#human/turian romance

[sol-consort]

I wonder how long it took for the first human/turian relationship to happen

Like which turian was like "damn it sucks about the relay- I mean first contact war but you're cute, your waist is supportive, do you wanna go out sometime?" And which human responded with "yes" embarrassingly quickly?

The first human/turian relationship (or human/alien for the matter) to happen undoubtedly occurred during the first contact war amidst the laser bullets, invasions, and warships.

As brutal as war tend to be, the people in it stay people. Capable of empathy, of love, of untimely attachments. You don't get to choose when your heart beats or for whom it does, you can try to deny your feelings but they'll always find their way out eventually.

Could be a guard/war prisoner situation

Could be two enemy soldiers stranded and forgotten by their unit, the forced proximity of a small space making them work together and cooperate

Could be two nobodies who were never really soldiers but civilians at the wrong time and place, who crossed paths and bonded over their shared experience

And that's just the "offical" relationship status, while the first instance of a human falling head over heels for a turian happened much earlier, even before the invention of galactic translators, back when turians were viewed as screeching space dinosaurs with a freaky exoskeleton.

Back when the first turian soldier was apprehended, the human whose mission was to escort it to a secure cell and wait until the scientists requested an examination.

Back when the human made the mistake of looking into the turian's eyes, an unspoken yet familiar feelings washing over you. You understood those primal emotions of fear, confusion, and deep betrayal swirling in those dark eyes.

And you couldn't help... but feel sorry for it.

You didn't even know its gender or name at the time. You couldn't understand a single word it said. But you treated it with gentlness all the same, despite all the things you heard about the cruel and brutal species it came from in the reports.

And it turn, the turian seemed... almost grateful for your consideration. Those werid metallic feathers on its head wouldn't puff out around you as much as it did when your superiors came to question it to no avail, the mandibles on its cheek would click in an almost pleasent rhyme as you adjusted the borderline-painful cuffs on its limbs, loosening them to a more comfortable degree.

What confused you the most was how surprised the turian themselves seemed to be at their bodily reactions. Or maybe it was that they were having those reactions around you—a fleshy creature with headfur belonging to a barbaric bloodthirsty species—that made his stomach sink in the first place.

He tries to treat you with some resemblance of dignity, the very same you've shown him. Never really screeching at you, more akin to a deep chirping or growl.

You're curious; you keep staring at different parts of him, and the white sclera of your eyes is making it extremely obvious. If he wasn't concerned for his life and possibly impending doom right now, he might have found it a little endearing.

You have a name... he thinks. The very same melody notes those other humans keep calling you by. He tries to mimick it at one point but can't seem to get the notes right, to add insult to injury, the sound that come out are so gurgled that you think he's choking for a second and rush to him with water, the sterilised kind. At least your species gauged the dextro structure of turian genetics by now.

He repeats his own name to you from time to time. Lucky for him, human seem to have an innate understanding when you want them to repeat a sound back to you. The more he makes the same noise for you in succession, the more inclined you are to mimick it back at him.

He's not sure why he does it... it's not like you'll know its meaning. But he can't deny how much he longs to leave you something to remember him by. This war can't last forever. Eventually, he'll be returned to his planet and unit, either by his species decimating your own or by the galactic council stepping in and doing their diplomacy magic. He was never one for politics.

But on the very off chance that both of you survive... that both of you get out of here alive. Maybe, just maybe you'll remember his name and seek him out. At the very least, he'd like to properly thank you for the small kindness you've shown him. Preferably when he's not in chains, and when you're not being scrutinised under your superiors' steel gaze for daring to show mercy to an alien.

[devinepoison]

Aila never wanted to spend her life confined to an Alliance ship, but as one of the most renowned medics in the fleet, she has little choice. When a mission to Eden Prime puts her in the path of a wounded turian Spectre, she makes a split-second decision that changes everything—she saves his life.

Tylus' duty is clear: protect the galaxy, no matter the cost. That means stopping the rogue turians attacking human colonies, even if it puts him in the crosshairs of both his own people and the humans who still see him as the enemy. The last thing he expects is to owe his life to a human.

Thrown together by war they thought long over, bound by secrets neither of them should know, Aila and Tylus uncover a sinister truth buried deep within the Alliance—one that has already cost countless lives. With both sides hunting them and no one left to trust, the lines between duty and something far more dangerous begin to blur.

Enemies by circumstance. Partners by necessity. Something more by mistake.

[aiyatani]

mmm yeah that about sums it up. Garrus, Nihlus, Vetra, Nyreen, and even Saren.. (Garrus and Nihlus my top two though. ;) )Turians live rent free in my head.. Spirits.

For yall horny monsterfuckers

[average-mako-enjoyer]

Oh boy, do I feel weird about the genre of posts about Garrus that I see at least a couple times a week, praising him for "dropping everything in his life to join Shepard" and "never questioning Shepard".

Firstly, this is not true.

Garrus joins Shepard in ME1 because he is a cop who is tired of being constrained by the law. He quits his job because of the vibes he gets from Saren and because he wants to stick it to his boss. He also wants to kill a guy so badly that he vibrates with that need.

Garrus joins Shepard in ME2 because he was a bad leader, created a situation that killed all of his teammates, then got badly wounded and had to be evacuated, and again wants to kill a guy so badly that he vibrates with that need.

