Bastard Boyfriend: Difference between revisions

** The author wants you to think he's a [[Jerkass]] and she's a saint for putting up with him: [[Domestic Abuser]] meets [[Love Martyr]]

** The author wants you to think he's ''totally hot'' and the relationship [[Corrupt the Cutie|is deliciously kinky]]: This Trope

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Kyo in ''[[Black Bird]]'' (page image): wants to marry female lead Misao, who he has been in love with [[Puppy Love|since they were children]], and [[Intimate Healing|licks her erotically]] when she gets attacked by his fellow demons (which is often). Doesn't seem to care that she's not completely on board with either of these ideas. Then she falls in love with him...but the saddest thing is, [[Stockholm Syndrome|he's one of the few reliable allies that she has in the whole Tengu vs. humans deal]], so if she ''did'' fully spurn him, other Tengus would jump at the chance to kill/rape/eat her. [[The Chew Toy|Still sucks to be her.]] In the end, of course, he ''is'' willing to do anything (including killing his own brother) to keep her happy and safe at the expense of his own life, and he ''does'' [[Pet the Dog|show genuine kindness]] [[Friend to All Children|to children]].

* Director Domoto in ''[[Butterflies, Flowers]]'' (but only when in dictatorial-boss mode).

* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'': Just about all of the main male cast with the exception of Miki. This is, of course, played for epic [[Deconstruction]].

* Ryuichi Asami in the ''[[Finder Series]]'' (along with many other Ayano Yamane [[seme]]s): atarts off with rape and BDSM, then develops a romantic side. And so Takaba falls in love with him.

* Nakajima in ''[[Gakuen Heaven]]'', in the manga volume that follows his route in the [[Visual Novel]] (which includes [[Victim Falls For Rapist]]—in the first volume that doesn't follow him at all, there's {{spoiler|attempted rape}}, and he is tremendously rude to Keita throughout, though he points out that if the central love interest does nothing, he'll take Keita for himself). In the anime, he's toned down to a [[Jerkass]], and his sexual harassment is elbow-licking.

* Naruse Fuuta in the yaoi manga ''[[Kawaii Akuma]]'' and its sequel is definitely Unconflicted.

* Averted and possibly parodied in ''[[Kizuna]]'', where [[Seme]] Kei has the [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] looks and a [[Yakuza]] background that would make him the ''perfect'' Unconflicted type... yet his [[Uke]], Ranmaru, is a violent [[Tsundere]] and can have him ''very'' whipped.

* Shiki from [[Togainu no Chi]] is the Unconflicted type.

* Sou Mizuhashi from ''[[After School Nightmare]]''.

* Gilbert of ''[[Kaze to Ki no Uta]]'' can be like this to Serge. He's definitely a [[Jerkass Woobie|conflicted version]].

** His treatment of his ''other'' girlfriend/lieutenant, Kiyomi Takada. It's more or less canon that they ''have'' had sex at least once, he manipulates her almost as much as he uses Misa as well, and ''unlike'' in Misa's case, {{spoiler|he callously disposes of her by using a piece of the Death Note to force Takada to burn herself to death as a part of his plan. Right after the girl had not only killed Mello for him, but was naked and frightened and trapped inside a truck, actually ''begging him to help her'' since she genuinely believes in him. [[Base Breaker|It doesn't matter if you liked her or not]], that '''was''' a [[Moral Event Horizon|horrifyingly cruel move]] from Light.}}

* Izaya from ''[[Durarara!!]]'' is an interesting take on the concept: he's not anyone's Bastard Boyfriend—he's ''everyone'''s bastard boyfriend. Specifically, he insists that he's madly in love with ''humanity'' despite (nay, ''because of'') [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|all of its flaws]], and demonstrates this "love" by [[Manipulative Bastard|trolling, manipulating, and generally dicking around with just about every person he meets]] [[Troll|to get the reactions from humanity he loves so much]]. He even gets possessive and jealous when he encounters something that might upset the balance of this relationship (like, say, a [[Yandere]] [[Evil Weapon|sword]] that ''also'' insists she's in love with all of humanity).

* Kouta from the one-shot manga ''Vitamin'' is like this. He says he loves his girlfriend Sawako and will stick by her, but he forces her into having sex and lies about being with her. Sawako eventually breaks up with him though.

== Fan Work ==

* [[Yaoi Fangirl|Some]] [[Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls|fans]] love to turn Canon Characters into this trope, notably:

* Sasuke Uchiha from ''[[Naruto]]'', whether it's Yaoi, or Hetero. Can't be too hard to find.

* Seto Kaiba from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'': [http://m31ru-ch4n.deviantart.com/art/TPNM-Cover-141912936 example].

** Also, try and find a [[Sharing a Body|Yami Bakura/Ryo Bakura]] fanfic that ''doesn't'' have Yami Bakura mentally or even physically abuse his poor suffering host (and giving him his own body just to make the latter possible). Go on. We'll wait.

