Line #57 Main/TookALevelInCynic


1	[[quoteright:300:[[Manga/TheDisappearanceOfNagatoYukiChan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cc9087af1495cd79ad7a63f7592dee9c.PNG]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''[[CatchPhrase Yare yare...]]'']]
3
4	->''"In every cynical person there is a disappointed idealist."''
5	-->-- '''Creator/GeorgeCarlin'''
6
7	The character gave the world their love, their care, their trust, and, in return, was somehow back-stabbed, deceived, taken advantage of, used. Some of their old optimism breaks, and they take it to heart that they should not trust others so easily. There is, however, a '''readjustment in expectations on how the world works towards the pessimistic''', not [[DespairEventHorizon an outright surrender]], and not necessarily a [[ShootTheDog change]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo in methods]] either (an {{incorruptible\| Pure Pureness}} character may choose to be a DoomedMoralVictor rather than adjust their methods) or even a change in attitude (ThePollyanna is perfectly aware of living in a CrapsackWorld, yet refuses to let it bring them down), let alone a FaceHeelTurn, as any AntiHero can attest. The KnightInSourArmor is a classic example of an idealist who remains so at heart despite having taken several levels in cynic.
8
9	A BrokenPedestal can result in this; in a meta sense, the character perceives all of humanity to have failed to live up to his expectations, and revises them accordingly. The cause of the event is the CynicismCatalyst. The result is usually the acquisition of JadeColouredGlasses. Can result in a BrokenBird, or, worse yet, a DespairEventHorizon. See also SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids. See also InnocenceLost.
10
11	Contrast TheAntiNihilist, SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers and TookALevelInIdealism.
12	----
13	!!Examples:
14
15	[[foldercontrol]]
16
17	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
18	* Ciel Phantomhive from ''Manga/BlackButler'' was a CheerfulChild when younger, but after his parents died and became enslaved for a year, he became grim and brooding just like in the present day. He's basically Bruce Wayne if Alfred were a demon [[spoiler:and the Waynes were a Black Ops. dynasty.]]
19	* Occurred to Ryuuken Ishida in the backstory of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', when the dark secrets of the Quincy that he was idealistic about the future of hit him all at once, [[spoiler:killing both his wife and past love interest/cousin]].
20	* In ''Franchise/CodeGeass'', [[Characters/CodeGeassLelouchLamperouge Lelouch Lamperouge]] acquires this at age eight, when his mother is murdered and his sister crippled in what may be a court intrigue, about which his father the Emperor does nothing. When Lelouch [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out on this]], his response is to send the kid over to an enemy country as a hostage and bargaining chip. Not long after, he invades the country that is hosting his own child, in a very bloody war. No wonder the kid ends up the way he does.
21	* All three of the main cast in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' had such an event horizon long before the plot starts; they were all betrayed by a close friend or a romantic partner, and as a result have closed themselves up to the world. It takes them a long time to learn to care about each other, but, in the end, that's not enough to save them.
22	* In ''Manga/TheDisappearanceOfNagatoYukiChan'', a few days of interacting with Haruhi Suzumiya is enough to wear Kyon down.
23	* {{Deconstructed}} in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. During the Tournament of Power, Toppo of Universe 11 becomes more and more crushed as the Pride Troopers are eliminated and those he considers "evil" remain standing. When Freeza attacks him and destroys his uniform, Toppo decides to screw all that and embrace the power of a God of Destruction. When he battles Vegeta after pummeling Freeza and Android #17, he mocks the Saiyan Prince for his promise to Cabba and boasts that he threw away all of his morals as "unnecessary". [[spoiler:Vegeta is so incensed at that that he powers up and overwhelms Toppo, calling him out for his stupid way of thinking.]]
24	* ''Literature/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]].
25	* In ''VideoGame/LapisReLights'', Ange was a sweet, innocent, and delicate girl who was always polite, generous, and has never said an unkind word to anyone--outside of her close friends and groupmates in the witch/idol unit Ray, anyway. Three years later at the present day, she now goes by Angelica, much taller, with more mature figure, and a ''far ''more cynical view of the world, acting in very crude, rude, and even violent manners, though it's mostly towards her new friend and partner, Lucifer.
26	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
27	** [[Characters/NarutoSasukeUchiha 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 predecessors.
28	** He's got nothing on [[spoiler:Obito, who went from being a carefree, happy-go-lucky kid to wanting to force the entire world into a dream world because he saw hope and peace as laughable concepts]]. Then again, [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBastard Madara manipulated events]] to turn Obito into such a person so that he could become [[UnwittingPawn a perfect pawn for his own plans]]]].
