History Main / DeterminedDefeatist

* "[[CosmicPlaything The Curse]]" by Music/{{Disturbed}} states, "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment No hope for the hopeless]]" and "Couldn't help even if you tried", but the narrator "held on too long just to let it go now" and will never surrender.
%%* Versaemerge's "Fixed at Zero".
* "[[XtremeKoolLetterz Ovtnvmbered]]" by Rave the Reqviem.
-->I stand alone, bitten, bruised, and outnumbered\\
I gave them hell but you can't win a war against your mind\\
It's a matter of time before the end of this arrives\\
[[DyingSmirk I will die with a victorious smile]]\\
You never took my pride

-->[The doctor] said "Rocky, you've met your match,"\\

And I'll better, I'll better, Doc, just as soon as I am able."
* "Survive" by Music/LacunaCoil:
-->I'll survive in this nothing, leading nowhere\\
I'll survive feeling strong for how much longer?

-->I raise my glass\\

Tonight I kiss the world goodbye
* "Until the End" by Music/BreakingBenjamin:
-->I've lost my way, but I will go on until the end

* In ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'', following his CharacterDevelopment, Puss is all too aware that he can never defeat [[spoiler:[[TheProblemWithFightingDeath Death]]]], [[DoNotGoGentle but decides to die fighting anyway]]. Seeing that he has finally learned to appreciate the value of his own life and internalized his own mortality, [[spoiler:Death]] [[GracefulLoser begrudgingly lets him go]].
-->'''Puss:''' I know I can never defeat you, [[spoiler:Lobo]]. But I will never stop fighting for ''this'' life!\\
'''[[spoiler:Death]]:''' I came here for an arrogant little ''[[AwesomeEgo legend]]'' who thought he was ''[[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll immortal]]!'' ''[{{beat}}; he sighs]'' [[HumblePie ...But I don't see him anymore]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Paranatural}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20231224_153622_firefox.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:1000:[[WebComic/{{Paranatural}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20231224_153622_firefox.jpg]]]]

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the internal conflict that Zenitsu has developed once he found the first person, his master Jigoro, that ever believed he could amount to something as a person, namely a competent demon slayer; in one hand Zenitsu is a extremely self-deprecating person due years of failing to form any meaningful friendship and relationships, growing up being loathed by anyone he ever met as they were put off by his forefront cowardness and whining; in the other hand Zenitsu has finally met his master, who he grew to love as the family he never had, and then Tanjiro who further showed sincere belief Zenitsu can be better, looking up past his flaws. That resulted in Zenitsu being the kind of demon slayer who is always screaming about how is he is going to die at every mission, but at the same time he simply cannot give into his fears and run away, Zenitsu ''will'' push forward and fulfill his role no matter what, his eternal gratitude to the ones who believe in him will not let their hopes be in vain, even if Zenitsu has trouble believing in himself.

* In ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeelingCrazy88'', Shinji often wonders if he has some chance to outthink people who have spent a long time plotting the extinction of mankind. He's determined to try to stop them, anyway.

-->-- '''Gimli,''' ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''

-->'''Reo (thinking)''': Their bond as childhood friends is strong. It's clear to me that I don't have a chance. But... there's always room for improvement! And that's what I love doing, Suzu!\\
''(Reo shoots a knowing smile straight at a [[ClingyJealousGirl disturbed]] Suzu)''

* Touma from ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has terminal bad luck and a negative outlook, but will fight until the end for anyone he cares about (which might be someone he befriended minutes ago).

* The titular character of ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'' is incredibly pessimistic about his mission. While he sincerely believes in his goal to [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar exterminate the entire goblin race]] and his capacity to achieve it, he believes that "nothing has changed" until he's done it, no matter how many goblins that he's slain or how many people he's saved from them. Goblin Slayer also gives up every opportunity presented for him to try to make people outside his inner circle take goblins seriously, [[IWorkAlone thoroughly set in his outlook that everyone else in the world will brush his concerns off until it's too late]]. This is in spite of a growing amount of contrary evidence that shows people ''will'' care, given the opportunity.

