History Main / TheFourLoves

* All four are present in ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': siblings Falin and Laios are storge, all of Team Touden are philia, Shuro's romantic love for Falin is eros and AllLovingHero Falin is agape.
* Miyako Miyamura's goal in ''VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo'' is this, ever since [[spoiler: her parents' messy divorce that had them ignoring her completely]].

* In Manga/NabariNoOu, [[TheStoic Miharu]] develops this for [[EnigmaticMinion Yoite]], eventually [[spoiler: doing a HazyFeelTurn]] just to help grant Yoite's wish. Yoite's feelings for Miharu could be interpreted this way as well, especially in the manga, where he urges Miharu [[spoiler: to erase him so he won't be sad after Yoite's dead]]. [[MamaBear Asahi]]'s love for Miharu is another example.

%% * The CentralTheme of Anime/PrincessTutu. The strength of one's love is tested by willingness to die for said love. Interestingly, the whole show is about why agape isn't always ideal.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones Star Wars Episode II]]'', Anakin explains to Padme that while other forms of love are forbidden to a Jedi, as they would interfere with their devotion to duty and to the force, universal compassion is not only permissible but required of a Jedi.
-->Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as... unconditional love... is essential to a Jedi's life. So, you might say that we are encouraged to love.

* The CentralTheme of Literature/HarryPotter is agape. [[spoiler:It is literally what ensures Harry's victory over Voldemort - Lily Potter's HeroicSacrifice planted the seeds of Voldemort's final death.]]

--> If you're going down to Hell, I'll be right there beside you, all the way.

* [[Literature/TheHungerGames Katniss and Peeta]], although it takes a while longer for her to realize this.
* In ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'', Companions (BondCreatures resembling a fantasy ideal of horses), pair up with certain humans (the titular Heralds) and thereafter serve as transportation, combat mount, living AmplifierArtifact, and a best friend who knows their Herald at the level of the soul. The love they give their Herald is pure agape from the very first: unconditional, asking nothing in return, but willing to give all, even their lives.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'', TheHero believes this separates himself from the BigBad.

** The story centers around the unconditional love between Mother and Child, and family as a whole. The Final Battle has [[spoiler: the Ghost of Hinawa, Mother of Lucas and Claus, come back to wake Claus from his brainwashing by Porky. Claus then commits suicide to ensure that he can no longer pull the last needle and Lucas and the others wouldn't die from that possibility, as well as to be with the Mother he loves again.]]

* Website/GaiaOnline's "Sainte Ciel" Evolving Item told the story of a nun trying to rescue the princess she loved from an evil demon. You could choose between Eros and Agape routes; if you chose Agape, Ciel would pull a HeroicSacrifice to rescue Princess Rosamund. A sequel item, "Rosamund's]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Revenge]]", suggests that [[RoadCone this is the canon route]].
* [[spoiler: Bill's]] Sacrifice in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' amounts to this:
--> [[spoiler: "You want me, come and get it. I'm just scars and tar anyway. But you didn't get them--did you, you sons of bitches?"]]

