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

[princeandscholar]

Orcelito waits while she gathers her thoughts. His gaze follows her's, curious. Did something happen to make her nervous? He's remained alert while in the foreign empire, but from his encounters thus far, everyone here at the celebration has been quite pleasant.

That response he was not expecting, and he’s speechless for a moment. "Really?" And now he's visibly concerned. While he can’t grasp the idea of a childhood without toys or how that could even be, he does know for certain that if he had any choice in the matter, he wouldn’t want someone’s first toy to be a discouraging experience.

"Of course, I'm sure they'll understand." He nods at the bin. “I'll come with you, if you'd like?” Though, that doesn’t solve the issue of the toys being what they are. He adds, “And if they don’t have anything to your liking, we can keep looking.”

[desertbloomed]

I was one. [ Ashelia doesn't seem too pumped about it. ] So, yes, somewhat familiar. If you've any questions, I'd be glad to answer them - that is, if you've a name. [ She laughs lightly, motioning with her head for Legault to walk with her. ] For my part, I am the Lady Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca.

Housing

[immortalmarshal]

"And far too much of a coincidence," Cor agrees, taking his cup but not bothering to add anything else to it. Forcing himself to take only a small sip, despite the growing need for sleep or caffeine, he adds, "Everything all set up and stocked up, as if people had just moved out and cleaned up the place? Just for a week of visitors? Seems awfully convenient for a previously isolated nation."

The thickness of the ironic tone could be cut with a knife.

[desertbloomed]

[ Ashelia smiles back widely. She would've preferred something a bit more dramatic, but she'll take a momentary stunned silence and run with it. She doesn't even take offence to the Marshal not standing to greet her. See? She's made lots of progress. ]

Just at the beginning of this month. [ She gingerly takes a seat across from Sparks, crossing her legs and tucking her hamster pelt around her shoulders. ] With all the other coincidences and similarities, I'm surprised this was the first shipment of sacrifices. One would think one would try for more symmetry in one's cyclical mad plot to destroy the universe.

[keymemory]

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SUNNY STARLIGHT
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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.

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MOGNET EXPOSITION
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[ 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! ]

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PARASRAYA DISCOVERY
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“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.

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HOUSING
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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.

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia shook her head. "I couldn't say for sure. Some kind of vile mixture of magick and technology. Its destructive capabilities were horrendous to behold."

She opened her mouth to respond, but stopped. "Walk with me, will you? We would do better to be more difficult to overhear." The young queen nodded, turned and began walking, albeit at a slow pace.

"I speak of Princess Sarah of the Kingdom of Aqures Ixen, back in Crystallis. Of Sen Riqeaux as well, surely, if mine eyes do not deceive me. This place is an exact duplicate." She was doing a lot of head shaking lately. "Thus is the true identity of the little girl you've no doubt heard has appeared before various newcomers."

[desertbloomed]

...pardon me? [ What what what? ] Dolls? For children? Of...what? For what purpose? To what end? And how?

[ Ashelia waves that assertion away. It's not a thought that hasn't crossed her mind. Double negatives! ] This is no Hell, comforting as that thought might be to some. There...there is a way home. I have to believe that. I cannot afford not to.

[desertbloomed]

[ No, he really can't. Ashelia motions to one of the servers and a glass of kupo nut milk with coffee liqueur is delivered post-haste. ]

To your taste, I hope? [ Ashelia holds out her glass for a cheers. </small.] To the Festival.

[acapriciousreaper]

Kuja crosses his arms. "Yes, dolls. Of myself, and two people whom I know for a fact are dead, and I certainly haven't been here before. I met a young man as well who claimed his father was also one of the 'products'. I... didn't think to take one. The method and reason for their production, I cannot begin to guess."
He glances up at the young queen, considering carefully. "I am perfectly aware that we've met all of twice and you've precious little reason to trust my intentions, but may I have your mognet address? At first I thought it was odd, but the more time I spend in this country the more it stinks to high heaven of something foul. You've experienced this sort of transition before, which means you know more than I do, and..."
He hesitates, trying to find the words.
Wouldn't you do the same for me?
"...If this problem is real, and there is a way for me to assist, then I intend to do it."

[garyoutensei]

"I dunno if you noticed last time we all met them, but Leviathan is capable of fighting their own battles, including dealing with meddling purple dumbasses like that," Baiken shrugged.

