#i picked up mordin

[baejax-the-great]

Miranda telling Shepard that this is the best Cerberus project she's ever worked on after only two missions is so fucking funny.

Girl this whole thing started with you shooting your assistant in the face

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF PRIORITY: TUCHANKA (PART 1)

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Urdnot Wrex, and Urdnot Bakara With: Dr. Mordin Solus, Primarch Adrien Victus, Dalatrass Linron, Urdnot Wreav, and Comm. Specialist Samantha Traynor This will be the defining moment of Krogan history... Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

[dovahbee]

Normandy Info board: SHEPARD’S BIRTHDAY

[NEW MESSAGES AS OF 00:00]

00:00- CHF. ZORAH: WAKE UP BOSHTETS ITS SHEPARDS BIRTHDAY

00:00- DR. SOLUS: Already sang human happy birthday song to her.

00:00- GO. VAKARIAN: I dont suppose I could convince you to teach me this song, doc?

00:01- DR. SOLUS: audio_attachment_human_birth_serenade

00:01- CHF. ZORAH: I picked up cake the last time we were on Illium

00:01- SPEC. JACK: it’s human tradition to smash cake into the birthday person’s face

00:01- CHF. ZORAH: i know you’re lying but i want to do that now

00:01- LT. TAYLOR: She’s not lying, it’s tradition and considered rude if you don’t

00:02- GO. VAKARIAN: Alright what’s the plan here? How about an ambush? Right outside her cabin?

00:02- LC. SHEPARD: im in this chat dumbasses

00:02- CHF. ZORAH: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEPPPPPPPPPP

00:02- SPEC. JACK: happy bday grandma

00:02- LT. TAYLOR: Happy birthday!

00:02- SPEC. KRIOS: best wishes to you, on your birthday, commander.

00:02- FLT. MOREAU: How much are you hating this, LC?

00:02- LC. SHEPARD: @JOKER I’d rather get ambushed by a cake to the face than for them to burst into song

00:02- SPEC. SAMARA: Happy birthday, my friend. There is no one I would rather wander the void with.

00:02- SPEC. GOTO: happy BDAY SHEP! left a surprise for you in your end table ;)

00:03- SPEC. GOTO: it’s turian condoms, from Mordin and I <3

00:03- GO. VAKARIAN: hey, i got her the same thing

00:03- SPEC. GRUNT: gross. i got battlemaster a present too

00:03- LC. SHEPARD: really, gifts aren’t necessary

00:03- SPEC. GRUNT: it is a gun mod

00:03- LC. SHEPARD: unless they’re mods. thanks grunt

00:04- SPEC. MASSANI: HA! We caked the lil bitch right between the eyes video_attachment_happy_birthday_shepard

00:04- XO. LAWSON: what in the— why are you all awake??? we have an op tomorrow GO TO SLEEP.

00:04- CHF. ZORAH: image_attachment_shepard_cake_face_HBD!

00:04- GO. VAKARIAN: she is such a majestic creature image_attachment_shepard_eating_cake_off_her_face_like_a_starving_varren

00:04- LT. TAYLOR: image_attachment_shepard_throwing_cake_at_crew

00:04- FLT. MOREAU: @LC at least they didn’t sing?

00:04- LC. SHEPARD: no. there was singing. it was disgusting.

[ferniliciousness]

Illusive Man: your first stop should be to find the doctor Mordin, but we're also having you recruit a hot Turian who is in a life or death situation so ya know, pick him up on your way out

Me: (playing Garrus Dating Simulator) yeaaahhhhh about that

Me: (immediately goes to save the Turian and acts surprised when it's Garrus) oh my god look who it is. I definitely did this just to disobey Cerberus and not because..... Hot.... Turian.... Romance.....

[cecil-marethyu]

My Totally Unserious Thoughts on the Mass Effect Trilogy (after playing it for the first time in 2024)

Mass Effect 1

Ma’am- Ma’am please- Ma’am, I need you to look to the left for me please.

Holy shit, I think I actually look pretty good.

Me during the Citadel View conversation: Okay Kaidan, I see you. I'm picking up what you are putting down.

But we’re trying to romance Garrus. Everyone’s up his ass, so I got to see what that’s about.

It has come to my attention that neither Garrus nor Tali are romanceable in the first game… Kaidan, I choose you.

NPC: It’s terrible what happened on Akuze.

Me: Oh yeah, Akuze, the Akuze where something happened, that Akuze (what the fuck happened on Akuze?)

…

THRESHERMAWS!?!?!

If I have to drive up one more steep-ass mountain to get to some minerals, I will lose it.

Kaidan: It seems you have quite a connection with Liara.

Me: I do????? I’ve talked to her one time. Like many things in this game about myself, that is news to me.

Ashley: something, something, something, scuttlebutt

Me: Who the fuck is scuttlebutt?

My brother: Kaidan (neither of us actually understand what scuttlebutt means)

I miss Nomad conversations.

Don’t mind me, I’ll just casually bypass this door on Noveria–

YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO COMPLETE ANY OTHER MISSIONS HERE

Andromeda Interlude: I went to go read my emotional support Jaal/Ryder fic, glanced at the author’s bookmarks, saw FemShep/Zaeed. This detour has taken an unforeseen turn and will take much longer than expected.

Okay, I’m back.

Time to go to Virmire, I know what’s coming

What the hell is that loud-ass noi- It’s Wrex. He is shooting his loud as hell shotgun at the water.

HOLD THE LINE

If I some how get Kirrahe killed, I will be very upset.

Oh, I guess I’ll take Kaidan and Liara with me to Ilos…. What do you mean I can’t change my party when we get to the Citadel? Wrex and Garrus want to shoot Saren in the face. They deserve it.

Here's my first Shepard for the hell of it

Mass Effect 2

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY EYEBROWS?????

I.. I can live with it. I don’t want to go through the whole character creation again (the concept of writing down a face ID has not yet registered)

Cue two hours of me being appalled by those eyebrows

She could not live with it

Okay, let’s try this again

Time to save Archangel…

The pyro vorcha has killed me three times, maybe even four. I’m making a terrible first impression on Zaeed.

I like talking to Jack, but she doesn’t like talking to me. (I like talking to everyone, but I yap too much, so they don’t want to talk to me anymore.)

We’re on Horizon. Kaidan is very salty, which is valid, I just like to be dramatic about it. My brother and I compare the reactions of Ashley and Kaidan.

LOYALTY MISSION TIME

Do you even remember that night before Ilos?

I accidentally talked to Jack one too many times and hit on her. I am so sorry

Kelly, I want you to feed my fish. Why don’t you want to feed my fish? (Apparently I was supposed to say “I’d embrace you” at the beginning)

Shepard’s dancing is terrible.

The Illusive Man wants to talk to me, I guess I’ll go do that– WE’RE IMMEDIATELY GOING TO THE SHIP. WHAT THE FUCK?? I haven’t even picked up Thane yet T_T

Jane “where my hug at” Shepard has entered the chat

Thane apparently has the probe upgrade, that would have been greatly appreciated several hours ago.

I deserved to get a long dress out of Kasumi’s loyalty mission.

I had reach, she had flexibility

Thane actually wants to talk to me >_<

Nevermind, he called me siha and decided to never speak to me again

Time to go fistfight a yahg.

I have once again yapped too much, an no one wants to talk to me anymore.

I brought Mordin and Miranda with me to the derelict Reaper. Good conversation choices, not exactly good husk destroyers. How many times did I use shockwave, you ask? Yes. The answer is yes.

Yaay, we finally got Legion.

I rewrote the heretics. I sense this may bite me in the ass.

Time to go through the Omega 4 Relay.

Mentally writing a fic where Shepard leaves a video message for Kaidan/tries to call, but he doesn’t answer

I know I have all the ship upgrades, and everyone is loyal, but I am stressed.

We made it.

I finally went back to the Shadow Broker base and talked to Feron. I’m in love…

There are only six fanfics for those who are curious.

I only recalled this because of a video I was watching, but… the cuntiness of Garrus in his recruitment mission. Like sir, what the fuck?

Second/Partial Third Playthrough

Already?! You may be asking yourself. The answer is yes apparently. I finished Inquisition, and my brother started his second playthrough of Mass Effect, and suddenly I’m here again.

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time debating whether I’m going to romance Thane or Garrus. I know I’ll romance the other eventually, but who will I pick first. Do I want to hurt my feelings or have fun?

I picked Thane. I have another save for when I get around to romancing Garrus.

I miss Kaidan, but not in a “damnit, Ashley’s here” kind of way. I just miss my man.

Mass Effect 3

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY FACE

I tried to fix it. I think I made it worst.

What the fuck is up with Shepard’s arms?

The entire Mars mission: Kaidan staring at Shepard when she isn’t looking. Shepard staring at Kaidan when he is halfway across the room. This is great.

I had to restart. I fucked up her face too much. She still doesn’t look like herself to me, but I’ll push through it (fucking weirdass mouth shapes)

Once again, what the fuck is up with Shepard’s arms.. And chest, and run?

I really should visit the council, but baby girl is in the hospital with his tits out. I gotta go

Shepard finally has her hoodie again, the weirdness is less noticeable now.

Saved the Primarch, so it’s time to see baby girl again.

Thane’s here too (don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry)

They actually go me , I thought I got Kasumi killed for a second.

They go me with Grunt too. I am stressed

The Primarch sure like to get in Shepard’s space

We have now lost Mordin and Thane.

Also, Kaidan during the coup stand-off “Don’t make me regret this” Bro, don’t make me fucking fight you.

Cortez, Jack, Joker, and EDI were all at the bar at the same time. Time to get lit

…

Got blackout drunk. Woke up on Aria’s couch

Kaidan has rejoined the Normandy. Shepard checked out his ass to an absurd degree

Everybody wants to come up to my cabin. I am constantly worried I’m going to accidentally hit on someone.

Kaidan is leaning

Me while Kaidan talked about EDI: 0_0 This is Jaal all over again

Had the Apollo lunch. I am constantly surprised by how horny Shepard is.

You weren’t there when I woke up this morning. Y’all fucking? Without my permission?

 Tali on Thessia was honestly kind of funny. I’m pretty sure that is a Prothean, Liara. Hey Liara, don’t you think that is a Prothean. PROTHEANS. I’ll bring Javik next time.

Citadel DLC was fun. Still wish Shepard had a fancy dress like everyone else, but that’s what daydreaming and writing fanfic that will never see the light of day is for.

I unfortunately didn't dress up before going to dinner with Joker, so when Kaidan was like, "Nice outfit." Shepard was standing there in her hoodie like, "... Whatever you say man."

James terrified me when he took his shirt off, but it was fine. And I beat his pull-up record.

Shepard and Kaidan obviously got it on. I don’t think I really need to say anymore on that.

I wish Thane’s picture stayed on the piano.

I obviously invited everyone to the party even though I wanted Zaeed to call me beautiful. Apparently that only happens if Javik isn’t there.

As much as I wanted to enjoy the moment with Kaidan before the Cerberus base, I could not because I am very self conscious and had an audience of three people in the room with me.

Me the entire time I was talking to hologram Zaeed: Why are we so up in each other’s grills?

I should have had Kaidan with me for the race toward the beam to experience the full drama of that. I had Javik instead, which was pretty dramatic anyways. I never expected you to reach for me like that bro

My brother chose synthesis when he played, so I went with destroy to see what that was like. I didn’t want to do that to EDI and the geth, but I did want to see Zaeed drinking beer on a beach.

I’ll preface this by saying, I didn’t go into this blind in any way, so I knew in the final scene Joker would be followed out by two “favored” squad mates, your love interest and second favored squad mate. I was expecting Garrus or James, so I was very bamboozled when Javik walked out.

Second Playthrough

Shepard is so much more defensive with Ashley, and accusative in a way. “Can I trust you to have my back?” What? Why is this even a conversation?

Ashley feels very underutilized in general. Like, her Normandy comments after bigger missions feel more vague and generalized compared to others. She only has one thing to say while others have three or four before they are done talking to you.

