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

[selfreliar]

[I was never going to have the right icon for this scenario, but let's pretend I have something like this. Or this. Or something, you get the picture.

The arms that wrap around him are warm, solid, and alive, and if there was ever any chance of second-guessing this impossible reality, it dissolves like a bubble. The very first breath Aqua ever took was in Ai's arms. He never forgot how that felt. He'll never forget.

Even the scent of her hair is right, in a way that nothing's ever been right, since that day.

Aqua's just beginning to lift his arms to circle in her return when, with her shaking voice bereft of bright playfulness and misdirection, Ai apologizes. His body jerks and he ends up holding her too tightly, probably, burying his face in her shoulder.]

Don't!

[That was too loud, too, and everyone is gawking at them. Aqua can't bring himself to care. Not yet. Not when Ai is right here, alive.

He masters his volume, but his voice, too, is trembling.]

Don't apologize. Not when I was the one who couldn't...

[This is so unlike him. No one who knows him could believe it--well, maybe they would now, after his performance as Touki. Always, though, he's avoided showing his emotions whenever possible, even as a toddler. Even before that. He's always quietly relied on himself.

But the living, shivery weight of her in his arms is so much more important than staying in character now. That's what convinces him, too. In all his dreams, all his flashbacks, all his fervent wishes for what can't come true, Ai never shook or wavered like this. This isn't memory come back to taunt him. This--she--is real.

Aqua forces his arms to loosen slightly so he won't hurt her. She's the one that feels like a bird to him, precious and delicate.]

I don't know how this is possible. But I know... it's one hundred percent, definitely not a lie. Whatever's going on, I...

[Carefully, he moves his hands to her arms and eases back just enough to look at her. He still doesn't look good, but a bright blaze is beginning to kindle in his eyes as he takes her in.

He failed her as Amamiya Gorou. He failed to stop Sugano Ryousuke. He even failed to find his father, her killer, at least so far. But maybe, just maybe, this time, as long as he doesn't let anything make him lose focus--]

I'll protect you, Ai.

[--Maybe then he can turn that promise to support her happiness from the bottom of his heart from a tragic lie into the truth. Maybe this time, Aqua can save her.]

[liedol]

[ She can't suppress the twitch of shock that goes through her at his raised voice - Aqua's always been such a quiet boy, even when he was squabbling with his sister like all children do and even though it's different now, lower and deeper, hearing it crack and shake like that makes her heart clench tight and painful in her chest. Of course. Of course. Whatever shock she must be feeling faced with this can't be even half of what must be racing through Aqua right now.

He's seeing... maybe not even a ghost. But something surely long dead all the same. Something that shouldn't be here in front of him. ]

Aqua.

[ Her voice trembles around his name, even as she struggles to hold it steady - even in a situation like this, a mother shouldn't be the one needing her son to comfort her. She swallows hard to try and untangle the knot drawing her words so tight but finds that no matter what she does, it won't unravel. So she pushes on regardless. ]

You were so small. You were only a tiny thing, silly boy... it wasn't up to you to do that for me. And if you'd gotten hurt trying, I...

[ The idea is so horrendous that her voice thins into silence before she can speak it. Throat too tight for words for a moment, she reaches a trembling hand to push some of his loose hair back from his face before it settles on top of his head - a slow, steady stroke through his hair, the way she'd done it for Ruby a thousand times before. The way she so rarely did for Aqua, not wanting to push if she wasn't wanted.

Now she's wishing she had. ]

It's not your job to protect me. It should be mine to look after you two.

[selfreliar]

[As Ai's gentle hand skates along his hair, the fragile wall of glass that's protected Aqua's heart all this time shatters. His fingers twitch on her arms; a bright sheen of wet spills over his eyes like a curtain before he has time to duck. She's too close for Aqua to hide from, as larger-than-life before his eyes as she's always been.

Still, he tries, dropping his chin as he pulls in the soft, choked, unmistakable breath of a young man beginning to cry.

He can't hold it. He's never been as strong as Ruby, or Kana, or Ai herself, able to smile more blindingly than the spotlights beaming down on them. Aqua bends beneath the weight until his face meets Ai's shoulder, where his tears and shaking can only be felt, not seen. The words that should absolve him break and wash over him like ocean spray. His own noises are helpless and small.]

I have to. I have to.

[Why was he even born, if not to safeguard Hoshino Ai's happy family?]

I... Because I...

['Oh... I finally said it. I'm sorry. It took me way too long.'

Aqua's breath catches and stutters. The tears continue to pour out of him, as hot and vital as blood.

Ai isn't the only one who's never spoken those words.]

[liedol]

[ Aqua's so much bigger than her, now. Not just tall but broader as well and it makes something proud and sorrowful in equal measure constrict her heart. But when the glassy shine of tears passes over his eyes, Ai's spine tempers into steel and she welcomes him into her arms as if he were no smaller or heavier than he'd been the day he was born. ]

You don't have to do anything for me except just... be. That was all I ever wanted.

