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!


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Comments

[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?

[ouijahands]

Good, good! Much better use of time.

I'm Klaus. I assume you, who rescued me from the horrors of whatever lies behind door number one, also have a name?

[ He honestly doesn't know where he's going, exactly; he's too buzzed to have this crazy hotel memorised or anything, but he has a good enough idea. He'll get them back there. Or at least back to the hotel bar. Close enough. ]

[followhim]

It's Poe.

[ he snorts a little. he maybe… doesn't exactly trust klaus to know where he's going, given how out of it he seems, but you know what? leading them into a broom closet would still be better. ]

Happy to save you, buddy. D'you just wake up here, too?

[ouijahands]

Probably a couple hours ago, yeah.

[ Really it could be two days for all he keeps any meaningful track of time, but he's pretty sure it was only a couple hours ago. It isn't like he wears a watch, and he has no idea what the phone thing even is or does, let alone that there's a clock there he could look at. ]

My hero. I owe you one. Let's find that party!

[ It takes him some wandering, and he chatters about literally nothing the whole time. He likes the sound of his own voice, okay? But eventually he finds the bar again, if not the party. ]

Well, I can mix drinks at least!

[followhim]

[ that's— well, you know what, he's not exactly sure how long he's been here, either. the passage of time is nebulous and weird. and awful.

in any case, he just lets klaus go. maybe the chattering is soothing. like one of those noise machines or an asmr channel. okay, maybe not. but at least it distracts him from the screaming in his own brain. (i'm not going to say poe should be yeeted out of hell and into sainthood for listening to klaus hargreeves go off for so long without becoming Done but i'm also not not saying it.)

he's really trying to get into the party mood. trying. so hard. he tries to make himself comfortable at the bar. he grins a little. a half-grin. ]

You got a specialty?

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus shrugs a shoulder at the question. ]

I made a bitchin' Blue Hawaiian here earlier.

[ It's not a lie. That had been a good drink before the conversation got too serious. Rather than unpackage that baggage, he hops right back into the last thing he'd been saying before they'd gotten here. How he remembers it enough to pick up the thread again is a mystery even to him. But Poe hasn't quite relaxed enough, which okay maybe they're in hell, but that's...not the point! ]

So anyway, no one even noticed I had Allison's skirt on instead of my uniform pants until we got back to the house, which by the way, was a two hour drive from where the fight happened. Man, she didn't even think it was funny.

[ She didn't think it was funny when he stole her clothes a decade later, but Klaus doesn't learn things like normal people do. ]

If Blue Hawaiian isn't your speed, I can do most cocktails well enough.

[followhim]

Skirt seems pretty hard to miss.

[ he loosens up a little. actually snorts a laugh. he doesn't really remember the beginning or middle of the story, but the end is funny enough. the whole thing was probably funny. it's distracting, if nothing else. maybe he'll cheer up for five seconds and stop being paranoid eeyore. ]

You know what? Yeah, I'll take that. [ he doesn't know what it is, but he'll take it. time to see if he can drink literally anything without throwing up or not. how does he know for sure if he doesn't try? ]

[ouijahands]

Right? I thought so, but everyone was just wrapped up in their own shit as usual.

[ Klaus is pleased enough that Poe finally calmed down enough to laugh. ]

Okay, hold that thought.

[ He scoots behind the bar and rummages around. It takes him a few minutes, and use of a blender, but finally he presents two amazingly bright drinks, one for each of them. ]

Drink up. I go easy on the coconut in my recipe so it doesn't overpower everything, but I can put more coconut rum in there if needed.

[followhim]

Most people are like that, I guess.

[ wrapped up in their own shit. he certainly was until like just now.

it's like drinking soda when you go years without it. the taste is familiar but oversweet and too much. the alcohol burns. he doesn't do a hilarious spittake, but he looks a little nauseous as he swallows the smallest sip down. ]

That's ... it's good [ he thinks it probably is ] but it's too strong. It's been awhile since I drank anything.

[ in the alcohol sense, but also in the literal sense. now that he's thinking about it, klaus looks like a poptart in the desert. he needs to stop thinking about it. ]

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus nods his agreement and sips his drink. ]

Yeah, true, true.

[ He seems surprised - concerned? slightly? - with Poe's reaction, because he can't imagine he made it that strong. Did he? He's a bad judge, because he will drink anything at any time, but...he definitely knows how to mix things so they're not just terrible liquor taste. But, all right. He takes it in stride and mixes another with half the liquor. ]

No worries, friend Poe, I'll be a champ and drink yours too. Try this one.

[followhim]

[ poe: aw man i can't do this again punking out the first time was bad enough
poe's one braincell: 👀 i've got an idea

it's not a great idea. it's an idea borne of desperation and thirst. ... like, literal thirst. he was doing just fine with sexual thirst before waking up here thanks very much. but he's still gonna yeet for it. it's a two-step plan that can't fail. make out ➡️ bite. genius.

but he does lean in closer. edging over the bar. getting up close and personal. ]

What if we did something else?

[ouijahands]

[ Luckily for Poe and his one brain cell, Klaus is easily distractable and easily suggestible. He sips his drink and considers, grinning suggestively, leaning closer because Poe did. ]

Oh? What do you have in mind?

