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Basic Trope: In a tight-knit group of friends, two characters rarely interact in a meaningful way.

  • Straight: Of the Five-Man Band, Bryce and Daniel are never seen spending any time together separate from Alice, Carlos, and Emily, nor do they ever have a real conversation together.
  • Exaggerated:
    • Bryce and Daniel don't even acknowledge each other's existence.
    • Bryce and Daniel are said to be best friends, yet this is all the interaction they have onscreen.
    • Bryce and Daniel are often described as having a very close friendship, to the point of being "brothers" by choice, but they have literally never shared a single minute on screen.
  • Downplayed: While Bryce and Daniel don't do anything important together, they do make small talk with one another and mutually enjoy the other's company.
  • Justified:
    • Their personalities and/or skills don't mesh well, and allowing them to do anything together that requires teamwork would have poor results.
    • Bryce and Daniel speak completely different languages. The rest of the group speak both Bryce's language and Daniel's language.
    • Bryce dislikes Daniel, but isn't the type of person to openly bully, so he opts to avoid Daniel, or vice versa.
    • They have no common interests, thus have nothing to bond over.
    • They do actually spend time with each other, but it happens offscreen and there is no indication that they do.
  • Inverted: The Five-Man Band barely know or talk to each other, save for Bryce and Daniel, who are Heterosexual Life-Partners.
  • Subverted: Daniel offers up a conversation starter in a bid to break the ice...
  • Double Subverted: ..Only for Bryce to offer a laconic response or otherwise indicate he's fine with them just being fairweather friends.
  • Parodied: Alice, Carlos, and Emily are legally obliged to keep Bryce and Daniel at least ten feet away from one another, and have a Mass "Oh, Crap!" reaction when one speaks to the other, scrambling to break up the conversation.
  • Zig Zagged: Alice, Carlos, and Emily are kidnapped, leaving Bryce and Daniel to save them. But with the exception of a few necessary interactions, they mostly do their own thing. Then Bryce saves Daniel's life, leading everyone to assume they will become closer as a result. But Daniel only gives Bryce a firm handshake and a thank you, and they go back to ignoring each other.
  • Averted: Each member of the gang spends equal amounts of quality time with the other members.
  • Enforced:
  • Lampshaded: Alice is wondering where Bryce and Daniel are, and Carlos suggests they're hanging out together somewhere. Both of them consider that, then say "Nah."
  • Invoked: Bryce latches onto Alice, Carlos, or Emily to avoid being alone with Daniel.
  • Exploited: The Big Bad spreads lies about Bryce to Daniel in a bid to turn him against Bryce. Daniel is more likely to believe it since he knows little of Bryce's character.
  • Defied: "We should hang out more, Bryce." "Sure, got a time and place?"
  • Discussed: "Daniel, we never really hang out much, do we?"
  • Conversed: For a group of True Companions, Bryce and Daniel don't seem to bother with each other that much.

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