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duplicitymemes2024-03-10 04:51 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2024-03-10 04:51 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #35
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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 first hints of spring are in the air. |
 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. |
 (cw: bondage/shibari) The featured workshop at this month's Orientation is a trust-building "ropes course." Deepen your bond with your partner and explore the balance between restraint and freedom, as well as the power dynamics inherent in this hands-on learning opportunity. You'll discover the beauty of patience, communication, and connection as you weave intricate patterns of rope around each other's bodies. The class portion of the workshop is brief, featuring demonstrations by NPC Dominants and Submissives, after which characters of opposite designations will be paired up and expected to replicate what was shown. Printed handouts from LIEs will be passed around with step by step instructions for their reference—though some may be less than clear, or only include pictures and diagrams without written directions. Do your best! |
 (cw: sexual fluids and other body fluids, sexual art, body paint) Want to escape the unpleasantness of the Down? Arrivals are encouraged to partner up and participate in an ongoing public art installation in the Up where they will be invited to shed inhibitions and embrace the raw essense of self-expression through a unique medium: their stained bed sheets. The exhibition is being held in Fiddler's Square's very own Stay & Play Hotel where pairs may rent time in a special reserved block of rooms to work on their intimate canvases. Uncontracted pairs may get a steep discount, or even a free room if they are convincingly passionate. All sheets in these rooms are reactive to moisture of any kind, and each room is stocked with complimentary lubricants and body paints. Through tactile engagement and artistic interpretation, attendees redefine the unity and celebration of their designations coming together and celebrate the complexity and beauty of their experience. Unleash your creativity, and join in defining the art of expression. |
 (cw: gas leak, aphrodisiacs, altered mental states, hallucinations) The Down isn't a very pleasant place to be, especially for newcomer Submissives who are forced to live in public housing. While the state of the building complex is nothing to phone home about at the best of times, this particular month it's abysmal. Much needed repairs on the plumbing have been ignored for far too long and, after a particularly chilly winter, the hot water heaters are bust. They need replacing, but who is going to pay for that? It'll take some time and a bunch of bureaucratic red tape before the water in the city-provided housing turns warm again. Enjoy your cold showers for the foreseeable future! Or, y'know, suck up to a Dominant and ask them to use their shower. But wait! There's more! As if the plumbing problems aren't bad enough, there is also some kind of gas leak, and a nasty one at that. It doesn't seem to be flammable and no one will be dying in their sleep, but that's the only good news. The fumes from the gas are invisible and also odorless, leaving unsuspecting Submissives (and anyone else who visits the building, for that matter) at the mercy of the effects. In the common areas of the building the exposure is the strongest, but it still seeps into character's rooms as well. Inhaling the gas will leave characters feeling loopy and more open to interacting with others. Some may find that they're feeling extra cuddly and needy, if not outright horny because of it. The rarest—and one of the least pleasant—side effects are the hallucinations some characters may experience, causing them to mistake others for people they may know. After a few days the leak will be repaired, but it'll take a few more days following the fix for the building to be aired out completely. |
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 lawful, they are a Submissive. If your character is more chaotic, they are a Dominant. 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!! |
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Of course... this was going to hit Silver hard. This was one of the reasons why he wanted to leave, to keep those he cared so deeply about from hurting as his life slips out from under them all. To avoid them needing to watch it happen in real time.
There's no helping it now, though. He must... at the very least, comfort his boy. ]
... Silver...
[ Both arms wrap around Silver carefully, over his shoulders, to allow him to pull him close, to help him hide against him, and pet his hair much like he would when he was small enough to hold in his arms. ]
I can't answer why for him... [ Even if he sure as hell knew, understood, and tried his damndest to make it easy for them all. ] ... but I'm here for now, with you. You needn't hold back any of your emotions, my dear, if you're feeling them so heavily.
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They left behind such a terrible mess. Is it better to be here, enslaved to the city's whims, or back on Sage's Island with Malleus's magic twisting time and space to his whims? Silver isn't sure. Right now he doesn't want to think about it. Part of him simply wants to give up and be a child again, safe in his father's arms, allowed to not be anyone's knight for a brief time so he can grieve. But at the same time, he grieved in front of Malleus. Was that part of the trigger? Did seeing Silver's pain steel Malleus's resolve to "save" Lilia?
Is it his fault?]
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for Liliacoat is pulled around Silver.To surround him in warmth, comfort.
Silver is still just a boy, dealing with the consequences of the pain life threw at them. Had he not prepared this boy enough for the time where they'd need to part? Like that bat Silver and Sebek had brought back to Diasomnia, would Silver cling to him as much as he could?
Lilia's hold on Silver tightens once the jacket is wrapped around him, as though the jacket itself was a makeshift blanket. Had he not felt so weak still from his exhaustion mixed with the effects of whatever had creeped into his system, Lilia would lift Silver into his arms and carry the boy somewhere more comfortable. Not that he knew where to go, within the place Silver had brought him.]
I've got you.
[ Three murmured words, as his own eyes prick with tears. Ah, the nostalgia this brings -- a reminder of the pain Lilia himself was trying to bury deep, never to surface again. His hold tightens further, now on the very verge of being crushing. He knew the limits of a human body, and yet...
How could he let go of Silver in this state? ]
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"I've got you." Lilia always has, in everything from the tiniest scrapes to the most potent nightmares. But the greatest pain Silver has ever felt... Lilia couldn't support his boy through it, being the cause himself. They both know what Malleus has done. Part of Silver is ashamed to wonder if, granted the power Malleus possesses, he would do the same. Would he be so selfish, or is his respect greater than his broken heart?
Father is here. This place is awful, but at least he is here with me. I'm glad, but that makes me just as awful. It pulls a throttled, sickened groan out of him. He's no knight, no loyal guard. He's so greedy, clutching at the people he loves with no care for their desires. First Idia and Cater, now Lilia... he's terrible. He presses the knuckles of one hand against his lips, fighting back an overwhelming flood of distress.]
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Have you been dealing with this all on your own until now?
[ The murmured question doesn't require an answer. No matter who Silver had with him here, whether that be Cater or... whoever his Dominant was, this was still bound to be eating at him. Bound to be clawing at his mind, forcing him down into the depths of despair. Taking in a sharp breath of his own, Lilia shifts his hold on Silver, until--
Until he falls to his own knees, keeping his hand against the back of Silver's head to allow him to stay hidden against his shoulder, even with the change in position. His own body shakes with emotion, though he's doing his best to hold it all back, to hold it all within himself. ]
You don't have to.
[ Lilia breathes out a careful, shaky sigh. ]
When you're ready, we can talk. Until then... Let it out. Everything you feel, everything that plagues your mind. I will be here through it all. Then... it will be time to rest. No need to try and fix anything today, or even this moment. Embrace these emotions, for as terrible as they are, they are what will help you grow, to become even stronger than you already are.
[ That hand against Silver's head continues to pet his hair, in soft, careful motions, as he makes one more soft comment. ]
My sweet boy..... shhhh, it's okay, it's alright.... [ Small murmurs, gentle reassurances are then muttered, beginning to hum quietly in an attempt to try and help ground him, to give him something to focus on. ]
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So he weeps, clutching Lilia's smaller frame desperately. He loses track of time as the tears continue and Lilia hums for him and his head aches, until finally all of Silver's strength is gone. His face blotchy and wet, his nose stuffy, eyes puffed and red, he barely resembles the stoic knight he's known to be. His voice comes out thick, quiet, and broken, the voice of a traumatized child blaming himself for all the ills of the world.]
... it's all my fault....
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Lilia falls quiet, save for the quiet hums and reassurances, until Silver speaks up finally, admitting in four small words the feelings he held deep inside. Lilia's arms move, hands shifting to grasp onto Silver's shoulders, pulling him back from their embrace with a strength that, to anyone else, would feel impossible for his small form. Obviously, Silver already was well aware of this strength, this raw strength that never needed magical assistance.
No matter how his father was losing his magic, was withering away, he still had that strength. ]
Who told you that? What soul dared to put that idea into your head, Silver? No, no. Nothing has ever been your fault. Not a single thing.
[ Those hands move from Silver's shoulders, gloves quickly removed and shoved into the pocket of the jacket wrapped around him, to allow Lilia to cup the boy's cheeks in both of his hands. Skin against skin, thumbs carefully wiping at those tear stains. His gaze was serious, stern, but most of all, concerned. ]
Oh, my dearest, what is it that makes you say such a thing?