Submission (#505) Approved

(Permission granted from MoonCloudStudio's prior for the use of Peony! Includes my OC Kairos and the NPC Namiko)
The vibrant streets of Blackpool’s third layer shimmered under the gentle bioluminescent glow of jellyfruit lanterns and string lights. The annual Bloomlight Festival was in full swing—music drifted like perfume through the air, laughter echoed off coral-tiled walls, and scent trails from candied shellfruit and steamed syrup buns filled the district. For most, the festival was about color and chaos, sweets and noise. For Kairos, it had always been an excuse to slip between shadows, play lighthearted tricks, and maybe snag an unattended dumpling or two. But not this time.
Tonight, something else tugged at him. A name he'd only heard in passing a few times before had rung out from a conversation behind a street vendor’s stall and sent his heart into a skip: Peony. The Peony—sweet as spun nectar, bright as blossomlight, her voice like crystal over warm current. The pop idol of the Third Haven who sang in taverns, on rooftops, even once from a floating parade blossom. A star who had bloomed up from the deep basin to become Blackpool’s most beloved darling.
Kairos didn’t even know she’d be here. He tried to pretend he wasn’t looking as he moved through the festival, pretending to browse glitter-glass earrings and pearl-pop charms. His ears were on high alert, his tail twitching every time a soft melody reached him over the crowd. And then, he heard her. Not singing—but laughing. A gentle, bubbly giggle that rang like a silver bell across the crowd. He turned instinctively toward the sound and stopped dead in his tracks.
Peony stood beside a flower-shaped kiosk, surrounded by glowing bouquets and sugar-pressed floral confections. Her pastel-blue hair swayed with every movement, looped elegantly, and her large eyes sparkled under the light. Heart-shaped markings on her paws danced as she gestured animatedly while trying to choose between two different cream puffs. Her tail—shaped like a heart in bloom—flicked back and forth with excitement. Kairos forgot how to breathe.
She was even brighter up close than he expected—warm, alive, glowing from the inside out. All the confidence he’d built up in his head over the past few minutes evaporated, replaced with a buzz of nerves. She was real, and she was here, and her smile was softer than anything his mischief-worn heart had ever seen. Peony looked up, mid-laugh, and her eyes landed right on him.
“Oh! Hi there!” she called with a cheerful wave, as if they’d known each other for years. “You’ve got the cutest stripes—I love them!”
Kairos blinked. “Uh—I—you’re Peony,” he stammered. “And you’re… talking to me.”
Peony laughed again, tilting her head. “Of course I am! What’s your name, stripes?”
He managed to give it, ears pinkening under the praise. She grinned wider. “Well, Kairos, you’ve just got to help me decide. Raspberry blossom puff or mango sunburst cream?”
He blinked. “You’re asking me?”
“Mhmm! If I try to choose I’ll be here until sunrise.” She giggled again, holding the two puffs out in her paws. “Wanna help me taste test?”
He hesitated for half a second before stepping closer, heart in his throat. The raspberry one was tart and sweet, and her eyes lit up when he described it like “biting into a sugarberry during a thunderstorm.” She called that poetic and said he must have a performer’s soul. They picked the mango one too, of course, and shared it on a bench nestled beneath hanging coral-bells.
For a while, they talked. Peony told him about singing as a baby to the tatsukois in the deep basin, how they’d twirled in sync with her voice, and how that was the moment she knew music was her calling. Kairos confessed how her song “Second Horizon” made him feel like he wasn’t alone—like maybe there was still a place for someone like him. She touched his paw gently at that, soft warmth in her gaze. “That’s exactly why I sing,” she said.
As the music swelled around them, Peony laughed again, her joy ringing out under the lantern light. “I hope one day I get to sing for the royal families,” she whispered, looking up at the sky above the Haven’s ceiling. “But even more than that, I want every song to reach someone who needs it.”
Kairos smiled. “You already do.”
The crowd moved around them, the festival continuing its shimmering dance. But for a while, it felt like the whole layer had quieted—just for them. A quiet moment beneath blooming lanterns, between a wandering trickster and a blooming star.
