bakerstreet | The Criminal AU Meme

The Criminal AU Meme

THE CRIMINAL AU MEME

Warning: This meme will contain violent content and possible triggers.

HOW TO PLAY:
1) Post a comment below, detailing your character and canon. For best results, DO NOT LEAVE THIS COMMENT BLANK; pick a role, or an AU, or write up a little on what you'd like to explore with your character.
2) Tag around and make magic happen.
3) If you get stuck, use RNG to select from the options below.

THE ROLE.
1) Criminal. (The one who committed the act.)
2) Law enforcement. (Cop, FBI, prison guard.)
3) Witness. (What did you see?)
4) Victim. (Probably not applicable in the case of murder. … Probably.)
5) Lawyer, judge, or paralegal. (Participant in the legal system.)
6) Private security. (Unaffiliated, but with an interest in keeping your client safe. Or in getting your target caught.)
7) Other. (Let your imagination go wild.)

THE CRIME.
1) ROBBERY. The crime of stealing via force or threat or fear.
You need the money. You're desperate. You have the gun, the convenience store is right there, and everything will be better once you've finished the job.

Or maybe you've been hired. Provide a little intimidation, and someone else will take care of all your problems.

Or it's a thrill. Rolling across the country, robbing banks as you go. A Bonnie & Clyde crime spree, and it can only end one way.

2) BURGLARY. Illegal entry into a building for the purposes of committing theft.
Non-violence, for you; you're just going to break in, take this one thing. Maybe a television, to sell for the cash. Maybe some jewelry, a computer.

Or maybe you're a master thief, dangling from a wire into a museum. Sliding through the air ducts of a skyscraper in search of a particular little item.

3) GRAND THEFT AUTO. The criminal act of stealing a motor vehicle.
You know your cars. And you can steal one in under 60 seconds. Better hope you don't get tripped up with one of those newfangled security systems.

4) MURDER. The act of killing another.
He had to die. He had to, and the guilt of knowing where you buried the body, of knowing that the police are coming after you -- it's starting to wear down your sanity.

5) SERIAL MURDER. A crime involving the killing of three or more people over a period of more than a month.
You have a drive to kill. Again, and again. Nothing satisfies it, nothing stops it. Maybe you hate yourself. Maybe you hate the human scum who only exist to go under your knife.

Or maybe you're a professional hit man. You've killed dozens, you know how it goes. It's just business.

6) CONSPIRACY. An agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future.
Mafia, Yakuza, crime families who keep their operations quiet under pain of death, dishonor, betrayal of the family. You're part of one of these operations, whether as a patriarch or a peon.

7) FRAUD. Intentional deception made for personal gain.
Blackmail. Cover-ups. Insider trading -- the marks of corporate crime. Perhaps you're a CEO who thinks they can do whatever they want. Perhaps your business is on the rocks and you just need a little time to make your golden parachute before you ditch it.

Or maybe you meant to destroy it. Maybe you're a professional con man, and you're stepping away from your latest conquest with plenty of cash in hand.

8) KIDNAPPING. The false imprisonment of another person against their will.
Do you do it for the ransom? For the money? For revenge?

Or is it a hostage situation, with dozens of prisoners, for some sort of political gain?

9) TERRORISM. The systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion.
For a religion, for a philosophy. But -- are you a terrorist, or are you a freedom fighter? It might just be a matter of point of view.

10) WILD CARD. For any crime not mentioned above.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ So clearly something has gone completely off the rails here...

Maizono is shaking a little in her chair as she wriggles her wrists against the binding, whimpering somewhat much like a kicked puppy would. She had underestimated Kirigiri; she'd come at her, raising her arm and ready to embed the knife in the girl's flesh. Then... a blur in her senses as... something happened. And then the next she knew, she was tied up in this chair, head spinning, wrists chafing and the kitchen cleaver she tried to use laying on the sidetable nearby.

At this point she's staring down at the floor defeatedly, dizzy, horrified, guilt-ridden, her heart throbbing like it was going to explode against her chest if she didn't say something, anything; the only words that come out of her are a weak-- ]

I-I'm sorry, Kirigiri-san... I wasn't meaning to do it...

( OOC: Playing with an idea where she targets Kirigiri instead of Leon in-canon... PM me if this isn't okay and we can think of something that works for you? )

[ She had barely managed to escape the attack- it had been so utterly unexpected that nearly all of her guard had been down. Kirigiri may not remember what her SHSL talent is, but now she knows it's certainly not in any category of self-defense- the only reason Maizono hadn't managed to stab her wasn't because of any particular skill on Kirigiri's part, but more that Maizono herself was inexperienced. Two unprepared girls in a hellish situation.

This really was hell.

She's breathing hard, staring between the cleaver and the idol tied in the chair, wondering just what she's supposed to do now. It seems almost impossible to regain hold of her nerves now. ]

Then what... were you meaning to do, exactly?

[ Between how utterly screwed up her line of thinking is at this point as well as realizing just what she'd just tried to do, Maizono isn't nearly as composed at all -- much less being as composed as she wanted to be.

