lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 1st - 7th, 2017
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: Memories begin returning to the displaced as the fall gets chillier. How the hell did we end up here, again? Also, apparently, the fair is in town.
Warnings: Individually marked!

PORTLAND BY NIGHT↴

Memory regains will come into effect at the beginning of October, to whatever degree you've decided upon, and may be regained at whatever pace you desire from then on. For those with their full carnival memories, it will be like waking up in the body of someone else - for those with half and half, it will be like rapidly recalling sets of memories from a totally different life. Those with full amnesia will simply feel as if this is how it's always been.

Unfortunately for you, memories aren't the only thing you have to deal with. The supernatural community of Portland is bustling all of a sudden - could your presence and these events somehow be related?

► THE OUTER CIRCLE: As of the start of the month, the Portland Circle of Enlightenment will find itself starting to get swarmed with members from other chapters. Most notably, it would seem that a small cabal of top mages from the North American Enlightenment Council will be making their home in Portland's HQ. For anyone but the highest of ranks, the purpose behind their visit will be unclear, but it seems like something is definitely up on a metaphysical level. The Circle will be buzzing with rumours of unique planar activity and threatening omens. It seems that it all started with an unusual flare of activity in the planetary ley-lines, starting approximately a week ago. However, even if you would usually be the type to keep tabs on such things, you will find that you oddly have no memory of observing this phenomenon yourself.

► THE ANIMAL FAIR: Good news, the fair is in town! Or, at least, it would be good news... if this was a regular fair. Instead, what's being observed is a bunch of nearly identical flyers, spread all around Portland - each of which bears only the words "THE ANIMAL FAIR", a seemingly bloody paw-print of unknown origin, and the directions to a vague forested location outside of the city. It's dated for October 7th, and all instances of its posting having been discovered with a scattering of rose petals, crow feathers, and pre-burnt matches laying on the ground around them. Most are taking this to be some kind of bizarre viral marketing campaign, but others may know better.

► THE EARTH SPIRIT: If you have connections to The Pack or any of its many variations, you'll probably hear whispers of something very odd that occurred last week - according to the elders, it sounds as if the Earth Spirit, the magical and spiritual center of the planet, has suddenly taken a wound. It's not clear why or how, but there is a fair bit of concern among spiritual types, as it is werebeast belief and nebulous magical fact that the magical forces within the earth are the source of all magic here, as well as the source of life. While many werebeasts claim to have felt the Spirit succumb, you strangely have no memory of such an event occurring. Though things do feel strange, if you know how to tap into the Spirit yourself.

► THE WAR CRY: Though Anath's rain of terror across North America lasted for the first fifteen years or so of the Severing, most independent demons have had enough time to start taking the arch-demon's relative inactivity for granted. For that first while, the warrior queen had seemed determine to rebuild an army on earth by forcing her scattered brethren into service - only for her to gradually settle down in a fortress somewhere in Texas and dig in her heels. Of course, this was too good to last - it sounds as if she and her demonic legion have begun tearing their way up the west coast, their goals remaining a mystery. Their destination, however, is almost certainly Portland.

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"Fuck."

It's the only actual word that's been spoken in Taako's shitty apartment all day-- an apartment that he doesn't recall ever claiming, or paying for, or ever having even seen before. It's hissed sharply through his pointed teeth, more panic than anger, a frenzied fear that he very rarely genuinely feels and even more rarely expresses.

The first ten minutes were spent panicking silently, or almost silently, his fast breathing punctuated with sounds of confusion as he awoke and realized that he felt wrong, that he wasn't in his trailer. His body was searched over with his eyes and his hands, fingertips skimming over skin that's too-rough and a head that's too-heavy, revealed to now be home to a pair of long, pointed horns. Something was wrong with his core, his shoulders, and that was revealed, in time, to be due to a large, leathery pair of wings.

He was told that the changes occurred slowly. This isn't slow. This isn't even medium speed.

