#WHERE ARE LOADER BOT AND GORTYS

[vaulthunterlands]

Finished Tales and I love these idiots

[shinakazami1]

Give me a 12, 13 and 22 for rhys, soldier 🫵

FELLOW RHYS ENJOYER (krotiation I LOVE YOUR ART TOO SM GAAAAH THIS FANDOM HAS SUCH GREAT ARTISTS)

12. What's the funniest or craziest AU idea you've ever come up with?

I have in total, three AUs I have to finally write anything for fhasfsa (I do plan on posting Tales AU first chapter this week tho!!). 1) RHYS AI AU is something you saw me post snippets of - in general, it's an alternative version of Borderlands 2, where Jack kills Lilith and Roland very quickly and survives. Due to mourning for Nisha, Wilhelm and Angel, he one day writes code for a companion based on an imaginary friend he had but also, gives him some trait of each one of those he misses. While Rhys was going to slowly become the silly personality we know and love, this was my typical 'give the character therapy when they don't want it, and end up with them hurting someone else and trying to change'. 2) JUST WING IT AU is my Tales AU that starts with changes in ep 5, with how Rhys handles the news about Jack wanting to get that exoskeleton in him and focusing on exploring Jack's loneliness and adding him as the third character, making sort of second season for the game. The additional driving point would be that Loader Bot would be able to grab Gortys and run off with her, so the search for Vault would become longer Yet the AU I really hope to start exploring in the future, is this one: 3) Loss of what once happened but never before AU. It's a Borderlands 3 Rhack au that would focus on Rhys finding out he is a siren with huge time-travelling powers and the costs that come with it. He would turn back in time, when Jack was still known as John during the nights, and watch some of the consequences happen in the present during the day. He doesn't know though just how strong the butterfly effect will be...

13. What's a character or ship you haven't written/drawn yet but would like to someday?

Characters: Timothy, Angel, Nisha, Zer0, Katagawa, Axton, Moxxi, Lilith, Roland

Ships: Rhysothy, Rhack, JackxNisha, MoxxixTimothy, Rhysagawa, Axton x Turret (cus she is my wife I luv her)

(The list prob isn't finished cus I still have to finish playing the second game and play the third one oifhaiof)

22. Give us headcanons for Rhys

He actually likes fashion and likes casual official style in general.

He has a sweet tooth but pretends to like spicy food in college.

He actually had a heterochromia before the echo eye and decided to keep it.

He admired Jack a bit but he laughed at psycho fans, as he has some critical thinking.

Even a few years after getting Atlas running again, he still tries to make some guns himself, even if he doesn't have as much time.

He was the one dumped by his ex girlfriend even if he didn't like their dynamic because he was actually scared nobody else would be into him.

He spends a lot of time in the morning preparing his hair. It's quite wavy which gets visible in wetter climates but fortunately for him, he lives mostly in dry ones.

He met Katagawa and at first, couldn't believe he had a fan even if he had some boosted ego but felt something off about him. He turned off an invitation to Zanara because he still thinks about his talk with Vaughn about being good at faking cool. That's why he is even more awkward in future games, since while chasing the younger years, he wants to show he matured, hoping that maybe that will bring Sasha back. That's also why he got the moustache - to show he is becoming more serious. Which fails miserably.

He seemed the most confident in his new Atlas CEO stage because he had to look like it. There was nobody else to help him at the time, so he tried his best to do what he had done - acted the plan out.

He still imagines his plans the same way he did in Tales - with fantasies.

[atlasreign]

“Oh, you’re such a goof. But, you know what? You’re MY goof.”

-gortys hours

The way he stares down at Gortys is part endearment, part... Confusion. She was often vocally affectionate in a way that made Rhys felt comfortable, she was sweet. An adorable little ball—not that he'd say it out loud. He still treated her with caution, given she was first and foremost, Atlas property. Property that was still under ownership of someone else, who liked to remind him in his head very often.

❝ A goof—oh c'mon Gort— ❞ Rhys cuts himself off, looking around him for signs of anyone else watching him. Fiona was off talking to Vaughn, Sasha was admiring the weird and wonderful plant life growing around them. Loader Bot was the only one listening in, and as opinionated as he was... He was remarkably quiet.

Crouching down to get closer to eye level with Gortys, Rhys gives her an affirming pat atop her—head?—eyes? He doesn't know what to call it but that's where he pats, smiling away to himself.

❝ I'm indeed your goof, Gortys. We're a family, right. You're my little ball of cute! And terror, but mostly cute. ❞

[fictionkinfessions]

They just announced a sequel to my original source, and while I'm excited there's going to be new characters, and a new story to follow, it makes me upset still that they're not just continuing our story, moreso Fiona's, from where we left off. At this point I'd to anything to see where my friends stories went. Sasha, Fiona, Loader Bot, Gortys- it's just so unfair that they've included me and Vaughn in newer games but not any of them. - Rhys Strongfork

[trashroyalty99]

Rhys frantically going through his wardrobe.

Rhys: Where is it?!

Gortys walking by: Oh, hey Rhys. What are you doing?

Rhys: I can't find my tie! I need it to complete my outfit.

Loader bot in the Atlas hq with Zero and Lorelei.

LB wearing Rhys' tie and mimicking him: Atlas state of the art. Where's my yogurt? I swear I left it in the fridge. Lorelei, you better have not eaten it again!

Lorelei laughing out loud: Hahah, I love this guy!

Zero also laughing: Rhys is going to kill you for this/ But it's worth it/ This is fun.

[snappedsky]

Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 4

So ends part 4 of Skies’ saga. Part 5 will follow Borderlands 3.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

Conclusion

           Skies stands in front of the door of Rhys’ office, trying to work up the nerve to go inside. She takes a deep breath and knocks. Rhys answers right away.

           “Oh, hey, Skies,” he says.

           “Hey,” she sighs, “can we…talk?”

