aworldwithoutboxes | we found love in a hopeless place

THE MURDERGAME SHIPPING MEME

This is probably too straight to accurately represent murdergame ships but like. We take what the stock image industry gives us.

So, you've been put into a murder mystery game where you're going to have to fight for your life! Every week another body or two, surrounded by strangers- Wait, you knew that? You actually kind of have your bearings? Well fine, here's a different problem - see that person over there? Yeah, that one. Wouldn't it be a really terrible idea if you fell in love with them right now?

This is a meme for that sometimes most fun of bad choices in murdergames: shipping. Leave a toplevel with info that might be in your character's profile (if you like), maybe a murdergame title (optional but encouraged), and any extra info you want to give along with whatever your shipping prefs are, then either pick from the prompts below or wing it and go tag around!

SETTINGS (note: absolutely not an exhaustive list)
1. Shopping Mall - Live your teen movie romance dreams! Sure, someone seems to get mcfucking murdered in the Starbucks every week, but that doesn't mean you can't go on a coffee date, right?
2. School - Live the... other party of your teen movie romance dreams! It's a little hard to be romantic when the only place for a dinner date is the cafeteria, but in fairness you are also constantly overcoming bigger problems than that here.
3. Generic Facility - Looking for romance? Try scenic Sealed-Off Building Full of Rooms! It's themed in some way - science, underwater - but the concept is the same. Surely there's some kind of bar or inexplicable amusement park in here you could use for a romantic evening, right?
4. Spooky Mansion - You know what they say about going on dates to scary movies, right? What if the scary movie was uh. The whole thing. The whole place. Where you live. And die, sometimes.
5. Romance Zone - I mean hey, maybe you're stuck somewhere literally built for both romance and murder! Pleasure and pain. Life and death. Smoochin' and stabbin'.
6. Other - If you can block off an area, you can put a murdergame there. Get creative!

PROMPTS (ship scenarios)
1. Confession (Fun) - Ah, the start of any good murdergame relationship. Maybe you've been dancing around each other for a week or two, maybe over the course of one thread and a lot of screaming your players decided you're gonna kiss. Time to figure out what these feelings mean while you're, you know. Here. Can be combined with some of the other prompts too, if you like.
2. Dating??? - Where do you even go to date in a murdergame? Is it even worth trying to hang onto this kind of normalcy when either of you could die any day now? It's probably fine.
2b. Dating+ - Can be combined with any other prompt, but somehow, some way, one of you is taking the lead in this date and getting a bunch of emotions in... because you're deathflagging. You're deathflagging hard.
3. Afterparty - Hey, that was a rough trial! Whatever it was! But you're both alive, so... better try to comfort each other, huh? Enjoy whatever kind of snacks you guys have available.
4. Confession (Unfun) - Oops, uh. One of you... seems to have confessed to murder. Better get whatever last moments in that you can before voting ends and one of you gets brutally executed!
5. The Couple That Kills Together - Okay, so maybe you did or didn't actually kill someone together. But at least one of you did a murder, and the body hasn't been properly discovered yet, so... time to talk this through? Make bad choices for love?
6. Deadland Romance - Maybe you've just reunited in the land of the dead, or maybe this is where you're trying to get your relationship off the ground. Either way, there's gotta be some weird emotions to "we're dead and trying to make it work."
7. Golden End Reunion - Great news! You beat up the mastermind (or befriended them, I don't know your style) and got all of the dead people back, including the other half of your ship! That's gotta feel good, seeing them again after however many weeks.
8. What now? - The game is over, it's time to go home. But... which home? If you split up, is there going to be a chance to visit each other again? Can you work that kind of long-distance?
9. Smut Option - Look. It's not generally onscreen, but hookups happen. Did you have to kick roommates out? Is this the fabled... you know, variant of option 5? Basically look, if you wanna use this meme for smut I'm not gonna say no, just tag appropriately.
10. Anything else! - Look, one of the fun things about murdergame ships is how many ways they can go in the emotional crucible inherent to them. I can't account for a lot of things ahead of the basics, so plot with your thread partner and have fun with it! Hell, maybe bring a good ol' murdergame polyblob into the mix, I'm not gonna stop you! Go with ur heart, assume other characters, live your truth!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...Uh-huh. If I wanted to...?

[Unfortunately, when it ain't about medicine, Alfyn's just. Real dumb. No help here.]

Sp-spend some time together?

[It's. It's something.]

Oh! Well, shucks, Gershom! If all you're after's good company, you don't have to ask me so formally.

[He turns and heartily pats the window seat next to him. Plunk them ilia down, buddy!]

Come on and rest those bones. It's... been a time for all of us, hasn't it?

It certainly has.

[Grateful for Alfyn's obliviousness, Gershom has a seat.]

How have you been holding up...?

Well... I confess, it's rough for me. I'm a healer, you know? Standing here unable to do a thing while we all...

