War (The First Discord) by De Scott Evans
"Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated."
As the old saying goes, "Can't we all just get along?"
Because Humans Are Bastards, this means that they all hate each others' guts, and that's one of the things to make a sure-fire Crapsack World. Here are common tropes about characters who don't get along at all.
A super-index to Civil Unrest Tropes. Compare Hatred Tropes and Rivalry Tropes. Contrast Friendship Tropes and Peace Tropes. For the family version, see Dysfunctional Family Index. For the romantic version, see Dysfunctional Romance Index.
See Frenemy Tropes if it combines enmity with friendship.
Nothing to do with Discord the chat client
. Or with the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic character.
These tropes do not like each other at all:
Categories:
- Abilene Paradox: Even when the group agrees on something, it causes trouble—because they somehow picked the choice that no one actually wanted.
- Absurdly Divided School: A school is divided into a number of groups and said groups antagonize each other.
- Achilles in His Tent: A member of the team quits the group after a disagreement with them. They come back in the end.
- All Women Hate Each Other: Women either openly or secretly dislike each other, even when they're supposed to be friends or at least in good terms.
- Animal Jingoism
- Cat/Dog Dichotomy: Cats and dogs are always at odds.
- Pets Versus Strays: Pets and stray animals don't see eye to eye.
- Argument of Contradictions: "It's not!" "It's too!"
- Apple of Discord: When an important object causes everyone to fight each other over it.
- Artifact of Attraction: A valuable artifact causes a fight between characters.
- Athens and Sparta: Two rival or warring factions are neighboring cities, countries, or ideals.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Two characters hate each other despite secretly liking each other.
- Bickering Couple, Peaceful Couple: One couple argues with each other in contrast to the other couple who gets along perfectly.
- Bigot vs. Bigot: Two bigots hate each other's guts.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The family not only hates each other, but are also trying to kill each other.
- Blended Family Drama: Friction in a new family unit comprised of two parents with kids from previous relationships.
- Broken Base: The fanbase can never agree on anything.
- Cain and Abel: Two siblings hate each other.
- Chained Heat: When opposed characters are chained together.
- Chaotic Car Ride
- Child Supplants Parent: Conflict between a parent and a child, where the trigger is another parent (example: a son hates his father because he murdered his mother).
- Clashing Cousins: Two cousins hate each other.
- Cock Fight: Two guys fight over a girl.
- Community-Threatening Construction
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: The one person who disagrees is portrayed as being in the wrong.
- Conflict Ball: They fight and argue with each other because the plot requires it.
- Conflict Killer: Someone who suddenly interrupts the conflict of others, causing the others to join forces against the former.
- Contempt Crossfire: Moderates are hated by the opposition and the extremists of their own side.
- Cooperation Gambit: Two enemies make a deal with each other without ending their conflict.
- Cycle of Revenge: Everyone is trying to kill each other out of revenge.
- Debating Names: Characters argue over what to name something.
- Destructive Romance: Two romantic partners have a destructive relationship.
- Dissension Remorse: Two or more characters feel bad over their in-fighting.
- Dislikes the New Guy: One character doesn't like the newcomer for some reason.
- Divide and Conquer: When a villain gets his enemies fighting each other instead of him.
- Divided We Fall: Dissension between the heroes gets in the way stopping the villain.
- Divine Conflict: Gods who fight each other.
- Dragons Versus Knights: Dragons and knights are traditional enemies.
- Dysfunctional Family: A family who can't get along.
- Elderly Future Fantasy: A character has a dream or fantasy, where they and others are elderly and having their present-day conflicts continue into old age.
- Elves Versus Dwarves: Elves and dwarves rarely get along.
- Enemy Civil War: Two evil factions are fighting each other.
- Enemy Mine: Two enemies team up against someone they hate more.
- Escalating War
- Family Drama: Conflict between family members.
- Fandom Rivalry: Two different fanbases don't get along with each other.
- Fantastic Racism: Prejudice between fictional races or species.
- Feud Episode: An episode about two characters, usually friends, fighting each other.
- Feuding Families: Families that hate each other.
- Fighting the Lancer: The Hero gets into a fight with The Lancer.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Two enemies become friends due to circumstances.
- Flame War: People argue on the internet.
- Friends Are Chosen, Family Aren't: A character is close to her friends. Their family, on the other hand...
- Friendship Favoritism: The hero's friends fight over who is his best friend.
- Friendship-Straining Competition: Friends start fighting as the result of a competition.
- Friends Turned Romantic Rivals: Friends start fighting over a shared love interest.
- Friend Versus Lover: Conflict between the character's best friend and their Love Interest.
- Forever War: A war that goes on...forever.
- Formerly Friendly Family: Family members end up fighting each other.
