#abouttravis

Does your character enjoy constant engagement? Do they always need something to do, or do they need frequent breaks?

Hey there thanks for the Ask!  Travis likes to keep busy.  He’s always finding something to tinker with or tend to.  He likes to keep his place tidy and he’s always making sure his collections are kept clean and straightened.  There are some days when he’ll be a flurry of activity, but then there are the days where he wants to do next to nothing.  I suppose he has it both ways, always active and getting those frequent breaks.  To quote him, “I’m always busy even when I’m not doing anything I’m still busy.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love New Vegas, but if you think about it, too much of the context made the courier into a freaking super hero and had them do things that were too unbelievable or too impossible to be realistic even for the fun wasteland world.  These are just a few of the things that I’ve made canon for Travis while totally nixing their game logic counterparts.

1.  NONE of the dlc happened for him…at all.  The dlc are great for fun and challenging game play, but for Travis’ canon story they don’t exist.  So yeah, that means no Joshua Gram, no brain and spine removal, no Father Elias, and no droning on and on Ulysses.  However, he has been to Zion Canyon plenty of times and is good friends with the Tribes of the area.  He also owns a cabin overlooking the river for when he visits.  Now with him having a car his trips to the canyon can happen more frequently and for a longer period of time.

2.  Travis co-runs New Vegas with Mister House.  In game I originally sided with House, but once he asked me to kill the BoS like that I refused and went the independent route.  Canon is almost the same for Travis, however, he more or less threatened then bargained with House.  All it took was a mention about pulling the plug and setting the computers on fire in the Lucky 38 for House to quickly see things Travis’ way.  Negotiations were quick.  House got to continue living and oversee many things in New Vegas, but Travis gives the direction in where repairs and aid goes.

3.  In the courtyard of the Lucky 38 (something not shown in game, but you know there has to be one…reality and logic you know) Travis has a big garden and small farm so to speak. He has a few low maintenance animals there like prairie fowl and geckos for eggs as well as a few cats.  He grows jalapenos, corn, apricots and peaches, tomatoes, potatoes, and green beans just to name a few.  He has a smaller than usual securitron by the name of Mable that he constructed to maintain the crops and animals.

4.  Although Travis is friends with all the human companions like Lily, Raul, Cass, and Veronica, he never traveled with them.  His constant companion was Boone.  In my game the quests for Raul and Lily glitched so I never got to trigger or complete them anyway.  Arcade still works for and resides at the Followers of the Apocalypse base, Fort Mormon.  Cass and Veronica are off doing whatever it is they’re doing, but Raul and Lily live at Fortification Hill.  Travis gave that territory to Raul after the Second Battle for Hoover Dam.  It’s now a sanctuary of sorts for Ghouls, Super Mutants, and Nightkin to live and thrive.

5.  Travis and a few Securitrons barricaded themselves inside the Visitor’s Center during the Second Battle for Hoover Dam.  It was there Travis oversaw all that happened at Fortification Hill as well as other areas of the battlefield.  He also triggered things like the dam’s floodgates in order to wash Legion infiltrators away.  He helped the NCR, but it was never agreed upon or stated anywhere that he would be helping for their take over.  It was a complete surprise to them when all was over when Travis, Mister House, Victor, and a few other Securitrons basically told the NCR they have to get out of Dodge so to speak.

This is something new and fun I think and I’m glad that @charomiami tagged me to do this.

Rules: pic one OC and describe them with 5 fancy gifs

I shall certainly go with my courier six, Travis Blackfox.  I would have gone with my bad cowboy, Dante, but Tumblr has a thing about naughty images so he’s out lol.  So....Travis it is!

Not sure if I’m supposed to let the gifs speak for themselves or if I’m supposed to talk about them?  I’ll talk about them anyway, it’s my post lol…..Travis loves to set things on fire or blow them up.  There probably isn’t a destroyed house or burned out car in the Mojave that he hasn’t had a hand in making irreparable.  

Travis is a confirmed bachelor and although his past with men wasn’t anything too amazing, it’s the present that counts.  He’s deeply in love and happily married to sole survivor Riley White (who is @zoey-and-dakota‘s oc by the way).

