Platonic Relationships, Part I

 I’ve noticed in a lot of speculative fiction that there’s a low diversity in character relationships. In general, there seem to be the protagonist’s BFFs, some ‘friendly neutral’ types, and then the minor antagonists. The friendly neutrals pop up when needed and disappear when no longer plot relevant, and the BFFs do everything together pretty much seamlessly (except for the plot-mandated fights). Reality, of course, is more complicated. For example, my best friend and I have discussed on multiple occasions that we’d drive each other to insanity if we lived in the same house. Putting aside the fact our current locations are closely tied to our respective career choices, we have wildly different work and sleep schedules, different aesthetics, conflicting pets, different views on the thermostat…you get the picture. On the other hand, I once lived with someone whom I wasn’t buddies with—neither of us have kept in touch—but we had very similar schedules, priorities and tactics as far as running a household. Although we weren’t going to have a heart-to-heart chat, together we made an incredibly efficient team who kept the grocery budget balanced and the house clean (sometimes, I’ll confess, by steamrolling over the objections of some other residents, who felt that pop-tarts were an acceptable dinner food). There are also the more casual relationships, which form for a variety of reasons. People you bond with out of convenience, because you share an office or a class schedule or a commute or an apartment floor, even if you have little else in common. People with whom you share one common interest; the basis of your relationship is doing that activity together. People you’ve formed alliances with in order to accomplish a goal. People who are fun to party with, even though you know they’ll vanish like ninjas at the first sign of a crisis. People who act as mentors. People you mentor. Friends of friends. Friends of significant others. Friends of various family members. In short, your characters can have a lot of relationships which fall outside of the standard ‘band of best friends’ model. It’s interesting, it’s realistic, and it can be a good source of plot complications when the boundaries of these relationships get tested. [image error]