History Main / NicenessDenial

** Similarly, Vegeta has also changed from a villain to a genuine hero. It took him longer than Piccolo to summit his character as a good person. It paid off, as by ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of Gods]]'', everyone acknowledges and praises Vegeta's positive CharacterDevelopment. In typical Vegeta fashion, he furiously denies it, stating that "Prince of All Saiyans" is not a righteous-hearted goodie-goodie.

* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'': Demons believe [[CardCarryingVillain they're inherently evil]], so they tend to deny any [[NobleDemon goodness they may have]]. [[VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Larhal of the first game]] is a stand-out example of this.

** At the start of the Saiyan Saga, Gohan tells Piccolo that Goku believes he isn't as bad as he used to be after he reincarnated. He's just [[JerWithAHeartOfGold grumpy]]. Piccolo is quick to snarl at the insinuation and amps up Gohan's training as punishment. Deep down, Piccolo did appreciate Gohan's genuine kindness toward him, and it's what kicked off his [[HeelFaceTurn turn from villain to hero]].
** Similarly, Vegeta has also changed from a villain to a genuine hero. It took him longer than Piccolo to summit his character as a good person. It paid off, as by [[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of Gods]], everyone acknowledges and praises Vegeta's positive ChracterDevelopment. In typical Vegeta fashion, he furiously denies it, stating that "Prince of All Saiyans" is not a righteous-hearted goodie-goodie.

** At the first of the Saiyan Saga, Gohan tells Piccolo that Goku believes he isn't as bad as he used to be after he reincarnated. He's just a grumpy. Piccolo is quick to snarl at the insinuation and amps up Gohan's training as punishment. Deep down, Piccolo did appreciate Gohan's genuine kindness toward him, and it's what kicked off his [[HeelFaceTurn turn from villain to hero]].
** Similarly, Vegeta has also changed from a villain to a genuine hero. It took him longer than Piccolo to summit his character as a good person. It paid off, as by [[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of Gods]], everyone acknowledges and praises Vegeta's positive ChracterDevelopment. He furiously denies it, stating that "Prince of All Saiyans" is not a righteous-hearted goodie-goodie.

* ''Fanfic/HarrysNewHome'': As Snape discusses with Harry who his new guardian will be now that he's been removed from his abusive Muggle family's custody, Harry asks if Snape can be his new guardian. Snape asks why he would want such a thing, and Harry says it's because he's nice. Snape vocally protests that he's ''not'' nice, even though he was the first authority figure at Hogwarts to notice that Harry had been abused and immediately brought it to the attention of Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse.

* ''Literature/HowNotToSummonADemonLord'': Diablo in his previous life was a very shy gamer who ended up a hikikomori because of his inability to talk to other people. That shyness is still with him in his current life and the only way he can interact with others is by role playing a Demon Lord when he speaks. And proper Demon Lords do not admit to doing ''anything'' for a benevolent reason. So he ends up giving this particular trope a lot of exercise.

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': Naofumi Iwatani develops a bitter streak early in the series and makes frequent use of this trope because he fears he would end up being a doormat for every one around him otherwise, particularly through the second half of the series. His close associates and those who are perceptive seem to see through his facade easily and it only gets more and more transparent as the series continues.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice "The Magician's Apprentice"]] Missy, a female incarnation of The Master, is helping UNIT look for The Doctor. Clara, suspicious, acidly asks Missy if she's [[HeelFaceTurn "turned good"]]. Missy demonstrates otherwise by vaporizing two UNIT soldiers and remarking on how she knew one had a newborn child at home.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': Maj. Winchester, noted DrJerk and aristocratic blue blood, agrees to help Hawkeye by taking on a duty for him. He quickly warns that it is not because he is a nice person.

** "Dan's Boss": Dan learns that his new boss is a dwarf named Vincent Daniels. Dan spends the majority of the episode denigrating and insulting Vincent, until he ends up rather predictably fired. Harry gives Dan a WhatTheHellHero lecture, which Vincent overhears. He relates the story of his DisappearedDad, and Dan has a JerkassRealization and sincerely apologizes. Vincent rehires him, leading to this moment:

** "Dan's Operation Pts. 1 & 2": Two particularly heartbreaking moments from the two parter. In the first half, Harry is trying to give Dan some sound, heartfelt advice, and Dan, in no mood, snaps at him, saying, "Has it ever occurred to you that the only reason I listen to you is that it is my job! I have to!" After Dan goes into a coma and then comes out of it, he and Harry have another heart to heart where Dan expands on that, saying that of the many, many women he's slept with, none of them have ever said to him "I love you", and he says that it's because in order to be loved, on must be able to give, and he ''cannot'' give. Harry, however, gives Dan a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech.
** "Earthquake". Dan is trapped in an elevator with Roz and two sumo wrestlers (ItMakesSenseInContext), after an earthquake immobilizes it between floors. Dan is panicking due to claustrophobia, until Roz slaps him. But when they're freed, Roz tells everyone that Dan was a real cool customer who handled himself well. When Dan asks her about it, later, she gives us this gem:

*** In "Crossfire", Odo has his floor soundproofed. His downstairs neighbour Quark, who's VitriolicBestBuds with him, thinks that he's doing this so that he won't bother him with noise, but Odo claims it to be a coincidence.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Eula is a classic {{Tsundere}} who always swears vengeance on people, due to the people hating her simply for being a member of the despised Lawrence clan. That said, she repeatedly does nice things for others, especially children, and dismiss it as something she had to do as a Captain of the Knights of Favonious.
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'': Kratos and Atreus are passing through the mines on their journey, when they find a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] called Hraezlyr attacking their new associate [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Sindri]]. At [[MoralityPet Atreus']] encouragement, the normally self-interested Kratos decides to fight the dragon and kill it. Afterwards, Sindri is ecstatic:

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': In "[[Recap/TheSpectacularSpiderManS2E05FirstSteps First Steps]]", Flint Marko uses his power to construct a sandcastle big enough to stand inside for a little girl after some older kids tease her for struggling to build a small sandcastle on her own. Seeing this, Hammerhead taunts him for seemingly going soft, but Flint insists he was only doing it to scare those teenagers, not for her -- an excuse which falls a bit flat given that he even made sure to give the girl her shovel and bucket back afterwards and told her not to stay out too late.

Compare FriendshipDenial. Related to and may overlap with IWasJustPassingThrough.

* ''VisualNovel/Va11halla'': As the story takes place in a GoodGuyBar, most of your clients are pretty nice people, or need some time to open up. Ingram, however, stands out for being way ruder and more confrontational than your usual customers. Whenever he does something nice, such as complimenting Fore's skin, he'll always try to undermine it by complaining about something else or saying it's common sense, and if you serve him sweet drinks against his wishes, he will open up more on his personal life.

* ''VisualNovel/Va11halla'': As the story takes place in a GoodGuyBar, most of your clients are pretty nice people, or need some time to open up. Ingram, however, stands out for being way ruder and more confrontational than your usual customers. Whenever he does something nice, such as complimenting Fore's skin, he'll always try to undermine it by complaining about something else or saying it's common sense, and if you serve him sweet rinks against his wishes, he will open up more on his personal life.

* ''Literature/HowNotToSummonADemonLord'': Diablo in his previous life was a very shy gamer who ended up a hikikomori because of his inability to talk to other people. That shyness is still with him in his current life and the only way he can interact with others is by role playing a Demon Lord when he speaks. And proper Demon Lords do not admit to doing *anything* for a benevolent reason. So he ends up giving this particular trope a lot of exercise.

* How Not To Summon A Demon Lord: Diablo in his previous life was a very shy gamer who ended up a hikikomori because of his inability to talk to other people. That shyness is still with him in his current life and the only way he can interact with others is by role playing a Demon Lord when he speaks. And proper Demon Lords do not admit to doing *anything* for a benevolent reason. So he ends up giving this particular trope a lot of exercise.

* The Rise Of The Shield Hero - Naofumi Iwatani develops a bitter streak early in the series and makes frequent use of this trope because he fears he would end up being a doormat for every one around him otherwise, particularly through the second half of the series. His close associates and those who are perceptive seem to see through his facade easily and it only gets more and more transparent as the series continues.

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-> ''Now please don't get the idea that I'm doing it because I'm generous, or worse, amiable.''

--> '''Maj. Winchester:''' All right, all right, all right. I'm giving in merely because I can use a three-day vacation from you. Now please don't get the idea that I'm doing it because I'm generous, or worse, amiable.

