History Main / AllTakeAndNoGive

* Characters/{{Daredevil|MattMurdock}} descended into this at the end of his relationship with Heather Glenn. Still stricken by the death of his ex-lover Characters/{{Elektra}}, he deliberately let the company Heather had inherited be destroyed to make sure that she would have nothing in her life but him, and thus couldn't leave him.

* In the ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' film, Queenie Goldstein discovers Newt Scamander's relationship with Leta Lestrange by reading his mind, and how it didn't work out.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Despite being best friends, Lana and Chloe's relationship is very one-sided. For eight years, Chloe has always been the giver and the best Lana did is to blame her when something goes wrong and/or break her heart with her relationship with Clark.
** In season eight, Chloe and [[spoiler:Davis Bloome]], more or less, but this time it is Chloe who insists on giving.
* In the second season of ''Series/TrueBlood'', the maenad Maryann functions as the giver to the alcoholic, emotionally fragile Tara. She invites Tara to live in her mansion where she's pampered around the clock, under the guise of trying to help the girl turn her life around. [[spoiler:In reality, Maryann is trying to drive a wedge between Tara and her abusive mother so that she can control Tara's life herself, [[EmotionEater feeding off her anguish and rage]].]]
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'':
** In one episode, Jerry refers to himself as a Taker and another character as a Giver, and argues that a relationship between a Giver and Taker is the ideal.
** Kramer and George are both all take and no give in most episodes.
* Al Bundy's family is like this on ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', doing very little to contribute to the household and whining whenever they don't get their way. Peggy is the worst one. Whereas the kids eventually get jobs and start paying their own way, what she contributes to the relationship is questionable, given that she refuses to get a job, cook or clean the house, and constantly spends Al's money on useless junk and Bon Bons. Peg justifies this by claiming that she does serve a function: boosting Al's ego as the sole breadwinner. How much Peg is right is up to debate, but an early episode did have Peg get a job. Al became almost as miserable as Peg was because he actually liked having her around and he ''enjoyed'' complaining about her freeloading.
* Series/{{House}} and Wilson are a little unusual, since their relationship, while strange and disturbing, actually seems to ''work'' for both of them -- House's selfishness has prevented him from having any other friends, and while Wilson keeps embracing vulnerable people and nursing them towards mental health and self-confidence, he invariably loses all interest in them once they no longer need him to take care of them. House, by contrast, is a bottomless pit of need; no matter how much Wilson (or anyone else) gives, it's never enough. The only person who could put up with the ultimate Giver in the long run is the ultimate Taker, and vice versa.

* On ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'', Sarah is The "Taker" to her sister, Laura. Sarah refuses to work. All her money and her apartment is provided to her by her sister, for which Laura receives zero gratitude.

* On ''Series/VeronicaMars'', the title character often slips into this, particularly with respect to her friend Wallace. Veronica falls into this, as the "Taker", with Wallace being the "Giver." It gets to the point where [[WhatTheHellHero she gets rightfully called out on it.]]
* Pretty much the relationship between the Winchesters and Castiel, from ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', with the latter being the Giver. While Cas has done an endless list of things for Sam and Dean (usually at the cost of his own well-being), he has not asked something from the Winchesters in return more than twice. However, although he doesn't usually get as much as a "thanks" in return, what has really been irking some fans is that on the one time Cas actually needed the Winchesters to support him, they failed to do so. [[spoiler:It's arguable that the whole Leviathan business could have been avoided if only Sam and Dean had listened to Cas, instead of turning on him for making a deal with a demon... something the Winchesters themselves do on a daily basis.]]
** This is also the Winchesters' relationship with Kevin Tran, again with the latter as the Giver. They pretty much see him as a walking talking translation machine. In fact, Kevin was able to tell when demons were impersonating Sam and Dean because the demons were being nice to him.
* The title character from ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and John in the initial stages of their friendship. John is extremely tolerant of Sherlock, who makes no effort to be either easy to live with or particularly accommodating, despite John being willing to kill criminals and put his life on the line for Sherlock's sake. Ultimately averted, however, when [[spoiler:Sherlock allows the world to believe he is "a fake genius" and [[UndyingLoyalty stages his own suicide to safeguard John's and their other friends' lives]]]]. John himself doesn't seem to believe this of their relationship, as stated by him during his [[spoiler:graveyard spiel following Sherlock's supposed death]]: "I was so alone, and I owe you so much." Understandable, as the very first episode hints that John sorely misses the thrill and danger of war, and that helping Sherlock with his cases gives him a sense of purpose and allows him to experience the excitement he craves.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
** Sheldon Cooper is a Taker with all his friends being the Givers, expecting others to succumb to his every whim, from what they eat each day to driving him around no matter how it might inconvenience others, and only does things for others when he literally has no other choice. On the other hand, he does have his PetTheDog moments. [[note]] Such as loaning Penny money on ''very'' generous terms knowing he'll likely never get it back; hiring Raj as an assistant so he could remain in the country when his research grant (and his visa) were cancelled; and saving Leonard's life from the rocket fuel accident that destroyed the elevator (and protecting Leonard's reputation by lying to the landlord, police, and Homeland Security about the exact circumstances).[[/note]]
** Because Leonard is a [[ExtremeDoormat chronic enabler]], he is the Giver in this sort of relationship with several characters, be it [[SmallNameBigEgo Sheldon]], [[PrettyFreeloader Penny]] or even his own mother [[AbusiveParents Beverly]].
* Although we never meet Rick's parents (who are explicitly stated to be upper-class conservatives) on ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', he is strongly implied to have this kind of relationship with them. At one point, Vyvyan describes Rick as "the classic example of an only child".
* The Barone family are a seemingly dysfunctional example of this dynamic in ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond''. [[JewishMother Matriarch]] Marie Barone controls her adult family by seemingly eternal giving - of food, comforts, domestic help - which serves to keep her husband and sons as dependent man-children who are forever bound to her in a web of obligation. She also uses her giving streak to minimize and diminish her two daughters-in-law. But neither her husband nor her sons can resist taking.
* In ''Series/CoronationStreet'', Mavis Riley and Derek Wilton's on-and-off relationship is like this, where Derek is the taker and Mavis is the giver. It seems to be a middle ground, where Derek is obliviously taking Mavis for granted and Mavis feels compelled to help him because she keeps fooling herself into thinking he'll change.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Cat and Mouse", Andrea Moffat showers Guillaume de Marchaux with affection and gifts as she believes that she has finally found TrueLove after years of loneliness. However, Guillaume belittles her by calling her a "fool of a woman" and threatens to leave if she does not get him a decent blend of coffee as opposed to the "sewage water" that she was serving him. As soon as she leaves, he has sex with her [[WithFriendsLikeThese supposed friend]] Elaine. He later tells Andrea to spare him the clichés when she says that she thought that he loved her.

