History Main / IJustWanttoHaveFriends

* Mary from ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' is [[spoiler:[[ArtInitiatesLife a little girl who was born as a painting and came to life]] through the artist's passion and the museum's strange powers. She's lived in the depths of the museum her whole life with only the other paintings for company, who are all much less intelligent than her and can't even speak. When Ib and Garry come along she instantly clings to them, especially Ib, and desperately wants to escape with them and [[PinocchioSyndrome live as a real girl with good friends.]] This need eventually leads to her working against Garry so she can get out with Ib, and whether her wish is granted depends on which ending you get.]]

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': One of Dr. Clef's lecture on RealityWarpers notes that while adults and teenagers usually use their mind-control powers for sex, children use them to make people be their friends.

Sometimes fictional characters do not so easily get friends handed to them with the plot. They are lonely from the start and desperately looking to make and keep friends. The reasons for their loneliness may vary but, in the end, a character who really wants friends may either try to go about it in the wrong way, make friends with the wrong people, or secretly angst about it behind a [[StepfordSmiler different facade]]. If they end up successful more often than not these fictional characters will turn out to have been [[BeautifulAllAlong sociable all along]], especially for {{Shrinking Violet}}s, {{Nerd}}s, {{Cool Loser}}s, etc.

* Ill girl Marion from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' is like this.

* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', Naminé's entire characterization is this. Unlike other [[EmptyShell nobodies]], Naminé was born not in Twilight Town, but in Castle Oblivion, before no other people; even having [[DiscOneFinalBoss Xemnas]] greet you after you were born is preferable. Shortly after she came into existence, Organization XIII arrived and, realizing her priceless memory-manipulating powers, basically forced her prisoner to modify the memories of the people who next visit the castle: Sora and the gang. After Sora frees her from them, she's willing to take any job from [[AntiHero DiZ]], however selfish it is.
** Plus, aside from her few outdoor scenes, Naminé is always seen in [[AsceticAesthetic a lonely, completely-white room]] with a large table, chair'''s''', pencils, and drawing papers. [[RoomFullOfCrazy Her finished drawings, which always depict other people, sometime decorate the walls]]. Think about that for a second.
** Plus plus, unlike other major characters, Naminé never forms a bond with other characters [[spoiler: in her entire existence]]. The closest she had to a friendship is with Sora, who [[spoiler: subsequently forgets her (and everyone else in Castle Oblivion) after his memories are restored.]] It's probably why during the prologue of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', she tries her hardest to reach Roxas without getting caught; she doesn't want to just inform him about [[spoiler: the virtual world]], but to befriend him as well. Finally, when she's finally freed from having to form unhealthy relationship with anyone, [[spoiler: she has to be absorbed to make Kairi whole.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[https://merryweather-media.tumblr.com/post/619765197157138432/a-lonely-girl-summons-a-demon/amp Art by]] [[https://merryweather-media.tumblr.com/ Merryweather Media]]-]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[https://merryweather-comics.tumblr.com/post/619765197157138432/a-lonely-girl-summons-a-demon Art by]] [[https://merryweather-comics.tumblr.com/ Merryweather Comics]]-]]]

* IllGirl Marion from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' is like this.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' gives this type as the backstory for the titular character. Before the story proper began, the adults of the village scorned him because of [[SealedEvilInACan the Kyuubi]] and told their children to stay away from him. As a result he spent the majority of his childhood desperately alone. His [[StepfordSmiler constant smiling]] and [[SadClown pranking]] were simply methods for gaining some form of acknowledgement.
* Many characters from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' (in fact, the moral of the show is arguably that the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE falls into this category), but particularly emotionally troubled, socially awkward and manically depressed protagonist Shinji Ikari.

** Even though the titular character forges his strongest bonds through Type B, Type A is on display as he is a MagneticHero who can quickly become friends with anyone -- usually by impressing them (like with Tsunade) or [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeating them]] (like with Gaara).

