History Main / SexForSolace

-->-- ''Series/LostGirl'', [[Recap/LostGirlS2E20LachlansGambit "Lachlan's Gambit"]][[note]]Moments later Lauren clarifies [[SubvertedTrope she literally means "sleep" here, as in lose consciousness overnight for rest]], but she explains the trope regardless.[[/note]]

Alice and Bob are two characters in a series who are extremely close, maybe they are in love, or maybe they are just close friends, but they are happy together… until Bob dies. Or leaves. Or is revealed to be [[TheMole lying the whole time]]. Regardless of the exact circumstances, the relationship is over and Alice is emotionally crushed. Does she [[DrowningMySorrows begin to drink heavily]] or [[HeartbreakAndIceCream gorge herself on ice cream]] to wipe away the feelings or [[DeathSeeker seek to end the pain]]? Nope, she goes out and finds somebody to spend the night with, and then finds somebody else the next night, and then finds somebody ''else'' the night after that. These are not emotionally healthy relationships, nor do they count as "relationships" by any definition of the term; they are just a string of one night stands as she tries to cope with the loss.

Alice and Bob are two characters in a series that are extremely close, maybe they are in love or maybe they are just close friends, but they are happy together… until Bob dies. Or leaves. Or is revealed to be [[TheMole lying the whole time]]. Regardless of the exact circumstances, the relationship is over and Alice is emotionally crushed. Does she [[DrowningMySorrows begin to drink heavily]] or [[HeartbreakAndIceCream gorge herself on ice cream]] to wipe away the feelings or [[DeathSeeker seek to end the pain]]? Nope, she goes out and finds somebody to spend the night with, and then finds somebody else the next night, and then finds somebody ''else'' the night after that. These are not emotionally healthy relationships, nor do they count as "relationships" by any definition of the term; they are just a string of one night stands as she tries to cope with the loss.

* ''Anime/LegendOfTheBlueWolves'': Jonathan and Leonard have a romance with each other and sex scene. It is these tender moments that they turn to for solace from their precarious lifestyle as they are in the middle of a war with aliens, and Jonathan is lusted after and then raped by Captain Continental.
* ''Manga/KazeToKiNoUta'': Despite his apparent cruelty, Gilbert proves to be a tortured young man with a history of abandonment, objectification, and abuse. This is part of the reason why he sleeps around with male students.
* ''Manga/WolfGuyWolfenCrest'': After Haguro's death, Ryuuko just lost her mind, wandering on the streets and selling her body for sex to men in utter disbelief and despair now that she lost Haguro and couldn't get Inugami.
* After Guts [[spoiler:leaves the Hawks]] in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Griffith, devastated by this, seeks out some sexual solace with [[spoiler:Princess Charlotte]]. And the countdown to The Eclipse starts the second her father finds out.
* ''Manga/BlackButler'': Beast gives in to Sebastian's seduction and has sex with him after Joker ignores her request to run away from their "father" and rejects her feelings for him. Sebastian uses her emotional vulnerability to coerce her into sex to "help" her with her pain but it is really to get answers out of her.

* ''Manga/{{Citrus}}'': Really, any time when Mei becomes overly emotionally distressed, she would proceed to try to make sexual advances on Yuzu. While this is mostly because she is inept when it comes to processing her feelings towards her stepsister, Mei is often depicted as being shrouded by darkness. The worst case of this is in episode 2 of the anime where when Yuzu tries to extract some insight into how Mei truly felt about moving in with her grandfather, Mei lashes out at her, and pushes her onto the bed. She then proceeds to tear open her blouse and if there is any indication, she would've gone as far as to molest Yuzu had it not have been for Yuzu getting to her.

* Similarly subverted like the ''Anime/CodeGeass'' example above, Ryo from the ''{{Manga/FAKE}}'' series tells Dee he can "go ahead and do it" to him while in a depressed state. Dee answers with a slap with a GetAHoldOfYourselfMan out of anger, as [[ChivalrousPervert he]] is AboveTheInfluence and would never take advantage of [[HeroicBSOD someone who's head isn't on straight and vulnerable.]]

