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thecrossinglogs2025-05-16 05:09 pm
thecrossingmods) wrote in thecrossinglogs2025-05-16 05:09 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE #3
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.
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
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
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
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
Marsh (Not the spiders XD) CW: arachnophobia
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.]
no subject
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 ^^
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!
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.]
Frieda protecting him from spiders T.T
So Sunny is infinitely relieved when Frieda suggests moving away from the creatures… except for the fact they have no idea where this dock goes.]
…don’t like… fire…
[He tries to be helpful. The spiders in his mind didn’t like fire - they stayed within the confines of the candles in the forest - but there was no guarantee the ones here would be the same.]
RNG just made it easier for her! ✨
Let's check these huts for matches and candles!
[The first building is little more than a shack, and it is full or utensils - repair tools, rope, and indeed candles and matches! Frieda beams.]
What were the chances! Look, Sunny, there are even torches! Now we just need to find the pitch!
[Sunny may nor may not know how torches work, but Frieda, who comes from a world where they're still a commonly used item, certainly does.]
Bless good RNG \o/
(That didn’t stop his brain from trying to convince him that their long, spindly legs could attempt reaching for him through the windows, so he stayed away from any openings during their search.)]
Pitch… [Sunny had gone ‘camping’ with his friends, but that didn’t mean he knew exactly how fire worked. After all, in Headspace, fire was just something that sprang to life, a fanciful being on its own accord. So what Frieda’s instructions brought to mind was…] Speech…? [For the spiders? He shivered. Public speaking and one of his larger fears? No thank you.]
no subject
[Fortunately, she finds it already, along with a box full of rags, and lets out a small happy cheer.]
Here it is! Can you stand guard? I'll get the torches ready.
[Later on, she thinks, she'll make more to take back to the centre of the village where most of them have decided (or been volunteered) to live. Whether Sunny stands watch or doesn't, she securely wraps a few rags around a couple of torches' tops and generously covers them in pitch, then grabs the matchbox and hands it to Sunny (at least matches have been developed in the Walls, so she knows what they are!).]
Can you hold on to this? I'll carry the torches. If the spiders come any closer or the one on the path doesn't let us through, we'll light them and scare them away.
CW: mild panic symptoms
Still, the few seconds or minutes that Frieda gets the pitch set up feels like forever. He’s acutely aware of how fast his heart is pounding, the cold sweat threatening to trail down his back and muddying his grip on the torch…
It’s a (visible) relief when Frieda speaks again. He trades the torch he had been holding for the matches… and nods, hoping he won’t drop them in the marsh or something…]
no subject
Once she's done preparing the second torch, she leads the way outside - only to find that the spiders have moved closer, albeit not to the point of encroaching on the shed. Now, two of them are on the walkway, with the third sitting on the air roots nearest to it!]
Oh, they're far too curious! We have to actually do this, Sunny. Do you want to brandish a torch, or should I take both?
[Now that she sees how pale and shaky he looks, she feels like it's better to ask! The last thing they need is for him to drop the torch and accidentally set the place on fire.]
no subject
(Though was that a wisp of a leg sticking through the window? No, not really - he would learn that when they exited. Just his imagination. Always his waking terrors.)
Sunny’s own fear grows when they exited the hut to find the spiders blocking their path back down the walkway. ‘Curious,’ Frieda calls them, but Sunny knows the truth that hides behind their beady eyes. Not curious, simply dangerous. Like flies caught in a web, they sit here and-]
A-ah… matches… [Best to let Frieda dual wield the torches. Sunny lights one of the matches as a mini torch, putting the rest in his shorts pocket for easy access. Just so he doesn’t drop them.]
no subject
[Can he light both without incident? If he drops the match as the first one comes ablaze, that one will have to suffice, but if he can manage to set both alight, Frieda will be all the better equipped. Be it with one torch or two, she walks towards the white spiders, keeping her steps even and her posture tall and self-assured- she can't let Sunny see that she's anything but sure about this!]
Shoo!
