122nd ♫ | phosphor burned a silent mayday, my hand slipped with a dirty splash

[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></center>

Comments

Jay Stoneport | OC

[irontemperance]

Name: Jay Stoneport | Champion Craftsman | The Backstory
Age: 36 | Species: Human (Beastkin) | Occupation: Blacksmith, repairman, tinkerer
Likes: Peace and quiet, being busy, his brother
Dislikes: Crowds, loud noises, adventurers
Traits: Quiet, observant, helpful
Trivia: Jay's mother was a famous adventuring mage

[Jay is... very easy to forget. Being selectively mute and generally disliking gatherings, he tends to fade into the background of the group. If his little brother is here too at least he will make sure Jay shows up to things. But otherwise he does as much as the Powers that Be force him to... and things like trials and motives seem to really stress him out. Maybe. It's hard to tell as he has maybe two expressions. Maybe the fact that he hides away in his room after each one and sleeps gives it away.

As bad as he is with groups he is, maybe against his wishes, very useful at trials. Thanks to his very very enhanced senses. His sense of smell can pick up blood and his hearing can notice changes in breathing. If powers are on he even can sense magic without really trying. It also means he tends to wear ear plugs and a hat to ward off the glare of the lights if they are artificial.

And while all this may make him read as stoic and unfriendly... he actually is happy to approach people on their own or in small groups to hang out. He usually just listens, but he's very much There and involved, and has a kind supportive aura even if he's not giving any real advice. And when not socializing he spends the days working. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, tinkering around once a fitting location is unlocked. Even doing repairs if allowed. He just likes staying busy... and without much of that 'stress baking' vibe one might expect.]

body discovery ON A BOAT

[notestforthewicked]

Well. This is just supremely unfair.

[Friday morning, bright and early- and GLaDOS is standing impassively over what would be a highly bloody scene on the shuffleboard deck if there were flesh and blood involved. Instead there's oil and mechanical scrap, which is still pretty unpleasant.]

[Wheatley, Champion of Density, is dead.]

All the time I've spent developing contingencies for eliminating this little idiot and one of you just brute forces it. And the rest of you are going to want to execute them for it.

[A short pause.]

Since I know you're all slow on the uptake, of course I'm going to vote for them as well. Probably. If this turns out to have been a lot more clever than it looks dying might be worth it to let the hero who did this go free.

It's a slim chance but it's there. A snowball's chance in hell, say. Which is actually a very inept metaphor, a snowball exposed to hellfire would melt, then turn to steam, then possibly to plasma. Either way, by the end it's more powerful and dangerous than it was before, I personally would call that a win, but that's human linguistics for you.

[irontemperance]

[Seasons save him, GLaDOS sure does love to talk. He's mostly used to it now, but it makes his ears pin back regardless as he peers down at Wheatley.

Also a chatterbox, who he didn't really like much. But seeing a machine destroyed so brutally is a bit sad, isn't it? He kneels down, nose twitching. No blood of course, but oil isn't much better on his senses. He reaches out to start shifting through the pieces, looking for tool marks that might suggest what was used to smash the little guy.

... no response to GLaDOS, but she's probably used to weird mutes by now]

[notestforthewicked]

[Yeah, she sees you trying to replace her toxic yuri murderer situationship, Jay. She doesn't appreciate it, you are not her hated rival no matter how hard you lineface and stay silent, which is definitely an accurate read on what's happening.]

[GLaDOS joins in sifting through the robo-corpse, baleful yellow iris whirring as she zooms in on the gore-adjacent detail.]

Be sure to find the CPU core and any storage. We'll have to destroy those to make absolutely certain he can't return. A volcanic fissure would be the ideal disposal method, but in these circumstances we can't afford to be picky.

[The parts are dinged up with blunt force damage from something, but there don't seem to be any real breakages at the joints? Wheatley's chassis has certainly been smashed and destroyed, but the actual disassembly seems almost too neat.]

[irontemperance]

[Very strange. Maybe the bashing is to hide that he was disassembled? Then-]

Probably gone.

[He mumbles, but looks for it anyway. 'CPU' is a term he's only recently learned, but the concept is not so different from Automaton cores that he couldn't understand the purpose.

Anyone that would think to take him apart so precisely likely would also already know at least this much. Would know that 'Wheatley' is as much the core as the body. Maybe more. Leaving it un-destroyed would be a maiming, not a murder.

There wouldn't be a trial. Wouldn't be a reward, otherwise. And this is too violent to be anything other then intentional.

Of course he doesn't say this, though his expression goes from blank to slightly pinched in thought, which just makes him look annoyed]

[notestforthewicked]

[Hm.]

[Well.]

I swear on the name of Sir Isaac Newton if that little idiot turns up alive after this I'm murdering everyone here, then him, then finding some way to rejuvenate your corpses to do it all over again.

This isn't related to this nonsense game, it's just the only reasonable response left. Coming back from space was bad enough, if he manages to return from death and deletion all merit is gone from the continued existence of the universe.

[irontemperance]

[He looks up from his investigation to give her a blank look. Though when used on a being with now human face it really loses some of it's effect.

He then gives her a 'go on' gesture. Either to kill them all or keep talking or whatever is unclear. He can wait. Though he will admit if he had to deal with Wheatley daily for as long as she seems to have known him he might consider mass murder too.]

