duplicitymods: (Default)
Duplicity Game Mods ([personal profile] duplicitymods) wrote in [community profile] duplicitymemes2022-01-10 07:43 pm
Entry tags:

TDM #22


« « « 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 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.

Winter is here and snow flurries are common in the Up while the slush collects in the Down.



» » » ALL ABOARD




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.



« « « WINTER WONDERLAND




As a particularly heavy snowstorm blows across the city, Duplicity finds itself blanketed in white. The morning after the storm, many citizens seem to be in a particularly mischievous mood and snowballs are a common sight flying through the air. A projectile meant for someone else may hit you square in the face if you're not careful — and then it's on. Joining these impromptu snow battles is encouraged, no matter a person's designation, and even Submissives teaming up to pelt unsuspecting Dominants with snowballs is generally taken in the spirit of good fun. Not everyone is throwing snow, of course — some are rolling much larger balls and shaping them into lewd snow figures.

Those feeling chilled after playing in the snow may experience the urge to warm up with someone else, skin to skin. Whether they're a stranger or a familiar face, holding hands, kissing, or getting down and dirty with the nearest willing partner is invigorating. It might even be the only way to really feel warm again.



« « « DUBIOUS DELIVERIES


(cw: aphro, humiliation kink)

Want to make some quick cash? After exiting the train in the Down, there seems to be a questionable character hanging about the station. Dressed in a trenchcoat and looking more like a flasher than the businessman he claims to be, this shady recruiter offers easy money in exchange for a simple delivery. Just take a package and drop it off at the address on the label. Really, that's it! Stop asking questions.

Should characters decide to open the package themselves instead, they'll discover one of the following: glitter — so much glitter, lube (appears normal, but actually contains hot pepper and will cause more than a mild tingling sensation if used anywhere sensitive), a package of flavored condoms mysteriously labeled "every flavor" (none of them taste good), candy or perfume containing an aphrodisiac that, in addition to the usual libido-boosting effect, will also cause an intense craving for humiliation.

It seems to be one of those services that allows one to send anonymous prank gifts, and they're hiding behind LIERs as couriers. There's no return address or company information on or inside the package, except for a card marked Encoded Sin Corp — which does not seem to be a real company if the name is searched.

Whether characters end up delivering the package — maybe even to a fellow LIER — or get into some trouble along the way, someone is getting a nasty surprise.



« « « SURPRISES FOR SALE


(cw: aphro, dubcon, excessive fluids, exhibitionism, public use)

A small winter market has been set up along one of the major streets in the Up with stalls selling a variety of goods ranging from knitted hats and scarves, soaps, scented lotions, candles, jewelry, artwork and assorted crafts to hand-dyed bondage rope and kinky leather accessories. Food and drink stands are plentiful as well. Strings of lights crisscross the street between the roofs of the shops, providing a cheerful glow, and there are tables set up in the street itself for people to sit and chat while having a snack — if they can stand the cold.

Some of the most popular treats being sold are hot chocolate, eggnog, marshmallow snowmen, and sugar cookies decorated like snowflakes. Of course, their popularity may have something to do with the effects they produce when consumed.

• The hot chocolate simply gets one all hot and bothered.
• The eggnog may cause heavy production of sexual fluids, a desire to be filled or covered with someone else's cream, or all of the above.
• The marshmallow snowmen will make those who eat them want to invite others to use them as they please, desiring nothing more than to be molded into the perfect fucktoy.
• The sugar cookies seem to induce all sorts of different cravings — after all, no two snowflakes are alike!

These effects tend to last at least an hour and may, in some cases, last up to a full day.

One of the jewelry shops sells an unusual selection of compass pendants and bracelets. The compass arrows spin round and round lazily while the pieces are on display. Once worn, however, that changes. The arrow will settle on a direction, but instead of pointing north it will lead directly to another person. Perhaps you should speak to them? You may even begin to feel magnetically drawn to them yourself… In the event that two people have compasses that point them at each other, the attraction will be even stronger — nearly impossible to deny.

There is another shop which sells intricately designed pocket watches and small clocks. When these timepieces are stared at for an extended length of time or picked up and handled, characters will feel a brief but strong connection to their past and experience a vivid flashback to some moment that was, in whatever way, meaningful for them. After reliving the memory, they will feel compelled to speak about it to whoever is nearby.



« « « 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 likes it hot, they are a Dominant. If your character prefers the cold, they are a Submissive.

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!

Test Drive threads can be used as activity proofs for characters currently in-game.

Please remember to mark any necessary content, and have fun!!




» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

collateraldamaging: (138)

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you did, you were trying to kill them. Now you're not. That could change again, but until it does?

[ Kazu shrugs. ]

It was war. I'm sure I'll meet them eventually and get to form my own opinions directly. I have never fought just because someone tells me so.
proofofconcept: (oh shit)

[personal profile] proofofconcept 2022-02-11 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Quentin was...startled, to say the least.

