#( . event . ) // sunflower festival 2024 ⚓༄⋆｡°்⋆

[unluckyuncle]

Sunflower Starter 𓅭𓅭𓅭𓅭 @epilvgue

It was nice to do something relaxing for a change. Sitting at one of the benches with a handful of beads and string, Donald had been working diligently at making some bracelets. Unfortunately, he was not only unlucky but not very artistic either.

He held up one of his creations to look at. Somehow it'd turned into an insanely chaotic mess of materials in the shape of a circle. Donald frowned but still turned to show his table partner.

[ Whaddya think of this, Vash? ] He was asking for honest feedback, trying to catch a glimpse of what he might have been working on. But it only took one quick breeze from the wind to break the whole bracelet, beads fell onto the table in a loud series of pitter patters, scattering everywhere.

[ ... Whoops. ] Donald looked at the mess he made, before sighing. [ Guess I'm starting over. How's yours coming along? ]

[unluckyuncle]

Sunflower Festival Starter 𓅭𓅭𓅭𓅭 @fellstcr

Summer was definitely Donald's favorite season. There was just something about the sun warming his feathers while he reads a book, or taking a nap, or really just doing anything. It was especially great because of how much he loved the ocean.

Sailing, Fishing, Swimming, etc. etc. There was no better time to do it than in the summertime!

And speaking of, Donald was enjoying Aevum's newest little festival right at the place he spent the most time! He was well known around the Trawler Docks for visiting, working around as a deckhand, and even fixing up his own ship and everything to go sailing on.

He'd heard that one of the special events during the Sunflower Festival was a fishing competition! And boy oh boy was he excited about that! He was setting himself up with a very lofty goal to; try and win that fishing rod!!

Unfortunately... he nearly forgot about the fact that he was also the unluckiest duck in the whole world.

He'd been trying for the most fish caught category, but apparently, every fish in the ocean decided that his bait was not as tasty as other people's! He was getting frustrated after spending hours on the task. He reeled the line in just now, grumbling under his breath.

[ oh- doggon darn stubborn little... ] he was grumpily putting more bait on the line when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. When he turned to look, he saw a familiar face that immediately lifted his spirits.

[ Ah, Byleth! ] He stood up on his seat. [ Boy oh boy am I glad to see ya! What brings ya to the Trawler Docks? ]

[unluckyuncle]

Okie last one!! Donald's probably gonna have a pretty good time with the festival tbh. I'd imagine he's a fan of summer ( considering he lives on a boat ) though he'll be wrangling his little duck chick!

But yeah, like for a festival starter from Donald! Capping at 3

Donald Sunflower guide

The Solstice Ball

He'd probably go here if someone asked him to go with him. He'd not one for fancy stuff, but also free food is free food ( also Della moon emotional whump my favorite :D )

Sunflower Parade

Donald would definitely enjoy the parade! And I think it'd be fun to get into some shenanigans with the whole sabotaging and stuff. Esp if he wasn't trying to purposefully do anything, it was just happening with his bad luck.

Charms of the Garden

Honestly, he'd love to do this activity! He is absolutely gonna make bracelets for all of his family and friends. I don't think he's very good at crafting so he'll probably need some help in that area.

The Lunar Tournament

Donald is winning that fishing rod.

Nighttime Shimmers and Glows

He'd definitely enjoy the fireworks show, especially with the atmosphere and the people. Though, he's definitely going to need headphones or earplugs while he watches - the potential for PTSD outbursts is very real.

Keepers of the Lands, Skies, and Seas

Donald would def help out with cleaning the seas in particular. I think for most of the event he's just going to be by the docks or on his ship in general, so whether that's just him fishing or cleaning up the beaches it doesn't matter so much. Also, he loves free t-shirts!

Gateway Flea Market 

I think Donald would definitely come out here to browse, but he is absolutely getting scammed at some point LOL he just isn't good with that sort of thing, but he loves anything an everything that is cheap. (pretty much everything from his world is the same as ours, with a few exceptions here and there.)

[unluckyuncle]

Oooh, more of a ceremonial thingy? Donald was very interested in that, and definitely way more motivated to help her out in finding it. Heritage and tradition were very important to some folks. For them being in a world away from their own it seemed more important than ever to hold onto those things.

He had a light smile on his face, matching her eyes with his own excitement and determination.

[ Oh, not at all! ] He was quick to affirm, moving towards another rack of clothes to look through the options. [ I think it's great ya wanna find those things. Especially when it's a part of your traditions ] He already knew that she was on the religious side, but he couldn't tell right away if it was a cultural thing or had something to do with that.

