81st ♫ | the gift of life is magical, not just mathmatical

[sakurabeam]

The Murder Game Meme



You know the script. You wake up in a place you've never seen before, with a whole bunch of complete strangers and there's a mysterious voice or a mascot or what have you ready to let you know how things are going to work around here.

The rules are simple: You're trapped here, with no hope of release or rescue. You've been provided with all the basic necessities you need to live comfortably, and all you have to do is settle down and live out the rest of your days here in peace. But if you can't do that -- if you're really so desperate to escape that you'll do anything -- then there's one teeny tiny thing you have to do first.

All you have to do is kill somebody.

But it's not quite that simple. Every death will be followed by a period of investigation, followed by a trial in which the survivors will attempt to solve the mystery and out the culprit. If the survivors guess correctly and out the culprit, the killer is executed and life goes on. But if the survivors guess wrong, then the culprit is free as a bird and everyone else is executed.

Even with the promise of freedom, can you really bring yourself to kill so many other people?

tl;dr: it's a murdergame meme. TIME TO HAVE A BIG OL' MURDERGAME BLAST.


Settings

1. High School A classic! Doesn't matter if you're too old or too young to be in high school -- you've been enrolled and the only way for you to graduate is to kill a fellow student. But hey, the faculties are nice!
2. Tropical Island Weren't you just hankering for a nice tropical vacation? No? Too bad! You're going to have a nice sunny vacation at the beach and if you don't like it, just kill someone and go home. Simple!
3. Prison It doesn't matter if you don't remember committing any crime; you've been tried and found guilty of something or other and now you can go ahead and rot away in jail. If you ever want to see the sunlight again, better put that criminal mind to good use and get rid of your inmates.
4. Mall A huge mall stuffed full of stores, places to eat and all the regular amenities like deadbolted doors and the threat of death. It's like Black Friday but even worse because you can't leave and all the rest of the shoppers might actually kill you for real this time.
5. City Holy shit, you've got the run of a whole city this time around! Maybe with all this room to keep out of each other's way, you'll be able to make sure no one starts killing people. But probably not.
6. Cruise Boat YOU'RE ON A BOAT, MOTHERFUCKER. The accommodation is all five star, even if there's no one around to act as wait staff. The only snag is that you still have this whole murder thing hanging over your head – but on the plus side, they have those little drinks with the umbrellas in, so...
7. Space Station THE FINAL FRONTIER... Maybe you're familiar with space stations like this or maybe all this future tech is fascinating to you. Not like it matters either way, of course, because you won't be getting out of here unless you lay down a murder on someone.
8. Wildcard! None of the above scratch your murder itch? Go wild and come up with your own setting!



Downtime

1. Excuse Me, Who Are You? You've just woken up in this weird place and you have no idea what's going on. But hey -- maybe this stranger's more informed than you. Or maybe you can put your heads together and investigate what's going on.
2. Social Link Go! Well, if you're going to be stuck in here for however long, you might as well get to know the people stuck in here with you. You've got plenty of rooms to explore together and there's enough to do to keep you occupied. How do you plan on passing time without killing each other?
3. Vending Machine Woes Somewhere in this place there's a mysterious vending machine that spits out all manner of bizarre items and occasionally dispenses items that belong to you and the other people trapped here. You've got a fat stack of tokens and nothing to lose.
4. The Corners of My Mind So as it turns out, your lovely hosts have been fiddling with your memories. Maybe you're just discovering this now or maybe you've had a particularly upsetting memory regain you're dealing with.
4. Wildcard! GO WILD AND BE FREE (or as free as you can be here, anyways)



PUTTING THE MURDER IN MURDER GAME

1. Motive Your mysterious overseer has decided there's not nearly enough murder going on and so they've ~helpfully~ given you a little push to do the deed. Maybe one of your loved ones is in danger, maybe they're offering more money than you could ever dream of or they're threatening to reveal your deepest darkest secrets. Whatever is it, would you kill for it?
2. Murder WELL APPARENTLY, YES. Are you a killer or are you being killed? Either way, someone's not walking away from this alive.
3. Body Discovery Rise and shine, murdergame! It's a brand new day and someone's dead. Better get investigating!
4. Trial You know how this one goes. Line up all your evidence and sniff out the killer -- or sit there and sweat and hope no one works out you're the murderer. Will they go down with a confession or put up a fight?
5. Afterparty You've survived another trial, but more of your friends have died. Even without the executions, trials are a stressful enough affair. It's time to destress and lick your wounds and support each other.
6. Mastermind It's the end. It's time to uncover all the mysteries behind this murder game -- and find out just who trapped you here. Are they really an unconnected party, or is the mastermind someone among you...?
7. Freedom Just as it says -- you're finally free, but at what cost? Have those you love been returned to you, or are you still reduced to just those who made it to the end? Are you on your own, or is anyone here to help you? And more importantly, how the hell are you going to get home?
8. Wildcard YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO


OPTIONAL FUN

Lots of murdergames have in-universe public profiles for other characters to get the skinny on yours. If you'd like to fill one out to post with your toplevel, peep at the code below!

<center><b>Name:</b> NAME | <b>TITLE (Super High School Level, Ultimate, Champion, etc)</b> <b>Age:</b> AGE | <b>Species:</b> SPECIES | <b>Occupation:</b> OCCUPATION <b>Likes:</b> LIKES <b>Dislikes:</b> DISLIKES <b>Traits:</b> A HANDFUL OF NOTABLE TRAITS <b>Trivia:</b> A PIECE OF TRIVIA</ul>

Comments

BB | Fate

[sakurabeam]

[ This toplevel is ACTUALLY just here for Mastermind BB like i said on plurk BUT HERE'S MY USUAL TOPLEVEL FOR HER IF YOU WANT THAT ANYWAY

Name: BB | Champion of the Mooncell / MoonCancerous (you can pick your poison i'm not fussy)
Age: Good question! | Species: A.I. | Occupation: Final boss-style kouhai
Likes: Senpai, bullying little piggies, humans
Dislikes: Cleaning up everyone's mess, her embarrassing past, humans.
Trivia: Don't be tricked when she acts like a villain. BB's a pure maiden at heart. ♡
[ An A.I. who's been brought down to the level of a lowly regular human and is SERIOUSLY not happy about it. She's a bit of a troll with a petty, sadictic streak who likes stirring up trouble, but has a good heart when things come down to the wire. She calls herself an evil villain and yet, she opposes evil and villainy with all her heart. ♡

since C.C.C. has yet to be properly translated I'm working entirely off the FGO translation and what I can pull together from the wikis s–SO PLEASE GO EASY ON ME ]

mastermind!

[justifiedenvy]

[ so all that evil speeching and dramatic unveiling just happened. Everyone is yelling or crying or protagging... and there's the clickclick of high heels.

The survivors part like the red sea and Sae Nijima makes her way over to BB. After everything that's happened surely she has something to say.

...

Instead she will, unless stopped, just fucking open palm smack the taste right out of her mouth]

[sakurabeam]

[ BB, to her credit (if you can even call it that???) takes the slap like a champ – she keeps her face turned for a moment if only to give Sae the satisfaction of seeing the angry red mark on her face before she turns back, with a big sunny smile. ]

Uh-ohhh! Did somebody forget that violence against the Overseers isn't permitted? Well, it made my heart skip a beat so I'll make an exception just this once. ♡

MASTERMIND

[imp_rovise]

Whoa, whoa, you're the one behind all this? Like- just to clarify, we're not misunderstanding that.

[Murphy Farenheit, Champion of the Code, is staring in disbelief at the small woman who had just declared herself the architect of their despair.]

...That is so cool. Can I have your autograph before we kick your butt?

[sakurabeam]

You want my what?!

[ She's so caught off guard at this that all she can do is stare in confusion. ]

Haahh? Is this a joke?

let's have the initial meeting after the intro log

[sorryforexisting]

[Okay, so this lady's given them titles, they can't remember their names, and they're supposed to be killing each other. Or something. Everyone's freaking out about it. "Caster of White," as the profiles call her, is shrinking into her wheelchair and wringing her hands, but really, she should say something to their captor, right?]

Um... Are you sure you've got the right people? I mean, we aren't special or heroic! Probably. I mean, I'm sure some of these people are! I don't mean to offend anyone!

[Why this.]

[sakurabeam]

Oh, Caster, you're so cute the way you get things totally turned around like that!

[ BB reaches over and uses a lock of Kumi's own hair to poke at her cheek. ]

You don't think I'm all that heroic, do you? But I'm a Heroic Spirit, just like you!

[ Only technically, but who's counting? ]

[sorryforexisting]

[She gives a small "eep" and sits up in her chair. Those weird frills on the sides of her head stand on end.]

But if we're Heroic Spirits and we're not supposed to be doing heroic things, then I don't really understand any of it.

mastermind au but they're at an afterparty

[daughterofthemark]

[So, there are several ways people have reacted to their hostess, BB. Some people have settled on just living in fear of her. Some are actively plotting against her. A few have attacked her and suffered for it. A few others have tried to seduce her and also suffered for it. (It's unclear whether that's a success or a failure.)

And then there's Commanding, as her profile calls her, or Arianna, as almost everyone else calls her, who immediately decided that they were friends in defiance of all logic and reason. Which is why she's seeking her out as a shoulder to cry on after a long trial with a painful conclusion.]

Dame BB...

[sakurabeam]

[ Oh it's... the other purple one. BB's expression settles into a carefully controlled look of what I can only describe as exasperation seasoned with a fine dash of mild disgust. ]

Oh, it's you. [ Her tone of voice isn't much better, either. ] What do you want?

[daughterofthemark]

[That's an invitation to sit down, right? It must be, since that's what Arianna does.]

Your companionship will suffice for today.

[sorryforexisting]

Name: Kumi Kawahara | Champion of Water / Disappointing (or Caster of White if we're doing the What If That Scrapped Fate/ Murdergame thing that inspired the meme)
Age: 23 | Species: Human (despite the head frills) | Occupation: Apprentice Cook
Likes: Sweets, books, not being bullied
Dislikes: Herself, amounting to nothing, her old mentor
Traits: Nervous, burnt-out
Trivia: Kumi is a failed chosen one for elemental spirits.

[scourgingstars]

Name: Ardyn Lucis Caelum | Champion Condemned / Adagium
Age: ~2000 | Species: Human-passing | Occupation: Healer, chancellor, arbiter of the end times
Likes: Wine, chess, his car
Dislikes: His brother, his family, Bahamut
Trivia: Formerly engaged to an archaeologist.

[pick your poison: prologue nice guy, canon game shithead, airlocked AU, i'm down]

airlocked r5 mastermind/overseer AU for shiggles

[scourgingstars]

[It had been a long journey. Though in the sense of time, 'long' for some was 'an instant' to others. And yet so much had already transpired in that time period; a monster had reclaimed humanity, remembered what it was to live again. He'd fought with himself time and again over what he was and what he'd been, struggling to relearn what it was to exist for other people's sake as well as his own.]

[Ultimately, he'd died so no one else would have to, and none left behind were surprised at the outcome. Of course Ardyn Tenmyouji would accept death in place of anyone else still among them, for those they were still trying to save. That was the kind of person he had become.]

[So why, then, was a man with cold yellow eyes and tied back violet hair calmly standing before them now, in a dark coat and hat as if hiding from the overhead lights? Why was there a distinct aura of something deep and dark and unknowably evil around him?]

I think we've all had quite enough of this, have we not?

[It had been a passing fear, when they had been captured between seasons. One quickly disproven, and now one confirmed by that sickly-sweet tone. The idea that what was taken away could be somehow replaced. And what better series finale than an unexpected twist, what better way to crush any resistance from the Champions than turning one of their de facto leaders?]

[...Best laid plans, however. Their hold on Xander had already been shaky, and a gamble like this one certainly couldn't have paid off. Whether she and Price were even still alive was unclear; there had been no physical sign of either in the investigation on the way here.]

I certainly have. It's well past time we brought this whole tale to an end. [He gestured vaguely with a gloved hand; shadows swirled through his fingers like water and evaporated like steam.] We need not bother with introductions, though a grand re-entrance is never complete without one. [With a flourish, he removed his hat in a sweeping bow before straightening back up and replacing it.]

Ardyn Lucis Caelum is my proper name. And it is one I'll see known across the stars henceforth.

[mind's consumed with fury]

[tacomeme]

["One if those they were trying to save" was here in fact- brought from the simulated death by one motive or another, it didn't matter.

And as they traveled here they found a lot of the items still waiting to be sent down by the Benifactors. Which is why Ardyn now has a very bright green light arrow pointed at him. The PIP might counter powers, but an item is an item. And Xander already had his so like hell was Takumi going to be out done by a Nohrian traitor.]

You need to stop show boating and start talking.

[Odd, all that evil smoke and fuckface is making Takumi very very nervous and when he gets nervous arrows start flying, even at former friends]

[scourgingstars]

Really now, Takumi. Need I even tell you how little good that will do?

airlocked r5 mastermind/overseer au bc fuck nao specifically I guess

[thesciencemind]

[The Champions are reaching the end.

You've descended into the depths of the spaceport. You've had to fend off your latest Overseer, PAL. It took violence, in the end; his programming - re-programming, as you've all come to recall - never slipped an inch. There's nothing there of the little robot you recall. Luckily you had help: the secretive spaceport AI SIS, who whispers from monitors and only flickers into holographic form where the cameras can't see. She's clever and quick, and knows more than she says. 

(She has friends somewhere on the outside, you know, people she's in contact with. Still, she always seems a little sad.)

The room you find does not seem set up for a dramatic, televised confrontation. It's like a hospital or a lab space, brightly-lit and sterile. You can easily see the faces of all your dead friends, asleep in the shiny steel pods stored on the walls.

Standing at the main console, Dr. Yl'lb Ein looks up as you enter. He looks much the same as he ever did, dressed in a neat suit with a lab coat over it. There's no bowtie, though, and he rolls his eyes upon seeing you.]

Oh. I suppose it was too much to ask that Nina keep the subjects contained, for once. 

[This is going to contaminate so much potential data...turning from the console, Yl'lb flicks his hovering tablet screen into being and presses a button.]

Send someone down to deal with this. [And, with another button, a warning pulse jolts through all of your PIPs.] I suggest you all wait quietly.


[ science rules!!! ] 


(( also this is the context ))

Takuto Maruki | Persona 5 Royal | Airlocked R6/Gaiden AU

[therealideal]

[HEAVY PERSONA 5 ROYAL SPOILERS BELOW YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

It's been a few years since Nina was ousted and arrested. The survivors of her "show" have moved on.

And then, suddenly, there it is on the space news (the spews)- that she had been released due to a "lack of evidence" and "lack of mental culpability"

Odd, since last anyone checked she was already long convicted and all her crimes were well documented thanks to them, literally, being broadcast.

Any of the ex-Champions who investigated would find that, well, information is disappearing, and no one is really outcrying her release. And a few months later- a new "season" is announced.

This time for sure it's not real. Legally checked and double checked! All actors!

Of course after that people start... disappearing. New people and old champions alike.

This time your Overseer is-

- not Maruki- It's some sleazy guy?. Takashi Koizumi seems to delight in all the new tortures he inflicts on you all and is more than capable to just killing anyone in his way. Proving a point when he shoves a spoon into the top of someone's hand on day one when they got too sassy.

He's not the only one here though. As part the "show" of this being above board and safe there's a therapist in staff to talk to! And unlike Takashi he seems to be disgusted by all this even though he seems convinced it's fake. He's here to listen and help though in private required sessions!

Odd though, over time it's Takashi that seems to get swayed more and more to you side... and Maruki that digs his heels in that it's fake.

... so maybe it's not a surprise that when you call out the show runner it's him who steps out above you all.

Oh, and your "overseer" is in a gilded cage nearby, literally cursing up a storm and chewing the bars. Someone might have labled it "gay baby jail" at some point.]

... does it really have to come to this, we're almost done. It's almost over.

[schoollifecub]

[ Name: Haruna Wakasa | Champion Survivor
Age: 16 | Species: Human | Occupation: Average High School Student
Likes: Sour candies, ramen, bears
Dislikes: Rainy days, homework, zombies
Traits: Cheerful, energetic, clever
Trivia: Her friends and family call her "Ruu".

Ruu's not, shall we say, a veteran in matters of murder but once she wises up to what's going on she buckles down into survivor mode like a pro. She's not happy with any of what's going on, and sometimes she's sick to her stomach with the idea of what might be happening back home, how much everyone must be worrying... but that's just all the more reason to get the hell through this. No matter how bad the universe apparently wants her dead, Ruu's not going down without a fight.

Her preferred method seems to be killing with kindness. From day one, she makes it her personal goal to annoy both their Overseer and their therapist into being her new BFFs. It works, in a weird, lopsided sort of way – she and Takashi get along, even though she tells him to his face she thinks he's a crapface who can rot in hell for what he's doing but, eh. What's a few strong words between Champion and Overseer? Really, it's just the name of the game. Maruki, she never gets a real read on, but she's careful never to trust him as far as she can spit, which goes against literally all of her instincts as someone who goes to real, actual therapy. But it works, and it keeps her alive.

And she's determined to keep as many of her new friends alive as she can, too. Even though it takes so long for them to finally get a leg up, now they've got the showrunners cornered, she won't be letting them go without a fight. ... Probably a real, actual fight at this point. By the time Maruki comes stepping out in his suit and hit shitty slicked back hair, she really wants to punch something.

