Friends with Benefits: Difference between revisions
→Video Games: adding example
No edit summary |
(→Video Games: adding example) |
||
| (13 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:Friends with benefits 7911.jpg|link=No Strings Attached|
{{quote|''"You've already won me over in spite of me
''And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
''You're the best listener that I've ever met
''You're my best friend
''Best friend with benefits"''
|'''[[Alanis Morissette]]''', "Head Over Feet"}}
[[Alice and Bob]] enjoy [[Good People Have Good Sex|getting together for sex]]. [[Lust|Wild]], [[All Women Are Lustful|rampant]], [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|unrestrained]] [[Did the Earth Move For You|bed-shaking]], [[The Immodest Orgasm|so-loud]] [[Right Through the Wall|-it-annoys-the-neighbors]] [[Hollywood Sex]]. With this much enthusiasm going on, you can just ''tell'' that these two are perfect soulmates, bonded for life.
Line 25 ⟶ 26:
{{noreallife|This is All The Tropes, not Tropes After Dark.}}
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The (very explicit) [[Yuri]] manga ''[[Maka-Maka]]'' is about two women who insist they're just this - though it's blatantly obvious to the reader that they're way beyond just friends.
* The [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|aptly-named]] ''[[
* ''[[Akkan Baby]]'' focuses on two extremely naive Friends with Benefits who had zero idea of the potential consequences of what they were doing. [[Hilarity Ensues|Pregnancy ensues]].
* Japan and Greece from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', who wind up having sex mainly because Japan ranked last place in a sex frequency poll and Greece ([[Really Gets Around|in first place on the same poll]]) decides to teach him how to enjoy doing it more. Though there are hints that Greece harbors [[Ladykiller in Love|genuine romantic feelings]] for his friend and it hasn't escaped [[Shipping|shippers]]' attention that Japan doesn't seem to be the kind of person who'd sleep with someone on a whim alone.
Line 40 ⟶ 39:
* Shortly after ''[[One More Day]]'', [[Spider-Man]] tried having a Friends with Benefits relationship with the Black Cat. It didn't last long.
* This trope is the best definition of the relationship between [[Batman| Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy]] in Harley's ''New 52'' comic, though they've also been written as being in an open-relationship. They are not dating but it is more than implied that their current relationship is sexual. Harley even has a dream where she married Bruce Wayne [[A Threesome Is Hot| is and Ivy was invited to the honeymoon]]. This trope applies to pretty much every work where Harley and Ivy appear together, to the point where it would be considered out of character if it didn't happen.
** [[Harley Quinn (TV series)|The animated series]] subverts this Trope; they start out this way, but eventually start to have actual feelings towards each other, which causes something of a [[Love Triangle]] as Ivy starts dating Kite Man.
* In ''[[Elfquest]]'' a friend with benefits is actually more common than a friend without, even to an elf who has a Lifemate (i.e. spouse). [[Everybody Has Lots of Sex|The series is like that.]]
== [[
* Deconstructed in the ''[[iCarly]]'' fan fic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5009447/1/iNever_Knew iNever Knew]'' and its sequel, ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5075276/1/iNever_Knew_This_Would_Be_So_Hard iNever Knew This Would Be So Hard]''. While Freddie [[Relationship Upgrade|wants to be boyfriend and girlfriend]], Carly wants to be friends with benefits, which they attempt, albeit by experimenting sexually but not sleeping together again. It doesn't go too well.
** More accurately, Carly is scared of a [[Relationship Upgrade]] because she's used to her and her brother wrecking their relationships and never speaking to the other person after they break up, so feels if they keep it casual, she can avoid hurting Freddie whilst still giving him what she believes [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|he wants most]]. Freddie gets concerned that because Carly doesn't want to tell anyone, and that they haven't slept together again, that Carly thinks it's a mistake. It's also something of a deconstruction of the [[Girl of the Week]] format and how a real person would be affected by seeing and being part of relationships which seem to only last one night, days or barely weeks.
Line 48 ⟶ 49:
* This is the relationship between Jia-Chien and her ex-boyfriend in ''[[Eat Drink Man Woman]]''. They get together regularly to chat and to knock heels, but otherwise prefer to see other people.
* Also Tomas and Sabina in ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being''.