29	* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'''s [[DysfunctionJunction entire cast have had theirs before the plot even starts]] (well, almost; one of them gets it over the course of the series, and the resulting change in loyalties is crucial to the ending of the story). Some of the relevant moments were revealed in-story, others [[AllThereInTheManual in supplementary materials]].
30	* ''Anime/PsychoPass'': Initially, Akane Tsunemori was your typical WideEyedIdealist. After all the crap she went through, involving her best friend's death and learning the truth of the Sibyl system, she has become a battle-driven and jaded veteran.
31	* Flashbacks reveal that Homura from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' started the series as cheerful, klutzy, and a WideEyedIdealist. [[spoiler: Repeated failures to save Madoka in timeline after timeline]] caused her to slowly withdraw her faith in the world, turning into TheStoic character she is today.
32	* ''Literature/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?
33	* Mikeala of ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'' used to be an incredibly [[WideEyedIdealist optimistic]] and cheerful kid... at least until his plan to save his "family" gets them all killed and he's forced into becoming a vampire and being separated from his best friend for years. Oh, and he also learns that [[BlackAndGreyMorality humans may not be a whole lot better than the vampires]]. Suffice to say that his current self is a very jaded and self loathing pessimist who trusts no one.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* 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 young Bruce "grow up in a big hurry" into different degrees of cynicism:
38	** ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' being one of the more extreme versions where not a day passes that his EideticMemory doesn't show him his mother's pearl collar shattering.
39	** In ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'', he attempts to ''[[DrillSergeantNasty induce]]'' this on Dick Grayson, with the purpose of [[MiseryBuildsCharacter hardening him]], as a part of "drafting" him into his "war" after his parents' death.
40	* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': This happens to just about everyone (except Gert who was a horrible cynic from day one).
41	** Nico goes from being naive and trusting of just about everyone to very closed off, cautious, and suspicious. She also becomes progressively more [[DeadPanSnarker snarky]] as the series goes on.
42	** While Chase always had some issues to begin with, he still managed to come across as an irreverent JerkJock and when paired with his cynical girlfriend, came out looking like the positive one. His world view becomes less bright when [[spoiler:grieving Gert]] and in ''ComicBook/AvengersUndercover'' [[spoiler:goes back on his promise not talk about the events of ''ComicBook/AvengersArena'' because everyone knows what happened anyways and from where he was standing that meant Arcade already won]].
43	** While present! Molly is mostly her hyperactive, happy to face the universe self, future! Molly from ''ComicBook/BattleOfTheAtom'' hits the DespairEventHorizon after [[spoiler:President Dazzler is killed]] and [[spoiler:becomes evil, abandoning her childhood belief that she could be a hero and save everyone despite who her parents were]].
44	*** The trope is later [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] and then [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] by [[spoiler: the reveal that Molly and the other future Brotherhood members are the mind-controlled pawns of Future!Xavier and have had their personalities altered by him.]]
45	** Karolina is ''mostly'' unchanged, but more willing to acknowledge anyone is capable of evil or having bad things happen to them and is, like her teammates, much less naive and trusting than at the beginning of the series.
46	* ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': Ratchet, who was originally shown with a bad case of ChronicHeroSyndrome, has become this, what with the events of the last several years, and the fact that his hands are beginning to seize up. He's become much grouchier and snarkier as a result.
47	* In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2008]]'' storyline ''ComicBook/WayOfTheWorld'', 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.
48	-->'''Aftermath:''' Once upon a time the world was simple. There were heroes and there were villains and bad things only happened to bad people. And then Doomsday came. "Luckily", I survived the attack, but by then I'd come to realize--that sometimes the bad can even afflict the good. And that while we may believe in heroes, there really is no such thing. But why couldn't everyone else see that?
49	* In crossover storyline ''ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone'', Psi does not want to believe Supergirl's claims of wanting to help her due to a lot of people abusing and manipulating her after claiming to be invested in her welfare.
50	-->'''Psi:''' Cadmus said they'd help me-- They lied. Xa-Du said he could help me-- He lied. Now you're here to help me? Why the Hell should I trust you?
51	* ''ComicBook/FireflyBrandNewVerse'': Zoe was already a hard edged military woman, but losing Wash in TheMovie and struggling to keep the rust bucket ''Serenity'' flying while Mal is M.I.A. and arguing with her daughter has made her wonder if there’s still good in the verse. She does seem to decide there’s still some at the end of the story.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
55	* Before becoming famous for writing ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' series of children's books, Stan and Jan Berenstain did a comic strip series about parenting. A common theme was the differences in how certain situations were handled between the first child and the sixth child. Here are a couple of examples:
56	** The first child gets a huge, professionally decorated birthday cake with his OverlyLongName spelled out in frosting. The sixth child gets a prepackaged cupcake for his birthday, with the father saying, "Hey, you said you wanted chocolate!"
