I'm going to tell a little story as an example here...
One day I was at the grocery store. While walking down the cereal aisle, I noticed a young gentleman pursuing the selection of cereals along the side. I stopped to watch for a moment as he quietly murmured to himself about the nutritional content. The price per pound. Even the order of placement upon the shelves according to brand name versus genre of product.
After about thirty seconds, I selected what I wanted and walked past him, continuing on my way. Neither of us said hello, nor did we hold a dialogue because there was no reason to. We were both there for our own reasons and said reasons required no interaction of a 2nd or 3rd party.
Does this sound at all familiar? It should. I see it almost nightly in the Quicksand. I walk in and stand along the railing just to see if anything is going on. Coatleque likes to listen for news or rumors that may pertain to things she is investigating. That is her job after all.
Then I see someone sitting alone at a table emote how they are cleaning their glasses and reading a book. Or how they pour themselves the fourth drink of the night. I look at it and go "Hmm, that is interesting." then continue on my way.
The point being that while reading such an attempt at drawing attention is good for room filler, Coatleque as a person has no reason at all to suddenly walk up and engage them. Truth be told, neither would anyone else! How often in real life do we go up to a complete stranger in Starbucks who is reading a book and just start rambling about ourselves?!
If you do not give people a reason to engage - a line that sticks out or a question that needs answering - you are going to have a hard time finding people who will respond.
One day I was at the grocery store. While walking down the cereal aisle, I noticed a young gentleman pursuing the selection of cereals along the side. I stopped to watch for a moment as he quietly murmured to himself about the nutritional content. The price per pound. Even the order of placement upon the shelves according to brand name versus genre of product.
After about thirty seconds, I selected what I wanted and walked past him, continuing on my way. Neither of us said hello, nor did we hold a dialogue because there was no reason to. We were both there for our own reasons and said reasons required no interaction of a 2nd or 3rd party.
Does this sound at all familiar? It should. I see it almost nightly in the Quicksand. I walk in and stand along the railing just to see if anything is going on. Coatleque likes to listen for news or rumors that may pertain to things she is investigating. That is her job after all.
Then I see someone sitting alone at a table emote how they are cleaning their glasses and reading a book. Or how they pour themselves the fourth drink of the night. I look at it and go "Hmm, that is interesting." then continue on my way.
The point being that while reading such an attempt at drawing attention is good for room filler, Coatleque as a person has no reason at all to suddenly walk up and engage them. Truth be told, neither would anyone else! How often in real life do we go up to a complete stranger in Starbucks who is reading a book and just start rambling about ourselves?!
If you do not give people a reason to engage - a line that sticks out or a question that needs answering - you are going to have a hard time finding people who will respond.
