TEST DRIVE MEME #3

[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.



Everyone wakes up in the same room initially. The room is done up in red with a cushy bed, a window, an old TV in the corner on a desk, and a few Hieronymus Bosch paintings lining the wall. There's a bathroom to clean up in and any belongings will be sat around the room to be gathered later. There's a duffel bag provided for your convenience.

After feeling a sensation of falling or dropping onto the bed, characters wake up feeling like they've just slept for a week. Their body will feel heavy and stiff, they'll have a massive headache at first.

They'll quickly notice the list of their sins written with their blood on a bedside table on an old piece of parchment. This will mean the list is tied to them and can't be changed or tampered with. They'll also receive their device to connect with others and the network. 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 leave the room, they'll head down long, winding halls. They're dimly lit and ominous feeling. They may encounter fellow sinners or demonic staff that will direct the newcomer down to the lobby to get their actual room key to settle in. They may be pushy, they may border on courteous. It really just depends on the mood of the staff at the time and how they're treated in return. Eventually, everyone comes to stairs that lead downward.



Once down to the lobby, you'll notice the front desk manned by a demon who looks bored out of its mind. To the side of him is the door to the kitchen where guests may help themselves. To the right is a small duty free shop that seems to have a surprisingly normal, expected stock of items. 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, self-serve if you want to get away from your demonic hosts for a bit. Of course there's some seating, bar games, and a jukebox tucked in the corner if you'd rather stay and socialize a bit.

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



STAND YOUR GROUND

Prompt I

The general mood now that the carnival has passed seems to be almost dreary. The hotel staff is more snappish than usual and the demons outside are more aggressive towards guests of the hotel now, as if they think they have the right to treat guests even further below them than usual.



And as if to mirror the current mood, there seems to be a steady storm brewing outside that seems to just last and last. There's thunder and lightning happening, but the rain that's falling is a bit...off. It's a mix of hellfire and blood.

The blood begins to pool and flood certain areas as the days drag on, but curiously, the hellfire that burns around the community never seems to falter for even a moment.

The fire falling from the sky burns and stings the flesh if anyone is unfortunate enough to be caught out in it though. Despite that, there's almost a chill in the air.

Guests of the hotel will be reassured that this is perfectly normal, seasonal weather and that the hotel itself is in no danger of flooding. Just be careful going outside for the next couple weeks. There are umbrellas available at the front desk.

Be careful though. It's easy to get stranded outside in heavy, near blinding downpours or to be burnt if you forget that umbrella when you go out. Sinners are free to take shelter in the club, the library, or run back to the hotel as soon as they can. They may also notice the warehouse from the carnival has been left unlocked if they've ventured that far out.

There's still something eerie about it though... Sinners may see glimpses from their past or worst fears popping up from the corner of their eye as a residual from the ride it housed, like creepy phantoms. You may even hear a whisper or two of a familiar voice...

Probably best to not stay there for too long, if you can help it!

Prompt II

Per Lucifer's instruction, a day spa and bathhouse has been opened up in part of the former carnival grounds! It's more for his own benefit than anyone else's. It's not easy running an entire carnival and dealing with the complaints of sinners and demons alike when things don't go exactly their way.



Like all spas, guests of the hotel can go in for some deserved pampering. Facials, massages, steam baths, etc. The bathhouse has an area to shower before you go in for a nice soak in the spacious tubs available. Please note that these are unisex areas, but there are some private tubs for those who are too shy. The demons may side-eye you and your ridiculous modesty standards though.

Unfortunately, due to the rush to put it all together, there are some unfortunate kinks to work out still. Some of the tubs may reach boiling temperatures suddenly or steam rooms may lock and become insufferably hot before guests can get out. The demons may not account for the frailer, squishier bodies of some of the sinners during massages (or that's what they say at least).

Some of the treatments may be strange as well. Baths full of blood of the young that staff claim will restore your youth, pheromone washes that are derived from incubi that are said to make you absolutely irresistible to everyone. You're probably better off not asking what that mud-like substance is they're trying to rub on your face...

