Location Name: The Garden (New Jersey)

Reasoning: As a resident of NJ I'm a bit biased in regards to my appreciation for my home state. Quite often it's overlooked in modern media as New York light, or stereotyped as being completely industrialized like Newark or Hoboken. To the contrary, I don't believe there's a state more polarizing in its' own inner-state culture w/i the Union. For example, most would know that NJ remained a part of the Union during the US Civil War, but did you know that the NJ state legislature actually presented a vote on whether or not to join the confederacy? Ultimately one deciding vote was the difference in preserving the states status as federal, and possibly saving what industry, population, and resources it possessed. Almost immediately after completing their vote another vote was held that made NJ the first state to apologize for slavery. In addition, NJ is home to some of the most well known heroes of modern American history. Jim Braddock, a former heavyweight boxing champion during the Great Depression, who himself believed he was finished as a prize fighter, defied odds and helped encourage Americans never to given into defeat. John Basilone, a Marine who was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in defeating an entire Japanese regiment single handily at the Battle of Guadalcanol, was born in Raritan, NJ. Both of these heroes predate the end of WW2, upon which the Fallout timeline diverges from our own which would mean their stories and evidence of our culture would certainly be welcome in a story in your universe.

In the present day boundaries can still be found based on what section of NJ you happen to be from. The most common line of demarcation comes in the form of the North/South Jersey debate. I myself am a hybrid of the two having been born in the industrialized North, and raised in the more spacious, forest filled, and small community driven South. The boundaries vary depending on who you ask, but most go by a town in the exact center of the state known as New Egypt. From there you can get a basic idea of a person's food preferences, word pronunciation, hobbies, and political affiliation. There isn't even a standard athletic team that you can pinpoint from one resident to the next. This characteristic in particular I feel draws one of the most important factors of a Fallout game. The very fabric that populates the world of the not so bright future, varying groups.

As someone who grew up on the NJ coast I identify my home by a parkway exit. Anyone else who grew up by the beach can tell you exactly what town you are from just by mentioning such a number. Once you venture west of the coast you arrive in the area that is responsible for our state's nickname, The Pine Barrens. Better known as the home of the Jersey Devil, The Pine Barrens make up almost a third of the state, and exist as a nature preserve. Better well known as the home of the Jersey Devil. If you were blindfolded and parachuted into the middle of the Pine Barrens you wouldn't know the difference b/t it and Kentucky. It's such a stark contrast from anything that someone would normally think about our state. Once you drive through the woods you enter the western part of the state you enter the many cities that line the Delaware. Most in this area identify w/ Philly folk, and congregate generally as one community w/ our Pennsylvania neighbors. Further North is the more contemporary idea of NJ, Hudson and Bergen counties that hold w/i them some of the oldest and most well known cities of our great state.

Story:

The name of The Garden derives from two parts. First, in the Fallout universe there are no longer 50 states. As you know, instead the 50 states are reorganized into 13 districts, New England for example being reorganized into the Commonwealth. Once it was no longer a state, it's inhabitants took to calling it The Garden. As NJ has not been classified as being part of either the Commonwealth or the Capital Wasteland in current lore, clarification would be required to determine what district it was a part of. Also, it is possible that there were no Vault-Tec projects initiated w/i the state, but that's not to say that Pip boys would be completely absent from such an area. Personal computers would certainly be something that were available across the country, and would last the test of time as proven by past iterations of the Fallout series, and their nuclear batteries.

The main character begins life in a small community at the south eastern end of NJ named Cape May. Cape May is the first vacation spot created in US history. The Garden itself was largely unaffected initially by the nuclear bombardment due to it's lack of population centers like in CA, NY, and DC. Despite this the area would still have continued to deteriorate over two centuries due to lack of supply shipments, which the ports of NJ rely upon, the nuclear radiation from NY and DC moving up and down the East Coast, and the loss of civil services. Police, utilities, food, etc.

While tending to his/her family it is discovered upon returning to town that it has been completely razed to the ground, save for the few villagers who were fortunate enough to be out hunting w/ the protagonist. W/ his family murdered, home destroyed, and the murderers in the wind the stage is set for the clean slate that is afforded every main character in fallout. Before setting out to seek revenge and understanding an older resident of the now destroyed Cape May provides two items. The first, a family heirloom, a pip boy 5000. Normally handed down from generation to generation, the intended heirs murdered in the raid. The second item is a Vault-Tec handbook created and disbursed to the general public as a way to prepare for post apocalyptic life in the event of M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction.)

Once educated in it's use and the dangers of the Wasteland they have never explored the many locales and cultures will be explored. From the industrious North, the beautiful barrier islands on the East coast, the remains of the McGuire-Dix Joint military base created at the outset of WW2, the Pine Barrens, and even a Hasidic community to name a few. (Lakewood, NJ is actually home to one of two large Orthodox Jewish communities in the US. The other being located in NYC.

Due to the nature of belief and community I felt that they would be an interesting inclusion to the story given that their ways have hardly changed since the religions creation, and they more than likely would preserve their way of live even if a nuclear bomb was dropped nearby. Considering there isn't a large Mormon presence as shown to be the origins of the Followers of the Apocalypse this could be an interesting contrast in faith, Outlook, and survival methods as opposed to other groups.

Playing the games and exploring the worlds that you have built helped me stay sane during my college and entry level work years so it would be amazing to contribute in some way to such a universe, but I understand if you receive lots of requests or submissions such as these. If you have any additional feedback please let me know. Otherwise i hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed finally getting a chance to write it.

Happy Easter!