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| 3 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 6 | [[quoteright:247:[[Webcomic/SandraOnTheRocks https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ignoredenamouredunderling_5710.png]]]] |
| 7 | [[caption-width-right:247:Better not to mention this one's UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} fantasies.]] |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ->'''Mr. Burns:''' Somebody up there likes me, Smithers.\ |
| 10 | '''Smithers:''' Somebody down here likes you too, sir.\ |
| 11 | '''Mr. Burns:''' Shut up! |
| 12 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' |
| 13 | |
| 14 | When the TheHero or the BigBad has an underling, potentially TheDragon, an [[GirlFriday adjutant/secretary]] or a PaidHarem, it's often the case that she (though flipped genders -- or even the same gender -- aren't unheard of) goes beyond being loyal and both idolizes ''and'' loves him. [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Her declarations of love will go unrequited]] because, when he's not ObliviousToLove, he will at best feel no (romantic) affection for her. A hero may try to let her down gently, a callous boss will say so outright, and the cruel one will play MasterOfTheMixedMessage to avoid telling her and string her along. Even if he says he doesn't love her, she'll interpret it as needing to work hard to earn said love. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | If her boss is enamored with another woman, she will be positively livid with jealousy and may attempt [[RelationshipSabotage sabotage]] or even [[MurderTheHypotenuse to murder her rival.]] If he finds out he will severely punish or kill her. In fact, as minions go she will frequently be the target of YouHaveFailedMe, YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness, and general abuse by her boss when he needs to let off steam. This is played as a sort of KickTheDog; while she's no dove, the mistreatment's undertones of domestic abuse will make most audiences uncomfortable. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | This character can be PlayedForLaughs and written as a [[FlatCharacter one-note]] case of MadLove, who will ''never'' [[StaticCharacter waver from her devotion]] or allow rejection to dampen her {{Perk|yFemaleMinion}}iness. More positively, she can be PlayedForDrama as a misguided and intelligent woman who, once she sees how little she's cared for (abuse optional), is quick to reassess her (romantic) loyalties. Of course, she can be played for tragedy by getting betrayed or even killed by the man she loves, without ever getting a chance to learn from her mistakes. Should the hero kill their boss (or the boss blatantly betray her), expect WomanScorned to follow. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | SisterTrope and contrast to GirlFriday, who is an aide or secretary to the hero ({{UST}} optional). Compare SubordinateExcuse, when the underling is using the position to be near their object of affection while avoiding rejection. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | !!Examples: |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 28 | * The ''Manga/BoardingSchoolJuliet'' character Somali appears to be this to Aby, her jealousy and impulsive declarations of love going ignored. [[spoiler:The truth is more complicated. Aby requites her feelings to some degree, but remaining single [[TheCasanova gives him social leverage]], and in the refined politics of the West, people are judged not only on who they are, but who they date...and Somali ''does not'' fit in. They could date, but it would lessen his chances of being elected prefect and gaining the power to "change the world".]] |
| 29 | * Liang Qi of ''Anime/{{Canaan}}'' is quite insanely devoted to her "nee-sama", Alphard Alshaya. Alphard does not return Liang Qi's affection, instead being focused on her enemy, the title character. As you can quite imagine, Liang Qi murderously despises Canaan for this. Near the end of the anime, Liang Qi's mental state [[SanitySlippage takes a turn for the worse]] when Alphard abandons her, resulting in the most horrific and heartbreaking VillainousBreakdown in the anime. |
| 30 | * Misa is one of these to VillainProtagonist Light in ''Manga/DeathNote''. The only reason he didn't just kill her was that she's useful (and, initially, because Rem would kill him). |
| 31 | * ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'': The twins are fiercely loyal to a dispassionate madman because he was the only one who didn't pass over the twins as comatose vegetables. They recognize that their master doesn't love him but have accepted this. Also, his sidekick hates his guts but wants to bring back the kid whose body he possessed. |
| 32 | * Excel from ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' is this to her boss. All her attempts to woo him are met with ComedicSociopathy. |
| 33 | * ''Manga/FoodWars'': One of Asahi Saiba's subordinates among the Noir Chefs is a woman who goes by Sarge, who is all but stated to be in love with him. Unfortunately, he's too focused on Erina Nakiri to even notice her. |
| 34 | * ''Anime/LastExile'' has the XO in love with captain Alex Rowe, who is so dead set on revenge he couldn't care less for her one way or the other, and keeps her around only because she's professional enough to not let it get in the way of her work. This gets even weirder when you consider she's the princess of his nation. And it gets even more tragic when [[spoiler:the "sonar" operator hears him call out a dead loves name with his last breath, and lies to the XO that he called out her name instead]]. |
| 35 | * In ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', the sorceress Alycone- supposed to protect Princess Emeraude- is so infatuated with BigBad Zagato that she switches sides once he [[spoiler:allegedly]] kidnaps the Princess. In the manga, Zagato allows Alycone to die once [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she fails one too many times]] but she lives on in the anime, sticking around to wonder [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim why Zagato doesn't just off Emeraude]] and is stunned once she figures out [[spoiler:it's because Zagato actually ''loves'' her]]. |
| 36 | * In ''Anime/MillenniumActress'', Young Genya is this to his beloved film star Chiyoko when he worked in a minor position on her films. She never found out until years later and the now-elderly Chiyoko was being interviewed by him and his assistant. |
| 37 | * Karin from ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}''; she [[spoiler:used to be]] part of Taka (or Hebi), a group lead by [[ChickMagnet Sasuke]] merely out of her infatuation for him. Not only [[CelibateHero couldn't he care any less]] for her (or his other teammates for that matter), but also [[spoiler:he didn't hesitate to sacrifice her for one second in order to get to Danzo]]. |
| 38 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Both Maya's [[YuriGenre affection]] for Ritsuko and Hyuga's for Misato were revealed [[spoiler:during Instrumentality]]. |
| 39 | * It's implied that the reason Abelia from ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' remains so loyal to the [[TheCaligula psychopathic lunatic King Hamdo]] is that she's in love with him. |
| 40 | * Raphtalia in ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' is in love with Naofumi, but due to Malty's betrayal, he is incapable of recognizing this. [[spoiler:The same holds true for Sadina and Atlas.]] |
| 41 | * ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Episode 12 focuses on how Thetis, one of Queen Beryl's more powerful youma, is blatantly enamored with Jadeite. He coldly brushes her off, only paying attention when she declares she's got a plan to help him gather energy. She stays by his side, using her abilities solely to aid him, and is ultimately killed as a result... and all he cares about is how much trouble he's now in with Beryl for failing again. |
