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duplicitymemes2018-09-12 11:51 am
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2018-09-12 11:51 am
Entry tags:
TDM #1
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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. |
 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. |
 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. |
 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. |
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. For characters with a birthday falling in the months of January to June, their designation will be Dominant. For characters with a birthday falling in the months of July to December, their designation will be Submissive. For characters with an unknown birthday, their designation will be Dominant. Arrival into Duplicity has not been used as a prompt as it is a rather large part of introducing the game and will be saved for the first in-game log. But feel free to thread it on the TDM. Also, any locations throughout Duplicity are available for TDM prompts as well! Please remember to mark any necessary content, and have fun!! |
no subject
but steve's supposed to be submitting, and all he does is narrow his eyes at bucky and raise an eyebrow, wordlessly challenging him to keep going. look, steve can let bucky take care of him, if that's how he wants to do this, but he's not just going to let bucky talk some bullshit without firing back. surely submissives aren't expected to be doormats.
the command is an easy one to follow, but there's still an initial resistance in steve, a reluctance that makes a muscle twitch in his jaw as he fights the urge to ignore bucky. it's bucky, though, like he's been telling himself this whole night. bucky's not going to make him do anything he doesn't want to do. bucky wants to be allowed to take care of him. slowly, with the jerky movements of one all too aware of every step they're taking, steve walks to the bed, rising to lay on it just as bucky had instructed. he's tempted to open one eye to look at bucky, but he keeps them shut, just as he'd been told.
bucky's taking care of him, and he's trusting bucky. he can do this. it's only for a few minutes. ❱
no subject
At least it didn't almost kill him routinely.
It's a good thing they're doing this, because he can see that resistance in Steve right off the bat. Even for something as simple and harmless as lay down on the bed and Steve's first instinct is to dig in his heels, Christ, he made the right decision getting a mile or two under their belts before they take this pony show on the road. Wonder what else he's been right about all along, huh?
He'd be lying if he said it didn't feel a little good to see Steve finally listening without a knock-down drag-out. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a little vindicated, a little relieved even, to have the power to finally force Steve into a little rest. ]
Ten minutes.
[ He says seriously, but that antagonistic triumph is gone from his voice. He replaces it instead with a careful calm, a murmur that's easier for Steve's pride to digest. A little less 1942, a little more 2016. Who he is now over who he was then. Somebody Steve hasn't quite had the chance to meet yet. He moves, the quiet rustling of fabric belying his position. The bed shifts as he settles his weight down on one edge off to Steve's left. ]
You're gonna lay on that bed for ten minutes, eyes closed, no talking, no moving until I tell you. Lay there and try to wrap your head around this whole thing, and I'm gonna lay down some rules while you do it. When the time's up, if you got a problem with any of 'em, we can talk about it then, but until I'm done you just listen.
no subject
steve balls his hands into fists at his sides, but otherwise stays still, stays quiet, follows bucky's commands and starts counting to sixty in his head. ten minutes, he can get through ten minutes like this. ❱
no subject
[ He calls that shit out quick, not because he's psychic but because he knows Steve. Knows he'd plan on timing Bucky down to the second, but that's not the point of this exercise. He's got his reasons - Steve needs a chance to get himself in that headspace, to come at the problem from a few angles. A chance to metabolize his perspective and draw some conclusions about why Bucky might order some of the things he does, and for what reasons.
And more importantly, he needs to really listen.
To help prove that he plans on keeping ten minutes really ten minutes he slides a hand into his pocket, seeks out and unfolds his phone. There's a clock on it, a countdown app that he starts.
A silent beat passes where he studies Steve's posture, the set of his shoulders, the line of his spine, his brow. If Steve's still counting he can't tell, unfortunately, that's about where his insights end. He shifts forward anyway and settles a hand along Steve's lower back. It's fairly innocuous, just the flat of his palm unmoving and solid, one place, one point of contact. ]
Rule number two- [ Because number one was about boot licking. ] Don't look at anyone. Not because you're lower than them but because we both know it's gonna piss you off and you're not gonna be able to keep that out of your eyes.
[ He's always had the most defiant set of baby blues on the planet, and even if Steve couldn't always tell he was making that face Bucky sure as shit could. A moment of silence follows it gauging Steve's response. ]
no subject
he's not alone anymore. for two years, he's been surrounded by people who only know the legend, the myth that is captain america. steve rogers was a story to these people, a tragedy and an icon, and people like natasha and sam could try to dig for the real steve rogers, but they were only ever going to get so many layers deep. but bucky knows him, every bit of him, and the shock of how hard that hits forces a shaky breath out of his lungs, makes him clench his eyes shut tight to avoid crying.
despite the command being given so that steve would be forced to actually listen to bucky's rules, he almost misses the second one because of it, but tunes back in just in time for it. it's a rule that makes sense, and is all the more infuriating for it, but steve huffs out another breath that could almost sound like acquiescence. yeah, fine, he won't look at anybody. ❱
no subject
Three. Don't talk to anyone, for pretty much the same reason. [ He tilts his head, filing away the fact that these rules aren't viable for the long term. ] In situations like this, I mean, obviously, not just... ever. Places like this, though, your Texas-sized attitude's gonna come out, and then people are gonna start looking at me to do something about it, and I-
[ He breaks off, throat closing up for a second. ]
They're gonna expect me to-
[ Correct him, punish him, whatever. Maybe this is a selfish rule, really meant to protect Bucky more than it is Steve. If society expects him to lay down some kind of blow on Steve for talking out of turn, Barnes isn't so sure he can bring himself to do it.
