History Main / DoggedNiceguy

-->-- '''Website/TheOnion''', ''[[https://local.theonion.com/romantic-comedy-behavior-gets-real-life-man-arrested-1819565117 "Romantic Comedy Behavior Gets Real Life Man Arrested"]]''

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/InYourWildestDreams''. When he find himself in one of Weiss's nightmare, [[DreamWalker Jaune]] attempts comfort her, only to make the nightmare worse, because she's horrified to be near him. She frantically gives him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how all her attempts to woo her have been nothing but stressful, since he's been harassing her for months and refuses to take no for an answer. On top of that, every time he asks her out in public, he also makes her look bad in front of others, making both their friends and strangers view her as the bad guy for constantly crushing his heart, which only exacerbates her existing struggles to make social connections. Jaune is mortified, and upon awakening, apologizes to her publicly. In turn, giving his recent maturity in other things regarding their friend group, she's willing to still be friends with him.

* Oreo Uziel from ''Fanfic/MendingTheKnots'' is a very harsh deconstruction of this type of character. He acts as if he and Pyrrha are together just because they are partners on the same team, but in reality, he is an obsessive creep with zero respect for Pyrrha's boundaries, and who drives Pyrrha to get as far away from him as possible.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/InYourWildestDreams''. Jaune's attempts to woo Weiss are actually harassment rather than endearing because he is refusing to take no for an answer and nagging her to change her mind. Every time he asks her out in public he also makes her look bad in front of others, both strangers and people who actually know them because she still rejects him and rains on his parade. Weiss has come to sincerely dread any interaction with him as they always reflect badly on her and she already struggles to make connections. When she angrily/sadly points this out to him in a dream, [[DreamWalker Jaune]] is mortified and apologizes to her publicly.

* ComicBook/TheNew52 would turn ComicBook/WonderWoman's long standing LoveInterest Steve Trevor into this due to her romance with Superman. She gently turned Steve down when he asked her out and he took it well, but when affected by Pandora's Box he becomes a {{Yandere}} who wants to kill Clark. 'ComicBook/DCRebirth'' though retconned his actions out and brought Diana and Steve back together again.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Clark Kent was often this for [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]], though he had the obvious silver lining of Lois loving his alter ego. From the 90's onward, comics generally ditch this all together with Lois loving Clark whether he's super or not.

-->-- [[https://local.theonion.com/romantic-comedy-behavior-gets-real-life-man-arrested-1819565117 "Romantic Comedy Behavior Gets Real Life Man Arrested,"]] ''Website/TheOnion''

** The original game waffles back and forth between Max being [[SelectiveObliviousness selectively unaware]] of Warren's blatant crush on her one moment, yet plainly stating she already knows whenever any of her friends raises the issue. If Max friend zones him, he'll take it gracefully and remain a supportive friend to her. It isn't until their final scene together that Warren tries to express how he feels about her, but Max reveals that she's known all along. However, even if Max chooses to kiss him at that moment, examining him immediately afterward prompts the following inner monologue from Max:

* ''Franchise/LifeIsStrange'' franchise:
** Max's friend Warren in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' loans her movies and books, jumps between her and psycho Nathan Prescott and gets beaten up, asks her out to a ''Planet of the Apes'' marathon, and seems generally harmless. It's very clear to the player that he's got a serious crush on Max, but she's ObliviousToLove. If Max turns down his offers, he'll take it gracefully and remain upbeat. Only in their final scene together does Warren finally start to come right out and state his feelings, and Max reveals that she's actually figured it out by this point. However, even if Max chooses to kiss him in this moment, it's not clear whether she really has any romantic interest in him.

** Generally speaking, Sheryl’s slum gang is characterized as having several of these hoping that if they work hard, Sheryl will notice them, with the named example being Tiol. Tiol’s feelings get twisted as he becomes a TragicMonster at the hands of a MadScientist, and he turns into TheResenter of Akira out of vague AmnesiacResonance as CyberneticsEatYourSoul effects him. Tiol originally was just going to wait and hope Akira lost interest in Sheryl or died hunting while supporting her as best he could in the meantime.

* Keima takes a page out of the VisualNovel book and turns into one of these during ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows''. Justified because if he isn't dogged enough to get the girl, he loses his head.

* Franchise/MarvelUniverse: ComicBook/{{Thanos}} is this in his original depiction. He's madly in love with Death (the incarnation ''and'' the concept) and does everything to earn her favor. Among other things, he creates a massive monument, resurrects his granddaughter as an UndeadAbomination and wipes out half of all life in the universe, solely to impress her. When she continues to turn her back on him, he gets angry that she's not giving him what he "deserves".
* Hayseed Turnip Truck towards Rarity in the short story in ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyMicroSeries'' Issue #3.
* ComicBook/TheNew52 would turn ComicBook/WonderWoman's long standing LoveInterest Steve Trevor into this due to her romance with Superman. She gently turned Steve down when he asked her out and he took it well, but when affected by Pandora’s Box he becomes a {{Yandere}} who wants to kill Clark. Averted in the ComicBook/DCRebirth which brings Diana and Steve back together again.

** Peter prior to being bitten by the radioactive spider was this for Liz Allen who was quite a AlphaBitch earlier on and as such would turn him down with disgust. After becoming Spider-Man and gaining new confidence, Liz became attracted to Peter much to Flash’s jealously, but eventually they all just became friends with Peter a HonoraryUncle to her son Normie. Liz to her credit very much regrets how she treated Peter in high school and wished things could've turned out differently.

** As revealed in a {{retcon}} in ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'', ComicBook/JessicaJones was a DoggedNiceGirl for Peter when she was young and unlike Peter with Liz was too shy to even talk to him (despite Peter being no less unpopular) and only capable of watching him adoringly from afar. Sadly when Peter did talk to her it was after the car accident which killed her family and Jess thinks he’s only taking pity on her and spites him for it. By the time they meet properly again unmasked Jessica is already married with a child to ComicBook/LukeCage so they’re JustFriends.
* David Qin in ''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'' seeks Katchoo out on a more or less daily basis, even though she explains repeatedly (and violently) that she's not interested in men. [[spoiler:It's revealed later on that his sister Darcy sent him to spy on Katchoo and Francine.]] She relents after he helps her and Francine through some rough times, and he moves in with them.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Both Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent were often this for [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] though Clark unlike Jimmy at least had the obvious silver lining of LovesMyAlterEgo with Lois. Modern comics generally ditch this all together with Lois loving Clark whether he’s super or not and her and Jimmy being JustFriends.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is often this for ComicBook/JeanGrey though it’s a played with case as a lot of time Jean is genuinely attracted to Logan as well and only turns him down out of loyalty to Scott (who sadly thanks to {{Flanderization}} [[MentalAffair isn’t as loyal to her]]). Averted in ''ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge'' where Jean just sleeps with both Cyclops and Logan in a {{Polyamory}} relationship.
** Prior to Wolverine, ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}} was this for Jean though in some EarlyInstalmentWeirdness his affection in the Silver Age was well out of Nice Guy territory being someone that just sexually harassed Jean at any given opportunity. It was only later comics where Hank shifted into this trope, before dropping his crush altogether valuing his friendship with Jean more. Although in ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'' older Beast’s regret over not telling Jean his feeling for her when he was young is actually read by Teen Jean who confronts Teen Hank about it, leading to a kiss.

* Franchise/MarvelUniverse: Thanos is this in his original depiction. He's madly in love with Death (the incarnation ''and'' the concept) and does everything to earn her favor. Among other things, he creates a massive monument, resurrects his granddaughter as an UndeadAbomination and wipes out half of all life in the universe, solely to impress her. When she continues to turn her back on him, he gets angry that she's not giving him what he "deserves".

