Wastelands
A story of rebellion, curiosity, and the inevitable fight for individuality.
Valentina Sisters, Anakina and Antonia-Maria.
I wanted to examine toxic environments and the fate of those who remain versus those who choose to leave. The story is told through twins, the Valentina sisters, once inseparable, “two halves of one soul,” with a strong bond that is hard to break.
They were meant to be stewards of a toxic wasteland, a surreal landscape inspired by the Brothers Quay, where they invented their own language, their own style, and their own fragile world.
Stewards of the Wastelands
But the wasteland itself is both a physical setting and a metaphor for toxic environments, whether in relationships, communities, or workplaces. Like any culture steeped in decay, it sustains itself by replacing those who leave with others willing to endure it.
Working together to keep the Wastelands going
The central tension arises when one sister dares to look beyond their world, driven by curiosity and the hope of something more.
Tension rises:
One will always hold back and question their reality. The other one stays oblivious or doesn’t question.
The other clings to what is familiar, refusing to believe in her sister’s vision. Conflict emerges, but isn’t this also the essence of human nature? Twins, romantic partners like ‘soul-mates’ or closest friends, will struggle to assert their own individuality, and when they do; separation becomes inevitable.
Separation is inevitable
One takes off, the other stays and creates another version of herself to help with taking care of the Wasteland. Or perhaps because she won’t be alone.
The other Valentina sister creates another version of herself.
What happens when someone finally leaves that toxicity.
Freedom is not always a promised paradise. The grass may not be greener, but new revelations and discoveries alter the self.
As Camus wrote, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer,” suggesting that the act of rebellion and leaving is less about what is found but more about the courage of choosing oneself.
Remaining Valentina sister and her droid on the left
In this sense, toxic environments, whether a ruined wasteland, a corporate hierarchy, corrupt government, a relationship, or cults, are all self-perpetuating.
Stay or leave, the machine of toxicity persists.
Toxic friends or a once romantic partner will find another to absorb the toxicity. A toxic work culture will find other employees to keep that system moving. With cults, they’ll find other believers.
Remaining Valentina sister passes as the droid lives on.
The droid creates other droids to run the Wastelands
The individual’s choice, however, is what matters: to rebel, to be curious, to claim one’s individuality in the face of conformity.
As Kierkegaard suggested, “The most painful state of being is remembering the future,” for those who never left will always wonder what might have been.
Moral of the story: stay or leave a toxic situation, those situations will find someone else to replace you.
Save your soul, choose not to be a sucker and someone else will be a sucker for you.
Prompts used:
Decayed Elegance: dusty, worn, patina, velvet curtains, rotting wood, peeling paint.
Mechanical Dreamscapes: tiny gears, clockwork toys, marionettes, automata.
Cabinet of Curiosities: taxidermy, pinned insects, apothecary jars, forgotten relics.
Eastern European Shadowplay: Kafkaesque, Polish poster art, Gothic Central Europe, dim lighting.
Surreal Narratives: dream logic, repetition, symbols instead of dialogue.
Claustrophobic Interiors: tight sets, miniature rooms, broken furniture, oppressive atmosphere.
Textures & Lighting: chiaroscuro, soft diffusion, sepia tones, candlelight, flickering bulbs.
Example framework:
”two identical red-haired sisters, pale porcelain skin, dressed in decaying couture gowns of velvet and lace, sitting in a claustrophobic miniature room with peeling wallpaper, dust swirling in candlelight, cinematic chiaroscuro lighting, surreal Brothers Quay atmosphere, uncanny dolls and broken clockwork toys scattered across the floor —ar 5:7”