[notestforthewicked]

[Oh, Jay. You have made a mistake here.]

He was literally created to be a mind-numbing idiot, and he succeeded beyond Aperture's wildest dreams. Imagine that, would you? I know you're capable, despite your humanity. Choosing to create an artificial intelligence to do nothing but whisper terrible ideas into the ear of a genius, because existing human stupidity just wasn't efficient enough.

[She says this continuing to sift through the corpse, confirming the lack of a CPU or anything resembling one.]

social link go! ... on a tropical island!

[sugarnaut]

( hey jay! were you hoping for a peaceful morning getting breakfast? great! there's a wonderful smell of waffles and other delights. ... and then there is the sound of beeping and the smell of non-food related smoke.



it's- it's probably fine? it's probably fine. even if a familiar groan of frustration rings out... at least its not about the murder game shenanigans for once?

by the time he reaches the kitchen, satoko's crouched before the open oven, hands pressed together as she scrutinizes it. )

... Oh- uh. Hey, help yourself. I was gonna pop some muffins into the oven but, uh. There were technical difficulties? Everything else is fine-

[irontemperance]

[The smell of breakfast was very alluring... until the smoke. His sensitive nose and eyes instantly burning from it even before he reaches the kitchen. At least it's not a fire.

He says nothing, but quickly walks to the window to open it to the warm tropical air. Then walks towards her, grabbing oven mitts as he goes.]

[sugarnaut]

Jay, you don't have to! I got it.

( she was getting to it at least. ugh, the food's gonna get cold... and isn't it harsher on him? unfortunately she is very easy to sidestep, but she can at least linger to help. )

... I'm not sure if it was gradual over-use or what, but I only just preheated it so I'm not sure what happened.

[irontemperance]

[He pats her shoulder, giving a slight head-tilt of comfort before reaching in for the poor muffins. They... don't look too bad actually. So maybe...

He kneels back down once they are out of the way, peering in, eyes watering freely.]

[sugarnaut]

( she'll just take those, since there's oven mitts to spare. onto the counter they go! and... ah, they're fine. thank goodness. she's not even sure they started baking, so maybe this can be salvaged at least. )

Need a light or anything...?

[irontemperance]

[He nods, and also gestures towards some near by tongs, hand out to accept them]

[sugarnaut]

Right.

( tongs for jay! and then she'll just kinda hover somewhat over his shoulder with her phone's flashlight on. )

[irontemperance]

[Annnd bingo, what he suspected. He carefully reaches in with the tongs, avoiding the hot grates to pull out...

...a charred hunk of what was probably bread or some baked good. Likely fallen off from a previous day's cooking. His nose wrinkles. Ugh, smells so bad!!]

[sugarnaut]

... Absolutely disrespectful.

( BREAD IS SUCH SERIOUS BUSINESS. )

Thanks, though...

Social linking… in space!

[thanoptical]

[Satsuki has been hyper aware since she arrived in this strange place. After the deaths start happening and she doesn’t see the premonitory corpses before they’re murdered… well. That first trial featured her staring at the wall in shock and shame that she couldn’t predict it.

Now, though? She’s currently trying to make their little space station death proof. The door of the supply closet is flung open and Satsuki is taking each cleaner and looking at it suspiciously before putting them in a pile. If it were anyone else this might be suspicious but Satsuki…

Satsuki has always been Weird for little reason. At least she’s not messing with wiring again.]

[irontemperance]

[Thankfully doing seeming random things without much explanation but with clear intent is something Jay is used to. Honestly, he's been assuming Satsuki is like him, in this regard. He watches her for a moment, trying to deduce her goal.

Nothing comes to him... maybe she means to clean? He starts organizing the bottles, separating the ones not safe to mix away from the others.]

[thanoptical]

[She hadn’t sorted them yet but she was looking for ones with more common poisonous ingredients. Even hand sanitizer is in the pile—enough is fatal1-but she’s unsure that anyone would get enough without tasting it first.

She looks up at his sorting then nods. She doesn’t recognize all the combinations but some she does.]

Thanks. We need to make sure those never touch… we don’t have ventilation here.

[irontemperance]

[he pauses, thinking... hmm, yes. A lot of the people here are fighters of some sort or oddly enough, entertainers. Not people that have to clean for themselves often. He could see someone like Ai gassing herself to death on accident.

So he nods. Yes, of course this makes perfect sense, thank you Satsuki]

[thanoptical]

[Cleaning might not be her hyperfixation but death sure is. Part of it was her gift and part of it just came from being a paranoid doctor’s daughter. She gives a small smile in return.

She’s not finished but she pulls out… a page of stickers snagged from the craft room. They’re clearly from a Halloween set considering they’re just skulls but Satsuki takes her job seriously.]

Can you help me putting these on the bottles? I couldn’t find the right ones but this should be clear enough.

[irontemperance]

[Marking them? Ah, that makes sense. Then no one will... drink them or something equally unhinged. But... that also makes them even more obvious weapons.

He arches a brow. Are you sure? ]

[thanoptical]

[She rocks on her heels as she sits, thinking. She did think it’d make them more obvious but… that would make them easier to protect too, she thought. Her glance goes to him then the stickers. She frowns.]

I don’t know.

[irontemperance]

...

[He takes a sticker and puts it on the lid, angled so it will have to be teared to open it.]