#lowerqualityrp: jack.

[strongfuck]

@lowerqualityrp sent: [ whack ] — sender whacks receiver with a pillow to wake them up (Jack) ► from this meme.

Feeling his own arm use a pillow to thwap himself in the face makes Rhys groan as he wakes, however groggily, in response.

"What the hell!?" he whispers-- more like hisses, really, he's doing his best to shout without shouting. "What'd I tell you about moving my arm like that?"

At least Vaughn doesn't move from where he sleeps beside him. And Sasha, Fiona, and Athena on the other end of the caravan don't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, either.

Rhys glares at the hologram as he sits up, one hand rubbing at his eye.

"Come on, Jack, it's four in the morning. Can't this wait?"

[strongfuck]

Gortys gasps. It is nothing short of dramatic.

"How do you make sure of that!?"

"I do know how, but I’ve never really played, and I certainly never did much running,” Jack responds with a nonchalant shrug. The kid was too excited about this to spoil the ambiance with tales of a lonely, generally fucked up childhood.

“You know, since I can’t exactly play now since, well,” he pauses and moves his hand through the wall nearest him, “that, I could umpire.

"I could even make sure you win.”

He smirks and winks playfully at her.

[therelignedstars]

Five songs that remind you of your muse

tagged by: @phaseshiftings, @lowerqualityrp, @love-seared

Tagging:@general-kalani (Jakobs), @turretsexual , and anyone who else who wants to.

Rät by Penelope Scott

I studied code because I wanted To do something great like you And the real tragedy is half of it was true I bit the apple 'cuz I loved you And why would you lie And then I realized You're just as naive as I am You're so traumatized it makes me wanna cry

Now this applies to how Jacqueline looked up to Jack as she grew up. Her interest in coding and engineering was something she used to be close with him. She wanted to be like him and she trusted he wouldn't lead her astray. As she realizes his been manipulating her and other she began to feel used by him for her skills.

Ain't No Crying by Derivkat

What am I fighting for? Whose side am I on? Lost everything in the crossfire Witness the wreckage at dawn Say it enough and you start believing They can tell you that it's righteous Keep your chin up in the crisis Say it enough and you start believing In the glory, in the justice They will drill it into your head Ain't no crying 'til the war's done Ain't no crying 'cause the fighting's just begun No crying 'til the sun comes 'Til the sun comes up, 'til the sun comes up

WHERE YOU BELONG by Matt Hansen

Did someone you know ever turn on a dime From an angel right into a monster? You still wanna stay, wanna help, wanna heal Only so much that your love can offer

Why did I try for as long as I did? Back on the ropes when I knew I should quit Where do I run? 'Cause I've got no more blood left to bleed

I gotta put you behind me With all the pain that you caused I barely made it out fighting You drained all the life from my love Sometimes in moments of weakness I want you back in my arms But all of the bruises remind me The past is where you belong

The Man by Taylor Swift

I would be complex I would be cool They'd say I played the field before I found someone to commit to And that would be ok For me to do Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you

I'd be a fearless leader I'd be an alpha type When everyone believes ya What's that like?

I'm so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I'd get there quicker If I was a man And I'm so sick of them coming at me again 'Cause if I was a man Then I'd be the man I'd be the man I'd be the man

In the Stars by Benson Boone

I'm screamin' at a God, I don't know if I believe in 'Cause I don't know what else I can do

I'm still holdin' on to everything that's dead and gone I don't wanna say goodbye, 'cause this one means forever Now you're in the stars and six-feet's never felt so far Here I am alone between the heavens and the embers

Oh, it hurts so hard For a million different reasons You took the best of my heart And left the rest in pieces

[zer0fuxks]

@lowerqualityrp​ sent in:  ❝ just go! or we will all die! ❞  (i choose maya)

Zer0 wasn’t going to back down from a fight, especially one so easy. He knew all of them could take this on but for some reason the determination was gone. They couldn’t back down now. They faced Jack and lived, what couldn’t they do?

“We can take them down/ backing down won’t solved the problem/ we just need teamwork.” The words coming from him were quite unusual. It sounded more like Axton than anything but perhaps that’s what he gets for always being around him. He wasn’t ready to give up. It wasn’t in his nature.

The ? was displayed on his screen as he shook his head. “If you want to run,/then be my guest but im not./ I can do this alone.”

