Event || The Festival of Light

[eternitymods]

Who: Everyone!
When: August 18th - 25th
Where: The Empire
What: The Festival of Light is here! Feel free to use any of these prompts. NPCs tag will come sometimes this week. Please mention it in your top-level if you'd rather not be tagged by a random NPC.
Warnings/Notes: N/A

EXPOSITION OF THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT
— Third District || August 18th – August 25th || 10:00 to 23:00 —
The museums in the 03rd District are open to visitors and are home to many relics predating written history. A lot of those old relics are items of archaeological interest or look like they could be really advanced technologies if they weren't broken beyond repair. Prototypes for Magitek Armor of a new age are exposed, alongside fragments of what are believed to belong to the legendary WEAPONs, machines that belong to the same category than Ultima WEAPON.

The section for Eidolons has all the Eidolons the characters have met so far as well as others yet undiscovered displaying on a gigantic wall-covering painting. The largest Eidolon on the painting appears to be a dragon some characters may recognize as Bahamut, he is so big he dwarves the other Eidolons and should one pay attention, his wings are actually the background of the painting.

Interestingly, someone has doodled something that looks like Ultros over Leviathan on the painting...


SUNNY STARLIGHT
— Ninth District || August 22nd – August 25th || 07:00 to 19:00 —
Do you really believe because it’s summer, you can escape the beauty and magnificence of Christmas? Think again. There is one thing all the nations on Vaikuntha are of one mind on: the wait from the December 26th of a year to the December 24th of the next is too long. This is why a band of Moogles, Lalafells, Bangaas and Zoras from all across the Empire have occupied half of the Ninth District. Decorated trees, Christmas music, people dressed as Santa Claus (and probably dying because of the heat), fake gift boxes as well as a very large and pretty box for donations all await you!

Kids below the age of 15 will all receive a gift if they come: plushies made in the likeness of the main villains of numbered Final Fantasy games! And when you press the button hidden on their stomach, they speak a random line. Who doesn't want a Sephiroth plushie saying "You are a puppet" or a Jecht one repeating "Cry, cry, cry" all day long?

It's like a dream come true!


MIDNIGHT AIRSHIP
— Twelfth District || August 20th – August 24th || 23:00 to 06:00 —
For the late sleepers, it is possible to board a special airship prepared by Hypellos to party up in the sky. The Airship flies all around the Imperial Territories and should characters so desire, they can ask to stop by one of the two other cities. Whether they want to dance, to eat or to enjoy the view, it might be a very fun and relaxing activity. It is also a very good place from where to watch the fireworks… Or to scout for an incoming Tarutaru and her weapon toy.

Note that all the personnel onboard are Hypellos. They are very serviceable and nice, but can try the patience of those not used to their accent. Of note, one Hypello is green and appears to be angrily stalking anyone heading for the "Sunny Starlight" event. He is quite sneaky though and will always manage to get away before being approached.


MOGNET EXPOSITION
— Ninth District || August 22nd – August August 25th || 07:00 to 19:00 —
The half of the Ninth District not occupied by Christmas fanatics is occupied by the Moogles working for the Imperial section of Mognet. Split for the regular Mognet for a decade, Imperial Mognet has managed to thrive. Imperial iMog Slates have all sorts of functions other iMog Slates could only dream of, such as games, grammar check and that kind of stuff. All of those things can be visited at the exposition! Not only that, but the Moogles are also putting on display things that have nothing to do with Mognet but more to do with Moogles themselves.

Come and visit the exposition to discover the rich and amazing culture of the Moogles! Kupo Nuts, Fur Dye, Fake Kupo Nuts, Pom Shiner, Carved Kupo Nuts, booklets titled "How to Use Your Cuteness to Exploit People," Mognet Bags, Deluxe Kupo Nuts, Sheets to Prepare Future Strikes, Mog Beds, Explosive Kupo Nuts, Kupo Champagne—

There is no end to what might be learned from Moogles!


CHOCOBO RACES
— Sen Riqeaux || August 23rd || 15:00 to 20:00 —
A Chocobo Race will be held all around the city! Will you compete? Shall you win? There are no prizes as all the money earned through the race is given to the Safety of Sparks Golsaucia movement. Those participating can bring their own Chocobo or get a temporary one from the people organizing the race. It will be a very bad Chocobo though, so they shouldn’t expect to win… Beware the Hamsters and Marlboro during the race though. It’d be a real shame to end up getting eaten while racing.


SHOPPING
— City's Outskirts || August 18th – August 25th || 07:00 - 20:00 —
On the city's outskirts are all manners of stalls by shoppers eager to make some money. You can find everything there: plushies, food, clothes, souvenirs, books and even cosmetics. Why, one of the merchant is even selling contact lenses covering nearly all of the rainbow's spectrum aside from green while another sells all kind of swords, even the supposed legendary Excalibur! This might be the perfect place to take on O'aka's Quest if you so wish!


MINI SPARKS GOLSAUCIA
— Eleventh District || August 19th – August 24th || Anytime —
Specially for the festival, stallholders from Sparks Golsaucia were invited and brought a few attractions to display what they can do. Noticeably, there is a shooting stand—Once again, a treasure chest game where characters are presented with ten chests and can open only one-- Prizes range from one Gils to gigantic plushies. The novelty this year is something called the "Kupo Boxes," Boxes you punch open and you get something: perhaps something wonderful like a 1 million gil ticket, more often than not though absolutely nothing. Will you try your chance? Be careful, your wallet might not survive it.


TOURNAMENTS
— Tenth District || August 19th – August 23rd || 10:00/15:00/20:00 —
There is a Blitzball Competition taking place during the Festival of Light! Characters are free to go and watch the matches, so long as they can pay for the tickets. At the same time, a Triple Triad competition is taking place. Characters are free to enter the Triple Triad tournament if they so wish. Characters who know Triple Triads have decent chances to win. And even if your characters lose, what matters is trying, right? There are no prizes to be won, as all money goes to the Triple Triad For Everyone associations.


CULINARY ATTRACTIONS
— Second District || August 18th – August 25th || 12:00 to 13:30 / 19:00 to 21:00 —
What would a festival be without free food and banquets? Not really a festival. In the fourteenth district, there is a banquet and many stands held by people from all over the Empire. All kind of food can be found here-- Refined food, pastries, cakes, cooked meals, etc. It's virtually impossible not to find something to like in all of this, and it's all free! There are, however, guards standing around on the lookout for Gourmands who would be tempted to ruin the fun for everyone. After what happened two years ago, better be careful.


THE OPERA
— Ninth District || August 18th - August 24th || 22:00 —
There is an opera every day for all to see for free, titled "A Goddess's Tears." It is a retelling of the creation myth, but shown from the (presumed) perspective of the Goddess of Death. The play depicts the Goddess as someone who started out as a rather sweet person, but whose life took such terrible turns she wished to die and resented life. Yet, death was too scary of a prospect for her and she couldn't choose what was better, Life or Death. As the play progresses, she decides both are equally terrible and resolves to create a world where those very notions shall no longer exist.

As the play unfolds, toward the ends the story becomes what people are more familiar with. However, rather than letting her die wordlessly, the four heroes appease the Goddess's soul by singing. As the four heroes sing, the Goddess smiles and sheds a single tear before passing away. It is said the play is very emotional, sensible people might want to pass on it.


HOUSING
— Fourteenth District || August 17th - August 27th || Anytime —
Before, after and during the Festival of Light, the characters will all need a place where they can rest. Thankfully for them, people coming with the Curti Center delegation are all given the keys to stay in one of the abandoned houses in the 14th District. Truth to be told however, those house look anything but abandoned. Why, it's as if people had been living in them up until very recently, given how either clean and ordered they are for some, or chaotic and neglected they are for others (Characters who were present in Melodies of Life will be able to notice the houses are nearly identical to what they were just before the time skip during endgame, though there are a few eerie differences).