* In ''Manga/MedakaBox'', this is THE defining trait of Kumagawa Misogi, the leader of the anti-elites in Class -13. A genius at losing who has never legitimately won at anything his entire life, he can't even imagine his own victory and sees himself as the weakest human being on earth. Every gamble he takes, he assumes it will end with his loss. He has so little faith in being able to properly win, he can have a god-like Skill like [[RealityWarper "All Fiction"]] which can make any part of reality become nothing, and STILL always find some way to lose. But if you expect this Minus to just give up fighting for good, you'd be sorely mistaken; even before he ever got "All Fiction" and with it the ability to negate his own death, he was still always the sort of terrifying person who'd get right back up after being soundly defeated, continuing to try and win even if he knows for a "fact" that he will perpetually lose. When he finally admits his own true feelings, he reveals that the source of his drive is to prove himself better than the "main characters" even if he's friendless, unmotivated, and underachieving; ironically, this very drive often makes him the opposite of those traits, making him an inspiration for those in despair whether he's an antagonist or an unlikely supporting protagonist.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'''s Shinji Ikari. Despite having abysmal self-confidence and a lot of issues, especially with his dad, he is surprisingly determined to do what he has to do (yet, also like his dad.) Though he (along with virtually every other character) begins breaking in the end as everything goes to hell.
* Mumen Rider of ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' is little more than a bike cop who rides around doing minor good deeds and trying to stop petty criminals, like purse-snatchers and such. Still, he chose to go up against the Sea King, a Demon-level threat who had already completely demolished several A-rank heroes and a couple of S-rankers. He's fully aware of his weakness and acknowledges it, but is determined to fight to the last anyway even though he knows he won't even slow the beast down (and yet his actions do distract Deep Sea King long enough for Saitama to arrive.) Best exemplified by his speech in the anime version:
-->'''Mumen Rider:''' Nobody expects much from me. They think a C-class hero won't be much help. I know that better than anyone! I ''know'' I'm not good enough for B-class... I'm weak, I know that much. No one has to tell me I have no chance of beating you. I already know that! And yet, ''I must try''.

* In ''Literature/SoImASpiderSoWhat'' [[spoiler:Gyurie]] goes into his fight with [[spoiler:Shiraori]] already certain he will die in the end. Despite this, he fights to the bitter end so that others will have a chance of changing the world's path.
* Fujimaru from ''Manga/SnowWhiteAndSevenDwarfs'', due to being a male BrokenBird who sincerely believes that the heroes can't win--but has too much of a conscience to just let them die when he can help.

* After the HeelFaceTurn of ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, Harley drops a lot of her HeroicComedicSociopath schtick and reveals a deeper self-loathing over the things she did as a minion of ComicBook/TheJoker, turning her into a ByronicHero. She's intelligent, athletic, and conventionally attractive. But she's also ''extremely'' psychologically warped and damaged by her past relationships. She knows that she can never make up for the atrocities she helped Joker commit, or all of the lives she helped destroy. But Harley tries regardless, because it's the only way she can live with herself. This vulnerability is what allows people, even someone like ComicBook/{{Batman}}, to take pity on Harley and make her a tentative member of the extended Bat-Family.
* ComicBook/SteveTrevor's never been one to back down or give up but he's been finding himself in situations and given order he doesn't think he can survive since the 1940s. Luckily he underestimates his own skill frequently and his girlfriend/wife/best friend is Franchise/WonderWoman and she's pretty good at rescuing him when he needs it.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsPurge'': The only time Ma’kis’shaalas speaks, he has this to say of a proposal to kill the Emperor and Darth Vader.
-->''Can it be done? I don’t know. Should it be tried? Yes!''

* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ABoyAGirlAndADogTheLeithianScript'':

* Shinji in ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}''. When [[spoiler:Asuka ran away,]] Shinji thought that he'd never find her; or he'd find her but she wouldn't listen to him. Nonetheless, [[spoiler:he looked for her, he found her, and he talked her into getting back together.]]
* This is how Adam Taurus is in ''Fanfic/{{The Games We Play|TheGamerRWBY}}''. He considers even having made it to 10 to be a miracle and believes every moment past that has been him living on borrowed time. That doesn't mean he's about to lay down and let his enemies have their way with him.

* In ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'', Shinji often wonders if he has some chance to outthink people who have spent a long time plotting the extinction of mankind. He’s determined to try to stop them, anyway.

* Rei in ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji''. One of the core tenets of her ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Nurglette faith]]'' is: "Death is inevitable, but you must resist it and endure as long as possible anyway".

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' Princess Anna has been cast away by her sister Elsa so she cannot follow Elsa to a mystical island. Shortly after this, [[spoiler:Olaf, who is kept alive only by Elsa's magic, disintegrates to snow and thus signifies Elsa's death as Elsa sends one final ice sculpture message to Anna revealing who the true villain of the movie is]], and Anna recognizes what she must do now in her sister's stead. That said, the normally optimistic Anna is drowning in despair as she sings "The Next Right Thing":

-->'''Puss:''' I know I can never defeat you, [[spoiler:Lobo]]. But I will never stop fighting for ''this'' life!\\\
'''[[spoiler:Death]]:''' I came here for an arrogant little ''[[AwesomeEgo legend]]'' who thought he was ''[[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll immortal!]]'' ''({{beat}})'' *sigh* [[HumblePie ...But I don't see him anymore]].

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/SixteenBlocks'' Jack Mosely fully expects to be killed along the way but he is determined to get the witness to the courthouse to testify. Even if he succeeds the witness's testimony will incriminate Jack as a DirtyCop and send him to jail. His only real chance to walk away from the whole mess is to let the witness be killed but that is the one thing Jack is determined will not happen.
* ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' has the title character realizing that he will fail the fight against Apollo, but decides that he will go the distance so he would not be seen as a bum. Also helps that he's just a flat-out {{Determinator}}.
* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar,'' Loki swears fealty to Thanos whom he failed and left years ago and tried to lure into a trap ''moments ago,'' gets close and then attacks the towering purple giant who has two Infinity Stones [[UnderequippedCharge with an ordinary dagger]]. He is frightened and fully aware that his chances are next to none. But he does it anyway because he has no other trick up his leave (especially after Thanos easily beat [[TheWorfEffect The Hulk to unconsciousness]]) and no other way to potentially save his brother. [[spoiler: Thanos doesn't fall for his pretend devotion, easily thwarts his attack and kills him.]]

** Gimli feels this way about the FinalBattle. In Gimli's mind, the Fellowship is about to charge into an utterly hopeless battle against Sauron's forces, in which they're not only guaranteed to die but that their chance of [[spoiler: managing to distract the armies of Sauron long enough for Frodo to throw the One Ring into Mount Doom's fires and destroy it forever, thereby ending the War of the Ring]] is minimal anyway. Gimli then declares his intention to press onward and rides off to battle with everyone else.

