I get what you mean about not wanting to talk to people because your character has no motivation to do so. I used to do this a lot as well. After all, it's more polite to just not bother random strangers around you with small talk, and I, at the very least, usually imprint that social rule on whatever universes I'm rping in, as well. But rp walk-ups are kind of like jumping into a random beach volleyball game on vacation. Yeah, they're all strangers. Yeah, it might be a little awkward at first. But you're all there to have fun, and there's a 90% chance they'll let you play. So my OOC advice is to just not sweat it too much. It's probably not the most heartening advice, but it's a lot easier to follow once you realize that if someone didn't want to ever meet new people, they'd go rp in their private apartment instead of the Quicksand
As for your character's introvertedness, I've got two suggestions for getting around that. I think your best shot is to make a thread in the Making Connections subforum. Doing that lets you connect with other players OOCly first, then figure out the IC details, which sounds like exactly what you're looking for. Look at a few examples in there to see what I'm talking about. Throw up a thread describing your character and see what you can reel in. Look around that forum at other threads and see if you find any other interesting characters that speak to you. Chances are you'll start running into people that have things in common with your character or present an interesting dynamic. And once you figure out OOCly who you're interested in rping with, you can go about coordinating meeting them and can get as in-depth as you want as to the why and how you're having that initial conversation. And from there, it works like normal socializing. You meet friends of friends and so on.
For walk-ups, if you choose to engage in them, I'd recommend the most simple motivation you can possibly give your character: they don't have anything else to do and need to pass the time. If the alternative is to stare at the wall and watch paint dry, it's entirely reasonable to end up conversing with your neighbors, particularly if you're sitting next to each other at a bar or some other social gathering. Granted, your character may be the type to just happen to have a book in their pocket to read instead, and if that's how you want to play it, more power to you, but it's a no muss, no fuss solution that can break you into a lot of situations if you're willing to go with it. And it's always possible to overhear some tidbit that piques your character's interest (though by no means guaranteed), and then you have an in.
With your FC mates, I'd say you have a similarly easy in: you're basically co-workers. Sure, your character might not care about their problems or whatever grand, world-saving quest they're in the middle of right away, but there's plenty of opportunity for small talk. I'll admit I don't know how your FC is run, but I imagine there's still rp on the nights between the big plot events, and that's a good opportunity to get your foot in the door. But, if this single, big plotline is absolutely the only thing going on and your character isn't invested, then it might unfortunately be time to move on to a new FC. If you've spent years of your time and still don't feel comfortable or like you fit in, it's probably not going to get better. We've got a subforum for Free Companies, too. I can almost guarantee you can find something there to pique both your and your character's interest, and if your character's interested, well, then, they have a reason to get involved and start socializing, don't they?
Most FCs also have a theme or mission statement that usually binds them all together. Whether it's a free company that's gathering a particular race of people together or an adventuring guild on a mission, you're all there either because you have the same goal or you're seeking a home with likeminded individuals, and that's plenty of motivation to at least be curious about the people your character is working/living alongside every day.
I know that ended up a lot, but I hope something in there helps! Shoot me a PM if you have any questions.
As for your character's introvertedness, I've got two suggestions for getting around that. I think your best shot is to make a thread in the Making Connections subforum. Doing that lets you connect with other players OOCly first, then figure out the IC details, which sounds like exactly what you're looking for. Look at a few examples in there to see what I'm talking about. Throw up a thread describing your character and see what you can reel in. Look around that forum at other threads and see if you find any other interesting characters that speak to you. Chances are you'll start running into people that have things in common with your character or present an interesting dynamic. And once you figure out OOCly who you're interested in rping with, you can go about coordinating meeting them and can get as in-depth as you want as to the why and how you're having that initial conversation. And from there, it works like normal socializing. You meet friends of friends and so on.
For walk-ups, if you choose to engage in them, I'd recommend the most simple motivation you can possibly give your character: they don't have anything else to do and need to pass the time. If the alternative is to stare at the wall and watch paint dry, it's entirely reasonable to end up conversing with your neighbors, particularly if you're sitting next to each other at a bar or some other social gathering. Granted, your character may be the type to just happen to have a book in their pocket to read instead, and if that's how you want to play it, more power to you, but it's a no muss, no fuss solution that can break you into a lot of situations if you're willing to go with it. And it's always possible to overhear some tidbit that piques your character's interest (though by no means guaranteed), and then you have an in.
With your FC mates, I'd say you have a similarly easy in: you're basically co-workers. Sure, your character might not care about their problems or whatever grand, world-saving quest they're in the middle of right away, but there's plenty of opportunity for small talk. I'll admit I don't know how your FC is run, but I imagine there's still rp on the nights between the big plot events, and that's a good opportunity to get your foot in the door. But, if this single, big plotline is absolutely the only thing going on and your character isn't invested, then it might unfortunately be time to move on to a new FC. If you've spent years of your time and still don't feel comfortable or like you fit in, it's probably not going to get better. We've got a subforum for Free Companies, too. I can almost guarantee you can find something there to pique both your and your character's interest, and if your character's interested, well, then, they have a reason to get involved and start socializing, don't they?
Most FCs also have a theme or mission statement that usually binds them all together. Whether it's a free company that's gathering a particular race of people together or an adventuring guild on a mission, you're all there either because you have the same goal or you're seeking a home with likeminded individuals, and that's plenty of motivation to at least be curious about the people your character is working/living alongside every day.
I know that ended up a lot, but I hope something in there helps! Shoot me a PM if you have any questions.
![[Image: GBUL5nO.jpg]](https://cdn.pbrd.co/images/GBUL5nO.jpg)
