Line #287 Main/CynicismCatalyst


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14	->''"Mom raised me to be a man of faith. I lost that faith at Serenity Valley."''
15	-->-- '''Captain Malcolm Reynolds''', ''Film/{{Serenity\|2005}} RolePlayingGame''
16
17	The Cynicism Catalyst is a traumatic, disillusioning event that [[MoralityAdjustment drives many heroes to more morally dubious methods]] or [[FaceHeelTurn outright antivillainy]]. Before, they were more idealistic, but after this event [[TookALevelInCynic they became more cynical]] and felt that the current way things are done just wasn't enough. Frequently, this means either picking up less traditionally heroic methods or deciding the established way of doing things is simply not good enough. [[NeverBeHurtAgain It won't happen again]].
18
19	Frequently, the event is the death of an innocent family member (like a [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest parent]] or beloved sibling), a close friend, or a [[TheLostLenore love interest]]. Apart from this, a BrokenPedestal can cause this sort of personality change if the character lets it affect them too strongly. After the catalyst takes effect, the character will generally turn broodier and less open to companionship.
20
21	Many works will be dedicated at least in part to getting this character to open up, let it go, and move on. This makes them vulnerable to {{Morality Pet}}s and [[EpiphanyTherapy sudden bursts of moral insight]]. Sadly, [[IgnoredEpiphany sometimes they just can't do it or they feel that it's too late]].
22
23	Expect a HollywoodAtheist to have one of these to explain why he or she does not believe in God. An outright villain will generally not have a Cynicism Catalyst: The trope is reserved for those who are still attempting to do good, leaving it the domain of the AntiHero, the AntiVillain, and the WellIntentionedExtremist.
24
25	Compare DeathByOriginStory for something that spurred a hero into action, TookALevelInCynic for a character who becomes more cynical but may remain a good person, and FreudianExcuse for pure villains. For a more prolonged wearing down of idealism into cynicism, see StoppedCaring. Also compare HeroicBSOD and DespairEventHorizon for more seriously disabling breaks.
26
27	'''Some of the examples that follow also fall under one or more {{Death Trope\|s}}. Most spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''
28	----
29	!!Examples:
30	[[index]]
31	* CynicismCatalyst/AnimeAndManga
32	* CynicismCatalyst/ComicBooks
33	* CynicismCatalyst/FanWorks
34	* CynicismCatalyst/{{Literature}}
35	* CynicismCatalyst/LiveActionTV
36	* CynicismCatalyst/VideoGames
37	* CynicismCatalyst/WesternAnimation
38	[[/index]]
39
40	[[foldercontrol]]
41
42	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
43	* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'': [[spoiler:Professor Callahan became the villain Yokai to avenge his daughter, who was enveloped in a malfunctioning experiment of Allstair Krei, whom he held responsible for it]].
44	* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'', one of the protagonists of the trio, Manny, was revealed to have his little son and wife killed by a group of Neanderthals.
45	* The opening of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' reveals that seeing her best friend Peter Parker die at the school ball and being framed for his death by her own father is what led to her sarcastic nature and "lone wolf" approach on superheroing.
46	* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'': Marianne, after seeing her fiancée with another woman right before their wedding. She gives up on love and becomes a sword-wielding warrior.
47	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'': After his biological son is killed by a [[CatsAreMean leopard]], the silverback gorilla Kerchak becomes much more sour and cold.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
51	* ''Film/AngryVideoGameNerdTheMovie'': Why is the WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd so angry? Because as a child, he played ''[[VideoGame/ETTheExtraTerrestrial Eee Tee]]'', an experience so traumatic that it mentally scarred him for life.
52	%%* Danny Archer, in ''Film/BloodDiamond'': His mother was raped and shot and his father was decapitated and hung from a hook in the barn.
53	* ''Film/{{Casablanca}}:'' When Ilsa abandoned Rick in Paris (though as Louis notes, Rick's cynicism was never as thorough as he liked to believe). When Rick and Ilsa reconcile, Rick is able to drop the cynicism and become a straight-up hero.
54	* ''{{Film/Clara}}'': It's revealed that the source of Isaac's bitterness was his infant son's death. Though not explicit, it's implied this is why he's an atheist and sees no meaning in the universe.
55	* In ''Film/FaceOff'', Castor Troy's accidental murder of Sean Archer's son is a key event in the backstory of the two characters. Later in the film, Sean!Troy kills Castor!Archer's younger brother and partner-in-crime Pollux. Castor!Archer also killed his ex-girlfriend Sascha's brother Dietrich. When they confront each other in a church all three of them bring this up.
56	-->'''Castor:''' Look, your son's death was an accident. I wanted to kill ''you''. Why didn't you just kill yourself or let it go?\
57	'''Sean:''' No father could.\
58	'''Castor:''' No brother could either.\
59	'''Sascha:''' Neither could a sister.
60	* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': For [[Characters/MonsterVerseRussellFamily Mark Russell]], the main reason why he hates the {{Kaiju}} and thinks all of them instead of just some of them are monsters that should be killed is because he saw the destruction that the [=MUTOs=] and Godzilla's battle in [[Film/Godzilla2014 the first film]] caused, and his [[OutlivingOnesOffspring son]] died in the destruction. It's also revealed by the website promoting the film's release that [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Monarch military pilot Lauren Griffin]] also saw the destruction in the first film, and has since been skeptical of Serizawa's claims that humans and the more benevolent monsters can share the planet, although she's apparently a lot more respectful about it than Mark.
61	* Hannibal Lecter is given a dead little sister "Mischa" during ''Film/HannibalRising,'' causing a great deal of BadassDecay. Not enough to stop him from going on another killing spree, however.
62	%%* In ''Film/{{Identity}}'', Edward Dakota was revealed to have left the LAPD after failing to stop the suicide of the Mexican girl who was pregnant and infected with AIDS.
63	* In ''Film/KissKissBangBang'', the death of Harmony's little sister Jenna drives the plot. What made Harmony all kinds of screwed up and guilty was that she couldn't protect Jenna from their [[ParentalIncest father]], and then Harmony skipped town as soon as she was sixteen, leaving Jenna alone with him.
64	* In ''Film/LadyInTheWater'', after reading Cleveland Heep's diary, Story learns that he became depressed and withdrawn from society after a burglar broke into his house, robbed him, and murdered his wife and children all while he was not home (which he blames himself for).
65	* ''Film/LakeviewTerrace'' is about a cop (played by Creator/SamuelLJackson) who will go to any lengths, including intimidation, violence, and murder, to get the interracial couple who just became his new neighbors to move. The event that ultimately drove Turner to focus his rage on the couple is revealed to be the death of his wife, who was killed in a car accident while on her way to meet her white boss with who she was having an affair with.
66	* The death of Max Rockatansky's wife and child at the hands of Toecutter and his gang in ''Film/MadMax1'' drives him to become a burnt out, shell of a man.
67	* ''Film/ManchesterByTheSea'': The death of his three children, which he accidentally caused, is what caused Lee to go from the outgoing and friendly guy shown in flashbacks to the depressed shell of a man he is in the present.
68	* ''Film/PacificRim'':
69	** Pentecost's sister was one of the fighter jet pilots who lost her life during the first {{Kaiju}} attack. Her death was what caused her brother to work with the military to find the best way to combat the Kaiju.
70	** Yancy is this for Raleigh.
71	** Tendo Choi lost his grandfather to Kaiju blood in the prequel comic.
72	* ''Film/RedLights'': Both Margaret and Tom have these as motivations to debunk paranormal claims. Margaret's son is in a coma, which apparently caused a loss of faith and firm disbelief in all things supernatural or paranormal. Tom's mother died due to trusting in a faith healer rather than medicine, with the same results.
73	* ''Film/SecondhandLions'': The loss of Uncle Hub's wife Jasmine [[DeathByChildbirth in childbirth]].
74	* In ''A Short Film About Killing'' directed by Creator/KrzysztofKieslowski, the young man on death row espoused a life of crime because he was so haunted by his dead little sister's memory.
75	* In ''Film/{{Signs}}'', Graham Hess (Creator/MelGibson) lost his faith and quit being a reverend after his wife's death feeling betrayed as his service toward God was "rewarded" by him taking the love of his life.