* [[spoiler: The Starfish's love for Charlie]] from ''WebAnimation/CharlieTheUnicorn'' when he [[spoiler: comes to save Charlie's life [[HeroicSacrifice at nearly the cost of his own]] at the end of episode 4]]. [[SurrealHumor Like everything else in the series,]] it makes absolutely no sense.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' delves into the Four Loves more than once:
** Eros and Agape are {{Discussed Trope}}s, as [[TheAce Victor]] challenges the two Yuris to perform one of the two figure skating programs that he's choreographed, which are based on two music pieces called "On Love: Agape" and "On Love: Eros". As part of showing the pair the sets, he explains what the two loves mean. He also decides to assign each Yuri the program that [[PlayingAgainstType clashes the most with their personality]] in order to challenge them, giving the [[ShrinkingViolet shy and insecure Yuri Katsuki]] "Eros" and the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold rude and angry Yuri "Yurio" Plisetsky]] "Agape".
** For "On Love: Eros", Yuri is encouraged to do a sexy program that seduces the audience. It parallels his coming to terms with that side of himself [[spoiler: and the growth of his sexual/romantic relationship with Victor]].
** The anime sometimes conflates agape with storge, as it's shown that Yurio gets better at interpreting "On Love: Agape" as he comes to terms with the familial relationships in his life, particularly his relationship with his grandfather. On the other hand, [[spoiler: Victor and Yuri]]'s romance has strong aspects of agape as well as eros to it; the two are suggested to be "soulmates" according to WordOfGod and their type of love is said to be undefinable and going beyond just "romantic love." Yuri uses the term "ai" to refer to his love for [[spoiler:Victor]], which refers to a more heavenly, all-consuming love similar to agape.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''
** Storge: In this series, where there are a lot of broken families, a major theme is adoption and the fact that Storge doesn't need biological relation in order to take root.
*** The Band of the Hawk is like a surrogate family for people who don't belong anywhere. Guts and Casca both had crappy childhoods and were alone in the world by 11 or 12 years old. Griffith took them in, and they became part of a band of TrueCompanions including Judeau, Pippin, Rickert, Corkus, and all the enlisted men. When Guts decides to set out on his own, young Rickert cries, "The Band of the Hawk is your family! Why would you want to leave?"
*** Godo the blacksmith raised an orphaned Erica all by himself, and she loved him as her dad. Rickert also joins their family through apprenticeship and adoption, such that Erica says that she will follow him no matter what: "We're family."
*** Young Schierke was raised and tutored in magic by the good witch Flora, who looked after her like a grandmother. At their parting Flora tells her not to cry, saying that in all of her long life, the days she spent with Schierke in the woods were her most serene.
*** Farnese and Serpico show many of the difficulties of families that are related by blood but struggle to understand each other. Farnese was neglected by her father and behaved outrageously as a cry for attention, while Serpico was the bastard son of a nobleman and a serving woman who resented his mother for controlling him and his father for abandoning them. Farnese and Serpico grew close from growing up together [[spoiler:and from Serpico discovering that she is his half-sister]], and Farnese's mother tries to encourage her daughter when she's feeling at a loss.
*** Teenage islander Isma never knew her mother, who according to her father was a mermaid, and lost him to an accident a few years ago. However, the charm left on the door by her mother helps protect her from the island's curse, and [[spoiler: in volume 37 she is tearfully reunited with her mother, who was watching over her all along.]]
** Eros: Casca reached the realization that her place was in Guts' heart, so that not only she could love him, but for Guts to love her as well. [[RelationshipUpgrade And the feeling is mutual.]] Later, after their newfound love was cruelly crushed when Casca was driven to insanity, Guts is now on a desperate quest to find a cure for her so that she may return to normal, hopefully repairing their tarnished relationship that he yearns for so badly.

** Storge: Crona, while [[spoiler: murdering their MagnificentBitch mother Medusa]], reprimands her for [[spoiler: making them "let go of"--[[LaserGuidedAmnesia forget]]--]] "the only person who really loved me", which would be Maka. Since there's nothing to really suggest that Maka is ''in love'' with Crona, and the fact that a hug from Medusa is what sparked their tirade, the implication is that they viewed Maka in this way.

