Basic Trope: Character becomes more cynical over time.
- Straight: Bob was a Wide-Eyed Idealist. But after his trust being betrayed so many times, he sees the world through Jade-Colored Glasses.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob used to be The Pollyanna. Now he's so cynical that it's almost paranoid. He doesn't trust anyone anymore even people he's known for years and is suspicious of anyone he deems too nice.
- Bob becomes a Straw Nihilist.
- Downplayed:
- Bob still believes that everyone is good by default, but is a little more careful trusting people.
- Originally Bob's optimism was blind, cheerfully ignoring the bad parts of the world. He now acknowledges them, but still thinks that the world can be made into a better place.
- Justified: Bob has been through a lot of trouble since then.
- Inverted:
- Bob used to be cynical until he begins to trust people and see the good in them.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness
- Subverted:
- Bob goes back to being an optimist because Alice does something that restores his faith in humanity.
- Bob was always this pessimistic. He was just good at pretending as if nothing was wrong and has now decided to be more honest about how he feels.
- Double Subverted: Bob is betrayed by Alice and finds out that her random act of kindness was a lie.
- Parodied:
- Why has Bob become so cynical nowadays? Because someone keeps taking all his cheese from the fridge without permission.
- Bob was The Pollyanna with diabetes-inducing levels of cheerfulness. However he ends up becoming a stereotypical emo with comically over-the-top Wangst.
- Zig Zagged:
- Alice has a change of heart and regains Bob's trust which in turn restores his faith in humanity.
- Bob has Bipolar Disorder. So as a result, he goes from Wide Eyed Idealism to bouts of cynicism and self-loathing repeatedly.
- Averted:
- Bob remains optimistic even through terrible times.
- Bob never goes through anything that would make him question his optimism.
- Bob was always pessimistic.
- Bob is a realist and stays that way.
- Enforced:
- "Wow, everyone thinks Bob is delusionally optimistic. We need to make him more realistic."
- "This new season is really dark, and Bob's optimism won't fit with that." "Should we Shoo Out the Clowns?" "No, just tone down all the hopefulness."
- Lampshaded: "Didn't you believe in people at some point, Bob?"
- Invoked: Charlie, who is tired of Bob's Wide-Eyed Idealist attitude, gives him a Breaking Speech about needing to face reality.
- Exploited: The Corrupter notices Bob's increasingly cynical views and tempts him with the prospect of getting his enemies before they can get him.
- Defied: Bob refuses to let people bring him down and tries to look on the bright side.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed: Bob's new-found cynicism causes Bob to quit heroism because "What's the point? It's just gonna end badly for the both of us, anyway."
- Reconstructed:
- Bob instead decides to work even harder to make the world a better place because if you live in a Crapsack World, why not try and make it better?
- Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!
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