TEST DRIVE MEME #38

[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

Curiously, every television within Hell seems to be covered with a sheet and wrapped in chains. If one listens closely at night, they'll hear murmuring coming from them. If any curious newcomer should try to remove the coverings, they will find them magically enchanted in some way that makes this impossible, however. If asked, the staff will explain that they're undergoing a cleansing to remove a curse placed upon them by evildoers. If pressed further, they'll hear talks of The Veiled Order.

But not to worry! There's plenty to do. Helluvacup needs to be rebuilt so the coffee demon and his prized hell rat on a harness and leash quit wandering the halls... the staff is rather tired of being bitten! Additionally, it feels like reality is shifting more often to showing what the pristine hotel may actually look like. It hasn't been that long since the buildings were flooded by lava and utterly destroyed. The beautiful interiors were too good to be true, and the veneer is cracking more severely now. At times, the illusion drops to the burnt out husk of a building, to rotting wood and torn, old furniture. Sometimes it's jarring enough to leave one dizzy before it simply flashes back to normal. Unfortunately, whenever these glitches occur, it is entirely possible to find one's self in an entirely different room than they meant. Wanted to grab a midnight snack? Have fun in that blood room. Wanted to take an innocent pee, minding your own business? You may accidentally walk into someone's room.

In which case, it is probably very advisable to not relieve yourself and find a more suitable area. What could possibly go wrong?

At least there does seem to be a break in the heat? Hell is an almost comfortable temperature, but there are already talks of the dreaded Fall coming soon. In Hell, Fall tends to feel more like the dead of winter, bt hopefully, there will be a skip to the usual snow and frigid temperatures.

.


Reach Up High

Prompt I:

WARNINGS: drills, torture, blood, lobotomy

Part of redemption is suffering, Darlings. That’s why sinners are drawn here. They will hurt, but they will also learn to become better people. One way or another.

The demons who bring sinners here have tied them quite firmly into a contraption that forces them to recline back with their heads trapped in a vice. If they look up, they’ll be able to see the whirring flash of metal from an active drill poised just overhead. They can squirm if they’d like, but it might be unsettling for the person bound behind them. Before they can vocalize any questions, they’ll hear the sound of Lucifer’s warm, soothing voice.

"My dear guests, I’ve done a lot of thinking about what I can do to bring you closer together. Father often says that humans should love their fellow man. Maybe you just need some help building trust. I assure you that you’re both perfectly safe. If you stay still and chat, the drills will cause a little scratch, but nothing you can’t live through. Talk about your sins. Talk about your day. It’ll just take a few minutes before you can leave. Be nice, and whatever you do, don’t move a muscle."

It’s at this point that sinners might notice that although they are rendered immobile from the waist up, their legs are free. They can push back their chairs and avoid the drills which are suddenly moving forward. But since they’re bound to someone else, pushing back will send their partner forward into their drill and surely condemn them to a messy death. If neither sinner moves, they can both survive. The drills will move close enough to tear the skin at their foreheads and perhaps scratch the skull underneath, creating a mild concussion at worst. But if the sinners were unable to make peace and stop themselves from moving, the drill is quite capable of pushing past bone and into the soft flesh of the frontal lobe. You can technically live with the kind of brain damage caused by an injury there, but do you really want to do that to your new close friend?

You have three minutes to figure it out.


Prompt II

For those fortunate enough to escape the unplanned lobotomy, well, there's an easy task for you! As previously mentioned, Helluvacup and the hotel's own pool both need to be tidied up, or rebuilt in some cases. Any sinners who volunteer will be treated to free drinks and snacks, and receive appreciation from demonic staff. Plus, chipping in and helping your fellow sinners (and demons) is something God often encourages! It will be good for one sin removal overall. There will be building supplies, cleaning supplies, and anything else sinners need to push forward!

The staff also won't be put out if sinners would rather do a little bit of cleaning instead...

Besides, it's a rare opportunity to help import supplies to Hell. There are large crates of unnamed items, new furniture items, torture items, clothes, and more. There's also several boxes of nothing but pumpkin spice that veteran sinners, who know what every fall entails, may cringe at the sight of.


