voidtreckers [application]

[quixotically]

Player Information

Name: mala
Age: 31
Contact details: Malathyne, discord: Malathyne#3688
Other characters: kyoko sakura (au)

Character Information

Name: Elle Days (Courier Six)
Canon: Fallout: New Vegas
Canon Point: Post-canon, after the Second Battle for Hoover Dam
OU/AU/CRAU/OC: AU (due to one instance of canon divergence)
Age: 23

World Information:
The Fallout series takes place in an alternate timeline where Earth suffers a world-wide nuclear war, and all of the games take place in the wastelands created in the United States. The setting has a distinct retrofuturistic, deco/atompunk style to it, and creative liberties were taken with things like how radiation works and how slowly or quickly nature bounces back. This means you get unrealistic giant mutated animals alongside sparse plant growth, all of which is considered normal to the denizens of the wasteland. Scarcity is the bread and butter of every wastelander's life. The day-to-day is dirty and dangerous, and violence is common and expected.

Fallout is a content warning heavy canon. The major theme of the canon in general is war, so all of the horrors associated are going to come up. Seriously, if you can think of it, it's likely here in canon somewhere. In addition, the following topics are prevalent, especially in the New Vegas installment: body horror, fantasy racism, fantasy drug use, real racism in relation to Pre-War, abuse, slavery, prostitution, colonialism, and suicidal ideology / suicide. More than one of New Vegas' DLC also features unconsented invasive surgery. Tread lightly, especially the deeper you follow the wiki links.

Links: The Great War, The Mojave Wasteland, Timeline and history notes

Personal History:
Links
- The general shape of New Vegas' main plot to provide an idea of the game's core events
- Courier Six
- The DLC (listed in the order Elle did them in): Old World Blues, Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Lonesome Road
- Elle's expanded game history (see Note at the end of the app)
- Elle's ending slides

Pre-Game (Original) History
Elle's life began in northern California, 2258. She would never know her father, for her parents weren't married and her mother was a mercenary constantly on the move, never staying in one place for long, following the jobs she could get. Unfortunately, this meant that as a child, Elle didn't have much of a sense of stability — never staying in one home for long and never having a consistent caretaker, due to her mother having a distant and hands-off temperament even when she was present.

When she was in her teens, one day, her mother simply never came back from a job. Elle attempted to survive on her own as a scavenger -- combing over ruins and bringing back items to sell -- but with the wasteland always being dangerous due to competition from other humans, let alone wildlife, it was a struggle. Eventually, it became too much, and Elle ran into trouble she couldn't handle alone... But, as it's wont to do, her luck kicked in at the last minute. She was rescued by someone who would end up becoming one of the most important people in her life: Elijah Bishop, of the New Reno Bishops. Elle latched on -- And, eventually, Bishop caved and took her in. As Bishop wasn't in a position of power in his family (It's Complicated, thanks to Fallout 2's protagonist), he was free to travel and act as a hand of the family from a distance. Together, Elle and Bishop traveled the West Coast together for years, with her looking up to him as a mentor figure. She deeply wanted to mold herself into his image, but their personalities at base were too different -- In particular, the ever-pragmatic Bishop having a ruthless edge to him that the more sensitive and empathetic Elle could never properly emulate. Still, he was a major influence on her as the first stable adult in her life, laying a critical foundation for her development.

Once Elle grew older and more capable of handling things on her own, Bishop would begin occasional separations where he would leave for New Reno or more difficult jobs. During one of these separations, Elle carried a fateful package to a town located in the Divide, a town which had prospered in part due to the duo's consistent travels through it. And, it is during another one of those separations, only a year later, that Elle accepts a courier job for the Mojave Express...

Personality:
» Giving - Altruistic in nature, often turning down payment for deeds done or putting herself out on a limb farther than strictly necessary on someone else's behalf. But she's also giving in the emotional sense, being the type to drop everything to support someone in need, even at her own physical or emotional expense.

