There's No Place Like Traumabonding for the Holidays

[beebs]

HOLIDAY MURDERGAME WHERE ARE THEY NOW MEME



It's the hap-happiest season of all, and what better way to celebrate than by remembering that one (or more) horribly traumatic experience that permanently changed the face of not only your relationships but possibly your outlook on life itself?

Any character (including NPCs!) who's ever been in any murdergame is invited! Feel free to share with your friends!

Regardless of how you choose to use this meme, there's two blanket rules:
1) Make sure the header of your comment has your character's name, home canon, and murdergame listed. If you used the same account for several murdergames, you can use the same toplevel for all of them.
2) No blank comments! First and foremost this is a chance to catch up with old murdergame buddies, and maybe make new ones if you choose! Thus, your comment should go into whatever degree of detail you like describing what life has been like since the murdergame ended. Did life go back to normal? Did they get married? Have a kid? Move to another universe entirely and start over with their found family? Have they kept in touch? Go into as much detail as you want, just put something!

You can use this meme to set up any kind of "canon" or canon-compliant holiday threads with your castmates, big holiday party or no.

OR... you can pretend that there's an interdimensional all-murdergame nondescript winter holiday party that you've been invited to attend! Maybe the Curtains narrators made sure the Denny's was conveniently empty (don't mind the weird old guy in the woods out back), or maybe there was some other convenient arrangement. Either way, you received an invite, and you're here now! So spike the eggnog and check for mistletoe, because the night is probably going to get wild.

(If you're not down for one option or the other, just note that somewhere in your top-level.)

Have fun, and Happy Holidays!

Comments

[burninglight]

[That earned a snort of laughter from Ardyn and ruffle of feathers from the pigeon on his shoulder.]

Terrible shame, I almost hoped a bit of forced murder might get him to lighten up.

Karen Minazuki 🦋 Yes! Precure 5 🦋 SCP R3, R4, R6

[oceanicbutterfly]

[At some point a GIANT DOOR appears out of nowhere at the venue and out steps the once and future student council president. That's right, now that she's in high school she ran again and won. Maybe the couple of extra mental years she got in the SCP-verse gave her an unfair advantage? In any case, she pretty much seems like the same old Karen, which will come as no surprise to most of her CR since she's definitely been keeping in touch. There've been a couple of vague incidents here and there that she hasn't gone into a lot of detail about and probably won't now. Just magical girl stuff. You understand.

She has been very good about feigning ignorance of the fourth wall, and as a reward I'm going to establish that her world's calendar is slightly out of sync with everyone else's so she can attend all the Christmas parties she wants and then still be free to celebrate with her friends and family at home.

For those who weren't in SCP, Karen is very interested to find out about the murdergames they were in, and she's trying very hard to make it sound like she's just curious. This act isn't an especially convincing one, and it falls apart entirely the minute she finds out about a game later than 2020.]

[serrata]

[ Yuuri's been to enough parties and endured enough interdimensional shenanigans that she's not... expecting to see two of them hanging around but somehow, it isn't that much of a surprise. She's content to leave them to her own devices (IS THAT REALLY WISE, YUURI???) at least until their tussling starts getting really loud. Now that just won't do, will it?

Without missing a beat, Yuuri casually marches over and, in the manner of a person wrangling a pair of feral cats, grabs both of them by the ear and Does Not Let Go. ]

I think that's just about enough trouble out of the two of you for now, don't you?

[le_mat]

[They both yelp and squirm, with Akira giving an undignified:]

Risenpai!!

[Ren, though a little shorter was definitely winning that fight- not surprising since he looks fitter and more world battered than his twin. Never mind the cat eyes though it's fine. Once he sees who's grabbing him he blushes.]

Hey~

Dave Strider | Homestuck | Dangan Roleplay R3

[callbacks]

[From the beginning of the party, a tall, lanky man in perhaps his mid-twenties can be found chatting with almost anyone. He's dressed in a sharp French Kalosian suit and refuses to take off his sunglasses, which is perhaps a strange image for someone claiming to be a paleontologist. What's definitely stranger is the fact that he has a drop-dead gorgeous, sweet-faced wife and two cherubic, chubby-cheeked, adorable, blond toddlers wobbling about underfoot.

That's right. Certainly most of their tight-knit murder hotel buddies know by now, but the Strider-Everetts made spawn.

Dave occasionally appears from seemingly nowhere to scoop up one of the twins, bouncing them up into his arms and out of whatever trouble toddlers might toddle into. Like your murderous villains or whatnot.]

Oh shit, son. You better watch out, you better not et cetera, something something Santa Claus will eat your soul. Say hi to Aunt or Uncle Whozit here. [Child secured in the crook of his arm, he carefully takes a pudgy little hand and waves hello with it.] Happy Kwanzaa.

[finalring]

[ oh! he recognizes this man from the game! ]

Oh? How would you describe it, then?

[burninglight]

Yuuri, my dear, everything will be fine. And if it's not, I promise to personally wipe out all forms of life on the planet. Successfully, this time.

[ardyn,]

There's nothing to worry about.

[finalring]

[ oh my, well look what the chains dragged in.

solomon eyes the king of heroes with a raised eyebrow, swirling the contents of his glass without any intention of drinking it. ]

Oh? The King has passed his judgment so soon? [ the corner of his mouth quirks up in a smirk, eyeing the other party members. ] The situation is peculiar, as it seems that we are all connected by a similar situation, despite not being from the same world. Would you not call that “interesting”?

[finalring]

[ long live clairvoyance.

despite having his back turned towards her, solomon dodges the snowball with no effort by stepping to the side. ]

[nojohnyouare]

Mm. Though... If they cause trouble. We'll stop them. Don't worry.

[ghostsguysgyuudon]

Oh, that makes sense! We don't really do Christmas where I am now -- well, really when I am now -- but in the future, it's mainly about romance and giving presents to kids! Well, you're supposed to pretend they're from an immortal saint named Santa-san, and then when you're old enough to know he's not real, you don't get presents anymore. Though it looks like here, everybody gives presents to everybody else instead.

Max | Airlocked

[theundertaken]

[Others from Airlocked will know that Max has settled a lot since the games finally ended. He still seems tired pretty often, but he's chill and well-kempt; his hair's pulled back into a shorter ponytail than he used to have, and his beard is trimmed, making him look...rather like some kind of Portland hipster, honestly! He shows up wearing a heavy coat, but it's warmer here, so he pretty quickly sheds it to reveal a characteristically bizarre sweater.

His ever-present therapy Shuppet floats at his side, occasionally sneaking away to stare and chirp at someone who is...you know, maybe not handling all of their murdergame trauma that well.]

Sorry. She, uh, eats bad feelings. [He grimaces broadly and takes a sip of (non-alcoholic!) nog. No need to elaborate there!] These weird get-togethers are like a buffet for her. Always a lot of new people, don't know where they keep coming from. Space? This stuff happening in space still?

[Does he even really wanna know? Eh, whatever, he's asking!

He can also be found hanging around the refreshments table. For such a stringy-looking guy, he sure is eating a lot of cookies.]

It's fine, I made these. Don't even know if this was a potluck, I just wanted these ones. Best way to know the good shit's gonna be there. Was it a potluck, or is this, like, Denny's-catered again. Are you one of the guys who knows what the Denny's is all about? What is that? Not that I'm against it.

[Of course, if you are from Airlocked...well, he's honestly always a little weird and awkward around the people who saw him at his absolute worst, but also you are the ones he actually knows, so:]

Hey. [.....] Did you see the guys literally singing like it was a musical?

[burninglight]

Oh, I've nothing to worry about at all with the rest of you here.

Priscilla S. Asagiri | Bubblegum Crisis | We Could Be R3

[cyberpunkrock]

[When the music changes from cheery Christmas tunes to hard 80's rock, you probably know who to blame. Priss, for her part, shrugs if she's caught putting on her own record and starts to walk away without guilt.]

Everybody hears too much of that shit in every store for the last quarter of the year. You're welcome.

[You can also find her stuffing her face at the food tables, and she'll wave if she knows you; if she doesn't, she doesn't seem to care if you sit beside her, either.]

Gotta love free food. Who's running this thing, anyway?

[theundertaken]

Reality show producer.

[yeah seems like a regular way to discuss it to him!]

The Balladeer | Curtains r1/r3

[tellthestory]

[Most people here are not aware of the Balladeer's whole Deal. Which is fine by him! But that definitely probably makes it weird when he enters the party, snaps his fingers, and cheery instrumental music starts piping in from somewhere with zero explanation. It's cool!

Afterwards, he's pretty hardcore into the mingling. Meeting new people always still sort of feels like a treat!]

So, what's your story?

[If that's rude to ask, he doesn't seem totally conscious of it. Narrators gonna narrate.

Eventually, having some unusual party sensibilities, the man very obviously produces an entire piano out of what seems to be a small closet, does not explain this to anyone, starts to play.]

