duplicitymemes | TDM #4 ( revised )

Entry tags:

«tdm

TDM #4 ( revised )

« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »

« « « HERE WE ARE AGAIN

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.

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.

Oh, and one more thing. It's fucking cold. Better bundle up.

» » » LIES TRAVEL IN COMPANY

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.

« « « END IN THE DISCORD

While the societal climate between Dominants and Submissives remains somewhat neutral throughout Duplicity, there has been the occasional whisper of defiance and call for equality. Yet, demonstrations and visible proof of this unhappiness spreads faster by word of mouth on a day exactly when you need it most.

Welcome to Autonomy, a "traveling" nightclub that is never in the same place twice. People wanting to attend only learn of its lucrative location and password hours before it opens for business. Tonight, I choose the third door will get you inside and into the temporary freedom club Autonomy has to offer. In this circle, there are no assigned designations and no consequences for taking a role that isn't the one given by society. So, a Dominant may become the Submissive they've always wanted to be—or vice versa. Dominants and Submissives alike are able to mingle without repercussion and be themselves. Food, drinks, and private areas for more intimate – or if your preference is sexual – encounters are provided. Donations are accepted at any point during the night to further Autonomy's attempts of spreading the fulfillment that comes from being untitled.

On the night you choose to visit, Autonomy is holding a random lottery for temporary connections. When entering, you have the choice of submitting your name into this drawing to be paired with someone else in the club regardless of designation. A short while later, a message will pop up on your device with the name and information of your partner, and whether or not you choose to meet them is purely at your discretion. Having more than one connection isn't completely unusual either.

» » » TABLE IT FOR LATER

Gratification of being a successful Dominant or Submissive isn't necessarily simple. Learning curves are to be made, and mistakes will happen. Led by a Dominant and Submissive couple – Miriam and Victoria, who have been paired for twenty-two years – a monthly meeting for unattached Dominants and Submissives is held in the conference room of Morning Wood motel in the Down. The meeting starts a few minutes after nine and has no designated end time. The couple introduce themselves and explain the purpose of the meeting: learn the proper method for a new kink and possibly find your perfect partner. The space is intimate and well-stocked with refreshments.

To begin, Victoria, while blindfolded, balances on her hands and knees with her back perfectly level. Her partner, when ready, places various items on the level surface–a full cup, a plate. The Submissive is meant to hold the items until the Dominant believes she's reached her limit. The exercise is one of trust and understanding. The demonstration is a short one, followed by Miriam removing the blindfold and soothing her Submissive. The words are whispered low and with care, clearly a method that is specific to this couple. The process is concluded with the pair handing out workups, videos, and answering questions. Anyone wishing to practice Purposeful Submission can do so in the open room with a random volunteer, aided by the couple, or can find someone to take to one of the rented rooms. Sex may follow any scene but is not necessarily included. Experimenting with unattached Dominants and Submissives allows for new relationships to form.

« « « MOD & OOC NOTES

Please read carefully.

On each Test Drive Meme, there will be a section noting character roles based on birthdays; these will vary each TDM. On an IC level, character 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 chose "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 characters who have blue eyes or one blue eye and another color are Submissives. All characters who have brown eyes or one brown eye and another color are Dominants. Characters with any other color eyes are Dominants. To use this TDM as a door pass please link this on your app and place whether it is Dominant or Submissive.

Please remember to mark any necessary content, and have fun!!

» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Innuendo wouldn't usually catch him off-guard, but considering the other man has seemed nothing if not reserved all evening there's a moment of surprise when the words come. Though Julian is quick to arch a brow, to smile his most incorrigible smile, and had he been left unchecked a moment longer the response Geralt fears will come would, indeed, have left his lips.

The look remains, but anything he was about to say is abruptly cut off by the next pronouncement, and Julian eyes his empty glass with something like bleary concentration.]

I'll profess I've lost count. But I calculate we need...precisely three more before we're really good and drunk.

[Never mind that he sounds quite drunk already.]

[The suggestion of three more is enough to have Geralt arching an eyebrow right back. He’s pretty sure three more would lead right to the floor, and not necessarily the lounge room floor since they will be required to stand at some point.]

