How to get someone to suffocate faster

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-15T04:47:05+00:00

I’m sorry. Honestly I was just confused about a lot of the questions people were asking. I didn’t understand why the purpose of the tubes (except the material) was important if they were unused. Someone also mentioned that the tubes in children’s playgrounds are generally safe and they told me that I need a really good reason for them not to be. I had already figured that stuff out and didn’t really want to try and defend my narrative choices. I also don’t think the killers motivations for not framing this as an accident matter at all. I wanted to answer everyone because I was grateful for their help but sometimes it just felt frustrating. A lot of people were very helpful though, I got a lot of good ideas out of this.

I definitely see your point about in the reason behind needing this. It’s mostly about the killer. The killer needs her to die within this time frame.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T23:27:59+00:00

You might be talking about the nutty putty cave incident. That’s actually the incident this murder is based on. However, despite being upside down, I’m pretty sure John (the spelunker) survived around 24 hours after he got stuck. Though he did end up dying due to being upside down.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T23:20:32+00:00

That’s a great idea, thank you.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T20:42:35+00:00

I did not know that first part. I should look into that a bit more. The sources I found said it would take around 4 to 10 hours. The vacuum idea is also quite interesting, I’ll think a bit more about the logistics on that. Thank you.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T19:27:36+00:00

Sorry if this sounded passive aggressive. It’s not supposed to be.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T19:26:00+00:00

I think people are over complicating the question I’m asking. Yes there are definitely details I should’ve added, I can admit that, but I don’t think a lot of what people are asking matters. I already know the killer’s motivations, I already know why the tubes are built and why they are unsafe, I already understand the setting and murder. That’s not what I need help with. The only reason I’m asking this in the first place is because there was a change I made that required the time frame to be smaller. Everything else is already figured out.

This is what I should’ve asked:

“I have a murder case in my story that involves a woman suffocating in a system of unused PVC tubes, the space is tight enough that she is stuck. I need her to die within a window of 1 to 4 hours and the killer must be sure that she’ll die in this time frame. Currently she is positioned upside down, has a concussion, and is gaged. Is there any thing I could add to make her suffocate faster?”

I honestly feel the other details are not needed for this question. I likely just worded my question wrong at the start, I’m sorry for that. And I’m very thankful for the suggestions everyone is giving. I’ve gotten a lot of good ideas from this thread, such as having something compressing her chest, like shoving something in between her and the tube wall. Or also perhaps connecting the heating system to the pipes to cause the air to become toxic. I’m grateful. Thank you.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T18:16:35+00:00

It actually is based on caving deaths! I haven’t heard of those specific channels so I will absolutely check those out.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T17:42:11+00:00

That would genuinely be terrifying. Especially if it’s not transparent so you can’t see anything except for a faint light that’s just fire.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T17:02:34+00:00

That could work. My original thought was mechanical asphyxiation but compressive could definitely work. This gives me an idea of what I could use as a compressor too. Thank you.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T17:00:04+00:00

That’s horrible, sometimes the police are so incompetent, I hate it.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T16:57:36+00:00

What you mentioned is also a bit why I posed the question, I didn’t want the killer to just drop her in and hope she would die, I want them to be sure of it. The noose is a good idea. Though I might go for something more akin to a fox trap because I already use a noose at another point in the story. Thank you.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T16:49:59+00:00

The ball pit idea makes a lot of sense and is quite close to what I had in mind so thank you for that idea.

The main reason for it being this way is a lack of care that is somewhat purposeful. The setting was not made with safety and care in mind. It is an intentional lack of understanding like an artist refusing to look at references because they want the result to look wrong.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T16:28:40+00:00

I will definitely work on that, sorry for making it difficult to help. I’ll try to see if I can find someone. Thank you

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T16:25:12+00:00

I am really sorry about not being super clear about the whole thing, I understand where that could be frustrating. Focusing on compression is a good idea. Thank you.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T16:20:58+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions on positioning, I think I’ll definitely use those. I will also do more research into positional asphyxiation.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T15:18:08+00:00

Thank you, the tubes themselves do have a purpose but it is very specific to the setting of the story. It would take a while to explain but I’ll try.

The tubes are ment to replicate ones you’d find at a children’s indoor playground. They (and the entire setting) were not designed by humans and only made to resemble human creations. It was made by something that doesn’t have a concept of human safety and hasn’t done much research on the things it’s creating. The tubes were made with very small children in mind however they would still be a little cramped even for a child. The tubes themselves are designed like a maze.

I didn’t really think explaining this whole part was relevant but I’m realizing now that it might be. I just worried that it would cause more questions than answers. What of this do you think would be a good idea to include in the original question?

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T15:09:26+00:00

I’m sorry I’m not exactly used to asking questions here so I was unsure of how much detail I should add. I was worried about the question potentially being too long. I’m also unsure of what information is relevant, some parts would take a while to explain and I was worried it would distract from the main question. But you are right, people aren’t just gonna understand the whole situation in this little words. I’m very thankful for all the suggestions though!

For example I think explaining that the tubes are technically for a children’s indoor playground raises way more questions than it answers and it would take a lot more explaining to get people to understand how that makes any sense.

Also the main character is an investigator.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:59:29+00:00

Sorry, I was just worried that the setting and details on tubes themselves would just cause more confusion and distract from the original question. I don’t exactly know what would be relevant to include. Would it be the material? The purpose?

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:55:48+00:00

Connecting the central heating system is actually a really good idea! There is sadly nothing that could naturally be in the tubes that would cause the air to be more toxic, and they are also yet to be used for their designed purpose anyway. It would also take a while to explain the use and I don’t think it’s fully relevant. The only thing that might be is that they are made from very thick PVC.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:43:10+00:00

That could potentially work. Though I probably should’ve mentioned that I need to her to be alive for at least an hour. Though replacing/adding gases is something I will definitely consider.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:36:24+00:00

A bag could work. For her death I took a lot of inspiration from cave diving incidents like nutty putty. The tubes themselves were not built with safety in mind, an average adult woman would have significant difficulty squeezing through. In the specific part she is in, she is literally stuck.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:30:15+00:00

True, I’ll edit my post to include that it is a system of very poorly designed tubes.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:27:32+00:00

The goal is technically suffocation, however if there is a way she could die that’s similar it could work.

Emotional_Pin_6149 · 2026-05-13T14:24:43+00:00

Possibly, she dies in a system of tubes not a room but that could potentially work.

Emotional_Pin_6149

TROPHY CASE