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

aviate: (( hj ) being broke sucks)

[personal profile] aviate 2021-05-30 09:44 am (UTC)(link)
Are you serious?
neverwither: (I think of things I wish I didn’t)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-30 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
For a little while Chloe remains quiet. To hear her thoughts about whether or not the horde on the beach will be of concern to anyone echoed serves as both a relief and deeply troubling. For all the grand spiels on personal journeys and redemption, the Travelers could be expendable. In service of goals larger than, and unknown to, themselves. As oblivious as the city-folk in their own way.

Those who are above the common masses have no need to divulge their true natures, do they? Their true intentions. Why win or lose the game when you can create it in the first place?

Before she gets too lost within her own thoughts, Chloe blinks a couple of times. Looks back over her shoulder at where they've come from and finally to Anders. "If we can't seem to find any assistance, I think I'll go back. To warn people to stay away, at the very least." And if she can stock up on thirium at the temple, possibly more. She might not be able to do much, but something must be better than nothing.

Although uncommented upon, the slight shift in his demeanour is noted. Yes, she can imagine others being afraid of such a power. The way her smile and eyes soften suggests some level of understanding. "If you don't mind me saying so, I think it's amazing. Out of all the frightening things, you're certainly not one of them. Far from it."
pilferings: (at age 6 i was born without a face)

[personal profile] pilferings 2021-05-30 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Rich people.

[ Echoed in full agreement, commiserating head-shake and all. ]

All right, so where you come from you've got things sometimes trying to eat you.

[ And if she doesn't want to divulge in any further details on that, hey, who is he to nose into a near-stranger's business? At least for now. He's still curious and he'll get those answers somewhere down the road. ]

You're gonna be my go-to if a giant land-slug tries to eat me, the next world we land in.
neverwither: (100% interest 100% of the time)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-30 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"Wise?" Beneath the mask, a blush creeps into her cheeks. At least the awful plastic visage hides the fact that the expression's hue is a distinctly inhuman blue. "Thank you. Sometimes I have a tendency to share one too many of my thoughts, and I wouldn't exactly call most of them wise." The light sounding self-deprecation is somewhat mitigated with an added, "But I very much appreciate you saying so." While one should be modest, one should also avoid carelessly tossing away compliments.

The name may not hold the same connotations for her but Chloe certainly knows the meaning of the word. How curious for it to be a name. Though she may be considering it too narrowly; perhaps in another tongue or another place it doesn't hold the same meaning. Either way, it doesn't matter much as Chloe isn't going to draw attention to it. "It's lovely to meet you, Maleficent." And there's nothing about the blonde to suggest otherwise.

There's a nod as the other woman speaks about her name, dozens of new connotations flooding her system. "Yes. It was very carefully chosen." A nymph of the spring who would glow with promise forever. A bloom whose smile would never fade. "A flower that will never wither."

It takes her a moment to process that the words have been said aloud. There's a beat or two of silence before she readjusts. Redirects.

"Now, on the matter of becoming accustomed to this sort of thing... There's getting a drink, there's mingling and dancing..." All of which are obvious, considering others around them are doing precisely those things, and so they're listed as options Chloe is happy to partake in should the mood strike her companion. "And there's also keeping out of the main fray in favour of getting to know a new acquaintance better." It's that option that sounds more favoured by the android, for both Maleficent's sake and her own.
kyley_b: (RL sure dude)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-30 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"No, no, it's true!" He gives her one of those whole-face pets that the BEST doggos get. "It's the Jersey curse. If I go near New Jersey, or get around anybody from New Jersey, it's like this horrible feeling descends and I change. Like I get this weird urge to wear gold necklaces and drink and beat people up and insult their families. It's awful."

He shakes his head. His stupid curls bounce a little when he does. "It's 'cause I was conceived in Jersey. So I guess if I ever have kids I just have to make sure we're nowhere near there." He thinks a moment. "If you have kids, I guess you have to stay in one form the whole nine months?"
shapeshistory: <user name=bungalows> (Balenciaga)

[personal profile] shapeshistory 2021-05-30 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
It's been far too long without one. [ It seems strange not to be constantly drinking, be it grog or something else. He's far from an alcoholic, but Nassau is Nassau, and the fact that he hasn't had a proper glass of anything since arriving strikes him as terribly inconvenient to his general demeanour. He motions with a cant of his head: after you, sir, and glances at the other's bracelet to see its colour. His own glows orange, and after a few beats he decides he might as well ask something that's been bothering him for a while. ]

The vast majority of those amidst our ranks seem to have a particularly strange way of rattling on. A far cry from the intonation I've grown used to hearing. Where are you from?