[ Her eyes sting and she doesn't even bother to try and dam up what she knows will follow. Who cares if they're making a scene? Who cares if all of her secrets are bleeding out of her with every single tear? If she was alone here, just Ai Hoshino and that was that, maybe it'd be something to concern herself with.

But things are different. If Aqua's here too, then she's not just Ai Hoshino anymore. And she certainly isn't Ai of B-Komachi. ]

It's okay. I know. [ Her voice cracks and threatens to break, but she swallows hard and forces herself to keep speaking. ] Mama's here now. So let's protect each other, okay?

1/2

[selfreliar]

[His shoulders jump in the safe circle of her arms. Mama's here now. He's kept that secret for sixteen years, will take it to his grave without question, and she's just spoken it, aloud, surrounded by strangers--

'Grooooooossssssss. Can you two, like, do your sentimental leaking thing somewhere else? Or at least leak something interesting. Like gut juices and blood! Hahahahaaaa.'

He jumps again, but this time, everyone is startled. A screen lowers behind the podium on the gymnasium stage, and a projector beams onto it some stock image of stars. The Mastermind launches into her welcoming monologue, eagerly explaining the scenario, the game, the stakes, the drama--yadda yadda yadda, we've all played in murdergames before.

As he listens, first hardly understanding, and then with slowly mounting horror and outrage, Aqua's hand finds its way to Ai's. He laces their fingers together, the way he hasn't done with anyone since he and Ruby were young enough to walk hand in hand, and holds on as if to anchor her. As if she, too, is his anchor.]

2/2

[selfreliar]

[Finally, when the Mastermind's Evil Exposition is winding down and she's mostly fielding furious and incredulous questions from the peanut gallery, a better-composed but definitely still shaken Aqua murmurs to his mother:]

We should find somewhere to talk.

[After this. Privately. Where they won't have to worry about getting murdered (or murdered again), apparently.

His hand is cold. He's terrified.]

[liedol]

[ There's a feeling like ice burning in her gut that only gets colder and more painful with each word out of their captor's mouth. The others cry out, protest, make threats and demands but Ai stays eerily quiet during all of it. Even her face has gone oddly flat and wan, a tightly controlled blankness fixed in place because she doesn't trust herself even a little with what she might do if her restraint goes slack for even an instant.

Of course. She should've known better than to think she'd be given a second chance like this with nothing to pay in return. What a miserable joke.

She swallows hard and squeezes Aqua's hand tight in hers. If she's going to fall apart, she can do that later. Right now, Aqua needs her to be strong. ]

Mm. ... We can use my room for now, if you want.

[selfreliar]

Yeah. All right.

[Slowly, hand still fiercely locked in Ai's, Aqua passes his gaze over the rest of the gymnasium. He notes who's fighting. Who looks scared. Who still doesn't believe their ears. Whose eyes, like his, have gone calculating and cold.

The Mastermind has given him the time and reasoning to know what he has to do now.

Ai will survive this time. She'll go home to Ruby and Miyako unhurt. He'll make sure of it.]

[liedol]

[ They're being stared at as they leave, Ai's sure of it, even if she makes a point to hold her head high and to not meet anyone's gaze as she squeezes Aqua's hand tight in hers and starts to lead him away from the commotion. Maybe it makes her priorities look out of whack. Maybe someone'll have something nasty to say about it later when tension are inevitably running high. But right now, Ai can't really bring herself to care.

She says nothing as they make their way back, though not for lack of wanting to. She has too many questions fighting for room on her tongue that they crowd each other out and she has no idea where to start. In the end, the important part is that this is Aqua, her little boy. That's all that really matters. And yet... ]

It's... probably a stupid question. [ She finally speaks up as she leads him into her room, pushing the door shut behind them as they go. Like Aqua, she hasn't let go of his hand for a moment. ] But... how old are you now?

[selfreliar]

[Aqua doesn't realize until they're away from the other Super High School-Level captives how much the tension of having an audience was helping him keep his act together. Safely behind Ai's closed door, alone with her, the roiling tumult of emotion once more rises, pushing against the cracks in his facade. He settles his gaze on her instead, letting the sight of her and the solidity of her hand in his drive everything else out of mind.]

Sixteen.

[The same age she was when she gave birth to him. The same age she was when they first met. He swallows.]

Ruby, too. Of course. [Obviously. They're twins. What he means, though, is:] She's okay.

[Even if they're being watched here, too, there's no point hiding the fact of Ruby's existence. If this Mastermind knew enough to grab both Ai and Aqua, she's already well aware of the remaining member of their little family. Better to let Ai know that her daughter been alive and well these long years they've endured without her.]

Are you...

[It's even stupider to ask if she's okay. He's not okay. She died, she clearly remembers dying, and now she's in this situation, too. So how could she be all right?

He drops his gaze, squeezes his eyes shut, and shakes his head.]

Do you need anything? ...Water?