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

[doctorize]

[Danny's eyes widen upon seeing it: recognition? Surprise from seeing something like that here?]

That is certainly a curious find... is it something that you obtained from that machine down the hall from here?

[telecosmetic]

[Eliza nods, not sure herself what that expression means.]

Yeah...but I've never seen a human eye that looks like this.

[doctorize]

It's not very common, no, but...

[There's a pause, before he speaks again.]

Eliza, have you ever heard of the term "pupula duplex", or "polycoria" by any chance?

[telecosmetic]

Um..."duplex" is a kind of house that has two entrances, right? So...it has something to do with the number two? And "pupula" sounds kind of like "pupil"...so is that just the fancy medical name for this kind of eye?

[doctorize]

Yes, you've got it! You're quite a sharp one, Eliza.

[He smiles as he points to the eye in her hand.]

As you've determined, "pupula duplex" is the medical term for a condition where a person is born with two pupils instead of just one in their eye. Sometimes they may appear to overlap one another as the case tends to be with polycoria, while a different person may have two pupils that are separate from one another, like how this glass eye appears here.

[telecosmetic]

Aw, thanks! [Flattery will get you everywhere, Danny.] Why would someone want a glass eye like that though? Unless it was for a scary costume or something?

[doctorize]

[flattery is the most useful skill he has]

You think it's scary, Eliza? I find it rather unique, personally speaking: after all, a glass eye is meant to be a replacement for an eye that's either damaged or missing. As such, it's worth consideration to think about how the owner prefers to see themselves in the mirror with this rather than an empty space where one's eye should be, isn't it?

[telecosmetic]

Um...I guess...so you'd want to have one like this? [A pause] Maybe it could mean...someone who wants to see more? Because there's two pupils instead of just one?

[doctorize]

[yes, he would like to have one like that. that exact one in your hand, in fact, though at the latter statement, he chuckles a little.]

I can certainly see where you'd get that idea: though, in most cases, one can't actually see with a glass eye, as they are often used simply for aesthetic purposes.

[telecosmetic]

[Eliza is still suspicious, but her suspicions have quelled a little. She's not very good at prying into stuff like this anyways. Still, she blushes at her mess-up.]

I...um...yeah, I know that! But it could be a symbolic thing, right?

[doctorize]

Indeed! Especially given the colors, seeing as they are two different ones rather than both pupils being green or both being red.

[But what significance could that be? HMM...]

[telecosmetic]

I guess that makes it even more unique? And also kind of Christmas-colored?

[doctorize]

... Yes, I suppose it does! You have a good eye for these things, Eliza.

[Because, uh... he had honestly not considered that it might look christmas-colored before?]

[telecosmetic]

You really think so? Thanks! [Flattery really does work wonders.] Anyways, I'm not super-interested in eyes or anything, so I was thinking you might want it? Even if it doesn't fit you? [Her smile gets a little strained again. She's...still not 100% sure this is the Danny her big brother figure Zack warned her about.]

[doctorize]

[At that, Danny smiles.]

I would be honored to accept it: as I'm sure you can tell, I have an interest in optometry, and I think it would be worth my time to study this curious glass eye a little further.

[There's a pause, before he adds.]

And aside from that, it was a gift from someone I consider to be a friend here, so that makes it worth more.

[telecosmetic]

[Eliza smiles a bit as she hands it over.] Oh, um, really? Th-wait. Was? [So he's not talking about her then?] Ah, um, who are you talking about...?

[doctorize]

... Why, you of course! Who else would I mean?

[If he noticed the previous slip of the tongue, he doesn't show it, instead opting for going in a different direction here with it.]

Unless it was too presumptuous of me to call us friends? I apologize if that's the case...

[telecosmetic]

Ah...um... [I mean, she's done the same thing in calling someone a friend after a short while. But there's the "I don't know if you're the guy who my friend/big brother figure warned me about" thing going on as well.] Not really! I was just...surprised, that's all! [She's not sweating is she? She is pretty nervous about this whole thing.]