76	* ''Film/SplitSecond1992'': In a flashback, it's shown how Stone was fairly well-composed before his partner was killed by the monster he has since been pursuing. Stone blamed himself (especially because he was having an affair with his partner's wife) and became a paranoid, rude [[CowboyCop gunslinger]] in response.
77	* Colonel O'Neil from ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' originally left the military and went basket case because his son accidentally killed himself with O'Neil's own gun. He only joins the mission to the alien planet (from which there is little chance of returning) because he's [[DeathSeeker downright suicidal]].
78	* On ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', Captain Kirk would sometimes regard the Klingons as {{Worthy Opponent}}s. But after his son David Marcus gets slain by Klingons in ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', Kirk would start harboring a deep hatred of the Klingons, which wasn't resolved till ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', when Kirk's hatred made him the prime suspect of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon's assassination, almost sparking a war between the Klingons and the Federation.
79	* ''Franchise/StarWars''
80	** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The death of Anakin's mother, whom he promised to save in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', marks his StartOfDarkness.
81	** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the ''fear'' of the loss of Padmé Amidala [[DeathByChildbirth by childbirth]] is what drives Anakin Skywalker over the edge to TheDarkSide. For extra irony, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy she dies from childbirth because she loses her desire to live after seeing the monster Anakin becomes in trying to prevent her death]].
82	** In ''Film/{{Solo}}'', the previously optimistic and happy-go-lucky Han Solo is abandoned and betrayed in quick succession by his new friend Lando, his mentor Beckett, and his love interest Qira. Dealing with these leaves him as the cynical mercenary of ''Film/ANewHope''.
83	* ''Film/StreetAngel'': For Angela, her mother's death. For Gino, Angela disappearing without a word right after agreeing to marry him.
84	* In ''Film/TopGun'', Maverick's angst during the second half of the movie comes from his feeling of responsibility for his RIO Goose's death.
85	* ''Film/Underworld2003'': Selene's entire family was brutally murdered by Lycans, leading her to mercilessly hunt them once she became a vampire. Turns out Viktor, who turned her, was the one who actually killed her family.
86	* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Eddie Valiant's bitter grudge against toons is revealed to have begun after his brother was murdered by one.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Music]]
90	* Amidst all the WordSaladLyrics of "Music/AmericanPie", Music/DonMcLean repeatedly references "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died the day the music died]]" -- the day of the plane crash that killed rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
91	* Musician Eric Clapton's son died in a tragic accident when just a toddler, about which the songs "The Circus Left Town" and "Tears In Heaven" were written. Though close, this example subverts the Trope -- particularly with "Tears In Heaven". Eric rarely plays it in public as he says he has tried to move on from a very sad period in his life and ''doesn't need'' the song anymore.
92	* Johnny Cash's older brother Jack died in a lumber mill accident when Johnny aka JR was twelve and Jack was fourteen. This affected Johnny throughout the rest of his life, and Jack Cash is mentioned in the liner notes of his 1996 album "Unchained".
93	* The old man in Music/StevenWilson's "Music/{{The Raven That Refused to Sing\|AndOtherStories}}" was emotionally damaged by the death of his sister when they were both kids and is now afraid to commit himself to any other type of relationship.
94	--> "I'm afraid to wake. I'm afraid to love."
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
98	* The dissolution of Wrestling/TheShield proved to be this for all three of its members, as it embittered each of them in different ways. None of them were ever the same after the stable broke up, and it ended up affecting the trajectories of all three of their careers. For elaboration:
99	** [[Wrestling/JonMoxley Dean Ambrose]] ended up with a major chip on his shoulder (to accompany the one he already had ''before'' the Shield) that persisted throughout even the Shield's second run, while also becoming disillusioned with the company altogether and leaving in 2019 to jump ship to AEW. Despite that, he was the only one to really make peace with what happened and overall it left him jaded, (more) violent, and, ironically, stabler than he was before.
100	** Wrestling/SethRollins rode high off his betrayal by joining Wrestling/TheAuthority -- only for his first world title reign to end in disaster after he got injured towards the end of 2015. After that, he was never able to recapture his previous success and was eventually betrayed by his EvilMentor Wrestling/TripleH, at which point he was left on his own in the middle of a hostile locker room. He spent the next several years trying to redeem himself and reconcile with his two "brothers", but only managed that with Ambrose, and his big face run collapsed thanks to terrible booking and his own out-of-kayfabe behavior, forcing him to make a FaceHeelTurn just to save his character. These days he functions as a delusional PsychopathicManchild with a [[DarkMessiah messiah complex]] who is one of the most hated and despicable wrestlers on the roster.
