History Main / LovingBully

* Taken UpToEleven in ''LightNovel/BludgeoningAngelDokuroChan''. As pointed out in the opening; all of the violence, torture, and death that Dokuro inflicts on poor Sakura is her way of showing affection.

* Nurse Joy from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' suggests this about Ash and Misty.
-->"What's the saying? You only hurt the ones you love."

* In ''Literature/SocialQueue'', Zoe goes on a date with Aidan Miller, one of her many former bullies, in order to write an article about it for Bubble. To her shock, Aidan tells her that he picked on her because he liked her, and his behaviour was a response to what he thought was rejection. Zoe is so startled that she has an anxiety attack, flees the restaurant, and ends up crying over ice cream. In her article, she attributes his belief that bullying is an acceptable way to express romantic feelings to toxic masculinity.

This is generally PlayedForLaughs and won't normally get into serious violence unless the target is MadeOfIron. This sometimes overlaps with DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale. RomanticizedAbuse and DomesticAbuse are the significantly less innocent {{Sister Trope}}s, and BastardBoyfriend is the DarkerAndEdgier one. Contrast MadLove, a generally comedic trope wherein the one in love cannot figure out that abuse is ''not'' the sign that their beloved returns their affections.

* A quest in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' involves scaring off a girl who's picking on a boy. When you go talk to her, you discover that "If he'd just kiss me, I wouldn't have to beat him up."

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Kokichi Oma of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' spends much of his time manipulating, lying to and messing with his fellow students, with Shuichi, Miu, Keebo and Himiko being some of his favourite targets, but he doesn't seem to actively ''dislike'' any of them. In fact, the ones he picks on most he also seems oddly fond of - Shuichi is one of the few people he comes to genuinely respect, since Shuichi solves the murders and finds the truth behind each case and attempts to "recruit" him to his organisation, he spends a lot of time SlutShaming and insulting Miu while well-aware [[LovableSexManiac she likes being treated that way]], provides her alibi in the second trial and respects her talent as the Ultimate Inventor enough to come to her with several blueprints, and [[CruelToBeKind forces Himiko to confront her repressed emotions]] about [[spoiler: Tenko's death]] and even claims he "loves" her at one point (which Himiko lampshades by commenting a boy will often act mean to a girl he likes).
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This is generally PlayedForLaughs and won't normally get into serious violence unless the target is MadeOfIron. This sometimes overlaps with DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale. RomanticizedAbuse and DomesticAbuse are the significantly less innocent {{Sister Trope}}s, and BastardBoyfriend is the DarkerAndEdgier one. Contrast MadLove, a generally comedic trope wherein the one in love fails to realize that abuse is ''not'' the sign that their beloved returns their affections.

TruthInTelevision for some small children who lack the concept of relationships and ''usually'' grow out of it. However, it may slowly be on its way to becoming a DiscreditedTrope as in more recent times, critics, parents, and child development specialists have been increasingly voicing distaste for it, due to what they see as the role that "he (or she) does it because he likes you" has played in causing some people to take real-life bullying less seriously.

->''"Some guys do show their affection by teasing..."''
-->-- '''Recette''', ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale''

* In ''Le Placard'', [[{{Jerkass}} Felix Santini]] always picked on the protagonist [[UnluckyEverydude Francois Pignon]]. When Pignon is about to get fired, his new [[CoolOldGuy neighbour]] advises him to let the firm "accidentally" think he's gay, so he could use discrimination charges to secure his position. Santini grudgingly starts befriending him not to appear homophobic but goes overboard quickly, practically starts courting him, and becomes so obsessed it costs his marriage. Pignon's lack of interest visibly upsets him. After his divorce, he asks Pignon to be his housemate for practical reasons, but when Pignon refuses, he starts such an UnstoppableRage he has to be restrained and sent to a hospital.

