#paragade

[heyzoal]

Random Mass Effect Hot Take: Spacer/War Hero/Paragon Shepard is the epitome of a privileged protagonist.

There’s no grit. There’s no darkness. There’s no challenge. You do the right thing and it immediately gets rewarded. All the decisions are easy.

It’s boring.

[blighted-elf]

Jae Shepard throughout the years

[askpokeeosin]

Paragon or Renegade?

On Mass Effect

Mass Effect is legitimately my favorite video game series of all time. I really like the morality system although I do feel that the Paragon path can at time be much more hardcore than Renegade at times, especially ME2 and onwards. For example, when dealing with Harrot the Elcor Merchant on Omega in ME2, the Renegade persuasion option is to tell Harrot to buy out the Quarian he had been threatening, presumably letting the poor kid get swallowed up by the streets of Omega. Meanwhile, the Paragon persuasion option is just straight up threaten Harrot with a serious case of broken legs if he doesn't leave the Quarian alone. That's not even getting into how the Paragon Interrupt at the end of the Overlord DLC is to straight up pistol whip a (very terrible) guy.

Of course, I've never played a full Paragon playthrough. There's just too many Renegade Interrupts that are too good to not hit, like interrupting the Krogan's long winded speech during Mordin's Loyalty Mission. I've also never done a Renegade playthrough, though. It always seems unnecessarily mean.

Ask from @askseriousrainbow

[monowires]

just found out that there's actual terms for renegon/paragade shep and i didnt really need to go to the trouble of extensively explaining to my friends how i play shepard

[shaundoesthings]

Forget renagon and paragade. We’re morally bisexual.

what's it called when your morals are like. not always perfectly good or evil. morally bisexual?

[laugh-of-the-medusa]

I really wanted that tiny lil kiss from Aria because her reaction (and Shep’s surprise) was adorable. I did a Paragade* run during Omega. Mostly agreeing with Aria (Renegade) and being an annoying fucker with Petrovsky (Renegade) then agreeing with Nyreen (Paragon) because seeing them argue was fun. Like, I know exes when I see em and it was way more fun to needle Aria through Nyreen than anything else.

BUT HOLY SHIT I DIDN’T EXPECT I WENT WITH TOO MUCH PARAGON BECAUSE IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN SHE SPARED PETROVSKY 😆

I was willing to give up potential Intel on TIM for revenge on what happened Nyreen regardless of how Petrovsky presented himself to my Paragon Shep (what happens in Omega, amiright?) —

BUT DAMN. Seeing her spare him was way more satisfying than the tiny peck. I did take the renegade option of threatening him with a gun but not killing him.

In my head, when she says “partner” she’s not talking about Shep. She’s talking about Nyreen. You can try prying that from my cold, anemic fingers. I won’t budge. On that note, I also believe that Aria’s morality shift isn’t just because of Shep, it’s also because of Nyreen (and the revelation that she never left Omega and somehow still stayed true to her code of ethics). I mean. Holy shit.

Imagine seeing that sort of sacrifice (with the adjutants) and not being rocked to the core???

Plus, somehow Aria being incredibly furious (and hurting) and still finding the energy to spare Petrovsky? Uggggghhhhhh sooooo satisfying.

*My Vanguard did magically transform into an Engineer midway through lmao. (Look, my personal headcanon is that Shep spent enough time with Tali, EDI, and co. that they eventually learned the final points of hacking if they’re assed to do it.)

[ozziyo]

Terra as of Mass Effect 1

[inuhodo]

[passes away on the ground] finally drew reference for my sheppy... her tattoos are soooo funny to me but its moe... shepard needs to be a bit lame. the threshermaw tat is cool as hell tho thanks me3 for having that thing in a cave... also she is 6'4"

[theshepcollective]

Everyone say thank you @vesperfloyd for the creation of this gorgeous man! 😍

Got around to finally write Isaac Shepard's bio (don't have mods yet but hopefully will soon get some in game shots) but here he is! Hope Joel Kinnaman doesn't get too annoyed at me borrowing his face but he looks exactly how I pictured Isaac. Also submitting this for @theshepcollective ❤️

Isaac Shepard

Background: Spacer / War Hero

Isaac Shepard was born in 2153 on the SSV New Delhi cruiser, where both his parents were assigned as executive officers. 

Great great grandson of the astronaut Alan Shepard, his whole family has been involved in the military and space exploration since. Isaac spends his childhood following his parents from space station to spaceship, loving the idea of exploring the great unknown still out there and making a real difference. 

His parents unfortunately pass away in 2167 in a tragic accident: a rogue celestial object hits their transport shuttle and the whole crew perishes. 

His maternal grandparents, Arthur and Sylvia, take him in on the colony of Cyrene, but young Isaac is struggling, and feels trapped on the small colony. 

He starts running with some bad crowds and using drugs to cope with his grief, until he is arrested for possession and minor theft when he is 16. He spends a year in juvie and decides to get himself straight once out: he attends his missing exams and manages to enlist with the Alliance at 19. He proves himself quickly on various posts, showing a unique combination of street smarts, strategy and physical skills (aside from biotics with which he struggles with)  and even succeeds in getting an Engineering degree.

He quickly ascends the ranks and eventually gets to the level of Lieutenant. In 2176, the Skyllian Blitz happens, a major assault led by pirates, slavers and batarian warlords on the colony of Elysium. Here, along with his squad, he manages to rally the colonists against the batarian attack, and when enemy forces manage to break through the colony's defences, Shepard manages to single-handedly hold them off and seal the breach, leading to the Alliance forces winning the battle. 

He gets awarded the Star of Terra and after leading a few successful operations against slavers in the Terminus systems, in 2183 he gets assigned as Commander for the SSV Normandy under Captain Anderson.

Alignment: Paragade (do no harm take no shit)

Class: Soldier (but with Kaidan's help eventually manages to be more proficient with biotics)

Lovers: Reyes Vidal in 2183, then Kaidan Alenko, some other flings along the way

Best Friends: Joker, Garrus, Miranda

[chanihobbit]

Another snippet from my current Mass Effect wip. Not sure when I’m going to be finished with this monster. 72k and counting….*sigh*

The story (if I manage to finish it) will be an AU for Mass Effect 2 where Kaidan rejoins the crew of the Normandy as undercover agent for the Alliance. It’s slow burn MShenko. I’m just ride or die for that pairing.

______

The look Shepard levels at him is piercing, cutting right through to his soul. He knows. He doesn‘t believe me. Then to his great surprise Shepard nods and extends his hand. “Glad we‘re on the same page. Welcome on board.“

The reaction is unexpected to say the least. Kaidan was sure he‘d lost any chance of being allowed back after his melt-down. Then again Shepard may have simply wanted to test him. See if he would spin a yarn of having changed his mind and accepted Cerberus as the good guys. Not that there was ever any chance of making that lie believable. Kaidan‘s poker face might be nothing to sneer at but it‘s not that good. And the fewer lies he‘s forced to keep track of the better. Belatedly he realizes that he‘s been staring at Shepard‘s hand a little longer than is natural. He quickly grabs the offered appendage and shakes it with what he hopes is an air of confidence.

“Good to have you back, Kaidan.“ Shepard‘s face erupts into a brilliant smile. The expression stirs something in him that he‘d rather not examine too closely at present.

“Thank you, Shepard. It‘s good to be back.“

_______

[renegon-paragade]

I need Martha Wells to know how much I love Witch King. Like to a concerning degree. Like I love the book so much I want to consume it and I'm not sure if I mean that metaphorically

[rangerdoubt]

playing mass effect has really. revealed the chokehold roy mustang has on my psyche

also CHRIST i didn’t realize how much space xenophobia is baked into renegade runs. can’t i be a vigilante in peace

[niriaveil]

I don't have a screenshot of her but my Shepard is an Earthborn/Sole Survivor named Hayley. I picked Vanguard for her class because it's what felt right, but I think she may be more of an Adept.

She is, of course, Anderson's daughter that he picked up off the street and Kahlee said he could train her

[docholligay]

Also that put me in mind of my clearest memory of reading @ultrace 's pathfinder books*, of, and I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong, knowing in my heart of hearts that michiru would be an inquisitor of we could deal with the faith thing or make it otherwise work.

But the ends justify the means, mind fucking, detecting lies shit, that's michiru.

*doc why were you doing that? I don't think you understand, I was the girl who read the cereal box at breakfast when I was a kid. I didn't have a smartphone until I was in my 20s but still managed to nearly get into a reading based accident, just with a magazine. They were sitting on the table.

[keriweird]

Happy N7 Day!

Portrait of my OC Shepard! Meet Johnny Shepard-Itou, 5'9" (thinks he's 5'10"), 160lb, Spacer, Ruthless, Paragade, Vanguard/Infiltrater.

[secretagentdragon]

(hands you another shepard)

Gave this char a bit of an overhaul- here's Cavendish (aka Ven) my vanguard earthborn, romanced Thane (sort of, it's complicated) and then Traynor