TEST DRIVE MEME #34

[penancemods]

Arrival

"Judgement has come upon you. God has deemed you worthy of Hell. But don't worry, it can still be undone," comes a soothing voice that echoes all around you. The voice promises comfort, hope even.

It may seem like a nightmare at first, despite all of that. Full of hellfire nipping at your skin and a sensation of being pulled down no matter how much you struggle or cry for help. Wretched, unseen hands pull at you, grip tight at your body, tighten on your throat, skeletal fingers grab at your face, slide in your mouth and jab at your eyes as they struggle for purchase. It feels like for a moment, they may snap your neck as they tug and pull. The more you resist, the more phantom hands are added to your struggling body.

It feels like they could tear you apart if you let them. The only thing to do is to let go and stop fighting.

And so you do.

Darkness and nothingness consumes you for a second, And it seems to linger for a long time. There is nothing at all. It must be lonely. But it won’t be forever.

Initially, everyone opens their eyes to a long, dark corridor made of stone. They find themselves in what appears to be a long queue with other sinners, palm bloody.

Characters find their bodies feel heavy and stiff, bruised with odd hand prints here and there that they received during their journey down below. A massive headache throbs behind their temples. They are urged forward to take a numbered ticket and wait their turn in the long line. As they're ushered forward through the corridor, their first stop will be to see Lilith, standing outside her office.

The woman in a smart suit and a friendly smile steps forward to greet sinners one by one. "I'm sorry for your rough landing. We've never gotten it quite as smooth as it was in the past. Please, let me see your hand--"

Once she has the sinner's hand, there's the warm, almost electric touch of magic that soothes away the aches and pains, heals the wound left behind on each sinner's palm. Lilith looks satisfied with her work and gives a nod. "There, all better. Please take your care package and continue on until you reach the stairs."

On their way out, sinners receive their 'package', a contract detailing all sins committed. If they look at the list closely enough they'll notice it's written with their blood. That explains the palm wound then. It's an old piece of parchment despite the freshly written letters upon it. They will also receive a slightly more modern smart phone. Think early generation Android and a pamphlet made by other sinners during their stay here with useful tips.

After that, sinners will be ushered on to a set of stairs where a guard waits. "Welcome to Penance," the demon says gruffly before motioning them on without an ounce of courtesy. "Don't hold up the line."

They seem to go on and wind forever, but eventually, they come upon what appears to be a lobby of a hotel. Once there, they will notice several shops and other areas around the front desk.

The demon at the front desk looks rather bored, but when sinners approach? He seems to snap to attention to offer whatever help they might need of him. He will at least direct to food or rooms to rest their wary bodies, or recommend sights to see around the hotel.


Stand Your Ground

"Rise and shine, darling!" Lucifer's voice booms within everyone's minds one fine morning, and sinners will almost feel how infectious his good mood is. And what does he not have to feel good about? They've rescued sinners from Mammon's latest antics and now they can hopefully move on with their lives, without any further interference. "Those who have been here for a while will know that the annual Carnival is well on its way. This time, I would like to assure all of you that I have taken every utmost precaution to ensure it's a good event for everyone from beginning to end!"

"Regardless of what my father would like to see, I would like to reward all of you for standing at my side. All of you havedisplayed astounding bravery and care for your fellow sinners and demons alike. This deserves a reward in my book. So no torture, no pain, no zoos to be forced into... just a bit of fun and games. This time, the clowns have been told to mind their manners!"!

Some of the sinners who have been here since the beginning may feel their stomachs clench in fear at the mere thought of a carnival, but the atmosphere is... happy. Demons are being far kinder than they have been in the past, approaching with kinder requests to help. Some may get a little rough around the edges, may shove or criticize or look like they want to hit, but be patient! Hell is all they really know and those old habits die hard at times! They got the spirit at least...

