#Miles me2

[husband-steve-cortez]

But also in my mind. Miles almost begs on Horizon. Like, Miles quickly apologizes for what he said and asks Kaidan to join him, and there is a noticeable desperate edge to Miles' voice when he does. It's a level of vulnerability that Miles doesn't often allow himself, to be anything other than cool and collected and in charge. So Kaidan has to know just how badly Miles needed him (and Kaidan does).

But he says no.

[elizzacassan]

[turnandface]

Miles just said fuck you to the Illusive Man. He's not dealing with his shit anymore.

[tree-woven]

just finished playing mass effect 1 and tbh dragon age origins felt miles ahead. from the companions along your side to the repercussions of your decisions dao just feels so much deeper and richer.

oh well, me2 is waiting for me

[spookyvalentine]

I’m Commander Shepard,

L to R: Mercy, Stellan and Truce

they/them pronouns only please

‼️ 🔥 ART BY @pyxchta 🔥‼️

stellan: talking a million miles a minute about water pumps, shiala, their turtle, zhu’s hope, shiala’s flowers, keeping sourdough starter alive through all these years, aquaculture (oysters in particular), shiala’s biceps, regenerative agriculture, their cousins tilly and scott, and also their wife, shiala…

mercy n truce, making eye contact over Stellan’s head, clearly both thinking the same thing: tiny

MERCY SHEPARD

earthborn / sole survivor / sentinel / renegon

romance: kasumi

likes: music, anything physical like dance and sports, racing cars. fresh fruit. a good heist. getting to know people

wears: usually issued pants and boots, simple sweatshirt. occasional leather jacket, rare suit. big fan of fuzzy socks they’d normally only wear a tank like this on on the ship, but as @acrylicsalts-inspo pointed out… the gun show 🙈

dies at the end

fun fact: even though anderson won mercy a plea deal (alliance enlistment rather than a prison sentence), hackett takes it a step farther and threatens kasumi’s safety for mercy’s compliance

fun fact: mercy and kasumi met on earth as teens n were very close. until just before mercy’s eighteenth birthday they did a lot of hits together. they reunite in me2, over a decade later, and fall in love. my brain is currently rotting over them right now,, we in the pits fam

au’s!! 🙈: crimelord, sports coach, white collar

STELLAN SHEPARD

colonist / war hero / engineer / paragon

romance: shiala

likes: kepesh yakshi, fixing things, aquatic plants, kayaking

wears: like a walking carhartt duluth catalogue, but also likes jeans and shiala’s old sports teams jackets that are big and comfy on them (like rn)

joined the alliance to be a science officer/part of the engineer corps, not to be a military commander

fun fact: stellan lost their arm in an accident w farming equipment at age ten—tinkers over their prosthetic with their cousins tilly and scott (ryder)

fun fact: gets soft and a lil chubby with retirement—farm strong, but also really well fed on fresh bread and jam and butter and honey wine and thick yogurt and hearty stews and fruit beers, grilled veggies and smoked cheeses…

TRUCE SHEPARD

spacer / ruthless / infiltrator / paragade

romance: EDI

likes: really really good oil pastels and colored pencils. making the impossible shot. getting to check out local galleries and museums

wears: very muted neutrals, the occasional pastel. even if they’re wearing something casual it’s a monochrome outfit, which makes them always look a little formal. at minimum, put together.

wanted to run away to become a portraitist. when they wake up in me2, truce discovers their parents sold and published all of their private sketchbooks

fun fact: clone of their dead older brother, john. he died in the first contact wars, in the middle of a meteoric rise

fun fact: their baby sister Ruth, is also a clone of their dead brother John. Born on Truce’s sixteenth birthday. Truce dotes upon her

THANK YOU AGAIN @pyxchta seriously yall go check out her work, go commission her, it was an amazing experience and my heart is still bursting at how damn well she translated my word salad into ART

[swaps55]

🕯️🍬🍦

From this meme. Thank you!!

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

On a scale of 1-10 I’m at a 100. I love editing and revision. It’s my absolute favorite part of the process by a country mile. Revision is where everything starts to click, where the words really come alive and do something special. I tend to write in layers; an initial draft can be fairly bare bones, so revision is where the magic happens, and I really enjoy the subtle line edits of a final editing pass.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Wooo boy. You won’t see me voice negative opinions on tumblr much, because I vehemently protect the positivity of my own dashboard and don’t want to cast negativity on the dashboards of others just because I don’t love a thing that they do.

I talked about my thoughts about Aria being a much weaker character in ME3 than she is in ME2 on discord the other day, so how about this one: I don’t find Astarion even a little appealing as a romance option in BG3. I think he’s a good character, just not one I am that interested in exploring on a deeper level. He is more or less a compilation of anti-Swaps traits in ways that aren’t really his fault, but even if that were not the case, the “midnight snack” automatically torpedoes any romance possibilities. I haven’t looked for much BG3 fic because he’s so pervasive it’s hard to find stories that focus on anyone else.

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

There are multiple ways to hate a character. You can hate them because they’re GREAT characters who are fun to hate, because they are poorly conceived characters who are NOT fun to hate and you roll your eyes whenever they make an appearance, because they’re a great idea poorly executed and it chafes, or because they are so two dimensional they don’t deserve the greatest renegade interrupt in Mass Effect.

We’ll go with the first one, which is fun to talk about. Ted Faro is the worst fictional person in the history of fictional people, because who else has fucked over the entire world not once, but TWICE? He’s awful and I hate his guts to an unholy degree, but hating him is so much fun. Because:

He’s the hero of his own story who has no idea he’s actually the villain, which is how you write great villains.

His critical flaws are directly tied to his strengths, which is just so  [chef's kiss]. 

