#(shoutouts to me realizing while thinking of this support that yeah outside of dlc there's only like 4 women for Faye to connect to)

[fiberflxwer]

"Look, it’s okay. Not everyone has to be friends, right?" for the quote prompt!

[ setting the scene | Still accepting! ]

[ Taken from Faye's B Support with Silque!

Ignoring how disappointingly short SoV's supports are, trying to look at Faye's negligence toward Silque's friendship beyond an "ALMALMALM" standpoint is rather interesting!

While they are similar in age, Faye in this moment knows she couldn't be any more different from Silque. In the C Support, Silque tries to bring up womanly gossip as a method of bonding, but Faye is quick to shoot that down. Likewise, Faye immediately refuses talking about Alm in this instance, claiming:

Faye: Talking about Alm isn’t fun unless Alm himself is there. [SoV Faye/Silque B Support]

While I doubt her village-based childhood was void of any female friends, it is clear that Faye's main friend group is with the boys, perhaps being the children Faye was the closest to age-wise in the village. Even if she is 18 years old during the events of SoV, she has no desire in speaking about gossip that isn't "for the ears of men," as Silque puts it. The point of Alm being in the conversation isn't because Alm is the topic, but because Alm is someone she enjoys being with.

On top of being from a lifestyle unfamiliar to Faye, the way Silque attempts to insert herself into Faye's life gets to the village girl, and even if she tries to sound nice about it, her quickness in dismissing Silque makes her intentions clear. She has no interest in being her friend...until she feels lonely in their A Support, at least. Either way, Faye will more often than not have a slow-burn relationship when it comes to making friends of the same gender.

As a bonus, I would like to mention that Sacred Echoes, the GBA demake of SoV, changes this B Support to instead focus on Silque asking Faye about her village life only for the same line of dismissal to occur. This supports my own viewing of this support, where Faye just does not connect to Silque and tries to make it clear that Silque should quit while she's ahead, while adding to the fact that Faye is not really comfortable with sharing her background to outsiders. ]

[griffinsnoir]

nb-ace-in-the-menagerie asked: We’re there any Mass Effect companions Calpernia got along really well with?

Calpernia got on well with most everyone, but her especially notable are her friendships with: 

Kaidan, Miranda, Samara, James, an Extra Special Shoutout to Garrus and Tali and a very special shoutout to Ashley!

This isn’t to say she doesn’t value everyone else, but her relationship with these guys is particularly special or different.

So let’s see:

Kaidan

Kaidan and Calpernia share a very special bond. I mean they ended up dating in Mass Effect 3 so of course he’s very special to her.

And I think it’s because they’re very much alike: dutiful, stubborn, honest... powerful human biotics...

He always tells her how he feels and for the most part she always had a clear understanding of where she stood with him. She admires his abilities and has absolute faith in him—and that trust has never wavered.

That’s part of the reason she was never really angry at him for his comments on Horizon. I mean she was hurt but never really angry.

He was the first person she opened herself up to and he keeps her grounded. So even when he was angry at her, she never stopped believing they’d be friends again.

And she was right. It took some time but they worked through everything and finally resolved the romantic tension between them!

Kaidan fell for her very early on but his interest was very subtle so Calpernia didn’t notice. She was too focused. But Calpernia did develop strong feelings of… ‘Camaraderie’ towards him.

Such strong feelings of Camaraderie, in fact, something about him not being at her side in ME2 felt wrong. She missed him a little too much and didn’t understand why he occupied her thoughts so often. (The feeling she had was love but she hadn’t noticed it yet.)

So yeah, ya girl is a little dense lol

She had a late love epiphany thus didn’t know she was in love until he broke her heart on Horizon.

Even after they became friends again it still took her a while to notice his feelings for her—he had to be very blatant about it for her to catch on and it didn't help that Calpernia didn't give him any indication of her feelings—but they got their eventually lol

Miranda

Unlike either Kaidan or Ashley, Calpernia and Miranda got off to a pretty bad start. She was difficult to get along with but they’re both remarkably similar and needed the same thing: To reclaim their humanity from the impossible standards they (and others) placed upon them(selves). For Calpernia, reclaiming her personhood and humanity was something that began in ME1. It cemented in ME2 and was tested in ME3. She wobbled but came out with her humanity (and life) intact. I imagine that the same could be said for Miranda and alot of that was because Shepard helped her. She made Miranda feel like asking for help and acknowledging her faults wasn’t the end of the world. Which is why their casino scene in the Citadel DLC makes me so happy! They’re both so efficient at what they do and it’s consumed so much of their time that neither knows how to be a civilian and have a normal Girls Night but they’re going to try! And then Miranda’s admittance that no one is perfect brings everything from their first few conversations full Circle. Miranda isn’t perfect and neither is Calpernia. It’s no exaggeration for me to say that Miranda is Calpernia’s best friend.

