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Hi, I'm Spahro, and I want to talk to you about how to improve your RP life and make friends!  Some of you may know me from such threads as "Coatleque Crofte: Hero or Harlot?" and "What's Your Power Level?"  In RP you might recognize me as the spunky reporter girl who's always getting into mischief.  Oh those Moon Keepers, what won't they get their noses into?

I'm speaking to you from long years of experience with what we call the Arr Pees, across many different platforms including freeform chats, MMOs, tabletops and the bedroom.  And if there's one thing that's present in all of these mediums, it's that some folks in the community just feel a bit left out.  Well by golly, that's no good!

RP is not just about being entertained guys, it's about entertaining!  And we've got an obligation to make sure that every single one of the disenfranchised RPers has as good a time as us more popular types do!  So, without further ado, I'd like to offer this handy dandy guide to getting into those closed of cliques, finding new and interesting RP partners and just having the best darned experience of your life!

The populars didn't get popular by being born, they entertained people!  You know that super cool guy in the moving picture shows who sits in the corner and doesn't say much, brooding into his drink and looking menacing and badass?  He's doing that because he wants to be left alone, but you can bet sure howdy that whoever wrote that script has big plans in store for him that are gonna blow your mind!

Unfortunately RP doesn't have a scriptwriter, and if you hand out being unsocial, well, you're not gonna have much of a social life!  Contrary to popular belief, no one cares about your character's tragic backstory if you're tedious and boring.  Get out there and have some fun!

Approach people out of the blue and make it your goal not to be entertained, but to entertain them instead!  Make a joke, or start up a random plot!  it won't work every time, but if you can entertain a person then shucks, they'll like you and want to be entertained back!

Never be afraid to tell someone your ideas and see if they're on board.  being proactive and fun means you get to choose who you're RPing with, and they'll love RPing back with you!

I know, step one seems super awful!  I mean, gosh, why shouldn't people come up to you?  Why do you have to do all the hard work?  They're just a bunch of elitists!  Gosh darn it, if they'd just be more open and friendly then they'd know that you're the best thing that ever happened to them!

It's a darn shame that social circles don't work like that, though.  People have only got so much time to spend in RP, and they'll do their best to make the most of it!  They like being entertained, and having fun with their friends, just like anyone else.  If someone's got a lot of friends then it may seem like they're keeping you out, but actually it just means they have a ton of stuff to do already!

Don't hate on people for having friends, instead make your own using step one!  If you can't get into the cool storylines from that super hot group with that cute girl you like, then it probably means they're all so busy having fun together that they don't have much time to go looking for other RP.

Don't worry, friend, if you're a fun person who can show off how entertaining you can be then you'll slip right in.  There's no initiation rituals or paperwork or anything, it's just about making friends.  And if that doesn't work, then by gosh, there's plenty of other cute girls to make friends with, buddy!  I believe in you!

So you have this really cool character concept, right?  His name is Buff van Darkblade, and he's the coolest guy ever.  He lost his parents in a freak volcano explosion, but then he forged their souls into a sword, and now he uses it to vanquish all demons from the land, but get this, he's actually a demon himself!  Whpsssh, boom!  Mind blown.

Unfortunately, your friends, and even perfect strangers, just don't think he's as cool as you do.  They keep kind of edging away from you whenever you bring him up, and they won't interact with him.  Well let me tell you something buddy, Buff van Darkblade is awesome.  I love him as much as you do!  I heard he once cut a moon in half and smashed his archnemesis between both halves to make an astronomical hoagie.  That is legit cool as heck!

Your friends don't feel the same way though, and that's okay!  Everybody's entitled to their opinions, and good old Buff van Darkblade just might not be the best fit for the environment you're in right now.  Don't throw him out, shelve him for people who would appreciate him.  Remember, you're here to be entertaining as much as you're here to be entertained.  If you're not entertaining those around you then you're gonna lose friends pretty quick.

This is a group exercise, so be part of the group!  If you don't want to, then maybe that's just not the group for you, and that's okay as well!  You know why?

In the words of a wise old sage I met riding bareback through the Catskills once, "Ain't nobody gonna be happy 'bout everythin' all the time."  That's true everywhere, and especially in Happy Fun Pretendy Time.  if someone gives you a hard time, well golly, you just ignore them and keep on going!

While you're going to want to be entertaining, you also have the right to be entertained, and if nobody's doing it, then you just go ahead and entertain yourself!  Buff van Darkblade is awesome and you play that guy like crazy if you want, nobody's stopping you!

True, you might not get as many friends, but the ones you do snag will be totally into you and your pure badassity.  I would play with you, and I'm popular!  So let that freak flag soar, kid, and never let anyone tell you that you're doing it wrong.  For gosh sakes, I play a character whose backstory is literally just the movie Alien.

And that brings us to our final point.

So, by following the above steps you too have become "A Popular".  You're surrounded by cool friends and have fun RPing all the time.  You have far too many plots to keep up with and your RP schedule is just packed to the brim.  Then, while you're sitting in the bar waiting for your RP partner to show up a little bitty Buffy von Darkknife approaches you and introduces herself, but she's half angel!  Everyone knows that the Darkblades are all demon!  What is she thinking?!

She's thinking the same you were when you were starting out.  She wants to be popular too.  Just like you were oh so long ago, she's trying her hardest to make friends and have fun.  Instead of thinking how dumb it is that she's an angel, think about how amazing the plotlines are that could come from that!

Give her the benefit of the doubt.  Everybody was unpopular at one point, usually before the nosejob.