To show their thanks, they're bringing out cans of Speed Energy again (can you guess the secret ingredient?) that will have sinners absolutely buzzing to help. Decorations need to be placed, rides need to be set, tables for vendors and games. It seems like the beginning of some sort of tunnel of love is being put together by Lilith and the sex demons...

Lucifer is even walking around personally supervising and checking in on sinners with enthusiam and warmth. There may be an air of nervousness about him -- he is technically disobeying God and they still haven't found Emmanuel, but he's putting on a brave face at least!

For those who'd rather opt out of manual labor, some of the succubi have set up lemonade stands. They're offering cups for kisses - and don't worry! They're inviting sinners to join in the fun and take over some of the stands!

There's also some late Spring Cleaning going on around the hotel and guests will find boxes of items left outside to rummage through that may include newer clothes, games, and other sources of entertainment. There may even be the odd weapon or two! Staff will not say no if anyone wants to give them a bit of a and with the cleaning and dusting either... it seems the large spiders have come back in to try to spin their webs and stay. Don't worry! Even though they may rival a chihuahua, these guys tend to be docile and friendly. Be careful you don't accidentally adopt a pet!




Reach Up High

WARNINGS: blood, torture

"My dear guests!" Lucifer 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 clear a path into avoiding situations like this in the future, as well as form that all too important human connection that I'm told some of you are desperately needing. Please don't try to get out of it... I really would rather not punish you.".

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)


Follow Me Down

Prompt I

WARNINGS: Potentials for sex, aphrodisiacs, non/dub-con, etc.

Club Penance has decided to don a new theme for the night! The theme is lingerie. The staff now wear more modest lingerie reminiscent of the '50s. Elegant, pretty, tantalizing. Or maybe it's just the aphrodisiacs in the air and food that make one feel that way.

They are also insisting everyone else put on lingerie as well. Don't worry! It's not old fashioned and anything that suites your fancy will be available. Try to skip out? Guests will find it magically appear on them... and possibly not in the theme they'd choose for themselves. If magic fails, the staff or local demons may take it upon themselves to slip it on the poor sinner themselves.

Swinging is an event happening tonight. Put your key from Hotel Penance or Hellburbia into a hat, another sinner draws it out... whoever gets your key will be your lucky partner for the night for any kind of fun! Sinners may find their keys disappearing and appearing in the hat entirely without their knowledge... but staff will be very persistent about follow-through! There will be rooms available for fun in the Club, for those who'd rather not go back to their personal rooms.

Other than that, oddly enough tables have been set up for romantic dinners, private rooms are available for sexual activities (not all of these are vanilla. There are toys and machines and anything else one could want, including costumes or things to suit any fetish). There's also live entertainment in the form of dancing or sexual performances on stages around the club. Volunteers are more than welcome!

For those not partnered up, there's speed dating where demons will lead a prospective partner to your table for a little bit of a chat and a drink. They may not always get your tastes spot on, but hopefully it's entertaining for all involved! if sinners find their drinks seem to have a little extra aphrodisiac added to them, oh well. It was probably an honest mistake.

Those who are attached, either via Casino Styx or through other means may find themselves growing oddly loving or possessive of one another. Jealousy and the urge to claim their partner (even in public) will grow substantially throughout the night. While it may not always result in violence and instead be enthusiastically embraced by both parties, it may also result in the urge to leave marks or claim in darker ways. Collaring their partners, leaving their names, etc. They're yours and don't you want everyone to know that?

Alcohol does flow freely around the club and usual demonic drugs or party drugs are available on demand.


Prompt II

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 if anyone wants to bother serving it, music will be blaring whenever there's electricity, 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.

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Yelena Belova | MCU

[laviny]

Carnival Preparations

[Yelena is suspicious of the carnival. She hasn’t been to any of the previous ones but just the news that one is coming and Lucifer’s assurance that it’s totally not going to be terrible, for reals makes her assume something terrible is definitely going to happen.

