TEST DRIVE MEME #20

[penancemods]

Arrival

You remember a dream.

Or maybe nightmare is more accurate.

It was full of hellfire nipping at your skin and a sensation of being pulled down no matter how much you struggle or cry for help. There's a voice that feels like it's coming from all around you at once. Contrasting with the nightmare unfolding around you, it's smooth as silk. It makes you want to listen with every bit of attention you can muster in the moment.

"Judgement has come upon you, but not to worry. It can still be undone."

The voice promises you redemption for your sins. It promises you a better life and everything you could ever want, if only you just stop struggling so much.

And so you do.

While everyone usually wakes up in the same room initially, there has been an unforeseen error. Sinners will not wake in a deceptively cushy room with Hieronymus Bosch paintings lining the walls. Instead, when they open their eyes, they may find themselves in any Penance location, including:

∎ Any location within the hotel, including rooms belonging to sinners who have already settled in. Bar, bathrooms, kitchen, etc. There's a nice torture room as well!
∎ Club Penance, Casino Styx, the movie theatre, or the fondly named Hellburbia, etc..
∎ Locations just outside the gate aren't off limits for new arrivals, but keep in mind that sinners may be chased by random hell beasts or have to call for aid ASAP.

More details about locations available in Hell can be found here.

After feeling a sensation of falling or dropping onto a hard surface, characters wake up feeling like they've just slept for a month straight. Their body will feel heavy and stiff, and they'll have a massive headache at first. They will have a mysterious wound across the palm of their hand that hasn't been healed properly.

They'll quickly notice the list of their sins written with their blood on an old piece of parchment placed upon their chest. These contracts are made with blood magic and will mean the parchment is tied to their individual sins. They can't be changed or tampered with. Next to them, they'll also find their device to connect with others and the network dropped on the ground. It won't be anything terribly fancy. As a matter of fact, it looks like a very old Blackberry type phone.

Once characters are ready to get up, they'll have to find their way to the Hotel Penance lobby. Pushing through the dreaded ominous feeling that lingers upon arrival, they may encounter fellow sinners or demonic staff that will direct them to the front desk to be checked in. The staff may be pushy or they may border on courteous. It really just depends on the mood of the demon at the time and how they're treated in return.

Once to the lobby, you'll notice the front desk manned by a demon who looks bored out of his mind. To the side of him is the door to the kitchen, where guests may help themselves to whatever foods are available. To the right is a small duty free shop that seems to have a surprisingly normal, expected stock of items. There's also a gift shop called Kergak's Gifts and Things, for all those novelty Hell t-shirts and memorabilia. Look around a bit further, there will be a tiny bar tucked in through a corner door. It seems pretty well-stocked and best of all, there's a demonic bartender who seems to know how to mix any drink you can imagine (and a few you can't). Of course there's some seating, bar games, and a jukebox tucked in the corner if you'd rather stay and socialize a bit. There's also a new addition of a karaoke machine.

Please note that all the songs on the jukebox are appropriately hell-themed. Hopefully Sympathy for the Devil is universally loved.


Stand Your Ground

Sinners, new and old alike, will note that the morning in Penance starts off with quite a bang. An explosion rocks the hotel just as Lilith is welcoming the fresh batch of damned souls in after a full month and it seems to spread out across the entire community. Before anyone can so much as react, it feels almost like the dimension of Hell folds in on itself. For a jarring, uncomfortable moment, everything changes. The hotel changes from its usual look to a burned out husk of a building that reveals the gruesome landscape outside, to a castle made of skulls before back to normal again. Similarly, the demons and sinners alike may feel themselves shift a bit, becoming some alternate version of themselves. The demons may become uncomfortably human, sinners may become older or younger. It doesn't last more than a second, but it may leave one feeling a bit ill for a while afterwards.

For a blissful moment after the explosion and weirdness that followed, things almost seem back to normal around Penance. At least until the staff is frantically rushing around. The word is Lilith has been injured and Lucifer has gone missing. There are scared murmurs of The Veiled Order and God breaking through the barrier Lucifer set up to keep him out. Everything feels tense and chaotic, even as the staff tries to keep a brave face for the guests.

Fortunately, the Casino Styx, Loki, and Leo Fitz's expertise in harnessing harmless energy to keep the barrier up seems to be holding strong for now anyway. God is not in Hell. The Veiled Order seem quiet as well. Confusion is thick in the air as everyone tries to puzzle out what's going on, but the one thing that seems certain? There's something that managed to sneak in with the souls and it's likely some really bad news. No one knows what's coming next, but still, the show must go on! Whether people want it to or not.

