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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! |
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[That is the sort of thing that Zidane would say. It.....really is just a hotel, right? With this talk of adventure and Sonic said he would speed to get them out if something were to happen. Still, Vivi can't help being reassured. That he might even be smiling, even if that might be harder to tell given his features, besides his eyes being obscured.]
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[Every new experience can be an adventure if you put your mind to it, Vivi! Like exploring your parents' closet for the first time. Who knows, you might find Narnia or really embarrassing photos of them when they were in highschool!]
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[Someone controlling things. Like Kuja. Manipulating the Queen along with Garland. Vivi blinks, before he seems to realize that the other was just throwing out ideas. Possibilities? Things Sonic might hope would happen? Vivi isn't sure, but he tilts his head, his hat shifting with the movement as his hands shift in front of him more.]
Oh. So this is what you just think might happen. A mystery like in stories?
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[He has also, maybe, seen way too many Scooby Doo before.]
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[He just has to be brave. He's done so much since leaving home. Surely he could handle this. It's a hotel. An inn, the same as he was used to back home. Just....looking a little more spooky.....and hopefully just decorated like this. Without any actual ghosts.]
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[And off they go! Vivi can absolutely stick close behind Sonic if he’s still feeling unsure. It's no problem, and Sonic won't mind or judge. For now, the only challenges they face are a few squeaky stair steps and the wind whistling eerily through suspiciously open windows. As well as some shadowy corners thick with old spiderwebs.]
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[Vivi nods, following closely and staying right behind Sonic as they head to go inside. He winces at the squeaky stairs and the spiderwebs. But maybe that was just decoration? And the place might just be older, the hotel specifically, with the noise. It's probably fine. So long as it still seems stable enough that nobody would step through the stairs or anything.]
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[As they continue their trek, nothing too exciting comes to greet them. Just a bunch of tacky decorations. Plastic skeletons with googly eyes, dusty plastic bats strung up like bad holiday lights, and a motion-sensor witch that cackles half-heartedly when they pass.
It's actually getting pretty boring. That is, until a sudden noise slices through the silence. A loud clang, like metal slamming against concrete, echoes down the corridor behind them. An unearthly moan, barely there, something that could get easily mistaken with a door slowly creaking open.]
... did you hear that?
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[Vivi asks uncertainly from behind Sonic, glancing around nervously as they step forward more. He definitely heard something, that moan. But he also isn't quite sure which direction it came from. Not yet. One of his hands tightens his grip on his staff.]
I think so? But I'm not sure which direction it came from?
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I think it came from that way!
[There's no hesitation in his tone as he marches towards where he had pointed. C'mon Vivi, there's a mystery to solve!]
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O-okay.....
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Okay, ready? One, twothree!
[He quickly opens the door, ready for a dramatic reveal-- but there's nothing on the other side! Just a regular, old, hotel room.]
What? It was definitely here!
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[Vivi seems to frown in his confusion as he peers from behind the other, tentative and cautious as he glances around. He doesn't think he sees anything out of the ordinary. But it was maybe harder to say, with a hotel theme like this. He hopes it was just nothing to worry about.]
Maybe it's nothing? Like you said. Just noises, part of the....what's the word? Atmosphere? For the theme?