           “Yeah, sure,” he replies and lets her in, leaving the door open just a few inches.

           “How are you feeling?” Rhys asks, “you were pretty drunk last night.”

           “Yeah,” Skies chuckles drily. “It was a…rough couple days.”

         “What happened? Timothy hasn’t told me much except about what happened to Sanctuary.”

           “I’ll…I’ll explain later.”

           Rhys watches her curiously as she awkwardly stares at the floor, fiddling with her fingers.

           “So what’d you wanna talk about?” he asks.

           She swallows hard. “I’m...leaving Pandora. I’m gonna use my Eridium money to buy a ship.”

           “That’s awesome,” he cheers, “I’ll be leaving soon too. Gonna go to Promethea to officially start Atlas. Where are you gonna go?”

           “I don’t know yet,” Skies replies, “I’m…gonna try treasure hunting so I guess I’ll just be traveling around.”

           “Then you’ll need a really good ship,” Rhys muses, “comfortable, secure, fast. I’ll make sure we find you a nice one then customize the hell out of it.”

           Skies finally looks up at him and smiles warmly. He cracks an amused grin. “What’s that look for?”

           She shrugs then looks away awkwardly again. Rhys cocks his head. “Is there…something else?”

           “Kind of,” Skies replies, rubbing her arms. “It’s…this is just…hard for me…but it’s something I have to do.”

           “Okay…?”

           She takes a few deep breaths, hyping herself up, then squeezes her eyes shut and rushes forward.

           Rhys gasps with surprise as she hugs him. She presses her face into his shoulder and wraps her arms up his back. He’s too stunned to respond at first but quickly relaxes and tightly hugs her back.

           “You’re…really important to me,” she says.

           Rhys smiles softly. “You’re important to me too.”

           A warmth spreads through Skies’ chest and she sinks more into his arms.

           “Aw, hugs!”

           Skies tries to let Rhys go and turn around, but she’s too slow as Gortys zooms in and wraps her arms around both of their legs. Loader Bot and Timothy were there too, listening. They both walk in and join the hug, squeezing Skies and Rhys.

           “I can’t believe you’re leaving!” Gortys cries, “I mean it’s good but it’s sad.”

           “I’m not leaving yet, you know,” Skies points out as she struggles to turn her face out of Rhys’ chest. “I still need to buy a ship and supplies.”

           “Shush,” Loader Bot demands, “hug time.”

           Skies huffs with annoyance and looks at Rhys and Timothy. They both smile brightly with amusement and she cracks up. The three of them laugh as they all hug each other.  

[andaxay]

The Last Man on Pandora

The morning after a night of drinking and games with the Caravan Family. Fiona is very kindly reminded by Rhys about her inability to know when to shut up after a drink, or five.

Prompt number 1 from “Grumpy Affectionate Starters” by @drink-it-write-it.

Also available on AO3.

-----

Fiona was never. Drinking. Again.

"Ughhhhh. Deserts have more moisture than my mouth right now."

"Morning, Fi."

Fiona, sat at the table in the caravan with her head in her arms, slowly and painfully pulled her head up to see Rhys had joined her. She scowled - here was this man, who had to have drunk at least as much as she had last night and how did he look as fresh as a spring breeze? Fiona wanted to crawl into a dark hole for at least another day and suspected she looked as rough as she felt.

"How are you so... not hungover?"

"I passed on the shots," Rhys said dryly, "after I caught a glimpse of the burning fire in Athena's eyes when she pulled the bottle out. Figured I was more likely to not die if I skipped."

"I hate you so much." Fiona gingerly laid her head back down into the comfort of her arms.

Rhys half-smiled and gently pushed a mug toward her. "Brought you a coffee."

"... You are my favourite person." Fiona lifted her head again and gratefully pulled the mug toward her as Rhys grinned. "Where's everyone else?"

Rhys stretched from where he was sitting, limbs elongating to take up almost all of the space behind the table. "Sasha's dunking her head into a bucket of water as we speak and I think Athena is, uhh, 'helping' her? Loader Bot took Vaughn for a walk and I think Gortys is with them, too."

Fiona made a grunt of a noise as she began to sip at the coffee. Sweet, sweet coffee. She took a big grateful gulp and set the mug down, and caught sight of Rhys' expression as she did so.

He was smiling. A lot. At her.

"Are you trying to... creep me out of this hangover, or something?"

"So, uh, last night..."

"Last night." Fiona blinked at him, lost. "Last night... we all got wasted? Except the robots, I guess. Not that Gortys would be old enough to drink. ... Would Loader Bot be old enough to drink?"

Rhys rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Huh. Do robots get hangovers? They don't have stomachs, or-or blood, or... headaches?" He shook his head, blinking. "Anyway, nope, that's not it. After we started drinking, we all started to play a... game? I guess?"

Vague, hazy memories swam in front of Fiona's eyes. "Was this before or after Athena cracked out the Death to Braincells drink?"

"Before. We were tipsy enough that it was a good idea, and not too tipsy that all of our deepest, darkest secrets would spill out." Rhys' grin widened further. "In most cases, anyway."

Oh god. Fiona pulled herself into a sitting position, wincing as she did so. "Truth or Dare."

"Uh-huh. Picture the scene, Fi. It was your turn. You absolutely refused a dare, worried that we'd make you kiss Loader Bot, or something. So, truth time. Out of everyone here, y'know, gun-pointed-at-head situation - and I think it's safe to say we're familiar with that feeling- anyway - if you had to-"

"'Who would I kiss'?" Fiona closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead. "Alright, Rhys, you have to understand, my options were very limited."

"I know," Rhys said fairly, shrugging lightly, "I mean, even without limited options, you picked the best choice," and he gestured mock-arrogantly at himself, causing Fiona to snort, "and that would have been the end of that... except you kinda just... kept talking." Fiona squeezed her eyes closed as Rhys grinned again. "Something about how, you'd pick me 'cause I'm cute?"