57	** When the first child's goldfish dies, the family holds an elaborate funeral for it. When the sixth child's goldfish dies, it gets tossed into the toilet.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Fan Works]]
61	* In ''Fanfic/AllForLuz'': This happens to Luz even early than canon before reaching The Boiling Isles. She became closed off towards people outside of her family after the events of Reality Check Camp: Where she was forced into a DeadlyGame by an AntagonisticGovernor where she witnessed her new friends get murdered and be forced to kill several times in self-defence. Camila notes her daughter had become jaded and extremely pessimistic after everything that's happened in the past month with her being a bigger social pariah on top of that, a far-cry from her previous BlitheSpirit self.
62	* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Mary Jane was initially excited about dating a superhero after learning that Peter is Spider-Man. But the constant stress of worrying about whether he's going to come home every night and his constant absences wore at her until she finally filed for divorce. She refuses to even discuss superheroes in the house and yells at May when she decides to become Spider-Girl.
63	* ''Fanfic/BloodMoon'': Four years of prison and one killing later, poor Katara has completely lost her innocence and childhood.
64	* 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 both actively and passively 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]]). He's also not above 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 and much [[TookALevelInKindness kinder]], consciously reeling in on a lot of his more anti-social tendencies. Thanks to a time-travel facilitated TimeSkip between books 2 and 3, and a fair bit of self-care, he's a considerably gentler and warmer person again. 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.
65	* 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 tons 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]].
66	* 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 that 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.
67	* 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 its shields, weapons, and engine upgrades.
68	* 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 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.
69	* ''Fanfic/TheJudgementOfTheWorld5Ds'': Yusei was apparently much more laidback and upbeat in his previous life, a personality that Stardust Dragon now has. In the present, though, he tends to be quite stoic and morose due to growing up impoverished and discriminated against and knowing that his father was partially responsible for Zero Reverse, an explosion that killed thousands, orphaned many of his friends, and left countless survivors scrounging in poverty.
70	* ''Fanfic/MeanRabbit'': After Miruko [[PointOfDivergence saves Izuku from the Sludge Villain]], she bursts the bubble on his optimism, helping him to see that his Quirklessness isn't the ''only'' obstacle keeping him from becoming a Pro Hero. He also has to deal with a society that sees him as practically worthless... and had ''him'' all but convinced of that same thing. Izuku sets out to prove society wrong, becoming more cynical and far less accepting about all the obstacles thrown in his way.
71	* {{Downplayed}} with Izuku in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13376018/1/My-Hero-Academia-Hero-Time My Hero Academia:Hero Time]]'', when he lost some of his idealism when he fought the corrupt Pro Hero Captain Nemesis and realized how many Pro Heroes were just glorified criminals. Despite this [[BrokenPedestal shattered faith]], Izuku's heroism never wavered and he continues to use the [[Franchise/Ben10 Omnitrix]] to help people.
72
73	* ''Fanfic/MyAbominableMonsterClassmatesCantBeThisCute'': In this ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfiction, Salem's prisoner, Summer Rose, has evidently become very cynical and given up hope of being rescued over the years she's been locked up and had her [[ArtificialHybrid Grimmified]], amnesiac daughter repeatedly wheeled in front of her. She acts acrid when she realizes who Jaune is, and she makes it clear she doesn't have any faith that he can beat Salem's plan for her daughters.
74
75	* In ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'', [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Carol Danvers]] 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.
76	* {{Downplayed}} in ''Fanfic/QuirkIncubus''. While Izuku's personality is more or less intact, he has developed a crude and rather dark sense of humor.
77	* 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.
78	* ''Fanfic/StillStandInTheSun'': Years of cruel imprisonment in the Fire Nation has left Katara devoid of all her former innocence and hope.
79	* 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 impossibile 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.
80	* Tashigi in ''Fanfic/ThisBites'' becomes considerably more jaded throughout the story as she learns the atrocities the World Government has committed. By the Enies Lobby arc, she's not shocked or disgusted any more, merely angry.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
84	* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManSpiderVerse'': [[spoiler:In [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse the first movie]], Peni Parker is introduced as an optimistic GenkiGirl who fights with a MiniMecha. The [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse second movie]] gives Peni one brief appearance and a single line, but her facial expression and tone of voice implies she had a massive BreakTheCutie moment due to a recent [[YouCantFightFate Canon Event]] (most likely the simultaneous deaths of Addy Brock and Aunt May) by the time she's siding with [[ComicBook/SpiderMan2099 Miguel O'Hara]] in convincing Miles to let his dad die. It should be noted that this is [[TruerToTheText more in line with her comic self]] as her first movie appearance was a case of AdaptationalPersonalityChange, further shown as her SP//dr mech now resembles its [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion EVA-inspired original design]]. Even still, she doesn't participate in stopping Miles from escaping the Spider Society, and she's shown among the Spider-Men that Gwen recruits to save Miles right before the credits roll.]]
