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!
[attr=class,Mikheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
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[attr=class,Mikmaintextbox][attr=class,Mikmaintext] It was far too early for Mikaela Lye to be up and out of bed. Her clock read 17:30, but her sleep schedule was mostly nocturnal so it may as well have been the middle of the night. Unfortunately, she’d fallen asleep on the couch and now her pet fox was running around her in circles demanding she give him attention. It wasn’t until he laid down, close enough that she could feel the cool of his nose and the huff of his breath against her forehead, that she actually opened her eyes. He immediately waved his head back and jumped up, drawing a groan from Mikaela. "Alright, alright. Give me a minute to wake up." It had already become clear that Thief never understood a word she said, but she still always expected him to. What was the point of a smelly animal that didn’t even know how to listen? [break][break] By the time Mikaela sat up, the fennec had run across the room and was scratching at the door. "Sit." she growled and, miraculously, he obeyed. She pulled on a pair of leggings under the hoodie she’d fallen asleep in and ran a brush through her hair. "If you want to go out you have to wear your leash." she warned, covering a lingering bruise with some thick concealer as she spoke. "Oh don't look at me like that. It's too early for you to try to run away." A whimper met her ears though whether it was in response to her statement or an eager attempt to get her to hurry up she couldn't tell. [break][break] "Allora, andiamo.*" she muttered when she was content with the fact that she didn’t look like she’d just rolled out of bed or gotten in any fights recently. She corralled her pet into his harness and picked him up to carry him outside. He could walk perfectly fine on his own, but she didn’t like him running through the halls. He might get ideas about where to go if he snuck out again. [break][break] A long hallway and a few stairs later, Mikaela was outside the lobby of her apartment building and letting the fox down in the grass. She tied the leash to the trunk of a thin tree and walked away to lean against the side of the building. The brightness of the sun didn't work well with her enhanced senses and she didn't want to stand directly in it. [break][break] *Allora, andiamo - Allora is a filler word like ‘then’ or ‘so’ or ‘come on’ and andiamo means ‘lets go’
She opened her eyes and her pupils dilated, then adjusted to the lack of light as she laid in her bed; Rich, extravagant… and cold. How long had it been since the last one passed? The last human husband? A month? Two? Has it been a year? She couldn't properly tell anymore.
No matter how many she had, collecting them like porcelain dolls, nothing changed. Nothing filled the void. The happy moments were just so; moments. Their porcelain cracked and their paint chipped but in the end… they left and Lisa remained as she had begun.
Hollow, cold, and lonely with every shadow a maw of regret and a church choir’s chorus of her failures, fuel to the fire for her depression. No matter how many liches she made or how much good she tried to do or how many husbands she got; none of it lasted. Would it ever last?
She looked around the room, still new to her; furnished in advance by a paid team of movers and handymen, to make her feel comfortable. At home.
But nothing felt like ‘home’ anymore.
Not this massive, black, canopy bed with its semi-sheer black curtains with lace trip. Not this five thousand dollar, absurdly soft mattress she laid in or the silk-pillowcase, cool-gel pillows she laid her head upon. Not the four-thousand thread count sheets that covered her mattress and kept her somewhat warm, or the gifted, heavy velvet and monogrammed Frette comforter set. Not the decorated walls or the grey, wood-tile floors she sat up, turned, and set her feet upon to get out of bed, or the Versace nightgown she draped herself in. She had been two hundred years old when she realized that luxury and social class, the rich and pure bread all had the same quality: empty. Her phone rang- the screen read her apprentice’s name- and she reluctantly answered it as she tucked a loose strand of black hair behind her ear. “Good morning.”
“Is it morning?” They asked then went along the normal routes; asking how she was, how she was settling in. “OH… I hear your application to be the Mortuary Director was approved for the hospital… How exciting.”
When she died, she would miss her Apprentice most of all. They seemed to be the only one grateful and loyal to her. “What application?” She asked and her apprentice sighed on the other line,
“The one I submitted for you.” They advised and her mind went blank, “Master... I know you haven't felt happy for a long time, and though you find moments, they don't last long; I have known for a while that you decided that once we killed all of the Liches you made… you would pass on.” Her heart sank and she wondered if maybe she had taught them too well or too much- “The town you are in has had cases of... Supernatural activity. That is why I suggested it. I even applied to a position where you won’t have much contact with others… I think maybe, you should try to find some of your kind before you decide to pass on to the afterlife.” Why did they care so much to do such a thing?
“I… am sorry that I failed you.” She answered and her apprentice sighed,
“Master you have never failed me, but I believe it is time that you try to do something for me. Please… try to acclimate to the town before you decide to give up and move on. Let me fill you in on your position.” She listened patiently as they did and when the call had ended, she had an address, a new job, and a new emotion beginning to flourish- fear. Unease.
She dressed in a black pencil skirt, a sleeveless turtle-neck top, and pulled on a thicker, black, and double-breasted fog coat. She pulled on sheer, black stockings, slipped into a pair of black stilettos, and last but not least- pulled on a pair of black, leather gloves. She couldn't take chances of getting injured. Lisa left her home just as a text message from her apprentice reached her: it was an address, advising a body needed to be collected and transported to the hospital for autopsy by the doctor, and that upon arrival she merely needed to bag it and call a phone number to collect the body for her. Simple enough.
Lisa found few things satisfying anymore; even as she made her way, walking, to the address which wasn't entirely too far. She did like the click of her heels against floors. It made her feel powerful, for a coward. The address led her to an apartment building, and she saw a small fennec fox, on a leash and harness, tied to a thing tree, running around and enjoying itself- she inwardly recoiled but outwardly remained stoic. Animals were all too in tune with the fact that she wasn’t normal and their instinctive reactions were both understandable and insulting.
Funny… she didn’t recall an apartment number as she moved closer to the building and saw a young woman in a hoodie, “Good morning.” She greeted, her jet black hair falling and flowing unhindered and straight, “I was wondering if you could help me; I believe I am lost.”
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
With Thief entertaining himself, Mikaela figured she only had to wait about ten minutes before she could return to her apartment and crawl back into bed. She wasn’t sure what her shift at the casino looked like, but it wouldn’t be pretty. It was nothing new to her. Even as a child she’d kept questionable hours. Her father had practically raised her on a nocturnal schedule, preparing her for a life in the shadows. There was nothing holding her to that life anymore, but she was as comforted by the shadows as she was afraid of them. She wouldn’t know what path to follow if she stepped into the light. [break][break] Her silent musing was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching from afar. She did her best not to look up. If it was a neighbor she had no interest in interacting and if it was anyone else they probably had other people they’d prefer to talk to. The footsteps came to a stop in front of her and she reluctantly slipped into an act. She offered a bright smile in response to the woman’s greeting. [break][break] "Lost?" The word was warped by her accent, painted on a bit thicker than it had to be. She didn’t trust lost people, especially not when their wanderings brought them to her. It was far more likely she was seen as a target than a stranger that could give directions. There were too many people out for her head to trust coincidences like that. There was no reason to hastily make enemies of the locals, though. She may never consider herself Canadian, but the fact was that she’d be stuck here for a while longer. [break][break] Mikaela’s gaze slipped past the wanderer as she picked up on a low growl coming from Thief. He never liked strangers so it was nothing new, but she didn’t want him to start up a barking fit. Catching Mikaela looking at him, the fox huffed and turned away, fixing his gaze on some imaginary prey. [break][break] She returned her focus to the woman. If Thief wasn’t aggravated enough to bark it probably meant there wasn’t the scent of any of her former colleagues on her. While she didn’t completely trust her pet’s ability to sniff out any enemy, it was enough to allow this conversation to continue. "Alright. What is it you’re looking for, Wonda?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m looking specifically for a dead body.” Lisa said with a straight face, producing a neat and professionally folded black body bag, from her coat pocket, “I have come to collect it, however, I was not provided an apartment number.”
It wasn't the most tactful approach but Lisa wasn't entirely worried right now about that anymore. This person didn't seem to give off an air that would need her to be mindful or careful of what she said.
Humans were sensitive to the object of death, but considering she was dead herself, she didn’t entirely care, however, she remembered she had just relocated here and then added on,
“I am a mortuary director and my body-collecting team is busy.”
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
A dead body. The words brought too many questions to Mikaela's mind. Was it already dead? How did the body die? How was someone being dead any of her business? She lived in a relatively safe area. If she associated it with death she would have chosen a different place to live. "So you think one of my neighbors is dead?" she asked slowly. Natural causes, probably. Paranoia would get her nowhere right now. There were plenty of people she'd seen around the building who were probably overdue to die of natural causes. [break][break] She tried to recall seeing any ruckus on her way downstairs, but she hadn't been paying enough attention to notice anything. "It sure seems like that would cause quite a commotion…" [break][break] Mikaela sighed and pushed away from the building in one smooth movement. The director of a mortuary could be a powerful ally, whether or not Mikaela was involved in that world anymore. At the very least if she found herself dead someone would bother to cast her corpse a second glance. Allies weren't made through amiable masks. Smiles and shared jokes only served to make friends, and friendship had limits. Debt - even in the mildest of forms - was far more trustworthy. [break][break] To create debt, all she needed to do was plant a small seed of guilt. Twisting a situation to reflect her own perspective was simple enough. Most people were too gullible for their own good anyway. Whether she could manipulate them through emotion, arrogance, or pride made little difference. Sometimes cold logic and a human's seeming inability to look for a lie was all it took. [break][break] She strode over to Thief, kneeling down to pat his head before smiling back to the woman. "Correct me if I’m wrong, Wonda, but it sounds a bit like you’re complaining about doing your own job. If they didn’t give you an apartment number I’m sure there’s some other way to tell where they live… Or lived, I suppose." She let the words hang in the air for a moment as she unwound Thief's leash from around the tree and lifted him into her arms. [break][break] She had plenty of experience with hunting down people she didn't have much intel on, and a dead person couldn't try to flee. This particular task shouldn't be too hard, even if she made a point of not knowing her neighbors very well. "Did they give you a name?"