---> '''Dan:''' You're taking me back?
---> '''Vincent:''' Yes. Because I think you're being sincere. Also, I've seen your conviction record. You're good.
---> ''(Dan looks gratified)''
---> '''Vincent:''' But most of all I'm taking you back because it will give me the opportunity to make your life a LIVING HELL! You think you're a tough customer? Well, move over, Buster! Because I'm the toughest, I'm the meanest, I'm the nastiest little man God ever put on this earth! I'm going to make you run, I'm going to make you jump, I am going to make you slither on the ground like a snake!
---> '''Dan:''' GOD BLESS YOU! ''(Dan hugs him, then leaves)''

---> '''Roz:''' I don't want anyone to know I was nice to you.
---> '''Dan:''' Why?
---> '''Roz:''' Because then everybody would want to be my friend. Then they'd want to hang around all the time, and sooner or later two of them would get into an argument. And I'd try to cool them off, but I'm not much good at that, so I'd just gun 'em all down, and end up frying in the electric chair.
---> '''Dan:''' (nods, then smiles) Better to be safe than sorry.

-->'''Sindri:''' But-but-but-- nobody's killed a dragon for hundreds of years... not since the [[GreatOffscreenWar Grand Culling of the Wyrms]]! And unless I'm mistaken, you did all that... ''for me!''
-->'''Kratos:''' You ''are'' mistaken. The dragon was simply in our path... nothing more.
-->'''Sindri:''' (''laughs'') You deny it all you want, but ''you saved me!'' And ''that''... deserves compensation. (''he gifts the heroes by transferring the ShockAndAwe properties of Hraezlyr's BreathWeapon to Atreus' bow'')

** "Dan's Boss": Dan learns that his new boss is a midget named Vincent Daniels. Dan spends the majority of the episode denigrating and insulting Vincent, until he ends up rather predictably fired. Harry gives Dan a WhatTheHellHero lecture, which Vincent overhears. He relates the story of his DisappearedDad, and Dan has a JerkassRealization and sincerely apologizes. Vincent rehires him, leading to this moment:

Sometimes this is merely cover, to prevent being flooded with requests. Other times, however, they very much mean what they say, and are more than willing to demonstrate their still vile nature.

--> ‘No,’ Margarita replied emphatically, ‘I know that one can only speak frankly with you, and so I will tell you frankly: I am a light-minded person. I asked you for Frieda only because I was careless enough to give her firm hope. She’s waiting, Messire, she believes in my power. And if she’s left disappointed, I’ll be in a terrible position. I’ll have no peace in my life. There’s no help for it, it just happened.’

---> ‘No,’ Margarita replied emphatically, ‘I know that one can only speak frankly with you, and so I will tell you frankly: I am a light-minded person. I asked you for Frieda only because I was careless enough to give her firm hope. She’s waiting, Messire, she believes in my power. And if she’s left disappointed, I’ll be in a terrible position. I’ll have no peace in my life. There’s no help for it, it just happened.’

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': In "First Steps", Flint Marko uses his power to construct a sandcastle big enough to stand inside for a little girl after some older kids tease her for struggling to build a small sandcastle on her own. Seeing this, Hammerhead taunts him for seemingly going soft, but Flint insists he was only doing it to scare those teenagers, not for her -- an excuse which falls a bit flat given that he even made sure to give the girl her shovel and bucket back afterwards and told her not to stay out too late.

-->'''Sindri:''' But-but-but-- nobody's killed a dragon for hundreds of years... not since the [[GrandOffscreenWar Grand Culling of the Wyrms]]! And unless I'm mistaken, you did all that... ''for me!''

* ''Literature/TheMasterAndMargarita'': When [[{{Satan}} Woland]] tells Margarita that he will fulfill her only wish, she asks for Frieda - a woman who is tormented in hell by memories of how she killed her new-born child. Woland is disgusted by Margarita's mercy, but she quickly denies it.

-->'''Sindri:''' But-but-but- nobody's killed a dragon for hundreds of years... not since the [[GrandOffscreenWar Grand Culling of the Wyrms]]! And unless I'm mistaken, you did all that... ''for me!''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': In "First Steps", Flint Marko uses his power to construct a sandcastle big enough to stand inside for a little girl after some older kids tease her for struggling to build a small sandcastle on her own. Seeing this, Hammerhead taunts him for seemingly going soft, but Flint insists he was only doing it to scare those teenagers, not for her - an excuse which falls a bit flat given that he even made sure to give the girl her shovel and bucket back afterwards and told her not to stay out too late.

A character often thought of as a {{Jerkass}} does something nice for someone/a group of people. This seems to put them in JerkassWithAHeartOfGold territory.