⇨ WISMUTH WRAP UP PLOTTING

[ringleaders]

WISMUTH WRAP UP↴ CY-Ren's planning of a charity concert has been well received - news of bomb threats and harassment from fans have painted her as a victim in the media spotlight, and her generous attempt to make amends is getting plenty of attention. She's been busy spinning things for as much focus as possible, and the threat of potential danger has the news focusing in on the proceedings. The date is set for Day 27 in carnival time. You won't want to miss it! ► BUILD UP: In the last couple days before the concert, CY-Ren will be reaching out to all of her Harbingers, regardless of where they might be at the time - yes, this means that even if you ran off, she'll come to find you! (Unless you're in the carnival like Taako, then you're fucked.) She'll tell you that her plans are coming to head, and that if you help her with one last task then the planet will be on its way to destruction. There are multiple ways you can aid her: you can help amp up her performance as evil backup singers/musicians, or you can set yourself up around the perimeter at specified locations, using your sparks as a beacon to her magic. She's certain that she's perfected her musical formula, this time - when the concert gets underway, all those present with the capacity to be a Harbinger will awaken, and the end of days will begin. ► THE CONCERT: By the time the concert arrives, the Star Guardians will have the idea that there's something unnatural about the way the new Harbingers were made - this isn't how it usually happens, and that sets them apart from someone like CY-Ren. Maybe that means that they can be pulled away with less drastic measures as well, given that the Void didn't have the full right to their souls in the first place. Anyone coming to help (and those who aren't Star Guardians will be encouraged to come as well, given that if they are making attempts at friendship, super powers aren't required) will gather in the area early, determined to stomp this one out before it can get too far. ► HARBINGERS: This is when they will be encountered by Harbingers guarding the perimeter, as well as a small army of void creatures defending CY-Ren's last performance. Star Guardians will become aware through the power of Creation that the Harbingers on the perimeter must be neutralized in order to disrupt the concert - CY-Ren is feeding on their negative energies, and it will make it too dangerous to attack her directly. Confrontations with any Harbingers can be worked out on an individual basis via plotting - just make up a location around the concert and have your Harbinger providing a beacon of their own design. As the concert ramps up, however, the excess of Void energy will cause the newly made Harbingers to destabilize - mentally or magically, their powers will be harder to control, and their negative emotions will be running wild. However, with that instability, there is also room for a breakthrough - for someone to blast the darkness from their Sparks with friendship and light. Now is the time to reach out. ► STAR GUARDIANS: If a Harbinger is successfully turned away from the darkness, they will briefly regain control of their Sparks, and be able to manifest as a Star Guardian for the first time. This will allow the Guardians to outnumber CY-Ren's forces. Their look and powers will still be based around the same Spark, but purified by Creation and aimed towards positive things. Time to win. ► DANCE OFF: Given that the Spark of Music and the Spark of Dance are colliding, it is perhaps not a surprise that this all manifests as a big ass musical number. As CY-Ren and Noa have a music battle, everyone present (even if you aren't a Star Guardian) will find themselves magically inspired to join in. You can dance, sing, or anything in between - the more people who support Noa's side, the stronger she will be. There will be a megathread for this part of the conflict, and at this point any unturned Harbingers will awaken and be able to turn their Sparks towards the light. As CY-Ren begins to lose power, what the players do with her will be up to you. Beyond that, this is a PLOTTING POST, which means you can use it to make plans! The game chat is also a great place to discuss plots, so we welcome you to pop on in if you haven't already! The official event log for this will be posted on Saturday, and will largely be a repeat of the same information.

Comments

⇨ QUESTIONS

[ringleaders]

Do you have questions? Ask them here!

[pipers_son]

What if there's someone who's not a Harbringer, but is with one when CY-Ren comes calling?

[ringleaders]

Lol, I wonder what this is about...

CY-Ren will question the Harbinger about it, and depending on how that goes, she may try to convince them to stop trusting outsiders or just leave it alone if they don't seem like a thread.

Him not being a Guardian helps, because CY-Ren assumes there isn't much he can do against them.

[pipers_son]

It's a mystery that you, the head mod, definitely don't know about because you definitely don't play the character this is related to. 8V

So there's a possibility then that Joker could tag along, depending on what Steven says and if he can be a convincing henchman?

[ringleaders]

Yeah, like... CY-Ren is feeling pretty arrogant right now, so she wouldn't be easily threatened by someone like Joker, and it'd be worth allowing Joker along if it means that Steven will go along with things. The Harbingers aren't individually a huge deal to her, but the more she can get the better.

She's basically in the zone where she thinks Joker might be trying to plan something, but she also doesn't think he's capable of actually making much of an effect on her plans.

[pipers_son]

Excellent, excellent.

