How do you show affection?

[carrot]

Random question, just for fun

Haha, so i've been thinking, and i am just curious as to how you guys show platonic affection, like with your good pals.

Personally, i like making physical connections with the people im closest to....im always holding hands with my best friend, especially at times when we are not speaking but just enjoying eachothers company, and i say i love you alot and sometimes give her a peck on the cheek....hehe....fortunately, this best friend is affectionate in the same way back to me, so it works. Its not at all awkward or weird and we both understand the others intentions.

However, i have other good friends who freak out a little if i try something as simple as to give them a hug...lol! It doesnt necessarily mean they love me less, its just that theyre different than me and i need to respect that.
Iknow of some people who are super tochy feely with ALL their friends, and they practically tackle me every time i see them even though i am not even that close of friends with them (which kinda freaks me out, haha)

Anyone have thoughts on this? How do you show affection? Do you have friends that do things that freak you out by stuff they do, or disappoint you by stuff they dont do or dont like to do?

[Iridescence]

Well I like like this guy but he lives 15 hours away so we can't really hug or kiss or whatever but by showing affection to each other, we say ;3 :3 <3 or like how we make each other happy and having a play fight about who is more amazing.
I have a guy friend who actually lives where I live (:P) but I kind of like him but he doesn't like me like that so I just act like a normal friend and feel bad when I'm supposed to and be happy when he is

[Cabron]

I insult the hell out of my friends. If I'm nice to you, it's probably because we aren't that close.

[QuantumModulus]

I make math/physics/nerdy references in absurd quantities. If I personalize a math joke to one particular feature of someone I know, you can bet that he/she is probably one of my best friends. I don't know any close friends who physically live nearby, so physical displays of affection (with female friends, who are much more open than I am) is limited to a hug or a kiss on the cheek every now and then.

[Acheron]

Originally Posted by Cabron

I insult the hell out of my friends. If I'm nice to you, it's probably because we aren't that close.

This as well, actually. Not all the time, but we abuse each other horribly.

[dr2005]

Good old-fashioned banter is the order of the day - applies to both friends and co-workers, to the extent that I've been called "gobby" at work on a few occasions. It's all good fun.

[Eldora]

Hmm...

With my close girl friends, I tend to walk around with my arms looped through theirs or something, I open doors for them a lot and retrieve stuff and whatever else (most often without their asking), tease them a lot, and give them lots of hugs and poke them a lot and everything. I admit that I had a crush on one of those close friends of mine, but most of the time, I'm the same way, whether they're just a good friend or someone I'd like to have a relationship with.

With my close guy friends, or sometimes girls I don't have a crush on, I pretty much just tease them and tell jokes, and some I tend to have a friendly rivalry with. With my guy friends, I practically never give them hugs. I'm more for showing my affection through words: I'll be friendly, open, and laugh, and when it comes time that I won't see them over the summer or something, I'll just tell them goodbye, and somehow they always seem to know that I actually mean I'm going to miss them.