Welcome to The Duality of Man, an original animanga role-play that features numerous supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, these various species have distanced themselves because of the war that occurred thousands of years ago, plaguing some with eyes that only see their dualism. While others meddle themself with their differences, two groups fight, each attempting to eliminate the other in for their definition of worldly peace. These two groups of the Terror Response Syndicate (TRS) and the Assembly of Phantoms (AP). With individuals fighting merely over their differences, it brings uncertainty to the outcome of this war.
We happily accept all role-players as long as they obey the rules and are capable of meeting our word count of 50. This does include those who are unfamiliar with this style of role-playing. The staff of The Duality of Man are willing to happily help those who are new to the role-playing world so they feel comfortable on site. Feel free to message the staff if you need help, they can be found here or in the site Discord and will gladly answer questions alongside calm concerns. If you have any suggestions we would love to hear them; guests may use the support board as a suggestion area as well. Should you decide to join, may I say welcome to the site and we all hope you enjoy your time here.
Yours Truely,
The Staff
season
Summer 2022
Heat has broken through into a glorious summer. The snow has entirely dried through the spring, leaving to the brilliance of the warmer months. Terror activity has risen as people are brought out of their homes, leaving the TRS in a position of consistent work. Each are attempting to maintain victory in the endless struggle for power.
With April, an activity check has arrived for members to do! Please post on the AC and tag all your accounts, including WIPs and OOC accounts. Failure to post on this AC will result in your accounts being marked inactive or deleted. Please note, due to a late start, the due date for this check has been adjusted for one time and one time only.
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
It made complete sense that this was fictional. If it wasn't, then how come everyone else seemed to be so sure of themselves?! This whole thing looked choreographed, and if she wasn't having so much fun, she might have felt guilty about crashing their scenes. She was blissfully unaware that the chances of getting out of whatever mess this was were growing slim the longer she lingered.
Taking the stranger's silence as an agreement, Cali felt altogether a little bit shy at this newfound crush. Beginning to plot out the start of a beautiful life together, her visions of white picket fences was smartly ripped away as the crack of fire sparked up closer to them, the heat rippling angrily as it reached for them. The night was otherwise silent, a stark contrast to what was happening in their current bubble. She sucked in a sharp breath as smoke rolled over them, tickling her nose and lungs.
Her new beau pulled her away, dragging her towards a locked fence. It was starting to not feel as nice as it did, with his fingers digging into her hand as tightly as they were. This wasn't the romantic picture her brain had created anymore, it was getting a little weird at this point. Maybe she didn't want to spend forever with dumpster man anymore.
The lock shattered before her eyes, but she didn't have much time to be surprised. Of course, it was a prop lock, it was built to do that. Nonetheless, it was still marvelous to watch it happen. She was commanded to run, and after a short debate, the fire curling towards her ankles finally convinced her to obey for the first time that night.
Turning, Cali bolted, her original bundle still firmly clasped to her chest with one arm. A significant amount of leaves were gone in all the running and hiding, leaving only a bundle of sad, green twigs. If she wasn't convinced she could save them, she would have just discarded the bunch.
She was relieved to hear footsteps behind her, turning her head to assure her that the stranger was hot on her heels. She didn't want to leave him, but honestly if it came between their forever and her survival, she was gonna put herself first. She could find a new lover, maybe move to Italy or Greece and forget he ever existed. Ah, but the memories of their time spent together would still haunt her even as an old woman.
After a brief sprint, she began to slow, her lungs burning with the effort of running for perhaps the first time in years. "Is it over yet? Can we stop now? I'm so tired. My legs are so sore. And oh my gosh, my lungs burn like crazy. I have no idea if its the smoke or running but man, maybe I need to go to the gym more often."
Marz Luther ● how many children are we having boss?
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
Happily carrying a rumpled up cardboard box, she hefted it under her arm carefully, taking a casual detour into a coffee shop to order before taking herself and her new package home. The cardboard box rustled unhappily for a moment, and she took a second to switch it to her other arm before bowing into the shop. Ordering a simple iced coffee, she hesitated before ordering a croissant, slipping it into the box before standing back in line to wait for her order.