* ComicBook/TheNew52 would turn Franchise/WonderWoman's long standing LoveInterest Steve Trevor into this due to her romance with Superman. She gently turned Steve down when he asked her out and he took it well, but when affected by Pandora’s Box he becomes a {{Yandere}} who wants to kill Clark. Averted in the ComicBook/DCRebirth which brings Diana and Steve back together again.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': Both Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent were often this for [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] though Clark unlike Jimmy at least had the obvious silver lining of LovesMyAlterEgo with Lois. Modern comics generally ditch this all together with Lois loving Clark whether he’s super or not and her and Jimmy being JustFriends.
* In ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'', Martin is a stereotypical nerd (glasses, geeky interests, and a GeekPhysique) that, while persistent, is actually a NiceGuy that Irma eventually gives a talking to so he understands they're JustFriends and he later has some shiptease with his cute French pen pal that comes to visit him; [[GreenEyedMonster naturally, Irma is annoyed that his attention is no longer on her]] and [[LampshadeHanging her friends love pointing this out.]] Interestingly, issue fifty shows a possible future where Martin has become a [[NerdsAreSexy real good-looking geek]] and Irma shows real concern when he accidentally hurts himself; cue very interested looks from the other girls before an annoyed Irma tells them to knock it off.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is often this for ComicBook/JeanGrey though it’s a played with case as a lot of time Jean is genuinely attracted to Logan as well and only turns him down out of loyalty to Scott (who sadly thanks to {{Flanderization}} [[MentalAffair isn’t as loyal to her]]). Averted in ''ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge'' where Jean just sleeps with both Cyclops and Logan in a {{Polyamory}} relationship.

%%** [[NiceGuy Allelujah Haptism]] towards [[ActionGirl Soma Peries/Marie Parfacy]], [[EvilGenius Billy Katagiri]] towards [[BrokenBird Sumeragi Lee Noriega]], and [[NonActionGuy Lichtendahl “Lichty” Tsery]] towards [[CoolBigSis Christina “Chris” Sierra]].

** The above-mentioned Gideon himself can be considered an example of this trope as well because he is a cool, nice and very affably friendly guy, (and just like Sarah, he's also rather nerdy and geeky too) who starts off the series having an unrequited, and somewhat passionate crush on Phoebe as well (although his is not nearly as bad and obsessive as Sarah's crush was on Max). However, what makes Gideon different from Sarah is that he flirts with nearly every attractive woman who crosses his path, like somewhat of a CasanovaWannabe that finds AnythingThatMoves attractive.[[note]] Some of the other ladies he's flirted with throughout the series other than Phoebe and Sarah include, most of his female friends, including Cherry, Kelsey, Ashley, Madison, Maddy, Winnie Lee, Roxy, and even [[StacysMom Max and Phoebe's own mom, Barbara Thunderman.]][[/note]] Sarah kept her unrequited obsessive crush focused solely on Max until they hooked her up with Gideon towards the end of the series. And even when Gideon started dating Sarah, he still sometimes flirted with other women, but Sarah didn't seem to care or mind, as long as if he stayed loyal to her and didn't try to actively pursue any of the other women he'd sometimes try to flirt with.

* Firo in ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' is this to [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent Ennis]]; he declares LoveAtFirstSight and then proceeds to wait patiently for more than ''fifty years'' for her to agree to marry him. [[spoiler:It's a good thing that both of them are immortal. Eventually, she does return his feelings.]]

* Ishmael from ''Literature/DontCallMeIshmael'' is the second kind. He's yearned for Kelly since the first time he saw her, even when she was in a relationship with someone else or out of the country.
* In ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' Dr John Seward and Quincy Morris are Dogged Nice Guys for Lucy Westerna who shows great affection for them but ultimately turns them down and chooses the third suitor Arthur Holmwood. John is particularly sympathetic given he’s the one who stayed with Lucy all throughout her illness and is even upset that Dr. Van Helsing only lets gives a portion of his blood to her while he let Arthur give practically a litre away. [[spoiler: Subverted as Arthur doesn’t get the girl either with poor Lucy succumbing to her blood loss, dying, and coming back as a vampire before being staked and beheaded.]] PlayedWith in HotterAndSexier adaptations, like ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' where Lucy urges John into making out with her even while she’s engaged to Arthur.
* In the short story ''[[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Bombshells]]'', Molly Carpenter reveals herself to be this. When Harry rejected her in ''Proven Guilty'' (for several reasons, including her young age) her response was essentially 'Okay, I can wait.' Unlike most examples of the trope, she is shown to date other people.

* Dante Alighieri to Beatrice; not as much in (possibly) real life or story (''The Divine Comedy'' or ''La Vita Nuova'') than in scholarly letters.
* Quasimodo the titular ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is this for the fair Esméralda who while showing him great compassion won't let Quasi so much as kiss her hand due to his hideousness and only has eyes for the handsome {{Jerkass}} Phoebus. Making matters more tragic Quasimodo is really the only man whom Esméralda can trust and rely upon as he genuinely loves her unlike Phoebus or to much a greater extent Frollo who both only want her for sex. There's also Gringoire who while not as capable as Quasimodo also loves Esméralda and genuinely wants to protect her, but like with Quasimodo she doesn't return his feelings, as she holds out hope that Phoebus will rescue her... which he doesn't.
%%* Aubrey Takes Flight toward Annie Little Hawk in ''Literature/GivesLight''.

* Almanzo Wilder's courtship of [[Literature/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 he does. When her job's over, she sees that all of her friends are having fun sleighing in pairs, and resigns herself to reading poetry and trying not to feel left out-- until Almanzo knocks at the door and invites her to go sleighing with him. She immediately says yes and has to laugh at herself, admitting that she didn't intend to keep spending time with him now. Almanzo says he thought she might change her mind after seeing the crowd go by, and they go sleighing or driving every Sunday after. Almanzo manages to not come off as pushy because he's such a quiet, lowkey man, and he does respect Laura's autonomy and boundaries-- he did not protest at all when she said that she was only riding with him to get home, and genuinely felt bad for her living in a difficult situation away from home for the first time. He noticed that she was impressed by his horses, so he invites her to ride behind them. After they've spent some time together, he noticed that she (and her father) are always singing, so he invites her to singing school with him.

** In the Phantom aka Erik’s case it’s even more tragic as he was already working with a disadvantage being TheGrotesque (as well as a PsychopathicManchild) but he was content merely gaslighting Christine as her beloved Angel of Music it’s only when Raoul came into the picture again that he is stricken with jealousy and becomes desperate eventually abducting Christine. Interestingly, Erik actually becomes a greater example of this after Christine sees his NightmareFace and accepts it as now he refuses to let her go having got such encouragement. It takes a prolonged ScarpiaUltimatum in the finale before he pulls a IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy.
* Homer/Sonny in ''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.

* In ''Literature/SmallGame'' Mara clocks Tom as one of these. As such she strings him along by giving him attention in exchange for extra food and intel.

* Dave Malkoff from the ''Troubleshooters'' series, who pines after Sophia, who in turn pines after Decker, who won't sack up and ask her out. [[spoiler:Eventually Dave wins.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Braco from "The Suitor" is a deconstruction of this trope; he constantly gushes over Princess Bubblegum and tries to win her over, despite her complete lack of interest. He also repeatedly injures himself with his attempts to impress her, eventually making a DealWithTheDevil and "paying the price for love" by becoming a freaky-looking three-legged monster. PB ends up creating a robot lookalike of herself for Braco to stop him from getting himself killed; he's uncomfortable with it at first, but the moment "P-Bot" shows physical attraction toward him he has a change of heart.

** Prior to Wolverine, ComicBook/{{Beast}} was this for Jean though in some EarlyInstalmentWeirdness his affection in the Silver Age was well out of Nice Guy territory being someone that just sexually harassed Jean at any given opportunity. It was only later comics where Hank shifted into this trope, before dropping his crush altogether valuing his friendship with Jean more. Although in ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'' older Beast’s regret over not telling Jean his feeling for her when he was young is actually read by Teen Jean who confronts Teen Hank about it, leading to a kiss.

** Played with: the relationship between [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon Crowley]] and [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angel Aziraphale]]. For more than [[OlderThanDirt 6000 years]] Crowley has been [[OneTrueLove in love]] with and]] chasing Aziraphale, who feels the same but for [[DatingCatwoman various reasons]] rejects him.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': Both Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent were often this for [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] though Clark unlike Jimmy at least had the obvious silver lining of LovesMyAlterEgo with Lois. Modern comics generally ditch this all together with Lois loving Clark whether he’s super or not and her and Jimmy being JustFriends.
* David Qin in ''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'' seeks Katchoo out on a more or less daily basis, even though she explains repeatedly (and violently) that she's not interested in men. [[spoiler:It's revealed later on that his sister Darcy sent him to spy on Katchoo and Francine.]] She relents after he helps her and Francine through some rough times, and he moves in with them.
* ComicBook/TheNew52 would turn Franchise/WonderWoman’s long standing LoveInterest Steve Trevor into this due to her romance with Superman. She gently turned Steve down when he asked her out and he took it well, but when affected by Pandora’s Box he becomes a {{Yandere}} who wants to kill Clark. Averted in the ComicBook/DCRebirth which brings Diana and Steve back together again.

* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is often this for ComicBook/JeanGrey though it’s a played with case as a lot of time Jean is genuinely attracted to Logan as well and only turns him down out of loyalty to Scott (who sadly thanks to {{Flanderization}} [[MentalAffair isn’t as loyal to her]]). Averted in ''ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge'' where Jean just sleeps with both Cyclops and Logan in a {{Polyamory}} relationship.
** Prior to Wolverine, ComicBook/{{Beast}} was this for Jean though in some EarlyInstalmentWeirdness his affection in the Silver Age was well out of Nice Guy territory being someone that just sexually harassed Jean at any given opportunity. It was only later comics where Hank shifted into this trope, before dropping his crush altogether valuing his friendship with Jean more. Although in ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'' older Beast’s regret over not telling Jean his feeling for her when he was young is actually read by Teen Jean who confronts Teen Hank about it, leading to a kiss.
* Hayseed Turnip Truck towards Rarity in the short story in ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyMicroSeries'' Issue #3.

** Peter prior to being bitten by the radioactive spider was this for Liz Allen who was quite a AlphaBitch earlier on and as such would turn him down with disgust. After becoming Spider-Man and gaining new confidence, Liz became attracted to Peter much to Flash’s jealously, but eventually they all just became friends with Peter a HonoraryUncle to her son Normie. Liz to her credit very much regrets how she treated Peter in high school and wished things could’ve turned out differently.

* In ''ComicBook/PocketGod'', Nooby has a crush on Sun and was the first of the tribe to be nice to her. However, she ended up with Ooga, Nooby's best friend. This made Nooby feel unloved by both, but he got over it once Ooga apologized for neglecting him.
* Like in the Western Animation example below, Irma Lair has a DNG in ''W.I.T.C.H.'' in form of Martin, a stereotypical nerd (glasses, geeky interests, and a GeekPhysique)that, while persistent, is actually a nice guy that Irma eventually gives a talking to so he understands they're JustFriends and he later has some shiptease with his cute French pen pal that comes to visit him; [[GreenEyedMonster naturally, Irma is annoyed that his attention is no longer on her]] and [[LampshadeHanging her friends love pointing this out.]] Interestingly, issue fifty shows a possible future where Martin has become a [[NerdsAreSexy real good-looking geek]] and Irma shows real concern when he accidentally hurts himself; cue very interested looks from the other girls before an annoyed Irma tells them to knock it off.
* [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Thanos]] is this in his original depiction. He's madly in love with Death (the incarnation ''and'' the concept) and does everything to earn her favor. Among other things, he creates a massive monument, resurrects his granddaughter as an UndeadAbomination and wipes out half of all life in the universe, solely to impress her. When she continues to turn her back on him, he gets angry that she's not giving him what he "deserves".

* Midnight from ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/93809/a-pleasant-surprise A Pleasant Surprise]]'', is definitely this. It pays off for him in the end when he gets with Fluttershy.
* Greece from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' often has a low-key yearning for Japan in fanworks, sometimes to the point of waiting over a hundred years for Japan to return his feelings, although it's clear in most of these fanworks that Japan does like Greece back and just has a bad case of CannotSpitItOut or ObliviousToLove. Or that ''both'' of them are TwiceShy.
** Sometimes Japan's adoptive sister Taiwan is depicted the same way, acting cheery and sweet to him but deep down also expecting him to like her back.
** Spain also has shades of this in some Spain/Romano fanworks. While Romano is shown as a Tsundere in Spain/Romano fanworks, he might switch to this trope in Romano/Belgium ones.
** Korea is depicted as this in most, if not all, China/Korea fanworks. Some of these fanworks actually give a tragic spin to this trope by depicting Korea as being fully aware that China doesn't return his feelings or just finds him annoying and knowing deep down that throwing himself even more at China will not change this, but that he can't bring himself to give up hope that someday, somehow, China will eventually love him back.
* According to some fanfics, James Potter and Lily Evans from the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' universe fit this trope well. It seems to be pretty solidly there in canon, though. When we see James asking Lily out in their fifth year, not only does she turn him down, they're both acting like this is hardly the first time she's had to reject him. We're later told that they didn't start going out until seventh year, so that's at ''least'' two years of James dogging persistently after Lily since we don't know when he first started asking.
** There's a subversion there as well. James was [[spoiler:a JerkJock in their fifth year, and a bully on top of that]], which is one of the reasons Lily wouldn't have anything to do with him. It was ''only'' when he got over himself that Lily reciprocated. (Not to mention that her other suitor was [[spoiler:Severus Snape, a case of UnluckyChildhoodFriend who lost his chance via ''greatly'' wronging Lily in the worst way possible]].)

* Lightly touched upon and deconstructed in the later chapters of “Fanfic/JerkInSheepsClothing”. When asked why he cannot accept romantic feelings for Marinette, Adrien explains that he is waiting for another girl (Ladybug), and does not wish to be “unfaithful” to her, even though she has already refused his feelings. Nino and Kagami pick apart his logic, stating that waiting for a girl who has already rejected him to one day magically change her mind makes him look sad and pathetic.
* Oreo Uziel from Fanfic/MendingTheKnots is a very harsh deconstruction of this type of character. He acts as if he and Pyrrha are together just because they are partners on the same team, but in reality, he is an obsessive creep with zero respect for Pyrrha's boundaries, and who drives Pyrrha to get as far away from him as possible.

* Prince Lir from ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'' initially is pushy towards the Lady Amalthea, doing many different actions to call her attention, but she's disinterested in engaging with him. After she loses her memory is when she starts giving him a chance and falling for him.

* Private Zoller in ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''. He acts exactly like a romantic comedy protagonist, as this trope demands, but, of course, there are a few problems. Not least of all is the fact that, well, Shoshanna's (secretly) Jewish, she's already dating a [[BlackIsBiggerInBed black man]] Marcel, and he's a freakin' ''Nazi''! To squick us out even more, he hero-worships the man who slaughtered her family; both the audience and Shoshanna know this from the second scene we see him in. When she finally manages to get through to him that there's no way in hell that she'll ever be interested in him, he stops being so nice... Also, he uses his strong-arm Nazi position to force her on dates with him and to position himself at the theater she works in. [[EntitledToHaveYou Very very not nice]].
* ''Film/TheSingleStandard'': Tommy, who is perfectly aware that he is in the friend zone--he even calls himself "boring"--but is content to hang around Arden, occasionally asking plaintively if she'll marry him. Eventually, after Packy dumps Arden, it works, and apparently she marries Tommy out of boredom. Until Packy shows up again, that is, and Tommy pulls out his gun.
* Subverted in ''Film/SnowDay''; Dogged Nice Guy Hal, after finally getting the girl, realizes how Lane, who had appeared doomed to be an UnluckyChildhoodFriend, feels about him, and somehow manages to let the original target girl down without coming across as a massive JerkAss.
* Nick from ''Film/YouthInRevolt'' is this in spades; at the beginning of the movie, he has a line of narration where he says that in real life, the nice guy never gets the girl. He actually does get the girl--well, sort of. She likes him, but she'll only be with him if he can find a way to leave his hometown to be near her. His means of getting himself to her are creepy and occasionally manipulative of others, and the worst one has nothing to do with his Bad Boy alter-ego.
* In ''Film/{{Caveman}}'', the protagonist Atouk (played by Ringo Starr), is this to the villain's superficial girl Lana. Subverted in the end, since he [[spoiler:literally dumps her on dinosaur poo and goes for the dogged nice ''girl'' Tala.]]

