Sally Boyle

Sally Boyle is an inhabitant of Wellington Wells and a playable character in We Happy Few.  
== History ==
=== Early life ===
Little is known about Sally’s past at first, except that she was a childhood friend of Arthur Hastings, a boy her age, and a neighbor of Ollie Starkey, a former soldier. As the game progresses more about her is uncovered, much of it unpleasant.
The oldest of three siblings, Sally had a strained relationship with her mother and would often clash with her. She went to live with the Hastings family after her mother poisoned her family with foxglove to prevent her children from being sent off to Germany. During this time she quickly became friends with Arthur Hastings and they would often sneak out together. It is implied that they were in love. She eventually ran away from Arthur's home because she was coerced into sex by Arthur's father (who would have thrown her out if she made a fuss about it or refused) when she was just sixteen years old, a decision she would later regret.
She later became the assistant and lover of Anton Verloc, the chemist who usurped Haworth in power and also contributed to the creation of Joy. During their relationship, Sally became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter she named Gwen. Fearing for Gwen’s safety, Sally kept her existence a secret and left Verloc despite his protests.
Sally went on to use her chemistry expertise to create her own establishment in Wellington Wells called “Sally's Interplanetary Travel Agency” with herself as the sole employee. Despite becoming Verloc’s main competition, Sally’s influential patron, General Byng, protected her from the authorities despite her non-conformist lifestyle. At one point, she gave Ollie a drug, Oblivion, to scramble his memory so he wouldn't remember what he had done to Margaret Worthing.
== Events of We Happy Few ==
=== Act One ===
Sally is encountered by Arthur in an alleyway in Maidenholm. She recognizes him instantly and is visibly excited to see him. She also notes that Arthur is off his Joy, but promises not to turn him in. Arthur mentions that seeing Percy brought him off his Joy, to her distress. She offers to get him a Letter of Transit so he can exit the city, and mentions that she's close with General Byng. This opens up an old wound that causes Arthur to lash out at her, but she tells him where to find her.
Later, Arthur approaches Sally in her home, and apologizes for being rude. He and Sally work out a deal to get him a Letter of Transit in exchange for cod liver oil. She ultimately kisses Arthur, causing him to run in fear, but he goes back in briefly to receive directions for the oil.
Later, Arthur brings Sally the cod liver oil, and is furious with her, as he feels that she sent him to get her a souvenir. He also brings up how Sally had sex with his father. Sally is heartbroken, but Arthur apologizes, saying that none of what happened was ever really her fault, and offers to take her out of Wellington Wells. She agrees, but says that they need to leave at dawn, causing Arthur to abandon her, saying that it's nothing personal.
=== Act Two ===
At the start of the game, we see Sally preparing a pill mixture called "Blackberry," a form of joy enjoyed by most of Wellington Wells' Constabulary, as well as various patrons on the black market, for her business "Sally's Interplanetary Travel Agency." A desperate regular customer named Spud Murphy breaks into Sally's lab looking for a fix, attacks Sally and damages most of the house, even making it to the top floor where he discovers Gwen, Sally's infant daughter. Sally manages to knock him out and rescue Gwen. The chemical mixtures in her lab were left unattended for too long and explode, catching her lab on fire and damaging important equipment needed for her business of selling drugs. Sally puts out the fire and finds out that she also has to replace all of Gwen's bottles of baby milk, as they were all smashed by the customer who broke in earlier looking for a dose of Blackberry.
This causes several compounded problems for Sally which create the basis of events in her main story quests. Her daughter needs food to survive and Sally needs to find some fast. However, at the same time that this is happening, the Bobbies of Wellington Wells are wanting their batch of Blackberry, which was ruined in the chemical fire. They detain her in an almost interrogation while making thinly veiled threats, making it clear they want their fix. Sally has to find a way to repair her destroyed machines, find enough of the right chemicals to make more Blackberry, and find a way to get a hold of enough tinned milk that she can feed her infant daughter, all without being caught, and before the Bobbies make good on their threats. She also has a chance encounter with Arthur for the first time in many years, which goes badly.
Sally then turns to the Weird Sisters (who know of Gwen) for help with creating the new batch of Blackberry. Instead of immediately giving it to her, they send her on "character-building" errands and quests, among them stopping a suicide cult from poisoning themselves just so an old Wastrel, Father Mackenzie, won't have to die alone. At last, they give her the ingredients list to complete the Blackberry, which requires her to gather a species of butterfly, which happens to reside in Ollie's Cathedral. Going there, Sally discovers it to be in ruins and is full of violently killed Headboys and several live Plague Wastrels. At last, with all of the ingredients needed, Sally creates the batch of Joy and doesn't have a moment to lose as a Bobby comes knocking and asks for the Joy, which Sally supplies him with, and takes her to the police station. There, Sally has a show put on for her in gratitude by several dancing Bobbies but is warned again not to be late the next time.
As she is leaving the police stations, Sally has a sort of feeling that tells her that something is wrong with Gwen. Rushing back home, Sally discovers that Gwen has developed a rash on her face and has a fever and runny nose, and Sally figures this out quickly to be measles. Needing cod liver oil to treat it, Sally first goes to Anton Verloc, communicating with him via a monitor, but Verloc angrily rejects Sally and orders her to be arrested by the Bobbies, though they don't comply. Sally then remembers Arthur and goes to see him, seeking help.
Sally asks Arthur for cod liver oil to treat Gwen for measles and in exchange, she'll give him a Letter of Transit to help him get out of the city, though instead of this going on at her house, it happens in the Garden District by a swing set. Though initially cold towards her, Arthur agrees to get her the oil, and she kisses him, causing him to run away. Sally goes to get the paper from General Byng, whom she is acquainted with on a first-name basis, and, after giving her the paper, reveals that he knows of her baby daughter. He offers to take Gwen out of the city, but won't let Sally go with her, as he needs her help, causing Sally to angrily reject him.
Upon returning to the swings, Arthur is angered because he feels as if Sally sent him on a quest to get a souvenir. As before in Act One, he brings up the fact that she slept with his father, and Sally sadly gives him the Letter of Transit in exchange for the oil. He sadly apologizes and begins to leave, but Sally offers to go with him. He is initially willing to at first but decides to leave without her when she says that they'll have to leave at dawn. She calls out to him that she has a baby, causing him to stop briefly, but it seems to be the final straw for him, and he leaves, saying it's nothing personal.
Eventually, Sally breaks into General Byng's safe house to steal his boat key so she can escape from Wellington Wells, but is knocked out by a sleeping dart. When she comes to, she discovers that Byng has abducted her and locked her away in the safe house, planning to keep her there until things in Wellington Wells get back under control. Sally fights back against him and escapes, locking him in his bunker.
Sally heads back home to Gwen to discover that a Joy Doctor has broken in, and upon learning of Gwen's existence, Sally knocks him out. Due to the discovery of Gwen, Sally hastily packs up her things, hides Gwen in a bag, and makes her way to General Byng's hidden boat. From there, she tells Gwen that things are going to get better and that they'll be the "Two Musketeers."
=== Epilogue ===
Sally and Gwen are briefly seen again during Constable Peters' monologue.
== Appearance ==
Sally Boyle is a short, slim woman with dark brown hair and gray eyes. She is most commonly seen wearing an unusually stylish latex horse jockey outfit including the helmet and gloves, making her mask appropriately fashionable. When she is wearing the ripped suit or handling Gwen, her gloves are gone.
== Personality ==
Sally is a complex character. She is a smart, cunning, and resourceful young woman who's not afraid of seducing men in order to obtain what she needs. According to Arthur, Sally “always had a knack for making useful new friends." General Byng complements Sally on her skill at deception, calling her “a good liar [...] who can lie with the truth." This trait causes quite a few people, especially women, to see Sally as nothing more than a selfish and deceitful “witch” who cares for nobody but herself.
However, Sally in truth deeply loves her baby daughter Gwen and goes to great lengths to protect her and keep her existence a secret from the rest of Wellington Wells. Her love for her daughter acts as the main motivation behind most of Sally’s actions throughout the game, from risking her life numerous times to her eventual escaping Wellington Wells with Gwen.
Additionally, when she discovers a suicide cult in the Garden District, she voices her horror and disgust numerous times and is more than willing to kill their leader, all the while referring to him as a “sick, dying bastard” and “just a swindler who convinced himself."
== Relationships ==
=== Arthur Hastings (Childhood crush and friend) ===
Arthur was Sally's childhood friend, as they began to spend more time together, they eventually developed a shared crush for each other. The Hastings took Sally in to live with them after her mother poisoned the rest of the family, though she later ran away from them after Arthur found out she and his father had been sleeping with each other.
Years later they find each other again, and while everything is fine at first, Arthur remembers what had happened and grows cold towards her, though he still helps her out.
In both of their cutscenes with each other, Arthur abandons Sally to leave Wellington Wells on his own, as he doesn't have the time to wait around for anything anymore. When Sally reveals to Arthur she has a baby the game leaves his response deliberately ambiguous: from Sally's point of view, she told him about the baby, he paused, then left without a word, whereas from Arthur's view she never said anything about the baby- just that she wanted to come with him, but he would have to wait until morning.
As the phrase 'drugs were involved' is more or less the working slogan of We Happy Few, this leaves the player to wonder whose memory to trust- did Arthur not hear or properly understand her because of the drugs, adrenaline, and doctors on his heels? did Arthur hear her well enough but repress the information so he wouldn't remember abandoning her at that moment? did Sally even actually say the part about the baby out loud or loud enough to be heard, or did she just mean to/think she did? Who knows? It's up for the player's interpretation.
===Gwen Boyle (Daughter)===
Gwen is the infant daughter of Sally and Anton, though Anton doesn't know of her existence. Sally deeply cares about Gwen and does anything and everything to ensure her safety.
If the player were to ignore to take care of Gwen, it will take a toll on Sally's mental health and she will do poorly at everything. If the player takes care of Gwen, Sally will get a status effect that gives her extra strength in all kinds of actions.
===Ollie Starkey===
Not much is known about their relationship, Ollie mentions that she and Arthur used to play at his house when they were younger. It's also heavily implied that she was the one behind Ollie's scrambled memories, as he begged her for something that would get rid of him remembering his past mistakes. This resulted in him consuming an Oblivion pill and going mad.
===Mrs. Boyle===
Through memories, it's revealed that Sally and her mother did not have the best of relationships, Mrs. Boyle would find anything to judge or shame her for. Most of their interactions regarded Sally's relationship with other boys or girls, at one point, Mrs. Boyle tells Sally she will never be a mother.
Sometimes Sally will talk to herself, one of the things she asks herself is why her mother let her live. To save or punish her, it's not elaborated on.
===Robert Byng===
After Sally left Anton and made a business of her own, Robert became one of her patrons, as a result of that he began to protect her from Anton's advances. The two are very close to each other.
After Robert finds out about Gwen, he tells her he's able to spare the baby, but not Sally, this is what leads to their relationship falling apart.
===Anton Verloc===
Anton picked Sally up when she was The Apothecary|local Chemist shop girl, working for Stewart Adams. They worked alongside each other since then, Sally knew parts of Anton's "Permanent Solution".
After some time, Sally manages to synthesize Strawberry Joy. When she left Anton, the staff hid away her personal notes from him. They have since become rivals of one another, though it's clear that Anton still desperately wants her back at the lab, as he needs her to finalize his plans.
===The Weird Sisters===
At a young age, Sally would go to the weird sisters whenever she was troubled, they encouraged her to stay the way she was and to hold on to her chemistry skills. They were also there for her when she was pregnant, helping her prepare for Gwen's arrival.
===Edmund MacMillan===
Not much is known regarding Sally's and Edmund's relationship, though it can be assumed they became friends when she and Arthur began spending more time together. Eddie says that Sally is good and that he can trust her.
=== Helen Faraday ===
Not much is known about their relationship, but it is clear that they know each other. Some people are surprised to hear she even knows Faraday. When the player retrieves the Unicorn Song for Helen, she calls Sally a clever lass.
=== Nick Lightbearer ===
Nick Lightbearer is one of Sally's clients, listed to be given "Sally Special's" on her clientele list. Sally mentions how he made her listen to his songs many many times, she even has a keycard for her to use to get into Nick Lightbearer's Fab Pad|Nick's Pad, this is so that she can come to drop the special pills at his house while he's passed out - as he usually is.
The player can find Nick's Diary at his home, in it he states that Sally is a fucking genius and that he could kiss her. He, like many other civilians, wonders why she doesn't make house calls anymore.
== Abilities ==
Sally’s main trait is her expertise in chemistry and herbalism which she uses to create various drugs and chemicals. Her creation Blackberry Joy is a favorite of the constabulary and several citizens of Wellington Wells. She can also craft various psychedelic or knock-out drugs and other useful toxins. Because of her more stealth-centered gameplay, her Combat skill tree is replaced with a Survival skill tree.
== Trivia ==
=== General ===
*Sally is unable to breastfeed Gwen because of all the strange chemicals she puts in her body.
*Sally writes her notes with lower case letters, even the I's.
* Cutscenes that Arthur and Sally's experience together go about slightly differently. This is in line with the theme of perspective and memories that the creators intended for the game. The same thing happens between Arthur and Ollie.
* She cannot use a Mechanical Table.
* It was Sally's idea to make different flavored Joy. When German supplies began to run out, she came up with a new compound and the idea to call it Strawberry.
* Arthur's Constable happened to be the one to find Sally after she had run away from home and tried to keep her from seeing the corpses of her poisoned family members, to no avail.
* It is implied by the Weird Sisters that she got her interest in chemistry from her mother's knowledge of herbalism.
=== Quotes ===
*Sally talks a lot to herself while wandering around on her own in Hamlyn Village or Garden District.
*She claims that she's exactly the same as she was when she was younger, sort of.
*She considers it incredible to have become a chemist, considering her mother was a seamstress.
*She believes she really loved Arthur because of his flaws.
*She recalls that her mother killed her sisters Elizabeth Boyle and Anne Boyle to keep them from being scared, then questions about herself being scared
*If God gave her the chance to keep Gwen safe forever, but she had to die, she'd take it.
*She wishes for Gwen to meet Arthur someday, even after she fucked everything up.
*She mentions that, even during moments you had no choice over, people will hate you for it.
*Arthur was the only one who didn't expect her to be who he wanted.
*She mentions that sometimes, a powerful man 'wants nothing more than a good enema.'
*She says that, when a man is brave, you forget they're just people. And, when a man seems certain of himself, he's hiding something.
Category:Video Game Heroes
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