duplicitymemes

« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »

« « « OUT OF CLUTTER FIND SIMPLICITY

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.

» » » LIES TRAVEL IN COMPANY

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.

« « « A. WAIST. OF. LEEWAYS.

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.

» » » THE KEY TO HEARTS

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.

« « « MOD & OOC NOTES

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!!

» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's early enough in this particular adventure that Magnus assumes that everyone is from the same place, the same Earth. While he wouldn't assume that the other man is completely mundane, or doesn't know about the Downworld (the world of fairies, vampires, werewolves and warlocks), he does assume he knows where New York is. ]

My area of Brooklyn is particularly adventurous, yes. And I'm well-traveled, to say the least. But I've never been brought anywhere against my will. Not like this.

[ Even Hell, once. Edom, specifically. But that had been agreed upon, if dubiously. ]

And you? How are you with coping with something like this?

[ It's inevitable that Sam's mind goes to one place when anyone calls a city adventurous. Maybe it's the tone, maybe it's just something about the way he carries himself that says he's anything but some city boy who's idea of adventure is all that mundane. That and he figures that any normal, reasonably sane person would be freaking out right about now, not that it would do them a whole lot of good.

Regardless, he's not going to act like he's anything except who and what he is. If there's a reason to pretend otherwise he hasn't found it yet, and he's honestly too tired to play games right now anyway. Sometimes keeping his mouth shut is a better idea, but, well, nothing risked, nothing gained. ]

I'd feel better if I knew that some demon or angel or god wasn't pulling my strings here. [ Been there, done that. He's been through a lot, but the worst times have always been when he couldn't tell what was real. Still, he offers Magnus a tired but wry smirk. ] It wouldn't be the first time.

[ It's an interesting response and, for someone like Magnus, a reassuring one. He took the man's words seriously, quite literally, and found comfort in their apparently similar backgrounds.

He doesn't look the least bit surprised by the remark, though he does pause, his gaze flickering appraisingly over the man. Not sexually, but thoughtfully. ]

Nor for me. Though I must admit I have had more interludes with demons than any beings from on high. However, in my experience, demons like to be more.. heavy handed than this. Excluding the Greater ones.

[ But only the Greater ones would have power to do something like this, wouldn't they? ]

[ Sam's paying attention to the reaction, and it's far from the worst he could have gotten. Curious, but not excessively judgmental, it's more or less the same look he has as he searches the man's face. It's fair enough, considering how neutral his own statement was. ]

Actually, I guess it would be better if it was something I recognized. At least then I'd have some idea of what they're really after here.

[ It would definitely take a powerful demon to pull this off, and while it might not be impossible, if Sam had to pick between above and below, he would suspect Heaven first. The one time when he was thrust into what felt like a completely different life was contrived by an angel, and not even the most powerful of the lot. So the power could be there, but for what purpose?

All he's doing right now is going in circles, and with a bit of a sigh he sets that aside, focusing instead on his now somewhat more interesting companion. ]

So what do you do that has you getting caught up with demons?

[ Magnus makes a grunt of agreement. ]

The question then would be, of course, whether or not we'd be willing or able to give it to them.

[ More than likely? No. Not if Magnus' experience is anything to go by.

He cocks his head at the question and is tempted to throw it back at the man. But he's asked first and Magnus isn't ashamed of what he is, not exactly. Besides, there's a chance that the other man won't delve too deeply into the answer that Magnus gives.

He shoots him a crooked grin. ]

I'm a warlock. Summoning demons is, on occasion, part of the job description.

[ They talked about testing for some gene, and while it's hard for Sam to take that at face value it's clear that they're looking for something, and at least they're not trying more unpleasant methods of searching for it. They did mention a year long program, but are they really supposed to just trust them that that's how this is going to go, when they weren't even given a chance to refuse this in the first place?

Yeah, trust definitely isn't happening.

Sam's eyebrows go up at warlock. That's not the most reassuring answer he could have gotten, but at least it sounds honest enough. It's not like he hasn't worked with a few witches over the years, although historically that has almost always ended very poorly. On the other hand, it's not like he can be too picky about where help might come from here when the deck is stacked against all of them.

But if he's a little more careful of his words now, well, he's got plenty of legitimate reasons for being somewhat wary. ]

I'd guess so. What do you summon them for, if you don't mind me asking?

[ Well, so much for no further questions. But on the other hand, the man doesn't seem ready to run for the hills. He seems cautious, which is completely understandable given the circumstances, and Magnus doesn't hold it against him. But Magnus in turn is cautious. He doesn't want to give away all of his secrets even though he did open up the conversation. He doesn't want to paint himself in a bad light, to be frank about it. ]

Mostly questions. [ That is the truth; he intends to tell the other man the truth, if not all the truth. ]

Sometimes demons have information on other demons, and there's a group of special beings that fight demons that try to infiltrate our dimension. Other times it's to banish them into a deeper circle of hell. I don't take any job that involves making them do tasks or the like.

[ Not anymore. ]

[ Asking questions is just what Sam does, especially when he's dealing with things that are squarely in his area of expertise. Anyone who voluntarily does business with demons, as well-intentioned as it might be, is going to get side-eyed, at best, but at the same time Sam's been there. He's made deals, he's done horrible things that he's not proud of, and he's seen just how many shades of grey there can be with these things.

So he's withholding judgement for now, setting aside the uneasiness even though he won't be forgetting it. ]

Making deals with them never ends well.

[ Obviously spoken from a reasonable amount of personal experience. ]

Do you have hunters where you're from?

[ The kind of emphasis he puts on the word makes it clear that he's not changing the subject from the supernatural. ]

[ Obviously. Obvious enough that Magnus' brows arch with interest. But he knows enough of demons -- and deals with them -- not to push that particular subject on first meeting.

Some other time. In a better set of circumstances.

He shakes his head at the question. ]

Not as such. Anyone mundane who might discover vampires and the like and try to take some action would be eaten alive. We have Shadowhunters which are more... a deadly police force.

[ tagged ya over here! ]

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