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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

darkdetective: (pic#14860932)

[personal profile] darkdetective 2021-05-05 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ he's been in this game long enough to see some things, but that catches his attention. his eyebrow raises inquisitively. ]

Mysterious. Care to elaborate?
dothelokimotion: (The concept of transitioning)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-05 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki looks amused. ]

Oh? And what would you do with it?
unkindled_madness: (talking)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Buzzkill is an accurate assessment; there's a reason he doesn't get invited to parties and it's not just that he doesn't personally enjoy them.

He raises an eyebrow.]


And, what exactly is your master plan? Do you mean to work your way up to guilded statues?

[They're about the pinnacle of gaudy and tasteless, after all.]
unkindled_madness: (awkward)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Sephiroth blinks, caught off-guard by the question.]

Me?

I... suppose I'd be more inclined to find some place without people, rather than start a collection.

[Probably not very creative but might be nice to just fuck off to another dimension.]
grayshulk: (pic#12958692)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-05 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
"Excellent choice. Not that you got one. I assume?" Maybe they didn't have to drug and/or kidnap people who weren't likely to turn into a raging monster if too upset.

"That is a downside. The champagne looks good." Gin, too, but it's less visually appealing. "It will make things awkward if we can't figure out how to get them off."
incelligent: (36)

1

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-05 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
[That makes two of them. They are team book smart and common sense dumb.

Simon's head snaps in the direction of that familiar voice, as it is the one sound he's committed to memory in his short time here. He immediately makes his way on over to the other boy, the sharp, clean silhouette of his tuxedo contrasting with the ghoulish mask. His blond hair is down, for once, resting at a length just past his shoulders.

In a goofy, almost cartoonish manner, Simon puts both hands to his mouth, as if to emulate a microphone:
]

Pssst, hey! Akira, is that you?

[They are not friends, or at least, that is a phrase that has been repeated over and over. And yet, the literal demonchild is the only one Simon has met thus far who feels somewhat like home, but an imagined sense of it. Hollow at best, simply an illusion-]

It's me!

[the slimy fool]

Simon!

[But as we all know, Simon is pretty good at playing make-believe.]

Do you hate parties, too?
dothelokimotion: (Truth takes us to dangerous places)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-05 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
Is that all you want from power? To be alone?
grayshulk: (pic#12883328)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-05 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
She shrugs. "You don't normally correct yourself so much. Also, there's no way you'd give up the little symbol that looks like an abstract version of your mask for a yellow scribble."

And he clearly wants to keep the mask. Which doesn't bother her at all.

The struggle to drink around her mask, however, is increasingly getting on her nerves. Having a drink in hand does not help. "Smells like gin. Do you even feel it?" She's not being intentionally rude, just curious.
hostile_encounter: (61)

[personal profile] hostile_encounter 2021-05-05 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
"A person who used to matter to me. The chances you knew them is next to nothing." She takes that glass of gin and a good drink. "Also, who says I want to know about your weird little fetish?"
Edited 2021-05-05 02:53 (UTC)
unkindled_madness: (head in hand)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
[His first experiment killed the second, and he still wants to call it a success? Of course. Why wouldn't he? He decides the measurement, he can pick and choose which results he wants to attribute to his own genius. Certainly the opinion of each subject is irrelevant.

Sephiroth steps away with a low laugh. It's not a pleasant laugh, more like evidence of a momentary lapse in control over his own voice.]


You are a fool. No different from...

[He shakes his head.]

And yet, you expected retaliation. [Maybe this man doesn't think it justified. An unfair judgment from unscientific minds?]
unkindled_madness: (arms folded)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Don't knock his very simple desire that probably wouldn't make him happy anyway because he doesn't know what that feels like.]

...what would you do with it?
dothelokimotion: (This is the fear that looms)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-05 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ hmm. the answer lies in his heart. rebuild asgard. see thor again. reclaim his place. but no amount of power, not even infinity stones would change his fate. would change loki.

he gives a passable answer, not a lie, but not the whole truth. ]


Travel to other worlds. Explore. Learn. Why limit myself?
mrfuckwit: (( 15. ))

[personal profile] mrfuckwit 2021-05-05 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Just because they have a pact doesn’t mean that Akira is immensely keen on having any company. It is a little annoying that he doesn’t even bother to try and hide his minor irritation at being spoken to, his shoulders slouching and a small groan emitting from him. Though, the words coming out of his mouth next could indicate his groaning is from being asked about parties. ]

Yes. The last time I was at a party....

[ A shaky breath escapes him. ]

It didn’t go so well.

[ A lot of people died. And he was partially the cause. ]
what_fourth_wall: (Booze)

[personal profile] what_fourth_wall 2021-05-05 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
"It is the background on my phone..." He reaches into his pockets and searches for his phone, only to come up with...a pocket watch.

"Okay but...this might actually be so much better than my iPhone. Hey Siri, open Facebook." The pocket watch doesn't do that. "I think I'm in love..."

When she mentions gin, he looks up with a dazzling smile. "If it's Aviation gin, this party really does have style." Hey, he had to get into the Reynolds character a little, didn't he? "Wait, do you mean the face or the booze?"

Deadpool tosses back a whole glass of gin. "Because the answer to both is only briefly, while I'm thinking about it. But if the curse is good enough, I won't feel the mask at all if I can keep my secrets long enough."
unkindled_madness: (curiosity)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
I can see the appeal in that.

[You know, assuming most of the learning is done in libraries. Although, if he were going to live for centuries, he might come around on people eventually.]
mrfuckwit: (( 109. ))

[personal profile] mrfuckwit 2021-05-05 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ The long and silver hair screams tragic backstory villain, but Akira is slowly heading in that kind of direction, morally speaking, anyway. He exhales, speaking in pure teenage disgust. ]

It’s stupid. All of this is stupid. What does any of this have to do with redemption?

[ A scoff at his bracelet that glows an orange color. ]
mrfuckwit: (( 9. ))

[personal profile] mrfuckwit 2021-05-05 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ Akira is still bitter, even though its been a year since all of this crap has happened, and as disturbing as it all is, he’s never been one to shy away from anything dark like this... not since he met his demon host. His breath shakes, though, obviously a bit bothered. His expression is intense. ]

Yeah. I’m not scared to talk about it, but..
Humans are slowly becoming extinct where I am from.

[ He just doesn’t dodge around his trauma. Nope. ]
kyley_b: (RL_KB_1)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"It's not a fetish!" He looks absolutely horrified by the idea. "It was bately consensual!"

He debates getting a drink for himself. "And if I don't know them why should you care if I know? ...were you little?"
dothelokimotion: (You assume the story is about you)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-05 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki feels a little bad for him. his life is messy but he can't say he's never lived. he gets the feeling sephiroth hasn't really . . . done much. ]

Of course there is.

But it seems you've never given it much thought before.
kyley_b: https://fmdinisio.tumblr.com/ (yup)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
"I am aware of the fact that just because we disagree does not make me right," he says coolly. "I'm just SAYING the same is true for you."

He stretches his feet inside his shoes. "And you're not gonna look through my anything, dude."

He sighs and tips his head back. "Where are you from?"
unkindled_madness: (arms folded)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Shhh, he's still in his tragic backstory. He's not making any particular effort to hide his bracelet, so Akira might be able to catch that it's yellow. Sephiroth doesn't know what that's supposed to indicate yet.]

Absolutely nothing, I expect. I'd sooner take this to be some form of punishment.

[It's kind of a joke, but he definitely doesn't buy the redemption nonsense.]
hostile_encounter: (54)

[personal profile] hostile_encounter 2021-05-05 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Three glasses is a lot of pee." She looks extremely skeptical at him over the glass she is taking deliberately aggressive sips from. "It wasn't a dumb frat thing, was it?"

This is part of why she hates giving people personal details. "I was young, yes. And I don't tend to give parts of my past away."
incelligent: by Sani_Caranza on plurk (69)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-05 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah, there it is.

Simon looks down immediately when hearing the annoyance in Akira's voice. Getting angry is so easy for him, most times, but here and now, he can understand.
]

Oh.

[There is a soft peep that escapes the back of Simon's throat, a sound with a touch of remorse, something he hasn't felt in... God, when was the last time? He's not used to feeling anything quite so much, as empathizing with others has never been his strong suit.]

Well, that stinks.

[The words are oddly sincere, but for whom? If there's anyone Simon feels most sorry for, it's himself. He is alone without his dear friend or any powers, stranded in this mess of a place, branded with a color he feels he doesn't deserve.]

This must be hard for you.

[And yet the parameters have changed, the rules of his very existence are now reset, and while being cut free of the shackles of the Train has Simon freewheeling in metaphorical free fall...]

Would it help to talk about what happened?

[His dark heart, a disastrous, messed up little organ, with rot that's been fermenting for goodness knows how long, finally has a few vacancies.]

You don't have to if you don't wanna.
unkindled_madness: (eyeroll)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-05 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[He's done a lot of fighting and not much else, it's true. But, he's only 25. Plenty of time left, right...?]

Considering I, as a human, don't actually have the ability to traverse dimensions-- no, I haven't given it much thought.
quire: (daydreaming)

[personal profile] quire 2021-05-05 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
"No shit, Nancy Drew. But one of us has about 7.674 billion sources to draw from on this planet alone. Whereas the other can't step out of his own head. So do you think maybe that kind of data might get one a LITTLE closer to some objective median reality that we could call 'THE TRUTH.'" Finger quotes and everything from the angry little Carl Sagan fanboy.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it if I wanted to?"

"Krakoa," he says. There's probably some stops he should have included in there, but fuck it. He's left those behind now. "You?"