History Main / UnequalPairing

* ''GundamSEED'' had Athrun (a soldier and pilot) and Cagalli (daughter of the ruler of a nation) fall for one another. Over the course of the series, Cagalli's father dies, and she assumes his position after the finale; in the sequel, ''GundamSEEDDestiny'', they split up. The show's head writer justified the break-up by pointing out this trope and saying how unrealistic it was; many fans saw it as a WallBanger, since to make that leap of logic, one has to completely ignore the fact that Athrun just so happens to be the child of a national leader too, and had himself been in line for a political marriage. It probably doesn't help matters that said writer reportedly despises Cagalli's ''seiyuu''.

*** For a significant portion of the first series, this trope is played in reverse: Ce'Nedra is an Imperial Princess and Garion is, as far as they both know, a simple [[FarmBoy farm boy]].

** In Merise's case, all four, at the same time. I mean, she had four Warders at the time, not that she... [[AuthorAppeal with four]]... [[FetishFuel oh hell]].

* ''OnePiece'' has Nami/Sanji. Nami likes to bend people to her will. Sanji won't say no to a girl. You take it from there. Most of the time it ends up fetishized.

** And Luffy/[[ChristmasCake Boa]], but not in the way you'd normally expect looking at their age differences. She's canonically hopelessly in love with him and would do anything he'd ask (on top of believing they're already in a relationship), while he sees her as a friend who [[spoiler:helps him rescue his older brother.]]
* ''CardCaptorSakura'' features several {{canon}} examples of those, such as Kaho/Touya, Terada/Rika and Clow/Yue.
* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' has Hayate/Vita. They hit this trope more than once, and both ways. In one direction, it's a case of master/knight (within their personal sub-group) ''and'' superior/subordinate officer (within the military they joined). In the other direction, Hayate is 9 years old (25 by the fourth season), while Vita [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld has been around for centuries (but looks young enough to be a first-grader]]).
** Then again, Hayate sees the Wolkenritter as family rather than servants, and Vita seems to be the least inclined of the Wolkenritter to view Hayate as a mistress- note that she doesn't add any [[JapaneseHonorifics honorifics]] to Hayate's name and rarely speaks of her as her mistress.

* Kazuki in ''GetBackers'' is most frequently shipped with such characters. Just about everyone in his {{Backstory}} is slavishly devoted to him and acts like he left them at the altar when they reappear in the story proper. Juubei, Toshiki and Saizou were all his subordinates in their gang, Fuuga--which was started mainly as a way to gather protection around him. More specifically, his childhood friend, Juubei's, family has been allied to Kazuki's since time immemorial, and the male heirs of their families are traditionally a lord and his physician. Plus there's Ren, a thirteen-year-old girl who admires twenty-year-old Kazuki as he was a high-ranking member of the VOLTS gang, and just that charismatic when she actually met him face to face. Sakura, Juubei's sister, the TeamMom who turns Fuuga into a FiveManBand, is probably the only one who doesn't act madly in love with him--and it was she who noted that no matter what happens, they will always be bound to Kazuki and always be there to protect him. For his part, Kazuki cherishes them all and repeatedly refuses to accept it when the thin line between love and hate turns them against him, or each other.

** Although at least some of those fics are de-aged-back-to-his-hottie-youth Walter.

** There's also Ling and Lan Fan, who are possibly even more unequal, with Ling being the twelfth prince of Xing and Lan Fan being his bodyguard, and from a family that has served his for generations. Ling doesn't really seem to care about the differences in rank, while Lan Fan appears to be very dedicated to her duty; naturally, fans treat this approximately the same way a person dying of thirst might treat a glass of water.