* In ''[[Jackie Brown]],'' Louis and Melanie have this sort of
* In ''[[Vanilla Sky]]'', the main character has a "F*** Buddy" relationship with a model. The "buddy" in question takes things a little more seriously and when she finds out the true nature of the relationship, it doesn't end well.
* In the comedy ''[[No Strings Attached]]'', Ashton Kutcher and [[Natalie Portman]] star as
** [[Dueling Movies|Similarly]], ''[[Friends with Benefits (film)|Friends With Benefits]]'' feature [[Mila Kunis]] and [[Justin Timberlake]] as another such pair. They have this setup because they're too busy to go dating. Complications arise when [[Romance Ensues]].
** Lampshaded by [http://i.imgur.com/Ht18a.jpg this fake movie poster.]
* In the TV movie ''[[Jesse Stone|Stone Cold]]'', Chief Jesse Stone and Abby have this kind of relationship {{spoiler|until she's murdered by a serial killer}}.
* Riley and Trevor are this in the 2022 relaunch of ''[[Hellraiser]]''. {{spoiler|Trevor, however, is a [[Poisonous Friend]], both to Riley and the friends he has without the benefits.}}
== Literature ==
Line 69 ⟶ 71:
* On ''[[Community]]'' this becomes the eventual arrangement between {{spoiler|Jeff and Britta.}}
* On ''[[Farscape]]'' Aeryn suggests she and John have one of these. Because he's in love with her, he turns her down.
** It should be noted that this verges upon being a [[Planet of Hats|Hat]] for the Peacekeepers, as their SOP requires that sex remain strictly recreational or procreative (when assigned).
** Aeryn's mother was ordered to kill her lover (and Aeryn's father) when their relationship was discovered.
* Walter and Isabela start off as this on ''[[The Finder]]'' though a [[Relationship Upgrade]] is on the cards.
Line 80 ⟶ 82:
* Sonny and Gina on ''[[Miami Vice]]'', for a little while.
* Kyle and Jade tried this on ''[[Neighbours]]'', though Jade was already in love with Kyle by this point.
* On ''[[Scrubs]]'', J.D. and Elliot attempt a "sex buddies" [[Running Gag|*
* Ricky and Adrian from ''[[The Secret Life of the American Teenager]]'' had this kind of relationship on and off for nearly two seasons before finally calling it off for good.
* Jerry and Elaine try to do this on ''[[Seinfeld]]'', "The Deal". They propose a set of ground rules by which they can have both "this" (with a gesture at the space between them as they sit companionably on the couch) and "that" (pointing towards the bedroom). They soon find that it doesn't work out without having "this, that, and the other"—i.e., a full romantic relationship.
Line 93 ⟶ 95:
* The Sparks' "All You Ever Think About Is Sex":
{{quote|''In a world of lovers
''we don't love each other much
''Fact is we're too busy
''to love each other much'' }}
* ''Get Mine Get Yours'' by [[Christina Aguilera]] is about a relationship like this.
{{quote|''I want your body, not your heart''}}
Line 107 ⟶ 109:
{{quote|'''Woman:''' (talking about her boyfriend) We're 'friends with benefits'.
'''Pig:''' It's good to have affordable medical insurance. }}
* Discussed in a ''[[Luann]]'' strip [https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2019/04/09?ct=v&cti=2129226 (seen here)] where Gunther's date asks him if he's this way with Luann. Gunther is a little [[Late to the Punchline]].
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The female Shepard's relationship with Garrus in ''[[Mass Effect|Mass Effect 2]]'' at the beginning fits this to a T. There is neither any romantic attraction between them at first: Shepard just offers to sleep with Garrus in the middle of a conversation and Garrus replies [[If It's You It's Okay|"Well, why the hell not?"]]. The dialogue that ensues is initially all about reconciling the fact that it's an [[Interspecies Romance]] but the focus rapidly and subtly shifts to Garrus revealing [[The Woobie|how lost and lonely he really is, how he's filled to the brim with self-doubt]] and how Shepard is the only person in the galaxy who can give him even a moment's solace.
* [[Black Magician Girl|Morrigan]] and [[Anything That Moves|Zevran]] both view a relationship with the [[Player Character|Warden]] in ''[[Dragon Age]]'' to be this at first, though in both cases it evolves into something deeper if you pursue it.