Hot foods, especially jalapenos are Travis’ most favorite thing to eat and he can often be found with peppers in his pockets or backpack.

And lastly, Travis loves to play the guitar and is really good at it.  He also likes to play the harmonica.  Every so often he plays his guitar on stage at the Tops in the Aces theater and even sings a few songs, some of which he wrote himself.

Hey there!  Glad to hear from you and glad this note came through this time ;D 

1. which faction did they side with (NCR, legion, yes-man, or house)?

In game I went with Yes-man mostly because I didn’t appreciate House asking me to wipe out the BOS like that.  For me, personally, I might not have cared, but when I went there with Boone and Rex and they were all like hi brother and I go and slaughter them like that...I thought it was really disgusting and as I stood above ground and saw the smoke coming from the vents all I thought was fuck that.  I went back to the previous save and killed House instead.  HOWEVER...canon Travis struck a deal with House.  He forced the entity to bargain for his life over murdering the BOS.  Pretty much canon Travis went the independent route, but also helped House achieve his goals with New Vegas without slaughtering people.  Travis also let it be known to the BOS if they try any shit and break any truces they’ll be promptly wiped out.  The same goes for House...any shady crap or betrayal Travis hacks open House’s chamber and does away with him.  Since then, though, he and House have become great friends and the BOS proved to be great allies and New Vegas and the surrounding areas of the Mojave are thriving.

2. preferred armor?

Travis mostly used reinforced metal armor.  In game, after the Lonesome Road dlc he used the Courier’s Duster...but since that dlc isn’t canon for me, Travis obtained that item by buying it from a clothing merchant. 

3. melee, guns, energy weapons, or unarmed?

Travis mostly uses explosives (not sure what that’d fall under?) like mines, grenades, or dynamite.  He also really enjoyed the flame throwers, grenade launchers, nuke launchers, and the weapon called shishkabob.  Gun wise he mostly stuck to his silenced sniper rifle and the rifle he got from Gun Runners called Medicine Stick.  

12. how did the bullet affect them?

The bullet took away all his past memories before he was a courier.  He does remember a few scant things like going on a Brahmin Drive in the Big Circle, but his entire childhood and family is completely wiped out.  He doesn’t remember every single thing while he was a courier either.  Anything having to do with his home or family is gone, but his travels and deliveries for the most part remained in tact.  It’s fortunate he doesn’t really remember the night he was shot, but he does remember the events leading up to it.  As a result he doesn’t like being restrained in any way.  It freaks him out and he doesn’t know why, but somehow his subconscious knows.  He also gets the occasional headache and a sharp pain in the area he was shot, but those pains have been fading through the years.

13. how did they deal with benny?

Travis faced Benny with swords in Caesar’s battle pit at Fortification Hill.  He hated to kill him as Travis truly isn’t the revenge type regardless.  Benny had told him it was the only way and for New Vegas to thrive it had to be done.  More or less it was like a sacrifice of sorts.  Killing Benny ensured that Travis could walk out of the Fort and continue on with the mission Benny originally planned.

Oh gosh you curious anon you :D   Well ok then here ya go!  Hope you read this all and appreciate this lol

A-Arousal- what gets them aroused quickest   Travis loves his hair being touched or even having fingers sifting through his goatee.  Once he starts submitting all it takes is for a gentle brushing of lips against his neck and around his ear to totally do him in. 

B- Broken- what it takes to break them    Knowing he was betrayed, used, or lied to by someone he trusts.  Trust doesn’t come too easily for him and if Travis gives it only to have it abused really messes him up.  

C- Can’t- one thing that they can’t do in life/refuse to do  Harm an innocent in any way.  That includes stealing from someone, making a person cry on purpose, or kill/harm an animal for the hell of it.

D- Denial- something they’re in denial about  Travis doesn’t like to admit it bothers him that his memories about his family and life before he got shot in the head are forever gone.  He’ll tell you he’s fine with it and fine making new memories, but deep down it does hurt him deeply.

E- Eager- something they are eager to do in life  He so badly wants to travel down the Long 15 and see the big waters of the west coast (the ocean).  He’s heard about it a lot and is anxious to head there and see it for himself.  

