Borky - Dance Party
Borky - Dance Party, fan animation by @jadzi22
Borky the Orky is an orc barbarian and a core member of The Unexpectables. Borky isn't the smartest, but makes up for his lack of knowledge with raw strength and rage.
In his travels he has chosen the Barbarian Path of the Berserker class archetype. This branch of Barbarian training further empowers the Rage ability by granting extra attacks in exchange for pushing the body past its normal limits and becoming exhausted.
Personality
"It's time to get Orky! It's time to get Borky! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" ~ Borky
Borky fan art by @Boo_Rad13y
Not the most socially adept, Borky tends to say the first thing that comes to his mind bluntly. This has resulted in a wide array of positive and negative responses for the party overall or specifically for him.
In spite of his reckless nature, Borky is far more compassionate and gentle than one might expect of his kind. Additionally, he often displays a childlike fascination and wonderment at the things he encounters, showing an innocence and simple joy taken in everyday comforts.
He often acts on his whims in the moment, sometimes displaying great kindness, other times displaying a very callous attitude concerning the feelings of others, especially in social situations, frequently playing off the hurt feelings as no fault of his own. This also extends to him convincing himself of ridiculous things in the moment without much thought. He has shown a competitive streak, especially in fighting sports and has shown a great deal of interest in Vel's prize belt for an event called the "Three Tankard Championship".
Borky's happy-go-lucky attitude was sorely tested when the party was soundly defeated and he found himself needing to play the role of leader. He is working to find a balance between his father's straightforward brutality and his mother's gentleness and has been coached on being direct and concise by Raunfalt. This change in perspective has also brought about Borky's realization that he doesn't want anything to happen to Alivast because it is a place where he does not feel hated.
Borky prefers sylvan races to that of other orcs. When he is in the presence of other orcs, he tends to overcompensate. As a child he idolized his mother who was much more cultured and educated than the typical orcs in his tribe and encouraged him in many respects. When she died, Borky felt a great loss that he still carries to this day. Borky has revealed that he felt a great shame over his orc heritage, but his time with the Coastal Orcs reinvigorated a deep sense of pride within him, pride that unfortunately, immediately began to be tested by Tracadia.
Background
Borky was raised in a orc tribe far from Alivast, although it's uncertain where. His father was an orc chieftain named Slasha who was a devotee of the demon god Gnash. Borky described his father as cruel and merciless and apparently Borky also had many siblings who were also very competitive and cruel. However Borky remembers his mother as being softer and wanting her son to enjoy things in life other than war and bloodshed. It was she who taught him how to play the piano.
Through unknown circumstance, Borky wound up accidentally stowing away with the Bloodspill Smugglers. Eventually they discovered him and threw him overboard. The Unexpectables met him doing odd jobs at the Fleetfinger farm, and he ultimately joined the nascent group of adventurers.
Relationships
Task
"I'll save you, best friend!"
Borky has called Task his best friend, but also enjoys pushing Task's buttons either intentionally or through obliviousness. In return, Task is quick to caution new acquaintances that dealing with Borky requires significant patience.
Despite this increasingly-playful animosity, the pair tend to work well together in combat and they have had their fair share of moments of respect for one another. They have also bonded over similar pleasures, including rapidly becoming impromptu bookies for the Crimson Pit and sharing a love of a good scrap. Borky helped raise Task's morale after being defeated by the United Clergy of Orun with a rousing pep-talk.
While at the Pleasures Adrift, Borky and Task staged a drinking contest so they could wring info out of a triton named Pierce. After they finished interrogating the drunken swordfish, Borky insisted to Task that if it were a real drinking contest, he would have won. Task decided not to argue.
Panic Grimtongue
Season 3 Borky with Raunfalt blade by @caitlinc37
"As your manager, I have to tell you: I can't let my talent die."
Panic tends to be the most supportive and friendly to Borky on a regular basis, due to his easy-going nature and his enjoyment of the large orc's antics. Panic's frequently refers to Borky as "big guy" affectionately. Panic seems to tolerate Borky's jokes the most and sometimes encourages him.
During a ploy to trick a group of cultists, the pair arranged a relationship in which Borky acted as Panic's manager. This relationship persisted until an unfortunate incident involving a lightning javelin and a group of mysterious, terrifying creatures, in which Borky nearly killed Panic. While Panic seemed not to hold a grudge against Borky, he did fire Borky from his position (somewhat reluctantly) as manager much to Borky's dismay. However, during a climatic battle sometime later, Panic offered to rehire Borky as his manager as incentive to encourage the orc to kill their opponent. As Borky did just that, he was rehired. The two share a strange kinship, and often are on a similar mental wavelength when it comes to outlandish ideas.