*** Kid [[spoiler: nearly destroys the world with the Madness of Order]], only to have Black*Star, whom often tries to beat him up ''for no apparent reason'', go and get him.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
** Storge: Mami shows this kind of love towards other people, especially Madoka and Sayaka. [[spoiler:It doesn't last long...]]
-->'''[[http://hellzabeth.tumblr.com/post/70910066958/organising-thoughts-on-pmmm-rebellion-part-zwei Blogger]]''': ''...it's set up so Mami will meet her and have someone who will look up to her and love her, maybe like a daughter, or like a younger sister would. Mami is shown indulging Bebe, but also berating her for poor behaviour, and warning her with mannerisms seen between adults and young children, but also being fiercely protective of her, from the second she notices Homura acting strangely and potentially targeting Bebe. Mami is at her best in a universe where she has people to care for and who care for her in return -- this stable form of love makes her dangerously good.''
** Philia: A major driving force for most of the girls is to protect each other. ''Especially'' Homura towards Madoka.
** Eros: Sayaka is in love with Kyousuke. [[spoiler:She can't bring herself to confess how she feels to him, which leads to him getting together with Hitomi instead. Feeling that she's unworthy of Kyousuke's love, Sayaka declares herself a zombie and becomes a witch]].
** Agape:
*** [[spoiler:Madoka herself is this toward the entire world]]. And [[spoiler: Homura]] has this for Madoka, having vowed [[spoiler: to save her from [[AFateWorseThanDeath the fate of a magical girl]] no matter what. Homura starts out trying to save her because they're best friends, but because of the GroundhogDayLoop created by Homura's increasingly desperate attempts to keep Madoka safe, their relationship becomes very one-sided, and Madoka sees Homura as little more than an acquaintance with an unusual interest in her and unknown motives until she becomes the concept of hope and gains the memories of the previous timelines and calls Homura her very best friend.]]
*** [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion The third movie]] makes it clear that [[spoiler:Homura]]'s love is truly unconditional. She doesn't expect anything for it, not even [[spoiler:Madoka]]'s affections: the meaning that love gave to her life [[WorthIt justifies]] her suffering on its behalf, and always has.

[[folder:Film]]

* {{Buddy Picture}}s tend to focus on either philia or storge, or both.

** Agape: [[InsufferableGenius Sherlock]] and [[TheWatson John Watson]] go from being complete strangers to flatmates, with [[spoiler: [[BadassAdorable John]] [[UndyingLoyalty demonstrating his willingness to kill to save Sherlock's life]],]] in the space of the first episode. Although many of their mutual acquaintances interpret this as romantic interest, [[HeterosexualLifePartners their relationship]] is in reality [[TrueCompanions philia]] intruding strongly into [[UndyingLoyalty aga]][[AllLovingHero pe]].

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

* All four kinds of love show up in the game series ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'', since the PowerOfLove is extremely important to the plot. Storge (More specifically, between a mother and her child, though other familial relationships show up too) is by [[TitleDrop FAR]] the most important, but Philia also shows up a lot between the party in each game, Eros is shown by the various couples, like Flint and Hinawa or the sesame seeds and Agape is shown, of all people, by the [[spoiler:player themself, who is moved by their strugle against the Universal Cosmic Destroyer and prays for them winning the battle.]] Out-of-Universe, Many players also feel Agape for Giygas.
* All four kinds of love show up in the game ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', since the PowerOfLove is extremely important to the plot. Agape and eros are the most prominent of the four. Bowser's one sided eros for Peach nearly causes the destruction of the multiverse and it ends up being saved by the eros (which also has traits of agape) between [[spoiler: Lady Timpani aka Tippi and Lord Blumiere aka Count Bleck]]. [[TheDragon Nastasia's]] love for [[BigBad Count Bleck]] is definitely Agape because she loves him despite the fact that he does not return her feelings and goes so far as to [[spoiler: [[TakingTheBullet take a bullet for him]]]]. In fact, many of the games chapter's have different forms of love as their theme. At the end of the third chapter the needed [[PlotCoupon Pure Heart]] suddenly appears in response to the philia that Tippi felt when she is rescued. The fourth chapter's theme turns out to be [[spoiler: Storge, in the form of Squirps's love for his long dead mother.]] The seventh chapter's theme is Storge in the form of Jaydes's and Granbi's love for their daughter [[LoveFreak Luvbi]] when it is revealed that [[spoiler: [[MacGuffinTurnedHuman they created Luvbi out of the final pure heart]] in order to disguise it, but they did care for her just as they would if she was their real daughter.]] The characters [[StrawFan Francis]], [[PsychopathicManchild Mimi]], and [[LoveFreak Luvbi]] all badly want to have Eros although for Francis and Mimi it is on a much more shallow level.

