The Great Eorzean Chocobo Race!

[xelliexell]

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Trolo Lolo, Chief Editor of That Time of the Month, reporting from Limsa Lominsa on a news flash. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, felines, anthropomorphs, giants, and normal people: The Great Eorzean Chocobo Race is coming to a stable near you incredibly soon! On the 23rd sun of this very moon (Second Astral), the fewest, the proudest chocobo jockeys in all of Eorzea will brave the journey from the Black Shroud all the way to the heart of Thanalan, testing the mettle of rider, steed, and spectator alike. Thanks to the host of the competition, the Vylbrand Academy of Mystics, Tactics, and Trade, a complimentary linkpearl will be provided to all followers upon registering for an all-access spectator pass. This linkpearl will include commentary by yours Trolo, as well as several other sponsors and personalities from across Eorzea, as well as updates from strategically positioned heralds, who will announce when it is best to teleport to various Aetheryte crystals.

 

As the big race draws closer, the Academy finds itself in a race of its own, so to speak, to find volunteers, participants, and spectators for the event before the starting flag ascends. Below are some positions in particularly high demand:

 

 

• Well-bred and well-fed chocobos
  
• Well-bred and well-fed jockeys who can guarantee they will be ready to race on game day - quitters never win
  
• Well-read and well-off sponsors who will pledge to support a specific jockey (or multiple if they're particularly ambitious)
  
• Sanitary Engineers who are not fazed by malms and malms of dung piles
  
• and viewers like you
  

And now the only part that bears any import: the prizes! The Grand Prize of the course (10% of the total revenue) will be awarded to the winning jockey and his or her sponsors, to be divided equally between them. In addition, the jockey with the highest financial sponsorship will award all of their sponsors with the benefit of their pledge. These expressions of gratitude could ranged from a home-cooked picnic dinner at Apkallu Falls to a soiree at Costa del Sol. And lastly, the spectators all have access to a collectible dung heap from the chocobo of their choice.

 

The winner of the course will also receive the prestigious Gold Chocobo Cup, and all of the edible confetti they can stomach!

 

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[align=center]Date: Sunday, March 23rd

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[align=center]Time: 2:00 PM [Central Time Zone]

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[align=center] Start Location: Bentbranch Meadows

End Location: Vesper Bay

[server: Balmung]

 

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Now let's meet our jockeys!

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Rider: Haii Hai

Chocobo: Sir Birdington

 

"Get ready to put on your robe and wizard hat, because if Team Haii Hai gets the most donations, I will be running a Castles & Chimeras game for my sponsors! Are you ready to roll the dice in this seat-of-your-pants imaginary adventure? With me as 'Storymaster', we will travel to worlds unknown! Choritos and Thanalan Dew will be provided to all of my guests as we gather in someone's mom's basement. So sponsor me, okay?"

 

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Rider: Ihrie Desana

Chocobo: Brightmoon

 

"Well hello to all of you out there! Ihrie here and hoping to win this race. For all my sponsors, I will teach a course on the basics and understanding of sign language if I get the most donations. Talk secret secrets with your friends or just flat out understand those that cannot speak. It really helps when you least expect it to!"

 

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Rider: Kairi Lightpaw

Chocobo: Ruby

 

"You can count on me. I have been good at fleeing away from bandits with my beloved Ruby, so we are well trained! Additionally, I shall be hosting a tea party for my sponsors if I receive top donations."

 

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Rider: Flynn Rosenberg

Chocobo: Yuri

 

"I'll do my best. If I win, drinks are on me. Yuri and I share a special bond and always come out on top."

 

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Rider: O'rahn Kevelan

Chocobo: Coco

 

"If I get the most donations, or was it winning?  ... Hah, Either way I'll Form a class for understanding the inner workings of locks and how to manipulate them to your advantage.  No door will be out of your reach!"

 

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Rider: T'aloh Muji

Chocobo: Lyoriin

 

  "H-hi, I'm T'aloh, and I'm glad to be able to use Lyoriin in the race. He may be young but he has heart. If I am to win the race I promise to teach everyone who sponsers me how to properly hunt down creatures and people alike. It...could be like a game of hide and seek. Everyone likes hide and seek...right?"

 

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Now let's take a look at the course! If you are a jockey, please familiarize yourself with the checkpoints, as missing a checkpoint will disqualify you from winning the race! If you are a spectator, you may feel free to stand or move wherever you like (so long as it does not inhibit our racers.)

 

 

[Screenshot of Starting Line point.]

 

 

 

[Screenshot of Checkpoint #1 : North Gate of Buscarron's Druthers. Please disregard "A" marker, as that is for the Herald's reference only.]

[Screenshot of Checkpoint #2: South Platform of Camp Tranquil (must approach through the series of bridges.)]

 

 

 

[Screenshot of Checkpoint #3: Western side of Highbridge.]

 

 

 

[Screenshot of Checkpoint #4: Black Brush Station - enter from the Northeastern gate.]

 

 

 

[Screenshot of Checkpoint #5: Horizon.]

[Screenshot of the Finish Line!]

