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!
The widening of Maxi’s lips attempted to usher in the impression of approval. Satisfaction was rewarded for Dexter’s commentary, assumingly from the empathy he shared with him regarding the redhead’s opinion. If there was anything that the blue-haired boy enjoyed, it was a story written differently from most if not all others: uniquity; a painting utilizing the more unpopular colors and themes originally taboo or avoided by literary artists. Bonus points if it were an abstract that required the eyes of an advanced reader.
Maxi enveloped his works with themes and plots otherwise untouched because he found beauty in this difference that set one’s writing apart from another. It throws a reader into a situation they know nothing about, and as a result will be educated, entertained and left asking questions due to the plot’s unpredictability. This story, “Wired”, is one of few to introduce a plot in the eyes of who would traditionally be the antagonist: a serial killer, as the protagonist. It wasn’t that Maxi empathized with psychopathy- goodness no, never could he ever. The male’s intrigue in this story was the opportunity to delve, hopefully lacking stereotype and bias, into the mind of a killer plagued with a natural-borne ailment of the mind.
Thump, thump, thump. The cogs of his heart were turning and grinding, animatedly working a rigged hammer to his chest with eagerness to taste and savor the rest of this story’s plot. Maxi didn’t think he’d end up selecting a book that’d inspire such a powerful impatience; and in public no less. Maxi would rather feel such a way in private as to not be inflicted with hesitance from embarrassment. Unlike most people who exposed themselves to more taboo practices of releasing their daily dose of dopamine, Maxi only had to simply caress the surface of a good plot.
”That makes the both of us then. I’m glad to see another person who appreciates the less traditional and more original twists,” he praised the male’s tasteful culture in stories. ”It’s often difficult to find texts such as this among such a vast collection of cliché.” This note of his was made more apparent by the size of the library they found themselves in full of said material.
As engaged as the author was, the discussion was unable to distract his senses from the sound of footsteps and a gradually increasing presence. There was some company, however he was uncertain of who they were and doubted they had business with them. Likely, they were mere library goers seeking out a place to sit and enjoy a story of their own. Hopefully, whoever the sources of these footsteps were, they were less than inclined to read or sit in the presence of others. It would make their read and discussion process a little more challenging in terms of having to control their volume further. Mysteriously, sound was unable to travel very far throughout the library and couldn’t pass through bookshelves; almost as though each work area had their own sphere. However, one could undoubtedly hear another within these areas.
”The first chapter was graphically detailed… it was a bit difficult to stomach actually. The author did a wonderful job with a scene of such grotesque nature, and I can tell it vaguely suggests some sort of mental dysphoria occurring in the main character’s head. This will definitely turn out to be psychological,” he continued, choosing to ignore the approaching presence as their activities were none of his business; and his back was turned to the direction in which said party approached, so it’d be odd if he attempted to turn to observe.
There remained an adamant belief of Dexter's opinion paling in comparison to Maxi’s, especially considering the man appeared to be a literary genius. While the redhead was an avid reader, reflecting over various works of fiction were notions accomplished in English class. Anxiety plagued him, more evident than under normal circumstances; he still desired to impress Maxi. He enjoyed the attractive man's company despite their brief interaction. There was something addicting about receiving the blue-haired man's attention, Dexter wishing this day could last forever. He hoped there would be more visits in the future in relation to the book alongside Maxi enjoying the story. The redhead desired a close relationship with the short man, especially considering how adorably bashful the young man appeared to be. Throughout being in Maxi's company, Dexter found his heart skipping beats in blissful happiness from being provided with this opportunity. Nobody had previously sparked these feelings, Jean being the closest with his naughty offerings of pleasure; it failed to be true affection.
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While he awaited the superior judgement from Maxi, the bespectacled man kept his gaze locked with the cover of the book, analyzing the artwork. The seconds ticked back, and despite the brief silence from the word exchange, it felt like hours to Dexter until he heard the blue-haired man speak. The instant Maxi began speaking, Dexter's heart skipped a beat in delighted surprise; they both shared a similar interest in the unique styling of the book. They enjoyed the notion of their protagonist truthfully being the serial killer, the bad guy under most circumstances because of the different exploration into the unknown it provided. There were many people who would possess mixed feelings about the unique perspective, especially considering it opened the door to graphic imagery which brought a stomach-churning feeling. Alas, Dexter found it more admirable because of the excellent descriptors which reminded him of more gruesome horror movies.