** Amy's ex-boyfriend Bobby, is an antagonistic example. He spends a lot of his screen time trying to win Amy over after she dumped him, though he quickly shows how pushy he is about it. He apparently buys her gifts to woo her, and when she’s forced back into a relationship with him, love bombs her when he “forgives” her for her fling with Diamond. Throughout, Bobby displays an entitled and controlling attitude towards Amy.
* Both ''Film/LifeIsBeautiful'' and ''Film/TheTigerAndTheSnow'' from Roberto Benigni have this, as an over-energetic male protagonist (played by him) engages in stalkerish behavior to get the woman he is in love with.

* Creator/FredAstaire played a lot of characters like this, most notably in ''Film/TopHat'' and ''[[Film/TheGayDivorcee The Gay Divorcée]]'' (which features him chasing after Ginger Rogers' character in a car the second time they meet).
* Jane in ''Film/TwentySevenDresses'' is the Patient Friend variety for her boss, George. Subverted in the end: [[spoiler: as when they finally kiss, she "felt nothing", and she realises that she's fallen in love with Kevin, the reporter, instead]]
%%* Donald Morton in ''Mozart and the Whale''.
* ''Film/DilSe'' features the male lead Amar chasing a BrokenBird terrorist named Meghna all over the country, trying to win her affections. It does not end well.

* Michael towards Katie in ''Film/DarbyOGillAndTheLittlePeople'', despite her snapping at him and letting Pony take her home.
* In ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' Ripcord thinks he's this to Scarlett.
* Bruce Wayne thinks his eventually getting together with Rachel Dawes in Christopher Nolan's ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' is a ForegoneConclusion. They've been friends for years and once she learns the truth about his double life as Batman, he seriously thinks that she'll wait for him to finish being Batman as long as he remains true to her in his heart and all that jazz (she does give him that impression at the end of the first film after all). In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', however, Rachel moves on to Harvey Dent but Bruce seriously thinks Dent is just a placeholder while Rachel waits for Bruce to finish up his work as Batman, but Rachel is clearly more into Dent than Bruce and in the end, she does realize that and tells Bruce as much in a letter... [[spoiler:only to then be horribly killed by the Joker and for Alfred to burn the letter believing it's for the best and hoping Bruce will eventually move on. Unfortunately, Bruce spends eight years moping over Rachel even after the truth finally comes out in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' before he settles down with Selina "Catwoman" Kyle in Italy.]]

* Demetri Martin's character in ''Film/InAWorld...'' plays this very straight.
* Max from ''Film/DesignForLiving'' "didn't get to first base" with Gilda, but has been hanging around her for five years as her "friend", carping with disapproval about any other man she happens to date. She finally caves and marries him after leaving Tom and George.

* Lou, the bodega owner from ''Film/{{Annie|2014}}''. He has the dig on for Ms. Hannigan and is persistent about it. He eventually wins her over.
* Jordan from ''Film/MyAwkwardSexualAdventure'' is a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype - on all the pictures with Rachel after whom he's been pining for 24 years, he is present as this. When he finally [[GiveGeeksAChance got a shot with her]], he continued to be meek and obedient which ruined any chance of a decent relationship. The film is about him being strung along by Rachel even ''after'' they break up.

* In ''Film/GoodNeighbors'', Victor pines after Louise throughout the film, while she pays little notice to him and uses him several times when it suits her needs.
* In ''Film/Frankenstein1970'', Mike is in love with Judy and continues to determinedly press his suit despite knowing that she is carrying a torch for her ex-husband.

* ''Film/LoveSimon'' doesn't just {{Deconstruct|edTrope}} this trope, it ''villainizes'' it. Martin is convinced that he's the main character in some quirky romantic comedy, whereas everyone else sees him as an irritating loser, and the uglier sides of this trope show when he publicly humiliates the girl of his affections by making a spectacle out of asking her out, then [[spoiler:outs a closeted gay kid at school]] to take the fall for his own embarrassment. Even when he's shown to be remorseful, it's in the form of an equally failed self-imposed redemption arc.
* ''Film/DeadlyAdvice'': Ted, the village doctor, continues his pursuit of Jodie despite all of the obstacles that her mother Iris throws in his path. [[spoiler:The final scene indicates that perhaps he is not quite such a nice guy after all.]]
* ''Film/AnnaAndTheApocalypse'': John is established to hold a candle for Anna but the film ''Holwood Ending'' demonstrates how he's aware that she probably doesn't return it. He takes it maturely and doesn't push her.
* ''Film/{{Horns}}'' has [[spoiler: Lee, who eventually [[IfICantHaveYou murders Merrin when she rejects him]], framing her boyfriend (and his best friend) for the deed]].
* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'': David deconstructs this. He pursued a relationship with Liz in school but she found Shaun instead. His response was to date her best friend Dianne for years and set himself up as the NiceGuy ideal boyfriend, and then belittle Shaun even though she's happy with him (even if she wishes he'd be a bit more active). It all comes to a head in the ZombieApocalypse when he and Shaun are at each other's throats. [[spoiler:Making things worse for him, Liz never noticed he had a crush on her until Dianne spelled it out for him - that's right, even she knew. When David defends himself, he's told to shut up and that it really isn't important in the face of survival. When he reveals a vindictive and horrible side, it dashes any hope of being with Liz and he is shortly after torn apart by the horde when they grab him through the window.]]
* ''Film/HeavenKnowsWhat'' plays this to the skeevy hilt in the street denizens in New York City. While Harley, an attractive teenage junkie, is avoiding her cruel boyfriend Ilya, the comparatively wholesome thief Skully doggedly follows her around trying to get into her good graces, but Harley spurns him for Mike, a drug dealer. Mike, in turn, also tries to pull Harley away from Ilya's cruel behavior, but she ultimately spurns him as well.

* Quasimodo the titular ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is this for the fair Esméralda who while showing him great compassion won’t let Quasi so much as kiss her hand due to his hideousness and only has eyes for the handsome {{Jerkass}} Phoebus. Making matters more tragic Quasimodo is really the only man whom Esméralda can trust and rely upon as he genuinely loves her unlike Phoebus or to much a greater extent Frollo who both only want her for sex. There’s also Gringoire who while not as capable as Quasimodo also loves Esméralda and genuinely wants to protect her, but like with Quasimodo she doesn’t return his feelings, as she holds out hope that Phoebus will rescue her... which he doesn’t.
* Aubrey Takes Flight toward Annie Little Hawk in ''Literature/GivesLight''.

* Éponine of ''Literature/LesMiserables'' fame is a OlderThanRadio DoggedNiceGirl for Marius whom only sees her as a pitiable wretch of a girl (in the musical he treats her more like a dear surrogate sister from the streets). In cruel irony for Éponine the girl who did win Marius’s heart is Cosette who was abused and neglected by Éponine‘s family the Thénardiers. In the book Éponine takes this trope a step further, making sure Marius missed the letter Cosette left him and getting Marius to join her at the barricades disguised so they can be as far she knew TogetherInDeath. It’s entirely possible had Éponine been from a wealthier and well-groomed status Marius might’ve returned her feelings which goes along with Victor Hugo’s social commentary of the class system of the 1800s.
* 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.]]

* Black, one of the protagonists in ''Literature/MyNameIsRed'' probably falls into this category.

* Thrushpelt in the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' novel ''Bluestar's Prophecy'' spends most of the book complimenting and helping Bluestar, but to his chagrin, she is not really interested in him like that. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy He remains her friend]] to the end.

