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

Yeah. Been through it a few times, now. It desensitizes you. You were a counselor?

( So, he could use a counselor, but admitting that to himself is the barest of step ones. )

[ steve rests a hand on the bartop. ]

Not a very good one, but I tried to do what I could. I was more of a soldier. [ there's the briefest pause, wondering and deciding that it's almost like a shot in the dark at this point. ] You ever heard of the Avengers?

( He can't hide the smile, but, he's done this before in a Scooby Doo cartoon and with half of this city. He lets the recognition "wash" over him. )

Steve Rogers.

[ it's honestly not that unusual for him. he'd had fans since before he'd gone into the ice, and it had never stopped there. ]

So I take it you have.

Yeah. The Avengers are known.

( He -- keeps back that it's across universes. Being fictional himself in one parallel world gives him some perspective. And why he doesn't say shit. )

I was playing it cool. Captain America refilled my ice.

[ the concept of multiple universes isn't insane to him, but it's still not that easy an idea to swallow. especially not after the last few years he's lived through. ]

I appreciate the thought, but it's okay. I'm used to it. [ there's a soft exhale. ] Or was. Things are a little different back home now.

Yeah, a lot of that is going around. If you want to talk about it, I don't have counseling experience, but being a bartender's the next best thing.

( It's not, it's not even close, but he will listen to Steve Rogers and give the best advice he can. )

[ it's a nice offer, but he's spent a long time trying to sort out his feelings about the present day. ]

Thanks. It's probably a better conversation to have when we're both not working, but — [ keeping it light, of course. ] Things are a lot different now than they were in the 40's – I can tell you that much.

They are. But, you acclimate. Readjust.

( So, he's from - early MCU timeline, he figures. Interesting. Dean's not one of the MCU diehards, but you can't miss the big Blockbusters, even from word of mouth )

Culture shock shocks you and then eventually, you're not shocked anymore.

[ not even close, dean, but steve can't correct what he doesn't know. ]

I know. Trust me. [ how long has it been since he woke up? over a decade? ] I had plenty of time to adjust before the world changed again.

[ with just a snap. steve frowns at the thought. ]

Now I'm here.

( he can't. but, dean's gonna dean. he might pick up on what's really happening. if steve opens up, he'll listen. but, he's also right, they're working.

world changed again is a different indicator. this could be mid endgame. or even infinity war. hmm. )

Life ( God himself ) does that to me, too. It's always when I find my footing. The game changes again.

[ steve looks at him for a moment, considering. then, gently, he reaches out to rest a hand on dean's shoulder. ]

I think it does that to all of us. All we can do is keep moving forward and hope for the best. [ he gives that shoulder a squeeze. ] Be right back.

[ because, you know, the customer down at the end wants another drink. so he moves away to do that. ]

( Dean finds Steve's eyes when he makes physical contact expecting whatever it is he has to say of grounding him right there to that spot. He is painfully aware of his mortality, having died, but it's harder to keep everything in perspective.

Well, he couldn't have said it better himself. Dean watches as Steve serves the customer, actually works the touch screen. Dean's a good, if rushed, teacher. He smirks to himself.

He also fires a quick text off to Castiel about Captain America bartending with him. There are explanation points and he knows this will go over Cas' head but he needs to tell SOMEONE!

Back to Earth, now, literally, he drops his phone to his side and addresses another customer. This drink is more complicated, one of the shaken drinks, so he starts on it, giving a quick glance to Steve to make sure he's all good. ) )

[ he's not that old, please. but it's nice to be able to do something normal for a while, even if that normalcy will be quick to fade once the night ends.

working next to dean is surprisingly easy, calm. he's good to talk to, reminds him a little of natasha and a whole lot of sam. wonders what kind of music he likes and makes a point to ask, which also reminds him that he's going to have to start keeping a list of things in duplicity—either to try or avoid. and steve does more heavy-lifting along the way, grateful to be busy and keep his mind off things. his sleep schedule has always been unusual, so he's hardly tired by the time closing rolls around. ]

Got anything else you need me to do?

[ he can only wipe down the counter so many times, after all. ]

( classic rock not including 80's hair metal. foreigner, bon jovi, blue oyster cult, metallica, and all of the usual suspects you'd assume for him. add in some classic bob seger and the curve ball of Taylor Swift (she's a genius, and if it weren't for one time he was turned back into a teenager he would've never discovered her, yeah his life). Things to avoid, well. Most music is similar but not what Steve will remember. Most TV and film is pornographic. Like, Groundhog's Pussy Day and movies like that, like the music they're familiar but graphic.

To try, Dean recommends getting a lay of the land, especially when you need to get back somewhere in time.

It's good to have a second back there. He went a week or two with just him, but there's a different rhythm and a camaraderie that fills familiar in the deeper recesses of his mind.

Mid-cutting fruit for the next shift, he glances around them. )

Looks like we're pretty stocked for tomorrow and the rush tapered off. I'd say hold off. You want to keep taking orders and flex those bartender muscles, have at it.

( He shows him the best technique for shaking a cocktail, and for shaking two at once (knocking the pair ontop of one another to secure them before shaking). he reminds him it's easy to know what's pouring what because all the drinks look different.

pouring from the tap is easy except when one of the kegs empties so Dean shows Steve how to switch out a keg completely. )

Once a week, we clear out the lines and flush em with hot water. But, that's usually in the beginning of a shift. Mondays. ( Dean's impressed, though. ) Don't know what you're looking to do here but once you get your sea legs, you should think about coming back. Qi'ra pays her Subs well and, tonight's been fun.

[ it really is a lot to keep up with.

strange to think his general skills aren't about things like this. he could strip a weapon down, take out a whole team in under a few minutes. tuck, rolls, jump, fight. he's picked up learning to dance properly (and not just sloppily), and sometimes, he still makes time to draw when he doesn't have a thousand other things to do. but it's not the same as learning something he doesn't know from someone else who does, simple things that make people happy. steve appreciates that about dean. he can tell he's a kind person at heart. ]

Sounds like this place keeps you pretty busy. [ said after the information about flushing the lines out. ] Can't be all that bad if you're doing this every day.

[ he thinks his time could be torn between this and doing more. always more. he can't pretend that what's happening to the people here is right. ]

I'll give it some thought. You've done more than enough for me already. [ and he's still going to stay with him, at least for a couple of days. ] But yeah. It really has been fun.

( dean has that in common. he needs to pick up a few more weapons for the home and really build up his cache again. in between not hunting here. focusing on the bar has been easier, especially on days like this. steve is the icing on the cake tonight.

as for how kind dean is, he'd like the characterization. but he worries about his disposition, about who he is at his core. despite what cas in his world told him before his big sacrifice, and despite letting chuck go, dean knows he still has anger issues. )

Monday through Friday. I like my weekends.

( So there are weekend openings if Steve gets better at the bartending part. And he's not that bad!

The rest of the night is easy. People peter out around one and the kinky couple in the corner is easily ignored as they start the close. At close, Dean only needs to knock on one door to ask a couple to finish their private time. By 3:30, he's taken out the trash and taught Steve how to glove up to take out the bar mats. Then it's goodbye to Brick the security guy.

Staying close to Steve, Dean walks the two of them back through the Down, but being a Dominant next to a Submissive, they're not crowded or bothered. )

So, from saving the city to wiping down the bar. If I had a bucket list, this would be on it.

[ the routine is nice. the company is good too.

in the gloom of the world as it is for him, he'd forgotten how easy it is to get along with people who feel as if they have a purpose. steve hadn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows since wakanda, especially after things had fallen apart and people had looked to him for answers. half of his team missing, half the world (and the universe) gone. it's a lot for someone to shoulder, and he'd done what he could. but this? he doesn't feel pressured and people don't really know him here.

as they walk, his steps purposely slow, steve shoves his hands into the pockets of the jacket he'd been given. it's a little tight in the shoulders, but it's not too uncomfortable. ]

Which part? Going home with me at almost four in the morning?

[ it's a light joke despite the way it sounds. if it was anyone other than steve, it might have been a line. ]

( dean could help steve out with clothes the next day, like qi'ra did for him, and max. the clothing provided leaves a lot to be desired and it doesn't keep anyone warm. back at the bar, dean explained he hunted before. he gives the cliff's notes version of what his mother did (saving people, hunting things), her premature death and how that sent his dad into the spiral of his wayward, neglectful childhood. he spins the end and drives it home, noting that there are witches and vampires and the like here, but he has learned they're people, too.

he made his mistakes, but for the most part he helped more than hindered.

he doesn't mention his trip to hell, his deaths, his time as a demon or as a vessel for the archangel michael. he leaves everything biblical out. that's not really night one for his friendship.

Oh. That's a good one. )

Working beside you.

( While his mind has been expanded with the possibility of what happens parallel to him and what Qi'ra experienced, he's still in the baby step part of his journey. He's able to reply with a straight face, though, after his jaw sets and he replies deliberately. )

I've poured myself into bed at four in the morning before. That wouldn't be on my bucket list.

[ everyone makes mistakes, steve would have said. it's what people do after that can often define who they are. he knows that. he knows a lot of people who carry the guilt of those actions for a long time—himself included. parts of dean's story is interesting, sounds tough. hard. but he doesn't think it's any different than what he'd done working for the government; just a different name to similar things. (he thinks of wanda and wonders.)

as if he would blame dean for any of the choices and decisions he'd made living that kind of life.

steve's smile is soft, the gentlest nudge to dean's side that clearly conveys he feels the same. ]

I think everyone's been there before. There were a lot of times I'd be on my feet for over thirty-six hours and waiting to be debriefed for another two. [ it's rough, if he's being honest. ] But you're right. I'd come back and work with you again if you'd have me.

Dude, I'd flip burgers next to Steve Rogers.

( So. Same. But, he's not asking the guy to flip burgers. He's doing what he can like he said. He's paying it forward.

As for what he's done and where he's been. He's struggling. He's fighting the idea that his entire life was freaking scripted. He knows he's broken away from that. But, if he thinks too hard about it, it's easy to overthink.

Dean shows his credentials at the elevator and they're let inside. He waits for the doors to close before addressing Steve again. He doesn't need soldiers to be listening in. )

Hunts last all night, sometimes. Several days. There used to be nothing better than the motel bed you crashed into.

( Eventually, he says, it was the bed in the Men of Letters bunker they discovered. Hunters from the early 1900's. It gave them a base of operations. And a home they never really had as kids. )

[ steve would certainly look out of place doing that, but he laughs anyway. shakes his head a little because he couldn't imagine it.

things are different here, though. maybe he doesn't have to be captain america anymore. he can finally just be steve rogers, a guy from brooklyn with a little combat experience on the side. maybe, though the amount of soldiers stationed around everywhere they go has him thinking otherwise. he relaxes once they're in the elevator, looks at dean. ]

Guess there's nothing a person can't get used to. [ once the doors open again, he steps out. ] Do you sleep better here?

( if he voices any of that, he would give the good captain the advice he was given. rebel quietly and slowly. )

I sleep different.

( He never had a trouble sleeping when he was younger. The older he got and the worse things became (the more biblical), sleep was more elusive. The PTSD he's racked up leaves him with a theoretical counseling worthy plate. )

Bed's amazing, though. Things like that which make you remind yourself where you are. We're all prisoners in an experiment frequently forced to go outside our comfort zones. To hurt each other.

( but, wait until you see his apartment, Steve. he holds the door to the Up public housing open so Steve can enter the lobby. )

Physically, I've seen it once on the network. People have told me the city can turn us into our worst selves. ( he presses the elevator button. ) Just once I'd like to not have personal experience with what the city pushes us to do.

[ that kind of information is different than what they'd talked about initially. more real, more dangerous.

steve doesn't want to think about that, about what kind of person he would be on the opposite side of the scale. often, he doesn't consider himself the best kind of person, but that's the experiences and choosing sides and the casualties that have come along with his decisions. he's quiet for a moment, following dean with his hands curled into his jacket pockets. ]

We might be trapped here, but I don't wanna hurt anyone. Too much of that has happened already – here and back home. [ what else is there to say? ] Maybe it's just about learning to navigate what they want from us and what we can avoid.

[ he's going to hold onto that hope as long as he can. he's still new. his ideals are still based on a completely different world. ]

I'll do what I can to help you with that.

And what we can't.

( He hates to burst the optimism bubble, but he's good at it. )

My sleep?

( He throws an arm out because their talking gives the elevator time to close again. He lets Steve out, then himself before unlocking the front door to his suite. )

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your steve, though!

🙈 i'm loving this so much

me too! i was like, ok so dean's meeting captain america. no big, tho. !!

just wait until he stays over with the shield in tow lmao

dean will keel over.

as long as he doesn't faint

nah, he doesn't have to worry. long as steve doesn't outright flirt. dean can be... spazzy.

steve trying to flirt would be icing on the cake. give it, like, a week or two

dean's looking to explore his sexuality, so.

both of them just fumbling along tbh

fumbling's better than floundering!

dean's so cute!! i love him

he's been through some shit and he's a family man now

living his best life

outside of god's reign! (the last few seasons are... something)

that's what i've heard! i've only seen to somewhere in the s11

people will say things but coming from me it's worth catching up to