#bison steve hotel

[bytesizeambs]

Fallout NV | Primm | Bison Steve #shorts #falloutnv #bytesizeambs #fnv

Fallout New Vegas - Chilling in Primm, watching the Bison Steve sign slowly spin and the clouds go by.

Note:

As always this video is better quality when watched via YouTube.

[gothamcityneedsme]

i feel like im betraying new vegas by thinking this but i really do think fallout 3 has a better city to explore.  ie more complex layouts and ways to move... im STILL exploring all the places the metro leads to and i find it so compelling.  there’s a lot of unmarked locations with little story beats, or just...a lot of streets etc in general.  fallout 3 truly does feel like you’re in the ruins of a major city.

new vegas has moments where it does, but it leans on the desert feeling--and let me tell you there’s more houses and buildings and neighborhoods in irl vegas than there is in new vegas by far.  which is to be expected but fallout 3 just captures the feeling more--theres so many closed off smaller areas that do a better job at suggesting the size of the whole city--the unseen--far better than new vegas does.

[caise3910]

I found that screenshot

here is victor chilling out with me inside the bison steve hotel

im not sure how it exactly works but i chose to sleep for multiple days straight and got jumpscared by the ole robot cowpoke

not sure if i already posted something abt meeting him here earlier tho

[lizardperson]

come all sufferers

part 3: what's a chicken? [on ao3]

fandom: fallout new vegas characters: female courier/original male character rating: m wc: 542 prompts: chicken noodle soup for @sweetspicybingo; #252 spill the tea for @flashfictionfridayofficial

[hurt/comfort bingo masterlist]

---

"Room service!" Mika's cheery voice sounded through the place when she entered, pulling Gabriel out of his daze. He sat up too quickly and everything spun around for a few long moments. When he finally managed to properly open his eyes, she had already placed a couple of pots and dishes on the table next to the bed, and was now frowning at him. "How are you feeling?" He waved it off, rubbing his face. "I'll live, don't worry about it." They had an unfortunate encounter with a couple of radscorpions earlier, and one actually managed to sneak up on him. Damn critters. Gabriel had taken an antivenom, so he would definitely survive it - but right now, he sure felt like dying. It would pass after a few hours of rest, not a big deal in the grander scheme of things, just very unpleasant. They were close to Primm when it happened, so Mika had dragged him to the Bison Steve Hotel for the night, despite his protests, but now he was quite grateful for the bed. She had been uncharacteristically nice the whole way too, not even teasing him about getting stung - though she was probably still saving a few jokes for when he felt better. She looked at him slightly doubting, but decided not to comment on it any further, and instead turned towards the things she brought. "Anyway, dinner! I told Mrs. Nash about your state, and she immediately went into overdrive," Mika chuckled. "Had to talk her out of coming up here to nurse you back to health herself. But she gave me some weird tea that's supposed to help with the poison side effects, and a big pot of soup." "That's awfully nice of her." "Told you, she either wants to adopt or marry you." Mika handed him a cup. "Hope this tastes better than it smells. I spilled a bunch of it on myself already," she reported. Gabriel took a sip and made a face. "Nope. Tastes pretty vile actually." But Ruby Nash was the resident radscorpion expert, so he tried to ignore the smell as best as he could and downed the whole cup. She sat down beside him on the bed, trading the cup for a bowl of soup. "Hey, what's a chicken?" "Some type of bird." "Do they have those here?" "Don't think I've seen any," he remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Then maybe let's not think too hard about what's in this 'chicken noodle soup', as she called it..." Mika took a spoonful and her face lit up. "Oh hey, that's actually pretty good." After they had finished eating, he laid back down again while she took care of the dishes, then joined him on the bed and snuggled into his arms. "Thanks for dinner," he murmured, getting drowsy again. It hadn't been easy to finish the whole portion in his state, but his body would probably be grateful for it tomorrow. "You're welcome. Now, would you rather have some peace and quiet to rest, or do you like company in your misery?" He pulled her closer, nuzzling into her hair. "Company sounds nice."

[qualitysigns]

Primm, Nevada, USA

this casino has a now defunct roller coaster out front, and was the real world location that the Bison Steve casino and hotel in Fallout New Vegas was based on.

[nightingaelic]

I love your companions react posts and thought of a good topic! Companions reaction to being told by their courier that they love them (platonic of course)

If I had a dollar for every time someone did this, anon, I'd be rich - you're fine, the fact that it's the courier saying it is enough context

It had been a long day. There had been trouble on the road to Primm, vagabonds and giant ants and an NCR patrol officer who refused to take "package delivery" as a good enough reason to go traipsing through the territory without an escort. In the end, the courier and their companion had made it through okay, but they were late to the Mojave Express outpost and barely managed to catch Johnson Nash before he closed up shop.

Rather than shell out the money they'd just earned for a room at the Vikki and Vance Casino or risk a night in the eerie Bison Steve Hotel, the courier and their companion claimed one of the outdoor fire pits and began to set up camp. There were few other travelers in the town at this time of year, so they had the windswept courtyard behind the main casino to themselves, with the occasional interruption from Primm Slim clanking by on rounds.

The courier unrolled their bedding and smoothed some lumps out before settling down on it close to the campfire. The stars were a little dimmer thanks to the lights of the town, but they still winked and turned overhead like so many dancers at a party the rest of the cosmos wasn't invited to. The courier watched them for a moment before turning to their companion with a peaceful look. "I love nights like this. Sometimes I forget that, or at least forget to say it. And I love you. You know that, right?"