REACH UP HIGH

Prompt I
body horror, insects, zombies, etc.

"My absolutely sincerest apologies, my honored guests. It seems a few of the participants in the carnival have brought some germs along with them. But that's just as well. It's time to face your next punishment and this is the perfect opportunity." Lucifer's voice rings out for all guests to hear one fine morning, soon after the rain has started.

"Now I realize some feelings may be a bit hurt after the show, but forgiveness and putting on a brave face to work together are both extremely important traits. Father will be appreciative if you've at least started towards mastering them."

What he means by all of that becomes apparent soon enough. The zombie clowns and the tentacle monsters of the carnival left behind some horrifying infections, it seems.

Guests will notice that eldritch-type abominations are beginning to lurk around the hotel, ready to jump out at them at unexpected turns. They appear to be staff that have been twisted into horrible mutations. Guests can fight or they can try to board up their suites and rooms to protect themselves. Or they can run out of the hotel and hope they make it to one of the other establishments close by unscathed by them or the weather.

Although there do seem to be things that are oddly zombie-like wandering around out there. Slow and shambling, although ready to chase at a moment's notice.

If any of these abominations scratch or bite the sinners, they'll start to feel... odd. Perhaps it starts as a woozy sensation, something just slightly off-balanced inside and progresses there. It's nothing at all to worry about, right? Right, probably. Just ignore the strange symptoms. Maybe the sinner won't even have to tell anyone, right?

And besides, if everyone all worked together to protect one another, then they'll be fine and won't have to worry at all about bites or scratches anyway.

Or, alternatively, they can let the slower ones in their group be the bait, sacrificing a friend along the way, etc. It's also a perfect way to escape from what's promising to be an impending horror show by itself. God may not be happy about it, but God isn't down here suffering this.

There's also an option to just beg the hotel staff for a repellent to keep the nasties away from you... it's maybe not the most glamorous or exciting way to deal with things, but it does seem to work fairly well. Just remember there's a price for not seeing through your punishment. There's always a price.

Guests may just get a bad batch of repellent if they're particularly unfortunate that slowly turns them to stone after all. It's at least not as horrific as becoming an abomination right? It just means watching the horror show from within a stone prison. Ah, well. They can't all be winners, right? It will wear off after a bit.

Now, here's what will happen, depending on the monster that bites you:

If bitten by a zombie or ghoul, characters will slowly begin to change. Their hearts will stop, but they will still be alert somehow. They'll eventually start to rot though, and along with that, comes an insatiable hunger for human flesh that they may or may not be ignored. Eventually, their minds will begin to go as well until it's impossible to think even remotely clearly.

Or, who knows, maybe they'll be lucky and become an almost vampire-like creature with a thirst for blood instead. At least they'll mostly be in control of their own mind?

If touched or scratched by an eldritch abomination, they'll have seen true terror and madness from somewhere beyond the very stars themselves. It will boil through their blood, change them into something inconceivable, something barely within comprehension. It will twist them from within, bones and organs both until they've become the monster they've always had inside of them. They'll start to want to cause others the pain they feel, to kill everything within sight as their mind starts to fade to the abyss and malice. Tentacle beasts or other horrific creatures fall under this umbrella.

Prompt II

If slowly changing into an abomination isn't the sinner's thing, or they're simply an overachiever, no one has to worry! There's another shot of redemption waiting once that whole mess is squared away. Lucifer even kindly chose something that wouldn't harm any freshly healing bodies, just out of consideration for his guests.

Instead, all one will have to do is sincerely apologize. Walk up to someone and apologize for something they've done, against them or another. Past or present. They'll have to specify in detail what they're apologizing for though, so don't try to wiggle out of that!

And if the other person forgives them their sin, that's really all it takes.

"All Father asks for is true remorse for repentance. Please show him you're capable of that much," Lucifer's voice rings out in the sinners' heads, soft and inviting.

"I certainly know that you are, even if you're unaware of the fact. So, go to one of your fellow penitents and ask for forgiveness, it shall be given."

