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duplicitymemes2019-09-12 04:47 pm
duplicitymods) wrote in duplicitymemes2019-09-12 04:47 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #8
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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. |
 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. |
 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. |
( 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. |
 (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? |
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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[Still, much as he doesn't mind it - and Hawke's yet to turn any real judgment or criticism his way - it's nice to change the pace of the conversation. He lifts the drink in offering.]
Absolutely delicious. Care you try some?
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[Like being from Tevinter. Or your incorrigible best friend writing your unauthorized biography while you're on the run and can't approve drafts.
He takes Dorian's drink and has a little sip, nodding with approval.]
That spirit they put in it... I like it, but Maker, is it strong. Some of the drinks here taste piss-weak compared to back home, but they pack a punch if you're a little deep in your cups.
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[His look is more deliberate this time. He hasn't missed or forgotten those earlier flirtatious cues. He's debating how stupid it is to try and jump into bed with the first attractive man he's crossed on the street - after all, isn't that the purpose of being here? Wasn't he told of some quota he must fulfill or be turned into some mindless creature?
In his defense, at least Hawke isn't a stranger. Not that that's stopped him before.
But Hawke's right, the drink is smooth and doesn't carry that bitter edge he's used to with stronger spirits, although perhaps his tolerance is higher than the average. Not to mention its lethal sweetness. He accepts the glass back with a smile.]
Are you buying me a second, or should I expect to fend for myself the rest of the night?
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Of course! Second round's on me, too. [It's only polite. Also, he sincerely doubts Dorian has any money, and doesn't know if they'd let him spend it alone even if he did. He doesn't say that bit, though. He's pleased to have someone to drink with, for once.]
Are you in any hurry to get back to the motel tonight? I'll likely be here a while yet, if you're keen to stay.
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Hurry? Have you seen that wretched hovel they've stuffed me into?
[It really isn't as bad as he makes it sound, considering what he'd had to endure in the south. It's more the lack of privacy he hates. And, well, the decor is atrocious.]
If I'm lucky I'll soon find my way out of that place somehow. [Especially when his personal comfort is on the line. Dorian finishes off his drink, flagging down the server for another.] No, I'm in no hurry. Is this what you do when you're not on messenger duty? Idle around your favorite drinking hole?
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According to their rules, you find a contract and they either pay for you to live somewhere nice, or you live with them. Though they do permit you to stay overnight with others. [For obvious reasons.
Hawke gets another ale while the server is nearby, then answers Dorian's question in a manner he hopes does not make him sound utterly pathetic.]
Not always. I take my dog for runs. I go explore the shops and libraries and the things I don't have time to visit at work. Sometimes I even idle around other drinking holes. [Said with a wry smile.]
When I have time between looking for trouble, of course.
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[He spends a moment staring at his glass, fingers pressed to the chill perspiration on its sides, and tries to ignore the knot of panic that threatens to rise into his throat. It sounds like control. No independence, no will, all by someone else's terms. The only way to gain autonomy is through the Dominant class.
At least to him, Hawke's answer doesn't translate to him as utterly pathetic. Exploring shops and libraries sounded like his idle life in Tevinter before his father ended all possibility of a quiet future (if it had ever existed).]
From my understanding, it's in your very nature to look for trouble. You can tell me if I'm wrong, of course.
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For instance, I was minding my own business earlier, marveling at all the oppression around me, when I found some trouble in an alley. And now I'm having a drink with him.
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[Dorian takes another sip of his beverage, longer this time, enjoying the tart burn of it on his tongue. His mood is improving by massive increments with every passing moment in Hawke's company. The look he turns on the other man is a shade darker and insinuative this time.]
Where else is trouble going to take you tonight, I wonder?
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Usually, it's a huge problem. Though he's starting to think it might have really worked out in his favor, for once.
His smile tilts a little on the coy side.]
If I had to choose-- wherever it likes.
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Well then.
[Hawke wasn't joking, the drinks are strong, and although his head remains far above the line of too-far-gone, he can feel that loosening of inhibitions, the unhinging of his thoughts, everything warmer and blurred. He hasn't decided if this is a wise decision. Or if it matters that it might not be. Perhaps it would be better if it were a stranger rather than Hawke, who he knows (to some larger degree than a nameless man in a whorehouse) and respects and has fought alongside, but if anything that just makes the excuse easier.
