I’m currently re-playing Borderlands 3 (for like the tenth time or so). 

I have the Handsome Collection and Borderlands 3 at home. So, naturally, I’ve started looking for the first OG one and I’ve started searching for Tales from the Borderlands so I would have all the games at home whenever I would like to play them (which is more than 4+ times during a single year.) 

I would start with the first one and work my way up. And I’ve found out that OG Borderlands (Game of the Year edition) for PS4 isn’t availible in my country and not even on the PS4 store? 

And TFTB was completely pulled out of the market, not even on PS4 store or Steam for that matter because it’s licence had expired… What the fuck, bro? 

Sure, the games aren’t the best ones, but the nostalgy value is HUGE with these badboys. The story of BL1 is non-existent, the resolution and FPS rating is terrifiying, but I would still love to replay it. Don’t take it as whining, BL2 is my favorite title of the whole series… But… You know, it’s kinda sad.

gaige is way more than an idiotic bloodthirsty teenager, like everyone portrays her, in this essay i will-

Jump Pads ver.02

(based on an old comic by me)

With Sweet Understanding (Handsome Jack x Female!Reader) pt. 12

So this is the last chapter for now. There may be more little snippets of these two in the future but this is the end of the main story. Thank you all for your patience. Writing consistently during the school year is hard as shit. 

Trigger warnings: gaslighting, emotional manipulation, workplace sexual harassment

This mutual revelation came not a moment too soon. Because this plan required both of you. 

On paper, it was simple. You were to intercept Tassiter on his way to the shareholders meeting, claiming you’d found some incriminating evidence against him. Meanwhile, Jack would be pitching his invention to the shareholders. But it wasn’t a plan that allowed for any missteps. Tassiter wasn’t stupid. If you couldn’t keep his attention away from the meeting, he’d surely connect the dots and the whole ordeal would be sunk. 

Of course, no amount of planning could have slowed your heart rate on the elevator ride up to the executive offices. Maybe not steeping your coffee with red bull could have, but it was far too late for responsible decisions now. 

“So, don’t be mad at me.” He kept his eyes straight forward and spoke through the side of his mouth. 

“What?” You mumbled, bracing yourself for the impact of whatever wrench he was about to throw in the plan. 

“I may have left an ECHO message for the shareholders, telling them to gather in a different conference room.” He admitted. “…Using Tassiter’s voice." 

You fought the urge to snap your head around and glare at him. You kept your gaze front and center and tried not to look so stunned lest the camera pick something up. "You did what?!" 

"I thought it was a good idea to put some distance between him and the shareholders.” He mumbled. “Y'know, in case shit goes sideways, it’ll buy you a couple of minutes." 

"Shit, Jack!” You scolded, watching the dial on the elevator slowly point to your floor. Sure, it was a good idea. Regardless, your mind raced, scrolling through all the new ways this could blow up in your face. “That wasn’t part of the plan." 

"It’s a good addition!” He rebutted. “You will thank me." 

The elevator doors opened to the executive offices. You sighed and pulled the strap of your computer bag onto your shoulder. "I hope you’re right." 

"Fuck, me too.” He muttered under his breath. 

“Good luck down there, by the way.” You said as you stepped onto the floor. 

“Thanks, cupcake.” You could hear his smirk in his voice. “You too. Knock him dead. Take that as literally as you’d like." 

The doors closed behind you and you pushed forward. As you walked, you continued to unravel the new problem in your head.

"So, it looks like we bothered to come in this morning?” A familiar voice ripped you from your thoughts and sent you straight into fight or flight. “I’m surprised, [F/N]. I didn’t think you’d show." 

You put on your most transparent customer service smile and met eyes with the serpentine man. "Mr. Tassiter. Just the man I wanted to see." 

"Are we here to dish out that promised vengeance?” He sneered, his curling upper lip and raising an eyebrow. “I believe you said I’d regret the day I ever decided to fuck with you and as far as I’m concerned, I have no regrets whatsoever." 

All in due time, Harold. You thought to yourself. 

