Viewpoint Anybody else here not a fan of having to double up in Fandoms?

[The Random Fox]

Or am I the only one? quite honestly it's a deal-breaker for me.

 

[Kaiju Cat]

You’re not alone I tried doubling it didn’t work out for me.

 

[The Random Fox]

I've been dying to do a plot in the Yu Yu Hakusho fandom but now it's just like in Development Hell, finding that perfect partner is starting to feel more like pulling teeth with tweezers.

 

[Murdergurl]

From what I've read in discussions, there are a whole lot of people who don't like the idea. For me personally, I don't double up. Fandom or not. I will have a character I want to RP as, and that's it. I don't like to have to worry about more than my one character. sure, writing-in some shallow NPCs as th story unfolds will always be required to flesh out the narrative. But an actually, deep, complex character? I just want my one OC and done. The idea of doublng up to get someone to RP with me is definitely not in the cards.

 

[Edric Blight]

I can’t stand doubling up in fandoms either. You are not alone.

 

[The Random Fox]

Having to play as someone's love interest, just because I'm looking for someone to play my OC's love interest if I'm doing a plot centered around those two characters only, makes no sense to me. Especially if I'm wanting to do a real short story type of roleplay. Writing is hard enough for me and I struggle with writing for just one character alone. But two? It overwhelms me. And I know people will say, "Well just ask so-so if they can make an OC based off X character." If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be asking for Oc x Canon. I'm starting to lose heart because I just wanted to do a fun roleplay, but it seems like nobody is willing to give me a chance. I don't want to beg and plead because that will only make people avoid me and I don't want that.

 

[Edric Blight]

In my humble opinion, doubling is over rated. No hate to people who double up on fandoms, I just can’t say I’m a big fan of doing so.

 

[The Random Fox]

Exactly. No offense either to anyone else who does. All I'm saying is just please give us non-doublers a chance to roleplay with you. Countless times I have thought about just quitting roleplaying as a hobby because nobody would show interest. I mean if I can't get partners, what's the point? My cravings for certain roleplays don't go away, they just drive me crazy because I'm not able to do them. And if I could write fanfiction, I wouldn't even be wasting my time chasing after dream roleplays that are just gonna get shoved to the back of the forum list.

 

[Idea]

I don't double in fandoms, though I certainly wouldn't describe the current state of affairs as "having to double". If I roleplay a fandom I do so OC x OC, cannon characters only involved as NPCs and only if absolutely necessary. From there I either make a plot myself or I leave it up to whoever wants to partner up in that fandom to be come up with one, depending on the interest check. To me the point of fandom is the setting, and other elements are better captured by an original plot based on it.

 

[Ayama]

I believe this thread might belong in the RP Discussion forum rather than General Discussion- might wanna ask a mod if they can move it for you guys ^^

 

[Onmyoji]

I do fandom rps most of the time and don't double, and I play Canon characters only (but only specific ones, not just any). If I want OC x OC I usually do original settings, not fandoms. And don't double either. Playing NPCs or side characters is fine but I know I can't give equal attention to two main characters so I prefer having one 'main'.

The problem with OC x Canon is that people who would only play Canon against OC and don't double are rare. They exist, they're just rare. So if you're looking only for that and no other options, you must be extremely patient.

 

[Jannah]

I only do OC's so this is usually a non-issue for me thankfully. Anyone even suggesting we play canons is the real dealbreaker for me.

 

[cherri.]

Ah, this is an interesting topic! Though it's been a few days, I hope no one minds if I share my own personal views on this.

When in an oc x oc roleplay, I don't tend to double up. Maybe once other characters are introduced and there's potential chemistry between them, then sure, I'd be more than happy to explore the topic. I like to make sure my partners are open to that possibility before the rp starts though, even if it doesn't end up happening, as to avoid pushing them into writing for more than one major character so they're not outside of their comfort zone. If I'm getting into an oc x oc roleplay, then it's because the topic interested me and the character role my partner is searching for is one I want to write (I tend to stick to fantasy settings, so for example they're looking for a forest nymph to their ranger or a knight to their princess).

For fandom roleplays that are oc x canon though, I tend to require doubling. I can get bored writing only canon characters, and while I'm glad to make my partner happy to write their favorite character against their oc I would like to be in on the fun too! I require doubling even if my partner is offering to write a canon character for my oc, because it just makes me feel bad haha. Doubling is just a lot of fun for me personally! It often gives me a chance to connect with my partner over our mutual love of the fandom in question and the characters each of us enjoy, as well as discussing our ocs and what gave us our ideas for them. I often get very invested in how their ocs created because it's just interesting to me, there's always someone out there with a unique idea and I love hearing them all!