Arcade Israel Gannon: "Um." Arcade rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then adjusted his glasses. "Yeah. Yeah, I know it. I mean, there are things you do that people I used to... people who care about me have done, in the past. You notice things about me, and you remember them."

"I'm not overstepping, am I?" the courier asked. "You're as red as a tato."

"No, I'm just not good at this." Arcade took his glasses off and started to clean them furiously, just to give his hands something to do. "The last person I said that to... never mind. I... appreciate you, Six. Truly, I do."

The courier smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "That it?"

"Are you gonna make me say it?"

"Nah." The courier laid back on their bedding and tucked their arms behind their head. "That's good enough."

Craig Boone: Boone bounced a little on his heels as he crouched before the fire, then straightened up abruptly. "Perimeter check. Be right back," he said, before stalking off between the nearest pair of shacks.

The courier sighed and settled in for a long wait. It had been a long day though, and by the time Boone came back to the campfire, they had fallen asleep. The sniper stood for a while and stared into the embers, then settled down for his watch.

"I know," he murmured. The reflection of the dying fire's light danced over the sunglasses he tapped against his leg.

The courier muttered something in their sleep and turned over.

Lily Bowen: "Of course I know that, dearie." Lily smiled. "Grandma loves you, too."

"Just checking." The courier smiled back. "We're both so different now, compared to where we started out. It's just nice to know that some things don't change."

Lily scooted over and put her arm around them. "Grandma will always be here for you, pumpkin. Don't forget that."

"I won't."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul chuckled. "What did I do to earn that, boss?"

"You keep me out of trouble."

"Imposible."

"You keep me out of real trouble." The courier grinned. "Just say it back, viejo. Tell me you're glad I broke you out of the State of Utobitha."

"Te quiero, Six. But I would have gotten myself out just fine, if you hadn't come calling."

"Sure you would've."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Stop it." Cass smacked their arm. "None of that touchy-feely shit unless we're about to die."

"I'm not waiting until we're in the middle of a swarm of radscorpions just to tell you that I care about you, Cass," the courier argued. "Besides, you told me you loved me yesterday, when you were two-and-a-half bottles deep at the Mojave Outpost and getting real misty about your caravan troubles. I'm just returning the favor."

Cass unearthed the half-bottle of whiskey she'd saved and pointed it at the courier. "If I tell you I love you, it is most definitely not a favor, Six. I'm cursed. Bad luck down to the bone. So watch out, or you'll wind up burned to ash, too."

"Haven't you heard?" The courier grabbed the bottle from her and uncorked it themselves. "I'm invincible."

Veronica Santangelo: "Oh." Veronica wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth on her own bedding, blushing furiously. "I... I guess I love you too, Six."

"You guess?" the courier teased. "Fine, I take it back."

"No no, I do! It's just that nobody's... nobody's said that to me in a really long time." Veronica bit her lip. "We're close in the Brotherhood, even the black sheep of the family like me, but we're not always emotionally open, if that makes sense. And the people I wanted to be open with... couldn't. For reasons."

"Sure." The courier scooted closer and put an arm around her. "Well. I love you. I should say it more, but I won't if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Here's fine. But maybe not in public." Veronica smiled gratefully. "People might get the wrong idea. I might not look like it, but I do have a reputation to maintain."

ED-E: ED-E beeped and tilted its speakers forward solemnly. The courier ran a careful hand up its chassis, leaned in to press their forehead to the eyebot's dome. "I don't want to be that person who doesn't really care about their bots. I love you, ED-E. You make my life better, especially my life on the road. I'll take care of you as long as you'll let me."

Rex: Rex whined and snuggled closer to them, rubbing his nose into their hand. The courier chuckled and stroked his fur, before turning back to the sky. "Yeah, you know it, buddy. You're the best dog someone like me could ask for."

[timetot]

Shoutout to my brother @fritzwilhelm for watching me play 2 hrs of Fallout New Vegas and giving me a billion useful game play tips as I fumbled around the Bison Steve Hotel. One day I'll successfully rescue one of these npcs. RIP Ringo & Deputy Beagle 😔

The final frontier is having him explain Caravan to me.

[aoicourier]

October 24th, 2281

I'm happy to report that Primm is safe.

After a restless night in my cell, I set off again at dawn, walking south down the shattered remains of I-15. Had a run-in with a pack of massive radscorpions, but didn't sustain any injuries. Cut out their poison glands, as Johnson Nash's wife Ruby claimed she could cook a mean casserole with them. Heck, I'll try anything once.

The NCR's Mojave Outpost wasn't hard to find. They'd built a pair of massive statues at the entrance, big enough to see from miles around. Two men shaking hands. Apparently it commemorates a treaty from ten years ago, in which the Desert Rangers of Nevada were absorbed into the NCR to better protect New Vegas and the Hoover Dam from Caesar's Legion.

A pencil-pusher named Knight at the outpost was able to issue an official pardon to Meyers, as it'd be beneficial for the NCR to have Primm as an ally without stretching their own forces any thinner. Ranger Jackson, who runs the outpost, told me that they have standing orders to maintain a perimeter there in case of Legion attack, but as a result aren't able to spare a single man or woman for anything else. The outpost is supposed to ensure safe passage for caravans between Interstate 15 and Highway 95, but they don't even have enough manpower to do that. He's offered me some supplies if I can help clear the critters from the road up north. I don't mind, if my journey happens to take me in that direction.

