#being earthborn will do that to a shep

[katthekatt]

Some more of my Mass Effect headcannons, Drinking edition:

> in ME2 when Shepard gets poisoned in lower Afterlife its because of their cyber parts after being resurrected that they survive the poison, Miranda more or less made Shepard even harder to kill.

> speaking of drinking in ME2, Shepard has an episode of alcoholism during the events prior to the Suicide Mission, which is why we can drink at every location. During this, the new companions don't really see it as something that bad. They just think Shepard is just an alcoholic by habit and don't mess with their life. However, our Garrus and Tali know better, and by the time of the Suicide Mission, presuade Shepard to give up drinking for a while. Mordin, too, had called out Shepard on their drinking but with little success in actually preventing them from doing it.

> Earthborn Shepard has a history of drinking from an early age because of being in a gang, due to this, they have a higher tolerance towards it. And abuse this when companions challenge them, in particular James, Jack, Zaeed, and Grunt. If Kaidan or Ashley try to do it, Shepard passes on the offer.

> Earthborn Shepard, again, I think wouldn't mind if Grunt wanted to drink. Although I don't see Grunt doing it offen he does it to show dominance in bars. Colonist Shepard wouldn't encourage it like Earthborn Shep, but still would think it's not that bad and that it grows character if you are exposed to it young. Meanwhile, Spacer Shepard would definitely disapprove become of their strict upbringing.

> Zaeed and Jack share drinks once in a while and talk. Jack doesn't trust Zaeed much at first and thinks of him as just someone she can have a drink with that isn't Cerberus and knows how hard life is. With time, they grow a friendship, and Jack looks up to Zaeed, calling him a badass.

> While EDI and Legion are AI and can't get tipsy or drunk, the conventional way by the time of ME3 EDI has created a virus that works in the same way with its effects that takes about an hour to fight off. She hasn't used it and doesn't plan on doing so because it's counterproductive considering she is the Normandy. The virus was created only for the sole purpose of throwing it in Joker's face after he insisted EDI couldn't do it.

> Wrex and Garrus both don't drink much at all. Garrus drinks only for dates, and Wrex thinks that drinking is for people without courage and need to get it some other way. He has whoever shared a drink with Shepard after they had insisted on commemorating the Genophage cure.

>Thane and Samara don't drink, period, each with their own reasons.

>Miranda, for all her talk of being made perfect, actually has a low tolerance to alcohol. After Shepard learns that they don't leave her alone about it when she brings up being created flawless. Or in reverse, Miranda can't get drunk at all and is a neat party trick she prides herself on.

[sol-consort]

omgg i just read your Earthborn Shep and Thane post and ykkkk who else can have that past criminal angst? Earthborn Shep and Jack. Like they both had to do whatever it takes to survive at the end of the day. Like Shel gets why she likes to stay under the engine room alone and needs the noise and the solitude to feel safer and all the trust issues they both have. My friend you opened up a can of worms in my brain sjjdjdkck. Your mind…so powerful 💥

YES EXACTLY! fuck I wish I could've brought it up to Jack ingame when she says we wouldn't understand her. I wish earthborn Shepard had to chance to say actually they're very familiar with the world she's currently living in.

Shepard used to be in gangs since the earliest memory they could recall! With no parents who ever claimed them and no support system, they had to go out there and put food at the table themselves before they knew what algebra was!

Earth, the human's homeworld and cradle, has treated Shepard so badly. he same planet you sacrifice everything to save in ME3 is the same one that let freeze without a home in some alley.

The only option was to pick up a gun and fight for survival, run with scummy people, and befriend the lowest of the low in order to avoid getting stabbed in the back. The government hid those suffering kids in the shadows of glamourise buildings and pristine gardens for alien tourists to gawk at.

And Shepard's saving grace was the fact the army was willing to give you food and shelter in exchange for being willing to die for them. It just makes being labelled a war hero all the more bittersweet. People didn't care about humanity's saviour when they were a kid rotting in the street.

Shepard would completely understand Jack and defend her against Cerberus. Have her back when it comes to confrontations with the crew. Old habits die hard, and even Shepard still sleeps with a gun hidden under the pillow, so who are you to judge Jack sleeping in the engine room.

Maybe Shepard goes there too when stress becomes too much, and they revert back to their teen self looking for any shelter from the rain. They go to the engine room and sit in the corner, reminding themselves they're stronger than anything thrown their way.

Maybe it was Anderson who first noticed Shepard doing that in the first Normandy and kept it their secret. Knowing their history and never putting them on the spot, which is why Shepard is so chill with Jack's requests and behaviour.

In the shadowbroker info, it shows that Jack activity searched online about Shepard's history, watched the spectre ceremony halfway through before closing it, and even looked into your achievements. She was clearly frustrated with you being another decorated ship captain who had every opportunity handed to them on a silverplate.

If only she would've dug more and found the articles about Shepard's hidden past, the interviews with the gang memebers who used to be in your close circle, the paparazzi shots where your clothes slipped to reveal a part of a tattoo, speculations about its meaning and if it's related to a gang symbol.

