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exiler-a · 1 year

Text

special (an asterisk * denotes a stat supplemented by an implant/cybernetics).

strength: 8.*

perception: 6.

endurance: 10.*

charisma: 10.

intelligence: 8.

agility: 7.*

luck: 5.

skills.

barter: 100.

energy weapons: 15.

explosives: 15.

guns: 100.

lockpick: 50.

medicine: 70.

melee weapons: 15.

repair: 100.

science: 100.

sneak: 15.

survival: 100.

unarmed: 100.

perks (only including ones that affect skills/gameplay. an asterisk * denotes a perk added by a challenge, dlc, or npc/quest. does not include companion perks as they're temporary).

rapid reload.

ferocious loyalty.

shotgun surgeon.

stonewall.

strong back.

terrifying presence.

long haul.

piercing strike.

robotics expert.

sniper.

adamantium skeleton.

center of mass.

chemist.

jury rigging.

purifier.

weapon handling.

computer whiz.

paralyzing palm.

explorer.

grim reaper's sprint.

spray and pray.

slayer.

nerves of steel.

"nemean" sub-dermal armor.*

"phoenix" monocyte breeder.*

abominable.*

animal control.*

bug stomper.*

camel of the mojave.*

free radical.*

lord death.*

machine head.*

mutant massacrer.*

power armor training.*

tough guy.*

khan trick.*

legion assault.*

ranger takedown.*

scribe counter.*

coin operator.*

ghost hunter.*

sierra madre martini.*

elijah's last words.*

fight the power!*

eye for eye.*

mile in their shoes.*

them's good eatin'.*

implant grx.*

big brained.*

cardiac arrest.*

reinforced spine.*

dnagent.*

dnavenger.*

stealth suit mk ii.*

implant c-13.*

implant m-5.*

implant y-3.*

implant y-7.*

roughin' it.*

burden to bear.*

dead man's burden.*

marked.*

thought you died.*

important notes before we move on.

the enclave and the institute are mentioned in south's backstory pretty heavily. i've got a lot of personal worldbuilding surrounding the enclave and institute specifically in the capital wasteland and how it ties into south's story, since their father is an enclave defector and south becomes an institute agent in the beginning of their story. i can not be more clear in stating this: i do not support the enclave or the institute in ANY MANNER, i simply find them an interesting avenue for character backstories.

south's story spans the events of fallout 3, fallout: new vegas, and fallout 4. it's important to note that they were involved with the events of fo3 and fo4, but they are not the lone wanderer or sole survivor. they are in fact a friend of both, and by fo4 south resides in sanctuary alongside my lone wanderer keller and my sole survivor adrien as the town's sheriff. they are only the protagonist of fnv.

their synth companion, bishop, is their soulmate. meaning they are together (whether they admit so or not), and therefore south is not really 'open' to shipping but hey. we'll see what happens. fuck it.

south's story does not follow the traditional format of new vegas, by which i mean the story happens as the following: usurping house and placing yes man in charge, honest hearts, dead money, battle of hoover dam with an independent new vegas, old world blues, lonesome road with the added bombing of both the ncr and the legion. yes south knows there are innocents in the ncr. they do not care.

trigger warnings in their biography for mentions of the following: eugenics, genetic modification, fascism, kidnapping, slavery, death, murder, gore, nonconsensual cybernetic modifications, bombings, copious drug usage, addiction, and suicidal ideation.

biography.

the beginning. (2253 to 2277)

charlie was born in 2253 to rosemary mikołajczyk, a former raider, and samuel mikołajczyk, an ex-enclave scientist, who had taken up shelter in an abandoned farmhouse to the barren northwest of washington dc. they never officially married - instead rosemary adopted samuel's last name, and they tried their best to settle down to raise their family in peace. they were settlers of a typical kind - they believed simply in the idea that people should be allowed to live as they want and as who they want, and that they shouldn't have to give up the freedom to govern themselves to be part of a community.

