ooc; application

[warfodder]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Nux
Canon: Mad Max: Fury Road
Canon Point: post-movie

Current Health/Status: dead (resurrected)
Age: 18 (or thereabouts)
Species: human

Content Warnings: wasting illness, abuse, religious fanaticism, suicidal ideation, slavery, violence

History: Nux's wikia link and canon info link (and a spare link about his beloved car)

Watch on YouTube

Personality:
Taken young from his parents, he was raised in the manner of all children that Immortan Joe judged as having potential. Trained on mechanics and groomed into the Cult of the V8 (an automobile and engine based Wasteland religion), Nux grew up warlike and fanatically loyal both to his religion and to the man who took him in. He came to regard Immortan Joe at times as a surrogate father figure, and at all times as the godhead of the V8. Immoratan Joe's word is divine law, and Nux would mindlessly follow his every order. For all but the very end of his life, Nux's entire purpose was to be a useful mechanic, a fearless driver, and to die a "historic" death in a sacrifice blessed by Immortan Joe and dedicated to the V8. He did not (or could not) think a single thought outside of what the Cult of the V8 had taught him and is driven by impulse, desperation, and absolute religious devotion.

Nux's mentality is initially of that of a child's; easily influenced and assuming that the Cult has is best interest at heart. They are his family--his tribe--and without it, he would never have survived as long as he has. While they took care of him, he never had any motivation to question their authority. With time away from Immortan Joe and the War Boys, however, Nux's personality quickly matures. Not every lesson had to be learned the violent way. There were other ways to value things (and people!) than what the Cult had taught him. Caring for one another is not a weakness and is also a method for survival. Nux never had the opportunity to learn any other way of life, but when he does, he takes to it enthusiastically. He pours just as much chaotic energy into the plight of Furiosa and the Wives as he ever had as a War Boy. Rejected by his family and his god, he takes up the torch for this new mission. He devotes himself fully to those who treated him with kindness for the very first time in his life.

And what emerges is innocence. He loves Capable, one of the Wives who is the first to listen to him and to give him a chance to change. With her encouragement, he accepts the search for The Green Place with wide eyes. He learns compassion, having never personally experienced it until then. He watches the others in his new party, taking queues from them on how to respond, eager to fit in with this new, gentler way. He wants to have hope, wants to believe that change is possible. And that there may be a place for him after death after all.

He is called "nux" because he is a "tough nut to crack." Once he sets a goal, there is no turning him from that course. He'll stop at nothing in order to succeed, often at his own peril. When he was only a toddler, the child who would be called "Nux" grabbed hold of the lift leading into the main tower of the Citadel. He held onto the edge of the platform as it raised higher and higher, and even though his grip started to slip, he laughed the whole way and clung with a determination that impressed even the adults watching. It was a game (a survival game), and Nux knew he had to win. Years later, even with rapidly declining health, when Furiosa defected from Immortan Joe and the war party was sent after her, Nux fought his lancer Slit for control of Nux's wheel. There was no way he was being left behind to "die soft." He'd go out fighting, even if that meant taking his blood bag (Max) with him to keep receiving his life-saving transfusion while on the chase. He'd decided that this was how he was going to die, and nothing as mundane as cancer was going to have any say about that.

Nux is "a loving heart swept into idolitry", barely given a chance at the end of his life to redeem himself. He's struggling to deprogram himself from the Cult that was his entire life, but he's throwing himself enthusiastically into turning his devotion to something more worthwhile, something that aligns more with the gentle feelings developing in his failing heart.


Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
++ Nux has been trained from a very young age to work on machines, particularly vehicles. Those with this skill are called "black thumb" and "rev-head" in the Citadel's society. Nux has the enough knowledge and focus to be able skilled work even on moving vehicles in dangerous situations.
++ War Boys are conditioned to have a high pain tolerance. This allows them to keep fighting long after a normal man might be crippled or become unconscious due to injury or sickness. This is combined with an almost beserker strength and stamina, produced by ignoring the body's own warning signs. Usually this "beserker" mode is in short bursts, but it can last as long as his adrenaline is up.
- - The ability to ignore pain above and beyond his body's limits is also a weakness because there is the definite possibility that he'll push himself too far and ruin his body beyond recovery.
- - All War Boys (and most residents of the Citadel) suffer from a variety of wasting illness produced by the poor living conditions, limited sustenance, and extreme climate/weather. Nux suffers from some sort of blood poisoning, malignant tumorous lymph nodes "Larry and Barry", and regularly suffers night fevers. He counters this through blood transfusions and by blood doping, but this clearly not a long-term solution. War Boys have a very short life expectancy, and Nux is nearing the end of his.

Inventory:
--his wheel
--clothing: leather pants, leather driving gloves, cloth wrapped around his wrist, pair of boots (mismatched)
--shawl (from Capable)
--Max's leather jacket
--blood bag rig (muzzle, chain, shackle, tube, needles) with replacement tubes/needles
--mechanic's toolkit

Writing Samples:
--May TDM top-level
--thread #1, thread #2

Additional Information: