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: (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?
bonnylass: (pic#14820051)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-11 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ The little, vulnerable sound that the girl lets out when she's released only rankles Anne more, but that's for complicated reasons that even Anne herself can't work out. Gentleness and sweetness infuriate her because she finds it endearing and pathetic all at once, and all of that is pretty evident in the glare she settles on this friendly person behind her uniquely unsettling mask.

She's smart not to draw attention to the results of Anne's instability. It would only have inflamed the situation more. ]


Yeah? And how're we going to do that?

[ She's used to solving problems on her own or with the help of one or two very specific partners. Chloe resembles neither man, but instead her manners remind Anne of someone else in a way that's far more complicated. And bothersome. ]
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. ]
bonnylass: (pic#14820047)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-14 10:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ The calm, reasonable approach to problem-solving, despite the fact that the girl seems to have no answers herself, goes some way to settling Anne despite all of her instincts for fear and anger. It reminds her of more level heads than her own who had made her plans for her in the past, but the question itself makes her bristle again. Even if just a little. ]

I ain't heard shit. Just showed up here suddenly wearing all this.

[ She gestures not just to her mask but to her clothes as well, fine, soft things that she would never have owned or had the occasion to wear herself. That's frightening her just as much as the inability to remove the mask - that she's dressed like some whore and has been denied her weapons. ]

What's the last thing you were doin' before showin' up here?
neverwither: (Uh oh)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-14 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ While it might not be a great help in the fact finding mission, Chloe nods as the other speaks. Maybe it is a bit much to think that they’d just be able to chat it through reasonably, given that the situation is far from reasonable. It certainly isn’t something to hold against Anne – everyone has their own reactions to fear. If anything, it makes Chloe more sympathetic towards her. Though she’s quickly gotten the impression that said sympathy isn’t something to let show too much. ]

I haven’t heard much, either. Mostly whispers about secrets. But it was the same for me. Finding myself here in all of this, I mean.

[ At least that’s some common ground, albeit not much. The question makes her pause for a moment. Hmm. Another avenue to potentially consider. ]

Nothing out of the ordinary. What about you? [ There’s another brief pause before she adds a bit to clarify her curiosity. ] It might give some clue as to why we find ourselves here.
bonnylass: (pic#14820053)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-16 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
What d'you mean, whispers?

[ Anne is familiar enough with the power of a rumor, the brothel she'd been part owner of on Nassau having been a font of useful ones when her crew was looking for a prize worth taking. So far, she thinks, that's the only useful thing this girl has said so far.

As for what Anne was doing? Sitting alone and drinking doesn't seem important or remarkable enough for her to bother mentioning. Jack is the social one, not her, and when he'd left to find strangers to find ins with, she'd done what she always does when she's left alone. ]
neverwither: (Time to tread carefully)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-17 12:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ So they’re both not the biggest sharers. That’s fine, if interesting. Often it seems to be the case that people are quite keen to talk, especially when someone else seems so keen to listen. Chloe is all too happy to provide open forums for others. Meeting someone so guarded – someone who isn’t automatically so purely because of her android status – fuels her ever present curiosity.

Curiosity she will keep to herself in lieu of sticking to the facts. ]


It seems that if you try to talk to anyone here about what’s going on, they’ll just tell you that it’s a secret. Anyone who isn’t wearing the symbol, that is.

[ She gestures to the yellow sigil they’re both wearing. ]
bonnylass: (pic#14820050)

[personal profile] bonnylass 2021-05-19 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
They're all in on it.

[ Anne says it with poison in her voice and can't help sending another glare around the room at every servant and barkeep and patron who hasn't been marked just like she and this girl have. She'd kill them all, if only there'd be a point to it. Even Anne can recognize that that would be the worse kind of futile and only land her in more trouble. ]

It's all one big fuckin' secret. Why we're all here. What the fuck this place is.

[ Her temper is rising and Anne suddenly feels the need for another drink. Fast. ]
neverwither: (When you stare into the abyss)

[personal profile] neverwither 2021-05-23 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It doesn't take much to see how the level of agitation is rising and so before attending to anything that's been said, Chloe grabs a glass from the tray of a passing waiter and offers the drink to her. It's one way of calming the nerves, at least. ]

If they are all in on it, that could be a positive. They could have information that we might be able to uncover somehow.

[ Not that there seems to be an action or wording that prompts anything beyond 'it's a secret' at the current time. Maybe the code hasn't been cracked. Or maybe there isn't a code to crack at all. The unmarked guests don't appear to be the most present. So time to go back to facts. ]

We've been told it's a journey of personal growth, hmm? Vague, yes, but... It makes sense to throw us into circumstances we couldn't have really prepared for. A test of character, perhaps. Or to see how we interact with each other. Maybe it's a little less secretive when we start thinking of it that way?