At least, it's a good place to sleep!


ARDYNIAN DISCOVERY
— Fifteenth District || August 18th – August 25th || 10:00, 15:00, 20:00 —
Everyday, it will be possible to get wheeled motor vehicle driven by imperial soldiers and go visit one of the other cities, case in point, Ardynia! Not much is done over there for the Festival of Light, but it is worth checking out, if only for the Wizard and Jester Jobs. It is a thriving city with people from all over the Empire, and it appears to be something of a shopping center for the imperial region.

And most importantly, discover the official headwear of Ardynia: the Fedora! It is said Archaeologists have imported this fashion trend to Ardynia when they pass by, but none know whether this is true or not. While most citizens have enough senses not to actually wear this dreaded hat, those who do wear it really look dumb doing so. And those who don't look dumb look like they'd make jokes about your pet's untimely demise while you're still crying about it.

Perhaps is is best to stay away.


PARASRAYA DISCOVERY
— Fifteenth District || August 18th – August 25th || 10:00, 15:00, 20:00 —
Everyday, it will be possible to get wheeled motor vehicle driven by imperial soldiers and go visit one of the other cities, case in point, Parasraya! Not much is done over there for the Festival of Light, but it is worth checking out, if only for the Archaeologist and Catmancer Jobs, as well as the Weapon Master Association. It is a technologically advanced yet small and cozy city...

... If it wasn't for a tragedy plaguing the city: cats, cats everywhere. If the meowing doesn't kill you, the constant flow of cats asking to be pet, fed and to sit on your lap might. You may even encounter a few tired citizens paying you money to take care of the cat infestation around their house. Others however are really defensive of the cats and will hunt anyone trying to bring harm to them. Of course, the source of all these cat-related troubles can be traced back to the origins of the Catmancer guild.

But, perhaps it is a story best left for another day.


FIREWORKS
— First District || August 18th – August 24th || Midnight —
Fireworks will be launched from the Castle starting 00:00 and will end at 01:00, everyday of the Festival. No matter where you are in the city, anyone should be able to watch them with ease if they so wish. Unfortunately, it means falling asleep before midnight may be a bit hard with all the noise. On the 25th, characters will be with dining with the Empress as the fireworks happen.

Comments

[promiselisting]

Exposition

[ Hm. Hm. This sure looks like something that could be useful. Futaba has her iMog Slate out at all times here, practically recording her walkthrough. Is there some kind of rule against flash photography? Too bad.

She spends quite a long time with the relics, and even longer with the Eidolon mural, taking picture after picture, both of the mural itself and focusing in on each individual Eidolon. Though she pauses for a moment when she gets to the graffiti, her face falling into exasperation. ]

Seriously? Levi's gonna flip her lid if she sees this. ]


Mognet Expo!

[ If you thought she was missing this? Oh you have another think coming. Not to mention that it was one of the stipulations her boss gave her for taking so much time off right after being hired. Which really made Futaba want to tell him that she could just tell the Empress 'I can't come because my boss said no,' but eh. She would've gone anyway, and she did kind of bail unexpectedly to rescue Shiro and Hunk from the Dream Width so she guessed she kind of owed him.

She's currently standing in front of a sample Imperial iMog, flipping through some of the features and comparing them to her own iMog, in her hands. She doesn't seem particularly impressed with the Imperial iMogs, to be fair, but she does seem rather appalled at her own slate. ]

Seriously? This is so much basic stuff.... Maybe I should just tell them to put me on app development back home.

[ Neo is fluttering about too, holding a bag of Kupo Nuts and some other accessories and clearly trying to get his mistress's attention. ]

Futaba. Futabaaaaaaa~


August 21st (cw for parental death and probably past abuse in threads)

[ Anybody who actually knows Futaba well will probably notice that, for all her poking around during the whole of the festival, on the 21st of August she is. Notably absent. For the most part, she'll be around her festival housing. Visitable for those who are interested, but reluctant to leave otherwise.

She does go out a bit briefly near the end of the day, heading to get some food. But she still doesn't really leave the fourteenth district, and once she takes her food, she finds a quiet nook or alleyway and jams herself in it, poking at her food moodily. Neo is nearby too, subdued. Less sure how to help Futaba than normal - it was enough convincing her to go out and actually eat, today. ]

Wildcard

[ Futaba can be found plenty of places besides those mentioned above. She'll usually have Neo and actually her chocobo, Chocojiro with her (even in places where it may not be entirely appropriate), hiding behind the bird if the crowds get too intense. She'll also probably visit each other city at least once.

If you have any other ideas feel free to PM this journal or hit me up at gorsecloud! ]

Mognet Expo

[eternitynpcs]

Y-you're familiar with these kind of applications, kupo? [Pardon this moogle for staring in both surprise and wonder.] I-I mean, you can always ask once you're familiar with the code, kupo! I'm sure the others will be thrilled!

[Sorry Neo, he was gonna help but then he got distracted himself...]

Expo

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda peers over Futaba's shoulder or like, her entire being. Short friends are fun, and Futaba's not paying much attention. ]

They should make you the boss.

Expo

[kuposcreed]

[What's the best part about being a moogle with a moogle companion? Twice as many bags of swag and kupo nuts. But Bonnie pauses as she hears Futaba talking to herself about the slate.]

Kupo. I could stand for a better screen on mine. It always seems to think my paws are two or three fingers at once. It's really tricky to use it the way I want to, kupo.

August 21st

[strawberryredgrave]

(Dante's ready to wrap up his day by going back to his house and flopping on the couch or something. It's been a good long while since the empire opened itself like this, so the zora's been taking in everything that he can.

Can't say he planned on seeing anyone hiding away in an alley like that, though. Poor girl seems really down on herself...and there's no way in Hell he can just leave her there. Cautiously, the zora calls out to her.)

Hey. You alright over there?

[melodiouspacifist]

I. The Opera

Some people might have thought the Opera was boring, but Demyx was not one of them. In fact, he was rather entranced and enamored with the music, listening and feeling the music. He wasn't sure about the story, but he was definitely enjoying the music.

At intermission he was with a bottle of water, humming along to the last song they heard, pitch perfectly as he was just committing it to memory.

II. Speaking of memories...Fireworks!

He didn't remember the last time he'd seen fireworks.

Not even when he was young, in a world that hadn't evolved to them, had he seen them. He was sure he had seen them at some point in his travels.

They were amazing. Bright, loud, amazing. He just stared up in awe.

III. Sunny Starlight.

Demyx turned the corner and took one look at the Christmas decorations...

And turned back, the other way, moving like he was in a hurry.

IV. Midnight Airship

As his usual roommates were well aware, Demyx did not go to bed very early. He seemed to be inspired at night, and this festival was no exception. He boarded the airship.

He could be found looking out at the area with a content sigh.

He wasn't playing, but he was definitely enjoying the view.

V. Choose Your Own Adventure

[[Other ideas? Hit me up here. PM me. Plurk me at Ammeschan or even discord Ammeschan#5385]

III

[eternitynpcs]

Demyx found Jessie right behind him, rushing towards the Starlight decorations. With the two running in opposing directions, she walked straight into him, bouncing back from the impact and nearly falling backwards.

"Erm. ...Are you alright?" She pulled back a strand of hair that had fallen out of place.

I

[poisonwish]

Snow White perked up to see Demyx among the crowd during the intermission. Even better, the other man seemed to be as much a fan of the performance as Snow was himself. He couldn't look too excited, though. He had to remain calm, cool, collected.

