Living Emotional Crutches in Fan Works.
Crossovers
- Avengers: Infinite Wars sees Barriss Offee in particular relying on Peter Parker and Ahsoka Tano for this purpose after such traumatic events as the Citadel mission, which is a key factor in their subsequent triad relationship.
- Child of the Storm has Harry and Carol wander the line of becoming this to each other as they get closer to each other, particularly after Harry undergoes an utterly brutal Trauma Conga Line in the sequel. They're aware of this, and as a result, despite their UST, it's one of the main reasons that neither seeks a Relationship Upgrade. They do eventually get together, but only after coming to terms with most of their issues.
- Deconstructed in the sequel, where Jean has a breakdown after acting as this to Harry and Maddie, among a number of other pressures, plus her belief that she has to keep up the smiley, happy facade.
- Children of an Elder God: Shinji and Asuka became hugely codependent throughout the history. At the beginning they were just friends, then they were dating, and then they needed each other to keep their sanity while their world collapsed, their friends died, and their powers corrupted them. At one point Shinji begs Asuka not to leave him, and she answers she'll never, ever, leave him.
- In Come Together
, Tom Riddle joins the Howling Commandos and becomes so close to the rest of the team that Bucky's (apparent) death inspires him to re-absorb his only existing horcrux as he realises that he doesn't want to be permanently separated from his new friends by immortality. - The Haddock Chronicles: Astrid becomes this to Elsa. Astrid is the only one who can keep the princess calm, acting as a surrogate mother to her, and when Astrid is sent away on a diplomatic mission, it ends up causing Elsa's powers to go off and engulf Berk.
- In Harry Potter and the Ice Princess, Elsa greatly depends on the support of those who know about her ice magic, such as Harry and Anna as of Book 3, to be assured that she won't let them make her a bad person.
- In How the Light Gets In, it's made clear Laurel was this to everyone. Following her murder, her father starts trying to drink himself to death, Sara is described as looking thin and tired, like she's slowly wasting away, Oliver is stuck in a permanent Heroic BSoD, and Team Arrow is falling apart. Dean (her husband) is forcing himself to keep going to raise their daughter Mary (and believes he's failing), but freely admits if he didn't have a child, he would've killed himself within a month of her death. The same seems to be true for Thea, who has become Mary's nanny but is clearly falling into despair as well. Upon Laurel's resurrection, this is deconstructed as most of them are so used to her supporting them, they have no clue how to help her, and this dialogue between Diggle and Dean makes it clear that having someone as this is damned unfair to that person:Diggle: All I know is that when Laurel...She always seemed to be able to pull him back. He's been-
Dean: What? Lost without her? Boo fucking hoo. He can join the damn club. (inwardly: Is that all she was to them? Just some doe-eyed chick meant to prop up Oliver's fragile ego?) It wasn't her job to pull him back.
Diggle: No, it wasn't.- The author also cites that while she was dead, Dean and Thea developed a (rather unhealthy) codependence on each other, and on taking care of Mary. Making Mary one of these to them as well.
- Last Child of Krypton: Throughout the story, Asuka bonded with Shinji, fell in love with him, and became very dependent on him. When Shinji disappeared or got hurt she get worried or freaked out.
- In The Last Connor, Newt in particular serves as one for Ripley, Ripley holding on to a photo of Newt she recovered from LV-426 as a reminder of why she needs to be a model prisoner so that she can get her case reopened (Newt would likely reciprocate, but for most of the fic she was convinced that Ripley didn’t want her anymore).
- Samus becomes this for Mitsuzane in Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations when she learns his tragic backstory. Samus's fighting spirit as a whole is what motivates him to follow her and fight his inner demons.
- His brother Takatora also counts. Gou is also this for Mitsuzane too, one chapter states that he can't make good sarcastic remarks without him.
- Micchy himself becomes this to Alain, encouraging him to gain a purpose in life as a human.
- The Night Unfurls: It is not uncommon for characters to have at least one person to provide them emotional support to cope with trauma and difficult times.
- This trope is the basis for the Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl dynamic between Kyril and the Plain Doll. The Doll has supported him (plus the countless Hunters before him) whenever she could since his Dark and Troubled Past (i.e., the entirety of Bloodborne) and onwards. Although the PTSD-laden Kyril is fine on his own outside while she resides in the Dream doing her thing, his mood improves significantly every time the Doll makes her presence known. At one point in the original version, he denies that he would get lonely by bringing up how he has "a wonderful friend who keeps him from going insane", whom the Doll is non-subtly implied to be.
- Since Sanakan and Hugh only had one attachment (i.e., each other) during their time as orphaned pickpockets, it is implied that they only had each other to rely on for affection, even though their past is not shown in detail. Additionally, Sanakan is said to serve as Hugh's "voice" because the boy cannot speak, meaning that Hugh would have to rely on her if they needed to interact with people.
- For hundreds of years, Grace had been in a state of perpetual loneliness because of losing her home and her husband to war, as well as being one of the few dark elves in the world. She was able to relieve the loneliness a bit thanks to meeting Anna and Ian by chance, with Anna especially providing her a home and presumably emotional support for Grace to build a new life.
- Lily helps Maia cope with the aftermath of Rape as Drama by counselling and addressing her bad dreams.
