thecrossingmods: (Default)
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.
daikonheroine: (Default)

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-02-19 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
Yes! His name is Black Canyon!

[She leaned over to point out one that kind of looked similar to her precious pet.]

He's small, and shaped kind of like a ball... and has light grey fur and a white stomach... and hit little paws and whiskers are just the cutest! He's only 3 months only so I hope he'll live a long time!

[Yashiro startled then. Here she was gushing about her hamster to a total stranger...]

I'm sorry! I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Nene Yashiro!

blindluck: (056)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-02-19 08:33 am (UTC)(link)
They live about two years, I think. [Though Tanaka's hamsters nearly always make it to at least three, that's not a standard a normal person could keep up with. If this is something Yashiro wants to hear is not something that occurs to him.] I'm Komaeda Nagito.
daikonheroine: (Day dreaming)

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-02-27 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
It’s nice to meet you Komaeda-senpai!

[Yashiro finally took a moment to look at the other teen and her heart nearly stopped.

Ikeman…

Everything about him was absolutely perfect… from the way his hair fell in waves to his slender, yet taller build… What sort of heaven had she ended up in?]

D-do you have any hamsters of your own? [Her eyes turn almost dreamy looking and a light blush spreads across her face as she glances down at the sand.]
blindluck: (002)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-02-28 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[Nagito chuckles. It's been a while since anyone besides Makoto has called him senpai; kind of reminds him of being back in school.] Ah, no, I'm not really that good with pets... But one of my former classmates breeds them, so I've learned a little bit about them.
daikonheroine: (Day dreaming)

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-03-06 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
'Breeds them'? That's amazing!!!

[Her eyes continued to sparkle as she looked back and forth between the hamsters and Nagito.]

But... Komaeda-senpai... what are you doing out here?

blindluck: (056)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-03-06 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Watching the hamsters. [He doesn't have a deeper reason at the moment, except for the emotional reasons he wants to watch hamsters that he can't quite acknowledge even to himself.] There weren't any animals in the caves we were in before. I don't know if that's important or not, but it's notable!
daikonheroine: (Default)

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-03-06 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
No animals in the caves? How did you get to here then?

[She had just naturally assumed that he lived in the desert... then again with his porcelain skin she supposed not, that or he used a ton of sunscreen... She also supposed he didn't need a deep reason to watch hamsters... they were cute after all.]

If everyone didn't bring them... how did the hamsters get here?
blindluck: (066)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-03-06 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
We walked. That's the point of this afterlife, I believe. [A lot of walking until the get wherever they're all going.] As for the hamsters, I think they live here, assuming they're alive.
daikonheroine: (Default)

CW: mention of potential pets passing away

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-03-06 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
[At the reminder that they were both dead- well everyone was really- her mood turned downcast as she continued looking at the hamsters.]

Oh...

[She still wasn't sure what exactly she was doing here after all, and the fact that they just had to... continue walking was a bit of a letdown. She tried to focus on the how fluffy the hamsters were to cheer her up but instead it had the opposite effect. She wanted to go home and see her parents and cuddle Black Canyon...]

D-do you suppose these hamsters were someone's pets? And then they... died... and ended up here?

Just like us? [The thought went unsaid and she felt the tears welling up again.]
blindluck: (002)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-03-06 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
It's not impossible. [There's no proof they don't share an afterlife with miscellaneous dead hamsters.] They seem to be doing alright, though. I don't think most hamsters understand death anyway.

[Tanaka's might, but that's different.]
daikonheroine: (Sad)

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-03-07 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
T-that's true...

[Still... Yashiro couldn't help thinking about the what ifs. What if the hamsters did understand death? What if they missed their owners just as much as their owners missed them? If it was Black Canyon down here all alone...]

Ugh... [She tried wiping at her eyes again but the tears came fast now and wouldn't stop. Here she was full blown crying about a hamster in front of an Ikeman... if she had any chance with him before, she's pretty sure she ruined it now...

So instead of having him watch her cry, she stood up and started running towards the hamsters.]

Don't worry hamsters! I'll take care of you!
blindluck: (025)

[personal profile] blindluck 2025-03-07 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh. Nagito wasn't expecting that reaction. He's left calling after her.] Ah--they're not pet store hamsters, you know!

[The hamsters are already scattering and vanishing into burrows.]
daikonheroine: (Knife)

Wrapped! Thank you for the fun!! :)

[personal profile] daikonheroine 2025-03-10 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)