Friendly Enemy/Playing With

Basic Trope: There's a genuine friendship between a villain and a hero.

• Straight: Alice Virtuous foils David Vile's plans, yet they have friendly chats and don't attempt to sneak up on each other.
• Exaggerated: ...except in that sense, which is followed by them wrestling playfully. They also go bowling together, share brainstorming session for problem-solving, tell jokes to each other, play video games, and so on.
• Justified:
  • Worthy Opponent to the extreme has friendliness with respect.
  • Foe Yay.
  • They were friends before they parted ways and they promised to each other to stay friends, no matter what.
  • David Vile is a Punch Clock Villain.
• Inverted:
  • Alice and David are friends - nominally - or fight on the same side despite their deep-rooted disdain for each other and preference to stay as far away from each other as possible.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds and/or With Friends Like These...
• Subverted: Alice and David's friendship is only an act. Either one or both is trying to get information or covertly destroy another.
• Double Subverted: Or, so they would have their allies believe.
• Parodied: Alice and David become such good friends that they sing, dance, drink, eat, and live together. David insists that it's to spy on her, and Alice insists that it's to keep him under control, and they often hit each other with sticks. Then it just kinda of moves from there, and Hilarity Ensues.
• Zig Zagged: ???
• Averted: David and Alice hate each other. The idea of being friendly to one another disgusts them.
• Enforced: Due to popularity ratings, the executives force the writer of the work to make David move towards good. However, to make it clear that the writer did not want to do so, David becomes bitter, cynical, mean, and sometimes downright cruel.
• Lampshaded: During a battle (and after David tells a joke that they both enjoy and Alice lifts his spirits up from a deep depression from losing a battle with another villain), Alice asks, "Hey, if we're enemies, why exactly are we acting like best friends?" David answers by saying that, even if they are enemies, there's no point in being rude or hateful about it.
• Invoked: "We are on different sides, but does it necessarily mean that we have to hate each other?"
• Exploited:
  • David's partner-in-evil, Richard, notices his weakness in Alice and uses it against him.
  • Alice's ally, Kyle, a Manipulative Bastard, uses the same to manipulate/discredit/coerce/blackmail Alice.
• Defied: "He's my enemy and I won't start getting chummy with him!"
• Discussed: ???
• Conversed: ???

---

Back to Friendly Enemy.