⇨ THE FANTASIA FESTIVAL

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[criticallyfucked]

 Foster started out at a flat run, leaving very little room for more than token acceleration, but as Zangetsu clears the way, Tyki clearing the rest of the way... what little room there is to speed up, he takes, leaning forward into his sprint, heavy claws curled into fists, long legs eating up the yards between him and each tier of the stadium in seconds.

He's not running scared. He's running mad.

He's mad that he's running. He's mad that he's being steered away from not only doing but even seeing, that he's being used not just by Zangetsu but Ginko, and for what? But he's exhilarated, too, to find himself being used so freely, so openly; that he's reduced to nothing but an animal. And it's thrilling in its own way, and physicality of it all. So he's angry, yes--

But he is nothing if not obedient.

And external anger, external hatred--for the world, for others, for circumstances both within his control and without--is a kind of motivator, too. Not as strong as self-hatred, not as true as blood, as massive as the endless, relentless pursuit of time, as the reality of death, as the gaping maw of roaring emptiness--

But it has spurs nonetheless, and when Foster comes to the souveneir stand between them and their escape--

That hatred, that anger gives him the incentive.

He barrels down on it at full equine speed, gathering himself with what power he has in his bony, wasted wreck of a body, and jumps.

He jumps the fucking table, and comes down on the other side--stumbling, crashing partway into the vendor on the other side, in a rain of grape soda and branded caps, but he clears the table and keeps his feet and keeps going, the sound of CY-Ren's song still in his ears.

[moonfang]

Zangetsu is having the time of his life. The void’s sweet siren call has nothing on the pure exhilaration that this whole ordeal has brought on. The madness! The chaos! The speed! The complete and utter inanity! It was delightful, and not an adventure he would soon forget. With Ginko behind and Tyki beside, he keeps Foster on the most direct path out of there.

Tyki starts accumulating dark energy, and it catches Zangetsu’s attention. He nods, then yanks on Foster again, using the horsemanship skills he learned at the manor. Sorry about your ribs, Foster, but he’s got no reins and he has to steer somehow. At least, for as skinny and bony as Foster is, he’s fast. Who knew horse-riding at full speed was so exciting?

Bam, a huge explosion, and a clear path out of the stadium. Perfect! Except for all the debris and such in the air. Zangetsu squints and holds on tightly with his legs, and to poor Ginko. Breathing is overrated, right, Ginko?

But shit— there’s a knocked over and abandoned souvenir stand. Horse jumping is not something he has any familiarity with, but he suspects he’s going to need both hands. “HOLD ON!” he shouts to Ginko. He only just manages to get his sword placed on his back and both his arms wrapped around Foster’s human waist in a very weird-looking hug before he leaps over the stand. There’s a small crash, an explosion of something sticky and grapey, as well as a shower of somewhat stale popcorn. One of the baseball caps, with an embroidered “CY-ren” logo on the brim, lands neatly on the pommel of Zangetsu’s sword.

And all he can do is smile from ear to ear and laugh that creepy laugh of his.

What a rush!

Once they’re clear of obstacles, and it doesn’t seem likely that Foster is going to make any more unexpected moves, Zangetsu throws his arms up and lets out a whoop before descending back into laughter.

Maggie said to skip this time

[prazerbutterfly]

His need for all the pleasures in life gave him pause enough to resist anything empty. Like Zangetsu he was feeling that thrill and rush that fueled him enough to keep going. Even though he was in less danger due to his Power to Choose with all the debris, soda, popcorn, various pieces and people flying through the air, he can't help but feel quite excited at the amount of energy surrounding these four people.

Not to mention with Zangetsu taking control of Foster he could shrug off that livid responsibility and just support from the sidelines the best he knew how. The scent of outside is more vivid now in the air as the lights from outside pour in along with fresh parking lot air.

He laughs hard while he breaches it at the sudden jump from Foster's legs and the look as some poor soul dives out of the way to avoid being hit on the way out. They are outside and he has some reluctance when he sees how much Ginko is enjoying himself. He might apologize later or he might not. Zangetsu seemed to be enjoying himself and the minute Foster's hooves hit that heavy pavement he'll hear them more than he hears the concert. It's a dull thrum of sound and he can barely make out the words.

It's why he skids to a stop in mid air and allows his expensive shoes to hit the asphalt, "This should be far enough at least for you to go on foot until that damned singing stops." He doesn't care if they head back inside after the music stops. For now, they are out of range of anything clear and concise.

