#postgame meta

[doom-dreaming]

HCs on Unanswered Questions

Since most of us are very disappointed with how the twins' character development was handled, here are a handful of headcanons about some the stuff we never got answers for.

Tattoos under siren markings

Typhon's comments about the twins make it sound like their siren tats showed up shortly after they were born: "Sirens! The rarest thing in the universe and there were two of 'em, right in our arms!" - implying that the twins were still small enough to be held. (Which is an adorable mental image. I bet they were so cute.)

Sidenote: I find it interesting that Typhon never once mentions them being conjoined, much less the fact that he apparently cut them apart? Hm.

So I think the twins had their siren markings from a very young age. When Troy got his ink tattoos as an adult, he probably assumed they would cover his siren tats but the next time he leeched from Tyreen, his siren tattoos burned through them.

Troy's siren abilities

Obviously, he can phaselock after he dusts Maya, but did he ever have any siren powers of his own? Tyreen mentions that she thought he could only leech from her, which is already backwards to how I thought it happened, at first. I figured she was giving him energy, instead of him taking it from her.

Personally, I would have loved to see the twins with opposing abilities. She drains, he heals. They can switch these powers back and forth. It's pretty much canon in my writing.

I think, lore-wise, we're supposed to count the twins as a single siren. They both have the same power, technically, only Tyreen's is the stronger version, presumably because she's the "true" siren, being the female of the pair.

Which brings us to:

Troy is the ONLY male siren in existence.

Let that sink in for a second. He is canonically a male siren and they did basically nothing with that. I do believe he was a natural anomaly (I wasn't going to say freak, I respect you, Troy), just by virtue of being conjoined to Tyreen, he also got the power when it decided to choose her (there's a topic for another time).

I don't really have any headcanons in regard to this but I find it so strange and borderline offensive that there are no mentions of how fucking weird his whole situation is.

Where did his sword come from?

Troy's sword is probably one of the most iconic things about him (besides the beautiful face tattoos...or the mouth staples...or the giant cybernetic arm...) and we know nothing about it.

I think he took it from Typhon. Typhon makes a comment that he and Leda already looted the Vault on Nekrotafeyo (or however you spell it). I think that sword was in the vault. It matches the sharp red color scheme the vaults have in BL3 and I think Troy snatched it before they left the planet.

Lastly, not really headcanon, but an observation: the twins' wings look like bat wings. Every other siren has vaguely angel/bird-esque wings (with the exception of Amara, who has her arms), but the twins have very prominently sharper, un"feathered" wings.

(Troy photo credit to @isthatafetish )

I just find it very interesting, design-wise. I also love how small and chunky Ty's wings are.

[doom-dreaming]

I posted this on the pet disco but I think it's a valid talking point, so I'll put it up here too.

My hot take: Jack and Typhon have a lot of parallels in their stories, the main difference being that the twins got out and ended up "bad guys" (for killing a bunch of people and being power-hungry, basically Vault Hunters and also Jack and literally everyone who exists in this universe but I digress) - and Angel stayed imprisoned and was an ally. And Typhon admits he was a shitty parent whereas Jack thought he was in the right all along.

So....for some reason, the writers expect us to take the fact that Typhon is remorseful (however minimally) and that the twins ended up villains as justification for seeing Typhon in a heroic light?

Even though he and Jack are fundamentally the same person?

[doom-dreaming]

Hey quick question,

If the twins are real, actual sirens, why the fuck are their tattoos largely confined to their arms only?

Especially Troy. Dude is tits out, we should be able to see more siren markings all down his side and shit, right? Sure he's got all that gorgeous stuff on his face, the most of any siren so far, but....it doesn't track.

U n l e s s...the semi-proven theory that the markings spread as the siren gets older/more powerful (compare Lilith's between each game) is true, in which case that would mean the twins are still heavily developing, in siren terms.

HMM.

[doom-dreaming]

God.. just remembering that VH!Troy AU really hurts me.. just think how just.. happy and glad he is to be surrounded by people who listen to him and not think of him as a parasite.. i miss him and tyreen so much

I can't believe it's only been a week since release and it feels like I've been grieving for a year.

They both had so much potential and got completely and utterly trashed by canon.

Imagine if the twins had been closer. Working truly in tandem, appreciating each other's strengths.

Imagine if the Promethea Vault had gone differently - Troy starts to leech Maya and both he and Maya are so surprised that they let go - he doesn't leech enough to kill her, but he does take her powers. The new development distracts the twins long enough for Maya and Ava and the VHs to return to Sanc-III.

Imagine if Typhon's message came through just before killing Troy. Imagine Troy faltering as he hears his father's voice, looking at Tyreen with horror as he sees what his power hunger made him do. He holds out his hand to her, helps her up. She accepts it, albeit angrily. Imagine if the twins had changed their goal, rushed to Nekrotafeyo to confront their father. Imagine hearing their reconciliation over the ECHOnet - Troy apologizing to Tyreen; Typhon trying to reconnect with the twins.

Imagine if Typhon was able to warn everyone (including the twins) about the Destroyer but it was too late. Imagine if a truly planet-sized monster pulled itself out of the shattering planet with a roar that makes mountains crumble; its eye alone is the size of Sanctuary-III.

Imagine if it escaped into space.

Imagine standing at the entrance to the Vault with everyone, high on adrenaline and fear. Imagine the air wavering. A tall, bright, alien figure shimmers into view, turns toward you.

"There are many of you here," she says. "But you will need many...many more."

[doom-dreaming]

On today's episode of "Why the Plot of Borderlands 3 Left Me So Confused" we're going to talk about the theme of sibling rivalry.

That's. That's pretty much it. Promethea had it: Katagawa killing his siblings to get his position in Maliwan. Eden-6 had it: Aurelia being willing to kill Alistair while taking over Jakobs. And all throughout there were obviously varying amounts of tension between the twins.

But. All of that was just kind of. There? It doesn't feel resolved? Other than killing the sibling who thought they'd come out on top. And I guess we saw a little of that in what ended up happening to Troy, but...it felt like they were trying to make a point that no one really ended up seeing.

[doom-dreaming]

I know I literally cannot shut the fuck up but...

...we all played the same game, right? Like. The one where nothing was explained and the most important part of the story was rushed and everyone was denied character development? We all played that game? I'm not just in some weird parallel dimension hellscape?

[doom-dreaming]

More hot takes from the disco.

[doom-dreaming]

AND ANOTHER THING

What the fuck is up with Troy's highly-elaborate split-jaw-skull chest tattoo?! Just for the aesthetic? I know it's based on his designer's own tattoo but like.

?????????

Why does he have Calypso across his abs. It can't just be to draw attention. Why did they choose that name for themselves?