Love Dodecahedron: Difference between revisions

* A serious [[Love Dodecahedron]] occurs in ''[[Rose of Versailles]]''. Let's see if we can catch everything: Fersen and Marie-Antoinette love each other [[Star-Crossed Lovers|but can't be together]], Louis XVI loves [[Arranged Marriage|his arranged wife]] Marie-Antoinette, Oscar and Marie very seriously respect (maybe love?) each other, Oscar loves Fersen, André loves Oscar, Rosalie loves Oscar who would fully love her back if she (Oscar) were male (straight from the manga), {{spoiler|Rosalie's lost sister}} Charlotte loves Oscar, Alain loves Oscar (and whether he says it or not is different in the two continuities) but is also one of André's closest friends, Gerodelle loves Oscar (and almost gets her to become his wife through [[Arranged Marriage]]), Bernard loves Rosalie who comes to love him back though she still has lingering feelings for Oscar, and in the end Oscar then loves André {{spoiler|and then they both die tragically}}. Phew!

** Then we have [[Riyoko Ikeda]]'s ''other'' famous manga, [[Oniisama e...]]. Mariko admires Kaoru but has a [[Clingy Jealous Girl|clingy obsession]] with Nanako and later {{spoiler|is [[Tsundere]] for Takeshi}}; Nanako loves Rei, who pines for {{spoiler|her half-sister Fukiko}}, who acts possessive towards Nanako but {{spoiler|it's a cover since she actually loves Takehiko and mistakenly thinks Nanako is her rival}}; Tomoko isn't as super open as the others in these regards but she has a really cute [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship]] with Nanako; and Kaoru also loves {{spoiler|her ex-boyfriend Takehiko, who returns her feelings [[Star-Crossed Lovers|despite the problems in their relationship]], ''and'' she also has quite a bit of [[Les Yay]] with he best friend, Rei.}} Whoa.

* In ''[[Gundam Seed]]'', Kira and Athrun [[Ho Yay|care very much for each other]], Kira loves Flay, Ssigh loves Flay, Kira re-meets with Athrun [[Foe Yay|as enemies]] and then befriends his girlfriend Lacus, Athrun and Lacus care for each other as friends, Flay has sex with Kira to manipulate him but ends up falling in love with him for real, Kira befriends Cagalli and it seems they might fall in love, Athrun meets Cagalli, Athrun almost kills Kira after Nicol dies and ends up killing Tolle instead, Miri hates Dearka and he hates her back, Kira and Athrun make up thanks to Lacus and Cagalli, Lacus and Kira fall in love though he still holds some guilt because by that time Flay is believed to have been killed, Miri and Dearka make peace and sorta fall in love, Athrun and Cagalli fall in love, Flay gets [[Character Development]] and wants to apologize to Kira but dies tragically in the middle of the last battle, and that's it!

** Also, [[Ace Pilot|Mu]] loves [[The Captain|Murrue]].

{{quote|''"Wait a sec... If Prisma likes Saphire, and Saphire liked Emerald, and Emerald liked Diamond, and Diamond likes Serena, and Serena likes Darian... Then does that mean this whole plot is a love [[Love Dodecahedron|Hexagon]]?"''}}

** An interesting four-way on the Doom Tree arc. Serena and Darien are in love, and so are Alan and Ann. Alan falls in love with Serena, and Ann falls in love with Darien. Yet Alan gets jealous of Darien over Ann, who gets jealous of Serena over Alan. When Alan sees Ann with Darien, he seems to forget that he is in love with Serena, and the same goes for Ann when she sees Alan with Serena. Alan and Ann argue over this in their final episode.

* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'', surprisingly. Because there have so many main characters, this has evolved out of Shipping. And that doesn't even go into ''loving'' Pokémon angle.

