lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 2

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 7st - 14th, 2017
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: The week begins as the time of the Animal Fair finally arrives! Meanwhile, the truth of this reality starts to be revealed, and forces both human and celestial alike attempt to take advantage of a rare opportunity.
Warnings: Individually marked!

BY ANY OTHER NAME↴

Tensions thicken as various supernaturally forces react to the events of the previous week. Something critical is afoot, and it's only a matter of time before things start coming to a head. It's time to find out more about what's happened to this world, and what will happen in its future.

► A NIGHT AT THE FAIR: From the night of the 7th to the morning of the 8th, the Animal Fair is officially in town. There is a top level down below with more information, though you can also RP content from this elsewhere if you wish. The host, who is very likely something called a Wyld Fae (if you discovered that ICly), will be present, but they will only be appearing to you of their own accord and attempting to track them down by force will be ineffective. Just kick back and relax! Fairs are supposed to be fun.

► THORNS IN YOUR SIDE: Culminating in a full fledged attack against the Sanctuary, it would seem that The Rose Queen is declaring war on the changeling population of Portland. Though the vicious attack of thorns against the safe house was eventually stopped, it wasn't without damage, and the black roses that caused it are still popping up around the city and threatening the places where homeless and lost changelings would be likely to congregate. It's obvious now that this is a serious threat - will it ever stop without an intervention?

► HELL ON EARTH: As Anath's march draws near, the first waves of her demons will be entering the city. Primarily acting as scouts and foot soldiers, these demons will be attempting to secure loyalty from the local demon populace, as well as taking out any angels they can manage to catch. It's a level of aggressiveness against heaven's forces that hasn't been seen for years, and it's a foreboding hint of things to come. These demons can be NPCed by anyone, and will mostly be thugs or manipulators who don't know much about Anath's plans but do know that you need to join their side. They are also rowdier than most of the demons in Portland, and are a threat to the innocent mortal populace as well, if they decide to try to get their kicks here.

► THE WIZARD POLICE: The Enlightenment Council seems to have demanded control of the local Circle chapter, and now backup has arrived. These mages are being sent out into the city as if they are a police force, and will be attempting to demand control of various common supernatural areas, as well as questioning community members that they run into. Whatever is going on, it seems to have resulted in the Council instituting what is essentially martial law... of course, not everyone sees any need to heed their demands. If you are a demon, warlock, or other rogue element, expect to be harassed or even attacked by them. These character can be NPCed, and if you need additional information you can ask the mods.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, that's a great note to start this encounter off on. Taako dutifully signs those autographs, of course-- it's something that he's sorely missed doing, and going back to it feels like the most natural thing in the world, like he's traveled back in time to before everything got... well, fucked up. The only difference is that he's signing with a different name this time.

Gotta play the game.

As soon as they clear out, Taako glances up at Axel; he smiles weakly at him, shuffling his feet, playing the part of an awkward ex even though he still isn't quite sure on what kind of terms they parted. He's getting the feeling, however, that they weren't great.

"Uhh, hey there! It's... been a while, I guess."

It's... not what he expected, honestly. Bashfulness, from Taako? Weird. "Yeah, it has. What d'you want, Taako?"

He looks more resigned than anything. He can't throw the demon out or beat him up easily, and if he tried he'd be on the cover of some tabloid and his house would be vandalized by fans of Taako's cover act. Again. What a pain.

He comes out from behind the counter, and it becomes obvious why his back was glowing; he's got flames licking down that, too, and a pair of fiery wings tucked under. Somehow, none of the fire is hot or burning anything. Fae magic is weird.

"You wouldn't show your face if you didn't want something. Just spit it out."

Well. Looks like Taako isn't the only one who ended up with a fresh new set of wings.

Axel addressing him so roughly, however, immediately drags him out of his train of thought about that-- and into a new one where he's decided, okay, the docile act is apparently not the right way to go.

"... look, I've been having this... weird feeling lately, and I was just wondering if I was the only one. Sorry I interrupted your clearly super-important work here," he says with a roll of his eyes, his arms folding across his chest.

Yeah, that's more typical Taako. "Weird feeling, huh?" He crosses his arms. Both hands are bandaged to above the wrists; on his right arm, which is moving sluggishly, the bandages go most of the way to the shoulder. His face and neck are covered with bruises, burns, and little cuts. The kids in the room didn't react to any of this; it's probable that he was keeping it under a glamour, though Taako doesn't know that.

"I was in the sanctuary attack the other day. You want to talk about weird? You keep your ear to the ground, so tell me. Why's the Rose Queen suddenly so upset? Her latest changeling escaped weeks ago, it's nothing she couldn't have acted on sooner."

... huh. The Rose Queen is a name he feels like he should definitely know if he's from this... whatever this is, but he hasn't the slightest what it means-- but if she deals with changelings, she's almost definitely a fae of some kind, like the Ringmaster.

Well, isn't that suspicious?

"Yeah, see, okay, that brings me to one thing I actually wanted to talk about." He turns it over in his head, trying to sort out how to start this conversation in a way that won't make Axel think he's just... completely insane. "I, uh... I've been having a little bit of trouble remembering some things. Like... most things, actually?"

That? That gives him pause. Taako, a demon, losing his memory is all but unheard of. Axel has yet to forgive him for the circumstances of their breakup, but he still can't help but feel a little pity for the guy. Memory loss is awful, one of the reasons he supported Steven so long. But he can't open his heart all the way to Taako.

"How'd you find the place if you can't remember anything?" He's got a sneaking suspicion he knows the answer. He's had to chase numerous paparazzi off with sticks ever since one tabloid published his address with regards to the breakup. What a mess.

Well. At least they're not here now.

"It wasn't fuckin' hard, what with my face on every tabloid on every corner and all that." Taako smirks mirthlessly at him, eyebrow raised. "I just followed a trail of juicy celebrity bread crumbs to the shop. Here's the really weird thing, though... I remember you? Just not... like this."

That's gonna sound weird. He rolls his shoulders, idly wandering about the shop as he speaks, looking over things on the shelves to try and keep it as casual as possible.

"... like. I remember us being somewhere else. We were at a carnival, and we both got stuck working there, and you had, like... antlers."

"Antlers?" That's enough to be weird. "That sounds..." Actually it's stirring something or another, maybe a dream? He brushes it aside. "... bizarre."

"Look, if you hit your head or something, you should tell me now. You're kind of freaking me out."

"No, it's-- well, okay, maybe, but that's not what's messing up my memories, as far as I know." Not that his memories are actually messed up at all; he knows why he's remembering the things that he does. He's just not entirely sure how to explain it to Axel. He turns it over in his mind for a beat, sighing.

"... listen, I think I know what's going on, but it's going to sound... absolutely insane."

"Like this doesn't sound insane already." He actually smiles, just a little bit. Taako's seldom nervous. It reminds him of a time when they were on better terms, before the demon tried to steal his soul. "Lay it on me."

Taako barks an awkward laugh at that, tangling his fingers into the curls spilling over his shoulder idly.

"Fair enough, fair enough! Okay, so, uh... I'm pretty sure we're... not actually from here. And by here, I mean, like... this entire... world." He glances down at his hair, and then back up at Axel, as if checking to see if he's about to kick him out for sounding absolutely bonkers. "Like... I think the carnival I remember is, like, the last place we actually were. And then somehow we ended up here."

⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 2

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