Let's Play A Murder (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
letsplayamod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
letsplayamurder2025-06-09 03:00 am
letsplayamod) wrote in letsplayamurder2025-06-09 03:00 am
Entry tags:
LPM Test Drive
Greetings, mortals.
I thank you for accepting my plea. From across universes, I have summoned you to aid me in bringing light back to this land. Here, though, in this small pocket, we are free to relax for the moment. Steel yourself, and meet with me soon.
There is much to discuss.
Welcome to the official test drive for Let's Play A Murder, an experimental murdergame! Characters will work together to unravel an oncoming threat that strikes each week with something new to tear them apart. For now, tag around with potential picks for the upcoming game and get a feel for that sweet sweet murder CR! If you have any questions, please DM
Threads from this TDM (and others if you so choose) will count towards the RP sample of the applications.
Wherever you were, whatever you were doing... you're not there anymore. Instead, you've awoken on an unfamiliar but very soft bed. The room is sparsely decorated, ornate carvings of heroic figures intermingle on the walls with hairline cracks. This place has seen better days, but, possibly, so have you.
There is a nightstand beside your bed, as naked as anything save for an envelope sealed in wax. Inside is a letter written in a careful hand, welcoming you to this place; a safe area, free of those that would cause harm. Your host had to step away briefly, but she will return. In the meanwhile, she expects everyone to obey the rules of this place.
Included in the envelope was a small bronze key - to your room, no doubt. And luck - it unlocks your door. You're free to venture out into a semicircle of these homes you've found yourself in. And you're not alone, either.
Perhaps you should say hello to your new neighbors.
You've all become acquainted with each other, and met with your gracious benefactor. She had to dip out again, but has left you all with a veritable island paradise to explore. In the center pantheon, large profiles of each of you have been cast in the stone walls, details of your life chiseled beneath them in perhaps too much detail. Along with a set of rules cast on a bronze plaque. Seems straightforward enough.
Beyond that, it seems whatever information you'll gain will only be found by your own hand. You have the free time now, and it's a beautiful day outside. There's plenty to explore among the towering obelisks and half-standing temples. Just avoid trying to leave the edge of the island - a golden barrier will very rudely smack you in the face.
Feel free to make up locations for this. The island is anachronistic with all the amnesties of a modern home.
Purple clown? What? None of that here. But once you've found out where to leave those tribute coins you've 'earned' there's a small pile of items waiting outside your door. Some of which you might even recognize from home.
Or perhaps you've been given twenty wooden cut-outs of... who the heck is this guy.
Training exercises! In order to discern your godly nature, what better way to start than a good, very old-fashioned obstacle course.
Balance across the beams, avoid getting beaned in the head by a swinging bat. Swing from a rope. Or, if you're really feeling up to a challenge, pick up a sword and meet someone's steel with steel.
Or you can sit back and prepare medical supplies. Someone's definitely going to get hurt.
The sky darkens. Lightning overtakes the calm summers day. It's not long before the whole area is under attack.
From the very earth itself, monsters crawl from the ground; undead hands clutching rusted swords and shields. Digging themselves from their graves so that they can put you in yours. Somewhere, distantly, your mentor yells to take up arms, and is already lost in her own fray.
It's up to you to defend yourself, or to defend others. There's no honor in running away, but if you need to survive, it's not like anyone would blame you.
Congrats! You've survived the onslaught. But even as the sky clears, an ultimatum has been passed down from on high; if one of your group isn't slain by the end of the week, then the world you belong to will be destroyed.
Surely, nothing would actually be able to accomplish that, but that faint hope doesn't remove the tension from the air.
Seems that someone didn't want to take the chance.
One of your fellows has met with a gruesome end, and if up to you and everyone else to play detective and figure out just who did it. The hourglass is running out. Just try not to trip over any evidence.