It was a nice enough day out surprisingly-- she had expected it to rain, but the sun had other plans obviously. The box shivered as whatever was inside reached for the croissant, and she was glad that it had accepted the offering for now. The problem of what she was going to do with it when she got home was a problem for future her.
The man behind the counter handed her the cup, and she planted herself at an outside table for a minute, stretching her legs out and squinting as a warm breeze furled past her cheeks. It was a nice kind of overcast; the kind where you didn't have to bother with sunglasses or a coat just yet.
Her box once again rustled curiously, and after a brief debate, she fished an ice cube out of her cup and slipped it in past the box flaps. That was all she could do for it before they got home, and until then, it would have to be happy with a fresh croissant and an ice cube.
It looked for all the world like she was having a coffee date with a mysterious package, and despite some of the odd looks she got, Cali seemingly did not notice a single one.
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
Baffled, Cali shook her head negative. "No, there can't be. That was horrible. It could even, like, blink in unison. The eyeballs didn't all focus on the same thing either, like a chameleon. It still haunts me sometimes, when I go to the zoo." She gave a little shudder, shaking off the horror of a slightly unnatural elephant staring at her.
She had barely noticed that Mik had cleaned the wound so efficiently. She didn't really feel much down there, and she was glad for the distraction of talking. However, now that she had gotten onto the topic of dreams, she couldn't help but have the images of her nightmares firmly pasted to the forefront. Her eyes darted to the window, suddenly a little skeptical. "You don't think anything could get up here, could they...?" Surely they were too high for an elephant to reach, even a hell-elephant, hellephant? Yes, Hellephant.
"Why not? It's certainly good for me. I don't want to feel anything happening down there." Of course it was good. Who actively wanted to feel pain? In fact, she was having the time of her life. Maybe after this she could convince Mikaela to let her stay here. Her own apartment was boring, but it was thrilling to be let inside someone else's home, even if it was under the threat of her finger being cut off.
Now that the wound was clean, Cali was grateful to see that her finger hadn't actually been severed. The pineapple had stopped stinging, and now she truly couldn't feel much down there. Raising her hand closer, Cali wrinkled her nose back up as blood welled back to the surface again, quickly patting it onto the towel that was used to clean it.
Her eyes tracked Mikaela curiously as she moved, watching with fascination as she grabbed a blade and stuck it straight into her arm. Cali froze for a minute, before the pain of that sank into her, too. She hissed, retracting her arm carefully as blood oozed down from the new incision. "Yes, very much so. Why did you do that?!" She wasn't sure whether to be sullen or curious. The stab certainly hurt, but it didn't hurt near as much as it did when her hand was stabbed.
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
The stranger's grasp on her ensured that she would be able to do nothing else but follow. Regardless, she was happy to follow along. This was the most entertainment she had gotten in a long while. She had absolutely no intentions of legging it, and in fact, was very determined to see this to the very end. She was something of a circus connoisseur, making a point to go to each one to see the steam piano that she shared a name with.
She really had to admit, his dedication to the show was admirable. The whole thing was so dramatic, Cali had to wonder if this wasn't a show after all. It was too real, too gritty. Twisting in the man's grip, she looked around for cameras. She was stupid, of course this was a movie. She had just gotten wrapped up in it by accident, and he was such a good actor, he just rolled with it. The heat of the fire rushed towards them, and despite her new resolve to do her best to not mess up their action scenes, Cali couldn't help but cringe away. In a quiet whisper so the cameras could edit it out better, she answered, "its okay, I know its a movie now. I won't mess it up, I swear."
She tucked herself closer into the stranger, obviously associating him with safety. Even though her consciousness had not been able to clock the danger, her subconscious thankfully had a tinge of self-preservation left to it. She obeyed without another comment, sticking herself firmly into Marz' side as they moved into the darkness. It swallowed them, and Cali squinted so hard her face hurt. Giving up on seeing anything, her hand gripped the man's shirt as he pulled her down.
This was a little romantic, Cali thought with a little blush. She didn't exactly know her supposed role in this, but this was a little sweet. Her hand slipped down to hold the stranger's tightly, surprisingly happy to stay quiet in the moment. Her brain was still trying to catch up with the quick decision to have a crush on the stranger.