[ It's bothering him more than he cares to admit: Jack is a man of rhetoric, and American accents? Whack. He plays it cool, though, beady eyes focused ahead of him, the promise of rum and a proper conversation lifting his mood entirely. ]
shapeshistory: <user name=bungalows> (Burberry)

[personal profile] shapeshistory 2021-05-30 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Exotic. Jack looks at Benedict, back a little straighter, looking a little taller. He's not looking down on Benedict so much as he's preening, a true peacock despite the fox like nature of his mask. ]

Well, [ he states, humming in approval, and whether or not Benedict has finished his drink, he'll grab two from a waiter. He could get used to this. Save for the tightening sensation, which-- ]

By the way, have you tried removing your mask?
shapeshistory: <user name=bungalows> (Armani)

[personal profile] shapeshistory 2021-05-30 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He supposes he deserves that laugh, so his face remains neutral, though he does look off to the side. He's got a modicum of pride, after all.

There's a lot there, a lot to unpack, little words that shed some light onto the other's world--that there are apprentices for this, like he's a tailor. It makes sense, but it's still strange hearing it, the word ringing oddly in his skull. Everything about Anders rings oddly, though, so he supposes that's par for the course.

One hand moves to his hip, scrutinizing Anders, and then the water. It's far less judgemental and far more calculating. He finally extends a hand for the other to shake, idly wondering if it would be warm to the touch since there was flames there moments before. A deal. ]


Welcome aboard. There'll be another person with us, hope you don't mind. [ It's non-negotiable, but manners and all of that. ]
unkindled_madness: (curiosity)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-30 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Shouldn't we?

Imagining worse is easy. As cages go, this is a large one, and nothing in it has tried to kill me, yet.

[He glances at Anders in appraisal--force of habit, maybe, on mentioning it. Honestly, though, at least someone or something trying to kill him would feel more straightforward.]
necrosaint: (035)

[personal profile] necrosaint 2021-05-30 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Harrow's appreciative look is not quite a smile, but it is what it is: it appreciates. She even offers a glint of thanks in her eyes, a low nod. Looking genderless or masculine suits her fine -- the last thing she wanted, after all, was to look appealing. And it's rather like her previous robes, now, and something she really likes. ]

The rest?

[ She has forgotten. It takes a few seconds; she touches her face, clarity reigns again in her eyes. ]

Oh. This. This is—it depends on how long I would be stuck wearing it.

[ Harrow's only secrets are so terrible she can't burden anyone else with them, let alone want to continue to burden herself. She wants to be free of even thinking of it. ]
outofdenile: ((sidelong) Falls the Shadow)

what a M O N T H

[personal profile] outofdenile 2021-05-30 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Nile blinks and then tilts her head a little, questioning, "Masks are big where you come from?"
outofdenile: (Waking alone)

[personal profile] outofdenile 2021-05-30 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"This is my second stop," she says, glancing once over her shoulder to mark the space and direction as she follows after him. "I got here with everyone else. What about you? When'd you get here?"
aviate: (( hj ) i think i get it)

[personal profile] aviate 2021-05-30 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[It reminds him a little of the reaction his presence elicited when he first got the ring and everyone had been baffled that someone from his planet that hadn't even figured out space travel yet was their new peer. There's a lot of things that gets Hal heated, but this isn't one of them. He dealt with this already.]

Yeah. You've met other humans before?

[Maybe he's dumbing it down a little too much.]
aviate: (( hj ) cool story bro)

[personal profile] aviate 2021-05-30 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe on Earth. It's just the job requirement everywhere else.

I'm part of a Corps, it's the tool I have to do my job.
dothelokimotion: (Knowledge may be terrible)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-31 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
The Corps?

[ that's a new one. ]
hostile_encounter: hollow-art.com (15)

[personal profile] hostile_encounter 2021-05-31 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
"Everything you've said so far? Disagrees with it not being that weird."

