duplicitymemes | TDM #17

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TDM #17

« « « 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 clear plastic top and pants along with clear plastic boots 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 wet and rainy. Very, very rainy.

» » » ALL ABOARD

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.

« « « RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

(cw: aphro, dub-con, violence, marking)

Ice and chilly weather have begun to give way to rain instead, with overcast skies and dark clouds a seemingly constant sight. While the overabundance of rain is an annoyance and comes with the usual series of problems, such as leaky ceilings, mold growth, and gutters or storm drains overflowing, this time the rain carries with it another problem altogether. A weather advisory warning is broadcast to every device, as well as on news networks and radio. The rain, at least for a few days, is not ordinary rain. Whether you're in the Up or the Down, when the water hits clothing it eats away at it. The more water it absorbs, the more the material disintegrates until the wearer is left naked.

When the rain comes in contact with skin (or is ingested) the effects seem to differ depending on where you are in Duplicity. In the Up, it's relatively harmless and merely has an aphrodisiac effect, leaving individuals feeling hot and bothered, more sociable and touchy feely.

Those in the Down, however, are not so lucky. As the rain seeps through the soil from the Up, it ends up laced with toxins, causing a range of less pleasant side effects for anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with it. Aside from the aphrodisiac, those who get caught in the rain may develop an uncomfortable, itchy rash, leaving them looking rather spotty for a few days. Those who can't resist scratching at themselves will find a newfound pleasure to the relief it brings and start to crave the feeling or sight of similar marks. In worst case scenarios, individuals will become addicted to marking themselves and others, perhaps even to the point of breaking skin.

Effects may last for several hours after exposure and will stack with repeated exposures. In all cases, getting off will bring temporary relief but will not alleviate the symptoms entirely.

Plastic coverings seem to be unaffected by the rain and, as word spreads, the Natives in Duplicity form a mad rush buying up umbrellas. Unless a character is lucky, they may find themselves unable to purchase - or even borrow - one. Theft of umbrellas becomes widespread in the Down, often escalating to violence, and even the Up isn't safe from thugs trying to steal and resell this suddenly hot commodity.

There's another side to all of this, however. Due to the shortage of umbrellas, it isn't uncommon to see Dom/Sub pairs sharing umbrellas together. If anything, it's encouraged as a means to strengthen their bond. Enterprising Subs and Doms alike may even sell their "services" to escort individuals who would otherwise end up soaked.

« « « SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME

(cw: substance abuse, altered states, coercion, fluids, physical body changes)

A new "holistic" pharma company named SQuIRT is opening up in Duplicity and is paying a pretty penny for people to trial run their new line of supplements. These supplements are supposed to increase a person's vitality and energy levels, but the side effects are what the company is really looking out for.

Some of the side effects aren't so bad and could include:

Prolonged erections
Lactation in both men and women
Size enlargement of breasts or genitals
Copious amounts of ejaculate or sexual fluids
Sudden interest in previously unexplored kinks

While others might find their own reaction to be a little more severe:

Shrinkage of breasts, genitals, or entire being
Inability to cum
Uncontrollable hair growth or hair loss
Temporary loss of one or more senses
Spontaneous weeping

Subjects must take the supplements for at least a week, otherwise they'll receive no compensation for their troubles. All new arrivals will find themselves automatically enrolled in these trials, whether they want to be or not, and expected to report to the clinic. Of course they don't have to take the supplements, but the payout is certainly enticing, especially for those unfortunate enough to be branded Submissives.

« « « STICKY FINGERS

(cw: violence)

Crime runs rampant in the Down as always but now, with the nastier side effects of the rain creating an ongoing problem, some unsavory types are sneaking their way into the Up where the effects aren't so hazardous.

The result is an uptick in crime in places that are usually considered safe. Be careful how you carry yourself - and your valuables. Those who look like easy pickings may find their pockets empty. Cameras in public areas are being vandalized as well, while homes and businesses are seeing a rise in graffiti. Most of the graffiti is merely obscene, but some is outright seditious. Good luck explaining the latter to the authorities if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

One of the smaller gangs that has a presence in the Down is taking particular advantage of the rain's disruption to expand their territory into the Up. Known as the Bulldogs, their members are young men and they have a reputation for violent muggings and assaults - mainly targeting Submissives. They loiter in groups near the train and the elevator between the Up and the Down to ambush the alone and unwary. At night, they also prey on those walking home from bars or clubs who may not fully have their wits about them.

In addition to beating up their victims for money, some of the Bulldogs are engaging in an informal competition over who can steal the most umbrellas - with bonus points awarded for whatever else they feel like. LIERs are worth double points by default, so watch out!

