History Main / ActOfTrueLove

*** After returning to the Mysterious Tower with a comatose Sora, Yen Sid reveals someone must take one last dive into Sora's heart to wake him up. Mickey volunteers to do it, saying it's too dangerous for Riku. Yen Sid then states that Riku actually has the better chance of rescuing Sora, as he'd already been in his dreams as his Dream Eater. Following a moment of thought, Riku thanks Mickey for his offer, but tells him he needs to be the one to wake Sora up-- because he's the only one who can. Riku dives into Sora's heart and defeats the Armored Ventus Nightmare trapping him in darkness. Once he answers three cryptic questions from the residents of Sora's heart [[spoiler: (Roxas, Ventus, and Xion)]], Sora awakens in the real world. Yen Sid later awards Riku the title of Keyblade Master ''specifically'' because he went above and beyond the call of duty for his best friend.[[note]]There's also a slightly different meaning to some of what Riku says during his speech before he dives back into Sora's heart in Japanese; instead of "I'm doing it for me, too." he says, [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187955188008546304 "I have to be the one."]] A more word-for-word translation is "It won't work. / [[ThePowerofLove He won't wake unless I go."]] Meanwhile, "He needs me." is [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187956613463719941 "I WANT to go."]] It's more or less [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187953532353146880 a direct parallel]] to what [[https://twitter.com/steamwhistler2/status/1187898294267191296 Prince Phillip says about Aurora]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthbySleep''.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'': [[{{Deuteragonist}} Riku]] does several of these for [[{{Protagonist}} Sora]] over the course of the series, although what ''[[TheFourLoves kind]]'' of love it is is [[HoYay/KingdomHearts up for interpretation]].

An Act of True Love may well involve a HeroicSacrifice: this can often be a DeathTrope, so beware any Unmarked Spoilers ahead. However, the sacrifice need not be heroic: sometimes LoveMakesYouEvil or [[LoveMakesYouCrazy Crazy]].

* ''Fanfic/WhatLeadsYouHere'': In Chapter 12: [[spoiler:even after Natsuno, in her grief, tries to drive Keitaro away and ignores his pleas to get away from the torrential rainstorm hitting the valley, only to slip down a cliff and into a ravine, badly injuring herself. Despite everything that's happened between them, Keitaro risks his life rescuing her from the bottom of the flooding ravine, all while his head is bleeding and concussed.]]

* ''Fanfic/WhatLeadsYouHere'': In Chapter 12: [[spoiler:even after Natsuno, in her grief, tries to drive Keitaro away and ignores his pleas to get away from the torrential rainstorm hitting the valley, he risks his life rescuing her from the bottom of a flooding ravine, all while his head is bleeding and concussed.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E16ChangeOfHeart Change of Heart]]" Worf is willing to throw away his Starfleet career, and potentially cost the Federation the war against the Dominion, because he cannot bear leaving his wife Jadzia to die during a mission to extract a Federation spy. Even though Sisko has to sternly reprimand him and tell him he's likely never to be promoted again, he even admits that he would have done the same thing if his late wife Jennifer had been in the same position.
-->'''Worf:''' I had to go back and it did not matter what Starfleet thought or what the consequences were. She was my wife and I could not leave her.

*** At the beginning of their Mark of Mastery Exam, Riku, without realizing it, sees Ansem, Seeker of Darkness on the Destiny Islands as they enter the Realm of Sleep. Sensing that something was wrong, he ''subconsiously'' dives into Sora's dreams to protect him from Nightmares, instead of traveling alongside him to the Sleeping Worlds as intended.
*** After returning to the Mysterious Tower with a comatose Sora, Yen Sid reveals someone must dive one last time into Sora's heart to wake him up. Mickey volunteers to do it, saying it's too dangerous for Riku. Yen Sid then states that Riku actually has the better chance of rescuing Sora, as he'd already been in his dreams as his Dream Eater. Following a moment of thought, Riku thanks Mickey for his offer, but tells him he needs to be the one to wake Sora up-- because he's the only one who can. Riku dives into Sora's heart once more and defeats the Armored Ventus Nightmare trapping him in darkness. Once he answers three cryptic questions from the residents of Sora's heart [[spoiler: (Roxas, Ventus, and Xion)]], Sora awakens in the real world. Yen Sid later awards Riku the title of Keyblade Master ''specifically'' because he went above and beyond the call of duty for his best friend.[[note]]There's also a slightly different meaning to some of what Riku says during his speech before he dives back into Sora's heart in Japanese; instead of "I'm doing it for me, too." he says, [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187955188008546304 "I have to be the one."]] A more word-for-word translation is "It won’t work. / [[ThePowerofLove He won’t wake unless I go."]] Meanwhile, "He needs me." is [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187956613463719941 "I WANT to go."]] It's more or less [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187953532353146880 a direct parallel]] to what [[https://twitter.com/steamwhistler2/status/1187898294267191296 Prince Phillip says about Aurora]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthbySleep''.[[/note]]

