>no more real contact with family >seriously consider caving

>>44309290
No, you have a gaming group.

Do you consider them friends?

>>44309290
>Have I reached rock bottom?
Only if your gaming group is entirely online and you just mean to drink some wine and eat food while on Skype or something.

>>44309361
>Do you consider them friends?
I guess by some definition.
>>44309411
>Only if your gaming group is entirely online and you just mean to drink some wine and eat food while on Skype or something.
No. We played online for a while during my depression phase but we do meet up IRL these days.

>>44309616
So do it.

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>>44309290
>no more real contact with family
I hear you on that one, but I've come to learn that family is an odd thing. They'll use you, betray your expectations and values, never try and understand you at all - but they will still want to hear from you, for the most part. Assuming you want to hear from them / about them, you can always make the attempt to reestablish contact on your terms. Phone calls are cheap.

>seriously consider caving and just inviting my gaming group for a christmas party
If your gaming group is in the same town and in the same boat, ie, not having family nearby to schmooze with over the Holidays, do it. Friends are the family you choose to keep around you, and all that. Just be aware that they may have other plans, and might not be able to make it to your get together, so play it low key.
Worst comes to worse, no one shows, and you have killer leftovers for a week.
Best case scenario, all the food is consumed because too many people showed up, and you have to try and find someplace that's still open to deliver.
...Might want to make it a pot luck to avoid that.

>Have I reached rock bottom?
Nah. Even Bigby had Snow and Collin, at the very least. I'm sure you've got a co-worker or two you're on good enough terms with. As much as browsers of the 4chans love to joke about hating the world and everything / one in it, everybody has at least one person they think kindly of.

It does seem to be more difficult to make friends when you're older. You're busy with work, and you no longer have the same causal exposure to groups of people that school makes so readily available. And if you're not religiously inclined, that strikes another large group of would be friends off the list.
But you can check the classifieds for your area, see if there are any clubs or hobby groups with similar interests you can drop in on and check out. If someone asks you to tag along to a thing you wouldn't normally do, unless it's something you hate, give it a try.

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>>44310164
Hell, I hung out with the receptionist of a doctor's office I was visiting for a good year and a half because I remarked on her taste in reading materials, which ended up in my getting her number - not something I was even trying for.
In essence, you have to put out effort to make connections with people, and it's not always comfortable to do. But the rewards are having people around during these times when our culture stresses you should have people around.
Also, as long as you enjoy it, there's nothing inherently wrong with being alone this time of year. The question is, what do you want? And what are you willing to do to get it?
I mean, if we spent a fraction of the time we spend playing games on trying to go out and meet people, we would have more friends than we would know what to do with.

I've met friends closer than brothers through gaming, hell my friend even met his wife through gaming. Honestly the people I game with tend to only be the people I consider family. that being said this is a great first step to do other activities with them. it's always important to cultivate friendships with new stuff other wise you just sorta stay acquaintances
>>44310164
>they may have other plans, and might not be able to make it to your get together, so play it low key

this might happen and it's a bummer if you can manage make the party as soon as possible or just switch to a new years one

I don't know Bigby

>>44310344
I mean, if we spent a fraction of the time we spend playing games on trying to go out and meet people, we would have more friends than we would know what to do with.

idk about that I play like what 6 hours a week? but yeah being social past college means just swinging for the fences like an idiot every time you meet some one you want to see more than once. interesting people are hard to find

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>>44310451
Bigby Wolf is the name of the fellow you used for your OP image, the quintessential loner of the Fables comic series. Few people like him, as he's both the Sheriff of the Fable comunity, thus the resident G-Man, AND he's the Big Bad Wolf living among the rest of the Fairy Tale community.

Great comic, highly suggest giving it a read if you're into that sort of thing. TellTale Games also did a great detective / noir styled game in the universe called 'The Wolf Among Us'.

>>44310567
>interesting people are hard to find
I think most people would like to think they're somewhat interesting. Most just try and play themselves off as uninteresting in order to not gain the wrong kind of attention. Which is why you have to put out the effort and go places where people can afford to relax and be themselves.

>>44310674

Yeah I know who Bigby is there was supposed to be a comma there somewhere

The comic sucks ass after the flying babies

If you haven't said, "Well, fuck it, I guess there is nothing left to do but join the legion." you haven't found the bottom yet and you might as well keep swimming.

http://en.legion-recrute.com/

>>44309290
I usually get $100 worth of alcohol and spend the nigth on 4chan, mostly /b/ but I've made a thread here before.
I do this since 2008 I believe.
I have a numerous family, and some friend, but christmas allways gets me fucking depressed and 4chan brings me peace.

If you have nowhere to go, we'll be here bro.

>>44310164
>They'll use you, betray your expectations and values, never try and understand you at all
Is it really such a rarity that I like my family?

>>44309290
>No more real contact with family.

vid related:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg-7W36HJb0

>>44309290
My friends throw christmas parties all the time (by which I mean multiple parties throughout December by different people every year).

We just want to unwind when a lot of us get some time off work. Holidays is an excuse, you're not substituting anything.

>>44309290
Is your gaming party your friends by now?
Are you ashamed of your friends?
Shouldn't be. Have a fun party.

No, OP.
It's only rock bottom if they refuse.

I wouldn't really call inviting friends to a Christmas party rock bottom. You probably shouldn't set yourself up for disappointment by doing it on Christmas eve or day if they have family stuff going on though

>>44309290
No my friend, you have reached top freedom.

Christmas with friends? Sounds normal.

I'm having a board games night for New Years' because none of my social circle can be bothered to go to a proper party.

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>>44309361
They are not my friends.

My wife and I are inviting our gaming group over and we're playing The Resistance and playing our Dark Sun campaign.

Just do it.

If it means you're going to have a good time, who cares?

>>44315443

No, I like my family too, as do most people I know.

I think the reason lots of fa/tg/uys have problems with their family is that they are atheists. Hard to have harmony without the love of Jesus.

>>44315443
No, people who deviate from the norm are often just more vocal. There's not accusation of anything in that, it's just the way it is.
I just got home, properly home, for Christmas with my family, and we're having a good time.

Turns out I'm going to be spending this Christmas evening on IRC GMing my weekly Double Cross game.

God I get so fucking nervous when running a game, I feel like I'm going to need booze to not be vibrating in horrible anxiousness, and I'm not really a fan of drinking alcohol. But, Christmas could be a lot worse than spending it with friends doing something I enjoy.

>>44309290
Go to a strip or burlesque club for Christmas and have a fun party. No real harm will colour of it and you might hook up with someone there.

>>44310567
>interesting people are hard to find
A lot of people are interesting, you just need to get to know them. That's the hard part. Most of us seem uninteresting at a glance. There's nothing like finding out something unusual or interesting about someone you thought you knew.
And honestly, a lot of the people who don't, who consciously try to come off as very interesting, aren't the best people to be around.

>>44309290
No.

“God gives us relatives; thank God, we can choose our friends.”

Do it!

>>44320887
Fuck off normalfag

>>44309290
No.

You have reached the highest point.

>>44322097
Normalfags don't go to strip or burlesque clubs for Christmas.

>>44320067
Then why would you want them?

Christmas with your friends is a pretty alright thing. You don't have to have much contact with your family. Its a bonus when people like their family, not a requirement.

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>>44320887

I approve

>>44309616
>Out of depression
>Have real friends
>want to throw a party
You're 3/3 over me anon, go! Live life! Enjoy!
Also: take everyone to go see force awakens. It's actually good!

>>44309290
My gaming group came around for Halloween. It's not too bad to invite people you know to hang out, even if you're not necessarily friends with them.

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>>44310674
Personally, I feel I'm very uninteresting. The things that I'm good at mainly revolve around my hobbies, which doesn't exactly draw much social esteem, and most of my stories are stories of things I heard on the internet. At best, I've got a good sense of humor and a gift for improvising, especially with puns.

It's not really a bad thing - I've still got some friends, after all. I just prefer to listen and enjoy a good conversation than try to take charge of it myself, since I know I don't have much to share and mostly engage with others to enjoy friendly company rather than show off.

If it weren't for the fact that I'm not at a point in my life where being quiet and reclusive is okay, and it's actually affecting my ability to get shit done, I would be completely happy and content with my life and the amount of social interaction I have.

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>>44309290
Jesus Christ Bigby! Is that you?

>>44309290
No anon, rock bottom is when they say they will show, but don't.

>>44309290
Nah, You hit rock bottom the moment you decided to have social connections.

So you can't get anylower anon.

>>44309290
Treat your friends LIKE family and you'll always have a family.

Instead of a Christmas present budget create a Christmas hooker budget.

>>44326072
>Personally, I feel I'm very uninteresting. The things that I'm good at mainly revolve around my hobbies, which doesn't exactly draw much social esteem, and most of my stories are stories of things I heard on the internet. At best, I've got a good sense of humor and a gift for improvising, especially with puns.
>It's not really a bad thing - I've still got some friends, after all. I just prefer to listen and enjoy a good conversation than try to take charge of it myself, since I know I don't have much to share and mostly engage with others to enjoy friendly company rather than show off.
Are you me?

>>44326103
Pray tell, what do you imagine will happen when anon invites them?

>>44326103
story of my life there. Its also why I gave up DMing things and just got involved with metaplots.

>>44326072
Well, a good way to get more topics to talk about is to start trying new things. It can lead down to all sorts of paths as well.

Last year I went canoeing, which is something I otherwise wouldn't do, and I ended up bonded with the girl paddling the canon with me. Now I consider her a very good friend.

To me my comfort zone now exists to be broken.

It's not complicated. Throw a christmas eve party and start organizing that shit about a week ago.

You'll come across as some guy who cant go see family for christmas instead of a desperate loner.

>>44309290
Invite your family to a game.
Togetherness through roleplaying.

>>44309290
Naw, you're fine.
Most of my kin are dead, rest are a few thousand miles away. An "orphan Christmas" based around a mutual interest isn't a bad thing.
If you don't have family or clan, but you still have tribe, you're okay.