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thecrossinglogs2024-11-09 11:57 am
thecrossingmods) wrote in thecrossinglogs2024-11-09 11:57 am
TEST DRIVE #1
TDM # 1
Welcome to The Cavern, wayward souls.
It's good to see you again.
The TDM is game canon and will be active NOV—JAN. 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 NOV—JAN. For further details about the setting, please reference our current setting page. All the information there is fair game for this TDM.
arrival
— THE RIVER
The River is wide, black, and deep. It is so deep, and so dark, and so cold, that when you wake deep beneath its surface you may, for a moment, think that this is all there is. An abyss, a vacuum, a void. Nothingness in all directions.
It might even be what you expected, coming from wherever you were Before. The blackness, at least. Perhaps the cold. Maybe even the pain: all-encompassing, all-consuming. If a mortal wound brought you here, it might feel like it's being torn open anew, over and over again.
The current is simply slow, however, not non-existent. And you can swim. (Or, even if you can't, that's more of a procedural problem than anything: you don't need to breathe down here, it seems. Perhaps you don't need to breathe anymore at all.)
It hurts. It hurts so much. But if you can just concentrate long enough to pull yourself up onto the rocky shoreline, or even enough to get your head above the surface of the water, that pain will dissipate, almost as if it was never there at all. When you have the presence of mind to examine yourself, you'll find that you are actually hale and whole, with your body exactly as you expect it to be.
There are others in your same predicament. Maybe they can help you; maybe you can help them. You're all in this together, after all.
— THE CAVERN
Once you do finally pull yourself free from The River, you'll find that there was never any abyss at all. On the contrary, there's quite a lot to see — though your eyes might need a minute or two to adjust.
The Cavern yawns around you, the main chamber alone large enough to house a small town, and the ceiling too high to make out through the darkness. There's some light: you can see the eerie green glow of bioluminescent plants lining far-away walls, and tracing the underside of the land bridge that extends over The River. There are pinpricks up high on the cliffs above The River that are organized enough to suggest intervention, or at least planning.
There's something else, too — something orders of magnitude brighter than anything else in the chamber. Its glow is dim on this side of The River, and it's difficult to discern where exactly the light is coming from, just that it isn't coming from anywhere outside the cave. You feel as though you might be safer if you got closer, but maybe that's just because any light at all is comforting in a situation like this. If nothing else, you'd probably find whoever is holding it.
Either way, whether you follow the light or don't, there's plenty of time to be alone with your thoughts. Or to share them, if you're so inclined, with the others that are here with you, emerging one by one from the depths of The River.
Perhaps you've already accepted what's happened to you. Perhaps you need time, and it will take some discussion with the others to arrive at the one thing you all have in common. Perhaps even after that it's still too much, or you still aren't ready. However you get there, though, there's no way around it: you are dead.
If you have questions, The Ferryman is available to answer them.
KEEP TO THE LIGHT
— THE LANTERN
The source of the light is a lantern — specifically, it is The Ferryman's Lantern, an ornate metal lamp hanging from the end of a tall wooden staff. It's large, weathered from use, and despite how improbably far its glow casts — from the land bridge over The River, where The Ferryman is holding their vigil, up the cliffs above and into the subterranean city's many tunnels — it isn't so bright that it can't be comfortably looked at. The Lantern has an unmistakable aura of comfort and safety (maybe because of, or maybe in addition to, the light it casts), no matter how close or far you are from it.
It's only at the very far edges of the glow, where the last bits of light are swallowed by the darkness, that this sense of safety begins to fray. It's here that you can see them, prowling the boundary: wisps of something that you can barely see. Many somethings, in fact.
They can't cross into the light, it seems. All they can do is wait for you to leave it.
— THE SUBTERRANEAN CITY
Maybe you'd rather stay for now, though. There's plenty still to explore within The Lantern's shroud: to start with, the network of tunnels you can see built into the cliffs above The River.
The biggest hurdle is figuring out how to get into the city. You can spy the entrances, marked by dimly glowing torches set into the open mouths of tunnels, but they're so high up! Surely you're not meant to climb?
