duplicitymemes | TDM #22

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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 « « «

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

» » » ALL ABOARD

[ Kazu is (somewhat uncharacteristically, not that anyone here knows him enough to tell) silent throughout orientation, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. In truth he's absorbing everything he's told but will have to process it later since he's currently stuck on the fact that he's alive to be here at all. In his own body, even. He gets on the train with everyone else and claims a window seat, then proceeds to touch everything as if he's reassuring himself it's all real. The seat cushion under him, the wind chilled glass, the rough fabric of his hospital gown... and then himself, pinching his forearm and frowning before raising two fingers to check his pulse. He sure feels alive. Still, it's hard to believe, even if this is an unlikely setup for an afterlife.

Maybe it's time to process the fact he's stuck in bdsmville, finally? Except there's someone claiming the seat next to him just then, and Kazu glances up at the stranger to see if they too have a line down their throat... before averting his gaze properly back out the window and closing his legs slightly to give the newcomer proper space. It would seem that even in a hospital gown, he has a tendency to sprawl. ]

« « « WINTER WONDERLAND

[ Heh. It's been a long time since Kazu played in the snow. He's ventured out into the storm mostly out of restlessness -- there's not much to do in his shitty temporary housing, once he's tired of browsing the network and working out -- and he might as well immerse himself in the situation to adjust faster rather than locking himself away moping that it's happening. The place isn't all that foreign-seeming if he thinks of the entire city as a red light district, really. His lips quirk at the lewd snow figures being made, but doesn't join in their creation himself. Or jump into any of the battles happening, for that matter. It looks like fun but he doesn't have gloves yet and hasn't been invited... unless you count the snowball that hits him square in the back of his head, icy water running down his neck under his collar. He shivers and swats at it instinctively, turning back to see who's hit him but the person's darted back around the corner of a building, laughter drifting from their hiding spot.

Kazu smirks and kneels to pack his own snowball, lack of gloves be damned, and straightens up tossing it from hand to hand playfully. ]

I hope you're a worthy opponent. Kazu Iida never backs down from a challenge, but I wouldn't want you to lose too badly.

« « « DUBIOUS DELIVERIES

[ This is extraordinarily sketchy, but it's not like Kazu has many opportunities to make money right now as an uncontracted sub. So he takes the job, resolving not to look in the boxes. If he doesn't know what's in them he can't be blamed for the contents, right? Nobody's going to shoot the messenger...... Right?

He double checks the address on the tag of his current package before knocking on the door he's at, holding the gift box in both hands in preparation to hand it to whomever opens the door.

Knock knock, special delivery! ]

« « « SURPRISES FOR SALE

[ Who doesn't love a winter market? They're perfect for someone without much money, as well, basically made for browsing. Kazu does take a good look at every stall, especially the warm looking knitwear and snazzy leatherwork -- even if it's meant for kink it's very much his aesthetic, it's just too bad he can't afford any right now. Instead he purchases a hot chocolate with a marshmallow snowman in it to sip and warm his hands as he keeps popping in and out of shops curiously. Some of the salespeople give him a harder sell than others, though, a woman in the compass shop going so far as to put one around his neck to show him how nice it looks. Although unconvinced, Kazu does notice that the spinning stops once the chain is on him. Strange. He turns to see what it's pointing at and finds that it shifts, tracking another customer. ]

Excuse me.

[ He holds up the little compass, turning it this way and that as he comes closer curiously. ]

Do you happen to be extremely magnetic?

« « « NETWORK

What is the last thing you remember, before waking up here?

» » » WILDCARD

[ Kazu will stop at pretty much all the shops over the course of the evening, including the watches and fancy soaps, if you'd like another opening. He can also be found in common areas like dining at the sub housing, out in the parks, etc... I'm down for anything! For something custom, hmu @

cuddlebug or PM! ]

[ Val isn't at all impressed with the situation he's ended up in. Not all that long ago he may have found some novelty in it all, a city of sex and sin; it's not all that different from some of the places he passed through, in his tour of some of the best clubs Polity territory had to offer. But he's in no mood for such things. Orientation passes in a frustrated blur, the train ride little different, but he makes it about five minutes in the apartment that is apparently his before he's back on the streets. He wanders, for a time.

It's cold, the kind of cold that reminds him far too much of his youth, and that puts him in no better mood. So he's not the one who throws the snowball, no. He's just a passerby, who freezes for a moment at the sound of Kazu's voice, and spins around at the sound of his name.

When he actually sees him, Val forgets for a moment how to breathe. It can't be, but it is. That's... ]

Kazu—? Kazu!

[ He doesn't even wait for Kazu to look his way, no. He's closing the distance between them, throwing his arms around Kazu's neck, and if Kazu's not prepared, there's a nonzero chance they're about to end up on the floor. ]

[ The sound of his name would have thrown Kazu off in the first place, as he was certain until this moment that no one else knew it... but he recognizes Val's voice in return. He drops the snowball and glances around, the impending fight completely forgotten as he spots Val rushing towards him. Already quite close, actually. Almost too close to keep from toppling over as Val's weight hits him square in the chest, but he's able to brace himself with a half-step backwards as his arms come up around the other man in return. He turns them to shield Val from the snowball fight still going on that he'd been about to join in on, holding tight.

There's a definite sense of 'oh, shit' mixed in with his happiness, but for a long moment he's just burying his face in Val's neck, his nose cold and eyes squeezed shut against the tears that were blurring his vision. When he does lift his head again he's not sure what to say, honestly. I'm sorry I had to leave you is a contender, for sure, but he needs to make sure Val is okay first. ]

Val... how are you here too?

[ The part of Val that reaches for the worst case scenario, first, doesn't fully believe it until Kazu's arms wrap around him—maybe he was simply going crazy in his grief and seeing things, stranger things have happened. But, no, Kazu's arms are as strong as they ever were, and his breath is warm against his neck. Kazu's here, Kazu's alive, and Val doesn't understand how this is possible, but right now he doesn't care.

There's wetness in his eyes, too, when Kazu lifts his head, and for a moment Val doesn't speak at all. He just brings a hand around to cup his face and stares, as if he still can't quite believe what he's seeing. Even when the moment of silence passes, that look doesn't totally fade. ]

I should be asking you that question. You— I saw you—

[ He doesn't understand how he was taken, how he ended up in this place, but it makes even less sense for Kazu. How do you kidnap a dead man? ]

[ Val doesn't have to finish the statement since they both know what he means to say. Kazu nods just enough to acknowledge it, not wanting to dislodge Val's hand. ]

I just woke up here.

[ He brushes the issue of how he's alive off -- it's not something he can answer, or is in a position to question. What he does need to know, what's been worrying him since the moment the Nemesis tore through his mind, is if the others survived. ]

What about the rest of you?

[ Val hisses a little air between his teeth. Much has happened in even the short time since Kazu died, much that has him now torn between the utter relief to have Kazu here, alive, and the desire to be there with the team. If Val has gone missing, then it is only the two of them and Migas, now; that's not enough of them to do anything. ]

Chase and Yaz are alive, struggling but alive. Cammie— [ his whole body tenses a notch, it's no secret how much Val cares for the girl; not that he's the only one, but ] —she left. Ran. We don't know where to. But she's alive, she sent us a message.

[ He has a lot of regrets about how they all handled Cammie in the recent weeks. Maybe she would not have run away if he had done better with her. ]

Kazu Iida | gen:LOCK | submissive

winter wonderland

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Network; un: tamlin

Re: Network; un: tamlin

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Surprises for Sale

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