* Music/{{Lit}}'s Music/{{Miserable}} has this as one of its main themes, both in the lyrics and in the video. The song mentions how the woman has used up all of (the man's) plans, then later she uses up his friends, but the man tells himself "who needs them" when "(she) means everything". In the video the GiantWoman lounges around while the band performs the song for her only for her to eventually [[spoiler: start eating them alive for seemingly no reason than her own amusement. The men's unwillingness in becoming her snacks is apparent in the way they try to escape her and beg for their lives, but she ignores this and eat them anyway. In the end they gave her everything, including their lives, to satisfy her appetites, but she doesn't care.]]

** Cinder Fall and Emerald Sustrai, on the other hand, are a clear-cut case of the trope. Cinder plucked Emerald off the streets and promised that she'd never be hungry again, which led to Emerald becoming a LoveMartyr for her. Cinder kept her promise but alternates it with a lot of physical and emotional abuse, which slowly escalates over the series as Emerald grows increasingly terrified of the depths of Cinder's villainy. [[spoiler:In Volume 8, Emerald finally realizes that Cinder does not care about her, and leaves to join the heroes.]]

* In Alma Katsu's ''The Taker'', Lanny is the Giver and Jonathan is the Taker. A sort of mix between the two types: Lanny will do anything for Jonathan, no matter the cost or risk to herself - including [[PoisonousFriend a few things he would not have wanted her to do for him, had she bothered to ask him.]]

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Church's [[ItsAllAboutMe selfishness and egotism]] results in his relationships falling into this. He obsessed over his girlfriend Tex and demands she stay with him at all times, but refuses to acknowledge any of her wants and constantly pursues her. With his friends, Church demands endless amounts of help and respect while never giving any in return. With CharacterDevelopment, he eventually grows out of it.

** In ''Literature/TillWeHaveFaces'', Orual wants Psyche to be happy -- as long as Orual and only Orual is the one to make her happy. Otherwise, she must be made miserable.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Music/CatHairballs: Ren and Stimpy's whole dynamic through the song and video is this. Stimpy is hwarfing up hairballs for Ren that are being used to make him things like a suit, and food but that's still not good enough for Ren he demands more like a bike, an Italian sports car, high heel shoes, a hat and matching underwear, all be made from the product that's being farmed solely from Stimpy. The video makes this more evident by showing Stimpy becoming more and more exhausted from the effort of trying to keep up with Ren's demands, eventually ending with Stimpy [[spoiler: trying to give one last good hwarf, only to pass out on the conveyor belt]] which is immediately followed by Ren [[spoiler: brutally [[PainToTheAss smashing Stimpy's butt]] with a big rubber stamp so hard it leaves a ButtBrand.]]

The middle ground is akin to TheMasochismTango, both the Giver and the Taker are in a deeply co-dependent relationship they can't break out of. Maybe they're a SugarDaddy and a [[GoldDigger shop-happy floozy]], a parent who can't stand to say "no" and an emotionally needy SpoiledBrat, or an indulgent monarch raising a RoyalBrat. In all variations, both participants will be unwilling or unable to leave, change or even identify the relationship.

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Church is the Taker to Tex's Giver. Church is obsessive over her and constantly disregards her wants all the while insulting her, while Tex humors him and does her level best to protect him [[spoiler:out of guilt over allowing him to be tortured into insanity by the Director]]. Church eventually comes to realize how toxic their relationship is after going through CharacterDevelopment, and breaks it off.

* Harley Quinn is like this to her beloved, ComicBook/TheJoker. She helps him with all his plans, breaks him out of Arkham over and over again, and always comes back to him. DependingOnTheWriter, The Joker may give her nothing more in return than tolerance, or a bullet to the heart.
* Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} descended into this at the end of his relationship with Heather Glenn. Still stricken by the death of his ex-lover Comicbook/{{Elektra}}, he deliberately let the company Heather had inherited be destroyed to make sure that she would have nothing in her life but him, and thus couldn't leave him.

* In ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', this is what Gary and Yuki's relationship degenerated to: She demanded oral sex from Gary [[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces anytime and anywhere]] the mood strikes her. Reciprocation - not even a kiss - did not even occur to her; partly because she can't even think of Gary's penis without having a psychotic break, partly because Yuki is [[ItsAllAboutMe stunningly selfish.]] The one-sidedness of the situation does get [[http://www.ma3comic.com/strips-ma3/that_was_tight spelled out for her]] eventually and [[HeelRealization she decides to break things off]].

