Sunday Swoons | The Friend Factor in Relationships

Sunday Swoons is a weekly feature hosted by Briana @Reader, Writer, Critic and myself where we discuss all things romantical in fiction whether it's our favorite couples or quirkiest pick-up lines. We've both been busy which explains the lateness of this post. Oops. I hope you like reading our posts. Briana was the mastermind behind this topic :) Link up and have fun with us!

Rules:
1. You're welcome (and, in fact, encouraged ;)) to use my/our button in your post, just please cite me as the source.

2. You can post in whatever style you would like: list, discussion, etc. as long as what you are talking about goes with the topic for the week.

3. You either must follow the topic given OR you can do a post on the opposite of the topic we give. (Example: Our topic-- Top 5 Favorite Couples, Your topic-- Top 5 Least Favorite Couples.)

4. Your posts don't have to have anything to do with books you are reading right now. If you reference specific books, they can be past or older reads. (It's nice if you put in the Goodreads link to the book, or another site that will take readers to the book's synopsis, cover, and other information.)

5. Please remember to link back to us in your post, giving us credit for the feature! Also, you can add your link to the link-up tool at either of our posts. You'll only have to enter once so don't enter on both of our link-ups.

This week's topic: The Friend Factor in Relationships--How Other Friends Fit into Main Characters' Relationships and What Effects They Can Have

First, I'd just like to clarify a few things about the title for today's topic. Don't be confused by the longness ;) we just wanted to make sure it was clear that you can write anything about friends/best friends as related to relationships. This isn't limited to a discussion post. You could also write a post on a list of your favorite fictional friends and why. In the "why" section, you could focus on how they affected the relationship of the main couple. So your favorites would be based on the things you liked about how they influenced the main couple. There's a ton of room for a HUGE range of topics, so have fun with this. :)

I always feel like if the main character has a close friend (especially of the opposite gender but also including the same gender) it shows that the relationship he or she is in is healthy. I don't want to focus on the philosophical-ness of it all too much today, but it really shows that the relationship is healthy if there are other close friends. It shows that they have time for other people besides each other. 

I'm not against close couples. Not at all. I just think that it's better if they have other friends besides each other. And it's just a given to me, that the couple should be good friends before they are a good couple. 

Friends are the best, because they're there when you need someone to talk to besides the one you're in like/love with. They usually give their opinion more freely than the guy/girl who likes you. The friendship isn't clouded with the confusion or nervousness that comes with a couple's relationship. 

So...now that I've gotten it across that I'm all for fictional besties, what kinds are there? Glad you asked. :D

1. The Supportive, Sweet Friend.
This friend is always there for the main character. No matter what, they believe and support and love the MC. And sometimes that's the only thing that keeps the MC up. These kinds of friends also usually support the MC's romantic decisions, but if they don't they'll only let them know subtly. They'll be reluctant to bring it up. However, they'll do it. And if they do, you know there's something you should watch out for. Because this friend almost never straight-up dislikes anybody. 

2. The Jokester.
This friend is always laughing and joking around. Corny jokes, funny stories....yeah, you know a person like this don't you. ;) They don't seem to take life (or anything really) seriously. But if they're friends with the MC, they will take it seriously whenever they think something's up with the luuurve interest. If they don't like him/her, they'll probably cut the joking and go a little silent for them. When the smiles stop coming, you should be worried. Even though these friends don't seem like they pay attention, they know what's going on. 

3. The Sarcastic Skeptic
This type of friend has a personality that usually tends to go one of two ways. a) The friend is loud, popular and never hesitates to speak their mind or b) they are more of a quiet, loner type...and still never hesitate to speak their mind. Either way, you know they always have the MC's back. They will never hold back from telling the MC exactly what they think of the new love interest whether good or bad. While it won't be easy to get them to approve of a love interest, once they do you're good. 

What do you think? Do you prefer it when fictional couples have friends outside of their little lonely selves? What's your favorite kind of friend? Is it one of the ones I wrote about or is there another one? Tell all :)

Also, if you've read my Changes & Chocolate post about how I'm changing it up on the blog and haven't been able to vote on the poll I put there, I'm sorry. I re-did it today and it still doesn't work. I have no idea what's wrong but, for now, if you want to put in your vote just put it in the comments of that post. 

Have a great day! And don't forget to check out Briana's post. 

Next Week's Topic: Couples on Covers