Nine Courting Rituals to Keep the Playful Spark of Your Bromance Alive!

One of the greatest tropes of modern pop culture is the bromance. We're not sure exactly when it started, but these days, our favorite stories are saturated with straight dude-on-dude love. Like all good Americans, we do most of our learnin' from TV and movies, and lately we've been studying bromance for the sole purpose of writing a manual about keeping boy/boy affection alive. Here are some ProTips from our favorite bros:

Troy & Abed, Community

Annie: "The other day after Spanish I thought Troy was trying to hold my hand, but he'd just mistaken me for Abed."

Look, it's totally normal to want to spend every waking minute with your bro. In the morning, you and your bro can film yourselves pretending to host your own talkshow. At lunch time, you and your bro can share popcorn and clown on movies. In the afternoon, you and your bro can make up elaborate raps in foreign languages. And in the evening, you can read your bro to sleep and then cover him up with a blanket (or his letter jacket). When your friends point out that you only have time for your bro, you remind your friends that they're just jealous.

Chandler & Joey, Friends

Chandler: "I'm gonna hug you!" Joey: "You hug me!"

Bros don't shake hands, OK? Bros gotta hug. Your bro gets good news? You hug him. You and your bro win a bet? You hug him. You and your bro adopt some pets? You hug him. Your bro buys you a gaudy bracelet? You hug him. Your bro gets scared? You hug him. Your bro builds you a pillow fort? You hug him. Your bro's fiance gets in the way of your constant hugging? You push that bitch out of the way.

Merlin & Arthur, Merlin

Merlin: "You have to have a reason. Something you care about. Something that's more important than anything."

When talking to your other bros, it's important to make sure they know that your best bro is the most special person in your life. One way to achieve this is to constantly refer to your relationship with your best bro as your "destiny." Another way is to literally say, "My best bro is more important than anything."

Ron & Harry, Harry Potter

Dobby the House-Elf: "Harry Potter has to go to the lake and find his Wheezy! And take his Wheezy back from the merpeople! Your Wheezy, sir! Your Wheezy!"

One way to let your bro know how much you care is to get in the habit of perpetually saving his ass. Maybe your bro finds himself in harm's way because he's being a stubborn prat. Maybe your bro finds himself in harm's way because of his loyalty to you. Maybe your bro finds himself in harm's way purely by accident — or by virtue of him being the thing you'd miss the most in the world. Whatever the reason, you let your bro know that come three-headed dogs or sociopath Dark wizards, you've always got his back.

Danny and Steve, Hawaii Five-0

Danny: "You clean up nice, babe!"

It's completely normal to take a mental inventory of everything your bro has ever worn, with notes about how each outfit accentuates his assets. You want your bro to know you notice. You want your bro to know your care. Even if you find yourself separated by an orange jumpsuit and bullet-proof prison glass, you tell your bro he looks good without that tie. And even if you've got a murder investigation hanging over your head, you tell your bro you dig his fancy duds. Tossing in a pet name — "babe," "honey," "kittentits" — just further affirms your sincerity.