History Main / LivingEmotionalCrutch

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[[caption-width-right:299:He's there for the [[{{Pun}} ruff]] times.]]

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'''Tora:''' Guy, you have your good qualities. But you must see why the idea of being your sole link to sanity is less than appealing to me. The weight of that — we'd never get out from under it.

** Elsa is a downplayed one to Anna. Anna hits her DespairEventHorizon and nearly gives up in ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' after [[spoiler:Elsa has a DisneyDeath]]. She [[DeterminedDefeatist keeps going]], but is extremely depressed while doing so. She laments that she's mostly lived her life around Elsa - even when separated, she focused on trying to help Elsa and asking Elsa what she wanted - and isn't sure how else to live, asking "How to rise from the floor, when it's not you I'm rising for?" Afterwards, Elsa [[spoiler:comes back to life but decides to move away]], and Anna accepts this, having learned how to live without living for her sister and to see herself as a leader in her own right.

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse
** Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are this to each other. Steve's HeroicSacrifice in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' comes on the heels of Bucky's own supposed death earlier in the film, while Bucky's actor Creator/SebastianStan comments that the only reason that Bucky hasn't put a bullet in his own skull by the time of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' after regaining his memories, both as himself and as the Winter Soldier, is because it will only cause Steve pain now that they both know the other is alive. [[spoiler:After Peggy's death]] at the beginning of ''Civil War'', Bucky is the only tie Steve has left to his original time, and, in many ways, the only family he really has left, which is why he can't let his best friend go, no matter how hard he tries.
** Tony Stark's crutch is his long-time BeleagueredAssistant and HypercompetentSidekick Pepper Potts. All three of the ''Film/IronMan'' movies make it clear that he can't function without her -- and that includes ''before'' they finally acted on the UnresolvedSexualTension between them (which is implied to have lasted almost as long as they've known each other) and became a couple. [[spoiler:It's strongly implied that many of Tony's poor choices over the course of ''Civil War'' is because, at the time, he and Pepper were no longer in a relationship.]]
** After losing his parents, his closest friends, his home, half his people, his beloved weapon, and one of his eyes, Thor’s younger brother Loki seems to have become his emotional crutch. [[spoiler:Loki’s death]] crushes whatever thin shell remained between Thor and despair, to the point that he doesn’t even try to save himself after Thanos leaves them to die; [[spoiler:he just crawls over to his brother’s body and sobs on it]] as their ship explodes around them.
* In ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven2016'', the OddFriendship between ex-Confederate sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux and Asian KnifeNut Billy Rocks turns out to be based on this, with Goodnight (who suffers from severe PTSD) flat out stating that Billy "keeps me on the level." Later in the movie, it turns out that it goes both ways, as Billy is driven to drink when [[spoiler:Goodnight abandons town.]]

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob''--Even though she likes to seem aloof, Galatea clearly needs to believe her sister Molly is there for her. She [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/394 comes close to having a panic attack]] at even the slightest suspicion that Molly might abandon her.

* ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'': During the Exile arc, [[NiceGuy Ranboo]] was one of the few people to have consistently sought out [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Tommy's]] company regardless of distance or circumstance, even interacting with him through letters when he wasn't online. Ranboo also tried to combat [[BigBad Dream's]] narrative of manipulation over Tommy, insisting that [[HeterosexualLifePartners Tubbo]] still cared about him[[note]]including emphasising that Tubbo didn't burn his "Your Tommy" compass like Dream implied — in actuality, he always kept it in his off-hand and lost it to a poorly-timed charged creeper because of that[[/note]] and telling Tommy that he never received an invite to the beach party. This parallels Wilbur and Tommy's dynamic during their time in Pogtopia, with Ranboo acting as the voice of reason trying to stop Tommy from harming himself or others.
** The two grew apart after the Doomsday War, but after [[spoiler:Tommy's resurrection]], they are very slowly mending their friendship. Ranboo is very willing to offer Tommy support and is very patient with the other teen — understanding Tommy's lashing out is coming from [[TraumaCongaLine all the terrible experiences he's recently undergone]]. Tommy seems appreciative of this, and despite his [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy initial]] [[CrazyJealousGuy hostility]] towards Ranboo for marrying Tubbo, he's said that he trusts Ranboo a lot, and considers him one of his best friends.

