118th ♫ | asking myself over and over – "have i won? has a new me been reborn?"

[phaiinein]

Welcome, Champions, to the Tulipa Residency Station, the #1 top voted temporary home away from home, currently orbiting the beautiful uninhabited planet of Seraphim #52973! You've been given the very exciting opportunity to test out our facilities for free over the next few weeks. All the food fun and relaxation you could ever want alongside a beautiful view, at absolutely no cost! If space makes you anxious, don't fret! We have an on-board therapist, the distinguished Doctor Maruki here to attend to your every need! Oh, you didn't agree to come here? You want to go home? There's a weird rule in your resident ID about murder? Well, I guess there is one teeny tiny catch... Welcome to the murdergame meme: Airlocked Gaiden edition! This is a meme-ified version of the Airlocked sequel/Round 6 AU cooked up by myself and Jess made available for everyone to goof around with. HAVE FUN, GANG TL;DR: we still have airlocked brainrot THE BASICS: This meme is for threads/plots/mingles/whatever set in an Airlocked-based AU as outlined above. You don't need to be Airlocked alumni to play here but some familiarity with the game's vibes and mechanics is useful! The game's setting is Tulipa Residency Station, a high class space station orbiting an unoccupied planet. It's basically a cross between a super fancy hotel and a super fancy cruise liner so feel free to make up fitting locations as you see fit. AND YES, YOU CAN HAVE ROOMMATES. Slap up a toplevel quickly outlining what's going on with your character in the tradition of murdergame memes gone by – you can also outline your character's role in the game, how long they last and maybe give ideas for progressive CR, memory reveals, that sort of thing! TAG AROUND AND HAVE FUN THAT PART IS NOT OPTIONAL PROMPTS: 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? CHAMPION PROFILE CODE: <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</center>

Comments

Vending machine

[reaperrabbit]

[This sure is a heavy, ancient-looking book covered in incomprehensible, evil-looking scribbles. Brook has an idea just to whom this belongs. The question is, does he want to track her down to return it?

While he mulls that over, he just goes ahead and opens the book. What's the worst that can happen, a demon pops out to take his soul? Ha ha.]

[finalflower]

[Well, no demons are popping out, but the script is old and kind of faded, save for the notes stuffed inside written on notecards and scraps of school paper with things like "cross-reference Greek symbols" and "circle placement results -- down 87%." There are a lot of symbols, circles, and rambling paragraphs about the cost of dark magic and how difficult it is to learn.

While Brook is paging through the book, he might feel someone creeping up behind him. Or maybe it's his imagination. :)]

[reaperrabbit]

[One of his ribbon-ears twitches, despite definitely being an inanimate accessory. Without looking up, he says:]

It’s not smart to sneak up on someone with a demon inside of them.

[Only then does he scowl over his shoulder.]

[finalflower]

[Annu just laughs -- is it intentionally creepy or is that just how she sounds? -- and steps into the room.]

And here I thought you'd be more upset if I startled you. You seemed very intent in your studies.

[She spots which book that is as she approaches, and she frowns.]

Of course they took that too. I'm sure the Professor has noticed it's gone by now. And here I'd covered my tracks sneaking it out.

[He definitely already knew.]

[reaperrabbit]

You’d be the one upset if you actually startled me. Or maybe everyone else would. Depends what’d be left of you, I guess.

[After a beat of wary watchfulness, he sighs, closes the tome, and offers it out to her.]

Here. I can’t use this. Doesn’t look like it has anything to do with my kind of dark forces.

[finalflower]

[She takes the book carefully into her arms and looks it over.]

You don't think you could expand your knowledge past the world you came from?

[reaperrabbit]

More like I don't have magic and none of that gobbledygook applies to my situation. I was thinking it might have, like... demon-banishing incantations or something.

[Or tips on keeping Satan off his back.]

Where does magic even... come from, for you?

[finalflower]

It depends, I suppose. My ability to see spirits is inherent. There are fewer people who can do it now that we're in an industrialized world, so I suspect it's linked to early exposure, given all my siblings can do it. You can lose your ability if you damage your eyesight -- that happened to a friend of my parents -- but you can't gain it.

The magic theory we learn in school mostly comes from the world of the man who runs it. Anyone can learn that, though different people have certain talents or aptitudes. For instance, my sister favours fire, when she actually gets around to studying, but I mostly have lightning spells.

