Could Francy happen?

I talked about Ned and Nancy (Nedcy) in a previous blog. What I want to theorize on today is whether Frank and Nancy (or Francy) could happen. I'm going off of the Herinteractive games, for reference. 

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I mean no ill will toward Ned. I'd like to make that clear right now. I like many aspects of Ned, including his impressive loyalty to Nancy and sweet, sappy conversation. He's also a good man for advice in earlier games. While that is all true, Francy is an attractive option since Frank and Nancy share a lifestyle of travel and adventures on a consistent basis. How would this actually look and would it work? Let's find out. 

Background Information

The Hardys are mostly phone friends, with the exception of three games where they are physically present. You can become the Hardys in Kapu Cave (both brothers), Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon (Frank only), and Midnight In Salem (Frank only). It's important to look at how many games they are in as both phone friends and present investigators. The game that only features Joe won't be counted in this case. Frank is in games 6-10, 13-15, 22, 25, 28, and 32-33. This means he's in a lot of the games and is in contact with Nancy quite a lot, though the fact that usually Joe is on the line means we don't get too many romantic declarations going on. I hear no mention of Frank having a girlfriend, though the books say he does. I'm going off of game references, so we'll just forget about the books for this post.

In Deadly Device, Captive Curse, Trail of the Twister, Midnight In Salem, and maybe a few more I'm forgetting it is subtly referenced or observed in dialogue that Frank has a crush on Nancy. What you don't hear is her flirting back. When talking to Ned, Nancy talks about calling Frank casually, as if talking about a friend. She says that the Hardys are kind of a set. I hate to crush the Francy dreams of all us Francy fans, but game Nancy isn't flirting back. Nancy from the games is not going that direction, or she would have already cheated on Ned or dumped Ned. In fact, she wants to patch things up with Ned and makes it a priority in Midnight In Salem and Captive Curse. I don't see it happening. 

Why It Would Work If It Happened

I know some people don't agree with the Francy argument, but let me explain why their relationship could work, if it happened. While the games obviously don't want to split up the Nedcy situation, I'd like to explain my opinion.

Point one is lifestyle. Both of them are already working together on cases, traveling all over everywhere solving mysteries. What Ned lacks is the understanding that she needs space, but Frank gives her that space by working his own cases. Then they come together to celebrate their success. The one thing Midnight In Salem puts up as a possibility is running a detective agency with the Hardys, which Nancy doesn't decline, but doesn't say yes to either. I could see Frank and Nancy doing case work together on a consistent basis and loving it. 

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Point two is their strong friendship and support for each other. One cannot deny that when working cases together they give support to both sides, without too much disagreement or arguing about how to work the case itself. This friendship has been going strong without all that much conflict for years, unlike the Nedcy situation which is getting harder to maintain for Nancy and Ned. While Frank, too, would worry about Nancy unceasingly, he wouldn't be creating as much conflict because he was bored because he has stuff to do. I do love Ned, but I think he needs more hobbies that aren't Nancy-based. Frank has a side business with Joe, thus he's got a hobby.

Point three is his understanding of Nancy. Such a strong friendship leads to deep understanding of each other. He's not afraid to let her have space, nor is he hounding her for more contact with him. Nancy's tunnel vision is not a problem when he's got his own cases to work. I said that Nancy needed space to live her life in the Nedcy blog. Frank understands that and also knows what frustrates her, especially after watching her relationship with Ned go into hard times. I find it impossible to believe she hasn't talked about it with the Hardys. She tends to open up to Frank about a lot. 

Could It Go Bad?

Yes, it could. One of the issues I see is that Frank and Nancy could get too busy for each other. Both are working active cases on a daily basis. The clinginess of Ned may not show up in Frank, but they are indeed busy people all the time. What could stop that from happening is going into business together. That solution could make it work more fluidly. That happens naturally no matter what, thus I think this issue isn't a particularly big one. 

The other issue is where they live. Physical distance makes for a hard relationship. Her friends are in River Heights and his are in Bayport. I think they are states away. Allegedly, Illinois and Massachusetts are supposed to be the states they live in. Hours of driving or a flight away is not the ideal distance to create a relationship. Given how much they travel, it may not be that bad for them, if they work the same cases together. However, it makes a romantic getaway hard to plan for around cases. Ned complains about getting together while living in the same town, but Frank would have to literally take a long drive or a flight to even get together with her for a weekend. This is a huge issue they'd have to figure out.

Courtesy of Herinteractive

Conclusions

I love the idea of Francy, but the games aren't going to put them together anytime soon. Nancy is trying to patch up her Nedcy situation, thus I come to the conclusion it isn't happening. They have long established that Ned is Nancy's man and won't be changing that. Francy'd be fun, yes, but I do see the major issue being the travel required to be physically together. Being used to travel doesn't make a long-distance relationship any easier. She already has trouble making time for Ned without states of distance in her way.

Sources:

https://nancydrew.fandom.com/wiki/