Borky was originally going to be on Panic's team during the winter sled race, but Panic split off so he could sled with Scarlet instead.
Borky was shocked and slightly hurt at discovering Panic hid his real name from him for all this time.
Borky attempted to help Panic's morale with a motivational speech after being defeated by the United Clergy of Orun.
Greckles
"Greckles, do something!"
Greckles and Borky are often at odds in terms of personality. Greckles dislikes Borky's boisterous and inane tendencies, while Borky often seems to find Greckles avoidance of direct approaches as something to tease him about. Borky often makes jokes at Greckles' expense, which ends with Greckles saying, "Borky..." in a threatening tone. In turn, Borky will sometimes refer to Greckles as "The Bird" in a disparaging tone.
This does not keep the pair from assisting each other in combat, but each does seem to keep a list of slights and mistakes, both mundane and severe, and are quick to call the other out. Borky and Greckles' bickering and competitiveness -- and a competition revolving around broken-off or plucked-out body parts -- does not prevent the two from working together effectively due to a shared protective nature and martial skill.
Borky and Greckles Reconcile fan art by @Dark E Arts
Borky gave Greckles a rousing speech after their defeat at the hands of the United Clergy of Orun in hopes to boost morale. Greckles was impressed with how Borky was growing into the qualities of leadership. When Borky shouted down Grekles in a particularly heated moment, instead of holding a grudge, Greckles took a moment to cool off and then approached Borky and expressed an appreciation for this new focused attitude. In a symbolic token of his newfound respect, Greckles presented Borky with the broken tooth he had been holding onto since their first adventure together (Episode 0). Greckles had kept the tooth as an emblem of Borky's stupidity, and he felt that his friend had outgrown that limitation.
Raunfalt and Borky fan art by @SirMalervik
Raunfalt
Raunfalt gives Borky post-game analysis. Fan art by @ParryThat
Raunfalt's sword was offered to Borky by Edward Enrobso for the purpose of uniting the native Orc Clans against the United Clergy of Orun. When Borky grasped the sword's hit, Raunfalt's soul spoke to his mind, pulling him into a dream space where the two could converse face to face. Raunfalt showed appreciation to Borky for ending his suffering and relief at the news that Colette survived the ordeal he forced her into. Raunfalt agreed to be Borky's weapon on the condition that Borky use him to cut down Stillhavity's spawn and erase his presence from the material plane. Raunfalt has confidence in Borky's abilities but is critical of his attitude and mindset. Borky is not used to the regal formality Raunfalt expects to be treated with, but it slowly learning the ropes. Raunfalt especially dislikes Borky's habit of jamming his blade into the earth and has sternly reminded Borky that he is a giant of the sky, not the earth. Raunfalt has also taken it upon himself to coach Borky after the orc nearly lost his blade to the ocean after a stinging defeat at the hands of the United Clergy. After the Unexpectables and Zenrio reached the surface in the remains of the Crab Mech, Raunfalt took Borky aside and attempted to coach him on how to negotiate with orc leaders through some roleplay. Despite struggling to come up with a good orc name, he managed to teach Borky how to negotiate and barter his skills in exchange for aid. This advice later came in handy when the group encountered scouts from The Blood of Gnash. He also requested Borky allow him to make peace with Colette Black if they ever met her again, and Borky agreed.
Lily
Borky fan art by @CatofUlthar000 Delphinium: Levity, Fun, Joy, Bighearted Yellow Tulip: Cheerful thoughts, Sunshine, Hope
"Can we go already? We're near Lily's house. I want to give her a giant hug!"
Borky became fast friends with Lily, her sunny and friendly nature matching his own honest and open nature. Borky was additionally enamored with her combat prowess in beast form during their travels together. Upon parting ways, Lily gave Borky a stamp which he can use to send letters to her. Lily has sent two letters to the group, the second one is voiced by @limesalicious and is available here. She sent Borky a hand-made Winter Wolf cloak and a scarf she knit out of blue and purple yarn to resemble a winter night sky. Borky concocted a fantastical notion of how she must have crept up behind a Winter Wolf and snapped its neck in a single motion.