Investigation’s done, it’s time for a trial! Perhaps you nailed it and someone's already confessing to their crimes. Perhaps you've been running around in circles, looking for anything that could move the trial forward. Maybe you all just decided to strip down, even if it wasn't necessary. Whatever the case, tensions are still high. Not just because you have to point out a culprit... but you have to lay down punishment for them too.
Majority vote decides, of course. This is a democracy, after all, but you can still waste time dithering on what to do next.
Ai Hoshino ★ Oshi no Ko
[ It's a shock three times over when she opens her eyes, waking up in this unreal and unfamiliar place and having this equally unreal story trotted out for her to try and swallow. doesn't remember falling asleep, but waking up felt just as unreal. Every breath since has carried the fog of dream logic, like this whole situation might start unraveling the second she picks at it too insistently and the most ridiculous part of all is -
Her, of all people? A god?
It's enough to make her laugh. She's got her hands plenty full trying to figure out how to be a person. That's more than enough work for one lifetime.
The sun is warm and the sky is perfect, but Ai finds herself retreating into the shade of the central pantheon anyway. It's too open out there. Too many eyes, even if no one's looking. The walls in here feel closer, more solid and she feels a little less unsafe when she takes to exploring, just to make some sense of the mess she's found herself in. She's not looking for anything in particular when she sees it. Just passing through rows of other carved faces and strange murals when all of a sudden, she stops in her tracks.
Her own face stares back at her, ten feet tall and carved into stone. It's perfect, of course, just like it always is but the accuracy of the image staring back at her is a little unnerving. The curve of her cheek, the smile that suggests she knows something you don't. The light in her eyes, somehow radiant even in stone.
Nausea wells up in her throat. Her breath curls tight in her ribs, right alongside the strange spark of - what? Pride? Horror? Awe?
She gives a breathy laugh, too bright, too sharp. ]
They really got the eyes just right. [ She mutters that darkly to herself. ] That must've been hard.
[ The plaque beneath the carving doesn't inspire much more comfort. Ai crouches to read more closely, the hem of her skirt brushing against dusty tile and feels her lips pull thin as she skims it. It's too detailed - it's technically nothing secret or scandalous but knowing it's all here out in the open is just...
It's then that she senses someone behind her - another pair of footsteps beating their way through the halls, maybe - and turns slightly, flashing a picture perfect grin without missing a beat. ]
Be honest. Do you think it really looks like me? [ She angles her head towards the carved relief. ] It's almost as cute as the real thing but I think they were way too generous with the eyelashes.
iv.
[ She's not sure what she expected when they said "training". All this godly stuff so far has been way out of her wheelhouse so the obstacle course is a bit of a shock purely for how... familiar it is. It looks like the kind of thing they'd build for a variety show back home.
And as such, Ai takes it all in stride to a kind of surprising degree? Dainty as she might look, she's still a professional dancer and she's got stamina and agility to back that up. She ducks and weaves under swinging obstacles with apparent ease, and scrambles across narrow beams with the steady balance of someone who's done her fair share of precarious dancing in heels. Her breath is steady, her steps light, and her smile doesn't give way once, even under the hot sun.
Anyone watching would think she's having a whale of a time and they're not exactly wrong. In the midst of this massive upheavel, there's something comforting about a challenge she can see, something with rules and clear progress markers - something she can get right.
She steps nimbly off the balance beam with a hop, step and a skip and looking fit to burst with pride. ]
What, are you really shocked? Idols're toughter than you'd think, you know!
[ She tosses the line over her shoulder with a wink before launching herself toward the next challenge - a rope swing over a shallow gap. Nothing too dramatic. She grabs the rope with both hands, kicks off from the ledge, and - ]
Whoa-!
[ The platform on the other side is just far enough out of reach that her legs swing past it. She tries again. Misses again. Her toes graze the edge. Close. So close. But not close enough. Now she's just dangling there, caught in a rhythm of increasingly less confident swings. ]
Okay... um... I think I need a bit of a boost here...?
[ Preferably from someone who's actually tall enough for this.
