Another Celebrating Platonic Affection

Last Valentine’s Day, I did a post about some of my favorite fictional friendships. Because, y’know, it doubles as Happy Singles Day.

I liked doing that, and so I decided to do another one post Valentines Day.

Books:

Hodges, Holly, and Jerome: Mr. Mercedes:

You would never expect a retired, likely depressed detective, a neurotic woman who is very likely on the autism spectrum, and an African-American, tech-smart teenager to ever interact well in a story. Well, in this book, they not only eventually become close friends, but they work together to try to take down a serial killer. They all have several major parts to play, and it’s safe to say the killer would get away with everything if even one of them wasn’t in the book.

TV:

The kids from Stranger Things:

Okay, need I even explain this? While there are romances within the group, the kids as a whole have an amazing, enduring friendship, even in the most bizarre of circumstances. They are all willing to go to great lengths to save each other. I can’t say much without giving away spoilers, but their friendships are amazing and feel honest and genuine.

Movies:

Peter and Ned: Spiderman: Homecoming:

One of them is a superhero. The other is a nerd. When Ned discovers that Peter is Spiderman, he reacts considerably better than you would expect. He mainly just asks a lot of questions at first. But as the danger increases, he proves more useful than you would expect; he eventually becomes “the guy behind the screen”, and helps save Peter’s life on several occasions. Their friendship without Spiderman involved is also amazing and feels honest.

Webtoons:

Florence and Risa, (and Gideon), Winter Moon

These players of an RPG don’t always get along, him being a gay wizard and she a seductive priestess. But as the story goes, it goes from these two (along with another player named Gideon) forming a ragtag team, to something meaningful. When bad parts of Risa’s life make their way into the game, both Florence and Gideon go out of their way to help their friend. It’s a friendship filled with laughs, insults, and humor, but surprisingly touching moments. They’re all like siblings.