110th ♫ | all the things making us sick and tired turn into bubbles and disappear

[phaiinein]

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

[696_9]

Yeah, but that just happened! And it's tied to the whole different-worlds thing, anyway, my world's totally normal!

[divisors]

Is it really? Are you so sure?

[696_9]

Why wouldn't it be? All the weird stuff is coming in from other worlds, or more often, from us ending up in other worlds. That and that weird twilight realm thing with the glowy gold snow. You'd think they'd know the meaning of yellow snow before using it for their aesthetic.

[divisors]

...

[He looks thoughtful at that, tapping his cheek.]

So you would say your world is being invaded, in a sense.

[cuttingremark]

[Loki watches Clint as he settles behind the bar, watches the bob of his throat, the tension in his frame. He keeps his own voice just as even and emotionless.]

For the hatred you rightfully bear towards me, I liked to believe you would have stayed...professional. [It certainly would have been more fitting for it to be Thor, Friga, or even Odin, but the lack of emotional ties between Loki and the humans made the prospect more palatable for him.

Clint's comment about preference makes him raise an eyebrow.]

I was referring to your tastes in spirits. [He holds up a bottle of clear alcohol. The label is generic, listing only that is it white rum.] The selection is of mediocre quality, but there are enough sugary syrups and fruits to make it paletable.

[brandingproblem]

Uh-huh, a professional haunting. Yeah, I could probably provide that.

[Clint comes up next to him, inspecting the bottle.] There's a joke about spirits and spirits here that we seem to already be touching on. Is this what you guys do here? Just...be on vacation?

[cuttingremark]

We've done a bit of exploring, found some indication that there were others here before us, like in the manor.

[Loki pulls out a few more ingredients and starts mixing. The concept of a cocktail was not common on Asgard, but he'd spent enough time on other worlds to find he often preferred the deceptively strong sweet drinks.]

But other than that, yes. It's dreadfully boring.

[brandingproblem]

[Should he trust Loki with a drink? No. But, if they're really dead, what's he gonna do, re-kill him? Clint still watches him like...well, like a hawk.]

Others here before but not here now. How sure are we, exactly, that we're really dead?

[cuttingremark]

I personally only have the words of the others to go off of, but apparently someone decided to try and...test it.

[He grimaces as he starts to shake the contents of the metal cup.]

Either we're dead or everyone has attained some form of immortality. Given all of our memories before waking up here, the former seems more likely.

[brandingproblem]

Might have to test it myself. [Rather than take anyone's word.] Just seems like an awfully specific kind of afterlife. And I'm pretty sure God doesn't like me this much.

...There's a kind of irony in our deaths. Not a big fan of it.

[cuttingremark]

I know for a fact whatever entity governs the universe doesn't "like me this much."

[He pours the contents of the shakers into two waiting glasses.]

Irony, or purpose. We never did learn why we were all brought together. Other than to kill each other. [Loki takes a sip. It's disgustingly sweet to the point of masking the alcohol entirely. Just how he likes it.]

[brandingproblem]

If there's a purpose to us being the assholes who got our necks broken, I don't ever want to know what it is.

[Time for Clint to try. He scrunches his nose, makes a face.] Gonna take it you're not a fan of alcohol, just its effects.

[cuttingremark]

There is a certain power in death. Those with the means to channel it could do quite a bit with the sacrifices we provided. [Loki sounds rather disgusted by that idea. Necromancy. Eugh.

The face Clint pulls when he samples the drink does make him snort, though.]

What, not to your taste?

[brandingproblem]

Wife would probably smack me for calling it a girly drink, but this is a girly drink.

[still gonna keep drinking it tho like why waste it...]

Stop me if this is a conversation that needs to be several more girly drinks in, but. Your execution. Is that how you...?

[cuttingremark]

[Now's it's Loki's turn to swallow down the nasty lump that forms at the mention of his second death.

He nods.]

I wasn't...surprised. The prior two executions seemed to have some kind of meaning to their victims. It was still...unpleasant to relive.

[brandingproblem]

Thor was a little light on the details as I understand it. ...The younger ones shouldn't have to see this shit.

[cuttingremark]

Of course he was. [Loki's voice is a strange mixture of exasperation and adoration. Thor knew Loki better than anyone. He knows he would want to be remembered for why he died rather than the gruesome details of how it happened.]

I tried to tell them to look away. I hope...were you at least able to stop Mei from seeing the worst of it? [She was a sweet girl who, despite Clint's warnings, had been incredibly kind to Loki the entire time.]

[brandingproblem]

I...wasn't focused on her. And after the first two, yours was...I don't know. Gruesome and tame at the same time.

[cuttingremark]

Couldn't keep your eyes off me, eh? [It's clear Loki tried to make it sound playful, but he can't quite keep the venom out of his voice.]

Certainly less bloody. And over a lot faster than...the electricity. [A shiver runs through him at the memory of that particular execution.]

[brandingproblem]

Do you want me to apologize? Sorry for feeling like I had to be a witness to your death? [The drink's made to be enjoyed, but he slams the rest of it back anyway.] Do you wish I'd done it?

[cuttingremark]

Certainly would have been quicker. [He mutters just loud enough for Clint to hear.]

No, I don't begrudge you the need to see me die. As I said earlier, I imagine it brought you a certain amount of peace.

I am curious, though. How did the others...act after the trial?

[fairfortune]

Exactly. [ IShe has the slightly fond, proud tone of a teacher who's gotten a correct answer back from a student. ] I had much the same thought. It's common for nobles and the like to have such passages installed in their personal quarters, so it seemed strange that one would be here, but...

[ She lifts the lantern a little more, spilling light over the dusty bookshelves. This part of the library is pretty out of the way, sure, but depending on where the passage leads... ]

Perhaps this is a case of accessibility trumping privacy? Could this be a method of traversing the school at speed without being detected?

[brandingproblem]

I didn't enjoy it.

[He's going to fish for something darker. The label is unhelpfully simply 'bourbon' when he retrieves it, but good enough for him.]

Would you believe that people were upset?

[cuttingremark]

If you'd said that a few weeks ago, I would have laughed. [He takes another drink and notices his own glass is emptying far faster than he would have liked.]

Hopefully not too upset. Not sure I deserve that many tears.

[brandingproblem]

You were actually nice to some of them. Or at least funny. Guess you needed to find some way to make people like you that's not mind control. Maybe if you tried not being a dick, you would've made more friends back home.