The demon at the front desk does what he can to keep things orderly going forward. He's there to help guests find their way to their rooms, he's there to explain why souls are brought in. Unfortunately, reality isn't quite as back to normal as one might have expected. Doors that are familiar (or aren't, depending on how new you are) lead to entirely different places than one would expect. Go to the kitchen? You may just end up in the torture room! Trying to leave the gym, have fun accidentally stepping into someone's bedroom! This also happens while stepping into the shower occasionally... hope no one has issues with appearing suddenly in the new in the middle of the lobby or any other area in Hell! The staff assures everyone that this will be corrected just as soon as they figure out what's going on exactly.

Unfortunately, this means that sinners may wind up in the room that seems to just be full of blood or the one constantly burning with hellfire... fortunately, the rooms that remain locked throughout the hotel don't seem to change much at all. Still no entrance to these restricted areas at all!

The random teleportation or odd rooms aren't just confined to the hotel. This may happen at Club Penance, Hellburbia, and any other establishment around Hell. Caution is strongly urged for anyone intending on going anywhere. It may be wise to go in a group!


Reach Up High

Since this is the first TDM of the new year, we're offering multiple choices for punishment to give players an idea of what to expect in the game coming up. These are all open to new and all players alike, so enjoy! Just click on the title to expand the information for each.

Prompt I: Just a Little Cut

WARNINGS: mutilation, blood, cutting.

Whether you've been here for months or you're freshly arrived, your demonic overlord unfortunately expects some participation despite the current state of things. You can try and shirk the responsibility, of course. You can bargain your way out of it for a while. But eventually, you may find yourself trapped in a room just off the gym that's been fondly dubbed The Torture Room. It has all manner of equipment in there, along with an iron maiden even.

But don't worry about any of that right now. It probably won't be used.

You can try the door, but even with super human strength or every lock picking skill in the book, you won't be able to open it.

It soon becomes apparent what you're supposed to do when someone else is eventually shoved in with you. Both of your lists of sins will appear on a table that's been placed in the center of the room, along with two handy knives. You can choose to guard these or not care at all that they're on display.

"Know that honesty is a good place to start on your road to redemption-- you know what, it doesn't matter. This is Hell and while suffering may not happen without reason, you don't really care about that right now, do you? Sure, pain can be terrifying at first, but that's why you've been given a partner in this journey. Pick up your knives and carve at least one sin into each other's flesh. Help in the journey to be candid with everyone you should meet here!"

The voice echoes all around you again, just like in the nightmare, but it's different. Rougher. It's a demon's voice without any of Lucifer's calming demeanor.

"Just get on with it or you'll be cut much worse."

It isn't a lie nor an idle threat either. The longer you wait to do what's been requested of you, the more shallow cuts that will appear on both of your bodies. Are you really prepared to endure this pain when giving in would be so much easier?

And more than that, are you willing to let another suffer along with you?

Eventually, the cuts will stop if you suffer them long enough, but you'll have failed this challenge and sustained more damage than if you'd just gone along with it. Satan will also be very disappointed in you.

Prompt II: Just a Chat

"New arrivals!" The demon greets as sinners are led to a room with two seats and a table in between. They then will be made to sit by two burly demon escorts.

"What I am asking of you is rather simple... pick a sin from your contract, any sin, and explain how you got to that point. Simple enough, yes? Perhaps gaining a better understanding of what made you sin in the first place will help. Or humiliate you into never doing it again. Please don't try to get out of it... you will be punished.".

And true to his word, so long as sinners comply and share what made them perform a sin on their list, they'll be let go. If, after five minutes, nothing has been shared, a headache will begin. The pain will gradually increase until it floods the body. Nosebleeds may begin to happen, so will bleeding out the ears or eyes. Eventually, a sinner may even lose a sense for a 24 hour period.

Is it really worth potentially going blind just to get out of a little bit of talking? Come now...

(Effects should begin 5 comments in and gradually worsen until sinners either give in or start to lose one of their senses. After this, they'll be released from the room regardless whether they complied or not)

Prompt III: Jesus Wept

WARNINGS: mutilation, blood, torture, extreme gore.

Somewhere from within the hotel is an ominous rumble behind a closed door. There are eerie screams from within, followed by menacing laughter as the door swings open of its own accord. The room within is painted in nothing but darkness and a thick fog.

For those who would dare approach, they will be able to make out the outlines of chains hanging in wait from the ceiling, but most other details are obscured. There may be a brief flash of figures in the shadows, the stench of blood. This feels like a bad idea, but sinners are drawn forward anyway. There's something of a promise inside this room... something new and exciting, greater than anyone is capable of imagining!

You know what they say about curiosity and the cat, don't you?

Before common sense can win out, guests will find themselves pulled into the room and hear the gut-wrenching slam of the heavy door behind them. Once inside, guests will be able to make out the torn apart bodies on the ground, halved or nothing but splatters of guts and bone. Despite all logic, some will still be writhing and moaning still. Whether in pleasure or pain, it's difficult to tell

Look closer still and sinners may notice one has managed to scrawl with their bloody handprint:

There are no limits.

It may feel as if reading those words puts things into motion. Suddenly, one of the poor sinners will find the chains lashing out, hooks sinking in deep as they find their purchase on their bodies and pull. They will find themselves pulled into an almost gruesome mockery of a crucifixion pose. Arms drawn up, legs held in place. Clothes may be torn or shredded as their unmarked bodies are marred with the hooks. Flesh and muscle stretch under the strain. Fortunately, it doesn't go further.

Not yet.

"Dear guests, we haven't explored the depths to which pain can show our true selves in a while, have we? This is a room that was locked off for a while and my demonic brothers and sisters trapped within have found themselves rather bored lately," the demon's voice rings out within both ears of the sinners. "I want to show you the lengths Hell used to go to, the pain and pleasure mix of true torment. It's in suffering that we find our true selves. I do firmly believe that. We find out who we're meant to be, what we're meant to be, giving and receiving pain. Help one another and you will be set free!"

The fog dissipates enough to reveal a table nearby full of all sorts of horrifying instruments. Paddles, whips, some of them barbed in nauseating ways. There's wax to melt, knives. Needles to pierce flesh with. There are instruments that deliver enough electric current into the recipient to hurt and leave them writhing, gags for when their cries become too much.

"Next to your instruments, you will find a list of sins and wrongdoings your lovely captive has done in their lives, both here and back home. Read it and punish accordingly. Remember, there is freedom in humiliation as well as pain. Force them to see who they truly are inside. There's also redemption to be found in the punishment. You are delivering God's divine justice! You are God's hand! He will be so pleased..."

In the shadows, there are those same figures standing in wait, ready to manipulate the hooks.

"You will have no more than four attempts to carry out your punishment. Failure or refusal to do so will result in another hook driving into our poor bound soul here. After your four attempts, I am sorry to say they will be torn apart by my friends in the shadows with you, and you will have murder added to the list of sins tainting you. It would be such a needless shame to fail at this, wouldn't it? And who knows, perhaps you'll find you adore this path..."

There's a short laugh from the demon, as if he just made a brilliant joke. "Succeed in your punishment and you will both be released with one more sin removed from your list. Don't worry about any injuries... there are bandages and other aids available just outside. Now go have fun."

[As this is a Hellraiser based prompt, feel free to assume anything with a sadomasochistic bent to it can be found within the room. Attacking the demons controlling the chains will not stop them. They seem to be invulnerable to attacks and are only there to observe and add additional hooks when they deem fit. When a punishment is deemed worthy enough to release the hooked partner is left up to player discretion, but a character is only allowed to fail a punishment four times before they have to witness a horribly gory scene.]

Follow Me Down

Prompt I: Bare All

WARNINGS: sex, drugs, alcohol, aphrodisiacs, body changes, potential kinks, violence, potential non-con or dub-con.

Club Penance seems to be returning to its old charm! Themed nights have returned. This night's theme is: Anything But Clothes. Guests who enter the adult oriented side of the club will notice the incubi and succubi who serve in it are entirely without clothes (and any ounce of shame!). They're very encouraging of others to do the same whether it be immediately or in sexy strip shows.

On their trays, they offer drinks and drugs of all sorts. Shows are being put on on the stage, the offer of sex demos with guest participation is still on the table.