- Olga started a war due to her hatred of humanity for what the human slavers did to her kind. For all her power and riches, the Dark Elf Queen had no friends, only subjects and enemies. She gained one attachment by the name of Chloe after saving the half-elf from enslavement. On her own, Olga raised the child until she became the queen's vassal, seeing Chloe as "the sunlight in her otherwise dark world". Judging from her fervorous loyalty towards her queen, Chloe would surely think the same.
- In Remnant Inferis: DOOM, the Doom Slayer is this for Ruby. Due to him being a strong physical and emotional pillar, she could depend on as she witnessed the psychological horror of Hell and their cults, as well as comforting her when she has nightmares and teaching her to be stronger, she's become extremely attached to him. He also reminded Ruby of her mother, Summer, due to his Silver Eyes, of which she has only known herself and her mother to have. This, combined with the tormented visions Hell sent her of her mother being mutilated in various ways, clinging to the Slayer is a measure of comfort to her. However, it's also noted throughout the story that she's perhaps too attached to him for her own good. When The Slayer was teleported away from Team RWBY, Ruby broke down crying and screaming, put up no resistance to being arrested, and after she was done crying Yang noted that her eyes were completely dead. She also implies to Weiss that she's now willing to kill Weiss' father to stop the Hell invasion, which might be in-part revenge for him tethering the Slayer away.
- In Sleeping with the Girls, Luna is this to the Self-Insert main character, according to Word of God.
- Superwomen of Eva 2: Lone Heir of Krypton: Shinji became this to Asuka. He had always tried to help her when she had any trouble or was going through a hard time, and he could understand her better than anybody due to being a pilot ditched by his parents when he was a kid. In chapter 19 she asked him if he could be the one she could lean on and rely on.Asuka: "I think I can keep being the Supergirl that everybody believes in, the one that inspires people, but only if I have somebody I can show the real me to. Somebody I can talk to, and tell about the times when I was really tempted to do something cruel or selfish, without horrifying him, [...] You've seen the worst parts of me. You've seen me at my nastiest, and you've seen me as a broken mess. And you're still here, practically bending over backwards to help me through a rough time. Still caring about me. So, I'd like that person to be you, if you think you can stand it."
- Over the course of Sora and the Princess of Power, it's shown that Sora is becoming this towards Adora, who became one of her first true friends after leaving the Horde and, as a fellow legendary hero, can fully understand and help her with the huge burden she carries as She-Ra. It gets to the point that during her first night at Castle Brightmoon, she begs Sora not to leave her alone in her overwhelming room and they proceed to innocently sleep together not only in the same room, but in the same bed from that day forward. Later on, Adora refuses to leave Sora's side for several days after Glimmer and Bow get captured by The Horde, feeling that he's the only person she can safely rely on with her other two friends missing.
- Tara Sheppard has Willow acknowledge how Tara serves as this for her; the reader is aware of this based on what happened to Willow after Tara’s death in canon, but Willow has enough self-awareness that she expresses fear of what she could become if she had lost Tara, realising that she only didn’t lose her because John Sheppard showed up at the right time.
- Thousand Shinji:
- When Asuka met Shinji, he helped her, showed her love and appreciation, and taught her how to become more powerful. Eventually they got together and she became very dependent on him. Her emotional stability became so reliant on him that when he got absorbed into Unit-01 and fell in a coma she fell completely apart.
- And Shinji became completely dependent on Asuka through the history. Her death at the hands of a MP-Eva broke him down completely. He was so crushed and shell-shocked that he asked Rei starting out Third Impact in order to bring her and Misato back.
- A Triangle in the Stars: As if Steven didn't have enough weight on his shoulders having to take care of the Crystal Gems and sometimes Connie, Bill, of all people, eventually comes to depend on him for support. However, while he likes the encouragement, given his Pride he often doesn't like being so helpless and so dependent and often tries to fix things himself (read: hold things in).
- Apollo to Klavier in Dirty Sympathy, Klavier had been virtually isolated by both his fame and by his abusive lover so Apollo is the first person he got close to. When Klavier thought Apollo was killed, he nearly went over the Despair Event Horizon until he saw he was fine.
- In Somebody That I Used To Know, Juan Corrida TRIES to be this for Matt Engarde after the latter vanishes for a month and comes back dramatically altered and deeply traumatized by something. It ends badly for both of them.
- As in the game, Celeste Inpax serves as this for Adrian Andrews. Unlike in the game, she also explicitly serves as this for Juan Corrida. They both utterly fall apart, albeit in different ways, after her death. Adrian attempts to kill herself and then builds up her Ice Queen persona after the attempt fails. Juan falls into a total Heroic BSoD, and develops marked Death Seeker tendencies.
- In Memories of an Angel, Yuzuru and Kanade were this for each other in their previous lives. When Yuzuru died, she fell into a recluse and became devoted to her programming.
- In What Tomorrow Brings, Tobias admits when talking to Ax that Rachel is basically the only reason he still wanted to consider himself human towards the end of the war, reinforcing his fear of rejection from his Andalite family because if they turned him down he would literally have nothing.
- In The Cutting Edge, both Laurel and Sara are this to Quentin, who is unable to function without both of them alive. Laurel knows that the only way for Quentin to really get better and start living his life again is to get Sara back from the League, and the readers are well aware of how badly Quentin can fall apart without Laurel to keep him together. Quentin himself notes that he's not whole with only one of his girls alive.