Follow Me Down

Prompt I

WARNINGS: fire, disobedience

Speaking of pumpkin spice and torture devices... Well, sinners may find the prime opportunity for a bit of a bonfire if they're so inclined. It seems some demons are not looking forward to the months of pumpkin spice flavored foods or, well, working, really. These are young, reckless demons, but they've decided to help some of these new shipments get 'lost' by starting a large bonfire in a secluded place in Penance proper. They'll be asking sinners to help out. They'll supply the booze as they watch everything burn later!

If questioned about it, the demons will insist that it's just another part of the importing project. Everyone's trying to tell you to grab the crates and haul them somewhere, right? Into the fire is somewhere. Of course it's fine! You get points for being good little boys and girls every time you shut up and do what you're told. Why would anyone lie about that?

Perhaps it will come as a surprise, then, that anyone who participates will receive one sin added to their contract in the form of arson.


Prompt II

WARNINGS: sex, aphrodisiacs, non-con, etc.

Club Penance has new shots for all to try! Eager incubi and succubi stand around with trays of them, eager to pass them off under the strobe lights and pounding music. The air is sweeter than even usual, the demons amping up the aphrodisiacs to ensure everybody has a good time, and there's plenty encouragement to get lost in the atmosphere. These shots all have a unique influence, although that part may have been left out... Oops.

Apple: Causes one to fall lust with the first person they see. They will absolutely be overwhelmed with the desire to have them and do whatever they must to receive their affections.
Cinnamon: Causes one to fall into love with the first person they see. Their heart will skip beats, they'll feel the urge to recite poetry, anything! Your love must be known.
Pumpkin: Causes one to fall out of balance. Just the perfect meet-cute, isn't it? Hopefully you won't fall into anyone in a bad mood.
Sour Apple: Causes one to fall into a rage. Ah, oops. Maybe they didn't think that one out. This one causes aggression and the need to make certain others know you're the top dog around here.

Wildcard/Misc.

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Comments

[neutronblast]

You kind of made yourself relevant when you inserted yourself, and that creepy eye, and your creepy ring, into my life.

[at least in his world and in his timeline. he's long since learned that events played out very differently for people who otherwise should've had the same experiences.

he's still not going anywhere near that door, but... it was probably best to keep his own eye on bakura and not let him wander off too far, at least for now. so with a grumpy sigh, he winds up setting down beside him, sizing up the dice with a wary expression. a game was still a game, no matter who played it, and he would always be drawn to them.]

So what, you don't have your deck? Dice seem a little beneath someone of your distinguished station.

[feelsgoodinyou]

I'm only taking responsibility for one of those three.

[The accusation is too vague to infer much of it. So Bakura chooses to be vague in return. He'll take responsibility for the Ring, everything else is just collateral.]

Beneath me?

[Now that gets the thief to throw his head back and bark an amused laugh. Turning his attention back to Kaiba, he watches him with an amused glint in his eyes.]

I'm not your fancy Pharaoh, Kaiba. Does it really matter whether you're playing with stones, bones, dices or fancily decorated pieces of paper when the stakes are high enough? I fancy myself a little bit of diversity.

[neutronblast]

That's one more than I thought you would, so hey, way to achieve the bare minimum, buddy.

[back when he first arrived, he might have hissed and spit and seethed at bakura. he might have unloaded on him, how much he hated him, how much he was a waste of air and space and time. but times change. priorities get rearranged. and seeing the world from a different perspective meant he was bothered substantially less by the cretins within it.

so he just shrugs that nastiness off, utterly unfazed, then returns his attention to the dice.]

How do you play, then? Is it something like craps, or...?

[feelsgoodinyou]

Showing off when there's no good reason to is just bragging.

[The half-hearted barb is countered easily, although he will take the unspoken compliment in Kaiba-language. If this really is Kaiba, the jury is still very out on it. Right now Bakura veers onto the "no" option, but he'll take what he is given.

Especially information about this place.]

I know it as "All or Nothing", but people like changing the name of games, so who knows. [Shrugging his shoulders, he gives in. Bakura is far too much of a gambler to resist dragging others into games.]

You roll an uneven number of dice. You can roll as often as you want, but you need at least one pair of the same eyes to make any points of it. Two 2's, and you get 4 points. Three 3's are 9 and three 5's give you 15. So far it's easy.

