polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-10-01 03:00 pm

👻🎃🤡

POLYMYTHOS: THE CARNIVAL

THE CARNIVAL


Ⅰ. THE TEMPLES
There's a subtle shift in the music you will hear drifting on the wind this month - gone is the calliope that screams just a little too loud, replaced instead by circus music that sounds cheerful and bright. The thrill rides are still undercut by rock music, but it seems less sinister. Any time you venture out, you'll find the people milling about are smiling, and none of those smiles seem like screams turned upside down.

The Caravan Temple remains - dozens of old wooden circus trailers, arranged in a circle, growing tighter together the closer to the center you walk. The trailers are functional living places, with built in beds - sometimes one, sometimes two - and a small table and an old wood burning stove with a cooking top just big enough to boil a kettle on. There’s a toilet, but if you want a shower you’ll have to go outside and find a tent set up at the outskirts of the makeshift trailer park where there are tent showers set up, locker room style.

The clearing in the middle of the parked caravan is completely empty except for a solitary midway game: a towering high striker. It must be at least twenty feet tall, surmounted by a round, red bell. A wooden mallet is leaned against a sign next to the game that reads, predictably, TEST YOUR STRENGTH.

Access to the High Temple is also available to all Travelers this month.

Notes:
1. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.

2. These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.

3. Your character will revert to their true age if they were affected by the carousel last month.

4. The Test your Strength game can be played by anyone. How well your character does is entirely up to you, but the game does not necessarily measure physical strength.

5. These residents of the island are normal humans. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.

6. Have fun!



Ⅱ. CONCERT AND CANDY
CW: alcohol and drug use, sax music.
It wouldn't be a carnival if you didn't eat like a garbage disposal.

There's corndogs, deep fried mars bars, popcorn, donuts, funnel cakes, cheese fries, lemonade, burgers... Go on. Eat like you have a personal vendetta against your gastrointestinal tract. And of course you ought to help yourself to some cotton candy, because what's a fair without cotton candy?

There's pink and there's blue. Whichever colour you choose, you'll find that you start to feel a little funny after you eat it.

The pink cotton candy will fill you with a sense of pleasant euphoria. You'll find it easier to talk to people, and you'll find them just so much more pleasant than usual. You'll be empathetic, and just filled with love for life. You might even want to hug people, even if you're not usually the touchy feely type. You just feel so good.

The blue cotton candy will also make you feel good, but it's more mellow than the pink - you don't want to run around hugging people so much as you want to just chill out somewhere. You'll feel very relaxed, very open to talking to others about deep subjects like whether or not Kubrick really did fake the moon landing, man. Everything seems just a little more amusing, a little easier to handle.

To make things even better, there are outdoor concerts at night. No matter what band is on stage, you find yourself really enjoying it, even if the music isn’t usually your thing. There are kegs of beer set up around the edges of the concert area and you’re free to help yourself.

All that cotton candy and cheap beer might impair your judgement a little. Maybe... enough to get a tattoo? Calm down, they’re temporary. There’s a stand called Pirate Pete’s on the midway not far from the concert where a guy dressed as a pirate - Pete, presumably - will be happy to draw whatever you want on your choice of body part.

Whatever you wind up getting, you’ll find that whenever you or someone else touches it you’ll experience a vision of a memory associated with the imagery of your tattoo. So if you get a snarling wolf, you might experience a memory of a time you treated someone savagely. If you get ‘Mom’ in a heart, maybe you and whoever else happens to brush against it will see a memory of your dear old mother. Gosh, this could get revealing or embarrassing fast!

Fucking Pete.

Notes:
1. Any food found on the midway is consumable by non-human entities. The cotton candy will likewise affect anyone who is not human.

2. I still believe.

3. The memory can be one that your character has repressed or forgotten.



Ⅲ. TUNNEL OF LOVE
CW: potentially sexual content
Maybe it's the cotton candy, or maybe you're just really captivated by the swan boats, but you find yourself drawn to one of the cheesiest rides in the place: the Tunnel of Love.

