History LivingEmotionalCrutch / WesternAnimation

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', [[Characters/TheSimpsonsMargeSimpson Marge Simpson]] to [[Characters/TheSimpsonsHomerSimpson Homer Simpson]]. "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" shows that it's above and beyond the usual ParentingTheHusband, as Homer, briefly separated from Marge, tries to figure out what he can give her that no one else can and ultimately concludes that it's "complete and utter dependence" (keeping in mind that she has a baby).

* [[Characters/GravityFallsDipperPines Dipper Pines]] and [[Characters/GravityFallsMabelPines Mabel Pines]] from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ''both'' have trouble coping without each other. Mabel is the more dependent of the two. [[spoiler:After a particularly bad day, learning that Dipper may decide to stay in Gravity Falls while she returns home alone terrifies her so much that she attempts to freeze time to prevent it from happening. [[ApocalypseMaiden Inadvertently causing the apocalypse]] in the process.]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}},'' [[TheSnarkKnight Daria]] and [[CoolLoser Jane]] have this toward each other. Daria is the weaker of the two, as seen in "[[Recap/DariaS2E11 See Jane Run]]" (Daria becomes isolated and starts ThinkingOutLoud without even realizing it), but "Is It Fall Yet?" demonstrates that they both have a hard time functioning when the two are fighting.

** In the Season 7 premiere, "Bonnie and Neddy", Princess Bubblegum is revealed to be this to her brother, Neddy. Neddy is a reclusive [[OurDragonsAreDifferent candy dragon]] who is extremely sensitive and lives in fear of everything that isn't his sister ever since his birth. His only source of security is suckling on candy roots, and when he is deprived of the roots, she is the only one who can comfort him.
** And while a bit more subtle, Finn the Human appears to be one for Princess Bubblegum. Despite the occasional trouble, she utterly views him as a paragon and her champion, with his presence allowing her to function more positively. He also seems to morally ground her and help keep her on the straight and narrow path. It's also a bit deconstructed since he always had romantic feelings for her and she ''seemingly'' doesn't return them. While them being {{just friends}} allows her to rule her kingdom more balanced, there's implications that she is not being honest with herself.
** Finn could actually be this also to Marceline though to a lesser extent since he helped her be a better person and reconnect with [[spoiler: Simon AKA Ice King]]. While she doesn't show that strong of connection, Marceline's past hardships and difficulties seem to imply she ''does'' hold Finn closer than she may be aware of.

** Vi is this to Powder, as she is the only person besides maybe Vander who believes in her and consistently treats her right, despite her inadequacies and mistakes. Without Vi around, Powder's emotional instability quickly bubbles to the surface, and it all but crumbles [[spoiler: when Vi hits and seemingly abandons her at the end of Act 1.]]
** [[spoiler: Of all people, [[BigBad Silco]] takes over this role for [[MeaningfulRename Powder turned Jinx]] as her new adopted father. Nearly every single scene between Silco and Jinx has [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes him reassuring her]], telling her that she's strong, [[DaddysLittleVillain that he trusts her]] and that she's perfect. It's clear her psyche needs the constant validation he freely gives her.]]

** [[LoyalAnimalCompanion Appa]] and [[ActionGirlfriend Katara]] serve as this to Aang, to some degree, particularly in regards to his grief over the annihilation of his people, the peaceful Air Nomads (Appa is his only remaining link to his past while Katara gives him hope for the future).

* Diane is this to [=BoJack=] on ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman''. In Season 6, [[spoiler:Diane moves to Chicago, but not before making [=BoJack=] promise her he'll be okay if she's gone. For a while, he seems like he will be, but he eventually relapses and nearly kills himself in the process, having left Diane a drunken voicemail blaming her for not coming to his rescue. This is the last straw for Diane, and she decides to end their friendship.]]

** Fry to Bender. It's to the point where Bender is no longer able to live alone and quickly [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness stops drinking]] ([[DrowningMySorrows the robot equivalent of getting blind drunk]], since they're fueled by alcohol) if Fry pushes him aside.

