ROSTER.

born in dayglow to two researchers, ashley was always fated to follow in his parents’ footsteps. he showed a strong aptitude for science from his early teen years and was quickly recruited as an apprentice within the science division, mainly tinkering with different pieces of machinery to improve quality of life.

unknown to him, ashley’s parents were working with the mariposa strain of the forced evolutionary virus, discovered after the destruction of the cathedral. this exposure carried over into his genetics when he was born and remained mostly dormant for his early years. when he became exposed to a small amount of radiation from his apprenticeship, the virus activated and altered his brain functions. this initially resulted in early onset memory loss.

when he suddenly started to suffer from bouts of memory loss, ashley began to get very confused as to his whereabouts and forgetting who people were. in one panic-filled instance, he ended up running away from the community into the desert. once he had realised how far he’d gone, there was no chance for him to trace his way home.

ashley was eventually recruited by a small band of raiders, trekking further east along the trade routes to the colorado river. most of the other raiders thought ashley to be a bit strange with his occasional lapses in memory but he pulled his weight within the group, ensuring that he wouldn’t get left behind.

after three years with the raiders, around the age of 19, the group were caught in a thunderstorm. ashley was caught outside the house they were all camping in, which led to a lightning strike landed right near him. because of the virus still active, the strike left him with the new ability to manipulate electricity. the raiders, baffled by what they had seen, kicked ashley out immediately and left him to survive on his own in the wasteland.

ashley has been on his own ever since, mainly wandering across the mojave desert and looting abandoned structures to stay alive. while his memory loss has stagnated, the new powers came at their own cost: sudden attacks of sleepiness and loss of muscle control. he does not actively use his powers out of fear that he may hurt someone or himself with them.

cw: sexual assault, miscarriage.

they had never known a home that was not the legion. barely a year before their birth, the stronghold of phoenix fell to the growing army of raiders aligned under the banner of caesar's legion. when they were old enough, ellison was given basic medical training to act as a nurse for the soldiers.

during their teen years, their relationship with another girl antonia shifted from platonic to romantic. they had to maintain a strong cover in order to keep the superiors finding out about them, as same sex relationships were forbidden.

ellison was forced into sexual intercourse on their 16th birthday and became pregnant with one of the soldiers’ children. they miscarried at 12 weeks which took an extreme toll on them both physically and emotionally, attacking soldiers that they were tasked with healing and planning a way to escape phoenix.

antonia fell pregnant when ellison was 17. knowing how unsafe the conditions were in phoenix, the two of them concocted a proper plan for escape, setting a specific date that would allow them enough time to get to the next biggest city before either of them were at risk of labour. a soldier discovered the true nature of their relationship the night before they were set to leave and thus chose to escape early. as soon as they were far enough away, ellison cut off their hair with a knife, staying bald ever since.

their final destination was moab, utah, where a small community had built up on the crossroads of two major trade networks. ellison happily joined the followers of the apocalypse in the town, allowing them to learn more rather than simply being a war nurse. despite the resources available, when it was time for antonia to give birth, she passed along with her child due to complications that had developed while they were travelling.

ellison has since moved west to the followers' base in freeside, assisting the group with their goals for the greater vegas area. they can often be found at the strip when not working, generally gambling with travellers by daring to beat them at five finger fillet (they always win).

very little is known about the bard, only that he drifts between outposts in the wasteland with his guitar across his back. some who have spoken to nico ojeda say that he’s claimed to hail from the east coast, but no further elaboration than that.

what nico lacks in his own backstory, he makes up for in stories. wherever he finds himself, he sets up shop and offers a tale to anyone who will listen. some are from before the apocalypse, others are from his travels in the wasteland. usually a song will accompany the story. there are times though where he will just sing pre-apocalypse ballads or country tunes.

his most common haunts are either on the roadside itself, set up underneath an old billboard, or at the joshua trading post on the road into the boneyard. nico always offers his service free of charge, but most people are kind enough to tip and the owner, sadie wexler, has started giving him a cut as his presence drives up patronage.

fifteen years ago, the joshua trading post was mere more than the abandoned visitor center on the edge of a national monument. fifteen years ago, sadie wexler was leaving new mexico with a caravan to the new california republic. she was born and raised in the southwest by a family that had established one of the first communities in the shell of roswell. they instilled in her a respect for the land and for hard work, which led her to seek out something of her own.

when she reached ncr territory, sadie set herself up in the hub, using her knowledge of the regional communities to help expand the network of different caravan companies. the legion were proving a concern while travelling through these areas, something she had experienced first hand as they expanded through new mexico. while attempting to implement ways to make the routes safer, she bumped up into ncr bureaucracy that stifled her work. sadie was constantly being told that there were no resources to allocate or that simple methods such as taking shortcuts or shifting the schedules to avoid legion patrols would affect the bottom line. her frustrations grew right alongside the legion creeping closer west and the ncr floundering about.

on a business trip, sadie passed through the former joshua tree national monument, nearby fledgling settlements bleached by the desert sun. it was on the fringes of ncr territory but not under their immediate jurisdiction, no real use found within the area. like the rest of her time in the ncr, sadie saw potential where nobody else did. when she returned to the hub, she put in her resignation and set back out.

the first few years were practically a wash. she pulled every single favor she could in getting the visitor center back into shape (or a building that simply didn't leak when it rained). the rates she charged were dirt cheap to compete with the ncr on account of being untested. her first courier was a volunteer, liking her enough to help out in between his regular work for the crimson caravan. the whole time, the ncr was bearing down on her back, trying to muscle in on her operations just as things were proving worthwhile. slowly, things began to turn as more customers came in, either too broke or too fed up to deal with the ncr. she hired her volunteer outright, number one on the books.

the trading post took on a life of its own after that. both a headquarters and a rest stop for anyone travelling out east (or skirting along the edges of ncr territory to avoid their taxes), sadie keeps the post running day to day with assistance from any couriers that weren't away on jobs. any money from delivery jobs were supplemented by offering board, food, and drink to those coming through. in recent years, the appearance of a certain bard has provided an extra point of interest to the trading post, much to sadie's chagrin. as stable as business has become, the wasteland is ever changing, and sadie will do what she can to ensure the livelihood of her people and the independence of the post.

the youngest child of a senator and an engineer, luke had one of the more stable upbringings one could experience in the post-apocalypse.

rivet city's resident father figure (along with harkness)