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

[dreamsoftomorrow]

Uh, yes! I am. My name's Hope, nice to meet you.

[dreamsoftomorrow]

[Hope couldn't help but jump a little, startled when Reno suddenly appeared and began... flirting with the merchant?! He couldn't tell if he should be uncomfortable or not.

That was, until Reno began edging Hope away from the booth and keeping the now flustered merchant's attention. After a bit of hesitation, Hope backed up and then darted away once he felt he had the chance.

Of course, he didn't go very far, keeping a distance but still watching for Reno. And may be peeking from behind a stack of crates because c'mon people, stop bothering him! He just wanted to window show.]

[dreamsoftomorrow]

[Well, he did notice all the cats. Hope frowned a little.]

How did they even bring that many cats? What do Catmancers do?

[And wasn't the guy hot in that?]

[eternitynpcs]

[The pair is silent for a minutes until they are interrupted by a loud sigh from Cid.]

There's honestly nothing new that's happened that you already know. Meetings, research symposiums, reworking payroll, it's nothing special.

So you've spent the past ten years locked up in your office. I shouldn't have been surprised.

Hmph. More or less.

[Silence. Then a chuckle.] So I take it you still have a sense of humor? Come on, so what have you been up to otherwise? How's work? Eidolons, I cannot believe I'm saying that.

[eternitynpcs]

[Claire tilts her head to the side.]

Not by the hats. [Regis is a very strange man.] Or is there some other reason that you won't tell me?

[chatwithdeath]

Yes... something like that.

[She should've found out if he needed to eat...]

They haven't been causing too much issue. I'm not unfamiliar with getting around if people don't move.

[balancingedge]

[He's not the only one who's considered picking up a healer asterisk. Keith has too, especially after having seem him on the edge again. They don't have the luxury of a healing pod or Altean magic here. The team could sorely use one.

He buries his face in Shiro's neck for a moment, before meeting Shiro's gaze as they pull away just that little bit. He smiles back, and it reaches his eyes.]

I know I've said it before, but it's good to have you back, Shiro.

[chefbayardee]

[ It turns out that Hunk had barely registered that people were behind him. Not because their voices were come from so far down, but because they were talking or closing tomes right when he was focused on pulverizing those Kupo Boxes. It wasn't until one of them was directly addressing him that he actually realized he wasn't alone.

So when he turns around and sees not one but four people behind him, his eyes widen a big and he just chuckles... awkwardly... ]

Were- were you waiting in line? [ As he asks the question, Hunk realizes how obvious it might be that he's been spending time out in this neck of the festival. Better to focus on probability and punching than, well, everything else. ] Have I been here too long?

[desertbloomed]

[ Ashelia nods. Well, here goes. ] Crystallis was a world much like this one - more than we thought previously, even, given the similarities between Sen Riqeaux and Aqures Ixen. Many believe the worlds are connected somehow, or more precisely that Vaikuntha is the world that was created after the defeat of the Goddess of Death.

[einspine]

[He raises an eyebrow at that. It's... an awfully strange thing to say.

But him, a gentleman? Interesting. Flattering! Oooh, this man clearly is intelligent and worth listening to.]

OH? WELL, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS AN ALTERNATIVE? THE ULTIMATE GENTLEMANLY ATTIRE!!!

Culinary Attractions

[pishirogane]

[If it sounded like Kanji, it probably was Kanji... and sure enough, it was Kanji looking at the cute desserts.]

You may want to take a picture before someone selects them.

[desertbloomed]

"I don't doubt it. After ten years of seclusion, however, no part of their grand unveiling could be left to chance." She looked around at the other guests and then out at the night sky. "Every part of this celebration has been carefully curated, from the artifacts on display to the opera company's program, right down to the guests present here at this very fete."

She shrugged, adjusting the hamster pelt around her shoulder. "Thus are the rules of the game set before us. It is my opinion that, in this case, subverting them would do us more ill than respecting them."

[hatejakku]

"Well... makes sense. That's what their guild is about, after all." But maybe they didn't treat them right, though. "That said, there does seem to be a population problem," he told Adrien and the fifteen cats at his feet. "Can't hurt to check out, I guess."

"EVEN FULLER THAN THAT" i didn't catch that earlier, my eyes

[hatejakku]

[ Finn turns the book to the back cover again, then the front, then the back. Is this-? He looks at the front again. Yeah. That said- He looks at the back again. ]

This sounds really good. [ Like, he is actually interested in the plot. Save him from himself. ] It sounds nice, but it doesn't say if there's a happy ending or not.

Parasraya

[failtsuninari]

[Kenichi turned the corner when he heard Okuyasu's call for help. He had a small black kitten poking out from his half-open hooded jacket while an adult cat followed after him. The angry mass of cats turned around at the presence of the newcomers. Carefully, he extracted the kitten and gets him in one hand and pulled out a paper bag. Ears pricked up at the rustling sound coming from it and the smell of something tasty.]

Here ya go!