And what will happen once we’re ‘really good and drunk’? An attempt at singing? On your part, of course. I don’t have enough vocal range.

[Once thoroughly drunk, Geralt's more prone to falling asleep. Sometimes beneath tables and chairs, sometimes in peoples laps, and occasionally a few feet from whatever he is using as a bed.]

[If his expansive smile is anything to go by, the idea of singing is one that pleases him.]

Oh, I'm sure you're much better than you think. And I'm not sure being able to carry a tune really matters once you've had...however many drinks we've had.

[He has limited singing ability himself. He's not terrible, but nor is he great, though somehow he manages to pull off duets far better than he does singing alone. All the more reason to be encouraging, he thinks.]

We could sing sea shanties! I know a good few of those. And a couple of traditional Nevivon tunes which, to be honest, are much the same as sea shanties...

[Geralt, look what you've done.]

[Judging by Geralt’s expression, he’s realises a mistake has been made.]

I’m going to need a lot more than three more glasses to start singing shee-shanties. [Oh yeah, that alcohol is hitting him alright. Three is probably just enough to get something out of him.]

You’re welcome to sing on your lonesome. I’ll contribute by nodding periodically in approval.

Spoilsport! But look, pour me another and I'll um, I'm sure I could manage a few.

[And he leans over his long legs in order to slide his glass across the table with a grin. If he doesn't notice that the other man is slurring his words, it's only because his own are soft-edged and beginning to run together, too.

Can he take one more drink, this is the question.]

Maybe you'll feel like joining in once you hear one.

[The fact Julian didn’t accidentally send his glass flying over the edge of the table is enough reason for Geralt to entrust him with just one more glass. That won’t hurt, right? And besides, Geralt’s glass is still full. It’d be rude to drink while Julian’s is empty.

He obligingly pours the gin.]

It would be a regrettable experience for the both of us if I did.

[Julian waves the comment away with the movement of one long hand, though he's already reaching for the gin once poured, knocks a good slug of it back, before rising to his feet. The movement is unsteady (perhaps his unreasonable height, after all, doesn't help), and there's a creep of blackness around the edges of his vision, a vague spinning sensation that makes him laugh as he puts out a hand to steady himself against the arm of the seat.

But he's clearing his throat, and after a moment, starts to sing.]

I thought I heard the skipper say,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
To-morrow you will get your pay,
It's time for us to leave her.

The work was hard, the voyage was long,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
The seas were high, the gales were strong,
It's time for us to leave her.

The food was bad, the wages low,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
But now ashore again we'll go,
It's time for us to leave her.

The sails are furled, our work is done,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
And now on shore we'll have our fun,
It's time for us to leave her.

[As promised, his voice is neither bad nor good, just passable, made slightly worse than it could be by the steady mashing together of his words. At the very least, it gives it an authentic ring-- pirates do mostly tend to be drunk, after all. He bows with a flourish as he finishes...though it's this, in the end, that undoes him. That darkening dizziness comes over him in a sudden wave as he tries to straighten up, and he ends up tripping backwards, falling flat on his ass rather than making it back into the seat.

There's a moment of silence from him, and then he starts to laugh.]

[Drunk as he is, Geralt doesn’t much care about the quality of Julian's voice, only that he’s putting on a show – and quite an entertaining one at that. While he doesn't offer any singing of his own, he does hum along, and he outright claps when Julian is done. Although the clapping comes to an abrupt end when Julian starts to fall. Geralt jumps up to offer assistance, which, considering how much gin is sloshing around his stomach, isn’t the smartest of decisions, and he ends up bent over the coffee table instead.

They’re both a mess.]

Well. [He speaks over Julian's laughter.] That wasn’t bad, not bad at all, but I don’t think either of us are in any state for an encore.

[After struggling to his feet, he approaches Julian with a hand extended.]

I’d bend down to make this easier, but I'd end up joining you down there if I did.

[Or puking. Either one.]

