I can't be the only one who thinks playing DLC2 in Borderlands 3 while the Broken hearts day event is active is both the Best and worst idea. It was all well and good, until I went and did Burton Briggs' side quest line... 😭
spoilers for Bounty of Blood under the cut, keep reading at ur own peril. Also some Guardian Takedown spoilers for anyone who hasn’t beat it yet
tl;dr: a comparison between something taken from BL2 and a thing taken from Bounty of Blood. more spoilery tl;dr below the cut.
also the siren thing is not spoilers so i’ll share it here for anyone curious, it’s just this: siren tattoos are blue but when lily absorbs eridium in 2, they turn pinkish/purple. just like how vaults do from bl1 to bl2. they’re white/blue in bl1, then purple-pink in bl2 (and tps), y’know, after Eridium begins erupting from the ground. just a neat little detail i noticed that im not entirely sure was intentional but im gonna believe it is.
tl;dr: Gythian Blood = Core and the Ruiner is of Eridian Origin even tho everyone in the DLC likes to say it was created with Jakobs’ bioengineering. disclaimer: idk if I’ve found every hidden ECHO so I may be missing a few things but I have done every side quest and took ample screenshots of all important dialogue in the DLC : )
“man i just sat here for like 15 minutes staring at my keyboard mentally comparing core and eridium like the dumb bitch i am.
it's not like we can do an actual comparison because we have no idea what the natural fauna of gehenna was like before jakobs came and mutated everything with core unlike pandora where we know what skags and rakk and shit were like BEFORE the eridium crust erupted.
altho!!! there's a neat comparison between joey ultraviolet and rose. like obviously he wasn't getting tattoos and was just doing lines of crushed up eridium but the point stands they both have glowy eyes and unique powers so i don't necessarily think this means rose is a siren just because she has magic powers especially when we know she got the whistling passed down to her from her grandmother.
especially because we've never seen a siren interact with core before. altho that leaves the question we have seen core tattoos now what are eridium tattoos like? actually rose's tattoos were on her right arm obviously she isn't a siren as we know them right now (I saw a post on reddit where people thought rose was a siren)
of course that brings up the point perhaps siren tattoos ARE eridium tattoos. but then we hear the general's log about how the devil riders were tattooing a man with core and blood so obviously they're not ‘naturally’ occurring unlike siren tattoos. so odds are they're probably not equivalents but something interesting i thought of while thinking about this is how well siren tattoos compare to the Vaults from borderlands 1 and borderlands 2″
anyway. this is all ive been thinking about. yes yes i know guardian takedown post but! >:( im still salty even tho this update has been lovely (outside of Blane not getting his correct damage scaling ‘till today......). so i’ll do that at my own damn pace. now let me elaborate so i can sleep at night lmao
Eridium
refinement produces slag, which weakens people and can mutate things
has mutating properties, mostly with imbuing elements into shit- possibly causes insanity
seems to be connected to another dimension, likely the one the Eridians are from
Core
has a secondary form of Infused Core
has mutating properties, mostly regarding a thing’s body and mind
apparently radioactive
there are some things i wanna note
1) People throughout the DLC say the Ruiner was created by the Jakobs corp (the company) thru bio-engineering but I’m 99% sure that’s not true. The paperwork seems to me like they found the egg somewhere on Gehenna and decided to roll and experiment with it like all corporations do when they find weird alien shit. so maybe they experimented with whatever was inside the egg, but I don’t think they actually created it entirely
“Excavated from [REDACTED] ... Local legends speaks of a [REDACTED]. This theory is not endorsed by our research personnel.
2) The Ruiner’s design reminds me a lot of the Warrior.
3) Core immediately reminded me of Gythian Blood from Guns Love and Tentacles and I don’t think that’s coincidence to have 2 back-to-back DLCs where the big bad is focused on green death juice. I think Gythian Blood and Core are of the same stuffs.
4) Therefore, I think the Ruiner is (mostly) of Eridian origin (if you haven’t already guessed).
This gives us an amazing look into how the Eridians actually create their beasts!!! And I’m so happy they showed us this.
(side note, Interitus Regina (the long name for Ruiner) literally means Destruction Queen and I think that’s beautiful <3)
i mean the idea that they plunge them from orbit to create an explosion similar to a nuke is fucking horrifying (but holy shit I love it so much ahhh it’s so cool!!!!)
the one side line from Oletta about how the company couldn’t control the Ruiner deffo makes me double down on this theory. I’m not entirely sure how Rose’s grandma knew about the whistling (I don’t think I’ve found every echo log in that area YET), but I would bet it was part of the testing given how many fuckin’ tape players they have throughout the facility. The Warrior was controlled by verbal commands via Jack, so it’s possible that the Ruiner was intended to be controlled similarly, but Jakobs intervention (or something like the way Rose hatched it) fucked it up.
now we know the Warrior was created to protect the Vault of the Destroyer (hmm.) so what the heck was the Ruiner created for? Ruiner is a name given to it by Jakobs/the people of Gehenna so we can’t really assume, but then again the monster names are pretty apt in this series even tho they probably technically shouldn’t be.
