Times where someone attempts to undercut, undermine and ruin the success of another in Fan Works.
Crossovers
- Subverted in Beyond the Outer Gates Lies... A high school library?: Following Harry's Grand Romantic Gesture in the Christmas Episode, Issei, Saji and Azazel complain that he made them look bad in comparison. Harry points out that neither Saji or Azazel even have girlfriends, and that it wasn't his fault Issei didn't plan anything himself despite having been dating his girls for longer. Harry then advises Issei to prepare in advance for Valentine's Day, pointing out that most of Issei's girlfriends aren't likely to follow the Japanese customs for the holiday and are likely expecting something more along the lines of flowers and dinner.
- In Blessed with a Hero's Heart, the mages of Lyndon College can't stand the notion of anyone outside their group managing to create a spell; whenever anyone does, they attempt to find out how it works so they can steal the credit for it. After Megumin creates her Big Bang spell, then implies to the Lyndon College mage who starts harassing her that she's working on other magic, they attempt to murder her in response.
- In The Cultist, other demons despise Charlie Morningstar for how she succeeded in redeeming a demon, enabling them to leave Hell. The other demons would prefer to drag others down with them, not uplift them as Charlie has.
- Cursed Blood: Junko Konno used to be an up-and-coming Idol Singer who concealed her spider-like traits by wrapping her extra appendages up like silk, disguising them as "wings". One of her rivals couldn't stand sharing the spotlight with her, so she injected her with Trigger at a party, causing her body to mutate further. This sent Junko through a Trauma Conga Line as her reputation was dragged through the mud by the media, her career crashing down around her while her parents outright disowned her.
- Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls: Adagio Dazzle learns that while Las Noches is ruled by the motto of "the strong will rise while the weak serve", the higher and more importantly quicker you rise will get you all sorts of attention, with the higher ups intrigued or threatened by a potential threat to their status quo (especially if you're nearing their level) while your supposed peers rankle at the idea you got it "easy" by breezing through the ranks at speeds that took them years of training and struggle to reach. The current Fourth Espada is equally feared and envied for coming out of nowhere a few years back, crippling the former Sixth Espada when the latter tried to "teach him a lesson", and then fighting Tirek before being given his seat. Adagio follows suit when she goes from a simple Adjuchas to a Vasto Lorde, and later still an Arrancar worthy as the new Sixth Espada over the current one Guto (a very prideful warrior who didn't take kindly to how she chose to be tested by Tirek rather than face him directly) in the span of only about a month. About the only person who doesn't really care is Tirek, since he's so strong no one can hope to match him in a one-on-one and he wants strong warriors no matter what their circumstances.Adagio: Oh for the love of...stop acting like such a child! Are you that bothered by my being stronger than you that you’d rather get your idiot-self killed than just accept your position for what it is? You’re still an Espada. Get over yourself and start acting like one!
Gilda: What would you know about it? You’ve been an Arrancar for barely a fraction as long as I have! Do you have any idea what I’ve been through to get where I am? How long I’ve fought, and bitten, and clawed my way through Guto’s army to earn their respect and a shot at reaching the top! How many years I’ve done nothing but train, and fight, and train, and fight just to get this far...then you show up and like a damn golden child you steal not just my glory, but Lord Guto's too!? Lord Guto gave me everything I have, and you stole his position away from him, and shamed me at the same time. And you did it without even trying. No effort. You just walked into Las Noches like you owned the place... I’d have preferred it if Tirek had made us fight for the position and you’d killed me. At least then I wouldn’t feel so...so damn worthless! - Ghoul Hunter: Garou's good looks, superhuman physical prowess, intelligence and fighting skills cause some of the veteran Investigators (like Koori) to regard him enviously.
- Infinity Train: Cherry Bloodlines: Generally speaking, those who don't have any particular talent tend to get incredibly envious and spiteful towards anyone who they do see as having some kind of skill, such as Chloe's natural abilities as a writer. Notably, Pokémon Training seems to be an exception to this.
