History Main / TookaLevelinKindness

* The Space Wolves in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. In the days before and during the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were ruthless warriors who took a perverse pride in being the Emperor's [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] attack dogs, willing to destroy anybody and anything as he ordered. Fast forward ten thousand years, and the Space Wolves are arguably the TokenGoodTeammate of the Adeptus Astartes, along with the [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Ultramarines]] and the [[GentleGiant Salamanders]], being dedicated to the lives and happiness of the people who live within the Imperium rather than the Imperium's twisted laws or ideals.
** Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels; in the Great Crusade, his and his legion's main role were the complete and utter annihilation of perceived threats to the Imperium, with very little thought given to civilians. While neither the Lion nor the Angels ''enjoyed'' this task, like some of the other Legions did, neither felt much remorse either. Upon the Lion's re-awakening in the 42nd millenium, however, he's become much more focused on saving and protecting the helpless, becoming much more like the KnightInShiningArmor he had styled himself as but never quite acted like. It's implied that his failure to save his father and the breaking of Caliban immediately after were a major BreakTheHaughty for the Lion, and caused him to seriously re-evaluate his purpose.
--> '''Lion:''' I was styled 'Lord Protector' once, and though the context was misguided, the sentiment was sound. So long as any humans are threatened, my duty is not done.

* A main subplot in ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'' has Asuka gradually stop being rude and self-centered in an effort to become the courageous, selfless hero she believes her biological father would want her to be.
* ''Fanfic/ThisIsAWildGameOfSurvival'': The premise of the series is that Lee Na-yeon realizes the errors of her ways and becomes a better person. Specifically, she realizes that she was wrong for believing that Gyeong-su was less than for being poor. She apologizes to him several times throughout the series and he is very accepting of each one. A few characters still hold her in a bad light because of her past classism, but her lack of friends, and the betrayal of her best friend, Ji-min, don't cause her to revert back to her more cruel self. In fact, she proves to be quite productive when fighting zombies and actually gets along well with the other members of her group. She even officially becomes friends with Gyeong-su and it's safe to say that him and her are verging on a RelationshipUpgrade.

* The first ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' movie has Lightning [=McQueen=] start out as an egotistical rookie race car who clearly dislikes his job advertising Rust-eze medicated bumper ointment and having to be around rusty cars, and longs to be the new spokesman of [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 the Dinoco gas station]]. He ends up lost in Radiator Springs and put on community service after accidentally destroying the main road, and over the course of the movie, he learns to be more humble, becomes friends with Mater, a rusty tow truck, and [[spoiler:turns down the Dinoco sponsorship when it is offered to him as a reward for helping Strip "The King" Weathers cross the finish line after a nasty accident]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': Gru becomes a better person and a father after he adopts three orphan girls, intending to use them for his evil plan.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': {{Downplayed}}, as Mary Jane Watson was always fun and friendly, but the significant event that changed her from a flighty, self-absorbed party girl into a mature and compassionate woman, is ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''. With the death of her friend, she realizes that Peter, having just lost one of the loves of his life, needs her to be a better person. After Peter unloads on her in the cruelest way possible, to the point that she is sobbing, and he angrily demands she leave him, Mary Jane slowly walks towards the door, but instead of exiting through it, she shuts it and returns to comfort her grieving friend. From then on, MJ is portrayed as a supportive and kind-hearted friend to Peter, and of course, eventually a loving [[HappilyMarried wife]]. Made even more clear in the ComicBook/SpiderGwen alternate universe, where without the death of Gwen (or any association with Peter), while still a good person, MJ is a much more selfish and irritable girl, with a slight bitchy streak every once in a while.

* The whole point of everything Lightning [=McQueen=] goes through in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' is to persuade him to do this.

* Woody from ''Franchise/ToyStory''. He starts off in [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 the first film]] being rather vain about his position as Andy's favourite toy, and shows an [[CrazyJealousGuy endless crippling jealousy]] towards Buzz when the latter becomes Andy's new favourite, but he does, of course, [[CharacterDevelopment get better]], and by the end, the two are each other's closest allies.

* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' has the Sugar Rush characters who go through this ''twice''. In the first movie, they start out as a GangOfBullies who antagonize Vanellope over being a glitch, but once [[spoiler: the memories locked by King Candy/Turbo are restored and they remember Vanellope is a princess]] they apologize and treat her like a friend.

* Had Phil Connors of ''Film/GroundhogDay'' not done so, he probably would never have [[spoiler:broken out of [[GroundhogDayLoop his temporal prison]].]]