* Strongly reflecting something written years earlier by Creator/CSLewis -- one of the lines of the eponymous devil from ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters:''
--> ''[Hell's] cause is never more in danger, than when a human, no longer desiring, but intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken and still obeys.''
** Albert McPhee, a skeptic who fights for the good guys (Christians) in ''Literature/ThatHideousStrength''.
** In ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', [[TheEeyore Puddleglum]] tells the Witch that while she may well be right that Narnia's just a dream, that will not stop him from doing his best to be a good Narnian.
* Rincewind in the later ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, in particular, [[ActionSurvivor just wants to head home and be safe]]. And yet, because [[ClassicalAntiHero he's among the worst wizards on the Disc and a complete coward]], he constantly finds himself as the ButtMonkey, facing threats ''way'' beyond his level of power to face, including shadow monsters, dragons, and a planetary-scale RealityWarper while armed with [[ImprovisedWeapon nothing but a brick in a sock]]. And yet, Rincewind keeps going anyway no matter what he finds himself stuck with, if only because he manages to [[CowardlyLion consistently show his courage with his back to the wall]]. Or at the very least, [[IndyPloy he's confident in his ability to somehow pull a solution out of thin air]] and escape to safety, because he's GenreSavvy enough to know how his life works.
* Crowley in ''Literature/GoodOmens''. At one point, when Aziraphale has gone missing, the Apocalypse is beginning, and it looks as if there's no hope, Crowley thinks he might as well drink himself into a stupor while he waits for the world to end. Instead, he drives at top speed to Tadfield to avert the Apocalypse, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome holding his burning car together through sheer force of will]].

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* The narrator of William Ernest Henley's "Invictus."
* [[Literature/ToKillAMockingbird Atticus Finch]] knows full well that the [[CommonNonsenseJury racist jury]] will never acquit Tom Robinson, a black man, even if all evidence points to his innocence. He gives his all in defending him anyway because no one else will, and it's the right thing to do.
* The [[ProudWarriorRace Aiel]] of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series have this trope ingrained in their culture due to prophecy about "He Who Comes with the Dawn," a DestructiveSavior foretold to unite and lead the Aiel people, but also destroy them.
-->''[[JustBeforeTheEnd Till shade is gone, till water is gone,]]\\
[[DoNotGoGentle Into the Shadow with teeth bared,]]\\
[[DoNotGoGentle Screaming defiance with the last breath,]]\\
To spit in [[{{Satan}} Sightblinder's]] eye on the [[FinalBattle Last Day.]]''

* ''[[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Hero of Ages]]'': Elend gives a [[RousingSpeech speech to his men]], asking them to fight even though they will die if they do. He says that every second they're able to keep going is a second longer the people they're protecting will stay alive. Of course, it turns out that they only survive as long as they do because they're all [[spoiler: burning atium]]. And because [[spoiler: Atium is actually Ruin's body, their deaths mean that Ruin can't get his full power, making it possible for the Hero of Ages to win.]]
* Just about ''everyone'' in ''Literature/TheOverstory'', but especially Patricia Westerford, who becomes convinced that humanity won't be able to save the trees, but devotes herself to trying anyways. Despite her NoSocialSkills tendencies, she deeply admires humanity because of this trope.

* Spike in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "The Gift".

--> It matters not if the cause is lost and we cannot stop the tide. We will fight to the end and then fight again. It will be a good way to die.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Twelfth Doctor has this attitude in his more pessimistic moments.
-->'''Doctor:''' If I run away today, good people will die. If I stand and fight, some of them might live. Maybe not many, maybe not for long. Hey, you know, maybe there's no point in any of this at all. [[TheAntiNihilist But it's the best I can do, so I'm gonna do it.]] [[{{Determinator}} And I will stand here doing it till it kills me.]]
* ''You’re the Worst'': Jimmy and Gretchen’s relationship is repeatedly marked as doomed, mainly by the two in it, and yet they keep coming back.
-->'''Gretchen:''' I think this may be impossible.
-->'''Jimmy:''' But can’t that be okay?!? I mean, the vast majority of all human effort, however great or minuscule, ends in failure. So what are your options? Just admit pre-defeat because the odds are that you’re gonna be right? Or you do it anyway? Maybe we’re a success, regardless of the outcome, because... we tried. Maybe there’s beauty in the struggle against near-certain failure.
* ''Series/HogansHeroes'': General Burkhalter doggedly executes projects meant to help the German war effort, but there are moments that imply he isn't doing so with much optimism. In one episode, he says that a new weapon will change the scope of the war, then adds "We might even win."
* The second season of ''Series/UltraGalaxyMegaMonsterBattle'' has Alien Metron, one of the many Reionyxes, who repeatedly challenges the hero Rei in a kaiju battle, despite Metron and his monsters getting their asses shoved back to them by Rei's monster, Gomora, each battle. It culminates in Rei finally ordering Gomora to kill Metron's last monster, Vakishim - and because of {{Synchronization}}, Vakishims' defeat leads to Metron's elimination too.