As usual, these demons play under respectable rules, safe words and all. They will also gladly exit the stage and let guests entirely run the show. They're on their best behavior tonight, even if the natural aphrodisiacs they give off seem to be amped up

Guests who refused to undress may also find their clothes randomly disappearing, or being torn off by some eager patron or demon who is a bit too into the theme! Ah, well, no need to worry too much, even if there's an undercurrent of desperation or fear in these demons, like they want guests to... well, sin. What could they need all that extra energy for? Well, considering how crazy things are around Penance right now... best to not worry about it probably.

There will be costumes and lingerie to slip on to go home in. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a walk of shame back to the hotel in nothing but a thong, they'll assure. It's just another night in Hell.

For those who are really adventurous, there are also special concoctions that the club offers. These include:

Frenzy ○ The drug will be given to anyone anyone who asks for it. It can be snorted, injected, taken in pill form, or smoked given user preference.

Despite the questionable name, guests who partake really will feel the best they've possibly ever felt. They won't need sleep or to rest, but they won't necessarily feel the strain on their bodies either. They'll be full of energy and their mood will be amazing with no hint of nightmares or dreams anywhere.

The demons won't let anyone come down either, not once they've started and not until they're told a guest doesn't want any more.

Even then, they may still try to convince them otherwise. It's a party for as long as you can go, or until you completely burn out, it seems.

But with all good things come bad. It seems a side-effect of the drug is an actual frenzy as well. A frenzy for sex or violence or anything a character might want that they deny themselves on the regular. They'll feel this growing hunger, this ravenous need to have and to claim everything they think is theirs.

Some may even fade away into an almost animalistic sort of state.

The more the guest takes, the more they'll experience this sensation. Fighting it won't help either. Though they did sort of bring that one on themselves, didn't they?

Other symptoms of coming down won't be too different to those of other drugs. Fatigue, depression. Guests will begin to feel the effects of staying up for so long without rest or stopping to take care of themselves. They may also feel a certain longing for more, but it can be fought off with enough strength of will.

The drug isn't free either. The succubi expect to be paid in energy or through actual work in the club.

Bond ○ A potion that will bond guests together the minute one speaks to the other. The encouragement is that this should be done consensually, but the demons won't necessarily be checking. Once bonded, guests will feel what the one who took the potion feels. This includes pain and pleasure both with effects lasting a full night. Give someone the most intense pleasure of their lives or torture them until they beg for mercy!

For a really intense experience, both participants can consume the potion with mutual effects.

For the dance oriented portion of the club, the theme is a little more lax. Instead of outright nakedness, patrons may be offered revealing clubwear instead. Things that will look mesmerizing in the lights of the club ranging from neon colors to clothes that seem to flash on the dance floor. The music will be thrumming in the air, pumping down to your very bones as you dance the night away, and all patrons will feel good. It will feel as if they could actually dance all night if they so wanted, even without the aid of any drugs.

It will be an all night rave with all the party drugs and drinks one could want! Live music plays all night. The band also loves to receive requests, so knock yourself out! They seem to strangely know any song they're asked to play.

Knock yourself out, give up any care in the world and have fun. You're already in Hell, so don't you deserve to feel good for a while?


Prompt II: Your Average Hotel Night

WARNINGS: Alcohol and drug abuse, potential non-con/dub-con

With all the sinners, new and old, the hotel bar will be lit up with activity. Drinks will be readily available, there's food in the kitchens, music will be blaring, and overall, there will be an energy to the atmosphere that's absolutely contagious. Even if you aren't typically inclined to linger at these sorts of events there may be be a certain pull to stay and have a bit of fun.

You might not get much of a chance to have that in Hell, after all. One drink won't hurt, right? Nor will one more after that, and after that. Ah, sweet gluttony. Why not have a pastry next? There's some delectable sweets available just a few steps away. More of a meat person? Like things salty? Fear not, it looks like someone graciously brought all sorts of snacks and foodstuffs from the kitchens to the bar as the night progresses. Indulge! You deserve it.

Similar to Club Penance, the bar also has every sort of drug available that might tickle your fancy and some you've never heard of. There's no harm in experimenting, is there? You're already in Hell. The staff will offer to show anyone how to use the drugs or give advice for what to try if you tell them what you want to experience. Shockingly, they won't lie! Their advice is good word its just you might not have been exactly prepared for it.

There's a stage and a karaoke machine for those feeling brave or just wanting to torture people with some sweet, sweet renditions of The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

There are tables set up for all sorts of gambling and various bar games to entertain yourself with. Since currency as most are familiar with it doesn't quite exist down here, most of the demons seem to be accepting bits of your soul or offers to do chores around the hotel. You may also get pulled into a fun game of strip poker against one of your fellow guests for a few succubi that are having a night out.

