THE SKY WENT OFF-WHITE.

[wastemods]

WHO: Anyone and everyone.
WHAT: Our inaugural test drive meme.
WHERE: Anywhere in the world core.
WHEN: Whenever your character arrives.
NOTES: Expect surreal horror and possible violence. Please use common sense when warning for other content.

Art by Basile Godard

THE SUNLIGHT SPLINTERED.

You reach the end of the ash-gray hall at a run, hands fumbling for an antique door handle. And then you stumble, fall, tumble—any number of adjectives, depending on where, exactly, the door opened—into a radio station.

The equipment is old and dusty, but devoid of cobwebs to the observant eye. And it's dark, save for whatever light makes it through the windows. They display disjointed locations; perhaps one shows an upside-down tower, while its neighbors frame the crumbling pavement of a rotting car park and the stripped out interior of a sewer. Whatever the case, peering through one window reveals a landscape that impossibly doesn't connect to the next.

The door is still there, the only exit to this grubby room. It opens somewhere, anywhere else in this distorted world. And once you leave, it no longer leads back whence you came.

Where do you go?

THE LIGHT, DIVIDED.

A sun on one horizon, a full moon on the other. They're luminous but unreal, like they were plucked from a sky and pasted to a flat, starless backdrop. You can see only one, depending on which side you entered; it's essentially random. Both "sides" overlap like alternate dimensions and you can't see anyone who isn't on the same side as you. Light or dark, you walk in the light of a muted sun or an overbright moon. It never feels quite real.

Neither star nor satellite seem to move from their position. The passage of time is at a standstill.

Regardless of which side you're on, you'll find signs that you aren't alone. What someone does on one side affects the other, so moving an item or writing something down will translate to floating items and mysteriously appearing letters. Speech doesn't travel...unless there's a radio. Radios may turn on and off, with voices audible through the white noise. And if you walk past a mirror, the reflection isn't your own. Instead, it acts as a window to the other side.

In-character observations:

• Anyone sensitive to time, space, and related dimensional shenanigans will feel they're distorted. And it isn't something they can fix, at least not with powers.
• It's possible to cross dimensions if a character has related powers, but they'll suffer backlash and significant stress from the transition. Successive jumps aren't gonna fly.
• If a character is affected by the sun or moon, they'll find neither holds sway over them here; e.g., vampires can walk in daylight and werewolves won't shift in the full moon.

TL;DR: Whatever this is, it isn't natural.

THE SHADOW REALM.

Outdoors, there are shadows on the prowl.

Silent and eerily insubstantial, they trail after you like blind spots given form. Staring at them too long is unsettling but, for the most part, they're content to watch you back...if they can watch. They don't seem to have eyes.

When that isn't enough, however, they attack. Stealing the shape of monsters from other worlds, they may lack special powers, but that doesn't keep them from being dangerous. When in doubt, you're safest indoors.

But maybe that isn't good enough for you. Or maybe you just fucked up. Either/or.

RADIO WAVES.

If you aren't wondering how you got here, you're probably at least asking why. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anyone around who can answer your questions. Everyone else is as clueless as you.

But, some time after you arrive—whether it's days, hours, minutes, or seconds—the dead air stirs. The atmospheric pressure drops and playhouse lightning arcs across the facsimile of a sky. It's a storm that warns of what's to come, as an earthquake shifts the ground beneath your feet. Around you, buildings flood, and water pours out in falls only half aware of gravity. Wind hurls debris at such high speeds, it turns into shrapnel. Rain pelts you from above and below as the temperature plummets. It starts to snow.

Somehow, the sun and moon remain visible through the turmoil. A collection of mirrors scattered through the world don't reflect their light; instead, it passes through them and illuminates the other side. These specific mirrors, all set in ash-gray frames that match the halls, are untouched in the unfolding natural disasters, and standing before them will shield you as well. Consider them havens in the chaos, proverbial eyes in the storm.

In the dark, a radio turns on of its own accord. Is someone—something—talking to you?

INTO ALL OUR DARKEST FEARS.

Welcome to THE WASTEYARD's first test drive! Some quick things to remember:

• Our TDMs tie into the game plot. As such, any applicants can keep their TDM threads as game canon.
• The network is exclusive to in-game characters. TDM characters can only use radios.
• There is a language barrier, so please mention what language your character speaks somewhere.
• We don't have a fixed day ratio; instead, you pace yourself at your discretion.
• Characters may face backlash when using any powers.
• Mark if your character is on the sun or moon side of the divide. The choice is yours as the player.
• If you have any questions, please direct them to our FAQ!

And that's all, folks. So take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!

NAVIGATION.