Fiona groaned and took a very long swig of her coffee. "No way I said that."

"Uh-huh, and I have witnesses. So, just wanted to confirm, now that you're not under the influence of Pandora's finest pale ale-"

"You are going to be unbearable about this, aren't you?" Fiona opened her eyes again to see him grinning at her, all limbs and asymmetrical suit and gelled hair and that damn contagious smile.

"Fi-ona-"

Too bloody contagious. She couldn't have stopped her own smile if she'd wanted to. "Yeah, yeah. You're cute. Just stop smiling at me like that." She exhaled a laugh as she pulled the coffee cup back toward her. "Just so you know, though, this is an apocalypse situation. 'Only if you were the last man on Pandora', etcetera."

"I'm flattered. And, just so you know," and he stood and headed for the door of the caravan, "just, y'know. It doesn't have to be an apocalypse situation." He turned and winked, and left her to her coffee.

[much-obliged-timothy]

I found transcripts for every episode of Tales From The Borderlands which makes fic writing SO MUCH EASIER so anyways here’s a little snippet of my Tim in the events of Tales AU, which I can now put my full focus on! 

“Do you have an extra gun?” Fiona asked Sasha.

Sasha stood up, shooting one of the bandits near their group. The bandit cried out, stumbling back and falling dead next to Fiona. Sasha crouched back down.

“There,” she said.

“Oh, I like her,” Tim said.

“Hey, where’s the cat?” Sasha said.

“Outside. Which is another reason I want to get back out there,” Tim said, snatching the gun from the fallen bandit. “I’ll be taking this.”

“Hey!” Fiona said.

“Bounty hunter, kiddo,” Tim said. “Guns go to me.”

“‘Kiddo’? What are you, Handsome Jack?” Fiona said in annoyance.

Tim paused for a moment before sighing. “Was doing that to annoy Rhys and now it’s a habit. Shit.”

That was a lie, but Rhys didn’t have time for this. Fiona tossed Gortys to Rhys as she searched around for a weapon of her own. 

“Loader Bot, get pushing that statue. Sash, you and the bandit get the ankles,” Fiona said, eyeing the statue.

“Hey, not bad,” Tim said. “Also, still not a bandit. Is it the mask? It’s totally the mask.”

“Go!” Fiona said.

“You yelled at Tim,” Rhys said in surprise.

“And I’ll do it again if he doesn’t get his ass moving,” Fiona said.

Tim pointed at her as he stood up. “That? That’s called a spine, Rhys. Grow one while I go shoot a statue.”

“I hate him,” Rhys grumbled.

[michellespenscratchz]

#12 for rhysha and/or #15 for gortys ;)

12 An incredibly loud and painful high-five. (Awesome, I have some cut content I can use for this one!)

Sasha stood on tiptoes behind Rhys so that her chin was level with his shoulder. Her arms stretched around him to help him line up his shot. “Relax. Fire in between breaths. And just remember how much you want that asshole dead,” she instructed with a grin.

“Okay…” he swallowed. “Here we go.” He ECHO-scanned the skag meat can on the distant stack of boxes to improve his aim. “You picked the wrong man to cross, pal!” he told that can, and pulled the trigger.

He eeped from the loud bang. Still, the empty can definitely rued whatever offense it had caused Atlas’ CEO. The bullet punched through it and sent its punctured remains rolling on the ground.

“All right!” Sasha nudged Rhys’ shoulder encouragingly. “Nice shot! We’ll have you addicted to the product in no time.”

She raised her hand for a high-five. Instinctively he shuffled the gun to his cyber hand to reciprocate with his flesh one. Their palms collided with a smack.

“Hnnk!” He bit his lip and shook his hand afterward. “Yeah--ow--that reminds me. Might wanna work on the recoil.”

“As your Weapons Tester: You got it Sir, I’ll put that in the notes.” She winked, the corner of her mouth turning up. “As your girlfriend? They’re called ‘callouses,’ Mr. Prep School.”

15 the biggest, warmest hugs (This is a preview of a later Fiends to Fire scene, where Gortys confides in Rhys she feels like she has no purpose anymore after the Vault.)

"Rhys?” Gortys’ eyes sank, her metal fingers scraping against each other sheepishly. “A manager is what you are, right?"

"More or less.” He sat back in his desk chair, looking the part.

"And a manager tells everyone else what to do, right?" she asked.

He folded his hands on the desk. "Well, if we get down to brass tacks, it's more like, a manager makes sure the team is doing what they're supposed to be doing."

"Oh, good!” The robot looked up hopefully. “Then can you please tell me what I'm supposed to be doing, Mr. Manager Sir?"

He tilted his head. "What do you mean? You're doing an outstanding job already with the salvage."

"I certainly appreciate that.” Gortys traced her finger on the ground coyly. “But what I mean is, I was created to find the Vault. Now that the Vault's gone, I can't do what I was made to do anymore."

Rhys blinked. Gortys and Loader Bot both had proven to be as complex as humans and then some, but a robot dealing with an existential crisis was not something he ever expected to be in his job description. "Sure you can!” he assured her. “Except now you get to decide what you were made to do.” He chuckled. “Just look at LB. He was built to eradicate the lowlife scum of Pandora. Now he's basically one of them."

"That's a very good point," she agreed.

"So, what do you want to do, Gortys?" he asked.

"Well..." she pondered that. “I like giving hugs.”

“That’s, heheh, a start.”

“I could give the biggest, warmest hugs to all the rest of the team!” she said, as if it was a grand epiphany.

“Morale is certainly important,” he affirmed. His lip jutted as he glanced up in thought. “You know, now that you mention it, I may have just the job for you.”

“Really? Is it hugs?”

“Digital hugs. You’ll be sending positivity and brand awareness all over the ECHO-Net.” He cast his hand in a wide arc, dramatically.

