supergaybabyjail | THE MASTERMIND AU MEME

THE MASTERMIND AU MEME

THE MASTERMIND AU
AMBIDEX EDITION

With Round 3 now over, it's about time we had the mastermind meme!

To those who aren't familiar, this is essentially an AU where your character is the one responsible for Round 3's Mutual Killing Game, and all of the carnage that came with it, from the kidnapping to the motives to the trials to the executions! And now, they have chosen to reveal themselves before the remaining members of their class at the final trial!

As such, you are free to play around with this as much as you would like; did your character make a contract with Kyuubey, or did your character put everyone in the Killing Game for a different reason? What is your character's motivation for bringing despair? What do they intend to get out of this seemingly senseless killing? And what does the rest of the class have to do to stop the madness and go home?

There's probably going to be quite a bit of AUing from your character's original canon happening here to make them into the best harbingers of despair they can be, so feel free to go as nuts with it as you want to! And, of course, feel free to tag others with your character's reaction to their classmate's big reveal; it doesn't matter whether or not your character made it to endgame, have fun and mix up the survivor pool as much as you'd like!

Oh, and feel free to describe your character's sweet new Monobear-themed duds, too!!

Original meme text borrowed and modified from loveisanopendoor!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...what? Why - why would you do that?

[Harvey's voice is disbelieving. He can't figure out how he feels about this. He'd meant for Hope to win, but now that he's here, he doesn't want to die (except that's the Shade talkin', isn't it?). He'd thought they were too good to buy into all this.]

No. [He speaks quickly, afraid that he'll change his mind if he waits. He's losing control of this.] No, you can't stay. I'll send you wherever you want, but you can't stay here.

Because we want to save you, Harvey! We can't let you die and have the Shade find someone else!

[Duster looks at him straight in the eye. He may not be good at making difficult decisions, but the choice was clear: save everyone. Defeat the actual evil twisted thing. He won't let another puppet die needlessly.]

Why not? We won't be staying here forever.

NO!

[Harvey bolts upright, white-knuckled fists at his sides. This isn't right. This isn't how it was supposed to go! They're just like the others - never listening to him, even when he knows what has to be done!]

I swear to god, I will send you back the second you press that button! Don't you get it? I will kill you if you stay!

[Duster's foot shuffles back in surprise, but other than that, he doesn't visibly flinch. However, his mouth shuts tighter as Harvey raises his voice. Instinct is difficult to unlearn.

He wouldn't kill him. He has to be lying. Duster glances around the rest of the courtroom, a mix of adults and teenagers looking back at him. If he votes Despair, what will happen to them? He won't let them be hurt on his behalf.]

...What would happen if only I voted for Despair?

[Harvey's still trembling with fury. He's distantly aware that he shouldn't have shouted at Duster, but he can't let the kid throw his life away just to spare his feelings.

Or is that not it at all, and the Shade's just trying to goad him into not caring? How can he tell what's real like this? He's more controlled when he speaks again, raising a hand to his head. It doesn't matter. Either way he's a danger in the end.]

It's gotta be unanimous. One vote for Despair is as good as eight. Listen - listen, I know I won't be around to send you home myself, but I left instructions. If I can figure out this interdimensional stuff, you can. The ship's yours. You'll be fine.

[Duster's shoulders tense. He could have gotten them all killed if he acted on his impulses. But now, he won't be able to save Harvey and the Shade would be free. What kind of sick choice was this?]

No. I.... [He grips the front of his shirt. What can he do? The others would hate him if he was the only one for vote for Despair. But he would never live with himself if Harvey died either.] I can't...

[It wasn't his fault. He wasn't to blame.]

Why do you have to die? Why can't be all fight the Shade together? Please, Harvey! Don't do this to us!

Every part of this has been somethin' I've done to you! Why would you expect anything different?

[Harvey scrubs a hand across his face in exasperation.]

I deserve to die. More than any of this round's killers did. You voted for them, didn't you? And it might kill both of us - what is WRONG with you?

It's not your fault, Harvey! [He grips his shirt even tighter, nearly pulling the tucked front out of his belt.] I didn't want to kill anyone, and I can't kill you! Why does it have to be like this?

[Half of the other students have submitted their votes for Hope. Duster isn't the only one about to cry, but no one else is frozen to the spot like he is.]

Why did you do this to him? How could you turn Harvey into your puppet?

That's just what it does. And now this is what we do.

[Harvey spits it out bitterly. He's not angry at Duster, not really. He has to keep that in mind.]

Believe me, kid, if I could've finished this on my own, I would've. Story of my goddamn life.

You could have asked us for help.

[Bing. Bing. One after another, the votes come in. Seven for Hope.]

...I really appreciate what you did for us, when you lost your memories. That night we sang together meant a lot to me.

This is the only kinda help you can give me.

[Harvey slumps back in his seat, watching without expression as the votes come in. He doesn't have any hope for his future anymore. The best thing that can happen is that he'll just die now and get it all over with. At least this makes it easy to turn his anger inwards.

It's hard to summon anything positive. He knows he felt something about that night, but it's out of his reach now. It was selfish anyway, enjoying himself in the middle of all this.]

Yeah. Me too. [He doesn't look like he means it, but he thinks he might.]

[His hand hovers over the podium, but before he can submit his answer, he has to offer Harvey one last conversation.]

You did a good job fighting it as long as you did. I saw that you didn't write out executions for the kids...you hadn't completely given in.

[That was the Harvey Duster knew. The father who protected the younger ones.]

You wanted to die since the beginning. [Duster eyes the execution notes another student is holding. A teenager. Fortunately for Harvey, none of the culprits were under the age of 18.] Were you planning for everything to end like this?

[Yeah, that was just pure luck on his part. He's not sure what he would've done if one of the kids went and killed someone; there were zero plans. It's not entirely about age either, but...well, he'd done up Duster's before he ever really got to know the kid.]

Dunno if you've noticed, but my plans don't turn out too well. [He sighs, propping his chin on one hand and reaching with the other as if to calm the shadows at his side.] I was hopin', though. You all seemed like decent folks.

[Well, most of them.]

No, they...can work. You taught us what almost all of us were missing from our lives. You fought long enough to us to learn that.

[Long enough so that some could survive to the end, but not enough for Harvey to defeat his darkness.]

You sure you have to be executed? Or is that what the Shade wants?

[Harvey smiles grimly.]

I ain't really sure how to tell the difference. To tell ya the truth, I kinda just wanna press this button and kill you all right here.

[But that'd be against the rules. That's one thing for the game - it restricts him too, forces him to give them at least a slight chance.]

[He frowns and Harvey, mulling over that possibility. After giving it some thought, he shakes his head.]

I don't believe that.

[The Harvey he knew, the real Harvey, wouldn't think that.]

I'm going to miss you. [He watches his hand hover the "Hope" button, then smiles and looks up.] We're all going to miss you.

[With a short motion, Duster condemns his father to death.]

Believe what you want, kid.

[Harvey's voice is even, but he's gripping the armrests tightly; the shadows now swarming around him are nearly opaque. Only the closest students will be able to tell that he's shaking.

As darkness coils around his shoulders and throat, he stands and takes a measured step forward. His eyes rake over the survivors before settling on Duster.]

Listen - I know I got no right to ask a favor. But that locker in the bedroom. The code's 4673. [H-O-P-E] Take 'em with ya when you go.

CONGRATULATIONS!
HARVEY FINEVOICE HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY!

[A thick chain lashes down from right above Harvey, clamping around his body and binding his arms to his sides. A second later, two heavy metal blocks close around his feet, trapping him in place.

Two Monobears run in from either side of the stage. One is wearing sunglasses and a backwards orange ball cap; the other is in a brown hat and coat. Both are carrying baseball bats. Harvey thrashes as they approach, but his feet are bound too securely to move and the dark shadows lashing out at them have no effect. The bears lean in, mockingly whisper together for a moment, then nod and smash their bats into Harvey's kneecaps with an audible CRUNCH. He screams and sags, and only a sudden blackness wrapped around his torso keeps him from falling.

The Monobears watch this, shaking their heads disapprovingly. The brown-coated bear pulls out a large, cartoonish remote control, holding it up for the students to see before it presses the button. Harvey's cries are abruptly muffled as a translucent forcefield shimmers to life around him. Another press of the button, and it begins to fill with water.

Harvey tries to keep his head up as the water rises, but he's weighted down by the feet, and every movement sends a new cloud of magenta swirling out from his ruined legs. The shadows that were clinging so close to him fly outward now, pressing against the forcefield. They aren't dark enough to obscure the burst of bubbles as Harvey starts to choke.

Both of their struggles are beginning to slow by the time a third Monobear trots out onto stage. This one is cub-sized, dressed in a little hospital gown, and it has to stretch up on its tiptoes to tap against the forcefield for Harvey's attention. He opens glassy eyes at the sound, and it presses a little paw up against the barrier between them. His lips move slightly, like he's trying to speak, but all that comes out is a few tiny bubbles of air.

MonoCharlie claps a paw to his mouth in laughter, pulls out a flintlock pistol, and fires it at Harvey with a bang and a blinding flash of white light.

When the light fades, there's nothing left. The forcefield bursts, sending bloody water gushing out across the floor as Harvey's body - a perfect hole seared through his chest - hits the ground with a wet thump.

The shadows do not move. But across the room, a transport pad similar to the one that brought them here lights up.

It's time to go home.]

[Not yet.

Duster splits from the group that's eager to leave and walks towards the stage. The past several weeks took away his apprehension around gore, and he has to pay his last respects, even if Harvey had been corrupted by a shadow. He was still human underneath that.

After he stands there, he turns back to the rooms they investigated earlier. There's one last thing Harvey wanted him to do.]

[The password to the locker is exactly what Harvey said it was. Once input, the door swings open.

Shockingly, the gun locker is full of guns!

They aren't like the tommygun Harvey had before, though. They're old-fashioned flintlock pistols in various styles, piled neatly together inside. Despite the apparent care in their storage, there's a thin layer of dust over them.

Strangely, there doesn't seem to be any ammunition at all.]

[Huh...was this his treasured collection or something? Duster picks one of the larger pistols and whips off the dust with a sleeve. It's probably for their protection, but unfortunately, as he was the only one to head down here, he'll have to lug the entire collection to the exit.

Before stuffing the pistol in a pocket, he holds it to his eyes and peers at the design. It's beautiful. Let's see if there's anything inside the barrel...]

[Just a sudden blinding flash of white light!

When it fades, Duster finds himself in a bright white space. It's featureless, but he's not alone; there's a young girl standing in front of him. Despite the circumstances she looks fairly normal: no older than thirteen, in ordinary clothes and with her red hair in a short bob.]

Hello? [She looks up at him, arms held close to her body and face drawn.] Who are you?

[SHIT NO

He drops the pistol and shields his face from whatever's popping out of it. Why did Harvey rig this with traps? Is that what these guns are for? Toss them at SHSL Despair in hopes that they open it?

The light isn't going away, and he opens one eye to peek at his surroundings. White. Not good. He lowers his arms and immediately spots the red-haired girl.]

Hello? [Whoops, he repeated her question back at her. Quick, fix that!] I'm Duster. Where am I?

[She looks him up and down for a second, then smiles.] Hi! I'm Margaret. You haven't really gone anywhere - I'm just talking to you in your head.

I can't do it any other way anymore.

[He turns his head from side to side to check for any obvious signs he was something inside himself.]

Is this what my mind looks like?

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EXECUTION: Drown Your Sorrows

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