No Sympathy for Grudgeholders in Fan Works.
Crossovers
- Infinity Train: Blossomverse:
- Chloe's resentment of her neglectful father, estranged childhood friend, and a class full of bullies poisons her relationships with others, such as Ash. Not only does this undermine her efforts to navigate the challenges of the Infinity Train, it gradually eats away at the general perception of her plight.
- Parker becomes convinced that those who hurt his sister were not punished enough, with his grudges towards them snowballing into disastrous developments in Act 2 of Blossoming Trail.
- Mr. Bradbury tried to warn Professor Cerise about how Chloe was struggling, even recommending a therapist... something the Professor completely ignored. He makes a point of rubbing this in her father's face at every opportunity, until Professor Cerise finally calls him out on the sheer pettiness of continuing to harp on the matter.
- Delia despises both Chloe and Parker for how they took out their personal issues on her son, and makes a point of spelling out to both of them how she refuses to forgive either of them for their actions. This creates strain between her and Ash, and ultimately bites her hard in the end: her grudge against Chloe spurs her to prioritize harping on her failures over watching over Goh so that the Train can't collect him next.
- Lillie calls out her brother for deliberately withholding critical information about what caused her poké-phobia, leaving her to suffer for years while he traveled around Alola playing the hero. After Gladion is picked up by the Train, Lillie is increasingly criticized for continuing to be upset with how he treated her.
- Ageless: Despite claiming that her philosophy is "past is past, live in the present", Lin holds a massive grudge against Ryou for how he knocked up her ancestor two hundred years ago, declaring that she never wants to see him in Republic City again and threatening to lock him up for life (as an immortal) after arresting him as an accomplice to Korra's vigilante stint.
- In Where Talent Goes to Die, the protagonist, Kaori Miura, earns admission to Talent High School by defeating Shiro Kurogane, the Ultimate Shogi Player, despite never having played before, thus causing Kurogane to hold a grudge against her. When the two of them are investigating the school along with Akito Sakuragi and Sae Edogawa, Kurogane not only refuses to accept Miura's apology, but he makes snide remarks about her, and gives her a vicious "The Reason You Suck" Speech when she tries to apologize again. Edogawa and Sakuragi call Kurogane out on his attitude, and Kuro Akasaka even suggests that Kurogane is being less mature than her six-year-old sister. Sakuragi later takes advantage of Kurogane's grudge against Miura, killing him and trying to frame her for it.
- 101 Dalmatian Street: Animal Control: Dolly scolds Delilah for continuing to be wary of Hunter despite how eager he is to help all the dalmatians out and make amends for his past mistakes.
- Downplayed in Im Giving You A Nightcall: While Edward's friends who are aware of the full story behind his breakup with Roy admit that he's got ample reason to be upset with him, they still implore him to consider giving Roy another chance.
- The Victors Project: ZigZagged in the meeting between Rebel victors Luxe St. James and Nolan De Naro. Luxe is very sympathetic to the absolutely brutal hardships that Nolan describes about District 9, but he also makes it clear that thinking The Grass is Greener in District 1 is an incorrect assumption, making a "Not So Different" Remark/We ARE Struggling Together speech about what a Crapsaccharine World District 1 has turned into under President Snow and Luster Lancaster, ending with a What the Hell, Hero? line towards Nolan. for his blind hatred of the inner districts and ignorant assumptions about Luxe.Luxe: You're too young to remember, but you should have known that my name came out of a reaping bowl, same as Plat's, same as yours. Don't act like either of us chose this life. So don't you ever call me Career, boy. Do you understand?
- In Ambience: A Fleet Symphony, the shipgirls who can't let go of their hatred of America because of their wartime experiences are usually depicted more negatively than those who have learned to move on.
- BURN THE WITCH:
- Since Ladybug and Marinette both called Lila out on her constant lying, she despises both of them for existing — enough that she considers said grudge far more important than dealing with the angry mob stirred up by Witch Hunter. Suffice to say, this does her no favors, and Marinette calls her out on it after learning about her alliance with Hawkmoth:Marinette: You really hate her that much over one incident? Are you really that petty that you would actively try to help the guy terrorizing Paris?
Lila: She humiliated me!
Marinette: GET OVER IT! Get. The hell. OVER it already! So Ladybug was mean when she called you out for lying about her and trying to make her look bad to prop yourself up as a false hero to a boy you barely knew! CRY ME A RIVER!
Lila: But she made me look bad in front of Adrien!
Marinette: Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't lied about her in the first place! You lied about her to him. You lied about being a hero. You lied about being her friend. And you used that claimed position to then insult her to try and make her look bad just to make yourself look better in comparison based off a made-up story! It's no wonder she was mad at you! - Marinette also has no sympathy for her own grudge against Lila, believing that she's not allowed to have any moments of weakness. This is shown to be an unhealthy mindset, but when Tikki tries reassuring her that she's allowed to be angry over everything Lila's done to her, Marinette dismisses that as her kwami being under the akuma's influence.