they were still normal people, however, and in a dangerous place. there was often fighting around charlie as they grew up, their parents and some modified robots the only protection on their little farm in the middle of nowhere, and when they were five their parents decided to teach charlie how to shoot. they knew they wouldn't always be around to take care of their child - charlie had to learn, and they had to learn well.

they took to the rifle like it was their calling. their mother, rosemary, was the sharpshooter of their family, and charlie took after her. it wasn't long before they were helping her fend off wasteland creatures and even spotting their mother from their bedroom window when she warded off other raiders, the majority of them uncaring of who they would be stealing from and killing.

when charlie was five, their parents welcomed another child into the world. a little sister, named roxanne, who quickly became the light of everyone's life. charlie's father, samuel, especially took to roxy. as she became older it became apparent she had an analytical mind and enjoyed tinkering, like her father, which pleased both charlie and their mother as the years went by. the less exposure roxy had to fighting, the better. they could protect their family on their own.

living on a farm in the wastes is by no measure easy or simple. crops are difficult to grow, brahmin are impossible to keep a healthy weight when you struggle to raise crops, and being far from most other civilization means trips to the nearest settlements for trade are lengthy and dangerous endeavors. in the early years of the family, it was more simple. samuel and rosemary would take their child with them when they made the treks, to ensure nobody was left behind and vulnerable. but when roxy was born, it became more difficult. charlie was too old now to be able to protect, and roxy too small to leave at home.

samuel decided to repurpose some of their robots into defenses for the farm, so that rosemary and charlie could make their trips without worrying about samuel and roxy being unprotected. it took him a few weeks, during which they subsided on tatoes and some of the brahmin they knew wouldn't survive, roughing it as they had done all their lives. eventuallly the defenses were put in place and mother and child set out to rivet city.

the next few years went as well as they can in the wasteland. injuries, the passing of pets and farm animals, repeated repairs of their robotic companions that were just as much part of the family. by the age of fifteen charlie had become skilled enough to make the treks to and from rivet city alone, enabling their mother to stay behind and protect the homestead, as she was growing older and life in the apocalypse is harsh on the body.

they began to take up odd jobs along the way to and from the city, killing pests and retrieving items from dangerous locations in exchange for caps, food, or shelter. they began making a name for themself - taking on the moniker of south (as homage to the fact that they always seem to be going south, literally and metaphorically) - effectively a mercenary for hire. it wasn't long before those odd jobs changed from killing wasteland pests and fetching scrap to things of a more dangerous and difficult nature... bounties, assassinations, and the slaying of formidable beasts. they kept this part of them hidden from their parents - the disappointment from their mother that they were in essence following in her younger self's footsteps, and their father's worry that they would become targeted by the people who also had a bounty on his own head, would be far too much to bear.

at home, they are charlie mikołajczyk the game hunter. in rivet city, they are south the mercenary sharpshooter. keeping these two things separate worked for a time.

by the age of 22, their reputation would catch up with them. in their youthful hubris, south had grown cocky. in their time as a mercenary, so far, they had been untouchable. strong, lacking anxiety and exuding confidence, paired with an unwavering aim, they felt unstoppable. they felt they were carving out their place in the world - making a name for themself. it was not to last... not in the way they wanted.

they were never careful about leaving a trail. they always took the same path home from the city, and they never covered their face or hid their real identity, allowing them to be easily recognizable. by this point the enclave had started to become more aggressive with their clandestine operations in the wasteland. they had agents stationed at all major settlements, observing the development of the wasteland, searching for cracks in the foundations that they could exploit for their benefit and political agenda. one of their larger sects of agents happened to be keeping tabs on rivet city - and it wasn't difficult to connect the dots from charlie to their father, who they were the spitting image of.

after several months of observation of the mikołajczyk homestead, an enclave agent made confirmation. samuel was in possession of enclave technology still, after two decades, and he hadn't even left the capital wasteland. they could set up a hit... and it would be perfect.

