duplicitymemes | TDM #4 ( revised )

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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 « « «

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[Lucio has never been the most astute, and as of late his attention has been fixated on things other than the comings and (in this case) goings of Doctor Julian Devorak. Yes, surprising likely no one the Count has been so wrapped up in himself that he didn't even notice the initial departure of his "friend", so hearing that familiar voice over his shoulder is hardly a shock.

The blonde turns, golden arm propped up on the bar and submissive mark fully on display as those familiar plague-tinged eyes sweep over Julian with something akin to amusement.]

A drink, huh? You're in a much better mood than last time, Jules.

[The blond at the bar begins to turn and the smile dies on Julian's face because there's a countenance that he wouldn't forget in a hurry. His one visible eye goes wide with shock and there's a moment where he says nothing at all, mind turning in ever-loosening circles in an attempt to make sense of what he's seeing.

This shouldn't be possible. It should't. And yet somehow, it is.]

I, uh...never mind. Perhaps I don't need that drink after all.

[And he takes an alarmed step backwards, almost tripping over his own over-long legs.]

Edited 2019-01-12 01:39 (UTC)

[The Count's smirk sours similarly quickly at that reaction, eyes narrowing as he watches the mixture of emotions war on the man's face. He moves after Julian then, reaching out to try and grab his wrist as an irritated pout twists his lips.]

Wait a damn second! You don't get to come up to me and then change your mind like that!

[Especially not when the doctor was the one to initiate things in the first place; that just isn't how this works!]

[There's the hard catch of fingers around his wrist and Julian momentarily freezes, stares down at where Lucio's hand has hold of him with an expression of incomprehension. Almost, he'd expected that hand to pass right through him, but the grip of it now feels as real as anything he's ever experienced.]

You're meant to be dead.

[It's almost an accusation.]

[Those eyes narrow a fraction further at the accusatory statement, except now there's confusion warring with the anger over repeated rebuttals. Julian... Already knew that he was no longer dead. Had he finally take a few too many knocks to the head here and forgotten that? Or maybe he was already drunk?

No. They've both seen each other intoxicated more than enough times for Lucio to know the signs from a mile away; the redhead is sober and that makes this... Odd.]

Well do I look dead to you? [As if daring the man to say yes he takes a step closer, grip not letting up.]

[Lucio steps in closer and briefly he considers hitting him, creating the moment of confusion he needs to make a quick getaway. But having seen the Count on the battle field it's an option he swiftly abandons. Instead he remains rooted to the spot, looking down at him with unabashed consternation.]

Well uh, no. You're looking especially lively for a dead man.

[Lucio sneers just a little at that deadpan response, although his brows draw together in wariness as he stares Julian down as if attempting to see through some ruse.]

Why are you acting like you don't remember that I'm alive? You've been here longer than I have.

[A golden finger pokes at that Submissive mark, pointed end tracing down it a few inches before withdrawing.]

I never found our who you're contracted to, though.

[There's the automatic lift of his chin as that cruelly-spiked finger trails briefly against his mark and then down, though there's something in the way he does it that makes it seem more of a leaning away than an acquiescence. Slowly, he attempts to withdraw his wrist from the other man's grasp.]

But that's ah, that's just it. I can remember yesterday with perfect clarity-- I was in Vesuvia, and you were quite certainly dead.

[And he was about to be hung, but there's no reason to mention that part. Prolonging a strange and quite frankly frightening conversation with a dead man isn't high on his list of priorities.]

[For now Lucio allows Julian to withdraw, although his eyes continue to watch him like a lion carefully measuring up and waiting for the exact moment when his prey might try to flee.]

No, you weren't. I've been here two months and you were here before that.

[But ah- Asra had gone on about different kinds of magic and how time was different here or something like that, hadn't he? Could this be some example of that? Or maybe Julian did something to get punished by this place. The blonde supposes it matters little one way or the other, so he snorts and waves a hand dismissively.]

All right, let's say you were in Vesuvia yesterday. How about that drink? We can catch up, just like the old days.

[The sudden about-turn surprises him, leaves him vaguely reeling, but if the imperious blond is deigning to drop the matter, Julian has no intention of pushing it. None of this makes sense - not Lucio's presence here before him, not what he's saying, nothing about this - and so for a moment, caught off-guard, he actually considers it.]

I...well...perhaps just one.

[He knows he shouldn't linger here, knows he shouldn't be doing this, but--but.. More than ever, now faced with this, he feels as though he needs something good and strong to settle himself with.]

[Unfortunately for the doctor Lucio doesn't plan on leaving the matter dropped, but for now his curiosity has gotten the better of him. A grin curls onto his lips and he gives Julian a swift pat on the back that could be seen as either jovial or distinctly threatening, especially once his hand grips the taller man's shoulder to direct him back closer to the bar.]

So what do you want? I don't think they've got that one you always used to drink, but some of the stuff here isn't half bad.

[The sense of surreality is so big and bright and all-encompassing that it leaves him pinned in this unlikely situation, somehow unable to turn and walk away. There's a cold pit of dread inside him that opens up in the presence of the Count, something that only grows and deepens in the wake of the pat on the back, at the feel of a gripping hand curved around the angle of his shoulder.

This shouldn't be happening but somehow it is and he feels oddly caught up in it now (just like old times), so he allows himself to be manoeuvred back towards the bar, body stiff with tight-wound tension beneath the other man's hand.]

Um, I'm not...perhaps just ask for the strongest thing they have.

[Once they're back at the bar Lucio finally releases the redhead. Leaning one elbow against the wood he props the other hand on his hip in an almost comically picturesque pose that is clearly practiced, gesturing for the bartender.]

