History Main / ChildOfForbiddenLove

* Reiner Braun in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' was told that he was this by his mother Karina. As she is an Eldian and his father being a Marleyan, and since unions between the two races were forbidden by the laws of Marley because Eldians were "the children of the Devil", they had to be separated. It was because of this, Reiner trained hard to become a warrior cadet to inherited one of the Nine Titan powers so he could reunite his parents and be a happy family together. [[spoiler:Subverted when it's later revealed that Reiner's father actually wants nothing to do with him or his mother as he already has another family. It's also even implied that Karina is just using her son to get back at her former lover for leaving her.]]

* Reiner Braun in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' was told that he was this by his mother Karina. As she is an Eldian and his father being a Marleyan, and since unions between the two races were forbidden by the laws of Marley because Eldians were "the children of the Devil", they had to be separated. It was because of this, Reiner trained hard to become a warrior cadet to inherited one of the Nine Titan powers so he could reunite his parents and be a happy family together. [[spoiler:Subverted when it's later revealed that Reiner's father actually wants nothing do to with him or his mother as he already has another family. It's also even implied that Karina is just using her son to get back at her former lover for leaving her.]]

If one (or both) has other children ([[YourCheatingHeart such as with a proper spouse]]), the child of the forbidden love will typically be shown ParentalFavoritism. However, they can also become TheUnfavorite if the relationship goes south or if one parent needs to cover up what happened. This may cause [[CainAndAbel antagonism between the siblings.]]

* ''{{Series/Cursed}}'': [[spoiler:Nimue]] was born due to her parents' affair. Her father was despised for supposedly betraying his people (so associating with him was tabooed); her mother was [[YourCheatingHeart engaged to someone else]].

* ''Film/FastColor'': Bo's mother tried to stop her being with Ellis. They carried on anyway, and had Ruth.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jon Snow is the product of a secret affair between [[spoiler:Lyanna Stark]] and [[spoiler:Rhaegar Targaryen]], the latter of whom's [[spoiler:alleged kidnapping and rape of the former sparked a massive, continent-spanning civil war]]. After [[spoiler:Lyanna]] suffered DeathByChildbirth, [[spoiler:her brother Eddard]] adopted Jon, claiming he was his own bastard son to protect him from Rhaegar's enemies. [[spoiler:However, it's eventually revealed that this trope doesn't ''exactly'' apply since Jon's parents were even ''more'' secretly ''married''.]]

** Alistair from ''Videogame/DragonAgeOrigins'' tells you he is the love child of [[spoiler: King Maric and a female servant]]. This is a big plot point later on as he has the right to [[spoiler:take the throne]]. The prequel novels make it clear that the truth was more complicated; [[spoiler:Maric really was his father, but the Elven Grey Warden mage Fiona was his real mother. She asked Maric to lie about it since being the child of any of those carries considerable social stigma. The woman he claimed was the mother was just a random woman who died in childbirth that he never met. Alistair never learns the truth.]]

*** While doing quests in the dwarven realm of Orzammar, the Warden can meet Zerlinda, a young mother from a good family who is reduced to begging to support her infant - the product of her forbidden romance with a casteless dwarf. Because of the way dwarven society is structured, things would have been all right if she'd had a daughter, because the baby would have inherited her position in society; but since the child is a boy, her lover abandoned them and, when she wouldn't give up the child, her parents threw them out. The Warden can improve her situation either by arranging for her to receive charity from the local church, convincing her to take the child and move above ground, or persuading her father to let her bring the baby home.

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* In the [[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaI Mishouzaki manga]] for the first ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', Link is Zelda's older half-brother from a romance the previous Queen Zelda had prior to being married. He's half-elf, which only adds to the "forbidden" aspect as elves are looked down upon by humans. Queen Zelda sent Link away for fear that her husband would kill him. Link grew up thinking he was a common orphan boy.

* Reiner Braun in Manga/AttackOnTitan was told that he was this by his mother Karina. As she is an Eldian and his father being a Marleyan, and since unions between the two races were forbidden by the laws of Marley because of Eldians were "the children of the Devil", they had to be separated. It was because of this, Reiner trained hard to become a warrior cadet to inherited one of the Nine Titan powers so he could reunite his parents so they could be a happy family together. [[spoiler:Subverted, it's later revealed that Reiner's father actually wants nothing do to with him or his mother as he already has another family. It's also even implied that Karina is just using her son to get back at her former lover for leaving her.]]

* ''{{Film/Ophelia}}'': Ophelia's daughter with Hamlet, as they were forced to keep their romance (then marriage) a secret because of her common-born status. Sadly, [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy Hamlet never gets to see her]].