* ''GundamSEED'' had Athrun (a soldier and pilot) and Cagalli (daughter of the ruler of a nation) fall for one another. Over the course of the series, Cagalli's father dies, and she assumes his position after the finale; in the sequel, ''GundamSEEDDestiny'', they split up. The show's head writer justified the break-up by pointing out this trope and saying how unrealistic it was; many fans saw it as a WallBanger, since to make that leap of logic, one has to completely ignore the fact that Athrun just so happens to be the child of a national leader too, and had himself been in line for a political marriage. It probably doesn't help matters that said writer reportedly despises Cagalli's ''seiyuu''.
** And, of course, this also ignores the fact that they made Kira (another pilot, albeit [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke a rather special one]]) and Lacus (daughter of one of the most influential men on the colonies, possessor of enough political leverage in her own right, and eventual [[spoiler: leader of PLANT by the end of the series]]) hook up. [[SarcasmMode But that's okay, since they're Author Avatars and all that.]]
*** Not to mention that the [[StrangledByTheRedString relationship the staff pushed Athrun into]] was with the communications officer on his previous battleship, Meyrin; since he apparently [[spoiler:becomes the head general of Orb's military post-Destiny]], this drives that relationship into this trope as well. But of course, the writers don't care.
**** Athrun was an AcePilot. Cagalli had to take care of her country. The war was going on. [[FridgeLogic How DARES Cagalli choose to rebuild her destroyed country over following the action boyfriend who's fighting FAR AWAY from Orb]]. And even more frustratingly, [[VocalMinority some Asu/Caga rabid shippers]] pretty much said out loud that [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses Cagalli's Action Girl Status made her inherently more worthy of Athrun's love than the "icky girly girl"]] [[DieForOurShip Meyrin]]. Yeah, the writers screwed up ''real'' bad back then, but the FanDumb also reeks of stupidity.

** But of course keeping Haruhi and, by extension, said power in check involves going along with all her crazy schemes and letting her believe she's in a level above anyway, and going along with it when she pulls rank.
* In ''FullMetalPanic'', Captain Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa's UnrequitedLove for Sergeant Sousuke Sagara is doomed mostly by this trope; because she is his commanding officer, Sousuke can't bring himself to reciprocate her feelings. Fan pairings of Sousuke with basically anyone else from Mithril, such as Commander Andrei Kalinin and Lieutenant Benjamin Clouseau, are subject to the same inequality.
** There's also Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber; the less dramatic inequality in their ranks is made more significant by the fact that Mao is Sousuke and Kurz's team leader - a fact which Kurz mostly ignores and which isn't really addressed [[spoiler:since Kurz is killed in action not long after the two of them begin their relationship.]]

* A RunningGag in the ''{{Pokemon}}'' fandom is that no matter who he's shipped with (with the ''possible'' exception of May), Ash Ketchum will always, ''always'' be on the bottom.
* ''DeathNote'' has the 'ship of Light/Mikami, "God" and his servant.
** And, of course, the ''canon'' ships of Light/Misa and Light/Takada. God and his two devoted slave girls (the fact that he isn't doing it because he likes them is beside the point).

** To explain, Agon enjoys nothing more then exerting power and superiority over others and in general, is quite sadistic. Unsui, the kinder but weaker twin, wants his brother to live to his full potential and be the best. This is {{flanderized}} in the anime, where Agon is made even more violent and Unsui flat out states he only exists to serve his brother. Needless to say, it doesn't take much effort to imagine their relationship as another extension of Agon's sadism.

* Pairings of Jedi Master with their Padawans are popular in the ''StarWars'' fandom, especially Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan/Anakin.

** This is actually a really unfortunate stereotype based on first-anime fanfiction stemming from the overused joke of Riza shooting at her dog. Somehow this evolved into being trigger-happy, and eventualy [[HotAmazon threating people with guns and even shooting at them on a regular basis]]. If one examines the original manga, it becomes apparent that not only is she much more of a {{Kuudere}} than anything else, but that the original manga scene on which the anime based it was obviously a joke on her stern nature. One would think that it would stop after Chapter 61, and again Chapter 95 blatantly show that she takes the power of a gun very seriously. It's gotten bad enough that this troper actually has to self-identify as a 'Manga![=RoyAi=] shipper' so as not to confuse the quiet but lifelong affection of equals with the skewed power dynamic gun fics. As for the ranks, it would be incredibly OOC for them to refer to each other by first name without a decent period of adjustment, as Roy hasn't called her by first name in more than ten years (at least that we know of) and Riza has never called him by his first name (he was always Mr. Mustang). It's likely gotten to the point that each other's ranks are instinctive name substitues.

