TDM #8

[duplicitymods]

« « « TEST DRIVE MEME » » »

« « « AND IT GOES ON AND ON

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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. ... 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

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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.

« « « A POCKET OF PENNIES

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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

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( 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

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(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

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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!!

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» » » MAIN NAVIGATION « « «

Comments

[inaurare]

I’m not in the habit of having accidents. But it’s good to have one on hand, just in case.

[it’s right with his sewing kit...!]

Mmm, a little further. Where the street opens to the right, and a little further down. It’s... a little grimy, from the outside.

[but what isn’t, in the Down?]

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash would worry about the sewing kit. Amateur surgeon? ]

Doesn't bother me.

[ He's from the bad part of New York city. He knows the slum. ]

You live alone? Don't this place have a rule against that?

[inaurare]

[it has probably never occurred to Linneus to use a sewing kit that way. A little nod with the question]

Yes and no. I'm between... contracts, so to speak.

[His hand cautious on his tattoo. Don't remind him of his looming deadline. Or that all the Dominants he has contracted with so far have simply disappeared.]

But this home is... mine. Not that anything is supposed to be, in this place, but... even if I contract, it will remain so.

[it still feels too good to be true. Like he is waiting for it to be taken away.]

[jadedlynx]

You're a real rebel.

[ It's a stupid rule. As bad as New York could be, it didn't have such rules. Ash stole the money, but he had a pent house in the end.

Before he died. Maybe it wasn't the best example.

Still, the rule is in place and this guy managed to get around it. That could be important information. ]

How'd you manage it?

I should probably get visuals for his place at some point...

[inaurare]

[shaking his head.]

...I still have to follow the rules. Contract, like everyone else.

[his third Dominant - more masters. Touching his hair self-consciously]

I... asked. [it seems ridiculous to say so simply] Sometimes there are... visitors. Sort of sponsors, of the city. Some can be... cruel. But there are kind ones and this one... held a ball, of sorts. Mine was chosen amongst the best costumes and we were asked each to name our prizes.

I fear it was an odd choice to masquerade as a deity of the hearth and home, when I have never had one of my own before. And displaced here, too many times. But I asked anyway and - well.

[here they are. True to his word it is a grubby looking brown-stoned building, though of a good size to have been a spacious townhouse once.]

visuals are fun

[jadedlynx]

[ Simple and fair enough. Sometimes, people don't receive because they don't ask. Ash does wonder how stable the ownership may be. If Subs have such little power, he can't imagine the government caring too deeply should someone take it from him. He doesn't say as much. He can be, and often is, a dick, but he isn't out to hurt the guy, and that's beyond his usually sharp jabs. ]

Since I'm going to be playing doctor, guess I'll come in after all.

[ The place looks fine to him. It's not fancy, but he's seen people living under bridges. ]

Looks like a pretty big place.

[inaurare]

Oh, it-- it's not all mine.

[he can see how one might assume - the Teahouse had been about this big, too, but the Teahouse had not been split into apartments such as these. More locks on the doors, though. There is no forgetting where it is they are.

He is actually a little relieved, though, as the other man suggests coming in - had been worried, how the man might take care of his wounds in the little light outside, or the dimmer light of the hotel - even if he would have relinquished his kit without a qualm]

But my part of it is comfortable enough.

[there is a bathroom, a kitchen, a living space he doesn't have to share... and that's strange. Linneus has grown used to living surrounded by others. As relieved as he is to have his own place, it's almost as if he doesn't know what to do with it. It's strange, not to have a common place with others.

What furniture in the place is... functional, and certainly does not seem to reflect Linneus tastes for the most part - likely he only has it because it came with the house. But there are a few things where he has been able to make his mark, in the soft furnishings. Cushions he has inherited from one place or another, blankets. What he has, carefully and unobtrusively nestled with what has found its way into his possession]

Shall I bring you the box, or would you prefer to take care of things in the bathroom? It might be easier with the water...

[jadedlynx]

[ It's an evaluated risk. Maybe there are men inside, waiting to jump him. Maybe they send out the small, pretty kid to lure people inside. Ash isn't unaware of the possibilities of there being a trap. But if they have to use trickery against a submissive, they're not super powered. If they're human, Ash stands a good chance. ]

I'll take care of it here.

