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Duplicity Game Mods ([personal profile] duplicitymods) wrote in [community profile] duplicitymemes2019-09-12 04:47 pm
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TDM #8


« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »


« « « AND IT GOES ON AND ON


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.

... and 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.

The hellish summer heat is finally starting to subside, and the cool breeze suggests autumn is approaching.



» » » TAKE A RIDE




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.



« « « A POCKET OF PENNIES




The weather’s getting cooler, and people have begun transitioning from summer clothing to the sweaters and jackets of early fall. With jackets come pockets, and with pockets come a bizarre uptick in robberies.

Then again, perhaps the correlation is flawed. In the Down, getting robbed is a constant threat. Gangs of street toughs look for lone or inattentive people who look like they’ve got valuables on hand. Uncontracted Submissives are particularly easy to rob, since authorities have little time to bother with a lowly Submissive without a Dominant to advocate for them. One particularly nasty gang of young adult men, the Bulldogs, hangs out near the train, looking to ambush unwary Submissives fresh out of Orientation. They are prone to violent muggings and will simply beat up their target and leave them in a gutter when they’re finished robbing them.

In the Up, the streets are nominally safer, but there have been reports of a group of college-aged Submissive women taking advantage of their designation to attack travelers. They, too, stand near the train and the orientation center, looking to seduce passersby into an alley where a group of them can beat and mug their victims, usually Dominants looking to capitalize on their pretty appearances.

But you’re truthfully at risk anywhere in the city. The new arrivals are easy targets, and any brazen thief might get the idea to make some quick cash. The authorities are spread too thin to help, but perhaps LIErs can look out for one another?

Or they might just get in on the thievery. Everyone’s out for themselves, after all.



« « « NEW FLESH LIKE A GLOVE


( CW: potential dubcon, drugs, BDSM/sexual torture, prostitution, public use )

Surrounding a large building near the orientation center in the Up, banners and fliers announcing the beginning of the inaugural Duplicity High Tech Sexpo, a trade show for businesses and manufacturers of adult novelties. Since this is the expo’s first year, admission is free and many excited volunteers are handing out vouchers all over the city. These vouchers can be exchanged for goods and services within the expo, but have no monetary value outside of it. Even if you refuse them, you’ll likely find two or three of them tucked into your bag or pocket.

Inside the expo hall, there are dozens of booths pitching a variety of entertainments. Many offer interactive demonstrations, showing off their tech for the crowds of interested onlookers. Competition is fierce, and booths try to attract attention and customers through any means necessary. There are private rooms all around the expo for potential customers to try out the products. Booths will also happily accept volunteers for demos, or try to recruit them by bribing them with cash or free samples. There’s a nasty rumor going around that some are recruiting volunteers via more illicit means, like drugging and dressing them up, but surely that’s an exaggeration…

Some of the smaller booths sell more traditional toys and accessories: leashes and collars, specialty lubes and massage oils, fetish gear, strap-ons, dildos and vibrators in myriad shapes and sizes, and other basic items. Others advertise apps for the devices, the most notable of which is HUGGR (which LIErs may recognize as a poorly rebuilt sex-themed version of a certain other app.) The closer you get to the big-ticket sponsor booths, the more elaborate and fantastic the products become.

One of the most eye-catching demos is for the Climax VR Headset. You and a partner both wear a VR headset, which displays a collaborative virtual scenario. Both partners can alter the setting and surroundings however they like, and any sexual activity conducted in VR transmits real sensations to their bodies. You can come together without ever physically touching.

Symphony Hydraulics have a large, loud booth where crowds gather to watch perhaps the most outrageous demo: a variety of fucking machines. Volunteers get stripped, strapped in, and turned on, brought to screaming orgasms in front of the whole crowd. There is a fifteen minute break between demos on each machine, as some poor intern hurriedly washes and sanitizes them between uses. In the interim, they offer smaller, portable versions for sale or rent at the expo. (Some may note that a few of the Symphony Hydraulics staff members look a bit familiar.)

Does all this high-tech equipment have you overwhelmed? Wish you could go back to a simpler time? Sir Robert’f Bedroome Provifionf (sic) is helmed by historical reenactor Robert Plum, who has also created his own line of medieval torture device-themed sex toys. Need a chastity belt to keep your Submissive all to yourself? A rack with an attached spreader-bar? An iron maiden with soft vibrating silicone ticklers inside? All the stocks and whips and chains you could ever need? Sir Robert has you covered. Of course, everything on display is harmlessly altered for sexual novelty purposes, but one might also ask to see Sir Robert’s “special” merchandise in the back.

