Line #67 Main/TragicallyDisabledLoveInterest


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4	[[quoteright:257:[[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nightwing_and_oracle_6.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:257:The [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} one]] on the left.]]
6
7	->Whatever lucky man becomes my husband shall see far worse than that.
8	-->--'''Kushana''' invoking this trope in reference to her ArtificialLimbs, ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind''
9
10	Disability has long since been associated with tragedy in the collective consciousness; be it because it tends to originate in tragic accidents or because they just generally make your life way harder. That's why, in media, disabled characters are ripe for conflict and/or tragedy.
11
12	Unfortunately, before the Anti-Ableism movement arose to demand proper representation, disabled characters only ever fell into three roles: as temporary LoveInterests, patronized InspirationallyDisadvantaged people, or infantilized tokens. This trope pertains to the former case.
13
14	Why temporary, though? The answer is in the first paragraph. Whenever a disabled character enters a relationship or becomes romantically interested in someone, chances are that the couple is doomed to experience tragedy and disability-related conflict.
15
16	Maybe the disabled lover dies, perhaps by succumbing to a chronic illness. Maybe they are denied adequate accommodations, resulting in job/study opportunities being denied. Maybe their parents are ashamed and abuse them, leaving the abled love interest to pick up the pieces.
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18	Do note that incapacitating mental illnesses also count here. In fact, physical and mental disabilities tend to be comorbid due to the trauma caused by the former leading to the latter, so they can pop up in tandem too.
19
20	It doesn't matter whether the disabled character is DelicateAndSickly or a HandicappedBadass, what matters is that their disability leads to tragedy or conflict.
21
22	Now, Administrivia/TropesAreTools, so while most early portrayals of such characters abound with UnfortunateImplications, some works use them to draw attention to the many challenges brought by disability and how society doesn't do enough to accommodate them.
23
24	Contrast BlindAndTheBeast (someone with a freakish appearance befriends a blind person) and SpeechImpededLoveInterest (a character's love interest can't speak properly, making them endearing through vulnerability). Might involve FlorenceNightingaleEffect (someone nursed another back to health; romance ensues).
25
26	----
27	!!Examples:
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29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
32	* Shouko Nishimiya of ''Manga/ASilentVoice'', who goes through a lot of misfortune because of her deafness, especially from bullies in her elementary school years. However, later in life, she becomes a potential love interest for one of her former tormentors, Shouya Ishida, [[TheAtoner who wants to make up for everything he's done to her]].
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'': Barbara Gordon is a wheelchair user, but [[BadassBookworm she can still]] [[HandicappedBadass kick your ass]]. She is one of the main love interests to Dick Grayson, the first Robin and currently ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}. After the ComicBook/{{Flashpoint\|DCComics}} CosmicRetcon puts her back on her feet. However, in the new continuity, she was in a wheelchair for at least three years, and her status as a Tragically Disabled Love Interest is hardwired in her character, as almost everything reminding her of her past handicap (getting a gun pointed to her belly, seeing a wheelchair lift...) acts as a TraumaButton for her post-traumatic stress disorder.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
40	* Denise Russo in ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'', who is blind. It's not often brought up, but making fun of her blindness is a BerserkButton for Peter. The temporary aspect is averted; they've apparently been at it for years, although Denise [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome has not been seen for a while despite not breaking up with Peter]].
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
44	* ''Film/HeWasAQuietMan'': Venessa becomes one for Maconel after she loses the use of her legs as a result of the office shooting and is confined to a wheelchair, in part because he feels guilty first that he didn't save her from being shot and later [[spoiler:that he couldn't finish the job]].
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Literature]]
48	* In ''Literature/RedDragon'' (and [[Film/RedDragon both]] of the [[Film/ManHunter movies]] based on it), Francis Dolarhyde is infatuated with a woman at work who is blind. She happens to mention she always wanted to "see" (by touching) a Bengal tiger. Dolarhyde knows about a nearby zoo where a tiger is having some dental work, requiring it to be sedated. He takes her along, she really touches the tiger quite closely, noticing everything about it, whereupon she is so happy by what he has done, that she goes home with him and screws his brains out. She is clearly blind, but she's got no problem doing vigorous woman-on-top-sex with the essentially clueless Dolarhyde. Sadly, she doesn't realize he's a SerialKiller.