it was only an egg, so maybe it was another test of Core? A Vault Monster incubating until it was ready to protecc and attacc but was never hatched because the Eridians ‘sacrificed’ themselves before it could? (I’m still not convinced the Eridians are the good guys. Listen. LISTEN. The guardian takedown is something to think about, BUT it doesn’t disprove that theory and I’ll stand by it because I 100% trust the Overseer more than bitchpants mcgee over here who thinks he’s soooo special for no reason fuck you and your dumb ‘I did what the Watcher could not’ bull you haven’t done shit.) ok sorry im done he just angers me. stupid guardian man. your whip is stupid and you should feel bad. oh also I totally called us actually being Guardians thru Guardian Rank before the game came out aha yeah.
I definitely think Gythian was a test/use of Core from the Eridians. We see in Bounty of Blood that core seems to mutate more the physical (and occasionally mental) parts of people, like with the crew challenges u do for Juno with all the weird hybrid people and whatnot. Gythian had the whole ‘the heart still beats’ thing going on (which is definitely a physical mutation if i’ve ever seen one), plus the whole, you know, mind control and shit. Which is p similar to what the menta gnats can do when charged with Infused Core. And keep in mind in BLaT we see DAHL notes on what happens to test subjects when injected with Gythian Blood. They mutated physically and went insane.
What im saying is Sirens and Eridium and Elements are connected, so what does Core equal? body/mind sure but are there unique creatures for core (yes holy shit I’m not talking about h2o au for once and FINALLY they gave us a canon name for the green stuff!!!). If not, I’d love to see a Siren interact with Core to see what it does to them. seriously why hasn’t tannis interrupted us yet. horrible excuse for a science lover (kidding kidding, I love her). I’d also really love a fuller rundown on what the hell Rose’s powers were. Because the whistling thing seemed to just be her grandma’s thingie passed down to her from her mom
but the core stuff
her gun seems to be infused with it. So did her sword thing. I didn’t really get a good look at it i was too busy trying to see thru my blurry tears of LOVE for this DLC.
Strangely while her tattoos are (mostly) green I actually don’t know if they’re core infused bc look at this
n look back at hers. hers aren’t very lime.
anyway
her eyes
I’d love to know if the core gives her immediate future sight or just increased perception or reaction times. there’s a huge difference but she seemed to be able to shoot the gun outta the sheriff’s hand near immediately and it seems kinda implied its because of the core (or at least because her eyes are glowing green)
there’s a possibility she has some unique core powers/possibly implants because of her relations to the project in the first place, or as leader of the devil riders after looting the facility. it’s really hard to say without more info and like i said im not sure if i missed an ECHO or two or not regarding her backstory :(
Her hair is also green which I just noticed. Maybe she has core powers bc her grandmother got suuuuuuuuper irradiated/influenced working on project horizons and it passed down thru her n Rose’s mom, to Rose. Tannis does have a line about Sirens having unique hair colors and, if Sirens are linked to Eridium, perhaps those linked to Core also have unique hair color. Could also explain why only Rose seems to have those whistling powers. That said we don’t really see anyone else trying that whistling thing out afaik and idk if it was, like, a special ability or a certain tone/ditty or w h a t.
i know being vague with everything gives them more creative freedom to create amazing characters and scenarios, but dammit I want A N S W E R S.
All THAT said man I’m so glad magic is real in the borderlands universe. oh, sorry, “magic”. It’s magic. Science it, tannis, I dare you. either way, I win. Either it’s magic and H2O AU is canon, or it’s science and I finally get my goddamn answers. Hey gearbox can you make a book just explaining all the science and eridian stuff. please. I’d love you forever. please. pleaheheheheaaasseee it’s all i’ve ever wanted.
oh also can i just say, suuuper disappointed we didn’t learn anything about anshin. Really wish non-fan favorite corporations would get the spotlight/lore for once. Like, I like Jakobs as much as the next guy, and I get WHY they did it (can’t have a corporation looking too good!!!) but they now have 3 DLCs (Jakobs Cove, GLaT, and Bounty of Blood) and also a hefty chunk of the main game. Like... we all know Jakobs fuckin sucks, look at what they did on Pandora. I really just want info on a medical corporation 😭 I have to do everything my damn s e l f. but SERIOUSLY IMAGINE the possibilities that could come from a medical corp getting its hands on eridian tech. like, yeah obviously the weapons corps are gonna use it for weaponry and stuff BUT WOULDN’T THE MEDICAL CORPS MUTATING PEOPLE MAKE MORE SENSE??? ldfhgldfshg I have to do everything my damn self...
anyway all that aside, this is definitely by favorite borderlands dlc by a LONG shot. Nothing comes close. Ahhh the lore, the nuclear aspect, the a e s t h e t i c (seriously, have I mentioned how much I adore Trigun???), the art, the music, the cryoslinger, the fact I can bust out going beeEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAans like Ray Chase at any time and it will MAKE SENSE. I love all of it.
