TDM #42

[duplicitymods]

« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »

« « « ALL ON DISPLAY

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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. Large piles of snow still linger, but precipitation has turned to rain and the breeze gets a little warmer every day. It's time to swap out wool coats for umbrellas and turtlenecks for tea dresses!

» » » ALL ABOARD

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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.

« « « OPPOSITE ATTRACTION

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(cw: subliminal messaging) Opposites attract, or so they say. It’s a sentiment Duplicity is founded on after all, with Dominants and Submissives pairing together from opposite ends of a spectrum for the betterment of society. All participants in Orientation - newcomers and long-time residents of the city alike - are ushered into a small auditorium found in the Orientation Center to watch a brief informative film about how the differences in the roles that Dominants and Submissives are expected to play will not only make the city a better place to live, but also better the lives of citizens and LIERs alike. Like any good Duplicity-made piece of media, the film is littered with subliminal messaging about what the city offers… but it seems said messaging has gone a bit overboard this time. After watching, individuals will find themselves attracted to those who have traits opposite of them, regardless of designation, occasionally just a simple infatuation but sometimes to the point of near obsession. These opposing traits may be physical (dramatically opposite heights, hair color or hair length, etc.) or it may be a personality trait opposite to their own that catches their attention. (Are you shy? Well, that extroverted person over there seems really interesting. Are you rough around the edges? Maybe you’re all about the person exuding poise and kindness over here…) However it manifests, the messaging is clear - Opposites Attract and it’s impossible to ignore. This effect can last anywhere from 1 to 24 hours before characters will come to their senses… hopefully nothing awkward comes of it, and everyone comes away with a new friend they can get along with.

» » » GOING UP OR GOING DOWN?

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(cw: compulsions, compulsory sex, compulsory truth telling, semi-public sex, possible group sex, liminal spaces) [ OOC: For existing players, new room assignments are now on the Housing Page | old room assignments can be found here. Please take this time to review where your characters are at, or request changes for errors/if they should be somewhere else! ] As newcomers start to filter into the city, flyers and notifications are posted for LIERs that live in the Up and the Down public housing. As the announcements remind everyone, the city generously provides them with perfectly livable property, food and utilities out of the goodness of their hearts. As such, they don’t expect anyone to complain when some adjustments in housing assignments have to be made. The exact reasons for these are unclear; some claim it is for improved balance, while others claim this will give the buildings “better energy.” Whatever the case, the changes are rolled out over a few weeks, and the buildings themselves start to bustle with activity as residents move their belongings to their new quarters. Remember to be kind to new arrivals just moving in! Reassure them that this isn’t a regular occurrence, it definitely doesn’t happen frequently at all, and don’t forget to welcome to Duplicity. The change seems harmless, but it soon becomes obvious that there may be something to the rumors of energy that needs to be redirected. Elevators everywhere, not just those in the Housing buildings, and even the Elevator between the Up and the Down, seem to be off. Any elevator that has more than one person may seem to keep going and going and going. Whether it is gently rumbling its way up or down, the display that indicates what floor the car is at seems to flicker in and out of focus. At times the number may freeze completely, turn into various incomprehensible glyphs, or simply disappear. Is there a way to get the elevator to stop? It’s unclear, and nothing, not even pressing the little alarm button, will open the doors. Meanwhile, the longer that one stays in there, the stronger the urge to get very up close and personal with whoever you are stuck in there with gets. The urge is typically and unmistakably physical - one might feel the need to fuck a friend against the wall, or give them the best head possible in the space afforded. Occasionally the need may be something quieter - it could be as simple as having the urge to hold their hand, tell the truth, or confess to a lie. Ignoring the urge won’t seem to be an option either, as the elevator simply rumbles on. And the longer the urge goes unaddressed, the closer the walls seem to get. Soon, the urge becomes a terrifying and overpowering need. Thankfully, what happens in the elevator, stays in the elevator. Other than the lighting - all electronics, including phones, devices, speakers that had played cheeky elevator jazz, even the surveillance camera in the corner, all switch off one by one. It might be a rare feeling, but everyone in the elevator is certain that no one is watching and nothing can be recorded. Once the urge is fulfilled, all the power comes back on. The elevator stops its long journey, the doors slide open, and it has finally come to the right floor – for at least one of the occupants. Hopefully no one else comes in before the other gets off at the right stop. Taking the stairs is a gamble all its own. When it seems the way ahead and/or behind you is empty - the sound of hurried footsteps echo through the stairwell, and it feels as though there are a hundred eyes on you when there’s no one else there. Staircases seem to shift and circle around into a spiral, even those that should be fairly straightforward. Escaping through the door to the next floor does not always work, as characters may find that they are right back where they started, overshot, or are somehow further back than where they began. If this is all too confusing, maybe it’s easier to just go and take the elevator…

