Line #54 Adorkable/Literature


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3	%% Zero Context Example entries are not allowed on wiki pages. They have been commented out. Don't uncomment them unless you provide the context. What makes the character adorkable?
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9	[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/luna_lovegood_lion_hat.jpg]]]]
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11	%% * Evan Tolliver from ''Literature/The39Clues''. It's been told that's his girlfriend's secret nickname for him.
12	* Elder from ''Across the Universe''. He's a sixteen-year-old guy who is trying to lead a ship full of people, has a tendency to fumble things up, and completely goes to pieces around FieryRedhead Amy, bringing her flowers when she first wakes up and getting nervous when he has to hold her as they ride in an air tube.
13	* In ''Literature/AlexAndTheIronicGentleman'', the mild-mannered English teacher with pirate ancestors, Mr. Underwood, is passionate about fencing and proper grammar, and doesn't hesitate to befriend ten-and-a-half-year-old Alex after accidentally running into her with his bike.
14	* ''Literature/TheAnderssons'': Samuel Berglund is very shy and meak and had no friends before Rebecka arrived to the village. And he also gets a lot of sympathy points for having dyslexia long before the condition was understood.
15	* ''Literature/AudreyWait'':
16	** James, who has an endearing work ethic that results in him being socially clumsy around Audrey.
17	** Audrey is unafraid to dance and sing poorly in public to songs she likes (and she likes ''a lot'' of music).
18	%% * ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'': Carrie White.
19	* ''Literature/CavendonHall'':
20	** Hugo Stanton, who immediately falls in love with [[spoiler:his cousin's second daughter Daphne]] and, while not a stereotypical geek, is shown to have some interesting habits.
21	** Michael Ingham, the younger Ingham boy. His love for [[spoiler:Cecily]] is so adorable, and he's smart enough to go to Eton.
22	* Charlie Duskin from ''Chasing Charlie Duskin'' is one of the female cases. She's a huge music nerd, but so shy that she can't work up the nerve to make friends and only really comes alive when playing her guitar.
23	* ''Franchise/{{Discworld}}'':
24	** Mister Nutt of ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' is what you get when the {{Adorkable}} gets a few levels in BadassBookworm. Glenda, at least, thinks is adorable, even though [[spoiler:he's an orc]].
25	** Captain Carrot, though he doesn't ''look'' "dorky" at all. His awkwardness is mostly in the form of misunderstanding figures of speech and being overly enthusiastic about things nobody else cares about.
26	** Death. [[DontFearTheReaper Yup, you read that right.]] He is fascinated by humans and tries to emulate their behaviour, but can never really grasp the reasoning behind it. He tries ''so hard'' though, even if he never quite succeeds. Death also adores cats and has adopted quite a few.
27	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' novels:
28	** Fitz from the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures''. He's every inch of the ActionSurvivor trope, especially the "uncommonly decent" part, TheKlutz, MrImagination, GenreSavvy, and spends most of his run as companion alongside [[WaifFu younger women who could kick]] [[NonActionGuy his ass]]. Top it all off with the fact that he is tall and skinny with unruly hair, a long nose, and wide eyes.
29	** Karl Sadeghi, from the EDA ''The Year Of Intelligent Tigers'': he's shy, bespectacled, has a stutter, and is basically the biggest music geek ever. And considering how [[HoYay touchy-feely he and the Doctor get with each other]], it seems that the Doctor sees the appeal.
30	* ''Literature/DorkDiaries'' has this as a central theme, as half of the cast are adorkable to some degree.
31	** The heroine is praised for being "dorky, funny, and friendly".
32	* In N. R. Eccles-Smith's HighFantasy series, ''Literature/DragonCalling'':
33	** Laeka’Draeon has a few moments of adorkableness, due to his naivety and curiosity. Some of his interactions with his friends, particularly Ubi (early into their friendship) and [[TheLancer Shifra]] (the overall progression of their friendship) has him stumbling over his words or grinning/ behaving dorkily. [[spoiler: His adorkablness is amplified in his hemlan form]].
