History Main / DoggedNiceguy

** Marcus is also this to Ivanova. However, his story arc ends in [[spoiler:an HeroicSacrifice, not a FaceHeelTurn]].

[[folder:Film]]

* Deconstructed in ''GoodLuckChuck''. [[spoiler:Terrified of losing Cam due to the curse, Chuck goes into full Type A mode, which creeps Cam out so much that she breaks up with him for stalkerish behavior.]]
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. Hal seems like a Type 1 in the making at first, his attempts to win Roxanne's attention are sympathetic or creepy even at the very beginning. Either way, it quickly becomes apparent that he is, at best, highly insensitive to her actual feelings, not to mention mildly delusional. In the end, [[spoiler: far from winning her over, his [[EntitledToHaveYou childish attitude toward Roxanne]] contributes to his [[FaceHeelTurn proving to be the villain of the piece]] ]].

* Michael towards Katie in ''Disney/DarbyOGillAndTheLittlePeople'', despite her snapping at him and letting Pony take her home.

* Fix-It Felix Jr. is essentially Type 2 in {{Disney/WreckItRalph}}. He meets and [[LoveAtFirstSight becomes smitten with]] Calhoun while on his quest to find Ralph, but he does not force his attention on her.

* Deconstructed [[http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/book-2/flashing-back-part-three/ in]] ''{{Shadowgirls}}'', where Jackson decides to stand up for himself instead of just being Charon's best friend, on the advice of the "jerk" Charon is seeing, named Gage, who keeps trying to manipulate her into sex. Note that when he does tell her, [[http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/flashing-back-part-thirteen/ she reveals that she knew already]], and uses the same manipulative techniques [[http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/flashing-back-part-four/ Gage used earlier]][[hottip:*:Attempting to put the blame on the target for not wanting to do what the manipulator wants, and using "if you really loved me" ultimatums]]. The jerk wanted sex from Charon, and Charon wanted emotional intimacy from Jack. The DramaticIrony is, we know that Jackson ends up falling in love with, getting married to and having a child with AlphaBitch Chrissy, even though he still loves Charon to some extent, and Charon becomes the town bicycle.

* Dante Aligheri to Beatrice; not as much in (possibly) real life or story (''The Divine Comedy'' or ''La Vita Nuova'') than in scholarly letters.

* Jacob Black of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent a very literal interpretation]] of this principle.
** Although he quickly stopped being nice and switched to abuse and manipulation instead. This was done intentionally by StephenieMeyer in an attempt to make readers who shipped Bella and Jacob [[OfficialCouple ship Bella and Edward instead.]]
** Or, rather more worryingly, this was her way of making him a viable love interest, as Edward's behaviour is all but identical, if not worse.
* Both Kenny Showalter (towards Mia) and Boris Pelkowski (toward Lily and [[spoiler:Tina]]) are featured in ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' books. Boris [[spoiler:succeeds]] and Kenny [[spoiler:does not]].
* Joseph Heller's ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'' brings us Nately, who is madly in love with a prostitute who couldn't care less for him (and would much rather get some much needed sleep), but sticks around him anyway because, well, she's a prostitute and he pays her to, hoping all the while that eventually she'll come to her senses and reciprocate his affection. Eventually [[spoiler:she does, after finally getting some shuteye, and Nately dies almost immediately thereafter.]]
* Nicely played with in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Discworld/GoingPostal''. We are not sure whether Moist will get Adora Belle Dearheart. [[spoiler:He will - they are engaged as of ''Discworld/MakingMoney''.]] It's a particularly odd example of this trope because Moist is a consummate con artist, and so he's very, very used to putting on crazy shows. His feelings for her are genuine, but he's put just as much effort into performances aimed at swindling people. Not only that, she was an accidental victim of his in the backstory, so she has a very, very good reason to not trust him.