[ On my mom's side of the family, she's Scottish. An family lines had special patterns of fabrics to represent their clan. ] There really was no prouder Scot he knew than Uncle Scrooge. [ If I ever found a kilt of the McDuck clans pattern, I'd get it in a heartbeat. ]

Mostly for Scrooge if he ever saw him again. He knew he would appreciate it the most.

[ What kinda ceremonies did ya use 'em for? ]

⚔️ // the soft , precious few notes of a humming chuckle passed through her lips , muffled by the tips of her fingers. "under normal circumstances , you'd be right," she replied coolly. such ornamental clothing always seemed far out of field for someone of her stature. for no other reason than that it was IMPRACTICAL FOR TRAVEL , much less battle. besides her mother's medallion . . . she'd never had much in the way of fine clothes , even if nowadays she had the wherewithal to ADMIRE THEM from afar.

her eyes grazed over clothes of all patterns and materials. it seemed as far as her own hunt was concerned , they were drawing closer. still , his curiosity was nearly palpable. given that he was doing her such favor . . . she supposed donald only deserved as much truth as she could offer.

"i suppose you could say that it's . . . part of a larger ceremonial ensemble," she said, "there are a few more pieces i'm hoping that i might yet come across. the tiara is one. then , a cape and a gown." as her hands passed over a curious ivory garment ( only to find , disappointingly , that it was not embroidered with golden flowers ) , byleth gave pause. green eye slid back to donald. curious. searching. was that odd? testing the waters , she forced her attention back to the garments in hand and idly thumbed through the golds and whites. " . . . i suppose it's a little strange to be trying to retain a gown of all things. but . . . if it IS here , i'd like to take good care of it."

[unluckyuncle]

It was a charming enough conversation. Steven seemed to have a pretty good relationship with his captain as far as Donald could tell. It was certainly a good thing he knew how to swim to, though that didn't stop him from giving the guy a life vest just to be safe.

[ Awe sure! I know some good places to spot those fish. ] He pondered for a moment. It was all well and good that they wanted to go out there and explore the reefs and such. Donald had seen the creatures Steven was looking for ( among other not-so-friendly ones ) but something occurred to him to mention too.

[ You should know before we go, but, I got some rotten luck. ] He put on his own life vest carefully. He wanted to be positive, but honestly? He never expected very much. [ S'long as you keep to looking, we should be okay! I can handle the weather. ]

While preparing the ropes, he turned to smile at Steven. [ You can tell me more about this Elix on the way. ]

At least Steven had enough grace not to be thrown off by the motion of the boat. Much as he didn't care for sailing or being on a boat in general, he'd done it repeatedly before and it was hard to forget. He kept his balance easily and his bright grin didn't fade as they headed for the reef.

"My Captain does too, he keeps trying to get me out on a boat with him every time we visit his vacation home," the young man chuckles. "As long as the weather is really nice it's not too bad. I didn't grow up on a planet so bad weather is kind of awful, especially on a boat."

At least he was a very good swimmer at this point, planet or no. He'd practiced a lot by this point.

"Oh, uh..." He glances away, looking sheepish. "I only found the Illumenoctopi so far. I uh... got kind of distracted playing with them yesterday and didn't actually look for the other fish. So I've still got Comet Fish, Gem Fish, and Ripple Kelpies left to find." And he was not going to get distracted this time! He wasn't!

"The Illumenoctopi remind me of my friend Elix. He doesn't glow though, so these have one up on him."

[unluckyuncle]

[ Oooh, fancy! ] he comments, making sure to study the medallion. He'd seen it before, definitely. But she never really talked about it much before. He didn't know if it was important, but clearly, he was mistaken!

It certainly was a specific thing she was looking for. But hey, that was part of the adventure of flea markets! You could spend hours and hours and hours just browsing and you'd never know what you'd find!

While his luck often failed him in terms of looking for the specifics, he was great at finding bargains. Maybe it was a sentimental crown- well, a tiara.

[ I'll keep my eyes peeled for ya, By. ] he quickly turns back to the task, looking at all the items. Maybe they could find someone that had a lot of nice jewelry and stuff. Most people had patterns and things that they liked, hence why collectors existed.

[ What'cha looking for a tiara for? It'd look nice on ya! But it don't seem like your style? ]

⚔️ // things from fódlan . . . hm. byleth turned that thought over in her head for a moment. all while studying the carefully painted roses and vines that wound up the body and spout of the teapot in her hands. IN TRUTH , most objects and wares from fódlan depended on the region. even the styles of garreg mach and its monastery were strikingly unique compared to the adrestrian empire in which the church had been founded.

and perhaps what she was looking for spanned a time far greater than even that , in a pocket of the world long absent. pursing her lips , byleth pondered. then , she knelt so donald might see her example better.

lithe hands raised to her chest , fingers curling beneath the golden medallion fastened securely at her neck. the star and wings in the design glittered gold as it caught the light.

