TEST DRIVE #3

[thecrossingmods]

TDM #3

Welcome to The Marsh, wayward souls.
It's good to see you again.

The TDM is game canon and will be active MAY—JUL. For further details about the setting, please reference our current setting page. All the information there is fair game for this TDM.

arrival

— TANGLED BELOW ( NEW CHARACTERS ONLY )
CW: trapped underwater, drowning
Your journey begins as it has for all of those before you: in The River.

The water is lukewarm, and murky with dirt and vegetation. The surface isn't far away— but it might be hard to tell what direction you need to go in to reach it. To make matters worse, you are tangled in the plantlife around you, and will need to break free in order to escape The River's grip. There are others here who may be able to help you... but they'll have to find you first.

It's not possible for you to drown here; you may or may not recognize that you don't need to breathe, even down here. But every moment you spend with your head below the surface, you will spend trapped in the memory of your death, as if by a flashback. Depending on what brought you here, it may exacerbate your panic and confusion: maybe it isn't reeds, holding you back - maybe it's an assailant's hands; maybe it's not water clouding your vision, maybe it's something else, claustrophobic, smothering you. Or, maybe it's the dreamy, floaty peace you were expecting when you closed your eyes.

Regardless, you'll need to push through — to even start your journey, let alone finish it.

— BALANCED ABOVE ( EXISTING CHARACTERS ONLY )

You've traveled a long way to get here. Finally, there is a reprieve from the heat and chaotic energy of the Desert: the environment emerging around you is cooler and calmer, if not quieter. There are quite a few creatures populating the Marsh, both fantastical and not. Frogs croak quietly from the reeds; fireflies float along the surface of the water.

Wading around and through the muddy shallows of The River isn't exactly comfortable, so it may be a relief when the group comes across a wooden walkway rising out of the water and leading deeper into the Marsh. The planks creak under your weight, but they hold firm, and draw something like a path through the dense same-ness of the environment.

That path is anything but straightforward, though. And in the seemingly-perpetual dusk around you, it might be easy to get turned around: whether you have to retrace your steps from a dead-end, or lose track of others in the gloom.

You must be tired. But surely it's only a little bit further... right?

a marsh less traveled by

— THE VILLAGE

However much further it is, eventually you reach it: a small village, mainly comprised of wooden, multifamily homes lifted above the water on stilts. (Be careful which ones you choose to rest in, though — some of them might wander off with you still inside!) As with the shelters in previous locations, the homes are decorated as if by many tenants before you, continuously building on top of what was there before, and you may happen upon small items you recognize from home.

Unlike previous shelters, these don't seem like they've been abandoned for long. The items you find might be in better condition than they would have been elsewhere, and there might be newer or more comfortable amenities. Beds with softer sheets and more numerous pillows; pantries stocked with shelf-stable foods; unbroken toys or even board games with all their pieces.

Given the nature of The River here, this is also the closest The Ferryman has kept their vigil to the group's living quarters so far. While they still remain on the outskirts of the village — seemingly as separated as they can manage while still casting the Lantern's light where it needs to be — it's not as much of a trek out to see them. You might even pass them more than once on your regular goings-on during the day.

If you continue following the walkways, out to the edges of the village, you'll find a small pier with a number of rowboats lashed against it. They're small, and maybe a bit dusty or mossy, but they're sturdy, and large enough to accommodate two people at a time. There's no one else here but you — presumably no one will mind if you take one out deeper into the Marsh?

mist of memories

— AND BEYOND

There's plenty to be found, if you venture out: from the burping firedamp, to curious reflections of familiar places, to the choking mists of the mangroves.

Try not to get lost in those mists. It's a disorienting situation on its own, but certainly exacerbated by the wraiths that will follow you in great numbers, their misty forms often camouflaged within the mist itself. It's stressful. That must be why you might feel like you're seeing other ghosts in the mist as well, figurative or literal. Snatches of familiarity, just at the edges of your vision; maybe a face you never thought you'd see again.

It's not all dark and dreary, though. There are patches of brightly colored wildflowers growing throughout the Marsh as well, hidden among the leggy roots of trees and patches of reeds out on the water. In particular, the same bright orange marigolds that dotted the path you traveled in from the Desert also peek out in places throughout the Marsh, usually in clumps of three or four. They almost seem to follow you as you pass — maybe, even, smile knowingly at you. But surely that's a trick of the light?

