impossible love theme

Two characters fall in love but it appears more-or-less impossible for the relationship to progress because of straightforward physical circumstances.

Notes

This theme is contrasted with "forbidden love", where the relationship is impeded by social circumstances.

Examples

In tz1985e1x06b "A Message from Charity", two lonely teenagers separated by three centuries of time found themselves telepathically linked, and fell in love. Alas, as they would never be able to meet in person, the young girl from the 17th century took the tough decision to terminate their disagreeably platonic relationship. In tz1985e3x09 "The Call", Norman fell in love with a mysterious woman he spoke to only on the phone. The sentiment was reciprocated. Unfortunately, he came to find that the woman was the spirit of a successfully suicidal artist, now inhabiting her own self-portraying statue. That would normally have spelled the end of their courtship. But fate intervened and Norman was turned into a statue of his own, dotingly contraposed with the other for eternity.

9 total · 3 choice · 6 major

Story	Level	Motivation
blackmirror7x03	choice	The story hinges on a budding romance between Brandy and the Dorothy digital clone on the AI-based virtual "set" of a remake of the titular fictional film noir "Hotel Reverie". Although the story ended on an ambiguous note, it appeared that Dorothy had little to no agency outside of the script of her story, and obviously no access to reality.
ftt1982e6x02	choice	The story is a classical story of an impossible love as it showed that an ocean dwelling immortal mermaid couldn't possibly make it with a land dwelling mortal human.
tz1959e5x20	choice	The computer Agnes was besotted with her programmer James, but such a thing could never be.
ahp6x06	major	The elderly Miss Lowen loved the young convict Collins, but he loved her niece. All this transpired on account that Miss Lowen had been sending romantic letters to Collins in her niece's name.
movie: King Kong (1933)	major	King Kong appeared to be impossibly in love with Ann. He killed other people like flies, including women.
tftc1989e2x14	major	The two-faced man Enoch became smitten with a seemingly lifeless 4000-year-old mummy. Impossible as their love might seem, Enoch took up abode with her/it in a cave and they somehow had a child together.
tz1959e4x08	major	Charley's love for the doll seemed momentarily impossible, though they soon became joined through magic.
tz1985e1x06b	major	Charity and Peter were separated by a couple of hundred years in time.
tz1985e3x09	major	Flesh and blood Norman fell in love with a statue of Mary Ann, but it was difficult to see how such a relationship could progress. Although the story concluded with Norman and Mary Ann being two sculptures in love.