I'm so tired I hope this makes sense

[criticallyfucked]

At this point, all Foster can hear is the whooping of his rider and the pulse of CY-Ren's bass; all of those lyrics that had him so angry and entranced are too far away, other sounds too present. Ostensibly, by that metric alone he could break down to a trot, or even just a canter. But he's still mad enough to keep going, and has no intention of slowing down.

The glamour means that he feels--or thinks he can feel, the same way he feels the rot eating through his brain--both sensations, both realities (the real and the unreal) at once, and it's almost enough to erase the rest of what he's feeling. Like the cold, wet fabric of his shirt plastered to his chest. Or Zangetsu's claws still curled in his hair--normally a relished sensation--or the weights on his back, heavy and pressing against his bony hips and withers. Or the roaring echo in his chest, now fading into the dual sensation of twin (quadruplet?) impacts driven up through his legs as each foot hits the ground.

On the one hand, he's a human in sandals, no more athletic or different than he was in Portland. On the other, he's a nine foot tall quadruped with hoof-tipped feet drumming loud over the pavement.

Either way, this train is not stopping. Please hold on.

[moonfang]

Welp, Tyki has stopped, but Foster certainly has not, and they're well into the parking lot. Zangetsu makes an attempt to reign Foster in, but it seems that despite his best efforts, this centaur party is gonna keep rolling.

Well, there's always plan B.

Zangetsu turns around and grabs Ginko by the shoulders.

"We're bailing. Cover yer head."

That's as much warning as Ginko gets, before Zangetsu wraps himself around him; arms, legs, tail, and all. Then, he pitches to one side, bringing Ginko with him. Luckily for the animal-keeper, Zangetsu lands so it's his back that gets torn up by the asphalt, and Ginko remains mostly unharmed. Foster can run off the edge of the planet for all Zangetsu cares. The sword on his back gets dislodged and is left in the parking lot while the hollow/mushi-shi pair skid a bit farther.

As soon as he recovers, releasing Ginko from his grasp, he just starts laughing again. What a rush!

[dontpokethat]

"What--"

Ginko barely manages to gasp out that question(/protest) before Zangetsu grabs him and... well, there they go, tumbling and skidding along the ground while Ginko clutches blindly at Zangetsu's sleeve for a lack of anything else to do.

It's kind of a huge relief that Zangetsu's angle means he doesn't get as fucked up as he'd expect to being dragged from a moving horse centaur onto asphalt, though it still pretty efficiently knocks out whatever air was left in his lungs. He rolls onto his stomach on the ground, one arm wrapped around his ribs as he wheezes.

He's not the one who took the brunt of the fall though, so he looks over at Zangetsu, making a couple false starts when he tries to speak up. "Are-- are you okay?"

[prazerbutterfly]

When Foster doensn't stop there are a numerous amount of things that could've happened. He could try to stop him, reaching out to maybe yank a passing tail or allow the rampaging centaur to keep going. The latter occurs when he decides the effort isn't worth it and he knows that Zangetsu will likely leap off. As long as he stops eventually and poor Ginko doesn't get murdered on accident everything would be alright.

Except that sure is a fast set of legs Foster has, even if his gallop could use some work. Also, Zangetsu seems to have a mind of his own and he's blinking as him and Ginko go flying off the horse butt with some ragged definition of a roll.

Then the suddenness of everything grinding to a halt along with Ginko asking if Zangetsu, of all people, was alright that makes him explode into a hearty laughter. It continues like that for a full minute until he manages to catch his breath. See, this is why he preferred Ginko over any old doctor or not!doctor like Herbert.

"Oi, Zangetsu. Stop playing around and let's go back in." He'll reach down to offer a hand to help Ginko up if he needs it, "I'll help you look for Miss Tanyuu as well."

[criticallyfucked]

Tyki probably could have stopped him, honestly; Foster's basically running off his temper, though, and the instant Foster feels his riders bail, he actually accelerates--all but kicking up his heels before he turns back around, bearing down on them at as close to a top speed as he can get.

It honestly looks for an entire second or three like he intends to run them over.

It's only a yard or so away from them that he stops on his approach, and then it's only the half-second required to gather himself and jump them, sailing cleanly over Ginko and the cackling Hollow.

This time he lands less catastrophically, with no stumble, and there's a satisfaction to that he can't put into words. But he finally slows, first down to a canter and then finally a walk, circling back yet again before coming to a halt.

"What the fuck?" he's asking Tyki and Zangetsu, but he already knows the answer.