* Manga/SakuraGari: Souma had a traumatic childhood which included rape (due to his beauty) and afterwards he is so broken he seeks out multiple partners and continues to do so even after they die from having ties with him at the hands of his psychotic sister.
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'': Utena secretly suffers from suicidal depression under her tough prince exterior. She ends up in bed with Akio and in a brief romance with Touji, both of which she attempts to use to comfort herself, although the scene with Akio is so dubious she does not seem to like it in the end. She eventually ends up in a romance with Anthy, another girl, and she reveals her protecting Anthy was partly due to her own self-satisfaction but her relationship with Anthy does end up offering her solace, as they grow to love each other.
** It is implied that many of the admittedly dysfunctional cast sleeps around, partly for this reason. Touga and Akio in particular, though they also do so to further their own goals.
* Almost happens between [[spoiler:Yota and Moemi]] in ''Manga/VideoGirlAi'', after [[spoiler:she goes through a NearRapeExperience and almost crosses the DespairEventHorizon. They end up hugging naked and crying.]]
* ''Anime/SchoolDays'': Almost every character is messed up or depressed and EverybodyHasLotsOfSex or simply has romantically charged scenes. This notably occurs between Makoto and Kotonoha as well as Makoto and Sekai. Both girls have serious issues, and the romance and sex with Makoto help, until the plot thickens and Makoto's womanizing tendencies arise so things take a turn for the worse.
* ''Literature/DenpaTekiNaKanojo'': Hikaru proposes this to Juu after she has been rejected by her true crush thanks to the MaliciousSlander from the Happiness Club.
* Subverted in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed'' by Flay, who takes advantage of a distraught Kira in order to allegedly comfort him with her body. It's actually a ploy to manipulate him [[spoiler: in revenge for him not being able to save her father]].

* Touka and Kaneki's sex scene in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' (re) acts as this as well as IntimatePsychotherapy as they are both depressed and seeking solace but it is also an expression of their love for each other and TheirFirstTime.
* Implied to be a heavy basis for Misato and Kaji's relationship in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Most sources show that Misato underwent a lot of psychological trauma after Second Impact, and the manga also illuminates that Kaji went through similarly difficult losses, so they both used intimacy as a means of coping with their pain.
** It's implied that Misato is offering this to Shinji when he's depressed after Rei's demise in Episode 23. After [[HatesBeingTouched Shinji rejects her advances]], she concludes that she's more in need than he is for solace (Kaji having died a couple of episodes earlier).
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' does this so often that he becomes a [[spoiler:[[HookerWithAHeartOfGold teenaged prostitute]]]]. Even after quitting this, Jeremy still tries to seduce Ian when is [[FreakOut extremely upset]] or [[SanitySlippage having a rough time coping]]. Lindon is the first to realize that Jeremy's actions are a poor method of coping with his [[RapeAsBackStory issues.]]

* Haruki does this with Chiaki during Chiaki's route iBn ''VisualNovel/WhiteAlbum2''. Angry and frustrated, he accepts Chiaki's teasing offer during Christmas. They end up having sex at his apartment ''for a whole week after''.
* In ''Manga/CeresCelestialLegend'', [[spoiler:Aya offers herself to Yuuhi, looking for SexForSolace for losing Toya. Yuuhi gives in at first, to the point of making out and both getting naked. However, right before going too far, Yuuhi snaps out of it after seeing Aya being clearly on the brink of tears. He then kindly rejects her, claiming that [[AboveTheInfluence he loves her too much to take advantage of the situation]].]]

* In ''Manga/{{Inubaka}}'', [[spoiler:Kanako]] began to go out late every night and bring strange men to her home to cope with her dog's death.
* ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'': Akeno comes to Issei with this intent in the seventh volume, due to having a lot on her plate to deal with, emotionally speaking, due to her strained relationship with her father. Issei is at first overjoyed at his good luck… [[DefiedTrope but turns her down]], saying that while he wants to have sex with her very much, he wants that occasion to be a happy one, not when Akeno is obviously feeling sad.
* ''Manga/FoodWars'': In the final chapters, it's revealed that Azami Nakiri (Erina's father) had a one-night stand with an American woman when he was still a student, due to still being depressed over the disappearance of his dear senpai Joichiro Saiba. [[spoiler:The result was the birth of Asahi, leaving him horrified when he learns he had abandoned a son]].
* ''Anime/CrossAnge'': [[spoiler:This is part of the reason why [[FallenPrincess Ange]] seduces [[BadassNormal Tusk]] in Episode 22 after learning he survived his DisneyDeath. At first she thinks his presence here is a product of [[BigBad Embryo]] pulling a cruel illusion trick on her, but she nevertheless wants to believe that the man she loves is indeed still alive and right in front of her. So she begs him to stay as she tackles him to the ground and strips down. Thankfully, there is lots of tenderness to be felt in what becomes TheirFirstTime, and Ange is saved from her current DespairEventHorizon, renewed to fight one last time because Tusk is still by her side.]]
** A couple of episodes earlier, Rosalie tries to proposition this to Hilda since their crush objects (Chris for Rosalie, Ange for Hilda) haven't been heard from for some time, with no guarantee that they're safe. Rosalie is upset because Chris has joined [[BigBad Embryo]], and Hilda is struggling with her unrequited crush on Ange. While they do attempt to start off, they ultimately realize they can't go past a heated kiss, and instead choose to have a heart-to-heart regarding their love interests.