- To Hell and Back: After surviving mercenaries, pirates, and the League of Assassins, the Lian Yu survivors are all this to each other; however, the one that functions this as the most is Oliver. According to Kara, without him, neither she nor Barry would still be alive, as he's the one who pushed them to keep on going even when the going got tough.
- Vigilantes' Dawn: Oliver and Laurel are borderline codependent on each other. After all the hardship they've gone through, including believing each other to be dead twice over the course of the last five years, they hate being apart for too long. It's easier in Starling because they can at least call each other there, but even so, they spend most of their time together. It's obvious that if one of them were to die for real, the other would most likely break for good.
- What It Takes features an interesting case. Quentin is unable to acknowledge that Laurel is capable of making her own decisions, and won't admit that it is as a result of his actions that their relationship is permanently destroyed. He's still clearly dependent on her, and the destruction of this relationship has caused his drinking problem to spiral out of control. At the same time, however, it's a deconstruction, because Laurel only managed to be this to him by constantly compromising her own self-worth, including enduring years of his verbal and emotional abuse and heartbreak whenever he screwed up. This contributes to her cutting him out of her life for good, and in the final chapter, he's shown to have died when he suffered a relapse rather than commit to a rehab program. However, Oliver assures Laurel that Quentin still made his own choices in the end.
- In So We'd Both Be Free, Azula and Ty Lee are this to each other. After Zuko and Mai are executed, Ty Lee finds herself gravitating back to Azula, despite now being her slave. Their relationship is unhealthy but they only have each other left. When Ty Lee commits suicide to avoid being given to someone else, Azula contemplates joining her, but she wishes to stop the war more so she opts to live on.
- One Day at a Time: Adoptive siblings Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain became this to each other in the original timeline after the deaths of the rest of their adoptive family. Jason admitted that if Cass had died he would've (figuratively, and perhaps even literally) died all over again, and that nothing would've brought him back. Cass became a sobbing wreck when Jason entered a Duel to the Death with her mother Lady Shiva, who they both knew he didn't stand a chance against (Jason survived, of course). It was only after Jason's children came into their lives that they stopped being so codependent on each other, and when Jason finally did die via lung cancer decades later, Cass was devastated but ultimately able to move on.
- Dominoes: Deconstructed through Shinichi and Ran's relationship:
- While Shinichi and Ran have been close since childhood, Yuusaku exploited their bond by manipulating things so that Ran became his son's only consistent source of emotional support. Then she joined the Irregulars, keeping Shinichi Locked Out of the Loop as their relationship deteriorated further, growing increasingly lopsided — she remains the closest thing he has to emotional support in his circle of 'friends', but no longer truly fulfills that role, forcing him to make do with scraps.
- Ran herself fails to recognize how bad things have gotten due to Shinichi being her living emotional crutch — or at least, the idea of him she's created in her head. She obsesses over the notion of 'protecting' him and ensuring he'll always be a familiar constant in her life, even while taking him completely for granted.
- This reaches the point where Shinichi fully recognizes that Love Cannot Overcome and breaks up with her, noting afterwards that he 'feels lighter' for having done so.
- Any fan works that feature Saten/Frenda relationship (either platonic or romantic) such as Sunrise and Echo of a Lost World; Saten's role is to make sure Frenda stays as a redeemable character despite all her deeds as a member of the Dark Side. Likewise, Frenda's role is to make sure Saten stays a good person and not doing a full-time Face–Heel Turn no matter how grim the situation is for them. Tipping off the balance by injuring, kidnapping, or even killing one of them will make the other go ballistic.
- Of Monsters and Men: Nunnally notes that she's the only one keeping Lelouch together. If she died, he'd go on a full-on rampage against Britannia.
- In the Facing the Future Series, it's revealed that Danny is this to Sam, who says that she can't live without him and that he's the only one who really makes her happy.
- In Kunoichis Like Us, Kasumi ends up becoming one to Alex, and he admits as such because he doesn't want to be alone again.
- In A Charmed Life Ryuk becomes this for Light, helping him through his psychotic breakdowns.
- In Aftermath, Cassandra and Eugene seemingly die in the battle with Zhan Tiri, leaving Rapunzel broken with grief and clinging to her sole remaining friend, Varian. The narrative even refers to him as "Rapunzel's emotional support puppy".
- As in canon, Anna is this to Elsa in Darkness Burning. Due to the Alternate Universe nature of the fic, it's different from in canon, however. Their parents aren't dead but Anna still drives Elsa. When Anna is betrothed and sent to another country, Elsa stops functioning well and her depression worsens. She becomes even more isolated, starts losing weight, and tries to kill herself. The character arc of the fic revolves around Anna coming home to try and help Elsa get back to normal.
- In Hope for the Heartless, Avalina causes pleasant feelings in the Horned King with her aura of Life against his aura of Death and beautiful piano playing. After months of experiencing these, his heart becomes alive again and just mentioning her name calms his mind.
- In Stay With Me, Hiro and Cass become this to each other as a result of Tadashi's death, soon escalating into an incestuous relationship.
- At the end of A Warm Blizzard, Elsa becomes one for Prince Hans, as they get closer to each other. Due to what he did to the sisters, namely his usurpation plot, he had this lingering fear that that he'll revert back to his old ways, but with Elsa around, he won't be afraid.
