History Main / JustToyingWithThem

* Q towards Picard in ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. Q was an omnipotent being who appeared periodically in TNG, starting with the first episode. He and the rest of his race (the Q Continuum) had decided the human race was dangerous and needed to be destroyed, but then some humans saved the lives of some other aliens, and the Q stopped observing and started interacting directly with humans, particularly Picard. Why didn't they just destroy the human race immediately they decided people were too dangerous? Q doesn't stay in a very adversarial position towards Picard, but he isn't all that kind, either.

* RanmaHalf: Ranma holds off Akane's attacks with one hand while reading a manga with the other. Now that's humiliation.

** Kakashi pulls the same thing off in {{Naruto}}. For bonus points, it's {{Ecchi}}.

* HunterXHunter: On the way to the 4th phase of the Hunter Exam, Netero challenges Gon and Killua to steal a basketball from him. It's soon apparent that he's JustToyingWithThem. Gon turns this into a game of his own - he wants to see if he can force Netero to use ''his other arm'' to keep the ball away from him.

* ''{{Gargoyles}}'':

** Also, when the ArchMage is powered up by the Phoenix Gate, Eye of Odin, and the spellbook, he goes into the magic version of ElectricTorture on Goliath, [[EvilGloating all while gloating]] about how he could kill Goliath with a word if he wanted to. When Goliath finally asks [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim why the arch mage doesn't just do that]], the reply is "Because I'm having too much fun."

This is when a more powerful character, likely villainous, decides to give a weaker character a "chance" to beat them somehow (not necessarily in combat) by setting limitations on themselves or holding back. They could agree to play a game with arbitrary rules, or they could hold back in battle to keep it entertaining. One thing's for sure, though; they have no intention of actually leveling the playing field and playing fair. They just think they can beat the other character [[WithMyHandsTied with their hands tied behind their back]]. If it turns out they can't, or they get bored, they'll stop trying and just use more force.

The stronger character's motivation is most likely their own amusement, as in ItAmusedMe or even ForTheEvulz, but it's not impossible for there to be some more rational end (i.e., if the stronger character is a TricksterMentor).

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* ''{{Gargoyles}}'': When Oberon returns and wants to wipe the Avalon clan off the island, Goliath challenges him to let them remain. Oberon's wife makes it more interesting (and to give them a fighting chance), and get's him to agree to fight with only "the strength of a child." He agrees, having been bored for some millenia. What he fails to say is that he'll have the strength of a child of ''Avalon'', meaning he's still leagues more powerful than four standard gargoyles.

* At one point in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', among an evil adventuring party, Malack points out (rather angrily, given the circumstances) that Tarquin was doing this in order to test the skills of one of the enemies he was fighting.

* In ''TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', there's one situation where Foxhound, (the QuirkyMiniBossSquad from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'') tries to save several members of Dead Cell, (the QuirkyMiniBossSquad from MetalGearSolid2) who have been captured. To start off, a pair of snipers start thinning out the guards in the compound they're attacking. One of them quickly takes out 2 out of three guards that are standing together, but keeps missing the last one by an inch, ''even when the guy runs inside''. When the other sniper comments on this, the first sniper comments "[[http://gigaville.com/comic.php?id=234 I'm just fucking with him]]."

The stronger character's motivation is most likely their own amusement, as in ItAmusedMe or even ForTheEvulz, but it's not impossible for there to be some more rational end.

** Loz gets into a fight with Tifa in the church, which he seems to regard as good sport. She beats him up with relative ease and he seems to be defeated. Then he gets up again and, no longer wanting to play, takes her out with one move using SuperSpeed.

** The fight between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black, the TropeNamer for IAmNotLeftHanded -- [[MasterSwordsman Inigo]] starts figting with his off-hand just because he can't find a decent challenge anywhere any more. It quickly turns out that this time he was wrong about having the superiority needed in the first place to apply this trope. [[spoiler: The Man in Black, however...]]

