Miss Vicious Delicious, Her saga and story... Options

[SubRosa]

Uh oh, as Admiral Ackbar would say, this looks like a trap.

Only for lush Andy Stahl to come and maybe mess it all up!

Who is this blanching blanchole?

Wow, that was quite a confrontation and wild chase with Mickey the Blanching Mouse. Or almost. It looks like she fried him. All the better for the Wasteland.

Now its time to lie low. Better get some stimpacks.

Oh boy, Mousey was also hunting bearer bonds. I wonder if the same Raiders sent him, that did Taneesha?

[Renee]

Probably won't post a story today, as it's overcast outside (which means no Fallout) and I'm feeling a bit burnt-out from writing.

But I wanted to make a note that today here at Chorrol is Vicious111's birthday.

My own Vicious's birthday just passed as well, dangit. July 20. I missed it! I really gotta put all my characters' birthdays in my phone or something.

[Renee]

...As we last saw, our protagonist Taneesha "Vicious Delicious" Jones was in the midst of getting drunk with her new housemate, Lucy West. When Taneesha went for a nip to the loo, she got a hunch to search for bearer bond number seven in the Men's Rathroom, which she found, along with a holotape she could read. This caused her to be attacked by a strange, rambling dude wearing a mouse costume on his head. Taneesha buzzed the mouse man with her stun gun which caused him to fall, then she left the restroom. She did so, thinking she was about to be pursued by Mouse Man. But Mouse Man chose to stay in the restroom.

Now... armed with her stun gun, her pipe, and her 'Blamhammer' shot gun, she is ready to confront the man-sized rodent. But she must do so without attracting the attention of her housemate, Megaton's law force, or Lucas Simms, Megaton's sheriff (and sometimes mayor), who has a habit of strolling around Megaton at night.


Chapter 42: Building a Better Mousetrap

Date: Saturday, September 15, 2277, 8:01 PM
Temperature: 73 F

The dreadful summer heat dropped to temperate by now, which made Virginia's climate both tolerable, and pleasant. Why could the weather not just stay like this forever? Despite the coolness, Taneesha Jones was sweating. A man with a strange mouse costume had just tried to kill her in the Men's. Who was this freak, and why was he chasing her?

"Slicky Ricky," Taneesha murmured slowly. "Gotta be Slick, who put him up to this. When I find you, we's gonna have some words, for real."

Not that Slick was the one who'd attacked her, but it seemed he's the one responsible for this. Somehow. After all, who else knew about her current mission?

"Hmm. Bratty knows. Q Tip knows..."

But neither of them could have done this. Q Tip did not have the sort of authority to send somebody after her, and though he did have a rather annoying sense of humor, he did not seem the type who'd go this far. There was also Bratty. But again, such a prank (if this is indeed what Mouse Man was supposed to be) seemed beyond the Brat. Bratty's IQ probably hovered somewhere in the 70s, the sort of gal who had trouble remembering what she was talking about two minutes ago.

"Come here, little mousey," Taneesha muttered softy. "Come out and find me! I got some cheese here for ya."

Thing is, she did not want to attack Mouse Man here in Megaton, especially not with her Blamhammer. The last thing she needed was to hit an innocent Megatonite. Miss Jones had already been arrested once for stealing, and she was not heading back to jail, not for this bull*ship*. Instead, she was hoping for Mouse to leave the Men's, and come looking for her. And once he found her, hopefully he'd attack her right in front of Megaton's law force. Or maybe Lucas Simms would bear witness to this.

Either way, the idea was for Mousey to take the initiative, which would hopefully cause him to get taken down by somebody other than herself.

She left the home of Lucy West, making as much noise as she could, stomping and dragging her green shoes as she walked. Taneesha moved away from the house, and took the ramp down into the plaza, slowly looking up and down the scrap-metal village for any odd movements, looking for anybody who'd be running around after her. She noticed none and discerned nobody. But it was also hard to see all over the village. Some areas of Megaton were well-lit, others were shadowy.

As she walked into the lowest portion of Megaton, Confessor Cromwell was still dawdling his sermon, even at this late hour, it was like the man never shut up.

"...each of us shall give birth to a billion stars, pulled from the mass of our wretched and filthy bodies! ... Each of us, shall be mother and father to a trillion civilizations... shall know an end to pain..."

The preacher and his flock worshipped a freaking bomb! A bomb which fell to Earth two-hundred freaking years ago! The bomb never exploded, but its impact caused the crater in which Megaton had been built. How much could somebody have to say about this? Countless hours of rambling...

Still, for a moment Taneesha was drawn in. Listened to the man pontificate and prophecize from his virtual pulpit. For her it was like being thrown back to childhood, back with the Witnesses who'd raised her for much of her life; raised to believe the end of the world was coming. It would happen next week, next month, next year, no, five years from now. Always a reason for why their time on Earth was about to conclude, and always a given date for impending doom. And when that date came and passed and nothing happened--

Taneesha snapped out of it. A man with a mouse head was somewhere up there. Still after her. Or maybe he'd left the Men's while she was at Lucy's, and was now on the other side of town. Either way, she spotted Megaton's officer, the same lady who'd busted her for stealing chems at the clinic a few weeks back. The officer was here, along with a throng of folks hanging out in front of The Brass Lantern, eating noodles and shooting the *ship*. Taneesha rushed over to them, waiting to see if the idiot would show.

"MoooooOOO!" said Megaton's resident brahmin cow.

Lucas Simms shouldered up to the eatery. Smiled at her, a cute lady wearing a pretty green dress. "Hey, is that a toy gun?" he asked.

This was no good. Should she be searching mouse dude more actively?
She looked in her bag, found and turned on her flashlight. Began walking up the hill, away from the others.

"All right, Bub. You've had your chance."

Nobody was around up here, so she grabbed her Taser. Kept it one-handed, not aiming just yet. Moved slowly around the village's upper paths. Passed the home of Lucas Simms, and passed the back side of Craterside Supply. Up a small ramp, which led to Megaton's Water Processing Plant.

"And there you are, you bastard."

Taneesha saw the idiot, who was walking slowly behind her, following her. He carried a small gun with scope on it, his stupid mouse head and goggles bouncing along with his steps.

"Come after me fool...I'm right here."

