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etrayamemes2025-05-30 09:20 am
etrayamods) wrote in 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 ⏴ 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. 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.
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! |
no subject
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?
no subject
No. Or, not in the sense it sounds like you're using it. It's just a synonym for "wayfarer" or "migrant," as far as we use it.
[ He's a nerd, he could probably rattle off a dozen more, but who's got time for that. ]
no subject
No, no, though they're probably wayfarers of some kind? No one has a real explanation for where they're from, or how they do a lot of what they do. Hundreds of millions of Wanderers came flowing out of a wormhole that opened up over my city some fifteen years ago. I don't know that there's one easy way to describe them, other than... they're constructs of energy? Which give themselves physical forms. Mostly looking like they're made of metals or rock, in all different shapes, and all formed around a Protocore.
( Turning down another hall, and passing back to the desk where she needs to hand back her rentals guns, she... hesitates for a moment before she shrugs, voice much more subdued. )
They slaughtered people across the world for almost a half year before we finally managed to fully slow them down. The Hunter's Association has been the leading forefront in handling Wanderer events since then. It's pretty much a daily incident concern back home. Multiple in a day? Don't ask my what my hours should be compared to what they are some weeks...
no subject
[ That was going to be his next question. ]
Doesn't sound too different from being a jujutsu sorcerer in practice, though. Even if the origins are pretty different.
[ Fighting monsters and chronically understaffed? Yep. Although her Hunter's Association is possibly (hopefully) a bit more ethical about minimum recruitment age. ]
no subject
( She says, feeling blithe enough about it. Not skin off her nose for how things were named. It didn't change that they all existed, right? Plus, it's a little amusing. )
So, jujutsu sorcerer?
( She quirks up her eyebrows. (And thankfully, the Hunter's Association is not, like so much of media, into child soldiers.) )
no subject
[ The main thing that's changed is the level of organization...which still frankly isn't great, given some of the infighting and factionalism, but at least it's not the Heian era when sorcerers spent as much time jumping each other and fighting for kicks as they did actually dealing with curses. ]
no subject
( Alex doesn't have a ready equivalent, though Wanderers can be drawn to certain emotional energies, and there are Evols which do similar things. Neither are quite the same sounding thing as what she's hearing now. )
I'm guessing it's a worldwide concern?
no subject
Sorcerers are vanishingly rare outside of Japan, and curses mostly seem to be concentrated there, too. I don't know all the theory behind it, but I think it's a function of Tengen's barrier. [ And also a function of WEIRD WRITING DECISIONS that the player is also hard pressed to explain, sigh. ]
no subject
( She can't help her look of surprise, though the player just nods along in shounen series author logic understanding, because it's the opposite of what she'd expect. )
Japan is the single most cursed country in your world? ( It completely throws her for a loop. ) I... am so sorry to hear that.
no subject
[ By sending high school kids to get themselves killed? Yeah, sometimes. Jujutsu society is a little messed up, but the alternative sucks too, so he's kind of numb to it by this point. ]
no subject
Alex is unaware of this, however, and genuinely looks sympathetic. )
I really hope something changes in your situation back home to aid what you're all doing.
( Ignoring what is going on with being here, which apparently, might include guaranteeing a world sticks around. It feels like such a convoluted measure for world retention when there's no real metric to measure, and the bots familiar with the situation keep saying Aurora and lacking further context.
She sighs, letting her shoulders slump a touch. )
Don't know about you, but I could certainly do with something to eat after all that nonsense. Hungry?
no subject
[ The mention of food, on the other hand -- ]
I could definitely eat.
[ He was just about running on empty, thanks to the fights before he got here, and while there's no better way to recharge than getting a solid eight hours, food is as good a Plan B as there is. ]
no subject
There's the Beehive, but that one requires dresses — not sure how you feel about that, though I'm sure you'd look dashing. There's a lot of smaller places to eat, some cafes, a noodle bar... Anything in particular you're craving?
no subject
[ It's probably a very good thing he wound up here alone, because if his classmates (or heaven forbid, Gojo) were here, he's sure he'd be getting bullied into it somehow. ]
Noodles sound good, if that works for you?
no subject
( Alex says, but aside from a wink to show she's lightly teasing, she leaves it at that. )
Noodles are great! I love noodles. Who doesn't? Here, I remember how to get to the one I had in mind — reminds me more of Pho, noodles and broth but with the thin sliced meat or tripe or whatever you like. Still good?
( It's not Japanese style noodles, but at least in her world, most people are pretty open to different cuisines. )