[He threw the paper bag, some of the dry kibble bits spilled as it went airborne and down an alley. A good portion of the cats dashed after the free food, giving Kenichi and his cats an opening to get to where Okuyasu and Stray Cat were.]

You alright, Okuyasu? And....is that plant actually looking at me?

[desertbloomed]

Lost friends she felt she had wronged in some way. That just made her heart hurt.

"It's...it's my fault. We - the Heroes - were taken back through time, to when the Lady Sarah was young, just as she appeared to you. We spoke, became friends...she would steal food from the castle kitchens to bring to us, as we were forced to take shelter just outside the city in an abandoned church." Ashelia smiled faintly at the memory. Despite the convoluted mess the situation became - was in the beginning, even - that short time in Crystallis' past had seemed so simple, somehow.

"In our time, some thirty years hence, Queen Sarah had disappeared. There were tales of her having befriended the Heroes of Light and that she had gone to meet them or something of the sort - obviously, in hindsight, the tales were about us, but in the past." She shook her head, scoffing. "What utter madness...

"...in any case, we became friends. I implored her, be strong, and survive, and to come to us in the future...I was taken before we found her again." She paused, considering whether to continue on the same track.

She decided against it. "Supernatural, indeed. The Princess disappeared before my eyes - one moment I was holding her and the next, she was gone, worried she'd be caught out by her captor."

[hatejakku]

"I hear that," he says with a laugh. "And I think you've got a good idea. What I can't eat now, I can later."

[kuposcreed]

[Bonnie glances up at the woman, her ears and pom swinging back just a touch in caution as she tales this stranger in. There's definitely enough presence here to put her on edge.]

W-well, she tried to kill everyone, kupo. And she stole the body of a friend to do it. That's pretty evil, kupo.

[hatejakku]

Okay, she was probably going to be pissed at him for doing this, but he was doing it anyway. Finn scuttled closer, not rising high enough to walk, and grabbed the pipe.

"It's all right," he said in a low voice but not soft, assuming she'd take that to be an insult if she wasn't insulted already. This thing wasn't all right, clearly, but this moment and the pipe and the world around them was. He offered the pipe to her left hand, trying to stay calm enough himself to be observant and confident. "It's all right. You ever heard of breathing exercises? Breathe in for four seconds through your nose, hold for seven, exhale through your mouth for eight."

She was probably going to hit him. He reckoned that would be an improvement.

that's what you want me to think!

[hatejakku]

[ Finn stays quiet for a moment, studying the man next to him with a sidelong stare. ]

Why would we need to hope? [ There was a glaring logical fallacy in this conversation. ] Who are you?

[eternitynpc]

[The lalafell who approached him (who is also pointedly ignoring how her two associates are now quietly continuing their discourse), regards him as she fixes her pince-nez at the tip of her nose.]

Oh no, no, not at all! [She reassures with a faint smile.] My associates have been debating daybreak to nightfall, what we should add to our park's game halls.

That's right, kupo! [The moogle interjects, a faint smile across her lips.] As our spokeswoman has said, we have had a difficult time deciding upon a theme. Ilas here believes it should be shark-themed, considering how popular the Zora seem among you outworlders, kupo. Though, every lalafell we have asked seems terrified of the notion, all save for Witata here, kupo...

[...That sure is the smile of someone who could probably devour a shark if it came down to it crossing "Witata's" lips.]

Pu? Puu-ppu pu!

[The other lalafell facepalms.] At the very least, you could speak in the common tongue.

[eternitynpcs]

[Kupoto accepts the drink with a thank you, and nods.]

M-my favorite, actually, kupo. [This outworlder is too kind... he could almost feel a tear coming on as he mimics the gesture.] To the Festival, kupo!

Parasraya Discovery

[failtsuninari]

Kenichi happened to be in line for the car heading back as well. He had purchased a canvas messenger bag to carry the adult black cat while he carried the kitten in his hands. Said kitten's ears perked up and he wiggled out of his hands to walk over where Emeralda was. He let a small mew as he circled around her.

"H-hey there little buddy, don't go wandering off like that," he lightly scolded the kitten as he picked him up again.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to her. "I don't know what got into him. Are you alright?" He couldn't help but notice the look on her face.

[spaceforged]

[The tabby moves enough that the light hits them, revealing they are more black than orange. Just parts look really orange.
Shiro blinks. Noct has a point. In fact it makes sense of the Lions of Voltron as well. He ducks his head and slowly kneels down until the cats can swarm over him entirely. Their purring grows in volume and he laughs just a bit.]

I guess they have picked up on a lot then. I’m alright. Tired and recovering but I really will be okay.

[His back has become a cat friendly space now. He puts up with it this time.] I think cats are less standoffish and more like small observers who pick who needs them most.

[spaceforged]

[That makes him blink and he focuses on them like a hawk spotting movement.] Do you remember how the legend goes? Any part of it at all.

[He keeps his voice level and calm. But his grey eyes are bright with excitement. This is a lead. Even a small one. He’ll take what he can get.]