49	* In ''Literature/TheGiverQuartet'', Kira becomes this to Jonas. She was born with a deformed leg and uses a cane to walk, and he calls her "beautiful" when he first meets her at the end of ''Literature/{{Messenger}}''. The "temporary" part is pleasantly averted, as they're married and have two children by the time of ''Literature/{{Son}}''. Even more fascinatingly, when her friend Matty discovered her power of HealingHands, he offered her to heal her leg, but [[KeepingTheHandicap she refused because her disability is intrinsic to who she is]].
50	* Jetamio is a downplayed one to Thonolan in ''Literature/EarthsChildren''. She suffered seizures, one of which caused her to have partial paralysis that gives her a limp. However, she doesn't let it interfere with her life and is quite independent now she's recovered, nor does it have any bearing on how Thonolan feels about her. Sadly, her paralysis results in [[spoiler:childbirth complications, and [[DeathByChildbirth both she]] and [[TragicStillbirth her baby son die]], leaving Thonolan devastated]].
51	* Grace to Jonathan in ''Literature/LetMeCallYouSweetheart''. She didn't start out as disabled but suffered early on-set arthritis, which has steadily worsened over the years. She's now in her early sixties and can barely walk at all, relying on a wheelchair to get around and being mostly housebound as she finds it too difficult to go out. Jonathan still stands by his wife and does what he can to support her physically and emotionally; they clearly [[HappilyMarried love each other very much]]. It ends up being PlayedForDrama in the ending; [[spoiler:it's revealed that eleven years ago Jonathan had difficulty coming to terms with his wife's deteriorating health, compelling him to conduct an affair with Suzanne, whom he later killed. Part of the reason Jonathan is desperate to keep this from coming out is because he feels he must protect Grace, to the point he's willing to kill again]].
52	* Tariq to Laila in ''Literature/AThousandSplendidSuns''; he lost one of his legs to a landmine as a child and wears a prothesis. It doesn't bother Laila at all, though at one point she gets upset when he talks about the occasional physical discomfort it causes. She also hates it when people refer to Tariq as a "cripple" and fiercely defends him. When Tariq finds out Laila has been bullied by a local boy, he removes his prosthetic leg and uses it to beat up the bully to defend her honor. [[spoiler:After they're reunited, he also starts getting migraines (possibly as a side effect of PTSD), and Laila stays up with him at night when they strike, holding him and trying to comfort him]].
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
56	* ''Series/RoswellNewMexico'' has Alex Manes, a soldier who lost a leg during deployment and uses a prosthetic leg and sometimes crutches. He's got a complicated relationship with Michael Guerin and is never treated as less desirable due to his disability. In season 2 [[spoiler: he has a threesome with Michael and Maria and then starts a relationship with Forrest Long]]
57	* There was an episode of ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' where Zach pursued a girl in a wheelchair. Instead of it being an obstacle, though, he goes out of his way to be good about it, and even organizes a wheelchair basketball game. [[CondescendingCompassion Turns out]] she ''hates'' having all the attention cast on her, and wants to be treated like anyone else.
58	* In ''Series/TheATeam'' episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E21WasteEm Waste 'Em!]]", Face starts putting the moves on Lisa, only to realize that she's blind. This makes him a little hesitant to kiss her, but once she points out that blind people kiss too [[HandsomeLech it doesn't stop him]].
59	* ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'':
60	** The "supercouple" Kayla and Steve used to have both of its members like this. Steve was (and, to date, is) still half-blind, wearing an EyepatchOfPower, and Kayla, after a (then) unknown assailant gets her into a gas explosion, loses her voice and hearing due to an odd combination of physical and psychological damage. After Kayla wakes up, Steve starts to woo her more eagerly, until they eventually elope. However, [[UnexplainedRecovery shortly before the marriage, Kayla gets a nigh-impossible recovery, regaining both voice and hearing]].