-->-- '''Recette''', '''''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'''''

When someone bullies someone else because they have a crush on them. This is usually because they aren't sure how to convey their feelings properly. Often the bully is a Type A {{Tsundere}}.[[labelnote: Note]] There is actually a sub-type known as "sadodere", combining the words [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] and sweet.[[/labelnote]] The target of the bullying is generally under the impression that the bully is simply mean and [[ObliviousToLove has no clue the bully has a crush on them]].

* In the [[AMinorKidroduction opening scene]] of ''Film/HesJustNotThatIntoYou'' the child version of Gigi, one of the characters, is abruptly pushed off a jungle gym by a boy. When she tearfully asks why he did that, he yells, "Because you smell like dog poo!" In trying to comfort her, her mother claims, "Do you know why he did that? Because he likes you!" As an adult, Gigi angrily points out that telling girls this [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome sets them up for years of ill-treatment at the hands of men]] [[UnfortunateImplications because of being conditioned to believe that it's actually a form of affection.]]

* ''Series/ICarly'': Sam to Freddie.[[spoiler: They do become a couple at one point, but it doesn't work out and they ultimately decide that they're BetterAsFriends.]]

* ''Series/SexEducation'': [[spoiler: With Eric and Adam]].

** Tamasin has a crush on Ciro, as she [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan wants to have a relationship with a nice, kind boy.]] However, she's also a part of Nadine's gang and goes along with them when they bully Ciro.

** The Kanker Sisters are utterly head over heels for the Eds, as well as their worst tormentors. Somewhat unique in that their amorous feelings are completely known to their victims, and the bullying usually involves the girls [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale forcing themselves on the Eds.]]

** Helga towards Arnold. It's so infamous that it's become the TropeCodifier in all but name.

* Giselle in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' is a downplayed example towards Joe. She's not shown bullying him directly but encourages the rest of her class to apply ToughLove on him to get him to improve his performance (they're considered the "Golden Generation" and he's the dead last). Ultimately, the way they treated Joe drove him to quit the school and find his own, which greatly saddened her because she actually liked him.

* In ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'', a bully mocks pre-transition Marika and calls her "gay" in a derogatory way. After she comes back to school as a girl, he begins crushing on her.

* Discussed and deconstructed near the end of [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2012-12-23 this]] strip of Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal. Even if you get that someone is picking on you because they like you, why would you want someone who shows affection through bullying?

[[caption-width-right:275:You always hurt the ones you love.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'': In the Season 3 final "Get Stinky", Johnny's childhood bully Stinky Brownstein moves back into town and is now romantically interested in him. Johnny is extremely suspicious, having to deal with years of humilation and pain to the point of greatly disliking her even though she's a 10/10 babe. Although Johnny is proven right in the end of the episode, it is heavily implied that Stinky does have genuine romantic feelings for him.

*
''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'': In the Season 3 final "Get Stinky", Johnny's childhood bully Stinky Brownstein moves back into town and is now romantically interested in him. Johnny is extremely suspicious, having to deal with years of humilation and pain to the point of greatly disliking her even though she's a 10/10 babe. Although Johnny is proven right in the end of the episode, it is heavily implied that Stinky does have genuine romantic feelings for him.
*
''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':

''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'': In the Season 3 final "Get Stinky", Johnny's childhood bully Stinky Brownstein moves back into town and is now romantically interested in him. Johnny is extremely suspicious, having to deal with years of humilation and even disliking her even though she's a babe. Although Johhny is proven right in the end of the episode, it is heavily implied that Stinky does have a genuine crush on him.
*

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':

** Helga towards Arnold. It's so infamous that it's become the TropeCodifier in all but name -- hence the picture on this page.

When someone bullies someone else because they have a crush on them. This is usually because they aren't sure how to convey their feelings properly. Often the bully is a Type A {{Tsundere}}. The target of the bullying is generally under the impression that the bully is simply mean and [[ObliviousToLove has no clue the bully has a crush on them]].