aworldwithoutboxes | we don't choose who lives or dies

we don't choose who lives or dies

THE MURDERGAME SHIPPING MEME V1.2

This is probably too straight to accurately represent most 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 (recommended, so everyone knows what your character is About), 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! Profile code and some prefs options below. Remember - unexpected murdergame ships are the best kind! Don't be afraid to tag out and across canons!

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. Musical Theater - Sing a love song! Whether you're playing from a specific musical or not, live your romantic duet dreams!
7. 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!

PROFILE CODE (pilfered from the general murdergame meme):

PREFS CODE:

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[If you're in a small confined place the feelings won't find you! It's the perfect coping mechanism.

Or it would be, if it weren't for the--Thumbelina blinks at her sudden freedom as she pulls herself out of the cupboard. Anyone else might have things to say about that sudden show of strength but, hey, Red Riding Hood would have done the same thing. She's just glad she's not soaking wet from burst pipes.]

--thanks.

[She's blushing. Penny was... nice.] I, uh, had a good reason for being in there. I promise.

Do you still need someplace to hide? We could probably find somewhere that won't actually trap you.

[She holds out a hand to help Thumbelina out from under the sink; that's got to be pretty awkward, even if she managed to get in there herself.]

If you want I can stick around just in case, too.

I wasn't hiding from anything...

[She mutters to herself. She should have been more careful. Thumbelina isn't mentioning that she hides in her closet, though, that'd be weird. Right?]

Sometimes small places seem better but I got stuck. [She clears her throat.] I was about to make something for the others before I got stuck. It'd be bothersome if it went to waste. Maybe I could use some help to clean it up at least...

Name: Shu Amiguchi | Idoling About
Age: 15 | Species: Human | Occupation: High School Student, Sentinel Pilot
Likes: Girls, bikes, music, Miyuki Inaba
Dislikes: Boredom, Tetsuya Ida
Traits: Flirty, friendly, shrewd
Trivia: A girl in his year once called Shu out for what he thought would be a rooftop confession. Actually, she shot him in the head.

[What's On The Table: At fifteen, Shu's a wee bit young for the murdergame racket, but he'll brave it out for y'all anyway, especially if you're a girl in need. While, on the surface, he's no more than a breezy 1980's playboy, Shu is intelligent, resourceful, and solid when it counts. He knows more about music and games than forensic investigation, but thinks on his feet, thriving under pressure. His friendly and less serious nature also makes him valuable for group morale. He tends more towards supporting others than being supported himself.

Looking for: Shu will actively flirt with ladyfolk around his age, especially if they could kick his ass, but a good boy ship ain't off the table. TBH, I'm here for voicetesting and gen fun as much as I am for ships, so mentors/found murdergame family/friends, etc., are more than welcome. He's friendly! He's forward! Be his buddy!]

[Amiguchi's had plenty of time to figure out that Shinonome isn't likely to trust an invitation out--whatever "out" means in this grey, windowless bunker--and so he knocks on her door instead. It's (supposedly) daytime, they're in full view of the hall; if anyone thinks he's here to act on yesterday's motive, they'll see he has no way to get away with it. He's just a guy trying to talk to his upperclassman from home. Nothing suspicious to see here.

He knocks again.]

Shinonome-senpai.

[Rubbing his neck, he sighs and looks down at his shoes.]

There's something... well, I think I should tell you now, before it becomes a problem.

[ For a bit, it seems like Ryoko isn't going to bother opening the door. When she wants to be alone, she's stubborn enough about it that they can go the whole day without seeing her. Especially when it's come time to hand out motives – she'll take it on the chin and then disappear for the better part of the day until she trusts herself to keep composure.

So it's probably a surprise, then, when the door clicks open and out comes Ryoko looking... mutinous, yes, but no more so than is usual for day to day life around here. ]

... Is it something we can talk about out here or not?

[ Do you have to come in? in other words. ]

[He considers.]

...It's about Ida, too.

[ Ryoko's entire body freezes.

Even her breath stops, if only for a second.

Then, hurriedly, as if she can't usher him in fast enough, she steps back from the door to let him inside. ]

... Fine. [ She says it with forced casualness, like she can pretend her voice isn't suddenly trembling. ] You'd better come in, then.

Thanks.

[The guilt for playing the Ida card twists a little in Amiguchi's chest as he enters, but it's not as though this is some jerkish ploy to get into a girl's room. His intentions are as noble as they come. This just isn't something he's comfortable talking about out in the hall.

Something else twinges, too, but he kicks the selfish, jealous notion to the back of his mind once more. So what if Shinonome would let in news of Ida and not him? She's said it before. She doesn't know him.

So Amiguchi doesn't come in far. He parks himself against the wall and stares at the cement floor beneath their feet.]

Shinonome-senpai... uh. [He rubs the back of his skull again, grimacing.] ...What do you know about Ida? Where he's from, I mean. ...Or when.

[ That seems to give her pause. He said he'd come here with information, but now he's quizzing her? It's not quite on the level of answering a question with a question but it still makes her feel oddly nervous somehow. She turns away from him to shut the door over, more to give her the time to mull over the question than anything else.

When she finally turns back, her expression has been schooled into one of careful calm. ]

The when... is 2064, like me. [ Or so she presumes. She'd never... had any reason to pry or to ask any questions. Nor any desire to, really. ] Why? What does that have to do with anything?

[Ugh. This is gonna be harder than he thought.]

It has to do with me. And it's a problem... because what you know isn't the truth.

Senpai, I know we didn't meet before you came to my Sector. But don't I look familiar to you? Even a little?

What are you...?

[ Ryoko stares at him, waiting for him to admit that this is a tasteless ill-timed joke. She can't imagine a single thing that Amiguchi could know about Mr. Ida that she didn't. After all, he was just some high school boy – nothing special save for his compatibility with the Sentinel.

But the longer she stares at him, the longer a little knot of unease starts to work itself into a tangle in her stomach. He's usually smiling and carefree, but when he's wearing such a serious expression he...

He almost looks like...

Ryoko takes a sharp step back, alarm playing across her face. ]

... Your eyes look just like... b–but that can't be...

Would a closet be small enough? You could stay in mine tonight, if you still want to- you know, be somewhere small but not be alone.

[And it's not like she's using the closet for anything.]

What were you making? We might still be able to finish it, I'm sure the others would appreciate it.

[The sleeves are being rolled up, this is serious.]

I-I guess that'd be fine. It's not like either of has roommates to worry about.

[She's focusing on the counter so Penny doesn't notice that her face is still the color of her hair. She's kind of glad they had single rooms.]

Cookies... I used to make them for Sleepy and Snow White all the time when we could find the ingredients.

[She was totally going to just. Make them and drop them in the party when everyone was distracted and leave.]

B-but don't tell anyone it was me, got it?!

Okay?

[Are there aprons available in this facility? There are now, Penny's putting one on because kitchen safety is important. Cookies mean flower and possibly cocoa powder, that shit gets everywhere.]

Cookies sound sensational! I can- follow directions well, at least. Why don't you want anyone to know they're from you, though?

[Thumby, at least, is following suit. She has the generic facility uniform on to make sure her Order of the Sun uniform stays clean but, hey, safety first.]

Right--it shouldn't be too hard. [Penny wasn't half as clumsy as Snow White, that would be helpful.] Now that we've got proper ingredients following a recipe is easy.

[She's just going over the ingredients she had set on the counters before her cupboard adventure. If it was anyone else in the group asking Thumbelina would refuse to answer. Penny, though? She's honest and an incredibly poor liar. For someone as guarded as Thumbelina that was comforting. More than she'd like to admit.]

Why? It's embarrassing. [That was true but also...] And there's lots of people here who'd probably do this, too, if they knew how. I'm loud and I always get in fights. I'm sure many people thought I was the killer before we figured it out. They'd--

[Probably think I poisoned it. She cuts the thought off. Thumbelina pauses as she picks up a mixing bowl.] Probably think I made it taste terrible on purpose or something.

