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oddsandends2024-12-24 05:45 pm
phaiinein) wrote in oddsandends2024-12-24 05:45 pm
122nd ♫ | phosphor burned a silent mayday, my hand slipped with a dirty splash
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!
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[As it was, that was not happening. So, the 'Shadow of Progress'--who spoke in a rarely heard but not unusual accent for a particular part of the Fissures--made himself as scarce as humanly possible. Rapidly running calculations in his head, trying to determine just how this situation might unfold and how best to avoid catastrophe...most equations he came up with ended in critical failure one way or another. Several ended in Viktor bleeding out, which were the ones he particularly wanted to avoid.]
[Lucky enough to avoid death for another week, after a particularly long first trial Viktor moved to make a quick exit which was nothing but quick for the twinge in his leg--Janna forbid the mastermind give them any fucking chairs. He stumbled slightly, gripping his crutch and bracing his other hand on a wall with a curse in that same Zaunite dialect, hoping no one else noticed while alo being aware he was out of luck.]
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Still, it was enough for him to recognize his fellow Zaunite instantly during the first "meeting" with their captor. They hadn't had a chance to talk, what with Viktor's frankly hilarious attempts at avoiding Silco. After the first taste of the sick game they are trapped in, he supposes it's time to buckle down.]
Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? [While Silco can't speak that particular dialect well, he worked alongside enough miners from the region to pick out the more colorful vocabulary.]
Awfully rude of our host to not provide appropriate accommodations.
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I'm fine. [A little sharper than was perhaps wise, made even more irritable by pain.] I'm sure they will think it an appropriately dramatic development when I so impolitely interrupt our deductions by falling over and earning a concussion.
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Surly. They do seem to have a flair for the dramatics.
[The execution of the culprit had been almost as beautiful as it was cruel, clearly designed to illicit emotional responses from both the victim and those forced to watch.]
I wonder who would be found 'guilty' if you were to meet your demise in such a way? One could argue our captors would be to blame, but I doubt they would abide by such a ruling.
[Silco takes a casual step towards Viktor to gauge his reaction.]
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Who knows? If they wanted someone culpable, perhaps they would simply choose whoever they decided were close enough to miss catching me. Or they could just blame me for being foolish and force everyone to vote for the corpse.
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[Silco files away the idea of voting for the dead for later consideration as he steps closer to offer a hand to Viktor.]
The library is just up the hall, if you need to rest. Or are you going to attempt to run away from me again? [Because of course he noticed Viktor's avoidance of him. He isn't nearly as sneaky as he might believe himself to be. That and the area of the school they are locked in is not large, so there aren't exactly many places to hide.]
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[Ignoring the hand offered to him, Viktor answered with a scowl that turned into an irritated sigh.]
But it would appear I can not avoid a troubling conversation any longer. The library will do well enough.
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[It's slow going, but Silco doesn't mind. He walks alongside Viktor in silence, keeping pace with whatever the younger man sets. Normally he would be uncomfortable keeping someone he doesn't know on his left, but he's reasonably sure the boy doesn't present a danger currently.
The library isn't far and offers two selections of seating: a table and some truly uncomfortable wooden chairs that are relatively close to the entrance, or more comfortable plush chairs and a couch a bit further in. Silco gestures forward.]
Dealer's choice.
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So. Let's not insult each other's intelligence and skip to the point. What is it you want, apart from the obvious goal of returning where we came from?
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Silco sits opposite him at the table, as confident and relaxed as a king on a throne.]
Straight to the point. I like that. Our efforts to escape would be stronger should we join forces. I'm loathe to play anyone else's game, so I'm hoping you can find a way out of here that circumvents the conditions of release laid out for us.
[He will kill is necessary, but his pride would much rather see escape by other means. Especially if those means brought the downfall of the fool who thought they could hold him here in the first place.]
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And if I were capable of doing such a thing? We all go our separate ways, you continue funneling Shimmer into the crime-riddled mess the Undercity has become, and I get the reward of having that on my conscience? I fail to see how that would be considered a worthwhile endeavor.
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Or option two: You wait for someone else to do it for you, which is not a guarantee and could still result in your death as well. Not to mention however many people die in the meantime as our fellow captive succumb to the motives we are given.
[He knows that will not be a one time thing. At most they will have one more week of silence before another meeting is called and they're all handed envelopes again. They were lucky enough to be given a potential carrot this time, Silco wonders how long it will take the stick to appear.]
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[The crutch was moved to lean against Viktor's shoulder as he leaned forward slightly, eyes calculating and voice even.] I left the Undercity in hopes of working to improve it. To do something with my life that would provide a measure of relief to people that might otherwise have to live the way I did.
Now, the real issue is that to prevent your return to Runeterra, I would have to sacrifice my own life or that of however many may be lost in the process. I am not capable of killing you even if I wanted to, and it sickens me to contemplate the further loss of life in the second option.
