The Best Friends You'll Ever Have | 22: Of Music & Nail Polish

[luxken27]

Chapter Title: 22 | Of Music & Nail Polish
Prompt: #097 – Nail Polish
Universe: Mid-canon
Genre: General
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1,473
Summary: Janine Kishi did not have much in common with her sister Claudia, but what they did share, she cherished.

Links: FF.net | DW | LJ | AO3

Written for imamaryanne, for the 2015 fandom_stocking holiday exchange.

My final fandom_stocking gift this year was written for imamaryanne, who mentioned that Janine Kishi is one of her favorite BSC characters, and that she "adore[s] sibling stories." Because Janine had firm hold of my muse, I decided to try my hand at some sister fic with Janine and Claudia.

I think that Janine really put forth an effort to enjoy her sister's company in canon, whether or not Claudia was willing to admit it. She is always shown as being very supportive of Claudia's endeavors, no matter how wacky they may be. They had their differences, to be sure, but I think there was far more friction on Claudia's end than Janine's.

A good example of their sibling relationship is Mystery #6, The Mystery at Claudia's House. Janine finally decides to take an interest in her appearance because she's managed to attract the attention of a gorgeous boy who just happens to be a genius, too. She dives right in with the makeup (and the lying, as she attempts to keep her burgeoning relationship a secret) even though she has no idea what she's doing, and when Claudia finds out what she's doing - and, more importantly, why - she's only too happy to help her sister. Finally, they've stumbled into an arena that Claudia has far more experience and confidence with. She gives her sister a mini makeover, and all's well that ends well - Janine and Jerry Michaels are an item for a long stretch of mid-canon.

I picked the nail polish debacle from that book because it was more or less glossed over, and because nail polish just happens to be one of my biggest, geekiest interests, LOL. I change my polish every week, and though I am not as creative as Claudia, I do have the self-manicure routine down pretty well. My nail polish army is about 200 bottles strong, including the various base coats, top coats, and treatments. (One of my biggest disappointments so far in 2016 has been the lack of new nail polish trends - I haven't bought the first bottle this year, which probably says more about me than I care to admit, LOL.)

I usually polish my nails while watching something on TV to help the time go by faster, but listening to music also works, especially if you listen to an album (or radio station) that has songs roughly the same length. Blade is a band mentioned in RS #107, and Claudia gets uncharacteristically excited about the idea of attending one of their concerts, so I can totally picture her having *all* of their albums - as well as Janine have little patience for listening to them over and over again, even muffled through the walls that separate their bedrooms :P

Janine as a sekrit alt rock fan has actually been a piece of my head-canon for years ~ and actually, STP play a pretty heavy role in my BSC head-canon, period, because their peak of popularity was the same as the BSC's. I can totally see the older siblings of the BSC members being into somewhat heavier music (grunge, metal, and teenagers was THE combination of the early-mid 90s, LOL) and, IDK, I've always liked STP's music. Scott Weiland's death in December certainly brought all of this back to the fore for me, so I suppose its no surprise that it popped up in a fandom_stocking fic featuring BSC older siblings.

I thought it would be a great, unexpected moment of bonding for Claud and Janine, too. There isn't much that Janine says or does that impresses Claudia, but having this seemingly out-of-character interest, for something that Claudia would consider cool, would immediately grab her attention. It gives them a chance to bond, which Janine is always looking for, and brings them closer together. Janine might not care too much for her sister's fashion advice, but they can, apparently, hold a satisfying conversation about music.

I think its the unexpected moments that are the best, and deepen the characters beyond their surface traits. Janine has a secret sweet tooth, just like Claud's, which also doesn't jive with her straitlaced persona, so why not have some unconventional tastes in music, too?

imamaryanne enjoyed the fic, for which I'm very happy - this isn't exactly my comfort zone when it comes to BSC fic, but it was fun to explore their sibling relationship and capture a moment in time when they were closer to each other than further apart. Janine already craves those sorts of moments, and I think as she grows up, Claudia will come to appreciate them, too.