Like Brother and Sister: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"She loves me. She's like the big sister I never had. Only, you know...short."''|'''[[The Flash]] on Hawkgirl''', ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]''}}

 

 

 

This doesn't change the fact that their love is completely platonic with no sexual attraction on either side. No matter how other people view them, they can't see each other in that light.

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Bleach]]'': Toshiro Hitsugaya and Momo Hinamori [[All There in the Manual|are this]]. Justified because they were raised together by the same old woman they refer to as "grandmother" (a custom in the Rukongai is for strangers to form family groups since it's nearly impossible to find blood relatives).

* Tsubaki and Black☆Star from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' could also count. Tsubaki is pretty much like Black☆Star's older sister, without the romance implications; Black☆Star is the irritating little kid Tsubaki adores and detests at the same time.

** Can also apply to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

*** Though their relationship is more [[Not Blood Siblings]].

* Ban and Himiko from ''[[GetBackers]]''. {{spoiler|After spending almost 95% of the series like this, the 37th volume reveals that they might not be completely unrelated after all -- but the exact nature of their blood relationship is not specified.}}

* This is how Flit feels about Emily in ''[[Gundam AGE]]'', but he eventually marries her to make her happy after the girl he really wanted to be with is killed in battle.

 

* [[Incredible Hulk|Hulk]] and [[She Hulk]], although they are cousins, and were partially raised together.

** And the reboot is all set to turn them into an [[Official Couple]]. Yeah.

** [[Fridge Brilliance]]: They have the same blue eyes and blue-black hair, have known each other since their early teens, and when George Perez was drawing them, they also ''looked'' similar enough to pass for a pair of fraternal twins. It's past the traditional Westermark cutoff, but on a subconscious level, they might think of themselves as siblings.

*** Also, he really prefers redheads.

** On the other hand, their siblings with near identical features have no problem with hooking up. Jason with Donna, Tim with Cass. Then there is Bruce and Diana. Should they get together, Dick and Donna would actually be related.

 

* [[DC Nation]] takes the Troia and Nightwing dynamic and cranks it to eleven. One of the alternate universe plotlines even implied that they may have been brother and sister in ''several'' of Donna's other "short and unhappy lives."

** In the same universe, Connor Hawke will ''say'' his feelings for Mia (Speedy) are like this...the truth is a bit more complex.

 

== Films ==

* Xavier and Mystique in ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men: First Class]]'', although there are subtle hints that Mystique's feelings might be a bit stronger.

 

* In the ''[[Circle of Magic]]'' series, this is the explanation for why none of the main characters are sexually interested in each other. They call each other foster siblings.

* At the beginning of ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', Sir Thomas Bertram is reluctant to adopt his niece [[Genre Savvy|for fear]] of [[Kissing Cousins]]. His meddling sister-in-law Mrs. Norris believes raising them like brother and sister will actually be their greatest protection against that trope. {{spoiler|She's wrong.}}

* In Patricia Briggs' [[Mercy Thompson]] novels, Mercy's love triangle with Samuel and Adam is resolved when {{spoiler|Samuel, a werewolf, is forced to admit that ''his wolf side'' sees Mercy this way, not as a potential mate}}.

* There's a bizarre, amusing variant mentioned in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novel ''EarthWorld'': Anji considers the Doctor to be like a sister to her. No, he hasn't regenerated into a woman, but he's the Eighth, who's just shy of [[Camp Gay|Camp]] [[Bi the Way|Bisexual]], at least in the novels. She considers him to be [[Bishonen|quite nice to look at]] but not her type, and he very rarely seems to fancy anyone. He does kiss her on the lips later in the book, but that's because he acts as if he had [[No Social Skills]] and has [[No Sense of Personal Space]]. And he opens up to her emotionally perhaps a bit more than he does to his [[Heterosexual Life Partners|Also-Not-Exactly-Heterosexual Life Partner]], Fitz.

* In [[Chronicles of Chaos]], Amelia, who has been in love with Victor since day one, has her hopes crushed when he curtly tells [[Handsome Lech|Colin]] to "stop molesting his [[Secret Project Refugee Family|sister.]]" Victor is ''actually'' tacitly warning Colin to back off.

 

** Xander and Willow also end up like this. They start off more like [[Platonic Life Partners]], but as the series progresses they drift apart a bit, and form close relationships with other people. They remain good friends, though, not to mention part of the same group of [[True Companions]].

* On ''[[Angel]]'', Cordelia and Wesley bicker and taunt each other mercilessly, but they are good friends, and are always there to defend each other in times of danger. If it wasn't for the accent difference, they could almost ''be'' brother and sister.

* Annie and Augie on [[Covert Affairs]]

* [[Frasier|Frasier Crane and Roz Doyle]]

* ''[[Firefly]]''

** Mal and Zoe. They appear to have been [[Platonic Life Partners]] until Zoe married Wash, but since {{spoiler|Zoe unflinchingly chooses Wash over Mal in ''War Stories''}}, it's safe to assume that, much like Xander and Willow above, Mal and Zoe's relationship has been demoted. After {{spoiler|Wash dies in ''[[Serenity]]''}}, it's quite possible that Zoe and Mal's relationship will return to [[Platonic Life Partners]] status.

** Also, Mal and Kaylee, and their actors in real life. Leading to this exchange in the [[Big Damn Movie]] (though it's somewhat jarring, as both of them have seen each other naked):

'''[[Yuri Fanboy|Jayne]]:''' I could stand to hear a little more. }}

* Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones in Glee. Although the interest in them being a couple is completely gone by episode 3 when Kurt comes out of the Transparent Closet...they remain the closest (platonic) friendship in the show.

** Also, Marshall and Robin, in contrast to her [[Better as Friends]] with Ted and [[Will They or Won't They?]] with Barney.

* On [[Leverage]] this plays out between Eliot and Parker with Eliot playing the role of a protective big brother. They even manage to have interesting conversations while on the job:

'''Eliot:''' I am ''not'' having this conversation with you Parker. }}

* [[Babylon 5|John Sheridan]] and Susan Ivanova have walked through fire together and told each other things they haven't told anyone else. There's also not a hint of romantic interest in each other on either side.

* After a brief [[Ship Tease]], [[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys|Hercules]] and [[Xena: Warrior Princess|Xena]] decide they're [[Better as Friends]] and become this.

 

* Subverted by French singer Jean-Jacques Goldman in ''Elle a fait un bébé toute seule'': "I'm like her big brother... A little incestuous when she wants to".

 

== Video Games ==

** Tidus and Lulu in a way become this as well. Lulu is initially cynical towards Tidus when he joins the group but she is always the one who tells him about Spira and she has definitely warmed to him by the time they get to Guadosalam.

* Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma from the [[Ace Attorney]] series. This one is quite blatant in that they were ''raised together as brother and sister'', under a family name, not some cliche'd "Raised on the same orphanage" thing. Both parts acknowledge the other as a sibling figure, and Franziska has said Edgeworth was a Von Karma numerous times. This doesn't stop them from bickering, but that doesn't stop blood siblings either.

** This is also a good explanation for Phoenix and Maya. The way Phoenix acts around Maya is very much a big brother type of attitude. This is likely due to Phoenix taking after Mia, who was Maya's older sister. When they are interacting with each other, there is absolutely no hint of it being anything but that sort of relationship, though other characters (and a good amount of fans) seem to assume otherwise.

** Apollo and Trucy seemed to fit into this trope perfectly... {{spoiler|Until it was revealed that they, unbeknownst to them, actually ''were'' brother and sister. Half-siblings, but still...}}

* Though it's never outright stated, the male and female leads in [[Tales of Vesperia]] fall into this. Despite numerous [[Shipper on Deck]] moments from other companions in various skits, they never stray from being like brother and sister.

** The same case can also apply with the main hero and heroine of [[Tales of Graces]]. Despite the traditional romantic feelings harboring between the [[Tales Of]] heroes, this time, the main character's love interest isn't the main heroine (who unfortunately is [[Die for Our Ship|hit hard by some fans]]), so despite the numerous [[Ship Tease]] moments, nothing romantic ever occurs between the two of them. {{spoiler|It doesn't help that the main heroine isn't even human.}} In the Lineage to the Future arc, [[The Hero|Asbel]] explicitly calls [[Mysterious Waif|Sophie]] like a sister (although in a skit, she refers to him like a father-figure as well - [[It Makes Sense in Context]]).

* In the [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] series, Tails and Amy act like this. Amy's [[Stalker with a Crush]] status can make things a bit tense, however.

 

** Davan and Pee-Jee are an almost as good example, although they didn't know each other nearly as long and Davan had a crush on her prior to the comic's beginning. Davan even refers to her as Mei-Mei (Chinese for "little sister") at one point.

* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'': Roy and Haley. Also, assuming [[Ambiguous Gender|Vaarsuvius]] is a guy, him and Haley as well.

 

== Web Original ==

 

== Western Animation ==

** [[Word of God]] states they were thinking of actually [[What Could Have Been|making them a couple]], but the creator decided to have them stay purely as friends.

* Played with in ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]'':

* The titular character and Ingrid Third in "Fillmore" are the Safety Patrol's best officers and friends.

* In the ''[[Brandy and Mr. Whiskers]]'' theme song, the eponymous duo are described as "like a dysfunctional brother and sister."

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Romance Arc]]

[[Category:Love Tropes]]

[[Category:Adopt an Index]]

[[Category:Romance Novel Plots]]