polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-06-01 03:00 pm

Carcosa, pt. 2

POLYMYTHOS: CARCOSA

Carcosa


Ⅰ. CARCOSA
You Are Still Here.

Another month, and you’re still in the city of Carcosa! Isn’t that just wonderful?

You still have access to the city’s temple and the High Temple.

The side effects you may have suffered from throughout the month of May are now at an end - if you had a pesky mask glued to your face the whole time it will now fall off. You might need a little moisturizer, but otherwise you’ll be just fine.

You could sit around inside the relative safety of the temples, of course, but why not get out there and explore the city some more? Come on, grumpypants!



Ⅱ. SPEAK EASY
CW: Optional alcohol consumption.
What kind of pet shop is filled with rambunctious yahoos and hot jazz music at 1 AM? That's right - the best damn pet shop in town! Sidle up to the back door of Curly's Pet Shop and a panel will open enough to reveal a pair of eyes. "What's the password?" you'll be asked. Whatever word first comes to your mind, well, that apparently is correct because you're let in at once.

The front of the building definitely does indeed house fish and birds and kittens, but the back room is definitely not a good place to find a new animal companion; you find yourself in a crowded little room with low lighting and a small bar crammed into one corner. There's seats and some tables, and most importantly there's a band playing jazz music across from the bar.

Why not take a seat and have a drink? It's probably not paint thinner. Probably. Maybe you'll spot some of your fellow Travelers and you can sit and have a chat. Make a new friend who can hold your hair back if you party too hard.

And you better hope that the place doesn’t get raided!

Notes:
1. The drinks are all era-appropriate - you’re not getting Redbull with vodka here - and even if your character has non-human physiology they will work the same as they would on a baseline human. That’s right, your magic or your healing-factor or your vampire blood is no match for these Gin Rickeys!

2. If Curly’s does get raided while you’re there, you can run and hide or choose to engage with the police, who are armed and not too shy about opening fire if you go on the offensive. As with the rest of the regular residents of Carcosa, the officers are human and can be killed. Killing them may affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation. (Is it beneficial to personal growth to kill in order to save someone else, for example? You tell me!)

3. Did you want a pet from the front of the building? Well, just remember that baby turtles and alligators might SEEM like a good idea, but they grow up! Also any animal you take will not travel with you to the next island. So sorry.



Ⅲ. EXPRESSIONISM YOURSELF
CW: Optional paranoia, hallucinations.
If you wander the streets at night, you may find yourself getting turned around. You'll find that the streets have lost their many lights, and the beautiful and delicate art deco architecture has given way to something much more stark and heavy. The buildings are block-like, but they curve in exaggerated ways that hurt the eye if looked at too long. All are in blacks and whites and greys. Nothing looks quite real, but you can walk along just fine. Probably better not to go off alone, though.


Periodically you will encounter that pesky sign of some sort painted on the walls. If you follow the sigils, you will eventually be led to a long staircase that winds down and down until it finally terminates in a large white room lit by a few electric lanterns. There's black paint there, with brushes. Maybe you're feeling creative?

Notes:
1. You’re pretty sick of this stupid sigil, aren’t you? In fact, you consider yourself QUITE the detective and have been searching after its meaning! Or maybe you played Call of Cthulhu a lot in college, you nerd!

Painting the sigil on the wall will cause you to feel disoriented and paranoid until you leave the white room. From that point on you can discover a copy of a play entitled The King In Yellow anywhere in the city you choose. Reading the first act of the play has no effect on you, however if you choose to read beyond the first line of the second act you will spend the rest of the month suffering from periodic hallucinations, often of a tall man in a pallid mask.

2. While there is no compulsion to paint, choosing to work out any of your character’s issues through art therapy can be reflected in your Scrywatch colour if it is significant enough.



Ⅳ. AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER, I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A GANGSTER
CW: Optional gun violence, injury.
Art? Theatre? Music? BAH! Boring!