 

 

So there you have it, sports fans! Look forward to seeing who steps up to the task, and feel free to chip in some gil for your favorite team!

 

 

((See more OoC information in the second post, below. We have a promotional video that details each checkpoint location as well!

 

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[xelliexell]

((This event is largely for fun, but we also hope to earn a little bit toward our FC house as well. Please post here or PM me (xelliexell) if you would like to be a jockey, and contribute any sponsorship donations via mail moogle to Seer Noyeme, Zanin Briggs, or Haii Hai. Also, please mention the name of the racer you wish to sponsor when you send the donation.

 

An official map of the race course will be released closer to the event date.

 

Here are some more specific points about the race:

 

[align=center]Sponsors? What is this madness you speak of?

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                        If you would like, you may sponsor any one of our racers, and in return, that racer will make a pledge. If your racer receives the most sponsorship donations, then they will fulfill their pledge to all of their sponsors. Minimum sponsorship is 5,000 gil, with no cap on maximum gil. Please do show your favored rider your support, and cheer for them on the day of the race as well! With the exception of the cash prize awarded to the winner of the race and their sponsors, all sponsorship will go toward funding our FC House.

 

 

[align=center]I want to race! Where do I sign up as a jockey?

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                        It's easy! Just PM me with your character's name, your chocobo's name, a picture of you both, and your pledge. Please be prepared to fulfill your pledge, should you receive the most financial backing! Additionally, if the day of the race comes and something OoC comes up that prevents you from being there, please try to find a substitute jockey to race on your behalf.

 

Jockey submissions will be accepted until Friday, March 21st. Anyone submitted after that point will have to wait for the next race.

 

Thank you again, everyone! If you have any questions, feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to try and answer them! :moogle: ))

[Steel Wolf]

Is it weird that I wanna make an alt to race in this event? 

 

Anyrate, the time seems a bit itchy to me, since my work schedule is a bit bad, but I really hope I can spectate.  If nothing else, I'll likely be a sponsor at the minimum 5k gil amount.  I'll just wait until after we see some more racers join up. 

[Mooncalling]

I need a Castles and Chimeras game in my life, if only to annoy Haii by shooting magic missiles at the darkness.

 

I just need to find a basement to play in.

[4wheel]

Goodness this sounds like a good deal of fun. I'm sure the riders will have the most enjoyment out of it.  I almost want to roll an alt on Balmung just to grind to my Chocobo and enter as well.

[trilbyhat]

Jockeys of all types are very welcome! :chocobo:

Hope to see you there!

 

*cheers for Team Ihrie!*

[Erik Mynhier]

This is amazing, just amazing.

[xelliexell]

I'm glad to hear there's interest in this event! A lot of time and work has gone into it, so we're hoping to make super fun RP times for everyone involved! :moogle:

 

Showing up late to spectate is fine, too! We'll have someone available to send late linkshell invites to anyone who asks for one, so they can catch what they can of the race. After the race is over, we hope to announce who won the sponsorship bit as well, and then coordinate schedules for pledge fulfillment. And if you can't make the event, we're even trying to get a recording of it - or at least a recording of the chocobos crossing the finish line.

 

@ Rheah - Team Ihrie has the lead right now, so it's really anyone's game as far as who wins the sponsorship race! Even still, Haii Hai is feverishly searching Eorzea for a suitable basement.

[Steel Wolf]

My only "concern" is that the name of the person mentioned in the open of this event is named "Trolo Lolo".  Perhaps it's been my time in EvE speaking here, but that tends to lead one to assume this is a very elaborate scam to siphon money into an FC's coffers "for teh lulz becuz arpeers am dum."

 

Eh, I dunno, maybe I'm being paranoid. 

[Kage]

I'm sorta curious because I know some other people have talked about chocobo racing and then last week on Reddit I saw someone actually have pictures and details about how they ran it.

 

Not sure if I can participate though ;A;

[xelliexell]

@Steel - Eep! I hadn't even considered that! oAo;  Maybe I'm just too trusting? It makes me kind of dejected to hear that people would actually do that, but I also acknowledge that there's some trust involved with the sponsorship angle. All I can really do is point to the Vylbrand Academy Bachelor's Auction that I ran last month to try and lend evidence to the authenticity of my events; I'm fairly sure that everyone who paid for a date got one. (It's why I only allowed people from my FC to be auctioned - so that I could come down on them with the holy fire of a thousand suns if they didn't go as promised. :tonberry: )

 

While our FC is PvE + RP, we have a fairly extensive setting and layout for our RPers (which is most of the guild.) We are an avid and active group of RPers over at USH, although the responsibility of this event falls squarely on my shoulders. If this race doesn't happen and gil has actually been collected, I will take full responsibility and repay everyone out of my own pocket. (For the record, all of my characters are Seer Noyeme, Haii Hai, Jessamine Hook, and Trade Chevalier, if anyone would like to bounty hunt me at that point. :chocobo::cactuar: )

 

But Trolo is just a character in our FC, and he'll be co-hosting the event with Esmond Briggs. I'm thinking their race-oriented banter will be a pretty humorous exchange, actually.

 

@Kage - I saw those things too, although I swear they're unrelated, haha. I was originally inspired to run a chocobo race from the Winter Olympics, and the sponshorship bit was directly inspired by the Every Step of the Way campaign from my workplace (which had a similar-if-not-identical set up). It's been in the works for a few weeks now, but I had to find some committed Heralds before I felt confident enough to post it here. ^^;

[Steel Wolf]

@Steel - Eep! I hadn't even considered that! oAo;  Maybe I'm just too trusting? It makes me kind of dejected to hear that people would actually do that, but I also acknowledge that there's some trust involved with the sponsorship angle. All I can really do is point to the Vylbrand Academy Bachelor's Auction that I ran last month to try and lend evidence to the authenticity of my events; I'm fairly sure that everyone who paid for a date got one. (It's why I only allowed people from my FC to be auctioned - so that I could come down on them with the holy fire of a thousand suns if they didn't go as promised. :tonberry:

 

Oh! Oh, well, that actually does quite a bit to salve my initial worry, honestly. I've had bad experiences color my judgement ni MMOs before, so you'll forgive me the voiced concern...but I also did say...

 

Eh' date=' I dunno, maybe I'm being paranoid. [/quote']

 

...and I've been in more than enough other MMO events that have been above board with handling money. The costume contests of Atlas Park come immediately to mind... :3

 

To that end...c'mon, let's see some other racers join the grid! \o/

[xelliexell]

No forgiveness needed, Steel. You were likely voicing a concern that others had/have as well, so I thank you for letting me address it. ^^ Sometimes important things like that slip my mind, haha.

 

I'm genuinely interested to see if/when other jockeys step up too, and what their pledges will be. How race! Such excite!

[Evie]

This is definitely different then how we'd been working on planning ours. I will definitely try to be there as a spectator come your event, at least as a spectator. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

[Kairi Lightpaw]

Hey hey! I would like to join as Jockey, my name is Kairi Lightpaw and my chocobo is called Ruby. we have been training alot!  :chocobo: Sorry If I dont have a picture yet, (Or it's bad) i shall message you it later.... oh yeah my pledge. "You can count on me, I have been good at fleeing away from bandits with my beloved Ruby, so we are well trained!"

[xelliexell]

Hey hey! I would like to join as Jockey, my name is Kairi Lightpaw and my chocobo is called Ruby. we have been training alot!  :chocobo: Sorry If I dont have a picture yet, (Or it's bad) i shall message you it later.... oh yeah my pledge. "You can count on me, I have been good at fleeing away from bandits with my beloved Ruby, so we are well trained!"

 

All right! Happy to have you aboard, Kairi!   I hope it's okay that I sent you a couple of questions in PM -- hoping they weren't too derpy. (Sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.)

 

Other than that, we'll get you posted when you have that picture and all. Thank you! :moogle:

[Elisea Renyven]

My only "concern" is that the name of the person mentioned in the open of this event is named "Trolo Lolo".  Perhaps it's been my time in EvE speaking here, but that tends to lead one to assume this is a very elaborate scam to siphon money into an FC's coffers "for teh lulz becuz arpeers am dum."

 

Eh, I dunno, maybe I'm being paranoid. 

 

Ah. No worries. I know Haii's already answered this. However, Trolo is a good person. He's also working as one of my editors and writers for our monthly newsletter we're starting which is IC and OOC. He's been with us since the beginning and been a great officer.

 

I also endorse this event 100%. Haii has been a great partner for events, and helping me do things. Come spectate or sign up as jockeys. It should be great fun!

[xelliexell]

Update: Typo of "cycle" has been fixed to "suns." (In case it caused any confusion. ^^; )

[Fulcrum]

Cross posted to the Dark Embers calendar. Going to try to stop by and watch this, cus it sounds fun, and is way before our regular FC event. :moogle:

[xelliexell]

Cross posted to the Dark Embers calendar. Going to try to stop by and watch this, cus it sounds fun, and is way before our regular FC event. :moogle:

 

That is awesome, thank you! We would be glad to have you all there!

 

Also, on a more general note, I posted the course/track map on the original post!

 

If anyone is considering being a jockey (or even if you'd like to strategize where to spectate), please check it out! I have also included screenshots of all of the checkpoints, to try and alleviate any confusion in advance.

[trilbyhat]

See the race in action on our Promotion Video!  

 

 

 

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

Signed up  should be able to make it, 2pm CST is 8pm GMT here in the EU so a big thank you for not having it so late!

[xelliexell]

See the race in action on our Promotion Video!  

 

 

 

 

Zanin is my hero! :love:

 

 

Also, Flynn - that's great! And yes, I made the time a little earlier since we have EU people in our FC as well. Thank you for your interest!

 

Edit: Okay, you're on the original post now! Please let me know if anything is amiss. :moogle:

[Elisea Renyven]

Excited for this!

[xelliexell]

Just wanted to give a heads up that the deadline for jockey-hopefuls is TOMORROW!

 

If you would like to be a jockey for Sunday, please get me all of your information before end of day tomorrow. Thank you~!