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

[littlemhigan]

Midnight Airship + Fireworks
The airship is nice. All of this is nice.

Despite her misgivings and paranoia about the situation, Castor finds herself relaxing this high up in the sky. She might be a little wine-drunk, settling down on a deck chair to watch that night’s fireworks. It’s been a long few weeks. It’s nice to just. Enjoy.


Mognet Expo
”Kuuuu, you really need some of these features, Castor! Your writing is terrible!
“Aye, ye tell me that every time I sit te type somethin’. Are these even like te work with the rest’ve the network?”

Castor is studying an imperial iMog slate, exploring it’s features and not for the first time lamenting that her own doesn’t have something to cover for her admittedly poor writing practices. Bernadette is perched on her shoulder, with far less attention paid to the slates, and far more to the nearby boothes.

”Kupo Champange, ohh…”

“Dream on, Ben. If ye wanna get back te fancy livin, ye’re gonna have te work for it.”


Chocobo Races
I dunno, buddy. You think you’re fast enough?

Beside Castor, the ivory-plumed Chocobo known as Seiya coos in response, nibbling a bit at his mistress’ hair.

I know yer s’posed te be a fightin’ bird! ‘S why I asked, ye silly git. Ye ain’t made te race, but ye can beat a hasty exit when ye feel like.

Seiya chirps excitedly and ruffles his feathers up, as if rising to Castor’s challenge.

Alright alright, I’ll go get ye signed up…


SHOPPING...
So many things, so little gil. Castor can be found bouncing around the market stalls with a moogle on her shoulder and a chocobo in tow, little flyers for O’aka fluttering in her wake. She moves around with almost a childlike glee, zipping between one stall and the next, looking for anything interesting or old or shiny or pretty.

But on the other hand, she only has so much gil…

Well. She’s not entirely opposed to flirting her way to a discount.


...AND ALSO FOOD.
A big girl has a big appetite, after all. Castor is trying her damndest to sample everything on offer, and eats with an almost desperate abandon.

And if she sees something she hasn’t tried yet…?

“Hey now, where’d ye find that?”


Tournaments: Triple Triad
“‘S this deck a joke?!”

Castor is rifling through the loaned deck with a frown on her face. There are already some wheels turning in her head though, and she looks up again, trying to catch someone’s attention.

“Any regional or match rules I ought te consider here? It best not be roulette…”


Duty Roulette
The wildcard option. BYOprompt

FOOD

[dreamsoftomorrow]

Hope has a rather lovely piece of... something. He can't remember the name? But it was two pancakes with sweet bean paste in the middle. It was weird but it was good. He blinked into his bite as Castor addressed him. He made a sound as he finished the bite and pointed over to the stall that had them out in a neat row.

"Over there!" He said, slightly muffled by the food.

[littlemhigan]

"Ah!"

"On it, Kupo~!" Benny says excitedly, already flitting away with a few gil in hand. Castor turns back to Hope.

"Didn't mean te surprise ye. There's jes so much te try, I thought it might be a wiser course if I took some reccomendations."

Airship :)

[regalblaze]

Ignis took a flight with this airship a few nights ago and found it rather relaxing. Which he didn't expect considering they are high up in the skies and out in the open. He was almost 100% sure that he will spend the entire ride by himself (which he obviously didn't mind, otherwise he wouldn't be on it by himself), when he spotted a rather familiar face.

"Fancy meeting you here," Ignis greets her with a smile and offers a glass of wine he picked up before heading her way. "Mind if I join you?"

[littlemhigan]

Castor is admittedly surprised to see Ignis, and it probably shows on her face for a brief second before it's replaced by a bright smile.

"Course ye may!" She reaches for the offered wine and scoots over to make room should Ignis choose to sit. "Enjoyin' yerself so far, ser?"

[regalblaze]

"Oh, please, Ignis is just fine."

Truly, no one would expect Ignis to take a night trip like this. However, with Noct busy with Prompto in the evenings, he's given himself a little bit of time to relax.

He nods thanks when she makes some space for him to sit down. "It has been alright. Some of the attractions have been rather unexpected." He takes a sip of his wine and looks at the town they are floating over.