** But of course keeping Haruhi and, by extention, said power in check involves going along with all her crazy schemes and letting her believe she's in a level above anyway, and going along with it when she pulls rank.

When two characters are shipped together, in canon ''or'' fanon, despite the huge power issues that their relationship features. They can be a boss and their employee, a lord and their vassal, [[HotForStudent a mentor and their student]] etc. but one of the characters is in a position of greater influence over the other one.

HotForStudent and MentorShip are subtropes of this. The probable, albeit frequently-ignored, result of WifeHusbandry.

** And Luffy/[[ChristmasCake Boa]], but not in the way you'd normally expect looking at their age differences. She's canonically hopelessly in love with him and would do anything he'd ask, (on top of believing they're already in a relationship) while he sees her as a friend who [[spoiler: helps him rescue his older brother.]]

* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' has Hayate/Vita. They hit this trope more than once, and both ways. In one direction, it's a case of master/knight (within their personal sub-group) ''and'' superior/subordinate officer (within the military they joined). In the other direction, Hayate is 9 years old (25 by the fourth season), while Vita [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld has been around for centuries]] ([[{{Lolicon}} but looks young enough to be a first-grader]]).

* It is telling that pairing a 22 year old Noblewoman with the 69 year old BattleButler that more or less [[ParentalAbandonment raised her after her dad died a decade ago]] is among the '''''least''''' [[{{Squick}} creepy]] 'ships in ''{{Hellsing}}'' fandom.

* While Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye in FullMetalAlchemist know each other from childhood, the fact is that he's a few ranks her superior in the current story. She calls him "Sir" or "Colonel". He calls her "Lieutenant". Fans find this amazingly sexy, and know who really wears the pants. ("Do your paperwork or I'll blow your head off" is a common line you'll see in fics where Riza is portrayed as a crazed gunwoman determined to get the man with the gun, whatever Annie Oakley says.)
** Yes, but come on. You can forgive fans for seeing ''that'' amount of SubText.
*** This is actually a really unfortunate stereotype based on first-anime fanfiction stemming from the overused joke of Riza shooting at her dog. Somehow this evolved into being trigger-happy, and eventualy [[{{Hot Amazon}} threating people with guns and even shooting at them on a regular basis]]. If one examines the original manga, it becomes apparent that not only is she much more of a kuudere than anything else, but that the original manga scene on which the anime based it was obviously a joke on her stern nature. One would think that it would stop after Chapter 61, and again chapter 95 blatantly show that she takes the power of a gun very seriously. It's gotten bad enough that this troper actually has to self-identify as a 'Manga!RoyAi shipper' so as not to confuse the quiet but lifelong affection of equals with the skewed power dynamic gun fics. As for the ranks, it would be incredibly OOC for them to refer to each other by first name without a decent period of adjustment, as Roy hasn't called her by first name in more than ten years (at least that we know of) and Riza has never called him by his first name (he was always Mr. Mustang). It's likely gotten to the point that each other's ranks are instinctive name substitues.

** Then there are Roy/Ed shippers. While the difference in their ranks is not as great as with RoyAi (Roy's two ranks above Ed and Ed usually doesn't give a damn), Ed's [[{{Shotacon}} age]] adds to the unequality.

* While they never actually become an OfficialCouple, CodeGeass plays with this trope regarding [[ActionGirl Kallen]] and her BodyguardCrush towards [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]]. Ironically the one time that this trope is actually invoked is when [[spoiler:Lelouch tries to force his attentions on Kallen under the pretext of needing "comfort"]]; this ends with Kallen [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan slapping him]]. The event marks the turning point in their relationship where Kallen stops being a fangirl and becomes a full-on LoveInterest.
** This troper tends to be kind of squicked by most ships involving Lelouch for this reason. He's just too smart and manipulative. (Moreso than his actual political power)
*** Regarding Lelouch's political power, he's a prince, meaning that the only "equals" he has around are [[BrotherSisterIncest his siblings]] and [[{{Lolicon}} the pre-teen Chinese Empress]], so if he wants love he pretty much has to defy his status. For the previous troper's issue, there is one member of the LoveDodecahedron who matches his intelligence and manipulation... too bad WordOfGod said NoJustNo. Sorry, C.C..
*** Of course, no one cares what they say because what they say and what is in the show are usually completely differant, as C.C. gets so much ShipTease compared to the other girls it's rediculous. [[spoiler:Of course, the part about Lelouch dieing at the end was probably true, (even though no one belives them on that either)]] but other than that they're almost as bad as [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Anno]] on WordOfGod, so who can blame the fans?
*** According to the official guidebook, Lelouch considered only four people his equals: [[TheEmperor his father]], [[ManipulativeBastard Schneizel]], C.C. and Suzaku. Unless you ship him with one of those (and to be fair, Lelouch/C.C. and Suzaku/Lelouch are very popular pairings), any Lelouch ship is almost unequal by definition.

