penancememes | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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!

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Klaus-- looks older than what he generally goes for, but Billy sees little reason why he should get picky about dances. Especially in what appears to be a really messed up version of hell.

Besides, he's more focused on the dancing -- and maybe torn between amusement at how Klaus keeps his bottle in hand... and maybe curiosity about whether or not that's common. None of his business though.

"Hmm, not really. Just got here with pretty much everyone else I've talked to, I guess. How about you?" It is odd. Was there a group before them? Are they somehow the first?

Klaus slides an arm over Billy's shoulder, not too forward, but familiar enough. It's that kind of club anyway, isn't it?

"Same. It's probably only been a couple hours. Weird, you'd think that there'd be, I don't know. More of us?" If this is really hell, shouldn't it be filled with the screaming souls of the damned? Not that Klaus would wish for that, it just seems kind of strange. But the dancing is nice, so...whatever!

"Hell is usually full of damned souls, yeah." He should know. He's seen it before -- his version back home at least. This seems a little skimpy, even with the demons he's seen wandering around.

With Klaus' sliding an arm over his shoulder, his own hands go to rest against his waist absently, although his thoughts are lingering more on their current predicament than anything else.

"Do you remember dying or anything? Seems like a lot of us here don't."

Klaus enjoys the closeness of another living person. Psuedo-living person? Well, not a ghost in the sense of the word, not like Ben, and sure as hell not like the gruesome ones.

"Well, I remember something happening, but this is nothing like the last time I died." He just drops that like he's talking about the weather, because engaging with things emotionally isn't really his strong suit.

Billy can't say he doesn't appreciate the contact with someone not a demon. Someone in the same position as he is. Although he arches a brow at that admission.

"Last time you died? How'd that happen?" He's from a world where people can and have come back from the dead, so he's not too quick to assume this guy's insane.

He thinks on that for a minute. How had he died that last time? He'd been flatlined at least once, after all, so it's not like he's totally unaware of the whole "could probably be dead" thing. But that last one...

"It was at a rave," he said. "I got trampled, I think? Or was it in the war? No, I didn't die in the war." He chokes slightly at that; the last time he'd died, he'd been thinking about the war, still so fresh in his mind (as it is even now), crawling through trenches...

His hands clench into fists and he has to pull himself out of it. If he'd have been sober, he's not sure he could have. But he doesn't want to drag this kid down into his shit. He doesn't want to drag himself down into his shit. Isn't that why he's usually high as a kite, anyway? Avoidance?

"You were in a war?" Billy isn't unfamiliar with war. He's been in one between superheroes before at least. But from the way he seems to tense and choke, he figures it's too sore of a topic to poke at right now. He knows the signs of a potential freak out or bad episode.

"Um, hey--" He tries to offer up a smile. "Probably better to not focus too much on that, right? We've got all night for bad memories, and the song's over... You wanna go grab a couple chairs somewhere or keep going?"

Klaus tilts his head and smiles, though it's not quite his best. "Oh, it was nothing," he says, though that's obviously a huge lie. But he just met this kid and Vietnam is...raw, and difficult.

"You know what we could use? Drinks," he says, definitively. This is as close to decisive as Klaus really ever gets, and boy after thinking about Vietnam, he sure could use one. It doesn't occur to him that Billy might be underage for drinking, and really even if he thought about, who cares? He sure doesn't.

"You wanna hit the bar?"

... He just got this guy away from the really annoyed bartender -- and really, that's his chief concern. They're handing out drugs freely at this party, so he figures hell doesn't have much of a problem with underage drinking...

So he reaches up to place one hand in the middle of the other's chest, giving him a playful nudge back. "Sure-- hey. Why don't you grab us a table somewhere away from all the noise and I'll grab us the drinks? What are you having anyway?"

Klaus tilts his head, considering whether he's going to choose option a: argue, option b: comply, or option c: choose your own adventure. He somewhat surprisingly lands on option b and shrugs. It's probably better to have company in hell than to ostracise someone over not going to the bar for your own drink, right?

"Whatever you bring me," he answers, and means it. He's had drinks he doesn't like, but he sure doesn't drink for the flavour, at least not most of the time.

He sort of moonwalks backwards, then spins around and goes to find a table.

"I'll be right back then." Phew, well. Good. He's going to be agreeable and grab them a table. Billy isn't saying he's not annoying enough to get a demon to punch him in the face... it's just that he'd rather it be him than someone else, that's all.

He moves back up to the bar to grab them some drinks -- something strong because they're in hell and they might as well live a little, right? Or maybe not. Maybe they should take the high road and not give into vices... could get them home faster.

The thought is pushed aside as he heads back with drinks in hand to find wherever the other guy's sat down and join him again.

Klaus is sprawled at a table, foot up on an empty chair across from him (though there's another one there for Billy). He has no real idea if there's even a home to go back to, and he's not sure there's much point. Though he's glad that Dave isn't here, because he'd much rather Dave be anywhere else. For now, though, consequences don't matter to him so he just lives it up. Or...not lives? Whatever.

He offers Billy a wide grin when he comes back with the drinks, reaching for one with one hand. "That looks amazing," he says, which is what he would have said no matter what it was, because booze is booze and Klaus is Klaus.

"Comfortable?" He arches a brow, looking Klaus over before he moves to the free seat and settles in. He gives him the drink and leans back in his chair.

"How long have you been down here at this party anyway?"

Klaus shrugs and offers Billy a lopsided grin. "Considering the setting, I think I'm as comfortable as I can be in this moment."ly

He take the drink and drinks from it, though he's not in a particular hurry to down it (probably luckily for both of them).

He looks up at the ceiling, considering the question. "Oh, I don't know. Does time even matter in the afterlife?"