You can't ride alone, of course - this is the sort of thing meant for two! The guy running the ride ushers one of your fellow travelers on with you, then wolf-whistles, imitates a cat noise and a bed squeaking, then purrs, pants, barks, howls, twiddle his lips and says. “Hubba hubba!”

He ignores you when you glare at him.

The inside of the tunnel is surprisingly pleasant - it does not, as a matter of fact, smell of stale water or unmentionable bodily fluids. The water you're floating on is crisp and clear, like a real spring, and alongside either side of it are miniature rolling hills of what looks like real grass. The lights are low and pinkish, casting a soft glow over everything.

And they're playing one of your favourite songs on the speakers! Whatever that may be.

As you ride along, you'll start to think that your companion is just incredibly witty and intelligent and good looking. These feelings may be sexual or romantic, or they may be perfectly platonic - the result either way is that you really, really think this person is just the absolute greatest. You might find yourself telling them things you never would normally. Or doing things you might not otherwise…

Of course, the second you're off the ride you might find all of those fuzzy feelings depart. Better hope you didn't do anything TOO embarrassing.

Notes:
1. Only for characters of age havin the intercourse, please.

2. If your characters want to get naughty, they may discover that these swan boats have a little glove box containing condoms, lube and the like. You could also just fill the former up with water and throw them at that guy running the ride when it's over.



Ⅳ. HAUNTED HOUSE
CW: violence, blood
You might be on carnival island, but it’s still October. It’s time to get spooky! And what better way to do that than to take a ride through the haunted house?

A bearded fellow in half-assed clown makeup and an Uncle Sam costume loads you onto a small rail car with at least one other person. It rolls forward along the bumpy tracks into darkness. Not that it stays totally dark for long - sickly lights illuminate animatronics and mannequins posed alongside the track. There are foam cemeteries and giant rubber spiders galore.

As you move further and further into the attraction the better the decorations get. Those rubber spiders now look awfully real, and that bat that just dive bombed the car sure seemed legit.

Suddenly the car jerks to a halt. You peer around in the gloom, and then lights go up.

One bathes a coffin in red. Another illuminates a gravestone in green. The last is a facsimile of the moon itself, pale and silver.

Before you can do more than wonder what the heck is going on, one of these attractions splits open and a monster leaps toward you. A vampire, a ghost, or a werewolf respectively. If you’re quick you can get out of the way and run for the exit.

If you’re not?

The vampire’s teeth sink into your veins. The ghost’s cold hand wraps around your heart. The werewolf’s claws tear your flesh.

You’re lucky in that it doesn’t kill you; somehow you manage to get away and stumble outside, where you swiftly discover that the rest of your month is going to be pretty goddamn strange as you transform right then and there into whatever monster attacked you.

That’s right, for the month of October you may have to figure out a way to deal with cravings for flesh and blood, or how to get anything done when objects just fall right through your glowing hands.

You may be understandably upset about this. If you return to the Haunted House and accost the guy running it, he’ll tell you that the only way to break the curse is to admit to why you see yourself as that monstrous archetype. Now piss off, he ain’t got time for your jackassy questions.

Notes:
1. To return to their natural state, your character must reveal a personality trait or incident that would correspond to the monster they’ve turned into. For example, a person turned vampire might talk about how they feel they drain other people’s energy with their problems, or that they feel drained by other people’s. A ghost might not be able to let go of the past, and a werewolf might have anger issues. Interpret as you will!

2. The monsters can abide by any monster rules that you like. Is your vampire a Twilight vampire or a Dracula? It’s up to you!

3. The horror ride guy is weirdly impervious to harm.

4. All characters will return to normal at the end of October.

The kind of jams that last all night.


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne / Prodigy - From Marvel Comics (Boy So Confused (Question))

Tunnel of Something Alright

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-10-07 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
David needed to learn not to eat this damn pink cotton candy, and definitely not to get swept up in the flow of bodies which would force him into line for this ride. But there he was, settling in next to Hawks, already humming along in anticipation of the music he remembered.

