Fallout: Florida , The Sunshine State's Post-Apocalyptic Wastes Options

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Well, I never thought I'd be posting in this particular subforum before now. But with all these ideas bouncing in my head of what post-Great War Florida would look like in the Fallout universe, I have taken to jotting them down and (hopefully) making a cohesive guide to it. I don't really write fiction, so I don't think I'll be writing actual stories like you all do, but I suppose we'll see. For the time being, it's really going to be a guide of sorts, somewhat like a wiki or what textbooks would say.

This will obviously attempt to adhere to Fallout canon as much as possible. I chose Florida as the setting not only because it is my home state (though that is definitely the biggest reason) but because, from what I can tell, so little about the Southeastern United States is talked about in Fallout lore, giving me a lot more room to operate in. And, of course, it's the state I know best and would love to see the most as a setting for a Fallout game.

So here's the plan for all this:
[*] I'm going to break up each section of the guide into its own post to separate it sufficiently. This one will be the introduction to the setting.
[*] I may include some incomplete information on here for several reasons. For one, it'll be an easy repository to refer to just in case the Word doc I am using has something go screwy or that my computer messes up or whatever. Two, it can be a little taste of what's to come. Three, I just want to get down as much content as comes to me.
[*] The tentative list of sections to have here include, but are not limited to (and not necessarily in this order):

[*] General overview of the setting and how I am breaking up the parts of Florida
[*] The Bestiary
[*] The Timeline
[*] The Factions
[*] Profiles of each of the regions I am making

Some of the stuff you see will definitely be subject to change if needed to make it cohesive. I'll try to document what I change to make it clear.

And most of all, I hope you all like it and I'd like to hear whatever feedback you have. Presenting and communicating information is one of the things I enjoy most, although I'm more used to doing so for real-life content (particularly political science).

First section of the guide coming up!

The Setting - Basic Overview

While not experiencing the same level of nuclear barrage as places such as Southern California, New York, and D.C., Florida was plunged into nuclear fire just like virtually everywhere else in the world. This was especially true of the Tampa Bay Area, Orlando and its surrounding areas, and South Florida, centers of great economic and political importance in Pre-War America. Being the 3rd-most populous state in the country, the Great War extinguished far more lives than average here and left plenty more to pick up the pieces in the post-apocalyptic, anarchic wastes. The exceptional biological, geographical, and human diversity of Florida led to a far more varied impact on the former Sunshine State when the bombs fell.

Nevertheless, many settlements started to crop up in the decades just after the Great War, even in those once-densely populated cities and metropolitan areas. In time, former towns and cities were beginning to be resurrected and reclaiming their old names, and brand-new ones started to form. But post-War Florida--and the rest of what used to be the country's Gulf Commonwealth, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi--was still highly fractured. In the 22nd century, the first of many ambitious attempts was made to reunite this once-thriving landscape. While extraordinarily difficult at first, a string of successes in reunification gave birth to the Gulf Coast Union, a nation similar in concept to the future New California Republic (NCR). The so-called Great Reunification--a somewhat hyperbolic title, at least currently--started extending through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and even some of southwestern Georgia, though it has yet to reclaim the whole of any of these former states.

The process is far from completed, however, and many other factions both big and small struggle with the Gulf Coast Union for dominance in the former Southeastern United States. Many of the conflicts take place in what used to be the Sunshine State. The Gulf Coast Union was successful in claiming virtually all of Northern Florida and has made inroads into the Central Florida wastes. Major and minor powers violently feuding with each other and with the Gulf Coast Union have made the GCU's grip on these lands somewhat tenuous, preventing any attempts at expanding into South Florida.

As of this guide, it is currently the year 2130, over a half-century since the world was irrevocably changed. To most easily understand the lands that were once called Florida, it is best to divide the area into ten distinct regions--even if the divisions are a bit crude, arbitrary, or too convenient. Each have their own set of conflicts being waged, major and minor players vying for power, and civilizations trying to carve out a life in these harsh wastes. Welcome to the Sunshine State's post-apocalyptic wastes.

The Ten Regions and Their Counties

County Map
Here's how some coasts in Florida got their nicknames, though not all are explicitly mentioned here

Though these broken-up zones are somewhat crude and arbitrary, it'll be easiest to understand post-apocalyptic Florida this way. However, major conflicts in one region can definitely spill over into another.

1) Panhandle (13): Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, Gadsden
2) Big Bend (8): Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, Dixie, Levy
3) North Central Florida (8): Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Alachua, Gilchrist
4) The First Coast (6): Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler
5) The Space and Treasure Coasts (7): Volusia, Seminole, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Okeechobee
6) Central Florida (8): Marion, Sumter, Lake, Orange, Polk, Osceola, Hardee, Highlands
7) The Tampa Bay Area (6): Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee
8) The Gold Coast (3): Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade
9) Southwest Florida (7.5): Sarasota, De Soto, Charlotte, Glades, Lee, Hendry, Collier, Monroe (mainland only)
10) The Keys (0.5): Monroe (Keys only)


Just a quick side-note: The Panhandle West/East dichotomy is one I totally made up for my own purposes. They are, as far as I know, not referred to as such in real life. It is just the Panhandle, and the real-world Panhandle doesn't necessarily include all of the counties in Big Bend.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Jun 9 2020, 01:30 AM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Chapter 15.2

As Mariah, Valentina, Waller, and Callahan stepped outside, they could hear a commotion right near where the GCU soldiers that accompanied them were ordered by Waller to wait. But their opponents were not residents of the district, as Waller and Callahan initially expected—it was some of the city guards. A shoving match ensued between them as well as some choice words, though it had not quite come to blows yet. It was the first blatant demonstration to Mariah and Valentina of how the rivalry between the city government and the greater GCU extended beyond just the grudge between Mayor Treadwell and the duo of Walker and Callahan.

“Hey!” Waller shouted, power-walking over to the scuffle. Residents of the district watched quietly and nervously as the tensions simmered. “What the f--- do you wannabe bada---s think you are doing to my crew?” The question was directed at those city guards. Waller got right up in front of a couple of the city guards’ faces, looking like he was spoiling for a fight himself.

“What a surprise, Mr. Big D--- is interfering with city affairs again,” one of them said, stepping out to ‘greet’ Waller. His distinctive uniform compared to the rest of the city guard already made it clear that he was at least the leader this outfit, and the badge signifying ‘Captain’ evidenced that he oversaw the entire law enforcement arm of New Tallahassee. Their confrontation prompted the GCU and city parties to stop their own altercation and focus on the two leaders. “Always with the tough guy act, desperately trying to compensate for his tiny p----.”

“Gibson, you’re lucky I don’t rip your Godd--- face off,” Waller growled. “You can’t keep the order in your own city, so we have to do it for you.”

“And what a swimming job you are doing of it!” Gibson shot back, extending his arms and looking around to indicate he was referring to the recent events in New Tally. “You have always been so full of s---, Waller. We were doing just fine until you showed up acting like you owned the damn place.”

“In case you forgot, lowly city captain, I’m a Godd--- sergeant of the GCU military,” Waller said. While he was grumpy the whole night, he was really fired up now. “I don’t answer to you. Unlike you, I actually demonstrated some competence to get to where I am.”

“Yeah? Is that why the GCU can barely keep the peace within its borders?” Gibson retorted. “All these outside organizations running rampant in these lands and you want to talk competence? You mistake failing upward for being successful. You’re always escaping responsibility. Tell me, how many jockstraps did you have to sniff to get where you are now?” Mariah and Valentina were shocked at the language the two officials so brazenly leveled at each other in public. Gibson noticed the two of them standing there. “Great, did you brainwash more people into your little personality cult?”

“Isn’t it your daily ritual to go f--- yourself at this time?” Waller got right into Gibson’s face, ignoring his question. There was little room left to get closer. “Or was that hourly? Probably the latter since you’re never doing your job.”

