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 « « «

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's a shame that this had to happen, he thinks. But perhaps Eric's arrival is punishment upon the Art for growing so complacent in this place, for thinking that perhaps he could have a chance to do what needed to be done without quite as much concern for consequences. For thinking that he could be somewhere with even one less reminder of Ellie haunting him constantly. But it really is his own fault for thinking that anything would ever change, even here.

"This place has a cruel sense of humor, it seems." The words are almost spoken to himself, punctuated with an empty chuckle as Humpty Dumpty steps back up to Eric to examine those unfamiliar scars.

"Where did these come from?"

Eric pulls back as Humpty Dumpty steps near, putting himself up against the window of the bus. With the question his eyes narrow. He isn't sure if this is a game Humpty is playing or if he is genuinely curious.

How could he not remember that night? But then, how could any of this be happening right now?

"Jack and I fought. He slashed my leg, my face, and he was going to kill me. But then you..." Again, he really doesn't know how to feel about any of this. The bus stops again, making him sway so he reaches out and steadies himself using one of the chairs. His hand grips at the headrest hard.

"That was three years ago, Humpty Dumpty."

Humpty Dumpty is not at all bothered by Eric recoiling and does not move to close the distance further, simply continuing to watch the other human with that same calculating wariness. His confidence wavers ever so slightly as Eric speaks though, brows drawing together in confusion and clear skepticism. When had Eric and Jack fought? Had the vampire done something behind his back since he had been taken?

Wait- three years? The albino tenses and just barely manages to clutch a chair as well, although his attention is now fixated on the other man, eyes wide.

"What are you talking about?"

"You died," Eric finally says, plainly. He still isn't entirely sure he isn't dreaming right now.

Could this be another hallucination? It's been so long since he's had one of those. Maybe he really had died too.

For once there's little Humpty Dumpty can do to mask the reaction to hearing that revelation, a range of emotions flitting across his face in succession. There's confusion followed by anger followed by a prickly glare that he quickly tries to reign back in to that previous stare of skepticism.

"You're lying."

But he... Doesn't sound certain. Because he's been here long enough to have learned of other worlds; places where technology is either far ahead or far behind that of his own home, worlds where vampires have never even existed, worlds where people have been brought from other times. It's not impossible and he knows it.

Eric keeps his gaze on Humpty Dumpty's face. It's clear he thinks Humpty Dumpty might actually lash out at him and he doesn't want to look away for fear he'll miss it. He's watching Humpty the way one might look at a snake one isn't certain will bite.

"I'm not," he answers. "I wish I was, but I'm not. Jack was going to kill me, and you jumped in front of his claw. You protected me. I... I still don't understand why you did that, but it happened. You died in Ghost's arms."

There's a part of the Art that does want to lash out, but he isn't foolish enough to even seriously consider such a thing in public. And there's still that other part of him that can't bring himself to fully discount the possibility of his own death. His hands clench into fists but they don't move from his side or the tight grip on a chair, barely reigning in his inhuman strength as his mind races to make sense out of all this.

"... I don't know why I would have done that, either."

A lie. Humpty Dumpty can think of a few reasons rather quickly, but they're certainly not the types of things he wants to emotionally unpack and share with Eric. So he finally tears his gaze away instead, staring almost defiantly at a nearby window like it can defy his own fate.

"And Jack?" He hopes that foul creature was dismembered and burnt and broken, and that the vampire lived through every agonizing second until the very end. Because if he died then he needs to at least ensure that Jack suffered as he joined him.

It's weird how such a cold remark still hurts Eric somehow. He shouldn't hurt from that. He didn't want Humpty to acknowledge him, did he? Either way, he tries to put all of that aside and is careful not to let any of it show on his face.

"Ghost," Eric replies simply, as if just mentioning Ghost would explain away what happened to Jack. It should, anyway. Humpty had died in Ghost's arms, there was no way Jack be allowed to go free after that.

