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duplicitymemes2018-10-14 04:38 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2018-10-14 04:38 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #2
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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. 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. Either way it's raining! Still. Enjoy your free time until orientation! Participation is mandatory by all new arrivals. |
 The day after stepping through the door and participating in orientation, LIERS are assembled together in the Up for a tour of Duplicity in its entirety. 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. |
 The rain continues to drizzle, but it’s finally slowing enough for the citizens of Duplicity to catch their breath. With the influx of new LIERS, people make quick work of fixing the damages from Tumenalia—a combination of preparation and wanting to welcome more participants to orientation. Typically, travel between the Up and the Down is rather seamless with the use of the elevators, and with the end of the holiday comes a regular schedule for transportation between the two areas of Duplicity. Yet, mysterious powers are at play once again. Or so it seems. Stepping onto the elevators does not deliver its occupants to their desired location; instead, they are ushered into rooms designed to be escaped. There are a variety of themes, but the most popular seem to be Room A, Room B, and Room C. While they follow the usual guidelines for any escape room, there are a few “catches” that might not be noticeable at first. Each clue is only accessible to those of the corresponding designation. Submissives are responsible for unlocking the first and third of the three clues, and even if a Dominant figures out what it is and how to use it, they will not be any closer to escaping unless the Submissive plays a key role in interacting with these clues. Things to note about these rooms: the third clue requires some sort of sexual engagement to be considered “clear” of it. After the allotted time of one (1) hour, if those inside haven’t managed to escape, the Submissives will be removed from the room and the Dominants will remain until they can successfully help the new Submissives escape the room. Each time, the clues will be reset and change; they will never be the same. |
 Meanwhile, in the Down, a local charity organization has sent out notices for a black-tie fundraiser to be held during the evening to raise awareness of homeless Submissive children. Invitations are sent via the devices, and there are even fliers posted all across the Up and the Down. If in attendance of the event, the waitstaff will be taking down the names of all uncontracted Submissives; no other explanation of what it’s for is mentioned throughout the evening. And while donations are completely voluntary, any contributions made helps to further the main endeavor of the cause. However, it seems most people are present to network and find someone that might fill a contract slot. So, eat, drink, and dance until it all winds down and everyone decides to go home. The only “catch”? Dominants draw the name of one Submissive to accompany them back to the Up, and those who are left will be paired up for the sake of no one leaving alone. |
Please read carefully. Dominant and Submissive TDM assignments: All characters whose first name begins with the following ( A, C, E, G, I, K, M, O, Q, S, U, W, and Y ) are Dominants. All characters whose first name begins with the following ( B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T, V, X, and Z ) are Submissives. Players with characters that are a number use the first letter to spell that number. To use this TDM as a door pass please link this on your app and place whether it is dominant or submissive. For the escape room prompt players can make up the clues they find. They may be extremely sexual or something simple like moving a painting off a wall. Also, any locations throughout Duplicity are available for TDM prompts as well! Please remember to mark any necessary content, and have fun!! |
no subject
Oh.
[His fingers rub together briefly where they'd once held the paper before smoothing down the front of his jacket and turning the motion into a bow. The red on cheeks is beginning to clash with the indigo of his hair.]
You needn't have gone through such trouble for a meeting...I'd have been glad to speak with you for any reason. [The little paper had given him Asra's name, but his own...] I am Cehd'ra.
no subject
He's cute, and-- sweet, somehow, rubbing his fingers together as if chasing the sensation, reaffirming reality. Asra's already relieved he hadn't been wrong. ]
Cehd'ra. Am I-- getting the pronunciation right? It sounds very noble.
[ He pressed a tanned-tawny hand over his heart, dipping his chin and shoulders in an answering bow, the sort given to an acquaintance when you didn't know their rank but suspected it might be high. ]
no subject
Thank you, Asra, it's generous of you to say so. There's no high blood in me, my name marks me as the fifth son of my mother, nothing more.
[His smile turns wry, one ear tilting at an odd angle.]
Though, if you did not mean that sort of nobility, I am...even more flattered.
no subject
I grew up an orphan on the streets of Vesuvia. It's a habit of mine, to put more stock in deed than bloodlines. And my instincts. I'm not often wrong, in judgements of character.
[ So, yes; the second version of nobility, the one borne of character. But there's something gentle in the cadence of his quiet voice, and pleased, that the man before him had even thought to make the distinction.
