"Dude, you are NOT my nemesis."

[rogueslayer452]

I often feel like there's a lot of confusion when it comes to deciphering between antagonists and villains, and it kind of bothers me a little. By definition, an antagonist is someone who strongly opposes the protagonist in some form and doesn't always have to be a villain character. It can be a rival, it can just be someone who is merely an obstacle due to clashing of beliefs and values that is preventing the protagonist from what they need to accomplish. There's also anti-heroes and morally gray characters, as well. So, while villains are antagonists, not all antagonists are villains. Seeing someone call a clearly antagonistic rival a villain just annoys me a little, is all. Just because they are opposite of the protagonist doesn't automatically make them a villain, it's not always that black and white. There is a wide variety of flavors regarding antagonists (and villains, too) and there's a nuance and complexity to them if they're written well enough.

On a similar note, I also wish people would stop confusing "rivals to lovers" with "enemies to lovers". I love both tropes, but they're two separate things. Rivals usually just bicker and banter to get a rise out of each other, oftentimes as a competition in a way with one another, whereas enemies actually want to cause harm to the other. There are, of course, variations to each but way too often I see people calling something "enemies to lovers" when they actually should mean "rivals to lovers" instead.

This has just been on my mind lately, and I just needed to vent a little.