"try looking for motifs reminiscent of this design here," byleth instructed. her nail drifted along the star , the heart and the wings of the medallion. as she stood again and passed through the collection of wares around them , she added one more thing: "one of the things i'm looking for is a TIARA."

[unluckyuncle]

Donald was very happy following her along wherever she went. In truth, he wasn't expecting much out of this place, given the fact that... well, everything was pretty much the same as his world. But he that didn't mean he wouldn't keep an open mind.

He was more than happy to help Byleth find stuff from her world in the very least! Homesickness was very real after all. Still, he kept his arms behind his back, noting the fragile wares that surrounded him.

[ Awe! I'm glad ya got somethin good outta this already. I'll help ya keep an eye out for some more stuff! ] He bent over to try and peer at the glass cases (still being wary of getting too close. he was planning on spending money on itmes, not broken pieces.)

[ Can ya tell me what stuff from Fodlan would look like? ] he paused. [ Guessin there wouldn't be pictures? ] He laughed a bit while shook his head. It was probably a silly question, but he was more interested in at least trying to lend his girl a hand.

⚔️ // with a soft hum ( and a discrete push to hide the fallen pin and pegs beneath the table whence it had came ) , byleth nodded her agreement. it was always prudent to reuse as much as one could. after all , buying new materials of any kind was a LUXURY that not to be taken for granted.

"the last time i was here , i found something ... of great value to me," she admitted. "a gift from my students at the academy." with the elaboration , byleth stepped to a new vendor's shop , filled with various wares , and picked up an antique looking teapot from one of the shelves. "i'm not really sure what either of us might happen to discover , as a result. but if i can find anything else from fódlan , i can admit that i would be most pleased."

[unluckyuncle]

Captain, huh? Donald smiled at the young man's enthusiasm. Honestly, it was refreshing to meet someone who was happy doing whatever it was that he liked. Didn't matter if it was for kids or not. The guy must really like fish - which, Donald did too. Though he liked them for more than just cooking.

Anyway, he knew well enough that the point of Fish wasn't to actually fish for them, so he set about preparing his ship to set sail towards the reef in order to help Steven out with his card.

[ Well, Steven! I'll be the captain for us today. The ocean is my specialty. ] He couldn't help but be a little caught off guard by the mention of space travel. His own experiences with that were... not pleasant. But that didn't mean he needed to be.

[ I don't mind at all. 'Sides, I like sailing around the sea's here. ] It wasn't too long before Donald had the ships engine running, pulling the two of them away from the dock.

[ Which fishes are ya lookin for? ]

Steven watched the odd look cross the duck's face, the scan of his person. Normally the space Captain wouldn't participate in such a very child oriented festivity but.... Fish. He loved fish more then anything else he'd ever found on a planet and since his participation wouldn't take anything away from the kids involved it was fine.

There was a moment when he almost waved off the other Captain and turned away, but then he agreed instead and Steven grinned instead. With more grace then anyone of his age ought to have, he vaulted on board with his gear and stepped over. Shuffling his gear so he had a hand free, he held it out to Donald.

"Captain Steven Gobair, at your service! Thanks for the lift! I specialize in space faring, not so much on the ocean. Rather be under it then on it, honestly." He's not phased by the strange appearance of this new acquaintance, this is not even the strangest person on his own crew, let alone the strangest person he's ever met.

[unluckyuncle]

Hmm, Donald could tell Vash was taking the whole project very seriously. In truth, he hadn't been thinking too much about what he was putting into the bracelet. It wasn't the kind of gift he could give to his family now, and he had a lot of friends but that was a lot of bracelets.

[ Nah, don't worry. I got it unda control. ] He started cleaning up his mess and reorganizing the beads to be in neat(ish) piles.

[ If you'd like to talk ya thoughts out- ] Donald offered before slipping off his bench to collect the ones that fell in the grass. [ I'd be happy to listen. it helps me whenever I'm stuck in a rut. ]

Donald stood up suddenly, however, he THWACKED his head on the table, sending more beads tumbling on the ground. There was a yelp before he mumbled to himself, picking up more beads.

[ What's ya brother like? ]

「𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤!」- Vash was having about as much luck as Donald. At first he had just stared at the string and beads, not entirely sure what to do with them or who to make one for.

Maybe for...

He made a very careful selection of charms for the bracelet.

Vash started stringing the beads and charms together in some form of a pattern. Mostly using blues and whites, a few shocks of yellow here and there with the charms themselves smattered in. The thing didn't necessarily need to look pretty, it was more the meaning than anything else -

He lifted his head and looked over at the duck next to him. Blue eyes scanned over the chaotic mess. "Well... it's a little messy... but that just gives it spirit, right? I don' think it necessarily has ta look super pretty."

