Please feel free to add Pot Holes to the description as needed.

In this trope, a character finds another character attractive because they have vulnerabilities, or the same topic is discussed elsewhere.

Vulnerabilities are attractive. And not to just a single gender or sexuality. Many times, people enjoy a "project"; they like a guy who seems like he has something good just under the surface and just requires that special someone to draw it outside, or they like a girl who depends upon them and makes them feel Rated M For Manly by acting as her protector and provider. Part of the appeal is trying to change them, part of it is the desire to feel needed and part of it is being drawn by the mystery. After all, if the other person seems like they'd do just as well (or even better) without you, what's the fun in that?

Another term for this is "accessibility". Where can you fit into that person's life? A person who is completely withdrawn, self-absorbed and way 'out of your league' is a turn-off, but a person with even a small crack in those defenses? Well...now you've got something.

Keep in mind, however, that it is possible to go too far in the other direction and seem too needy, too dependent and too immature. A person may want to feel needed, but they want you be strong when they need you as well. Even more, developing a co-dependency (where each party feels completely worthless without the other) is dangerous because it tends to quickly evolve into a mutually-abusive relationship.

While this trope can be in effect for many reasons, and can be very subjective, examples should explicitly point this out or discuss the trope. This needs to be either a) about characters that find vulnerability in other characters attractive b) an analysis of attractive vulnerability (like the NC post above) or c) other in-universe or invoked examples of the trope.

Zig-zagged Sub Trope of All Women Are Delicate. Super Trope of All Girls Want Bad Boys, Tall Dark And Handsome, Ugly Guy Hot Wife, Hot Guy Ugly Wife, Ill Girl, Distressed Damsel, No Guy Wants An Amazon, Weakness Turns Her On, Dating Catwoman, Defrosting Ice Queen, Moe and I Can Change My Beloved.

Examples

Literature

• If I Pay Thee Not In Silver, by Mercedes Lackey and Piers Anthony, has the heroine fall for her love interest at long last when he, a very knowledgeable immortal, finally fails and takes it very personally. The text explicitly states that the vulnerability he was displaying made him more human and accessible.
• Exploited by the Ixian faction in God Emperor of Dune: Hwi Noree is genetically engineered to be open, empathetic, and vulnerable individual, making her a perfect soulmate for the ancient scheming God Emperor Leto II. Notably, Leto realizes the danger his personal attraction to Hwi poses to his plans but cannot do anything about it.

Videogames

• An example in Mass Effect 2 comes as part of a Take That Audience/Take That Player meta-joke in regards to the much-demanded quarian love interest in that game. The very things the girl is lamenting (namely, Tali's Woobie status, Crapsack existence, and Ill Girl nature) are the very things that drove the audience (both male AND female) to desire her.

Web Original

• As mentioned above, The Nostalgia Chick posted a Top 10 list of the hottest animated guys, and her list included Claude Frollo, Batman, Beast, Trent Lane, Gambit, and Li Shang, who were all specifically called out for their vulnerabilities. And Aladdin was the number one spot.