theferryman: (9)
The Ferryman ([personal profile] theferryman) wrote in [community profile] thecrossing2024-12-14 11:51 am
Entry tags:

voice + text

[You feel it before you hear it: an uncanny sensation like you aren't alone, like someone just out of sight has fixed their attention on you.

They're not hiding, though. The Ferryman is simply speaking, directly into all of your minds, as clear as if they were standing right beside you.]


It's starting.

Sorry. Was hoping you'd all have more time to rest before we got going. But when it's time, it's time.

We're going to Cross. Not now, but soon. You'll feel it when the moment gets here. And you need to be ready for what that means, when it does.

It's a dangerous journey. There's still a lot of yourself left to lose, even if it doesn't feel like it now. That's my role here. I can guide you through it. Keep you safe.

There's a cost. You'll have to give something up, a part of your life Before. A face. A feeling. A memory. That's your toll to Cross. You pay it to me, and you won't get it back.

You don't have to pay. But if you're not with me, I can't keep you safe. You'll have to make The Crossing on your own. And if you do, there's a chance you lose a whole lot more than what the toll is asking from you.

There's some time left still. You don't need to decide now. But you do need to decide. You'll find out soon what sort of toll The Crossing is asking for, this time around.

Come find me if you want to talk. I'll be where I always am.

[The connection is tenuous; message delivered, The Ferryman's voice fades from your mind. If you're quick, and you concentrate, you might be able to grab on long enough to ask a question or two more.

Otherwise, all that remains is the object that purports to connect you with the other souls, all tasked with making the same decision. Whether it's a page or a screen, there's a new message for you:]


A toll to be levied for safe passage
from the cavern to ǝɹǝɥʍǝsʅǝ

Hear a voice that causes you pain
words spoken with rage or grief or envy
fueled by hate or love or suffering

offer it to The Ferryman
and let go



[ ooc | And we're off! Remember: The Ferryman is (for now!) the only one who can communicate to everyone via voice; the rest of you are stuck with text! The only exception is if characters try to hijack the fading connection to talk with The Ferryman one-on-one; there's a header for those questions here.

Otherwise, consider this a mingle! Chat, threadhop, go nuts. ]
knockingatthedoor: Everything will be okay (009)

[personal profile] knockingatthedoor 2025-01-01 10:02 am (UTC)(link)
[He was... going to tell himself Sunny was agreeing with him.

He was doing his best to hang on the positive things they had and, god, there were so few of them. Hero was home, Jay and Cris were home, he missed them so much already but- what else could they even do about it? His focus could only be Sunny and Mari at this point.

No matter if there was both guilt and a bit of resentment tied to Sunny now.]

We... will try our best, right? I promise I will do my best not to forget you, buddy. SO- new memories, new friends, new everything! And we can keep helping each other remember the things we forget, right?

[There was a small moment of tension there on his part. There was something he refused to forget. someone.]

I... should I ever forget Hero, please remind me I had a brother, 'kay? Ah, but this is so sad... let me- look! Like the ones at home!

[He reached behind himself, pulling up a shirt that had spaceboy on it. It was too big for Sunny and it wasn't the only one he found but... hey, the others didn't fit too much, right?]

Look! It's for you! I also got something for Mari and.. maybe we can go find her to give it to her? It's a shirt with cats.
solitarynote: (Neutral 1)

[personal profile] solitarynote 2025-01-02 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[That… was a lot of new. And three more than he would have wanted. But… Kel was right, wasn’t he? There wasn’t anything else to be done.

Sunny had already tried to ask the Ferryman if he could just… stay. He couldn’t. He had to move forward.

Even if that took the greatest effort of all.

Still, there was one thing Sunny could agree to - he wouldn’t let Kel forget Hero. Not unless Kel seemed better off without the memories… he would find some way to remind him.

At least, he tried to promise himself that. But Sunny was awful at keeping promises, awful at everything, so… who knew, in the end?

His nod then was resolute. Even if it was a promise, even if it turned out to be a lie…

Until Kel pulled out the Spaceboy shirt. Sunny’s eyes widened in mild surprise. He had already found a comic, now a shirt? Was he sure this wasn’t a dream? Was Death maybe Spaceboy’s new domain? What irony, writers, if so.

The shirt indeed didn’t fit - it could be slipped over the dark-haired teen’s head while still wearing his current clothing. There was something akin to the mildest of embarrassed blushes tinting his ears. He… ignored the mention of Mari for now. That was still a jumble of emotions, and he was much too embarrassed with how he had fallen asleep after meeting her…

Would… would there ever be a time that he could face his sister? Without all of the fear and anxiety and guilt?

Sunny looked around to see if Kel had gotten a shirt for himself… and, against his will, his gaze landed on the cat shirt. Mari liked cats. Mari had loved Mewo. Sunny had too. Until… they both were gone.]
knockingatthedoor: Happy chuckle (080)

[personal profile] knockingatthedoor 2025-01-08 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[New wasn't necessarily bad. New meant they were still 'moving' despite being dead, that not everything was 'over'. Maybe their bodies were behind, somewhere, but they were still... going.

Kel took in a deep breath, despite not quite needing it, and let out a nervous chuckle while moving just a bit back scratching the back of his head. PErhaps the bit about Hero was...
]

Bit dramatic, wasn't I? But thanks, I know I can trust you.

[He really, really tried to convince himself there was no malice in Sunny's actions. The past ones. He was a good natured person and Kel had to... believe that. Let's ignore the little bug in the bag of his brain questioning if Basil had not been protecting himself too during that hellish night.

He shifted just slightly, not really having a shirt for himself and still wearing the orange torn one- he had standards and his standards were bright orange- nothing really seemed to fit well enough.
]

But look at you, buddy! Looking amazing! You do keep a bit of that babyface somehow and it works absolutely well with the shirt. Man, I should see if I can find more of those!

Oh, remind me to tell you all about the big highschool carnival shirts showoff when we have... time. Sharing memories is a great thing, right?

[Even if some of them were lies just to fill the sielnce and lighten the mood...]
solitarynote: (Pout)

[personal profile] solitarynote 2025-01-09 02:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sunny shifted a bit, though he did stand up, looking down at the shirt. Captain Spaceboy’s face looked back up at him. Maybe he could… borrow some of the captain’s infamous courage? That would certainly be a miracle, if he ever saw one.

More important than the school memories - more moments that he had missed, by choice, both gladdened and made that hole inside him ever more apparent, that distant chasm that seemed to widen every time he heard about something ‘normal’ - was the fact that Kel didn’t have a shirt.]


Find one… for yourself… [Shoot, that sounded rude, didn’t it? But Sunny wasn’t sure his voice would hold up for more words than that without coughing, and he couldn’t necessarily take the words back. His own relatively non-emoting expressions only added to his unease; most people couldn’t tell the difference. And this was Kel but he also hadn’t seen the other in four years… (not counting the past week or so at this point. Week? Few days? Time in death was weird.)]