Duplicity Game Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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duplicitymemes2022-01-10 07:43 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2022-01-10 07:43 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #22
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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. ... 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. |
 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. |
 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. |
 (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. |
 (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. |
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!! |
no subject
He's furious at the world - all of it, really, but it's still his responsibility and doing. It hasn't all been bad, but he'd both failed to make it better and made it worse.
"I came here almost directly from prison. Erik broke me out. I was in for nearly destroying the planet and killing Charles."
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Jean stops thinking, for a moment, because all that matters is containing her reaction. She was expecting some painful blunders and bombshells at some point, but not - not that.
Her hand trembles in his, for a moment, but never goes painfully tight, never pulls away.
A few deep breaths later, "I'm going to need some context."
(There's a part of her that doesn't; a part of her already screaming its fury, its frustration, its remorse.)
no subject
Frustrated by her determination to give him the benefit of the doubt - after everything - and frustrated because he can't (won't) give any impression of letting anyone else have any responsibility in that chain of events. It was him. He is the end of the line when it comes to decisions and he made them and he did it.
He does pull his hand away - or at least try.
"I decided bringing Phoenix back was our best chance. Other people disagreed. I can't control Phoenix."
Is he apologizing for it though? No.
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"Why were you a Host in the first place? Where was Rachel? Hell, where was I, I should be..." Somewhere in there. She and the Phoenix aren't the same, but she knew where she'd go when she died; she knew the White Hot Room was waiting.
How could she let that happen to Charles, to Scott, to everyone?
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And maybe he (still) really wants someone willing to put him down for it; the 'get up and get back to the fight' is hard to use as motivation, from here.
He sees an alley and ducks into it.
"Phoenix was shot and splintered when she returned. Several of us ended up host to fragments of Phoenix. Those who thought her return was dangerous adopted a strategy of consolidating her into a single host. I decided that single host was going to be me."
Robotic? No. Not quite. Debriefing methocial? yes.
no subject
At the moment, stalking into that alley behind Scott, she's just profoundly, righteously offended.
"They shot me into pieces. They shot me into you." The line always blurs when she's like this, when they're unified in their fury.
"It could have been so much worse - "
She doesn't talk about D'Bari, very much. It's the most painful, horrific part of the Phoenix's legacy. But how can she not, in the face of this?
"I called for her on the shuttle." Has she ever framed it that way out loud? Even after Prosh made her face it, even to Scott? "I let her take my place. I was always meant for that and a world still died."
She swallows hard, all to aware of what else the fire is stirring up, the cramped shadows of the alley, Scott inches away from her.
"And I can't even regret it. Because it saved the universe, but more importantly, it saved the X-Men. It saved you."
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There's a lot of things he could say there - like that he knows what she is doing, and he knows why she's telling him this, this way, right now. It wouldn't be all that productive, and inside his head or not... they know each other pretty well.
"I wasn't apologizing for it."
There's a lot in what he does choose to say, too, but also in that he uses his light hand on her to sort of nudge her forward and into him. Offer more than demand because yeah, he remembers where they are and the problem with that drink very well. Also? He remembers who he is - cuff be damned - and just plain loves her, a lot.
no subject
That gentle nudge is all it takes, all it would take regardless of any influence; she melts right into him, safe here in the shadows, bracing one hand on the wall beside him.
"And now you know why I'd never ask you to." The words are soft, both desperately mournful and endlessly loving. It's not forgiveness; it's understanding. Both of them must live with the consequences of choices they would always make again.
The drink's stubborn heat might, perhaps, make it easier to for her to lean forward and press her lips to his. What she'd intended as chaste and uncertain becomes passionate and hungry very quickly.
no subject
A scent carried on the chilly breeze stops him in his tracks suddenly enough that he almost runs into a woman coming the other way. He barely notices her angry muttering as he pushes past her, turning around to head back down the street, now following his nose on an instinct that rises in his chest and rattles against his heart with heavy beating wings.
By the time he reaches the alley he has to force himself to slow down, approaching slowly to make sure what his senses telling him is actually real. Because he's not quite sure he can cope if it isn't.
He stops, backlit by the bright snowy day, taking in the sight of the two of them that somehow he's forgotten how much he missed.
"Jeannie."
no subject
really doesn't matter to him at all because she's leaned against him, kissing him and even if he is not wholly engaged, he's engaged enough and he's never wanted anything as much as he wants that kiss and that moment.
Logan stopping in the alley pings off Scott's sense of movement a split-second before Logan speaks. He turns his head that direction and pushes Jean back and away from him. It's the very start 'ready to blast something to hell' type move, but it doesn't go further than that.
It doesn't go further than that because it's Logan.
He just settles back against the wall, puts both his hands flat against the wall and watches. He's wary, yeah, a little defensive and irritated at being interrupted and not sure of what his own response might be.
He's also just... interested in seeing what Logan's going to do.
no subject
It's second nature to move with Scott's push and spin on her heel, as if she's facing a threat, but her expression is one of desperate tenderness.
Her last memory of Logan was his anguished, savage roar as her life slipped away from her. Their last words came earlier, in the searing blaze of the sun.
"Logan." She realises, belatedly, that she never asked Scott how long it's actually been, for either of them.
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She smells great, she always smells great, her presence normally a beacon to his senses, but here in this dingy alley she's a bonfire. The desire she's feeling rolls off in waves that hit him square in the chest when he inhales, matched and underscored by Scott's earthier scent.
For her it might have only been a few days, a week, he doesn't know, but for him it's been a year. He doesn't stop to think any more but moves forward, reaching out to draw her close.
