The Raha Cup

[wrnpcs]

[The day is a bit cloudy, and wind on the water is around eighteen knots. The harbor is bustling with townspeople and visitors. Temporary stalls have been set up selling mostly food and drink or merchandise for the three Raha Cup yacht teams.

[You might need to shove a few people to get right on the waterfront, but the view of the boats in the harbor is well worth it. Once the race begins and the boats are clear of the harbor, remote control boats are available for rental; the race is expected to take two hours.

[At the nearby Balamb Hotel, there is a large TV screen set up outdoors with seating available. Hotel staff are running an outdoor bar for the occasion.

[Throughout the area and within a couple of blocks of both the waterfront and the hotel, a combination of SeeD, Cadets, and uniformed Balamb militia and police are posted as security, in response to threats received by the town council. Normally this event only has police security, so the townspeople seem to resent the need for this increased show of force rather than the fact that they're around at all.]

(OOC: Free-for-all! Feel free to make your own threads as well as using the location threads. NPCs may hit your characters up. You may have your SeeD/Cadet character hired as security if you choose; they will be in uniform, and will be on for half hour shifts so they have time to enjoy the event as well.)

Comments

HARBOR

[wrnpcs]

[This is what the harbor looks like normally, but today it is taken over by people. Stalls are selling snacks and drinks, cheap and cheerful yacht team merchandise and Balamb souvenirs, and simple toys to amuse the children. Through the crowd, volunteers are shaking buckets for donations to Balamb's various charities and children are running about underfoot.

[By the way, there's a Cure draw point here! It's out of gil, though.]

( action or prose, i'll do what you do )

[black]

Among the SeeDs that are working security and in uniform, Saber is present. Due to expressing interest (or, more like refusing anything else), she was able to be assigned to scout the harbor.

Instead of carrying her weapon as would be expected, Saber can be found with a varying amount of treats in her hands throughout her multiple shifts. Most of them will be on the sweeter or heavier side of the food spectrum. As she's not interested in the race in the least, she'll be able to be found there throughout the day.

((Feel free to have your character on the same security team as Saber or just approach her!))

[lightspears]

Hel~lo~ gorgeous beauty.

[Sup. Have an non-uniformed cadet getting in your space.]

Got a bit of a sweet tooth? Can't blame you. Not often you get the chance for this kinda treat, huh?

[count_to_peace]

[Watching the waterways as part of security would be considered one of the more difficult shifts, in Zechs' opinion. The sea could be hypnotizing at best, or cause delirium at worst with gazing out into its endless waters. So decided to choose the Harbor, with a higher chance of there being enough things to reel in any wandering thoughts, but more interesting to do than stand guard in a hotel.

He sees another SeeD, armed with sweets than a weapon, and walks over to her. He had been on shift for a while, and it would be nice to know his colleagues.]

Do you intend to kill them with kindness?

[wrnpcs]

[A man approaches her, stumbling a little.]

Hey lady.

[He stares at her for a moment, studying her face, as though to determine what kind of person she was or something. All he manages to come out with, though:]

There ain't no signs for a bathroom! You're on staff, ain'tcha? Where is it?

[whistleconcert]

[Blues really hadn't expected the harbor to be anywhere quiet, but he was honestly a little bit surprised at just how many people are around here. Practice means that he's navigating the maze of bodies just fine without being underfoot himself, though he has caught one or two kids to keep them from falling over and hurting themselves.

Rather than his armor or his SeeD uniform, Blues has gone a bit casual today -- a red hoodie with the hood currently down, a pair of jeans tucked into boots, and the always-present sunglasses and scarf. Rather than riding on his shoulders, Tango is keeping pace at his heels, giving cute smiles or meows at any of those who stop to take a look at him.

Blues occasionally stops to inspect a stall or drop some gil into buckets for the donations, but he's mostly doing constant circles of the harbor before sitting by the waterside for a bit. And through the entire time, he's whistling that song of his.]

[wrnpcs]

[When it comes to charity, there's always some people who are a little too pushy. Seeing someone donating quite casually to so many causes has given one particular volunteer motivation to hop on over.

Well, it's more of a skip.

She's a little exciteable.]

Hello-oooo!

Could I take one minute of your time please sir it'll just be five minutes that's all I promise!

[jointheclub]

[Slughorn is here, wandering about the stalls without the slightest care for actually patrolling them, a bag of some snack or another constantly clutched in one hand. He amuses himself by admiring the merchandise, although not purchasing.]

[espio]

[Espio is checking out a stall briefly, distracted from his job simply because he doesn't know what he's supposed to be paying attention to - nothing's happening. He glances up to see Slughorn, and shrugs.]

I love how you can always just know what kind of tacky souvenirs will get sold at events like these.

[windbreak]

[By small town standards or otherwise, a dinky boat race wouldn't immediately have struck Yosuke as a thrilling way to kill an afternoon. The important part of all this wasn't the event itself, though, nor where he was going - it's that he wasn't about to go there alone. And now, he isn't. That practically qualifies today as a success already, and he hasn't made a move on anyone yet.

From what he can see as he strolls into the thick of the bustling stalls, he wasn't the only one thinking along those lines, either. In a weird way, it's some kind of relief... although he'll be damned if he can articulate why.

He beams happily. He's still a city kid at heart, and not quite in his element - it might show just a little in the ever so slightly cautious way he's been carrying himself, even ignoring the translator hanging around his neck - but this sort of crowd is good enough for now.]

Heh, given the size of this town, I gotta say I'm surprised by the turnout. [He turns his head.] Don't you think? Hey, want to go check out what's over there?

[scatterflower]

[ Chika smiled as she noticed that Yosuke didn't seem to be completely in his element. She could definitely understand it, being from Yokohoma. Big massive city was big and massive, and seeing small towns like this was still kinda weird. ]

Yeah. I guess. Maybe there are people from out of town here too?

[ She paused for a moment, then she gave him a smile. ]

Sure, I don't mind. Honestly, I wasn't interested in the actual boat race anyway. I just wanted an excuse to go out to town.

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru hadn't expected an invitation to the Cup, especially not from a newer student who hasn't even been in her class, but she'd accepted on the basis that he'd seemed nice and it was nice to talk to people from her home country, even if it was another universe's Japan.

[So, she smiles.] Balamb likes to get behind its local events, I guess. There's not much else for people to do around here.

[Shading her eyes with her hand (someone forgot her sunglasses today), she glances where he's indicating and nods.] Lead the way!

WATERFRONT

[wrnpcs]

[Three large yachts are in the water, two from Balamb and one guest team from Dollet, their crews adjusting the boats and warming up, is well worth it. Nearby is a tiny boat with a small camera crew and a commentator on board. Further out from the harbor, a number of privately owned boats are ready to follow the action too.

[As the time of the race approaches, the Balamb mayor, visibly bodyguarded, goes to the starting dock and gives a speech about the years the Raha Cup has been running and names last year's winner and this year's challengers; this speech is broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the area.

[At last, she gives a countdown and launches a starter pistol - and they're off! The race, from the harbor to Raha Cape and back is expected to take around two hours. The feed over the loudspeakers switches to a commentator on the dock, until the boats are out of sight. Then the commentary switches again to a commentator on board a boat which is following the action, though as this is by radio, the audio quality is not as good as before.

[Once the yachts are well out of the area, a stall at the starter dock begins hiring out remote control boats to play with. The renter will tell anyone who's buying:] Ten gil for twenty minutes, don't ram them into each other, don't leave the harbor, all boats back when we can see a yacht again!

[thatched]

[they call this a boat race? Thatch is sitting on the sidelines, wearing his shades and just being there to be there--But it's pretty damn depressing. Dinky boats racing in calm waters toward a goal only two hours away. No cannon. No ship to ship. Just watch them as they go. Anyone close enough will hear him say to himself:]

Might as well call it a pleasure cruise.

[espio]

I wouldn't put it like that, exactly, but what were you expecting?

[Where did he come from and holy shit the lizard is in uniform. Not that he looks particularly comfortable in it...]

Balamb's a quiet resort town, after all.

[corruptedsouls]

[Crowds are still something Tobias can't really deal with well, but water is something he knows, and he feels a bit more comfortable here. So he's set himself up, staying at the Harbor for pretty much the entire day.

He listens to the announcements and other such things quietly, his shoes off and his legs dangling over the side. Once the little boats are available, he grabs one, paying for a full hour and playing around obediently.]

[espio]

[Ah, it's Toby. All on his own, somewhat unsurprisingly. Espio taps him lightly on the shoulder.]

[thatched]

[Thatch spots Toby easily playing with the boats. Well it helps if you can see well over the heads of everyone. He wades his way through the mass of people, closer to the kid]

Hey, Toby-boy. Pika-lady. [and he nods to them both as he sits beside him and absently lights a cigar] Hows tricks?

[elementofloyalty]

[Feeling impish, Rainbow is putting on an impromptu airshow above the water. By her standards, it's nothing fancy at all -- some loops and whirls, some precision flying where she swoops within inches of a few of the RC boats, and maybe sculpting a cloud or two into fancy shapes.]

[espio]

[Her activity catches the attention of Espio. Really, how could it not? All it really gets her is a call of:]

Show off!

[black]

[ For Saber's break from patrolling, she decides to come down to the waterfront. Her visit doesn't seem like it will last long as there's nothing to keep her interest, but..

The Instructor does notice someone she's met before, flying above the water. Rainbow Dash is probably not on duty, but still. ]

Rainbow Dash, [ the Instructor calls, her voice barely raised in volume from what it normally is, ] do you feel that's the best idea?

[ Rainbow Dash might accidentally invite children into the water with the excitement, and that'd be an issue. ..It doesn't help she's a pony. ]

HOTEL

[wrnpcs]

[The Balamb Hotel overlooks the harbour. On one side of the building (perpendicular to the door visible in the above cap), a large TV screen is on a table, attended by two guards. (This could be Cadets or SeeDs hired as security; otherwise assume it's uniformed members of the Balamb town militia.) An assortment of couches and deck chairs are before it; some prepared families are also setting up picnic blankets and tarps to sit on. Hotel staff are running an outdoor bar for the occasion. (The drinking age is eighteen and they are carding.)

[Before the race, a woman talks into a walkie-talkie and makes last minute adjustments to the TV and an aerial, and a man will proudly tell anyone who will listen:] This is the first time it's been possible to watch the entire race! Before the improvement of wireless broadcast, you'd have to follow along the coast - and the road runs out long before the Cape!

[During the race, the picture quality is not the best and despite further tinkering, the signal drops out sometimes, but the TV does offer a view of the race; the speakers, at least, receive the same commentary that the harbor does.]

[whistleconcert]

[Blues has offered to pick up some of the shifts here at the Hotel, even though changing back and forth is a bit time consuming. He wants to at least attempt to blend in, even for a little while, so his guard duty here is the only place he's wearing his actual uniform.]

[gotgreedy]

[Greed is mildly irritated that he can't get some adult beverages today; the perceptive might catch him muttering something faintly insulting to some prince or another.]

[Nevertheless, the homunculus has stopped to watch the TV curiously.]

[tiamat_shot]

[There is absolutely no way to see a more irritated moogle than right here, right now. Not only were his studies over the past month utterly inconclusive, but several of his instructors insisted that he needed to do some missions to pass his classes and write off his repeated absences as "Garden-related", despite how heavily he was researching the Time Compression.

No, of COURSE, they should leave that to the do-nothing jerkoffs at Esthar! Figures, the one time the solution to a problem POSSIBLY comes up, they have to go and break reality, and then kill the guy.

As the icing on the cake, every time he's been in public on this trip, he's been swarmed by kids cooing and tugging at his ears and pom, thinking he's some sort of cute mascot for the races.

As of such, he spends his shift guarding the hotel in relative silence, sporting the absolute sourest look on his face possible.]