Mod:Fallout: The Frontier/America

America is a member of the Crusaders, and possible companion found at the RobCo Tower.

Background
America was born with a rare condition called congenital analgesia (inability to feel physical pain). Her parents tried to keep her condition a secret. She raised in the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel, living in Bunker Zeta with her parents until her early teens. She knew an elderly lady named Lylee who'd give her sweet rolls.

When she was 15, she was doing scribe work when she accidentally dropped an engine block on her hand and didn't yelp. Other people around her were disturbed. America was considered a mutant by the Brotherhood for her condition. She was kicked out of the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel and abandoned by her parents on a task to retrieve a satellite; although she cried for her mother, she wouldn't turn around to look at her.

After being abandoned, America made her way across the Dustbowl before being found by Mollie Callaghan and subsequently joined the Crusaders of Steel. America felt it was almost like a sign, finding another Asian girl with red hair.

During her time with the Crusaders, America became a Sopher but later quit the role.

Personality
America is a unique and sensitive young woman who has lived a tough life and has been through much emotional pain, and she suffers from abandonment issues, particularly regarding her parents who dumped her out of their lives. However, she has resolved that she does not want to see them again. Unlike many of the other wastelanders who are valiant and confident in their roles in their factions, America is trying to carve a place not only within the Crusaders, but her entire life and existence. This makes her somewhat similar to Veronica Santangelo who was questioning her role to the Brotherhood of Steel; though unlike Veronica, America was actually rejected and banned by the group. Her ability to have a valuable role as an asset to the Crusaders is also one of her sore spots. She does not display an interest in their religion, but there are implications she is only really with the Crusaders because she has nowhere else to go, and the organization has welcomed her into their care.

She is also shown to have a quirky sense of humor and may be interpreted as being on the autistic spectrum or having stunted emotional development. An example of this is her attachment to her doll Lylee which acts as her comfort object. She displays a level of innocence compared to other wastelanders.



Despite her self-conscious attitude and generally low self-esteem, America is compassionate and kind, and she shows a deep respect for people who try to help her, such as Mollie who she views like an older sister. She is also a brave fighter and a valuable asset to the Courier, not letting her fears overwhelm her. Some of her battle quotes show she carries a lot of pent-up internal anger as well, suggesting she finds the wasteland a thrill and adventure, as opposed to being cooped up at the Robco Tower.

Quests

 * There's a Power Greater than Atomic!: Upon completion, America will approach the player and break down crying, initiating the quest God Bless America. After talking to Mollie Callaghan and following her to see what is wrong with America, America will become the players companion and the quest Forging the Sword of Laban will be initiated.
 * God Bless America: This is America's personal quest. Visiting The Green Fairy, Parkers Resturant, Junkflea, Goose Hollow School, The Wasted Angel - Rudy's Autos & Parts, The White Rabbit Hole, Elm's Tailors, Federal Survival Shelter, and The Menagerie will help complete this quest.
 * Forging the Sword of Laban: Mollie tasks the player with finding a means to print the blueprints with America, who provides hints for completing the quest.
 * Forging the Sword of Laban II: America will suggest the location to test the Jericho Fusion Cannon.
 * I Don't Want to set the World on Fire: During this quest the player has the opportunity to save America from the fire.
 * Breaking the Cycle: America will comment on the NCR when convincing Tasha Weaver to make peace with the NCR.

Other Interactions

 * America will make comments on many of the locations across the Frontier.
 * If the player encounters Wrench after recruiting America, America will take an immediate distrust to the woman due to her Enclave uniform, and will try to convince the Courier that Wrench deserves punishment.
 * The player is advised not to give America "inappropriate" clothing, such as prostitute outfits. Doing so will give her a bad reaction, calling it "gross".
 * Hector Clements may pass by her and be displeased that she has modified the appearance of her gun; she asks him why he can mod his lightsword but she can't "coolify" her gun. He claims unsanctioned weapon modifications may end up killing her. She replies Mollie gave her gun a pass. Clements says any malfunctions with her gun are her responsibility, to which she replies, "Totally, Grandpa Clements."
 * If America ends up dying in the fire, the Courier can tell Mollie and she will be especially shocked and saddened. One possible thing Mollie may say is, "A kid died, you sick fuck!" Other Crusaders such as Clements and Weaver apparently can not be informed of America's death, however.

Notable quotes

 * "Oh, I'm America. You could say I started being a Sopher, but it was boring science crap, so now I'm just kinda here... trying to find my path, heh."
 * "So, should I aim for the head or the nuts?" (ask to use ranged)
 * "Dude! Like I'm gonna win a fistfight with a deathclaw, or anybody for that matter." (ask to use melee)
 * "Oh, gross! I think I just stepped in-- wait, nope, false alarm." (inside The White Rabbit Hole)
 * "Holy shit, that is so gross! I'm gonna be sick." (seeing the hanged, bound and stabbed corpse of a female ghoul)
 * "Let's stay away from that old hospital. Places like that give me the creeps."
 * "Oh, great... now we're in the creepy ass hospital. Thanks for the full tank of nightmare fuel."
 * "No... I-I don't want to ever see them again. They left me to die! Their love of the stupid Codex was greater than their love for me..." (regarding her parents)
 * "I wonder why they call it the Frontier. I think New Iceland is a much better name."
 * "Great, another shithole covered in dust and mold. Why can't we ever stumble across a room full of chocolate bars?"
 * "Let me tell you my worst nightmare: Diarrhea and power armor. I saw it once back in the Midwest bunker and never forgot."
 * "Supposedly, my mom's ancestors came from somewhere in Asia called Korea. I wonder what it's like there; if they're still living in wastes like us."
 * "Someone actually did it with Charlene. Mind blown..."
 * ''"Great, freezing cold water up to my butt crack! Because I so wanted hypothermia today. God damn it!"

Behind the scenes

 * A common misconception is that America is underage (under 18). However, she was always at least 18 in all stages of development. Originally, she was said to be 18 years old in a memo called "Happy birthday" from Mollie found in her inventory. This was later changed to 21 in an attempt to get away from this misconception.
 * Despite this, "I met this teen" still appears while talking to Mollie, America still says, "badass teenage mode activated" in battle, and the mission UI still says "recruit the teenager" and "restore the teenager's confidence". These are oversights which will likely be fixed in the rework.
 * America once joked briefly, "I'm dreading taking off my boots tonight after the running around we've been doing. Whew, my feet will probably put rotting fish to shame." This became a meme of sorts, with accusations of it being a call out to foot fetishists. One of the developers denied this, saying the line's intent was blown out of proportion, that it was only meant to be a goofy humorous line, and joked that people who thought it was a call out are probably foot fetishists themselves. Traveling with America quickly reveals she is a comic relief character who says goofy things.
 * America could originally be enslaved to the Courier with a collar who could call her a "little slave girl" and she could call the Courier "master". This was one of the mod's main controversies, though she was never said to be a "sex slave" which is a misconception, only that she would be willing to do anything to satisfy the Courier. America is distraught about the idea, but agrees to it because she doesn't want to be alone anymore. This action would turn every Crusader hostile and also result in losing karma. The action could also be done by female Couriers, so it could be interpreted about a woman enslaving another woman. The developers wanted to show America's unhealthy and desperate need for affection, a real tendency among those who suffer from loss.
 * The intention behind this idea was an attempt to satisfy the players who wanted to have evil and immoral actions, as a common criticism of Fallout 4 and 76 was the inability to perform a lot of evil choices. Slavery has been a common theme in the Fallout series, and The Frontier explores the idea with Lot Lyndon and the Unsafe Harbor questline. Players were divided by America's enslavement; some viewed it as a bold move as they felt being able to do horrible and evil things to others is a core concept of Fallout. Others felt she should have not been able to become the Courier's slave in the first place. The team apologized and removed it after complaints. There were also players who felt it did not cross a line (Clover was also a slave companion in Fallout 3), but the real issue for them was that its execution felt sloppy, feeling the writing and dialogue felt hamfisted and overly simplistic, and that America's enslavement wasn't explored enough for it to feel meaningful within the story.
 * Phobos commented it was primarily there for Legion roleplayers: "You're never supposed to pick that option cause it instantly makes every crusader in Portland hostile. It's there for legion characters because they have the fewest companion options."
 * Another intention was an attempt to deconstruct the "Speech checks almost always leading to good results" mentality, as an attempt to make the player consider what they're really doing. Throughout New Vegas, players are rewarded to perform speech checks, which have a tendency to reward XP, and some players have a tendency to auto-pilot and select Speech checks whenever they see them. The writer hoped that these auto-piloting players would trip up and have a "Wait, what have I done?!" reaction.
 * In New Vegas, the Courier had the ability to enslave a gay man (the companion Arcade Gannon to Caesar). Some Frontier fans view it as a double standard, joking about how it's okay to have the ability to be a jerk to men and enslave fictional men, but not fictional women. Both Arcade and America are repulsed by the idea, and in both cases, there are consequences (Arcade no longer being recruitable as a companion, and the karma loss for the Crusaders). While America is kept alive as a slave, Arcade eventually kills himself in suicide by disemboweling himself with a scalpel.
 * Nazenthedark assisted with America's initial concept, name, lack of pain, and ethnicity, while Odinsword did everything else, including her potential enslavement.
 * In Nazenthedark's original versions, America would be raised by a fanatical Brotherhood of Steel splinter cult, being desperate to feel anything, to the point of engaging in self-harm. However, these versions were dissuaded by Tgspy on account of being "too edgy."