⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

Ginko | Oct. 1st-5th

[dontpokethat]

Ginko woke up feeling wrong. It wasn't that he felt sick, or physically worse than he usually was in the mornings - sure, his back felt like he'd spent the night in a car seat, but, uh. That was probably because he had.

No, it was something else - and it was only as he started going about his day that he got a feeling for what it was.

A - Tea Shop

Ginko is pretty frequently kind of out of it at work, so, theoretically, that shouldn't be a huge problem. Of course, usually his distractedness is more a result of just being tired, rather than... this.

Honestly, he's increasingly sure that he's having some kind of mental breakdown, because he doesn't know what else to think is going on. Little things, things that should by all rights should be normal, have just seemed... wrong.

Ugh. Yeah, this is just what he needs. Not like his brain was enough of a mess already.

The moment his break starts, Ginko drops into a seat in the corner of the shop, burying his face in his hands with a groan. He's pretty sure he's messed up more orders and spilled more drinks in this one day than he has in his entire time working here. He's going to kick his own ass if he gets fired over... whatever is going on.

B- Park

When he's not working, a significant amount of Ginko's time is spent just... hanging around outside. It doesn't hurt that he's got to be sure Miu gets some exercise somehow, and the park is a pretty good place for it.

So, with Miu on her harness, he wanders the park, alternating between pondering his recent... identity crisis, he guesses? And pretending it's not happening. As much as he'd like for this to just not be a thing at all, he can't help but wonder about it, after all.

He catches sight of a poster pinned to a tree and wanders over, Miu trotting alongside him.

Then he actually gets a closer look at it, and the items scattered around it.

Nope. Rather abruptly, Ginko spins around to walk away from the tree, not paying much attention to whether someone else might be behind him.

((OOC: Let me know if you want to do something outside of these prompts, and I can add another option!))

A

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

She probably shouldn't meddle, but -- well, it came with the position. Zecora had noted the poor boy's consternation and trouble from her booth, and when he flopped down right nearby, she couldn't help herself.

Twisting so she had one arm slung back over the dividing seat back, she asked, "Are you all right?"

[dontpokethat]

Ginko looked up at the familiar voice, blinking. "--Oh. Uh... hey, Doctor. I'm..."

For a moment, he wondered if he should tell her, but-- tell her what? That he kept expecting the shop to smell more like hay? He pressed his lips together and gave a small shrug. "I'm... just tired, I guess."

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Zecora pursed her lips in turn, not entirely certain she believed that. Call it a hunch, but something had felt very unusual lately -- instinct or intuition wanted her to read more into everything.

"Trouble sleeping?"

[dontpokethat]

"Uh... yeah." It wasn't actually a lie, since that was pretty par for the course for him - an unfortunate side effect of sleeping in the front seat of his car.

"Might just be the changing weather, y'know? Fall's always pretty tough."

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

"Mmmhmm."

Zecora had the art of Physician Skepticism mastered, as perfectly conveyed by her little noise and arched eyebrow.

[dontpokethat]

Oh no it's that face she makes. Ginko frowns and pulls at one of his sleeves.

"Look, I... I'm not actually sure what the problem is. I can only guess, here."

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Zecora simply inclined her head slightly and made a tiny little motion with one hand, inviting him to elaborate. Less hemming and hawing, more works, Ginko.

[dontpokethat]

Oh boy. There was... absolutely no way to make this not sound stupid, crazy, or both, but... here went nothing. He glanced around and kept his voice low - just in case any of his coworkers were nearby. He did not need this getting around.

"I've been... having memory problems, I guess? Which kinda makes it sound like I'm forgetting stuff, but that's... not really it." He pressed his lips into a thin line, and it took a bit of effort to get the rest out. "...It feels like I keep... remembering stuff that didn't actually happen to me."

Probably? Maybe. He thinks.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Well, she hadn't expected that. A slight frown touched her face, and she hmmed thoughtfully. "That's a little unusual. Any accompanying physical symptoms?"

Park

[spaghettimonster]

"Oof, ow," says the guy Ginko bumps into. Papyrus staggers back as his dog tangles the leash around his legs in its worried circling.

Letting his curiosity, and the hope of seeing how somebody else reacted to the mysterious poster, get him way too close in Ginko's personal space without a warning. And now he's paying the price, rubbing at his shoulder with a grimace.

[dontpokethat]

"Crap, uh-- sorry." Ginko raises a hand apologetically; Miu, meanwhile, takes another couple steps forward to sniff curiously at Papyrus and his dog. "Are you alright?"

[spaghettimonster]

"I'm fine, it's fine!" Papyrus finishes his shoulder examination and waves off the concerned question. "I'm sure you didn't mean it. But who knew you'd jump back so quickly?? Did something try to bite you?" His dog, a large pomsky, barks at the approach of another dog but sniffs back.

[dontpokethat]

"Uh... not exactly. Guess you could say I just got a bad feeling from that sign."

Once Miu gets closer, it may become more clear that she's not actually a small dog so much as large-ish rodent on a leash; the guinea pig snuffles curiously at the pomsky, and Ginko glances distractedly down at her, just paying enough attention to make sure this doesn't go wrong. Walking a friendly guinea pig around dogs can be a... problem.

[spaghettimonster]

Maybe that was the real reason for Coolbone's barking. The dog hunkers down to stare the rodent in the eyes, then glances up at Ginko. Is he going to command it to do anything, or is it just another decorative creature?

"You too!?" Papyrus brightens up, with far more genuine cheer at the notion of Ginko's discomfort than at he'd been about being polite. "Is it the design? Or something else?"

[dontpokethat]

Honestly, Miu wouldn't listen even if Ginko did try to tell her to do anything. Whether she understood or not, he couldn't say, but if she did she sure didn't care.

"Um... something else," he replied, perhaps unhelpfully. "Like... there's all that stuff on the ground around it. It just gives me a bad feeling."

He can't be sure how open this guy would be to talking about fae stuff, and the last thing he wants is to imply his status as a changeling to someone whose reaction he can't predict.

B- Park.... Pre sans-napping

[dorkypantsuit]

"Miu!!" He squeals at the sight of her. She's just too cute for words, especially on her little harness. He comes forward picking her up without hesitation and giving her eskimo kisses, before holding her in his arm and petting her with his free hand.

"Ginko hasn't been boring you to death lately, has he?"

Yes, he is using a baby talk voice as he insults you to your pet, Ginko.

[dontpokethat]

Ginko jumps a little again at hearing a voice, but relaxes again and gives a quiet snort once he recognizes it.

"--Shit, don't sneak up on me like that. And it's nice to see you, too."

[dorkypantsuit]

"You're standing in the middle of a public park." Psi comments, still looking to the guinea pig even if he's stopped using the baby talk voice and is clearly speaking to Ginko. In fact he only looks to his companion a moment later, after setting the pet down on the ground.

"It's not my fault if you were too distracted someone walking over to you in a completely open field."

[dontpokethat]

"Yeah, well. Shut up."

He looks away and shifts uncomfortably, scowling at the ground. Miu, meanwhile, seems perfectly content to go right back to snuffling at the grass.

"I guess I'm just kind of on-edge or something."

[dorkypantsuit]

He saunters over to Ginko, looking behind the changeling to the poster he'd so swiftly been retreating from.

"Think I noticed that." he turns around, looking back to Ginko and watching Miu as she inspects the grass on the ground. "Something on your mind?"

[dontpokethat]

"...Sort of. I've just been feeling kind of... off, I suppose? I..."

He hesitates and glances away, rubbing uncertainly at the back of his neck for a moment. Why is he even telling this guy about that? He... feels like he must have talked to him about something similarly serious before, but... did he really?

[dorkypantsuit]

The demon doesn't think much of Ginko's hesitation. He knew Ginko was the kind of person that had trouble expressing his thoughts sometimes. Of course then there were also times where he could succinctly tear your ego to pieces. Odds are if he couldn't think of what to say it was something he wasn't comfortable talking about. But since when had demons been known for their ability to respect boundaries?

"You...?" he prompts, hoping Ginko will continue. Though demons weren't particularly emotional or caring people Ginko was this demon's friend, so if Ginko was upset about something this demon wanted to hear about it.

[dontpokethat]

"Um..." He curls his fingers and drops his hand back by his side. "I've just been. Confused, I guess. There's some stuff I need to sort out."

That's... a massively understated way of saying he's increasingly unsure of the legitimacy of his own memories, but anyway.

[dorkypantsuit]

He nods, shoulders slumping. It was probably something the demon wouldn't be any good at helping with then, maybe some kind of moral issue or otherwise. Whatever, Ginko was a big kid, he would probably figure it out. He sighs, just enjoying being in a park with his friend. He really liked this stupid city, and this stupid hobo.

"Things might be getting kind of tense around here soon."