Advice/Help Okay seriously, what is doubling?

[ChillyTiger]

So I'm new to the site and at least once a day I have someone ask me if I'm willing to double or how I feel about doubling. And each time I ask them what doubling is. Everybody has given me a completely different answer and to be honest I have no idea how any of them affect a roleplay.

One said doubling is simply playing two characters rather than one, which I guess is normal on RPNation?

Another said doubling is when you each play two characters but your second character is the romantic interest of each other's mains.

Another said doubling is when you have two different roleplays with the same person.

And yet another said doubling is when you enter two different roleplays with the same characters.

Can someone please actually explain this to me? And does doubling even matter?

 

[Spoiled Bread]

According to Cambridge online, doubling is.... present participle of double, shocking I know (DOUBLING | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary), I doubt this answer your question but the point is, doubling is not an universally acknowledged term so it's better to just ask your would be partner what do they mean by doubling. It's a hassle yes. The first two meaning that you wrote seems to be the most frequently used as far as I know.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Yeah the first thing you'll learn about RPN is that the site doesn't have any universal definition for terms outside the prefixes (ex. what fantasy and fandom mean).

Everything from ghosting to detailed to doubling all have individual definitions that will vary from person to person. In 1x1s the most common definition for doubling is relationship ratios.

Relationship Ratios
In this case the term doubling refers to when you play a love interest for your partner and they play a love interest for you. Meaning that the roleplay itself is focused on two different pairings. If you are not comfortable playing more than one character however (like me) I tend to just inform the person I am fine playing their love interest but I do not need them to reciprocate. As the offer to double is usually meant to be a politeness for people who want a chance to play their OWN love interest without having to only play someone elses.

I have actually very rarely seen doubling mean anything else in 1x1 roleplays. If someone wants me to play multiple characters or wants to do multiple roleplays with me they will frame it in that way. Ex. "hey are you okay playing more than one character? I want to make sure the world is really fleshed out." OR "hey i really like both these ideas would you be okay doing two roleplays with me instead of one?"

I have seen one or two people in the RP Discussion forum who seem to think that doubling means playing more than one character but they're by far the minority. So when in doubt (assuming it's 1x1 and their are relationships involved) I would say go with relationship ratios. But that said as Spoiled Bread said you can always just ask your partner too. Most people are happy to clarify what they mean, especially if you tell them your new to the site.

As to your last question - no doubling doesn't matter. I have found that whatever definition people have they're usually fine if I say no. I will tell them that I am fine introducing new characters if I get bored OR as side characters as necessary. But I don't make multiple CS because I don't have the time. I've never had anyone be the slightest bit put out with this.

 

[Idea]

In essence doubling tends to mean "you play something for another person, and in turn they play the reverse of that to you", this involves players using each two or more characters usually. Examples include:

I want to play MxF and be the girl, but I'm willing to double (here it would mean the player is willing to play the guy in a different MxF relationship in the same roleplay)

I want to play canonXOC RP, where you play X character. We can double. (here it would mean that while they want you to play that specific character while they play their OC, you also get to pick a specific cannon character for them to play for your OC).

From what I've seen, doubling typically doesn't involve multiple roleplays, just multiple character pairs in the same roleplay, but then again I don't trust people saying they will "double" (not because I don't think they mean it, I just don't think it is fundamentally feasible to expect it to go over well when both sides are playing something they don't want to). Still, it can include multiple roleplays.

Important to note though, while it is common it is not universal that doubling is a romantically-charged term.

 

[ChillyTiger]

Thanks everyone for your help! I really appreciate it.