PREMISE
RULES
FAQ
ACTIVITY
APPLICATIONS

TAKEN
HIATUSES & DROPS
CANON UPDATES
REWARDS
TPC CLAIMS

WORLD
EXPLORATION
DEVICES
QUESTS
INFORMATION

CALENDAR
SUGGESTIONS
MOD CONTACT
SETTING INBOX
CODEBOOK

Comments

[ascocarp]

Uh- [She frowns, looking momentarily guilty. Unused knives and other cooking implements hang above them. Her hand is so cold, her teeth chatter. The memory rises up, and she fights to kick it back down.]

[With her good hand, she reaches inside her backpack and tosses him a wrapped piece of jerky.] That's all I could find.

[Still, unease remembered, she keeps her distance, unsubtly putting a counter between them. She fiddles with the sink, trying to get the water to turn on.]

[calculo]

I didn't mean you should give me your food. ( he puts it down on the counter, wisely keeping the distance she's set between them. he puts his hands on the counter next to the food and fixes her with a look. his own arm is still cold but he'd backed up much quicker than she had. he can't even imagine what she must feel like. )

Your hand hurt? ( even if she says it doesn't, he knows it has to. ) What's your name? Unless you'd prefer I just keep calling you kid.

[ascocarp]

[She finally finds a sink that works, and puts her hand under it. The water is lukewarm at best, but it feels burning hot on her arm, shaking beneath the water.]

Everybody else does anyway, [she murmurs.] Ellie.

[calculo]

I'm not everyone else.

( he watches her quietly, trying to get a better look at her hand while she stands there but still not daring to try and get closer. )

Ellie. You're pretty good with that shiv. Have experience with that?

[ascocarp]

[Her hand, and a fair half of her forearm, are bright red, prickling from cold. It shakes under the water, and Ellie grits her teeth, distracted by the pain of it.]

[After a few seconds, she turns the water off, and folds her throbbing arm into her jacket. She looks up at him with dull eyes, a very sulky teenaged version of fucking duh. Everything he says feels like he's trying to get on her good side. Distantly, she wishes she was still a person where that didn't set off alarm bells.]

[Less distantly, she's aware that that person would probably be dead.]

You didn't say your name. [Fair's fair.]

[calculo]

Robbie. ( he doesn't introduce the rider because no one needs to know him until he decides to make his presence known. ) From Los Angeles.

( and they were somehow very,very far from the los angeles that he knew. )

In the same situation as you're in which is just trying to figure out what this place is.

[ascocarp]

[She sighs and rolls her eyes.] That was, like, the most obvious attempt at guilting me I've ever heard. And I've heard a fucking lot. [She keeps her eyes focused entirely on him, not letting herself look up to the cooking implements that quickly make weapons.]

[calculo]

( robbie rolls his eyes. he can't really say anything about her suspicious nature but they really don't have time to go through the whole trust building thing right now. )

I'm telling you the truth. That's what I'm doing. You wanna keep acting like I'm five seconds away from snapping your neck, fine. But I could have done that yesterday, if I wanted to. I haven't because I don't want to.

( okay? okay. )

I'm here trying to do the exact same thing you are: figure this shit out. You wanna do it on your own? Fine. I'll walk. No necesito esta mierda.

[ascocarp]

Then fucking go! [Everybody leaves anyway, why should this be different?] You're not special, man. Everybody does this shit.

[She turns away, climbing one-armed up the counter to grab... a hanging frying pan. Not a knife. She can't make herself, though she intended to take it. She just- she just can't.]

I'm sooo fucking trustworthy, holy shit. I've never killed a fucking fly. I just talk about how goddamn strong I am. Totally fucking normal shit, here! [She begins stuffing the pan into her pack.]

[calculo]

I got no idea what you're talking about. ( it's tempting to leave, though. he doesn't owe her anything. he owes one person something and that guy's just as confused about all this as he is. that's why he's stayed under wraps for the time being.

probably a good thing because suddenly becoming a flaming skull would probably be even worse than what he was already to her. )

You're making a lot of assumptions about someone who's done nothing to you, though. Only thing I did wrong was end up here. Just like you.

[ascocarp]

[She stares at him, lips pursed in remote anger. It would be so freeing to scream, yell, or just fucking leave. The worst thing, though, is she knows she'd regret it all later, swallowed up by her own loneliness.]

[She takes a deep breath.] If I was bigger than you, what the fuck would you do? [It's all she'll say. Anything else puts her position too much in the forefront.]

[The people who've really fucked with her, though, the people who really tried to hurt her, they... were nicer than this. That shouldn't be comforting, but it is.]

So what do you want, huh? I'm fucking lost, too. I don't think you can be not lost in this shithole.

[calculo]

( robbie rolls his eyes and finally pushes away from the counter so he can walk the perimeter of the room. there's gotta be another way out of here since their previous exit was gone now. )

If you were bigger than me, I guess you'd just be yelling at me but in a deeper voice. ( jokes. )

I don't want anything from you, Ellie. ( he wants to get out of here but he figures that's a shared goal. ) Haven't asked you for anything despite you holding a knife on me.

