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

extrasensory_problems: (tank)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-03 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
He's breathing heavily and it takes him a moment to even register that Kyle is there, his head finally clear of that insistent buzzing and the awful feeling of something trying to crawl inside his mind. He turns and looks at Kyle, his eyes thankfully no longer blank and lost looking but now confused and concerned.

"Kyle?" He asks and takes a step towards him, "Shit. Are you okay?"
kyley_b: (RL_KB_13)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
"No, I'm not okay, I just got hit by a ghost or something!" Kyle struggles to his feet.

"What the fuck, dude?"
extrasensory_problems: (moody)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
Carter swears and moves to help Kyle up off the ground, feeling sick to his stomach that he may have hurt his friend.

"Fuck. I am so sorry. I....I couldn't help it." He stammers, motioning at the skull. "That fucking thing it...I couldn't feel anything."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_02)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Carter, I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Kyle sa6s, exasperated.

"There's nothing to FEEL, it's just a beach, dude!"
extrasensory_problems: (moody)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
"It's not!" He exclaims, upset at himself for lashing out like that. For losing control.

"Not when you're me!"

His head is pounding and he makes himself stop and take a breath, trying to calm both his nerves and his powers.

"Not when you're psychic." He says after a moment, his voice almost sounding ashamed.
kyley_b: (RL_KB_16)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle stares at Carter for a while. Then a little while longer.

"There's no such thing as psychics," he says in a matter-of-fact tone. He can remember proving this exact point once as a kid, laying in a hospital bed.
extrasensory_problems: (tank)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
"There can be." Carter says, and then casts his eyes down. He doesn't want to see the fear or hatred he's used to seeing in people's eyes when they find out.

"If you're a mutant."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_1)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle looks at Carter as if waiting for hook to go on.

"Uhhh," he prompts. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, dude."
extrasensory_problems: (whuuu)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
The fact that Kyle's response isn't fear or instant hate, and is in fact almost blasé confusion, makes Carter stop and blink.

"You've never..." He almost laughs at himself and at how prepared he was for Kyle to start throwing rocks at him, but instead he's just asking questions.

"I..wow uh okay. This is going to sound wild but I was born with psychic abilities because of the X-gene." He explains, "It was passed down to me from my Dad and when I was about eight I started to hear people's thoughts and urm..move stuff with my mind."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_1)

My swipe text is drunk again

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle absorbs this knowledge calmly, and although he wants to dismiss it entirely he has to admit that he DID go flying through the air.

"Telekinesis," Kyle says. "Yeah, I'm not an idiot, I know what that is." He frowns. "So your telepathic ability picked up... some sort of spooky shit and you threw me into wet sand because of it?"
extrasensory_problems: (Default)

Swipe text is like "I want Chipotle"

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Kind of yeah." Carter says and then looks back over his shoulder at the skull that is watching their entire exchange with a smile.

"I left the party and while I was walking I guess my powers started picking up on something and I kind of got lost in it. I barley heard you when you found me." He explains, running a hand through his hair.

"It felt like I was somewhere dark and there was this buzzing inside my head, it hurt. So I freaked out."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_06)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 06:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Well that's... fucking disturbing," is what Kyle decides to go with.

"You said something about your mom being gone."
extrasensory_problems: (tank)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
Carter sighs, "Yeah. She's dead. Look can we get away from that creepy ass thing?"

He points at the skull, his brows knitting together in an expression of distrust. "I keep feeling like that thing is laughing at me."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_06)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, dude. I'm so sorry. Yeah, yeah of course we can." Kyle starts heading down the beach the way he'd come, glancing to make sure Carter was near him. The fog rolling in was getting thicker.
extrasensory_problems: (tank)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Carter takes one last look over his shoulder at the skull, still dead and grinning at his loss. His pain.

"fuck you." Carter says to it and starts to walk away, following Kyle along the beach. His shoes are covered in wet sand and he can feel the nights moisture starting to cling to his suit but at least his head feels better. He feels more like himself and he is grateful that Kyle is next to him.