Relax and enjoy your night. Coming here and facing your sins is the hard part, so surely you deserve to have a little fun.


Wildcard/Misc.

Don't see something you love but still want to get a feel for the game? Check out our extensive list of LOCATIONS and write up your very own prompt however you'd like to! You can also add a "NETWORK" post option to your TL for quick, easy, and fun interactions.



And without further ado: Welcome to our new TDM for the February 1st app round! A.K.A. The Torture Extravaganza! It's been a while since Hell has been properly mean and, with a return to the norm, we wanted to offer players a chance to really explore what Hell has to offer. There will also be an upcoming mystery to solve with the introduction of whatever this new threat in Hell is and whatever has become of Lucifer and Lilith.

All will be revealed in the upcoming February plot! If you app and are accepted, TDM tags become game canon and can be used for AC! Please have fun and don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have down below.

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, etc., go here.


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Comments

[buried]

[ a pleased flush dusts across elena's cheeks as her best friend's fingers sift through the long and wilder strands of her hair. hell has yet to give elena a straightener, and at this point, she's not sure that she misses it too much. back home, it was important to her that she not follow in katherine's, but it seems so silly to think hair would've been a deciding factor.

in any case, her hair now doesn't remind her of katherine. it doesn't remind her of anyone but herself. ]

Thank you, Hell doesn't exactly have a salon and — you. Look at you. You look amazing.

[ caroline looks like she can take on hell and the world over, but then, that's always been true. she also looks like a headmistress... she looks like a mom. warmth threatens to sting under elena's eyelids once more as she looks upon her friend, taking this moment for herself to do just that until caroline's voice cuts off.

with it comes a shift. elena has struggled with this, time and again: the knowledge that her future is everyone else's past. she has struggled with two competing thoughts and wants. the need to always know, and the need to make decisions for herself. as a doppelgänger, she's had precious few opportunities to do so.

she takes caroline's hand before it can completely pull away from her. ]

I know it's weird. Trust me, I know. I've thought about this moment hundreds of times, and what I'd ask you, because it's killed me to know there's over a decade between us. We'll go over anything we need to. [ on elena's end, what she last lived and what she has learned throughout this experience. the works. ] The protocol is I'm still your best friend. I trust you, beyond anyone else, to tell me what I absolutely need to know right now.

[ she trusts bonnie just the same, but bonnie isn't here, and elena will keep missing her still. ]

For the rest... I need to feel like my future is my own. Like my choices are still my own, and not already made. So I'm not asking you to tiptoe around me or pretend we aren't from different places. I'm just asking you to let me get to where you are on my own. [ to treat her as her own person. as she is, here and now. differences and all. ] Is that okay?

[incontrovertible]

( Amazing. Please. You, Elena Gilbert are amazing. But, she takes the compliment with a smile. It edges over into a grin, just happy to be here in front of her. It's like she can't believe it. Her hands cover her mouth. She's here. In Elena's room. Her girls are here.

She finally finishes a full 360, facing Elena again.

She's right there. She will always be Elena's (and Bonnie's) best friend. That will never not be. Even when angry with one another. Even when their ex fiancee kills the love of their life. They've gotten through everything at this point. Does it make it any easier? No. But, she nods.

Elena is right. Anything Elena needs to know, she can tell her. Anything she might find out... she might have to tell her, if only because it's a part of who she is. She has never been the friend that sugarcoats for Elena. She doesn't lie. She doesn't tip-toe. )

Well. Elena. I don't think you need to get where I am, or where my girls are. Nobody should expect that from you. You're here. Now. Already, you've gone through something different. So, you don't have to worry about my expectations. And, there are things. Things I need to talk about. Things I'd tell you in any universe. But, I will always, always put you first.

( As she talks, her other hand, wedding ring and all, takes Elena's. Holding them both, she walks her and Elena over to the small couch in her suite and sits them down. )

Which brings me to, you just said over a decade? A decade dance's decade? A decade's a long time.

