Some of the examples that follow also fall under one or more Death Tropes. Most spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.
Cynicism Catalysts in Fan Works.
- And All the Stars Burned Bright: Losing her little brother to cancer served as one for Barbara.
- Defied in Angelic Resonance, as the Bureau does what they can to support Ange and help her maintain her idealism even in the face of being betrayed by her brother, disinherited, and having her former friends sent to kill her.
- Child of the Storm:
- The brutal Trauma Conga Line of Forever Red left Harry profoundly embittered, cold, and foul-tempered. Time, care, and lots of therapy help improve the situation.
- Once upon a time, there was a nice young lad called Taliesin; a talented sorcerer, one of history's greatest bards, and a brilliant Court Physician who really and truly loved being a Doctor - it's all he ever wanted. He happily served his King, Arthur, alongside his Big Brother Mentor, Merlin, who was the Court Mage. Then, he decided to go Walking the Earth, learning as much as he could to contribute to Camelot's Golden Age. Then, he came home to find out that the Battle of Camlann had happened; his King dead, his Queen barely holding apart a rickety Kingdom, and Merlin long gone in grief. One Rage Against the Heavens moment later, he made a deal with the Time Stone that transformed him into Doctor Stephen Strange.
- On several occasions, it's implied by a number of people - including Alison Carter, who knew him well - that Howard Stark's transformation from his cheerful Tony-lite self of WWII into the cold, neglectful, and emotionally abusive man that Tony knew was begun by the apparent death of Steve, and completed by the mysterious disappearance of Peggy Carter.
- Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail:
- Goh serves as one to both of the Cerise siblings. His growing obsession with Mew led him to neglect his friendship with Chloe, which was a major factor in her developing a distaste for Pokémon. Parker, meanwhile, saw how he left his sister behind, and how badly this affected her, leading him to grow resentful towards Goh as well.
- Tokio unintentionally served as one for Goh when he was unable to keep his promise to meet up (due to being too sick). Goh misinterpreted this as deliberate, convincing himself that building friendships with other people just wasn't worth it and that Pokémon were better since they couldn't betray you.
- Chloe becomes one for Goh as the story goes on because he can't understand how much he hurt her. All he wants is for her to come back so things can go back to the way they were except Chloe is unable to return due to many factors: she can't leave the Train until the number on her hand drops to 0, she's currently tasked to stop a cult, and she doesn't want to return if Goh isn't willing to change himself because she knows Goh will abandon her to chase after Mew once more.
- A Supe of a Man: Lois lost two of her roommates to a Supe's reckless sexual foreplay. When that Supe wasn't held accountable for what they'd done, Lois became an anti-Supe vigilante.
- Unfamiliar: Alex comes from a world where Dana never came out of her coma, eventually passing away; this left him with no emotional ties to his old world, gradually losing any sense of humanity... until Louise summoned him to her side.
- Alternate Worlds:
- The current chief of police lost his faith in the system after a previous chief tried to avoid becoming a Dirty Cop... which got him and his whole family brutally murdered. He shares Tatsumi's disgust about the rampant corruption in the capital, but can't do anything about it.
- The death of Hakim embitters Esdeath to the point that she tosses aside all ideals aside from those taught by her clan, becoming The Corruptor.
- Arrow: Rebirth:
- Losing Rebecca served as this for Malcom.
- When Laurel is kidnapped for the first time, Malcom muses that her death could serve as one for Tommy, bringing him around to share Malcom's worldview. Seeing this as a good thing, he's perfectly willing to let her die. Ultimately, it doesn't happen; however, Tommy still gets one when Oliver effectively abandons him to the League of Assasins.
- Oliver sincerely believes that losing Laurel could push him over the edge in this fashion.
- Danganronpa Class Swap - Hope's Peak Academy has Chiaki suffer one after they walk in on Fuyuhiko setting up a Death Trap, convincing them that despite their best efforts, the only way the mutual killing game will end is if somebody manages to kill another student and get away with it.
- Digimon Trinity: During the Digital War, TK's partner Patamon was digitally absorbed by Beelzemon. As a result, TK starts going by his full name of Takeru, and takes the narrative role of Yamaki in Digimon Tamers.
