Duplicity Game Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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duplicitymemes2020-05-12 10:04 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2020-05-12 10:04 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #12
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It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. Yet, solace is found in the lies we tell each other, comforted by the peace of knowing that we're not alone in our depravity, and once on this path, sin itself becomes the lesser of two evils masked in a cloud of normalcy. This is how Duplicity has functioned since the beginning. The divide of power and social standing is overt in that Dominants influence the decisions made both publicly and privately while Submissives cater to the rules presented to them. It is the way of Duplicity to assign random designations at birth with no leeway in altering what has been given. Climate in the Up is far stricter than that of the Down; violating outlined personas for a Dominant or Submissive while in full view of others is punished by degree of infraction. In the Down, many tend to turn a blind eye to these sorts of offenses. To counteract the discovery of the Deceit Gene – a natural "negative" response to all stimuli – the L.I.E.S. program was founded. The program had been designed to introduce new subjects to the current environment and test for the Deceit Gene through immersion in Duplicity's standing society. Sexual impulses and encounters increase the chances of detecting the gene within these individuals. Participants are typically released from L.I.E.S. after a year; however, results have remained unsatisfactory and testing still continues. ... and you’re here! Finally! Welcome to Duplicity. After choosing a door and stepping through to the other side, the first thing that greets you are the enthusiastic faces of people in medical scrubs and pristine lab coats. Their enthusiasm translates to eagerness as they strip you of your clothes to perform a thorough examination—you will be healed, bathed, and given a paper gown to wear until your items can be processed and delivered to your residence later in the evening. You are also given a device that accesses the network as well as the time and location of orientation. If you enter Duplicity into the Up, congratulations! You’re a Dominant, which means you are immediately picked up by a limo after processing and taken to your highrise. Here, it is two Dominants per floor with separate apartments. If you enter Duplicity into the Down, congratulations! You’re a Submissive, which means you are directed towards public transportation with the address of the motel you’ll be living in. Here, it is two Submissives per room with a shared common space for all rooms. Enjoy your free time until orientation! Participation is mandatory by all new and old arrivals. The weather is a windy 69 degrees. |
 It's time for the monthly Duplicity train tour. Seats are in pairs and randomly assigned to Dominants and Submissives alike. Traveling from Fiddler's Square, the train journeys through various parts of the Up, showcasing society and examples of lifestyle. Along the way, frequent stops are made; a variety of passengers can be seen exiting and entering the doors. A Dominant with a kneeling Submissive takes a seat near the front of the train at one stop. A small group of Submissives board and sit closer to the LIERS at another, all seemingly content in their roles. As the tour continues through the Up, the train passes close to the Market and White Wall Bridge and zips by North Park before heading into the Down and bypassing Red Wall Bridge and South Park. The train makes a "final" stop at Riddler's Square, where inhabitants of the Down are instructed to return to their temporary housing. Those who live in the Up are permitted to stay on the train and revisit the same locations while returning. CAUTION On the second day that new arrivals have been in the city, the train will derail due to a malfunction in the computer systems. Anyone on board at the time, Noon, could be injured, stuck, or killed. Emergency services will light up asking for immediate assistance. |
 Two of Duplicity’s largest film production companies are out to recruit new, exciting talent. With the warring success of Subliminal, Sublingual, Sublime and You Scratch My Back, I Claw Yours, they have the influence and the funds to go big. They have reached out to the LIEs program for help with the idea that inclusion in local culture will make incoming LIErs more compliant, not to mention bring fresh blood into the industry. Orientation is just a little different this month. Welcome to the casting couch, LIErs and those unlucky graduates of the program mistakenly sent notice of mandatory attendance, or else… Not everyone has what it takes to be a star. Both Domination Station Films and Studio Hott are in need of plenty of extras to fill in the background of their newest productions. After an initial sorting in the lobby of the newly refurbished Orientation center, some newcomers, LIErs, and graduates are hustled into a quick and dirty costume fitting. The costumes aren’t as nice or detailed as those for potential stars and may be safety pinned in awkward places. Makeup is cheap and sometimes gaudy. It gets the job done. You may not have a speaking role. It doesn’t mean you’re any less important, so get comfy on the furniture or in the pool and get busy promoting the Dominant/submissive culture that drives Duplicity’s society. Unsure of how to act? Better