Basic Trope: An older sibling doesn't meet the expectations set by their family members.
- Straight: Alice is seen as a bad influence and disappointment by her younger brother Bob, as well as their parents, Carol and Charlie, and all their family members.
- Exaggerated: Alice's family is convinced Alice is going to end up a criminal because she misses curfew once.
- Downplayed: Alice isn't that bad, but her parents still advise the neighborhood to keep their younger kids away from her.
- Justified:
- Inverted: Bob is seen as the disappointment rather than Alice.
- Subverted: Alice is usually irresponsible and reckless. But when her parents get into an accident and need someone to care for Bob while they recover, she steps up to the plate.
- Double Subverted: Unfortunately, she's not really prepared for such a big responsibility, and flounders as she tries to care for her brother, though she is genuinely trying.
- Parodied:
- Alice is Incorruptible Pure Pureness and The Ace, but Carol and Charlie are still disappointed with her.
- Alice is treated as the disappointment because she's the elder child.
- Alice's parents are disappointed because she isn't a rebellious delinquent criminal. They got excited when she got interested in computers but disappointed that she did not become The Hackette.
- The worst thing Alice has done in her life is go naked at home.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice is the rebellious and careless older sister of Bob who's never there for him. But when their parents get hurt and Alice is Bob's caretaker, she genuinely steps up. Granted, she's not great at it and makes some dumb mistakes that hurt Bob, but she is trying her best, and she gradually gets the hang of it.
- Averted: The older sibling is the Cool Big Sis and is seen as The Ace.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded:Alice: Look, I know I haven't always been there, and I make a mess of things, and I've pulled some stupid stunts over the years, and—
Bob: Sorry, are you trying to make me feel better? - Invoked: ???
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz, the Big Bad, needs Bob helpless and without support, so he gets his parents out of the way, knowing that Alice will be an inadequate substitute.
- Defied: When she finds out she's going to be an older sister, the usually foolish Alice tries to clean up her act so she can set a good example.
- Discussed: "Alice is not what I anticipated of her."
- Conversed: "Says the bad parent."
- Deconstructed: Alice realizes that she is a disappointment, and she vows to improve herself and clean up her acts so she can be seen as an ideal sibling.
- Reconstructed: ???
- Implied: Alice is The Ghost, but whenever Bob's on the phone with her, he's rolling his eyes and desperately trying to find an excuse to hang up.
Back to Disappointing Older Sibling.
