(no subject)

[skygiants]

Aside from OTPs, lacewood also asked me for my Top 5 Platonic BFF Pairings, which is an awesome question but tricky because I am going to try not to overlap with any of the BFF pairings I talked about when I did my top five BFF moments. To make narrowing it down easier, I am also very strictly ruling out anyone I think might be even a little bit not entirely platonic. (SORRY KYOKO AND KANAE, but that nosebleed disqualifies you from the running.)


1. Wendy and Lacey, The Middleman



Wendy and Lacey: best roommates ever, or BEST ROOMMATES EVER? Wendy saves the world by battling aliens, vampires, and flying fish zombies! Lacey saves the world via confrontational spoken-word performance art! Wendy bails Lacey out of prison when she needs it; Lacey helps Wendy escape from an evil dystopian AU when she needs it. TRUE FRIENDSHIP.

In other news, The Middleman passed the Bechdel Test pretty much every episode, thanks to Wendy and Lacey's fantastically supportive friendship and its importance to Wendy and to the story. Which is one of the main things that puts it among my top TV shows of all time.

2. Cha Song Joo and Sun Woo Wan, Capital Scandal



I realize this is two Cha Song Joo entries in as many top five posts, but a.) you can never have too much Cha Song Joo! and b.) I feel it's worth giving this BFF relationship a special shout-out given that kdramas are kind of known for their melodramatic tangled love squares in which everyone is in love with everyone, because amazingly Cha Song Joo and Woo Wan are soulmates whose completely platonic love for each other is never questioned. It's amazing! They sit around and bitch about how nice it would be if they had any romantic feelings for each other at all, and instead he's in love with a TINY REVOLUTIONARY and she's in love with an ANGSTY POLICEMAN because clearly they both just like being miserable all the time, ugh, what is their life, what are their choices?

And meanwhile Cha Song Joo cheerfully makes bets on Woo Wan's love life, and Woo Wan comes to crash at her place when he's feeling sulky and rebellious at his family, and they go dancing and hang out and mock each other mercilessly and it's adorable, except when he finds out she's been keeping her secret revolutionary assassin activities secret from him and then it's super sad because soulmates are not supposed to have secrets! But they get over it because that's what BFFs do.

3. Kenny and Lynda, Press Gang



Another completely platonic male-female friendship: Lynda, who rules the newsroom with an iron fist, and Kenny, who has spent most of his life following her around and being sarcastic-yet-soothing in her wake. I love their teamwork, guys! I love it more and more every episode. (For the record, I've now finished season 2 and not yet started season 3; I am looking forward to more, and yet dreading Kenny's inevitable departure, because KENNY.)

Kenny jokes that when Lynda asks his opinion the one she usually wants is "yes," and . . . he's not wrong, but that being said he's one of very few people who can and will give her an honest opinion that isn't a yes that she'll trust. And when he decides to take a break from being a nice-guy editor to be a ROCK STAR for a day, she sneakily supports him 110% without ever actually saying it, because, you know, it'd be bad for her image.

4. Charlotte and Shauna, Bad Machinery



I don't think I've ever talked here about how much I like John Allison's webcomic Bad Machinery! But I really like Bad Machinery? Scary Go Round was one of the few webcomics I was able to semi-keep-up-with over the years (rowanberries is to blame for that!) and I enjoyed it, but I actually like Bad Machinery much better and a large part of that is because it is completely grounded in the friendship between two little girls. (Eventually to be three little girls, and I love Mildred too, but we are talking about BFF pairs here so alas Mildred will have to be left out of it for now.)

Anyway, Shauna and Charlotte! They are adorable and they balance each other out really well - Shauna is bright and inquisitive and Charlotte is kind of wacky and TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME. No, really. (Well, solve mysteries, same difference.) And I honestly feel the world needs more stories about wacky, endearing, ordinary, often silly, sometimes suprisingly brilliant schoolgirls fighting crime.

5. Janet and Molly, Pamela Dean's Tam Lin

Guys, Tam Lin was really, really ridiculously formative for me. As a teenager I desperately wanted college to be like it was in this book for Janet, with everyone reciting theater and poetry all the time, and weird magical happenings sort of occurring off around the edges, and - most awesomely of all - a roommate who'd read the same books I had and had the same kind of sense of humor, someone who got it. (I don't mean to play the 'I was a tragic and lonely teenager!' card here, by the way. I was lucky enough to have some awesome friends in high school, many of whom I am lucky enough to still be friends with now. But I didn't have many friends in high school who were geeky the same way I was, and the idea of just sort of walking into my room in college and finding a DESTINED GEEKY BFF SOULMATE was a pretty compelling one at sixteen.)

