⇨ SHOW'S OVER

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone who DIDN’T get caught up in CY-Ren’s music, D13-D14.
When: D13-D15
Where: Wismuth, the Carnival
What: Recovering, taking stock, and trying to figure out where to go from here.
Warnings: ? ? ?

FALLEN STARS↴ ► AFTERMATH: After the culmination of the confrontation between Noa and CY-Ren — as much as it can be called one, since it ends with the Guardian being flung off the stage — the arena returns to darkness. After a few seconds of silence, the backup lighting sputters on, but instead of music a loudspeaker begins to blare loudly: ATTENTION, FANTASIA FESTIVAL ATTENDANTS. DUE TO AN EMERGENCY, WE WILL BE EVACUATING THE VENUE. PLEASE FOLLOW STAFF DIRECTIONS AND PROCEED TO THE NEAREST EXIT. THANK YOU. The pleasant, automated woman’s voice begins to play on loop as the concertgoers, snapped out of their trance, look at each other in confusion. The Void creatures that had come out at CY-Ren’s command are nowhere to be seen now, and neither is the singer herself. Wismuth police officers, though they look as uncertain and dazed as half the audience seems to be, break up the crowd and directing them to file out of the Fantasia Festival’s exits. It’s easy enough for Carnival members to slip away, though as they go through the crowd they’ll hear the festivalgoers discussing anything but the sight of Guardian and Harbinger in combat, much less people being dragged into shadows… “Right in the middle of CY-Ren’s set, too! Aren’t they supposed to check the wiring on these things?” “I paid to go to a concert, not a fire drill! I’d better get a refund!” “They didn’t have to shut the whole place down—" In the chaos and flow of people, it’ll be hard for Carnival workers to keep track of each other, but one thing is clear: they can’t stay here. ► HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN: The would-be saboteurs and those who’ve stayed behind have a chance to meet up again once they get back to the Carnival’s grounds. However, what exactly happened back there is unclear — and the one who might have answers is still unconscious from her brief altercation with the Harbinger. Still, there’s no shortage of things to do: after all, once they get back, it’s obvious there are more than a few missing faces. ► HEADLINES: Anyone who ventures to Wismuth in the days after the festival will find something peculiar: all news about the incident at the festival has been written off as a freak fire from some faulty wiring or a potential incendiary device, which reporters say police are ‘investigating the cause of’ and which some of the more sensational news sites are already having a field day with (based on rumors and hearsay the venue may have received a bomb threat). Most entertainment sites and social media coverage of the event only include blurry clips with captions like ‘tmw you fucked up the only vid you have of cy-ren’s concert 😭fml' and generally agree that it's a pity she never got past a second song.

Comments

[hippocarnival]

Yuya frowns, nodding to himself. "It's like the music was controlling them. Noa said she could do that, but I didn't know it'd be that strong."

It won't be that easy to save them, but her confidence draws a small smile out of Yuya. "Of course we will. We don't leave our friends in danger."

At least it makes him feel better to hear his hopes confirmed.

[everybodypanic]

Truthfully she wasn't saying that stuff because she cared for any of the people. Jinx was a Star Guardian in name and power, but her actual feelings towards most others... She wanted to find them more to get this over with than any other reason.

But at least it still sounded good to say.

"Danger will come to us either way."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya sighs, propping his chin on his hand. "Don't I know it! I guess since you're a Star Guardian too, you're pretty used to this?"

Yuya's gotten pretty used to it, but not in the way Jinx probably is. It's too often being pushed around by forces stronger than them, and he only does as much as he can. No magic powers bestowed on him to fight for his friends.

[everybodypanic]

"Odds being stacked against you right from the very beginning? Yeah, that's pretty much it." Nevermind the fact that most of them eventually just died from all the fighting, or just from fighting something bigger and stronger.

Jinx wouldn't be like the rest of them.

No way.

"Sometimes I really wonder what that contract I signed actually said. Then I just get bored."

[hippocarnival]

"I don't think it's a good idea to sign contracts without reading them." Which is maybe an opinion that's mostly only that strong because they've dealt with too many fae now. But who can blame him? Look at where signing mysterious magical contracts lands you.

"Why'd you become a Star Guardian, anyway?"

[everybodypanic]

Jinx conveniently and selectively ignores that first part.

Of course Yuya is right, absolutely. Signing contacts without reading is a bad idea all around. But Jinx, well... One would think that she's finally learned after singing two contracts blindly.

One would think.

"Why else? Because it sounded fun."

[hippocarnival]

"... Is it fun?" Yuya generally isn't one to judge what makes someone else happy as long as they don't hurt people to do it. But given Jinx's... unorthodox way of getting involved in saving the world, he wonders if she regrets it.

[everybodypanic]

"I get to journey through the universe and shoot just about anything that stands in my way. Sounds like a good deal to me. I mean sure, there's..."

But she stops herself before continuing.

"Eh, nevermind."

[hippocarnival]

"There's..." He looks interested to ask, but then Jinx brushes it off.

"Are you the only Star Guardian where you're from? Like Noa?"

[everybodypanic]

"Pretty much! I would've found the others if they stuck were here with me. But between you and me?" She gets closer to Yuya.

"I'm definitely the fun one. Better trust me on that!"

[hippocarnival]

That gets Yuya to laugh a little. It's too bad Jinx's first visit of the carnival is going like this, but at least it's something she's familiar with.

"No, I meant back home! Are there others there?"

[everybodypanic]

"There's ten of us total and we're split between two teams. We all just met each other pretty recently on a camping trip." Hell of a way to wrap up summer vacation.

"Just so you know, the other team is lame and I think they're stupid."

[hippocarnival]

"Is it because they're not the fun ones?" He says, with just a little off a teasing tone. He's sure, if they're also fighting to protect the world, they're just fine.

[everybodypanic]

"Got it in one! You should've seen how they were acting. Thinking they were sooo cool and acting like they were better than us." They kind of were, though. What Jinx conveniently was leaving out was that the other Star Guardians were far better coordinated.

"But I'll tell you what. You don't need to be all coordinated and stuff to get the job done!"

Well, so much for leaving that part out.