"If I am to be perfectly honest, I didn't expect hospitality from an Empire."

[littlemhigan]

Castor hums in agreement, sipping at her own drink. "Aye. S'almost too much, if ye ask me. Might jes' be experience talkin', but I feel like there's a trap an' I can't see it comin'. 'S buggin' me."

Honestly, up here was about the least threatened she'd felt since entering the imperial territory.

"Timin's too convenient, what with us showin' up six or so moons ago. They've been shuttered up for ten years - why open up now?"

Food (Well, drink)

[mech_and_mutt]

"What, this?" Red loosely gestured with the hand currently holding a good twenty ounces of some milky, foamy looking beverage, steaming hot in its cup. "Mocha brought it for me. It's a latte."

The moogle straightened her glasses, her usual squint somehow seeming more like a glare up at Red. "It's an upside-down flat white ris--

"Are we going to do this EVERY TIME, Mocha?"

[littlemhigan]

Castor laughs at the exchange, and to her credit, Benny the moogle doesn't join in on Mocha's side, but does flitter over to inspect the drink a little more closely.

"Ben does the same thing with me from time te time," Castor admits at last, "couse she thinks I'm boorish on purpose. Latte huh? What's it made of?"

[mech_and_mutt]

"See?! LATTE." "She doesn't even know what one IS, 'po!"

Eh-hem. "It's a drink made with espresso coffee and... uh... steamed milk. Y'know, to take the edge off." "--if it were a latte, which it isn't. This is made with hot microfoamed milk, poured into a small amount of coffee with an extra strong grind at high--"

"See?! You just described a latte but with really fancy words!!"
"UGH, those two things aren't remotely similar!"

[littlemhigan]

"Oh!" Castor exclaims as though completely unaware of the moogle busy splitting hairs, "We call that Triple Cream Coffe back 'ome! S' a little strong fer me but I see casters drink it from time te time. Sommat about the coffee helpin' em pull in more aether for spells...

"...'Cept uh...I think's jus' hot coffee an' dairy cream. Nowhere near that fancy soundin'"

SHOPPING... / he's witnessing this thing you call flurt

[keymemory]

Sora was squished between two other patrons, they were haggling with the merchant and soon both left from beside Sora quite instantly. Which left him with a grateful amount of breathing room. “Whew!” He then looked to his side to see a familiar face. “Hey! Err?” Then he cocked his head as Castor began to talk in a funny sort of way and he watched with wide eyes and an interest that likely matched the vendor’s.

[littlemhigan]

"Aye, but it's hard te find' sommat that flatters me so well," Castor is cooing to the vendor as she admires herself trying on a pretty necklace in a nearby mirror, "especially with colourin' like mine. Ye don't see Onyx put ye good use anymore."

There's a certain...coquettishness to her movements, the tilt of her hip, the turn of her head, the way her hand trailed down off the necklace to between her...

"Unfortunately, I'm short a little gil from the askin'. Don't suppose ye'd take a lass's promise te show yer store off if ye'd part with this for oh...five hundred?"

Her deal seems to be an appealing one because a few seconds later, she's spinning away from the stall when her eyes catch..."Oh! 'Lo you. How long've ye been standin' there?"

[keymemory]

Sora watched and watched. The blush on his face intensified the more the tall woman went on. In one hand he was uncomfortable and in the other hand he was super comfortable. Did he have any idea why? No, but he did know she really, really wanted that necklace! So much that he had started to pull out his own gil pouch and began to blindly feel around in the pouch. Of course his eyes never left the woman as she continued her plea.

Then, when she suddenly twirled and caught sight of him he jumped, in surprise, and quickly shook his head. “No.. uh.. what?”

mognet expo;

[shadowsthedawn]

As Castor studies the imperial iMog slate a silver haired teen sidles up behind her to watch. Riku has managed to learn the ins and outs of his own iMog slate for the most part, with the help of his moogle Akine's instructions. But some of these new fancier features he can't seem to figure out on his own.

