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

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?

[tacomeme]

It'd make me feel better.

[he's petty enough. In fact, if it really won't effect anything... he takes the shot right there.

And with a flick of his shoulders sends two more where he predicts Ardyn would go if he dodged. He only saw warping once- when Junpei had the power. But it's enough to know what might be coming.

And he knows Ardyn favors one leg over the other, so that gives him a better idea of the direction he'd naturally take. It's not a perfect prediction, but it's enough for him to bet on.

And honestly even if Ardyn just takes it to prove a point he won't complain. It WILL make him feel better]