Love Martyr: Difference between revisions

[[File:Valentines lowrezz 9314.jpg|link=Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl|frame| And [[The Woobie|he]] [[Mad Love|would do anything]] for [[Ax Crazy|her]]. Even [[Literal Metaphor|stand her hot, burning fire.]] ]]

 

 

{{quote|'''Fooker''': What's ''wrong'' with you? Are you ''sure'' you're the same chick who [[Groin Attack|crunched my boys]]? Sam treats you like dirt. He ignores you. He walks all over you. And when half the campus says he [[Your Cheating Heart|cheated on you]], you ''defend'' him!

'''Ki''': You don't know him like I do! I see past the lies and see him as he really is!

 

A character devotedly in love with someone who is highly troubled or dislikable, the kind of person very few in real life would stick with. The love interest isn't merely a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] or even [[Troubled but Cute]]: he/she (''both'' sexes can play the '''Love Martyr''' role) has serious psychological issues and/or an utterly [[Jerkass]] personality which aren't exactly indicators of a healthy relationship.

 

Can be [[Truth in Television]].

 

* Mikiya from ''[[Kara no Kyoukai:]]'' fits this trope to a T. In the face of being completely ignored by the decidedly-unstable Shiki, he {{spoiler|sits in her garden every night, but she eventually comes out, smiles warmly, and tries to kill him with a knife. When this fails she throws herself in front of a car in a suicide attempt and ends up in a coma for three years, where he visits her every day ''even after she tried to kill him''.}} It seems to work, insofarin that she does eventually seem to care about him somewhat, but even that has the opposite effect when {{spoiler|that very caring just makes her kill another person, exactly what he told her not to do}}.

* Electra from ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water]]'' who resigns herself to just continue being [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]] Nemo's surrogate daughter despite her own feelings for him, at least until his real daughter Nadia shows up again.

* Soi in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' loves cold-hearted, emotionally stunted Nakago enough to let him use her for sexual healing and even {{spoiler|take a fatal sword wound for him.}}

* Spoileriffic example from ''[[Princess Tutu]]'': {{spoiler|Rue is practically this trope incarnate. She puts up with her "[[Big Bad|Father]]'s" emotional and physical abuse, blaming herself for the Raven's behavior and believing she just needs to be a "better daughter." When she taints Mytho's heart with the Raven's blood, he begins to take on her father's abusive personality--but, as Mytho says, she "never stopped loving." In the end, her efforts are rewarded--the Raven's poison is reversed by Rue's [[The Power of Love|declaration of love]] and Mytho's pure-hearted personality is restored, and he confesses love for her in return and takes her away to be his princess.}}

** {{spoiler|In the ending, after they're revived, they're inexplicably back together and she's pregnant with his child}}.

* Echidna from ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'' is this way for Creed. Despite being an extremely attractive, popular and world-famous actress who could definitely find a much nicer man, she chooses to stay by [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Creed's]] side. And it's made clear that she doesn't go through with doing evil things because she really likes to - it's all for Creed's happiness. Even though Creed is shown openly to be [[Stalker with a Crush|incredibly obsessed with Train and have very disturbing sexual fantasies about Train]]. In the anime, it is shown that she notices Creed's unhealthy obsession with Train, and therefore harbors resentment towards Train.

* ''[[Zetsuai 1989]]'': At one point Kouji ''cuts off his own left arm'' so that his family will leave Izumi alone. And it took Izumi quite a long time for him to warm up to Kouji.

* Ritsuka from ''[[Loveless]]'' is a platonic version of this toward his older brother Seimei - even the knowledge that Seimei was a {{spoiler|murderer who faked his own death}} as a twisted test of Ritsuka's love and who constantly abused Soubi cannot sway Ritsuka's devotion.

* Rolo Haliburton is this for Lelouch Lamperouge in ''[[Code Geass]]'', no matter if his affection for Lelouch is romantic or brotherly. Although Rolo's no saint himself, he became so attached to his 'brother' that in episode 19 {{spoiler|he sacrificed his life to save Lelouch's. When Lelouch was betrayed and abandoned by everyone, Rolo was the only one who stayed with him, even after Lelouch admitted he was just using Rolo and had tried to kill him numerous times; he then saved Lelouch by overloading his Evil Eye to carry him to safety, fully aware that the strain from using it for so long with so much range would be too much for his heart to endure. As Rolo lays dying,}} he tells Lelouch that even if Lelouch was just using him and the time he spent with him was fake, to Rolo it was ''real'' and it meant something to him.

* ''[[Candy Candy]]'': Candy skirts the line sometimes, in regards to Terry.

* A rare sibling example is wonderfully demonstrated in the one-shot manga "[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/smargs_won_t_sing/c001/5.html Smargs Won't Sing]", which is [[Better Than It Sounds]].

** {{spoiler|It turns out to be a [[Jerkass Facade]] by the older sister in order to be [[Dying Alone|hated by everyone]] as her end of the [[Deal with the Devil|contract with the Smarg]] so that she [[Heroic Sacrifice|will be its only victim]]. The younger sister seems to be aware of it, as she gives up her voice to get another Smarg to protect her from it}}. It does take an extraordinary amount of love and patience to endure that behavior for three years, though, even considering the circumstances.