* ComicBook/NormanOsborn has sex with Gwen Stacy -- yes, ''[[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied that]]'' Gwen Stacy -- soon after his son Harry is hospitalized for OD'ing on LSD. Gwen herself was traumatized by her father's death and Peter's [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife apparent aloofness]]. This in truth turned out to be false as Norman was hypnotized to believing he had slept with Gwen by a artificial computer version of Harry Osborn.
* One AlternateCharacterInterpretation of Starfire's behavior in ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'' is that she's doing this when she propositions Roy Harper barely hours after they first meet. Apparently she was supposed to come off as an EthicalSlut, but instead, it came off like this.

* ''ComicBook/FinePrint'': Lauren has lots of casual sex to offset her depression and loneliness. This doesn't work.

* [[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/kalash93 Kalash93's]] ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/106068/1/relax/intimacy Relax]]'' is all about this trope. The conclusion is absolutely heartwarming. (Sturgeon's Law is in full effect here. You have been warned.) There's also [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/88520/welcome-to-the-brothel related]] stories by the same author. In both, it's a case of a prostitute using her body to comfort her soldier client, but each one is told with an interesting twist which makes them both really good quick reads.
* In ''Fanfic/TheLifeAndTimesOfAWinningPony'', [[EthicalSlut Cloud]] [[LovableSexManiac Kicker]] finally gives in to Blossomforth's advances in the wake of [[spoiler:finding her mother dead and personally killing the Changeling Infiltrator responsible]].
* The ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/DownToAgincourt'' explains that Castiel [[ReallyGetsAround has so much sex]] because it's basically the only thing about being human--other than heavy drug use--that he doesn't actively loathe.

* The ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfic ''FanFic/ScarTissue'' has Asuka sleeping with Shinji in order to alleviate her trauma. Played very darkly in that [[QuestionableConsent Shinji feels too guilty to say "no."]]
* In the Fairy Tail fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12908239/1/The-Spirit-Doll The Spirit Doll]]'', [[spoiler: Natsu and Lucy]] had done this after the battle with Tartaros. After they had both suffered the loss of someone they loved [[spoiler: (ie. Igneel and Aquarius)]] with [[spoiler: Lucy]] having the extra solace of almost losing [[spoiler: Natsu]] to go with it. They need the reassurance that both of them were still there and alive, not realizing their actual feelings for one another. This led to [[spoiler: Lucy]] having a daughter during the timeskip as well as the events of the story to take place.
* Zelda and Link have this type of relationship in ''Fanfic/TheirBond'', but it doesn't get much farther than heavy kissing. Otherwise, they have a [[NotBloodSiblings sibling relationship]]. [[spoiler:Link is helping Zelda with her past childhood sexual abuse by Ganondorf.]] Neither likes it because they ''do'' see each other as siblings, and because [[spoiler:they're both gay at that]], but Link would do anything to help Zelda.
* Belle and Aurora end up sleeping together for this reason in ''Fanfic/ToAMerryChristmas''. Aurora is staying over at a party Belle is throwing for Christmas. They meet and get tipsy together in the library, but Aurora begs Belle to go to bed with her because she's afraid to sleep alone. It ends up leading to sex.

* In chapter 4 of ''Fanfic/StormCloudsAndGreySkies'', Claire is traumatized because she thinks that Leia was killed in a freak typhoon. After Gray wakes her from a nightmare, Claire begs for him to "take her pain away".

* In ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'', Shinji agrees to sleep with Asuka to comfort her after Arael’s psychic attack.
* In ''Fanfic/GoldPoisons'', Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue had an encounter like this during the Sunshot Campaign. It was Jin Guangyao’s fault, as he’d written a letter warning Xichen he was in danger and Xichen has a hard time processing it. Both feel like they've taken advantage of each other.

* In ''Film/WhenHarryMetSally'', Harry sleeps with woman after woman to try to forget his ex-wife, Helen (while he's in love with Sally, his best friend, of course, and neither realizes it yet). This prompts the following exchange:
-->'''Harry:''' If you're so over Joe, why aren't you seeing anyone?\\
'''Sally:''' I see people. \\
'''Harry:''' See people? Have you slept with one person since you broke up with Joe?\\
'''Sally:''' What the hell does that have to do with anything? That will prove I'm over Joe? Because I fuck somebody? Harry, you're gonna have to move back to New Jersey because you've slept with everybody in New York and I don't see that turning Helen into a faint memory for you. Besides, I will make love to somebody when it is making love. Not the way you do it like you're out for revenge or something.

* In ''The Mountain Between Us'', the two main characters depend on each other to survive when their plane crashes. They find solace in one another, fall in love, and eventually have passionate sex.
* ''Film/CabinFever'': "It's like being on a plane when you know it's gonna crash -- everyone around you is screaming, yelling 'We're going down! We're going down!' And all you really wanna do is grab the person next to you and fuck the shit out of them, 'cuz you know you're gonna be dead soon, anyway."

* In ''Film/Alien3'', Ripley and Clemens make love for this reason. Ripley has lost two people who meant a lot to her, and Clemens has spent a large part of his life on a bleak prison planet to atone for his past mistakes. Ripley also does it to deflect a question that Clemens asked her, but why she chose ''this'' way to deflect it is this trope ("I've been out here a long time", she says).
* ''Film/HeDiedWithAFelafelInHisHand'': Sam and Anya get together at the end of the Brisbane segment, and break up around the time when the Melbourne segment starts. Incredibly upset by the breakup, she asks Danny to sleep with her, saying that she needs to feel loved. [[spoiler: When he turns her down, she tries and fails to commit suicide.]] After all that, Danny decides that his previous arguments are no longer valid and sleeps with her anyway.
* Cheryl Strayed in ''Film/{{Wild}}'' does this after the death of her mother, in addition to drugs. She even says the only times she's happy are when she's having sex or on drugs.
* Implied (but averted) in ''Film/StarTrek2009''. After the destruction of Spock's home planet, Uhura gets Spock [[ElevatorGoingDown somewhere private]], kisses him, and offers whatever he needs to cope. Spock's reaction is NotSoStoic but makes it clear that he needs everyone to keep a professional distance right now. Uhura accepts this.
* ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': Defied. When Bond and Madeline investigate Mr. White's old honeymoon hotel room, she tells him that she won't fall into his arms just because she learned that her father recently killed himself. The following night, they have GladToBeAliveSex instead.
* ''Film/{{Outland}}''. After O'Neil's wife and son abandon the mining colony to return to Earth, Montone advises him that the company prostitutes can at least provide some comfort.
* ''Film/{{Attenberg}}''. Marina's father is dying of a terminal illness, so suspecting he's attracted to her ReallyGetsAround friend Bella she arranges for Bella to sleep with him, [[ParentalSexualitySquick though she doesn't want to know the details]].

* ''Film/{{Goldstone}}''. Detective Jay Swan--who's introduced being [[DrowningMySorrows pulled over for drunk driving]]--later goes to speak to a prostitute as part of his investigation. During their conversation he reveals that his daughter whom we saw in the [[Film/MysteryRoad previous movie]] has died. He ends up sleeping with her, and it's implied that he went there in the first place for this trope, rather than any hope of getting information.
* In ''Film/MostLikelyToMurder2018'', Billy's ex Kara reminds him that the last time they had sex was after Hurricane Sandy, when she was upset about the loss of her childhood photos.

* In ''Literature/JenniferGovernment'' Buy Mitsui blames himself for the death of a young girl because he gave her the money to buy the shoes she was killed for. When he goes out drinking [[DrowningMySorrows to try and deal with the guilt]] he winds up going home with Sandy John-Hancock but recognizes the next day that he will probably never call her (Which is a pity, because she actually seemed like a nice woman).
* In ''Literature/TheAeneid'', recently widowed Dido pretty much leaps into Aeneas's arms at top speed. Unfortunately for the poor girl, she was just a pawn in Juno's revenge quest against Aeneas, so it ended badly.
* In ''[[Literature/CircleOfMagic The Will of the Empress]]'', Briar tries to have someone in his bed every night to ward off PTSD-induced nightmares.
* In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge's Gamble]]'', Erisi Dlarit tries to sleep with Corran Horn on this pretense; to ease his angst. He refrains and [[IdiotBall wanders an enemy-controlled city without watching where he's going]] instead. Probably just as well--rather than getting him captured or killed this leads to [[LuckBasedSearchTechnique unexpected discoveries]]. [[spoiler: Anyway, Erisi is a traitor to the cause.]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Littlefinger sleeps with Lysa Tully after he gets drunk at the feast in which her sister Catelyn's engagement to Brandon Stark is announced. Though it's possible [[BedTrick he might not have known who he was sleeping with.]]
** King Robb Stark sleeps with Jeyne Westerling after finding out that his little brothers have supposedly been murdered. The next day he marries her to protect her honor. As his hand has already been [[ArrangedMarriage promised as part of a political alliance]], this doesn't end well for anyone.
* In the ''Literature/GearsOfWar'' novels, this was how Marcus Fenix and Anya Stroud first hooked up some sixteen years prior to the first game. Both were already attracted to each other, but mutual hesitancy about a relationship (due to regs against an officer and an enlisted man being romantically involved) kept them from acting on it until after the battle of Aspho Fields. Marcus' best friend/surrogate brother Carlos and Anya's mother Helena were both killed in action, and after an awards ceremony a month later, Marcus and Anya were drunk and grief-stricken enough to say "the hell with it". They managed to stay together afterwards due to most of those who knew about it looking the other way (since Marcus was a war hero and Anya the daughter of one).