He joins Shepard in ME3 because the fucking turian Primarch is on board, and the Normandy, being the most advanced ship in both the human and turian fleets, is a spearhead in a war against the Reapers.

It's never just about Shepard, and it was never meant to be just about Shepard, and that's a good thing! Is it really that romantic to strip Garrus of all agency, of his own personal life and needs? To say "he dropped everything" is to degrade him to the level of Shepard's accessory. Maybe don't do that? And secondly, Garrus not questioning Shepard, not challenging them, and Shep and Garrus both enabling each other is a bad thing, you know? This romance is not healthy, it was never meant to be healthy. Garrus is a very, very gray character (he's literally the only one who supports Shepard's decision to kill Mordin and sabotage the genophage cure). You can't "fix" him, you can't make him a paragon, and to treat him as such is to strip him of his personality.

Garrus is an ends-justifies-the-means kind of guy, he's an "I need to kill someone and I don't care how many lives it takes or ruins" kind of guy, he's the kind of guy who will always put his own goals ahead of you and your comfort, and since you like him so much, maybe you should respect that?

Just sayin'.

[creaturefeaturecommando]

Kaidan has a scar on his side because Vyrnus pulled out a knife on him and was most likely trying to kill this kid. Imagine being a kid, a literal child who was taken away from home against your will, put in this “training camp” only to be bossed around by this big turian mercenary bully, who breaks your friend’s arm just because she wanted some water and didn’t use her biotics. Like Vyrnus actually hated humans so much that he was willing to kill a kid once he challenged him and the only way out for Kaidan was killing him, which he didn’t even mean, want or intend to do no matter how much the guy as a total dick

I wish BioWare actually took time to put that scar on his actual game model, since they could have easily fixed the MShep romance by Shepard noticing the scar and Kaidan telling him, since apparently that story that’s key to his character is only available for female Shepard.

[freshglittersstuff]

This is really sweet, love it

It All Started With A Barfight Blitz - Chapter 5

Nihlus Kryik x Female OC | Pre ME 1 | Mature

“Lena is not what you would call ‘boring’. Raised by an Alliance Veteran and a particularly ornery Krogan after her father left, she was raised to accept everyone, alien or human. After her Grandfather died, she found herself the owner of his bar in the Citadel’s Wards.

Things have been… difficult. She’s trying to move through her grief, while working hard to ensure that her grandfather didn’t make a mistake by leaving her his beloved bar. The last thing she expected was to have a Spectre walk into the establishment, and into her life. Nihlus Kryik is suave, smooth-talking, and flirtatious, and she can’t help but be drawn into him. But things take a turn when his job as a Spectre overlaps with her own - Cerberus is on the Citadel, and their plans might end up getting her and a lot of other people killed.”

Chapter 5

.

.

.

“So let me get this straight,” Nihlus drawled as he and Lena walked along a path in one of the Presidium’s many gardens, bellies full from lunch. “You strap a 'parachute’ to your back, and then jump out of a perfectly good shuttle at around fourteen-thousand feet, and just… plummet towards the planet’s surface?”

“It’s as close to flying as someone can get without actual wings,” Lena grinned. “You only get about a minute of free fall before you have to open your chute, though.”

“And people pay to do this?”

“Oh, as if it’s any different than the Armax Arsenal where you pay to be shot at.”

“There are safety parameters there, and a medic for any emergencies. If something goes wrong no one is at risk of embedding themselves into the countryside.”

“What? Turians don’t have extreme sports?”

“Sports, yes. Extreme, no. Though, I suppose that the lure of some of what you told me about will interest some of the more… extreme personalities.”

Keep reading

[gammaraydeath]

isn't there a hc that miranda picks the engine room in her romance scene because it's the only place that isn't bugged/the hum of the engine drowns out other sounds? bc that always just makes me think well what about the other romances. i guess by that point edi's been unshackled so she's not sending any audio data to cerberus anyway but the idea of some audio analyst emailing TIM like "um you might want to hear this sir"' and it's his expensive pro-human frankenstein project boinking a turian is very very funny to me

[topaz-carbuncle]

"To be loved is to be known" is a quote that I've been thinking about a lot recently, especially when it comes to how well that quote can work with garrus and Shepard's relationship. Both platonically and romantically.

Even before his romance, from the moment you recruit garrus, he's checking up on Shepard without any prompting. "Frankly, i'm more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard?" He knows that Shepard wouldn't be working with them without a damn good reason, so he accepts whatever reason Shep has, instead choosing to voice his worries and rejoin Shepard as if those 2 years never happened. He trusts shepard enough to join a potentially dangerous workplace, knowing shepard would not allow anything to happen to him.

Not to mention that Shepard didn't exactly get to officially ask Garrus to join the crew, he just woke up in a new Normandy med bay and they both knew he would be there until the end. No Shepard without Vakarian, and all.

In mass effect 3, regardless of romance or bro/femshep, Garrus is the one to get Shepard to rest after Tuchanka. He knows that besides Earth, losing Mordin was the first personal hit that Shepard has taken since the war started. Being a pessimist, he is also more than aware that it won't be the last and that there's only so much that platitudes can do. So he does what he can, reassuring Shepard that he will keep an eye on things (unromanced) and will wake her (romanced) if anything happens. He knows the stress and burden that's been placed on her, so he does what he can to lessen it just enough to get a few hours of sleep.

