Basic Trope: Kidnapping is a sign of affection.
- Straight: Bob kidnaps Alice, they eventually fall in love.
- Exaggerated: Bob put a chloroform-soaked rag in Alice's face, tied her up, unlawfully held her captive for months, and they eventually get married and live happily ever after.
- Downplayed: Bob fears that the authorities are coming after him. He convinces Alice - without threatening- to come along as a hostage. In gratitude, he treats her like a guest.
- Justified:
- Bob and Alice just met in this way.
- Bob is forced to do this in order to prevent Alice from getting killed.
- An exaggerated form of All Girls Want Bad Boys is in play.
- Alice has a major kidnapping Fetish.
- Alice was going to be forced into an Arranged Marriage, even though she much prefers Bob. So they both agree she gets "kidnapped", and can get away from the forced marriage.
- Alice's family forbade her from seeing Bob, and in their culture, it would not do for an unmarried woman to run off and do their own thing. Bob has to kidnap Alice (against her initial wishes as she doesn't want to dishonour/be shunned by her family) so they can be together.
- The "kidnapping" is a ritual, part of a local tradition in which the groom and his friends/family abduct the bride before the wedding, which is otherwise consensual.
- Alice is in an abusive relationship. Bob kidnaps her after she is unwilling to leave him so she can be free.
- There is a war going on. Bob kidnaps Alice so they can flee to safety due to the unbearable conditions.
- Inverted:
- Rescue Romance.
- Alice was in love with Bob, but sensibly stops once he kidnaps her.
- Bob kidnapped Alice, but then fell in love with her. He then frees her as to not hurt her anymore.
- Subverted:
- Bob kidnaps Alice, and she never forgives him for it, going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Alice only pretends to fall for him to drop his guard. She kills him and/or escapes.
- Double Subverted:
- It turns into Belligerent Sexual Tension.
- Alice misses Bob and runs back to him.
- Parodied:
- Alice and Bob met through an online kidnapping site that advertises its ability to successfully match captors and captives.
- Bob keeps Alice in his attic, and all their dialogue is full of erotically-themed Foe Romance Subtext.
- Bob is so crazy about Alice that he kidnaps her, but then finds her company so annoying that he sets her free. Double points if she's now fallen for him, so he has to chase her away.
- Zig Zagged: Bob kidnaps Alice, Alice falls in love, but Bob dosn't have feelings for her, so she kidnaps him to make him love her, but he falls into The Power of Hate instead.
- Averted:
- Bob kidnaps Alice. Later, Bob falls in love with Carol.
- Bob kidnaps Alice. Later, Alice falls in love with David.
- Bob kidnaps Alice, and neither one falls in love.
- Bob does not kidnap Alice.
- Enforced: The creator of Alice and Bob is hired by one of the Harlequin lines to write "The Greek Tycoon's Kidnapped Love".
- Lampshaded: "Ah yes. Kidnapping is the ultimate matchmaker, isn't it boys and girls?"
- Invoked: Bob kidnaps Alice in order to get in her pants.
- Exploited: Alice allows herself to be kidnapped in order to seduce Bob.
- Defied: "I'll never love you! Never!" "Good. I was worried this was going to get awkward."
- Discussed: "You kidnapped me so I'd fall in love with you? Does that *ever* work outside of crappy romance novels?"
- Conversed: "Ah, she's going to fall in love with the kidnapper. Why else would they cast a handsome actor to play a criminal?"
- Implied: Bob and Alice say things that vaguely imply they’re falling for each other.
- Deconstructed: Bob kidnaps Alice and they eventually fall in love, but it's an abusive relationship as Bob does not know how to properly treat a romantic partner.
- Reconstructed: Bob is a socially-inept Gentle Giant with a crush on Alice, and kidnaps her in an attempt to reveal his feelings for her. Eventually she teaches him how to be a better partner.
- Played For Laughs: Ten seconds after the kidnapping, Alice is completely smitten and composing love ballads to her abductor Bob, who ranges wildly from comically over-the-top villain posturing and Sickeningly Sweetheart levels of affection.
- Played For Drama: Bob's levels of aggression and level of obsessive behavior are overpowering and rape undertones abound. Alice is afraid for her safety for very good reasons.
- Plotted A Good Waste: Bob is an Unreliable Narrator, and he delusionally thinks that Alice is in love with him.
I'm only taking you to Abduction Is Love because of my deep abiding affection for you. You'll understand in time.