Lucifer seems to leave out the fact that the other person has to genuinely forgive as well... and if they don't? Have fun losing one of your senses painfully. It will pass in a few hours, he's sure.

FOLLOW ME DOWN

Prompt I

"You're tired, aren't you? You poor thing..." Lucifer's voice rings out in the back of your head as it always does, tinged with what feels like genuine sympathy. "Father expects so much of you, and now, I'll have to as well. If you agree to this simple task, at least. I can at least promise you a bit of a break after if you succeed. So come."

The voice beckons and it's impossible to not follow. How the sinner's feet feet know where to lead them is anyone's guest, but they stop outside of a room after winding hallway after winding hallway, various flights of stairs that never have been there before. Sinners will find themselves entering a room with a partner, drawn the same way.

The room inside is lavish and comfortable, with food and drink placed out for sinners to partake in, along with any other items or vices they may want. But before their focus can linger too long on the offers, their attention will be drawn towards a mirror sat on a desk in the room. There are two contracts to the side of it.

"Go on, look in the mirror and then read the contracts."

The voice urges and now the guests are faced with a choice. Do they choose to turn and leave right then and there? Go back to their room and forget the temptation, or do they venture a look to see what happens?

Looking into the mirror, and for a moment, it will feel like both partners have stepped into a perfect getaway, provided by Lucifer himself. Hopefully both partners like each other because they're staying in some luxurious home together, with everything they could dream of. Even friends and family are but a call away, even ones they may have lost or parted on bad terms with. They also seem to have limitless funds and access to anything.

Sinners instinctively know that Lucifer is offering them endless desires if they just agree to a task... is it so simple though?

Of course this little shared hallucination can't last forever. Sinners snap out of it soon and they'll find themselves in the room they started in. If they take a look at the contract, they'll find a simple proposal:

Outside the gates of this community is uncharted territory full of various dangers and far more imposing demons than have been allowed within. But there are several artifacts that Lucifer desires scattered throughout Hell itself. Be brave and find them, and you and your partner will be given a respite from your daily punishment. A week out of Hell, given at Lucifer's discretion, for a job successfully completed.

However, breathe a word of this task to anyone beyond your partner, and you may face harsh consequences.

As always, Lucifer is willing to give sinners time to talk among themselves before making a decision. If you both decide to take on this task, a drop of blood will be more than enough to seal the contract. Remember that pledging yourself to Satan may not be quite the path to redemption though...

While characters discuss their options, they will be allowed to spend one night in the suites. They may also take another gander into the mirror...

Prompt II
Warnings: sex, potential kinks, violence, non-con or dub-con.

With the carnival going on for two weeks, and more people focused on getting their rush in an entirely different way for the most part, the succubi and incubi are starting to feel just a bit starved. This leads to impatience and agitation. They tried so hard to be good during the festivities, putting on their best behavior, but they can't wait any longer.

The constant, horrible weather outside hasn't done much for business at the club, and it's simply not helping matters at all. Deciding to take things into their own hands, it seems the demons have come up with their own plans and solutions since Lucifer hasn't given them any yet.

The demons have decided to take unsuspecting guests at the hotel. Whatever sinners are doing from taking a nice stroll or settling in for a good night's sleep, they'll find their surroundings changing beneath their feet. It will all fade away to an unfamiliar room where the ravenous demons surround them. It seems the succubi and incubi want their own show finally.

The clowns, after all, were decidedly not sexual. The energy hadn't been the same.

They've chosen sinners a partner, whether they're their usual type or not. They don't care. You can simply make it work. They've furnished a bed and any sort of sexual aids you could want from the basics to toys to instruments of pain.

If you're a bit performance shy, you'll find they don't particularly care. For every instance sinners resist, they'll find themselves in a certain amount of pain. Perhaps it's as minor as a headache that will grow steadily worse or tiny, painful cuts that seem to magically appear. Perhaps it's even a little electric zap to get you moving.

Either feed them or be tormented, that's the game.

The demons may have special requests that range anywhere from plain vanilla sex to partners having to endure pain to someone having to permanently mark another as theirs, whether they know each other or not.