on their next trip into rivet city, south was approached with a proposition. being young and naïve, they were quick to accept and then ask for details, rather than the other way around. their contact pulled them aside and showed them a map, and on it, a red circle where their farm was. in their panic they didn't notice the contact slipping away, starting on the arduous trek back home as fast as they could. it was a set-up, a mockery. they knew they would be too late.

upon arrival, the scene they were met with was gruesome. they smelled it before they saw it - death, as they were well familiar with, wafting from the ajar front door. their family's robots were in parts and scattered about, sparks still flying. their heart dropped into their gut, and they tore into the home and were greeted with their father and mother's corpses.

they cried for what felt like years. clutching their bodies close, bloodied and battered and lifeless, crawling with flies and green with rot. they were left to decompose in the living room of their home for days, and south lost a part of themself with that knowledge that would never come back.

the only thing that pulled them from their haze was the thought of their sister. she was nowhere to be found when they searched the house from top to bottom, and she wasn't hidden away in any of her typical spots, for when raiders came to the farm looking to demand food and supplies.

the only thing they could think was that she had been taken. she was brilliant and bright, the most genius person that south had ever known, and the thought that the enclave would seek to use her for their purposes came as no surprise.

in the quiet and empty hours of the morning, south left their home and set back to rivet city in search of the only family they had left. for two years they searched, waited, and lost themself to addiction. anything that they could get their hands on, they used - but their favorite was a combination of mentats and psycho, which kept them up and overly paranoid for days on end, something they preferred to the nightmares that did haunt them when they were able to sleep.

they felt hopeless, obsessed with trying to figure out on their own where the enclave took their sister. it was the only thing they cared for, and they accepted jobs only for exchange of information about enclave patrols or outposts, and had their fair share of enclave assassinations under their belt before long.

life wasn't easy. things rarely ever are. they had no family and few allies - no one to count on, no one to watch their back. it was then that they met someone strange. a man, tall and with dark eyes, sad and far away looking. a stray. out of place and yet strangely in his element - an outcast and a freak like everyone else in rivet city. he approached them with a prospect.

they had previously assisted an insufferable old fucker by the name of dr zimmer in his pursuit of an escaped android. in their naïveté they had helped him retrieve this android, who once went by harkness, a man they had known well in their time in rivet city. they didn't understand the gravity of the situation or what it meant, and truly, they didn't care. information is information, and that is what they had been promised for their help. it had enabled them to sabotage an enclave outpost and get one step closer to roxanne.

the strange and sad man introduced himself as bishop. he was a charge of dr zimmer's, and was asked to retrieve south so that they may speak with zimmer about a permanent allyship.

what had they to lose? they accepted a meeting with zimmer and his bodyguard armitage. in this exchange south was offered bishop's services, so long as they pledged to work for the shadowy organization they were informed to be something called the institute. they accepted, of course - resources are resources, and it was a means to an end.

bishop explained his nature as something called a courser. an elite institute combat unit that would undoubtedly be a boon to them in their quest to take the enclave on head to head in search of roxy - it was simple to them, and easy enough to ignore that they knew next to nothing about their new employers.

they put the thought on the backburner. if bishop could help them, why would they refuse? and zimmer offered them caps - the only thing people in the wasteland understand. another avenue for information when their terrifying aura wasn't enough.

the duo settled into a comfortable rhythm. bishop asked a lot of questions, but mostly ones about south themself. they had plenty of their own for him. they worked well together, and because bishop was a synth, he was never difficult to understand. he seemed to lack strong emotion, only displaying something akin to curiosity, despite being the smartest thing in the room at any given moment. south found it peculiar and charming. they did not think to understand this as dangerous, not for them, but for bishop.

