Welcome to The Duality of Man, an original animanga role-play that features numerous supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, these various species have distanced themselves because of the war that occurred thousands of years ago, plaguing some with eyes that only see their dualism. While others meddle themself with their differences, two groups fight, each attempting to eliminate the other in for their definition of worldly peace. These two groups of the Terror Response Syndicate (TRS) and the Assembly of Phantoms (AP). With individuals fighting merely over their differences, it brings uncertainty to the outcome of this war.
We happily accept all role-players as long as they obey the rules and are capable of meeting our word count of 50. This does include those who are unfamiliar with this style of role-playing. The staff of The Duality of Man are willing to happily help those who are new to the role-playing world so they feel comfortable on site. Feel free to message the staff if you need help, they can be found here or in the site Discord and will gladly answer questions alongside calm concerns. If you have any suggestions we would love to hear them; guests may use the support board as a suggestion area as well. Should you decide to join, may I say welcome to the site and we all hope you enjoy your time here.
Yours Truely,
The Staff
season
Summer 2022
Heat has broken through into a glorious summer. The snow has entirely dried through the spring, leaving to the brilliance of the warmer months. Terror activity has risen as people are brought out of their homes, leaving the TRS in a position of consistent work. Each are attempting to maintain victory in the endless struggle for power.
With April, an activity check has arrived for members to do! Please post on the AC and tag all your accounts, including WIPs and OOC accounts. Failure to post on this AC will result in your accounts being marked inactive or deleted. Please note, due to a late start, the due date for this check has been adjusted for one time and one time only.
Takumi nodded a little in acknowledgement to his response about having coffee before, a little surprised by that. "Well, glad you liked it then. I have to take mine with plenty of cream and sugar, can't really stand the taste of the bitterness." He responded to him, giving him a small smile before he turned his gaze towards the crowded cafe once more. Though his attention was quickly snatched by William apologizing to him about hitting him, his eyes scanning his face until he raised a hand and placed it against his face. Ah...not the place to blabber about such things.
He lowered his hand and gave him an unreadable look as he reached a hand across the table a little to gently tap it with his finger. "Hey, hey... That's what the books were for. To just...uh...let you know what could happen if things went further. But, let's not talk about any of that here. Maybe the car." He told him, shaking his head a little as he pulled his hand back and shifted a little in his seat. Oh...definitely not the place to talk about such things.
"Look, I shouldn't have kissed you first. It was wrong of me and....and yeah. Nothing else should of happened, it was inappropriate of me. Let's just...eat some breakfast and we'll talk about this later. I promise." He told him quietly, rubbing his jawline a little as he breathed out of his nose. He leaned back after a moment and grabbed the menu, lifting it up slightly. "I think I'll be having Belgian waffles with powdered sugar and slices of juicy strawberries on them. What about you, William? Anything sound tasty to you?" He spoke up, giving him a smile as he scanned his eyes over his face.
Honestly he should probably keep his distance from the blond for a bit if how he reacted was...well, how he felt about it all. There was probably a way for the boy to get another 'keeper' but he wouldn't want that, not when he had made so much progress already. "You can get a side of fresh berries too if you'd like..." He added, tilting his head to the side a little as he kept his gaze on the blond at an even level, not letting his eyes wander really.
At Takumi's comment William's head tilted softly. Eyeing the man curiously at his odd choice. 'You can add sugar to coffee?' He blinked a few times. The idea of sweet coffee sounding rather interesting. Though, William was often a sucker when it came to sweets. Yet he didn't have time to ponder the combination. Instead he was focused on trying to apologise to Takumi. And doing a rather miserable job of it at that. His eyes snapped up when the scout tapped on the table. Nothing how rather uncomfortable he had become with their current conversation. "But I just-" He began to say. Stopping only as he wanted to respect Takumi's wishes.
His eyes shifted back down to the menu in his hands. Every now and then peeking over the brim towards the scout. How was he supposed to convey his feelings to the man. He was upset, sure. Yet.. a part of him had enjoyed the kiss. Perhaps too much. And now it seemed like the only thing dominating his mind. As much as he wanted to get close to the man he knew he couldn't. His magic was dangerous. Even if Takumi was careful, even if the two took as many precautions as possible. At the end of the day it was still the same. Touching at all was still a risk.
"Waffles?" He said, lowering the menu slightly. Berries and fruits he was familiar with for sure. Yet this other... thing. Sounded rather interesting to the young man. Though he wouldn't admit it was because of Takumi's decision to order it. He had tried a few pasties from cafes before. Yet he had never really delved into the world that was breakfast food. "Waffles sound pleasant." He said, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about. As he finished he laid the menu down on the table.