Lily seems to have had a significant influence on Borky, though she may simply be bringing forth his more compassionate nature. He has described her using the obscure orc phrase "tote adorbs".
Borky was able to recognize Lily in her bear form and leapt into action to save her from winter wolves despite being in pursuit of the Silver King and the hostage Willow. Though he was worried for her safety, he considers her being attacked by the wolves to be a good thing in a roundabout way, as it allowed the two to reunite. Borky later confessed to Lily how he once tried to steal Ozzy's hedgehog, and admitted it was a stupid decision.
Borky allowed Lily to hold Bright when he revealed himself to the party and expressed deep thankfulness that Lily wasn't lying to him about her real name.
Helga
Borky's Season 2 outfit, official art by @CitricKing
"She's just so goddamn ugly..."
Borky feels uneasy around Helga, as he feels that she is uncomfortably unattractive. He does his best to avoid eye contact with Helga whenever possible, which suits the orcish barkeep just fine as she has little interest in dealing with the "cowardly orc man." Borky maintains the pretense of a rivalry with her, which she outwardly dismisses; however, the enthusiasm with which she flattened Borky in their one fight to date is noteworthy. They have, grudgingly, admitted to agreeing on one thing: cheese is delicious.
Family
Borky's relationship with his father is a sore point for the orc, as is the premature death of his beloved mother. His mother encouraged him to play the piano while his father wanted him to pursue more "traditional" orc activities such as fighting and killing. Borky's tribe also worshiped the god of destruction, Gnash. Borky has mentioned he comes from a big family with many siblings, all of whom share very similar names to his own by his account, as well as a cousin.
Starlight/Lorelei
Borky is enthralled with Starlight, and has been since first seeing her perform at the Romansion. He has expressed that she reminds him positively of his mother with her singing, and seems driven to protect her from any perceived danger. For her part, Starlight initially assumed Borky was simply another fan, and the stress of being abducted by pirates with him had her fearing the worst from the Orc, but after getting to know the man, Starlight came to trust and even appreciate the gentle giant, going so far as to reveal her real name, Lorelei, as a sign of comfort with him. Back in Alivast, a chance meeting ended up as a date over tea at a fancy tea and coffee shop called "The Misty Siren".
Later, after the events in Canary Channel, Borky decided to "let her down easy" by stating he just thought of her as a friend, and seemed quite a bit more relaxed than the last time he saw her. Lorelei, possibly unaware he even had a crush on her, seemed to take it well.
Tai Borpington
Borky in Winter fan art by @NoodleLazer
Borky adores Tai, and is constantly trying to reassure the neurotic halfling. Unfortunately, Borky's lack of a filter for his thoughts, and lack of common sense in general, mean that what he intends to be caring words end up making Tai feel worse. He also forgets about Tai's much smaller stature in relation to is own prodigious strength, causing his friend a great deal of pain on more than one occasion.
With Borky's help (or perhaps despite it) Tai won second place in the cooking competition at the Harvest Festival. With the onset of the group's first winter in Alivast, Borky helped Tai make pickles and preserve meats for the season.
Digsby
Official Season 1 Borky Art by @starpyrate
Borky's simple perspective and Digsby's sleepy cognition match up surprisingly well. Borky shows a genuine concern for the paladin's emotional well-being when he struggles with flashbacks of his tragic past. After a particularly revealing conversation about Digsby's history, the mask of Lys reacts strongly to Borky and another crack in it is repaired.
Charlie Warden
Borky recognizes Charlie's role as 'dad' and even refers to him as such. After Borky made a rather thoughtless comment that upset Brorc, Charlie let him know how disappointed he was in Borky's behavior and that seemed to affect the orc.
Doros
Borky Fan art by @JojieSenpai
Borky's attempts at joking with Doros backfired spectacularly when the safety of Willow was involved. Doros saw right through the joke and retaliated with a glare that made Borky white with fear and quite stunned afterwards.
Hellina
After Panic forgave Hellina for attacking the party, Borky became her friend, joining her and the guys on the investigation of the Eltmur Royalists and the trip to the Musical Menagerie. At the ball held to honor the Silver King, Borky wiped his mouth on a server who turned out to be Hellina, embarrassing her greatly and causing her to run out of the room. Later in the night, Borky took Hellina's drink tray and began serving guests so Hellina would have the free time to dance with Panic.
Northlanders
Borky Suplexing Mirehair fan art by @Angrypaint
While accompanying Task on his quest to hunt a bear, Borky was greeted enthusiastically by the Northlanders and struck up a friendship with their group's orcs, Boldgrush and Oogrush. At the Silver King's ball, Borky met the Northlanders at their balcony spitroast and sampled their roast boar. It was some of the best he'd ever tasted.
The Silver King
After learning that the Silver King had spoken to all of his friends but him, Borky approached the Silver Dragon and requested a moment of his time. The Silver King explained he thought Borky was on duty as a bodyguard and chose not to converse with him as that is frowned upon in some social circles. Borky regaled the Silver King with the story of when he suplexed the hag Mirehair, snapping her neck and killing her instantly. The Silver King was greatly amused by the story and told Borky he looks forward to hearing legends of him one day. When the Silver King kidnapped Willow, Borky shifted from his usual goofy behavior to a more serious and impatient tone. He didn't let the urgency of the situation stop him from wanting to rescue Lily when he encountered her. Borky did his best to engage in negotiations with the Silver King despite his tenuous grasp on politics while also making sure everyone knew his name really was Borky.
Remy
Remy and Borky Sled Race fan art by @Dark E Arts
When Remy was given "mandatory fun time" by the Silver King during the Winter Festival, he ended up on Borky's team for the sled race. The two had little strategic synergy or chemistry for teamwork; Remy's best strategy was to place first and Borky thought tying a captive pigeon to the sled would help their air-time. Despite these roadblocks, the two performed exceptionally and placed first in the race, though the pigeon was killed in the process. Remy accompanied Borky and his friends up Everbright Mountain to help rescue Willow.
Scarbles
Borky's relationship with Scarbles is complicated. He appreciates her being green, and understands her issues with discrimination, but he also sees her as something akin to a feral cat. She constantly appears behind him and surprises him and it is a toss-up whether this is due to his inattention or her stealth. During the winter season he did get the notion to get her into a bath. In an off-screen montage of Rube-Goldberg traps he finally managed to capture her and tie her to the end of a fishing pole allowing him to dunk her, clothes and all, into the bath. She ended up a few shades lighter green, her clothes a few shades lighter brown, and now is very leery of laundry baskets propped up with sticks and a sign pointing to goodies underneath. Scarbles was very wary of Borky after that incident, hissing at him like an angry cat before scampering off. Their relationship has since "normalized" with Scarbles returning to surprising Borky when he least expects it, though this seems to be more due to Borky's inattention than her own stealth. In a disturbing development, Borky admitted (under very stressful conditions) that he has an attraction to Scarbles that even he thinks is pretty weird. Scarbles doesn't know this yet.
Official Art of Bright by @ThatArtJack
Bright
Raghu is perhaps the only person interested in hearing Borky's hag-skull goblet story. fan art by @RasilaTommi
Official Art of Bright by @ThatArtJack.png Borky discovered the War Mage's Vengeance inside a box in an Eltmur Royalist hideout. Borky used the sword to combat the cult's summoned demons, and later to save Willow from the Somalisk sent by Mel. During the latter encounter, the sword shattered, revealing the Barchoba that was inside. When the Barchoba became Willow's familiar, he offered the name "Bright," chosen for its radiant light. As Bright's wielder, Borky has a psychic connection to the celestial similar to the one shared with his master. Through this link the two can communicate telepathically, allowing Borky to act as an interpreter so Bright can communicate with the group (to varying levels of success). Bright hitched a ride inside Borky's jacket during the trek to save Willow from the Silver King and helped everyone locate their missing friend. Borky also let Lily hold and pet Bright; a rewarding interaction for both parties.
Raghu
Borky found a willing audience in Raghu who's love for collecting stories meant that he eagerly listened to every tale Borky told him, no mater how insipid.
Zenrio
Borky intimidating the United Orun Clergy Camp fanart by @ArtFather2
When waking up after being thrown into Canary Channel, Borky was convinced that he had died and was in hell. In his hysteria, he mistook Zenrio's mother for a devil, and referred to her as "Devilmom." He managed to regain his composure shortly, and the two became fast friends, as they appeared to operate on the same wavelength, though that means they sometimes encourage each other's worst traits. When negotiating with scouts from The Blood of Gnash, Borky introduced Zenrio as his apprentice.