- Varric and Bethany, who is the Inquisitor, are this for each other in Beyond Heroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium. Because of the nature of the story, they rely on each other in ways that they simply cannot (or will not) rely on anyone else, and he considers it practically a sacred duty to look after her in the absence of her brothers. It's not as unhealthy an example as some, but a few of their companions do comment on it now and then.
- There is a strong element of this to the bond between the Heralds of Andraste in the Twice Upon an Age. Should one be seriously injured or thought to be dead, the other doesn't take it well; it's so pronounced that when something happens to both of them at the same time, their companions are actually relieved because "there would be no comforting a lone Herald." Less intensely, Bethany Hawke seems to be serving as a minor one for Varric, who admits in one of his letters that writing to her is pretty nearly the only thing in his life that feels normal.
- In Your Arms centers around Harry Dresden becoming this to Molly. His temporary death coincided with a very bad time in her life, and she therefore associates him with safety. One of the reasons they share an apartment is because his presence stabilizes her.
- Blood Ties:
- Roy and Riza are this to one another. Riza refuses to leave Roy even after he becomes a dhampyr. She changes into one herself to be with him.
- Hughes' wife Gracia and daughter Elicia died. He's become miserable since then, but goes mad after being told that there are people who look like them on the other side of the Gate. Hughes becomes obsessed with meeting the lookalikes so he can be with his loved ones again, which results in Hughes being killed because he's too dangerous.
- Edward becomes very attached to Hohenheim in My Master Ed due to everyone else he'd ever known (excluding the Dwarf in the Flask) no longer existing.
- Amiss and its sequel The Long Way feature a world where Miley was unable to undo her wish that she could be Hannah all the time. By the time Angel is able to find a way for Lilly to join her, Miley has been stuck in this life for over a year and has become an alcoholic because of her stress at her current lifestyle. With Lilly's emotional support, Miley is able to go to therapy and quit her role as Hannah Montana, spending a few years working on her own issues until she feels ready to start a new career under her own name.
- In Daphne Greengrass and the Boy Who Lived, Daphne basically serves as this while staying with Harry at Privet Drive after Voldemort's resurrection, helping him understand the reasons for the current lack of contact and giving him someone he can talk to about everything that happened. She explicitly describes herself as Harry's Patronus against "everything else" troubling him in his life at this point.
- The title of The Peace Not Promised refers primarily to the happiness that Severus Snape finds in having Lily in his (second) life. Her presence gradually softens his rough edges, leading him to eventually forgive old hurts and find more happiness than he ever has before, and he is deeply devoted to her in turn. However, the crutch aspect is very real; he reacts strongly to anything that might put her at risk, even going so far as to demand that Dumbledore veto her membership in the Order of the Phoenix. (He could accept her leaving him, if that were what she wanted, though it would break him; however, he can't accept her being on the front lines of the war to be killed again.) Lily isn't happy about his efforts to protect her when she feels obligated to fight for the safety of all muggle-borns, but he's adamant, and they have an argument about it, complete with shouting (which is unusual, as he normally worships the ground she walks on).
- In The Power of Seven, when Harry has to form soul bonds to seven witches (Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Demelza Robbins, Susan Bones, Katie Bell, and Fleur Delacour) to destroy the horcrux within him, all seven of his new lovers become this for him, each witch giving him hope for the future in various ways.
- Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità: Italy is this to both Germany and Japan. Thanks to him, they warmed up and became better people. For that, they love him immensely. Hurt him, and you will pay dearly. The thought of him possibly rejecting them would also send them into deep despair. Turns out both are also this to Italy. They are his first friends as his bonds to them never resulted from conquest. He constantly feared them "waking up and seeing how horrible he actually was" and couldn't bear that thought. He really couldn't.
- In Brainbent, Aradia to Sollux. He nearly hero-worships her, which is not unjustified—he has severe bipolar disorder, and she's one of the only people who has consistently stuck with him. She's also one of the reasons none of his suicide attempts have been successful. He tends to get very angry if anyone points out his dependency on her, but at the same time wonders if he's burdening her too much with his problems. She's pretty good at dealing with it, though, and says that she chose this and she can handle it because he's her friend.
- In The Parts We Play fic Participant, Katniss’s baby daughter Willow seems to fill this role for Prim, as seeing her niece helps Prim remember that she had a good reason for volunteering for the Games in Katniss’s place as Katniss would have definitely died if she had to compete while pregnant, to say nothing of Katniss's assurances that she would have likely lost the baby if Prim had died in the arena.
- Kind of a deconstruction of this occurs in The Outside, as this trope has a layer of tragedy, because Satsuki is the only family Ryuuko's known and, of course, she clings to her. Meanwhile, in the former's case, she's been Delicate and Sickly much of her life and, being without their parents (parents are separated and their dad's gone), she isn't really sure how to deal with her situation otherwise, so she robs her sister of a normal life.
- In The Ronless Factor, after Ron dies in a car accident, Kim is completely depressed until the funeral, when she manages to feel slightly less sad after Ron’s father gives her Rufus as another connection to Ron.
- Their Bond: Impa's life has revolved around Princess Zelda since even before Zelda's birth. Others consider Impa obsessed with Zelda, but to Impa, Zelda is her literal reason for existing.
- In Out of the Dead Land, Steve is this to Bucky. He never truly stops being one, but the degree of Bucky's dependency on him evolves from "believes that he's nothing without Steve to base his identity around" to "would be devastated if he ever lost Steve, but would ultimately continue living and being the good man Steve (correctly) saw him as" over the course of the fic.