[He smirks, tipping one of the dice to first show an ankh and then a skull symbol.]

Those two are in place of 1 and 6. The ankh lets you double whatever points you made that round, while the skull ends the round immediately with you getting nothing at all. They neutralize each other.

[He purses his lips. The game really sounds way more complicated than it actually is.]

Summarized, you roll as many times as you want. Each ankh doubles, each skull wipes. Depending on your luck with your rolls you can easily either win a fortune at once or go home with nothing. It's both a luck and a risk-taking game. Where is your brother?

[neutronblast]

Isn't that just the nature of games?

[bakura might have been off his ancient egyptian rocker, but he knows he can grasp that much. he's not totally out of his mind... just mostly.

admittedly, the comment about his brother is irksome, but he recognizes that isn't a threat. just an ill-tempered housecat trying to huff and puff and make itself seem big and bad to a much larger predator. he does shoot him a sharper look, suggesting that he might be in trouble if he kept running his mouth, but that's all. at least for now.]

I'm not sure what you're trying to win here. Were you hoping to sucker whoever happened along into giving up something valuable?

[yes, bakura, he knows your game. not the dice, but the other game. the game where he's constantly scheming and plotting against anyone in a five hundred mile proximity.]

[feelsgoodinyou]

Some would argue that that's having fun.

[Or maybe a bit of both. Games are always battles of wits and skills, but usually people enjoy them because of the low stakes. Bakura considers himself to be capable of having fun with both kinds of games -- it's only when it comes to the Sennen Items and their creators that he goes totally off the rails to get at them. Though, can he really be blamed, all things considered? He'll leave that decision to whatever higher beings there might be.]

You're really thinking low of me, don't you?

[The quirk of his lips shows that he is being amused, already because Kaiba finally gave him some valuable clues. It was about damn time! Clue one, mini-Kaiba isn't here. Clue two, Kaiba seems ready to fight and unhappy about Bakura just asking about him. That implies that the brunette doesn't think the kid would be safe, should Bakura choose to come after him now. Clue three, Bakura isn't being deemed a worthwile threat right now.

He could be wrong with all of that, of course, it's just assumptions, but he is willing to follow the lead of his gut feelings.

After a silence that stretches a little too long Bakura tuts, as if chiding a child.]

Less intuitive than the Vessel then, I see. Is it really that hard to believe that I'm just killing time by playing with myself?

[neutronblast]

[to be fair, they were both pretty childish people. even if one of them, or both of them, would argue otherwise.

and he probably should be on his way, because he was starting to feel like the sucker that just happened along, if unintentionally. but just as bakura was trying to sus him out, kaiba was trying to determine what he wanted. to make mischief, of course, but if he was seriously considering a murderous rampage, he'd like to be prepared for it.]

Alright. Let's play a round of your silly dice.

[and because he knows he strongly suspects he'll ask anyway, he adds with a cheeky grin:]

And let's bet on it. Just to keep things interesting.

[feelsgoodinyou]

[It's lucky for them that ego directly translates to power in yu-gi-oh.]

You. Want to play with me?

[For the first time during their talk, Bakura's poker face slips. He gives Seto a distrustful look before something akin to a pout finds its way onto his face.

He looks somewhat insulted, although it doesn't seem to be directed at the taller teen.]

I'll pass.

[neutronblast]

Oh? So you're not...

[wait for it... wait for it...]

...interested in any information?

[got 'em.]

[feelsgoodinyou]

[Oh please, as if he could get hooked that easily. He's hooked.

He raises an eyebrow, but refuses to react too obviously.]

What could you know that'd be of use to me?

[neutronblast]

Considering I've been here for over a year? Plenty.

[but naturally, any bet meant a potential benefit for both sides, and so...]

I'll cough up some intel if you win. But if I win, you're going back to your room, shutting the door, and staying put. For the rest of the day.

[yes, bakura, you heard him right: if you lose, he's putting you on a leash and treating you like a tantruming toddler. because in his view, that's exactly what you are.]

[feelsgoodinyou]

You, and how many else here?

[His lips pull back to show his fangs. He didn't miss the childish 'punishment' the other has in mind for him.