Just as he had placed it down the waitress reappeared. Having finished her rounds she returned with the same bubbly personality. She retrieved the few drinks from her tray and placed them on the table. "Alright now, is the lovely couple ready to order?" "Waffles." William said with a smile. "Waffles and fruit please."
Takumi smiled a little at William's response to the waffles, nodding a little in approval. Well, if he wanted to have waffles too then he'd let him get some. It didn't take too long for the bubbly waitress to appear once more, calling them a couple once more. "I'll take some waffles as well with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries on top." He spoke up after William was done ordering his food, grabbing the other menu before he put both menus together and handed them over to the waitress with a smile on his face.
Once she was gone he turned his attention back over to William, leaning back in his seat a little. "Where would you like to go after this?" He asked him, that smile still on his face. However, he was wondering if he should even ask the blond if he knew what a couple was in the first place. Would that make the blond upset if he found out? Would he get called a pervert again? Honestly he was a little offended to being called a pervert but he'd keep that to himself.
"There's still the movie theater that we could go to. Though you'd have to be quiet while the movie plays, and we can't pause it for anything. There's also a few other places that are nice, the park is better for when it's warmer out so we'll probably leave that off the list." He spoke up, glancing around the place once more to remain alert. He wasn't even sure if he should even bring William to his house at the moment.
Once the two had placed their orders the waitress bounced away again. Moving to bother another table. Though it left William feeling rather exposed, now that he was missing the menu he had been using to distract himself. As well as to cover his embarrassment. He squirmed a little in the bench seat, feeling Takumi's eyes on him fully now. But it wasn't upsetting the blond, not in the conventional sense at least. He was more anxious than anything. After all the two were out of the facility. Not on official business. Not for safety reasons. Just simply out. Together. Alone.
He reached out to slide his coffee closer. Gripping the mug with both hands and letting out a soft coo as he felt the warmth through his gloves. He tried to use the beverage to distract himself a little. Staring down into the dark pool of liquid as Takumi asked where he wanted to go next. Listing off several options that sounded rather pleasant. Nervously William looked up toward the scout again. Feeling a slight lump in his throat before he started speaking. "Those both sound nice… but." He started to say. Taking a slight pause between his words. His face becoming redder by the moment.
"Before we go.. Uhm.. last night, when I was in the bathroom." He continued. "You.. called me love." He said, his face turning a few shades darker as the word left his lips. "I read about that word too…" A soft smile crossed Williams lips as he continued to look down into his cup. Yet underneath the table there was a slight scuffle. Takumi would feel a slight nudge against one of his feet. As William's leg grazed his own. "Did.. you mean it?"
Takumi had grabbed some packets of sugar and the little things of cream that were on the table, opening each one up and dumping them into his coffee so it could be of a more suitable taste for him. He grabbed his spoon and just stirred his coffee to get all the cream and sugar mixed together. However, his attention was pulled back over to the blond as he spoke, taking note of how red his face was getting. He flicked his gaze down at the mention of him calling the blond love, clinking the spoon against the inside of his coffee mug a little.
"Yeah...yeah I did." He responded to him, glancing back up towards the blond to catch that soft smile as well as a slight nudge against one of his feet underneath the table. The question as to if he meant it caused the scout to glance down as he licked his lips a little. So he'd read about what that word meant as well. He shifted slightly in his seat, trying to find the right words to say.
"Yeah...yeah I meant it, William. I didn't mean to say it but... I meant it regardless." He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck, sighing through his nose as he glanced down again. "I've known you since I first found you and I've gotten to know you plenty. I just...I guess I couldn't help but..." He trailed off, shrugging a little as he glanced back up towards William once more. "I couldn't help but...grow some...other feelings for you. And I know I'm cutting it pretty close with said feelings and your age but..." He shook his head before he pulled the spoon out of his mug and stuck that in his mouth momentarily before he placed it down on the napkin so he could take a sip from his coffee.
He was quiet for a few moments before he set his coffee back down and turned his attention back over to the blond. "I'm sorry I offended you in some way or...or something. I'll get back to keeping things to myself and things more on a professional manner from here on out if you don't..." Don't what? The blond was blushing and smiling at the mention of the scout having called him love the previous night, how did he not want to be called that or..no. No, he'd let that all be up to the blond, not his speculations. "If you don't want it to continue you can just tell me." Okay, he seriously needed to shut up. He really wanted to kick himself for...well, he wasn't sure exactly. "How...how do you feel after learning about that word and knoing I...meant it?"
