#not tagging everyone but everyone at the inn + irving + clown are mentioned

[scover-va]

Gimme the what ifs, I just played a bit of the hex (on the Bryce part) and I need that awesome what if scenarios in my head

Gladly

Apologies in advance for how fucking long it is, but I have several thoughts on these scenarios

So, this is all under the assumption that almost everything that happens pre-game (so in the memory/flashback bits) still happens, and that Reggie and Jeremiah are just simply not out for revenge. Maybe Reggie used some critical thinking skills or something, I don't know. Only backstory differences would be 1. Lazarus' backstory/flashback (if the flashbacks happened) would be about something else, since The Artifact mission never would've happened. Likely fleshing out his feelings on what happened after SOL failed, and having a similar situation to that one scene from the first trailer. With some calmer/dialogue-heavy bits including Junior and Jay ofc 2. The 'Lionel wants this' incident would not be shown in FPP's chapter due to technically being irrelevant. If this were in the format of the game, it'd just be an easter egg

With that out of the way, here's some other important notes:

Reggie and Jeremiah would never be the murderers or the victims. Jeremiah does whatever Reggie tells him to, and would never act out of his own free-will, despite Reggie's protests otherwise. Reggie, on the other hand, would get the final say in everything, like what happens to the killer. Well, the player has some input in that, but still. Reggie and the player are, essentially, the judges in the case. No one has any real reason to target these two, either.

The murders cannot be prevented. The murder will happen at some point, and all you can do is catch who did it

Like as hinted at in the og trailer, the POVs would jump around out of order. In a game-style format, you could switch around as pleased post-murder, and the flashbacks would be triggered by certain things. What triggers the flashbacks? I don't know, depends on the victim-killer scenario, but likely some sort of reminder for each of the characters

Sado and Irving never show up in present time. They may be mentioned for different reasons, but they'd never be the murderer or victim in these scenarios

Everything Lionel did still happened, and he and Carla still have their issues, but again, they're less important in this au

The what-if scenarios might be connected via game resets. This will be fully figured out if I write a fic, but for now, it is merely a possibility.

Now, for whoever the killer is, what happens to them after being caught is dependent on how the cast feels about the victim and said killer, and also just their overall personalities. Again, Reggie gets the final say in the matter, but the inn patrons do get to argue about what should happen to the killer. But the four outcomes are:

Being reported to the Gameworks: The only reason Irving would show up. The killer would be reported for killing another game character, and considering how hurting an innocent npc leads to a permanent game ban, I can't imagine punishment for killing a playable character would just be a slap on the back, and punishment would be permanent deletion. It's relatively painless, but you get my point. Lazarus, Chandrelle, and FPP are aware of the cruel punishment. Weasel Kid, Rust, and Bryce are not aware of the punishment and assume it leads to imprisonment.

Being executed at the inn: Obviously, this is quite the extreme compared to the other three choices, but sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands to ensure they don't hurt anyone ever again. Chandrelle and Rust are more in favour towards execution. Weasel Kid, FPP, and Lazarus are neutral towards execution. Bryce is more against execution.

Being locked away at the inn: Not entirely sure where someone would be locked up at the inn, given the rooms and stuff, but if the storyline was a genuine murder mystery I'm sure there would conveniently be a place to lock them up. This is definitely more of a neutral punishment, not resulting in anything harmful, but also not being too kind hearted. Weasel Kid, Bryce, and FPP are more in favour towards imprisonment. Rust and Lazarus are more neutral towards imprisonment. Chandrelle is more against imprisonment.

Being kicked out of the inn: The most kind-hearted of the four choices, leading to no punishment for the killer. This one is more likely for if someone kills in self-defence, since most of the patrons are at least somewhat reasonable. Rust and Bryce are more in favour towards banning. Weasel Kid and FPP are more neutral towards banning. Lazarus and Chandrelle are more against banning.

Suicide: Upon being caught, the killer takes fates into their own hands and kills themself. This is not a punishment option, and is purely situation dependent. May occur before or after everyone decides on a punishment.

Impulse kill: One character acts without the input of the others, and executes the murderer by their own hand. This is not a punishment option, and is purely situation dependent. May occur before or after everyone decides on a punishment.

Reggie never decides based on personal opinion. In case of a majorly favoured opinion, he will go with that. In case of a tie, he will choose the more logical choice.

Now then, with all that stuff out of the way, I'm gonna list off the possible victim-killer scenarios! All will be further explored if I write proper fics for each scenario, and punishment choices would be more dependent on what happens in each scenario between the characters, both before and after the murder takes place.

Weasel Kid kills Bryce: Due to his game failing and being abandoned by Lionel due to Lionel signing a contract with Gamefuna. Weasel Kid might choose to take it out on someone who is associated with the Gamefuna contract. He would choose Bryce due to an assumed favouritism, since Bryce was one of Lionel's favourite game characters growing up, and take his anger out on him. Would sneak into Bryce's room and surprise-attack him. He would not use a murder weapon, just simply using his teeth.