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''[[Manga/{{Monster}} Another Monster]]'' delves deeper into Tenma and Eva's relationship, when Eva realizes that, despite her being the taker, Tenma was always the stronger one that she depended on for a sense of worth and confidence.
* In ''Anime/SpiritedAway'', we have a case of the second variant with No Face as the Giver and Chihiro as the Taker. In the beginning, No Face helped Chihiro out and Chihiro gratefully accepted his help. But once Chihiro refused to accept one of his gifts after seeing how the other bath patrons were greedily accepting his gifts of gold without question, No Face [[AxCrazy went a little crazy]], [[ImAHumanitarian ate some people]] and demanded that Chihiro be brought to him so she could accept his gifts.
** Then there's Yubaba and her gigantic baby Boh. She coddles him incessantly and he's spoiled rotten. It takes a BalefulPolymorph into a tiny animal for him to learn manners and "grow up". He gets better.
* ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'': Takako, when she first started out as the Pretear, was the Taker, with Hayate as the Giver. However, when she realized that he didn't return her affections, [[LoveMakesYouEvil she became the Princess of Disaster.]]
%%* Kagetora and Naoe's relationship in ''LightNovel/MirageOfBlaze''.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has Lelouch masterfully manipulating Rolo into being a Giver. Poor Rolo thought someone actually liked him. Of course, being both a [[ReplacementGoldfish fake replacement sibling]] ''and'' an assassin ordered to kill Lelouch if he was shown to have his memories regained did not endear him. Also, Rolo had become the manipulative type of Giver, to the point he wanted Lelouch as his brother to the point where he would forget Nunnally. And once [[spoiler:Rolo killed Shirley in cold blood]], Lelouch pretty much tried to get rid of him as payback. Until, ironically enough, [[spoiler:Rolo saved his life [[RedemptionEqualsDeath at the cost of his own]]]].
* This was the root of [[ChildhoodFriends Seiko and Ruruka]]'s falling out in ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool''. Ruruka frequently made use of Seiko's skill as a MadScientist for various medicines and performance enhancers over the years and felt [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex frustrated]] that [[IllGirl Seiko's illness]] made her unable to return the favor using [[SupremeChef her sweets]]. [[PoorCommunicationKills The mutual lack of communication]] as well as [[spoiler: Nagito inadvertently getting the two, as well as Ruruka's boyfriend Izayoi, expelled from Hope's Peak(which led the two to blame each other for the incident)]] led to them hating each other as adults.
* ''Manga/YuGiOh'' plays with this. Yugi solves the Millennium Puzzle and gains a spirit for an alter ego. The spirit then protects Yugi from bullies and wins games of all kinds on his behalf, including tournaments, whilst letting Yugi take credit. Initially, Yugi refuses to entertain the idea of helping the spirit get his freedom, but he later admits his dependency and resolves to become stronger. Zigzagged in that most of the reason the pair entered tournaments in the first place was people targeting the Puzzle and Yugi's loved ones, rather than Yugi using the spirit intentionally for personal glory. The final arc partially focuses on Yugi asserting his own strength and learning to live up to the reputation the spirit gave him, netting a big victory against one of the final villain's forms and challenging the spirit to a final duel after the day has been saved.
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', it is revealed in the Databook to be how Zenitsu was treated by exactly seven different malicious women in the past, each one of them took advantage of Zenitsu's desperate wish of having a girlfriend, in hopes of becoming a family since he was always afraid of dying alone and unloved as a orphan; they all feigned appreciation towards Zenitsu, while just draining him of money while he just piled himself with debts to sustain his current ”girlfriend”. It is noted none of them would let Zentisu even hold their hand, much less allow any other form of physical proximity, emotionally manipulating Zentisu by promising they would get closer if he took care of their needs, that would never happen in the end.
* Unsui and Agon of ''Anime/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' have this undertone to their relationship. Unsui tends to act like a surrogate parent to his brother (it's implied their real parents spoil him), puts his brother's needs before his own, and constantly apologizes for his brother's actions. This is due to Unsui's need to have a purpose after the painful realization that he'll always be a mediocre person without his brother.
* This is what BigBad [[spoiler:Ajimu]] of ''Manga/MedakaBox'' says is the true nature of [[spoiler:Medaka and Zenkichi]]'s relationship. [[spoiler:Even after Zenkichi's unfailing devotion to her, all out of his love for her, she takes it for granted. Ajimu bluntly states he was not born to serve Medaka.]] This ultimately proves to have some truth to it when [[spoiler:Medaka berates and attacks Zenkichi for not being able to pass the first part of her test given to her possible successors. When Zenkichi confronts her to prove his point, she beats the tar out of him and berates him further to solidify him becoming her enemy just so she wasn't wrong in her assumptions can continue to see value in him]].
** This also makes her seem even more of a JerkAss since when [[spoiler:Akune decides to join Zenkichi against Medaka she praises him instead of giving him the same treatment]].
* Partway through ''Anime/WelcomeToTheNHK'', Satou begins to fear/hallucinate that Misaki may be trying to trick him into a relationship. [[spoiler:She is.]]
* A relationship becomes the motive for murder in ''Manga/CaseClosed''. The "Taker" discovered that the "Giver" was ruining her life so she'd stay dependent forever, and thus murdered the "Giver".
* At the beginning of ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', [[{{Ojou}} Rue]] and [[EmotionlessBoy Mytho]] have a strange relationship where they're both content but they both "give" things that the other person finds meaningless and "take" something else that's unimportant to the other; Rue might be considered the Taker just because she gets ''something'' out of Mytho that he intentionally gives, even if it's not what she really wants. Mytho follows Rue's every whim, but only because [[ExtremeDoormat he likes being ordered around]] and "nobody else tells [him] what to do". Rue keeps him around because [[BrokenBird she wants to be loved]], but he's completely incapable of reciprocating, so she just makes him tell her "I love you" and pretends that it's real.
* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', SmugSnake {{Light|IsNotGood}} [[SerialKiller Yagami]] and his girlfriend/co-conspirator [[MadLove Misa]] are like this; Light is a manipulative ConsummateLiar who takes advantage of Misa's mental instability and desperation for support to make her both his most dangerous pawn and his lover - in his defense, though, it wasn't as if she [[{{Yandere}} gave him much of a choice]]. This results in a relationship where Light plays with her life, like everyone else's, while she is gradually consumed by her obsession with him, despite his total lack of affection toward her. It culminates in [[spoiler:[[DrivenToSuicide her death]]]].
** A stranger example happens in the Yostuba arc, where Light's MemoryGambit has him working on his own murder investigation under [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist L]]. During this period, Light is genuinely trying to help, and L gladly accepts his generosity - while trying to get him convicted for murder.
* The relationship between siblings Umaru and Taihei in ''Manga/HimoutoUmaruChan''. Umaru is a LazyBum who expects Taihei to wait on her hand and foot while Taihei, for all his attempts to get his sister to straighten up, mostly does exactly that.
* This is why the titular character of ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'' [[spoiler:broke up with Resasuke: he wasn't a bad person, but his AmbiguousDisorder meant that he couldn't really provide what Retsuko wanted, while her commitment to their relationship ended up being stressful.]]
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': This is what Akito's relationship with Kureno is all about. Kureno is the only one in the Zodiac who obeys Akito without any reluctance and gives her all his attention [[spoiler:even though he's no longer forced to by the curse since it broke for him years ago]]. Akito keeps Kureno with her at all times and doesn't want him to interact with anyone else or go anywhere without her permission. Shigure calls Kureno out on how him doing anything Akito wants from him [[spoiler:despite his curse breaking]] only made Akito worse as a person as she still thinks she can get away with expecting to be loved by others while giving nothing but abuse and spite in return.
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[[folder:FanWorks]]
* In ''FanFic/ConversationsWithACryptid'', Hisashi Midoriya is the Giver, being Inko's absent and rich husband who gives Inko and their son Izuku as much money as they need. Unfortunately for Inko as the Taker since she quit her job to marry him and have Izuku, she has no way of reprisal. Since she is dependent on him for income and for Izuku's tuition, she can't divorce him for disappearing on her for 8 years. Inko can't refuse his help because it would be difficult to get a job since she has been out of the workforce so long, and she has no family for support.
* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5158315/1/A-Throne-of-Bayonets The prior fic]] ends with Asuka and Shinji so burned-out that they were afraid of having a real relationship, so Asuka proposes this setup in lieu of an actual romance (her as the Taker, Shinji as the Giver), not expecting him to actually agree to such a loveless one-sided affair, only for him to accept it on the basis that it was better than nothing. This fic has several characters, including their own future selves (who are in a healthy relationship) denounce that "agreement" a hollow shell of a relationship.
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' fanfic ''Fanfic/DirtySympathy'' has Kristoph and Apollo in a variant two relationship. Kristoph is an abusive Giver, controlling every aspect of Apollo's life by providing him with employment, transportation, and shelter which Apollo as the Taker can't afford to refuse.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Dominoes}}'', Ran's interactions with her boyfriend Shinichi revolve almost entirely around what she needs from him with little to no reciprocation. This makes their relationship an interesting variation on this trope, as Ran is secretly a superhero and is very altruistic to everyone else, but the strain of this means that she's increasingly inflexible and ungiving in her relationship with her boyfriend--constantly expecting him to be understanding without being open with him so he can understand, shaming him for taking liberties she herself does, offering little to no emotional support or availability yet mourning his increasing unwillingness to be open with her, and in general [[LoveMartyr expecting Shinichi to let their relationship work entirely on her terms without any consideration or respect for what Shinichi needs or wants from it]]. Evidently this is not how their relationship used to be, but [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife once Ran became the superhero Angel]], the health of their relationship was one of the first things to be put on the chopping block and she became, despite her selfless dedication to her desire to help others, ironically a very selfish girlfriend unable to provide what her boyfriend needed from their relationship but unwilling to let him go because she still wanted him.
* ''Fanfic/DuranAndKiyohimesOmakeTheater'': Natsuki worries occasionally that she fits this role, and then tries to do something to show Shizuru that she cares. It usually leaves her flustered, because, as Shizuru notes, Natsuki is a private person and open displays of affection are outside her comfort zone. Shizuru also notes that she doesn't feel this trope applies to Natsuki at all.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21563692 A Father's Faith]]'', [[Series/{{Arrow}} Team Arrow]] enlist Back Siren's help to resurrect Laurel. She asks them why would Laurel ''want'' to return, given that they all took everything from her and never gave anything back. Everyone is uncomfortably affected by this, but ironically, the person we see a first person P.O.V. reaction to this (Thea), is probably the one person who has the least to worry about.[[note]]Though as an author's note points out, the fact that Thea does feel guilty and worries that she's taking advantage of Laurel is exactly why she doesn't have to worry.[[/note]]. Then turned on its head when Quentin replies that is exactly why Laurel would want to return, to help people, even if they took her for granted.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8992155/1/Fixed-to-a-Star Fixed to a Star]]'': From Lorata's ''We Must be Killers: Tales from District 2'' series features recent victor Claudius voicing his disillusionment with the Capitol to Lyme, his mentor, in a call-forward to their joining the Rebellion in the aftermath of the 3rd Quarter Quell.