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
88	* Though overworked and underpaid as a waitress, Sarah Connor still harbored hopes for a brighter future in ''Film/TheTerminator''. Then Kyle Reese spelled out a horrid, brink-of-doom future with the Terminator as proof. By the [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay sequel]], Sarah has developed enough cynicism to stockpile weapons and munitions galore in caches dotting the Western seaboard for her son John to use against Cyberdyne's machines.
89	* ''Film/TwelveYearsASlave'''s protagonist, Solomon, takes one level after another, often one with every unfair, brutal beating. Most of his fellow slaves are already over the DespairEventHorizon. But he keeps a sliver of hope, [[ForegoneConclusion and it pays off]], as the people who knew him and cared about him went to great lengths to rescue him. Nevertheless, the fact that [[ButtMonkey he never obtains reparation for the horrible suffering he's been dealt]], cannot possibly have helped his view of this world.
90	** More specifically what made many black people at the time very cynical was precisely the fact that a fair number of powerful people were actually speaking up for total equality: but their voices got silenced in the name of "compromise" and "unity". The first drafts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments were much more radical than what was actually passed: with the infamous exception for prisoners in the 14th Amendment having been added late in the revision process. Indeed, this tendency understandably makes many marginalized people of today very cynical. A very good account of how this happened can be found in ''Literature/TheImpeachers''.
91	* In the [[Film/Transformers2007 first]] [[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen trilogy]] [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon of the]] ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'', [[BigGood Optimus Prime]], the leader of the Autobots, was a firm believer in humanity's potential for good, and held a strict ThouShaltNotKill policy towards them, even if they antagonized him and his team. By ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'', years of his kind being hunted down by humans has caused Optimus to lose much of his faith in them, to the point where he will not hesitate to kill humans in self-defense.
92	* In ''Film/{{Tomorrowland}}'', Frank undergoes this, changing from an optimistic child who builds a jetpack because he thinks it will inspire people to do great things to being a bitter recluse who has his house filled with traps and laughs at Casey for being so naive as to think seeking out Tomorrowland would be a good idea. The change seems to have been caused by [[spoiler:learning Athena - who he was very strongly attached to - is actually a RidiculouslyHumanRobot, inventing a machine that basically shows when the end of the world is coming, and then being kicked out of Tomorrowland for it.]] His time with [[WideEyedIdealist Casey]] does seem to [[CharacterDevelopment help him]], though.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Literature]]
96	* In ''Literature/TheAliceNetwork'', Eve, pretending to be “Marguerite”, parrots René’s cynical views to show that she’s learning from him, while at the same time Eve grows up considerably in real life. She begins the book not quite innocent, but still somewhat naive, and by the end is bitter, cynical, and broken.
97	* Just about all of the Literature/{{Animorphs}}, except for Marco who was always somewhat of a cynic. Initially, they all had firm limits, lines that they absolutely would not cross, but as the war progressed, they made increasingly hard and morally grey decisions, believing [[IDidWhatIHadToDo that they were doing what was necessary]].
98	* [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl Arya and Sansa]] Stark from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' start the series as naive and idealistic, but [[spoiler: their father's beheading]] only kickstarts chains of events that will result in disappointment after disappointment for both of them. By the fourth book they've both acquired JadeColoredGlasses. The result? Having both given up on their initial idealism, [[spoiler: Sansa is now learning to manipulate people in order to come out on top, while Arya is graduating to ProfessionalKiller levels]].
99	* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', this trope probably happened to every character in their earliest childhood, except ''maybe'' for Captain Carrot, and some [[DumbIsGood nice characters who are too dumb to know better]]; everyone takes an extremely cynical view of the people around them, and the ways to prosper in this world, and the straight heroes usually range from GoodIsNotNice to KnightInSourArmor to DirtyCoward-CowardlyLion to outright PragmaticVillainy, which in a world of StupidEvil comes off as actually benevolent. This is interesting because the stories themselves are very idealistic, with few if any {{Karma Houdini}}s, and fair retribution to all good and evil deeds.