Samara

Now I could go on and on about the relationship between Calpernia and Samara but I’ll try to keep short as I can.

Their relationship is full of ironic parallels that Calpernia fails to notice.

Calpernia admires and Respects Samara a lot. She admires her serenity, wisdom and strong resolve.

I mean, Samara is the type of person who makes ‘getting the job done’ look easy, she’s level-headed, cool, and fearless. And though she might be, uh, intense she does bring about a sense of comfort. Because having Samara seems like guaranteed victory (ironically, these are traits commonly attributed to Calpernia herself— she of course doesn’t notice the parallel.)

But what Calpernia really likes about her, is that beneath her tough Justicar exterior is someone whose subject to the same vulnerabilities as everyone else. She loves getting to know that part of Samara and she loves that Samara trusts her with that part of her. (Again, Ironically, this mirrors the way Shepard let down her walls to let her Companions get to know her as a person. Calpernia doesn’t notice.)

But of course, there are things she does notice, like how both of them place the mission before their feelings and the way others view them as unapproachable and scary.  

But As I mentioned, Calpernia regaining her sense of self outside of the ‘Commander Shepard’ box she’s placed herself into is most of her character development and it’s really starting to take effect in Mass Effect 2. So while they’re still similar, Calpernia has begun to drift unto different path. Her mission is still first, but she’s now open to a personal life.

So having someone there who has it all together is…comforting, Even if she doesn’t take the same path.

She misses being that sure; She missed the guidelines and regulations and Carefully Executed Loopholes that informed her behavior and actions. She misses the clarity she had when she pushed away everything that wasn’t the mission.

But then her crew wiggled their way into her heart and Having them made her realized how hard it is to be alone and fight for some abstract concept. But when the people who want to protect are Right There…it becomes easier and makes her resolve that much stronger.

So, Ironically, opening herself up and making friends only made her a better soldier lol

They share different perspectives but understand each other better than most others would.

James

Being someone’s Friend or Commander is different than being their Mentor and, well, that’s what she got to be with James.

He looked toward her for Guidance and so she helped him.

But that really brings everything full circle for her.

The games begin with her under Anderson’s Wing and now she’s, more or less, taken someone under hers.

James has promise: talent, an impressive service record and is even on his way to becoming an N7! But then he’s also excitable and emotional and overall very different than she is; He likes to joke and flirt and get under her skin—I mean you’d think he’d treat someone he looks up to with a little more respect!

Still, he means no harm and Calpernia understands that—in fact, his cheerful presence is very much needed.

And that I think that, when you’re invited to join the N7 program it’s because you’ve shown the same level of proficiency in the traits other N7s share: bravery, strength, creative problem solving, etc…

Anderson and Shepard get along because they share a set of unique qualities–and I’d like to think the same could be said for Shepard and James. They met when Calpernia was grounded but he always respected her and she appreciated his support.

They went through a rough patch on the Normandy but it was easy to reconciled once Calpernia dished out the hard advice.

And though they did become friends, their Mentor, Protege relationship blossomed after the Reaper War.

I mentioned that I headcanon that Calpernia helped to recruit new N7s–and James was amongst the first bunch of new candidates.

While everyone else was impressed and/or intimidated, James treated her no different than always. He teased her about being ‘Out of Her Prime’ and probably called her Grandma at some point but he has nothing but respect for her lol

He goes to her for advice and likes to talk about how things are going and she’s extremely proud of him.

Garrus and Tali

I put these two together because they fill a similar position in Calpernia’s heart.

A list like this wouldn’t be complete without them!

Those two have been there through it all. They’ve stood with her against all sorts of impossible odds and depends on them for support.

No one else knows what Shepard’s been through like they have—like, you can tell someone about the Collector Base but the pure horror of it all? You just had to be there y’know?

And so in that sense, they’re like…siblings. Three people who came up together.

With Garrus someone she can pal around and compete with. He is 100% her best bro.

With Tali, Shepard goes full on ‘Mom Friend’ No one messes with Tali when she’s around!

And together they form a pretty balanced combat trio.

Whenever she’s feeling unsure of what or who the mission needs, Garrus and Tali are the two she’ll call first.

There’s is a friendship that will definitely last a lifetime.

Ashley 

Compared to the rest, Calpernia didn’t know Ashley for very long.

But still, Ashley reminded Calpernia very much of herself–she was a survivor, a soldier willing and ready to go, they shared an interest in old literature and Ashley wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. I already mentioned that Calpernia did try to save both Ashley and Kaidan by splitting up from her Squad but she was unsuccessful. Losing her is one of Calpernia’s greatest regrets. Before her final stand against the Reapers, Calpernia traded her usual Red Armor for Standard Alliance Blue. But then she added a very non-standard Pink Stripe on her arm in honor of Ashley and the rest of her fallen friends and allies.