#gortys

[loader-bot]

Gortys: "I was fabricated, programmed and wired ready! I was also built to dance!" ✨

bonus original sketch. a slight improvement was made

[phenikas]

old art trade with @ryzselo !!!! sorry I forgot to post it, here have Tommy having a philosophical debate with Gortys :D

[loader-bot]

"You've gotta lighten up, TIMM-E! Life's not all about work y'know!"

-

my part of a trade with @phenikas who made a lovely joy-inducing render of loader bot and gortys 💙

[phenikas]

my part of an art trade with @loader-bot !!! <3 look at them go!!

[loader-bot]

sighs deeply. i miss gortys.

[loader-bot]

how do you feel about how robots are treated throughout the borderlands franchise?

cracks knuckles. ok here we go

had to think about this one for a long time. about why i love blands robots so much. aside from just how cute they are. warning that it's long and a mess because that's what my brain's like. anyway.

it's got a lot to do with how i personally associate robot characters with neurodivergence and disabilities (like claptrap with hpd/wheelchair user, loader bot with aspd/autism) based on. let's say. personal experience.

so, so many times i've identified with a robot character because they exemplify symptoms i have, only for people to call those traits evil, disgusting or creepy. like loader bot's completely deadpan voice and total lack of expression. i'm the same. i've been called a creepy emotionless robot my whole life. but that's not really the case with blands bots. a lot of them a really loved, both by characters and fans.

in borderlands bots are just treated like people. it's such a stark contrast to how people like me are treated with disdain. or worse. irl. like yeah it's a bit different treatment for obvious reasons but other characters (generally) just treat them like a normal person. accommodate their different needs (unless it's claptrap).

(like. how claptrap is annoying and a 'bad' robot so people don't care that he can't climb stairs or craves attention and validation and even make fun of him and just call him annoying for it, but i'd wager if gortys was having trouble getting around people would be falling over themselves to help her because she's a 'good' robot. now replace 'robot' with disabled person. and how often our humanity is determined to how likeable/tolerable we are.)

yet. they can still be thrown away/destroyed without much care if they're no longer useful. like felicity's death is really. a direct parallel of how disabled people are treated in real life. she was happy, hopeful and looking forward to her new life (despite the restrictions of her non-body) but because she didn't want to be changed to be weapon (forced treatment), as soon as jack decided she wasn't worth the time or effort to help, she was destroyed. the freedom she was so briefly granted was taken away the moment she didn't want to be a 'good' robot.

and don't get me started on joy. even from such a tiny little side-mission, joy captured my heart. joy joy joy... my beloved... that's why you gotta fight for free healthcare right to repair. we could've saved joy with affordable treatment a few spare parts...

it's just all really uh. allegorical? to me. about being disabled in a capitalist hellscape nightmare future (which is getting more and more relevant). about how there's still a bit of hope to be treated with some kindness. but there's always the more likely reality that we're just unwanted and disposable. like a broken robot.

or maybe i'm just projecting and should stfu idk

anyway. rant over. thx 4 coming

[writeastormsblog]

[loader-bot]

gortys, concall and rhysies pieces for the character boingo ‼️‼️

gort my beloved... holds her gentle style like robot baby (impossible concept). (render by phenikas 💙)

shoving him in a locker. squashing him like a bug. throwing him into a meat grinder. (affectionate)

making out with a gun barrel. with tongue. (except i do not have a tongue because i am a robot so instead i remove a bandit's tongue from their head. and also their head from their body. with buckshot.)