Other how'd you meet your [best] friend?

[cyberpvnk]

unfortunately, i suffer from lonely bitch syndrome tm, and i really wish i could fix it.
the only two people i currently have that i could consider friends constantly ignore me for months at a time, only talking to me after i triple message after seeing them online for the 400th time, which i have read is not a healthy friendship. past attempts to form relationships have also failed. i can't seem to click with anyone.

so i figured: why not ask rpn people how they met their best friends? the more in-depth, the better

 

[Onmyoji]

Spoiler: a few fun stories

It was in a MMORPG about 14 years ago. There was a PvP-related event and I loved PvP in that game so of course I went to play. I was gathering random teams. I had a lot of fun and added some of the people I played with to friend list. There was one that I invited a few more times to my PvP teams. And we also played PvE together later on. Then started talking outside the game. Turned out we had a lot in common, shared many interests in anime and games! We also started playing other games together. Then a few years later we met irl. And... now we're still playing games together and meeting irl at least once a year (we're from different countries, so it can't be often). That friend is very important to me and I know it's mutual.

A few of my other good friends I met through my blog. We were mutual subscribers at some point and also talked through comments and registered on same forums, some of them were my first rp partners! It's more than one friend, fun thing is that they all are friends with each other too, not just 'my' friends XD Basically it was my first roleplaying group and old fandom group lol We still share some fandoms and hobbies!

Oh, and one was hilarious. We were in the same class to study English abroad (we're both non-native English speakers and from different countries). And in one of the lessons there was a discussion about favorite books and authors. Turned out we had the same favorite author AND by coincidence that said author was on a tour and was signing books in the very same town on the very same day! After the class we both went to sign the books and while standing in a 4-hour long queue we became friends.

All of the people mentioned above I know for 10+ years. There were times when we barely talked, too busy with stuff, but we still managed to keep our friendship no matter what.
As you can also see, all of the above (except one) were online friends originally, although that last one can also considered online even if we met irl first, since we mostly talk online as well.

Now, I also met some very nice people here on RPN through roleplaying or just talking on the forums. I don't know if friendships I found now would be as long-lasting as the ones I talked about, it's too early to say, but I surely hope so! Some already lasted for 2+ years which is a good sign XD

Also, as you can see, they are not that many. A lot of people I met along the way disappeared. Even some people I used to consider best friends before are not 'best' anymore, and some are not ever 'friends' anymore. Things can and will change.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

The story of how I met my best friend really isn't that deep. We just passed the 10 year mark on our friendship, which is crazy to believe. But we were both freshmen in high school and very quiet people and the last people running the track during gym class. We also shared a distaste for our gym teacher. (I don't like to body shame, but we both hated how a fat woman was saying we're fat and out of shape and we're going to die young because of that). But we started talking and a friendship just kind of formed from there. Like I said, we were both quiet people and we didn't really have any other friends, and we kind of just clicked. She's the most amazing person I know, and we occasionally like to that gym teacher we both despised for bringing us together.

 

[Daisie]

My best friend and I met on here shortly after I joined! We were both too shy/socially anxious at the time to jump into too many formal RPs, so we wound up half-RPing in the status updates. Over the course of months, comedic online personas gradually became characters with fleshed-out backstories in diverse locations. A few other people joined in on the fun but when we began to contact each other on Skype, we started continuing these short, casual RPs between just the two of us. We started really getting to know each other then, talking over voice and video. Eventually we'd start getting more serious in our mini-RPs, continuing the overarching plotline we had left off from the previous session, documenting the whole thing along the way. We later named the RP "Rara Avis", for no other reason than it sounded right.

Now we've met in person, sent each other gifts, gotten each other through life-threatening scenarios, and have made some huge realizations about the world as we know it. We've both matured exponentially, and while we've had quite a few rough patches in our friendship, we've gotten through each of them with time, patience, humility, and understanding.

All cause of this little site called RpN

 

[Shy2Infinity]

I met my best friend in our good ol' roleplaying cringe days. It was one of those edgy looking roleplaying sites and honestly, the people that participated there weren't that far off. At least, the ones in chat. I didn't frequent the forums much. I'd seen my best friend around but never really talked to them. We were neutral towards each other at first. In fact, we were officially introduced to each other because of an ex-friend of ours. This friend was extremely toxic to us and every time we tried to cut him off, he'd gaslight us and make us feel sorry for him. In the end, we ended up bonding over how terrible he was to us. I mean, before that we were becoming quite close but I think it really took off after we finally cut him off.

