⇨ 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

[everybodypanic]

Jinx mainly wanted to talk Star Guardian business with her. Did Noa know about First Star? Did she have to sign the same stupid contract that Jinx never bothered to read? What were the rest of her powers like?

Oh yeah, and what was the deal with CY-Ren. That was important, too.

[npcarnival]

As the questions go on, it becomes pretty obvious that Noa and Jinx come from worlds with pretty different concepts of what being a Star Guardian is -- she's never heard of First Star, and she's confused about the concept of a contract. She'll give roughly the same explanation she gave Syrlya for the source of her powers, and probably even be happy to show Jinx a demonstration of her powers (although, she asks a bit shyly, if it's possible to see what Jinx's transformation looks like in kind).

When she asks about CY-Ren, though, Noa looks a bit sad again. She says, as far as she knows, CY-Ren is the only Harbinger in Wismuth, much like she's the only Guardian -- and CY-Ren came first. She isn't sure how CY-Ren became a Harbinger to begin with, since she didn't know her personally, but she was a classical musician who used to put up her original compositions on the internet.

[everybodypanic]

Jinx gladly takes any chance she can get to show off her powers, or her transformation at at least. Predictably, there's a lot of bright lights and sparkles involved before it ends. Shiro and Kuro just keep on floating nearby.

"What do you think?" She asks, before following up some time later with another question.

"If she's been a musician for that long, maybe someone knows her from before she made it big."

Wow, Jinx actually coming up with ideas.

[npcarnival]

"That was amazing!" Noa clearly thinks the transformation is super cool and awesome, judging from how starry-eyed she is at the end.

But with that suggestion it's back to business, and she thinks about it...

"I've never thought about doing that. I know she had fans even before she was famous, but I never heard anything about her family or friends..." Which is odd. "But you're right. There must be someone..."

[everybodypanic]

"Glad ya liked it. Even with all these sparkles..." Seriously, so many sparkles.

"Maybe we should hit them up or something. There's gotta be someone out there's who's been listening to her lame music all this time."

Literally anyone.

"You know, give us the scoop on what she used to be like."

[npcarnival]

Yeah, well, the funny thing about that ... Noa looks embarrassed.

"I used to be a fan of hers. Um, before she made it big." Though she's also quick to disclaim: "Not that I knew her personally, or anything! She was just on the internet, you know?"

[everybodypanic]

"Geez, you sure know how to pick them, Sparkles." When the artist you listen to turns out to be some big and powerful super-villain.

"The way she is now with her fancy concerts and bright lights, you sure we're talking about the same person here?"