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

sketchbookings: (098)

Benedict Bridgerton ✦ Bridgerton ✦ OTA

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-05 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
✦ i. the temple

[ It's a strange city, to be sure. Far stranger than London, certainly not even remotely class to Mayfair or the crowded streets of the city proper (not that Benedict's ever full experienced the city proper). But the streets here are crowded. The people who walk them unnerve Benedict. He can look past their strange manner of dress, which seems to suit their surroundings, but he can't ignore the blankness in their gaze.

Benedict just tries not to make eye contact.

It's not hard, at least. He's never seen buildings built this way, or this much fine glass outside of churches and grand halls. Perhaps in his gawking, he accidentally bumps into you.

Otherwise, his feet just seem to naturally carry him until he finds himself at the island's temple. He looks around, taking note of the beds. Benedict hopes he won't have to find himself here for the night, but with little idea of where else to go, it's worth knowing that there's at least space here. Then he finds the peculiar figure of sticks.
]

Do you think it's some sort of ... Homage to a god?

[ He's not quite sure what else it might be. ]


✦ ii. the masquerade

[ Benedict never thought he'd find solace in a party. Lately, he's spent much of his time trying to avoid them, or at least leaving early, bored and uninspired by London's high society. But for all of that, a party is something he knows, and something he's spent much of his life learning the ropes of. Sure, the suit and mask aren't exactly what he'd pick for himself. The colours, at least, are reminiscent of some of his own clothes, so he accepts that it could have been much worse.

He does notice the pins, and the common thread amongst the wearers doesn't escape him, either.
]

One would assume that if one were to have anonymity, it'd be at a masquerade.

[ He says it to whoever might be near as he picks up a glass of champagne, referring to the pins that signal them out as travelers. ]


✦ iii. lost carcosa [cw: family death]

[ He's never seen a skull before. Why should he have? It's a ghastly sort of thing and Benedict hadn't realized it's the sort of thing one can be glad about until now. Though there is something beautiful, if not macabre, about a skull encrusted in jewels.

Regardless of how he feels about it, he can't quite take his eyes off it.

As Benedict looks at it, he presses his lips together. His face takes on a thoughtful expression as he works through what it is he's feeling. He's never been the sort to share. He barely shares with his family and here he is, wanting nothing more than to tell the first person who comes across him something that he barely speaks of at all.
]

My father passed away. Ten years ago, sometimes it feels as though it were yesterday and other times it seems a life time.


✦ iv. wildcard

Choose your own adventure! Any prompt is fair game, or hit him up on scrywatch, or feel free to contact me if you want to discuss something~
shove: (pic#12797432)

[personal profile] shove 2021-05-05 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
( honestly not the kind of answer he was really expecting, so thank you for that strange old man who apparently decided today was the day to throw attitude around. or maybe that's just his thing. fuck if jason knows.

he looks vaguely familiar, but jason can't place it. build a little off, definitely way too fucking young for the person jason semi kind of thinks he might look like. so he opts to completely ignore any resemblance and instead respond full force to what this guy's thrown at him.

sneers up at him before he's reaching a hand out to shove against his chest. )


You don't wanna fuck with me, I'm not in the mood.
kyley_b: (RL_KB_1)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle sighs. "I don't have a choice."

He smiles. "Yeah. And lucky in that not everybody hates you. They won't even know what you are!"

From the fog comes a loud splash.
kyley_b: https://burquillos.tumblr.com/ (ugggh)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle sighs. "Okay. So. There was this water park, and because everybody pissed in the pool like fucking degenerates the whole thing wound up causing like... a catastrophic tidal wave of piss. And they needed somebody to dive down to this release valve, and I could hold my breath the longest, but to be able to safely travel down into the depths without my body having to endure the effects of fluid pressure? They said I had to drink piss.

"So I drank the fucking piss."
darkdetective: (pic#14647575)

[personal profile] darkdetective 2021-05-05 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ the chest, he will find, is like pressing against a brick wall. a simple wrist lock could take the fight right out of the boy, but he was just a kid. no reason to escalate things unnecessarily, right??? sometimes kids like this just needed some attention. someone to acknowledge that they exist. he knew a few that were just like that. ]

I could tell from the fuss you were making back in the temple.
hostile_encounter: hollow-art.com (22)

[personal profile] hostile_encounter 2021-05-05 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Elenore appreciates the fact that Selina, in addition to being perfectly coifed and styled, isn't afraid to be pretty clear about her method of acquiring her jewelry. There's something to be admired about the other woman's adaptability and boldness.

