History Main / SamaritanRelationshipStarter

* It's established in a flashback that Shirogane from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' fell in love with [[IceQueen Kaguya]] after seeing her rescue the Mass Media club president from drowning.

Essentially, a form of RelationshipUpgrade that tends to happen very early on in the RomanceArc, if not start it entirely. RescueRomance, RescueIntroduction, and ReturningTheHandkerchief are particularly common types of Samaritan Relationship Starter. A related trope is SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan, where one character is attracted to another because (s)he's usually like this.

* ''Manga/LoveLab'' 's [[FieryRedhead Eno]] who has terrible [[ProneToVomiting motion sickness]] ended up stuck on a bus by accident, and it was in a traffic jam so she couldn't get off. Right before she was about to [[GreenAroundTheGills vomit,]] a boy checked on her, pretended to [[PottyEmergency urgently need the bathroom]] to get the driver to open the door, and helped her off the bus to the closest bathroom. He then waited for her to finish and made sure she was alright before leaving. Eno [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan instantly fell for him, and hoped to see him again.]] Which she quickly did, as the boy was [[PrinceCharming Haru,]] the StudentCouncilPresident of the school she's about to have a meeting with.

** It also happens with Haruka, who begins to appreciate [[{{Gonk}} Taishi/ Fatman]] after seeing him calming down a child using his TransformationSequence and free pizza on his own account. Taishi didn't know of this... and arranges a RescueRomance situation to impress her. HilarityEnsues. Then heartwarming ensues.

** Ataru first begins to warm up to Lum as a love interest after she saves him from losing a bet and being humiliated by pretending to be the fictious SecretAdmirer he was expecting to meet, even though she had every reason to leave him to his fate.

-->'''Crowley:''' Didn’t you have [[FlamingSword a flaming sword]]?
-->'''Aziraphale:''' Er..
-->'''Crowley:''' You did, didn’t you? ... It was flaming like anything. What happened to it?
-->'''Aziraphale:''' Er..
-->'''Crowley:''' Lost it already, have you?
-->'''Aziraphale:''' I gave it away!
-->'''Crowley:''' You WHAT? (''shocked expression, then massive *heart eyes* and adoring look'')
** Later in that scene Aziraphale [[WingShield shelters Crowley under his wing]] when it starts [[RomanticRain raining]]. [[HoYay Aww]], poor demon [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe never stood a chance]].

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': When Galadriel and Halbrand meet each in the open sea, being shipwrecked on the same raft, they spend their time constantly fighting and being distrustful of each other. A typhoon hits them, and they are forced to cooperate and save each other's lives. After Elendil brings them in Numenor, they form a strong friendship and by the time they return to Middle-earth, they become inseparable.

* The two leads of {{Dandadan}}, Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura, met when Momo stood up for Ken when he was being bullied. They then got into a discussion about ghosts and aliens, and things took off from there.

** Later in that scene Aziraphale [[WingShield shelters Crowley under his wing]] when it starts [[RomanticRain raining]]. [[HoYay Aww]], poor demon never stood a chance.

** It looks like demon Crowley falls in love with angel Aziraphale in their first ([[spoiler:not the first]]) meeting after learning that the angel gave away his flaming sword to Adam and Eve in order to protect them.
-->'''Crowley:''' Didn’t you have a flaming sword?

** Later in that scene Aziraphale shelters Crowley under his wing when it starts raining. Aww, poor demon never stood a chance.

** Later in that scene Aziraphale shelters Crowley under his wing when it starts raining. Aww.

** It looks like demon Crowley falls in love with angel Aziraphale in their first ([[spoiler:not the first]]) meeting after learning that the angel gave away his flaming sword to humans for protection.

-->'''Crowley:''' You WHAT? ("shocked expression, then massive *heart eyes* and adoring look")
** Later in that scene Aziraphale sheltered Crowley under his wing when it started raining. Aww.

* ''Series/GoodOmens2019'': It looks like demon Crowley falls in love with angel Aziraphale the first ([[spoiler:not the first]]) time they met after learning that the angel gave away his flaming sword to humans for protection.

