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The Crossing Mods ([personal profile] thecrossingmods) wrote in [community profile] thecrossinglogs2025-02-05 04:26 pm

TEST DRIVE #2

TDM #2
Welcome to The Desert, wayward souls.
It's good to see you again.

The TDM is game canon and will be active FEB—APR. For further details about the setting, please reference our current setting page. All the information there is fair game for this TDM.
arrival
— BENEATH THE RIVER ( NEW CHARACTERS ONLY )
CW: claustrophobia, being buried alive

If your journey is starting here, you begin as all others have, and all others will: in The River.

You awake in the dark and the damp, with pressure all around you. In this case, however, it isn't water that surrounds you— but earth. Specifically, it is mud made from the sand of the desert and the standing water of the sparkling white salt flat that The River has become, and it behaves like quicksand. It has you here, and it doesn't want to let go.

You aren't in any direct danger; you may or may not notice that you don't need to breathe down here (or at all). But that may be difficult to appreciate in the moment: immediately on waking, you are seized by what was perhaps your last memory— or, at least, the somatic feeling of it. Panic, terror, pain; or (depending on the circumstances) maybe peace, or relief. It is the moment of your death as told by your body's visceral, emotional response, and it won't stop until you pull yourself out of the mud.

You are close to the surface. Even a bit of lucky thrashing might be enough for you to break through the sludge, and crack the shell of salt above. But The River will not release you easily; it will continue to suck you back down until you are able to fully pry yourself free— or someone else is able to lend you a hand.

— BEYOND THE RIVER ( EXISTING CHARACTERS ONLY )
If you arrived here from the Cavern, you'll find that the cave you came from opens up onto a rocky cliff face, not unlike the one you may have found yourself settled in before The Crossing. From here you can see the sprawl of the Desert ahead of you: the Oasis tucked against the base of the cliffs, the endless dunes, and the wide, white expanse of The River — though it hardly looks like one now.

There is no city to be found among these cliffs, though. They are steep and rocky, with dry, loose sand making finding and keeping traction difficult. There is a narrow, winding path to the Oasis below, but it will take time to hike, and the sun is already hot and oppressive above you.

Theoretically, there's a more direct route... if you're feeling bold. The cliffs are covered in jutting striations (as if, say, carved by a massive river, or maybe a River) that make halfway decent handholds and footholds for anyone hoping to climb their way down instead.

Just don't change your mind too much. If you turn back, you may find that the path behind has become impassable or now leads somewhere else entirely. You don't ever see it happening, but it's almost as if the cliffs are rearranging themselves whenever your back is turned.

shelter from the storm
— THE OASIS
The Oasis, as well as the rest of the surrounding Desert, is bustling with life. (Or do plants and animals have a Journey they need to complete, too?) It's a green, if not lush, patch surrounding a small lake of fresh water, partially shielded by the arms of the cliffs from the winds blowing across the dunes.

There are creatures besides you making their homes here: from small, skittering mammals to circling scavengers. If you look closely, though, you'll find it's a bit of a mishmash, as if an ecosystem appeared rather than developed... and, depending on where you're from, some of it might even be recognizable to you.

Those of you that came from the Cavern might appreciate the return of natural light, though you might be disappointed to discover that day and night don't always arrive at the cadences you might expect them to... In fact, they don't seem to follow any recognizable or even trackable pattern at all. Some noon suns stretch on forever; some sunsets speed run straight into dry, cold night.

If that were all the unpredictability the Desert had to offer, it might be tolerable enough... but the weather proves to be just as erratic. One day is clear and bright, with wide-open skies; the next brings dust clouds and lightning storms rolling in from the dunes. (And when today might be half as long as yesterday, those swings add up.)

Luckily for all of you, there have evidently been others here before you, just like in the Cavern. There is a collection of shelters lining the Oasis, no more than huts designed to keep everyone within as cool as possible. There's less space than there was in the Subterranean City, but that means some things are easier to find... The huts are decorated just like the city was before it, as if in layers with the odd familiar trinket from your home stashed in a drawer or under a mattress.

shifting sands
— THE DUNES
The Ferryman is holding vigil at The River, as they always are. They have positioned themselves (and their Lantern) so that their Light casts over the Oasis— but that aura can only cast so far.

The Lantern's Light might not be quite so obvious here as it was down in the Cavern, drowned out as it is by the desert sun, but you can still feel when you approach the edge of its protection, the way the sense of comfort and safety wanes. Beyond it are the rolling dunes of the Desert, where wraiths gather in great numbers.

Those who have been paying close attention will recognize that these are not the same wraiths you encountered in the Cavern. Or, at least, none of the wraiths you encountered in the Cavern are represented here.

These wraiths are not the violent, wailing beasts encountered by some during The Crossing. They are just the same as the wraiths originally found in the Cavern: silent, insubstantial, and always watching. The ones who have found the Oasis prowl the edge of the boundary; the others wander the dunes as if lost. Or, perhaps, searching.

If you, yourself, wander the dunes, you'll find them at best difficult to navigate— or, at worst, impossible. You may be swallowed by a sand storm, or lose sight of your landmarks when descending into a valley between the dunes. You might find yourself somewhere you never expected to be... Or, you might just need to send a message out to the others for help finding your way home.
blindluck: (056)

a couple of days after makoto disappeared

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-04-11 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
Where is Naegi-sama? You should know, right? [Nagito's expression might look like his usual calm until you look more closely at the tightness of his jaw and the thinness of his lips. He's got his arms folded over each other, each hand hanging onto the opposite coat sleeve, clinging to himself.

If this was like the incident with Sunny, Nagito could go look for him. But he doesn't even have a direction this time.]
theferryman: all icons by <user name="burlesque_show" site="insanejournal.com"> (8)

[personal profile] theferryman 2025-04-14 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
[The Ferryman doesn't answer right away. They observe him thoughtfully, as if weighing their response.]

I don't know. [Like with Sunny, though, their manner doesn't seem especially perturbed by this.] But it's alright. I'm looking for him.
blindluck: (018)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-04-14 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[Nagito runs a hand through his hair, just shy of pulling on it, before clinging to himself again.] Is this like those people who have disappeared and not come back? I'd rather know now.

[Though he doesn't know what he's going to do if the answer is yes.]
theferryman: (9)

[personal profile] theferryman 2025-04-14 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Their expression turns sympathetic.]

It might be. I hope not, though. If he's returned to The River, I might not find him for some time. But if he hasn't, I'll guide him back here.
blindluck: (011)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-04-14 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, what terrible luck. [Not that he has forgotten he and Makoto lost their luck here, but how else can he describe it? Anyway, he isn't about to start believing luck doesn't exist at all.] You really need to keep a better eye on people, you know? But if it's Naegi-sama, of course he'll come back.

[He has to. It would be awful if he didn't.]
theferryman: (10)

[personal profile] theferryman 2025-04-14 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
Try not to worry. Whatever happens, it will be what he needed.
blindluck: (018)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-04-14 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
Well, of course he needs to be here. He can't display his talent if he's alone. [Therefore he'll come back. Therefore it will work out. Things have to work out in the end, that's how it works.]
theferryman: all icons by <user name="burlesque_show" site="insanejournal.com"> (8)

[personal profile] theferryman 2025-04-14 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
[The Ferryman pauses again, thinking again.]

Is that what you think Makoto needs? To display his talent?
blindluck: (033)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-04-14 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
Of course. [The question catches Nagito off-guard enough that the tone of his answer is nakedly confused; why wouldn't Makoto need that?] If you have a talent, using it is the most hopeful thing you can do. And of course that counts even more when your talent is hope.
theferryman: (4)

[personal profile] theferryman 2025-04-16 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I see.

Did Makoto say that's what he wanted to do here? Be hopeful for the others?
blindluck: (033)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-04-17 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
That's what he does. He's been helping everyone. [Though he didn't say he wanted to, exactly, and he definitely didn't use Nagito's words. But nobody seems to say anything in Nagito's words, so surely that doesn't count.]