polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-05-01 03:00 pm

Destination: Carcosa

POLYMYTHOS: CARCOSA

Carcosa


Ⅰ. THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island's harbour is full of other ships, although not a single one of them seems to actually have a human being aboard. (You could certainly try to steal one, but doing so is an exercise in futility - you will find that even if you set off into the ocean you will wind up right back in the harbour again after spending a few hours lost in the fog.) Beyond the harbour is a glittering city of glass and gold. Curving arches and sharp geometric lines are the hallmarks of the architecture - an art deco paradise that whispers of decadence and hope for the future.

The people who crowd the streets wear suits and hats, drop-waist dresses and furs. Their faces are all blank smiles. It's the roaring twenties, darling, why do you look so concerned?

If it is your first experience of the Endless Isles, you have access to the High Temple. Should you wish, you may also seek out the island's own temple as well, which is located inside the city, in a district mostly forgotten by the residents. Don’t worry - your feet will carry you there.

The building is not large, and it is old and neglected. It has a domed ceiling, with panels of glass crisscrossed with metal painted gold curving upward. Whatever fine pattern may have formed there is lost to time; the glass at the centerpoint of the dome is gone, letting in the smell of the sea.

There are rooms equipped with beds spreading out like a spiderweb from the middle of the building. The temple proper is of course in the exact center, below the broken dome. In the middle of this circular room you will find dead branches gathered together to make a vaguely humanoid shape. This crude figure has been haphazardly painted yellow. A slab of concrete sits in front of it. There is not much to explore here; it is very quiet.

Either temple is a good place to simply rest, or meet some of your fellow Travelers. The High Temple of course has the Temple Chef and its usual Guardians, Flock, and Lantern.

The Island Temple has its own Guardians, which are small, pale humanoids with perfectly blank faces and small antlers like young deer. They will leave you alone unless you try to meddle with the central room. Doing so will result in one of them approaching you, and you will find yourself falling unconscious on the floor.



Ⅱ. THE MASQUERADE
Through happenstance, you find yourself in an enormous ballroom. Low couches are dotted everywhere, and a live band plays somewhere at the end of the massive space. A long bar takes up one side of the room, bottles sparkling under the light cast from the many cut-glass chandeliers hanging overhead. Champagne flows freely, and the scent of gin pervades the air.

All of the attendees are wearing masks.

You're dressed for the occasion, of course - you will find yourself wearing something reminiscent of 1920s America, with a small yellow sigil of some sort pinned to your breast. Ask any of the guests about it and they will tell you, "ah, it's a secret." You too, of course, are wearing a mask. You did not pick this mask, but if you look in the mirror hung over the bar you will find that it nonetheless hints at some aspect of your personality.

Which would be all well and good, except that you can't take the bloody thing off.

Moving around the ballroom, you will discover that a few other people also have the yellow sigil pinned to their clothing. It probably shouldn't surprise you that these people are all other Travelers, equally unable to take their mask off.

No, you can't unmask until you share something with your new-found friend: a secret. A REAL one, the sort you'd never speak aloud.

Of course, you can choose not to share. If you choose that route, however, you'll find that the mask is fusing with your skin. Leave it on past midnight when the cries of "UNMASK! UNMASK!" begin, and it will simply become your new face for the duration of the month.



Ⅲ. THE PLAY
Maybe parties aren't your style. No fear, there's plenty more to do and see in such a wondrous city. There's a theatre - the Meliora Grand as a matter of fact - and perhaps you're just the sort of person who would like to take in the arts.

The theatre has plush seats, and fabulous electric sconces lining the wall. Once you take your seat you'll find yourself looking at the stage, where a blood-red velvet curtain hangs. The theatre doesn't seem to fill up - indeed, it really seems that there's only you and one or two other people there. Curious.


The lights go down and the curtain is drawn open, revealing... well. Not much.

There are two chairs on the stage, a table between them. On the table lays a pallid face: a mask. Just a mask. Why not go on up and take a closer look?

Should you choose to touch the mask, you will feel a deep urge to speak to whoever else is in the theatre. You will, in fact, feel the desire to act out some sort of emotional trauma with them. Perhaps they suddenly look like your mother, your father, a lover who left you. Why don't you tell them how you really feel?

Naturally, you can both just sit in awkward silence instead. You'll be waiting until the morning to be let out, if that's the case.



Ⅳ. LOST CARCOSA
CW: the undead.
You find yourself walking along the beach at night. Along the shore the cloud-waves break, and black stars rise above you.

You can't quite pinpoint when you realise you are no longer alone. Maybe there is only one other person on the beach with you, or perhaps a few; you move as one down the expanse of sand until you realise there is something laying up ahead of you.

There is a heap of yellow cloth there, dry and tattered with age. It smells faintly of spices. Nestled among it is a jewel-encrusted human skull. Its empty sockets compel you to sit down in the cool, bone-white sand, to sit and speak to those around you about loss.

Everyone has lost something important to them. A person, a thing, a place, an aspect of the self. Something that's gone and you're never getting back. The skull grins endlessly, endlessly, encouraging you to speak about something you may not have laid to rest.

You can resist this compulsion. Maybe you were never good at sharing. Refuse the skull's silent request and you may continue down along the beach, or perhaps head back the way you came. As you walk, however, you will notice that there is a fog rolling in. It comes in off the sea/sky, obscuring the beach until you can barely see.

It's a terribly handy cover for the corpses that are shambling out of the surf. Wet, bloated, with eyes that glow a dim gold, they head for you silently. They wish to drag you back with them, into the depths. Better hope you can outrun or outfight them.

Bonus: What's that? You want a Carcosa playlist? You've got it, babes!


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

dothelokimotion: (Immortality is stupid)

( the masquerade )

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-03 08:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki glances down at his jacket absently. ]

A squiggle? Oh yes. It clashes with my mask.
catlady: (Default)

[personal profile] catlady 2021-05-03 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ good instincts on that one, selina also prefers it when people know to keep their nose out of other people's business and -- the most important thing here -- just leave her the fuck alone. she enjoys solitude, the cat who walked by herself, and if she wanted company she'd have it.

so she groans in response, louder than what is natural for her if only for dramatic effect as she turns back around in the direction of the other woman's voice. ]


Look, hon. I'm just minding my own business. I didn't see nothing, I didn't hear noth-- [ as if triggered by some secret code word or as if on cue, one dead thing becomes several and the sound of the water sloshing and the cries of the undead aren't quite so easy to ignore. selina's head whips around in the opposite direction. ] --ing. Oh, fuck me.

[ if she doesn't exactly seem surprised, it's probably the fact she's a little desensitized to zombies after that whole thing back in villa hermosa. she looks more annoyed than anything that these dudes are interrupting her peaceful little stroll, too. might as well get this over with. ]

I'd start running if I were you, Blondie.
spoilers: (close:  listen sweetie)

[personal profile] spoilers 2021-05-03 11:21 am (UTC)(link)
The hair always is a giveaway. Strangely, she never had that trouble as Mels. Ah, well, she does enjoy being one-of-a-kind. Unfortunately, the Doctor's only giveaway is the way they dress, and here, everyone is dressed the same.

The mask hardly gives her pause as the other woman approaches; she's tangled with worse. Assuming the masks actually mean anything at all. But those words...

"How do you...?"

She trails off, staring back at her from under the mask for a long moment before reaching out to wrap one hand around her arm, subtly pulling her closer.

"Doctor?"
neverrefuse: (pic#14504569)

[personal profile] neverrefuse 2021-05-03 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
"Of course I'm- oohh, wait. Regenerated." Somehow it had slipped the Doctor's mind that she looks entirely different than the last time she saw River. She grabs the bottom edge of the devil mask to pull it off and reveal her new face. Except it doesn't budge.

"Great. Masks fusing with faces. At least it ended well last time, all things considered." Her eyes dart around their immediate surroundings. It's only the people with mysterious yellow symbols that seem to be struggling to remove the masks.

The Doctor looks back at River, gives her a once over. "You look- nice dress." The mask thankfully conceals the way she blushes like a school girl while looking at her own wife.

She reaches into the pockets of her trousers, then grumbles. "Ah, empty pockets." That's right, her sonic was gone when she arrived here. So much for using it to break the seal between skin and mask.

"Thoughts?" She asks, looking at River.
unkindled_madness: (talking)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-03 01:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Why bother with jewelry? There must be something more valuable.

[He doesn't mean monetarily, but no, he's not suggesting she do something legitimate. It's not like they're staying here, after all, so there's not much point to a "gig." Accumulating tools or equipment, on the other hand... Maybe even information that lies behind locked doors? The city has such a shallow surface, there must be more going on.]
unkindled_madness: (talking)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-03 02:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sephiroth hesitates. Not because he has any concerns about committing a crime or even potentially being caught, but because of the unfamiliarity of such a casual partnership. Literally the only thing they know about one another is that neither of them knows how to sail.

But, what? Is there some harm in it? He may need allies at some point, and this is an opportunity to assess one.

He doesn't voice his agreement, just follows the man and proceeds ahead of him down the dock, towards whichever ship seems best hidden from a casual glance.]


...what's your name, anyway?
cryptsleeper: (i have an idea it's kind of a dick move)

1

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2021-05-03 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[Alucard has had a fair amount of time looking out at the city from the temple's main doors. Save from this tiny place that's tucked away from the celebrations and parties of everywhere else, the night vibrates with an unfamiliar and quite frankly, uncomfortable energy. He's used to a thriving night world, but not like this.

His hair is still damp from dealing with the beach corpses earlier, the briny sea harder to wash out than he likes. He likes the center of the temple less, and he gives it a fair berth.

But someone's looking up at the ceiling, and Alucard can't help but pause. Follow the gaze upwards.]


I can't tell if that center hole is intentional or not.
unkindled_madness: (arms folded)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-03 02:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not clear on the difference.

[Chosen, or found? But, maybe there's more random chance to the latter option.]

Unless you mean to say that we were taken because of some chance opportunity. There are certainly others in greater need of "redemption."

[There's definitely some contempt in that statement. There's no way this is about judgment.]
medeiun: ᴍᴀʟᴀɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ (pic#14830109)

cw: eye injury, blood, oh my god I'm crying

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-03 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
It all happens very quickly.

Maleficent, almost immediately realising what's happened (thanks to the person caught in her wing shouting and flailing all over the place) tries to turn towards them, hands lifted, attempting to move her wing backwards, but his frantic motions are tangling him up further, like an insect trapped in a spider's web.

"Calm yourself!" she finally barks, just in time to catch sight of the man peering out at her.

It takes a moment for the dark fey to register what she's seeing. A.... mask, composed of a human-looking face (not the first of those she's spotted tonight, albeit no less unnerving, catching her off-guard in a way she doesn't quite like). She's all ready to snarl at him for panicking and ruffling her fathers (literally, and she's probably lost a few in the scuffle), but then she sees the blood and that's.... not part of the mask, not some decoration. Her sharp senses can smell it, and her eyes cut to the clawtip responsible, the glint of wet blood upon it.

"You're injured." Her voice, though calm, is slightly strained. She lifts her hands towards him, lithe body turned his way; her hands are steady but she works quickly, trying to help extract him from the feathers he's gotten all caught in. She can try to heal him once he's out, though she is not sure how well her healing magic might work here.

"How are you not screaming in pain?"
spoilers: (close:  amused)

ii.

[personal profile] spoilers 2021-05-03 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ River's finally managed to remove her own mask at some point during the evening. Not an easy task for her either, to be sure. She won't dare chance putting the damn thing back on, but something compels her to hold onto it. So there she is, mask dangling in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other and looking really unfairly pleased with herself. ]

I'm afraid not.

[ She takes a sip of her champagne, tilting her head to the side, and has the grace to look mildly sympathetic. ]

If it makes you feel better, I could share another secret of my own, but you'd have no way of knowing if was telling the truth.

[ She probably wouldn't be. ]
medeiun: ᴍᴀʟᴀɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ (pic#14830174)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-03 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Despite her own enhanced senses, Maleficent cannot see through the fog, her sight almost completely stolen from her. She has to rely on other things — her sharp hearing, her sense of smell; she can practically taste the briny rot of the things for how strongly their scent is.

And here and there, flashes of those gold eyes as the things move around. Her own pair — gold too, outlined in green — could potentially make her a target as well for the way they glint inhumanly, only she isn't thinking of that at all. She's trying to reach the other person, to find them. There's a sudden splash and she whips her head that way, moving on foot for now. ]


No, it is the same, [ she calls back, loudly, the tension in her showing just slightly around the edges. Suddenly, one of the corpses lunges for her from the fog, and Maleficent immediately sends it flying backwards with a sweep of venomous green magic that burns bright, like fire. It isn't hard to keep them at bay like this, but Maleficent isn't sure how long her powers might last; this place seems to affect them. ]

Do you have any weapons? My magic may be temporary.
spoilers: (smile:  tolerant)

[personal profile] spoilers 2021-05-03 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Even though the mask doesn't allow her the full effect of the Doctor's reaction, River chuckles and strokes her thumb over her wife's wrist. Her wife. She hadn't been expecting another of those. And now she's particularly cursing the masks. If she could have kissed her in that moment, she would have.

At least some things never change, no matter how many faces the Doctor wears. And true to form, she's already moved on to the problem at hand.

"I've started to get a suspicion," she admits. "You aren't going to like it much more than I do."
medeiun: ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴛɪsᴛs (Default)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-03 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She is not unaccustomed to being stared at, and it was something she grew to use as a weapon. The fear in humans' eyes, the disgust, the horror: she took these things, made them useful to her. Let them stare, let them see her as a source of terror. She delighted in it, welcomed it. It gave her power over them. It was what they deserved.

Here, the stares are not.... afraid, not generally. They are mostly curious, and Maleficent is not so sure how to react to them. For the most part, she ignores them out of a lack of knowing how to otherwise respond: ironically, it is easier to be met with abhorrence. She knows how to react to that.

She catches sight of the man staring at her, eyes flicked upwards for a moment over her shoulder. He stands out in his own ways: very tall, with that long hair of his, an ethereal silver. She ignores him too, at first, taking her time until her shoes are properly off (and she just leaves them there in the middle of the floor, unconcerned with having much manners of her own). Maleficent gives her wings a bit of a stretch before they fold inwards again as she stands up straight. Finally, she turns towards the man, taking in the odd slit in his eyes. Interesting. ]


If you stare at them for a little longer, they do tricks. [ It's said with a curve of her red mouth: not playful, but sarcastic, cold, her eyes humourless. ]
spoilers: (smile:  warning)

The Temple

[personal profile] spoilers 2021-05-03 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
River is doing some exploring of her own, a little investigating here, a little scavenging there.

She's paused in one of the many bedrooms, wondering if they're solely kept for others like them. How many have gone before? How many will there be after? How often do they go about ripping people from their lives (and deaths) to send on this journey of self-discovery?

Glancing up as Jennifer enters, she smiles. "Don't worry. You aren't interrupting anything. Just having a look around."
cryptsleeper: (impale with great prejudice)

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2021-05-03 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's the same. Wonderful. Reassuring. Absolutely par for the course, but that last part is something Alucard can actually cling to. When has he ever not gotten into a fight where there have been numbers or something else working against him? A hoard of night creatures, Dracula himself, the odds are always stacked.

So he likes that part, almost as much as he likes that whoever this is, their eyes are just different enough to pick out from the eerie golds they're surrounded by. (Too bad he's not as lucky.)

Alucard's making a point of noise, aware that it'll attract more corpses but banking on the fact it'll get the other person involved here closer as well. The idea tracks, and the sudden burst of magic is more than enough for him to work with. The temporary illumination's enough for Alucard to count the number of corpses in the immediate vicinity (five) and the horizon (many.)]


Nothing that'll be useful for this many. [He took a hunting knife from the temple, as that is apparently a basic supply. What he really needs is a sword. Something ranged.]

If you're on borrowed time, then a retreat's going to give us a greater chance of survival. Can you cast that again as a means of illumination?
neverwither: (Srs Chloe)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-03 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Shaken out of the skull’s lure by the voice, Chloe blinks a couple of times. When exactly did the fog appear? How long has she been staring into those dark eye sockets? Her processing feels smothered in molasses for a moment, the words taking longer than they should to fully register.

“No. No, I think you’re right.” Scooping up the discarded high heels that sit beside her, the android gets herself to her feet. The beckoning bones make her glance back, but only for a second. Her gaze goes to the man, focusing on him so she doesn’t end up sitting herself right back down in the sand.

With the fog showing no signs of relenting, Chloe steps closer to him and offers a small smile. “That’s a useful trick,” she comments, nodding to the green light. What that light is and how it’s there are certainly a point of interest for her, but there are more pressing questions at the moment. “I’m not sure if it’s best to try and go back or to continue forward…”

The outline and movement visible through the fog, a figure ambles towards them. From the way they move, it isn’t hard to tell that something is wrong. Peering more intently through the mist, Chloe waves a hand so that the seemingly struggling, possibly injured, figure can find them.

“Hello? It’s alright, don’t worry, we can help you,” she assures the shambling shape. Even though her new companion didn’t sign up for Chloe conducting a search and rescue, she looks to him as if to say that of course they’re going to aid someone in need.
directrix: (distance:  unbelievable)

The Play

[personal profile] directrix 2021-05-03 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Magic senses magic. This place is full of it in a way that makes even Zelda uneasy. Mainly because she doesn't fully understand it and she has no control over it.

It whispers up from the stage of the theatre in the same way it whispers from the walls of the temples. She senses it, too, in the woman who speaks. And though Zelda has no reason to doubt her, she still stands to check the door herself. ]


I'm growing rather weary of these games.

[ She eyes the stage with a certain amount of hostility. It's no coincidence the mask has made its appearance now, as they've been sealed inside the room. What tricks does it have to play? Is it worth the price?

Finally, she glances back at her companion. ]


Shall one of us volunteer or do we settle in for the night?
neverrefuse: (pic#14504576)

[personal profile] neverrefuse 2021-05-03 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
She's aware of the things she should say in the moment...well, some of them anyway. But she figures they should solve their current dilemma first.

"What's your suspicion?" The Doctor turns her attention to examining the mask on River's face. She reaches out a hand to lightly trace a finger along the line of demarcation between skin and mask. It looks like it should hurt and yet for The Doctor, it's only an irritation. She assumes the same is true for River.
medeiun: ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴛɪsᴛs (Default)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-03 04:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Her mouth parts, revealing a true smile — indeed, coming from him, it is taken as compliment. "Delightfully dangerous. I quite like the sound of that."

She does; there is a certain pride in being dangerous; it is something she has used as a means of control and power over the scrambling humans that encountered her in the past. It does not hurt her heart in any way to be seen as a source of terror from them; she enjoyed it. The quake of a man's knees as he faced her, the way his fingers trembled with whatever crafted weapon was held in his hands. Sometimes they dropped their weapons, when they came across her, saw her. She enjoyed that.

Tonight there are no screaming humans running from Maleficent, but it is nice to hear that she looks dangerous all the same, and she lets Vlad see the pleasure in her smile. "Are you managing to enjoy yourself at this little social gathering we have been so compelled to attend?"
neverwither: (Shy Chloe)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-03 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah. The fleeting reaction is one Chloe has seen before. Not for some time now, but the memory remains sharp. The instinctive yet pointless smile forms yet again beneath the mask, and Chloe makes sure that it’s echoed in her voice. “I’m sorry, it’s quite a ghoulish mask, isn’t it? Certainly not my first choice.”

She almost comments on the stunning mask of the other, stopped by the fact that none of these masks seem to be of anyone’s choosing. What seems elegant to her might feel very different for the woman wearing it. Then there’s the rest of the woman’s attire, which is striking, to say the least. Since things are not off to the greatest start, now does not seem like a good time to be staring at or remarking on wings or headpieces or anything else.

“Oh, it’s an improper act or remark, or one that could be considered socially awkward,” the android chirps. “Not that I’m suggesting anyone here would actually be socially improper. It was just a silly thing to say, I suppose.”

There’s a slight shrug from her. She really isn’t much good at these things on her own. Her gaze drifts for a moment, looking for a man who isn’t there, before coming back to the golden eyes of the other.
medeiun: ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴛɪsᴛs (Default)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-03 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The hand upon her shoulder is met with a shift of her eyes that way, Maleficent unaccustomed to being touched by— well, anyone. Even for Aurora; physical gestures are still quite new between them, shy hugs and brushes of fingers against cheeks. Maleficent is not used to such things.

But she allows it, standing where she is and letting her eyes settle on the bartender that the other woman is addressing. A little gang-up of sorts is happening, and she's quite fine to stand alongside the blonde, assist her on her mission — but then suddenly she says the word Mal, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil™ looks suitably surprised, her usually cool features shifting into shock.

M a l.

The fey looks completely away from the man again, sharp eyes resting on her present company, the one who has just seemingly given her a petname out of the blue. Surely she misheard, sharp brows lifting. ]


What did you just refer to me as?
directrix: (positive:  didn't i say?)

II. Masquerade

[personal profile] directrix 2021-05-03 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
The mask Zelda's gotten saddled with likewise, thankfully, doesn't interfere with her ability to drink. It's simple, black, vintage. It suits her well enough, except that she hasn't been able to take the damn thing off. Between that and having already woken up in a strange place, apart from her family (already down another member), her mood is bordering on dark.

Most people here look the same to her. If she's honest, most mortals look the same to her when she's having a bad day. But they've met at the bar, a drinks tray, and in passing between multiple times this evening.

"Not keen on a party?" she finally asks.
directrix: (side:  listening)

[personal profile] directrix 2021-05-03 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Not, I think.

[ Best she can tell it's a product of abandonment and neglect. She could be wrong, of course. ]

Maybe broken. Maybe stolen.

[ She glances at the guardians and reconsiders that last option. ]
spoilers: (distance:  explanation)

[personal profile] spoilers 2021-05-03 05:16 pm (UTC)(link)
River allows her examination, her curiosity, angling her head to make it easier for her.

"It's fine, Sweetie," she murmurs, almost in answer to the unasked question.

It doesn't hurt. It doesn't particularly bother her at all aside from the fact it's covering the majority of her face and she has no way of removing it. She's dealt with much worse.

"Secrets. Uncover your secrets, uncover your face. In a manner of speaking."
ungodlily: (ᴀ ᴍᴏɴsᴛᴇʀ ɪɴ ʜᴇʀ ᴇʏᴇs)

II

[personal profile] ungodlily 2021-05-03 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Sharon always thought she wanted to go to one of these things, get dressed up, pretend she was normal for an hour or two, but now that she was here she found herself sticking to the edges of the room. Observing instead of participating, picking at her mask with irritation and keeping an eye on those with the yellow pins like her.

Victor happens to catch her eye. His mask was interesting but it's the way he appears as uncomfortable as she does that really draws her attention. She approaches with only minor hesitancy and responds to his grumble with a sighing, "Yeah, that's what they keep saying. It's kind of annoying, to be honest."

It's clear she hasn't figured out the answer to the puzzle yet.