-->'''Claudius:''' One day it will be too much. They ask, we give, and they take, that's the way it goes. But they just keep asking and just keep taking, and one day, they'll take something you don't want to give. Something so bad, it's worse than marching your kids to their deaths every year. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere One day you're going to walk away]]. [[JumpedAtTheCall Take me with you]].
* ''FanFic/HerInnerDemons'': Sadly this was Sci-Twilight's relationship with Crystal Prep in a nutshell. She was the Giver, using her smarts to help Crystal Prep win countless academic contests, but the student body played the taker and gave her nothing but ridicule and scorn, instead of praise and recognition she never got at her old school. Abacus Cinch initially averted this by giving Sci-Twilight some privileges, but then played it straight by blackmailing her star student into joining the Friendship Games. During the Friendship Games, she still got no recognition from her fellow Shadowbolts. So it is a small wonder she grew angry and resentful enough to [[spoiler:become Midnight Sparkle once she unleashed the magic]].
-->'''Sci-Twilight''': I won one city academic contest after another, Crystal Prep became more prestigious than ever, and not a single smile or a slap on the back or even a "Good job, Twilight" followed.
* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'':
** Instead of being truly thankful for everything Marinette does for them as their 'Everyday Ladybug', her classmates take her support completely for granted. Once [[BitchInSheepsClothing Lila]] comes along and convinces them that she's an even ''better'' version of Marinette, with [[CelebrityLie bigger and better]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections connections]], they flock to her side while ignoring the girl who helped them out for so long. By the time they realize Marinette still has things to offer, she's [[ThePowerOfApathy moved on]] and found friends who ''don't'' exploit her generosity.
** Lila, naturally, is also a prime example of this. While she presents herself as a generous young woman who does tons of charity work, she's actually a ConArtist who runs [[FakeCharity fake charities]] while stringing her marks along with false promises. In essence, she's a Taker who ''pretends'' to be a Giver, luring SecretlySelfish Takers into becoming Givers in hopes of taking advantage of promises she'll never deliver upon.
** Adrien also proves to be a Taker [[BitchInSheepsClothing In Sheep's Clothing]]. Ultimately, he [[ItsAllAboutMe only cares about himself]]; it's fine if Lila scams everyone else so long as ''he'' isn't hurt, and since he already knows she's a liar, [[OriginalPositionFallacy he presumes that he's perfectly safe]]. He feels [[EntitledBastard entitled to everything he wants]] -- including [[EntitledToHaveYou Ladybug's love]], and sees nothing wrong with [[TheLoad letting her pull all the weight]] while he jokes around and flirts during akuma battles.
* In ''Fanfic/NukumeDori'', surprisingly, [[AllLovingHero Subaru]] becomes a Taker. After establishing their relationship, Subaru demands that Seishirou show sincere affection and attention to him, but Subaru is either too embarrassed, scared, or absorbed into other people's problems to do the same in return. He gets better.
* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'': One of the reasons that [[spoiler:Shinji chose Asuka and not Rei]] was he knew their relationship would become this: she would make him the only goal of her existence, she would make anything for him without asking for anything in return and he would take everything. And it would not be fair to [[spoiler:Rei]].
* In the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/{{Recovery}}'', this is how Weiss feels about the relationship between Yang and Blake, with Yang as the "Giver" and Blake the "Taker". She understands that Yang loves Blake and the feeling may indeed be mutual, but her problem lies with how despite Yang giving Blake so much affection and care, in the end, Blake still threw it away to run off after Beacon's fall. [[spoiler:The fact she [[GreenEyedMonster has her own feelings for Yang]] [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy that she tried to bury for their sakes]] does play a bit into it, but Yang herself comes to realize it after a bit of soul-searching and also decides that while she still loves Blake, she would rather be with [[SecondLove Weiss]], the person who's been trying to help her all this time.]]
-->'''Weiss''': When has she ''ever'' been here, Yang?! Where does she always go when you need her? I’ve watched it happen time and again. She chose Sun over you, she didn’t believe you about Mercury, and she left you after you risked your life for her at Beacon. Do you honestly think so little of me that you believe I would stand in the way if you two were actually good for each other? [[spoiler:You might not believe me when I say how I feel about you, but how on Remnant could I let someone I love keep getting hurt and say nothing. I know that you can’t buy someone's love Yang, just as much as I know that loving someone who keeps wounding you isn’t healthy.]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheStalkingZukoSeries'', Aang's status as a Taker is one reason why the author believes a relationship between him and Katara would never work out. Aang would have to put the restoration of the Air Nomads above all else, and Katara wouldn't want to constantly have to make concessions for that goal.
* ''Fanfic/ThreeCanKeepASecret'': The relationship between the Pines Twins is strongly interpreted as one of these, with Mabel as a habitual Taker who simply expects Dipper to act as a Giver and most commonly leans on his low self-esteem to get what she wants, but things change for both of them as a result of [[AdaptationalAlternateEnding Dipper deciding to accept Stanford's apprenticeship.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fanfic series ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'' Duncan’s relationship with Gwen has an unsettling amount of this. In all of their scenes together, Gwen is always helping Duncan out, while he hasn’t helped her out once.