Any requests? I'll probably still be able to play it if it's from your world. [He grins.] I get around.

Robin Loxley | Sherwood | We Could Be R4

[robehod]

[Meanwhile, Robin's checking out the decorations with a bemused look and then also goes straight to the food. She studies it for a moment.]

What is half of this? Looks amazing, though.

[So she takes a bunch, because why wouldn't you.

Later, you can find her at a control panel -- what's she doing? Messing with the lights, apparently. An LED display that was earlier showing a cascade of winter colours is now showing a simple animation of caricatures of various R4s dancing. Robin can't suppress a snicker.]

Worth it.

[oceanicbutterfly]

[He couldn't let her have this one? A young girl who was thrown into the traumatic environment of a murdergame in the prime of her life and had her innocence ripped from her, and she can't even enjoy one moment of pffffahahahaha had you going for a minute there didn't I?

Well. This calls for a different approach. She makes another snowball, and then... casually walks up to him.]

Good afternoon.

Brett Riebach | In Strange Woods | Unknown Seas r3

[inaclearing]

[Brett continues to be one of the more normal people at this party! He arrives with his husband, looking both far better rested and fed than he did at the end of his own game, and also slightly shellshocked at the size of the crowds here.]

There's a lot of people here. More than a few other groups' worth.

[And he definitely sees folks that he doesn't recognize from the big gathering of those from the previous rounds that Cypher brought in...it's unnerving. Implications unsettling. Don't love it.

Of course, the multiverse is a big place. Maybe he shouldn't even be that surprised? He gets past it fairly quickly, at least, and starts hanging around almost like it's an entirely normal party. To strangers, he smiles and offers a hand.]

Hi, I'm Brett. [...] So, you've...been through one of those things, too?

[Look, he knows well the value of trauma bonding, but he's never really experienced it on this scale!

For roundmates...well, most likely it's not literally the first time he's seeing you since the game. Though he's not one of the people who was looking for an escape from his own world, he's used to regular travel and has probably gone out to visit folks several times. Maybe he's even provided some of you a nice, normal place to stay for a little while? He's got that cabin out in the woods now, and Whitetail is pretty much behind him anyway, so he can host a little bit of weirdness! Still, even if it hasn't been that long, he's glad to see (most of) you again!]

Hey! You made it! Whose...whose party is this, anyway? Cypher doesn't really seem like the aluminum foil snowflake type.

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai seems pleased enough with that. She nods and looks around the room as Bear-san snuffles about and vacuums up crumbs.]

These other people... The same as us? [In the kind of tone that says that yes, she got the memo, but she's still kind of working through the implications.]

meeting

[theundertaken]

[Max stands near the squabble, drinking a cup of cider. In a complete monotone, he comments:]

Pokemon shouldn't fight. Not like this.

[yeah that's the extent of his help]

Benjamin "Benji" Barker | Sweeney Todd | It's Curtains R3

[barberic]

[In a lot of ways, the Victorians at least laid the framework for modern Christmas celebration, and the last few months of being technically homeless seeing the world has done a lot to bring Benji up to speed. Don't worry about the months that nobody saw or heard from him, castmates.

Regardless, he's been back on the radar for a couple of months now, trying to establish himself in the Big Apple. Is it to impress a certain queen? Certainly not. But maybe a little.

Overall, he stays close to his roundmates or to the walls, but he's a big, older guy in a festive red flannel, so he sticks out despite his best efforts.]

[finalring]

[ absolutely not. even he has some pride he has to uphold. ]

Good afternoon, miss Karen. Are you here to try again?

[steampunkborgia]

[There's a woman gorging herself with chocolate cake. She looks a little bit haggard -- being brought from literal death because of an invitation to a holiday party does that to you. While she's not exactly happy about being alive given she has this body again, she always takes any opportunities that present themselves, so she sure is going to try to stay alive.

Upon the question, the woman who calls herself Lucrezia Mongfish shrugs, absolutely indifferent]

It was me. They weren't friends, just random schmucks.

[Yeah, she was the mastermind of her game]

[imnotfat]

[The hums and cheerfulness face the usual disdain, but at least it's a far more mellow one than usual, instead of meant to push her away]

You could afford to be less cheerful and more alert. Be prepared if there are any signs of initiating once another one of those ridiculous games.

[Togami says, ever the life of the party, huh. Look, after having gone through this song and dance three times he'd like very much to avoid a fourth, especially if it's some jumbo version with far more people than usual.

But yeah, gatherings of a lot of random people tend to get his guard up, for obvious reasons]