Lisa's editor refused to publish it and fired her, with said corporation forcing her to sign several [=NDAs=]. Ever since, she just writes sensationalist pieces.
* In ''Fanfic/ThievesCanBeHeroes'', Izuku spent his entire life clinging to [[TragicDream his dream]] of becoming a Pro Hero after being declared [[UnSorcerer Quirkless]]. He finally breaks down in tears during his second night at Cafe Leblanc as he realizes that it's an impossibility after [[ArrestedForHeroism being labeled a criminal]] for [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished trying to help a woman who was being sexually assaulted.]] He [[SubvertedTrope regains most of his optimism and cheer]] after he realizes that he could use the Metaverse to help people. But [[DoubleSubverted his time at Shujin makes his worldview more cynical]] as he sees [[SadistTeacher Kamoshida]] abusing his students with impunity, showing that even the Heroes that Izuku looked up to his entire life haven't solved all of society's ills. This is what motivates him to take matters into his own hands and right the wrongs that Heroes like All Might can't.

* Harry Potter in the backstory of ''Fanfic/TheHavocSideOfTheForce'' learned to stop helping people out of the goodness of his heart because they will inevitably take advantage of his kindness. As a result, he's a far more cynical and bitter (though still benevolent) mercenary who refuses to do anything for free. Notably, early in the story Harry rescues over a hundred slaves from the Hutts and uses his good deed as a bargaining chip when the ship he receives as payment for a related job is given back stripped of it's shields, weapons, and engine upgrades.
* {{Downplayed}} in ''Fanfic/QuirkIncubus''. While Izuku's personality is more or less in tact, he has developed a crude and rather dark sense of humor.
* ''Fanfic/StillStandInTheSun'': Years of cruel imprisonment in the Fire Nation has left Katara devoid of all her innocence and hope.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and his brother Mycroft appear to have had such a moment very early in their childhoods, where they interiorized that "caring is not an advantage", to the point that they both think of themselves as [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] (which they aren't). It takes [[CharacterDevelopment Sherlock a lot of time, and being given a lot of love, to learn to allow himself to care about others again.]]

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': After all the shit that the asshole royalty [[spoiler: (with the two sole exceptions being Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty, though both were busy at the time with cleaning the '''enormous''' amount of an oily mess just waiting to be ignited due to the other remaining bumbling royals summoning all Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc alone instead of one hero for each country to fight off the Waves of Catastrophe as was agreed upon by all four countries initially that is happening not just in Melromarc, but the '''entire world''')]] did to Naofumi after his '''first day''' (which already showed [[ChillyReception bad signs]] for the Shield Hero before it even ended), is it '''any wonder''' he transformed from his former [[WideEyedIdealist happier self]] to his now cold-hearted/armored state?

* Lisa Lavender in ''Fanfic/ARabbitAmongWolves'' wanted to be a hard hitting investigative reporter who acted as a beacon of truth in the world. Then she wrote her first big story, one exposing a major corporation for exploiting their workers to the point of multiple ambulance calls weekly and firing someone for having a heart attack at work. Lisa's editor refused to publish it and fired her, with said corporation forcing her to sign several NDAs. Ever since, she just writes sensationalist pieces.

[[folder:Film]]

** Kuei was an UnwittingPawn for Long Feng but a ReasonableAuthorityFigure when Team Avatar showed him proof of the Fire Nation war and that Long Feng had been lying to him. He promised, as a WideEyedIdealist, that he would help fight in the war and provide the support to protect his people. Then [[spoiler:Ba Sing Se fell, and Kuei was helpless to prevent it; to make matters worse, he blabbed to a disguised Azula about the Day of the Black Sun invasion, which ended up thwarting the Gaang's plan to beat Ozai while he was powerless]]. In the subsequent comic series, he's understandably not trusting Zuko as Firelord considering [[spoiler:it was Zuko's fault that Ba Sing Se fell, and wracked with guilt about how his naivete and ignorance caused his people to suffer]]. Katara has to help talk Kuei down when Zuko's miscommunication about dismantling Fire Nation colonies nearly leads to Kuei restarting the war, believing that Zuko is betraying them again.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': When we first meet the Wyvern Clan, Goliath is shown to have faith that, despite humanity's bigotry toward gargoyles, the two races can make lasting peace with one another, and that humans only scorn his kind out of fear and lack of understanding. Losing most of his family, being cursed into stone sleep for what he thought would be forever, and then waking up to find himself in a new country and a new era, did some significant damage to his overall optimistic outlook and left him convinced that he could never trust humans again; Xanatos' manipulations didn't help either. Fortunately,[[RestoredMyFaithInHumanity Elisa helps Goliath realize that there are still some humans who can be trusted after she risked her life for his, and his faith is restored]].

* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[TheRival Miles Edgeworth]] is initially shown to be a cynic who believes in the guilt of everyone he prosecutes. This is in marked contrast to the Edgeworth Phoenix knew as a kid, who wanted to become a defense attorney fighting for people with no one in their corner. In the last case of the game, it's revealed that this stems from Edgeworth [[spoiler:losing his father at a tender age in the DL-6 incident, followed by seeing the man he thinks killed him get off (seemingly) scot free. Falling under the wing of [[AmoralAttorney Manfred von Karma]] likely didn't do his optimism any favours either]]. Thankfully, he gets just a little better after [[spoiler:experiencing what it's like to be in the defendant's chair himself, and in the process, finding out the truth behind his father's murder]], followed by [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll a bit of soul-searching as to what his job as a prosecutor really means]].

* In ''Videogame/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[TheRival Miles Edgeworth]] is initially shown to be a cynic who believes in the guilt of everyone he prosecutes. This is in marked contrast to the Edgeworth Phoenix knew as a kid, who wanted to become a defense attorney fighting for people with no one in their corner. In the last case of the game, it's revealed that this stems from Edgeworth [[spoiler:losing his father at a tender age in the DL-6 incident, followed by seeing the man he thinks killed him get off (seemingly) scot free. Falling under the wing of [[AmoralAttorney Manfred von Karma]] likely didn't do his optimism any favours either]]. Thankfully, he gets just a little better after [[spoiler:experiencing what it's like to be in the defendant's chair himself, and in the process, finding out the truth behind his father's murder]], followed by [[Videogame/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll a bit of soul-searching as to what his job as a prosecutor really means]].

* Villainous example, in ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' the Scarecrow has gone from an AxCrazy GigglingVillain in the original game to a stoic SoftSpokenSadist who doesn't laugh at least once. He's very likely darker because of his near death experience from his encounter with Killer Croc and humiliating defeat from Batman prior to that. However, because of his new cynical viewpoint, [[TookALevelInBadass he's become]] very cunning in his attempts to kill Batman.

* ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'': In the very first segment of the JustBeforeTheEnd DistantPrologue, that takes place in Norway, the Rash is officially a fast-spreading but non-lethal sickness. Because of this, the characters act quite light-hearted about it, treat Iceland temporarily closing its borders to avoid an epidemic on its soil as a bold move that only a few countries in the world can pull, and consider that an ogoing storm that has already broke the only road may be more than enough to isolate their village. The following segments take place in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with each making it more and more obvious that the Rash is actually a very bad case of ThePlague. There is a small TimeSkip between the Sweden and Iceland segments, which is shown via a PhotoMontage of the characters from the four non-Iceland countries bracing themselves for the Rash. The most radical change of tone compared to the actual segment comes from the two Norway photos: the characters previously taking the Rash lightly are now seen setting up chainlink fences with barb wire and learning how to use rifles.

