⇨ The Tourist Trap: PROLOGUE

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: Any time before the start of the event.
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: Once you've submitted your AU summary, you can use this post to do some CLOSED THREADING to play out some character interactions that happened before the event start. This means that memory regains will not be in play yet. Open top levels are not allowed - these threads are intended to sort out closed interactions between planned backstory connections, during the week leading up to the actual event start.
Warnings: Could be anything.

PORTLAND, AS YOU KNEW IT↴ The shift went unseen and unfelt. One moment you were one person, and the next, another. This before all that, though, in the new life that you remember living here in Portland. No memories of your true self have arisen yet, and at the time this was the only life you knew. Did these events truly happen at all? Or do they only exist in memory?

Comments

[periphrasing]

She perks up a bit when Lambert says the words “good news”, but the excitement is short-lived. She laughs unpleasantly.

“’After a while?’ Wow, okay, that’s just GREAT! And in the meantime, I’ll just look forward to the fact that even when I figure out how to change back this time, I’ll get to keep living in constant paranoia of the fact that I could turn into a leathery-winged freak again at the drop of a hat! GEE! WHAT FANTASTIC NEWS!”

timeskipping this a little bit, lmk if this works!

[whattaprick]

Unfortunately, whatever response Lambert could have come up with to that is going to have to wait, because that's just a level of noise and disruption the librarian is no longer willing to tolerate. Hurriedly, Lambert shoves Peridot right back down his shirt as she comes up to the computer desk, looking harried and irritable as she asks that he step out if he insists on having conversations at this volume, turning her head left and right to look for the source of the second voice.

Lambert isn't going to give her a chance, though, already bending to scoop up Peridot's backpack and making a hasty exit before anyone can question him on the wriggling mass (chestburster) in his hoodie. Once they're outside, he unzips it again, letting Peridot stick her head out as much as she wants.

Yeah, he knows he really isn't helping with this don't get stressed situation, but Perido was born stressed.

LOOKS GOOD TO ME!

[periphrasing]

Peridot squeaks indignantly when she's shoved down, but otherwise holds her tongue and focuses on trying not to move around too much, lest she draw attention to her hiding spot.

Surprisingly, she doesn't immediately come bursting back out once the coast is clear. She seems to be sulking now instead, the top of her cotton-puff body and her yellow ears visible, but her face obscured under a wing.

[whattaprick]

Naturally, Peridot shutting up isn't something Lambert takes as a good sign. He frowns and gently nudges her with a finger through his hoodie. He's probably trying to pat her back or something, but it more or less ends up an awkward petting. They're far enough from the heart of downtown that tourists aren't swarming the sidewalk, but it'd still be odd to be seen talking to himself, so he'll keep his voice quiet.

"It'll be okay," he says, though he isn't sure if that's more for his reassurance or hers. "Let's get somewhere with less people around and we'll figure this out." Going home like this seems a bad idea, but one of the parks might make a decent bet, so he heads for the bus stop.

[periphrasing]

She weirdly doesn't mind the petting much? It's sort of nice. Which, she thinks bitterly, is probably because she's apparently some kind of animal now and not human, but. Self-loathing thoughts aside, she appreciates the gesture.

"I always knew there had to be something wrong with me," she mutters from under her wing. "I just didn't realize how wrong..."

this tag hurt my heart tbh

[whattaprick]

"There's nothing wrong with you," is Lambert's immediate response to that, with straightforward, fierce conviction. Look, he's still crawling out of his own cynical teenage hates-the-world awkward phase of his life, but he's not about to let Peridot get herself any more down over this of all things.

"Look, you're not the only one of you, right?" There are other shapeshifters out there, at least if the internet is to be believed. "They figured this shit out. So can you."

SSSAME

[periphrasing]

The force and conviction behind that statement leaves Peridot rather taken-aback. She looks back up at Lambert while he's talking, blinking tears out of her beady little bat eyes.

"Okay... Okay." She sighs. "Yes. You're right."

He really is, she realizes. If a bunch of randos can figure this nonsense out, it should be a cakewalk for her, right? She's smarter than the average human, after all.

Peridot takes a deep breath, her cotton ball body appearing to puff up dramatically, and then exhales.

"...Thanks, Lambert."