101	** Wrestling/RomanReigns had the worst of it all, as he was ''never'' able to get over the end of the stable. The end of the Shield began his much reviled face run, where he was pushed to the moon as the next Wrestling/JohnCena in hopes of making him the company's next big star, only to instead become its most polarizing performer instead. This, combined with other outside factors, prevented him from having an extended world title reign. In addition, his best friend Ambrose ended up leaving the company, and he was never able to truly reconcile with Rollins. When the company started freezing him out at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in retaliation for his decision to stay home in order to protect his family, Reigns finally snapped and became a sociopathic dollar store crime boss who regularly physically and emotionally abuses his family into doing his bidding.
102
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
106	* George Weathermay, one of the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting's greatest werebeast hunters, began a downward spiral into self-recrimination and depression when he brought his new fiancee home to meet the family, only to have her reveal herself as a lycanthrope and attack his young nieces. Neither girl died, but he blames himself and is now obsessed with tracking down and destroying this treacherous werewolf, whom he fears may have infected one of the twins with lycanthropy.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Theatre]]
110	* The ''Theatre/MrsHawking'' play series: For Malaika in ''Gilded Cages'', [[spoiler: when their plan to feed her starving village fails, Victoria disappears on her, and her entire life is ruined when she is arrested for what they did. She loses all faith in being able to count on others, particularly white people or those more privileged.]]
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
114	* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
115	** Miles Edgeworth was an excitable and energetic child that strove to defend the innocent like his father was doing as a defense attorney. One day, Edgeworth's father was killed and he was taken in by Manfred von Karma, who raised him to be a ruthless prosecutor. Edgeworth grew up thinking defense attorneys were scumbags and the guilty should be punished. His personality also changed greatly where he is very stoic, rarely emotes, and always tries to keep up a professional front instead of just being himself. Edgeworth does lighten up a little bit after some CharacterDevelopment, but he's no longer the energetic and eager person he once was.
116	** Phoenix Wright in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' became very aloof, snarks openly instead of restricting it to FirstPersonSmartass, and makes jokes at Apollo's expense. Due to Phoenix losing his ability to practice law after being set up with false evidence, it's not hard to imagine him being at least bitter about it. By ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', he returns to his old chipper self after his innocence is proven and he returns to the world of law.
117	** Ema Skye also goes through a cynicism phase in ''Apollo Justice'' where it's revealed she failed her forensics exam, thus she is shunted over to detective work instead of the forensics detective that she dreamed of becoming. Ema wanted to be in the field of forensics ever since she was a teenager, but her dreams being crushed left her very bitter and irritable. By the time of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', she retakes her exam and passes it, becoming happy and chipper like she used to be.
118	** The "Dark Age of Law" brought out the cynical side of a few people in ''Dual Destinies''. First there's Professor Aristotle Means, a professor and defense attorney that saw how twisted the courts became under the dark age. Rather than trying to fight it, Means believed the twisted version of the law is something to embrace and he adopted the mantra of "the end justifies the means" where one will do anything it takes to win a case in their favor. There's also [[spoiler: Aura Blackquill]] who saw her brother being charged with a murder he did not commit and despite her demands for a retrial, she was ignored due to lack of evidence proving her brother's innocence. She then grew up becoming extremely bitter and distrusting towards the law and anyone that practices it.
119	* ''VisualNovel/AnimamundiDarkAlchemist'': Its VillainProtagonist Dr. Zaberisk make a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Mephistopheles]] after the ungrateful villagers beheaded his very naive sister [[WitchHunt for supposedly having a book of witch recipes]]. This sent him on a series of mass murders and horrible experiments to try to save her. She was indeed a dark sorceress. It's revealed in the end game that she sold her soul to the very same devil to save her brother several years back.
120	* ''VisualNovel/TyrionCuthbertAttorneyOfTheArcane'':
121	** Flinheart [=McCoy=], the victim of Case 1, developed a grudge against mages and magic in general because he used to be friends with Garrick Pierce as a child, but one day, Garrick started practicing magic without the presence of an instructor. Flinhart and Garrick found out why an instructor is necessary the hard way, because Garrick lost control of his magic and accidentally killed Effie, Flinhart's sister.
