abstract
| - Occasionally you get a character who doesn't hold with the usual methods of getting a couple to break up - you know, Twisting the Words, saying that they'll give their blessing when such-and-such a demand is met then Moving the Goalposts, spreading rumours and other Manipulative Bastard tactics...they just go straight to one half of the couple and order them to split up with their partner. Well, at least their straightforwardness is refreshing...right? Well, not usually -- they're not completely devoid of Manipulative Bastard traits. For a start, the partner they talk to is often not the one they know personally. So a father will order his daughter's boyfriend to break up with her, or a sister will demand that her brother's girlfriend ditches him. This usually signals that their intentions aren't entirely altruistic: if they made the same demand of the person they knew, that person would probably work out what they were up to and tell them to shove it. So they pick on the partner, who assumes that this "friend" or family member knows their lover better than they do. Normally, the interloper is trying to guilt the partner into pulling a Break His Heart to Save Him stunt. At best, the character making the demand is a misguided Knight Templar - they honestly think the break up is the only solution to a perceived problem. In the middle are characters who are deluding themselves: they tell themselves that the break up is for the greater good, and try to ignore their actual, more selfish motive for doing it (for example, they want to date one half of the couple). And then you have the outright Manipulative Bastard, who knows he's doing this for selfish reasons, but wants to shift the blame for the heartbreak onto the person forced into doing the dumping. This may also apply to close friendships rather than romances, especially in shows featuring younger characters, Knight Templar characters are extremely prone to making a Break Up Demand, as is the Overprotective Dad. If the partner proves resistant to the demand, blackmail, or a verbal / physical attack with a degree of Why Did You Make Me Hit You?, may be used by the person interfering. Examples:
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