Fire blossomed in the alleyway several yards ahead of them, lighting up boxes and pallets immediately. Sparks hissed and cracked as they spiraled upwards. The group of men seemed to not notice them, surging forwards as they burned everything in their path. They had apparently decided that the pair had fled on, and they burned a war path ahead to smoke them out.
The acrid fumes burned her lungs and eyes, and she squinted painfully before turning her head into her arm, pressing her nose into the fabric to breathe. This was starting to become less movie-like, and a little too real for her tastes.
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
Blinking suspiciously at Mikaela, Cali's eyes narrowed into a squint. "How bad of nightmares are we talking? I've had some pretty weird ones. Once, I was in the woods. And there was a really-- and I mean REALLY big elephant. But it was like, the woods. Not the desert? Or wherever elephants live. And it had three eyes, THREE. I was shaken for days."
Either way, the girl was begrudgingly worn off of doing home surgery. For now, anyway. She would see how bad it might be and decide then.
Ever glad for an excuse to talk, Cali immediately launched into a rendition of what happened. "So, I was scrolling on my phone last night and saw a really cool--but not actually that complicated-- recipe for a cake, and I thought maybe I could do it. The recipe had canned pineapple but I saw the real big pineapples and thought that would be better. I was slicing it and then cut off my finger real good. Honestly, the pineapple juice getting all into it hurt worse than the actual knife."
Cali glanced down without a second thought, very happy to keep offering her hand. She hadn't realised her pain tolerance was this high until now, but really, she didn't feel a thing. "Hey, is it bad that I can't actually feel you touching that? I feel great. Maybe I could just do home surgery if it doesn't actually hurt." She couldn't actually tell if she could still bend her finger or not, but that was at the back of her mind. She was more fascinated that she was doing great. She cried when she got her ears pierced, so maybe this was a part of being an adult that no one actually talked about.
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
Cocking her head curiously, Cali answered, “who else would I go to?”
That one genuinely stumped her. She didn’t know too many other people in her building. Something that granted, she ought to rectify as soon as possible. Maybe if she escaped this knife business and got back to her thing that she was making, she could make cookies or something. A nice, safe one that didn’t require cutting things up. It did take ovens, though, and she didn’t have a very good rep with hot things touching her bare skin.
Absentmindedly dropping a hand to stroke the little animal, she watched Mikaela until she was completely out of sight before casting her eyes around the room. She was desperate to have a proper look around, but it would be terrible manners to get blood all over her stuff in the process. Blood was impossible to get out once it set a stain.
Heaving a dramatic sigh, Cali resigned herself to her fate.
“Fine, but I don’t think it’s that bad, I swear it just needs a little bandaid and I’ll be good to go. Oh wait— do you think I could just put some cute bandaids on top of the big one…? That might work…”
Cali trailed off, the rusty cogs in her head turning, albeit very slowly, as she worked on a solution for her new problem.
“Well I’m not going. I can just do surgery at home, I doubt it’s that hard. People do it every day.”
She offered her hand, warily unwrapping the tea towel from it. Her face crinkled as the dried blood stuck to the fabric, pulling away painfully as fresh blood welled in its place.
“You think it’s bad…?”
Despite her bravado, she was a little worried. Stitches did not sound like a pleasant endeavour and she did not want to go to the hospital.
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
The prime concern here was her precious armful of plants. If anything happened to one, there would be no getting it back. She carefully rearranged them in her arms, fussing over them like a mother might fuss her child. Cali was so busy with her bundle(s) of joy, that she did not notice anything happening behind her. In fact, to her it was a perfectly nice night to be out, with no danger looming whatsoever.
Shouts from behind her drew her attention, and the girl finally turned curiously, wondering what on earth was going on back there. Realising with surprise that an entire group of men had formed behind her, her eyes darted from each one's face cautiously. The barest gleam of a warning flashed in the back of her mind, but it was easy to ignore it when so many things were happening at once. She did not notice the additional man that was attempting to assist, but she did notice the men's shadows crawling up their legs like leeches vying for a prime vein. Her nose crinkled up in curiosity rather than fear, her gaze intent.