My personal favourite romance scene in the 3rd game is the conversation with him after Thessia, despite Shepard's worsening mood when speaking to the crew post-mission, he continues as normal. He doesn't make a huge deal out of the mission and instead, Shepard is met with relief with the news about his family, critical thinking when discussing the call he made, then sharing her own thoughts before allowing herself to receive his comfort.

Garrus knows what Shepard needs in these circumstances, he's always there to give her the truth as well as to reassure her. "But humans want to save everyone. In this war, that's not going to happen." , "I tend to expect the worst, anyway." and "Before a certain turian with no romantic skills to speak of tries to cheer you up?"

He doesn't sugarcoat his thoughts, he doesn't downplay anything for her sake because he knows she needs someone to be that rock for her.

It goes both ways as well, especially if you view the outcomes of Garrus' loyalty as Shepard acting on behalf of what Garrus will need vs what he wants if you talk him down from taking the shot. Shepard knows that Garrus is standing on a thin line between getting justice for his team or acting out of revenge. She knows that shooting sidonis won't undo the hurt and will just be another body piled on top of it all, this time the blood actually being on his hands.

Or, if you prefer the renegade path, Shepard knows that Garrus needs to take out the final thing keeping him tied to Omega. That Garrus needs his team to be avenged so that he can stop carrying those souls with him and finally put them to rest.

It's such a brief discussion, but after recruiting him in me3, shepard is also very quick to ask about his family and then reassure him that they will be okay. After everything they have been through (not even just with the reapers) and all the losses they have collectively endured, she still doesn't hesitate to comfort him when it comes to his family.

I just love these two and their relationship so much

[sol-consort]

I could've fixed Saren, any human could've fixed him it would've been like super easy

[commanderdazzle]

I've completed Mass Effect and moved on to Mass Effect 2, romancing Liara in the original and Garrus in the second, but I have got to say...

I can't be the only person bitterly disappointed that we can't romance Mordin Solus, right?

Like, I was already aware of this because I watched my sister play a little bit of ME2 when it came out originally, but playing it myself really drives home how much I would absolutely love to have that man.

I get that they probably felt the need to have a few species incompatible with humans to make the setting feel organic, but why did the salarians have to be one of them?! At least I can fuck the turian, but I look at them both and wonder how they decided which species was compatible and which wasn't?

Anyway, I'm at the point where I have to do loyalty missions, can't wait to find out what's wrong with all my fucked up little people <3

[nellasbookplanet]

Wishlist for the future mass effect game that isn’t about The Ending:

Stop designing the female characters like that, please, I am begging. No more boob armor and boob windows in what's supposed to be functional combat wear. No more slinky catsuits. No more constant sexualization in both design and dialogue.

Speaking of, stop being cowards about female aliens. Give us major female krogan and turian and salarians. Give us female volus and hanar and elcor (or make them explicitly removed from the human idea of gender without going for 'male as default' with all male sounding voices and/or male pronouns)

If at all possible, include non-humanoids in the main cast. If that is too tricky on the gameplay, then at least include them more as major side characters. Put a hanar on the council you cowards.

More geth

More truly alien, unknowable minds like the rachni and the thorian and pre-reaper code geth

More romanceable aliens. More characters who are romanceable no matter the gender of the player character.

Carry over at least some of the original trilogy's themes of coming together across alien species, across synthetics and organics

A better paragon/renegade balance that isn't 'reasonable person' vs 'raging asshole who cares about no one and nothing yet eveyone trusts them implicitly anyway' and more about actually making hard choices

Stop making me scan planets

[ageless-aislynn]

Okay, it's almost time: I'm considering making the Mass Effect Legendary Edition my next "big" game. So I clearly need to get one Very Important Thing™️ settled right now:

Now, why I picked just those 3 is that I'd like as "big" a romance that goes through as much of the OT as possible. I'm planning on doing all 3 of those eventually, as well as Thane's romance, too, depending on how long playthroughs take and how well I do with the game. Same with Kelly Chambers and Samantha Traynor and heck, Samara if I can meet all of the requirements, lol. 😉😉😉

(This is not to mention that I want to playthrough as Male!Shep as well and check out several of his romance options, too! *coughcough Tali cough* 😉)

So, here are our contestants on Who Should Fem!Shep Romance? just in case you don't know them. 😉

Garrus Vakarian, Turian, option for Fem!Shep only

Kaidan Alenko, human, also an option for Male!Shep

Liara T'Soni, Asari, also an option for Male!Shep

I'm planning on going Paragon for this first playthrough as well, if that makes any difference. Also, if you pick other, feel free to mention who you'd recommend for a first playthrough! I always love hearing your recs for anything at all like this! 😉

Love you, friends, and hope you're doing great! 💖💖💖

[dalekofchaos]

Context

Choice 1.

So there's nothing wrong with Cerberus and The Collectors, but I really feel like The Terminus Systems was wasted potential.

I recently replayed ME1, and this line of thinking really hit me in regards to the Terminus Systems. In ME1, the Terminus Systems are an extremely vague, undefined entity, but also a very important one. The ME1 codex mentions dictators rising and falling, with the species within the Terminus Systems constantly battling against one another. Not only is it not Council space, it's not human space--it borders but is crucially outside the human colonization efforts in the Attican Traverse. It's practically terra incognita, having been mapped by the turians via an interferometric array--which implies that they haven't really explored it much in-person. Nihlus and Captain Anderson mention in the beginning of ME1 that neither the Council nor the Alliance wants to get dragged into a war with "the species in the Terminus Systems." Hell, the main reason the Council doesn't let Shepard go to Ilos alone at the end of ME1 is to avoid conflict with the Terminus Systems.

From this it is not hard to guess that the Terminus Systems of ME1 were designed as a temporary blank spot that was going to be important for ME2 or ME3. They seem somewhat organized, and they are comprised largely of species we have not been introduced to yet. The Citadel species seem to have limited information about them. There's lots of potential with the Terminus Systems, then, for a hypothetical ME1 sequel. They can be an entity which might threaten Citadel space, or stymie Shepard's efforts to learn more about the Reapers. Conflict between them and the Citadel, or conflict between species within the Terminus Systems, may have to be navigated by Shepard in future games. Some of them might align themselves with the Reapers like the geth did. Entire new games could have introduced entirely new content for the player to explore.

Of course, what we end up getting for the Terminus Systems in ME2 is a Mos Eisley (Omega) and then . . .not much else. The region is mostly used for one-off recruitment or loyalty missions, and these tend to take place in isolated places. The Terminus Systems also seem to be entirely run by species we have already been introduced to (other than the lowly vorcha). It's a bunch of merc bases and Cerberus labs to raid.

In view of this, it seems so tragic that Bioware was forced to make a game taking place in a whole 'nuther galaxy a couple years ago. ME1 set up a framework that gave the ME2 and ME3 writers a lot of creative space, and then they wasted that space so thoroughly (ME2 by not really being about the Reapers; ME3 by making the game about a full-scale Reaper invasion that we can't stop) that the writers had to dodge away to Andromeda, and abandon the now-mangled framework that ME1 had left behind. I love the companion missions in ME2, but in a sense they were incredibly lazy. They took a blank space on the map and filled it with stuff like . . . a trash planet filled with human mercenaries, or a prison ship for Council species, run by a turian. None of these places had to exist in the Terminus Systems, except to cultivate the general "dark renegade" aesthetic ME2 was trying to go for.

With that out of the way, my pitch is that The Normandy is never attacked and Shepard's next mission is to infiltrate the Terminus systems.

Shepard has to fake his death, so a staged attack on the Normandy is orchestrated.

Shepard would be brought back as Solomon/Alison Gunn. Build up their own empire and slowly gain intel about what The Terminus Systems are planning, what Cerberus and the Shadow Broker knows and what the Terminus Empires know about The Reapers

Choice 3.

The thing that annoyed me most about ME3 is the fact that Harbinger is not the main threat. The Illusive Man is. Harbinger has been built up as the big bad since ME2. “YOU HAVE FAILED. WE WILL FIND ANOTHER WAY.” He says as he discards the Collectors. Then his speech to Shepard as the base blows up. “Human, you’ve changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction. You will surrender your potential against the growing void. We return, and you will rise. We are the harbinger of your perfection. We will bring your species into harmony with our own. Your species will be raised to a new existence. We are the beginning, you will be the end. Prepare for our domination. Prepare for our coming.” Then in Arrival, he came pretty damn close to unleashing quick subjugation and harvest upon an unprepared galaxy. Upon Shepard foiling his plans. “Shepard. You have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to serve us. Know this as you die in vain: Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the Arrival.” The perfect final villain right? Unfortunately, Cerberus was more focused on than The Reapers. My problem with Cerberus and no Harbinger is Too many Cerberus, too few Reaper forces in plot. We fight Cerberus more often than the reapers. Hardly any boss fight and the one with Reaper Destroyer on Rannoch was more an interactive movie than fight. During the Horizon mission in Mass Effect 2, Harbinger was solidified as the Big Bad. It was menacing and ominous, with just the right amount of annoying. It taunted us throughout the game, telling us how insignificant we were, and how our actions were pointless. It was willing to posses drones through the Collector General to fight us personally, and when we killed the host, it tossed them aside. Harbinger even gave the typical “You haven’t seen the last of me!” villain rant. It made any fire fight frustrating, and that made me want to kill it even more; I hated Harbinger. Many games fail to do that. Harbinger was an enemy which I looked forward to defeating. I had the desire to annihilate. In Mass Effect 3, I got a codex entry and a cameo. Harbinger just swoops in at the last second and blows my friends and I to hell(and lets the Normandy save them), then flies off. Personally, I would have loved to hear Harbinger’s menacing monologue, it drove me on. I would have felt a deeper motivation to take the fight back to Earth if it told me how much destruction the Reapers were causing, how many lives were lost. I felt cheated when I got to the final mission, only to suddenly realize it was largely absent from the game. Harbinger has been replaced. Replaced by the Illusive Man and Kai Leng. The former is an old acquaintance, albeit one now controlled by the Reapers. The latter is a space ninja from a terrible book.

