polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2022-01-02 12:44 pm

Got the morbs.

POLYMYTHOS: VICTORIA'S SECRET

VICTORIA'S SECRET


Ⅰ. ARRIVAL & THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The ferry pulls into port in the evening, when shadows are long and gas lamps burn through a veil of mist. Dozens of other ships are docked as well, with men unloading crates and boxes from their holds. Beyond the wet wood and lapping sound of the ocean, a city looms like a charcoal smudge on a purple sky. The air is smoggy and thick, and the river that flows from the sea into the city smells foul. Walk the cobbled streets and you will find that the city is crowded and filthy, but full of merchants, pubs, and theatres. Vast wealth and extreme poverty exist side by side.

In the center of the sprawling city is a temple with towering gothic spires and huge stained glass windows depicting all manner of beings that might be gods or angels or monsters. You could look for hours and still be finding new figures plucked straight from books of myth and religion. Inside, the main chamber has a grand vaulted ceiling, and dozens of pews line the aisle up to the altar, which is oddly anticlimactic compared to the lavish surroundings: just a plain stone table with a lit oil lamp in the centre. Two hallways branch off on either side of the room: one leads to private baths and a communal kitchen, the other to monastic style chambers with thin beds. Not the most comfortable place to stay, but it’ll do in a pinch!

Alternatively you can venture into the city and find yourself some other lodging - every Traveler has been supplied with some pocket money. Just be careful that it isn’t stolen by some street urchin. Travelers can also find an era-appropriate outfit that will fit them perfectly laid in the first sleeping chamber they visit.

Notes:
1. Unless this is your character’s first island, the High Temple and anything you may have stored there is off-limits this month.

2. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.

3. The city greatly resembles Victorian London, and the technology and general way of life is all of that era. Feel free to explore the city! These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.

4. Most food is safe to eat, and is consumable by non-human entities. Most. Some of it’s going to be pretty gross or cooked improperly, so be careful.

5. The people in the city are normal humans unless otherwise indicated. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.

6. Have fun!



Ⅱ. SEANCE
CW: grief, past trauma.
Perhaps you overhear talk of it at a pub, or maybe you’re handed a small card as you push your way through the crowded city streets. Maybe you just wander in by accident. However it happens, you find yourself being ushered into the parlour of one Miss Mary Price: Spiritualist.

You and several other people are instructed to sit at a round table in a very dark and musty room. The walls are covered in thick black curtains, and maybe you’re the type to suspect that there’s someone hiding behind them somewhere. Once everyone is seated, Mary Price herself enters the room. The lights are all extinguished save for a single candle.

Mary calls out to the spirits. They communicate through a series of knocks, or the movement of a Ouija board. Someone at the table is put in contact with a deceased aunt who reveals the location of a family heirloom. Someone else is able to say goodbye to a son.

Mary Price looks at you with eyes so dark they look black, and asks, “What haunts you?”

Maybe you answer honestly. Maybe you don’t answer at all, but that doesn’t matter because the spirit tapping around the room is more than happy to narc on you and tell the whole room what or who it is that you cannot forget.

You can deny it all you like, but the spirits don’t have a reason to lie. And if you try to mess up the seance, you will spend a month being hounded by an angry poltergeist.

Notes:
1. The spirit can communicate through knocks, the Ouija, actually vocalising through the medium, or via ectoplasm.

2. What haunts your character does not have to be the memory of a dead person. It can be an event - maybe they’ve never gotten over losing that science fair in grade three. It is the feeling of being haunted that is important.

3. If you choose to trash the seance, the spirit will follow you for the rest of the month. It can range from annoying to actually dangerous.



Ⅲ. THE RIPPER
CW: murder, gore, violence.
You’re lost at night. Maybe you were in the pub too late, or maybe you were searching for more illicit fun - weren’t there opium dens around this time? - or maybe you just weren’t keeping an eye on the time. However it happened, you’re on the streets in the dark.

It’s very foggy; you can barely see a foot in front of you. The streetlamps look like dimly burning ghosts and when the odd person passes you they are felt more than seen, just a darker shadow in a world of shifting shades.

Very suddenly you hear a scream - short, and swallowed up quickly by the fog. Still, it’s enough to get you to turn and hurry down a narrow alleyway.

Sprawled on the ground amid a lake of blood is a body. It’s immediately apparent that this person is probably beyond help - their throat has been slashed ear to ear. Your appearance was not expected, however, and you can see that you’ve startled the killer: they’re running down the alley in the opposite direction.

You have a few choices: you can chase the killer and attempt to catch them, you can try to help the victim, you can get the authorities, or you can just walk away.

What will you do?