* ''Literature/JamesBond'':
** It's hinted, implied and occasionally flat-out stated to be a big part of Bond's relationships with the [[GirlOfTheWeek Bond girls]]. His few meaningful relationships have ended in betrayal and/or death, hence his cavalier attitude towards women and his pursuit of sex as a pleasurable distraction (much like [[TheAlcoholic his drinking habit]]) or [[HoneyTrap a means to an end]].
** In ''Literature/DeathIsForever'', Bond agrees to provide sexual comfort for a female spy [[spoiler:who just became the sole living member of her network of thirty agents]].
* In ''Literature/HighFidelity'', the narrator's ex-girlfriend wants this [[spoiler: after her father suddenly dies. It's how she and the narrator get back together.]]
* [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Brett]] from ''Literature/TheSunAlsoRises'' is known for drinking, partying, and sleeping around (despite being 34 and engaged) to cope with the fact that she's been through [[SerialSpouse two failed marriages]], [[OldMaid getting older (and, she fears, less desirable)]], questioning her engagement to Mike, and her tumultuous relationship with Jake.

* In the Creator/StephenKing short story "The Raft," filmed as part of Creepshow 2, the protagonist has sex with his girlfriend. On a raft. In October in New England. [[spoiler: While a [[EldritchAbomination man-eating blob]], that has already eaten their friends, waits for them to drop a hair or a finger in the water]]. It being a King story, guess what happens.
* In ''Literature/{{It}}'', another work by Stephen King, the Losers become lost in the sewers after beating It for the first time and start to panic. Beverly calms the boys down and establishes a physical bond with them by having sex with them.
* In the ''Literature/WarchildSeries'', it's stated that jets do this to handle the trauma of battle. Evan, who is not a jet, sleeps around as a way of coping with his PTSD.
* In ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' novel ''Flying Colours,'' Hornblower finds himself stranded at the benevolent Comte de Gracay's over the winter as a fugitive from Napoleon's (in)justice; he and his two men can't leave until spring for logistical reasons. Feeling trapped and fretting over his inevitable CourtMartial for the loss of his ship, his mood grows fouler and more disturbed until Gracay's widowed daughter-in-law Marie offers herself to him. His CabinFever is relieved immediately, but now he's also wracked with guilt over betraying the Comte's trust, the only man in France who ''would'' shelter three British sailors.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Min asks Rand for some physical comfort after [[spoiler:Harid Fel]] is killed. However unusual a reaction that is to learning of a mentor figure being brutally dismembered, it does cement a RelationshipUpgrade that lasts for the rest of the series.
* ''Literature/TheAtrocityArchive''. During a routine lecture on demon summoning, a careless member of the class gets possessed and Bob Howard has to kill him on the spot to prevent him from infecting everyone else. That night his ex-girlfriend Mhari turns up in his bed, despite them both being estranged from each other, having heard about what happened.

* ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'': Phèdre's friendship with Hyacinthe is entirely {{platonic|LifePartners}}, but they sleep together once after Hyacinthe's lover is killed in battle. As a sacred prostitute, she's very familiar with this trope and IntimatePsychotherapy, though not usually with so close a personal acquaintance.
* ''Arthas: Rise of the Lich King'', an entry of the extended lore of the VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft franchise written by Christie Golden, follows the titular character through his life up past his ascension to the Frozen Throne. At one point during the initial outbreak of the plague of undeath, Arthas becomes overwhelmed by the horrors befalling his people and his own growing sense of frustration and helplessness. He and Jaina - at this point his ex-fiancée - seek comfort in each other as they set up camp outside a nearby infected town. Notable for the fact that Arthas is explicitly described as still weeping when the scene fades to black.
* {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': After Belgarath learns that his wife of 2000 years [[DeathByChildbirth died]] while he was away, he spends a year in a suicidal daze, two years [[DrowningMySorrows as a raging drunk]], a few months WalkingTheEarth (including crossing the Wood of the [[OurNymphsAreDifferent Dryads]] in mating season), and nine years sleeping his way around all of [[LadyLand Maragor]] before his TrueCompanions haul him back to his duties.
* In ''Literature/WatchersOfTheThrone'', during the [[spoiler:Days of Blindness, Tieron and Jek]] begin sleeping together as a way to stave off the terror they're feeling during that time. They break it off once the immediate crisis passes, though they remain AmicableExes.
* In ''[[Literature/AxiomsEnd Truth of the Divine]]'', Cora hits rock bottom emotionally for various reasons, and is taken in by/hooks up with Kaveh, the only person on Earth who can even ''begin'' to relate to what she's going through. It doesn't really help; with her self-esteem where it is, sex just becomes a new source of anxiety for her, and she doesn't start recovering until Kaveh makes her actually start working through her emotional state instead of letting it control her.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''

* ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'':

* Pretty much the central theme of ''Series/{{Fleabag}}''.

* Thirteen from ''Series/{{House}}'' slid into a downward spiral of partying and drunken one-night-stands with random chicks due to being unable to deal with her Huntington's disease.

* In [[Theatre/ArtusExcalibur Artus - Excalibur]], Artus' preoccupation with his war for revenge is what drives Guinevere into Lancelot's arms. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Everyone involved has immediate regrets.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' the option to have a one-night stand with [[AxCrazy Jack]] can unlock for a male Shepard right after [[ThatOneLevel Horizon]] with some careful timing. Why is this considered solace? Because you could potentially get dumped by [[FirstGirlWins Ashley]] on Horizon, probably even in Jack's presence.
** Additionally, Jack is not the most emotionally stable and has a past of sexual abuse and emotional manipulation so it can be seen as solace from her end as well. This is a stark contrast to the Paragon version of the culmination of her romance path, which the hottest action the player can get is cuddling as a price of an emotionally-charged scene that features how much Jack tears down her barriers to show how she cares for Shepard.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', by the end, [[ShellShockedVeteran Shepard]] is having frequent nightmares and [[HeroicFatigue is visibly worn down]]. Shepard's sex scene before the final mission can be seen as this.
* In ''Videogame/Fallout4'', the [[PlayerCharacter Sole Survivor's]] husband/wife is murdered in the introduction to the game, and they are clearly emotionally distraught by this. They can later romance and sleep with one or more of their companions, which can come off as this, especially since several of the dialogue options can have the Survivor still be emotionally shaken and grieving over their spouse's death.

* After the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'' hears about Amanda’s attraction to him from Kathy, he tells her what he’s heard, and promises to help her explore what they discovered about each other. Then, they make love. Justified, since Amanda already came on to him before.

** In the protagonist’s and Tamara’s relationship, the Barbarossa incident is hinted at (and sometimes more than that) in binding the two of them together.

* ''Webcomic/The503'': Averted when Shellie backs away from a kiss [[spoiler:with Phil after learning about the death of his girlfriend three years ago]] in [[http://the503comic.com/index.php?pageID=212 Strip 189]].
* ''Ship In a Bottle'': Reversed. While the fact that she was a seductive buck-naked genie seemed to be all the incentive Allan needed to sleep with Shiphrah in the first issue, he was quick to blame the encounter on his grief about his recently-deceased grampa in the immediate aftermath, as an excuse to [[SexChangesEverything back out of a relationship with her]].
* In ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive,'' [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Davan]]'s old friend Scotty kills himself when his longtime off-and-on girlfriend, Donna, [[SpurnedIntoSuicide breaks up with him]]. Donna feels guilty and thinks everyone else blames her, Davan was also mourning and assures her that it wasn't her fault, and, well… When they meet again a few years later, Davan winds up having to take a DaddyDNATest.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', Lana had sex with the eponymous protagonist after he asked for it because Archer learned he [[spoiler:had cancer]].
** In the second season finale Archer's fiance Katya sacrifices herself to try and take out Barry (who survives). The third season opens with Archer having run away to, as his mother puts it, "grief-bang the entire Pacific Rim". Archer shamelessly admits that his tragic story turned out to be extremely useful for getting women into bed with him.