She eventually gets pulled to safety (thank you, mystery helper), but the near-miss bruises her pride more than anything else. Not that you'd know it - by the time she's dusting herself off, she's laughing again. But she decides she's had enough heroic athletics for the day and retreats instead to the medical station to see about playing support. And when someone stops by for a bandage or a break, she flashes them a bright, cheeky smile. ]
Welcome to my office! [ There is no office. ] Nurse Ai will see you now! I even have stickers if you're very brave.
[ And no, she does not have stickers. ]
v.
[ One moment, the sky is a bright, innocent blue. The next, it splits open. The earth, too, heaves like it's alive. Lightning arcs in the distance and from the cracked earth, monsters begin to crawl free. Not actors in prosthetics and make up but real ones with rusted blades and empty eyes.
Ai doesn't scream. She doesn't run. She just stares, rooted to the spot with wide, shimmering eyes like a rabbit in the path of an oncoming car. The call rings out - take up arms, someone says, a sword, a shield, a staff - whatever it takes to stand and fight.
But Ai can barely process the words. Her ears are ringing. Her heart is pounding so loudly it drowns out the rest of the world. Fighting? Against those? Someone like her? The very idea of it seems unreal. She can barely hold chopsticks properly when she's nervous, how is she supposed to -
A hand, pale and rotting, bursts from the dirt beneath her and clamps cold fingers around her ankle. Her body moves before her mind does - she shrieks and kicks out, catching the thing in the face. It doesn't let go right away, but she yanks herself free with a violent twist and stumbles backward. Her heel catches on broken stone and she nearly goes down.
The battle roars around her. Screams. Steel. Blood.
It's too much. It's impossible. She can't fight - she can't even be here right now.
Ai starts to back away, panting, hands trembling at her sides. And just before she turns to flee - her gaze catches on yours for one frozen second, a long, unspoken moment. Her face twists - shame, panic, guilt, all crumpling in on each other.
And then she turns and runs. No words. No goodbye. No glance back.
For the entire battle - long after it - she's missing in action. ]
iv
[It took him a bit to recognize 'idol' as the same as 'diva', but once he does it's clear why Ai is a diva. She has that level of almost supernatural charm and poise]
no subject
Heehee, it sure does. But you'd be surprised how many girls audition for groups when they can't even run for a minute without totally collapsing. Being on stage is all about energy!
no subject
[Don't get him talking about his oshi]
no subject
Swordplay? ... Idols use swords where you're from?
[ she's imagining, like. revue starlight. ]
no subject
no subject
[ mentally updating her imagination to takarazuka instead. ]
That sounds a little much, though... like, if you were fighting with a real sword on stage, wouldn't that be a total safety hazard?
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
iv
[Grog is here, looking- battered and bruised, and more than a little bloody. These challenges were not designed to be brute forced, and that's what he's done. But more importantly, he's looking like he's trying and failing to not seem excited at the prospect of a gold star.]
Also what's a sticker. Y'know in case someone don't know that. Which I do.
no subject
[ ... if you're a kid, anyway. But uh, she's not about to say that to Grog when he looks so enthused. ]
Right now, though we've just got... [ Rummaging her way through the supplies... ] Band aids and tape. ... which you kinda look like you need a lot of, by the way. Jeez, what'd you do out there?
v.
And here she is.
Ai is the first and only god she looks for. Jennifer stands in the doorframe for a long time, staring at the back of her head. That hair is so healthy and shiny that there's a sheen to it. Perfect. These couple weeks she's been envious but today? Today she feels better. Whole.
Jennifer sits next to Ai without preamble, blood down her front, face clean.]
... You scared?
Re: v.