Maybe your tastes are a little more on the dangerous side? Whatever this island may be, it seems to offer plenty of opportunities to get into the seedy underbelly. Maybe you feel the need to steal a car, rob a bank, transport some illegal hooch for a smiling fellow in a yellow fedora. Grab your tommy guns, kids, it's time to outrun the Feds!

Naturally, you could wind up injured having all of this fun, but surely you could get some help from your fellow Travelers, either directly or by having them haul you to some sort of underground doctor. These doctors do exist, although it might take a while to get referred to one by a local.

You might also find yourself under arrest and stuck in an old-timey jail cell for a month. What fun!

Notes:
1. As was stated in the first prompt, the regular residents of Carcosa are normal humans. Killing them is possible and may affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation. Any weapons you find are era-appropriate.

2. You can break out of jail if you’re resourceful enough.

3. The underground doctors aren’t working in a real hospital for a reason. In fact, some of them might be less doctors and more, well. Vets.

You still jamming to that Carcosa playlist?


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

neverwither: (It killed the cat)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-07-03 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
( Her smile radiates with warmth, and relief. Finally it feels like a long-held breath is exhaled. The offer of friendship, for her, also represents the offer to move on entirely from what happened. At least in terms of putting her Connor-related ghosts to rest. They’re far from the most haunting ones, anyway. And he’s different now.

It can all be different now. )


That’s wonderful, Connor. It really is.

( Content to both hold his hand and to listen, she looks to him more than she does the tank. Just watches as his features change as he chirps away, and then again as the topic shifts to the path of deviancy. There are experiences of her own she could offer that could help ease his mind a little, but those aren’t things she feels ready to share in this moment. With a tentative friendship forming, the last thing she wants is for it all to come crashing down.

Besides, he needs someone. That only becomes more clear. Placing more on him than he already carries would be unfair. )


I hope this doesn’t seem too forward but… With us being friends, you don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed of the things that have happened to you, or how you feel. Software instability isn’t a badge of dishonour with me.

( If those instabilities were merit badges, she’d have a whole sash full.

For a moment, her own gaze drops. Ah. She hadn’t meant to imply that his preferences were merely a product of programming. But isn’t that the grand question for all their kind? A question Chloe herself is not above, not at all. There’s an element of backtracking to her response, to be sure, but the ever-present sincerity with which she presents herself isn’t lost. )


I think… a planned penchant for something, or the programmed ability to work alongside or with something, isn’t quite the same as liking something.

( Is that an adequate explanation of what she regards as an important distinction? Probably not. Though really, it boils down to something simple – to say he likes anything outside of attempts to integrate is evidence enough of something existing beyond the programmed parameters. )
what_fourth_wall: (Default)

[personal profile] what_fourth_wall 2021-07-03 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"See, you need red to match your hair. Don't worry, I'll help you murder somebody. That's how friends do." He glances around the Temple. "Anywhere I can people watch is good. I figure that'll be my entertainment for the rest of this month since walking is out of the question."
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (hey)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-07-03 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"Dude. No."

After some thought, Kyle props up Deadpool's head close to the main throughfare of the High Temple. "There. I'll come check on you off and on, okay? But I need a bath."
cryptsleeper: <user name="malagraphic"> (not sure if i love it or hate it but tha)

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2021-07-03 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's a wrinkle of the nose, along with a shake of the head to the question.]

A dhampir, nothing more grandiose than that.
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-07-03 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
For the first time, Anders seems genuinely offended, expression a harsh mask of distaste. "Of course not.

"I'm a mage. The two are rather incompatible."
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-07-03 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
True. But I'm sort of hoping that's not the case.

[ His belief in the basic generosity of random strangers may be largely facetious, but when you have so little to go on... Anders shrugs, casting his gaze across the shelves of books blocking them in again. Not as towering as the Circle library's, either. ]

If only we could suss out what they are. Though I expect we're not slipping out past her guard anytime soon, with these shackles on.
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-07-03 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's definitely close. ]

Oh? Any particular kind?
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-07-03 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Orlais? Maker, no. I'm from Ferelden - much more respectable place, even if it must be steeped in mud and dog shit.

