Kristy + Alan Gray = ?

[greer]

Aln's post about Alan and Kristy in the Phantom thread made me think. What do you all think about Kristy and Alan's relationship? In Phantom, it definitely seemed like she liked him and they went to several dances together. In the very end of the series, however, the love-hate seemed to turn to hate-hate. Is this because of Alan's sabotaging of Claudia's art show? Was it his awful treatment of Mal Pike during the "Spaz Girl" era?

Or did their strange love never die? Witness Kristy's reaction in FF when Claud and Alan started dating--she was super mad. Could it be that she was... jealous?

[blossom114]

I always thought Kristy and Alan were a cute couple SO I guess I was a Kristy/Alan pusher.
I've only read like two of the FF series.

[starrynight]

I thought they were cute together, and I thought they made more sense as a couple than Alan and Claudia. I doubt Kristy was jealous about that, though. I actually got the impression that the ghostwriters had forgotten about their dating early on in the series, and just made Kristy hate him like everyone else did.

[fluffycakes]

Yeah, I don't see Claudia and Alan together, either. They don't make much sense to me - then again, I've never read any of the FF books. I like the idea of the Kristy-Alan pairing, and I wish they had ended up together. I said it before, but I was disappointed in Myserty Admirer when it turned out to be Bart. I wanted it to be Alan sending those notes!

[hitzpink]

I really dislike Alan, but I can see Kristy secretly having a crush on him. I wouldn't like to see them as a couple though because I just imagine them bickering all the time.

[janey83]

I always felt like Kristy & Alan should have at least been friends. The tv show confused me because Logan gets a few of the guys to become babysitters and it turns out that Alan is pretty good with kids, as in the movie, too. Sooo...in the books, this doesn't happen at all. Why couldn't Alan have been an associate, too -- or at least a last resort babysitter? Poor Alan, he meant well, right?

[booboobrewer]

I wonder why Alan in both the TV show and movie was good with kids. I never got the impression that he would be interested in babysitting from the books.

[greer]

i think because he was one of the few male characters in the series who had any sort of defined personality, so they wanted to make him vital to the movie/tv show to add some sexual tension.

[hitzpink]

You're probably right, greer. Although I'll never understand why they decided to make him have a crush on Dawn in the movie! That's almost as bad as Alan & Claudia in FF.

[sotypical42483]

I hate Alan. I hate the thought of him w/ any of them. I think Kristy/Alan is too cliche. The whole "I hate you so much that I love you" thing is annoying and overdone. Alan/Claudia is even worse because it comes from nowhere.

What does Alan do to Mal during the Spaz Girl stuff? Haven't read those.

[baseballchica03]

I still say that Alan and Abby would be awesome together, with their hilariously bad humor and silliness.

[sotypical42483]

I might be able to get on board with that, baseballchica. has Abby ever expressed any outward hatred towards Alan?

[aln1982]

She does go off on him in Abby's Twin when he innocently runs into Anna and knocks her down. It's kind of funny because it is so uncalled for and is just showing Abby freaking out being overprotective. Other than that, don't remember any interaction between them.
I haven't read the FF series at all but never got the impression of a hate/hate relationship between Kristy and Alan, even at the end of the BSC books. Maybe I just overlooked it because I really like them together or maybe I'm forgetting something.

[greer]

kristy calls him the most disgusting human to ever walk the earth. i think that's pretty hate-y.

[alula]

But Kristy's pretty given to hyperbole. I think Kristy probably thinks she hates him, but deep down, she's bothered by the Claudia/Alan hook-up for more reasons than she could let on.

I just reread European Vacation, and that made me think that Kristy really only seems to generate sexual tension with the antagnonistic, bickering, constant oneupmanship sort of style--which is interesting, because as big a cliche (or I would say a trope, because my years of Lit studies have made me a snobby snob) as that is, it doesn't really happen with any of the other girls, that I can think of. Maybe a little with Claudia and Mark Jaffe (but I hate him!), or maybe early Sam and Stacey, but that's pretty one sided; Sam acts like a doofus and Stacey doesn't like it. The other girls may banter or tease with their boyfriends or crushes, but it doesn't have that constant competitive, battling undertone. But I think that's just part of Kristy's nature--I think that may be ultimately part of why she loses interest in Bart when he clearly wants to shift their relationship away from bickering about the Basher/Krusher rivalry to straightforward romance. I can relate to that--I'm much more of a Mary Anne, but if I flirt, I tend to do a lot of the sarcastic/snarky/jokey kind of chatter--it's the only way I can do it without wanting to crawl into a hole and die. And as a bonus, if it doesn't work out, you can always say you weren't really flirting at all!

Kristy likes attention (which Alan, thoughout the series, gives to her in spades), and she likes to feel secure in her role vis-a-vis others, if that makes sense. She may say she hates Alan dropping ice down her back and stuff, but to me, it always seemed like deep down, she gets a tiny bit of affirmation from that. She and Alan have been rivals since kindergarten, and in a way, I think it subconsciously proves to her that she's important that he still follows her around and says dumb stuff and pulls pranks--and that no matter what she says back, he won't go away. I think Kristy really likes to feel like she can stake a claim, especially after having been abandoned by her dad, and although she'd never admit it, she kind of appreciates Alan's faithful (albeit irritating) presence in her life.

So, yes, I think Kristy was taken aback that Alan--her "follower," so to speak, would date Claudia--and that Claudia would agree. To her, it's sort of like a double betrayal, even though she didn'y want to date Alan herself, either,