I've been thinking about the little pseudo-world of Cherrytap that we exist in and comparing it to real life... What if, in the real world the same kind of rules applied when it came to making new friends and maintaining friendships. I think it would work something like this:-
At any point that you decide that you want to meet someone or talk to someone you simply walk down the street past rows of houses. All the houses look the same, save for a big picture stuck to the outside. This is usually, but not always, a picture of the person that lives inside.
If you see a picture that you like you can simply walk inside - no knocking is required. Once in the house, you can introduce yourself to the resident, but this isn't necessary. Instead you can just start having a look around. You can look at the decor, go through journals, listen to the music they have. Most popularly, you can go through all their family albums looking at photographs. If you choose, you can tell them which of the photos you like or even comment on them, but again this isn't mandatory.
Having looked at anything that interests you, you can just walk out of the house and move on. If you so desire you can thank the person for letting you peruse their personal effects, or say good-bye as you see fit, but it won't cause offence if you just wander off.
Of course you may have really liked what you have seen in the house, or maybe you struck up a conversation with the owner and thought that you got along well. If so, you can try to become friends with them. This doesn't require much effort though. Simply saying "will you be my friend?" will suffice. They can then say "yes" or "no" as desired, but you can't expect any reasons to be provided if they're not interested. If you are turned down, there's no need to be disheartened because you can still come and go as you please. The only thing is you may not be allowed up into the bedroom to have a look at what's in there if that person didn't want to be friends with you.
Sometimes you may arrive at a house where no one is in. This isn't a problem because no one has locks on the doors. You can go in and have a look around anyway... stay a while. If it's someone you know or somewhere you've been before then they may have recently bought new stuff that you haven't seen. In which case, go look for it. If you like, you can leave a message on a notepad saying that you stopped by. You don't have to, but either way you do have to write down your name so that they know you've been there when they get home.
Occasionally, someone may really dislike you. If this happens they do have the option to place a restraining order on you which prohibits you from speaking to them or telling them whether you like the things in their house. Again, no need to be disheartened because you can still have a good rummage around, but you must do so in silence.
Of course, as with real life, it is common practice to buy gifts for your friends. You can give them directly or just leave them in the house if they are away. The difference, though, is that if you wish to signal to someone that you are attracted to them it is quite acceptable to do this by handing them suggestive gifts which could be anything from condoms to furry handcuffs. You don't need to have even spoken to them before. They will get the message. If the feeling is mutual they may even furnish you with similar items.
Anyway, I'm sure I could go on like this all night, but this isn't really going anywhere... I just made myself chuckle when I started thinking about it all this way!!