* On ''Series/{{Bones}}'' Booth and Brennan's first time together is the night a colleague is murdered. Brennan's staying in Booth's apartment for safety's sake, and during the night, overcome with grief, Brennan comes to Booth's bed. He puts his arms around her as she cries, and [[TheyDo you can guess the rest]].

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': This is how [[spoiler:Barney and Robin]] hook up. She was depressed over her high school boyfriend dumping her ''again'' (in the same situation, for the same girl, and for the same reason as the first time), and he made her feel better after she broke down crying. [[CoitusEnsues Coitus proceeded to ensue.]] Though a one-night stand at the time, [[SexEqualsLove he eventually sought to make it more than that]].
* In the ''Series/KnightRider'' remake, Mike's LoveInterest Sarah is grieving after the death of her father. Mike is trying to get her to return to work with him and KITT, but Sarah would rather lounge on the beach than face reality. Just as Mike, exasperated, is about to leave, she tells him she doesn't want to spend the night alone. CoitusEnsues. However, this isn't their first time (she was his girlfriend before he was shipped out to Iraq), and neither does it signal a renewed relationship.

* ''Series/SwitchedAtBirth'': Emmett is completely hysterical about his father giving up custodial rights, and is incredibly angry at his girlfriend Bay for interfering. Simone, meanwhile, is bummed out about her basketball tournament loss and her boyfriend Toby not trusting her. Both Emmett and Simone are out of town and coincidentally staying at the same hotel, and run into each other at the ice machine. She invites him to her room, and [[CoitusEnsues you can guess the rest]].

* ''LightNovel/DenpaTekiNaKanojo'': Hikaru proposes this to Juu after she has been rejected by her true crush thanks to the MaliciousSlander from the Happiness Club.

* It's implied a lot that Shizuma did this with a majority of the girls at her school in ''LightNovel/StrawberryPanic'', as a way [[spoiler:to cope with the death of Kaori, her first true love.]]

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': Akeno comes to Issei with this intent in the seventh volume, due to having a lot on her plate to deal with, emotionally speaking, due to her strained relationship with her father. Issei is at first overjoyed at his good luck… [[DefiedTrope but turns her down]], saying that while he wants to have sex with her very much, he wants that occasion to be a happy one, not when Akeno is obviously feeling sad.

* [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Brett]] from ''Literature/TheSunAlsoRises'' is known for drinking, partying, and sleeping around (despite being 34 and engaged) to cope with the fact that she's been through [[SerialSpouse two failed marriages]], [[ChristmasCake getting older (and, she fears, less desirable)]], questioning her engagement to Mike, and her tumultuous relationship with Jake.

* In the Literature/WarchildSeries, it's stated that jets do this to handle the trauma of battle. Evan, who is not a jet, sleeps around as a way of coping with his PTSD.

* In VideoGame/MassEffect2 the option to have a one-night stand with [[AxCrazy Jack]] can unlock for a male Shepard right after [[ThatOneLevel Horizon]] with some careful timing. Why is this considered solace? Because you could potentially get dumped by [[FirstGirlWins Ashley]] on Horizon, probably even in Jack's presence.

* In VideoGame/MassEffect3, by the end, Shepard is having frequent nightmares and is visibly worn down. Shepard's sex scene before the final mission can be seen as this.

* ''Manga/BlackButler'': Beast gives in to Sebastian's seduction and has sex with him after Joker ignores her request to run away from their "father" and rejects her feelings for him. Sebastian uses her emotional vulnerability to coerce her into sex to “help” her with her pain but it is really to get answers out of her.
* In a twisted way in Anime/{{Canaan}}, the trope is PlayedForDrama with Hakko's sex scene with Santana's corpse, which takes place after she crosses the DespairEventHorizon when Liang Qi tricks her into killing him with her voice.

* Almost happens between [[spoiler:Yota and Moemi]] in ''Manga/VideoGirlAi'', after [[spoiler:she goes through a NearRapeExperience and almost crosses the DespairEventHorizon. [[TearJerker They end up hugging naked and crying]].]]

* ''LightNovel/AiNoKusabi'': Riki once did this with Iason after believing himself to be stood up by his ex-lover Guy.

* Subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. Lelouch is depressed and going through a TenMinuteRetirement and propositions this to [[spoiler:Kallen]]. She gives him an ArmorPiercingSlap coupled with a GetAholdOfYourselfMan instead.
* Similarly subverted like the ''Anime/CodeGeass'' example above, Ryo from the ''{{Manga/FAKE}}'' series tells Dee he can "go ahead and do it" to him while in a depressed state. Dee answers with an ArmorPiercingSlap with a GetAHoldOfYourselfMan out of anger, as [[ChivalrousPervert he]] is AboveTheInfluence and would never take advantage of [[HeroicBSOD someone who's head isn't on straight and vulnerable.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonTwo': In ''Amid the Ruins'', [[spoiler: Luke and Jane have sex while observing for walkers and in doing so, they miss a hoard of zombies that nearly kills the Cabin Survivors, Mike, and Jane (the only fatality can be Sarah but her fate is determinant). Although remorseful for nearly getting everyone killed, he emphasizes that it was an offer from Jane that he couldn't refuse because he was deeply stressed out from the apocalypse, Carver, and the deaths of his fellow survivors]].
--> '''Luke''': [[spoiler: Well, comin' down on me isn't helping. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I fucked up... but y'know what? Jane, she made an offer and... Jesus Christ, I needed it, okay. I mean look around you, okay? Everything is SHIT. So forgive me for wantin' to enjoy ONE MOMENT of somethin' else!]]

-->-- ''Series/LostGirl'', [[Recap/LostGirlS2E20LachlansGambit "Lachlan's Gambit"]][[note]][[SubvertedTrope Lauren literally means "sleep" here, as in lose consciousness overnight for rest, but she explains the trope regardless]].[[/note]]

** In "Canaries", Thea Queen is understandably tense because the League of Assassins is hunting her family, she's recently discovered her brother is The Arrow, and she's just walked into the Arrowcave to find an injured Laurel Lance lying on a slab before Oliver barks at her to leave. As Thea does she runs into the cocky handsome DJ who's been hitting on her for the past few episodes, and takes him back to her apartment out of a desire to "keep things simple". Things turn out to be anything but when her lover turns out to be a League member who tries to assassinate Thea shortly after they have sex, only for her to be saved by her ex-boyfriend Roy Harper. A few episodes later after things have gone FromBadToWorse, Roy finds a distraught Thea turning up at his door, and their next scene shows her [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex a lot happier post-coitus]].

* In ''[[Literature/AxiomsEnd Truth of the Divine]]'', Cora hits rock bottom emotionally, and is taken in by/hooks up with Kaveh, the only person on Earth who can even ''begin'' to relate to what she's going through. It doesn't really help; with her self-esteem where it is, sex just becomes a new source of anxiety for her, and she doesn't start recovering until Kaveh makes her actually start working through her emotional state instead of letting it control her.

* In ''[[Literature/AxiomsEnd Truth of the Divine]]'', Cora hits rock bottom emotionally, and is taken in by/hooks up with Kaveh, the only person on Earth who can even ''begin'' to relate to what she's going through. It doesn't really help; with her self-esteem where it is, sex just becomes a new source of anxiety for her, and she doesn't start recovering until Kaveh makes her actually start working through her trauma instead of trying to bury it.

* Haruki does this with Chiaki during Chiaki's route in ''VisualNovel/WhiteAlbum2''. Angry and frustrated, he accepts Chiaki's teasing offer during Christmas. They end up having sex at his apartment ''for a whole week after''.

* In the Jennifer Hillier book Creep, this seems to be the case with Ethan and his girlfriend but they are both too crazy and unstable for it to help any as they keep falling into their SerialKiller ways. Played more straight with Shiela. She was a respected teacher that went off the rails after her dad's death and her beloved was revealed to be gay and she found him and another man in the act of having sex. She started having random sexual encounters with men to cope and as she describes it she felt powerful. She eventually got lost in the feeling however and became an alcoholic and added drugs to the mix. Part of her story is her gradually climbing out of the hole she had gotten herself into.

* In the pilot of ''Series/SomethingIsOutThere'', telepathic spacewoman Ta'Ra is exasperated by how human cop Jack Breslin is [[DirtyMindReading constantly fantasizing about her]]. However when Breslin is depressed because his partner was murdered by the MonsterOfTheWeek, she kisses him and they later have sex.

* In the pilot of ''Series/SomethingIsOutThere'', telepathic spacewoman Ta'Ra is exasperated by how human cop Jack Breslin is [[DirtyMindReading constantly fantasing about her]]. However when Breslin is depressed because his partner was murdered by the MonsterOfTheWeek, she kisses him and they later have sex.

* In the pilot of ''Series/SomethingIsOutThere'' there's a RunningGag involving Ta'Ra (who's an attractive telepathic spacewoman) [[InnocentFanserviceGirl getting exasperated]] by DirtyMindReading. However when Jack Breslin is depressed because his cop partner was murdered by the MonsterOfTheWeek, she kisses him and they later have sex.