( And that's only 2016. She doesn't think much has changed from 2016 and 2026. Well. Kids. Okay, and med school. She's already forming what could be true, what Elena might say, what things she could omit. Is there a highlight reel handy? )

[buried]

[ as caroline speaks, elena is filled with a rush of gratitude and fondness and maybe a little relief. a decade or so may be between them, but caroline forbes still sounds every bit like caroline forbes, except perhaps more self-possessed and mature. she's achingly familiar, though, and she's also right.

it's what elena has said to others when they have struggled with their own future fates. their paths veered off course they moment they left their home worlds, and the people they become in the future aren't here: they are. so they can't stew in it, much as they can't live in the past. they can make their own choices.

easier to hand out good advice than it is to take it, but caroline gives her a good and much needed reminder, and it's hardly a hardship: them getting to know each other as the people they've become. it's why she follows caroline to the couch without question.

with their hands clasped like this, she can feel caroline's ring against her skin, and a bittersweet emotion grasps hold of her chest. it's been years since elena was in love with stefan salvatore, but there will always be a place for him in her heart, and learning of his fate doesn't seem real still.

caroline's reaction provides a good respite from that thought as elena gives a small laugh. ] I think so? If I've done my math right. It's hard to be sure in places like this one. But I'm close to twenty-three, and you're close to ...thirty-seven? [ time for elena to learn the twins were fourteen on caroline's side of things. ]

[incontrovertible]

Elena Gilbert, I am not a day over 35.

( Math be damned. She's twenty-three, though, which - Caroline pauses, because, Elena wasn't Elena at twenty-three. That is, she wasn't around. She was in a coffin. And when she came out of that coffin, she was not twenty-three. She was just a bit older. She didn't fight to get those years back, she fought for the years that came. )

You're ...

( Was she taken mid-slumber? And aware of her age, then? That doesn't... track. She - realizes there has been too long of a pause and she laughs. )

Sorry. What if we - what's the last thing that you remember. It didn't work with my girls since they are seventeen now, but, you're before me! So, it's like a golf handicap.

[buried]

[ elena exhales a small laugh of her own. ]

Right.

[ this is going to be — it's going to be a shock, and elena is maybe already wondering if doc would be displeased if she scored herself a bottle of his bourbon. ]

The last thing I lived back home was [ the muscles in her throat pinch ] the sacrifice. Jenna...

[ it's been decades for caroline, and it's been years for elena, but mentioning jenna doesn't ever stop aching. another exhale, then. ] Before I found myself here, I was somewhere else. Somewhere else that wasn't Mystic Falls. I haven't been home in a really long time, Care.

[incontrovertible]

( Jenna, but - her eyes try to make sense of that. Elena was seventeen when Jenna died. Thankfully, Elena keeps talking. Because, Caroline for a split second worried Elena had been in Hell for five or six years. )

What do you mean, somewhere else? Where? Somewhere like another city?

[buried]

[ a small nod. a difficult nod. ]

The city was called Teleios. Weirdly enough, it also purported itself to be a champion of redemption. [ someone really wants elena to take good and long look at her life and her choices. ] There wasn't torture or anything like that. Just a city for us all to rebuild together. I was there for years.

[ and so was caroline, until she wasn't. ]

The whole multiverse thing? It's real, Care. [ elena never went missing for the caroline that sits beside her. ]

[incontrovertible]

( Elena knows she meant another city in the United States, maybe in the left hemisphere. Her brow furrows further as she listens closely. Her best friend has a story to tell. )

So. Jenna died ( She says it delicately. ) and a city that I've never heard of, pulled you in, in order to redeem yourself and help rebuild? So you're -- ( Give her a second as her eyes glaze past Elena. ) 23, but not the Elena at 23 that I know. I mean, you're Elena. But - you've taken 'And now for something completely different' to a whole new level.

( She manages to keep a lightness to her tone as she works through what Elena is saying. )

If that was a city in the worlds-wide multiverse, than, what is this place? Was it like that? Sans torture?

[buried]

[ and now a shake of her head. we are so sorry for all this info-dumping, mrs. salvatore. ]

No. Aside from redemption, they're not alike at all. Teleios was more ... mythological. Think Greek gods and gods of other pantheons all on the same playground. This is more like something out of a sermon Pastor Young might give. [ and hey, maybe he did. elena didn't really pay attention.

but nonetheless, it's biblical in origin. at least in the sense it'd be familiar to them. ]

Not everyone agrees it's the real deal, though. Some think it's a pocket dimension, or just one version of what we know Hell to be. But there's a Lilith and a Lucifer, and Lucifer has definitely mentioned his Father. [ the big guy. ]

[incontrovertible]

( Caroline's fingers grip her own thigh as Elena mentions Pastor Young. That is now secret one of - years of differences between them. But, it's hardly something important to Elena. Not like traveling mythologically. )

Well, something that you should know, separating from the column of things that totally don't matter, is that we've tangled with the devil before. Except, he went by Arcadius and he was more like a vengeful psychic witch who liked to call himself the Devil. And, he's dead. And his 'Hell' was this dark psychic dimension he created. That's also gone. So, I'm coming around on the side of, this is ... nope, I don't know what this is.

