penancememes | TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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

It seems like not long after everyone has either returned from the maze or arrived fresh to hell that the storms started yet again. A bit more sporadically and not the constant downpour of the previous month, but it's still blood and fire raining from the skies, along with claps of thunder and lightning strikes that seem far too close for comfort. Fortunately, there's not as much flooding this time. Unfortunately, a particularly loud clap of thunder and lightning that strikes close to the hotel seems to leave it and surrounding establishments in the dark. Quickly, the hotel becomes a cold place, urging all guests to to move to the lobby for some warmth.

A roaring fire will be going and there will be hot drinks and snacks kindly provided by the staff while they try to work on correcting the problem.

Eventually, some rather panicked goblin-like demons come rushing up from the basement. They're half-singed and dirty looking from their adventure, so it doesn't seem to bode well for the power returning any time soon. Guests who listen closely will hear the demons apologizing profusely for 'letting them escape' and much more worrisome than that, about how it looks like there might have been some tampering going on down there. The staff is quick to tell the demons to hush and go, not to worry the guests or let word get back to Lucifer.

Once that whole scene is squared away, the staff will be urging guests to volunteer and pushing them into a drafty, creepy basement with nothing but candles and flashlights to lead the way.

It's okay, they reassure, it's not that bad down there! The lights provided all seem to flicker dangerously though, almost completely going out at times, as you descend creaky stairs to a lower level. Apparently the demons are tired of risking their hide to get the power back on, but they're quite happy to risk all the guests'.

The basement is slightly flooded in some areas, bloody rain making its way through cracks in the foundation. It reeks of dampness and mold. There are things that skitter in the corner of your eye as you venture in further. Rats, bugs, and a few smaller beasts.

No one will be given more to go on than they're looking for a breaker box to reset, and hopefully, that'll get everything back up and running again. Unfortunately, there are so many twists and turns that it gets confusing after a while... How come the basement looks much bigger than it has any right to be anyway?

The basement is also jam packed with boxes just begging to be gone through. Most of them just seem to house an odd amount of clothing and what may be personal items left from previous guests, others hold decidedly more satanic and occult items. But if there's anything you're looking for in particular, from jewelry to a coat to a rad new walkman, you'll probably find it down here.

Keep going and you'll come across a room with a heavy steel door. If anyone should venture inside, they'll see a dungeon inside. There are demons chained to the walls in various ways, strung from the ceiling, or caged up that seem to be wasting away and forgotten. If they notice you, they'll try to plead with you to let them out, bribing you with information on Lucifer that no one else knows, but it's probably for the best you don't. There seem to be a few free spaces waiting for new additions after all... and besides, they've got to be locked down there for a reason, right?

Let them go against all better judgement and they'll most likely just rattle something off while they take off running as quick as they can.

Listen closely enough and you might hear tortured screams as they're presumably killed upon reaching the main floor of the lobby. It was probably inevitably, so don't blame yourself.

Anyway, moving on you keep going past the dungeon, and you'll finally find the room with the furnace and breakers to reset. It shouldn't take long to flip them back, but they'll continue to trip on and off for a while and may require multiple groups to make a return trek down to reset them until the demons finally correct the issues with the wiring that is causing these outages.

Speaking of issues with the wiring and what may have caused them... Hang around the bar or lobby enough, or around any area of the community, and you may hear muttering of something called The Veiled Order from beyond the gates. Some of the demons seem excited, others seem nervous. If asked, the demons may brush guests off. If drunk enough or given proper incentive, they may tell a story about a group of rebellious demons that Lucifer tried to cast out. They were damned to live in the burnt forests outside the gates, but sometimes, they still cause trouble.

Apparently, they thought they could be better rulers than Lucifer and were quite discontent with how he maintains Hell.

Some may say they're worried the Order is causing mischief by messing with the hotel, having had ample opportunity to sneak back within the gates. Others will laugh heartily and insist that it's a dumb tale to scare young demons, nothing more. Certainly nothing to worry about.

Another thing guests may overhear or bribe out of demons around the bar or club is talk about the call of infernal nightmares. If pressed for more info, the demons won't give much beyond the fact that it's a miserable thing, entirely miserable.