As such, she decides to get a feel for the lay of the land while things are being set up. She makes a point of helping out with various things like decorations and setting up tables in order to get an idea of what kind of attractions a Hell carnival might be planning. If it helps her get on the good side of a couple of demons, that’s even better.

If she sees someone passing by she might call out.]

Hey, can you hand me that ribbon there? I need to hang it up over here.


Spring Cleaning

[When she’s not hanging out at the carnival grounds, Yelena definitely takes some time to rummage through the boxes of stuff left outside the hotel. She grabs a few brightly colored garments (with pockets, if possible) and goes digging for weapons. She happens upon a large, clunky statement ring that is not technically a weapon but would definitely leave a mark if she punched someone while wearing it.

She slips it on.]

Hah. Not bad.


Reach Up High

[Yelena's not thrilled by being forced to sit at a table across from another sinner, but honestly when she hears the instructions she kind of shrugs to herself. She can talk, if that’s what they want. If it gets her out of here unscathed she’s fine with it.

With a sigh she turns to the other person at the table.]

Okay, sure. Do you want to go first, or should I?

Reach Up High

[amazonfresh]

[Diana has no problem participating in this sort of penance. Though she does tend to find what Hell deems sins worthy of punishment flawed.]

Either way. I will go first if that is better for you.

[laviny]

No, I can do it, it’s fine.

[She's being honest. She doesn’t mind as long as she gets to choose the sin being addressed, she’s more than happy to run with it.]

So, one of my sins is disrespecting my father. Which is kind of a tricky thing because he is not my biological father. I don’t know who that is. But Alexei is the only father I’ve known so I guess that is who we are talking about here.

Anyway, when I was a little girl he let a secret organization take me and my sister away to be turn us into elite assassins. Honestly many of the sins on my list can be traced back to this incident but that is beside the point.

He let them take me away and they hurt me in a lot of ways. So the next time I saw him, when I was an adult, I punched him in the face. And I also yelled at him a lot.

I did not respect him because I didn’t feel he deserved it.

[amazonfresh]

That does not seem like much of a sin to me.

[Which is not unexpected in the least at this point. Perhaps half of the sins she's encountered here have not seemed like sins to her.]

A man who would sell children into slavery as assassins does not deserve respect. I hope you had the opportunity to tell him as much.

reach up high

[mijo]

[ This is actually one of Nacho's least favorite 'punishment' options. Pain is pain. They heal from anything here, but talking about the shit that landed him in Hell? What's the point? Either he feels bad about it already or he doesn't, sharing personal information does nothing but expose potential weaknesses. And that's something he avoids at all costs.

His expression doesn't give away just how unhappy he is, at least. They shove him into a seat across from a woman he hasn't met yet and he regards her with mild curiosity.

She doesn't seem to mind the exercise. Interesting. ]

Ladies first.

[laviny]

[Look, as far as she’s concerned this is close to ideal. Not as ideal as literal Jesus just erasing one of her sins, but honestly not bad. She gets to choose the sin. She gets control over what she talks about and how.]

Okay so, once my sister and I had to break our dad out of a Russian prison. We thought he had some information we needed so getting him out seemed like the best way to get access to it.

The plan was to get him to come out to the prison yard and we fly in and grab him. Originally the plan involved a jet, but my sister’s friend was only able to get us a shitty helicopter. The plan was also contingent on my father not making a scene, which was impossible. He is not a subtle person. A scene was made and a fight broke out. So, my sister had to get out of the helicopter and go help him.

So I was left to fly the thing alone which would have been fine except the guards kept shooting at me. Which, I know, was to be expected but is still very annoying, you know? I got sick of it and grabbed a rocket launcher and shot it at the watchtower.

It worked very well. They stopped shooting. Unfortunately it also caused an avalanche. Which was very cool. But also dangerous. So I think the best way to avoid that situation in the future would be to not shoot a rocket launcher at a Russian prison in the middle of the Ural Mountains.

