Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[Naruto]]'' Chapter 469 has Naruto's long-time crush Sakura tell him that she's no longer interested in Sasuke and wants to be with him instead. After she spends the entire second half of the chapter trying to convince Naruto that she really means it, he rejects her because he thinks that she still loves Sasuke. Which she does.

* ''[[Kimi no Iru Machi]]'': Haruto has been infatuated with Nanami all through middle school, and continues despite misconceptions that he's dating Yuzuki, a family friend who moved into his family's home to go to the same high school. He confesses, and {{spoiler|Nanami rejects him, because [[Everyone Can See It|she sees that he's become hung up on Yuzuki]]. He eventually moves on to Yuzuki, and Nanami soon starts acting [[Clingy Jealous Girl|rather jealous]]...}}

** And then {{spoiler|Yuzuki moves away, breaks up with him because she can't handle a long-distance relationship, and gets a new boyfriend. Haruto follows her and spends a good while trying to rekindle their relationship, until Yuzuki's new boyfriend dies of complications from a degenerative illness... At which point Yuzuki, who turns out to have still carried a torch for Haruto after all, finds out that Haruto has started to develop feelings for Akira instead.}}

* ''[[Toradora!]]'' has a weird one: Ryuuji and Taiga have unrequited crushes on Minori and Yuusaku, respectively, and team up to help each other. Yuusaku actually started the previous year by confessing to Taiga, but she rejected him without a second glance - now he seems [[Oblivious to Love]]. Minori seems the same way (or to simply be [[The Ditz]]), but occasionally shows flashes of [[Obfuscating Stupidity|being anything but]]. {{spoiler|Yuusaku actually moved on to develop his own unrequited crush on his ''senpai'' in Student Council, and is too kind to hurt Taiga with an overt rejection. Minori actually shares Ryuuji's crush (sort of) but [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|wants her best friend to be happy.]] By the end, it turns out that it was really Ryuuji and Taiga who were Oblivious To Love all along.}}

* In ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'', Keiichi gets turned down by Sayoko, the most popular girl at the college they attend. Once Belldandy shows up in his life, Sayoko starts to get jealous of him and tries to break them up in various ways, with no such luck. In Season 2 she starts to [[Love Epiphany|realize her own feelings]] for him.

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== Comics ==

* Early on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]],'' Xander had a crush on Buffy. In the comic book continuation of the series, however, she realizes she may have fallen for him, only to find out he's now dating her sister Dawn (who, ironically, had a [[Precocious Crush]] on him as a teenager). In this case, though, years passed between the end of Xander's crush and the beginning of Buffy's, during which time they both dated (and in Xander's case, almost married) other people.

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== Literature ==

* ''[[Harry Potter]]'' has a crush on Cho but is fully aware that Ginny has a crush on him. After things don't work out with Cho, and Ginny has already moved on, Harry develops a crush on Ginny after dealing with a bout of jealousy -- a [[Green-Eyed Epiphany]] -- over Ginny's love new interest.

** And to add to that it's implied that Cho has new found feelings for Harry, [[Ship Sinking|but it's pretty much too late by that point.]]

* Onegin/Tatiana in the Russian novel/opera/film ''Eugene Onegin'' {{spoiler|Though Tatiana still loves him, but she's married to someone else now, and he treats her better than Onegin ever did or will.}}

* Central to the plot of Wendelin Van Draanen's novel ''[[wikipedia:Flipped|Flipped]]'', which starts with with a young girl's crush on a new neighbor boy her age (who finds her to be a really annoying know-it-all), shows her feelings changing from said crush to disillusionment as they grow up, and ends with the boy's own growing feelings for said girl going as far as said boy ruining his own social rep among his peers to show how much said feelings have grown.

* [[Gone with the Wind]]. Rhett doesn't fall for someone else, but he loses interest in Scarlett just before she finally realizes she's into him.

