It may help that I’ve never really “cold” dated. Every “first date” I’ve ever been on was with someone whom I was already at least decently friendly, so usually it’s more like I found a movie or event or whatever that we were both interested in. It had not occurred to me that sitting in a dark theater with someone you weren’t terribly familiar with could be something that needed vetting, but upon reflection I can see where that may cause problems. My naive ass just likes movies.

If I had the charisma and the sociopathy to start a cult, I wouldn’t have this issue, lol.

I appreciate this, thank you, and it’s not a stupid question. A few years ago, I would have probably expressed a preference for solitude, but since 2019 or so I’ve been struggling with some mental health issues and I have found that being alone leads to real danger for me. Not to say it’s bad for everyone, but I was unhealthy when I was alone all the time.

I’ve never had many friends, but I thought I had a few good ones. I think I overestimated my value to my friends, and undervalued keeping up with them outside of scheduled events and whatnot. That’s on me. I also think a lot of it is that they feel awkward. She’s been friends with most of them since they were children, I’ve known them for the last 20 years or so. It’s complicated. I think if I showed up destitute on their doorstep they’d take me in, but they’ve notably stopped talking to me or inviting me to events, likely because they know she’ll be there.

Do we have a gamerpals or LFG community here on Lemmy? This is a good plan and you’re not the only one suggesting D&D.

That’s not a bad idea, but how do you actually meet these people and offer to run a game?

I like a movie (or a show or whatever) and dinner/drinks after, because then you by default have something to talk about.