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!
Thursdays always meant volunteering at Anna’s. In fact, Gray had become so used to it that he often popped by on Wednesday to make sure nothing was needed for the following day. As Gray leaned over to shut the coffee pot off, his hand brushed one of the sugar containers sending it dangerously close to tumbling. He fumbled slightly to catch it but was eventually successful in averting the sugar calamity that would’ve occurred.
“Yikes, that was a close one,” he breathed to himself, glad that there were no more customers around to see. He’d already died one social death this week with Brasti and that was enough to last him a lifetime.
In fact, they’d be closing soon therefore the likelihood of anymore customers was slim at best. As the clock behind him chimed 1700 he smiled to himself. Another successful day: Anna would be happy to know they’d met their financial quota too. Gray shuffled over to the end of the counter while fumbling with the tie of his apron.
Actually, he should remove and clean the coffee pot first because sometimes the splashes stained his shirt.
The seraphim leaned over, gripped the pot still warm with coffee, and made his way to the sink. Only instead of walking over his foot caught on some unknown slippery substance on the floor. What followed could only be described as a serious of mildly unfortunate events and, provided he had the misfortune of someone actually seeing it, his second social death of the current week.
In a poor attempt to save himself and the pot, Gray gripped the counter only to discover that his hand met with the sugar container from before which, of course, went crashing to the ground alongside him. His attempts to save the pot by holding it above were only met with failure as it clinked a nearby drawer and smashed open, splashing coffee all over him and the floor in a flood of hot, caffeinated beverage.
The icing on the top was his backside hitting the coffee puddle AND the floor. For a second afterwards Gray simply leaned back into the coffee puddle, staring up at the ceiling. Was bad luck catchable? He certainly hoped not.
Late! Anele was running late. He didn’t have any particular timeline, but it felt like everything was taking just a bit too long and he’d be forced to arrive at the next place far past when he was expected.
He would never show any impatience toward his students, but his knee bounced beneath his desk as he waited for a few students staying late to finish up their last minute work. The sketch he’d been idly working on was developing more than he would have liked, with each stroke of the pencil representing a second he should have been travelling towards his next location.
Finally, finally, that last student slipped out and he offered a bright farewell. The familiar click of the door flipped him into action and he quickly gathered his belongings, frowning as he checked the time on his phone. He desperately needed caffeine to function, but he wasn’t sure they’d be open by the time he got there.
He shook off his worry. He’d make it. Of course he’d make it. The universe wasn’t cruel enough to torture him with a caffeineless evening of grading assignments and planning lessons. Thursdays always seemed to be his busiest day, preparing things in advance so he’d get the weekend off.
He made a mad rush to a nearby cafe, praying he wouldn’t be too late. A sigh fell from his lips as he saw the lights still on. If it had come down to it he could have found a different place, but this was close and he liked their coffee.
He pushed the door open to find a messy scene unfolding before him. The person working, a boy who in his current state didn’t seem much older than one of his students, was collapsed in a pile of what appeared to be coffee and sugar.
“Oh my! Are you alright?” he asked, eyes filling with concern for the fallen stranger. He wasn’t sure exactly what he planned to do to help, but he rushed forward anyway, certain he could do something.
Gray’s eyes watched the ceiling. Had that speck always been there or was that a spider? Coffee soaked through the back of his white work shirt so at least he’d have less to mop up. Unfortunately, at the crux of his embarrassment the jingle that signaled a customer rang through the petite shop.
Like the dutiful volunteer he shot up, slipping a little so that he had to grab the counter to steady himself before he turned towards the person.
“What can I get for you?” he blurted out in an almost perfect tone, overwriting the man’s words for a second.
Gray’s face was deathly neutral as he tried to pretend that his entire left side wasn’t soaked through with coffee. Actually, it had also gotten his pant leg and he might possibly be covered in sugar like some sort of human donut.
A quick scan of his appearance told him that yes, there was some sugar in his hair.
“Oh that?” Gray forced a laugh, giving his best customer service tone, “just a little spill. I can clean it up after I get you your coffee so don’t worry about it at all.”
Now certain he could make it out of this situation without turning beat red, Gray scanned his customer while stealthily brushing the sugar from his hair. What kind of ears were those? They were paired with bright eyes and a cheerful demeanor that looked like… no. The seraphim shifted, praying that he didn’t have to turn around and that the man just wanted a pastry from the case. “Anyways, tea? You look like a tea kind of guy,” he joked, smiling despite the turmoil bubbling inside of him. Gray’s hand reflexively went to the counter as he tried his best not to eye the sugar and coffee pile beneath him.