Perhaps the most unassuming booth at the expo belongs to Grandma Hattie’s Snacks and Sweets. Grandma Hattie, a kindly old Submissive, has partnered with a tech company to produce what appear to be completely normal vending machines, stocked full of her tasty homemade bread, snack cakes, and other baked goods. Vouchers are good for a free sample of any treat from a vending machine. They taste amazing and have no apparent odd effects-- until 10 minutes after consumption, when you suddenly gain an insatiable craving for a random kink. Your craving will dominate your thoughts for three hours, or until it is appeased.



« « « PERFECTION OF THE DIGITAL




(CW: potential dubcon, objectification)

By far the largest and shiniest booth comes from expo sponsors Sexy Metal Incorporated, who have set up a display of their incredible high-tech sexbots. These life-sized dolls are made of extremely realistic material that feels like warm human skin, and come with state-of-the-art mechanics that give them lifelike movement. Engineers show off how the bots can be plugged into a computer and programmed to act any way the buyer likes.

They come in a wide variety of customizable appearances and eerily, some of the bots on display look exactly like people you may know. Booth staff encourage customers to buy these dolls, or to rent them and give them a try onstage in front of the fascinated crowds. If that’s not kinky enough, one of the engineers has purchased a VR headset from another booth, and programmed it to interface with the bot’s controls. Care to slip inside the silicone skin of another person?



« « « MOD & OOC NOTES



Please read carefully.

On each Test Drive Meme, there will be a section noting character roles; these will vary each TDM. On an IC level, characters 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 chooses "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: In celebration of our one year, pick whichever role you want for your character!

» A Pocket Full of Pennies: Feel free to come up with any free-roving gangs or petty criminals you like for your characters to tangle with.

» New Flesh Like A Glove: Characters can spend money on items at the expo, or may exchange vouchers for what they want. Each voucher has a value of about $5 within the expo and they may be acquired by finding them, having them handed to characters/stuffed in their pockets or bags by expo volunteers, or paid them in exchange for “volunteering” at booths.

Characters may indeed try before they buy, either out in the open or using one of the provided private rooms with a partner. The expo has a staff of unpaid student interns tasked with cleaning and sanitizing products if they are used but not purchased.

Grandma Hattie’s snacks can inspire characters to have any kink you may desire.

» Perfection of the Digital: Sexbots can resemble any player characters, including brand new arrivals/test drive characters. They can also resemble characters that yours knows from home. The engineers have no explanation for this, and the one who identifies himself as the designer will shrug and say he gets inspiration from many places.

The sexbots are hot-ticket expensive merchandise, so security is tight around the booth. Characters who attempt to steal or destroy a sexbot (for instance, one who looks like themselves) will be quickly set upon by guards, who are meant to eject them from the expo. However, many of the guards will take bribes from other booths to provide them model “volunteers,” drugged into complacency.

If characters want to acquire a sexbot permanently, they will have to buy it or exchange a hefty 50 vouchers for it.

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




» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

permanentlyexhaustedbird: (unternetbird)

[personal profile] permanentlyexhaustedbird 2019-10-19 11:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Be thankful that you're not expected to kneel and eat it from a Dominant's hand right now,"

Tim blinks and watches Ed's odd behaviour, especially when he's told to Shut Up, okay he's definitely not actually talking to Tim when he hisses it but there's no one else here that he could have.

Hallucinations weren't something Nygma was known for in his universe so this is certainly odd. He wonders if pointing out or just observing will lead to an answer faster.

"Are you talking to someone in particular when you do that?"
theansweris: (Mischief)

[personal profile] theansweris 2019-10-19 11:56 am (UTC)(link)
"No."

The answer is far too quick.

"I'm aware of how bad it could get. I live in Gotham, unless things have changed significantly by your time, slavery is hardly uncommon, especially among the underworld."
permanentlyexhaustedbird: (businessbird)

[personal profile] permanentlyexhaustedbird 2019-10-19 12:04 pm (UTC)(link)
That's definitely a yes. Tim will have to keep an eye on that. He wonders where Nygma is currently staying and how quickly Tim can bug it.