» Highly empathic - Puts herself in other people's shoes extremely easily, to the point where she can't Not empathize with someone if she's given the tiniest sliver of an opportunity to do so. This can easily lead to projecting, though, where she connects something about a person with herself, and makes assumptions from there...

» Tolerant / Open-minded - Another result of the above. She tends to take an approach to new people of "everyone has a story" and treats them like an equal, or otherwise like she'd want to be treated. Judgment is not something she often jumps to, and instead of making an accusation, she will do her best to look at things from their perspective.

» Conflict-avoidant - She'll do anything to prevent, step around, or turn down a conflict. Most often, this means she's making compromises, worrying about future problems so she can prevent them, how things might sound and editing herself... Even her combat style reflects this, with a preference for headshots to end life-or-death conflicts where negotation is not an option as quickly and concretely as possible.

» Awkward - As a result of the above. Because she worries so much about saying the right thing, and cares so much about other peoples' opinions, she ends up fumbling and looking as self-conscious as she feels, making her come across as awkward.

» Social - There's a reason she worries so much: she's very socially driven. She's extroverted, so being around people recharges her and makes her feel better, and she is her happiest when she's surrounded by those she cares about and who care for her, and at her worst when she's isolated and alone.

» Tactful / Image conscious - Likely unsurprising, given how much she cares about saying the right thing. But Elle's tact is a very conscious effort, a skill that comes from many of her traits. She may stutter or hesitate in her speech, but she's very careful — She cares about how she comes across, she cares about how people are affected by what she says. She knows how to pick and choose when and what to talk about, and how to go about broaching those topics.

» Perceptive - Born from how much she cares about how people react, she's prone to picking up details, and this ends up applying to more than just the social sphere. Look, where her Int score fails her, her high Perception makes up for it — where there's an Intelligence check, there's almost always also a Perception check, and that's how she gets by.

» Manipulative - But quietly so — and, interestingly, perhaps at odds with how highly she values freedom of choice for all. This skill is a natural result of all of the above — It just adds up to Elle choosing to herd people in the direction she thinks will be best for them. It isn't something she does lightly, and she always puts a lot of thought into it, always double-checking and making sure she's on the right path, gently probing to see if she thinks they'll like where they'll end up if all goes according to plan. But even if well-intentioned, it doesn't change the fact that this is manipulation. Definitely a protagonist trying to map out the "best" endings in an open world game. Now, what's in it for her?...

» Abandonment / Rejection Issues - Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria + Fawning coping mechanism — In the end, what Elle wants most is for someone to decide to keep her, and to continue deciding to keep her. She feels as though she has to prove herself to those around her in order to keep her place by their side... so deeply that if someone offers her unconditional acceptance, she feels very uncomfortable and confused — and insecure in that relationship, because if she hasn't "earned" it, then it feels like it can be taken away from her with nothing she can do about it. But maybe if she gives and gives and gives, and helps people reach better places in their lives, then she'll have earned her place with them, and they'll let her stay. (Maybe even forever...)

» Follower - Despite the position she ends up in regarding the Mojave, she's actually a natural follower, not a natural leader. It's in her instinct to follow in someone else's footsteps, especially with people she admires. She wants to trust in those she looks up to enough to allow them to make the hard decisions, to guide her, to decide what direction to point her in. Being in a leadership position is deeply stressful for her — It takes her existing behaviors above and puts even larger consequences on them, and she already worries about everything enough...

» Indecisive - She has trouble trusting in her ability to make decisions, and is pretty much always second- and triple-guessing herself. But on top of that, because she's so highly empathetic, she ends up seeing from too many perspectives at once, which can make it difficult for her to choose what she thinks is best. Add to this how much she cares about how people react to things, and... it's messy. Decisions are difficult for her. (Then add in a dose of executive dysfunction at times...) She finds it easiest to make decisions when she can talk things through with people she trusts.

