Dangerous Liaisons/YMMV

• Adaptation Displacement: Most people in the USA have either only heard of Cruel Intentions or the 1988 Dangerous Liaisons film. Despite it being a French classic, the book is relatively unknown to the average non-French person.
• Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: "Were you too, Vicomte?" or even more explicitly in the play and film, Merteuil telling Valmont that he made her very happy once.
• Cry for the Devil: Merteuil's ultimate fate is somewhat of an overkill.
• Do Not Do This Cool Thing: As much as you are *supposed* to see these pompous, virgin-corrupting, manipulative sex addicts as the bad guys... you can't help but admire them and perhaps even subconsciously absorb a little of their experience in the love game.
  • Moral Guardians have been accusing the author's intent of being this since the book was published.
• Everybody Remembers the Stripper
• Evil Is Cool: The only reason Valmont and Merteuil avoid crossing the Moral Event Horizon is because they're just so damn awesome whenever they do something bad
• Magnificent Bitch: Merteuil, at least before her jealousy causes her to go too far, is on par with Iago in her ability to play everyone around her like a fiddle while making her petty spitefulness come across as awesome rather than pathetic. Valmont to a lesser extent. Though he is an accomplished and manipulative charmer in his own right, he is essentially just an agent of Merteuil.