* The whole point of the Film ''Film/{{Thor}}'', which is an ''inversion'' of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger.'' Whereas Captain Rogers was granted power because of his kindness and decency, Thor had to ''learn'' kindness and decency first to be worthy of his power.
* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': Downplayed with Loki. He is still evil, but is less evil than in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' [[spoiler:and he risks his life to save Jane Foster.]]
* Pretty much every character who becomes a member of the ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}''. This is especially noticeable with Yondu and Nebula. Yondu moves from selfish space pirate to genuinely concerned about Quill's well-being. Nebula grows from single-minded obsession with Thanos and her sister to a genuine hero who works to save others.

Contrast TookALevelInJerkass. Compare to DefrostingIceQueen, which focuses on a specific Love Interest bringing an unfriendly character out of her shell. When a character becomes nicer in an adaptation, that's AdaptationalNiceGuy.

If done over the course of one episode or short story, this may have been to set up an Aesop. Also called a JerkToNiceGuyPlot.

* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': This is in fact a plot point: When Asuka finds out about ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} her powers]]'' and realizes what they entail, she strives to become a better, kinder person and be worthy of them.

* Pretty much every character who becomes a member of the ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. This is especially noticeable with Yondu and Nebula. Yondu moves from selfish space pirate to genuinely concerned about Quill's well-being. Nebula grows from single-minded obsession with Thanos and her sister to a genuine hero who works to save others.

* ''WebAnimation/HanazukiFullOfTreasures

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ComicBook/SpiderMan: {{Downplayed}}, as Comicbook/MaryJaneWatson was always fun and friendly, but the significant event that changed her from a flighty, self-absorbed party girl into a mature and compassionate woman, is the death of Gwen. With the death of her close friend, she realizes that Peter, having just lost one of the loves of his life, needs her to be a better person. In one of her most iconic moments, after Peter unloads on her in the cruelest way possible, to the point that she is sobbing, and he angrily demands she leave him, Mary Jane slowly walks towards the door, but instead of exiting through it, she shuts it and returns to comfort her grieving friend. From then on, MJ is portrayed as a supportive and kind-hearted friend to Peter, and of course, eventually a loving [[HappilyMarried wife]]. Made even more clear in the ComicBook/SpiderGwen alternate universe, where without the death of Gwen (or any association with Peter), while still a good person, MJ is a much more selfish and irritable girl, with a slight bitchy streak every once in a while.

* [[ComicBook/TheUltimates Ultimate Captain America]], sort of. Ever since Peter's death, his old-fashioned approach started to whither away. When he eventually returned and met Miles Morales, he was more accepting of the kid and eventually became his greatest supporter (he even had Miles fight alongside the Ultimates, which was something he deliberately banned Peter from doing). He reserves his initial gruff persona for those who waste his time (the representative of the then-defected California) or people who he knows can do better (the lawyers arguing for and against the incarceration of Bruce Banner). By the end of the Ultimate Comics run, Captain America is just a less tolerant but still heroic version of his 616 counterpart instead of a straight-up hero.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': While previous iterations of the Barbara Minerva ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} may have had moments of EvenEvilHasStandards and feelings of a kind of kinship with Wondy in [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] she was always an unrepentant serial killer who reveled in the human sacrifice required for her powers. The ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' version of Barbara is far more sympathetic, genuinely befriends Diana and was tricked into the horrific need for human flesh and BodyHorror which came along with becoming Cheetah.

* “[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5429021/1/Luminescence Luminescence]]”: While Victoria still feeds on humans, she accepts Bella’s request not to go after children or anyone Bella knows, and later finds herself unable to feed on an old man she spots on a street because she starts thinking of him as a grandfather who has family who’ll miss him.

* Anastasia, one of Cinderella's mean stepsisters does this in the sequels ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIDreamsComeTrue'' and ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'', to the point where she eventually pulls a HeelFaceTurn, and manages to earn Cinderella's forgiveness by the end of Cinderella III. This is also an example of AdaptationalNiceGuy, because in most versions of the classic fairy tale, neither stepsister gets nicer and are basically TheDividual.

* ''Fanfic/{{Luminescence}}'': While Victoria still feeds on humans, she accepts Bella’s request not to go after children or anyone Bella knows, and later finds herself unable to feed on an old man she spots on a street because she starts thinking of him as a grandfather who has family who’ll miss him.

* ''Film/WildRose'': That Rose-Lynn has the talent and charisma to make it as a Nashville star is abundantly clear, but what holds her back is her own impatience and volatility. In the end she wises up as a mother and manages to go to Nashville but realizes that her future is in Glasgow with her family.