« « « A SWEET SURPRISE

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(cw: aphrodisiacs, impulses, mind alteration) Spring is here, and with it comes some city-sponsored events and outings for new Dominants and Submissives to meet others of the opposite designation! One of the more outspoken ones is being held in North Park in the Up, near the Greenhouse that was set up last year around this same time. This little city-sponsored date is called… “Sweet as Strawberries!” The idea is simple. Interested participants and those who are volun-told to join in will arrive to find there’s a small stand set up, where they will be paired up with someone of the other designation. The pair is given a location within the small community garden beside the Greenhouse that is theirs for however long they’d like to spend together. Then, they’re offered a basket and told they can pick as many strawberries as they’d like! If it wasn’t obvious before to the pair, this little date is one where they’ll pick strawberries together, with ample time to talk and get to know each other. Holding the basket, you both will make your way to that little strawberry patch. As you begin to pick strawberries together, whoever is holding that basket begins to feel… different. This date is the most romantic thing they’ve experienced, at least in the moment. It fills them with a multitude of emotions - and makes the person accompanying them unbearably attractive. If both characters carry the basket, or switch off who is holding it, they both will end up infected with this feeling. As the ‘date’ progresses, the strawberries themselves look delicious, like the most appealing food either of the pair has ever laid eyes on. It’s near impossible to resist taking a bite out of one. Hopefully the warmth that comes after isn’t too much of a surprise, with the attraction they may already be experiencing towards their opposite being amplified tenfold. Take a little time to sneak a quickie in or go somewhere a bit more private. Either way, after taking a bite of those delectable, sweet little treats, you’ll need to “cool off” together somehow!

» » » TLDR

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So, what's happening? OPPOSITE ATTRACTION - Orientation for newcomers and long-time residents is to watch a brief informative film on the lifestyle of Dominants and Submissives - Subliminal messaging makes characters that watch the film attracted to someone who is/has an trait opposite to their own - Traits do not include designations! - Opposite traits can be physical (dark hair to light hair, tall to short) or non-physical (shy to confident, brusque to polite, alcoholic to teetotal) - Effects last from 1 hour to 24 hours GOING UP OR GOING DOWN? - Housing assignments in Up Public and Down Public Housing are shuffled. [ New Housing | Old Housing ] - For characters in the Down Public Housing – they will still have the same roommates! - Riding an elevator with someone else may result in the urge to be horny, or the urge to be sincere. - That urge is impossible to ignore, and the elevator will only open at the right floor once the urge is fulfilled. - Affected elevators negate electronic devices (phones, cameras, etc), but their lights stay on. - Stairs may seem to feel like someone you can’t see is with you. - Affected stairs don’t always lead to the floor you were going to. A SWEET SURPRISE - What’s better than a little strawberry picking date in warm spring weather? - Dominants and Submissives are paired up – some new and some old, some both new, the mixture is up to players OOC! - For those who are more experienced with the city, they can optionally have been “volun-told”, aka they were solicited by someone working the stand to come join in, as “we don’t have enough of your Designation participating” - Holding the basket causes the one holding it (or both, if they’re taking turns holding it) to feel very attracted to their opposite - Romantically, sexually, the attraction is everything. - They may want to share their feelings in a literal fashion! - Strawberries look very delicious, enticing, and it’s almost impossible to not want to eat at least one - When eaten, they quickly cause aphrodisiac like effects

» » » MOD & OOC NOTES

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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 of a problem maker, they are a Submissive. If your character is instead a problem solver, 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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» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

Comments

[misspagesix]

Oh, it was definitely a sexual thing, so there's nothing wrong with the way that his is understanding this place. Everything always leads back to sex. And sex under the watchful eye of the organization in charge. "I mean, that's how I met the man who I contracted with the entire time I was here. It wasn't so bad, considering the things I heard from other Submissives at the time."

She watches him as he goes through the motions of filling up the basket with a few berries. And then attempts to seduce her subconsciously. What he doesn't realize is that it probably wouldn't take much, not with the face and accent of one of her favorite actors back home. In response, she takes his hand holding the remnant of the berry and feeds it to herself, making sure to like the juice from his fingers with her tongue. Attentively. "Hm, no, I'd rather not miss out this time," she says after swallowing. "I do love strawberries."