With the official business concluded, I headed to the barracks, or more specifically, to the bar. I shared a few glasses of whiskey with a very drunk and very angry caravaneer named Cass. Every sip only seemed to make her angrier, as she complained bitterly about the road closures, the NCR in general, and her past struggles with the bottle.

Before I left the outpost, I spoke to the sniper posted on the roof, a serious woman in sunglasses who called herself Ghost. I'd been warned that she was a bitch, but she seemed straightforward and respectable to me. Told me that she'd spotted smoke coming from the town of Nipton, and asked me to investigate since I was going in that direction. It's likely that another group of Powder Gangers are involved… as if I haven't had enough trouble from them already.

I was able to get back to Primm before sundown. With pardon in hand, Meyers is now officially installed as their new sheriff. With the remaining convicts cleared out, the locals emerged from the Vikki & Vance and returned to their homes, and I'm considered something of a local hero for making it all happen. The only person who doesn't seem pleased is Beagle, because he's no longer a deputy. Not my problem, pal.

I'm camped back at the Bison Steve hotel now, enjoying some of Ruby's radscorpion casserole - to my surprise, it really is as delicious as she claimed - and sinking a few bottles of beer while I type up the events of the day.

At first light, I depart for Nipton. My last lead on the man in the checkered coat is that he was headed through there on his way to Novac. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm breathing down his neck. I'll make sure he turns and sees my face before I pull the trigger.

[until-the-brahmin-come-home]

Yeehawgust Day 18: Bandolier

Like all great performers of her kind, Courier’s mother had a unique weapon. 271 words.

A/N: hi. i know it is january. but i finally got motivation to fill out another prompt, so i did. will i keep this up and finish it? unclear. regardless, enjoy

After the whole mess with the powder gangers and the deputy sheriff is done, Courier makes their way back into the Bison Steve Hotel.

It’s nothing at all like what it once was, the whole building a skeleton that hasn’t figured out it’s supposed to have crumbled by now. The ceiling has caved in in places; most of the furniture is rotten.

But in what was once a gift shop, a safe sits solid as it had the day the bombs dropped.

Courier stares at it.

This hotel, this little town living off of Vegas’s scraps, had been the last place their mother had performed. She hadn’t even gotten to die in Vegas, her shining city. No. She had died, out here, in the shadow of her legacy.

And she had left her gun behind.

Courier crouches down and, with deceptively steady hands, picks the lock. Inside waits their inheritance.

Lucky.

The wave of nostalgia crashes into Courier so hard that they sway, so they shift on their heels and rise up from their crouch.

The ivory handle – the gold engravings – the clover-club-callsign stamped on the side. It’s everything Courier remembers, and the gun weighs heavily in their hand.

They could never stand to retrieve it before. Never in the area, and when they were, the wound still felt fresh. Even now, two centuries gone by, Courier almost wants to put it back. Sacrilege, to take a dead woman’s weapon.

But it was their mother’s gun, and now it is theirs. Was always meant to be theirs.

They slip the revolver into the holster at their hip and leave the building.

[queencryo]

Red and I finally arrived home a few nights ago! I was gonna write this post last night but tumblr fucking ate it and this phone hurts my wrists when I type SO. here's some fucking bullet points!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- pengis

- We spent a really long time, cumulatively, avoiding mountain passes and driving out of our way to go to particularly mild or not-high ones. Shoutout to the wahwah pass in southeast utah for not killing us!!!!!!!!!!

- Plumas national forest in California is fucking BEAUTIFUL. Just jaw-dropping. Red fucking hated it because I took the corners a little hard, but the entire thing was absolutely beautiful. Just this gorgeous canyon that we were going through the middle of.

- My 18-135mm lens broke, so I was left with my 18-55mm kit lens that would come with this camera body if you bought it new like a loser. honk honk ::( Still, I think at least some of the pictures I got were good! And certainly I'll keep around most of the jpegs ::)

- We stayed in Reno. It fucking sucked, honestly, because the town was basically shut down because of unhistoric snow, and our hotel was bizarelly under construction? Like... walk between two pieces of plywood three feet apart to get between the front desk and the elevator sorta under construction. The room was nice though ::) 

- As mentioned previously, we also stayed in Laramie Wyoming for two days. It was a good recharge, plus a developed an addiction to gas station coffee (yay?)

- Before going to Laramie, we went over a strange mountain highway that used to be the Lincoln Highway. It was beautiful, but I spent a large portion of our time on it musing about death, memory, and human life. Red didn't like it very much, since I was driving at the time. Also, apparently the guy who was involved with planning the highway route was an outdoorsman who specifically asked to be buried on this one hill. At the rest stop we stopped at, there was a plaque saying "yeah we didn't bury him on that hill lmao" huh???????????????

- If you're ever in Trinidad, CO, USAmerica, look up Trinidad's Higher Calling U, pretty sick weed shop. They seem overpriced but also like really cool folks. While you're there, look up the art cartopia, which is a warehouse where some weird folks keep a ton of art cars. Absolutely thrilling!

- Our stay in Primm, NV was pretty nice. We stayed in the Buffalo Bill resort/casino (inspiration for the bison steve hotel from NV!!) and saw the Bonnie and Clyde Death Car (a hilariously gauche attraction if ever there was one), I took pictures in front of it! The hotel room also was not super expensive and had a very large bath tub so we took a hot bath together (because we are gay), it was lovely as can be.

- During the secnd to last night of travel, we were pushing hard and drove until like 2 AM. At one point, I drove us to the end of a mountain pass and once we were finally flat again I turned to Red and said "So. Now that we're at the end of that. I think it's safe to tell you that I think I've been hallucinating for the last 30 minutes." I also had a lot of sexual fantasies about the 18-wheeler next to us during a lot of that time. Not the driver, the truck itself, as it existed in motion. Not sure how to explain it. The real will recognize.It was quite frightening in retrospect.

- of the gas station chains we stopped at, I think Maverik was my favourite (this is something I have a preference on now). Every maverik we stopped at at least had hot dogs and decent selection, and none of them disgusted me.

- As far as independent gas station go, I think the one in Dunsmuir, CA, is my favourite, because it felt like a dream and also the guy working there was very nice to me and gendered me correctly (in that sort of intentional way when someone isn't quite sure what to make of you, I think). Gold star.

All in all I'm genuinely a little surprised we made it home safe. More because I catastrophize than anything else, but... yeah, lmao. 

Sometime, I need to chart out our route for the whole trip. Just so that I have it around. I don't think I'll share it though, because it's... kind of embarrassing, how bad a route we took lmfao.

[tlhgeek-blog]

New Vegas New Problems Session 2

After deciding to make the patrol station a temporary camp the group split up to go about various attempts at foraging and hunting for food. Chao-Chao and Charlie found a bounty of Brain Fungus and wild carrots in the shade of a rocky outcrop, while Vesper found a ripe batch of prickly pear cactus. Vesper’s attempts to harvest the prickly pears were successful however not without Vesper managing to pull a pod of the cactus directly onto themselves. Which while painful and embarrassing was not a serious injury.

Wanda reviewed and stored the loot they recovered from the raiders while Roy kept watch. Wanda quickly realized that they found no signs of a food or water supply. At which point she decided to search in the nearby garage for the patrol station, a separate smaller building from the rest as well as checking in the scattered cargo containers behind the patrol station. While the containers were either empty or sealed shut by centuries of rust and wear the caravan was able to break into the garage. 

There they found the rather limited supply of food and water the bandits had stashed away. The food stash consisted of a handful of boxes of Sugar Bombs, Blamco Mac & Cheese, some canned dog food, a tin of potato crisps and a sealed pack of gum drops. The ‘water’ supply consisted of 3 unopened bottles of beer. Wanda also found a first aid kit half-buried between 2 of the rusted shut containers.

The night watch was uneventful though in the morning the caravan discovered that the raider bodies they had dumped downwind of the station had been chewed on by a variety of wasteland critters.

The caravan continued to travel up north to Primm while Wanda fiddled with the radio tied to Moo-lasses the Brahmin. While Radio New Vegas had a strong signal the various NCR radio stations degraded into static out in the Mojave. The only other coherent station Wanda found was Mojave Entertainment Radio which played catchy but loud and distracting music that according to the Host all came from the same pre-war rock band. Wanda decided to swap back to Radio New Vegas for now as the music variety and news was more pleasant to listen to as they walked down the crumbling pre-war highway.

Primm was a lively little town mostly focused on the 3 businesses that kept it relevant. The Vikki & Vance Casino was a small taste of the gambling and drinking available  in the New Vegas Strip. The Bison Steve Hotel provided a much desired place of rest and relaxation on the long trek from New Vegas to the Hub and vice versa.  Lastly the local dispatch office for the Mojave Express courier service was a vital business that continued to bring trade and caps into the community even outside of ‘tourist season’.

The Vikki & Vance Casino was the first port of call for Charlie and a reluctant Vesper that Charlie enthusiastically dragged along. After converting some caps and in Charlies case NCR dollars into chips, Charlie gave Vesper some dubious guidance on how to gamble and play Blackjack. After seeing Vesper win a few hands Charlie happily wandered off to play the slot machines.

Vesper excused themselves and cashed out immediately after Charlie wandered away. Charlie played for several hours until his winning the jackpot on his machine also resulted in it jamming and sparking violently. After which he was politely asked by the floor manager Gerard Stevens to leave for the day until they could investigate and repair the slot machine.

Wanda, Roy and Chao-Chao stabled Moo-lasses in the safe area inside the ruined roller coaster behind the Bison Steve Hotel. Wanda arranged for two rooms for the caravan as well as a few showers for herself, a pricy luxury but one Wanda was eager to indulge in. The Hotel offered reasonably priced meals with a complimentary glass of clean water. It also offered security safes and a working laundry service. 

In the process of gaining the service the Proprietor Old Laurie mentioned concerns over some rough characters that she had to kick out that came from up north and left the same way. She also noted they had what looked like partial NCR Uniforms so they might be deserters or raiders that took out NCR troops.

Wanda spent little time in the Casino however she did decide to make her way over to the Mojave Express Dispatch and after speaking with Johnson Nash she decided to sign up as a courier as well. After a simple test Wanda received a provisional couriers certification and was informed she would have to speak to the Mojave Express Headquarters in New Vegas. Mr. Nash also mentioned that there is one other Mojave Express Dispatch Office active outside of Primm and New Vegas. That being the one in Searchlight another NCR settlement. There used to be one in Boulder City but it was destroyed in the fighting there between the Legion and the NCR.

After staying a few days and Charlie winning enough to get banned from gambling at the Vikki & Vance Casino the caravan left heading north. Vesper also noticed that Loretta his pet Nightstalker was eerily sneaky and seemed able to keep out of sight from the locals.

 Unfortunately a dust storm came rolling in about halfway between Primm and Jean Aviation, a pre-war abandoned airfield. The group began hustling towards the airfield in hopes of finding shelter from the storm. Chao-Chao became distracted from tracking his elevation as he flew higher to attempt to see in the storm, resulting in Vesper losing track of them and walking directly under the jet holding Chao-Chao aloft. This set Vespers hair on fire and while quickly put out in the wind and dust left a foul smell, frizzled hairs and a small temporary bald spot on the top of Vesper's head. Despite that distraction the party did spot figures ducking into the handful of ruined buildings in the airfield.

The ‘Pickles’ Caravan now has to contend with trying to get out of the storm while dealing with possibly hostile individuals in the various buildings. We shall see how they fare next time in New Vegas, New Problems. 

[the-technicolor-whiscash]

I think the funniest part abt learning about the history of theme parks and rides in Vegas and the surrounding area is recognizing certain landmarks that also show up in fallout new vegas especially the shit about Primm Nevada it’s like oh yeah Bison Steve that’s Buffalo Bill’s hotel and casino and oh yeah the El Diablo coaster is based on the Desperado coaster at Buffalo Bill’s. Now where is Lance the magician staging his escape from the ride where he says “that was stupid. That was really stupid.”

[mullbey]

Memoirs of a courier in Bison Steve Hotel.

[caise3910]

for some reason i decided to go speed sleep in the bison steve hotel just to and heal bc im not yet prepared to do bad things to the legion and out of NOVAC Victor randomly went inside the hotel and jumpscared me into dialogue

how do i lure him out of primm except enter the lucky 38 or go into cazador territory

[deepest-dope]

OCs as Companions - Cave Mann Fallout New Vegas

Basic info:

Race*: Human

Gender*: Male

Affiliation: None but likes the Kings, the Great Khans and the Followers of the Apocalypse

Role: Weird Ex-Raider mom friend or guy who carries a swiss army knife, lighter and first aid kit at all times

Location: Nipton on a cross on first meeting, squatting in the Bison Steve hotel if dismissed but not sent to the lucky 38

Base SPECIAL: S 8 P 1 E 9 C 3 I 8 A 6 L1

Tagged skills: Medicine Survival Unarmed

Perks: Cannibal, Ghastly Scavenger

The Courier will meet Cave at Nipton, angrily screaming and cursing out legionaries, he’s been crucified and you have to cut him down and help him get his weapons out of a stash just outside of town. With a couple speech checks he’ll share some stuff from his stash with you, and with no speech required he’ll help you kill Vulpes and his dogs with his grenade rifle. After that he’s basically ready to go!

Companion Perk: Pack Animal, Cave is used to being the reliable one out of any group he runs with, and he’s more then willing to help you out. Rank 1 you can give him the items needed for any recipe and he’ll make them for you at any campfire. Rank 2 all consumables are 20% stronger while he’s with you. Rank 3 Crafting items while he’s with you will give you extra items. Rank 4 Talking to him with certain dialogue options now let you use him to craft stuff like food, chems, and healing items.

Cornered Animal: If the player has Cannibal or Ghastly Scavenger choosing certain dialogue options will lead him to teach you about “soft spots” on bodies you can attack to bring your opponent down easier when you’re in a hard spot. It’s An Unarmed technique that you can use at low health or when crippled. The attack is rushing forward to bite your enemy’s throat.

Companion Comments:

Use Melee: “Sure, one sec, gotta tape my hands.”/”I can and do hold my own with nothing but hand to hand, if you’re worried about that”

Use Ranged: “Alrighty then just be careful about getting too close to any grenades yeah?”/”Uh should we get your ears checked? I have been blasting them.”

Open inventory: “Don’t worry man I’m used to being Designated Pack Brahmin”[giving him any chem or sugary thing]”You’re a real sweetheart you know that? wait I CAN have this right?”[giving him fixer, cigarettes or alcohol] “......uh thanks...I’m not ungrateful but... uhh... yknow never mind really thank you”

Overburdened: “Buddy I don’t think I’ve got room in my bag or in my pockets to put anything else in unless you’re suggesting we shove it somewhere sun don’t shine”

Stay close: “What? Cold? I’d give you my coat but all my craps in it”

Keep distance: “Aight, just watch you’re ass so I don’t end up blowing your limbs off on accident”

Be Passive: “I’m gentle as a bighorner lamb”

Be Aggressive: “Kay, stay out of the blast radius if you don’t like gore”

Wait here: “Wait? For how long? HEY! FOR HOW LONG?!?!”

Follow me: “Finally! what were you even doing?!”

Sneaking: “Good old fashioned ambush, alright!”

“Let’s travel together”: “Sure, don’t got anything better to do yet”

“Let’s travel together” (already have a companion): “Not that I’m saying you got bad taste in friends but your pal doesn’t seem like the kinda person I like to take trips with, understand?”

Leaving companion at the Lucky 38: “Wait around in an air conditioned room for an undetermined length of time? Hell yeah, go ahead and take your sweet time coming back for me too”

“I wanted to ask you some questions”: “Bout what?”

“Tell me about yourself”: “I...don’t really LIKE talking about myself though...”[speech check] “Aw fine I guess it couldn’t hurt, I was born in a vault out east but I don’t really remember much from it, got kidnapped age 6 by legion and enslaved, escaped legion slavery with one of the other slaves, had a shit time on the run till we met up with his family who turned out to be Jackals that didn’t like me much, got kicked out by the old man’s son eventually, tooled around for a while until I got arrested, and then escaped with the powder gangers to nipton and now I’m here with you”

“What do you think of the NCR?”: “They act like they’re better then the legion but they aren’t, just called slavery a different name, NCRCF was as much a hellhole as the Slave camp I grew up in”

“What do you think of the Legion?”: “I think they’re a bunch of stupid evil cunts who’ve gotten way too lucky so far and are due for an ass kicking. If I could crush Little Caesar and his roman themed raider gang out of existence I fucking would. I grew up in one of their slave camps and the shit they did to me there isn’t something I can ever forgive”

“What do you think of Mister House?”: “That cunt who kicked the Khans outta Vegas? He needs to get out more, specifically pull his head out of his ass, this ain’t the old world and it won’t ever be, playing dressup with the gangs that bent the knee isn’t making anything better for anyone”

“What do you know about Benny?”: “I think he’s one of the casino owners in New Vegas but thats about it”

“What do you know about the platinum chip?”: “Besides what you’ve told me? Sweet fuck all.”

Death: Before his personal quest “...Finally”/After “No no no no not now not after I-”

Trivia and additional information: Yeah I unfortunately don’t have anything I can even try to draw him with so putting a description of him here: He’s a 5′3 albino dude in raider badlands armor with a real loose trenchcoat over it and a prewar bonnet on his head to keep the sun off, and though it wouldn’t show up in game he has sharp ass teeth, I’m talking double canines here. He has anisocoria which along with the albinism makes him sensitive to light. He also has frequent nosebleeds from a multitude of problems such as being dry as the mojave itself because he does not drink enough water in the desert, eating way too much sugar on the rare occasion he does eat of his own volition, high blood pressure from stress, and the occasional punch to the face when he gets into a fight.

You may have noticed the cannibalism up there and yeah he has eaten people before but it isn’t something he likes doing, he was raised for the latter part of his childhood by a hardcore jackal survivalist though so his opinion is essentially “you gotta eat and if it’s all you have then don’t waste it” he wouldn’t risk kuru if he had any other options but a childhood of malnutrition and food insecurity has given him some impulse control problems to put it politely. If you imply do it because you like eating it you will fail the dialogue that gets him to teach you Cornered Animal. He thinks cook-cook is fucked up in general but is especially insane for cooking people when he has other options.

Cannibalism aside he has some problems with disordered eating and general lack of appetite. He’s so used to barely eating he just hardly ever notices hunger at this point. He also has a somewhat hard time eating regular meat but he can’t really afford to be picky. He tries to remember to keep himself fed to prevent,, unfortunate accidents from happening though hes not too good at it.

He’s an actually damn good cook when he’s cooking for other people though, which is one of the things he used to do for his old gang along with making chems and patching people up when needed. He likes the job too! He loves collecting recipes he can feed other people later, I like to think there’d be a dialogue option to give him your bloatfly slider recipe since the player seems to be the only one who makes those in game and in return he gives you his recipe for desert stirfry. Also stealing Cook-cooks fiends stew recipe in his quest.

Unmarked Quest: Straighten up and Fly Right: Help or hinder Cave’s attempts to quit chems by putting any chems available or fixer and optionally bubblegum into his inventory. The fixer being for withdrawal symptoms and bubblegum to help him build up a new habit to replace chems with.

Personal Quest: Why don’t you do right?

Quest Triggers: Walking into Fiend territory, specifically Driver Nephi and Violet’s areas or taking Three card bounty from Major Dhatri. Cave will initiate dialogue and tell the courier that he has friends in the fiends who joined after he got arrested  and sent to NCRCF and his chapter of the Jackals completely fell apart. He’ll have an extra line asking you to try and spare Nephi and Violet if you took Three card bounty.

Quest Description: He’ll tell you about how for a brief time after the death of the old man the leader of their chapter of the Jackals tried to kill him, causing a split in the gang and ending in Cave briefly becoming leader of it. In this time he met and befriended escaped mormon Nephi and one of the few surviving free hangdog tribe members Violet, allowing them to join his gang, that they weren’t originally fiends and probably only joined after his incarceration for their own safety. He’s sure if you just get them away from cook-cook and motor-runner they’ll be able to recover! (like him if you did his unmarked quest)

You can either let him talk to them both, helping him figure out what to say to convince them to leave the fiends and get help, or talk to them yourself with some high speech or medicine checks, and sending them to either the mormon fort or the great khans depending on how hard you want to press for getting violet to quit chems or Nephi to join a faction. Maybe even get Dhatri to get their bounties taken down.

Violet has the easier speech checks, being quickly convinced to abandon the fiends for her dogs safety, or medicine checks to convince her that psycho is affecting her ability to care for her dogs. The have Cave talk to her dialogue is essentially [Speech 50 Just tell her you care about her dumbass]. She can also be convinced along with Nephi to help you deal with Cook-cook and Motor-runner to still get some rewards off Dhatri. After this you can send her and her dogs to one of 3 locations after talking to one of the leaders, The Thorn to train dogs for Red Lucy, Red Rock Canyon to join the Great Khans, or the old mormon fort with Julie to guard the place.