Harder to ignore are the rarer, but unmistakable, bioluminescent blue flowers scattered among the others. If you touch one, it may have something to whisper to you — but if it's a voice, it's almost too soft to hear, and even if you could, the words themselves are unfamiliar.

But there's no one else here but you. Right?

---

Image credits: 1, 2 + stock imagery unless otherwise noted

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Comments

Frieda Reiss | Attack on Titan | In-Game

[urtitan]

1) Arrival

[The group's arrival in the new territory is overshadowed by their losses. Frieda mentally keeps track of those who disappeared so far: G'raha and another person she never met but heard about, in the cavern. Katsuki, Makoto, Arche and Soo Won, in the desert. Is that all of them? Is she already forgetting someone? She lingers at the fringe of the marsh, looking back despite Sakuya having been unsuccessful in recovering the missing from even his bird's eye perspective. Eventually, though, she does follow her fellow souls as they call for her.

As they move into thicker, denser vegetation, large mangrove trees blocking out much of the light, she notices the water on the sides of the swampy path getting deeper. Still entirely wet and dirty from the struggle through rain and mud, she falls behind once more to reenter the now marsh-shaped river, intending to clean her clothing before they potentially reach solid ground again - it's better if it dries without mud encrusting it.

When she notices a large pale shadow gliding underwater a distance away, she holds still, trying to gauge if she can trust her eyes... and just as she decides to head back to the path, just to be on the safe side, the creature raises its enormous head, at least twice as large as hers, above the surface. Frieda doesn't consider herself a scaredy-cat, but she can't suppress a small, startled cry at the sight of it. It's an enormous slug, easily as big as a bus (not that she'd draw that mental comparison, given that they didn't have buses in the Walls).]

E-everyone--!!

2) A Marsh less Traveled by

[The village on stilts is a surprisingly stable shelter, with far less of a "makeshift" feeling to it than the ones they encountered before, and the group immediately sets to exploring it.

Frieda, occupied by thoughts of those who disappeared, lacks motivation, but with Kel encouraging her and Nagito to help him prepare the next "town hall" meeting - or no, it'll be a party right away this time, going by all the things he's planned, won't it? -, she follows the wooden walkway into the far recesses of the marsh, equipped with a number of large jars and a net to capture glowworms. Certainly, she could hunt for them closer to the village, but she wants to be alone with her thoughts for a while.

Ruminating on how much she misses especially Makoto, who was such a kind and gentle presence in the group, and Soo Won, who was in such a similar predicament as herself in life and whom she wishes she'd spoken with more while she could, she sets about the task. Lost in her thoughts, she hardly notices the pair of strange, knobby, spider-like creatures moving in on her... luckily, they're "only" about half as large as the giant swamp slug was, but she certainly has a penchant for attracting the local wildlife! When she eventually does notice the silent beings' movements in the nearby trees, she freezes and stares, though not without a disbelieving whisper on her lips.]

Goodness. What are these?

3) Mist of Memories

[Even as a few days pass (or do they... it's hard to tell, what with the unchanging twilight hanging over the marsh), Frieda seeks out solitude rather than exploring the environment out of active curiosity. Despite accepting some of the others' invitation to stay with them in one of the communal houses, she steals away quiet moments here and there (though she doesn't venture into the water again, not after that early encounter).

At one point, she enters a small, cosily decorated hut with a strange air about it... it's as if she weren't alone, though she confirms that she is. With an inviting bed in the single room, of a type she hasn't seen ever since she died, she gets under the blanket and closes her eyes. Will she dream of her family?

In the end, her sleep is dreamless, but it does feel like sleep, unlike the mere rests she experienced thus far. When she awakes, she takes her time getting out of the comfortable bed, but eventually, she steps out of the hut - and almost falls down into the water, just barely managing to grip on to the doorframe and pull herself back inside. Where did the wooden path go?

Alarmed, she realises that the rest of the village seems to have disappeared. It's as if the hut grew legs and walked away with her - or else, everything else has vanished. Is this what happened to the others? Were they unwittingly whisked away along with part of the environment? Panic rises up in her chest. She doesn't want that! She doesn't want to be alone, without the only community she had left after her death. Did this happen because she sought out solitude? Admonishing herself not to panic, she calls out into the foggy, quiet marshlands.]