[He's still laughing when the other man finally manages to straighten from his dangerous stoop over the coffee table, at least enough to round the table and offer his assistance. Julian's laughter fades out onto a silly drunken smile as he reaches to take the outstretched hand, tries levering himself to his feet. It's an unsteady lurching movement, his free arm swinging out for balance, but somehow with Geralt's assistance he manages to stagger to his feet.]

Not to worry, one good thing about being quite so tall is having a long reach. But uh, sorry about that...I suppose I'm drunker than I thought. Damn, but my head is spinning.

[And it is, but at least he's jovial with it.]

[The hand he puts on Julian’s arm is just as much to steady himself as it is to steady Julian. One hand in Julian’s, the other on Julian’s arm – almost looks like they’re preparing to dance, and they’re both swaying enough that they might as well be.]

Can’t say I correctly gauged my level of... [Hang on, he needs a moment to think.] ...intoxication either.

[A few more drinks and he might've forgotten all words with three syllables or more.]

[Geralt may have needed that moment to think, but at least he managed to find the word, rather than settling for 'drunker' like Julian. But they're here now, both on their feet, both swaying vaguely, and who knows really who is holding the other up at this point. Julian remains poised there for a moment, blinking his one uncovered eye with deliberate slowness as he tries to force the world into rightness again, rather than the doubled-up blur it has become.

Nothing much seems to help, and so he tries turning his hazy gaze back towards the table and the mostly-consumed gin bottle that stands there.]

Shall we have another one, then?

[Julian, no...]

[Julian, no.]

Remember when I said we would have a few glasses? Because I suddenly have.

[Geralt inclines his head in the direction of the bedroom.]

We’ll finish the evening in the bedroom. I need to lie down, and it looks like you would benefit from being on your back as well.

[he huffs like a petulant child at that, stares down at the gin bottle and it's remaining contents with a decidedly longing look. But Geralt's tone has something firm and final in it, and Julian always has been the type to respond well to words that are shaped like commands.

Not always graciously, but still.]

You're being ever so sensible.

[It sounds like a reproach, but in the very next moment he's flashing a somewhat sloppy version of his roguish grin.]

But I suppose someone has to, and it clearly isn't going to be me, is it?

Clearly.

[There’ll be no drinking until blackout drunk tonight. Some other night, perhaps, with someone younger and therefore less reasonable about these things.

Geralt pulls him in the direction of the bedroom, taking unsteady steps. He barely notices the chill of the floorboards under his feet.]

You're taking right side. [The left is nearest to the glass panelling, so naturally he favours it.]

[And Julian allows himself to be dragged in the direction of the bedroom with only one last longing look at the unfinished bottle. When they start to move, though, he becomes acutely aware of how much the world is starting to tilt, that blackness at the corner of his vision threatening to overtake him, now. He's clumsy and unsteady, moves to lean on Geralt's shoulder, and suddenly the other man's suggestion doesn't seem so much like an imposition at all.

No doubt he'll thank him in the morning, when his hangover is just bad, rather than awful.]

Whatever you prefer, of course.

[He's too far gone to have a preference, and even if he did he'd never expect his host to give him preferential treatment.

Once in the bedroom he'll collapse bonelessly onto the right side, as indicated, makes no effort to try and divest himself of any more of his clothes. He's still wearing his gloves, but no matter.]

[Geralt’s introduction to the bed is slightly more dignified. He drops onto the edge and spends several minutes fumbling to remove his shirt and trousers, which he then replaces with warmer, looser nightclothes. Just a simple t-shirt and trousers. If Julian has enough control of his facilities to notice anything Geralt is doing, he may note that Geralt looks like someone who has been mauled by, like, eight bears. There’s a lot of scars.]

Haven’t fallen asleep, have you?

[Geralt joins him on the bed, stretching out. He’s rather drowsy himself, so he wouldn’t be terribly disappointed if Julian had managed to drop off in the time it took him to change.]

[it's something vaguely discerned, the shape of the other man made out through his one bleary eye, and whilst he takes in the myriad marks on him, it's unlikely to be anything he has the capacity to dwell on until the morning. He'll think of it then, most likely, how he came to receive them, the battles he likely endured but for now...now it's becoming an effort to think clearly about much of anything.

