#☆samantha

[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.

[thecollectibles]

Art by Samantha Mash

[curiousaur]

this is what happens when tav is away

[stay-close]

I’m independent and strong, but sometimes…just sometimes, it’s nice to be taken care of.

Samantha Towle

[marksandrec]

Marks and Rec: Misc #2605

Don't forget to feed your wizard. (Dialogue is just made up, lol.)

[hoodedjelly]

Still Feel by Half Alive

(there is a second of flashing at the start was unsure if i should tag it or not, but this is the warning)

[youtube video link]

[vivienvalentino]

SAMANTHA ROBINSON — The Love Witch, 2016

[alrauna]

Samantha Cavet (@samanthacavet)

[emahriel]

bon appétit friends umikochann's artwork

[loulouhattie]

🔥🔥🔥Careful soldier. If I burn any hotter, I might explode 🔥🔥🔥

mother sorry mother sorry mama k sorry mama k 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

3.5 hrs in procreate

ref is Xinia (link below)

[sol-consort]

I know I’m 6-7 hours late to the post about what races you want to romance in ME4 but I really like the wish for a bromance with a Salarian

Nothing in their storyline changes except all their intimate moments are just you and Salarian going “bro…” “bro…” to each other while intimately looking at the other

EXACTLY YES. I want Spongebob and Patrick's level of devotion. Platonic bromance at its finest without the Salarian being pushed aside for Shep's love interest.

Like you should be able to "lock" into their route like any other romantic partner and the story changes accordingly, but it's just pure unconditional love without a hint of romance or sex.

All the dates turn into fun activities where both of you are chilling, you get exclusive dialogue where they refer to you as their best friend, the most dear person to their heart, the brother from another mother idk man I just want us to be two peas in a pod.

Mass Effect did something similar before in ME3, nothing too major, but they had a very lovely sideplot about Steve if you're a femshep. He truly felt like a genuine friend, the way he entrusts you with his vulnerability, the small hangouts you get together, the way he greets you with enthusiasm whenever you talk to him.

Part of me was worried they're turn him into the "gay bff" trope, but thankfully nope. He still talks about the same interests he'd with a maleshep, minus the flirting.

I expected his story to be completely gutted out and pushed to the background since his romance is locked behind a maleshep. But to my surprise he still felt like an actual fully formed character! He still had endearing bonding moments with shep and a lot of fun hangouts.

I wonder if the same happens with maleshep and Samantha. For femshep, I enjoyed how unapologetically gay she was. It's such a fresh breath of air to see lesbian disaster representation in-game. She felt very authentic instead of the fetisizhation I expected. Like a woman character who's unashamed of her sexual desires and openly expresses them like any guy? Without it being treated as a perverted thing? Sign me tf up.

[thecollectibles]

The Greenhouse by Samantha Mash

[thefirsthogokage]

If you're in an area that is suffering from wildfire polluted air, I just saw this on Twitter:

Bonus:

Here's a site I found that can tell you how to make these:

Edit: There have been some extra pointers (about open sources of water in the home, and I believe some other things) in the reblogs, so I highly recommend taking a look at the notes of this post!

Also: Cloth masks are NOT sufficient. Use KN95s or N95s!

[draigviller]