over the following months their relationship would grow closer. south was integrated into the routine of working for zimmer, who had since departed the capital and sent agents in his stead to make contact with them and examine bishop to ensure he was staying in line. they were uncomfortable with the idea of having someone to watch their back, to spend lonely nights with, who was loyal and protective in the same way as them. someone gentle and yet unrelenting. it was almost easy for them to forget that killing was what he was made for - but it was easier to remember in combat, when he would kill everything that moved with an efficiency even they hadn't mastered yet. but still. it felt safe. they trusted him. and they knew, in whatever way he could, that he trusted them.

south began to suspect things weren't right with him as quickly as they had settled into the routine. he asked too many personal questions, doubted their judgement and strategies and suggested his own, but most of all he was angry. he wasn't like armitage who did as he was told and had these dead, empty eyes. when south looked at bishop's eyes, they saw fear and loneliness. he was breaking, and they knew it. but they couldn't think about that. they had a sister to find.

it was then that they came across the lone wanderer. the enclave had recently made a presence at jefferson memorial, something which south tried to no avail to investiagate on their own, with bishop's assistance. they needed help - they needed an in - and they knew that they had found one.

their reputation preceded them. it wasn't difficult to get in with keller, a vault dweller around the same age as their sister. she was green and wide-eyed and naïve, and south was happily accepted into the ranks of her allies.

but this vault dweller wasn't stupid. she had a knack for science and she had lost someone too - someone who was still alive, someone she was hunting and had found, who came back. south knew she would help. it seemed like fate.

eventually, south and bishop accompanied keller to the purifier to help with the chip, and there was where they found what they were looking for - roxanne, helping with the purifier diagnostics. but she wasn't the same - she looked different, spoke strangely, carried herself in a way she never had. once she was full of life. now, she was an enclave success story.

south refused to leave her behind. she was their sister - their family - and with a swift blow to the back of the head they knocked her cold and stole her away while keller dealt with the purifier.

bishop carried her on his shoulder, even after being evacuated by the brotherhood back to the citadel alongside keller, now in a coma, and her companions. south was wracked with gut wrenching anxiety cut through to the bone by equally strong joy, overwhelmed with the combination of seeing their sister again but knowing she was different. just how different, only time would tell.

when roxanne awoke she was in a strange place surrounded by strange people. fear consumed her - it was exactly like the day her parents were killed, the day she woke up with surgical scars and her head swimming, with a buzzing in her skull she didn't understand. they had implanted her, then, with things to supplement her intellectual ability and also use her as an unwilling test subject at the same time. it was a way to ensure she never left. but here she was - away from that place, that for some reason she felt a strong desire to go back to. raven rock's monochrome walls and stale smell haunted her. she started to scream.

she was sedated once more, and south continued to lose their mind. their addiction was something they hid, but in these difficult times they started to become careless with it. it wasn't long before others took notice and offered care, offered help. they didn't get a choice in accepting it when they got so drunk they began raving about climbing to the roof and flying free from its peak.

eventually, south and roxy both recovered. keller recovered too, in 2 weeks time, now deciding to travel north toward the commonwealth to seek a new beginning. it was understandable to south, who now had a stranger as a sister, who now felt like a stranger to themself. who had a stranger as a best friend and a partner in crime.

they decided to go west.

the middle. (2277-2281)

south, bishop, and roxanne set out across the wasteland. bishop was still on the institute's leash, but with the level of technology the institute possessed, they knew if they wished to get ahold of bishop or south at any point that it would be trivial. thus far south and bishop had a perfect record for their operations. they were granted their request to go, so long as roxanne provided her services to agents who had established themselves in settlements across the wasteland too. she accepted. what else was there for her?

the trek was long and arduous. it took two years, but eventually, in 2279, they made it to new vegas.

south and bishop were quick to establish believable identities and backstories. they had roxanne planted into the followers of the apocalypse, a group she was fine with helping and could stimulate her intellectual appetite in the same vein. it became almost normal - roxanne had medical know-how, engineering know-how, and scientific know-how. she thrived in the followers, and south was happy to leave her there, out of harm's way. they could keep her safe and hidden, keep her secret. no one would ever take her from them again.

