History Main / GiveGeeksAChance

* In ''Manga/BambooBlade'', the character [[{{Yandere}} Miyako]] [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Miyazaki]] dates and is VERY in love with [[UglyCute Dan-kun]]. He has a head like an acorn, she sparkles.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'': [[spoiler:[[ButtMonkey Johnny Sasaki]] and Meryl got married at the end. Although this was a subversion, as Johnny revealed himself to be BeautifulAllAlong and his [[ToiletHumor bouts of diarrhea]] immediately stopped. So most of his geeky qualities were dropped once Johnny unmasked.]] [[spoiler:Otacon on the other hand averted this trope, due to the [[OverlyLongGag tradition]] that [[CartwrightCurse every girl he dated would eventually]] [[StuffedInTheFridge die once per episode]]. Alas, poor Otacon, he could [[DidNotGetTheGirl never get a girl alive]].]]

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'': Can be invoked by the player, if they choose to have Max romance Warren who's established as an honors student at Blackwell Academy with a 4.0 GPA, which makes him its smartest student. He's also the school's resident sci-fi movie guru. In her journal, Max admits that she isn't sure whether sees Warren as just a friend, a geeky kid brother, or something more. But she'll decide to give him a chance if you accept his movie invitation during episode 2 and follow up [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XkSmyBx4_s by writing on him dorm slate]] in episode 4.
-->'''Max''': ''(thinking)'' "I can have a little fun with Warren for a change. ''He's'' the one who wants to "Go Ape!" and sometimes... [[WillTheyOrWontThey you have to take a chance and see what happens."]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'': [[spoiler:[[ButtMonkey Johnny Sasaki]] and Meryl got married at the end. Although this was a subversion, as Johnny revealed himself to be BeautifulAllAlong and his [[ToiletHumor bouts of diarrhea]] immediately stopped. So most of his geeky qualities were dropped once Johnny unmasked.]] [[spoiler:Otacon on the other hand averted this trope, the [[OverlyLongGag tradition]] of [[CartwrightCurse every girl he dated would eventually]] [[StuffedInTheFridge die once per episode]]. Alas, poor Otacon, he could [[DidNotGetTheGirl never get a girl alive]].]]

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan''

* Played straight with Hiccup in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. He's smitten with Astrid first thing, but she is largely indifferent to him until she finds out his mind-blowingly cool secret and, more importantly, how brave and principled a warrior he actually is. Unlike most examples of this trope, however, Hiccup is far from bad looking.

* The ShipTease of Po and Tigress in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': the roly-poly overenthusiastic AscendedFanboy and the AmazonianBeauty [[ActionGirl action]] CatGirl. He may be geeky, but he proves in both films that he can succeed where she fails. In the first film, it's by being his own wacky, clumsy self. In [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2 the second]], he masters a highly-advanced technique in a matter of days or weeks, a feat that took Master Shifu many years.

* ''Literature/AllAmericanGirl'': Downplayed at the end of the first book. Lucy, her fellow cheerleaders, and Kris all start dating smarter and geekier boys due to how Samantha dating the studious and artistic David has made it seem cooler. However, as Kris shows in the sequel, this doesn't automatically make all of the girls shed any previous bad attitudes. Lucy also breaks up with her now boyfriend pretty quickly, although she later goes on to date the equally studious Harold in the sequel (where the trope is actually inverted because she develops a crush on him first).

** This is the entire point of ''Fanfic/ACodetteWorldTour'' - to develop a romance between the scrawny, tech-savvy Cody and the beautiful GranolaGirl surfer Bridgette. However, getting to that point is easier said than done when Bridgette believes [[BitchInSheepsClothing Alejandro]] to be the man of her dreams...

** This is the entire point of ''Fanfic/ACodetteWorldTour'' - to develop a romance between the scrawny, tech-savvy ExtravertedNerd Cody and the beautiful GranolaGirl surfer Bridgette. However, getting to that point is easier said than done when Bridgette believes [[BitchInSheepsClothing Alejandro]] to be the man of her dreams...

** In ''Island'', the gangly ExtravertedNerd Harold develops an on-and-off relationship with the {{Sassy Black|Woman}} BigBeautifulWoman Leshawna after she discovers him to be her secret admirer.

Compare SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl and NerdNanny. See NerdsAreSexy, EndearinglyDorky and GeekyTurnOn for when the attraction isn't despite nerdiness, but ''because'' of it. Contrasts with AllGirlsWantBadBoys. Often overlaps with JustFriends.