"Actually, there is a personal matter I’d like to discuss.” You said, reaching into your laptop bag. 

“I’d love to.” He lied, suddenly pushing past you. “But I have a meeting to attend and I’m sure Mr. Rhodes can find some use for you in his office. So, off you go." 

You pulled out the ECHO recorder. "Good. Because this can’t wait." 

He brushed it off, as expected. "So? You recorded my silly little phone confession? Do you want a medal for learning how to use an ECHO application?" 

"Not exactly.” You said. “But by all means, keep walking. I’m sure the shareholders would love to hear all about Rigel Enterprises." 

This caught his attention. He stopped in his tracks. "Where did you hear that name?" 

You said nothing, but gestured to the ECHO in your hand. 

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. For a fraction of a second, you could have sworn you saw him scared. "Let’s take this somewhere more private." 

He dragged you into his office. You strolled leisurely across the room and plopped yourself into one of the fancy cushioned seats. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a little arrangement of fancy glassware holding ambiguously expensive looking liquors. You didn’t usually like straight brown liquor, but Tassiter made it his personal hobby to rob you of the simple joys of life. It was only fair to return the favor. 

"By all means, help yourself.” He said, voice full of the biting sarcasm of a man cornered. 

You met his eyes and poured a whole rocks glass worth of alcohol with no intention to drink it. “Thanks." 

"Well, go on.” He waved his hand. “Tell me what you know." 

"See, there’s actually a lot I don’t know.” You crossed your legs and leaned back dramatically. “Cause Rigel Enterprises has no presence on the ECHO net, no tax records, no identifiable staff, and the address listed on the checks belongs to a Dynasty Diner on Eden-6." 

"So, there’s no logical way to prove that Rigel Enterprises even exists then?” Tassiter smirked, crossing his arms. “Why does it matter to you?”

“Cause we’ve taken an absolute shit ton of money from them.” You answered. “And, word to the wise, if you’re gonna commit fraud, pay your accountants better. They were way too ready to talk." 

"I have to say, Miss [L/N],” he began, taking his seat at the oversized desk. “I hardly believe it’s a coincidence that mere days after a humiliating demotion, a piece of incriminating evidence against me just happens to fall into your lap." 

"Unbelievable, isn’t it?” You asked, making yourself comfortable on the seat and holding the glass precariously over what was probably a very expensive carpet. 

He grinned. “It’s a cute attempt, Miss [L/N], really. But I’ve been a front runner in this game for longer than you’ve been alive. You think this is the first time someone’s tried to blackmail me?”

“No.” You said. “But it might be the first time it works.”

He looked at you with an unidentifiable expression. “This confidence is certainly refreshing, Miss [L/N], but don’t think you’ve got me cornered. Emails can be faked easily. For example, I can fake an email that claims you had sucked my dick to get your promotion. And if you don’t concede right this minute, I just might." 

Oh, so you want to play it that way, now? You thought. Alright. Game on. 

"Well luckily for me, I’m not coming to you with an email.” You said, taking a confident swig from your glass. You positioned your thumb on the play button and pressed it down with a satisfying click. 

“I don’t care if you have to throw the whole accounting department out of the airlock, Jeffrey. You need to stop them from connecting the dots.” Said the recording. “If the brainless lackeys in manufacturing can think to organize, what’s stopping the number-crunchers? And they actually have leverage. They know Rigel is bullshit. If they connect it back to me, we’re fucked.”

Tassiter looked visibly worried for a moment. It was in the slight raise of his eyebrows, the way his mouth tightened and his jaw set. You wanted to frame it. 

“Alright.” He said, putting a hand up. “I’ve heard enough-”

“Ah-cha-cha-!” You cut him off. “It’s not over yet, Harry." 

"Take care of it!” It continued with a shout that was abrupt, but not uncharacteristic for Tassiter. “I sent my secretary to break up the union in manufacturing, but I didn’t think she’d actually be able to do it. I’m hoping that promotion will shut her up at least for now.”

That was a gem taken straight from the horse’s email. You glared at him. He tilted his head slightly upward to obscure his nervousness. 

“Well,” He began, eyeing a spot on his desk just to avoid looking at you. “You look like you’re itching to say something, so, out with it.”

You crossed your legs and leaned back in the chair. “You’re not even going to try and deny it?" 

"It’s my voice, isn’t it?” He countered, tenting his fingers and smirking as if he was only humoring you. “Only word that holds up against mine is, well, mine." 

"That it is.” You nodded, smirking devilishly. “It’s a word that the brainless lackeys in manufacturing would absolutely love to hear. And hell, it’s practically a written invitation for the accounting department to oust you as the fraud you are. I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it-”

“–Alright.” He cut you off, barely even having to raise his voice. “Just in the interest of saving myself some trouble, what can I do to make this go away?" 

"I want my job as operations manager back.” You said, firmly. 

“And what do I tell poor Mr. Rhodes, hm?” He teased, a shit-eating grin across his face. 

“Well, first I would tell him that you accept blowjobs in exchange for promotions.” You said, without missing a beat. “He’d believe me." 

"I don’t know how you managed to edit that phone conversation so smoothly, Miss [L/N]. If I weren’t so annoyed, I might even be impressed.” Tassiter said, though whether it was genuine or sarcastic, you didn’t know. 

So, six years enduring Amos wasn’t a complete waste, after all. After all, he taught you how to gaslight with the best of you.

“What, you think cause I can reset a router and you can’t, that somehow makes me a tech genius?” You scoffed. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." 

"Excuse me?” He asked, a bit taken aback. 

“You’re excused.” You said, kicking your feet on the desk. “It’s just, what’s more likely? I painstakingly edited together a series of individual voice clips that I, somehow just had on me over the course of a weekend? Or, I just happened across an incriminating phone call the week of my promotion that I saved for a situation just like this?" 

"Interesting.” He said, fixing his eyes back on his computer. “I could just have you fired." 

"If you wanted me gone you would have fired me by now.” You said, firmly. You’d never been more sure of anything in your life and you sounded like it. 

“And if you weren’t such a masochist, you’d have quit by now.” Tassiter returned, sitting up from his desk. “But instead you hatch a ridiculous plan to blackmail me. Sorry, kid. You’re out of your depth. It was a cute try, though. I have a meeting to get to." 

You stood up abruptly, dropping the glass and scrambling to your feet. If he made it to the shareholders meeting, you were sunk.

"Honestly, [F/N], what in the world did you think you would accomplish?” He asked, speedwalking through the hall. 

“I thought you would recognize your own voice, for starters.” You said, hoping your panic would be perceived as frustration. 

“This is a bluff, and a poor one at that.” He spoke with utmost conviction. “Report to Amos if you want. If you don’t, I’ll consider it your letter of resignation. But a woman like you doesn’t deserve power.”

“This coming from the man who doesn’t know how to disable the dual receiver function on his company line.” You snarled, all but giving up and just trying to get some last minute jabs in. 

“Kindly get out of my way, [F/N].” Tassiter ordered as you came up to the conference room. “I have important matters to-”

He cut himself off when the conference room was empty. For just a moment, he looked confused. And you knew it was your moment to strike. 

“You had me move the shareholders to the downstairs conference room after last month’s meeting.” You said in as convincing a voice as you could give. And it was convincing as hell. 

“Right.” He agreed. “And which conference room was that?" 

"Oh my god, it all makes sense now.” You pretended to look surprised. “My grandfather started exhibiting signs of dementia when he was, like, sixty–”

“Shut up.” Tassiter interjected, putting his hand up. “Just take me to the shareholders." 

You just folded your arms and narrowed your eyes at him. "Right this way, sir." 

You could tell by the vacant look on his face, and not to mention the sullen silence, that he was beginning to reconsider. You tried not to make your excitement known. You weren’t out of the woods yet.

"Miss [L/N], when did you record that call?” He asked, finally breaking the silence as the elevator descended. 