"Just to clarify, slavery is still illegal in your Gotham right? This isn't a world where it was never outlawed and you're simply referring to Gotham being it's general crime-ridden self?" Tim doesn't want to consider how bad Gotham might be in a world where slavery is still legal.

"Perhaps I've been here too long when I'm simply grateful for the freedom I am given."
theansweris: (Watch the World Burn)

[personal profile] theansweris 2019-10-19 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, it's completely illegal." He waves a hand dismissively. "But since when has illegality been a genuine concern in Gotham? I worked the GCPD, I know how little that matters."

This place isn't freedom. Even those 'little freedoms' are gilding on an iron maiden. To be a slave and be grateful that your owner doesn't choose to debase you completely...

That's not freedom.

Ed lowers his gaze, absently rubbing under his chin with his thumb, like he might feel the mark. Or take it off.
permanentlyexhaustedbird: (helmetbird)

[personal profile] permanentlyexhaustedbird 2019-10-19 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Tim does sigh in relief to hear that, "I know Gotham and crime and synonymous with each other but I just had a horrible image of what it would be like if slavery was never made illegal. I mean it's bad but I just pictured so much worse."

Tim shakes his head as if to get rid of the image, "I grew up in Gotham and was sneaking around its streets by myself when I was quite young and I still know that what I've seen then was just scratching the surface," what he's seen as Robin however is much deeper and darker.

He watches the man's reaction to his words and the way he worries at his submissive mark. He should not be feeling sympathy for Nygma but he does. Anyone new here who has to deal with all those simple freedoms being stripped. Tim does think he's been here too long if this now feels normal to him.

"Come, we'll find food together." Tim leads the way out of the expo and a couple of streets away to a simple cafe.
theansweris: (g3TiZLk)

[personal profile] theansweris 2019-10-19 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Ed spent so many years working to get himself free into his own life, and his stay in Arkham is too recent for him to not resent having his freedom stolen for the third time, by an enemy he can do nothing to try and thwart.

"I would presume that any passive resistance would be quashed as thoroughly and ruthlessly as a refusal to participate in their sexual demands?" He has no real appetite for the food here, but he can't imagine that a city so invested in controlling their people's lives would allow a hunger strike, or self mutilation, or anything that might show an exertion of will and control.
roseofthetyrells: (the fastest ran and got it)

[personal profile] roseofthetyrells 2019-10-19 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
All right, I'll see you soon!

[she mentally curses the fact that the only suitable gown she has is the one that she died in, then breathes a sigh of frustration and puts it on anyway, taking the gauzy wrap that went with it and settling her crown on her head, then left to make her way to the park.

when she gets there, she realizes that she hadn't known how large it would actually be. she spends a fair amount of time wandering and growing increasingly frustrated until she sees a handsome man matching the profile picture Dorian had. he's wearing the style of clothing apparently preferred in this place, but a far more interesting color than the usual white most people seemed to wear here.

she raises her hand in greeting and calls out]
Dorian? Is that you?
leg_with_heart: (How 'Bout No?)

[personal profile] leg_with_heart 2019-10-19 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
The mere notion of Pidge being here weirds him out. He'd assumed he'd be the youngest when he'd arrived, but he'd already been proven very wrong about this city not pulling in people who were on the younger side.

Granted, it'd be a lot weirder if he hadn't already been regularly filling the quota of a younger girl to protect her from having to solicit unsavory locals.

"Uh, I am actually here, and why are you eating those things?!"

He has half a mind to slap them out of her hand, but it's probably too late at this point.
pidgeypidge: (this big cold place)

[personal profile] pidgeypidge 2019-10-19 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
As much as she'd hated it here before, Pidge wasn't terribly worried. She'd found a way to get by the last time, and there was no doubt that she'd be able to do the same. Sure, things were different this time around, but she was adaptable. Hadn't she proven that already?

He seemed pretty real, though. She couldn't remember a single time when the city had given people hallucinations of people from home. And honestly, she probably wasn't important enough for the people in charge to make an exception.

"You weren't here before. I looked every month." Which was probably a dumb thing to admit, but whatever. It wasn't exactly a secret. As for the cookies, though...

"I was hungry?" Some things just weren't that deep. "Don't worry, I know the city never does anything nice without some kind of ulterior motive. I was just uh... assuming hallucinations were the side effect."
compellingstatement: art by <user name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (embarrassed | huff)

[personal profile] compellingstatement 2019-10-19 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's... a language and culture. My culture." That's probably going to take more time to explain than a train ride will allow, so Jon just presses on. He can't help quirking a brow, though.