He is awake though, and lifts a gloved hand to his head as though to steady himself (never mind that he's sprawled now, flat on his back), just as the question comes.]

I'm not quite so far gone as that yet, no.

[Not quite.]

[Within seconds of lying down, Geralt is comfortable, warm, and pleasantly adrift. There are some perks to this place, he has to admit, and not least of them is the plushness of the bed.]

Starting to think this Hanged Man gave you resilience in other areas. It’s rare to meet a man that can keep up with a witcher.

[And since Geralt currently has his eyes closed and looks like he might nod off any minute now, it’s all the more impressive.]

Edited 2019-01-20 05:46 (UTC)

[He laughs in response to that, a blurry, soft-edged sound. Despite lying perfectly still the room is spinning dangerously now and he distantly suspects he looks as though he's taking it better than he actually is. If one discounts that he's in bed with his gloves on, that is.]

Maybe, maybe. But I'm inclined to think it's just all the practice I've put in. Hanging around in dive bars and day drinking with pirates has to raise one's stamina eventually.

[Though he's already beginning to think that tomorrow will bring Regrets.]

Might be that I’m out of practice.

[It has been a while. He’s had little alcohol to speak of since acquiring a little girl. Geralt might not be the most knowledgeable or sensible of guardians, but he at least knows you shouldn't drink to excess when you have children reliant on you.]

I haven’t had much need, nor desire to drink over the past few years. Too much responsibility. But, ah, I’ve nothing but free time here.

[With that in mind, he's likely to have just as much Regret come morning.]

Perfect opportunity to indulge yourself then, eh? Consider this a holiday. A holiday involving veritable human slavery, but one should never look a gift horse in the mouth.

[And then he laughs, because considering some of the specifics of their stay here, it may be hard for most people to see it as such. in the next moment he's flinging his arm over his face dramatically, groans loudly.]

Damn, but I'm drunk.

You are. Very drunk, and courtesy of me, so you are forgiven for the inapt comparison.

[There’s not a hint of reproach in his voice. He’s in too comfortable a state for that.]

Though you are right in one respect. This is the perfect opportunity to indulge. Perfectly unavoidable. Everything here is an indulgence, even things as basic as drink and food. This place is pampering me by sheer quality of lifestyle.

[He idly traces the points of his medallion, looking pensive.]

Meanwhile the submissive are living with dregs. Makes me feel like a complete ass.

[He turns his head with the deliberate slowness of the extraordinarily drunk at that, casts his bleary eye across the other man's face.]

Whilst I can't speak for anyone else, if it's any consolation at all, I really don't mind it. The being rendered unable to buy anything for myself is marginally frustrating, but as we already discussed, it poses a challenge to be overcome if nothing else.

[But he smiles his roguish smile then, arches a brow.]

A good deal of the rest sounds positively thrilling.

[If he's being given a chance to indulge his own subservient inclinations then he's going to damned well make the most of it.]

[Geralt casts him a look of exasperation. Dandelion would love this guy.]

I’m thrilled for you, truly. I suppose this place has to pull in the occasional person who isn’t atrociously mundane or they wouldn’t get far with their program.

[Says the man who regularly had sex on a stuffed unicorn. To be fair, it wasn't he who proposed the idea.]

[If he ever finds out about the unicorn thing, he's going to be deeply displeased that Geralt chose to withhold the information.

For now though...despite the alcoholic haze that has well and truly settled over him, he still discerns the shape of that look, the exasperation written there. And so he laughs, reaches over to playfully shove Geralt's arm.]

Don't give me that look. Maybe even you will get into the swing of things, once you've spent a bit of time here. There must be a reason for it, after all. Our designations.

[It's what he believes at any rate, what he can't help believing-- that even outside of his own raging masochism, something like this is what he deserves. That he is a second-rate citizen, and that the system here has seen through him, down to the worthless centre of himself.]

TDM #4 ( revised )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I'm sorry this happened haha

I'M NOT LMAO

LMAO good

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)