penancememes | 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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A slow exhale of smoke clouds the air between them, John's own eyes watching him. A slow curl of red traces the outside of the iris, rolling inwards to the pupil like a bank of embers flaring. Dramatic, but right now is about convincing his living self of a few things.

"Good thing we know that about each other," he says, red fading away to leave him (to the human eye) just the same as John. "I don't play games I can't win. Never have. Even Newcastle. Arrogant that, but pure us."

The pack of Silk Cuts is fished out of his pocket, the lid thumbed up and offered to the human John. He had taken one out a half-minute before, but twenty cigarettes face John snugly in the container.

"I've been in Hell for two years now, I think. Maybe a bit more or less. Time moves different down there. You know that. Don't try to measure cocks with me. Unless you're still wanting that shag."

He tips a wink in John's direction, leaning against the wall to look down on the living.

"We always have been our worst enemy, but you're in Hell. My territory more than yours."

Out-conning the other party is always what they do best, even when the most dangerous thing in any place for a demon is an exorcist. Thinking of which...

"No, I'm not possessed. You know the feel of your own magic."

Okay, yeah, maybe he should rethink how he's going to tackle this situation. This is not what he expected or wanted to deal with while he was down here. Eyeing the proffered cigarettes warily, John's gaze flickers between those eyes and the row of orange butts before he plucks one out.

"We lost at Newcastle," John retorts, sitting up properly to light and enjoy his smoke. As best as a man can enjoy his smoke Newcastle was just one of a long line of mistakes that he could never hope to fix. Two years in hell though. That could really change a man. Even one like John Constantine.

"Why? Scared of little old me, are we?" He gets to his feet and dusts off his coat with a few pats. There's not a big gap between them, but it feels pretty unbridgeable.

"You're not me anymore. What's playing nice going to do?"

"But we thought we would win. Just like you think you're going to win this one."

A shoulder lifts in a careless shrug as he watches his other self. There's a hundred little plans and thoughts going through his mind, most he discards immediately. Much as John Constantine hates react versus acting, everything hinges on how his other self decides things go.

"Scared? That's a strong word. We've been afraid like of D - him. The Invunche. Maybe Damien Darhk when Ollie brought him up. I'm not afraid of you, John, anymore than I'm afraid of myself." His smile is razor-thin, a tired brand of amusement there. "It worth making an enemy of me? What does that do?"

A tap of his cigarette sends ash drifting to the ground. He watches it instead of John himself. "And who gets caught in the crossfire? This isn't 'my' Hell or yours. We need to be taking the piss with each other when worse might be coming?"

"You are worse. Have you looked at yourself?" Oh, but doesn't he hate his own reflection in the mirror? Everyone sees the mask, the charming pathological liar, the one with the devilish smile and saccharine promises. He sees everything he loathes about himself.

And just like that, John feels alone again. For a while, he'd hoped. But he can only hope so much before he slips and tumbles back down into that dark hole he likes to call home.

"You're not leaving. You know that, don't you?" He can waltz in and out wherever he likes, but. He wouldn't have stayed in any version of a place like this for two years if he could help it. Somehow, at some point, diverging timelines or whatever shit's gone wrong the way it tends to with time-travelling Legends, he's gone and fucked himself over real good. And undoing that isn't going to be nearly as simple as getting his soul back.

"We always think the worst of ourselves, don't we? There's no one we hate more. But there's also no one we know better."

A low chuckle meets John's words, inhuman eyes watching him. That old damned self-assured arrogance lays behind the sound. The one thing John Constantine always believes in is himself.

"You're not either, John. We'll be here forever. That is, if Hell keeps you alive. It may. Some swore they were even when they weren't. It plays tricks like that. Hell, that is. Gives you that glimmer of hope to take it away."

The demon pushes itself away from the wall, crossing the few steps between them to look into his own eyes. Of course it dares to cross into an exorcist's space, his own space.

"Or maybe I'm one last saving grace for you. A reminder not to give in to Hell. A prophecy. Who knows? Could be that shit whisky of theirs talking."

He lifts the hand not holding his cigarette to try to touch John's face if his living self allowed it.

"I miss being me sometimes."

Is it unsettling to see someone wearing his face and hear his own voice saying the same words circling in his mind like a vulture that just won't die back to him? A little, at the very least. And John blurs the line between bravado and sheer stupidity, standing still letting some demonic facethief touch his two day old stubble.

"I'm getting out," he says with a flinch before moving half an inch away from that uncharacteristically gentle caress. He's got things to take care of. Mistakes to unmake. Some sleight of hand and a bit of wisecracking is all he'd need to be able to swindle the Devil himself. He can walk out of here easy.

"You can stay here and play your Hell games, you miserable sod." He'll have none of that, ta. "I'll be finding me own way out."

His fingers curl loosely back against his palm to capture that brief warmth before it's gone again. A brief flare of annoyance at his own weakness and John trades off to bring the cigarette to his mouth. How he does love his addictions that allow him to ignore others.

"I'll be at the bar when you find out that you can't. At least for the time being you can't. Not alone."

The demon makes no move to stop the man, lets him go without another touch or attempt to keep him there. He fully expected John Constantine to roar or try to outwit Hell, try to scrabble for any crack in their new prison that might exist. No matter what, eventually he would realise he was trapped just as his demon self had been trapped for two years. That's when he might be dangerous and unpredictable.

Part of him wants to see what will happen, if John will react as he did. Another piece dreads that this John will find a way to retain his humanity that the demon didn't.

"There are other humans here for me while you work. Ta."

The creature turns away, lifting a hand to wave carelessly to his human self as he starts down the hallway. He had seen the bar on the lower levels and the beginnings of a party starting. Where there's a party, there's sure to be alcohol... and maybe some brand of escape.

If he's lucky, maybe something human warm to fascinate himself with for a few hours or the night.

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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