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'': After returning to the Mysterious Tower with a comatose Sora, Yen Sid reveals someone must dive back into Sora's heart one last time to wake him up. Mickey volunteers to do it, saying it's too dangerous for Riku. Yen Sid then states that Riku actually has the better chance of rescuing Sora, as he'd already been in his dreams as his Dream Eater. Following a moment of thought, Riku thanks Mickey for his offer, but tells him he needs to be the one to wake Sora up-- because he's the only one who can. Riku dives into Sora's heart once more and defeats the Armored Ventus Nightmare trapping him in darkness. Once he answers three cryptic questions from the residents of Sora's heart [[spoiler: (Roxas, Ventus, and Xion)]], Sora awakens in the real world. Yen Sid later awards Riku the title of Keyblade Master ''specifically'' because he went above and beyond the call of duty for his best friend.[[note]]There's also a slightly different meaning to some of what Riku says during his speech before he dives back into Sora's heart in Japanese; instead of "I'm doing it for me, too." he says, [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187955188008546304 "I have to be the one."]] A more word-for-word translation is "It won’t work. / [[ThePowerofLove He won’t wake unless I go."]] Meanwhile, "He needs me." is [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187956613463719941 "I WANT to go."]] It's more or less [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187953532353146880 a direct parallel]] to what [[https://twitter.com/steamwhistler2/status/1187898294267191296 Prince Phillip says about Aurora]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthbySleep''.[[/note]]

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'': After returning to the Mysterious Tower with a comatose Sora, Yen Sid reveals someone must dive back into Sora's heart one last time to wake him up. Mickey volunteers to do it, saying it's too dangerous for Riku. Yen Sid then states that Riku has the better chance of rescuing Sora, as he'd already been in his dreams as his Dream Eater. After a moment of thought, Riku thanks Mickey for his offer, but tells him he needs to be the one to wake Sora up-- because he's the only one who can. Riku dives into Sora's heart once more and defeats the Armored Ventus Nightmare trapping him in darkness. After answering three cryptic questions from the residents of Sora's heart [[spoiler: (Roxas, Ventus, and Xion)]], Sora awakens in the real world. Yen Sid later awards Riku the title of Keyblade Master ''specifically'' because he went above and beyond the call of duty for his best friend.[[note]]There's also a slightly different meaning to some of what Riku says during his speech before he dives back into Sora's heart in Japanese; instead of "I'm doing it for me, too." he says, [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187955188008546304 "I have to be the one."]] A more word-for-word translation is "It won’t work. / [[ThePowerofLove He won’t wake unless I go."]] Meanwhile, "He needs me." is [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187956613463719941 "I WANT to go."]] It's more or less [[https://twitter.com/koisuru_mijinko/status/1187953532353146880 a direct parallel]] to what [[https://twitter.com/steamwhistler2/status/1187898294267191296 Prince Phillip says about Aurora]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthbySleep''.[[/note]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Encanto'', Mirabel finds out [[spoiler:that her uncle, Bruno, left the family suddenly and without warning because he had a vision that Mirabel would have something to do with the fate of the family's magic. Bruno, who had a reputation as a bearer of bad news, knew everyone would assume the worst-case scenario if he revealed his vision to them, and that Mirabel might be targeted or ostracized for something entirely not her fault. So he chose to hide himself in the walls of the house for a ''decade'', working to repair the cracks in the house to help his family and taking the status of BlackSheep onto himself to spare his niece. He attempts to repeat this at the end of the film, but by then there was no need to do so.]]

-->-- ''Film/{{Serenity}}''

** In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Steve stops fighting [[spoiler:the Winter Soldier]] during their final battle, once he's certain no innocent people are in danger. He is willing to risk that [[spoiler: his BrainwashedAndCrazy best friend]] will kill him, but he won't return the favor. As it turns out, [[spoiler: Bucky doesn't]].
** In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', whether justified or not, [[spoiler: Loki and Gamora sacrifice everything, including "greater good" (the Infinity Stones) and ultimately, their own lives, for familial love for their siblings]].

* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' starts with Simon breaking his sister out of the Alliance research facility where she was being experimented on. On viewing a recording of it, the Operative and the lead researcher discuss Simon's motives and the fact that he pretty much threw his life away to do it. The scientist thinks it's insane, but the Operative points out that he's motivated by love, which makes him even more dangerous.

* In ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'', Jack does everything he can to save his beloved's life, culminating with his letting her float on one of the few available planks, [[spoiler:while he freezes to death with most of his body in the water.]]