south and bishop became well-known in their new home as ruthless mercenaries who would do nearly anything and didn't even want caps. all they asked for was discretion and food, and most were eager to provide it after coming to the understanding they wouldn't have to part with their caps.

they built up their reputation and covers for the next two years, becoming staples among those who needed someone killed or a package moved, with discretion and with haste. this lead them to the fateful job of delivering a platinum chip.

it seemed simple enough. south had delivered plenty of packages in their time, some of them more of the humanoid variety than others. they could handle it on their own, surely. they left bishop behind with roxanne and the followers for this delivery. it would be over and done with just as quickly as the others, and they'd be home in time for supper.

that was not to be. the last thing they remembered was a gunshot and the face of a man in a checkered suit, and then there was darkness.

when they awoke it was to the sound of a cowboy robot. when next they awoke it was to the sound of an elderly gentleman who was concerned over their mental fortitude. they remembered little else.

they remembered their name - south - and they remembered what they were doing. but the other details were fuzzy, and when they looked at themself in the mirror, the person that looked back at them was unfamiliar and mangled. a disgusting scar had rendered part of their scalp disfisgured, along their right temple and extending behind their ear. it was red and purple and angry, freshly stitched, and it smelled like a jar of pennies. they had forgotten about pennies. how many years had it been since they'd seen one? a relic of days unremembered by all but the ghouls who were there to live them.

terror settled in them then, at that moment. they had no idea where they were or where they had to go - all of their memories, their thoughts, felt just beyond grasp. it was difficult to hold a pencil. their hands shook constantly, and walking felt alien and imbalanced. they were forgetting basic things - like words they know they once knew - and it was terrifying.

for a few days they rested. slowly, they began to feel like they were breaking even. things still felt different and hard, but they were able to walk in a line and even able to shoot straight from a medium distance. it was a start. they decided to try to go home. they had a new target in mind.

it took a week for them to get back to new vegas. upon their return, they were greeted by their sister who was worried sick and by bishop who had that pained, distanced look on his face he always had when he was worried about them. once they all sat down in a room together, they removed their helmet.

roxanne was shaken with horror. it brought her back to the enclave, to its surgeries and experiments, to the scars that littered her body that seemed to appear out of nowhere on a regular basis. it wasn't the same, of course. south had no new implants or any missing organs from what they could tell, though it was hard to focus with their head constantly swimming and their thoughts jumping away at every opportunity. otherwise, though, they didn't feel like they were missing anything or that they had anything new. and after an examination, their sister was relieved they weren't sporting a lack of organs or any new and weird technology under their skin.

they went after the man in the checkered suit - benny gecko - who they followed a lead for all the way to inner new vegas; the strip. it wasn't their first visit to the location, but it was the first time they'd come there to kill.

benny was easy to find. he was recognizable and cocky, and south killed him without hesitation after getting the go ahead from house - who couldn't have stopped them even if he'd said no. though they did take the time to ransack his personal room for anything valuable, and for information. in doing so they discovered a strange robot named yes man, a securitron benny had repurposed for his own ambitions.

south and yes man became fast allies. the idea of an independent vegas was a good one - people deserve community and belonging, something which had been ripped from them time and time again at the hands of higher powers. if they could provide that to people, permanently, then they would do it. whatever it would take.

there were more pressing issues in their life at that moment, however. bishop had become more agitated and unpredictable, something which south didn't mind, but was ultimately concerned by considering their care for him. he was paranoid and attached to them at the hip - he refused to leave their side, the guard dog's guard dog, and south again felt terror.

they had known for years at this point that bishop had "gone rogue" from his programming, so to speak. but they were content, as a team, to continue their work for the institute as they truly had nothing else to devote themselves to, and it enabled them to keep roxanne safe with the securities provided to them by working for an organization so secretive and powerful. but bishop had grown restless and disillusioned by what happened to south, knowing he was forbidden by his programming to disobey a direct order, which if he had would have spared them the fate of such a grievous wound that nearly stole their life.

being a pawn to an organization he had no choice in being part of was not what he wanted. what he wanted was to be able to protect the person he loved and their sister, regardless of all else, and the fact remained that he could not so long as he was tethered to the institute.

he needed to get rid of his courser chip.