« « « 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:

Players can choose whether to assign their character as a Dominant or Submissive on this TDM for the Door Pass for March Applications only. For May's Application round, threads started here may be used as samples however they will not be eligible for a Door Pass in May. Characters will need to use a thread from May's TDM, using those Door Pass rules, for an application after the March round.

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!

THERE WILL BE NO APPLICATION ROUND IN APRIL

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

» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

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Marlo gives a delighted laugh. Today was meant to be a shopping day, but this is feeling a little more like Pretty Woman, the notable exception being that she isn’t a prostitute. She gets out of the car, smiling from ear to ear. She’s rather enjoying her day off so far.

“You’re really going to take me shopping? I hardly know you.” She beams happily at Kilgrave, tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear. “You really know how to treat a girl.” If she only knew...

Marlo steps into Plumage and looks around. She does some of her shopping here, but is still captivated by the fashions every time she enters.

"Pick out whatever you like," Kilgrave said as they perused the front gown and tuxedo area.

Kilgrave himself went to the suits and started looking around. He found a purple suit to his liking, but it wasn't available in his size without custom ordering it to fit, so instead he took a couple of black tuxedos ordered to the dressing rooms.

Trying on dresses takes time, so Marlo only takes two of her favorites back to the dressing room. The first is a stunning white gown with a low neckline and silver detailing around the bust. The second is a one shoulder gown in a deep shade of purple that complements Marlo’s coloring perfectly.

She moves into the dressing room next to Kilgrave and disrobes down to her underwear, raising her voice slightly so he can hear. “Honestly, this really is very nice of you.”

Marlo slips into the purple dress first, struggling to zip it all the way up. “I don’t suppose I could trouble you to zip me?”

"No trouble at all," Kilgrave says. He enters wearing an elegant black tuxedo with a vivid purple tie. He reaches to find the zipper and slowly pulls it up her back, admiring the gentle curves along her spine and the shape of her shoulder bones. "Such a delicate little thing. These zippers."

"Well, aren't you fetching in that. Have you tried on the other yet?"

“Thank you,” she smiles at him, pausing to admire herself in the mirror. The dress fits her perfectly and really does look lovely on. Marlo looks back at Kilgrave and shakes her head. “No, I haven’t tried that one on yet.”

Marlo is thinking he’ll probably leave the room so she can try it on. While she waits, she smooths out the fabric of the dress she has on now and turns, getting a better look at it.

"Take that one off, but before you put on the next one, wait," he told her, before exiting the room. A few minutes later, long enough for her to get undressed, he returned to just outside the door and reached over, hanging several sets of lingerie on the door.

"Give those a try, will you, love?"

Marlo takes the dress off as soon as he tells her to and waits as instructed. She’s caught off-guard, though, by what he hands her.

“Lingerie?” Marlo asks, slightly puzzled as to why she’s even slipping into the red set right now. It’s pretty and she does like to indulge in pretty things, but as she’s said before, she hardly knows Kilgrave. He doesn’t seem to be in a position to be buying her lingerie.

"You can't wear such a gorgeous dress without the proper framework underneath, you'd agree? Is the first set on?"

He doesn't wait for an answer before he slides into the booth to evaluate her. He was glad she picked the red one first, it was definitely his favorite. Not too gaudy or complicated. Just elegant and sexy.

"You look absolutely ravishing in that," he compliments.

She does look rather good in the lingerie. Almost every morning back home she goes for a swim and that’s resulted in a lean, toned body. Marlo smiles a little shyly at the compliment, though it definitely makes her feel good.

“Thank you.” There’s a slight flush to her cheeks. He’s been so incredibly kind, but she’s not used to being looked at like this so soon after meeting someone.

Of course, Kilgrave wants her to take it off in front of him to try the next one on. But the hallmark of man is the ability to resist the temptations of their animal brain and preserve a sense of mystery for later. How much more rewarding would it be to peel her out of her dress and lingerie later tonight?

"I'll leave you to the rest of your fitting," Kilgrave said. "I have a few bits on this suit too loose and a few more too tight, but I'm told there's a tailor on staff."

“You’ll look wonderful.” She smiles at him. When was the last time she was taken out and treated like this? Sure the lingering looks are a little strange, but maybe Kilgrave is just an intense guy. Marlo has heard about things happening quickly for women with guys before, how they just sort of fall in love and fall into bed all so soon. It’s never been that way for her. She’s used to a slow burning relationship. The pace she’s going at now, though, is anything but slow.

Once Kilgrave is out of the dressing room, Marlo changes into the white dress and admires her silhouette in the mirror. “I don’t know,” she calls out just loudly enough for him to hear. “I like them both. Can I get your opinion?”

