92nd ♫ | the quietness, profoundly consuming silence

[mytarget]

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

[favoriteanalyst]

[Oh hey...buddy... Mobius pauses, taking in the scene with a brief furrow of his brow. It's as much about seeing Grey with what seems like a murder weapon (in spite of the body not having been stabbed to death) as it is about the strangeness of there being some kind of bloody scuffle far from where the body was found. They frown, an expression, honest to god, and then smooth themselves out once more.

Huh. Huh. He's going to file that one away for the moment. It's been useless to ask Grey how they are, how they're feeling, because the answer is always that they are running optimally and that they do not feel, and variations on those themes. So he can't be blunt about it.

He puts his hands in his pockets and shakes his head a little.] You keep it for the trial. You made the discovery; you can explain better what you found.

[The Unit might not claim to feel, but they can certainly think. Mobius tries a colloquialism to see how it lands.] Penny for your thoughts?

[kire]

[ Grey knows the phrase, though no one has ever asked for its assessment in such a manner before. it dislikes— no. not that. it is... wary of the way the others speak to it as if it were a person, rather than a tool. normally, that would be no issue, but because it doesn't have its enchanted blade to suppress its feelings without a thought, there may be defects in its emotional regulation.

it needs to keep itself in check, carefully. ]

I will be unable to speak much, during the trial. I am not permitted to pass judgement.

[ which is why it wanted to give the evidence to Mobius instead. Grey can describe the scene, in objective terms, but no more than that. passing the responsibility to someone else entirely seems to make more sense. that's how the situation would normally have been handled with its superiors, too; there would never have been a time where Grey spoke in a meeting, regardless of the intel it had obtained. while this situation is far from normal, the departure from that normalcy is unpleasant.

after a beat, it adds: ] Ah, that is not to say I won't vote when the culprit is found. But an executioner's sword does not have an opinion on the man it beheads.

[favoriteanalyst]

[He purses his lips, nods slowly at the explanation. There's a lot he may not necessarily understand about Grey's world, but he's seen enough of the universe to have a pretty good feel of the, let's say, archetype. So Mobius believes, at any rate.]

You know you're more than that, though, right? [This could easily turn into the kind of pep talk Mobius is getting known for having with people one-on-one.] For the purposes of this...exercise, [delicate term, not wholly unreasonable] you count as one of us. You're just as capable of critical thinking, and if your vote counts, so do your thoughts and even judgements on the matter.

[kire]

No.

[ the word is firm, a deviation from Grey's usual soft monotone. "you're more than that." almost incomprehensibly absurd, to say such a thing to a Unit. no one in the world Grey knows would even think something like that, let alone say it aloud. but Grey isn't weak-minded enough to have its sense of duty shaken by an attempt to treat it as human. ]

My involvement here does not change what I am. [ these things are so ingrained that it's hard to explain, but Grey attempts to organise its words nonetheless. ] I may present objective observations, and I am allowed to make decisions within the parameters of my orders. Although I am trained for war, I do not have any input on tactics; if I am told to annihilate an enemy camp, the only judgement I need to make is which soldier I should kill first. But I cannot go beyond that command.

[ Grey sighs, a long, slow exhale. it isn't used to talking so much. ]

If anyone here offers to wield me, I will be their blade. [ it looks down at the knife in its hands, considering. ] You should only consider me the same as this knife. Sooner or later, it is possible that I will be used in just this way.

—So, that's why I determined that I should provide the evidence for Sir Mobius to present it.

[favoriteanalyst]

[He believes in the ability for a person to change with work. (And belief, faith, has never betrayed him before, hm?) To take something so ingrained in Grey as the lack of personhood, that they are a tool and nothing more, and throw it away? That takes work. Mobius does not expect a switch to flip, but--

But. The scenario Grey presents does make his blood run colder. Alongside the fact that they just suggested that openly. He's glad no one else is in the room, someone with a few less scruples and a little more willingness to use a tool as a scapegoat.]

What happens if several people offer? [It's a nightmare scenario, to be sure. That if someone, anyone, decides to use Grey to their advantage, they could easily be put on trial for murder. They could probably pretty easily kill as many people as they want, rules be damned.] Hypothetically, if I told you to go kill Shu, and Shu told you to kill Calypso, and Calypso told you to kill me--there isn't a hierarchy here. We're all the same rank. Would you just kill us in order? If I told you to kill Shu, and Shu ordered you to stop, then what happens? What's the order of operations here?

[kire]

[ this is more familiar ground, and Grey loses some of its tenseness now that its existence isn't being challenged. this is a simple question of how such things work. there is no remorse or shame in its words; it makes its declaration serenely, comfortable with its nature. ]

I will be permanently loyal to the first one who offers to wield me. [ to say it's proud of that would be too emotional, but it is certain. absolute loyalty is a vital component of its purpose. ] A Unit will obey its master's orders; I would only listen to another if I was told to do so.

[favoriteanalyst]

[Hm! Okay! That's terrifying, actually! There's a moment of panic that he struggles to keep out of his body language, and then he decides to do something insubordinate and stubborn and unpredictable (and reckless and stupid and impulsive and)

He crosses the room, lays a hand on Grey's shoulder, looks them in the eye.] Be my blade.

[kire]

[ there is a moment of faint surprise on Grey's face, and it admits, halting: ] ... I did not think Sir Mobius was the type of person to take up a weapon.

[ despite that, it doesn't hesitate to sink to its knees, sitting seiza with its head bowed. there's no weighing of options, no time taken to consider whether it will agree or not; for Grey, that choice doesn't even exist. someone is offering to use it for its purpose. it doesn't have the right to refuse. ]

Understood. I will obey my lord. [ it lifts its head, though it doesn't stand yet. ] Ah — please be warned that in my current state I am considered defective, due to the absence of magical suppression on my emotions. However, I will serve Lord Mobius to my full extent until I am disposed of.

[favoriteanalyst]

[It takes quite a bit of willpower for Mobius to not burst into nervous or even hysterical giggles, the dawning realization of what is happening becoming ever clearer. Does he regret the action? No(t yet), because now it means no one else can use Grey. Mobius will never order them to kill, even if that is the intended purpose of a person who has been taught all their life that they're a weapon.

(No, if he's going to kill anyone, he'll do it himself. Let the blood be on his own hands and not anyone else's, no judge or hunter to hide behind.)

He runs a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly while the whole knightly kneeling and swearing ritual thing is going on. Is he supposed to do or say something in particular?]

Well, first off, I don't consider you defective. And second, ditch the title. I'm not sir or lord or any of that. I'm just Mobius, okay? Now, uh. Arise, Grey?