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polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-05-01 03:00 pm

Destination: Carcosa

POLYMYTHOS: CARCOSA

Carcosa


Ⅰ. THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island's harbour is full of other ships, although not a single one of them seems to actually have a human being aboard. (You could certainly try to steal one, but doing so is an exercise in futility - you will find that even if you set off into the ocean you will wind up right back in the harbour again after spending a few hours lost in the fog.) Beyond the harbour is a glittering city of glass and gold. Curving arches and sharp geometric lines are the hallmarks of the architecture - an art deco paradise that whispers of decadence and hope for the future.

The people who crowd the streets wear suits and hats, drop-waist dresses and furs. Their faces are all blank smiles. It's the roaring twenties, darling, why do you look so concerned?

If it is your first experience of the Endless Isles, you have access to the High Temple. Should you wish, you may also seek out the island's own temple as well, which is located inside the city, in a district mostly forgotten by the residents. Don’t worry - your feet will carry you there.

The building is not large, and it is old and neglected. It has a domed ceiling, with panels of glass crisscrossed with metal painted gold curving upward. Whatever fine pattern may have formed there is lost to time; the glass at the centerpoint of the dome is gone, letting in the smell of the sea.

There are rooms equipped with beds spreading out like a spiderweb from the middle of the building. The temple proper is of course in the exact center, below the broken dome. In the middle of this circular room you will find dead branches gathered together to make a vaguely humanoid shape. This crude figure has been haphazardly painted yellow. A slab of concrete sits in front of it. There is not much to explore here; it is very quiet.

Either temple is a good place to simply rest, or meet some of your fellow Travelers. The High Temple of course has the Temple Chef and its usual Guardians, Flock, and Lantern.

The Island Temple has its own Guardians, which are small, pale humanoids with perfectly blank faces and small antlers like young deer. They will leave you alone unless you try to meddle with the central room. Doing so will result in one of them approaching you, and you will find yourself falling unconscious on the floor.



Ⅱ. THE MASQUERADE
Through happenstance, you find yourself in an enormous ballroom. Low couches are dotted everywhere, and a live band plays somewhere at the end of the massive space. A long bar takes up one side of the room, bottles sparkling under the light cast from the many cut-glass chandeliers hanging overhead. Champagne flows freely, and the scent of gin pervades the air.

All of the attendees are wearing masks.

You're dressed for the occasion, of course - you will find yourself wearing something reminiscent of 1920s America, with a small yellow sigil of some sort pinned to your breast. Ask any of the guests about it and they will tell you, "ah, it's a secret." You too, of course, are wearing a mask. You did not pick this mask, but if you look in the mirror hung over the bar you will find that it nonetheless hints at some aspect of your personality.

Which would be all well and good, except that you can't take the bloody thing off.

Moving around the ballroom, you will discover that a few other people also have the yellow sigil pinned to their clothing. It probably shouldn't surprise you that these people are all other Travelers, equally unable to take their mask off.

No, you can't unmask until you share something with your new-found friend: a secret. A REAL one, the sort you'd never speak aloud.

Of course, you can choose not to share. If you choose that route, however, you'll find that the mask is fusing with your skin. Leave it on past midnight when the cries of "UNMASK! UNMASK!" begin, and it will simply become your new face for the duration of the month.



Ⅲ. THE PLAY
Maybe parties aren't your style. No fear, there's plenty more to do and see in such a wondrous city. There's a theatre - the Meliora Grand as a matter of fact - and perhaps you're just the sort of person who would like to take in the arts.

The theatre has plush seats, and fabulous electric sconces lining the wall. Once you take your seat you'll find yourself looking at the stage, where a blood-red velvet curtain hangs. The theatre doesn't seem to fill up - indeed, it really seems that there's only you and one or two other people there. Curious.


The lights go down and the curtain is drawn open, revealing... well. Not much.

There are two chairs on the stage, a table between them. On the table lays a pallid face: a mask. Just a mask. Why not go on up and take a closer look?

Should you choose to touch the mask, you will feel a deep urge to speak to whoever else is in the theatre. You will, in fact, feel the desire to act out some sort of emotional trauma with them. Perhaps they suddenly look like your mother, your father, a lover who left you. Why don't you tell them how you really feel?

Naturally, you can both just sit in awkward silence instead. You'll be waiting until the morning to be let out, if that's the case.



Ⅳ. LOST CARCOSA
CW: the undead.
You find yourself walking along the beach at night. Along the shore the cloud-waves break, and black stars rise above you.

You can't quite pinpoint when you realise you are no longer alone. Maybe there is only one other person on the beach with you, or perhaps a few; you move as one down the expanse of sand until you realise there is something laying up ahead of you.

There is a heap of yellow cloth there, dry and tattered with age. It smells faintly of spices. Nestled among it is a jewel-encrusted human skull. Its empty sockets compel you to sit down in the cool, bone-white sand, to sit and speak to those around you about loss.

Everyone has lost something important to them. A person, a thing, a place, an aspect of the self. Something that's gone and you're never getting back. The skull grins endlessly, endlessly, encouraging you to speak about something you may not have laid to rest.

You can resist this compulsion. Maybe you were never good at sharing. Refuse the skull's silent request and you may continue down along the beach, or perhaps head back the way you came. As you walk, however, you will notice that there is a fog rolling in. It comes in off the sea/sky, obscuring the beach until you can barely see.

It's a terribly handy cover for the corpses that are shambling out of the surf. Wet, bloated, with eyes that glow a dim gold, they head for you silently. They wish to drag you back with them, into the depths. Better hope you can outrun or outfight them.

Bonus: What's that? You want a Carcosa playlist? You've got it, babes!


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

dothelokimotion: (With all the fear and respect)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-05 07:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ yes. obviously. loki may not have the bloodlust for glory and battle the way other asgardians do, the way they sing odes to it, believe wholeheartedly in the valorous end.

loki has seen all ends. and they're only footnotes in a greater story.

that being said, loki enjoys a good fight now and then. and his temper, oh how his temper coils underneath. ]


Why would it not?
broadswords: (Default)

[personal profile] broadswords 2021-05-11 08:52 am (UTC)(link)
I see little joy in besting such creatures.

[ No valour here. Only death, and more of it. Nicky's grace with the broadsword is centuries honed, seeming to dance with the brutal cuts and slashes. He goes for the single stroke kills where he can. ]

— but much, in demonstrating skill.

[ You are very good, he sees you. ]
dothelokimotion: (Let my words wash over you)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-11 10:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki gives an approving nod to his technique, even as his heart burns. it burns with loss and all that could have been, all that was his. all that is lost. having an outlet alone meant so much more than he realized and for a long moment, it overwhelms him completely.

but only for a moment. anger no longer has that cornerstone in loki's heart and it fizzles on the shore. ]


I am not seeking joy.
broadswords: (50.)

omg somehow i never got this. pls feel free to drop/we can handwave

[personal profile] broadswords 2021-06-07 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ In the midst of conflict, the world is narrow. There is no cloud that descends upon them, only the vicious channel of a path made for anger, for a storm to slip through down and out by the fingers and the edge of a weapon. ]

[ Nicky stays close to him, ready to be a shield if he must. Do gods die? He supposes they are not so far apart, only he is a little more mortal than Loki. ]

Let us finish this quickly, then.
dothelokimotion: (And which doll are we?)

shame on you. shame on your family. shame!!

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-06-07 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ it was quick. hollow, but efficient. it doesn't burn his muscles like it used to when he was younger, fumbling with the sword. but the zombies eventually retreat back to the sands and loki wipes his hands over his clothes. he glances at nicky. ]

You are unharmed?

broadswords: (51.)

😭😭

[personal profile] broadswords 2021-06-07 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's covered in — bits of flesh. Face spotted with blood. Nicky takes no joy in killing, but was made for it, and always comes out soaked, loved deeply by battle. ]

I am unharmed. [ He smiles. Of course nobody yet knows of Nicky's immortality, but the concern is sweet. ] And you, my friend?
dothelokimotion: (Against the endless pressing dark)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-06-07 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki waves it off, though he's a little touched. it's been a long time since anyone has showed him real concern. ]

Let's get you cleaned up at least.

[ he waves his hand and all the detritus vanishes from nicky. loki then lets his hand flop to his side. he's been pushing his limits lately and he's feeling the strain. it's a foreign emotion. ]
broadswords: (57.)

[personal profile] broadswords 2021-06-07 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
Ah —

[ He raises his arms, looking down at his body — many miraculous things have happened, since the day of his first resurrection, but nothing quite like this — so useful! and so delightful! ]

Thank you. I appreciate it very much.

[ He even sniffs at his sleeve, amazing. ]
dothelokimotion: (This is the fear that looms)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-06-07 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ delightful is not the word loki would pick, by any means. he is proud of his powers, proud of the work he has given to his magic. but it's all smoke and mirrors. he sniffs. ]

You're welcome. No reason to walk away in a mess.
broadswords: (62.)

[personal profile] broadswords 2021-06-07 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Indeed.

[ It was he who'd led them to the river, even if Yusuf had been the one who knew the way. ]

... This, [ magic? What does he call it? No such thing exists, even to his own knowledge, except the practices of dark sorcery. ] gift of yours, you were born with it?
dothelokimotion: (And consumes)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-06-07 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki surveys him briefly, inscrutable before giving a small nod. ]

Magic is a part of me. Though I had to hone my skills to use it.