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]

[She grins a little at the compliment-- it's a rare thing that someone acknowledges her skill without an ulterior motive. And- well, yeah, he might be a bad person after all, deep down, but she's pretty sure she can outrun him if things go to shit. And as much as she's all to willing to be suspicious of others, she just... he's a knight. With magic and dragons. She wants to believe that's all true.]

[She finds a hidden compartment in a bookshelf.] Score. [More jerky and, holy shit, water bottles. She slips the bottles into her back.] Boil you laterrr. [The jerky, she checks individually, running a finger over the packaging to make sure there are no rips or tears or signs of tampering.After that, there's a plastic baggie full of coins, which will make a great distraction if she needs to throw it. Awesome. Between this and the radio, her luck is looking up. Now if only she could find a bow and some arrows... or a gun, shit.]

Us? [She says while sorting through her find, absent minded but cheerful.] With your other Grey Warden friends? You're not the only one, right?

[swordliest]

[A snort.]

There's less of us than there should be. But no, I'm not the only one. [A beat. He watches her pack her bag, weighing how much he wants to say.] This wasn't Warden business, though. Not a lot of dragons underground. It was— before.

[Before, when he was still getting dragged into his brother's wacky shenanigans every hour of the day. It wasn't all bad, back then, even if it seemed like it at the time.

He gestures to her bag with his elbow.]

Got what you needed?

[ascocarp]

[She shrugs.] It's only enough for four days. But... more than three days, I guess.

[She stands, and turns the corner, expression friendly despite the dire words.] What d'you mean, underground?

[swordliest]

You ask a lot of questions, you know that?

[There's not really any heat behind it. It gives him an excuse to talk about the Wardens, anyway, which he always likes to do.]

Means what it sounds like. Sometimes the only thing to do is take the fight to the source.

[ascocarp]

I dunno shit about dragons, man. Gimme a break! [But she says it with a smile, beaming up at him. It's companionable swearing.] When you wanna know the glorious history of single-serving jerky, lemme fucking know.

[She considers his words a moment, trying to puzzle it out herself, before letting out a huff.] Yeah, I got no clue what that means.

[swordliest]

It isn't a riddle. [Though, like, yeah, any exposure to the Wardens will make you more prone to vagaries than average.] The things we're meant to be killing like to hide out underground. So we go down to kill them.

[That's a MASSIVE oversimplification, but he's also not actually allowed to talk details, so it's what she gets. Vagaries, and all that.]

It wasn't bad, anyway. The [what'd she call it?] single-serving jerky. Weird, for certain, but not bad.

[ascocarp]

Oh, I didn't know dragons were your side hobby. [She says sarcastically, but still with evident cheer. As she makes her way down the hall, she continues to search everything, every openable door, behind bookshelves, in literal holes in the wall.] So you guys, like, burrow underground to fight monsters? Weird, but very cool.

[She laughs at his appraisal of gas station fare.] You're not gonna hurt my feelings, man. I just found it here. All this food sucks, none of it's fresh.

[swordliest]

It's meat. Plenty good enough, you ask me.

[The kind of rations you take on a weeks-long trip into a hell pit of monsters are not exactly five star quality.

He'll follow her down the hall, content, for now, to play lookout while she scavenges. Incidentally, he doesn't seem that concerned about supplies himself, though he will peek into closets and around corners. What he is looking for, though, isn't immediately clear.]

You're talking about it like we're gophers. [Burrowing makes it sound like the darkspawn are just a few inches in the ground, waiting to pop their heads up like snarling, blighted daisies.] It's all dug out already, has been for centuries. They're called the Deep Roads.

[ascocarp]

Yeah, I mean, you won't starve. Rations still suck, though. [What she wouldn't give for a rabbit to shoot... or a bow to shoot it with.]

[Arm halfway inside an end table, she looks up with bright eyes.] Deep roads? That sounds fucking spooky.

[Which is of course an entreaty to tell her more. Pleeeease? Look at those huge eyes.]

[swordliest]

[It's back again, his slanted, proud little grin. His ego really doesn't need the help, Ellie.]

They're not so bad. [This is what we in the biz call a humblebrag, except he's not very good at the "humble" part.] Really were roads, once. Dwarves used them to connect their cities. These days they're just ruins, but Maker they're massive. And they go on forever.

[He likes being on the surface better. Not that he'll admit that to her.]

We go down there every so often, see what we can flush out of the dark. Darkspawn are like rats down there. There's always more you don't see.

[ascocarp]

[Ellie is good enough at reading people to tell he's bragging, at this point. The problem is, she doesn't really care. She likes it when people are in high spirits, and, you know, he actually has something to brag about. His life isn't just a string of corpses and fuckups.]