But he really was relieved to know another friendly non-human was around. He didn't know many.

"I take it you're enjoying the show?" he asked with a smile.

OTA!

[findingbeasts]

[Parasraya Discovery - practically the whole damn time]

[The Festival of Light! A whole new place to discover! A chance to meet new people and explore this place he'd ended up in with much more ease than he would have had before!

Instead, Newt had ended up in Parasraya where there was apparently a cat problem.

Several people had already approached Newt and asked him to help take care of the issue, clearly fed up with the multitudes of felines swarming the city but Newt wasn't about to do anything to harm the balance the cats had established. (And he wasn't exactly pleased with what some people implied he do to the cats to get rid of them. He's watching you. All of you.) With Flavius's help Newt had begun sweeping through different areas of the city to check on the various colonies that seemed to have been established.

Between Flavius being absolutely delighted by the felines and Newt himself being charmed by just about any animal he encountered, fantastical or not, the powerless wizard was in his element.

Whether it's seated on a bench with several cats curled up on his lap while he writes in a journal or wander around the city with a cat in his arms while Flavius floats along beside him and a train of cats follows behind, Newt can be found just about anywhere in Parasraya.

Just don't let him catch you trying to harm any of the cats.]


[Mognet Exposition! - August 22nd]

Newt! Newt! Look at these!

[Practically buzzing with excitement, Flavius was hovering near a display of explosive Kupo Nuts, eyes shining with want as he put his paws to his cheeks.]

Aren't they amazing, kupo?

Amazing and dangerous. I can see why you'd enjoy them. [It's said fondly and with a note of amusement as Newt approaches, a pair of kittens in his left coat pocket merrily enjoying the ride as their heads poked out the top while their mother trailed along behind the man, happy for the break.] A bit excessive aren't they?

Never! What if a giant monster attacks, kupo! With these I could help fend them off!


[Wildcard!]

[Feel free to hit me with something from one of the other prompts! Just..be prepared for cats to be involved in some manner because Newt is absolutely leaving this place with a few new friends so he's going to have them with him the entire time.]

Mognet Explosition

[eternitynpcs]

[Wedge eyes the explosives Flavius is asking for.]

Not as good as a blaster in a fight, but I imagine they'd be good for a distraction. I wonder if they sell 'em anywhere.

[Probably not, during this festival when security is such a big focus.]

Mognet Exposition

[toxicodendron_isley]

Pam, Pam, Pammy!

[A Moogle zooms passed holding a bottle of Fur Dye.]

What do you think about this, Pam? [Althaea floats around a woman holding onto a Imperial iMog Slate who just looks bemused at the Moogle's suggestions.] I could make my fur red to match yours! Or maybe you'd like green better?

At this rate blue and red tips might suit you better.

Why's that, kupo?

It's nothing. [She takes the dye and sets it down, petting the Althaea on the head.] Let's get to know each other au naturel first, shall we? Where are those Kupo Nuts you were talking about?

Parasraya

[kuposcreed]

Kupoooo~

[The soft whine of a moogle floats up from the masses of cats that have gathered around Newt.]

Ahhh~ I appreciate this but please let me go, kupo~

[It's hard to spot her amongst all the other furry bodies, but once you know what you're looking for it's easy enough to spot Bonnie's pom and wings, not to mention her hood. The poor moogle has been pinned down by a large mommycat who is currently in the process of vigorously giving the moogle a bath.]

Help~

[OU] Clarus - OTA

[lordshield]

[I. Exposition of Light]
"It still strikes me as so peculiar that those who were gods on our planet are merely beings to be summoned into battle here," the paladin mused, perplexed. He peered at the painting, trying to take in every detail and identify all the being depicted there. After a bit he moved on, mentally preparing himself to look on these things they touted as the ultimate weapons, if he'd understood correctly.

"Relics," he commented to no one in particular as he peered through the glass at the objects in question. "No doubt they'd hide whatever true advanced weapons they've made." That last bit was muttered under his breath to close companions, but others may have caught it too, if they were listening closely enough.

[II. Purrasraya]
Perhaps a minute had passed since Clarus had taken a seat, he thought, and nearly instantly he found himself with a lap full of cats. He'd never allowed his children to have pets in the house, nor had he been allowed, so his familiarity with the felines was minimal. Still... he couldn't help but be charmed by the little animals.

"Calm down, I only have two hands," he admonished the cats while trying to hide a grin. "One at a time!"

[III. Ready to Race!]
"I'll take on any who wish a friendly match," Clarus offered congenially, petting Poppy's neck as they stood by the entrances to the race, the chocobo eager for a run. "Though, it's only fun if all contenders reach the finish line. Battle-ready opponents are preferred."

[IV. Shakyamuni Sidetrack]
While in the unknown country, the old Shield had been doing everything he could to learn as much as he could. Any details on the past, the present, the government, the people, the land... And somewhere along the way he learned of an odd little legend pertaining to an area between the capital and the other major cities. So Clarus had spoken to the drivers in District 15, perhaps greased some palms, and had a detour worked into the route.

There Clarus stood, in the middle of the Shakyamuni plains, surveying the landscape before him. The legends suggested a little girl might appear asking for a song to be sung. It seemed so impossible that this might be true, or connected to the young lady he'd met on his first day, and Clarus had never been much of a superstitious man, but he felt he had to try. He fiddled with his iMog a moment before playing the recording he'd made of himself singing the wordless song the little girl had taught him, letting it loop a few times before he began singing along, though still somewhat quietly.

[V. Wildcard]
(Got an idea? Either go for the gold or hmu on plurk Lycole)

I. Exposition of Light

[desertbloomed]

"If these are truly pieces of the WEAPONS, it's likely their engineers have already succeeded in reverse-engineering what they could of the technology," Ashelia replied in a low tone. "The Empire did not create the WEAPONS. Of that, I'm sure. They needn't have feared outsiders stealing these pieces." She gave Clarus a raised eyebrow. "Until now, that is."

Emeralda - ota

[remnantofzeboim]

Exposition of the Festival of Light

Emeralda had spent a while wandering around examining all of the old pieces of recovered machinery, fascinated by the idea of something that, in a sense, was a lot like her. Some long-lost piece of history dug up after centuries buried away. Admittedly, all of these seemed to be broken, but still...

"Think these old as me?" She asked her moogle, who was floating along behind her taking pictures of all the descriptions.

"Maybe! But you're certainly in better shape." Fidget replied, and Emeralda couldn't help but giggle at that. Yet still, the thought was locked into her brain now. After another minute or two the green haired teen turned towards someone who was standing nearby.

"Hi. You know how long 'predating written history' is?" She asked in her usual broken speech, pointing to one of the descriptions under a piece of a WEAPON. The question probably didn't have an answer, but she wouldn't be satisfied till she asked.

Sunny Starlight

She'd come to see the decorated trees she'd heard people talking about, but for now, Emeralda was mostly focused on the green doll she had been handed as she'd walked in. Well, she'd been offered another one with a really buff looking guy with a lot of hair but she'd asked for the green one because how often did she see things nearly as green as her hair?

But after walking a ways in she'd pressed the button on the stomach and...well. "All shall return the void!" the doll chirped gravely at her, loudly enough for people around her to hear.

"Not the friendliest toy, is it?" Her moogle asked, earning a shake of her head from Emeralda. "Maybe we should go ask for a different one?"

"Maybe..." She wasn't normally apprehensive about talking to people but that felt weird somehow, and just left her frowning back at where they were giving the dolls away. Hmmmmm.