122	** Ruby used to be a more straightlaced, upstanding lawyer, until she was unable to acquit Tyrion's mother and save her from execution. After that, she decided to fight just as dirty as the corrupt nobles do.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Web Comics]]
126	* ''Webcomic/DreamingFreedom'': Jeongmin was [[BulliedIntoDepression already jaded,]] but finding out that [[AlphaBitch Juhyeon]] had sent two girls to “befriend” her in order to make her slip up makes her give up on finding true friends in general and sets her off on getting revenge.
127	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Susan has had two of these; the first was the aftermath of her father cheating on her mother and the second was when she had to [[spoiler:kill the aberration]].
128	* In ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'', Ian set off on his quest to find the elven gods because his ''older'' sister was dying and he wanted to find a way to heal her. When he achieves godlike power and returns home to find that she died while he was away, [[FreakOut he snaps and blows up a few cities]].
129	* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Antimony being forced to lead her own mother to the afterlife.
130	* ''Webcomic/ImTheGrimReaper'': Scarlet’s comes very early in the story. At first she’s more apprehensive about killing sinners, but when the seemingly nice young man she meets who’s marked as one turns out to be a cold-blooded serial killer, she quickly becomes more jaded and willing to do the job.
131	* ''Webcomic/{{Nebula}}'': Witnessing Sun kill Ceres (the only other member of his species he'd ever seen) is what drives Pluto to abandon hope of befriending the rest of the group and makes him leave to go join [[TheCorrupter Black Hole]].
132	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
133	** Roy Greenhilt has a dead little brother named Eric. Eugene's magic experiments were responsible, but Roy blames himself to a certain degree for failing to get his arrogant father's attention before the lab exploded. His comment on Eric's love of music and potential future as a bard may also provide insight into his relationship with Elan.
134	** Redcloak, the AntiVillain, is revealed to have a dead little sister in the prequel book ''Start of Darkness'', and at the end of the book, he's forced to kill his brother too.
135	** Varsuvius really screws up with that deal with the three fiends, but after [[spoiler:they find out that their purge to end the cycle of revenge killed a LOT of humans (and their many, many in-laws), whose ancestor fell in love with a dragon]], the cynicism kicks in and makes them much less of a LargeHam and more of a Vulcan. In the next book, they don't show ANY haughtiness or flashy gestures at all when casting spells.
136	* In ''Webcomic/{{Picatrix}}'', Samael is motivated to exact revenge on the angel of death who took the soul of his twin sister.
137	* In ''Webcomic/PowerpuffGirlsDoujinshi'', Dexter seems to be collecting these. First of all he's got the haunting death of Dee Dee, his dead sister (ironically a dead ''big'' sister) hanging over him. Then, not long after, he develops a secondary complex involving his guilt over Mandark's death in light of Mandark's own little sister promptly moving to Dexter's school after the loss of her sibling. One way or another, he’s suffering a lot of angst these days.
138	* ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'': Something, that is most likely linked to the PromotionToParent in his backstory, has caused Onni to fear the [[ForbiddenZone Silent]] [[DeathWorld World]] to the point that he hasn't left his home military base in 11 years when the story starts and he has been doing all he could to keep his younger sister in there as well. Whatever means he used for this apparently backfired, as the younger sister in question is now fascinated with the Silent World and accepts a job to explore it. Onni can't bring himself to accompany her there, even if it means getting separated from her.
139	* Hoh from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' feels guilty for not being strong enough to protect his friends from a berserk stray warrior. It has made him rather jealous and loathing towards anyone with greater power than him, especially Bam.
140	* Darby has the older brother version in ''Webcomic/TRULifeAdventures''. Watching how others got hypocritical in response had more of an impact than the actual death, though.
141	* ''Webcomic/TheWotch'': It is strongly implied that Miranda West's distance is because she blames herself for her friends' deaths.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Web Original]]
145	* ''Literature/CanYouSpareAQuarter'': Jamie began to run away from home after his uncle died; he had been the only relative to treat him well and until then Jamie thought he might be taken by his uncle.