Oh, oh! I get it. You keep them from getting to the surface and ripping people's faces off. Cool. [The casual violence is just a part of her life; she doesn't think of it.] Or do they, like, eat people?

[swordliest]

[As it happens, he thinks his life is very much a string of corpses and fuckups. He almost was a corpse, at the end of one particularly spectacular fuckup. That's what landed him here, in maybe the one thing he's ever managed to do right, and it's— something, is what it is.]

Depends on the day. Depends on the darkspawn. Destruction is all they know, let's leave it at that.

[The specifics are a very deep, very dark rabbit hole.]

One day we'll stop them for good. Until then, we do what we can.

[ascocarp]

[It brings a crease to her brow, and the echo of a frown. Her jaw goes a little tense. She's chewing something over. They're not real people anymore feels a lot like destruction is all they know. She looks up at him with a searching expression, no longer as wide-eyed and openly trusting. She still wants something, though she hopes that isn't obvious.]

Do you think you can? Stop the monsters forever, I mean.

[swordliest]

Yes.

[There's no fluff or bravado this time. He doesn't need it. It's a singular conviction, unwavering.]

Not in my lifetime, maybe. But one day. The work we do now gets us closer to that.

[It's a reminder. This, and the look on her face; he doesn't know what she's seen, but he knows it's not nothing. In that moment, she reminds him a little of Bethany: the shadowed, haunted parts of her she rarely let anyone besides him see.

He has a job to do.]

I can't stay here long. Need to keep moving. [He squints at her, considering.] You can come along, if you like. Could use an extra pair of eyes, especially when they've saved my ass once already.

[Also it just... doesn't sit well with him, leaving her alone, capable as she might be.]

[ascocarp]

[It comforts her less than it should. He gave the answer she was hoping for, and yet all she is hollow conviction. It might be just her, though. She hopes it's just her. She doesn't know the score. Anything could be possible, where he's from.]

[Lucky him.] Okay.

[You just keep finding something to fight for. No, she doesn't want to think about that. She focuses on Carver, on the here and now, instead. She forces herself to. She's not going to become like every adult she's ever known, lost in fucking memories forever.]

What, you know a way out? Can I go back to your place? Mine sucks. [Said as a joke, mostly. If presented with the option, she'd probably be tempted, but nothing is that easy.]

[swordliest]

... I'm working on it.

[The way out, that is. He's got no idea what he's doing, but that's hardly going to stop him. He's needed. So Carver will find a way back, whatever it takes.

Still, her joke pulls a slant of a smile out of him.]

Gonna have to take that up with whatever blighted magic brought us here, either way. [Lightly:] Those single serving jerkies could make you a fortune, though, if you can manage it.

[ascocarp]

Ohhh, that's what you're doing. [It's gentle teasing. She likes him, so this is what he gets. If she didn't like him, he'd know.] Ditto.

[As for the rest-] Yeah, I'll sit tight and reinvent plastic while you fight dragons. Pass.

[swordliest]

[It earns her a friendly glare. He's got thinner skin than most, but— yeah, he likes her, too.]

Suit yourself. [He ducks into one of the rooms she opened, and crosses to a window.] Coin or no coin, dragons or no dragons, won't matter a lick until we get out of here.

[He leans on the sill to peer out. The street looks empty now, but it looked empty before, too.]

Suppose I'll have to plan the path out better this time. [If that's even possible, out here.] Been a while since I had something surprise me like that.

[ascocarp]

Coin. [She chuckles to herself. This guy definitely sounds like he's out of a book. At least, that's the way the radio's translating it. She should probably figure out how that works, but at the moment she's more inclined not to count her victories, lest they disappear.]

You mean the shadow monsters? Yeah, it's pretty freaky. Usually you can listen for that kinda shit, or set traps.

[swordliest]

Take it traps don't work on them?

[To the shock of absolutely no one: he doesn't really do traps. The freeing life of the party tank: just kick the damn door down.

He did, though, see the way they fell apart, and then just come back together again. That's what nags at him. He can take a horde; he's not so sure about a shadow.]

Everything can be killed. [This as he steps back from the window again, apparently satisfied. Next step: stairs.] Just got to find the right way to manage it.

[ascocarp]

Well, yeah, like, living things. [She says, giving a one-shouldered shrug as she pulls some twine out of her pack.] I'm not sure these guys are alive anymore. If they ever were. [She gives a little shiver, played up for comedy.] You're trying to spook me out.

[She begins connecting the twine to a soup can picked up along the way, threading it into a hole in the side.]