"Sorry your suit got wet." He says, glancing over at his friend. "It actually looks pretty sharp on you."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_02)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-04 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"Thanks. My hair was all slicked back and shit before, but..." He shrugs and grins. "Nothing can tame it for long. Especially if it's humid."

He kicks idly at a shell. "So, you're some kind of genetic anomaly and that makes you psychic. That's kinda cool. We don't have that shit where I'm from. It's sort of weird, right? Like... all these different universes converging? But it seems like at the core of it everyone's all just fucking up as they go along. I can't figure out of that's comforting or terrifying."

From the fog comes a low splashing noise that seems slightly out of sync with the waves.
extrasensory_problems: (baseball_smile)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-04 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"If nothing can tame it then why bother trying?" Carter says with a smile, reaching over and tousling Kyle's hair. "Let it be wild man!"

He watches as the shell bounces a few times before disappearing into the fog, part of him noticing how thick it is getting.
"I guess it's cool? I dunno, most people don't react too favorably to mutants where I'm from so it's hard to say. But it is kind of neat to meet people from other universes, bizarre but still neat."
kyley_b: (RL_KB_1)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle sighs. "I don't have a choice."

He smiles. "Yeah. And lucky in that not everybody hates you. They won't even know what you are!"

From the fog comes a loud splash.
extrasensory_problems: (over shoulder)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-05 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
Carter grins, starting to make a joke and then pauses when he hears the splash.

"Did you..." He says and then stops, peering out at the ocean which is now hidden under a blanket of fog.

"Did you just hear a big fish or something?"
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (gah!)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-05 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah," Kyle agrees. "Maybe a seal? I dunno. I'm not even convinced that's water out there, dude."

He stands beside Carter. moving very slightly in front of him when the sound comes again. He stares intently into the fog as a shape materializes.

"It's a guy," he starts to say, and then freezes.

It was a guy, once. Now it looks like something out of a Bernie Wrightson comic. Bloated and picked over by the dwellers in the deep, the figure shambles inexorably towards them.
extrasensory_problems: (whuuu)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-06 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
"If it's not water then what would it-" Carter starts to joke and then stops short as the shadowy figure becomes visible.

"The fuck?" He breathes and takes an involuntary step back.
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (gah!)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-06 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Zombies!" Kyle cries. He grabs Carter's arm and pulls at it as he tries to bolt up the beach.

"Come on, come on!"
extrasensory_problems: (whuuu)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-06 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
The figure takes another shambling step towards them and only then does Carter notice that there are more shadows coming out of the mist.

"Fuck!" He yells and turns to run with Kyle but his left foot sticks and suddenly sinks into the sand, the wet surf creating some kind of sucking hole. He yelps and pitches forward, landing painfully on his hands and knees.
kyley_b: (RL_KB_06)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-05-06 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Goddammit, dude, walk often?!" Kyle turns and grabs Carter under the armpits, hauling him up to his feet with surprising strength. "I hate zombies," he pants.

"Come on, hurry, or use your brain whammy on em!"
extrasensory_problems: (over shoulder)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-06 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Be careful." Carter gasps, pulling at his stuck foot. "I don't want a broken ankle."

With Kyle's help he manages to get it half out but then the tide drifts in and tries to suck it back down. He throws a glance up and sees the sea zombie is getting dangerously close to Kyle, it's twisted and moldy fingers reaching out.

"Fuck off!" He yells at it, his eyes narrowing as he concentrates and suddenly the zombie is being flung backwards.

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-06 05:34 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-06 06:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-06 17:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-06 17:51 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-06 21:06 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-06 22:57 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-07 04:10 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-07 17:35 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-07 18:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-07 20:25 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-07 20:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-09 22:50 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-09 23:02 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-10 02:36 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-11 17:49 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-12 19:04 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-12 21:37 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems - 2021-05-12 23:23 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] kyley_b - 2021-05-13 01:55 (UTC) - Expand