And in the face of all this... there's only one thing she can say. ]

I fucking knew it! [ A near-hysterical bark of furious laughter. ] You shady sack of shit!

[therealideal]

[he looks legit started by her out burst, almost knocking over his little podium]

Wa... wakasa-san! Now there's no need for that, please.

[Takashi is cackling from his cage]

Could you not?

[schoollifecub]

There's every need for it! Eat shit! [ KIRBY'S FUCKING PISSED ] Was it fun, sitting around and listening to us spill our guts to you? About how freaked out we all were and how much we wanted to get out of here and go home? Did you get off on it, you fucking freak? What the hell is the matter with you?!

[ By the time she's done with her little rant, she's panting like she's just run a marathon. Looks like she's been holding onto that for a while. ]

airlocked mastermind/overseer au train

[theundertaken]

[Unfortunately, it would seem that you're in yet another murdergame.

This round appears to be made up entirely of former Champions; for whatever reason, it seems you haven't been let go just yet. Your Overseer is either an AI or someone with an intercom system. Given the quality of the voice from the speakers that calls you for motives and trials, it's a little hard to tell which. They never provide a name, accepting any nicknames or insults anybody lobs at them without comment, and they don't seem terribly invested in all of this. No gloating over motives or deaths; it's all pretty businesslike.

(The one thing - they sounded extremely agitated over That One Case. You know the one; every murdergame has one. Killing is one thing, but if you make someone suffer unnecessarily...well, you'll get it taken out of you come execution time.)

It's not until the investigation that you can definitively prove there's a living person at the back of this. The room you all found didn't have really any personal effects, but there was a messy bed and some food, just enough for getting by.

This evidence isn't quite enough to draw him out. It's an accident, in the end. Someone throws something at the speakers in frustration, and the holo-screen displaying the names and votes flickers and dies. Behind it, Max is slumped at the control panel, head propped up on one of his hands. He seems, at best, mildly surprised by this.]

Oh, shit. Y'know, that's probably a rule violation or something, but I'm not gonna hold it against you. We're good.

Hubert von Vestra | Fire Emblem 3 Houses

[pegasinister]

Name: Hubert von Vestra | Vassal/ Devoted
Age: 26 | Species: Human | Occupation: Minster of the Imperal Household, Mage, Assassin
Likes: Irony, coffee, intelligence, useful people
Dislikes: The Church of Seiros, those who bother Edelgard, gambling, heights, nostalgia, laziness
Trivia: Hubert committed his first murder at the age of 10

From week one everyone knows Hubert isn't to be trusted- he probably gets accused of a murder every trial. But so far nothing has stuck- though depending on the set up that doesn't mean he hasn't DONE anything. He ignores most of the motives though, and is actually super helpful in investigating and trials! And will totally be the body toucher if no one with an actual medical degree is on hand. He knows his way around a corpse, after all.

Open to all prompts, I will totally do a murder with you /winkwonk

4-3, feel free to toss in murderflavor as you see fit, whatever time point you want

[garreg_much]

[The others had mentioned strange objects came from this machine. Sometimes theirs, sometimes not--sometimes useful, sometimes seemingly utterly random. The fact that a simple book drops down the chute is almost disappointingly mundane. His gaze sharpens immediately once he reads the title though, elegant gold leaf on a black leather cover: Hresvelg Treatise. Why--?

Never mind the why. He's been given an opportunity, and he's going to take it. It's imperative to know your enemy; once he makes it back to Dimitri, he'll be all the more prepared to fight at his side. The bookstore is the obvious place to take this discovery, of course; nowhere in this marketplace has better lighting, or more comfortable seating.]

[pegasinister]

[Seeing THAT book in Kingdom hands is enough to make Hubert freeze. Rationally he knows Dedue can do nothing with it- without Hubert's correspondence and a master level codebreaking skill... to Dedue it would read as a well kept history book. A lovingly hand transferred copy of a treatise written when the Empire was first created.

It being here made his blood run cold, but for now it existing in Dedue's hands was harmless.

Still, he had to get it back. If it returned to Fodlan into Kingdom hands- to a time and place where Edelgard's victory wasn't yet absolute? He could not allow it.

Only the slight widening of his visible eye might hint that anything was wrong as he walked in]

Brushing up on Fodlan history? I'm surprised.

[Said with perfect disdain]