» Dependent - As mentioned before, she doesn't do well on her own. But, taking it a step further, she also defines herself by her friends. She's reliant on the support of others, and the opinions of others, most particularly those she cares about the most. And, she ends up following their examples, especially when stressed enough she starts to shut down — In those situations, she'll start borrowing their traits and behaviors, even if they're not exactly good ones, as if putting on a defensive mask born from the people she trusts.

» Sensitive / Reactionary - Since she cares so much about what other people think of her, and how they react to her, and how they feel, and how they might feel because of her... She's very sensitive by nature. She just defines herself so much by other people, and cares so much about every little thing, that she can't not be. And as a result, she's very responsive and expressive whenever she's affected by something, which is... pretty much all the damn time. (Sometimes, this can be light-hearted and funny; it's very easy to get her to blush or flail about.)

» Loyal - You should have seen this coming by now. She is steadfast, and her trust is nigh unshakeable. It takes a lot — a lot — for her to decide to break ties with someone, let alone turn against them. It's simply not in her nature — She instinctively wants to trust, and trust blindly. And this is a trait she prides herself on, too, defines herself by. So, it gets her into a lot of trouble.

» Protective - Again, a natural result of a combination of her traits. Elle wants to take care of people, especially those closest to her. She wants to shield them from all harm, even what happened in the past. Obviously, this is unrealistic, and she can't be everywhere at once, or responsible for everything and everyone — But that doesn't stop her from wanting to try.

» Stubborn / Secret Backbone - Even a worm will turn — Despite everything, when push comes to shove, Elle will plant her feet and start pushing back. This is the reason why she manages to hold her own in the wasteland, and in the face of all the challenges she ends up dealing with. There comes a point where Elle can no longer allow herself to bend (almost never on her own behalf), and she'll go from seemingly wishy washy and shrinking from arguments, to resolutely holding her ground and meeting her opponent head-on.

» Moral - What's right and what's wrong is something that has consumed her since very early on. This is made difficult enough by the way she can see from so many sides at once. She never stops questioning this, never stops questioning herself. And her own moral consistency is important to her — But if she wants to take a stand, if she wants people to back her up, then she has to be able to be consistent. And if she decides she was wrong about something, or if she has to change her outlook, then she needs to make sure it's for good reason. This can sometimes tear her up, when she decides she's wrong about something and then looks back on all the decisions she made based on that thing...

» Driving - Once she sets her mind to something, once she takes a stand, once she gets obsessed with a concept or a goal? She charges full speed ahead. It can be very difficult to redirect her, or convince her to let go of something once she's got it in her head that it's important.

» Self-blaming - "I should have done more" — This is something she tells herself whenever something goes wrong that was completely out of her hands. It's near impossible to convince her there was nothing she could have done — or, even, that it was best for her to not get involved. This is because telling herself, "I should have done more" gives herself the illusion that she had some degree of control over the situation. It's absolutely a coping mechanism, that also happens to be tied into her "not good enough" issues.

» Competitive - But perhaps not in the way you'd expect. Clearly, Elle holds herself to very high standards (and just herself, most of the time), and as a result, she's always pushing herself to do better. She's competitive against herself more than anything else. But stemming from this is how she's willing to try to rise to challenges from other people, whether they're serious, or... if it's time to playfight. Elle loves friendly competitions, ranging from rough housing to playing games (pool, poker, etc).

» Curious - "Can't leave well enough alone" — She has an unfortunate kneejerk Gotta Know instinct. This gets her into a LOT of trouble, since she'll end up sticking her nose into anything that piques her interest, and just about anything will catch her interest. Especially anything that's new to her, which is... the most unfortunate, since amnesia makes most everything new to her. One thing Elle loves in particular is going out and finding old Pre-War places that haven't been visited by humans in a very, very long time. Being able to physically touch history, learning stories of the past, carrying them forward... These are things that are important to her.

» Adaptive / Flexible - Rolls with the punches pretty damn well. She's seen and been through some Weird Shit. Any more, she goes "whelp" and tries to figure out a way to cope, often focusing on problems in front of her and the people around her. It isn't uncommon for her to try to relate the new Weird Shit with the Weird Shit she's dealt with in the past, and she's totally willing to share those stories with anyone willing to listen.