He looks back at Billy. "I definitely have not beaten my record for straight partying, though, which was three days, five hours, and 47 minutes."

Whether that's true or not is anybody's guess.

"I think if you were really partying as much as you say, there's no way you'd keep up with the hours down to the minute," he teases, although he can't stop a laugh.

"But I suppose you're right. Who cares about time anymore? Do you think we're still going to age while we're stuck down here?"

He pulls a face. "Being stuck eternally as a nineteen year old is going to suck."

Klaus laughs along with him. "I happen to have a very solid memory for parties," he says, loftily, which is absolutely bullshit, since he drinks to forget and it often works.

He sips his drink and considers. "Well, on the bright side, guess I'll never be 30," he says, shrugging. Is that a bright side? He's not sure. it's a miracle he lived as long as he did, though it took reviving him a couple times to get him there.

"But if time doesn't matter, age doesn't either. Right?"

"Wow..." He huffs out a laugh. It isn't like he's unused to being around people who party a lot -- his twin, a couple of his friends. He was doing quite a bit of it the last place he was in too. Doesn't really matter.

"So forever 29, huh?" He gives a smile. It could be a good thing? Could be a bad thing. It depends on how much you like to live, he supposes. He brings his drink up to his lips as he gives a shrug of his shoulders.

"I guess not, no. I feel like we're all being equally punished down here anyway."

There's no kids table. No slap on the wrist for the younger crowd... so far, anyway. And it's hell. No one gets an easy ride of it.

Klaus both hates and loves living, as evinced by his bizarre and self-destructive lifestyle: one he's apparently just continuing on here in hell as long as they'll let him.

"Don't tell anyone," he says. "I like to keep people guessing. No one's ever pegged me being over 30 yet, so it's a good track record." This was also misleading, since most people back home knew exactly how old he was, thanks to the weird fame of the night he and his siblings were born, and the even weirder fame of being raised in the Umbrella Academy. But were details important? No. No they were not.

He tilts his head. "So far, this punishment isn't too bad, right? Good booze, good company. The music sucks but you know what? The music sucks in the living world, too."

"Your secret's safe with me." He's not even sure who he'd tell anyway. He doesn't really know that many people here, not yet.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Not bad at all, no. I mean, I don't want to jinx it or anything. But it's better than some places I've been so far."

He gives a shrug of his shoulders. "So besides partying an extraordinary amount, what else do you like to do?"

Klaus laughs and sips his drink. He seems pretty at home here, for a guy who just found out earlier today that he's apparently died and gone to hell. The way he sees it, there are worse things than hell. At least Reginald isn't here to try to shave his face or what the fuck ever that even was.

He tilts his head at Billy and considers how to answer. He decides on the truth, which is a rare enough thing for him. But he's always at least somewhat aware of what the truth sounds like, so it might as well be made up. "Oh, you know, super normal boring stuff. Fight in wars. Hang out with my dead brother. Really nothing remarkable. What do you like to do?"

He does seem pretty-- at ease, honestly. Billy isn't sure if that means his life was that horrible in the living world or if it just hasn't sunk in yet.

Or possibly, he just snorted something that was getting passed around this party and he's feeling too good to care.

"Hang out with your dead brother?" He arches a brow. "... Um. I'm not sure I can top dead brother, even if I've got three of them."

Three very annoying ones. "I'm a sorcerer. I was a superhero... Got wrapped up in a war when I was sixteen, but I can't say I enjoyed it all that much."

"Oh, I have three living brothers, too," he says, offhandedly, "but the dead one is the only one I get along with."

He looks suitably impressed, eyebrows raised, eyes wide. He whistles. "A sorceror? Wow, that's a pretty cool thing to be. I used to be a superhero once. Or at least that's what it says on the action figure. There wasn't a lot super about it."

He decides not to touch the war comment; he's not feeling like getting into his own wartime experiences outside of mentioning that he was in one.

"So can you, like, do a magic trick?" he asks, oblivious to what an obnoxious request that really is.

"Wow. Any sisters? I always kind of wanted one..." Alas, he was doomed to three annoying brothers instead.

"You have your own action figure? How did you end up a superhero?" He realizes that superheroes don't have an easy life from first hand experience, but Billy honestly can't help the excitement at the idea of them at least.

... Although the question gets a laugh out of him. He's a little too buzzed to mind it that much at the moment and he hums thoughtfully. "I guess I could, sure. What kind do you want to see?"

"Two sisters," Klaus says, holding up two fingers for emphasis. "But one of them is a big deal movie star who thinks she's better than everyone else because she can bend people to her will, or whatever, and the other..." he trails off and makes a face, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head. He takes another drink, because really, thinking about Vanya is hard enough. Just considering how much he hadn't known about her, and how unfair the whole stupid thing was, and how much he still hated Reginald for all of it, was too much.

He laughs and looks up again. "Oh, our dad just got it in his head that we needed to save the world or some shit, so he abused us into becoming what he called superheroes. There were comic books and action figures and all of it. It was pretty fucking rotten, if you want to know."

He shakes his head, because that is way too much of that train of thought for one conversation.

"I don't know, I mean, what kinda magic do you do? Is it wide open? Do I get like three wishes? Can you fly? Can you make me fly? Oh, no, I know, can you conjure things out of thin air? Turn people you don't like into toads?"

He's having way too much fun thinking up how magic works in movies and things and not considering that it might, in fact, be a real thing.

"And I thought my family was unusual..." Superheroes and movie stars who-- can control people? That sounds eerily familiar to him. At least the powers part.

"I'm sorry though... no one should be forced into that sort of life. It's not easy. I used to be a superhero too. Never got a figure though." How unfair.

"Yes," he answers simply enough when Klaus starts running through his list, huffing out a laugh. "Except the three wishes... that's a genie thing. I'm not a genie."

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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