duplicitymemes | TDM #16

Entry tags:

«tdm

TDM #16

« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »

« « « ALL ON DISPLAY

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 high rise. 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 rather cold and icy.

» » » WALKING TOUR

The cold, icy winter weather has seen to it that there is an unfortunate interruption with the usual city tour for the newest arrivals to Duplicity. Some of the train tracks have a dangerous amount of ice coating them and sections of travel are now unavailable via train.

City officials still believe that the tours are important to integrate new LIERs to Duplicity so they have organised personal walking tours held by current LIERs. New arrivals will be paired with their own tour guide; they can take the suggested path or take their barely dressed charge on a more ad-hoc tour. It might be considerate to let them change into something warmer first!

Important landmarks and checkpoints like Fiddler’s Square, North Park, The Up and Down Courts, the People Zoo and of course S.L.U.T. need to be marked off on the tours but there have also been fun local stores which have set-ups for free samples and information booklets. What order and how people travel to them is up to them.

« « « GALLERIA OF SEX

(CW: exhibitionism, voyeurism, dub/non-con)

One of the stops along these new walking tours is a temporary educational art installation that has been set up to display and talk about the rich variety of kinks that are popular in Duplicity. Newcomers are invited to come inside the building, sit on the human furniture to watch and learn or volunteer to participate themselves.

Each section has local LIERs and graduated citizens there to help walk those new to the program through the displays, explaining the appeal and draw of each kink.

Live demonstrations or performance art are carried out by LIERs who have volunteered, been conscripted or are fulfilling a sentence that would normally land them in the People Zoo. They can and will ask anyone and everyone to step up and be part of the artwork themselves.

Some of the displays set up will feature:

Naked Submissives have been bound and posed with their bodies arched in visually pleasing positions. They are surrounded with candles burning around them and guests are invited to drip the hot wax across their bodies to add to the artwork that is their naked skin.
Zap your lover or the volunteers with an electrical wand and discover the way it can make the skin tingle and muscles tense in just the right place at just the right moment.
The image of cum dripping from a well used Submissive is considering something to appreciate visually so stations have been set up with glory holes and kneeling participants to have their faces and buttocks painted over the course of the day.
A variety of whips, canes and paddles have been set out next to padded benches for Submissives to bend themselves over. The marks they leave are something to be proud of.
No art display in Duplicity is complete without an ode to bondage, one room will be entirely devoted to participants being suspended from the ceiling, held in positions that will test their stamina and flexibility and leave the most gorgeous bruises.

We encourage players not to limit themselves in regards to what is on display. There are many more kinks than the ones listed, and Duplicity considers all kinds of sexual acts a form of art.

Photo taking is encouraged throughout the exhibition, especially when your own participation is concerned. If you missed the chance to do so, in the moment, you need not worry as the gift shop at the end of the gallery will have many different prints taken over the course of the exhibition available for purchase. Take home a keepsake of your first day in Duplicity.

« « « ICE TO SEE YOU

(CW: exhibitionism)

Winter does make it harder in Duplicity to enjoy all the pleasures of the flesh that could be on offer in the warmer months. Most who live in the city still need to wrap up with many layers when the weather turns so chilly. But that’s not saying that the city can’t find ways to help keep its residents in the mood.

It will first be noticeable to those trying their hand at streaming or posting video footage onto the network. Regardless of a character's state of dress while recording, they will appear completely naked to those watching and no amount of covering up with more articles of material will change that.

Others might see it as they set about on their first days getting used to the city’s layout, glancing into a shop window they will notice their own state of undress in their reflection. You might even see it in a particularly shiny bit of ice but no matter where you look, all reflective surfaces will show everyone in their birthday suits, naked as the day they were born.

« « « BLADES OF GLORY

(CW: exhibitionism, dubcon, drugging)

In a bid to encourage individuals to get out and keep active despite the chilly weather, the city has transformed one of the large tennis courts in the Up into a makeshift outdoor skating rink. In the recreation building attached to the courts-turned-rink the change rooms have been outfitted for people to change into more appropriate clothing. There is also at the front of the building an area to rent skates.

