TDM #4 ( revised )

[duplicitymods]

« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »

« « « HERE WE ARE AGAIN

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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 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

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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.

« « « END IN THE DISCORD

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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

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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

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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!!

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» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

Comments

lust | fullmetal alchemist | dominant

[fingerbang]

lies freeze in company

[ Lust raises her eyebrows, which are kinda permanently arched anyway to be fair, and watches the model of what their new life is meant to be like -- human beings, no less or more worthless than those arbitrarily selected for masterhood, trailing their possessors like ducklings. It's pathetic, but when has she ever expected anything more from them? Besides, she can't afford to dwell on it, not when she needs to consider her next move and the very clear obstacle standing in her way.

She doesn't like keeping things. That was Greed's want, the permanent possession of whatever it was his heart desired after its acquisition, and it's why he died like the disgrace he was. She was made for something different, and it certainly doesn't slot well into the mien of this place. But she's also extremely dead, or thought she was, and either way the purpose she was made for is out of sight. Here, stranded in this world-sized farce, she can hear thousands of souls begging for death inside her. She'll play along for now. Lust is good at that, until she's not.

Also: holy shit, it's fucking cold, which they get helpfully reminded of every time the train doors open for a stop. Just because she can technically weather it in this getup with no problem doesn't mean it's pleasant, and the last thing she wants is for anyone else to realize that. When she's not rubbing her hands together in her lap, ostensibly for warmth, she's got them by her face, playing idly with her inordinate amounts of long black hair. In a wild coincidence, no matter what she's doing with it, it happens to fall right over her collarbones. ]

Do you think they're planning on us huddling together for warmth? [ she finally ventures, turning to regard the nearest person rather than the city outside her window. It's got something of the cadence of a joke, but... ] It might be too early to say, but I wouldn't put it past them.

end in the discord

[ How strange, and how predictable, that their vision of freedom should be little more than hedonism without guidelines. She has a drink, which she's not drinking. Even if her body treats and neutralizes alcohol like the poison it is, the chance of even slight intoxication is out of the question -- far too much to observe here, and note for later. And, if the company's not too intolerable, far too many connections to make.

Technically, she's probably most suited to this entire setting wearing the clothes she was born into, but it seems wrong to gather information and not try to hide her most distinguishing features. One can't afford to fall into carelessness. So while she's still got her knife-heeled boots and inexplicable one-sided gloves, and the dress she's wearing is still tight, nobody is going to describe her as "a woman with a strange tattoo on her chest." Maybe "a woman with slit pupils", or "a woman with a really bad personality." Some problems, however, aren't so easily resolved with a high neckline.

The name of the woman you were paired with might be Solaris, which, let's be real, is the IC option. But it also might be Lust, which is the option with a built-in prompt, because like... really? We live in a constantly-shifting multiverse of options! It's Schrodinger's hookup. At any rate, she avoids mentioning her name at all when broaching conversation with those she hasn't been paired up with! Far better not to give them an alias to hold onto. It suits her more, as it always has, to stay anonymous, a woman with a sly smile and opaque motivations who'll melt back into the shadows the second she gets what she wants. ]

Charming. [ This could be a remark directed at some nearby individual, or she could just be saying it to herself, but either way the object of the comment is obvious. Two people are essentially dryhumping against a nearby wall, apparently having not gotten the back room memo! Or, you know, they don't give a shit. Live in joy, NPCs. Follow your bliss. ] I wonder when dancing came to this.

[ Okay, grandma! If your character has indeed been paired up with Lust under her own name, she wastes no time in getting that out of the way. ]

Yes, before you ask, [ she says, once she recognizes that the person approaching is her new partner. She's just brisk enough to nail the point in without seeming like the joyless hag she totally is. It's only natural, especially here of all places, that a lady might feel the need to skip through certain formalities. ] It's the name I was given.

wildcard

( i am down for whatever! alternatively, i am also down to write a starter for you if u so desire. if you want to hash anything out you can contact me through pm or (end in the) discord at torture#2813, or private plurk me at teenwitch! )

train!

[jupitersfortune]

Huh?

