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Some Beleaguered Assistants treat their boss with contempt and rudeness, yet the boss simply ignores them because they are either too stupid to notice or don't care. Alternately, they act as if they are delighted to help, and hate themselves for it.
 
Note that the more [[Pointy -Haired Boss|incompetent the boss is]], the more likely this type of character will show up, though less incompetent (and more hyperactive) characters can have these as well.
 
Often the [[Only Sane Man]] and [[The Reliable One]]. [[Only Sane Employee]] is when this character has far more to deal with than just his incompetent boss. A good character to use when determining whether other characters are [[Nice to The Waiter]]. See also [[Conservation of Competence]], [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]], and [[Success Symbiosis]]. Contrast [[Professional Butt Kisser]]. If they are male and their employer is female they may be half of [[Mistress and Servant Boy]] relationship.
 
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
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== [[Comics]] ==
* [[Dilbert]] to the [[Pointy -Haired Boss]].
** Dilbert has learned to [[Genre Savvy|game the system to a degree]], and [[The Intern|Asok]] has become [[Dismotivation|Wally]]'s apprentice. Alice, who [[Honor Before Reason|stubbornly refuses to put her sanity before her work ethic]] is the one who fits this best.
* In ''[[Peanuts]]'', Woodstock is occasionally one of these to Snoopy.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* Several ''[[Touhou]]'' [[Ninja Maid]] or [[Battle Butler]] characters are like this. Youmu has to put up with the relentless teasing of Yuyuko whenever she isn't keeping her [[Big Eater]] boss fed. Reisen's boss is an absolute sadist. Perhaps worst of all is [[Meido|Sakuya Izayoi]], who has to constantly use her superpower to keep the mansion in its [[Bigger On the Inside]] status, plus use [[Time Stands Still|time stopping]] to clean it because all the other help is completely useless, plus gratify her selfish [[Ojou]]'s every whim, plus keep [[Enfant Terrible]] Flandre from using her [[One -Hit Kill]] superpower to destroy the world, plus defend the mansion from the [[Kleptomaniac Hero]] Marisa (and others), plus [[Human Resources|turn humans into the tea and cakes her vampire mistress drinks and eats]].
** Good thing she can stop time.
** There is also an [[Inverted Trope|inversion]] of this trope, somewhat: In ''Subterranean Animism'', [[Telepathy|Satori]] is troubled by her underlings' hijinks. Well, when you have a [[I Love Nuclear Power|nuclear-powered]] [[Ravens and Crows|hell raven]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|obsessed with destroying the world]] as a ''pet''...
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* Steve to Dr. Weird in ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Animation)|Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]''.
** It's also sort of implied that Emory is this to Oglethorpe. Emory is usually the one who comes up with plausible ideas or points out Oglethorpe's lack of logic, but is often overruled.
* In ''[[Duck Dodgers]]'', Eager Young Space Cadet always has to tag along with whatever dangerous missions his narcissistic, selfish and [[Lord Error -Prone|considerably less competent]] higher-up, Duck Dodgers, gets himself into.
** Porky served as one of these to Daffy in several of the classic ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' shorts, as well.
* While [[The Simpsons|Montgomery Burns]] is a competent businessman, he also lacks the skills for dealing with people, is out of touch with any cultural development that has taken place since the end of World War II, and is extremely physically weak. Naturally it falls to Smithers to make up for these defects and make sure Burns remains as successful as he is. Subverted when it's made clear that Smithers actually ''enjoys'' this, and has an almost psychological need to serve Burns.
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* Samy Garvin on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]''.
* Slinkman in [[Camp Lazlo]].
* The pageant in the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' "Hearth's Warming Eve" features three such characters: Clover the Clever (played by Twilight Sparkle) is the Beleaguered Assistant to the unicorn ruler [[Royal Brat|Princess Platinum]] (played by Rarity), Smart Cookie (played by Applejack) is the Beleaguered Assistant to the earth pony ruler [[The Caligula|Chancellor Puddinghead]] (played by Pinkie Pie), and Private Pansy (played by Fluttershy) is the Beleaguered Assistant to the pegasus ruler [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|Commander Hurricane]] (played by Rainbow Dash).
** More generally, Angel Bunny sometimes feels like this when taking care of Fluttershy.
* Robotnik's assistant Snively in [[Sonic Sat AM]]. Robotnik isn't exactly incompetant, but he is prone to great outbursts of rage with Snively as the only target. Snively hates his job and ''dispises'' Robotnik.
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* Dr. Wily of ''[[Captain SNES]]'' was originally the [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] of potential president Hagar, but between Hagar's incompetence and Blues blackmailing him, he quickly degenerated into this.
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'', Dan's uryuom minion, Minion is this for Dan.
* Left-Hand Man Gary to [[Cloudcuckoolander|King]] [[The Caligula|Steve]] in ''[[Eight 8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]''. He has to keep tabs on King Steve while he drills for mana, orders assassins to [[Kill the Messenger]], wages war on a whim in the name of pacifism, builds robot duplicates of himself that explode at random, and loses the kingdom in a poker game. ''To a length of string.'' Also, Gary is the "left-hand man" because the king's right-hand man is Rodney. Rodney is ''a coffee stain''.
 
== [[Web Original]] ==
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