Honestly, while pretty much every aspect of Tam Lin is a huge wish-fulfillment fantasy for a certain kind of person - and as you can tell, I am clearly that kind of person - I think that Molly and Janet's friendship is one of the most wish-fulfillment-y bits of all. Yes, the dazzlingly attractive fairy dudes and eerily beautiful ladies trying to seduce you with Shakespeare are all great, but the really fantastic bit is having the elephant-daishiki-wearing, shared-obsession-quoting best friend who wants to room with you for all four years of college, who will argue with you about your favorite plays and who traipses along with you when you're camping out in the forest feeling ridiculous about having to pull your boyfriend off a horse.

As always, you are cordially invited to tell me about your own favorite platonic fictional BFFs!

Comments

[veryclevername.livejournal.com]

It looks like I'm going to have to check out Bad Machinery!
I love mysteries and brilliant, wacky, crime fighting schoolgirls. Actually I kind of like mysteries in general and my next step whenever I like almost anything is to go "and then they have wacky crime fighting adventures!" and crave fic.

[skygiants]

It is so much fun! At least for the first three stories; I am behind and haven't read the most recent one yet. But schoolgirls solving supernatural mysteries! \o/ (Schoolboys also solve supernatural mysteries and are reasonably adorable about it too, but the girls are front-and-center.)

[ceitfianna]

I need to find my copy of Tam Lin since that book was really formative for me. I blame it for some of my fascination with Classics because faeries!

I think one of my favorite plantonic friendships is in a mystery series, Inspector Alleyn and Fox, they just work. I know there are others but I have a headache so I may return.

Rain just makes me want to go home and read good books.

[skygiants]

My mom was a Classics major, and I totally made her read Tam Lin just so I could tease her about it. (Then she dropped my copy at the beach and half-destroyed it, which serves me right, I guess.)

TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME is always an excellent place to find partnerships and friendships!

[kindness_says]

I don't know any of these fandoms but wanted to just express my appreciation for friendships, especially best-friendships.

And I hate picking favorites, but the first one that comes to mind right now is Shawn and Gus from Psych. Probably because I've been watching commentary of it the last couple of days, aaaaand it's the show that most often fills me with sunlight and joy re: what it means to have a best friend.

I wasn't sure if I should say it, though, because 1) so many people ship them, plus 2) I went and read your Psych tag and was like, oh dear, I don't think she likes Shawn very much. But then I decided to, because

1) I don't. I mean, (much like their creators) I totally see their homoerotic moments (and laugh at them), and I've read a shippy fic or two that I thought were very well done, but at bottom, I read them as pretty platonic on screen. It's so Westermarck-y!! (This may be related to, I have a childhood best friend, plus two to four other friendships, that would fall under "platonic soulmate" or at least "deeply codependent," and, um, for all of them, same- and opposite-sex, EWWWWWWWWWW. (Although bestie and I do often joke about our relationship; she told me a couple hours ago that last night she had a dream we were dating, and the hilarious part was, it wasn't that different from normal. And she was brushing her teeth before she was like, "Wait...was that...were we...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.) Then again, we've shipped many best-friend pairings in the past, so maybe it has nothing to do with that.)

2) I totally get why Shawn often annoys people, and I love him, but I definitely have moments, too, where I'm like, "............................. *FACEPALM*" but I decided whether he annoyed you personally was really irrelevant because this is the show where I kind of get on my soapbox (in my head) when I read things that are like, "WHAT A JACKASS; WHY WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH THIS PERSON?????" and I'm like, have you people (not you, personally; people who seem to miss the point of their relationship) ever had a real, permanent best friend? Not an 'I talk to you the most currently' best friend, like an, 'I could not talk to you for five years and we would still lie down and die for each other, except maybe not, because what is that situation and how is that practical, exactly, but you see my point; also I have no idea who I would be if you had never been in my life' best friend. It is NOT a transient bond and it is so, so, barely even relevant if that other person annoys you today, or tomorrow, or every other week for the next six months (and believe me, it has happened, haha).

1.5) Oh, it occurs to me that part of why I don't ship them (and a lot of the other BFF pairings that people ship) is, besides basic chemistry, how highly I value feeling This Strongly about someone you don't romantically love. Also, that this relationship exists where all sorts of slightly questionable jackassery goes on but at the end of the day they really, really love and can't imagine their lives without each other. And I feel like being like, "WELL, THEY MUST BE IN LOVE," undercuts that somehow. Only this is a very confusing argument because there are probably pairings where I'm like, BUT THEY ARE IN LOVE! x_x

/questionably argued ramble

Okay, the point was that I love friendship.

[kindness_says]

...Sidebar, I would venture to say that strong platonic friendship is a totally different kind of being in love, actually, but you read my point.

