NPC Energy: We’re ALL Just Background Characters
You ever look around in a grocery store and think: “Half these people aren’t… real, right?”
Like, there’s no way the guy deciding between two nearly identical ranch dressings has a rich inner life. No way the woman in line scrolling TikTok on 1% battery is a fully sentient consciousness. No way the man loudly on speakerphone arguing about mulch is the protagonist in any universe.
Welcome to the truth:
Most of us are NPCs.
Non-Playable Characters.
Background humans.
Scripted behavior.
Auto-pilot social animation loops.
And the scariest part?
Sometimes you are one of them.
Life Is a Video Game With Terrible Graphics
Think about it:
You spawn into a random location
You’re assigned random stats
You’re told to “go to school and figure it out”
You collect items you think will help later
You get emotionally attached to NPCs
The map expands but your patience doesn’t
Eventually… Game Over
There are quests. There are bosses. There are side missions nobody asked for (like taxes).
It’s Skyrim except you never learn how to use magic.
NPC behavior includes:
🟢 Talking about weather
🟢 Wearing lanyards with pride
🟢 Laughing at jokes they don’t understand
🟢 Living for the weekend
🟢 Never questioning the main plot
🟢 Believing “normal” is a compliment
They don’t explore new dialogue options. They run the same lines every day:
“Crazy how it’s already Wednesday!”
“You gotta laugh, right?”
“It is what it is.”
NPCs aren’t dumb. They’re just running default settings.
Plot Twist: You Are an NPC in Someone Else’s Story
You think you’re the protagonist. Of course you do. Your camera is always behind your head.
But every protagonist has a cast of:
Extras
Side characters
Background noise
To someone else — you are that noise. Your big emotional moment? Their inconvenience.
Your villain arc? Their co-worker HR warned them about. We each star in a different movie with the same terrible lighting.
Society Needs NPCs to Function (Unfortunately)
Somebody has to:
Run the registers
Scan the barcodes
Approve the forms
Stack the boxes
Refill the coffee
Pretend the company mission matters
Without NPCs, civilization collapses by Thursday.
Sociologists call this “role essentialism” — we confuse the function with the human. NPCs are vital. They’re just not interesting… yet.
The Real Issue: Most People Never Press ‘Start’
They never:
Challenge a belief
Take a creative risk
Change the algorithm
Choose their own quest
Question the main storyline
They just do what they think a person does.
Work → Consume → Repeat → Die
NPCs aren’t soulless…they’re paused. Their player isn’t holding the controller.
Why NPC Energy Feels Contagious
Mimicry is a survival instinct. When everyone around you:
Follows trends
Avoids discomfort
Accepts assignments
Fears originality
…your brain whispers:
“Conform or die.”
And that’s how uniqueness gets nerfed. According to psychologist Solomon Asch, 75% of people will give a wrong answer just to fit in.
NPC culture isn’t an accident. It’s a defense mechanism.
Main Character Energy Requires Courage
To escape NPC mode, you must risk:
Embarrassment
Failure
Rejection
Being perceived
Looking human
NPCs crave order. Main characters crave chaos. Which one sounds like you?
Side Quests for Human Beings
Here’s how to break the script:
🎮 1. Pick a choice the algorithm wouldn’t
If the default is yes → try no.
🎮 2. Learn a new skill that changes your storyline
Your comfort zone is a loading screen.
🎮 3. Travel — even if it’s just the other side of town
New maps unlock new missions.
🎮 4. Talk to weird people
Protagonists collect odd allies.
🎮 5. Bet on a version of yourself that doesn’t exist yet
Create the character first.
Grow into them later.
Reality might be made up…
but your role doesn’t have to be.
NPC Isn’t an Insult — It’s a Warning Label
NPC energy says:
“You are alive.
But you are not living.”
So glitch the system. Break the fourth wall. Choose a side quest that scares you. Walk into your own story with the audacity of someone who believes they belong there.
You don’t need permission. You need agency.
Press start.
Pick up the controller.
Play the damn game.