She hunkered down and began moving away fast. Past the Water Processing plant, back down into the plaza. Lucas Simms was here. The security officer lady was here.... and finally, here came Mouse Man. Who walked toward the late-nighters from the other direction somehow: down the ramps from Lucy's place, and past the Church of Atom idiots. Oddly, the Mouse Man carried his gun, but was for some reason not firing it.

"Oh, so now you're scared?" Taneesha asked quietly, trying not to draw attention. "You's good to attack me when nobody's around but a drunken fool. But now, you actin' all pleasant-like."

He was walking, and not with any sort of urgency. Walking, almost shuffling really, like some creature from an old sci-fi movie which moved slowly, causing anticipation. Walked past the Brass Lantern, walked past the officer lady. He was openly carrying his gun. But not firing it. Nobody reacted as the wacked-out dude strode slowly right by them.

"Come on then fool," she said to him as he neared. "Let's take this outside the walls."

Mousey said nothing. Not long ago he was yelling and screaming at her, calling her "tart", and accusing her of stealing from him. But now, just nothing. A completely different rodentiary species from the one who'd confronted her in the restroom. Mus musculus tranquillitas, perhaps.

It seemed he also knew the rules: whoever attacked first, especially unprovoked, would take the assault charge, and be in trouble. Neither of them wanted to pull the trigger first.

So Taneesha rushed up the hill. Passed by Lucas Simms. "You lookin' for the mayor? Or the sheriff?" Lucas asked.

"Hey! That man with the mouse costume? He's after me!"

Megaton's mayor (sometimes sheriff) gave her a puzzled look. Lucas said nothing. He did nothing.

"Can'tcha see him?" Taneesha pleaded. "He's got a gun! I thought you was supposed to be the damn sheriff!"

Lucas Simms made no move. Just stood there, confused. It was as if she was talking to a statue.

"Well great. Thanks a lot, buster. And *duck* it. Guess I gotta handle that fool myself."

"Have a nice night!" Lucas smiled, clearly not wanting to get involved.

"Fine."

She continued up the hill. Left through Megaton's gate with her pursuer shuffling slowly behind.


10:28 pm
Taneesha left the village, passing by Deputy Weld. "Welcome ... tooo... Megaton," said the bot. "Friendliest ... town ... a-round."

She kept walking and then was running, until she was far away from the gate, again not wanting to fire one of her guns, and hit the wrong person. She slowed as she neared her bus. Fisted her Taser. And waited for the mouse. But the mouse did not show. Minutes passed, with no Mouse Man. So she entered the bus, found the suitcase which contained her raider armor. Swapped her Prewar dress and shoes for the armor (which took a vulnerable minute).

Now she was Miss Vicious Delicious. Now she was ready to rumble.

She left the bus quietly, doing her action-hero thing, pointing her electric gun this way and that. Nobody here. She began walking slowly toward Springvale School, looking over her shoulder from time to time. Finally! There he was! ... Still walking, still carrying his gun.

She ducked behind a mailbox just as mouse-head walked up the street across from Sara Silver's. As he rounded the corner she sprang out from hiding. -- *PLZZZTH!!​* went her gun, but she missed her target! ... She fired again, just as weirdo was getting ready to aim for her, and THIS time she got him! ... Electronic ions sizzled the air around them. She could feel all fifty-thousand of those volts as they not only slammed into her pursuer, but also danced around the nearby atmosphere.

"How's that feel?" Vicious asked, as Mouse Man fell to the ground, losing all motor skills in a literal flash. "Slap-around tart, eh? Is that what you called me an hour ago?"

Mousey writhed around on the street a bit, unable to respond.

"Hey, why don't you meet me over at Springvale School?" she asked. "Oh. Don't know where that is? It's easy. Just keep following me."

Like luring a real mouse into a trap full of cheese. Eventually his paralysis wore off, again he came for her. Now in front of the school, one of the other raiders sensed something was going on, and came around the far, broken wall.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun!" the raider called, shooting his rifle.

"You're a slap-up tart!" Mouse Man said weakly, unable to find the dark-skinned lady he'd spied stealing a bond. "Come back here! And don't jump on me!"

Mousey was suffering. Could not find his mark, so instead he aimed and fired at the raider who'd taunted. This made it easy for Vicious to blast the guy a couple times with her Blamhammer. *POP!* *POW!* ... It took several rounds and several moments of back'and'forthing, this guy was tough! Vicious eventually switched to her Taser to bring the rodent down again. She'd been hit at least twice, and her health was failing! Once he was fallen, it was then easy for both of them to blast the vermin with the odd costume into Mouse Head Heaven!

"Guess we was too much for him, eh?" asked the raider, kissing his piece.

Vicious could not answer, not right away. Her mind was swimming. Things had happened so fast, apparently she'd suffered a head wound. And her heart was also pounding like mad, every thud causing her to falter a bit. She needed to get inside the school. Find a water fountain to help revive her health. Stumble into her classroom (for her leg was also hurt, she realized) and sleep for a Godly amount of time, hopefully with Bratty at her damn side.

And once that was done, once she was back to (hopefully) full health, she had just one man in mind who she'd likely confront... if he was actually around.

Slick Rick.... just wait until I get my hands on you....

-------------------------------------------------------

50,000 Watts!

Blow my fuse!

Vicious pumps her Blamhammer

... How to build a better mousetrap.... 🐭


Notes: I had to add a script to Mouse Man to make him leave the Men's and come looking for my character, because he got stuck in there.

And then I got the ADRENALINE RUSH of a lifetime folks, once I realized my GECK-work was working, and Mousey was coming after her!

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Taneesha apparently doesn't know the most effective way to get rid of someone...open up the console, click on the NPC, type "disable" and hit ENTER, then type "MarkForDelete" and hit ENTER.

If only Taneesha knew that Confessor Cromwell was founding a religion that would spread beyond the Capital Wasteland.

Simms' AI must've been acting up.

And that's what happens when you call somebody a "tart" ad nauseum. At least in the Capital Wasteland.

The water fountain cures everything. Even head wounds. Jokes aside, I was curious how you handled health in your story. In Fallout: Florida, I've tried to keep it mostly realistic, but I'm trying to find a balance that's both believable but not too restrictive. Can't be a bullet sponge, but don't want to make guns too lethal.