Also, she's not immune to the lure of shiny things or the invitation to take an appreciative assessment of the necklace and the woman they decorate.]

The blue glass beads are beautiful, and I can't imagine the diamonds looking half so nice with the look I'm managing. If that's not being too bold?
shove: (pic#12910545)

[personal profile] shove 2021-05-05 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
( are you a fucking brick, dude. what are your muscles made out of, steel? do you eat nothing but fucking protein bars and muscle drinks? jesus. but it's difficult to justify actually trying to shove him over (could he even manage it? how much does this guy weigh? 270? 300? fuck. he'd have to manipulate his weight to throw him. he knows how, he's learned) when the guy isn't even fighting back. he's just standing there. being a huge asshole. )

Are you stalking me?

( clearly this is the only reasonable answer here. what else would it be, them going to the same places at the same time? what are the chances of that? )
darkdetective: (pic#14867969)

temple

[personal profile] darkdetective 2021-05-05 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
They serve food here, and you're wondering about eating the things wandering around the temple?

[ he's in the middle of cinching a length of long, corded rope to his pack when she speaks. while he doesn't stop initially, he does glance up to make a final point. ]

Besides, haven't you noticed the strange way their shadows move?
darkdetective: (pic#14867993)

[personal profile] darkdetective 2021-05-05 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ dryly: ]

No, you're just very loud.
shove: (i was found in a bed of liars.)

[personal profile] shove 2021-05-05 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
And you're a real gem.

( and still not giving him enough to actually go off of here. he can't hit him for no reason. he can't start shit when he doesn't have a good reason to. that's just rude.

or. well. he is rude and everyone thinks he's horrible so he may as well lean into it and start stupid shit. like fighting with a six foot tank. sounds like a reasonable way to spend his already no-good day.

so jason. does as jason todd does. slides a foot back a bit. braces his weight. and swings a fist forward to try and slam it into this guy's face. )
extrasensory_problems: (cute curious)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-05 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
He shakes his head, and gestures at the suit. "Nope no choice. Not that I mind really, I kind of prefer this over those weird robes we had."

"I've seen a few people without masks in here." He mentions, pointing towards the swirling crowd. "And some of those have the same weird watches we do so there has to be some sort of trick to getting them to come off."

"Maybe it's a magic word or something to do with this yellow mark?"
extrasensory_problems: (over shoulder)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-05 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
Carter grins, starting to make a joke and then pauses when he hears the splash.

"Did you..." He says and then stops, peering out at the ocean which is now hidden under a blanket of fog.

"Did you just hear a big fish or something?"
darkdetective: (pic#14647580)

[personal profile] darkdetective 2021-05-05 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ it's an easy enough punch to catch, but he at least recognizes that the kid knows how to throw one. bruce can feel the blood rush to his palm, like catching a baseball without a mitt, and thinks if he didn't know any better, this kid could probably back up that smart mouth of his against most people. ]

You telegraphed that on purpose. You really are trying to pick a fight, aren't you?
kyley_b: https://twitter.com/dachacha052/ (hit you)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
"I can step out of my own head! It just requires a little bit more effort. Which I don't mind." He folds his arms across his chest. "We can never achieve perfect objectivity and you know it."

Kyle glares at Quentin for a while. Eventually he says, "I don't think I could stop you. I don't have superpowers. But you sure as hell don't look like you can throw a punch. So if you ever take over my body without my permission? I promise you this: I will smash your fuckin' teeth in."

Kyle frowns, clearly never having heard of it before. "Where's that? Oh. Uhm. South Park, Colorado."
queenking: ([neutral] explain you a thing)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-05 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
I dunno, he might have the right idea. [She says it grimly, settling with her elbows resting on her knees, giving the skull a sideways grimace. The compulsion to say things rises up suddenly in her chest, but that's also Saxsice's default setting, so she doesn't think too much of it.

At the question, she looks around at the beach with an expression that suggests no, no she does not.
] Buddy, I'm not even sure how I got on this island to begin with. Don't remember signin' up for any free cruises. [She holds out a hand for the bottle, expectantly.]
queenking: ([neutral] ...anyways)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-05 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
[And, nosy as she is, she hops up and comes to meet him, blinking a couple times as he steps into the light.] Woah. Nice hair.

Whatcha lookin' for?
queenking: ([neutral] ew no why)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-05 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were a monk expert." This is why she doesn't have any friends.

