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| 5 | |
| 6 | ->'''Becky:''' Were you ''stalking'' me?\ |
| 7 | '''Dave:''' Not like, in a ''threatening'' way. |
| 8 | -->-- ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice'' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Say you have a StalkerWithACrush. He relentlessly pursues his love interest, [[BeautifulDreamer watching her as she sleeps]], resorting to superfluous and often very disturbing lengths to protect her if he feels the need. She's probably going to be creeped out, right? |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Wrong. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Instead of outright rejecting this guy's advances on the first go, the object of these advances isn't even irritated. [[ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe She's completely dazzled and views them as romantic]], completely overlooking the stalkerish implications of what he's doing. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Most characters of this type are intended to be sympathetic; the lengths the fella goes to is supposed to show just how much he loves his beloved (or she hers -- this can happen to characters of any gender, although male examples are far more common). But characters like this can be ''very'' unnerving to readers and audiences who realize just how far things have gone. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | There is an unfortunate DoubleStandard common in the depiction of this trope. Stalker type behavior in a man can make him a romantic hero but the same behavior will almost always make a woman dangerous or pathetic. Interestingly, the StalkerWithACrush trope features an exactly opposite DoubleStandard — StalkingIsFunnyIfItIsFemaleAfterMale and the stalker is more likely to be portrayed as cute and desirable, while a male stalker is portrayed as pathetic and dangerous. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Some more forgiving depictions of this trope rely on the stalker simply being too shy to approach the object of his or her affections directly, and [[InnocentlyInsensitive is otherwise harmless]]. In other cases, he can't go and pursue a normal relation even if he would prefer it because of other, more dangerous, circumstances (for example, because they both belong to FeudingFamilies). |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Sometimes this results from ValuesDissonance, since behaviors towards a {{Love Interest|s}} that are considered appropriate in one time or place can seem creepy in others. Compare AbductionIsLove, DoNotDoThisCoolThing, and PlayfulPursuit. |
| 23 | ---- |
| 24 | !!Examples: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 29 | * ''Manga/FutureDiary'' plays around with this trope regarding [[{{Yandere}} Yuno]] (the [[StalkerWithACrush stalker]]) and [[ActionSurvivor Yukiteru]] ([[ShrinkingViolet the stalk-ee]]). While Yuno certainly believes firmly in this trope to the point where [[spoiler:she actually traveled to a [[AlternateUniverse parallel space-time universe]] ''just'' to be with him again]], Yuki is less than convinced. He falls in love with her by the end, even stating he did because she's always by his side, if only because [[BreakTheCutie he's just as messed-up as her]]. |
| 30 | * In ''{{Manga/Gravitation}}'', Shuichi chases Yuki constantly, despite being rejected, verbally abused, and often being called a little brat. They eventually end up together. |
| 31 | * In ''Manga/KoharuNoHibi'', while Akira ''is'' freaked out by Koharu's StalkerWithACrush tendencies, he still eventually ends up dating her because as he said he can't leave her alone. |
| 32 | * In ''Manga/Reborn2004'', although Tsuna is sort of creeped out by Gokudera's StalkerWithACrush tendencies, the show depicts him as being a very loyal and wonderful friend, writing off his desire to kill off anyone who gets close to Tsuna as being [[ComedicSociopathy comedy]]. |
| 33 | * Played with the usual amount of taste and seriousness ([[PlayedForLaughs that is, none at all]]) in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', where Matoi and Kafuka certainly believe stalking is a form of deep love. Of course, Nozomu kindly informs her that ''[[CrossesTheLineTwice mutual suicide]]'' is true love. And then unfortunately informs her that he'd be happy to kill himself with her at any time, so she took up stalking him while her previous stalking victim started stalking ''her.'' |
| 34 | * ''Manga/Zetsuai1989'' is about a male singer named Kouji whose childhood crush on a male soccer star named Izumi — who he fell for as a kid — leads to assorted sexual harassment when the two meet in person years later. The series romanticizes stalking and rewards the attacker in the end when the victim becomes comfortable with his stalker and stops running away. |
| 35 | [[/folder]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 38 | * One time while watching [[ComicBook/XFactor2006 Siryn]] sleep, [[Characters/MarvelComicsDeadpool Deadpool]] laments that what he's doing used to be considered romantic, but now it's called "stalking" and generally considered "Trespass". But that's Deadpool. |
| 39 | * [[ComicBook/NewWarriors Speedball]] does not mind [[Characters/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl Squirrel Girl]]'s [[StalkerWithACrush disturbing stalking]] towards him. In fact, he finds it very cute. And it doesn't hurt that he likes hazelnut. |
| 40 | * Similarly Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}} stalking [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Spider-Man]] isn’t presented as creepy. At one point she even shows Spidey the StalkerShrine she made for him and while a little freaked out, he still pursues a relationship with her. |
| 41 | * In ''ComicBook/DeepGravity'', it's specifically averted. Paxon was sufficiently determined that his relationship with Michelle ought to have worked that he signed on to a deep-space expedition to a remote, dangerous planet just to follow her, believing that she could be made to see reason. Michelle certainly doesn't see it as romantic — but neither does he because, by the time the reunion he set in motion actually occurs, he's fully aware that it was the wrong thing to do. |
| 42 | -->'''Paxon:''' It's three years on this crossing if you don't spend it asleep. That's a lot of time to reflect on your mistakes. I thought I was being romantic when I left Earth, but it didn't take me long to figure out that coming to Poseidon was a stalker move. That's not how I want you to think of me. You said it was over. That should mean it's over. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 46 | * ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'': [[CreatorsPet Anthony]] was introduced as Liz's secret admirer, following her around watching her every move while she was oblivious. It took her friend finally pointing him out for her to even ''notice'' him, after which they dated for a while, with nothing said against his questionable behavior. Of course, that was child's play to the turns the relationship took years later. (Ex: him continuing to stalk her even after he ''married someone else''.) Literally child's play- Anthony and Elizabeth were children when they met, so the behavior was less "questionable" and more "shy nerdy little boy with his first crush." |
| 47 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'': One arc had Jeremy stealing his parents' car in the middle of the night so he could repeatedly drive by the house of a girl he was interested in, an act which got him arrested. When Connie chewed him out over it, asking what he thought he was doing, Jeremy described it as a "desperate romantic gesture". Connie then told Walt to take over lecturing him, as she almost forgave him. |