Kilgrave returns wearing a fitted black tuxedo with a vibrant purple fractal embroidered vest and ascot. He admires the dress for a few moments, pondering. With the white dress, she was a walking symbol of purity. But the purple... well, he had a fondness for purple.

"I think this one," he said, gesturing at the purple dress. "It suits us."

"Did you decide what you're wearing underneath? No, never mind. Surprise me. Get dressed and I'll have us sorted out."

So he plans on taking a peek underneath her dress. Interesting. Marlo will have to see how the evening goes, but if he plays his cards right she could easily see it happening. She nods and smiles at him, closing the door as he leaves the booth so she can slip out of the white dress and get herself dressed up.

She reaches into her purse to pull out a tiny brush and go through her tresses a bit as trying on clothes has left her looking a bit messy and once she’s satisfied with her looks Marlo gathers her things and leaves the dressing room, looking for Kilgrave out front. Once she spots him, she walks up to him and slips her arm into his elbow without asking. It just seems natural. “Everything ready?”

He smiles as he feels her slide in, a beautiful accessory to add to his new suit. The clerk is in the midst of opening a credit line for Kilgrave for all of these purchases, which is apparently something not normally done, especially for new customers. For Kilgrave the clerk is happy to make an exception, of course.

"Yes, this-" he says aloud the name on the nametag of the clerk "-will sort everything else out. Let us move along."

Arm in arm they leave the store and return to Kilgrave's waiting driver. "To the Opera!"

"Have you been the Opera before, Marlo?" Kilgrave asks. He liked to be the one to introduce amazing things to people, and he was also used to the women he dated not being as cultured as he.

Marlo nods. It’s getting stranger and stranger being with Kilgrave, but she’s becoming an expert at coming up with excuses for him and convincing herself that everything is alright. Maybe he isn’t as new as she suspected. Maybe he’s just that good at convincing people to go along with his ideas. Sure, she feels a little uncomfortable, but it isn’t like he’s a monster. Marlo has seen monsters and he just doesn’t seem like one.

“I have,” Marlo smiles. It was part of growing up in a high society family. Her parents expected her to be a well-rounded, cultured young woman. “But I’ve never seen a production of Idomeneo, so this will be a first for me.”

She gets into the car, careful to make sure all of her dress is inside with her and not caught in the door. “It’s really very kind of you to take me like this. I don’t get out to do much except to go to work and the occasional party.”

Having a sophisticated date was definitely an unexpected plus. He might actually be able to have a semi-intelligent conversation without having to explain everything. Then again, maybe she just thought it was a bunch of people singing strange songs in pretty dresses.

"A workaholic, are you? Does your Dominant not provide for you like he's supposed to?" A shame, really. If he was her dominant, he'd never let her leave the house.

"What kind of parties do they have here? Seems like everything is designed solely to pluck at the prurient interest."

"I am a little bit of a workaholic." She nods. "I think Hannibal would probably take care of my expenses if I wasn't, but since I have a good job he doesn’t have to.” Marlo has never felt neglected or like she wasn’t being provided for. She sees it as a matter of having independence.

“There are all sorts of parties in the city. Unfortunately, most of them end in sex.” She scrunches her nose slightly in distaste. “Honestly, I’m not a prude, I’m just not into orgies or sex with strangers. Anyway, the best parties are thrown by LIERs. My good friend, Hannibal’s other submissive, just hosted a black and white ball at the performing arts center.”

Marlo turns in the seat to face Kilgrave more directly, smiling a little bit. “It’s a shame you showed up when you did. I think you would have enjoyed it.”

"I'm sorry I missed it," he sincerely admits. "You'll need to introduce me to... him? Her?" He was a little mixed on signals there. Hannibal's submissive seemed to indicate it was a women, but 'hosting a black and white ball' felt more masculine to him.

"Restraint is definitely not a quality this place seems to possess," he agreed, mirroring her distasteful expression.

The opera house broke into view through the city skyline, and the car pulled into the parking garage a few moments later.

"You're free to go," he told the driver once they were both clear of the car. The woman's face returned to a more organic state of confusion and bewilderment. Then he reached out a hand towards Marlo. "Shall we?"

“Her.” Marlo smiles. She has no doubt that Tinya will like Kilgrave. The younger submissive had many of the same likes and dislikes as Marlo and seemed to be on the same general wavelength as her as far as the company she chose, as well. “I’d love to introduce you sometime.”

The look on the driver’s face does ring some warning bells. Marlo would have to be blind not to notice that something is wrong. Her eyebrows wrinkle slightly, but she accepts Kilgrave’s hand and nods.

“Is something wrong with her?” Marlo asks, meaning the driver. She should be focused on the lovely time she’s having with her new friend, but there’s just something strange about all of it. It’s a feeling that she just can’t shake. “Should we check on her?”

Such irritating persistence about others' well-being. "For once, stop worrying about other people, Marlo," he tells her. "Tonight is just for us."

He leads her into the building and to the first checkpoint, where the clerk asks for their tickets.

"You don't need to see our tickets," Kilgrave says as he leads them right through. They take the elevator to the box seats on the balcony level, and Kilgrave uses his same jedi mind tricks to tell several different groups of staff to buzz off, finally making it into the box where he tells everyone that they have a previous engagement and to go home, leaving them one of the best seats in the house all to themselves.

"That's more like it," Kilgrave says, taking the best seat in the house and getting comfortable while the pre-show commenced.

Just like that, she shuts up about her concern for the other woman. Any thoughts she had for Kilgrave’s supposed driver vanish from her mind. It makes her feel a little lighter, closer to feeling carefree.

She wrinkles her eyebrows when he convinces the clerk to let them in without tickets and gives him a strange look when he uses the same method of persuasion to get them box seats. It seems her suspicions were spot on. This is a lovely evening and Marlo is incredibly grateful for the lengths he’s gone to in order to make it happen, but it’s all so strange. Her gaze settles on him and she eyes him curiously.

“You can convince people to do anything, can’t you?” There’s no fear in her voice, though she keeps it to a murmur so as to not create a distraction from the performance. He hasn’t told her to do anything dangerous yet. In fact, he’s been rather kind. Her eyes are half on him, half on the stage.

Its not that the question catches him off guard necessarily. He realizes he's being rather blatant with his abilities in front of Marlo and it would take someone rather dim to not put two and two together. Its more that he isn't used to relationships. Not since Jessica. And to say that relationship went tits up would be the understatement of the fucking century.

So its more that Kilgrave doesn't know what he wants to reveal here. Play it to his chest? Be more open? Giving out the secrets of how his abilities work seems to be a poor play overall. He's in a new place and he has no idea if someone might use that knowledge towards devious ends.

"Its really just tone of voice, showing the proper authority. People are sheep. They're really looking for someone to tell them what to do."

Well, now she just feels foolish for thinking it was magic or some kind of superpower. It makes much more sense to believe that Kilgrave is some kind of alpha male type, used to getting his way and making other people listen to what he says. She’s met people like this before. Doctors at the hospital she worked at back home were like that, bossing the residents around and making them bend to their will with simple commands. What he says is not that big of a stretch.

Marlo nods with a small smile. “Especially in this place. There are so many people looking for a Dominant to follow.” She supposes that she’s guilty of that as well. Whenever Hannibal tells her to do something, she follows his orders to the very last detail. Maybe when she walked through that door the people in charge really did know what they were doing.

Her attention shifts to the performance and she watches closely, moved by the performers onstage. Marlo has always loved the arts and opera is so expressive. She smiles just the faintest bit as the production carries on. Wait ‘til she tells Hannibal what a lovely time she had…

Kilgrave doesn't recall the love story of Prince Idamante of Crete and Princess Ilia of Troy of being so... salacious. Ilia is introduced with the other prisoners, all of whom are naked and in collars and chains. It feels to him like it was a fanfiction of Idomeneo written by the creator of Fifty Shades of Gray.

It wasn't being sung in Italian, or if it was there was something off about it. Regardless the universal translation thing that worked here made it so they could follow the songs rather easily.

"Its... not quite how I remembered it," he admitted.

The box came with an attendant who was quick to provide any drinks they wanted. Kilgrave had him pour them both tall glasses of an expensive sparkling wine.

“Isn’t it?” She wrinkles her eyebrows at what she’s watching, her eyes lingering on the stage for a moment before turning back to Kilgrave. “I imagine everything here has a bit of a twist on it. Every time I try to look for a good book it winds up being erotica.” It was amusing at first in a charming Chuck Tingle sort of way, but after a while Marlo had begun to yearn for something that didn’t wind up with the protagonist in a sweaty heap with the other characters.

“At least they seem to be decent performers.” She gives a facial shrug. Marlo was used to the North Carolina Opera. While it wasn’t the same caliber as what one might see in Paris or New York, they had wonderful performances. Duplicity still didn’t quite measure up.

Lifting the glass to her lips, she sips at the sparkling wine. Kilgrave is spoiling her and she loves it. She’s already thinking of ways she might pay him back, some of them perfectly innocent and others a little less so. However the opera goes, this night is going to end spectacularly. Marlo is convinced of it.

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TDM #17

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