[‘If no one kills by Friday, I’ll have to take the lives of those in your envelopes.’

If they had declared it weeks ago, Matilda wouldn’t have believed it. Maybe she’d have pinned the photo of Delilah up in her bedroom, and happily gone about her week. But by this time, Matilda Hamilton was sure—- their captors were capable of anything, including capturing and hurting Delilah, if necessary.

She’d been standing close to Lambda when the announcement was made—- insufferably close to most people, but for Matilda, it was almost intoxicating. Whenever she was near Lambda, it felt like her cheeks were as pink as Lambda was, and her heart was always beating out of control. Lambda normally made Matilda feel like she could do anything, but—- not now. Instead, she feels a million miles away, as she stares down at the photograph of a blonde young woman with a haphazard pixie cut, Matilda’s dainty gloved hands trembling, her voice not coming at first when she tries to speak. She has to try a second time, to choke out the name—-]

Delilah—- [And when she can finally draw her eyes away? She looks to Lambda first. Because she always does—- and there are watery tears in her eyes.]

What do I do…?

I'm not him.

[That comes out too quickly and Amiguchi seems to know it, wincing as she backs away from him. He can't regret it, though. Not when, even from the little he "remembers," the little he understands, he knows that being Ida Tetsuya means being the sort of monstrously selfish person that would... would do this to get what he wants. Amiguchi studies Shinonome's expression and feels the secondhand shame clench in his throat, crawl like a shiver under his skin. Blowing out a breath, he drops his gaze so he doesn't have to see whatever face she makes next.]

We're genetically identical, I guess. Clones or something. Similar enough Universal Control recognizes me instead of him now, but--you know what, that's not the important part. The point is, we're different people, but because our DNA's the same, I... learned a lot about him.

[He crosses his arms, but no pose he takes is going to make him any more comfortable sharing this.]

Anyway, I asked because I wanted to warn you about what I found out yesterday. What was in the envelope I got. [He lowers his chin another notch.] Iiii figured you wouldn't believe me unless I explained how I know it's the truth. It's... because I have some of Ida's memories.

[And he won't be Ida. He won't be anything like Ida. He can't, having kept an eye on Shinonome every day since they woke up in this deathtrap. Her soft, splintered fragility is right there under that distant façade of hers. Every time Amiguchi sees her steps falter, his chest squeezes.

He can't let that self-centered son of a bitch he might grow up to be like hurt her any more. He can't. He has to help her.]

Man, this probably sounds ridiculous to you. [Then he sweeps his hair back from his forehead, further emphasizing his resemblance to Ida Tetsuya for a moment, whether he means to or not. As it falls back over his face, Amiguchi gamely meets Shinonome's gaze.] But I'm completely serious about it, Senpai. Even if you hate me for what I'm about to say, I need you to know the truth.

Ida's lying, Shinonome-senpai. All he's doing is using you.

Edited 2021-09-12 18:23 (UTC)

[ It's like looking at some kind of sick optical illusion. Now that she's seen the resemblance, there's no way for her to unsee it. She could have counted a thousand ways in which Amiguchi was nothing like Mr. Ida but the more she looks now, all she can see is a million ways in which they look so, so alike.

They aren't the same at all. Even if what he's saying is true, all this talk of identical DNA and genetics aside – she knows well enough what sort of man Tetsuya Ida is and what sort of man Shu Amiguchi–

Wait a minute. No she doesn't. Ryoko doesn't know him at all, does she? He's one of the compatable ones and an underclassman but that's as far as it goes. So... why does she feel so...?

She doesn't step back again, but she shrinks in on herself a little, one hand moving up to cradle her head as her expression screws up with pain. ]

Wh–what are you... talking about...? [ There's a little bite to her voice, but it's uncharacteristically weak and wavering. ] Mr. Ida would... he'd never...

