#their friendships and connections

[jaredthebc]

Do you ever think about how almost all of N’s Pokémon throughout the first games were one offs he released after he battled you, how he cared about them all deeply enough that he thought it would be selfish to have them battle more than necessary. And do you ever think about how this is the case with all his Pokémon EXCEPT his Klinklang in the final battle at the league, where the second to last battle he had a Klink and this Klinklang is very likely that same Pokémon? Do you think this was a visual representation of his mindset wavering from a fixed point? How that Klink refused to leave him right away and he couldn’t bring himself to force them to leave because his mind is in so many different directions? He can keep them around just a little longer until he becomes champion, it won’t be long, he can bend things some so long as he doesn’t fully stray from his path…right?

Or is that just me am I the only one willing to be insane about Klinklang of all Pokémon

[seventeendeer]

ppl are too quick to point to laios' disability as the reason his friends think he's a freak sometimes. so many instances of laios getting yelled at are, in my eyes, a case of "this guy had to emotionally mature very early in order to be there for his little sister" combined with "much older friends who never had to learn to manage their own emotions to the same degree"

a lot of the time he's right about needing to be more direct/deal with things in a way that may seem scary/needing to put your gut reaction aside. he tries not to make his friends uncomfortable and he puts up with a lot because he's trying to keep the peace, but he also pushes the others out of their comfort zones purposefully to try to get them to think more constructively. everyone else in the party is prone to acting on their gut instincts and avoiding uncomfortable situations even when facing them head-on is very much necessary. part of what makes laios such a great leader is the fact that he knows from experience how to put his own feelings aside to help someone else grow.

yes, he does make a lot of social blunders by accident and he does struggle to connect with others, but not all of his positive influence on others is accidental or "despite" making people uncomfortable. a lot of the time, I think it's clear he knows exactly what he's doing and he's trying to help the people around him process emotions in a healthy way as they all go through some truly harrowing shit. all the main characters support each other as well as they can with their unique emotional skillsets. laios' skillset just happens to be "gently talk child into eating her vegetables"

[chloesimaginationthings]

Friendship never dies in FNAF..

[dapper-lil-arts]

Luna has to babysit Sunset when Celestia is away

[iambrillyant]

“honor the friendships that allow you to pick up from where you last left off, regardless of how long it’s been since you connected. the friendships that survive hiatuses, silences and space. those are the connections that never die.”

— iambrillyant

[cerleansky]

My therapist was so real for saying the meaning of life is found in connection.

People hug their friends when they meet up and hug them a little tighter when it comes time to say goodbye. My grandfather rebuilt the broken rocking horse my grandmother had as a child, a gift from her father. There's an indescribable ache that goes along with seeing someone you used to know intimately, the becoming of a common stranger. Coincidences that bind, one time I got an uber and the driver used to live in my home before me. It was the last place he saw his father alive as a child and he nearly cried when I told him the walls were still the same colour.

Has anyone ever gotten over their childhood best friend? Is that alone not a testament to the fact we are more than blood and bones.

It's all about connection, friends.

[deconstructthesoup]

God now I need a fanfic where Fig goes to a meet-the-parents-type dinner with Ayda and gets introduced to Lapin Cadbury, "my father's candy rabbit boyfriend"

[ingravinoveritas]

David, Michael, and the joy of being together...

| GO 1 press tour, 2019 vs. TV BAFTAs red carpet, 2024.

[abyssal-ilk]

thinking so so hard about vivienne's defensive reactions to dorian and cassandra trying (and failing) to comfort her over bastien's passing. chewing on it. thinking about her inability to talk about bastien, even to an inquisitor when the player tries to talk to her about him.

and then her banter with blackwall, who is one of the companions she has a mostly negative dynamic with, yet it is him and not dorian or cassandra that she responds kindly to.

blackwall doesn't dance around it or try to lessen the blow of bringing it up like dorian and cassandra do, and i think she appreciates that directness. she still doesn't open herself up to him, though. she is so,,, agh

[demigods-posts]

one interesting aspect of percy and rachel's relationship that isn't often highlighted is how empathetic percy must have been toward rachel about seeing through the mist as a small child. because percy was the kid who saw a man with one eye stalking him at the local playground. the kid who saw a horse with wings resting atop the roof of a nearby building. the kid who was nearly killed by a fury disguised as his algebra teacher. and the kid who understood what if felt like to distrust the world around him, to be reprimanded for falling victim to the fear that accompanied it. if it was anything that percy offered rachel. it was the grace of understanding a uniquely mortal experience.

[in-tenebris-et-in-solitudine]

[longreads]

For men like me, spin is hard. Not just the workout, but the vulnerability: letting go of competition and leaning into the group, a dying of self so the room can revive.

New Longreads essay alert! In “Communion,” Nashville writer Raleigh McCool writes about loneliness, the desire for friendship, and finding connection in an unlikely place: spin class.

[reasonsforhope]

"It's easy to lose touch with friends, especially when you live far apart. And sometimes the longer you've gone without speaking to someone, the harder it feels to pick up where you left off. However, a new study suggests that reaching out to pals—especially ones that you have not talked to in a while—is even more appreciated than initially thought.

“People are fundamentally social beings and enjoy connecting with others. Yet, despite the importance and enjoyment of social connection, do people accurately understand how much other people value being reached out to by someone in their social circle?” the study asks. To answer this question, the authors gathered 5,900 participants and put them through a series of experiments.

In one scenario, half of the participants were asked to remember the last time they contacted a friend they had fallen out of touch with, then estimate on a seven-point scale how appreciative the person was (with one being the lowest score, and seven being the highest). Then, the other half of the participants were prompted to recall a time when someone had reached out to them and assign a number to how grateful they were. When these two groups were compared, the researchers found that people greatly underestimated the value of reaching out to someone.

“Across a series of preregistered experiments, we document a robust underestimation of how much other people appreciate being reached out to,” the authors continue. “We find evidence compatible with an account wherein one reason this underestimation of appreciation occurs is because responders (vs. initiators) are more focused on their feelings of surprise at being reached out to. A focus on feelings of surprise in turn predicts greater appreciation.”

In another experiment, participants were told to send a note and small gift to a friend they had not interacted with for a long period of time. They were then asked to estimate on a numerical scale how thankful the person would be because of the contact. Additionally, the receivers of the gifts were asked to rank their feelings upon accepting the gift on the same seven-number scale. Once again, the gift-givers greatly underestimated how much their gesture meant to the other person.

The study concluded that reaching out to people—particularly those that you've lost contact with—is almost always appreciated. It can seem challenging to maintain healthy social interactions, especially due to an increased amount of people working from home and a lack of opportunities. But clearly, the evidence suggests that a little extra effort is worth it.

“For those treading back into the social milieu with caution and trepidation,” the study adds, “feeling woefully out of practice and unsure, our work provides robust evidence and an encouraging green light to go ahead and surprise someone by reaching out.”"

-via My Modern Met, 7/31/22

[crabsnpersimmons]

"Your heart was in the right place. Don't blame your earnestness and efforts for their lack of understanding—the right people will appreciate your heart."

EDIT: i mention this in the tags already, but please don't copy my vent tags in your reblogs. thanks for understanding.

[iambrillyant]

“the most beautiful connections celebrate your authenticity and encourage you to be less performative, they find ways of applauding your entire existence even when you’re unable to show up as your full self, they shed light in your lowest moments so you can see yourself clearly.”

— iambrillyant

[quinns-art-box]

this was my piece for the digital kaede zine, overture! it was a wonderful experience getting to be part of this project for a character i love so much 💖 @akamatsuzine

btw leftover sales are currently open :]