With Friends Like These.../Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Two characters are really friends except they hate each other.

  • Played Straight: James and Sean are best friends, but they act like they hate each other.
  • Exaggerated: James and Sean are Heterosexual Life Partners, yet all they talk about is how much they loathe and despise each other.
  • Downplayed: James and Sean sometimes argue.
  • Justified: James and Sean have difficulty expressing affection.
    • James and Sean are pretty much forced to be rivals because of competitive ideals, such as different sports teams or some clan or guild that are constantly non-violent rivals, that they hold, but they both know each other to be good people.
  • Inverted: James and Sean are mortal enemies, but they act friendly towards each other.
  • Subverted: It turns out that they were acting.
  • Double Subverted: They really have duels to the death.
  • Parodied: Everyone talks about what a great friendship James and Sean have while they attack each other in the street.
  • Deconstructed: They're really enemies.
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