** After Taiyang's SecondLove Summer died on a mission, he shut down for a while.
** Neo is introduced as Roman's partner-in-crime but it's later revealed that their relationship is not just on a professional level. Roman is Neo's OnlyFriend and [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes her emotional crutch]]. After [[spoiler:Roman's death in volume 3]], Neo becomes dead-set on [[spoiler:AvengingTheVillain]].

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob''--Even though she likes to seem aloof, Galatea clearly needs to believe her sister Molly is there for her. She [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20091013.html comes close to having a panic attack]] at even the slightest suspicion that Molly might abandon her.

* Deconstructed in the ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' Franchise/GreenLantern crossover ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton''. Guy Gardner tries to convince his ex-girlfriend Ice to get back together, stating that she keeps him sane. She replies that it isn't a good foundation for a relationship.

* In many comics and other forms of media, ComicBook/LoisLane has shown to be this for ComicBook/{{Superman}}. In fact, in most alternative timelines where she dies, Superman goes [[FaceHeelTurn rogue]].

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Many of the more poignant ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' stories imply this. In spite of bullies and all sorts of other bad things in his life, Calvin will always have his best friend Hobbes.
* A ''lot'' of the relationships in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' are shown to be this, since the characters are brimful with neuroses. (Just [[StatusQuoIsGod temporarily]] take someone [[PutOnABus out of the picture]] and place your bets on who will have a breakdown. Someone always does.) Even Linus's blanket is an example, as it often takes on a life of its own.
[[/folder]]

* The Music/TearsForFears song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeHJ7EA6-sU Change]]" is about the end of a very close friendship, and the narrator feels that he and his former friend were so emotionally attached to each other that they both lost their sense of individuality when they were together, essentially functioning as a single person. The narrator laments that it's too late to save their relationship, and he wishes that his ex-friend would change back to the way they once were. [[note]]This more or less reflects RealLife because Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal were each other's emotional crutch while they endured difficult childhoods which caused them to suffer from depression. They turned into HeterosexualLifePartners who knew each other so well that they believed they practically shared a PsychicLink (as mentioned in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSRBwsXFxw4 this interview,]] but their quasi-telepathic bond gradually became unhealthy because their friendship grew increasingly toxic, to the point where it self-destructed.[[/note]]
-->''We walk and talk in time\\
I walk and talk in two\\
Where does the end of me\\
Become the start of you?\\
When it's all too late\\
It's all too late\\
\\
Change\\
You can change\\
\\
What has happened to\\
The friend that I once knew?\\
Has he gone away?''

* "Oleander" by Music/MotherMother with a hearty dose of AllTakeAndNoGive:
-->I make a mess and you'll be there to help me undress
-->I'll be unclean, I'll be obscene, you'll be the rest
-->And if you leave me, rest assured it would kill me

* Music/DinosaurJr: "The Post"
-->She's my post to lean on\\
And I just cut her down

-->You call my name
-->I come to You in pieces
-->So You can make me whole
-->I've come undone
-->But You make sense of who I am
-->Like puzzle pieces in Your hand

* "Don't Let Me Down" by Music/TheChainsmokers feat. Daya sings of somebody going insane and trying to cling to the one person they've felt they could count on.
-->It's in my head. Darling I hope
-->That you'll be here when I need you the most.
* The Music/TearsForFears song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeHJ7EA6-sU Change]]" is about the end of a very close friendship, and the narrator feels that he and his former friend were so emotionally attached to each other that they both lost their sense of individuality when they were together, essentially functioning as a single person. The narrator laments that it's too late to save their relationship, and he wishes that his ex-friend would change back to the way they once were. [[note]]This more or less reflects RealLife because Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal were each other's emotional crutch while they endured difficult childhoods which caused them to suffer from depression. They turned into HeterosexualLifePartners who knew each other so well that they believed they practically shared a PsychicLink (as mentioned in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSRBwsXFxw4 this interview,]] but their quasi-telepathic bond gradually became unhealthy because their friendship grew increasingly toxic, to the point where it self-destructed.[[/note]]
-->''We walk and talk in time\\
I walk and talk in two\\
Where does the end of me\\
Become the start of you?\\
When it's all too late\\
It's all too late\\
\\
Change\\
You can change\\
\\
What has happened to\\
The friend that I once knew?\\
Has he gone away?''