The glow of the Bloomlight Festival began to dim as the lanterns slowly blinked out, one by one, like sleepy fireflies turning in for the night. The scent of sugar and sea breeze still lingered in the air, and laughter echoed faintly from the distant boardwalks. Kairos and Peony had moved to a quieter corner of the promenade, beneath an overgrown arch of blossom coral, where a few low lanterns still glowed a lazy pink.
Peony leaned back on the bench, holding the last bite of mango sunburst puff between her paws and humming softly. “Mmm… this was such a good pick, Kairos,” she said with a happy flutter of her tail. “You really have a sweet-sense.”
Kairos smiled, his heart full. “It’s easy when you’re sharing it with someone who makes everything feel sweeter.”
Before Peony could respond, a sudden electric pulse filled the air. The lanterns overhead flickered to a deep aqua-blue, and somewhere overhead, a high-pitched musical chime shimmered through the plaza like the opening note of a song. Peony perked up, ears twitching.
“Ohhh, I know that sound,” she said, eyes lighting up. “Only one girl uses that synth key in her entrance…”
Just then, with a twirl and a flash, a figure zipped in overhead, riding a curling ribbon of neon-blue musical notes. Her fins sparkled, her twin pigtails bounced, and her gleaming wands reflected the lantern light like a disco ball. She landed with practiced flair just a few feet away, a soft chime of choral notes trailing behind her like fairy dust.
“HEEYYYYY~!!” the newcomer sang out in perfect autotuned harmony. “Did someone say sweet and music in the same sentence?! Because Namiko has ARRIVED!”
Peony clapped excitedly. “Namiko! Oh my stardrops, I didn’t know you were here!”
“Surprise~!” Namiko giggled, striking a pose before zipping over and giving Peony a warm, spinny hug. “I was doing a quick sound check at Waveview Square but caught your voice echoing through the upper path and just had to swing by. That final note you held in ‘Hearts Afloat’? Chills. Literal chills.”
Peony’s cheeks lit up in a bright pastel pink. “You’re too sweet! I’ve been meaning to come to one of your glowstage sets too—your last one with the floating synth rings? Magical!”
Kairos blinked, wide-eyed, caught between two idols exchanging compliments like seasoned stars at a gala.
Namiko noticed him then and tilted her head, leaning slightly forward. “And who’s this?” She looked down directly at him, revealing bright, playful eyes.
“This is Kairos!” Peony said cheerfully. “He’s got the heart of a poet and a tongue for good pastry advice. We met tonight!”
Namiko gave a low whistle. “Oooh, Peony bringing out the sweet metaphors, huh? You must’ve made quite the impression, stripes.”
Kairos gave a bashful laugh, scratching behind one ear. “I… uh… well, I wasn’t expecting to meet one pop star tonight, let alone two. You’re both… kind of incredible.”
“Awwww, stop it—you’re gonna make me blush through my harmonizer.” Namiko winked and spun a little, creating a few floating musical notes in her wake. Then she glanced at Peony. “Hey, I’ve got a spare mic and a half-mixed cover of ‘Dreamshimmer Dive’ I still haven’t figured out. Wanna wing it with me back at the pop-up stage? Crowd’s light tonight—feels like the perfect night for a duet.”
Peony gasped. “Namiko, that’s one of my favorites! I’d love to!”
She turned to Kairos with a radiant look. “Would you like to come watch? Front row seat?”
Kairos nodded immediately, words escaping him again. “I… wouldn’t miss it.”
And so, under the fading lantern glow, the two idols rose together—one shimmering in digital synthlight, the other glowing with soft pastel warmth—and danced off toward the tiny stage in the heart of Blackpool’s lower promenade.
As they began to sing—Peony’s soulful tone blending with Namiko’s nightcore harmonics—the Haven lit up again. Not just from lanterns or music, but from something richer: joy, connection, the kind of magic only made when voices rise together in harmony. And seated front row, tail swaying to the beat, Kairos couldn’t help but smile.
Some nights, you steal a dumpling. Other nights… the stars come down to dance beside you.

Reward	Amount
Gold	10
Summer Daze Music Festival - Design and MYO Raffles (Raffle Ticket)	1