History Main / UnequalPairing

** There's Suzaku/Euphemia (canon), Schneizel/Kanon ([[NoPunIntended canon]]), and Charles and Marianne (canon - really, all of the Emperor's consorts would count as this, but Marianne is said to be the only one he truly loved).

* ''Manga/DeathNote'' has the 'ship of Light/Mikami, "God" and his servant. And, of course, the ''canon'' ships of Light/Misa and Light/Takada. [[AGodAmI God]] and his two devoted slave girls (the fact that he isn't doing it because he likes them is beside the point). Also the 'ship of L/Light, a detective in his mid-20's investigating a young man barely out of HighSchool about the latter's involvement in a series of homicides.

* Blitzo and Stolas in ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss''. Stolas is a Goetian Prince, one of the highest-ranking nobles in hell, and he has a friends-with-benefits relationship (with ''extremely'' heavy romantic subtext) with Blitzo, an imp. Imps are one of the lowest rungs of the social ladder in hell and are basically peasants.

** And Luffy/Hancock, but not in the way you'd normally expect looking at their age differences. She's canonically hopelessly in love with him and would do anything he'd ask (on top of believing they're already in a relationship), while he sees her as a friend who [[spoiler:helps him rescue his older brother]].

* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' has Hayate/Vita. They hit this trope more than once, and both ways. In one direction, it's a case of master/knight (within their personal sub-group) ''and'' superior/subordinate officer (within the military they joined). In the other direction, Hayate is 9 years old (25 by the fourth season), while Vita [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld has been around for centuries (but looks young enough to be a first-grader]]). At some point during Chrono and Amy's relationship, Chrono was captain of the same ship Amy was serving on, but by the time they get married, Amy has retired from the TSAB.

** A particularly egregious example is that of Alucard/Seras.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': This is a common issue for the [[KissingCousins Neji/Hinata]] pairing, as Hinata is heir to the Hyuga clan while Neji is a branch house member whose duty is to protect and serve the main family. In some fanfics, the common application for the trope is ''inverted'', with Neji becoming head of the clan and Hinata being demoted to the branch family. It's made even more obvious when it's revealed in episode 232 that Neji has also become Hinata's [[TeacherStudentRomance mentor and trainer]], when Hinata requested him to be, not long after his HeelFaceTurn.

* ClaimedByTheSupernatural (nonmuggle asserting ownership, often/muggle)

* ClaimedByTheSupernatural (nonmuggle asserting ownership, often /muggle)

* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', Bella is a clumsy middle-class teenager who's prone to bouts of [[TooDumbToLive life-threatening stupidity]]. Her boyfriend [[spoiler:and eventual husband]] is a 108-year-old vampire who is physically, mentally, and financially superior to her.

* A RunningGag in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' fandom is that no matter who he's shipped with (with the ''possible'' exception of May), Ash Ketchum will always, ''always'' be on the bottom.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'' has this in the pairing of Jack and Sam, since he is her commanding officer and it would likely ruin both their careers, yet they ... care about each other, a lot more than they're supposed to. They also hook up in a lot of alternate universes. The Stargate extended universe runs on this trope for UST, as befitting a military series.
* ''Series/StargateUniverse'', when it is revealed that Young and TJ [[spoiler:not only slept together]], but [[spoiler:conceived a child in the process.]]

* Played in ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi''. On one hand, Ami is Jadeite's employer - in the ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' universe, this basically amounts to indentured servitude, sometimes outright slavery - and it is not at all uncommon for Keepers to have such relationships with their "Property." On the other hand, Ami is very uncomfortable with the associated implications. Jadeite is surprised when he finds out, as in the Dark Kingdom, a superior would not hesitate to use their power over subordinates. Their positions are reversed later when Jadeite starts teaching Ami Dark Kingdom style magic and he reciprocates her tact, deliberately averting his eyes and keeping his words supportive when an early attempt leaves behind her clothing..

* ''LightNovel/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': Reiri has to keep her relationship with Kizuna a secret for multiple reasons: 1. She's his commanding officer. 2. The age difference (he's 17, [[OldMaid she's 27]]). And 3. She's [[BrotherSisterIncest his biological sister]], though the age gap makes her old enough to technically be his aunt. If word ever got out about it, it could potentially cost Reiri her position and risk Kizuna's expulsion from the academy.

* HotSkittyOnWailordAction (animal/completely different animal)

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':

* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':

* ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'' plays with this. Most of Lux's love interests are nobles or outright royalty (Philuffy is an exception, and even she's from an extremely wealthy family). Lux himself is technically royalty, but of a fallen empire, and he's saddled with a huge debt on top of that. Initially, the only love interest to have similar status to him was [[BrotherSisterIncest his younger sister Airi]]. As the series goes on, Lux's status increases, first when he becomes Lisha's official knight (though this still makes him unequal with her) and later when he becomes one of the Seven Dragon Paladins (who have privileges arguably greater than most nobles), so the trope starts swinging in the other direction.

** And Luffy/[[ChristmasCake Hancock]], but not in the way you'd normally expect looking at their age differences. She's canonically hopelessly in love with him and would do anything he'd ask (on top of believing they're already in a relationship), while he sees her as a friend who [[spoiler:helps him rescue his older brother]].

* ''LightNovel/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': Reiri has to keep her relationship with Kizuna a secret for multiple reasons: 1. She's his commanding officer. 2. The age difference (he's 17, [[ChristmasCake she's 27]]). And 3. She's [[BrotherSisterIncest his biological sister]], though the age gap makes her old enough to technically be his aunt. If word ever got out about it, it could potentially cost Reiri her position and risk Kizuna's expulsion from the academy.

* Among ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' fans who shipped Mohinder and Sylar, this was a VERY popular theme in fanfic before [[spoiler:Mohinder gave himself superpowers in Season 3]]. Usually, Sylar's near-godlike advantage in raw physical power was tenuously balanced by Mohinder's relative grip on sanity and his being [[{{Bishonen}} just too pretty to kill]].

* ''Manga/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': Reiri has to keep her relationship with Kizuna a secret for multiple reasons: 1. She's his commanding officer. 2. The age difference (he's 17, [[ChristmasCake she's 27]]). And 3. She's [[BrotherSisterIncest his biological sister]], though the age gap makes her old enough to technically be his aunt. If word ever got out about it, it could potentially cost Reiri her position and risk Kizuna's expulsion from the academy.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': One of the issues with Issei and Rias's relationship. On top of having self-esteem issues up the wazoo, Issei believes that he is simply out of Rias's league, her being a pure-bred demon of a respected noble house and him being a normal high school student and her servant on top of it.

* ''LightNovel/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': Reiri has to keep her relationship with Kizuna a secret for multiple reasons: 1. She's his commanding officer. 2. The age difference (he's 17, [[ChristmasCake she's 27]]). And 3. She's [[BrotherSisterIncest his biological sister]], though the age gap makes her old enough to technically be his aunt. If word ever got out about it, it could potentially cost Reiri her position and risk Kizuna's expulsion from the academy.