Many who get on the ice see no reason to keep apart, as many contracted couples can be seen holding hands or chasing each other as they skate. In the change rooms it isn’t uncommon to see a bit of hanky panky or people getting off at helping others in and out of their skates. There also seems to be a small hot chocolate stand set up inside the building where characters can buy a warm drink to sip on while taking a break from skating. The drink may leave those that consume it feeling especially warm and frisky, with perhaps a bit of extra energy they need to burn off - skating might not cut it.

« « « MOD & OOC NOTES

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: If your character would rather have a dog for a pet they are Dominant. If they would rather have a cat for a pet they are Submissive. If your character is from a canon that has neither, pick the choice you believe they would prefer more.

To Note: Characters can only swap their designation for one of the following reasons: an event occurs that allows it or there are OOC reasons that make it a necessity. Any swap always requires mod approval and each character can only ever switch once. Characters that are being reapped will keep their previous designation but players can choose to use new tdms with different designations for fun!

Please remember to mark any necessary content, and have a good time!!

» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Harry shrugs and tries to figure out how best to put it into words. "It's not really my sort of thing, you know? But if they're happy or they've agreed to it for their own reasons, who'm I to tell them I don't like their art?"

Maybe it's kink (not that he has the words to express that thought) or maybe it's just a job. "There are worse sorts of work to do, I figure."

"I mean, you're allowed to not like art, right? That's kind of the point of art, to have your own opinion on it."

But at the mention of art, in this context, Rowan jerks her head away to take in the various sights again. It was art that changed his mind once upon a time, what feels like ages ago. Art that changed the course of his life. From a mundane member of the masses to something more. (Well, it was supposed to be something more. Then someone just turned him into a killer.)

"Worse. And better. But I guess in that you're right. If they're here because they want to be, it's not so bad. Not like us."

"I think? I don't really know much about art other than it's hard to do." Oh, Harry, your education has been seriously lackluster. "And, yeah, you've been press-ganged into this as well?"

Looking at this stranger, Harry offers a lopsided, but mostly harmless sort of smile before moving to shake hands. He knows that his right hand is a bit of a mess, missing a couple joints off the smallest fingers and he doesn't mean to use it as a sort of test. (Except that he almost always does.)

"'m Harry."

It's a test that Rowan is going to fail. Not through any fault of his own, really. He's been raised in a world that has defeated death. Nanites keep everyone alive, cure all disease, prevent all illness, repair any injury, up to and including death. Everyone's body is physically as perfect as it can be, or will be once the nanites finish fixing up an injury.

So when Harry offers that hand in particular, Rowan frowns. The idea of shaking it like a "normal" person goes out the window.

"What's wrong with your hand?" At least it's said with what could be genuine curiosity and confusion as opposed to any distaste. Rowan's seen too many things to balk like that at a less than perfect hand.

"'m a soldier. Lost them in skirmish outside of -- well, a place that's not here." It was over a year ago now, and he mostly forgets about it. The technology level where he'd been living was roughly comparable to the 17th century on Earth, so they were lacking in nano-anythings. If he'd had the time, perhaps he could've salvaged something through magic but he'd been rather more focused on not dying at the time.

Rowan lifts his gaze away from the hand to Harry's face. If a injured hand were unbelievable, then this is like something out of a historical fantasy.

"A soldier?" He says it like one might say samurai or crusader. Something very far off and deadly.

"How do you-- How are you alive?"

"Oh, that's easy." Harry's smile shifts into something more like a grin - a little toothy, not wholly tame. "I'm a very good soldier."

Har har.

Now is not the time to mention that he's had more than a gentle brush or two with death. Not when he gets to deliver that line to someone who seems so shocked by what's a simple fact to Harry.

Rowan blinks at the joke, at that grin in particular, and decides to play this a certain way.

"So you've killed people," he surmises. Natural conclusion to come to: best way to live is to kill your enemies first. Something Rowan's been working on himself, actually.

"What's that like?"