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"It really is... I've always enjoyed these types of stories since you hardly ever see them. The conventional stuff gets talked about too much to enjoy it as much," Dexter explained further.
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Gradually, the noises were growing in volume, but Dexter ignored it in favour of listening to more of Maxi's opinions. There were nods of acknowledgement from the redhead as Maxi mentioned the graphic nature of the book. The scenes were impressively detailed in the violence, the horror fanatic finding it interesting as his thoughts went to the numerous graphic movies he viewed over the years. The notion of delving into the psychology of the killer sounded interesting, Dexter providing a small grin while his amber eyes slowly glanced towards Maxi, although, for only a brief moment.
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"It will be interesting since not many people explore those types of problems. I've always wanted to learn more about killers like this myself," Dexter stated briefly.
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The footsteps gradually increased in volume, suddenly moving swifter after he spoke. The redhead raised a brow, adjusting to glance back towards the shelves, waiting for the people wandering the shelves to come into view. Eventually, Dexter saw them, freezing as his expression switched into an awkward grin as an elderly couple gasped gleefully before rushing towards him. The old male held a phone tight in his hand while they approached. Immediately, the old woman wrapped her arms around the redhead, holding him tightly. She wore simple clothing of excellent make, similar could be said about the man's clothing. The man's hair was a faded grey, making his age evident by a mere glance while the woman possessed a slight hint of red to her fading colour. There was a single unique feature from the man, which was the pair of thin-rimmed glances of a black colour which framed his amber eyes.
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"OH MY LITTLE BOY!" The woman exclaimed, maintaining a tight grip. "I WAS SO WORRIED WHEN YOU STOPPED TEXTING!"
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A flinch became evident on Dexter's face as he squirmed from her vice grip, eventually gaining freedom to breathe. There was a soft sigh which left his slightly parted lips, but before he could answer, his grandmother's eyes latched onto a new target as an exaggerated gasp escaped her mouth.
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"OH MY GOODNESS!" She exclaimed again until the man softly touched her shoulder to inform her to be quiet. "You're the author of Beneath the Thread."
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Surprise graced Dexter's eyes for a moment as his grandparent's attention fixated on Maxi, eyes staring in giddily at the notion of meeting the author of their beloved book. They were clearly quite pleased as they stared with broad grins, waiting to hear Maxi speak; Dexter personally found it creepy. A concerned countenance touched the redhead's face as he watched his grandparents, praying they would not startle his bashful companion.
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The delay between each of these steps had suddenly increased before it had, all at once, sharply dipped down. Whoever they were, they were approaching- and fast at that. With this change in pace, Maxi’s pulse accelerated. These pulses secreted heavy doses of anxiety that coursed through him like a poison, stiffening his muscles and locking his joints into stasis until it happened.
A body flew past him and towards the other side of the table, engulfing the redhead lovingly albeit tightly with arms. From the scent that lingered in the person’s tailwind, he could easily detect their age without having to focus his attention on their visage. Mixed within the scent was the smell of aged books, likely made even before his time. Based on their behaviors towards him, they were of familial connection to him.
In the meanwhile he was still frozen and recovering from the shock of their arrival, it had only occurred to him that there was a second one as well; likely familial, and just as well grown as the other. Maxi didn’t want to openly assume anything, but at the moment it appeared they were either his parents or, more likely based on appearance, grandparents.
Finally, a breath of air fled his mouth in the form of a relieved yet also troubled sigh, offering a sympathetic smile to Dexter for what he must go through with these two. These two were definitely the doting type by the looks and behavior of them. It would almost be cute if they hadn’t nearly scared the piss out of him a few moments ago.
It wasn’t over yet though. The old woman shifted her attention to him, making him stiffen up straight and pull his head back expectantly. She had almost dismissed him at first it seemed, until those pupils dilated about twice their original size in beaming enthusiasm. Like a cannon, her exclamation blasted him into astonishment. ”W-Wha-...” he squeaked out, before she went on to state aloud the profession and identity he had hoped to keep under wraps for the sake of not appearing to be any sort of big deal.
Maxi was definitely far from full of himself. One can even say he was pessimistic; therefore entirely critical of himself and his writing. Yet, he earned value for his name merely from his first product that became largely popular for causing a staggering flip in opinion towards masculinity and sexuality. The work delve deep into the hearts of many readers, and he never came forward to really make it a big of a deal as much as his work was flaunted.
”Er… hi,” he greeted awkwardly, lifting up a hand to emphasize this greeting. Maxi wasn’t used to being met with such eagerness, breathlessness and enthusiasm. After all, as far as he was aware, he was a mere ordinary person in pursuit of a dream; and wasn’t exactly attuned to the idea of him having accomplished achievements during said pursuit. The male has been generously given advice on situations like this though. He’s succeeded in attaining and pleasing a fanbase, and such fans should be met with kindness. Of course, having not really experienced these situations before, he was amateur at it. The shyness in his behavior indicated so; and it was helpless really due to his horrid anxiety disorder.
”It’s a pleasure,” he corrected himself, making a fine hand movement to his words to as emphasis to his speech. ”You are, monsieur and madam?” he asked formally in order to achieve a tone of high respect and veneration for their old and experienced age. It was a formal term he used to address those much older than himself out of consideration; also, commonly those more financially well-off.
Witnessing the behaviour his grandparents displayed towards Maxi was interesting to Dexter as he silently watched. While the redhead undoubtedly adored his grandparents, their eccentric nature towards others and his love life were borderline obnoxious. Frequently, they would become rather nosy, inquiring a plethora of times about potential crushes or boyfriends. Occasionally this reached lengths of them arranging dates with particular men, oftentimes those with bodybuilder type frames which were to Dexter’s disliking; he found them a turnoff. Meanwhile, his grandparents consistently attempted to organize these romantic situations in hopes Dexter would discover somebody he loved. The grandparents and his parents, when they lived, insisted the redhead would find an individual he would love. There were prayers that his grandparents would avoid frightening the adorable blue-haired man he enjoyed. After conversing with Maxi, the bespectacled man could easily notice the man he adored was rather bashful, appearing to have difficulties in social situations. These were difficult traits to handle considering Dexter's grandparents were the polar opposite of himself.
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The interaction was quietly observed, the redhead maintaining a neutral expression with mildly concerned undertones as he watched his grandparents. There were wide-eyes on the elderly couple as they stared at the valued author whose book enticed their interest consistently. Hours were poured into reading every word written by Maxi Belleclaire, the couple enthusiastically listening to the squeaked out words. They gleefully gushed, the woman's hands clasping together, being held against her chest with a broad grin stretching across her lips. As the blue-haired man proceeded to speak, the pair getting excited as the greeting returned and Maxi proved to be rather formally speaking. A high-pitch squeal escaped the grandmother's mouth, startling the young redhead who jumped slightly.
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"What a gentleman! I am Colleen Adams, and this," she gestured to the older man, "is my husband Wayne Adams.
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There was a grin on her lips as she explained the introduction. For a moment, her eyes flitted about, promptly settling on Dexter, their grandson. Immediately, the younger redhead straightened his back, attempting to appear vaguely profession as he awaited the inevitable. After a brief pause, his grandmother's fingers curled around his arm, giving a gentle tug to force Dexter slightly closer.
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"Ooooh! And this is our grandson as you likely know, Dexter!" She exclaimed cheerfully, voice filled to the brim with pride. "Honestly, Dexter, you should have called and allowed us to know you were speaking to Maxi Belleclaire!"
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A soft sigh escaped through Dexter's lips as his grandmother, Colleen, exhibited her usual over-excited nature; it never soothed despite her age. Their family was renown for these types of behaviours, the redhead is a surprising exception, especially because of his introverted attitude. Oftentimes, the bespectacled young man was known for his polar differences from the remainder of his family. There was an opportunity taken to fish his phone from his pocket, turning it on to discover the numerous texts, his amber eyes widening as a result.
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"Seriously?! There are hundreds of texts here!" Dexter stated in a sudden outburst.
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There was a faint blossoming of pink on his grandmother's cheeks, but she opted not to respond to her grandson. The grandmother wished to proceed with their conversation about answering all messages once they returned home. Since the unfortunate day their grandson fainted, the grandparents were fretful of it possibly occurring another time. They were merely worried family wishing excellent health for their dearest grandson.
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"Anyways," the grandfather began, walking forward a bit, "what book are you two reading?"
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There was a curious tone to the elderly man's voice, a more tamed smile and behaviour as he worked towards interacting with Maxi. When Dexter's grandmother released his arm, he placed his elbows on the table, propping his cheeks on his hands. A moment was taken to glance down at the book below, the redhead wishing they could have continued reading opposed to being interrupted by his grandparents.
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Maxi’s flattery attempt to swoon their status had been successful, and he was honored to have been graced with a compliment such as “gentlemanly.” It was a new one, but nonetheless a adjective he did his best to earn. The name “Adams” had struck him some familiarity, beckoning forth a sudden gravitating pressure on him. “Those Adams?” he contemplated to himself thoughtfully, without allowing his outer smile fumble. “... that would make Dexter…-” and as he made that note, he exchanged glances with the redhead briefly simply to take in his reaction to this event.
A chuckle danced from his lips and the delicate, pale fingers of his that attempted to seal it. The grandparents were as overprotective of him as though he were their own son, drawing his curiosity as to the whereabouts of the male’s own parents. Such behavior implied a history of misfortune, but he wasn’t eager to pry on such a subject.
Instead, he was amused by how venerable he was in existence to the couple. While it was embarrassing, and his cheeks were rose stamped as so, he didn’t want to express discomfort with it and damper their spirits with such a disgraceful claim against their doteful opinions. It was intriguing to him how he could have any member of the elderly audience enthralled with his works due to the anti-traditional content they contained. It introduced him to a relatively new idea- that the older generation could find themselves invested in what was formerly scandalous in their days.
Rather than offer further comment, Maxi remained quiet until an inquiry was piped into the air by the older gentleman. That was a question he could answer without an air of awkwardness. Delicately, he picked up the book and scribbled into the air with a graceful sleight of hand, and dragged his fingertip across the page’s edge to leave behind a turquoise lumination. This was his way of bookmarking in the scenario that he did not have one on his person at the time.
The book was closed, and he showed them the well-illustrated and darkly-themed cover. ”This-” he began, presenting it with a gesture of his fair fingers- ”is a book called Wired. Good things have been said about it, so I thought it’d be good to give it a try. We only just started, but I can see a lot of promise in the first chapter already,” he explained happily.
Silently, Dexter listened to the progression of the conversations, mildly concerned over the numerous things his grandparents could potentially state. There were currently a variety of different facts the redhead prayed his lovable grandparents would avoid sharing with the adorable, blue-haired man he fatefully found. A soft sighed escaped his lips, the bespectacled man's amber eyes flitting to Maxi, where he noticed him gazing at him. There was a pause, surprise touching Dexter's expression until he managed a shy, reassuring smile. Rapidly inside his chest, the redhead's heart palpitated from merely catching a glimpse of Maxi's face, although, he wished for more personal time with him. After an initial conversation, the pair discovered they could bond of reading, and Dexter desired to manifest a closeness with Maxi, however, could not provide a reason for why. Something was pulling him towards Maxi, as though threads were knitting them together. When the adorable man glanced away, an inaudible and extensive exhale escaped the redhead's lips. Evidently, his grandparents were extremely excited over the notion of meeting a man their homosexual grandson was spending time with.
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These were the instances when Dexter wished he remained in the closet about his sexuality to his family, especially considering how meddlesome his grandparents could be when they believed someone could make their little boy happy. As the conversation switched to the book, his grandfather smiled as Maxi shared his opinion, meanwhile, his grandmother was beaming. There was a wide grin stretched across her face as she excitedly observed the blue-haired man, listening to the words he stated as though they were a holy gospel. The admiration Dexter's grandparents held for the young author was endless, especially considering the unique themes they stated were in the book; it would be untraditional and scandalous in his grandparent's prime era. As Maxi explained, Colleen enthusiastically nodded, hands coming together, resting against her chest as she listened.
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"That sounds wonderful," Colleen responded excitedly, albeit, quietly to avoid further trouble. "I will have to consider reading it sometime."
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As Colleen decided on reading the book as well, her husband nodded in agreement, although, Dexter immediately stiffened, straightening in his chair to stare at his grandparents. Endless concerns over their meddlesome tendencies entered the young redhead's mind as memories flashed through his mind of their assistance in his parent's attempts to find him a suitable significant other. Their intentions were completely positive since they merely desired his happiness, but the bespectacled young adult wished to discover their significant other on their own. The instant his grandparents noticed his staring, they smiled reassuringly at him before returning their attention to Maxi.
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"Anyways, I was actually curious if you planning to write more books in the future? Your first one was incredible, so I would definitely love to read more of your work," Colleen asked quietly.
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During a majority of events, Dexter's grandmother was the primary conversationalist because of her extremely extroverted attitude. Striking up a conversation with other individuals was an easy task for her, and despite his quietness in this instant, Wayne could accomplish similarly. After a few moments, the redhead's eyes slowly drifted in Maxi's direction, a neutral expression on his face.
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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.