The confusion over his body soon faded, however, and was replaced with something else; he caught sight of the city outside, and it was a city. Outlandishly futuristic, like something he'd seen in one of Lucas's mirrors in his laboratory but never in person, the buildings grey and tall, stretching up into the sky, the vehicles all wrong.

This is all wrong. Where the hell is he?

It's nightfall now, and he's exhausted from just sitting and thinking, searching the room for clues as to what's going on. All he's found are belongings he doesn't recognize, but that must be his, and a key that belongs to the apartment, proving his ownership. He grabs some money-- odd, paper money, unlike the gold that he's used to-- and tucks it into a coat that he finds, then he turns to leave, not bothering to lock the door behind him.

He's going to find out what this place is, and what the hell he's doing here, because he's about tired of being whisked off to new dimensions willy-nilly.

Taako isn't the only one with that visceral sensation of being thrown off-kilter, though he's lucky in that he has far more of an awareness of where it's coming from compared to Zim. When he awoke he woke with memories of this city, muddled ones that haven't overtaken his entire memory drive and instead have left his mind a patchwork jumble of living on earth for most of his life versus being born from a test tube far underground a highly advanced planet versus trying to conquer other species versus being very, very bitter towards magical fae creatures that are most certainly real. It's like a collision of magic and science in his head has left everything a mess even more broken than his normal state of mind, which was never sane to begin with.

Naturally, he's very angry. And frustrated. Paranoid. Confused. A whole host of unpleasant things that are making him twitchier than ever. The only consolation (and it isn't even that, more like a desperately flailing reach for something resembling normalcy) he can find is in technology, which is the only consistent thing running through his shredded mess that he's calling his memories. That's what he's going to use to sort everything out, and that's what he's going to use to wreck havoc on whoever screwed up his mind.

Just off the street Taako happens to be on is a small alleyway with an absolutely disgusting dumpster that happens to belong to the sketchy-looking electronics shop that's closed for the night. The distinct sound of rummaging can be heard coming from it, since the lid of it is currently open. Why yes, there is a green child-looking thing digging through the trash, very obviously not human though in what amounts to the worst disguise ever, fake hair and humanesque eyes.

Taako hears Zim before he sees him-- a rustling, digging sound that is honestly more than a little bit gross, even before he realizes the fact that it's coming from a dumpster. Ordinarily, Taako is not the type to investigate random dumpster noises-- but, ordinarily, he isn't trapped in an unfamiliar body, in an unfamiliar city, for no readily apparent reason. He needs answers.

And then he steps closer, and catches sight of who's inside-- and though the presentation of the features is a little bit warped, he immediately figures out who that shape and those colors represent.

"... Zim?"

Zim is quick to respond, though it probably isn't in an ideal way for Taako. His memories of the carnival are severely lacking for the moment so he doesn't recognize his voice, but he at least recognizes his own name. He pauses his rummaging to glance over with an "Eh?" but upon seeing an unfamiliar face immediately jabs the wrench he has in one hand. In typical Zim fashion he follows that up with some yelling.

"WHOOO?! WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DO YOU KNOW ZIM?!" Really, not a surprising reaction from him, but this time instead of just being angry or annoyed at being interrupted he looks a little... freaked out? Not quite into the realm of scared, but definitely rather anxious that he's being approached by some nonhuman stranger who knows who he is.

"... uhm. It's me. Taako. Your roomie? We went over this?"

Shit. Shit. This isn't good.

"We got stuck together back at the carnival, if that was... a real thing that really happened, I guess." He's never doubted reality before, not really, but recent events have left him entirely unsure if he's actually experiencing all this, or is just having a series of increasingly wild dreams.

People are coming and going all the time at Sanctuary, nonhumans in particular, but the thought of a roommate is somehow both disgusting and baffling to him at the same time, with an extra helping of creepy given the lack of familiarity that is going on. One of Zim's eyes twitch and he starts thinking, trying to think, really hard. Painfully hard.