So the mun apologizes in advance if her attempts at trying to rationalize her behavior -- and anything she says before she calms down -- comes off as being extremely jumbled and erratic at the moment... ]

... trying to... trying to escape. I was trying... so hard to follow Celes-san's advice to adapt, but...

I just couldn't... I can't... I... I...

[ And she trails off entire, losing her voice again as she looks up at Kirigiri with doe-like eyes; or they would be doe-like if she weren't so damn terrified right now... ]

[ Maizono's gaze, quite frankly, freaks Kirigiri out. It's the look of a cornered animal. One that doesn't know what to do but follow its instincts and just try to survive. She doesn't like to see that look in the eyes of a human being. ]

Ngh... Clearly you called me here for something... [ And... Kirigiri's analytical mind tries to rationalize the situation. Had Maizono gotten scared at the last second? Or was it something more sinister? ]

But attacking me... You really think that'd help you escape?

[ Maizono's carefully-crafted facade is falling to pieces around her with the weight of Monobear's game and the added stress of the loss of her idol group; she knows it's wrong to kill, that she shouldn't even begin to think about wanting to shed blood... but with her idol group and her friends possibly forgetting about her with how long they've been staying here, what else was she supposed to do?

Before she even realizes what she's saying, she spits our her words with venomous fury, the ropes just barely restraining her in the chair as she lurched forward. ]

Not attacking you--! Killing you! This wasn't supposed to end like this--!

Not... not like this at all...

[ She finally stops trying to escape, going silent once more as her head hangs limply, eyes directed to the floor. At least she had some comfort in that the floor wouldn't try to judge her... ]

[ She'd tried to avoid the world, but hearing Maizono say it- 'killing'- makes her cringe. She's suddenly intensely grateful she went and tied the other girl up- that burst of sudden anger is anything but reassuring. Maizono is dangerous. People reacted differently to fear. Some, like Kirigiri, took it as motivation to resist it. Others, like Maizono... well... ]

Killing me. Right.

[ Her eyes flash to the cleaver again, and her stomach lurches, and suddenly she just has to know about the rest of Sayaka Maizono's plan. ] You lured me here just for that, right? You never had anything else in mind. You planned this. And... so then you probably planned a way to cover it up. Because those are the rules so you can escape, right?

Mm-hmm... I had to. It was the only way...

[ Maizono can only nod weakly at this point, being entirely too drained to resist or try to hide her plans any longer. Especially with how spectacularly they backfired in her face. Her tone is even, an attempt to smooth it out and play the role of the stoic, but with how her voice cracks every so often from... something, it's obviously not working. ]

... I convinced Naegi-kun to switch rooms with me.

[ Naegi-kun. The name leaves her lips laced in shame; he was so innocent. So sweet. Nothing like her... ]

[ How despicable. And yet... if Maizono had managed to kill her... Maybe she'd have gotten away with it. ]

You planned to blame it on Naegi-san, throwing everyone else under the bus... So you could go home...

[ She clips her chin up, looking down on Maizono with a mixture of pity and contempt. ] Exactly what was on your video, Maizono-san?

[ The question is, would she have been able to live with herself after it happened...? Mun would like to think not, but then again... ]

The video showed my group breaking up if I stayed here... that my friends would forget all about me.

She twists her head and looks away, unable to take much more of Kirigiri's analytical glare boring a hole into her innermost being. All of the ugly secrets and traits about herself that she tried so hard to hide for so long, being dredged out into the open like this...

To her, perhaps death itself would have been a better end for her, instead of being taken apart piece by piece like this... ]

Is that the life of an idol? You had nothing but warm smiles for all of us... Was that an act?

[ Her voice is suddenly sad. She can't remember anything about her own talent- so how can she judge Maizono? Maybe there's something about Kirigiri's own talent she'd be willing to do anything to save. Even to kill for.

For the other girl to go to such extremes, she must have felt as though there were no other option for her. Kirigiri wonders what it must be like to value something so much that you would commit murder for it. ]

... the life of an idol is much harder than the papers show, Kirigiri-san. Even when you feel like you're on top of the world, it still feels like... everyone's just watching you, and waiting for you to screw up...

[ She's not sure why she's telling all of this to Kirigiri now. Maybe she wants someone to feel pity for her. Or perhaps she's just so damn tired of having to put on this performance of the smiling idol day after day, that it's some kind of relief that she's able to face herself like this. ]

... even though I was willing to use Naegi-kun for my own end, I still meant it when I wanted him to always be my friend.

[ The cracks form further in her facade as she looks at Kirigiri seriously, the weariest and most wistful of smiles on her face. ]

I was just... so tired of not being able to do anything. It's why... I was willing to go so far...

But I guess... I got too greedy, didn't I...? Kirigiri-san...

[ The sad tone in Kirigiri's voice as she questions the idol searchingly is what finally breaks what little remained of her cheerful facade; her shoulders slump and the last of her aggression leaves her body as she starts crying in earnest, her body quaking with sobs as she closed her eyes in shame. ]

I'm so sorry...