* As expected of a series centered on strong bonds and working together, all four loves heavily factor into the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series. Storge, Philia, and Eros alike are explored between various characters, whether it be family (such as Chrom and Lissa), close friends (such as Eliwood and Hector), or lovers (such as Marth and Caeda); the [[RelationshipValues support conversations]] system introduced in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'' is essentially meant to show these loves. Even among party members who don't have support conversations or any other interactions with each other, they must rely on Agape to defend and sacrifice themselves for each other.
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0''. During his hostess training sessions with Saki, Goro Majima is asked whether he thinks men and women can be happy while JustFriends. The "correct" answer (as in the one that advances her affection for him) is to agree, and Majima cites platonic loving relationships between teacher and student, family members, and casual friends as examples which won't ever escalate to romantic love but still improve both parties' lives.

** Storge/Philia/probably also Eros, but they won't say it: Luna and Ten become friends instantly, bonding over their shared love of boats and ocean. Two months later, according to Seta, she's smiled more since meeting Ten than she has for the past two years. Luna looks at him very lovingly whenever she thinks he's not looking (blushing happens), Ten is more than willing to help her clean up, when they work or learn together there's a lot of both excited talking typical to philia and LaughOfLove and whenever Ten does something reckless, Luna is horrified. When they have to part ways, he mopes in the bar and she spends the evening crying. [[spoiler: And when, some time later, Luna needs to escape Rose City, she does so on Ten's boat.]]

** Agape - The series promotes giving and community. For example, in "A-maze-ing Snow," when the school roof caves in, the entire community of Qyah comes together to find a solution to raise money to fix it. Respect for nature is also addressed. In "Bird in Hand," when the bird's original home is destroyed, Molly and Tooey try to find a suitable replacement home and release it back into the wild.

* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'':
** ''Storge'' (Affection/Family): Jet and his family have a powerful familial bond and love each other very much. Carrot and Celery are truly loving parents aren't abusive, deceased, neglectful, or 100% perfect goody-two-shoes. They're realistic, rounded-out, loving parents who both have well-paying jobs and are both there to support their kid. The other kids love their parents too. Sean is proud of his mother's work at the DSA, and Sydney sees her mother as a role model.
** ''Philia'' (Friendship): From the moment he landed on Earth, Jet has been best friends with Sean, Sydney, and Mindy, and they are inseparable. Throughout the show, Jet learns about traditional childhood activities and in turn, takes his friends on epic sci-fi adventures. Obviously, the gang gets into spats, and they've been through A LOT of drama regarding Jet's alien identity, but they love each other to death and will do anything for each other. [[spoiler:Mitchell is a shy loner kid that envies their friendship and wants to join in, but doesn't know how to ask. Eventually, he becomes an HonoraryTrueCompanion of the group]].
** ''Eros'' (Romance): Carrot and Celery are HappilyMarried parents and their relationship is the focal point of several episodes. The children are too young to get into any serious romantic relationships, but Jet has had a PrecociousCrush on Dr. Rafferty, then had ShipTease with Sydney before having even more obvious ShipTease with Sean. Mindy has slight affection for Mitchell and really wants him to come out of his shell, because she sees the good in him, and Mitchell feels the same way towards her.
** ''Agape'' (Unconditional Love): Jet is an AllLovingHero who vows to protect Earth. Jet is kind to every living creature big and small, even if some people are rude to him. Jet and his friends do their part to take care of and appreciate the Earth, while Jet teaches Boxwood Terrace to love again.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''
** Storge: the Pines family. Although struggling with problems, especially between [[spoiler:Stanford and Stanley in the past]], these only made their storge between all [[spoiler:[[LongLostRelative four]]]] members [[ThickerthanWater stronger]].
** Philia: The friendship amongst Mabel, Candy, and Grenda.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1509137230072421700
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