- Disney Villain Songs (Lydia the Bard): Many of the scenarios presented in this series involve one of these. Among the many examples:
- Ariel never learned that Vanessa was Ursula all along, or that Prince Eric had been brainwashed into wanting to marry her. She then spent three years trapped in Ursula's grotto, stuck as a polyp until her father finally freed her.
- Rapunzel, like Ariel, is convinced that Flynn betrayed and had been manipulating her all along, seemingly proving Mother Gothel right.
- Aurora witnessed Maleficent being shot dead by her father's men immediately after she'd broken the sleeping curse.
- Mulan's disguise was discovered much sooner, and her father was forced into service, dying in a war against the huns that lasted far longer and was much costlier.
- Snow White struggles with the knowledge that the witch who poisoned her was none other than her own stepmother, with the Magic Mirror playing upon her paranoia to groom her into a new Evil Queen.
- Megara sacrifices herself to save Hercules, only for him to abandon her to her fate just like her last love.
- Moana's father burns the boats and locks her away, preventing her on searching for the heart of Te Fiti. By the time she manages to escape, many more people have died as a result, including her mother, and she considers her father responsible for them all.
- Mirabel spends years as The Unfavorite of her family, with the fact she didn't get a Gift treated as evidence that she might be cursed or responsible for things going wrong, until she finally decides to take revenge.
- Merida just misses the Celestial Deadline to restore her mother and brothers to human form, gets attacked by Bear Elinor, then is forced to watch as they're all slaughtered by King Fergus, who incorporates her brothers' heads into his pelt while doubling down on forcing her into an arranged marriage.
- Anastasia is rejected by the Dowager Empress Marie, who refuses to believe that Anya really is her long-lost grandaughter.
- Cinderella is prevented from meeting with the prince or proving to him that she was the one he danced with that night, and eventually learns that he's married somebody else.
- Tinkerbell has to deal with the downside of fairies needing belief to exist, as their numbers start declining while they desperately search for a cure. Fawn, one of her best friends, dies in her arms.
- In Frozen: A Dark Retelling, Kristoff had a little sister named Aina who died when she was just five years old, leading to his moodiness and isolation. Hearing Anna mention her own name causes him to do a double take due to how similar they sound.
- A Glad Day:
- Bulma's comes when Vegeta decides to claim her as his own, despite her already being with Raditz, leading to the deaths of both Raditz and her son Karot.
- Jeiyce went over the edge after his father, wife, and young son were all murdered by the Saiyans.
- In Frosted Wings, the Crimson King manages to successfully crush Yuki's spirit during their final fight.
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: Professor Quirrell serves as one for Harry and the students of Hogwarts as a whole while teaching Battle Magic, as he repeatedly mocks their ideals and works to wear them down, saying they can't afford to be so trusting and naive. Following Hermione's death, he fears that his efforts worked a little too well and starts dialing it back.
- Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin: After everything he suffered with the Dursleys, Harry learns that his parents were actually alive all along, and that he has a twin brother whom they love and dote upon. Needless to say, he takes this revelation quite poorly.
- In the Hermione Granger Series, Hermione's parents struggle to bond with her, as they're haunted by how their first child died.
- In Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus, Hermione lost all faith in authority figures after the events of Christmas 1991.
- Mean Time to Breakdown: Iwanako learns that she has arrhythmia the hard way, suffering a heart attack during a botched confession. She then has to deal with the shadow of a much shorter life expectancy hanging over her head as she's forced to transfer to a new school and adjust to new limitations.
- Break My Fall: Vio's parents divorcing took quite the toll on him, leaving him much more cynical and guarded.
- Paris Burning: Paris' includes his encounter with a grieving Jerusalem during the Crusades, as well as the death of his beloved Jeanne d'Arc.
- For His Own Sake:
- For Naru, her parents getting divorced served as a major one, heavily contributing to her It's All About Me attitude and victim complex.
- Motoko's was having her sister get married.
- Averted with Nagisa; while losing her childhood friend Takeru to tragedy naturally impacted her outgoing and cheerful nature, it didn't make her completely cynical.