Pretty amazing the lengths you'll go to make this story happen in game. Even if I was into making mods and hardcore roleplaying and such, I wouldn't have the patience to do that.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 8 2022, 10:34 AM

[SubRosa]

I love how her new nemesis is wearing one of the Little Lamplighter kid's outfits, just scaled up to adult size.

So Bratty's IQ hovers somewhere around room temperature, when its cool. That sounds pretty accurate...

I do like Miss V's idea of trying to lure Mickey Mouse into attacking her right in front of Lucas Simms.

The Witnesses sound a little late on their belief that the world was going to end soon. I mean, have you looked around? Been there, done that already.

I see Fallout's police are no different from the Pre-War ones...

Down goes Disney, in a hail of gunfire. Could not have happened to a nicer mouse.

That is cool that you were able to do that in the game, so he would seek out Miss V like that. I guess you copied the script from Oblivion where that Guard Captain from the Imperial City that you put in prison, escapes later and comes to find you, wherever you are?

[Lopov]

Good idea to lure the Mouse Man out of the town, I wonder why Lucas didn't defend Taneesha - maybe because the Mouse Man was one of the "locals".

He actually followed her all the way to the school with his kiddie costume.

Congrats for pwning him, now he'll never find the other bearer bonds.

[Acadian]

Plan A of have Mickey attack her in front of law enforcement types was a good plan but Mickey knew the rules too and didn’t cooperate.
’Mus musculus tranquillitas, perhaps.’ - -

Miss VD was clever to quickly switch to Plan B and lure the rodent out of town. Glad she blasted him back to Disneyworld but she did get beat up quite a bit in the process it sounds like. Tough mouse it seems.

So she thinks Slick Rick was behind this? I wonder if she’s right.

[Renee]

@ Rader -- Yes that's true. Cromwell's religion certainly has spread way down south as well if I'm not mistaken. Post Greatwar Florida seems more of a haven for religions and cults than the DelMarVa area + D.C.

I know what you mean about trying to stay realistic. She rushes inside, drinks some water from an irradiated fountain, and voila, cured she is. She lies in her bedroll and sleeps, and (no way) her head and leg injuries are back to normal. Maybe I shouldn't have written it like that!

Pretty amazing the lengths you'll go to make this story happen in game. Even if I was into making mods and hardcore roleplaying and such, I wouldn't have the patience to do that.

Pssh, that's nothing. I edited a Fresh Apple, made a new object out of it. Then I made an AI Package which Finds the Player. Named it aaaMouseyFindVicious. Made sure Mouse Man had a Reference ID. Then I wrote a script like so....

scriptname aaaFreshAppleScript

Begin OnAdd player

ZZMouseManRef.AddScriptPackage aaaMouseyFindVicious

end

So all Taneesha had to do was pick up the apple, and this caused Mousey to try finding her, which'll work no matter where she goes, pretty much. Although it did take a while for this to happen...

... and now that Mouse is dead, she got to eat her first Fresh Apple.

-----------------

@Rosa -- Yeah I was wondering where Lopov got that mouse head outfit! In the game (in real time) it was really shocking being attacked by some dude wearing that outfit. It took me a couple seconds to realize what had happened... good thing my toon's in the habit of carrying her Taser wherever she goes nowadays.

Yes, Bratty's IQ is somewhere around 3rd grade, if that. I realized this last summer when I was writing some of her dialog.

I eventually will write a chapter which explains Taneesha's past with the Witnesses.

That is cool that you were able to do that in the game, so he would seek out Miss V like that. I guess you copied the script from Oblivion where that Guard Captain from the Imperial City that you put in prison, escapes later and comes to find you, wherever you are?

Nope, I wrote it myself! And I have YOU to thank for this in a way. You are the first one who told me "you can do it yourself" years ago, when I first began playing around in the Construction Set.

---------------------

@Lopov -- I believe the mouse did not attack anybody because his AI is set to Aggressive, which means he'll only attack 1). and opposing faction or 2). if somebody attacked him first. If AI was Very Aggressive, he would attack anybody, especially those not in his faction (if was in a faction in the first place).

I am glad he didn't attack anybody, though. That would've been tough to explain, in the context of the story. Plus, I didn't want any innocent Megatonites getting hurt / killed. That could've turned into a mess.

------------------

@Paladin -- Yes, I used an English to Latin to get calm (or peaceful) to say tranquilatas...

Was Slicky Rick behind this? Let's find out.

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 17 2022, 07:11 PM

[Renee]

Chapter 43: Recuperation and Plans

Date: Sunday, September 16, 2277, 6:01 PM



Some unknown number of hours later, Miss Vicious awoke and spent an enormous amount of time just getting out of bed. She laid and rolled around on her bedroll, feeling like hell. Maybe this was what it was like to be really old. Like forty.

"Eh, you! Yeah you!"

"Oh, what's up Bratty." Finally Vicious rolled on her side, sat up. Reached into her bag for some aspirin. "Damn, you still wearing that stupid pink dress?"

"Hey, I love my stupid pink dress! Look, Vicious, watch this!" The Brat began doing some weird twisting motion. "See, look? I'm dancin'! Wooo!!!"

"Uh, very nice, Brat. Maybe I should get you some Abraxo though. It's gettin' all messed up and dirty. You know, from being in this school all the time. You sure you don't want me to get you some armor?"

"Hey, can I do your hair?"

Miss Vicious smiled, and chuckled a bit. "Yeah sure, Brat. Come on and do my hair." It was nice to have her best friend back.

"Okay, let me gets my mags!"

Vicious sat down in her teacher's chair while Bratty reached into her bag, and grabbed her ‘mags’. These were old magazines, circulars, and catalogs from two centuries ago Bratty'd found and stolen while she was living in some previous location, well-preserved in plastic cases. Glamour, Avon, Vogue, Cosmopolitan...

"Hmm, make me look like her."

“No problemo.”

Bratty set to work, heating her curling iron with an acetylene torch. She sprayed her friend's hair with some sort of conditioner. Amazingly, she did not get any of the spray (which smelled a bit toxic, seemed as though it could be flammable) mixed up with the torch.

"Yeah, make me look sort of prim 'n' proper," Vicious said with a funny accent. "Like I’m high society."

Bratty began hot-combing her friend’s hair. "So, what else do ya wanna do today?" she asked.

"Well, I gotta have some words with that two-bit *bunghole* Slick. Because the man played me, Bratty. He did something really stupid which he will pay for," she coughed. "And then after that, then I gotta head back into Megaton..."

