#the dusts

[inked-foundry]

some drabble from a Scavengers idea below:

Renna swung her metal leg into the Hellbeast’s jaw, just to assure it was dead as it could get. Mercifully, the creature didn’t respond, not a single twitch from a leg on its oversized millipede of a body. The only sign that the Steelweaver had once lived: remnants of acid foaming within its maw. Good. The Dusts sure as hell could use one less of these pains in the ass.

But at the end of the day, Renna had provoked it out of its nest with a purpose. She tied back brunette hair, reaching for a knife at her hip. Kneeling before the beast, she examined its visage. One hand secured the lower jaw. The other dug the blade between the enamel and gum, sawing out a tooth roughly the size of a boulder. It came loose, collapsing to the craggy ground with a fair amount of blood.

“Theo better be paying a damn good price for this,” Renna grumbled. After returning her knife to her sheath, she reached over and hooked her fingers below the bottom of the tooth. The material of her gloves provided some hold—

Renna found herself tipping backwards, the tooth barely inches off the ground. With a grumble, she let it drop. Too damn heavy. All these hellbeasts were overgrown bugs at the end of the day.

Sighing defeat, Renna propped her hands on her hips, and flung her head over her shoulder to call, “Hey Zeph! Mind lending me a hand?”

Though Zeph seemed busy enough already. Her toolbox had been left in disarray beside the hoverbike; the vehicle had completely busted on the ride over, leaving it unable to hover. Which left the mechanic with half her body within the frontmost recess of the bike, rendering her unable to hear.

Renna rolled her eyes while sauntering over a long distance, all the way to the bike. She knocked on the hood, repeating again with a twinge of humor, “Zeph, I think I’m going to need a little more muscle to carry our loot.”

Though frankly, a little may have been an understatement. Zeph’s brawny shoulders hardly fit between the edges of the engine’s pit. Yet she managed to tip her head upwards: a square jaw, short dark hair tousled beneath welding goggles, and eyes tinged pink like the edges of a sunset.

“Told you we’d catch something decent,” Zeph chimed. She fought an arm free from the hollow, if only to tap Renna on the nose. And that beautifully stupid smile on her face never faded. “Where do you need me to be?”

Renna raised an eyebrow, brushing a smudge of oil from Zeph’s cheek. “Right by the stars-damned Steelweaver corpse in the middle of an otherwise barren landscape, I think. There isn’t much else worth noticing.”

Zeph finally struggled free from the hoverbike. She rose to her full height with a single stretch, immediately dwarfing Renna. Pressing a hand to her brow to mimic shade, squinting into the sun, Zeph admitted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Bee.”

“You’re shitting me,” Renna burst. She jumped onto Zeph’s side, clinging onto the mechanic’s shoulder, attempting to get a better vantage point. But there wasn’t anything to be found beside the remnants of the Steelweaver.

A heat built behind Renna’s sternum. This couldn’t have been. She hadn’t been out in the Dusts all afternoon for that damn tooth to fade into thin air! It couldn’t have just disappeared. Maybe this area of the crag was deteriorating into quicksand? Or perhaps—

Renna spotted dust kicked up in the distance. Behind a hoverboard.

A vein bulged in her neck.

“For the stars’ sake, it’s Cherry!” Renna hollered. “There is no way that I spent my day in this stars-forsaken hellscape, just to get my damn work taken advantage of—and by that damned brat, no less!” She stumbled at first, restless on her feet and pacing uselessly, but within a few seconds she was straddling the seat of the bike. Leaning her weight onto her metal leg, she tried to slam the pedal, but the bike remained idle.

Zeph rested a kind hand on Renna’s shoulder, if firm to a point of restraint. “Bee, this bike can’t get off its feet. We’re not going anywhere until the hover track is functioning again.” The mechanic gently rocked Renna, as if it could clear the smoke from her head. “Just sit tight. We’ll find another Steelweaver.”

Except Renna didn’t need to find another Steelweaver. She hadn’t driven it from its nest, she hadn’t gotten stuck on its back for three miles, hadn’t tricked it into bashing its head into a rock, drawn the tooth from its bloody mouth with her bare hands, or lost her leg to one three years ago—she hadn’t done any of that for Cherry to take her work.

Work she needed to sell to Theo. The man was richer than all the Scavengers in the Dusts combined, and he couldn’t afford a smidgeon better pay. So Renna needed any Units she could get. It was her only option if she wanted a new prosthetic, one with actual neural connections. If she wanted to get herself and Zeph off this damn waste of a planet.

“Just sit tight, Bee,” Zeph repeated, her voice oddly cleansing. Clear, low, cool. She pressed a kiss to Renna’s cheek. “We can just call it off for today. I’ve got a few crummy movies in the backlog. We can watch them if it’ll make you feel better.”

Renna just wanted to fix this problem. Wanted everything to be better than this.

Zeph squeezed her shoulder. “Renna?” 

[jester-of-the-sea]

I TOTALLY CALLED THE DUSTS BEING DWARVES

[inked-foundry]

I like to think that all the Scavengers have nicknames they earned over the years to make themselves sound more badass. The frequency of how these nicknames are used vary from Scav to Scav. e.g.:

Seyss has earned the nickname Wasp for the color of her hoverbike and her sheer ruthlessness. Many of the people who are close to her call her Seyss, but many others call her Wasp in whispers out of respect for the sheer human hurricane she can be.

Zeph was given the nickname Firefly since she’s always carrying around her communications tablet or some other sort of glowing tech on her. Few actually call her Firefly, though, besides people who have never met her. Anyone who has spoken to her in person calls her Zeph since she’s doesn’t mind the familiarity with using a real name. However, only Seyss is allowed to call her Zee.