oh, also, Rose is totally not dead. C’mon, they couldn’t find her body. She pulled a Lilith. “Are you sure she didn’t just suffer a wound that LOOKS fatal, only for her to come back in a blockbuster sequel...?” is a line from mr Jones himself (the movie guy)
I just hope when she comes back she gets to meet Captain Scarlett. I’d love to watch their interactions plus pirates and or ninjas. That’s 2 DLC villains now that have vanished without a trace. And I like Captain Scarlett way more than Rose (seriously I spent the entire beginning of the DLC complaining about how her voice bothered me- I was so happy she was a villain, I was hoping that was the case).
oh yeah, reminder, the people of vestige were living next to highly radioactive egg for likely years. i feel really bad for them :(
“J2 decided to end it.”
J2 “maintained the heart of the show.”
J2 “are controlling the end of the show.”
J2 made a “touching speech to the team.”
Only show “to go on with the two original leads.“
It’s J2′s show, J2 made the decision, J2 are having a say in the final season.
I was in Paris this weekend (April 27th-28th) for the french Supernatural convention in Paris. And guys, it was fantastic!!!!! I went to the previous editions in 2017 & 2018 and I have to say it’s getting better and better. First because the guests list was pretty awesome (we had 5 guests in 2017 & this year we had 11, including Alexander Calvert). Second, because People Con (the con organizer) listens fans for improving the organization. Big kudos to Brice & Vanessa & all the crew <3
[Long post under the cut • Forgive my grammar, I’ve learned english by watching TV shows :p]
First things first, let’s debunk some weird things I’ve read on twitter.
“They were mean with Rob. They boo-ed him”. That’s not what happened. Let’s talk about context cause guys, context is important. On friday, just before the karaoke, they were projecting the season 14 finale. On saturday, when the guests went on stage for the opening ceremony, the audience was cheering them and Matt or Seb Roché (I think it was Matt) said, showing Rob, “you should “boo” him, you saw what he did” (referring to Chuck/God in the season finale). The audience & the cast started to “booo” Rob, then everyone was laughing. During his speech at the closing ceremony, Rob said that he always feels really loved and welcomed when he comes in #DLC (he’s on the guest list since the first con).
“They translate everything in french, they speak french” Guys, this is a convention in Paris, France. It’s small, maybe 400 people & 95% are french. So obviously, we speak french. That being said, I think almost everyone speaks english too. There were 7 panels with maybe 50 questions and only 2 were asked in french from people who weren’t comfortable enough to speak english in front of the cast & the audience. At PO & auto, I heard everyone speak in english to the cast. Everything is translated both in french & english (schedule, PO & autos call, speech.....). Guests answers are translated in french by Fanny, who did an incredible job. She doesn't translate everything, just the most important parts and it lasts 1-2 minutes max. And it’s funny cause she’s on stage with the guests & they interact with her. For the record, Alexander tried to answer in french. He’s not bad at it & understands it pretty well :)
Now, best surprises
Alexander Calvert. I knew he was nice from what I see on Twitter but he’s young and I admit I was afraid to feel a bit lost at his panel like I was at Osric Chau’s last year (they were talking about manga & video games which I know jack squat about) but it was quite the opposite. I even got to ask him a question! Alex is truly a sweetheart. Extremely cute & kind & shy & lovely.
David Haydn-Jones. You know how much I can’t stand Ketch but I didn’t think anything in particular about DHJ. My girl @jensendreamland loves him & when we knew he was coming this year, I said “fuck it” you need to meet him, I’m going with you. David is very kind & welcoming & cares about fans.
Kim & Briana. OH MY CHUCK they are even more gorgeous when you see them face to face. (I told Briana twice). I had them signed my copy of FDEWB. I only miss Rachel Miner, Gil McKinney (I’m pretty confident to meet them someday, they both could come in Paris) & Jared’s (my Holy Graal)
Sebastian Roché. That man I swear, he’s such a goofball. He didn’t answer any question. He was just happy to interact with the audience in french. He tried to find a girlfriend for a dude who was single & he made us sing My Heart Will Go On. I never laughed so hard at a panel.
The organization
People Con knows the business. Everything went pretty smoothly & on time except for Sunday afternoon (they were running a bit late for Briana M&G).
➕ You can win PO or coupons during the trivia sessions :)
➖ The PO photographers. Some weren’t very professional. And the background was too dark.
About the videos
You won’t see any cause videos aren’t allowed at the convention. Simply because People Con sells DVDs for each edition including Panels, exclusive interviews & Rob’s concert.
To sum up
A great great weekend. I’ll be there for the next edition #DLC4 (PC will announce dates & guests soon). We are blessed with an amazing cast & it’s always a pleasure to meet them. You know, I’m married, have 2 kids, a full time job, a house & bills to pay. I can’t travel around the world & spend tons of money for a convention, even if I’m dying to meet the js. #DLC is a breath of fresh air & allows me to fangirl with my friends for a whole weekend.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me via DM on tumblr or twitter 😉
