The Crossing Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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thecrossinglogs2025-02-05 04:26 pm
thecrossingmods) wrote in thecrossinglogs2025-02-05 04:26 pm
Entry tags:
- !tdm,
- akatsuki no yona: soo won,
- attack on titan: frieda reiss,
- chronicles of osreth: thara celehar,
- danganronpa: makoto naegi,
- danganronpa: nagito komaeda,
- heralds of valdemar: need,
- mass effect: allynbee shepard,
- omori: sunny,
- overlord: arche,
- pathologic: daniil dankovsky,
- toilet bound hanako-kun: hanako,
- toilet bound hanako-kun: nene yashiro
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.
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.
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, 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 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.
3, UN: No.7 (Welcome! Also, the combo of these two XD oh no)
By ‘hot pics’ do you possibly mean…?
[Is he encouraging this? Maybe. Is he going to make Papyrus type out exactly what he means? Absolutely!]
(TY! I look forward to this energy already :P)
BEGUILING IMAGES...
SALACIOUS VISAGES!!
[A brief pause, as he recalls that there's been some youngish-looking humans around who might be reading these very messages, and weighs that against some of the more concerned noises Toriel made about their young human friend.]
OR AT LEAST POSING IN COOL OR FUNNY WAYS, FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY.
I had to take a moment to thoroughly crack up while writing this XD looking forward to it~
. . . .
FINALLY! SOMEONE ELSE GETS IT!!]
THAT! EXACTLY THAT! I thought everyone was going to think I’m crazy, but there’s actually someone that understands here~!
[This coming from someone who looks like he’s thirteen. Should he be concerned? Maybe?
UnfortunatelyThis is just how Hanako is.]no subject
ARE YOU TELLING ME NOBODY ELSE HERE SHARES THAT VISION?
THEY'VE NEVER DABBLED IN THE ESTEEM BOOST,
OF SHARING THEIR SELF WORTH FOR ALL TO ADMIRE AND BE INSPIRED??
[Hanako may not look notably older than his first human friend, but then they had flirted with him too, in their (first) fight underground. A few flirty words exchanged or even a play date were far from the most concerning things they could have faced, compared with the number of people who had very real interest in doing a murder at them. He'll consider being concerned if something more concerning comes up.]
After School Hanako-Kun is canon, no one can convince me otherwise XD
[Not that he’s been going around… you know… asking people their opinions on risqué topics. Nope. He just senses the disapproval in the air.]
Boooo~ If only you would have been around the school instead of here, you would’ve made a good No. 1.
[Is he maybe theoretically saying he would promote this newcomer if he had the power to, simply on their shared cultural interest? Maybe.
Someone might be sneezing in the living world right now too.]People need more confidence! To flaunt it! [‘It’? Flaunt what?] You only have a limited amount of years! [They are already dead, how is this relevant? Doesn’t matter! That time a school artifact had gone wry and turned him into a girl, no one had any qualms about him flaunting a skirt~!]
staying after school to train in confidence and flirtation power... Papyrus approves this message..?
...But only briefly.]
IN THEORY!!
BUT FOR ALL WE KNOW, WE MAY HAVE LIFETIMES OF YEARS AHEAD OF US.
ALL THE MORE REASON TO REALLY GET EVERYONE'S CONFIDENCE BUBBLING ALL THE SOONER!!
[So, flaunt what, exactly? Maybe flaunt their hips - or their hip bones, as the case may be. The currently-between-names skeleton certainly does, with booty shorts that barely cover his pelvis and a shirt cropped to show off his spine, when he isn't wearing tights beneath...]
MAYBE AN OPEN MORNING EXERCISE, TO HELP BUILD THAT MUSCULATURE... [(What musculature??)]
Wonderful XD
Hmm… normally I would say that trying to achieve something in death that you couldn’t in life was… well… probably meaningless, but in this case! We’ve been afforded a unique opportunity!
[And Papyrus is on to something with exercise!]
Have you heard of Radio Taiso???
no subject
YET!!!
BUT I'M HAPPY TO LEARN ABOUT IT NOW.
HOW DOES IT RELATE??
[It assuredly will make a great change of topic away from things like the state of the people he knew and whether he'll ever see any of them again.]
no subject
Ah! Don’t worry - I know all about it! [Mostly from watching students through the bathroom window.] It’s also known as ‘radio calisthenics.’ People used to do them all the time in the early morning, though the school uses them as warm-up for gym class! It’s a bunch of stretching exercises and stuff! There’s a whole routine~
no subject
IT'S EASIER TO MOVE AROUND IF YOUR JOINTS ARE LIMBER.
BUT...
[He hates to throw a wrench into their plotting so soon, but the question must be asked - at least so they can look for a good substitute, if nothing else.]
HOW ESSENTIAL IS THE RADIO TO THESE CALISTHENICS?
I CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE, WE DON'T HAVE ONE.
no subject
Well, that really depends! There’s a lot of variety when it comes to calisthenics~ Some like to do their movements to music, others have someone call out cues. The latter could be done with a loud enough voice here!
[And Plan Exercise is a-go!]
no subject
HEY!!! I'VE DONE THAT BEFORE!!!
SO I WAS ALREADY A RADIO TAISO PRODIGY IN THE MAKING AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT...
[The lizard he'd chased around the dump shouting advice and encouragements to shout about her own self worth might, it should be said, have some different memories of the experience. But she had thanked him after it all, so in a way, it had helped!! Maybe not with the stretching and exercise part as much as being a much-needed boost to confidence, but still. Already he's finding ways to contribute here.]
If you ever end up joining, Hanako will gladly make a Radio Taiso TL for Papyrus XD
[Not like Hanako got a lot of applicants anyway.
Not like he didn’t just throw this idea together a few minutes ago]Planning to join next app! Was gonna try this time, but forgot the 9am part of the deadline :')
I WAS FEELING LIKE SUCH A SHIFTLESS LAYABOUT, WITHOUT THE ROUTINE OF A JOB...
[Sure, they're all dead, and their job is something to do with making peace and traveling about it? But old habits die even harder than skeletons, apparently - and he sees no need to let that particular cornerstone of self worth go just yet. If only so his brother wouldn't tease him about it, whenever they reunite.]
THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPECIFIC DETAILS I DON'T KNOW, SO,
I APPRECIATE YOUR GUIDANCE IN THIS!
Perfect <3 Looking forward to it~!
[Might as well put a bit of honesty into that! Hanako was feeling a bit lost with no one to delegate to.]
Of course! I look forward to working together then! It’s almost like the second advent of the Seven Wonders~
[Never mind there’s only two of them. Three, if Yashiro counted, but he liked to hold her in a category all her own.]
Thank you, you too! o/\o
THE SEVEN WONDERS?
I DO CONSIDER MYSELF SOMETHING OF A WONDER, AS GREAT AS I AM,
BUT I DON'T THINK I'VE HEARD OF THE ONES YOU MEAN.
[There's only two of them so far. But there's still lost souls to be fished out of the River, sooner or later.]
no subject
Everyone needed a purpose, even when you were dead. He was sure Papyrus would agree.]
If you haven’t heard of us, I’m not overly surprised! Mostly students and teachers of Kamome Academy know the rumors, so they perpetuate most strongly there.
Basically~ The Seven of us keep the peace between the living and the dead. I’m their Leader! [Or was.] I’m sure you’ll fit in right well!
no subject
HUH???
AN ACADEMY... WITH REGULAR STRIFE BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD??
[An indecisive pause, but no, even already suspecting the answer, he has to ask.]
DO YOU KNOW, HOW DEAD PEOPLE GOT THERE?
no subject
‘How they got there’…? Well, they died! [Typed as simply and nonchalantly as possible. That probably wasn’t going to suffice as an answer.] People with unfinished business or strong ties to the world come back as apparitions. The only way to move on then is to finish that business… or run afoul of an exorcist. [Which he definitely didn’t recommend, having been in contact with a few!]
Aside from that… there are the other Wonders, still mostly dead, though we’re tied to specific legends or rumors… the weaker apparitions that don’t last long… oh, and the Mokke! Not every dead apparition is a ghost like me~
no subject
I'VE HEARD OF THE IDEA OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS...
A POPULAR ELEMENT IN HUMAN 'GHOST' STORIES.
AND MURDER MYSTERIES.
THOSE APPARITIONS MUST BE VERY DETERMINED TO STICK AROUND BACK THERE,
INSTEAD OF IMMEDIATELY WINDING UP HERE.
[That's about as close as he wants to get to expressing his real confusion and upset about this whole story, not after the conversation had been so jokey - and while he's only semi-safely behind the distance and near-anonymity of texting. But... the skeleton had thought he had unfinished matters, and people important to him. And yet, he came to in the mud, with no memory of parting words or anything.]
no subject
[Murder and ghost stories could go hand-in-hand; it really depended on the rumor!]
As for if they are determined… that really depends on what kind of business they have. Some don’t even have an inkling on what it might be. Others are very specific! I have to wonder… what sort of business you might have had, to remain as you are~?
[He’s not forcing an answer, not at all, but his curiosity can get the better of him.]
no subject
WELL, NATURALLY I'M WORRIED FOR MY FRIENDS.
I WAS A LITTLE BIT MURDERED, AND IT CAME AS A SURPRISE...
SO I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALL OKAY!
AND TO ASK WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED THERE.
[Not that he's looking for revenge, here, except for the revenge of urging them to live well. Happily, and without needlessly pulling threatening knives on anyone again.]
no subject
You aren’t the first one to express wanting to check in with others on the Near Shore. Alas, I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of power here~ Unless we find an interdimensional radio, we’re out of luck!
[For now. Hanako had his own suspicions on why they weren’t able to contact anyone outside of here, least of which being that he wasn’t in control of this Boundary.]
Besides, we’re supposed to be ‘moving on from Before’ as our guide puts it. I doubt they’d let anyone interact with something that would give them a reason to hold on to that.
no subject
[No sooner has he typed it than he shakes his head at himself. No, surely it's nothing as simple as that, or he already would have stumbled on a path to some sort of dead-ghost-haunting experience back home just by wandering around the river's edge and the dunes and so on. But if this is true, if the Ferryman is (trying) to guide their experience here enough that they were shocked by his missing name and yet also preventing them all from reaching back to the realm of the living... A sudden, stupid but no less sincere shock jolts his bones.]
WAIT, OH MY GOD!!!! NEVER MIND THAT!!!
I JUST REALIZED... THE REASON WE CAN'T TAKE SELFIES...
IT MUST BE BECAUSE, ADMIRING OUR OWN HANDSOME VISAGES WOULD ONLY REMIND US OF BEFORE?!
no subject
Just as he was about to clarify, the second message came through… which promptly had Hanako smiling in glee. Not that Papyrus could see that.]
You might be onto something! …is what I’d like to say. Have you checked your visage in the pond of the Oasis? It might provide some first-hand revelations~!
tags that have me scour the questions and FAQ for hints what they might see in their reflections
Ooops XD
I was like, "oh no, is there something here? the caverns had something, but--"
Double Oh No~ ^^;
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