[mijo]

[ ...well her life was fucking wild, huh? Nacho listens impassively with little nods here and there as if he's used to this kind of thing, but it's a bluff. That story is absolutely bananas, lady. ]

So what exactly was the sin?

[ There's more than one in that series of events, he's pretty sure, but genuinely can't tell which she meant to be explaining. ]

Carnival Preparations

[softlybutwithfeeling]

[Geralt is... helping might be a strong word. But he's meandering around the carnival preparations, lending a hand now and again in a way that's neither too sulky nor especially motivated.

He glances at the ribbon, then at Yelena, picking it up.]

Just how high were you thinking you'd hang it.

[laviny]

[She looks at him and looks at the ribbon and then back at him. Is this some kind of challenge?]

How high do you think I should hang it?

reach up high

[zunge]

[The person seated across from her is a heavily pierced blond with thin white bandages wrapped around his hands the way some fighters might do theirs, fingers exposed. Cheek resting against one hand, elbow on the table, he drums the fingers of the other one absently against the table surface.]

You first.

[This one is still a new setup to him, and he'd rather only go along with it if the other person does as well.]

[laviny]

[Yelena has some piercings of her own, though they’re all in her ears. She’s kind of impress by his. She likes self-expression.

Anyway, hopefully he’s buckled in because she starts talking:]

Well, when I was a little baby my biological parents sold me to a secret organization that turned me into an assassin. I lived that way for most of my life until, as an adult, I was able to break free from the organization in question. Once I did I went back and did everything I could to destroy it. I guess whoever put together my contract decided that was disloyalty and a sin.

Which is stupid because the assassinations I performed are also on the list. But whatever. If I had been free to choose my own loyalties I probably would not have been disloyal.

Reach Up High

[endofcompliance]

[Bucky isn't as fond of talking, especially of his sins. He kind of likes how direct Yelena is, but he still doesn't know her that well, which adds another level of discomfort for him as he listens to the instructions.]

[He hasn't done this one before.]

You.

[laviny]

[The nice thing about talking to people from her universe is she doesn’t have to give a whole bunch of background information to make things make sense.]

Well, I sort of tried to kill Clint Barton because I believed he killed Natasha.

reach up high

[bottle]

(yennefer is annoyed when she gets shoved in here because she has things to do and she's in no mood for lucifer's games right now....but she also isn't going to stubbornly hold out and screw herself up in the process. not when she needs to stay sharp.)

I can go first though I don't really see how trying to tie a djin to myself counts as a sin.

[laviny]

[Yelena is 100% ready to talk at Yennefer about one of her sins, but what she says makes her pause.]

Wait. A djin? Like a genie?

Spring Cleaning

[bravejemma]

[Jemma's taken some time to look in the boxes for... well, anything that might be of use. If there's something she's learned while being here it's that any chance to collect might save you later down the road. She has some spare parts set aside -- maybe worthless, maybe something Fitz can find a use for.

She hasn't seen Yelena rummaging at the next box over, but hears her triumphant declaration and looks.]

Good lord, don't take that thing swimming, you'll sink right to the bottom.

Re: Spring Cleaning

[laviny]

[She glances up at the comment.]

It is not for swimming. It’s for punching people.

[Do people wear rings when swimming? Yelena might wear her earrings but now that she’s thinking of it, she’s not sure she’d wear other jewelry to swim.]

Reach Up High / cw: mention of suicide

[bluecircuit]

[Nebula isn't particularly thrilled either, glaring down at her list of sins with a curled lip. At least this one didn't involve cuts or carving the sins into skin... that's something.]

I will go. [She puts on a face to try and exude indifference to the entire thing, glancing again at her list, settling on 'Murder of Self'.]

I killed myself. Not as in I committed suicide. But I murdered a version of myself from an alternate timeline. It had been necessary to protect my sister. Or more accurately... her sister.