» Active / Energetic / Restless - Always in need of stimulation — What it says on the tin. She has a lot of energy, and it seems like she always has to be doing something. That isn't to say she can't chill — she's still human — but she has an inborn wanderlust that makes it difficult for her to sit still for long periods of time. She's used to being on the move and always having something to do. on the bright side, she's easily entertained, so she's not often bored.

» Reckless - You'd think getting shot in the head and nearly dying would make a girl more cautious, but nope, not this one. She's disturbingly willing to throw herself into danger or take risks she really, really shouldn't, especially if the end goal means she'll be helping someone out. And if there's a high chance she'll get hurt, or even die? It's still worth it. (Besides, in strange contrast to this, she ends up with a kind of daredevil attitude, as if she thinks she can't die, sometimes. ... And, when this attitude arises, it's not exactly clear if she considers this a good thing, or a bad one.)

» Self-destructive tendencies - When she's in a bad way, her recklessness rises and starts going way too far. She doesn't want to die, per se, and she isn't seeking death, exactly, just... it's like she's daring the world to stop her. This is an extremely unhealthy mindset, and you can tell when she's approaching her worst points the more she isolates herself and the worse this attitude gets.

» Insecure - At the end of the day, Elle just ... doesn't value herself very much. Her self-worth is through the floor, and as a result, she struggles to care about what happens to her. As long as everyone else is okay, that's what matters most — and even then, if she hadn't been there, things probably would've been fine, anyway. It doesn't make sense to her for a long time that she has an important role, and it's difficult for her to believe that people need her.

Key themes:
Change:
» Whether she's aware of it or not, and regardless of whether it's deliberate on her end, Elle is an agent of change. One of the things she wants most is to make a difference, and wherever she goes, change of some sort is bound to follow... Even if that change is only within herself.

Begin Again:
» First: One of Elle's most important beliefs is that it is always possible to move forward. She meets so many people who have done terrible things in the past, or things that they cannot forgive themselves for, and even before she travels to the Sierra Madre, this concept began to take root in her. Meeting Joshua Graham proves to her the truth of this idea:

That as long as someone is willing to make the choice and put the work in, that they can still contribute in a positive way to the people and world around them. That if they're willing to let go, then they can begin again. (And yet, letting go is something she struggles on so, so many levels.)

» Second: When she awoke in Goodsprings with no memories, Elle had no choice but to begin again, and this affects the way she looks at the world. She believes that learning the past is important, but you have to keep looking forward. The Old World was razed to the ground, and it might be the foundation of the present, but what's being built on top of it should be something for the New World, to suit the needs of the people currently living in it. (You could call this variant New World Hope.)

Identity:
The third core to Elle's development, and the reason why she relates to (and projects on) robots, AI, and anyone with identity issues in whatever form that takes. She began her journey having no idea who she was, let alone who she wanted to be. She wasn't sure what she believed in. She had to discover all of it through trial by fire, and the amount of time she spent intensely scrutinizing herself -- her emotions, her morals, her reactions, her choices -- heavily affected her relationships with other people, her reactions to the things that happened around her, and the decisions she made along the way.

And, interestingly and very importantly, protecting her sense of identity becomes a major reason why she will dig in her heels and stand her ground, despite otherwise appearing doormattish. She has fought too hard for the identity she has now, and maybe she isn't entirely confident in, or happy with, who she is -- But she isn't willing to give it up, or make too many compromises that would damage it. And she wants to, one day, be able to say she's proud of who she is -- proud of her identity.

Main Motivation:
It can be best summarized as "to help."

As mentioned, deep down, at her core, what Elle wants most is for someone to decide they want her and want to keep her forever. It drives everything she does, even if she isn't especially consciously aware of it. And the way this desire takes form on the surface is a kneejerk urge to help -- to make herself good and useful to the people around her, even if it means doing things that are very dangerous or otherwise harmful to herself, because maybe she'll prove herself so good and useful that they won't want to let her go.