 

[cemiller 1292]

I understand why some do it but doubling has really discouraged me from trying to find anyone to do oc x canon rps with. Not only do i feel bad when i can't put everything to into my partners request, usually because they want me to play a character that is out of my depth to play outside of them being a background character in a main but it quickly becomes obvious when your partner isn't into your request as well.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I think the problem is in how shipping is approached in fandom.

A lot of searches very much center the requesters characters. I want to play this character who falls in love with / is pursued by that character.

Which is a perfectly reasonable thing to want but it does kinda mean your partner is just playing second fiddle to your main character.

It’s why I try to word my requests as “this is who I am excited about, you can play who your excited about.” And in the event there are two specific characters in the request I make sure I am happy to play either.

Because to me that gives my partner the option to jump in and say “oh hey I would be totally stoked to play this character!”

Rather then it boiling down to “I really want to play this character in a relationship with that character, but I don’t want to write both parts. So can you write part B?”

Cuz intentional or not (and to be fair I think it’s largely unintentional) it makes it seem like I am playing a throw away character that only exists to make sure the main character gets what they want.

 

[sevyn]

i understand why doubling can feel tedious, but it’s so deeply engrained into the oc x canon subset of rp that, if you simply cannot bring yourself to double, you’re better off sticking with oc x oc or cc x cc. i can assure you, it’s not likely you’ll find someone who’s willing to write a story centered around your character and what you want, especially for a lesser known fandom to begin with.

doubling can be fun if your partner has an interesting character, and you don’t keep everything confined to “your side” and “my side” of the story— rather, creating a story where each character can interact, so that it’s more vibrant and actually forms a connection between the characters. yeah, if you don’t care about your partner’s story, doubling will feel like a chore, so you just have to find someone you actually click with, otherwise oc x canon is gonna be pretty difficult out here lolol.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I think you hit the nail on the head sevyn the real problem is that people are taking sides in the roleplay. They aren’t just saying “hey I’m really excited about this idea, who wants to write it with me?”

It’s very much this is my side of the roleplay where I get everything I want and that is your side of the roleplay where you get everything you want.

But they are for some reason unable to imagine a world where both people can just write a story together where they reach a mutual compromise.

 

[Jannah]

I think you hit the nail on the head sevyn the real problem is that people are taking sides in the roleplay. They aren’t just saying “hey I’m really excited about this idea, who wants to write it with me?”

It’s very much this is my side of the roleplay where I get everything I want and that is your side of the roleplay where you get everything you want.

But they are for some reason unable to imagine a world where both people can just write a story together where they reach a mutual compromise.

Honestly, those people who just want to write specifically everything they want should just stick to fan fiction. Roleplay, like anything else involving multiple people, does sometimes require compromise. Like, there's been times where I liked where a plot was going, but then my partner had slightly different ideas than mine. We managed to create compromises that incorporated both ideas in some way. That is usually doable unless the partner has a drastically different vision than you do.

 

[sevyn]

I think you hit the nail on the head sevyn the real problem is that people are taking sides in the roleplay. They aren’t just saying “hey I’m really excited about this idea, who wants to write it with me?”

It’s very much this is my side of the roleplay where I get everything I want and that is your side of the roleplay where you get everything you want.

But they are for some reason unable to imagine a world where both people can just write a story together where they reach a mutual compromise.

and to be honest, i was guilty of this at one point in my life. i just wanted someone to satisfy the plots that i wanted to do, so for their story, i’d kind of just half-ass it, just to keep the ball rolling. this was when i was younger, but still, it made roleplay so unbelievably dull! people know when you don’t give a fuck about their story, and when you clearly could not care less, do you think they’ll put serious effort into your story? no! no one gets anything because both parties are only concerned about what they want. just write fanfiction at that point.

 

[nerdy tangents]

sevyn exactly I feel like if you need everything to go your own way in a story then it’s not a very interesting story. At least not from your partners perspective.

I don’t care how good someone is at writing or how detailed their character is. If all I’m doing is playing the pretty lamp that shines the spotlight on them I’m gonna be bored to tears.

If I want to read fanfiction I know where to go. I am here because I want to write a story WITH someone not FOR them.