listen closely to the director. There are shock collars and bracelets to “encourage” the unwilling, and the camera will keep rolling until the scene is right. Scenes may be sexually explicit or merely instructive, such as proper seating and kneeling, feeding and serving of Dominants, and keeping a respectful distance in walking. Extras fill any and all roles required by the director for that realistic setting feel. If you are a Dominant extra, be sure to claim elevated seating and show a firm hand toward any submissives cast as your partner. If you’re submissive, it’s the ground or floor for you, depending on where the scene is set. Be attentive to your Dominant’s needs. It’s OK to talk, as long as you keep it down. Anything you say will be taken out in post. Craft services has just what it takes to set the mood. Stop by for a drink or snack. Soon enough those pesky inhibitions will be a thing of the past. (Some, but not all, of the food and drink contains mid to high level aphro effects. The film companies are taking no chances. The scene doesn’t call for intimacy? Good luck keeping your hands to yourself. You may be in for a shocking experience. Repeatedly.) |
 You’ve caught the eye of the studio. You’re ushered into a small room to wait your turn. Whether you’re new to the city or not, you find yourself paired with someone for a screen test. Do they want you for Hungry Hearts or It’s in the Pizza? Read your lines convincingly, make some chemistry with your partner, and you could see your name and other things in lights very soon. Don’t worry if the dialog is cheesy. It’s part of the charm. Having trouble getting into your part? There are costumes hanging on a rack. Try one on. You may find the experience transformative, as though you were made for your role, or it was made for you… (Costumes may or may not affect the personality of the wearer. Those that do will make it much easier to get into character and greatly lower inhibitions when it comes to the more demanding scenes.) Be aware that any sexually explicit scenes will only be filmed between a Dom and a sub, or a Dom and multiple subs. If you are a Dom cast in the scene with another Dom, it will be gen only. (We’re assuming you’ve seen a porn or two, or at least a parody. Go crazy on the cheesy dialog and stupid set-ups. It’s just pretend, right?) |
 Some people just aren’t meant for film. If you don’t catch the eye of any of the studio reps, you are recruited to work on set building and painting, helping dress extras or potential stars, or providing that extra stimulation to keep them going between scenes. Individuals who complain too much about the circumstance may find themselves assigned to the more unfortunate jobs. Somebody needs to clean up those sets after they’re finished. (Just put your role in your top level if there’s something specific you have in mind you’d like to play out, like “set building” or “fluffer.” We won’t judge.) |
Please read carefully. On each Test Drive Meme, there will be a section noting character roles; these will vary each TDM. On an IC level, characters will still have gone through the doors but assignments OOCly are still randomized. When applying, there is a section of the application that denotes whether the character chooses "left" or "right". When participating on the TDM, there will be a third option. Players may link either a top level or a thread (five or more comments from their character) from the TDM and title the link as "Door Pass". This means that the player is choosing to take the designation that they were randomly assigned on the TDM, rather than taking the designation of a door. If the player decides to select a door rather than use the pass, then they are trying their luck; they may get the same designation they had on the TDM or the opposite. Once the application is submitted, players can't change their choice. To assign roles to characters for this TDM, use the following guide: There's a table with items on it. Your character selects one. If they chose the jar of pickles or ballpoint pen they are a Submissive and if they chose a clothespin or mini baguette they are a Dominant. Please remember to mark any necessary content, and have fun!! |
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Bit by bit, Oswald begins to go still and quiet once more. The hand resting against his forehead edges its way down his face slowly until he has his forefinger pressed against his lips. His eyes, unfocused on anything in particular in the room, are open again, watery but processing until he finally moves them back to Ed without turning his head at all.
He can hear his own breathing, still a little shaky and ragged, but he taps the finger against his lips, coming to a decision it would seem.
"... You and I," he says at last, cracked in places and quiet as he pivots his hand at the wrist to point at Ed, a mild tremor still lingering in his body, "Have quite the difficult task ahead of us here, don't we."
It's a rhetorical question, entirely unfair to Ed who has no idea what has transpired and was either smart enough or too stupid to ask.
He takes in a deep, shaky breath before pulling the pointing hand back to briefly rub his palm across his mouth.
"This is all... very complicated, Edward. I know now that you can't truly appreciate the gravity of it all. And maybe you never truly will," he nods again, agreeing with something in his head before lifting his head a little straighter, "But do I believe you now. About what you said about your last memories of our beloved home, now so very far away from us. I believe you."