All those things the alliance pays triple the market price just to keep hidden from the first page results of search engines. Keeping the stained glass imagine of The Commander Shepard as clean as ever, polishing your history until nothing is left but a symbol of humanity's greatest achievements, not the stain that is your attempt at survival after your own kin abandoned you.

Earthborn Shepard is just so interesting! That sort of scandal would follow you for life. Old habits and bad reputations. Especially with a paragon, Shep, who's all kind and proper, that used to be an actual monster in the streets.

Even more sweet when you see Jack again in ME3 and know she followed in your steps and left that life behind. Finding a reason to live besides pure survival. I always let her punch me because nothing would phase earthborn Shepard, who knows how this is normal, friendly things in the criminal world. Who used to have their own friends to wrestle with for fun. Who did a lot of stupid things like play russian rullet in their youth.

[monowires]

i love thinking about mshenko domestic scenarios like:

my shep is earthborn and thus doesn’t have a firsthand knowledge of general family traditions so kaidan & his mom invite him to join theirs after the war, and shepard learns he’s got a knack for accidentally burning the christmas cookies—he never was a good baker.

shepard shows kaidan some of his favorite places around the galaxy, the planets with the best views, that one restaurant on the corner of the block he grew up on; places only a wanderer would really know of.

kaidan introduces shepard to the world of traditional cooking—shepard never did quite learn how to cook anything more than enough to count as sustenance. between growing up on the streets and being biotic, shepard learned not to be picky, but this also meant he didn’t really learn how to make full-on dishes. 

kaidan helps shepard discover his hobbies—the man joined the alliance at 18, and he’s 29 by the time the trilogy starts, and street life didn’t leave much room for hobbies. turns out “shooting things until i either run out of bullets or run out of things to shoot” doesn’t count as a hobby.

the one thing kaidan CAN’T teach shepard is the ability to dance. he is utterly hopeless in that field. kaidan would ask him about it, but he doesn’t need to be told “come on, kaidan. the battlefield is my dance floor!” again.

shepard doesn’t much care for permanent domestic life. it’s too stagnant, he’s been a soldier for too long to do anything else. but he’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t be happy to wake up next to kaidan every morning for the rest of his life. so maybe he doesn’t retire, but they’re both spectres. the council will find that two of their spectres coincidentally take the same jobs and work as a pair.

shepard still won’t swim at the beach when they go together. he says something along the lines of “no thanks, i’ll stay in the sand. don’t want the hassle of getting all wet,” which in reality means, “yeah, ever since we tracked down leviathan, i sort of really hate oceans because i have no idea what’s in there.”

kaidan wants a cat. shepard says, “kaidan, i can barely take care of a house plant, what makes you think i’ll be able to take care of a cat?” (they get a cat.)

kaidan tells shepard that if he moves his things one more time to make room for his new model ships, he’s sleeping on the couch. (shepard moves kaidan’s things one more time to make room for his new model ships. kaidan isn’t a liar, but he doesn’t have it in him to condemn shepard to a night on the couch. not when shepard seems so… content.)

kaidan gets the grand idea to take shepard to a skating rink. he later wonders where he got that idea; shepard can’t even coordinate himself enough to dance properly. it was pretty funny, though, watching the renowned commander shepard stagger around on roller skates like he’d forgotten how to walk.

[messydiabolical]

Mass Effect Tag Game

I was tagged by @illusivesoul, thank you! <3 I'll tag in @shadowthehedgehog1 @angstyastro @zet-sway @stormikins @bluerose5 @jtownnn @yellingaboutmasseffect @callista-curations @impishbiscuit @spookyvalentine @skittidyne @jadevakarian But I could be tagging all day so please everyone join in if you'd like and no worries if you don't!

Here's the blank questions, and my answers are below the cut!

I am a fan since: Favourite game of the series?: MShep or FShep?: Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: Biotics or Tech: Paragon or Renegade: Favourite Class: Favourite Companion: Least favourite Companion: My squad selection: Favourite In-game romance: Other pairings I like: Favourite NPC: Favourite Antagonist: Favourite Mission: Favourite Loyalty Mission: Favourite DLC: Control, Synthesis or Destroy: Favourite Weapon: Favourite Place: A quote I like:

My answers:

I am a fan since:Legendary Edition release (better late than never!)

Favourite game of the series?:2 wins overall, due to how much I loved learning about the new companions and all their little side quests and the excitement of prepping for the big mission. 3 has the best overall mechanics though, and the npc’s being able to banter is top notch.

MShep or FShep?: Both, but I tend to create themsheps anyway.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?:Keahi is a colonist, Blaise a spacer AU. I think all the backgrounds have juicy potential but find the idea of growing up out there in this big new galaxy exciting. 

Biotics or Tech:Probably tech for my sheps, but I love having a biotic in the squad as backup. I’ll usually have 1 biotic ability as my Shep’s bonus and chalk it up to funky side effects of how they resurrected Shep in 2.

Paragon or Renegade:Generally paragon but some renegade interrupts.