If sinners really want to get out, then they have to participate whether they want to or not.

MISC.

Thank you for checking out penancerp's third TDM! Please note that all prompts are opt-out and players are more than welcome to come up with their own ideas while exploring the hotel and hell outside. There's a locations page that describes the library and the club a bit more thoroughly, if you're interested in sending your characters exploring these establishments!

Because these prompts count as game canon, current players are more than welcome to do their own top levels for these prompts in the meme itself or logs community.

All that we ask is that you remember to put clear warnings on any potentially triggering content! Warn for sex, including underage or incest, violence, abuse, non-con, etc. Please put these warnings in a visible place, either by the prompt itself or in the subject line. This isn't just a suggestion but a requirement to participate in the game.

Now that all that's out of the way, we hope you have fun! Feel free to ask questions under the appropriate comment or on the FAQ page.

Since there are new faces around, Lucifer himself will be taking a few questions via his device for anyone so inclined down below.

As a final note, don't forget that reserves are open now until July 1st as well!


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Comments

Stand Your Ground 1

[innerdaemon]

The library was somewhere Ardyn had taken to coming when he had tired of the company of his fellow sinners. Here, amid books, even if they were strange books that reflected an entirely different paradigm than he was used to, he felt a sliver of peace.

Today was one of those days, and he stood by the bookshelf, thumbing through an illustrated treatise on demonology, deciding if it was worth perusing further. He looked up when another person entered the aisle... and froze.

At first he thought the other must surely be some new trick of the mind, but all such illusions had been far more piercing. This... this seemed uncomfortably normal. Uncomfortably real. Well. Only one way to test these waters.

He didn't put the book down. In fact, he still held it open, regarding Noctis with an expression of mild amusement as he shifted to lean against the bookcase.

"Why, Your Highness, what a pleasant surprise."

Re: Stand Your Ground 1

[waywardscion]

Why.. what a pleasant surprise.. The greeting drummed through his mind, tingled down his spine, and hit his hollow gut with the speed of light. The feeling of being swallowed in by the crystal quickly overcame him and his body froze with a shudder to his shoulders. His hands lost their strength and the book tumbled from them to the ground.

The last time he saw him flashed within his mind and the very words came to him louder than that which was just heard.

Ardyn Lucis Caelum.

Noct's hand moved forward to catch himself on the bookshelf before it pushed him into his turn. His eyes pooled with disbelief and his face drained of color when he found the very sight of his torment.

"Y.. you!" His voice shook with accusation and his arms began to tremble with a great rage. "You!" He stumbled forward with a few mess. "Why are you here!" His feet found sense of the ground and he began to stalk forward with the intention to collide into the other with focused rage.

[innerdaemon]

Ardyn stood his ground, expression unfaltering, seeming perfectly willing to let Noctis charge right up and even try to hit him.

"Me, me. Why, one would think I'd be expected in a plane of torment, would one not? A better question is, why are you here, Noct? Are you deserving of punishment?" He said that last word in a lecherous tone that left no question what he was implying.

[waywardscion]

Noctis' charge would clash himself against Ardyn, his fists would grip tightly on Ardyn's clothes and he would be all too eager to yell in the other's face - or, if Ardyn was to not allow the contact, Noctis would be all too willing to yell toward wherever Ardyn went.

"Punishment?! I doubt you know what that is! Especially how I'll punish you for what you've done! What... what you've done!!" He repeated with a shake to his tone and a swell of emotion to his eyes. His heart felt as if it sunk deep within him and dropped into a hollow gut.

[innerdaemon]

Ardyn stood still, unperturbed as Noctis grabbed his coat and yelled in his face.

"If this makes you feel better, than by all means continue," Ardyn replied cooly. "I'm well aware of my own sins. I had asked about yours."

[waywardscion]

The lack of resistance was irritating to Noct, he wanted a fight, he wanted to pull Ardyn apart. He wanted to bring everything out of Ardyn that the other had taken from him. Ardyn's cool demeanor and encouragement only confused and irritated the prince more.

