Basic Trope: Human forms an emotional bond with a non-human friend.
- Straight:
- Adam, a 7-year-old boy, has a close animal friend.
- Adam becomes friends with a robot.
- Adam becomes friends with a paranormal creature.
- Adam becomes friends with something that is either living, unliving yet still moving, undead, or inorganic but sentient.
- Exaggerated:
- Adam becomes friends with an inanimate object.
- Adam gets an alien friend. They get such an emotional and physical bond that their life is dependent on each other and at the end, they fuse together.
- Adam becomes friends with an Eldritch Abomination
- Adam has an alien friend who has a Ridiculously Cute Critter friend.
- Other characters besides Adam also have non-human friends.
- Adam has more than one "X".
- Adam becomes friends with everything.
- Downplayed:
- Adam and his "X" are not unusually close.
- Adam would consider his dog a friend, but his bonds with his human friends are closer.
- Justified:
- Adam lives in an area where many people have non-human best friends.
- Adam's life is such that he needs his "X".
- Adam is a lonely misfit (bullied/abused, disabled, etc.) and his "X" is his only friend.
- Adam has just moved into town and doesn't know anyone yet, so for now, his only friend is his pet.
- Adam really likes and is good with animals, aliens, or whatever the "X" is. If it's an inanimate object, he might have a collection or a deep interest.
- Inverted:
- A non-human and his human sidekick.
- Adam becomes enemies with his non-human sidekick.
- Adam and his anthropomorphic cat sidekick live in a city of cats.
- In a World of Funny Animals, no one has any friends outside their own species.
- A Harvard educated dog adopts a human boy.
- Subverted:
- Adam has a ghost alien friend. However, it turns out to be a hologram prank by bullies.
- The creature turns on Adam.
- Adam is delusional and the creature is imaginary.
- Double Subverted:
- ...But it turns out the hologram was contacting the REAL ghost alien, who comes to visit Adam.
- The creature momentarily turns against Adam, but after he reminds it of the great moments they have spent together, it manages to snap out of its confusion and they remain friends from that point onwards.
- However, thanks to the strength of Adam's imagination, and either Applied Phlebotinum or magic's help, the creature manages to turn itself real.
- Parodied:
- An Rubber-Forehead Alien boy and his Rubber-Forehead Alien dog.
- A non-sentient Companion Cube has a lot of potential to be played as a parody of A Boy and His X.
- Adam is friends with the letter X.
- Zig Zagged: Adam is friends with "X", it turns out that it's a hologram, but it turns out the hologram was contacting the REAL "X", and then you find out he's in a psychiatric hospital.
- Averted: No one has an "X".
- Enforced: "We need a cute animal to capture female audiences. Let's give Adam a pet."
- Lampshaded:
- "Here's a new pet. You'll become best of friends, I bet!"
- "This is my best friend, Squeaky the mouse. He understands me, and unlike you, he loves me."
- Invoked: Adam says, "I'm so lonely, I wish I had a companion of some kind." Cue the "X".
- Exploited:
- The "X" hangs around Adam for the sake of getting treats.
- Adam is naughty and uses his "X" as a scapegoat.
- Defied:
- Adam doesn't consider his "X" a friend; he only likes it as a pet.
- Adam refuses to like the new companion.
- Discussed:
- "You know, you're really that kind of child who could use a non-human friend."
- Conversed: "Wow, I love Adam's new puppy! I hope they show it more, and they become really close."
- Implied: Adam is seen happy around his X fairly often, but he never talks about it.
- Deconstructed:
- Adam is depressed after his mouse dies of old age.
- As time goes on, Adam and his "X" start to drift apart.
- Adam is the only human with a non-human sidekick and has to cope with it.
- Reconstructed:
- Adam eventually learns to have friends other than his "X".
- After his mouse dies, Adam gets a pet with a longer life span, such as a cat or a dog.
- Adam's bond with his "X" is strengthened after the "X" saves Adam's life.
- Adam has a dog, and meets a girl with a cat. They become best friends, and so do their pets.
- Played For Laughs:
- The "X" is a hindrance to Adam in comical ways.
- A cat eats Adam's mouse. Adam adopts the cat as his new pet.
- Bob wonders why a human-like behavior to non-alien friend causes a great affection compared to normal human/human friendship.
- Played For Drama:
- The "X" dies, leaving Adam alone.
- Adam dies, leaving "X" alone.
- They die together, saving the world in a Heroic Sacrifice.
- The family doesn't pay attention to Adam and his "X" is his only friend.
- Once the parents discover that Adam has an X, they pay their attention to X only.
- The family exploits or seeks to end their relationship.
Back to A Boy and His X