34	** Taijorn has this in spades. He’s a wescat with mismatched coloured eyes; is curious and friendly with dorky and not-quite-sharp disposition. He’s also [[FriendToBugs obsessed with bugs]] and is a skilled herbologist (a lover of plants and bugs … very adorkable).
35	** Ghinzel oozes adorkableness, and is even a bit of a {{Moe}} at times. He’s young, chipper, goofy, and artless in all the best ways a child can be.
36	** Tappala is an expert in her field (archaeology and ancient history); she’s also an expert of [[MotorMouth prattling on and on and on]]--a veritable leaking tap of words, which is more adorkable than annoying, due to her sheer excitement when discussing topics she is passionate about. She is quite a literal thinker and so is clueless when it comes to sarcasm and irony ([[PluckyComicRelief Norf’s]] snide remarks fly right over her head).
37	%% ** Twoflower. Especially Sean Astin's portrayal in the TV movie.
38	%% ** Mightily Oats in ''Literature/CarpeJugulum''.
39	%% ** Ponder Stibbons.
40	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
41	** Ivy; half eight-year-old, half ancient repository of all human knowledge. Squees over a cat.
42	** Harry Dresden before [[LetsGetDangerous all the bullets start flying]], according to Murphy. There is his bemused, awkward flirting with Luccio in ''Small Favor''.
43	%% ** Butters. ''"Polka will never die!"'' No, Butters. It won't.
44	* ''Literature/EvidenceOfThingsNotSeen'' has an in-universe example. When Mary Louise calls spacey, socially oblivious physics nerd Tommy cute, Leann references this trope by name.
45	* In ''Literature/FairyOak'' Acanti Bugle could be the poster child for this. He is very skinny, has bad eyesight, a lisp and is accident-prone. He is also very polite and has shown his bravery and loyalty in various occasions.
46	* ''Literature/{{Fallocaust}}'':
47	** Reaver may be a SociopathicHero, but he has his moments. He's completely amazed to see flowers and among his collection of relics is a ''Coca-Cola'' sign.
48	** Perish is a MadScientist who specializes in MixAndMatchCritters. Fittingly, he's obsessed with ''Literature/JurassicPark'' and has a stuffed velociraptor he absolutely adores.
49	* ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict'': Robin is incredibly trusting, bizzarely innocent[[note]]He's a professional killer[[/note]], and gets all flabbergasted when in company of scantily-clad women, blushing and losing his train of thoughts.
50	* Oh, so many ''{{Literature/Goosebumps}}'' protagonists. Basically, to wit:
51	** Literature/TheHauntedMask: Carly Beth is a timid, easily scarable girl, which usually leads her to be a victim of Chuck and Steve's cruel pranks. Her [[TheWoobie woobie]] status also helps.
52	** Literature/WhyImAfraidOfBees: Gary Lutz. Clumsy? Check. Insecure about himself? Check. Fear of bees? Check. Biggest ButtMonkey out there? ''Check''.
53	* Literature/HandsHeldInTheSnow: Despite all appearances, Beatrice is NOT the adorkable one; her girlfriend Emi takes that crown with her social missteps and constant blushing.
54	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
55	** Harry Potter. He's a scrawny boy with perpetually messy hair and glasses who, for most of the series, can't talk to girls romantically without making an idiot of himself.
56	** Bushy-haired {{Bookworm}} Hermione, who stutters approximately a third of everything she says.
57	** Luna Lovegood. Her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} nature is a big part of it, but it was cemented by her all too brief time as a Quidditch announcer. Being played by [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41286000/jpg/_41286732_luna_evanna_big.jpg Evanna Lynch]] in the films doesn't hurt.
58	** Neville. In the beginning books, He's awkward, clumsy, and can't do anything right. Then, in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', you find out [[spoiler:Neville's parents were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange]] and you can't help but love the guy. Finally, for the dorks in all of us, he [[CallToAgriculture loves plants.]]
59	** Ron Weasley. Red hair, awkwardly tall and oblivious to love. He fangirls over famous Quidditch players (unless they’re interested in Hermione), and is Harry's loyal companion and sidekick.