[ His voice is low and suggestive too. He's on board with whatever, really, he just wants to hear it out loud. ]

[followhim]

[ let it be said that he's not exactly a smooth man. this is about peak smoothness for him he's just hoping he is smooth enough and klaus is drunk enough for him to get away with this. a sexy blood heist. ]

Something like this?

[ he goes in for it. just goes in for a kiss. not a peck but kissing deep and then hovering, waiting for an echo back.

(he'd be going to hell if he weren't already there.) ]

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus, for his part, is also not smooth and is also already drunk and has never been one for discernment. So he's up for it, reaching out for Poe with the hand not holding his drink, pulling him closer. ]

Oh yeah. This I can get behind.

[ He grins against Poe's mouth then kisses him again. ]

[followhim]

[ 🙌 he did it. a genius. he meets his lips and goes in forcefully with tongue and teeth. he's kind of like making out with a shark. before he even actually does anything snack-y. that lasts a minute or two as he snakes his way down to klaus' neck. just some cool casual necking, like dudes do.

that abruptly shifts into a very different feeling when poe digs his fangs into his neck. a brief pang of pain followed by a highly intoxicating surge of pleasure. just vampire venom things. ]

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus is a little bit surprised at the amount of teeth Poe uses, but like, he's into pretty much any fetish you can throw at a person, and what's a little biting between torture buddies?

He's pretty malleable, moving to grant Poe access to his neck, because he has no idea what's coming. The pain is just for a second, but joke's on both of them, because he's always been a masochist anyways. He stiffens slightly, then goes a little boneless and the following rush. He's done a lot of questionable things with a lot of questionable people, but this is...new. ]

[followhim]

[ nice. good. this is possible the first time he's done this without being overtaken by hungry hungry hippo urges. it just seemed like a smart thing to do. sure he was slightly hungry, but he also ... didn't want to get dunked on. which is very important. (he's a bad person and that's how he ended up at hotel hell.)

he's almost instantly taken aback at how weird he feels five seconds into the feeding process? like... well, being drunk or high. or both.

hm. yeah. that makes sense. he observed that klaus was probably on something, and now he is also on something? the transitive property of blood: amazing. he could have anticipated this, because he has no foresight.

so he pulls back not because he's looking at an internal stopwatch like "time to stop before klaus dies," but because it very quickly became too much for him. ]

That was — [ he can't even apologize for the bad thing he just did because his whole ass brain is recalibrating. time and space?? ? ]

Whoa.

[ it was whoa indeed. ]

I *love* that he got high from Klaus's blood lmaaaaaao

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus moans a little, but then Poe pulls away from him. If Klaus notices he's bleeding, he doesn't show it at all. He wobbles slightly, but he tends to have a loose centre of balance anyway, thanks to being high as shit at least 80% of the time. ]

Whoa is right. Hey, did you...do something to me?

[ It doesn't come across as an accusation, more as just curiosity. ]

LMFAO GOOD i'm glad u appreciated my yeet

[followhim]

[ he stares blankly at klaus for a minute. he heard the question, but it's taking a moment for them to make it to this thinking brain. also, look at his pores. they're amazing. ]

I — yeah. [ at least he owns it. ] I was gonna —

[ apologize? explain? those are all valid endings to that statement. ]

You're human, right? Wh — did you take something? Are you just drunk? [ he laughs a little, because it's suddenly funny. bitch what the fuck? ]

[ouijahands]

Am I human?

[ Klaus makes a show of looking around at the still-empty bar. ]

Was there another option? Because frankly, being human is entirely overrated.

Anyway, yeah, I had some...well, actually, I don't know what it was. But it was pretty good. No heavy crash.

[followhim]

[ he's aware that there are people out there who don't come from a place with thriving nonhuman communities (in an alien sense, forget supernatural sense), but it still trips him up for a moment every time. ]

Yeah, buddy. There's all kinds of things. There's —

[ he can't believe he spent a year as a sex guinea pig successfully avoiding being drugged by any mystery food only to be drugged by a mystery person on day one of hotel hell. it's just rude is what it is. ]

You don't even know? You don't ... okay, I bit you, I'm sorry. But you're ... you did something to me. I think you made me high.

[ouijahands]

[ Klaus just kind of stares at Poe, and then bursts out laughing. ]

You bit me pretty hard, you know? But you don't have to dance around it like that. You can bite me if you want. It's totally fine. I like biting. I like a lot of things. You gotta...you gotta chill out, okay?

[ For his part, he wouldn't be the least bit sorry even if he'd gotten Poe high on purpose. As it is, though, it's not really his fault. ]

Just enjoy it. They're good drugs.

[ He's missing some weird key understanding here of exactly what Poe means. The idea of drinking blood isn't entirely foreign to him, because if there is a fetish out there, Klaus has absolutely heard about it from someone, but legit literal vampires? That's new. ]

[followhim]

[ he wants to keep explaining himself since he clearly didn't make himself clear enough but he finds himself wanting to sink down and take klaus' words to heart. chill out. enjoy it. stop... overthinking. or thinking at all.

so he decides to slump. return to his spot at the bar instead of leaning real hard or straddling the counter or whatever he had been mysteriously doing before.

relax. it's fine. he used to be able to relax. there was a time in his life when he was not a tightly wound ball of tension. they were pretty much all pre-sex experiment camp. that said, he's still trying to reach and find all that calm. ]

I won't bite you again. Unless you want me to. [ his words sound like they're coming from 5 inches to the left of wherever he is. just that far removed.]

It's not so bad.