| 42 | * ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Tamama has a [[{{Yandere}} worryingly obsessive thing]] for Keroro. Unfortunately for Tamama, the sergeant is just as oblivious to his feelings as he is [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain incompetent at world domination]]. |
| 43 | * The final BigBad of the original ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' season, [[spoiler:Copy Rezo]], has Eris, who loves him enough to [[spoiler:find a way to bring him BackFromTheDead]] but is shot InTheBack by him the moment when [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she stops being useful]]. |
| 44 | * ''Anime/TenchiMuyoWarOnGeminar'': Emera is madly in love with Dagmyer and serves him even after it becomes clear that he doesn't care about her and he's turning into a lunatic. |
| 45 | * In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul[=:Re=]'', Kanae turns out to be this to his master ([[KissingCousins and cousin]]), Shuu Tsukiyama. While his feelings seem to have developed [[PrecociousCrush early on]], he remains in denial about them until [[BreakingSpeech confronted]] about them. But his growing obsession and jealousy begin spiraling out of control, leading him to try to MurderTheHypotenuse. |
| 46 | ** Mutsuki turns out to be this to Sasaki/Kaneki, his beloved mentor. While Sasaki/Kaneki does care for him he's instead romantically interested in Touka. Mutsuki notices and is revealed to be harboring a more murderously psychotic crush than originally thought on Kaneki which he realizes out of jealousy towards Touka and Kaneki's closeness. |
| 47 | * The CatGirl twins Eriya and Nariya from ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' are both desperately in love with their leader, Folken, who [[IOweYouMyLife saved their lives when they were children]]. After a fate-manipulation procedure where Folken and Nariya were able to force Allen and Hitomi to kiss each other by acting out the kiss themselves, Nariya is heartbroken to realise that, while Folken cares for the two of them, he doesn't love them. [[UndyingLoyalty They still serve him loyally to the death]]. |
| 48 | * Hayami of ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'' is infatuated with her boss, Akira. While Akira respects Hayami as a subordinate and colleague, he's too focused on [[BigBrotherInstinct his sister]] to [[ObliviousToLove bother with romance]]. |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 52 | * DependingOnTheWriter, ComicBook/HarleyQuinn is this to ComicBook/TheJoker. Usually he uses her as a figurative punching bag, counting on her PerkyFemaleMinion nature to bounce back from the grievous ComedicSociopathy he sends her way. Others, they're a Bonnie-and-Clyde style UnholyMatrimony that are nonetheless HappilyMarried. |
| 53 | * In ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', Amora the Enchantress's [[TheDragon Dragon]], Skurge the Executioner. He eventually despairs of ever receiving a sign of her respect, let alone love, and volunteers for a HeroicSacrifice; she's been paying so little attention to him that she doesn't find out he's dead for another four issues. When she ''did'' find out, she burst into tears and mourned him, much to everybody's surprise. |
| 54 | * Featherstone to Herr Starr in ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' (and ButtMonkey Hoover for Featherstone). However, though she declares her love for Starr, he doesn't care and says so outright. Only at the very end does she finally realize what a monster he is. |
| 55 | * In issue #3 of ''ComicBook/StarWarsVaderDarkVisions'', an unnamed Imperial nurse develops an obsessive crush on Darth Vader. Vader doesn't seem to be aware of her existence, much less reciprocate. And when the nurse approaches an unmasked Vader in his meditation chamber and professes her love to him, Vader silently ignites his lightsaber through her chest, killing her. Then telling his subordinates over comms to remove the garbage from his quarters. |
| 56 | * ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Cyclops left the X-Men and joined the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. He still loves Jean and does not even notice the Scarlet Witch's explicit advances on him. She's hugging and caressing him, talking about heartbeats... and he's still talking about the way the last mission ended. He eventually returned to the X-Men, and none of this was ever brought up again. Possibly for the best, given the Scarlet Witch's [[BrotherSisterIncest other romantic interest]]. |
| 57 | * In ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'', three-headed dinosaur-dragon thing Tricephalous is revealed to be this to Mole Man. Doreen finally gets her to announce it and him to fall for her, in order to cure Mole Man of his unwelcome crush on '''her'''. |
| 58 | * ''ComicBook/WhatIf Vol.2'', issue #27[[note]]"What If The Sub-Mariner Had Joined The Fantastic Four?"[[/note]]: [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Sue]] can tell Reed's lab assistant, Lysette, is head over heels in love with him. She also knows Reed well enough to know he's completely oblivious to it. She makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove[=/=]HighHeelFaceTurn to an injured Reed at the end of the story (She was a mole for ComicBook/DoctorDoom).[[note]]The epilogue shows Reed and Lysette happily married with a daughter[[/note]] |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 62 | * ''Fanfic/BeyondTheOuterGatesLiesAHighSchoolLibrary'': Azrael's lab assistant-slash-research partner, [[spoiler:the DXD version of Lasciel]], is one. |
| 63 | * The ''Webcomic/DadVillainAU'' gives Nathalie a double dose: not only does she love Gabriel Agreste, but his wife Emelie as well, which is why she was so willing to sacrifice her health using the broken Peacock Pin to support Hawkmoth's reign of terror as Mayura. This persists even after he [[TheBadGuyWins uses his Wish]] to [[RealityWarpingIsNotAToy rewrite reality]] so that Emelie never fell ill: both he and Emelie pay no attention to her feelings, leaving her love to grow sour over time. |
| 64 | * ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic, ''Fanfic/LikeOneSunderedStar'' uses this to explain why the Draconian Dignitary was always willing to suffer through Jack Noir's paperwork for him and never questioned his leadership among the Midnight Crew. So far, this infatuation does not seem to have carried over to the current universe. |
| 65 | * Diaval ''starts out'' as this in many a ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' fanfic, due to the implications mentioned below. |
| 66 | * This trope is a popular interpretation of [[SassySecretary Caroline's]] relationship with her employer [[HotBlooded Cave Johnson]] in the ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' games. While the games never make it explicit, it's clear that Caroline was [[UndyingLoyalty loyal to Cave through and through]], with even [[spoiler:unwillingly having her brain uploaded into a computer and going crazy]] being insufficient to snuff out said loyalty. As for Cave, it's obvious that he ''liked'' Caroline, but given his...''[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} interesting]]'' personality, it's [[ObliviousToLove unlikely that he picked up on any romantic feelings she might have had for him]]. |
| 67 | * In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/57176/twilight-sparkle-historys-greatest-monster Twilight Sparkle: History's Greatest Monster]]'', Twilight is transported to an AlternateUniverse where she apparently rules with an iron hoof as the Lord Librarian, with Trixie as her enamored underling. While trying to keep appearances while avoiding actually doing evil, she pretends to return Trixie's affection and is briefly horrified at what she might have just set in motion. |