( he's really been pretty nice all things considered. ) Right now, I want to find a door.

[ascocarp]

[She sighs, and it sounds something like a sniff, laughter repressed. Fine, whatever, they can pretend they're all friends and shit, but she's not letting her guard down. She doubts, for all his big talk, he'll do the same, unless he's seriously underestimating you. She murmurs under her breath, teeth chattering from the bone-deep cold in her hand,] Yeah, but I gave you shit, and now you're whining...

[Whatever, whatever. She's sick of this.] There's always a way out in this frickin' place. I thought I got stuck a million times, but there's always a door or a window... Wait, shit.

[She laughs to herself, a dry, tired sound, and starts opening all the cabinets.]

[calculo]

You think you're the first kid to give me shit? ( gabe did it all the time. god, robbie really hopes he's not here. his brother's smart, clever and resourceful but this is not the place for him. and if he is here, robbie needs to find him. )

You think the way out's through a cabinet? ( hadn't he heard about a book that went like this once? maybe it was something gabe tried to get him to read when they'd both been younger. ) Would make as much sense as anything else in this place.

[ascocarp]

We got in here through a fuckin' clock, remember? [She shakes her head, and keeps opening cabinets. Now that he's mentioned it, the lack of a door out is starting to bother her.] You can look, or you can bitch.

[calculo]

You really got a strange definition of bitching. ( and people thought he was defensive. besides, he is looking. he's dragging his fingers along the wall, looking for slats or bumps or some indication of hollowness that would denote a door. but, it's solid. it's just wall. )

Let's hope the door isn't through the oven. Seems like tempting fate to crawl through there. ( he doesn't want to become a shadow's dinner. )

[ascocarp]

Oh, fuck. [She sucks her teeth, and walks over to the oven. Lo and behold, there's clearly something on the other side that isn't the interior to an oven.] God dammit, Robbie, you jinxed it.

[Said with more tired resignation than actual heat. There might even be something like humor.]

[calculo]

You're kidding me. ( look, that hadn't been his intention but now he's moving, coming up behind her and crouching down to see that there was something on the other side of that oven. that...how does that even happen? )

Dios, I hate this place. ( doesn't matter that he's been here five minutes. he hates it. he wants out. he doesn't have time for puzzles like this. )

Want me to go first? ( since that was there way out and all. )

[ascocarp]

[It kind of looks like another room, maybe, if viewed through a giant peephole. Ellie is busy enough squinting at it that Robbie's words catch her by surprise, and it shows on her face. People always ask her to go first. She's smaller and it's scary, but you have to prove your worth, carry your weight. She blinks a moment, processing this, but can find no ulterior motive.]

...Yeah. Yeah, you go first.

[calculo]

All right.

( he crouches down and then shifts and stretches his way into the oven. it's not a suffocating fit but it is tight. his jacket scrapes up against the sides of the wall and his hand scrabble a bit on the uneven surface but he eventually passes into another, bigger room with a few different doors.

there's no roof and the sun beats down, making it warm and bright. at least there's that. at least they can see outside. )

Come on. I'm through.

[ascocarp]

[And she watches him. He goes without cajoling or complaint. That, more than anything, finally builds something like trust. She nods, squares her shoulders, and slides through.]

Holy shit. I'm never gonna get used to that.

[calculo]

Just be glad I didn't get stuck.

( he wasn't a big guy but ovens were not spaces meant for anyone to go crawling through. this wasn't a prison break except they were having to treat it like it was. everything was tight, cramped and hidden.

the area around them is what looks like the remnants of a building. the walls are half gone, windows busted out and one single bed in the middle of everything. )

¿Qué demonios es este lugar? ( nothing makes sense. not a single piece of this. ) You recognize this place at all?

[ascocarp]

Real reassuring. [But it's without any real heat; she's mostly talking just to talk.]

[Ellie lands on the other side of the... oven, and she finds the broken ruins of a building around her. Wow, great. Home sweet home.]

Nope. [She pops the P.] Have you got, like, some kind of theory on all this crazy bullshit?

[calculo]

No.

( he's really not ready to tell her what kinds of things he's done back home, how he's hops from one dimension to another on a regular basis. this isn't like that. he hadn't come here of his own volition. this isn't part of the deal that he'd made with the rider. )

You remember what you were doing before this? Did anything feel off?

[ascocarp]

[Ellie gives an expansive shrug, adding both her arms into the gesture.] Not really. [Does anything ever feel right, anymore? Ugh, so dramatic.]

I mean... [Now that she consciously thinks on it, instead of forcing herself not to think of it, she can't quite... place it. What was she doing right before this?] Fuck. [She doesn't want to just offer it up, though. Information is valuable.] What about you?