Over the course of the game, she discovers other things that become important to her, like her beliefs and the people she cares about most, and that to keep them, she has to draw a line and stand her ground. She becomes less likely to blindly jump if someone says jump if she thinks it'll make them like her. but that doesn't get rid of the urge -- and, as she continues to mature, she will find ways to jump anyway while disguising it. This is a part of her she can never get rid of.

Skills:
In Fallout: New Vegas, character base stats are organized in a format known as S.P.E.C.I.A.L. These seven base stats dictate how many hit points and skill points the character has, as well as provide bonuses to skills and affect the character's move speed, physical strength, how often critical hits will be scored, and how much of an impression the character will leave on other people. Five is the base/average stat.

Here are the details on Elle's S.P.E.C.I.A.L.:

» Strength: 6
Because her strength wasn't up to scratch for the first part of her journey (it started as a 4), she didn't have the muscle to carry a lot of gear. To make up for it, she's had to learn how to pack smart and learn how to compensate for the weight of heavier weapons (see the Weapon Handling perk). The only reason why her strength is statistically a 6 is due to surgery from her time in Big MT. In narrative, this will translate to having a stronger back for carrying equipment and being more resistant to, say, breaking her back. She will not throw harder punches or do more damage with melee weapons; when it comes to those things, she is still quite bad at them.

» Perception: 8
She has a keen eye and strong intuition, and both of these things help her pick up on small details that other people might otherwise miss. When wearing her Pre-War fedora, this stat increases (by one) for two reasons: one, it keeps the sun out of her eyes, and two, the hat is a ~frame of mind.~

» Endurance: 4
She takes injury hard and has the chance of going down faster than your average folk. Over her time in the Mojave, she learned how to adapt and was forced to withstand more pain and longer periods of time without food and water.

» Charisma: 8
Her charisma comes down to her bright personality, which stands out in a setting like the Mojave wasteland, where "nothing is clean" (as Elle has put it). She is engaging, friendly, and genuine, and while this doesn't always help her get along with everyone, it does get her results when she's talking to people. She leaves a strong impression on those she meets, and word of her travels quickly in the Mojave.

» Intelligence: 4
Sometimes, even if she sees the small details, she doesn't always connect them to the bigger picture. Generally, this means that she can be slower to catch on to things than other people, usually because her focus is elsewhere. Besides, the wasteland isn't generally known for its formal education opportunities, and there are a lot of things that she just does not know about because of that coupled with the loss of culture due to the whole "nuclear war" thing.

» Agility: 6
When it comes to dodging attacks, reaction time in combat, and running, Elle benefits from her Small Frame (see Traits below). This means she's a smaller target for people to aim at, and she can be a zippy little thing if she really wants to be.

» Luck: 7
It can be said that Lady Luck is especially fond of her. Things have a habit of going right for her, both at the card tables and when it comes to scoring lucky hits on her enemies.

Skills [wiki]
When it comes to skills needed to survive in the wasteland, Elle's picked up a lot of experience and tricks from her companions. However, when push comes to shove, there are some she makes more use of than others.

