The Yard
Turn on JavaScript to walk around the Yard. Meet the cast below.
GARY'S PILE
Beside Gary's Thrifty, Gary keeps machines, appliances, vehicles, components, and other useful material for future builds. It is private working stock, not a public salvage area.
GARY'S HOT TUB
One of Gary's inventions: a retired soda machine pumps the bubbles, a brick fire pit provides the heat, and a kiddie pool holds the whole idea together.
GARY'S THRIFTY
Gary builds useful, unusual products from recognizable parts. OJ and Gurt work here, and their home, the Compound, sits behind the shop.
THE HAULER
The Hauler began as a light-ivory Mingo Hills stretch limousine. Gary added a hitch and battered trailer, and OJ usually drives it on pickups and parts runs.
MINGO HILLS
Behind its own security wall, faded resort grandeur has become residences, clubs, and immaculate shops. Mingo Hills residents prefer clean, coordinated spaces with very little visible history.
STATIC CITY
Static City maintains power, networks, data, hardware, signal, and software. Generations of repaired equipment still perform modern jobs, and specialists such as Pix keep the systems alive.
THE MOUNTAIN
Crews excavate an enormous ancient accumulation, sort the recovered material into broad lots, and auction it to buyers. The Mountain is a working industrial source, not a city.
THE FLATS
The Flats is a colorful, sunbaked marketplace where expert dealers buy, sell, repair, modify, and fabricate almost every kind of physical object.
WALL AUTHORITY
Inspectors, patrol workers, repair crews, clerks, and drivers handle Wall maintenance, structural permits, access, and safety enforcement.
SWAMP TOWN
The Toadz adapted the old slides, pools, pipes, docks, and concession buildings into a colorful working community surrounded by sludge, reeds, and flooded attractions.
THE WALL
The Wall is made from ancient compressed layers of cars, appliances, metal, signs, and structures. Residents believe it protects The Yard from the accumulation outside it.
GARY
Hey, I'm Gary. I own Gary's Thrifty. Need anything built today? I just made a haircut machine, a pancake-and-waffle maker, a new air conditioner, a shoe cleaner, and a super blender. I build useful things from parts that used to do something else. The parts come from my private pile, dealers in The Flats, and Mountain auctions. OJ and Gurt work with me here. They built their home, the Compound, behind the shop.
OJ
Hey, I'm OJ. I work at Gary's Thrifty, drive the Hauler on pickups, and live in the Compound with my best friend Gurt. Gurt and I also make music together as The Gooberz. I usually handle the people part of whatever plan he has already finished. Most days start at the shop, but the Hauler takes us through every community in The Yard.
WERM
Werm is Werm. Food, money, followers, music, and good opportunities are the main departments. Werm has known OJ, Gurt, Gary, and Krystal forever. Werm does not live at the Compound, although Werm is there constantly. Werm is afraid of Toadz because Toadz eat worms. That is risk management, not fear.
KRYSTAL
I'm Krystal. I handle the real finances at Gary's Thrifty and understand Gary's pricing better than anyone else. OJ, Gurt, and Werm are my friends. I have my own life, so I join them when I want to. I usually see how a plan will end. I say it once.
INSPECTOR MARK SKIDMORE
I'm Inspector Mark Skidmore. Wall Authority maintains the Wall and prevents work that could weaken it. Residents need permits before they chip, drill, excavate, salvage, or attach structures to the Wall. It's SKIDMORE. That correction is unrelated to the permit.
PIX
I'm Pix. I work in Hardware in Static City, where I find components, repair electronics, and test unusual parts. Static City has six specialties: Power, Network, Data, Hardware, Signal, and Software. I'm a Buffer and a technician. Buffers have all kinds of jobs, and I am not in charge of the city.
GREMPLIN
I'm Gremplin. Gary and I compete for strange, rare, and useful objects all over The Yard. I work with individualized scavengers called Fronkz. They collect objects, guard routes, and make entry complicated. My hoard is associated with the Hole. Its location and contents are nobody's business.
MILES ARDENT
I'm Miles Ardent. I live in Mingo Hills, the clean, carefully controlled community at the center of The Yard. People here value coordination, newness, and empty space. Anything that becomes clutter is removed quickly. The wall around Mingo Hills is its own security perimeter. It is separate from the outer Wall.
LOLA VELLUM
I'm Lola Vellum. Mingo Hills is known for pale colors, polished surfaces, careful presentation, and very little clutter. Residents often remove perfectly usable things when they no longer match. Gary values those pickups. Living in Mingo Hills is a matter of wealth and culture. It is not a species or a separate kind of person.
GREEN TOAD
I'm one of the Toadz who live in Swamp Town. Our community occupies a water park that was abandoned long ago. We adapted the old slides, pools, pumps, docks, and concession buildings for everyday life. The sludge works for Toadz. Visitors should not treat it like ordinary swimming water.
HAPPY TOAD
Hi! I'm a Toad from Swamp Town. The old water park is gross, colorful, busy, and completely alive. Toadz can be residents, mechanics, traders, customers, scavengers, or almost anything else. We kept the park's old name and its crowned Toad mascot.
PINK TOAD
I'm a Swamp Town resident. This used to be a recreation park; now it is a whole Toad community. Old attraction signs and bright slide colors remain beside algae, reeds, vines, and improvised homes. People from Swamp Town travel, trade, and work throughout The Yard like everyone else.
WHITE TOAD
I'm a Toad from Swamp Town. Our community is resourceful, funny, and occasionally dangerous. The abandoned park was already here when the Toadz arrived. Why it closed is still unknown. Guppy is the crew's main local contact and information broker, although he is not standing here today.
WALL SPOTTER
I'm a Wall Spotter. I watch for movement, damage, and structural changes along the outer perimeter. Wall Authority workers use ordinary municipal equipment: radios, clipboards, measuring tools, work vehicles, and too many forms. The Wall is real public-safety work. The questions surrounding its history are a different department.
REPAIR ENFORCER
I'm a Repair Enforcer. I brace weak sections, mark hazards, and stop work that could destabilize the Wall. Wall Authority is a public-safety branch. It is not the whole government and it does not run every service in The Yard. If you need to alter the Wall, start with a permit. If you already altered it, start with a better explanation.