* At the conclusion of ''Film/NoTimeToDie'', having been poisoned with a virus that will be instantly fatal to his lover Madeline and [[spoiler: their daughter Mathilde]], Film/JamesBond willingly dies in a missile strike to ensure that they'll be safe.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': [[spoiler:In the final episode, [[Characters/SamuraiJackAshi Ashi]] uses her new powers to help [[Characters/SamuraiJackJack Jack]] go back in time to destroy Aku in the past he came from. However, since Aku is her father, his death thousands of years before her birth meant she can't exist. Before fading from existenc e, it seems she knew full well this would happen but did it anyway. All for Jack, the man she loves]].

* ''Series/{{Haven}}'' has a sinister twist. In season 3, it's revealed that the only way for Audrey to avoid going into the Barn and dying to end the Troubles, for all intents and purposes, is to kill the man she loves. In season 4, when [[LoveMakesYouDumb Nathan]] goes against her wishes and disrupts the Barn's departure, this is the ''only'' method of ending the Troubles. Later in season 4, we learn that ''this'' particular method is because [[spoiler: Audrey's original personality created the Troubles, along with the man she loved at the time. This act was intensely selfish, and so as punishment, Mara must remain in the background while her overlays assist the Troubled for eternity, and the ultimate selfless sacrifice must be made to end them forever.]] This trope becomes a plot point when Nathan tries to convince Audrey it's the right thing to do, telling her that killing him to end the Troubles ''is'' the "most loving thing [they] could do." [[DramaticIrony Luckily]], the apocalypse starts, inverting the meaning of this sacrifice, so Nathan lives.

** In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlanteersS1E3BeastOfTheTemple Beast of the Temple]]", Wheeler and Linka are leaning in for a kiss when the dragon rampaging around Thailand appears. While they're running away, Linka catches her foot in a root system. She and Wheeler both try to free it but can't do so in a hurry. Despite Linka [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown begging him to run]] (thus giving him an out), Wheeler shields her and [[UnderequippedCharge tries to ward the dragon off with the fire from his ring]]. When this proves unsuccessful, he [[DrawAggro proceeds to lure the beast away from Linka]], risking his life to save her.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit To Save Earth, Part 1]]", [[TeamMom Gaia]] takes her focus off [[BigBad Zarm]] to save [[LikeASonToMe the Planeteers]] from a toxic tornado he conjured. Given that she and Zarm are roughly equal in power, this is a very risky choice which unfortunately leads to her defeat.
-->'''Zarm''': Who will you save, Gaia? Yourself? Or the Planeteers? [[SadisticChoice Choose!]]\\

* In ''FanFic/{{Foxfire}}'' when his and Jet's relationship intensifies, Li willingly tells Jet that he's a firebender. He felt it would be wrong to hide from Jet considering Jet's real trauma over firebenders before starting a true romantic relationship. Li did it fully knowing that Jet could reject him at best or rat him out to the Dai Li at worst.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'': Harley's rather hostile to love after breaking up with Joker, finally realizing how abusive it was. It takes watching Mr. Freeze sacrificing his own life to save his wife Nora to decide that an actually loving relationship would be nice. [[spoiler: Harley is ready to jump to her own death so her best friend Poison Ivy can escape from their pit prison and have a happy married life with Kite Man. All this culminates in Harley and Ivy realizing they are in love and kiss in the heat of the moment.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': Helga Pataki demonstrates how truly devoted she is to Arnold in ''Arnold's Christmas'' and ''Hey Arnold! The Movie''.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': [[spoiler:In the final episode, Ashi uses her new powers to help Jack go back in time to destroy Aku in the past he came from. However, since Aku is her father, his death thousands of years before her birth meant she can't exist. Before fading from existenc e, it seems she knew full well this would happen but did it anyway. All for Jack, the man she loves]].
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In Garnet's backstory, [[FusionDance her components]], [[HotBlooded Ruby]] and [[{{Seers}} Sapphire]], met when the former was [[BodyguardCrush guarding the latter]]. When the rebels Rose Quartz and Pearl showed up, Sapphire was nearly killed (temporarily as she'd only have her physical form disrupted) and [[FaceDeathWithDignity accepted her fate with dignity]]--but Ruby immediately saved her, accidentally forming Garnet in the process and changing the future Sapphire had seen. Sapphire's superior tried to kill Ruby for it--Ruby being [[HeroicSacrifice perfectly willing to take it]]--only for Sapphire to grab Ruby and escape with her to Earth. The Act of True Love was mutual on both their parts; Ruby was willing to die for Sapphire's sake while Sapphire was willing to give up everything to ensure that Ruby would live. It's even lampshaded when a confused Garnet asks Rose why the two of them were willing to go to such lengths for each other.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Durin may be upset at Elrond for not visiting for 2 decades, but as Disa says, he tended the seedling Elrond gifted to him like it was his own child, and gave it so much love that it grew even in the darkness of Moria.