The pressure of the situation was almost overwhelming the teen as he sat there. Waiting. Anticipating some sort of answer from the scout. Love. That word. He had noticed it quite a few times in the books. It always seemed so vague and nondescript. A longing for one another, a passion, a feeling of closeness. The blond bit his bottom lip softly. Staring down into his cup as if perhaps it held the answers. The silence broken as Takumi confirmed that, yes, indeed he had used that word.
He felt his grip tighten ever so slightly on the mug. Wishing that the beverage had been cooler. As his throat began to feel very dry. He began to glance upward toward the scout sitting across from him. Only for his head to shoot back down at the man's reply.
~~Thump~~
He began to feel hot all over, his face becoming fully flushed red as Takumi glanced toward him. Almost as if the scout had suddenly acquired heat vision. "Takumi, I Uhm.." He said softly. Trying a way to find the right words. "W-when I came to the city I was scared. Sometimes I'm still scared… the other agents, I mean.. they care for me. But they always seem cautious of me… afraid to.. get close." He said with a sigh. Doing his best to stay composed. "You make me feel safe Takumi.. you make me happy." Letting go of the feverish grip he had on the mug the blond slowly slid one gloved hand across the table. Letting it rest palm down in front of the scout. "I don't know if that's love… but, maybe?" He said with a smile.
"Besides age is irrelevant." He stated, drawing a few concerned glances from other tables. It was unfortunate though, that William just didn't know when to shut his trap. "I know the elders still consider me a child… but what does that matter if what you said is true?" William wasn't wrong, even though humans would consider him an adult, in fae years he was basically an infant. The two having radically different cultures.
Takumi listened to William's words quietly, keeping his eyes on him to let him know that he was in fact paying attention to him as he spoke. The scout managed out a smile as he apparently made the blond feel safe as well as happy. His eyes briefly glanced down towards the blond's gloved hand slid across the table and came to a rest palm down in front of him. He sighed softly and raised a hand, his gloves still on the table by the window, and placed it over William's gloved hand.
Though at his next words, Takumi's hand went to smack himself in the face as he just held it there. "William...you're considered an adult here too. You're eighteen." He told him, his face red in embarrassment perhaps. "But...it kind of matters here but here...you're a young adult. And I won't be in trouble." He added, finally lowering his hand away from his face as he sighed and shook his head. Oh, what was he going to do with this blond? "But...you're right in a way. Though you're still considered an adult and not a child in the, uh, human world." He hoped that would be understandable enough but oh well.
The waitress had come back with their food not too long later, Takumi gesturing for William to pull his hand back so their food could be placed on the table. He thanked the waitress and turned his attention back to the blond once more. "You can go ahead and take your gloves off to eat, just be careful okay?" He told him, nodding a little in approval so the William wouldn't have much of an issue eating his breakfast. "Do you want some syrup with your waffles?" He asked him, having grabbed the bottle of syrup that was also sitting on the table to drizzle over his own waffles a little so he could eat them.
William's heart nearly skipped a beat as he felt Takumi place a hand on his own. His eyes glancing over toward the embrace. Making him feel that, perhaps, maybe these feelings were mutual. A smile crossed his lips as he let out a small sigh of relief. As if a massive weight had been lifted from his chest. Sure he had been upset at Takumi before. But those feelings were gone now. Yet his expression quickly changed to that of surprise when Takumi suddenly raised a palm to his face. The man mentioning his age once more.
"Well yes but-" He began to say, noticing he was making the man somewhat uncomfortable. Yet the scout gave him little time to interject, continuing on with his explanation instead. Though he wasn't entirely sure what the man was getting at he did understand one thing the scout had said. He was an adult. It brought a soft glow to the teen, as he smiled at the man across from him. Yes, him, an adult. Even after returning from the fae he couldn't escape people comparing him to a kid. Always calling him childish or naive, acting like he couldn't do anything on his own. Well boo to those people. "Thank you Takumi…"
The whole exchange seemed to put the young man in a much more chipper mood. No longer glancing down into his coffee he kept his focus trained on the man across from him. That is, until the food arrived. His eyes grew wide as he noticed the spongy thing placed in front of him, decorated in fruits and cream. He craned his neck a few times, glancing over the thing, then at Takumi, then back to the waffle. "This.. it's a cake?" He said quizzically, taking his gloves off in the process. Unsure of how to approach the odd meal. Yet something else also held his attention. The small containers that rested at the far end of the table. He had noticed Takumi grabbing some earlier, and slowly began to reach for a few himself. "You said, coffee can be sweet too yes?"