See also my pitch to make Harbinger the Big bad of ME3

Choice 6

This might just be me but I think Cerberus should have been on our side in ME3 and The Batarians should have been fighting for The Reapers. Makes sense Cerberus has just been a rouge organization doing what the job no matter what the cost(even if the cost is atrocities) and instead of indoctrinating themselves they could of studied it to make themselves immune to indoctrination and The Illusive Man's goal was to use any means necessary in order to destroy The Reapers. I also like the idea that you know you can't trust him, but he does get results. The Council and The Alliance are desperate, so they accept a partnership with Cerberus.

The Batarians have always held a grudge against The Alliance, The Council and would have wanted revenge for Bahak/ Viper Nebula. The fact that there are no consequences for what we had to do in Arrival from The Batarians just doesn't make any sense and you'd think this would give The Batarians the motive to turn to The Reapers. Hell in the Terra Nova DLC in Mass Effect 1 it seemed to me that Balak was already indoctrinated and Balak’s revelation of the “Batarian rebellion” makes it seem like they would be the perfect tools for The Reapers.

Balak will be the new Saren figure. If you killed Balak, then The Reapers would just bring him back. The first act of war for the Batarians was the destruction of the Viper Nebula, so their retaliation was killing Udina. Prior to the Reaper invasion of Earth, Udina would go to Omega to make peace talks with Aria. The Batarians attack and gain control of Omega, Aria is ousted(but saved by General Petrovsky) and Udina is executed live for the galaxy to see.

Because of Udina's execution and Anderson leading the resistance on Earth. The Illusive Man is now the Human Councilor. Miranda and Kai Leng would be squad members. Depending on if you gave TIM the Collector Base or destroyed it, he will either keep you in the dark or help you at every turn.

Think of the Cerberus War Assets

Cerberus Scientists

General Oleg Petrovsky

Collector Base

Cerberus Fighters

Cerberus Phantoms

Cerberus Engineers

We would get a big mission to deal with the Batarians, Priority:Khar'shan. If you do not deal with the Batarians, there will be major casualties. However half of the Batarian forces are not indoctrinated and just want to end the mistakes of their government and live. Balak wants to kill the rebellion of his people. Ironic. Somehow Balak has placed enough bombs on the planet to destroy everyone who is resisting Reaper indoctrination. We can either. Talk Balak out of it. Telling him to resist and fight for your people(which WOULD gain Balak as an ally) or talk Balak into killing himself. Or the true Renegade option is to kill Balak and order a strike that wipes out the Batarian forces, but sacrificing the Batarian Rebellion. The leader of the Batarian Rebellion would join your squad if Balak dies.

By the time we get to Priority Earth everyone is on the same page and united against the true threat, The Reapers. And it is Harbinger who is the final boss

Choice 8

I still don’t understand why there was never a Batarian squad member. There would be so much angst and conflict, especially if we are a Colonist Shepard and after Arrival. We would be coming to terms with the situation and overcoming our differences and the Batarian squadmember wanting to repent the sins of the Hegemony and hoping his actions could redeem his species. Maybe it could be Balak or a Batarian who is a Hegemony loyalist who wanted blood for Bahak system. Someone who holds a personal grudge against us and is only willing to join to make the Reapers pay in blood. But over time Shepard and said Batarian learns to overcome their differences and see each other as friend and works together to destroy the Reapers.

Choice 9.

Save or Sacrifice the Council is utterly pointless. You either have a band of useless assholes who refuse to help you or a band of useless assholes who have reason not to help you.

After doing a Sacrifice the Council Playthrough....I am just dumbstruck by the wasted potential.

In ME2 a lot of the Council Races despise you and humanity. Volus and other lesser races back Humanity The Council Races are even reported of having a Separatist like Rebellion. I mean I get it. We have bigger issues, but you're seriously telling me you're willing to throw all that storytelling out the window?

The Human Council I came up with

Chairman Udina or Anderson

Charles Saracino, Martin Burns(Saracino only if you endorsed him and chose Udina. Burns if you negotiated with Biotic Terrorists and chose Anderson)

Admiral Mikhailovich

Anita Goyle

With the Human Council, they pledge their full support and blessing to Shepard's venture against The Collectors. Anderson voices discomfort towards Cerberus, while Udina is curious to a dangerous degree and Mikhailovich urges Shepard to use them and tehn destroy them. Meanwhile Goyle has a fascination with EDI.(IYKYK)

We could play peacemaker. Trying to slowly ease a peaceful transition to the Council races, which causes Udina to call for Cerberus and after stopping the Coup, you can choose Udina's replacement instead of it never being brought up again or if you choose to enforce Humanity's dominion over the Council, this causes the Council Separatists to embrace The Reapers.

It's not perfect, it's honestly better than nothing.

Choice 10.

Throughout ME1 and ME2, there would be hints of the Crucible.

Anderson and Nihilus mentioning "Prothean databanks" that would take lifetimes to decrypt. I'd also have Anderson, Hackett and Udina hinting that they know how secretive and prideful the Asari are and have a hint they know their supremacy comes from the Protheans, they have a secret, "so do we" and make comments that what they have will give the Alliance an edge against the Turians. Then in ME2, The Illusive Man reveals he knows what the Alliance are hiding and insists he has the key they need to unlock it. You get a build up, you get a secret rivalry with the Alliance and the other races and with TIM and Cerberus holding the key to unlock the secrets of the Crucible.