Relatedly, how many Harbringers will it take to be turned to the side of good before CY-Ren is avaiable for attacks? Like. Regular attacks. With a knife, maybe.

[lordofthering]

I don't want to set a specific number because it's really just however many end up wanting to flip. But, the time for stabbing would be when her powers start to fail in the musical number.

[pipers_son]

Got it! /thumbs up

Then this is just a heads up of intention/desire to stab.

[spaghettimonster]

If a Harbinger is reached and their heart broken free to the magic of love and friendship and not nihilism... what happens with the void powers, or their Harbinger gear? Does it all fade away, no transformation stuff lingering?

[lordofthering]

If it's during the concert, they will flip over to a Star Guardian, meaning they will have a second transformation that will switch them into their Creation equivalent costume and powers, etc.

[spaghettimonster]

Oh boy that is good to know in several regards, thank you

[dirthena]

Will Harbingers who've been turned into Star Guardians be able to have the SG versions of familiars for the remainder of the event?

[ringleaders]

Yes, but the remainder of the event will essentially only be until right after that fight when a cutscene happens, so there won't be much time to experiment.

[bananaspeedrider]

So, how does one make their spark become a beacon of their own design for CY-Ren's magic?

Are they just standing there in whatever location or would Yugo for example be making some sort of simple mechanical/magic device for the job?

+1 followup to this

[spaghettimonster]

I'm curious if they need to focus on the task, putting energy into it, or if being passively there is enough.

Because if they need to focus, then Star Guardians or friends showing up to talk Friendship is more than just an annoyance, it's outright keeping them from doing what they need to do.

[ringleaders]

It doesn't really matter - you can have them need to apply as much focus as you want. Physically and magically, all it needs to be is a focal point of their harbinger power - everything else is up to you.

For instance, Steven's is going to be a giant flower. Some sort of tower, summoned creature, or magical device suits just fine. Its form will depend on the Harbinger's powers, and can really be anything. The Star Guardian will want to either convince the Harbinger to stop, or destroy the beacon.

(It's like a miniboss fight of your own design.)

[spaghettimonster]

Awesome, I think I've got it now. Thank you!

[ringleaders]

It doesn't really matter - you can have them need to apply as much focus as you want. Physically and magically, all it needs to be is a focal point of their harbinger power - everything else is up to you.

For instance, Steven's is going to be a giant flower. Some sort of tower, summoned creature, or magical device suits just fine. Its form will depend on the Harbinger's powers, and can really be anything. The Star Guardian will want to either convince the Harbinger to stop, or destroy the beacon.

(It's like a miniboss fight of your own design.)

NOA’S BACKUP TROUPE: LET’S CRASH THIS CONCERT

[whattaprick]

The main attack against CY-Ren will be a counter performance, but she’ll still need assistance with, well, the actual performing. This means preparation, being willing to stay with her while she makes the initial attempt to get into the concert and prepare for a show, and trusting her ability to keep Void creatures away from you.

Whether you’re a Star Guardian or not, if you want to be part of the group sticking close to Noa — whether that’s to dance with her or hold up a boom box blasting music over her head — lemme know here, and how your character would likely contribute.

[puddingemote]

dancing is the only thing he's good for Noa please take him with you

[whattaprick]

Yes, Tamaki is definitely allowed to come and dance, and god is that weird to type on this account /o/

[textsfromhotland]

[whattaprick]

Bring your purifying powers, Alphys! /o/

[everybodypanic]

Jinx is here to dance and provide adequate amounts of sparkles.

[periphrasing]

Peridot's going to be right there and she will absolutely contribute as a backup singer, or really just. Helping out in any way she can? Providing intense emotional support? IDK. She just really badly wants to make sure this works.

[dressedtothe]

Youuuuu how about Engineering make Noa and her backup crew some of the biggest, blastiest speakers there ever was? 9S will *gasp* actually approach Peridot and pitch it to her.

[periphrasing]

omfg yes??? YES. That is an EXCELLENT idea.

Bonus: Peridot's actual ability to physically put stuff together is limited bc her current lack of hands so she has to direct 9S on how to put stuff together.

[dressedtothe]

goD. He's gonna hate it.

I love it. Do you want to do a thread with her bossing him around then?

[periphrasing]

I totally thought I responded to this

PART OF ME WANTS TO THREAD IT OUT but part of me is also scratching my head over how that would actually work, because I don't really have the technical know-how or the confidence to bullshit the lingo that it would require. WE SURE COULD GIVE IT A TRY THO

[dressedtothe]

AND THEN i realised that space olympics is starting soon and the idea of krogan peridot hulking over 9S is too good to pass up, and I'm super bad at having multiple threads with the same character running at the same time.

Mind if we handwave Peridot bossing the shit out of 9S then? He'll do whatever Peridot says but god he'll whine about it the entire way.