Related to WishFulfillment and FriendlessBackground as these tropes are often, respectively, the meta and InUniverse [[JustifiedTrope justifications]] of this trope. Also related to IJustWantToBeLoved (a craving for love in general) (often, the in-universe justification of this trope), TheFourLoves (a general theory of love that includes friendship as one of its types), FirstFriend, and ImaginaryFriend.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' kicks off with the titular character switching from Type B to Type A. Previously alone and desperate for friends, Iruka's encouragement and Team 7 helps Naruto finally succeed in gaining friends and respect. Often the friendships build slowly, but he is also noted to have the [[ThePowerOfFriendship strange power]] [[MagneticHero to quickly become friends with anyone]], [[DefeatMeansFriendship even his enemies]].

I Just Want To Have Friends, like TheFourLoves, is a form of WishFulfillment answering to the desire that some members of the audience have to form many close friendships. A probable reason this is so common in fictional media is the fact that a high amount of people consider themselves to have very few or no friends at all.[[note]] [[http://www.cracked.com/article_15231_7-reasons-21st-century-making-you-miserable.html some studies]] have shown that the majority of people have at most two [[TrueCompanions good friends]] while 1/4 of people don’t have anyone they would [[SecretKeeper trust with a huge secret]].[[/note]] As this is not limited to real life however, many fictional [[ShrinkingViolet shy people]] and those with [[FriendlessBackground few or no friends]] look for the same fulfillment as the reader, leading to two variants of this trope:

This also happens in RealLife online, where e-relationships eliminate most of the usual hardships of making friends and they help shy people to open themselves and show [[BeneathTheMask how they really are]] without [[InternetJerk worrying about their self image]].

Sometimes fictional characters do not so easily get friends handed to them with the plot. They are lonely from the start and desperately looking to make and keep friends. The reasons for their loneliness may vary but in the end a character who really wants friends may either try to go about it in the wrong way, make friends with the wrong people, or secretly angst about it behind a [[StepfordSmiler different facade]]. If they end up successful more often than not these fictional characters will turn out to have been [[BeautifulAllAlong sociable all along]], especially for {{Shrinking Violet}}s, {{Nerd}}s, {{Cool Loser}}s etc.

A common episode plot for situation comedies, especially [[Main/DomCom domestic comedies]]: A teenage character seems to have no friends at the moment, has a "woe-is-me" fit and wants to make friends now. After a series of pratfalls, the [[AnAesop the Aesop]] usually winds up being that friendships are valuable but need to be chosen carefully and that they don't happen overnight.

Note that, in the book Literature/TheFourLoves, Lewis argues that ''phileo'', Friendship, does not work that way - your friend is someone you have something (activity and/or views) in common with. If you do nothing and have no opinions, you can't have friends in the sense defined by him.

See also WishFulfillment, IJustWantToBeLoved, IJustWantToBeBeautiful, TheFourLoves, IJustWantToBeNormal, IJustWantToBeSpecial, FriendlessBackground, YouAreNotAlone, EtTuBrute, FalseFriend, ImaginaryFriend.

* Gohan in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. He spent much of his childhood being home-schooled, and mostly interacted with people his parents knew. In his first day of high school, he got friends very easily and went on some dates. Granted, this is due to being a handsome, intelligent and kind young man, so it's a given.
* Itou and Saito of the Shinsengumi in ''Anime/{{Gintama}}'' both wanted friends. Itou suffered years of resentment and jealousy of being TheUnfavourite to his ill brother and desperately wishes for acknowledgement, believing that overthrowing Kondou would be the best way, not realizing that the Shinsengumi already treated him as a friend. Saito was too shy to speak to others and his stoic silence misled others and drove them to paranoia and fear.
* Miho of ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' is this in the prequel manga, ''Little Army'', which reveals that her friends, Emi, Chihiro and Hitomi, are the only people she's known with any real interest in tanks, which is why she tries so hard to keep the group together.
* This is stated to be Ayumu Nishizawa's original intention in confessing to Hayate in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler''. It seemed to have evolved into true affection for him by the second time, resolving back to simple friendship later as she realized that Hinagiku really loves him, and the acceptance that both Hinagiku, the rest of the Baka Trio and Nagi have accepted her and she no longer needs to fear being left behind by him.