He was on the cusp of redemption – or as close as he could get to it – when he succumbs to his own nature and doubles down, which I find SO compelling.

[creaturefeaturecommando]

Some things about my Male!Shep, Mackenzie Shepard.

- He's a bit of a hard ass, but seeing your parents and entire colony slaughtered will do that to you.

- It takes a while for him to open up to people, which is why he's always hesitant when people approach him to join his crew. He doesn't like change when it comes to his crew, because he has a system. You don't fuck with his system. It took him forever just to get used to Ashley, Liara, Garrus, Wrex and Tali on the ship in ME1, so when he did finally get used to them and then found himself thrown into a new crew in ME2, with most of his old crew refusing to come back, he immediately clung to Garrus and Tali because he needed at least a fraction of the familiarity he used to have or else he'd lose it.

- The only time he latched onto a new crewmate quickly, was with Grunt.

- Is gay but doesn't talk about it openly, so people just seem to automatically assume that he's straight. The only one who knew for a while was Anderson. No one else found out until waaay later, and when asked why he never said anything, he just shrugged and said "I thought you guys knew." because of how uncomfortable he got whenever a woman clung to him too much or when they had to go to strip clubs where there were only women.

- Developed a crush on Kaidan but never made a move on him because he didn't want to potentially ruin their friendship by confessing.

- Only a few people have the privilege to call him Mack. Joker lost that privilege immediately when he called him "Mack Daddy." The only people who he gives privilege to call him Mack are:

> Anderson. He looks up to him so much, and they have such a father/son relationship that Mack feels more comfortable when Anderson calls him Mack, especially in stressful situations, because it makes him feel grounded when his mind is racing a mile a minute.

> Kaidan,because it was one of the ways he felt he could be intimate with Kaidan without having to confess his feelings. After the spat on Horizon, Kaidan still never lost that privilege but during ME3, it kind of hurt him when Kaidan started referring to him as just "Shepard" again. The relief he felt when they were back into 'Mack' territory lifted an entire weight off of his shoulders, since, like Anderson, it makes him more comfortable when Kaidan calls him Mack, because it makes him feel grounded. He holds Kaidan near and dear to his heart, like Anderson so hearing Kaidan's voice call him a nickname he uses to show how close he is to someone, keeps him steady

> Liara earned this privilege after she helped take down Matriarch Benezia but quickly lost it when he found out that she gave his body to Cerberus and when she became a much darker person. His trust in her diminished, despite her reasons. He'd rather be dead than be stuck as a Cerberus pawn. She regained some of his trust back in ME3 but can only call him "Mack" in private.

> Garrus earned the privilege to call him Mack after he spared the solarian doctor who was harvesting organs. Granted, he ended up dying anyways but Mack thought that it was really noble of him to not give into blind anger, so Garrus earned the right to call him Mack and continued to sp so throughout the series.

> Wrex earned the right to call him Mack when he stood down on Virmire. Like with Garrus, Mack thought that it was really noble of him to stand down and go along with him, even though Saren might have had a key component to curing the genophage.

> Tali earned the right to call him Mack in ME2 after she was exiled from the Flotilla and changed her name to Vas Normandy.

> Jack earned the right to call him Mack because he thought that she had guts and he liked that. Plus, she called him Mack anyways, even when he corrected her to call her Shepard. Plus, she thought it was funny to say "Team Jack and Mack Attack" whenever she tagged along for missions.

> Grunt didn't really do anything to earn the right to call him Mack, he just thought that "Mack" would be easier for him to remember when he emerged from his metal womb.

[genuinehc]

Day 16: Dizzy

Challenge: @mediwhumpmay 2023 Fandom: Mass Effect Prompt: Day 16: Dizzy Tags/Warnings: only the most tenuous medical whump, FemShep

In honor of doing a full ME replay and having just done the opening/training sequence for ME2. 

Shepard rolls off the metal table and hits the floor as alarms blare and a voice she doesn’t quite recognize tells her to find a gun. Her head swims, her gut churns, and she feels like she’s in freefall, but training and instinct force her stumbling towards a cabinet where the promised gun is unsecured… and missing a damn thermal clip.  

Nothing about this place - its cold metal bulkheads, the lab equipment, or the alarms - is quite right, but there is a baffling familiarity to the surroundings. Shepard knows that this isn’t an Alliance station or base. It feels like a prefab in some ways- is that why it’s vaguely familiar? 

A mech starts shooting at her and she ducks behind a crate as she throws up a biotic barrier on instinct alone. The sudden change in altitude causes whatever is throwing off her inner-ear to surge again. She shoots over the crate, misses the mech by a mile, and pauses to let her world stop spinning for a moment. This time she lines up the shot and only misses by a meter. 

The disembodied voice is getting impatient and telling her to get on with it. 

“Yeah, yeah. I was unconscious not five minutes ago. Give me a break,” Shepard mutters and finally manages to account for the swaying of her vision enough that she puts three in the mech, dropping it at last. 

Lacking any other options and being shot at, she keeps following the voice’s directions, following paths and unlocked hatches until she finds a real, honest to god human wearing body armor with a logo that looks really familiar. 

No time to contemplate it, though. She’s still being shot at. Every part of her body feels stiff and unused and every time she shouts over the gunfire, she’s alarmingly aware of how the scar tissue on her face pulls against her skin. She can’t hit the broadside of a barn with the way her vision and balance seem to be at odds with one another.

And now she has a guy for whom she feels suddenly responsible. 

You put too much on yourself. You’re not responsible for everyone and everything. 

This time, the voice is in her head and it sounds like Kaidan. 

Kaidan. Shit. Where’s Kaidan? What the hell happened to her?

Her world tips on its ear and she misses another shot before she says fuck it, and sends a wave of biotic energy. The effect is disappointing- she feels like she’s fresh out of training and it’s her first mission - but at least it fucking hits.

