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5[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/CorpseParty https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/big_brother_instinct.png]]]]
6[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou If you made her cry, start running.]]]]
7%%
8->''"Big brothers... you know why they're born first? To protect the little ones that come after them!"''
9-->-- '''Ichigo Kurosaki''', ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''
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11%% One quote is sufficient. Additional entries go on the quotes tab.
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18%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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25
26One very common way to establish that a male (or increasingly frequently female) character is a NiceGuy (even if [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold the niceness is hidden under a gruff exterior]]) is to give them an instinctive desire to be a respectable big sibling to smaller or younger characters (in more cases female than male). These other characters may be truly younger siblings, or they may be completely unrelated, or even older, but the feeling is the same: to act as their protector.
27
28The Big Brother Instinct serves to explain fan attraction to {{Moe}} tropes and devices as an ''emotional'', [[PerverseSexualLust rather than sexual]], response. There seems to be something inherently comforting to an awkward male about being looked up to by a younger girl for support. Therefore, {{Moe}} can be wish fulfillment about taking a "big brother role" instead of about being a LoveInterest. Rather amusingly, it's also quite often that the trope gets inverted, and the younger sibling wants to protect the older instead. HilarityEnsues when both versions happen at the same time.
29
30If both characters are male, the older (or in the case of twins, the physically stronger) brother will usually act as the younger/smaller brother's protector, to the point of treating him like a child, even when the younger brother is fully capable of protecting himself. This behavior can come across as loving and nurturing or as condescending and smothering. If the older brother goes to extreme, morally questionable lengths for the sake of the younger sibling, then they are a KnightTemplarBigBrother.
31
32Compare MamaBear, PapaWolf, FamilyMan, ExtremelyProtectiveChild, MySisterIsOffLimits, PromotionToParent. Compare/Contrast BigBrotherBully. While the two may seem mutually exclusive at first glance, they frequently overlap in both fiction and reality: the same sibling who makes their little sister's life a constant parade of pranks may have a IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer conversation with her new boyfriend. See also HypocriticalHeartwarming, where a BigBrotherBully feels ''they'' are the only one allowed to make their sibling miserable and will pound anyone else who tries it. Also, contrast with DisappointingOlderSibling when the character either lacks the Big Brother Instinct or is completely ineffectual at protecting the younger sibling.
33
34Has nothing to do with the TV show ''Series/BigBrother''. The ''[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]]'' meaning of "Big Brother" is covered under BigBrotherIsWatching.
35
36!!Example subpages:
37
38[[index]]
39* BigBrotherInstinct/AnimeAndManga
40** ''BigBrotherInstinct/{{Berserk}}''
41** ''BigBrotherInstinct/{{Digimon}}''
42** ''BigBrotherInstinct/DragonBall''
43** ''BigBrotherInstinct/FullmetalAlchemist''
44** ''BigBrotherInstinct/HetaliaAxisPowers''
45** ''BigBrotherInstinct/JoJosBizarreAdventure''
46** ''BigBrotherInstinct/{{Naruto}}''
47** ''BigBrotherInstinct/OnePiece''
48** ''BigBrotherInstinct/{{Pokemon}}''
49* BigBrotherInstinct/ComicBooks
50* BigBrotherInstinct/FanWorks
51* [[BigBrotherInstinct/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
52* [[BigBrotherInstinct/{{Film}} Films — Live-Action]]
53* BigBrotherInstinct/{{Literature}}
54* BigBrotherInstinct/LiveActionTV
55* BigBrotherInstinct/VideoGames
56* BigBrotherInstinct/VisualNovels
57* {{BigBrotherInstinct/Webcomics}}
58* BigBrotherInstinct/WesternAnimation
59* BigBrotherInstinct/RealLife
60[[/index]]
61
62!!Other examples:
63[[foldercontrol]]
64
65[[folder:Audio Play]]
66* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''AudioPlay/TheMorgueFiles''. Tobias is the younger brother of the Adams household, but he put up with his stepfather Frank just so that his older sister Millie would have someone who would protect her.
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
70* Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth's "Literature/TheThreeFlowers": Three huntsmen go into a dangerous wood to find their little sister Katie, and they kill the man who was sexually harassing her.
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
74* Several from the Myth/ClassicalMythology:
75** Apollo, despite being the younger twin, tricks his twin sister Artemis into ''killing'' Orion because he feared this was one guy for whom she could give up her vow of chastity.
76** To the great surprise of those who watched the movie ''Film/{{Troy}}'', Agamemnon in the original Myth/ClassicalMythology and ''Literature/TheIliad'' has this in spades where Menelaus is concerned. Paris fucked with Menelaus, Agamemnon will make Troy ''burn''.