| 48 | [[/folder]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 51 | * Essentially applies in the celebrity fanfic "[[http://celeb.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600092617 Best Days of Our Lives]]", which portrays Music/KellyClarkson and Music/CarrieUnderwood as childhood sweethearts; their relationship fell apart after high school graduation because Carrie's mother was constantly making it clear when things weren't going well for them, even though the relationship itself was always happy, and after a run of bad luck involving their potential new apartment burning down before they could move in, Carrie was persuaded to return to her parents. After Kelly had her victory on ''Series/AmericanIdol'', it was basically impossible for Carrie to get back in touch with her through normal channels, to the extent that Carrie tried out for ''Idol'' herself just to get Kelly's attention and was genuinely surprised when she won. |
| 52 | * In ''Fanfic/CodeGeassMaoOfTheDeliverance'', Mao travels hundreds of miles to find C.C. again while listening to her voice constantly [[HeadphonesEqualIsolation on his headphones]]. She actually recorded this for him, however, and he is really just trying to [[spoiler: save her life (albeit against her wishes)]]. |
| 53 | * In the ''Fanfic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Maddie once told Jazz that Jack would camp out on her family's yard when they were away just so he could see her when she got back. While Jack and Maddie thought it was romantic, Jazz thought that it was nothing to be proud of. |
| 54 | * The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{The Games We Play|FriendshipIsMagic}}'' is about one of Rainbow Dash's friends having a crush on her and using the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E8TheMysteriousMareDoWell Mare Do Well]] costume as a means to disguise their identity and get close to her without risking their friendship. Except "get close to her" pretty much ends up meaning "stalk and sexually harass her". [[ZigzaggingTrope Zigzagged]] in that Dash is very unhappy with this, but starts to reciprocate, and ends up feeling pretty damn confused. |
| 55 | * In humanized ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' fanworks, [[FanPreferredCouple Flippy often does this to Flaky]]. |
| 56 | * In ''Fanfic/IfBellaWereSane'', Edward stalks Bella [[spoiler:and tries to trick her into marrying him while she's drunk]] because he's in love with her. Unlike the Bella of ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'', the fanfiction has her creeped out and punch him over it. The last chapter, in which [[spoiler:Bella's very loopy, very Mormon [[Creator/StephenieMeyer Aunt Stephenie]] comes to visit from Arizona]] makes a huge TakeThat at the trope. |
| 57 | --> I told her everything, sipping tea in my pajamas. I left out the rude words and stuff and most of my freakouts—like I said, [[spoiler:really Mormon]]—but she got the whole story.\ |
| 58 | She said it was almost sort of ''romantic''.\ |
| 59 | Like I said, sort of loopy. |
| 60 | * In ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' fan fiction ''FanFic/TheNotSoShortSecondLifeOfBreeTanner'', the main character, Bree, is the object of some restraining order-worthy affection from [[spoiler:Alec]], though -- unlike Bella with Edward -- she's not nearly as charmed by the creepily felonious antics or isn't shy about mentioning it. |
| 61 | * Parodied in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''/''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9238746/6/A-Practical-Guide-for-the-Courtship-of-Elves-by-Beren-son-of-Barahir A Practical Guide for the Courtship of Elves, by Beren son of Barahir]]". Beren stalked Luthien in the woods for a while because he was mesmerized by her. Several characters try to explain to him that it was wrong... but first of all they have to explain what "stalking" is and why it's creepy. Then Luthien cuts them off to tell that she stalked Beren afterwards, and she was ''damned'' persistent. |
| 62 | * ''Fanfic/TheSoulmateTimeline'': |
| 63 | ** Madoka firmly believes it's okay to stalk someone if you're just trying to help them. A side story set during the first timeline shows has Madoka sneaking money into Homura's bag and chocolates into her locker, heavily patrolling the path between Homura apartment and school, and even climbing through the window into Homura's apartment when she thinks Homura may have been kidnapped. |
| 64 | ** Unsurprisingly, Homura thinks the same thing, thinking nothing of following Hitomi home to sneak her a phone so she can call Kyosuke while Hitomi [[YouAreGrounded is grounded]] for being kidnapped. |
| 65 | * In the ''Manga/DeathNote'' [[AlternateUniverseFic AU]] ''Fanfic/ThoseWhoStandForNothingFallForAnything'' L gets upset when Light ''stops'' blatantly stalking him. |
| 66 | * Explicitly rejected in ''Fanfic/WhatYouAlreadyKnow: Chimera''; when Sam Carter learns that Pete Shanahan was trying to dig into her real background even after she told him her job was classified, she calls the relationship off, stating that his actions demonstrate a lack of trust that she can’t accept. |
| 67 | [[/folder]] |
| 68 | |
| 69 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 70 | * ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'': |
| 71 | ** Peter's love interest Gwen Stacy doesn't have much of a problem with finding out she graces the background of his computer, or him attending a tour of hers that he clearly didn't sign up for[[note]]he didn't sign up for the tour for her sake[[/note]], or him repeatedly visiting her room via the window rather than by the door[[note]]he explains it as being scared of the doorman the first time and by the second she knows he's Spidey[[/note]]. May be lampshaded by showing she owns several ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' books. |
| 72 | ** Even more so in the sequel ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', where Peter takes to watching Gwen from rooftops after they break up. We get this exchange: |
| 73 | --->'''Gwen:''' Have you been following me?\ |
| 74 | '''Gwen:''' How often?\ |
| 75 | '''Peter:''' Just once a day. Sometimes... Sometimes more. |
| 76 | * We're introduced to Ricky in ''Film/AmericanBeauty'' when he's following Jane around with a video camera, filming her. Funnily enough, she asks him to stop filming her and he puts the camera away, saying okay. |
| 77 | * ''Film/TheBoyInThePlasticBubble''. The title character watches his crush a lot. |
| 78 | * In ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' the titular count stalking Mina through London is put under a sympathetic light instead of being creepy like it would be in any other context, since she’s the reincarnation of his dead wife. Though even Mina herself is clearly bothered by it and [[UnfortunateImplications only relents]] to his presence when Dracula hypnotises her. |
| 79 | * The 2004 film ''Film/{{Closer}}'': |
| 80 | -->'''Anna:''' Because you stalk me outside my studio.\ |
| 81 | '''Dan:''' I don't stalk, I lurk, and when I'm not there you look for me.\ |
| 82 | '''Anna:''' How would you know I look for you if you're not there?\ |
| 83 | '''Dan:''' Because I ''am'' there, lurking from a distance. |
| 84 | * Notorious Music/VanillaIce star vehicle, ''Film/CoolAsIce'' sees BadassBiker Johnny Van Owen playing this trope jaw-droppingly straight. He obsessively pursues Kathy, whom he knocked off a ''horse'' in their first meeting, and yet she's somehow charmed by him and his early 90s witticisms, at the expense of her current jock boyfriend. The most infamous moment is when Johnny sneaks into Kathy's house early in the morning, lays down right next to her(!), and wakes her up with [[ActorAllusion an ice cube.]] |