* The Beatles' folk hero Rocky Raccoon, after he is shot by Dan, the guy who stole Lil, the girl of his fancy"

* "Until The End" by Music/BreakingBenjamin:
-->I've lost my way, but I will go on until the end
* "The Tragedy Of The Commons" by Music/{{Delain}}.

I know I thought, I know I’ll fight\\

* "[[CosmicPlaything The Curse]]" by Music/{{Disturbed}} states, "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment No hope for the hopeless]]" and "Couldn't help even if you tried," but the narrator "held on too long just to let it go now" and will never surrender.

* "Survive" by Music/LacunaCoil.
-->I'll survive in this nothing, leading nowhere\\
I'll survive feeling strong for how much longer?
* "[[XtremeKoolLetterz Ovtnvmbered]]" by Rave The Reqviem.
-->I stand alone, bitten, bruised, and outnumbered\\
I gave them hell but you can't win a war against your mind\\
It's a matter of time before the end of this arrives\\
[[DyingSmirk I will die with a victorious smile]]\\
You never took my pride
%%* Versaemerge's "Fixed At Zero".

* Prominent concept in Myth/NorseMythology:
-->''Kine dies, kin dies, you yourself will die.\\
One thing I know that never dies, the story of dead men's deeds.''

* The entire point of Creator/AlbertCamus' philosophy, {{Absurdism}}. He uses the ''Myth of Sisyphus'' as a comparison to illustrate this. Sisyphus was damned to a FateWorseThanDeath, wherein he is condemned to push a large boulder up a hill only to continuously fail forever. However, Camus plays with this by spinning this trope into a ''positive'' light; even if he continues to fail over and over again, the mere act of pushing a boulder gave him purpose, and that should be enough to fill a man's heart. Similarly, humanity constantly rails against the inherent meaninglessness and absurdity of life, but according to him, this is no reason to be a StrawNihilist, instead we should accept the absurd, yet constantly rebel against it, even if it means constant failure. Coming to this conclusion is how he solved the problem of suicide.

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/JimCornette was a SourSupporter in Global Force Wrestling, both the original incarnation and the Anthem-owned version, publicly stating Wrestling/JeffJarrett was crazy for starting another pro wrestling promotion but that he was going to pull for it anyway. In fact, this is has been Cornette's attitude ever since Wrestling/{{SMW}} failed to get a television deal, believing there simply weren't enough people in the know to save pro wrestling, which was destined to fall to the level roller derby had, and that he himself wasn't the kind of booker who would be necessary to turn it around. Nonetheless, he won't give up the fight, which is what lead him to Wrestling/{{TNA}} and Wrestling/RingOfHonor in the first place, as well as publicly endorsing Lucha Libre USA, saying it was much better than Wrestling/{{WCW}} but wouldn't be as successful due to a lack of network penetration.

* ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent'': As the Guardian Inquisitor Mr Bliss says in ''Night Horrors: Enemy Action'', directly hurting the God-Machine is impossible; all one can do is defeat or kill its underlings. Just lying down and letting it have its way, however, is out of the question.

* In the ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' series, this is the position the Warrior of Light from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' ultimately takes in regards to the cycle of conflict between Cosmos and Chaos. It may be a ForeverWar, it may be a HopelessWar, it may be ruled and controlled by forces way beyond his understanding, and it may be all but impossible for him to affect its outcome. But that doesn't mean he'll ever stop fighting or trying to break the cycle to send everyone home anyways. This puts the Warrior of Light in stark contrast to Garland, who has given up on escaping and decided that [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he's going to just revel into the cycles of endless battle]] as a BloodKnight, since battle is all that they have left.
* Max goes through the entirety of ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' knowing perfectly well that there are only two outcomes for him: either being killed during his RoaringRampageOfRevenge or being put away for life upon completing it. In fact, after he goes free thanks to The Man pulling a few strings, he considers himself to be a KarmaHoudini.