That's not true, for both their sakes he can and will, he just doesn't want to. ]
no subject
bucky's talking about taking care of him, but this rule is about taking care of bucky and it's not like steve doesn't want that — god knows bucky could use a break, for christ's sake, but this —
this rule sits less easily than the last two have. even so, he remains still, and doesn't say a word. ❱
no subject
The next rule helps restore it. ]
Four- if you need an out, if we need to leave, if it's too much, you signal. The second it starts to hit home and you can't take it, I don't know- maybe like- a wrist squeeze, or a safe word, something subtle- we'll figure it out in a minute. Whatever it is, I get it, we're done. We leave where we are, we go somewhere else, whatever it takes.
[ A safety net. An out, one unshakable promise. A pause, and he feels the need to beat this dead horse until it's flat just to really drive the point home. ]
I mean it. Don't take it any further than you can handle because you're being stubborn, because this kinda thing... it creeps up on you, and it sits with you for too long if you let it. You tell me before it gets to that point.
no subject
this isn't going to work. he can't do this. he can't pretend like he's accepted his place here, when he hates the very idea of it. better to stay in the down and gather intel than have to spend a moment pretending that he's any less than these assholes, and if bucky can't understand that...
well. he asked for ten minutes. steve can give bucky that, even if at the end he of it all he has to walk out the door. ❱
no subject
At least it's on the table.
Maybe he's going about this whole thing all wrong, it's entirely possible that the integrate and adapt to survive approach isn't as good as the hamfistingly punching society into a new norm approach. All he knows is that he'd rather lose the right arm than watch them drag Steve off into one of those re-education centers. Smart and subtle is the only way he knows to do that. ]
Five, I want a bologna sandwich every night. Six o'clock on the dot, light mustard, no crusts, or so help me god.
[ Not a laughing matter? His bad.
He thinks that's all he's got, though, so far. The only things that come to mind.
1. Don't piss anyone off or draw attention to yourself
2. Seriously, don't piss anyone off or draw attention to yourself.
3. If you feel like you're about to piss someone off, let him help you evacuate the situation.
4. No boot licking.
Beyond that, he figures it's a 'take it as it comes' approach. They can work the details out later, but Steve's initial plan is to fake it as a sub while he probes the doms for intel and those are the tools they need to do it. That's it. ]
no subject
he waits for more rules, but none are forthcoming, so he waits out the rest of the ten minutes in silence, resisting the urge to move as his muscles start to protest the tension. it gives him time to not be blindingly pissed, at least, when the phone goes off and he sits up, turning to bucky with an angry crease between his eyebrows. ❱
That's all bullshit.
❰ because what is tact when you're steve fucking rogers and you've got an unjust society to rage against, right? ❱
no subject
[ Is his sarcastic reply, and if he looks about a thousand percent done it's because he is. Thanks, buddy, for dismantling his hard work and considerate, carefully thought-out structure of survival in three words. Appreciate that.
Just like that, his hand disappears from Steve's back and folds instead over his chest like he's shutting a door. ]
But let's take a realistic guess at how far you're gonna get trying to interrogate anybody in that room with a line on your neck, and then you get back to me with a better plan. No- take your time, I'll wait.
no subject
Bucky, when have I goddamn ever backed out of something just because it was going to end in a fight? These people ain't better than me, they ain't better than any fucking submissive, they're just luckier. Why the fuck should I stand next to you like a goddamn lawn ornament?
❰ steve's natural accent was trained out of him what feels like a lifetime ago, the uso having done a bangup job flattening out his voice into the accentless speech of hollywood. he hasn't fallen back into his old habits in years, not since the war — but anger and bucky will do that to him. ❱
I ain't just gonna stand there not looking at anybody, sayin' nothin', like they're right, then run out when it gets tough. I didn't do it when I was a kid, and I sure as shit won't do it now.
no subject
Bucky, this version, now, just seems tired. He flicks dry, unimpressed eyes up to Steve's face as he tirades. Lets him pour it all out there with a weary resignation, without a single speck of interruption.
When he reaches the end- or pauses for breath, as the case may be- he waits a beat longer still just to make sure he's done. And then his hands come up, a sort of surrender, a shrug with open palms and pursed lips. ]
If you're lookin' for a disagreement, you're not gonna find one. I know nobody's better than you, or any other person with line down their throat. I know, Steve, and probably half of them do too.