[She swings the torch(es) in the creatures' direction, intent on scaring rather than harming them... and it succeeds! Sensing the heat, she enormous animals start moving backwards, slowly finding purchase with their many limbs. Frieda's torch swings turn more insistent, but the spiders don't exactly hurry up. Even so, the one in the back moves off the walkway and back onto the rotting trunk sticking out of the water! It seems like the plan to drive them off is working.]
no subject
It’s a relief that the spiders back off, even as their long white legs and beady eyes are something Sunny is desperately trying to ignore. He can feel the creeping sensation of fear but… as long as he was with Frieda, he would be ok, right?]
Back… to Village… shouldn’t… follow…?
[That was hopefully the plan, and the sooner they got back, the sooner the spiders could fade from memory.]
no subject
[She knows that Sunny will only be able to carry a limited amount of materials, and the two torches they have will remain lit for a long time - more than enough to escort him back to the village centre, return here with some stronger fellow souls, and transport everything over -, so there's no real urgency, but the sooner they get them installed, the lower the likelihood of the spiders entering their living area.]
no subject
He… could help… should help… while Frieda holds off the spiders.]
…try… [It might have been too shaky for Frieda to hear, but Sunny does make his way back toward the hut. Torch, rags… pitch… it takes him time to find that last one again, because it’s unfamiliar. The teen can’t carry much, even with shoving the rags into his backpack, but he does grab what he can.
Right, time to make his way back to where Frieda is waving those torches!
…Except for the fact that one of the spiders took advantage of their prey dividing, and is now sitting on the top of the hut itself.]
no subject
When she turns back to Sunny, hearing the hut's door fall shut as he exits it, she startles at the sight of the creature lying in wait for him - but having seen how scared he is of the arachnids, she attempts to act normal.]
Good work! Come over here; let's pass them by quickly!
[With the other two now both having vacated the walkway, but lurking uncomfortably close on the air roots, just out of reach of the torches she keeps swinging, they can pass them by - if that third one doesn't make a jump for Sunny!]
no subject
…better ignore that for now and just do what she says!
The teen nods, still somewhat burdened by the unlit torches he carries, and starts to make his way towards her.
Unfortunately, the spider also decides to move, a slow yet articulated weaving from the roof of the hut onto the walkway behind him.
It casts shadows in the water, dark strands of reflection that cause Sunny to freeze. He hasn’t turned around, but the temptation is getting stronger.]
no subject
Keep moving! Come on!
[Again, she has to swing the torches at the foremost of the other two spiders which tried to use her distraction to prod her with one of its long legs.]
no subject
Frieda was safety… even if she had two very large spiders barely being fended off by torches near her.
So Sunny does continue, his steps small and measured until he can hear the creeeak of the wooden boards beneath the spider’s legs. Then he picks up the pace, almost running, as he makes his way towards Frieda.]
…!
no subject
Go, Sunny, go! I'll be right behind you!
[She really means that - after all, there's a possibility of more spiders having moved in between their location and the village centre, so as soon as she's scared these three off sufficiently, she'll follow him to ensure he makes it back there safely.]
no subject
He passes by Frieda, worried that the spider will get her but… she has the fire, right? So she should follow him… right?]
no subject
Hopefully, he's made it back to the village centre without incident!]
no subject
…stamina is not his friend, even when he has giant scary creatures chasing him. (This isn’t Headspace, he would be able to run further, that much was certain.)
That being said, when Frieda comes into view, Sunny’s gaze looks back with no small amount of relief.]
Gone…?
no subject
Yes, they stayed back there. I hope they learned their lesson! Spiders who go after people risk getting hurt.
[She demonstratively raises the torches in her hands. She'd be glad to place them in holders, but for Sunny, she'd fend off as many more threats as she needs to.]
We can walk the rest of the way, I think.
[No more need for running!]
no subject
Kept them… safe…
[Unlit torches, with the rest of the supplies in his backpack. Hopefully this would be enough! And it was the least he could do.]
(no subject)
We can wrap here or with yours?
🎀