-->'''Crowley:''' You WHAT? ("shocked expression, then heart eyes and adoring look")

* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU: Hawkfrost defending Reedwhisker from Heavystep's bullying helps to start their relationship.

* Literature/TheBible provides a variant: when Abraham's servant Eliezer is sent on a journey to find a wife for Isaac, he decides to pick the first woman who, when asked for a drink, offers to draw water for his camels as well. Given how physically exhausting it was to lug water out of a well for so many animals, the point was to pick a woman willing to go out of her way to help anyone in need.

* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': From what little detail Catarina has on it (since she never played the route before she died), courting Nicol in ''[[ShowWithinAShow Fortune Lover]]'' required showing kindness to [[BigBrotherInstinct his bullied little sister Sophia]]. Catarina ends up doing this by complete accident when she befriends Sophia due to their shared interest in romance novels [[spoiler:(plus the whole ReincarnationFriendship thing, but neither of them is aware of that).]]

So AliceAndBob don't know each other yet, or Alice regards Bob with either indifference or dislike. But then, she witnesses him committing -- or becomes the recipient of -- some [[PetTheDog single act of kindness]] ([[BullyHunter rescuing someone from bullies]], stopping to help someone with errands, etc.) that makes her think "maybe he's not so bad after all." This causes her to develop a blossoming crush on him or otherwise shoehorns the two towards a romantic relationship.

* Invoked in ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' for the middle school girl's capture, which is mostly told from her perspective. Keima fakes being a member of the swim team and pretends to do really well and looks cool. When he disappears, she builds up a false impression of him as a really cool upperclassman (he calls it a free love potion to be a sempai), which balances against his bad reputation and has her develop a crush on him. [[spoiler:And later when he's checking for goddesses, we see that unlike all of the other girls she does not even remember him because he managed to get out the runaway spirit while barely speaking to her. Which is a good thing.]]

* In ''Fanfic/TheVow'', Lord [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Shen]] and Lady [[DefrostingIceQueen Lianne]] start off on poor terms, and for improvement to begin, it requires for her to openly defend him against slander said about his appearance and genetic health. This — along with the realization of how lonely she feels — makes him apologize for his behavior with an ApologyGift she can accept.
* In VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition's ''FanFic/WalkingInCircles'', Solas and Evelyn’s first interactions is her willing to be hit to keep his pendant safe. But it takes him to see her protecting an elven child and, once again, risking herself to keep him safe from his own mistake that he truly notices and develops affection for her, and much longer than that for him to actually see her as a true person with full emotional capability.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Because of [[PoorCommunicationKills a misunderstanding with gum on her seat]] and his friendship with the class AlphaBitch Chloé, Marinette assumes Adrien to be another {{Jerkass}}. Soon after, he explains himself and offers her his umbrella to walk home in the rain, and she falls for him instantly.

* ''Anime/TheWindRises''. When a young girl's maid breaks her leg during the Tokyo Earthquake, Jiro Horikoshi carries her to safety, then escorts the girl home and gets help so the maid can be carried home as well. The young girl develops a PrecociousCrush on her unknown rescuer; when she meets him as an adult, they end up getting married.

* In ''Manga/MidoriDays'', it's ''this trope'', not RescueRomance, that kickstarts Takako Ayase's crush on Seiji Sawamura. Seiji does catch her attention after he rescues her from [[{{Delinquents}} school delinquents]], but she's still wary of him because she still believes he's a blood-thirsty fight seeker. It's only after witnessing Sawamura deliberately taking a beating without retaliating in order to save a friend and to defuse the hate the {{Delinquents}} have for him, that she falls in love with him.

* ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm'': Upon meeting Carol, one of the first things that Harry does is to defend her against a sexist jerk (not that [[GroinAttack she isn't quite capable of fending for herself]], but it's the thought that counts). He is then introduced to two more of her friends, one of whom is proudly CampGay and the other of whom is bald, but Harry barely bats an eye at either of their "nonconformities." Over the course of their RomanceArc, it's made ''very'' clear that SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan is in play, in part because he keeps his eyes on her face, unlike most teenage boys.
* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'' provides a platonic example. Itachi makes a good first impression on Shizune by being one of the few people who isn't afraid of her little brother being a jinchuriki. This leads to the two becoming lifelong friends (and eventually in-laws due to her marrying his cousin [[SparedByTheAdaptation Shisui]]).

