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

incelligent: (189)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
[And isn't that what Simon has always wanted?

To be remembered, to stand out-
]

Guess this is goodbye then.

[But not like this.]

If I find anything else out, I'll let you know.
incelligent: by Sani_Caranza on plurk (69)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
Well, yeah.

[Ryo may be an unpleasant, snot-nosed pain in the ass, but...

Simon can understand the whole best friend situation.
]

He sounds important to you.
catlady: (Default)

[personal profile] catlady 2021-05-08 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ he's right. he's always right and she hates that he's always right. she's not foolish enough to believe that failing to play by the rules is without punishment, it's just that he's changed her priorities. she wouldn't have minded the consequences quite so much -- fuck what anyone else think.

having him stand this close to her, she can't help but try to map out the details of the face so much more familiar to her over the face of this bruce wayne to play spot the differences. he seems so familiar to her and selina can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. it isn't ideal, but they've always worked well together and maybe it's better he's here than not at all. ]


I left. I... I don't know, I got cold feet. [ it takes her a long moment to get something out and this is a box she's more than content to keep closed and pack it away some place where she can ignore it even exists. it's easier to let him think what he wants, isn't it? to just let it be? it's over, now. it's in the past. she came back. once it starts, though, it sort of all comes out so he's just gonna have to shut up for a little bit and let her fucking get her shit out, okay?? ] I came back. I did, I... I couldn't help but come back. It's just that things started to feel too real. We've been on and off and on and off again so many times, but we'd never been that close. We'd never lived together and at this point we'd been living together for about a year and everything just felt so... I could see it. I could see myself living in that great, big house and being apart of this family that he's gathered around him. I could see us doing the holidays with Clark Kent and Lois Lane and it just terrified me. I had something to lose if this all went bad. I didn't just have Bruce to lose, I had this whole life I never thought was possible, and... what if I never change? What if, one day, he realized that I was a lost cause? What if I became an inconvenience? What if I didn't fit in with his little super friends? I mean, my father treated me like a stranger in his home and my own mother struggled to love me, so what's to say there isn't something just fundamentally wrong with me? Maybe I'm just rotten through and through.

I don't know how to trust myself. I don't know how to trust the idea of being happy. I don't even really think I know the first thing about love but somehow, when I look at him... when I look at you... I don't know how to do anything but love you. So. You can see my problem here.
extrasensory_problems: (cute curious)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-08 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
"Well so long as we aren't being set up for some kind of weird 'Eyes Wide Shut' masked orgy...." Carter muses, his eyes scanning the room as he mulls over the mystery. Most the partygoers seem in high spirits but he spots a few people, people who look to be fellow travellers, that seem to be locked in very serious conversations with one another. The looks on their faces range from serious to embarrassed.

"Winky about...a secret." He says and then looks back at Jen, "Maybe we have to tell each other a secret? Is that too dumb and obvious?"
dothelokimotion: (The concept of transitioning)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 08:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ he inclines his head politely. ]

Farewell. Please do so.
catlady: (Default)

no worries! consider it a wildcard option ;)

[personal profile] catlady 2021-05-08 08:51 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, honey. You never let them see it coming.

[ the ring is pretty hard to miss, yeah, but the punch? it's not nearly as effective if they know what's coming to them. selina gives the woman a quick once over, trying to get a read off of her. ]

Take it you're not a fan of the fashion of the 1920s, huh?
nanban: (cocky)

[personal profile] nanban 2021-05-08 09:12 am (UTC)(link)
Hawks shrugs a shoulder, which is more like a shoulder and a wing.

"Yeah, fair enough," he says. He knows about hidden dangers, too. He can sense a lot with his feathers. He thought about leaving some around to listen in, but he hasn't pinpointed where to do that yet. Besides, that's a thing he's not entirely keen on doing, the whole spy business. Not only is it a ton of work, it's also dishonest. Just because he's good at lying doesn't mean he enjoys it.

Hawks might have heard Vlad's name somewhere before, but he can't place it, so he doesn't make the historical connection. It's certainly an unusual name to his ears, but then so are other names he's heard here. Whatever Mera's whole name was. Maleficent, which sounds more like a title than a name. Vlad Tepes.

Hawks isn't Hawks's given name, but he doesn't go around telling people his name. Too much baggage associated with it and the Commission doesn't like to tarnish their reputation. It's part of the deal. Generally, Hawks doesn't miss it.