Nephi is the harder to convince of the two, requiring higher speech checks to convince him of your good intentions. He’s just paranoid as shit about getting sucked into another cult after leaving mormonism. you need high as shit medicine or speech to get him to go to the followers or the great khans, though the check for getting him to help you fight cook-cook and motor-runner is comparatively low. The Cave option is actually easier here as Nephi already trusts him. I imagine you’d need 75 in medicine to convince him to get therapy to you know recover from leaving a cult. It’d take 80 speech to get him to join the Great Khans as you need to convince him its nothing like a cult. The lowest check is probably the one that gets him to go to the Thorn where he’d become champion fighter.

After get them to leave the fiends and optionally help you kill Cook-cook and motor runner after theyre dead you can do some optional things, like if queenie and Motor-runners dogs survive the fights you can also send them to any of the options you sent Violet, her dogs and Nephi to, with dialogue heavily implying you just lead the animals into the fort/camp/underground fighting arena handed the leads to someone and left without explaining anything.

Outcomes: Obviously you fail the quest if you kill either violet or nephi and lose Cave as a follower but if you got them to leave the fiends and go somewhere else they’ll be where you sent them, wearing wastelend wanderer outfits if in the fort or khan armor in red rock, keeping the fiend outfits if in the thorn. BoneGnash, Ghashbone and Queenie will also be seen in these places if you sent them there.

Endings

He hates basically everything but Independent Vegas lol. I’ve been writing all day so just going to give short summaries instead of trying to write anything that sounds like it could be read aloud by Ron Pearlman

NCR endings: If you don’t help him quit chems or do his personal quest and kill his friends he gets deeper into chems before eventually committing suicide by NCR soldiers. If you help him with his chem problem but don’t do his personal quest or kill Nephi and Violet he dies getting shot down trying to convince them to leave the fiends. If you do both his unmarked and personal quests and sent them to the followers he ends up joining them and getting an actual practicing medical license before getting arrested along with Nephi and Violet when the Followers are pushed out of Vegas. If Nephi and Violet joined the Khans he goes with them to Idaho. For the Thorn they just stay there laying low, fighting in matches waiting for the NCR to find them.

Caesar’s Legion endings: No matter what you did for him before he tries to kill you if you let the Legion take vegas

House endings: If you don’t do either of his quests he joins the fiends attack on Camp Mccarran and dies fighting a securitron. If you help him but not his friends he goes to Freeside after they die to securitrons alongside the Kings. If you help him and his friends out and sent them to the fort he becomes a legit doctor and doesn’t get arrested by the NCR though he isn’t quite happy under House’s rule. If with the Great Khans he either goes with them for their last stand at the Dam or follows them to Wyoming, living a decently happy life where he doesn’t have to deal with house running things. In the Thorn he becomes a Champion fighter alongside Nephi eventually taking over with Violet when she expresses dissatisfaction with how Red Lucy treats her dogs

Independent Vegas: Doing neither of his quests causes him to follow Violet and Nephi there taking over the camp even if Motor-runner is dead, becoming their designated chem guy before eventually dieing of an overdose. If he successfully quits chems but his personal quest isn’t done he ends up joining the Kings, spending most of his free time outside of that trying to get Violet and Nephi to come to freeside to. Both quests complete and his friends are at the Thorn you get the same ending as House basically. If they’re with the followers he ends up dragging Nephi and Violet through a crash course on medicine and getting them to help the Followers with him and is unbothered by the influx of patients mostly happy neither the NCR or Legion won. He still leaves with the Khans if thats where Nephi and Violet are.

[nightingaelic]

Curious but, perhaps new Vegas Companions reacting to The courier and their “attempts for the blue star treasure” as the courier call it but no it’s obviously an addition to the sodas in the wasteland.

The courier popped the cap off the bottle, flicked it aside with their finger and drank deeply, finishing the swallow off with a theatrical sigh. "So there I am in Primm, and I've just finished breaking Deputy Beagle out of his bind with the convicts in the Bison Steve Hotel, and he insists on throwing a party at the Vikki & Vance to celebrate. Ruby, gem that she is, hands me a bottle of this stuff and plays it coy about the taste, so I crack it open and there's a blue star underneath the cap. Never seen that before, or at least I don't remember seeing it before, but this guy next to us at the bar gets all excited. Says his name is Malcolm, used to collect the caps with stars, something about a secret, pre-war treasure... sounded like a lure for suckers, but then I come across these two dead travelers outside Nipton that look like they died in a scuffle over the damn things."

They gestured at the full crate of Sunset Sarsaparilla on the counter of the 188 Slop & Shop, which they had just shelled out 100 caps for. "Anyways, now I pick it up whenever I run into it. The Sierra Madre might be a myth, but with stuff like this, you never know. Right?"

Arcade Gannon: Arcade rolled his eyes. "Just what we need. Another reason for someone to track us down and try to kill us."

"Would I ever put you in danger?" the courier asked, rather facetiously.

Arcade pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just promise me we aren't going to get shot over collectibles, and I won't say another word."

"I... cannot promise that."

"Okay." Arcade plucked a bottle of sarsaparilla from the crate and scanned its label. "Carbonated water... well, not anymore... pure cane sugar, of course... yadda yadda yadda... oh, and criminal amounts of safrole. You should not be drinking this."

The courier shrugged. "I've had worse."

Arcade shook the bottle at them. "This will give you cancer."