Can anybody hear me?

mist

[hasapoint]

[Need's taken a little flat-bottomed boat out. There's a paddle, but she's mainly using a long punting-pole to push off the murky bottom. It's a good option for navigating this kind of environment, though the boat would tip quickly if there was rougher water to be found. It's maneuverable and doesn't easily get caught on anything, and with the pole she can un-catch it without too much trouble most of the time. The paddle's mainly for deeper patches.

She pauses hearing the cry in the mist, ignoring the wraiths and the half-glimpses. Need considers, thinking trap? as she often does, and checks for giant slugs, and decides she has to respond.]

Hoi! Who's there?

[urtitan]

[Getting a response at all already elates Frieda, and recognising Need's voice is all the more of a relief. In her eagerness to try and make her out in the mist, she almost falls out of the doorframe again - in fairness, it doesn't help that the hut has started moving! It's not running, but it's distinctly taking measured steps, just a few, before it comes to a standstill again. This is bizarre, Frieda thinks.]

This is Frieda! I'm...

[How does she even begin to describe her predicament? But after a moment, she resolves to simply be as literal as possible.]

I'm stuck in one of the huts that walked away while I slept inside!

[hasapoint]

[Need laughs. She's not disbelieving and hopes that shows in her tone of voice when she goes on. Also she's not sure if it's a trick of the fog, or if Frieda's not in quite the same spot now]

A rare sentence! All right, girl, stay calm and keep talking, and I'll come see. Are you high above the water?

[urtitan]

[Frieda doesn't feel laughed at - if anything, Need's amusement puts her further at ease, making her feel that she's not in serious danger of being whisked away to who-knows-where.]

Not too high to jump - though I'd prefer to avoid it!

[Entering the water once to clean her clothing already ended in a serious scare, and the prospect of being fully submerged is all the more dreadful given what Nagito told her about the memories deep in the water. She wonders how widely he's disseminated his knowledge... perhaps they should have planned another "town hall" meeting rather than a party first.]

A Marsh Less Traveled By

[perfecttune]

Goodness!

[Mari was planning on looking for any herbs they might be able to use for cooking, after all this was the first place that had any sort of consumable food, and decided to finally wander a slight ways away from the village. She hadn't expected to encounter anyone else but was going to greet Freida when the girl made the exclamation.]

Those are some big spiders... better not let Sunny see them...

[She doesn't seem too bothered by them, carrying familiar picnic basket.

[urtitan]

[Frieda hastily moves to Mari's side, keeping her eyes on the huge, spindly-legged creatures. Their movements are slow enough that they don't seem like an immediate threat, but they make for an eerie sight. Their upright body looks not unlike a huge white pickle in shape and texture, and at its bottom, below the eight legs supporting it, a circle of black eyes surrounds a downwards-facing trunk.]

I've never seen animals like these before... have you?

[The desert's reptilian horses weren't familiar to any of them either, as far as she can tell, so it truly seems like this afterlife has its own ecosystem, independent their memories. Belatedly, she follows up:]

Is Sunny afraid of spiders?

[Granted, even someone who doesn't mind regular spiders might well balk at these ones!]

[perfecttune]

[Mari watches the creature move with slight trepidation. It really was huge!]

Nothing this big…. We have common house spiders back in my place but… nothing quite like this… How about you?

[Mari’s look changed almost instantly when Sunny was mentioned. Almost proud if one were to call it that.]

Him and Hero both actually! Although I hope to help them get over it someday… I’m not afraid of them… well at least ones that aren’t that big…

[She hadn’t known about etiher’s fear until she tried one day to show Hero a spider she had found on a tree. They both seemed like they were going to pass out at the sight of it so Mari returned it to where she found it and they all moved to another area. She let out a small laugh at the fond memory.]

[urtitan]

[Frieda laughs too - of course she and Mari once more prove themselves to be brave big sisters! It makes her feel determined to not be afraid of these gigantic spiders either.]

We only have small ones in the Walls, too!

['Hero', though... this is at least the second time Mari's mentioned that person. From what little she can glean, she assumes that he's probably the oldest in her peer group alongside her.]

Who's Hero, say? A friend or a cousin of yours?

Marsh (Not the spiders XD) CW: arachnophobia

[solitarynote]

[Sunny was worried. Frieda didn’t seem like herself.