“Oooh, that sounds exciting!” The little robot actually hopped in place, and he hoped she didn’t leave a dent in the floor.

“Gortys, how would you like to be my social media handler?”

“Yes, sir! ...Wait, what’s that?”

“Let me show you.”

[Original Ask]

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

God I just like...

DANG IT MAN I wrote a version of Bl3 in 2016 where the living bl2 and tps and tales VHs (sans claptrap) all got together on Pandora at Lilith's call and vibed together. Like yeah it was self serving and I was 16 and it wasn't great but DAMMIT I TRIED and 2016 me will forever be robbed of it like

Rhys was there all over Zer0 and Rhys n Axton were going back and fourth with sass as Axton just flubbing Rhys's name and the two egos clashed and Fiona immediately became one of Axton's faves because of how she poked at Rhys

Gaige Krieg Axton and Sal were a pure chaos unit within the bl2 group and Maya was basically the only responsible one there keeping them from running off and doing stunts at all times (once they accidentally lit the only bandit technical they had on fire and it exploded) (Axton and Sal were both the cool uncles. Like they definitely gave off the cool gay uncles vibe. Gaige had good role models and a kickass older brother in Krieg)

(and Rhys was undeniably scared of Krieg but he tried to deny it anyway. Maya tried her best but he was not having it)

Timothy and Aurelia had banter because of how fuckin different they are and we were ROBBED OKAY we were ROBBED OF THIS and Athena was there making sure Fiona didn't get herself hurt since this was still essentially her training (first real mission?) and now Rhys was also over here janking stuff up but he was under Zer0's protection. Also Athena in particular got along well with Zer0 because of their assassin backgrounds also they both had (essentially) a child they were babysitting so they also had a bond with Maya and her kids of chaos

Gortys and Loader Bot were on Sanctuary with the BL1 VHs and Tina Pickle and Ellie, and Tannis had a ball with Gortys's construction n Atlas involvement in the Vault of the Traveller and LB's sentience. I imagine while that was happening Tina was teaching Gortys and lb how to play BnB. Because I really wanna see Gortys playing BnB

THE WATCHER WAS THERE BEING CRYPTIC BUT SHE WAS THERE SHE DIDN'T JUST DISAPPEAR AT RANDOM AND WAS NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. PEOPLE DID IN FACT ACKNOWLEDGE THE WEIRD BUG ROBO ALIEN PASSING AROUND KNOWLEDGE THROUGH BRAINS AND IT WASN'T STUCK IN AN ECHO LOG UNDER A PLATFORM

Dammit I just... Why is the Watcher never mentioned in Bl3 outside of the Guardian Takedown as a throwaway line by Scourge that is probably entirely missed by most people who just wanna grind for that sweet sweet loot and or can't hear what he's saying BECAUSE IT ISN'T SUBTITLED. She's only mentioned once in Commander lily and it's in a fuckin echo log. Like.

Tf?? That's a big deal. That's a huge deal!!! Did you tell Tannis? If so, why don't we hear about Tannis's research?? If you didn't tell Tannis THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU and also WHY ARE YOU NOT TELLING THE NEW VHS HEY BTW STICK AROUND PLS WE NEED YOU FOR MORE THAN THE CALYPSOS EY LMAO

Anyway they all camped together as they took bandit technicals across Pandora doing missions and helping people and making the planet a better place (ish) while trying to figure out what cryptic shit the Watcher was trying to tell them

[handsomekatagawa-archive]

Rhys having a chronically ill S/O

AN- these are based on my own experiences with my chronic illnesses. sorry they're kinda shitty :/

Oh my god he's the absolute sweetest and most understanding person ever

Tries his best to ease the pain you're in

"Rhys, my back hu-"

BOOM INSTANT BACK MASSAGE

If you have a fucked up digestive system, he will go out of his way to get you whatever food you need that won't make you sick

"How can you eat an entire tub of ice cream and be fine, but get sick when you have a single cheesestick?"

"YOU DARE QUESTION THE STOMACH MONSTER?"

His hands are like,,,, super cold

Which is great for when you have migraines

Will program and build mobility aids for you

WHEELCHAIR RACES

But he will definitely carry you around every chance he gets

If you mention you feel faint he will unashamedly make a scene of trying to get you somewhere to rest

"MOVE OUTTA THE WAY, SKAGFACE, LEMME GET (Y/N) SOMEWHERE COOL WHERE THEY CAN SIT DOWN"

"Rhys, I'll be fine, I just need some water."

"oh"

Always down for cuddles and naps

Hates when he has to go to work bc he's scared you'll need him when he's gone

Soooo if he can be there, he'll get the second most best thing

"Hello, (Y/n)!"

"Greetings."

*over echo" "RHYS WHY THE FUCK ARE LOADER BOT AND GORTYS HERE?"

"THEYRE YOUR PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANTS! LIKE BAYMAX!"

"Would you like some tea?"

"Ok fine they can stay."

[cole-saberhagen]

A (looo-o-o-o-ng-ish) Tales From The Borderlands post

After sitting on this game since its 2014 release waiting for the perfect time to play it, I finally got around to starting Tales in preparation for Borderlands 3.

I’ve seen all the characters over 5 years in YouTube clips, gif sets, fan art, people just generally talking about them and finally I got to ‘meet’ them myself. 

My opinion of each character so far is quite different than I imagined.

Rhys - I've known for a while this guy is my accidental doppelganger (same name, nickname - Cupcake, gender, age, hair color, invasive blue modification in the left eye, company man profession, ‘hostile takeover’ victim, life choices, probably more - really everything except the mechanical hand, head implant and new mustache - is that my future fate?) however he's got a wildly different personality to me than I thought. He’s way more ambitious and awkward and I’m more avoidant and well, slightly less awkward. Now I know there's more differences between us it's kind of a relief, honestly. Gearbox is off the hook for stealing my life.