She follows his line of sight and sighs. "I imagine that being fucked up is part of what gets you pulled here."
grayshulk: (pic#12883308)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-31 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
"You are definitely not the only one romanticized Death, though I do think most people assume it's a man."

Oh the look she gives him, mask or no, through his description of objectification of her says a whole lot. One might assume, based on her expression, that she is pointing out that dealing with objectification is roughly the same thing as dealing with nitrogen at this point. It's just part of the background atmosphere. The fact he catches himself? That is what keeps her from turning those things into actual words that are spoken out loud.

"Sexiest is subjective," her tone is mild. Given their surroundings, points for effort still count. Especially when he comes up with a really good question. "I...have no idea. I never thought to check? I know it kind of grows with me? But I never checked the colors.
kyley_b: (RL sweet boi)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-31 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle makes a face at her initial observation, but then shrugs.

"Gotta be. Might dictate how we get through this, too." He gives her a perfectly guileless smile. "But hey! At least we know each other now!"
grayshulk: (pic#12883343)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-31 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Jen shrugs and nods. "Sounds about right, yeah. It fits the weird level of ominous, though."

"...Have you found anything weird?"
grayshulk: (pic#12883401)

[personal profile] grayshulk 2021-05-31 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
Fanatics catches Jennifer's attention and brings up a thought she hadn't had before. A mild anxiety swirls.

"While paying attention. I might find the general vibe here comforting, but we don't know how our host is perceived or interacts with local populations. Even if the Ancient is actually some kind of force for good, I don't know that we can assume everyone who interprets her through the same lens."

She laughs. "And I am apparently the most optimistic person right now."
nightschool: (🖋️ 15)

[personal profile] nightschool 2021-05-31 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Not so horrible--but all the more enviable, maybe.

He bows his head back over the sand, gaze on the grooves his heels have dug, as if his wish he felt the same complacent satisfaction is a physical weight on the back of his neck too heavy to resist.

There's a guileless liberty toward what one has and what one wants that give away mannered upbringings, something he'd already suspected by all the rest of Benedict's outward trappings. He can't resent the sentiment, or what truth might be behind it--he's spent so much resentment on other people, from other miraculous times and places. He can only shake his head.]


Why apologize for being content with life, despite your losses? I am no one to judge it.

[And however their silent host feels about it, it goes on grinning and winking in the low light.]

I mean only that you may get your taste of different. In abundance, I fear.
queenking: ([neutral] angelic)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-31 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Saxsice holds up a finger to allow herself a long, bracing gulp of the champagne, letting out a contented sigh and a hiccup once she's done.] Ahhh, not bad, not bad at all. Little dry for me, but I'll take it.

[She offers the bottle back, along with an answer.] LA. California. [A beat, then she adds:] Uh, America. If that's...a thing where you're from.
queenking: ([up] oh hey there)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-31 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
[She holds up both hands in surrender, rolling her eyes once his back is turned. Part of her wants to stay put and wait and see whether he's successful, but she's too darn nosy. So she hops down too, trotting after Sephiroth and standing on tiptoe to peek over his shoulder.]

...are you gonna try smashin' the door too?
queenking: ([woof] but i'm so cute)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-05-31 07:10 am (UTC)(link)
There's another of those perturbed, grumbly noises, but Saxsice closes her eyes and allows her face to be smooshed, because she is the best doggo. Even if she isn't sure if she believes him. She's never even been to New Jersey. She's not even entirely sure it exists. But if so, that seems like a much worse curse than werewolfism. At least she gets to turn majestic and mysterious and fluffy.

Then Kyle mentions kids and her whole body goes still, tail dropping to the stage with a "thunk", ears pinning back. When she opens her eyes, it's with a weirdly human, pained look. Then Saxsice steps back, shaking herself all over and trying to cover for her bizarre reaction by scratching furiously at her ear, turning her back to Kyle.
unkindled_madness: (arms folded)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-05-31 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[He throws her a look, because smashing open a locked door would be a perfectly rational course of action-- assuming it's locked.

He tries the handle first, and without protest, the door swings open into the lobby.]


...no need.

[Apparently it got enough childhood trauma out of them.]