"Carnival?? I don't even know what that is! Wait." Does he? No, that's stupid, why would Irk ever have something that sounds so stupid? But that also seems like a Perfectly Normal Human thing that he should know about - maybe he does - right? "Ehhhh...." He's gripping his head, circling around the whole definition of carnival without coming to some concrete conclusion, and he squeezes his eyes shut. This is looking more painful by the second, like he's straining or something, before his eyes snap open suddenly.

"What?? What happened?!"

"... uh. Don't blow something in there--"

And then something seems to hit Zim, and Taako can't help but feel a leap in his stomach--

"... got something?"

Oh, gods, please let him have something he can remember. Taako needs some kind of information here, or he might just go nuts.

"No, but you do!" Maybe, he's kind of guessing here, but he doesn't have much else to go off of so he might as well plunge headfirst into the first idea that comes to him. He lunges to the very edge of the dumpster, waving his wrench threateningly. "And you will tell ZIM EVERYTHING! ALL OF IT! THIS IS ALL WRONG, SOMEHOW!"

He wants to cast something to chill Zim out, to make him easier to deal with, but his Umbra Staff is missing, and he can't seem to access his magic at all. There is something there, an energy in its place, but it's different, hot and dark, and Taako hasn't tried tapping into it yet, as it seems... too harsh for this. He can feel that it's all abilities that are very different from his usual.

Instead, he frowns deeply, rolling his eyes.

"Stop fucking screaming, or you're gonna get into trouble!" And then he sighs, running fingers over his messy hair to try and focus, regain his composure. "Look, all I remember is that we were at the carnival, I was trying to get some shuteye while you did... god knows what, and then we were just... here. My body is all wrong, I've never seen this place before, and somebody took all my shit."

He takes a breath.

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

Edited 2017-06-05 01:02 (UTC)

Zim freezes, his eyes widening as he glances around tensely. 'Trouble' seems to be an effective keyword here, or his yelling has had dire consequences in the past. Either way he's realizing that an entirely public place is really not the best place for a loud conversation about his paranoia between two supernatural creatures. He is, however, still pointing his wrench at Taako.

Also of note is the fact that he isn't the only one having body and location issues, so that's encouraging.

"Some kind of filthy city that hasn't been properly invaded and conquered yet." He lifts his free hand up, wiggling his fingers as he tries to sort out his memories. This is simultaneously a planet he's never heard of before, and a city he's lived in for a while. "Disgusting... repulsive... full of huuuumans?"

From the sound of that he's not even sure human is the right word, though he doesn't dwell on it. "This conversation needs to continue in a more secure location! Who knows what could be spying on me right now! Come on!"

And then he dives back into the dumpster, which is kind of weird, but the reason for that quickly becomes apparent as he hoists a flatbed scanner out of it and falls very unceremoniously onto the ground. Thankfully his squishy body softens the scanner's impact, and he pops up a moment later to start heading down the street.

"... shit."

It's all Taako can muster as he realizes this fucking chump is his only lead so far. He shuffles after him, his hands in his pockets, thinking.

If Zim is here, then there's a very real possibility that this is some kind of interdimensional problem related to the carnival. That means that there may be other, less insane and useless people he knows from there-- people who may be able to explain what the hell is going on.

Taako makes sure to keep an eye on everyone they pass, to make sure he doesn't miss anything that could offer some kind of information.

The closest place that is at least semi-secure that Zim can work out is one of the city's many libraries. That isn't ideal, Sanctuary would probably be better, but he's impatient and needs to get whatever he can get sorted out as soon as possible. So off they go, to one of the few buildings still open, the apathetic librarian at the front desk just rolling his eyes when he sees Zim coming in with more junk. Apparently he's a regular because he isn't getting tossed out immediately, though with his tendency to yell who knows how long this will last.

Zim takes Taking to another floor, one with very few people milling about, over to one of the tables in the very corner. There he drops the scanner down and doesn't bother to sit. Taking a deep breath he's obviously about to start screaming, but a fleeting memory of the building rules has him twitching and taking great pains to keep his voice down. "Tell me what you know!"

Okay. This is going to be an enormous headache, Taako can tell already. He slumps into one of the seats at the table, almost forgetting his new wings for a moment; he adjusts how he's sitting to allow for them, growling to himself in frustration.