“I already told you.” You insisted. “It was the week of my promotion. So, about a month ago." 

"I see.” He muttered under his breath. “And what was the reason I gave for moving the meeting?”

“You didn’t.” You said, without missing a beat. “You never explain anything you do." 

"Right.” He conceded as the elevator doors opened. “Miss [F/N], I expect you to act with discretion regarding my lapse in memory." 

You scoffed. "As if you’re in any position to be asking for favors." 

"Fine.” He spat. “Say absolutely nothing and we can discuss restoring your promotion." 

"Oh, now we’re cooking with gas.” You said as the elevator doors opened. “Come on, old man. Maybe you can catch the tail end of the shareholders meeting." 

When you reached the correct room, Jack was mid-conversation with one of the board members. He caught you out of the corner of his eye and directed their attention to you. 

"See, gentlemen, I told you she’d deliver our CEO to us safely.” He announced as you held the door open for your boss. He leaned in like he was sharing a secret and pointed in Tassiter’s direction. “This one right here has been a little on the senile side since turning sixty and he can’t do jack without [F/N]. But, just between us guys, [F/N] can do Jack whenever she’d like." 

Both you and Tassiter watched in amazement as the room full of suits actually laughed along. Jack had them wrapped around his freakishly huge finger. 

"Harold, is that true?” One of them asked, his expression hardening. 

Tassiter just turned back and glared at you. “What is this, [F/N]? I didn’t authorize a presentation. Especially not from this insignificant little-”

“I did.” You interrupted, though you wanted to let the shareholders see how he spoke of his employees. You turned to the table full of businesspeople. “I’m the operations manager. I’m in charge of organizing soft pitches for investment opportunities. You wouldn’t let me do my job, so I had to go over your head." 

"And thank god she did.” One of only a couple women piped up. “Could you imagine if this tech got in the hands of a competitor? The free market would become a warzone." 

"Oh, like it isn’t already.” Jack added, kicking his feet up onto the table. “Come on, let’s be real. We just have to be ahead of all those other hacks. And that’s what she and I are here for." 

"Hold on.” A tall, blonde man cut in. “You wouldn’t let her do her job, Harold?" 

For the first time in the four years you’d worked for him, Tassiter was speechless. Like a school bully in the presence of the principal, he froze. 

"Well, Mr. Paxton-” He began, taking a sharp breath in. “Miss [L/N] has shown a pattern of disrespect-”

“Oh come on, Harold.” Jack interjected, throwing his hand out into the air. “If you’re anything to go by, that’s a requirement for a management position." 

"Mr. Paxton, I-" 

The blonde man put his hand up to stop his mouth. "I’ve authorized a sizable grant to kickstart manufacturing. Obviously I’m placing Jack at the head of the project. He’ll need a team and some space in Research and Development and– give him a nice roomy office, too." 

"How about [F/N], huh, Nate?” Jack asked, meeting your eyes. “Couldn’t have done any of this without her." 

"Miss [L/N].” He said, reaching into his pocket and handing you a business card. “This is my personal number. If Harold tries to keep you from bringing us more people like Jack, give me a call." 

"Yes, sir, Mr. Paxton!” You agreed, smiling giddily.

“If you two will excuse us, we have matters to discuss that are above your paygrade.” He said, opening the door for you. 

You and Jack made a quick exit, both trying to contain your excitement. Once you were out of everyone’s eyeshot, you couldn’t stop yourself from jumping into his arms and kissing him hard on the mouth. You wrapped your legs around his waist, and it was just as thrilling as the first time in the basement. 

“So, what’s next?” You mumbled, cupping his cheek in your hand. 

“What’s next?” He repeated, a mischievous grin on his face. He swung you around playfully, then pinned you against the wall. “Well, after we fuck in my new office and then on Tassiter’s desk, what say you to a proper date?" 

You pretended to consider it for a moment. “Okay, but we have to make sure Amos walks in on us.” 

He pulled the voice modulator from his pocket and smirked at you. “Well, of course.”