Over these long years, we discovered that we had quite a lot in common. We both love to write and roleplay (and still do frequently), they've made me realize quite a lot about myself and my life, I've met them in real life, and even if we can't meet irl we constantly talk on the phone and message each other. Even gotten each other things (they've gotten me an 'owo' shirt... ha...). I'm also extremely thankful that they're extremely patient and considerate when it comes to me. I'm really thankful that I have them around!

 

[femslasher]

I met my best friend River a year and a half ago when I was hanging out with a new friend at the mall with my boyfriend. That friend took us back to their place to chill. Turns out they had two other roommates who were absolute sweethearts, and luckily, they were both there that day. I ended up being besties with one of them. They were a cane user, and I was a wheelchair user, and we were both bisexual so we had an easier time trusting one another... we hung out over coffee a bunch of time over the next weeks, and they even invited me to their top surgery party (pretty early on in our friendship, so it really showed we really had clicked together). I think it hit me I saw them as a bestie / close friend when we made strawberry lemonade last fall and talked so much that I hardly noticed my boyfriend slipping away to work. I'm a big extrovert, but I hadn't had such an instant click with someone in a while.

Another bestie of mine named Sa'ida I met from a meet-up app called Patook at a local place, and it was the same instant click feeling. We went on double dates with our respective boyfriends soon after, talked so long the coffee shops we were at closed without us noticing, texted for hours on end, and she's just the first I notify of anything due to her feeling so safe and wholesome to be around. We're two early birds, so most mornings we text a lot. Def a close friendship for me.

I have a bunch more really important friends to me, but mostly in friend groups situations. I got really lucky with my besties

 

[Simon_Hawk]

 

[Pith]

HAHAH ok mine's uh really specific and weirdly stars-aligning-y, but here goes.

So I transferred to university after a year of community college, and it was day 1 of school. I was DETERMINED to make friends, since the ones in high school... we were friends out of convenience, and because I hadn't had the confidence to find anyone better. So my goal was this: one friend per class by the end of the week.

7:30am English class, and I noticed this girl in a hoodie. Most people were out of it, but she was one of the few people giving consistent and well-thought out answers, and I was like "wow, she seems smart, and I thiiiiink that's some sort of nerd-related hoodie? I'm a nerd. This could work."

So soon as class was done, I walked up and hit her up with my killer opener: "So.... is that.... a transformers hoodie, or Gundam....?"

We spent all morning just talking about all the things we were both into (she taught me about transformers, I told her about Gundam Wing, she offered to make me pancakes, and after I convinced myself she probably wasn't a serial killer (sheltered upbringing + stranger danger mindset) I went and we basically spent every moment together we could. By the end of the week people thought we'd been friends since middle school. It's been 12 years. We're practically married (she and her husband live with me, and he has basically acknowledged our situation is BASICALLY a form of polyamory where we share her), and I would literally make every mistake of my childhood over again if it meant I got to meet her again.

Now: What it boiled down to, in the end, was this--I decided I wanted to make a friend, assessed for what I wanted (similar interests, smart), and took the risk. I had very middling confidence, but I'm a big proponent in the idea of "fake it till you make it" because it has REALLY worked for me. And it helps to keep in mind, when you're trying to meet people and connect with them, the worst thing they can do (at least at first) is not be interested, so just move on to the next one. It's important to value people, but learn to be comfortable to leaving behind any friendship or relationship where you aren't both getting your needs met in a way that's satisfactory to both parties. I wish you luck in making new friends. Take chances, make mistakes, get messy, etc etc.

 

[Kurotsuki]

Does it count if that friend is now my gf?

Some backstory; I'm a military child, and for all my life I've moved every three or so years. I've never spent more than one or two semesters in any single school. On top of that, I have autism, anxiety, and near-crippling depression (with maniac-depressive mood swings and personality changes). So it is really, REALLY hard for me to be around new people, especially after a move.

In the seventh grade I moved to my 5th or 6th home and started school in the spring semester, which is halfway through the year. As expected, I couldn't make connections with anyone and spent most of the day crying in a corner of the classroom. No one ever asked if I was okay, because I was that weird new student. I was a very shy nerd, stereotypical "quiet smart kid". My boyfriend at the time (long distance) was no help regarding my mental state, and everyone I thought were my friends had abandoned me as soon as I moved away. I distinctly remember on Valentines' Day that year I decided I really hated life and wanted to end it, as seeing all the couples and friend groups having fun together just broke my heart.