| 68 | * The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' oneshot ''Fanfic/{{Witchcraft}}'' depicts Ariana as being in love with her boss Giovanni. Giovanni seduces Ariana to have her [[DarwinistDesire bear his child]], but there's no romance to their relationship. It's unrequited on Ariana's side. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 72 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': Mirage is, by her own words, "attracted to power" and the misunderstood. There is the implication she and Syndrome are in a relationship, [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal but once he gambles with her life when Mr. Incredible threatens to kill her, she sours on the relationship]]. |
| 73 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': GenderFlipped: Hal Stewart works as a cameraman for news reporter Roxanne. Hal starts out as a personification of this trope for quite a large part of the movie towards her, yet it's downplayed because she doesn't totally ignore him and does show some genuine appreciation for the work he does for her and with her on their job. However, once he realizes that Roxanne will never return the same ''romantic'' feelings for him (emphasis on romantic because she will only ever see him as a coworker and employee and nothing more), instead of accepting it and continuing to be overly obsequious to her, he actually starts to become obnoxious towards her. It gets even worse when he realizes she's starting to fall in love with Megamind [[spoiler: (who was originally the antagonist of the film and their common enemy but has a [[HeelFaceTurn Heel–Face Turn]] and actually becomes a good guy, or more specifically, an affable, [[ClassicalAntiHero classical anti-hero]] throughout the movie)]], and he actually has a drastic [[FaceHeelTurn Face–Heel Turn]] and becomes the ''real'' villain and antagonist in the climax of the film, calling himself Titan. |
| 74 | ** This can also be considered a very rare example of [[WomanScorned Man Scorned]] (the male version of the Woman Scorned trope) because once he has his Face–Heel Turn and becomes a supervillain, he actually tries to use her not returning his romantic feelings as a motivator to get revenge and attempts to kill her. [[spoiler:Megamind, (mentioned above) because he transforms into the good guy and hero throughout the film, is the one who, of course, ends up saving and rescuing her and who ultimately defeats Hal/Titan.]] |
| 75 | [[/folder]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 78 | * In ''Film/ThreeTenToYuma2007'', the eyeliner-wearing bandit [[TheDragon Charlie Prince]] is implied to be in love with his boss Ben Wade, who never shows any interest in him. |
| 79 | * In ''Film/AmericanPsycho'' Patrick Bateman has a relationship a bit like this with his secretary. She isn't aware that he's a serial killer (or just an extremely insane businessman) but he makes very rude comments to her and she still seems to carry a torch. |
| 80 | * In ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'', Lefou becomes this to Gaston via AdaptationalSexuality. |
| 81 | * During the epic chase near the end of ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', a neo-Nazi confesses "I've always loved you" to the unamused local ''GruppenfĂĽhrer'' as their car goes careening off the end of an unfinished highway. |
| 82 | * In ''Film/CircusOfHorrors'', Rossiter's nurse Angela is in love with him and stays with him through his years on the run because of this. The egotistical Rossiter is completely unaware of her feelings. When he announces that he is going to marry Melina, she finally snaps and leaves him. |
| 83 | * In ''Film/TheCrimeDoctorsStrangestCase'', Miss Patricia has been Walter Burns' housekeeper for 30, and before that was a dancer in his club. She has been in love with him for that entire time and he never noticed. And then he gets murdered. Could unrequited love be a motive for murder? |
| 84 | * ''[[Film/DrGoldfootAndTheBikiniMachine Doctor Goldfoot And The Girl Bombs]]:'' Supervillain [[Creator/VincentPrice Goldfoot's]] henchgal Hardjob shows signs being this, but since she's also a CuteMute, it can't be confirmed. Goldfoot never shows much sign of sexual interest in anyone in the two movies in which he appears, but he does allow Hardjob to escape with him at the end. |
| 85 | * ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald'' has Bunty, the assistant of Newt Scamander. She has a crush on him, but he has feelings for Tina Goldstein. |
| 86 | * In ''Film/FortyGuns'', Sheriff Ned Logan is in love with Jessica Drummond and allows himself to be used as her catspaw; seeing himself as her partner and hoping that one day she will reciprocate his feelings. However, Jessica has no idea of his feelings and sees him only as an employee. On realizing this, and seeing that she has fallen in love with Griff Bonnell, Logan is DrivenToSuicide. |
| 87 | * 2014's ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' has strong implications that [[TheDragon Diaval]] has this in regards to his mistress. It's played even stronger in the film's novelization. |
| 88 | -->Behind her, Diaval let out a sigh. Once, just once, it would be nice if Maleficent were able to see what was really going on. It would be nice to hear her say, "Please come with me, Diaval. We can do anything as long as we're together." But Diaval knew those were words he would never hear. |
| 89 | * In ''Film/TheMonsterMaker'', Maxine has stayed with and assisted Dr. Markoff for years--even helping him adopt his new identity and flee Europe--because she is hopelessly in love with him, and hopes that one day he will return her affection. However, he is still in love with his late wife and then becomes obsessed with Patricia, who is a dead ringer for her. When she finally snaps on learning the full depths of his depravity, Markoff decides that she has to die because SheKnowsTooMuch. |
| 90 | * Sylvia in ''Film/SinTakesAHoliday'' is extremely loyal to her boss, Stanton, and marries him when he asks her to--- not a romantic marriage, of course; he needs to wed her to escape another woman. |
| 91 | * Erin in ''Film/WhatWomenWant'' is a PluckyOfficeGirl who is secretly in love with her boss who is oblivious to her affection and ignores her. |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[folder:Jokes]] |
| 95 | * The young and handsome CEO of a company comes out of his office on Friday evening and goes to his secretary. |
| 96 | -->"Margaret, are you doing anything Sunday evening?"\ |
| 97 | The secretary blushes furiously.\ |
| 98 | "No, Mr. Johnson."\ |
| 99 | "Really? No ailing mother to visit, no young man to take to the movies?"\ |
| 100 | The secretary brings a ring-less hand into view.\ |
| 101 | "None at all, Mr. Johnson."\ |
| 102 | "Well then, I'll see you at 8 o'clock sharp on Monday, we have a lot of work next week!" |
| 103 | [[/folder]] |
| 104 | |
| 105 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 106 | * In the ''Literature/ChristCloneTrilogy'', Gerard Poupardin has an unrequited love for Albert Moore. When Moore died at the time his sins were exposed by Christopher Goodman in the first book, Poupardin sought revenge in an attempt to kill Goodman, only for Tom Donafin to shoot Goodman first, so Poupardin killed Donafin instead. |
| 107 | * ''Literature/TheConquerorsSaga'', ''And I Darken'' has an example of a main character being this to another: Radu is infatuated with Mehmed, who only sees him as a friend. And who is in a relationship with his sister. And, while Mehmed talks about how much he loves and trusts Radu, emotionally Radu doesn't appear to mean too much to him—it took him days to notice Radu wasn't even with them during a trip back to his home, for example. |