He smiled at William as he spoke up, setting the syrup back down. "It's a waffle. The opposite is called a pancake, which is when it's just flat. The waffle on the other hand has these dips in it." He told him, using his fork to gently show the blond the dips in the waffle. He used his knife and fork to begin cutting up his waffle, eating a few bites before he nodded in acknowledgemet to William's question about the coffee. "Mm, yeah you can. There's some sugar and cream there. These packets are the sugar." He told him, setting his fork down to grab the sugar packet to hand it over to William. "You can put as much in there as you want, okay? Just be sure to grab the packets that look like that, okay?" He told him, soon going back to eating his food.
Gods, he felt like he was starving. He definitely didn't eat out often, but when he did it was always a nice treat. He made some conversation with William about where they'd go to next, gently nudging him with his foot every now and then. It didn't take the scout too long to finish his food, about fifteen minutes really. He was glad about the outing for breakfast, now just sitting back as he sipped his coffee while he waited for the blond to finish eating his food.
Once they were done, he flagged down the waitress and requested the bill, pulling out his wallet to get the bill paid and leave a tip for the waitress. Once that was all done, he pulled his gloves on and made sure William had his gloves on as well before he gestured for him to get up and follow him out. "Okay, now that we've paid for our food we can get back into my car and figure out where to go next, cutie." He spoke up, placing a hand on William's back as he guided him out of the cafe and towards his car once more.
William quickly mirrored Takumi's actions. Picking up his own silverware and cutting out a section of his waffle. As he popped the thing in his mouth the blond seemed to freeze up. Eyes growing wide, before shaking slightly in excitement. He quickly cut another piece and stuffed it into his mouth. Hardly giving himself time to breath as Takumi explained the little packets on the side of the table. He nodded quietly, taking a brief pause to finally swallow his food, before turning his attention to the strange little pouches. Like he had seen before he emptied a few of the cups and bags into his mug. Giving the drink a little stir.
Taking a sip the blond had a similar reaction to that of the waffle. Though this time he proceeded to grab a few more of the packets. Dumping them in to the point the cup was almost overflowing. It went back and forth like that for a while. The blond switching between the coffee and the waffle. All the while maintaining small talk with the scout. How good the food was, how Takumi's scout work was going. All the little things. Until finally the meal was no more. Leaving a rather satisfied William leaning back in his seat. Feeling as if he may burst at any moment.
He hardly even realized as the waitress returned, chatting a little with Takumi over the bill. Stuck in a food coma he could hardly care either. That is until the scout mentioned it was time to leave. He let out a small groan as he put his gloves back on and struggled to get out of his seat. The walking luckily helped with his discomfort as the two exited the building. Williams gaze occasionally drifting over his shoulder to the man as they walked to the car. William's face an odd expression. As if there was something on his mind.
Yet he didn't say a word, the two eventually making their way to the vehicle William slipped inside and took his seat. Waiting patiently for Takumi to enter the other side. As soon as the scout sat down William turned toward him. The blond biting his lip softly. "I was thinking…" He began to say. 'Gods what am I doing?!' "Last night, we should not have… you know.. kissed." 'Stupid, stupid, this is stupid!' "But.. lovers kiss… and Uhm.." 'Jeez! If you're going to say it just say it!' His expression began to become flustered, and he nervously raised one hand to his head. Grasping a few blond locks between his fingers and tossing them about. "Would you… teach me more?"
Takumi got into the car and buckled up as he shut the door, reaching over to the dashboard of sorts to turn the heat up in his car after he had turned the car on; nodding as William began to speak. "Yeah?" He responded to what he started to say, glancing over to the blond. The more he spoke the more he felt...his stomach doing flips. Oh boy...oh boy. He warily kept his eyes on the blond. Yeah, lovers did kiss..oh...oh was he? The scout's face grew a little red as he looked away, bouncing his knee a little as he licked his lips a little.
And then he asked him to teach him more. Oh boy. Takumi cleared his throat a little, shifting in his seat slightly. "Uh...you... I don't think I have enough books to really teach you more..." He trailed off, wanting to drive off but deciding to not do so at the moment due to...well, not wanting to accidentally crash his car. "Are...you want to be lovers? With me? You...is this what you're asking?" He questioned him, glancing back over to the blond. Gods was he even hearing any of that correctly? He just wanted to make sure he, ah, at least knew what the blond was requesting.
It was hard to describe the overwhelming urge the young man had in that moment. His eyes locking with Takumi's own as he wrestled with his emotions. On the one hand he knew what he was asking for was a bit much. After all what was a relationship when they couldn't even touch each other. Well, at least not without complications. But the blond was driven, just.. perhaps not In the right direction. "But, if we're lovers…" He said leaning closer to the man, as he had yet to buckle in. "Then… we won't get in trouble if we kiss. No?" He felt his heart racing as he stared at the male. As something about the situation had finally clicked with the young man. They were alone. No people around, no other agents to keep tabs on him, just the two of them. Alone in the parking garage.