He offered out his hand between them; a feminine gesture, fingers together, palm down. ]
Would you lead us somewhere to sit? I can only imagine that the high-backed chairs closer would be uncomfortable, with a tail. And I'd dearly love to be told more, about you.
no subject
You've come far. Though I've yet been given the chance to truly prove anything, I will do my best not to disappoint.
[For someone not of noble birth Cehd'ra's familiar enough with some of the customs, taking Asra's hand gently, fingers curling around around the other's to guide him. A beautiful man wanting to talk to him is the last thing Cehd'ra expected going into this but he's not unhappy about it, even if the surprise is still slow to completely wear off.
The spot Cehd'ra decides on is a low lounge chair with an ottoman nearby, the former for Asra and the latter for Cehd'ra (and his tail).]
Does this suit you?
no subject
Oh no, I don't think this'll do at all!
[ He softened the jest with a wink, smile flashing briefly into a grin. Asra leaned forward toward Cehd'ra, an alert and attentive listener, pale eyes alight. ]
What was your life like, before you were brought here?
no subject
[Cehd'ra can tell when he's being teased and his eyes narrow with a wide smile, ears giving a playful flick as he sits. Not as refined as Asra, the miqo'te slouches and sits with spread knees, hands laced together between them as he leans closer as well. It sort of ruins the put together look that poor shopkeeper had tried so hard to achieve with this suit but at least he's not squatting on the ottoman as he might the floor.]
The simplest way to put it would be that I was an adventurer. [The caliber of adventurer...that's less important. Cehd'ra rolls his shoulders.] I'd still like to think of myself as such but I do not know how much work a place like this will offer.
no subject
An adventurer? Have you traveled very far? What's the usual day like for you? Do you work alone?
I-- I love traveling. Seeing new things, new places, new magic. I know I've no conception of how hard your day-to-day living must be, but the... idea, at least, has a very romantic appeal.
no subject
Very far, yes...the travel is what I like the most. There's a guild for all adventurers and I am part of a group known as the Scions...
[Who are down several key members at the moment. For all Cehd'ra's strength there's nothing he can do to help them, not without more information, but that doesn't make him feel better about being so far away.
Cehd'ra forces his ears back up though his tail remains still.]
Forgive me, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn is their name. Their mission is to stand in defense of the realm, originally by confronting the threat of the Primals but more recently that has expanded to politics. Usually I am asked for help handling the former than the latter.
no subject
[ He repeated it, committing the name to memory, fingers falling a little from his face-- all but two, which brushed thoughtfully at his chin, his eyes alight as he sifted through the information Cehd'ra gave him-- spoken and unspoken.
He smiled, quietly. ]
I can't believe there are such things as adventuring guilds... though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. And,
[ He thought of Julian's night-terrors about his tour of duty, and Lucio's missing arm... And his smiled faded. Slowly, like the petals of a nighttime flower gently closing up to guard itself from the harsher light of day. His eyes were grave above this muted expression. ]
I hope your service is highly-valued. It can be hard, I think, for people who never see the... trials others go to on behalf, for their safety, to realize how much is often sacrificed. Defense of the realm is a polished phrase for what I can only imagine is often bloody work.
But... I've never heard of Primals. And if they themselves are not a political threat... what sort of foe are they?
no subject
There are those who understand that it is as you say. Bloody work...they are the ones whose gratitude means the most.
[Not just the Scions. Lord Hien understood it well even before he met the man and as much as Ser Aymeric strives for peace he knows what is sadly and often necessary to achieve it.]
A Primal can be a political threat as well as physical, in a way. [Cehd'ra reaches up to rub the back of his neck, head tilting as he thinks of how best to explain. Y'shtola could do it better or even Thancred but neither of them are here.] A Primal is the result of a summoning ritual. Usually they are seen as gods by those who call upon them but that isn't the truth. They are imitations, warped by the desires of those who summoned them. No less dangerous but still a lie.
It is possible for a person to become a Primal as well. When an Archbishop and twelve of his most trusted knights undergo the ritual...putting them down suddenly becomes very political.
no subject
He set an elbow near his knee, so that the curve of his palm could cup his chin. ]
So-- Cehd'ra the adventurer. A foe to false gods, who defeats them to defend the realm.
[ It's-- thrilling, sounds like something out of a play or an opera. He watched the other man intently, his own voice quiet. ]
It doesn't sound like work for the faint of heart. How does your family feel, about such... an obviously dangerous occupation? Are they, too, given to similar work?
no subject
[The part of him that's touched by the admiration in Asra's voice isn't so deep down as to be unnoticeable, even as it's also embarrassing. His tail tip curls back and forth as he averts his eyes and bites his cheek, though it all stills at the question of family.