Gruul Hellhorn
Borky managed to convince Gruul to accept an alliance with the party representing Alivast. He accepts Borky as the party's leader and gives him the respect appropriate for another chief. Borky impersonated Gruul's dead brother Orvar in order to convince the United Clergy forces the warlord had returned and provided a distraction during a skirmish. After the Battle at the UCO Camp, Borky attempted to return the weapon made of Gruul's horn, however Gruul told him to keep it, giving him the weapon as a sign of their friendship.
Omnimaw
Borky has foolishly invoked the name of The Death of Clean Sound on more than one occasion, even after being warned by Panic to avoid it. The first two times, he said the name of He of the One Body Choir, it caused a string on Panic's guitar to snap. The third time he spoke the name, he was cursed with losing his voice. Fortunately, Doros was able to remove that curse.
Magic Items
- Raunfalt
- Gripples
- Scarf of Disguise Self - Was buried in the garden last winter, assumed to still be there.
Trivia
- SkyBlueShinx has composed a theme for Borky entitled Orky
- TheLoreWriter has composed a theme for Borky also entitled Orky
- Borky once confessed to the party that he prefers elven-like races over orcs, which may be why Borky likes Lily so much.
- Borky has a sweet tooth and enjoys macaroons, cookies, candies and various other sweets. He also enjoys a good goblet of ale from each tavern The Unexpectables seem to stop at.
- Borky has a routine he does every morning in which he shouts, "It's time to get Orky! It's time to get Borky!" with rising intensity, and ends with a deafening, guttural scream. He claims this routine gives him the confidence he needs to get through the day. The ritual was apparently inspired by his mother's encouraging words to him when he was a child.
- Borky's characteristic morning ritual was originally "I am Orky. I am Borky. AAAARGH!!!!"
- In episode 3, it is shown that Borky made his throwing spear himself out of a stick that he found.
- Borky named his Ebony Penguin, Gripples the Penguin, after Greckles' flower nipples. Since obtaining it, Borky has claimed that Gripples talks to him and has experienced at least one disturbing dream, centering on Gripples. Whether this is Borky's imagination or a hint of something more sinister is unclear.
- In Episode 10, Borky reveals in a Rage that he prefers Cool colors (particularly purple and blue), and doesn't much care for warm colors. This prompted a slightly offended "Hey" from Panic and Task.
- When exposed to the Dog Zone, Borky is transformed into a Mastiff.
- Apparently Borky suffers from sleep apnea, as well as sleep paralysis.
- When asked to insult Stillhavity, Borky simply stated "You ain't Orky" several times.
- Borky is mildly addicted to Tai Borpington's coffee.
- According to Taka, Borky has no body hair.
- Borky does have a chipped tooth, but it is not one of his tusks that was broken.
- Due to Taka's love for the joke, Borky often says the line whenever appropriate.
- Borky spreads melted soap on his (very fatty) bread.
- Part of Borky's New Year's Resolution was to say "yes" more.
- The Bloodspill Smugglers, who brought Borky to Alivst, are led by Captain Vanalax and his daughter, Varuna. They were transporting an Orb of Noct
- Borky says he finds all races sexy.
- He has shown to be irresistible to wyverns. They think he's pretty sexy.
- Borky destroyed Panic's old jacket while trying it on, but he promised to get it repaired and returned.
- Borky shared a dance with Granny during the ball. She is comically strong.
- Borky was transformed into a Strassor Pigeon by Taylor.
- Borky sometimes likes to sleep on tables.
- Borky's head is fairly empty and that may be the reason it attracts other voices into the void. The foreign voices in Borky's head have included:
- Borky impersonated the dead Tanarukk chieftan Orvar to intimidate the United Orun Clergy, rally the orcs they allied with and hide his own identity from the Clergy.
- Borky Loves suplexing people. He has fatally suplexed:
- In the battle for the Orun Clergy Base, Borky was given red warpaint, symbolizing fury.
- When Borky slept wearing Lys' mask instead of a vision, he woke up with all his limbs dislocated. Panic intuited that this may have been a metaphor for Lys' disjointed state. The game mechanical reason was a critical fail on a wisdom saving throw. Borky was understandably very upset.
- Takahata101 has admitted that one of the reasons why Borky did not pursue a romantic relationship with Starlight/Lorelei was because it would feel really weird role playing that with his sister. Considering the mental and emotional scarring he has undergone with his visual novel playthrough streams, that is very understandable.
- Borky once spent over three hours trying to crack open a coconut.
- Borky is known at the Romansion as "Chicken Wing Boy"
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