Basic Trope: A big character, a thin character and a short character come together to form a trio.
- Straight:
- Bob is big, fat, and hefty, Aaron is thin and gangly, and Charles is the shortest out of the three.
- Bob is powerful and muscular, Aaron is thin and gangly, and Charles is the shortest out of the three.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob is so large that he has his own gravitational pull, and his Stout Strength can make him lift skyscrapers with ease. Aaron is a noodle person who is Nothing but Skin and Bones. Charles is so tiny that he comes to most people's ankles.
- Bob casually exaggerates Muscles Are Meaningful by being the biggest hunk, so big that he's a Tiny-Headed Behemoth Top-Heavy Guy instead of being fat and hefty.
- In a large Ensemble Cast, there are many characters that form and make up trios which all consist of one big member, one thin member and one short member.
- Bob is so large that he has his own gravitational pull, and his Stout Strength can make him lift skyscrapers with ease. Aaron is a noodle person who is Nothing but Skin and Bones. Charles is so tiny that he comes to most people's ankles.
- Downplayed: Bob, Aaron and Charles' body types only look slightly different from one another as Bob appears to be a little pudgy with a noticeable gut (or with a well defined musculature if he's the "strong" kind of big), Aaron looks the skinniest and Charles is of average height but only looks tiny in comparison to them.
- Justified:
- Bob is a Big Eater, Aaron is an Olympic swimmer which requires him to keep a slim physique and Charles' growth spurt is coming in very slower than others, and does not like people bringing up his height.
- Bob could also hit the gym if it's the "Muscular" kind of big.
- Inverted: Not applicable.
- Subverted: Aaron bulks up to be as big as Bob and Charles starts to become taller which makes him no longer the "short" guy of the trio.
- Double Subverted: Soon, Aaron becomes so big and Charles becomes so thin and tall like Aaron once was which makes them dwarf Bob, thus reforming the archetype.
- Parodied: They are all shapes: Bob is a circle, Aaron is a long rectangle and Charles is a dot.
- Zig-Zagged:
- One of the characters occasionally steps away from the group from time to time or doesn't hang around them often which leaves the remaining two to act as a duo.
- Bob, Charles and Aaron change height and weight.
- Averted: They are all the exact same weight and height.
- Lampshaded:
- "Despite Bob being a Big Guy, Aaron being slim and Charles being tiny, they make quite a great team."
- Invoked: The three team up in order to form this archetype.
- Exploited:???
- Defied: Bob, Aaron and Charles refuse to come together as a trio which makes them unable to form this dynamic.
- Discussed: "I feel the Big Guy, Little Guy trope is missing something, we should add in a third character and we should make him tall and thin to differ from the other two."
- Played For Drama: They all suffer serious health issues and/or insecurities about their body types, Bob suffers a serious inner body pains due to his large size and eating disorder, Aaron is a highly-anxious anorexic and freaks over the slightest fear that he might be overweight and Charles discovered he was born with a genetic condition that badly affects his height.
Back to Big, Thin, Short Trio