There's a quota to fulfill if he doesn't want to lose his greater faculties, this city seems to expect something of him, and he's fairly certain he hasn't misjudged those signals. Maybe Hawke will laugh in his face at the proposition; it's happened before. But he doesn't think so.]
Shall we move this somewhere else?
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Why don't I show you the apartments? They're close.
[This is a bit fast even for him, isn't it? Hawke briefly thinks back to some of the other people he's forged... let us call them entanglements with. He'd at least waited until after their first... wait. Actually, come to think of it, he falls straight into bed with some regularity. And that's with people who had been strangers he hit it off with, not half-strangers or whatever he should call it when Dorian knows him but not the other way around.
And anyway, they're just going somewhere else. Possibly Hawke's apartment. Maybe they'll just sit on his couch and talk about how cute his dog is.
He stands and offers Dorian a hand up as well.]
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The hand's accepted, and then he stands, all of his misgivings left at the table. He likes to believe he's a bit better at this after all the practice he's had.]
Do you live alone? Besides the, ah - dog.
[The small talk feels a little more stilted now that his attention's more focused on other things outside gaining information - like the span of Hawke's broad shoulders, and his strong arms, and his very nice hands. At least he's putting in his best effort.]
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I've a roommate. [Submissive.] She'll be out, though, she's nocturnal. [Vampire. Also, they've well-established a sock-on-the-door rule. Ava knows how to be discreet.
He's walked home from the bar here many a time before, but rarely with somebody else. Every so often he glances aside, can be caught looking Dorian over like he's a little amazed that he's there and actually coming with him. To say nothing of-- yeah, nah, nevermind, that one's too bad even for Hawke. But the man is damned handsome, and carefully made so, a sort of honed attractive that Hawke has never been real great at emulating. And more importantly, he's charming, and not one of those gussied-up Orlesian ponces that make him want to terminally roll his eyes.
The streets of the Up are much nicer than the Down, though feel almost lifeless this time of night, with just the two of them walking. At least continually getting caught admiring adds some spice to the anticipation.]
You said we didn't talk much, when I go to Skyhold? Really a shame.
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[A nocturnal roommate? Interesting. He decides to let that topic hang, more interested in Hawke himself than an individual he's unlikely to meet tonight. Once they're up and moving, Dorian makes the decision of what to do with their hands for him, giving a quick squeeze before he releases the hold of fingers.
He notices the look. Well, neither of them are being particularly subtle. It's strange to see Hawke out of the armor and plate that he lasts remembers, instead dressed in the fashion of a native of this city, but there's still a clear power imposed by the cut of his figure. Dorian had noticed it before, too.]
No, we didn't, unfortunately. War and all that. Not to mention you kept across the other side of the courtyard, far out of reach of chitchat. A bit antisocial if you ask me. [He flashes a playful smirk.] Matters were a bit... tense, at first. Varric got quite the reaming for keeping your whereabouts to himself.
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I'll bet he did. From the Seeker, no doubt. He told me about her... [And Hawke is completely terrified by the mere idea of her.]
I had to be more aloof than I like, back home. If there's one good thing about this place, it's not needing to hide my face and duck in the shadows everywhere I go.
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[For all their differences, he finds he misses her company now. He hadn't yet found the opportunity to corner her and catch up at the Winter Palace. He wonders if he'll ever have the chance now.]
That brings some relief, I expect. [Dorian eyes their surroundings while they walk, as perplexed by the architecture and magical light source as he was when he first arrived.] How has it been? Have you settled down, considered a marriage, family, all that rot? Though I suppose this is a difficult place for that sort of thing.
[What with the... copious amounts of encouraged sex.]
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He tilts his head back to look around them, turning towards Dorian again briefly at his question.]
Oh, Maker, no. I wouldn't... not here.
[He shrugs awkwardly.] Nor would I really in general, I don't think. I'm... quite a lot to chain oneself to.
[This is teetering dangerously close to acknowledging some hard truths, and Hawke wants none of that.]
Besides, I've got so much to give, it'd be a shame to settle all this down. [He's not nearly as good at the near-arrogant teasing banter as Dorian is, but he hopes the grin will show he's being mildly facetious there.
It's accompanied by a playful bump of his shoulder against Dorian's.]