Joke's on him, though, because Bakura doesn't even have a room yet. (He thinks.)]

Thanks, but I'm still not interested. If you know that much about me already, then you should know that I'm pretty particular about who I play my games with. Well, the ones that matter anyway~

[neutronblast]

[bluntly:]

You don't think I'm good enough? Or are you that confident you're gonna lose?

[he can and will bait you into this, bakura. never underestimate a child's capability to be childish.]

1/2

[feelsgoodinyou]

Honestly? Both~!

[He'll put up the Ryou act just to get under his skin.]

2/2

[feelsgoodinyou]

Seriously, though, I just don't have any desire to play with you like that. I don't know who you take me for.

[He scoffs as he gathers his dice and puts them into one of his coat's pockets.]

I have no reason to want to play a Dark Game against you, and no means for an ordinary one. Satisfied?

[neutronblast]

[that earns a skeptical raise of his brow. to think bakura was exercising something like restraint definitely comes as a surprise, though he immediately suspects another motive.]

Did I hear that correctly? Are you actually behaving yourself and refraining from a perfect opportunity for wanton murder?

[feelsgoodinyou]

[That actually gets a rise out of him.]

Who the hell are you calling a wanton murderer?!

[Huffpuff. He knows Kaiba is a prejudiced ass, but get your villainous bastards right at least, will you!?]

I'm a thief, not some goddamn psychopath! Don't go confusing me with the Pharaoh or Ishtar's wacko other self!!

[neutronblast]

[that actually gets him to laugh a little. can't say he expected that kind of reaction either.]

So you're a bad guy with standards, is that what you're saying? Who occasionally dabbles in chaos and mayhem, just to pass the time?

[feelsgoodinyou]

[The accusation is met with a seething glare.]

Yes, I do have standards! Believe it or not, but I don't do things without a good reason to! And my motivations are a damn lot better than yours, Mr. I'll-Use-Killers-To-Get-What-I-Want Rich Brat!

But maybe I'm assuming too much of you to think you'd understand something like that, considering that one needs power to be able have something like a code of honor!

[He's a murderer. He won't deny that. He has killed, snatched bodies, stolen and sealed souls, defiled graves and done a whole lot more in his life and after. But he does not just do it for shit and giggles! IT's all for a purpose and Bakura is loyal to that!

Besides, there is no challenge in random victims! Somebody who picks on weak, unprepared foes is just showing how weak they themselves are!]

[neutronblast]

Uh-huh.

[not really buying that over here. and he'd argue the point a bit more, but bakura reminds him -- if unintentionally -- that they were drawn from different worlds at different times with different experiences. he's much more patient these days, so he doesn't react badly, not necessarily; just with open confusion, even if he already knows why.]

I'm done some pretty messed up things, definitely. But openly employing killers isn't my schtick, so that's definitely a different Kaiba.

[and he'll go ahead and tell him, because eventually he'll find out anyway:]

The pharaoh is here. But he's also not the pharaoh that I know, so he may not be the pharaoh that you know either.

[feelsgoodinyou]

Who said anything about openl- The Pharaoh is?!? Explain!!

[If he were a dog, this would be the point where he'd start wagging his tail and drooling.]

[neutronblast]

[and so kaiba being kaiba, and thus an obnoxious man in any and every timeline, seizes upon opportunity with an open grin.]

Mm. Juicy info, isn't? Almost like that's worth a round or two of you embarrassing yourself for the chance to earn it.

[feelsgoodinyou]

[Hrrrrrng-!]


....true. Okay, I'll take your point, but that doesn't change that I don't have anything to play with on me.

[A half-messed up deck and a couple of dice won't cut it for a Dark Game. If those are even possible in this place.]

[neutronblast]

[fair enough. just rolling dice around probably wouldn't have been much fun anyway. no, if they're going to sus each other out, they might as well play...]

Atem keeps badgering me into senet, I've got the pieces floating around. Seems like that might be up your dusty old alley.

[feelsgoodinyou]

Senet? Now that's something I haven't heard for quite a while.

[He pauses and inclines his head, as if musing to himself.]

I don't even remember if I ever played that. So the little bastard remembered his name, huh? That's bad.