| 85 | * Strongly represented in ''Film/CrazyStupidLove'' in the storyline of the son. Even to the point where the object of his desire is sending him messages to stop because he's making her uncomfortable. It's still presented as romantic, though. |
| 86 | * In ''Film/{{Disturbia}}'', Kale watches Ashley from his bedroom, though rarely for things like undressing. He later tells her about all the little personal quirks and hobbies he knows about her from his spying, to prove that he understands her. They kiss right after this. Granted she does tell him that it's either "the creepiest or the most romantic thing [she] ever heard". |
| 87 | * The protagonist of ''Film/{{Diva}}'' stalks an opera star, then finally meets her... and she sleeps with him. |
| 88 | * ''Film/{{Flipped}}'': In the beginning, as Juli instantly falls in love with his new neighbor, Bryce, follows him almost everywhere he goes. Particularly, everytime they go to school, much to Bryce's annoyance. |
| 89 | * ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'': |
| 90 | ** Ripcord's amorous designs on Scarlett tend to come off as stalking, despite most likely being meant to be charmingly goofy. |
| 91 | ** Destro has this sort of relationship with the Baroness. Unlike traditional versions of the romance where it's entirely consensual, he seems ''very'' interested in the current one despite her showing only marginal interest in return. [[spoiler:He even has her husband killed for touching her.]] However, he also knows [[spoiler:she's mind-controlled]]. |
| 92 | * ''Film/TheGraduate'': Ben watches Elaine leave for Berkeley behind the bushes, then goes to Berkley to be near her, then chases a bus to bug her as she's on her way to a date with another guy, even though this entire time she kind of hates him. Eventually he succeeds in convincing her to like him again, and they ultimately flee together. Though it's suggested at the end that neither of their feelings may be as deep as they'd hoped. |
| 93 | * In ''Film/TheHairyBird'', Snake pursues Tinka even though she isn’t interested, going as far as to proclaim his love for her outside her window and showing up at her school claiming to be her dad. |
| 94 | * ''Film/{{Hannibal}}'' turns the title character into a StalkerWithACrush for Clarice Starling. While in ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs, he simply seems to enjoy being creepy for creepiness' sake, the sequel turns it into a kind of weird romantic love for Clarice Starling, with him sneaking into her house and watching her sleep (while touching her face and hair). In a deleted scene, he breaks into her car and licks the steering wheel to get the taste of her. Not to mention the part where she's talking to him on a cell phone trying to find him, and it turns out he was behind her touching her hair. The weird thing is that it's actually meant to be romantic. |
| 95 | * ''Film/TheHeartbreakKid1972'': Kelly ends up marrying Lenny after his stalking campaign, though whether she really loves him is open to question. While he does believe that he loves her, he soon comes to regret it...after marrying her. |
| 96 | * In ''Film/IndecentProposal'', Gage's behavior towards Diana following their one-night stand, something that was ''contractually agreed on'' to be one night and nothing more. He shows up at both of her workplaces (she's a realtor who teaches ESL part-time) uninvited and unannounced and otherwise manipulates situations in order to bring her close to him, essentially forcing her into a relationship. At one point, incensed at his conduct, she shows up at ''his'' office to tell him off, and here the DoubleStandard kicks in full force -- whereas his behavior was portrayed as adorable and playful even though she clearly found it upsetting, hers is made out to be alarming and disruptive even though she has every right to be angry with him. But sure enough, she gradually softens towards him and they end up together for a good portion of the movie. |
| 97 | * ''Film/JasonsLyric'': Jason follows [[LoveInterests Lyric]] from the restaurant where she works at to her home, because he's determined to get to know more about her. |
| 98 | * In ''Film/KissingJessicaStein'', Jessica ends up with Josh who quite obsessively went through her personal files (including letters) at work. Apparently, because he was motivated by jealousy from their past relationship, this is fine. |
| 99 | * Gary, the eponymous character in ''Film/TheLastAmericanVirgin'' stalks Karen by leering at her at the ice cream parlor, by letting the air out of her bike's tires so he can give her a ride to school, following her around and watching her have sex with Rick. |
| 100 | * The 1992 French movie ''L'Amant'' (''Film/TheLover'', adapted from the eponymous novel by Marguerite Duras). The protagonist, a fifteen year-old French schoolgirl, is given a lift (with heavy UnresolvedSexualTension) to her school by a wealthy Chinese man who fell in LoveAtFirstSight with her. The next days she's surprised to see his limousine parked outside the school, so she walks up to the car and sensuously presses her lips to the window where he's sitting in the back seat. Later when his family forces him to break off the scandalous affair, she turns up at his ArrangedMarriage, and he turns up one last time in his limousine at the docks to watch her departing on the ship to France. In this case the trope has a lot to do with the fact that neither party is willing to admit any romantic attraction in an affair that violates every social norm of their society. |
| 101 | * A blatant example in ''Film/MajorLeague'', Jake stalks his crush several times after Willy's character says to follow her home (Since he didn't know where she lived) and she seems to take this all with just a shrug of her shoulders despite telling him it's over several times. They end up together at the end of the film. |
| 102 | * The RomanticComedy ''Film/{{Management}}'' was completely undermined by the fact that Creator/SteveZahn and Creator/JenniferAniston's otherwise sweetly quirky relationship consisted of him stalking her across the country. |
| 103 | * Trinity in ''Film/TheMatrix'' likes to watch Neo as he sleeps. This is complicated by the fact that she'd been given a prophecy by the Oracle that she'd fall in love with the One. |
| 104 | * In ''Film/{{P2}}'', Thomas expects Angela to be attracted to him even after he kidnaps her, chases her through the parking lot, kills two of her coworkers, locks her in the trunk of a car, and sics his dog on her. |
| 105 | * In the film version of ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', it's [[http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2010/08/081110scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world_rev.html noted]] in one review: |
| 106 | --> Scott falls in love with roller-skating, punk-haired Ramona Flowers at first sight, across a public space. He stalks her in a way that’s apparently meant to be adorable... To be fair, it's lampshaded right off the bat ([[FunWithSubtitles "And then... he stalked her..."]]) and played for laughs. She agrees to go out with him the next time they speak and is never really aware of his previous stalking, but neither does she seem to like him any more than "meh, he's a nice guy." |
| 107 | ** From what is shown of her various exes, she also has a tendency to date psychotic people. This includes Gideon, who creates The League of Evil Exes to keep her from dating anyone else and return to him, [[spoiler:brainwashes her into being with him again, and hits and shove her down some steps in [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a decidedly non-comedic way]]]]. Compared to that, a guy who shyly follows her around at a party would be normal. |
| 108 | * In ''Film/SmoshTheMovie'', Ian seems to think that he's "seeing" Butt-Massage Girl because he leaves creepy comments on her videos, seeing him flagging all of his comments as "playing hard to get." [[spoiler:Subverted when it's revealed that Ian was correct and she actually does like him.]] |