[6O jumps a little. She'd been pretty fully absorbed in the view outside the window.]

Huddle for warmth? [Oh, this is a lot colder than what was (is!! wow, they're everywhere) ideal for humans, isn't it. Being a person-sized chunk of expensive hardware, 6O herself is more likely to need to get rid of extra heat than to stay warm.]

I don't think they planned on the weather... [She giggles lightly.] But I'm sure they wouldn't mind it one bit if we did.

[fingerbang]

[ She smiles in response, like the situation really is funny. ]

Maybe not the weather. But they're not exactly taking steps to shelter anyone from it, are they? I suppose we're meant to be grateful they gave us our clothes back at all, after all [ ... ] that business earlier.

[ That business. She can refer to it as casually as she pleases in speech and snide inner monologue, which won't change the fact that, before conscious thought fully returned to her, she almost took a researcher's arm off. It wasn't great! ]

I didn't mean to startle you. It really is remarkable, isn't it?

[jupitersfortune]

[That business. Like sending them out in the cold practically naked- even 6O realizes she was a little chilly if she thinks about it now, although at the time she was just too overloaded with new information to really notice. Hey, this woman might actually be on to something.]

It's okay, you didn't really startle me. I mean, you did, but I don't mind. There's just so- [She gives a vague handwave.] Much!

[fingerbang]

Mm. [ VERY INFORMATIVE AND USEFUL FEEDBACK, THANKS LUST ] Is it the city, or something else?

[ It's not unusual to find a country bumpkin struck with about this same level of wonder during their first time in Central, after all! She's used the disorientation of a big city to her own advantage more than a few times in the past. But Lust, unfortunately, is also a little taken with what she can see from the train window, and what she can see of the train itself. Even the examination, repulsive as it was, seemed more advanced in nature than any scientific experimentation she knows of. Maybe this girl is the same way.

She certainly hopes someone is, at least. It wouldn't do at all to be the most backwards individual here. ]

[jupitersfortune]

[She nods vigorously.] Yes, the city! The Bu- [it occurs to her at the last second that that probably wouldn't mean much] -the place I came from was a lot smaller. And sooooo much less crowded! So actually, I guess it's kind of everything? It's pretty amazing seeing this many humans in one place, uh, seeing humans at all actually.

[while she's talking, the words practically tripping over one another in her enthusiasm, she's also gesturing here, there and everywhere. The windows, the people, there's so much of it all.]

[fingerbang]

Really.

[ Maybe, in the eager tide of everything she's got to say and all the new things to indicate, she won't notice the way Lust reacts when she hears her say humans like that, preceded with this many. She raises her eyebrows once she follows up with "seeing humans at all", but that's deliberate and measured. The brief, telling flash of interest in her eyes that preceded it was decidedly not. ]

It sounds like an interesting place. If there's no humans, though... [ "what are you?" ] what is there? If you don't mind me asking.

(a)choo(choo) tbh

[restingbichenface]

Not impossible.

[The words are brief and precise, Wangji saying exactly what he means, and no more. He doubts the weather can be entirely controlled, but the interior of the train could be, and as far as he knows, no one had been handed extra clothing after their examination. For so organized a process, it's an odd shortcoming.

He doesn't mind the cold, himself - is even used to it, under certain circumstances - but then, he's wearing a fair amount of layers. Coming to a decision, he stands, and takes off his outer robe, holding it out to wrap around the woman - but not doing so just yet. He'll give her the choice; it's there if she wants it.

He just wants it back eventually. These are his clan robes, important to him personally, and useful besides: the sleeves can hold items much bigger than their size suggests, and there are protective incantations sewn into the fabric.]

((OOC: Ah yes, incantations conveniently unspecified by canon... They're meant to deal with zombies and spirits, so she should be safe?))

[fingerbang]

[ Not impossible -- a statement which neither negates her suggestion nor elaborates on it. Lust is about to probe further, or at least get more of a look at her seat partner as opposed to the view outside (probably Xingese, she thinks, like a big dumbass), when he stands up. Which is strange for a moment -- since he's a newcomer like herself, isn't he? -- but immediately afterward, she gets what he's doing, and her apparent confusion becomes apparent embarrassment. ]

Oh, you don't...