As for Akine, she's perched on his shoulder munching on three different kinds of Kupo nuts. How she managed to talk the teen into getting her so many will remain a mystery. But that doesn't stop her from offering to share with Bernadette.

"Would you like some, kupo? It's not champagne but it sure is yummy!"

Riku's brow furrows as he shoots an exasperated look at his moogle.

"Sorry. She's...friendly." His tone seems to indicate that he's not sure whether or not that's a good thing. "I was just curious about seeing how some of these features work. The iMog slate is different from what I'm used to."

[littlemhigan]

"Ku!!" Bernadette cheers loudly and flutters over to Akine, "Oh yes please, Kupo!"

Castor can't quite find it in her to be anything more than deeply amused by the display, and she chuckles as Riku approaches.

"Must be, if she's sharin' 'er Kupo Nuts like that. Never too late fer a surprise in a day, I suppose."

He attention shifts down to Riku's slate, then hers, then the new one she's holding in her other hand. "Aye, seems like they've done some tinkerin' with these buggers whilst they've been shuttered away. 'S a shame too, I'd not mind a few've the upgrades on offer."

[shadowsthedawn]

Akine shows off the flavors of Kupo Nuts she's acquired: Original, Deluxe, and Explosive.

"Which would you like to try, kupo?" She seems all too happy to be sharing her nuts, although Riku has to admit that she seems to be pretty happy doing just about anything. Maybe that's why Castor's comment strikes him as curious. He doesn't really know that much about Moogles after all.

"Is it that surprising that she's sharing? Is that unusual for a Moogle?"

He eyes the newer model in her hand curiously. He wants to check out what the new features could be, but he's willing to wait his turn. "Why is that a shame? Are upgrades really expensive?"

Chocobo Races

[eternitynpc]

[ Castor would meet with something of an issue upon taking part in the Chocobo Race: one of her opponent was fast. Way faster than any Chocobo should ever be. And of course, the race took place and said opponent won. Why, his chocobo was nearly a lap ahead of the competition!

It's obvious he is cheating.

As for the jockey? He looks like your average young man, trying to garner fame with little effort. Perhaps he could be let off the hook, no one can prove he's cheated, after all. Perhaps he could be called out?

What do? ]

[littlemhigan]

[ Start by looking at the CHOCOBO of course!!

Castor knows speed isn't Seiya's forte - he wasn't bred to be quick, nor was he raised to it; a good racing chocobo would put him to shame any day.


But this? This is ridiculous. So Castor lurks the holding pens, trying to get a good look at the suspicious 'Bo. Seems as good a place as any to start. ]

Mognet Expo

[immortalmarshal]

A small, brief chuckle comes from the man next to her. If Castor turns to face the source, she'll find a rather amused Cor chaperoning his own Moogle's shopping.

"At least one of you have the right idea..."

Urk sorry about the late

[littlemhigan]

"I'd hope so, ser, but I think that begs the question: Which one've us?"

Benny waves happily to Cor's moogle as they get closer, and Castor sighs good-naturedly, "Cause I think the answer'd depend on who ye asked."

S'alright!

[immortalmarshal]

Tommy waves back, but then has to quickly move to keep his small pile of purchases from falling out of his grip. It's mostly Tonberry-themed supplies, but there's a bag of Chocolate-covered Kupo Nuts mixed in.

"Well, if you ask me," Cor remarks, still a little amused, "I'd think that it would be you."

Food (hopefully not too late)

[angealwings]

Angeal is holding a plate of mini eclairs, or something like it. Bite-sized food... and most of it untouched.

He does actually smile a little at the question.

"As a matter of fact, I only saw these on the tray held by a passing moogle. I spotted him once early on, then lost sight, then only spotted him much later. Not sure where he's hiding now, though if you'd like to try them, help yourself?"

Never!

[littlemhigan]

"Knowin' Moogles, he'll be found again when 'es good an' ready, an' not a moment sooner," she answers before her attention is drawn to the offered food. "But don't mind if I do try, since ye were kind enough te offer."

Yasss!

[angealwings]

"That... sounds about right, truly." Angeal gave a bit of a smile, then held out the plate. "Please. And I hope you do enjoy them."