[strongfuck]

@lowerqualityrp: [x]

Jack knows he’s about to die again, and the inability to do anything about it strikes a fear into his soul that can only be surpassed by what he felt as he watched Angel die.

“Rhys, don’t.

“Please.

“Rhys, please-”

If he’d have been human, there certainly would have been tears brimming his eyes.

And yet, he isn’t.

Still, he’s Handsome Fucking Jack and he’s never been one to go down without a fight. As he watches the shrapnel dig into the port, he jolts upwards and guns it towards the lowly former manager as if he’s capable of wrapping his hands against the metal and jerking it from his grip.

“Rhys, don’t you fucking d-”

*******************************************************

Groaning, Jack’s eyes open again.

Except, it doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like it did when he was living in Rhys’ head, and he doesn’t quite feel alive. It’s foreign and, albeit, a little bit frightening.

Jack didn’t have a plan for the conversion to fail. He didn’t come up with a plan B. And yet, he’s here. Not quite breathing, but he’s alive. While he’s thrilled he’s not sitting in the black abyss of the afterlife, he’s not exactly prepared to find out who kept him around and why?

He swears, if it’s that fucking Maliwan bitch trying to get his sales tactics-

Never let anyone say that Rhys isn't a man of his word. Even when he'd been in Hyperion, his deals may have been shady, but ultimately they'd been deals he carried to the end.

With the gorgeous, purple light of the Vault of the Traveller around him, the blue of Jack's projection looks a different colour entirely. Despite how long it'd been, he looks exactly like Rhys remembers: comically taller than him, kind of manic, kind of scared. And it makes him wonder if time's passed for Jack at all, if that's something an artificial intelligence that advanced can experience-- because he looks just like he did in the wreckage of Helios when he'd begged on his knees for his life.

Then again, maybe that has something to do with the fact Jack had spawned out of the projector on his knees, too.

So, just like he did all those years ago, Rhys kneels as well to meet Jack's eye. "...hey, Jack."

Off in the distance, the rest of the crew is looking over the treasure haul with cheerful chatter. Sasha has an armful of guns, Fiona is trying to convince her to make multiple trips instead of one big one, and Gortys and Loader Bot are scavenging through gear to help Vaughn. Rhys had excused himself minutes earlier, but they'd stopped watching over him as soon as he was far enough away.

He's been busy over the years working on new Atlas tech: going through their blueprints, reviving them, making his own, forging, building, programming. The facility he'd taken to using was full of shit, certainly, but keeping himself preoccupied helped stave off the conflicting emotions from their whole adventure pretty damn well. If the price of being able to sleep at night was being a workaholic, then Rhys would take it.

At the moment, Jack's being projected from a device made out of scraps leftover from Rhys' most recent attempt at making a sniper rifle. He's not connected to any networks, not really capable of doing anything except processing his own program and moving within the limits of the device's ability to project, but he's activated just like Rhys promised.

I'll bring you back when I'm better. He isn't really, but it can't get much better than opening a fucking Vault, can it?

"Welcome back." Rhys rubs the side of his neck, palm over his tattoo. "Uh... kinda."

[strongfuck]

💋 "Careful what you offer, Kitten."

from this meme.

Rhys has kissed Zer0, Lorelei, and so many of his Crimson Lance that it's starting to feel ridiculous. But when you play spin the bottle with seven different bottles spinning at the same time, he supposes he shouldn't have expected any less-- he'd promised to play the game just like anyone else, and if that leaves him tasting twenty different kinds of alcohol on his own mouth in one night, then it is what it is.

Coming home from the party at Atlas HQ (the first they've had since Maliwan was driven out of Promethea and Katagawa Jr. was slain), Rhys is exhausted. He'll have to start work on cleanup and relocations tomorrow, but for now, he decides to ride the high of victory a little longer. He undoes his tie, moves sluggishly from his living room to his bedroom, and opts for showering in the morning; he's tired enough that just finding something comfortable to sleep in is an ordeal in itself.

It's only after he's shrugged his button-down off that he hears Jack in the doorway to his room.

"You kissed a lot of people today."

"What, were you watching?" Rhys doesn't bother turning around, pulling the loose sleep shirt onto himself and working on unbuttoning his trousers next. "You know, you could've just gone to the party."

Jack scoffs. "They couldn't handle all of this."

"Or you just didn't want Zer0 to see you."

"Oh, fuck you." A beat. "Eh, wouldn't have been fun if there was a Vault Hunter tryin' to kill me as I drank your shitty beer, anyway."