| 108 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': In ''Literature/MakingMoney'', Chief Cashier Miss Drapes is one to bank manager Mr. Bent, who probably thinks love is silly. They do get together in the end, though. |
| 109 | * In one of the ''Literature/GarrettPI'' novels, Garrett has to point out to queenpin Belinda Contague that her driver/bodyguard Joel is very much smitten with her. She never gets a chance to deal with Joel's feelings, one way or the other, because he dies defending her from an ambush by some rival villains she'd crossed. |
| 110 | * Bellatrix Lestrange from ''Franchise/HarryPotter''. She definitely fits the requirements about idolization and obsessive loyalty, and, according to WordOfGod [[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/0730-bloomsbury-chat.html Voldemort "never loved a girl, only valued people he could use to advance his own objectives."]] (The relevant quote is near the bottom of the linked page.) |
| 111 | ** Prior to Voldemort's demise, Bellatrix [[spoiler:had an affair with him and conceived a daughter with him]]. |
| 112 | * ''Literature/HerculePoirot'': "[[Literature/TheLaboursOfHercules The Lernean Hydra]]" starts when a doctor is married to a hypochondriac wife, who dies. The doctor insists there was no foul play, but of course the village thinks he murdered her in order to marry the young pharmacist (and he admits to Poirot that he would already have asked her if it wasn't for the suspicion). After it turns out the woman's corpse was full of arsenic, the doctor is arrested... [[spoiler:but it wasn't the doctor ''or'' the pharmacist, but the nurse, who thought the doctor would marry her after his wife died, and went WomanScorned when she realized she wasn't the one he loved.]] |
| 113 | ** In another Agatha Christie novel, ''Sparkling Cyanide'', a secretary who always thought she would eventually marry her boss, George, is a suspect for George's wife's murder, [[spoiler:and eventually for George's murder too]]. Slightly subverting the trope though, many characters believe that George would have eventually fallen in love and married her if he had never met his wife, and in the novel proper, he trusts her more than anyone else. [[spoiler:This comes back to bite him, since she would never have been able to kill him and his wife and almost murder his sister-in-law if he didn't trust her to do everything for him.]] |
| 114 | * ''Literature/JohnPutnamThatcher'': In ''Green Grow the Dollars'', secretary Barbara Gunn has been in love with her boss for six years and has some bitterness about how "the woman who had moved into Scott's apartment was named Hilary, not Barbara." |
| 115 | * Both the Duchess of Abrantès and General Paul Thiébault agree in their respective ''Mémoires'' that General Junot (the Duchess's husband and Thiébault's superior in the Peninsular War) was more or less this to [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon]]. |
| 116 | * Grantaire from ''Literature/LesMiserables'' [[NotInThisForYourRevolution joins the revolution for a cause he doesn't believe in]] because he "[[AmbiguouslyGay admired, loved, and venerated]]" their leader Enjolras, who is indifferent to him at best. It's not until they face the firing squad and die hand in hand that Grantaire finally gains approval from Enjolras. |
| 117 | * In ''Literature/TheShatteredKingdoms'', Vrinna, captain of the guard to the Emperor of Norland, is clearly infatuated with him, and goes a long way to try to get his approval. He's not interested. Vrinna's unrequited love makes her rather hostile to the Emperor's mistress, Kira. |
| 118 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Brienne is this to Renly in ''Literature/AClashOfKings''. The fact that he's [[IncompatibleOrientation gay]] means that even if he did notice he'd never return her feelings the way she wants, and she's unaware of his orientation. |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 122 | * In ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Jack Donaghy's assistant Jonathan would do anything, no matter how degrading, to prove his devotion to Jack. Jonathan is frequently hostile to Liz, feeling threatened by her closeness to Jack, though Jack and Liz make it explicitly clear to each other several times throughout the show that they would never see each other in any way other than platonic. |
| 123 | * ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', season 5, Hotel, brings us serial killer James Patrick Marsh, who is every stereotype of a new-money early 20th-century industrialist crossed with a discount Hannibal Lecter, and Ms. Evers, his cleaning lady and PsychoSupporter. He treats her kindly as a valued minion but can't see she's so obviously in love with him. They're also both ghosts. |
| 124 | * PlayedWith in ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Felicity has ShipTease with Oliver that evolves into a full-blown crush by Season 2. Oliver initially seems oblivious, but by Season 3 is shown to return her affections. However, he refuses to explore a relationship with her mostly due to his CartwrightCurse (the first and only time he takes her out on a date, the restaurant gets blown up by an RPG) and ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies. |
| 125 | * ''Series/AshesOfLove'': Kuang Lu loves Run Yu, who loves Jin Mi and doesn't even notice Kuang Lu's feelings. |
| 126 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'' seemed to be into this: |
| 127 | ** Lyta Alexander to both Vorlon ambassadors that she successively works for. Done both ways, as Kosh apparently treated her well, although we don't see much of them interacting alone, but Ulkesh blatantly physically and emotionally abused her. |
| 128 | ** This occurs with Delenn and her ambassadorial aide, Lennier, in a fairly benign example. He became enamored with her but was afraid to say so, especially as he was fully aware that he was a HopelessSuitor. She seemed aware of this, at least to some extent, and was heartbroken when he chose to separate himself from her after she became married. Though Delenn tried to handle the situation with grace, and Lennier tried to accept it, [[LoveMakesYouEvil it didn't end well for him]]. |
| 129 | ** Yet another variety of this setup with Marcus Cole and Commander Susan Ivanova. Ivanova was a stern, duty-driven officer, and Marcus something of a free-spirited loner. He makes his feelings toward her very clear, and she spends much of their time together parrying his advances. Part of her problem with him was that as a Ranger (sort of a space-faring warrior monk), he didn't really fit anywhere in the command structure she was familiar with. Their relationship ends tragically as well [[spoiler: when Marcus sacrifices his life, [[CastFromHitPoints literally]], to save a mortally wounded Ivanova,]] leaving her to bitterly reflect that AllLoveIsUnrequited. |
| 130 | ** PlayedForLaughs with [[ThePoliticalOfficer Julie Musante]], a handler from Earth sent to keep Captain Sheridan in line and act as an advisor to him. She [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey attempts to seduce him]] (WordOfGod is that this was a ploy by the Political Office to try and control Sheridan who happened to be a widower). For his part, Sheridan has none of it, [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere quickly finding an excuse to leave]] when he figures out what she's doing, and she is recalled to Earth when a new political crisis breaks out [[spoiler: compliments of [[TheLancer Commander Ivanova]] leaking evidence that President Clark had his predecessor assassinated.]] |
| 131 | * In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', it's [[HomoeroticSubtext heavily implied]] that [[SycophanticServant Andrew]] was this to Warren. It was pretty much made canon with Andrew's LastSecondWordSwap. |