Prompt II

Apparently what the goblin-like demons accidentally set free are strange demons that possess fungi, dust, and dirt. They don't seem to quite be from this world, but they're called Coal Tars apparently. They're harmless creatures for the most part, but they do have a love of following around people with dark or sinister natures.

The staff will be offering a reward of a gourmet dinner of the guest's choice if anyone around the hotel will help to capture these little pests and bring them to the front desk. Afterwards, they'll be returned to the basement and locked away again.

Otherwise, people are free to ignore them or laugh at the people who can't seem to shake the little creatures following them around.

Careful though, breathing them in can make your lungs rot. Nasty way to go probably.

REACH UP HIGH

Prompt I
Warnings: cutting, blood, torture.

Whether you've been here for months or you're freshly arrived, your demonic overlord expects some participation. 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 soon enough 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 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. Sure, it 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, and once again there's the pull to give in. This voice really does seem like it has your best interests at heart.

"If you need a bit of encouragement, we'll be giving it shortly."

It isn't a lie or 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

"A generous nature is an important part of being a righteous person. Greed is a sin my Father frowns on quite a bit. What I ask you to do today is to go out and find a gift for that special someone or friend of yours and give them something to smile over."

With the items available in the basement and the shop in the hotel carrying a few new items, Lucifer would like to spread the good will of gift giving. It doesn't matter if you're not well acquainted with each other yet. You don't need to be! Anyone can spread cheer by giving a gift.

And if you don't, expect to be in excruciating pain for a few hours, and struggling for a breath. If you can't share a gift, then you don't deserve to share all that oxygen, do you?

FOLLOW ME DOWN

Prompt I
Warnings: Alcohol and drug abuse, potential non-con/dub-con.

With all the sinners, new and old, the bar will be lit up with activity and absolutely bustling with guests and demons alike. Food and drinks will be readily available and provided by hotel staff (although they might not always know what humans eat. What do you mean, you don't like fried kitten?), 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 will be a certain pull to stay and have a bit of fun.

You may not get much of a chance to have that in hell after all. So one drink won't hurt, right? Nor will one more after that.

There will also be every sort of party drug available that might tickle your fancy. There's no harm in experimenting, is there? You're already in hell and the staff is handing it out and so helpfully showing you how to use it, or recommending a type that would suit what you want.

You've presumably done your atonement for the day, yes? So cut back a bit, let loose. Hell might be pain and torment, but it's also a nonstop party in the bar.

There's even a brand new stage and a karaoke machine for those feeling brave!

Ask the staff demons very nicely and you may even get less scrupulous drugs as well. Things that will convince your fellow damned souls to tell only the truth for a fun prank, or perhaps even potions that will make someone so enamored with you, they won't take their eyes, or hands, off you. How dare they give you the cold shoulder earlier, right? You've got them now.

There are also 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, if you're in a gambling mood. 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, right?

Prompt II
Warnings: sex, aphrodisiacs, potential dubcon/noncon, potential kinks.

The club within Penance has always offered many options for debauchery, but now it seems they're stepping things up a bit. There are themed rooms for sex machines (the same that were present at the carnival) that can be controlled by a demon or a partner. If asked, they'll gladly set you up on stage to put on a performance for the entire club.

They won't side eye you for any other kink you ask for either, however depraved it is.

But the succubi are handing out potions again, that can be taken willingly or not. The purpose of them is to strip away all of your inhibitions... or in certain cases, your mind as well as your will. It will leave those who take the potion as a perfect little pet or slave for someone.

It doesn't matter if you're generally strong-willed or not interested in submitting. You'll find yourself wanting to please someone until it's the most important thing on your mind. Maybe until it's the only thing on your mind. It doesn't even matter if you generally hate or adore the person you've attached yourself to, you'll find yourself sinking down on your knees anyway.

This is the perfect time to play out all those daddy kinks, domination and submission scenes, or perhaps a bit of pet play. It doesn't matter what theme of the game you choose, you're suddenly all for it no matter what.

Because you just want to make someone happy, even if what makes them happy is hurting you as much as pampering.