F- Fitness- how often they work out and what they prefer doing for a workout  Travis tries to work out a little every day by either walking or going for a quick swim.  He does lift small weights from time to time as well.  He likes to stay toned and fit, but doesn’t want to become a big muscle bound man.  Sex is also a good workout plan he tries and indulge in as much as possible as it works on keeping his heart rate up and helps him remain flexible.

G- Guarded- something they always guard (item can physical or mental like their feelings)   Travis tends to guard how he’s really feeling when hit with one of his self-conscious bouts.  He would much rather say he’s doing fine than to admit what’s wrong or what’s bothering him.  He’s not so good at hiding that as he thinks, but more often than not he simply tries to avoid the situation and make sure those around him are happy and not focus on his issues.

H- Hell- what will make their life hell   Being without Riley.

I- Ingenuity- how clever they can be in tough situations   Although he plays dumb a lot of times, Travis is really quite smart and creative.  Not only can he bullshit his way out of almost any circumstance, but he can also be very calculating.  He figures the easiest way to get something done and most of the time it works either verbal or physical and of course nothing can beat a well placed explosive in a lot of situations.

J- Jealous- how easily they get jealous     Not very. Travis isn’t one to get jealous, especially over material things.  For him it’s a wasted emotion.  

K- Killer- how old they were when they first killed someone   24. Believe it or not up until the point when he was shot in the head, Travis really never faced a situation that would be necessary to kill someone.  It was kind of a rude wake up call for him, but yet it didn’t bother him too much as when you’re defending yourself or someone you do what you have to do.

L- Lust- what they lust after in life  Only his partner, Riley.

M- Maturity- how mature they are as an adult    For the most part Travis can be mature.  However he’s extremely playful and finds joy in just about everything.  He loves to play and loves to pull pranks.  He still giggles over fart noises from living beings or inanimate objects.  Pretty much he’s just a big kid, but knows when he has to let the adult stuff happen like when he has to take care of city business or negotiations.

N- Negligence- what they can be negligent about   Mostly household tasks such as washing dishes, putting laundry away or even properly taking care of his weapons.  He even has a tendency to leave things in his pants pockets that he tosses in the laundry.  If those things were simply caps it wouldn’t be a big deal, but his wallet has been found numerous times as well as a few grenades.

O- Opinionated- one thing they are very opinionated about    How humans treat any Super Mutants, Nightkin, or non-feral ghouls.  Travis doesn’t understand why people have to be so hateful or violent to these beings.  Yes, there are some bad ones, but there are some bad humans as well.  

P- Persistent- how persistent can they be about something   Sometimes once he gets his mind set on something, Travis can be a total pain in the ass about it.  He will oblige when told to settle down or knock it off, but he can’t help but squirm over it and drop little comments here and there.

Q-  Quest- what they feel their quest in life is/their main goal in life   Travis would really love to move out of New Vegas and get a ranch of his own.  Helping run New Vegas and getting it and the surrounding areas of the Mojave into shape was great, but it wasn’t his life goal.  He was forced into it more or less.  He longs to have his own place and be in charge of his own things.

R- Regret- what they regret most in life   Hooking up intimately with a certain NCR sniper for a few weeks of whatever it was.  He wishes he never allowed the more than friend’s situation to happen and wishes he never continued to encourage it.

S- Strength- where they find their strength   Most certainly Riley.  He helps encourage Travis to keep trying and striving forth with so many things. Even when Travis feels hopeless or scared or simply wants to give up on something positive, Riley’s always there with help and encouragement.  

T- Test- something that will test them to their limits  Persistent jerks that don’t know how to take ‘no’ as an answer.  Too many times he was badgered by the wrong person over something that could have been ended when he said no.  The results are almost always the same, the pest eventually gets Travis’ fist in their face.

U- Unbelievable- one thing that they experienced that they still have a hard time believing was real    There’s been quite a few, but probably helping out the Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base bring a crashed B-29 to the surface of Lake Mead is one of his more surreal ones.  With help of an underwater breathing apparatus and some robots, Travis was able to connect some ballasts to the plane.  It was a lot of work not only getting it to the surface, but to the shore then back to the base.  Seeing his friends rebuild the plane and get it flying was amazing and even more amazing was when they took him up in it for a ride.

V- Vengeance- have they ever wanted vengeance on someone   Of course...I mean he was shot in the head and lived to tell the tale.  His focus after recovering was finding the person who did it and dispatch of them.  It was his first and hopefully his last time having to deal with the topic of vengeance.

W- Waiting- how good they are at waiting on something/someone  Although Travis may have a lot of patience with people, his self-conscious issues take over when it comes to waiting for someone.  He’ll wait forever, but the longer things take the more his mind torments him that maybe the person isn’t showing up because they found something better to do or someone better to hang around with.  In the other department he’s got zero patience.  He’s like a big kid when he knows about an outing or a surprise that forces him to wait until things are either ready or arrive.

X- xenodocheionology (the love of hotels according to some) since they do some traveling, what their favorite hotel was   So far he really liked the little area of Novac and the room he has there.  It’s a quaint little town with friendly people.  Once the battle over Hoover Dam was over, Travis dumped a lot of funding to that town to help them rebuild and thrive.

Y- Yield- one thing that will make them stop what they’re doing no matter what   The mention of food.  Travis loves to eat.  I was going to say “sex” but that is only an option for one person to offer.  Food, however, anyone can offer.

Oh man…sorry this took so long.  It was a little harder than I thought!  Anyway thanks for sending these!  Enjoy!

1. What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Travis is an observer.  He is very content in sitting and watching the world go by regardless of where he’s at.  Even though he likes to be out on adventures or doing something constructive, he’s also learned to sit back and simply enjoy the peace of doing nothing can bring.

2. How easy is it for your character to laugh?

Very easy.  Travis appreciates a good joke and fun sense of humor especially since those traits are strong in him.  He finds humor in a lot of things and can really appreciate a good comeback or sarcasm.  He loves puns and if you can give him one he’ll probably be your best friend.  Travis is also the kind of person that snickers over the fart sounds made from squeezing a plastic bottle of something.  

3.How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

He has a variety of ways actually.  Sometimes a nice glass of wine, going over a pre-war book, or simply something intimate (the level of that depends on the mood) all of which involve his partner in some way.  

4.How easy is it to earn their trust?

Surprisingly somewhat quickly.  He comes with a deeply ingrained “until you give a reason to mistrust you I will trust you” sort of thing.  He might be wary, but for the most part he’s willing to give someone a chance.  How deep that trust goes is another thing.  He’s not exactly going to be handing out security codes to the first Fiend he meets up with who says they have pure intentions.  

5.How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

Very.  It’s way easier to lose his trust than to gain it if that’s possible.  It all stems back to his being self-conscious.  You betray him, lie, or let him down in some way he’ll always be a little wary.  You basically get two chances with him, however.  Depending on the severity he’ll let the first offense slide…do it to him again, his trust in you is completely shot to hell.

7. What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

Being that he’s lost all his memories up ‘til about a decade ago, there’s not much going on for him nostalgia wise.  He might have a certain item or situation he’s drawn to and not really known why.  Maybe that’s his mind’s way of still having some sort of nostalgia in it, but with the full memory of it gone he can’t comprehend what’s the interest is.  For the most part, however, he does enjoy the feeling it brings even if he doesn’t understand why it’s there.

11. How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

Travis gets frustrated.  He tries really hard not to show that he’s confused with something, but the more he fakes through it the more frustrated he gets.  Half the time too if he gets really frustrated he gets annoyed at whomever it is trying to explain things to him feeling they’re doing a really shitty job at it.

14. What animal do they fear most?

Cazadors.  He’d rather take on a pack of crazed deathclaws than meet up with one cazador.  They’re like the silent ninjas of death in the Mojave.  Half the time they don’t even register on his pip boy’s radar.  Hell they get past Rex a lot of the times so that’s pretty bad and scary right there!

35. How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?

Travis is quite excited when a friend is excited about something.  Even if he has no knowledge of what that something is all about or if it’s something he really dislikes, he’s happy his friend is happy.  He always tries to be supportive in things as well.  Sometimes all it takes is a kind word of motivation from a friend in order to continue to enjoy that thing all the more or be successful at it.

