32nd ♫ | every step we took that synchronized, every broken bone

[voicetested]

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. 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. 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

Comments

this is going to be horrible

[tasteslikesurvival]

[She didn't want to do it. The motive wasn't even something that applied to either Rii-san or herself! What good would threatening an almost dead world do? Still, someone had bought the bait and had tried to attack Kurumi on her nightly patrols. They had ended up face down in a pool of their own blood with a crushed skull.

Old habits die hard.

Kurumi was panicking. This... this wasn't good at all. Her first instinct was to hide it. Not say anything to Rii-san at all but that wouldn't work. She'd be the first to notice the change of her behavior.

Instead, Yuuri is going to have someone rattle her door and hear a hushed whisper.]

Rii-san, get up.

[serrata]

[ You say that like she's even in bed, Kurumi.

She's at her desk, sorting through the few meager belongings she's gotten together in here -- a task to try and soothe herself to sleep -- but as soon as she hears the door rattle, all that goes out the window. She's on red alert and it's only when she hears Kurumi's voice that she unfreezes and pads cautiously over to the door.

It opens only a crack, just enough to expose Yuuri's eye and a lock of her hair. She looks exhausted and intense all at once.

... it looks like Kurumi's alone. But better to be safe than sorry. ]

... Kurumi. Were you patrolling again? You should be asleep, you know.

[tasteslikesurvival]

[You never know! Wasn't Yuuri supposed to be the responsible one? No, that's Miki.

Kurumi would have just knocked but she didn't want to wake up anyone else. Yuuri was possibly the only one who could help her or at least let her get it off her chest before the trial.

As soon as she opens the door she should see something very bad. That is, Kurumi's clothes are splattered with blood and so is her face. She trembles.]

...Yeah. Someone followed me and--and they had a wrench, Rii-san! I got it from them and...and...

[The anger she had felt, the muscle memory...the realization too late that she hadn't struck down a zombie was just a second too late. Kurumi's not crying but she had been.]

I fucked up, Rii-san. I didn't mean to...can I come in? I... I gotta get washed up or something.

i saved this one bc i knew writing it was gonna be deliciously painful

[serrata]

[ For a moment, Yuuri's back in Megurigaoka. It's the middle of the night in the clubroom and Kurumi's been on patrol by herself again. Yuuri sighs and on the tip of her tongue is For goodness sake, you didn't have to if it was outside the barricade --

-- but they're not at school, are they? They're stuck here in this hellhole and Kurumi is covered in blood but it's not a zombie it's a person and Kurumi has just killed a person and

Yuuri's knees go weak and she has to support herself against the door to keep them from going out under her. ]

Oh-- oh, Kurumi, you didn't--

[ It's halfway between a plea and a moan of despair. Because she can't lose Kurumi. She can't she can't not in this place because that's barely a whisper away from dying herself.

She shudders with her whole body and pulls the door the rest of the way open. ]

Just. Come inside quick, before anyone sees!

you're an evil person

[tasteslikesurvival]

[If it had been a zombie Kurumi would have just found a place to wash up quietly. Guilt could come after she made sure Yuki wouldn't ask questions. She was used to that.

Killing an actual living person, though, that's different. It's a different kind of hell. There was no getting around the future goodbye this time.

Kurumi can't meet her eye and tries not to touch Yuuri, to comfort her, to make sure she doesn't fall over. A practical part of herself is warning that it would be worse if she did. The others would surely find the bloodstain. Still, she shuts the door behind her. A doorknob is easily wiped away.]

Rii-san... Maybe I should confess before everything...y'know. [Before they find the body. Before the investigation. It wouldn't change her fate but maybe they would go easier on Yuuri.]

I LOVE YOU TOO

[serrata]

[ Yuuri all but slams the door behind Kurumi just to make sure no one comes in after her. That, and because she needs something else solid to lean herself against. She feels ill through every part of her body like she's been hollowed out and filled with nausea. This must be a dream, a nightmare, because if she really considers what is going to happen here then she might just fall to pieces.

She doesn't say anything at first. In fact, she's not even looking at Kurumi. Her eyes are vacant, settled on the middle distance and she's picking anxiously at the hem of her sleeves like she always does when she's distressed. It's only when Kurumi says Rii-san that her head snaps up.

For a moment, Yuuri just makes wordless, soundless shapes with her mouth. Confess? Kurumi can't confess. She can't tell them she killed someone. Not when it'll just lead to more death. ]

Kurumi, you... I can't...

[ I can't do this, is what she wants to moan and she takes a shuddering sobbing breath all the way all the way down to her stomach. She grits her teeth, clenches her fist and shakes her head. ]

You can't... confess. They'll kill you.

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Kurumi turns her back on Yuuri. She can't look at her. She can't. She can just guess what's she's doing. That blank stare, the way Yuuri crosses her arms, the rare moment her eyes are completely wide...the way she's trying not to sob. She probably can see how Kurumi's shoulders are tensing.]

