Public channel | D22

[hippocarnival]

Hey, everyone.

[There's a pause, like he's waiting to be sure enough people are listening before he continues. He wants to reach as much of the carnival as possible.] I spoke to Noa, and she explained a little bit more about the Void and the Harbingers to me.

She said she thinks the carnival members can still be saved. I think so, too. The Void makes them think there's nothing worth living for, but we know them and we know that's not true. If we can show them that whay they cared about before still matters, what was to their souls can be purified and the Void won't have them anymore. We think CY-Ren can be saved, too.

I... don't know exactly how to do that. But everyone taken, they have friends here, don't they? If we work together, we can find a way. Maybe we can share what made them happy, what might remind them of who they are or--or how to talk to them? [His voice wavers a little, but not out of lack of confidence in his plan.]

I know they can be reached. It won't be easy, but... I think we should try. I think it's better than just fighting them.

((TREAT THIS AS A MINGLE threadjack each other, this is an open forum of friendship.))

Comments

[hurtcomfort]

[ And Cole nods. Though, a second or so later, he frowns at Yuya slightly. Yuya's probably got something specific in mind, but what? ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya, in contrast, smiles.] Because there's one Harbinger I think that'll actually work on.

[hurtcomfort]

[ And Cole frowns a little, looking at Yuya. ]

Who?

[hippocarnival]

Yugo. If you could show him memories of Rin, and how much they mean to each other... how much she cares about him, too, I think it'll get through.

[Unlike Childermass, Yugo's feelings for Rin aren't a secret. He crossed dimensions and basically killed a man for her.] I think if he can see it, he can't keep telling himself it isn't real.

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole nods. He doesn't really know Yugo: the two have never talked. But Cole doesn't need to know somebody in order to find a way to help them. If Yuya thinks this will work, he'll try it. ]

I'll do so, [ Cole responds, with a little nod. Though there is another question... ] When are we going to do this?

[hippocarnival]

As soon as we can find him. [But Yuya realizes that's not the most practical option.] CY-Ren's having another concert... they'll probably be there with her.

[hurtcomfort]

Then we'll be there too, [ Cole responds, with a matter of fact nod.

...and then he notices that Noa's there as well. Cole just kind of stares at her awkwardly, giving Noa a little nod before turning back to Yuya. ]

I don't like the radio but it stays with me. Use that.

[npcarnival]

[ Yup, Noa just looks a bit bemused by all this, because they're both referring to events she has no context before. When she's acknowledged, however awkwardly, she'll pipe up. ]

You were on the radio before, too, weren't you? And ... [ She frowns a little. That wasn't the only time she's heard him talk, she's sure of it! ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ As Noa frowns, Cole suddenly gets a bit cagey and cryptic. He knows that isn't the only time she's heard him talk but acknowledging his creepy compassion pep talks would be so much more trouble than it's worth! ]

The words matter. Not the circumstances.

[ now it's Yuya's turn to deal with events that he's got no context for. ]

[hippocarnival]

[O... kay.] Cole's a Star Guardian now, too. [Maybe that's where else she remembers him.] There's a lot of us now!

[npcarnival]

[ ??? ??? ??? Crypticism why. ]

Some of you got turned into, um, familiars too, didn't they? Like Gon and Foster...

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole nods ] Others had ours made from us.

Like meeeeeee! [ The shrillness of the conversation just went up to eleven because oh god, Nigella's here. The tiny pink nug familiar floats over to Cole and plops down on his shoulder. And then, Nigella's tactlessness is going to answer a few of Noa's questions as she looks over at the Guardian with a squeal. ] Oooh, you're the proper Guardian! The one he kept talking to!

[ Cole's just quietly despairing over here, DAMMIT NIGELLA, CUT THIS SHIT OUT ]

[hippocarnival]

Yeah, they asked the Ringmaster to--[Yuya cuts off with a sputter as Nigella pipes up, turning to look at her. That's a thing.]

[npcarnival]

That's me. [ In the grand tradition of tasteless heroines, Noa giggles. ]

Although I'm sure Cole is a proper Guardian, too. It's nice to meet you. [ Her own familiar is ... sleeping in her pocket, as usual, so best to leave off introductions of now. ]

[hurtcomfort]

Not like you are, [ Nigella simply responds, as she looks over at everybody from Cole's shoulder. ]

She's right, [ Cole has to admit. ] We leave places. Coming and going, world to world. I don't know if this will stick for us once we've saved. We aren't proper.