( She's up again, pacing away, wringing her hands. She held it together for her daughters. But, now, she's here with Elena. And while she is usually the level headed best friend? She needs to vent, Elena. )

Okay. I had coffee with Josie and Lizzie with Lizzie and I don't really know the protocol for, you and your daughters are in Hell, except they've been here for more than six months and your best friend has been Quantum Leaping for redemption she's never needed...

[buried]

[ elena is patient as she watches caroline pace.

her best friend has more than earned this venting. it's a lot to learn, and it's a lot ... just a lot. she remembers when she first learned about malivore, and the necromancer, and dragons and gargoyles. the hell dimension was mentioned to elena in passing, but it's with caroline she learns their devil's name: arcadius.

she's still wrapping her head around it all. will it ever feel real? ]

I think I can say there's officially no protocol for something like this.

[ except... ] Do you want some bourbon?

[incontrovertible]

Desperately.

( Does that make her seem weak? Like she can't handle anything? Is that a bad example to set for her daughters? She is an immortal vampire and of age besides that, but, she never wants to teach them the improper way to cope.

But, maybe she's earned it.

She lets her hands go finally, at the promise of something to soothe her soul, that might calm her down. )

So, Teleois. That's a name.

[buried]

[ elena rummages through one of the cabinets for the bourbon in question, filing away the task of replacing it for later.

while she's at it, she grabs two glasses and only then does she return to caroline.

her lips curve into something rueful while she pours. ] It means 'perfect' in Greek. It all began with two old and powerful beings. That's how they were known: the Two. One of them believed that true and lasting peace was possible - that men could overcome their worst impulses and choose to do the right thing. The other believed we were doomed to repeat our mistakes, and war was inevitable. They struck a bet to see who was right. They gathered the best our worlds had to offer. And they gathered the worst. They had us all live together, and work together, to rebuild their ruined city: Teleios.

[incontrovertible]

( Caroline busies herself again, peering at a few of the closed doors, into the ajar bathroom, and picking at the couch fabric until Elena returns. Oh, with two glasses. )

Quite the headline. ( Very above the fold. It's naive of her to believe both to be true, right? Then these Two wouldn't have taken her best friend. ) How worst were the worst? It sounds dangerous.

[buried]

It could be. There was definitely a supervillain or two in the midst.

[ the kind one might've expected within the pages of the comics jer used to read. it wasn't any more dangerous than hell, but she's not sure that would be comforting for caroline to hear. with that in mind, she makes sure to pour more bourbon into caroline's glass before she sits back down and offers it to her. ]

And... you should know you were there, too.

[ for a time. so were others, but elena starts with that. ]

[incontrovertible]

( it's a glass she takes and apparently needs. )

I was there? ( hm. ) I was some of the best, right? Unless I came in during my one misguided supervillain moment you haven't lived through yet and in that case, I apologize in advance. Or, retroactively. Well, either way, I apologize.

[buried]

Of course you were.

[ as often is the case in dire situations, the people one loves is the fuel. they reminded each other, survived for each other. caroline was wearing a ring on her finger there too, albeit given to her by tyler lockwood. all of this takes a backseat to what caroline says next.

in a quieter, gentler voice: ] What happened?

[incontrovertible]

( they will get back to what she was actually like there, because Caroline's curiosity is piqued. her nosiness will need to be sated. but, for now, Elena does something she really does best. she expresses concern for her friends.

She sighs, not proud of what she says next. But, it's something she's grown from. She has her closure from why she did it, as much as she can get from -- turning away from everything that hurt for those weeks. )

I turned my emotions off.

[buried]

[ when elena first landed in teleios, the first caroline — yes, there were two carolines and two elenas, it was all so baffling and weird — was without her humanity, too. except she hadn't chosen it. loki had forced it on her. this is a decidedly different experience, with different context. ] Caroline.

