#☆ME3

[sol-consort]

pics i forgot to post from the playthrough

[seratlantisite]

Nice try Bioware, but I know the state of Southern Thedas better than you do.

First off, it matters if the Hero of Ferelden is alive or not. When the First Warden recalled all wardens, our hero knew that was a bad call and refused, finally splitting off from Weisshaupt after years of mismanagement and taking scores of wardens with them. Their presence and leadership makes all the difference, rallying southern Thedas once more against the blight. If you have only an Orlesian Warden Commander in Amaranthine they’re less inspiring, but as long as you’ve done Awakening they are a boon nonetheless. There is someone to lead the fight against the darkspawn while other focus on the Venatori.

If you 100% completed Awakenings and also Soldier���s Peak, the Ferelden wardens have never been so prepared. They’re organized, they’re outfitted and they’ve been ready for this for years. Also, if you allied with the Architect then you have scores of strange research to give you an edge.

If Merrill completed her Eluvian then she moves south once again and joins the effort. She’s managed to cleanse the blight before and she’s ready to try it again. And her knowledge of the crossroads gives the south an edge on their movement and supply lines. If Hawke’s sibling is a Warden they accompanied her.

If the Inquisitor let Briala have power in any way, the Dales become the leaders in the war against the Venatori, forming a formidable alliance with Ferelden, Orzammar and the Marches, the likes of which have never been seen. And if you completed Jaws of Hakkon then their alliances with the Avvar and Chasind are stronger than ever.

Of course, if the Inquisitor kept the Wardens around after Here Lies the Abyss then their numbers are bolstered. It may cost Wiesshaupt later, but that’s Rooks problem. And if you completed the Descent, then the Inquisitor and Warden had a much better idea of what was coming and spent ten years getting ready.

They will not be broken.

They will weather this storm.

[stormcallart]

Beach day and date night 💙❤️

[wetsocksinbed]

alternatively: if the council weren’t fucking nards

[varanidius]

Krogans waiting for soup [Print Available]

[anotherhawk]

I know that Mass Effect 3 gets a lot of shit - and fuck knows it deserves it - but I swear it also has the ability to make me feel more emotions than any other piece of media ever has.

Forget the endings bullshit, and the ridiculousness of Kai Leng - it's about Javik's voice when he asks you "Why didn't you prepare for the reapers, human?" It's the old lady whose daughter is dead on earth, but she doesn't know, and doesn't remember she's talking to her asari daughter in law. It's the kid in the refugee camp, waiting for her parents. It's Mordin singing Amazing Grace, Thane's last prayer, Legion and Tali on Rannoch - does this unit have a soul? It's asking the elcor ambassador how many of his people you managed to save and hearing "Not. Enough." It's hearing the casualty reports over the radio in London - areas reporting 90, 95 percent casualties - and knowing there's nothing you can do. It's hearing Anderson whisper "You did good, child" as he dies. It's hearing Hackett's voice and standing up one last time, ready to fight, ready to die.

[missgamerin]

Mass Effect 3 Scenery I Ardat-Yakshi Monastery

[chaosroid]

[milkywayes]

battlefields, internal

[hum-tittle]

In case you didn't know Mordin gives advice for specific romances in Mass Effect 2.

Mordin’s Advice:

Garrus- you might die

Jack- you might die

Tali- she might die

Miranda- you might get probed

Thane- you might get high

[sol-consort]

Okay, me again. I was watching more of those modded gameplays again this time it was Tali's and OMG SHE TAKES OFF HER MASK?!?!?!?! That's so crazy!

(P.S. Also idk if this is true or not and I'm too lazy to check rn but I saw in the comments of that video that the game was gonna allow more same sex relationships but then Fox News threatened to get the game banned and also the whole commotion about femshep and Liara? Like, I'm sorry?? Can queer people have one fucking thing, please?)

(P.P.S. I think Tali was gonna be one of the characters that both male and female shep were allowed to romance, and that's why I think there's like romantic dialog left over even as femshep)

Sadly the Fox News controversy is true

ME1 released in 2007 and this segment aired in 2008, it contained a lot of false information about how explicit the sex scenes were, causing a massive backlash from the general public. Liara's romance was especially demonised.

Bioware had done queer characters and romance before, but it was more on the subtle side with games that never got much publicity to begin with. So to put a lesbian romance on the same level and seriousness as the other two straight romance options was blasphemous in people's eyes at the time.

There were rumours about ME1 Kaidan being bi but then scrapped because of maleshep romance dialogue lines people found in the gamefiles, but bioware claims that it wasn't cut content, just a mixed up script that got sent to his voice actor.

Notably, in ME2, there is a huge lack of main queer relationships. Liara wasn't added until the DLC, Kelly is an npc that doesn't have a route. Sleeping with Mornith causes a game over screen and she is an optional recruit that you've very discouraged to pick by the game.

All the main relationships were gutted and scrubbed from any hint of queerness. Thanks to Fox News, Jack, Tali, Thane, Miranda, and Jacob had dialogue lines and romance flags for same-gender Shep.

Jack took the biggest hit, however, as she was meant to be THE bi rep, but the fox news segment made Bioware pull the plug and turn her straight last minute. Her femshep romance was practically done.

In ME3, they did listen to the community, and Kaidan was turned bi thanks to the mix-up lines accidentally recorded in ME1. Plus getting an exclusively gay/lesbian romance option.

Steve and Samantha are more well-rounded characters than Kelly, they contain more depth and actual personality...but, they do fall short in comparison to the rest of the romance-able characters. The game considered their romance a main route unlike Kelly who still let you go have other relationships, you could "Lock in" with both of them.

A huge part of why they don't feel as important is because you can't take them on missions with you, they're stationary set pieces almost. The crew fighting alongside you helps create a special bond, why even EDI feels closer to the player than both of them despite her being in a relationship with Joker.

So besides Steve and Samantha, Liara and Kaidan remain the only gay romance options in the Mass Effect Trilogy.

-

Final note: I really like how Thane—a deeply spiritual and religious character—was supposed to be queer without it creating conflict within his belief system. It helps resonate how different the aliens' culture is, how homophobia could be a man–human–made concept in the Mass Effect world. How it's only us who used religion as an excuse way to shun queer people, while the rest of the galaxy didn't even consider it.

In ME3, there is an overhead dialogue about a human soldier talking to the asari embassy about finding refugee for her asari daughter, maybe send her back home. She mentions how all her human family basically abandoned her the day she married her asari wife, homophobia heavily implied.

You don't hear a story like that from any other alien who married an asari, I really think homophobia is exclusive to humans. It's both shameful but also a relief that at least the rest of the galaxy have their priorities sorted right. We could learn a thing or two.

[hellafluff]

Garrus' interactions with Shepard post-Thessia are so fucking well written. Everyone else is telling Shepard they're sorry or doing a soft sad voice asking if she's okay but Garrus has this moving little speech about how losing a fight isn't the end of the war and I just. He's so fucking good. He knows what Shepard needs to hear and has the experience to back up the things he says. He's so good to her

[april-ryan]

MASS EFFECT 3: LEGENDARY EDITION

[fukiana]

MASS EFFECT 3: LEGENDARY EDITION (2021) dev. Bioware

[wetsocksinbed]

the Arrival DLC is so funny because Hackett is like “hey Shepard I know you’ve been given all these insanely dangerous tasks so I’m just going to ask you to do a really easy, really simple one. I just need you to go grab someone. Routine op, in and out. Nothing dramatic.” And then you end up blowing up an entire goddamn solar system and killing billions of people