OPEN | CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?

[monstermasher]

▶ WHO: Everyone.
▶ DATE: July 23rd, 2015
▶ WARNINGS: Zombies and bad music.
▶ SUMMARY: Someone's rental car is having problems. Also, maybe a small zombie attack.

GOOD EVENING!

---

Did you have a good afternoon? Maybe you've even gotten your "present" from above.

Your good mood is about to get spoiled like old ice cream. But fear not, new ice cream is on the way. Around 2am on the 23rd (IC), an ice cream truck will be careening toward the compound, music at maximum volume. When it gets to the gate, a man in a gas mask will be leaning out of the window to shout at anyone who can hear him.

"I CAN'T TURN THIS THING OFF, GET READY TO CLOSE THE GATE!"

While his rental does bear fresh ice cream (somebody up there doesn't like this guy) it also bears zombies—the running, angry ones, actually. The NPC will use a remote to open the gate (man, where the hell did he get that and how does it even work) and will drive through (get out of the way...), but it needs to be closed behind him within a few minutes.

However, even if the gate is closed before the zombies get there, they'll crowd around the compound until they're all dead; and needless to say, there are quite a few of them. Not only are they faster, they're stronger than your average zombie, so try not to pull any heroic stunts.

OOC NOTES.

---

First off, if your character isn't in the compound and you don't want them to get attacked by zombies, that's okay! They'll just be focused on the truck. Secondly, your character can absolutely be on the outside of the compound when the truck arrives, though you should keep in mind that it'll be much more dangerous.

There will be a subthread for closing the gate and one for talking to the NPC afterward that will be open to everyone, and one that is closed to Tiny Tina and Natasha for discussed player plots! Apart from that, you can make your own top levels for killing the zombies, enjoying amazingly cheap ice cream, complaining about the new guy and/or dissecting the zombies, looking at you, science geeks.

As always, here is the turn in post in case you get some exploring done, or just plain forgot about it, etc. There's nothing major to be found in the truck, but there might be some interesting paperwork... if you like that sort of thing.

ETA: The zombie attack will be finished by the next day, so that plans aren't affected yet. If you'd like to plot a widescale attack, let me know! We can do that B-)

Comments

FOR THE RADIO HOSTS.

[monstermasher]

[ Not long after the attack, the NPC will be holding a set of blueprints. Looking closely, you can see it's labelled "radio" with a bunch of other technical jargon).

OOC: This thread is closed for Tiny Tina and Natasha! Your characters can either approach him at the same time or separately. ]

aw-yeah

[wyld_child]

[As he's staring at the blueprints, a blond head starts poking itself out from the side. She's small enough that he probably didn't notice her behind the prints, but she's there, and yes, she has icecream.]

That. Was. Awesome.

The way you drove that truck like, daaaayum! Screaming your icecream anthem all down the block like whaaaaat!

AND there was chocolate. But you should've dumped the vanilla. Vanilla is lame.

[monstermasher]

[ He's already deciding that she's the scariest little girl he's ever seen. ]

I would have preferred it to be a quiet trip. No comment about the vanilla.

[wyld_child]

[Be afraid.]

Quiet is booo~riiing. So whatcha lookin' at?

[monstermasher]

[ HE IS. ]

And safe. This is a blueprint for your tower. You do have one, right? I don't remember if they managed to put one up here or not.

[wyld_child]

Tower? Oh.. yeah. Sure. But we got so many towers you gotta be more specific.

[.... what tower.]

[monstermasher]

[ Oh, yeah. Earth is littered with them, he forgot. ]

The radio one. Hope they didn't crash that into a mountain too.

[wyld_child]

Does it work?

[Probably not. Nothing seems to around here. At least the whole power-grid is an issue.]

[monstermasher]

Did you get radios, or did they burn up in the train crash? [ Shaking his head. ] If you did and they work, then it should be working.

[wyld_child]

How does someone crash a tower into a mountain?

Maybe you should lay off the icecream.

[She's probably misunderstanding, but she knows how crazy an icecream headache can make a person.]

[monstermasher]

They're creative. And bad at aiming... whatever the hell it is.

[ He can't remember. ]

[wyld_child]

Riiiight.

[She's looking at you funny. Tina takes her radio out of her belt and looks at it. It's the same one she salvaged from that train crash. It already has drawings of bunnies and unicorns all over it.]

So these things get radio signals, too? I thought they were just short-band push-to-talk puppies. Some music would be sah-weet.

[monstermasher]

[ It's good to see creativity... ]

They can get a signal, it's the... idiots didn't think that far ahead. I might actually be able to help with that.

[wyld_child]

Oh yeah? How? Because I was trying to put together my own radio transmitter.

[And if he could direct her to some usable parts that sure would move the project along.]

[monstermasher]

Well, these things are from... ugh, I don't remember. Somewhere not here. So they have weird stuff in them, it doesn't really work as well as it should here. When I woke up here, I had a list of things to do; one of them was adjust the tower. It probably just needs something from there to make it compatible with these. I don't really remember, but that seems right.

[wyld_child]

[Tina gives him a weird look, since he's not making a whole lot of sense. Maybe he's been breathing in some zombie dust or something.]

What things from where in the what now?

[monstermasher]

It's like... a conductor. I guess that's the word for it. And it's from where I'm from—I just don't remember much. [ He's smiling. ] When I woke up here, my memory was pretty, uh, hole-y.

[wyld_child]

So can the radio tower work again or what? Is there anything that can make it work?

[Because if not she's going to ransack it for parts.]

[monstermasher]

Well, it should be working. Just doesn't work with a lot of your crap, that's all. At least, that's what the papers said. Might have broke since then. I'll need to take a look.

[wyld_child]

But this crap is all from this crappy place.

[Why wouldn't it work with the existing crap?]

You don't sound like you know what you're doing. I should probably look at it.

[monstermasher]

No, it's not. Like you, it's from somewhere else. That's why I need to fix it. You can come with me, if you don't believe it.

[wyld_child]

Oooh, so maybe I'll find stuff from my world!

[That could be useful.]

Sure! I love me some roadtrips.

[monstermasher]

It's possible, I think. Don't see why not. I'm just gonna take a look around, then we can go.

[ He doesn't want to waste time if he can, but he also doesn't want to walk out in case some of the horde is still kicking. ]

[wyld_child]

[Tina nods and folds her arms behind her head.]

Okey-dokey. I'll wait here.

[Then they can blow this Popsicle stand.]

[monstermasher]

[ With a short nod, he's ducking out for a bit. How rude, keeping someone waiting.

But a bit later and he's back, a bag from the truck slung over his shoulder. ]

Lead the way.

[wyld_child]

[Tina doesn't mind so much and is good at keeping herself occupied. When he returns she gives him a salute and heads out of the building.]

This is gonna be awe~soooome! Where are we goin' again?

[monstermasher]

[ ... did she forget already. ]

Radio tower?

[ Or maybe he forgot. That's been known to happen. ]

[wyld_child]

Oh, right.

[Tina begins to head in the proper direction this time.]

So if we get the radio tower working, maybe I can get something like it at my workshop and use it to transmit messages all of the place. I always wanted my own radio show.

[monstermasher]

Nice to know you're an optimist in this situation.

[ He's just idly following her with his hands in his pockets. ]

[debts]

[ Her shoulder hurts. This isn't the most important thing to think about, because she wasn't the only person on the walls aiming down bullets and she knows things disintegrate the more you use them. So bullets. So that quiet, calm, stale sort of exhaustion that's in people's faces— starting to, anyway. It's one of the reasons Natasha doesn't stay at the compound a lot.

Additionally: the radio tower doesn't get shanghaied by ice cream trucks.

Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, Natasha ignores the irritation and takes things in in quick succession. The attack is mostly over, the driver is (mostly) unscarred, and he's holding a technical blueprint. She pointedly decides not to clear her throat and does away with the suggestion of violence. That is to say: she might not aim her gun at him, but her stare looks as dead as ice. ]

Who are you.

[monstermasher]

[ It doesn't... yet.

Alright, it probably won't. ]

Hi. [ Her stare isn't lost on him, and he's not clueless enough to be arrogant. He's fairly concerned, right out of the gate. He wasn't known for being a badass, but someone with a clear head. He can't remember, but he thinks it's why he was hired... or something. ] Ray, Heisant Fourth.

[ It occurs to him that these people might not know the titles... but then again, he doesn't really remember either. ]

[debts]

[ She pauses. It's visible, and that means Natasha wants it to be. It's a rank, she thinks. Better to make sure. ]

Black Widow.

[ There's something about his economy that suggests military. Natasha swallows that observation down and nods instead, just the slightest tip of her chin, because she's tired and a little sore and this isn't a conversation she genuinely wants to have. Not that wanting things has ever mattered much. ]

What are you looking at?

[monstermasher]

[ This old thing? He doesn't say it. He saw a movie with that line in it, once, and thought it sounded cool. Someone told him it wasn't cool at all. ]

Blueprints for a tower that's supposed to be nearby. You know it?

[debts]

[ A short nod. No-nonsense, more or less. ]

A few clicks from here. There have been a couple people maintaining it.

[ There's a flicker of something in the set of her expression, her mouth quirking up at the corner. ]

Don't tell me we've been doing your job for you.

[monstermasher]

[ He's tapping the side of his head, then shrugging. ]

I forgot where this place was. They did a terrible job when they sent me here, there's so many holes in my memory. Like the annoying NPC in a video game that should be able to give you all the answers right away, but just can't.

[ Cue a dramatic sigh. ]

[debts]

[ She stares at him, again. It's not supposed to be overtly threatening— assessing, more like, because some kind of thought process is happening behind the way she flatly stares, takes it all in. ]

'They'.

[ Not the most important part. Maybe the most personal, memory erasure considered. ]

Did they send you for maintenance? We haven't gotten the signals to reach far.

[monstermasher]

[ He doesn't exactly ignore the 'they' comment. He's just so used to using that word to describe... someone he can't remember, that it rolls off his back. ]

Kind of? I'm not actually sure what all I'm supposed to do. My memory's full of damn holes. [ A twitch of his nose, mostly in annoyance. ] Fixing it, adjusting it, making it work different—whatever's needed, I'm supposed to help with. Pretty sure I can help with it.