It was a cool party trick to say the least. Whoever was behind it must have been a magician or prankster of some sort, since it seemed like the men that were being effected were not in on the gag. The corners of her lips turned up in a smile as she watched, delighted at the impromptu show that was unfolding in front of her.
A quiet voice echoed from the side, and her attention was drawn towards him instead. Ah, he must be the one doing it. He was the only one that the darkness wasn't sucking at.
Taking an inadvertent step backwards, Cali watched as one of the men chucked a fireball in his direction. Incredibly impressed by the shield thrown up to thwart it, her feet were glued to the ground as she watched. This was better than any drama she had ever watched, and she was absolutely enraptured by it all.
Her arm twisted painfully as the stranger grabbed her, dragging her along behind her for a few beats before her legs caught up with the idea. Trotting along beside him, Cali clutched her plants carefully to her chest as she eagerly followed. "Oh, no thank you. I was having fun watching... Well, whatever that was." In fact, she was a little disgruntled that he had dragged her away from the action. "Speaking of, what exactly was that? Are you guys like a travelling circus or something, and this was a rehearsal, or...?"
As the last word left her lips, the men that had been following her filtered towards them, like wolves intent on their prey. "Oh! Here they come again." Her tone sounded rather more excited than scared, and she glanced between the gruff stranger and them. "Speaking of, I feel like fire is a little dangerous to do a circus with but oh-- you're the professional, so I shouldn't talk, I guess."
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
She shuffled uncomfortably as she waited, listening to the muffled barks behind the door. Cali knew she was in, she could practically hear the person inside finally caving to her knocking. If she had a tail, it would have immediately wagged upon seeing Mikaela open the door. She flashed her a sunny smile as she offered her bloodied hand higher so the other girl could see it better.
"Yeah. Well. I don't know, actually. It really hurts, and I'm too scared to actually look at it so I've just resigned myself to the fact that it's gone now." The towel that her hand was wrapped in was quickly becoming overcome by the amount of blood that was seeping out of her hand, and Cali winced as she readjusted it.
Relief washed over her face as she was invited in. Even with the incredible amount of pain she was in, she still had time to feel overjoyed at being invited into somebody else's home. It wasn't terribly often that she was asked to stay over, and she just couldn't place her finger on why.
"Do you have any of the cool bandaids? Not the horrible brown ones, they don't match my skintone what so ever. I saw someone with a racecar one the other day. That was cool." She didn't feel the need to mention that the somebody was also quite visibly 10. "You don't think I'll need to see a doctor, do you? I could just put a bandaid on it and keep cutting my pineapple?"
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
Focusing hard on her task, Cali's eyebrows scrunched together as she concentrated. Her tongue poked out a bit as she moved, the knife slowly bobbing up and down as she carved her pineapple slowly. She had been working the entire week to learn how to cook for herself better. It wasn't that she wasn't good at making food for herself, she was just a little scared of the oven. And the stovetop. And the kitchen. She had mostly existed on microwave and quick meals until now, with the occasional take away to supplement her week.
It was only until she realised that she hadn't had a real vegetable in three weeks that she finally buckled down on teaching herself how to cook. The past couple times had gone... badly. She had managed to set the hob on fire a week back, frantically throwing water at it until it finally sizzled out. The wall behind her stove was still a little crispy in places she still hadn't figured out how to clean.
This time, she was trying to start on an easier dish. She had found a good pineapple cake recipe on the Youtube, and went to work almost immediately. Her classes had let out recently, giving her far too much time on her hands. Trouble was keen to follow her if she had *time, and she had to wisely fill her schedule to avoid that.
The skin of the pineapple fell away in ragged shreds, and she left a good part of the edible pieces still on the rind, but she was doing it, and that was all that mattered. Her knife came down more confidently, and a searing pain went through her thumb in that exact moment. She blinked dumbly down at her hand, watching blood seep over the cutting board and trickling over the last piece of pineapple she had cut. The hand that held the knife had slipped, losing control and slicing through the webbing of her thumb and forefinger effectively.
