Advice/Help Brief Doubling Explanation, Please?

[Zariah Turner]

The following is my understanding of doubling so far:

Person A and Person B each play two characters. Each typically plays an OC and a canon character. Person A's "side" of the story is the plot / pairing where they get to play an OC, & the same goes for Person B.

That is about where my knowledge ends, admittedly. I'm wanting to get more into fandom roleplays, but it seems a lot of people do doubling, so I figured I should learn a bit more first. I would appreciate a general explanation of how the process works, because my understanding is very limited. I do have some specific questions that I would love answers to, as well.

1. Do Person A's and Person B's "sides" each take place in a separate story? Or are they both part of some larger, overarching story?
2. This one might be dumb, but - when people say CC x OC they typically assume the pairing is romantic, right?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[nerdy tangents]

So my first bit of advice is always ask if the person is willing to do just one pairing.

Even if it’s not your preference it weeds out the people who just want to bribe you into playing their love interest and aren’t going to devote equal time to both characters.


Second bit of advice is that there really isn’t a universal meaning for doubling nor is there one specific way everyone does it. So always just ask your partner for logistics if they want to play two characters a piece. Most folk are more than happy to explain things more clearly over PM.

If they aren’t then that’s another red flag honestly.


Most pairings are typically understood to be romantic but again just talk to your partner. A lot of people are willing to play things by ear depending on the chemistry of the characters.

I would actually actively seek out people who are a little less strict in what they want. They tend to be more open to you having your own input in the story rather than just wanting you to basically be an NPC in their personal fanfic.

 

[Zariah Turner]

Thank you so much for the explanation! I appreciate the advice.

 

[awkwardradish]

For me, personally, I enjoy doubling because I get bored just playing one character. I love to play multiple characters, so when I double, I prefer for both pairings to take place in the same universe, and all those complex platonic relationships can be explored as well.

A lot of times, doubling can be between two OCs as well. Sort of like a, "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" type of scenario. One of you gets a story/pairing you're itching for and so does the other. However, it's easy to get burned. People will put more effort into the pairing they want than yours.