[ You can't fight them all, he thinks to say, but knows better than that. Steve fucking would, or at least he'd try. ]
What I'm sayin' is there's a time and a place for the fight you wanna have, and if you wanna revolutionize this place you're not gonna do it after they haul you off and scramble your brains in a re-education center, so you can be loud or you can be smart. Whichever one you wanna do we'll do, but if you'd taken those ten god damn minutes to think about it you'd know by now which of those two options is wrong.
no subject
it'd been easier to leave all this anger behind, after the serum. or — no, he's always been angry. but he could redirect it, after that, point it at the war or the red skull or the future as a whole. he didn't have to be angry over how people were treating him, anymore, and it made him relax too much. makes it that much more of a slap in the face now that he does again. ❱
I can avoid looking at people. I can even be quiet for as long as we're out there. But Buck, I'm not going to run away from this. I can't. You know that.
❰ because yeah, maybe bucky's right about that whole loud versus smart thing, but that's not the point. the point is they're right back where they started, little stevie standing in bucky's shadow, and steve could never resent bucky but he does, a little, he'd just gotten used to standing on his own and now he's right back where he's always been.
you think you're over some things. ❱
no subject
But what he can't really seem to abide is this notion Steve's got in his head about what it means to withdraw from something like this. That having the opportunity to escape before he breaks somehow lacks honor. He levels Steve with a dark look, something long and scrutinizing. Keen and quiet, like he wants to say something but he's not quite found the right combination of words. ]
I'd rather blow my brains out than make you feel how I felt for a minute, even on accident.
[ He says finally, bluntly. He's never really been one to skirt a sensitive issue for the sake of sparing either of them the trouble of acknowledging their emotions. He doesn't beat around the bush as a general rule of thumb, and if Steve's gonna unload his grievances Bucky will air his own in turn. If it comes off as harsh it's only because he'd rather it be toward that extreme on the spectrum than on the side where it earns him pity. ]
So if you feel like you need to tap out, you tap out. And if you think you're too good to admit something like this can fuck with your brain then it's me you're calling weak. Just so we're clear.
no subject
he clenches his jaw, shaking his head. ❱
That's different.
❰ it's bullshit and he knows it but it is, damn it, it's different — ❱
This isn't traumatic, it's just bullshit. You tapping out would be — I'd get that. You're not weak. I'm not about to be —
❰ there's no words for what was done to bucky. none steve knows, anyway, none he'd want to know. this isn't the winter soldier, not by a long shot, it's just the perfect way to piss steve off. he's had therapists, alright, shield foisted a few on him, he's had the panic attack and ptsd conversations. he knows to brace himself for fourth of july celebrations and to forgive himself when riding the subway makes him sick and he misses his stop three times because he keeps hearing bucky scream. this isn't that. ❱
This isn't like that, ❰ he says, though his voice is smaller, slightly more contrite. ❱
no subject
[ He agrees placidly, dryly, because there's a liberation center with Steve's ticket already preloaded in the machines probably. He's just saying, they may not be pressing a gun into his hands but the similarities are there. Steve's kidding himself if he doesn't see them.
There's an organization meaning to break them down until they obey the roles given to them, there are collars on necks and straps on chairs, a little dark building that rewrites your mind until you comply, and Bucky's acting like a handler.
But sure, this is totally different. Tell it to Natasha while you're at it and see if she agrees.
That's all, though, he's said his piece. He raises his hands in a sort of I'm done gesture, and he hops down off his soap box. He's done all he can do, he's got the rule laid out there, he can only hope that if circumstance does push Steve too far he'll be man enough to give the signal and spare Bucky's conscience from having to deal with the consequences afterward.
Maybe he's taking this whole thing too personally, or maybe Steve's naive and he's the only one seeing it clearly for what it has the potential to become. Time will tell. He hopes Steve's right.
Either way, he's content to put a nice chunk of distance between them and this conversation, happy to change the subject to literally anything else. ]
That mean you're ready to go out there, then?
no subject
It's good to have you back, you know. Nobody else calls me on my shit like you do.
❰ it's an olive branch and the sad truth all in one, and steve knows that bucky isn't back, maybe, maybe he'll never quite be back, but fuck, he's here. here is so much better than not here. ❱
Yeah, I'm ready.
no subject
At the bottom of his exhale, a flesh hand comes up to settle at Steve's jaw, to curve under his ear, to cup him there and hold him still for a minute.
They'll figure it out. He knows they will, even if it means circling over topics that make them both light up with discomfort and a mile long list of personal issues. ]
Everybody's got a hobby.
[ He mutters back, the verbal equivalent of an eye-roll. Good natured, though, with no real ire behind it anymore. Just tiredness, fondness, resignation. That hand pats two small beats onto a place just beneath Steve's cheek, and then he's pulling back with grim but collected determination. ]
Alright.
[ Let's go give it a whirl. ]
no subject
that space of a few moments where they just sit together, foreheads pressed together and hands on each other's skin, seems to both stretch infinitely and end in an instant. bucky pulls away and so does steve, trying to figure out how to make this work, what kind of space he can get to mentally in order to cause the least amount of problems. eventually he settles on looking at this as a kind of boot camp, with bucky as his co, and he slips off the bed to stand at attention, head down instead of defiantly raised, next to it, waiting for bucky to lead them out of the room. ❱