⇨ 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

[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?"

[dontpokethat]

"Nothing. Not unless you count giving myself a headache trying to figure it out."

He slumped back in his seat, pushing his fingers up under the beanie that covered the majority of his petal-like hair. "Is that... I don't know, a hallucination thing, or something like that?"

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

"I don't want to speculate," she mused. Bad enough she was poking into someone's business out of the office. "But if it really is worrying you, you should come by for a proper lookover."

[dontpokethat]

"...Okay." Given how resistant Ginko tends to be to checkups, his lack of hesitation may just speak to how worried he really is about the changes to his memories. "How about, uh... would Saturday work?"

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

"Of course." Zecora kept Saturday hours as a rule -- a necessity when dealing with the supernatural, and also fortunate in that she rarely had to deal with work outside her clinic as some doctors did. "I am free, if I remember my schedule correctly."

[dontpokethat]

He nods, pulling uncomfortably at one of his sleeves. "Alright. Guess I'll see you then... uh, thanks."

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Zecora nodded, reasonably certain that if he said he would be there, he would. If nothing else, because he wasn't the sort to go back on something he'd agreed to like that.

And since he didn't need an MD butting into his life any more than that, she turned back to her own table to let him try to work out his troubles in peace. At least till the weekend.