[attr="class","text-area"] Anele wasn’t sure whether it was admirable or self-deprecating how quickly the boy overwrote whatever had happened and went back to being the perfect customer service. Either way, he wasn't buying it. But he didn't want to embarass the boy either. Would it be better to pretend nothing happened or offer to wait while the boy cleaned up? He wasn't sure the boy would agree to that. He'd probably keep denying anything major had happened. [break][break] "A little spill?" he asked, a note of teasing in his voice, motioning to the mess on the floor that he wouldn’t quite define as small. He hesitated to push any further, though. He didn’t want to embarrass the boy. [break][break] ”No, tea and I actually don’t get along. I was actually hoping for a coffee.” He chuckled and reached up to scratch the back of his head. [break][break] It suddenly occurred to him that maybe the fall had happened while the boy was cleaning up. As much as he craved coffee, he didn’t want to be making the boy stay late. He seemed pretty content to serve, but it could be hard to tell behind the customer service mask of professionalism. ”To be honest I thought you guys would be closed by now, it feels like I’ve been running late to things all day.” [break][break] He waited for any sign of disdain or hesitance in the response that would cue him to leave. Anele could be pretty scattered, but he wasn’t known for not picking up on things.
Coffee! Gray didn’t dare let his award-winning smile twitch at the idea. Well, it wasn’t like he was going anywhere anyways. Now he just had to find a good way to make the coffee without turning around to reveal that his whole shirt, and pants, were basically soaked through with dark roast. The ease with which the man scratched his head, laughing lightly, sent a chill up his spine.
Mostly because he was heavily reminded of… again, he had to stop himself: this was not the place or the time.
“Oh! We close pretty soon but it’s no big deal,” he waved his hand possibly one too many times, “I’m going to have to mop this up anyways so I can quickly put on a pot for you.”
Before the man could rescind his offer, Gray shuffled over to the nearest non-broken pot. Each step garnered a crack of slightly broken glass which he hoped his guest would ignore. Despite his attempt to make his movements look normal, Gray was reminded of a crab side stepping at the beach. What a night this had turned out to be.
“Decaf or regular? Also did you want light or dark roast?” he paused, “come to think of it, you did want a hot coffee right? I don't think I asked.”
Gray’s eyes landed on the man’s, despite his best efforts to stare beyond him. He felt a minor flush creep over his cheeks at the idea of the guy witnessing his embarrassing coffee spill. In fact, the rim of the broken pot stared up at him from the floor, giving a smug appearance on top of its sugar mound. He quickly adjusted the water, hand hovering over the coffee beans with a scoop.
[attr="class","text-area"] The boy eagerly offered to put on a pot of coffee and made his way to another pot. Anele could hear the glass crunching beneath his feet. He wasn’t sure what to say. He hadn’t actually expected the boy to keep up this act. But here he was walking on broken glass. Anele couldn’t bring himself to let this go on. His teacher instincts kicked in, demanding he minimize the danger. [break][break] "You're going to get yourself hurt," he said, motioning to the mess of a floor. If the glass was broken into smaller pieces picking it up would be even more hazardous. "You should really clean that up first. I'm in no hurry." He still didn’t quite feel comfortable telling the kid how to do his job, but it didn’t seem like much of an option in the face of such blatant disregard for safety. [break][break] "In fact, if you'd let me I'd help." He took half a step forward with the offer. He really wouldn't mind helping, but he didn't want to overstep his bounds. He also didn't want to hurt the boy's pride. It could be hard to tell how sensitive people could be and the last thing Anele wanted was to make this child feel embarrassed. If only there was a way around it. [break][break] Anele paused to assess the situation. Surely there was something he could say that would make this all simpler. He just couldn't find the right words. Awkward silence seemed like the worst option, though, so he went on speaking before the quiet hung too long. "I'm not judging you or anything! We all have bad moments here and there. In fact, the other day I, uh, walked into the girl's bathroom on accident... I didn't realize until a student walked in." He chuckled to cover a cringe. He wasn't exactly sure why he was blabbering on anymore.
[attr="class","ooc-area"]Hope this works! — @graelish
Scoop in hand, Graelish watched in near horror as the man showed more concern about the status of his wardrobe then his own coffee. It would’ve been easier if he just ordered coffee, let Gray fix it up, and left but it seemed the need to assist another being was far more important.
Of course before Gray could contradict the fact that he needed help, the man before him launched in a strange and unsolicited story. Like a font of unneeded information, the coffee-seeker delved into an embarrassing story about the girl’s bathroom. When it was done Gray wasn’t sure what to do exactly. Mostly because it was just the sort of thing his old buddy would say.
“Well we’ve only got one bathroom here so no worries about that sort of thing happening,” he offered a polite yet brief laugh before trying to redirect the conversation towards the coffee, “anyways if you’ll just t-”
Gray’s shoe squeaked as he slipped on a nearby coffee puddle, sliding across the back of the kitchen like skater out of control on ice that was too wet. Thankfully, he was able to grab a hold of the counter before he collided headfirst with it but, once again, his leg twisted and he found himself butt-first on the floor. Defeated, he closed his eyes and let his head rest on the back of the cabinet.
“M-maybe you could flip the open sign to closed for me, the one on the front door?” he inquired, hobbling up to a standing position straight enough to determine that his entire pant leg had at least swabbed up the majority of the coffee puddle behind the counter.
Clearly this was karma’s way of messing with him and, being all too familiar with the way it worked, Gray decided that if this man was willing to help, he better let him or risk falling again. His eye strayed to the closet with the cleaning supplies, a weariness within his usually bright orbs.
[attr="class","text-area"] The boy seemed uncomfortable and Anele flushed. His gaze fixated on the ground, determined not to make eye contact until they moved onto another subject. He’d gone too far with that story. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, the boy slipped again distracting Anele from his embarrassment. [break][break] "Are you alright?" he asked once again, wincing at the soft thump that followed the fall. Some of the fight seemed to evaporate from the boy, replaced be reluctant defeat and a request to flip the 'open' sign to 'closed.' [break][break] Anele’s eyes lit up and he nodded, dutifully walking over to the door and flipping the sign. It was a menial task, but it was helpful nonetheless so Anele would take it as a win. [break][break] This was another reminder that he'd come too late. They were supposed to be closing up and it seemed like barging in now would just be annoying. He hated being a problem in any situation. He hesitated as he turned back around. "I'm serious, though. If you're supposed to be closing up I could find another coffee place I'm sure." Leaving would probably allow the boy to go about cleaning up and changing into fresh clothes. [break][break] Anele caught himself fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket and returned his hands to his sides to stop the uneasy behaviour. Asking whether he should just go 50 times would be just as annoying as showing up at the last minute. Instead, he straightened and offered a sheepish smile. [break][break] "I’m also serious about my offer to help. Glass can be dangerous." Pointing that out seemed condescending and Anele rushed to cover. "Not that you don't know that, obviously! I just..." his voice trailed off and he once again started fidgeting with his sleeve, hoping the boy would interrupt and save him from himself.
[attr="class","ooc-area"]hope this works! — @graelish
This was the story between two individuals insistent on remaining unmoving in their principles. Gray would not suffer someone else to clean up this mess. However, it was clear that refusing help would only make the man spout strange yet embarrassing stories.
With no coffee ordered Gray was teetering on what to do. His side hurt from the fall but it was nowhere near disabling. The seraphim didn’t like the idea of a customer doing work behind the counter but he had been worn down enough to consider an alternative.
“No, no I can make you coffee it’s no big deal. I’ll be here a while cleaning this up anyways,” Gray chewed his bottom lip furiously, smoothing out his coffee-stained apron as he struggled to come to a decision.
Clearly there was only one way that allowed the man to leave with his coffee. The idea of someone going without the delicious, caffeinated beverage when so desperately sought after at a late hour didn’t sit well with Gray. It was only when he bit his lip a little too hard that he came to decision that would be amicable to both.
“Alright, how about this: you help me clean this up and your coffee will be on the house,” Gray didn’t like it but he didn’t think the man was going to take no for an answer, “I’ll handle the glass. You can just go over the coffee and sugar with a paper towel. You can help me while the pots brewing but afterwards, I’ll handle the rest.”
Gray stared intensely into the man’s light eyes, as though suddenly a staring contest had begun. In reality he was trying hard to go against his helping nature. Rarely did he ask anyone for help. In fact, usually he didn’t talk to others outside the capacity of work and the TRS. Keeping friendships, letting people in, well he didn’t deserve that. But a business arrangement he could handle.
Besides, that coffee machine was the fastest in the shop so he was looking at maybe five minutes tops. AND he could finally get the guy’s coffee order. In fact, the more Gray considered this deal the more he liked it. Everyone won this way. He leaned over the counter, his left elbow dropping a ring of sugar as it connected with the quartz surface.