MISC.
Thanks for joining us for our fourth test drive meme, sinners! Reserves are now open for the upcoming app round on August 1st

If you want to speak with Lucifer, you're free to text or pray to him right here

If you let a demon loose in the dungeon, reply here to see what tidbit of info they revealed!

If you have a comment, suggestion, etc. please go here!

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When Frank was done, he approached Natasha was ease, smiling slightly. The invitation of the beer was more than welcome, as was her slightly teasing expression.

"Glad you enjoyed the show," he said, rolling his eyes only a little bit. He picked up the otherwise untouched beer and lifted it in a bit of a salute. "I'll be here all week."

The beer seems as safe as anything can in Hell. At least Natasha can guarantee that it's cold and it hasn't been tampered with. The best you can do.

"You're very talented," she says with only the lightest hint of sarcasm. "Do you take requests? Or maybe you do, but only for that Americana?"

"I don't, normally," Frank said with a bit of a chuckle, shaking his head. He thought of Maria, meeting her that first time, and it warmed the whole interaction from the chest out. He sipped his beer and appreciated the coldness of it. "I can be convinced and bribed, however."

"Yeah?" Her eyes twinkle slightly at the idea. Bribed or convinced? "How convincing does someone have to be to get, say..."

She thinks about it a moment. She doesn't actually know what year he's from, and her entire knowledge of his taste in music comes down to one song played on a karaoke night. Plus, she can't decide if she wants to ask for something he'd like or something that'll make him crinkle his nose.

"Bon Jovi?"

"Well, that's uncalled for," Frank said with a brilliant kind of a laugh. "Yeah, that's gonna take at least a beer. And probably you singing a song too, so. Chin up, buttercup. Pick something out, if I have to so do you."

His smile was earnest, charmed. He'd sing even if she didn't agree to his terms. But now it was a question of if she would.

"I bet you'd do a killer Madonna."

"Madonna, huh? Really? I seem like a Madonna kind of girl to you." She laughs herself, her offense largely mock. Her brows go up and she takes another drink. "I can take that as a first offer and negotiate from there, but if you think I do a good Madonna this might take a few counter offers before we come to an agreement."

"I mean, that or Joan Jett," Frank said with a bright sort of amusement. Joan Jett was less offensive than Madonna, but neither was bad. He smiled, though, because the idea of a curious bartering match in exchange for both of them embarrassing themselves at Hell's karaoke night was a good one at least.

"No, I take it back, I'm sticking with Madonna and a drink unless you can come up with something better than Bon Jovi."

"When you say Joan Jett, are you thinking Bad Reputation or Crimson and Clover, here. Because there's a difference." Or at least, she'll say there is. If they're going to turn this into a bargain, she might as well pretend there is. "How about this. Guns N' Roses, and I'll consider Joan Jett."

"Oh, Bad Reputation, obviously. I mean, I was thinking I Love Rock and Roll, but I'll settle." He sipped his beer with a teasing sort of smile. It had been a long time since he'd flirted, and he thought he was slowly getting the hang of it, the more that he and Natasha did it.

"I think I win either way. Guns N' Roses and another drink, and you sing Joan Jett? Look at me go."

"Oh, is that what you like. I see how it is." It's fun seeing him relax like that. Gives her a better idea who he is. She knows there's things she's not seeing; she's not showing everything either. That's part of the point. Part of what makes it nice for the space of an evening. "Suppose it's too late for me to up my demands now?"

"Nope. Sorry, you missed out. You're stuck with your choices, I'm stuck with mine, we just have to live with them."

He grabbed his beer and started to move toward the table to request their songs. "And since you didn't tell me which song, I get to pick that too."

"Oh no, you don't get to do that. I let you do that then everyone has to sit through the guitar solo in November Rain. I can't be responsible for that." Then, raising her voice over the noise. "You're doing Sweet Child of Mine, and you're gonna like it."

Frank laughed, because he'd heard her but that didn't mean he was going to listen. Well, he wasn't going to make anyone sit through an obnoxious guitar solo--but he was willing to rail on some Sweet Child of Mine, that would be fine. He knew the guitar line for it, had taught Lisa once.

