Line #26 Main/PlayingNiceForNow


1	Two guys or groups are at each other's throats. TheHero versus [[{{Villains}} The Villains]], [[Theatre/WestSideStory the Jets versus the Sharks]], the vampires versus the werewolves... you know the drill. But then the cops or muggles or whatever show up, and bam! Time to put up the friendly faces and play nice with each other. The enemies instantly turn into best friends. And it will last until those nosy people have left the scene. Maybe even a few seconds longer. Then it's back to trying to kill each other again.
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3	Unlike EnemyMine, the enemies are ''not'' teaming up against a mutual enemy, they are merely putting up a little charade to give an impression that they are not hostile to each other.
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5	Compare ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking. See also TheMasquerade, LivingWithTheVillain, VillainsOutShopping, VillainOverForDinner, SafetyInMuggles, SuchAPhony (when one character talks crap about another but pretends to be nice in their presence), and NonViolentInitialConfrontation. Compare TeethClenchedTeamwork which happens when they're forced to play nice and work on the same thing. Compare GoKartingWithBowser for opponents who have genuinely friendly interludes between confrontations.
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7	----
8	!!Examples:
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10	[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
11	* There's a funny moment for this trope in the ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' manga and OVA (Original Video Animation), where a meeting between Hellsing and Iscariot goes badly and Alucard and Anderson are about to throw down in an art museum, so Seras defuses the situation by pretending to be a guide and leading a group of elderly tourists into the room.
12	* [[PlayingWithFire Natsu]] and [[AnIcePerson Gray]] from ''Manga/FairyTail'' are always fighting, but will immediately put on huge smiles (and [[TheDreaded a cold sweat]]) whenever [[LadyOfWar Erza Scarlett]] walks in.
13	* In ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'', Maou reveals to Suzuno that he knows her secret and had only pretended to ignore it so long as she did not interfere with the daily lives of him and his associates, which shocks her greatly. [[spoiler: Subverted later when Suzuno decides to side with Maou instead [[EnemyMine against Archangel Sariel]]]].
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15	[[AC: ComicBooks]]
16	* In the Jean Valhardi adventure ''Le Soleil Noir'', the eponymous hero makes use of such a situation, courtesy of a hapless glazier, to escape.
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18	[[AC:{{Film}}]]
19	* In ''Film/WestSideStory1961'', we have the Jets and Sharks putting up a façade for the cops. The cop doesn't buy it but lacks any evidence to arrest them for assaulting each other.
20	* This occurs in ''Film/KillBill Volume 1''. The Bride and Vernita Green are fighting, but they temporarily stop when Vernita's [[NotInFrontOfTheKid four-year-old daughter]] Nikki arrives home from school.
21	* ''Film/BackToTheFuture1''. Marty and Biff do this when Strickland shows up.
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23	[[AC: Literature]]
24	* In the City Watch sub-series of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, this is a common effect of the intervention of the Watch, especially if Captain Carrot is involved.
25	* ''Literature/FireAndBlood:'' During the reign of King Viserys I, the two sides of his family pretended they weren't five minutes away from trying to kill one another for his sake, even after one kid on one side had removed another's eye in a fight. The minute he died, all Hell breaks loose.
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27	[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
28	* In ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' season 5, Dexter drugs a villain, but the guy gets him with his tranquilized dart as he falls down. They both fall unconscious and wake up in the same ambulance - quickly starting a friendly bickering about the "accident".
29	* Seen in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' episode "The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short". Cameron and another Terminator have a FightScene that turns into an ElevatorActionSequence, and then into an UncomfortableElevatorMoment when the elevator stops for a family of civilians. The two Terminators stand there silently for the duration, covering up their wounds, and then go back to beating the [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars slag]] out of each other once they're alone again.
30	* Partial example. In ''{{Series/Merlin\|2008}}'', nobody except Merlin and Gaius know about [[spoiler: Morgana's FaceHeelTurn]]. Merlin has to play nice and pretend to be overjoyed about [[spoiler: her]] being back, and [[spoiler: she]] has to continue the façade of friendship so as not to raise suspicion. That they keep this up for the better part of a ''year'' really says something about either their acting or everyone else's obliviousness.
31	* ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'' had a scene in a hospital where Otoya (dressed as an old woman) and Jiro (dressed as a doctor) are doing some recon despite the fact that they can't stand each other. They almost come to blows, but then some {{Muggles}} walk by and they fall into character, with Jiro asking "How are you doing, ma'am?" As soon as the civilians are out of sight, Jiro starts ''[[SuddenlyShouting shouting]]'' the same thing into Otoya's ear.
32	* ''Series/TheBarrier'': The protagonists live in a PoliceState and have a TheStoolPigeon with NosyNeighbor methods as their next-door neighbor. The protagonists sometimes get in heated disputes with home guests who would be at great risk if they were reported to the authorities, but said disputes tend to only be able to last for so long without attracting the attention of the denunciation-prone neighbor. Cooperation in making her leave and making sure she doesn't come back soon will hence temporarily take priority over everything else.
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34	[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]
35	* Webcomic/Earth2068: When 2037-Leon sees Flynn and [[spoiler:Winona]] knife-fighting, the two stop fighting and pretend they had been putting on an immersive theatre performance.
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37	[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
38	* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/WingCommanderAcademy'', Maniac and Blair get into a heated argument. Maniac is about to strike Blair when Archer restrains him (using the StandardFemaleGrabArea no less) and then tosses him over her shoulder. Commodore Tolwyn and the Academy's commandant happen to witness that last part. The cadets claim that they were practicing for an unarmed combat class. Not quite an EnemyMine take on the trope, though, since Maniac, Archer, and Maverick are all comrades in arms (with a strong rivalry between Maniac and Blair, and a considerable amount of FoeRomanceSubtext between Maniac and Archer.)
39	* Young Ben and Gwen of the ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' franchise do this sometimes when Grandpa Max gets sick of their constant fighting. The most epic moment was in a five-minute short to go with the "Destroy All Aliens" CGI movie: their usual arguing escalates into a ''full-scale battle'' with the full might of the Omnitrix vs. Gwen's magic, even more epic than the one time they fought each other with their powers ''and meant it'' in ''Ultimate Alien.'' The result is the complete and utter demolition of the area - and being in perfect sync as they feign innocence when Max comes back.

Context Main / PlayingNiceForNow