** Not really 'shortly'. Rhett had been gradually losing his love for Scarlett over a period of some years, as her indifference, mistreatment, and obsessive pursuit of Wilkes wore away at his feelings for her. (Rhett was not entirely without fault in the fiasco either, of course.) By the time their daughter Bonnie died, it was mostly over before Scarlett even fully grasped that it had started.

* ''[[The 39 Clues]]'': [[Handsome Devil|Ian]] didn't seem to care much about [[Shrinking Violet|Amy]] as he was [[I Was Only Pretending to Like You|faking feelings for her so he could run off with her clue]], but as soon as she started getting over him- or, as soon as she had convinced herself that she had- he seemed to realize his genuine feelings for her. Too bad about [[Feuding Families|life]] [[My Beloved Smother|getting]] [[Ancient Conspiracy|in the way]]....

* This is [[Anne of Green Gables|Anne's]] concern when she realizes she actually ''is'' in love with her childhood friend Gilbert Blythe, as she is convinced he is engaged to another woman. Luckily, the engagement was just a rumor, and a false one.

* [[Bridge to Terabithia]] has this, in a sense. Leslie loves Jess, but he has a [[Precocious Crush|crush on Ms. Edmunds (his teacher)]], and only realises his feelings for Leslie (and her feelings for him), {{spoiler|after she dies}}.

* The Russian adaptation of ''The Shadow'' by E. Schwartz features this. First, the writer and the princess fall in love, but then the shallow princess abandons him for his shadow. In this variant, the writer [[Spared By Adaptation|survives and defeats his shadow]], the princess is once again in love with him, {{spoiler|but now he is only interested in Annuncuiata, another girl}}.

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*** Taking the meaning of the word Switcheroo to a whole new level.

* Dwayne/Whitley/Kinu on ''[[A Different World]].''

* Ross/Rachel/Julie in ''[[Friends]]''.

** Later in the series it happens again; Joey falls for Rachel, falls out of it, and guess what: she proceeds to fall in love with ''him''. Phoebe even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it at some point.

* Niles/Daphne/Mel on ''[[Frasier]]''.

* Jake/Dylan/Penny on ''Good Morning, Miami.''

* Ephram and Amy on ''[[Everwood]]'' count as he's with Madison when Amy finally decides to be with him.

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** Also, Tim/Dawn/Rachel in the UK original.

*** The UK version doesn't fit as well considering that by the time Jim was dating Karen, Pam had called off her wedding and broken up with Roy because of Jim; when Tim was seeing Rachel in the UK Version, Dawn was still with Lee and did not seem to return his feelings yet. {{spoiler|Remember how Dawn rejected Tim at the end of the second series? The show never had a switcheroo.}}

**** Ah, but in the very last UK office program, the second part of the Christmas Special, {{spoiler|Tim gives Dawn a painting set as a present (because at some point she had mentioned she had always wanted to carry on with her love of painting), which she only opens while on her way back to the airport with her fiancee. A few scenes later she returns to the Christmas party and kisses Tim, stating that she was no longer engaged, which is when the two leave the party together.}}

* Randy and Catalina on ''[[My Name Is Earl]]''. After their [[Citizenship Marriage]], Catalina feels obliged to sleep with Randy, but is determined to do it as badly as possible to put him off. Only... afterward, she can't believe how sensitive he was to her, and her behavior in the bedroom has put him off.

* Many times with Ed/Carol on ''[[Ed]].'' "Carols" go from Nick Stanton to Bonnie Hane to Dennis Martino to Frankie Hector.

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* Toyed with in the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode "Adam", in which Toshiko stops hopelessly pining after Owen and gets a boyfriend, while Owen suddenly starts pining after her. But in reality, {{spoiler|their personalities were changed by an alien who gave them [[Fake Memories]] and made himself Tosh's boyfriend.}} Interestingly, despite {{spoiler|having their memories wiped}}, their relationship did seem to change after this episode, with Tosh going so far as to ask for a date and Owen accepting it. {{spoiler|[[Anyone Can Die|Then]] [[Kill the Cutie|events]] [[Tear Jerker|intervened]].}}

* Ted and Robin in ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' did this during the first season.

