TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[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 hotel is undergoing some improvements already! Thanks to the new arrival of sinners, hell has a burst of energy and growth available to it. One demand of the demonic staff was the addition of elevators. It gets tiresome having to take the stairs all the time. They'll eagerly implore you to help them test out this new system, even going so far as shoving you right in the nearest available elevator with whoever else is in the vicinity.

Unfortunately, things aren't quite up to par just yet. Press a button and you'll find your elevator gets jammed between floors with very little chance of escape. Oh, oops. This is entirely the hotel's fault and will be fixed as soon as possible. In the meantime, enjoy your company and try to relax a bit.

It's definitely a high priority repair for staff, promise.

Prompt II

Maybe you were looking for the hotel gym to work off some stress or maybe you just took a wrong left somewhere, but instead of what you were expecting, you stumble across what appears to be a very well stocked torture room. There are tables with straps to hold down victims, chains falling from the walls and ceilings to bind them upright, and absolutely every possible torture device you can think of. There's even an iron maiden proudly displayed in the corner. Besides that, there's the normal supply of whips, knives, and any other equipment someone could want to inflict the most delicious pain available.

You're free to check it out or give it a go. You're also free to back out of the room very slowly, but with the knowledge this space will probably come into play at some point.

Oh, and a tip: the gym is to the right of this room.

REACH UP HIGH

Prompt I
Warnings: cutting, blood, torture.

After settling in, it really is only a matter of time until your demonic hosts expect some participation. You can try and shirk the responsibility, of course. But eventually, you may find yourself trapped in a room just off the kitchen that's curiously full of knives. 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 becomes apparently what you're supposed to do soon enough when someone else is eventually shoved in with you. Both of your lists of in will appear in the room on a nearby table 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 one of your sins into the other's flesh. Help them in their journey to be candid with everyone they 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

Well, that last punishment was a bit heavy, wasn't it? Or maybe you somehow skipped out on it all together. Fortunately for you, there's a less horrible one to get potentially wrapped up in along the way. You'll hear that all too familiar voice ringing in your ears as you explore the halls of the hotel or poke your head outside.

"Do one genuinely kind deed for someone and we'll consider it a step in the right direction for you."

This can be helping one of your fellow sinners out with a task or helping them find something. It can be a shoulder or a listening ear towards someone who needs it. You can even offer to help the staff clean up a bit around the hotel, or help a poor hell beast pup out of the hellfire around Penance. Careful though, even they have pretty sharp teeth and an aggressive attitude. It doesn't matter what you do as long as it helps someone else out.

Oh, and one more thing! The longer you resist, the more aches you'll notice. It'll start with a mild headache and escalate from there. You can wait it out, of course, and pills may help you cope with the pain if you really can't be bothered to do one nice deed. Although Satan is still very disappointed in you.

FOLLOW ME DOWN

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

With all the new sinners arriving, this feels like a call for celebration! The bar will be lit up with activity. 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.

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 you've presumably done your atonement for the day, yes? So cut back a bit.

Ask the staff demons very nicely and you may even get less scrupulous drugs. Things that will convince your fellow damned souls to tell the truth or perhaps even things that will make someone so enamored with you, they won't take their eyes off you. How dare they give you the cold shoulder earlier, right?

There are also tables set up for all sorts of gambling and various bar games to entertain yourself with.

Relax and enjoy your first night in hell. 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 kinks.


Much like the hotel improvements inside, all these new sinners seem to have given hell the ability to open a new building just outside the hotel. It happens to be quite a happening sex club from the looks of it. Everything is bathed in obnoxious neon lights when you first enter the establishment. There's plenty of space for dancing, and poles for those so inclined. Mood music fills the air, along with something a little too sweet.

As tacky as it is, something may pull you to stay.

Whether experienced lover or total virgin, once pulled in, you may not want to leave for a while.

There are back rooms people can go for a bit of private fun, full of every type of toy and restraint that you could possibly desire to play with. There's also a rather large room with a massive bed that seems to be fit for any orgies you may want to try to arrange. Hell's not judging and may be encouraging a bit.

There are aphrodisiac laced food and drinks available around the club as well, but these will most likely be marked. If one slips through, ah well. Why else are you here if not for a bit of fun? The drugs will only help that out.

Of course outside, this club is clearly marked for what it is and anyone who would rather avoid it are free to do so.

MISC.

Thank you for checking out penancerp's first 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.

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 warning 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 before or on the FAQ page. Since this is the game's first TDM, we are also very interested in hearing any suggestions you have or ways to improve the game experience.

Since this is a big event, 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 May 1st as well!