- The Other Side (memoriaeterna): After Avengers: Infinity War ends with basically the other half of the universe being killed by the Snap (apart from characters like Ned and May, who still die), Peter Parker becomes this for Wanda Maximoff and Doctor Strange in particular. With Peter providing Wanda with a place to stay after he's given full control of Stark Industries facilities such as the Avengers Compound, Wanda not only initially "casts" him as Pietro in her Westview breakdown, but later lets him talk her down after Doctor Strange is able to help him shake off Wanda's influence. Following that event, Peter approaches Doctor Strange to consider helping him rally the other remaining heroes to find a new way to undo the Snap, suggesting that Strange consider the possibility that, even if he saw 14,000,604 scenarios where they lost and the one where they won featured the survival of the other half of the universe, this could be the 14,000,606th scenario where they also won.
- In What If?, Neo explicitly muses that the knowledge that Trinity survived Cypher's betrayal was the only thing that stopped him from going insane after he realised his new existence as a glitch in the Matrix once his body was killed but his consciousness survived in the Matrix.
- Lords of the Stone demonstrates that Jesse is this towards Petra, with a Petra from an Alternate Universe Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and becoming a cruel tyrant after her Jesse dies defeating the Wither Storm.
- In Avoidance, Marinette becomes this for Adrien after the events of "Desperada" left him physically exhausted and traumatized, with Adrien panicking if she is in danger while as Ladybug and only feeling safe when she is nearby. There's also a discussed deconstruction, pointing out that the two had become dangerously dependent on each other and that spending more time together could drive them to ignore everyone else. It's why after getting Adrien away from Gabriel, they decide for him not to move in with the Dupain-Cheng family (along with not having enough room and Marinette's parents unsure how to deal with Adiren's celebrity life) but instead take up Jagged Stone's offer for the latter to be his surrogate father.
- Cheshire:
- The kwamis that Marinette gathers become this for her. She vetoes the idea of recruiting others for two reasons: thanks to Chloé, she can't trust any of the people in her life to stand by her side, and she can't bear the thought of giving any of them away.
- It's even worse with Plagg; simply suggesting that she not wear his Miraculous for a short period of time is enough to send her into a panic attack.
- It's also implied that this goes both ways since Marinette is the first bearer Plagg has had in a long time who doesn't misuse and abuse his power. The thought of being ripped away from her by Team Miraculous does not sit well with him.
- In the Dad Villain AU, Emelie is all about this:
- Firstly, she deliberately raised Adrien with the intent of making him utterly reliant upon her. When he confides in her about having strange dreams (which are actually his lingering memories of the original reality), she's pleased as punch to hear about how miserable he was without her, dismissing how much he misses his "dream friends":Emelie: I'm sure you only felt lonely in that dream because I wasn't in it, Adrien. I'm your mother, if I wasn't here, of course you'd need a lot of friends to make up for it! Luckily I'm here to stay! I can't imagine what you'd do without me.
- She's also fully aware that Nathalie has been crushing on her for a long time, acting oblivious to her feeling while stringing her along so that she can use the existence of said crush as a self-motivator. She's extremely upset when Nathalie signals that she's starting to move on, feeling entitled to her unrequited devotion. After all, if Nathalie's capable of giving up on her, doesn't that make her less important...?
- Firstly, she deliberately raised Adrien with the intent of making him utterly reliant upon her. When he confides in her about having strange dreams (which are actually his lingering memories of the original reality), she's pleased as punch to hear about how miserable he was without her, dismissing how much he misses his "dream friends":
- Played for Drama in Season 5 of Scarlet Lady. By the time Zoé enters the picture, Chloé has lost both of her "friendships" with Sabrina and Adrien. Despite Ms. Bustier's best efforts to shield her from the consequences of her actions, it's become harder and harder for her to ignore how much her classmates despise her, and her reputation as the titular Nominal Heroine has been steadily declining. Her half-sister is genuinely interested in getting to know her better, and Chloé latches onto her like a lifeline... which makes it all the more devastating for her when Zoé suggests she should retire, taking the apparent betrayal very personally.
- Two Letters: Luka serves as one for Marinette; after spending two years as Ladybug, worn down by all her responsibilities and the way that everybody in Paris seemed to be letting her shoulder that burden alone, doing nothing to protect themselves from Hawkmoth or akumatization, she sees him as the only person in her life who actually cared about her. Thus, she wrote a letter to him confessing her Secret Identity, and that she wanted out of that life. Six months after her retirement, she still regards him as the only person in Paris worth caring about, and panics at the thought of losing him. This sentiment takes a darker turn when it's revealed she's slipped into Yandere territory.
- In most fanworks featuring Eri, it's become enough of a Fandom-Specific Plot for Izuku to become this to her.
- Midoriya and Aizawa form this type of bond when they're captured and tortured in Bury Me In Your Memories. Aizawa even andnits to himself that they’re forming a potentially problematic bond but he just cares about surviving and getting both of them out alive. They adjust slowly to being apart in increasing increments of time when Aizawa has to return to work. They think about each other a lot and maintain a close bond but do manage to regain more normal lives.
