The Crossing Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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thecrossinglogs2025-04-19 09:44 am
thecrossingmods) wrote in thecrossinglogs2025-04-19 09:44 am
THE CROSSING #2
THE CROSSING #2
It's that time again.
For more detail on the particulars of the event, be sure to refer to our info and planning post!
For more detail on the particulars of the event, be sure to refer to our info and planning post!
always keep moving
— CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON
The Desert is sprawling. If you've ever gotten turned around in the rolling dunes, it may have once felt endless. But in the weeks and days before the descent of The Crossing, something appears on the horizon: first a dark smudge of storm clouds, not unlike the others that have rolled through before, then growing — wider, darker, and more threatening.
You feel it, too. For some of you the feeling is new; for others it's a reminder of a trial you've been through before. It's a weight in your body, a solidity of your self, a vulnerability to whatever is approaching.
The storm overtakes the oasis. As the first drops of rain begin to fall, The Ferryman speaks in your mind.
It's time. Those who are prepared to pay the toll are instructed to gather on the bank of The River. As for the rest of you... we hope you have a plan.
taking refuge
— THE RIVER OF MUD
The storm hits hard and fast. Even as you gather around The Ferryman, the rain grows from spitting droplets to a desert monsoon. The Ferryman's protection only goes so far: even if you're promised safety from danger, you'll still have to cope with the cold, the wind, and the water.
As before, The Lantern's Light grows dark. As before, The Ferryman gathers memories one by one, consolidated into a mote of light in their palm that becomes the new center point for the growing temporary bubble of safety. But this time— what it was too dark to notice in the Cavern before— you realize that The Ferryman themselves is changing, too. Their form fades as the light in their hands grows, becoming as fuzzy and insubstantial as mist... not unlike the wraiths, outside of The Crossing.
The sparkling white salt flat before you begins to melt and grow murky, exposing the sticky, grasping mud beneath. The Ferryman glides out over the roiling muck of The River, and so do you, your steps as light as if there were still a crust of salt to separate you from the mud before.
You must keep moving, though. Linger too long, and you'll start to sink... and the mud might not let go, this time.
— A HAVEN FROM THE WANTS AND ILLS OF LIFE
The journey is arduous, and the storm is unrelenting. The Ferryman, unfamiliar as they might be in this form, leads confidently through the blur of lightning, wind, and rain. As before, the mote of light created from your memories follows in their footsteps, illuminating the path to follow along the wide expanse of The River.
Even with The Ferryman's protection, it is exhausting work. It's as mentally taxing as it is physically draining. As such, when the path forward begins to shudder and shift, it may come as a reprieve. The wall of wind and rain finally breaks, the Desert around you replaced by... somewhere else. A place you may recognize, or may not.
Whatever stress or fear you may have been feeling from your journey wanes, replaced by feelings of calm, peace, or joy. If the place you are in is unfamiliar, the feelings are muted, as if they don't quite belong to you... but surely this is better than returning to the monsoon? Perhaps you can rest a while. Play a game, recover in shelter, or take a meditative walk through a maze. What's a few minutes, anyway? Time hardly means anything anymore.
Just don't forget: if you linger too long in any one place, the mud of The River will start to suck you down. It's best to stay alert— and to keep an eye on those traveling with you, as well.
storm chasers
— SWEPT AWAY
The Desert isn't designed to weather a storm like this one. Beyond the pounding rain and cracking lightning, those of you who have decided to travel without The Ferryman must also navigate the environment itself. Flash floods sweep through lower-lying places in the dunes, where the sand isn't able to absorb water quickly enough. Creatures that may have been docile before are now panicked, and might impede your progress, or even lash out themselves.
And, of course, there are the wraiths.
They're easier to spot this time around, across the rolling dunes. It's easier to make out just how much they've changed as well: the claws, the teeth, the exaggerated proportions... and the unmistakable pain and fury in every movement, in every shriek and wail.
You are vulnerable to any and all injury during this time, whether from the wraiths, the wildlife, or the elements. As long as you follow your gut, you'll know where to go — but we hope you have a strategy, all the same.
— AN EYE IN THE STORM
At least in the Cavern, you had cover. Nooks and crannies, branching tunnels, rocky outcroppings... But out here, beneath the wide-open sky of the Desert, there's very little in terms of shelter. The odd plateau, or cave entrance, or inexplicable feature might grant you some reprieve, but there's always more sand to cross in-between.
On occasion, however, you may spot a strange sort of wraith watching you at a distance. Some of you may even recognize it: an eerie, dissembling creature that some have dubbed the Smart Wraith. Its form, like the others, has solidified into something grotesque and painful, as if its body has been plucked like clay by a particularly spiteful child. Unlike the others, though, it does not attack, or even approach. It simply watches, as it always have.
If you have the presence of mind to notice, however, you may find that there are occasional reprieves from wraith attacks, especially across longer stretches of dunes. They're brief, but often crucially timed (such as when someone is significantly injured, or when a flood has just rolled through), and always correspond to a moment when The Wraith can be found watching from some far-flung vantage point.
It's odd, certainly. But do you have the luxury of looking a gift horse in the mouth?
stormbreak
— CLEARING SKIES
Eventually, the storm calms. Your body lightens. The atmosphere realigns.
The Crossing ends.
The thick, sucking mud of The River has become shallow and waterlogged. It's easy to wade through now, if a touch... unpleasant. Fibrous plants and reeds line the sloped banks, inexplicably dotted with bright orange flowers. Light is low, though the sky has cleared, as if wherever you are now lingers in perpetual dusk.
If you were traveling with The Ferryman, the mirages that dogged your journey finally fade and stay gone. If you were traveling on your own, any wounds you sustained heal rapidly on their own. As before, the healing is natural, but on fast-forward, and thus may not always resolve perfectly.
For both groups, memories bleed away from you - perhaps literally, perhaps not. Anything you found in the Desert, unless given to you by The Ferryman, is gone from your pockets.
When you look again, The Ferryman appears just the same as they were before The Crossing began. Let's take a break, they say. It's been a long journey.
It certainly has.
Image credits: 1, 2 + OMORI'S STORY, and stock imagery unless otherwise noted
The Desert is sprawling. If you've ever gotten turned around in the rolling dunes, it may have once felt endless. But in the weeks and days before the descent of The Crossing, something appears on the horizon: first a dark smudge of storm clouds, not unlike the others that have rolled through before, then growing — wider, darker, and more threatening.
You feel it, too. For some of you the feeling is new; for others it's a reminder of a trial you've been through before. It's a weight in your body, a solidity of your self, a vulnerability to whatever is approaching.
The storm overtakes the oasis. As the first drops of rain begin to fall, The Ferryman speaks in your mind.
It's time. Those who are prepared to pay the toll are instructed to gather on the bank of The River. As for the rest of you... we hope you have a plan.
taking refuge
The storm hits hard and fast. Even as you gather around The Ferryman, the rain grows from spitting droplets to a desert monsoon. The Ferryman's protection only goes so far: even if you're promised safety from danger, you'll still have to cope with the cold, the wind, and the water.
As before, The Lantern's Light grows dark. As before, The Ferryman gathers memories one by one, consolidated into a mote of light in their palm that becomes the new center point for the growing temporary bubble of safety. But this time— what it was too dark to notice in the Cavern before— you realize that The Ferryman themselves is changing, too. Their form fades as the light in their hands grows, becoming as fuzzy and insubstantial as mist... not unlike the wraiths, outside of The Crossing.
The sparkling white salt flat before you begins to melt and grow murky, exposing the sticky, grasping mud beneath. The Ferryman glides out over the roiling muck of The River, and so do you, your steps as light as if there were still a crust of salt to separate you from the mud before.
You must keep moving, though. Linger too long, and you'll start to sink... and the mud might not let go, this time.
— A HAVEN FROM THE WANTS AND ILLS OF LIFE
The journey is arduous, and the storm is unrelenting. The Ferryman, unfamiliar as they might be in this form, leads confidently through the blur of lightning, wind, and rain. As before, the mote of light created from your memories follows in their footsteps, illuminating the path to follow along the wide expanse of The River.
Even with The Ferryman's protection, it is exhausting work. It's as mentally taxing as it is physically draining. As such, when the path forward begins to shudder and shift, it may come as a reprieve. The wall of wind and rain finally breaks, the Desert around you replaced by... somewhere else. A place you may recognize, or may not.
Whatever stress or fear you may have been feeling from your journey wanes, replaced by feelings of calm, peace, or joy. If the place you are in is unfamiliar, the feelings are muted, as if they don't quite belong to you... but surely this is better than returning to the monsoon? Perhaps you can rest a while. Play a game, recover in shelter, or take a meditative walk through a maze. What's a few minutes, anyway? Time hardly means anything anymore.
Just don't forget: if you linger too long in any one place, the mud of The River will start to suck you down. It's best to stay alert— and to keep an eye on those traveling with you, as well.
storm chasers
The Desert isn't designed to weather a storm like this one. Beyond the pounding rain and cracking lightning, those of you who have decided to travel without The Ferryman must also navigate the environment itself. Flash floods sweep through lower-lying places in the dunes, where the sand isn't able to absorb water quickly enough. Creatures that may have been docile before are now panicked, and might impede your progress, or even lash out themselves.
And, of course, there are the wraiths.
They're easier to spot this time around, across the rolling dunes. It's easier to make out just how much they've changed as well: the claws, the teeth, the exaggerated proportions... and the unmistakable pain and fury in every movement, in every shriek and wail.
You are vulnerable to any and all injury during this time, whether from the wraiths, the wildlife, or the elements. As long as you follow your gut, you'll know where to go — but we hope you have a strategy, all the same.
— AN EYE IN THE STORM
At least in the Cavern, you had cover. Nooks and crannies, branching tunnels, rocky outcroppings... But out here, beneath the wide-open sky of the Desert, there's very little in terms of shelter. The odd plateau, or cave entrance, or inexplicable feature might grant you some reprieve, but there's always more sand to cross in-between.
On occasion, however, you may spot a strange sort of wraith watching you at a distance. Some of you may even recognize it: an eerie, dissembling creature that some have dubbed the Smart Wraith. Its form, like the others, has solidified into something grotesque and painful, as if its body has been plucked like clay by a particularly spiteful child. Unlike the others, though, it does not attack, or even approach. It simply watches, as it always have.
If you have the presence of mind to notice, however, you may find that there are occasional reprieves from wraith attacks, especially across longer stretches of dunes. They're brief, but often crucially timed (such as when someone is significantly injured, or when a flood has just rolled through), and always correspond to a moment when The Wraith can be found watching from some far-flung vantage point.
It's odd, certainly. But do you have the luxury of looking a gift horse in the mouth?
stormbreak
Eventually, the storm calms. Your body lightens. The atmosphere realigns.
The Crossing ends.
The thick, sucking mud of The River has become shallow and waterlogged. It's easy to wade through now, if a touch... unpleasant. Fibrous plants and reeds line the sloped banks, inexplicably dotted with bright orange flowers. Light is low, though the sky has cleared, as if wherever you are now lingers in perpetual dusk.
If you were traveling with The Ferryman, the mirages that dogged your journey finally fade and stay gone. If you were traveling on your own, any wounds you sustained heal rapidly on their own. As before, the healing is natural, but on fast-forward, and thus may not always resolve perfectly.
For both groups, memories bleed away from you - perhaps literally, perhaps not. Anything you found in the Desert, unless given to you by The Ferryman, is gone from your pockets.
When you look again, The Ferryman appears just the same as they were before The Crossing began. Let's take a break, they say. It's been a long journey.
It certainly has.
Image credits: 1, 2 + OMORI'S STORY, and stock imagery unless otherwise noted
Hanako | TBHK | OTA
It was a strange thing - feeling alive.
Hanako didn’t realize it at first, as the literal pull he felt tugging at him like an insistent Yorishiro occupied most of his attention… but it slowly sunk in.
The weight in his limbs, the way the breeze brushed against him. It had been so long since he had felt like this… and when the first raindrops hit, he held out his hand to catch one.
“Huh…” Hanako… didn’t like it. He felt vulnerable, and while there were things that could still harm him as a ghost, there were decidedly less than if he would have been alive.
The boy couldn’t let this deter him. In fact, when the group gathered and the rain drops turned into a verifiable downpour, Hanako simply smiles.
“It’s just a little rain~!” He’s soaked. He’s smiling. Maybe it truly hasn’t sunk in yet.
Swept Away
Well, at least the intel he had gathered before the Crossing was proving to be true. As Hanako kept most of his attention on Yashiro - on making sure she remained safe - he also found himself observing what he could… which was decidedly difficult with the storm.
Visibility wasn’t the greatest, the terrain kept getting swept away or muddied underfoot, and more than once Hanako himself had almost fallen down an unstable dune.
In fact… the first time it happened, Hanako hadn’t realized. He had been keeping an eye on his assistant - on her footing, on making sure she didn’t slip like her own clumsy self - and so hadn’t been paying attention to his own. When he felt the rock and sand beneath his right foot give way, there wasn’t enough time for him to right himself…
The boy let out a shout of surprise as he felt himself tumble down the soggy dune. He hit… something, his world spinning for a moment, before he stood up. No lingering pain (and yet he hadn’t realized the consequence of such a small thing).
“Ah, I’m alright! Nothing broken, see~?”
The Wraiths added a discordant background to the whole ordeal. The ghostly specters didn’t seem hindered by the storm, which aided in hiding them, and Hanako found himself almost jealous…
Especially as he let out a sneeze.
“Achoo! …it really has been a long time since the rain touched me… I don’t think I missed it…” A slight frown accompanied the shiver. Hopefully the noise didn’t attract any unwelcome guests… or destabilize another part of the already tumultuous desert…
Eye of the Storm
When they had a small reprieve, Hanako found himself sitting alone (even if they had all been more or less reunited in the aftermath of several slip ups and flash floods). Exhaustion as… whatever he was now weighed much heavier than when he had been dead, and while some part of him had expected that, it still was an inward shock.
Feeling the gaze of someone nearby, he plasters a smile to his face. “You should probably get some rest while we can, even if it’s just sitting.”
The boy’s gaze trails to the strange Wraith in the distance, so unlike the others. “It seems our ghostly neighbors are willing to leave us for the time being.” Unless this one attacked too.
Clearing Skies
Hanako couldn’t help it. As soon as the storm receded and they caught back up with the second group, he seemed to (quite dramatically) flop into a bed of the orange flowers lining their path.
He hadn’t taken what might qualify for a nap in fifty years and now… now he simply wanted to do just that.
Did they succeed? Did they fail? Everyone was (more or less) still here, as far as he could tell from a cursory glance, so… the more complex answers could wait for later.
(Or… if you approach him, he will talk.)
Wildcard
(Want to plan something else? Feel free to put a starter or connect with me on the Discord ^^ I left the middle section fairly open for this reason!)
Clearing Skies
It's but a moment before the skeleton wanders over to peer down at Hanako.
"Did one of the flowers... trip you?" Uncertain, but he asks like the possibility isn't entirely out of the question, with an edge of checking that the teen-looking ghost is okay.
With a little more edge of making fun, he adds, "or are you trying to sprout some roots? You might want to be on the mud itself for that."
no subject
“Ehehe~ Nothing of the sort! Just admiring things from a different view!”
It’s said with the same cheerfulness as usual but… there’s a muted tone to it. The exhaustion has made his normally upbeat exterior that much harder to call up (let alone the pensiveness of deliberating all they had been through).
“I’m not the sort of apparition that could turn into a tree… though maybe with enough rumors, that might happen!”
no subject
"How many rumors could be enough...?"
As he wonders this aloud, he briefly glances upwards to see just what view's being admired. A different sort of trees, it would seem - different from the oasis, different from Snowdin, and different from the few he saw on the surface as well. The novelty might invite some time flat in the marsh of his own, later on.
"I mean, don't feel pressured to answer! That's a question you can take or leaf as you like."
no subject
“Who knows~?” The upbeat reply might seem like a cop out, but as his features soften into something more neutral, the reason becomes clear. “The rules here are probably different than the ones I am used to. Our guide hinted at as much. A Before and whatever this is… but back at the school, so long as enough of the student body believed, then a rumor could outright change the very nature and form of an apparition.”
No need to fear this being used against him, not here. And, if this skeleton is going to be his right-hand, then it’s better to warn him of any potential danger, right?
no subject
He shivers a little, bones making a muffled rattling in the weird layered costume he's still wearing, and he shakes his head.
"If you couldn't go visiting, the way you used to... I'm sure it's different rules." Or, at the very least, he can try believing that it is, to help shore up Hanako's current image and nature.
"After all! The rules are different than the ones I'm used to. I'm here, dead... And without any magic to my name?" The idiom slips by him without thinking, only for him to catch it after the fact. "...Or maybe my magic is also off with my name. But I think it's just different rules here."
no subject
Though that shiver seems to imply that, hopefully, he is realizing there is more to the process than that…
There was something about the way that idiom was used that sounded strange, and it takes a moment for Hanako to catch why.
“You… don’t have a name?” That seemed to be the implication, at least.
no subject
Hopefully it's not something that would detract from his calisthenics expertise, or anything. Introductions are important! First impressions are important overall, and not just from names! He's sure he can make things work, even if it turns out radio taisoing really needs people to shout their names enthusiastically.
"Oh, well... I have a name. But I have, slightly... forgotten it, since I died," he can't resist rubbing sheepishly at his neck. "You know how it is... The mud is a little clingy, or something."
Not that they actually know the cause of the initial memory loss, given the Ferryman's confusion on the matter. But humorous explanations are good for lightening things up.
no subject
(His current name wasn’t his past one either, so he’s not holding it against anyone!)
So the boy just smiles, thoughtful for a moment. “That it is! I can’t even remember how I got here~”
Humor indeed, though Hanako’s statement is more fact than fun.
“In that case… for the time being, until you remember or choose a new one, mind if I call you No.2?”
It would be quite befitting of his status too!
no subject
The grim thing being more forgetfulness - and the thing being something as important as how Hanako... died? (double-died?) is a new twist to this whole afterlife thing, but one he's sure he's growing accustomed to.
But it's polite not to press about truths admitted like that, so he's setting the thought aside in time to have his full attention back on: a name suggestion!
"Number Two... I like it!!"
By now he's used to none of the suggestions clicking with him right away, and in that regard this one's no different. No spark of familiarity, no rush of memories flooding back.
But unlike the other times, he isn't distracted by even a little disappointment on the matter. Unlike most of the others, this one's not trying to be a proper name - it's a title, and one that invites a connection with the online handle it's clearly matching. With that sense of welcome further buoying him, he grins brighter than their surroundings.
"You're welcome to use it indefinitely! Even if I recover my name any time soon, that can always go on a nametag instead."
no subject
Hanako is glad - not that he was trying to give the other some sort of grounding purpose, but if it helps with his adjustment… that works perfectly fine~
“Of course! Just because you get a name doesn’t mean your position would suddenly be swept away~”
Hanako… had both (and at the same time, a lack of a name. Not his name. Not truly, but it didn’t bother him. the separation was easier that way), so he could certainly understand the sentiment.
Two out of seven… good to know their group is growing! “And hey - maybe wherever we end up next will have ample space for our calisthenics!”
no subject
As for the rest of the notion... He startles, smile wavering slightly at the reminder.
"We can only hope!!! I have to admit... I'm having a little regrets about not starting things in the desert. I wanted to get a routine down pat... But I hadn't counted on so much vegetation."
He turns in place, resting his hands on his hips, as he considers the orange flowers surrounding them.
"I'd hate for us to all get so carried away that we destroy the plants in our exercise enthusiasm... Guess we'll need to look for a good packed dirt area, or something."
no subject
That was standard for Hanako, but he’s so used to students needing to hydrate during their gym classes that it still feels like a concern!
“Plus we wouldn’t want someone falling down a dune or something! We can scout whatever comes next.”
Though looking beneath their feet, it seems likely to have more vegetation than the Desert either way.
Clearing Skies
The 'kids'? As he considered Hanako and Yashiro? They certainly got his attention considering he knew what it was like not to cross with the ferryman.
Kel hopped at the other's side, kneeling on the bed of flowers and trying to pat his back.]
Hey buddy. how are you holding up?
no subject
All in one piece! [Still, he made the effort to smile and sit back up, showcasing that he had no missing limbs in the process.] What about you? Hold up alright, shounen?
[It was easier when he could drudge up a bit of teasing, and the nickname is a stepping stone to that. He just needed to get a better idea of how much he could push, so he didn’t go too far.]
no subject
You can keep resting on the flowers, you know? [Ah. Shounen again. He didn't quite know what that meant but Yashiro called him like that as well. Oh, well, it was probably not an offensive thing, right?] Doing wonderfully. Can't remember what I lost so I'm just happy the trip is over, it's not nice walking around between water and mud, huh? How was your side of the trip?
no subject
At the admission, Hanako flopped back down onto the flowers, though his mask still didn’t drop entirely.]
Does it really fill you with such a sense of relief? That something has been taken from you?
[Instead of answering what their side of the trip had been like, that seemed the more pressing issue. Hanako’s tone was even, somewhat contemplative, as he looked up at the other teen.]
no subject
there there, you made it. He wondered what was going to happen *if* someone was not going to complete the crossing, one way or another, but everyone seemed to be accounted for... right?]
It doesn't. I hate it. But the trip is over and I can't feel any... void. And I trust Sunny and Mari to remember what I lost for me, like I remember all I can about what they lost. We do have a moment of respite, at least, and it's also time to investigate.
I wonder what awaits us beside... humidity, it seems?
[And, when Hanako glanced up in his direction, Kel merely smiled. A reflex, perhaps, but it was still there.]
no subject
But then he recovers just enough.]
Seems like hot springs is out of the answer, sadly. Such a shame. It’d be much more temperate of a warmth if so~
[Still, Hanako has to wonder, inwardly, where they would end up. It’s not like he’s had any experience finishing out a Crossing before now, but if he takes Kel’s musings at face value, it seems like they might get hints about where they end up at the area in-between?]
Eye in the Storm
Aww ‘least favorite person’ is honored XD
“Worried about me, doc~?”
It’s a rhetorical question, in a way - though maybe the emotion isn’t attached to the sentiment and he’s just doing his job.
“Hmmm… I don’t think so?” His answer is truthful. Hanako slid down a dune and (maybe) thunked his head, but he’s not remembering that. There’s no lingering pain, either, so… he isn’t lying? Still, an inspection shows all his limbs are still attached and no scratches! That’s a win surely!
lmaooo
"I worry about everyone here." The Bachelor retorts back, clearly stressed, "But you look fine. So far. You're lucky. Make sure to stay close to us."
no subject
Or maybe it was more fitting to say ‘what they don’t know won’t kill them.’
Either way, Hanako doesn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest! The way the Bachelor snips at him - stress, most like - has his teasing exterior being dropped.
“Is it the rain or something else?”
He won’t spell it all out for Dankovsky, not right away, as he assumes the other is smart enough to pick up his train of thought. Especially when the boy’s amber eyes give the man a steady look.
no subject
He looks pointedly at the strange wraith out in the distance, staring at the two of them.
"All of the wraiths except for that one seem intent on trying to kill us." Dankovsky says, not bothering to dance around the fact that he still indeed thinks that he's alive.
no subject
The Bachelor seemed stressed enough as is.
Hanako’s gaze followed to the unusual wraith. “I did notice that. Either it’s giving us a break, or maybe it isn’t as malicious as its associates.”
The boy had dealt with a lot of spirits, back at the school, so the idea that there were ones spurred by negative emotion or want and others more stable wasn’t a foreign concept.