melodiesoflife | [01] || [The McDuck Bank] || [Open]

Characters: Scrooge and you!
Where: 02nd District of Aqures Ixen,
When: March (any day from the 07th to the 31st)
Summary: The Scrooge McDuck bank is expanding and its advertising strategy is getting more agressive! Catchy music? Tarutaru, Moogles and Hypellos dancing? Chocobo costumes? What is your reason for not having an account yet?
Warning: The sanity of your character is fragile- Do you really want to risk it?

Upon walking the streets of Aqures Ixen, you would be able to hear a faint yet catchy music. And it wouldn’t take long to find this music came from an office located in the second district of Aqures Ixen. An office, or rather a bank to be specific: Indeed, there was a rotating sign with the inscription “McDuck Bank” before the entrance, as well as a Moogle holding a pile of paper. Some characters might recognize this Moogle—It was Quackly, the Moogle who worked for Scrooge McDuck. Needless to say, he was very busy and could be seen rushing around and stopping anyone passing by. That meant your character, too.

“Dearest client, Kupo!” The Moogle sounded cheerful enough and handed your character a prospectus before waving toward the bank’s entrance. “Please, come in! The McDuck Bank is celebrating its expansion with new offices in Trano Golsaucia, Balicea and Flence! Just visit, and then feel free to leave or open an account, Kupo!”

Should your character be curious enough to step into the bank—Well, they were in for a shock. At first, the bank looked nearly normal: two human guards were standing by each side of the door, there were a lot of clients and at the back of the office there was Scrooge, working behind a counter and processing the clients. Where things started getting weird was at the right side of the bank: there was a Chocobo running in a giant hamster ball... This probably explained the rotating sign outside.

And on the left side was the source of the music: two Tarutarus, two Hypellos and two Moogles. They were all dressed with Chocobo costumes and while the Hypellos were playing music, the Tarutarus and Moogles on their end were dancing in rhythm with the music played. Worse, they even sang. It was a very upbeat and catchy song, designed specifically to remain stuck in your head for hours and days.

“An account! An account! If you want an account open it now!” A brief pause as the music went on then a repeat. “An account! An account! You want an account, then open it now!”

And between the refrains, the Tarutaru in the middle of the dancing group stepped forward as the music grew slightly calmer, singing a different tone:

“I wanted to go on vacation to Mysidia and I didn’t have the money for it… But the McDuck Bank loaned me the money I needed!”

And then, the music grew faster and louder again, and it all just repeated.

“An account! An account! If you want an account open it now! An account! An account! You want an account, then open it now!”

Of course, there were variations to the music. Sometimes, the other Tarutaru was the one to sing instead, saying things like: “I went to Trano Golsaucia without any money on me, but I could use the money I stored in Aqures Ixen thanks to the McDuck Bank!” And sometimes, it was even one of the Moogles singing. “Robbers wanted my money, but the McDuck Bank protected it, Kupo Kupo!”

Should you decide to discard what little was left of your sanity and stay until your turn came, you would be speak to Scrooge. He wasn’t singing, but he did obviously look happy: business was booming and his master plan to become the richest duck in Crystallis was going along fantastically.

“Why, hello dear client! What can I do for you today?”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Catchy music, dancing, and spinning flashy signs? The wary would see it as some sort of money trap. The savvy would see it for the promotional event that it truly was. And some saw it as a little piece of wonder.

Rukia fell into the third category without question.

She pushed through the door, eyes wide as she looked around the grand building. A chocobo! Moogles and Tarutarus! She always did like cute things. Banks were not something she was accustomed to using, so she listened to the song, head tilted thoughtfully as she considered the lyrics very seriously. That was a convenient way to access funds indeed, she thought.

Then she saw the one in charge of the operations: A DUCK.

Sold.

She was fairly sure it was the same one who had entered the Haunted Mansion all those months ago. Even then it seemed he'd had an eye for money and investments. He was the one who'd sent the flyer as well, then? It had said she could grow her money here by a small percentage, so perhaps it would benefit her to do so. Then she could invest in more research projects.

Rukia stepped into the line, patiently waiting her turn. Then she approached, holding to the countertop. "One account, please."

Perfect. Heroes of Light were now opening accounts too? That meant Scrooge would be able to use that in the next advertising campaign. He could already see it: 'The McDuck Bank, the #1 backer for all Heroes of Light fighting the Calamity!' The $$ sign might have flashed in his eyes for a second.

"Ah, excellent!"

Scrooge stepped down and moved away from the counter for a second, before coming back with a couple papers and handing them over to her.

"Please fill in this form lass and..." The form were fairly traditional. It asked the name, place and date of birth, expected income, and so on. "It's 100 Gil to open the account, a mere formality."

