#and then me3 ponytail again

[kawaimoonshine]

💫🔺N7🔺💫

Happy N7 Day to the Mass Effect fans!!

Didn't get to make something last year so this year it is :D

But this is my custom Commander Shepard, Astoria Shepard :3

I'm happy with how this turned out but seriously, what it is with me and painting these past few months, this year I've painted more than.. *checks Instagram* okay in 2021 I did have a lot of paintings (4) otherwise every year (except for 2020) there is at least 1-2 paintings but this year, rn I have 3 finished and 1 in the works and another one I'm thinking/feeling of painting it, so it would be 5

[clericofshadows]

you could say that I have a type and I wouldn't disagree

anyway he's coming together quite nicely, I yanked Geralt's ponytail mesh and it fits him well. he does kind of have a witcher vibe tbh...

I'm also getting dangerously close to writing fic about him already, there's a scene in my head about how he and Kaidan end up together before the Normandy...

what's really going to suck is the weight painting stuff, as I drastically changed his mesh from sheploo's so I'm going to have to do a lot of it manually I'm sure... either that or hastily sculpt ME3 Sheploo's morph so everything is in the same place again. bioware why did you have to change the morphs between 1-2 and 3? ugh.

fun times :)

I also won't be posting this shep anywhere, as he is also a mess of permissions and I'm already too damn attached to him to release him into the masses (and I won't stand to potentially see him as a liara-mancer oop)

now Regis will always remain supreme, but I got bored and I've had the idea of an older shep for the longest... so I'm sculpting another mshep for myself

right now he's named Nyx Shepard, Earthborn (but with a happy past because I say so), was involved in the First Contact War, Ruthless, and a somewhat pre-canon Kaidan-mancer with a romantic past with Steven Hackett that may or may not create an interesting triad at some point... he's an engineer with an experimental implant after getting exposed to eezo during the war so he has some access to biotic abilities but they are very unstable, so he doesn't use them often.

essentially, he's going to have a similar canon to Regis but with different relationship dynamics :)

will I finish his sculpt and write about him anytime soon? probably not but it's a fun practice for sure

he's still a major WIP and I need to give him his tattoos and piercings but he's coming together quite nicely

[captainderyn]

Fictober Day 4: “Fine, I Give Up” [I Was Lost Without You]

—

Day: 4

Category: Fanfiction

Fandoms: Mass Effect (Post Rannoch ME3)

Pairings: Garrus/Female Shepard

Rating: Teen+

Warnings: Swearing, implied destruction of colony

AO3 Link: HERE

—

These were impossible odds. An impossible fight. 

The colonists here were past saving—half or more already dead or dying and the other half…

Well, they were in a war, casualties were inevitable. 

The Reapers looming above them, bearing down on the planet with terrifying speed, were inevitable. 

“Shepard!” Garrus roared across the put-put-put of gunfire. He whipped out of cover to snipe a Cerberus soldier getting too close to their holdout point for comfort.

Scanning the battlefield, he didn’t immediately find his commander. His gut sank, a chill going through them until—there! 

She was a blur of blue and purple energy as her biotics flared, dimmed, then flared in repetition. Enemies flew backwards, bodies collapsed inwards on each other. She covered ground in a matter of seconds, jumping from one point to the next to cut down the troops threatening these colonists. 

The colonists that were beyond saving. 

“Shepard, it's a lost cause!” He shouted. Nothing, not even a turn of her head to indicate that he heard her, even over their in-suit communication units. 

“Damn it.” He growled, looking over at Tali hopelessly, “There’s no way what she's doing is sustainable, she’s going to get herself killed.” 

Tali shook her head, looking from the battlefield to the flash of Ryn. Enemies were falling by the second, but with each one she felled, another took its place. And those Reapers were still closing in, the ground starting to shake as they approached. 

“We need to go.” He insisted. 

“I know.” Tali snapped. 

“I’m not leaving them.” Ryn’s snarl broke through the static of their comms. Despite her ferocity, her words were strained and breathy.

Garrus flung himself out of comfort to put his sights on three more enemies—whack, whack, whack, “Ryn you can’t take them all on yourself—this colony is lost.” 

For a moment he swore he saw Ryn pause and then she was gone again. The energy around her spluttered out and she stumbled out of her biotic charge.

He heard her cry out through the comm and swore. 

“Cover me!” he didn’t pause long enough to see Tali’s nod or the way that her drone deployed and scampered alongside him as he ducked from cover to cover—avoiding shots.

Ryn was on her knees, elbows planted in the bloody muck. 

Had she been hit? Was she hurt? 

Tali’s shots ratta-tat-tatted around him, knocking enemies backwards until he reached Ryn’s side. 

She clutched her head, breaths coming in ragged bursts. 

“Shepard—“ he gasped, crouching down beside her. He hooked his arms under hers and worked her behind a smoking pile of rubble as best he could. She leaned back against it, muttering under breath. It took a moment but as the words became clearer, she was swearing a rapid stream under her breath. 

The world around them rattled, the horrifying, bone rattling roar of the Reapers’ firing coming from the distance. 

“Ryn, we need to go.” he insisted, brokering no argument. 

“My implants, my god-damned fucking implants.” Ryn hissed and yet when he pulled her up, one arm around her waist as he pulled her arm around his shoulders, she seized her gun and fired off a rapid succession of shots.

She missed all three shots, and he realized she was firing blind.

“The Reapers are here, Ryn.” Garrus couldn’t find the balance between rushed panic and calm insistence, “You cannot shoot down a Reaper.” 

Not again, not like on Rannoch. There were only so many times she could test her luck until her luck ran thin. 

“Alright,” she snapped, arm dropping down, and very rarely had he heard her this angry, this defeated. “Fine, I give up. I give in.” 

She leaned heavily on him, Tali’s drones darting in and out of their peripheral as they limped back to where Cortez had the shuttle hovering, ready to take off as soon as their feet hit the deck. 

His skin tingled and he looked down, finding a biotic barrier spread across them both. Ryn groaned with the effort of keeping it up, her steps wobbling. But as if she had sensed it, a stray shot pinged off the energy barrier and away from them. 

Garrus hauled them both into the shuttle, and Tali hopped in lithely after them. 

Just beyond where they had been, the first Reaper touched down. It fired its deadly beam, razing what remained of the colony’s township. 

He couldn’t rip his eyes away. 

Neither could Ryn. She pulled her helmet off, hair falling from her ponytail and around her face. Her eyes were hazy and bloodshot and blood streamed from her nose, the corner of her mouth—Dr. Chakwas would later berate her for frying the hell out of her implants and how lucky she was that they could be fixed—but worst of all, 

Tears streamed down her face until long after they’d left the doomed planet behind. 

[nothisis-ridiculous]

Take Me Home Now: Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: Teardrop In My Eye

Set after the events of ME3.

A rewrite. Ao3.

FemShepxKaidan

"Smith, you are being relieved of duty."

"Sir?" Jane stumbled, her smile turned downward.

The man laughed, clapping her on the shoulder, "only for the day, thought it would get you."

She sneered, "always an ass."

"Though," his green eyes sparkled, it was not settling, "you have company."

Fuck.

She pulled the elastic from her hair, attempting to pull her blonde locks from the day-long wear of a ponytail. In the end, it was pointless, she had thrown it up wet- a braid would have to hide the indent. Jane could do nothing for the simple hoodie and slacks she had thrown into her locker that morning. Forcing herself to take a seat, she pulled in slow breaths until her mind took heed. It was small potatoes.

Gingerly, she finished the jaunt outside of the Human Embassy and combination C-Sec building.

Evelyn slammed into her side, a good three inches added to the kid, "we're going to space!"

"We would have rang, but you know," Roy pointed to his wrist, his smile cautious.

Jane had avoided anything technology-related, she would have done it much earlier in her life if it were not for necessity. This was an old game, the response a sheepish smile. It was an act of avoidance. But she was trying to do the moving on thing: she had an apartment and a stable job. Sure, it was working as a guard for the relay that led to the Citadel, but it was moving in a direction she was comfortable... if not bored doing. It involved a lot of people watching, as using the relay was not the most sophisticated way to the station. The last person had fallen in drunk and almost drowned upon arrival. Now it functioned more as a memorial for all those lost in the war. She kept the peace and that was enough.

"Are you here to visit the Memorial?" Jane jabbed her finger toward the building, it would give her an excuse to spend some time with them. To clear the air.

Rahna suggested she may be ready.

"We're here to see you, silly!" Evelyn cooed, taking the woman's face in her hands, "you're a little less glowy."

"You're a little less short."

Evelyn returned with a moderately careful headbutt. Helen didn't look too approving as the child sauntered away but cracked a grin. Roy still couldn't manage a full smile.

Jane needed to clear another thing.

"What did you need me for?" she was careful, trying not to let the statement come out in a bark. These visits would always end in the same question, and it was getting harder to say no.

"We're hoping you'd watch our place while we are gone, " Helen finally chimed in, the stern look had softened over months. The strange silence between them never improved much, "we know it's sudden, but if we didn't have to go through Rahna to-"

"Helen," Roy soothed.

"We got it all approved, and we'd even pay you on top of it."

"I'm sure the beam won't miss you-" he paled at his words.

"I'm sure Harold won't miss you-" Roy tried to diffuse Jane's bubbling before it could erupt. The hand on her elbow gripped tighter as she tugged away. It devolved to his full strength pulling around her as she screamed, pleading that they didn't take the Reaper away. Bargaining became a barrage of hate and seething words, still, he held his recruit tightly until she collapsed.

If it was once, the guilt might have faded.

But Jane was stubborn, requiring steady arms until the derelict ship was nothing but an imprint in the ground. The woman didn't leave the crater left behind for the next day, her gaze avoiding him at all costs.

Jane looked up, if only to avoid the sudden turn of emotion, "I suppose it wouldn't."

When this is over, I'm going to be waiting for you. You'd better show up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna fight like hell for the chance to hold you again.

"Is that a yes?"

His evident enthusiasm worked a giggle from the blonde, "it would probably do me good to get out of this city. I heard the English Bay is nice." Jane offered out a hand to him.

Roy swallowed her into a tight embrace, disregarding if the simple gesture was out of forgiveness or striking a deal. It had been far too long, and his recruit been left far too long without proper fatherly affection. Or he was giddy from good news, it was hard to tell.

"When do we need to leave?"

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Jane examined the scattering of personal items in the apartment. Living light on military ships (excepting pets) followed her through to civilian life. Everything she owned could fit into a footlocker without fancy folding. A knife for whittling if she got bored. Shower supplies, her underwhelming supply of clothing, the M-77 because why not. But her eyes stopped on her bedside.

A blank picture frame and the chit to an omnitool would be innocuous to anyone else. It was everything in the world she refused to touch but couldn't look away from. Was it love for her own misery? Or owning up to herself. That other person knocked. She wasn't ready. Couldn't she be ready?

Her fingers graced over the chit, watching it light and unfold. The device would only unlock for an authorized user, and somehow she was that user. Anderson's face popped in on the screen. The panicked expression was no longer a surprise as he searched for something out of shot from the recording, but his eyes eventually returned to the device.

"Shepard, I-"

Jane cut it off, the device flickering away as quickly as it formed. It was two words further than the last attempt. It would have to count as progress.

The picture frame came next, but not even a jolt of power betrayed a change. It was empty, devoid. Still, as if it was familiar, her thumb caressed over the glass surface.

"Kaidan, I-"

Jane's throat seized, the name was still hard to form, "eight hundred and fifty-one days. Tomorrow will mark eight hundred and fifty-two days."

She had long surpassed the days he had in waiting for her not to be dead. She had kept her promise. She had waited, was waiting. Now, Jane had to go. The landlord given notice, her job with a note of apology attached to a resignation letter. Jane felt afraid.

"I'm sorry."

The picture flickered to life, the bubbling of the tank behind her a dull murmur. It took a few rounds, but she settled into the chair, staring at the frame like it was supposed to do something. Her ear tilted for the door, hoping that it would slide open. Wasn't that how the time before a suicide mission was supposed to go? A last-minute confession, sex to blow off some steam before the genuine threat of death.

Mary was waiting, nor would she question the miracle that would have to bring him here.

"Shepard, I could patch you through," Edi chimed in gently.

Slow breathing, counting, clenching her jaw and releasing it kept her busy for five minutes before she let herself consider it. It was her way to leave him on unread, but is that how she wanted to go out again? Was that immaturity the memory she wanted to leave for Kaidan? In the same thought, a call wasn't mature either, but if she died the shame would be short-lived after all. She wanted nothing more than to hear his voice, to feel something akin to comfort. Mary was afraid.

"Edi, send the c-"

Her tool blipped, "I've already programmed a block."

"Thank you, Edi."

Mary fawned over the code, re-entering it several times until she felt a little less panicked. The first attempt ended a few counts after the tool attempted the connection. She shouldn't. What could her greed jeopardize?

She settled back in her chair, sending herself through another wave of madness. The email running through her mind again. She didn't want that to be the last thing she heard from him. Besides, what was he to Cerberus if she was gone? Her greed entered the number again, this time it patched through. Connecting, connecting, connecting until it timed out.

Mary held back on questioning Edi.

She waited again, promising herself this would be the last try. 'Connection' scrawled on the screen within seconds.

"Hello?"

Kaidan's voice was groggy, his rasp evident that he had just woken wherever he was.

"Hello?" he tried again, with mild frustration.

"Look, this is a secured-," he spat, but his voice dropped, "if this isn't- if this- dammit."

The voice waited, but Mary was frozen. She hadn't planned a word, this was a terrible idea. Stupid.

"This is a little insane," he let out a small chuckle, "and will look bad if this just ends up on the extranet. But, just in case," he paused again, pulling in a steadying breath, "if it's what, who, I think it is. Really, the Omega 4 relay? I-I thought Ilos was bad, that is a whole new level of-"

Kaidan cut himself off, waiting, questioning if he should continue. But it made a strange kind of sense. Who else could it be? She wouldn't call unless it were dire.

"Whatever you are doing, be careful. The galaxy needs you back, I ne- just, be careful."

Both parties lulling to sleep at the memory.

Jane set the frame down, it could be a gift for the next tenant. Perhaps they could program it with something/ The chit slipped into her pocket, her gaze winding to the door. She waited, shook her head, and swept up the handles of the black footlocker. Again, Jane stared at the door. Praying for a miracle.

The rigors of hauling the footlocker at a clipped pace down several flights of stairs did nothing to stop the shaking. Echoes of footsteps turned into the voices of her crew, the bad, the ugly, and all of the good memories. Garrus's mandible quivering in silent frustration as she made the shot atop the presidium, Tali's indignation at the 'induction port' as she tried to slip it into her suit. Liara always deep in thought, scanning over the work of the Shadow Broker, Javik who never got his wish of dying with the rest of his kind. Vega's shock as she decimated his pull-up record, and Edi taking up Joker's hand in a quiet moment. Tears splattered on the steps. Was this the end?

She couldn't stop them as she stepped into the light of day, awaited by three figures.

"That's all?" Roy huffed, taking the luggage from her.

Helen placed a hand on her shoulder, "it will get easier."

The older woman forced Jane to look her in the eyes, dark brown meeting blue, "you should make the call."

"But you-"

"You know Roy won't let it go until you're all settled."

The LT was always worried about her, even if they weren't on speaking terms. Jane knew all she had to do was reach out, but the pang of guilt was too much. It was always this way, and her soul grew tired of the mind that housed it.

This was a horrible way to treat the family that kept coming back for her months after they had returned home to Vancouver. They kept worrying when she struggled to care about herself. They kept asking her to return home with them, to give her a new life. They hadn't stopped loving her after every no, despite her asinine rigidity to an old promise. Despite the lingering secrets she barely kept from them. Jane was sick of herself, too.

Jane nodded, pulling in a deep breath.

"It will get better," Helen murmured, "after you've taken the time to be pissed off for a while."

She didn't fight a grin, nodding again just to make sure she was assured. Leaving the woman to enter the room her fingers didn't hesitate this time. Entering the code she had memorized too long ago.

Three calls later- silence was her answer.

Unable to save face, Jane stormed past Helen.

"I'm sorry for how I left last time," her head hung, but this time she returned the touch, briefly touching the hand on her shoulder.

The older woman shrugged, pointing her at the shuttle.

Jane nodded, wasting no further time by sliding into the back. Evelyn chattered into her ear; Jane tried to keep paying attention but found her mind wandering. The familiar stirring of her stomach starting within moments of take-off. She had grown a little used to a hardsuit that would deliver the meds into her system.

The paper bag landed in her hands without a word.

The vehicle fell silent, save for the buzzing of the radio-

"The Normandy returns to the Citadel after a Victory run spanning over-"

"The Normandy is back?" Jane bleated meekly through the bag.

"Oh- yeah! Our son made it," Roy smiled, but it was partially forced, "sounds like this 'Shepard' wasn't so lucky."

Jane's stomach emptied into the bag, Happy Birthday Shepard.

[vaiyamagic]

So, my roommate has been trying to get me to play the Mass Effect original trilogy since we moved in together, like, 3 years ago, because I like Dragon Age so much. I tried for a while and hated the combat system. And I mean, hated. Managed to just barely force my way to the Citadel and leave again and I was done.

He continued to kind of prod at me with, "It's not about the combat, it's the story and characters that make the game." To which I would concede but add, "But I can't get over the combat to GET to the characters and story."

He lets it go for a while, but brings it back up a couple months ago. I say the usual, and jokingly add, "I mean, unless you wanna play the game for me, and I just tell you where to go and what dialogue options to choose."

He is silent for a moment, and finally says, "You know... that could work."

So, long story short, I (we) finished playing the trilogy unofficially a couple days ago and officially tonight. (We beat ME3 a few days ago, but downloaded the Citadel DLC after and finished that tonight.)

I really enjoyed it. And enjoyed playing it like we did. (And he's agreed to play Dragon Age in a similar fashion, with me playing and him choosing, as he has not played more than getting to Ostagar in DA:O)

SO! I feel like showing off my Shepard! (That was actually the point of this post.) ((You can't see it, but she has a ponytail.))

ME1: Colonist/War Hero. Vanguard. All paragon. Got all party members, let Rachni queen live, talked Wrex down, left Kaiden to die (at the roommate's request, because his playthru he saved Kaiden, and wanted to see an Ash survivor,) romanced no one (because I already knew Garrus was romancable, but was NOT aware that he was not an LI until the 2nd game, and roommate failed to correct my assumption until it was too late.) Did not like that the Consort touched my face.

ME2: Mostly Paragon, but started picking a few renegade options there. Hates that Cerberus got rid of her lip scar when they reconstructed her. Every time someone was like, "You're working for Cerberus?" She insisted that, at best, she was working WITH them, and does not trust them at all, and really just needs their resources to save the galaxy. Again. Got all party members, including the DLCs. Lost Kelly and half the crew, but mamaged to keep all the actual playable party members alive on the suicide mission. (Roommate said he had to bite his tongue a few times with some of my decisions in the final mission, but it seemed to work out ok.) Romanced Garrus, but I was really tempted to go for Thane for a while there. Was not too fond of Samara. Or Miranda. Liked Jack. Liked her more once she put a shirt on. Loved Mordin. Her first fish died. She managed to keep the second group alive. Every store on the Citadel is her favorite. (How is doing that Paragon???)

ME3: 1008% done with the galaxy's shit. Why does no one listen to her? Still mostly paragon, but renegade seeps through because seriously, wtf people. Do you want to save the galaxy or not???? Still bitter about her lip scar. Garrus romance all the way baby. Cured the Genophage. Lost Mordin. Lost Thane. Thane she saw coming. Mordin, she did not. Somehow managed to glitch Kasumi's mission so that she didn't return for the Citadel DLC. Started to like Miranda. Still meh about Samara. Realized Anderson was basically a father to her... Too late. :( Both hate and love Javik in equal measure. Didn't like James at first, but grew on her. Beat his pullup record. Saved the galaxy by making everyone have green glowing eyes and giving the plantlife circuitry. Feels really bad about leaving Garrus alone. (I may or may not have come up with a fix-it to bring her back because damnit, she deserves a happy ending!)

If you managed to read to the end, wow. Sorry there's no readmore cut, I'm on mobile. If you somehow want to know more, feel free to ask. I'll answer all questions, assuming tumblr doesn't eat them, as I suspect it does....

[anunquenchableflame]

I've been messing around with the ME character creators and I think I've gotten fairly good with them, though it is 99% down to texture mods that they look nice (and I am still awful with the male CC). I now have a bunch of FemSheps I will never use. Sooo... present?

All of these use Kani Hime's face texture packs. They will look quite different without them, but hopefully not bad. I've also got some of ELE08's hair tweaks installed- again you don’t need them but they look nicer than vanilla, and you could of course use whatever hair mods you fancied. I've provided the face codes for ME2/3 and slider positions for ME1, all under the read more. I haven’t played with any of them, so it might turn out that they're hideous in actual gameplay  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you do use any of them I'd love if you let me know and tagged me in any screenshots, but it’s not a requirement. I'd be willing to take some CC requests, but don't make any promises.

The numbers for the ME1 sliders represent which slider position you need from the left.The one marked with X is the scar slider, which isn't present in ME2/3, so you can pick whatever you like there.

.ONE

ME3 Facecode: 241.M15.VP9.11I.G9I.11K.ILM.3EA.NG5.3L1.CE4.27B (Shown with ELE08′s low bun) ME2 Facecode: 241.M15.VP9.11I.G9I.11K.ILM.3EA.NG5.3L1.5E5.274 ME1 Sliders: 2-4-1-X.22-1-5-30-24-9-1.1-18-16-9-18-1-1.20-18-21-22.3-14-10-23-16.5-3-21.1-5-14-5.2-7-7

.TWO

ME3 Facecode: 263.WCB.PSH.59G.I6V.521.W1L.9JM.DD7.5W2.AF4.277 (Shown with ELE08′s ponytail) ME2 Facecode: 263.WCB.PSH.59G.I6V.521.W1L.9JM.DD7.5W2.AF4.277 ME1 Sliders: 2-6-3-X.31-12-11-24-27-17-5.9-16-18-6-30-5-2.1-31-1-21.9-19-22-13-13.7-5-31.2-10-15-4.2-7-1

.THREE

ME3 Facecode: 611.RDW.P1T.891.I1J.1B5.F7L.6NP.RI4.3B7.386.575 ME2 Facecode: 611.RDW.P1T.891.I1J.1B5.F7L.6NP.RI4.3B7.387.576 ME1 Sliders: 6-1-1-X.26-13-31-24-1-28-8.9-1-18-1-19-1-11.5-15-7-21.6-23-24-26-18.4-3-7.7-3-8-6.5-7-6

.FOUR

ME3 Facecode: 641.1EF.I89.I2A.RL1.5FH.2LF.456.AM1.115.DF6.529 (Shown with ELE08′s mom hair) ME2 Facecode: 641.1EF.I89.I2A.RL1.5DH.2LF.456.AM1.115.6F6.52A ME1 Sliders: 6-4-1-X.1-14-15-18-8-9-18.2-10-26-21-1-5-15.17-2-21-15.4-5-6-10-22.1-1-1.6-6-15-6.5-2-6

.FIVE

ME3 Facecode: 631.7DT.2RD.G1I.EAR.2HM.QQ8.1BD.MJ1.1IF.9F6.519 (Shown with ELE08′s high bun) ME2 Facecode: 631.7DT.2RD.G1I.EAR.25M.QQ8.1BD.MJ1.1I3.9F6.519 ME1 Sliders: 6-3-1-X.7-13-28-2-26-13-16.1-18-14-10-26-2-5.22-25-25-8.1-11-13-22-19.1-1-18.3-8-15-6.5-1-5

.SIX

ME3 Facecode: 721.D1E.EQ5.26H.D3E.1CQ.DCF.21B.957.6C7.CF6.275  (Shown with ELE08′s low bun) ME2 Facecode: 721.D1E.EQ5.26H.D3E.1CQ.DCF.21B.957.6C7.8F6.276 ME1 Sliders:7-2-1-X.13-1-14-14-25-5-2.6-17-13-3-14-1-12.25-13-12-15.2-1-11-9-5.7-6-12.7-8-15-7.2-7-6

[themarchg1rl]

okie doke, finished my me:a trial this morning and i wanted to write down my thoughts (which are mostly positive in case you’re actively avoiding negativity, or the opposite). under the cut for early game spoilers:

CC is limited as we know. but not only have i seen some gorgeous ryders already but if you look carefully at the presets and pick one based off individual features you like (for me the mouth and nose, particularly) it’s not difficult to get a decent OC. hair options are fine, they have the issue of sitting too high on the head for some ryders which bothers me but i love the ponytails. calls for more natural hair options are absolutely justified, i hope this supposed CC update is a thing. above is my custom ryder, based off preset 9 because i loved the mouth shape + eyebrows.

i did want to talk about animations: from this trial i think there definitely are moments that obviously need tweaking but there are lots of clips that have gone viral of ~bad animation~ which is actually just slightly rusty moments taken out of context, imo. ALSO in case you missed it twitter dudebros are now harassing a former Bioware employee (who didn’t even work on the game) over this issue and threatening her, so i’m even less inclined to take part in the Discourse. hopefully these issues will get patched at some point, but even if they don’t it didn’t hugely invade my immersion. huge overreaction by the internet.

performance-wise - i’m running a i7-4790 CPU/16GB RAM/GTX 1050ti. my FPS was all over the place tbh, dipped below 30fps on the tempest and on habitat 7/eos but was fine elsewhere, i had 60fps on the nexus/hyperion i think. i wasn’t able to change my graphics settings apart from the overall setting and geforce experience wouldn’t pick up the game to give me custom/optimal settings. i presume this was because it’s just a trial? anyway looks fab at high but takes a serious dip at medium, hopefully this can be tweaked when we get full access to graphics settings.

narrative is........we’ll see. i’m enjoying the premise obviously and finding out what happened to the nexus and the fallout from that was super interesting. i read a theory by someone about SAM which was so probable i’d consider it a major game spoiler, so i won’t put it here, but i’m hoping this isn’t going to end up being a game about alec ryder. he’s interesting but definitely not my own focus. i liked that 5/6 of the companions have been introduced in the trial, even though i only officially had vetra on my squad by the time i got to the trial block (haven’t figured out how to change my squad yet - i might have missed something obvious but i couldn’t see the option upon deploy). they haven’t told us a lot about the narrative yet, mostly just game mechanics, so i’m presuming it’s ‘resolve the kett-sourced artificial environmental problems + defeat/push kett out of helius + figure out dad stuff + hopefully find world to settle on’. 

i wanted to add that this absolutely feels like mass effect. even though it’s slightly disorientating to have zero familiar characters (aside from liara’s voice messages in alec’s cabin) the layouts, the design, the kind of game it is was immediately famiiar and i felt like i was playing me1 again. i’m really interested in how young ryder + most of the crew are, especially in comparison to (at least) 30s exhausted war veteran shepard. i know people were worried about the colonial undertones of this game and i’m not saying they’re not there, but from the briefing videos bioware have shown some awareness of this (i hope at least) - they’re going for empty worlds only/first contact protocols etc. i hope this continues later into the game.

there is a TON of ambient dialogue/banter, to the point that stopping when people start speaking is a good idea otherwise someone gets cut off. really really into this after many hours of silence in DA:I although the cutting off issue can be a little irritating

i like combat a lot, i’m still getting used to using the jetpack (WHICH IS SO FUN) and moving around the field more - got my butt kicked in multiplayer horde mode tutorial for that reason. health/shields + ammo chests around the field are much appreciated. again it’s familiar, cover system is pretty responsive and uses the same controls for firing. pleased with the abilities although obviously haven’t done a huge amount of combat/different profiles yet. 

research is really overwhelming. like this is the part of the game that i looked at and was immediately exhausted by...if anyone is able to explain this better to me i’d really appreciate it. i think i get the basics of it - collect resources, get blueprints, craft - but i don’t know how much i should be focusing on that, what i should be getting

this may not be a popular opinion but i. LOVE. scanning

maps are very big but there are clear paths. exploring feels worth it, as i said above there’s loads of ambient dialogue in response to things you find. whenever you find a structure (at least so far on eos) something’s happened there and is part of the story

probably my one big complaint is planet scanning - this is me3 style rather than me2. suvi says ‘anomaly detected’ and then 2/5 planets in the system will have a signal/resource but you have to figure out which ones. my initial reaction to literally flying in 1st person to every planet was WOW but after the first time it’s annoying. plus i imagine very offputting for people who get motion sick - i hope there’s a way to turn it off.

my memory is shit atm so i’m not sure what else........quest structure is great so far, lots of different things to do. some fetch quests but i feel like they all have purpose, unlike DA:I where i found a letter and gave it to someone and that was it. plus they’re an RPG feature so it’s not like they’d never be there. harvesting things is better, still wish it wasn’t there but at least you get a good number of resources from a chunk of something rather than 3 leaves of elfroot + a long animation. mining things is.......weird though not difficult, you drive somewhere and press a button and a probe appears.

that’s all i can think of for now, i’m happy to try and answer any questions about it! i don’t mind if people want to reblog this or add anything, though i’d rather not have an argument about it tbh. thanks!!

more scarlet + game screenshots:

[tap-tap-tap-im-in]

I’m replaying the Mass Effect Trilogy, because controller support is amazing for wrist pain, and it’s really interesting:

First, this is my first replay of an RPG that was important to me in the past since I’ve been out to myself as being NB. Getting rid of that voice that tells me what I should or shouldn’t do has meant that I end up in so many interesting conversations that I’m not sure I ever saw before. If you don’t have that kind of voice you probably won’t even know what I’m talking about here.

Second, I had a really satisfying narrative arc through the three games last time. I started pure paragon, but as I continued through the trilogy my Shepard lost patience with the whole galaxy refusing to do the thing that needs to be done, and by the last game he went full renegade. I really enjoyed the Paragon/Renegade system because it was never “oh mwahahaha I’m doing this because it’s evil” but rather it was a choice between doing it the right way and doing it the fast way.

But this time I’m going pure paragon, but I chose the ruthless background so in the first two games (when it was brought up at all) it was basically the opposite arc. A woman who had to make a hard choice and was doing everything in her power to avoid having to make that same choice ever again.

Third, the unified character creator means that I’ve had my purple ponytail for all three games, but some of the ME creator jank is still in the works, as my eyelashes are just a little... wrong, and pull me out of a lot of the emotional cutscenes. I love it.

Fourth, EA and modern Bioware suck. The whole move to an exploitative business model designed to extract as much money as possible from players is one of the easiest to see examples of mask off capitalism that effects everyone regardless of the privilege they have. And it’s amusing to me that by deciding to remove the multiplayer portions of ME3 to save money on this remaster, they’ve shown us exactly how broken the original was and how good the game feels when the predatory design is removed from it.

There’s a big part of me that hopes that this is the last big release EA ever has, and that their own desire to do this cheaply is their own downfall, but the truth is that they’ve built billions on unregulated gambling so they’re not likely going to stop until they’re forced to. The market isn’t going to tell them they’re wrong because they’ve got people trapped in skinner boxes.

[captainderyn]

Fictober Day 17: “I’m with you, you know that.” [I Was Lost Without You]

Category: Fanfiction

Fandoms: Mass Effect (Mass Effect 3)

Pairings: None

Characters: Female Commander Shepard

Rating: Mature

CW: Spoilers for ME3 opening, implied (child) character death

AO3 LINK

—

Earth fell to pieces in front of her.

Wind ripped around Ryn, yanking at her ponytail as water from the river sloshed and frothed over the platform. Ash stung her eyes, mixing with the wind into tiny projectiles.

Only then did she hear the sound of a crying child. Found him hiding beneath the wreckage of two walls leaning together.

Ryn stooped down in front of the child, a little boy, and used her body to block what she could of the descending Reapers. The young boy’s brown hair was mused and ashy, his large brown eyes craning to see around her.

“Look at me.” Ryn ordered gently, pointing two fingers at her eyes, “On me.”

The boy pulled his eyes back to hers, thick tears welling and slipping down his cheeks, “I’m scared.” he whimpered.

“I know you are,” Her heart thumped in her chest, she could hear the sound of the Reapers recharging to fire again, “I am too. But I’m going to get you out of here.”

A rush of acrid smoke rushed over them and the little boy cried out, flinching.

“Hey, hey.” His attention darted back to Ryn as she held out her hand, “I’m with you—I’m going to keep you safe.”

His hand was so small and shaky in hers that something deep in her chest shattered. The waver in his voice made her eyes burn,

“My parents tell me not to go with strangers.”

Despite the battle racing on, Ryn dropped from a crouch to a knee to be more eye level with him. She removed her helmet and tucked it under her arm.

“I’m Commander Ryn Shepard, I’m with the Alliance Navy.” She introduced herself, giving a little shake to the child’s hand. It seemed to ease some of his worry and he gave the smallest giggle, “What’s your name?”

The child mimicked her, giving a small shake of her hand, “Sammy.” he said bravely with a puff out of his chest.

Ryn smiled at him, despite the tremor of another Reaper landing rattling through her, “Nice to meet you Sammy. We’re going to work together to get you back to your parents. Are you ready to be brave?”

Sammy gave a nod. But his face paled when he saw the Reapers behind her. A terrified noise escaped him.

“Sammy—“ Ryn stepped back in front of him. The Reapers were getting closer and she could hear the chatter from her helmet increasing. Anderson could wait. James could wait, “Can I pick you up?”

Instead of answering, he stuck up his arms, and Ryn swept him into her arms. Not daring to look back, she took off at a run towards the shuttles nearest her own rendezvous point. They were already beginning to hover off the ground.

Sammy bounced in her arms, his arms locked around her neck so tight he might begin cutting off her breath. He was crying softly, she could hear his sniffles in her ear.

“It’s going to be alright.” She soothed, “I’m with you.”

His grip tightened, “Are you really Commander Shepard?”

“I sure am.” Troops--Cerberus troops of all damn people—popped up from behind cover. There was no way she was engaging in a fight with a kid in her arms.

She threw the strongest biotic shockwave she could in their direction and several went flying off their feet, others fell backwards as debris from the ground rained down onto them. Drawing more power, knowing there was only so much more her implants could take, she pulled a biotic barrier around them.

Of all things to not be afraid of, Sammy just mumbled “Wow.”

She supposed if there were choices between human enemies and Reapers, she wouldn’t be scared of the humans either.

“Commander Shepard’ll save me.” Sammy declared as they approached the shuttles, “You can do anything.”

Ryn cringed inside, everything in her recoiling from the idea. She couldn’t do everything, but she’d damn well try.

“Hold on!” she bellowed to the shuttles, waving them down with one free hand, “I’ve got one more!”

There was a collective cry of “Wait!” and the shuttle paused as Ryn handed off the boy. He clung to her for a moment, not wanting to release his safety.

“You’re going to be alright.” she promised, “It’s all going to be okay.”

—

There was nothing they could do.

Not as another Reaper landed, its brutal body shining in the light of the sun and burning fires. Not as the shuttles struggled to take off.

Ryn swore she made eye contact with Sammy.

Swore she heard her heart shatter to pieces in her chest as she ran to the edge of the shuttle, catching herself against the frame of the open hatch. Her body was already leaning into a jump, already preparing to brace herself for the landing, when James caught her arm.

“Shepard, no!”

Ryn’s eyes widened as the Reaper’s red beam fired, cleaving the shuttles in two.

“No!” The scream that ripped out of her was ragged and James then had both arms wrapped around her, holding her back as she screamed and wailed with all the fury of watching life get vaporized in an instant.

The shuttles fell to the ground in pieces and Ryn’s knees gave out as their own shuttle ascended out of the Reaper’s reach. James eased her to the ground.

She needed to pull herself together, she thought to herself, she couldn’t be breaking down like this in front of her soldiers. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

But she had promised that little boy she’d keep him safe.

You’re Commander Shepard, you’ll keep me safe.

They rose towards the safety of the galaxy as the Reapers descended onto Earth.

You’re Commander Shepard, you can do anything.

Ryn hunched in on herself, her forehead resting against the cool metal of the floor.

Earth had fallen.

People were dead.

That little boy who’d trusted her so wholeheartedly…gone.

Ryn banged her fists on the floor, a shout harsh enough to burn her throat and dissolve into a ragged sob tore out of her.