Basic Trope: Putting friends before a love interest.
- Straight: The Hero Bob chooses to see his Heterosexual Life Partner Charles over going out on a date with his Love Interest, Alice, because it's bros before hoes.
- Exaggerated: Bob breaks up with Alice so he can go watch a rock concert with Charles.
- Downplayed: It seems like Bob puts Charles first most of the time, but there are also examples of him putting Alice first.
- Justified:
- Bob and Alice just met, but Bob has known Charles his whole life, and Charles is in serious trouble.
- They're high schoolers, and Bob is almost certain him and Alice will break up at some point, but Charles may be his best friend for life.
- Charles is in a very dire situation and could really use his best friend's support, while the situation with Alice is nowhere near as serious, so it makes sense that Bob would prioritize his friend.
- Inverted: Bob chooses to go on a date with Alice over hanging out with Charles.
- Gender Inverted:
- Alice puts her friend before Bob. "Sisters before misters."
- Bob has a boyfriend, and a female best friend. He puts his female best friend first.
- Alice has a girlfriend, and a male best friend. She puts her male best friend first.
- Subverted: Bob goes to see Charles, but it was only to tell him in person that they have to hang out less because he wants to spend more time with Alice.
- Double Subverted: …but after talking to Charles about it, Bob sees he was being a bad friend and revokes what he said before. Charles still comes first.
- Parodied: Bob and Charles sing a song about friendship being way better than Bob and Alice singing a love song.
- Zig Zagged: Sometimes Bob puts Charles first, and sometimes Alice. There's no real pattern.
- Averted:
- Bob doesn't put Charles first.
- Bob doesn't have a girlfriend.
- Enforced: The author was tired of romance being obsessed over, and wanted to show friendship as important as well.
- Lampshaded: "Bros before hoes!"
- Invoked: Emperor Evulz holds Charles and Alice on hostage and informs Bob that he will choose only one person to set free. Will he choose his best friend or his lover?
- Exploited: Evulz, knowing that Bob prioritizes Charles, makes sure to target Alice instead of Charles for his plans.
- Defied: Alice fears being ignored in favor of his friends, and makes Bob promise to put her first.
- Discussed: "No Bob, screw Alice. What about bros before hoes? They always say that in stories! C'mon, don't ditch me."
- Conversed: "Fictional guys take the Bro Code so seriously—they're always saying bros before hoes."
- Deconstructed:
- Bob prioritizes Charles over Alice so frequently that Alice breaks up with him, feeling that he doesn't really love her or want to be in a relationship with her; Charles also becomes quite a clingy friend as he knows Bob will always put him first, rather than learning to respect Bob's other important relationships and not rely on him solely.
- Charles turns out to be Evil All Along, faking friendship and getting so close to Bob so not only he can spy on him, he'll drive out Bob from the only person that could give him proper support: Alice.
- Reconstructed:
- Alice is actually relatively aloof and needs her alone time, so she finds Bob to be a fresh breath of air compared to the clingy guys she's dated in the past.
- Then Charles starts Becoming the Mask and acting like a true bro to Bob.
Back to Bros Before Hoes