| 132 | * In the ''Series/{{Decoy}}'' episode "To Trap a Thief", a secretary covers up her boss's insurance fraud for this reason. She never told him about her feelings because he's married with two kids. |
| 133 | * Quite a few ''Series/DoctorWho'' companions had this with the Doctor, but it becomes really blatant with Tegan and Martha. |
| 134 | ** Charley, too, in the [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish audios]]. |
| 135 | * ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'': Lucas is a platonic version, wanting desperately to be friends with the boss he so admires. He keeps trying, asking him to go out for a beer, some music, a club, or the like, and he gently (or not so subtly) probes for more information about Henry pretty much every episode. Henry rebuffs him off-hand, with no interest in getting closer to any mortal, but eventually he warms to Lucas, and by the end of the series he's not only gone to a karaoke bar with the gang, he's paid Lucas real compliments and trusted him with [[MissingMom a few]] [[MadScientistLaboratory secrets]] (although not yet [[ResurrectiveImmortality the big one]]). A fair number of fan works take this into non-platonic territory. |
| 136 | * Agravaine to Morgana in ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', even though she's never anything but blatantly scornful and dismissive of him. |
| 137 | * ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' Season 11 introduces mad scientist Kinga Forrester, and her right-hand assistant Max (who prefers to be called TV's Son of TV's Frank). Max is clearly in love with Kinga, but she's [[BadBoss casually abusive towards him]] and unaware that he's even capable of feelings. She even makes plans to marry someone else as a RatingsStunt, never noticing how unhappy this makes Max. |
| 138 | * ''Series/NirvanaInFire'': Gong Yu has a really obvious crush on Mei Changsu. He takes the CruelToBeKind approach and never gives her any hope. |
| 139 | * ''Series/OnceUponATime:'' Sidney Glass (a.k.a. the Magic Mirror) is this to the Evil Queen Regina. |
| 140 | * ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'' has Camille, who seeks Dai Shi's love and appreciation, but of course, "love" and "appreciation" are things {{Evil Overlord}}s aren't too good at. [[spoiler: Evil overlords' human hosts, on the other hand...]] |
| 141 | * ''Series/PrincessSilver'': Hen Xiang is in love with Fu Chou, and his lack of interest in her combined with his love for Rong Le makes her hate Rong Le. |
| 142 | * ''Series/PushingDaisies'' subverts it with Olive and Ned, who as a hero is simply too oblivious, nice, and timid (it alternates) to tell Olive he doesn't love her. He later mans up and tells her very explicitly, but she continues to carry a torch for him (despite her own wishes) until she meets a traveling potion salesman (no LovePotion was involved). |
| 143 | * In ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', Molly Hooper is infatuated with Sherlock, but he ignores and often insults her, only being nice to her when he needs a favor from her (e.g. complimenting her hair when he needs to see a body from the morgue where she works). In the second season, Sherlock undergoes a bit of CharacterDevelopment to show he genuinely cares about her, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold in his own way]]. He even apologizes to her when he accidentally made her look like a fool at a gift exchange. In the season's finale, she's one of the very few people who never lose faith in him [[spoiler:and is the one he comes to for help with faking his death]]. During the events of the third season, the relationship between her and Sherlock grows into an awkward (especially when her new BF is revealed to be a ReplacementGoldfish) but genuinely trusting friendship. It helps that Molly is a bit of a conscience to Sherlock, and doesn't mind occasionally chewing him out for his insensitive behaviour towards others or even himself. |
| 144 | * In the original pilot of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', Yeoman Colt is implied to have these feelings for Captain Pike, even though their only interaction is [[CrashIntoHello Colt bumping into the captain and getting barked at in response.]] The trope is only revealed when the aliens abduct her for an AdamAndEvePlot, knowing from their mind-reading powers that she is attracted to him. However, at the end of the episode, Captain Pike and Yeoman Colt both revert back to their original behaviour, even repeating their CrashIntoHello. |
| 145 | -->'''Magistrate:''' The other new arrival has considered you unreachable but now is [[LockedInARoom realising this has changed.]] |
| 146 | * On ''Series/WhitechapelTVSeries'', Emerson Kent is (increasingly transparently) in love with his boss, Joseph Chandler. Signs include the subtle but open hostility towards any woman who shows affections towards Chandler, to the point that he [[spoiler:accuses Joe's love interest of murder in a fit of jealousy]]. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 150 | * In ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'', Honey Huan used to feel this way about Duke. |
| 151 | [[/folder]] |
| 152 | |
| 153 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 154 | * To an extent, Shawn in ''Theatre/BubbleBoy''. |
| 155 | * [=LaGuardia=] in ''Fiorello!'' was so ignorant of his assistant Marie's attraction to him that when he finally realized at the end that ''he'' was attracted to ''her'' he started babbling on about how he hoped she could "learn to love" him. |
| 156 | * Aumerle in ''Theatre/RichardII'' is often played this way. |
| 157 | * Mrs. Lovett in ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''. She enables Sweeney's serial murders and disposes of his victims by baking them into pies. She continues to make romantic overtures to him despite his obvious disinterest due to him only having eyes for his late wife and revenge on the judge who took her. This is played literally in the [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet movie]], where Sweeney never actually looks directly at her UNTIL [[spoiler:he finds out she lied about his wife's death... and then Mrs. Lovett finally has his attention. She comes to regret it]]. |
| 158 | * Orsino in ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' is painfully oblivious to "Cesario's" infatuation. |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 162 | * ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' strongly implies this with [[DarkActionGirl Gorast]] (and probably the only reason it's not more explicit is that [[NoHuggingNoKissing the series doesn't allow "romance"]]). While most of the Makuta serve [[BigBad Teridax]] out of [[GodhoodSeeker promises of godhood, divine envy]], or [[NobleDemon mere obligation]], Gorast is an exception for working entirely out of [[UndyingLoyalty loyalty to Teridax]], acting on sheer faith that his EvilPlan would and ''should'' come to fruition. Teridax, being the ManipulativeBastard that he is, simply sees her as another pawn in a long lineup of players, having exploited her personal loyalty [[HunterOfHisOwnKind to have her kill off Makuta dissenters to the plan]]. [[spoiler:In the end, Teridax repays her by [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness letting her and her fellow Makuta brethren get consumed in an energy storm]] as he ascends to godhood. She spends her final moments [[VillainousBSOD completely shutting down]] from sheer betrayal, disbelief, and horror that everything she'd done was AllForNothing.]] |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 166 | * In ''VideoGame/AkaneTheKunoichi'', Akane's love for her master Goro is not reciprocated, and even [[RescueRomance rescuing him]] doesn't necessarily do the trick. Only if you've got all the collectibles first does Goro return Akane's affection. |
