lostcarnival | ⇨ THE FANTASIA FESTIVAL

Who: Everyone who decides to come!
When: Day 12
Where: Wismuth's Fantasia Festival
What: CY-Ren's performance in Wismuth's biggest music festival finally arrives, and those willing to help Noa the Star Guardian show up to intervene.
Warnings: It doesn't go super well.

SONG OF THE CY-REN↴

CY-Ren's arena is the biggest stage in the festival by far, but it isn't the only one. Several big acts have assembled in the surrounding area, all with a lovely view of the ocean and with Wismuth's skyline in the background. Though she isn't explicitly the main attraction at the festival, everyone knows she's the real reason so many people have showed up. The amount of star power she has is overwhelming, and there are plenty of fans that would get violent on her behalf.

► GROUP UP: Noa will ask everyone to meet her in a park area near the festival stage, so that you can discuss plans briefly before putting them into action. The key is to try to stop the concert before CY-Ren's plans can come to fruition - whatever they may specifically be. How you go about this is up to you, but with how many people are present, it's bound to be a challenge.

► INFILTRATE: After speaking with Noa and determining what everyone will be doing, it will be time for everyone to break into the performance arena. No one has tickets for this, unless they've forged them, as they sold out a while ago. Any means of getting inside is fine, whether that be teleporting, passing through walls, or jumping in by wing. Once you've gotten into the crowd, it's up to you to get close enough to the stage to disrupt the proceedings.

► UNDER HER SPELL: It only takes her first song for things to start going wrong. The impact of the music will strike each individual differently - for most it will only feel strange, but for some it will be completely transfixing, like something that reaches deep into their soul. Those people, the ones slated to become Harbingers, will react to the the song strongly - upon hearing it, they will gradually completely lose their sense of agency, sluggishly moving towards the stage by whatever means available to them. If someone tries to stop them, they will go as far as physically, or even violently, resisting.

"Blindsided by the beat
Clapping your hands, stomping your feet
You didn't know that you fell
Now you've fallen under my spell"
Obviously, if you want to participate in the Harbinger plot, you'll have to arrange it so that they manage to follow through with their hypnotized objectives. They will feel somehow empty during this time, as like they need to follow the music in order to achieve any chance at fulfillment. If you are not becoming a Harbinger, you can still have your character be affected by this to a lesser degree and then stopped by another carnival member, or as a feat of self control.

► BATTLE: By the time she switches to the next song, things will have started to get real. Any blatant, long distance attacks made early on will be mysteriously blocked by some kind of magical force field surrounding the stage, which will take some time to penetrate - at least until Noa gets involved. Body guards will storm anyone who tries to get onto the stage, and ostensibly said guards are not at all human. Instead, they appear to be horrible looking shadow amalgamation in suits, and while their attacks are mostly just physical, they can move with unnatural quickness, can't be pinned, and strike very hard. They can be NPC'd by anyone, and only have vaguely humanoid thought processes.

"Me and you, you and me
Why don't we see who is better?
We don't have to be one and the same thing
Oh, what's so wrong with a little competition?
Are you afraid of failing the audition?"
By the end of the second song, the hypnotized carnival members will have been snatched up by CY-Ren's void agents and disappeared. This can manifest as them being grabbed and escorted off, or possibly disappearing into shadows alongside one of the bodyguards. The guards will be trying to work stealthily, ideally sneaking away anyone being affected by the song without anyone around them noticing, but they won't let secrecy get in the way of their objectives, either. The audience will be able to realistically notice if things start exploding in their faces, but the song will distract them from anything less obvious.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Yuya looks rapidly between the body guard in front of him and Gongenzaka, who's gaining ground where he isn't. Right, they need to stay together, getting separated was what caused a lot of problems before...

He tries jumping one way and the next, but the guard is too quick and swipes for him. Yuya jerks his arm away--oh, that's right. That's right!

He swings his left fist forward, colliding the punch ring with the shadowy guard with enough force to send it staggering back. It's ample time for Yuya to run past it and back to Gongenzaka, shaking his hand.] I know! But they keep getting back up!

NGhh...so they are, [He admits, kicking another rather soundly in the 'gut' with his hooves. Hooo, that one's taking a bit to get up...] ...But that is all the more reason to push ahead..! Even a few steps onward is progress..!

[Yuya's attention turns up before he can answer Gongenzaka, watching the fight and the firing above. The barrier is holding up, but some of the structure around everything is getting hit. Watching Noa and CY-Ren duel is transfixing, momentarily--but he remembers where he is and snaps his attention away.]

What's your plan when we get there? [Surely he has a plan!!]

The goal is sabotage...but more importantly perhaps, making certain the others who went there are safe. Search the stage, and see who can be helped! I, the man Gongenzaka, will attempt to clear what is down here! [What with the battle now entering some...Pretty hefty proportions out there and all.]

[That's right, who even was already backstage? Were they keeping an eye on each other?

It's a sound enough idea. It's cramped navigating around the tight hall that the venue narrows down into for the backstage, though, so Yuya shuffles right behind Gongenzaka with his attention on the ceiling, worried.

Which makes it very easy for the void-like security guard that was trailing behind them to grab him by the arm and forcibly yank him back.] Uh--!

MNHH-! YUUYA-!! [Excuse him as he goes to WAIL ON A SHADOW-though that doesn't work too well when something like three or four start trying to haul him back in another direction. He should have worn his steadfast belt...!] Get- OFF-!!

[This is all going spectacularly poorly.]

Gongenzaka! [He tries to wave his hand that he's fine, but then Gon is quickly swarmed as well. He pulls against his trapped arm, digging in his heels. He knows exactly what he can do to escape, however, and his free hand absently feels for his pendulum out of reflex.

But Yuya doesn't manage to project the shield before something hard slams against his back, just below his neck, and sends a shock down his spine. Suddenly, he feels very weak and instead of casting any magic, he just staggers.

The guard turns to shove Yuya into another one, no more human than the first, and that guard turns to haul Yuya back to the tranced crowd, just about throwing him into it.]

NGHHK- KAUUUHHHH-! YUUYA..!

[He's shouting quite a lot, and fighting with a lot more vigor as well for that matter.] YUUYA-!! [And...There he goes.]

Sh-Shoot..! [Well, uh. He'll. Try to get over there to you. Somehow.

The battle will probably be over by then...]

[It's probably a good thing the audience is distracted, because then nobody tramples Yuya when he's dazed on the floor. He struggles to his feet after the initial soreness, looking around.

That's about when the barrier finally gives in. The added chaos won't help them find each other, especially when the falling debris means Yuya disappears even further into the crowd to try and protect all of the innocent civilians with his shield. Until they snap out of it ands are ushered out.

They'll just have to trust each other until its over.]

⇨ THE FANTASIA FESTIVAL

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what a wrap-

Closes it up