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.

[sakurabeam]

And that's! What! Makes! You! So! Cute!

[ She punctuates each of these words with another poke in poor Kumi's face. ]

You just don't get anything, do you? Well, if I were you, I'd hurry up and get used to solving things. Otherwise, it just might be the end of you!

[sorryforexisting]

[She gulps, looking around the room. Not that she really expects anyone to step in, but she can't well just drive away either.]

So this is all a big puzzle for you?

[sakurabeam]

For me? Oh no, not at all!

[ She gives Kumi one last poke, before letting the poor girl go. ]

Didn't you read the guidelines? The ones solving things here are you guys.

[sorryforexisting]

But doesn't that mean you're the one who set it up for us to solve?

[sakurabeam]

[ She huffs with visible annoyance. ]

What? Are you telling me you really didn't read the guidelines after all?

[sorryforexisting]

I -- I mean, I did, but...

[Shrinking down into her chair. Why does this always happen?]

It talks about investigating the school, doesn't it? And you're in charge of it.

[sakurabeam]

Aaaaand?

[ She cups a hand to her ear and leans in. ]

What else does it say?

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.

[sakurabeam]

[ BB doesn't tip her out of the seat, but she does for a moment look like she's considering it. ]

Does that mean I can just sit here quietly, or will you be expecting me to say something sympathetic?

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna nods.]

You don't need to say anything. I understand your role.

[At least she understands something about her???]

[sakurabeam]

[ BB's eyebrows shoot up. ]

Really? Are you sure about that? You're acting pretty buddy-buddy with me, so I find that pretty hard to believe.

[daughterofthemark]

I simply don't wish to let your position stand in the way of our friendship.

[WHAT FRIENDSHIP???]

Aside from that, I feel as though there are things I can tell you that I could not share with the others.

[sakurabeam]

[ This is so much to unpack that she can't even summon a sassy response. All she can do is stare at Arianna for a moment with what I can only describe as a mathlady.gif expression passing over her face before she can finally assemble some sort of supply. ]

We... are not friends.

What even went on in your head to make you think we were friends?!

[daughterofthemark]

Perhaps not especially close friends, but I feel we get along well, do we not?

[????????????????????]

And I hope we can become closer with time.

[sakurabeam]

...

There's definitely something wrong with you. Did you hit your head on the way back up from the trial and shake something loose?

[ WHAT DOES SHE EVEN DO WITH THIS ]