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duplicitymemes2023-09-10 05:47 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2023-09-10 05:47 pm
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TDM #32
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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 LIEs 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 LIEs 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 high-rise. 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. Submissives are provided with a plain black pleather collar to wear and Dominants are given bracelets made of the same black pleather. The simple design is an immediate visual indicator that they have not yet signed a contract and they will be informed that more elaborate or personalized styles are a privilege reserved for those who do. Enjoy your free time until Orientation! Participation is mandatory for all new and past arrivals. The weather is cooling as summer turns to autumn and the sky is overcast more often than not. |
 (cw: optional pony play elements) The usual train tour after Orientation showcasing important city landmarks has been canceled and replaced with a walking tour, at least for the half of the tour that winds through the Up. Not only that, but Submissives will be required to carry Dominants the whole way, either on their own backs or in sedan chairs or litters.* It's a visceral lesson in accepting and understanding their role, whether that's to direct or serve, guide or support. (*Accessories such as harnesses and tail plugs may be provided for some Submissives either at a Dominant's request or the whim of LIEs staff.) This portion of the tour will conclude at the train station that connects to the Down, where LIERs will finally be allowed to board the train and take a rest as they continue onward to the less impressive sights of Red Wall Bridge and South Park. Seats are in pairs and randomly assigned to Dominants and Submissives alike. 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. 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. |
 (cw: aphrodisiacs, dub-con, random kink compulsion) As they're walking down the street, characters may spot some fliers for job skill classes or even be pulled aside and invited to attend one by an earnest spokesperson. These classes are advertised as equipping characters with "useful" skills that will either improve their quality of life or help them find stable employment. Whether that's actually true is questionable. The address they'll be directed to is a random building in the Down that seems to be a repurposed storefront. There are three subjects being offered currently. At bartending class, characters will be provided with a variety of liquors, mixers, shakers, glasses, and garnishes. A few simple drink recipes are written on a chalkboard to give them a starting point, but they are also encouraged to play around, mix and match and create their own concoctions, and taste test each other's as well. Some of the drink components contain aphrodisiacs, ranging from a basic arousal booster to more targeted tinctures that stimulate desires for specific activities. These effects can stack and combine or even conflict. Drink responsibly (or don't)! The hospitality class is geared toward setting a mood or scene and seems to mainly involve things like lighting candles and incense, running a bath with scented oils, bubbles, and foaming salts, and spreading rose petals artfully over a freshly turned down bed. Once everything is in place, they'll be urged to try it for themselves — get in that bath, roll around on that bed or have someone tuck them in. How else will they know if they've done a good job? And if they're feeling frisky from the fumes or the bath products, it just makes for a better test. The third class is flower arranging and characters are given vases, shears for trimming, and a selection of flower cuttings of different sizes, colors, and species. They're instructed to follow their intuition and use whichever flowers they like to create a well-balanced arrangement. The thing is, some of these flowers have pollen with aphrodisiac effects. Other flowers have petals that, when handled with bare hands, secrete an aphrodisiac that's absorbed through the skin. Like the drinks, these effects range from the generic to the specific and can combine in complementary or conflicting ways. Think you're arranging a bouquet that symbolizes pure friendship or everlasting love? It might actually inspire a latex-wearing tickle orgy. In each of the classes there are people discreetly taking video and photographs. If they ask about it, characters will be told that the footage is for promotional materials. |
 (cw: altered mental states and changes in perception, compulsion) The light in the old lighthouse at the north end of Chicanery Beach must never go out, so the locals say, but the fuel that keeps the fire burning hasn't been replenished properly in a while. As usual, Duplicity natives are hesitant to go near the beach, but this important maintenance is still deemed essential. The solution, at least this time around, seems to be putting the latest batch of LIERs (as well as any others foolish enough to volunteer or unlucky enough to be recruited) up to the task of visiting the lighthouse in teams or pairs to feed the flames. Working in shifts and armed with canisters of fuel, the lamp is to be filled every evening and the fresnel lens carefully polished. It's a simple enough task. However, some of the fuel has been tampered with and, if examined, smells somewhat off. What this means is that in some cases, when the contaminated fuel is added, the flame temporarily changes color and those in close proximity experience odd effects. If the flame turns blue, characters will feel compelled to share a truth about themselves that they wouldn't normally admit — at least, not to this person. If the flame turns green, they will feel argumentative and inclined to pick a fight. If the flame turns purple, it induces a desire for physical sensation — any sensation. It also scrambles characters' perception of what it is they're feeling. Everything they touch is inexplicably painful or pleasurable, hot or cold, smooth or sticky, soft or sharp, etc. The effects last for as long as the flame burns that color, which can be anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. People who approach the lighthouse or try to investigate from the outside while these changes of color occur may find themselves lost on the beach for up to six hours. |