She glances at her fucking new guy, who is busy throwing his own biotics around. As a test, she gives him an order and without once questioning or even appearing to think about it, he pulls a mech off the shooting gallery that is the balcony ahead of them. 

The FNG and Shepard fall into a good rhythm and suddenly, the mechs stop coming. She breathes a sigh of relief and tries to be casual about grabbing for the wall - to keep herself upright, to keep the room from spinning out of control. The tiniest space to breathe, to get some answers. 

Shepard tries to keep track of it all. Her FNG has a name (Jacob). She’s been dead (impossible) for two years (laughable) and resurrected by Cerberus (ludicrous, but the tiny pieces of familiarity finally start making sense). The voice guiding her was Miranda. 

This is definitely some kind of trick or ploy or weird experiment. But this isn’t Shepard’s first rodeo and sometimes the only way out is through. So she’s moving again, despite the horrendous headache, the dizziness that just won’t quit, and an annoying growling in her gut advising her that she has absolutely nothing in her system beyond adrenaline and spite keeping her going. 

No wonder she can’t hit anything. 

No use maundering. Time to get moving. 

They move, FNG (Jacob) taking his position behind her and slightly to the left. He might be Cerberus now, but he reeks of the Alliance. The medtech they meet on the way reeks of the worst of Cerberus. Shepard has a vague memory of his face and voice, but even trying to dig for the memory triggers another dizzy spell. 

She gives it up as a bad job and decides to not think about it just now. 

Eye on the prize, Shepard. This time, the memory is a Turian voice, with their purring vocalization. Garrus. 

What in the hell happened? 

An explosion. Vacuum. A black abyss spread out before her. 

Shepard blinks and ducks. The explosion was the medtech overloading a canister. The darkness was just her imagination. 

Get it together, Shepard. 

It’s almost a relief when a hatch opens and a woman shoots the medtech with almost no warning.

“Come on, we need to go,” Miranda says. 

Shepard stares at her for a long moment; Miranda doesn’t feel like Alliance or Cerberus. She feels like the kind of mark that Shepard’s gang on Earth wouldn’t have touched, if only because doing so would be more trouble than it was worth. The kind of person who could kill a man without ever feeling even the slightest repercussions, let alone guilt. She reeks of fuck-you wealth and a kind of privilege that doesn’t come from just money.  

Shepard immediately hates her. 

She glances back at the corridor where the medtech lays dead, but she turns her head too fast and is worried for a moment she might pass out. Training, perhaps just resolve, keeps her on her feet. 

Out of the frying pan…

She follows Miranda. 

[ideas-on-paper]

Things get particularly interesting if you take Legion on Tali's recruitment mission: When the Geth dropship arrives, Legion actually says the Geth on Haestrom are Heretics (seen at the beginning of this video).

Considering Haestrom is deep in Geth space, this is kinda curious; since the Heretics are not part of the regular Geth anymore and haven't been interacting with them in any way, you would expect their territory to be located at the very edge of Geth space, if at all. From what we know, the Geth on Haestrom should technically be True Geth - though maybe, the writers just decided to make them Heretics to avoid complicating things. (Idk, maybe they had planned for Haestrom to be closer to the border of Geth space in the beginning.)

I remember a quite entertaining fanfic that explored the idea of the Geth on Haestrom being true Geth, though: Before they land on the planet, Shepard asks Legion if they would even be willing to fight True Geth; in return, Legion asks "Mobile platforms or programs?" When Shepard answers mobile platforms, Legion agrees to the operation (it does a good job of showing that the digital sphere is the main thing that matters for the Geth; I think if Shepard said programs, Legion would've refused outright).

Once they touch down, the hostile Geth realize that one of their own is among the group, and Legion has a brief (mental) discussion with the others. Legion explains that they're with Shepard, and they come to an agreement that they may terminate the other platforms, as long as they allow them to upload their backups beforehand.

Kal'Reegar also comments on this sort of funny situation later, saying something along the lines of "Oh man, you Geth all talk about unity, but you're really no better than any of the other races". (Kal himself sadly dies during the fic, though it makes for a pretty touching scene when he asks Legion to take his helmet off before he does.)

I don't know if all of that is entirely plausible, but I found the idea very entertaining. :-)

I noticed quite a few instances of subtitles not matching spoken dialogue in ME2. It was more common in the localization I played, but I've seen some instances in the OG English version as well. Makes you wonder just how much dialogue they changed/rewrote...

I agree that they could've done way more with the Quarian architecture, but it's interesting that their buildings consist of white stone. Since white reflects light, these buildings would quite literally shine in the sun, and if you imagine multiple of them in close proximity, the effect would next to blinding. (I've been thinking about the Giza pyramid complex as a comparison; the three pyramids look imposing as they are now, but back when they were built, each of them had outer walls made from white, fine limestone, as well as a tip made from electrum. The result was a sight which you could see from miles away, the white limestone and golden top reflecting the sunlight.)

The Geth crawling on the floor is a truly heart-wrenching sight. It's displayed as an enemy, but I couldn't bring myself to fire on it. Turns out if you don't, it will simply die by itself... :(

I think Tali addressing Kal'Reegar as Reegar is not that unusual? It would be if she used his first name (Kal), but everyone calls Han'Gerrel and Zaal'Koris (Admiral) Gerrel/Koris.

Mass Effect 2 replay, recruiting Tali:

Illium

-Salarian reproductive contracts are interesting. Good call on Bioware’s part that an asexual species would be pragmatic in reproduction. Of course it’s centered around politics.

-With that said, why did the salarian have his family’s reproduction information in Nassana’s building anyway?

