History LivingEmotionalCrutch / VisualNovels

** In the prequel ''LightNovel/FateZero'', it turns out Irisviel (and Illya) were this to Kiritsugu. It's not a coincidence that when the DownerEnding comes ([[spoiler:as Irisviel has died, he had to kill a realistic illusion of Irisviel and Ilya to prevent the Grail from causing mass destruction, the Grail ends up causing mass destruction ''anyways'']]), this mantle is handed over to Shirou once Kiritsugu rescues him. And just to really twist the knife, ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' reveals that if Kiritsugu wasn't hired by the Einzberns (and thus never met Irisviel), he would've become a Counter Guardian like EMIYA, depressed and emotionally shutdown enough that he rejects any attempt to emotionally reach out to him, even from Irisviel's alternate self, who loves him despite his not being the Kiritsugu from her world.

** In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Beatrice Castiglioni was this to Kinzo. [[spoiler:Her DeathByChildbirth caused him to cross the DespairEventHorizon, so much so that he eventually [[ParentalIncest raped their own daughter]] after convincing himself that she was her mother's reincarnation]].

** In the prequel ''LightNovel/FateZero'', it turns out Irisviel (and Illya) were this to Kiritsugu. It's not a coincidence that when the DownerEnding comes ([[spoiler:as Irisviel has died, he had to kill a realistic illusion of Irisviel and Illya to prevent the Grail from causing mass destruction, the Grail ends up causing mass destruction ''anyways'']]), this mantle is handed over to Shirou once Kiritsugu rescues him. And just to really twist the knife, ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' reveals that if Kiritsugu wasn't hired by the Einzberns (and thus never met Irisviel), he would've become a Counter Guardian, depressed and emotionally shutdown enough that he rejects any attempt to emotionally reach out to him, even from some woman that loves him in an alternate universe.

* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' Shirou is a crutch for Sakura, though this is not immediately evident. [[spoiler:He's the only one she'll let kill her, even after [[WoobieOfMassDestruction she loses it completely]]]].

* ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'':
** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' has Rika and Satoko (mostly wih Satoko as Rika's crutch), but it isn't noticeable until the "answer arcs". [[spoiler:Rika is so overcome by the abuse Satoko takes in certain worlds she would rather [[DrivenToSuicide die]] and be taken to the next AlternateUniverse than see it anymore. On the other hand, Rika has no issue brutally beating Satoko up with a chair in Saikoroshi-hen, a world where they aren't friends]].
** In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Beatrice Castiglioni was this to Kinzo. [[spoiler:Her DeathByChildbirth caused him to cross the DespairEventHorizon, so much so that he eventually [[ParentalIncest raped their own daughter]] after convincing himself that she was her mother's reincarnation]].

* ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku''
** Nobunaga is this for Hideyoshi due to [[spoiler:Hideyoshi having extremely low self-esteem caused by a lifetime of being constantly rejected and shunned by others solely because he was born a poor vagabond. He had basically given up on ever bettering himself until Nobunaga inspired him to turn his life around, and he subsequently bases his entire self-worth on serving Nobunaga and is willing to give up his entire life for him in a heartbeat]].
** On Kenshin's route, the female main character becomes this to him. His heart has already been so bruised by [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest his first love's tragic death]] that he lives in constant fear that the MC will leave him too and [[{{Yandere}} resorts to extreme measures]] to keep her close to him. When she becomes severely injured, he snaps and goes on a suicidal RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the entirety of Japan that ends only when she recovers enough to talk him down. Not only that, but one story event has him [[TraumaInducedAmnesia psychologically suppress all his memories of her]] when she gets critically injured a second time in front of him.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All''. [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] suffers from totally-played-straight Dependent Personality Disorder. Initially appearing as a well put-together career woman who needs no one and prefers being by herself, it is later revealed she is actually the exact opposite in hiding. Her codependent nature is such that it's eventually discovered that she [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] after the death of [[spoiler: her mentor, Celeste Inpax,]] later modeled her external personality after her in an attempt to cope, and she'll stop just shy of anything for people to not know that she [[spoiler: tried to kill herself;]] Edgeworth takes advantage of this by [[spoiler: [[BlackMail threatening to tell the court about it if she doesn't testify to the information he wants to hear.]]]] By the end of the case, though, [[spoiler: Matt Engarde]] being exposed as the person who helped [[spoiler: drive Celeste to suicide, and his conviction for the hired killing of Juan Corrida, landing him in jail for the rest of his life,]] takes a huge load off Adrian's psyche, and she sports a genuine smile when telling Phoenix and Edgeworth that watching them work together in the pursuit of justice has made her feel like she has the power to take on the future. When we see her in the next game she's noticeably warmer, if not still pretty anxious in general, and is very thankful towards Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl for all they did for her.

** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' has Rika and Satoko (mostly wih Satoko as Rika's crutch), but it isn't noticeable until the "answer arcs". [[spoiler:Rika is so overcome by the abuse Satoko takes in certain worlds she would rather [[DrivenToSuicide die]] and be taken to the next AlternateUniverse than see it anymore]].

* In ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku'', Nobunaga is this for Hideyoshi due to [[spoiler:Hideyoshi having extremely low self-esteem caused by a lifetime of being constantly rejected and shunned by others solely because he was born a poor vagabond. He had basically given up on ever bettering himself until Nobunaga inspired him to turn his life around, and he subsequently bases his entire self-worth on serving Nobunaga and is willing to give up his entire life for him in a heartbeat]].