Choice 11.

It bugged me to know end that all we get is Alliance and merc based weapons. We get like a few Turian, Asari and Krogan weapons and one Salarian based pistol. We should have a weapon of every weapon class for each race. Human, Asari, Turian, Krogan, Salarian, Batarian and so on.

Choice 12.

We should've gotten to see the other races as Husks.

Salarians, Drell, Hanar, Krogan, Quarian

Alternate Reaper Husks.

CODEX entries:

Reaper Salarian. Goblin:

The Goblin, named after the mischievous entity from folklore, is physically weaker than even basic human Husks. However, it makes up for it in tactical planning, surpassing even a Marauder or Collector. These Reaper units have built-in cloaks that allow them to traverse the battlefield in safety until they can strike their enemies from behind whilst they least expect it. In addition to this deadly ability, Goblins can shoot super-heated plasma at their opponents in a similar fashion to Alliance combat engineers to burn their enemies, as well as drain the kinetic barriers of their enemies to restore their own.

Reaper Asari/Salarian Hybrid. Gorgon:

Taking inspiration from the Greek myth, the Gorgon is a mix of Salarian and Asari that have been enhanced with Reaper nano-tech. As it’s namesake implies, the Gorgon is capable of stopping enemies in their tracks, though this effect is achieved through biotic Stasis fields cast from its claws. However, this isn’t all that the Gorgon is capable of. In addition to Stasis fields, Gorgons can throw out Reaper-made proximity bombs that explodes into a biotic wave that drains an opponent’s kinetic barriers and stamina whilst also increasing the Gorgons’ durability. As well, if allied forces come in too close, the Gorgon can either deter them with their claws or send out a wave of overloading electrical energy that can easily take out kinetic barriers and stun enemies.

Reaper Krogan. Berserker:

This husk variant is the result of converting a Krogan by the Reapers. Like the species they were created from, Berserkers are tough and fierce, having strong armor plating that can resist small-arms fire. They’re equipped with Reaper-made incinerators, which are designed to flush enemies out of cover and into the open. As a Berserker advances and the enemy is out in the open in close-quarters, they enter a “berserk” state, whereby it charges straight into its opponent in the hopes of bashing the unlucky soul with its head and fists. Additionally, if gunfire or tech/biotic abilities manage to damage their skin underneath their armor plating, Berserkers can partially heal themselves if given time, though it’s only a small portion & much slower than a Gargoyle.

Reaper Quarian. Witch:

Named after the famed cult entity, the Witch is the result of the unfortunate capture and conversion of certain Quarians by the Reapers. Designed with a support role in mind, Witches are equipped with bio-mechanical tools designed to repair sustained damage of nearby husks. It will generally avoid direct combat, but if given no other option, a Witch can lash out with its claws and send out two Reaper drones to assault its enemies with their miniature GARDIAN lasers.

Reaper Elcor. Behemoth:

The Behemoth is a Reaper creation, formed from an Elcor. Like Ravagers, Behemoths are artillery units, designed to thin out crowds and pierce defenses. However, instead of twin launchers, a Behemoth has a single large mass accelerator cannon attached to its back that fires off an extremely powerful round that can decimate even heavy vehicles such as a Mako tank. Unlike the species they are created from, Behemoths aren’t afraid to get in close to their enemies, raising their upper body to a degree almost never seen in regular Elcor in order to slam their forearms onto the opposition below.

Reaper Volus. Bloat:

The Bloat is a Reaper husk created from a Volus. Due to their unstable physiological structure and lack of any real physical prowess, Reaper nano-tech compensates by grafting a set of tripod legs to the base of the husk, allowing it to be mobile enough to pursue enemies. However, due to the instability of the internal organ systems with the process, Bloats are naturally primed to self-detonate upon close contact with opponents, making these units out as little more than suicide bombers for the Reapers. However, due to the powerful explosive radius of these detonations, it is advised to maintain a distance.

Reaper Elcor/Volus Unit. Battlewagon:

An evolution of the Behemoth and Bloat husk variants, the Battlewagon is a never-before-seen Reaper creation that differs from nearly all others. The most intriguing difference to normal Reaper forces is the non-grafted connection between the Reaperfied Elcor and Volus. Like the Behemoth, the Elcor in this unit serves as a heavy weapons-fire platform. However, unlike the Behemoth, instead of a single large cannon, there is a platform mounted on the husk’s back, which houses two built-in mass-accelerator machine guns taken up by less heavily Reaperfied variations of Bloats. The Elcor platform is used as a means of movement across the battlefield to allow the Volus to fire at enemy forces from the platform’s back with ease. With the 180 degree field of view of each gun and these weapon emplacements being positioned back-to-back, the Battlewagon is a force to be reckoned with.

Reaper Drell. Shade:

When the Reapers began harvesting various species throughout the galaxy to use as ground forces, the war-torn and resource scarce Rakhana provided an excellent site for the conversion of Drell into Shades. With these Reaper nano-tech enhancements, Shades are stronger and more agile than the species they reigned from, allowing them to be very flexible and acrobatic in physical combat. This agility is made even deadlier by the additional grafting of blade gauntlets onto their forearms, which they use to slash at enemies as well as focus pulses of biotic energy for ranged combat. In addition to this already deadly arsenal, Shades are capable of ejecting an enhanced version of their original dermal neurotoxin in a gaseous form if opponents manage to get the jump on them in close-quarters, disorienting them with its hallucinogenic effects, allowing for an easy escape or ambush.