- The fic One Half That You See has Izuku and Shouto becoming this to each other when they’re hekd captive and tortured by a villain with a an illusion quirk. They only had each other and the guy kept tricking them with his quirk into thinking they were being rescued. Midoriya was hurt and even killed every time they were apart, causing Shouto to snarl and get defensive if Izuku is touched. They have panic attacks when anyone tries to separate them, like a nurse who doesn’t heed the order to keep them together and Endeavor who tries to drag Shouto away to his own doctors. Fortunately the teachers try their best to help the pair recover and trust others gradually.
- In Sparrow, Izuku latches onto Hawks after the pro hero rescues him from being tortured by Overhaul.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- In Asylum (Daemon of Decay), Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are this way to each other. They both are emotionally distraught and very distant from most other ponies but are friendly toward each other. Dash is quite protective of Fluttershy, while Fluttershy is a socially anxious mess around everypony but Rainbow Dash.
- In Featherfall (Equestria Girls), Gilda is the only thing keeping Sunset from falling apart after losing her friends and her ability to walk, simply by offering her love and care. The moment when Gilda isn't there makes Sunset close to a panic attack.
- The Pieces Lie Where They Fell: Page Turner is one to Night Blade. She is literally the only one who keeps him stable, at the cost of overshadowing his bonds with the other Elements, until Balance deliberately sets things up to sever this bond so Night can have a chance to properly awaken his Element.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
- The Premier is set in a Fortune Lover timeline following the Nicol Route, where Nicol serves this role for Sophia and Maria after protecting them from bullies and rumors. Unfortunately, this has made both overly dependent upon him while leaving him emotionally drained; Maria isolates herself from the rest of the nobility at their manor, while Sophia cannot bring herself to protest against Keith continuing to cheat upon her. After decades of supporting both of them, Nicol takes his friend Jerod's advice to live for himself... and starts a secret affair with Jeord's wife.
- Blackkat's Reverse: Initially, Kurama only cared about protecting Naruto and ensuring he got a better life this time around; the rest of the world could burn. He gradually grows out of this as he gathers up more of the younger jinchuuriki.
- Unlike in canon, this is consciously defied in Catch Your Breath with regards to Obito and Rin. Kei makes friends with them in the Academy and, due to being the only member of the group with a living family, quickly incorporates both orphans into an extended family group with her, her mother, and her brother. Because of this, Obito is less dependent on Rin and later defies Madara’s attempt to break him to heel. Kei points this out in a later chapter.
- First Try Series, Mai Tokai is the emotional crutch to her husband, Renji. In a mission gone wrong, Mai is severely injured, leaving their leader Zabuza to worry that Renji will kill himself if his wife doesn't survive from her injuries.
- Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke act as such in For My Brother due to being each other's only friends. After Hinata almost dies on a mission, Sasuke can't stop hovering in an effort to protect her (the only reason he doesn't follow her into the bathroom is Naruto physically restraining him) and Naruto isn't phased by killing roughly fifty men because they threatened Hinata.
- In A Growing Affection, Naruto becomes this for Hinata. When he is around (physically or spiritually), she is able to stand up for herself. When he's not, she is almost as much of a Shrinking Violet doormat as she was at the start of the story.
- Hakumei: Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata prove to be these for Iruka, Itachi and Hiashi, respectively, as their absence leads to drastic changes in the latter's lives. Iruka becomes bitter and jaded; Itachi falls out of favor with the rest of his family; Hiashi crosses the Despair Event Horizon and gives up on the world.
- Naruto is this to Fu in Icha Icha Paradise: Spiraling Love. Fu, who has passed the Despair Event Horizon before meeting Naruto, decided to do all the things she couldn't do in Takigakure before handing herself over to the Akatsuki with full knowledge that they'll kill her to get the Nanabi. After Naruto rescues her and convinces her against killing herself, Fu becomes extremely dependent on him and will become anxious when the two are separated, with Jiraiya speculating that Fu will try to kill herself again should their relationship crumble. Thankfully, Fu gets past this over the course of a couple months thanks to Jiraiya, and while still in love with Naruto, will be fine when he's not around.
- Naru-Hina Chronicles: It becomes very clear that Sakura is this for Sasuke when her throat is badly damaged in combat. Sasuke's rage at Naruto for failing to protect Sakura completely collapses into pain and fear after Ino calls him out.
- Team 8: Both Naruto and Hinata suffer from severe self-image issues, Naruto due to the village that considers him a monster, and Hinata due to her abusive family that considers her a failure. Naruto's cheerful determination inspires Hinata and he praises her for her strength and kindness. Hinata shows kindness and encouragement to Naruto in his moments of despair.
- Advice and Trust: Shinji and Asuka end up being this to each other, although in a weird way both of them also end up being this to Rei. (Given that their parents are all absent or abusive, it's hardly surprising that they cling to someone who gives them stability.)
- The Child of Love: Asuka drove everyone away to not get hurt again, but she desperately waited for someone to see past the harsh shell and push past her emotional barriers. When she met Shinji and they got together she felt she had finally found someone she could trust and love. Though she also became very dependent on him, and during the month he broke up with her, she was falling apart because she needed him desperately.
- A Crown of Stars: Shinji and Asuka are this for each other. Even before starting to open up, Asuka felt that Shinji was the only person in the world who could relate to her—and vice versa—and they could not bear the thought of being apart again. When they were together they supported, reassured, and kept each other grounded and emotionally stable. Deconstructed when Asuka tells Shinji it is not good or healthy depending too much or completely on another person and giving too much of oneself until there is nothing left. Reconstructed when Shinji replies he will lean on her to become strong enough to stand up for himself and stand beside her.