* [[Draco in Leather Pants|Draco Malfoy]] in ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' fanfic.

** Sirius Black seems to get this interpretation as well in some fics, particularly the [[Ho Yay|Sirius/Remus]] ones.

** Although the second book prominently shows that he learned from his mistakes and is Lucy's strongest supporter when she keeps talking about seeing Aslan, the movie version still likes to portray him as [[The Dark Side|dark]] to an extent, due to his [[Deadpan Snarker|snarkiness]] and witty character. They even switched his and Capian's lines from the book, because, while Caspian was supposed to be tempted by evil in the third movie, they gave this role to Edmund and made him look like a jerk again when he fell into temptation for the second time, even though it was for a short period of time. That's why many fans still see him as the [[Anti-Hero|bad one]]. And the Bastard Boyfriend title is easily used when it comes to Edmund Pevensie.

* Craig Tucker from ''[[South Park]]'' is portrayed as this in most fics, particularly the [[Ho Yay|Craig/Tweek]] ones, since he is...let's say, [[Anti-Hero|not quite]] [[Deadpan Snarker|a pleasant]] [[The Stoic|character]]. In most stories, he either acts like a jerkass towards everyone, a bully, a sociopath or he just does anything to obtain what he wants, using methods [[Memetic Molester|like rape or molestation]].

* Ronan of [[Naruto Veangance Revelaitons]]. He screams at Sakura when she does anything he doesn't like, notes early on that he doesn't need her, but keeps her around because she's dependent on him, and when he catches Sakura cheating on him {{spoiler|and she offers to cut off her vagina to prove she loves him, he demands that she do it}}.

* Ulquiorra Schiffer in ''[[Bleach]]'' is transformed into this in [[Fanon]], particularly in some Ulquiorra/Orihime fics. This is usually featured along with [[Die for Our Ship]], most likely towards Orihime for not expressing romantic feelings towards him in canon. [[Flame War|And let's just leave it at that.]]

== Literature ==

* It has been [[Alternative Character Interpretation|HEAVILY argued]] that ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'''s Edward Cullen is an unintentional Conflicted type example of this trope. Jacob also [[Derailing Love Interests|gets warped]] into this in the third book. To add irony, it took Jacob becoming a Bastard Boyfriend for Bella to realize she has feelings for him.

* The ''[[Wicked Lovely]]'' series has Irial, who is incredibly emotionally abusive to Leslie, but is still hot. One reviewer describes their connection as 'Destructive yet seductive'.

* The knight Erlend exhibits this behavior to the teenage girl Kristin in the trilogy ''Kristin Lavransdatter'', set in the Middle Ages. Played straight in the first book, where Kristin falls in love with Erlend, breaks her engagement with her [[Nice Guy]] fiance, and defies the will of her father to be with him, all despite his shady past and his none-too-kind treatment of her. Deconstructed in the two later books, set after Erlend and Kristin's marriage, where she has to live with the painful consequences of her decision, all in a highly patriarchial world that offers little support for women.

* [[The Phantom of the Opera]]: in the original book by Gaston Leroux, Erik (the titular phantom) could be a [[Deconstruction]], if not an [[Unbuilt Trope]]: Erik is [[The Grotesque]] [[Psychopathic Manchild]] who terrorizes Christine [[And Now You Must Marry Me|into marrying him]]. In the book, the author wants you to think Erik's a [[Jerkass]] and Christine is a saint for putting up with him ([[Domestic Abuser]] meets [[Love Martyr]]), but the [[Misaimed Fandom]] (and [[Lost in Imitation|all the adaptations]]) wants you to think Erik's totally hot and the relationship is [[Corrupt the Cutie|deliciously kinky]].

== Music ==

* The lyrics of the song "El duelo" by Chilean group ''La Ley'' seems to be written from the POV of a Bastard Boyfriend.

* "Why Don't You Get A Job?" by [[The Offspring]] gender flips this trope first, and plays it straight in the second half of the song.

== Video Games ==

* Nakajima in ''[[Gakuen Heaven]]'', in his route.

* Although the story's only two chapters in, and there seems to be more to be revealed where he's concerned, [[Meaningful Name|Cain]] of the ''Starfighter'' webcomic plays this one straight from the get-go. His idea of an icebreaker with his new navigator/roomie Abel is to bite Abel's lip so hard that he leaves a permanent scar, announce that Abel is now his bitch, and alternately threaten and sexually harrass him (sometimes both at once). Give Abel his due, though, despite his occasional emotional moments, he's a lot more assertive about not taking Cain's shit than most of the [[Love Martyr]]s listed here.

** "The one with the scar.. Don't look at him, don't touch him.. .. And don't fucking talk to him!" [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Self Explanatory]].

== Web Original ==