** [[TheHeart Katara]] spends the first two seasons of the first series giving inspirational speeches about hope and love. After Prince Zuko royally betrays them by claiming to be a better person only to [[spoiler:let Azula hit Aang with what should have been a fatal shot of lightning, betray his uncle, and rejoin Fire Nation nobility]], she is the last to trust him when he claims to have made a HeelFaceTurn for real this time; on top of that, she [[spoiler:almost kills her mother's murderer]].
** Toph Beifong was never a WideEyedIdealist to begin with, but by the time she meets [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Avatar Korra]], she has become a hardened, reclusive old woman, and now believes that the Avatar isn't needed anymore, because no matter what good they do, evil and injustice never give up. However, seeing her family in danger gave her more faith in those who are willing to continue fighting and sacrificing themselves for loved ones.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': When we first meet the Wyvern Clan, Goliath is shown to have faith that, despite humanity's bigotry toward gargoyles, the two races can make lasting peace with one another, and that humans only scorn his kind out of fear and lack of understanding. Losing most of his family, being cursed into stone sleep for what he thought would be forever, and then waking up to find himself in a new country and a new era, did some significant damage to his overall optimistic outlook, and left him convinced that he could never trust humans again; Xanatos' manipulations didn't help either. Fortunately,[[RestoredMyFaithInHumanity Elisa helps Goliath realize that there are still some humans who can be trusted, and his faith is restored]].

* Service industry jobs, especially customer service or retail jobs, tend to make some people that work in such places become incredibly cynical due to them being exposed to the public/community and seeing the worst things about them and/or dealing with incompetent managers. After dealing with so many customers day after day (including those that make outrageous demands or get verbally nasty with the employees), it's not surprising to see someone's mood on the job be in a constant sour state and it's a lot more noticeable if an employee who had an idealistic or positive outlook about their job become cynical after working there for a while. It is also quite common to have long time employees in service based jobs jokingly tell newcomers something to the effect of "Welcome to Hell."
* Medical careers, social service careers, and teaching also get smacked with this frequently. You go into it with the desire to change the world. But in medicine, there's the endless parade of drug-seekers, the good patients you can't save, the paper-pushers in insurance and hospital administration, and the challenge of too many patients and not enough time or resources to spend on any of them adequately. In social services, there's the revolving door of people who get help only to fall back into old habits, the kids who get shuffled from bad home to bad home instead of being with their addled or abusive parents in a worse home, mountains of paperwork, too many cases and not enough time or resources to spend on any one adequately, ''and'' it pays much less than medicine, too. Young teachers? They want to do what's right for the students and maybe be the hero for some kid who was about to give up on their lives. But there's 30 students per class, six classes a day, they have to pay for supplies out of their own pocket (and their pay is on the low-end, only slightly better than the social worker), the asshole parents who blame the teacher if their little angel is slacking off, the kids who refuse to learn and disrupt everyone else, ''and'' the school bureaucracy. Teaching and social work have a ''high'' turnover rate, as a lot of the people in those professions go ScrewThisImOuttaHere and get a job that pays better within five years or less. Medicine tends to keep people in, but mostly because [[MoneyDearBoy it pays better]].

* Franchise/{{Batman}} made it his life-long mission to personally fight crime because of his parents' murder, which he witnessed as a child. Depending on continuity, this causes Child!Wayne to [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids "grow up in a big hurry"]] into different degrees of cynicism:

* Lisa Lavender in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13420487/5/A-Rabbit-among-Wolves A Rabbit Among Wolves]]'' wanted to be a hard hitting investigative reporter who acted as a beacon of truth in the world. Then she wrote her first big story, one exposing a major corporation for exploiting their workers to the point of multiple ambulance calls weekly and firing someone for having a heart attack at work. Lisa's editor refused to publish it and fired her, with said corporation forcing her to sign several NDAs. Ever since, she just writes sensationalist pieces.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Sasuke Uchiha ends up taking several of these, falling all the way down to omnicidal insanity and looping back into being an AntiHero and wishing to become the ruler/protector of the village, deciding that he will do better than his callous, brutal predecessors.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' This happens to just about everyone (except Gert who was a horrible cynic from day one).