** Javik believes that Shepard's cycle is doomed for failure. However giving up is not an option for him, especially after his race and civilization sacrificed themselves just to get him to this point.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': [[WarriorPrince Prince Renathal]] of [[CityoftheDamned Revendreth]], one of the Warcraft universe's afterlives, leads his people to war in order to save the universe. The war in question is against [[PhysicalGod The Jailer]], who commands an army of souls that only grows bigger with every person in the universe who dies. Renathal knows full-well that they can't possibly win this war in numbers, power, or tactics, but he's not going to let the world go down without a fight.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Hakuouki}}'', Hijikata is fully aware that the balance of power is shifting away from the shogunate and that the Shinsengumi are on the losing end of things, even before the Boshin War has officially kicked off. Nevertheless, he gives it every possible effort, sticking with the fighting from Kyoto all the way to Hokkaido and the war's bitter end even when all of his comrades have died or gone their separate ways.
* The Ancestor in ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' flip flops on how much faith he has in you depending on how well you do during a battle, but he has a small hopeful streak as he assures you that despite the hardships, the monsters can be felled. They can be beaten.
* [[LaResistance The Vendrian Guard]] in ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}''. Serving as the game's [[StarterVillain Starter]] [[HeroAntagonist Antagonists]] to the VillainProtagonist Fatebinder, they have pretty much accepted the best they can hope for is an honorable death in battle, but fight fiercely even so. Even if they're incredibly fortunate [[spoiler:and the Fatebinder [[HeelFaceTurn joins them]], it takes until the third and final act for them to seriously consider the possibility that they can win, and only because they suddenly have the power of [[FantasticNuke Edicts]] on their side.]]
* Near the end of ''Videogame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', Kerrigan outright states it's functionally impossible to stop Amon. She'll try anyway because "the only other option is to lay down and die."
* The [[IndenturedServitude Wage]] SlaveRace known as the Solaris are this in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}''. They realize that they, and often their families, are damned to a lifetime of hard labor and unending debts to the greedy and amoral [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corpus]]. In spite of this, they refuse to take it lying down and continue to press on, both to avoid the dreaded [[AndIMustScream brain-shelving]] punishment and to provide a cover for [[LaResistance Solaris United]] operations.
* Soldiers with the Hard Luck personality in ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}''. It's clear they don't really believe they can [[LaResistance liberate]] the VichyEarth. They still fight as hard as any other soldier.
--> '''"One down, thousands to go."'''
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': [[spoiler:Sans is a FourthWallObserver, allowing him to understand that the PlayerCharacter is being driven by an entity on a completely different level ([[MediumAwareness the player]]), which he refers to simply as "the Anomaly". Sans is fully aware that thanks to the power of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Determination]], the Anomaly has total control of the timeline, resetting, restarting, and destroying timelines at will (through the Save/Reset/Erase game functions), which renders him a little hopeless with the knowledge that everyone's life is ultimately just a plaything for an entity on a level of existence he cannot even conceive. However, when you, the Anomaly, finally go too far and initiate a No Mercy run, Sans will still actively stand up against you to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Sans knows that no matter how many times he kills your PlayerCharacter, he ultimately cannot directly do anything against you - but maybe, just maybe, [[ThatOneBoss if he tries hard enough]], he '''might''' make you RageQuit.]]
* Nick in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' ''constantly'' complains how screwed everyone is or going on about how he was right when he thought things could get worse. Regardless of his grim outlook on his fate, he presses on regardless and he slowly sheds his cynical outlook while retaining his determination to survive and kick some zombie ass with the rest of his fellow survivors.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Shirou knows that he doesn't stand a chance in battle against really any of the servants or masters in the war (except Shinji) yet he still fights them with IncompletelyTrained trace magic. Rin points out how unhealthy his obsession with saving others is. Finally, his fight against [[KnightInSourArmor Archer]] in Unlimited Blade Works is a back and forth of SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids and SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers; Archer doesn't just believe that Shirou's future will be bleak, he knows it as an absolute fact [[spoiler: because it is his past]].
* [[spoiler:Rika]] in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' has been trying for a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld long]], ''[[GroundhogDayLoop long]]'' time, but she's been killed so many times that she's become a cynical [[TheFatalist fatalist]]. She keeps trying though, [[spoiler:and eventually [[EarnYourHappyEnding gets it right]].]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
%%* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': In "Store Story", Candle charges headfirst into battle when he sees Robber Eel stealing from his store... but is beaten instantly.
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has [[spoiler:Professor Ozpin/Ozma. Despite knowing for centuries (possibly millennia) that the BigBad Salem has CompleteImmortality and having been specifically told that he is unable to destroy her, he has continued struggling to prevent her from taking over and then destroying the world.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* One of the few good qualities WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic has is that despite all the hurt he goes through, he's strong-willed and keeps on going.
[[/folder]]