[attr="class","text-area"] Finally the boy was willing to bend, proposing an offer that would at least allow Anele to help out a little. It still wouldn’t be much. Anele met the boy’s determined stare, considering his options. He didn’t feel comfortable not paying for his drink after causing so much trouble but he could see in the boy’s face that this was the best offer he was going to get. [break][break] "Alright. Deal." he said, breaking eye contact. He hated the bitter taste the lie left on his tongue. He’d find some way around the on the house bit when the time came. There was no way wiping up a mess was worth a free coffee, and even if it was it took away from the helpfulness of the action in itself. But for now making himself useful was more important than arguing the details. Otherwise they’d probably be standing there all night, neither of them willing to bend, and Anele still had work to do before the day was done. [break][break] Anele hated being dishonest, no matter the circumstance. The lies he’d told had the tendency to come back and blow up in his face, as though the guilt accompanying them wasn’t punishment enough. He saw no way this particular white lie could come back to haunt him, though. After all, it wasn’t doing anyone any harm. If only he could convince the nasty feeling gnawing at his stomach as easily as he could convince his mind. [break][break] "I'll take a latte." he said, trying not to look as doubtful as he felt. He approached the counter, leaning against it casually. "Please pass me a paper towel?"
[attr="class","ooc-area"]a little note here — @graelish
The standstill had reached an agreement. Gray couldn’t be sure whether or not he was too tired or simply just put out from the series of unfortunate events that had unfolded just minutes before. He was glad to get and order though. Had he been holding his breath? Apparently. As the customer leaned against the counter Gray dipped down to grab a roll of paper towels.
With a crisp, casual motion he laid four paper towels on the counter, just outside of the dark puddle of sugar and coffee. It wasn’t really a hard task but the man would have to lift up a few of the shelf snacks to swab underneath them. Or Gray could do that later. His own paper towels in hand, Gray began the mop-up of the floor just enough that he’d be able to contain it all the in dustpan.
“So… do you always drink coffee this late?” he asked, hoping to keep the air less stagnant between them. Especially after the polite stubborn-off they’d just had. Gray reached over for an empty box and began to pick out the fragmented glass bits from the floor mess.
A latte was a good choice. A pain to make, but a good choice. Gray wasn’t really one to judge others given the nature of his own circumstances but he found that certain people preferred certain things. An order could tell a whole story about a person. A simple latte, no flavoring. If Gray loved that sort of thing he'd be all over it.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I usually make myself one before I go home actually, the owners don’t like it when I pay for stuff when I’m holding down the shop for them,” Gray laughed lightly, suddenly aware of how odd that sounded, “Wait, no I mean-, they sort of pay me in coffee.”
Pay me in coffee. Gray was suddenly aware of how soaked his apron and pant leg were. And his back. And his arm. Right, he had his normal clothes in the break room but he couldn’t just leave this guy alone in the store. Not that he didn’t trust him of course. Gray continued to pick up the shards, each seemingly smaller than the last.
[attr="class","text-area"] Anele grabbed the paper towels as they were laid on the counter, tearing off a couple of them and using them to lift the larger part of the mess. Cleaning up spilled coffee was a lot like cleaning up spilled paint, so the process had become somewhat automatic. Targeting the most saturated areas first made picking up the rest relatively simple. And coffee didn't spread like paint, so really it was easier when it came down to it. [break][break] Anele opened his mouth to answer the question then shut it as the barista went on awkwardly. He chuckled, offering his best comforting smile - which was pretty good from what others had told him. "Don't worry, I didn't take it as a rude question." he assured him. "I just managed to break away from work and I've still got quite a bit to take home so I've got to stay awake through it all." As he explained he grabbed another of the paper towels and carefully lifted the assumedly fragile shelves of snacks to wipe under them. [break][break] "Plus," he added with a sheepish grin, "I think I might be addicted to the stuff, so there's that too. I somehow managed to forget my coffee this morning and an entirely caffeineless day just sounds like hell." ‘Might’ was a complete underestimate in his case. He'd always liked to keep busy and he'd learned caffeine would help him keep up his energy when he was far too young. He'd been hooked on it for too many years to have any hope of quitting. [break][break] "What about you? I don't know how you can work here and not be completely overloaded on caffeine at all times. I wouldn't be able to manage it." He shook his head to emphasize the point. It was true. In fact, when he'd chosen the apartment he lived in now one of the factors had been how close it was to a coffee shop. He didn't want to be able to walk for 2 minutes to get to one or else he'd be there all the time. As it was, he had to walk for 5 minutes. It turned out that that wasn't enough of a difference to stop him.
[attr="class","ooc-area"]hope this works! — @graelish
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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.