77** Speaking of Troy, Helen of Troy was once kidnapped by the hero Theseus (according to some accounts, at the age of ''seven'') because her beauty was so great he wanted to marry her – her brothers Castor and Pollux got her back, though.
78** There's also one regarding Castor and Pollux themselves. Castor was the son of Leda and her husband, the King of Sparta. Pollux was the result of Leda being [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal seduced by Zeus]], but it hardly mattered to them. The brothers were inseparable heroes until they were defeated in battle. Pollux, being a demigod, went up to Olympus, but was unhappy because his brother was in the mortal underworld. so Pollux marched down there and ''refused to leave'' unless Castor went with him, presenting the Gods with a tricky conundrum. Long story short, the brothers became the constellation Gemini.
79** There's a Big Sister Instinct in the play ''Theatre/{{Antigone}}''. Oedipus' two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, were quarreling over the kingdom inheritance and eventually killed each other in a duel. Their uncle, Creon, decried that no one would bury the brother he liked less (essentially leaving him to rot shamefully in the streets) on the penalty of death, but what did the brothers' sister, Antigone, do? [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu Defied his order and buried her brother, of course!]]. This ended [[DownerEnding tragically]], though, with Antigone [[AndIMustScream put into a tomb]] and [[DrivenToSuicide hanging herself]], while Creon himself had to [[LaserGuidedKarma lost his wife and son]] indirectly because of the grief of Antigone's death.
80** Heracles had a mortal half-brother named Iphicles, the son of his mortal stepfather Amphitryon by their shared mother Alcmena. While Iphicles obviously couldn't match Heracles's divine strength or fighting skill, he was still a BadassNormal in his own right who accompanied Heracles on his military expeditions. Heracles was inconsolable when Iphicles was killed in his war against Sparta.
81* More "little sister instinct". A very religious Italian woman named Angela Merici was very depressed when her older sister Gianna Maria died without rites, and prayed ceaselessly to make sure her soul would be at peace. One day, she received a vision telling her that Gianna was in Heaven with the saints. In gratitude, Angela devoted the rest of her life to teaching, religion and service to the poor, founded the Order of Ursulines, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merici ultimately]] became ''Saint'' Angela Merici.
82* Happens in a couple of places in Literature/TheBible. One passage in the ''Literature/SongOfSongs'' goes "We have a little sister, and [[UsefulNotes/{{Pettanko}} her breasts are not yet grown]]. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?"
83** When Shechem (the man) rapes Dinah, Simon and Levi make sure Shechem (the town, ''including'' the man) [[DisproportionateRetribution pays for it dearly]]. Jacob isn't happy about this, but they still don't feel they did anything wrong.
84** When Tamar, a daughter of David, is raped by her half-brother Amnon and thrown out, her ''full'' brother Absalom sends his servants to kill him.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
88* A group of Wrestling/{{GLOW}} villains [[InvokedTrope kidnapped Little Fiji]] to lure her older sister Mountain Fiji out of the arena to ensure Mountain Fiji wouldn't get [[TheAce another victory]]. Little Fiji's opening rap even refers to giving her sister a call if she's in trouble.
89* The Hardy brothers, Wrestling/{{Matt|Hardy}} and Wrestling/{{Jeff|Hardy}}. Matt as the older brother, both in story lines and RealLife, often plays this role (when he's not this, he instead is the {{Jerkass}}).
90* Jay Briscoe had this reaction after [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team]] used an [[PoisonIsEvil ether soaked rag]] to defeat Mark Briscoe in [[NoHoldsBarredContest a fight without honor]]. Wrestling/{{ROH}} match maker Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness was able to put off Jay's vengeance but wasn't able to stop it because he could not get the {{obvious rule patch}} he wanted enforced.
91* Wrestling/CMPunk is clearly fond of those he considers his little sisters, in {{Kayfabe}} and in RealLife. During his Chicago Street Fight with Wrestling/ChrisJericho, his opponent proceeded to taunt his little sister who was sitting ringside. She promptly slapped him in the face. When Chris tried to go after her, Punk pretty much lost it and beat the ''shit'' of Jericho, including putting him through the SpanishAnnouncersTable with a flying elbow.
92* Jericho himself qualifies for this trope in real life. At ''Summerslam 2016'', after the controversial ending to the ''Orton-Lesnar'' match that saw Wrestling/RandyOrton bloodied the hard way by Wrestling/BrockLesnar (and later revealed to have suffered a concussion), a furious Jericho ''backed Lesnar against a wall'', demanding to know if that had been intentional. Repeat: Jericho was willing to get into a real fight with ''[[WrestlingMonster Lesnar]]'' if he'd hurt Orton deliberately.