[forcemaster]

Seduction might be an unintentional consequence of Obi-Wan simply being himself? Flirting though? He's most definitely doing that. When she takes the rest of the strawberry from his hand with her mouth, he lets out a surprised laugh, followed by a slightly awkward clearing of his throat when she starts licking his fingers. Oh.

That's, well, okay. He can't claim that he'd hated that.

"Yes, you do seem to enjoy them... quite a lot." Obi-Wan manages to joke, feeling a heat around his collar, before trying to collect himself by returning to collecting more berries.

[misspagesix]

Hey, if you're hot, you're hot. And it wouldn't take much to turn people on with those pretty blue eyes and that killer smile. Especially with the way that Duplicity loves to hit people with aphrodisiacs like they're going out of style. It's been a while, but she remembers that it hadn't been very difficult to get her hands on any sort of drugs or alcohol in this place.

Not that it was all that hard back home, truth be told.

Serena gives him a hot smile as she licks her lips. "What can I say? I love strawberries. All we need is some cream to make this all the more fun."

It's not lost on her that this is actually how she ended up contracted her very first week in Duplicity. There are benefits to not being sexually prudish.

"If you don't mind, I'd suggest you relax a bit. There's going to be a lot of sex and sex-related things here. Most of the businesses are slanted that way."

[forcemaster]

He scoffs at her suggestion to lighten up, turning as he puts a few more berries in the basket, he's not upset, per se.

"Some of us are here for the first time and still growing accustomed to our new reality, Serena. I'm no prude, I promise you. Simply... unaccustomed to being placed in such situations." Obi-Wan reaches for another berry and takes a bite. "I'm a Jedi Master and a General, there's not much time for dalliances."

A Jedi could have sex and the like, but they could not form attachments. Which he'd already failed at once, as a younger man. These days, he keeps himself a lot more closed off. This city might try to do its best to batter down those well-built walls.

[misspagesix]

"Oh, I'm not judging you. Even though this isn't my first time here, I'm sure that there are things I still don't know. And least about the city."

She sort of frowns thoughtfully at the whole Jedi thing. She's sure she's heard it before, but she's not sure were. It sits at the back of her brain for a later time. "So, you're military slanted. I love a man in a uniform. Especially if it comes with epaulettes."

All the rest can be handled later. The joys of only being eighteen is that she's willing to not let things weigh her down too much without thinking it over. She's got bigger fish to fry, after all.

[forcemaster]

She's also very young. Not that Obi-Wan is particularly old, but he's certainly experienced more than most people in his thirty-eight years.

"Too bad, I left my epaulettes at home." And his war armor. Not likely he'd need that here, he suspects. The battles being fought here were of a different sort. "But if it helps, you can call me General Kenobi."

A joke based on the smirk on his lips. Obi-Wan considers the remainder of the strawberry in his hand that he'd taken a bite of. There's something he can feel niggling at the back of his mind. A push in a certain direction. It's not quite take hold yet, but it no doubt will, "I assume based on your experience with this city, that you already suspected these berries were laced?"

[misspagesix]

She might be young, but that doesn't really matter much where she's from. She's seen and done more than most people, all before she can legally vote. (Her therapist is basically going to make a fortune on her in about a decade.) And, well, to be honest, he wouldn't be the first guy well over the legal drinking age that she's had liaisons with.

"That is a shame. I guess we'll just have to make due, General."

She considers a bit more teasing. It would be easy. She can already feel the compulsion to kiss him that is definitely not just her own attraction and desires. His question, however, is enough to help her focus and keep her hands to herself as she goes to carefully add a few more berries to the basket. "It could be the strawberries. Or the patch itself. Or, hell, even the air. This place loves its drugs. When I got here last time, it was the hottest part of the summer and the water was laced. That was fun." And if that last part is a bit sarcastic, who can blame her.

[forcemaster]

He adds a few more berries too, taking one breath in and then out, as the feeling persists. This place did seem to have a rather one track mind. That's becoming clear only a few days of finding himself stranded in the city.

"They are quite relentless, aren't they?" Obi-Wan looks a bit troubled, hearing that sarcasm in her voice. Having the societal requirements to abide to in this place are one thing, but forcing the issue like they seem to is something else entirely. But he can't fight the entire system in a day, he still needed to get his bearing. He needed to observe.

Like he's very keenly observing Serena's mouth as she speaks, still remembering how she'd eaten that strawberry in his hands and then her tongue...

Had it just gotten hotter out?

"I assume it's similar to what I've experienced already, that ignoring the impulse will only make it grow stronger?"