* Ed Wuncler I from ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' (in the episode "The Red Ball"), during the kickball game to determine the fate of Woodcrest:

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Doofenshmirtz is well aware that Perry is a ComicallyInvincibleHero and therefore that FailureIsTheOnlyOption for his attempts to take over the ENTIRE! TRI-STATE AREA!, but he still keeps attempting it anyway.

** King Theoden has this attitude towards the battle in defending Gondor. Essentially, the armies of Rohan going to ride out to meet their deaths against the armies of orcs, and Theoden is well-aware that it's basically hopeless. But even so, Rohan is going to ride out anyway, because the only other option is to just lie down and die while Sauron conquers the world, and Theoden is having none of that.

'''Theoden:''' No, we cannot. But we will meet them in battle, nonetheless.
** Gimli feels this way about the FinalBattle. In Gimli's mind, the Fellowship is about to charge into an utterly hopeless battle against Sauron's forces, in which they're not only guaranteed to die, but that their chance of [[spoiler:managing to distract the armies of Sauron long enough for Frodo to throw the One Ring into Mount Doom's fires and destroy it forever, thereby ending the War of the Ring]] is minimal anyway. Gimli then declares his intention to press onward, and rides off to battle with everyone else.

--> ''[Hell's] cause is never more in danger, than when a human, no longer desiring, but intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.''
** Albert Mc Phee, a skeptic who fights for the good guys (Christians) in ''Literature/ThatHideousStrength''.

* Most of the main characters (especially Frodo) in the later parts of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Several people get speeches to the effect of admitting that they're pretty much finished, but they're going to carry on because there's nothing else to be done. It plays into the book's overall theme that even the smallest of efforts can make a difference, and that it's "simple acts of kindness and love that keeps the darkness at bay".

* [[Literature/ToKillAMockingbird Atticus Finch]] knows full well that the [[CommonNonsenseJury racist jury]] will never acquit Tom Robinson, a black man, even if all evidence points to his innocence. He gives his all in defending him anyway, because no one else will, and it's the right thing to do.

* ''Webcomic/CaptainSNES'' shows [[spoiler:Kevin Keene having this attitude when the Sovereign Of Sorrow is on her way to the Palace Of Power, knowing the only way to win is for his daughter to make a HeroicSacrifice, because he also knows the eyes of the world are on this event, that they'll say of that day, "''[[NothingIsTheSameAnymore that's when everything changed]]''," and that he has to be The Hero [[WhatYouAreInTheDark even when nobody would blame him]] if he just sat down and let Hope offer her life to secure victory]].