Reaper Hanar. Ceph:

The Ceph is the product of Reaperfied Hanar. Due to the aquatic nature of Hanar resulting in required technological assistance, Reaper nano-tech improvises by using precise mass effect fields to allow these husks to hover above the ground, freeing up their movement. Naturally weak-bodied like the species they’re created from, Cephs rely more on getting up close and personal to their enemies to either strangle them with their tentacles or sedate them with powerful toxins to either be killed, harvested, or turned into husks without resistance.

Reaper Drell/Hanar hybrid. Chimera:

The Chimera, as the name implies, is a mix of species, specifically a Drell and Hanar, that have been converted by the Reapers. This particular creation has the lower limbs of a Drell and the upper body of both Drell and Hanar, bar the limbs of the Drell. With this configuration, this hybrid bypasses a Hanar’s natural inability to move on land by giving the creature the agile limbs of a Drell, allowing quicker movement. However, the added weight hinders this abomination’s ability to effectively leap and jump, limiting it to accessible ramps and walkways. Due to the lack of the Drell’s arms, the tentacles of the Hanar are used instead for grappling with opponents or spraying them with a neurotoxin that surpasses even that of a Shade or Ceph.

Reaper Pyjak. Imp:

This small husk of a creature is a Reaper conversion of a non-sentient species, a Pyjack. Extremely frail in overall structure, these units are designated mainly as scouting units with the intention of slipping into small areas of enemy complexes to inform other Reaper forces of enemy positions. Though they are merely scouts for the Reapers, they are not without defense, possessing a small mass accelerator gun in what was once its head that serves as a deterrent if it is cornered by allied forces.

Reaper Varren. Hellhound:

The Hellhound, as referred to by Alliance troops, is a product of Reaper conversion of a Varren. The nano-tech upgrades heighten their senses of hearing, sight, and smell, allowing them to detect enemy forces from a good distance away and even when they’re in very hidden locations. As well, Hellhounds possess a highly pressurized synthetically grafted jawline designed to crush armor. Additionally, like the Varren they once were, Hellhounds will hunt in packs, flanking opponents and covering any exits to secure the capture or kill.

Reaper Vorcha. Gargoyle:

A product of Reaper nano-technology, the Gargoyle is created from a Vorcha. Whilst similar to normal human Husks, Gargoyles are faster and more agile, being able to quickly run up to opponents to slash at them with their claws and dodge incoming projectile fire. As well, Gargoyles are very acrobatic, regularly leaping across great distances and jumping up to great heights. An additional ability that remains from their previous life as Vorcha is their extremely high cell growth due to their hyper-concentrated stem cell base. This natural feature allows them to quickly heal any damage sustained if given a few moments. Finally, the Gargoyle can spit a highly acidic liquid in close quarters if its claws aren’t enough, and this acid extends to their healing factor, preventing any close-quarter counter methods while they heal by way of acid spray from wounds.

Reaper Yahg. Golem:

The Golem is a large Reaper unit created from a Yahg. Due to their naturally aggressive demeanor and great size and strength, Yahg that have been converted into Golems pose a significant threat to allied forces. These units are equipped with arm-mounted cannons similar in principle to the main weapon of Reaper Destroyers and Capital Ships, but on a smaller scale, and are designed to flush hardened enemies such as Krogan out of cover and decimate kinetic barriers and armor. As well, due to their impressive stature, Golems have a tendency to advance on their enemies whilst hosing them down with their cannons, closing in to brutally beat down their opponents in close quarters.

Reaper Kalros/Reaper Thresher Maw. Typhon:

After her titanic battle with a Reaper Destroyer on Tuchanka, Kalros went into hibernation once again. Unfortunately, the Reapers took notice of this event and managed to capture and convert Kalros into a gigantic modified husk of her old self, the Typhon, a namesake fitting due to her stature as the largest organic to have ever existed to date. With these new upgrades, the Typhon was outfitted with a cannon similar to a Destroyer’s that was placed in the mouth region, as well as several smaller mass-accelerator emplacements running down the length of her body, all complimented by heavy armor plating across its body. Despite these enhancements, the Typhon retains the main style of attack as other Thresher Maws, rising up from below and utterly crushing any opposition. Allied forces are advise to steer clear of this massive monstrosity, and are ordered not to engage under any circumstances.

While the artist doesn't list a Reaperfied Geth, ME concept artist Matt Rhodes has a concept for a Reaper Drone. In my opinion, this would work perfectly for a Geth Husk

[bigfan-fanfic]

Shield of Stars (Biotic!Reader x Kaidan Alenko x Steve Rogers)

@jayfeather965 male reader x Kaidan x Steve when Steve awakens in 2181 Mass Effect universe

Historically, putting soldiers in the same platoon really was the closest way to getting people to bond.

Could it have been anything other than inevitable when you and Kaiden fell for the Captain?

Your group, the Brooklyn Squad, wasn't actually meant to see combat.

It was more of an honor guard for Steve, an honorary ambassador and a living relic - technically the first biotic made by humans.

Though Steve's body carries no element zero and he cannot manipulate mass effect fields, it was Erskine's formula and subsequent research that was able to prepare certain people for bio-amp implantation and help make safe biotics out of those exposed to eezo.

The Brooklyn Squad consists of Steve, you, Kaidan, a turian who has come to respect and appreciate Steve's ethics, an asari, and a few other human biotics. It doesn't technically have any jurisdiction or ability to enforce galactic law...

But after an incident in which the Squad discovered and liberated a bunch of sapients kidnapped and enslaved by batarians, it has become the personal overt task force of the Council.

Officially the turian is the commanding officer for the Brooklyn Squad, though the chain of command is unlike what Steve is used to, since he was in the military over two hundred years ago.

But Steve really does appreciate having not only a goal and missions, but people he can truly trust, like when he was part of the Howling Commandos.

It's different for him - seeing you and Kaidan kiss. He makes an awkward joke about fraternization to cover for his unease, which he looks into.

Steve's never only been into women. But for a long time he sort of had to be above all that, first when he was in the US Military during the war, and now when he's an icon and completely out of his own time.

It wasn't conducive to exploring romance or even his own feelings. But seeing you and Kaidan openly loving one another without any thought of retaliation or anger - it shocks him. And it gives him hope.

He talks a little to the other members of the Squad about it, about how love is now, in this world where people are citizens of planets and systems and humans are not alone - about plural marriage and polyamory and sexuality and gender expression

How turian culture differs from asari from human from salarian and so on. Steve learns and expands as the whole Squad helps him to accept himself, and everything else.

And that's when Steve asks you two out. Still unsure, but wanting to try - Steve asks you and Kaidan on a date, accepting the potential of you both saying no.

But you say yes.

Yes to a trip around the Citadel trying increasingly-unfamiliar foods and laughing at how all of you feel the same kind of wrong-footed.

Yes to a visit to a library for translated volumes of quarian legends and asari myths, and exploring writers from worlds beyond your own.

Yes to a night in to watch Fleet and Flotilla, and to start exploring not only classics that are still way past Steve's time, but things bridging the gap between his missing years and now.

Yes to finding an apartment on the Citadel for an extended shore leave where all of you can stay.

Yes to a trip back to Earth to meet Kaidan's parents, where he introduces you as the loves of his life.

Yes to the rings - beautifully crafted triple bands of gold uniting the three of you as one.

Yes to spending the rest of your lives together amongst the stars, fighting off Reapers and never, ever giving up on each other.

Because if time itself couldn't prevent your love story, nothing can.

[squigglysquidd]

Juxtaposed Snippet: Birthday Post

He wants—wishes even—her to be able to forgive herself. Being rescued from Akuze was not ill-gotten survival. To assuage the survivor’s guilt she has, he thinks she needs to finally realize that all the death was not her fault.

He doesn’t believe in the Spirits or fate but in her case, perhaps he could be swayed.

It just feels like she’s meant for more.

If he could, he would be honored if she let him carry her burden until she heals. However, it’s her choice alone and his only real option until then is to be here and wait until she trusts him enough to share her pain.

His heart races every time she writes about how much she misses him for both his friendly companionship and their nightly embraces.

He still hasn’t found the courage to explore the deeper feelings he has for her, let alone tell her. Fearing what it would do to those walls he’s managed to chip away and topple over, he doesn’t tell her.

She’s mentioned the mix of emotional intimacy and sex has never worked for her many times but he can’t help the devotion he feels for her. If he says anything, will she withdraw and feel unwelcome in his life as she is?

He’s decided that if what they have now never moves forward to what he so desperately craves, he’ll gladly give her whatever she’ll have of him. Being with her in any capacity can be enough compared to being without her.

He’s pretty sure he’ll be good at pretending.

What foolishness are feelings, anyway?

His feelings are the stuff of ‘sappy’—as she’d say—romances in the vids and books and not something that could ever happen in reality.

Certainly, it’s not something that happens between two completely different people that live in reality.

Especially when they’re of entirely different species.

He’s only ever heard of someone being so infatuated—dare he say in love—with another that their subvocals thrummed devotedly involuntarily by just the mere thought of them.

This idea of someone’s body knowing before their own mind is so unbelievable that it can’t possibly exist outside of fantasy.

There’s so such thing as ‘soulmates.’

People aren’t bound by some unexplainable, cosmic force.

Logically, it’d be impossible when introduced to a galaxy of different people of vastly different species.

Yet, he is feeling affected by some deep, unexplainable impetus.

Just the thought of receiving a message from her every day has him aching. He looks forward to a notification from her that he loses focus on his days. Even her admissions of ‘missing him’ make his heart race, ramming against his rib cage.

This would be so much easier if Jane was a turian. She could hear my subharmonics. She could save me the embarrassment of rejection.

But do I really want that?

It’s human Jane I can’t get out of my head … not a turian version of her.

He sighs and rubs his temples as he hums in exasperation. His thoughts are racing and she’s supposed to be returning to the Citadel in a matter of hours and he’s stuck mentally battling over something that’ll never happen.

[slayerdurge]

Shakarian Romance Initiation

Garrus: Well, I won't pretend I'm particularly attracted to humans, but that's not what this is about. It's about you. Shepard: Yeah... I'm definitely into turians. Garrus: 🤯