[laviny]

[Yelena listens with interest, in part because that is fucking wild and also because…there’s something about it that feels familiar. After coming back from the Blip, she read as much as she could about the Thanos situation, the time travel and all that madness, in an effort to find out what happened to Natasha.

This sounds at least a little like some of the stuff she read about in those files, but she’s not entirely sure. She didn’t pay quite as close attention to the things that weren’t about Natasha.

Though either way she can’t fault Nebula for doing what she did. It is absolutely relatable to her. Her eyebrows go up a bit and she offers a sympathetic shrug.]

I would have done the same thing.

[whichisit]

[ Henry realizes with the carnival rolling in, he's been in hell a year now, a year in hell time, but how long had it been back home, did time pass the same? He will probably never find out.

He looks a the young woman helping with the setup; he picks up the large garland and offers it to her.]

Ah, Carnival time.

[ He says looking around wondering what it will bring this year.]

[laviny]

[She takes the garland but also pauses when he speaks.]

So, that means it happened before and it was awful, right?

[Not surprising considering what Lucifer said. And also who would trust a Hell carnival, really.]

@ Reach Up High

[divaricate]

The last world I was in, we briefly got thrown into an alternate reality within that reality, and this place holds those sins against me. I lead a faction — named the House of M, because the M was for magic — that was all about the superiority of magic users among those with powers.

[ A pause. ]

Basically, semi-alternate versions of myself fuck around and I find out.

[laviny]

[Yelena blinks and considers that.]

What the fuck, they can do that?

[Then she pauses and sighs.]

I guess it should not be that surprising.

Spring Cleaning

[yeahmagnets]

[ After he's made his rounds at the carnival grounds, Jesse makes his way back to the hotel and notices people rummaging through boxes outside. Freebies are always welcome, so Jesse stands back and surveys the scene before he sidles up next to Yelena and starts digging through a nearby box, crouching down to get at it without straining his back too much.

He turns his head when Yelena speaks and he makes a face of approval, noting the ring she'd found. ]

Nice piece. That'd definitely fuck up someone's world if you hit 'em with it.

[ Not necessarily the first thought that should come to someone's mind when seeing a ring, but, well, Jesse comes from a time and place where watching his back was paramount and it seems that Hell is no different. He'd just escaped from Mercy some days back, where they'd managed to rip out a couple of his molars and experimented on him with drugs. It was traumatizing for him, but he's since learned that others had gone through much worse, so he can't really complain. Not as much as he'd like to, anyway. He's hoping to find some more ammo for his gun or maybe some more clothes. Clothing is hard to come by and, even though he's been washing his stuff, it would be nice to have at least one or two changes of clothing just in case. While he's looking through the boxes, a giant spider scuttles out from between two of them and Jesse initially falls back on his ass from his crouched position. ]

Fuck!

[ He cusses, startled. He has a strange affinity for bugs and lesser creatures, though. Call him someone who roots for the underdogs. At least the non-poisonous ones. The spider runs back and hides between the boxes, scared of Jesse at first but then, when he stills and puts his hand out, it starts inching forward until it tentatively touches his palm with its fuzzy front legs. ]

Hey little guy; it's a'right. I ain't gonna hurt you...

[laviny]

[Yelena flexes her fingers to make sure the ring is comfortable. When Jesse makes the comment about hitting someone with it, she offers him an appreciative smile.]

Yes, that is the point.

[It is definitely not what normal people think of when they choose a ring, but Yelena is pretty far from normal. Almost anything can be a weapon for her. That’s what happens when you’re raised to be an assassin.

She also doesn’t startle when the spider scuttles out. She blinks and watches calmly as Jesse falls on his ass an recovers. She’s about to ask if he’s ok, but it’s pretty evident that he’s fine when he starts talking to the spider.]

Are Hell spiders safe, do you think?

[It's an honest question. Is it a normal-ish spider, or is it hiding some demonic secret? It hasn’t occurred to her until just now.]