Sure, she was when he was around, when she noticed him looking but other times… she felt faraway.

Sunny knew what that felt like, and he wanted to make sure that feeling stopped.

Which meant ignoring the fact that the River was all around them and following her certain places.]

…!

[When confronted with the long, spindly legs, the largeness of their bodies (“only” as large as a sea slug, but that was larger than any spider Sunny had seen outside of his nightmares)… he freezes too.]

[urtitan]

[Taking notice of him, she can only wonder if she looks as much as a deer in the headlights as he does. Hurriedly walking over (but taking care not to run), she keeps her eyes on the creatures, however they seem to be curious about them more than anything, maintaining their distance without any signs of hostility or alarm.]

It's alright! I don't think they want to attack us.

[Who's to say for sure, though? Just because she hasn't seen them move fast, that doesn't mean they can't suddenly come clambering towards them on their long limbs! They don't appear to have teeth, just a short trunk at the bottom of their oddly vertical body, but who knows if they mightn't work like regular spiders do and inject poison that turn their victim's insides into easily slurpable goop? (Sunny would likely be grateful that she kept that particular mental image a private thought...)]

Let's head back to the houses, but slowly.

[Arguably a good plan - if there weren't a similar knobby white spider monster on the walkway. It's blocking their path back to where they came from!]

Just going to CW: Arachnophobia this whole thread for Sunny’s side ^^

[solitarynote]

[He nodded, the motion quick and filled with nerves. Back at the dwelling would be safe… but there was one behind them too, and that send his shaky hands grasping at Frieda’s dress.

He hated spiders. They were so scary, and these ones were big, and they were probably going to push him into the water like last time-]

H-help…

[He wasn’t sure what the plea would do - if it could do anything - but Sunny just knew he wanted the spiders to go away. He didn’t want them here. Even if he had a knife… he couldn’t walk any closer to them to stab it. The thought of simply getting within reach… of having to touch any part of them indirectly… had his head spinning.]

Right, let's metaphorically sticky-tape that!

[urtitan]

[With Sunny's fear so evident, she protectively puts her arms around him, not minding any clinginess on his part. Scanning both the creatures and the surroundings, her mind races through their options.

If I find a large enough branch, maybe I can scare them away. Sadly, no such items seem to be available - the few branches within reach on the ground are blackened and brittle, having soaked up the marsh's moisture, and the healthy ones, still a living part of the swamp trees, look hard to both reach and break off. There's really only one viable option: Heading further down the walkway in the direction leading away from the village, at the risk of being followed by the spider monsters and reaching a dead end.]

...

Go on, Sunny. This way. I'll be right behind you.

[She really will be - the last thing he needs, she reasons, is to witness her trying to scare the creatures off only to fall prey to them.]

A marsh less traveled by

[witnessvelama]

[Celehar's thoughts are occupied, but recent events have him focusing much more of his attention on the landscape around him, and stopping regularly along the path to check for landmarks, though the effectiveness of this is mitigated by the confusing twist of the misty roads and the habit of the buildings to simply stand and wander off. This particular excursion has come about with a purpose - one that he's nearly completed, given the voice he hears ahead of him, but the startled whisper draws him to a halt.]

Frieda? Art thou well?

[He takes a hesitant half-step forward, enough to catch sight of the woman, then to follow her gaze and go still as he catches on to the presence of the spiders.]

[urtitan]

I am. These creatures don't seem hostile.

[Granted, nothing they've encountered in this marsh thus far has seemed hostile so much as happy to devour any of them, should they end up in front of its maws by happenstance... and these pseudo-arachnids may be no exception. She keeps her eyes on them, finding her gaze returned by however many of the eyes arranged in a ring around the monsters' trunk have her in their view.]

What brings you out here, Thara?

[She thought she'd ventured decently far from the village - but then, she's far from the only wanderer in the group.]

[witnessvelama]

[The true answer, if he is to be honest with himself, is that his unintentional wanderings have left him concerned that the same might happen to the others - that he might well end up losing them as he nearly lost himself, to the mists, with nothing but the mocking voice of the flowers to keep them Company.

Instead, he lets his eyes settle on the spiders as he walks slowly up to stand by Frieda's shoulder.]

I sought thee, in truth. there are some faces I had not seen, since I... wandered. Unless thy task is one best left to thine own time.

