Vitriolic Best Buds



""A very good measure of how good your friends are is how much you can insult them without them taking offense.""

- Heliomance

They're best friends. You can tell because they bicker Like an Old Married Couple.

Like a beautiful and delicate snowflake, no two friendships are alike. Unlike the beautiful and delicate snowflake, some friendships break out the flamethrowers in the face of this sickening sweetness.

Somehow, Steve the Deadpan Snarker has been befriended by kind hearted Pete, who has become a loyal friend, but The Power of Friendship failed to cure Steve of his Jerkass tendencies (though it does allow his heart of gold to shine through at times). So Steve continues to openly insult, belittle, and antagonize Pete, who faced with this sanity cracking assault... smiles and says "Oh, you're such a kidder, Steve!" which of course drives Steve up the wall while "cementing" the friendship in Pete's mind. Hilarity Ensues.

Woe betide any outsider to this unusual 'friendship' who thinks that because one is constantly snarking on the other, it gives the outsider the right to make snide comments about the other as well; usually, they will quickly (and painfully) learn that "no one makes fun of him/her but me." This is more a given with the second variant than the first, but with the first it may be a Pet the Dog moment or proof that aw, look: They really do like each other!

Contrast with Headbutting Heroes, who just cold-out despise each other despite being the best of heroes, and With Friends Like These..., who aren't actually friends. Compare Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other for a romantic equivalent.