*** Interestingly enough, in NightmareOfNunnally, Charles begins falling in love with Marianne after she ''calls him out'' on the amount of bloodshed in his quest to secure power and he is influenced by her ideals.
* In SuzumiyaHaruhi, Haruhi seems to really want to get into a relationship with Kyon, who is actively involved in a team effort to [[LockedOutOfTheLoop keep her in the dark about her true nature as a]] RealityWarper of inmense power. If Kyon were to reveal the secrets to her, however, it would ''not'' equalize them, but rather put her clearly above him.

* In ''KatekyoHitmanReborn'', there's the pairing of Gokudera and Tsuna. Tsuna is the current boss of the Vongola Family, and Gokudera is his [[StalkerWithACrush incredibly loyal]] underling and [[HoYay wannabe right-hand man]]. [[YaoiFangirl Fangirls]] ''love'' the dynamic of their position and status difference. And despite Gokudera being the one who is most self conscious about the difference in position, he's ''always'' the [[{{Seme}} aggressive one that tops]].
* A common issue for the [[KissingCousins Neji/Hinata]] pairing in {{Naruto}}, as Hinata is heir to the Hyuga clan while Neji is a branch house member whose duty is to protect and serve the main family. In some fan fics, the common application for the trope is ''inverted'', with Neji becoming head of the clan and Hinata being demoted to the branch family.

* The pairing of twin brothers Agon and Unsui (from the series {{Eyeshield 21}}) has this subtext as one of the reasons fangirls [[FetishFuel LIKE]] them as a couple.

* In {{Watchmen}}, the immortal quantum-being Doctor Manhattan pairs up with the completely human Silk Spectre II.

** In Merise's case, all four, at the same time. I mean, she had four Warders at the time, not that she... [[{{AuthorAppeal}} with four]]... [[{{FetishFuel}} oh hell]].

** As Cain puts it in ''Duty Calls'': I'm sure most of the men in the galaxy are familiar with the sinking feeling that accompanies the words 'Do you think you could do me a little favour, darling?', but when the woman doing the asking is an inquisitor it's even less wise than usual to say, 'No'.
** Actually, given the way 40K's universe is set up, Cain's reputation, and their jobs duties play out, this would actually subvert itself. Cain is the HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, and hooking up with an Inquisitor would not only bolster his image, but Amberly's as well, and given that commisars and inquistors tend to clamp down on the same thing (insubordination to the Imperium) and fight the same enemies, it would work. Also, considering that Cain is technically outside the Imperial Guard command structure, and Amberly has the ability to integrate herself into it at any time if it benefits her current assignment, most of the conflicts just seem to die on the vine. Hell, he almost got into a relationship with Regina Kasteen, which would make it unequal on her end, and it can be safely assumed this wouldn't be a major problem. Hell, even Kasteen/Broklaw, another possible ship, would work fairly well, given the above.

* Charlotte Bronte features a HotForTeacher[=/=]HotForStudent OfficialCouple in ''The Professor'' and an employee/employer couple in ''JaneEyre''.

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fanfic had Giles/Buffy. '''Only''' in fanfic.
** This troper has no idea what you're talking about. There is no way that anyone could ship this pairing. AT ALL. She definitely didn't accidentally stumble across a fanfic devoted to this pairing where by the time she realized who was involved with who, was already too involved to stop. Like a train crash. [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial And the story definitely didn't end with Willow deciding she still wasn't sure where she stood sexually and dating two people of different genders at once]]. Because there's no way that a Buffy/Giles ship could exist.
*** Welcome, my friend, to the mountains of madness. Remember, in shipping, [[RuleThirtyFour anything is possible]].
* ''{{House}}'' had House/Cameron.