[ He's not sad about it, Cole's just saying this in a matter of fact tone. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya tilts his head up as he considers that. If there were no Harbingers, would they all lose their powers? Even Noa?

He frowns, a little disappointed. Even if his Guardian powers aren't impressive, if he could get the hang of it... He could do so much more.]

They wouldn't normally become Harbingers like this either, right?

[npcarnival]

Well, I've never met another Star Guardian for now, so you seem all right to me. It would be a lot harder to keep Wismuth safe without you working to fix things. [ Although she sobers at little at the mention of the other Harbingers. ]

No, they wouldn't. This shouldn't have happened like this -- it's definitely because of something CY-Ren did. [ Anyway, since Cole's a creepy spirit, he can probably have a sense of the conversation these two are referencing in bits and pieces. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole remains quiet for a bit, listening to this conversation and picking up with bits and pieces of the conversation Yuya and Noa had before. ]

How did she know what to do?

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya shrugs.] I didn't get a chance to ask any of them what happened. I don't think Creation knows, either, otherwise it'd probably tell us.

But I guess whatever it is, it might be easier to snap them out of it.

[npcarnival]

Creation doesn't actually speak that much. [ Noa smiles, wryly. Chatty familiars aside ... and even they have their limits on knowledge. ]

I think she must have been practicing for something like this, which is why there were more attacks the last few months. Trying different ways of using her powers...

[ She gives them both an encouraging smile. ]

Well, we're just going to have to get creative, too. You haven't had much time to get used to your powers, have you?

[hurtcomfort]

[ As this is after the clusterfuck of a museum outing, Cole just...kind of remains quiet and looks down at his feet. He thought he knew how to use his powers. He thought he knew what he was doing. But Lambert thinks he made things worse. Yuya also thinks he made things worse (though thankfully not as much as Lambert does.) So obviously, he doesn't know what he's doing.

Nigella floats off of Cole's shoulders and hovers in front of him. Awkwardly, Cole takes her in his arms and starts giving his familiar a few ear scratches as she starts to explain, ]

We haven't. Cole knows what his are and how they work, but what to do with them...we're still working on that.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya shakes his head.] But they haven't either, right? You and Noa have the most experience. But if we work together, maybe there's ways we can put them together?

[npcarnival]

[ Hmm... well, there's an idea. After a moment's thought, Noa nods. ]

We could try it now, couldn't we? [ With that, she reaches to her chest to draw out her own Spark. With a shimmer of light, she transforms into her own Star Guardian uniform, though instead of the ribbon and hoop she'd used at the Carnival, she's holding a pair of fans. With a flourish, she flicks them open and steps into a simple routine, trailing shimmering trails of light that linger in the air far longer than they should.

There isn't any music, but if they let themselves pay attention long enough, they might start to find themselves humming or tapping their feet to the beat. The swoop and fall of the fans are a both an invitation and a mischievous challenge: come dance with me, if you can keep up. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole watches intently, as if what Noa's going to do will somehow help him figure out what he should do. He's watching...and watching...but nothing's happening.

And then a little bit of that spirit empathy kicks in and kicks in hard as Cole finds himself humming along to nothing. He's not a good singer—in fact, he's pretty tuneless. But he's humming along to the beat set by Noa's fans. And then he gets it. At least, he thinks he does. ]

Oh. [ He says, as if this explains everything. With a little laugh, Cole looks over at Yuya. ] The fans want us to join!

[ Reaching to his chest, Cole briefly glows bright green before his clothes are transformed into his Star Guardian uniform. And then he straight up joins in the dance, still humming that odd little tuneless humming of his. Cole's dancing isn't much: it's more stepping to the beat than anything complex or actually good. The most he does is toss Nigella in the air repeatedly and catch her when she falls back towards him. But it's definitely dancing. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya watches Noa for a few seconds before a wide grin stretches across his face. He sets the radio down and springs up from his seat, grabbing the pendulum that hangs at his chest as he transforms into a Star Guardian as well.

He springs to action immediately, dancing his feet in a simple pattern as he spins his bubble wand in the air. Dozens of ordinary-sized, rainbow bubbles start to filling the air. They seem to respond to the beat after a second, popping in little explosions of a tinkling, music-box sound to the beat that Noa leads Yuya and Cole through.]