| 167 | * In ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' Olga is fanatically loyal to Deus even when he telekinetically slams her into the ceiling, preferring the traitorous Yasha to her. |
| 168 | * ''VideoGame/CyberShadow'': It is gradually revealed through flashbacks that [[spoiler:[[RecurringBoss Apparitor]]]] is actually [[EvilFormerFriend a former member of your ninja clan]] who betrayed you because of this trope; he was in love with [[TheLeader Master]] and [[UndyingLoyalty devoted his life to serving her]], only for you to come along and be adopted into the clan, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter quickly upstaging him and gaining Master's favor/affection]]. Filled with jealousy and resentful of Master not acknowledging his devotion, he sold the clan out to the BigBad out of spite, subsequently being upgraded into a cybernetic enforcer of the new regime. |
| 169 | * ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'': [[ProudWarriorRace House Redoran]] Councillor Hlaren Ramoran's female bodyguard secretly harbors strong feelings of adoration for her master. During his favor quest to track down an old flame of his, instead of wasting time tracking down his ex [[spoiler:only to have her flatly reject Ramoran's advances anyway]], you can instead just tell Ramoran of those feelings and break the ice for her. He'll thank you for opening his eyes to what's right in front of him and grant you his support, before going on to court his bodyguard. |
| 170 | * ''VideoGame/FearAndHunger'': While D'arce's motivation for delving into the dungeons is her devotion towards her captain Le'garde, he does not reciprocate her feelings. Attempt to form [[RomanticFusion a Marriage]] and he will reply with "Not gonna happen." -- potentially to D'arce's face. |
| 171 | * Cordelia from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is completely enamored with Chrom. Oddly enough, in a game where romance is a major element, she is one of the few early female characters who ''can't'' be married to Chrom, much to many a shipper's dismay. |
| 172 | * Hubert from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is pretty obviously in love with his liege, Edelgard. He'll outright tell her in their A support conversation, but despite her surprise, she still doesn't seem to see him as more than a trusted friend. Even in their paired ending, should the player go for it, states that they never pursued a romance [[PlatonicLifePartners despite spending the rest of their lives together]]. Hubert doesn't mind if those feelings are unrequited, however, and simply wants Edelgard's dreams and happiness to come to pass. [[spoiler:On Crimson Flower, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he'll take steps to make sure Byleth becomes Edelgard's emotional anchor and possible romantic partner]], simply because he knows how Edelgard treasures them.]] |
| 173 | * In ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'', Almo Blueberry, one of the Elsior's BridgeBunnies, is in love with the ship's subcommander, Lester Coolduras. He's of course completely oblivious to this. Her partner Coco Nutmilk in turn gains one when Tapio Ca becomes her subordinate in the ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'' trilogy. |
| 174 | * [[FallenAngel Belial]] of ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' is in love with and [[UndyingLoyalty fanatically loyal]] to [[spoiler:his creator, [[EvilGenius Lucilius]]]], who has no interest in romance or sex and treats him as coldly and dismissively as he does nearly everyone else. Belial has spent the two thousand years since [[spoiler:Lucilius's [[OffWithHisHead death]] continuing [[NayTheist Lucilius's]] plan to [[RageAgainstTheHeavens destroy creation]]]], and it's implied that he would have succeeded if he hadn't taken the time to [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead resurrect]] Lucilius first so they could watch their scheme come to fruition together, though one of the first things Lucilius does after reviving is [[KickTheDog kick Belial in his abdominal wound]]. Despite this, when Lucilius is ultimately defeated and about to be trapped between dimensions, Belial willingly follows him through the rift so they can be together for eternity.]] |
| 175 | * ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'': The Warden Eternal makes it quite clear via dialogue that he is in love with [[spoiler: Cortana, but she ignores his affections because [[LoveTriangle she herself is in love]] with the Master Chief.]] |
| 176 | * Apparently, [[WrenchWench Tali]] from ''Franchise/MassEffect'' had a crush on [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] since the first game, in which she was not a romance option. You learn this if you romance her in the second game, potentially [[{{Subverted}} subverting it]]. |
| 177 | ** Liara as well, considering her devotion to you regardless of if you return her affection or not. Shepard can subvert this early on, as she's romanceable in all three games. |
| 178 | * In ''Videogame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', it's hinted through Codec conversations and her own dialog that Mistral is in love with [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]], the man who gave her ideals to fight for. However, the game never reveals what exactly [[spoiler:Armstrong]] thinks of her. |
| 179 | ** And her underling would have liked to date her... except they're both dead minutes after Raiden arrives, with the underling blowing himself up after thinking her words were for him. So yeah, low chance of enamourment there. |
| 180 | --->'''Raiden:''' She's not talking to you, idiot. |
| 181 | * Courtney Gears from ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'' almost perfectly mirrors the usual relationship between Harley Quinn and The Joker in her interactions with [[BigBad Dr. Nefarious]]. |
| 182 | -->'''Courtney:''' I have a present for you, snooky-wookums.\ |
| 183 | '''Nefarious:''' AAAARGH! I told you to stop calling me that! Just bring me Agent Clank!\ |
| 184 | '''Courtney:''' Of course, darling. |
| 185 | * ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'': Excella Gionne makes the mistake of falling in love with Wesker. She tries to get him to feel the same way, mostly by dressing in a SexyBacklessOutfit with a NavelDeepNeckline. She also says "I have my eyes set on something much... ''bigger''" when he tells her her position at Tricell is secured, with a very obvious [[EatingTheEyeCandy gaze downwards.]] He [[IgnoreTheFanservice pushes her away when she puts her hands all over him]], and [[spoiler:eventually betrays and kills her]]. |
| 186 | ** The "underling" part isn't quite played straight as she is actually the CEO (hence why he didn't get rid of her years ago, given that he's clearly not just uninterested but ''disgusted'' by her attention: he needs her on his side for his EvilPlan to succeed) but he's the one with the plan while she is going along with it. |
| 187 | * Belleza in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' towards [[BigBad Galcian]]. Downplayed in that she's pretty much aware that he feels nothing for her but can't help loving him, and Galcian treats their relationship as entirely professional with one exception (he uses her crush as motivation to undertake a personal mission for him). [[spoiler:When it turns out said personal mission was intended to get her killed, she turns face and kills Galcian in a TakingYouWithMe HeroicSacrifice.]] |