As for what I think of him, yeah he's a bit more awkward than I imagined lmao, he's likable but I ended up liking some of the others a bit more. Maybe just because I’ve seen him around the community so much so the other characters were more fresh? Also although Troy Baker did a great job, I still think his new voice suits him better (if that's even him...). Maybe I just have Troy Baker over-saturation from associating him with too many other characters before Rhys.

Vaughn - I was indifferent to him but having seen what he's like I really like him! Tiny nerd who likes tech, deals with finance but ultimately just wants to run off into the wilderness and never come back and is always anxious about something? that’s me! He's my new personality and looks doppelganger! So now I know I'm basically Rhys + Vaughn in one person. Probably not a good thing.

Fiona - I like her but I regret picking some of the dialogues I did because I wanted to play her more ruthless given her backstory. I’ll do a darker playthrough later where I can explore that better because I feel that’s where her character really shines. I’ll be annoyed if they don’t bring her and Sasha back for Borderlands 3 like they did with Rhys and Vaughn already because they’re great characters. I hope they get a whole DLC.

Sasha - She's one of my new favorites, she has awesome combat skills and I almost yelled out loud when Handsome Jack insulted her without her knowing. I think some of her best dialogue would happen in a darker Fiona playthrough. I really like her interactions with Rhys as well, they seem to have good chemistry but I managed to make things so awkward by my own awkwardness and Rhys’s awkwardness, double awkwardness. So I clearly picked the wrong dialogues and she didn’t appreciate that at all :(

Zer0 - I never actually played Zer0 in Borderlands 2 so I'll include how I see him here. He's just the definition of cool, holy hell the way he leaps around with his sword, and I really like how Rhys looks up to him. I finally saw the “you’re really cool” part in context. I like how he has a super high status in the world as a known vault hunter and to us who've played BL2 he's just one of our regular old player choices.

August - This guy makes me anxious as hell, but I'm guessing we're supposed to be wary of him until we know more about him then he gets some sort of redemption or we see his nicer side.

Vasquez - No real surprises, I hate this guy's guts and wish to throw him out of an airlock.

Felix - I knew something was up with his guy and I was right. Regret not picking the baddass dialogue option with Fiona but again that’s one for next time.

Shade - I think this is my biggest sway of opinion. I found him creepy as hell back in Oasis in the Borderlands 2 DLC but in Tales he actually seems more likeable. I just wanted to be his friend as he seemed really lonely, even though he stuffs dead bodies and pretends they're alive just to have someone to talk to. I just have an appreciation for how well Gearbox writes creepy characters I guess, lmao.

Loader Bot & Gortys -  I would protect these 2 with my life. I love their little conversations bitching about the other characters. Loader Bot is such a bro and has some amazing one-liners.

The imaginary scenes where they have such high opinions of themselves are my favorite.

Dammit Rhys, you’ve opened the real Pandora’s box now. it’s all over. Technically it’s the PreSequel vault hunters’ fault for helping Nakayama program his Jack AI in that side quest on Helios, but I still...

Well, the game was peaceful while it lasted. Now it’s time for the awkward fun of Handsome Jack screeching my real name and my tumblr nickname and tormenting my virtual-likeness like it’s a torture sim. 

Yeah this is going to be a long-ass game, lmao.

I’ve seen the beginning of the 2nd chapter on YouTube and gif sets enough times but it was great to see it in context finally.

I’m going to review the rest of the chapters individually in different posts but this is what I got for the 1st one. My choices were all over the place deciding how I was going to play them but I think I’ve got it, mostly. 

[pixie-mask]

I’m not going to hold my breathe on this but omg I would just really want one of the DLCs to just include a Tales from the Borderlands main 6 reunion. Like maybe Rhys and Zer0 find a clue to Sasha’s whereabouts and hire the Vault Hunters to help. We get to find/meet Sasha, Fiona, Gortys and Loader Bot and we bring them back home where they stay for future games and dlcs. Like please I want them all together again or at least in a place where they can get into contact with one another. 

[acabang]

Nerding out on the Borderlands

I finally got around to playing Borderlands 3 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Personal order of preference for the franchise: Tales ≥ BL2 > BL3 > BL1 > TPS

Depending on how the DLC goes though, 3 could be just as good as 2 for me. Unlikely but it’s possible.

I really enjoyed playing all the Vault Hunters, Zane in particular, even if it seems like he lags behind the rest of them. And while she’s fun as just a straight up gunner, my only real bummer is Moze. For me when it comes to the playable characters, it’s all about their Action Skills and if I don’t find myself using it regularly then I hope they have something fun in their skill trees to make up for the lack of it other than shooting guns exceptionally well (ie. Gaige with Ricochet-Anarchy stacking abuse, Krieg with Flame of the Firehawk-Raving Retribution Hellborn madness, etc.). The idea of Iron Bear is rad but vehicles have never been useful outside of a means of map traversal, which this mech isn’t for, and if I’m gonna give up the benefits of my gear then it better be fucking OP or at least viable, especially at the highest of difficulties. So far it’s not looking like it is and I don’t expect it ever will get to that level. For the most part though, she’s still a lot of fun to use as a Plain Jane FPS character.

Overall, I actually enjoy all four initial characters pretty much equally which I can’t say about the other games. I still had fun with them but I didn’t like Roland, Salvador and Nisha as much as their fellow Vault Hunters in their respective games. I’m really looking forward to what DLC Vault Hunters they have in store though, they’ve all been pretty solid and just plain fun to play as.

                               -SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT-

I liked the story well enough and felt engaged the entire time. I didn’t really feel bogged down throughout and enjoyed the pace. Even the sidequests I thought played along well with the storyline missions, they didn’t feel as jarring with too much backtracking or as tediously boring as The Pre-Sequel had it. Although, all the games are guilty of this, the Underdome/Circle of Slaughter missions are still lame.