"I have, yeah." Harry expression shifts, his posture going a little stiffer and less open. He's wary now.

"It's not a good thing, but when you're ordered in, it's you or them and they're expected to do the same. I dunno, really. Why?"

"And you trust the people giving you those orders?" he presses, still going with the curious push as opposed to any kind of judgment.

"What if, you know, you're ordered in but the orders are stupid?"

He ignores Harry's why for the moment.

"There's a difference between those who're in the very nice tents, who have the maps and plans, and those've us who are in the fray." Harry knows he was lucky, he often had access to a horse in battle and that alone saved his life more than once.

"And, frankly, you don't really have the luxury of trust there." If you're in, you're in and no one likes a deserter. "And, I find, if the orders are so bad that you refuse, then the folks that gave them generally aren't the sort that'll take a nice 'no thank you' for an answer."

"Dunno that I've much room to talk on that, though. Army there owned all of us who fell in from the wrong world - lock, stock, and barrel, we were theirs."

Rowan's lips part as though he's about to ask a follow up question, but that last bit from Harry stops him.

"So you didn't have a choice, in any way," he says, mulling that over. It's different than a traditional war, that. And it changes the thrust of his question. He'd still rather Harry had said something like that he'd rather die than follow bad orders, but when your life is literally not your own like that, what's the point?

"We don't have war anymore," he explains. "We don't have soldiers. Haven't for about two hundred, two fifty years? We have complete peace and prosperity. So the idea of killing someone..."

He lets himself trail off. Because while it's true that he comes from a seeming utopia, the idea of killing someone is very much a reality for him, Rowan Damisch, an exception to the rule.

"S'not true. There's always a choice. Sometimes it's ugly, but I could've made it." Could he have refused an order and gotten himself killed or worse? Sure, but he didn't. He chose not to and that's on him.

"And, that's better than good. No wars, I mean. I'd've preferred that, but I honestly can't imagine it. Complete peace?" Harry shrugs and leans back so he can get a better look at Rowan. "You've still got things like petty crime and the like?"

Because if he says no, there's no way Harry is going to believe a single word this man says. Peace is one thing, but a rewriting of the entirety of human nature is another.

Rowan blinks and gives Harry another curious look. Seems strange to him that someone would admit to making, what he views to be, the wrong choice. To go along with something he did not like. But that's also human nature, isn't it? By and large.

"Oh, yeah," Rowan responds, but in a casual, dismissive sort of way. "We've got people called Unsavories? They do petty theft, a little vandalism, that sort of thing. But they have parole officers and a system to work through. Some of them stay in the system forever, some of them reform. But they never really cause too much trouble."

"Mmhmm." That's the sound of a disbelieving wizard. "And there's no other crime then? How'd you pull that off?"

Even if everyone's basic needs are met, Harry just can't imagine a world in which people don't want more than that. Where there isn't someone or something on the edges of society that like to game the system a little. Who's getting the handouts and who's getting the bribes?

"Friend," he says, clapping Rowan on the shoulder with his scarred hand. "I haven't been here longer than you, I think, but you're going to have a hell of a time adjusting to this place."

Rowan shakes his head. Though he can hear the disbelief in Harry's voice, Rowan takes that as a sign that he simply hasn't explained himself enough yet. Of course, the scythedom is a writhing pile of vipers, corrupt and struggling. But the outside world, the real world, so to speak, that's fine. It will stand tall, thanks to the Thunderhead.

He hopes.

"The Thunderhead takes care of everything. It's perfect, so... everyone has everything they need. Even a way to get more than they need, in the form of work and industry, if they want it. There's no resource shortages, no real religion, no politicians, period, no major crime and without the threat of death everything seems a little.. weak?"

He shrugs, but at the pat on the back, he realizes he's skipped over something.

"Oh, sorry," he says with a mild chuckle. "Rowan. Name's Rowan."

"Good to meet you, Rowan." See? He has manners. Sometimes. When he wants to.