Navigation | Premise | Arrival | FAQ
Rules | Taken | Reserve | App
Network | Logs | OOC | Memes

code bases by tricklet

Comments

poe dameron | star wars (futuro/zhautas crau)

[followhim]

arrival
[ when he first wakes up, he's not so sure he isn't still with zenith. that nightmare was… something, but it's not his first nightmare rodeo. it's also not his first buyer beware rodeo — which is what he's starting to believe he got himself into when he wakes up feeling like he got hit by a speeder and put into a coma.

he only starts to fully believe this is an actual new location when he can't connect to the network or communicate witth ROSIE via the chip in his head. and, of course, the list. which makes him feel like sinking whenever he looks at it — which means he's going to immediately pocket it and save reviewing that shit for another day.

this is definitely buyer beware. he made a bad call. should have… kept suffering somewhere else. no, it's okay. he can get out of here. he decided he can. which is why he's out in the hall looking the the ghost of fried garbage and asking anyone he encounters ]

Do you know how to get to the roof?

[ he sounds like he might have a plan. but don't worry, he doesn't. ]

stand your ground 2

[ he breaks into a sweat when he turns into this room that, in theory, is supposed to be the gym. it's sure not a gym. not even the weird alien sex gym back on zhautas. nope. this sure is. a torture room.

the exact devices used on him aren't here; this is way more primitive. even without the fancy torture droids, this is still a lot. too much. just when he thought he might be over it — when there's so much trauma weighing down on him that there's no room for old triggers — there it is again, right where he left it.

if he could still breathe, he wouldn't be right now. he doesn't slowly back away, instead he makes a very sharp turn and runs smack dab into whoever happens to be behind him. ]

Oh, uh. Hey. Sorry. You probably don't want to go in there anyway.

reach up high 1

[ well, he sure did try to kick the door in. why has been super strong continually been so useless?

he's a little slow on the uptake until the voice is there to help him out. that whole spiel gets a very strong ] I ain't doing that. [ muttered under his breath. ]

Look, we don't gotta do this. There has to be another way out. We can find it. And even — they can't keep us here forever.

[ unless… they do… that's a cold sweat of a thought. is losing control and eating someone better or worse than cutting them up? … oh shit the list. how can he casually grab his sin list and make sure the other person never sees it ever? ]

stand your ground 2 | tw drugs

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus isn't looking for the gym, exactly. He's just looking around, still floating off whatever it was he'd conned off a demon back at the party. He's come down some, but he still has that sort of dreamy look on his face, like he's only half plugged in to reality. Or maybe his face just looks like that after so many years. Hard to say!

It throws his reflexes off a bit, though, so he doesn't react in time to avoid the collision when the other man turns away from the room in front of them. ]

Whoa, what's so bad about it?

[followhim]

[ he blinks, taken aback by this ... handsome, bizarre, and maybe not all there man. there's a lot happening here, in his general existence. it distracts him for a second.

okay, back to reality. just because he doesn't like it doesn't mean he's going to mince words. ]

It's some kind of torture dungeon. I think there's plenty bad about it.

tw brief torture/violence mention

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus isn't so far gone that he can't register the words. He hears them loud and clear; probably being a torture victim himself rings that bell in his head a little too strongly. It pulls him out of his mostly enjoyable high and crashing back down to earth. He looks actually spooked for a minute before he manages to get hold of himself and push his face back into "who gives a shit" territory. ]

Well. This is hell, I guess.

[ Maybe somewhere else, he wouldn't have believed it at all, especially from a stranger. But this stranger is a good looking dude, and also he had been trying to get out of here pretty damn quick, so why would he lie? Klaus, being a liar himself, has a pretty good head for who might be lying to him. ]

I'm going to choose to totally believe you! Let's not stay here.

[followhim]

No kidding.

[ he can sense the abrupt change in demeanor. it was very similar to his. does this mean ... a torture buddy? he's not going to spend time wondering about it. he sort of shuffles him out of the room by virtue of being in front. ]

Anywhere else you wanna go instead?

[ at least he looks like he was having fun before. maybe poe can capture a glimpse of that. or, you know, just not be in the torture dungeon. ]

[ouijahands]

Literally anywhere, man. Anywhere but in that room, sounds like.

[ He doesn't ask, he just reaches out to take Poe's arm and steer him back towards the party room. That was a much better bet. ]

I could use a drink. How about you?

[ Probably the last thing Klaus needs is more substances to abuse, but that has literally never stopped him ever. ]

[followhim]

[ poe: i am doing a super job of being a normal person who is not a vampire i can just avoid it ever coming up because clearly that is a thing that other people are capable of—
klaus: drinks
poe: uh-oh

in any case, he's still going with him to the party room. he'll wing it. figure it out. he's got a brilliant plan called don't drink anything or only pretend to drink something. a genius, truly. his lil braincell worked overtime for that one. ]

I'm in. [ they're walking, they're walking, escaping the torture room. ] You got a name?