"Arcade, I've been shot in the head."

"Which explains why you're still drinking it." Arcade tried to grab the open sarsaparilla away from the courier, but they pulled back out of his reach and playfully squared up. "Fine!" he said, throwing his hands up and walking away from the bar.

Craig Boone: Boone watched the courier for a minute, observing the way they were drinking the soda with excessive relish. Finally, he eased a bottle out of the crate and held it up to the sunlight. The courier eyed him suspiciously as he examined it, and they made a small noise of reproach when he twisted its top off.

"No star," he said, holding the cap up so they could see.

As he had expected, the courier barely glanced at the bottlecap and instead focused on the soda itself, which was fizzing slightly. Boone tilted the bottle to and fro, watching with amusement as their eyes followed its path.

When he finally took a sip, the courier groaned and went back to their own bottle.

Lily Bowen: "But dearie, that much soda will rot your teeth!" Lily protested. "Grandma hasn't been able to find you a new toothbrush yet. Why not take the soda home and save it for a special occasion?"

The courier held their bottle of sarsaparilla up in a toast. "Lily, with you, every occasion is special."

"Aww, pumpkin." Lily blushed and squeezed herself onto a stool. "That's very sweet of you. But only two bottles before we move on, okay? We take the rest home."

In response, the courier pulled another bottle out of the crate and slid it over to the super mutant. "Make it three, and you can have this one."

"Dearie, you know I'm watching my figure!"

The courier laughed. "I know, I know. We'll work it off. Go on, all yours."

"Hmmph." Lily picked up the bottle and turned it around, examining the label. "Like nightkin and Stealth Boys, you are."

She twisted the top off, and the two made noises of pleasant surprise at the discovery of a blue star on the bottom of the cap.

Raul Alfonso Tejada: "You've got to be careful with that stuff, boss," Raul opined, sliding onto an empty stool and eyeing the crate suspiciously.

"What, because of the treasure hunters?"

"Ay, no." The ghoul shook his head. "El refresco. Don't know what they put in it, but half the continent used to drink it. That stuff spread faster than Nuka-Cola, and Nuka-Cola knew it. Tried to buy Sunset, then when that didn't work, they tried to make their own version."

The courier perked up at that. "Nuka-Cola made sarsaparilla? I've never seen it."

"Me neither, but I've heard tell it's out there." Raul sighed and leaned over the counter, arms crossed. "Nuka-Buzz, or something? No, no, it'll come to me... Wild. Nuka-Cola Wild."

"Huh." The courier took another swig of the soda, clearly trying to cover up their sudden interest. "Know where I might get some?"

"Nah." Raul looked at them sideways. "But you're not gonna find any star caps on them anyway, right?"

"Oh yeah. Right."

"Híjole, Six. You've got a problem."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Uh, no? No, I know exactly what's up with stuff like this." Cass put her hands on her hips and glared at the courier. "Sam and Michelle just took you for a ride on those things, that's what's up. How many're in there, 24 bottles? Fewer at the rate you're suckin' 'em down, but 100 caps for 24 bottles is downright criminal. Over four caps per head, and you're not even getting a decent return of 24 caps if you're saving the ones with little blue stars on them! But let's be honest here, Six."

The courier threw a hand out in defensive exasperation. "I am being honest, Cass! It's for a-"

"Mmm, uh-uh." Cass shook her head violently and crossed her arms. "You're not that stupid, you have decent enough business sense from what I've seen. What you've got going is the same song and dance I do when the bartender's pouring generous rounds. Just own it, Six."

"Oh come on, that's not the same-"

"I don't wanna hear it." Cass hopped onto a stool and shoved the crate of soda as far away from her as she could get it. "Sam, get back here and bring me a glass of something that'll put me in a more forgiving mood. On their tab."

Veronica Santangelo: "Wrong." Veronica sighed and sat down next to the courier. "You know how far we are from the Strip?"

"Not really?"

"Give or take a few, 26 miles." The Scribe frowned. "Meaning, if you want to drag that crate home with you, we have to carry it 26 miles through the desert, protecting it from cazadores, coyotes, Fiends, and if your story's at all true, rabid treasure hunters. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to risk my life for a box of flat sarsaparilla."

"But it's not flat." The courier handed her their drink to inspect. "Not completely. I don't know where Michelle dug it up, but she found a good batch."

"I don't know," Veronica replied, peering down the bottle's neck. "Can't really tell without getting a better look. What if I..."

She made as if to pour the soda out onto the ground, and the courier squeaked and tried to grab it back. Veronica held it out of their reach and smirked. "So it's not really about the caps, is it? Because if it was, we could just empty these all and save ourselves the trouble of hauling it."

"Veronica, please."

"Fine." Veronica handed the drink back. "But I want three bottles for myself. You can keep the caps."

ED-E: ED-E beeped in general agreement with the courier's story and accepted the new load, lowering itself slightly so they could pack up the bottles. By the time the courier was done, the bottle they had been drinking was empty. With a shrug, the courier pocketed the cap- starless, ED-E noted- and plucked another from the crate, causing the eyebot to bob and adjust.

Rex: The cyberdog sniffed the bottle the courier offered them and sneezed, narrowly missing the contents. They snatched it back with a chuckle and went on drinking. Rex curled up at the base of their stool, yawned, and went to sleep. By the time he woke up again, the crate was down to 20 full bottles, and the courier was giggly from the pre-war sugar.