First he looked behind him, as if this person with his face was going to be addressing someone else. Dumb. Then he looked back up at Eric with wide, startled eyes.

"Um. Hi."

Okay, get with the program. He shook his head a little and blinked a few times. Okay, this was not the weirdest thing he'd ever dealt with. There were at least thirty-nine versions of himself from other timelines and apparently at least one of them was the Beast, so. Not wild, in the grand scheme.

"Sorry. Yes. Hi."
requiemshark: (005)

[personal profile] requiemshark 2022-02-11 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh.

[ Its not how Ephemera would have approached it, if their positions were reversed. Sometimes, people just tear each other apart. There isn’t always a good reason.

But they have a second chance here. That’s worth something, isn’t it? ]


That’s a good way to move through life, I think. Decide for yourself.
collateraldamaging: (152)

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If people are tearing each other apart for no good reason, they aren't the type Kazu wants to be around. But either way he'll find that out for himself. As it stands he likes Ephemera fine and by his own admission the others aren't hurting anyone, so Kazu's just going to hope they're decent people outside of their world's conflicts.

He does have to laugh bitterly at that assessment, though. ]


Not in the military, it's not. But I've been making my own life difficult for the better part of two decades, why stop now?
bedlams_bard: (whaaaat?)

[personal profile] bedlams_bard 2022-02-11 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Their voices aren't exactly the same--there's something warm and musical in Eric's, even under the clear awkwardness.

"Hi, I'm Eric. I'm from Earth. New York, 2001. You?"

Because they might not be alternate versions of the same person (though he knows that happens here--he's seen discussion on the network between both Kates Bishop). But ideally, hopefully, with all luck, this isn't some other Eric bumbling around.
requiemshark: (039)

[personal profile] requiemshark 2022-02-11 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ephemera does laugh at that because no, it's really not. ]

Fair point. You and I got that in common, I think. Never did move through the ranks much. Had one of those attitude problems.

[ That, and he wasn't willing to cross that one last line. ]
proofofconcept: (nerd)

[personal profile] proofofconcept 2022-02-11 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
With all the multiverse possibilities, Quentin had never really considered that there might be a whole other person -- as this clearly was -- who just...had his face. They weren't even born anywhere close to the same year.

"Um." He cleared his throat. "Quentin." He gave an awkward little wave. "Also Earth...mostly, I guess. And New York, mostly. But, um, 2018. Um, do you wanna..." He gestured to the empty seat across from him.
bedlams_bard: (infodump :))

[personal profile] bedlams_bard 2022-02-11 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sure. Yeah." He takes the seat, nodding. "New York's where I'm from most recently, but I've spent years on the road--doing the Renn Faire circuit, mostly."

The funny thing is, Quentin's math on birth year is off; Eric was born back in 1968, but dealt with some Narnia time bullshit after hanging out with some elves.

Or is that Fillory time?
proofofconcept: (eggs)

[personal profile] proofofconcept 2022-02-11 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, cool," Quentin said, with a kind of pleased-surprise eyebrow raise. He could see himself having gotten into Renn Faires, if he'd been in different circumstances. He'd been to a few with Julia in high school. "That's um...well, I split time between New York and this...uh, I guess...other world? It's called Fillory."

(Put a dollar in the "telling people about Fillory when I wasn't asked" jar.)

"Until recently I was technically a king there but there was two queens and another king so I wasn't really, like, running it per se. Um, anyway," he said, shaking his head. "We're still working on this quest, kind of, that takes place there. Or partially there. We were actually basically at the finish line when I woke up here, so, you know, that sucks."

It was so strange to hear the way Eric spoke. The actual difference of his voice was one thing -- Quentin knew your own voice didn't sound the same to you as to everyone else, so he didn't necessarily take it as weird -- but the manner of speaking was a whole other thing. Quentin couldn't imagine a world where anyone with his face didn't speak in awkward stutters and hums.
collateraldamaging: (pic#15272540)

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh no, I moved. Straight to the bottom!

[ He's proud of it, honestly. Especially now that he's returned triumphant and given orders to General Anno himself. ]

Nobody wanted me to be their problem. I got bounced around for a few years until I'd pissed off every officer in Japan who'd take me, then they gave up. I was demoted to kitchen duty until the ESU found me.

[ Another chuckle, and Kazu tilts his chin up and puts one hand on his hip, almost posing. ]

We're all Polity, but relations with the Vanguard are terrible. I'm pretty sure if it was a request for anyone else Anno would have refused, they were just so happy to get rid of me I was in America two days later.
bedlams_bard: (precisely :))

[personal profile] bedlams_bard 2022-02-11 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Before I moved to New York, I was living with an elf and a witch who are now my exes, Underhill--in the realm of the Sidhe. I don't think I get to consider any of what you you just said weird."