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All''. [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] suffers from totally-played-straight Dependent Personality Disorder. Initially appearing as a well put-together career woman who needs no one and prefers being by herself, it is later revealed she is actually the exact opposite in hiding. Her codependent nature is such that it's eventually discovered that she [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] after the death of [[spoiler: her mentor, Celeste Inpax,]] later modeled her external personality after her in an attempt to cope, and she'll stop just shy of anything for people to not know that she [[spoiler: tried to kill herself;]] Edgeworth takes advantage of this by [[spoiler: [[BlackMail threatening to tell the court about it if she doesn't testify to the information he wants to hear.]]]] By the end of the case, though, [[spoiler: Matt Engarde]] being exposed as the person who helped [[spoiler: drive Celeste to suicide, and his conviction for the hired killing of Juan Corrida, landing him in jail for the rest of his life,]] takes a huge load off Adrian's psyche, and she sports a genuine smile when telling Phoenix and Edgeworth that watching them work together in the pursuit of justice has made her feel like she has the power to take on the future. When we see her in the next game she's noticeably warmer and is very thankful towards Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl for all they did for her, if not still with a good dose of general anxiety.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All''. [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] suffers from totally-played-straight Dependent Personality Disorder. Initially appearing as a well put-together career woman who needs no one and prefers being by herself, it is later revealed she is actually the exact opposite in hiding. Her codependent nature is such that it's eventually discovered that she [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] after the death of [[spoiler: her mentor, Celeste Inpax,]] later modeled her external personality after her in an attempt to cope, and she'll stop just shy of anything for people to not know that she [[spoiler: tried to kill herself;]] Edgeworth takes advantage of this by [[spoiler: [[BlackMail threatening to tell the court about it if she doesn't testify to the information he wants to hear.]]]] By the end of the case, though, [[spoiler: Matt Engarde]] being exposed as the person who helped [[spoiler: drive Celeste to suicide, and his conviction for the hired killing of Juan Corrida, landing him in jail for the rest of his life]] takes a huge load off Adrian's psyche, and she sports a genuine smile when telling Phoenix and Edgeworth that watching them work together in the pursuit of justice has made her feel like she has the power to take on the future. When we see her in the next game she's noticeably warmer and is very thankful towards Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl for all they did for her, if not still with a good dose of general anxiety.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All''. [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] suffers from totally-played-straight Dependent Personality Disorder. Initially appearing as a well put-together career woman who needs no one and prefers being by herself, it is later revealed she is actually the exact opposite in hiding. Her codependent pathology is so severe, in fact, that it is eventually discovered that she [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] after the death of [[spoiler: Celeste Inpax,]] and later modeled her external personality after her in an attempt to cope, and will stop just shy of anything for her [[spoiler: suicide attempt]] to not be found out, and Edgeworth takes advantage of this by [[spoiler: [[BlackMail threatening to tell the court about it if she doesn't testify to the information he wants to hear.]]]] By the end of the case, though, [[spoiler: Matt Engarde]] being exposed as the person who helped drive [[spoiler: Celeste to suicide, and his conviction for the hired killing of Juan Corrida, landing him in jail for the rest of his life]] takes a huge load off Adrian's psyche, and she sports a genuine smile when telling Phoenix and Edgeworth that watching them work together in the pursuit of justice has made her feel like she has the power to take on the future. When we see her in the next game she's noticeably warmer and is very thankful towards Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl for all they did for her, if not still with a good dose of general anxiety.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All''. [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] suffers from totally-played-straight Dependent Personality Disorder. Initially appearing as a well put-together career woman who needs no one and prefers being by herself, it is later revealed she is actually the exact opposite in hiding and willing to do literally anything to not be found out. Her codependent pathology is so severe, in fact, that it is eventually discovered that she [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] after the death of [[spoiler: Celeste Inpax,]] and later modeled her external personality after her in an attempt to cope. By the end of the case, though, [[spoiler: Matt Engarde]] being exposed as the person who helped drive [[spoiler: Celeste to suicide, and his conviction for the hired killing of Juan Corrida, landing him in jail for the rest of his life]] takes a huge load off Adrian's psyche, and she sports a genuine smile when telling Phoenix and Edgeworth that watching them work together in the pursuit of justice has made her feel like she has the power to take on the future. When we see her in the next game she's noticeably warmer and is very thankful towards Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl for all they did for her, if not still with a good dose of general anxiety.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All''. [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] suffers from an intentionally overcompensated for and totally-played-straight Dependent Personality Disorder. Initially appearing as a self-contained narcissist who needs no one and prefers being by herself, it is later revealed she is actually the exact opposite in hiding and willing to do literally anything to not be found out. Her codependent pathology is so severe, in fact, that it is eventually discovered that she [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] after the death of the person she pathologically idolized and lived exclusively for: [[spoiler:Celeste Inpax]]. In an attempt to hide this fact, she forms a relationship with Franziska von Karma to protect herself from needing to reveal her true nature. [[spoiler:Andrews, naturally, clings to Franziska like a terrified and helpless child, doing everything she says without any thought of her own needs]].

* ''VisualNovel/WhenTheyCry'':

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' has Rika and Satoko, but it isn't noticeable until the "answer arcs". [[spoiler:Rika is so overcome by the abuse Satoko takes in certain worlds she would rather [[DrivenToSuicide die]] and be taken to the next AlternateUniverse than see it anymore]].

** [[spoiler:Shizune is one for Misha]], as seen in her route.

* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Beatrice Castiglioni was this to Kinzo. [[spoiler:Her DeathByChildbirth caused him to cross the DespairEventHorizon, so much so that he eventually [[ParentalIncest raped their own daughter]] after convincing himself that she was her mother's reincarnation]].