** Unless you're referring to the future John, I don't think it counts. She's disobeyed the present John at least once, and has stated explicitly that if given a choice between obeying future or present John, she'd choose the future one.
*** There's also implications of future John Connor/Allison Young, which gets ''really'' disturbing when one considers Cameron looks exactly like Allison and can apparently ''become'' Allison in personality.

** Or how about Castiel/Dean? They've been paired together because they act like an astonishingly pretty married couple but, if he wants to stay out of hell and keep his eyes, Dean should probably behave like a good boy from now on. [[{{FetishFuel}} And this troper has no interest in that dynamic at all.]]
* This troper would like to point out, for the record, that she has never ever ever not even a little gotten squiggly feelings from the vibe between [[BattlestarGalactica Kara Thrace]] and her CO/daddy surrogate Bill Adama. Not at all. Not even once. Not even that time he risked the entire Fleet to go looking for her after she'd been shot down and presumed dead. Not even... ah, hell.

*** Okay, The Bill/Kara thing is Father/Daughter. As for Lee admitting Laura was in charge: 1, he plainly didn't think much of Doral (saw him as a dumb PR guy). 2, Laura had an "I dare you to argue with me" look in her eye. Here's a canon(albeit on-and-off) unequal pairing: Kara and Lee. No age difference, really (Okay, Kara's a ''bit'' older than Lee), but Kara could take Lee's ass to school any day. And Lee is tough.
**** The "bible" document for Season One had it that Lee would develop romantic feelings for Roslin.

* {{ITV}}'s ThePalace had the King of England and his secretary falling in love, for maximum drama.
* ''[[ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]'' has Jack and Liz. WordOfGod says [[NoHuggingNoKissing they'll never get together]], but that doesn't deter shippers (and why should it?).

* Subverted in ''StargateUniverse'' when it is revealed that Young and TJ [[spoiler: not only slept together]], but [[spoiler:conceived a child in the process.]]

* This would apply to any hypothetical relationship involving Gibbs/Anyone on Team Gibbs in {{NCIS}}. Especially Abby, where the surrogate father/daughter relationship is particularly blatant. The one possible exception, Gibbs/Jenny, is somewhat balanced out by his having been her superior in the past [[spoiler:and her now being dead.]]

* ''Metal Gear Solid'' has one or two of these - including the (fairly popular) background pairing in the third game of Colonel Volgin and Major Raikov. Volgin is around seven feet tall, musclebound, sadistic and ELECTRIC, not to mention years Ivan's senior. Raikov appears to be a {{Bishounen}} with occasional violent tendencies and a penchant for scanty underwear. (And the... whole... rank thing.)
** Volgin/Raikov is canon. (confirmed by [[UniverseCompendium the ''Database'']])
* {{Touhou}} fandom has people shipping everyone with everyone else, which leads to many cases of this. One of the most popular is Yuyuko/Youmu. Yuyuko is the Queen of the Netherworld, absolute ruler of the other world and holding mastery over death. Youmu is... well, her official title is Netherwold's ''gardener''. The fact Yuyuko looks thirty-something while you'd be hard-pressed to think of Youmu as older than sixteen also factors for this trope. It is still adorable to watch because Yuyuko [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} the ditz]] while Youmu tries her best to [[TheStoic be straight, honorable and a perfect servant]].
** The same for [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Remilia Scarlet]]/[[NinjaMaid Sakuya Izayoi]] pairing.
* ''GearsOfWar 2'' rather ''strongly'' implies that Sergeant Marcus Fenix and Lieutenant Anya Stroud have relationship that goes past the professional.

* Implied in KnightsOfTheOldRepublic if your character is male, has a relationship with Bastila and chooses to fall to TheDarkSide at her prompting. She becomes both 'your lover and apprentice', in her words.