** Barney and Robin have been doing this just about every third of season 7.

* Shawn/Belle/Mimi in ''[[Days of Our Lives]]''.

* Bobby and Pam in ''[[Dallas]]''. After they separate, Bobby longs for Pam. He tries several times to win her back, but she is too disillusioned by both {{spoiler|his familes role in the events that led to her mother's death, and his new found ruthlessness since he began runing Ewing Oil,}} they eventually get a divorce. Pam begins dating Mark Grasion and they become engaged. After Mark dies, Pam realizes she still loves Bobby, but by then he seems to have moved on and has gotten engaged to his former sweatheart Jenna Wade.

** Also Cliff and Afton. Afton lampshades it herself when she says {{spoiler|"There was a time when Cliff really wanted me and I turned him down, now it's all turned around."}}

* This is done a few times with Gary and Valene in ''[[Knots Landing]]'' during the 8 seasons they were seperated.

* Dylan and Brenda in ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]'', Brenda breaks up with Dylan after a pregnancy test scare, he spends the next several episodes trying to win her back. Brenda begins to have second thoughts about the break-up right when Dylan begins to become interested in someone else.

** For the first two seasons, Andrea has an enourmous crush on Brandon, who (for the most part) only sees her as a good friend. In season 3, Brandon begins to realize his own feelings for Andrea, but by then she has given up on him and began dating someone else.

* ''[[Charmed]]'': At the beginning of season one, Andy is in love with Prue, but she is reluctant to be in a relationship because of her duties as a charmed one. By the time Prue is ready to stop holding back, Andy breaks up with her because she's absent from their dates. Eventually, Andy finds out Prue's a witch, and just when it looks like they might get back together {{spoiler|he is killed.}}

** Also, Cole realizes his genuine feelings for Pheobe at the same time that she finds out who he really is and dosen't want to be with him anymore.

* Early on in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Cordelia has a crush on Angel, who is in love with Buffy. In season 3 of the ''[[Spin-Off]]'' series ''[[Angel]]'', Angel develops a crush on Cordelia, but by then she seems to have moved on from him and has fallen for the Groosalugg. Like Xander and Buffy, several years passed between the end of Cordelia's crush and the beginning of Angel's.

** Also, Wesley seems to finally get over his feelings for Fred just in time for her to realize her feelings for him.

* Hyde and Jackie in ''[[That 70s Show]]''. After Hyde and Jackie break up, he wants her back, but she clings to Kelso for support, who also still has feelings for her. Eventually she realizes she has to choose between them. By the time Jackie chooses Hyde, he has moved on to somebody else.

* Hyde and Jackie in ''[[That '70s Show]]''. After Hyde and Jackie break up, he wants her back, but she clings to Kelso for support, who also still has feelings for her. Eventually she realizes she has to choose between them. By the time Jackie chooses Hyde, he has moved on to somebody else.

* Theresa/Ethan/Jared in ''[[Passions]]''.

** And Kay/Miguel/Fox.

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** Conner and Abbey's story also has a more traditional switcheroo. Abby rejects all of Conners awkward advances. But when Conner starts going out with Caroline she tries to sabotage their relationship.

* This nearly happened in [[Pushing Daisies]]. When Olive Snook finally gets over Ned and moves on he begins to doubt that his feeling for her were truly those you would feel for "just a friend".

* [[Castle]] has feelings for Beckett, but she has on-and-off romances with other characters. He attempts to get together with her at the end of season one, only for [[The Paolo|her current boyfriend]] to walk up behind them, and for Castle to chicken out.

** Season two finale: ''Beckett'' attempts to ask ''Castle'' out, only for his ex-wife to show up. The two then head for the islands.