** The fight between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black, the TropeNamer for IAmNotLeftHanded -- [[MasterSwordsman Inigo]] starts figting with his off-hand just because he can't find a decent challenge anywhere any more. It quickly turns out that he was wrong about having the superiority needed in the first place to apply this trope. [[spoiler: The Man in Black, however...]]

** The fight between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black, the TropeNamer for IAmNotLeftHanded -- [[MasterSwordsman Inigo]] starts figting with his off-hand just because he can't find a decent challenge anywhere any more. It quickly turns out he's about to get what he wanted...

* In ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', the fight between Westley and Fezzik starts out this way, with Westley finding himself in a PunchPunchPunchUhOh situation while Fezzik basically stands there impassively. This is quickly lampshaded:
--> '''Westley''': Are you taking this seriously?

** The fight between Inigo and Westley might count as well - both secretly start out by using their off hands to wield their swords, to make it easier on their opponent, and then switch hands in the middle of combat. Whether they are doing this out of a sense of honor or just for giggles is up for debate.
** Westley we don't know, but Inigo is just doing it out of a sense of BOREDOM. He handicaps himself so there's a hint of a challenge.
*** It's fairly obvious that they're drawing out the fight (using their off-hands, explaining their styles) because they genuinely enjoy fighting a good opponent. Westley says that killing Inigo would be like breaking a stained-glass window.

* ''FinalFantasyVII: AdventChildren'' (though each of these relies on interpretation of things not made explicit):
** Near the beginning, the Remnants of Sephiroth attack Cloud while he's motorcycling near what's left of Midgar. Loz and Yazoo on their own motorcycles together with a group of summoned monsters called Shadow Creepers give him more trouble than he can handle. The battle ends with Yazoo shooting Cloud right between the eyes but only hitting his goggles, possibly just to show he could have killed him right then, and Kadaj calling off the Shadow Creepers just when they're all about pounce on Cloud at the same time. It isn't until later in the movie that Cloud regains the strength to be a match for the Remnants. At this point they're toying with him.
** Loz gets into a fight with Tifa in the church, which he seems to regard as good sport. She beats him up with relative ease and he seems to be defeated. Then he gets up again and, no longer wanting to play, takes her out with one move using SuperSpeed.
** This is also a likely way of interpreting the final battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. Sephiroth, whose motivation at this point is largely payback for being defeated in [[FinalFantasyVII the game]], drives Cloud to his highest limits without even so much as getting winded himself, and then tries to finish him off after some suitable EvilGloating.
* Standard practice for most villains (and some heroes) of ''DragonBallZ'' when their power significantly eclipses that of their opponent. This often leads to their undoing, but not always.

* This has been used a few times in the ''Yu Yu Hakusho'' anime. It's most notable, though, with Young Toguro, the antagonist of the second season (the Dark Tournament). He feigned defeat the first time he met Yusuke in order for his employer to win a bet. However, he later went back gave Yusuke a demonstration of his real power by demolishing a building. He plays this trope by explicitly telling others what percent of his power he's using. The only exception is during his final fight with Yusuke when he revealed he'd only been using 85% of his power instead of 100%

This is when a more powerful character, likely villainous, decides to give a weaker character a "chance" to beat them somehow (not necessarily in combat) by setting limitations on themselves or holding back. They could agree to play a game with arbitrary rules, or they could hold back in battle to keep it entertaining. One thing's for sure, though; they have no intention of actually levelling the playing field and playing fair. They just think they can beat the other character [[WithMyHandsTied with their hands tied behind their back]]. If it turns out they can't, or they get bored, they'll stop trying and just use more force.

It's a hard situation for the weaker character, who is pretty much at the other's mercy, but it can be a lot better than if the stronger character was going at full strength. The stronger character may get so arrogant the weaker actually has a chance of beating them before they realise it. Even though they're prepared to cheat, the rules may turn against them anyway. If they're holding back in a fight while the other is trying seriously, they might end up not being so much stronger after all due to the difference in effort. Or they might be distracted while a third party foils their plans right behind their back.