"Again? Why you gotta go back so fast? Why don'cha hang around here a while. With me?"

"Because. We need to make some caps," the darker raider answered. She paused then, realizing she'd just used the plural pronoun we instead of the singular I. "Well, I need to make some caps. For both of us. Because it ain't like you goin' down to Dukov's paid anything..."

"Hey, I made lotsa money down there!" the Brat whined. Her hot-comb was causing a burning smell, small wisps of smoke began to drift in the air, floating across the classroom where dozens of kids, studious ones as well as brats, once gathered to learn.

"Yeah, well where is all those caps now, fool? Hmm? Where's all these supposed caps you made? Wasted on dope, that's where. Shot up your arm, and God knows where else. Which is just the same as not earning any caps at all."

Bratty moved the comb a bit too abruptly, burning Miss Vicious’s ear a bit.

"Ouch, careful!"

"Well, why can't I come with you then?” asked Bratty. She was chewing something by now, probably some gum. “I ain't never been to Megaton. Always wanted to see it, ya know?"

Miss Delicious stiffened, suddenly considering this. In fact, it was originally her idea to bring the Brat into town so they could visit Doc Church together. Go in there, get cured of rads, and maybe get cured of their various addictions as well. But for this to happen there needed to be money first. Lots of caps. Two or three-hundred caps, at least. Another factor to consider: where would Bratty stay? … With her and Lucy West? -- No way that could happen; not right away, anyway. For one thing, Lucy only had two beds...

"Look, maybe after this stupid mission is done you can come into Megaton with me, okay? It’s just… you are a raider. And I know so am I. But I can’t have you coming into town, and maybe somebody recognizing you. Like this one guy I know…" she said, thinking of Jericho, the douchebag she’d argued with a couple weeks ago.

"Oh, but that's so lame!" Bratty complained. "Why can't I go NOW? I wanna go with you. Nobody’ll know who I am. Look! Not if I be still wearin’ my cute pink dress."

"No way, girl. Not until I'm done finding a total of ten bearer bonds. After that, I’m supposed to be having a lot of caps. Which is important, Bratty. Because I'm … we … are running out of money. And for another..."

"But I wanna go wi’chu..."

"No, Bratty. NO!"

"FINE!" the Brat pouted. "Go into your stupid Megaton, then. See if I care."

Miss Delicious sighed. Grabbed a small mirror. Had a look at herself as Bratty began using her curler.

"Well, bring me back somethin' Vicious? Will ya at least do that?"

"Yes, I will do that for you," Vicious smirked, trying not to laugh. "I'll get you a present. Heck, maybe I'll get you another *fracking* dress."

It took another fifteen minutes or so before Bratty's cosmetology work was done. Miss Vicious was pleased. Now she’d be going back to Megaton in style! It was good to have her friend back.

----------------

6:00 PM
Looking good, with a meal of Dandy Boy Apple Treats for breakfast (or wait, was this supper?) now she was ready to confront Mister Slick. Confront him, for sending that creepy mouse guy dude after her, even while she was in the middle of trying to continue the mission which he and Dogmaster had assigned to her. What the heck?

Vicious and Bratty wandered the hallways and searched through classrooms. Finally, they found him. They found Slick Rick, that is.

"Yo,” he began. "Hey yo, uh...um..."

"Miss Vicious?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know your name."

Vicious stood there with her arms crossed, shaking her head.

"So, how's them, uh... ya know? How's you gettin' along with finding them, uh, bearer bonds Miss Vicious?"

"'How’s them bonds?' he asks." Vicious rolled her eyes. "Is that all you got to say?”

“Is that all I gots to say? Huh?”

“Well, first we got to talk about something else, Slick. Such as, who the *duck* was that dude wearing the mouse costume, which YOU sent after me!"

"Mouse costume?" Slick began looking around. "Oh, uh, you mean that fella that got blasted out front.” He began chuckling at the thought of his own employee, Miss Vicious Delicious, fighting a giant mouse. "You's talkin' about that mouse guy, right?" After the fight was over, all the raiders in Springvale had gathered outside the front of the school, to witness the carnage of what she'd done. “Hey uh, I ain't... that wasn't,” Slick scratched his arm, searching for words to say. “I ain't had nothing to do with that!"

"Oh, so you don't know who that was, mm hmm? You know nothing about sending some dude wearin' a mouse head after me."

"He came after you? ... Hey, like I said, I ain't had nothing ... ain't had nothing to do with. Uh, with any of that!"

Slick seemed genuinely surprised. Gone was his jokey smile.

"Mm hmm." Vicious rolled her eyes with hands on hips. “You know nothing, huh?”

“Nuh-no, Vicious. No I do not.”

"Well ... look. I'm gonna need some caps here pretty soon Slick, at the very least I'm gonna need fifty. Because you know, I am out there doin' all the work. Pretending to be respectable, while really prowing peoples' homes and businesses at night. Livin' in Megaton ain't always cheap," she lit a cig. "Oh yeah. I got a place to live, by the way. A place with a nice, respectable girl even, which is fifty caps a week. And that is what I need right now."

Fifty caps was a lie, the real amount Lucy'd asked for was twenty. But how would Slick Rick ever know the difference?

"FIFTY?"

"Yes, fifty caps. A week. Starting now. Or you'll never get the rest of them bonds."

Another several minutes of arguing, before her boss relented. Gave her 50 caps. She'd be earning a lot more once this job was done, though she wasn't sure exactly how much. It's not like any contracts had been drawn up. It's not like the local Notary Public office could be visited, or any sort of lawyer present. Presumably, the Dog would be trying to make a small fortune once he had at least ten bonds in hand, and then she would also get paid some larger amount. Otherwise, why go through all this trouble?

Vicious popped open a Nuka Cola, then stepped outside with Bratty. "Come on Brat, give me a kiss before I go."

"You can't stay the night?"

"I'll be back tomorrow, Brat. I promise. And I'll bring you a present."

Off she went, back to her bus, where she changed out of her raider gear, and into a proper townie dress.

----------------

10:10 PM
Back in town. Lucy was not home, so Taneesha walked to Moriarty's. But her housemate wasn't in the bar, either.

Flush with over 100 caps, Miss Jones blew six of them on hooch. Gob the bartender's newest concoction, simply called “hooch”, was all the rage this week. Best of all, it was cheap! Taneesha had a seat, waiting while she sipped her drink. But still no Lucy.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about something."

She realized she'd collected another set of holotapes from the corpse of the Mouse Man. More rambling bull*ship*, most likely. She inserted a tape, downloaded its info, then opened the proper window on her Pip Girl 2500®, and began reading, just for the sake of seeing who the hell she’d been attacked by.

"Man, what a bunch of horse-hockey."

The notes she read were mostly a messy miasma of matters about Mousey's mother, whom he apparently had a lot of feuds with. And eventually murdered.

ENTRY 1

how could oyu do this to me mother of mine ?

i thot that im your only son now i fownd out that oyu have 4 MORE CHILDRAN !!! YOUR A TART MOTHER!

next time i goest o the clinic i push her down the stares until she burys her untergrond

TAAAART!!!

Taneesha continued to read more of this drivel until she got to a part which seemed rather interesting. In fact, it seemed like a downright clue.

ENTRY 2

motehr is dad

i didnt have caps for ufneral so i buryed her neer megaton walls close to the molerat shack

i put her gun nest too her grave and put some things in there to .

rpp . mother

TAAAAART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Ah-ha!"

There it was, just what she'd been looking for, a reference to possible stash. Mouse Man had made a grave somewhere just outside of Megaton (possibly near a mole rat nest) and he'd also placed some of her things 'in there to'.

"Well I know what I'mma gonna be doing the rest of the night."

Taneesha returned to Lucy's, and finished the rest of her hooch. Walked upstairs, planning what should come next.

-----------------------------
'
Taneesha's new look (Lopov'd)

"Mouse costume? For real?"

Sitting in Lucy's dining area

[SubRosa]

I love the idea of heating up a curling iron with an welding torch! That is so wasteland...

Is she going to get the Prim n' Proper hairstyle?

Oh boy, Bratty in Megaton. May as well bring Harley Quinn to a high society dinner. There is no telling what will happen, except that it's bound to be exciting!

If Slick didn't send the Mouse Man, I wonder who did? Dogmaster? It looks like there is quite a hunt going on for those bonds.

Taneesha is looking all respectable. She is like a supervillain. Mild-Mannered Taneesha by day, evil raider Miss Viscous Delicious by night.

[Lopov]

Taneesha's a prim'n'proper raider.

A good job with their conversation as Taneesha's hair are getting heated up. Hopefully it lasts for a while.

Looks like that she found a proper clue in Mouse Man's ramblings...

[Acadian]

Bratty, the industrial cosmetologist.

It does fail to make sense why Slick-o would try to undermine his own agent as she skulks about her rounds hunting for bonds. . . .

Wow, Mousey was one screwed up rodent. I bet you had fun writing – er, miswriting his journal. It almost appeared to be written in illiterati stupidis code.

And a clue to a hidden stash. Hope she finds more than mouse droppings there.

[Renee]

I love the idea of heating up a curling iron with an welding torch! That is so wasteland...

Ha ha, right? I love that too. Originally I had this idea that they've got an open fire pit or something, but that wouldn't make sense if it's summer. Then all the sudden I see Bratty with a portable blow torch.

Oh boy, Bratty in Megaton. May as well bring Harley Quinn to a high society dinner. There is no telling what will happen, except that it's bound to be exciting!

Renee's imagination in high-drive, as good as it gets, anyways. 🖥🖥

Oh gosh, poor Quinn would be lost in Megaton. I think she'd fit right into Tenpenny Tower though.

If Slick didn't send the Mouse Man, I wonder who did? Dogmaster? It looks like there is quite a hunt going on for those bonds.

Mousey was Lopov's surprise addition to the story (seriously, I was literally surprised along with my character), and was acting on his own. He had some sort of parallel desire collecting bearer bonds as well, which had nothing to do with Dogmaster's ideas. So storywise, Mouse Man's scavenging for bonds was pure coincidence. 🐁🐭

By the way, the whole Bearer Bond thing, even though I'm the one writing this story, I myself did not know why Dog wants the bonds. But NOW I know. The reason came to me a week ago.

And guess what? There will be a 4th season of Miss Vicious Delicious. I know this now. There's too many cool ideas and there's no way I'm getting it all done by Thanksgiving!

Taneesha is looking all respectable. She is like a supervillain. Mild-Mannered Taneesha by day, evil raider Miss Viscous Delicious by night.

Taneesha's a prim'n'proper raider.

She's moving into her "respectable" phase. Maybe because she's going to be living with Lucy West half time, she wants to appear in a certain way in front of Megatonites. This will last for a while.

Good thing she hasn't gotten caught while stealing and trespassing, right? 🐱‍👤

Looks like that she found a proper clue in Mouse Man's ramblings...

Ha ha yup. There's another clue, plain as day. *nods*

And ... Guess you already know what'll happen next. WE don't! It must be pretty fun seeing all of this from your perspective. It's like two producers collaborating on a film, but each one does things the other doesn't know about.

Bratty, the industrial cosmetologist.

It does fail to make sense why Slick-o would try to undermine his own agent as she skulks about her rounds hunting for bonds. . . .

I agree. From her perspective, she's looking for someone to blame. But she can see through his bumbling behavior that he's being genuine.

Wow, Mousey was one screwed up rodent. I bet you had fun writing – er, miswriting his journal. It almost appeared to be written in illiterati stupidis code.

... and what you're reading is actually edited version!

And a clue to a hidden stash. Hope she finds more than mouse droppings there.

Oh she does! Just wait'll you see.

[Renee]

Chapter 44: The Cabinet

Date: Monday, September 17, 2277
Level: 5 (Dignitary)

Playtime: 65.20.39 (crazy, so I've been averaging just over 20 hours per season)


Taneesha had waited another hour for Lucy to come home the previous night, but her roommate never arrived. Perhaps the blonde-haired gal had gotten some inspiration from her new roomie, decided to go out on the town. After waiting for Miss West to show, finally Miss Jones couldn't help but crash. Truth is, she'd come very close to losing her life to a mouse-wearing fool. She was still very drained.

But before she fell asleep, she looked at the cabinet, made of sturdy old wood, standing between Lucy's bed and the stairwell.