Talking to James during the Citadel DLC is a lot scarier when you don’t have a current romance. I don’t want to accidentally seriously come onto him. He doesn’t need that.

Also, why couldn't James have been an option to swoop in after Shepard's fall through the fish tank. Why is Liara the only option if you don't have a squadmate romance? Like, he already has that unserious flirting thing going with femshep. He would totally say, "Nice outfit"

I did want James to be the person I had my beam run moment with though. It was Ashley instead, which didn't make the most sense, but I was cool with it going that way too. And Garrus was the one holding Shepard's name placard, and Javik was the one who exited the Normandy after Joker and EDI, so really have no idea who my true ride or die was. I wonder if armax matches count as missions in the counter.

Speaking of armax arena, it makes no logical sense, but I wish Feron was a potential squadmate, or Bailey

The Thane romance has definitely hurt my feelings on several occasions. It’s great. I got to talk to him after the party too, so that was nice.

WHY AM I FIGHTING ALL THESE SHEPARDS? THIS FUCKING SUCKS

Because trophies, that’s why

There was probably something else, but tumblr decided to not save my edits, so I'm beyond the point of caring anymore

[zevzevarainai]

MAJOR DA:TV SPOILERS BELOW CUT

i have to take a break after that first bit of the ending. i'm not even sure im going to finish it but if i am i need a long break.

yes i get that it's realistic or whatever for people to die in a war-type setting, but killing Davrin AND Assan and potentially Bellara based on two single unclear decisions... what the fuck. would it have been Harding and Neve if I clicked the other buttons? or are we just killing the only elves. and you know, the baby endangered animal. yeah he loves his davrin but jesus christ. That's some bad writing shock factor death right there.

and it's not even like mass effect 2's ending because that one was well done. you had to understand your companions and their abilities in order for them to live. This game, it's "oh, well Davrin is a Grey Warden and there's darkspawn and shit. He could lead." Then he SURVIVES and the game is like. You inspired him to sacrifice himself by making him the leader :) also the cute lovable animal is going down with him and there's nothing you can do :) and then Bellara it's fuckin' like. Do you think the ancient elf magic expert should take down the ancient elf barriers or neve? Ok Bellara then, this is her thing. Well idiot she just got kidnapped

ok i just googled it and it is either davrin or harding dying. One of them has to die. like what the fuuuuuck. i just know they want you to pick davrin to die. he thought he was going to die earlier in the game. he's a grey warden and they're made for that. Harding is essential for dwarves reclaiming their culture, so let's kill the black dalish elf. at least i'm reading bellara can come back if you did her quests. sure the fade bit was cool but the cause was dumb. i'm not even mad about varric because i knew he was done for they set that up after bianca became woodchips.

sum of this is, these weren't even well written deaths. there was no satisfying part of it narratively. i keep comparing to m.e. but like, mordin dying? Upsetting, but had purpose, fit great with the narrative. This is just... there. The only emotion I felt was this rant on tumblr dot com.

[sol-consort]

Remembering that ask/post about how basically everyone on the Normandy wants Shepherd carnally and if I recall correctly, even Mordin--whose species don't really have sex--can have a dialogue tree where he basically looks at Shepherd and goes "would".

Now I'm just imagining Salarian's on a ship with humans and getting horny for the first time and just not really knowing how to deal with it. Or something 💦

Mordin seems to diverge from a lot of Salarian norms, even by his own species' standards, he is an outlier. Doesn't he have sex with an asari that one time? and enjoys it so much he actually falls asleep for more than an hour.

I don't think salarians have the ability to get horny—at least not our definition of horny. Because oh humans? we are more horny than birds, the cirtus of the animal kingdom, most mammals have a breeding season, humans can go 24/7.

Instead, salarian "arousal" can translate into two ways:

1 - Taking notice of your good traits, genetics, or else

"Hmm, you would've made a good egg host, human. It would've honoured my family if you had my children. Too bad you're not a salarian."

They do experience all types of attraction, just not sexual. So instead of arousal, it manifests into infatuation, admiration and thinking of possibly reproducing with that person.

Not necessarily love, sex and love are different things. A bondmate is what results from love. In salarian society sex is business-like, and candidates even send resumes like its a job application. Its sole purpose is reproduction. The legacy of their families are built on it.

A salarian wanting to have kids with you just means they deeply respect and admire you, view you as a valuable assets, wanting to add your genes to their family legacy, no love involved, that's what their bondmate is for.

-

2 - Feeling "Horny" just results in a feeling of unfullfillment followed by a wave of motivation to achieve more

Their brain's way of telling them that "Hey, you haven't been picked a sex partner yet, you're falling behind the rest. Get up and prove yourself capable and worthy."

To humans, that feeling makes us doll ourselves up, go to a club, indulge in the flirty atmosphere. Post a selfie, wear something tantalising, reinstall Tinder. The reassurance that we are still wanted and considered attractive to our peers.

To salarians, it motivates them to study more, get innovative, acquire medals and recognition. Collect enough achievements to stand out amidst the crowd.

Of course, both are just fleeting feelings based on hormones. To a human, you get unbelievably horny, to a salarian, they get unbelievably determined.

-

Sexual flirting doesn't exist in salarian culture, you must impress a potential sexual partner instead. The equivalent of a drunk guy at a club telling you how big his dick is and please let him hit, is a drunk salarian telling you how many degrees he has and the many languages he mastered speaking.

The only difference is that the human ape brain can't understand "this thing isn't human, you can't reproduce with it" part of fucking aliens. I am fully convinced if I keep trying enough with a geth, something gotta click eventually. Just keep cumming into the input panel! Fuck you brain!

While a salarian fully comes to terms with the fact that humans and others can't have their kids, the "impress them" horniness vanishes...for the most part. It comes out when they're really drunk, tho.

-

The way a human body would appeal to them is through aesthetic alone. They don't get what makes certain clothes sexy and others not. You'd wear lingerie near a Salarian, and they'd comment on how that's such a nice colour but nothing more.