How does one politely tell someone: ‘I didn’t know my own job duties since someone else applied and got the job for me’. Was there a way at all? Lisa didn’t take the words to heart; humans had stopped phasing her long ago. She refrained from responding to the quip about complaining about her job and pulled out her phone, looking at it in her black leather-gloved hand and reading the message over.
She read it verbatim, first, prattling off the address of the apartment building then the following: “Male, 28, Ivan Zwarny, dead; a body bag is only needed upon the scene. Contact the provided phone number once the body was been bagged and await transportation services.” Lisa advised in an emotion-muted voice more akin to warmed cinnamon honey butter dissolving upon toast. She looked from the screen to the person, then went to the front doors and looked at the apartment call box and through the names of apartments able to be buzzed up to and who could allow entry into the apartment.
They weren’t there.
She looked back at the woman,
“The address does not include an apartment number.” Lisa advised and pointed to the call box, “And there is not a similar name here.”
She wondered if she should phone her apprentice to advise them to come to find the damn body himself.
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela noted that the woman didn't seem very affected by her words. That was alright. She'd get under her skin somehow. And if not it wasn't like Mik had anything riding on this particular target. She just really hated losing. [break][break] "28! My, he was a child." she wrinkled her nose. Sure, that was older than her, but in the past few years she'd grown used to people living longer. In her world only the truly tough people lived long enough to grow old, but in Canada she existed among more polite society. Suddenly the idea of a random 28 year old man dying seemed wrong. "Probably for the better." she decided. Even in a world filled with good, all it took was one slip to fall into the shadows. Life wasn't the place for the weak hearted. [break][break] Mikaela had to wonder whether this supposed neighbor of hers was as innocent as she assumed. She hadn't heard of an Ivan Zwarny during her criminal years, but she knew there were a fair number of people in her building that went by fake names. She wasn't surprised that his name wasn't on the callbox. [break][break] "Alright, well let's go inside." she said brightly, pulling out her key and unlocking the door. Thief was skittering around at her feet so she knelt down and picked him up before walking inside. "Zwarny doesn't sound familiar but it's a big building and I don't really do names anyway. No worries though, it shouldn't be that hard to track him down." After all, corpses were easier to find than living, breathing people who thought it would be fun to run instead. Like there was any point in that. [break][break] Mikaela didn't actually have a plan to find the body. It would be simple if she just talked to her neighbors, she knew exactly which ones would know everyone in the building, but she didn't like the idea of owing them anything.
Lisa didn't think the girl would help much, especially given her demeanor but she was open. She liked the little fox running around- a fennec? Maybe it was a sand cat, she wasn't entirely good with creatures that naturally avoided her. She liked them but they didn't quite like her. In any case, the girl mentioned that the age of the young man who died was quite young.
Yes, he was merely a babe still compared to someone with Lisa’s age and tenure in living or to someone like her apprentice who had existed longer than she even. Then they mentioned it was for the better and just as before, Lisa mentally agreed with her, then she voiced to the both of them going inside and unblocked the door, picked up her excited little pet, and Lisa entered the building with her,
“Yes, human life doesn't tend to account for much in my opinion until after the 100 year mark, they are a bit wiser then. Ironic, since it’s close to their expiring age if they are lucky.” Lisa voiced, “If it helps us find the body, I do not mind if you use me as collateral; I'm sure people would be more helpful if they thought they were helping the hospital out in a sensitive manner.”
“Thank you for your own help, by the way; I appreciate it.”
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela's lips twisted into a wicked smile. "Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that." she drawled. It was too short sighted to base people's worthiness on age. Most of the more interesting people she spent time with usually died young, but they lived enough in that short time to make up for it. "You can be five thousand or fifteen, it won't make a lick of difference if you live like a fool." She eyed the woman, not entirely certain the immortal was making much of her life. Mikaela knew that if she were so jaded she wouldn't be able to stand to go on living. "And people around here... Well you'd be surprised how many of them put in that extra bit of effort to make something of their lives." [break][break] She readjusted the fox in her arms before walking up to the desk in the lobby. No one was behind it, they rarely were, but she didn't pay that much mind. Rather, she ducked behind it and shook the mouse, bringing the desktop to life. "Oh, I suppose I should take a moment to ask whether you want to find this person through entirely legal means," she said, glancing up. It didn't really matter to Mikaela, but cheating was the faster way of doing things.
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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.