** Let's try to describe it: Misty was highly hinted to have feelings for Ash, but she left the show without any resolution on that, and [[Word of God|the former head writer]] even said that [http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showpost.php?p=1251369&postcount=3397 she never really had feelings towards him], but since he left the show a long time ago and the pairing received hints after he left, it's still a strong possibility. May had a [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] routine going on with Drew, but she was also hinted to like Ash. Dawn had [[Ship Tease]] moments with Ash, Kenny (who was highly implied to have a crush on her) and [[Les Yay|Zoey]], and she's also stalked by [[Stalker with a Crush|Conway]]. Ash was hinted to like Misty during the early seasons, but by Johto he turned into a full [[Chaste Hero]], though there are still rare moments of [[Ship Tease]] from his side with all 3 female leads. And then there's a bunch of minor characters and [[Interspecies Romance|even some Pokémon]] with [[Chick Magnet|confirmed crushes on Ash]]. And then we have Brock, who [[Casanova Wannabe|crushes on every pretty girl he sees,]] but [[Status Quo Is God|it never goes anywhere]], even with the girls that are interested, and his single attempt to settle down ended with him running away for reasons that were [[Noodle Incident|never explained]]. And there's also Jessie and James of Team Rocket, who may or may not have feelings for each other. [[Overly Long Gag|And]] there are probably some more people that I forgot. To make matters worse, the anime tendency to [[Ship Tease]] all sorts of couples but [[No Hugging, No Kissing|never actually resolving anything]] means that this [[Love Dodecahedron]] will probably only get more complicated in the future. Also, it's hinted that Iris and clan both have a crush on Ash.

* ''[[Seduction]]'': Marjani, who is an arranged engagement with Kurumi, is in love with Sarakshi. Who Tora also has a thing for. While Sarakshi doesn't seem to have romantic feelings for either, Linda seems to harbour some for Marjani {{spoiler|(As of Chapter 18, his engagement with Kurumi has been dissolved and they are... in a ''bit'' of a relationship)}} and Yuki seems to harbour some for Tora.

* ''[[TDWT Reducks Redux]]'' seems to be developing a massive one: Ezekiel likes Bridgette, who's dating Geoff yet has [[Ship Tease]] with Harold, who also has [[Ship Tease]] with Lindsay even though he really likes Leshawna, who broke up with him because she likes Alejandro. Lindsay was dating Tyler, who looks like he'll eventually hook up with Gwen, who likes Duncan (who's dating Courtney) even though Cody still sort of likes her, and Sierra likes ''him''...

 

 

== Live Action TV ==

* This trope is why daytime soap operas exist. 'Nuff said.

* ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'' features a love dodecahedron in which George loves Meredith who loves Derek who can't decide if he loves Meredith or Addison, who also is still in love with Derek, but at one point was in love with Mark, who slept with Callie, who is married to George, who slept with Izzie, who used to date Alex, who's lusted after by Addison (and that's ''before'' you get into the [[Subtext]]). Coincidentally, the best-remembered episode of the first season featured a hospital-wide outbreak of syphilis.

* The first season of ''[[Smallville]]'', after setting up a [[Love Triangle]] with Clark and Whitney both wanting Lana, regularly increased its geometrical complexity by throwing others into the mix; the (Kryptonite meteor-rock influenced) Villain of the Week was sometimes romantically interested in Lana as well (and might even start to get somewhere until revealed to be hideously transformed when not masquerading as still human), while Lex Luthor would intervene to try to break up some of these pairings... but was this being done as friendly help for Clark's benefit, or because he too had secret designs on <s>Lana</s> [[Ho Yay|Clark]]? It didn't help that seemingly every man, woman and child in Kansas developed an unhealthy obsession with Lana Lang at some point, and Lex's relationship with Clark was staggeringly homoerotic until about season four when they had a messy off-camera break-up.

* Just look at [http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8725/typemoonrelations.jpg this chart]. At least eight people in love with [[Tsukihime|Shiki]] plus Arihiko on the side crushing on Ciel and Akiha and possibly the maids. Even the girls at school seem to be somewhat attracted despite not being insane like his other love interests. [[Fate/stay night|Shirou]] is ''only'' the center of four-six girls' affections (Mitsuzuri being subtext and Ilya being up to your interpretation, but probably only familial), but there's other entanglements besides his making it even ''more'' complicated when you figure in [[Stalker with a Crush|Gilgamesh -> Saber]] and [[Bodyguard Crush|Bazett -> Lancer]] and Avenger. Curse you [[Nasuverse]]!