I loved pretty much most of the new NPCs, however major or minor a role they played. Lorelei was interesting and I want to know more about her, the same goes for Clay, who I could both see becoming Vault Hunters themselves (hopefully) in a future game. The Katagawa-Rhys dynamic was fun, as was BALEX and GenIVIV. I loved Wainwright Jakobs and I especially loved Typhon DeLeon, two of the more likable and wholesome characters in the entire franchise. They don’t hold a candle to Loader Bot & Gortys from Tales but still very admirable in a universe full of assholes and psychopaths. Even some of the minor villains were fun, the Traunt Brothers and Pain & Terror specifically.

Now it’s going to be unfair to compare the Twins to Jack but... they still could've been written better. Brats with god complexes and one with an inferiority complex to boot is fine, not the most compelling, but wait! They’re also streamers because *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*. Despite that, the VA performances of what they were given were both still very well done. When they start to actively antagonize each other is when they started to turn around for me, especially with the power corrupting Troy to the point of almost killing off Tyreen. The Twins being the children of Typhon is a neat twist reveal but I feel like if you’ve been discovering his logs throughout the maps you can put two and two together long before they outright state it.

Though I should probably give credit to the Twins for being a part of why I love Typhon so much. With him being revered the way he was, especially by Tannis, as the first Vault Hunter, it’s refreshing to see a fabricated myth actually turn out to be mostly a myth and not a 100% accurate depiction or historic event like most other games usually do. Even the damn posters of Typhon got him all wrong which I loved. He’s endearingly flawed and his admittance to not being the best father to Tyreen & Troy after they lost their mother actually really got to me. He wasn’t around for long but it was smart of Gearbox to have built up his backstory through those logs, it allowed his character to make some sort of impact like it did on me which made his death actually quite poignant.

Thus leading to probably what I can only assume, since I haven’t bothered to read other people’s reaction to it, is the most controversial part of the game. I love character deaths, especially for ones I adore. When done properly it brings more meaning to them and for the character that may have taken their lives. Bloodwing and Roland helped build Jack up to be even more of the villain that most people love (to hate). Hell, even Sasha’s death in Tales actually had me crying... then immediately laughing because I totally got baited by it especially after already losing Scooter.

Now, like I said, I love character deaths and I’m totally fine with Maya being the one we lose but the way she dies was more of a pathetic wail than whatever Gearbox was hoping to achieve. And for what? All I hope for in a character death is to have more meaning to it than a passing of the torch to a cipher of a character that was basically just introduced and I have no real connection towards, good or bad, because going forward from then on certainly isn’t going to be positive at all. Who knows, she could end up being a favourite character of mine in the future as she develops more but as of right now, no, the only reason for her existence in this game world so far was to take the place from two beloved characters that hasn’t been earned yet.

The other character being Lilith as she sacrifices herself to keep Pandora closed. I don’t believe she’s actually dead, gone for now but at least not dead. It’ll probably be the main focus of the next game, if not in a DLC, in figuring out a way to get her back from Elpis, if she’s even stuck up there. It’s sad to lose her immediately after regaining her powers back but at least she went out with Alicia Keys singing her a fire swan song. Unfortunately, before going off to save the day and Gearbox not being entirely satisfied yet with shoving Ava down our throats the first time, Lilith hands over protection of Sanctuary III to her. Hopefully Ava is given an extremely satisfying character arc in the proceeding games because woof, that’s going to be a tough mountain to climb especially if it takes another 2-5 years for the next game to release.

I don’t actually hate Ava, I just don’t care about her. Also our Vault Hunter(s) were right there, technically, and as was Tannis. She may not be able to fight but she’s more than capable of leading the Crimson Raiders. She’s also the most consistently well written character that’s shown growth over the games that she’s been a part of in the franchise, in my opinion.

As for the rest of the characters, I’m good with moving on from Vaughn now. He was unexpectedly funny to okay during Tales but yeah, he’s already worn out his welcome for me. Rhys was fine, not as good as he was in Tales but he wasn’t really even my favourite character from that game anyway. Who I was missing was Fiona, I really wish that she had shown up but hopefully that might still be a possibility in DLC. Maybe she’ll show up alongside Athena & Janey, continuing her VH training somehow saved from wherever she disappeared off to. Preferably with Loader Bot and Gortys as well. It’d also be nice to run into Axton, Sal, Gaige and especially Kreig considering the whole Maya situation and her promising to see him again.

Then there’s also the B-Team, which a part of me wanted to interact with more but another part where I think I’m okay with what we got. I was disappointed in Tina’s development however, I didn’t expect a full maturation of character but I also hoped she wouldn’t be the spaz that she was when she was a young teen. Even in Dragon Keep she showed a little bit of growth with her acceptance of Roland’s death but I guess they wanted to keep her annoying, which was fine back in 2 and TPS when she was basically a kid but I believe she’s supposed to be at least 18 now? I guess it’s fine as long as it fits the dynamic between her, Brick and Mordecai. I will also say that Mordecai’s side quest to attend his protégé’s birthday party was really bittersweet, I loved that brief respite from the chaos that is the rest of the game and a stark reminder that Pandora sucks.

Aside from the actual plot and characters, I thought they did an even better job at world building the rest of the universe. The mega-corporations side of Borderlands has always been fascinating to me and I feel like they often take a backseat by most fans since they’re just these ever present entities in the universe and not actual characters themselves, despite each of them having quite unique “personalities” in the products they manufacture and the individuals that represent them. We had Commandant Steele & General Knoxx show off a militaristic side of the original Atlas as The Crimson Lance, then there was Jack as the face of the Hyperion we knew, and the fallout from his demise during Tales. There’s also Tannis giving us slight tidbits of how Dahl operated on Pandora between the first & second game and, of course, Mr. Torgue with, well, Torgue and I guess now he’s in charge of the battle arenas. Now we get insight on the current incarnation of Atlas with Rhys at the helm, Maliwan with Katagawa Jr. and Wainwright as the heir to Jakobs. It’s just fun to see these corporations steadily being fleshed out with each game and I’m interested to see how Tediore, Vladof and maybe even S&S Munitions, if they ever make a return, will turn out.