Well, yes and no. Some investigation reveals a series of wood-plank catwalks leading up to the lowest tunnel entrances, but it's a long climb. If you're feeling impatient (and brave), there's also a system of pulleys, ziplines, and simple rope elevators connecting the higher levels to the lower ones. The ropes have clearly been here a while, but they're probably safe, right? What's the worst that could happen, you die all over again?
(Too soon? We get it.)
There's plenty to see once you reach the city itself, even if there isn't much in way of a population. (Until now, at least!) The lamps and torches lining the walls are packed with the same bioluminescent plantlife that can be found elsewhere in the cavern, so there's no risk of them spontaneously going out. There are signs placed strategically throughout the tunnel system to point you toward major landmarks, using only simple iconography.
The city itself certainly appears lived in, even if it's currently empty; in fact, if you pay close attention to the signage and the decor, there appear to be layers of activity not unlike the rings of a very old tree. Older tapestries covered with newer ones with entirely different patterns; boxes of radically different table trinkets carefully stored in apartment closets, to make room for new ones on a shelf; evidence of the stone market stalls having multiple different usages, many of them apparently in sequence.
Some of those tapestries or trinkets might even be familiar to you, like they came from a culture of your homeworld. Strange, though, since you didn't arrive with anything similar on you. Where could they possibly have come from?
VENTURE IN THE DARK
— THE WRAITHS
The Cavern is big, and The Ferryman's Lantern only reaches so far. If you want to explore, you'll need to brave the darkness— and whatever else might be waiting out there for you.
You'll have some light, at least, even if it isn't much: the luminescent plants grow throughout the cave system, including its winding tunnels and cramped smaller chambers. As for whatever else might be lurking out there, well... without The Lantern, there's not much you can do to keep them at bay.
The Ferryman calls them "wraiths", if you were curious enough to ask beforehand. They're more what you might typically expect from the idea of a ghost: pale and insubstantial, like mist struggling to take and keep a shape.
And they certainly do have shapes; those shapes are just incomplete, sometimes blurry, like a pencil drawing that has smudged and faded over time. They have faces that seem to have been stretched too long or too wide; they have eyes with no color, unblinking, always staring back; some of them have mouths that never close, while others have no mouths at all; some of them have hands with wispy tendrils of grasping fingers; others' limbs seem to have lost their shape entirely.
There are dozens of them lingering just outside the boundary of The Lantern, and many more roaming throughout The Cavern. They do not speak, or otherwise make any sounds at all. They do not swarm, either, even when one of The Ferryman's souls crosses the boundary. They simply watch, and, seemingly at random, some will choose to follow you anywhere you go throughout The Cavern.
Annoying, maybe. Creepy, certainly. But that seems to be all. Just remember: The Lantern is the only thing that keeps the wraiths at bay. They can't hurt you, out in the darkness, but they will notice you, they will follow you, and they will remember you.
If your exploration takes you to the catacombs, you may find that your wraith shadows get lost just as easily as you in the tunnel system. Perhaps they get distracted? Or maybe they have some curiosity about the tunnels that outweighs their curiosity about you? Either way, it's possible to lose them for some amount of time there— but the wraiths aren't bound by petty things like physics the way you are. They will find you again eventually, either by floating through some wall, appearing at the dead-end of a tunnel, or even just waiting at the entrance for you to emerge again.
If, on the other hand, you find yourself stumbling upon the whispering pools, you'll discover that wraiths gather in droves there, circling the pools, sometimes trying in vain to press their faces to the water. The wraiths that followed you here seem to be the only exception; whatever the pools are saying, it's apparently not interesting enough to draw them away from you.
Aren't you lucky?
Image credits: 1, 2, 3 + stock imagery unless otherwise noted
The River is wide, black, and deep. It is so deep, and so dark, and so cold, that when you wake deep beneath its surface you may, for a moment, think that this is all there is. An abyss, a vacuum, a void. Nothingness in all directions.
It might even be what you expected, coming from wherever you were Before. The blackness, at least. Perhaps the cold. Maybe even the pain: all-encompassing, all-consuming. If a mortal wound brought you here, it might feel like it's being torn open anew, over and over again.
The current is simply slow, however, not non-existent. And you can swim. (Or, even if you can't, that's more of a procedural problem than anything: you don't need to breathe down here, it seems. Perhaps you don't need to breathe anymore at all.)
It hurts. It hurts so much. But if you can just concentrate long enough to pull yourself up onto the rocky shoreline, or even enough to get your head above the surface of the water, that pain will dissipate, almost as if it was never there at all. When you have the presence of mind to examine yourself, you'll find that you are actually hale and whole, with your body exactly as you expect it to be.
There are others in your same predicament. Maybe they can help you; maybe you can help them. You're all in this together, after all.
— THE CAVERN
Once you do finally pull yourself free from The River, you'll find that there was never any abyss at all. On the contrary, there's quite a lot to see — though your eyes might need a minute or two to adjust.
The Cavern yawns around you, the main chamber alone large enough to house a small town, and the ceiling too high to make out through the darkness. There's some light: you can see the eerie green glow of bioluminescent plants lining far-away walls, and tracing the underside of the land bridge that extends over The River. There are pinpricks up high on the cliffs above The River that are organized enough to suggest intervention, or at least planning.
There's something else, too — something orders of magnitude brighter than anything else in the chamber. Its glow is dim on this side of The River, and it's difficult to discern where exactly the light is coming from, just that it isn't coming from anywhere outside the cave. You feel as though you might be safer if you got closer, but maybe that's just because any light at all is comforting in a situation like this. If nothing else, you'd probably find whoever is holding it.
Either way, whether you follow the light or don't, there's plenty of time to be alone with your thoughts. Or to share them, if you're so inclined, with the others that are here with you, emerging one by one from the depths of The River.
Perhaps you've already accepted what's happened to you. Perhaps you need time, and it will take some discussion with the others to arrive at the one thing you all have in common. Perhaps even after that it's still too much, or you still aren't ready. However you get there, though, there's no way around it: you are dead.
If you have questions, The Ferryman is available to answer them.
KEEP TO THE LIGHT
The source of the light is a lantern — specifically, it is The Ferryman's Lantern, an ornate metal lamp hanging from the end of a tall wooden staff. It's large, weathered from use, and despite how improbably far its glow casts — from the land bridge over The River, where The Ferryman is holding their vigil, up the cliffs above and into the subterranean city's many tunnels — it isn't so bright that it can't be comfortably looked at. The Lantern has an unmistakable aura of comfort and safety (maybe because of, or maybe in addition to, the light it casts), no matter how close or far you are from it.
It's only at the very far edges of the glow, where the last bits of light are swallowed by the darkness, that this sense of safety begins to fray. It's here that you can see them, prowling the boundary: wisps of something that you can barely see. Many somethings, in fact.
They can't cross into the light, it seems. All they can do is wait for you to leave it.
— THE SUBTERRANEAN CITY
Maybe you'd rather stay for now, though. There's plenty still to explore within The Lantern's shroud: to start with, the network of tunnels you can see built into the cliffs above The River.
The biggest hurdle is figuring out how to get into the city. You can spy the entrances, marked by dimly glowing torches set into the open mouths of tunnels, but they're so high up! Surely you're not meant to climb?
Well, yes and no. Some investigation reveals a series of wood-plank catwalks leading up to the lowest tunnel entrances, but it's a long climb. If you're feeling impatient (and brave), there's also a system of pulleys, ziplines, and simple rope elevators connecting the higher levels to the lower ones. The ropes have clearly been here a while, but they're probably safe, right? What's the worst that could happen, you die all over again?
(Too soon? We get it.)
There's plenty to see once you reach the city itself, even if there isn't much in way of a population. (Until now, at least!) The lamps and torches lining the walls are packed with the same bioluminescent plantlife that can be found elsewhere in the cavern, so there's no risk of them spontaneously going out. There are signs placed strategically throughout the tunnel system to point you toward major landmarks, using only simple iconography.
The city itself certainly appears lived in, even if it's currently empty; in fact, if you pay close attention to the signage and the decor, there appear to be layers of activity not unlike the rings of a very old tree. Older tapestries covered with newer ones with entirely different patterns; boxes of radically different table trinkets carefully stored in apartment closets, to make room for new ones on a shelf; evidence of the stone market stalls having multiple different usages, many of them apparently in sequence.
Some of those tapestries or trinkets might even be familiar to you, like they came from a culture of your homeworld. Strange, though, since you didn't arrive with anything similar on you. Where could they possibly have come from?
VENTURE IN THE DARK
The Cavern is big, and The Ferryman's Lantern only reaches so far. If you want to explore, you'll need to brave the darkness— and whatever else might be waiting out there for you.
You'll have some light, at least, even if it isn't much: the luminescent plants grow throughout the cave system, including its winding tunnels and cramped smaller chambers. As for whatever else might be lurking out there, well... without The Lantern, there's not much you can do to keep them at bay.
The Ferryman calls them "wraiths", if you were curious enough to ask beforehand. They're more what you might typically expect from the idea of a ghost: pale and insubstantial, like mist struggling to take and keep a shape.
And they certainly do have shapes; those shapes are just incomplete, sometimes blurry, like a pencil drawing that has smudged and faded over time. They have faces that seem to have been stretched too long or too wide; they have eyes with no color, unblinking, always staring back; some of them have mouths that never close, while others have no mouths at all; some of them have hands with wispy tendrils of grasping fingers; others' limbs seem to have lost their shape entirely.
There are dozens of them lingering just outside the boundary of The Lantern, and many more roaming throughout The Cavern. They do not speak, or otherwise make any sounds at all. They do not swarm, either, even when one of The Ferryman's souls crosses the boundary. They simply watch, and, seemingly at random, some will choose to follow you anywhere you go throughout The Cavern.
Annoying, maybe. Creepy, certainly. But that seems to be all. Just remember: The Lantern is the only thing that keeps the wraiths at bay. They can't hurt you, out in the darkness, but they will notice you, they will follow you, and they will remember you.
If your exploration takes you to the catacombs, you may find that your wraith shadows get lost just as easily as you in the tunnel system. Perhaps they get distracted? Or maybe they have some curiosity about the tunnels that outweighs their curiosity about you? Either way, it's possible to lose them for some amount of time there— but the wraiths aren't bound by petty things like physics the way you are. They will find you again eventually, either by floating through some wall, appearing at the dead-end of a tunnel, or even just waiting at the entrance for you to emerge again.
If, on the other hand, you find yourself stumbling upon the whispering pools, you'll discover that wraiths gather in droves there, circling the pools, sometimes trying in vain to press their faces to the water. The wraiths that followed you here seem to be the only exception; whatever the pools are saying, it's apparently not interesting enough to draw them away from you.
Aren't you lucky?
Image credits: 1, 2, 3 + stock imagery unless otherwise noted
Arrival - Deep Below (TW for death description)
Still, when he finally spots the other teen, Kel feels like the little tiny spark of hope he had has been extinguished.
The water is cold, it's unpleasant, it gives him all the wrong kind of negative feelings, but he instinctively steps back in until it reaches his knees.]
Sunny!
[It's him, right? Right? He has to push away all the awful feelings pooling in his chest, all the anxiety, his friend has never been a good swimmer and now he's still in the middle of a river. As soon as he will get any reply, any confirmation that person is actually Sunny, he'll rush in to try to get him out.]
Sunny, is that you? If you can't talk, just raise one hand up, I'm- [Last time he was too slow, he didnt quite reach him in time, he failed Sunny but.] I got you, man!
CW: not a great swimmer, past injury pain
The shock he felt, something like a startling through his system, was the same as it had been three days ago - the same rush that had filled him when Kel had knocked on his door after four years.
It was hope. It was despair. If Kel was here… that meant they both were…
Sunny shot his thoughts down before his head could dip beneath the surface again. He couldn’t shout, not with his vocal cords as rusty as they were from disuse, but he succeeded in raising one hand up, waving…
Before he floundered back beneath the surface. Peace for less than an instant, then the pain returned. It hurt. It hurt.
The River was slow moving, but that didn’t help when the boy hadn’t been a great swimmer to begin with. The air was knocked from him in a stream of bubbles, his limbs flailed, but… he was fine. Aside from the sharp pain in his eye… he wasn’t drowning.
A miracle.
A curse.Why do you always wait around for someone to save you?]
CW: suicide mention
The water was cold and it had some kind of effect on both his mind and body, but that was Sunny and he couldn't help but move back in the river to try to reach him. He would have done the same for Hero. For Aubrey. For his closest friends.
The teen pushed foward, ignoring the freezing sensation already reaching his non existent bones and the feelings- there was no pain, not above the surface, but he still felt things he didn't want to focus on, Kel wasn't going to stop there and cry when he was needed.
As soon as he reached the spot where he saw Sunny's head, more or less, he plunged his head below surface, ignoring the sense of pain starting to resurface. Soon he was going to feel his bones snap apart, his body fall into pieces, but that was something he could force himself to ignore. At least for a moment. Right?
Kel blindly waved his hand in the dark for a good moment, then finally felt something, fabric against his fingers. He didn't even think too much as he wrapped his hands around the piece of clothing, not even sure of what he was actually holding onto, and started to push up in order of bringing both of them to the surface.
He was late, he couldn't stop his friend from taking his own life, but he wasn't going to fail him now.]
CW: low self-esteem, suicidal ideation
Even if it wouldn’t hurt that badly.Pain had blinded him (quite literally) to the point of not knowing whether a friend or foe was reaching out to him. Maybe it was another specter, maybe it was something come to finally punish him…][The teen’s head broke the surface of the water. He breathed in air - never mind the fact he didn’t need it, all of his reactions were instinctual right now - coughing from exertion. Blinking water out of his singular gaze, grateful for the pain ebbing to a low thrum, then… nothing.]
K-Kel…?
[He still couldn’t be sure it was his friend. What if his mind was playing tricks on him? He didn’t deserve a friendly face here, didn’t deserve to be rescued, he should have just let the water take him… but he couldn’t - wouldn’t - say that out loud to the other teen.]
no subject
That water. It was the worst. He wanted to get out as soon as possible.
He also wanted to cry, to scream, to ask so many questions, but he was not good at articulating things like that. Not when his whole body screamed 'not now'. Oh, god, Sunny's eye was- He had to rip his clothes or something and cover it, later, for the other's comfort. Right? Or was it his own?]
Never fear, your friendly neighbour is here!
[Despite the attempt, the tone wasn't as cheerful as he wanted. Despite the smile stamped on his face, it didn't really reach his eyes, nor it radiated the usual warmth. He was trying his best, but it wasn't quite working.]
Hold onto me, buddy, I'm going to take us to solid ground. Can you do that? It gets better once you're out of the water.
no subject
Out of the water. That could come first.
Sunny nodded, shivering, clinging to the other teen. He wasn’t much help in propelling them towards shore. The cold bit into his bones, making his movements sluggish, but as long as he kept his head above water…
God, he was the worst. Kel was having to basically keep him afloat, and if Sunny felt this pain, then his friend did too. Why did he have to be useless? Why did Kel always have to be the one to save him?]
no subject
Out of the water came first. The river didn't just hurt physically, that little bit of stability he obtained was starting to slip away. He was glad not to be alone there, he wanted to scream because one of his friends was also dead.]
That's it, Sunny. Don't let go, okay? It'll get better soon.
[He needed both arms if he wanted to swim, so he just made sure to feel the other's grasp around his body before starting to push. Not too quickly, so Sunny wouldn't struggle to hold onto him, not too slowly since he couldn't wait to be out of there.
The moment his feet finally touched solid ground, Kel let out a sigh of relief, shifting the weight around and moving so Sunny could support himself vertically against him instead as they slowly walked out. He knew he was the taller one, but it was just a matter of steps before the other could feel the bottom of the river as well.]
See? All good. A few steps and the cold will be gone too.
[Saving him? Saving him? Oh, Sunny couldn't be more wrong even if he tried, Kel let him die. Kel failed him when it really mattered and- god, how could he even discuss that kind of tings? how to ask for any kind of question?]
no subject
All Sunny could do was hang onto Kel with what strength his weakened limbs had left.
The past three days. Now. That was all he could do. The guilt hit his stomach like heavy acid, burning, as they reached the shoreline.]
S-sorry.
[The apology came out choked, mumbled, lost in the jumble of knotted feelings that threatened to burst from his insides. Sunny knew why he was here - well, he was pretty sure he knew. He had failed, in so many ways than just one. But… Kel. Kel was here. Why? And yet… the teen couldn’t ask the question. He was afraid to know, afraid that it was somehow his fault.
So he was running from the truth. Again.]
no subject
The only focus was pushing forward, it had always been.]
Hey. No need to be sorry, okay?
[YES need. Sunny didn't speak much, and he hated the first words in a while had to be that. His entire self was overwhelmed by feelings of 'it's my fault' and 'it's his fault' that kept going back and forth. But no. the surface kept being friendly as he could, kept being warm.]
Give yourself some time, we're going to dry more quickly than you expect and as soon as that happens you'll feel a lot warmer, promise.
[As warm as a hellish place like that could offer.]
no subject
So the teen simply nodded, sitting down on the driest but closest section of land he could find - making sure to attempt sitting where Kel didn’t have to look at his injured eye; that was probably uncomfortable for his friend on so many levels. Legs tucked close, resting one arm against his knee and hiding his right eye from view… not that it changed how he saw the world. It was still just darkness.]
tw: body left behind mention?
What if he didn't hesitate before rushing after him? What if he held on the cold railings just with a bit more force? He wanted to scream, but with Sunny looking as miserable as he did... how could he?
Kel bit his lips, not really finding the strength to put on a smile for a moment, then he lifted his shirt up, using teeth to rip away a strip of fabric from the bottom. It took a bit of effort and it was far from a clear cut, but he moved closer to Sunny once more, trying to kneel in front of him.]
I see you're bothered by your... situation. It's... I don't mind looking at it- [That was a filthy lie, how could he even look at it without feeling his stomach boiling with rage at what Basil did? But Basil wasn't there and the eye- he could blame Sunny for not calling for help, but nothing more.] But it looks like it's bothering you.
Here, do you want to cover it? I know orange isn't exactly your color, but we have to try to make things comfortable as we can, right?
[Was Sunny going to... stay like that forever? Considering his body probably ended up all over the floor in the real world and he was a single piece there, Kel expected... wounds to be healed? But that maybe only applied to whatever killed someone.]
CW: eye discussion, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment
How could he say that though? Who wouldn’t be bothered by the sight of a missing eye? Sunny himself hadn’t bothered to look in the river’s reflection, hadn’t wanted to. He just knew it had to be awful, even further than that… and he had a weak stomach to begin with.
But… Kel was Kel. Considerate, even when Sunny didn’t deserve it. God, he didn’t deserve it at all. His fists balled up, clenching his shorts to avoid nails biting into his skin.
The teen nodded. If only for the fact that they really couldn’t put that strip of fabric back on Kel’s shirt, it would be a waste not to use it… right?]
…sorry… [He mumbled again, small, curling in on himself more. Even the fact that he was apologizing so much… that had to be annoying. Would Kel get fed up with it? Leave him alone? Decide Sunny wasn’t worth it after all? But… what else could he say?]
no subject
The sight of the other's eye made his stomach churn, but there was no point in showing that to Sunny. He was the one who lost an eye after all.
Sunny was his best friend, he had always been and this... Kel had to keep it together. If the other jumped it was because something had to be seriously wrong, broken, and now Sunny was forced to 'live' with the consequences of that. Knowing he also killed another person with himself.
Saying sorry wasn't enough, but at the same time there was no way to simply... go back. And Kel was perhaps too afraid of being alone in such a place just to push the other away- there was selfishness in his patience too.]
Don't be. It was awful but bros stick together, right? I know you're going through a lot of bad thoughts right now- everything sucks, but we're going to figure this out mh?
[He did try to reach, but as soon as his hand reached his field of view Kel had to lower it. Feelings were... complicated.]
I can't say I understand how you're feeling, but... for whatever I'm here.
[It wasn't like he had any other place where to go...]
no subject
No. Sorry didn’t even begin to make up for all he had to atone for.
And if Sunny thought he was going through something… Kel was going through it too. The other was here. And yet… Sunny couldn’t even say anything to that. Couldn’t do anything but nod and sit there, until his hands reached out for the piece of Kel’s shirt.
Tying that was going to be a pain.]
no subject
A nod was a miserable reply, yes, but Kel could only imagine how someone felt being well aware they didn't just end their own life but also dragged a devoted friend with them. How could he make it better? For both of them?
He could see the other's struggles, but at the same time- unlike before, when it was necessary, he couldn't bring himself to close the distance between them and help. His body, physical or not, still remembered trying to reach for his friend, holding him close for their last moments, and the simple idea of touching more than needed made him sick to his stomach.]
Hey. I know it's scary right now, but... I'm sure it's going to be fine.
[Empty words, he didn't believe in them. Not now.]
no subject
Why couldn’t he have been Omori here? Why couldn’t this have been another dream, or some place he would sink to in order to distract himself? Why did this have to be real?
No amount of questioning would fix the situation. The teen finally got the scrap of fabric tied around his head… even if it was a bit awkward. Pieces of dark hair jutted upwards around the material, but he hadn’t bothered to fix them. He at least… felt a little like things were normal again.
The darkness in his right eye was just from cloth covering it. The cavern they were in was just another place to explore.
Another lie.
At least this time the nod Sunny gave Kel was a bit sturdier. Even more surprising, he stood up, singular gaze glancing at the area around them. It wouldn’t do to just sit here, wouldn’t it?
That’s right - treat it like just another game. Another dream. He was dead, after all, so nothing here could harm him more than he already was… right?]
no subject
It was time to be 'The Kel']
Oh, man, I should have made the strip longer.
[A single, calm comment with some amusement in it, ignoring the suffocating anxiety and fear bubbling just below the surface. Sunny was a liar, but Kel was no better at the moment. Perhaps he was terrible with other kind of lies but... the 'everything is good' when it came to him? It was almost natural.
He almost wanted to lie down and just... wait for whatever was to come, but Sunny was now standing up so he found himself moving on his feet as well.]
Yeah, you're right. It's time to explore. Gotta admit I haven't seen a lot, not yet, I was kind of waiting for you. Hoping you wouldn't show up, actually, but- hey, it mwans we get to be adventurers together, right? Better than Spaceboy and his men. Oh, wait, you're a bit like Spaceboy, now. Shall I call you Captain?
[Disgusting. He was a disgusting person. He was joking in a situation like this. But what else could Kel even do?]
no subject
Right, it was just the cloth that made things dark.
Even if he did look a little silly with it tied haphazardly around his head… Still, if Sunny had known Kel wanted to lay down, he would have done the same. Probably for all eternity. Maybe he could have just stayed in his dreams then…
But Sunny figured Kel wanted to keep moving. Or at least find a comfier space to camp.
He bit back another apology at the fact Kel had been waiting for him. Waiting for him? How long had Kel been here? Sunny… didn’t want to know the answer to that either. So he fell back into relying on his friend. The Captain comment did reward Kel with the tiniest of smiles.
Even if it was tinged with anxiety and self-loathing. Even if the swirling ache in his stomach was getting worse. Kel wasn’t the only disgusting one here.]
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But was he actually good at reading it? How did he even miss...]
Well, Captain- [He did see that hint of a smile and he forced himself to reflect it with a big, wide one. No matter what was eating him inside, he had to smile. Smile smile and smile even more. It was a good thing he wasn't touching Sunny in any way, instead of invading his personal space as usual, the teen knew every muscle of his body was tense like a spring ready to snap.
He was so scared, so angry, so sad. What was Hero- oh. Oh, no. He was never going to see Hero again, was he? Kel slapped both hands on his knees to stop himself from going mentally in a very dangerous direction.] Your call, as usual? There's a ferryman not too far, but I haven't really been in the mood to talk with them. Very spooky. And some lights in that direction- I think I can vaguely see a city. We could also explore around and see where we end!
A whole new world. For me, you and... apparently a bunch of other people. I've seen few others move around. What do you think, time to try to make some new friends?
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Welcome back, indecision and anxiety.
His palms grew slick with nervous sweat. He tried wiping in on his shorts but… it still remained. Just like the water from the river, just like the things he was trying to run away from…
But… he was supposed to be Captain, right? Captains made decisions for their crew… and took on all of the burden if anything went wrong. Omori made those kinds of decisions (well, Sunny did, when he was the more assured version of himself), except here? Here, some Life Jam wouldn’t fix the problem. But… they were already dead, so did that mean…?
The teen’s dark gaze darted around. Light, lantern, dark. He shook his head vigorously - definitely no to the dark, and no to more people.]
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He grinned widely, taking note of the other's body language. Tension eh could see it. Dark and people were a no, huh? The city option seemed to get a less tense response out of his friend's body.
So...]
Well, Cap, Wherever you choose yo go, your bro is here!
[A grin, a wink, he almost felt like passing awayor throwing up, but he desperately kept things together.]
Doesn't it feel a bit like when we were kids? Going on adventure together, no really knowing what to expect- but this time we dont exactly have a park where to hide.
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[He focused on Kel’s words. Right. That Sunny could do. It… gave him an idea. Something in his gaze changed, a small knit between his brows, as he looked around again.]
…find it… someplace similar…
[They didn’t have a park here, but surely that didn’t mean they couldn’t find a safe place? Somewhere they could meet up if they got separated, somewhere that would be a bit more comforting than the shoreline beside the River… Sunny’s gaze centered on the city again, this time… some determination in it.]
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At least Sunny seemed to have some kind of determination, which.... good. Like, really good. He couldn't hope for anything else given their circumstances, he could barely keep himself together, having to drag sunny around was not an option. he wasn't strong enough for now.]
Yeah! That sounds good! We can look for something familiar! And if nothing makes us happy in that sense? WE can make it ourselves! nothing can stop us, right?
[The city was their goal, then? Fine. He didn't even know if he cared to get tehre but if that was sunny's goal- they were going to move.]
we may even take something to have light around the place, right? And, and.... oh, right! I don't know how our bodies work, not now, but if you get too tired let me know. I'll carry you. You've already been through a lot.
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fake as it might be- but… he could take a page from Omori’s book, right? Worst that happens was… what? It couldn’t be worse than being dead, right?Still, he nodded a little shyly, pushing out a whisper. Thank goodness there was no wind here or his words would have been swept right away.]
Y-you too… [He sure wouldn’t be able to carry Kel but… maybe he could be a better friend? At least pay back the support - Sunny didn’t deserve Kel’s friendship otherwise. He was awful, terrible, had gotten them into so many messes… Kel had been through so much too. Sunny wasn’t the only one.]
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[Focus on the good, focus on joking, don't give up. He can and will be the emotional pillar Sunny deserves and- well, if they meet more people, he'll try to do the same for them too.]
Jay tried, once. I was wearing Charlene's skirt. We both ended on the floor.
[That's a lie, but funny mental images may help, right? He brings both hands to his hips, taking a few steps toward the... road? the kless bothersome path toward the city.]
Shall we get going, Cap? I'll be your scout, making sure the path ahead is safe. We don't need any space cop to capture the leader of all pirates!
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