ahalpuh app

Player Info
Name: kristi
18 or Older?: yes
Contact: fracture_minded or journal pm
Player Type: new
Invited By: n/a


Character Info
Name: Joshua Graham
Canon: Fallout: New Vegas
Canon Point: After the destruction of New Canaan, just before Honest Hearts begins.
Age: 53
History: Link for a full history. For a brief timeline:

2228: Joshua Graham born in New Canaan.
2245: Joshua begins his venture as a missionary. Spends time with the Dead Horses, among other tribes.
2246: Joshua meets and begins to travel with Edward Sallow and Bill Calhoun, serving as translator.
2247: Caesar's Legion founded.
2277: Failure at the First Battle of Hoover Dam. Joshua is stripped of his title, set aflame, and pitched into the Grand Canyon. Over a period of three months, makes his way to New Canaan, where he is welcomed with open arms.
2278: Rumors of The Burned Man reach the Mojave.
2281: New Canaan is destroyed. Joshua and Daniel travel to Zion Canyon, where they live with the Dead Horses and Sorrows.

Personality: Born and raised in New Canaan (formerly Ogden, UT), Joshua was trained as a Mormon missionary. Though encouraged to work with others and always to some extent willing to cooperate, he could never quite join in with them or be at ease in company. As he grew older, his aloofness intensified, and he came to seem and be severe, intensely driven, and unpredictable.

Much of Joshua has been shaped by his experiences with Caesar’s Legion, which he co-founded not too long after leaving New Canaan for the first time. As the Malpais Legate, second-in-command of the Legion, Joshua nourished many of his worst tendencies, becoming increasingly callous, cruel, and prideful, all the while unaware that he was doing anything other than what was necessary, even admirable. He was the driving force behind many of the Legion’s atrocities, mercilessly demolishing those who resisted and subjecting many to such bloody ends as crucifixion. It wasn’t until Caesar ordered Joshua’s execution – being set on fire and thrown into the Grand Canyon – that Joshua began to see what he had become (it was also at this time that he saw how deeply he’d been deceived by Caesar). On the journey from the Grand Canyon to New Canaan, Joshua spent much of his time considering and lamenting what he had done, trying to discern how he could make amends, trying to discern why he had been spared and what he might become. Once taken in once more by the people of New Canaan, Joshua put his efforts toward serving as part of the community. And once Caesar’s agents destroyed New Canaan, Joshua vowed to protect its remaining people… And to exact revenge.

Joshua is ashamed of his past and considers himself guilty, though not beyond hope; he believes that everyone is destined to falter often, but that there is always another chance for those willing to try. He regrets – mourns, really – the destruction of New Canaan and his own role in drawing Caesar’s attention to the settlement. The knowledge of this role sits with him just as heavily as his deeds with the Legion. He wants deeply for New Canaan to be restored and its people healed; he knows just as deeply that this is unlikely to happen, that healing is never easy, and that many New Canaanites no longer draw breath. He’ll speak of his own sins, typically presenting himself as a cautionary tale to others. Doing this is a way of finding use for his misdeeds and a way of atoning, a way to keep himself from forgetting what he has been, what he must be wary of. That said, retelling his story doesn’t entirely keep Joshua from falling into old patterns of behavior. It doesn’t stop him from thinking of slaughter as righteous retribution. And the fervor for destruction still lurks close beneath his surface, ready to be sparked when there’s cause for revenge.

Though Joshua doesn’t crave leadership, he has a history of falling into positions of command (Legate with the Legion, war chief with the Dead Horses). His self-assurance draws people to believing in and following him. And as second-in-command of the Legion, his capacity for atrocities didn’t hurt. Once drawn into leadership, Joshua feels a strong sense of responsibility for the people depending on him or/and following his orders. He doesn’t always know how to take care of them (in fact, he rarely knows) and he isn’t especially skilled at speaking directly with them, but he does want to improve their lot in life. In leadership positions or otherwise, he does truly believe that he can be of aid to people, that in part it is his mission to help as best he can. This drive to aid can become harmful when he becomes close-minded about it, refusing or failing to see the actual needs to the people he’s helping. When he sees his own cause – whether the work of the Mormon church or of Caesar’s Legion – as the most commendable or necessary way of living. This is mostly not a problem now. Mostly, he has moved away from such actions. But the roots are still twined in him somewhere, and they might well grow again.

Even when in a position of command, Joshua isn’t skilled at following protocol or rules, and tends to follow his own inclinations and craft strategies on the fly. This unpredictability can be a substantial asset – particularly when he’s acting alone – helping him outwit and outflank opponents. It can become more of a problem when he’s leading others, and becomes particularly dangerous when combined with his flair for losing sight of the bigger picture. And Joshua is indeed skilled at both losing sight of that picture and viewing that picture only from one very particular angle (i.e. thinking ‘this vengeance is the Lord’s work’ instead of ‘this vengeance is going to destroy a whole lot of people’ or/and ‘this vengeance carries no real or discernable value’ or/and ‘this vengeance is an excuse to enact violence’). So he’ll care more about winning an immediate engagement than examining the scope of a war, for instance. So he’ll decide that slaughter is a better option than negotiating with a difficult enemy, or anyone he carries a grudge against.

So far as grudges go, Joshua doesn’t forgive and forget easily, though he tries, though he understands that forgiveness is ideal. He can pretend to have brushed over old wounds, he can pretend not to be furious with others, and sometimes he can fool himself into believing he’s forgiven. But the irritation, the ire often remains, ready for an excuse to flare again. He’s tenacious when it comes to holding to his convictions, as well, even if they’ve proven to be lacking or misguided. That said, he only forms grudges after being sharply wounded. When dealing with strangers, he's often willing to offer preliminary trust, though it comes with wariness and a readiness to injure, to kill if need be. He's spent enough time around dangerous people, people with intent to kill, to detect when ill intentions are afoot. Of course he can't catch everything, but he is remarkably vigilant and hard to surprise.

In some ways, Joshua thrives on physical conflict. It’s what he became familiar with as a member of the Legion, what he lived for 30 years. Joshua feels at his best when patrolling for opponents, when jumping into battle and creating a plan as he goes along rather than following some string of orders. He prefers reacting to what happens, prefers remaining open to changes that might secure a victory. And he doesn’t particularly like to be burdened by others. He’ll care for them, yes, but doesn’t want to be forced to include them in his calculations. He learned to better account for others and the need for clear communication/coordination as the Malpais Legate, but his preference is still to attack alone, unhindered. Working alone also allows Joshua to attack on impulse. And when he sees the chance for action, Joshua rarely hesitates. Even if it means acting without fully thinking through the possible consequences. Even if it means unnecessarily risking his own life. That said, Joshua also has a facility for placing himself in the middle of dangerous situations and remaining unharmed, or at least unscathed enough to walk away. He seems to ask for attacks, to draw fire from his opponents and at once evade whatever they sling his way. During his time as the Malpais Legate, this facility led to suppositions that he was invincible, an incessant nightmare of a figure. These suppositions found further flowering in the myth of The Burned Man, which grew once whispers of Joshua’s survival (that is, that he survived the Grand Canyon) reached the Mojave.

He keeps few possessions – rarely more than he could travel with at a moment’s notice – and takes particular care of the stock of guns in his charge. Each receives the same near-obsessive attention and maintenance as his own gun, a .45 automatic pistol called A Light Shining in Darkness (which he'll be sorely sorry to lose). His prepossession with the guns is partly tied to a general belief that useful objects ought not to be wasted, partly to the scarcity of objects in the Wasteland, partly to the fact that the guns are associated with New Canaan, partly to his interest in protection and attack.

A few final notes: Joshua has no talent for lying, and doesn’t see the point in it. Especially after being consigned to the canyon, he expects dishonesty in others and partly plans for it, but he retains his bullheaded honesty. On another note, Joshua probably wouldn’t admit it (not to most people), but he’s got a deep streak of vanity, particularly regarding his prowess as a fighter and his personal appearance. Though Joshua’s drive for vengeance is less overwhelming than it once once, it can still flare with destructive power. And finally, Joshua is very, very good at excusing some of his more questionable behavior as ‘doing the Lord’s work.’

Sample: at the TDM with Courier 6 aka Sibyll.

Monster Choices: Dragon; I’d like to use my freebie, thanks!