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They very clearly do have a difficult task ahead. Oswald is sore and prickling from a fight that Ed has never had with him. Whereas Ed had always pictured that, if Oswald were to arrive, he would have his friend back, his confidant, someone from Gotham and someone that was more his than anyone here. Or there.
His head is muddled up. Messy. Confusing. But he knows that everything he had hoped for is not going to happen.
He still doesn't move his body, but he just nods ever so slightly. "Do you- want me to stay over here? Go away?" Ed is more unsure than ever and Riddler is screaming in his ear.
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He takes an uneven step forward, mostly so his hands can curl around the back of the chair he'd leapt from earlier. The volatile energy crackling all around him has settled and he looks like a very small man again in clothes that are a few sizes too big for him.
"Honestly, Ed... I don't know," he says through a small wry smile, "I daresay though that you are probably at far greater risk of harm from me than I from you."
Not entirely true--there's plenty of damage they can do to one another, just one of them has more context to understand it than the other.
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And he's always kept the worst hurts to himself. Buried them with the old name he had.
"I'm going to stay here for now. And you can finish your food and then make a call about what you want to do."
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"That... is very true. You have not."
And it's a plan at least. A simple one which doesn't give any of them answers or solutions just yet, but it is a plan for the immediate moment. Sometimes, that's enough of a start.
Pulling the chair back with a kind of sheepish care that had been missing when he'd stumbled to his feet, Oswald eases his way back into his seat. He doesn't just resume eating though, a little too unsettled and ashamed by his own outburst as he instead takes some time to rather pointlessly re-straighten the knife and fork.
"... Your tea will go cold."
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That was an invitation to go and sit down, moron.
"... or were you saying it's okay if I come back?" He knows he wasn't meant to ask and he doesn't care. He's not willing to misstep again.
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Initially, he gives a bit of a resigned but understanding nod, the tip of his tongue pressing between his dried out lips in a kind of nervous attempt to dampen them.
Then, Ed speaks again and he looks up. Ed, and his genuinely questioning nature.
Oswald swallows before he can even start to think of what to say in response, though he finally settles on his more mask-like smile to disguise whatever complicated feelings he is having as he moves on arm carefully toward Ed's seat.
"If you would be amenable to it, yes."
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Ed doesn't blame him. He'd been in a state when he'd arrived, and he's a much cooler temperament than Oswald to begin with. He listens and nods slowly and then comes back over with slow steps and eases himself back down into his chair.
"Do you- more wine?" He gestures the bottle.
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The temptation is there to say no, to comment on how if he's in this state while sober then nudging himself toward something that ventures further may not be the best move. But his nerves are jittery and Ed is offering and after a moment of thought he gives a small shrug like his arm has been twisted.
"Why not!"
Awkward, disjointed, a little unnerving. What else could he have expected? Well, he hadn't been expecting any of this at all, in fairness, but now it's here it's a matter of working with what they have.
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"And I'll grab my coat in a moment, hang it up." And then he pauses, looks at Oswald. "... you can keep the switchblade if you want. It was one of the only things from home that I had."
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Really though, why wouldn't Ed pick up on something like that, to assume that Oswald already has the knife on his person? It's relatively predictable Oswald behaviour, actually.
He ends up chuckling somewhat nervously, reaching across to take the refilled glass.
"When you put it that way, it gives it a sort of sentimentality, doesn't it?"
One of the few things he got from home... Maybe Oswald should be offering it back, but the weight of it in his pocket makes him feel more secure.
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He would do the same thing.
"I suppose. I acquired a spare one here, just in case. I've had to deter some unmarked from pressing their suit. A switchblade in the nostril usually does the trick." Ed has no real attachment to the knife.
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"That it does! Though sometimes, it really is the only acceptable response."
In that regard, Oswald feels less concerned about keeping hold of the knife for the time being, either until he's more settled and better armed himself, or Ed asks for it back. In any case, it's a pretty valuable item to keep on him.
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Ed prefers subtle violence and overt distraction.
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Sometimes Oswald can be cutting and sarcastic, and sometimes his very genuine remarks sound like factitious mocking. Here, it's certainly the latter and he doesn't really need to think too much about being misunderstood. Ed always gets the difference. Always. Even when they're at odds. Or will be.
His appetite slowly beginning to return, Oswald takes up his knife and fork once more.
"I would say I hope you haven't had and will not have cause to use it, but I fear that is unlikely, from all that you've said thus far."
Later, as he's going back over things, that name--John--is going to come back to him and he may regret not asking more about him at this particular moment.