Weasel Kid kills Chandrelle: Similar situation as listed above. He would choose Chandrelle due to her being the first known character Lionel created and fleshed out after Weasel Kid, due to other Combat Arena X characters not being present, and Bryce being purchased against his will. Similar to Bryce, he'd sneak up on Chandrelle to get the element of surprise. He would once again use his teeth, but may bring a physical weapon as a back up option due to her ability to use magic.

Bryce would only kill out of self-defence due to holding no grudges and having no motive for murder. Location and weapon are victim dependent.

Chandrelle kills Weasel Kid: Chandrelle has a tendency to react violently if upset, annoyed, or angry, as shown when she kills Moji without a second thought due to him being 'tedious as ever'. Due to their egos clashing and them constantly bickering and angering each other, Chandrelle may eventually take her anger out on Weasel Kid. She would attack Weasel Kid outside or in the basement, so no one can overhear as easily. She would not use a physical weapon, instead only using her magic.

Chandrelle kills Bryce: Due to past experience in Combat Arena X, Chandrelle knows she can overpower Bryce, and he wpuld be an easier option in case of murdering someone. As for a legitimate motive, it might be something Vallamir-related, due to her and Bryce having a positive relation. She would attack Bryce in the kitchen, where she knows he will inevitably go. She would use her magic, but hide Lazarus' sword in her inventory as a backup option, due to the fact that Bryce has dodged her spells with ease before, and the sword is easily available to her and harder for Bryce to block.

Chandrelle kills Rust: Rust, despite his weapons, is practically the most harmless in the cast in her eyes. Why, you may ask? Simple. He's simply not all there. He isn't aware of what's happening around him, everyone thinks he's delusional, everyone either distrusts him or is weirded out by him which would therefore cause him to be alone, and overall, Chandrelle is pretty certain that he would never even realize what's happening until it's too late to stop it. He's an incredibly easy target. She would lure him to a secondary location where no one else is, or possibly find a way into his room. She wouldn't even bother with wasting her mana, simply sneaking up behind him and using her trusty dagger to kill him.

Chandrelle kills FPP: Another easy target, due to FPP being unable to speak. They can't scream or call for help, can't keep someone closeby via a conversation, and has no weapon to defend himself with. Only issue is that Chandrelle can tell FPP does not trust her specifically, but cannot tell why. Location would be dependent on where FPP goes, since Chandrelle can't lure him anywhere. She would use her magic, but have her dagger handy just in case.

Rust would only kill out of self-defence due to holding no grudges and having no motive for murder. Location and weapon are victim dependent.

Lazarus kills Chandrelle: Listing this one first, but in this scenario, he'd want revenge for what she caused him to go through, and due to all the people he had to kill during his time in Vicious Galaxy 2, what's one more? He views what she did as a full betrayal after all, and despite his rpg programming telling him not to hurt her, his emotions get the better of him. He'd lure Chandrelle to a secondary location due to her trusting him, and would shoot her dead, likely execution style.

Lazarus kills Bryce: Following the same revenge plan as above, in this scenario, Bryce finds out about the murder plans, and tries to peacefully confront Lazarus to prevent anyone from dying. However, Lazarus panics and kills Bryce instead, worried that Bryce will report him to someone, causing him to either have to go back to his game, or be deleted by the Gameworks. Bryce would likely bring Lazarus to the kitchen to talk things out, and Lazarus would shoot him dead.

FPP kills Chandrelle: Knowing exactly what she did, FPP plans on almost playing God, mirroring how Lionel is basically the group's God. They know that Chandrelle's actions led to the deaths of lots of others, ruined Lionel's game (which FPP has heard about too many times to be okay with), and it led to Lionel stealing money from his employees and possibly Carla turning Sado into a purely hostile, satanic entity. So, FPP decides to punish her themself for these reasons, using the fact that they're seemingly powerless and innocent to his advantage. He'd try to lure Chandrelle to a second location, but would be able to figure out a way to get her alone no matter what. They'd either use a kitchen knife or one of the weapons locked away behind the kitchen/bar.

Future scenarios might get added if I get more ideas, but for now, those are the scenarios I've got in mind. Obviously, random murders could occur without need for any sort of motive, intention, or reasoning, but. Those are incredibly boring. Other than that, that's what I've got figured out so far! I really enjoy murder mysteries so all these possible scenarios are scratching a certain spot in my brain. Feel free to overanalyze these or come up with alt. scenarios because murder fun when it's fictional

#the hex murder mystery au #scov.txt #the hex #the hex game #might come up with a better au tag another time we'll see #not tagging everyone but everyone at the inn + irving + clown are mentioned #oh and also jay + junior + moji #this post is long as FUCK im very sorry (no im not)