| 109 | * In ''Film/SupermanReturns'' the Man of Steel spends some spying on Lois at her house after finding out she's married now. |
| 110 | * Played for laughs in ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary'', in which the title character has ''several'' men who are stalking her and plotting to win her love. It's actually portrayed as creepy, especially from the supporting "suitors", but even main character Ted realizes what he's been doing is not OK and has an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy moment and is willing to walk away. |
| 111 | * In ''Film/UntamedHeart'', Adam and Caroline's relationship really begins because he rescues her from attackers while stalking her. He also enters her room while she's sleeping which he somehow pulls off without her calling the police. |
| 112 | * ''Film/WishUpon'': Paul, under the influence of the wish box, falls madly in love with Claire. So madly that he starts breaking into her house and taking photos of her while she sleeps. |
| 113 | * In ''Film/WrittenOnTheWind'', Lucy eventually falls in love with Kyle and marries him despite initially trying to get away from him several times. |
| 114 | * In ''Film/YouthInRevolt'', [[spoiler: Trent]] eventually comes to believe this. |
| 115 | [[/folder]] |
| 116 | |
| 117 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 118 | * The plot of one book in ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' series featured the girls fearing the actions of a prank caller/prowler roaming the neighborhood. One night when two of the girls are sitting together, they're frightened by mysterious phone calls and noises outside. When one of the girls actually sees someone running away from the house at one point, she gets fed up and calls the police, who bring in one of her classmates. When she and the cops demand to know why he's been harassing her, he shyly admits that he was trying to work up the nerve to ask her out--and she ''accepts''. This isn't PlayedForLaughs or made out to be adorable like so many other examples, this is flat-out creepy and scary behavior that still results in the guy getting the girl. |
| 119 | * Played all over the place in ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex''. Mikoto is being stalked by the grandson of her school's dean. While he's pretty attractive, she still finds him creepy and she can't just [[ShockAndAwe zap him]] because of his status, so she enlists Toma to pretend to be her boyfriend long enough to throw him off. This doesn't work--because he's actually a spy sent to keep an eye on Toma's growing list of powerful TrueCompanions, specifically Mikoto. Except that he really is in love with her, and volunteered for the mission so that they wouldn't send someone else, who wouldn't have a problem killing her if she got difficult (and "difficult" is a pretty good way of summarizing Mikoto). |
| 120 | * Spoofed in ''{{Literature/Durarara}}'' when Anri (jokingly) implies that she's been stalking Mikado. Upon hearing this, Mikado's brain starts zig-zagging the hell out of this trope (complete with Mikado's Inner Puppet Theater) like only a hormonal teenager can before Anri finally tells him she was kidding. |
| 121 | -->'''Mikado:''' Oh, crap! Is she a stalker? Wait. If she's cute it's okay, rig—''No'', this is ''bad''. It might go like... She might stab me! Or set my house on fire! And what if she takes my parents hostage?... But, maybe she has a nice personality. Then it would be okay, right?... Wait. If she did, ''she wouldn't be stalking me!'' |
| 122 | * This happens in the ''Twilight''-ripoff ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey''. The title character actually tracks Ana via her cellphone, which, in addition to being creepy, is kind of illegal. In the same book, Grey also stalks Ana Steele across state lines when she goes to visit her mother in Savannah, Georgia. Ana calls it stalking, too; she's just unable to grasp that stalking is a ''bad'' thing. |
| 123 | * ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'': |
| 124 | ** Sōsuke is assigned a mission in which he must follow Kaname around and protect her from terrorists, all the while not letting her know. Although his actions are ''way'' overboard by any normal standards and could easily be constructed as stalking, Kaname seems to view it with a mixture of curiosity, annoyance, attraction, and a bit of amusement. The reasons are probably a mix of the factors that Sōsuke's actions are ''extremely'' [[RefugeInAudacity outlandish even by stalking standards]], he appears to have [[ChasteHero as much grasp of romance and sexuality as her hamster]], and of course that he is [[BeautyEqualsGoodness extremely attractive]]. This disappears when she finds Sōsuke on her balcony [[NotWhatItLooksLike with a pair of her panties in his hand]] (which, in fact, were snatched back from Shinji, who was the one trying to steal it because some bullies put him up to it), at which point she attempts to beat him to death with a baseball bat and completely refuses to trust or talk to him until he explains the truth behind his actions. Once Kaname is in on the whole secret and can relate to Sōsuke better through an understanding of his background, it's the beginning of a friendship that develops into love. |
| 125 | ** Leonard, a PrettyBoy antagonist, seems to believe this trope justifies his pushy advances towards Kaname, but this is treated very differently from how Sōsuke acted. Sōsuke never had any ulterior motives besides protecting Kaname to begin with, and he spent a long time learning from Kaname how to behave properly in society and respect her feelings. That she started to fall in love with Sōsuke -- and he with her -- is because they truly value each other as people, whereas Leonard acts like he's [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled to have her]] as his conquest just because he's ostensibly more suave. He only succeeds in getting Kaname to hate his guts, especially since he [[spoiler:[[SacredFirstKiss stole her first kiss]], which she wished she had given to Sōsuke]]. |
| 126 | * ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': While he doesn't flat-out stalk her, Peeta Mellark admits to Katniss Everdeen during the 74th Hunger Games that he used to watch her walk home from school every day. |
| 127 | * In ''Literature/HushHush'', Patch constantly stalks Nora. Her being flustered and bothered by this is treated like a MeetCute, even though we later learn that [[spoiler:he initially was stalking her to learn how best to murder her]]. We also later learn that [[spoiler:he decided that he loved her during said stalking before they even met once]]. |
| 128 | * In the Literature/KateDaniels novel ''Magic Strikes'', Kate learns that Curran has been breaking into her apartment to watch her sleep (and eat her snacks). While she calls him a stalker to his face and threatens to call the cops on him, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent the shapeshifters]] consider this normal courtship behavior. |
| 129 | * ''Literature/November9'': In the fifth year, Ben stalks Fallon to a nightclub where her friend Glen told him they'd be after she doesn't show up at their restaurant (she'd made it clear the previous year that she wouldn't) and tries to seduce her. Surprisingly, it works and Fallon goes back to his house with him despite her being there with a different date. The following year, Ben ups his game by [[spoiler:violating the restraining order Fallon had put out on him to follow her to her house and leave a box with his manuscript on her doorstep; it's later confirmed he hid nearby and watched her take the box inside before leaving. Despite being initially creeped out, the incident eventually convinces Fallon that she and Ben are truly in love]]. |
| 130 | * In Creator/{{Ovid}}'s ''Literature/TheMetamorphoses'' (specifically the Daphne and Apollo chapter), Apollo tells Daphne that he chases her not as a foe, but from love (although ''she'' certainly didn't see it that way), making this trope at least OlderThanFeudalism. |
| 131 | * In the musical's sequel to ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', ''Theatre/LoveNeverDies'', [[spoiler:Christine realized long ago that she wasn't "looking with her heart" when she chose Raoul over the Phantom. So stalking and murder IS love in this version]]! It's especially sad considering that in the book Erik realizes that he's a sick, psychopathic, horrible stalker, but can't stop himself, eventually choosing [[spoiler:suicide]] as the solution. He may be TheWoobie, but the kind of Woobie who [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds doesn't mind killing hundreds of people to get the attention of his love interest. ]] |
| 132 | ** Fans of the Broadway Musical are also unaware (or at least don’t acknowledge) that in [[Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera the book]] while Christine does care for Erik and pity him, she’s [[AbhorrentAdmirer still horrified and disgusted]] by him and how he haunts her steps. In fact when faced with the prospect [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe of marrying Erik]] in the book Christine literally ''bangs her head against the walls trying to kill herself'', but she only succeeds in knocking herself out. The musical and other adaptations have made the relationship between Christine and the Phantom LostInTranslation, by glossing over the darker aspects and just how [[BreakTheCutie tormented Christine is by him]]. |
| 133 | ** Also in ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', Raoul's claim to Christine's love is that he's been obsessed with her since he met her when they were children, becomes jealous and possessive the moment he suspects she's seeing someone else (Note: that at this point he hasn't even spoken to her since they were teenagers). And then he waits in the darkness outside her dressing room so he can sneak inside and search for The Phantom. Christine does call him on this creepy behaviour and Raoul does eventually cool down by the end of the book. Christine also choose not to speak to him before since Erik was close by and murderously jealous of Raoul, so she was actually protecting him. |
| 134 | * ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': |
| 135 | ** In the second book of ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'', Alanna explicitly calls George's behavior "stalking" while he's doing his DoggedNiceGuy routine, and in the third he has a couple of his spies follow her into the desert (where she is trying to get ''away'' from this and other complications of Corus). Although Alanna is annoyed with these things at the time, she eventually marries him. Tamora Pierce has since acknowledged this as a major case of ValuesDissonance, as stalking was much less understood in the '80s, and even says it's the one thing about the franchise she'd like to go back and change. |
| 136 | ** ''Literature/TheImmortals'' has Numair stealing a lock of Daine's hair without permission while she's suffering from a debilitating illness, which she doesn't mind at all since she suddenly realizes she's in love with him. It was actually so he'd have a way to magically track her if she went missing, but given the fact that Pierce had previously given us George and Alanna, many fans cried UnfortunateImplications. There's also the whole thing about her being 16 and him 30, and a teacher and student - which was why he initially rejected her, pointing to the age gap and his [[ReallyGetsAround reputation]] (also, she was kind of concussed at the time). |
| 137 | * In ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'', Edward Cullen starts out by flat-out stalking Bella and watching her as she sleeps. Does she mind? No. Even as he tells her how dangerous he is, she finds him more and more attractive, eventually allowing him to entirely isolate her from her old life and friends (even granted that she wasn't particularly happy with them to begin with, her sheer passivity can still come across as disturbing). Edward even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this in the prequel ''Literature/MidnightSun2020'', becoming disgusted with himself when he sneaks into Bella's window to watch her sleep and berating himself as a creepy stalker who ''should not be doing this''. [[IgnoredEpiphany It doesn't stop him from going ahead and doing it anyway.]] [[ParanoiaFuel Repeatedly.]] When he does finally confess that he has been watching her sleep, she is actually ''flattered'' by it. |
| 138 | [[/folder]] |
| 139 | |
| 140 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 141 | * In ''Series/ThirtyRock'' this is played with. Jenna is upset after her creepy stalker loses interest in her -- not because she loved him but because his obsession inflated her ego. Their "break up" is played for DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything |
| 142 | -->'''Maynard:''' I don't think I can stalk you anymore.\ |
| 143 | '''Jenna:''' No! You don't mean that! |
| 144 | %%* On ''Series/AmericanIdol'', contestant Paul Marturano wrote [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py6Y9j6WGfU this song]] for Paula Abdul in which he sings about stalking her. |
| 145 | * ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''. Brandon's ex-girlfriend Emily stalks and harasses him after he breaks up with her--calling him repeatedly, following him, etc. When he finally gets fed up and blows up at her, she whines, "I can't help it, I love you." |
| 146 | * In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Angel is a {{Deconstruction}}. He sees and falls in love with Buffy when she is fifteen. He expresses this love by stalking her for a year before revealing himself. In one sense, his devotion is played straight: Buffy herself is flattered to have the intense affection and protection of this [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys Bad Boy]]. It is simultaneously denied: other characters, especially Buffy's male friends, think that his behavior is creepy and dangerous. They are justifiably suspicious of Buffy's vampire boyfriend and it takes Angel time to earn their trust. |
| 147 | ** In self-aware moments, Angel himself seems to understand that this behavior is unhealthy. He seems aware that stalking is not good, but it is better than what he was doing before. The series never {{justifie|dTrope}}s it, only asks latitude for the TorturedMonster Angel is. |
| 148 | ** On the other hand, his SuperpoweredEvilSide also stalks Buffy. In this case it is completely predatory and abusive. The feigned affection is merely TermsOfEndangerment to get under her skin. |
| 149 | ** Arguably {{deconstructed|Trope}} ''further'' by [[spoiler: Spike in season 5]]. After falling in love with Buffy, as he's soulless and thus [[AlwaysChaoticEvil chaotic evil by nature]], he begins exhibiting exaggerated stalking tendencies. This culminates in a twisted attempt at a GrandRomanticGesture where he tries to "prove" his love by [[spoiler: kidnapping Buffy so she can watch him stake Drusilla, his ex-girlfriend and sire]]. Justifiably, Buffy rejects him and is disgusted by the depth of his obsession, revoking his invitation into her home. It's not until a few episodes later, when he [[spoiler: endures nearly being beaten to death by a god in order to protect her and her sister's safety]] that he proves a meaningful interest in her, and his feelings are granted a some acknowledgement. For the rest of the season, he drops the stalking all together in favour of CourtlyLove, and is treated far more kindly by Buffy in return. |
| 150 | * Creator/StephenColbert's character on ''Series/TheColbertReport'' thinks this way about his [[KissingCousins cousin]] Charlene, as best exhibited in his song on the subject: ''I'm right behind you now, Charlene, waiting, watching, oh so close...'' |
| 151 | * Usually averted in ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'', which is a whole series deconstruction of RomanticComedy tropes, but played straight in season two when [[spoiler:Josh realises that Rebecca has always been there for him and falls for her]], despite all the creepy stuff she's done towards him. However, it's implied that he was just desperate to find a rebound relationship as he hates being single, and while they seem happy together at first, by the end of the season he has some ''very'' cold feet. |
| 152 | * In ''Series/CriminalMinds'', "Crazy" Jane was nearly a murder victim of Frank Breitkopf, a sexual sadist and murderous sociopath. She gave him a compliment on his [[WhatBeautifulEyes eyes]] and this caught him by surprise. He failed to properly torture and kill her like he had done before and let her go. Since then, he had been dropping by her house and let her gifts... made from the bones of his previous victims. Neither this nor the reason revealed behind his visits to her home town are enough to frighten her. In fact, when she saw him again, she ran ''towards'' him instead of away. |
| 153 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 154 | ** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink Blink]]": Kathy gets sent back to 1920 by one of the Weeping Angels. Ben is the first person she meets; they later get married. Ben does have an interest in being curious and concerned about Kathy since she's clearly not from around the area and is quite distressed. |
| 155 | --->'''Kathy:''' Are you following me?\ |
| 156 | '''Ben:''' Yeah.\ |
| 157 | '''Kathy:''' Are you going to stop following me?\ |
| 158 | '''Ben:''' No, I don't think so. |
| 159 | ** Played for laughs with a one-shot WWII-era couple in [[Recap/DoctorWho2011CSTheDoctorTheWidowAndTheWardrobe "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"]]. |
| 160 | --->'''The Doctor:''' How did you meet? You and Reg, tell me how you met.\ |
| 161 | '''Madge Arwell:''' He followed me home. I worked in the dairy, he always used to follow me home. He said he'd keep on following me until I married him! I didn't like to make a scene. |
| 162 | ** Zigzagged in [[Recap/DoctorWho2022NYSEveOfTheDaleks "Eve of the Daleks"]]. When Nick admits that he's had a crush on Sarah for the past couple of years which is why he's her only customer on New Year's Eve, she's freaked out and describes him as [[BuffySpeak "stalkery"]] whereas Nick prefers to think of himself as "unrequited or shy". They do end up together, but that's because his willingness to sacrifice his life for her makes Sarah realise he's a decent person. |
| 163 | * ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' is a complex example. |
| 164 | ** In the first season, Paul serves as a {{deconstruct|edTrope}}ion of TheDulcineaEffect, so while he ''is'' trying to save Echo, his actions come across as obsessive and weird at times, especially as he ignored a (seemingly) healthier romantic partner in Mellie. Eventually, Paul and Echo get together. |
| 165 | ** Alpha gets a bit of this, too, with a lot less subtlety. He's AxCrazy and obsessed with Echo, but in [[GrandFinale The Finale]] he's apparently reformed, and it's hinted he still loves her (though he [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy would rather see her happy with Paul]]). So he apparently ''did'' really love her, despite his earlier psychotic actions. |
| 166 | * ''Series/FamilyMatters''. Urkel's behavior towards Laura, even though it's played for laughs and seen as annoying even at its worst. Though a handful of incidents--his locker combination being equivalent to her measurements, him asking for a lock of her hair--leave her genuinely creeped out, by the end of the series, they're together. The DoubleStandard comes into play here also--his behavior is considered romantic and endearing, but Myra and Myrtle' s identical behavior towards him and Eddie, respectively, is portrayed as the craziness it truly is. |
| 167 | %%* Ross on ''Series/{{Friends}}'' ''obsesses'' over Rachel in seasons one and two. |
| 168 | * Chuck Bass does a lot of stalking of Blair on ''Series/GossipGirl''. Though sometimes he leaves it up to his [[PrivateInvestigator PIs]] to do the actual legwork. |
| 169 | -->"There's a fine line between surveillance and stalking."\ |
| 170 | "Yeah, getting caught." |
| 171 | ** [[spoiler:Dan ends up being Gossip Girl, running an intel scam that would make the [[Franchise/MassEffect Shadow Broker]] proud, all because he had the hots for Serena.]] |
| 172 | %%* Jake upon his first(?) appearance on ''Series/HannahMontana''. |
| 173 | * ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': West, toward Claire. He flew around outside her window (gee, can't imagine why). She is at first irritated but accepts him a little too easily. Then again, Claire has a ''lot'' of issues. And whether this is stalking in the romantic sense is debatable since he seemed to be doing this to find out if she has powers, not in order to see her naked. |
| 174 | * Season 8 episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' "PS: I Love You" explores this and StalkerWithACrush, and basically says the difference between being a stalker and being romantic is whether the stalkee is interested in the stalker. |
| 175 | * Deconstructed on an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. When the detectives interview the business partner of a man they suspect of raping and murdering an assistant DA, she mentions that the man had sent her flowers the day after they met, presumably to entice her into going into business with him. Rather than seeing it as a sweet gesture, she admits that the fact that [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive he knew her address]] scared the hell out of her. |
| 176 | * In ''Series/{{Oz}}'', Ryan O'Reily gets his brother to [[MurderTheHypotenuse murder Dr. Nathan's husband]], forces kisses on her, kills her rapist to avenge her, and out-and-out stalks her. At first, Gloria isn't happy when she learns that Ryan [[YouKilledMyFather had her husband killed]], and initially suspects that O'Reily was the one who arranged for her to get raped after she rejected him. But after she learns Ryan had nothing to do with her rape and killed the guy who did attack her, her opinion of him starts to change. So it ''works'' (eventually), and she ends up falling in love with him. Though the show lampshades this as not being a very healthy relationship. |
| 177 | * Mark from ''Series/PeepShow'' goes to great lengths to win Sophie's heart during the first two seasons of the show. This includes hacking her personal email to keep tabs on their relationship, following her on dates and rushing up to the bus she's on to "bump into her". He eventually ends up marrying her, but they immediately file for divorce. He continues this type of behavior with Dobbie, even after she leaves him. |
| 178 | * In ''Series/PushingDaisies'' Ned impersonates someone from a temp agency so he can get a job at the same place as his girlfriend Chuck. She says it's sweet. [[OnlySaneMan Emerson]], watching them says "He's stalking you." |
| 179 | * Displayed in the recurring ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit "The Denise Show", in which a teenage boy obsesses over his ex-girlfriend and contrives ways to get her back. Despite the comedy setting, it's made clear that his behavior is wrong--his father yells at him about it, Denise herself repeatedly tells him to leave her alone, and another girlfriend dumps him because he can't get over her. By the final skit, he mentions that a restraining order has been filed against him. |
| 180 | %%* Parodied in [[http://snltranscripts.jt.org/04/04qfunhouse.phtml this]] ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch. Also, [[http://www.hulu.com/watch/40972/saturday-night-live-don-drapers-guide#s-p5-sr-i0 this]] spoof of ''Series/MadMen''. |
| 181 | * ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': Elaine briefly dates an NBC executive. He becomes obsessed with her and refuses to take "No, I'm not interested in a relationship with you." for an answer and spends several episodes harassing her with constant phone calls. It gets bad enough that she won't even come to the taping of Jerry's show because she doesn't want to run into the guy. |
| 182 | * ''Series/SexAndTheCity'': Big's behavior towards Carrie after he's married someone else--constantly calling her, lurking outside her apartment waiting for her to come home, then continuing to lurk waiting for her boyfriend to leave, showing up uninvited and unannounced and only leaving when she tells him her boyfriend is coming back, following her to the hotel where she's staying, following her into the elevator and grabbing and kissing her repeatedly, telling her, "I love you". Throughout all this, she repeatedly and explicitly tells him to leave her alone and during the kissing scene, repeatedly pushes him away and tells him "Fuck you" (in other words, '''''"No"'''''), before finally responding to his kisses. The next shot is of them in bed. The DoubleStandard is glaring--throughout their on-again, off-again relationship, any pursuing behavior of Carrie's was viewed as pitiful and worthy of ridicule and ended with her being dumped, whereas Big's harassment and essentially forcing himself on her is portrayed as sexy and romantic and results in him getting her back. |
| 183 | ** To a lesser extent with Steve and Miranda. From the moment their one-night stand is over, she makes it clear that this is all she wants. He responds by constantly calling her, showing up at her place—at one point, threatening to make a scene if she doesn't let him in—and overall, repeatedly ignoring her numerous requests that he leave her alone. This is never made out to be bad, despite Miranda's obvious annoyance with his persistence, just a case of the "Wild" guy trying to win over the "Uptight" woman and get her to let her defenses down. |
| 184 | * Averted in ''Series/StargateSG1'', where the {{ascend|ToAHigherPlaneOfExistence}}ed [[{{Precursors}} Ancient]] Orlin falls in love with Samantha Carter on another planet and follows her home. Carter explicitly tells him he's stalking her and that what they have is not a "relationship". She eventually warms up to him (after he accepts her criticism and backs off) but never falls in love with him in return. |
| 185 | * ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'': |
| 186 | ** Used with a twist regarding Stefan. He stalked Elena for a while after he [[spoiler: saved her from the car crash that killed her parents]], but this was for the quite sensible reason of wanting to find out if she was really his psychotic presumed-dead ex Katherine, and why exactly the two looked so similar. He didn't find out why, but was satisfied that Elena was a very different person, and realising he was starting to fall for her decided to stop the stalking and meet her properly. |
| 187 | ** Elena's younger brother Jeremy is seemingly stalked by Anna, as they constantly bump into each other. Jeremy jokes about this ("Well, I kinda miss my daily dose of cute stalker chick.") but ultimately seems charmed by it. It later turns out that Anna was only using Jeremy to save her mother, but later ends up BecomingTheMask. |
| 188 | * ''Series/{{Wings}}''. Joe follows Helen to New York to stop her from accepting his proposal by proposing to her himself--breaking his promise to leave her alone and respect her plans to marry the other guy. He corners her in an elevator and refuses to accept her insistence that she doesn't love him and that a relationship between them won't work out, until indeed, she reciprocates his love and agrees to marry him. |
| 189 | * {{Justified|Trope}} in the second season of ''Series/You2018''. Joe, the stalking, murderous, panty-sniffing VillainProtagonist eventually has his stalker-tendencies revealed to his {{Love Interest|s}} Love... [[spoiler:who turns out to be totally into that. However, it ''also'' turns out that not only has she known about his true nature for quite a while, but she manipulated their relationship in similar ways and even has a few murders under her belt as well. As it turns out, only a fellow stalker would find stalking romantic. Joe, however, is [[{{Hypocrite}} appalled by this revelation]].]] |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 193 | %%* The Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep". |
| 194 | * "Stalker" by Goldfinger. Essentially, it's a guy that is being stalked by a woman he knows is totally insane (although nonviolent), but he falls in love with her anyway. In the last verse, she sends him a letter, saying that she's been arrested and sent to prison for going through his mail, and he's ''flattered'' that she says she'll keep tabs on him. It's PlayedForLaughs, though, and isn't ''half'' as creepy as some of the other examples on this list. |
| 195 | * The music video for "Obsessed With You" by The Orion Experience plays this trope for laughs. The entire band constantly follows a girl around, the lead singers even get into bed with her. She eventually kicks them out, but gets lonely and invites them back in, happily singing along at the end of the video. |
| 196 | %%* Clay Aiken's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnRgbS4N1Vk Invisible]]". ("If I was invisible/Then I could just watch you in your room...") |
| 197 | %%* Music/{{Nickelback}}'s "Follow You Home" comes across this way. ("You can slap me in the face and you can scream profanity/ Leave me here to die alone, but I'll still follow you home ...") |
| 198 | %%* The video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j_sblntjyA ''Technology'']]. |
| 199 | * "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2smz_1L2_0 Paparazzi]]" by Music/LadyGaga. ("ImYourBiggestFan/I'll follow you until you love me ...") |
| 200 | %%* The Vogues' '60s hit "Turn Around, Look at Me". |
| 201 | * The music video for Music/MichaelJackson's "Music/TheWayYouMakeMeFeel" features Jackson following some random woman around a city block, singing about how much he loves her, and performing lewd dance moves. Rather than being annoyed or creeped out by this behavior, the woman in question is amused and the video ends with them embracing. |
| 202 | %%* "Right Behind Caroline" by Canadian indie pop singer Dan Bryk. |
| 203 | %%* The lyrics might be about an on-again-off-again relationship, but the music video for Music/MarianasTrench's "Cross My Heart" has the lead singer following directly behind a girl as he sings and even ''forming a parade'' of some kind, leading up to her doorstep [[ObliviousToLove before she even notices]]. |
| 204 | %%* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THRtKGX-czY An Unhealthy Obsession]]" by The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra is implied to be about two people stalking each other. They don't realize the other is stalking them but they have mutual feelings. |
| 205 | * Parodied and mercilessly lampooned in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's ''Do I Creep You Out'', in which the singer describes all the creepy things he's done in the name of "love", like digging the girl's gum out of the garbage can and carving her name into his leg with a knife. He gets arrested and sent to prison. |