* In Angels2200, this is an issue for Kid and her friend and squad leader Hammer. As time goes on and the Icebreakers start heading into battle, forcing Hammer to take on the responsibilities of a leader (including [[WhatTheHellHero reprimanding Kid]] for not taking a shot against an enemy and almost getting Bubblegum killed), Hammer tries to distance herself from Kid in spite of her feelings, but is told that it may not be the best way to go about it. [[spoiler:Hammer ends up [[AbortedDeclarationOfLove falling short of telling Kid how she feels]] during the mission on the Ellie Arroway, and seemingly dies, only to be captured by the colonials, unbeknownst to Kid]].

* ''KimPossible'' fans who 'ship Drakken/Shego tend to ignore the fact that Drakken is Shego's boss. But to be fair, so does Shego most of the time.
** And then it's the whole thing that they did a Fanservice LastMinuteHookup in the GrandFinale that WordOfGod confirmed...
** Given Shego's DragonInChief status, one could easily argue Drakken is on the lower end of this trope.

* Most pairings involving Megatron and his subordinates involve this. A bit less so with Optimus Prime, but the power difference is still there.
* ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (Technically, ''BatmanBeyond'') gave us Batman/Batgirl. It's long over by the time we and Terry learn of it. His reaction can be summed up as "Wait, what? Whoa."

[[AC:TruthInTelevision]]

*** Not quite. Officer/enlisted or even junior enlisted/NCO pairs are frowned upon, and can still be a court-martial offense.

<<|ShippingTropes|>>

* Many readers of ''DanceInTheVampireBund'' find it more comfortable to think of [[UndeadChild Mina Tepes]] as an [[LegalJailbait unusually short and flatchested]] noblewoman who is old enough for a veteran armsman such as Wolfgang Regendorf to have served his entire adult life. While this is [[OlderThanHeLooks true as far as it goes]], it makes her relationship with Regendorf's [[MrsRobinson teenage son]] Akira only ''somewhat'' less creepy.

When two characters are shipped (whether in canon or in fanon) together despite the huge power issues that their relationship features. They can be a boss and their employee, a lord and their vassal, [[HotForStudent a mentor and their student]] etc. but one of the characters is in a position of greater influence over the other one.

* In [[CJCherryh C.J. Cherryh's]] ''ThePaladin'', MasterSwordsman Shoka and his peasant-girl student Taizu end up in a relationship, despite the teacher/student power imbalance, their social class imbalance, and the fact that Shoka is just under 40 and Taizu is about sixteen when they meet (although more like 18 when the relationship begins). Things are, in the end, more equal than they sound, because she's far from the passively obedient type.

* ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (Technically, ''BatmanBeyond'') gave us Batman/Batgirl. It's long over by the time we and Terry learn of it. His reaction can be summed up as "[[{{Ptitle8y1hxwcb}} Wait, What? Whoa.]]"

* ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' gave us Batman/Batgirl. By the time we catch up to [[BatmanBeyond the new future Batman]] he's as squicked out about it as we are.

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', Daenerys Targaryne was married off to Khal Drogo for political reasons when she was a destitute, powerless, friendless 13-year-old princess and he was an extremely powerful, feared, 30-something warlord with 50,000 men at his back. Once Dany gained power in her own right, her [[LesYay relationship]] with her handmaidens became this, as they are effectively her slaves. The shippers love these ships, especially the former.

*** Of course, no one cares what they say because what they say and what is in the show are usually completely differant, as C.C. gets so much ShipTease compared to the other girls it's rediculous. [[spoiler:Of course, the part about Lelouch dieing at the end was probably true, (even though no one belives them on that either)]] but other than that they're almost as bad as [[NeonGeneisisEvangelion Anno]] on WordOfGod, so who can blame them.

*** Of course, no one cares what they say because what they say and what is in the show are usually completely differant, as C.C. get so much ShipTease it's rediculous. [[spoiler:Of course, the part about Lelouch dieing at the end was probably true, (even though no one belives them on that either)]] but other than that they're almost as bad as [[NeonGeneisisEvangelion Anno]] on WordOfGod, so who can blame them.

** Terry's reaction was far more WaitWhatWhoa than {{Squick}}.

** Although at least some of those fics are de-aged-back-to-his-hottie-youth Walter. OrSoIHeard.