[the bishop predicament sub-arc, start.]

over the coming months, they plotted. while south dealt with the oncoming threats of the ncr and the legion for the mojave wasteland, roxanne helped bishop find a cybernetics specialist who could remove the courser chip without wiping his memory or outright killing him.

this brought them to the doorstep of dr usanagi. south had worked with her previously, usanagi providing them with healthcare after their departure from goodsprings and even setting them up with some implants to assist them with things that had been affected by the bullet they took to the skull.

it didn't take much convincing. as a follower, south knew usanagi would be receptive to bishop's predicament and his struggle, something they were immensely grateful for. it took time, and trial and error, but eventually both bishop and south were certified institute-free.

he was free then, to do whatever he desired without fear of being warped back into the institute and having his diagnostics checked for anomalies ever again.

he would remain by south's side forevermore.

[the bishop predicament sub-arc, end.]

with their more personal matters dealt with, it was time for south to turn their attention to the matters of an independent vegas. it was simple enough to get yes man established in the lucky 38, displacing house and ending his capitalist reign on the city of new vegas. south was nothing if not determined, and after meeting with the different factions and declaring outright war against the ncr and the legion, it was time to plan things out.

[honest hearts sub-arc, start.]

while yes man and bishop began planning how they would approach hoover dam, south set off on their own quest, much to bishop's chagrin. despite this, however, they departed the mojave with the happy trails expedition to reach the zion canyon in search of allies, where they had heard there were those who opposed the legion. throughout their time in zion, south made the following decisions:

[ helped joshua defend zion with the dead horses and the sorrows, despite daniel's wishes that the sorrows would remain innocent. did not allow joshua to kill salt-upon-wounds for the sake of his own mental health, and for the sake of those who looked to him for leadership. did not kill daniel. convinced follows-chalk to see the world while he still could. told waking cloud the truth about her husband. ]

when they returned to the mojave, it wasn't long before they heard that the happy trails expedition had returned to the prosperity it once boasted, and south for the first time in many years felt at peace with what they had done.

[honest hearts sub-arc, end.]

[dead money sub-arc, start.]

their next voyage would be one that began similarly to their ongoing journey as the mojave's reigning defender - in darkness and disorientation. when they awoke in the sierra madre, a strangely desolate place with the only bastions of hope being a fountain and a casino they could not reach, they found themself missing things just as they had before. no weapons. no armor. only a bomb collar around their neck, and the sound of a voice coming from the fountain before them. a voice they recognized from veronica's past. father elijah.

a fire lit inside them. oh, they would do as he said alright. just long enough until they could kill him with their own two hands. south's decisions in the sierra madre were as follows:

[ helped dog and god merge into one. dean domino survived. christine royce survived. trapped father elijah in the vault of the sierra madre, the shiny thing that became his obsession now his grave. ]

south returned to the fountain, now seeking to say goodbye to the companions they had met by a twist of fate in the sierra madre. upon departing, they found it difficult to let go of what they had seen and experienced there. they turned back to look at the casino frozen in time looming over a blood red cloud one last time, and decided to let go.

[dead money sub-arc, end.]

now back in the mojave once more, south returned to the old mormon fort to reconnect with their sister and bishop, who had been hard at work. yes man had a plan outlined, and all that they had to do now was execute it.

[battle of hoover dam sub-arc, start.]

during the battle of hoover dam, south redirected power from the dam to the fort and activated yes man's securitron army to help with wiping out the ncr and the legion. they received help from the boomers during the battle, though the remnants did not show up as south had felt it was best for arcade and the others to not return to days long past.

in the end, legate lanius was struck down, just as caesar had been by south's hand. the dam was secure, and new vegas was free.