[ If there's nothing behind this, Linneus is being extremely kind. He's putting himself at risk. So, Ash bends a little, but he can't break. He can't put himself in a small room so far away from the door. ]

I know what I'm doing, I won't be long.

[ As he mumbles the decision, he looks around. ]

How long you have this place?

[inaurare]

[another of those dips of his head, almost obedience, this time and he takes a moment to duck into the bathroom. He knows well enough where the kit is to grab it and bring it out, offering it before finding himself a place to perch.]

Please - use any space you need. It's been... about a month, give or take. Or just less that it makes no matter. It is... new, still.

[jadedlynx]

[ In the meantime, Ash ditches the shirt so he can better reach the wound. He's slender, but there's enough muscle to suggest he's had experience with fighting. Still, it's based on skill and not strength.

The wound is along his side. It's not deep enough or long enough to be a stab, but it was something that looks as if it needs to be addressed.

Accepting the kit, he pops it open and surveys the contents. ]

Looks like it could use some work. Are you planning to fix it up?

[inaurare]

Perhaps. I shall see.

[watching - making sure he isn’t struggling to reach or dress the wound, ready to intervene if that seems the case]

Someone such as I cannot do much on their own, and I am expected to contract soon, anyway. If they are willing to allow me to live here and... assist; I would look into it. But if not I would manage. It is no trouble to maintain... though it could look better, perhaps. And if unwilling I have me live elsewhere I... would have to prepare it for my absence.

[his position is still so changeable, so dependant on another person. But then it has always been that way, for Linneus.

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash seems capable of bandaging it well enough. He's no doctor, but he's experienced with injuries. So far, there still doesn't seem to be a hidden agenda.

He listens quietly. Sadly, he can't say that things will work out. Training and life has groomed him to expect and prepare for the worst. He can't tell Linneus not to accept that fate. Kicking against a wall does nothing. Instead, he takes the time to look for doors. ]

So find one who does.

[ Using alcohol wipes, he's exposed the wound, at least. ]

They can't make us sign anything so instead of waiting for one to find you, find a dominant you want.

[ He's a cute kid. That'll be leverage, but he doesn't even have to offer sex. Dominants have to have contracts, too. ]

Play hard ball.

[inaurare]

[ah - a soft chuckle and a shake of his head. He’s heard that before, from someone else]

I shall try to. Though I fear it is so often the case that the good ones are taken...!

[which is fully understandable - and that tends to make Linneus even more reluctant to ask. To intrude. But it is better that, than to have to settle.]

“Play hard ball”?

[jadedlynx]

[ It's a simplistic answer. Sometimes, things are more complicated, but Ash states his own plan. He'll pick his dominant, he won't have them picked for him. And he won't lower himself for them. ]

The Dominants need to be contracted, too. You don't have to roll over and show your stomach for the first person who'll pet you.

[ His attention is in the wound as he slides the bandage over it. ]

You have more power in it than it seems, but only if you don't wait around for them to shove it on you.

[inaurare]

No. No, this is true.

[that, at least, is the same for either of Duplicity's groups - they must be contracted, or face consequences. Re-education, or the zoo, or community "service", or worse.

Gathering up the rubbish - he has gone against his usual instinct to heat water, prepare tea for his guests, but then Linneus has also always struggled with sitting and having nothing to do]

There are those with the luxury of months, before they must contract but they-- need me. As much as it is the other way around...

[it feels awkward out of his mouth. Being needed.]

[jadedlynx]

[ It'll hold. The wound doesn't seem like it would have ever been fatal, but now it's clean and protected. And sore. It hurts. Ash frowns at the offending wound. He can handle the pain well in the moment, but it always hits him after.

He's a worse patient than he is a doctor, and he's not a great doctor.

Grabbing his shirt, he slips it on again. There's a gash along the side. Ash's skills are based more on survival than the domestic side so he can't sew. The shirt'll have to be trashed. ]

Pick the contestants and make a choice. Dominants can double up anyway. [ If he worries about being unable to find one not taken. ] Subs can't. That puts the ball in your court even more.