* [[{{Creator/Nickelodeon}} Nickelodeon's]] ''Series/TheThundermans'' has Sarah as a gender-flipped, female version of this trope with her crush on Max.
** Sarah is a very smart, nerdy, kind, but also attractive and cute girl who goes to high school with The Thundermans' main twin characters, Max and Phoebe. She develops a huge, almost obsessive crush on Max, and goes out of her way to try and impress him and flirt with him, but no matter how much she tries to flirt with him and go out of her way with grand gestures of her love for him, Max being that he wants to be a supervillain unlike his family of superheroes, sometimes tends to be rather rude and harsh towards her when he rejects her romantic advances. However, because of her obsessive crush on him, she never quite gets the hint and it isn't until Max and Phoebe convince her to date Gideon, their other friend who has a small crush on her, that she finally relaxes her crush on Max and tries to move on from him so she can devote her full romantic attention to Gideon instead.
** The above-mentioned Gideon himself can be considered an example of this trope as well because he is a cool, nice and very affably friendly guy, (and just like Sarah, he's also rather nerdy and geeky too) who starts off the series having an unrequited, and somewhat passionate crush on Phoebe as well (although his is not nearly as bad and obsessive as Sarah's crush was on Max). However, what makes Gideon different from Sarah is that he flirts with nearly every attractive woman who crosses his path, like somewhat of a CasanovaWannabe that finds AnythingThatMoves attractive.[[note]] Some of the other ladies he's flirted with throughout the series other than Phoebe and Sarah include, most of his female friends, including Cherry, Kelsey, Ashley, Madison, Maddy, Winnie Lee, Roxy, and even [[StacysMom Max and Phoebe's own mom, Barbara Thunderman.]][[/note]] Sarah kept her unrequited obsessive crush focused solely on Max until they hooked her up with Gideon towards the end of the series. And even when Gideon started dating Sarah, he still sometimes flirted with other women, but Sarah didn't seem to care or mind, as long as if he stayed loyal to her and didn't try to actively pursue any of the other women he'd sometimes try to flirt with.
* Chase from ''Series/{{House}}'', for a while. That whole 'It's Tuesday and I like you' thing.
* Harris Pemberton in ''Seriously Weird'' was trying to play this role to the obligatory AlphaBitch. The one time he actually manages to convince her to go on a date with him, one of his friends (the female black New Age one) was almost ''blown to the other side of the planet''. This is why you should not date the WeirdnessMagnet.
* Skipper in ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. Steve (his SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, incidentally), to an even greater extent, given that he ends up ''married'' to Miranda after overcoming all of her attempts at pushing him away.
* On ''Series/SportsNight'', this is how Dan's relationship with Rebecca begins, with him apparently having asked her out seventeen times offscreen.
* Dr. Julian Bashir in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. He finally succeeds, just [[TheNthDoctor not with the Dax he started out with]].
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Lennier is a [[TheWoobie rather sad]] example of this trope. He tries to sublimate his emotions into faithful service while trying to think IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy. In the end, he fails.
** Marcus is also this to Ivanova. However, his story arc ends in [[spoiler:an HeroicSacrifice, not a FaceHeelTurn. She's left devastated, regretting she never returned his advances and told him how she felt, and apparently spends the rest of her life recovering]].
** Also Zack Allan to Lyta Alexander. Tragicomically, he finally poured out his feelings to her when she was possessed by an alien, took her complete lack of reaction to mean that she was indifferent to him, and gave up. Of course, the fact that he completely failed to notice that she was possessed by an alien and acting very oddly more or less sums up why she'd have rejected him anyway. Although given that Lyta is an extremely powerful telepath, she probably picked up on his interest long before that point and chose not to reciprocate, not out of any personal distaste towards Zack but with the knowledge that non-telepath Zack would be completely defenseless against her enemies.
* ''Series/NoahsArc'': Interestingly enough, [[spoiler:Ricky is this to Noah. Ricky shows increasing emotional investment and protectiveness of Noah, particularly after the gay-bashing, but it's revealed in the movie that Ricky has actually been in love with him for some time]].
%%* Danny Tripp in ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip''.
* Danny Concannon on ''Series/TheWestWing''. Sorkin must love these. Danny is an interesting case because his LoveInterest, CJ, knows from the very beginning that she returns his feelings, but due to the pressure of their respective jobs and her own emotional issues, she's unwilling to actually get involved in a relationship with him. Danny's doggedness isn't about getting her to like him back -- it's about convincing her that being together is a risk worth taking. [[spoiler:They wind up married in the end.]]
* Stiles from ''Series/TeenWolf'', who crushes on Lydia, who really doesn't care.
** Lydia flirts with Stiles in the fifth episode when he came by to see if she was okay - much to his delight, at least until he finds out that she's only doing so because she was really drugged up and thought he was Jackson.
** By the end of the second season, Lydia is at the very least aware of Stiles' feelings for her and does actually seem to care about him, but its unknown whether the attraction is even remotely reciprocated, considering her and Jackson's relationship.
** By the middle of the third season, they have become close friends. Lydia even kisses him, to stop a panic attack he is having. And when Stiles has to undergo a sacrifice ritual, he is paired with Lydia because she is someone he has a strong bond with - "a sort of emotional tether." WordofGod is that Stiles and Lydia getting together is "the long game."
* The TV Adaptation of ''Series/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' badly miscalculates this with the character of Cameron. While in the film he's a genuine NiceGuy, the tv version never actually tells Bianca he's interested in her (he tries once in French, which he knows she doesn't understand and sends her a note he knows she never received). When she assumes he's gay, he makes only a cursory attempt to deny it. In one episode, she arranges to go to a dance with a JerkJock, and he [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga sabotages the guy's car]] and steals his cell phone to make her think she has been stood up, then offers to go with her in his place. Given that he comes off like a creepy stalker, and she has a really sweet chemistry with Joey (who was a JerkJock in the film), the show seems to be writing itself into a corner.
* Harper in ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' is a rare female version vis a vis Justin. They seemed to drop this when Harper moved in with the Russos in the third season, though, probably to prevent some questions about what they do together when no one's around...

* Both incarnations of the reality show ''Average Joe'' featured entire casts of Dogged Nice Guys -- ugly and/or morbidly obese men vying for the affections of a stunning supermodel. At one point, the producers send a boatload of chiseled hunks to compete with the Joes, who instantly feel slighted by the new competition. This highlights the DoubleStandard and enormous sense of entitlement inherent in this trope, as the Joes begin lashing out at the supermodel for turning her attention to the hunks, calling her shallow...never mind that the Joes ''themselves'' only went on the show for the chance to get with a ''supermodel'' and that, at the end of the day, they are no kinder or more intelligent than the attractive men.
* Cody of ''[[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody The Suite Life on Deck]]'' acted this way toward Bailey for most of the first season. This is a mild subversion, as it was pretty clear that she liked him, too. When they got together, the writers shifted this trait onto Marcus Little, toward London Tipton, who is [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} too much in her own world]] to notice.
* ''Series/{{Ed}}'' played this straight. The titular character's behavior would have gotten him a restraining order within the first episode in real life.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', This kind of quest is the main story arc for Ted Mosby. The series starts with him being convinced he'll marry a girl he's just met, before even talking to her. After all, he tells his kids they have to learn "how to turn a no into a yes". When Robin gets engaged to his best friend, Ted is bitter. What follows is a disastrous series finale that shows him getting the initial target girl ''25 years later'' and had been written prior to the second season.
** Encapsulated in Return of the Shirt. Ted decides that he wants to get back together with an old flame, Natalie, conveniently forgetting how he hurt her in their breakup. He finds her address and shows up uninvited, refusing to leave even when she slams the door in his face and eventually browbeats her into giving him another chance. Within a week, he's decided he doesn't like her anymore and breaks up with her...on her birthday...again. While he gets (comically) beaten up for dumping her, the show displays no concern about how he harassed her into accepting.
** Subverted in season 3 with Stella, where Stella has just as big a crush on Ted as he does on her, but she's a single mother and a doctor with practically no free time and doesn't think she has any time for dating. His solution is priceless.
** One episode proposes the "Dobler/Dahmer Theory," after Lloyd Dobler from ''Film/SayAnything'' and Jeffrey Dahmer the SerialKiller. It is that the GrandRomanticGesture only works when the recipient is [[WillTheyOrWontThey already smitten with the person]], otherwise it comes across as a StalkerWithACrush. In this scenario Ted is trying to convince his friends that a pretty girl tracking him down is not crazy for the lengths she went to find him... but [[{{Yandere}} she proves to be exactly that]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Xander has a crush on Buffy that's usually in the background but seen best in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E6ThePack The Pack]]". It eventually died on the show, though in the season 8 comics [[spoiler:Buffy [[UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo realizes she may have fallen for him]]]]. However, [[spoiler:by then he's dating Buffy's sister Dawn]].
** Clem's in love with Harmony.
* Theresa was a Dogged Nice Girl toward Ethan when ''Series/{{Passions}}'' began its run. However, he eventually reciprocated her affections.
* Detective Batista from ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' eventually convinces Gianna that he is, actually, a nice guy, despite their... less than auspicious meeting. When she says she just wants to be friends, he says he'd be OK with that... and this is what finally wins her over.
* The writers of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' seem to be using this trope as an operating manual for Leonard in his relationship with Penny. Its spin-off ''Series/YoungSheldon'' has another example with Georgie Cooper and his crush Veronica Duncan.
* On ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', Branson tries both versions of this trope with Lady Sybil, [[spoiler:eventually to great success.]] William also plays this straight with Daisy [[spoiler:and is also successful in marrying her, though [[IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy Daisy never actually falls in love with William]].]]
* Seamus Harper is this toward Rommie in ''Series/{{Andromeda}}''. That's right, he's in love with a warship. Kind of goes with being a GadgeteerGenius I guess.
* A gay example is Justin in ''Series/QueerAsFolk''. He stalks Brian quite perseverantly until he tolerates his company and eventually they achieve a normal relationship.
* ''Series/TalesOfTheUnexpected'' adapted a John Collier short story "Youth from Vienna" - a geeky scientist persistently courts a tv newscaster until she relents - but she dumps him for a tennis player, figuring him as a better fit. The scientist acquiesces, and gives them a wedding present - a prototype youth-retaining serum, warning them that it's a single dose, and splitting it would be fatal. [[spoiler: It turns out to be merely flavored water, allowing the scientist to prove the couple really didn't care for each other, as they had each drank and refilled the vial behind the other's back. She gets back together with the scientist to a hinted-at happy ending.]]
* Hubble on ''Series/{{Bunheads}}'' is given to spectacular romantic displays. [[spoiler: He succeeds, then dies at the end of the pilot.]]
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' has both positive and negative examples. John displays a low-key yearning for Aeryn for a ''long'' time before they finally start seriously dating (they have heavy UST and are even implied to have casual sex a couple of times during this period), and they're presented as the OfficialCouple. By contrast, Stark, after his lover Zhaan dies, acts this way toward Aeryn as well in a quite creepy way, hanging around her shyly and occasionally making ham-fisted attempts to hit on her. After John dies, Aeryn finally blows up at Stark in a memorably vicious TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, telling him that Crais (another unwelcome suitor who Stark hates) is better than he is because Crais admits to himself that he wants to have sex with her and doesn't kid himself that he's "saving" her or deeply and unselfishly in love.
* Kingsley from ''Series/FreshMeat'' is this to Josie, but this gets complicated when a) she already has a boyfriend; b) she sleeps with him as an apology; and c) he sleeps with someone else not long before that, leading to massive UST by the end of the first series. He returns wearing a trilby, sporting a soul patch and yo-yo, and puts on a dismissive attitude towards sex and women, making him look like a pick-up artist in training (it doesn't help he's later seen reading ''Literature/TheGame2005''). [[spoiler:He and Josie do hook up eventually, but by then he's stopped being a complete tool.]]
%%* Rodney Trotter in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses''.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' initially plays this fairly straight, but eventually deconstructs and subverts it. Detective Charles Boyle is initially hopelessly infatuated with Detective Rosa Diaz, which she makes clear on several occasions is a one-way relationship. This leads him to act in this fashion around her, but it eventually becomes clear that this is actually a bit creepy and weird of him and prompts those around him to view him with a certain degree of disdain. To his credit, however, he eventually realises that Diaz doesn't return his feelings, meets someone who does, and enters into a relationship with her instead. This in turn leads him to start acting more appropriately around Diaz, and he eventually apologises to her for his behaviour and acknowledges that he "wasn't much fun to be around". While the later relationship also ended, there's been no indication that Boyle has renewed his earlier interest in or pursuit of Diaz. There are also some hints that Boyle's behaviour might have had something to do with a recent divorce.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': When J.D. and Elliot are interrupted in the act of leaning in for their first kiss, J.D. tells himself he has 48 hours to get the kiss or be relegated to the Friend Zone. When he fails, the Friend Zone is parodied as an actual room of the hospital filled with all the guys (and one girl) who wound up in Elliot's Friend Zone over the years -- some of whom are still hoping she'll come around.
* ''Series/GoodGirlsRevolt'': has Sam to Jane, a low-key yearning version who often tells her outright he wants to get together. She’s not very interested, and he [[spoiler:eventually sleeps with Naomi]].

* Deeply deconstructed with Lucas Goodwin in ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS''. Lucas is a bright reporter with lots of promise and a good reputation. Then he meets Zoe Barnes and falls in love. He asked her out twice, but she blows him off both times. Meanwhile, she is having a sexual relationship with Frank Underwood, an ambitious political figure scheming to become President. Because she is also ambitious, she believes she can use him to expand her career. Once Frank is done using her, she gives Lucas a chance, but only because by then, she suspects Underwood might have committed murder and is using Lucas to help investigate. [[spoiler: This leads to Frank Underwood killing her, leaving lovesick Goodwin devastated. He goes on a personal quest to try and expose Underwood, but because he has VillainWithGoodPublicity status, no one believes him. Eventually, he is set up by Underwood and thrown in prison. When he gets out, Frank Underwood is already President and more powerful than ever. He desperately tries again to expose him, but is once again rejected, leading him to [[SanitySlippage an assassination attempt]] which fails and ends his life. All this over a woman who really didn't love him.]]
* ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'': Winn is initially this to Kara, bordering on StalkerWithACrush, as he is obsessively helpful and even plays MissionControl when she first starts being a superhero. Kara thinks they're BetterAsFriends. Winn eventually comes to agree with her, growing out of the archetype a bit and giving up any attempts to initiate a romance with her. His later relationships with other women are all founded on him being a NiceGuy, but not a DoggedNiceGuy.
* Brutally deconstructed in ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend''. The main character, [[PsychoExGirlfriend despite the show's title]], is more of a Dogged Nice Girl determined to win back over the boy she'd dated once at summer camp when they were both 16, but as the show goes on it becomes pretty clear that she isn't the lovable, plucky heroine, but a self-centered borderline stalker. She's contrasted with some male examples as well - Trent is ''slightly'' less stable than her but as a man, his own obsession with Rebecca feels substantially less cutesy (though a side character does encourage him once, telling him that while forcing friendship never works, forcing romance is the stuff of fairy tales, citing ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}''). Then there's Greg, the most straightforward example, who falls for Rebecca from the beginning despite her total lack of interest in him. Though he's initially treated by the story as the NiceGuy who Rebecca will realize was there with her all along, by the end of the first season it becomes clear that he has enough issues of his own, and falling in love with a girl who was actively kind of a jerk to him is one of them. Their relationship was just never balanced and was bad for them both, so in Season 2, he leaves the show entirely. In the end, forcing love really doesn't ever work, either - the relationships that do work (like Darryl and White Josh) were basically mutual from the beginning.
* ''Series/NewGirl'': In season 4, Winston decides to play the long game with the new neighbors by being unfailingly helpful in all things, from helping them move in to renovating their apartment (with their permission) by himself. Coach eventually snaps at the girls for taking advantage of Winston and tells him to stop helping them. While the girls initially deny leading him on, when they realize Winston is going to leave in the middle of the renovation, they reconsider. End result: One of the girls has sex with Winston, Winston finishes the renovation, and then no one talks about it ever again because they all agree it was embarrassing for everyone.
* Joe of ''Series/You2018'' is an especially harsh deconstruction of this character type. He ''thinks'' he's a nice guy who respects women (unlike all those other sexist douches), but his "niceness" is [[BitchInSheepsClothing really superficial and used for self-centered ends]]. Moreover, he [[StalkerWithACrush stalks]] and [[ManipulativeBastard emotionally manipulates]] the girl he likes while [[LovingAShadow projecting]] all sorts of ManicPixieDreamGirl qualities onto her, and when she winds up discovering all that and [[spoiler:tries to get out, [[IfICantHaveYou he doesn't take it well at all]].]]

* A central part of Simon's character on ''Series/TheInbetweeners''. He has a deep crush on Carli, his neighbor and childhood best friend, and will do anything to win her over. He frequently makes dramatic romantic gestures to win her over, and she is clearly aware of his feelings but maintains just enough plausible deniability to ingnore him. Over the course of the series it becomes clear that she's just stringing him along to manipulate him when it's convenient for her, and his pursuit makes him pathetic rather than successful.
* ''Series/AmigasYRivales'': Luis meets Tamara and Irene, and falls in love with Tamara. Irene insists on remaining close friends with the couple and flirting with Luis in the hope that he will notice her. It fails miserably... for a while. In the second half of the telenovela, Tamara and Luis end the relationship, but he continues to be living at her house (it's a long story...) and tries to convince her to date again. When he is finally forced to admit that Tamara does not want to date him again (in the most humiliating way possible, when she brings a boyfriend to her house and throws Luis out of her house), he comes to known Irene better and falls in love with her. In the end, Irene got what she wanted.

* A clear example with Silvius to Phoebe in [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare the Bard of Avon's]] ''As You Like It''.
* Chuck Baxter in ''Theatre/PromisesPromises''.

* Pierrot is this toward [[StraightMan Columbina]] in ''Theatre/CommediaDellArte'' plays, though Columbina inevitably ends up with [[TheTrickster Harlequin]].
* ''Theatre/AnAmericanInParis'': Jerry is drawn to Lise the moment he meets her, and pursues her without giving up, including at her place of work and convincing her to meet him daily by the Seine.

* In ''VisualNovel/TheFruitOfGrisaia'' Amane confesses early on in the common route and keeps pursuing him, but Yuuji is suspicious because it just seems too convenient for a tall, beautiful, friendly and domestic woman to "fall for him at first sight" and turns her down. [[spoiler:His suspicions were spot on, too, because she asks to be his girlfriend as a coping mechanism and not because she loves him. At first.]] In ''VisualNovel/TheLabyrinthOfGrisaia'' we get two more with Millie and Chiara, though Yuuji just finds the former annoying and tunes out the latter.

* The whole point of the ''[[http://theniceguycomic.com Nice Guy]]'' webcomic.

* [[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp02142004.shtml This]] ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' contains a wonderful deconstruction of self-professed nice guys, and a big part of Mike's overall CharacterDevelopment is learning to get rid of "nice guy syndrome".
* [[http://xkcd.com/513/ This]] ''Webcomic/{{XKCD}}'' comic is an extremely harsh {{deconstruction}} of this type of mentality, showing exactly how [[StalkerWithACrush creepy]] this can be. Though it may seem like the guy in the strip CannotSpitItOut, he actually deliberately doesn't talk to the girl about how he wants to date her because he's too scared by the possibility that she could reject him, so he decides not to "force the issue". He instead integrates himself into her life, until she feels dependent on him and succumbs before her feelings.

* Mike in ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'' spends a lot of time being this to Lucy, although he tries to be subtle about it. [[spoiler:Subverted; he finally gives up, and falls (back) in love with a different childhood sweetheart.]]

** Naturally, someone in the comments tries to shift responsibility for the situation entirely to Jack.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Cronus, as a parody of the way the fandom tends to see Eridan, is a {{Jerkass}} exaggeration of this trope. While he claims to be a kind, sensitive soul, the fact that he only ever does anything nice in the hopes that the other person will sleep with him (and when that offer's off the table becomes downright abusive) and absolutely refuses to take no for an answer makes him so much of an asshole that he's the only one in his group that absolutely no-one else can stand.
* Parodied in [[http://cheezburger.com/5230647808 this webcomic]] as a StalkerWithACrush.
* Parodied again by Tumblr-user Mamamantis in her comic "[[http://strubisatoaster.tumblr.com/post/38046970989/iamnotacheerio-maxofs2d-mamamantis Friend-Zoner vs. Nice Guy!]]"
* Matt the otter from ''Webcomic/HodgesPond'' is this towards Trixie the ferret.

* ''Webcomic/GirlsWithSlingshots'' has minor characters Tucker, who [[WrongGenreSavvy learned everything he knows about talking to girls from rom-coms]], and Jim, who was meant by the author to be a creepy StalkerWithACrush who thinks he's EntitledToHaveYou [[UnintentionallySympathetic but came off as more sympathetic to the audience]].
** Tucker got better when first Clarice took him to meet more girls who happened to appreciate his sensitive nature (and to be fair the previous targets of his wooing were the bitchy [[IceQueen ice queen]], Beatrice, and Clarice, the dominatrix, herself), and ends up [[ThrowTheDogABone hooking with Jamie's younger and super-hot sister Fiona]].
** There's also Vincent towards Hazel, who's a more mature and level-headed version of this trope, at one point he even had an epiphany saying that it was time to move on from his high school-old crush on her. However, during the webcomic's final strips [[spoiler: both him and Hazel were on the process of moving in together as roommates, Jamie, with good reason, believes that this is a terrible idea and even [[WhatTheHellHero calls out Hazel]] when she reveals that she is only using Vincent for her own benefit]], the webcomic ended [[LeftHanging without giving any resolution or more insight on this]].
* Lampshaded and Discussed with Jako and his crush Jordie in ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure''. Though Jako is good-aligned, he's not subtle and given to spectacular romantic displays. Since Jordie's also good-aligned, he really doesn't want to hurt Jako's feelings by rejecting him. It doesn't help that all the human members of the adventuring group except Rocky seem to be a ShipperOnDeck with the two boys.

* ''Website/TheOnion'':
** Parodied in the article, "[[https://local.theonion.com/romantic-comedy-behavior-gets-real-life-man-arrested-1819565117 "Romantic Comedy Behavior Gets Real-Life Man Arrested]]", which provides the Page Quote. The dogged pursuer, Denny, stalks a woman named Kellie, who does not return his affections, driving him to resorting to more over-the-top ways to try getting her to fall in love with him (and Kellie wasn't the first woman he'd done this to either). However, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome a sane person would not find that kind of thing endearing]], and he winds up getting arrested.
--->'''Denny:''' She was supposed to hate me at first but gradually be won over by my incredible persistence, telling me that no one has ever gone to such wild lengths to win her love. But for some reason, her irritation never turned to affection.
** Also here: [[http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/but-if-we-started-dating-it-would-ruin-our-friends-11473 "But If We Started Dating It Would Ruin Our Friendship Where I Ask You to Do Things and You Do Them"]]. (Interestingly, it approaches the situation from the other side.)
* "Nice Guys" get [[http://www.heartless-bitches.com/rants/niceguys/niceguys.shtml methodically torn to shreds]] by Heartless Bitches International in this blog post. There's more than thirty pages of comment responses, some supportive and agreeing with the original post, some from people calling the website misandrist, all of it done with a thick coating of snark.
-->"[Nice Guys] are so desperate to please that they put aside their own needs, and place the object of their desire on a pedestal. Instead of appreciating her, they worship her. We are only human, and pedestals are narrow, confining places to be -- not to mention the fact that [[BrokenPedestal we tend to fall off of them]]."

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI-ol25RFws This]] ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' fan-song portrays Mario himself as one of these, while Bowser is a more open StalkerWithACrush.
* In ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', the title character has a crush on a neighborhood girl named Penny, but can't muster the courage to talk to her. Instead, Dr. Horrible/Billy finds himself shunted aside by his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer in the bid for her affections, and engages in increasingly [[StalkerWithACrush stalker-like]] behavior as a result, culminating in a MurderTheHypotenuse plot that [[GoneHorriblyWrong Goes Horribly Wrong]]. It's PlayedForDrama because the show makes it clear that Penny thought Billy was attractive, and probably would have willingly gone out with him. But she never did because Billy wouldn't just stop admiring her from afar and actually talk to her.
* ''Website/TheArtOfManliness'' frequently criticizes this notion and personality type in a number of podcasts and articles. The main problem with these sorts of guys, in the website's opinion, is that they're really not anywhere ''near'' as nice as they think they are, in addition to being passive-aggressive and too insecure with themselves to be honest with how they feel.
* "Nice guys" are a common target of relationship advice blogger Dr. Nerdlove. In addition to saying that the "Nice Guy" usually isn't as nice as he thinks he is, he also deconstructs the trope in an article called [[http://www.doctornerdlove.com/2016/09/being-a-nice-guy-isnt-good-enough/ "Being a Nice Guy Isn't Good Enough".]] According to the good doctor, being "nice" is [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency something you're supposed to do.]] A person needs a strong personality in addition to being nice to be attractive.
** The good doctor also has [[http://www.doctornerdlove.com/pass-grimes-test/ The Grimes Test,]] in which "Grimes" is a {{Kaiju}} who respects basic decency of women, then asks "so what do you have going for you that Grimes doesn't?" The doctor ends with a note saying that [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency there are no prizes for meeting the barest minimum.]]

