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duplicitymemes2024-05-10 05:35 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2024-05-10 05:35 pm
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TDM #36
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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. Spring rains are in full force. It's wet out there. |
 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: clothing destruction/public nudity, altered mental states, suggestibility) While the pleasant spring weather has finally taken hold of Duplicity, this also means there's rain in the forecast. A rather large storm is on track to hit the city, and, in preparation for the deluge of water that will be hitting city streets, LIEs has decided to provide all new Submissives with their very own umbrella to use at Orientation. There's just one catch, however — to use these umbrellas, Submissives must share them with a Dominant. The timing is quite fortunate, too, for as soon as Orientation wraps up, the rain begins. Those who have been in the city long enough will remember that these storms have a way of lingering longer than initially predicted. The rain is also a bit on the acidic side, with the unfortunate side effect of dissolving any fabric it comes into direct contact with. Better use that umbrella unless you want to walk the streets wet and in the nude. Fortunately, the umbrellas are just big enough for two people to fit underneath together — so long as they're willing to cuddle in close. Pairs who deign to share their umbrella will find that, the longer they huddle together beneath it, the more amicable to one another they'll become. More than that, however, each designation will be affected in a distinct way. Dominants will begin experiencing a stronger instinct to be more spontaneous, making spur-of-the-moment suggestions or shirking off the remainder of their responsibilities for the day. For Submissives, however, this means greater suggestibility, especially those who are often quieter, more reserved, or even more repressed in nature. Deciding to do something spontaneous, especially something you'd never choose normally, seems a little less daunting when someone else has come up with the idea. Maybe today is a good day to let the rain wash away the rest of your plans so you can spend as much time as possible with your umbrella partner before the clouds retreat. |
 (cw: altered mental states, suggestibility, increased libido) Thanks to the rain, the Down is uncomfortably wet, and much of the shoddy and crumbling infrastructure is especially prone to leaks and even flooding. The city-provided Submissive housing isn't immune to these issues, and LIEs, being ever so "helpful," are handing out free buckets, duct tape, and an assortment of varyingly useful tools to patch up the leaks and clear out water. It's up to newcomers and other LIERs who might be living in the Down to deal with the problem themselves. Chatter begins to swirl in the Up — it's that time of year again, where those who are looking for an easy contract should take advantage of the desperation of those dealing with less-than-ideal living conditions in the Down. Whether these good samaritans wish to go into the Down to help out is up to them, of course, but the rumors aren't unfounded. Prolonged exposure to the runoff water in the Down, courtesy of all that flooding, leaves Submissives feeling particularly desperate and keen to please, unable to help throwing themselves at the first Dominant they see. Willing to do anything is an understatement, and those under the influence are incredibly susceptible, perhaps even easily manipulated into going along with whatever a Dominant may suggest, even if it's something they would normally object to. It also doesn't help that Submissives are needy in other ways too, as if a switch has been flipped for their libido. Some may even find themselves physically wet and ready to get it on. |
 (cw: potential transactional sex) With the provided Submissive housing being rather miserable and soggy, despite attempts to patch leaks and keep things dry, LIEs has taken pity on the newcomers and provided them a drier alternative. On the edge of the woods in the Up, there are a series of tents that have been set up for uncontracted Submissives to use if they wish, but the conditions there aren't much better by comparison. Amenities are, understandably, meager, with each tent only containing one sleeping bag and pillow apiece. There are a few old pots and utensils available if individuals want to attempt to cook over a campfire, but beyond that they're on their own. Submissives in search of a nicer place to sleep for an evening or two have the option to perform acts of service for a Dominant, who, in return, will be permitted to purchase them a stay at a nearby hotel at a discount. Dominants are encouraged to offer their services for Submissives who wish to comply. If Dominants are feeling extra generous, they can invite these soggy Subs to stay with them instead for a short duration — although the expectation from LIEs is that a contract will be signed by the end of this temporary sleepover, of course. |
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: All new arrivals on this TDM are 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!! |
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And so, swerve. ]
Were you also the lab rat for time travel? I heard you, the other you, volunteered to test the time machine for the Time Heist. [ A beat, during which she gives him a Yeah, I know look. ] I think Ant-Man coined the term, not— it wasn't me.
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that's not to say that his thoughts about it are deliberately insensitive — it'd be a little different, say, if it was a topic he had a lot of feelings about (no slim pickings there, but—.)
not carefully, not delicately, then, his gaze fixes on her. narrows a little— ) Which Ant-Man? Hank? Lang? O'Grady? Please tell me it wasn't O'Grady because he's totally the worst Ant-Man and we all know it. ( it's deliberate, pointed, a little dickish and he knows it. ) How long have you guys been doing this?
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The answer for The Avengers is a decade and some change. Her answer is barely a fraction of that. She doesn't want to admit either. ]
Lang. [ She says blankly, not meeting his eyes despite how badly she wants to glare. ] And we don't "all know it" because nobody cares about ranking Ant-Men.
[ Except that maybe they do. Maybe where he's from, Ant-Man is like Captain America and people actually care who wears the helm. Maybe she just dug herself in even deeper. At the end of the day, it still ends in Y. ]
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You didn't answer the question, Kate. Your Avengers, they're a new team?
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I'm not being judgemental, I'm just trying to understand.
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Alittleoveradecade. [ She forces the words out in a single breath. ] Give or take the five years when they disbanded after losing to Thanos.
[ She remembers that last part as she says it, throws it in for color despite feeling obligated to defend her team. (Not her team as in she's on the roster but her team as in she might as well be a football fan in the stands going on about what "we" need to do to win. Her team like she's just another fan.) ]
My Hawkeye was a founding member. [ She adds, not because this Clint wasn't but because it mattered to her that he was there from the start. In a way, so was she. Ten years old and terrified, watching aliens zoom past the crumbling walls of her family penthouse, but she was there. ]
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but 'founding member'. that's cute, and it explains the 'low-key' (maybe, slightly). it means it's other him's thing, but not his identity. means his family was before the avengers. still, that doesn't mean he doesn't almost roll his eyes at the 'my hawkeye' remark, because yeah, it's true, but does it have to be said like that? (probably.) ) But not for five years, and not 'cause of Thanos.
( he shifts his weight and redirects his attention away from kate and to the side of the building, back to what's visible of the city from here. it really is a grim sight, isn't it? depressing.
god, he really hates alternate dimensions and universes and everything like this. )
There's a lot that we've done and it mostly means I've got a really long list of things I hate. Doesn't mean I'm going to think you guys are the lesser Avengers or whatever's got you so coy about answering. Just recontextualises what I think you're gonna be used to.