[garyoutensei]

-If nothing else, it's proof of something she'd already thought about Shiro, that he could survive A Lot, and was a tough, resilient person with a lot of spirit. Her respect for him hadn't waned... but she had to admit part of her was curious as to how he'd wound up that way.-

I gave my thoughts while you were gone, but to sum it up, I don't trust people with as much power as this Empress seems to have. I don't trust this invitation. I don't trust this whole situation at all. Especially not the kind of people that put on biological weapons as displays in their museums...

[hatejakku]

Finn stared at the kitten and thought a moment. "That Catmancer guild is in this town, right?" he asked, looking back up to Adrien. "Surely they would know about the- Well, about the cats." It was somewhere to start?

[hatejakku]

[ Oh? He smiles. ] Sure, I would. I haven't really... done this before. I guess this is sort of my first shopping trip without having something specific in mind. [ And it's all O'aka's fault but it's fun anyway. ]

[hatejakku]

"I haven't, no." Didn't really seem like his thing, honestly, but she raises a good point. "They must know about the cats around here, though."

[hatejakku]

He did stumble back when she pushed him aside but caught himself and didn't really blame her for it. Finn really wanted to crowd over her and ask if she was all right, but that would be unwelcome.

So he stayed back and crouched down lower to the ground so he didn't tower over her either. His Chemist job was already active if she needed something, but otherwise, Finn watched for anyone coming towards them.

He was prepared to wait it out. Or leave if she started demanding it of him.

[littlemhigan]

"Tomorrow's another day!" Castor says brightly, before continuing. "Aye, well, when the food is free, ye take advantage've what ye can, yeah?"

[keymemory]

[ What… what.. Sora’s full attention was on the other now. The possibility that he may not only get more of his friends to show up here but also some of his things too?! The Gummy Ship!? That would be so cool! ]

I wonder… what the biggest thing that’s come through the dreamwidth … was!? Hm? Huh? Oh! Yes! I’m new here! I guess, … what’d they say, it was the third time people like me came through?

[keymemory]

"I ... guess, yeah! You're right." He snorted before he gave a small bounce on his heels. "I bet your story, so far, is pretty interesting though, don't you think?" He then licked his lips and bounced again. "Why.. why do you not need water?"

[pishirogane]

"And? What about the artist? I'm sure they want this image to set into their painting..."

Leviathan might be able to handle herself, but there was no saying about the creator.

[keymemory]

Sora listened to the other though he had gotten stuck when Tidus talked about his dad. It didn’t seem like he had heard him right. Tidus’ dad didn’t think Tidus could be just as good? Sounded like kind of a mean thing to say! For a moment Sora had a solemn expression as he thought about the dynamic between Tidus and his father.

The question about them both brought him out of it. “Wakka and you did most of the ball game… it wasn’t anything like this though.” He looked ahead for a moment and watched the the game progress while he thought about the Tidus he had left back at home. “You were younger… like me.. Wakka was older than all of us.. and we would play a lot together, all sorts of games, we’d sword fight and challenge each other.. Riku was always the best at everything though.”

[desertbloomed]

[ Alllllllllllrighty then. Without another word, Ashelia nods at a passing server. As if reading her mind, they bring over a small bottle of sake and a shot glass. With another nod from the young queen, the server sets it all on a nearby chest-high table and leaves. ]

To the Festival, then. [ Ashelia raises her own glass and takes a sip. ]

[twomeals]

Eh? A technique?

[Yue blinks at his chosen combatant, then turns to stare at the pendulum he'd pointed out. He's never considered techniques before--the only time he ever tried one of these games, he only had one shot and was too weak to aim straight. Thinking though!]

Ummm, I guess you could try shooting when it's coming towards you? Instead of away. [Logic!]

[twomeals]

"A backup singer would still be singing though, right?" That still counts as performing, in Yue's point of view.

Also: the harpy's smile looks slightly confused. "My gig? Umm......making friends?" He has no idea what a gig is.

[zanarkandian]

"Is there something these people have in common? There's a lot of long silver hair and icy looks, but my old man's just way too full of himself."

It's almost funny now. He smiles briefly.

"We should see if anyone knows the others."

[acapriciousreaper]

Kuja shrugs. "I haven't the foggiest, honestly. Anything your father was famous for, then? Or have you ever seen other merchandise pertaining to him, on Vaikuntha?"
On a whim, Kuja plucks up some... miscellaneous... armored. Person, and gives him a squeeze.
"Turtle!"
"Okay. What." The doll is immediately dropped in disgust.