Belligerent Sexual Tension: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]'' has the titular character and Annabeth, who bicker as much as they show affection for each other.

** It gets worse when Luke {{spoiler|gives up his body to Kronos in the fourth book}}. Percy is convinced that Luke is a [[Complete Monster]] and cannot be redeemed, but Annabeth, who shares a long history with Luke, believes there's still hope. This disagreement causes a huge amount of bad feeling between them. {{spoiler|It all works out in the end,}} though.

* Mac and Barrons in the [[Fever Series]].

* [[Handsome Devil|Ian Kabra]] and [[The Smart Guy|Amy]] [[Shrinking Violet|Cahill]] in ''[[The 39 Clues]]'' series. Let's see, he [[I Was Only Pretending to Like You|"fakes" feelings for her]] and then leaves her and [[Annoying Younger Sibling|her brother]] for dead, she [[Badass Bookworm|kicks him]] [[Little Girls Kick Shins|in the shin]], he and [[Spoiled Brat|his sister]] are always helping [[My Beloved Smother|their mother]] [[Complete Monster|Isabel]] try to kill them, etc., etc. And yet there's still [[Unresolved Sexual Tension|tension]] there.

** In the [[Sequel Series]], Amy has this with [[Third Option Love Interest|Jake]].

* Zoe and Jason from "Addicted" 10,000%

* [[Discworld/Mort|Mort]] and Ysabell. Largely because Ysabell knows she's ''supposed'' to marry Mort and resents this, and Mort is perennially clueless. As [[Discworld/Soul Music|the book that introduces their daughter]] puts it "Between Mort and Ysabell there was an instant dislike, and everyone knows what that means in the long term".

** ''[[Discworld/Lords and Ladies|Lords and Ladies]]'' implies that Archchancellor Ridcully and Granny Weatherwax had this sort of relationship when they were younger. When they meet again decades later, it immediately starts up again. Ridcully regrets that nothing ever actually happened between them, while Granny takes a more pragmatic "it was for the best" approach (although it's revealed that [[Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other|she kept the love letters he sent all these years]]).

* Lampshaded in [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[Chronicles of Chaos]]'': Amelia notes she once thought Vanity's squabbling with [[Chivalrous Pervert|Colin]] was a sign of love, since that's the way it always happens in books. Vanity actually loves [[The Quiet One|Quentin]], and is very [[Through His Stomach|attentive and kind]] around him.

* [[David Eddings]] is almost as fond of this trope as Rumiko Takahashi. Half the couples in the ''[[Belgariad]]'' alone fall under it, most notably [[Supporting Leader|Garion]]/[[Tsundere|Ce'Nedra]], [[Chaste Hero|Relg]]/[[Last of Her Kind|Taiba]], and [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife|Beldin/Vella]] in the ''Malloreon''.

* [[L. M. Montgomery]]'s ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'' gives us Anne and Gilbert, though the belligerance is much more on Anne's part than Gilbert's. It started with Gilbert making an ill-timed comment about her red hair, and getting his slate smashed over the top of his head. From there it spawned a legendary academic rivalry and Avonlea's most infamous love affair.

* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Maggie Spritzer and Ted Robinson have this going on between them for a long time. They eventually got engaged to be married. However, ''Deja Vu'' has Maggie calling it off, because she ends up realizing that she's been unfair to both Ted and Abner Tookus.

* In [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]'s ''Jill the Reckless'', Jill remembers how Wally Mason would put a worm down her back or bound out from behind a tree. Adult, he confesses to a mad love for her.

* Colin Kapp's ''Patterns of Chaos'' has this deliberately set up by the government between secret agent Bron and his [[The Handler|handler]] Jaycee, whom he knows only as the sultry female voice verbally abusing him over a communications link built into his skull. Their personalities were carefully matched so the frustration of never being able to get together for [[Slap Slap Kiss]] would amplify the belligerence part of their sexual tension, and '''supposedly''' this somehow increases their effectiveness working together. It's indicated that if they ever meet in person, falling head over heels in love is practically certain.

 

== Live-Action TV ==