P.S. Unrelatedly, I don't really "side with" Shawn or Henry, per se, (I kind of don't believe in side-taking in those relationships, I think) but I do probably more often go, "Sweetie...what?????" at Shawn's reasons for being bizarrely suspicious.** Henry I just sort of go, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, oh, Henry," even though he is occasionally quite as ridiculous (in a different way). I think it's a little bit like how I feel about the Gilmore family relationships, probably because Lorelai and Shawn have similarly...kind of stunted? relationships with their parents? where they never seem to have evolved into actual adult not-quite-equal-but-far-closer-than-when-I-was-a-teenager relationships?

**I will say, though, I have a lot of sympathy for Shawn and why he is the way he is, a lot of which OF COURSE has to do with Henry (and Madeleine). But I also think (much like my parents, and most parents, imo) Henry has always tried to do what he believes is best for his son. Things just don't always work exactly as you think they should. </3 Poor parents. It's a tough job.

[skygiants]

Hahaha, for the record and first off, I am glad you tagged! Because even though Shawn does irritate me most of the time, I DO appreciate Shawn and Gus' friendship when it is adorable (which it often is, whenever Shawn isn't irritating me to death!) and totally understand why people love the show for it; you really can see the depth of their friendship even if I, personally, would not be able to spend a day with Shawn without wishing to throw a mug of coffee in his face.

Yeah, I have conflicted feelings a lot of time about bff-shipping in fandom. . . . which, haha, my previous post about BFF moments probably does sum up well. I do really, really believe in the existence of relationships that don't have to involve sexytimes to be incredibly crucial and important to one's life! And I often wish fiction and fanfic would show more of those friendships, instead of automatically deciding that everybody who cares about each other has to either be related or make kissyfaces (OR BOTH, not to name any specific fandom names . . .)

On the other hand, in some cases I totally sympathize with people's urges to push character's faces together. Which possibly makes me a hypocrite! But OH WELL.

[villainny.livejournal.com]

My whole face has folded up around this question.

[skygiants]

That is kind of an adorable mental image, I have to say.

(ALSO NNY SPEAKING OF . . . nothing in particular except fiction I guess, there is no good segue here, but! But! The sequel to Fly-By-Night is out!)

[minkhollow]

Daria and Jane were kinda my formative BFF pair (along with Cimorene and Morwen from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles; SO MUCH AWESOME). Claudia and Artie might be my current favorite; he's very much the nutty uncle.
(But just about any combination of Warehouse 13 characters qualifies for 'platonic BFFs,' so!)

[bookblather.livejournal.com]

Seconding Cimorene and Morwen, but can we add Kazul into the BFFness? Because they really had this awesome trio of awesome BFFness going on. The badass was strong with those three.

[skygiants]

I actually missed out on Daria as a kid (which I know is my great loss!) but Cimorene and Morwen I did love A LOT. (And Kazul too!) They were definitely formative no-nonsense heroines for me.

[kindness_says]

ENCHANTED FOREST!!!!

Totally almost offered to write that for purimgifts.

Or maybe I did offer.

Well, can't remember.

[hafl.livejournal.com]

Clearly, the only possible course of action to take at this moment is to read Bad Machinery all in one sitting.

And would you believe that there is not a single library accessible to public that has a copy of Tam Lin in the whole country? This is a undisputably a terrible state of events.

[skygiants]

That is an excellent course of action and ONE I LAUD YOU FOR.

. . . . however I am shocked, appalled, and aghast at the way your library has let you down in this case. :O Everyone should be able to experience the love letter to lit-geeks that is Tam Lin!

[tempestsarekind.livejournal.com]

*relevant icon is relevant*

There are many days when I think that Molly is actually my favorite character in Tam Lin. Molly Molly Molly. She takes a Shakespeare class and then goes around correcting people who call Shakespeare "old English!" She is clearly my kind of girl.

(Also--mentioned upthread--I bought a new copy of Tam Lin to be my reading copy, because the inside of the book is exactly the same except larger. And that way I don't have to worry about my old copy with the Thomas Canty cover falling apart anymore, because it stays safe on my shelf.)

[skygiants]

When I was younger I was all about Janet and Thomas, and, I mean, I still love them, but these days Molly is totally my favorite. I think what is most amazing to me about her is how wonderfully comfortable with herself she is. And also the fact that she is practical enough to pull Robin off his horse just in case, because you never know!

(It is already too late for my old, beloved copy! I don't think there is any saving it. But I haven't really come to terms with that fact yet. ;___;)

[bookblather.livejournal.com]

Georgia and Shaun, from Feed! Okay, yes, technically they are brother and sister, but they are also BFFs to end all BFFness and generally they are just made of win. Their relationship is so amazingly wonderful. Oh oh oh and Nico Rathe and Istre b'Estorr, from the Point Of... duology! I especially love it when Istre mocks Nico about his boyfriend. Because it's kind of hilarious and awesome.

[skygiants]

ahahaha man, if I had not been eliminating sibling bffs from this list it would have been SO MUCH LONGER omg. I have such a weakness for sibling relationships in fiction! It is a trope almost as near to my heart as the cross-dressing girls.

[lacewood]

I do not know any of these fandoms, but I can easily rectify that with Bad Machinery at least!

(I am also contemplating giving in and ordering a copy of Tam Lin because I will never find a copy otherwise. If only the cover wasn't... mildly psychedelic)

[skygiants]

Hahaha, if nothing else, I am glad I made this post for the purposes of getting people to read Bad Machinery! >:D

(The book is worth it! The new cover, I . . . um. Well, if nothing else, it's hilariously incongruous given that 3/4 of the book is quiet hijinks? You can look at it and laugh!)

[genarti]

I realize that VAST SWATHES of fandom would rule this out on account of shipping, but I am going to include them anyway: Kirk and Spock. (I see all the slash-goggles subtext, and I crack up at it frequently; I still read them as friends, though, unless I'm deliberately going for the slash-goggles reading.) I am a sucker for a trusting partnership of people who know each other very well, and (shockingly) even more so when one of them is a deadpan stoic and the other isn't but there is mutual respect. (And mutual teasing.) Chekov and Sulu also get awesome friendship moments, but I've seen that more consistently in novels than in episodes, I think.

Will Stanton and Bran Davies. Similarly trusting partnership! (Similarly, fandom loves to slash them.) I love the Drews a lot too, and their friendship with Will and to a lesser extent Bran, but they don't have as deep a level of getting each other, thanks to the different shared history and magical stuff.

LIKE HALF OF AVATAR uh. Toph and Aang? I am picking kind of at random from among the many awesome friendships that aren't also pairings I ship or siblings.

LIKE HALF OF THE CAST OF INDA ALSO. Hadand and Tdor and Joret, maybe? I know one could consider them siblings, kindasorta, but whatever, they are awesome ladies and the entire Marlovan aristocracy is interrelated that way, so!

I know I am forgetting zillions of friendships I love. OH WELL HITTING POST ANYWAY. Consider this a tiny sampling!

[skygiants]

VAST SWATHES of fandom ships everything! I think my picks for bffs here mostly only avoid it on account of being tiny. (And, uh, not dudeslashy. I do know there are significant fandom chunks - for a level of 'significant' that, you know, applies to tiny fandoms - who ship Wendy/Lacey.)

HAHAHA AVATAR. I almost put Zuko and Sokka! But I ended up ruling it out for my pics because I couldn't think of specific non-romantic bffs in a way that didn't include the whole group, with the possible exception of Azula and Ty Lee and/or Ty Lee and Mai, and Ty Lee and Mai I already listed and Ty Lee and Azula I don't actually is entirely platonic . . . *laughing*

INDA WAS ALSO DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE VAST NUMBERS TO CHOOSE FROM. And I mean if it weren't for certain things Inda and Evred's BFF-friendship is so fascinating and deep and complicated, but. CERTAIN THINGS. *laughing*

[arefadedaway.livejournal.com]

I saw Wendy and Lacey, so now I have no choice but to do the following:

[skygiants]

This is ALWAYS the appropriate response to Wendy and Lacey!

[nevacaruso.livejournal.com]

Late comment is late. But hooray for ~FRIENDSHIP~.

YES to Wendy and Lacey. OMG love forever.

YES also to Janet and Molly. Since I went to woodsy, artsy Bennington College, my experience was not as dissimilar to theirs as some! As one might expect, this was both a good thing and a... strange... thing.

Another one of my favorites: Jilly, Sophie, and Wendy in Charles de Lint's Newford Cycle. Also, Lexi and Stefan in The Vampire Diaries (which you still haven't seen. Trust me, those two are awesome). How about the kids in The Egypt Game? Buffy and Giles (and the rest of the Scoobies, obvs, but I have a special fondness for Buffy and Giles)? Mal and Zoe? The Tenth Doctor and Donna? Jack and Owen on Torchwood (so fascinating)! I could go on and on.

The following is an honorable mention, since there was some (unrequited) attraction involved, but since I currently find it difficult to have any sort of fannish conversation without babbling about Jekyll, I will say that I really like the way that the alliance and friendship between Tom and Katherine developed. Yes, she had a crush on him, but her reasons for not acting on it were very good ones, and I think that both they and the series were stronger for it in the end.