100	* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Harry has horrible stuff happen to him every year, but in his first few years at Hogwarts, he still bounces back and has a tendency to believe that everything can turn out all right and trust the teachers for help. As the series goes on though, people he's close to actually start to die, things aren't nicely fixed by the end of each book, and the adults he previously trusted are either corrupt or [[AdultsAreUseless well-meaning but unable to do much]]. Of note is how the later books, particularly the last one, show his crumbling trust in Dumbledore. A younger Harry sees Dumbledore as an impressive authority figure who can solve any problem. When he gets older, Harry is forced to accept that not only is Dumbledore not always in control and always know what's going on, but [[spoiler:had a history that was about as far from noble and heroic as one could get.]]
101	* Lady Centipede from ''Literature/TheCityWithoutMemory'' used to be a gentle, kind girl. Then she was kidnapped by a forest robber who forcibly married her. Initially she tried to influence her husband and instill some good in her children, but by the time of the novel’s plot she’s given up on it completely, is tired of everyone and just wants to be left alone. Her good heart, as a couple of PetTheDog moments show, is still there somewhere… only very deep down.
102	* In ''Literature/TheMentalState'', 'Zack' has a much darker view of the world than 'Zachary'.
103	* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' has a fresh-faced [[TheIntern young surgeon]], Doctor Kornell "Uli" Divini, first appear in the Medstar Duology as a nineteen year old minor prodigy expecting to serve the Republic Medical Corps for a few years, mainly operating on clones, and then get back to some other practice. He's next seen twenty years later in ''Literature/DeathStar'', having been hit with a [[ResignationsNotAccepted stop-loss order]] and forced to continuously serve TheEmpire, sometimes [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder in non-surgical capacities]] when there aren't enough internal meds doctors. Uli repeatedly muses that his patients, those who recover, are pretty much all going to go back to either being worked to death or committing (or ordering) atrocities, and believes that by this point in his career he ''should'' be largely retired from surgery and married with children, but feels helpless and resigned. But when he's tasked with treating Princess Leia of Alderaan after Darth Vader tortures her, Uli is struck by her [[DefiantCaptive continued defiance]] and moral clarity, even moreso when the Death Star is [[EarthShatteringKaboom used on her homeworld]], and joins an effort to [[DefectorFromDecadence escape the station on the grounds that risking being killed for desertion is better than continuing to serve evil]]. At the end of the book, to his own surprise, Uli's resolved to join the [[LaResistance Rebel Alliance]] and help them in any way he can.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
107	* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', this is all part of [[TheWoobie Jesse Pinkman]]'s TraumaCongaLine, on one hand, and Walter White's [[TookALevelInBadass increasing acquisition of badass credentials]], although his StartOfDarkness was much earlier than that.
108	* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the nicer and more benevolent TheNthDoctor is, the more the universe tends to test him with BreakTheCutie {{Trauma Conga Line}}s: the Fifth and Eighth doctors are especially egregious examples. The Time War, however, may have been ''the'' most traumatic event for him, but it's not clear whether the trope is played straight or subverted: he becomes more jaded, but ''also'' feels a stronger obligation to help others and do the right thing. There's also the matter of the TimeyWimeyBall involving some changes in how things were experienced. And, well, he's the Doctor; an enigmatic MoodSwinger, it's often frankly hard to tell how he feels about stuff.
109	* ''Series/{{The Flash\|2014}}'': The wife and [[TheDragon Dragon]] of the BigBad of Season 4 was initially extremely hopeful of humanity and technology. She was also horrified at her husband's EvilLuddite beliefs. Then a group of Kenyan warlords slaughter a peaceful village just to get their hands on a piece of technology she has invented to help the villagers. Suddenly, she claims that her husband was right all along, that technology inevitably leads to evil actions.
110	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
111	** Sansa Stark starts an idealistic young lady who desires to marry a handsome young prince, namely Joffrey Baratheon, and live life in the south, particularly King's Landing where she had heard about songs and poems of dashing knights, beautiful ladies, and handsome nobles. She gets her wish to live south and gets engaged to Joffrey when her father agrees to do so (albeit for other purposes). Then she finds out that Joffrey is not the charming prince she thought he was, but a monstrous, evil boy, who, upon becoming king by his father's death, has her father beheaded, despite promising mercy, and she is made a hostage in King's Landing. She also finds out that Joffrey's mother, Queen Cersei, is not a kind woman, but a cruel, manipulative, misanthropic alcoholic, who, while giving some genuine PetTheDog moments to Sansa, loathes everyone and loathes being a woman. Then after being potentially engaged to a person she believes a dashing knight (who, as she never finds out, is homosexual), is forced to marry a not-so-handsome dwarf, though by no means ugly. Then her brother and mother whom she is estranged from by her prisoner status, are brutally massacred, all eventually leading to her losing faith in the gods her parents and household taught her to worship. And that's still not the end of that!