* The Music/TearsForFears song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeHJ7EA6-sU Change]]" is about the end of a very close friendship, and the narrator feels that he and his former friend were so emotionally attached to each other that they both lost their sense of individuality when they were together. This reflects RealLife because Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal are HeterosexualLifePartners who know each other so well that they practically share a PsychicLink (as mentioned in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSRBwsXFxw4 this interview,]] but their quasi-telepathic bond gradually became unhealthy because their friendship grew increasingly toxic, to the point where it self-destructed.

Become the start of you?''

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', one of the four kinds of troll romance is [[http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004301 moirallegiance]], in which a relatively calm troll pacifies a dangerously hot-tempered one. There are several in-story examples.
** Eridan and Feferi's relationship is a {{deconstruction}} of this. Feferi keeps Eridan's genocidal tendencies in check, but Eridan eventually wants to take things to a more intimate level, meaning he can't reciprocate and keep her from doing stupid things. However, the chore of constantly keeping her moirail from killing off all the land-dwelling trolls has emotionally drained Feferi. Once they get into the Medium and she doesn't ''have'' to look after him anymore, Feferi tells him that [[LetsJustBeFriends they can't be more than friends]] and splits with her newfound freedom. Later they seem to just barely be able to interact with each other, and in the end, Eridan goes on a rampage, but before Feferi can run him through with the culling fork to stop him, [[spoiler:he one-shot kills her with White Science of Hopelessness]].

* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': Prim starts out as being this for Katniss. Eventually Peeta takes over the role instead.

** Anna is her older sister Elsa's emotional crutch in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}''. The two spend most of the movie separated, during which Elsa is depressed, emotionally unstable, and very anxious. Their reconciliation helps Elsa become a much happier and emotionally stable person. It becomes deconstructed and more downplayed in [[WesternAnimation/FrozenII the sequel]], where Elsa asks Anna "What would I do without you?" and Anna promises "You'll always have me." Anna takes this seriously, to the point that she puts herself in disproportionate amounts of danger just to help Elsa, like running into a fire to help her although she's the one with less protection from fire, and not noticing when other people want ''her'' attention because she's so focused on taking care of Elsa that she forgets to think of herself as her own person. By the end, her restored relationship with Anna still aids her happiness, but she learns to find fulfillment from following her calling, [[spoiler:living in the woods fully embracing her magical nature to being queen in Arendelle where she can see Anna more often but has more responsibilities, with visits to her sister now and then. She leaves Anna ruling their home kingdom and takes joy in their relationship, sustained with visits and letters but lives happily in another place]].

-->I'll make a mess and you'll be there to help me undress

* "Oleander" by Mother Mother with a hearty dose of AllTakeAndNoGive:

-->It's in my head. Darling I hope\\

[[FriendlyTarget This is why]] [[RuleOfDrama she will usually get]] [[DamselInDistress kidnapped]] [[SacrificialLion or killed]]. Bob's reaction will be one of two extremes: a psychotic UnstoppableRage on par with [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]] in the throes of [[GoingColdTurkey withdrawal from Gamma-Cocaine]], or [[EmptyShell comatose gibbering]]. The middle road is a TranquilFury of deadly determination.

* The narrator of Music/{{Red}}'s "Pieces" has one. It's officially a GodIsLoveSong but, like most Red songs, can be interpreted in a secular manner:

You're taking over me

* "Crutch" by Music/MatchboxTwenty
--> ''I don't wanna be a crutch, one step away from down''
* Music/DinosaurJr: "The Post"
--> ''She's my post to lean on''
--> ''And I just cut her down''
* The narrator of Music/{{Red}}'s "Pieces" has one. It's officially a GodIsLoveSong but, like most Red songs, can be interpreted in a secular manner:
-->You call my name
-->I come to You in pieces
-->So You can make me whole
-->I've come undone
-->But You make sense of who I am
-->Like puzzle pieces in Your hand
* Music/{{Evanescence}}'s "Taking Over Me".
--> ''I have to be with you to live, to breathe''
--> ''You're taking over me''

