Determined Defeatist

""The reason why I'm so useless. I try even though I know I can't do anything right. Even when I said I wouldn't try anymore, I kept on trying anyway.""

- Miranda Lotto, D.Gray-man

A character who genuinely believes Failure Is the Only Option, yet presses on anyway. Sometimes, it's all too tempting for them to turn their back on their dreams, or let themselves plummet over the Despair Event Horizon. Don't think they actually will though. If they ever do give up, you can bet it won't be for long. Often they feel their situation's so hopeless, they've got nothing to lose.

Super-Trope of Sour Supporter, when the defeatist is recruited to the team by The Hero (and is usually a secondary character.)

Could be considered a Sister Trope to Knight in Sour Armor. The difference between the Knight in Sour Armor and the Determined Defeatist is that the latter isn't necessarily a snarky Anti-Hero who lives in a Crapsack World; they're more likely to be The Eeyore or The Woobie. They might lack self-esteem, or be going through a rough patch. But in both cases, you can be sure their dogged perseverance will get them through despite their pessimistic outlook. Then again, if it doesn't...

Also compare Cowardly Lion and The Anti-Nihilist. May overlap with Iron Woobie, as they keep going no matter how many times they get hurt or discouraged.

Anime & Manga

 * Neon Genesis Evangelion's Shinji Ikari. For someone with such abysmal self-esteem, he can be surprisingly determined.
 * Miranda Lotto from D.Gray-man. Gloomy and insecure as she is, she always puts 100% and then some into trying to be helpful.
 * Before her rematch against Einhart in Nanoha ViVid, Vivio realizes that Einhart will beat her once again but decides to put up a hell of a fight, nonetheless, if only to earn her respect.
 * Shirou of Fate/stay night.
 * in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has been trying for a long, long time, but she's been killed so many times that she's become a cynical Fatalist. She keeps trying though,
 * Touma from A Certain Magical Index has terminal bad luck and a negative outlook, but will fight until the end for anyone he cares about.
 * In Puella Magi Madoka Magica,  seems to be this. She knows that   She also knows there's no hope for
 * In Hajime no Ippo, in the second match between Ippo and Sendou, Sendou is hit by a full Dempsey Roll by Ippo, seemingly ending the match. But he gets on his feet again. He already knows he has lost, and he still refuses to drop to the ground or go unconcious, just so he can watch the face of the man who defeated him.

Literature

 * Aberforth Dumbledore in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows is convinced that Voldemort is going to win and advises the heroes to give up and flee the country. Naturally, he still shows up to fight when push comes to shove.
 * Puddleglum in The Silver Chair.
 * Rincewind in the later Discworld novels, in particular Last Hero.
 * Crowley in Good Omens. At one point, when Aziraphale has gone missing, the Apocalypse is beginning, and it looks as if there's no hope, Crowley thinks he might as well drink himself into a stupor while he waits for the world to end. Instead, he drives at top speed to Tadfield to avert the Apocalypse, holding his burning car together through sheer force of will.
 * Most of the main characters (especially Frodo) in the later parts of The Lord of the Rings. Several people get speechs to the effect of "We're pretty much finished at this point, but we're going to carry on because what else can we do?"
 * Usually he's anything but this trope, but in Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, the titular character experiences a severe And I Must Scream, after which he is deeply shaken and nihilistic. It comes up several times that he no longer sees the point; even if his side wins the book's conflict, ultimately it won't even matter. And yet he keeps going and continues to be compassionate, because someone has to.

Live Action TV
"Giles: We few, we happy few...
 * Spike in the Buffy episode The Gift.

Spike: ...We band of buggered!"

"It matters not if the cause is lost and we cannot stop the tide. We will fight to the end, and then fight again. It will be a good way to die."
 * Ryotaro Nogami, the protagonist of Kamen Rider Den-O, willingly admits that he's not very strong or smart, and that he has insanely bad luck. That doesn't stop him from doing his job and protecting the timestream, which results in his eventually Taking a Level In Badass.
 * In Lexx, a number of the Brunnen-G decide to stand and fight against His Divine Shadow, fully aware that they have no chance of success. An in-show musical touches on this a bit more, and even inspires the protagonists to take on a similar attitude.


 * Al friggin' Bundy. A dead end job, an indifferent family, a shrew and her cuckolded husband for neighbors...he just keeps chugging along without resisting the temptation to put a gun to his head no matter how bad things get.

Music
"I'll survive in this nothing, leading nowhere
 * A few Within Temptation songs have this feel. In Deceiver Of Fools, the subject knows just how bleak the situation is, yet manages to keep that hint of hope. Then there's "Pale" and "Stand My Ground".
 * Survive by Lacuna Coil.

I'll survive feeling strong for how much longer?"

"(The doctor) said "Rocky, you've met your match,"
 * Versaemerge's Fixed At Zero.
 * The Beatles' folk hero Rocky Raccoon, after he is shot by Dan, the guy who stole Lil, the girl of his fancy"

Rocky said "Doc, it's only a scratch,

And I'll better, I'll better, Doc, just as soon as I am able.""

Mythology
"Kine dies, kin dies, you yourself will die.
 * Prominent concept in Norse Mythology:

One thing I know that never dies, the story of dead men's deeds."

Video Games

 * Max Payne goes through the entire first game knowing perfectly well that there are only two outcomes for him: either being killed during his Roaring Rampage of Revenge or being put away for life upon completing it. In fact, after he goes free thanks to The Man pulling a few strings, he considers himself to be a Karma Houdini.
 * Javik in Mass Effect 3 believes that Shepard's cycle is doomed for failure. However giving up is not an option for him, especially after his race and civilization sacrificed themselves just to get him to this point.

Web Original

 * Himei from Sailor Nothing. She's an utterly Broken Bird who knows that As Long as There Is Evil, there'll be Yamiko. Doesn't stop her fighting as many of them as she can.
 * One of the few good qualities The Nostalgia Critic has is that despite all the hurt he goes through, he's strong-willed and keeps on going.