[ This seems to be a vague, automatic protest, something a woman who's usually too proper or too proud to accept help might fire off without even thinking about it, and as such she's clearly reconsidering that call by the time her voice trails off. A second later her posture relaxes and she shifts in her seat, either to allow Wangji to put the robe on her or for her to just take it, at his discretion. The slight, almost sheepish smile she flashes up at him should fully nail in what call she's making. ]

Just for a a minute, I promise, [ she says, and if anything other than the general chill sends a shiver running through her when the fabric first touches her skin, she keeps it to herself. ] Gentlemen are rare enough without me letting one freeze to death.

[restingbichenface]

[He studies her reaction, his expression staying impassive. He won't insist either way: that would be more impolite than not offering in the first place.

In the end, since she seems willing, he drapes it over her shoulders. (It's probably best not to surprise her with the content of those sleeves, he decides.)]

I won't freeze.

[This isn't exactly the cold springs of Cloud Recesses - and even that was useful for a great many things.

He is indeed a gentleman, if one from exotic, historical origin. But then, she certainly looks like a lady to him.]

[fingerbang]

Neither will I. Not here, at least.

[ She immediately starts to wrap the material more snugly around herself, hopefully not disturbing those sleeves too terribly much in the process. Now that she's committed herself to a time limit, even a vague one set solely to make herself look like a more considerate person, she might as well make the most of this coverage while it lasts. ]

It's still appreciated, Mr...?

[restingbichenface]

Lan Wangji, of the GusuLan Sect.

[Admittedly, that means nothing here; at the same time, back home where it did mean something, there'd rarely been a need to introduce himself. He was pretty famous in certain circles.

He doesn't miss that, really. It makes no difference in how he is expected to behave by his clan - and how he is expected to behave is how he wants to behave.]

Milady is..?

Discord

[godofthemachine]

[AM really had no interest in Autonomy at first. He enjoys his status as a dominant, as it gives him some grasp of power, however fleeting. But he knows it's all a farce, all just a disgusting play. Some of the submissives could easy kill AM if they wanted, and right now he fears the whims of one in particular. (The fact that he had tied up and abused this man might have something to do with that, but ah, details.)

But perhaps it's because of the recent Complacency Protocol that he decides to try the club out for the night. After all, one's designation as either dominant or submissive has hardly affected how AM perceives them. They're all beneath him regardless.

He had seen the shapely woman from the corner of his eye in this club, intrigued by her looks in some ways. True, AM isn't necessarily attracted to good looks, but he is intrigued at the very least by them, because they can spell out something about the person's past. So when they're paired together, he has to snort at the name. Of course someone named "Lust" would look like a curvaceous femme fatale. And he almost comments on it, until she cuts to the chase.

He just smirks in response, taking a seat across from her.]

Your name is hardly out of place in a society such as this, my dear.

[At the little table they occupy, he folds his arms atop one another.]

So I'm assuming you haven't been here long.

[fingerbang]

[ Honestly, maybe she oughtn't have bothered with bluntness when the other person at this table is apparently named AM, but there's something about the man's (?????????) bearing that makes her feel the need to head things off. It would be presumptuous to put a name to that quality now, premature, even. She takes note regardless. Had she bypassed a few recent failures in judgment, after all, she might not be here in the first place. ]

How astute of you.

[ Lust's hands stay wrapped around the stem of her glass. Her smile isn't unpleasant -- that, too, it's far too early for -- but it is sharp. ]

What gave it away, exactly? If I may ask.

[godofthemachine]

[Lust. An interesting name. If it was truly her name from birth, that would indeed make for many questions. But it seems clear she doesn't want them, at least not right now.]

Simple.

[He sits back slightly, maintaining his gaze upon her.]

Your name.

[Yes he just contradicted himself and with great purpose.]

[fingerbang]

[ She inclines her head just slightly, as if she gets exactly what he's doing here, which she does not. ]

It's not that I wouldn't prefer an alias, if that's what you mean. [ Or like she hasn't been using one whenever she can afford it, which for now means most all circumstances. ] But the more inconvenient a thing is, the more likely it is to worm its way out of one's control.