[ Watching her struggle with that little ball of fluff and tiny kitten claws, Anders perhaps takes pity - summoning a small, green wisp in his open hand. It bobs around the table, catching little kitten gazes and luring the one trying to tangle itself in her hair to swiping at it, instead. ]

I can't imagine why.

[ Even a little bit drunk, his overtly flirtatious tone is an obviously teasing one, as is the dumb grin that accompanies it. ]

Ah, well. We'll both just have to keep our gorgeous faces out of the limelight for now, then, I suppose. I'm sure between us we can find someone more willing to start a revolution on our behalf.
unkindled_madness: (curiosity)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-07-04 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
["Sort of hoping" isn't exactly wild optimism, so Sephiroth will let it lie. Maybe he feels the same, after a fashion. He doesn't yet feel he can rely on anyone here, but he'll need to, so... it would be preferable to have a little more than a basic quid-pro-quo.

He glances at the ScryWatch on his wrist.]


Probably not.

But... I suppose these are closer at hand for inspection.
dothelokimotion: (And consumes)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-07-04 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ he shrugs. ]

Any kind. Provided it is entertaining enough. I don't tend to hold back.
queenking: ([up] double eyebrow arch)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-07-04 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
Well, yeah. [Saxsice will allow that, trotting along after him, one hand resting on the chinchilla so it isn't jostled too much.] But it's harder to notice all that when there's also dragons and stuff.

[She gives an undignified snort, crouching down to look at a display of lizards.] More rebellious than illegal booze? What kinda excitement are you lookin' for, Seph?
queenking: ([up] girl next door)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-07-04 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
See, now you're just flatterin' me. [The curtsey gets a delighted grin, and Saxsice reaches up to shove a loose golden curl back into place as they head to the bar. The bartender is a surly, scowling type, but Saxsice is undeterred, waving him over jovially.] Gimme a couple sex-on-the-beaches, hot stuff. [She'll wink at Chloe, adding in an undertone:] Not as fun as they sound, but still not bad.

[She releases the other blonde's arm, leaning on the bar instead and nodding seriously.] Detroit, huh? That's...Michigan, yeah? [She didn't exactly have geography classes growing up, okay.] I'm from Los Angeles. I mean, I was before this. I was born in Idaho, though. [She grimaces, reaching for the drinks as they're slid along the bar.] Don't recommend.
what_fourth_wall: (Default)

[personal profile] what_fourth_wall 2021-07-04 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Sounds good. I'd ask for the ladies room, but I'm not a perv and also Jenn would stomp my skull if she walked in and I upskirted her. We have a good relationship where I know my boundaries because she pounds them into me when I forget them."
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (hey)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-07-04 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle just shakes his head and strolls off. He stops to look back, pointing a finger. "Behave!"

Not that he expects him to.
lickstheevidence: (Default)

[personal profile] lickstheevidence 2021-07-04 07:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Chloe's ghosts are older and more deeply ingrained than his own, but being able to put any of them to rest, even one more minor to her than to him, would be a relief to him as well- for both their sakes.

Her hand in his is warm, offering a measure of security that he's needed since his arrival but hasn't found until now. He's not consciously aware that he's still grasping her hand, or that he's folded his other hand over their entwined fingers. He's drawing strength from her without meaning to, stability for his emotional fragility. When she's ready, he'll listen to the stories she wants to share in turn. Isn't that part of what should make a good negotiator, the ability to listen? His fingers tighten around hers briefly and he purses his lips before taking a breath and settling himself. With a short, careful nod, he relaxes his posture and gazes at her reflection in the glass.]


I've done terrible things, Chloe. Software instability is the very least of it, as troublesome and dangerous as it was to me. But the consequences of it- they could have been disastrous, not only for me but for the entirety of the Revolution.

[It isn't Chloe- Connor isn't convinced his own deviancy itself wasn't planned and programmed into him by Cyberlife. He's already seen what could happen if Cyberlife had been able to retake control of him; not just a slave, but a deviant slave (even if that slave only thought he was deviant)- one poised to take over leadership of the Revolution in the name of Cyberlife. It was enough to give him chills- no pun intended -if he dwelled on it too much. As much as he wants to believe Chloe, right now he just. Can't.]

Maybe. If I had been able to discover how deviancy works like Cyberlife wanted me to, I could give a more definitive answer. I'm not saying you're wrong, but right now I just don't know.

[Although he didn't have pet Sumo while Hank was in the bathroom changing before they went to the Eden Club, so maybe Chloe is onto something?]
nightschool: (🖋️ 10)

[personal profile] nightschool 2021-07-04 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
[One corner of his mind spirals off into a different line of mathematical number-crunching. Almost a decade further ahead. Diana had mentioned a baby--Matthew's child. That child would be a full grown adult by then.

What miracles will Matthew's son or daughter lay eyes on in the age of science? Could he be looking at one of them? The culmination of not just mining the natural world of its secrets, but overcoming it? Rewriting and replicating it? In his time and place, the world is captivated by what clever artificers can make of machines. Like with alchemy, nearly half a millennia of cleverness must have only grown what was once a seed of a dream.]


What you are is far more interesting. [That is to say, how the fellow distinguishes him as other isn't half so interesting as why Kit hadn't in the reverse.] The way we would use "android" is as a simulacrum, that much follows. But to that which is not living. Automatons.

[It's not phrased as a question, but it is one all the same. He searches Connor's eyes which betray neither a daemonic sheen, a telltale icy touch, nor the faint tingle of power, the degree of his scrutiny probably a step beyond modest propriety.

So if he isn't human and doesn't belong to one of the creatures, does this man mean to say those eyes are hiding something other than flesh and blood?]
Edited 2021-07-04 08:04 (UTC)
nightschool: (🖋️ 93)

[personal profile] nightschool 2021-07-04 09:23 am (UTC)(link)
Bullets. What manner of creature besides a wearh could grimace at theology but dismiss bullet wounds? And... besides one other. The thought proves it's possible to be a cup filled with competing emotions; he trembles on the edge of curiosity even as guilt blooms like a bruise under his skin.

"If there's scripture to study and sermons to attend to put us on the desired path, I may have missed the announcement while unconscious on the ship." Calmly uttered, it's only a little caustic. As someone who's only ever seen sticks instead of carrots, Kit nurses conflicted feelings over the overarching mystery of their being here and what is required of them to stay or go. "I don't know. I used to believe if a god existed to judge the color of my soul, it would be the one they shaded it at birth."

Black. A daemon's color, through and through.

He pauses before continuing. Water splashes softly as he shifts, turning to face his lounging companion more fully. "An answer for an answer, then? I'll tell you, and you tell me how you soak away bullet holes."
unkindled_madness: (arms folded)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-07-04 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Dragons are... extinct, on Earth? [He's noticed it only seems to be faerie tales and significantly older historical accounts that mention them.]

The kind that opposes the Ancient. [Surely they can't all be so easy with their island being used, can they?]

And I've told you, it's Sephiroth.
neverwither: (You can tell me all your sins)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-07-04 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
What's it like there? That colourful description aside.

( Almost as entertained by the wisp as the kittens, and unquestionably entertained by their antics with the wisp, Chloe probably comes across as not listening. The watchful eye kept on the kittens doesn't mean Anders has completely lost her attention.

A glance in his direction to assure him of the fact her mind hasn't wandered off entirely into kitten-and-wisp land means she catches the grin. It in itself makes her grin back. Inwardly, she cringes. The why he can't imagine is an ugly truth and not one for this conversation. Or any conversation, for that matter.

Chloe waves a hand to playfully dismiss it. )


Oh, you really wouldn't want to know.

( The second time she feels that same cringe, she can't stop her expression darkening for a second. Yes, she would know quite a bit about someone finding another to start their revolution. It's enough to make her take pause. She does her best to pass it off as being overly thoughtful before finding the right tone again. )

You know, we could be going about this all wrong. Why not have the kittens be the face? Who would deny adorable little kitties? And those that would... Well, we'd know who should not be allowed into the glorious rebellion then.
bookerlesigh: (um)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-07-04 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)

Oh dear. He's gone and said something terrible - a mage doesn't seem too different than a templar, but Booker knows so little about both those things (at least in the light that Anders presents), that he's neither surprised, nor sure exactly where the offense is rooted.