61	** While Kayla's recovery is suspiciously complete, even after a whole story-arc as a tragically disabled love interest, her knowledge of sign language isn't forgotten. Instead, becomes a plot point in every other occasion where the cast is meant to interact with deaf individuals.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Music]]
65	* At the beginning of Bush's video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fpHtotLZAU "Letting the Cables Sleep"]], we see Gavin having some sort of melancholy-tinged meeting with a woman in a vacant apartment. They wind up having (implied) sex, then going their separate ways. At the end of the video, they meet on the street and it turns out the woman is deaf, communicating in sign language. The whole song is about a need for communication.
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67
68	[[folder:Video Games]]
69	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': Cullen, who can be romanced by female Inquisitors who are human or elven, is struggling with PTSD from his years as a Templar and [[spoiler:withdrawal as he weans himself off of [[FantasticDrug lyrium]].]] The former condition leaves him exhausted from nightmares and poor sleep, while the latter is indicated in the game to cause him chronic pain.
70	* ''VideoGame/PotionPermit'': Several years ago, Garret suffered an accident that permanently placed him in a wheelchair, and his wife Mercy is desperately doing everything she can to treat him. [[spoiler:However, Garret had [[KeepingTheHandicap long accepted the fact that he'll never walk again]], and after playing along to Mercy's wishes, he finally lashes out at her for trying to "cure" him. He's at least grateful that he's alive and that he still has his family, and Mercy learns to accept that his disability has become a part of him.]]
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
74	* Since ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' is about dating disabled girls, this tends to come up, though it varies depending on the girl, and the story generally goes out of its way to humanize each girl and make them more than just their disability. Whether the girl is able to overcome her difficulties also depends on Hisao making the right decisions.
75	** Emi Ibarazaki has learned to adapt to losing her legs in an accident, with her ArtificialLimbs working just fine for her. The accident itself, however, [[spoiler:also took her father]] and left her with psychological scars from the experience, so she's incredibly reluctant to get close to anyone in fear she will feel the pain of loss again.
76	** Hanako Ikezawa's scars stem from her house fire that [[spoiler:killed her parents]], and she was bullied for it in school, resulting in her becoming a ShrinkingViolet and hating herself.
77	** Shizune Hakamichi's deafness is revealed to have socially isolated her from everyone, with her sign language translator Misha being her OnlyFriend, and it has caused her to develop a blunt and competitive attitude towards everything that's only caused more problems for her. Even her own father mistreats her due to her disability and refuses to understand her.
78	** Rin Tezuka's lack of arms doesn't present much difficulty for her in the present day, as she has long since learned how to compensate with her feet and mouth, and she's very nonchalant about it. [[spoiler:However, her heavily implied but unspecified ''mental'' disability causes her nothing but pain. She has trouble comprehending her emotions and putting them into words, so when she does speak, she comes off as a {{cloudcukoolander}}, and nobody wants to really get close to her because of it, so she has no real close bonds; everyone just treats her as the weird funny girl. It also serves as the main source of conflict between her and Hisao, who wants to understand her but can never get a straight answer from her on anything.]]
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Web Comics]]
82	* ''Webcomic/AlwaysHuman'': Sunati builds a relationship with Austen, who has "Egan's Syndrome", a FictionalDisability that makes her ineligible for the setting's ubiquitous BioAugmentation mods. She makes several missteps since Austen loathes being seen as "brave" or InspirationallyDisadvantaged and makes clear that she ''would'' use mods if she could, but the two have a happy ending together.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Western Animation]]
86	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'' had Penny briefly date a secret admirer who used a wheelchair. She ditched him soon after realizing he was actually a mean-spirited jerk who used his disability to take advantage of people's emotions.
87	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'':
88	** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] is a neurological variant as she's described as neurodivergent, later specified via AscendedFanon as her having ADHD and is implied to have some form of Social Anxiety Disorder, but it doesn't really interfere in her relationship with [[spoiler:Amity]] who's fully aware that Luz struggles with her mental health and happily serves as a much needed LivingEmotionalCrutch for her.
89	** Deconstructed with Eda. She suffers from a curse that is treated as a FictionalDisability, and her refusal to open up to others about it put so much strain on her relationship with Raine that they couldn't handle it and broke up with her. [[spoiler: The two eventually have a MaybeEverAfter that comes after Eda has learned to trust her friends and loved ones with her curse, which is actually also after she [[AnArmAndALeg has to start using a prosthetic hand]].]]
90	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TragicallyDisabledLoveInterest