146	* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', after years of being the OnlySaneMan of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, Arthéon got an in-game girlfriend with whom he got along perfectly well. The girlfriend [[spoiler:interrupted their in-game wedding because she found out something more interesting to her was happening elsewhere]]. This prompted Arthéon to question all his current friendships lash out on pretty much everyone, including his own guild [[spoiler:by disbanding it]].
147	* ''Literature/RedsARevolutionaryTimeline'': The United States entering the First World War much earlier, and seeing a significantly higher death toll as a result, was this for a great many Americans. The individual character most directly affected by this in the narrative is George Patton, of all people: The horrors of trench warfare were enough to throw cold water on even his BloodKnight tendencies, and the lack of any clear reason ''why'' this whole war started and what America is getting out of sending thousands of its young men to their deaths every day forced him to do some serious self-reflection about his PatrioticFervor and the gulf between the country the United States was and the country he wanted it to be. He returned home from the war a very changed man, [[TropesAreTools but not necessarily for the worse]]: [[TookALevelInCynicism Losing a lot of his idealism about his country]] was what prevented him being drawn into the proto-fascist movement that was developing around General [=MacArthur=].
148	* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', Agent Washington was shown in the Project Freelancer sections to have been a fairly idealistic and warm guy. However, [[spoiler:having an AI go mad inside his head and show him all that had happened to the Alpha AI and the Director]] turned him into the bitter, cynical man he is in the present. [[CharacterDevelopment He's gotten much better (at least on the warm end) thanks to his interactions with the Reds and Blues]], but it's clear the man he used to be is ''gone''.
149	* ''[[http://www.takealemon.com Take a Lemon]]'':
150	** Marsh seems to regard his little sister Tina as dead, even though she is standing right in front of him because her memories were apparently altered by the experiment.
151	** Later in the story, Marsh finds out that his favorite cousin is now RetGone due to the same experiment, leading to a HeroicBSOD.
152	* In ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', Sylvester's upbringing being used as a test subject for the experimental [[PsychoSerum Wyvern Formula]] served to make him automatically distrustful of kindness, since he knew it was always followed by pain. Jamie even calls it a "compulsion to attack people who are kind to him," no matter if their kindness is genuine or not.
153	* On ''AudioPlay/WereAlive'', Todd's death at the hands of the zombies is Lizzy's main reason for wanting to kill every zombie she sees.
154	** After Samantha's Death, Datu spends a lot of time being generally depressed and hopeless. During The War and its aftermath he is completely convinced that everyone is going to die and begins leading some of the other Tower members in prayer rather than trying to help fend off the Mallers/zombies/fire. It isn't until Michael, Pegs and Kelly return from the Colony with Samantha's daughter, [[MeaningfulName Hope]], that he really gets better.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Real Life]]
158	* The Kennedys:
159	** John Fitzgerald Kennedy had his dead older brother Joseph, who died in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Both he and Joseph Jr. were dead older brothers to Bobby and Ted, and sadly, JFK, RFK, and Joe Jr. '''all''' were dead older brothers to Ted, the only one who lived a full life.
160	** JFK's two sons, Patrick (dead two days after his birth) and John Jr. (dead in a plane crash alongside his wife and sister-in-law) are dead younger brothers to his only surviving child, his daughter Caroline. Who also has a dead older sister in Arabella (a stillborn child).
161	** The Kennedy Family's involvement in the Special Olympics is inspired by (or perhaps penance for) the fate of Rosemary, who was {{lobotom\|y}}ized and then kept in an asylum for most of her life because Joseph Kennedy Sr. was flimflammed into thinking it was a [[HonorRelatedAbuse good way to deal]] with [[RebelliousPrincess a willful daughter]] by celebrity lobotomist Walter Freeman.
162	* Richard Nixon was always an intense political campaigner, but his paranoia and Machiavellian tendencies were only exacerbated after losing the 1960 presidential election and the 1962 California gubernatorial election back to back. Both times, he felt humiliated and bitter at losing and being outplayed, particularly by the Kennedy campaign, and had (admittedly good) reason to believe that the press had unfairly favored his opponents. After that, he vowed to never let himself be caught off-guard again, leading to later incidents such as the Dragon Lady Affair (where he probably had a contact sabotage peace talks between North and South Vietnam in order to hurt his 1968 opponent, Hubert Humphrey) and, of course, Watergate (though Nixon did not personally order the break-in, and did not know about it before reading about it in the newspaper, he immediately got in on covering it up).