Favourite Class:Infilitrator. Sniper Rifles are always my fave (or archers in fantasy games).

Favourite Companion: Such a tough question. As there’s a romance question later, i’ll save Thane for then. I’m also going to answer as me rather than who my shep’s would pick. I think Mordin is honestly the companion I got most excited about going to chat with or hearing unique lines from. And while not ‘companions’, I have such soft spots for Traynor and Cortez and consider them honourary squaddies.

Least favourite Companion:I mean there are plenty who I think have questionable morals/ideas/attitudes, but it doesn’t make me dislike them, it makes them interesting and gives fresh perspectives, so this is also a tough question. I feel bad for saying it, but I guess Liara? Only in that she gets so much priority in 1 and 3 but I don’t find her as interesting to chat with compared to others and also found her going from nerdy excitable anxious dork in 1 to ‘flay your mind’ corpo bad bitch in 2 gave me whiplash. The fact she sold shep’s body is another point deducted. And the way she let Shepard drop like hot shit in shadowbroker too, oof. I really don’t dislike her though and still find her overall character interesting.

My squad selection:I change it up a lot so I get to hear all the different things they have to say

Favourite In-game romance:Thane, followed by Steve Cortez and Samantha Traynor. Is anyone surprised?!

Other pairings I like:Feron x Kolyat, Thane X Cortez (why romance them separately when I can put them together instead!) Femshep x Miranda. I tend to headcanon my shep’s as older than the in game age so Jack feels too young for them, but I do love the Jack romance generally. 

Favourite NPC:That one completely chill smoking salarian in the citadel DLC. Dandenbo’s icon always makes me grin reminding me of him. Also the salarian Thane rescued who had his whole world rocked and wrote an email about it. You go you funky little horny guy.

Favourite Antagonist:TIM is interesting because you get that having to work together and resenting the hell out of it aspect in 2. And look he’s by no means an effective antagonist, but Donovan Hock is objectively very funny.

Favourite Mission:The suicide mission. It isn’t the best mechanically, but it’s very satisfying after working towards it the whole game and getting yourself as ready as can be.

Favourite Loyalty Mission:Thane, i’m biased. Grunt’s rite of passage is also just fun.

Favourite DLC:I’ll go with 1 from each game. Bring down the sky- I just find something pretty satisfying about pootling around shutting the 3 rockets off and finding all the little out the way side bits. And that view! Lair of the Shadowbroker- Feron my beloved. Gotta save my boy. Leviathan- felt like a breath of fresh air with the piecing together clues, and such a great creepy atmosphere. You really finish it feeling like ‘this may help, but at what cost?’ and it feels significant.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy:So funny story, I got so confused the first time I played and kind of panicked, completely missed that you could choose to run a different direction and just ran full pelt forwards yeeting shepard to the centre. When that activated synthesis I spent the next 40 odd minutes watching my computer in growing utter horror/confusion. Anyway destruction is the actual choice but fuck that whole ‘this has to genocide the geth and Edi’ thing fuuuuuck.

Favourite Weapon:Upgrading to the widow is nice but I am quite fond of the M-97 Viper in earlier/lower levels, the 6 shot mag is especially favourable.

Favourite Place:I really love the brutalist architecture of Port Hanshan.

A quote I like:

I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going til it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into space and hit somebody in 10,000 years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someone’s day, somewhere and sometime!

[jadequarze]

Would you do the edgy meme for the wonderful Shepard you just drew in that shakarian Pic for 1, 3, 6, 17 + one of your choice, please? I need to know more about your Shep!

I'll be honest, I genuinely didn't think anyone would ask about my Shep. Anyway,

1. What memory would your OC rather forget? Watching helplessly as her twin brother dies in front of them when they were young by a stray bullet during a gang fight, hiding surrounded by her dead family (She's an Earthborn)

3. What is your OC's fatal flaw? Are they aware of this flaw?

Will never tell anyone when she gets shot/hurt, she would rather stitch the wounds herself. Though now after serving the Alliance for decades, it mostly doesn't escape Dr. Chakwas eyes now that she knows Shep enough. She understandably wont tell the crew but made Shep swear to come to her to heal.

6. How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

This is tricky, like I play them mostly Paragon and slight Renegade (Like it's pretty hard to play full Paragon). I mean, she lives a pretty harsh life back on Earth with the shit she had to go through. Slightly hard I think, it's really hard to say. She's in gray morality, depends on her mood

17. What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

Non-game story wise, letting her watch her family dies and her twin brother (her other soul) looking at her wide eye, dead. That it's her reoccurring nightmare for as long as they live, even after coming back from the dead. Plus the trauma of the war with Reapers, so yay :D

11 (My choice). What is your OC's weapon of choice? Have they ever actually used it?

A sniper rifle (and cheating here, a knife). Yes, to both. A sniper rifle, which is fitting because they utilize the tactical cloak being an infiltrator. She's did shadow operations in her time in the N7 and is considered the most efficient. Hence, her and Thane has a lot to talk about their assassination operations for the people they work for.

