ShadowBlah
New member
Preface (skip to the next section if you don't want a history of ice cream truck violence)
Ice cream trucks have an incongruous history with their image as an invention for happiness for children. Competitive businesses with turf and tight schedules, bring conflict between customers.
Or by being innocuous vehicles that travel and find customers, they can carry and sell contraband under the guise of selling ice cream.
If you look for “ice cream wars” on google, you’ll mostly be shown information about the Glasgow ice cream wars in the 1980s. It’s about criminal organizations selling drugs and stolen goods alongside ice cream and the conflicts between the groups trying to keep their customers.
You can also find mentions of ice cream truck turf wars in New York in the 2010s, stories of hiring private investigators to watch rivals, intimidation, harassment, and violence. All for scaring away competition from their customers.
But while it would be an interesting foundation for a character in Deadlock, I want to make sure there’s at least some relevance to the time period. I was sure I heard stories about American conflicts of ice cream truck of the olden days, I managed to find one free article by the Useless Information podcast “The Ice Cream Wars – Podcast #96”. In the 1960s there are stories of beatings, robberies, threats, and vandalism. One mention of selling booze from the trucks as well.
All that to set up that an ice cream driver could be a fitting backstory and foundations for a Deadlock character and it would time period suitable.
Introduction
I name this character Sweetheart. I imagine Sweetheart as someone who loves children and loves their job serving icy treats. Because of that, they are fiercely protective of their job and the customers. A bit simple and short sighted, they are completing the ritual for the promise of an eternal summer so year-round all can enjoy sweet icy treats and they’ll be there serving it to them.
It may be wasting a many interesting potential sweet themed weapons, but as homage to the history of the gun violence of even the earliest ice cream truck turf wars, I imagine this character with a fairly normal gun.
Sweetheart is a medium ranged gun character that throws out minor buffs and debuffs, gaining stacks of attack speed as they share sweets and protect allies (also by hitting enemies with abilities). They can activate all the stacks accumulated for one big sugar rush for themselves. A carry that works best with allies around.
Abilities:
Plentiful scoops: Throw multiple flavors of ice cream lingering on the floor, enemies and allies that walk on the scoops leave a trail of ice cream that slow enemies and speed up allies.
Ice pop: Violently summon an ice pop platform below self/ally, used near or on the ground will give vertical velocity boost, and higher up in the air it will be a platform that can be jumped off of, or just to stand on. Enemies can’t mantle slide on the surface.
Sugar rush: Buffing/de-buffing allies/enemies gives stacks that buff Sweetheart. Can activate it for a big attack steroid to self.
Now serving: The truck drives out with a jingle and attacks nearby enemies and heals/buffs allies
Fun facts:
Popsicle: Invented in the 1920s. Brand name and trademarked so probably can’t be used as an ability name. Ice pop is a generic term.
Soft serve ice cream: Invented in the 1930s
Penny lick: A small glass for serving ice cream sold for a penny, lick the ice cream out of the glass and return the glass. It would be immediately reused and was terrible for hygiene.
The "ice-cream mold and disher," was patented in 1897 by Alfred Cralle. Which most will know as an ice cream scooper or something similar. Throwing scoops of ice cream at enemies was another option instead of a normal gun I thought about.
Ice cream trucks have an incongruous history with their image as an invention for happiness for children. Competitive businesses with turf and tight schedules, bring conflict between customers.
Or by being innocuous vehicles that travel and find customers, they can carry and sell contraband under the guise of selling ice cream.
If you look for “ice cream wars” on google, you’ll mostly be shown information about the Glasgow ice cream wars in the 1980s. It’s about criminal organizations selling drugs and stolen goods alongside ice cream and the conflicts between the groups trying to keep their customers.
You can also find mentions of ice cream truck turf wars in New York in the 2010s, stories of hiring private investigators to watch rivals, intimidation, harassment, and violence. All for scaring away competition from their customers.
But while it would be an interesting foundation for a character in Deadlock, I want to make sure there’s at least some relevance to the time period. I was sure I heard stories about American conflicts of ice cream truck of the olden days, I managed to find one free article by the Useless Information podcast “The Ice Cream Wars – Podcast #96”. In the 1960s there are stories of beatings, robberies, threats, and vandalism. One mention of selling booze from the trucks as well.
All that to set up that an ice cream driver could be a fitting backstory and foundations for a Deadlock character and it would time period suitable.
Introduction
I name this character Sweetheart. I imagine Sweetheart as someone who loves children and loves their job serving icy treats. Because of that, they are fiercely protective of their job and the customers. A bit simple and short sighted, they are completing the ritual for the promise of an eternal summer so year-round all can enjoy sweet icy treats and they’ll be there serving it to them.
It may be wasting a many interesting potential sweet themed weapons, but as homage to the history of the gun violence of even the earliest ice cream truck turf wars, I imagine this character with a fairly normal gun.
Sweetheart is a medium ranged gun character that throws out minor buffs and debuffs, gaining stacks of attack speed as they share sweets and protect allies (also by hitting enemies with abilities). They can activate all the stacks accumulated for one big sugar rush for themselves. A carry that works best with allies around.
Abilities:
Plentiful scoops: Throw multiple flavors of ice cream lingering on the floor, enemies and allies that walk on the scoops leave a trail of ice cream that slow enemies and speed up allies.
Ice pop: Violently summon an ice pop platform below self/ally, used near or on the ground will give vertical velocity boost, and higher up in the air it will be a platform that can be jumped off of, or just to stand on. Enemies can’t mantle slide on the surface.
Sugar rush: Buffing/de-buffing allies/enemies gives stacks that buff Sweetheart. Can activate it for a big attack steroid to self.
Now serving: The truck drives out with a jingle and attacks nearby enemies and heals/buffs allies
Fun facts:
Popsicle: Invented in the 1920s. Brand name and trademarked so probably can’t be used as an ability name. Ice pop is a generic term.
Soft serve ice cream: Invented in the 1930s
Penny lick: A small glass for serving ice cream sold for a penny, lick the ice cream out of the glass and return the glass. It would be immediately reused and was terrible for hygiene.
The "ice-cream mold and disher," was patented in 1897 by Alfred Cralle. Which most will know as an ice cream scooper or something similar. Throwing scoops of ice cream at enemies was another option instead of a normal gun I thought about.