Dark magic is much the same, except that you'll generally only be able to do it once you're messing with things you shouldn't.

[reaperrabbit]

[Gradually, he puts his hands in his hoodie's pocket. Or the pocket of the hoodie he's wearing, anyway. Is it his? (Spoilers: It's Ai's.)]

..."Things." Like?

[finalflower]

Well, like books you swiped from the restricted section.

[She chuckles with a smirk.]

I've read about the possibility of implanting natural potential for it, but the side effects would be dire. I know that may seem rich coming from me, but my experiments aren't nearly so likely to kill me.

[reaperrabbit]

Mm. You said it used to hurt you, too.

[His hands find each other inside that pocket.]

Why do you do it? Why do you need that power? Just because you have the knack for it?

[finalflower]

[For once, Annu actually looks surprised. She takes a moment to respond past blinking.]

Nobody's... actually asked me that before.

[It's true. Sure, mostly because she keeps it a secret, but the ones who know all took it in stride. Of course you would, Annu or always thought you'd try or you'd be great at that or are you sure, doesn't that wreck your body? But never why.]

I suppose when I think about it, it was... because I could. Because I've always wanted to learn more. Like I told you, Rui wants to be a painter, Mari's content with lazing around eating candy and writing those stories of hers. I want to learn magic more than anyone. And to me, that extends to the kind of magic that might be dangerous. Someday somebody might need it. I don't know too many others who can, and I'm not going to just walk up and ask my professor why he learned it.

[reaperrabbit]

[Annu keeps talking, so maybe she misses the way he blanches a little, flinches when she says because I could. She keeps talking, though, and as she clarifies her reasoning, the hunch of his shoulder loosens. He looks less like he might be sick.]

So in the end, you'd use it to help others... that "something" that's your own. It's not just about having what you want.

[finalflower]

[Annu raises her eyebrows, but she doesn't comment. Only adjusts her gloves when he replies.]

You make me sound like some saint. That's not how things usually go. [She shakes her head.] But put that way... yes, I suppose I would. I want to protect the weak, and if that means taking down the strong, even if I need to play dirty or drag myself down in the process, that's how it will be.

Just don't tell everyone. I do have an image to keep up.

[reaperrabbit]

[Pft.]

I won't.

[He's quiet a little while longer. Then he finally lets out one of his now-familiar weary sighs.]

You're right that I remembered something that raised the stakes for me. And I won't lie. If I'm pushed the right way, I'll still kill to save myself.

...But I don't really want you guys to die. And right now, it looks like escaping with you all is the better option for me. So there's that.

[finalflower]

[Annu listens. A smile grows on her face, and it looks like it’s probably not intentionally menacing. (That's probably the best she can do.)]

That's good to hear. Especially if you and your companion in there are as dangerous as you claim, but overall, it is good to have a little less to worry about.

...Was that what you told Hoshino-san, too?

[Oh, there's the knowing smirk.]

[reaperrabbit]

[SIGH x2.]

She's the one who told me stuff, calling us friends and shit. There's only so much of that I can take.

[The put-upon act might be more convincing if he weren't snuggled into her hoodie like a security blanket. And also if he didn't blush a little at the word "friends."]

I'm not like you. I'm not interested in protecting the weak or whatever. Ai offered me a better deal than I've currently got, so I have to make sure she survives. That's all.

[finalflower]

There's no need to look at me like that. You wear someone else's clothes like that, people will start to wonder.

[smiiile]

An improvement is an improvement. And if you've got something nice in your future, who am I to judge? Would that be why you were looking for a demon-banishing spell?

[reaperrabbit]

It's not like that.

[A-anyway.]

Sort of, I guess. I don't care if my demon stays; I can't really imagine what it'd be like without it, now. But... if someone comes after me, somehow... I figured it'd be good to have options.

[finalflower]

Following you from your own world, you mean. I may not have much in the way of warding spells personally, but I know where to find them once we're out. Before then is a challenge, but I've never said no to that.

[reaperrabbit]

...What. For me?

[?]

[finalflower]

You did say you needed it. Who else would it be for?

[reaperrabbit]

I didn't think you'd want to do something like that for me.

[finalflower]

Like you said. It is, of course, a better scenario all around if everybody left makes it out and gets what they want.

[reaperrabbit]

...Okay. I guess so.

[Then he says off-handedly, as if he's kidding:]

Don't have anything that would keep Satan himself off me, would you?