"Great minds, my friend," he says with a smile. "If a bunch of us got carted from that island to this one, something tells me we're in for more of the same before we figure out what the real game is here." If the real game is redemption, well, they'll figure that out when they get there.

"What I can do is pretty obvious, I'd imagine," he says, spreading his wings open for emphasis before letting them settle closed again. That's somewhat misleading; he can do more with his wings than just fly, after all. He's just used to being cagey on purpose, hiding behind his easy smile. Old habits and all that.

"Maybe we should make a registry," he jokes. "I mean, this watch things are a start, but whoever's in charge is almost certainly monitoring them."
unkindled_madness: (what does it matter...?)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-08 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[That actually gets a laugh out of him! Apparently arson is where the humor is.] Unfortunately, I'm without my magic.

[His amusement swiftly fades.] Bare our souls...? Did you feel some compulsion to do so?
unkindled_madness: (arms folded)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-08 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[His expression is flat, vaguely annoyed. He was literally thinking about intel, but it's thinking too small coming from him?

But he sighs and gives her a once-over.]


In that case, you may want to tone it down somewhat. Your marks may not care to be outdone.
suckonthis: (the floor is lava)

[personal profile] suckonthis 2021-05-08 02:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ryo was ready to either punch him or make a hasty exit.

Both. Both would have probably happened if Simon hadn't backed up the conversation a bit and reminded his fellow teen that yes, somewhere in his overzealous ambitions is a terribly soft spot.

But he doesn't like it being pointed out. ]


He is...

[ Even if it seems that Akira wants him dead, that doesn't change things. Ryo seems happy to pack as much regret into two words as he possibly can. ]

I'm giving him space right now though.

[ Yep. Same asshole you talked to on the network lovesick for his best friend. Check. ]
suckonthis: (i'm an introvert.)

[personal profile] suckonthis 2021-05-08 02:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Conceal, don't feel. Sounds right up Ryo's alley too. ]

They're not really hiding their desire for a show with this whole thing, are they? I don't even remember walking in here. Do you?
suckonthis: (this collar be choking tho)

temple.

[personal profile] suckonthis 2021-05-08 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
It's probably some crude sort of shrine. Could be tied to sacrifices... or vandalism.

[ He's heard of some interesting artifacts from his father's explorations, but Ryo knows people are kind of shitty and this place looks derelict. It wouldn't shock him, even with the small antlered... things walking around. ]

Or were you just wondering if it was aesthetically pleasing?

[ What a ray of sunshine. Greetings. ]
bonnylass: (pic#14820050)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-08 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Despite how gentle the touch is, any touch at all would have received the same response from Anne in that moment; she whirls and reaches out to grab the stranger on instinct, once-strong fingers locking in a grip on Chloe's clothing that can be somewhat easily broken if she tries. Anne is frightened and when she's vulnerable, she's also at her most dangerous.

But only a second later, Anne has properly taken in the sight and she recoils from the mask that she's confronted with - it disturbs her in a way that none of the other masks at the party have although she doesn't know exactly why. It's like staring into the face of a doll - an expensive one that might have belonged to a rich girl in London - but this time the doll is staring back.

She lets her go with a shove and takes a step back, wishing she had her sword or even a pair of knives. ]


Unusual? [ Arriving from the 1700's has been an adjustment indeed and Anne has a bad temper on her very best days. ] You've seen all this shit and you're tellin' me it's unusual?
bonnylass: (pic#14716448)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-08 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Anne isn't the type to stop what she's doing just because she senses someone watching, and indeed when the softly gliding shape turns the corner, she only gives it a cursory enough look from under the brim of her (disappointingly little) hat to make sure that it's not coming too close. She isn't armed like she'd prefer to be but she's fought with less, so while the little flare of vulnerability spikes in Anne, she slams it down and only looks up again when she's spoken to.

When she does, her sneer is suddenly interrupted by a look of shock as she takes in a creature like none she's ever imagined, let alone seen. Anne has little imagination, as a rule, and while she's seen some strangeness already here, it's nothing like those wings. Those eyes. Whatever she's wearing on her head. Is that what the rich fucks wear here? If it isn't she hasn't seen anyone like her yet.

When she finally gathers herself enough to speak, the snarl comes back quickly. ]


They can try.

[ She dares them to. Her tone of voice dares this thing to make something of it. That's about the only response Anne ever has to threats, both minor and truly dangerous. Both are indistinguishable to her because the required response is always the same: prove that you aren't weak. In a way, she relishes any opportunity to prove to the world that she isn't afraid of it. Because she very much is.

