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

neverwither: (You can tell me all your sins)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-11 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The glaring Chloe can cope with. It isn’t the first time she’s had that kind of expression directed her way. At least in this instance, the dislike seems to stem from who she is rather than what she is. Which is an interesting sort of development for her. ]

Well… Obvious as it no doubt is to say, why don’t we look at what we know so far? Other than being unable to remove the masks, have you seen or heard anything that might be of note?

[ There’s a fine line between letting someone take the lead and coming across as patronising. However, it’s a line she’s willing to walk right now. Besides, gathering and comparing facts is the logical starting point to finding a solution. ]
kyley_b: (RL_KB_04)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-11 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
He grins. He really is dorky looking, but at least his smile is friendly.

"Nah, it's just Polish." He hoists himself up onto the stage - not particularly hard considering his height - and walks over to the table with the mask. He studies it without touching it, frowning lightly.

"Not to sound totally egotistical, but it's probably good you did so to me and not like... I dunno. I guess it's hard to blackmail one another when we're all in the same boat. Kinda literally." He half reaches out his hand but then jams both into his pockets instead. "I sort of want to see if it has the same effect on me, but I also don't want to subject you to any of my fucked up brain stuff."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_03)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-11 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
The Endless Isles: the world's worst vacation spot.

Kyle's eyes soften. "Your mom sounds like she was a really nice lady" he says sincerely. There's certain things he's sensitive about, and mothers are definitely one of them. "I think she'd be pretty proud of you following in her footsteps."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_1)

cw: religious insensitivity

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-11 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Kyle nods his thanks. He's not a smoker himself, but he's had enough cigarettes since his ill-fated first smoke behind his elementary school not to choke.

He snickers. "I mean... yeah, I guess. I dunno. Just a fundamental difference in theology, if we're being serious." One he's actually had cause to consider many times over the years.

"I don't think abstinence is always good. Especially when all of our holy books were written like, thousands of years ago and then edited a million times by old dead dudes. I dunno. Not big on lists of sins that don't make a lot of sense. Or maybe I'm just making excuses so I can eat pork."
spoilers: (upset:  quiet)

[personal profile] spoilers 2021-05-11 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"So it seems." It's not much more than a whisper.

If the Doctor understood quite how those touches were affecting her...

Proper interaction with the physical world is something River's life has been lacking for far too long. Most any touch she's felt since The Library had been drawn from memory, imperfect in its attempt to mimic a living experience.
kyley_b: https://fmdinisio.tumblr.com/ (yup)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-11 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Kyle manages to run and still give Wade the what the fuck dude look. Punctuated with a, "What the fuck, dude?" Just to get the point across.

The beach looks downright pristine. It's eerie; there should be evidence of all they've experienced, but there simply is not. It's as if the past has bene swallowed whole. But it's waiting, underneath. Oh yes.

"King of the monsters? Like Godzilla?" He decides not to tell Ryan Reynolds that they're not in a comic book. He seems a little unstable.
necrosaint: (Default)

[personal profile] necrosaint 2021-05-11 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I would like to be able to add Harrow to the tags but I do not have one! could I get one?
necrosaint: (Default)

[personal profile] necrosaint 2021-05-11 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)

Thank you! Way to be quirky, DW.

neverwither: (When you stare into the abyss)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-11 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
As much as she doesn’t want to risk losing him in the fog, this is going to be a two-hand task. Her fingers slipping out of his, Chloe’s pace slows a little as her attention goes to her own arm rather than any of the ones clawing out at them.

The perfectly normal looking skin retracts, leaving her hand and arm a porcelain white. It’s awful, so awful, to expose herself in such a way. At least the thick mist surrounding them might have some benefit in that respect. Not to mention that it’s probably not quite as awful as being mauled by the undead masses. Or watching someone else be horribly mauled by the undead masses.

Opening a small panel on that white arm, she fiddles around inside for a moment. A clear tube serving as an imitation of a human artery is uncoupled from another it’s connected to. With the end pinched to prevent the blue blood flowing freely, she turns to him.

“Okay. We have access to flammable liquid. How much do you need to create some fire between us and them?”
queenking: ([neutral] ...anyways)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-12 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[She watches the knife move, carefully wary. He seems calm for now, but he's still holding a weapon, and she's not dumb enough to let her guard down.]

Maybe you, uh...need to find your own purpose. Not wait for someone else to give you one.
queenking: ([neutral] i mean u said it not me)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-12 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
"Ahhh, Polish." Saxsice nods sagely, like this all makes sense. It doesn't, not even remotely, she isn't even entirely sure she could find Poland on a map. But still.

