Buuuuut ... I have a quite irrational (because my rational mind thinks they are unhealthy) liking for somewhat more negative 'best enemy' relationships as well. Dunno what it is about shipteasing and vitriol that's so compelling to watch, except I think it is perverse in the literal sense - a push-pull of desire and dislike. For some reason, even though the 'tsundere' trope of a sexy character who combines overt dislike and barely-hidden romantic feelings for another character would seem to be made of this, I don't like it in the slightest - possibly because it reminds me of hypocritical social strategies of the sort attributed, sometimes rightly, to adolescent girls. But I can enjoy a good eternal rivalry whether or not there is a component of sexual/romantic attraction - what matters for me is that the adversaries grudgingly admire one another's mind, plans, or grit, are drawn together on that level while opposing one another's aims. I also like the 'friends across the battlefield' trope, which is related to this one and also at least distantly akin to the ethical mercenary.
I'd like to see more of Qwerty and Dvorak. Their relationship has the compelling connection between opponents, the deep underpinnings of conflict at the level of ethics and personal philosophy as well as personality type, AND a lighthearted quirky quality that is difficult (but for you, possible) to blend with that type of conflict. Also, it's unbalanced in power terms but not necessarily in effectiveness-as-a-person terms, which is more interesting to me than a stalemate.
Re: Thank you!
Buuuuut ... I have a quite irrational (because my rational mind thinks they are unhealthy) liking for somewhat more negative 'best enemy' relationships as well. Dunno what it is about shipteasing and vitriol that's so compelling to watch, except I think it is perverse in the literal sense - a push-pull of desire and dislike. For some reason, even though the 'tsundere' trope of a sexy character who combines overt dislike and barely-hidden romantic feelings for another character would seem to be made of this, I don't like it in the slightest - possibly because it reminds me of hypocritical social strategies of the sort attributed, sometimes rightly, to adolescent girls. But I can enjoy a good eternal rivalry whether or not there is a component of sexual/romantic attraction - what matters for me is that the adversaries grudgingly admire one another's mind, plans, or grit, are drawn together on that level while opposing one another's aims. I also like the 'friends across the battlefield' trope, which is related to this one and also at least distantly akin to the ethical mercenary.
I'd like to see more of Qwerty and Dvorak. Their relationship has the compelling connection between opponents, the deep underpinnings of conflict at the level of ethics and personal philosophy as well as personality type, AND a lighthearted quirky quality that is difficult (but for you, possible) to blend with that type of conflict. Also, it's unbalanced in power terms but not necessarily in effectiveness-as-a-person terms, which is more interesting to me than a stalemate.