She finally stops what she's doing and drops a chunk of gold into her bag, then stands up slowly like she's being held at the end of a pistol. ]


You gonna tell them?
what_fourth_wall: (???)

[personal profile] what_fourth_wall 2021-05-08 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um. I dunno. I'm Ryan Reynolds, not some wise oracle." He rubs the back of his head, looking around at the aggressive mist and the lazy but dangerous undead.

"What did I say? Well, she's my lover, so we shared some intimate pillow talk." Among other things. "I dunno man, have a deep heart to heart. Compliment her bedazzling. Treat her like a lady. I'll try to give you some privacy and buy you some time."

And with that, he bounds away, baby arm flopping, wielding his former arm and shouting vaguely pirate things with many emphases on the ARRRRRS.
cryptsleeper: (Default)

[personal profile] cryptsleeper 2021-05-08 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Alucard makes a point of ignoring the disappointment.  He doesn't care, whoever this man that wants to indulge in violence can do so if he wants. The dhampir's focus is survival, and the brighter that light becomes, the clearer the path ahead is.
Beyond the greenlight, Alucard can start to pick out the glow of the city.  Even if this man decides to do something else, he knows the right direction now.

He says nothing.  Just starts walking.]
bonnylass: (pic#14820051)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-08 05:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ His expression only sets her own smirk in its place that much more, and almost like she's determined to needle him further, she makes a point of reaching out to pinch some of the wool he's wearing between her fingers and arch her brow again at the softness of it. Imagining how either of their current sets of clothing will hold up on the sea paints a terrible picture, but she knows now that the chance of finding the fabrics and cuts they're used to would be a hopeless search. Better to be off and try their luck elsewhere.

It isn't so much that she feels desperate to get away from this place, so much as she's determined not to be told where to go - determined not to be dropped off and left as though she and Jack don't have the minds and the means to travel where they will. No one has managed to stop them before. It surely isn't going to start now.

So it's more reassuring than Anne can describe when he starts off down the dock with purpose and she falls in behind his wake as easy as a shadow. ]


You got any idea how we're supposed to navigate around all this?

[ Meaning the fog. Meaning the strange coastline. Meaning whatever is waiting for them out there on the water. There isn't any fear in her voice, though. Merely the sound of someone waiting for the details of the plan. ]
bonnylass: (pic#14820053)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-08 05:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Despite her nature, the situation they're all in has Anne uncharacteristically curious. ]

An' where's that? I ain't ever had no dreams like this.
medeiun: ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴛɪsᴛs (Default)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-08 05:42 pm (UTC)(link)
For all of the grief she'd given him about his pursuit of knowledge, Maleficent figures he might have stuck his nose into things here, found something out with that persistence of his. And it seems she's right, falling silent to listen to what the young man relays to her. She's been mostly avoiding the people here, the ones without the yellow sigils marking them as part of the same category as herself. She doesn't know they're after secrets..... so she's staring at Victor intently, actually looking quite interested in what he's saying.

"They want secrets?" The fae's mouth tightens, purses as she looks out at the crowd. That is.... worrisome. She doesn't care for that at all.

But they don't seem concerned to hear them? Her brows quirk again as she returns her gaze to Victor, confused by this contradiction of information. His agitation that she'd noted from across the room suggests that he is, too.

"What a conundrum." She mulls softly. "Either way, I have no interest in sharing any secrets of my own. And I suggest you do the same. Secrets hold great power, in fae magic. I imagine they hold just as much power in this place."
medeiun: ᴍᴀʟᴀɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ (pic#14830054)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-08 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If he were clearly only a human man, Maleficent would be giving him more of those cold glares after his staring — she does not care much for mortal men giving her wings so much attention. But whatever he is, he is surely some sort of Other, with eyes like that. The overall look to him, as well: he seems more suitable amongst the fae creatures than human men.

So there's a curiosity keeping her there, even if she does maintain her sharp edge, intending to make sure he'll know to take her for a potential threat. She must always make sure of that. ]


Indeed. It seems this little soiree has every intent of lasting on and on, and making certain we become a part of it. [ That's her impression, anyway. They've been put into specific clothing and forced to wear masks that won't budge. The Powers That Be are trying to force assimilation, from her perspective.

Which is why she won't. There are no drinks to be found in her hand, no dancing (god, never). ]


Do you suppose if they were to be killed instead, we would freed?