"Unusual and deadly things that happen frequently because of LIEs?" The Archivist huffs. "We just got finished with a war that lasted... god... two weeks, maybe? The pitched fighting of it, anyway. I expect it's all been brewing much longer than that. It's only served to make the restrictions on Submissives tighter, though, since the Creator of LIEs won. Before that... well, a lot of things. The city transformed into a desert randomly and there were slave auctions and trials and... all sorts of things. Then the city turned into a hellish inferno with monsters everywhere and people dying and fire and earthquakes and floods.

"It's sort of incredibly horrible or marginally tolerable."
leg_with_heart: (Knowing Glance)

[personal profile] leg_with_heart 2019-10-19 05:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Hunk has absolutely no doubt that Pidge could hold her own here, but he's saddened that she even has to. At least she didn't have to be here during that whole war thing.

Her admission completely blindsides him. So much information in two short sentences. "Whoa whoa wait wait wait: you've been here before? And you were looking for me?" He has to admit, that part does warm his heart. There hasn't been a day that's gone by that he hadn't thought about at least one of the other paladins. He wouldn't wish this place on any of them, although he does get not wanting to handle this place alone.

"There's other stuff to eat here, y'know. I mean, the cookies here are usually laced with something, but if it's cookies you want, I can make you some normal ones."

If she hasn't already noticed, she's probably at a pretty good vantage point to notice his Submissive marking. "Besides, I didn't figure you for a chocolate chip person."
pidgeypidge: (well I'm tattered and torn)

[personal profile] pidgeypidge 2019-10-19 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's been a while, but yea." Or at least she's assuming as much. She never did manage to figure out if time worked the same way here as it did at home. And now it seemed like she'd have another opportunity.

Lucky her.

"Not like that. I just- This place is a lot to deal with." Except it was like that. Or partially like that. And then she'd feel guilty for even looking because if there was anyone who didn't deserve to end up stuck in this place, it was Hunk. "I was here for six months and you never showed up. Everyone else did at one point. Even Lotor was here for a little while, but I never spoke to him." Probably because he'd looked like he was ready to murder anyone that came near him and she'd been trying to keep her head down and stay out of trouble.

"I know. I figured they'd done something to the food, and I also figured it wasn't something I hadn't already dealt with." She sounds more resigned than anything, like whatever was coming was just another inconvenience. And in a way, it was, because if anything could be said for the people in charge, it was that they were pretty consistent. "Normal sounds good."

She had noticed the mark, and she'd been doing her best to look anywhere but at it. But she knew what it meant for him and it was just another reason for her to hate this place. "I mean... it's not my favorite. But it could be worse."
brooder: (wary)

[personal profile] brooder 2019-10-19 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
The reaction should have been satisfying, but Fenris felt empty. He had felt that way ever since Dorian mentioned the death of Danarius, as if intimidating mages was something he could no longer derive even the slightest pleasure in. He tried not to think about it, not now.

He inhaled slowly, the scent of ozone, like the air after a lightning storm, tickling his nostrils. He was ready for a fight, but when Dorian did not provide one he figured the mage was smarter than he seemed. At the instructions, he grunted faintly. Why did the mage think he didn't know this already?

"You must adore the sound of your own voice." Then he paused. "Are you contracted?" He didn't know what spurred him to ask, he likely was not if he was still down here. Right?
brooder: (thoughful)

[personal profile] brooder 2019-10-19 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Fenris had not heard of that culture which led to the conclusion that they must come from different worlds. Unsurprising, as he imagined not everyone could be from Thedas after being told that the magics here were wide-reaching. He had never even thought about the existence of other worlds and now he had to adapt. Not only to that, but of the various nightmarish scenarios that Jonathan was now describing.

While the elf kept his expressions to a minimum, there was a frown on his thoughtful face as more and more scenarios were spoken of. "This city sounds... relentless." That was a word for it, at the very least. That might explain why this fellow was so nervous. "It explains why it must be so difficult to overthrow them." Because, naturally, he thinks in the terms of rebellion. How could anyone organize when the world was being constantly shifted?

