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 2024
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.
Since the wonderful members of TDOM enjoy the site enough to play around on it, this thread is to assist with the site's tidying! Functionality is important and we want to make the site functional even if its activity will be minimal at best!
It was a late night working at the casino and all Mikaela wanted was to collapse on her couch with a good book and block out the world. Or… Sleep. Sleep sounded great, but she wasn't sure she could keep her mind still just yet.
Besides, she needed to eat first. She’d missed lunch and she could feel her stomach complaining. A quick stop at a local grocery store that never seemed to close had been fruitful. She carried two bags containing enough food to replenish her stock for a week and a few microwavable pizzas. She was a mess in the kitchen, but this seemed simple enough and premade sandwiches hadn’t been very appealing. What was the worst that could happen? She'd seen her sister make things in the microwave enough times to know how simple it was.
Finally, she came to her door. The sound of her bags dropping echoed down the empty hallway and she cringed. It was late enough that she should be keeping things quiet. She didn't know her neighbors very well, but she doubted making a ruckus when most people would be asleep would make a very good impression. She didn't intend to go around making friends, but it would be terrible to have enemies so close to home. Walking on eggshells when she was out and about was hard enough. Especially for her.
When the hall was finally silent, she let out a relieved breath and began rooting through her purse for her keys. She knew they were in there somewhere, but for the life of her she could never find them. It was about time she reorganized the bag, but that took so much effort and she'd much rather just be lazy.
As she finally found them and pulled them out, a noise from down the hall froze her in place. Her hand fell towards a blade carefully concealed at her hip and she cringed against the instinct. How was she supposed to get anywhere if her mind always jumped to danger when she heard the slightest noise? Odds were it was just one of her neighbors disturbed by the noise.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake anyone up." she said in a hushed tone.
It had been a restless night so far. Her hands were still plaguing her as they healed. Her nurse had told her to bandage and apply salve every single day until she ran out, but even so, they were still painful sometimes. She flexed her fingers in front of her face, wincing as her taut skin cracked from somewhere underneath. The darkness of her apartment was almost stifling at this point.
Glancing over at the clock, her nose wrinkled. It was far too late to go out on a walk. This was exactly why she needed to get a pet tiger, so she could go out for walks whenever she wanted without worrying about being accosted. Also, perhaps the tiger should be trained in how to read maps, or general directions for how to get home.
She wondered if it would settle her down to make herself some food. She eyed the unused oven that came with her apartment. Her old nemesis. She was sure she had some microwave meals somewhere in her freezer, but she wanted something fresher and more interesting than boxed potatoes.
She sat up curiously when the sound of things dropping echoed through the hallway. Was the building collapsing? It didn't look or smell old enough to warrant a collapse. Did she somehow miss an earthquake when she was trying to sleep? Getting up out of bed, she patted herself down to make sure she had adequate clothes in case they were made to evacuate. Popping her head out the door, she peered around before zeroing in on one of her neighbours trying to get into their apartment.
"Oh! That's okay. I thought the building was collapsing. It sounded scary from inside. What are you doing? Is that groceries? I should probably get groceries, too. Are they still open at this hour? Why are you coming home at this hour, anyway? It's so late, aren't you worried about getting attacked or stalked or something?"
A stream of words momentarily soothed her nerves. It was just the annoying child of her neighbors. She'd been concerned when she first met the over-eager fawn, but she was pretty sure the human was incapable of harm. She was more like a gnat that occasionally liked buzzing around. She usually tried to keep their interactions short. In small doses, that naive energy could be refreshing.
The building was collapsing? The words struck her as odd. She'd made a bit of noise, but not that much. She cast Cali a suspicious glance, but let it go. She was probably just over-dramatizing things. It was what kids did.
Mikaela's tired mind struggled to slow down the girl's words, and the first question she really comprehended was about groceries. "Uh... Yeah." she nodded, glancing down at her bags. She knew she'd be grateful she'd gone shopping later, but for now she didn't want to deal with putting everything away. "The food store I shop at is pretty much always open. It's a bit of a walk though, it just happens to be on my way home from work."
The other answer was more complicated. She hadn't known fear since she was a child. At least, not of mundane things like being attacked. If someone were to try to mug her she'd be more worried about their health than her own. She couldn't explain how she was raised though, so she instead looked for a way to change the subject. "Your hands." she said, noting their state. "What's the story there?"
She immediately regretted asking the question. She may have been slightly concerned, but she had no doubt this would only trigger a long story and she really wanted to sleep. Pausing to eat was already enough of a stretch.
"Oh! Wh-- Well. I'd ask where it is, but I think I'm afraid of the dark. And going out in the dark to go grocery shopping sounds like a good way to get murdered. Aren't you afraid of getting murdered?" Getting murdered on the way to get groceries sounded like an awfully big adventure, but it was one that Cali did not want to partake in just yet.
