Basic Trope: A couple that fights together.
- Straight: Alice and Bob, a married couple, are both soldiers that fight Emperor Evulz together.
- Exaggerated:
- Battle Harem
- Every soldier in the realm is paired with their partner in battle.
- Downplayed: There is some flirting between Alice and Bob, but no true romance.
- Justified: Alice and Bob met in the army and were Fire-Forged Friends before becoming lovers.
- Inverted: Dating Catwoman
- Subverted: Alice brings up the idea but Bob tells Alice to Stay in the Kitchen.
- Double Subverted:
- Alice insists in fighting alongside Bob.
- Bob told Alice to Stay in the Kitchen so that she could provide covering fire.
- Parodied: Alice and Bob are a pair of insufferable Sickeningly Sweethearts. So much, that a lot of villains prefer to willingly surrender themselves to the authorities, instead of watching the duo snuggling while they lob overtly cutesy Affectionate Nicknames back and forth.
- Zig Zagged: Alice wants to fight alongside Bob, but he tells her to Stay in the Kitchen. She insists on fighting by his side. Bob gets frustrated by Alice's stubborn insistance on fighting and divorces her. Then he sees how good she is at fighting, changes his mind, and decides they should try fighting together as a couple.
- Averted:
- The story doesn't feature any battles.
- The story doesn't feature any couples.
- Enforced: "We can't have Bob continue to be a Non-Action Guy, so have Alice train him to fight alongside her!"
- Lampshaded: "So what was your honeymoon, overthrowing the tyrant of a small country?"
- Invoked: Alice, wanting a strong man, specifically dates and fights alongside fellow soldier Bob.
- Exploited:
- Emperor Evulz uses Alice and Bob's relationship to corrupt Lance, who isn't lucky enough to have a relationship at all.
- Emperor Evulz kidnaps Alice in order to enrage Bob.
- Emperor Evulz outright kills Alice just to sadden Bob.
- Defied: Bob or Alice is a Celibate Hero and he works alone.
- Discussed: "Bob and Alice are total badasses, wouldn't it be awesome if they dated!?" "Hmm, a warrior couple... Certainly would make for an interesting story to tell one's children, though being in a relationship while in a war sounds like a terrible combination."
- Conversed: "Warrior couples are cool and all, but wouldn't that make being a good parent harder?" "Well yes, but that's true for any couple who both regularly work long hours."
- Implied: Alice and Bob, soldiers who regularly fight together, are sometimes seen almost making physical contact but always abort. If they're just trying to avoid misunderstandings or trying to maintain professionalism isn't known.
- Deconstructed:
- Having to fight together puts a lot of strain on Alice and Bob's relationship, and having to deal with a partner who has a War Is Hell trauma drives them apart.
- Being distracted by how attractive their partner is or refusing to work together because of problems in their relationship causes their efficiency in battle to drop drastically.
- They are more focused on protecting the other that they are on stopping the enemy and this allows their oppenents to succeed easier.
- Reconstructed:
- Everything they've been through together makes their relationship stronger than ever.
- Bob and Alice compartmentalize; whatever domestic issue they're having at the time they drop it in the same second that they pick up their weapon. They can have a Toilet Seat Divorce after the enemy is dead.
- Fighting alongside the one they love makes them more effective in battle because it makes them go that extra mile for their war buddy/significant other.
- Played For Laughs:
- Alice and Bob always fight together, even if Alice is pregnant or Bob wackily drunk, their affection for each other allowing them to completely ignore their hindrances in battle.
- Alice and Bob have marital spates, like whose turn it is to cook dinner that evening, while in the middle of actual fights as Casual Danger Dialogue.
- Played For Drama:
- Feeling envious for not having any relationship, Lance feels outright disgusted whenever he sees Bob and Alice together and outright refuses to cooperate with them.
- Bob and Alice, used to working together, aren't nearly as effective on their lonesome. Thus they can't deal with being parents and warriors, as well as being excessively worried of getting injured or sick.
You go back to Battle Couple, I've got your back!