If I don't and they find out I did it, they'll still kill me. If I get away with it you'll die.

[She says these words simply, even as both hands clench together into fists.]

If I confess then they'll leave you be. You'll...you'll be able to go back home to Yuki and Miki. If I live, how could I tell Yuki that I killed someone and let you die?

[serrata]

And you expect me to just sit back and watch you die?!

[ She's glad their rooms are soundproof. Her voice rips out of her in an awful, cracking way that hardly sounds familiar to her own ears. Kurumi can't be serious, can she? ]

I won't-- I can't-- where is it? The body, where is it?

She spits that last part out without thinking of just how awful it sounds but she's in full panic mode now. Her eyes are so wide it looks painful and she's gesticulating wildly as she speaks. If any of the others could see her now, would they be surprised that calm and in control Rii-san could lose herself so completely?

[tasteslikesurvival]

Tell me what else you think will happen!

[She turns around to face her. Yuuri's not the only one panicking. Even if she can manage her own fear, to push it aside for the moment, she grabs Yuuri by the collar. She'll get blood on her but Kurumi already involved her.]

You're not going to see it until the others do!

[serrata]

They won't be able to vote for you if there isn't a trial in the first place!

[ Her mouth is running on ahead twenty steps of her thoughts and it takes a great deal of effort to try and organize her line of thinking into something more linear. Something she can more easily try and explain. ]

There's-- there's only an investigation if there's a body announcement. Right? So-- so if-- if we make sure no one finds the body... then... then no one can...

[tasteslikesurvival]

Do you think they'll really think that they won't notice one of us is gone?!

[She snaps off her response before she even hears the explanation. Then--her grip loosens.]

Fine... if you think you we can hide this then take a look outside. Tell me then.

[If Yuuri just pokes out her head she'll see a scene right back at the school. The victim is one of the men of the group laying on his back. There's significant blood on the ceiling and walls. Not to mention the fact that his face has been crushed in.]

How--how can we clean up it all?

[serrata]

[ Yuuri's not... calm now exactly but she's starting to settle into that familiar state of numbness that happens when she absolutely cannot deal with what is going on. Usually, it terrifies her because she knows the eventual crash is going to be that much worse. But now she welcomes it -- this way she can think a little more clearly and pretend, just for a bit, that she's calm. ]

Even if they notice... without a body, there can't be a body announcement. No matter how much they look... if there's no body, then...

[ She doesn't know what they'll do with him. Or where they'll hide him, really. She has no long term solutions thought out here. Just the idea of keeping Kurumi alive and by her side for that much longer.

God. There's so much blood. Just how hard did you hit him, Kurumi? ]

... is he still bleeding, do you think?

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Welcome to numbness. Kurumi senses it and finds herself regaining some sense of it, too. This was already too familiar to them.]

Then...the trial will be skipped. It's not like either of us care about the motive, either...

[Yuuri is smart. Kurumi has faith in her...even if she couldn't come up with a solution? Yuuri could. She's the prez, after all.]

His heart's stopped. He might drip if we move him, though.

[serrata]

... Okay.

[ Yuuri sucks in a breath. It hurts on the way in. ]

I... want you to take my clothes. My uniform. If you take my shirt into my bathroom, you might be able to wash out the blood before it dries. Once it's clean, change into it. I'll wear my spare clothes. Then we can...

[ she pauses. has to swallow, hard. ]

We'll wrap my cardigan around him and pull him into my room.

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Kurumi listens. It's... a good plan. If the body is in a room, with no blood trail leading to it then people won't likely find it but if they did... Maybe the mastermind would open all the bedroom doors or something like that. Kurumi stiffens. If that happened Yuuri would be the obvious one they'd vote for.]

You'll be executed if they find it. [Then everyone else would die. Kurumi couldn't have that but--] I'll do it but on one condition: I leave my clothes in your room, too.

[That way someone could possibly put two and two together, since their uniforms are similar but the sizes don't match.]

[serrata]

... That's fine.

[ they'll be easy enough to hide. So long as she doesn't give anyone reason to search her room and clock on to the switch. ]

We'll need to get rid of the weapon, too.

[tasteslikesurvival]

Let's wash it and stick it back in the storage room.

[A wrench is just a wrench. ...and Don't You Dare.]

[serrata]

[ ... she could swing it at something sturdy a few times. Mark her hands just enough to look like she's been using it. So long as Kurumi keeps her gloves on, that shouldn't make it too obvious. ]

I'll do that while you're cleaning up. I don't want anyone to spot you -- if it's just me, I can say I couldn't sleep and I was recounting everything.

[ just like she's been doing the whole time they've been here. counting and keeping track of everything their captors give them. ]

But first... we need to get... it. Inside. The... body.

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Yuuri, do that and you're disowned.]

I'm not going to change your mind so... Alright. At least everyone knows that you'd do something like that.

[It's not like she doesn't do that every day. Which she does.]

Get your cardigan, alright? I'll help you pull him in.