[wildmelon]

i just lurked ur shepard tag and i love her omg i wanna know everything abt her

omg stop! i've literally only posted her from me1, i have to go through my me2 and me3 sc but it was too painful after finishing me3 😭 she's earthborn, sole survivor, and paragon. some rambling about my romance that i never posted:

i originally planned to romance garrus and just randomly threw in kaiden in the first game for some drama, but then i 1. never really felt like my shep had chemistry with garrus 2. found out about garrus and tali and loved it and 3. felt really weird about the way me2 handled the virmire survivor romance... like the fight and the pacing and the email? i didn't even care about me1 kaiden that much but the way they left things felt really wrong to me, which then became kind of fun angst to headcanon. it actually stressed me out sm deciding what to do next since i'd totally planned to ditch kaiden lmfao but then i read a little fic that really pushed me into his romance so i wound up being a loyal kaidenmancer (WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ORIGINAL PLOT OF THE MOVIE?).

my shep knew what it's like to struggle, always helped the underdog, valued life in all forms, and protected her found family at all costs 🥲 her background made her truly appreciate the ones she could rely on to always be there, because she knew what it was to be alone 💔 omg i'm gonna get too upset thinking about this LOL but she got the synthesis ending and saved everyone ❤️

[eldritchcreatureofwords]

Because I'm seeing a lot of old Mass Effect and DA posts on my dash

I figured I'd introduce you guys to the Shepard(s) I see as my canons and favorites! I have a few Sheps, as do most people I'm sure, but this is just for the ones I see as my main, my canons, the one(s) I'd bring into an ME 4 if possible. (Five? Andromeda was technical four but it was also technically another chapter so...) We'll do one per post just to keep it digestable.

We'll start with:

Trystan "Bishop" Shepard (call her Bishop or lose your limbs) : My canon femShep. Renegon, alcoholic, earthborn, war hero, complete slut. (Affectionate. )

Mass Effect says you can only technically romance one person but in my canon she is loyal and dedicated to Jack and Thane and has frequently banged basically the entire crew. It's part of how she shows her affection.

In the confines of what the game actually lets me do, she has a fling with Kelly and romanced Thane in ME2, then wound up with Samantha in 3 after he passed.

A tall, burley woman with features too sharp and too severe to be called traditionally 'pretty', but strikingly intense- Bishop is known for her foul mouth and her love of a good fight. Maybe that's why she trained as a vanguard.

She has no tolerance for your bullcrap and no patience for stupidity. Ferociously loyal and dedicated friend, partner, and commander, who thinks of her crew as family mostly due to her lack of one as a child. This is both a benefit and a flaw; she will stand by and protect her crew to the bitter end, but also tends to have a blind spot for bad behavior and mistakes from them, and this intense protectiveness is a glaring weak point.

Protective and giving, anyone who knows her knows she loves the hell out of her people....however bad she may be at showing you that. Because she is. The more she yells and snaps at you, the more she loves you. She's bad at words, bad at affection, and tends to trip over herself and mess up even when she's trying to do or say something to help. She's grown up with very little affection or love, and while she has managed to overcome the instinctive thought that she has to keep herself isolated and cold to keep herself safe, she's very bad at showing it.

Bishop wants the best for everyone around her and will one hundred percent throw herself into the fire to make sure they get it. That said...remember who's in charge. She's open to debate and discussion, but at the end of the day, what she says goes. Like it or not.

The fastest way to get her to not do something is to tell her she's going to do it- or vice versa. She has lost the loyalty of some people (Zaeed, specifically) who made the mistake of demanding she do something and threatening her over it.

All that said, she's actually fairly laid-back and unflappable; she takes hits at her own expense good naturedly and has a sarcastic and childish sense of humor and a playful streak. She loves a good party, loves a good prank, and loves a good brawl. It's her preferred way of resolving tension; she thinks the Turian way of dealing with conflict and stress on a ship is the best way.

Born in Vancouver, she grew up in the system and on the streets; she never knew her father, and her mother was a drug-addicted alcoholic who came in and out of her life. She, unfortunately, inherited the alcoholism part of that parental bloodline. She struggles with it, though Thane and her relationship with him helped; along with helping some of her other less flattering qualities. He slowed her brain down, made it calm and quiet...let her lean on someone rather then being leaned on. Let her look at her problems in a more objective, quiet headspace. His death should have rocked her to her core, but she knew, quietly, that she would see him again. Beyond the ocean. He was waiting for her there.

In the meantime, he would not want her to be alone. It took some time, but she found companionship in Traynor after his passing. Traynor did not give her the rockbed that Thane was, but gave her someone to be strong for, to fight for, to protect.

Also, she was fucking adorable.

Despite being pragmatic and often looking for the easiest solution to problems, she is also much kinder then she wants to be. As such, she saved the Rachni and talked Wrex down rather then just blowing him away then and there.

Her feelings on the genophage are strongly mixed; she very much understands and appreciates the idea and thought and reasons behind it's initial implementation, but she considers it a failed experiment and does not think the Krogan deserve to go extinct over it. While she stayed firmly neutral on the subject, even when dealing with Maelon, when push shoved her loyalty to and trust in her friends and family won out over her reservations, and she cured the genophage at the cost of Mordin's life.