"Jeannie, ain't you a sight for sore eyes."
As soon as he's near enough he takes hold of her jacket with one hand and lifts the other to sink into her hair, pulling her down so he can kiss her as thoroughly as he's wanted to for months.
no subject
Maybe it's Emma. Maybe it's just how long it has been for him - far more than a year. Maybe it's that Logan already tossed out the one big happy family thing and Scott's immediate read on that was 'Jean was with them both'. Maybe it's all of that, a hangover and too much other bullshit about where he is and where he's coming from to even begin to unpack, but he's not mad.
Exasperated, yeah, even with an edge of faint amusement in play. Concerned - he knows when Jean is from - about Jean most, but also Logan. Ready to step in if he needs to, verbally or otherwise on anyone's behalf. It just doesn't feel like this is any of his business but is inevitable. The biggest surprise (at least to himself) is that most of what he feels is just... sad. not hurt - sad.
Damn pretty show that he's got a front row seat to, though.
no subject
"Mph?!" is her primary response, but the baffled shock doesn't keep her from responding. It'd be easy to blame the cocoa for how easy it is, sinking into that kiss. It's not something they do often or easily, but he tastes familiar all the same. He tastes like home.
She's not entirely overwhelmed; she has enough clarity to be concerned, to reach out behind her and grope blindly for Scott in some bid for - what, apology? Reassurance? She really, really doesn't know.
no subject
He's closed his eyes and he opens them again as he pulls back, letting her go as he does so. His heart sinks in his chest. He can't stand to look at Scott in that moment, but he can feel the pressure of his attention from behind those shades, probably already preparing to tell him what he knew the minute Jean tensed up in his arms. Maybe before that, if he's truly honest. He hasn't seen her in black in so long.
He reaches up with one hand to touch her cheek with his fingertips, looking into her eyes.
"Guess it ain't ever that easy for either of us, darlin'," he murmurs, half to himself. He glances over at Scott, disappointment closing up his expression like a steel trap, resigned and tired all of a sudden.
"Krakoa's gonna be a surprise for both of you, huh?"
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Because it makes him scared - for Logan.
He reaches down and gives Jean's hand a reassuring squeeze, but his eyes stay on Logan's face. "I only managed to get as far as me killing Charles. You can take it from there since you lived it, but if you think she hasn't loved you since about fifteen minutes after you met her, you're a bigger idiot than I thought you were."
Uh. Sorry Jean, but he's got a concern. It's not the concern he thought he'd have, but she was happy if confused, and she's not going to be happy watching Logan's expression change. He isn't happy about either one of those. So he's snapping.
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That means -
Then Scott is talking, confessing her feelings for her, and he gets a light telekinetic whack on the head for it. "Yeah, she probably has, because apparently she's got a thing for emotionally stunted morons."
She's yanking him forward now, because hell no he is not just walking away from this, from them.
"We all know it's never easy. Not for us." Her expression, fierce and righteous, says the rest: they try anyway. They work their shit out while there's still time. They make the best of it.
no subject
He watches her pull at Scott, fierce even without a firebird at her back, and the smile remains because, god, he's missed her. Missed both of them. And he appreciates what she says, though he can't resist a brief up-and-down glance at the pair of them, one eyebrow lifting a little.
"You were talkin' about killing Charles while you were makin' out like a couple of teenagers?"
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"No, we were talking about me killing Charles before we started making out like a couple of teenagers."
Easy? Never heard of the concept. But Logan, while not looking great, is at least still there and looking less miserable and Jean's looking... alarmingly determined (about what he has no idea).
"You can take it from there, can't you?"
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Scott...clarifies a little, and she can't stop adding, "High on cocoa, thanks." Which she'd managed to shove in the background for a bit, but now -
Now, so close to both of them, she has to take a few deep, steadying breaths.
Then, under her breath, "I don't know if Charles would be having the vapours or laughing his ass off."
no subject
His faint grin reappears at her comment, though. He glances over at Scott.
"Hope that hangover of yours is feelin' better, Scotty. I feel like this is gonna need a drink or two. For me, anyway. I know a place we can go, if --" His gaze ticks between the two of them, " -- you ain't thinkin' of buyin' up the honeymoon suite anywhere."
no subject
"My hangover is doing just fine." Meaning it's there, and he doesn't care. "I'm thinking the only answer to it is staying drunk, and Jean and I going to any kind of suit would be illegal." Like that's actually a factor he cares about. "But I think this is a conversation the two of you will be better having without me."
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"Have I been dead that long?" Does he really expect her to just accept him going off to sulk by himself? In a place like this?
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With an effort, he manages to look annoyed instead of grief-stricken.
"Don't be a goddamn idiot," is his only response to Scott, with a disgusted growl. "Come on. The amount of booze I need for this is goin' up by the minute."
He turns away to head out into the street, not pausing to orient himself but going in a definite direction, clearly more than a little at home here. Thankfully the Scratch isn't too far.
"By the way, what you two were doin' is illegal as well --" he mentions over his shoulder, hands going to the pockets of his denim jacket, "next time pick someplace that ain't got cameras pointin' at it."
no subject
"We know." goes to Logan, in regard to the legality issue.
He knows, anyway and based on Jean's initial absolute disgust at that cuff on his wrist, so does she. Not that all of his frustration at that is related to Jean - or Logan or anyone but himself.
He shoves a hand up under his glasses, rubs his eyes briefly and works on getting himself into some kind of half decent mental state - meaning one where he can keep his reactions to himself - then follows Logan.