- Inheritance of Cards and Demons: After activating, the Cook Card takes over the school cafeteria, making it very popular among the students. The envious cafeteria staff, upset that the students prefer the work of a ghost of them, then report the card's presence to the exorcists.
- In Neither a Bird nor a Plane, it's Deku!, the Ultra-Humanite sees himself as a victim of this for being suppressed into mediocrity despite his supergenius intellect. He comes to see Izuku in the same light, as the boy is also amazingly powerful but is confined by society's anti-alien rhetoric.Ultra-Humanite: (to Izuku) Do you know why I was playing "The Cunning Little Vixen", boy? Because I feel a kinship with the titular character. In the first act, the vixen is forcibly made a pet by the forester and forced to live with a conservative old dachshund. After years of this, she becomes fed up with a life of conformity and escapes back into the wilderness. It’s perfectly understandable; when you're forced to live with people who only want to suppress your talents and are satisfied with mediocrity, you eventually reach a point where you can't stomach it any longer and lash out against the world. That’s me. For all the decades I've been alive, everywhere I've been has been filled with idiots and layabouts who have no appreciation for the things in life with even a modicum of substance. Worst of all, they expect me to just play along with their stupidity! Could you even imagine that? Bringing yourself down to everyone's level and never allowing yourself to be at your best?
- Oogway's Little Owl: A custodian attempted to warn Shifu that Tai Lung was about to go off the deep end by giving him three sets of papers. The first was a literal flip book of a flower that was growing too quickly, wilting once its stalk stretched too thin and could no longer support itself. The second was another flip book depicting Tai Lung suffering from a Freak Out while training. The third was a set of job flyers. Offended, Shifu ignored the warning.
- Son of the Seven Kingdoms: Pycelle employs Obfuscating Disability in order to protect himself from this.
- Referenced in Turnabout Storm for the reason why Ace Swift's death is being kept under wraps. The Judge tells Twilight that they don't want to worry the other racers, because the murder "may give them the idea if they become 'too good' the murderer will go after them next".
- When they were younger in The Vigilante Boss and His Failed Retirement Plan, Bakugou would mock and sabotage any of Izuku's attempts to learn self-defense or training by escalating his physical bullying. While Bakugou refused to admit it to himself, he knew that a Quirkless hero would stand out far more than a regular hero and didn't want any chance of Izuku taking his spotlight.
- In With Pearl and Ruby Glowing, Courtney excelled academically, which pissed off some of her male classmates enough that they assaulted her. She even goes by "Tall Poppy" in the Palace.
- Cloud's SOLDIER prep squad-mates in Once More With Feeling
first start bullying Cloud when he's shown to be a genius, testing out of every academic class in a week each. They actually try to cripple him once Cloud starts excelling physically as well (due to training for hours every night to relearn how to fight in his younger body).
- In Nobody Cared, Hermione is attacked by Ron, Dean and Seamus, and McGonagall states that this is Hermione's fault for not conforming to the Gryffindor norm.Snape: Not conforming? Not conforming? So you want her to fall in like a good little lion, becoming like all the other girls? You want her to force herself to change, losing that bright spark of life? Her love of learning? Minerva, the girl used to drive me mad, but even I recognize her potential to do great things, perhaps, with that brilliant mind, even to change the world. And you would suppress that, just so she could make her life easier? She is special. She is different. She is being bullied by her classmates, whether you choose to see it or not, because of that difference.
- Cheating Death: Those That Lived: The Careers in the Third Quarter Quell kept singling out and targeting Pasture. While she initially thinks this is the reason, she later learns they were Motivated by Fear — rather than being envious of her strength and power, they saw her as a genuine threat to their own survival.
- The Crimson Garment: On her very first day at school, Ryuko was beaten up for showing more intelligence than her classmates. Her teachers also participated in this; several of them purposefully failed her in order to make her classmates feel better about themselves.
- A recurring theme in a long-running series based on a relationship between Matt Devlin and Alesha Philips reveals that her family despises her not just for becoming a Crown Prosecutor, but for not using her position to get the criminal members of her family out of trouble.
- The Story of Apollo, Daphne and Luca: An Italian Tragedy: Vincenzo is quite resentful of Luca's popularity with the other kids and the fact that he became more beloved than him; in Chapter 1, he accuses him of cheating on Rosa with Giulia in order to make him look bad.
- Pound the Table: After rising tennis star Jacques Canter wins the US Open, his opponent accuses him of being a mutant, seeing him swiftly stripped of all his titles. As Noa takes his case, it's noted that many of the top sports leagues are temporarily suspending competitions, as many athletes are understandably leery that they could potentially lose their own livelihoods to some Jerkass accusing them of being too good. This pressure causes the case to rocket through the surrounding bureaucracy unrealistically fast; they want to get it all resolved ASAP and stop losing revenue.
- The Greatest of Them All: Flash envies Peter, seeing him as living a "charmed life" compared to his own. Notably, Flash is also self-aware enough to realize that if he were as lucky as Peter, he wouldn't be anywhere near as good of a person.
- The Wolves in the Woods: It's eventually revealed that Alya actually knew that Lila was lying the whole time, and took advantage of her to turn the whole class against Marinette, as they were jealous of Marinette's success and worried that she would leave them behind... unless they "knocked her down a few pegs". Astoundingly, despite their betrayal, they continue to feel entitled to Marinette even after the bullying they spearheaded forces her to transfer to another school.
- An untitled ficlet has Marinette's classmates only pretending to be taken in by Lila's Blatant Lies out of jealousy over their 'everyday Ladybug's' successes and wanting to humble her. It backfires; since none of her False Friends are spending time with her anymore, she has more time to focus on other things like her burgeoning career.
- In a follow-up, Alya and the others confront her and reveal their plot. Not only is Marinette Disappointed by the Motive, so is everyone else who witnessed it, as the class realizes too late they hadn't thought things through and are now left with ruined reputations and without her friendship.
- In a follow-up
- Cain: Katsuki has this attitude towards Izuku. As far as he's concerned, it's not enough for him to succeed; Izuku needs to remain a "worthless, Quirkless Deku". Due to this, Katsuki is hellbent on sabotaging Izuku's apprenticeship with All Might and ruining every chance he has to find happiness.
- Conversations with a Cryptid implies that Katsuki and his followers were subconsciously afraid of Izuku. While Quirkless, his Awesomeness by Analysis provided him with ample understanding of their abilities... including their weaknesses. All for One declares that had Izuku desired it, he could have maimed Katsuki or any of his bullies despite his Quirklessness.
- Crimson and Emerald:
- Many of the Yuuei interns' peers and upperclassman become resentful of how they've found success and fame by landing positions working with the top heroes Hawks and Mirko.
- During the opening exercise for the Training Camp, the Internship Squad bands together and complete the exercise a full four hours ahead of everyone else. Uraraka and others are left seething over the sight of the interns resting up afterwards, unbothered by the Training from Hell.
- For Their Sakes: Hawks is used to his fellow Pro Heroes expressing envy over his accomplishments. When Tensei notes that Hawks has shown him how much he needs to improve despite being so much younger, he notices Hawks tensing up in response, seemingly expecting Tensei to continue berating him.
- The Scorpion Jar:
- The title comes from a Navajo man Toshinori met during his time in America, who filled a jar with scorpions in order to illustrate this trope. After leaving the jar out overnight, most of the scorpions had killed their fellows, something Toshinori compares to Pro Heroes fighting over their position in the Hero Rankings. He expresses his fear that those with such Skewed Priorities will end up destroying each other out of jealousy.
- This nicely parallels how Izuku engineers the downfall of all the bullies at Aldera. He convinces most of them to turn upon each other, providing him with plenty of Blackmail material on their "rivals" in exchange for test answers. This comes back to bite them all when Izuku then takes all the evidence straight to the Board of Education, prompting a massive investigation that leads to all the bullies getting arrested.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- In The Audience, Arthur confronts Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity over how they treated Trixie during the "Boast Busters" incident, citing this as one of the reasons why they heckled her so much. He also points out to them that Trixie's cutie mark symbolizes that she specializes in Stage Magic in a world that runs on Functional Magic, which is likely why she reacted so poorly.
- On a Cross and Arrow: After she got her cutie mark, Rarity's classmates became so jealous of her that she learned a spell to make it temporarily disappear, as hiding it from sight and letting them pretend it didn't exist was easier than dealing with the bullying.
- Pony Psychology Series: Loss reveals that Rarity is deeply afraid of falling victim to this, which fuels her excessive generosity: if she's constantly sharing and spreading the wealth, others can't despise her for it, right? Unfortunately, she takes this to the point of driving herself deep into debt.
- RainbowDoubleDash's Lunaverse: Applejack fears this, and believes this is why the Apple Trust corporation needs to dominate the market in Ponyville and throughout Equestria. In Carrot Top Season, she tells Carrot Top that "In a group, the weak always drag down the strong."
- The village of Sunny Town in the fangame Story of the Blanks has the dark secret that the blank-flanked ponies murder anypony who finds their purpose in life and earns a Cutie Mark.
- Uchibi Sasuke: Prior to the Massacre, the Uchiha clan were so obsessed with ensuring they were the richest and most powerful clan in Konohagakure that they would actively try to drive others into ruin, even resorting to murder. This made them Hated by All, but there was nothing others could do about it until Itachi put a stop to it.Shikaku: Uchiha ruin everything.
- In The Bald and the Esper, a lot of Saitama's detractors are either people who failed to join the Hero Association or ones who succeeded and are less successful than him. When Saitama's rank skyrockets from 388 (dead last) to 5 among the C-Ranks, one person insists that he must have cheated because it was impossible to change ranks, even though the Hero Association has several rules pertaining to changing ranks.
- Steal the Truth, Reach Out For Your Heart: Kamoshida Used to Be a Sweet Kid; however, his peers constantly bullied him for being unusually tall for his age. This improved after he got into volleyball, but the resulting Acquired Situational Narcissism went to his head in the worst possible way.
- Sabrina in Pokémon Reset Bloodlines really doesn't like this. She believes that those who cut down the exceptional rather than working to improve themselves deserve to die, and Dario found this out the hard way.
- Linked in Life and Love: As the Vytal Tournament approaches, Cardin asks Professor Goodwitch what kind of restrictions will be placed upon competitors, suggesting that they should only be allowed to use their own weapons and Semblances. While he's clearly trying to get the teachers to impose an Obvious Rule Patch to prevent Team RWBY from using their recently discovered advantages, Goodwitch Defies this by reminding Cardin that the tournament is meant to display the full strength of all the Hunters participating. Goodwitch goes on to give a Dare to Be Badass speech by declaring that fighting against seemingly impossible odds is a Hunter's duty, and if Cardin can't handle that, he should quit now.
- Don't Keep Your Distance: Most of the residents of Sunny Clearing, who practically act as a Hive Mind at times and dislike anyone who doesn't conform or follow their herd mentality. This includes Morris, who lives on the village's outskirts and doesn't care for their attitude problems.
- In a Strange Land: This was part of Tommy's False Friendship with Steve. Tommy constantly pressured Steve to follow his ideas of what 'cool' was, and got jealous whenever Steve showed any signs of being exceptional in ways that didn't personally benefit Tommy in some way.
- In The Better to Know You, after learning that Kotetsu can speak 10 languages fluently, his partner Barnaby asked why he is never open to sharing that he's more intelligent than he acts. Kotetsu admits that when he was a child, his teachers would treat him harshly for showing intelligence because he was a NEXT, grading him lower for mistakes compared to non-NEXT.
