etrayamods: (Default)
∎ 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

oblige: (consider)

[personal profile] oblige 2025-06-15 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
To my knowledge, our overseer announces such tasks via the communications system. These messages remain, much like letters on a desk.

[ He taps the comm device on his ear lightly. It took him some time to adjust to its simple existence and yet more time to explore it, but he has been able to observe this since that time. ]

They appear to alternate between more intensive missions and... [ What does he even call not-training-camp, with that ridiculous uniform he was required to wear? The indignity of those tiny shorts... ] Simpler ones.

[ He'll settle with that. ]

To my knowledge, none were injured by the chocobo. The trolley was damaged — a caravan requiring no beast to pull it — but it was repaired. As to why...it seems our host attempts to populate this world with familiar wildlife.
bigpoofymammoth: (Default)

[personal profile] bigpoofymammoth 2025-06-15 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
In other words, seeing the truth for yourself can be a lot stranger than what people tell in stories and the like.

[Manny, being from a distant past, isn’t familiar with modern inventions like movies. But he can get a general idea from how they’re described to him.]

So how much have you been told when you arrived?
batsymbol: 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚜𝚢𝚖𝚋𝚘𝚕 (pic#15630117)

[personal profile] batsymbol 2025-06-15 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
( There's a flick of his gaze over to the other man when he goes and mentions Bludhaven, but he drops it away just as quickly. It's not important. Just a place he knows someone had recently decided to disappear to... who had asked him to come with her, only for him to silently refuse.

Anyways.

Dick wanted to talk so they're talking. Whether or not he wants to spend the night here is on him. So as they step inside the haunted house-like hotel, he stands there a little ways from the entrance and looks around — takes in what he needs to know about this place — before his gaze falls back onto the other man for a brief moment. )


He's not here. If you're wondering.

( None of the Alfreds from any of the worlds the bats come from are here and he... doesn't know how to feel about that. Relieved? Worried? Lonely? Maybe a bit of all three. Alfred will always be an important figure— an important relationship to any Bruce Wayne and without him... it just never feels right. )

And no, I haven't. ( Met a Dick Grasyon, but. He knows the story of what will supposedly happen. Although, who's to say it will in his Gotham? ) None of you here exist for me.

( Therefore, one can imagine how jarring it's been for him to get used to having so many suddenly around him when it had only just been him and Alfred. )
maximumlegend: (that we would've never)

C

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-06-15 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ... Fabian blinks. It might be a little comical, considering the sheer outpour of words from Noelle just now, and all he's doing as his first reaction is just.. stare at her..

And it's not even because of the antlers, really. His gaze isn't even high enough to be looking at those. It's likely more his reaction at her shoving all that information at him, more so than anything about her appearance. ]


Wait, are you-- [ Another blink, looking a little confused. ] Exactly what are you looking for?

[ More succinct, Noelle!! ]
rabbithunter: (pic#17693800)

[personal profile] rabbithunter 2025-06-15 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Before this all started, she doesn't remember the last thing that she saw—perhaps a cold gloved hand on her forehead as she teetered in and out of consciousness. It was a lot to process. So much, in fact, that she didn’t stop to realize that all these people milling about around here were real people and not just the backdrop to this crazy dream. But even coughing in her dream? She's trying to catch her breath when that reality breaks – finally, someone has answered her and it's clear he's no figment of the imagination.

She stares at John, still a little shell-shocked, but accepts the bottle as she attempts to stand up straight again. ]


Thank you, I... [ She clears her throat before stuffing the ear piece in her pocket so that she can uncap the water and take a drink. Questionable, maybe, but it doesn't feel as if she has the luxury to doubt his sincerity. ] I'll be fine.

You're actually real, aren't you? This is really happening.
Edited 2025-06-15 18:46 (UTC)
bigpoofymammoth: (Ice Age 5 (Exasperated))

[personal profile] bigpoofymammoth 2025-06-15 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I think it's more appropriate to call it a universal constant. It's bound to happen no matter where we are or what kind of society we're dealing with.

[He'll be surprised if there’s even one world where everything’s totally peaceful. But that’s as likely as finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.]
maximumlegend: (at break-neck speed)

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-06-15 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He blinks at the other. ]

The ages?

[ Fabian doubts the other is talking about physical age.. Probably, anyway. So-- ]

You mean.. time, or something like that? [ Even with the many things Fabian has had to deal with back in his world that others might consider strange, that was never really a problem. Hence why he looks a little puzzled, maybe. ]
ornithologist: (173)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-15 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"That is often the case, and what we assumed ourselves at first. Then we realized the husband had a professional hitman after him."

A beat of silence for dramatic effect.

"And so did she."
levelshift: (listening)

[personal profile] levelshift 2025-06-15 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[He watches as the guy as he grabs his cane. Since Accelerator is planning on watching the rest of the fight, no matter how pathetic it is, so he stays where he is.

He isn't totally sure if all of that is directed at him. It feels like it isn't.]


Most people are selfish and short-sighted. It's a dangerous combination.
maximumlegend: (and plain bad luck)

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-06-15 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Judging by the look that's still kind of lingering on Fabian's face throughout all this, it's definitely a first for him in here too. It is good if it skips him being forced to play any of the other games, sure, but..

He's still thinking about what just happened anyway.

As he turns to look at her, he raises a single eyebrow. ]


Are you some sort of cleric serving a god of luck? [ That feels like the only possible explanation to him.. Surely a single person can't be this lucky, right? ] I know that I am an amazing bard, but even my inspiration surely could not cause something like this so easily!
potentialman: (Genuine human connection.)

[personal profile] potentialman 2025-06-15 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Megumi Fushiguro. [ He bows without breaking step. ]

Can I ask what that line of work is, or is it classified?

[ He figures trying to keep his own abilities on the downlow is going to be pretty pointless in a place like this. Jujutsu society regulations are going to have to just take the L. ]
nottheboss: (Default)

[personal profile] nottheboss 2025-06-15 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
He doesn't need any extra coaxing to return to the enchiladas. He groans, "Real fucking cheese." He swallows. "I could eat a whole brick of cheese, man. Me and Turner used to call that dinner in the old world."

He reaches out with his foot, shyly bumping it against Carver's boot. "You got me to watch your back while you sleep now."
nottheboss: (Default)

[personal profile] nottheboss 2025-06-15 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
He tips his head, considering that. "So...you were sent to protect them? Cause as a professional killer I'd be asking why they had a hitman on their tail."
bluejustice: (58)

[personal profile] bluejustice 2025-06-15 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh no, Robuttnik is still in the rooster, along with Boogernik and Mustache-trophe. [He could get more creative, if he put his mind to it. But those he were specially proud of.]

Yeah, actually. The first time he tried to dissect me, and the second time he tried to rule over the world. [Thankfully, he hadn't been very good at either of those, and Sonic had had the right help to face him.]
shorebound: (ᴊᴜsᴛ sᴀᴍ | 003)

sam porter bridges | death stranding | new player + character

[personal profile] shorebound 2025-06-15 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
ONE. PHARMACY, gold saucer or haunted house
( His arrival in the middle of the colosseum has left Sam less than thrilled about whatever the hell is going on here. He'd managed to get through it, only a little worse for wear than when he arrived, but his mood has only continued to go down since then.

Regardless of all the new places around him, the many questions he has, and the heavy weight of worry around his missing BB and cargo from his latest order, he looks like a man on a mission as he makes his way around. His destination might be unclear but the longer anyone looks at his porter suit and down his legs, they might realize what he's looking for. One of his boots is wet and bloody even from before the fight earlier, and by the time he finds the pharmacy, you might notice a few dribbles of blood that seep off the soles of the worn boots when he stands still too long, a couple speckles that follow him.

That's where you might encounter him first, browsing one of the small pharmacies in search of some kind of bandages or antiseptic to clean up his injured foot. Or maybe someone will find him sitting down in the lobby of the Haunted House once he's found what supplies he can, prying off a boot that's no doubt seen better days to expose a bloody and injured foot underneath.
)

TWO. WANDERING
( There's no places like this back home, that's for sure. Sam can't remember the last time he saw anything so... Colorful. It's odd in a way. Borders on being overwhelming if he focuses on something too long. He doesn't stay too long in one place to keep himself fro getting too overwhelmed.

Others can find him wandering in a few different places. He's hard to miss with the tank top that shows the handprints and red marks across his shoulders and arms, but given how quiet he is and how carefully he steps around other people, he's trying to keep a low profile.

He'll explore the different arcade games, maybe even stops to watch someone else play, but asking him if he wants to play or join you will noticeably catch him off guard. And he does try a few different things, manages to complete some games that end with him standing at the ticket counter in an attempt to decide what he's supposed to get. There's no denying he's watching others who claim their own prizes as if he's trying to piece together what's actually inside those boxes.
)

What the hell am I supposed to pick?

( The low tone makes it clear he's less than thrilled about the prospect of a mystery prize. )

THREE. HAUNTED HOUSE
( When you're a porter, you get in sleep where you can. Some places you stay just a few hours to wait out the raining time fall, other times you're resting for the night after a delivery, and sometimes it's to take a few minutes to breathe and tend to your body. Sam's found himself sleeping in odd places at the drop of a hat. But here? Here, Sam can't get his mind or his body to shut off.

When hours pass and sleep doesn't come, he finally gets out of the bed, tugs on the worn out boots, and heads out into the halls. He's back on a quest to try and find his BB.

This place is weird as hell - covered in decor that's more colorful than he's used to, shaped and styled like something out of a movie or history books. Even so, he's less concerned with the surroundings and more focused on the task at hand. 

Others will find him opening up any doors, small cabinets, or chests. And when whatever he's looking isn't there, he's closing it. Sometimes a bit harder than necessary, but never too roughly. Sometimes with a low, muttered curse.

For anyone who tris to engage with him, the first thing they'll notice is any attempt to step too close or touch him is met with an immediate and calculated step away to put him just out of reach. And if they try talking to him, it's clear he's not expecting it, given the way there's a delayed glance towards them, and a belated:
) —what?

WILDCARD + NOTES
( Important note Sam suffers from aphenphosmphobia, a fear of being touched. He will literally get a rash if you touch him. He'll hate it, but I'm here for it c':

Feel free to send him a wildcard prompt if you aren't interested in any of the above. If you'd like a closed starter, feel free to DM me or message me on plurk at [plurk.com profile] batbrain.
)
Edited 2025-06-15 19:38 (UTC)
tinflower: (pic#17771730)

[personal profile] tinflower 2025-06-15 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Mhhhrrr. Gorgug's expression twists uncertainly, but at least not in suspicion. ]

I don't know if they have a drum kit around here... and my head is pretty foggy, but, I guess if we found a drum kit, and if you can play faster songs, I'll give it a go?

[ But Gorgug looks at Verso with a narrowing gaze--again, not suspicious, but curious. ]

You don't want to get...points, I guess? [ A beat. ] It does seem stupid.

[ Getting points. Playing games. ]
betenoir: (Complex)

wrap?

[personal profile] betenoir 2025-06-15 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Indeed.

[Renoir finally rises from his chair. There isn't the groan one might expect with age. Nor does he wince at the effort of moving old joints and bones. Regardless, selfish people are something with which he is familiar.]

Regardless, I have had my fill of such blood sports. Perhaps we'll meet again sometime.
reincarnesiac: (huh that's highly illogical)

[personal profile] reincarnesiac 2025-06-15 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
( Cleric? Bard? Historically, some nations had occupations like those at one point or another in history. Less so in China, beyond... video games.

It does give her a whole different line of thinking, even while she lifts her hands in a motion of negation.
)

I have a Resonance Evol. Which... uh, can boost whatever someone's doing, if I want it to? For the simplest explanation.

( It does a lot more than that, but she's only barely started to understand that extent herself. There's no reason to mention classes of Evol powers or the rest as far as she can tell. And in this case? )

If I'm a cleric to any god, it's news to me.
odinpusrex: (271)

[personal profile] odinpusrex 2025-06-15 07:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[This is not the place for this, though Barnabas barely cares what others might think of him. Even if they were to see this vulnerability, it mattered little in the end for he was not a man who cared to prove himself to any besides God Himself. He was not Titan, performative in his masculinity and command, using it as a mask to shield the fragility of his truth. No, none could strike Barnabas where it mattered, where it counted, for God had granted him the very means to shore up any mortal weaknesses, and he was well beyond the needs of ego.

Sure, this bond could be seen as that, yet Sleipnir was by all means immortal, loyal, and an indelible part of Barnabas. He could not be taken from him, not in any meaningful way, or...so Barnabas had once thought, till this world proved otherwise. Now, that yearning and loss wars with his conditioned apatheia. A blind spot of self-awareness surfacing that he ordinarily would not suffer if not for the oddity of his circumstance, of this loss and denial he's suffered for a year...

Sleipnir's hand on his own and the other pressing upon his chest is a balm he cannot well describe, but his eyes manage it well enough on their own. The idea of racing chocobos utterly forgotten, Barnabas allows himself this moment of soul-weary respite under the touch of his creation. Of his should-be constant companion.]


Of no fault of your own, a year has marked your absence.

[His gaze traces over the fine and beautiful features that make up Sleipnir's youthful face, like a lover reunited after an insufferable distance. Though his expression might look reserved to those unfamiliar with his measured stoicism, to Sleipnir, Barnabas may as well be downright emotional.

There is almost a hesitance in breaking their eye contact as Barnabas finally regards what is around them, the chocobos, the bots, the other potential riders... Conflict hardens his expression as duty presses to the fore of his mind, despite how his heart yearns to simply bask in this moment of blissful reunion.]
Edited 2025-06-15 23:01 (UTC)
reincarnesiac: (peering over sunnies)

[personal profile] reincarnesiac 2025-06-15 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
( Ah, bowing. She dips her head to him in return without thinking about it, mind already moving on to his question. )

Not classified. I'm part of the Hunter's Association, as an active Deepspace Hunter. Which I'm going to guess doesn't make much sense, but it's a division of not... quite police or military? We focus on handling Wanderer threats throughout the world. I'm just part of my local city's division.

( She quirks her brows, looking back his way as they walk through the cooler tunnels. )

Which unless you have Wanderers back home, probably still sounds like nonsense, huh?
tark: (pic#17906299)

[personal profile] tark 2025-06-15 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
You misunderstand me, sir. I am always cautious.

[ Except when he's running into a stronghold of uruks, screaming for their captain to face him. Or when he drops into an arena and takes them out single-handedly. ]

If others wish to escape, they can follow the path I intend to carve.
tinflower: (pic#17831868)

[personal profile] tinflower 2025-06-15 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, should he explain about the card? M-maybe in a minute--!

First, Gorgug takes the hand--absolutely normal, to have hands, but hooved feet!--and gives it a very light shake. ]
I'm Gorgug Thistlespring. Are you from Elmville? In-- Spyre?

[ He takes a step back once shaking her hand, to give her room to move out of the closet, not wanting to keep her tracked. Adds, as he nods out to the larger room: ] We can check out all the doors and see where they lead to get out.

[ Will that work? Probably not. But looking through the less fancy doors might be...helpful(??). ]
thelightshines: (rise above?)

Game!Shadow

[personal profile] thelightshines 2025-06-15 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[The day is nearing to an end in this noisy place and he's starting to feel like there's nothing here worth his time. We're not bringing up his triple triad phase.

He's accumulated enough points that if he wanted to, he could get that card to complete the "mission"? But what is the point? Especially after making a discovery recently...thinking about it, he hasn't heard from someone in a while. They don't need to be in constant contact, but he wondered how they've been dealing with this place. If they've discovered the same thing he did?

Having split off from Sonic, he's going to take this moment to try and get in contact with them.]


We need to talk. [He doesn't elaborate what, not wanting to discuss it over the network. There is meant to be a photo attached to this message of where he's stationed, but...he may have sent one too many by accident. But they all show the same location. Somewhere near the slot machines, further back. Presumely he's against the wall. Ignore the occasional blue hedgehog that photobombs some of the pictures.]
betenoir: (Compassion)

[personal profile] betenoir 2025-06-15 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Such bravery demands risk.

[But does risk demand throwing caution to the wind? It's a complicated question. Though he is a philosophical man and that's the kind of question he enjoys.]

Not to mention people willing to follow YOU.

[What sets them upon the path in the first place?]
ornithologist: (pic#17489330)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-15 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Harold knows his share of professional killers, which is why this description only earns a dour look like he thinks it isn't something anyone should be bragging about.

"It wasn't nearly so simple. I did say it was a funny story." Suddenly he rolls his eyes, exasperated just at the memory. "They each took a hit out on each other. Hers was much more competent, unsurprisingly."