 

 

* In ''[[Hunting the Unicorn]],'' [[Glee|Blaine]] is shown as this. It's not as bad as most examples since he's currently with Kurt, but what happened ''before'' is worrying. First is his platonic martyrdom, as he constantly makes excuses for his estranged father; then comes the revelation that [[But Not Too Gay|chaste]], [[Oblivious to Love|oblivious]], [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|idealistic]] Blaine {{spoiler|is not a virgin. At seventeen.}}

** [[It Got Worse]]. Blaine is implied to think [[Sex Equals Love]], {{spoiler|so he lost his virginity at sixteen to a guy who either didn't notice or didn't ''care'' that he was leading Blaine on.}} Later on, we find out that {{spoiler|Blaine tried to ''invoke'' [[Sex Equals Love]]}}, which makes it [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|dumber]] ''and'' [[Tear Jerker|sadder.]] And in the nineteenth chapter, after {{spoiler|waking up in a basement with Wes and David}}, the first person he tries to call is his dad. The one who [[Parental Neglect|hasn't talked to him in two years]] [[Coming Out Story|because he came out.]]

* In the ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'' fic, Hisao comments that Lilly seems willing to overlook her father's transgressions, which include [[Parental Abandonment|leaving her and Akira alone in Japan for six years]], [[Kick the Dog|viciously insulting her best friend Hanako]] and calling Yamaku a "cripple school." {{spoiler|Then it's subverted when she, in response to Hisao and Hanako being insulted, tells her father she will not stand for it, and concludes by screaming "[[Calling the Old Man Out|YOU HARDLY RAISED ME AT ALL]], [[Precision F-Strike|YOU BASTARD]]!" and forcing him out of the apartment. They do later reconcile, though.}}

 

== Film ==

* Dr. Molly Clock from ''[[Scrubs]]'' notes that, as a psychologist, it's not surprising that she's attracted to emotionally damaged people. She stayed with her first boyfriend even after he stole a car and totalled it in the ensuing chase.

* Da'an of ''Earth Final Conflict'' loves his son Zo'or, even after his repeated attempts on his life, and has even covered up for him a couple of times.

* Wilson puts up with an amazing amount of abuse from ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' in the name of friendship.

** House has also forgiven some bad behavior from Wilson, such as not telling him he'd cured a patient, thinking it would teach House humility, but instead plunged him back into Vicodin abuse.

** Anyone who falls in love with Starbuck better gear up for some serious abuse.

* ''[[Juken Sentai Gekiranger]]'': Mele, madly in love with [[Evil Overlord]] Rio, arguably counts, although Rio does have his [[Pet the Dog]] moments proving that he does care for her. {{spoiler|In the end, [[Love Redeems|their love redeems them both]], and they [[Heel Face Turn|turn good]]... [[Redemption Equals Death|and then die]].}}

* Niles of ''[[Frasier]]'', in the earlier days of Maris, which was shown retroactively when he's broke and panicking (he can't bring himself to go back this time, though): "Life with Maris wasn't so bad. It was my fault, after all! I was too rigid, I was always making demands! Eat something! Unlock this door! Don't throw that!"

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'': Some fans regard the Buffy-stricken Spike as such.

 

== Videogames ==

* [[Ax Crazy|Jack]] tries to scare Shepard away with this in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', but if he persists she will [[Defrosting Ice Queen|soften somewhat]].

* The Warden takes a ''lot'' of flak for his relationship with [[Black Magician Girl|Morrigan]], from her and from others, in ''[[Dragon Age]]''. Makes the end of Witch Hunt that much more heartwarming, actually.

* Dandy is a minor example in ''[[Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective|Ghost Trick]]''. Beauty constantly insults him, and yet he keeps talking about who to invite to their hypothetical wedding. Given some of his dialogue, he may actually enjoy the abuse.

* Princess Ishtar of Freege from ''[[Fire Emblem Jugdral]]'', an [[Anti-Villain]] who is in love with the imperial prince Yurius, who is sort-of the [[Big Bad]] of the game and the reincarnation of a dark god in any case. She ends up dying in a last stand against the hero's army as they come to defeat Yurius.

** To Lotte's credit, in two of Arakune's endings, he pulls himself together long enough to either save Litchi from her own corruption erasing her memories of him in the process or beg her to abandon him and seek help from Kokonoe. Her love for him was at least partially reciprocated.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Dina from ''[[Walkyverse|It's Walky!]]'' There's STILL controversy about her relationship with complete Jerkass [[Sociopathic Hero]] Mike, and {{spoiler|Dina's dead}}. Most of the arguments are about whether or not Mike returned her affection at all; for example, {{spoiler|he took her to her favorite place in the world, the museum, something her usually nicer ex-boyfriend Walky was never shown as doing (in fact, Walky was depicted as very selfish when it came to his relationship with Dina)}} and {{spoiler|implied that he had loved her to Joe after Dina's death.}}

* In [[General Protection Fault]], Ki becomes this as her relationship with her fiance Sam deteriorates when he faces pressure on several fronts, notably his parents being opposed to him going out with her. Even as rumors spread of him cheating on her (which are never explicitly confirmed but strongly implied to be true) spread, she remains loyal to him until {{spoiler|he [[Moral Event Horizon|tries to rape her]] when she's unable to go through with having sex with him}}.

* In ''[[Digger]]'', there's {{spoiler|Ed, the hyena friend of the protagonist. [[Tear Jerker|Oh, Ed...]]}}

 

== Web Originals ==

== Real Life ==

* Tragically common in abusive relationships of all kinds. Gender, age, etc., doesn't matter.

* Of ''all'' people, [[Katharine Hepburn]], during her relationship with Spencer Tracy. He did genuinely love her, but he had an alcohol problem and would frequently fly into rages and even hit her. No matter what happened, though, she never left him. One quote from her autobiography explains the whole philosophy behind this trope:

{{quote|Love has nothing to do with what you're expecting to get, '''only what you're expecting to give - which is everything.''' What you receive in return varies, but that really has no connection with why you give. '''You give because you love and cannot help giving.'''}}

[[Category:Love Martyr]]

[[Category:Abuse Tropes]]