Basic Trope: A close but platonic relationship between an unrelated male and female that is similar to that of siblings.
- Straight: Alice and Bob are longtime best friends who grew up together. They see each other every day, do nearly everything together, and are essentially siblings in all but blood.
- Exaggerated:
- As well as Alice and Bob exhibiting a sibling-like bond, Alice's parents see Bob as the son they never had, Bob's parents see Alice as the daughter they never had, or both.
- There are many such pairs of best friends in the work.
- Downplayed:
- Alice and Bob are cousins who act like siblings.
- Alice and Bob are friends who see each other often, but think of each other as being more like cousins than siblings.
- Justified:
- Alice and Bob are best friends, and neither has any actual siblings.
- Alice and Bob knew each other since they were shortly after birth and grew up together.
- Alice and Bob were there for each other during both their darkest times.
- Inverted:
- Alice and Bob are emotionally distant siblings.
- Alice and Bob are two step-siblings or Foster siblings who cannot see each other as siblings, because they are in love with each other.
- Gender-Inverted:
- Adam and Bob are best friends and are like brothers.
- Alice and Claire are best friends and are like sisters.
- Subverted:
- Charles suspects that Alice and Bob share a sibling-like bond. Alice reveals that they are best friends and nothing more.
- A genetic test reveals that Alice and Bob are long-lost siblings. Bob vaguely remembers his sister being given up for adoption after their father died and their mother could only afford to keep one child. Alice was Happily Adopted, and the two unknowingly found each other a few years later.
- It turns out that Alice and Bob are dating, or they were romantically involved and ended up Better as Friends.
- Bob was in a serious sexual relationship with his sister at one time. He and Alice being "Like Brother and Sister" doesn't mean what we think it means.
- Bob and his siblings may be potential enemies, stabbing each other in the back. He and Alice being "Like Brother and Sister" means that he'll never turn his back to her, and will always be on guard, lest she stab him in the back.
- Double Subverted:
- It is later revealed that they had such a bond all along and were unaware of it.
- However, a pair of their friends Charles and Diane act like siblings to each other and are known to be unrelated.
- Alice was lying about dating Bob, to judge Charles' reaction for a story reason (such as if he would still be interested in her if this were true).
- Bob was lying about the serious sexual relationship as well as the sibling relationship with Alice as part of a Boyfriend Bluff. If others think Alice is taken in addition to only being interested in her brother, then no one will try charming her.
- Bob and his siblings are potential enemies, because other siblings/disciples are rival heirs to the dojo. Their mentor encourages this sort of Sibling Rivalry to hone their skills.
- Parodied: Alice tells Bob that he is like a brother to her. Bob misinterprets this because he sees no harm in Brother–Sister Incest.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob and Alice become friends, then platonic friends who are as good as siblings. Then Bob realizes that he has stronger feelings for Alice and suggests they undergo another stage of Relationship Upgrade, but she declines, only for her to eventually realize that she feels the same way, but now Bob is the one who only sees her as a sister..
- Averted:
- No characters of different genres in the work act like siblings toward one another.
- Enforced:
- "We need to resolve our Love Triangle and confirm that Bob's canonical love interest is Ethel. Let's say Bob sees Alice as the sister he never had, or something along those lines."
- "We need to make it clear that Alice and Bob will never have anything romantic, so we're going to make them say that they only see each other as siblings."
- Lampshaded: "So, is that your sister or what?" "Oh, no. I don't have a sister. Alice is just my best friend, but in many ways, she is like a sister to me."
- Invoked: Alice and Bob are the best of friends, and do a lot together. After being best friends for years, they start to see each other as siblings.
- Exploited: Bob gets kidnapped and held for a ransom. Even though he officially has no family, the kidnappers know Alice would pay any price to save Bob's life.
- Defied:
- Alice makes it clear to Bob that he is nothing more than her best friend, and that she is possibly in love with him.
- Derek, Alice and Bob's mentor, adopts both of them. This way they ARE brother and sister.
- The author wants to leave the door open for a possible relationship in the future, so Alice and Bob avoid seeing themselves as siblings.
- Discussed: "Alice may not literally be my sister but it stills falls to me to give her boyfriends the If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her... treatment because she doesn't have any literal brothers."
- Conversed: "By framing Bob and Alice's relationship as like that of siblings, the author can draw comparisons between her and Carol, Bob's sister by blood, and thereby blur the line between the Genetic Family and the Family of Choice."
- Played for Laughs: Alice and Bob often forget that they are friends rather than actual siblings.Alice: This is my brother — I mean, best friend — Bob.
- Implied: Alice and Bob act siblings with everything shy of actually sleeping together.
This page and the main page are Like Brother and Sister.
