History Main / VitriolicBestBuds

* In ''WebOriginal/BrigScarletFlamingo'', Joseph Avery and Frank the Marten have been like that for years and counting. They argue and trade insults all the time and don't shy away from an occasional fistfight. Beneath all that, they are fiercely protective of each other. Not that they would ever admit it out loud, but circumstances have shown that for all his talk of throwing Frank overboard, Joseph is ready to risk his life for him if he ''does'' fall there, and for all his mocking of Joseph, Frank is in fact extremely supportive of his decisions (including being a subtle ShipperOnDeck for Joseph and Yvonne de Geriese).

Woe betide any outsider to this unusual 'friendship' who thinks that because one is constantly snarking on the other, it gives the outsider the right to make snide comments about the other as well; usually, they will quickly (and painfully) learn that "[[HypocriticalHeartwarming no one makes fun of him/her but]] ''[[HypocriticalHeartwarming me]]''." This is more a given when the vitriol is mutual between both friends, but in the variation where only one is vitriolic it may be a PetTheDog moment or proof that aw, look: They really ''[[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther do]]'' like each other!

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', Mario and Donkey Kong's dynamic evolves into a bitter friendship; [[spoiler:they fight with each other for much of the film, but bond over their daddy issues and eventually manage to work as a team]].

* The titular''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', who even go to the point of violently beating each other up. This seems like a trend in Calvin's relationships, since he also has undeveloped SlapSlapKiss with Susie.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': The title protagonists, who even go to the point of violently beating each other up. This seems like a trend in Calvin's relationships, since he also has undeveloped SlapSlapKiss with Susie.

* ''ComicStrip/Crankshaft'' has a case where the vitriol came before the best buds. Crankshaft and his neighbor George Keesterman have been enemies since the beginning of the strip, with Crankshaft seeming to take great joy in destroying Keesterman's mailbox with his school bus. Despite this, in recent years it's become increasingly common to see Crankshaft and Keesterman casually hanging out together with the same elderly friend group at the local coffee shop.

* To a lesser extent, there's also Bert and Ernie from ''Series/SesameStreet''.

* In ''[[LetsPlay/{{Dream}} Dream's]]'' life, Dream, George, Sapnap, and [=BadBoyHalo=] have known each other for years and are the best of friends. They fight each other a lot during Minecraft Manhunt.

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

-->''''Donkey'''': I'm sorry but the position of "annoying talking animal" has already been taken!

* In ''WebVideo/CreamHeroes'', Claire notes that two of her cats, Lulu and Momo, love spending time together but also often fight.
** Toto and Dodo also have this dynamic at times. One moment they will be happily grooming each other and snuggling up together, the next they will be pouncing and jumping on each other, sometimes to the point where their mother Nana has to intervene.

** And far, ''far'' back in time, there were a couple of bickering buddies named [[PluckyComicRelief Danny O'Day]] and [[TheComicallySerious Farfel]] [[DeadpanSnarker the]] [[NotSoStoic Dog]]. And their convos can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IfwNLRVh64&t=50s here]]. And [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcT95vyh-eA here]]. (And then the Nestle commercials came out and - AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther!)

Compare AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther, BelligerentSexualTension, FriendlyRivalry, LikeAnOldMarriedCouple, WithFriendsLikeThese. Contrast with HeadbuttingHeroes (who just cold-out despise each other despite being the best of heroes), TeethClenchedTeamwork (where the relationship between teammates is ''genuinely'' strained) and FriendlyEnemy (where two people who are on separate sides of a conflict aren't all that hostile to one another). Some types of VillainousFriendship have a similar dynamic. InvertedTrope of OverlyPolitePals. If the two characters fight because they genuinely ''hate'' each other, that's HeadbuttingHeroes.

Compare AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther, BelligerentSexualTension, FriendlyRivalry, LikeAnOldMarriedCouple, WithFriendsLikeThese. Contrast with HeadbuttingHeroes (who just cold-out despise each other despite being the best of heroes), TeethClenchedTeamwork (where the relationship between teammates is ''genuinely'' strained) and FriendlyEnemy (where two people who are on separate sides of a conflict aren't all that hostile to one another). Some types of VillainousFriendship have a similar dynamic. InvertedTrope of OverlyPolitePals.

Compare AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther, BelligerentSexualTension, FriendlyRivalry, WithFriendsLikeThese, LikeAnOldMarriedCouple. Contrast with HeadbuttingHeroes (who just cold-out despise each other despite being the best of heroes), TeethClenchedTeamwork (where the relationship between teammates is ''genuinely'' strained) and FriendlyEnemy (where two people who are on separate sides of a conflict aren't all that hostile to one another). Some types of VillainousFriendship have a similar dynamic. InvertedTrope of OverlyPolitePals.

Compare AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther, BelligerentSexualTension, FriendlyRivalry, WithFriendsLikeThese. Contrast with HeadbuttingHeroes (who just cold-out despise each other despite being the best of heroes), TeethClenchedTeamwork (where the relationship between teammates is ''genuinely'' strained) and FriendlyEnemy (where two people who are on separate sides of a conflict aren't all that hostile to one another). Some types of VillainousFriendship have a similar dynamic. InvertedTrope of OverlyPolitePals.

* In ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', Smart S.'s relationship towards Careful S. is a sibling variation. Smart S. mostly acts with [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]] and snarky smugness towards Careful S., but he still genuinely cares about him and will protect him if needed.

* In ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', Smart S.'s relationship towards Careful S. is a sibling variation. Smart S. mostly acts with [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]] and snarky smugness towards him, but he still genuinely cares about him and will protect him if needed.

* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5 iconics Jozan and Lidda straddle the line between this and WithFriendsLikeThese. She gets irritated by his pious and saintly straitlaced GoodShepherd ways, and he gets irritated by her unrepentant LoveableRogue ways and love of constant teasing, to the point of near-constant {{Snark to Snark|Combat}}[=/=]PassiveAggressiveCombat. ''But'' they'll still risk their lives for each other, and at one point Jozan admits to Regdar during a battle that he wouldn't mind having Lidda around to help. D'aww. No doubt they'd then start arguing again afterwards...
* In ''TabletopGame/ChuubosMarvelousWishGrantingEngine'', Leonardo has this relationship with almost everyone, but ''especially'' Chuubo, to the point where his playbook actually ''crosses out'' his Connection 2 because he has ''absolutely no connection to the wretched child at all''. Of course, when one of your powers is literally fuelled by your desperate need for and complete inability to express or deal with friendship, this is probably inevitable.