Saxsice waves her hands around vaguely, then lets them drop back to rest on her stomach. "Entity, guidin' force, sentient bein'. The mythology of it all gets kinda fuzzy, but supposedly the moon gave us our gifts and powers ages ago, and we must honor her bounty. Or some shit like that."
kyley_b: (gross)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle shrugs slowly, backing up a little. "I dunno, his stunt double?"

Too bad for Wade; Kyle isn't allowed to be that meta. He also has not ascended to an elevated plane of existence since he was ten. But he might sing you the Imaginationland song some day.

He scowls, because as nuts as Ryan Reynolds might be, nobody is using him as a club. The expression twists a moment later because my GOD that poor little shark. And who in the hell is Threshy?!

One thing at a time.

"You are NOT using me as a weapon," Kyle says firmly. "Why don't you just use your own fists? Or a big rock or something?"
queenking: ([neutral] puppy dog eyes)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-05 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
Saxsice grimaces, both hands coming to grip the back of the seat as she gives him a thoughtful once-over. It's easier to see, this close, and she wonders privately about the sunglasses -- red-tinted is a bold fashion choice, especially in a darkened theater. But despite her overwhelming social clumsiness, she's wise enough to keep her questions to herself. For the moment.

Instead she frowns, resting her chin on her hands. "You think we're here to learn somethin'?" She sounds both skeptical and anxious. "That's a lotta pressure. What if I don't wanna learn anythin'?"
queenking: ([up] scarlett o'hara vibes)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-05 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
[Saxsice groans, flopping down onto her back, bread forgotten in one hand.] A sushi-noodle-pizza. I'd roll it up like a big burrito and eat the whole damn thing.
shove: (Default)

[personal profile] shove 2021-05-05 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
( even his goddamn hands feel like they're made of steel. what the fuck is wrong with this guy. is he on something? steroids? damn.

but jason doesn't linger on that, because now he's got his fist pressed against the palm of his hand. he's within arm's reach, and stuck in it. a dangerous place to be with someone built like a rock. )


I didn't telegraph shit.

( not intentionally. don't talk to him. he could have hid it if he wanted to he just obviously fucked up. and this time when he shifts his weight it's near instantaneous. weight resting on one leg, free hand moving up to grab onto the wrist of the hand that's already moved out to block his fist. opposite leg moving up to try and shove his foot straight into bruce's jaw. )
fissure: little-luna @ hollow-art (Default)

[personal profile] fissure 2021-05-05 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
A sting of envy pings around in Prior's chest at Kyle's admission and he silently laments what going back would mean to him. He could imagine himself kicking rocks up the lane, a macabre, stoic, intelligent, unfortunate child, eternally alone. Except he wasn't. He'd had friends. It's disingenuous to assert otherwise, even if he does particularly enjoy painting his life in ill-fitting colors.

He glances over at Kyle and nods before crouching in front of the skull. Prior puffs are his cigarette and then takes the burning butt, turning it in his fingers and then reaching out to wedge it between the teeth.

"At least we're not entirely alone now," he notes, although he seems to be gesturing to the smoking skull as if it's the company they're keeping.
queenking: ([neutral] internal screaming)

II the masquerade

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-05 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, we match. [It's a cheerful comment, that doesn't in the least belie the fact that Saxsice is beginning to feel a little panicked about her own mask, and how tight it's beginning to feel. She swivels in her seat, sloshing a little champagne from the overfull glass she's holding and giving the other woman a once-over.

Then she shrugs, maneuvering the glass under the nose of the mask.
] Hell if I know. I've tried everythin'. Even tried smashin' it on the bar. [She rolls her eyes.] Bartender really hated that.
broadswords: (52.)

iii.

[personal profile] broadswords 2021-05-05 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ His bones do not ache for a fight. Nicky can find peace anywhere he so prefers, but has always been carried towards the siren's song of battle. He is an instrument, and all things have their place, their calling. ]

[ The sea, too, has called to him. Perhaps it's why he wanders here, so, but expected to be alone. ]

— This amuses you?

[ But he can't help the small smile that plays upon him, when the corpse rises out of the sea. Oh, it's horrific, in every way a fair target for his revulsion. But it's battle. His body sings. Nicky draws his sword. ]

It seems we shall.
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (gah!)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah," Kyle agrees. "Maybe a seal? I dunno. I'm not even convinced that's water out there, dude."

He stands beside Carter. moving very slightly in front of him when the sound comes again. He stares intently into the fog as a shape materializes.

"It's a guy," he starts to say, and then freezes.

It was a guy, once. Now it looks like something out of a Bernie Wrightson comic. Bloated and picked over by the dwellers in the deep, the figure shambles inexorably towards them.