* This is the basic premise of ''Manga/ICantUnderstandWhatMyHusbandIsSaying'', where an ordinary woman is HappilyMarried to a hardcore otaku (as happily married as you can be when, 9 times out out of 10, she has no idea [[SpeaksInShoutOuts what he's talking about]]).
* The beginning of ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' [[ExploitedTrope plays out like this]], with nerdy and shy Ken Kaneki smitten with a beautiful and mysterious woman that frequents the same cafe. His best friend advises him to give up, because she's completely out of his league and a book-store date is a ''terrible'' idea. But Kaneki manages to work up the courage, and scores a date with the beautiful Rize Kamishiro. The two have a fantastic time and he walks her home, before mustering the courage to ask her on a second date. Rize admits that she's interested in him as well ...as a meal, that is. Turns out, Rize is a [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghoul]] and she likes to eat her dates.

--> ''[[Music/WeirdAlYankovic And to his great surprise/It seems she prefers guys/Who can kiss upside-down in the rain.]]''

* ''Comicbook/SpiderGirl'' has a GenderFlip, though not with the main character--the real reason why [[JerkJock Moose]] keeps clashing with the title character's nerdy friend, [[AsianAndNerdy Jimmy]]? He sees Jimmy as competition for their other nerdy friend, Courtney, whom he has a crush on. PlayedStraight when Jimmy hooks up with Heather, though.

** Creator/TheKoboldNecromancer also features this trope in his work, although not quite to the same extent. In particular, he LOVES shipping Harold with Bridgette; if the two aren't an actual couple (or in the process of becoming one) in one of his stories, then chance are they will be part of a major OddFriendship with numerous ShipTease moments between them.

* ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': Flik is a bumbling inventor and Princess Atta is the Queen Ant's gorgeous but stressed-out daughter. While it's strongly implied that Flik has liked her all along, Atta's just annoyed and frustrated with him since his inventions often cause more problems for the colony, and injury to herself. No surprise, she warms up to him over the movie.
* Milo and Kida from ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''. Milo fits perfectly the nerd description being lean, with glasses and a bookworm; Kida even lampshade it when they met:

** Kida herself is a princess in a {{Stripperiffic}} outfit, (for the standards of the era) but she soon learns to appreciate Milo. She always had interest in him though, because he can read her forgotten language.
* Played straight with Hiccup in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. He's smitten with Astrid first thing, but she is largely indifferent to him until she finds out his mindblowingly cool secret and, more importantly, how brave and principled a warrior he actually is. Unlike most examples of this trope, however, Hiccup is far from bad looking.

* Doctor Doppler and Captain Amelia in ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet''. He's a bespectacled doctor in astronomy and not quite fitted for adventure. Thus the [[ActionGirl Captain]] and him develop a BelligerentSexualTension until they're kidnapped together and begin to warm up.

** Ron and Hermione reverse this. By ''Prince'', Ron's technically a jock, and Hermione's still a geek. Not to mention Cormac, who is also a good-looking Quidditch player (though it's subverted in that Hermione thinks he's an idiot and only dates him once, [[OperationJealousy to annoy Ron]]). Before that there was also ''Goblet of Fire'', when the popular and athletic Viktor Krum is smitten with Hermione, but Krum is also an AcademicAthlete, and a brilliant and talented wizard in his own right. Ron was also an InsecureLoveInterest who felt overshadowed by Harry, even if Harry wasn't an especially brilliant student himself, and was likewise a sports player.
** Harry felt this way in ''Goblet of Fire'' in the small LoveTriangle between him, Cho and Cedric. Cho and Cedric were both AcademicAthlete, highly popular and quite smart, while Harry was a younger famous celebrity with little experience in talking to girls (other than Hermione), and who was also resented by HufflepuffHouse for overshadowing Cedric who got selected by the Goblet out of merit. [[spoiler:Despite everything, he and Cedric actually become good friends]].
** Some of this dynamic is there in the LoveTriangle of [[spoiler:Snape, Lily and James. All of them were brilliant students but Lily and James were popular and socially charismatic while Snape was asocial and unpopular. Nonetheless Lily and Snape, owing to their childhood friendship, remain friends, and Rowling stated that if Snape had never gotten into the Dark Arts and the Death Eaters, a romantic relationship might have developed between him and Lily. She only dated and married James long after her friendship with Snape was over, thanks entirely to him]].

* Played with in Music/DavidBowie's ShortFilm ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean''. His dorky protagonist Vic, who tells his frosty dream girl a CelebrityLie about knowing a handsome rock star ([[Main/ActingForTwo also Bowie]]), [[spoiler: loses her to said star, whom she knew all along. At this, Bowie breaks character and objects to the "too obvious" unhappy ending]].

* Larisa from ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'' (who is openly stated to be the hottest girl in school) started going out with Landon after he helped her get a B- on a math quiz (more so that [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe he was willing to help her]] than because she actually passed). Despite her [[GoodBadGirl self-admitted promiscuity]], she has remained faithful to him the entire time they've been together (well over half a decade real world time), and there's no sign that they're going to break up any time soon.