Maybe even if they aren't the same person, maybe there's like a template. People with his face all get over their heads with funky magic shit, or something.
requiemshark: (024)

[personal profile] requiemshark 2022-02-11 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There are pieces Ephemera doesn’t quite understand, but he can follow along easily enough from context. And he grins, because he’s known soldiers like that. The ones who wouldn’t take it on the chin, who never lost that spark. ]

You know, I like you.
collateraldamaging: (131)

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's really just the names that would be unfamiliar -- the point is how he's a rebellious pain in the ass and that comes across loud and clear.

He'd probably be getting in trouble here constantly, if not for Val. ]


Of course you do. What's not to like?

[ Said with the tone of someone who knows there's plenty, and is actually very happy to hear otherwise. ]
proofofconcept: (casting)

[personal profile] proofofconcept 2022-02-11 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Quentin laughed a little bit. "Yeah, fair. So, like...fairies and stuff?" he asked curiously. He was certainly familiar enough with fairies, but the fairies he'd dealt with were strange and cruel creatures, nothing like the stories one usually heard. He was curious if Eric's fairies were similar.
bedlams_bard: (boom today)

[personal profile] bedlams_bard 2022-02-11 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Mostly elves, the ones I interacted with. I saved the San Francisco grove and helped fight off some trouble in LA, and they basically adopted me. Trained me how to be a proper bard."

He's almost certain he won't need to define that for Quentin. If for no other reason, than that he's betting Q's played D&D.
proofofconcept: (nerd)

[personal profile] proofofconcept 2022-02-11 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Quentin didn't come here to be roasted???

Unfortunately, yes, he nodded. "Fair enough, yeah. I'm, um...well, my friends and I are dealing with some...like, fairies? But they're not, um, like any of the folklore or stories you hear. I'm actually not sure I've ever met an elf so I don't know if they count as fae or not. I would think so. I've met...a god who was also a goat, though."
bedlams_bard: (thinker)

[personal profile] bedlams_bard 2022-02-11 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Does it count if it's also a hard self-roast?

"A god who's a goat. Huh, that's weird alright. I'm glad I've never had to deal with any gods."

He pokes the foodlike substance with a fork. It wobbles. He tries to take a bite, anyway.
notrosecolored: (30)

[personal profile] notrosecolored 2022-02-11 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
What did you do back home?
proofofconcept: (magic)

[personal profile] proofofconcept 2022-02-11 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Lucky," Quentin huffed before he could stop himself. "My, um, best friend Julia sort of got made a god? Goddess. And, like, I'm happy for her, she deserves it. She deserves it a lot fucking more than any of the other gods I've met."

He rubbed the back of his neck. He'd eaten a few bites of the food substance already, and, well...his main thought was that if he lost a couple of pounds between now and finding arrangements to buy his own food, that wouldn't be the end of the world. He wasn't starving.

"It, uh, well, things got...bad. I kind of had to kill one? So the old gods took magic away from humans, and now we're trying to get it back."
collateraldamaging: (101)

wildcard!!!

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It's honestly kind of enraging how much nicer Val's Up apartment is than the room Kazu was given in the Down. To the point that he feels awkward about moving so quickly -- well technically not moving since they're filing the paperwork in the morning, so he's left one item back at the shithole to cover their asses legally -- because that's exactly what the city wants from them. His rebellious side is bristling at all this immediate compliance to a bullshit system, but... it's to be with Val. The principle of the thing isn't more important than staying by his side.

They've never actually slept together before. Kazu realizes it while he's washing up before bed, and it seems like an odd thing. They're practically getting married tomorrow, intending to go straight for a permanent contract, and they've never slept together. In the same place, sure, but this feels different. Feeling oddly nervous about it he dries his face and turns off the light, heading back out to find Val standing at the window watching the snow fall.

"It's still going?" He comes up behind Val, wrapping both arms around the other man's waist and looking over his shoulder. "It'll be knee high by morning, at this rate."
collateraldamaging: (pic#15272543)

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I've only ever fought in the war we discussed. And cooked on kitchen duty -- it's not like I make anything restaurant quality.

What are you planning on? There probably isn't much call for mutant terrorists here either.
notrosecolored: (Default)

[personal profile] notrosecolored 2022-02-11 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Security would be the best fit for either of us, but right now I'm taking up gambling. It's working fairly well.
bedlams_bard: (soft boi)

[personal profile] bedlams_bard 2022-02-11 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"And that's what you'd almost accomplished, before you got here? That's really a rough break."

Eric shakes his head. "I was about to start attending Juilliard again, after dropping out at 18. I'd just broken up with Beth and Kory. Kind of the gentlest breakup possible, though."
collateraldamaging: (pic#15272544)

[personal profile] collateraldamaging 2022-02-11 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Like a bodyguard? I might be good at that...
What do you bet on?
requiemshark: (005)

[personal profile] requiemshark 2022-02-11 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ephemera smiles at that. Yeah, he likes Kazu. His energy, how he sees the world. It’s rare that he can have a conversation with another soldier that doesn’t inevitably spiral back toward the awful they survived. And there were pieces of that here, but not all the time. ]

You wanna spar? Or just get some food? My partner’s teaching me to cook.