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

Viktor | Arcane | but s1 this time

[hexcrafter]

Name: Viktor | The Shadow of Progress
Age: 33 | Species: Human | Occupation: Scientist
Likes: His labratory, magic, Jayce Talis
Dislikes: Condescension, weapons, imperfection
Traits: Brilliant, lonely, dangerously prideful.
Trivia: Viktor is the (much) lesser known co-creator of Hextech.
[And then there's the other side of things. A slight and gaunt man with a crutch and leg brace, Viktor usually seems to be making an effort to go unnoticed--although not out of fear. In fact, he looks like he is constantly analyzing one thing or another, eyes sharp and sarcasm sharper. When he does actually speak, it's more often than not to deliver a smartass comment or to correct someone's obervations with his own expertly crafted reasoning. During downtime he can more often than not be find taking notes or writing out equations marked by strange runes.]

[...Shame about that persistent cough, though. Maybe he should get that looked at.]

[As for motives, he's usually careful not to show emotion more extreme than 'annoyance', but anything like a wish-granting motive will have him even more quiet than usual, and something in the vein of hostage motives will see him viciously curse out the mastermind in what sounds remarkably like Czech. Truly, the duality of man.]

[selfreliar]

[Too many people were dead. One would've been too many, in this rigged 'game' from which none of them actually stood to gain anything. But neither logical argument nor dramatic plea stopped the corpses from piling.

Sickening, that this had gone on long enough for them all to recognize the patterns, but there it was: another trial, another execution, another area unlocked.

Funny that it was a hospital wing, after all this death.

For the first 48 hours after it opened, Aqua could be found there. Even in hours of the night so late they were more accurately morning, light from one room or another spilled into the sterile hallway as he did his work. Whatever it was.]

[hexcrafter]

[It was normal to hear Viktor before one saw him; in the quiet warning of uneven steps and the steady sound of a crutch against the floor. Tonight, some hours before what passed for morning, he walked to the hospital wing with a sick sort of gratitude in his chest; the cost was unconscionable, and yet he really wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to so much as stand.]

[...Viktor tried not to think about how much of a target was painted on his back right now. A stiff breeze could damn near kill him, never mind someone desperate enough.]

Oh--Aqua? [The other presence caused him to step back slightly; startled, but not yet outright apprehensive.]

[selfreliar]

...Mmn. Viktor.

[Surely Aqua had heard the noise, so of course he wasn't surprised. But he didn't look curious or confused, either. With the 5% of his expression that wasn't exhausted, he looked a bit like he'd been expecting him.

He nodded to the counter, where several kinds of medicine had been laid out. Aqua stood at the far end of it, scrawling notes into a book which he now set down.]

Can I help you find what you're looking for?

[hexcrafter]

I was... [He trailed off with a small noise of frustration; the last thing on any planet Viktor ever wanted was to let on how bad things really were. Worse still to have to accept help--opening himself up to be seen as even weakr than he was would have been a fate worse than death even in this situation.]

[Viktor hesitated, but necessity won out with an exhausted sigh.]

...What do we have for painkillers?

[selfreliar]

[After a pause, Aqua slid one bottle slightly away from the others.]

This is the one I'd recommend. [For the amount of pain he guessed Viktor routinely suffered.] A real hospital wouldn't even let you out the door with those, but... well, you look like you need it.

[He looked back down at his notebook, but didn't seem to see it. All he did was twirl his pencil slowly in his hand.]

...I could maybe pick out something more effective for your symptoms, if I knew what they were.

[hexcrafter]

[Either Viktor trusted Aqua not to hand him poison or he didn't care at the moment, muffling a too-common painful-sounding cough into his hand before picking up the bottle and stepping over to the sink for some water.]

It...is complicated.

[Letting that hang for a moment as he contemplated how much to explain, Viktor settled on the first choice for now and downed a couple of the pills with practiced ease before settling into a chair. It had been a little too far to walk here, so he was stuck for a moment anyway.]

I was born with a defect to my leg. As I got older, the issues extended to my lower back. Treating that much is a matter of braces and pain medication, nothing more.

[selfreliar]

[...]

And the cough?

[Abandoning the pretense of writing his notes, Aqua turned to lean against the counter and face Viktor instead.]

[hexcrafter]

[The crutch was brought to lean against his shoulder; matching the brace on his leg in white metal accented in red and gold, a close look revaled it was made in two perfectly joined pieces; a detachable cane forming the handle and bottom half. Assistive devices that meticulously designed had to be not only customized, but personalized.]

[His hand curled around that white metal tightly, like someone seeking comfort in a distant memory.]

[Aqua was clever--too damn clever for Viktor to lie even if lying was a skill he had.]

...How much longer do you expect it will take before we find a way out of this?

[selfreliar]

...I don't know.

[The cottony static in his head wasn't just two nights' lack of sleep. Aqua was tired, soul-tired from constant vigilance, observation, and failure to see past the tricks, past the smoke and mirrors. Resourcefulness and un-teenagerly emotional perception only got a person so far.]

How long do you have?

[hexcrafter]

The kind of time that does not get measured in years.

[Too damn clever.]

I was born in the valleys beneath the city of Piltover. My family lived near the Fissures; the lowest habitable parts of the Undercity, where the toxic runoff of topside was at its worst. The air quality has improved in more recent years, but back when I was a child-...

[He trailed off, gripping the crutch like it was his sole lifeline.]

Aqua. I need to ask you to do something for me.

[selfreliar]

[Blinking, gripped suddenly in a fist of wariness and dread, Aqua responded reluctantly:]

What?

[hexcrafter]

I've kept a journal concealed in the back of my nightstand. Documentation on the situation, records of evidence, some rough notes on potential avenues of escape, and personal notes. You are resourceful and far sharper than you should have to be at your age; there is very little doubt in my mind you will be able to escape somehow.

...When the time comes, I would be...grateful, if you were to find a way to take that journal to Piltover, and give it to Councilor Jayce Talis. [No 'if something happens'; there was no point in even drawing up the equation to determine the percentage. Either time killed him, or one of the others would.]

There's no family left to notify. Just him.

There is no escaping me

[peaceinthewater]

[Guilt and regret are not emotions Silco feels. He does not feel bad about the things he's done, the people he's hurt. Not back home. Not here. He's done what he's had to do to survive, for the best of Zaun.

Four cases into this 'game', it is not guilt that has Silco waiting here in the bathroom for the one person he trusts to do what needs to be done. He can't spend too long in the bathroom each day without it seeming suspicious, so it's been a few days of this routine until it finally pays off.]

Viktor. [Thankfully he waits to come out of the stall until the younger man is washing his hands.] We need to talk. Quickly.

[hexcrafter]

[Viktor jolted in surprise, grabbing his crutch and nearly looking primed to swing before he realized who was speaking to him. 'Trust' was a strong word in general, but he trusted he was worth more alive than dead to Silco at least.]

Do you have to startle me like that--what is it?

[peaceinthewater]

[Seeing Viktor jump does put a little bit of a smile on his face, but he shakes it away quickly.]

Do you have that device Agent K gave you before he was executed? The one that erases memories? [Viktor had been the one to pull it from the strange machine in the receptionist office, but ultimately gave it back to the 'alien hunter' after he explained how it worked.

Agent K handed it back to Viktor as he walked to his execution just a few days ago, saying it had enough charge for about a 15 minute wipe.

Janna, Silco hopes Viktor heeded the old man's word and kept it on him.]

[hexalding]

Of course I do. [Where, he didn't specify. But it seemed far too dangerous to leave where anyone could find it.]

What's going on?

[peaceinthewater]

[Silco holds up a small digital timer set to 10 minutes and clicks to start th countdown.]

When this goes off, erase my memories of the last eleven minutes. Tell me I was in the stall due to something Harding cooked for breakfast. [Silco had been forcing himself to choke down the dwarf's food since the execution for this very excuse.]

I have been working with the person who brought us here. I don't have as much information on them as I would like, but someone else needs to know what I know. Someone they won't suspect.

[hexcrafter]

[Viktor blinked, and then blinked again.]

I'm sorry, you're what? [...Actually, all thing considered this was not as shocking as it should have been.]

[peaceinthewater]

Waking up in the dormitory was not the first time I awoke here. The one who brought us here woke me up shortly before that to make a deal. In return for my cooperation making sure their little 'ritual' goes off without a hitch, they would free Zaun from Piltover's rule and...

[He takes a deep breath]

And help Jinx.

[hexcrafter]

And you believed that? What reason could they have possibly given to make something like that sound plausible and not merely ensuring their insanity proceeds with minimal incident?

[peaceinthewater]

They showed me things. A freed Zaun. Jinx, happy. I...I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. [He had just awoken from being dead. Unlike the others, Silco had all of his memories since awaking here.]

That doesn't matter. Hezenkoss is not the one in charge here. There is someone behind her that is far more powerful. [Which is saying something, seeing as the older woman who had been pretending to be the mastermind is a rather accomplished necromancer.]

[hexcrafter]

[Janna's fucking mercy. Okay. Okay, he was going to have to go along with this regardless of how much he thought the whole concept was foolish at the bare minimum. Fine.]

Keep talking, then.

[peaceinthewater]

Hezenkos is only in this for the data, something about a ritual she wants to complete when it's over. [It's not hard to believe. The woman treats them like Singed treated his rats.]

For whoever is pulling the strings, this is the ritual. They said I was to help them find a vessel, ensure the 'game' ran until only myself and one other person was left. Then they would take the body of the last survivor and give me what I needed.

[hexcrafter]

So why change your mind now? Even I had no reason to suspect you were planning to stab us collectively in the back, which as I now say it makes me feel incredibly stupid.

[like...it's silco. why is he surprised.]