“You’re all flash and talk, little man.” Gibson was not referring to Waller’s height—both were around six feet and two inches tall. Neither man was intimidated by the other. “All words because you have nothing else noteworthy about you. And when you inevitably fail again, who is going to take the fall for you this time? Hmm? These two lovely women here?” Gibson pointed to Mariah and Valentina. They were still standing there with their mouths open, dumbfounded at what was transpiring in front of them. “I’m sorry you have to see this, ladies. Your commanding officer here is a snake, so you better watch yourselves for when he turns to bite you instead. ‘Responsibility’ is not in his vocabulary.”

“You want some ‘fancy’ words, hotshot?!” Waller snapped. “How’s this? Your constant references to size are what is called ‘projection.’ You always felt the need to compare yourself to me.”

“Ha! Believe what you want, Waller. And your comebacks are as bad as your leadership capability. Now, why don’t you run back to that mutual brown-nosing fest of yours at the GCU station? We have jobs to do.”

“Already did my job here, Gibby. Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you don’t like that nickname,” Waller said sarcastically.

“Case in point about your comebacks,” Gibson said, though his face betrayed the fact that ‘Gibby’ really did bother him as a nickname. “Actually, that’s the one thing that is worse than your ability to lead. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some work to take care of.”

“Work that I’m sure we will have to take care of for you later,” Waller replied. They were already walking away from each other with their respective squads in tow, but they still faced each other to trade some more verbal blows.

“Your work is too hard for you, so you try to claim credit for that of other people. So pathetic. Until next time, Waller.” Gibson said, ending their exchange. He and Waller flipped each other two middle fingers and finally went their separate ways.

Mariah and Valentina had no words, only able to look at each other with their mouth opens as if to ask each other if that really did just happen. Even if they did have something to say, Waller’s temper at the moment made them very reluctant to do so. The entire squad walked in silence toward the main gate into the district. It was amazing that the confrontation did not turn into an all-out brawl.

When they were back in the main part of the city, Waller finally spoke up again, first toward the other GCU soldiers. “See you in the morning, people. Go about your regularly scheduled duties.” Now it was time for him to address the other three. “Mariah and Valentina, come in tomorrow morning so we can go over the next plan of action with you and prepare for the meeting with Langston in the afternoon. Things are going to start moving very quickly. Commander Callahan, come with me to the station so we can look over what Langston just gave us.”

“Yes, sir.” Callahan replied. He had been quiet for almost the whole night. “Have a good night, ladies.”

“You too,” they muttered back and departed in the other direction.

As they walked toward the room they were given to stay in during their time in New Tallahassee, Mariah and Valentina were initially quiet. What could you really say after that incident? It took a minute before Mariah was the one to break the ice. “Well, that was . . . something.”

“Yeah,” Valentina said, relieved that Mariah was the first to say something. “Things are worse here than we thought. I’m really worried, Mariah. We have at least three outside organizations to deal with in this region, but it feels like we are on the verge of destroying ourselves. How are we supposed to defeat the New State of Florida, or the Old Guard, or the Enclave, or even resolve the ghoul situation if the GCU and the city government are openly at each other’s throats?”

“We’ll figure it out, Val,” Mariah assured her, though even she had trouble believing her own words. “We have to.”

“You know, I’m really glad I did not have to come here on my own. This already feels overwhelming. I just hope that Dr. Langston knows what he is doing. This New State of Florida appears to have far more resources at its disposal than the Brotherhood or the Dissidents could have ever hoped to have.”

“But they haven’t faced the dynamic duo of Mariah and Valentina before!” Mariah said, lightly and playfully punching Valentina’s right arm.

“Heh. I guess you’re right.” Valentina chuckled, flashing her pretty smile. They gave each other a side hug. “Come on. It’s time to go get some shut-eye. I imagine we have a big day ahead of us.”

***End of Chapter***