60	* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
61	** Shannon Foraker is a [[NosocialSkills socially-inept]] technonerd who early on has a hard time keeping track of politics that would have literally ''endangered her life'' if not for the captains who valued her wizardry with electronics. (And she still has a hard time keeping track of her wristcomm.)
62	** To at least some degree (for this troper), Sonja Hemphill, as the lead Manticorian tech nerd, especially when she's working with Shannon Foraker.
63	* ''Literature/HungryAsAWolf'', the sequel to the WeirdWestern novella ''Literature/SheepsClothing'', reveals that Wolf Cowrie, the grizzled, stoic hunter of the strange un the American frontier, turns into a stuttering mess in the presence of Susannah Twohill.
64	* ''Literature/KindaSuperGay'': Sarah Martin. She often babbles, especially when she's lying. A good example is when she tells Marquez that she's a time traveller who'd come from the future to save the child who would win the fight against robot overlords. Marquez isn't convinced.
65	%% * Michael from the ''Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries''
66	* ''Literature/LesMiserables'': Marius. He's so completely shy that when he sees a pretty girl, he tries to go up and speak to her but runs out of nerve on the way. His behavior towards other people (including his grandfather) kind of reduces his "adorkable" qualities.
67	%% * ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
68	%% ** This accounts for a lot of Sam's popularity.
69	%% ** Pippin definitely counts as well.
70	* ''Literature/MichaelVey'' has the eponymous hero especially in the first book, which his [[OfficialCouple girlfriend Taylor]] finds especially attractive, though as the books go on he becomes more hardened and grows into his leadership role. However, there are still moments where he becomes a BadassAdorable.
71	* In ''Literature/TheMigaxCycle'', several people could be classified as this:
72	** Summer wears fluffy sweaters, is socially awkward, overly enthusiastic, and fangirls over complicated technology.
73	** Moonwafer uses overly complex vocabulary, and his expositional monologues place him in the socially awkward territory.
74	** Reema comes across as a dork due to her awkwardness when teaching the class and her nerdy passion over what she's teaching.
75	* ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'': Elend Venture is a shy, gentle, and naive scholar who spends parties and balls reading, deliberately wears rumpled, too-large clothing to rebel against his tyrannical father, and attempts to avoid eligible young women - until superpowered heroine Vin meets him as part of an undercover operation and discovers that NerdsAreSexy.
76	* In ''Literature/NathanielKeene'', this applies to the main teenage cast. Makes sense, considering that they're all members of their high school's Quiz Bowl team.
77	* ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'': Richard Mayhew has this going on, with his initial propensity to get pushed around, his collection of trolls (that got started ''by accident''), and his tendency to look like he's only just woken up. The latter is Lampshaded as making him more attractive to the opposite sex than he'll ever understand or believe.
78	* ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'': The vampire Kostya is a pretty sensitive, nice guy, and there's a scene in ''Twilight Watch'' where Anton at first thinks he did a CharmPerson on a woman to make her very helpful, but then realizes it was his natural dorky charm.
79	* ''Literature/OnTheRun'': Aiden Falconer may mostly be a serious ActionSurvivor and KidDetective, but he gets the occasional moment (his discomfort about riding a horse, his memorizing of his dad's cheesy HardBoiledDetective novels, a NoodleIncident about him needing to sort his Halloween candy alphabetically, etc.) that is simultaneously silly and adorable.
80	* ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'': Amelia "Mia" Thermopolis. Especially in the film adaptation where she's even more awkward and clumsy ''and'' wears glasses before getting contact lenses.
81	%% * [[TheKlutz Klutzy]], gangly and sweet Glen O'Brian in ''ThePurpleWidow''.
82	* The ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series has Rachel's dad, who's endearing in his attempts to be cool and likes flowers, animals, and other cute things. He's clumsy, too.
83	%% * ''Literature/RamaII'': Richard and Nicole.
84	* [[TheWatson Doctor Watson]] in Literature/SherlockHolmes has a few moments: for example, in ''Literature/AStudyInScarlet'', when he is hurt when Holmes bashes Literature/CAugusteDupin, a fictional character he admires, and in ''Literature/TheSignOfTheFour'', when he is smitten with Mary Morstan and so nervous that he can barely get his words out straight, and winds up telling her a story about how a shotgun stuck its head into his tent one night, and he shot a double-barreled tiger cub at it.
85	* Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt has a few examples.
86	** Beatrice Löwenström in ''Överenskommelser'' has a nerdy side, but she's a BadAssBookworm.
87	** Ossian Bergman in ''De skandalösa'' is a nerdy scholar, who has a SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan dynamic with the more roguish male protagonist Gabriel.
88	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
89	** The squire Podrick Payne is a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass who never fails to stumble over his own words.
90	** Self-confessed coward and {{Bookworm}} Sam is quite sweet, and is about as close as you're going to get to a medieval nerd.
91	%% * ''Literature/{{Speak}}'': Melinda Sordino is a troubled loner variety of this. It also has a film adaptation.
92	* ''Literature/SpectralShadows'': Kacey Caddell over in Serial 11 is extremely shy, usually to the point of being unable to actually converse with those she doesn't know. She also spends loads of time on the computer (at one point feeling the effects of eye strain) doing things like playing [[VideoGame/SecondLife Another Life]], writing fanfics (of a sort), and researching information about lucidly dreaming and being in control of dreams.
93	%% * Stargirl from ''Literature/{{Stargirl}}''.
94	* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
95	** As a young man, Luke Skywalker is often endearingly new to the bigger galaxy, naive and completely unused to deception. It's pretty clear in ''Literature/StarWarsAllegiance'' that he barely knows how to conceal something; in ''Literature/ChoicesOfOne'' that [[BleedEmAndWeep he hates killing]]; in ''Rebel Force'' he's unpracticed and clumsy with sarcasm; and in ''Literature/SplinterOfTheMindsEye'' he's a pure foil to Leia's cynical outlook.
96	** Tash Arranda in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' is adorably thrilled to meet Luke, becoming unusually shy in his presence.
97	%% * ''Creator/StephenKing'':
98	%% ** Ed Hamner, Jr. from the short story ''I Know What You Need'' is described to be this.
99	%% ** Bill Denbrough of ''Literature/{{IT}}''.
100	* ''Literature/SuperMinion'': Tofu starts out completely socially clueless and only gradually picks up on human social norms. On several occasions he's said things that would come across as very rude, but his friends almost always brush it off because they know that he doesn't mean any harm by it.
101	* ''Literature/TrappedOnDraconica'': Kalak is awkward in personal relationships, self-depreciating and doesn't know how to talk to a girl.
102	* ''Literature/VampireAcademy'': Natalie Dashkov is a cute, dorky girl. Nice, plain, uninterested in social politics, with a somewhat endearing tendency to ramble on at length. Continues in [[Film/VampireAcademy the movie]] due to her portrayal by Sarah Hyland.
103	* ''Literature/WarriorCats'' has a few.
104	** Brambleclaw is an obvious example especially as an apprentice being a ridiculously Keet NaiveNewcomer who's very energetic and eager to go on The Great Journey. This carries on to his days as [[spoiler: [=ThunderClan=]'s leader]] when he seems very energetic even though he's one of the oldest cats in the Clan.
105	** Bumblestripe and his father, Graystripe could count as well. Both being genuinely Nice Guys who are best friends (and in Bumblestripe's case dating) the protagonists of their specific series. Both enjoy food and are a bit goofy and clumsy.
106	* Widget of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' is a cute inventor at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy. Has a crush on Thunderbird, who thinks of her as a 'pal'. Wears bicycle caps and schlubby clothes, needs social skills, and has no idea how ot do her hair and use makeup to actually look pretty. Plus she's in a school with some of the most beautiful teenagers on the planet.
107	%% * ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'':
108	%% ** Winnie the Pooh
109	%% ** Piglet
110	%% ** Rabbit.

Context Adorkable / Literature