[ It's why, biologically, women are so valued. One male can impregnate multiple females, which means it's not as scarce a resource. Women, in general, can only be impregnated by one male, which puts the males in competition. ]

[inaurare]

[a slightly sheepish chuckle]

Ah - I'm not sure I quite understand all these ball metaphors...! But I understand your point. I shall try to be... more aware of my position.

[perching again on one of his seats. At least for the time being - something will certainly have him popping up again. There's a light frown of his own, more with how he moves more than the gash in the shirt. A shirt can be fixed.]

You're sure you will be all right?

[jadedlynx]

[ Despite his rough background, Ash is actually highly intelligent. Still, when it comes to himself, he can have a blindspot. He was aware of what he was saying, but he hadn't realized how many ball metaphors he'd been making, but Linneus is right. It's very, very odd for him, and he has to wonder why. Is it a good or bad thing? Was it because this thing was taking him back to childhood or had Eiji healed something?

Pausing a second too long, he pushes it aside and focuses on Linneus. ]

I'll live.

[ In pain, but alive. But now that he's patched up, he looks around again. Is he staying? Should he go? He'd about decided on the latter when he realized what the group had interrupted: Ash was on his way to lunch. He can still go, but. ]

Hungry. They were trying to take my lunch money.

[inaurare]

Your lunch money.

[there are a lot of more modern turns of phrase that Linneus hasn't heard of before. Some are more obscure, but at least this one is relatively self-evident.]

I could make you something, if you would like? It would hardly be fine dining...

[and he understands, if the other man is reluctant. But he keeps some things in the house when he can, and Ash has turned up at a good time - he's relatively well-supplied]

[jadedlynx]

Then, you won't be treating me to steak and aged wine? Then, I suppose I should find somewhere else to eat.

[ He'd have been eating in the Down so he wasn't particularly looking for fine dining. ]

If it's not a weird dish or hamburger, I don't care. But you're being weird. Why play host?

[inaurare]

Oh--

[looking up sheepishly - he has already put a kettle on to boil.]

Habit. I served in a large house that had many visitors and it’s simply... ingrained, I suppose.

[habit, too, has him summarising - glossing over certain parts of his story as he checks his refrigerator, calculating. Fast and easy... he can put together something with pasta and the vegetables he had on hand. But at least he can give his guest tea while he waits.]

I’m not sure it’s... weird, necessarily?

[jadedlynx]

[ He doesn't have to say much for Ash to assume. Perhaps he was just a house servant, but Ash's mind jumps to something worse. ]

You find it normal to invite weird guys into your house? I could kill you and claim this house for my own. Instead of being weary, you're offering me lunch. You're either weird or you want something.

[ Maybe he's just related to Eiji. ]

[inaurare]

[a gentle chuckle, lifting the kettle off the heat.]

Well, when you put it that way...! But I do operate under some judgement.

[even if he hadn't had much choice of who he was left alone with before, that didn't mean he wasn't at all cautious.]

Or should I have just left you there?

<3 Made it in

[jadedlynx]

That would have been the smart thing to do unless you had a reason for helping me.

[ His tone isn't actually accusatory. Ash knows people can be his friend without wanting something in return though it had been a concept he'd had to relearn. Still, he also knows people can have agendas as well. ]

Yeeeeah~!

[inaurare]

I helped you because it seemed like you needed help.

[maybe that wasn't necessarily the case - but Linneus hardly could have stood and done nothing, either.]

And - I know many people are probably more self-sufficient than I. But I would not have liked to have simply left you in the street. The first days in this place are a trial enough.

[He is assuming - but he hasn't seen Ash before. A little tea service has taken shape under his hands as he talks; the teapot filled. Mentally he ticks off the time for the tea to steep while he bustles about - vegetables come out of the fridge while he gets the milk, and he makes a start on getting those cleaned and chopped while the pasta gets a headstart in the water. Green vegetables - a little broccoli and spinach - and a lemon zested, before he pours out and brings over a small tray. It seems a little silly to bring a whole service...]

There is milk there, and sugar... it shan't be too much longer.