"My hands?" She lifted her bandaged hands for a moment, reminding herself of what the stranger was talking about. "Oh! I got into a fight. It was over a bowl of soup. He thought he was gonna take my soup, but I said no way mister. That is my soup, and I will die defending my noodles! But yeah, anyway, I grabbed the hot bowl 'cos I didn't trust him to take it and then burned myself pretty bad... so..." She trailed off, frowning as she thought about it. He did end up buying her another bowl, but in the end, she still didn't trust him to steal that bowl.
She had slipped all the way out of her doorway by now, creeping closer and closer to the stranger as she told her story of her hands. She was a lonely moth drawn to the flames of friendship, and Cali loved a good storytelling session. "Where do you work? Is it far away? Why are you getting home so late?" She was innately curious about everything and anything, and she had lit up once she found an open conversation to be had.
"I think he was my cousin." Cali paused, thinking it over. "I don't remember him. And he doesn't look like anyone in my family, but he said he was my cousin. So we must be family, right? I wish I had remembered to get his contact information. I forgot his name, too. I called my mom asking if she knew anyone by that name, but she said she didn't. I haven't talked to my dad, though. Timezones suck sometimes. Maybe my dad would know. I should have remembered to ask my mom to ask him if I had any weird cousins. Maybe he married into my family? I guess that would make sense. That's a thing that can happen, right? But how would he know who I was? Unless that family had like... an album of my family. Anyway, are you hungry? I'm hungry. I was going to make some pizza, do you want some?"
All at once, the soothing familiarity of someone that wasn't a stranger on a potential mission to kill her collapsed into utter dread. Maybe a serial killer looking for his next mark would have been better. Then there would be some foreseeable bit of rest in her near future. But she plaster a content expression on her face, not quite smiling but not being openly hostile either. The last thing she needed was to have this type of energy transformed into tears. She was usually fine with people crying, but this girl would definitely be loud enough about it that Mikaela wouldn't be able to ignore her.
Cali prattled on and on, spinning a tale of misfortune and idiocy. Mikaela wasn't sure she could pity the girl. It had been her own fault, after all. In fact, she felt bad for the stranger in the story. There was a brief pause as the conversation shifted to more questions about Mikaela, but before she could answer any the topic had shifted back.
Mikaela froze at the mention of a cousin that seemed to come out of nowhere. If that wasn't suspicious, what was? If he was someone undercover meant to target her through her neighbor she'd have to find another apartment and make another fresh start. She couldn't risk others being pulled into the twisted plots of those around her. But she was being paranoid. She doubted this girl could keep track of left from right, much less someone's name after a traumatic event that involved going to the hospital.
No, she should be sure the story didn't line up before jumping to any conclusions. "You're from Japan, right?" she asked, ignoring all of the girl's questions. They didn't really matter, after all. "Did he seem Japanese too?" It was a basic question the girl might not have stopped to think about and if he was Japanese it would be too much of a coincidence to really deny. At least, not without having met him to judge if he seemed suspicious in any other way.
The girl looked happy enough to speak with her, not telling her to be quiet or clap a hand over her mouth like that rude cousin of hers did. Delighted to make a new friend so quickly, Cali's words just rushed out harder and faster.
"Oh! Yes I am." Cali only beamed in delight at her new friend, thinking it funny that she had been pinned so easily for being not local. She hadn't been home in so long, it was nice to think about her homeland once again. Cali pretended to think about the question, tapping her lips for a minute as she thought. "Well... You know, I just can't remember. I think I'm just too hungry to think. Maybe if we had some pizza I would remember better." Cali cast a coy glance at her neighbour, hoping she would take the bait.
She had clocked that frozen pizza in her bag, and she wanted it very badly. She had something this girl wanted, and Cali hoped that her neighbour wanted her information just as much as she wanted that pizza.
Without waiting for a response, Cali jumped at the chance to have snacks at someone else's house for once. Maybe this girl knew how to cook better than she did, and she would have a non-burned pizza for once. "Great! I have a pie that I've been meaning to eat. I'll get that 'n some drinks." Bounding away to her apartment, Cali left the girl for a moment before returning with her arms full. "I didn't get your name, anyway. I'm Cali. I don't know many of my neighbours yet, but that's ok! There's always time to meet everyone. I'm not usually good with cooking, so I have to order out a lot, but it's nice to try to make something at home for once, I suppose."
Mikaela studied Cali’s reaction closely as she connected the dots. Surely the question would be enough to make Cali notice that if he wasn’t Japanese they couldn’t be related. She didn’t see any trace of that realization in the girl’s face, though, so Mik had to assume they were actually related and Cali was just more of a bird brain than she seemed... Which was actually a huge accomplishment.
The girl opened her mouth in what Mik suspected would be confirmation of her theory, but oh was she misguided. How could it be so simple? ”That’s alright, deer pup, I-“ But Cali was already going on with her endless blabbering. Soon enough she disappeared and returned with boundless energy. How could Mikaela say no to that? Especially over something so menial.
”Alright. But for every possession of mine you touch without permission you get one slice less.” she was sure it wasn’t a necessary precaution, but it was better safe than sorry and with the way Cali was trying to blackmail her, she couldn’t feel bad for returning the favor.
Mikaela sighed and turned the key. It would be good to have something to keep her awake for the time being. As the door swung opening, she instinctively leaned down to catch an escaping fox. She held the fox in one arm and grabbed her bags with the other, motioning Cali ahead.