112	-->'''Sansa:''' To come here, to the capital... To see the southern knights and their painted armor and King's Landing after dark... all those candles burning in all those windows... I'm stupid. Stupid little girl with stupid little dreams who never learns!
113	* 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.
114	* ''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.
115	* {{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.
116	* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and his brother Mycroft appear to have had such a moment very early in their childhoods, where they internalized 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.]]
117	* 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.
118	* 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.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
122	* Franchise/MonsterVerse recurring character [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandExpedition William "Bill" Randa]] implicitly took one inbetween his younger appearance in the ''Series/MonarchLegacyOfMonsters'' TV series, and his older appearance in the ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' film, [[spoiler:possibly as a result of the death of Keiko]]. In his younger appearances, he's an idealistic and cheerful young man who is awed by the monsters and is disgusted when the military want to bomb Godzilla without learning anything about him. In his older appearance, he's a bitter and manipulative bastard who wants to expose the existence of Kong and Skull Island to the government so that they'll wipe the creatures out, because he believes it's the only way to keep humanity safe from destruction, and he's willing to go to ruthless extremes to achieve that.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Music]]
126	* In Music/PoetsOfTheFall's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGWBGFZcKGE&index=11&list=PLjACqN5i5sDWoCTXHzphV5EZtNqPEmYaP Nothing Stays the Same]]," the singer describes facing disillusionment after conversing with supposedly respectable people.
127	-->I've talked to the men of high regard\
128	In rooms ever white and my soul grew dark by their words\
129	Softly sweet as kissing lips\
130	A kaleidoscope of no consolation at all
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Video Games]]
134	* ''VideoGame/{{Absinthia}}'': Stray became a king at some point, but became bitter and jaded due to outliving his friends with his elven lifespan.
135	* ''Videogame/AliceMadnessReturns'':
136	** Alice has become a BrokenBird after her insanity returns and ruins her life. She almost got over the loss of her family, but her therapist,[[BitchInSheepsClothing Dr. Bumby]] believes that she requires more psychiatric help and forces her to undergo more therapy with him. [[spoiler: She eventually realizes that her therapist is the BigBad and kills him, resolving her main issues. However, she hasn't ''fully'' recovered just yet.]]
137	** To a lesser extent, the Mock Turtle as well. He goes from the lovable ally in the first game to a depressed resistance fighter after he loses his job as conductor and fights for the safety of Wonderland.
138	* Villainous example in ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamKnight'': Scarecrow has gone from the AxCrazy GigglingVillain he was in the first game to a stoic SoftSpokenSadist who never laughs even 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 way more cunning]] than he was previously, and now aims not to simply kill Batman, but to utterly ''break'' him and hold him up for the entire world to see, [[HopeCrusher destroying him as a symbol of hope in the eyes of the people]].
139	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': The death of their mother had a very polarizing effect on the Sons of Sparda. While Dante eventually becomes more of a KnightInSourArmor, Vergil plays this trope straight adopting the belief that [[BadassCreed "Might controls everything. And without strength, you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself."]]
140	* This is kind of a game mechanic in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': at different points of the plot, you can choose to "harden" your two token idealistic [[NonPlayerCompanion companions]], Alistair and Leliana, via dialogue, which makes them much more tolerant towards more amoral actions you can take later on (and incidentally, makes Alistair [[spoiler:a better king]]). In both cases, the catalyst is a betrayal, by family and by a mentor, respectively. Of course, you can just as well reaffirm their inherent idealism instead.
141	** However in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', regardless of whether Leliana was softened back at the first game, a decade working under Divine Justinia V's service as her [[TheSpymaster Left Hand]] left her distant and jaded, which worsens when the Conclave is destroyed (with Justinia as one of the casualities) at the start of the game. This event also left her in CrisisOfFaith which is much worse if she was romanced by the Hero of Ferelden who elected to do HeroicSacrifice to stop the Archedemon. The PlayerCharacter can either encourage her unscrupulous and hardened side, or [[TookALevelInIdealism rediscover her lost idealism by reminding her that ideals and kindness are still important in these trying times.]] [[spoiler: If she is elected as Justinia V's successor at the end of the game, her acts to reform the Chantry from within will be different whether she remains cynical or she becomes idealistic during her time at the Inquisition.]]
142	* During the one and a half-year TimeSkip between ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel II'' and ''III'', Rean Schwarzer becomes much more jaded. Being forced to [[spoiler: fight in the wars of annexation for Crossbell and North Ambria]] has given him a first-hand look at how [[TheEmpire the empire's]] government operates, giving him the JadeColoredGlasses necessary to quickly see through their machinations. He's also far less trusting of the local [[ChurchMilitant Dominion]] than other series protagonists were, seeing him as yet another behind-the-scenes figure with a secret agenda that he has to deal with.