But I am not a bright-eyed Piltovan with no concept of pain and sacrifice. You talk of an execution like that as though it is meant to frighten me, and of course it does. What you fail to realize is that it doesn't matter. You know what the air in the Fissures does to people. Look at me--really look, and tell me how long you believe I have left.
If crushing guilt for a matter of months or a sudden and agonizing death are the prices to wipe your power-mad designs off the face of the planet, you'll have to do a better job convincing me not to accept that price.
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Finally he smiles. A sly thing that looks more like a smirk with the paralyzed half of his face stubbornly refusing to move as it has for years now.]
Good to know the Pilties don't declaw their pets.
[Placing his elbows on the table, he steeples his fingers and leans forward.]
How much have they allowed you to 'help' the Undercity? The hextech you created has thus far only served to make the richest Topsiders even richer.
Perhaps you need to seek other...opportunities.
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[The smirk was met with a continued steady calculation, like Viktor was measuring every single aspect of the man before him the same wy he would an elaborate machine needing to be dismantled.]
With respect, I am the one not in favor of the Council's pressure for us to create Hextech-powered weapons; you can thank the incident of our stolen crystal for that escalation. Councilor Talis--whose scientific mind vastly eclipses his common sense--does not see the matter as you or I do. The last thing we need is a fleet of Enforcers armed with Janna-only-knows-what to reduce Zaun to a flaming ruin. But if you do not think that qualifies as help, then you will have to excuse my limited efforts to not see my home turned to ash and blood.
The way I see the matter, this is my opportunity. Either we reach an understanding in this place and cooperate both here and at home, or we both die one way or another.
Now are we going to negotiate, or are you going to continue pretending you can tempt me away from my life's work?
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Interesting.]
I'm not trying to tempt you away from anything. Simply provide you with more resources and an alternative avenue for distribution.
But fine, we'll 'negotiate.' What would you have from me? Wait, let me guess: A sudden and complete stop to all shimmer production and distribution?
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[Calmly dropping what was less a leap than it was a slightly long step in logic.]
And a sudden halt in Shimmer would cause more damage than it prevented; the withdrawal alone would tear the Lanes apart. On the matter of Shimmer, I think a compromise would be best--allow some alterations to its composition to mitigate the worst of the effects it causes, and dial back production.
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Forgive me, it's not often I speak with someone who has sense. You are correct, a sudden lack of Shimmer would be devastating for the Undercity, but scaling back production would only allow the other Chem Barons to ramp up their own production. Trust me, they are much harder to negotiate with.
And believe it or not, the current strain of Shimmer is the 'cleanest' Singed was able to produce. Unless you think you can do better than your former mentor?
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[The calculation in Viktor's eyes shifted for the first time; away from the elaborate chess game, turning inward for a moment as his fingers drummed on the handle where his cane joined to the upper half of the crutch. Chemical compounds were not his strictest expertise, and he was not fully sure he had Singed's expertise.]
[But by a similar token, Singed didn't have the knowledge that came with working on Hextech for years.]
That all depends. Are you willing to give me a chance to try?
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[He sounds almost wistful, clearly including Viktor in the 'our.' No matter what, it's clear this man is still a Zaunite.
Silco does have to bite back a remark about Viktor being very familiar with certain Topsiders. Now is not the time for those kinds of jabs.]
Get us both out of here and you will be given more than a chance. Perhaps Singed will have a way to help you as well.
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[Pushing further--the return of their crystal and anything else that might serve to defuse tensions--was ill-advised, at least for the moment. If he could prove escape was possible, then there'd be more to actively bargain with. He was no politician, but Viktor understood the workings of give and take in the Undercity better than any of them. In that regard, he held an advantage over any of the Council.]
[Jayce was going to absolutely fucking kill him. Unless he could actually pull all of this off.]
Of course, all of this is contingent on my ability to find us a way out of here. Building any kind of Hexgate given our current supplies is a reach, but if I were to structure a similar principle...at minimum leaving this building is plausible on paper.
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[As long as Viktor doesn't ask for something utterly ridiculous
like his daughter, Silco can't imagine much he would deny. Still, it's important to not show one's hand.]I know you don't trust me, but you also know that I am loyal to mine. While we are working together, that includes you.
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look if jinx just conveniently disappears off the radar for a while who is viktor to question it]Not in the slightest, of course. But trust and cooperation need not be a matching set. I would dare presume that you see no purpose in stabbing a fellow Zaunite in the back, and for the moment that is good enough for me. I do not expect protection or anything further past that.
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[Silco tilts his head slightly, as if remembering something.]
Speaking of, is there anything I should keep an eye out for that would lessen your discomfort?
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...The offer is appreciated, to be clear. I am accustomed to pain, and will hold out as long as necessary.
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