[Hands clasped between his knees, Alfyn trails off, frowning at the floor in front of them. Then he shakes it off, picks his head up, and visibly puts on a brave face.]

It's not the first time I've been helpless to stop folks' hurting or worse, but it doesn't get any easier. And the situation doesn't help at all. But... I could do worse for friends in the meantime. Right?

[He nudges Gershom's arm gently with his elbow. Friends!]

How about you?

[Gershom takes a second to reboot at even that tiny nudge because Touch-Starved.]

Well, I... This place is terrible and I wish we weren't here, but... I haven't had friends for a very long time, before this.

Is it bad, to be grateful for that?

[Alfyn's expression softens. Both the question and the beat Gershom takes before speaking, they tug at something in his chest.]

'Course not. It's what keeps us going.

[Never one to be daunted by someone else's physical hesitation, Alfyn slings his arm around those boniest of shoulders and sighs.]

Without the rest of you, and you especially, Gershom... I don't think I could take living like this.

[Alfyn is such a kind person, reaching out to him first. Gershom leans a little into his arm, smiling softly.]

It's not something I'd wish on anybody - but especially not someone as wonderful as you.

Me!

[He breathes out a surprised, delighted laugh and pats Gershom's scapula.]

Shucks, I'm nothing special. I'm doing my best, sure, but... well, look. [Alfyn smiles right at him.] You're right here with me, aren't you?

You're special to me!

...I mean, um, erm...

[crap, he just blurted that out.]

[Oh.

Alfyn blinks and--just a bit, hard to see against that well-sunned, healthy Riverlands complexion of his--goes a little pink across the cheeks.]

...Hah, ah. Am I?

[He does not in any way draw his arm back from around Gershom's shoulders. They're very close.]

[Gershom would probably rather die than pull away at this point. It should be impossible for a skeleton to blush, and yet there's a tinge of pink around his cheekbones.]

Well... w-well...

I like you a lot. A whole lot.

[For someone who used to be a poet, he's sure not having any luck with words right now.]

...Like... Like-like? Um, o-or...

[He scratches his cheek with one finger, definitely reddening.]

I-is that okay?

[He would absolutely fuck off forever if Alfyn told him no.]

Of course it's okay! I--

[As fast as it started, the idle scratching stops, because now Alfyn's gotta catch Gershom's hand up as quickly as he can. Once he's grabbed it, though, it seems that he doesn't know what to do with it, or to do in general, or even just to say. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before falteringly getting out:]

I... I, I like you a lot. Hell, there's so much to like. I-I just... I wanna be sure. 'Cause... well, these aren't the best of circumstances, right? And I get the feeling you've been hurt before, real bad, and I... I want you to know--to know.

[He gives Gershom's hand a squeeze.]

...That once we're out of here, you're gonna meet plenty of guys like me. Guys just trying their best to do right by folks, you know? You'll see then I'm not so wonderful or special. I... want you to know that that's normal.

[With that, he swallows and finally gives into the butterflies in his stomach, lowering his gaze, blushing hotly and unmistakably.]

So... if I'm still, you--you know. Special to you, in all my, ah, normal-guy-ness... Shucks. Gershom, that'd sure be something special to me.

[Gershom squeezes Alfyn's hand, maybe a little tightly before he catches himself clinging too hard.]

I think - even if there are many kind people out here, I think you're still something special, nu? You let me into your circle even though I'm... like this. You're always checking up on me, making me laugh...

A-and you have the cutest smile I've ever seen, so.

[So there!]

...Shucks.

[He's said that, like, four times over the past two minutes. On the other hand, that smile comes out, first as tremulous as the first light from behind a cloud, then beaming out at maximum wattage as the pensive, grieving mood from earlier shuffles over to make room for full-bodied joy in his chest.]

Well, you're the one that puts it there, so who's somethin' special now?

Still you.

[He's floating on air. Gershom leans his head to rest his forehead gently against Alfyn's - he can't kiss him like he wants to, but this is close enough.]

I'm so glad I was able to meet you.

We're gonna get out of here, Gershom.

[Alfyn closes his eyes and carefully rubs their foreheads together, testing out this warm, soft thing that's so very new between them.]

And then you can meet me somewhere better than this every day for... well, however long you'd like. A long time, I hope.

Would that be okay? I don't want to scare anyone else, but...

[He'd like to leave his apartment sometimes. As long as it doesn't bother anyone.]

Hey, now! Anyone who gets the chance to know ya knows you couldn't scare a fly. All of us here prove it, don't we?

[He snuggles Gershom closer.]

We'll find a good place, don't you worry.

[Someone's world is bound to be undead-friendly.]

I-I'm not sure about that, but thank you.

[Gershom just thinks everyone here is really nice... even though some of them have done a murder. It's probably fine.]

I miss the outdoors...

we found love in a hopeless place

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