"I see." Rhys kicks his trousers off, pulls his jogging pants up, and then bundles his clothes up to toss them in the hamper.

Jack steps aside to let him walk down the hall, one hand behind him. "...was it fun?"

"What?"

"Kissing all those idiots."

Rhys yawns, shrugging one shoulder up. "Fun's kind of the point of playing a game, Jack."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"Well, it was enjoyable enough--" Rhys pauses as he turns from the bathroom doorway, interrupted by the sight of what Jack's holding. A bottle of sports drink is in his hand, and the cap points up to himself-- him and the scowl on his face and the furrow in his brows.

"Oh."

"What do you mean, 'oh'? This is a bottle. It's pointing at me. Make with the kissing."

Rhys tries desperately not to laugh. "That's not how it--"

"Yeah, it fucking is!" Jack's free hand flings out, then points right at Rhys himself. "Careful what you offer, kitten-- you can't just back down because you're a god damn pussy."

"I am not."

"Then why aren't you--"

Fist in Jack's shirt, Rhys tugs him into a simple kiss. It's easy at first, closed mouth just like all the other kisses in that silly game had been, but then the bottle falls to the floor with a thump and Jack's hands are grasping his face with nothing short of possessiveness. Mine, Rhys can already hear him say, even as Jack's mouth becomes preoccupied with Rhys' eager tongue. The way Jack touches him, the way Jack comes in close, the way Jack seems to relax only when Rhys has wrapped his arms around his waist-- it's mine, mine, mine down to the core.

When the kiss finally breaks, Rhys looks down at him with a crooked smile. "Better?"

"Passable." Jack licks his lips, head tilting slightly as his thumb slides over Rhys' mouth. "But you could always try again."

So with a roll of the eyes, Rhys pulls him into his room and does just that.

[strongfuck]

@lowerqualityrp // from here.

Yeah, Rhys thinks, quietly horrified, you're gonna throw up in my bed.

Dragging a hand down his face, he sighs, before walking to the kitchen to grab a glass of water to keep on the bedside table. It's probably better that Jack throws up in his bed instead of Vaughn's, anyway.

"I should've just slammed the door in your face when you showed up," he says when he returns, even if it lacks some bite. Rhys sets the glass down and crosses his arms over his chest as he looks Jack over. "Isn't your place closer to campus than mine?"

[strongfuck]

"It'll do."

So Rhys pops the tab, taking a sip out of it as he moves to stand off to the side.

"Didn't you come here with your friends?" Eyeing everyone else, Rhys frowns some. It's not that he hates parties-- he's gone to a lot of his own-- but these frat ones have particular audiences he doesn't care for. "What'd you call me for?"

"Goooddddd, Rhys's pieces, you're booorrrringggg," Jack slurs out as he gets up to go find something for the other. "

He manages to find a can of Coke that actually hasn't made its way into a glass with some Jack in it already and hands it out to the other. "This okay?"

[strongfuck]

five songs that remind you of your muse.

tagged: @dahlborn ; thank you!! tagging: @protodroid, @general-kalani (knoxx), @munro-of-europa, @love-seared, @phaseshiftings, @lowerqualityrp (jack), @manaborn, @cnlyluck, @irrfahrer, @auroradicit (theia), anyone else who sees this and wants to! i'm not sure who's been tagged before or not, lmao

COOL KIDS // echosmith.

He sees them talking with a big smile But they haven't got a clue Yeah, they're living the good life Can't see what he is going through They're driving fast cars But they don't know where they're going In the fast lane, living life without knowing And he says I wish that I could be like the cool kids 'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in I wish that I could be like the cool kids Like the cool kids

i think a recurring theme for rhys from beginning to current state of his character arc is that he always feels he has to be Something More. handsome jack was a goal to strive for in his years with hyperion (and adapting to hyperion work culture was necessary for him to survive), and then after that he tries so damn hard to match the borderlands' idea of megacorporate culture. of course he's incapable of completely drowning himself out-- he still made friends while with hyperion, and he still does a lot for sustainability tech/general philanthropic work with atlas instead of just focusing on weapons-- but rhys will always end up compromising himself some way or other. just because that's the nature of the world he wants to live in. in his head he has to do even the things he doesn't like to maintain the power and position that allows him to do the things he wants. by nature of having "things he doesn't like" it also makes him feel he doesn't fit in with the rest of the megacorp CEOs out there who presumably have no issues doing what has to be done.