[battle of hoover dam sub-arc, end.]

with the battle of hoover dam over, the hardest parts were just beginning. yes man could watch over the strip without their help, and the ncr's embassy was cleaned out and repurposed into a clinic for the followers of the apocalypse to establish another location. the walls separating the strip and freeside would be taken down, and new vegas would become one, a beacon of hope for all who remained.

[old world blues sub-arc, start.]

one night, a strange radio signal brought south to an old place known as the mojave drive-in, wherein a sattelite had crashed to the earth. it flickered a mysterious image upon the screen before it, and once more south was plunged into darkness.

when they awoke, they found themself again missing their clothing and armor, dressed instead in a surgical gown and sporting several new scars. they were disoriented and felt lighter, emptier - and upon confronting the scientists of the think tank, came to the horrifying discovery that they were missing several vital organs... their brain, spine, and heart. south's decisions in the big empty were as follows:

[ discovered all locations. installed all segments in the sink and got all upgrades. spared dr mobius. convinced the scientists in the think tank to never venture out into the wasteland, or south would come back to annihilate them. got back their brain, heart, and spine - now cybernetically enhanced. ]

they were changed upon leaving big empty - mentally and physically, now with their hair cropped short and back to their natural black, and sporting angry scars. something about big empty had called home to them, and it left them reeling. perhaps roxanne could find a calling with the technology the think tank possessed. despite the horrors thrust upon them there, south thought fondly of it as they made the trek home. where once christine and the mysterious courier ulysses had been, now they had been. it would be another story to tell.

[old world blues sub-arc, end.]

[lonesome road sub-arc, start.]

their journey did not end there. south, alongside what they recognized as ed-e, ventured into dangerous parts on their trek toward the divide after they had been contacted by ulysses - someone they had never met, yet whose story was intrinsically tied to theirs. the decisions they made in the divide were as follows:

[ rescued ed-e. launced the missiles at the ncr and the legion. ulysses lived. ]

the courier was troubled. the things they had seen, what they had learned, haunted them. it reminded them of who they were - something that killed and destroyed, and brought ruin to everything around them.

they removed their helmet, with its burning red eyes, and tossed it aside. they went home, one last time.

[lonesome road sub-arc, end.]

upon breathing the mojave air, south collapsed to their knees. they shedded their layers and replaced their armor instead with a duster bearing the insignia of a black spade with the number 21 imposed over it.

they walked, and continued to walk until they reached new vegas for the last time. they retrieved bishop and roxanne, and for the last time, they would depart across the mojave desert and head east.

the end. (2281-2287)

it took more time for them to get back to the capital wasteland this time. the trip lasted three years, and they spent the first year in zion, where south was welcomed openly by its community. bishop and roxanne felt peace in the canyon, relieved to be free of the mojave and its baggage.

they only decided to move on once south became restless, someone who belonged perpetually on the move. it made their skin itch with frenetic energy, and in the early morning hours, the three set off to return to where it all began.

they did not linger in the capital wasteland for long. rivet city was much the same, and yet different. it was a hard place for them to be - the brotherhood had changed too, in the years since they had last been at the citadel. they had become more militant, and it caused a sinking feeling in south's gut. the trio departed quickly, following the trail left behind by their old friend, keller.

upon their arrival in the commonwealth, the three settled down on a small farm outside of boston. south and bishop regularly made trips into larger settlements and cities, taking up work and building reputations. roxanne would occasionally come with them, offering medical services to those who needed it, but mostly in search of scrap and electronics in her pursuit of her childhood hobby - building robots.

it wouldn't take long for her to set up a clinic on the family farm. with the assistance of her robots, she could run it by herself while her sibling and their partner traveled - it was a good thing for her. peace. finally, after so long being haunted by the years she spent in the enclave against her will, trying to forget herself, now she was home.