* ''Fanfic/TheVerySecretDiary'': Tom and Ginny's relationship is this, portrayed in the most disturbing manner in possible. Tom is the Taker, taking all of Ginny's life force and draining her of any free will and almost all sense of self, and Ginny, desperate for a friend, gives and gives and ''gives'', not realizing Tom's true nature until it's too late. Tom, however, paints himself as the selfless Giver who patiently listens to all of Ginny's problems and is always there for her, making Ginny feel like the selfish, abusive Taker who takes advantage of his kindness, further manipulating her.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'': [[ProudBeauty Luong]] accuses [[IdolSinger Athena]] of doing this to [[DoggedNiceGuy Kensou]], chastising her for seemingly taking his feelings and not returning them in kind.
* ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'': [[spoiler:Henry]] describes [[spoiler:Joey Drew]] this way. It's implied that [[spoiler:Bertrum]] knows of this part of his nature as well, thus why he wants all the credit.
* In the ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' trilogy, [[spoiler:Sakaki]] is revealed to be the "controlling giver" type towards [[spoiler:Atoli]] when he crosses the MoralEventHorizon. He even delivers the classic line of accusing his victim of being "all take" and twists the knife in her low self-worth to convince her to only rely on him for emotional support. To put this in perspective, he got his hooks into the poor girl [[spoiler:when he met her on a suicide website]]! What a creep!
* In ''VideoGame/ItsYouABreakupStory'', the main character's boyfriend Josh is the epitome of this. He calls you at midnight after you've had a long shift as a nurse and will not stop talking about himself until you initiate the titular breakup.
* In ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', Mary, James' wife, was quite demanding and her mood swings only made her even more demanding. [[spoiler:Mary dying from a terminal illness understandably made her become all take and no give towards James, which also took a toll on his emotional being. In her final moments, Mary writes a letter to James and confesses that she had been incredibly selfish and wished she had been more supportive of him during her final days.]]
* Mr. Eaten in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' is not generous. Seeking the Name will take everything from you, and there isn't a whole lot Mr. Eaten will give back.
* This trope is invoked verbatim by Lancaster in ''Videogame/FrontMission4''. He is trying to get Latona to open up about the secret she has uncovered about Wagner, but she's too aggressive in their negotiation.
* Bad groups in MMORPGS tend to work like this: one or two players do all the work while everyone else does nothing and just soaks up the XP, often times going AFK for the whole time.
* ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'':
** Tori deliberately tries to situate himself as the Taker, referring to all others (aside from his beloved Eichi) as his 'slaves' and bossing them around depending on his whims. However, the most obvious example - his eternally devoted butler Yuzuru - is actually a variation, in that Yuzuru is actually ''very'' clingy and is capable of being outright dangerous when his beloved Bocchama does something he doesn't like.
** Souma, on the other hand, is ''so'' dedicated, loyal, hard-working, and [[TheHeart naive]] that it's very easy for him to end up on the Giver side. The previous year, Keito essentially took advantage of his by bringing him into Akatsuki's shady business despite knowing how upset he'd be to hurt Kanata and without offering any real mentoring as Akatsuki was never intended to conduct any idol activities; thanks to [[MoralityPet Souma's influence]] he gets better and comes to actually worry a lot about how much Souma subordinates himself out of respect for him and Kuro. Meanwhile, Kanata (who Souma also feels UndyingLoyalty towards) often asks him to cook for him but is [[WithFriendsLikeThese deliberately kind of cruel to him]], which Souma is totally okay with as he understands it as 'tough love' (though Shinobu at least finds it concerning). It probably doesn't help that Kanata [[spoiler:was raised to believe that he was a PhysicalGod and didn't realise until he was fifteen that ''all people have their own names'', and still seems to struggle with empathy at times]].
* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'': The second variant is used, with Penelope wanting to control Bentley for her [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination ploy]]. She's initially generous and helpful with his designs, but when he's not looking, she sells them to villains. When Bentley caught on, Penelope lied that she betrayed his friends [[LoveMakesYouEvil out of her love for him]]. He wasn't fooled and dumped her on the spot.
* ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'': [[spoiler: [[FairyCompanion Airy]] [[CuteAndPsycho the]] [[EvilAllAlong Cryst-Fairy]]]] is loyal to [[TrueFinalBoss Ouroboros]] to the bitter end, spending centuries linking together the countless versions of Luxendarc in a process that seems akin to an endless cycle. And we only see about ''a fraction'' of it. How is she repaid for her efforts? [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves By being devoured by her master, seen as only a means to an end]].
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* Sekai and Setsuna of ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' have this type of relationship, with Setsuna as the Giver and Sekai as the Taker. It isn't bad-intentioned on Sekai's part and she truly does see Setsuna as her best friend, but she also completely fails to consider Setsuna's feelings regarding her actions (like [[spoiler:taking the guy she had a crush on]]). It's largely Setsuna's fault as well, though; her only concern in life seems to be Sekai's happiness, and she is willing to steamroll over anyone and anything she has to in order to achieve this. The best examples of this are the lengths she'll go to in order to keep Kotonoha away from Makoto even after learning that Sekai had lied to her about them previously breaking up, and when [[spoiler:she offers Makoto the chance to have sex with her if he promises to stay faithful to Sekai afterwards]].

* In ''VisualNovel/HighwayBlossoms'', Amber eventually realizes that she's a Giver and Marina's a Taker. [[spoiler:Amber looks after Marina and caters to her needs, but doesn't let herself rely on Marina or see her as an equal. Despite that, after they reconcile, Amber wonders if maybe ''Marina'' has been the one helping her this entire time.]]
* In a non-romantic take on this, the ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' series has the relationship between [[spoiler:[[BigBad Junko Enoshima]]]] and [[spoiler:her older twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba]]. The latter is the giver, having given up everything she ever loved in favor of [[spoiler:Junko]], who is the taker and never so much as even thanks [[spoiler:her sister]] and even [[spoiler:outright murders her just for the hell of it while Mukuro is posing as her]].

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', this is the relationship Eric Cartman and his mother have. And it works both ways, according to "Tsst!" - Cartman gets spoiled rotten, while his mother has a ready-made companion to do stuff she enjoys. A fact that [[JerkAss Cartman]] twists to his advantage at every opportunity.
** This is also the case with Cartman's romantic relationship with Heidi Turner in Season 21. Heidi's desire for an honest, open, and equal relationship is hardly unreasonable, but Cartman believes she's demanding too much of him because he's such a [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]] - he wants to be cared for without caring back in return. After dithering on it some as well as briefly [[TookALevelInJerkass becoming exactly like him]], Heidi finally wises up at the end of the season and permanently breaks up with Cartman.
* Bloo in ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' is not above taking extreme advantage of Wilt's generosity. The episode ''Where There's a Wilt, There's a Way'' is all about Bloo, as well as countless others, taking advantage of Wilt and Wilt's inability to say no.
* One line from a song in ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' pretty much says it all.
-->'''King K. Rool''': It's great to be a king. I seem to have a knack for taking everything I want and giving nothing back!
* Mr. Burns is like this to Smithers on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', much of the time. On the other hand, Smithers doesn't seem to mind, [[HappinessInSlavery since he has an almost pathological need to serve Burns]]. When his boss fired him, he quickly became a drunken wreck, spending his days drinking cheap Scotch and watching Creator/ComedyCentral. When Homer accidentally crippled Burns by pushing him out of a third-story window, forcing him to be waited on hand and foot by Smithers, Smithers sent the Simpsons a very large basket of fruit as thanks.
%%* This is the main [[AnAesop Aesop]] of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E5SisterhoovesSocial "Sisterhooves Social"]].
* Dodie Bishop is this in ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger''. She's meant to be Ginger's best friend, but she constantly demonstrates she will stomp all over Ginger's feelings in her quest for popularity, a boy she likes, or getting to go to a party. Yet when Ginger's plans don't suit her, she throws an [[EtTuBrute overdramatic fit]] and complains about what a [[ItsAllAboutMe bad friend]] she is.
* Patrick from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' does this concerning stealing [=SpongeBob=]'s money and the toy he paid for. When [=SpongeBob=] tries to protest, Patrick just says meanly "Have you learned nothing from sharing?" His remark meant that he believed sharing meant that [=SpongeBob=] pays for everything and Patrick takes everything.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Any relationship with Harley Quinn, where she will be The Giver. She invokes this trope being the lover of ComicBook/TheJoker and ComicBook/PoisonIvy's friend. Justified because those two are [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] and can only be The Takers. The truly ''disturbing'' thing about Harley is that she looks for this type of relationship (The Joker and Poison Ivy maybe could ''like'' Harley, but as sociopaths, they cannot ''truly care'' about her). Even in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' we see that Harley has this type of relationship with her granddaughters, the twins, when Harley bails them out of jail and they only act with indifference and annoying to her screams and recriminations.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Simon Stagg is The Giver to his daughter, Sapphire. When she falls in love with someone and plans to move to Chicago, Stagg uses her lover in an experiment that leaves him horribly disfigured so she'll have only her daddy to turn to.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Bill manages to talk Dipper into a [[DealWithTheDevil deal]] by pointing out that he constantly sacrifices for Mabel and she never extends the same courtesy to him. Indeed, even after Bill [[spoiler:steals Dipper's body]], Mabel's still more concerned about putting on her puppet show than helping him. Fortunately, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Bill wasn't expecting]] Mabel to move past this. Then again, [[spoiler:she has [[AesopAmnesia slipped back into this]] a few times, the final time resulting in [[NiceJobBreakingItHero allowing Bill to finally take control of Gravity Falls]]]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', this was Anne's dynamic with her friend [[ToxicFriendInfluence Sasha]]. Anna would constantly give her things and do whatever she wanted when asked, with one of these incidents contributing to them and their other best friend Marcy all ending up in Amphibia. For her part, Sasha does truly see Anne as one of her closest friends; her manipulative tendencies simply extend to ''everyone'', and she views her regular coercing of Anne and Marcy as being for their benefit. Mind you, she is aware of how controlling she can be, and does come to acknowledge how that harms their friendship... [[IgnoredEpiphany but still feels no reason to change]] for a good while longer, since she fully believes that this behavior helps push her friends to greater success.
* This is discussed in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' when Bill joins a chorus group. When Bill tries to argue that they are his friends and need him, Hank brings up how they have only been asking him to give (to the point where they made him use up his sick and vacation days at work) and talks about how friendship is a two-way street.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' despite Stan being a {{Jerkass}}, he is very much The Giver to Francine, who obsessively spoils their kids while placing all the responsibility of disciplining them on him. The only time she sees anything wrong with this is when Stan tries to spend time for himself, forcing her to deal with the consequences of her actions. She has also shown many instances of MoralMyopia; she’s unwilling to spend time with his mother, yet expects him to be okay with her parents, she can look at other men, but he can’t look at other women. Even their sex life is this, as it's fundamentally him meticulously mastering everything she told him she enjoys and her being disappointed that he doesn’t do things that she didn’t tell him she wanted him to do. Finally, Stan has repeatedly given up things for Francine his time, money, even his life, and most recently his immortal soul.
* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': For as much as Lord Boxman likes to claim [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes his robots are his family]], he constantly exploits them and treats them like servants, only openly reciprocating their love when they accomplish his goals. The effect this has had on their mental states is about what you’d expect:
-->'''Raymond''': [Shannon] just doesn't seem to realize that love must only be granted when certain expectations are met.
-->'''Darrell''': Right? [[EvilCannotComprehendGood It's like she learned nothing from daddy]]!
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
** [[AbusiveParents Shadow Weaver]] tends to fall into the "controlling Giver" camp with her parenting and mentorship. She had no problem lavishing her wards (except for [[TheUnfavourite Catra]]) with praise and power, laden with manipulation and psychological abuse.
** Catra's relationship with Adora prior to Adora's defection had strong undertones of this, with Catra as the Taker, best exemplified in a flashback where a young Catra lashes out at Adora becoming too friendly with Lonnie, gets affectionate when Adora reassures her that she'll still be her friend, and then storms off in a huff when Adora suggests she apologize and they all be friends. However, with [[IgnoredEnamoredUnderling Scorpia]], it evolved from under-, to over-, to totally-enveloping-tones. Scorpia was endlessly loyal, self-sacrificing, and kind to Catra, and in return, Catra offered her tiny scraps of affection mixed with resentment, bullying and hostility. Catra has similarly one-sided relationships with other people in her orbit, such as Lonnie and her squad, but Scorpia is the one who deals with the brunt of the exploitation. [[spoiler:Eventually, Scorpia realises that Catra is a bad friend and straight-up leaves. This causes Catra immense grief, with Double Trouble later [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calling her out]] for expecting anyone to stay with her when she does nothing but exploit them. Realizing the wrongness in her actions becomes a major part of her CharacterDevelopment in the final season. After a HeelFaceTurn starting with an attempted HeroicSacrifice, Catra apologizes to several of the people she's wronged and makes efforts to be supportive of others and communicate her issues healthily.]]
** Hordak rewards underlings who please him with a tenuous position in his favour that can be lost in moments. He offers little else. [[spoiler:And Horde Prime is even worse; Hordak struggles for decades to conquer Etheria for him and make contact with him, and Horde Prime calls him defective and casually {{Mind Rape}}s him.]] Fittingly, his forces work on similar protocols; at one point, Scorpia summarises the deal her family made with the Horde as consisting of her people giving up their land, their runestone, and their princess, and getting, um, well, she's not sure what but she's sure there was something.
* This is the relationship between [[AlphaBitch Chloé]] and [[BetaBitch Sabrina]] in ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''. Sabrina does Chloé's schoolwork for her, carries out the grunt work in Chloé's petty schemes, and generally waits on her "best friend" hand and foot. Chloé offers rather little in return outside of the occasional PetTheDog moment.
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* In the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfiction ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12295056/1/Recovery Recovery]]'', this is how Weiss feels about the relationship between Yang and Blake, with Yang as the "Giver" and Blake the "Taker". She understands that Yang loves Blake and the feeling may indeed be mutual, but her problem lies with how despite Yang giving Blake so much affection and care, in the end, Blake still threw it away to run off after Beacon's fall. [[spoiler:The fact she [[GreenEyedMonster has her own feelings for Yang]] [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy that she tried to bury for their sakes]] does play a bit into it, but Yang herself comes to realize it after a bit of soul-searching and also decides that while she still loves Blake, she would rather be with [[SecondLove Weiss]], the person who's been trying to help her all this time.]]

* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'': [[ProudBeauty Luong]] accuses [[IdolSinger Athena]] of doing this to [[NiceDoggedGuy Kensou]], chastising her for seemingly taking his feelings and not returning them in kind.

* In a non-romantic take on this, the ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' series has the relationship between [[BigBad Junko Enoshima]] and [[spoiler:her older twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba]]. [[spoiler:Mukuro]] is the giver, having given up everything she ever loved in favor of Junko's plot, while Junko is the taker who never so much as even thanks [[spoiler:her sister]] and even [[spoiler:outright murders her just for the hell of it while Mukuro is posing as her.]]

* ⁷, concocted a strategy of doing every little thing for him, thus training him to be (even more) incapable of doing anything for himself.

* Music/CatHairballs: Ren and Stimpy's whole dynamic through the song and video is this. Stimpy is hwarfing up hairballs for Ren that are being used to make him things like a suit, and food but that's still not good enough for Ren he demands more like a bike, an Italian sports car, high heel shoes, a hat and matching underwear, all be made from the product that's being farmed solely from Stimpy. The video makes this more evident by showing Stimpy becoming more and more exhausted from the effort of trying to keep up with Ren's demands, eventually ending with Stimpy [[spoiler: trying to give one last good hwarf, only to pass out on the conveyor belt]] which is immediately followed by Ren [[brutally [[PainToTheAss smashing Stimpy's butt]] with a big rubber stamp so hard it leaves a ButtBrand.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', this was Anne's dynamic with her friend [[ToxicFriendInfluence Sasha]]. Anna would constantly give her things whenever asked, with one of these incidents being the cause of them all ending up in Amphibia. For her part, Sasha does truly see Anne as her closest friend. Her manipulative tendencies simply extend to ''everyone'', and she views her regular coercing of her best friends Anne and Marcy as being for her childhood friends' benefit. Mind you, she is aware of how controlling she can be, and does come to acknowledge how that harms their friendship... [[IgnoredEpiphany but still feels no reason to change]], since she fully believes that behavior helps push her friends to greater success.

** Catra's relationship with Adora prior to Adora's defection had strong undertones of this, with Catra as the Taker, best exemplified in a flashback where a young Catra lashes out at Adora becoming too friendly with Lonnie, gets affectionate when Adora reassures her that she'll still be her friend, and then storms off in a huff when Adora suggests she apologize and they all be friends. However, with [[IgnoredEnamoredUnderling Scorpia]], it evolved from under-, to over-, to totally-enveloping-tones. Scorpia was endlessly loyal, self-sacrificing, and kind to Catra, and in return, Catra offered her tiny scraps of affection mixed with resentment, bullying and hostility. Catra has similarly one-sided relationships with other people in her orbit, such as Lonnie and her squad, but Scorpia is the one who deals with the brunt of the exploitation. [[spoiler:Eventually, Scorpia realises that Catra is a bad friend and straight-up leaves. This causes Catra immense grief, with Double Trouble later [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calling her out]] for expecting anyone to stay with her when nothing but exploit them. Realizing the wrongness in her actions becomes a major part of her CharacterDevelopment in the final season. After a HeelFaceTurn starting with an attempted HeroicSacrifice, Catra apologizes to several of the people she's wronged and makes efforts to be supportive of others and communicate her issues healthily.]]

* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': After the events of the prior fic Asuka and Shinji were so burned-out that they were afraid of having a real relationship. Asuka had proposed to Shinji an agreement where he would give her everything and she would not have to give anything back. She did not expect him taking him, but Shinji did, muttering it was better than nothing. In the first chapter, they meet their future selves -- who have undergone so many changes they are considerably happier, more balanced, and have a real, healthy, balanced relationship -- and the older Asuka -and several more characters later- denounces that "agreement" was a hollow shell of a relationship.

* [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Donald Duck]] is [[DependingOnTheWriter often]] the Giver in his relationships with both his girlfriend Daisy and his uncle/employer Scrooge. Even Creator/DonRosa, not generally into {{flanderization}}, portrays this pointedly in his "The Magnificent Seven (Minus Four) Caballeros" to contrast it with his relationship with his old friends Panchito Pistoles and José Carioca.