It's that kindness that kept her from destroying the Reapers; instead, she became a part of them, as a part of a things.

In a silly little headcanon, my partner and I imagine that Synthesis Shep managed to return a part of herself to her body, leading to all kinds of shenanigans I may fanfic about later.

[shizuu-chann]

Honestly, it surprises me the amount of people who play Sole Survivor. Not that it's a bad service record for Shep, and it's compelling and interesting, it just doesn't appeal to me. I would have thought more people would play the War Hero service rec. Idk why, probably something about being a big hero and being loved for making a difference.

I also always play a Colonist background, though. Earthborn (to me) is just too boring--bc if I'm given the opportunity to be from anywhere NOT Earth in a sci fi game, I'm choosing that--and Spacer is...idk, meh? I think I just like the tragedy of losing one's family and being haunted by it, and with Spacer, Shep has their mom (and for my one Spacer Shep, her dad, too).

The Colonist background is so tragic and for my Shep, it gives her the motivation to join the Alliance so she can help make sure that another Mindoir never happens again. And then being on Elysium for the Skyllian Blitz is the chance for her to actually make a difference for another 16-year-old and save their family when no one could save hers. My Shep and her sister both joined the Alliance to be that savior for someone else, and succeeded in doing so when no one else could bc they made a promise to themselves and each other.

It's what makes the Collector attacks so heartbreaking for my Shep, too, and what makes cooperating with Cerberus tolerable even if she loathes and distrusts them. Anyway, I feel like on tumblr I don't really see any Colonists or War Heroes, just Spacers/Earthborns and Sole Survivors and it makes me a bit sad.

[wingsy-keeper-of-songs]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

Lovingly borrowed from a great Mass Effect blog @whiskynorocks ya'll should go follow them they're rad as hell and have excellent taste

Been a fan since: I'd heard great things about the series since 3 came out but I never had the opportunity to play it until this year. I can safely say I'm pretty hooked.

Favorite game of the series: 2, without a doubt. There are things I loved about 1 and 3 but 2 stood out to me especially with the writing and how I developed my relationships with my crew. I wasn't thrilled about joining forces with Space Terrorists, but at least I was able to walk away from TIM at the end of it.

MaleShep or FemShep? FemShep, hands down. I do have a BroShep save, but he's not as...invested as FemShep is.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer? Colonist or Earthborn for FemShep, Earthborn or Spacer for BroShep

Paragon or Renegade? Heavy on the Paragade. I usually try to go mostly Paragon, but there are some motherfuckers that need slapping

Biotics or Tech? I like Tech but I go Biotics more often than not

Favorite class: Oh Vanguard full stop. Give me a shotgun and biotic charge and I'm up on the front lines gunning down assholes like I was born for it

Favorite companion: Garrus, but also Tali, Wrex, Legion, Kasumi, Zaeed, Vega, and Liara when she didn't sell my body to terrorists

Least favorite companion: Miranda (strictly just due to ability, tbh), Ashley (I saved her a few times, I get that she has a lot of emotional baggage and the way that the Alliance treats her is extremely wrong, but I just can't like her ya'll. I'm sorry. I've tried.)

My squad selection: Who wants to third wheel with me and the Space Kitty? In all seriousness, it's usually Shep, Garrus, and Tali in 1 unless I switch Tali for Kaiden a few times. Or Wrex if I need more fire power lol. In 2, soon as I get Garrus, I tend to keep him around for everything save Tali's trial since I like to bring Legion to that just to be a troll. Mostly, it's just me and the Dream Team. Vega third wheeled a lot in 3, though lol

Favorite in-game romance: Shakarian for the long haul, baby. But Talibrations is also extremely adorable too. My BroShep is hella bi so he's romancing Kaiden after losing Ash in Virmire and he's Damaged™ so maybe Kaiden can fix him

Other pairings I like: Tali/Reeger (that dude was so in love with her it's amazing), EDI/Joker, Wrex/Bakura, Nyreen/Aria, Cortez/Vega

Favorite NPC: Anderson, Councilor Sparatus because he's a dick but he comes through for you in the end, Saren, Nihlus for the five seconds you get to know him, Kirrahe, Nyreen Kandros, Primarch Victus, Aria (she's very hot), the bartender in the Asari bar, Biotic God Volus, Padok Wikks

Favorite antagonist: SOVEREIGN. Hands down, he is the most terrifying thing you encounter in the games. He's just so other, so alien, and so...mechanical. His lines are delivered with this matter-of-fact contempt that is so perfect for a sentient machine. He has no motive other than he just Is. And I love that. Harbinger never shut up, but Sovereign knew when to start and end a conversation. He said his piece and he said nothing more. And that is exactly how you introduce an Eldritch Being.

Favorite mission: Noveria. I loved meeting Lorik, and how the whole thing spirals down from dirty business deals to all out creep-fest when you encounter the Rachni. And the Rachni Queen's voice acting was stellar. She was just sympathetic enough to warrant pause from outright killing her and terrifying enough to consider it.