On the other end of the spectrum and more of an active danger to the universe are the Vaults, their purpose and the monsters contained within, one of them called the Timekeeper who we have yet to encounter. Also more insight into who the Eridians were, the siren Nyriad’s role with their eradication and warning of a seventh siren who shouldn’t be found. There’s definitely plenty of seeds that were planted, it’s just a shame that it’ll probably be a long time from now before any of them get answered unless they start pumping out these games which I hope they don’t. Oversaturation and fatigue can ruin a franchise.

This has been my TED Talk, thank you for reading.

[hyperioncompanyman]

Another real talk. Where is Gortys and Loader Bot in all this for Borderlands 3? I need them.

[doom-dreaming]

Hidden Away

Rhys confesses something to Sasha in the Atlas terraforming facility.

Read it on Ao3 here!

******

Rhys didn’t know how to describe it. It seemed silent, but at the same time, it...wasn’t. Leaves rustled. Trees creaked. Insects droned. Sure, it was probably the most gorgeous place he’d seen on Pandora so far, but something about it still made his skin crawl. “This is...uh…”

Sasha smirked. “Romantic?”

“Well, I guess it could be…” Rhys ducked under a low branch. “If it weren’t for the hissing.” He tipped a thumb toward a group of the floating plant-creatures, watching as they drifted serenely overhead. “It’s...a little creepy.”

Sasha shrugged. “Compared to the rest of the wildlife on Pandora…”

Rhys grumbled a reluctant agreement to her unspoken implication. At least these things hadn’t tried to kill them on sight. Regardless, he didn’t really want to be in this facility any longer than he had to be. “Kinda hard to see the tower from down here…”

“We’ll find it. We weren’t too far off when that catwalk collapsed.” She elbowed him in the ribs as they pushed through a curtain of huge leaves. “And you were totally scared, Mister I-Could-Jump-A-Million-Times-Further-Than-That.”

Rhys scoffed, but didn’t bother denying it. They walked on in comfortable silence for a few moments. Well, calling it comfortable silence was maybe a bit of a stretch, since every movement in the leaves around them set Rhys’ nerves on edge. And again, it wasn’t really silence, with all the jungle noises— “So...you think you could get back together with August?” Maybe not the best topic, but he was desperate for conversation. “If that’s even something you’re interested in at all, of course.”

“I...don’t know,” Sasha admitted with a sigh.

“He seemed kind of...disrespectful. And not just during the entire Gortys...core...fiasco, either—which I actually totally understand why he would be then, I mean, that whole thing was craaaazy—”

“He tries to act tough,” Sasha cut in. “But...once you get to know him…” Rhys glanced down at her just in time to see a slight smile tug at the corners of her lips. “He can actually be pretty sweet.”

She didn’t elaborate and Rhys chewed his lip. He hated to press the subject, but hearing nothing besides bugs, leaves, hissing plants, and his own footsteps only made him think about the potential danger they were in. Dreamy, glowing jungle or not, this was still an Atlas facility, and given his track record at the previous two Atlas facilities...he’d barely make it out of this one alive. If at all. At least Vaughn was with Loader Bot and Fiona could (hopefully) rely on Athena if things got too dicey—

“While we’re on the subject though, why don’t we talk about you?”

“Wh—uh, huh?” He looked down at Sasha, not at all comforted when he was met with narrowed eyes and a cunning smirk. “Wh—wha—haha, uh, what is there to talk about...about me…?”

She gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. “I’m not blind, Rhys.”

“I...know that…” He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“And I’m not stupid, either.”

Yeah, it was going there. “I…officially ha-have nooo idea what you’re talking about, a-anymore,” he lied, hating how nervous he sounded. Fiona makes it look so easy… He swallowed maybe a little too loudly when he felt his face heating up at the thought of the con artist.

“That blush says you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Sasha stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. “So go ahead and tell me why I catch you staring at my sister practically every time I look at you.”

“I...uh...ha, I don’t stare, okay? I…” He drew in a deep breath. He could do this. He could say it. Sasha wouldn’t shoot him. They needed to hack the security system and she couldn’t do it without him, so he was safe...right? “Fine, I...think she’s...really beautiful. There, I said it. Happy?”

Sasha’s eyes narrowed to slits as she studied his (uncomfortably warm) face. “That’s it?”

“Wha...what do you mean?”

“You like the way she looks,” Sasha clarified, voice hard.

Rhys immediately realized his mistake. “No, no! Well, yes—she’s...God, she’s gorgeous, but that’s not the only thing! She...she’s smart! A-and funny—sometimes—and I like how she rolls her eyes and pretends not to care but actually smiles when she thinks I’m not looking—oh, and when she asks for my opinion on things, that’s nice—”

Sasha waved dismissively. “Okay, okay… Don’t...choke on your tongue.” She let her arms drop to her sides and continued down the path.

Rhys fell into step beside her, wringing his hands. “Is it...okay with you? I mean...if I were to, I don’t know, like...ask her...out, or...something? I haven’t really known either of you for very long, but...surviving death with someone tends to make you think about—”

“Rhys, just...stop, for a second. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I...do that a lot.”

“It’s fine with me if you want to…” she looked down and picked at her nail polish, “...date Fiona, I guess, but I’m just gonna tell you right now… I don’t know if she feels the same way.”

“I...kinda picked up on that, actually.” He sighed and scuffed at the dirt. “Which is why I wanted to make sure it was okay with you so I could...ask what kinds of things she likes. So I’d...have a better chance.”