Stand Your Ground 2

[wickedlupine]

[ For all that it looks like a proper hellscape outside, the hotel itself seems rather normal, at least what she's had a glimpse of so far. Which surprises her. She would have thought there would be hanging bodies or blood or something more... well, horrible inside. But then, she imagines there's probably a reason for that.

Her stroll — very far from the not-quite-functioning elevators, thank you very much — takes her down another corridor, and before she turns the corner she catches the scent of another person so she's not surprised when she sees someone. Although she is curious why they're rather stock still in a doorway. (And secondarily curious why they don't exactly hit her senses as human.)

Raina steps up and looks over his shoulder... and aha, there's the would-be-awful she's been expecting to find. Well, likely awful for most other people, but to someone like her—

The train of thought gets derailed when he swiftly turns and runs into her, but she's amused far more than bothered, not at all moving out of the way. ]

Oh, I don't know. Probably good to know just what lurks in this place, don't you think? [ Said relatively innocently, if only because no one here knows her or the kinds of things she's done. And while Raina's referring to the room, she might as well be referring to herself as well; she can't say whether any of the demonic beings have noticed that she's a werewolf, though she assumes so, but the couple humans she's encountered so far seemed wonderfully oblivious. ]

[followhim]

[ oh. she's not just letting him move past her. that's… unexpected? in a bad kind of way. he can also clock that she smells different, in a way he almost recognizes but then … not. is she one of the demons around the hotel? is that why she's trying to keep him in?

he's not going to spend too much time wondering about it. mostly because he's still kind of keyed up and it doesn't matter much either way. ]

It's a torture dungeon. Now you know. If you wanna go in, you can help yourself. [ "just leave [him] out of it" is an unspoken implication there. ]

[wickedlupine]

Takes two to tango. [ She jokes warmly, a mildly amused smile coming to her lips, but there's something behind her gaze that isn't joking at all.

Tempted as she is to cast another glance into the room, curious about what tools the demons have decided to offer, she's far more curious about the man before her. Raina might not know him, or anything about him, but she knows a few things about reactions to such places and sights. Sometimes species didn't matter at all; everything bled, everything felt pain, everything had something they feared.

No matter that she would exclude herself from the latter. ]

You seem a bit unsettled, if you don't mind me saying so. I wonder why that is.

[followhim]

I do mind. [ his expression sours like he ate a whole lemon. this isn't tragic backstory-sharing with strangers time. he's especially not feeling tragic backstory-sharing time with strangers in a place that has him feeling highly uncomfortable.

but, because he has a feeling that's not enough, he throws in ] Had some bad experiences.

[ it's at this point that he will actually attempt to shove his way past her. what are manners? ]

[wickedlupine]

[ The remark makes her purse her lips and though her amusement doesn't exactly fade, it does shift. Oh, so there was a button there that could be pushed, hmm? She's most certainly taking note of that.

Where most would give way, probably even apologize for keeping someone near a place they clearly didn't want to be, that Raina moves even slightly is almost entirely because she hadn't expected him to be so bold as to try and push past her. One hand comes up to catch his arm almost automatically in a bid to stop him, for the moment her grip is only as firm as might be expected from a human. ]

I was wrong, not unsettled. More like a rabbit desperate to bolt.

[ Her tone might be downright casual but Raina's looking at him a bit like she's thinking. Considering. ]

[followhim]

[ he would just keep forcing his way past her and continue along with his (awful) day, but the insult is what gets him to stick around — still, but all his muscles tightly coiled. ready to bolt. ]

You don't know me. Next time you get a thought like that, you should keep it to yourself.

reach up high 1

[invicto]

[ James doesn't like being locked up in a room any more than this guy, so he can understand the reaction, really. After his little mishap with the lift, though, he didn't have much hope that they'd be able to open the door, so it doesn't surprise him that he can't manage. ]

Can't they? If this is Hell, they can keep us for however long they want. [ He's picking up a knife. Thin blade, but sharp. He presses it against his thumb, the pressure just shy of breaking skin, then smiles at the man, the scar on his left cheek twitching into something crooked. ]

I don't mind. We could have some fun. [ AKA you can cut him as long as he gets to cut you first. ]

[followhim]

[ this person is … vaguely familiar, yet not. he's 100% sure it's not the same person, so he shoves that thought away. the multiverse is a wild and crazy place.

he's especially sure when knife carving is "fun." ]

I can keep refusing forever, so tough luck for them. [ "and you," he guesses.

it's only when he starts pressing the knife against his skin that poe realizes the gravity of his Situation. his control is better but not super-awesome. and he's not sure how testing it at knifefest is going to go. he's assuming "not well," though. ]

Hey, don't do that.

[ then he feels something sharp and stinging near his forearm and pulls up his sleeve to see … a cut? ]

How…

[invicto]

And you just expect them to leave us alone? Cute.