No one's asked about them before.]
...I do not imagine they know. Or, if they do, what they might think. It is tradition for men of my kind to leave the clan and live alone once they are of age.
[That much is true. It's less tradition that they stay away forever, afraid to go back, even for a brief visit.]
no subject
That sounds...
Lonely.
no subject
The open hand catches his eye which finally lifts to look at Asra again. It's shameful that this is what cows him after all the monsters he's faced, but Cehd'ra isn't a proud man, he'll reach back and put his hand in Asra's.]
...it did get better. I've earned family elsewhere.
no subject
He straightened quietly, but didn't loose the other man's hand, his thumb brushing along its side as he spoke. ]
In that, we have a commonality.
Will you tell me about them? Your found family?
no subject
[Once Cehd'ra's face stops burning at a simple kiss on his hand he'll be glad to speak again. He'd already had a growing feeling that what had driven him away from his place of birth wouldn't be an issue here. Having that feeling all but confirmed is still another shock.]
...I'd be glad to. [Cehd'ra lets Asra keep his hand, going as far as to return the gentle grip. His own hands are smaller and rougher with calloused palms, but his touch is so very careful.] The Scions have become family of a kind as well, but the one I spoke of... My adventures led me to a man named Haurchefant; even on our first meeting he was a kind soul in a time when they were in short supply. Later, when things had grown even darker and I'd no where else to turn, Haurchefant opened his home to me. He introduced me to his father and brothers and...a lot of things happened. But by the end they saw me as their own blood. I'll forever be grateful to have a home I can return to.
[He misses them too, especially Haurchefant. But he's talked about himself enough, he thinks. Cehd'ra offers Asra a hopeful smile as he asks:]
Will you tell me of yours?
no subject
Asra's fingers curled as he smiled, soft fingetips stroking down the other man's knuckles. He likes the feeling of the callouses, he decides; the very faint roughness makes his skin prickle pleasantly. ]
Good people are hard to find in any world, I feel. Fate machinates very well to grind them down, and lessen them.
I hope all the best for your found family. And that you're not away for too long.
[ The question makes Asra duck his head, smile flashing the edges of his teeth. ]
Ah! My stories are much more humble. When I was... just another orphan, it was common for children to group together. For... mutual protection. Not many of us lived very long. And the only reason I'm even alive now is because of an older boy.
Muriel. If I got caught or beaten, he'd always dress my wounds. Never say anything, or rebuke me, just... take care of me. He's always calm and quiet, a solid sort of person, as if nothing could ever shake him. No matter how... awful the world was, how hard things got.
The Countess grew to be one of my best friends, while I was kept in the palace. I loathed her husband, but she was... the same, in a different way. Elegant, beautiful, calm, but very warm. Generous, loving. Whenever I'm anxious, I think about what she would do, how she would solve problems. Before her husband passed, we'd often curl up together in the sunlight of late afternoon, when we had spare time, just to talk about the world.
no subject
[Because Asra's already proven himself a good man in Cehd'ra's mind. Never mind that it didn't take much. His eyes fall briefly to their held hands, smiling softly as his skin warms to the touch.]
Or will continue to do so, from the sound of things. Muriel and the Countess both must consider themselves as fortunate to know you as you do them.
[He really has come far, from the streets to a high house, and making powerful friends in both places. Though one word did stick out to Cehd'ra's ears. One of them twists, his expression cautious.]
All though, when you say 'kept'...?
no subject
I... hope so? I know I can sometimes be a burden, causing more trouble than I solve by sticking my nose where it's not wanted.
[ And vanishing frequently without a word, making an imposition of himself, acting without asking... Why anyone tolerates him for more than a day or two is profoundly beyond his ability to understand.
But at the second statement, his smile froze in place, like an iced-over butterfly. Still there, still pretty, but coldly lifeless. ]
.... yes. The Count... lifted me off the streets, when I was young.
[ Literally threw his cloak over Asra's head and captured him like a wild bird. Asra's fingers flexed, wanting to tighten into fists; but the movement was just a tremble before he smoothed them out again, taking a slow breath. ]
He died, a few years ago. My freedom came at the same moment, and all I can think about his passing is good riddance.
One less blight on the world.
no subject