Playing With Like Brother and Sister

Like Brother and Sister: A non-romantic, but close friendship between an unrelated male and female.

• Straight: Alice and Bob are not related by blood, but their bond is so strong it resembles that of siblings. They bicker, tease each other, and fiercely defend one another. But there's no romantic interest and zero romantic tension. See also platonic love or storge.
• Justified: Alice and Bob are close because they grew up together from a young age. Their parents may be close family friends, and may have raised their children together.
• Inverted: Bob is secretly in love with Alice, but doesn't act on them due to the established dynamic. Sometimes, they may be bickering so much that they don't even have time to even consider each other romantically.
• Subverted: Alice and Bob act like stereotypical bickering siblings, but it's a facade to hide their growing romantic interest in each other. Either it is because Bob is adopted so they believe they're related, or because of a big misunderstanding causing everyone to assume that they're siblings.
• Double Subverted: In a shocking twist, it turns out that they are actually biological siblings who were separated at birth, making romance forbidden.
• Untwisted: Everyone expects the constant bickering and teasing to develop into romance. It doesn't. Their bond is purely platonic, and they find love elsewhere.
• Parodied: Alice and Bob play elaborate, often embarrassing pranks on each other, and compete in increasingly absurd ways, much to everyone's amusement. Their "sibling rivalry" extends to everything, from who gets the last cookie to who gets to be the designated zombie apocalypse survivor.
• Deconstructed: Alice and Bob rely on each other so much that they can't form healthy relationships with others. See also unhealthy codependency.
• Reconstructed: Alice and Bob realize that their closeness has stifled their romantic prospects. They work on establishing boundaries and find love while still cherishing their unique bond.
• Zig zagged: Alice and Bob constantly deny romantic feelings, but their possessiveness towards each other makes everyone think they're secretly an item. Turns out, they just have a very intense platonic love.
• Averted:
  • They meet as childhood friends, but a falling out leaves them estranged for years. When they reconnect, the spark is gone. They remain cordial acquaintances, but the feeling of a close sibling bond never returns.
  • The characters are blatantly attracted to each other from the beginning. The story becomes a "will-they-won't-they" romance, subverting the trope by making good on the audience's initial expectation.
  • Alice and Bob are revealed to be either biological or adopted siblings.
• Enforced: The author loves sibling relationships, so he fabricates a backstory to explain why Alice and Bob suddenly act like siblings.
• Necessary weasel:
• Implied:

According to tone and style:

• Played for laughs: Alice and Bob are constantly mistaken for a couple and decide to "play into it" for their own amusement (or advantage).
• Played for drama: Alice falls in love with someone else, creating a rift in their "sibling-like" bond. Bob (and Alice) have to navigate jealousy and the fear of losing their close connection.
• Exaggerated:
  • Alice and Bob are so committed to the sibling label that they physically recoil at any suggestion of romance.
  • Alice and Bob are so close that their dynamic extends to their significant others, who are forced to become best friends just to spend time with their partners.
  • They constantly finish each other's sentences and borrow each other's clothes, much to the exasperation of their actual siblings.
• Downplayed: Alice and Bob get along well, but wouldn't describe their friendship as particularly close. They just enjoy spending time together occassionally.
• Lampshaded: "Ugh, here we go again. Everyone thinks we're dating, just because we're close!"
• Invoked: "This time, I just want a friend, a platonic soul mate. You know, like a brother or sister."
• Defied:
  • Alice and Bob make a conscious effort to avoid into stereotypical sibling behavior.
  • One character secretly harbors romantic feelings and devises a plan to subtly break the other out of the "friend zone."
• Discussed:
  • Alice and Bob talk about the challenges of maintaining a close platonic relationship in a world obsessed with romance.
  • "Do you think we're more like siblings or best friends?"
• Conversed: "Have you never seen a girl and a guy be best friends before?"
• Exploited:

And finally, a special case:

• Intended Audience Reaction:

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