* In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Way of the World]]'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} fights Aftermath, a villain who used to be a normal person who thought there were good and bad people and bad things only happened to bad people. Then he got crippled [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman when Superman fought Doomsday]], and decided his outlook was a lie and his duty was to bring the so-called heroes down.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and his brother Mycroft appear to have had such a moment very early in their childhoods, where they interiorized that "caring is not an advantage", to the point that they both think of themselves as [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] (which they aren't). It takes [[CharacterDevelopment Sherlock a lot of time, and being given a lot of love, to learn to allow himself to care about others again.]]

* In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' Gwen is recruited in part because she's TheHeart and spends her first few episodes [[WhatTheHellHero calling her teammates out because they really don't seem to care about the human aspect of their cases]] and [[GenreBlindness ignorantly believing]] EverybodyLives is [[DarkerAndEdgier a possibility]]. By ''Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth'' a good portion of the team [[spoiler:is dead]], she's pretty quick to catch on that HumansAreBastards, and she believes [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]] [[SupermanStaysOutOfGotham won't show up to save them]] because sometimes he must look at Earth and turn away in shame.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''. When we first catch back up with Sarah Jane on ''Series/DoctorWho'' she's still a bit bitter about the Doctor leaving her behind and is no longer the wide eyed, impressionable young women she was in the classic series. This manifest in the first episode of SJA as her being really cold to her new neighbors and coming across a straight up DistaffCounterpart to the Doctor. At the end of the episode she softens, noticeably regaining her humanity by adopting Luke and accepting her neighbor Maria's help. She stays OlderAndWiser, but becomes a bit more open with people and shares a very idealistic view of the wonders of the universe and the creatures that inhabit it.

* In both the Comics and Television adaptation, the main group of survivors in ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' gradually become more and more dehumanized as the apocalyptic crisis becomes the new norm and find that the greatest threat to their survival are [[HumansAreBastards other Humans]] rather than the undead.
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': John Reese wasn't exactly an optimist in the first place, but he still believed in the work he was doing and found life-affirming purpose in saving others... Until a dear friend of his was killed, and he went from that to thinking all his efforts were just delaying the inevitable.

* In ''Series/TheMentalist'', Grace Van Pelt is the team's resident WideEyedIdealist. That is until the Season 3 finale, when [[spoiler: her fiancé Craig O'Laughlin turns out to be working for Red John and tries to kill her, forcing her to shoot him dead]]. She's... somewhat more jaded and aggressive after that.

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': After all the shit that the asshole royalty [[spoiler: (with the two sole exceptions being Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty, though both were busy at the time with cleaning the '''enormous''' amount of an oily mess just waiting to be ignited due to the other remaining bumbling royals summoning all Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc alone instead of one hero for each country to fight off the Waves of Catastrophe as was agreed upon by all four countries initially that is happening not just in Melromarc, but the '''entire world''')]] did to Naofumi after his '''first day''' (which already showed bad signs for the Shield Hero before it even ended), is it '''any wonder''' he transformed from his former [[WideEyedIdealist happier self]] to his now cold-hearted/armored state?

* While Sofia from ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' is still a kind, caring person who will do anything to help other people that she loves, she has also become a more cautious, less naive person who often feels she should go things alone. The reason for this is because of the many times where trust was either broken or nearly broken from people who have betrayed her in some way, not to mention how she's becoming a protector, meaning more responsibility and more adventures.

** Toph Beifong was never a WideEyedIdealist to begin with, but by the time she meets [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Avatar Korra]], she has become a hardened, reclusive old woman, and now believes that the Avatar isn't needed anymore, because no matter what good he/she does, evil and injustice never give up. However, seeing her family in danger gave her more faith in those who are willing to continue fighting and sacrificing themselves for loved ones.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': When we first meet the Wyvern Clan, Goliath is shown to have faith that, despite humanity's bigotry toward gargoyles, the two races can make lasting peace with one another, and that humans only scorn his kind out of fear and lack of understanding. Losing most of his family, being cursed into stone sleep for what he thought would be forever, and then waking up to find himself in a new country and a new era, did some significant damage to his overall optimistic outlook, and left him convinced that he could never trust humans again; Xanatos' manipulations didn't help either. Fortunately, Elisa helps Goliath realize that there are still some humans who can be trusted, and his faith is restored.