- Since Ladybug and Marinette both called Lila out on her constant lying, she despises both of them for existing — enough that she considers said grudge far more important than dealing with the angry mob stirred up by Witch Hunter. Suffice to say, this does her no favors, and Marinette calls her out on it after learning about her alliance with Hawkmoth:
- LadyBugOut: Alya is deeply upset by Marinette "betraying her" by helping Ladybug start her own blog, since this enabled the superheroine to share her perspective of events and counter misinformation... including what Alya was spreading on her own blog. She's so upset, in fact, that she rejects any and all suggestions that she should apologize or attempt to make amends — so far as she's concerned, Marinette owes HER an apology! It's entirely her fault that Alya's reputation was ruined when people learned how she was deliberately misrepresenting things to suit her own narrative! This stubborn refusal to admit her mistakes only succeeds in wrecking all of Alya's other friendships.
- In running through rose thorns
, this trope is criticized. Apparently the anguish of being successfully framed for assault doesn't go away within days, who knew?Marinette: Alya knows I didn't do anything, but she still talks about me needing to get over my jealousy and forgive Lila and be more welcoming to her, like I'm just supposed to forget any of it happened.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Project Sunflower: Harmony: After finding out that Erin used to be human, Meadowlark asked to take a break from their friendship for a while, cutting her off from contact with her daughter Marigold as well. Following months of silent treatment, Erin accidentally violates that demand when Ditzy invited her over for dinner on the same day Dinky invited Marigold over. Naturally, Meadowlark walks in and is outraged at the mistake, demanding that Erin either move away or else she'll force Marigold to break off her friendship with Dinky. Erin promptly calls her out for being such a Control Freak and leaving her hanging without word for so long:Erin: Don't you dare lay that on me!
Meadowlark: Now, you look here—
Erin: No! You don't get to put this all on me!
Meadowlark: If you had listened to me—
Erin: I did listen to you! I stayed away from you, just like you asked, for months. Months! You said you needed time, and I gave it to you, but I'm not going to wait forever! If you want our friendship to be over, that's fine! Just tell me so I stop hanging on and hoping you'll forgive me one day. But I won't let you blame me for your decisions!
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
- A more justified example than most in Catarina Claes MUST DIE!: Henrietta is the reincarnation of a horribly bullied otaku who found some In-Universe Catharsis in getting the Bad Ends in Fortune Lover and seeing Catarina get killed. When she reincarnates in the game's world, she refuses to accept, against all evidence, that this version of Catarina is completely different from the game version, and refuses to let go of her grudge, to the point of plotting to kill Catarina herself.
- Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox: Gaara has a massive grudge against the government for how they covered up Jiraiya accidentally launching a missile strike that killed both of his parents and many other innocents by framing all of the victims for treason. During their climatic confrontation, Naruto lambasts him for this - yes, what happened was tragic and unfair, but Gaara still had his siblings and Yashamaru, and was raised in comfort courtesy of his uncle's wealth and connections. Naruto argues that Gaara could have easily used his position to help others, or have exposed what happened without dragging innocents into the crossfire.
- Only Flowers Fall:
- Lillie's refusal to forgive Lusamine for abusing and neglecting her gets her judged harshly by others, as they only see a daughter rejecting her ailing mother. Even many who are aware of the greater picture try making excuses for Lusamine, claiming that she was blinded by grief or influenced by Nihilego's neurotoxins; however, Lillie insists that Lusamine was Not Brainwashed.
- It doesn't help that Lusamine herself staunchly refuses to accept any blame for her actions, attempting to manipulate, gaslight and guilt-trip Lillie into sticking by her side. This only convinces Lillie that her mother hasn't changed and is still aiming to control her.
- Even her older brother Gladion, who had previously run away from home to escape the abuse, confronts Lillie shortly before she leaves and demands to know why she changed her mind about trying to help their mother. It takes an Armor-Piercing Question from his sister for him to grasp why she's leaving.Lillie: Even if she hadn't been terrible, we were children! We were children, and I wanted my mother, and she was the one who hurt us! Why is it my fault?!
- Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness:
- In Act II, a blood transfusion from Kokoa turns Tsukune into a ghoul, and the first thing the ghoul does is murder Apoch and Astreal in cold blood. When the two are resurrected in Act III, Astreal, after discovering that Kokoa was the one who did so, albeit accidentally, tries to shoot Kokoa dead on more than one occasion, and is called out on it by the others every single time; even Apoch, who also blames Kokoa for their deaths, disapproves of Astreal trying to shoot Kokoa.
- In Act VI, Talon Ryashen is out to kill everyone who was ever a part of Fairy Tale for any reason because they kidnapped him off the streets and turned him into a Half-Human Hybrid. It's not enough that the ones who were truly responsible for his transformation are already dead; Talon blames everyone in Fairy Tale for his condition, regardless if they were simply receptionists or Unwitting Pawns, and strives to kill them all. For this reason, even Tsukune's group (sans Kyouko) deem him a violent psychopath who needs to be stopped.