[misspagesix]

It's hard not to admire the way his breathing makes his chest expand and his shoulders move. That just makes her mind go into other thoughts that are both pleasant and annoying at the same time. He's a good looking man and she can tell that he spends a lot of time exercising. She imagines he probably is built more like a dancer or a swimmer, since he doesn't appear to be bulky, like a football player.

"You don't know the half of it. I've been to high school parties with more subtlety than the people in charge of this place." And with Chuck Bass and Georgina Sparks in her friend group growing up, she's seen a lot of things.

She recognizes when he starts to stare at her mouth. It's a feeling she's used to, but not one that she hates. Considering the way things are going, it feels pretty natural. "I'm a bad person to ask about resisting urges. I have a bad track record with that."

[forcemaster]

"Sounds like you go to interesting parties..." Obi-Wan meanwhile doesn't frequent many at all. Any, really. Unless it's some requirement for a mission. Moving down the patch, he continues to collect the strawberries.

Her answer makes him laugh out loud, making a few birds fly away from a nearby row of berries. Eyes twinkling a bit, he glances her way again, "Oh, really? Could have fooled me. I thought for sure you might be the pinnacle of restraint..."

[misspagesix]

"Most of them are boring after a while, honestly." The 'adult' parties are all schmoozing and drinking and backbiting. At least the 'teen' parties come with dancing and drugs, but since she's gotten clean through the year in boarding school and kicking Georgina out of her life, even those parties have lost some of their fun. "I find it more interesting to hang out with smaller groups or with a guy privately."

Serena follows behind him, carefully stepping in his footprints to make sure the soil doesn't stick to her shoes dangerously. His laughter is full and sexy, and she definitely can feel the desire to jump him building. "I'd like to point out that we're both still fully clothed. I think that counts as restraint."

[forcemaster]

His skin feels flush, both from the heat and whatever it is that's influencing his desires, berries or otherwise. Obi-Wan smirks, wondering how long he can keep up appearances. He's certain he can outlast her, although there is a growing bulge in his trousers that is frustratingly persistent.

"So we are. But how long will that last?" There's a teasing challenge in his blue-grey eyes, "Although we could do plenty with clothes still mostly on..." At least they seem relatively distant from any onlookers, but it's still public enough that he does have some reservations.

[misspagesix]

He might be able to control his actions, but the way he's looking at her and the way his skin is flushing tells her that he's not at all unaffected by the attention she's giving him. She can play the long game. Mostly. She did pretty well when she was dating Dan and that was only a year ago back home.

The challenge though? That's playing with fire and she comes and runs her nails over the skin on the back of his hand, letting them trail to the palm of his hand that's not holding onto the basket. "A gentleman would put his robe down to save my clothes from getting stained. A scoundrel wouldn't care. Which are yo going to be, General Kenobi?"

[forcemaster]

He smirks, looking down at his robes and then back at her, "These are very nice robes, so I might have to play the part of scoundrel!"

Obi-Wan snickers a bit, clearly enjoying this verbal spar quite a lot, as he so often did, "Let's say that I decided to be a gentleman and make this sacrifice. This one time. What might you do for me?"

[misspagesix]

She just shakes her head at him, an amused smile on her face. "They are nice robes, it's true, but I doubt you'd make a very good scoundrel."

She's a somewhat good judge of character. If she's not trying to piss someone off and being driven by spite and emotional vulnerability. Right now, well, she's just here. Again. And he's definitely giving off vibes of being a really good guy who leans on the gentleman side of things, and not like Gabriel.

"Hm, what might I do for you, you ask. I guess that depends on just how much of a gentleman you are. I real gentleman would have made the offer without me having to bring it up in the first place."

[forcemaster]

She is right. Obi-Wan would make for a terrible scoundrel. Although he'd made a pretty good act of impersonating an assassin to foil a kidnapping plot once? Long story.

"You do have me there." A gentleman out of some holodrama would have offered immediately without question, "But no one's perfect, are they?"

Finally, with a dramatic flourish, Obi-Wan pulls off his dark brown robe to set it on the ground between them. Since apparently this is what's happening now. He can't exactly deny the growing desire building in his body, despite his remarkable strength at maintaining a semblance of control.

[misspagesix]

Serena's smile turns from amused to heated as he places his robe on the ground. She takes a few moments to remove her heels before she's barefoot, but still very tall next to him. Once done with that small task, she runs a hand down his arm before sitting down on his robes, staring up at him with the sun behind her.

"Perfect's boring. I think it's more fun when people have flaws."

She crooks a finger to beckon him down beside her. "Should I show you what I can do now?"