!Examples

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
* Fate Testarossa from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. She just want to be loved by her dearest mother [[spoiler: who tortures her on regular basis because she hates how Fate (who is a clone) has her own personality rather than being a complete carbon copy of her deceased daughter]]. She gets everything she wished, though: [[HappilyAdopted she gets a new family]] (the Harlaowns) and later becomes one of Vivio's two mommies with Nanoha. People even call the three of them "the Takamachi family".
* Miyako Miyamura's goal in ''VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo'' is this, ever since [[spoiler: her parents' messy divorce that had them ignoring her completely]].
* All four are present in ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': siblings Falin and Laios are storge, all of Team Touden are philia, Shuro's romantic love for Falin is eros and AllLovingHero Falin is agape.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', the only bond seconded by ThePowerOfFriendship is familial love, showcased earlier on in the case of [[HappilyAdopted Nami's]] family. This goes into play more powerfully around the Whitebeard crew, who even refer to each other as family with one badass [[AFatherToHisMen father]]. [[spoiler: Tragically, this is what ultimately leads to Ace's arrest and death.]]

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': CC once wanted nothing more than this trope. [[spoiler: So she got a geass power that forced everyone she met to fall in love with her and shower her with affection, which was great... for a day or two.]] It's the reason why CC is now a cold-hearted BrokenBird.
* Some of the Hime in ''Anime/MyHime'' have their most important person chosen from this. Mai's first MIP is Takumi, whom she [[PromotionToParent raised after the deaths of their parents]], Nao's is her comatose mother, Mikoto's is her brother [[spoiler:Reito]], and Alyssa's is her father.
* While Ennis from ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' understands love, she is unable to distinguish the difference between The Four Loves and thus straddles the line between ObliviousToLove and asexuality.

[[folder:Fanfic]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/story-candle-to-sun.html A Candle to the Sun]] has Twilight deciding to admit her love to Celestia. [[spoiler:The story, and the LesYay tendencies in the fandom, sets the reader to expect a lover's eros, making it a surprise ending when it turns out to be a daughterly storge.]]

* Rana Sanga and his family in Literature/BelisariusSeries. Lady Sanga is the epitome of this.

* Literature/HarryPotter feels this way towards the Weasley family (except [[spoiler:[[LoveInterest Ginny]]]]) as well as [[LikeBrotherAndSister Hermione]].

* [[HappilyMarried Charity and Michael Carpenter]] exemplify this in Literature/TheDresdenFiles. In ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'', Harry looks at Charity embracing her children and thinks:
-->''I regarded the kids for a moment, mostly very young children's faces, relaxed in sleep. Children whose world had been founded in something as solid as Charity's love for them would be able to do almost anything. Between her and her husband, they could be raising an entire generation of men and women with the same kind of power, selflessness and courage. I'm a pessimist of the human condition, as a rule, but contemplating the future and how the Carpenter kids could contribute to it was the kind of thought that gave me hope for us all, [[OrphansOrdeal despite myself]].''
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', this is what Theon Greyjoy longs for, he hasn't got much from his own family, and he got more of it from the Starks. But after [[FaceHeelTurn everything]] that he has done, it's too late for him to salvage anything of his relations with the Starks.
* In ''Literature/BubbleWorld'', this is why Angel acts out so much--she wants to be noticed and loved by her neglectful parents.

* Connor on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' was driven by this, but having been raised from infancy to hate his biological father, had trouble accepting his love. [[NotHimself "Cordelia"]] was eventually able to control him almost completely by taking advantage of his desire for a family.
* Lennier and Delenn in ''Series/BabylonFive''; storge for both plus unrequited eros by Lennier.