| 188 | * ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': Nastasia has a rather obvious crush on her boss, Count Bleck, though she must know that it could never possibly be anything but unrequited, since [[spoiler:Count Bleck has an extreme case of SingleTargetSexuality, and losing the woman he loved was his entire reason for becoming an OmnicidalManiac in the first place]]. O'Chunks' crush on Nastasia also counts, since as Bleck's [[TheDragon Dragon]], she outranks him. |
| 189 | * The adult-oriented ''Taimanin'' franchise brings us Ingrid, a Hell Knight whom serves as both secretary and right-hand woman to Edwin Black, the vampiric BigBad of the series. While Ingrid makes it explicitly clear of her affections towards her boss, his attentions are squarely focused on Asagi herself, given his interest in her powers (and the fact that at least in [[VideoGame/ActionTaimanin one spin-off]] he already has a daughter). However, it is clear that Edwin values Ingrid dearly -- when the traitorous Taimanin Oboro abducts and tortures Ingrid for several days, Edwin personally steps in to beat Oboro within an inch of her life and oversee Ingrid's recovery afterwards. |
| 190 | * [[spoiler:Izebel]] in ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' was personal secretary to the Governor-General of Hispania Hasdrubal, and also guardian to his son. She was very much in love with him. Hasdrubal actually has feelings for her but wants to follow his late wife's wishes by raising Hamil first. Unfortunately, TheEmpire messed everything up while Hamil was still a very young child. |
| 191 | * Selvaria from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'', is a very straight and tragic example of this trope. She fell in love with her boss, Maximillian, because he saved her from a life of being a lab rat and took her in as one of his generals. The moment Maximillian caught on to her feelings for him, he began using emotional and psychological manipulation to keep her in his service and make her believe that he would return her affections if she performed her role to her utmost. [[spoiler:And in the end, said love and devotion is rewarded with Maximillian ordering her to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness use her Final Flame]] so he can win the war he started. And she goes through with it because the revelation that she was and had always been nothing to him but a means to an end is enough to make her cross the DespairEventHorizon, so she has nothing more to live for, and even ''[[LoveMartyr still]]'' loves him in spite of it.]] |
| 192 | [[/folder]] |
| 193 | |
| 194 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 195 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Bandette}}'', Inspector BD Belgique's sidekick Heloise is definitely in love with him, but never does anything about it. |
| 196 | * In ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'', Lettuce to Tomato. For once, she just wants her beloved to be happy. The problem arises in that she doesn't care that he's harassing a helpless prisoner who's in love with someone else; she thinks Princess Parfait should be honored by his attentions. |
| 197 | * In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Mr. Verres's assistant Lavender is less than subtle in expressing her attraction to her boss. She has used her species' natural shapeshifting powers to take a form, that the author has described as, "heavily inspired by [[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Jessica Rabbit]]" in the hopes of getting his attention. She [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-08-27 likes to sit on his desk.]] She has accidentally let slip to him that, "[[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-01-12 I would be anything for you,]]" before awkwardly backpedaling. She has even been seen surreptitiously [[http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp.php?id=267 putting her tail over his shoulder.]] He seemed [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]]... but it seems that they've gotten together offscreen. |
| 198 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'', Maggie the Thinkamancer eventually falls "rather desperately" in love with her commander, Parson, as revealed to Parson by the Hippiemancer Janis. The revelation troubles him considerably because, while he likes her well enough, he simply doesn't love her back that way. He at one point seriously considers taking a LovePotion to resolve the issue. |
| 199 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Nepeta has been shown several times to have a crush on Karkat, though she's too shy to make the first move. Given Karkat's expertise with relationships and romance, there's pretty much no chance he's unaware of this. He later admits to "tiptoeing around it" due to there just being too much else going on to deal with it, not least his own confused relationship with Terezi. |
| 200 | * In ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'', Sandy is hopelessly in love with Faith, who's known for [[ReallyGetsAround having slept with much of the student body]] at Artemis - excluding Sandi, who's been [[HopelessSuitor permanently]] [[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou "friend-zoned"]]. |
| 201 | * In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 202 | ** Tsukiko serves [[BigBad Xykon]] because she thinks [[ILoveTheDead undead are good love interests]]. He finds it as unsettling as the rest of Team Evil does since she's lusting over a friggin ''{{lich}}'' -- and besides, he's been completely asexual since he died. When [[spoiler:Redcloak kills her with her own wights, Xykon doesn't hold it against him, and only expresses annoyance at the prospect of losing a useful minion; even then, he doesn't even remember her name]]. |
| 203 | ** Thrym, demigod and Lord of the Frost Giants, is a key supporter of Hel in her plot to [[spoiler:force the gods to unmake the world so she can rule over the new one.]] Before he's introduced on-panel, his motives as revealed through his Frost Giant minions are kept deliberately hazy and enigmatic, and the [=PCs=] speculate about what they might be... only for a DescriptionCut to reveal him for the first time, making lovey-dovey advances to a clearly uninterested and irritated Hel, who only keeps him around for the mortal armies he can muster. [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1081.html He's also rather willingly blind to the fact that she has zero interest in him.]] |
| 204 | --->'''Thrym:''' Is that all I am to you? A resource to be used in your scheme?\ |
| 205 | '''Hel:''' [[BluntYes Yes!]] And I explicitly told you that from the start!\ |
| 206 | '''Thrym:''' Yeah, but I didn't think you ''meant'' it. |
| 207 | * In ''Webcomic/TheRockCocks'', Elizabeth Santos has a major crush on Seth Sterling, her oblivious boss. Justified since [[IncompatibleOrientation he's gay]]. |
| 208 | * In ''Webcomic/SandraOnTheRocks'', Tatiana is a textbook case (albeit to a boss who's merely a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, not a master villain), with the small extra quirk of [[UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} bondage]] fantasies. |
| 209 | * ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': Elf has a short-lived crush on Tagon. Tagon, being in the middle of figuring out how to make payroll, [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-07-31 is less than concerned]]. |
| 210 | -->'''Elf:''' Captain, there's a beautiful girl in a bikini standing behind you.\ |
| 211 | '''Tagon:''' Where?\ |
| 212 | '''Tagon:''' Oh, did you mean you?\ |
| 213 | -SmashCut-\ |
| 214 | '''Elf:''' Doc, I think the captain needs an ice pack and a clue implant. |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 218 | * In ''Podcast/LessIsMorgue'', there's Brother Puddonius, the second in command to cult leader Thackery Boggs. He also really, really wants to slather his body with various substances, and those feelings are not reciprocated. |