Favorite loyalty mission: Its a tie in between Garrus and Kasumi. Garrus for how it ties into his relationship with Shepard and just how their death truly affected him and how it reflects on his character (I have only allowed him to shoot Sidonis once, and it was not a good feeling). And Kasumi because dressing Shepard up is always a good time and Kasumi is a sassy, classy lady who lost someone dear to her and giving her that closure she needs makes me happy for her. She deserves pretty things. She's also cute as hell.

Favorite DLC: Either Citadel, Omega (for Nyreen), or Overlord because David's story made me cry. I'm also autistic and the story was handled very well with Shepard being so furiously angry that the Paragon Interrupt was to pistol whip Gavin was very cathartic for me.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy? 100% Destroy. I do not and will not trust the Walmart-brand Alexa that is the Catalyst. That little asshole is dying with the rest of those genocidal machines.

Favorite weapon: The Talon Heavy Pistol. Baby can pack a punch.

Favorite place: I actually really love the beauty of the Ardat Yakshi monastery. I hate that the Reapers destroy it and turn it into someplace so nightmarish but it really was such a beautiful building and felt really peaceful beforehand.

A quote I like: "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it."

[theoriginalladya]

12, 22 and 31 for fifty first shep questions if you’re taking em!

I am! Thank you so much!

from this list

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

Ahhh! Great question!

So. Funny story for Caleb - Shepard is not actually his last name. LOL (for those who don't know, he's Earthborn) He's adopted as a child and while he does take Ned and Nan's last name (Byrne), when it's time to leave Ireland for his own safety, he decides to let it go and take another. He takes Shepard in honor of Athair (being a priest and a shepherd to his flock of believers). Shep is a common enough nickname early on in his Alliance career and Caleb doesn't mind, though he forgets sometimes (until he's used to it) that they're talking to him.

Another nickhname he has is Sealgaire - "hunter" in Irish. That was his nickname in the Reds, and it's one he keeps throughout his life. As far as he's concerned, aside from Caleb, it's his only true name. (that changes later in his life)

After the war, Kaidan starts calling him mo shearc, another Irish expression that's similar to what Caleb calls him (mo ghra) that means 'my love'. Obviously, Caleb loves that one.

Coats has a few for him, of course, but their relationship is unique, so Caleb lets it pass. (most of the time! ;))

As for things like "Savior of the Galaxy" "Savior of the Citadel" and such like that, Caleb has no use for those. Yes, he did those things, but he doesn't need the nicknames/titles/accolades - whatever you want to call them. When it gets right down to it, he's a fairly private person and being recognized by the population at large leaves him feeling uneasy.

22. What’s the last thing Shepard ate before the final reaper showdown? - already answered this one here, so lets try this one instead:

21. Do you have any AUs for your shepard?

LOL Finally caved in and yes, I do have a number of AUs for Caleb!

a) Something Wicked This Way Comes - a Mass Effect/WWII crossover world (to feed both my love of Mass Effect and my inner WWII historian side)

b) Werewolf Effect - a Mass Effect/Werewolf: The Apocalypse crossover world (to feed my love of Mass Effect and my Werewolf RPG side)

c) A sort of soulmates/timeless AU where Shepard and Kaidan first come together back in ancient Ireland and their lives cross numerous times until they end up in ME era and finally break the curse that's kept them apart for so long (in the works)

d) A modern AU that hit me out of nowhere for reasons I can't even begin to explain where Caleb is a football (soccer) player sent to Canada and eventually ends up playing in the Citadel Cup (I think - might change that name). (in the works)

e) Another modern AU where Caleb and Coats are traveling across Canada and Caleb ends up at the Alenko orchard. Still very early stages with this one (in the works).

31. Who can always make them laugh? - answered this one here, but let's do this one instead:

34. Got any tattoos?

Caleb has several tattoos.

A Celtic cross claddagh on his left arm that he got before leaving Ireland

An N7 tattoo with Celtic band around his right arm - this is the one Coats talks him into getting.

He and Kaidan both get these - Loyalty after they get married and Soulmate after a particularly trying time early in their marriage where their relationship is put to the test. (they get them on the inside of the forearms - loyalty on the left, soulmate on the right)

Lately, I've been thinking there might be one more, but I'm not 100% sure yet, so I'll leave it here for now.

Thanks so much for the questions!

[mtreebeardiles]

I got several sheps now that I think about it, though Evvy is def my main man 🤔 let’s see we got

Dana Shepard, cringefail butcher of Torfan, NB, massive crush on shiala (“hey I got you these flowers and —oh. Oh god. Do you even like flowers? After the whole being eaten by a plant thing? Oh god oh fuck I didn’t think this through”)

Nico Shepard, an aged down Hero of Elysium, transmasc, not at all bitter about being short no siree (“Did you lie on your health chart?” “What are you, the height police?”)

Maxine Shepard, spacer hero of Elysium, lesbian of the golden retriever variety, less angry about being short (“you seemed so much bigger in your armor.” “I get that a lot! I’m travel-sized 😌”)

And of course mr allergic to fashion himself, Everett, gay earthborn hero of Elysium

There are others and I swear at least one is a lone survivor/colonist 😂

[blitzbefallen]

mobile post before work, if anyone wants to do familial stuff with their shep + astrid but the backgrounds conflict, we can always do the cousins route where hannah shepard is siblings with one of earthborn/colonist shepard’s parents.

in the case of earthborn, she loses contact with her sibling on earth and finds out about niece/nephew’s existence years later thanks to anderson and asks a favor of him to convince them to enlist.

with colonist, she more than likely knows of her sibling’s child and is one of the first to hear about the batarian attacks on mindoir, finding out her sibling is dead but her niece/nephew survived. just like with earthborn, she’d reach out to anderson, ask him to watch over them until they’re old enough to enlist.

it’s only after enlisting that hannah finally reaches out to them, probably after they go through basic training. she tells them who she is and her relation, and explains that they have a cousin who’s also enlisted in the alliance and around their age, and wants them to know they still have a family, no matter how recently discovered it is.

that being said, give me your sheps.

[thunderboltfire]

Oh, it's a shame that it isn't a multiple choice!

I usually play as FemShep, and in this situation I really like Garrus' romance route. However, if I wasn't a silly little gamer that HAS to replay one playthrough with a particular character over and over, Kaidan's romance is really good and I think that especially with paragon Shep their personalities could resonate with each other nicely. Thane is not really my cup of tea, maybe because it has to end in a tragedy and I like to give my Sheps something that gives a small spark of hope for a good ending, but I respect that.

If I'd play with MShep, while I really like Tali as a character, I think I'd actually be torn between choosing her romance route and Jack's. It seems to me like Jack's route is wildly underrated and it doesn't have as much content as some of the others, but I like how dynamic it is and boy, that character has layers. I especially see an Earthborn Shep being an interesting combination with Jack's backstory and a Colonist or Spacer Shep being a good pair for Tali. I like Ashley too, and it warms my heart to see her happy. I think I personally like her better as Shepard's friend, but that may have to do with experiencing ME1 playing as FemShep for the first time. I don't think I'd be able to sit and watch Miranda's romance route with a straight face, the developers tried to make her so ridicoulously sexy it's borderline funny. Doesn't mean that I don't like her as a character, I just think that several dialogues in that route combined with these weird camera angles and some other creative choices in the cutscenes make it seem a little cheesy and weird. I don't really have any strong opinions on Liara - she's just not really my thing.

Cool I got polls now so guess what im doing

(Honorable mention to Steve Cortez, tumblr won’t let me do more than 10 options and it was him or Sam (I still love you Steve))

[crescentbunny]

Ya’ll I drew Garry in booty shorts for this I hope you fully appreciate it lol

Thank you for this @kalidels, get the blank here.

[dovahbee]

Shakarian is canon (in my mind) and here’s why:

1) Shepard pretty much pisses her pants when she realizes Archangel is Garrus. Jen Hale hands down sounds the most excited in that scene than any others.

2) Their me1 dynamic is fuckin gold. Garrus has had feelings for shep since the sr1 but literally had no idea cuz he’s a moron. Mr “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you😍❤️” & Shep was just trying to teach him to not kill innocent ppl. You cant tell me Shepard (especially earthborn Shep who probably isn’t fond of cops) likes Garrus right away. But she’s just like *sigh* how do I get through to this fuckin guy

3) They make each other better. Like I said in #2, Shepard is Garrus’ moral compass. When she dies, Garrus goes absolutely batshit feral starting gang wars on Omega. She drags him out of that life and redirect his anger to something actually useful. In me3 when Shep is literally one stubbed toe away from spontaneous combustion, Garrus (who is now the level headed one) sends her to bed.

4) there’s just something so beautiful about shakarian… like first contact war wasn’t that long ago. But those two idiots couldn’t care less being the pansexual bastards they are. Their union is more than just a friends to lovers trope…

Anyways I love them and needed to get these thoughts out of my brain

[mylordshesacactus]

Really enjoyed the Tali/Shepard fics. It makes me curious, what's your go to Shepard origin and psych profile and why?

LET ME TELL YOU MY SHEPARD BUILD OPINIONS.

So, the thing is, right out the gate I have to acknowledge: I DEEPLY appreciate the earthborn!Shep origin for a lot of reasons, chief among them that I actually have very little patience for protagonists who start out anything BUT genuinely normal by the standards of their universe, succeeding through hard work and skill.

That being said the colonist background was, in @alexkablob's words, designed in a lab specifically to murder me.

(A lot of it is "I Remember Me". I've done a partial Earthborn playthrough and the long and short of it is, I just...it's not the same. I LOVE the Earthborn-specific questline, I genuinely do! One of the NPCs I'm softest for is the random turian C-Sec officer, a stranger, to whom Shepard means absolutely nothing, who completely no-sells the attempt to blackmail her. "The Commander overcame a difficult childhood to have a distinguished military career. Most turians will applaud her for that." is one of the first examples of firm, instinctive, unquestioning kindness between species that we get in the series from anyone who isn't Shepard.)