* ''WebVideo/OutsideXbox'': In their ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign, Prudence the tiefling warlock has, while still being unapologetically evil, started to show a lot more care for her teammates. In one of the earlier stories, she bluntly tells Corazón to "shut [his] filthy mouth" when he's treading on her moment; in more recent ones, she tries to get Corazón to open up about his emotions, handles a difficult conversation with Merilwen as delicately as she can, and even seems to miss resident ButtMonkey Egbert when he's captured, even though the two are polar opposites on the CharacterAlignment chart.

* Woody from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''. He starts off in the first film being rather vain about his position as Andy's favourite toy, and shows an [[CrazyJealousGuy endless crippling jealousy]] towards Buzz when the latter becomes Andy's new favourite, but he does, of course, [[CharacterDevelopment get better]], and by the end, the two are each other's closest allies.

* ''Machinima/SodorTheEarlyYears'': This happens with a fair amount of characters, but Diesel is definitely the most notable. He's close to his ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' counterpart in the first few seasons, but as the seasons get more and more deep and complex, Diesel really becomes one of the family. He even apologizes to Henry, Gordon and James in 'Bad Apple', much to their shock. He also apologises to Duck the following day on a maintenance of way train (swapping duties with Bear just to do so), only to find Duck had forgiven him, much to ''his'' shock.

* Agent Carolina from ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' was originally a supportive leader for the other Freelancers, but constantly being overshadowed by Tex caused her to take a few levels in Jerkass, and almost getting killed by [[TheDreaded the Meta]] drove her straight towards AxCrazy. When she first encounters the Reds and Blues in the present, she is harsh, overbearing, and makes it perfectly clear she thinks they're expendable. Later, though, she gets a chance to open up to Church when he plays a few recordings of her old teammate Agent York, and is genuinely thankful to the Blood Gulch Crew when they help her with her encounter with the Director. By Season 12, she sees the teams as something of a second family, and while she is a bit blunt at times she is absolutely terrified of the possibility of losing them.

-->-- ''Series/NewsRadio'', "Airport"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Violet starts out as very distant to the rest of her family, and ''especially'' antagonistic to Dash in the first movie, but really steps up to the plate as the story goes on. In the [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 sequel]], while she is still shown to get easily frustrated and even gives frequent snarky lines, she is shown to be much more caring and compassionate to those she loves.

* In ''Fanfic/FadedBlue'', Blue Diamond learned to empathize with others because of her relationship with [[MoralityPet Greg]].
* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': The abridged version of Kirito is an AdaptationalJerkass, bordering on being TheSociopath a lot of the time (not that he's the only one mind you), showing a lot less sympathy to others, and frequently threatening them with violence when they annoy him. This changes over the course of the first season, mostly due to his guilt over [[TheLostLenore Sachi's]] death, and aided by his interaction with his friends, especially Klien and Yui. By the end of the first season, he's become a genuinely heroic character, albeit still quite a {{Troll}}, and far more violent and insensitive than his canon self. It culminates in episode 11 when he [[spoiler: challenges Kayaba to a duel to get him to shut the Death Game down 25 floors early, despite admitting that he far prefers Aincrad to the real world]].
* ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''’ iteration of Calvin is much more likely to do the right thing than [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes his comic counterpart.]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheBestNightEver'', a core focus of the story is Prince Blueblood [[CharacterDevelopment taking several levels in kindness]].
* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': After arriving on Avalon, getting therapy and counselling, Asuka -who had previously been a mass of rage, cynicism and bitterness due to be psychologically broken- starts being nicer as she gradually gets over her worst issues and learns she can trust other people (specially Shinji).

* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Getting together with Shinji worked wonders on Asuka's brittle temper. She calmed down -a bit- and started being nicer to people she previously declared she could not stand like Rei or Kaworu. Several characters note that she has changed and is kinder: after finding out Shinji and Asuka are living together Misato mutters "Oh. So that is because she is nicer now". Shortly after Asuka praises Rei's performance during a volleybal match and Rei gets flustered and shocked.
* Basically applies to all the main characters of ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' in "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5201240/1/The-Defector The Defector]]", when Major Sarah Inviere, a Number Six Cylon working as an aide to Roslin and attached to the fleet while supervising ''Galactica'' being converted to a museum, falls in love with Commander Adama and reveals the Cylon plan before the Fall of the Colonies. With Major Inviere as proof that the Cylons aren't all evil, the fleet as a whole are more lenient towards other Cylon prisoners, such as helping Boomer overcome her sleeper programming and only locking up the future Athena because she always knew she was a Cylon. When the ''Pegasus'' joins the fleet, the precedent set by Major Inviere leads to them immediately concluding that Cain and the crew have committed war crimes based on their treatment of Gina Inviere, as the legal precedent to classify Sarah as human explicitly grandfathers in the entire Cylon race.
* In ''Fanfic/TheChosenSix'', after her earlier JerkassRealization, Moaning Myrtle (no longer moaning as much) receives an updated version of the school uniform and basically becomes a greeter for the first-year students, answering some of their immediate questions before the sorting.

* ''Fanfic/TheWizardInTheShadows'' has Denethor take one after a HeelRealisation.
* Precia in ''Fanfic/{{Game Theory|LyricalNanoha}}''. At the very least, she makes an effort to act pleasant instead of abusing Fate, so she's already miles ahead of her canon counterpart, and she does seem to get somewhat genuinely nicer as the story progresses.
* In ''Fanfic/AddressUnknownRemedy'', Rainbow Dash grudgingly agrees to take care of a temporarily blinded Derpy, who has recently started a relationship with Twilight. While trying to get to sleep on Derpy's couch, she is forced to confront her responsibility for contributing to Derpy's lifelong misery, and makes a tearful apology the following morning. Derpy forgives her and the two agree to start over.

** In ''Fanfic/CourtneysCrusadeForRedemption'' Courtney, due to learning from her past mistakes. Scott is also much less antagonistic, and even asks Sam for advice on how to ask Courtney out.
** In ''[[Fanfic/LegacyTotalDrama Legacy]]'', both Heather and Duncan have grown up, figuratively as well as literally, in the ten years since they were on the show. Duncan has even learned basic precepts of chivalry.
** ''FanFic/TotalDramaBattleOfTheGenerations'': While still not exactly a saint, Scott genuinely tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his teammates, who have a hard time trusting him after the events of season 4.

* Bolt and Moondancer, two of Sylvia's brothers, in the story ''Fanfic/SylviaTheSylveon''.
* In ''Fanfic/FateZeroSanity'', [[{{Jerkass}} Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi]] starts off very similar to canon, but ultimately develops into a sympathetic character, culminating in feeling genuine sorrow when his Servant dies. His last act is to give Waver Velvet his Mystic Code and make some amends towards him. [[spoiler: This makes his death all the more impactful.]]
* Faith and Cordelia both accomplish this in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2052846/1/Faith-The-Series Faith: The Series]]'' much faster than in [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer canon]]. The former due to being HappilyAdopted by Giles. The latter due to being saved by Jesse, [[RescueRomance who she then started dating]].
* ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheHokagesHat'': Played with in that while Sakura wasn't a complete {{Jerkass}}, she still wasn't a nice person either. Suffice to say after a few BreakTheHaughty moments and several reality checks, she reevaluates herself and [[CharacterDevelopment tries to be both a better person and ninja]] even going as far as asking [[AbhorrentAdmirer Lee]] out on a date and having a much needed SorkinRelationshipMoment with Naruto where she practically begs him to find someone who'll reciprocate his feelings rather than be her HopelessSuitor.
* [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/17890/fallout-equestria-starlight Fallout: Equestria: Starlight]]: Not that she was a jerk before, but Homage comes off as much nicer then she is in FanFic/FalloutEquestria, often ending [[spoiler: her broadcasts]] with saying how one can best help others.
* Bonnie in the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fanfic ''Fanfic/VacationFromTheNorm'' is much kinder than she was in the series, largely due to her marriage to Senor Senior Jr. and the father/daughter bond that developed between her and her father-in-law Senor Senior Sr., who happily indulged her passion for refurbishing motorcycles. Bonnie, in turn, convinced SSS to do a HeelFaceTurn, and the Senior family formed their own hero team called the Upperclassmen to help Kim Possible out.
* In the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5429021/1/Luminescence Luminescence]]'', while Victoria still feeds on humans, she accepts Bella’s request not to go after children or anyone Bella knows, and later finds herself unable to feed on an old man she spots on a street because she starts thinking of him as a grandfather who has family who’ll miss him.
* In ''Fanfic/WonderfulMazinja'', Sophia is a jerkass, but she becomes gradually kinder and more tolerable after meeting Taylor.
* In ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'', Shinji goes from being a ManipulativeBastard and an unrepentant, selfish {{Jerkass}} to being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and developing pity and empathy after getting a girlfriend, family and friends.
* In ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'', [[AfterTheEnd after Third Impact]], Asuka gradually gets over her issues, matures and [[spoiler:becomes a mother,]] and in the process she becomes nicer and less bratty.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8296097/6/Shinji-s-Nightmare Shinji's Nightmare]]'', some time after Shinji returns from his month in Unit 01 as an Alicorn, Nightmare Moon develops from a former BigBad into a [[PromotionToParent surrogate mother]] for the boy. It helps that she created his new body, built in her image and gifted with her power, so functionally she ''is'' his mother.
** Ritsuko warms up to Shinji considerably after he extends an open invitation to talk to him about anything or just to have a shoulder to cry on, even knowing that she's sleeping with his father.
* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', due to the conveniently timed [[spoiler:SBS broadcast]], Boa Hancock spares Marguerite after the latter reasons that she has Devil Fruit powers and that it was due to a DarkAndTroubledPast. Thinking about the whole thing more, [[HeelRealization she realizes just how many of the World Nobles' habits she and her sisters had adopted]], and decides she should listen to Elder Nyon and seek therapy.
* In ''Machinima/SodorTheEarlyYears'', this happens with a fair amount of characters, but Diesel is definitely the most notable. He's close to his ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' counterpart in the first few seasons, but as the seasons get more and more deep and complex, Diesel really becomes one of the family. He even apologizes to Henry, Gordon and James in 'Bad Apple', much to their shock. He also apologises to Duck the following day on a maintenance of way train (swapping duties with Bear just to do so), only to find Duck had forgiven him, much to ''his'' shock.
* In ''Fanfic/DuelingTriggerFinger'' this trope befalls [[Anime/YuGiOh Kaiba]] of all people, likely to the absolute shock of [[{{Jerkass}} no one]]. After watching Sonia get savaged by the Winged Dragon of Ra and administering some failed tests on Obelisk, he has decided to lock the god cards away forever, rather than want them for his deck. This is especially noteworthy, because it's something his anime counterpart would never even ''think'' of doing. Inherently though, on top of that, Kaiba is also highly respectful of Chiaki and even seems to have a soft spot for Chihiro Fujisaki. Chiaki states that she believes it's because Yugi and his friends piss Kaiba off so he's [[PerpetualFrowner always in a sour mood when it comes to them]].
* ''Fanfic/AFantasticUpheavalOfPreviouslyHeldNotions'': In the case of Strickler and Angor Rot. When Barbara learns the full story behind Angor Rot and the Inferna Copula, she has Strickler begrudgingly return the ring to Angor in exchange for him leaving the Trollhunter, his friends and his family alone. While confused at first, Angor agrees, offering Barbra the option to sever the magical link between her and Strickler should she ever need it and the Kill Stone as a sign of solidarity to Jim.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ResurrectedMemories'': [[spoiler: After being saved by Danny and realizing that he and the others truly sees her as their friend, Ember simultaneously undergoes this and TookALevelInCheerfulness as well.]]
* Dev-Em in ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'' goes from smug bully to who puts others down to selfless hero who cares for and protects the innocent.
* ComicBook/CarolDanvers in ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires''. After being called out by her mother on excusing her jerkass behavior on her past trauma, Carol stops pushing everybody away and apologizes to her friends for her earlier rudeness.
* Jara from ''Fanfic/KaraOfRokyn'' starts off as a mean-spirited jerkass driven by jealousy and bitterness but later evolves to a calmer, friendlier person who is able to be friends with [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the main character]] instead of hating her for turning her down.
* ''Fanfic/CommonSense'': After she loses to Ash in the Cerulean Gym, [[SoreLoser Misty starts becoming increasingly dismissive towards his progress as a trainer, refusing to accept that he's grown stronger than her in such a short amount of time]]. She later has a JerkassRealization when [[spoiler: she sees Ash trying to hide his pain over not being able to save the Pink Butterfree from Team Rocket]], admitting to herself that she's been hating him for little more than her own wounded pride. While they're nowhere near as close as they came to be in canon, she makes a genuine effort to be nicer to him.
* After discovering that Taya was molesting Izuku in ''Fanfic/QuirkIncubus'', Bakugo becomes significantly nicer to Izuku, even giving him a pep-talk when Izuku is having an emotional breakdown about what happened.
* ''Fanfic/SashaAndTheFrogs'': Thanks to the Plantars' influence on her, Sasha is showing some of her more likable traits earlier in the story.
* In ''Fanfic/PatternsOfThePast'', Oprah finds that Olesya's personality has changed from her 32 years in retirement from Odd Squad, going from a TinyTyrannicalGirl with a bad temper who alwayss seemed annoyed to a NiceGirl who is quick to smile and very benevolent.
* In ''Fanfic/ReadTheFinePrintEvangelion'', Shinji and Asuka become pen pals when they are kids. Having an actual friend as growing up works wonders for Asuka's character; and although she is still short-tempered, she is less belligerent and somewhat nicer.