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Still, better to keep it light and easy.]
It truly would.
[He drags his eyes over Hawke, gaze dark and deliberate.]
I imagine you've made plenty grateful for your presence here.
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Grateful... amused... adequately seen to. Something along those lines.
[Another nudge of shoulders, and he leans a little closer, lowering his voice.]
And you called me a flatterer?
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Subtle physical flirtation is a specialty and an art, and Dorian knows it best.]
I can only hope to be 'adequately seen to' myself someday.
[Flattery begets flattery. He chuckles.]
How much further is the walk?
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[Well it's nice to have completely unambiguous confirmation that this is going exactly where he assumed it was. Not that he was seriously questioning it still, but who knows... maybe Dorian is just that big of a flirt?
He turns his hand a bit, nudging with his knuckles, letting his fingertips do a bit of flirting with Dorian's warm hands.]
It's just over there.
[It's difficult to miss the massive apartment building, shining glass towering into the sky. There's a doorman who cheerfully greets everyone when they come or go, no matter the time of night, and as usual Hawke breezes right past him somewhat uncomfortably, heading for the elevator.
On the 19th floor he unlocks the door, and leads Dorian inside. The apartments are indeed quite swanky, though Hawke's has a lived-in-with-a-massive-dog touch.) It is relatively clean, thanks entirely to the efforts of Ava, who is out for the night.
Ominous thudding and skittering of toenails announces the presence of Hawke's mabari. The great beast comes tearing out of one of the bedrooms, excitedly panting and waggling his stumpy tail. A new person! Wow!
Hawke puts his hand out and thankfully stops him before he completely barrels over Dorian, then starts eagerly petting the monstrous hound.]
Easy, boy! I'm glad to see you too! This is Dorian. We do not tackle Dorian, understood? [A bark.] Dorian, this is Wuffles.
[The purebred mabari warhound either does not know or does not care about his undignified name, chuffing out a bark of greeting.]
Make yourself at home, and I'll see to him. I'll be just a moment.
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The contrast between these living quarters and the small, stuffy rooms provided to the submissives is stark in his awareness. Though he was told of the societal divide of wealth incessantly since his arrival, this is a first piece of major evidence. Irony twists his mouth, which he tames into a milder look as they take the lift to Hawke's apartment.
Would this whole turn of events be easier for him to swallow if only he was given the position of a dominant?
Better not to dwell in the company of others. He doesn't have much time, in any case, before the dog appears - the way Dorian flattens himself up against the closed door and clears his throat isn't imagined. He's glad for the intervention. It's not that he's afraid, but mabari are just so large, and furry, and... okay, so perhaps his animal experience with the breed is lacking.]
Wuffles. Really.
[It comes in a breathy chuckle of disbelief. Then Hawke's left him alone to explore the interior living space, which he moves into, after toeing off his shoes at the door. The carpet is impossibly soft. Yet the windows take most of his attention; Dorian goes toward them, gazing out over the crystallized lights of the city at night. It's a breathtaking view. In curiosity, he extends out one hand and touches his fingertips to the cool glass.
Though he's never feared heights in the past, a glance down turns his stomach unpleasantly.]
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He looked like a Wuffles when he was a pup. A little potato-shaped baby. Yes he did. Yes he did.
[He grabs a can of dog food and a bowl, then leads the dog into Ava's bedroom. He seems to have already been sleeping in here before Hawke got home, as usual, so he's not fussed when Hawke serves up the food and then tells him to mind his manners before closing the door. Wuffles will inhale that can of food and immediately go back to bed, by his estimation.
Back in the living room, he comes up behind Dorian at the windows and cracks a smile, setting a hand on his shoulder.]
Can't bring myself to stand on the balcony for long. But the view's amazing.
[He may or may not be including Dorian in that description.]
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Dorian reaches to take that hand carefully by the wrist, a loop of fingertips, only to slide them in a gradual touch up the rest of Hawke's forearm, across the elbow, dipping beneath his bicep. It's a meandering exploration. Eventually he decides to lift his hand and cup it over Hawke's cheek.]
Why don't you take a closer look?
[Fingers drag through Hawke's thick beard as though getting a feel for it, dragging blunt nails into coarse hair before he settles on a gentler touch to the other man's jawline. One step closer, and Dorian steers into a kiss, warm and firm without preamble.]
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