93* Wrestling/RomanReigns of Wrestling/TheShield had this for his two other teammates, Wrestling/SethRollins and Wrestling/DeanAmbrose. Even after Rollins stabbed him and Ambrose in the back, he still has this for Ambrose and it's been implied that he still has somewhat of a soft spot for Rollins. In fact, some of the main reasons why he hates Wrestling/TheAuthority, particularly Wrestling/TripleH, is because of the pure hell they've put Dean through and their corruption of Seth.
94* Wrestling/BellaTwins:
95** When Stephanie [=McMahon=] was using her power to bully Nikki in revenge for Brie embarrassing her, Brie arrived at the show as a fan[[note]]She had quit WWE to prevent Stephanie from stripping her husband of the title.[[/note]] and got her revenge - when Stephanie slapped her at ringside, Brie got the police involved and Steph was arrested for assault.
96** Even one time when the twins themselves were feuding, Brie prevented Wrestling/AJLee from attacking Nikki at ringside.
97** Averted one time when Brie abandoned Nikki to get attacked by Kharma. Nikki forgave Brie, admitting she would have done the exact same thing.
98* {{Wrestling/Undertaker}} is possibly the best example of this with {{Wrestling/Kane}}, whom he's come to the rescue of [[https://shydaydreamer28.tumblr.com/post/615760318922194944/takers-bro-moments numerous times.]] Seeps into KnightTemplarBigBrother depending on how far he's willing to go for retribution should be he unsuccessful in saving Kane at the time.
99* Stevie Ray is also a real life example. During his podcast, ''Stand Up For Greatness'', he revealed that when he heard that Wrestling/MikeAwesome had hurt his younger brother Wrestling/BookerT [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l07U3Ac8pe0 in a match]], he confronted him. Stevie made it very clear that if Awesome had admitted that he intentionally hurt Booker, he would've kicked his ass.
100[[/folder]]
101
102[[folder:Theatre]]
103* Angelica Schuyler from ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'' absolutely '''loses''' it when she finds out that her sister Eliza's husband Hamilton cheated on her and broke her heart. In a cut song called "Congratulations," she drags Hamilton for a whole two minutes. Despite showing some love to Hamilton, Angelica Schuyler will not take ''any'' of Hamilton's shit and will always put Eliza, her only remaining baby sister, before anything and anyone in the world. One of her lines in "The Reynolds Pamphlet" sums it up:
104-->'''Angelica:''' I love my sister more than anything in this life / I will choose her happiness over mine ''every time!''
105* Emma Borden from ''Theatre/{{Lizzie}}'' is fiercely protective towards her younger sister. With their mother's death and abusive father, Emma essentially became a parental figure to Lizzie. It is clear she feels responsible for her happiness and well-being (more accurately, lack thereof). Given the [[UsefulNotes/LizzieBorden subject matter]], her efforts to save her sister [[SelfMadeOrphan don't exactly work]].
106* Inverted in ''Theatre/LesMiserables''; in some productions Gavorche has this attitude towards Eponine who is his older sister. He tries to go to her when she gets shot, and cries after she passes.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Web Animation]]
110* ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'': HeartwarmingOrphan Shandala, the heroine, is looked after by her adopted parents' son as if she were his own flesh and blood.
111* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': It may seem like Killer doesn't care for his twin sister, but he'll defend her if he finds the need to.
112* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'':
113** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHRwXsYw244 Tokusa]], after finding out that his fiancee Akane previously bullied his little sister Tsutsuji and planned on bullying her into being her slave once they're married, breaks up with her on the spot.
114** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY6HcECHXng Hiiragi]], after finding out that she falsely accused his little sister Tsutsuji of stealing money from the wallet she left behind at the restaurant his sister worked worked, vowed to make Azami pay. He eventually uses his skills as a detective to expose Azami for stealing money from her company, leading to her arrest.
115** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbUqBQDN-L4 Yuri]] stands up for her younger sister Tsutsuji when her mother-in-law Azami talked crap about her tea tasting as bad as Yuri's. And she did this while suffering morning sickness from being pregnant.
116* In ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', The Cheat is seen as an honorary member of The Brothers Strong. Strong Mad will do anything to protect The Cheat and gets aggressive towards those who would harm The Cheat, including his real brother Strong Bad.
117* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
118** Agent North, with such a trustworthy, older-brother instinct that he gets assigned Theta, the AI fragment composed of Alpha's innocence. He's the only one in the program qualified to take care of a ''being of pure innocence''. But seriously, watch seasons 9 and 10. The dude lives and breathes ''trust''.
119** Blue team. Sure, Caboose is an idiot. But he's their idiot.