[ elena doesn't repeat her question, but it's there in the name, somewhere, a subtle but anguished thing. what happened? ]

[incontrovertible]

( Caroline needed to ease into the topic, but she knows what's welcome and what Elena is waiting for. )

It was years ago, we were still in college. ( She meets Elena's eyes. ) I - couldn't handle pain I was feeling after my mom died. Cancer. There was nothing we could do. And, instead of admitting to you, to Stefan, to anyone about what I was feeling, how deep my pain went, I ignored it and made the executive decision.

It's not that I - regret it, because who knows what would've happened had I not made that choice, would I still have my girls. But. I did it. I'm sorry, Elena, that you have to hear that, that any me could disappoint you. That's not me anymore. I go to therapy now.

( And she still finds how to compartmentalize. She still has kids. She's still a parent. )

[buried]

[ (side note: a therapist in mystic falls must make some sweet coin.)

emotion, raw and grievous, clenches in her chest. it sticks in her throat, and forsakes all words, as she processes what caroline has said. elena thinks of caroline and sheriff forbes repairing their fractured relationship, brick by painstaking brick. she thinks of the kindness in the sheriff's voice when she and jeremy stepped into her kitchen after their parents died, offering the forbes home to be their own. she thinks, and feels, and mourns, eyes threatening to fill. ]

You haven't disappointed me. [ it's the furthest thing from her mind. ]

Caroline, I'm so sorry. [ if it happened in college, then that was years and years ago for caroline. but having just heard of this loss, she can't not express her sorrow. ]

[incontrovertible]

( Caroline doesn't relive what she's done, and wants to not go through it unless Elena presses further, but that pit in her stomach will forever live there. The senseless lives lost. Liam's and Sara Salvatore's lives threatened. And then Stefan's weaknesses exploited. Did she want to be left alone? Yes. Did they? No. Should she have done that in the first place, should she have snapped Elena's neck? No, no, and no. )

It's okay. I know my mom wouldn't have wanted it. And, you got me back. I was harder on myself after that than you guys were. Which -- I deserved anything you did feel.

( Or wanted to express. But, so often they stepped aside from the terrible things they did without their humanity. )

Anyway, that was not the me you knew! So. Talk about surprise story time. Please tell me more about... your me. The me in Teleios.

[buried]

[ elena is not without reference. she was able to help bring caroline back to herself in teleios before any further damage could be done, but she learned the hard way with stefan. it was one of her more painful lessons: she'd been deeply in love with a compassionate and noble stefan when she was plucked away from home. and months later, she was confronted with a stefan who'd gone ripper and was gallivanting about with katherine, of all people.

she can imagine what went down, but won't press too deeply into this wound. not now. ]

The you in Teleios was already there when I arrived. You were without your humanity, too, but you hadn't chosen it. Loki turned it off for you to mess with you. [ yes, that loki. ] We moved in together after I helped you turn it back on, but you left soon after. Just for a little while. When you came back, you continued on ... being you. [ in all her type a and persevering glory. ]

There was community building and slumber parties. You were engaged to Tyler. You were happy.

[incontrovertible]

( Caroline sits, captivated. Loki, the God? Had turned her humanity off. Like Klaus had done to Stefan. Like she had made Stefan do. It hits with a thud. But, Elena brought her back. Her emotional trigger might have been Elena then. And then she was gone. She frowns, briefly, but the continued story brings her back into it.

She was back, back, back again. )

I was engaged to Tyler Lockwood. Well, that is a blast from the past.

( She smiles to herself, remembering Tyler. She remembers what they had and what it felt to her. How they'd been torn apart and kept apart and how they were never able to find their way back to one another. She did the one thing that would keep them from being together ever again. But, all she feels is the good memories. And a bittersweet truth. Damon killed Tyler when he had no humanity, when Sybil had control over him. He did the unthinkable to get them to give up on him. Stefan never did.

Caroline never did. )

We finally made it work.

[buried]

[ elena had been waiting for caroline's reaction with bated breath, waiting for — she's not sure what. but whatever it is, what she gets is much more reassuring. will she react this way if she is ever ready to have caroline tell her everything? she's not so sure.

she has a long way to go before she reaches caroline's level of assurance. ]

Somewhere out there, you did.

[ somewhere out there, there's a caroline and a tyler who made it work, and they didn't have to run away for it. they just had to be free. ]

There were mischievous gods, too, not just real troublemakers like Loki. So sometimes Tyler's werewolfness was taken literally? And he'd be turned into a wolf puppy who'd follow you around. He was really cute.