text; anonymous

[directed]

[This post? So anonymous. Literally as anonymous as a time traveler from 2166 can make it.]

For the sake of curiosity, how would a person fulfill their "good works" quota if they are not typically one for high levels of socialization—especially of the overtly sexual kind?

[Someone's looking at you, Sara "No Pants" Lance. Discreetly, however. Anonymous.]

Thank you for your time.

Comments

username: """"anonymous""""

[leaguer]

First step: pull the stick out of your ass

Second: try new things

Thirdly: socialize like a human being

[directed]

How decidedly unhelpful.

[leaguer]

I was being serious!

[directed]

You realize that doesn't make it any better.

text | un: elsa

[atms]

Actual good works are just as good as sex in this case. And there's a hospital, and animal shelter, a volunteer center... Take your pick of do-gooder activities and have at.

Though I gotta agree with the person upthread. You really should take whatever stick you've got up your ass out first.

[directed]

So it truly is as simple as that then.

[The first part. He's decidedly ignoring the second.]

[atms]

If you call having to put up with Sara hounding you about your lack of flexibility "simple"... Sure.

[ he sees that thread. he knows who you are. ]

[directed]

[Well that does narrow down the list of suspects considerably, doesn't it?]

Be honest; you really expect that she'll let up on that regardless of what I do?

audio. un: kara.

[advena]

You don't have to do — ( she stops herself, and there's a bit of a pause as kara tries to come up with the right way to say this. )

I mean, you don't have to be ( air quotes ) "overtly sexual" ( end air quotes ) at all. You could volunteer — there's a soup kitchen and schools and hospitals, and the community center is always looking for people who have extra time to help out. But you can also be... um, intimate, I guess, without necessarily. You know.

You could just cuddle. Actual cuddling. Or holding hands. Or hugging?

( the longer she talks, the more uncomfortable she feels with the fact that she ever opened her mouth in the first place and hit record. )

text; anonymous

[directed]

[Well, she is trying quite hard, isn't she?]

Let's assume that intimate physical contact with strangers is something else I might wish to avoid, shall we? [A concession made not only for Rip's sake if he's frank about it. Kara might well have chosen "discomfort" as her typeface.]

The rest of what you've said. Basic volunteering. Making this community a better place, correct?

[advena]

( kara is the literal personification of "tries really hard", rip hunter. )

Yes, that's right. You can volunteer. ( and judging by his pointedly formal ways with words, she imagines there's a few places he might feel more comfortable. ) The library might need volunteers... or maybe the local schools? You could tutor in something, if you wanted to.

( though the obvious question still remains unanswered. after a beat, kara adds: ) It might help if I knew what you are interested in?

[directed]

[He'll learn that eventually. Perhaps when he learns who she is.]

I'll pass on tutoring. [He types it with some disdain, but that truly isn't Kara's fault. The notion of spending his time working with a small child, all towards the goal of teaching them some lesson doesn't settle right in Rip's chest.

The same way it wouldn't if she'd suggested he might offer swimming lessons at a local pool.]

Nothing that translates so well to this place, I'm afraid. [Or maybe he's being a stick in the mud and focusing all of his attention on the fact that he's a time traveler, and not someone with a broad knowledge of history, technology, and cake decorating techniques.]

text; anonymous

[neutronium]

I'm curious, as well. I am not one for those things, either.

Re: text; anonymous

[directed]

So far the standard answer seems to be work at either the animal shelter, the soup kitchen, or the hospital. Sometimes the welcome center gets mentioned as well.

[Truly good deeds, if a touch mundane.]

un: anonymous

[kelvins]

quit getting ur panties in a twist.
get drunk more.
if you can't pull that off, planting flowers doesn't require a whole lot of talking to others. i hate people too. you're not alone.

Re: un: anonymous

[directed]

[Well, right up until the part about planting flowers, Rip would have been able to guess exactly who this is. The suspicion remains strong all the same, however—and to that end, it's quite fortunate that this is a conversation happening over the network, and equally via text.]

And is that how you get on here? Drunkenly planting flowers until you've done enough to make your wishes come true?

That doesn't strike you as being a bit too easy?

[kelvins]

[there's only two people who could be this uptight about sex and one of them is responding publically. so this whole post smells of futuristic british asshole to mick, though there could in theory be any number of other people with hang ups about making nice with others.]

oh hell no. it was just a suggestion.
i may hate people but i don't have any issues getting them naked.

do you need an invitation to take your pants off anon?

jjones

[underachievement]

Don't know but you've got living proof there's no bottom on this thing.

[directed]

How so, if you don't mind clarifying?

[underachievement]

I came in with the first herd and if the reps haven't been up MY ass to work up those good vibes yet, you've got at least a few months to figure your shit out.

un: hale

[duelo]

As a recovering anti-social mess of a person...start small. Talk to people online, because you can decide more easily whether it's safe to trust talking to them in person. Try new things to see what you might like that you never considered before. I learned that cell phones and technology? Not so obnoxious and stupid, as it turns out. They're really useful. I never would've known that because I always just figured if I didn't need it, then it wasn't worth having, but someone here was willing to teach me how to use a smartphone to its full advantages (I'm still learning, but hey) and now I don't think it's a useless piece of shit anymore.

Really, you just have to step out of your comfort zone, remind yourself that this is a chance to start over and be a new you, and be willing to embrace any new interests you might come across. If you're worried about being booted for not getting laid, if it makes you feel better, I haven't bothered to try yet and I'm still here, so I don't think it's the worst thing in the world if you take your time finding other ways to contribute to society or whatever.

Be a dog walker. Paint a house for an elderly local who can't do it themselves. Volunteer at the hospital. All of that would probably be considered helpful enough to stick around, I would think.

[directed]

[This is all...quite the confession, isn't it?]

I've actually not had much trouble mastering the cellphone; it's a touch archaic where I come from.

[Or when. Details.]

But there does seem to be a consensus that there is indeed a place for those who would choose a less--outgoing path.

You are the first of to speak of it quite so passionately, however.

[duelo]

It's not that new a thing where I came from, either, I just was averse to change.

[ Very, very averse to change when he isn't the one setting it proactively in motion. ]

I came here with an open mind but it took a lot of work for me to feel that way.
I'm only passionate because I'm pleased, in this particular case, to admit that I was wrong in assuming that this place was going to be kind fo a nightmare for someone like me to try to fit into.

[ He's here to protect his sister and that's it, but in an effort to keep from being kicked out, or something, he's been pushing himself outside his comfort zone and, actually...it turns out, humans in general aren't actually all that bad when you give them a chance. Go figure. ]

username: c.snow

[trigeminalheadache]

Random acts of kindness? Pay for the drink of the person behind you in line.

I don't have any more examples that don't involve socializing.

[speedforcer]

hugs
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