* Dylan Hunt and Rommie in ''Series/{{Andromeda}}''

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Sammy and Dean. As found family became a defining theme of the series, Sam and Dean came to consider characters they weren't biologically or legally related to to be their family, notably Bobby, Castiel, Charlie, Kevin and Jack.
* Quark with almost everyone on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
* Teri Bauer took a rape for her daughter in Season 1 of ''Series/TwentyFour''.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', the importance of storge is a recurring CentralTheme. Clover's bond with her brother, Snake, is one of the few emotional anchors either have in the DeadlyGame. [[spoiler:Because of this, letting either of them die is a sure path to a bad ending.]] During the True Ending's WhamEpisode, [[spoiler:June and Santa]] are also revealed to be this, though they acted like strangers to complete their plan [[spoiler:and save Past!Akane's life in the incinerator.]]

* Alfred in WebAnimation/AlfredsPlayhouse. He also just wants pity.

[[folder:WebComics]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Guardians}}'' this is how Jaireth feels toward Kotu, even though he's not Kotu's biological father.

* ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'' has [[https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/storge/ a strip]] titled "Storge". The gag of the day is that Carla, "unlike everyone else in the entire world", actually likes her parents.

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* Yukino's most important person in ''Anime/MyHime'' is her best friend Haruka, and in the manga, in which Haruka is also a Hime, Haruka has Yukino as her Key.

* ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and Obelix are close friends, and (except [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the first book]]) adventure together all the time. And as Lewis points out about friends, Astérix and Obelix are usually side by side, looking at a common goal (usually pounding some Roman legionaries, Germanic warriors of various sorts, or turning the pirates' latest ship into driftwood) or common interests.

* The [[Series/{{Glee}} Dalton Academy Warblers]] in ''FanFic/HuntingTheUnicorn'' are a prime example of ThePowerOfFriendship. Among other things, they have [[TheBet running bets]] on [[ShipperOnDeck Kurt and Blaine's relationship]], which they validate by [[RefugeInAudacity semi-legally tracking them through the school's camera system.]] Later in the story, they enact a HeroSecretService for Blaine when they realize [[spoiler: he's got a StalkerWithACrush]]. Also, the semi-legal tracking [[ChekhovsGun helps a lot]] when [[spoiler: Blaine, Wes, and David get kidnapped by said stalker and it's recorded on tape]]. The Warblers immediately call the police ''and'' start looking for them.

%%* Danny and Reuven in ''Literature/TheChosen''

%%* Yashim and Palewski in the Literature/YashimSeries.
* George and Lennie from Literature/OfMiceAndMen. Their friendship, contrasted with the loneliness of the other characters, was the CentralTheme of the book.

* Rana Sanga and Damadora in Literature/BelisariusSeries. [[FriendlyEnemy In a way]] Rana Sanga and Belisarius too. Valentinian and Anasstasius also.
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' has Holmes, a CelibateEccentricGenius and Watson, who admires him to a sometimes unhealthy degree and will do pretty much anything for him. But hurt Watson...
-->'''Holmes''': [[TranquilFury By the Lord, it is as well for you. If you had killed Watson, you would not have gotten out of this room alive...]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Xander and Willow]] have a very strong form of this.
* Jon Lovitz of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' did an impression of Harvey Fierstein, the playwright of ''Theatre/TorchSongTrilogy''. The parody version of Fierstein had a variant of this as his [[CharacterCatchphrase catchphrase]]. "I just want to be loved. Is that so wrong?"
* Kirk, Spock, and [=McCoy=] in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', boldly going where no man has gone before and being thick as thieves while going there.
* Carly and Sam in ''Series/ICarly''. Carly towards Freddie, although that could end up in eros in the future.
* From ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', Prince Arthur and Knights of the Round Table, all of whom are dedicated to the safety and well-being of Camelot. Merlin and Guinevere are PlatonicLifePartners due to being BirdsOfAFeather and their mutual devotion to Arthur.
* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' loves this, and some particularly strong forms of it can be seen with Tony and Sid, and with Freddie and Cook--the latter of whom probably said "I love you" to each other more than they did to their actual mutual love interest, Effy.

