War. War never changes.
Neolithic cavemen murdered each other out of cold blood like the tales of Cain and Abel of old. Napoleon led the French in a ensuing battle against the entirety of Europe. Hitler and the Axis Powers were the catalyst of the biggest war that hit the 20th century.
Power. Riches. Hatred. Greed. These wars all stem from these vices of humanity.
Yet, the same vices that caused these wars led to the downfall of humanity. In the 21st Century, the Resource Wars happened. International treaties became forfeit. Sovereignty ruled over cooperation. Everything was squandered on the next deposit of oil or a underground vein of uranium. Peace became an illusion, a distant afterthought. Countries fell apart. Wars tore the environment asunder.
Until humanity really, finally did it. Nobody knows who pressed the button first. In October, 2077, on the precipice of humanity's technological advancement, the horrors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima became world-wide. Oceans boiled into great empty deserts. The land became blighted and uninhabitable. The skies fizzled away as spears of atomic fire rained down and cleansed the world.
A quiet darkness reigned over several years. But humanity is stubborn. Humanity does not give up so easily to a event like this.
Over thousands of lives were spared, thanks to the works of Vault-Tec and their underground proprietary state of the art underground fallout shelters, havens from the hell of the wastes. These inhabitants set out once those great cog doors opened, establishing villages, laws, fledgling settlements on the husk of the old world.
As the decades passed, what had been the American southwest united beneath the flag of the New California Republic, dedicated to old world values of democracy, and the rule of law. As the Republic grew, so did its needs. Scouts spread east, seeking territory and wealth, in the dry and merciless expanse of the Mojave Desert. They returned with tales of a city – New Vegas – untouched by the warheads that had scorched the rest of the world, and a great wall spanning the Colorado River. The NCR mobilized its army and sent it east to occupy the Hoover Dam, and restore it to working condition.
But across the Colorado, another society had arisen under a different flag. A vast army of slaves, forged in the conquest of 86 tribes: Caesar's Legion.
Four years have passed since the Republic held the Dam – just barely – against the Legion's onslaught. The Legion did not retreat. Across the river, the Legion gathers strength… campfires burn, training drums beat, and it is only a matter of time before they cross the Colorado again.
Through it all, the New Vegas Strip has remained open for business under the control of its mysterious owner, the enigmatic Mr. House, and his army of rehabilitated tribals, and police robots.
The deadlock between the three factions has been unshakable. Until as of late. A single man, the Courier, is the wildcard that shapes the fate of the Mojave forever. Rising from the grave, without a nickle to his name, the Courier walked his road to the end like all other wasteland legends. The 87 tribes of Arizona were singlehandedly defeated under his boot, Caesar's vision of a old-world empire shattered by a 50 calibre bullet to the skull. New Vegas is made a city of no gods and no masters, unlike what Robert Edwin House wanted.
In time, Hoover Dam became a part of his deck as well. A single man out-thinks and out-maneuvers entire armies and legions of soldiers as the NCR is forced to stop its imperialistic expansion. Momentarily, of course. The Bear is enraged. Enraged at how its long-fought reward has been reaped from its paws. It brings all of its strength on New Vegas and while the Courier is a master of deception, the numbers of the NCR are too much for him to handle.
The Courier dissipates into history and time itself, with only his open grave to mark his absence.
This nightmare hasn't reached its end yet. It is merely the beginning of the end of the Mojave.
The NCR, by chance or sheer luck, happens upon the Sierra Madre and its foul technology. Using the Lucky 38 as a proving grounds for its revolutionary technologies, NCR scientists experiment with the haze of death known as the Cloud and the vile ghosts of the casino. The NCR's heart blackens, their experiments breaking what little humanity has left, as they struggle to replicate technologies that are beyond their grasp. Meanwhile, dust storms begin to flood in, the brother of war taking his ride to the west, Pestilence. The Bear is undaunted by the possibility, ignoring its presence.
The dominoes begin to fall. The Cloud is let loose onto New Vegas and Freeside. The descent into chaos and anarchy begins. Martial law occurs. Rebellions and uprisings happen. The standard traits of the downfall of civilization. Eventually, the situation is uncontainable. Mass droves of civilians manage to escape Vegas before the great, unblemished city falls into disrepair and destruction. The Mojave is in critical condition. Then, an unimaginable dust storm, the wrath of the wasteland itself, plunges a knife into the patient's chest. The heart-monitor falters.
New Vegas is no longer a jewel anymore.
Cannibals, survivors and tribals of all manner ravage and scavenge for scraps of what's left of New Vegas. Ulysses prophecy comes true as the population of Tunnelers, native to the Divide, begin to spread their wings into the Mojave, killing almost all of the natural fauna and flora.There is no good and evil in the Mojave anymore. Only the will to survive and how far you're willing to go to live another day.
The Mojave Wasteland is now known formally in the NCR as the Dust Bowl. Fitting.
Where are you in all of this?
You are not a vault dweller. Neither are you the chosen one of some village. Nor a lone wanderer of the wastes. Or the sole survivor of a vault.
You are a person. Trying to make it desperately out of the Dust Bowl before you become part of its ash pile. Along with another person for the ride.
Good luck trying not to kill each other.
What is Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust
Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust is a Fallout AU that is designed to be less fun and more serious than the canon itself. It's an experiment in the trope, Gone Horribly Wrong, and then some more.
The dynamics of what would be a usual Fallout text-to-text RP have been changed. You are not looking to wander the wasteland or change the shape of the world itself. You are just someone trying to live another day in the Dust Bowl and escape its cage. Food and water is scarce. Ammunition, weaponry and armor are cobbled out of whatever you find in the streets. It is a regular common practice in the Dust Bowl to eat each other. Shoot-on-Sight is regarded as perfectly understandable.
It's basically Fallout without the wacky, post-apocalyptic elements.
Partner Requirements
1. The Roleplaying Partner must have an understanding of basic Fallout Lore and must be willing to world-build the Dust Bowl with me.
2. I am looking for a RP partner who is detailed, literate and extremely advanced. For comparison, I can write about 4 to 10 paragraphs when I am in an extremely good mood. I want a partner who can match that speed. Remember! Quality over quantity but description is sexy.
3. I want a partner who can post once per week, at the minimum. Daily would be much more better.
4. I want someone who wants to geniunely have fun with me.
5. Also, send a PM to me complete with what you are comfortable with and what you are not along with a writing sample.
Miscellaneous Things
- This is not a romantic RP. There are no pairings and so forth. No MxM, FxF or MxF. However, I am only willing to play male roles. I can multi-role any gender, however.
- Character sheets will be required and asked for.
- I would prefer a little bit of OOC chat and pre-plotting before we begin this RP.
And so..., I cast my die into the wind.
Pairings and Plots (Up for Grabs)
East-Coast Traveller x Dust Bowl Survivor/Lone Wanderer x Courier
(Essentially, a traveller from the east coast/The Lone Wanderer gets ambushed by raiders or tribals when going to the Mojave and wakes up in the midst of their camp. Fortunately, a Dust Bowl Survivor/The Courier saves them from being eaten alive or worst and they must do whatever it takes to survive together.)
NCR Soldier x Mercenary
(A NCR Soldier and a mercenary are assigned together to scour the Dust Bowl for the last remnants of the NCR's technology and scour for data from the Lucky 38 labs.)
TokyoPewPew
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AuthorialTheory