* Subverted in the second ''DarkSwan'' novel, ''Thorn Queen'': [[spoiler:Leith]] is obviously attracted to Eugenie, and spends a lot of his time trying to win her affections, eventually confessing his love for her, believing she feels the same. When she makes it clear that she simply isn't interested, he leaves, brokenhearted. Later, however, [[spoiler:she gets captured and drugged for Leith's benefit, and he proceeds to rape her repeatedly - genuinely believing his actions to be out of love and outright denying that what he did was rape]]. Thankfully, he [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome gets his comeuppance eventually]]...
* In the ''KateDaniels'' series, Raphael is a Dogged Nice Guy to Andrea, pursuing her for months despite her protests. Justified in that Andrea is a MasterOfTheMixedMessage, giving lame excuses for rejecting him, keeping his obnoxious gifts, and becoming visibly aroused when he flirts with her. Subverted when Raphael finally gets sick of it and tells Andrea to either give him a chance or stop leading him on.
* Homer/Sonny in ''OctoberSky / Rocket Boys'' is a Dogged Nice Guy to Dorothy Plunk. He eventually gives up, though, when he sees her on a date with his brother, although he never quite loses his feelings for her.
* Peeta of ''Literature/TheHungerGames''.
* The Beast of "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" asks Beauty to marry him and keeps on doing so even though she keeps on rejecting him every time. Granted, he ''needed'' someone to fall in love with and marry him [[CurseEscapeClause for his curse to be broken]], but it's taken for granted that Beauty ''will'' eventually realize that he's actually a NiceGuy underneath his monstrous exterior and finally agree to marry him. This, coupled with the possible AbductionIsLove UnfortunateImplications, can make this fairy tale unintentionally creepy if mishandled.
* [[AnneofGreenGables Gilbert Blythe]] is the epitome of the second variation. He makes a badly-time comment about Anne's red hair and falls for her the instant she smashes her slate over his head in retribution. However, Anne holds this grudge for five years or so, in which time he tries valiantly to convince her he's not the jerk he originally come off as. Once they're friends, he gently implies at times that he wants to be more than just friends, though since Anne is oblivious to both his feelings for her and her growing feelings for him, it goes over her head. He continues to try and be her friend even after she shoots down his marriage proposal and after she dates another man for nearly two years. It takes a near-death experience for Anne to realize she's in love with him, the poor guy.
* In the ''TheKingkillerChronicle'' series, Kvothe is very much a type 2 of this trope for Denna.

* Almanzo Wilder's courtship of [[LittleHouseOnThePrairie Laura Ingalls]] initially takes this form. It [[FailedASpotCheck takes her a while]] to figure out why he's seeing her home from church and driving her to and from her teaching job every weekend, and when she does, she panics a little. She tells him she's only riding with him because she wants to go home at the weekends, and that he doesn't need to feel obligated to keep doing so. The next weekend it's forty below zero and getting colder fast, and she's certain he won't come get her, but [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming he does]]. When her job's over they go sleighing every weekend, and she comes to decide being courted isn't so scary after all.
* Black, one of the protagonists in ''Literature/MyNameIsRed'' probably falls into this category.
* Aubrey Takes Flight toward Annie Little Hawk in ''Literature/GivesLight''.
* Literature/LightAndDarkTheAwakeningOfTheMageknight: Justified. [[spoiler: Danny has good reason to believe Sabrina likes him back (because of her comment on how dragons often hide or evade such things) but refuses to acknowledge it due to their respective roles. He fully intends to change her mind in the sequel.]]
* Quite a few Creator/PGWodehouse characters. Literature/{{Psmith}} is a good example, at one point flat-out admitting to his target that he's not expecting her to accept the proposal. He's just hoping she'll add his name to her list of options. [[spoiler:It works.]]
* Ian O'Shea in ''Literature/TheHost''.
* In ''Literature/RedeemingLove'', this is [[LoveMartyr Michael Hosea]]’s main tactic for trying to get [[BrokenBird Angel]] to marry him, and later to stay with him. Especially interesting because he was not (at first) in love with Angel—he was trying to rescue her from her life as a SexSlave, and often went to lengths of HonorBeforeReason while invoking this trope.

* Fix-it Felix is essentially Type 2 in {{Disney/Wreck-it Ralph}}. He meets and [[LoveAtFirstSight becomes smitten with]] Calhoun while on his quest to find Ralph, but he does not force his attention on her.

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* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan.'' Peter Parker plays this role when trying to get Daily Bugle secretary Betty Brant to be his date to the HighSchoolDance. He is thwarted in his efforts by his Aunt May, who frankly tells Betty that, at twenty to his sixteen, she's too old to be dating Peter. [[LikesOlderWomen Much to Peter's chagrin]], Betty takes this to heart, and turns Peter down.

* Bolin in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Legend of Korra}}''. Despite being supportive of and nice to [[ActionGirl Korra]] from the moment he meets her, she settles for his [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys brother Mako]], who becomes more cordial with her after he learns that she is the Avatar.
* Mordecai of ''{{Regular Show}}'' started off as this to Margaret, who seemed to have new boyfriends every time she met him, [[spoiler: until it was deconstructed to nothing in season 3]].

* Used rather cruelly in most installments of the original UC ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' saga. A recurring theme throughout is that of the Dogged Nice Guy utterly failing in his pursuit because the woman has already pledged herself to a man with a much more open/stronger personality, or one or more participants in the LoveTriangle wind up dead. Worst of all is probably the sad, sad tale of 13-years-old Hathaway Noah of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'', who can't even let go after the girl (Quess) is dead. In the sequel novel, ''Hathaways Flash'', [[spoiler:he leads a resistance movement against TheFederation to avenge her, fails spectacularly and [[KarmicDeath gets executed]] (under orders from his own father, no less, who doesn't even know he's a terrorist!). When he meets Quess in the afterlife, he finds out it was all for nothing because she never even liked him anyway. Ouch.]]

* From ''EurekaSeven'', Dominic. He's devoted to [[DarkActionGirl Anemone]] despite the fact that [[{{Tsundere}} she treats him like crap]] and is, well, [[CuteAndPsycho completely]] [[TykeBomb nuts]]. [[spoiler:Once she gets better, though, she reciprocates his feelings. But he actually has to ''leave'' her before she realizes that he's her LivingEmotionalCrutch.]]

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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Megan_Fox_and_the_Kid_with_the_Flower_-_Megan_Fox_rejects_kid_8319.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Why don't you love me, [[MeganFox Megan]]?"]]

* Both Kenny Showalter (towards Mia) and Boris Pelkowski (toward Lily and [[spoiler:Tina]]) are featured in ''ThePrincessDiaries'' books. Boris [[spoiler:succeeds]] and Kenny [[spoiler:does not]].

* Garrod Ran from GundamX is a mild version of this towards Tiffa Addil. He does have a crush on her, goes TongueTied when she speaks to him and sorta chases after the girl -- but he '''never''' demands anything from her in return and gradually moves on [[DeclarationOfProtection genuinely wanting to help and protect her]], [[BrokenBird something that]] [[BarrierMaiden she]] [[LastOfHisKind BADLY needs]].

* For the flip side of the coin, GirlWritesWhat made this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9XDb0nxSO4 video]] in defense of Nice Guys, highlighting the recent reactions to this trope compared to its DistaffCounterpart, specifically citing audience reactions to the female-leads in SomeKindOfWonderful and MyBestFriendsWedding.

* For the flip side of the coin, GirlWritesWhat made this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9XDb0nxSO4 video]] in defense of Nice Guys, highlighting the recent reactions to this trope compared to its DistaffCounterpart, specifically citing audience reactions to the female-leads in SomeKindOfWonderful and PrettyInPink.

* For the flip side of the coin, GirlWritesWhat made this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9XDb0nxSO4 video]] in defense of Nice Guys, highlighting the recent reactions to this trope compared to its DistaffCounterpart.

* For the flip side of the coin, GirlWritesWhat made this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9XDb0nxSO4 video]] in defense of Nice Guys.

* Fix-it Felix is essentially Type 2 in [[WreckitRalph]]. He meets and [[LoveAtFirstSight becomes smitten with]] Calhoun while on his quest to find Ralph, but he does not force his attention on her.

* Fix-it Felix leans toward Type 2 in [[Wreck-it Ralph]]. He meets and [[LoveAtFirstSight falls for]] Calhoun while on his quest to find Ralph. He does not demand any attention from her but is delighted when she decides to pay attention on her own.