39. How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people?

He ignores any and all flaws as long as that person doesn’t act like a drama whore over it.  Travis certainly has a few flaws himself (no past memories for example) but he doesn’t carry on and whine or even bring constant attention to that.  

A) Why are you excited about this character?

Gosh why wouldn’t I be excited about my dear Travis?  I honestly have had him in my life ever since I was a little cowgirl!  Even though he’s only been highly developed since 2015 he was always a part of my life in some way.  Now that he is so out there and developed I can’t stop thinking about him and putting him on adventures I’m sure he’s always been waiting for.

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

In all honesty I really don’t remember 100% what he might have looked like back when I was a kid.  I do know he was a cowboy with black hair.  The outfit I wore back then was a black cowboy hat with white horses painted around the brim and a bolo tie with a pink horse on it that I still have in my possession.  When I created my courier in Fallout New Vegas, I just loosely based him on a more humanized version of my bad cowboy.  The more I played the more I realized it was no him and he then became Travis.  That look has remained the same after all these years now.  

G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most?

His being self-conscious.  It’s bad enough I’m that way, but it unfortunately bled onto him as well.  He’s been betrayed by someone he trusted and so have I and am always in fear I still will be.  I don’t think he feels that way currently with Riley, but I’m sure that still lingers in the very back of his mind.  I wish he wasn’t like that.  I wish he could trust more in not only himself, but in other people.

J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?

Before the Second Battle for Hoover Dam during one of his little jaunts with flinging grenades around, he accidentally blew up a small water pump on the outskirts of the town of Primm.  The already struggling town was suddenly without water.  Realizing what he had mistakenly done, Travis offered to help fix the pump free of charge.  It took almost a week, but he finally got it up and running again.  He never told anyone that it was his fault that he destroyed the pump.  This may not sound too horrible, but Travis is a good guy and he really didn’t do many terrible things that would warrant him to keep them as a deep, dark secret.

1. Who is the early bird/ Who is the night owl?

Travis is the early bird.  Whether it’s something ingrained in him from his past or simply something he enjoys doing, he’s generally up before sunrise.  However, depending on the previous night’s activities he could rise later.  

2. Who is the big spoon/ Who is the little spoon?

Riley is the big spoon while Travis is the small spoon.

5. Who usually has nightmares?

Riley most certainly.  Travis generally dreams of nonsense.

8. Who sleeps in their underwear (or naked)/ Who sleeps in their pajamas?

Unless things got a little frisky the night before, both will normally sleep in their undies.  Travis will sometimes sleep in the red silk pajama bottoms he has.

19. Who loves to call the other one cute names?

Truth be told, neither really.  They’d either say babe or their partner’s name.  

20. Who is dominant/ Who is submissive?

Riley would be dominant and Travis submissive...not in the bondage and S&M type of way either as neither are into that.

25. Who wears the other ones clothes?

Neither by choice.  Riley will wear Travis’ hat from time to time as he knows how much of a turn on that is for him.  Other than that maybe grabbing a shirt or something out of haste for whatever is the only reason one would wear something owned by the other.

29. Who is the better cook?

Although both do cook and love doing so, Travis would probably win this title. He can make a fantastic stew out of practically anything given to him in the wasteland.  

34. Who would wear “if lost return to…” t-shirt/ Who would wear “I am…” t-shirt?

Considering Travis can be quite reckless at times and go running off after something, he would most certainly be the one with the “If lost” shirt with Riley having the “I am” one.

41. Who cries during sad movies?

If the pet in the movie got killed Travis would surely be crying about that.  You can blow up a town, burn a family out of their homes, but you kill the dog or cat that’s it...on go the waterworks.

42. Who is the neat freak?

Riley is the neat freak.  Granted, Travis is neat more often than not, but there are still times he’ll leave the freshly washed laundry sit on the bed for way too long. Travis is also known for his dislike of washing dishes and he ends up letting those pile up as well.

50. Who is the hopeless romantic?

Even though Travis is a mush and has a strong sense of romance, Riley would certainly take the title of hopeless romantic.