Duplicity Game Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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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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Right. Right. That was a silly question. And of course you can take care of yourself. My world is--very different where that's concerned.
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[ He folds his arms loosely, frowning at his lap. ] The only problem with it is the unrest it creates. Alas, it is the quickest way to bring your enemies to heel.
[ There, his eyes flick towards her. ] Which makes me wonder who or what has you under theirs.
(cw: shootings)
[back to normal] So it sort of works, but doesn't?
[and at his question, she gapes and looks a bit like a landed fish before she pulls herself together] Me? No one. No one other than the system here?
(cw: general gun/shooting talk from character)
He sets that thought aside for the time being. ]
You showed signs of the same trauma I frequently see in soldiers returning from war. The second I can understand as a reaction to what I said. However, the first seemed as though it was sparked from watching others copulate, of all things. Or was there a loud bang I somehow missed before I tripped over you?
[ He frowns pointedly at her. ]
(cw: general gun/shooting talk from character)
and she still looks rather like a fish, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape before responding] I. Um. It's just--I can't really talk about it. I signed a non-disclosure agreement which means I can't talk. But I--I had my reasons.
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A 'non-disclosure agreement'? Is that some sort of binding oath? You said your kind lack aether so such agreements cannot be more than words on paper.
[ This coming from a man who would keep his word if he gave it. Hey, he's used to other people lacking his same lofty standards.
All the same, he tilts his head, brow furrowed. ]
Well, [ he concedes, ] I won't make you speak of it if you don't wish to.
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and ever since the elevator door at the Escala opened out into this world instead of her own, she's felt off-kilter]
Thank you. It's just. I promised I wouldn't say a word to anyone.
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For a boon, you seem to have avoided being placed amongst the 'submissive' types. [ Pause. ] I imagine that means we reside in the same building. If aught bothers you, you can wake me.
[ Because honestly? He plans on spending most of his time napping. ]
(cw: poor bdsm practices)
Oh. Yes. I'm...really not a submissive. [but even that is likely saying too much] I hope nothing will bother me? Do you know if this place bothers people often?
(woops)
It may bother those who are prude. But I am only recently arrived and would not know more than that. The people on my star are not particularly shy.
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Huh. My society's pretty sex-obsessed. But we have a hard time actually talking about it. We'd rather text it or Facebook it or skip interaction entirely and watch other people do it on websites.
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'Text it'... Ah, you send messages to each other. [ Since that's what texts are, basically. ] What is a face book?
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Oh. It's this website? People use it to tell their friends every detail about their day. What they're doing, how work or school are going, and pictures of what they eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's all a little too much information for my taste.
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Sharing pictures of what you eat... You draw them?
[ The photograph isn't a thing where he's from, though video is, weirdly. ]
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No, you take pictures of them with your phone, then upload the pictures to Facebook. That way, everyone can see the mega bacon and cheese triple burger you're about to eat.
[the thought of eating that much meat all at the same time is a little gross to her]
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Show me.
[ Such a picture function must exist somewhere on this foreign screen. ]
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All right, there's the camera icon. You touch that and the camera feature opens up. [she does so and pulls up a screen with a white dot at the bottom. it also has other features like video, but she figures she can explain those if asked] You point the camera towards whatever it is you want to take a picture of. [she aims the phone's camera at a nearby flower] Then you touch the white dot. That takes the picture. [she does so, and the picture is taken] If you want to see the picture, you exit this feature [and she presses the icon to go back, then points at the icon labeled Photos. the flower picture is the only one there] and you pick whichever photo you want to see in full size. [as the flower picture is the only one there, she taps on the smaller sized version and it becomes full sized]
It takes a little getting used to, but it's not really that hard.
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For now, he tries to remember the picture-taking process. ]
...It is a wonder how this technology was not developed by Garlemald, [ he mutters. He supposes he has only himself to blame in that regard. It never occurred to him to try and record the images on a screen, moving or otherwise. Artists already existed for that purpose. ]
Grudgingly, he has to admit there are things he has yet to learn.
Pulling back, he folds his arms and stares at his lap. He begins muttering to himself: ]
Yet I fail to see how this allows it to be shared with others. If other devices are not hacking into the source, then is the picture broadcast from it to them instead somehow? Nay, that would be impractical beyond measure. Mayhap placing it in a central node then having each device access it would reduce the strain... Hmm. Almost like--
[ He blinks. Looks up and seems to stare at the sky, as far as Ana can tell. ]
Ahh... I wonder if such a concept is possible.
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it's fairly simple. repetition will help]
Digital pictures are still a pretty new thing where I'm from. When I was a kid, cameras had film in them and you had to take it to a drugstore to get the pictures developed. Jose, my friend back home, is a photographer and he still uses film, but most people have switched to digital.
[she looks sheepish] Honestly, I'm not the best person to ask about that side of stuff. All I really do on my computer is email and look at cat memes online. I...guess what you're saying would work?
[and he seems to be spacing out a little?]
What concept?
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Using aether as a means to transmit images. Mayhap crystallised ceruleum as nodes-- true crystal would be best of course. Lightning-aspected, I think. The concept...the same as that used for teleportation. Currently it can be used to send supplies physically from one place to another. However, immaterial objects have yet to be considered. But how to 'attune' them...?
[ He drops his hand back into his lap. ] Just as the Lifestream feeds souls unto the Underworld before returning them again, why not other intangible items?
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I--don't see why it couldn't work? With a little experimentation?
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[ He seems to study whatever shape he drew in the air and then snaps his fingers. But nothing happens. Frowning, he closes his eyes and snaps his fingers once more. But again, nothing responds. He stares at the empty space and slowly lowers his hand once more. ]
...It seems as though I will not be experimenting here.
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This place seems to be able to get in the way of a lot of things.
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Such a pity, if that's true. I hope they don't expect us to fornicate all day.
[ Not being able to create things would be something of a blow, to put it lightly. He'll have to see later if he's lost his entire ability or not. For now, he reaches over to pluck his phone back. ]
But first, I shall have to learn how to use this device.
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--yeah. That wouldn't exactly be practical, would it?
[maybe she's lucky in that she has no special powers to lose?]
They're really not hard. They just take a little getting used to.
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