Notes:
1. The inspiration for this prompt is Jack the Ripper but you do not have to use that case as a basis for your killer.

2. You can get as involved with this as you would like. You can have your character catch the killer in a chase, or form your very own detective squad and hunt them down that way.

3. Naturally, walking away from a potential serial killer might not be great for your Scrywatch grading!



Ⅳ. RESURRECTION MEN
CW: dead bodies, grave robbing.
You’re not entirely clear on how you agreed to this. Maybe it was a barroom bet gone wrong. Maybe you’re broke enough that you need money fast. Or maybe you want to help some wannabe medical students. However it happened, you’re in the cemetery.

And you’ve got a shovel.

Time to rob some graves! You’ve convinced yourself somehow that this isn’t morally reprehensible, and so you and your partner are just going to get down to business! What corpse should you unearth? You feel like a kid in a candy store!

The problem comes once you’ve unearthed the body because it seems terribly familiar. Which is… creepy. Creepier still when it starts talking.

Maybe it’s a family member, or an old friend. Maybe an ex partner. Whoever it is, they immediately start telling your fellow grave robber about some incident from your past that you just. Can’t. Let. Go. Of. And even if you whack it with a shovel it won’t stop. Bad corpse! BAD Corpse!

Which of course is exactly what you have to try and do if you want this chatty Cathy of a corpse to shut the hell up.

Notes:
1. If you do NOT let go of this past event, the corpse will follow you the rest of the night singing Henry the Eighth I am, I am.

Sometimes I can still hear his voice...


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

gravity_grrl: (shy)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-10 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
Roxy takes the offered handkerchief and presses it to her cheek where her blood immediately stains it, she coughs a few more times but then is able to pull in a full lungful of air and she gives Malcolm a grateful smile.

"Thank you." She says, her voice is hoarse and strained and she leans against Malcolm with a little groan.

"Some superhero huhn? I couldn't catch a killer and almost turned into his next victim."
prodigalmess: (thinking 2)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-11 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
"It's okay," he says. "It happens sometimes. I've had killers get the best of me too."

Malcolm carefully helps Roxy to her feet. "Can I see the cut?" he asks. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Not that he's a doctor, but he wants to take a look at how deep it is. She might need medical attention. Victorian medical attention must be a blast.
gravity_grrl: (cutie)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-11 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
With Malcolm's help she's able to stand, tripping a little on her long purple dress before finding her footing. She swears, very unlike a Victorian lady, and clings to his arm.

"He just got my cheek," she says, her eyes flickering to his and holding them. "Thanks to you."

She tilts her head towards the light so he can better see the wound, wincing a little as the movement hurts her throat.

"Is it bad?"
prodigalmess: (thinking)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-13 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
Her purple eyes are always so striking, and they hold Malcolm's for a moment before he inspects the wound on her cheek. He hums in his throat.

"I'm not a doctor, so we might want to have one look at it in case you need stitches," Malcolm says. "Do you know if any of the Travelers have medical experience?"

Going to a Victorian hospital probably means stitches without painkillers, though he's not sure if a Traveler doctor would have painkillers either.

"Or magic, maybe?"
gravity_grrl: (closeup)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-13 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
She smiles at the little noise he makes because he sounds so thoughtful about her wound and dabs at her cheek with his handkerchief once he's done inspecting it.

"Carter can probably fix it, he was training to be a nurse before he came here." She says and then sighs, "I just hope it doesn't leave a scar. Scars are supposed to be sexy on guys but I dunno how they fare on women..."

Then again her boyfriend is Deadpool who is literally covered head to toe in scars so...it might not be too bad.

"Would you mind walking me back to the temple?" She asks a bit sheepishly, "Normally I would just fly back but this damn dress makes it a bit harder to do so."
Edited 2022-01-13 01:34 (UTC)
prodigalmess: (smile 4)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-16 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
He has some limited medical knowledge, mostly what he learned from his father when Malcolm wanted to be just like him. All of that ended when his father went to prison, so any medical education stopped at around age ten. The rest he's learned from studying bodies at crime scenes. Roxy's cut obviously doesn't look fatal, but it might be deeper than it looks.

"He might be better than a Victorian doctor then," Malcolm says. "And I'm all for scar equality."

He offers her his arm as they walk out of the alley. Malcolm still wants to catch whoever did this to her, but first it's important to get her back to the temple safely. "Do you fly fly or just float?" he asks.
gravity_grrl: (grin)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-16 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
She giggles, taking his arm like a proper Victorian lady. "Scar equality, I like that."

"And technically I guess it's floating but I can control the speed so it basically feels like flying." She explains and then looks up at him with a grin. "Did you wanna try it when we get back to the Temple? I can ditch this dress and take you up with me if you want."
prodigalmess: (uhhh 2)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-18 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
"Uhhhh..." It's not that Malcolm's particularly afraid of heights, but the idea of flying is a bit anxiety producing for him. Being out of control is not a sensation that he particularly enjoys.

"We should... probably make sure your cheek is okay, first? Plus, if you don't mind, I want to ask you some questions about the man that did this. It will help for when I'm trying to track him down later."

Perhaps flying will help take her mind off of the situation though.
gravity_grrl: (excited)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-18 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
Roxy hugs his arm tighter against her chest, pulling him closer a well as she laughs at the obvious discomfort on his face. "Okay okay, injuries first but then I'm totally going to take you up. I promise to go slow, it will be like riding in a glass elevator. You'll love it!"

Which means you probably won't Malcolm but when Roxy gets an idea into her head it's hard to tell her no....

"Wait, what? You're going to try and track him down? Alone??" She asks, looking at him with concern.
prodigalmess: (smile 2)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-20 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
He laughs and shakes his head at her insistence. "Okay, okay, fine." Malcolm does at least trust Roxy. She wouldn't intentionally try to hurt him.

"Probably," he replies. "I track people like that alone all the time at home."

Is it a good idea that he does that? Probably not. But Malcolm has his own methods and ways. Sometimes the other cops that he works with don't understand him. It's not as if any of them here know him anyway. It's hard for Malcolm to trust them.
gravity_grrl: (cutie)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-20 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Great! It will be so cool to get up real high and if you start to get scared I can put us down on a rooftop or ledge." She says excitedly, hugging his arm. "But you won't get scared, you'll like it. I promise. It's a rush!"

His explanation of this being similar to his job back home doesn't exactly put her mind at ease and she continues to frown at him, "But you're not at home though. What if he isn't just a serial killer? What if he's like...I dunno, part robot or something? You never know with this place."

She looks thoughtful for a second and then nods to herself, "I'll just have to come with you. Be your back-up."
prodigalmess: (what? 3)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-23 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Wait, you want to fly outside?" he asks. Somehow that seems more frightening than just doing it around the rooms and halls of the temple. It's not that Malcolm is particularly afraid of heights, but he might change his mind once he's up there.

He's about to reassure her that he can handle himself, despite any extra properties that this killer might have. He's aware that he's taking on a risk here, but killers are what he knows best. Then she requests to come with him.

"It's dangerous," Malcolm says. "He already attacked you once. What if he sees you and comes after you again?"
gravity_grrl: (closeup)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-23 07:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Of course! There's no point in doing it inside, all you get to see is spots where people don't dust." She says with a laugh, "But outside! Oh Malcolm it's beautiful, it's like being so close to the stars that you can almost touch them!"

Is she gushing a little bit? Kind of, but she loves that aspect of her powers because it means she can get away up high where things don't hurt so much. She can escape to where it's quiet and beautiful, at least for just a little while.

When he mentions that it will be dangerous she raises an eyebrow at him, "If he attacks me again then he's going to learn what having his testicles weigh a hundred pounds is like."

"He only got the drop on me before because of this dress, which is really beautiful but you try doing hand to hand combat in a corset and then we can talk about danger...."
prodigalmess: (smile 6)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-26 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
He hums in his throat. Malcolm doesn't know why he has an uneasy feeling about flying, but he supposes that she's right about being outside for it. He's going to choose to trust her. Roxy wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt him.

"Is that a power you have too?" Malcolm asks, half teasing. "I'm sure that fighting in a corset isn't comfortable. Do you have any pants here? Maybe from the Mall?"
gravity_grrl: (sly)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-26 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
He's right in his assumption that she would never intentionally hurt him, despite her sometimes flippant attitude she is actually quite skilled with her powers and should she take him up with her his safety and comfort will be her top priority. She's got a big heart and when it comes to her friends she is extremely protective of them.

Part of that protectiveness is why she is being so stubborn about joining him to chase down the man who attacked her, and when he teases her she gives him a smile and nudges him playfully with her hip.

"Of course I've got pants, I bought a dozen or so outfits at the Mall so once I get changed this creep won't stand a chance with us tracking him down."
prodigalmess: (listening 4)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-28 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
His mind flashes back to the clothes in the shopping bag that Roxy showed him at the Mall. "Just, uh.. be selective so that you'll still blend in, you know?"

Aka don't pick a crop top and a pair of neon joggers, please. Not only will the killer probably be able to see them coming, she'll also really stand out to the locals. He'd rather her not get arrested for indecency or something equally ludicrous.
gravity_grrl: (closeup)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-28 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
Even if his warning is totally warranted she rolls her eyes dramatically at him as they reach the Temple and head up the steps and inside, "Well I didn't buy any street urchin outfits when I was at the mall so do you think some jeans and a sweater will suffice?"