[ She can't even make the words come out. Why? A horrible pulse of anxiety begins to thrum through her with every beat of her heart and it sharpens the words that come out next. ]

W–what would you even know about me and Mr. Ida?! You don't understand any of it at all...!

I know what he did to you.

[He didn't before. It wasn't one of the memories Miyuki Inaba had had him relive. Today, though, the terrible knowledge burns a hole in Amiguchi's pocket, printed starkly in black on yesterday's now-crinkled motive slip.]

It's his fault. Everything you're suffering comes from his messed-up obsession with a dead woman. Because he can't let her go, he's gonna reset everything--and he used you to start the process.

['To sabotage the Sentinels, Tetsuya Ida had Ryoko Shinonome install a code causing catastrophic brain damage to Ei Sekigahara, Juro Izumi, and Shinonome herself.'

To force them to fail. To free up a body for Tomi Kisaragi's ghost.]

[ Every single word feels like Amiguchi's taking a pickaxe to her brain, mining out pain and hurt with every strike. Why are you saying all these horrible things? she wants to plead with him, like a grade schooler. She knows why. And she knows that, whatever else he might be, Shu Amiguchi is not a liar. She knows that every bit of what he's saying is true.

That's why it hurts so much. ]

Stop it!

[ In the small room, her cry comes out louder and shriller than she means it to – a plea instead of a demand. She's doubled up now, both hands gripping her head. She's certain that if he says even one more word, her skull might crack open like a geode, her hurt and her feelings laid bare as glittering stone.

It takes a while for her to find her breath. Her voice is watery but she blinks rapidly, then squeezes her eyes shut. If nothing else, if she can't even keep her composure then she at least can refuse to show Amigichi her tears. ]

W–why... would you come here to tell me all this...? What's the point of it? What do you even want from me, Amiguchi?!

[They've been here for two weeks. Two people have died already-- and even though she does a lot of enthusiastic nodding and awkward thumbs-uping at anyone who assures her that they're going to get through this, that it's not actually that bad, that it won't happen again-- Mattie doesn't believe any of them.

The situation during the trial didn't help. The motive that week had been secrets, and someone had less-than-helpfully suggested that they all share their secrets, to try and remove the motive. Mattie hadn't wanted to, but after a while, she didn't have much of a choice-- and her secret (Maddie Walker was sent to a Juvinile Detention Center for the murder of two of her teammates) had been revealed to the others. There were a lot of questions, and the fact that she didn't have any answers was suspicious. It had been fine, until Friday morning, when they found Kelsi Nielsen, dead from multiple stab wounds, hunched over the piano. As if that hadn't been bad enough-- Kelsi wasn't the only one who had been stabbed. Nessarose was also wounded-- and had spent 90% of the trial casting a finger in Mattie's direction, accusing her of being the one to have done it.

Turns out the girl could walk, after all. She'd taken the opportunity to cast blame on another, to keep that very secret from getting out. And Mattie?

Mattie doesn't know what she did to deserve this, twice in her life. At least this time, there was no juvie? On the other hand, she literally would have died if the others hadn't caught on.

She has to gain their trust. She doesn't know-how. But she has to. So though most of these people are the last people she wants to see right now (some of them are okay. Jeremy, amongst a few others, hadn't been quick to accuse. He has no idea what it means to her.) she stands in the kitchen, baking pies. It's like, if she crafts the crust just right, with dainty whirls and twists and bows, they'll all understand. That it won't turn out like last time. She doesn't hesitate until it's time for the filling, and-- she wonders out loud to herself.]

Maybe peaches, instead of strawberries. The canned strawberries look like they have red food die. That's a really common allergy.

[With her eyes closed, she can't see the way Amiguchi swallows, wincing, as if struck. He lowers his hands to his sides, his voice to a murmur.]

Senpai.

[He won't allow himself the coward move of looking away from her.]

I wanted you to hear it from me this time. Before... whatever she thinks is gonna happen--can happen.