* Series/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency: Dirk has spent much of his life alone due to his [[WeirdnessMagnet abilities]] scaring everyone away. As a result he clings ''desperately'' to anybody actually willing to stick around.

** The Doctor has elements of this trope. Hundreds of years old, a genius, the last of his race — all of this makes him very isolated. Even when he does get friends, it's inevitable that he'll lose them eventually, either from old age, death, alternate dimensions, mind-wiping or just moving on with their lives or falling in love. The fact that he was shown to plead with his ''arch-nemesis'' not to leave him probably shows just how lonely the Doctor really is.

* In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePresequel'' we learn that [[RobotBuddy Claptrap]] is basically a desperate, nearly-friendless loser in spite of his excessive gregariousness and obnoxious cheerfulness. One skill tree is designed to make him a useful support character in the hopes that the other Vault Hunters will have more reasons to like him (they still don't, naturally). He has a skill where he requests high-fives from his allies and gains and shares buffs if they reciprocate (or keeps them for himself if left hanging), and which will trigger even if he gets punched in the face by a bandit because he's just that needy for any sort of acknowledgement.

* Mary from ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' is [[ArtInitiatesLife a litte girl who was born as a painting and came to life]] through the artist's passion and the museum's strange powers. She's lived in the depths of the museum her whole life with only the other paintings for company, who are all much less intelligent than her and can't even speak. When Ib and Garry come along she instantly clings to them, especially Ib, and desperately wants to escape with them and [[PinocchioSyndrome live as a real girl with good friends.]] This need eventually leads to her working against Garry so she can get out with Ib, and whether her wish is granted depends on which ending you get.

* ''Series/FamilyTies'': "It's My Party" -- an episode that aired during the summer of 1987, even though it was produced during the fourth season) -- sees 14-year-old Jennifer in a funk in making friends, and bored with her unspectacular one. Pining to be one of the popular girls, she falls in with a group of snobbish rich girls that seem to be the most popular. Instead of being "cool" they prove to be a bad influence on Jennifer, as she skips school, stays out past curfew and begins disrespecting her parents. It's only when her friends try to host a beer party at the Keatons, and they also press their luck by trying to make her spurn her friend, that these aren't the friends she wants to have, and is best off with that nerdy, unspectacular friend. (And truth be told, the "cool" girls likely weren't that popular at all, and that Alex's hinted-at advice -- be yourself -- is advice well taken.)

* ''{{Series/Legion|2017}}'': Charles Xavier is so desperate to befriend other mutants that when he finds one in Morocco with [[PsychicRadar Cerebro]] (which he assembled with own hands in order to search for mutants globally), he travels halfway across the world just to meet a fellow telepath. He even ignores how [[QuakingWithFear afraid]] he was when he first sensed Amahl Farouk's mind, which should've been a warning to Charles that Farouk is extremely dangerous. Creator/HarryLloyd [[https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/legion-cements-charles-xavier-and-gabrielles-tragic-love-story-and-davids-doomed-fate clarifies]] on the loneliness that his character feels:

* Hector, protagonist of the WebSerialNovel ''TheZombieKnight''. Combined with his [[ShrinkingViolet crippling shyness]], it has caused him [[{{Angst}} considerable difficulty]], [[spoiler: culminating in his suicide prior to the start of the story]].

* Oh from ''WesternAnimation/{{Home}}'' desperately wants to have friends, and is all too often disappointed by the other Boovs dislike of him. After his journey with Tip he gets one not only in Tip, but also in a number of other Boov, who finally realize what a great guy he is after he stands up to Captain Smek.

* Jeremie Belpois of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko''. While Lyoko doesn't hand him perfectly matched friendships, it ''is'' what drew the team ([[FriendlessBackground his first friends]]) together and he's ''terrified'' of losing his friends once they've beaten XANA.

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