The story; First period art class. There was 3 long tables in the classroom; the volleyball/instagram girl table, the nerdy/weeb table, and the middle table which was kind of a grey area with the people who didn't fit in either niche. I sat at the very end of the middle table, with no one around me. Well this girl really liked one of my keychains (Frisk and Chara from Undertale) and kind of awkwardly struck up a conversation about the fandom. (I later learned she'd been trying to steal the keychain and we had a good laugh about it.) She moved from the weeb table to my table and wouldn't stop talking until I'd very nervously introduced myself. From that point onward, she sat at that table with me. Slowly we began to talk about and share our fandoms/interests. She was, and still is, my very best friend.

Spoiler

P.S.; 8th grade, Valentines' Day again. One year since I'd moved there and resolved to end it all. I really liked her at this point, but just one problem; she had a bf. I'm not sure if she knew I liked her or not. I got her a gift anyway (some chocolates and a cute plushie). WELL, I arrived in the morning to find her all alone, boyfriend nowhere to be found. He hadn't shown up to school. My gift really cheered her up and I realized that seeing her so happy actually made me happy (remember, depression. I am very, VERY rarely happy). The next week she dumped her bf. Then the quarantine happened... and 6 months later, we're a happy couple.

What makes it even better is that I'm a trans guy (F to NB or Genderfluid) with difficult to handle split personalities and worsening depression. So I guess the lesson to be learned here is that even if you're awful at making friends or are a complete social screw-up, someone will notice, someone will care, and someone will befriend you eventually whether you want it or not.

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

I met my best friend because of RPNation, actually! When I first joined the site, I did an RP with someone that I absolutely loved, but it fell apart. A year or so passes, and then I, without even realizing it, do another RP with the same person, as they'd changed their profile pic and name. We talk on and off for a while, before really getting into our RP, and finally we move to Discord and really become close. Cut to about a year later, and we're dating and I couldn't be happier.

 

[Daisie]

I met my best friend because of RPNation, actually! When I first joined the site, I did an RP with someone that I absolutely loved, but it fell apart. A year or so passes, and then I, without even realizing it, do another RP with the same person, as they'd changed their profile pic and name. We talk on and off for a while, before really getting into our RP, and finally we move to Discord and really become close. Cut to about a year later, and we're dating and I couldn't be happier.

Oh my gosh, that's adorable and I love it

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Oh my gosh, that's adorable and I love it

Thank you! We've been dating about six months now.

 

[cyberpvnk]

Does it count if that friend is now my gf?

Some backstory; I'm a military child, and for all my life I've moved every three or so years. I've never spent more than one or two semesters in any single school.

i was a military kid, too! i think that's why it's so hard to meet people, because i know nothing ever lasts... it sounds really edgy, but it's true. i'm glad there was someone on here who happened to be in a similar situation :>

in general, thanks for your replies, everyone! i just came back here to read 'em and i'm shocked to see there were so many! it gives me hope that one day i'll meet my future best friend ^^ (maybe even on this site if i try to socialize on it lmaoo)

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

i was a military kid, too! i think that's why it's so hard to meet people, because i know nothing ever lasts... it sounds really edgy, but it's true. i'm glad there was someone on here who happened to be in a similar situation :>

in general, thanks for your replies, everyone! i just came back here to read 'em and i'm shocked to see there were so many! it gives me hope that one day i'll meet my future best friend ^^ (maybe even on this site if i try to socialize on it lmaoo)

You'll find someone! I believe in you, my dude!

 

[Simon_Hawk]

I met my friend in 2nd grade and we've been friends longer than most of the people on this site have been alive lmao. I don't even remember how it happened it was THAT long ago haha. My friend tells it like this, that I was the kid sitting in the back of the classroom separated from the rest of the class because the teacher was sick dealing with me. That got my friend curious about "the weird kid" so he started talking to me at recess, we ended up liking all the same nerd-shit and basically been hanging out ever since.

 

[Lone Star II]

Well, it all started after I moved schools during the first few months of 5th grade. Let's just say nobody really liked me, because I was annoying, and I was just weird, I guess. So I was alone, until I met him. And from that first day, we were best friends. He had other friends before me, but he valued me the most, even though they'd known him for years. Anyways, he's still my friend to this day. I'm a junior in high school, and we still got each other's backs.