» Speech and Barter (her most used skills, considering how she prefers to talk around conflicts more than anything else. and sometimes, talking money works where just plain talking doesn't)
» Guns (fairly straightforward; guns are a girl's best friend. they have saved her life and the lives of her friends and those around her time and time again, and so through necessity more than anything else she's learned how to use guns as accurately and most effectively as possible. her specialty here falls under "shotguns to the face," but if she's adaptable and fairly handy with pistols and rifles, too. however, she is useless with heavy weapons, such as miniguns)
» Lockpick (in order to access the best stashes of goods, get through doors that have been locked since before the War, and find clues for her quests, she has had to tackle locks with just bobby pins and a screwdriver, and it's more than second nature for her)
» Repair (the Mojave is just as unkind to gear as it is to people. in order to maintain upkeep on her equipment, old technology in the desert, and even sometimes her companions, she has had to learn how to fix anything put in front of her. it helps that two of her closest friends are especially talented at this and were willing to teach her both the basics and some tricks of the trade)
» Science (though she started her journey without much interest in this area, the Big MT taught her how important it can be. her knowledge specialty here is in animal science, hacking RobCo terminals, and breaking and fixing robots from the Fallout world)
» Medicine (this is a skill she has developed since before she became a Courier, so it comes very easily to her; sometimes, she realizes she knows how to do something without having been taught it. her knowledge specialty lies in curing poisons and dealing with battlefield trauma. she has saved the lives of Boomers, NCR soldiers, her friends, and herself with her skill)
» Sneak (staying quiet and unnoticed can be vital to surviving at times, especially in highly dangerous areas like the Big MT and the Sierra Madre ... and narrow trash-littered hallways full of invisible super mutants)
» Survival (a necessity for staying alive in an irradiated desert wasteland, and that's where her outdoorsman skills lie. she'll be much less effective in, say, a forest or tundra environment, but she knows very well how to deal with a lack of food and water, clean or otherwise, how to tolerate the heat, and how to cook and hunt. it's worth noting though that she's a big baby in the face of cold)

It should also be noted that the following skills are marked weaknesses for her, ones that she barely uses and barely knows how:
» Unarmed (the best she hope to do is try to knock someone off their feet so she can put more distance between them)
» Melee (her preferred melee weapon is the butt of her gun. no, it isn't good for her gun, but if someone's closed to melee with her, she's desperate enough to go for it)

Perks (that matter; wiki)
In addition to her skills, Elle also developed various tricks and shortcuts throughout her adventures. She also has had a few surgeries, which have provided her almost supernatural benefits.

» Damage Bonuses (this comes from having so much experience killing things in the wasteland; she's just learned where to aim and how to take enemies down faster)
» Survival Tricks (little things like "how to run longer on less water" and "how to make drugs last longer")
» Animal Friend [two ranks] (Elle naturally has a way with animals... an almost Disney princess style way, even, you might say. And so many in the wasteland don't attack her, and they will even aid her in battle)
» Jury Rigging / Junk Rounds / Scrounger (thanks partially to experience and necessity, but mostly thanks to her friends Raul and Veronica, she has learned how to fix things and make ammo from whatever happens to be lying around, and how to scrape for materials to do so)
» Quick Draw / Rapid Reload / Run 'n' Gun (she has learned how to reload her gun fast and draw it even faster, as well as fire one-handed guns more accurately while in movement)
» And Stay Back / Shotgun Surgeon (she has learned how to make the most of her favored weapon, the shotgun, so that she can do more damage and catch opponents off-balance)
» Weapon Handling (she learned how to handle heavy weapons without her accuracy suffering for it)
» Big Brained / Cardiac Arrest / Reinforced Spine (at the end of her time in Big MT, she was stitched back together, but in a way that made her body stronger. she is more resistant to poisons and being addicted to drugs and healing items have a stronger effect. in addition, the likelihood of her breaking bones or suffering from concussions has been reduced, partially balancing out the drawbacks of Small Frame)

Traits [wiki]
Traits are innate perks that provide both a benefit and a drawback. The protagonist can pick up to two at the beginning of the game. The ones listed below are more like statistical benefits and drawbacks of physical build and personality inclinations.

» Small Frame
Like it says on the tin, Elle is built small. This has its bright side, namely that it's easy for her to hide in cramped places and duck under incoming attacks. Unfortunately, it also means it's pretty easy to break her limbs if that attack does hit...

» Good Natured
Elle is naturally predisposed to try to resolve conflicts peacefully. It's so set in her bones that it took a lot more effort for her to learn to be combat effective, thanks to her reluctance.

Item: Her Pip-Boy

Sample: thisavrou intro and network post (sorry this is so old orz)

Notes:
i'm currently in the middle of a canon review, so some fine details in her game history might shuffle and shift a lil during VT play, but nothing major. her character arc + major events are set in stone and won't budge