![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
First Annual Pod Day
WHERE: Vault 66
WHEN: ???? - Day 1
WHAT: The first pods open
WARNINGS:TBD
You awake laying on your back in an, admittedly comfortable, pod. You can't move anything but your eyes, can't even feel your body yet. How you got here or why is a blank. You may have been in the middle of your day, asleep, or even- for what you remember- should be dead. Then a screen directly in front of your face flickers to life and in crisp, black and white displays: DON'T PANIC. The following video then plays:
The screen flickers again and reads: CONGRATULATIONS ON PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE! WELCOME TO VAULT LIFE, CITIZEN. WELCOME TO YEAR: [ERROR]. YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE LOCATED IN [FILE CORRUPTED. SEE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]. ENJOY YOUR STAY AND THANK YOU FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT VAULT-TEC.
The pod then unseals and you are able to, unstably at first, climb out of the pod. Your body may feel foreign for a moment- perhaps entirely foreign if you suddenly find yourself a human, ghoul, or super mutant for the first time. But whatever your form, you have two items on: a bright blue jumpsuit with the number 66 in yellow on the back, and a mechanical device known as a Pip-boy sealed onto your arm. If you click on the buttons it takes you to an instruction screen.
You look around to find yourself in a room of other pods. Some are just opening, other people looking as confused as you climbing out. Others remain closed with the status of 'STASIS' on the screens attached to the pods. The rest of the room is less than impressive. Computer systems that seem out of place compared to the technology level of the pods are scattered across the room, apparently running the chambers. Trying to access them, even for the most talented hacker, will simply result in SEE OVERSEER being displayed. There is large metal door leading to the rest of the vault, a lever on the wall next to it that will cause it to open.
Welcome, dweller, to vault 66.
Outside of the pod room, the rest of the vault is limping along on an emergency power supply. The air is stale from lackluster recycling and deep shadows occupy the corners of rooms and edges of hallways as only the pale maintenance lighting flickers from the ceiling. The pip-boy flashlight helps, but can still only light up a small area, casting anything outside of it into even darker shadows.
In those shadows there is skittering. The noise isn't too noticeable when there are groups of people, but get down to one or two and it's impossible to ignore. Venture into an empty room and you’ll spot a small number, maybe even just one, loitering in what, until today, had more or less been their sole domain: radroaches. Giant, mutated cockroaches that have a hunger for fresh food (like say, new vault dwellers) when it’s available.
The majority of roaches, however, seem to have a destination in mind, mostly ignoring characters unless blocked or directly bothered. This hoard, gathering from all over the vault, all move through the shadows and vents to the kitchen. If a character is unthreatening enough, they can follow the trail unmolested by the creatures.
In the kitchen itself is a whole different matter. Even from down the hall, characters can hear a masculine, slightly French-accented voice exclaim:
“Mais! Get out, out you nasty things!”
After a moment, a burst of flame can be seen through the door, followed by the new yet distinctive sound of mandibles ripping at metal. Those that decide to enter will see over a dozen roaches trying to take down a lone, floating robot. Despite the robot occasionally hitting them with a blast of fire from a small flame-throwing on one of its arms, the roaches appear to be winning.
The source of the fight can be seen behind the robot: a counter full of various kinds of packaged foods, some of them newly opened. One roach has managed to make it to the prize, ripping into a things of what seems to be apples with its mandibles.
OOC NOTES
To talk to a specific NPC one-on-one, leave a comment on their thread below. Note an exception is Louis in Radroach Riot, he will pop up on his own in threads related to him.
Looking for loot in a specific area? Looking for a specific item/kinds of item in general? Ask here and we’ll let you know.
If you have any OOC questions, please leave a comment here!
no subject
He can ignore them just as well as they can ignore him.
no subject
Louis turns back towards the food, resuming rearranging the food- maybe a little purposefully trying to move things out of Jiro's immediate area.
no subject
Sure he clearly doesn't want to be involved but dragging him back into the conversation might help keep things on task.
"Do you think they have like a nest or something Louis?"
no subject
"Robots who only do things we can do should be obsolete," and as for the roaches: "We're not killing them, but we can leave them in some designated area."
He's already thinking about using the men's dorm for that purpose, until more people come out of the pods anyway. They probably do have a nest in the walls or the ceilings, but he won't suggest likely places where they can be found.
no subject
Whoever Nick is, he doesn't seem to rank high in Louis' book.
"They have been silent while the food was locked away, along with y'all. Now they, too, are rowdy."
no subject
That was utterly baffling to Sandy and the tone of voice made it clear she thought Jiro was out of his mind.
"Why? There's no way that's a good idea."
no subject
"They were here first."
no subject
Every time she thinks about how long she might have been in that pod in makes her stomach knot up.
"Anyway those things are probably like...dripping disease."
no subject
In contrast, he doesn't think about the pod existing as stasis. It doesn't make sense with the video, which is clearly from a time long before he was even born.
"You're probably diseased too."
no subject
"Come on, how are you gonna keep them anyway? It's not like we have a bunch of glass cages to keep them safe and secure."
no subject
Even in Sandy's scenario, Jiro's pretty sure cockroaches existed before humans.
"I'll find something and leave them in a room we're not using."
no subject
But even if the idea of touching them, or filling a room with them makes her stomach churn she's willing to try and meet him halfway.
no subject
He knows some of them will die, and he's probably the only one who even cares about roaches, but he's making a stand on principle. When he's done with the apple, he tosses the core at Louis; still ignoring him otherwise.
"Let me ask you a question. Did you have... I dunno, abilities or something before this?"
no subject
This guy...does he just like being hated? The question took her back and she answered automatically.
"No. Why?"
A lie, but she hardly ever used her powers. And in her world it was dangerous to even imply she had them.
no subject
Jiro's already decided that, and Louis is also not alive. He regrets asking Sandy now, because he's going to sound crazy, but it will explain the roaches.
"I did. I could talk to animals, have actual conversations with them and they understood me and whatever, all of them."
He waves his hand towards the hallway where the roaches left.
"Insects, everything. They're at the same level as humans for me, that's why."
Yeah, he considers the roach-killing murder.
no subject
“And you just like, can do it? And you don’t get arrested or shot at? Can you do it now?! Is that why they left so easy?”
The first real superpowered person she meets outside of New York and it’s THIS jerk?
no subject
"Why the fuck would I get shot at!?"
That's disturbing enough for him to show disbelief himself. It takes him a second to address the other questions.
"No, I can't do it now and they just left because we made noise!"
no subject
This is apparently something important to her because she looks angry while she sounds confused.
no subject
It sounds like some sci-fi dystopia, and the opposite of his world.
"I've never met anyone else with uh, super powers," the term even sounds weird to use. "Just me."
He's not going to mention the demons yet, because she sounds upset enough and who knows what they do to demons in her reality.
no subject
Not that it was the cities fault but she was feeling really confused and angry about it now.
"Well they sound like awesome powers. I'm really jealous." She added sitting on a stool watching Louis now to distract herself. "And I'm sorry I was saying that stuff about the roaches. I didn't know..."
She tried to think of what she didn't know. Didn't know roaches were smart enough to talk to people with super powers? Didn't know she should value their life even if they weren't smart enough? Even as she said it she still felt like it was wrong so she just settled on "I just don't know some stuff yet I guess."
no subject
no subject
Further proof they weren't from the same universes. Sandy was finding the concept of multiverses interesting but also a little unsettling.
"New York used to be full of heroes and villains and super powers and even magic. But things got...really bad I guess. So by the time I was born most of them were already gone or on their way out. Wait...where were you from?"
no subject
"I'm from Gamagori, Japan. We had demons, not superheroes or magic, but the government hid it," he's hesitant to add the last part, but it should be said. "It's- it was 2017."
no subject
"Whoa...ok um...well I'm from 2050 in my world so...yeah I don't know where that leaves us."
Elizabeth had started telling her about alternate universes. That had to be what this was right?
"Also...either your English is awesome or I suddenly know Japanese."
no subject
"It's English," he raises an eyebrow. She had to know what language she was speaking, didn't she? Now he's questioning it himself. "All the computer shit and the signs are in English."
He hadn't given much thought to it beyond that, but now he is. English words had been easier to find without thinking about it and he hadn't had any trouble understanding anyone, even words he hadn't heard before. What the fuck?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)