So to answer that, no, a salarian wouldn't get "sexually" horny for the first time around a human who joined their ship. It doesn't work like that.

They've probably gotten "determination" horny so many times before and deep cleaned their whole room at 3am as a result of it.

You do look good to them, adorable and beautiful even. Like a sunset or a pretty flower, but never sexually. If they do get a crush and want to form a bond with you, it's because of your personality, abilities, and talents.

The whole species is somewhere on the ace spectrum, a mix of nature not seeing value in developing sexual appeal to them, and nurture as their culture embraced separating sex from love and relationships. Sex is a business, a job, a duty, like getting into a good college.

Of course, there are always outliers, much like aro (hii me <3) and ace people exist within humanity, the most horny species ever, some salarians might experience sexual attraction? Or at least enjoy sex as an act, like Mordin, instead of a means to an end just to reproduce.

So far, it's only ever been with asari in Mass Effect. Krogans do use "sleeping with a salarian" as an insult, a joke at other times, but I can't tell if they really mean it.

[nellasbookplanet]

I think the most frustrating part about ME3 and its endings is that, for the most part, it has such great respect for player choice and agency and above all consequences, good as well as bad. I'm assuming it's because it was the last of the trilogy (or was at least intended to be, at the time) and so the writers didn’t need to have any regard for 'how will we make this work in the sequel'. They could do whatever. You could do whatever.

It's up to you whether the genophage is cured, and whether it being cured ends with continued peace or the krogan seeking vengeance. It’s up to you whether the quarians and the geth live, and whether they find peace. Did you save Wrex in ME1? Did you save Maelon's data? Did you seek friendship and common ground with the Virmire survivor, or did you antagonize them and break their trust, forcing you to shoot them? Did you save the Rachni queen, last of her species, or the squad of your friend who deeply trusts you? Did you save the general, voice for peace, or the soldiers he begged you to go back for? Did you speak with Thane, warn Miranda, stop Samara? Did you encourage Javik to remember or forget? It all rests on you.

They make you feel it when you pick a dark choice, or get forced into one by the consequences of your previous actions. Legion on its knees, still asking if it has a soul as it is killed alongside its people. Tali taking her mask off, Shepard running at her as she lets herself fall to die with her kin. Shooting Mordin and throwing the gun away, watching him crawl as he tries to reach those last few inches that will fix the mistake he finally admitted to, and failing. Wrex, your friend, coming back to end you. Kaidan/Ashely turning away from you as they die, disgusted. Javik telling you he will return to the graves of his soldiers, and he will join them.

And fact of the matter is, the endings don’t lean in to this. A renegade Shepard who stops the genophage cure has to watch the consequences, even as there’s material victory in it too. A paragon Shepard that tries and fails to stop the geth/quarian war pays dearly. Even as the ending is a choice, it's a choice not reliant on previous actions, that doesn't make you feel the consequences of what you pick. You wiped out the allied synthetics you just saved; you stole the agency of an entire galaxy; you enslaved a species; you embraced the ideology of the enemy. Do you feel it? Do you feel it?

[mtreebeardiles]

Okay, more Mass Effect asks.

For this thing: https://www.tumblr.com/mtreebeardiles/760706275485122560/101-mass-effect-questions?source=share

16, 32, 64

😉

More! More:

16. MAKO: die in a fire or best thing ever

My answer to this depends entirely on where I’m at scaling a mountain I am clearly not meant to scale 🤔

(Anyone else get stuck, say ‘fuck it,’ and drive off-map so Joker has to pick your ass up?)

32. Least favorite team member?

Oof, that’s a tough one! I feel like ME2 was a bit superfluous with the squadmate options so there are a few I never really got close to. So mechanically, I don’t tend to take out Thane, Zaeed, Jacob, Garrus, or Mordin (I LOVE Mordin, but my go to squad is Miranda and Tali)

Narratively? I feel like of the “main” squad mates, Garrus is the least developed. I honestly came into the games expecting to really like him because the fandom was always so hype about him that finding he was a caricature of copaganda that the games never really made a point to develop or give us any real insight into Turian culture was a massive let down. No offense to Garrus lovers, he just ain’t it for me 🤷‍♂️

64. Something you hate about any/all of the games?

The surprising lack of world building makes me sad, for sure. I know that’s more of a side effect to the way the game is structured but still 🫤

Something I HATE though? Changing reload mechanics from 1 to 2. Weapons in general in ME2. Not giving infiltrators their sniper rifles upfront is a crime, frankly 🤨

Most of the mechanics in 3 were a massive improvement, and the weapons felt a little better, but then they got rid of my hacking mini games! Can’t have anything in this economy 🙄

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2 replay, recruiting Jack:

Osun

-Erinie has element zero. Quite a bit of it. Why does a garden world in its last stages with a small salarian colony have so much?

I suppose if it was colonized in the last cycle, the element zero may be from various crashes at that time.

-Purgatory is run by the Blue Suns. So this is yet another Blue Sun mission. Why are they central to so many?

-The Blue Suns were started by humans or a batarian, depending on the story you go by. Yet they sure seem dominated by turians. Warden Kuril runs this place.

-When Warden Kuril gives that little intro speech he sure sounds like he’s selling Purgatory to Shepard. You can tell how proud he is of it.

I suppose it could be viewed that he’s warning Shepard how secure it is, so they don’t try to escape later.

-Kuril and Garrus are actually very similar. They’re both from Palaven, both former law enforcement, and both chose different career paths because they thought governments weren’t strict enough. They hate letting criminals get away.

In a different universe, I could easily see Garrus running Purgatory – although to his credit, I don’t think he’d sell criminals.

(Yes, I know Garrus has special dialogue for this mission.)

-I think Kuril generally does believe he’s doing the right thing. Or at least he’s convinced himself of it.

He’s also just very greedy, and thinks he can perform a public service and line his pockets.

And since criminals aren’t “real people”, it’s okay to beat them up and sell them off.

-Why are all the prisoners we directly encounter human?

The one being beaten, 780 whom we speak to, 403 who’s hearing things, Jack…

Bioware, c’mon. How hard would it have been to make one of them a salarian or an asari?