* Dan and Casey in ''Series/SportsNight''. Casey turned down a chance to be a late night talk show host to continue working with Dan.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Castiel and Dean are this. It's also eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Castiel has always been ''in'' love with Dean the whole time, meaning that ''Eros'' is also present]].
* Nolan and Emily from {{Series/Revenge}}. Between Emily (real Amanda) and Amanda (real Emily), too.

* At the climax of ''VideoGame/TimeSplittersFuturePerfect'', [[spoiler:RobotBuddy R-110 is fatally wounded by the BigBad and in his last moments he laments, "I only wanted to be loved..." This runs contrary to his [[AxCrazy recent]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} activities]] throughout the last act]].

* A major theme in the ''Franchise/SlyCooper'' series is the strong bond between the main trio of Sly, Bentley, and Murray. The games have shown cases where they've helped each other out, such as Sly chasing a villain across Venice to save Bentley from becoming tomato fetilizer, Murray to jump into a dried-up pond in India to rescue Sly and later abandoning his pacifism to protect Bentley, and Bentley learning to drive a stick shift to break Sly and Murray out of prison, and later [[spoiler:dumping his sociopathic girlfriend]] to insure Sly's safety. Heck, at the end of the third game, Sly [[spoiler:refused to enter the Cooper Vault alone, despite being designed exclusively for his blood family, and brought Bentley and Murray along so they could enjoy this moment together]].

* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Sailor Venus has a rather [[{{Irony}} ironic]] relationship with eros. On one hand, [[LoveGoddess her very presence helps those around her to find it]]. On the other, her characterization is defined by the ''absence'' of eros: she is destined to never find her true love ''[[MarriedToTheJob by her own choice]]'', something Venus eventually accepts (even so, [[TrueCompanions her life is not a lonely one]]).
* ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' has eros as the central theme and the final stage of [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Naruto's]] CharacterDevelopment. For most of his life he'd been so starved for affection and acknowledgement, he had a hard time telling them apart, to the point he mistook his crush for Sakura for eros when it was more of an extension of his rivalry with Sasuke. On the other hand, realizing that Hinata has always [[WartsAndAll loved him the way he is]] ([[GreenEyedEpiphany helped also by the villain trying to take her away]]) makes him understand that his feelings for her are also romantic, which paves the way for them to get together.

* Real!Syaoran in ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'' initially wished to find his lost love, the actual Sakura. Over time, he starts to move on and tries to find love elsewhere. He begins to fall in love with Kurogane and starts pursing his affection. [[spoiler: In which he eventually succeeds.]]

* Anastasia from the ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'' movie, though she has a hard time figuring out what kind of love she wants exactly. [[spoiler: When she purposefully turns down Prince Charming--being disguised as Cinderella at this point--Lady Tremaine begins to scold her. Anastasia argues, "But I want someone to love me for ''me''."]]

* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', Bella Swan's main wish is to be loved by Edward Cullen. The same goes for Jacob, but about Bella.
* Tess from ''Literature/TessOfTheDUrbervilles''. Sadly, her husband cares more for her "chastity" than her actual personality and feelings.

* Sheridan and Delenn in ''Series/BabylonFive''.

* Katherine and Elijah from {{Series/The Vampire Diaries}}. He would never have picked someone like her under normal circumstances, but now if anyone threatens his Katerina, they better watch out.
* Charlotte and Declan from {{Series/Revenge}}, although they do have some philia.

* Music/RickAstley's ''Never Gonna Give You Up'' shamelessly panders to this wish.
* A Music/PapaRoach song has this line in the chorus.
* Music/{{Queen}}'s ''Somebody to Love''
* Nickelback's ''Gotta Be Somebody'' seems to imply this.
-->''Nobody wants to be the last one there''\\
''And everyone wants to know that someone cares''\\
''Someone to love with my life in their hands''\\
''There's gotta be somebody for me like that!''