163	* [[Creator/MarkTwain Samuel Clemens]] lost his younger brother Henry in a boiler explosion on the steamboat that he piloted, and was guilt-ridden about it for the rest of his life.
164	* Akiyuki Nosaka, author of ''Grave of the Fireflies'', wrote it as an apology to his little sister who died of malnutrition in war-torn Japan during WWII. Internet rumor has it that she didn't die of malnutrition and that he simply lost her one day and never saw her again. The book (and subsequent anime film) were ways of convincing himself of this. Japan's records of the time are terrible at best and it's most likely that the story was crossed with one of someone else.
165	* Known for being something of an [[WideEyedIdealist idealist]] before, Aaron Burr, the man who killed UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton in a duel, was hit ''hard'' by the [[GovernmentConspiracy state-sponsored]] [[AssassinationAttempt attempt(s) on his life]] in 1807, [[DrivenToSuicide trying (and failing) to shoot himself]] after his trial ended. Though he made no further attempts (that we know of) to kill himself, he was never quite the same again, becoming rather [[DeadpanSnarker cynical and sardonic]] for the rest of his life. He also became extremely paranoid, assuming at least five separate aliases, disguising his handwriting, and carrying concealed weapons at all times--where he had previously been known as [[SuperGullible the exact opposite]].
166	** Burr had also previously had a more minor one on January 26 of 1804, the day he learned that [[BrokenPedestal Thomas Jefferson]], [[WithFriendsLikeThese along with the entire Democratic-Republican party]], had betrayed him (and indeed had been working against him behind-the-scenes for over a decade); this was enough to make Burr rather disillusioned with the party, and politics in general.
167	* The Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis and his daughter/heiress Christina had his son and her older brother die, respectively: Alexandre Onassis Livanos, who died in a plane crash at age 25 (which is a favorite topic among {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s). Both of his parents crossed the DespairEventHorizon at that: mother Athena Mary Livanos ("Tina") killed herself, Aristotle's already decaying health plummeted and he died a few months later. Christina outlived everyone for more than a decade, [[BrokenBird but she didn't have it much easier, either.]]
168	* Creator/PhilipKDick's twin sister died when the two were only five weeks old. Being raised as a child with this knowledge (his mother allegedly claimed that the wrong child had died during an argument), the loss haunted PKD throughout his life. The figure of the mysterious, dark-haired, and unattainable woman that is prominent in so many of his works (especially "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said") is said to be based on PKD's imaginings of what his sister would have been like had she lived.
169	* As told in ''Boy: Tales of Childhood'', the loss of Creator/RoaldDahl's older sister Astri drove his father to DeathByDespair when he fell ill with pneumonia.
170	* Wyatt Earp's vendetta against The Cowboys, following his brother Virgil's permanent injury and Morgan's death. It's known for being retold in the film ''Film/{{Tombstone}}''.
171	* Back in 2004, UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort's sister Priscila was abducted in Brazil, and for three years he used his fights as a soapbox from which to tell fans about this and solicit information and help. The distraction due to this contributed to his losses in this time. Unfortunately in 2007, a woman ended up confessing to her murder, though the Belforts didn't initially believe her (fearing rather the possibility of her covering for someone else). Nevertheless, it was only after this that his career turned around -- and at his UFC 142: RIO, her face was on his team banner.
172	* Creator/VincentVanGogh [[DeadGuyJunior had an older brother, also named Vincent, stillborn the year earlier]]. It's been suggested this knowledge deeply influenced him and his artwork. Whatever the case, he was a very unhappy person in adult life, and eventually killed himself.[[note]]Although recent re-examination (circa 2011) of the evidence has brought the suicide angle under heavy dispute due to the nature of the wounds.[[/note]]
173	* Creator/CharlesDickens was greatly affected by a railway disaster caused when a maintenance crew failed to warn oncoming trains of work on the line ahead. He, his mother, and his mistress all survived, but his son noted that Dicken's outlook on life changed from that point forward, and he grew increasingly bitter.
174	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CynicismCatalyst