- From The Ashes: As Chat Noir, winds up having to kill his own father in the final clash with Hawkmoth. Afterwards, he finds himself Convicted by Public Opinion, facing constant judgement for being the supervillain's son... and when he begs Ladybug for a mutual reveal of their secret identities, she turns him down, unaware that this is fueled by more than his usual flirtations.
- I See What You Do Behind Closed Doors: While dealing with Lila continually painting her as the problem and encouraging her Fair-Weather Friends to turn on her, Marinette seems to catch a break when Adrien agrees to start dating her. However, Adrien turns out to be a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing himself who still refuses to do anything about the bullying. He then reveals that he's Chat Noir to her, while continuing to pursue and sexually harass her as Ladybug, unaware that they're the same person. Realizing that she was Loving a Shadow all along leaves Marinette utterly disgusted, and she breaks up with him, finding that she no longer cares about how her former friends will react.
- Recursive Fanfiction Karma Overbalance has the events of The Karma of Lies serve as one for Adrien. Namely, the fact that he was hit by a massive Karmic Misfire, having to deal with the backlash of Lila's negative karma while she skipped town.
- The Wolves in the Woods: Lila Used to Be a Sweet Kid before her father betrayed her trust by stealing one of her awards and selling it for some quick cash. When her mother confronted him about this, he knocked her around in front of their horrified daughter. Her mother then divorced him and fought for full custody of Lila; he nearly convinced the judge he was the better parent, and while that fell apart, he successfully turned her mother's own friends and family against them, forcing them to move and start over. All of this convinced Lila that people prefer pretty lies to reality, leading to her Celebrity Lies and manipulative methods.
- King sees Izuku's faith in both Katsuki and U.A. shattered by the mounting evidence that his former childhood friend murdered a man and that the school is covering up the incident to protect their own reputation.
- Perfect Masks: Izuku's past relationship fell apart when he realized that she was Loving a Shadow — that she didn't really see him as Izuku, but as the hero Deku. He later admits to Momo that he isn't certain he knows how to deal with somebody who likes him for him.
- The Scorpion Jar: After Katsuki tells him to kill himself, Izuku meets his idol All Might, only for the Symbol of Peace to declare that Quirkless people like him can never become heroes. Then he saves Katsuki from the Sludge Villain, only to be berated by the Pro Heroes for risking his life while they were standing around doing nothing. Since All Might doesn't catch up with him and correct himself, Izuku is left quite embittered by the whole experience... but also enlightened, having realized that simply having a strong Quirk doesn't make somebody heroic. And if he can't become a hero due to his Quirklessness, then people like Katsuki don't qualify either...
- Sleeper Hit AU: Midoriya managed to pass U.A.'s Entrance Exam despite being Quirkless, only for Aizawa to unceremoniously expel him on his very first day there. On top of that, he casually outed him as Quirkless in front of his temporary classmates, and the girl whom he'd saved from the Zero Pointer during the Exam calls him 'Deku' while trying to get his attention afterwards. All of this, coupled with his search for another school willing to take him in almost ending in failure, leaves Midoriya with a much dimmer view of the world of Pro Heroism.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Best Friends Forever: Witnessing Fluttershy slowly withering away due to old age, culminating in her dying of natural causes, convinced Twilight that she needed to find some way of ensuring she wouldn't lose any other friends in the same fashion.
- Equestria: Civil War: The Changeling Invasion led to the death of Thunderbolt's daughter, along with his wife being crippled and subsequently divorcing him. Due to this, he doesn't care how remorseful villains claim to be, or how sincerely they might wish to make amends... they're still just villains who must face justice.
- In Season 5 of The Flash Sentry Chronicles, it’s revealed that a Royal Guard named Noble Banner had rescued Cold Steel from the north, and brought him back to Canterlot to train him. When Noble Banner was sent on a mission to the Badlands, he never came back, which led to Cold Steel becoming the apathetic pony that he is in the present.
- The Great Alicorn Hunt: Mach One sees many flaws in the Equestrian government, but what set him on his crusade in the first place was his frustration at how, despite the magic at their disposal, nobody has created a cure for his missing wing.