* One option with [[Pirate Girl|Isabela]] in ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' is to not mention love at all and just keep on having sex.
** If neither of them is romanced, Isabela and Fenris seem to develop this kind of relationship.
* This pretty much sums up the relationship between [[Anything That Moves|Telia]] and [[Oranyan|the Wanderer]] in ''[[Visions and Voices]]'', at least in the [[Backstory]]. Their in-game relationship follows the standard [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] pattern, except for the minor detail that they're already screwing like rabbits before love and romance even become an issue.
* Combined with [[A Worldwide Punomenon]] in the ''[[Portal 2]]'' achievements. There's an achievement called "Friends List With Benefits" for hugging three people on your Steam friends list. Although hugging is the closest thing [[Cute Machines|ATLAS and P-Body]] get to romance or sex, at one point [[GLaDOS]] asks the bots if they know what could happen as a result of hugging...and makes it sound for a moment like it could result in
* In ''[[The Sims]] 3'', it's possible to make your Sims be friends with benefits, and will react slightly differently after [[Unusual Euphemism|woohooing]]. In fact, unless they choose to go steady, they can have sex without actually considering themselves in a romantic relationship. This is quite different from [[The Sims]] 2, where just chatting each other up can result in them basically making it official, and you need a [[Game Mod]] for them to ever have sex outside of a relationship.
* In ''[[HuniePop]]'' player's relationship with Kyu can be called this - she's supposed to be coaching him on how to romance dates, and she seems to view dating him to be checking on his progress, sleeping with him being a "final exam". It's that kind of game.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
Line 123 ⟶ 127:
** Though it's obvious {{spoiler|Faye}} thinks of it as more than just random sex: when {{spoiler|Sven}} sleeps with another girl she gets all heartbroken and stops seeing him at all. {{spoiler|Sven seems to have become very attached, though he seems to be telling himself it's just the sex.}}
* ''[[Candi]]'' had a few characters trying this out, but it eventually gets too complicated.
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20100111060633/http://www.aiacrowd.com/archivedStrips/153_oct0609.html this] comic, Desirae of ''[[Alone in
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'', Noah [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-03-31 tells Elliot] that he and Melissa "provide comfort and pleasure to each other" while Melissa is still in love with [[Invisible to Gaydar|Justin]].
** Elliot and Nanase's early relationship [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-05-04 wasn't exactly romantic.]
Line 132 ⟶ 136:
'''Elliot:''' Does making out in the car outside the movie theater count?
'''Nanase:''' No. }}
* Most notably, Miriam and Steven, post-breakup, in ''[[Out There]]''. A few other pairings have taken place (or are implied to have taken place) as a part of the back story: [http://outthere.keenspot.com/d/20080423.html Sherry and Steven], [http://outthere.keenspot.com/d/20071204.html Miriam and Wally], and possibly even [http://outthere.keenspot.com/d/20081126.html Miriam] and [http://outthere.keenspot.com/d/20100526.html Sherry]; there is also a reference to a Friends With Benefits relationship between Miriam and a character named Carlos in one of the flashback stories in the third ''[[Out There]]'' book.
* An ambiguous case between the succubi Fuchsia and Baby Blue in ''[[Sinfest]]''. They both regularly tempt men with gay-for-pay shows, and they clearly have a friendship with each other beyond what they do for their jobs, but it's very different from [[Chastity Couple|Fuchsia's chaste but romantic relationship with Crimnee]].
Line 140 ⟶ 143:
* Zeke and Lizzie of ''[[Seeking Truth]]''.
** Played for drama {{spoiler|since Zeke only admits his love for her after she's murdered.}}
* This was the premise of ''[[College Humor]]''{{'}}s former show "Full Benefits", where this sort of relationship occurred between fictionalized versions of staff members Sarah and David. Later they tried to "take it to the next level" by becoming romantically involved as well.
* In ''[[The Wulf Archives]]'', Wulf has a few serious lovers, but the
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Fry and Amy were like this briefly in the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "Put Your Head on My Shoulders";
{{reflist}}
Line 154 ⟶ 157:
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
[[Category:Zoic Studios]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Alice and Bob]]
| |||