* The most famous and deliberately over-the-top example is probably cartoon character WesternAnimation/PepeLePew, whose main problem is not understanding that, as a [[TalkingAnimal skunk]], he smells ''bad'' (when he did in 1959's "WesternAnimation/ReallyScent", 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.

* Milhouse Van Houten of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' definitely counts. He's flirted with Lisa too many times to count and even openly declared his love for her a few times, only for her to shut him down almost every time. Doesn't stop him from trying again...and again...and yet again. Although the characterization of him as a "nice guy" is a bit flimsy here, as he is less of a "nice guy", and more of a pretentious, socially-awkward dork with the makings of a future EvilGenius.
** Smithers is a more benevolent example of this trope. He's head-over-heels in love with his boss, Mr. Burns, who sees him more as a friend, confidant, and assistant. This doesn't stop Smithers from flirting with him anyway; Mr. Burns usually either doesn't notice or quickly changes the subject when this happens. And Smithers is usually pretty passive-aggressive whenever Mr. Burns starts dating anybody else.
* Silverbolt in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. It helps that he's part dog (well, wolf, but Rattrap calls him "bird-dog").
* Both Kyle and Token in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Cartman Finds Love".
* Martin in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'', constantly shot down in his pursuit of Irma.
* Sheldon functions as this towards Jenny in ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''. In-series, Jenny never returns his affections, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption though she gets very close several times]].
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/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.

* Cody on ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' is this to Gwen, although he eventually decides IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy when she hooks up with his friend Trent. In the third season, he returns to the game and continues chasing Gwen (who has since broken up with Trent)... but when she hooks up with Duncan, [[TookALevelInJerkass Cody punches Duncan in the face instead, and becomes more creepily obsessed with Gwen.]]
** Cody himself is on the receiving end of this treatment from Sierra, who is also something of a LoonyFan.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' has Timmy to Trixie and Mark to Vicky. So far, no luck for either of them.
** Tootie to Timmy in a female example, though it can drift into StalkerWithACrush DependingOnTheWriter. WordOfGod has it that she will be successful in the live-action adaptation.
* Jervis Tetch (aka the Mad Hatter) from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' starts out as this. [[IfICantHaveYou Things go quickly downhill]] when he takes advantage of a temporary breakup to try courting Alice himself, only for her boyfriend to come back into the picture with an engagement.
* Bolin in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. He's supportive of and nice to [[ActionGirl Korra]] from the moment he meets her, but she's interested in his standoffish brother Mako, who becomes more cordial with her as he gets to know her.
** What raises Bolin to actual NiceGuy status is that he accepts Korra's choice and respects her feelings and goes on to be friends with her. By the end of the show Bolin has gone on to have serious relationships with three other women... while Mako gets bounced from Korra to Asami and then spends the remainder of the show single.
* Mordecai of ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' was this to Margaret, who [[ReallyGetsAround seemed to have new boyfriends every time she met him]]. They finally get together in season 4, only for her to dump him to become a HighPoweredCareerWoman. In spite of this, Mordecai continues pining after her to the point of becoming HisOwnWorstEnemy and sabotaging his own happy relationships with other women.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Braco from "The Suitor" is a deconstruction of this trope; he constantly gushes over Princess Bubblegum and tries to win her over, despite her complete lack of interest. He also repeatedly injures himself with his attempts to impress her, eventually making a DealWithTheDevil and "paying the price for love" by becoming a freaky-looking three-legged monster. PB ends up creating a robot lookalike of herself for Braco to stop him from getting himself killed; he's uncomfortable with it at first, but the moment "P-Bot" shows physical attraction toward him he has a change of heart.

* Gideon from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of this trope. He is devoted to Mabel but she just wants to be friends, and in-universe everyone seems to think that his attempts to win her over are charming...but the truth is, Gideon is an AxCrazy, EntitledBastard who uses emotional manipulation to trap Mabel into a relationship. He performs over-the-top acts of kindness, manipulates her into going into more dates with him by asking her very publicly in front of large crowds of Gravity Falls citizens who think it's just ''so adorable'' that Gideon might finally get a girlfriend and completely ignores her wish to not be in a relationship with him. Eventually, Dipper tries to break the news that Mabel is not interested in Gideon to him, and Gideon responds to this by attempting to ''murder'' Dipper because he believes that Dipper got in between him and Mabel. Thankfully, Mabel sees this and intervenes, and she rejects him, not only romantically, but as a friend now, too.
-->'''Mabel''': ''(after rejecting Gideon again)'' But we can still be makeover buddies, right? Wouldn't you like that?\\
'''Gideon''': Really?\\
'''Mabel''': ''(rips amulet away from Gideon)'' No, not really! You are, like, attacking my brother! What the heck?!
* Bashful from ''WesternAnimation/The7D''. He's a mild-mannered ShrinkingViolet with an unrequited crush on Queen Delightful, but he's too scared to admit his affections for her. He's also clingy around the Queen. In "Buckets", he offers to stay with Queen Delightful while passive-aggressively sending Lord Starchbottom off with the other dwarfs (although while they were gone, they didn't do anything except talk about who "Buckets" is). In "The Jollywood Games", he enters and wins a tournament in the hope that he can get a kiss from her (and he does, eventually, after she rejects his request). In "Free Teensy", he appears from behind her and she reacts with a stunned "Oh. Hello." He then declares, "She can't get enough of me."
* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' Cat Noir continues to pine after the titular heroine even after being rejected twice, much to her annoyance.
** Ladybug AKA Marinette herself is a gender-flipped version of this, since she’s still trying to win Adrien’s love even after he told her in [[Recap/MiraculousLadybugS03E21ThePuppeteer2 The Puppeteer 2]] that he loves another girl [[spoiler:who may actually be her own alter-ego]].

* ''Series/FamilyMatters''' own ExtravertedNerd Steve Urkel who is treated like a fungus for most of the show's run but he eventually does end up winning Laura's heart.

See also ExtravertedNerd, DisposableFiance, JustFriends, IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, HopelessSuitor, UnrequitedTragicMaiden, NiceGuy, and RomanticRunnerUp. This heavily relies on the HardWorkFallacy.

Compare with the less sympathetic StalkerWithACrush, MadLove, and AbhorrentAdmirer.

Contrast CannotSpitItOut, where the person is incapable of expressing their romantic interest even once, let alone over and over again.

* Mordecai of ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' 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]].

* Peeta of ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. Gayle is the same to a somewhat lesser extent, creating a weird sort of unrequited LoveTriangle.

* The TV Adaptation of ''Series/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' badly miscalculates this with the character of Cameron. While in the film he's a genuine NiceGuy, the tv version never actually tells Bianca he's interested in her (he tries once in French, which he knows she doesn't understand and sends her a note he knows she never received). When she assumes he's gay, he makes only a cursory attempt to deny it. In one episode, she arranges to go to a dance with a JerkJock, and he [[Literature/{{Twilight}} sabotages the guy's car]] and steals his cell phone to make her think she has been stood up, then offers to go with her in his place. Given that he comes off like a creepy stalker, and she has a really sweet chemistry with Joey (who was a JerkJock in the film), the show seems to be writing itself into a corner.

* In ''Literature/RogueStar'', Andy Quamodian has always been in love with Molly Zaldiver, but she fell for the [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys roguish Cliff Hawk]] instead. When she sends him a message asking for help, though, he's still willing to drop everything and rush to her aid, dreaming the whole time that maybe this time she'll reciprocate his feelings.

* Jacob Black of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent a very literal interpretation]] of this principle.

* Max's friend Warren in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' loans her movies and books, jumps between her and psycho Nathan Prescott and gets beaten up, asks her out to a ''Planet of the Apes'' marathon, and seems generally harmless, but it's clear what he wants from Max, and he can come across as being ''very'' clingy and pushy about it. [[ObliviousToLove She doesn't notice.]] A later scene in which [[InVinoVeritas he's gotten seriously drunk]] shows us that [[spoiler: he genuinely is a harmless, awkward nerd trying desperately to impress his crush, and there are no sinister undertones to his character]].