He put both their names down, Natasha for Bad Reputation and himself for Sweet Child of Mine, and then returned.

"We've got about five ahead of us," he said. "You're going first."

"Fair enough, since you've already had a go." She can be a good sport about this. For all her show, she's not all that intimidated by getting up on stage. The center of attention isn't her favorite place to be, but not because of insecurity.

"So we have, what, twenty minutes to kill? Sounds like I better hurry up with this beer if I'm going to have another one before I'm up."

"Chop chop, ma'am," Frank said with an easy grin. He gave Natasha a nudge, because he was sure she knew that he was joking but it was still an easy gesture to balance it out. Then he focused on his own beer, glad for it and the quiet, easy camaraderie that had come out of meeting Natasha.

Who would have thought, in Hell, an Avenger and, well, him.

She acknowledges the joke with a smile, the kind that recognizes when someone is trying to be funny but doesn't quite dignify the attempt with a laugh. There's a little lift at the corner of her eyes, though, not quite a smile, and certainly not softness, but a sharp twinkle that seems game as she takes a long pull on her beer.

For a moment, she doesn't press the conversation. Then she raises her chin, indicating the dance floor. "Busy tonight. Must be doing something right around here."

"Or people are just that bored," Frank pointed out, which was just as likely. Well, not bored, maybe. But people needed their distractions, and a bad round of karaoke or two was as good as any.

"I'll take it in here over the club, honestly," he said. Even months after, he was trying to avoid the club. But the bar was alright, and the beer was passable. And the company was good, besides, so he couldn't complain. "Not least of all because I get to listen to you sing Joan Jett."

"Oh, any day," Natasha agrees. "I've tried looking around over there a time or two, and I won't say I don't see the appeal."

Which isn't quite the same as saying she sees it. Her first visit there had ended in a hasty retreat. She hadn't been ready for it, not fresh off her own death.

"But not what I'd call relaxing. Plus, you can't really have much of a conversation over there."

Frank shrugged. The club made him a little uneasy, but he knew that was in part because of his arrival and the spectacular mess he'd made within twenty-four hours. He didn't dwell on it, but it did make him uncomfortable to consider the place a respite.

"Yeah," he said with a bit of a laugh. Pretty sure the club wasn't somewhere you went for conversation. He sipped his beer and glanced at Natasha. "Guess we gotta save that for the bath house or something, right."

"At least it's quiet there," Natasha says, the memory of their run in there a pleasant one. Relative to a lot of what they run into here? Well, it was one of her higher points.

That might be a little sad.

"I can think of worse ways to relax. Unwind a little." She tilts her head, listening to the current singer with half an ear while her gaze stays on Frank. "And more dangerous."

If she'd said it had been one of the better points, Frank wouldn't have found that sad at all. There was little good in Hell, which was to be expected. And Frank could count certain parts of it, little bright points. Natasha and their brief moments was definitely high among them.

"Since when is dangerous a bad way to unwind?"

"Bad, maybe not. But I get plenty of danger at work." A girl has to have a little time to herself where her life isn't on the line, every now and then. On the other hand, there are different kinds of danger. "Of course if they open some rock climbing I might change my tune."

"Oh, see, there you go. Think we can petition the Devil to put a wall in somewhere? Maybe as part of his spa package. Add a gym in too." He snorted a little bit. "I'm sure there's sinning in there somewhere, right? Pretty sure my wife said you could make a sin out of anything if you tried hard enough."

He sipped his beer, and found himself at the bottle of it. "She might have been talking about me putting my feet up on coffee tables, though."

"Is that what gets us here? Guess I'm never getting out considering how often I've put my feet up." On the coffee table, the arm of a chair, the back of a couch, the car dash—anywhere, really. Somehow she doubts that's it, but it's more fun to imagine that than all of the murder and espionage.

"If we're making a wish list, we can add a heavy bag for the gym."

"You know, I think there is at least some gym stuff, now that I think of it. There's probably a heavy bag in there. And if not, we'll just have to figure out how to pitch it to Satan."

Frank hadn't actually been to the gym, though now that he thought of it he couldn't think of why. Maybe he ought to investigate sometime. And if Natasha happened to be around, that would be nice.

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