* In ''Series/TheGoodPlace,'' Eleanor falls in love with Chidi because he's willing to go out of his way to teach her philosophy and try to make her a better person. He gets absolutely zero personal benefit out of it but does it anyway.

* A non-romantic example: in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Hawke meets his/her lifelong best friend Varric when the dwarf apprehends a pickpocket who has stolen Hawke's money pouch. It's later clarified that Varric knew who Hawke was (thanks to their reputation) and had specifically intended to meet them, but the pickpocketing gave him an unusual way to introduce himself.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive:'' Elliot's [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2014-01-13 decision]] to ask Ashley out on a date stems in part from [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2014-01-10 her willingness]] to warn Susan about Tom's less than honest nature despite the fact that, to the best of her knowledge, this would hurt her chances with Elliot (she believed that Elliot and Susan were likely to get together).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'': Phoebus is attracted to Esmerelda from the get-go (as is basically every main character), but once he sees her stand up to Frollo and his guards to protect Quasimodo, it's definite. Esmerelda initially sees ''him'' as just another one of Frollo's mooks, but that changes for similar reasons.

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* ''Film/GoodDick'': The main character's relationship starts this way.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Season 2: JerkJock Flash Thompson tries to hook up with quiet and artistic Sha Shan, completely failing to woo her when he relies on his usual sports reputation and personality to attract her attention. She only begins to respond to his affections when he reports to his coach that one of his teammates was using performance-enhancing drugs during their recent championship game (specifically [[spoiler: Harry Osborn using Globulin Green, the drug that would turn Norman into the Green Goblin]]. His actions force the team to retroactively forfeit the game and lose their title, something that he had worked long and hard for (having even broken his leg for and costing him a potential scholarship), but he felt that the championship did not mean anything if had been earned dishonestly. After this, Sha begins to reciprocate his feelings.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Phoebus is attracted to Esmerelda from the get-go (as is basically every main character), but once he sees her stand up to Frollo and his guards to protect Quasimodo, it's definite. Esmerelda initially sees ''him'' as just another one of Frollo's mooks, but that changes for similar reasons.

* In ''Fanfic/TheVow'', Lord [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Shen]] and Lady [[DefrostingIceQueen Lianne]] start off on poor terms and for improvement to begin, it requires for her to openly defend him against slander said about his appearance and genetic health. This — along with the realization of how lonely she feels — makes him apologize for his behavior with an ApologyGift she can accept.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/GoodDick'': The main character's relationship starts this way.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Nick and Judy are an intertwined example of this. Judy rescues Nick from a savage jaguar and then saves his life when they are both knocked off the Skytram platform which leads to Nick standing up to the DaChief for her sake and then opens up to her about his childhood trauma. This leads to a deep friendship forming between them.

* In ''Series/TheGoodPlace,'' Eleanor falls in love with Chidi because he's willing to go out of his way to teach her philosophy and try to make her a better person. He gets absolutely zero personal benefit out of it, but does it anyway.

So AliceAndBob don't know each other yet, or Alice regards Bob with either indifference or dislike. But then, she witnesses him committing -- or becomes the recipient of -- some [[PetTheDog single act of kindness]] (rescuing someone from bullies, stopping to help someone with errands, etc.) that makes her think "maybe he's not so bad after all." This causes her to develop a blossoming crush on him or otherwise shoehorns the two towards a romantic relationship.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Because of [[PoorCommunicationKills a misunderstanding with gum on her seat and his friendship with the class AlphaBitch Chloé, Marinette assumes Adrien to be another Jerkass. Soon after, he explains himself and offers her his umbrella to walk home in the rain, and she falls for him instantly.

* In the {{Franchise/Rambo}} fanfic ''Fanfic/WhereDoIGoFromHere'', out of guilt for what happened in Hope, Deputy Mitch offers John a place to live after he's put on probation. While the relationship doesn't start immediately, it likely never would have developed had it not been for Mitch's offer.

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