She leads him down the one long hallway to her chambers where once inside she sighs and takes off the hat and gloves she had been wearing, she then turns her back to him and clears her throat.

"Uh...Malcom? Little help here?" She says and gestures to the million buttons that run down the back of her dress.
prodigalmess: (look up 2)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-30 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Depends on the sweater..." he says quietly. Malcolm feels like a Dad right now. If they were somewhere else, he wouldn't care what she wore, but here he wants to make sure she stays out of trouble. They might even throw her in a mental asylum. The authorities would need no pretense to do so.

Even though Malcolm followed her into her room, he hadn't really put two and two together that she was about to start undressing right at that moment. "Oh," he says, then moves behind her to help her undo the buttons. How did she get this on to begin with? The buttons are so small that he's having difficulty getting them open.
gravity_grrl: (cutie)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-30 07:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Roxy wriggles a little impatiently as he undoes all the buttons down the back of her dress and the second he's done she sighs and almost leaps out of the yards of purple fabric, which leaves her in a pair of bloomers, a corset and a pretty white lace bra.
She doesn't wait for his help on the corset though, just grabs the lacing and pulls at it. A second later she pulls off the corset and tosses it on her bed.]

Oh my gawwwwwd, that feels better!

[She exclaims and runs her hands over her stomach.]

My poor guts!! Look at this, I have imprint marks from the boning!

[She says as she points it out to Malcolm, oblivious as to how he might be feeling about hanging out with her while she's in her underwear.]
prodigalmess: (uhhh 2)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-02-01 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
Once he gets the buttons undone, Malcolm turns away in order to give her some privacy. When it dawns on him that he should probably just leave, she starts talking to him.

"Uh, yep." He gives her stomach the barest glance. "They're usually very tight. I'll wait for you in the hallway, okay?"
Edited 2022-02-01 00:35 (UTC)
gravity_grrl: (excited)

*snort laughs at that icon choice XD

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-02-02 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Also these bloomer things, they're so weird. Did you know that there's no crotch?? My vagina has been basically staring at the floor all day!"

She exclaims and starts to throw random items of clothing onto her bed, trying to find a suitable outfit. When he mentions waiting out in the hall she looks up, "Huhn? Oh sure. Yeah I'll be just a second."

It's a lot longer than a second but eventually Roxy comes out wearing a shockingly modest outfit which consists of a long wine colored tweed jacket over a black sweater, a pair of dark jeans and boots.

"Okay ready to go find bad guys!"
Edited 2022-02-02 05:48 (UTC)
prodigalmess: (listening 3)

he is awkward lol

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-02-07 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
Yep, didn't need that part about her vagina either. She's obviously very comfortable and that's good for her, but he is certainly not. Even if Roxy doesn't want privacy, he'd rather give it to her anyway.

She emerges wearing the most clothes he's seen her wear other than her Victorian outfit. It's dark outside. Maybe people will think she's a boy.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have someone look at your cheek first?" he asks. Malcolm's way more concerned when the injury belongs to someone else than when it belongs to him.
gravity_grrl: (sly)

It's adorable

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-02-07 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
One of the many things Malcolm's going to learn is that as one of Roxy's friends she'll have even less of a filter than normal so he's most likely going to wind up learning a lot of personal things about her. But hey, it's a small price to pay for having a friend who will always be loyal and loving towards him.

"Tsk. Fiiiiiiine." She whines and after a quick trip down to Carter's room where he checks, cleans and bandages the wound the pair exit the Temple.

"Okay! What do we do first? How do you track a serial killer?" She asks as she bounces down the street with him.
prodigalmess: (looking up)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-02-11 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
He'll have to get used to it. It doesn't help that he's kind of awkward when it comes to stuff revolving around sex. Malcolm always wants to try to be respectful of people's boundaries, even if Roxy's boundaries are kind of blurred.

Despite being the worst at taking care of himself, he's pleased when Roxy agrees to get the cut on her cheek looked at. Once she's patched up, the two of them head out into the night.

She's so enthusiastic. Malcolm wonders if this is how he comes off to Gil. "I think first we have to establish that he's a serial killer," Malcolm says. "He didn't kill you, though I don't doubt that he would have. What did he say to you?"
gravity_grrl: (ferreal)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-02-11 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
"Are you kidding? He's totally a serial killer, he had just killed a woman when I found him. Slashed her throat." She says, grimacing at the memory of the body she saw in the alley when she first spotted her attacker.

"And he said he was going to keep my eyes as a souvenir since they were pretty." She adds and then shudders a little bit because while she's used to getting compliments about her eyes that kind of takes it one step too far.

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