"Okay, listen." He huffs. "All I know is that I woke up this morning in the wrong place, with my body like... this, which is also wrong, just by the way, and I don't remember how I got here or when I got here. I was just kind of... here. The last thing I remember was being in my trailer at the carnival, which is where I guess I'm supposed to be right now."

"I knew it! I KNEW all of this feels wrong! Zim is right, as always!" Or he's found someone else who is as crazy as he is, but that would be admitting he has a problem and god forbid that ever happens. No, the fact that someone else knows who he is and thinks something is wrong with everything is more than enough for him.

"I should be conquering this horrible dirt planet, not just living on it!" He adds, starting to pace in circles. "Either this is some kind of disgusting alternate dimension, or time and space was manipulated and this world is acting as a prison. Whatever is causing all of this is affecting my memory drive, probably so I can't enact some amazingly brilliant vengeance...."

Yes, he's rambling.

Taako is quiet, for once, trying to block Zim's sharp voice out as he tries to think; the Carnival is, itself, a pocket dimension. Meaning that it's entirely possible the Ringmaster has just... manipulated it somehow. It's not out of the question that she may have just gotten bored and decided on a change of scenery for both herself and the people working for her... but something like that would take a huge amount of power.

Finally, the uneven peaks of Zim's voice poke enough of a hole through his thoughts that his chin snaps up.

"Hey, sorry, but I'm totally not listening to you, like, at all right now, could you be quiet for a second so I can think?"

"Why don't YOU be silent??" He jabs back, stopping his pacing momentarily. Not being listened to is less of an issue that being told to shut up, which is not something he does easily. If at all. "My thoughts are the important ones here! Whatever your inferior brainmeats can manage to come up with are nowhere near as good as... my...."

He slowly trails off as something occurs to him, and he stares up at Taako as if realizing something. Which he does. Something super important.

"Hey," he says. "Haven't I seen you on tv before?"

"Well, yeah, I mean--" And then Taako stops short, eyes wide. "... wait, hold on, do you mean for real? Like, a real TV?"

"Of course I mean real TV! There is only one kind of TV!" Zim has exclaims, flailing his arms. "You were some kind of horrible food service drone! It was awful! You were doing disgusting things with MEAT!"

As it slowly sinks in-- that Taako has lived his actual dream here-- one question still rises in his mind. He voices it cautiously, after a moment's consideration: "Hey, is my show still... like, on the air? Am I still making it and everything?"

"YOU DOUBT ZIM??" He snaps automatically in response, then pauses. "Wait, why wouldn't it be off the air?"

If he's remembering correctly, that horrible show is popular. Really, really popular. There's usually someone watching it once a day, and Taako's face is fairly common on the home magazines the library carries. Now that he's really thinking about this (why he hasn't before is beyond him), it kind of seems like Taako is approaching the same celebrity-esque status of the Tallest.

"No, I mean, like..." He sighs, trying to think of how to word it. "Did something, like... happen, or is it good?"

Zim scoffs, growing more suspicious. "It's so good these hairy monkeys practically WORSHIP you!" Why would anyone, let alone the celebrity himself, think otherwise? "Are they not supposed to? Is this some kind of masterful plan to rule the Earth??"

The realization washes over Taako all at once-- and, suddenly, an incredible degree of selfishness strikes. This is a world in which he is an actual TV star, on TV, and the poisoning hasn't happened. It's like facing the chalice all over again, but a thousand times more intoxicating because he's already here and can see it all around.

"Hoo boy," he murmurs, sinking into his chair, threading fingers through his curls. "Uh... oh, geez. Listen... Zap? Is that your name?"

This time, instead of the flailing, Zim hops onto the table to he can yell directly into Taako's face. "ZIM! My name is ZIM! Get it right!!"

Taako reaches up and plants his hand flat across Zim's face.

"Okay, Zip, fine, but I'm gonna have to ask you to back way, way up out of my face right now, okay?"

⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

Taako | Closed to Zim for now

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