* [[BrotherSisterTeam Dipper and Mabel]] from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ''both'' have trouble coping without each other. Mabel is the more dependent of the two. [[spoiler:After a particularly bad day, learning that Dipper may decide to stay in Gravity Falls while she returns home alone terrifies her so much that she attempts to freeze time to prevent it from happening. [[ApocalypseMaiden Inadvertently causing the apocalypse]] in the process.]]
* Arnold for Helga on ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', for being nice to her when everyone else in her life was [[ParentalNeglect neglecting her]], as is readily apparent in "Helga on the Couch." Unlike most examples, however, Arnold and Helga aren't really friends; she's his LovingBully, to which he's [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': It is heavily implied that, at the end of the series, Korra has become this for Asami. After [[spoiler:her father's HeroicSacrifice in stopping Kuvira's giant mech from destroying Republic City, Asami mentions to Korra at a wedding that she couldn't have handled losing her father and Korra in the same day. From this scene it is implicated that Korra is Asami's main reason for living after the loss of her family. Although, their relationship in no way is portrayed as unhealthy as Korra is more than happy to be there for Asami -- especially after all of the care, kindness, and warmth Asami showed her while she was recovering from her poisoning, PTSD, and depression]].

** Spike's life utterly revolves around Twilight. One of his first focus episodes had him clueless about what to do when Twilight finally gave him a day off, and his greatest fear is revealed to be her revoking his "assistant" status and casting him out of Ponyville because she doesn't need him anymore.
** Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, revolves the majority of her life on the approval of Princess Celestia, her own greatest fear being that character's rejection. One instance implies Twilight may have gone ''[[SanitySlippage completely insane]]'' without her and Spike's intervention.

** Fluttershy is, for the first seasons, the ''only'' character [[MadGod Discord]] seems to have genuine affection for, due to being the only being willing to earnestly be his friend, and thus directly responsible for his reformation. In "Make New Friends and Keep Discord," he is so furious because she invites Treehugger to go with her to the Grand Galloping Gala instead of him. He makes a point of menacing to send Treehugger to another dimension until Fluttershy [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out that making friends with anyone else doesn't mean she would dump him (though sending her friends to another world would be a good reason)]]. In "Dungeons and Discords", Fluttershy encourages Discord to make friends with Spike and Big Mac while she is out. After a very rough beginning, he eventually warms up to the two, at the point of helping Big Mac to propose to Sugar Belle.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Adora served as this to Catra. Scorpia takes over the position after the former leaves the Horde in the series opener, though she isn't able to prevent her friend's SanitySlippage. [[spoiler:When ''she'' finally leaves due to Catra's abusive behavior, Catra undergoes a complete VillainousBreakdown.]]
** To a lesser extent, Bow has always served as this to Glimmer, to the point that she panics when he starts branching out with other friendships in "Princess Prom." [[spoiler:When a rift forms between them throughout Season 4, she does ''not'' take it well, highlighting the parallels between her and Catra.]]

** Entrapta becomes this for Hordak, since she is the only person (besides Imp)to show him genuine affection. After she is sent to Beast Island by Catra, he falls into depression thinking she abandoned him, and has a SanitySlippage when Double Trouble tells him the truth. [[spoiler: It's Entrapta, indirectly, that helps Hordak to recover a small bit of his memory when he finds the crystal she gave to him. When Horde Prime tells him to kill her, that makes Hordak get over his brainwashing and give him enough courage to dispose of his abuser.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Marge to Homer. "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" shows that it's above and beyond the usual ParentingTheHusband, as Homer, briefly separated from Marge, tries to figure out what he can give her that no one else can and ultimately concludes that it's "complete and utter dependence" (keeping in mind that she has a baby).

** Titular character Steven is the Gems' crutch, but the show repeatedly points out that this isn't entirely a good thing, as he begins the show as a young boy lacking the means or the maturity to be an appropriate crutch for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient beings]] with [[DysfunctionJunction a myriad of issues]]. In addition to being this for the Gems, he develops a habit of taking this type of role in interactions with other people, frequently putting everyone else's needs before his own. He earnestly tries to help as much as he can, even if it's mentally unhealthy for him or puts him in physical danger, with the latter half of the series making it clear that his position has fed into a GuiltComplex that causes him to often completely disregard his own needs; something Amethyst points out and spends [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E20WhatsYourProblem an episode]] trying to get him to stop. Further deconstructed in ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]''. After being the crutch for so many others for years, he's caught flatfooted when they are finally in a place to handle things on their own, as being an emotional crutch became his default method of interacting with people. This combines with an unwillingness to open up about his own issues[[note]]which itself stems in part from fear of causing stress for the people he's been helping, which he believes will create more problems he'll inevitably have to fix[[/note]] to be one of the causes of Steven's SanitySlippage.