** Season three ends with them relatively evening the score, as Castle calls Beckett out on not talking about {{spoiler|their [[Fake-Out Make-Out]] and telling her that he loves her as she blacks out after being shot}}.

** At the start of season four, she tells Castle she doesn't remember anything about the events of the Season 3 finale. {{spoiler|She's lying.}}

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They look so good but fit so strange. }}

* The Backstreet Boys song "Bye Bye Love" is arguably this trope.

* German pop group Die Prinzen's song "Gabi und Klaus" is all about this. Gabi loves Klaus but he doesn't want her anymore. Klaus realizes he makes a mistake, Gabi tells him to get lost.

* "Perfect Timing" by Pretty Balanced

{{quote|She can ignore you as much as she likes, she doesn't like you anymore.

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== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Dave/Margaret/Blue from ''[[College Roomies from Hell]]''.

* Briefly in ''[[Order of the Stick]]'': after [[The Hero|Roy's]] spent time [[Gender Bender|as a woman]], he apologizes to [[Knight Templar|Miko]] for having treated her as a sex object; she expresses interest in him now that he's learned his lesson, but [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0250.html he shuts her down], having realized that she's an arrogant, destructive fanatic and he was only interested in her because he was thinking with the Trouser Titan.

** You call it the...

*** That's not the point!

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* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' started off with Sam giving off most of the romantic vibe towards Danny who remained clueless for the most part. When Sam started dating someone else, Danny starts to realize by end that he likes her. They eventually get a [[Relationship Upgrade]].

* Largely the plot of the "Arnold Loves Lila" episode of ''[[Hey Arnold!]]''. When Lila believes Arnold has a crush on her (thanks to Helga's hastily re-written "Arnold loves <s>Helga</s> Lila" graffiti), she starts to like him too, but he [[Just Friends|"likes her, but doesn't LIKE-like her"]]. Once she gets the message, he really does start to "LIKE-like her," but too late; now ''she'd'' rather be friends.

** There's also the "Arnold Visits Arnie" episode where Arnold meets [[Bizarro Universe|bizarro]] equivalents to characters in his own neighborhood, including "Hilda," a seemingly well-adjusted Helga he is immediately attracted to... who has a thing for Arnie. Meanwhile Arnie's girlfriend "Lulu" seems more interested in Arnold than her real boyfriend...

*** [[Fridge Logic]]: Wouldn't a bizzaro world mean that Arnie would be interested in Hilda and not the other way around?

**** The thing is, in the bizarro universe, the one-sided love square is reversed. In the normal world, Helga --> Arnold --> Lila --> Arnie --> Helga, whereas in the bizarro world it's Hilda(Helga) --> Arnie --> Lulu(Lila) --> Arnold --> Hilda(Helga).

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* ''[[Undergrads]]'', Nitz develops feelings for Jessie after seeing her naked... for exactly one episode. Prior to this episode and in every episode following, she loves him but he has no interest in her. Which makes her blowup at Nitz in the finale about not noticing her feelings rather silly since he openly said he had feelings for her...

** The one episode where he showed interest in her she rejected him because his approach to her was ''completely'' wrong, mostly by just acting like they're ''already'' a couple.

* [[Played for Laughs]] on ''[[Pepper Ann]]:'' Milo and Gwen Mezzrow do this a lot. One episode had a [[Running Gag]] where every time a day passed, it switched which one was the [[Abhorrent Admirer]] and which was the prey.

* [[Played for Laughs]] in the ''[[Fanboy and Chum Chum]]'' episode "Fanboyfriend". Lupe, a [[Huge Schoolgirl]] falls for Fanboy after he... er... saves her from a spider. For most of the episode, Fanboy tries to make Lupe understand that he is not interested - but at the end of the episode, after Lupe gets radioactive superpowers, the feelings are flipped.

* [[Kaeloo]] and Mr. Cat have this happen rather frequently. Who's crushing on whom depends on the episode.