143	* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'': Since the death of those precious around her, Clementine loses most of her childhood innocence and becomes a colder person, and this becomes worse as the series progress.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
147	* Junpei from ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' became much more cynical following the events of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'' where he was TheHeart and determined to save everyone. By ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', he's much more jaded and is perfectly willing to sacrifice others just for personal gain. [[spoiler:His future self (Junpei) [[LastNameBasis Tenmyouji]] in ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' is a grizzled and grounded elderly man who is much happier in comparison thanks to him caring for his adoptive grandson Quark, but is clearly disgusted by how Akane Kurashiki turned out after 45 years of searching for her including surviving an apocalypse and [[DidNotGetTheGirl bitterly lets her go]].]]
148	-->'''Zero (999)''': No matter. I will tell you again. '''Game over'''. This game has ended.
149	-->'''Junpei (999)''': No! No, it hasn't! I'm not gonna let it end yet! I'm gonna get out of here with Kanny!
150
151	-->'''Junpei (ZTD):''' Sorry, but I am done with playing the action hero. Because I grew up.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Webcomics]]
155	* ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'': Cale is very idealistic, innocent, and naive at the beginning of the comic, but he starts to become more cynical after he's forced to kill a child in the past to maintain a StableTimeLoop. Similar events that come afterward only serve to make him become more and more on the cynical side on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism as the comic continues.
156	* ''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 ongoing 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.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Web Original]]
160	* After years of being a bouncy WideEyedIdealist, Chester from ''WebVideo/BumReviews'' seemed to give up and hit the cynicism pretty hard after WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic died.
161	* In her VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas LetsPlays, [[WebVideo/MyLittlePonyTheMentallyAdvancedSeries Rainbow]]/[[LetsPlay/LetsRambleWithRae Queen Latifah,]] became more willing to solve problems with violence and stealing supplies, after [[spoiler: Veronica and Rex died.]]
162	* Jamie in ''Literature/{{Twig}}'' is kind and gentle up until he suffers a LossOfIdentity, forcing him to go on without many of his memories. After reading his journals from before, he decides to be more wary of the world than he used to be, not wanting to make the same mistakes. This sets him up to become a DefrostingIceKing to his friends.
163	* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', Arhtéon started out with a backstory where he used RealMoneyTrade because of a CantCatchUp situation with a guild that eventually went on to become the best of the game. After the incident, he ended up being the ReluctantRuler of the game's worse guild and spent years being the optimistic one regarding their progress. However, a couple of bad events happen close to each other around the end of Season 4: [[spoiler:his first love pulling a virtual ruanaway bride on him and his guild proving to be unable to function smoothly in his absence]]. These, combined with lingering resentment against his former guildmates, give him a much grimer outlook on his life and the people he had been hanging around with. Unfortunately, this does not combine quite well with the one positive piece of karma he got by the time of ''Film/NoobLeConseilDesTroisFactions'': [[spoiler:he's basically in charge of finding a way to end the divine conflict that causes a big part of the game's story and destroying the planet that serves as the setting is one of the possible means to do this]].
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Western Animation]]
167	* This was the backstory of Billy from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': he came to believe that heroism is a sucker's game, as fighting off evil would always result in a new evil taking its place. It takes Finn and Jake learning a personal aesop to break him out of that shell of cynicism.
168	* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
169	** [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderKatara Katara]] spends the first two seasons of the first series giving inspirational speeches about hope and love, welcoming new members of Team Avatar with gentle but firm compassion as seen with Toph. 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, smacking him in the face when he attempts to surrender to them; in fact, she's the only member of Team Avatar that threatens to "end" his destiny if he ever hurts Aang again or shows the slightest hint of betraying them. On top of that, she [[spoiler:almost kills her mother's murderer]].
170	** 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 Fire Lord considering [[spoiler:it was Zuko's fault that Ba Sing Se fell, and wracked with guilt about how his naïveté 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.
171	** [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTophBeifong 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. Not helping matters is [[spoiler:her younger daughter became a criminal and Toph chose to sacrifice her morals to burn up Suyin's arrest warrant and exiling her from Republic City, even though Suyin attacked her own sister in an attempt to resist arrest]]. Lin thinks this is very rich of her mother to be so cynical considering Toph ''founded'' the Metalbending police. However, seeing her family in danger -- and her elder daughter giving her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how Toph was concerned more about her ego and brusqueness rather than being a parent-- gave her more faith in those who are willing to continue fighting and sacrificing themselves for loved ones.
