Hey, you've only asked me to be one of those for you. [He's teasing. Also not trying to imply that he expects Ash to request he be the other, simply that he's treating them as quite separate and hence acting in only one capacity now.
At the moment, as it happens, he's not even thinking about getting Ash into bed. The guy's obviously very easy on the eyes, and Vrenille certainly wouldn't turn him down, but no part of what's happening between them counts for him as flirting or working that angle. He's not trying to cruise the guy.
Will they fuck at some point? Given that this city is...how it is, he almost takes that for granted. In Duplicity the lines between acquaintance, friend, and fuck buddy tend to get very blurred. It's not the sort of thing one can afford to get hung up on, but he thinks that's pretty far off for Ash right now. Best case scenario, he'll be able to come up on it gradually.
The waiter brings their drinks, and Vrenille takes a long sip of his before he starts down that whole leniency rabbit hole with a half shake of his head.]
What leniency there is, it's more from backlash 'n anything like progress. [And he gives Ash a careful look as he considers how to tell the story. It's not an easy one and a lot of people wouldn't have the patience for its ins and outs, but Ash is sharp, so Vrenille thinks he will.]
All right, look. When they first of us were brought here 'round about a year ago, things weren't so like they are now. I mean there was a lotta resistance against LIES at the beginning, a lotta Submissives breaking the rules. Lotta Dominants too--we reckoned that technically, if we endorsed it in a contract, our Subs could do whatever they wanted.
LIES tried a few things to bring people in line. Then, sometime 'bout nine or ten months ago, they started to crack down. There was this thing--the "Complacency Protocol" they called it. All the lines you Submissives got [a brief gesture towards Ash's neck,] they started changing color based on how well you behaved. The ones that weren't up to snuff got rounded up, locked up, didn't matter what their Doms said. And for us, if a Sub misbehaved there was blow-back. People lost their jobs, couldn't spend money.
But I guess they felt even that wasn't bringing us to heel well enough.
One night, real late when most everyone was asleep, they sent SWAT teams round 'n broke into our homes, grabbed people outta their beds. I still dunno how they did it. [He shakes his head.] There's people here with more 'n just magic--they've got powers, "enhanced," some of 'em call it. But suddenly none of it worked, no one's magic, not anything. They put black bags over our heads, shoved us into transports.
When we got out, we were in some sorta camp. Fort Harmony they called it. And they made us follow their roles there. Subs couldn't eat without kneeling 'side a Dom, Doms couldn't eat without a Sub at their feet. [There was more to it, a lot more, but he skims ahead.]
A few weeks in, a new group of guards started to turn up. Dressed different, different attitudes, 'n even the guards from Duplicity didn't seem too happy with 'em. They were't just strict, y'know. I mean, it was more than that. [His brow furrows, troubled by the memories.] There were drugs, devices that they used. And...executions. Dominants 'n Submissives from this other city where they'd come from--this place called Veracity. They were ones they said had disobeyed, transgressed their roles, and they just shot 'em, pair by pair, kneeling there face to face.
[It's a scene that's obviously stayed with him, that still weighs on him, and he takes another long pull on his drink before he continues.] Anyway, when we finally got back to Duplicity, it was sorta like the pendulum had swung. I guess Veracity's what no one here wanted to become, not LIES, not the natives. So they sorta stopped pushing so much after that, except here 'n there. Comparatively, they leave us alone. [Thus the lenience, in a sense, is like an uneasy peace.]
no subject
At the moment, as it happens, he's not even thinking about getting Ash into bed. The guy's obviously very easy on the eyes, and Vrenille certainly wouldn't turn him down, but no part of what's happening between them counts for him as flirting or working that angle. He's not trying to cruise the guy.
Will they fuck at some point? Given that this city is...how it is, he almost takes that for granted. In Duplicity the lines between acquaintance, friend, and fuck buddy tend to get very blurred. It's not the sort of thing one can afford to get hung up on, but he thinks that's pretty far off for Ash right now. Best case scenario, he'll be able to come up on it gradually.
The waiter brings their drinks, and Vrenille takes a long sip of his before he starts down that whole leniency rabbit hole with a half shake of his head.]
What leniency there is, it's more from backlash 'n anything like progress. [And he gives Ash a careful look as he considers how to tell the story. It's not an easy one and a lot of people wouldn't have the patience for its ins and outs, but Ash is sharp, so Vrenille thinks he will.]
All right, look. When they first of us were brought here 'round about a year ago, things weren't so like they are now. I mean there was a lotta resistance against LIES at the beginning, a lotta Submissives breaking the rules. Lotta Dominants too--we reckoned that technically, if we endorsed it in a contract, our Subs could do whatever they wanted.
LIES tried a few things to bring people in line. Then, sometime 'bout nine or ten months ago, they started to crack down. There was this thing--the "Complacency Protocol" they called it. All the lines you Submissives got [a brief gesture towards Ash's neck,] they started changing color based on how well you behaved. The ones that weren't up to snuff got rounded up, locked up, didn't matter what their Doms said. And for us, if a Sub misbehaved there was blow-back. People lost their jobs, couldn't spend money.
But I guess they felt even that wasn't bringing us to heel well enough.
One night, real late when most everyone was asleep, they sent SWAT teams round 'n broke into our homes, grabbed people outta their beds. I still dunno how they did it. [He shakes his head.] There's people here with more 'n just magic--they've got powers, "enhanced," some of 'em call it. But suddenly none of it worked, no one's magic, not anything. They put black bags over our heads, shoved us into transports.
When we got out, we were in some sorta camp. Fort Harmony they called it. And they made us follow their roles there. Subs couldn't eat without kneeling 'side a Dom, Doms couldn't eat without a Sub at their feet. [There was more to it, a lot more, but he skims ahead.]
A few weeks in, a new group of guards started to turn up. Dressed different, different attitudes, 'n even the guards from Duplicity didn't seem too happy with 'em. They were't just strict, y'know. I mean, it was more than that. [His brow furrows, troubled by the memories.] There were drugs, devices that they used. And...executions. Dominants 'n Submissives from this other city where they'd come from--this place called Veracity. They were ones they said had disobeyed, transgressed their roles, and they just shot 'em, pair by pair, kneeling there face to face.
[It's a scene that's obviously stayed with him, that still weighs on him, and he takes another long pull on his drink before he continues.] Anyway, when we finally got back to Duplicity, it was sorta like the pendulum had swung. I guess Veracity's what no one here wanted to become, not LIES, not the natives. So they sorta stopped pushing so much after that, except here 'n there. Comparatively, they leave us alone. [Thus the lenience, in a sense, is like an uneasy peace.]