It hurt like a bitch, and she waffled for a moment before grabbing a tea towel and bundling her bloody hand. Trotting out into the hall of her apartment, she glanced left and right before knocking on a door with her good hand. "Do you have a bandaid, I think I cut my thumb off."
open thread ● preferably a cute bandaid, not an ugly plain one thx
You only got a couple miles to go if you're trying to drive me insane
The night air blanketed her comfortingly as Cali clutched her bundle of fragrant herbs and tiny vegetable plants carefully. She had come out to meet a friend who was selling the rest of their garden before moving overseas, and she had been lucky enough to snatch up a fairly rare collection of plants. Most of them were heirloom vegetables, safely wrapped in wet paper towels to keep from getting too upset before she could get back home.
Walking confidently forward, Cali failed to notice that she was being followed by a group that clung to the shadows. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and her brain buzzed with ideas on where to put all these for the night. She had no way to get down to her greenhouse at this time of night, so she would simply have to make do with whatever was in her apartment.
Many a teacup had been sacrificed to her love for plants, and it seemed that even more were to be added to the rankings of plant pot.
Her toe caught on a loose block on the pavement, and she stumbled for a moment, her bundle of plants dropping with a wet plap as she lost her grip. Grumbling obscenities to herself quietly, she stooped to pick everything back up. The group in behind her closed in like shadows, even as Cali remained blissfully unaware that she was perhaps about to get jumped. Or murdered. All for the sake of dropping her plant bundle.
Long, silvery blonde hair is frequently swept up into a pony tail. Her eyes are naturally a pale purple, but may change depending on which contacts are preferable for the day. Her height evens out at a respectable 153 cm, making her seem unimposing and non-threatening. What she lacks in muscle and strength, she makes up for with a fiery attitude. Her skin is pale, devoid of any major flaws and marks. Her strictly sheltered upbringing made sure that she would never have to work harder than necessary.
Her style is fairly unusual to someone just meeting her. It's a curious mix between practical and bizarre. Her work and passion with gardening proves that its just a matter of time before something gets stained, so she carefully plans her clothes around her activities. That's not to say she doesn't know how to dress herself when she gets the chance.
personality
POSITIVE
- honest
- charming
- confident
- FEARLESS
- social
- optimistic
- loyal
NEGATIVE
- takes nothing seriously
- arrogant
- headstrong
- impulsive
- childish
- way too trusting
- dense as hell
abilities
Gifted:
Naturally curious about botany, Cali has the ability to encourage the quick and healthy growth from any plant. Although the ability to make things grow is fairly powerful, it takes a lot out of her and can cause extreme mental and physical exhaustion.
backstory
Named after the Greek muse of poetry, Calliope's life has been incredibly poetic and smooth sailing. She was born in Japan, as a single child. Her parents were loving, devoted. Her father worked as a powerful executive at a local banking company, and her mother's family had left them a sizeable estate in their passing. As a result, Cali grew up privileged and allowed to close her eyes to the harshness of the world. She was sent to boarding school in Canada, where she developed an affection for the climate and people. She ended up staying for university, deciding to get her horticulture degree here and experience life on the other side of the globe.
Her parents were understandably upset by this move, begging her to come home and work for her father's company. She won the battle, and lives in a comfortable apartment in Lorsette as she attends classes. The lack of a struggle shaped how the viewed the world, and she grew with wild confidence in herself. It's difficult to not be optimistic when things just work themselves out for you.
misc
really loves tigers and near-death experiences for some reason.
Do not use drama to get attention in the chat. Nobody appreciates it.
2
No advertising, we have a perfectly fine board for that.
3
Please try and keep swearing to a minimum in the chat.
4
All chat usernames should be PG-13 and not break the ProBoards ToS or site rules.
5
A Chatango account is not required, but it is encouraged.
6
Please avoid spamming the chat; accidents are understandable.
7
You may use the in-character chat prior to acceptance.
8
Be respectful to anybody who enters the chat, including guest, fellow members and staff.
9
Guests may speak in chat at anytime to ask questions or get a taste of our community~!
resource sites
affiliates
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.