-->''I want you to know that when I leave''
-->''It'll be the last you'll ever see of me''
-->''I tried so damn hard to fix you''
-->''To make you believe in what I see''
-->''If you wanna be broken, be broken''
-->''I won't dare try to mend you again''
-->''I've tried my best to get through''
-->''But there's no getting in''

* Deconstructed in the ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' Franchise/GreenLantern crossover ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton''. Guy Gardner tries to convince his ex-girlfriend Ice to get back together, stating that she keeps him sane. She replies that isn't a good foundation for a relationship.

* {{Exploited|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', where TheGovernment employs young women (Janey Slater and later, Laurie Juspeczyk) as Living Emotional Crutches for the PhysicalGod Dr. Manhattan, realizing that this is pretty much the only thing that can preserve the last shreds of humanity within him (and also incidentally, keep him on the planet and working for the right people). True enough, as soon as Laurie dumps him, Dr. Manhattan moves to Mars with no intent of ever visiting humanity again. [[spoiler:And it's Laurie again who manages to renew his interest in humanity and come back to Earth, however briefly]].

** Anna is her older sister Elsa's emotional crutch in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}''. The two spend most of the movie separated, during which Elsa is depressed, emotionally unstable, and very anxious. Their reconciliation helps Elsa become a much happier and emotionally stable person. It becomes deconstructed and more downplayed in [[WesternAnimation/FrozenII the sequel]], where Elsa asks Anna "What would I do without you?" and Anna promises "You'll always have me." Anna takes this seriously, to the point that she puts herself in disproportionate amounts of danger just to help Elsa, like running into a fire to help her although she's the one with less protection from fire, and not noticing when other people want ''her'' attention, because she's so focused on taking care of Elsa that she forgets to think of herself as her own person. By the end, her restored relationship with Anna still aids her happiness, but she learns to find fulfillment from following her calling, [[spoiler:living in the woods fully embracing her magical nature to being queen in Arendelle where she can see Anna more often but has more responsibilities, with visits to her sister now and then. She leaves Anna ruling their home kingdom and takes joy in their relationship, sustained with visits and letters, but lives happily in another place]].

* A major plot point in ''Film/AboutAlex''. Ben is this to Alex, and majorly resents Alex for putting him in the position. Alex's main arc is learning to let Ben go.

* The movie ''Film/{{May}}'' had the eponymous May form a close relationship with Adam and ever so gingerly crawls out of her ShrinkingViolet pot...only for things to [[GoneHorriblyWrong Go Horribly Wrong]] when they later break up. [[spoiler:She descends into full on {{horror}}-movie SerialKiller mode and proceeds to make the friend of her dreams from the most beautiful body parts of those around her]].

* One of the most tragic real life examples of this was Wrestling/EddieGuerrero to Wrestling/ChrisBenoit. Eddie was Chris' dearest friend, who Chris himself credited with being able to keep him on a stable footing, and when Eddie died young, Chris (who was already a man struggling with demons) just fell apart completely, eventually resulting in [[PaterFamilicide the biggest tragedy in wrestling history]].

* In the now defunct ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'', Jodie does not take her two friends leaving her alone for other activities well at all. It only takes about a day or two apart from them for her to go insane and try to replace them with puppets.

* [[BrokenBird Iriana]] and [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Mille]] are this to each other in ''Literature/IlivaisX''. Iriana has nobody else, as while she's decent enough to the male members of the team, she's still quite afraid of men. The only reason she avoids constantly searching for ways to die is because she wants to figure out exactly what she feels. Mille, on the other hand, is so used to being a one-night-stand object of lust that she feels unloved, and is obsessed with earning the love of someone who doesn't just want to sleep with her. Granted, she's far more capable of independence and will act on her own, but if separated from Iriana she shifts all of her thoughts to bringing them back together, and can't stand to keep away even after a brief period of being abused by her.

-->--''Series/ParksAndRecreation''

* In ''Theatre/{{Company}}'', the lyrics of ''What Would We Do Without You?'' indicate that Bobby is this to his married friends, or at least to their marriages.