It seems fictionland is inhabited by the worst bullies in existence, always ready to mock you and steal your lunch money, no matter what happened to you, you will always be different from All of the Other Reindeer. Not even the Littlest Cancer Patient gets a break. Especially not the Littlest Cancer Patient.
The victim is almost always the protagonist; at least fictionland doesn't think bullies are good protagonist material. In Teen Drama, the Alpha Bitch and the Jerk Jock represent this trope. One way to defuse the abuse is for the kid to make their aggressors realize what they're feeling. This only works if the mean kids are good but misguided though, if they aren't, then a beatdown is in order.
If the target of abuse could easily rip them apart if it wanted and the kids know it, then they're Bullying a Dragon (not to mention Too Dumb to Live). And even if the target of abuse is not superpowered at the time, just wait until the Bully Magnet who Used to Be a Sweet Kid undergoes a Start of Darkness, possibly as a result of the cruelty of other kids, and goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, often at a point when the bullies themselves have forgotten the whole thing.
A favorite for films with grown protagonists is to reveal this as part of their Backstory via Flash Backs.
See also Teens Are Monsters, Big Brother Bully, and Humans Are Bastards. Contrast Children Are Innocent. The Royal Brat is a a consequence of this trope mixing with a child with vast social status and power. The Psychopathic Manchild is an adult having a childlike cruelty to them. Adults Are Useless for when the majority, if not all, the bullying occurs all the time because the adults ignore it, are oblivious or, in a few extreme instances, actively encourage it out of a sadistic desire to see the victim suffer. Cruel kids are usually the main cause of the Badly Battered Babysitter and Dreaded Kids' Party Entertainer Job, and are also part of why Middle School Is Miserable.
When this trope is encouraged, or made light of by a work's narrative, see Cereal Vice Reward.
For a child who isn't merely a Jerkass bully but outright evil, see Enfant Terrible.
Sometimes, this leads to Would Hurt a Child. But all too often the bullying has catastrophic consequences.
Might potentially lead to pedophobia👁 Image
if one should ever encounter these types of younglings.
Example subpages:
- Anime & Manga
- Comic Books
- Fan Works
- Film
- Literature
- Live-Action TV
- Video Games
- Western Animation
- Other Media