south and bishop tracked down keller, who had taken up residence in diamond city, something of a roboticist herself. she busied herself with keeping the mr handies and the occasional eyebot in the settlement up to snuff, also helping with keeping the crops in the city as lacking-in-radiation as possible. when south and bishop appeared on her doorstep, she was shocked and filled with joy.

she welcomed them into her home, and they traded stories and experiences and their lives so far. it was nice, and it was peaceful, and when bishop and south returned home they were happy.

the following years went by easily, and with less obstacles than the years that preceded them had. keller was a frequent guest of their farm, and the three of them frequent guests of keller's dwelling in the city. it was in the year 2287 that keller approached them with a proposition.

they had met another who had come from a vault, someone by the name of adrien. a person out of time, in search of their son.

the three accepted keller's proposition before even hearing it. family is everything to them, and if they could help someone else find theirs, they would do it.

the three left their farm behind, leaving some of their robots behind to help any travelers in need of medical care, and trekked to sanctuary hills.

there, south became the sheriff of the budding community adrien and keller had started to build, and bishop their deputy. roxanne settled in quickly as the resident doctor, tinkerer, and overall science whiz she had always been, with keller's collaboration.

together, they would all begin again.

basic stats/information.

name: charlie "south" mikołajczyk.

age: 22-32.

birthday: sometime in 2253.

height: 6'0".

gender identity: nonbinary (transmasc). they/them pronouns only.

sexuality: bisexual.

species: human.

ethnicity: white.

family: rosemary mikołajczyk, mother, deceased. samuel mikołajczyk, father, deceased. roxanne mikołajczyk, sister, alive. bishop, soulmate/partner/unofficial husband, alive.

faceclaim: click here! (some notes: south has heterochromia, with one blue eye and one brown eye, that unfortunately could not be depicted here, as well as quite a lot of scars).

voiceclaim: i don't actually have one right now. once i find one i will update this.

occupation: mercenary and courier.

tattoos/piercings: piercing on left eyebrow. bridge piercing. left nostril piercing. labret piercing. tongue piercing. lobe piercings on both ears. industrial piercing on right ear. covered in tattoos head to toe, with quotes about family, death, grief, and their only allegiance being to the grim reaper. varying tattoos to commemorate experiences they have been through. i will outline them in more detail eventually.

moral alignment: chaotic neutral with a Small Hint Of Neutral Evil. they experience a moral shift during new vegas that steers them more toward chaotic good.

traits: driven, chaotic, hostile, follows their own moral compass, aggressive, protects those who can't protect themselves, recalcitrant, insubordinate, rebellious, emotional, stubborn, protective, caring of community and family.

tropes: the ace, action hero, adult fear, and the adventure continues, animal motifs, anti-hero, assassin outclassin', the atoner, asleep for days, badass boast, badass longcoat, badass transplant, but for me it was tuesday, charles atlas superpower, the charmer, the chessmaster, combat pragmatist, consummate liar, curiosity is a crapshoot, cyborg, dark horse victory, deadpan snarker, determinator, did what i had to do, doom magnet, double tap, the dreaded, the drifter, gadgeteer genius, going postal, had to be sharp, heel-face revolving door, hidden depths, hyper-competent sidekick, iconic outfit, in harm’s way, it’s all my fault, jerkass, karma houdini, keeper of forbidden knowledge, made of iron, magnificient bastard, master actor, memetic badass, mysterious past, not afraid to die, odd friendship, omnicidal neutral, one-man army, only known by their nickname, rebel leader, rebellious spirit, sympathetic murderer, terror hero, 'tis only a bullet in the brain, transhuman, unexplained recovery, unstoppable mailman, warrior therapist, wild card, you are number 6.

#listen i know their stats are high for a lot of shit but that's just how it is. south's a jack of all trades and in my playthrough #i actually have damn near everything in skills maxed so T-T #fnv is good to you as a player with allowing you to be able to max a ton of stuff by the time you're lvl 50.#outofcharacter.#south.

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