| 219 | -->'''Brother Puddonius:''' What the exalted one means to say is that we all must slather each other with gravy!\ |
| 220 | '''Thackery Boggs:''' No, it doesn’t! Brother, you must stop.'' |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 224 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Sky is the assistant to [[ScienceHero Jayce and Viktor]] with an obvious crush on the latter. Viktor is far too focused on his work to notice, especially since his studies are the only hope to cure his deteriorating health. [[spoiler:When he accidentally kills Sky during a Hextech experiment he's stricken with guilt, especially after discovering a love letter she wrote to him [[CannotSpitItOut hidden in her notebook]].]] |
| 225 | * Anna from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' is the devoted secretary of Gallagher Elementary's [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil fourth grade]] [[PresidentEvil president]] Jimmy. She works tirelessly for him out of love and assumes the feeling is mutual but is heartbroken to learn otherwise in "Operation: S.N.O.W.I.N.G." when Jimmy reveals his plans to make Numbuh 1's girlfriend Lizzie his (unwilling) queen. Anna helps the Kids Next Door defeat Jimmy and finally [[LoveConfession confesses her love for him]]. He is both surprised and touched. |
| 226 | * Alakshmi in ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaijudo}}'' is incredibly devoted to The Choten, even as he becomes increasingly condescending to her due to her failures. |
| 227 | * Zhu Li in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is hinted to have a crush on her overly demanding boss Varrick, who's so self-centered he doesn't notice. Eventually, it's his [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal mistreatment of her]] that leads her to betray him and pledge her loyalty to Kuvira instead in season 4. Varrick seems genuinely shocked when she lists off all the ways he's mistreated her over the years. At the end [[spoiler:this was shown to have been a [[FakeDefector ruse]] so she can sabotage Kuvira's plans from within, though it's implied she drew on her real feelings for Varrick to make it more convincing, and they end up getting married after everything's over]]. |
| 228 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', [[spoiler:Nathalie is in love with her boss Gabriel Agreste, who is [[SingleTargetSexuality very fiercely devoted to his wife Emilie]] to the point of [[LoveMakesYouEvil taking up supervillainy]] in an effort to heal her from her coma. In fact, said devotion is what ''made'' her fall in love with him in the first place. So, being a woman of honor, she [[TheDragon assists him in said supervillainy]], even sometimes using the broken Peacock Miraculous to do so even though it's heavily implied to be the very thing that caused Emilie's coma in the first place, as its broken state makes its special ability CastFromHitPoints when it isn't supposed to. To be fair, Nathalie is somewhat aware of how fucked up the situation is. The writers have also hinted that Nathalie does have a reason of her own for wanting Emilie back]]. |
| 229 | * Scorpia from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' spends the first three seasons pretty obviously carrying a torch for Catra. She does anything Catra asks, refers to them as "soulmates," is desperate to impress her, and seems to want to be a MoralityChain for her, but Catra barely notices. Or rather, she might, but since she's barely capable of even being a good friend to Scorpia, it doesn't really matter. Plus, regardless of whether Catra actually treated Scorpia with respect, she is ultimately far more romantically interested in [[WeUsedToBeFriends her ex-best friend Adora]] anyway. |
| 230 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 231 | ** Waylon Smithers to Mr. Burns, a trait that has received steady {{Flanderization}} as the show has gone by. While Burns is completely oblivious to Smithers being both gay and ''very'' in love with him, he's usually light on the abuse, with most of it coming from his wealthy, comically out-of-touch eccentricities. |
| 232 | ** Krusty the Clown has one in his secretary Lois Pennycandy. |
| 233 | --->'''Marge:''' Hello, Mrs. Pennycandy.\ |
| 234 | '''Lois:''' It's ''Miss'' Pennycandy, I can assure you. I'm sorry to inform you that Krusty will not be joining Bart for dinner.\ |
| 235 | '''Marge:''' This is the fifth time he's cancelled. How can he hurt someone who loves him so?\ |
| 236 | '''Lois:''' Oh, Mrs. Simpson, I've wasted my womanhood asking that same question. |
| 237 | * In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', by the episode "Skooled!", it's made abundantly clear that Gemini serves Miss Heinous out of love, yet she treats him with nothing but contempt. After Rasticore rejects her, Gemini offers her his own continued service, only for Heinous to rip out his heart and use it to blow up Rasticore. |
| 238 | -->'''Gemini:''' If you wanted my heart, all you had to do was ask. |
| 239 | * This is one of the common interpretations of Pearl and Rose Quartz's relationship in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', with most of their canon portrayal being based around the LadyAndKnight dynamic. The other common interpretation is that Rose was in a casual, open relationship with Pearl until Greg came around, with Pearl being an InsecureLoveInterest to her [[UnequalPairing 'liege']]. (The AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of this interpretation is that Rose actually ''played along'' with Pearl's inferiority complex.) |
| 240 | * Mercy Graves to ComicBook/LexLuthor in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. He saved her from an existential gutter and got her undying loyalty, which was broken when, during an attack by Brainiac, Luthor chose to run away rather than save her from some fallen debris. Superman saved her, and she chose to rethink her loyalty to Lex, which panned out in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', where she gains control of Lexcorp and later stops helping Lex altogether. At least until he gets out of prison and makes a [[spoiler:fake]] run for US President. |
| 241 | * {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama Pahkitew Island]]:'' [[BigBadWannabe Max]] claims that his "minion", [[HypercompetentSidekick Scarlett]], is "hopelessly in love" with him, but insists that "evil doesn't date." Several other characters seem to think they're dating. Not only did she ''never'' feel that way about him, as the season goes on she begins to hate him more and more, and switches between [[TheChessmaster manipulating him and trying to get him eliminated]]. |
| 242 | * Paige in ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' is non-romantically fanatically devoted to General Tessler, which is understandable since she believes he [[spoiler:saved her life from ISO's, when in fact he was responsible for the massacre that killed her friends]]. |
| 243 | * Commander Peepers's relationship with Lord Hater in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' is frequently played like this. His room is more or less a StalkerShrine to Hater, which he trashed in "The Buddies" in response to his mistaken impression that Hater had found another best friend (before tearfully fixing everything). |
| 244 | ** Supervising Director [[http://owner-of-wendys.tumblr.com/post/144329284124/i-worked-on-the-second-season-as-an-animator-and Dave Thomas]] confirms that Peepers being portrayed in this way was intentional. |
| 245 | * Wuya to Chase Young in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', for a while. Then she lost interest in him and betrayed him... [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder rather unsurprisingly]]. |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
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