KILL YOUR HEROES // awolnation.

Well I met an old man dying on a train No more destination, no more pain Well he said one thing: "Before I graduate Never let your fear decide your fate" I say you kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry No need to worry 'cause, everybody will die Every day we just go, go, baby don't go Don't you worry we love you more than you know

quintessential rhys song, and the title of my blog's desktop theme for almost 2 years lmao. even after killing thousands on helios and killing even more after, even after all the pain and trauma the guy he latched himself onto parasocially for years put him through, man's just gonna keep going. i think it's meaningful he was there for some version of his hero's last moments and then got to conquer him himself; he never needed to model himself after anyone to succeed, anyway.

EARTH // xiv hours.

You're gonna lose it all And find yourself on your knees So, get a grip and you might Flow, reverse the great, slow bleed I've tried patience, but You always want a war This house won't tolerate any more Stop this right away

corporate baby turned corporate dilf rhys! i think his arrogance will always be part of him, even though the events of tftbl humbled him. and despite the lessons he learned he doesn't have enough grit to completely turn the tide of the megacorp culture in the borderlands, either. he is a prisoner of a system that existed before he even knew about it, but he's trying his best within it anyway.

BABE RUTH // coin.

Now that I'm busy I broke it all down I miss you coming over, yeah Every now and then Swinging for the fences, swinging for the fences You got me swinging for the fences, swinging for the fences, yeah

embarrassingly my favourite track to listen to when i'm doing shippy/smutty stuff with rhys (and my #1 played song according to spotify for the year 2022, wtf). he sacrifices a lot of normalcy/living a relatively ordinary life for his Big, Big dreams, but it doesn't stop him from falling in love headfirst and wanting simplicity, anyway. he tells himself he knows his priorities and work always comes before everything else-- especially considering the work that he's doing and how many lives he's improving-- but the selfish romantic in him will Always Exist, much to his annoyance. he's mature enough to let love go if he can't have it, but "he misses it, every now and then".

THE HIGH ROAD // broken bells.

'Cause they know and so do I The high road is hard to find A detour in your new life Tell all of your friends goodbye It's too late to change your mind You let loss be your guide

rhys is so fucking lonely by the time of BL3 and by extension new tales from the borderlands, but it won't take him off the path he's chosen. yes, he has friends. yes, he always has people to talk to. but everyone who knows him as Just Rhys are all scattered across the galaxy, and he can't even contact a good number of them, and this knowledge of the friends he can no longer see will always quietly hollow him. it's got to be worth it, of course-- he's making his dreams come true, he's making up for shitty things he's done, he's making it big... but sometimes he'll wonder what if he just stayed with fiona, sasha, and vaughn? what if he really escaped the corporate world and just became a regular guy? he didn't owe promethea anything when he chose to save it after atlas 1.0 destroyed it to high hell, he didn't have to do it. rhys doesn't necessarily regret his chosen path, that said, but it doesn't stop him from wondering what could have been when the loneliness really hits him.

[therelignedstars]

What kind of a villain are you?

accidentally evil

you didn't mean to. it was honestly an accident, but who would believe you? you need to watch your back now, because everyone is after you. why wouldn't they be? for all they know, you did it on purpose. when you die, it's from finally being caught by the wrong people. you die afraid, and still running. unbeknownst to you, you are swiftly avenged. your unnecessary death does not go unpunished.

Tagged by: I stole it.

Tagging: @lowerqualityrp (Athena or Jack), @strongfuck , and anyone who wants to.

[strongfuck]

what is your duality?

the husband, the wife, and the pool boy

are you having fun indulging yourself, or are you watching from the sidelines, or are you letting people have a little fun with you just for the sake of feeling it? idk, maybe you're all three. maybe you're having the time of your life and others shouldn't judge you because hey, it's yours to spend. maybe the lesson here is that the husband should have his own pool boy.

tagged: @irrfahrer ; thank you! tagging: @protodroid ; @lowerqualityrp (jackaroonie) ; @auroradicit (kalma) ; @munro-of-europa ; @love-seared ; @micsmasmuses (angel) ; @general-kalani (jakobs) ; @therelignedstars ; @pyramultimuse (jack) + anyone else seeing this that wants to give it a go. no obligations, of course!