120** Wash eventually develops it for [[spoiler:the Reds and Blues]]. In the flashback, he tried to mimic North's, but CT wasn't buying it. As of Season 11, Wash especially has this in regards to [[spoiler:Caboose]], trying to keep him from getting overcome with depression after [[spoiler:Church leaves]] and, in Season 12, [[spoiler:making sure Freckles is okay after getting captured by the Feds.]]
121* Gender-flipped with Yang in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', as one of her primary character traits is how protective she is towards her little sister Ruby (to the point that there's an entire ImageSong devoted to the subject). [[spoiler:When the events of Volume 3 leave her a broken mess suffering from PTSD and depression for several months, it's the realization that their father can't take care of her and go after Ruby at the same time that ultimately gives her the motivation to come to terms with her trauma and begin her recovery.]]
122** [[spoiler:Expanded on a little more in Volume 8: when Ruby starts entering a stress-induced HeroicBSOD, Yang is the first to reassure her and tell her not to give up. When Neopolitan is seconds away from stabbing Ruby, Yang doesn’t hesitate to [[TakingTheBullet jump into the line of fire]] and save her.]]
123* Parodied in ''WebAnimation/RWBYChibi''. When Ruby can't open a jar of pickles, Sun tries to help her but also fails. Yang turns up because her "big sister sense" is tingling. She insists on opening the jar of pickles for a reluctant Ruby, who drags Sun off to a safe distance while Yang wages open warfare, complete with using weapons, on the jar.
124-->'''Yang:''' You ''dared'' to make my baby sister hungry? You're going ''down'' jar!
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Web Original]]
128* ''Literature/DeadWest'' has a character, The Porcelain Doctor who is enforcing this trope into others. His aura, called the Devil's Veil, shows him fragile, weak and casts a glamour to make others like him (or wanting to crush him). He cannot turn it off, which really annoys him, but is notable that Gervas, our narrator would feel the same without falling to his aura. His real big brother is more along the lines of a KnightTemplarBigBrother.
129* ''Literature/{{Decembersville}}'': Nutty Jimmy is like this to his sister, Sarah. As illustrated [[http://countandra.deviantart.com/art/Sarah-and-Jimmy-PART-ONE-122644605 here]].
130* ''Literature/DimensionHeroes'': Rob displays this trope towards his fellow Dimensional Guardians, reasoning that as the leader, he's responsible for their safety.
131* ''Literature/TheOtherKindOfRoommate'' has Terry showing this for Beth. It's treated as [[AmicableExes cute and protective]] before it gets controlling and is explained as the reason they broke up.
132* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', this is a major part of Grue's makeup –- in fact, his [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening trigger event]] came when he was defending his little sister from his mother's abusive boyfriend.
133* ''Podcast/{{The Adventure Zone}}'' gives us Lup. Even while [[spoiler:trapped in the umbrastaff, she still kills off Edward for basically torturing her twin brother.]]
134* ''[=PopCross=] Studios'': During [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} Elsa's]] segment in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QmkWsOaR8U&pp=ygU3d2hhdCBpZiBkaXNuZXkgY2hhcmFjdGVycyB3ZXJlIG1vcnRhbCBrb21iYXQgY2hhcmFjdGVycw%3D%3D What If Disney Characters Were In Mortal Kombat?]], it's stated that, much like in canon, she did her best to keep her ice powers hidden from the world. Then she learns that Hans tried kill her younger sister Anna in hopes of stealing her wealth. Elsa then wastes no time in hunting down and publicly murdering Hans, not caring that she would end up becoming a wanting criminal for the act.
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder:Web Videos]]
138* ''WebVideo/{{Aaron}}'' has two brothers getting into a blazing row. When the younger one comes home drunk, the older immediately comes to his rescue.
139* The web documentary ''F*** Kayfabe: Wrestling with Labels'' -– Cianan and Matt have this towards Bobby. Bobby jokes that himself and Pete both think of the other as their little brother so they decided to be twins instead. Bobby has this for Kev and even refers to him as "my little brother" in the Special Thanks at the end.
140* In the ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' webseries and comics, any enemy bothering Gaea has a decent chance of having Golgotha show up for a serious beating, regardless of her location when the bothering started. A variation in that Gaea is a DirtyCoward rather than weak and Golgotha's protectiveness is simply stemming from their history as ChildhoodFriends.
141* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'':
142** Rob Walker will be the first to admit anything that didn't work out in an episode, but if you go too far and insult Doug instead, he will ''make you sorry''.
143** In character terms, while The Other Guy is a BigBrotherBully when the Critic is alive/sober/lucid, he'll always show how much he cares when nobody else is around.
144** They're not related but in ''WebVideo/DemoReel'', after Donnie (Doug) gets kidnapped, badass {{stoic}} Carl (Rob) tears down the forest looking after him and makes sure he's okay when he returns.
145[[/folder]]

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