Basic Trope: Two characters who are rivals, but are rather friendly about it.
- Straight: Alice and Bob are rivals, but they treat each other like the best of friends.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice and Bob are rivals, but they happen to be closer than anyone would expect.
- Vitriolic Best Buds
- Alice and Bob are rivals, but the only reason for their rivalry is that they don't know how to express their feelings for each other.
- Alice and Bob are rivals, but they're doing it because they're into each other and this is how they show it.
- Downplayed:
- Alice and Bob aren't technically best friends, but they're rivals with genuine respect.
- Although Alice and Bob's rivalry isn't that friendly, they still have respect for each other.
- Justified:
- Just because Alice is on the opposing team is no reason for Bob to hate a someone he's always known.
- Alice and Bob enjoy competing with each other. They have their rivalry because it's fun for them.
- Inverted: Alice and Bob are teammates who hate each other's guts.
- Subverted:
- One or both members of the rivalry were just faking the amicability for some reason.
- They start as friendly rivals, but things spiral out of control into a heated vendetta.
- Double Subverted: Becoming the Mask kicks in.
- Parodied: Nobody would have guessed they were rivals if not for their fights. Said fights remind the other characters of... something else entirely.
- Zig Zagged: Sometimes Alice and Bob are friendly for being rivals, sometimes they can't stand each others' guts.
- Averted:
- Alice and Bob are rivals who don't like or respect each other.
- Alice and Bob don't have a rivalry at all.
- Enforced: "We don't have a place for mortal enemies on this show, but conflict is essential for a good plot... I think I know what to do."
- Lampshaded: "What's up, Bob! Let's have a little friendly competition just for old times' sake."
- Invoked: Alice and Bob decide to add some friendly competition to their friendship so that having a rival pushes both of them to always improve.
- Exploited: Someone who is in love with both Alice and Bob holds off telling any of them before finding out who is a better loser - by manipulating them into competing even more than they usually do.
- Alice and Bob use their rivalry to motivate themselves to become even better at their craft.
- Defied:Bob: Look, Alice. Either you stop trying to one-up me in everything or you stop being all friendly with me when you're not. One or the other.
- Discussed: "What, they're arguing over something pointless again?"
- Conversed: "Alice and Bob on that show remind me a bit of me and my brother..."
- Implied: Bob and Alice are never shown together, but occasionally they will both be seen with small bruises and other minor injuries. Whenever they're asked about it, they say that they "met up with this one person", grinning widely.
- Deconstructed: Alice and Bob take their competitive attitudes too far and this brings a permanent stain in their friendship.
- Reconstructed: After the point is driven home, they restart their friendship and tone down the competition.
Back to Friendly Rivalry.