* Lampshaded in the [[Nancy Drew (video game)|Nancy Drew]] game ''The Final Scene'', where a tabloid newspaper headline refers to ''[[Show Within a Show|Light Of Our Love]]'' soap opera heartthrob Rory's "Love Octagon".

* [[Legend of Mana]] -- Matilda loves Irwin (who sort of loves her back, but since he's a demon he expresses it weirdly), but is also more or less married to her job; Escad loves Matilda; Daena is torn between Matilda and Escad. It ends with {{spoiler|everybody except one person dead, Matilda as the Seventh Wisdom, and Irwin wanting to reincarnate himself without any memories of the woman he loves because it was so messy}}.

* In [[Baten Kaitos]] Origins: [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"Quadrangle"]]

* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]],'' a rather surreal love dodecahedron is played for both laughs and drama, but has been resolved so that four of the six involved are now in relationships: Eliot with Sarah, and {{spoiler|Nanase with Ellen}}, though whether or not one of those characters ({{spoiler|Ellen}}) qualifies as being in the Dodecahedron is complicated, due to [[Cloning Blues]] being involved. {{spoiler|Clever way to have Nanase's [[Loving a Shadow]] with Elliot end in her finding someone perfect for her, though.}} The last one, gay Justin, has given up on straight Elliot, and wound up stuck in [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]] land. Melissa, attached to the Dodecahedron via Justin, doesn't get that he's gay, while Susan, whose [[Kindred Spirit]] relationship with Justin is revealed essentially the moment they meet, apparently has some feelings for him but knows she can't pursue them. And, of course, {{spoiler|for a brief period after her splitting off from Elliot, Ellen displayed feelings towards Sarah, though it's implied that she's over it.}}

* ''[[Tsunami Channel|Experimental Comic Kotone]]'' was basically designed to incorporate every anime trope in the book -- and as such, the [[No Name Given|unnamed]] main character is caught in the center of a severe [[Love Dodecahedron]], which is constantly in danger of growing even bigger due to him suffering from the rare [http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2003-04-24&comic=ExCoKo Love Sim Syndrome]...

* Implied in [http://xkcd.com/403/ this] ''[[Xkcd]]'' comic (though strictly speaking it could just be a cycle or even a collection of disconnected relationships).

** Perhaps [http://xkcd.com/173/ this] is a better example?

** [[Sequel Series]] ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' has one between [[Big Fun]] Bolin who likes [[The Hero]] Korra [[Love At First Sight|at first sight]], Korra, who likes Bolin's [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]] older brother Mako, and Mako, who [[Love At First Sight|fell hard for]] and is dating, [[Uptown Girl]] Asami but also discovers he himself has some feelings for Korra. The first three comprise a [[Fictional Sport|pro-bending]] team, which Asami, as a pro-bending [[Fan Girl]] and Mako's girlfriend, has talked her [[Uncle Pennybags|wealthy father]] into sponsoring in the local [[Tournament Arc]]. Not surprisingly, the quadrangle causes both personal and professional trouble when one party decides to make a move on another, {{spoiler|and is witnessed by a third, who is devastated}}.

* Jimmy from ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron]]'' has his original love interest, Betty Quinlin, who seemed to have a "aw he's cute, but it'll never happen" attitude towards him. Of course there's [[Official Couple|Cindy]]. He falls for a pretty girl at the rodeo (along with Sheen and Carl, who battle with him for her affections). In "Win Lose Kaboom", he gets in a brief relationship with a [[Green-Skinned Space Babe]] named April, much to his main love interest's dismay.

** Lulu and Hilda were [[All Just a Dream]]. Which makes this both more ''and'' less confusing.

* ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'' is a complicated case of this. Pepper has a crush on Gene and Tony with hints that she may feel something for Rhodey. Whitney has feelings for both Tony and Rhodey. Tony has an almost romantic life long friendship with Rhodey, clearly cares about both Whitney and Pepper very much, fanboys Gene Khan almost constantly until the end of season one, and yet Tony will also flirt with anything that moves. Gene is obsessed with Tony and may or may not have feelings for Pepper. Rhodey is Tony's most trusted and reliable friend (who he lives with) and has a crush on Whitney, though his feelings towards Pepper are mostly platonic. ''Mostly.''