⇨ 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

[dontpokethat]

"No, but that doesn't make me a prude, it just means I don't care." He shrugs, stuffing his hands into his pockets to try and regain some semblance of... casual-ness or something.

[dorkypantsuit]

"So then why do you turn all red and embarrassed when I flirt with you, hm?" he asks, coming close again and leering at Ginko.

[dontpokethat]

Nope. Nope nope nope he can NOT answer that honestly. He leans away, his shoulders pulling up almost to his ears.

"--Because you're embarrassing, is why," he snaps. Not technically untrue.

[dorkypantsuit]

He laughs, but drops the topic. He still wants to be allowed in Ginko's car afterall.

"I can't help it, it's just in my nature." That's probably not as true as it should be given he really ONLY flirts with Ginko when he wants to see the man get flustered, but it's not entirely untrue either, so that's fine.

"Just like being embarrassed is in yours."

[dontpokethat]

Ginko doesn't even dignify that with a proper response; he just grumbles, then points out his car up ahead. "Here we are."

Honestly, even as he's unlocking the doors to let the guy into his car and to get in himself, he can only wonder how the hell he ended up being friends with a lust demon of all people... let alone having feelings for one. Ugh.

[dorkypantsuit]

Free weed, probably, and a good sense of humor. That's what the demon would answer if pressed. He opens the door taking a seat. With the amount of times he's asked Ginko for a ride there's probably a permanent indentation in the cushioning in the shape of his ass. It may as well have his name written across the back. It doesn't, for more than a few obvious reasons, and as he sits down he's immediately grabbing his phone from his pocket and a number that's been hastily scrawled across his palm to his contacts.

"Going after cops more or less dangerous than chasing angel tail? What do you think?"

[dontpokethat]

"Uh..." Ginko frowns, peering into the rearview mirror as he pulls out of the parking space. "Depends on the cop and depends on the angel, I think. Let me guess, you managed to make a bad decision in the half hour it took me to pick you up."

[dorkypantsuit]

"No!" He laughs, before saving the contact details and putting the phone back in his pocket. Look Ginko, half an hour is a long time when you're naked and surrounded by men and women in uniform. Also that bad decisions got him breakfast. In a fashion.

"How can a decision be wrong when it feels so right?"

[dontpokethat]

"It can when you're the one making it." He's just saying.

[dorkypantsuit]

He groans, throwing his head back against the headrest and glaring at the roof of the car. Despite the over-dramatic reaction he's still smiling. and even laughs a bit under his breath.

"And why is that!?"

[dontpokethat]

"Because you're you." If it weren't for that laugh, Ginko might be worried that he had actually offended Psi. But, as it is, he doesn't hesitate to keep going.

"Honestly, the fact that you were apparently hitting on a cop while in jail says a lot on its own. That's the kind of thing that most people would consider an unquestionably bad idea - even besides the fact that you were arrested for public nudity to begin with, and I'm... not sure you realize why that's an issue. Which, if you don't, I can try and explain."

[dorkypantsuit]

He smiles wider, letting out a huff as he turns to watch Ginko as he drives. He honestly loved it when Ginko gave him shit. He ignores the comment about flirting with cops completely. There's just too much he could say to it. Chatting up that officer got him a muffin and a phone number. Sure, he'd used his powers a bit at first to get his attention, but it had been all fair and square after that. Clearly it was a great decision. The only question was should he continue this great decision or let it lie?

But that conversation can wait for a different time, or never, because right now Ginko is offering to tell him why being naked is bad, and that is an explanation he absolutely cannot wait to refute.

"Okay then, explain it."

[dontpokethat]

He sighs, pausing before responding again when he has to shift lanes.

"Well, simply put, despite what your ego might tell you, not everyone wants to see someone running around naked. That kind of thing can make a lot of people really uncomfortable."

[dorkypantsuit]

The demons eyebrows raise, as though he's just made a very pleasant discovery, before he simply replies, "Why?"

[dontpokethat]

"Uh... few different reasons." he pauses, thinking over how to put this for a few seconds.

"Mostly, it's 'cuz nudity is associated with sex. Hell, some people get off on being seen naked by strangers, so others might feel like they're being forced to get involved in another person's sex life in a way they didn't want to be. And, even if that's not the case, people may just not want to see a stranger's body, especially when they're not expecting it."

[dorkypantsuit]

He frowns thinking that over. He thought Ginko would say something dumb, maybe about nudity being gross or something like that. Instead the changeling had actually said something sort of legitimate. It's not like he hadn't used magic to sway humans before, but he still knew involving people in sexual acts against there will was wrong.

"It's not like they have to look..." Not to mention nudity in and of itself wasn't inherently sexual. Public nudity wasn't even illegal in this state, not as long as it wasn't sexual in nature, which probably says something for what he had been doing before he was arrested. They even had an annual naked bike race.

[dontpokethat]

"They don't have to be actively looking; just seeing you could be enough to upset someone, and they can't really help that."

He glances briefly over at Psi. At least it sounds like he's sort of getting through to him, so that's something. On the other hand, he kind of hates seeing him potentially bothered by something, even if it's sort of necessary. "...Should be there in a few minutes."

[dorkypantsuit]

He huffs, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Human morality is way too confusing." The demons main moral code consisted of not physically harming people, but for humans he guessed that just wasn't complicated enough.

"How do you even remember all this stuff?"

[dontpokethat]

That gets a shrug. "Being human probably helps." Or... partly human, anyway. He likes to think of himself as human, even if he knows there are those who would disagree.

"It was definitely a lot to memorize when I first escaped, though."

[dorkypantsuit]

He frowns, thinking back and wondering just what that must have been like for Ginko. At least the demon had a chance to observe humans before jumping in and pretending to be one.

"You're smart though. So I'm sure you figured it out."

[dontpokethat]

Ginko huffs quietly, amused. "Well, thanks. I... guess I did get to be alright at it."

Frankly, he does still have some trouble acting like other humans sometimes - but he's not totally sure how much of that is because of his fae upbringing and how much is just... him. But at least he can mostly get by now.