"Sworn enemies?" he asks, hoping to find some clarity and maybe also redeem himself.

neverwither: (100% interest 100% of the time)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-07-04 06:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I never flatter. I only speak the plain and obvious truths that are in front of me.

( It's not exactly a lie. Chloe is always ready with a complimentary word but rarely are they empty. She could be the poster child for I Mean Well.

There's thoughtful nodding at the sex-on-the-beach remark. )


They could possibly be more fun. No sand in awkward places or very unfortunate encounters with a crab's pincers.

( This would be Chloe's attempt at A Joke. Her success rate in this area, as determined by herself, is... not high. But she tries. Sometimes. )

Michigan, that's correct.

( She takes one of the glasses and takes the liberty of clinking it against Saxsice's. )

Really? What's not to like about Idaho?
neverwither: (You can tell me all your sins)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-07-04 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
( Chloe isn't sure if he's aware he's holding her hand. She won't bring attention to it, lest she embarrass him. Or cause him to panic. Worry. She just keeps her hand steady in his own, allowing him to find whatever it is he may seek in the gesture. Maintaining her focus that way isn't an entirely selfless gesture. It's also a way to stave off the unwanted thoughts that callously pop into her mind.

Elijah has never held her hand. He has taken her hand, kissed her hand, but he has never held it in his own this way.

It's then that his fingers tighten around hers and she suddenly looks to him, like he might have read her mind. Then she looks back to the fish tank just as quickly. Re-centres herself. )


We've all done terrible things. You... The position you were put in was wholly unique. And unfair. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel how you feel but... I think it might be worth looking at what responsibility actually belongs to you.

( It's not to make excuses. It's that pawns in games far larger and beyond themselves can only make so much claim to their actions. Particularly when said pawns are programmed to be whatever piece they should be. And in Connor's case, it was all twisted and perverse. Not only was the rug pulled out from under him but those that did it had woven it in the first place.

Did Elijah have a hand in it? Did he know? Or was it all CyberLife?

An emergency exit. An emergency exit in programs. You never know...

Again she shoves it all aside. Time to stay in the here and now. Connor needs her.

She's needed. )


I can understand the confusion. Without wishing to add to it, I'd wonder if CyberLife's version of deviancy is the same? I know I don't know you very well but... if an outsider's perspective is any use, what I see in you seems real to me.
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-07-04 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Terrible, yes, but not unforgivable. Anders shrugs, leaning on the bars of his cell again. The frown remains, but the brief fire of his offense doesn't linger. Not like he would know, so no real reason to hold it against him.

"It's roughly the same relationship I'm sure you briefly shared with the men who threw you in that cage, over there. Only the accommodations at the Templars' hands are a lot less pleasant, and you never get out."
bookerlesigh: (hmm)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-07-04 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)

"Ah," Booker acknowledges; law and order, more perceived hierarchy than good and evil. It never sits well with him, to hear of entrapment and unsavory accommodations. He's been around enough to know that there's usually two sides to those stories, though he won't bring that up explicitly now.

"And what do mages do to Templars, when they get their hands on them?"

mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-07-04 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, it's not all bad. Even if it rains more often than not, and the fog's thicker than a stone wall and just as easy to see through. It's very green. And the trees that don't shamble about and attack anything that moves can be quite pretty.

[ There are few things Anders could claim to really like about Ferelden (most from simple lack of experience), but it has its nicer facets. Inoffensive, at least.

Of course, when she tells him he wouldn't want to know something, that makes him want to know it all the more. Especially when he was just kidding with that remark, to begin with, anyway. Especially when that dark cloud crosses over her cheery facade.

...But something tells him asking outright won't yield any answers. Not convincing ones, at any rate. So he follows the latter half of that thought, instead, twirling his fingers and sending the wisp rolling and bobbing the other side of the table. ]


You might be onto something, there. Whether one is fond of cats or not is always a solid test of character. Clearly, we both pass.

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