* In ''Literature/ThaliasMusings'', Hephaestus tries to invoke this in his marriage to Aphrodite. It doesn't work. [[spoiler:After his divorce, he inverts the trope by falling for Aglaea, a science-obsessed demigoddess who's had a crush on him for awhile.]]

* Inverted in ''WebVideo/TheGuild'', where the geeky Codex tries to get with the attractive stuntsman Wade. Of course, Codex is played by Creator/FeliciaDay, so it's a clear case of HollywoodHomely. Played straight with Zaboo and Riley, although, technically, Riley is also a gamer (let's not get into an FPS vs. MMORPG discussion).

** The show also gave us a rare gender inverted variation in the season 3 episode ''Partners'', where UglyCute Dr. Drakken ends up falling for the geeky [=DNAmy=] after she risks her life to save his. [[SubvertedTrope Amy however]] likes him only as a friend.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}''. [[LovableAlphaBitch Quinn]] gets an older, brainy tutor named David, and begins to become smarter as they work together over the summer. She falls for him and asks him out, but he turns her down, noting that she lacks the "depth" he looks for in a girl. Quinn is heartbroken, since David is pretty much the only guy to ever turn her down (or for that matter, the only one she ever seemed to like for more than just looks or popularity). Daria, feeling bad for her sister, helps her feel better by pointing out two key things:

## While David thinks otherwise, Quin clearly has some "depth" if she's willing to go for more in a guy than just looks, money or social status.

* Dr. Walter Hartford of ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]'' fits a lot of the usual definitions for a geek; highly educated, computer hacker, fast mouth, and fond of pop culture references. Princess Maya didn't think much of him at first, and was more attracted to [[TheLancer Gooseman]]. Then, Doc turned on the charm...made contact with an alien computer that was protecting the planet, [[TookALevelInBadass and handed a Crown Empire spy his ass in a swordfight]]. Maya never mentioned Goose again!

* The writers of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' series tried to avoid flat out confirming certain pairings (most likely trying to avert a BrokenBase) but ShipTease did happen nevertheless. One example of a pairing that got ShipTease that fits with this trope is Chuckie and Angelica. (Which of course has received even more attention from fans in fan work.)

* Notably played with and then averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' between Irma and Martin. Early on it seems to be setting up to invoke this trope, as Martin is smitten and Irma rebukes him at every turn. She eventually (and reluctantly, as it was necessary for a [[ItMakesSenseInContext distraction]]) goes on one date with him and is miserable the whole way through. Later though she is visibly jealous when he is interested in someone else. By the end of the series, she's the only main character ''not'' in a relationship and her and Martin have settled into a mutual quasi love/hate friendship. Irma took Martin on a NotADate in the first season as a distraction and while it wasn't really fun for her, she still gave him a peck on the cheek at the end of it. In the comics where she actually gave him a JustFriends speech, Martin then had a cute French penpal that visited and seemed totally enamored of him with the feeling being apparently mutual; Irma quickly turned into a ClingyJealousGirl while denying it to her amused friends. In one issue a possible (and likely) future version of Martin is [[SheIsAllGrownUp All Grown Up]] with a significant amount of ShipTease with future Irma. It's more like Irma doesn't ''want'' to give the geek a chance while [[MasterOfTheMixedMessage giving him just enough to keep hoping]].
** [[TheLeader Will]] herself could count as the "geek" with her relationship with Matt Olsen who's a budding rock star that is shown to be a ChickMagnet to the extent that Will... [[ClingyJealousGirl doesn't appreciate that aspect of him]]. Will is not a typical nerd as she's BookDumb or at least [[EverybodyHatesMathematics hates math]], though she does have an obsession with frogs going by her possessions and in one of the cartoon's openings she's implied to be a fan of ''Franchise/TheMuppets'' and ''Pokémon''. And yet Matt has only ever shown interest in her, even with attractive girls making passes at him. Taranee and Hay Lin are geeky in their own way, being examples of NerdsAreSexy and a OtakuSurrogate respectively, again have no trouble attracting boys. And it's not just a Guardian thing, either, as Will's own mother dates her history teacher who is a good-looking NiceGuy that is still a total history geek and a contrast to her much smoother ex-husband, though Will's father's failings may be the reason she's looking for [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan someone different and more reliable]].

* Filmmaker and self-professed comic book/sci fi geek Creator/KevinSmith and his wife Jennifer, who is absolutely ''gorgeous''. In fact, Smith wrote in his book that he fervently hopes their daughter Harley grows to be as tall and shapely as her mother, thus sparing her from what he goes through with his weight. Smith also theorized that geeky and/or chubby men are better catches, as they're much more willing to go the extra mile for a woman.