"Is there any advice you can give me?" Not that Fenris typically asked a question like that, but this situation was definitely beyond the normal.
magocracy: (where hearts once beat within them)

[personal profile] magocracy 2019-10-19 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
The turn in conversation could be called an improvement from a moment ago, even if it didn't feel that way. Dorian's hand dropped from the door, but he remained in front of it, body posed in wariness for some potential assault. He wasn't sure he would be able to do anything even if it came. He didn't have his staff, and this was close range, not a strategic front.

It didn't mean he would roll over and let himself be killed.

"I do have a lovely voice." It was sharply spoken, a drawling self-flattery meant to cut in reply. The question almost made him bristle, though he managed to tamp down on his own reaction before it could be obvious. "And I don't see how that matters to you. If I said yes, what would you do? Reassure me that it's deserving of my newfound position in society? Regardless of what either of us may want, it's what they mean for us to do. Give ourselves as property to someone else."

So, yes. He was contracted.
brooder: (stare)

[personal profile] brooder 2019-10-19 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
It did not surprise him how easy that self-flattery came to the mage, as if they were words he told himself constantly in front of a mirror. Definitely not unusual for his kind, and it only caused the faintest of a sneer to curl on his lip. What made the hatred in his eyes flare was the following sentence, one that caused Fenris to return and step closer to Dorian, until he was invading his personal space.

"You deserve far more than this, mage. What you have done, what your kind has done, is nothing compared to what this city, or your newfound master, could possibly do to you. Be grateful you are only experiencing a taste of what your slaves have. A bruise to your precious ego."
magocracy: (open the gates and when you stand)

[personal profile] magocracy 2019-10-19 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[That gleaming crown takes his attention first. Then the rest of her, the regal picture she strikes, at odds with the mundanity of the city that surrounds him. It's like being in the presence of the Black Divine or the Archon, except for the fact that Queen Margaery is definitely a woman and not a man nor a mage, and he doubts he needs to fear a potential assassination.

With a small bow, Dorian steps forward.]


It is, and a pleasure to meet you in the flesh, Queen Margaery. If you'd like, there's a bench right here where we might sit and talk for a bit.

[He pulls the device from his pocket, indicating it's what he means to explain as much as he can, and gestures to the seat. At least it's a nice day, crisp and sunny. They won't have fear of getting rained out.]
championmage: (Don't mess with the beard)

[personal profile] championmage 2019-10-19 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's turned over and deliciously pinned down with Dorian's bare leg. Then as Dorian strokes him he basically melts, going boneless against the couch, all except for his arms curling tight around the other man's shoulders. He squeezes one in a lazy massage, and the other finds its way up to his face, dragging his thumb along Dorian's handsome jawline, teasing at his hair with his fingertips.

Lying like that, utterly content, he surrenders himself to Dorian and his practiced hand. He resists the urge to grind his hips or do anything but touch him back and occasionally lean in to kiss wherever he can reach, whether it be his lips, face, or just his shoulder. Dorian's gaze is intense and intimate, and he refuses to ever look away for long.
]
roseofthetyrells: (trace us back trace us back)

[personal profile] roseofthetyrells 2019-10-19 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[she should hope it would, forged with the roses of House Tyrell and the antlers of House Baratheon entwined. she may be wed to a Baratheon (or at least one calling himself a Baratheon), but she was in her heart every inch a Tyrell. and she's spent a great deal of time learning to cultivate her presence, her father determined to win a crown for her and her grandmother intent on teaching her everything she needed to do to earn it.

she curtseys gracefully in response]


And I, you Dorian. And I would like, thank you. [she sees him pull the device from his pocket and she draws hers from up her sleeve] I am eternally grateful for your assistance with this thing. I wish to become comfortable with it--and all of my new surroundings--as quickly as possible.
magocracy: <user name=herbskillz> (until there is no anything)

[personal profile] magocracy 2019-10-19 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Despite the sudden invasion, he held his ground. A frown touched his mouth, and he could feel himself clenching his teeth with enough pressure to make his jaw ache.

"So we're all the same, are we? You see nothing but your former master when you look at me?" Perhaps unfair to mention the magister again. Dorian had never liked the man, though they'd only met once or twice in passing at the lavish annual balls meant to honor magisters, the ones his father took him to. It was Danarius' reputation for darker inclinations and blood magic that inspired revulsion. Good riddance.