”I have to put away these before we can start the pizzas. If you wanna help it would go a lot faster and you could be eating sooner.” She carelessly tossed the bags on the counter and waited for Cali to shut the door so she could release Thief, who was struggling against her hold in an eager attempt to investigate the stranger.
"Hmmm." Cali only pulled a face. She loved touching things in other people's houses, it was the only reason she ever liked actually going inside. Ah, but she didn't specify that she couldn't touch stuff with other objects. If she poked around with a stick, that would surely be well within her bounds.
Cali slipped in eagerly, her eyes zeroed in on that fox. She wanted to touch it more than anything, but with her own hands and not a stick. Maybe, if she collapsed, and she just happened to fall near the fox, and her arms just happened to assume themselves into a petting position, it wouldn't count. Or was it worth it to sacrifice a slice to touch it? Maybe it was, after all. "Okay!" With that, Cali sprung into action, snatching up the bags before she paused quite suddenly. "I don't know where anything goes." She unloaded everything from their bags to see exactly what she was working with.
Opening up every door and cabinet, Cali set about putting things away by what she judged was an appropriate spot. "What exactly... is that, anyway?" She motioned at the little animal, suddenly a little wary of it. She didn't have much experience with animals, and she had no real idea of how to interact with one. "Can I touch it? Is it pettable?" She had daydreams of her petting a tiger, but logistically, she had no idea where tigers even liked to be petted. Similarly, she had no idea how to pet a fox. "What kind of pizza do you like? I think I like pepperonis. I have a friend who likes pepperoni and pineapple but I don't think I'm totally sold on that. It just seems weird to put fruit with pizza. Do you like pineapple on pizza? I think in general I'm just a meat fan. But not the weird meat. I saw a buffalo sausage pizza once. I don't think I would eat that. Wouldn't a bufflo sausage be like... furry, too? How do they make sure all that fur doesn't get into the meat."
Mikaela didn’t know why she’d expected Cali to shut the door behind them, but the girl seemed instantly distracted by Thief. Mikaela wandered back to the door to close it before placing the fox on the ground. It ran up to sniff at Cali before darting away, beginning his loud yapping as he did so. Cali was asking something about where stuff went but she paid it no mind. She didn’t exactly have any sort of organization system. It was a miracle enough her apartment wasn’t a complete mess for once.
“Thiefling. Basta.*” she warned italian. The fox’s mad dash around the apartment came to a reluctant end and he eyed her disdainfully. She simply waved a hand in an italian gesture that meant shut up about it and turned her attention back to Cali in time for a question. Of course she’d be desperate to pet the yappy animal. Thief was probably the only creature in this world that could match her energy levels. Not that he did around strangers much. He liked to save his real energy for waking her up in the middle of the night. Or… in the morning for people with a regular sleep schedule.
“Thief is a fox. He’s pretty shy of people but if you can catch him when he’s calmer you can pet him.” she shrugged, moving to help Cali out the groceries away. She hadn’t actually expected the girl to agree to help so willingly. Maybe it made up for her boundless stream of words.
She listened passively as Cali went on another montage - this one about pizza toppings.
Pepperoni. Bell peppers. Her mind jumped to that translation, ignorant of the language difference. “Are peppers on pizza any better than fruit?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. She wouldn’t like either on her pizza. ”I’m not a big meat fan either. Back home I would have had a Quattro Stagioni - basically a pizza that’s split into four with different toppings on each quarter. Artichoke, tomato, mushroom, and olives. I don’t get that here though. It’s not as good.” She frowned, sticking a bag of chips in a random cupboard before shutting them and shoving the empty bags in the trashan.
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credits
The skin is created by Wolf of Adoxography and Gangnam Style. The thread and conversation remodels are by Kagney. The Strange Reality board list, Heal My Soul info center, I Remember Now mini profile and Electric Requiem profile remodel is made by Pharoah Leap. The Who's That Member member list remodel was made by Tictactoe. The Cbox.ws Shoutbox remodel was made by Trinity Blair. All templates used for claims, information sheets, applications, etc are credited to their owners; credits for these can be found in the threads the templates are use on. Images that are used on The Duality of Man are credited to their owners, however, they have been edited by Zac with a few being edited by Chibi Magician. The plot, rules and various other information pieces for The Duality of Man are written by Chibi Magician with the assistence of her co-admins, Finnegan and Dremulf, alongside other unlisted people who were kind enough to give their input. The TRS, AP and face claim were all created by Fleur for specifically the use of TDOM. All plugins used on The Duality of Man are credited to their owners. The templates my members use are credited to their maker, if you find a template that belongs to you, but is uncredited, please speak to Chibi Magician or the member themself. Characters created on The Duality of Man are credited to their owners and should not be used elsewhere without the creator's permission.
Special thanks for the members of TDOM who make suggestions to help make this site better. Even though we can not accept all suggestions, we immensely appreciate it. Thus, we give credit to any additions that you thought of and were later implimented by the staff, because we are glad you give us these excellent ideas.