Then she swings her feet back to the ground, leaning forward, almost close enough for her nose to touch the mask. "I just told you that I was raised in a werewolf cult and you're worried about fucking me up? I'm un-fuck-up-able, my dude." She grins upwards, all teeth. "Do it. Touch it. Toooouch the creepy mask."
sketchbookings: (088)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-12 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
Crumpet gambling? [ Benedict laughs, looking properly amused now. ] If only. It'd be quite a story, though maybe not a very exciting one, hmm?

[ He does stop and look around a moment, as if checking to see if there's anyone else around besides their little skull pal, then lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ]

We actually place bets to see who steeps their tea the longest and still be able to drink it.
Edited 2021-05-12 01:46 (UTC)
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-12 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
Benedict.

[ He happily shakes the offer handed, glad to be at least making acquaintances if not friends. ]

It's a pleasure, Carter. Hopefully we manage to survive to our second day here, hmm?
sketchbookings: (014)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-12 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, truthfully, I'm afraid I wouldn't know."

It's almost embarrassing, admitting it. Benedict's scarcely been here long and he's already realizing that his life has been alarmingly sheltered. Which, yes, he sort of knew, but not quite to this extent.

"I've only gone to the city proper once, when my tutor took me and my brother to teach us about the Great Fire. Generally, I don't get out much beyond Mayfair."
sketchbookings: (004)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-12 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ He frowns a bit. It seems like such a cold way to look at dying, which is already an unfriendly subject. ]

Do you think? I'd think that the best death one can hope for is one from old age, where you can think back on a life well led, surrounded by family.
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-12 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
So many people enjoy being a part of London society. Some of them, you'd think their lives had never amounted to anything more important than being invited to all of the parties in the season. I'm sure it makes them happy, but it seems rather a waste of time, doesn't it?

[ And yet here he is, at another party, which he gladly attended because he felt there might be some comfort here. ]

The masquerades we hold are particularly tedious.
unkindled_madness: (back turned)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-12 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
[He would never raise a hand to Gast-- not that she would know that.

He shakes his head slowly.]


If that's what you wanted for me, then you keep strange company.

Or... is that why they killed you?
unkindled_madness: (what does it matter...?)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-12 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Sephiroth laughs, in spite of himself. An old man surrounded by family? It sounds like a fantasy.]

That's no death I can imagine.
hostile_encounter: hollow-art.com (26)

[personal profile] hostile_encounter 2021-05-12 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[There are, in general, very few times when Elenore is comfortable with another person entering her personal space and most of them come with an explicit invitation. The fact that Selena's nearness doesn't set any of her internal alarms is something she quietly notes while enjoying the new weight and shine of the glass beads. Having nothing worth stealing had some added benefits.]

Well, if it adds to the whole accomplice thing, then I'd really better do it. I'm Elenore, and I won't lie, fixing the other problem would be nice.

Getting out of the cult robes was a must, and I will definitely need some work clothes, but you are a walking reminder of the appeal of sparkle.

[Look, she's not actively trying to flirt? Probably. More like she's not opposed, especially with such an enjoyable opportunity.]
hostile_encounter: (64)

[personal profile] hostile_encounter 2021-05-12 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
She tries to have not to have too much of an expression to his casual revelation, but her face likes to do things.

"What kind of cult?"
grayshulk: (pic#12896262)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-12 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
Her nose wrinkles as she makes a face. "I agree that the Ancient doesn't seem like the ritual sacrifice type. And that's a bit uncanny. But the creepy? There's something...the energy of this place feels bad. Like the people are rushing to get as much good as they can before something terrible comes for them all."

"Also...don't go to the beach."
grayshulk: (pic#12958745)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-12 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
"I appreciate the healthy cyncism." This is said sincerely as she considers that vital question of why and what the power behind gets out of it. "It could just be entertainment or voyeurism, but this is a lot of energy and time for hypothetically just a moral victory for our keeper."

She listens intently as Chloe talks her way through the potential connection to the masks and nodding at certain points. The logic is sound if not definitive. "No need to apologize. We're all trying to feel our way out about this situation, and it's always good to hear what other people are coming up with. It's nice to meet you, though, Chloe. I'm Jennifer."

She offers a hand to shake because why not try for something approaching social?
grayshulk: (pic#12883343)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-12 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
Jennifer shrugs. She's been through enough to be wary of touching potentially magical objects, especially with the current state of her abilities, but goodness knows that she's had enough friends who seemed to learn the opposite lesson. "Good to know they have boundaries."

There's a quick nod of agreement. "They're both weird spaces in a 'high weirdness' kind of way, but everything here feels like it supposed to be a comfort."