"It's very nice," he promised with a nod. "Beautiful and soothing. Not disney at all."
nanban: (bright)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-10-08 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks just grins. The pink cotton candy hasn't really gotten to him at all prior to this, so he doesn't have much reason to think about it. And if it had, would he have learned? Probably not much! It's not like they've got a lot else to keep them occupied on this stupid carnival island, and it's nice to feel relaxed instead of tense. Who can blame a guy, right?

He doesn't really get the Disney reference so he lets that go. He's glad to see David, though, since a familiar face is probably easier to get along with than someone he's never met – more because of other people, not because of Hawks himself. Hawks's whole Thing is being chill and easy to get along with, after all.

"You been on this one already?"
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-10-08 04:36 am (UTC)(link)
Relaxed had been David's mood on the flower island, at least for the first month. But here? Well, he hadn't noticed that perhaps some of the food was actually bad for you in new and exciting ways. No, he was just enjoying the happiness he could not fight down.

"Yeah. The other night. I went for a walk after the music and ended up in a line and bam, on the ride. I was so nice."

He smiled to himself and shook his head.

"Made a fool of myself. Which is fine. Sometimes life is like that."
nanban: (haha yeah)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-10-14 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks raises one eyebrow at that answer. Well, hey, at least the ride is nice! Some other rides might not be all that nice, knowing these islands. He hasn't had terrible experiences for the most part, but there's always that chance, isn't there? This place definitely has the feeling like there's some sinister thing lurking somewhere.

Then again, what does he care right now? He doesn't know David well, but he feels like the company is good, and he feels pretty good. For the next however long, he doesn't have to worry about the island or anything. It's just a ride.

"Must have been pretty fun if you came back to do it again," he points out.
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-10-14 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Well, David had definitely heard about some people who were affected by the carousel getting turned into younger versions of themselves. So this was definitely better than that if it didn't make people young. Nothing could be as bad as that, right? That's the power of positive thinking and pink cotton candy.

"I honestly don't remember the trip itself very well. I was just really busy talking to the person I was with. And enjoying the music of course."
nanban: (enjoyment)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-10-25 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks recently heard about the carousel thing, too, and is glad to not have experienced it firsthand. If David came back to this ride for round two, it's probably at least fine, if not exciting. Even for Hawks, not everything needs to be exciting.

"The music is pretty nice," Hawks agrees. "Actually, so's the company. I'm glad it's you and not someone I don't know at all."

He offers an easy smile.
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-10-26 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Exciting was really overrated when you lived life as a mutant, or he supposed if you lived with with a quirk that made you popular. So maybe they could understand each other on that.

He smiled at being considered good company thought. That always made him feel good, knowing someone might consider his company worth while. Perhaps he was a bit too easy to please in that regard.

"You're definitely friendlier than the last person I rode with. I really appreciate that."
nanban: (enjoyment)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-10-27 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks is a high energy type of person and he likes excitement in doses, but he's been up front about his dream for the future: a world where heroes don't have to work so hard. He'd like to just relax once in awhile instead of going nonstop. And sometimes excitement just means a bunch of terrible things. He and David can definitely both relate to that.

He slides an arm around David's shoulders, not really thinking about whether he should or not. He's hardly touched anyone since he's been here, though, aside from maybe a handshake or something. Actually, he's been missing it, the easy contact he might have with a friend. Not touching people for long periods of time kind of sucks, doesn't it? And David is right there. It doesn't seem like a big deal to Hawks.

"Whoever that was is probably just repressed or something," he says, half-joking. "But I'll take that compliment."
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-10-27 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
Excitement, in David's book, often meant terrible things. Yes, he absolutely related. And a world where heroes wasn't needed would be the best world there could ever be. He could understand that desire.

What he didn't understand, and also didn't complain about, was the arm around his shoulder. That made him smile. David was a man that thrived on touches, and beyond a few poorly thought out ones, he'd mostly been seeking his physical contact from his two best friends here. This? This was wonderful, and he even leaned into it a bit.

"Sephiroth would very likely count as repressed in several ways by my analysis. But he seemed to relax a little sometimes. You? You seem like you could really let loose and even learn how to chill."
Edited 2021-10-27 05:54 (UTC)
nanban: (enjoyment)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-11-06 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Hawks is a fairly tactile person, though he doesn't spend much time touching people lately. Actually, when was the last time he actually touched someone? Wow, it's been way too long. This feels good, just to touch someone. Maybe better than he'd expected it would.

"You saying I don't already know how to chill? C'mon. I'm the chillest person the boat guy found."

That's not entirely true; Hawks isn't anywhere near as chill as he appears. But that's sort of his thing, his projected persona. He's a cool guy, okay! Underneath it, he's always paying attention, always thinking, but he doesn't let most people know that. He doesn't like lying, but having a public persona doesn't feel as much like lying as some of the things the Commission makes him do.
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-11-06 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Touch starvation, it got to them all sooner or later. And this? This was nice. David wasn't sighing contentedly, at all. It's fine. For a moment he lets himself close his eyes and bask in it all. Comfort was the touch of another person, provided they weren't rying to hurt you.

"I don't know, you seem to care about things a lot. Do you ever really chill?"

He really thought that with all that he'd learned about Hawks, the man was too used to being on all of the time. And that sucked.
nanban: (59)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-11-06 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Hawks shifts just a little, still there with his arm around David. Their legs touch. They don't have to, but that other point of contact is nice, too.

David's pretty perceptive to ask that. Does Hawks ever really chill, or is it just an act for fans, the press, the older heroes? He's not even entirely sure. Things back home have been pretty nonstop since the Nomu first showed up, so he's been constantly going. They all have.

And here, he's just not sure what to expect, so how can he turn off?

He shakes his head.

"I'm chill as hell right now," he answers, which isn't exactly answering the question. "Aren't you?"
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-11-06 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
The legs touch definitely has David scooting in a bit closer. This was friendly to him, because it was absolutely something he would do with Josh. Which he really needed to not think about very directly.

"I'm pretty chill," he answered, not pointing out that that was VERY evasive, Hawks. Quite evasive indeed. "To be more chill I'd need to be out on the ice. Though I guess that gets me to focus in a very different way."
nanban: (53)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-11-16 06:53 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks raises an eyebrow at the ice comment, but he's still just amused. This whole thing, the cheesy tunnel of love thing, the music, the cotton candy, it's a welcome change from some of the other feelings going around on these islands.

"Well, if you were that cold, guess I'd have to warm you up, huh?" It's the stupidest line and he knows it, but he's not even sorry.
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-11-16 07:06 am (UTC)(link)
What a line. What a horrid line that genuinely made him giddy, even beyond the cotton candy. There has been so very few cheesy pick up lines in his life that David actually appreciated them, strange as that was.

"And here's me wishing we had an ice rink at hand," he returned with a smile. "Just so I could have an excuse to be warmed."
nanban: (mild)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-11-22 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks isn't even the kind of guy who wants or needs lines like that; he just couldn't resist in the moment. It's the cotton candy, and the music, and the fact that maybe he just feels kind of lonely on these islands sometimes. People are shocked by his wings, by the whole hero thing. David came from a place where heroes were a Thing, so it's at least common ground.

"You can just pretend you're cold for a sec, whatever," Hawks says, "and let me kiss you." He might feel a way right now, but consent matters, okay!
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2021-11-22 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
David came from a place where heroes and spies and extreme speed and wings were a thing. He had a definite advantage of not being bothered by what he did know, and unlikely to be bothered by what he didn't.

"I am sort of chilled and find there isn't much quite so good as a kiss to warm me," he offered with a smile, and of course as permission. Even leans in to meet the guy part way.

What can he say, he's always a sucker for a kiss. Especially when there are weird circumstances. Truly one must wonder about his luck. Or maybe he just had a weird secondary mutant power.