Lucy's cabinet. Whether it was used as a dresser, an armoire, or perhaps a container for old knick-knacks. it was clearly Prewar, clearly antique. Polished to a shine. Taneesha'd noticed the cabinet before. She'd been curious about it, yet had never peered inside. But now, just before being doomed to fall into a warm bed, her curiosity was blooming again. What could be in there?

She could not help herself. Got up off the bed, she walked the short distance between her side of the home and Lucy's. Tried the latch on Lucy's cabinet. Lucy's cabinet was unlocked. She had to have a peek inside -- just one peek!

"Whoa. Dag, look at these!"

This one would be great for going about Megaton. And this one ... perfect for forays out into the Wasteland. Taneesha's eyes bulged. "Where did Miss Lucy get all of this?"

But ... there were rules for this sort of thing, unwritten rules assumed amongst housemates, that is. Taneesha wasn't trying to be Vicious right now. She wasn't staying at some raider camp, in which most items laying around were safe for taking. ... If nobody's claimed it and you need it, it's yours... went their credo. No, the items she was looking at inside the antique cabinet were Lucy's stuff. And you don't just take things, or even remove them, from somebody's unlocked cabinet, especially somebody who's supposed to be trusting of you!

So... not wanting to be too intrusive, that's as far as the moment went. Just a look inside the cabinet, before falling into bed.


8:05 AM
The next morning she awoke to the sound of munching. Somebody eating downstairs... *crunch-munch-munch*

"Hey! Lucy!"

Taneesha almost fell out of bed before marching downstairs, not wanting to miss her housemate. She found her in their dining room. Lucy was sitting on a chair, having some roasted squirrel-on-a-stick for breakfast.

"Hey, good to see you, dear. You sleep okay?"

"Lucy, um, here," Taneesha reached bluntly into her pocketbook. "I got some caps. Twenty caps a week, right?"

"Oh nice! Excellent! Yes, this'll do just fine, Tan. You mind if I call you Tan?"

There, it was done! Taneesha Jones (now nicknamed "Tan") had just paid rent to Lucy West. Which meant she'd finally found herself a place to live. Her first real place, in a safe, established town. No scheming raiders whooping and hollering nearby. No radioactive radroaches clittering down the hall. No broken bottles or spent needles to step over. No Wastelanders wandering randomly in, then getting shot full of holes. ...She could walk around in her underclothes!

Maybe she was making too big a deal about this, but for Taneesha Jones, the moment was significant.

Lucy smiled, continuing her meal. "Have a seat!"

Taneesha looked inside the refrigerator, grabbed a box of Sugar Bombs. "So hey, listen," she started.

"Yes?"

"So I was sitting around waiting last night. And I couldn't help but notice the cabinet upstairs. That wooden one, next to your bed."

"Oh yes, those are mine, well most of them are. Some of them are probably Ian's." Lucy was finishing her meal by now. "Why, do you want to borrow something? ... Feel free to help yourself, dear. That's mostly stuff I used to wear before I moved to Megaton."

Taneesha blinked. "Is... are you serious? I can try some of those?"

"Sure, feel free. We're roommates now," Lucy said casually. "You're about my size, right? Like I said, I hardly wear those. But feel free. No problem. What's mine is yours, okay?"

Miss Jones couldn't believe it. She'd barely started her breakfast before putting down her spoon. She wanted to grab one particular outfit. "Wait right here." She rushed upstairs. Threw her old factory-made blue dress to the side and reached in Lucy's magical cabinet. Spent a couple minutes getting herself dressed, then ran downstairs.

"Su-weet! Check you out, Miss Tan!"





Unique, well-fitting apparel was hard to come by in the Capital Wasteland. The outfit she'd selected was tan-colored; it totally matched her skin tone. It had a dual belt combination, with holsters on both legs for carrying small hand weapons! Best of all, the outfit had some armoring qualities. It would be perfect for the Wasteland.

... It had become a question in Taneesha's mind: What if she'd ever get seen wearing raider gear by a Megatonite? What would happen, especially now that she was thinking of becoming more of a fixture in town?

Well, now she wouldn't need to take such a risk. Now, she'd be able to face the Wasteland, but in armor which would be hopefully acceptable to those in established areas, and also her raider friends.

"Thanks so much, Lucy!"

But that's not all. Taneesha also now had access to clothes which were more suitable for moseying about town. A loose top and bottom combination (with a shirt which was once known as a 'wifebeater', which had no sleeves, and what were once knowns as 'gym pants' down below) would be perfect for these long end-of-summer days. Lucy even had an odd set of miniskirt armor, purple in color, along with some clothes and armor which would be more appropriate once the weather began getting colder.

"Uh, really? You once wore this?"

But most of all, she liked the first outfit she'd chosen, the one which complimented her skin color. Tan, just like her new nickname. This getup would be perfect to sport while searching for Mouse Man's supposed stash. Taneesha looked at the label inside the outfit's top. Was made by a tailor (or perhaps a shop) called Apocalypse. Perfect.

Before setting out of town, Taneesha stopped in Craterside Supply. Here, she bought a set of Christmas lights. These would be hung inside her Springvale School classroom.

----------------

4:02 PM
She exited Megaton's gate, and rounded its outside walls. The note left by Mouse Man did not say where the stash was, only hinted that it was hidden in his mother's grave, it was close by, and it was on the opposite side of town. Rain began to fall, which Taneesha dreaded at first. But then she realized: water falling from the sky would be great for sneaking up on any potential enemies, even if it was also bad for her own visibility.

Taneesha realized something else as she began her search. Dressed in this new armor, yet not donning the gear of a raider, she felt as though she were halfway between herself and Miss Vicious.

She walked halfway around the massive wall, then crouched down. And yes, something or someone was moving up ahead.

She inched forward slowly, readying her Taser. Began to get that feeling, like she was being watched. So she froze, and had a look to her right.

Nobody there, but there was an infestation of mole rats exactly where the note said it'd be!

... She was able to stun the first rat with her gun, and then beat it viciously with her lead pipe. No problem. But as she continued around the town, suddenly three more of them attacked. It took a while for her to dispatch them. Her Taser was great for stunning enemies, but if she missed, it took roughly two seconds to reload. And it only held one energy cell at a time. Facing too many opponents at once, she was forced once to run to the opposite side of town so she could get some assistance from Deputy Weld.

But, no problems. After several minutes of battling the giant rodents, all three of them were done for.