"I never owned slaves, not personally. But yes, my family did. I can acknowledge that. I don't intend to defend myself against you, nor will I perform this role you expect of me for the burden of my heritage, groveling and pathetic, ruined with pride."
brooder: (homicidal)

[personal profile] brooder 2019-10-19 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"You are complicit," he growled back with a tone similar to that of a feral wolf. Briefly, the lyrium in his tattoos began to glow once more, his temper tested by the pathetic counters of a mage who clearly tolerated, even benefited, by his wretched society. He had heard excuses like this before, and it provided him no mercy for when he drove his fist through their chests. "There is no defense."

While it was good that Dorian did not offer one, there were still certain things that he said that angered him to no end. "But no, you are not my former master. I do not see him when I look at you. However, I do see a mage who is a danger to himself as well as others, and belongs in chains rather than afforded the freedom to walk about without a Templar at your back. Know that my eyes will never be far from you, Dorian of House Pavus."

The title of which was spat out with as much hatred as Fenris could afford, which was an amount that poisoned the very core of his soul.
magocracy: (the golden heart of dreams' kingdoms)

[personal profile] magocracy 2019-10-19 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
He was tempted to snipe back that he was currently contracted to a (former) Templar, but it wouldn't help anything. It would only sully the foundation of his friendship with Cullen, which was not at all based around Cullen's ability to control him, especially in the context of the city. The thought that Fenris might interpret it that way if he admitted it made him feel a little sick.

And there would be no purpose in arguing his own complacency with Tevinter, or the lack of it, because he doubted anything that came out of his own mouth would be trusted. So Dorian glared back at him and ignored the way the lyrium's color threw a shadow on the wall. It was almost beautiful. Created from a monstrous ritual by his own guess, knowing little about Danarius or the prized slave he had kept. Part of Dorian couldn't even fault the bitter animosity flung now toward him, as much as it exhausted him to experience.

This wasn't something that could be untangled in one conversation, perhaps ever, and he wondered if it meant he'd need to avoid the Down housing complex for the foreseeable future. "You'll see whatever it is you wish to see, then. My words will hardly change that, so why would I try?" Then, because he could be a bastard when he chose: "At least you'll have a decent view."

He tried again to move past Fenris and get to the door, not stopping this time to be considerate about the dinner announcement, because surely that was a mistake and he was foolish to think otherwise.
Edited (edited for clarity) 2019-10-19 20:29 (UTC)
leg_with_heart: (I Got This)

[personal profile] leg_with_heart 2019-10-19 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"I've been here for about two months now, and I haven't seen anyone else. How did you all vanish before I got here?" A part of him is glad that they're probably all safe back home, but boy, does he miss them. And of all the people to be brought back here, he wouldn't have wanted it to be Pidge.

He gives her a smile. It's not doing much good standing around and wishing neither of them were there, but he's resigned to making the most of it.

"We can at least try for as normal as possible."

He'd noticed that she had no mark, and he's at least very relieved by that fact. He may already have a contract in the works, but now he'll have more ways to see Pidge with fewer restrictions. "Oatmeal raisin being passed off as chocolate chip would be significantly worse."
colorature: (32)

[personal profile] colorature 2019-10-19 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[You're such a hater Mikuni.

Calling their relationship blissful is a statement that certainly is debatable but there's no question whether or not the two are into each other. Mikuni'll have the lovely realization of how gross they are together once he sees the two in action face to face.]


Oh will you? I want to know! I don't know much about the things Tsurugi did back home.

[Well, aside from the fact he was a vampire hunter and she did meet his daddy too thanks to Duplicity shenanigans. He doesn't really talk much about himself, after all...]
pidgeypidge: (but you say)

[personal profile] pidgeypidge 2019-10-19 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yea, I have no idea how this place works. Someone I knew before suggested that it might be some kind of elaborate simulation or something and I still can't decide if he's right or not." It would probably explain a few things, but it wasn't a terribly comforting thought.

That earns him a laugh, at least. "I'll accept normal-ish. It's probably the best we're going to get here."

Really though, she'd survived the place once. If nothing else, she had a better idea of how things worked than most people who found themselves stuck here. And now she didn't have to worry about being being at the mercy of some potentially jerky rando dom. "That would be worse." Which was why she generally stuck to peanut butter; it was significantly harder to sneak random stuff in that way.

"You haven't uh... seen a guy with fox ears running around anywhere, have you? About my height?"