"What the hell is the matter with you!" Why would Ardyn encourage Noct to continue? Noct released his grip and stood back and his eyes scanned over the other. "You took... everything.." He shook his head. "Why?"

A fist flew up suddenly, though Ardyn may have dodged it, Noctis still followed through with the assault and either landed the punch or failed to land the hit and stumbled forward.

[innerdaemon]

Ardyn does move out of the way of the punch and frees himself from Noctis's grip at the same time, seeming to momentarily fade into shadows as he phases just out of reach, though he still makes no move to retaliate.

"Everything was taken from me, why not return the favor?" he asks.

His tone, previously light and almost playful, has that bitter edge it had taken when he'd revealed his true identity to Noctis before the Crystal took him, and his amber eyes seem to glow faintly in the dim light between the stacks.

[waywardscion]

"No!" Was all Noct could say before he stumbled forward and into the bookshelf. He knocked several books off from it and his body slid down to the ground with the imbalance of not having anything to land his punch on. He turned quickly to keep an eye out for Ardyn while his hands gripped the shelves to pull himself back up to stand.

"I didn't do anything, Luna... she didn't do anything! My father.. everyone.. All those people... they didn't do anything to you!"

[innerdaemon]

"Ah, but I'm the villain of this story. Isn't mindless destruction what I'm supposed to do?"

The older man still makes no move to attack in return, though he does have an eye on Noctis. "I could tell you that they were essential pieces of the puzzle, that the gods do not care what innocent lives are taken, that mortals are but pawns in their great games, but I think that's something one has to learn for oneself."

He tilts his head. "Perhaps here, where it's a different board, a different player."

[waywardscion]

"I hate you so much.." Noctis felt completely defeated, wasted of his energy. He was completely overwhelmed and the feel of Ardyn in front of him, mocking him, teasing him, disturbing him, was all far too much. It was the push that finally knocked him off the edge.

He couldn't even make sense of it. What was he supposed to do here, how did he get here, why was he here? Why did he have to be here with Ardyn!

"We're not different people, you still did all that you did.."

[innerdaemon]

"I'll not claim otherwise," Ardyn replies, crossing his arms over his chest, "but what, pray tell, are you going to do about it here?"

[waywardscion]

"I thought I'd kill you." He commented with an honest tone. "What do you think I'd want to do about it?" Noct's hands moved into tight fists.

[innerdaemon]

Ardyn spreads his hands.

"Considering the circumstances, someone seems to have beaten you to it."

What he doesn't say is that it was Noctis himself who'd done it, albeit an older Noctis, or that he truly had expected it to be rather more permanent.

[waywardscion]

"Did they?" Noctis stopped as he considered Ardyn's words. Would that mean he was dead as well? Really? Noct shook his head, he wouldn't accept that outcome for himself even though there was a part of him that would easily accept Ardyn's fate.

"I didn't die." He said more to himself than to Ardyn.

[innerdaemon]

"I'd not know," Ardyn answers cryptically, "though," he admits, "it does seem possible one might have found one's way here without having found the end of one's life."

After all, he'd seen the prince's future. In fact, he'd orchestrated it. It wouldn't do to have the True King dying before his time.

[waywardscion]

This wasn't what he was expecting, but that was just like the last few days of his life on Eos. Everything was going as planned, everything was being arranged, directed, orchestrated, and then it all went to shit. Because of Ardyn. Noctis turned his head suddenly. A hateful countenance, "We don't belong here." Loathe as he is to admit it, Ardyn doesn't belong in Hell.

[innerdaemon]

"No?" Ardyn asks, surprised at the admission.

"I'd think you would find it easy to condemn me to eternal torment. But no. This was not the afterlife that I expected."

He'd expected to be allowed oblivion. After all, he'd played his part in the Astrals' games in the end, hadn't he?

[waywardscion]

"No." Noctis spat back, quickly. His countenance turned with a heavy breath through his nostrils. He was pretty sure Ardyn would breathe darkness into whatever world he so happened to visit. Even Hell, surely the usurper would bring his own darkness here.

With a heavy first step, Noctis began to lead his way out of the library.