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jon Snow is the product of a secret affair between [[spoiler:Lyanna Stark]] and [[spoiler:Rhaegar Targaryen]], the latter of whom's [[spoiler:alleged kidnapping and rape of the former sparked a massive, continent-spanning civil war]]. After [[spoiler:Lyanna]] suffered DeathByChildbirth, [[spoiler:her brother Eddard]] adopted Jon, claiming he was his own bastard son to protect him from Rhaegar's enemies. [[spoiler: However, it's eventually revealed that this trope doesn't ''exactly'' apply since Jon's parents were even ''more'' secretly ''married''.]]
* ''[[Series/Charmed1998 Charmed]]'':

** There's also Arthur's BastardBastard Sir Mordred, born in most traditions of a love affair between Arthur and his half-sister Morgan le Fay.
** Galahad is often said to be the result of Lancelot and Elaine having a tryst (as they weren't married, that was forbidden by the mores of the time). However, in some versions Lancelot is enchanted into [[BedTrick thinking she's Guinevere]], making Galahad really a [[ChildByRape result of magical rape by fraud]].

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In older societies, this was referred to as a "Love Child", since {{Arranged Marriage}}s were the norm, and actually being in love with one's spouse was a luxury and not a right. Given the way society has changed, this is starting to become a DiscreditedTrope, and the term love child has started to change in meaning (to a planned baby of a couple truly in love).

--> -- '''Arthur Curry''', ''Film/Aquaman2018''

A child conceived between two parents drawn by ForbiddenLove. The added passion and excitement of the situation makes the child "special", at least in the eyes of one or both parents, because this is the "reward" for consummating with the person they truly wanted to.

In older societies, this was referred to as a "Love Child", since {{Arranged Marriage}}s were the norm, and actually being in love with one's spouse was a luxury and not a right. Given the way society has changed, this is starting to become a DiscreditedTrope, and the term love child has started to change in meaning (to a planned baby of a couple truly in love).

* Luke and Leia of ''Franchise/StarWars'' are the children of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, who married each other in secret. Anakin's love for his wife is [[LoveMakesYouEvil what caused his]] StartOfDarkness, and his [[LoveRedeems love for his son]] is what causes his [[HeelFaceTurn return to the Light]].

* In ''Literature/NightWorld'', [[{{Dhampyr}} Jez Redfern]] was the result of a union between a human woman and a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent lamia man]], which is forbidden by Night World law. Her parents were actually murdered because of this and they nearly killed Jez too. Her parents didn't intend to have children and didn't even realize it was ''possible'' for a human and lamia to conceive a child together.

* ''Videogame/{{Bayonetta}}'': The title character is the result of a forbidden union between the Umbra Witch Rosa and the Lumen Sage Balder. Her mother eternally imprisoned and her father exiled from the clan, she was forbidden from learning the dark arts of her mother's people.

* In ''Videogame/{{Bayonetta}}'', the title character is the result of a forbidden union between her mother, the Umbra Witch Rosa, and her father, the Lumen Sage Balder. As punishment, Rosa was eternally imprisoned, while Balder was exiled from his clan.

* According to the Gerudo creation myth in ''Fanfic/BlindCourage'', their patron goddess is one of these. She was the child of two godly StarcrossedLovers, Hylia and Demise. The Golden Goddess' forbade the two from being together but took pity on their innocent baby. Din raised her and then sent her to the desert, where she became the Goddess of the Sand.

See also JustForFun/XMeetsY, when the term "love child" is used to describe a mix of two different things. May overlap with WarringNatures.

* The ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' story "The Adventure of the Priory School", the person responsible for kidnapping the Duke's son is [[spoiler:his secretary]], who is the Duke's love child from a girl he could not marry and who had [[DeathByChildbirth died in childbirth]]. Since the Duke couldn't punish the boy without thinking of his lost love, the kid grew up into criminal habits, especially once he learned he'd never inherit the title or fortune.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jon Snow is the product of a secret affair between [[spoiler:Lyanna Stark]] and [[spoiler:Rhaegar Targaryen]], the latter of whom's [[spoiler:alleged kidnapping and rape of the former sparked a massive, continent-spanning civil war]]. After [[spoiler:Lyanna]] suffered DeathByChildbirth, [[spoiler:her brother Eddard]] adopted Jon, claiming he was his own bastard son to protect him from Rhaegar's enemies. [[spoiler: Although it's eventually revealed that this trope doesn't ''exactly'' apply since his parents were even ''more'' secretly ''married''.]]

* ''Series/CarnivalRow'': Philo, who's the love child of a Faerie and human. This kind of relationship is condemned by most humans.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', {{player character}} Hawke's family back story hinges around this trope. Between what is revealed in the game itself and what can be learned from ''[[AllThereInTheManual The World of Thedas]],'' Hawke's parents Malcolm and Leandra met when he was a mercenary and she was a young noblewoman engaged to another man. After she got pregnant, they married secretly, and ultimately she was disowned by her parents. Hawke was born a few months later, and then their twin siblings Carver and Bethany a few years after that.