Midnight Airship

As some poor unfortunate soul was coming around a corner on the airship, they'd find themselves nearly knocked off their feet by Emeralda as the short teen came racing around the other way. Luckily she as strong enough to reach out and grab them before they could fall, her eyes wide.

"Sorry, sorry!" She said as she let go, bouncing back a step, her eyes checking to make sure she hadn't hurt them before she leaned to the side, frowning down past her unfortunate victim. "Was chasing. Uhm. Green...person?" She gestured towards a hypello nearby. "Like them but green. And real fast! They were watching Emeralda but ran away..."

Her tone wasn't malicious at all, just curious and maybe a little hurt. People didn't usually run from her!

Parasraya Discovery

Emeralda had just taken the car ride out of curiosity, but shortly after she'd arrived in the city one of the locals had asked her to help with their cat infestation. What a bizarre problem...

She didn't know what they'd wanted her to do with them, but the end result was Emeralda now had a backpack with like ten cats, mostly kittens, in it, and another one in her arms, and zero idea what to do with them. She was standing near where everyone would get back in the cars to go back to the main festival, looking a bit shellshocked at the whole situation.

Help?

Wildcard

[Emeralda will be all over the festival, so feel free to toss something else up or ping me here or on plurk if you have some other idea of where to meet her. Also, brackets or prose are both fine for responses, I'll just match!]

Sunny Starlight

[princeandscholar]

Although technically still a child, sixteen in his culture was considered old enough to court and join the military... hence the boy's blush and gentle protest at being given a toy. (Did he really look that young?) He was further confused when he took a closer look and realized the doll was... honestly a bit scary to look at with its’ scowling face and dark clothes.

Orcelito approached the toy bins curiously, looking for the sort of plush animals his little sister played with. Instead there were more of the same, and he stepped back and frowned. Perhaps the culture was just very different.

Spotting another child who had come on the trip (the green hair was hard to miss), Orcelito joins her with an understanding smile. "They're not very cute, are they? If you don't want to appear rude, you can keep it to give to someone who would like it."

[doodlebuginette]

Sunny Starlight

Maybe it was the fact that she was used to celebrating Christmas in December, or perhaps it was something else entirely. Either way, Marinette was just shaking her head at all of this. But apparently someone, somewhere, had decided that this was a good idea, and who was she to say that that choice was wrong? If an entire city wanted to do things a little differently, what right did she have to judge them for it?

Even still, she was having a hard time wrapping her head around everything. But even she had to admit that it was all very festive. Mai was currently hovering behind her, casually snapping photos of the decorations and the people in costumes. Something about posterity.

Shopping

Some things would never change. Wherever there were people, there were places to shop, and Marinette was particularly interested in the things to be bought here. Most importantly, she was on the lookout for something to wear to the dinner. If she didn't find something she couldn't live without, she'd probably just end up wearing something she'd brought along. Or maybe she'd see about making something. That could be fun.

With that thought in mind, she can easily be found browsing one of the many shops. Mai can usually be spotted hovering along behind her, possibly pointing out something she's sure the ridiculous girl would like.

Culinary Attractions

Just as a moth is drawn to a flame, the culinary festival had successfully drawn in one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She might have decided that a career in fashion was what she really wanted in life, but food would always be her first love. And while this wasn't the first time she'd been to this kind of thing, it was the first time she'd been to a food festival in an entirely different world!

To say she was excited would be an understatement. She could easily be spotted flitting here and there, accepting samples of various treats, and sometimes pausing to ask a question or make a comment on some aspect of the food or the process. Mai, not having such a keen interest in food, just hung back and snapped photos of everything because she figured her girl would like to have something tangible to remember this by.

Choose Your Own

[While the things up above are the ones she'd most likely get up to, Marinette is likely available for other things as well. Want something not on the list? Goferit~ I'll match format as well. I'm also down for plotting things via doodlebuginette~]

Sunny Starlight

[eternitynpcs]

Look, I'm telling you, it's the Vaikunthan version of Life Day.

That's a load of bantha fodder, Starlight's got nothing to do with that old Wookie holiday.

[Biggs and Wedge pass by, going through the motions of what sounds to be a very old argument between them. They're both wearing elf hats and each have a basket full of little candy canes that they are handing out.

When they stop to offer one to Marinette and her moogle, they will see that the candies have little strips of paper attached that read: Science is a Treat! Thanks for supporting the Curti Center.]

Here you go. Enjoy!

[pidgeypidge]

Expo

Not surprisingly, Pidge can be found wandering through the various exhibits to be seen. Bobble had been bouncing around, wanting to help, so he'd been assigned the task of taking photos of everything. This included the exhibits and displays, of course, but every once in a while he'd pause in that assignment to sneak a couple of Pidge herself.

She hasn't noticed just yet, but every once in a while she'll stop to point something out to the moogle and he'll flutter over to take a look.

Sunny Starlight

As stupid as it might have been, Pidge could admit that the whole... Christmas in August was a nice distraction. If she couldn't go home to her family, being in a city that just casually decided to move Christmas on a whim was very possibly almost as good. Maybe.

They hadn't been walking long when someone in a Santa Claus suit came shuffling over to wish them a Merry Christmas! and thrust a doll into her arms. And then just as quickly as they'd come, they were off again. "Okay..."

Meanwhile, Bobble was praising his good fortune at being able to catch that moment on film.

Mognet Expo

Pidge's motivations for peeking in here were two-fold. She wanted to get a look at the Imperial iMog slates, sure. But she also felt like Bobble needed a distraction from being so... Bobble, and she'd heard about there possibly being moogle-related things here too. So really, it was a win-win.

In fact, she'd given him the okay to go off and do whatever and told him she'd come to find him in a bit. All in all, the Imperial functions were shiny, but not necessarily things she couldn't do on her own. The jury was definitely out on whether or not she actually wanted one.

She caught up with Bobble a short time later, and he was busy deliberating between a tube of pom shiner and one of fur conditioner. It seemed a little pointless, but she knew better than anyone to not let her moogle get bored. "Why not both?"

Tournaments

Bobble had been buzzing incessantly all day about a Blitzball match, and also about something called Triple Triad. Pidge honestly couldn't decide if either of these things were anything she'd be interested in, but she'd managed to calm him down by agreeing to go and check them out. If only it could always be that simple.

After some poking around, she felt like the Blitzball was going to be a lot more entertaining than a card game. But she was willing to reserve judgement until she had all the facts. For now, though, she had some time to kill.

Culinary Attractions

Perhaps if things had turned out differently, she might have taken more of an interest in cooking. The handful of times she'd helped her mother with something or other, it hadn't been completely terrible. But it wasn't something she spent much time thinking about. She'd eventually have to learn to do more than reheat things, but today was probably not that day.

That didn't mean she wasn't willing to accept free samples if there were any. She even decided to do the responsible thing and try things other than the cookies and cakes and candies. Mostly. A little bit. Sugar high was not something she needed.

Parasraya Discovery

The city wasn't terribly remarkable in the general sense. It was cozier than she might have expected, and the level of technological advancement was certainly interesting. But both of these things paled in comparison to horde of fuzzy, adorable cats monopolizing the city. Bobble was not nearly as excited to see the furry felines, and he quickly took up a perch atop Pidge's head as she moved through the streets.

By this point, she'd amassed quite a following of attention-starved cats, and it probably had a lot to do with the fact that she kept pausing to pet them. Bobble, to his credit, had been industriously snapping photos here, too.

Choose Your Own~

[If you want the gremlin for something not included up there, goferit~ I'll match format as well.]

Parasraya Discovery

[eternitynpcs]

[Ganeshan has to keep one hand on his head to keep the human-head sized fedora from flying off his head-fins as he power walks away from the direction of the Archeologist's Guild. There is a line of cats following him, although they scatter when he lets out a thunderous sneeze.

In addition to the hat, he has a little leather pouch hanging from his belt now. His eyes are red and his normally booming voice is stifled by sniffles.]

YOU ARE FLUFFY AND ADORABLE, FRIEND CATS, BUT PLEASE FOLLOW SOMEONE ELSE! I JUST WANT TO SEE THE GUILD HALLS.

[He looks around desperately for help.]

Yotsuyu | OTA

[tsukinohiganbana]

[Opera]

[Yotsuyu managed to make her way to the Opera without much trouble. She's had enough practice gathering information to know that entertainment venues are one of the first places to look, as officials tend to have much looser tongues when they feel they are off the clock, so to speak.]

[Unfortunately, a side-effect of this is that she has to actually watch the play and oh, it's bad. It's so bad. Had she a past that were less checkered, she would probably call this torture.]

I can't believe that people earnestly enjoy this drivel. Who would come here of their own free will?

[Her moogle (who she couldn't shake) is sitting beside her, moved to tears.]

[Golsaucia]

[Amid all the information gather, Yotsuyu does manage to find something to do to relax. That 'something' is a shooting minigame at Golsaucia.]

[Despite being new to the gunslinger job, it's clear that she's a decent shot. There's a pile of credits beside her, as she continues to assault the game. She's won a lot, but doesn't seem to be interested in any of the prizes. Rather, this is a good way to get out pent up rage.]

Opera

[acceptedlife]

[She's not the only one who had a similar idea of trying to catch a glimpse of the officials gathered here. The fact that it was free, at least, was enticing enough. Yet as he watched, he nearly wanted to hurl a spell he no longer had access to at the stage lighting if only so that it would have to end early.

It made him sick to see a part of his own past twisted in such a way, yet his face never once falls from the carefully neutral expression. Only his knuckles, now white as his hands clenched into fists upon his lap, break the illusion.]

Apparently us. [At least, the latter part was accurate.] Good to know they have no sense of good taste.

[toxicodendron_isley]

MOGNET EXPOSITION

Althaea was so elated to show Ivy (who is totally her new best friend ever and everyone else can suck it) her culture. With each passing moment she grew more and more excited, tugging on Ivy's hand as she floated (and Ivy was dragged) to each and every display, scooping up a copy of every pamphlet to wave in the red head's face. Surely if she told Ivy as much as she could about herself then the human would return the favour and she would know everything there was to know about her! (As best friends should, obviously.)

Ivy, for her part, is letting herself be led around with a bemused smile. At least Althaea's possessive seeking for her attention meant she didn't have to force polite conversation with every passer by. And she would admit she held a healthy interest in the picture Althaea was painting of her culture.

She tosses out small smiles and compliments to assure Althaea she is appropriately impressed, picking up one of the Imperial iMog Slates for a test spin.

EXPOSITION OF THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

You will never be able to separate Pamela Isley from her scientific curiosities. So even if it's not exhibits in her preferred field of expertise, the concept of passing up visiting a museum in another world is simply unthinkable.

She takes her time walking through the rooms, peering through the protective screens at small details and reading through the information plaques. True, not much of this pertains to her at all or her interests, but she must admit having all this information available to her immediately upon being thrust into a new situation is certainly a refreshing experience, as opposed to having to hunt around or simply never receiving answers.

That and she's at least enjoying herself on this visit.

FIREWORKS

After being at such a large event and surrounded by so many people all day, Ivy is exhausted. So she's found herself a nice quiet bench to sit and watch the fireworks, Althaea dozing on her lap.

Mognet Exposition

[eternitynpcs]

HOW WONDERFUL! SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BOND BETWEEN MOOGLE AND OUTWORLDER!

[Ganeshan, the Job Master Zora from the Curti Center, booms out his approval of this harmonious interaction. Hopefully Ivy has a good grip on the device she's holding. Several people nearby nearly drop theirs at the sudden projection. The Mognet employee glares at Ganeshan, who does not appear at all chastised.]

[keymemory]

┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑
SUNNY STARLIGHT
┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

Sora definitely recognized this place, the way it was all fixed up and decorated! He and Nunumu were headed to the exposition but had found themselves walking through a summer-wonderland! It was too hot for it to feel like a proper Christmas, but on the islands it didn’t really get snow-cold either so the whole Winter Wonderland was really a fantasy told out of story books.

In any case, Sora was fascinated by the sights and felt himself becoming increasingly more excited the longer they wandered around looking at the sights.

“Oh man! Just look at this stuff! … Oh, look at him!” He pointed out someone who was all dressed up in a Santa Suit. By now, he’d been here for close to a few hours talking to everyone who would give him the time of day and he had been able to learn more and more about the lore of what Christmas meant here in Vaikuntha.

┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑
MOGNET EXPOSITION
┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

[ Even though these things did not necessarily apply to Sora he was still personally invested due to the fact that Nunumu, his partnered moogle, would benefit from all of these cool things here! Nunumu was such a cool and snarky lil dude. The moogle enjoyed a lot of different things and Sora was just pleased as peach to get to spend some time with him and get to know him! Especially in a district that was basically dedicated to the moogles of this world. The both of them zipped every which way and focused on vendor after vendor. The exposition had a ton of material that Nunumu and Sora both wanted!

The thing that he noticed about Nunumu was that he enjoyed walking a lot, he could fly of course, but the little guy really enjoyed just using the good old ground. Which brought Sora to the vendor who was selling shoes for moogles. ]

Yes, this… this is exactly what you need! I mean come on! Look at these!? They light up!

[ By the time they finished there, Nunumu had opted on a pair of shoes that were a shade closer to the color of his pom pom! ]

Hey? … What do you got there?! [ Sora’s eye caught something in particular that he drew him to ask about, without paying too much attention to who it was that was holding it! ]

┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑
PARASRAYA DISCOVERY
┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

“Aaa—chuuu~!” Sora’s puffy eyed and miserable, both his eyes and his nose are dripping, and his throat feels tight. He has never been around this many cats before and it’s a bit much for him to take! He imagines it would be a bit much for anyone to take! He never considered himself allergic to anything before but he has to consider the fact that perhaps it wasn’t just a few cats here and there, but dozens! Hundreds! Tensabillions! 

“O..o.. oooh…” His body vibrated his arms flew up and his body falls back with his next explosion. “ACHUU!” He clashes against the wall and hangs tight against it. He places his face against the cool surface and thanks the building for its precious cool front to rest his swollen head against.

He had been trying to find his way out, to be fair, the first hour he spent here he didn’t have this sort of problem. Rather, he just had a few sneezes and he was fine to continue going further deep into the district. Most of the cats looked pretty healthy, but there were some that looked like they’ve seen better days. Some of them even hissed at Nunumu and himself. The moogle, uncharacteristically for him, was actually hovering around Sora’s shoulder. Every so often he would make a little noise of his own.

┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑
HOUSING
┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

Sora had received arrangements for his own housing but at the moment he was out and about patrolling the neighborhood. The place was pretty nice, actually, and he was enjoying the stroll between alleys, blocks, and taking in the sights of the houses he passed. 

He had on a small bag for this escapade, this Festival of Lights business. On top of having only just arrived he was trying his best to absorb all of the information best he could but it was a bit overwhelming. So, walks like these helped calm his mind and ground himself to the here and now. Rather than fuss and tire himself out mentally and eventually physical over worrying about all the things he had to keep in mind. 

Nunumu was, of course, walking beside him. Every so often his moogle would make an adorable little chirping noise that was low enough Sora was sure the moogle wasn’t trying to get his attention and yet high enough he could smile over it. It reminded him of a cat’s purr. Just something so relaxing and appealing about the chirping. 

Sora had come across a home which appeared to have the door open so, naturally, he went up the driveway and walked into the home. His trek into the home was calm, curious, and naturally the first room he found himself idling in was the kitchen. Nunumu, who was like-minded as Sora, was already opening the fridge and Sora followed after to peer into the cool space. The fridge was so clean and fully stocked! like someone had just gone grocery shopping. 

“Hm, what do you guys even eat anyway?” It’s been days and days since he’s been with Nunumu and he saw the moogle eat various types of food but some sort of nuts, or whatever, were the moogle’s favorite. The question was more meant for like what were a moogle’s staples in their diet? 

“We sustain ourselves from our partnered newby’s dream energy… kupo!” 

Sora’s eyes widened and he looked down to the moogle with a soft huff. “What, really? Woah!” 

“No…. Kupo.” The moogled made a soft noise and there was a definite huff from the small thing’s lips. 

Sora rolled his eyes and moved from the fridge with a cheese stick in one hand and an apple juice cartoon in the other. “Har, har … harrrr.” He said behind his back as her heard the rustling of his moogle partner finding his own treat in the fridge. 

Sora then came to the foyer and found some abandoned luggage and, being the curious and astute boy he’s been for as long as he remembered, he thought it’d be a good idea to start opening the packages to find some treasure.

Parasraya

[eternitynpcs]

"Um, are you okay, kupo?" A concerned postmoogle apprentice asked, holding out a kerchief for the allergy-stricken outworlder. He fluttered near Nunumu, head tilted to the side as he rummaged around the inside of his little satchel at his furry hip. Now, where did he put that allergy potion...?

OTA

[chefbayardee]

Chocobo Races

[ Between care logistics and his friend's allergies, Hunk knew he had to admire chocobos from afar, at least until hypoallergenic chocobos happened. Unfortunately, the Chocobo Races were, uh, not what he was expecting. See, while there was racing going on, there were also ferocious monsters! And they were eating the racers! Hunk had grown to mostly accept Gourmand as a vessel of great and terrible power (gastrointestinal and otherwise) but...

He saw a Malboro, something he'd only read about, eat both bird and rider in one motion. All those teeth were terrifying, and all the while its maw just leaked vile, debilitating fluids. A pair of hamsters leapt at another racer, pulling her off her mount by the neck while the other, concealed by the border fences of the track, committed a grisly and unspeakable horror to the poor chocobo. Hamsters.vid was supposed to be a joke, and yet here Hunk is, wide-eyed and mouth agape, staring in abject horror and fascination as these diverse, deadly beasts did what they did best. ]

No. No- What?! ...No. [ But the pragmatist deep down in his gut is a bit excited. Is this the sort of power he can expect once Gourmand's picked up steam? ]

Shopping: Sen Riqueax (O'aka Quest)

[ Hunk had almost bee-lined to the museums of the Third District. Relics, magitek prototypes, and fragments of ancient tech. It was like popping the hood of a car for the first time all over again! He couldn't touch things in the museum, of course, which brought him to merchant stalls. While he was able to buy a fancy new Imperial Gunblade without too much trouble, that was only one reason why he was here. The new gunblade was very shiny though... ]

Man, come on! You can't tell me you don't want to be a worldwide business! [ Hunk groans, because this shouldn't be so difficult. ] The gates are finally opening, and you're telling me you don't want to share your exotic goods with people beyond the Empire? [ The merchant behind the stall shifted their stance and Hunk just started to smile. ]

Tell you what, I've got some snacks with me that I used to make before I ended up here. If we can get something worked out, I might be willing to part with the recipe... [ The way to almost everyone's heart is through their stomach, after all. ]

Mini Sparks Golsaucia

[ Hunk's not willing to tell most people, but this has been a very stressful month for him. Three of his closest friends showed up all at once, all from his future. Then Shiro disappeared, and then Hunk himself disappeared. Being broken out of an exhausting, deadly memory and catching his point in time to his friends from home didn't help. And then, the very next day, everyone made the trek to the Sen Devadatta Empire.

That's why Hunk's playing the Chest Game to try and amass a dragon's hoard of oversized plushies. He just so happens to strike gold, winning not just a plushie, but a cutesy, rotund rendition of Titan, Eidolon of Earth. Like clockwork, his moogle flutters over, picks up the new addition, and carries it back to the temporary housing. Hunk is obviously unconcerned about the idea of luggage space, and he can't stop cheering. ...Or maybe you'll find him elsewhere amidst the spectacle, all but throwing some of his hard-earned gil into piles of Kupo Boxes. ]

Give. [ A punch connects firmly with a box, revealing nothing. ] Me. [ A stronger punch, this time yielding a Potion. ] Something. [ A third punch, producing 2 gil. ] Useful! [ A final punch, revealing... ]

A baby chocobo dish towel? That's really cute! [ The smile on his face shows he's not lying in the slightest, and then Hunk gives another handful of gil to the vendor. ] Ten more boxes, please!

Wildcards

[ Available upon request, though I'm consciously hitting some event prompts as part of tagouts. ]

Chocobo Races

[acceptedlife]

[Takeshi, unfortunately, was more on the side of abject horror. Hand tracing over the fine lines on his neck every time a rider gets pulled off their mount by a hamster. Tiny claw marks at that. Almost ham...

That's when he hears a voice nearby; a familiar one. He blinks, and then walks over. Placing a hand on Hunk's shoulder.]

Uh, you alright there? [Someone seems massively torn there, buddy.]

Cor Leonis - OTA unless notated otherwise

[immortalmarshal]

1 - Mognet Expo

Cor had initially arrived in a very wary mindset. But his Moogle had been so excited to reconnect with his few friends that live here in this world's Empire. So, he humors Tommy and follows him over to the Expo, gazing over everything that a Moogle could ever dream of having in this world. After a little while, there's a slight smile on his face as his tiny companion coos over Moogle-sized dolls.

But if one approaches him later, he will have left Tommy bartering for a discount off of fur dyes while Cor himself looks over a...moogle-sized weapons stand? "...don't suppose you got any knives?" He's asking quietly, seemingly unaware of anyone that might be approaching him.


2 - Sunny Starlight

Still, there is that sense of Starlight during the non-Moogle section of this district, and Cor decides to check it out for the hell of it. For the most part, it seems to be much like Mid-Winter festivities from back home - decorated trees, people dressed up as the Saint of said festivities, giving out gifts to children...

Ooops, Cor's suddenly grabbing onto one of said dressed-up folks with a fierce glare on his face. "And where exactly did you get these?" He's growling. Though if one looks at the doll that was about to be given - a rather eccentric-looking man with a tiny fedora and auburn hair...maybe he could be forgiven?


3 - Exposition/Museum

The weapons draw Cor's eyes at first, and he studies each piece for a little while. Sharp eyes observing them with great interest, he takes in and files away all the information presented to the public...and what might not be explained for yet.

The Eidolons section, he only gives a passing glance for the most part as he walks thru. Except the painting, however. There, he stops in front of, staring at each of those that he recognize, reserving a harsh glare for that accursed purple octopus...and an oddly accusing glare towards Bahamut. Perhaps he could explain himself, should anyone ask him...

4 - Mini Sparks/Games

Cor relaxes a little once he comes across the stall games being setup by those from Sparks Golsaucia. At least, relaxed enough to give their games a try. He's not bad, winning this small prize here and that cute little plushie there. Nothing wagered that he wouldn't be upset losing over simple carnival games for.

The Kupo Boxes, though, he eyes warily for the longest time. It feels like a waist of money, in his mind - especially if most of them only end up with nothing in them. Still, upon Tommy's insistence, he settle for just one box... And ends up with a 1,000 Gil ticket. "...Huh. Lucky me, I suppose."


5 - Checking in (Closed to castmates, prior CR, and any potential NPC visitors

Throughout his stay, though, Cor does regularly check in with those who come to be important to him. Those from his homeworld, he tends to keep within earshot as much as possible. In fact, he'll do daily visits to the two houses where the younger generation is staying, both as to see how they're enjoying the festivities and also to make sure that nothing major had cropped up that could be...troubling.

Anyone else that he knows - such as those he met during his arrival, during the Gauntlet, or during the event surrounding the reawakening of Leviathan last month - will at least get one visit from him during the festival, being greeted with a simple question to start with: "Things going okay with you so far?"

And finally, he will settle in at the house being lent to him, Clarus and Regis every night, brewing a large pot of coffee for the agreed-upon night watches. He won't turn away any visitors at any time before midnight...but he will be very wary of anyone trying to enter the place that aren't his companions after that hour.


6 - Ardynia

Cor...really doesn't like Ardynia. The fact that there's an entire city named after the bastard leaves a foul taste in his mouth, and his face in perpetual 'so over this shit' mode. Still, he heard of a pyramid that contains legends, and thus he's trying to make his way over in its direction, glaring every so often at a person or shop that has a fedora.


7 - Parasraya/Kitty Paradise

This visit, however, is infinitely far better than the last one in Cor's mind. For one, the city itself houses a Weapons Master guild, and he's curious as to what that's all about. For another...

Well, cats. Every type and every size. All very friendly and wanting food and attention. Cor pets one every now and then, letting a few kittens climb on him before he gently pries them off of his arms and legs. There's one tiny kitten, however, that refuses to leave its perch on his shoulder - a raggedy, champange-colored calico who simply adores her newfound post. Her human...yes, this tall man is Her Human now; look how much it shows in her purring and nuzzling...

8 - Wildcard!

((OOC: Anything you wanna play out with Cor that's not listed here? Feel free to ping me either in Discord or on Plurk via powerofredrangers; will backtag as long as possible))

Museum

[eternitynpcs]

Mogaruru has also been among the crowd perusing the exhibits. She notices one of the outworlders in the same room, scowling at, well, it appears to be everything in general. She hops over next to him.

"Kupo? Are you feeling well?"

OTA

[alborada]

Midnight Airship

[ Though it was tempting to accept the offers of drink from the staff aboard the airship (Hypellos, how wonderfully familiar!), Sylvarie knew she had to stay alert. Not only because of her mission, so dependant on tying clues together and listening to the whispers of passerby, but because she happened to be by herself. Being overwhelmed by alcohol on a foreign trip was hardly the responsible thing to do.

So what does she do instead? Simple station herself at the deck to look at the world below, expression thoughtful as fireworks would shine brilliantly above the capital. There was undeniably something nostalgic about the whole event, but it wasn’t her priority. ]


The Opera

[ It feels far too long since she had attended a performance, and in part that was true-the last time she remembered such an occasion, her family had still been together. Despite that melancholy reminder hanging over her and the trepidation she would sometimes feel when it came to stories of the Four Heroes, she was very much looking forward to the show.

Up until the end. Yes, it was moving, yes it was a powerful tale and the music profound—how Sakuya would have loved it—but soon enough her hands begin to shake of their own volition, and her breath hitches. Stomach twisting, and… in her heart…

Why did she feel such regret, watching those four sing to the Goddess? It’s a tale… only a tale…

So why, with head bowing and eyes squeezing shut against an unfamiliar burn, did she begin to sing softly along with them? Her voice was barely above a whisper and quivering, lacking in confidence despite the perfect pitch and genuine emotions being carried in the notes.

It faded with the Heroes, yet began anew when she rose from her seat to leave. Her hands still tremble. ]


Shopping

[ For once, the young woman didn’t appear stressed or harried as she wandered amidst the stalls and surveyed their wares, though she did seem a bit exasperated with the bespectacled puffball following behind her. Exasperated, but admittedly a bit amused as well. ]

Oh, milady! Please if you would turn your attention to this dress, the embroidery is just exquisite! And—ah! Is that necklace real crystal?!

Prim, please. [ For all the attempted chastising in her tone, there was a smile on her lips as the moogle continued rambling. ] I want to use only my money, we can’t buy everything.

Your father’s money is yours too, kupo!

[ Not the point, but she’s in such a good mood… ]


Wildcard

(( feel free to hit me up with other ideas, she’s more or less everywhere in search of a dumb big brother. ))

Midnight Airship

[eternitynpcs]

[A figure passes, carrying a tray of champagne flutes. It's not one of the wait staff, though. It's Ganeshan, who was given multiple glasses at once after the bartender saw how quickly he could down them.]

OH, YOUNG SYLVARIE! HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING THE SHOW?

[In deference to the stillness of the night, interrupted only by the boom of the fireworks, he's speaking with what passes for a whisper for him. He reaches for one of his glasses, then remembers to offer one to his coworker.]

DO NOT WORRY, IT IS JUST JUICE. [He winks.] CLAIRE SAID I'M NOT ALLOWED ANYTHING STRONGER ON THIS TRIP. SHE DOESN'T WANT ANY REPEATS OF LAST YEAR'S RETREAT.

[shinra_dog]

Sunny Starlight

Dolls that glorified villains? That’s what it seemed like. Reno didn’t recognize most of them, but hearing Sephiroth’s recorded words from children in the streets set his teeth on edge. ”You are a puppet.” ”Shall I give you despair?” He hadn’t heard that tone from the silver-haired SOLDIER in years -- not since Sephiroth had become a Hero of Light.

”You are a puppet.”

What the fuck?

Whether or not he was conscious of it, Reno’s lip had curled and his nose wrinkled with disgust. “These are really shitty toys, yo.”

Midnight Airship

Reno sighed as he leaned his forearms on the railing, looking out over the cities, the empire’s lights looking like their own set of stars fallen to to the ground. He never felt more relaxed than when he was in the air like this. It was as close as he ever expected to get to heaven.

In all honesty, it was a good vantage point for work, too. Even though it was dark, riding the Midnight Airship let Reno’s eyes adjust to how the land would look in the shadows. Each grand building, each rolling hill took on a different form in the night and Reno intended to know both. Work or no, Reno was happy to touch the sky and he wore a gentle smile as he looked to see who joined him at the rail.

Housing

It was like a stone settling in the pit of his stomach. Reno knew these houses, though logic would tell him it couldn’t be the same. Past experience, however, argued differently. Either way he had to force himself to walk these streets, one foot heavy in front of the other, limbs like lead. Until, with little recollection of how he got there, he stood in front of his assigned door. His mouth was dry and his lungs refused to breathe, hand trembling somewhat as he held the key.

This had been his home.

Ardynia

A place named after Ardyn? Yeah, Reno was there. He intended to investigate every nook and cranny while he could, too. Anything associated with that traitor was just as suspect in Reno’s eyes... as normal as everything around him seemed to be. He tried not to let his distrust show. The best way to get information was to get others talking -- so that’s what he did. With his usual charming (and occasionally flirtatious) nature, Reno was chatting up the locals: where the best deals were, if anyone famous came out of the guilds there, latest gossip and current political events. He made sure to avoid the ugly fedoras.

Parasraya

Reno fully intended to investigate Parasraya as well. The villainous toys, cities named for traitors -- in fact, Vaikuntha’s own “Goddess of Death” in this case -- had only further convinced Reno that the Empire was an enemy. He’d already expected as much before leaving Sparks Golsaucia.

What he hadn’t expected were all the cats.