She's tucked up small against the corner of the room, back to the wall as if to make sure nobody can surprise with their approach. Even so, she still twitches with alarm when Jennifer sits next to her and curls in a little tighter on herself. She looks, perhaps unsurprisingly, like someone anticipating a scolding. ]
I... didn't know what to do. [ her voice is small. ] I'd just get in the way.
ii
[ She looks at a depiction of herself that's nearby for comedic effect. Her eyes are sunken in and surrounded by dark voids - at least in the mural they have plausible deniability as makeup instead of what they are in real life, which is extreme Dark Circles. ]
... Well. I suppose they're equally accurate.
no subject
[ said as if snow's everything is an intentional aesthetic choice and not. whatever is actually going on here. she's gotta keep it light! ]
Seems like a lot of effort to carve it into the walls when they could've just taken a photo or something, though.
no subject
I assume a photo is... some kind of easier way of drawing a picture? In which case, I wonder if it isn't that they lacked that technology.
no subject
[ Her brain sort of. catches up a few seconds too late and she blinks. ]
You don't know what a photo is?
iv
[Aoi stares at Ai dangling on the rope, eyes somehow even more blank than usual. They're around the same height, so...]
Hmm...if Aoi gets a running start and pushes you, maybe you can make it?
no subject
[ She's still sort of. pathetically swinging back and forth. ]
It's just... are you even gonna be able to reach me?
no subject
Yeah! With a running start! You can do it, Ai!
[Surely if this is supposed to train them for godhood, a miracle will happen with their powers combined!
At least, that's Aoi's logic as she backs up on the platform and prepares to accomplish an impressive feat against the obstacle course.]
no subject
[ TOO LATE SHE'S ALREADY SWINGING BACK. THINK FAST AOI!!!! ]
no subject
[Aoi sounds like a charged up RC car as she runs towards Ai to push her forward enough to accomplish the goal of getting her to the other side. She puts her entire back into it, but...
Ai will hear a splash from the moat below. It looks like no miracle can be achieved without sacrifice.]
V
He's ducking into one of the first shelters he sees with a floor that isn't dirt, eyes wide with panic. He darts from room to room, looking for a place to hide. Under a desk, in a closet...anything where a 5'6" alien could squeeze himself, he's going to try and do.
In his panic and their mutual flight, either he'll run into her first or she'll run into him, like as not.]
no subject
- freezes. ]
Ah. [ The words stumble out of her; ] S-sorry, I... I know everyone else is fighting, but...
V
[Ranma didn't turn tail when the sky and ground tore asunder, and monsters emerge from the fissures. Protect the weak and innocent from danger and monsters. That's what any martial artist worth his salt does best. During the entire onslaught, one could spot him sporting a grin while he faced off like it was all some game. He keeps the smile on his face the entire time.
Until he catches a striking set of eyes on the battlefield. Ones so uncharacteristically filled with fright. It's both sobering enough to make him quit goofing around, and motivating to keep those here safe and sound.
The fighting and slew of monsters eventually begin to die down, like all fights do. Ranma breaks from the battleground, heading off in the direction he saw her run off to. It takes a bit of walking around, but peeking his head through random doorways pays off after the sixth or seventh try. Cause there she was.]
Yo, Ai. [Casual, all too casual for someone who was battling the undead a moment ago. Though considering how pristine and unscathed he looks, you'd think he also abstained from the fight. He doesn't fully enter the room yet, keeping his head hanging there from the doorframe.] You all right? They didn't get you, did they.
ii
one faces forward with a cold, dead-eyed gaze, curls down to the figure's shoulders and a rose pinned in her hair. another facing to the left is a stormy-eyed androgynous mirror image of the main face in a beret. to the right, a less gloomy version of the front likeness, her hair fluffier and expression softer, also in a beret, simply smiles.
she maintains that reverie until she realizes that she's being spoken to directly. she blinks after a moment, turning to face ai with her eyes wide. ]
Hm? Oh... the likeness. Well... [ she considers that, honestly glad to be given something—anything—else to focus on. ] It's uncanny, isn't it? And with that kind of detail, too. [ a pause. ] ... Our... hosts have been watching us for a long time, I think.