"You really don't remember any of this?" he asks. Despite how wary he was of Humpty Dumpty, he couldn't help the curiosity. What was the last thing Humpty remembered then?

Edited 2019-01-12 04:46 (UTC)

Humpty Dumpty closes his eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly as he only gives a small nod in acknowledgement of how the vampire met his demise. Good. At least that was one more bit of closure... He's only sorry that he didn't get to see Jack writhe and crawl like Brutal did, it would have been nice to watch him in pain like the vampire had always done to him.

But he doesn't allow himself to dwell too much on the twisted wish, instead finally reopening his eyes as his gaze fixates back on Eric.

"Why would I lie about remembering my own supposed death?"

Eric doesn't have an answer to that, so he is quiet for a moment as he thinks over their situations. He doesn't trust Humpty, of course, but it's weird how he doesn't want to just run away and put distance between them.

"What is the last thing you remember before ending up here then?"

Again those unmatched eyes narrow at the question, and for a moment Humpty Dumpty debates answering. But in the end Eric already knows his plans so there's little point in holding back one extra grisly detail.

"I had killed my Master. Jack and I were going to set out the next day to begin distributing the perfume, but when I woke up I found myself here before we could set out."

Eric does let his surprise at that show on his face. He thinks for a moment he might end up telling Humpty how his plan almost succeeded, but somehow that seems like a bad idea.

"I see."

The Art doesn't miss that moment of shock and frowns ever so slightly, tone lowering like that of a disappointed parent scolding a child.

"You're just as bad of a liar as your father, Eric." He leans ever so slightly closer then, tilting his head. One might find the sight almost comical given the height and build difference between the two men, but Humpty carries himself as if he were the one with the size advantage.

"Why did you look surprised just then? You said something about three years ago... Was that when I died? Or is there something else you'd like to tell me?"

Eric narrows his eyes again at the mention of Ellie. If he's so much like his father, why did Humpty save him while Ellie was killed? He spent the last three years confronting that trauma, but somehow standing here with Humpty so close makes everything threaten to crash around him again.

"You almost destroyed the world," he replies, his voice low. "You threw everything into chaos. The world is going to change and force the vampires back into hiding, but you needed to make sure there was blood on the streets before that could happen."

For a long moment the albino just stares Eric down, his gaze searching and scrutinizing for any hint that the other could be lying to him. Humpty Dumpty wants- no needs- to believe that he isn't though, because if he really did die then hearing that he died fruitlessly without even completing his work would be crushing. That desperate need for vengeance, for other people to understand him, had been the only thing holding together for so many years that learning it had been in vain would be too much.

After that silence stretches on he finally steps back again, expression unreadable.

"No one would have acted without fully understanding just what sort of world that place had become."

Eric stares at Humpty, not sure how to respond. After a moment of quiet, he finally glances around and notices that a lot of people are staring at them.

He shouldn't be speaking this way to Humpty, not while he has a tattoo on his neck. He shouldn't be so hostile towards him. Their conversation is one that makes no sense to those around them, which makes them both sound crazy.

But then, maybe they both are.

Suddenly he feels like One again, needing to tightly control every aspect of his life as to not make waves. It's miserable. He feels like the world is crushing him.

"This isn't the place to debate that," he says finally.

Humpty Dumpty had gotten so caught up in the moment that he had equally forgotten himself, and when Eric seems to remember that they're still surrounded by people he seems to be similarly jarred. Maintaining his composure and keeping up a carefully curated facade has been essential for so long that he feels almost embarrassed at having forgotten himself, falling silent as his eyes lower to the floor.

When the bus comes to its next stop- he doesn't even pay attention to which it is- he moves and begins to disembark.

The only acknowledgement he gives Eric is a meaningful glance over his shoulder as he steps off, but whether the other man chooses to follow or keep his distance is up to him.