** Another deconstructed example is Peridot as Lapis Lazuli's crutch. Peridot makes it her job to keep Lapis happy no matter what happens, but this arrangement means Peridot's own feelings have gone ignored, Lapis's issues haven't actually been addressed, and when they finally have a major disagreement, they lack any ability to communicate about it.
** [[PosthumousCharacter Rose Quartz]], Steven's mother, was especially this for the rest of the team, who even fourteen years later are still very distraught about her "[[OnlyMostlyDead death]]."

** It becomes very clear throughout Season 5 that despite their dismissive attitude towards her, Pink Diamond was this to the other Diamonds. In fact, it's coded thoroughly into her character visually as well: Pink is the bottom of the Diamond symbol, Pink's ship is what holds up the others on the combined Mecha ship, Pink's actual brilliant-cut Gem is positioned on her body in profile, appearing triangularly with the flat side facing down, a shape that literally symbolizes stability. When Pink ceases to be around to bear their emotional burdens, the other three Diamonds' stability deteriorates rapidly, each manifesting this decline in different ways. However, it's made clear that Pink has been suffering in her attempts to keep their relationship with each other stable and everything she did for them amounted to nothing. [[spoiler: It's only when they realize that their abuse was one of the reasons she betrayed the Authority, and admit how toxic their dysfunction was to her, that they make an effort to better themselves and establish healthier lives without her]].

* Fry to Bender in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. It's to the point where Bender is no longer able to live alone and quickly [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness stops drinking]] ([[DrowningMySorrows the robot equivalent of getting blind drunk]], since they're fueled by alcohol) if Fry pushes him aside.

---> '''Steven:''' I don't know how to be a friend without something to fix!

--> '''Steven:''' I don't know how to be a friend without something to fix!

** Fluttershy is the ''only'' character [[MadGod Discord]] seems to have genuine affection for, due to being the only being willing to earnestly be his friend, and thus directly responsible for his reformation. When the main cast is later captured by a villain, Discord initially couldn't care less... until he's informed that this includes Fluttershy. Cue an ''immediate'' shift into TranquilFury. After "Dungeons and Discords", however, he eventually warms up to Spike and Big Mac, at the point of helping Big Mac to marry Sugar Belle. He also seems to care a little about Twilight, acting as a sort of TricksterMentor to her.

** Fluttershy is the ''only'' character [[MadGod Discord]] seems to have genuine affection for, due to being the only being willing to earnestly be his friend, and thus directly responsible for his reformation. When the main cast is later captured by a villain, Discord initially couldn't care less... until he's informed that this includes Fluttershy. Cue an ''immediate'' shift into TranquilFury.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Adora served as this to Catra. Scorpia takes over the position after the former leaves the Horde in the series opener, though she isn't able to prevent her friend's SanitySlippage. [[spoiler:When ''she'' finally leaves due to Catra's abusive behavior, Catra undergoes a complete VillainousBreakdown.]] To a lesser extent, Bow has always served as this to Glimmer, to the point that she panics when he starts branching out with other friendships in "Princess Prom." [[spoiler:When a rift forms between them throughout Season 4, she does ''not'' take it well, highlighting the parallels between her and Catra.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Vi is this to Powder, as she is the only person besides maybe Vander who believes in her and consistently treats her right, despite her inadequacies and mistakes. Without Vi around, Powder's emotional instability quickly bubbles to the surface, and it all but crumbles [[spoiler: when Vi hits and seemingly abandons her at the end of Act 1.]]

** In the season seven premiere, "Bonnie and Neddy", Princess Bubblegum is revealed to be this to her brother, Neddy. Neddy is a reclusive [[OurDragonsAreDifferent candy dragon]] who is extremely sensitive and lives in fear of everything that isn't his sister ever since his birth. His only source of security is suckling on candy roots, and when he is deprived of the roots, she is the only one who can comfort him.

* Diane is this to [=BoJack=] on ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman''. In season six, [[spoiler:Diane moves to Chicago, but not before making [=BoJack=] promise her he'll be okay if she's gone. For a while, he seems like he will be, but he eventually relapses and nearly kills himself in the process, having left Diane a drunken voicemail blaming her for not coming to his rescue. This is the last straw for Diane, and she decides to end their friendship.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': It is heavily implied that, at the end of the series, Korra has become this for Asami. After [[spoiler:her father's HeroicSacrifice in stopping Kuvira's giant mech from destroying Republic City, Asami mentions to Korra at a wedding that she couldn't have handled losing her father and Korra in the same day. From this scene it is implicated that Korra is Asami's main reason for living after the loss of her family. Although, their relationship in no way is portrayed as unhealthy as Korra is more than happy to be there for Asami - especially after all of the care, kindness, and warmth Asami showed her while she was recovering from her poisoning, PTSD, and depression]].

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Adora served as this to Catra. Scorpia takes over the position after the former leaves the Horde in the series opener, though she isn't able to prevent her friend's SanitySlippage. [[spoiler:When ''she'' finally leaves due to Catra's abusive behavior, Catra undergoes a complete VillainousBreakdown.]] To a lesser extent, Bow has always served as this to Glimmer, to the point that she panics when he starts branching out with other friendships in "Princess Prom." [[spoiler:When a rift forms between them throughout season four, she does ''not'' take it well, highlighting the parallels between her and Catra.]]

** [[RedOniBlueOni Ruby and Sapphire]] initially come across as this. Ruby is especially distraught when forcibly separated from Sapphire, but both of them are simply determined to get back together and fuse back into Garnet. It's only much later in the show's run that they separate for a while in order to re-contextualize their relationship and they decide to try ceasing as this. It seems to work--by ''Steven Universe Future'', they are able to willingly separate and teach different classes to various Little Homeworld Gems, and Garnet explains that she's learned that a person's soulmate should be their complement, not their "missing piece."
** It becomes very clear throughout season five that despite their dismissive attitude towards her, Pink Diamond was this to the other Diamonds. In fact, it's coded thoroughly into her character visually as well: Pink is the bottom of the Diamond symbol, Pink's ship is what holds up the others on the combined Mecha ship, Pink's actual brilliant-cut Gem is positioned on her body in profile, appearing triangularly with the flat side facing down, a shape that literally symbolizes stability. When Pink ceases to be around to bear their emotional burdens, the other three Diamonds' stability deteriorates rapidly, each manifesting this decline in different ways. However, it's made clear that Pink has been suffering in her attempts to keep their relationship with each other stable and everything she did for them amounted to nothing. [[spoiler: It's only when they realize that their abuse was one of the reasons she betrayed the Authority, and admit how toxic their dysfunction was to her, that they make an effort to better themselves and establish healthier lives without her]].

** Titular character Steven is the Gems' crutch, though the show does point out that this isn't exactly a good thing, as he begins the show as a young boy lacking the means or the maturity to be an appropriate crutch for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient beings]] with a myriad of issues. In addition to being this for the Gems, he develops a habit of taking this type of role in interactions with other people, frequently putting everyone else's needs before his own. He earnestly tries to help as much as he can, even if it's mentally unhealthy for him or even puts him in physical danger, with the latter half of the series making it clear that his position has fed into a GuiltComplex that causes him to often outright neglect his own needs; something Amethyst points out and spends [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E20WhatsYourProblem an episode]] trying to get him to stop. Further deconstructed in ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]''. After being the crutch for so many others for years, he's caught flatfooted when they are finally in a place to handle things on their own, as being an emotional crutch became his default method of interacting with people. This combines with an unwillingness to open up about his own issues[[note]]which itself stems in part from fear of causing stress for the people he's been helping, which he believes will create more problems he'll inevitably have to fix[[/note]] to be one of the causes of Steven's SanitySlippage.

** Titular character Steven is the Gems' crutch, though the show does point out that this isn't exactly a good thing, as he begins the show as a young boy lacking the means or the maturity to be an appropriate crutch for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient beings]] with a myriad of issues. In addition to being this for the Gems, he develops a habit of taking this type of role in interactions with other people, frequently putting everyone else's needs before his own. He earnestly tries to help as much as he can, even if it's mentally unhealthy for him or even puts him in physical danger, with the latter half of the series making it clear that his position has fed into a GuiltComplex that causes him to often outright neglect his own needs; something Amethyst points out and spends an episode trying to get him to stop. Further deconstructed in ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]''. After being the crutch for so many others for years, he's caught flatfooted when they are finally in a place to handle things on their own, as being an emotional crutch became his default method of interacting with people. This combines with an unwillingness to open up about his own issues[[note]]which itself stems in part from fear of causing stress for the people he's been helping, which he believes will create more problems he'll inevitably have to fix[[/note]] to be one of the causes of Steven's SanitySlippage.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s season seven premiere, "Bonnie and Neddy", Princess Bubblegum is revealed to be this to her brother, Neddy. Neddy is a reclusive [[OurDragonsAreDifferent candy dragon]] who is extremely sensitive and lives in fear of everything that isn't his sister ever since his birth. His only source of security is suckling on candy roots, and when he is deprived of secreting juice, she is the only one who can comfort him.

** It becomes very clear throughout season five that despite their dismissive attitude towards her, Pink Diamond was this to the other Diamonds. In fact, it's coded thoroughly into her character visually as well: Pink is the bottom of the Diamond symbol, Pink's ship is what holds up the others on the combined Mecha ship, Pink's actual brilliant-cut Gem is positioned on her body in profile, appearing triangularly with the flat side facing down, a shape that literally symbolizes stability. When Pink ceases to be around to bear their emotional burdens, the other three Diamonds' stability deteriorates rapidly, each manifesting this decline in different ways. However, it's made clear that Pink has been suffering in her attempts to keep their relationship with each other stable and everything she did for them amounted to nothing. [[spoiler: It's only they realize that their abuse was one of the reasons she betrayed the Authority and admit how toxic their dysfunction is before her demise that they make an effort to better themselves and establish healthier lives without her]].

** Titular character Steven is the Gems' crutch, though the show does point out that this isn't exactly a good thing, as he begins the show as a young boy lacking the means or the maturity to be an appropriate crutch for three thousands-year-old beings with a myriad of issues. He earnestly tries to help as much as he can, even if it's mentally and emotionally unhealthy for him, with the latter half of the series making it clear that his position has fed into a GuiltComplex that causes him to often neglect his own emotional needs; something Amethyst points out on at least one occasion. Further deconstructed in ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]''. After being the crutch for so many others for years, he's caught flatfooted when they are finally in a place to handle things on their own, as being an emotional crutch became his default method of interacting with people. This combines with an unwillingness to open up about his own issues to be one of the causes of Steven's SanitySlippage.

* [[BrotherSisterTeam Dipper and Mabel]] from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ''both'' have trouble coping without each other. Mabel is the more dependent of the two. [[spoiler:After a particularly bad day, learning that Dipper may choose to separate from her, staying in Gravity Falls while she returns home, terrifies her so much that she attempts to freeze time to prevent it from happening. [[ApocalypseMaiden Inadvertently causing the apocalypse]] in the process.]].

* [[BrotherSisterTeam Dipper and Mabel]] from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ''both'' have trouble coping without each other. Mabel is the more dependent of the two. [[spoiler:Her world is so shaken by the possibility that they may be separated that she attempts to freeze time to prevent it from happening, [[ApocalypseMaiden inadvertently causing the apocalypse]]]].

** [[RedOniBlueOni Ruby and Sapphire]] initially come across as this. Ruby is especially distraught when forcibly separated from Sapphire, but both of them are simply determined to get back together and fuse back into Garnet. It's only much later in the show's run that they separate for a while in order to re-contextualize their relationship and they decide to try ceasing as this, but how much they’ve improved has yet to be seen.

* In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', the Eds are this to each other, possibly due to the neighbor kids' [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer neglect of them]] and all three of them having [[DysfunctionalFamily dysfunctional home lives]]. This is especially evident in TheMovie: [[BrokenBird Eddy]] ''shatters completely'' and [[TearJerker begins to cry for the first time in the series]] when Edd decides to leave him; [[{{Adorkable}} Edd]] breaks apart when he thinks the other two died in quicksand (even putting aside his NeatFreak tendencies at that moment just to save them) and [[CloudCuckooLander Ed]]'s worst nightmare is [[FateWorseThanDeath all three of them falling apart]]. Really, [[ThePowerOfFriendship they mean the world to each other]].

** In "The Runaway" episode, it's hinted that Katara might serve as this to Sokka and even to Toph on some level.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** It is heavily implied that, at the end of the series, Korra has become this for Asami. After [[spoiler:her father's HeroicSacrifice in stopping Kuvira's giant mech from destroying Republic City, Asami mentions to Korra at a wedding that she couldn't have handled losing her father and Korra in the same day. From this scene it is implicated that Korra is Asami's main reason for living after the loss of her family. Although, their relationship in no way is portrayed as unhealthy as Korra is more than happy to be there for Asami - especially after all of the care, kindness, and warmth Asami showed her while she was recovering from her poisoning, PTSD, and depression]].

** Titular character Steven is the Gems' crutch, though the show does point out that this isn't exactly a good thing, as he begins the show as a young boy lacking the means or the maturity to be an appropriate crutch for three thousands-year-old beings with a myriad of issues. He earnestly tries to help as much as he can, even if it's mentally and emotionally unhealthy for him, with the latter half of the series making it clear that his position has fed into a GuiltComplex that causes him to often neglect his own emotional needs; something Amethyst points out on at least one occasion.
*** Further deconstructed in ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]''. After being the crutch for so many others for years, he's caught flatfooted when they are finally in a place to handle things on their own, as being an emotional crutch became his default method of interacting with people. This combines with an unwillingness to open up about his own issues to be one of the causes of Steven's SanitySlippage.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Adora served as this to Catra. Scorpia takes over the position after the former leaves the Horde in the series opener, though she isn't able to prevent her friend's SanitySlippage. [[spoiler:When ''she'' finally leaves due to Catra's abusive behavior, Catra undergoes a complete VillainousBreakdown.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Spike's life revolves around Twilight.
** In "Owls Well That Ends Well" fear that he would lose his status as her Number 1 Assistant temporarily made him a villain.
** In "The Crystal Empire part 2" his greatest fear is revealed to be [[spoiler:her revoking this status and casting him out of Ponyvile because she doesn't need him anymore]].
** In "Spike At Your Service," Twilight gave him the weekend off, and he had nothing better to do than smell his feet.
** Twilight Sparkle also revolves the majority of her life on the approval of Princess Celestia, her own greatest fear being her rejection. One instance implies Twilight may have gone ''[[SanitySlippage completely insane]]'' without her and Spike's intervention.
** Apple Bloom seems pretty dependent on her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders. In one instance where Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo suggested that they try out things on their own, she interpreted it as them not wanting to be friends anymore and fell into a downward spiral.
** Fluttershy is the ''only'' character [[MadGod Discord]] seems to have genuine affection for, and was directly responsible for his reformation. When the main cast is later captured by a villain, Discord initially couldn't care less...until he's informed that this includes Fluttershy. Cue an ''immediate'' shift into TranquilFury.

** Titular character Steven is the Gems' crutch, though the show does point out that this isn't exactly a good thing, as he begins the show as a young boy lacking the means or the maturity to be an appropriate crutch for three thousands-year-old beings with a myriad of issues. He earnestly tries to help as much as he can, even if it's mentally and emotionally unhealthy for him, with the latter half of the series making it clear that his position has fed into a GuiltComplex that causes him to often neglect the fact that ''he'' needs someone to help him deal with all the stress in his life.

* Diane is this to [=BoJack=] on ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman''. In season six, [[spoiler:Diane moves to Chicago, but not before making [=BoJack=] promise her he'll be okay if she's gone. For a while he seems like he will be, but eventually he tries to kill himself and leaves Diane a voicemail blaming her for not coming to his rescue. This is the last straw for Diane, and she decides to end their friendship.]]