* Fix-it Felix leans toward Type 2 in {{Wreck-it Ralph}}. He meets and [[LoveAtFirstSight falls for]] Calhoun while on his quest to find Ralph. He does not demand any attention from her but is delighted when she decides to pay attention on her own.

* Fix-it Felix leans toward Type 2 in [[Wreck-it Ralph]]. He meets and [[LoveAtFirstSight falls for]] Calhoun while on his quest to find Ralph. He does not demand any attention from her but is delighted when she decides to pay attention on her own.

* '''1:''' If Bob and Alice are strangers or distant acquaintances when he falls for her, after the first confession that was turned down, he will show his affection in more and more spectacular ways to prove his serious intentions. Sometimes, the people around them will expect that Bob will eventually get together with Alice. Once Bob's displays of affection convince Alice to change her mind about him and give him a chance, the two will be portrayed as a normal couple. This is frequently used by romantic comedies or other shows/movies where they want to keep the audience asking WillTheyOrWontThey.

* '''2:''' If Bob and Alice are either long time friends, or strangers who just got into a JustFriends relationship, Bob will take a more low-key route. Bob will likely begin by saying that he has his hopes for a more serious relationship, and he hopes Alice will eventually feel the same. He's content to be PlatonicLifePartners until that time comes. From here, he may remind her of his unrequited love every time he sees her, or he may never mention it again. Alice might refuse the RelationshipUpgrade because [[IDontWantToRuinOurFriendship she doesn't want to ruin this friendship]], or else believe that Bob just has a schoolboy crush he'll get over. If Alice is in a relationship, Bob might [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy try to accept it for Alice's sake]]. If Bob dates someone else in the interim, this may make Alice have a GreenEyedEpiphany and create a UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo.

* Takuto to Mitsuki in ''FullMoonOSagashite''. At first he was IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy but after finding out this was impossible unless Mitsuki [[spoiler:[[DeathOfTheHypothenuse dies TOO]]]], he decides to confess to her. She rejects him at first but he continues to protect her til the end. Fortunately, it finally pays off.]]

* Takuto to Mitsuki in ''FullMoonOSagashite''. At first he was IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy but after finding out this was impossible unless Mitsuki [[spoiler:[[DeadAllAlong]]dies TOO], he decides to confess to her. She rejects him at first but he continues to protect her til the end. Fortunately, it finally pays off.]]

* The most famous and deliberately over-the-top example is probably cartoon character Pepe [=LePew=], whose main problem is not understanding that, as a [[TalkingAnimal skunk]], he smells ''bad'' (when he did in 1959's "Really Scent," he corrected the problem, [[GiftOfTheMagiPlot only to have the cat go to a Limburger factory to make herself smell bad]]). Chuck Jones (the director who created Pepe) based Pepe Le Pew on fellow Termite Terrace writer, Ted Pierce, who was notorious for hitting on women and often forgetting to shower after a night of partying (though the fact that Pepe is a skunk from France carries UnfortunateImplications about how Europeans [particularly the French] aren't as hung up on hygiene as Americans are). Add the fact that Pepe is [[StalkerWithACrush just so friggin' relentless]] when it comes to wooing female cats (or any animal with a skunk stripe) and you can see why the Pepe cartoons get a lot of sexual harassment/rape accusations from {{Media Watchdog}}s. This is likely the main reason his ''TinyToonAdventures'' counterpart is [[DoubleStandard female]].

* Takuto to Mitsuki in ''Full Moon Wo Sagashite''. At first he was IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy but after finding out this was impossible unless Mitsuki [[spoiler:[[DeadAllAlong]]dies TOO], he decides to confess to her. She rejects him at first but he continues to protect her til the end. Fortunately, it finally pays off.]]

* Dante Aligheri to Beatrice; not as much in (possibly) real life or story (''The Divine Comedy'' or ''La Vita Neuova'') than in scholarly letters.

* Silvius to Phoebe in the Bard of Avon's ''As You Like It''.

* Probably the UrExample: Pip towards Estella in ''Literature/GreatExpectations''.