Good ways to RP with other people?

[LordQuailius]

I know it sounds like a weird question, but I can never really get lasting relationships between characters other than "OMG UR A SKRELL SO COOL!1212!@!!!"

It doesn't help I tend to play as a chemist or botanist, either, but it seems that whenever I go out to RP whether for innocent or antag reasons, everyone is doing something else involving their job or RPing with people they've already established relationships with. Any hints to help me out?

[Loow]

This thread makes me feel so conflicted.

On one hand, I want to see good advice and watch the entire station grow as writers and as people.

On the other hand, I want more step by step instructions that make me laugh.

Send help.

[Thesir]

There's no help for that. Both are pretty fun.

[Guest]

If you're gonna circlejerk after the guy who shitposts before you did, at least be original. Mix it up, make it entertaining. Instead of being the joke, make the jokes and let 'em roll. Hive's funny, and you're not. Got it? Good.

Here's some actual 'good' advice though:

 

• Make a character, preferably someone that looks unassuming and not really all that special. No hatsune hair, get that shit out. Want a 11/10? Make a 7.5 instead. Want flawless abs? Settle with some mild pectorals instead. Less is more.
• Unless you're a really good roleplayer and you can attempt to mimic the culture, don't use non-English names if you're American/English. If you seriously want a long-lasting RP character, pick a cultural niche you are most familiar with. For example, I am actually Spanish-American. My main character has ancestral Spanish roots. You don't have to worry about research all that much so it's not as much as a burden given you're most familiar with your own culture, no?
  
• Seriously, gtfo with your shitty anime/manga names. You're not funny, original or clever, you look like a weeb queer if you unironically make a character that could passably be from a chinese cartoon.
  
• Do not even bother emphasizing sexuality as the only interesting part of your character. Citadel's on the hub, go bugger off over there if you want to jerk it to a 32x32 pixel sprite. Don't pursue romance first thing as you make the character, you seriously wanna make 'yet another shitty horndog' as part of your character's rep? If so, then go to Citadel. This is Aurora. Not Citadel.
  
• THIS IS AURORA. NOT CITADEL.
  
• THIS IS AURORA NOT CITADEL FUCKING HELL MAN
  
• but really if you're somewhat interested in romance-related plots, don't seek them as a priority. Wait for opportunities to come along and then play along with it. Just don't be a goddamn creep on the server, okay?
  
• Okay now what do you do? Go configure records if you want for your job, it really doesn't matter unless you enjoy fluff. It's greatly appreciated if you do because it shows you have competence and a desire to look nice. Flavor text, also optional. However, you must configure your skills. My recommended range is within the low-point average range and high-point above average range. Exceptional should be used very sparingly for characters, if they're doctors and roleplayed as if they were very skilled and ept in their field, then I'd say it's okay. Anything higher than that, you are going to get bwoinked. You must have a reasonable explanation as to why your character has the skills they have. Do the math and research on how long college courses take and adjust your character's age accordingly. Nobody's gonna care if your doctor is above 50, at least it shows they're (potentially) mature and experienced for the role.
  
• 22 yr old Medical Doctor with a high-level degree? 21 year-old fully qualified xenobiologist/toxins technician/anomalist? Get the fuck out, or throw that character save into the garbage and do them over again.
  
• Focus on doing your job correctly, be an overall awesome person, or a subtle asshole. Be interesting, make people laugh, make people scowl, whatever. If your character is remembered for a roleplay reason that ended up in the other participating parties remembering you for the next couple rounds, then you did okay. Act within your character's realms of knowledge. Don't pick up a gun or pull a gat out to gun down an antag if you're not expected/supposed to do that. seriously, situations can be more interesting in the long run if you didn't gun down the antag.
  
• Unless you're really good at writing sensible and reasonable backstories, don't bother writing up several paragraphs of shit people most likely won't read because they don't know your character, and thus they are not interested in knowing more about them. It's a waste. Make it up as you go along, just don't make it sound like you are, though. Build backstory as part of background as to why your character acts the way they do and so on.
  
• Angry, insulted, offended by any of the above points? Get yourself a reality check, cry me a river, and go to Citadel to whine about an owlposter hurting your fee fees here.

 

You will build IC and OOC friendships by going about your RP business this way. You will eventually become a tolerable person if you weren't already before to some people.

yiff in hell, furfags, the feathery owl brigade has arrived

[Hatley]

Bartender and Cook are good jobs for some basic RP. Somebody comes up to you for a drink or some grub? Talk to 'em, get to know 'em. Once you've made yourself familiar with a fair amount of people, odds of something interesting happening go up.

[Blingx3]

scream boobies of the radio

now you have a bunch of horney men on your side

now you have friends

you and your new friends go around and punch people

good rp.

[hivefleetchicken]

Hive's funny

 

 

It's the little things that keep you going.

EDIT:

I actually should add to this thread in some manner or another, actually.

Normally I would definitely recommend playing bartender as a starter job to really get to know people, but on Aurora the bar is constantly filled with idiotic Mikus (the second this isn't the case feel free to correct me swat) with behavioral patterns symptomatic to 6 year old autism.

Do not play a role that has an obligation to process many people if you don't consider yourself really good at the game or Roleplay. Because chances are these days, you're going to get stuck A. with a bunch of assholes asking for snowflakey shit from you and threatening to fight you if you don't do so (this is where not being good at the game can be a problem, otherwise process their request our wait for them to throw the first punch and then beat their brains out) and/or B. The other people working with you will be shitty white knights who love starting drama those customers/patients/whatnot and will always side against you with the highest bidder (the highest bidder in ERP of course).

If you want to roleplay in peace yet still get to talk to people, play a librarian journalist. No one will ever visit you and demand anything of you, and you have no obligation to do real work.

That's the best I can do, job wise. Character wise, try to stay average. And stick to your geographical region to start, you can develop some real good shit if the character is like an average person from your town because all of their behavior is familiar to you. And for the love of God, just make your fucking hair brunette or blonde.

Next, don't mention your sexual appeal at all to anyone. There's a reason nearly everyone on the Aurora is single or in a relationship with a coworker, and that reason is that people can't keep their dicks in their pants and out of their hands. It's unrealistic, too; you don't/(shouldn't) ever see public relationships at work. And a lot of the sexy sexy kissyface RP is just plain creepy a lot of the time if you're not into it like me. My characters don't sleep around, but of course, people just make guesses that I'm looking for some sick ERP like they are. I've been groped, stalked, asked to fuck about 70+ times, and it gets fucked up after a while, so while you're minding your own business also try to make sure people mind theirs. And talking about your sexuality ICly or OOCly just leads them on.

Anyways, that's pretty much it.

Pick a slow job that doesn't cater for a bunch of people unless you're either already in the know I'm how to RP or you're good enough to bash skulls, should it come to it.

Play someone normal, for god's sake.

Don't get into relationships in the workplace unless you definitely want to, and be ready for all the drama and cheating that will come after it.

[Nanako]

Whenever i'm drinking a lot of coffee irl, and my heart is pounding (plus my colleagues are being murdered), Nanako tends to suffer nervous breakdowns and seek someone to cling to and feel safe around.

I've made quite a few nice friends through incidents like these. Some people like to be protectors

I suppose the nurse dress isn't hurting either, Dr Altmann seems to like it <3