* May from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear''. Her sole motivation is winning Johnny's love.

* Website/GaiaOnline's "Sainte Ciel" Evolving Item told the story of a nun trying to rescue the princess she loved from an evil demon. You could choose between eros and agape routes; if you chose eros, Ciel would [[MoreThanMindControl succumb to the demon Mephiste's temptations]].

* In Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}, the trolls refer to eros-love as matespiritship. John's dad and Rose's mom are [[http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Quadrants specifically]] given as an example.

* [[TragicVillain The Ice King]] from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' tearfully proclaims his desire to be loved in "I Remember You" after attempting to perform a love song for Princess Bubblegum, although his desire for the love of a princess had been apparent ever since his first appearance. Many plots involve him trying to achieve a Philia relationship with Finn and Jake, as well. [[spoiler: On some level, he also seems to approach Marceline because of the Storge relationship they shared before he lost his sanity.]]

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Loads among [[TrueCompanions the crew]], especially Simon and River. Also, interviews suggest Inara is supposedly the "mother"-type to the rest of the crew, but there's definitely some storge between Mal and Kaylee (though to a lesser extent than Simon/River mentioned above). Both Mal and Inara frequently address Kaylee as 妹妹 (''meìmeì'', the mandarin name for "little sister").

[[folder:Films - Animated]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' deals with one of the ways storge relationships can go sour. Specifically, how fear and subsequent ControlFreak tendencies can make you forget the actual people you have storge for. Although [[spoiler: there's some philia there, as well, between Mirabel and Bruno, the "family weirdos" when they get to actually interact.]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'', Maleficent comes to love the princess she cursed like a daughter. [[spoiler: This love is also what breaks the curse in the end, which triggered some accusations that the movie copies ''Frozen'', even though it is more about parental love, not sisterly love, and the characters are not even blood-relatives.]]
* [[Creator/LiamNeeson Bryan Mills]]' daughter is abducted and sold into sexual slavery while on vacation in France in ''Film/{{Taken}}''. Bryan heads to France, finds the slavers, kick France's butt halfway across Europe, and gets his daughter back.

* [[HappilyMarried Charity and Michael Carpenter]] exemplify this in Literature/TheDresdenFiles. In ''Literature/ProvenGuilty,'' Harry looks at Charity embracing her children and thinks:

-->'''Merry''': You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin - to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours - closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Loads among [[TrueCompanions the crew]], especially Simon and River. Also, interviews suggest Inara is supposedly the "mother"-type to the rest of the crew, but there's definitely some storge between Mal and Kaylee (though to a lesser extent than Simon/River mentioned above). Both Mal and Inara frequently address Kaylee as 妹妹 (meìmeì, the mandarin name for "little sister").

''Agape'' is never self-destructive; it is not the willingness to sacrifice oneself that, say, someone with a GuiltComplex would have. It may be difficult to explain the differences between a MartyrWithoutACause and someone who's accepted ''agape'' love into their heart, but they exist; one key distinction is that one might [[EvenEvilCanBeLoved love a vile monster]] even while actively opposing him/her, even to the point of a MercyKill, like a mother might love a son that passed the MoralEventHorizon a long, long time ago and needs to be put down. ''Agape'' builds the soul, fosters emotional health and self-confidence. Or to put it another way, ''agape'' strongly overlaps with IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: when seeing the person you love be satisfied is enough to satisfy you, even if you get nothing else out of it. It can be considered the type of love all other loves spring from.

A fifth love, rarely mentioned in modern times, was called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenia_(Greek) "xenia"]]. Translated precisely as "guest friendship", we know it today as the Ancient Greek concept of SacredHospitality. It was so important to the Greeks that its patron was Zeus himself, in the epithet of Zeus Xenios.

* The story of [[Literature/TheMetamorphoses Philemon and Baucis]] are used as an archetypical example of Xenia, their good treatment of both [[AngelUnaware a disguised Zeus and Hermes]].