By this point the blond was lurching over the center console, ever closer to the male. Though he was overextended, so he reached out to steady himself. Rather cluelessly placing his gloved hand on the other males thigh. "No more books?" He said with a small sigh. "Perhaps…" He felt his throat getting dry, the same feeling from the night before bubbling up in his stomach once more. "Lessons then?"
Takumi eyed William carefully as he spoke of the possibility of them being lovers then they wouldn't get in trouble if they kissed. The scout sucked in a quiet breath as the blond leaned closer due to the fact that he wasn't buckled up yet. He glanced away briefly as William had leaned forward more, feeling his hand resting on his thigh. Ahh...he wasn't so sure about that at the moment. He did his best to not move as he moved his eyes back over to William, hands on the wheel as he listened to his request. Yup, definitely something to get him in trouble so to speak.
He cleared his throat a little, face heated a little as he tightened his grip on the wheel briefly before he removed one hand off the wheel and lowered it to place it over William's gloved hand on his thigh. Gods, he was glad it was only on his thigh but...it didn't need to stay there with all this talk at the moment. He gently lifted it up off his thigh, holding it firmly so he could let the blond keep his balance. "I...don't think books would be able to cover it all." He told him, gently squeezing his hand a little. He licked his lips again a little as he shifted a little in his seat. Oh boy... "There's, uh, more to being..um, lovers than all of...that." He paused, keeping his hand where it was in case the blond wanted to stay where he was at the moment.
"But um...maybe. Probably not too soon, but...I can...try to show you." He told him, giving him a small nod. He made it very hard to resist him, but there was no way he was going to try anything in the car when someone could randomly walk by. "Hey, remember what that waitress called us? A couple? Well, that's what lovers are as well. They're...together. They go out on outings like this together which is called a date. They just go out and have fun together." He told him, scanning his eyes over the blond's face to try and gauge his reaction.
William was dangling dangerously close to the scout across from him. His grip tightening on the man's thigh as he drew ever closer. The teen clearly wasn't thinking with his brain. At least not the one in his head as he kept his gaze locked on the male. In truth he hadn't been able to get the idea out of his head since last night. Ever sense Takumi had kissed him he kept replaying the moment over and over in his mind. He was so restless he could hardly even sleep. Instead having passed out on the floor with all of the books.
He felt slightly woozy. Unsure if it was the scout, or how forbidden the act had felt. Even touching someone at all was taboo to the young man. But the kiss. The kiss had felt special in a way he had never felt before. It was different than simply letting someone touch him for a moment. He snapped out of it suddenly as he felt Takumi grasp his hand. His eyes darting down to his gloved fingers as Takumi lifted them off of his thigh. He blinked a few times, his expression becoming flustered as he realized how close he had gotten.
"V-very well then." He said, going rather red in the face. Upon the realization of what he was doing the blond quickly retreated into his own seat, eyes darting out of the window. His heart racing. 'What am I thinking?!' He raised one hand, resting it on his chest as he tried to calm himself. The other hand still gripped tightly to Takumi's. Yet with the next words out of the scouts mouth Williams hand squeezed ever so much more. His eyes darting over his shoulder to the man. "So.. lovers are couples?" 'No,no,no. Not again!' "And couples… have dates." It seemed the young man was finally beginning to piece it all together, for better or worse.
"So… Takumi, wants to be a couple?" He said, turning fully back toward the scout. His grip nearly squeezing the life out of the man's hand as he anticipated an answer.
Takumi released a silent sigh as the blond had moved back over to his seat, resting his head back against the headrest attached to his seat for a few moments. He turned his head to look towards the blond as he spoke again, seeming to piece things together. He was beginning to lose feeling in his hand with how hard the blond was gripping it, but he didn't bother to remove it from William's grasp at the moment. Though at his question as to the scout wanting to be a couple with the teen, Takumi cleared his throat a little and raised another hand to rub the back of his neck. Oh...that was a question indeed.
He wasn't sure how exactly to answer that question, yet the blond seemed to be waiting in anticipation for an answer from him. He swallowed and shifted in his seat a little. "I..." Why was such a simple question so hard to answer? "If...maybe you want to be as well...then.." He trailed off as he shifted a little to face the blond a little more. "We'd have to be careful though...this would have to be a secret between us." He told him, scanning his eyes over the blond's face.
Well, at least until he figured it was safe enough to reveal otherwise; but that was probably not going to be any time soon. At least he was pretty good at keeping secrets, the blond being one of them in fact. "You can have anything you want, cutie."
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