For a moment, Eric considers ignoring Humpty. He sees a future in which he stubbornly sits down and continues on with the tour. But they both know he won't. He doesn't want to be around these people who are likely judging his every movement now, and he doesn't want to lose sight of Humpty.

So he follows and gets off the bus with Humpty. He looks around to get his bearings, but he's still too new to the city to have any idea where they are.

It's easier just to focus on Humpty, to not be caught off guard if he tries something.

He hears the steps of the other man following after him reluctantly, so he doesn't bother to look over his shoulder as they make their way towards a nearby park. Despite them presently being in the Up and both being Submissives this place is open to the public, although Humpty Dumpty's contracted status would be of help in case of any nosy natives.

The Art steps into the entrance, the path framed by an ornate metal gateway intertwined with ivy that arches over him. Only once he's beneath it does he finally round on the other man, barring the way like the statue of some gatekeeper that peers at him with searching eyes.

"What are you going to do here, Eric?"

Eric stops and looks down at Humpty. Now that they're outside he puts his hands in his pockets. He looks a little sad now that he's gotten used to how it feels to be around Humpty once again.

"I have no idea," he admits. "I haven't had any idea what I'm going to do since I arrived here. Your face is the first familiar thing I've seen."

He had felt so overwhelmed by the people before, and now he wishes he could get lost in a crowd again.

Edited 2019-01-12 08:04 (UTC)

So he hasn't found Shell Overlord yet. For a moment the albino weighs his options regarding whether or not to tell Eric about the presence of his lover. As of now the vampire has been little issue aside from being an eyesore and occasional reminder of home, and fortunately Humpty's position has almost guaranteed that he passed just low enough beneath Shell's radar to be seen as nonthreatening. But Eric... Eric is sure to ruin that, sure to tell him everything.

So he can find out about him on his own.

"Well I'm sure we can both agree that it would be beneficial if we were to see very little of one another here."

"I'm not in the habit of agreeing with you," Eric points out. Somehow, admitting that he'd want to avoid Humpty feels like running away, and he doesn't want to keep on running.

"I'm not going to hide from you."

Of course not. Ellie had never been able to take the hint when he had been avoiding him and now Eric is showing that same stubborn streak, albeit much more directly and in a much more bothersome way. Humpty exhales slowly, eyes sliding closed for a moment as if in an attempt to center himself before they reopen.

"I have a job and things I have been establishing for myself here. I won't let you ruin that, Eric."

His tone isn't threatening, but he also isn't going to let the younger man show up and upend everything he's been working for, take away the small increments of freedom he's had for the first time. Already the Art's mind is racing on how he's going to explain Eric's presence to his Dominant, especially after what he saw on Patara. In the moment he had been willing to not ask many questions because of Humpty's clear distress, but now it's going to be increasingly difficult to evade the topic.

Eric's eyes narrow at the implications of that statement. Of course Humpty would think that his first thoughts would be to tell everyone everything about their shared histories. He probably thought everyone was out to manipulate others.

Not that Eric could blame him. With everything he had been through, it would be impossible not to be suspicious of others.

"I don't plan on telling anyone about you," he says after a moment. He didn't tell everyone who was behind the chaos back home, what good would it be to tell people here? "No one knows anything about what happened. No one knows anything at all about our world. Why would I pry open those old wounds, when it would accomplish nothing here?"

Hearing that clearly shocks Humpty Dumpty for a moment, eyes widening before they narrow slightly once more in clear skepticism. Why wouldn't Eric tell others about him? He manipulated him, implicated him and Shell Overlord, killed Ellie... The list is substantial enough that he really can't fathom why Eric already isn't out gathering a hunt against him.

At first nothing but silence stretches between them as he stares the other man down, as if that alone will let him understand the logic behind his claim. And if he's lying.

"Why wouldn't you? There are vampires here, too." And Humpty has told some people about their world. Not many, and even fewer in full detail, but unlike Eric it isn't something he can bring himself to keep quiet about.

TDM #4 ( revised )

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