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* Reiner Braun in Manga/AttackOnTitan was told that he was this by his mother Karina. As she is an Eldian and his father being a Marleyan, and since unions between the two races were forbidden by the laws of Marley because of Eldians were "the children of the Devil", they had to be separated. It was because of this, Reiner trained hard to become a warrior cadet to inherited one of the Nine Titan powers so he could reunite his parents so they could a happy family together. [[spoiler:Subversive, it's later revealed that Reiner's father actually wanted nothing do to with him or his mother as he already had a family. It's also even implied that Karina is just using her son to get back at her former lover for leaving her.]]

* In ''Fanfic/WarriorsThePowerOfThreeRewriteAU'', the Three are the product of two medicinecats from separate Clans falling in love. Such a relationship breaks two rules of the Clans. This is why Leafpool decided on a FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo with her sister.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jon Snow is the product of a secret affair between [[spoiler:Lyanna Stark]] and [[spoiler:Rhaegar Targaryen]], the latter of whom's [[spoiler:alleged kidnapping of the former sparked a massive, continent-spanning civil war]]. After [[spoiler:Lyanna]] suffered DeathByChildbirth, [[spoiler:her brother Eddard]] adopted Jon, claiming he was his own bastard son to protect him from Rhaegar's enemies. [[spoiler: Although it's eventually revealed that this trope doesn't ''exactly'' apply since his parents were even ''more'' secretly ''married''.]]
* ''[[Series/Charmed1998 Charmed]]'' used this to bring in a previously unknown fourth sister after the oldest was [[McLeaned killed off]]. The sisters' mother had an affair with her Whitelighter after her marriage fell apart, which was ''strictly'' forbidden, as second daughter Piper knew [[GenerationXerox all too well]]. The resulting pregnancy was covered up and the baby given up for adoption for fear that the rest of the family would be punished by association. Amazingly enough, this was not an AssPull; Paige was introduced at the start of Season 4, while [[ArcWelding the affair that resulted in her conception was revealed back in Season 2]].

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* In the [[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaI Mishouzaki manga]] for the first ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' Link is Zelda's older half-brother from a romance the previous Queen Zelda had prior to being married. He's half-elf, which only adds to the "forbidden" aspect as elves are looked down upon by humans. Queen Zelda sent Link away for fear that her husband would kill him. Link grew up thinking he was a common orphan boy.

* Reiner Braun in Manga/AttackOnTitan was told that he was this by his mother Karina. As she is an Eldian and his father being a Marleyan, and since unions between the two race was forbidden by the laws of Marley because of Eldians were "the children of the Devil", they had be separated. It was because of this, Reiner trained hard to to become a warrior cadet to inherited one of the Nine Titan powers so he could reunite his parents so they could a happy family together. [[spoiler:Subversive, it's later revealed that Reiner's father actually wanted nothing do to with him or his mother as he already had a family. It's also even implied that Karina is just using her son to get back at her former lover for leaving her.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jon Snow is the product of a secret affair between [[spoiler:Lyanna Stark]] and [[spoiler:Rhaegar Targaryen]], the latter of whom's [[spoiler:alleged kidnapping of the former sparked a massive, continent-spanning civil war]]. After [[spoiler:Lyanna]] suffered DeathByChildbirth, [[spoiler:her brother Eddard]] adopted Jon, claiming he was his own bastard son to protect him from Rhaegar's enemies. [[spoiler: Although it's eventually revealed that this trope doesn't ''exactly'' apply, since his parents were even ''more'' secretly ''married'']]

* In the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, a demon named Sparda "wakes up to justice", as the game itself calls it, when he falls in love with a human woman named Eva. [[DefectorFromDecadence He would later go on to betray demonkind]] and free humanity from their tyranny. The protagonist of the series is one of their children, the HalfHumanHybrid Dante.

** Alistair from ''Videogame/DragonAgeOrigins'' tells you he is the love child of [[spoiler: King Maric and a female servant]]. This is a big plot point later on as he has the right to [[spoiler:take the throne]]. The prequel novels make it clear that the truth was more complicated; [[spoiler:Maric really was his father, but the Elven Grey Warden mage Fiona was his real mother. She asked Maric to lie about it, since being the child of any of those carries considerable social stigma. The woman he claimed was the mother was just a random woman who died in childbirth that he never met. Alistair never learns the truth.]]

* The canonically male PlayerCharacter of the original ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' and his companion Bastila Shan married and had a son -- in secret, because they were both members of the Jedi Order and were not allowed to even think of falling in love with each other. Their son, however, wasn't Force-sensitive and continued the Shan bloodline, which produced several powerful Jedi, like the Grand Master Satele seen in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''.

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' has the appropriately named Sin Kiske, the human/Gear hybrid son of [[SecretRelationship Ky and Dizzy]]. Given the fact that Ky had been made a king and Dizzy was put in suspended animation to protect her life, Sin spend a good chunk of his childhood being raised by [[spoiler:his maternal grandfather]] Sol.