At that, Sasha turned. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

He didn’t immediately reply. Was he serious about this? It sure felt like it. Ever since he’d met Fiona, he’d had this strange sense of...a loss of control. Which, honestly, was kind of troubling. He’d always had a plan—or...he’d always thought he had a plan—but then along came this crazy Pandoran woman with a hat and a sleeve pistol and a silver tongue and he just...lost it. Poof. Gone. Every clever one-liner he managed to think of didn’t have the same effect on her that it would have had on some tight-skirted secretary back on Helios. In fact, more often than not, he found himself tripping over his words, stuttering and blabbering and generally looking like an idiot. And she would just patiently raise that eyebrow—the one with the weirdly cute scar through it—and wait for him to finish whatever it was he was trying to say. He tried to hate the way she insulted him, but it always felt more like teasing than anything else; there was rarely any actual venom in the words. He could fake animosity well enough around the others; keep up the charade of reluctant partner-in-crime, but when they were alone… He’d never felt anything like this before, so...that had to mean—

“Rhys? Hello? Ugh, God, you...you really mean it, don’t you?” Sasha tossed her hands in the air and kept walking. “Go figure, you come down from your fancy moonbase and pretend to go on and on about “filthy Pandoran criminals,” when actually—”

“I think I love her, Sasha,” he murmured, still caught in his thoughts.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. How would you even know what love feels like, Hyperion boy? I bet you’ve never loved anyone besides yourself and maybe your parents. It’s just because we’re “dangerous” down here, right? You want to be able to brag to all your buddies about how you’ve got a “bad girl” and how you’re so smooth that even—whoa.”

She stopped so suddenly that Rhys almost walked straight into her. “What’s gooooh...wow.” A clearing had opened up in front of them, and dozens of the glowing balloon-plants floated through the treetops. “That’s…”

Sasha took a few hesitant steps out into the glade, turning around, taking everything in. “This is incredible,” she breathed. “Oh, come look at these!” She was bent down beside a small tree, inspecting a patch of purple flowers growing on the trunk. “You know...after a while, you just sort of feel like you’ve seen everything; like you can’t be surprised by anything anymore…” She reached out to touch one of the flowers. “Something so delicate...hidden away…”

Nothing she was saying was incorrect, and he honestly wanted to bring a small handful (or an entire basket) back to Fiona, but he also had a sneaking suspicion that maybe the flowers would be better off left undisturbed. There had been a small carnivorous plant of some kind back in that initial “living area” after all... “Maybe...we should just let it be.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, however, Sasha grinned and plucked one anyway, holding it out to him. “Give it to Fiona.”

The blush that had been slowly subsiding over the past few minutes suddenly rushed back into his cheeks with nearly painful intensity. “You’re sure? Is this even her thing? I mean...would she like it? And weren’t you just complaining about how—”

She waved him off with a short laugh. “Yes, she’ll love it. Trust me. Just stick it behind her ear or something.”

Rhys accepted the flower hesitantly. “You’re absolutely sure you’re okay with me and her...being together? If it...even happens…”

Sasha put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. “Would I be telling you to give her a flower if I wasn’t okay with it?”

“I don’t know, I mean, the whole thing could be another con,” he muttered, only half-joking. “Maybe she hates flowers. Maybe she’s allergic to them and—”

“Would you just keep the flower and walk so we can find this secur—pfff—” A splatter of orange liquid covered her face before she could finish the sentence.

Rhys looked down at the flower, then back up at Sasha’s pollen-splashed face, laughing softly. “You deserved that.”

“Yes I did.”

Rhys tucked the flower into his vest pocket and turned back in the direction of the tower. He paused mid-step, however. Something wasn’t right. That leaky-gas-pipe noise had gotten louder. And...somehow more aggressive. “Uh...Sasha?”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear it.”

He backed toward her, glancing around the glade. The bluish-white glow provided by the docile floating plants had turned into a harsh red and about sixteen of them were propelling themselves slowly toward he and Sasha. “This is why we can’t have anything nice.” He pointed toward the angrily-hissing plants. “I told you we should have just left it alone… Red means bad, right...?”

******

Fiona hadn’t expected to see Rhys leaning on her sister’s shoulder, barely conscious, when the door slid open to reveal the two of them.

Vaughn took a step closer. “What happened?”

“Oh, um, Rhys just took a spill,” Sasha explained, half walking, half dragging Rhys through the door. “He’s...he’s totally fine.”

Fiona chewed the inside of her cheek, watching Rhys’ head roll limply from side to side, and accidentally bit down a little too hard when Sasha dumped him roughly against a stack of crates.

“Jussst...take spill,” he slurred. “...fine.”

Fiona kept her eyes on him for a moment longer. “You sure about that? He...might have a concussion.” As her gaze slid back to Sasha, she caught a glimpse of purple sticking out of the pocket of his vest and couldn’t keep herself from doing a double-take.

“Nah, he’ll be okay,” was the dismissive reply. “He’s got a thick skull. But we learned something about Cassius…”

Her sister’s words faded out as she stared at the scrap of purple. It was a flower. A glowing flower. A crushed glowing flower. Where had he…? She blinked a few times, then glanced back at Sasha. She didn’t have a flower on her, at least not that Fiona could see… Had she given it to him? Had he planned to give it to her? Fiona couldn’t help the little spike of jealousy that pierced through her chest at the thought. Sure, Sasha was her sister and her best friend and she wanted her to be happy and Rhys was a decent guy (even if he was Hyperion) but she didn’t think she’d been imagining all the—

Athena’s enraged screams snapped her out of her daze and she snatched the flower from Rhys’ vest before turning to see what all the commotion was about. Athena had her sword at Cassius’ throat, snarling, while Vaughn, Gortys, and Sasha just watched in horror. Fiona spared one last look back at Rhys. She didn’t really know where this jealousy had come from, and didn’t even know if her juvenile reasoning was justified, but as she started across the room toward her sister, she dropped the flower, not feeling any guilt whatsoever when the heel of her boot mashed it into a weakly-glowing paste on the concrete.