[ There is, for example, the fact that their devices have a name and picture attached to each and every post. A mutable handle is less than useless next to that. ]

Particularly in a society such as this. Please, tell me if I've misunderstood. I'd hate to get off on the wrong foot.

[godofthemachine]

[A soft, polite laugh in response.] You see, it's because your name fits so well, and yet you seemed convinced that no one would believe that to be your name.

[Indeed, the handles on the network are quite annoying for AM. He should have pretended to be human, but the LIES already revealed who he was, his name, and his sadistic desires for all to see. This woman, though, likely only knows the name portion.]

But I understand. Names, ah, something that is given to us without our permission, and yet we are stuck with it. [Just like his life. Just like everything about him.] Much like this very place.

[Yet he can't tell if she's a submissive or not; she covers her chest, which makes him think she is indeed a sub. He would comment on that, how she's stuck with that alignment whether she likes it or not, but... Well, that defeats the purpose of this club, doesn't it?]

stupid winter on the stupid train argh

[monarchmarch]

The more miserable we are from the cold, the more thankful we'll be when we get to the end and they give us something to wear.

[Cordelia is marked as a submissive, but she's not going to let that stop her from speaking her mind. Though this fails to grow into an angry rant for a different reason, namely that inspiration strikes and she starts glancing around.]

Look for a small object. A weapon would be good but most people probably wouldn't just leave them around.

[fingerbang]

[ OH BOY

... but they'll probably take Lust's word over hers if she miraculously does find something to do real damage with, and she's interested in seeing what happens when a submissive really flouts the rules -- it's worth at least a little encouragement. After her eyebrows crawl halfway up her face, she speaks in a voice low enough not to carry. ]

You have something in mind?

[monarchmarch]

[Sadly(?), Cordelia's plan is nothing quite so radical. She wants at least three or four allies before she overthrows the government.]

Just a trick for keeping warm. --Oh, what's that?

[It's a ballpoint pen someone apparently dropped.]

[fingerbang]

[ There's an implied ellipsis before she says, still quietly: ] It's a pen.

[ She's gonna stab someone with the pen and use the blood for warmth, right? Like we all do? #Justgirlthings? ]

[monarchmarch]

Of some advanced sort, I presume.

[As ready as Cordelia is to stab someone if/when that seems like a viable solution to her problems, she actually has something else in mind.]

Grant this... blade the power of fire. [There's no visible effect, but she's satisfied with the result.] This will give off heat for a while.

Discord

[thelamia]

[Lurine looks the woman over. For a moment, it's like watching two gunslingers in a duel, seeing which one will draw first. This is what happens when two predators, regardless of whatever labels have been stuck on them, meet for the first time. Apparently, Lurine must like what she sees, for the lamia smiles, something razor sharp on the edges.]

Whoever gave it to you named you well. I change mine every few decades or so.

[An odd remark from someone who does look anywhere near thirty.]

[fingerbang]

[ To the outside observer, it's a fairly measured standoff. Lust maintains sharp eye contact, keeps her lips set in that mild curve that flirts with the possibility of a smile but only sometimes delivers. A few seconds later it's over, and she chuckles under her breath in response to the statement -- not the bit about her own name, of course, but the bit about hers.

And she very much hopes that's the sum total of the impression she's given, but she wouldn't bet money on it. Being looked over isn't the trouble, and neither is that kind of predatory evaluation. But to see even a shadow of her own behavior in another human-looking being, one she hasn't known for decades at least, is something uncustomary for Lust. To see it in a woman?

Entirely without precedent: for better or worse, she has always been a singular exception. It should irk her to have to enter such unfamiliar territory now, to lose two centuries of high ground here of all places, and it does. But she'd be lying if she said it wasn't exciting as well. ]

What a luxury, [ she finally says, still sounding amused. ("Finally." What a drama queen, it's been about five seconds.) It's one she dearly wishes she could afford now. ] And the meaning behind this last one?

[ No, seriously, she doesn't know. ]

[thelamia]

Continued here.