That was when a quick breeze blew the whole thing out of the duck's tenuous grasp and all of the beads tumbled on the table or bounced over the ground. "Ah man... ya want some help?"

He glanced at his own little art project that lay on the table.

"It's a whole lot harder than it sounds, honestly. I'm tryin' ta make it for... my brother... an' I don't really know what charms to use."

So far he'd put several on - the Echo Tree Nut (peace in change), a Moonview Spring Stones (rejuvenation), Zeohyr Lilly Bead (guidance in dark times). There was the Orb Flower (good wishes), the Sunflower (happiness), and the Aether Rose (balance) as well. A Heavens Mirror Bead (mourning lost loved ones) sat unused. If he were honest, he didn't even know why he had picked it up.

He thought about making one for Legato as well, but... he was still uncertain. Although he felt he should repay the other man for the doll he had received some months back.

Vash slumped slightly. "I've got no idea what I'm doing..."

[unluckyuncle]

[ yeah... it's been a pain in my- ] He stopped himself short of finishing that. Not that he technically needed to censor himself since she was an adult... but she was religious, a proper lady, and also family. He cleared his throat.

[ It's just my bad luck is all. ] he shrugged, continuing to put the bait on the hook. [ I was hopin' to win the new rod, but I can't seem ta get anythin. ]

With a quick toss, he swung the rod, casting the line into the water has he had done before hundreds of times over. Normally he wasn't this unlucky with his catches.

[ I'd be happy for the company if you'd like to join! ]

⚔️ // it was small , but a smile graced byleth's features nonetheless. "mostly marcellus. he wouldn't let up until i promised i wouldn't go to work on my day off," she admitted. she straightened up and twisted her torso to look around. people from all over the isle had set up shop along the docks and beaches. some had fishing lines cast into the wide open sea , while others were lounging on small boats some depths in.

"there's been talks of a fishing competition. so , i thought it might be worth looking into. by the looks of it , you and i shared a similar idea."

"though , i've also heard that you can't keep what you catch. that's a shame."

[unluckyuncle]

[ Awe! That's real special, By. ] Donald chuckled, picking up a nearby item and examining it in his hands. It looked a little bit like a rolling pin but covered in spikes. [ It's great ya got such a good bond with ya students. I was lucky the triplets each had pretty different tastes. ]

He touched one of the wooden pegs, which immediately came out. Falling to the ground with a light thud. When Donald blinked at the thing, even more pegs followed suit. He decided it would be better to just put the thing down, scoop up the pegs and walk away.

[ I like looking for bargains in places like this. Why buy new when you could reuse? ] He nodded thoughtfully. [ Are ya looking for anythin in particulars? ]

⚔️ // "you know , seeing all of these lost items around the marketplace reminds me of garreg mach." half absentmindedly , the musing was punctuated by byleth stooping down and returning a fallen wallet to a nearby patron. "the students would lose things often. so , eventually i got pretty good at being able to figure out what belonged to who , so i could deliver them back."

@unluckyuncle / flea market !

[unluckyuncle]

Donald was very aware of what the current festival activities were. In some ways, he couldn't help but wonder what he could've done if his boys were here. Maybe they'd have watched the Olympics together. They did like to get competitive in choosing teams ( Louie was always really good at figuring out the winners. Donald had to put a stop to multiple bidding contests. )

So color him surprised when he's approached by an adult talking about Fish Spy of all things.

[ Uhm... ] He paused, turning to look at the stranger. He did indeed find it weird and was getting ready to turn him down. However, the longer Donald thought about it the more about it, the more he decided that it didn't really matter.

Adults could enjoy lotsa of things kids did. And maybe he could make some more memories for his boys too.

[ Ya know what, sure! Why not. ] He gestured for him to come aboard his ship. [ Welcome aboard the Miss Daisy! Name's Donald Duck, how about yours? ]

To say Steven was excited about the events centered around the native fish was an understatement. He may be a space faring Captain, and spend all his time among the stars, but he really truly thrived under the water. Fish (especially the really really big ones that could eat him) were his passion and he'd been dying to get into the water. He'd done some free diving already and some snorkeling, but without his powers he was constrained to normal human limits. Properly diving was absolutely fantastic.

For right now though, he was booking it down the pier with a plastic card in his hand and his flippers and snorkel over his shoulder. There were plenty of boats out tied up and waiting for those who wanted to participate in the Fish Spy event and he waves at a particularly unusual Captain with a grin.

"Hey! Are you ferrying people out for Fish Spy?" No, Steven does not care that this is a thing mostly for families and children. He's going to find every single fish on the cards and then some! If only he had his telepathy right now, he'd just ask them to come out and say hello and play for a while.

@unluckyuncle