-Shepard has some autodialogue when Jack is released.

-Jack’s outfit is so bad. I don’t know why she’s even bothering with any kind of top. What was Bioware thinking?

(Between Jack and Miranda, I’m not sure the character designers were thinking.)

-Kuril’s threat to blow out all the airlocks if the prisoners don’t stand down is empty; that might cost him money.

-I think I’m slowly getting the hang of charge, but I am dying so many times. Charge was not designed with insanity in mind.

One of the biggest problems is that Shepard can’t dodge and is so, so slow. If I could run to cover this wouldn’t be so bad.

-The Kuril battle is much easier than the battles before it. One of the easiest fights so far in the game.

-If you ask Jack why it’s a problem that you’re with Cerberus, Miranda says she’s destroyed Cerberus people and property. I don’t think she knows that Jack was raised by Cerberus.

Jack says Miranda will die first. Lovely to see them get off on the right foot.

-Miranda also says Shepard is not authorized to give Jack full access to the databases. This is the first time Jack calls her a cheerleader.

It was hate on first sight.

Normandy

-Crew: I’ve never worked with so many aliens so far.

Strange line. I’ve recruited two so far – Mordin and Grunt. Last one I picked up with Jack. This should have played later in the game.

-Jack tends to respond better to neutral or renegade lines. Paragon tends to make her defensive or think you’re weak.

-The image of Jack’s silhouette in the shadows holding a gun is very well done.

-One of the biggest mysteries is why Jack doesn't bail at the first opportunity. She knows how dangerous Ceberus is. She doesn't give a damn about the Collectors. Why does she stick around?

-Grunt says humans, salarians, and asari are soft. Quarians are not – why?

Tell me more about Qurarian biology, Bioware!

-Okeer wanted Grunt to hate aliens. Why? I didn’t get that vibe when we spoke to him.

-More of Grunt’s complex is starting to come out. He’s strong, but he didn’t earn it. He just is.

The dead may have been weak, but at least they tried. He never had to.

-You don’t get this line if you go renegade and tell Grunt you need him to be strong. He tells you he’ll be strong enough to kill your enemies, and that’s all you need.

Grunt may respect you if you go renegade, but he doesn’t necessarily trust you.

-The amount Grunt thinks is itself telling. Krogan intellect is often mocked – they have no scientists. They just exist to kill.

But Grunt is the perfect krogan, and he spends a lot of time thinking. About what he was told, about what he believes, about who he wants to be.

That’s the antithesis of the view most people hold of krogan, even other krogans.

But they are capable of it. Grunt is proof. Violence is baked into krogan culture, but that’s not all they have to be. They’re capable of much more – they just have to break the cycles they’re trapped in.

It doesn’t even necessarily mean leaving violence behind; Grunt loves violence. But it can be productive violence, for the betterment of their people and the galaxy as a whole.

If Wrex is the Urdnot clan leader in ME3, he touches on this. With him, Bakara, and Grunt I think they do have a chance to rewrite the future of the krogan people.

[otemporanerys]

Spectre Requisitions ‘23 - The Rec Post!!

It’s that time of year again! I took part in the Spectre Requisitions Rare Pair Exchange @spectre-requisitions-exchange (link to the collection here) and man. SO MUCH good shit.

I can’t reveal what I wrote (yet) but I have been reading through the collection and here’s a few incredible works that I really enjoyed! Remember to kudos and comment if you find anything you like 💖

(NB: I focused on fic, but honestly every bit of fanart I’ve seen for it is also incredible, please go check it out)

Gifts for Me

I was SO lucky this year - loyal friends will know that I’ve been suffering from a massive dose of Lawkarian brainrot, and I got not one, but TWO long-ass Garrus/Miranda fics!!!! honestly still can’t get over it, incredible

Between the Devil and the Deep, Garrus/Miranda, 20K, E

Set pre-ME2, Miranda recruits Archangel for a job, fucks him to keep him sweet.

This is just. Pure filth, and I love it. Aliases, power plays, both Garrus and Miranda being amoral little weirdos. What more can you ask for?

The Woman in White, Garrus/Miranda, 16.9K, E

Set pre-ME2, Miranda recruits Archangel for a job, doesn’t really do ANYTHING to keep him sweet (but they fuck anyway).

:chinhands: This is just. GORGEOUSLY written, and the begrudging way in which they start to like each other (but not too much) is incredible. Top-notch Garrus POV

Gen

loose ends, Maelon & Mordin, 9.9K, T

Set during and after ME3, canon-divergent AU. Maelon finds Mordin in the wreckage after Tuchanka and nurses him back to health.

I love their relationship in this - Mordin’s so aware of Maelon’s weaknesses (or what he perceives to be his weakness) but there’s still so much caring, despite the huge gulf between them. Also the easiest way to make me a teary mess is a Urdnot Mordin cameo 😭

The Stories We Tell, Joker & Tali, 3.1K, T

Set during ME1. Tali forces Joker to be her friend.

Really great dialogue for everyone - it’s very cute and fun until suddenly it’s not!!! which is rude!!! but still very good, A+++

Care and Maintenance, Kaidan & Tali, 2.2K, T

Set during ME1. Kaidan and Tali bond over dads, tech and Shepard’s reckless driving.

This one was just nice! And also who doesn’t love a bit of Shepard driving slander

F/F

swear, this one you’ll save, Nyreen/Solana, 1.5K, G

Pre-canon: five times Solana has a secret about Nyreen.

I’m only slightly obsessed with these two, and this fic was so perfect. Childhood friends to lovers is a god-tier trope, and it’s so deliciously bittersweet

Real, Beautiful, f!Shali, 0.7K, G

Post-ME3, A morning on Rannoch.

The post-war fluff we deserve, imo!

A Knife in Starlight, Morinth/f!Shepard, 1K, M

Set during ME2. Character study with a side of smut.

I think Morinth is incredibly interesting as a character, but the real standout of this fic is the Shepard - Ruthless, stone butch, wonderfully jagged.

M/M

Collide, m!Shakarian, 4.1K, M

Set during ME2. Friends-to-lovers and mutual pining.

I love m!Shakarian anyway, but mutual pining?? Sexually charged pining?? LOVE CONFESSIONS?? Good shit

M/F

Change of Command, Garrus/Miranda, 3.6K, M

Set during ME2. Epistolary fic, a series of comms transcripts between Garrus and Miranda.

Yes, someone else wanted Lawkarian!! The (verbal) sparring is so much fun, and the format is perfect.

Beauty Like a Raging Flame, f!Shaeed, 6.2K, E

Set during ME2. Shepard gets into a fight in Afterlife, and Zaeed has to go pick her up.

There’s a lot of Shaeed this year! But this one is my favourite. The Zaeed voice is great (appropriately crusty, not too soppy, just the way I like it) and it’s nice seeing him paired off with a Paragon Shep. Plus, Zaeed’s turned on by violence. Smutty perfection

only echoes in the melody now, Kasumi/Keiji’s Greybox, 3.4K, E

Post-ME3. Bittersweet porn with feelings.

God, this one really blew me away. The prose is incredible, and there’s so many little bits that really land how fucked up the greybox concept really is. The ending is great, too. Can’t recommend this enough.

Longing Makes a Thief, Kasumi/Rolan Quarn, 17.7K, E

Kasumi and Rolan run into each other during a job, and realise they’ve met before - sort of.

This was so much fun - bubbly like a glass of champagne. The banter’s great, the smut is great, it’s all so good. Run, don’t walk!

Poly

An Unfortunately Sexy Man, Addison/Kandros/Kesh/Tann, 6.6K, M

MEA. Addison, Kandros and Kesh all have one thing in common: a devastating, inexplicable crush on Director Tann.

I’m not really one for crack, but this is definitely an exception. Genuinely funny, and the Tann voice in particular is incredibly on-point.

[ramblinganthropologist]

7, 31, 45, 49 for Alistair!

Thanks so much! Have some answers from my beloved son who I put in Situations!

7. Does their love interest move into their quarters?

Garrus and Alistair maintain separate situations, if only to dodge awkward questions. Still, Garrus is always welcome up should he need somewhere quiet to work or just to get away from people. After all, he has Saren Shepard handling privileges. Someone's gotta amuse the hamster when his dad's away.

31. Who can always make them laugh?

This one goes out to his sister, Bo Peep Shepard. Bo can always get him to laugh, even if it's at himself. She just gets him better than anyone else thanks to their shared traumas and the fact they've been together since Mindoir. So, she definitely has her finger on the pulse of what makes him laugh, and he has the same for her.

45. Do they approve of curing the genophage?

100% approves. Al thinks that the genophage was a war crime. You boosted the krogan, used them, and then pulled that shit on them? Some allies you were. So nobody was surprised when he helped get the cure out, least of all anyone on the Normandy crew. They were just like yep,that's Shepard alright.

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

Al's goal is to survive long enough to retire. He never planned on being a military man for his entire life - he only joined so his brain didn't explode from biotics. What he really wants is to leave the Alliance entirely and go to med school like he originally planned back when he was in his late teens. All he's ever wanted to do was help heal people, and that's what's keeping him going. He's gonna have his pick of recommendations letters for sure. (Mordin wrote one for him before he died, he found it in his emails a few days later. I might need to write that if N7 has a prompt for it.)

He'd also like to settle down and have a family. He loves kids, but he doesn't want to birth them himself. Boy's got a touch of tokophobia, honestly. Adoption has always been his main consideration, especially given what he went through as a teen. Hopefully, he'll survive the war and make those dreams come true.

[stormikins]

1, 11, 21, 31, 41 and +1 for Jenn from the fifty shep questions!

Thanks!!

Why did Shepard enlist? Any regrets?

Jenn enlists because it was a way out of the gang on Earth. It was either that, or jail. Clearly she chose the military. She doesn’t quite have regrets (she doesn’t let herself) about joining as she thinks there’s nothing else for her to do. She’s already a killer, the Alliance just turns her into a soldier. (she didn't let herself be anything else)

11. What order does Shepard pick up companions in ME2?

Goes to Omega to pick up Mordin but goes to get Archangel after learning about the predicament he’s in. Jack and then Grunt. Tali because that’s her best friend. On Illium decides that Samara can wait, she needs to make sure her assassin doesn’t die.

21. Do you have any AUs for your Shepard?

Oh boy do I. I have three major ones. The Kal project where Kal’Reegar joins the Normandy post Haestrom and is a part of the team for the rest of canon. Joins back up during the Rannoch arc. It’s canon compliant apart from Kal being there.

The second one is called Sour Apple Baby (Cinematic Universe) or SABCU. A retelling/novelization of the Mass Effect trilogy that heavily diverges from canon. Nihlus survives, Kal survives, many people survive but the tag line of the series is "the series in which i make everything worse, and i personally have a great time" LOL The third one is what I call the Cerberus starter, where Shepard figures out the Cerberus plot line before the events of me1 and Nihlus shows up because of the Cerberus rachni experiments. Somewhat of a Winter Soldier AU ;)

31. Who can always make them laugh?

Kal. Always. Joker and Garrus’ dry humor gets her too.

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

She’s fantastic with both. After all, she graduated top of her class at N school. Normally uses a pistol or assault rifle. Can and will use a shotgun. Doesn’t prefer a sniper rifle because she’s a close-range fighter as she’s a tank/insertion specialist, but she’s good with it. Not necessarily as good as Garrus, Ashley, or Thane but that’s because they’ve had more specific training and experience with it.

(+1: what does Shepard smell like?)

Pine and cinnamon!

(i have answered all 250 of your questions here ;)

[queenaeducan-writes]

saw this question floating around and thought it would be fun and interesting answers! If you had to pick 5 fics you’ve written to make a “crash course” and sum up your writing personality, which would they be?

i honestly don't know what my writing personality is! i prefer dialogue, and when something is short on dialogue it gets very introspective, instead. and i think my prose is somewhere between easy/dense. sometimes i forget about setting (although i think i've gotten better at it since i've moved from rp).

i like shorter fics focused on slice of life scenarios or hurt comfort, my beloved trope. also gen fic. i also think i'm ok at changing my prose to capture a character's voice? is worldbuilding/expanding a writing personality?? when i googled it i got some MBTI-like results.

Celestine Black (Josephine & Solas) slice of life gen fic. i tried to dig into setting in this to get a vibe for solas's room and examine his character through it/josephine's eyes.

Who Am I in Your Arms? (Ian x Solas) hurt-comfort central, and also very introspective while being light on dialogue.

Spokes in the Wheel (Kirrahe x Mordin) 200 word snapshots meant to capture moments of the short salarian lifespan. also i went hard on the mordin-speak for the prose, which paired nicely with the 200-word limit i imposed.

A Study of Hands (Gale x Tav) linking the first chapter specifically b/c the whole thing started as an exercise to get me more comfortable writing gale pov with mostly canon dialogue. i feel like it's a good fic to contrast w/ povs i'm more well-versed in like solas, esp since i think there are similarities with how they approach them (even given their vast differences kjdf).

Five Times Defended (Solas & Mythal) it's short stuff. it's gen fic. i world build but also don't explain anything and hope it's intriguing!

[soulcastermindset]

Memorable Gaming Moments: Thane's Loyalty Mission in Mass Effect 2 (aka: why Seryna is a personal favorite)

So, I've been playing through the Horizon series again recently and examining some of the side characters more closely, trying to really focus on picking apart their motivations and the ways they connect with Aloy and the larger story. Unfortunately for all you HZD and HFW fans, though, this post is not about those games (Though I'm sure I'll yell about them at some point).

While I could talk about Morlund and his theatrical counterparts for quite some time, I'd rather talk about a character from my favorite video game series who I've been meaning to collect my thoughts on for a while. Mass Effect 2's sheer volume of recruitment missions mean that Commander Shepard meets their fair share of alien personalities, but to this day, Thane's recruitment mission contains the one I am most intrigued by.

Seryna, the asari Shepard meets in the transportation sector, is only on-screen for about five minutes of the game. Despite that short length of time and the fact that she never shows up again in the next installment of the franchise, I remain fascinated by her. In five minutes and three (two and a half?) scenes, she plays the situation to her advantage extremely skillfully, in a way I'm not sure even most of the main characters could imitate, and she comes out clean and almost intentionally forgettable on the other side.

Seyna's first words to Shepard are "Who wants to know," immediately evasive and prodding for information, giving herself a chance to size up the threat in front of her under the guise of disinterest. As soon as she learns that Shepard is after Thane, she's immediately very matter of fact and unafraid to freely give information.

One of the biggest reasons this is notable to me is that in almost every other recruitment mission so far, a character has required something from Shepard before they are willing to provide their assistance. Mordin needed help stopping the plague on Omega. Okeer wanted help killing Jedore. The Warden on the prison ship wasn't willing to provide help at all, planning a double cross the entire time. The list goes on. Seryna just tells them what they want to know and gives them immediate access to do it. She clearly doesn't trust Shepard, but she navigates the conversation with them in a way that doesn't invite any kind of retaliation on their part, which seems very intentional.

Also during this conversation, Seryna reveals that she worked for Nassana's security and confronted Nassana when she learned her boss was having people killed. And yet, somehow, despite being willing to kill to keep her secrets under wraps, Nassana leaves Seryna alive, firing her rather than just killing her too. This always struck me as rather odd, considering that Nassana was willing to sacrifice an army of mercs just to keep herself safe from an assassin. Even if Shepard doesn't do the side quest to unknowingly help Nassana kill her sister, that's pretty damning evidence all on its own.

So, what was it about Seryna specifically that made Nassana choose mercy? We know she's not Eclipse, since Eclipse is an existing group outside of Nassana. Even if Nassana fired her, she'd likely still be doing Eclipse work instead of having to find a job at the transport station that she clearly isn't fond of.

Seryna certainly wasn't spared because Nassana wanted to keep her in her back pocket as a potential re-hire, either, since Nassana knows Seryna will call her actions into question, and she's clearly paranoid enough during the actual recruitment mission that she would never trust Seryna again at this point.

My personal assumption is that Seryna is an asari commando or former spec ops agent of some kind, someone Nassana didn't think she could kill without some kind of backlash or without potentially losing her own life in the process (Seryna does mention that she might have been good enough at her job that she could have stopped Thane from killing Nassana, though whether this is hubris or not is open to interpretation). If it's not for either of those reasons, Nassana letting someone that intrinsically tied to her personal security forces go free doesn't seem like a loose end she would tolerate. This point is further expanded upon after the mission, but I'll touch on that in a moment.

If we go back to the pre-mission conversation, Seryna freely admits that she did not hire Thane, but much like she's doing with Shepard now, she's not afraid to give out info on the best ways to get to her former boss. She clearly has no love for Nassana, and it's not until the car ride to the tower that she finally asks Shepard,

"So, this assassin. You here to stop him?"

And this is interesting. Because realistically, while Seryna's more than happy to see Nassana's head on a platter, she's already given Thane the information for that to happen, AND there would be no ties to her even if he failed because she didn't hire him. By helping Shepard, who is clearly not a hired assassin, get involved, she is risking Nassana's wrath much more directly, and instead of telling Shepard to find someone else to help, she takes them to the tower even though she admits in this moment that there's technically a chance Shepard could be going to assist Nassana.

Asking this question after she's already decided to help begs the question: does she know who Shepard is and is therefore unwilling to cross them? Does she not want to look the heavily-armed gift horse in the mouth, help them out while she can, and just get out of dodge before there's any potential blowback?

I personally lean towards the latter. If Shepard is there to help, that can only help speed up Nassana's death, and if Shepard's not... hey, those are a lot of big guns they have, best not risk it.

Of course, Shepard affirms that they're there to help the assassin (though the way they put it, "I'm just here to make sure he survives," is certainly worth the slightly interested "hm" Seryna gives in response, seeing as Shepard could still be working in Nassana's benefit and just trying to keep Thane alive so Nassana can get information out of him, but I think it's mostly safe to say at this point that Seryna believes that she and Shepard are working towards a similar goal), and the mission commences, ending with Nassana's death.

After Seryna drops Shepard off at the Dantius Towers for the mission, Shepard never sees her again, but they are given a recorded message by her co-worker, Tana, and that she took an unspecified job off-world at an unknown location. We learn in this message that Seryna was "on her way to a new life" when she heard the news that Nassana was dead.

This implies that almost immediately after dropping Shepard off, she books it. She flees. Even if we as the audience assume that a couple of days pass in-universe (we know that Shepard hits the towers at night and that the sun is rising when they find Thane, and it's likely that the police find Nassana's body within twenty-four hours of that moment), she packs up her entire life in less than a day, makes all the necessary arrangements, and is GONE before the news even drops about her old boss's death. I'm largely of the mind that what she told her co-worker about finding a new job was a blatant lie (especially taking into consideration how much she seemed to dislike the transport job but chose it anyway), and she was just getting the hell out in case everything went south.

Seryna played the game, and played it well, and when the chips were falling in a way that could have been fatal to her, even if the odds were clearly in her favor, she jumped ship to avoid any potential for a wildcard ruining her plans, and she fascinates me.

TL;DR, Seryna, a one-off character whose only narrative goal is to get Commander Shepard to Thane Krios, is heavily implied to be a force of nature in her own right.

In just these few moments of game time, Seryna proves herself shrewd, competent, intelligent, possibly VERY gifted at combat, petty, and willing to uproot her entire life to stay safe and alive.

I'm more interested in Seryna than I am some of the main squad characters in this game! I'd read a short spin-off story about her, no lie, but since that will likely never happen, I'll just yell about her here on tumblr so we all give her another look on our next playthrough.

Morlund I'm sorry this post wasn't about you

[onedismay]

Mass Effect Tag Game

Stole this thing from @messydiabolical. :)c Anyone is welcome to steal it from me as well!

-

I am a fan since: Forgot what year it was but I remember ME2 had already been out for a while before I bought ME1. But I caught up quickly and got to experience the release of the Arrival DLC in real time. :D

Favourite game of the series?: It's hard to pick between 1 and 2, but I'll say 2 because the concept of loyalty missions is MY JAM. Also ME2 is my favorite graphics-wise, it's got that high contrast I love so much. (hate the simplified skill trees though)

MShep or FShep?: Most of my Sheps are fSheps because the character creator for mSheps isn't versatile enough for me. :( Where's the long hair! Let me look impractical!

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: I might slightly prefer Earthborn. I enjoy playing characters who've had a rough start in life and made some bad decisions, but grew up to become decent people anyway.

Biotics or Tech: Can't pick, I like variety!

Paragon or Renegade: peace for everybody in the galaxy :') But I reeeaally love the Renegade eyes so I do have some mean Sheps as well.

Favourite Class: I used to main the Infiltrator class but in my most recent run I really enjoyed the Adept. Hard to pick a favorite but I do know my favorite class is NOT the Sentinel, it always feels clunky to me somehow.

Favourite Companion: Tali or Javik. Kaidan and Thane are nearby too. Tali's character development feels very natural and wonderful to me on every playthrough and I always love to see it. Javik is a fave because he's haunted and completely alone and that combo always hooks me like, I MUST see to it that this sad man has at least one nice thing in his life.

Least favourite Companion: It's the writers' fault but Liara. It gets really old when the same companion treats you like her love interest in all 3 games no matter what. I haaaate forced hugs in roleplaying games, don't put me through that, it'll ruin the character for me.

My squad selection: In my most recent playthrough it was unsurprisingly Javik and Tali. But I also ran with Vega quite often in the early game and I kinda missed him in the end game, haha.

Favourite In-game romance: Kaidan, especially with mShep because I really enjoy a slow burn of several years. 🔥

Other pairings I like: I am motioning at my blog and presenting to you Tazzik and the Shadow Broker...... no i don't have anything else to offer at this time

Favourite NPC: I like all these shady-ass salarians like Anoleis and Jaroth and Maelon and Linron (yes) (no i'm not defending her, i just find mean characters interesting sometimes) and Chorban and probably others. Valern isn't all that shady but still a fave. Charn! And Balak, I always look forward to finding out how my Shepard reacts to him. Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib I always loved you and I knew you were the best admiral before ME3 ever happened

Favourite Antagonist: the Shadow Broker, I was so into the mystery in ME1 and man I was not disappointed when we got the reveal. I would have loved to learn more about his early life.

Favourite Mission: ME2's Suicide Mission because I lovvve how it's a culmination of all your previous actions. It felt really scary and chaotic on my first playthrough and like anything could happen. Now I know all the mechanics so nothing surprises me, but I still look forward to seeing every little detail play out.

Favourite Loyalty Mission: Tali. Also Mordin. And Samara, ugghhh I love Omega and I love playing bait uwu

Favourite DLC: Hmmm I love about half of LotSB very much but I might like Bring Down the Sky more as a whole? The mood is great, it's not super long, and nothing about it annoys me. :D I've only played the Leviathan DLC once so far so I'm not confident enough to call it a fave yet but I liked it a lot, too.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy: I just wanted an ending where we finally talk the Reapers down and they go "yeah u right actually, let's not fight anymore. :( handshake?". All this star child borderline magic stuff is kinda goofy to me. I've picked Destroy almost every time tho.

Favourite Weapon: Recently enjoyed the Blood Pack Executioner... Historically I've probably used the Widow the most. Also I LOVE the way the Revenant looks but I can't stand using it myself lmao. My hand hurts just thinking about it.

Favourite Place: nnnoooo there's so many good places. I adore the Shadow Broker's ship, first of all. Such a cool concept. Noveria for the snow and miserable people. Feels like home. I loved visiting the Migrant Fleet! But my absolute favorite place is probably Omega because it's so rough yet there's still a weird sense of community.

A quote I like: The first that came to mind is "I have a home." Idk, I don't really remember quotes unless they're repeated over and over and by that point I start hating them.