TDM 008

[etrayamods]

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⏴

Comments

[fortitudosalutis]

Carver swallows hard. Okay. He has to step up now. Bossie needs him steady, focused. There’s no room for fuck ups, not anymore. “Let’s go back inside so you can show me. It’s a long story, little brother.”

[nottheboss]

Little brother.

Maybe he hasn't been exiled then. Maybe Carver isn't here to finish whatever that fight with Pope was about.

He swallow uneasily and leads Carver back to his room.

"How long you been here?"

[fortitudosalutis]

“Couple months. Time works funny here.”

He closes the door behind them, doing a quick sweep before he motions Bossie over to the bed. Wondering how the fuck he’s supposed to play this.

“Sit. Let me see?”

[nottheboss]

"I don't want to take my armor off," he says nervously, watching Carver. "Is Pope mad?"

Still mad, he means. He's alive so he had to have survived his punishment. And God can be forgiving when you've suffered enough.

[fortitudosalutis]

“I have you. Just let me see?” Carver tries, motioning Bossie closer. After a moment, he pulls his gloves off. Left, then right. If he takes his gloves off, then it’ll be okay for Bossie to mirror him.

Patterns build. Gestures matter.

“Pope’s not here. I just wanna check you, okay?”

God, he prays, please, God, don’t let him remember.

[nottheboss]

The gloves go off and Bossie melts a little, comes to Carver and strips off his jacket, his outer shirt, his inner shirt.

He has a scar where Maggie stabbed him. Older scars, too. Nothing to explain the pain he imagined he was in when he was trying to sleep.

"Where are the others?" He asks, looking over his shoulder at Carver. "You're here alone? Are you-"

AWOL he can't bring himself to ask out loud.

[fortitudosalutis]

He’s braced to find a raw, ugly wound. The same one he remembers from when Bossie carried what was left of Turner back to them. Ugly and deep, sewed up with their meager supplies. But it’s scarred over now, no longer weeping.

Almost like the teeth marks on his own thigh, and the utter lack of scar or wound over his heart.

Carver presses his fingers very gently against the scar. He breathes out. “I didn’t leave. I just woke up here one day,” he explains softly. “We’re not in Meridian. Fuck, kid, we’re not even on Earth anymore.”

[nottheboss]

That makes no sense so he laughs as is Carver is telling a joke even though it's not funny.

"We have to get back." He's terrified to go back. "Is Pope mad?" He asks again.

[fortitudosalutis]

“Hey.”

It’s his task to explain, Carver knows, but he can’t pick where to begin. He has to be strong. To give Bossie something steady to mirror or this all falls apart and them with it. So suck it up and do your job, Carver tells himself. Don’t show fear, never show doubt.

He shifts, moving around Bossie to face him head on. Cupping a hand very gently to the back of Bossie’s skull. “Pope’s not mad,” he lies very softly. “You let me worry about that.”

[nottheboss]

He leans against Carver. Nods slowly.

"I think he blames me for Turner dying," he says very quietly. "But I tried to save him. And I cried in front of God, Carver."

He fell on his knees and sobbed in front of Pope and that's a sin you can't take back.

[fortitudosalutis]

Carver bites back the immediate denials. The worst part is that he’s a liar now, because he can’t say Bossie’s wrong. All of those things are true. All of those things have a cost—an awful goddamn cost.

“I know you did,” he agrees quietly. He and Leah had known there’d be trouble after Bossie started wailing so loud he alerted the whole compound. But they’d thought they could smooth it over. Keep Bossie out of Pope’s line of sight until things calmed down.

They’d been wrong.

“You’ll earn it back,” he says instead, desperately reaching for something to say. Anything. “But that’s later. This is right now and I need you to focus. You hurt anywhere else?”

[nottheboss]

He can feel a boot on his chest holding him down.

"No," he says, his voice cracking a little. He shudders and reaches for his armor.

He won't cry again.

"We gotta clear this place."

[fortitudosalutis]

“Breathe,” Carver orders, his voice calm and steady. Something in him settles. His role is clear now in a way it hasn’t been in months, maybe not since he arrived in this place. And that role requires him to be unflappable, a stone that Bossie can steady himself against the way Leah always was for Carver.

You protect yourself. You protect your people. And you remember the mission.

“Bossie, breathe for me. Count it now. In for four, hold for four.”

[nottheboss]

He gulps in a breath, holds it. Leans back against Carver as he breathes out.

It's six more breaths before he's steady.

"I'm okay," he says softly. "I just- nothing feels real. Right now."

[fortitudosalutis]

It’s not the first time. Carver waits it out, taking deep breaths for Bossie to mirror. Steady in a way he’s craved deep in his soul but hasn’t been able to find, not for months. Maybe not for years. But the task is clear and his soul settles. He knows this shape.

Quietly, Carver leans in and presses his forehead to Bossie’s.

“I know,” he agrees. “None of this shit makes sense. But I’ve got you. I’ve got you, and we’re gonna be just fine. You believe me?”

[nottheboss]

"Yes sir," he whispers and then straightens up. "Yeah, man, I'm good. I'm good now."

Another slow breath.

"We really going to sleep on beds tonight, huh?" He's skeptical. He's slept too many years on the ground.

[fortitudosalutis]

“Good man,” Carver murmurs, squeezing the back of Bossie’s neck. Only then does he step back.

It’ll be okay, he tells himself. They’re steadier now. They’ll come up with a plan.

“Tonight, yeah,” Carver agrees, puffing out a breath. “We’ll take shifts. When’s the last time you slept?”

[nottheboss]

"Yesterday but I'm good right now." He's not sure he wants to dream again. If that was a dream. "I can take first watch. When's the last time you slept? Shit, seems like you're always awake, Carve."

[fortitudosalutis]

"I'm fine. Wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway. I was making a patrol circuit."

Taking in the new environment, watching for new faces. He's made it a routine now, settling himself inside the shape.

Carver puffs out a breath.

"Tomorrow, I'll get you a real meal. A hot meal. Yeah? But do me a favor and get some sleep first."

[nottheboss]

"No way, man, we're both getting shut eye tonight," Bossie says. "You got me watching your back now. Means you can take a load off."

He gives him a hopeful little smile. "Then we can patrol and get some chow."

[fortitudosalutis]

"Brat," Carver drawls, quietly and fiercely fond. He can still smell Bossie burning. Feel the grease of it against his face. The noise he made -

No.

It never happened. And it won't ever happen here. He'll kill the world before he lets it.

"Fine. But I'm still taking first watch. Rest." He makes a face at Bossie. "Don't make me wrestle you down."

[nottheboss]

Bossie, miraculously, manages a laugh. It's almost a giggle, still full of nerves, but Carver always makes things right.

"Yeah, okay. You win. You get first watch." He leans down to undo his boots. Sets them right next to the bed, where he can grab them even in the dark.

"I kept thinking out there...Goddamn. Austin would love this place."

[fortitudosalutis]

This is better, Carver thinks. He sits up by the headboard, silently encouraging Bossie to lie down next to him. It might be a bad night. He can't be sure what Bossie remembers, but the tension is there. It lives in their bones, in their dreams whenever they manage to collapse long enough to dream. And it's always worse when the commander's disappointed. Bossie sleeps worse than a lot of the others, too.

Best not to think about it, Carver decides. Best not to borrow trouble. Tonight could be fine.

He snorts at the thought of Austin here, though. "Shiiit. We'd be dragging his ass out within an hour. He'd be naked and covered in glitter, with our luck."

[nottheboss]

He lays his knife on the bedside table. Lays his head next to Carver's lap. Wants to lay his head on Carver's lap, but that's probably not allowed. Not after he cried. Carver saw him break.

He focuses on thoughts of Austin. It makes him smile a little. "Can you imagine? Fuck we'd never get him to leave. He'd make us dance with him."

[fortitudosalutis]

Quietly, Carver marks where Bossie lays the blade down. How fast he'd need to be to wrestle Bossie down if little brother lunges for it. It wouldn't be the first time. You have to be practical about this shit.

At least here, nobody's likely to notice if Bossie wakes up screaming. No one's going to punish them for it.

He lays his hand very gently on top of Bossie's head. If they don't comment on it, it's like it didn't happen. "God, he would. And I don't do stripper dances."