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

[mech_and_mutt]

"You bet. Poison, sleep... Oh! I heard about this one player's technique where he--"

WHAM. Looks like that defensive player on the Imperial side found his comeuppance- thankfully, one of his allies cushions his impact enough that both of them manage to avoid getting knocked out of the globe completely.

It even left Red wincing, but he still had a grin on his face as he glanced sidelong to Kuja. "Don't worry, he's fine. I've taken hits like that, too-- the water makes it a little softer."

But before Mojito could be sent off on a food fetch, a moogle in horn-rim glasses and a scarf thrusts a different snack into Kuja's lap: a very large, half-full box of fried potato wedges, dusted with layers of molten cheese and some sort of... spicy-scented minced vegetable.

"The Grand Imperial Frites, 'po. It's apparently this stadium's specialty."

And she tips her head almost impercievably in a subtle nod to Mojito. Moogle companions have to look out for each other, right?

[acapriciousreaper]

He doesn't actually seem to need the reassurance. He barely notices the presence of the snack food dumped unceremoniously into his lap. "Yes, thank you Mojito."
This isn't popcorn. Oh well, not important- that was _blood_ just now, and the crowd's baying for more. But no, he's not enjoying this, why do you ask?

[mech_and_mutt]

Good thing, too-- even Red and Mocha couldn't manage to finish the box. And he might have flipped it out of his lap when he jerked out of his slouch at the next play-- a defender's disoriented clothesline against an approaching striker, after he'd already thrown to a teammate.

The crowd riles up. Play is halted and positioned to reset.

"Oof. A little too slow. That's a foul..."

[acapriciousreaper]

"Excuse me? You're allowed to use poison but oh, hitting someone who doesn't have the ball, that's a bit of a faux pas?"
This is peasant food. Dirty, greasy, artery-clogging peasant food, to be certain. Zidane would love it, no doubt.

[mech_and_mutt]

"Well, yeah. If they couldn't only go for the ball carrier it'd just be two teams goin' in there and beating each other up. What'd be the point?"

"Oh! Hang on, I think play's startin' again. tch... Look at these guys-- y'think we'll be facin' them any time soon in the league?"

[acapriciousreaper]

Kuja blinks, taken out of the moment by the question. "Oh. Ah... If relations remain open, I expect it's a possibility. It's certainly not impossible."

[mech_and_mutt]

[That just makes Red's glare all the more focused. His bone crunches between his teeth- he doesn't bother to replace it.]

...That defense of theirs is dynamite, too. I'm not lookin' forward to tryin' to break through it. Think there's a way to break up that form of theirs?

[acapriciousreaper]

"Honestly, I've always felt that the only really necessary things in any conflict are force, in as great a concentration as possible, and style. In a pinch, style can slide."
Well, now he's thinking about it. "Hmm. Is it a foul if an attack on a non-ball-carrier never lands?"

[mech_and_mutt]

"Nah. No hit, no foul. You see a lot of people veer off with their tackles at the last second."

"But you saw what happened with that striker. They're really good at boxin' in whoever's on their side of the arena."

[acapriciousreaper]

"A single, all-out assault, then. It stands to reason that no defense is perfect, so an all-out offensive down the center of the field, where there are the fewest players, would be more likely to succeed. Alternately, cripple their offense at the earliest opportunity, though that would open you up to the free goal thing, hmm. Though, if tactics like poison are allowed..." He taps his chin.
"Personally, I'd enchant the ball and let the enemy take it. Make them learn to be afraid to so much as touch the thing."

[mech_and_mutt]

"Maybe, but that'd just leave ya wide open behind-- one little slip-up and the ball's headed back towards your goal before you know it."

"Well yeah, a lotta plays do that already. Give the ball a little magic spin, fling it towards the goal, and watch 'em sub out the goalie."

"Thing is, a lot of 'em know it's coming and they just don't care. Everyone goes into this sorta thing more or less expectin' to get a little roughed up."

[acapriciousreaper]

"Hm. Well, I'm sure if I wanted to learn the rules, I could think of something more efficient. I suppose the 'all-out assault' strategy isn't nearly as effective in a situation where it's generally frowned upon to atomize your opponents."

Beat.

"That was a joke."

[mech_and_mutt]

"C'mon, be sportsmanlike. ...though, uh, not like I haven't thought about bringing my mecha in there sometime. Sadly, don't think the ref would go for it."

"Looks like they're doin' some rotations. You want me to grab you somethin'?"

[acapriciousreaper]

"A pity. It would probably be entertaining to watch, at least. And no, I think-" He looks down to an empty box. "What the hell did I just eat?"

[mech_and_mutt]

"Uh... the Grand... royal--" "--Grand Imperial Frites, 'po." "Yeah, that."

He glances down to the empty, grease-stained box. "What, you didn't like 'em? You wolfed 'em down pretty hard."

[acapriciousreaper]

"Eugh. I think I rather did." How much grease... "I think if I eat another of those, I'm unlikely to fit into my robes for the banquet. Just water, thank you."