[Instead of a pop idol's distant pleas or memories of Prisoner 426, what kept Amiguchi lying awake last night were the quiet implications of the day's announcement from the mastermind, growing louder with each revisit, each echo, until they reached a roar.

'Hey, assholes! I reeeeally think you'll appreciate this one, hahaha. It's definitely one of my faves so far. Not only is it a two-parter--so at LEAST double the fun--it's a twist on one of the classics! You have to hand it to me, I bring this death game business to a whoooooooole new level. You're wel~come!

'Inside the envelopes I'm so GENerously providing you today, you'll find a secret! Here's the catch, though: It ain't yours. That's right, dicks and dipsticks--this secret belongs to one of your cute, little buddy-buddies here. It's a secret so hidden, so juicy, they might not even know about it themselves! And if nobody shows some goddamn pluck by the end of the week...

'I'm gonna share aaaaaaaall of them with aaaaaaaall of you. And I'll do it in a way not a single one of you will be able to deny. You'll all know exactly how fucked up the rest of you are, in lovingly. Intimate. Detail.

'Have fun with this one, chump maggots! Ahahahahahaha!'

If Shinonome were to learn what she did--relive it, the way he's had to relive Ida at his foulest, at his most darkly pleased--Amiguchi doesn't know what might happen to her. What she might do.

How much else of Ryoko Shinonome might collapse in on herself like an imploding mine.]

I want--you not to find out about this stuff alone. I don't want you to keep bearing it alone, Senpai. I'm not Ida, but I... I feel like...

[He has to make it up to her. Everything that sick bastard did, Amiguchi needs to undo it, to shield this damaged, faltering, reckless slip of a girl from that black hole of a man.]

Please. [He squeezes his own eyes shut, parting from the wall so he can bow at her from the shoulders.] Please. Just... lean on me, won't you? Don't go on trying to be strong by yourself. I can't--it's my--

[Biting his tongue, Amiguchi sinks his fingers into his hair, holding fast over the nanomachines' entry wound. All his life, everything has come easily to him except finding these words, right now.]

It feels like my fault. All I want--the only freaking thing I can think about is protecting you, Shinonome-senpai. Ida... I can't let him hurt you ever again.

[Farrah made an appearance at the actual afterparty, but only long enough to shove a brownie into her mouth and then decide it wasn’t her scene.

For most of the night, she’s just been Farrah in the bathroom, Farrah in the bathroom, not at the paaaaa-rty. She sits cross-legged on the ground, chillin by a toilet (because that’s super sanitary), sipping from her flask, and trying not to think about what just happened. Or about how she’s totally going to die next. Again. Or how this is all super fucked up, or—- anything, really. She just wants to lose herself in a single vice, and make it all go away.

She’s a little tipsy by now. Which is why, when she hears a knock at the door, she doesn’t answer soon enough. Not until Emma’s opened the door at least, and can clearly see her on the floor.]

Uhhh—- Occupied!

Mattie?

[The trial was... rough. Kelsi was one of the people he was closest to and he feels like... is it bad representation of disabilities if the person is faking it, but like... not? That's, uh. That's really not for him to say and he can't really do anything about the people who were close to Nessarose. Personally? Jeremy thought she was kind of a bitch. Like a real mean girl type.

Mattie's not, though, and he's pretty sure that everyone else is gonna be avoiding her, whether that's out of guilt or something else. He stood up for her, though. Mainly because, uh. His own secret wasn't much better? Jeremy Heere attempted to brainwash an entire school to date a girl.

The wording is... well. It doesn't matter what he did after, does it? And it doesn't matter if Mattie was innocent or not, to some of them. But it matters to him, which is why he's here. In the kitchen. Looking for her.]

Oh, hey! Are you making a pie?

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we don't choose who lives or dies

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Shu Amiguchi | 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim | S-spoilers, I guess? Oops, yeah, spoilers.

3/1 as if they've never suffered GENERIC FACILITIES before, god

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afterparty, with an escalation to fluff probably? like STUPID fluff but its still fluff

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2-3

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