| 206 | * And for many people, the realisation that ''Every Breath You Take'' by Music/ThePolice is ''not'' a conventional love song, but rather a declaration of intent by a stalker, came like the proverbial bucket of cold water in the face... |
| 207 | -->Every breath you take, every move you make.... I'll be watching you... |
| 208 | [[/folder]] |
| 209 | |
| 210 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 211 | * In [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], Brittany stalked Samuel Shaw, who had repeatedly said he was not interested in her. She persisted though and eventually, he did fall in love with her.[[/folder]] |
| 212 | |
| 213 | [[folder:Puppet Shows]] |
| 214 | * Used in-universe in ''Series/{{Mongrels}}'' episode "Nelson and the Human". While Neil's pursuit of a woman is clearly obsessive stalking, Nelson sees it as romantic and tries to come up with a scheme to get the two lovebirds together. In the end [[spoiler: Neil shoots the woman and her boyfriend, then himself]]. |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 218 | * In ''Theatre/MyFairLady'', Freddy sends Eliza love letters every day and spends all his spare time hanging around in the street outside her house -- at one point, she finds him out there at three in the morning. It's played for laughs, and Freddy is characterized as so ineffectual that he could never actually ''do'' anything, for good or ill. Eliza isn't especially impressed by his behavior, but she also isn't put off by it and seriously considers him as a possible marriage candidate. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 222 | * In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', Elanee reveals that she was assigned by the druid circle of Merdelain to watch over your character, from birth (the story timeline was designed assuming a human character). Depending on your character's reaction, a male character can either play this trope straight or play it more realistically. In a variation, this seems to be a case of her falling in love with you ''while'' stalking, not stalking ''because'' of love. |
| 223 | * In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', the artificially intelligent computer, TEC-XX, expresses to [[DamselInDistress Princess Peach]] (at the time, TEC's master's captive) that he has been overcome by strange feelings that compel him to continuously observe and eavesdrop on Peach. Peach's logical conclusion is that TEC is in love. Let's not forget that TEC first experienced these "strange feelings" when he ''observed her taking a shower''. |
| 224 | [[/folder]] |
| 225 | |
| 226 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 227 | * ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'' has a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent strain of vampire]], known as "Chronic Tragic Gothic Romanticism"-type, who ''all'' believe in this trope InUniverse and take to the knowledge that Vampirism does NOT make stalking attractive as though it's an AwfulTruth. The trope itself, incidentally, is ''not'' in force for any of them: Most people find vampires ''incredibly'' annoying to deal with as a result. |
| 228 | [[/folder]] |
| 229 | |
| 230 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 231 | * The ''Everything Wrong With'' series on WebVideo/CinemaSins has, among its many repeated jokes, that 'this movie suggests that stalking is an easy way to get girls to love you when I can personally vouch that this isn't true in real life'. |
| 232 | * Liu Bei believes this in ''Fanfic/FarceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' when he's trying to recruit Zhuge Liang. It actually works. |
| 233 | [[/folder]] |
| 234 | |
| 235 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 236 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', [[HospitalHottie Jane Foster]] doesn't seem to mind Thor following her around (although being from another time period and universe, [[ValuesDissonance Thor may not realize]] the {{Unfortunate Implications}} of doing so). |
| 237 | * [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''. Timmy casually references that AlphaBitch Trixie has a restraining order against him but Timmy’s own [[AbhorrentAdmirer disliked]] [[StalkerWithACrush stalker]] Tootie is someone he considers creepy and Timmy has filed a restraining order against her. However, many episodes have Timmy come to the conclusion that Tootie is genuinely in love with him. |
| 238 | * Marinette of ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' is utterly obsessed with her friend Adrien, though it's mostly PlayedForLaughs. Her entire bedroom doubles as a StalkerShrine, and she has a wall-sized copy of his schedule so she always knows where he is. In one episode, she gets jealous that he didn't come to a tree planting session with their friends, so she breaks into his house to see what he's doing. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Every character who knows about this obsession]], from her best friend Alya to a random fireman, encourages it and views it as sweet and quirky. For his part, Adrien is mostly unaware of the depths of her affection and doesn't return it, but when he does get a glimpse, he shrugs it off. It helps that nearly ''every'' teen girl in Paris is likewise obsessed with Adrien (he's a famous model), and Marinette at least treats him like a friend rather than an idol. It's less that the stalking is treated as romantic, and more like it's treated as a harmless comedic quirk, but it makes some viewers uncomfortable all the same. |
| 239 | * Played with in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama World Tour'' -- Cody does ''not'' appreciate [[StalkerWithACrush Sierra's]] torturous obsession with him for most of the season, but is generally touched when she remembers his birthday when [[ForgottenBirthday not even]] ''[[ForgottenBirthday he]]'' [[ForgottenBirthday did]]. Finally having him return her affection seems to prompt her to tone herself down. Somewhat, at least. Funny, he had no problem with stalking Gwen. Then, [[NoGuyWantsToBeChased when the roles get reversed, he's a bad guy]]...although to be fair, he left Gwen alone once he knew she was interested in someone else and only went after her again once she was unattached. |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 243 | * Wal-Mart once sold a men's shirt with "Some call it stalking, I call it 'love'" printed on it. In a red font. That looked like dripping blood. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Cute]]. |
| 244 | * Gavin [=DeBecker=]'s book ''Literature/{{The Gift of Fear}}'' discusses this trope at length, with many examples of how the media not only often portrays stalking in a romantic or humourous light, but the DoubleStandard that usually comes with it--when a man acts like this, it's romantic and he gets the girl he's been chasing. When a woman does, it's pathetic at best and dangerous at worst and she is always appropriately punished, whether it be being dumped, humiliated, or even killed. |
| 245 | * An [[http://madamenoire.com/611984/perception-of-stalking/ article]] on a [[http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2016/02/a-new-study-confirms-dont-list study]] by a University of Michigan doctoral student shows that romantic movies and TV shows can indeed distort how the public views stalking. |
| 246 | * Erotomania is a form of this, as discussed in the book ''Literature/{{I Know You Really Love Me}}''. Typically the affected person believes that a secret admirer, usually a stranger, high-status individual, or celebrity, is sending secret signals of affection through significant glances or telepathy. The patient then returns this perceived affection with a flood of gifts and notes, believing that any denial of the relationship is a ploy to conceal their forbidden love from the rest of the world. |
| 247 | [[/folder]] |
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