He said that he had just had it restored after a tech attack. Nassan’s buildings are under construction, so I presume the restore did not occur there.

Ergo, he was most likely a worker for Nassana. Considering that the data is vital to his family, why did he take it to work???

-Seryna’s moved on, but left behind a message for you. What’s odd is that the option to delete the message is on the left side of the dialogue wheel, but listening to it is on the right.

The left side of the dialogue wheel is normally for extending conversations. So why have delete on the left?

For that matter, why have the option to delete it at all? Why not just have the option be to listen to it or not?

-Also, this message just once again makes Nassana’s death sound personal to Seryna. Why does Seryna hate her so much? This hatred is too intense for your average shitty boss.

It feels like Seryna’s role was initially different, and the rewrite is why so much around her is odd.

Haestrom

-Going by the planet description, the quarians specifically settled this world to observe the odd behavior of its sun.

So I take it that quarians have always been scientifically inclined. They didn’t just observe it via ships, they settled an entire colony. Not a small investment.

-This is the only quarian architecture we see in the series, and it’s a massive disappointment. It’s just numerous concrete buildings. No interesting shapes, no decorative art, no unique interiors.

Unless the takeway is supposed to be that the quarians are a strictly utilitarian species, this is missed opportunity.

Bioware, please at least try.

-It’s interesting to consider this mission from the geth perspective. They presumably don’t know why the quarians are here, and probably assume they’re scouting the world with plans to retake it. So the geth’s actions are defensive – they’re protecting their home from invaders.

Except, why Haestrom? It’s said repeatedly that Haestrom is deep in geth space. The geth must be so baffled – why are the quarians here and not making a grab at one of the outer worlds or Rannoch?

Then Shepard shows up. Shepard, who Legion is supposed to be keeping an eye on. What is that independent platform doing??? Why didn’t they warn the geth collective that Shepard was coming?

And, well, the geth don’t want to kill Shepard because Shepard is opposed to the Old Machines, but like every organic ever Shepard is shooting them so they need to take Shepard out to defend themselves.

Except, oops, that didn’t work.

And then… the quarians and Shepard pack up and leave.

Do the geth ever learn why the quarians were there? Do they send reinforcements to Haestrom expecting the quarians to make an attempt to retake it?

The geth already consider organics baffling. I’m sure this did not help.

-When you first speak to Kal’Reegar, the renegade subtitles don’t match the spoken dialogue. What caused that difference?

-The geth dragging itself along the floor when you make it past the pillar is sad. And no one even mentions it.

I’m assuming that there are servers on Haestrom so none of the geth truly “die”, but that was still a pitiful sight.

-Why are Tali’s journals scattered all over the place?

Yes, this area was quarian’s base but these logs seem like something that would be stored on omni-tool. Instead Tali’s just… leaving laptops scattered around for no explicable reason. Why does she have multiple laptops?

And they’re not set to autolock after a period of inactivity. Considering that this is a geth-controlled world, you’d think all the tech devices would be set as secure as possible. Maybe to auto wipe if there are too many failed access attempts.

I take it all back. Clearly, the geth learned what was up by just listening to the logs on these laptops.

-Tali specifically asks Shepard to keep “Reegar” alive. Not Kal’Reegar, Reegar.

The two must be close. I would have liked them to get together if you don’t romance Tali.

-And here’s yet another mention of dark energy. It’s destabilizing the world’s sun.

If ME3 had done anything with dark energy, this would have been fantastic foreshadowing.

Instead, it’s one of the most frequently mentioned dropped plot threads I hear about for the series.

Another prime example of how ME3 chose to make ME2 irrelevant. ME2 provided plenty of plot hooks for ME3 – ME3 just disregarded all of it.

Normandy

-Tali assumed Shepard was undercover and is upset to learn they’re not.

Me too, Tali. Would it have killed Bioware to have that as option? Meet Anderson, he tells you to stick with Cerberus and report to him on all you learn?

-She also mentions the experiments Cerberus did with the thorian creepers rachni.

That is such a relief to hear. The first part of ME2 is full of Cerberus apologism, but the cracks start to show the further you go in the game.

Unfortunately, that apologism is so extended (and out of character for many Shepards!) that this criticism comes too late for me to ever feel comfortable when I start another ME2 playthrough.

-If you go paragon, Shepard says they want Tali because Tali is not Cerberus – they want someone they can trust.

This is similar to what they tell Garrus when Garrus is recruited. Shepard is much less comfortable with Cerberus than they let on at the start of the game.

-Jacob’s actually pretty professional through this exchange. Tali makes it very clear she does not like Cerberus, and Jacob acknowledges that she has reason not to and hopes that will change with time. If you go paragon, he offers to get her access to the ship systems.

The infamous exchange when he tells her to introduce herself to Edi does not come off as malicious to me. It’s said in the same tone that he says everything else, and Tali should know the ship has an AI before she leaves. Given the history of quarians with AI, that’s something Shepard should have told her before she agreed to the mission.

For comparison, Jacob can do malice – he was intentionally insulting to Thane when he said he doesn’t trust mercenaries. At worst, his comment to Tali about Edi was thoughtless in its delivery.

Normandy

-The quarian Admiral Board emails Shepard to let them know Tali has officially transferred to their command.

They note that as Shepard is Tali’s former captain, they may have significant influence over her.

Good to see at least one organization in Mass Effect acknowledge the concept of power imbalances.

-Another use of the “just like old times” line comes from Joker. I did not realize just how many times this phrase was used in the series.

Joker: It’s great to see Tali onboard, commander. Just like old times.

-Thane made his first kill at 12. That’s fucked up.

The drell live into their 80s, so I’m assuming their 12 is comparable to a human 12.

As much as Thane says the hanar valued him as a person as well as an investment, they did not value him enough. The compact’s been in place for two centuries; they can’t be so hard up on personnel that they need a 12 year old to go out killing.

And if they are so hard up – maybe the hanar should reconsider what they’re asking from the drell? If what they’re asking is reasonable, why can they find so few drell willing to give it?

-Supposedly anyone can refuse to serve the hanar as part of the compact.

However, Thane started his training at six. Can a six year old really consent?

You can say his parents consented for him. Fine. However, Thane made his first kill at twelve.

Can a twelve year old consent? Is becoming a murderer something your parent can consent to on your behalf?

There was some abuse going on. Only question is if this particular hanar was shady or if it’s institutional.

-Thane emphasizes that the hanar are at a disadvantage because they’re aquatic.

On the surface, that makes sense. The other sapient species are land animals, so the hanar are quite literally fish out of water in society.

However, you know what other space faring species is aquatic?

The leviathans. And they ruled the galaxy for a damn long time. So how did they pull it off, and what do they have that the hanar don’t?

Well, besides some form of indoctrination… I’ll give that to the hanar, mind control is a huge advantage.

Still, the hanar could probably take some lessons from the leviathans on how to get by.

-Tali repeats what’s said frequently through her recruitment mission: Getting the data was a huge sacrifice, and it had better be worth it.

And it’s a damn shame, because in game it’s not. The data makes no difference at all. You don’t even get war assets from it.

This was such a huge missed opportunity in ME3.

-The first investigate option with Tali is to explain what the admiralty board is. It mentions that they deal with major crimes, like treason.

Good to see Bioware laying the groundwork for Tali’s loyalty mission early, if a bit clunkily. ME3, take notes. Foreshadowing is good!

-Love Tali calling bullshit if Shepard says Cerberus is working for them. Explain those listening devices and tracking beacons, then!

Tali has a zero tolerance policy for Cerberus, and she has my full support.

-We finally get some background on the quarian/Cerberus beef, and it is woefully insufficient. And probably long after most players have forgotten it was ever mentioned.

I maintain they could have added a Codex entry for a more detailed explanation.

-If you go paragon, Shepard says they expect Cerberus to betray them. If you go neutral or renegade, Tali warns you that Cerberus will betray you.

The writers upped their game with Tali. Everyone else is getting character focused writing, but Tali’s out here with character AND plot development in her dialogue.

-If you go renegade with Grunt, you can skip getting his loyalty mission entirely. Interesting – if I recall correctly, doing so with others still gives you the mission.

-Prior to puberty, Grunt enjoyed violence but did not feel the need for it.

Now that he’s hit puberty, he apparently craves it.

And krogans… never lose that. They just learn to direct it. However, older krogan generally seem far more chill.

If this is triggered by puberty, I like to think that it’s hormonally driven. Krogan hormones go wild in puberty, and it makes them excessively violent. As their hormones settle down, they mellow out.

-Krogans don’t trust doctors after the genophage.

Reasonable. Look at what Mordin gets up to. If that were my experience with doctors, I’d let them know the bare minimum too.

Although realistically speaking, the salarians undoubtedly have all the information they learned prior to the krogan rebellions backed up in multiple locations.

-If you go neutral, Grunt says that the krogan doctors don’t leave Tuchanka.

Again, reasonable. Still, given that most krogans offworld are mercenaries, I’m sure krogan doctors offworld could find employment.

Codex:

-The fate of the drell’s homeworld Rakhana has obvious parallels to Earth. Industrialization led to environment issues which eventually resulted in it being unable to support the drell.

When you speak to Thane, he implies that humanity was close to the same fate, but since they achieved spaceflight they were able to create colonies and narrowly avoid it.

-Many high ranking hanar are supposedly inseparable from their drell servants. I presume this is a retcon, as we see many hanar on the presidium in ME1 but no drell.

-Interestingly, I don’t recall seeing any hanar and drell together in ME3 either. We see a lot of the presidium and Citadel night life, so you’d think there could be a pair or two in the background.

-Do the hanar not have any colonies? All references to them are them being on their homeworld, Kahje. Drell are supposedly there or integrated into the society of other species.

If they don’t have colonies, why not? There must be some worlds out there with oceans that meet their needs.

Do they not have enough political capital? The elcor are minor, but they have colonies. Is it a religious thing? I presume some hanar live on the Citadel.

-If the hanar don’t have colonies, I think it’s safe to say the drell don’t. Which is a shame, because even one would probably make a huge difference to their future.

[husband-steve-cortez]

Miles feels guilty for feeling this way because he gets logically why Kaidan wouldn't join him, and also he said some shitty things to Kaidan and then had the nerve to ask him to join afterwards, which was a pretty insane ask.

But also he's so fucking pissed that Kaidan didn't drop everything to come follow him that he could spit. That Kaidan just left, turned his back on him to go report to the council, who isn't going to do shit just like they haven't done shit in all the time he was gone. The council and the Alliance would've let everything he did, every sacrifice he made including his own life, be utterly in vain.

And that's where Kaidan goes. They have a chance to fight against the Reapers together again, a chance to take revenge against the collectors for the Normandy (and his death), and Kaidan isn't interested. He's hurt. He's pissed. It's not fair but that's where he is.

[death-rebirth-senshi]

Kaidan and Shepard are walking around the Citadel and they hear "my name is Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the citadel" ring out multiple times and Shepard looks off into the distance gravely like "I never wanted you to see this side of me Kaidan..."

[valandhirwriter]

Thanks to @lohrendrell for tagging me. Asking me about specific ships in fandoms is veeery complicated because I am a difficult reader. (For example I read a lot of WinterIron fics, but never found one that really conveyed what I was looking for.)

So let's go for 5 ships that I do like a lot, even if they only exist in the niches of mod and fanfic.

Mass Effect: John Shepard/ Garrus Vakarian.

Spezifically the male Shep/Garrus variety. Outside of fanfic, there is a Mod of ME2

2. Witcher: Erland of Larvik/ Arnaghad

Choice in the Witcher is complicated, I adore Erland/Arnaghad and I adore Erland/Coen. I love pairings involving Eskel, if he is the main partner, not just the side affair (many Geralt/Eskel fics lost me, because Geralt there is with someone else, and just can't let go of Eskel).

3. Star Wars the old Republic: Malavai Quinn/Male Sith Warrior

This is another specific one, and I have never quite found the fic that conveyed all the vibes I have from those two while playing. The male romance isn't existent in-game, but the two characters have a very strong vibe for me. (Especially if one saw the betrayal coming from 2 miles away). The story potential for this one seems endless.

4. Dragon Age Origins: Ser Gilmore!!

This is available through a mod, and this mod rocks the game. My headcanon is Aedan Cousland/Rory Gilmore, but there are other options. I absolutely adore their story, and the way they too take the long journey. Another pairing where I'd love to write a long fic about. Can someone please make days 72 hour long, so I can find time to write?

5. Foundation (Series): Bel Riose / Glawen Curr

I love the paring! I love their story. And knowing Riose doesn't survive I want an AU for them.

Tagging: @regis-favorite-raven @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @donovaneagle2098 @andordean @tigerlyla-of-metinna @she-who-drank-vodka-with-cats @shadowy-dumbo-octopus

Five Fandoms, Five Ships

Tagged by @asexual-fandom-queen <333333

Get to know the blogger, via five different ships from five different fandoms!

1, Sterek - Stiles Stilinski x Derek Hale, Teen Wolf.

2, Obikin - Obi-Wan Kenobi x Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars.

3, Hangster - Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Top gun: Maverick.

4, SethKate - Seth Gecko x Kate Fuller, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series.

5, Stevetony, Steve Rogers x Tony Stark, Marvel.

Tagging (for those who wish to do this!): @cowboysandpilots @violetfairydust @crownofstardustandbone @omg-just-peachy @partialtotheperiwinkleblue @holycafe @bluewonderer @trickythedino @ofstarlightandbows @endwersed and whoever else would like to do this!

[ouro-the-boros]

Kaidan 100% clocks Miles when he says "maybe you're just greatful to Cerberus" and it really pisses Miles off.

He is a bit pro-Cerberus because he is grateful and I'm not sure it's until he meets with the Illusive Man on Mars that he really accepts and reconciles just how wrong he is.

[angstyastro]

Prompt questions from @spookyvalentine !!

Wanted to do this for my Shepard aaa!!! Thankie Valentine for this great prompt list :D !!!!

Og post: here

Isani Shepard

1. Why did Shepard enlist? Any regrets?

Isani did not have the choice if she wanted to enlist or not. She was adopted by Anderson when she was 5 years old after Mindor and grew up as his daughter who followed in his footsteps to enlist. It was sort of like an expectation that she had and she was not against it or really all for it.

2. How does your Shepard feel about having a yeoman assigned to them in 2? And in 3?

She doesn’t mind them. She was not particularly fond of Kelly but in typical Isani Fashion she always questioned Kelly’s observations. She knew that she and her crew were being watched. She’s much more relaxed around Traynor for sure.

3. What’s their relationship with Anderson?

Father/ Daughter relationship. Isani was 5 when she lost her entire family in Mindor and Anderson adopted her. He went the extra mile for her too. Learned her native language (Spanish) and raised her as his own. Isani loves him to death. Calls him Papá.

4. Is your Shepard any good at poker?

Great at it. She has an excellent poker face. Kaidan hates it lol.

5. How well does Shepard know their crew? Not just the companions, but the folks making up the Normandy

Isani makes the effort to spend time with everyone on her crew. Makes sure that they all have her attention and trust. Even with people she does not agree with at all. Anyone that she does not get along with she lets them know her stance but as long as they respect her she will give them the same respect. Her companions are absolutely closer solely because they are on the ground with her all the time.

6. Initial reaction to EDI? Does it change?

Very suspicious of Edi in the beginning since she has that PTSD of the geth and missions in the first game when fighting all the cerberus bases. But after getting to know her Edi becomes someone Isani trusts with her life. She mourns the choice of destroy ending knowing that Edi will be one of the casualties.

7. Does their love interest move into their quarters?

Thane and Garrus both move into her quarters. Isani and Garrus are an item first but Thane is the one who moves in first because Garrus is too busy calibrating for a bit.

8. What is their reaction to the Alchera mission? And after?

Incredibly distraught about it, especially upset that she was out cold for a long time which means that she failed to save the people who were innocent. Isani was incredibly guilt ridden at first post mission and was willing to turn herself into the alliance for judgement. She was ready to pay the price but later she changed her views and saw it was not her fault in how things ended.

9. What type of fighter is your shepard? Do they fight with honor, or do they fight dirty

Depends on the situation but both. Usually honor if she feels that’s the way the fight will go if not then she will fight dirty.

10. Does Shepard keep any pets? The hamster, fish, something else?

She does have space hamster named Chico and post me3 she is a huge dog person. Has a few chihuahuas because they remind her of her home and kid days.

11. What order does Shepard pick up companions in me2?

Jacob/Miranda, Zaheed, Garrus, Mordin, Jack, Grunt, Kasumi, Tali, Thane, Samara, Legion

12. Does Shepard have any nicknames? What do they think of em?

Shepard has a lot of nicknames given to her by everyone in her squad the most frequently used are:

Siha, Rojita (little red girl: Anderson uses this only), Mama (grunt), Rosita (Vega and Cortez) Sis (Wrex) Sani (Tali, shortened version of her name)

13. How does your Shep react to teasing/ribbing?

She’s good natured about it. If anyone throws a tease she’s very chill about it and follows their lead. She’s never too stubborn about it.

14. Any good at flirting?

She’s very good at it. Flirting is Isani’s sort of habit to deflect serious topics when she doesn’t want to talk about them and or when she’s trying to get some info. She had honeypot training during her time in the alliance, she’s good at flirting to get what she wants.

15. What colors does Shepard prefer for their armor?

Red or purple

16. Is Shepard a drinker? History of other substances? Do they struggle with sobriety

She has some history with the use of drinking, wasn’t very bad but she drinks heavily after being brought back in me2. Thing is her body gets rid of her ability to get drunk quickly so she isn’t drunk very long. This is observed by the crew and they know it isn’t healthy but she doesn’t stop. Has to get some help post me3 in her recovery because her tolerance isn’t great anymore and well those are old demons. She’s sober after becoming councilor and becoming an actual mom.

17. How does Shepard react to attention? Do they enjoy it?

Depends on the attention. If she wants it then she enjoys it, if not then she lets you know she doesn’t want it. As a specter she has to deal with it when she doesn’t want it but post me2 she demands attention from everyone becoming a councilor because now everyone has to listen to her. Lol

18. Who’s the dream team? Which companions does Shepard fight best with and why?

She fights almost really well with everyone but her main group is either Thane and Garrus. They are Snipers while she’s a vanguard who uses charge and nova to it’s fullest potential. Her dynamic with her boys is the best team she has and it only improves when Tali joins them.

Other teams she does well with are

Jack/Mordin

Tali/Garrus

Kasumi/Thane

19. Are there any companions your Shepard just absolutely cannot vibe with or relate to

She’s able to vibe with everyone, there really isn’t anyone she doesn’t relate to or vibe with. Probably only has initial conflicts with Thane, Mordin, Jack, and Zaheed for personality conflicts and moral differences but with their time talking and bonding she’s able to become very close with them. So no one she doesn’t actually vibe with

20. Does Shepard enjoy looking for resources and upgrading gear, or do they see it as a chore?

Isani sees it as a chore lol, she hates having to upgrade anything or update her gear. Honestly it becomes Garrus’s and Thane’s job to make sure her gear and weapons are good once they’re in an established relationship and even as just friends before hand lol. Everyone who’s more gun/gear/tech savvy realize Isani would fight god naked and with her fists if allowed

21. Do you have any AUs for your shepard?

Bruh I have so many Lmfao

Indoctrinated au

No way home au

Alternate timeline aus

Every au you can think of I have one lol

22. What’s the last thing Shepard ate before the final reaper showdown?

She probably just drank coffee and hoped for the best 💀

24. Who does Shepard turn to for advice? For comfort? Who do they like to gossip with

For advice she turns to Anderson, Samara, Liara and Thane

For comfort: Thane, Garrus, Tali, Chakwas

Gossip: Kasumi, Tali, Liara, Mordin, Garrus

25. How emotionally articulate is your Shepard? Do they emote well?

Isani emotes extremely well but she can also easily become almost like a robot and switch off her emotions when it’s needed and that can come off as if she’s not someone who emotes well. She tends to emote more when speaking to her alien crew because she knows it’s hard for them to pick up on the full range of human emotions. It’s not all the time but she does.

26. Does your Shepard have a romance? Who are they, and what drew Shep to them?

Isani is polyamorous she is in a relationship with Thane and Garrus for the span of Me2 and Me3 and towards the end of me3 timeline she also gets in a relationship with Tali.

27. Do they have any pet peeves?

Isani has a lot of pet peeves lol but they aren’t very seen since she doesn’t really let them get to her with all the work she has to do. A main one is the crew leaving the cabinets and cupboards open in the mess after meal times lol

28. What about hyperfixations? What’s the topic that will get Shepard rolling no matter the person or place

Her culture. Isani is Mexican and she’s very proud of it. The moment someone gets her talking about it or remembering it, she’s off in her own world of memories and experiences. Her collection of ships is not ships for her but instead little things that are very much in relation to her original home and upbringing.

29. How active is Shepard? Are they hitting the gym, playing sports, or do they prefer quieter downtime?

Isani prefers quiet downtime which is not something her crew expected. She’s very aggressive and physical in firefights which makes everyone assume she’s a gym brat but in reality she’s very much a laze around kinda person. She prefers sitting with Thane in life support and doing nothing but napping or drinking tea in her downtime. Thane is always her go to or Chakwas because they’re very quiet themselves so it gives her a place to just enjoy the quiet.

30. What will always make them laugh?

Joker’s jokes and watching garrus and tali bicker over anything

31. Who can always make them laugh?

Garrus, Joker, Thane, Wrex

32. What do they do when they have hit their limit angry, just incandescent with rage

Isani loses control, her biotics sort of take over and it’s like she’s on blue fire (literally). She’ll attack until she is either beaten or forcefully stopped. Usually she’s only ever really been that angry when it comes to fighting the reapers, saren, the illusive man and Kai leng. Otherwise she’s always had a good handle on her anger.

33. What skills do they have that are a surprise to the people around them?

Singing and dancing but she only knows how to dance ONE way and that’s Cumbias. Any other kind of dance and she’s dumb of ass. No rhythm lol. But her main thing is singing. Isani has a strong voice that no one knows about until they catch her singing to herself or they have karaoke night.

34. Got any tattoos?

She had them in me1 but in me2 she lost them. Never really felt the urge to get them again. Probably gets a few post me3.

35. Which companions have they lost? How do they cope with it?

They’ve lost Mordin, Legion, Edi. (Thane lives in this version of the game fcuk you Kai leng lol) Isani mourns all of them and even more people she’s lost as well like Ashley. Isani doesn’t really have time in general to cope with their deaths since she was unable to just stop and mourn them. She really processes their deaths post me3 and it takes her a long time to really move on.

36. Do they like to style their hair, wear makeup and jewlery? How do they feel about getting dressed up?

Isani is in love with her style. She says fuck regulations most of the time and wears most of the time her traditional black lipstick and eyeshadow. She wears her hair short since that’s the easiest and it’s pretty wild and messy but that’s just her style. Isani doesn’t wear much jewelry except wedding rings and that’s only because thane and garrus made the effort to give her some. Otherwise she’s not wearing much. She enjoys wearing skin tight outfits. Especially dresses.

37. Got any bad habits?

Keeping all of her stress and problems to herself. And believing that she is on her own. Isani knows she can trust and rely on her whole crew but she has also placed them on a pedestal of people she cannot bear to lose and if they get hurt it’s her fault. It’s not but it’s a warped belief that runs her actions sometimes. Garrus and Thane have to remind her that she is not alone in her fight frequently.

38. Does Shepard do any activities with the companions and crew during downtime?

Isani makes the effort of having activity night when possible and it’s basically having the whole crew get together to participate in hobbies they all like. Most of the time it’s sparring, karaoke, games or movie night

39. Do they keep around any sentimental items?

She keeps an old plush toy she had since she was 5 years old. It’s a very old and tattered little bat toy

40. Does your Shepard actually like to collect model ships? If not, what do they display?

Not model ships but a lot of Mexican cultural items

41. How is Shepard with a gun? What about hand to hand?

Very good with both but she like charging in and fighting hand to hand if possible.

42. Favorite weapon?

Assault rifle but in reality she’s a human bullet herself so she’s the weapon itself honestly.

43. Which version of the Normandy do they like best?

Sr2

44. Do they like to rotate out companions for quests? Who do they bring the most? Usually she rotates companions but most of her missions are with thane and garrus

45. Do they approve of curing the genophage?

Yes, she had beef with mordin when she found out he was a part of the genophage thing but the cure she was all for.

46. Does Shepard allow the rachni to live in me1?

Yes

47. Does Shepard practice any kind of self-care?

She uses singing as her form to let out her emotions but she always does so by herself.

48. What abilities do they rely on the most in a fight?

Charge and Nova.

49. What is Shepard’s happy ending? What’s the dream that keeps em going

Having a family with Garrus and Thane. She just wants to have a happy ending with them no matter what and that’s her driving force. Especially since in this canon thane gets a second chance at life

50. Is your Shepard indoctrinated

Not in canon but in aus lol 😏

(+1: what does Shepard smell like?)

Mangos and fresh ✨

___

[merrilldidnothingwrong]

I hope you’re not feeling sad for too long and that things start giving you loads of smiles! If you’d like, tell me about a favorite moment of yours in the games!

Thank you 😭🥺🥺

In origins I love all the conversations with the companions, getting to know them, (esp in romance). But stens convos are the best, hes hilarious and such a troll. The line about insulting the wardens upbringing and you can say something sarcastic like gee thanks and he says I liked it ;)

In da2 I love being an aggressive mage supporter and telling everyone to f*ck off if I can. also i love being a sarcastic hawke so much. the lines are priceless. the flirting is awkward and hilarious. 'i can give you more problems, if i try hard enough'

In inquisition its all about the banter. Blackwall / bull, Dorian/ bull/cole, solas/ sera, solas / bull, dorian/vivienne/solas. They roast him SO bad. And having hawke at skyhold gives me amazing headcanons for what could ensue.

For ME, again it's the convos. But also Shepard's comments and the loyalty quests in me2. Shepard's son, robot son, jack / miranda. and ofc Kaidan is one of my ultimate faves. Gah i love him and his romance, the slow burn

Theres so many amazing moments in me3 I'd do a 6 mile long list. The dlcs are just pure perfection. (shepard sheepaaaard sheeePPPPAAAARD!! SHEEEPARDDD!)

[cinnabuntastic]

For the send you a fandom thing...

YOU KNOW I'M GONNA ASK ABOUT MASS EFFECT

Send me a fandom and I’ll tell you my:

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) Absolutely, without a doubt, Garrus. This is a surprise to pretty much no one who knows me. That turian has lived rent free in my head since the day I played the first game for the first time.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) Tali'Zorah is my child and if she asked me to kill a man, I would. She's the cutest little menace this side of Citadel Space and she can commit a violence whenever she wants to, my treat.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) Where is the love for Tarquin Victus? Where is the love for this young man who wasn't ready for the position his father put him in, who fucked up and knew it, who owned his mistakes and gave his life because he had no other options? Tarquin Victus was a GOOD BOY and I will die on that hill.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) Only technically obscure because he only has a couple of appearances in ME2 and then Bioware Dropped A Bridge On Him in ME3: fucking Kal'Reegar, man. He deserved better than how they wrote him out; honestly there should've been a stipulation that if you cured the genophage (no sabotage) and got krogan boots on Palaven + got Tali exonerated without evidence and she wasn’t exiled, his strike team could survive. Someone give me THAT mod. Meanwhile I just write that in fics because who's going to stop me?

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) Saren. Just... just Saren. Dude seriously fucked up a bunch but he wasn't entirely in control, I think pretty much since we meet him just judging by context clues from other characters, and I'd kill to see the flipside. See him fighting indoctrination and falling regardless. We know he was scared that he was being controlled! God I love Saren.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) Most hanar. Just... don't even need to name one, just hanar in general. The Compact is just slavery with better press, and no one will ever change my mind on that. I stg one of these days I'm going to write a thirty mile rant about that on the sideblog.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) Udina, any day of the week.