“Agh... c’mon...” Meow... myah... nyan... They were everywhere, all underfoot and loud and in the way. Reno didn’t want to step on them or kick them, but it was so inconvenient. “Damn, what the hell is going on?”

The further into the city he got, the harder it became to keep walking -- not only because he was physically hindered but because all the critters were so... infuriatingly... cute. Reno grit his teeth and tried to keep going. He’d had a cat already, perhaps the most important cat he’d ever loved in his life, his Zodiac lover, his Kyo. Then the kitten he’d been given by Terra... Both were gone now. Reno wasn’t sure he was ready for another.

The choice, it would seem, was not entirely up to him. Just when Reno thought he’d escaped, he felt a stubborn tug on his coat. He turned to look over his shoulder but there was no one grabbing at him... and the weight mysteriously followed the curve of his turn. Likewise followed by a tail. Reno sighed and pulled the length of his coat back around, ready to pluck off whatever cat was begging for food. At least until he saw not one begging cat, but a kitten -- thoroughly embedded in the fibers of his mantle -- and what he assumed was its sibling, likewise connected by biting onto the first kitten’s tail.

Two. Peeping. Kittens. “Oh no...” It was all over.

Housing

[angealwings]

Angeal may not be up to his usual self, and he might still be too distracted trying to decide what he was doing at all, but he wasn't blind. Even with the years in the interim, he still knew the way Reno moved - and a heavy step like this was not it.

He waited until they were inside and the door safely closed before asking, quietly, "what's wrong?"

Not 'are you all right' - that was not really an option the moment the Turk's hand had been trembling. But he couldn't help unless he knew what was happening.

[wind_in_my_ears]

EXPOSITION OF THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT
[Klonoa slowly walks through the halls of the museum, looking over the paintings. The big weapons were awesome to look at, and it's been interesting seeing all of these strange creatures. Leviathan. Shiva. Ifrit. Ramuh and Typhon remind him of some bad memories, though.

He completely misses the giant dragon for the smaller ones. So... this is something that Summoners can work with?]

"I wonder what summoning's like..."

[He says, loudly to himself in the hall of the museum.]


MOGNET EXPOSITION
[The sound of chattering moogles behind him bursts into Klonoa's ears as he stepwise wanders his way away from the expo. So... many... moogles. So.. many products with 'Kupo' appended... Luta is beaming, the mint green-pommed moogle slathered in free samples of every shape and size, licking some kind of kupo-nut ice cream that Klonoa had taken one sample of and swore off for the rest of eternity.]

"That was amazing!! Klonoa, we should come back here tomorrow, too!"

[His ears are twisted behind him. A pair of sunglasses rest unevenly across his face. Klonoa walks like a lethargic zombie as his body slowly tries to reboot.]

"Oooh, wait, wait, let's go back in! I just remembered we never got a picture from The Great Mogrifficent!"

[Klonoa slowly turns his head to anyone in the vicinity, his yellow eyes begging for help.]


PARASRAYA DISCOVERY
[Klonoa frowns as someone else walks away from him. Even though he's so new to this world, the thought of traveling to a closed-off, forbidden city sounded incredible, but ever since he's been here, so many people just won't even give him the time of day. He's really starting to get disheartened; sure, a few people being standoffish might be expected, but this many? What is wrong with this empire??]

"Ah, excuse me!"

"Meow"

[...Klonoa hangs his head as they walk away. He just can't work with these people.]

Exposition

[princeandscholar]

A boy studies the largest painting, notebook in one hand, pen in the other. Fresh out of the Time Mage guild, Orcelito needed something to steady his mind. What better way than to study the long-past happenings and constants of the world? He leans forward, observing the many shapes crowding the canvas.

"It would be nice if we could talk with them. I’ve heard they only come to fulfill their contract in battle, but they must have a unique perspective and could tell us a lot about their world."

Snow White - OTA

[poisonwish]

Exposition of the Festival of Light

Snow White moved through the exhibits with a furrowed brow. He wasn’t usually one for such dirty antiquities, but the mechanical remnants stand out to him. On Earth, such things as the plaques described didn’t exist. He couldn’t imagine such things being living weapons. Of course he knew of tanks and planes, but they were still new to him. WEAPONs were on a whole different scale.

It seemed futuristic for him. And yet, these displays spoke of this technology as ancient.

“This makes no sense,” he muttered, glaring at Magitek parts. “It’s much too strange.”

Mognet Exposition

Apple had served Snow White well. So, though he was hardly interested in the trinkets and baubles on display for poms, he went with her to the Mognet Exposition. Of course, Apple didn’t see herself as some sort of servant to Snow and she was pleased that they had gone as friends. She flitted about, looking at the different Kupo Nuts for sale, responsibly checking the price tags of everything. ”Oh, these ones are discounted! Hm, oh, but these ones have chocolate... Ah, this bed is so soft! But could I really afford such a luxury...?”

Snow White largely ignored what his moogle said, briefly glancing at the Empire’s iMog tablets. The one he’d received at the Curti Center was hard enough to learn to use, he certainly didn’t need another one. Then their eyes fell upon the booklet at the same time. “How to Use Your Cuteness to Exploit People...”

They glanced at each other. Apple covered her mouth, scandalized by the thought. Snow smirked. “Sounds like quite a read.”

Shopping (+ O’aka)

It was hard to be frugal when Snow White had been accustomed to living as a princess. It was made easier by his high standards, at least. He only looked at the best the empire had to offer. Unfortunately, the best was also expensive.

“At least the samples are free?” Apple tried to console him.

”Yes, yes, at least try!” the saleswoman prodded, holding out a bottle. “This skin-care is all natural, organic, once you put it on you’ll never want anything else. We even have a line for moogle fur-care!”

Snow White sighed and let her pump a small amount into his hand, then rubbed in on his inner arm just in case he broke out -- fully expecting to, in fact. But... it actually felt wonderful. Snow White’s eyebrows rose as his skin softened with no grease and no itching. She was right -- he did want it. And it would be such a hassle if he had to come all the way out here to get it every time. “This is incredible. Have you considered exporting? You’d make a fortune expanding this outside the Empire’s borders -- you know, there’s a merchant here, in fact, looking for just this sort of thing.”

Mini Sparks Golsaucia

Snow White hadn’t intended to stay among the gamblers for long. But he couldn’t help but be drawn to the shooting stand. He had no intention of humiliating himself by trying, but he couldn’t help but watch the other competitors with something of a longing. It reminded him of home.

Snow sighed, suddenly feeling very lonely.

Culinary Attractions

“What do you mean, no Gourmands are allowed in this tent?” Snow White demanded of one of the vendors. “I don’t care about whatever happened two years ago, I haven’t done anything! This is blatantly, unfairly prejudiced!”

At this point, he wasn’t even sure he wanted the food from this place. But it was the principle of the thing! Like hell was Snow White about to stand for someone denying him something.

The Opera

Finally, some sophisticated entertainment! Snow White wasn’t sure why so many people weren’t going to see it. Sure, it was a little... different... but this was a different world, after all. Snow White expected it to have different myths and legends at this point. He sat forward in his seat, watching the stage with rapt attention.

As the finale rose to a crescendo, Snow was fully enthralled. “So then... she wasn’t afraid anymore?” he murmured to himself about the tragic goddess.

Shopping (+ O’aka)

[keymemory]

There was a smell that suddenly blossomed in the air and Sora was drawn to it instantly. His moogle, Nunumu, followed behind him softly on the ground. Sora pushed himself next to the man who was selling the cream and he looked up to his side and re-evaluated the situation, it actually sounded like the cream was something he was trying to get the vendor to sell? In any case it sure smelled good. “Hey! What’s that?” He asked openly, a bounce to his heels.