This wasn't written anywhere? Indeed! But what bank was free? All these people working here needed money and something to live after all!

Rukia penned her name without any difficulty. Place and date of birth? Uhhh... She put down 'Not Sure' in both fields. At least she could provide her income. There didn't seem to be a place to fill out date of death, so that made things a little less awkward, right?

She lifted her head at the mention of the extra fee, and blinked. "...Very well." Then she returned to the form. Apparently she'd come to the same conclusion. 100 Gil wasn't all that much, and she always supported those who would strive to provide a service to those in need.

"You were with us at the Haunted Mansion, correct? I'm certain I have seen you before."

Before long the duck took back the form and the 100 Gil-- So little, but with 100 persons it would amount to 10 000 Gil! Enough to pay all the employees for a month. Scrooge raised an eyebrow when he saw "not sure" for place and date of birth, but didn't say any more on the topic.

Then he nodded at her question.

"I was indeed." He shook his head. "Such a shame the place didn't turn to be as profitable as I thought it would be. Hopefully the Aqurean Mountains will prove to hide greater treasures."

Rukia lifted her head and blinked. She was curious by what he meant. "I didn't know there was anything worth exploring in the mountains." She knew of the Ancient Caves, and had tried to go there on her first couple of weeks upon awakening in the city. But she'd never finished the journey on account of the alarming swarm of sahagin that attacked her.

"My chocobo was recently granted some sort of change that allows her to move through the mountains with ease," she informed him, folding her hands politely on the countertop as she waited for the next step in the process. "Are you looking to go by yourself, or with a group?"

Ib watches the show outside in curious amusement before finally heading inside to have a look. Not as exciting inside, but she really likes the chocobo running in the hamster ball. It's cute. She watches that until her turn comes.

"Um, I've just been keeping my money in my house. Should I keep it here instead?"

"Of course! Inside your house, your money is at the mercy of robbers and criminals. And if that happens, all your money's gone for good."

With years of explaining to his nephews, Scrooge was an expert at explaining these things to kids.

"Here, we've got guards working to keep your money safe 24/7! Even in the unlikely case it would be stolen, we'd pay you back your money in full. And if you leave us the care of your money for a long time, we can even have it grow and give back to you more than what you left! That's what banks are for!"

"Wow... That does sound like it would be a lot safer."

Gosh she hadn't even thought of robbers, but it certainly is possible. Not to mention that, despite being only a kid, Ib has actually amassed quite a bit of money over the past year and a half. And if it gets stolen at the bank they pay you back?

Plus she just turned eleven and a bank account strikes her as a very grown-up thing to have.

"How do I get an account? Is it hard?"

Lydia was familiar with banks, and before his nerves had been shot her Father had been a real estate investor, which meant a lot of work with a lot of bureaucracy and banks for loans and forms. She really didn't have much, but she also had been taught the value of saving. So putting some away might not be a bad idea--she didn't have to store it all in the bank, after all.

She was on her way home from school, using Manami's bicycle, and propped that against the outside wall. It would be safe-enough, as it no one really expressed much interest in it other than her. Heading inside, the assault on her ears made her grimace a bit, but she couldn't deny that for a bank's opening it was...attention-grabbing.

Waiting her turn patiently, Lydia was reasonably not-surprised to find a duck greeting her.

"I was wondering if you'd tell me more about the requirements for opening an account and the details that go with it." Would she be able to withdraw her money if she were in Trano Golsaucia? Was there a minimum-balance? She didn't think they offered checking accounts yet, and she really didn't need one either.

Attention-grabbing maybe, but it worked! Under normal circumstances, Scrooge probably wouldn't have gone with such flashy ways to get money-- But this was a brand new world and he was too old to start from scratch. This would suffice until he could get back to Duckburg.

"Being a sentient being with no history with the legal system of Aqures Ixen is the only requirement." Ideally, with the legal system of any world, but that would be too hard to check.

He then handed over to her the prospectus with all the details. "And here is all you need to know lass!" And indeed, she could withdraw money from Trano.

The opening-fee of 100 gil made her blink, but wasn't terribly surprising considering her experiences in her own world. Reading the prospectus though, simply to be sure she had it all understood. Boring, but necessary.

"I don't expect it to be a problem, but do we need to maintain a minimum balance from month to month?" Not that Lydia was terribly worried. Aside from her hobbies, she made due on the stipend provided to Heroes. She also wasn't above the occasional odd-job to earn money. If she really was desperate, she could go monster-hunting, although she still felt some moral qualms about that at times.

"I'm familiar with banks from my home world, so just trying to see how one here might differ or not." A smile, and clearly trying to be an informed consumer.

[01] || [The McDuck Bank] || [Open]

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