Event || The Festival Of Light

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the Heroes of Light and their Moogles.
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: July 27th - August 03rd
Summary: Feel free to use this post to participate in the Festival of Light. Post your own threads or jump into someone else's thread-- This is a free for all mingle post!
Warning: N/A

Comments

[forcegalactic]

Good, good. Take your mind offa things, that's what this is for.

[Growing up on Mars, he's learned how to distract himself from grieving over every death. Tragedies happen, and that's part of life. But when it affects the people he cares about - Ramza, Rialynn, Zelda - even he can feel hurt.]

Mostly been explorin' the stands. Never had the time to appreciate all they did last time I went. Was tryin' to sleep off all those broken bones from fightin' Jenni, remember?

[It was a year ago that they avoided the fireworks. One year since they met the poor bard.]

[zodiac_brave]

Yes. [Ramza remembers the last time around.] To tell the truth, I still do not enjoy the fireworks.

[Too loud, too bright, and linked to too many memories.] But the other stands are nice.

[forcegalactic]

[A rapid fire of fireworks go off outside, causing spectators too ooh and ahh. The Barkeep doesn't react at all.]

Was nice to see that some people appreciate what we're doin'. We don't got much opportunity to meet with the regular folks what with all this fightin' and heroin' takin' up our time.

...Ramza, you feelin' okay?

[zodiac_brave]

Yes, it is good to spend time with the people here. [Ramza is not sure he will be welcome among them after what he did.]

That is the way it felt, visiting the Santa Village after the Herans took refuge there. [They would love Barkeep there.

He sighs.]

I am...tired. It has been a wearying recovery, is all.

[forcegalactic]

Heck, they musta been really appreciative of you to go out of your way to save 'em. You're basically their hero.

[Barkeep should visit that village more often. He makes a mental note to travel there once Palitutu is defeated.]

It's a long road, but you're gettin' there. Lemme tell you, most of the folks here are happy to know we're workin' hard. It's not everyone day you're taken from your home to fuel a planet while tryin' to save it at the same time.

[zodiac_brave]

What? Me? No.[Ramza shook his head. That was not what he meant. He was not anything special to the Herans. They were just a kindly and appreciative people. The Aqures Ixen natives had sorely misjudged them, he thought.]

They are good folk. All of them. I want to do all I can to keep them safe. [It was just...sometimes, it felt like all their effort was for naught. Like when their unseen enemy puppeteered their minds and turned them against one another.]

[forcegalactic]

[Of course he's special to the Herans! Barkeep is certain Ramza has endeared himself to the population of an entire ex-country. His son is a celebrity. He should be a proud parent.]

Yeah, you. We're makin' sure they don't all die from crystals and monsters and Palitutu. Remember that play? Everyone woulda died if it weren't for us. No play, no festival this year if this place was all blown up!

[zodiac_brave]

[Barkeep, please do not remind Ramza of that play. It was terrible.]

But I do not know if that counts. If the Heroes were not here, the Fire Crystal would not have become unstable and the Empire might not have targeted the city at all. We did well stopping it, but we cannot be blind to the danger we have brought here.

[forcegalactic]

[It was an excellent play! The natives poured their heart and soul into writing that piece of love, and it shows! Mind you, Barkeep has a very high opinion of real person fiction.]

Sure, but it ain't our fault we're existin' in this universe in the first place. The Ancients decided this whole life-suckin' thing was a good idea, which is killin' this planet along with the side effect of takin' us from our homes. It's a good thing, then, that we got caught up in this mess.

[His voice is steady and certain, and he looks straight as Ramza. This doesn't look like a hopeless situation to him, but not everyone sees it that way.]

We're the spanner in the works. We got the autonomy to do somethin' different, protect this planet from whatever the Calamity does. That includes attractin' Herans to Aqures Ixen.

[zodiac_brave]

In all the cycles, for the past thousands of years, I suppose we are the only factor that has truly changed. You really think we can end it for good?

[Ramza has said before that he is not so hopelessly naive as to believe one man can change the world. But perhaps, all of them together might have a chance. He has always been a little foolishly optimistic.]

[forcegalactic]

Who knows? I don't got future sight, so I can't say for you. What I do know is we got almost a hundred of us and all these books and time travelin' and knowledge on our side. At least, not the kind that turns us against each other and try to blow up the planet.

[He wasn't part of that weird group hallucination, but he's sure there were explosions going on.]

We got a good chance this time.

[zodiac_brave]

Perhaps you are right. We will accomplish nothing if we do not have faith in ourselves. So we will just have to trust that we can win.

[And maybe, if they do, they will merit a decent stage adaption in the generations to come. One can only hope.]

[forcegalactic]

That's the spirit.

[He raises a glass with a warm smile. Not just the kind he gives to his regulars. This one is warmer, supportive.]

Can't do nothin' with a can't-do attitude.

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza returns the gesture. He is glad for Barkeep's influence in his life. He wonders if this warm approval and nurturing is what he would have felt if his Father had not passed so early in his life.]

Indeed. Thank you, Barkeep. You are wiser than I, and I am grateful for your guidance.