- Evangelion 303: From their relationship's beginning, Shinji and Asuka gradually become this for each other, in such a way that when one of them fell apart, the other also did. Later, when Asuka became completely unstable and abusive due to Unit-04's crash and Jessika's death and Shinji did not know what to do, Kaworu told him what Asuka really needed was for Shinji to be strong for her because she'd eventually hit rock-bottom and then she would need Shinji's help. And Kaworu was right. Grummancat said that Shinji would not dump her because he is now too codependent to live without her. In another scene, Shinji said that he could not cut her off anymore that he could cut off his own leg.
- Ghosts of Evangelion:
- Shinji and Asuka became each other's emotional anchors after Third Impact. They suffer from severe PSTD, but they can keep it at bay because of their relationship.
- Per Word of God:"A big part of the reason Shinji and Asuka can function is that they can recharge their batteries, so to speak, with one another when they're not working. They can make it through the day, come home all stressed out, and then lean on one another to make it through step by step."
- In a deleted chapter, Asuka says she can't survive without Shinji:Asuka: Misato. He can survive without me. The reverse is not true. We both know this.
- Deconstructed when Ryuko is born. Shinji is afraid of her because Asuka almost died by childbirth. And he neglects her for a short while because he puts Asuka first, and he was worried about her PTSD getting worse due to the strain of raising a child.Asuka: Shinji, it's not her fault.
Shinji: I know that! Of course I know that. But I can't help it. She...
Asuka: I know. Misato's right. We really are too attached to one another.
Shinji: Is that such a bad thing?
Asuka: It is when we hurt ourselves because of it. - Reconstructed when Asuka calls Shinji out on his behavior and helps him become a good parent.
- Asuka passed away in 2080. Shinji cried that no one was taking care of her now, and he died three days later. They couldn't live without each other. Literally.Kyoko: He's gone, then?
Ryuko: Yes.
Kyoko: They always were too dependent on one another.
Ryuko: The doctors said it was heart failure. I guess—
Kyoko: Of course it was. He couldn't bear to live without her, so what else could it be?
- HERZ: Shinji became incredibly emotionally dependent on Asuka since he met her for the first time. During the battle of 2015, he muttered over and over again he needed her. Seven years before the beginning of the story he asked her not to leave Japan, telling her he needed her. And Asuka became way more stable and more grounded after hooking up with him.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide: Shinji really needs Asuka. When she's missing, he's helpless and falls apart.Asuka was the strongest person he knew, maybe that had ever or would ever know. In a sense, she was his example of what it was to be strong, the foundation of his own strength. He would stand as long as Asuka stood with him. But if she collapsed he wouldn't be able to keep himself together.
- Scar Tissue: During the events of the series and the Third Impact, Asuka and Shinji became this for each other. However, they were wasting away because their increased issues prevented them from opening up and leaning on each other. As soon as their relationship stopped being abusive and they started to rely on each other, their mental and physical health improved greatly and instantly.Maya paused, taking a breath to remember what Sempai had told her regarding Shinji and Asuka. She had told Maya those too had developed a codependent relationship, they could not function correctly around each other or anyone else for that matter, they were simply too alien to the entire human experience, too deeply hurt to risk getting close to anyone, but due to the vast amount of traumatizing experiences they had both suffered together, neither Shinji nor Asuka would even think of leaving since they believed nobody else would ever be able to understand their pain. To be without the other, it was beyond unthinkable in their minds, even when they were not consciously aware of it. Asuka had managed to put up a good show during the incident of the 14th, but almost everyone who had in any way interacted with the volatile redhead through that period clearly noticed she was affected.
- In The Second Try, Shinji and Asuka are this for each other, mostly because for about half the story there's nobody else left for them to turn to except each other. It's also pretty strongly implied that Yui was this for Gendo.
- When She Smiles (Fresh C): Subverted. Shinji had used Asuka to support himself emotionally, but later he decided that "putting all his hopes and dreams onto one person wasn't fair. It wasn't healthy, kind, or safe."
- In Sleeper, Jesse McCree is one to Gabriel Reyes as the former gave hope and support during the darker times in Blackwatch and the only one to have hope in him reforming after he escapes Talon. The dark side of this trope is shown when Gabriel refused to leave Blackwatch with Jesse despite the signs showing that things were falling apart and his slow mental deterioration. This led to Gabriel resenting Jesse which led to him torturing and murdering Jesse several times as Reaper. While Jesse still has a lot of faith in Gabriel and gives him support, Jesse's abandonment and Gabriel's actions weigh down their relationship and gives Gabriel further feelings of isolation since Jesse is literally the only one in Overwatch willing to give him a chance.
- Hanzo is a reconstructed version for McCree as he gives McCree the courage to face and later support Gabriel, and Jesse helps him integrate into Overwatch.
- Hop from Anachronism is very close to his brother Leon, to the point where he thinks his clinginess is obsessive.
- In the pro wrestling alternate universe story The Horsewomen Of Las Vegas, Sasha Banks and Bayley are this for each other, especially after Bayley is tricked into shooting and killing her own partner, Alexa Bliss.
- In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians fanfic I Need Another Story, all of Victoria's siblings are this for her, to the point that she almost certainly would have committed suicide by now if it weren't for them.
- In Arc Corp, Blake ends up becoming this to Jaune. The Arc family is initially incensed by Jaune actually getting an employee and developing a close bond with them, since they've spent much of his life trying their hardest to make sure that he could never get to close to anyone, in fear that losing a new friend would just be one more trigger for him to transform into an full-fledged anomaly; something that nearly does happen on one occasion, though Blake herself is able to prevent it. They eventually accept her presence, however (if begrudgingly on Saphron's part), with Jaune's father Nicholas later remarking that having her around is actually something of a boon. Unlike them, Blake actually values Jaune's life, meaning she's the most motivated out of anyone to make sure that missions don't go awry and that Jaune remains as human as possible.
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong
- The Bamboo Scholar deconstructs the idea by showing Shen Yuan is mortified and horror-struck to learn Luo Binghe destroyed the world in his inability to accept his shizun's death, lamenting that making someone fixate on you instead of teaching them to be self-reliant and able to move beyond grief is not a good thing.
- Mortality has this with Holmes and Watson, since Watson is MOST LIKELY pissed while interrogating a criminal on his friend's whereabouts, even though his boast is frightening as well as passionate, but definitely ruthless. He also kills Smith when the guy tortures Holmes with an inch of his life and gloats over him while he's dying.
- And he also murders the captured criminal when the guy stupidly begs for mercy in having played a part in it, which proves that he's ruthless if you REALLY get him pissed by messing with his friend.
- Also, Holmes wills himself away from death for his friend.
- In Memories Born of Fire, Spock becomes rather dependent on Kirk's presence after the kal-i-fee. McCoy and Chapel's conversation partway through suggests that this is always the case:"Doctor, what is he going to do if... something ever really does happen to the Captain?" she asked hesitantly.
The question hung ominously in the air between them for a moment before McCoy finally managed to answer her.
"I don't know, Christine. I have my theories... but I'm in no rush to check them out. It's a question Jim and I don't ask, especially after something like this happens; we're afraid to find out the answer."
- The Stargate SG-1 fic “A Road Not Taken” features Jack, Daniel and Sam being childhood friends rather than meeting as adults. As a result, Jack and Sam in particular serve as key emotional support for Daniel during his time in foster care, to the extent that Daniel breaks his months-long silence immediately after his parents’ deaths when Jack goes to the effort of paying him a visit.
- my youth is yours: Lena is very good at calming down Kara with just a touch. In a side chapter from Kara's point of view, Kara nearly throws Snapper through a wall when he insults Lena.
- In Nightblade, Kana/Argo is this to Nick. In a non-canon side story, it's shown that losing her causes him to mentally snap in two.
- Like the example in the source material, Kamina is this for Nia in Tengen Toppa Gurren Solvernia. Nia basically shatters after Kamina dies, and skirted dangerously close to falling into despair. But the arrival of Prince Simon helped to develop her character in order to avoid this.
- In Lost In The Darkness, Aragorn explains to Haldir that he "fear[s] for Frodo's survival" if Sam dies."Frodo carries the Ring, but Sam..." He shook his head. "Sam carries Frodo."
- Coming Back, Broken: While being treated medically, both Jim and Claire start thrashing and convulsing in their beds, only to calm down when AAARRRGGHH!!! pushes their beds together, calming down when their hands find each other.AAARRRGGHH!!!: Nobody else. Only them in Darklands.
- Luminosity cranks up Edward and Bella's canonical attachment to be something akin to werewolf imprinting, as a common feature of vampire relationships. Vampires with their mates are typically deliriously happy; vampires without their mates quickly pine; vampires whose mates are killed will first go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, then if they succeed in that, typically lose the will to live. Bella is an atypical case because she still has her biological daughter to live for, though she still greatly struggles.
- In Shatterheart, Kurogane becomes Syaoran's only source of emotional stability and comfort since Fai and Sakura shunned him. Deconstructed in that Kurogane realizes that Syaoran's dependency on him is unhealthy after Fai points out that Syaoran still remains withdrawn and has actually gotten worse despite his efforts. When Kurogane ends their relationship in an attempt to get Syaoran to stand on his own, he relapses back as a shut-in.
- It turns out to be mutual for Kurogane, as Syaoran is the only one that he opens up to and lets his guard down. Kurogane realizes this when he starts to miss Syaoran's physical and emotional intimacy.
- In The Land of What Might-Have-Been, Toto is this for Dorothy in particular, Dorothy's weeks of fear and apprehension that someone might hand her over to the ruthless Hellion temporarily ended when she's joyfully reunited with the dog. Even the Hellion, Dorothy's twisted amnesiac other self, shows a reaction to seeing Toto 'again', despite it being years since her Toto must have died and the Hellion herself lacking any conscious memory of her past.
- Quicken: Taylor became this to her best friend Emma as soon as the red-haired girl met her again after going through Hell.After a minute or so passed, we stepped out of the hug. I chuckled a little as I wiped away my tears. Finally, after everything that had happened, I had found someone that I could lean on, someone I knew that had my back and a small smile came to me. I drank in her appearance, glad to see her familiar form once more.
I hadn’t found Mom, Dad, or Anne. They weren’t even in the same city anymore, let alone the same state. I had thought I would have been all alone here, with no one familiar to reach out to, that I’d be stuck by myself with whoever or whatever I was now.
But, just when I had been ready to give up any hope, just when I was resigned to being alone, I had found Taylor. She had always been dependable like that.