[envyei]

“I’m feeding you!” Envy said, exasperated with a slight pout. “You should be grateful, I don’t have to be this nice to you.” Staring down at the roomba Jackba, she sighed as she bent over to pick up the little popcorn pieces off the floor. “But since you want to act annoyed…”

@envyei

"Envy, I swear to whatever god you pray to, if you keep throwing popcorn on the ground, it's staying."

[strongfuck]

@lowerqualityrp​ sent: ‘  why  do  you  hate  me?  ’ (Tftbl jack) ► from this meme.

With the shard against his head port, Rhys is just about ready to pull it out entirely. Jack is on his knees, though-- Jack opens his mouth to say that, though-- and between the story of his daughter, between the vulnerability of Jack’s voice, between Rhys’ own burgeoning insanity the more he realises how many people he’d killed on Helios not even an hour earlier...

“I don’t,” he says, tired as he shuts his eyes, “but I can’t keep you.”

[strongfuck]

"Oh!" Gortys chirps. "That's right. I want them to tell me I'm cool.

"Do you know how to play baseball, Jack?" She rolls to another corner of the huge room, purposely moving away from the tables with projects on them. She's by a water cooler now, but transforming and risking any breakage beside a cooler feels more forgiveable than ruining any of Rhys' prototypes. He'd worked hard on them!

"You have pretty long legs! Longer than me, anyway. Running must be so easy for you."

Gortys puts the circle on the ground and rolls on top of it. Immediately, the part connects to her main form, and her legs are digistructed without delay.

"Oh, seriously? Would you look at that!” Jack retorts with feigned surprise as he stays in place, watching her look through her parts. It’s almost weird, thinking about the fact that he had been there for almost all of the piece findings, but he doesn’t dwell on it.

It’s too weird thinking about that fact that he was there while Rhys and Fiona essentially made a baby.

A soft chuckle flutters from his lips as Gortys questions what they’re for, having forgotten so seemingly easily. The innocence of her melts his heart far more than he’d ever allow anyone to know.

“We have to get your gams on so you can impress Rhys and Loader Bot in Baseball.”

[strongfuck]

"Of course!" Gortys chirps, and with a "thanks, Rhys!", she rolls to where Jack had been looking. Following his line of sight, she sees the cabinet Rhys had been referring to: GORTYS is written on it in all capitals, in a handwriting she knows very well.

"Oh, you were right! This is mine!"

Then she rushes forward, extends her upper half to reach the handle, and opens the cabinet with a hum.

"Lessee, there's my beacon, my voice changer-- for when Loaderbot and I wanna do plays, you know-- the weapons... ooh!" Her fingers wrap around the circular piece that's meant to digistruct her legs, and she turns around to hold it up in the air for Jack to see. "I got it!"

And then, her optics looking down at the ground in confusion, she asks, "Why were we looking for my legs again?"

Without realizing it, a fond smile rises to his lips as he watches Gortys roll off to her psuedo-father. He knows full well that she was the key to something incredible, and yet, the innocence to her warms even his no longer existing heart.

He leans against the doorway and pretends to look around.

"I think so, but I think I need you to come double check that it’s yours. You know, just in case my opticals aren’t focused.”

[strongfuck]

"That, Jack, sounds like a great idea."

She reaches out to grab his hand, goes through the hologram, and then lets out a soft 'oops'. But she recovers quickly, rolling over to where Rhys is still working. He's holding the shotgun in two hands now, testing something or other. She doesn't really know.

"Rhyyyyyys!" she calls. "Do you know where my legs are?"

"I am pretty sure it's in your little cabinet." Testing the firing mechanism, he hears the tell-tale click of the shotgun as it comes up empty. Rhys puts it down, then rubs lightly at the side of his neck before meeting Gortys' gaze. "Do you remember which one is yours?"

"Ooh, uh... Jack? Do you see the door with my name on it? It's G-O-R-T-Y-S."

"It is a pretty nice jaw, isn’t it?” Jack agrees conversationally as he raises a holographic hand to rub over the jut of his projected jaw. “It’s always so nice to get the appreciation I deserve.”

With a playful wink and taking a mental note to absolutely find a way to see those sketches, whether or not Rhys will allow him to, he nods and stands upright once more.

“That’s neat, kid. Must be nice having an artist looking after you.”

He crosses his arms over his chest as he looks around.

“Maybe we should go ask the artist himself if he knows where your gams might be. What do you think? Ask him about his technology hoard?”