Carcosa, pt. 2

[polymods]

✖ 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

Comments

[neverwither]

Oh, I don't mean in the fairytale terms of slipping on a shoe, finding your prince and blissfully adoring one another. I just meant... That it doesn't seem too much to find someone to be happy with. Even if it does take work. And hope.

[unkindled_madness]

[Slipping on a shoe...? Sephiroth glances down at the book he's holding, but Cinderella is in a different collection; he hasn't gotten to it yet.

It's clear he doesn't find what she's describing much more realistic though.]

So you're a romantic. I suppose most people are.

[neverwither]

( Chloe gives the smallest of shrugs. She is what she was made to be. There are moments like this, these unexpected moments, that remind her of that fact. Not that one ever truly forgets a fact like that. )

I think I probably am. But, if you don't mind me saying so, maybe there's a little bit of a romantic in you, since you brought up the husband and happily-ever-after.

( Though that could have been nothing more than him picking out the well-worn tropes of the genre. Still. It was the trope he decided to single out.

She did warn him about her reading too much into things.)

[unkindled_madness]

[That gets a laugh out of him, like she's said something especially funny.]

Hardly.

I appreciate the irreverance of the characters wedding immediately after the old man's murder, but it's no goal of mine.

[neverwither]

( Oh dear. She’s way, way off base here. But at least making someone laugh is a positive? Looking on the bright side and all. But an apology is still in order. )

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so presumptuous.

But yes, a lot of the tales can be really rather sinister.

[unkindled_madness]

[He waves his free hand dismissively. It is good to laugh sometimes.]

Never mind it. It's only natural to make some assumptions about a man reading faerie stories.

But I do prefer the sinister aspects.

[neverwither]

( She hadn't figured on fairytales being read specifically for their sinister aspects, despite the dark roots of many. It raises... some questions. )

Ah, you'll easily find plenty of those. Most of the tales are quite horrific, honestly. The original versions, that is. Have you read many others?

[unkindled_madness]

[What questions? He's an extremely well-adjusted person. Or at least mediocre, according to his bracelet.

He shakes his head.]

Not from Earth. I thought these collections would be a good start.

I suppose they don't count as original, in translation.

[neverwither]

Are you not from Earth yourself, if you don't mind me asking?

( Given the people she's met so far, it's not such a strange question to be asking. Or it doesn't feel so strange, anyway. And it's not as though Chloe is going to be winning any Most Average and Normal awards any time soon. )

I meant more as opposed to the sanitised versions rather than translated. A lot of the stories have been adapted several times, and usually those aspects are downplayed or removed completely.

[unkindled_madness]

I see. That's unfortunate.

And no, I'm not from Earth. I realize that puts me in the minority here.

[As if silver-haired giants are the norm where he comes from. But no one's questioned him about that yet.]

[neverwither]

It's usually a matter of marketability. A lot of those adaptions are intended for children so the gory details aren't really suitable.

( But she smiles pleasantly rather than seem like she's judging his opinion. Those who lean towards the darker sides of life aren't unknown to her. The creator she's spent her life with up until this point is hardly sunshine and rainbows.

But he never meant for her to look into the darkness. )

I don't think it really matters, quite honestly. From my experience so far, most seem to be... varied in their backgrounds.

( In other words, not to worry. Not that he sounds particularly bothered. Still, it's in her nature to offer reassurance. )

[unkindled_madness]

[His expression says that he's not convinced about that "unsuitable for children" part, but he's well aware he didn't have a normal childhood, and he prefers to keep any conversation far from it. He lets it drop.]

But you have some shared frame of reference. That has its advantages, especially in a city based on some part of it.

[He might be slightly bothered by it. He's playing catch-up here.]

[neverwither]

I'm sorry. I ramble on at times.

( After what strikes her as misstep after misstep, Chloe is keen to try and gain some more positive ground. Whatever issues her opinions and conversation may be stirring up is entirely her fault and she should be far more mindful. )

Yes, I suppose you do have a point there. If there's anything I can do to help, I'd be very happy to.

[unkindled_madness]

...what's your name, anyway?

[He's not asking to be polite. If she's been active on the network, he might know something about her already that could determine the usefulness of that offer.]

[neverwither]

Oh. Yes. I'm Chloe.

( She keeps getting wrapped up in conversation and neglecting to actually introduce herself. Dreadful manners. She was programmed to be better than this.

Then again, these days she isn't much of what she was programmed to be. )

And you? What's your name?

[unkindled_madness]

Sephiroth.

The 1920s are sometime in your past, I expect?

[There's no "nice to meet you," and he doesn't really need to ask. But it's probably best if he doesn't let on how much he's been observing the others. They might be less inclined to discuss things in public.]

[neverwither]

It's a lovely name.

( And one she can hone in on as having popped up on the network. It seems he isn't the only one who's been keeping tabs. )

They are. I'd be able to assist on more generalised Earth matters, and I can certainly try with those that are more specific to the era.

May I ask what your world is like?

[unkindled_madness]

[He blinks. Lovely? Okay.]

...I'll keep that in mind.

My world is... still populated by humans. So not so different in character, I think.

[neverwither]

( Chloe pauses a moment, trying to compose something of value to offer. )

I understand that lacking a touchstone can be disconcerting but I think a degree of unfamiliarity could be a benefit. Some not so versed in Earth may be able to notice things others wouldn't. Everyone coming at something from the same angle only creates a narrow view. Not to mention that there may be other forms of knowledge that could be equally, if not more, useful. Knowledge of magic, for example, given the island's rather... unique traits.

[unkindled_madness]

...

Are you trying to reassure me?

[Him, of all people? Is that what's happening here?]

[neverwither]

( Might as well be honest. )

...A little, yes. But that doesn't mean I'm pandering. I wouldn't aim to discourage learning more about our setting, or Earth in general, but I do think you could have a valuable perspective.

[unkindled_madness]

[A soft chuckle.]

Believe me, I'm aware of my own value. [No, he isn't.] It's only a matter of choosing to share any of it.

[neverwither]

Well. Yes. There is that. Though working for the common good benefits all, doesn't it?

( As if Chloe is someone to even remotely question or chastise anyone for being secretive and withholding. )

[unkindled_madness]

Is there such a thing? People have different needs, and different goals.

Many aren't interested in benefiting anyone else, much less everyone.

[neverwither]

It's true that you can't satisfy all of the people all of the time but I'm not sure if it serves as a reason to not try what could be the most beneficial for the most people.

I don't think people are that self-serving. Not generally.