Camille is known better as Cherry, but the full nickname is Cherry Bomb. She’s been dubbed this for her preference of sharp, sudden action instead of talking (as well as her tiny stature). Most people just refer to her as Cherry since few people know her real name—and even fewer are allowed to call her Cammy.

Fella’s legal name is Hortense, but there was a brief amount of time where he forgot his name. Due to his lack of a title and wild encounters, many just spoke of “that fella,” and he took on Fella as his own name. No one calls him Hortense but Theo. Everyone else knows him as Fella.

Wicker isn’t a Scav, but he spends so much time around them that he’s been given an honorary nickname. His actual name is Chadwick but prefers not to be called that. He earned the nickname Wicker after being struck by lightning on one occasion and set on fire during another, giving people the impression that he was a living candle wick and it was bound to happen. Only people in his workplace call him Chadwick; he’s Wicker to everyone else.

Agnes got her name from the android ID imprinted on the back of her neck—AGN-E5, or translated, Automated General Nurse, Edition Five. Although her personality chip and processors have developed enough for her to come across as human, her basic programming to care for others has led her to be one of the few medics in the Dusts. For this, she is simply known as Doc. Many folks who are close to her simply call her Agnes (with Fella dubbing her Aggie), but many of her regular patients call her Doc out of respect.

Theo isn’t a Scav and keeps minimal contact with them. His full name is Theopolis (the name of some great city on one of his ancestor’s home planets, apparently) and he insists he be called as such, but no one appreciates his prudishness and just calls him Theo.

[inked-foundry]

I’ve been toying around with writing in a setting I’ve simply been calling “the Dusts.” The more I try to delve into it, the more absolutely insane I realize this idea is.

As in there is canonically a ditch in the desert, created by an asteroid. It left behind a radioactive deposit, but rather than Dusts’ inhabitants steering clear of it, a Rave Cult formed around it.

[inked-foundry]

any question about the Dusts cast (Renna, Zeph, Cherry, Wicker, Agnes, and Theo)? considering just switching to this WIP a little bit to get a breather from Of Debtors and Dissidents.

[inked-foundry]

Most remnants of the Old Society in the Dusts are believed to be found genetically. It is possible that physical features such as broad builds, towering stature, and intimidating physical strength sources from the blood of the Old Society, as fossils prove. However, more subtle signs can appear in odd physical details such as unique eye color or hair color (however, it is advised that since many Scavengers host these traits, it is unwise to claim lineage on this alone). Most of the strength and stature has long since been genetically weeded out via interactions with Earthen humans.

Other remnants of their existence can be found in the various ruins of their architecture and weaponry. Many have found that these constructions interact with some force that cannot be scientifically deducted with current theories. Some believe that the only logical explanation is some sort of magic, but this is currently too far fetched a theory, and modern scientists have not tested other ideas thoroughly enough to justify magic as the only explanation. However, Hellbeast bones have been found besides Old Society ruins, dating far earlier than its inhabitants’ remains. Thus, some claim the sheer fact that it appears they were able to overcome the bizarre capabilities of Hellbeasts is enough to justify magic.

[inked-foundry]

I'm just generally curious abt the Dusts 👀👀

The vast deserts and crag of RCX-S5 are not the friendliest place in the world. But with the massive mountain range serving as a barrier to the cooler, less hostile parts of the planet, for many there is no way out.

And thus, many born in that belt are trapped in what has been dubbed the Dusts.

The wealthy investors who initially settled on the planet to collect resources founded Elysium. The city is a safe haven of modern amenities from the physical and mental troubles of the Dusts (as well as being one of the few places that are spared from the utter monsters that roam—better known collectively as Hellbeasts). However, it is damn near impossible to find security in the city if you are not born there. The city comes from wealth and is run by it; the aristocracy is highly selective of who comes into the city and only opens the gates for those with mercantile business or those marrying into wealth.

Many argue that it would be easier to develop a lower-class neighborhood within Elysium and provide jobs in menial assembly line tasks or housework, but this has also been circumvented. The aristocracy’s rebuttal is that it would kill the android industry, which has grown rampant in the city. However, the technicalities behind droids are another topic for another day…

Thus, the lower class who were ostracized for their station in society were not permitted urban solace or work. But there was one thing that the upper class was too squeamish to do and the droids were too flimsy to handle: resource collection in the Dusts.

And like that, the Scavenger class was born.

Scavengers tend to come from all walks of life. Some were simply born into it like a family trade, while others pick up the work as cheap money at a young age and get trapped in it. But they all have one thing in common, and it’s an instinct for survival. No matter what they have to do, they all form some way of clawing out a life and sparing it. All the while they have to fight off Hellbeasts and rival Scavs. Some tend to live in larger groups for safety, while some lack trust and live on their own.

There are sparse amenities in the Dusts, and certain groups have monopolies on them. In the particular region we find our perilous heroes in, the Doc may be the only medic for miles, whilst Firefly is one of the few skilled (if pricey) mechanics. And then there’s the matter of local living myths like Fella. No matter where you go in the Dusts, everyone hears some whisper about Fella.

One of the uncovered mysteries found via the Scavs has been the existence of the Old Society, a far more advanced sort of human that was present on RCX-S5 prior to being turned into a resource mill. It is believed that some Scavs have Old Society blood and are the key to unlocking the old tech scattered about the Dusts. However, none of this is confirmed. Doing Old Society research isn’t the most profitable work.

But knowledge and skill only mean as much as one’s ability to survive in the Dusts.