- Fur Against Fang: Werewolves vs vampires.
- Game Night Fight: When characters play board games (or similar activities) that end in bad fights.
- Girls vs. Boys Plot: Boys and girls battle for supremacy.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Sisters who fight.
- Gold Fever
- Gun Struggle
- Hate at First Sight: Two characters hate each other in their first meeting.
- Hate Plague: Everyone hates each other because of an unknown force.
- Headbutting Heroes: Two heroes who hate each other.
- Heaven Versus Hell: The forces of heaven and hell are portrayed as being in constant conflict with one another
- Hero, Rival, Baddie Team-Up: A hero, a rival and an enemy have to fight together against a big bad in common.
- Hidden Disdain Reveal: A character declares they always hated another character, usually during a falling out.
- Hostility on the Set: Two or more actors clash with each other, or with the director.
- A House Divided: When characters turn against each other when they should be working together.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Standing up for someone because you want to be the only one to antagonize them.
- I Don't Like You And You Don't Like Me: ...but we have to work together to a common goal whether we like it or not.
- Interservice Rivalry: Two government agencies have bad blood.
- It's Personal: When a character antagonizes another due to a motive.
- It's Personal with the Dragon: The Hero has a vendetta against the villain's second-in-command.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Conflict between different law-enforcement agencies.
- Keeping the Enemy Close: One character keeps an eye on an enemy instead of keeping a distance from them.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Two heroes fight each other due to misunderstanding.
- Lightning Glare: You know they hate each other when streams of lighting comes back and forth when they glare at each other.
- Like an Old Married Couple: A character points out how two friends argue a lot.
- The Masochism Tango: Two characters who are supposed to be lovers want to murder each other.
- Mediation Backfire: Two quarreling characters put aside their differences by targeting the peacemaker.
- Nemesis as Customer: It's hard to get along with the customer when you usually hate them.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Rivals!: Two characters fight over an object until the object gets broken, damaged, or destroyed.
- No Accounting for Taste: Two lovers don't get along. Why are they still together?
- No Sympathy Between Mooks: The villain's henchmen don't like each other.
- Opposites Attract Revenge: A Love Triangle leads to a feud between two rival love interest.
- Outhumbling Each Other: When trying to let the other person have their way just results in further argument.
- Overcome Their Differences: When two partners learn to end their conflict.
- Playing Nice for Now: Two enemies put on an act that they are getting along.
- Poor Communication Kills: Sometimes, lack of communication can cause conflict and hostility between the characters.
- Prisoner's Dilemma
- Property Line
- Quarreling Song: A song about characters fighting each other.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: When a group of complete strangers are paired up to save the world; infighting optional.
- Rats in a Box: Locking all the perps/prisoners in one room.
- Retail Riot: When characters fight over store items.
- Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Two parties from the same side succumb to infighting thanks to poor communication.
- The Rival: A character who shares enmity with The Hero for some reason, but isn't necessarily the main villain.
- Rival Final Boss: When the end of the rivalry becomes the final battle.
- Rival Turned Evil: When his rivalry with the hero becomes more antagonistic.
- Roommate Drama: Roommates who have trouble living together.
- Shouting Free-for-All
- Side Characters Reoccurring Foe: A character who is not The Hero or the Big Bad has a significant, reoccurring foe.
- Sibling Rivalry: Siblings who don't get along.
- Silly Reason for War: Characters fighting each other for trivial reasons.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Couples fight before kissing each other.
- Kiss-Kiss-Slap: Couples kissing before fighting each other.
- Small Town Rivalry: Characters of different towns loathe each other.
- Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: A character realizes that there is someone who doesn't like him.
- Standing Between the Enemies: A character stands between two other characters who are fighting.
- Tear-Apart Tug-of-War: Two or more characters are fighting over an object, tugging it back and forth until it rips or breaks.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Two characters hate each other despite working together.
- Territorial Comic Relief: When a group's Plucky Comic Relief feels threatened by another comedic character.
- This Is My Chair: This is my chair! Not yours! Beat it!
- This Is My Side: This is my side, and that's your side! Stay in your side!
- Token Evil Teammate
- Too Much Alike: Two characters are have trouble getting along because of their similar personalities.
- Trapped with the Therapy Session: Some poor soul is stuck with a feuding pair as they work out their issues.
- Vicious Cycle: Bad events occur regularly.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Two friends who argue and bicker with each other.
- Volleying Insults: Two characters trading insults at each other.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Conflict and tension between voluntary movements gets in the way of defeating the Big Bad.
- We Used to Be Friends: ...but now we hate each other's guts!
- With Friends Like These...: Two friends who antagonize each other to the point that it's impossible to even call them friends.