172	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': Subverted; [[Characters/DCAUBatman Bruce Wayne]] becomes a grouchy, depressed old man with no hope in the world after realizing that his actions as Batman has done nothing to change Gotham for the better. But in all honesty, Bruce was pretty grouchy and cynical long before getting old. Luckily, Terry takes on his mantle and the series begins.
173	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks''' protagonist Huey Freeman starts off very cynical, but also proactive and hopeful in improving things for the better. By the third season, though, it's clear that he's given up hope, and he's resigned himself to let the rest live on in [[IgnoranceIsBliss blissful ignorance]].
174	* In ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'', Season 2 "[[Recap/CentralParkS2E04OfCourseYouRealizeThisMeansWard Of Course You Realize This Means Ward]]", when Owen first met Ward as a kid, he was optimistic, telling him that they need to care about nature and the Earth. But after the nature center Ward worked at was converted to a VR arcade after it lost its funding, Ward lost hope for the world and became a [[TheHermit hermit]] who lives off the grid, believing the world's already lost. After Owen's song, Ward's ''still'' jaded about the world, but grateful that Owen was able to inspire the children to care about the planet, and inspired Ward enough to take a stroll in Central Park before he leaves.
175	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': As shown in "Once Upon a Dime", Scrooge [=McDuck=] started his career trusting enough to be scammed more than once. By the start of the series, he's a cynic. One of the points of the story is his friends and family sending him through [[TookALevelInIdealism a level in idealism]]; while he remains more guarded than some of the others, he learns there are some people he can rely on and opens up to them.
176	* ''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]].
177	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[spoiler:After learning she indirectly played a role in Belos' rise to power and therefore is in some way responsible for the Day of Unity, [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] becomes cynical and depressive, seeing her actions in only the worst light. In a literature class, she starts projecting her issues onto the hero of a book, exclaiming that none of the good he did mattered if he still got people hurt and therefore should have never been born.]]
178	* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''
179	** After season five's fifty-year TimeSkip, the [[TheAgeless now-ageless]] [[Characters/SamuraiJackJack Jack]] has lost all hope of killing [[BigBad Aku]] and going back to the past after [[StatusQuoIsGod decades of constant failure]] along with Aku destroying '''all remaining time portals''' to prevent Jack from ever completing his original objective and is even willing to abandon a village in need and only goes to help them after [[SanitySlippage hallucinations]] of those he couldn't save chastise him, [[spoiler:they are all dead by the time he gets there.]]
180	** Funnily enough, [[Characters/SamuraiJackAku Aku]] himself has been affected by the stalemate and due to the fear of Jack's magic sword constantly hanging over his head ([[spoiler:though he has no idea Jack had lost it]]), he doesn't come out of his palace anymore and can no longer find any joy in the evil he does. He will only come out once he gets news that Jack is dead, [[spoiler:or (which actually happened) gets news of Jack no longer having his sword]].
181	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
182	** In the episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E22InMargeWeTrust "In Marge We Trust"]], it's revealed that when Reverend Lovejoy first showed up in Springfield, he was a go-getting down-to-earth pastor who wanted to "rap" with his parishioners. Then, Ned Flanders started bugging him all the time, wearing him down until he just {{stopped caring}} about anybody. "Luckily, by then it was TheEighties, so no one noticed."
183	** Milhouse started out as a very cheerful kid, but got more cynical, depressed, and angry as time went on due to [[ButtMonkey getting picked on by everyone]].
184	* While ''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.
185	* ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'': The title character ''definitely'' leveled up here. Watch the [[Film/{{Tron}} 1982 film]] and/or play the Space Paranoids level of VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII. Then keep in mind that character [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDVr8ExGOxU shocking his apprentice unconscious so he could pursue revenge]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcNaNLZT4kk pinning down the enemy who tortured him]] is the ''same'' character that's [[https://youtu.be/iIiP32m8tlY?t=1m17s trying to convince the Tower Guardian that Master Control can be defeated]] or [[https://youtu.be/9YfTlW3qRBA?t=10m17s hugging Sora, Goofy, and Donald goodbye]].
186	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': [[Characters/RickAndMortyMortySmith Morty Smith's]] adventures with Rick have slowly shaped Morty into [[SeenItAll a more apathetic person]]. From "The Ricklantis Mixup", this is a development exclusive to the main Morty, like all other Mortys that actually have Ricks tend to fall in line and act as the usual optimistic sidekick. The first Rick they meet since [[spoiler:destroying the Citadel]] even calls out the main Morty on being unusually aggressive and outspoken.
187	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TookALevelInCynic