[ Something about Maizono's words makes Kirigiri realize that she can't relate to her. Everyone watching? No... Somewhere in her head, beyond the fog of amnesia, Kirigiri is aware that whatever she's good at, she's always done it in the shadows. But for Maizono, a public figure, the claim of constant pressure seems to make sense. What would it be like to have your entire career and reputation balancing eternally on razor-thin wire? ]

To you, we're all nothing... Maybe that's true. We're all strangers, after all. And I must admit that no one would have suspected you to be the first to go for it.

[ Kirigiri feels sorry for her when she starts to cry. She really does. Her heart goes out to her, even knowing that Maizono intended to kill her. But as emotional as Kirigiri truly is, she's just as able to harden her heart- and she does. She has to. It's a survival tactic. She can't let her emotions inhibit what she's supposed to do with Maizono now. ]

Save your tears. I don't... I can't stand here and watch you cry.

[ She reaches over and picks up the cleaver. ] But I need to decide what to do now...

[ Not a fun one, that's for sure. Combine that with a lack of any attention growing up, and it's pretty easy to see why Maizono feels like she's putting her neck on the line with every performance, interview and fan event. Because to her, she really is. ]

... I suppose not, would they...? Do you... hate me for it?

[ Sniffling, she's looking at Kirigiri, not with malice or frustration, but remorse. Regret. She really was willing to try and kill her, wasn't she...? Sure, it's not like she knows Kirigiri that well ~~hahahahaha yeah right~~, but did that really make things any better?

Hesitating, she looks at Kirigiri and the knife with only the faintest hint of fear before she shakes her head, sighing resignedly to whatever fate the girl had planned for her. ]

Ah... what are you going to do to me, Kirigiri-san...?

[ She sounds defeated. Well, no surprise there; even if she decided not to kill her out of revenge right then and there, Maizono's pretty sure she just symbolically shot herself in the foot with that move. A young starlet, adored by millions, driven to murder... that would surely be a news-worthy scandal, right...? ]

[ Kirigiri narrows her eyes, and her voice grows cold. ]

There is nothing in this world that would make me want to kill another human being. [ Somehow, as she says that, she's sure of it. Even with the gap in her memories, she feels it must be true. ] So I'm not going to kill you... I'm not even going to hurt you. That won't help anyone.

[ No... She mustn't let anyone die in this place. Not while she can help it. She lowers the cleaver, locking her eyes onto Maizono's. ]

In exchange for sparing your life, I want you to confess your plans to the other students tomorrow morning. Every little detail... I want you to tell everyone. I will correlate what happened here. You'll lose their trust, and you'll be constantly watched, but you won't be dead, and neither will anyone else.

I don't want you to die. At the same time, I can't let anyone else die, either.

[ There's a pause as Maizono visibly hesitates, but... instead of an adverse reaction she seems more relieved, if anything, and gives the other girl a wobbly smile. The smile of someone that doesn't have to hide the truth anymore. It was rather forceful, yes, but... part of her was glad that this failed as it did. It made her realize that she never really wanted to do it in the first place. How would she be able to live with herself otherwise? ]

Mm-hmm... I know. I don't... want to kill anymore, or to die, either... I never wanted to. I was just... too scared to realize it...

I'll own up to my mistakes. Make it up somehow... I don't know how yet, but... I will...

[ She says it more to herself than to Kirigiri, but she does know what she has to do. Especially when it came to facing Naegi-kun about what she'd done, too. ]

And... I'm glad that... you stopped me as well, Kirigiri-san.

[ Some of the tension appears to leave Kirigiri's shoulders. She's still on alert, but she understands that Maizono is an intelligent girl- at least she's getting through to her. ]

We're all scared. [ Her voice softens for a moment. ] The threats that monster made against us... Who wouldn't be? I'm terrified... [ Despite the coolness of her tone, she's speaking truthfully. ] I don't think my heart's slowed down since the moment we all woke up here.

But something inside of me tells me... There is a way out of here. A way we can keep blood off of our hands as much as possible. I intend to uncover that path.

[ She crosses over behind Maizono, and begins to cut carefully through the tape binding her wrists- a hasty job, done in the panic of earlier. ]

[ Maizono slowly nods, closing her eyes as she tries to steady her breathing. She's visibly much calmer now that things have settled down enough. ]

... I hope that we find that path you speak of as soon as possible, then. For all of our sakes...

Because I have a feeling that someone's going to end up trying to kill, as well. If not now, then later...

[ Just like what I tried to do. The words remain unspoken but the meaning underneath is crystal. As she feels her wrists being freed, there's a quiet sigh as she carefully rubs her wrists; they're slightly red from all the jerking around she did earlier, but otherwise there's not much else to note.

Pausing, she wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, drying whatever tears remained as she looks at Kirigiri seriously. ]

... I know it's not much, but if there's any way I can assist you, tell me? I... want to help, too...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Criminal AU Meme

4 / 8 because this has been an idea I've been playing with for a while...

absolutely fine! love the idea~

yaaaay, I'm glad~

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject