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∎ ETRAYA MODS ∎ ([personal profile] etrayamods) wrote in [community profile] etrayamemes2025-05-30 09:20 am
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TDM 008


content warnings for this TDM include: gambling references, mild horror themes and suggestive content


⏵ arrival⏴

Arrival does not happen as Aurora usually plans for it. Newcomers generally find themselves waking up within the hospital, are given a brief overview of their situation, and sent on their way. Now? They wake up immersed in a game within The Gold Saucer. But it doesn't quite feel like a game: whether it's snowy mountains, riding a chocobo as you listened to the wind quickly pass by your ears, or in the middle of a battle with a beast, it feels utterly real.

It's only after the game concludes - either by winning or losing - that you find yourself back in the main game area. A bot, dressed as personnel in this lavish playground, approaches each arrival with an earpiece allowing them to communicate with those in their same situation. It also serves to inform them of their goal: collect enough gold saucer points (or GP) by playing the games to acquire a card fashioned to their own likeness from the game counter. Then, they must trade it for someone else's. Seems simple enough, right? Hopefully the cards aren't too expensive...


⏵ the gold saucer ⏴

The Gold Saucer is an ode to the very idea of fun. It’s huge, labyrinthine, colorful, and lively. Everywhere you look, there’s something to do. At the same time, it’s also impossible to tell what time it is. There are no windows to the outside, there are no clocks. This place is beyond such a thing.

There are games everywhere you look, ranging from the pseudo-gambling to sports to pixelated video games in cabinets. Yet no matter which boxing game, pinball machine, or skeeball machine you look at, the same creatures and themes arrive. Cactuars, chocobos, the fiercest Behemoth, the cuddliest Moogle… For those from the realms of Final Fantasy, this will feel natural- homey even. Everyone else will simply understand that there is a fairly strong central theme here about magic, machines, and monsters.

It’s hard to tell how long you spend here, and it seems to sit outside of the very concept of time. Still, there are many restaurants, lounges, and vending machines. There are shops and costume rentals. There are even little pharmacies with headache remedies if the partying gets out of hand. And when you grow tired, there is a hotel- though it is made up like a haunted house, you can count on getting some semi-restful sleep.


⏵ playtime ⏴
Interdimensional Games


At first, stepping through to play any of these games may make participants wonder if they have been teleported somewhere else entirely. But on closer inspection, all the skies above are merely well-constructed interiors with painted ceilings. After all, it always seems to be daytime during these games.

Snowboarding - Race to the bottom of the mountain, but avoid obstacles and complete as many tricks as possible!

Chocobo Racing- Race on Chocobo-back around a treacherous outdoors race track which can either be taking place in a desert, a swampy forest, or upon an island beach. Work in tandem with your rented bird and against your competition by throwing hazards in their way or utilizing buffs garnered on the track. Different colored birds will yield different advantages.

Yellow - Good All Rounder
Red - Fast, but hard to steer
Blue - Slower, but very easy to steer. Much easier to pick up items from them.
Green- Resilient against traps and sabotage

Colosseum Battle- Face off against the fiercest beasts around. Pair up with friends or rivals to Collaborate or Compete to do the most damage and deliver the final blow. These battles are synced to the comparative power of the one entering the competition.

We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt unnecessarily, after all. And indeed, no one will get seriously, gruesomely, or permanently injured in these battles. Those without fighting capabilities can rent weapons outfitted Materia to assist them in their trial. These will allow anyone to cast spells, though not guarantee any better wielding of weapons. There are a hundred rounds, starting with fairly simple Spriggans, ranging all the way up to blood-thirsty Behemoths to challenge even the most battle-hardened hero.

Gold Saucer Games


Leap of Faith- Players are presented with an obstacle course that stretches a hundred feet into the air upon floating platforms and islands. Both are held aloft by magical crystals. Powers are entirely nerfed, though falling and hitting the ground is strangely painless. Those who collect the most silver and gold statuettes of cactuars placed at random throughout the course will be awarded proportionate GP; though there is a bonus for those that reach the very top first.

Triple Triad- Everywhere you look, people are playing this game on little 3 by 3 boards, or any surface with enough space. You will be given a loaner deck to play with. Are you clever enough to defeat your fellows.

Fashion Report- Theobold, familiar to some, stands by himself in a little booth with a dressing room and an incredibly expansive walk-in closet. He is a robot of distinguished fashion and strong opinions on those fashions. Do you dare subject yourself to his scrutiny? Come prepare in his wondrous closets to make the best outfit for the chance to win a prize. Please submit your fashion here!

There are Arcade Machines and activities galore. If you can think of it, it’s probably there- Just with that Final Fantasy pastiche on it, of course.


⏵ the beehive lounge ⏴

There are other places to eat at the Gold Saucer, but the vending machines and cafés all pale in comparison to the dinners at the Beehive.

For all the rave reviews, there is a dress code at the Beehive, and this is literal. If you step inside and are not currently wearing a dress, you will be ushered into a sideroom and appropriately made over.

However, this is only for those trying to go in through the normal doors. Around the side there happens to be an employee entrance, manned by a bot. He will only allow those in who seem like they intend to work— and therefore must be wearing at least one piece of the Bunnysuit Collection to trick the guard.

Once you are made over or have snuck in, you are free to relax inside with drinks, dine on a fine meal, watch the dancers, or participate yourself if you feel brave enough. Why would anyone ever dance here? Well, that’s simple. It pays really well. So if you’re sick of games, or terrible at them— you can always come dance for a shift. Though, don't get any unseemly ideas about freeing yourself of your clothing, this isn't that kind of establishment!


⏵ haunted house ⏴

When you grow too weary or drunk from a day of games, you may be directed to somewhere a little quieter to sleep. Up the elevator, and through the doors reveals a modest walk through some woods until a quaint, victorian hotel appears. It is always nighttime here, and the stars and moon twinkle above.

The receptionist, a bot in a rather bedraggled-looking chocobo mascot costume checks you in and shows you to your room. You can sleep here, especially if you can tolerate the hokey haunted decorations strung up around the place. Though sometimes, late at night, there will come a vigorous thumping on the door to startle sleeping patrons awake- Only for the culprit to vanish and be impossible to locate.



⏵ ticket counter ⏴


The prize counter is manned by a bot and has a sign posted overhead. Most prizes will be handed over inside an appropriately sized wrapped box, as the contents are a mystery.


Sparklers & Glowsticks 10 gp
Bunny Suit 300 gp
Bunny Stockings & Heels 150 gp
Animal Ears (Random) 500 gp
Kigurumi (Random) 100 gp
Chocobo Barding (Random) 1000 gp
Classic White Mage Robes 500 gp
Classic Black Mage Robes 500 gp
Plush Toy (Random) 100 gp
Wind-Up Minion (Random) 200 gp
Chocobo Mascot Suit (Random Color) 2000 gp
Triple Triad Booster Pack 50 gp
Triple Triad Card in your Likeness 10,000 gp


⏵ NOTES ⏴


This TDM may be treated as a mini-Mission. Time will not pass inside of it in relation to the world outside - meaning, this can be happening at any time between late May into early July!

This Gold Saucer is a bit of a mix between that of FF7's and FF14's, but it also has some things that neither have as well. Any inaccuracies are entirely intentional, aimed to make this rest within a space of uncanny valley for those who are familiar. While otherwise being a bit of a chaotic fantastical funhouse for everyone else! If there is something unlisted, chances are it will exist if it is in either of the other versions of the Gold Saucer.

Characters already in game are welcome to post to the TDM, too! Please mark them as current characters in your header. Threads can be kept as game canon as long as both characters get into the game!

Please direct all questions to our mod queries comment!

FULL NAVIGATION

fromfire: (come here; get with it)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 04:36 am (UTC)(link)
Good idea. [ He points in her direction -- applauding the idea. ] Well, you heard the lady. Time to get sleepy.

[ Energy fills the weapons. It causes a bright shine to wash over the blades and extend outwards while still holding the shape of dagger and sword. A moment later before he dashes forward to start slicing through the unfortunate cactus. He lets the chroma wash over him to increase his speed to seem to phase through the enemy before attempting to cleave through its middle.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work. It still seems whole and bouncing around pleased with itself. Verso swings the blades about in a defensive pose yet again. He offers a small glance to the deer in the ice. Flexing his fingers around the dagger, he recalls how solid the barrier felt -- he reassures himself that she should be fine. ]


It's Verso. [ He turns towards her as he introduces himself.

Huh. The giant cactus is glowing. That's -- hm. ]
whennotif: (pic#17843013)

[personal profile] whennotif 2025-06-14 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
Act 2 Spoilers
[Her hand comes up to her face. When she plays music, she isn't thinking about perfection. Only about the sounds. What she wants them to convey. Golden sparks flicker in her fingers, and she turns the earpiece a bot handed her around in her fingers.] Are you suggesting whoever is reaching into our lands grabbed people at random?

[Imperfect indeed.] Do you have one of these too?
quibblingfunctionary: made by dethruki (intrusion)

[personal profile] quibblingfunctionary 2025-06-14 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ Internally preening, externally smiling at Yuri's compliment Sleipnir continues to enjoy his confection as the other man slides his plate over. At first he thinks the man is sacrificing his cake to him, but then the beauty lets the dagger fly.

Immediately Sleipnir's head snaps up to follow it, aware distantly this could be where the other man slits his throat. He's all the more surprised when the blade comes down to strike true. He almost asks the man to do it again. ]


Very impressive! [ Not shouted, but raised in delight. ] I too would covet that skill.

But, not to beat the dead horse- [ There is a twinkle in his eye as he says that. ] is bulk and your dagger throwing not mutually exclusive? Why do you hold yourself back in this area?

[ Sleipnir really shouldn't be one to talk, he looks to be a small slip of a man, but aether is as aether does, he cannot help that. Although, admittedly, he is glad to not be bulk either. Sleipnir would much rather look like himself than, say, Kupka. ]
fromfire: (and a line outside the door)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
I see.

[ Verso made a joke about family counseling but such counseling is really just listening to a family complain to a friend. Or a medical doctor gossip with someone about what ails them about their relatives. Esquie was created to help chase away the dark thoughts that might plague a person.

However, his eyes drift back to Crane's face as he senses something but still not quite sure what it is. ]


It's not an occupation that I recognize, I'm afraid.
leastdramatic: (Talk all day)

[personal profile] leastdramatic 2025-06-14 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
Not a fan of camping but I survived. It was more like forced socialization than anything else.
herofhopeless: (serious talk)

[personal profile] herofhopeless 2025-06-14 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Clive has less than a second to relish his ability to touch a man that most people would lose a hand for touching before his wrist is gripped and twisted for the second time that day by the same said man.

This time, though, it feels different.

He can feel his heart pounding in his chest, his blood singing through his veins, satisfaction bringing a smirk to his face even as he is being pushed against a wall. He knows that he doesn’t have the stability to fight Barnabas. He isn’t a fool. So why does the drive to find what can pick Barnabas apart burn so strongly?

At the full-body press of Barnabas against him, his mind finally catches up with his body. He shudders at the feeling of the other man’s breath washing over the sensitive skin of his neck, the dangerous depth of his voice at the edge of control. There. There it is. The composure, cracking. Another unbidden shiver runs through him.]


Maybe not.

[Clive knows he can’t get the leverage he wants, not with one arm twisted behind his back and Barnabas’ leg forced between his, but inaction his not an option. There is nothing gentle about how Clive threads the fingers of his free hand into Barnabas’ hair this time. He grips the other man’s hair and pulls]

[Clive’s voice, when he speaks, comes out the low heat of steadily burning brimstone.]

But when has that ever stopped me?
betenoir: (Chill)

[personal profile] betenoir 2025-06-14 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
act 2 spoilers.
[His eyes cast down, observing the ground beneath their feet, until they rise and meet her gaze. His head turns and for a moment he closes his eyes, disbelief woven through every fibre of his being. In any case, he is conceding what she is suggesting. ]

Yes. Yes, I have precisely one. [The fact he isn't wearing it suggests he finds it uncomfortable.] Rarely have I observed anything so impratical.

[That's a yes, then.]
fromfire: (or the fishermen's blues)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
I take it you get a lot of eyelashes batting at you.

[ At the very least, Clive agrees that the room is both of theirs. He would feel a bit bad that the man's doing everything whilst he's trying to recover. When his new friend leaves him, he lifts his hand to flex his fingers. A chill runs down each digit. He finally allows himself to wince and grimace.

Breathing slowly, he adjusts how he's sitting in the chair. He initially just resting but it's more of a slumped position. Both hands on the arms, he pushes himself up with some difficulty to put his legs underneath him to move. A sharp inhale before he's sitting back down. It's like ice ripping through his body. Creating small fractures in his soul.

His head turns as he hears the water and what he assumes is a curse. Pursing his lips, he leans a little to try to glimpse into the bathroom. Another arduous breath as he starts to weave chroma through his body to mend what's hurting. Clive is right that the physical exhaustion is easy to recover. But the injury to the soul is going to take longer. An ailment that seems like he'll need maybe even a day to recover.

And this is coming from a man who can be cleaved in half.

He tips his head up when Clive returns before he offers him a look of surprise. ]


Oh, are we sharing a bath? [ And he's reaching to take his arm. ]
restingstitchface: (Novelty)

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2025-06-14 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Perhaps what he senses is a poorly tailored suit. Perhaps what he senses is a keen mind. Perhaps what he senses is a mask. One worn for the public. One for those meeting in private.

He rolls his shoulders again. This time his movements are less restricted, like a figure hung upon on a frame.

But does it matter? Like he said, why take himself too seriously?]


I see. But you are familiar with medicine?

[Has this man heard of magic mushrooms?]
bluejustice: (58)

[personal profile] bluejustice 2025-06-14 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Who, cool graphics. [He's making sure to stretch a bit to get ready, you didn't want to end up pulling a muscle, after all. Or get a cramp. He once got one while running top speed without warming up first. It hadn't been fun.] Though the sky could use a little work.
Edited 2025-06-14 05:09 (UTC)
shadowsincryo: (pic#15815104)

[personal profile] shadowsincryo 2025-06-14 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
That's the right word. [He walks a gil across his fingers. Back and forth. His gaze sweeps the bar. No sign of trouble. No one he knows. He leans back, the picture of a man relaxing after a hard day's work.] If it lived in a desert. There are a few things I could see eating it, considering it looked like a cactus. Sandworms. A regisvine might consider it. Dragons. Pyro hawks. Scorpions.

One thing is sure: wherever it lived, it was living in a land with magic in the land itself.
bluejustice: (01)

[personal profile] bluejustice 2025-06-14 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I guess that's my Shadow then. [It's definitely kind of funny to think as Shadow as 'fluffy', but compared to the other!Shadow he can definitely see the difference.]
whennotif: (pic#17842976)

[personal profile] whennotif 2025-06-14 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
Are we going home? [The question comes out before she can think about a reply. She's tired, and all of this is starting to hit against the door she keeps shut, the one where all her emotions like to stay tucked away. And reality is- She looks up at him, her voice quieter.] You and I are dead, Verso.

[They were Gommaged. If they return, they end. Isn't that how it goes? She had wanted to live. Thought she would have it. Thought everyone would have it and that was torn out of their hands. The pain of it and the depths of the loss swirls just past her fingers like a song only she can hear.] I would think we're stuck here.
fromfire: (down in west hollywood)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
To a degree.

[ Holding his hand out, he curls his fingers to mime holding an item as a dagger manifests in his grip. With his free hand, he holds up his index finger to ask for Crane to wait.

The dagger glows a bright white light down the blade. He holds his empty hand out before making a singular cut to remove said hand from his wrist. Verso, at least, makes sure to keep his limbs away from his companion as to not splatter any blood on the poor suit. At the very least, he keeps whatever grimace or cry that he'd give.

The dagger disappears before he leans down to pick the appendage up. ]


But the degree's -- [ He bobs his head to the side as he drops the hand onto the severed wrist and mends the injury. ] -- few less than a normal person, I'm afraid.
fromfire: (beyond the saving grace)

cw: suicidal ideations

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
You're stuck here, if you want to keep living.

[ Verso decides to make that point clear. He stares at her because it seems even now she has not understood his motivations. Death is waiting for him. It isn't an old friend welcoming him home like Sciel. It is a final place for him and he longs for it. ]

I'm going to save our world, but that will mean sacrificing others. It's the 'either/or' you hate, but I am choosing their lives over ours. [ Again. ] And when it is over, I'll return to oblivion. [ It'll be what he deserves. ]

You'll have to decide if our world is worth that much to you, even if you're dead.

[ But that is beside the point. ] Gustave doesn't know what saving our world will mean. Tell him at the end. You two could have a new beginning here, but don't force him to know his life back home is gone so soon.
Edited 2025-06-14 05:43 (UTC)
odinpusrex: (172)

cw: mild nsfw

[personal profile] odinpusrex 2025-06-14 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Were Barnabas a man who cared what others thought of him, he might think better of this display in public. As it were, he did not much care about the opinion of much of anyone at all, least of all the companion bots that spotted them and are now pointedly keeping busy with a task back the direction they came from.

No... In this moment, all that matters is the heat of Mythos against him, the hard press of their bodies, and that intoxicating scent... The hint of fire to the natural musk of him.

It is enough to drive any red-blooded man wild, but Barnabas is not quite that, now is he?

Still, he cannot deny the emphatic swell of heat he feels stir within him, and how it battles with his blessed ataraxia... how it is not only heat that begins to swell, particularly with that hand in his hair, the arousing pull of it, and Mythos' defiance... That much is apparent with how he presses against him.]


Mythos...

[It is said in a scolding tone, yet there is a thread of something else within it. Want, perhaps? Desire? Barnabas would deny such, and he has to deny him here too. Thus he uses that hold on Mythos' arm to twist it painfully behind his back further, pulling him back before slamming him against the wall again with his own body.]

This impetuous nature will avail you naught. I am not wont to reward a boy who rebels so. In time... you shall have me, but not this night.

[However much his body might want it.

With that, however, he releases Mythos' arm.]
herofhopeless: (soft smile)

[personal profile] herofhopeless 2025-06-14 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
I've experienced my fair share.

[Clive knows strain when he sees it, but he isn't going to push Verso to be more honest about the pain. Were their positions swapped, he wouldn't want to advertise how much it hurt either. The main difference, however, is that Clive knew exactly what the wounds Verso had felt like.

Luckily for Verso, Clive couldn't hear him over the running water or he would have been back to the other man's side in an instant. Instead, he helps Verso up and carefully walks him to the bathroom.]


You're taking a bath. I'm just helping. I can clean up once you're in bed.

[Clive eases Verso onto the toilet seat and crouches down to start taking off the other man's shoes.]
restingstitchface: (Superior)

[personal profile] restingstitchface 2025-06-14 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Theories and diagnosis are erased from the page. With a free corner of his mind, Crane rewrites them somewhere removed from his present thoughts, unrelated to what he has seen. He clenches his jaw and swallows his annoyance with an iron will. The same kind that would love to set this man on fire and tell him to lighten up.

There is a natural curiosity. But that, too, is shoved into a box and locked away. He stares for longer than what anyone deems normal. And when he speaks, his voice changes its polite and affable tone, replacing it with a coldly derisive humour.]


Well, aren't you a handful?

[And yet he still sounds bemused.]
fromfire: (i'm gonna keep on dancing)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
Then, perhaps, what's eating it is something that feeds off magic, too?

[ Since it seems like it is a giant container of magic.

He leans back as soon as the server returns. Two glasses set on the table with wine poured into both. The bottle is left for them and he tips his head appreciatively. However, to Kaeya, he holds his hand out to gesture to his glass. ]


If you would.
whennotif: (pic#17855699)

cw: suicidal ideations

[personal profile] whennotif 2025-06-14 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
[The storm inside her looms like a long, dark shadow. It claws at the door. It has wanted out for a long time. She rests her fingers on the strings, taking comfort in this old friend that has been with her through the years. She stares back at him. The hard flat stare she has trained on him before.] I would never force a choice on him. That isn't any fairer than any of the other options.

[Memories bubble up like splashes of ink on a canvas. 'If you do that, we're both dead.' Had that been a forced choice?

Their first argument after the beach. A collage of different moments. Gustave was the one survivor who didn't make it to the end, and if she hadn't gone ahead...

The reality is harsh like a sword blade. They would have all died.]
Now I get it. You're still chasing it. I thought for a second you stopped.

[But she was wrong. Again.]
ablazinggrace: (of course lady tarja~)

[personal profile] ablazinggrace 2025-06-14 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
[For Joshua's part, once he's gleaned most of the information about this place that it seems he's going to, he finally decides to start taking part in some of the activities to earn points, since that appears to be the mission this time. Eventually, he hears about the Skywheel from one of the attendants, which sounds like both an easy way to get points and an absolute marvel that he can't wait to see. They do tell him that right now they're not taking any solo passengers, but Joshua figures that surely there will be someone else around in the same boat, and then he and they can - well, get into the same 'boat,' as it were.

His face lights up when he spots the blond figure at the front of the line, and when he hears the exchange and sees Dion move aside, that's his cue. He steps up beside Dion with perfect timing, addressing the attendant first.]


Apologies for my tardiness. But as you can see, we are indeed a group of two.

[The woman nods and ushers the pair of them toward the next gondola as it swings up to the gate. He glances over to Dion with a slightly impish gleam in his eye and a graceful gesture.]

After you.
reincarnesiac: (yep we're a-okay over here)

[personal profile] reincarnesiac 2025-06-14 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
( Alex has taken to jogging in place, likewise looking around and feeling with her resonance to some degree. She doesn't particularly push it, just looks for any specifically interesting energy signatures, but what she does feel is a mess and not particularly useful.

Better to save her energy. The fights in the colosseum are probably against strict doctor's orders, but that's neither here nor there, since her cardiologist isn't around.
)

I mean, I don't need to get back to either fighting or playing crane games. Easier to run around the halls here!

( Silver lining? Maybe? )

But it's probably helpful to anyone attempting to sleep here if it looks like people are protecting them from dangers, real or imagined. That's how it usually goes.
fromfire: (in that voice)

cw: suicidal ideations

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
At least, we're agreed on that front.

[ The piano is a silent comfort at this point. It offers nothing but somewhere for him to sit. He can glance at the keys, remember the music, and feel a sense of calm settle over him. ]

Why would I have stopped?
fromfire: (or the fishermen's blues)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
I would've thought you'd be more surprised.

[ He rolls his newly attached wrist and rubs where he cut. Grimacing a little, he will have to work on his magic trick a little more if he's going to take the show on the road. ]

Are things so magical here? I'm going to be out a job as a magician.
fromfire: (je maudis)

[personal profile] fromfire 2025-06-14 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
Seems a bit unfair if I'm taking a bath with you helping, but one of us is going to see a lot more of the other.

[ He, at least, helps by sitting back so that he can remove the boots. Holding his hands up, he merely attempting to give his insight on the matter. ]

We're only in the best friend stage so... don't worry about me getting frisky. [ With how he's feeling, he doubts that he is going to be able to do more than offer a few flirtatious comments, anyway.

Although, with some effort, he lightly scratches the side of his face. ]
Unless you're feeling like being frisky, I suppose.