 (cw: pornography, aphrodisiacs, public sex) The city is putting on a free movie night in North Park with a big projector screen, encouraging citizens and LIERs alike to spread out a blanket and cuddle up close to watch the films. It's a double feature! The first film of the evening is relatively "family friendly" but it's dripping in propaganda with a heavy pro-Creator bias and an emphasis on traditional Duplicity values. The second film, beginning well after dark, is more erotic and adult in nature (and frankly just straight up pornographic). Concession stands are serving popcorn and other movie snacks, along with seasonal drinks like cider and hot cocoa, available during the hour before the showing and throughout the runtime of both films. As is common in Duplicity, many of the concessions are laced with an extra special ingredient that lowers inhibitions and dramatically increases libido. Those who consume the refreshments may want to pull their blankets up over themselves and engage in some stealthy fondling, or maybe they're feeling bold enough to get handsy right out in the open. It's dark, after all, and everyone else is watching the movie. Or are they? |
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 the assignments are OOCly 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 is more afraid of tangible things (such as spiders, snakes, or clowns), they are a Dominant. If your character is more afraid of intangible things (such as intimacy, rejection, or change), 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 tag on 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 runs a hand along his beard as he comes to that conclusion.
"I intend to make jewelry and mostly keep my head down. I can teach you about stone, though, if you care to start learning the trade. I was starting to think about apprenticing someone back home, no reason to put that on hold."
no subject
She flashes him a grateful smile when he places himself back on her height. "Don'tcha worry much. There's some people that come through, and they don't know Toril, but they come from places with cultures like ours. Met the cutest tiefling here, and..."
Imoen trails off a bit, the mischievous energy she usually maintains ebbing in favor of sweet nostalgia. Until she focuses again, and drugs her fingers on his table.
"Anyway, too right about the local, y'know, boundaries. Can be pretty fun to learn my way around some fine tools, though. And I could finally start experimenting with sticking spells in rings." For someone who's comfortable ribbing archmages for acting too serious, she's behind the curve on wizardly activities like...enchanting artifacts. "So, you can turn these bits and bobbins into jewelry?"
no subject
"There's other tieflings?" That's rare. The only others he knows are few and at home, and some he's responsible for bringing into the world.
"Oh, you enchant too? I have a very good friend that does that. Don't know if he's still interested in doing so though so it'd be good to have another avenue for offering that as a product. If you're interested in a cut." Phrasing he uses intentionally because she is so clearly a rogue she must certainly be a bad one if she's trying to hide it. Or it could be he's just used to being around the type what with two of them in his party.
"These are more for showing technique. I could make them into jewelry but it wouldn't be very good. 'Even perfect tools can't make a flawed stone a diamond' or so my parents say."
no subject
There's a little wistfulness, there. Always did get a bit more awestruck with inhuman figures. Those dryads that greeted her under Athkatla with so much empathy, for one.
That is the thing, isn't it? Imoen started her adventure as a rogue. But she's dreadful at getting away with picking a pocket, even if she almost habitually tries to lift things from people. She got good enough to crack a lot of locks and find a lot of traps. Then Imoen got a spellbook, and she's far surpassed her talents as a rogue in arcane talent.
Imoen props elbows on the table, and rests her chin in hands, looking at the odds and ends that are destined for this man's craft. "Count me more than a lil' bit interested. So - if it's not jewelry, what's the best thing to make outta these?"
no subject
"Something simple. This is alabaster so it's not very hard and it's easy to take off too much. 'S why you don't see many buildings made of alabaster. It's good for practice though." He picks up some of the implements on the table, a spike with a screwdriver-like flat end, a hammer, and a fat pencil. "Let's try and carve a simple shape. We'll make a pyramid. Which of these tools do you need first?"
no subject
She does scratch her neck as he starts in on the demonstration. These are not the tools that Imoen is used to working with, but that’s fine. Imoen can, in fact, be taught. She can apply that brain of hers. “Gotta start with the pencil. Draw out the lines you’ll follow first, or else you’ll just be banging all haphazard on a rock until it’s a bunch of smaller, lumpier rocks.”