[periphrasing]

I'm fine with that! And I might be making Peridot a different kind of buff reptilian alien rather than a krogan but the same principles apply, so she can absolutely hulk over him :')

Re: NOA’S BACKUP TROUPE: LET’S CRASH THIS CONCERT

[mylastchance]

is it possible to help by trying to sabotage CY-ren's stage equipment and etc?

[whattaprick]

Sure! Sabotaging CY-Ren's equipment wasn't enough last time, but something like that probably couldn't hurt, in Noa's opinion, and at the very least it's another distraction. Remember to post in the declaration of action thread on the main log. You can handwave that he let Noa know what he was up to if that's easier. o/

[dressedtothe]

Did Noa want SPOTLIGHTS and all the sound equipment tuned to amplify her (counter) performance? Does she want it displayed on TV everywhere? 9S' got that covered /fingerguns.

[whattaprick]

Heck yeah! Drop that good shit into the declaration of action section just so it’s down for the record, but 9S can totally do that with Noa’s approval. OOCly, feel free to use it as a prompt to gather anyone who’s interested in helping with that side of things. :|b

Also important question: is Pod going to be recording this whole thing like a flying drone camera???

[dressedtothe]

It's already done :>

And hell yes Pod will record the whole thing I mean really it's a once in a lifetime opportunity!?

[kingsroads]

Strange has finally stopped being such a brat and has accepted that this isn't his show and is mostly going to be helping out with background stuff like crowd control/protecting the more squishable members of the carnival/blowing up void critters/5ever being a paranoid mess/things like that.

Cole will be doing every thing under the sun because his guardian power (sharing happy memories) is PERFECT for this. he's definitely helping out with purifying Yugo and purifying Lavellan. I'm up for him helping to purify one or two other Harbingers if you want to thread out some ~feelings~ but it's gonna take a lot of ooc communication and youtube links as I don't know half of y'alls canons and Cole is a creepy mindreader. everybody also gets to discover that Cole can't really sing. or dance.

[textsfromhotland]

Alphys is going ALL IN and living her dream of saving the world as a magical girl!! She's going to help out in Noa's posse as well as be on the forefront of trying to win back the Harbingers with the power of friendship!

I'm not sure where to put Hinawa yet. She really doesn't want to fight brainwashed carnival members, especially since the Harbingers have a confirmed kill, but she could be convinced to help try to win them over with love and memories. does anyone want... hugs...??

[hippocarnival]

YUYA is set to help recover Childermass and Yugo, and then join in with Noa's dance off! Since he's segueing into that from fighting at the perimeter there's some flexibility in what he's doing between those if anyone else really wants him around for something. o7


SYRLYA will be backing up the infiltration, mostly defending people from Harbinger violence and void monsters to the best of his abilities--especially fellow non-Guardians trying to appeal to the Harbingers. Which means he's open to be basically everywhere.

He will not be joining in on the musical, he'll leave that to the... experts??

[anti_nonsense]

Rita is coming in to perform as many heroic deeds as she can in one evening! Current plans are:

- Team up with Lambert and Yuya to try and talk down Childermass!
- Trying to save Lavellan, maybe joining with other people going after her
- Encountering Steven, maybe trying to talk him down with backhanded kindness

Other things that might happen:

- Fighting Void creatures, teaming up with people to fight Void creatures
- Possible dancing???
- Any other stuff people wanna do with her before the event's over!

[hurtcomfort]

magical girl team-up, y/y.

have fun watching as Cole awkwardly dances around the "maybe we should ask Solas for help in saving Lavellan" theory.

[anti_nonsense]

y!!!

but why not, cole, it just makes sense to ask her good pal to lend a hand!

[scientificist]

Herbert is just beaconing! He'll be guarding the perimeter maybe with some actual reanimated humans this time eventually? Time will tell. ANyway, it's unlikely Friendship will work but if people manage to remind him how good making new scientific discoveries is, that could snap him out.

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus... is also beaconing! Singing and dancing is just not happening. Somehow the power of friendship, as expressed by Gongenzaka, Yuzu, and friends will break through to him. And then he's going to be a bit weepy, and pitch in to things.

So if you're interested in some exchange between harbingers before he's turned, or running into saved!Papyrus after, there's options.

[bananaspeedrider]

Yugo won't be performing either, just acting as yet another beacon of void power. Cole and Yuya will be going up against him, which will eventually break him out of this Harbringer nonsense.

And then it would be time to use those new Star Guardian powers to help save his bird mom (Carly)! Likely joined by Jinx, since that would go hand in hand with crashing CY-Ren's backup crew.

[worldlyafflictions]

Belatedly noting that Shima will be acting as a beacon! And hopefully will be undergoing some deVoiding shenanigans before he gets in on the actual concert stuff! I'mma try to get my top-level posted before this weekend and boomerang it to get it wrapped up properly!