(There are other reasons--the deep hatred between humans and batarians is one, and all the little moments in the game where Shepard stops, and turns around, and shows kindness and compassion...it's not that those moments mean less if you're Earthborn, it's just that Colonist!Shep who lost everyone she'd ever known to batarian slavers still choosing to say "no, we're people, we're all just people" means so much. It hits so hard.)

(And god, it's just not the same if you don't get Talitha.)

I COMPLETELY respect and support people who are deeply attached to Earthborn!Shep. But it's almost always gonna be Colonist, for me.

Now, as for background, this is where I have VERY firm opinions.

(I mean first off nobody, like, ACTUALLY does Ruthless, right? Like, except if you're doing some kind of Mirror Universe renegade run or something? We all agree that's the most boring hashtag edgelord gamer bro bullshit in existence, correct? cool moving on.)

Anyway so: My preferred background for Shepard changes based on class. I also very firmly prefer to play Infiltrator but I acknowledge that Vanguard is cool both narratively and mechanically, and diehard Vanguard purists are valid. I'm planning to do a Vanguard playthrough sometime soon.

(I'm not shittalking anyone's preferences. The much-maligned Engineer deserves the love the devs gave them and players who genuinely prefer to play Engineer and defend that choice in gamer spaces are wrong but also braver than any fucking US Marine.

I also personally find any biotic Shepard less narratively satisfying because it's important to me that Shepard is--Shepard is Frodo. There is nothing inherently special about her. She has no awesome powers, no space magic, she's not a hyper-specialized genius whiz kid. It didn't have to be her--except it did. It's important to me that, in her own words, her spirit and personality are what make her great. It's important to me that the only thing that makes her special is that she chooses to step forward and offer a hand, every time.

I will take the ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way.

Soldier doesn't appeal to me because it's just SO GENERIC but I'd be a hypocrite to say that can't be compelling given my opinions on everything else!)

Infiltrator: War Hero

This one tracks well with either origin honestly--for a colony kid who already survived one slaver attack, the Blitz being yet another unstoppable wave of cruelty but this time she can do something about it is phenomenal. For an earthborn Shepard who grew up running with street gangs, she's now taking all of those urban survival and navigation skills and using them to fuck with an army of slavers like the little feral gremlin she is.

The thing is, I ONLY really like the War Hero background for an Infiltrator. For a Vanguard Shepard it just....ugh, I don't know. It just feels like way too much. A Memetic Badass situation. Yeah, whatever, we get it, she's sooooo cool and soooo powerful that she just can wade into combat and personally fight off One Thousand Bad Guys hoorah chestpound etc.

For an Infiltrator!Shep, though?

Infiltrator Shepard as the Hero of the Skyllian Blitz is believable. For anyone who HASN'T read it already, I dig into this a lot in this fic. She's not Just That Badass--She's not biotic-charging into melee with Ten Thousand Guys; she's just good, and smart. A good position with a good line of sight and a steady hand and solid hacking abilities to back her up--getting through sealed doors and locking them behind her, tapping into batarian comms, shorting out surveillance,overriding elevators.

She's the sniper who held Elysium.

Vanguard: Sole Survivor

And Sole Survivor works best for a Vanguard for the exact opposite reason.

It still hits equally hard regardless of background. Earthborn!Shepard, this is her first real family; she had to rip herself away from the people she thought were Her People for a long time in order to be the person she wanted to be, and this was her squad, the people she could actually depend on, and they were ripped away for no reason. And for Colonist!Shep, oh god. They're NOT her first real family. And she's already experienced senseless, devastating loss before, and here it is again, and god, could anyone blame her for getting a Kiss Of Death complex at that point?

She's lost so much, over and over, and she just keeps being kind. Keeps choosing to let herself be vulnerable. Keeps reaching out a hand and telling others that it's worth it to let people in. A Colonist Sole Survivor Paragon Shepard is arguably the bravest human being in the galaxy.

The thing is, in a lot of ways it doesn't work well for an Infiltrator, not with Shepard's personality, really. You could tell an excellent story about a woman who went through one too many devastating losses and withdrew both emotionally and physically and clings to the classic "emotionless sniper" archetype but that's....not how Shepard plays, at all, even a little.

And frankly, being helpless against a thresher-maw attack is something that's...uh, normal, for an Infiltrator. Like, trust me, this is basically Every Single Playthrough for me. A dedicated hacker-sniper is not likely to blame herself for being helpless against a close-up attack where she's trapped on the ground with no cover against a bigass worm. That is obviously not a situation where she could reasonably expect to be useful for anything except hauling ass.

Not saying you couldn't do anything compelling with that! Not at all! Fascinating conversation to have about it!

But oh man.

"Close-up combat on the ground with minimal cover and little to no warning" is basically the entire reason Vanguards exist.

A Vanguard sole survivor is the best possible avenue for a My Greatest Failure complex and devastating survivor's guilt and a raw gulf of vulnerability like no other.