Again I forgot to thee/thou/thy..!! I blame Frieda having to code switch!

[urtitan]

[For better or worse, she hadn't noticed him missing - absent, yes, but she hadn't mentally filed him as gone in the way Makoto, Soo Won and the others are gone. It's for the better, because her grief would have been considerable. He was one of the first fellow souls she connected with in the cold darkness of the cave, finding solace in his calm resignation to his fate that mirrored her own.]

I thank thee for thy care. I do not mind the company, no.

[While she sought out this solitary area on purpose, the eerie creatures moving in on her make her grateful to no longer be alone out here - and, that aside, Thara is well-suited to share her assigned task, she feels. He seems like the kind who won't feel bored with what is, in the broadest sense, a gathering job. Before she tells him about that, though, she wonders...]

Thou hast explored these marshes? What didst thou find?

A Marsh less Traveled by

[callsignhornet]

[Wandering around the village, Allynbee caught sight of Frieda ...and immediately sobered at the sight of the spider-creatures. The other woman didn't seem to be in danger, but the commander had a habit of wariness at meeting new wildlife. She approached Frieda quickly.]

You alright?

[urtitan]

Yes, I'm fine!

[Nevertheless, she's very grateful so have Allynbee with her. Despite the Commander having no weapons to fend the creatures off with, should they attack, she immediately feels safer.]

I'd never have thought that the afterlife would have such... diverse wildlife. Do you think these are spiders?

[The eight legs indicate as much, but the vertical body and odd face with a ring of eyes arranged around a short trunk are so alien, she's far from certain. The animals make some small movements, but don't advance, similarly trying to gauge whether the humans are dangerous or a potential meal.]

[callsignhornet]

[The commander is basically a weapon in her own right, though Shepard prefers to avoid violence when possible.]

I guess if it's full of diverse people, the wildlife should follow suit.

[She gets the twinge of assessment off the spider-things and draws herself a little taller and moves a little closer to Frieda.]

Have you seen any other creatures about?

[urtitan]

[For her part, Frieda is ready to follow Allynbee's lead - back to the main part of the village, farther ahead into the marsh, into any one of the nearby buildings, or... well, maybe not towards the spiders. Interesting as they are, they shouldn't chance that, be it in a boat or on the unsteady footing of the massive trees air roots!]

I have. Countless frogs and leeches, and... I'm not sure if they were birds or reptiles, but they're about this big, without feathers but with beaks and bird-like feet.

[She shows about the size of a chicken with her hands.]

And that cart-sized slug, of course.

[Her encounter with that creature probably made the rounds among the group, seeing how it happened shortly after they arrived in the area and she spread the word of warning to everyone she met in the aftermath.]

Arrival (hitting this too~!)

[toilet_bound]

[The almost monotonous nature of walking through the swamp has Hanako reverting back to a relatively quiet nature. It isn’t just the exhaustion - though it still remains from their ordeals in the Crossing - but there was just so much new here and—

Frieda’s cry of surprise has him on edge. He rushes (maybe a little too quickly) to catch up, reaching for a knife that isn’t there, and…]

Ah! You’ve found a friend~!

[Whether that statement, and the cheerfulness within, is actually true or not begs to be questioned. Hanako doesn’t seem off-put by the giant slug at all - the boy is used to encountering supernaturals much larger than himself!]

Don’t worry; I’m sure if you be nice to it, it won’t eat you~!

♡

[urtitan]

You're sure?

[She isn't!! Wading back to the shore as fast as she can in the waist-deep water, she looks back over her shoulder to see the giant creature extend its neck towards her, enormous eyes on stalks intently fixed on her. As its mouth opens, she can see that its corners extend down far wider than most animals'. She really could fit in there, she realises to her horror.]

[toilet_bound]

[OK, maybe not so sure! As it looks like the slug is opening its mouth, aiming for Frieda, Hanako steps in front of her… and prompting waves his hands at the giant creature.]

Shoo, shoo~

[It’s not a very intimidating display. Truly, this is when he misses his knife!]

[urtitan]

[Fortunately, she makes good headway, and while Hanako's intimidation attempts don't seem to have any effect on the giant creature, she makes it back onto dry land before it catches up with her. Losing no time, she grabs him by the wrist to pull him along - the slug appears undeterred!]

It's coming ashore! Run, we have to warn the others!