Two of whatever's got the most bite in this place.

[He smirks wide to show his own teeth, punctuating the request with a wink before the full weight of his attention returns to Julian.]

Something the matter, Jules? You seem a little tense.

[A practiced, picturesque pose that he recalls with uneasy clarity, as though the man hadn't been dead these last three years, body burned away to nothing more than ash. It occurs to Julian that maybe he could just come out and ask, figure out once and for all who killed the man, because whilst he knows now that it wasn't him, there are still gaps and fissures in the tale, things he believes he was on the verge of figuring out until finding himself here pulled him away from his appointment with the gallows...

...but he doesn't want Lucio wound up, or angry, doesn't want to stoke the coals of the man's petty viciousness. So he doesn't voice it, in the end, just stands there stiff and awkward and quite afraid.]

It's just a bit of a surprise. To see you and...all the rest of it. This place, um. You know what I mean.

[Eloquent.]

[As usual the Count can't be bothered to care about someone being uncomfortable in his presence, especially not when there's alcohol to be drank and conversation to be had. And especially not when he's actually interested in the answers to these questions as opposed to other idle gossip he might normally partake in.]

Well the fact that you actually thought death could beat me was your first mistake, Jules. [He laughs just as two large tankards are slid their direction from the bartender. What's inside is... Questionable and even smells like it must burn going down, but Lucio catches his own in his real hand and barely bothers to check before taking a swig. He makes a bit of a face, shaking his head at the strong taste before silver and red eyes fixate back onto Julian and, more specifically, his Submissive mark.]

But you're telling me you really don't remember being here?

[For a moment something ignites in him, a hot bright flash of anger because really if Lucio was going to die and and hurl Julian into years of danger and guilt and suspicion, he could have at least had the decency to stay dead. Something dark crowds his face for one infinitesimal moment, as though he might have something to say about that, but in the next instant it melts away and leaves only exhaustion in its wake. Because he may now know that he didn't kill the Count, but there are still things he doesn't recall, and parts of himself that he's sure of. If anyone hurled him into danger, it was most likely himself.

Taking blame and hurt onto himself, it's what he does.

So he says nothing, and the drinks arrive, something that both smells and looks vile, which under the circumstances is exactly what he wants and just like Lucio before him he doesn't even bother to examine it, just downs half the tankard in three great glugs.]

Ugh, that's vile. I'll need at least three more.

[And his gaze slides back to the man at his side, the man who should be dead, opens his mouth to state again that he has never been here before...then closes it again, abruptly. It's not the first time he's experienced bouts of amnesia, after all.]

I really don't remember it.

[He supposes that's as much as he can say for sure.]

[Seeing the redhead take such a large drink seems to be the sort of reaction the blonde was looking for, as he laughs and gulps down another swig of the awful stuff before draping himself against the bar again.]

Huh. You must have done something to piss someone here off, then.

[At least that's the most logical answer to him, because Lucio has heard of punishments doled out for those who don't obey the various demands of the program or whatever they call it. While he's certainly been on the receiving end of more than a few of the various... "Festivities" and "gifts" he has yet to actually earn himself a punishment even with all the underhanded things he's gotten himself wrapped up in. Of course that could all change before too long given he's still without a contract.]

It's a pain to be a submissive, so unless you get lucky you're going to be spending a lot of time in places like this.

[His expression goes tight and tense around his own consternation-- could it really be that he has been here before, and simply doesn't remember it? Is it any more fantastical to believe that than it is to be standing in a bar with a man who you know for a fact has been incinerated because you came upon him whilst he was burning? Probably not.

Subdued and sullen, Julian takes another swig of his awful drink.]

I've been in worse places.

[Bawdy taverns rife with violence, locked up in a plague dungeon-- you know, places like that. Still, it's something he hasn't paid any mind to, too wrapped up in the shock of finding Lucio here to even consider it, but now he turns towards him, just slightly. His one visible eye dipping down to Lucio's throat.]

And you, what are you doing in a place like this?

[Because surely Lucio can't be...]

[Oh the dungeon wasn't that bad. Julian had Valdemar for company, right?

But the Count catches sight of the redhead's gaze lingering down beneath his chin. In classic Lucio style he's wearing his shirt unbuttoned almost completely to the navel to shamelessly show off a good deal of his chest... While simultaneously showing off his Submissive mark. And he seems to know exactly what the Doctor is asking without outright inquiring about too, lips pursing into an exaggerated pout before he downs the rest of his drink. Once every drop is drained he slams the mug back down to the bar, earning them a few irritated glares that promptly go ignored by the blonde.

Instead his attention stays rapt on Julian as he leans in, eyes narrowing and voice lowering.]

This place has bad taste in who they assign as Dominants. But I'm working on fixing that.

[He'd rather be trapped in his cell with a plague-ridden corpse than be anywhere near Valdemar again :{

And he sees it there, plain as day, the submissive mark at Lucio's throat, and he might have been tempted to laugh, feels it brewing down deep in his chest, but with Lucio standing so terribly close it doesn't seem like the best idea. Still, there's something to be said for it, perhaps. Puts him in a less powerful position for the length of his stay here, at the very least.

Perhaps. Possibly.

The Count leans in close and Julian infinitesimally leans back, because perhaps his status erodes a little of his power, but Julian knows better than most that the man can be petty and ruthless and cruel. Highly doubts forced sevitude has done anything to erase those traits from him.]

Oh, um, is that so. Do you think that's likely to work?

[He's rather hoping it won't.]

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TDM #4 ( revised )

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