[ James doesn't even need to sit around and wait to know that whoever's running this show is bound to do something, force their hands so to say. Doesn't take long for it to happen either, and before he gets to move closer to the other guy and inspect that cut, he feels something sting on his side. ]

Shit. [ He pulls his shirt up to see the skin still opening, as if an invisible blade is cutting the skin. ] Told you. We should just do it ourselves.

[followhim]

[ he's become sort of used to having a very fast recovery time from cuts and scrapes, and is surprised when this one seems to be sticking around, being as small as it is.

it's very tempting, as someone who might have a low-key martyr complex and someone who really doesn't want to have an incident and go after blood like a shark in the way to just volunteer for a fuck me up fam. but that would mean having to look at his sins on his body!!! he can barely look at them on paper. the list is like a boulder strapped to his back for how awful it makes him feel.

no, okay. he can do it. he steels himself. there's a part of him that's become resigned to the fact that it could always get worse. ]

Okay, fine. You do me. [ since he's already got his forearm exposed, he just holds it out. ] Uh ... pride.

[ yeah. that's pretty benign compared to killing half the resistance — which was pride-related, actually. it's all coming together. ]

[invicto]

[ James isn't one for patience. He does try, though, waiting for as long as he possibly can for the guy to change his mind. Good thing he does, because he's got half the mind to get that knife and make that decision for him. ]

That's a sin? [ He lifts an eyebrow, shaking his head. How boring and unimpressive. He approaches with the knife in hand, grabbing the guy's wrist and holding his arm up, then he presses the sharp tip against skin, moving it with smooth, steady precision as he carves up each letter across his forearm.

And maybe he takes a little more time than necessary, his thumb pressing against the inside of the guy's wrist, watching the blood drip from the cuts with a little too much interest. It's Hell down here, entertainment's been hard to come by. ]

[followhim]

[ his reflex, in this time of duress ... is to reach for humor. ] We'll have to get past the first date to get to the good stuff.

[ it doesn't not hurt, but he's had worse. that's a nice thing he tries to tell himself while being sliced into. this is fine. he's had worse. if he can just focus on something else, it'll be over soon.

fun things to notice: he doesn't have a pulse. and the blood doesn't seem to be too actively drippy. possibly because of the first thing. ]

You don't really need to take your time with it, buddy.

arrival

[forcevisions]

[ Rey practically jumps out of her skin at the question. Somehow, she hadn't felt him coming. She takes a full step away from him, searching the vaguely familiar face with something that veers from recognition into mistrust. Something feels wrong about him.

A demon? Tempting her with escape? Certainly he isn't alive, or she would feel him in the Force. And she can't. It's so strange, though. She can't shake the feeling like she knows his face. From ALASTAIR, maybe. Or the base on D'Qar. A face in a crowd, and it's impossible.

She'd certainly remember that face if it had come attached to whatever this man is. ]

No. [ She sounds defensive. ] Why would I go to the roof?

[followhim]

Rey! You're —

[ here. he had one whole moment of excitement in his heart. maybe excitement wasn't the right word — he's not thrilled that she's here since neither of them should be here. should they? he probably should be. but not her.

anyway, the moment comes to an end when he fully takes in the way she's looking at him. she had zero moments of excitement in her heart. she's … well, not scared. distrustful. hm, he let himself believe they'd gotten past that emotional hurdle. and yet...

he's getting a whole third of an inkling about where this is going, but he tries to shove it down. his brain cell needs to be less negative. ]

I wanted to see what it's like outside. You know, if there's any good ways to escape. Or just … outside.

[forcevisions]

You're trapped here too.

[ Or so he claims. Rey wants to take it at face value, but to be fair, she's in Hell. Ostensibly, at least. She's got her staff with her, at least, if this goes badly. ]

How long? [ Was this what became of people here? Did they all get cut off from the Force? ]

[followhim]

Well ... yeah.

[ as opposed to what?? ? ? he doesn't follow. ]

Not long. I don't think. A few hours, maybe? But it felt like I was out longer. What about you?

[forcevisions]

The same.

[ She still seems to be puzzling over him. Or uncomfortable. Or something. She opens her mouth like she's going to share more, then she thinks better of it. Better not. She doesn't like the feeling this guy gives her--or lack thereof, as it were. ]

How did you know my name?

[followhim]

[ suspicions confirmed. at least it's not as horrifying as it could have been; he knows that alternate timelines are a thing. this is rey, but not his rey.

meaning: she doesn't know him. the capacity of just how much she doesn't know is slow-going in processing. it must not be anything, if she's not even recognizing him. (he'd like to think he doesn't look THAT different, but whatever.)

but, if she doesn't know him ... she wouldn't even begin to understand. his rey didn't even really understand. he's thrilled to go through that gut-wrenching emotional journey all over again.

anyway. time to put a pin in those emotions and save them for later. or never. ]

'Cause I'm Poe Dameron. You know my name at least, right?