[ ...Maleficent, no. ]
bonnylass: (pic#14716446)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-08 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Anne isn't a stranger to pain being worth the result that comes from it, but she still gives the woman a wary, doubtful look from behind her own mask. She would have tried prying it off with a knife before that, but she's hasn't been able to find anything to act as a tool.

She bites back the immediate response that leaps into her mouth - get your own, you little bitch - and hesitates with the bottle halfway to her mouth. She still completes the swallow after pausing to consider this pretty blonde stranger, but then she passes it over without comment, except for: ]


You need a cup? Get one yourself.
pilferings: (roaches are cuter when you name them)

this will be brositively wonderful (or horrible)

[personal profile] pilferings 2021-05-08 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[ They're good drawings, Sam. Come on, you've seen 'em. Or at least — a few of them, right before they wound up in this place and the notebook he'd been carrying around with him appeared to get lost in the shuffle between universe-crossing. Still, he's pretty happy with the purchases he's made here, and he's not-so-secretly excited to test out the stack of pencils too. Imagine that: real art supplies from the 1920s; oh, it's something he'd love to tell Elena about, only — well. Never mind.

Anyway. ]


There were other lighters at the newstands. [ — said in the equivalent tone of 'we have McDonalds at home'. And don't think Nate didn't notice Sam subtly swiping cigarettes out from under newstand vendors' noses, not once, not even twice either. ] Sure, nothing as fancy — [ Nate gestures lightly towards the pieces displayed on red velvet pedestals. ] — but is it really worth whatever may or may not happen if we get caught?

[ That last part is hushed under his breath, and Nate knows it's pretty much a moot argument; he can already tell there's no real way around this, and he's going to be roped into some quick-thought scheme and a lighter's vanishing act. He knows this. Still, maybe it does some iota of good to at least try and attempt to steer them both on the right path, even when he's already casing out the exit routes and watching the uniformed doormen from his position on the sidewalk. ]
neverwither: (It’ll be alright (or I could be sneaky))

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-08 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The more she looks, the harder it is to completely brush aside the fact that the woman does seem to have gotten herself quite a healthy amount of jewellery and how that might not be entirely congruent with the provided resources. For now, the discrepancy is neatly filed away in the ‘Just Don’t Touch’ folder within Chloe’s system. After all, the woman could have… And there’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation…

Well, whatever the circumstances, it still isn’t for her remark on.

So the smile remains as she studies the spoils again, nodding at the selected strand. ]


It’s beautiful… You’ve got quite an eye.

[ Chloe casts a little glance around them. Either the city’s inhabitants haven’t noticed the woman dripping in jewels or they don’t much care. Who knows anything for sure? ]

Me? Oh. Well… I’ve always liked pearls.
medeiun: ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴛɪsᴛs (Default)

[personal profile] medeiun 2021-05-08 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Maleficent looks up and over her shoulder, slowly turning her head as her eyes flick to catch the visage of the man who'd spoken. Though her eyes betray no surprise, something in her catches, pauses at the mask attached to his own face: a devil in golden.

She stares for a moment just too long to be socially polite — with an intensity as though taking him in, thinking upon him (what could she possibly know about this stranger who'd appeared mere seconds ago, spoke three simple words to her?)

But there are things to know. There are always things to know about Man. And this one was granted the face of a devil. Perhaps part of her would shy away, should she allow it to. The thing is, Maleficent will not allow it to. So she reaches out one of her arms, offers it to him. Yet the way her lips ease into an almost hungry smile, the way her eyes sharpen, are anything but submissive; she opens her long, gloved fingers to him like a beckoning. As though she is the one making the offer. ]


Yes.

[ Spoken cooly, her eyes not leaving his own, what she can see of them from beneath the gilded exoskeleton upon his face. ]
Edited 2021-05-08 18:15 (UTC)
neverwither: (Uncertain Chloe)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-08 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah. She may have misjudged this situation. It’s her own fault, really. Given how panicked the woman seemed, it’s hardly surprising that she would lash out. And at least she’s just grabbing at her rather than going straight to smacking her in the face. Though maybe the mask would offer some protection if that does end up being the case.

With a small sound of relief when she’s let go, she maintains the distance that’s been set between them. As more of a nervous tic than anything, Chloe straightens out her clothing. But not too much. She doesn’t want to seem like she’s making any kind of commentary on what’s just happened. ]


I think there are probably a lot of words for it. But I did mean what I said about trying to work it out, if you’d like?