- Androgyninja's A Drop of Poison:
- After a sparring session at the Academy where she managed to land a couple hits on him, Sasuke brutally rips into Sakura, insisting that she'll never be more than a 'civilian-born paper ninja' who'll be lucky to end up as Cannon Fodder. Along with shredding her former crush on him, this convinces Sakura that his attitude is common in Konoha; that the majority of people there regard her as expendable and replaceable. This spurs her resolve to prove them all wrong, but also makes her innately distrustful of others.
- Sakura later gets another one during the attempted invasion of Konoha. In an effort to protect certain sections of their village, Konoha-nin deliberately block off and contain Orochimaru's summons inside one of the civilian districts. Not only does this reinforce her fears that civilians are considered 'more expendable', this also results in the deaths of both her parents.
- Played With through Naruto, where the lack of one of these becomes an issue in its own right. Canonically, Naruto's experiences during Team Seven's first C-Rank Mission opens his eyes to the harsher aspects of shinobi life. Here, however, that mission unfolds differently enough that he doesn't get that lesson. This swiftly proves to be a problem, as his continued childish naivete leads to him butting heads with Sakura, especially after he learns that she's been forced to kill and berates her for the Crime of Self-Defense.
- The Echo Remains, But The Song Is Not The Same: While Shikamaru wasn't exactly idealistic before, being part of Team Seven means he starts witnessing a lot more of the isolation and casual cruelties Naruto suffers at the hands of his fellow villagers. He also learns that Adults Are Useless — not only does the Sandaime have no intention of stopping this abuse, he treats Shikamaru as the issue when he stands up for his friend. Having his own father tell him to 'let it go' without any explanation as to why they're allowing this to continue leaves Shikamaru embittered, stubbornly digging in his heels.
- Morning Star: Kazuya goes through a major one when his efforts to help his girlfriend Kana out fail. Both are forced to witness her mother having a mental shutdown and murdering Kana's infant daughter; in the aftermath, Kana kills herself. He proceeds to push everybody else around him away, haunted by nightmares of what happened.
- In the Ancienverse, Dalton's main motivation for founding Team Neo is his frustration with the Pokémon League, feeling that they aren't doing enough to stop various villainous organizations from popping up around the world or protect children from getting caught in the crossfire. Given how his daughter died, he feels he has no choice but to destroy the League in hopes of rebuilding a better system to replace it.
- Playthings Series: Pedestal reveals that losing their little brother really did a number on Nick.
- Futari Wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon: Losing his assistant Kore spurred Mekuramast/Kairos to give up entirely on his world, caving in to Kainatrol's demands. However, he's also motivated by the hope of being able to undo everything, slim as the chance might be.
- All I See puts Nate through a Trauma Conga Line's worth of these. After Youtube's mass demonetization, he gets into an accident that he'll never fully recover from. One of his closet friends breaks ties with him, and another almost does the same. Then he gets rejected by Phoenix Records, told that he'll never be taken seriously as a musician unless he completely reforms his career, and realizes that his other two friends want nothing to do with the lifestyle he's been pursuing. On top of all that, Paparazzi stalk him and spread rumors that Phoenix Records refused to take him due to the physical and mental disabilities he suffered from the accident.
- Professor Arc:
- Professor Fall deliberately acts as one during her tenure at Beacon, attempting to sow distrust among the students from different academies.
- Roman turned villainous after losing his comrades in a rescue gone wrong.
- In Raise, after the White Fang bomb the Schnee compound, Jaune is brought in to undo the deaths. However, this leaves him too drained to cover his next shift at the hospital. The next day, he's accosted by protesters and journalists demanding to know why the rich executives took priority over the common people. When he snaps back that he's giving literally everything he can every day, the news twist his words to paint him as lazy and entitled. This forces Jaune to face how people keep taking his power for granted, that they'll never be satisfied by his efforts, and that he's come to resent their All Take and No Give attitude towards him.
- Happens to SpongeBob in the rewrite of "Plankton's Regular" in A Dash of Logic, after learning that the Krabby Patty formula is a sham. This revelation breaks his child-like innocence and reduces him to a disillusioned Deadpan Snarker who is a terrible employee and rude to the customers, much to Squidward's delight, and the two start to bond. Fortunately, it was just a visual simulation by Karen.