"Huh, I get it. So Mousey had some rats. Hmph."

And up ahead there it was, the grave of Mouse Man's mother, its earth still soft and obvious, turning to mud as water poured upon it. There were two wooden planks formed as a cross, held together by a huge combat knife. A small battery with a light had been placed right on the ground. The way the light was still shining suggested that Mousey had been interrupted just as he was tamping mother's grave.

And on the ground where mother was presumably buried were four large letters.

T
A
R
T

"Uh... seriously?"

Taneesha/Vicious did not have a shovel, so she dug into the earth a bit with her hands.

Fortunately, Mousey hadn't buried her very far. Underneath a mere few inches of ground were mutilated remains, "yicch!" But lying right next to his mother's corpse was a rare .44 Magnum revolver, along with plenty of boxed ammo. Taneesha picked up the gun. Other than being a little scuffed, the piece was in pristine condition. Engraved on its barrel was a moniker: THE GRAY BASTARD. Though she was not any sort of expert on guns, it seemed she was holding something very unique.

She swept her eyes left and right as she put the gun in her bag. Nobody near, nothing here. But it didn't matter. She couldn't help the feeling of being watched. And how could this be?

She took a second look at the cross which marked mother's sad gravesite.

"Sweet!"

Bearer bond number eight was right there, being held to Mousey's mother's cross by the combat knife. As Taneesha Jones reached for it left-handed, she made sure to have her Taser right-handed and ready.

------------------------------------------------

Lucy, chowing down

"Oh yes, those are my clothes..."

Casual Summer Outfit

Silly Purple Miniskirt Amor -- (These outfits have actual names, but I'm not on my gaming computer right now. There's one outfit inspired by Mad Max, for instance, another by Tomb Raider!)

Being WATCHED Messagebox

Mouse Mother's Grave -- (Where did you get these letters, Lopov? )

Bearer Bond #8


Note: I specifically did not take the bond off mother's cross yet. That's gonna be a moment, I guarantee!

🕶

[Acadian]

Looks like Lucy’s got some nice duds in her closet!

Yay, roast squirrel for breakfast – does it get any better than that?

Tan is a great nickname for Lucy’s official roommate.

How generous of Lucy to help expand Tan’s wardrobe – good armor and some nice town clothes.

So Mouse’s mom carried a .44 magnum. Doesn’t sound very tarty to me!

Hmm, bearer bond #8 smells like a trap. . . .


Note: I’ll be off line and out of town for about the next 10 days. I look forward to catching up on what I miss after I get back.

[SubRosa]

So Lopov made this questline for you to solve as Miss V? That is neat. This way you don't know what is going to happen next.

Cool, Tan has her first real place!

And some new outfits to go with her new pad. Taneesha's moving up in the world.

[Renee]

Squirrels in Fallout are like apples in Oblivion, Acadian. Neither food item has a source. There lots of apples in Cyrodiil, but where are the trees? Same thing with squirrel-on-a-stick in the Capital Wasteland. Maybe all the squirrel meat gets imported down from the mountains.

Oh yes, BB 8 is a trap! However, it didn't work in the same way as Mouse Man (getting ahead of myself, here).


Yes, SubRosa. Well, I laid the groundwork for the quest (the actual part where Taneesha collects those bonds) and then I emailed the .esp to Lopov so he could hide the bearer bonds. But let's just say Lopov got a little carried away! I knew there'd be some additional "plot" laid by my co-producer...

All of the things which have been happening since Mouse Man, I am blind to all these things. Because I have no idea what's going to come.



This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 18 2022, 02:27 AM

[Renee]

As we last saw, Taneesha "Miss Delicious" Jones has found Bearer Bond #8 stuck to the cross, the grave, of Mouse Man's mother. The Mouse apparently killed his own mother, then (oddly) stabbed the bond there with a combat knife. Rain is coming down, while Vicious has the feeling she's being watched.

Now... she's about to pull the knife from the cross, with one hand on her Taser, the other ready to snag a Stealth Boy, in case she needs to be invisible for a while.

She removed the knife, which caused the document to fall to the ground -- thunk!​ -- Realized the previous pour of rain had slowed a bit. The air was cool by now, with a light breeze blowing. Hopefully this would be the spiritual end of summer.

Taneesha grabbed the bond, then she rotated, all 360 degrees in a full circle, pointing her "toy" gun at whoever was about to show. But nobody showed. Nobody rushed her. Nothing happened.

"Lordy..."

Adrenaline! ... Such a rush! ... But it immediately began to subside. As a young female who'd grown up sheltered, but then had spent the last few years out here in the Wasteland, her ability to face down fear had been honed by many moments just like this one. Anyway, nobody here. No gunfire from afar. No idiot in a makeshift Halloween costume, jumping all over her. Still, she remained crouched, because that's what you did when you got good at this sort of thing. Listened and waited.

Eventually the rain abated even further.

"Well, then."

As her adrenaline dump ended her nerves began to tingle, and boy were they rattled. She looked down at her hands, which were micro-shaking. Lit a cig (hoping to calm herself) then began moving slowly around the south side of Megaton, gun pointed and ready. When she got about halfway around she holstered her piece, and ran the rest of the way, back to the town's gate.

"Welcome. Toooo. Megaton..." Deputy Weld, Megaton's sentry, greeted.

"Ah shut up, stupid bot."

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

5:13 PM
She returned to Lucy's place, which (she reminded herself for the thirtieth time) was also her place as well. Put her shotgun and shells into her personal locker. Had some noodles. Went to bed for an hour or two. When she awoke, she thought she heard something downstairs.

clop... cloop ... clop....

Taneesha hunched down! Good thing she hadn't put her stun gun away, because somebody was coming, below her on the first floor. Whoever it was, was walking urgently.

.... Coming up the metal stairs.
....Making all kinds of noise.

Miss Jones did not think it was Lucy. Something about the way those boots were falling. As the figure rounded the top of the staircase, she could see this was definitely NOT her housemate.

Here he comes. Definitely a man. Wearing an ordinary hat instead of a mouse head. Oddly, he seemed to have some sort of partial Stealth Boy effect going on, for he was partially invisible. Taneesha could see his head and his hat and his gloved hands. But the rest of his body was unseen. It was as if he were a partial ghost.

He was carrying a gun.

** PSSSTH!!! **​ went her Taser, which resulted in a direct hit! And now that the intruder was down, she had about 10 seconds to grab her Blamhammer.

"Oh please Lucy, wherever you are, please please PLEASE don't come home..."

There was a burning smell in the air. Smoke and mist sizzled off her adversary as he writhed on the ground. Taneesha holstered her electric gun and switched weapons. --- BLAM! went the Blamhammer. * BKSSH!!! ... BKSHHH!!... BLOOSKSH!!! * ... She hit the man four times in a row, yet he was somehow still alive, and about to get up. She switched guns again and zapped him a second time with her Taser, just after he managed to hit her with a shot as well.

"Arcg!!"

She had just one Stimpak left. While her attacker lost mobility and slowly rolled down the stairs, Taneesha was able to jam the final injector into her arm, regaining some health. Then she rushed around the staircase, and was able to blast the *bunghole* three more times, causing him to twitch and cough.

Things were moving so fast, and getting messy by now! Lucy's poor yellow couch was covered with the man's blood.

But he was getting up. Again. Somehow.

"Ah hail no!"

Though he was pretty weak by now, he was able to begin ascending the steps, and fired another shot.

"Oh you did not just shoot my roommate's wall..."

But by now Taneesha definitely had the upper hand. She fell back across the bedroom area, aimed her shotgun, and waited for the man to round the corner one last time before she slammed him with the final round.

"Airgh!!!!!"

The intruder? He fell to his death, right there at the top of Lucy's (and now Taneesha's) stairs. Damn. What the hell?

"Damn!" she nearly screamed, really jazzed up. "I mean, damn. What the hell, man?"

Once again, adrenaline swirling, crashing downward as the excitement ends. Taneesha needed to get a grip; investigate who the hell just barged into their home. But she remained frozen for about half a minute, catching her breath, thinking of a thousand possibilities in a sheer amount of time.

Had her Women's Intuition earlier that afternoon, about being watched, possibly been right?
Did the man who'd attacked her have anything to do with this silly Bearer Bond mission?

Well at the moment, none of that mattered. Suddenly, she had a lot of work to do! -- Blood was everywhere!!!-- All over the floor, on the walls, on the stairs. Taneesha checked her Pip Girl 2500®. 19:31 was the time.

"Oh please Lucy West, please stay away for ... an hour or so? How about that? Can ya stay outside for an hour or two?"

Good thing she'd just bought some Abraxo. She intended to give the box of cleaner to Bratty, but now she'd need to use it to tidy the hell up. She got to work. The next couple hours were a flurry of activity as she grabbed a bucket of water, poured the Abraxo in, and then soaked, scrubbed, swept, sponged, swabbed and scoured the man's remains away.

She also got rid of the body, of course. Helped that it was dark and raining again outside. She was able to drag him out of the front door, and rolled him underneath the ramp which led from Lucy's house to The Brass Lantern. She did all of this without being seen, thankfully.

The man had a Holotape journal on his person, along with some whiskey, some cigs, and much-needed caps. Taneesha learned his name was Andrew New. After disposing (hiding, really...) his remains, Taneesha went back into the house, and read the latest entry in the man's journal.

I thought that I lost this game, but the Lucky Old Lady smiled on me again.

When I heard rumors that my former complice from the Old Guys, the legendary raider-turned-whore Martha Arthur passed away, I immediately headed for Megaton. Although I was earning quite a fortune, while performing shirtless before the crowd in Rivet City.

I decided that it's worth leaving this career behind. As the water beggar told me, her idiotic son buried her behind the town and fortunately for me, buried the Gray Bastard pistol with her. Unfortunately for me, the revolver was taken from the grave before I arrived to Megaton!

Fortunately for me, the always thirsty water beggar is a good source for eyes and ears, and after spending some caps on the right people in Megaton, I found out that girl's name is Taneesha Jones. I also gave som dirty water to the beggar, of course.

Now all I must do is track Jones down and viciously kill her. Hopefully she didn't sell the revolver. Maybe I could ask her first if she still has it, and kill her second, once she confirms.

Anyway, I should find her soon. I bet that the Frenchman will go after the gun as well, once he finds out about Martha. The Frenchman is the meanest of us all. I still remembered how he killed Barret the Chair Climber with just one shot, when Barret tried to sell him rocks for the third time.

Gotta go.

"Frenchman?" She blinked as she read the end of the note. "Oh please Lord, don't tell me there's gonna be someone else comin' after me?!"

Always gotta be something, right Miss Vicious?

"Fine. Well if there is another one out there, this so-called Frenchman, let him come. Let him meet Miss Vicious," Taneesha spoke to herself. "I'll be glad to arrange some more pleasantries."

Time to head to Moriarty's. She'd just found a couple whiskeys she could drink, after all. Maybe she'd share one with her housemate, assuming she was there.

------------------------------------------

Another idiot (Andrew New) intrudes Miss Vicious

*BZZT!*

You go girl!

BLAM goes the Blamhammer

Andrew New closeup

Taneesha Jones closeup

Notes: Lopov later told me he sourced the intruder's clothes from some other mod, which is why the "glitch" seemed to make his clothes disappear. We're going to try fixing this for the next baddie who shows up.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 19 2022, 01:26 PM

[SubRosa]

I can relate to Miss V's anxiety. Years of playing the original Doom instilled in me a strong sense of paranoia, that any time I pressed a switch or picked up some important quest item, a wall was about to drop and twenty demons would rush out.

No demons at least. This time...

The Half_Ghost man looks really weird. My guess is that the mesh or texture for his clothing did not get copied over, so the game just did not display it. I deliberately did that with the martial arts mod I created for January. I made a new melee weapon, and deliberate left the model field blank. That way the game simply displays nothing when you equip it. So it looks like she is using her bare hands.

Damn, Invisi-man sure can take a beating. Miss V is putting more lead in him than a pencil factory.

Why are all these weirdos coming out of the woodwork? Over bearer-bonds, which are now worthless anyway? This is one weird quest.

So it was not about the bonds, but some pistol? Oi!

[Acadian]

Wow, that dude took some serious firepower to take down. I imagine after eating eight shotgun blasts at close range, 'disposing' of what's left of him should not be hard. I can imagine clean up was indeed quite the task though.

So we learn maybe there's yet another demented fool looking to meet Tazer and Blamhammer and all this fuss seems to be about that pistol buried with Mousie's mom.