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"A few times. And it was useful when my knee was dislocated and I actually needed a walking aid." He gestures dismissively. "It was treated, healed up, it's fine now." Caused a brief downward spiral into drug use, but he's mostly over that for now.
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Okay, sure, so stepping anywhere in Gotham is basically a constant roll of the dice about whether some kind of injury waiting to happen to anyone at any moment, but that doesn't mean hearing about those instances aren't still surprising to hear about when they do occur.
His eyes flicker reflexively downward, even though he can't actually see either one of Ed's knees where he's sat, what with there being a table in the way and all.
"What happened?"
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Injury has never disturbed Ed. Oswald had never seen Ed seriously injured (to his knowledge).
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He can remember the deep-seated distress seeing the flesh around Ed's neck all bruised pink and purple from Butch's brutish grasp, how anxious it had made him, how despairing. And he can also remember the absolute vindictive glee he felt watching the Court of Owl's guards kick the stuffing out of Ed.
The way Oswald feels interest veers between a brand of visceral concern in the pit of his stomach and a spiking thrill of vindictive pleasure at the mental image of someone kicking Ed to the dirt for cheap laughs and then back again is a kind of rollercoster he hasn't signed up for and isn't sure he wants to stay on. But he's there now and will have to work out what to do with the consistent whiplash experiences being around Ed causes.
He swallows, trying to focus on the content of what Ed is saying rather than the emotions they invoke.
"Variants? As in... Clones? Or mutations like the kind Hugo Strange created?"
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A criminal mastermind terrorist. Ed doesn't really see the point in doing it.
"What do you think of the pie? Is it okay reheated in the oven, not too dry?"
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Oswald had been ready to make a comment on the scenario that Ed has described when the question about the pie presents itself in true Ed non-sequitur fashion. It makes Oswald's face scrunch briefly from the demand to shift mental gears as he finds himself sort of chuckling faintly.
"The pie is..." the impulse to say something spiteful just for the sake of it rises again, just briefly, sort of like muscle memory but it's a fleeting internal feeling that doesn't show on expression because the desire to be truthful and earnest wins out this time as he looks at Ed with a careful, cautious little smile, "Really quite excellent, actually. You always were a good cook, but this is... Really very good indeed."
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He waits and gets the response he hoped for, smiling brightly at the praise. "I've cooked a lot, I've always enjoyed it and after having to eat the food they serve up, us marked people don't get our own kitchens in public housing and have to eat at the cafeteria they provide, so when I got here and could make my own food again..."
And he stress bakes. Which had improved his baking even more. "Victor jokes I'll make him the biggest assassin in Gotham if he keeps eating desserts."
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Chewing slowly and thoughtfully, Oswald feels the amusement at Ed's latter comment overtake his impulse to switch his mind toward something approximating work. It's an odd image in and of itself, not just Victor and Ed talking at all, but sharing a space like this, joking even. What has taken place in the time Ed has been here, really?
A mixture of the arrival, some very turbulent feelings, some good home cooked food, wine and getting clean all pulls Oswald toward a kind of place he hasn't been or allowed himself to close to for a long time--some kind of deep-bone tired that makes him sink into his seat with subtly sagging shoulders. If Ed were going to try and kill him in that moment, Oswald might just let him.
"Or the biggest assassin in Duplicity, as the case may be," he offers, a little belated though he doesn't entirely seem to notice the delay.
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"Would you like to get some sleep? You can barricade yourself in my room if you like, it's pretty impregnable." Paranoia has a lot to answer for. He's electrified the window frame among other things.
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And this is the thing about Edward Nygma--intelligent, skillful, brilliant, Ed with all his dark little corners and shadowy secrets, is also just kind. He always had more capacity for it than Oswald could ever really muster, a true attentiveness to the needs of the bodies of others even if he didn't always line up the emotions exactly right. It was one of the things that brought the two of them together and he it is again not just in his awareness that Oswald needs to rest, but also in taking Oswald's jittery mistrust and trying to work with it, not push it away or against it.
It's probably because he's tired that Oswald feels a little wet at the eyes, just tired and bleary, that's all, as he reaches up quickly to press the balls of his palms against his eyesockets and rub.
"That... very well may be the next stop on our itinerary. Unplanned as it may be."
Can an itinerary even be unplanned? Does it unable to exist if it isn't pre-made? Does that even make sense? The slight crease to Oswald's brow and the way he considers this is probably a strong indicator of where he's at right now.
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and wrap?