"You'll have to forgive me, but I don't believe anything's perfect. Doesn't exist; can't, even. Things can be better or worse, but, hmm, I dunno, I just can't believe it. No one hits their partner? And no one objects to the lack of religion? Or no one's left to object?"

"And who runs the 'Thunderhead'?" There's the question. If it's not a politician, and it's not a god, what is it? He huffs out a bit of a laugh and gestures around them. "Maybe we should head out and away from the 'art' to have this talk. Wouldn't want to spook the exhibits."

Rowan frowns at him, confused, but waits to ask his question until they're outside. The air is chilly and crispy, but he has to admit the environment's better than the oppressiveness of the "art" inside.

"Why would anyone in their right mind hit their partner?" Rowan wonders. Presumably, they love each other, wouldn't they? Otherwise why would they be together?

"Outside of... consensual hitting, I guess," he says, nodding back to the exhibit they were just in.

He shakes his head as he continues. "The Thunderhead is sentient. It's the collection of all of humankind's knowledge that's reached consciousness. It's itself. Everyone's just surrendered control to it, for the most part, because it always knows what to do."

"Because people can be awful. Because someone wants power and that's one way they think they can get it." Harry cocks his head to one side and looks at Rowan, trying to understand how or why such a ...well, such a naive world could exist. Then again, if this thing does manage the lot of it, perhaps no one ever needs to think about it.

"And that, that's ..." He looks as if he's about to say one thing, but then schools his expression and opts for another tactic. "To each their own, but you're really saying there's no holdouts? No place where people refuse to accept this Thunderhead? Can't have been an easy change over."

"Well, yeah, but..." Suddenly, Rowan can see what Harry's saying. The scythedom is exactly that; Goddard is exactly that. He wants power and there's nothing that will stop him, and he will hurt people to do it. He will kill.

"I think it has more to do with if you've ever had a taste of that power," he says. "The Thunderhead has complete control, so if someone does try to do something like that, they're quickly taken care of." He doesn't mean anything sinister by that, and would be surprised if Harry read that in his words. "We have power over our lives, to an extent, but over others? No.

"And no, it wasn't the easiest change over. There were holdouts for a while. But it's been centuries. Resistance fades in the face of reason."

"What kind of 'taken care of'? Prison or...?" Who knows what it could be? Maybe they're just assigned a parole officer and expected to rehabilitate themselves. Maybe they're turned into soylent green.

"You'll have to forgive me for judging, because I don't know your world or your people, but as someone who's been a resister, reason didn't enter into it." Forgive him, but he's still going to judge, because that's just what he does. Given how he's seen the Ministry and Wizengamot work, Harry doesn't trust any sort of central authority further than he can throw or over-throw it.

Rowan shakes his head with a bit of a frown. He knows what prison is, now, but a handful of years ago, it too would have been a foreign concept.

"Labeled Unsavory and put through rehabilitation," he explains. "There's a system for everything."

Except the scythedom, which he hasn't mentioned yet. He figures that since the topic of population control hasn't come up, he doesn't need to go into it. Because once that subject is broached, he would have a hard time keeping to his cover.

Why he's keeping to a cover here is beyond him, but it's instinct. So what is he going to do?

He wonders if he's a resister, too, like Harry. But he feels that there's a difference. "But what if what you're resisting is defeated?" he asks. "What if the war is over? What are you fighting against then?"

"If everything everywhere is peaceful, there's nothing that needs changing, tending, or learning, then what's the point of life? If it's all the same from birth to death, if there's nothing to strive for, I can't imagine I'd last long before being deemed Unsavoury." Harry's laugh is a soft, puff of wry amusement. "Let's both be glad I'm not in your world, hmm?"

Rowan huffs out a soft, dry laugh, ignoring the way that Harry's just basically insulted his entire way of life. Or, rather, his world's entire way of life. That's not Rowan's path anymore, so even if he's playing at being a regular citizen of his world, it's easy to let it roll off his shoulders.

"People like it," is what he says. "It's peaceful. Better than some possibilities. But yeah, probably for the best that you're somewhere where you can make trouble."

He smirks. "Like here?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM #16

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject