#tagging stuff: liara

[springagainafter]

dgcatanisiri replied to this post

Yeeeeeah, there's a reason that I was uncomfortable with the Shepard/Liara dynamic BEFORE my issues were exacerbated by way of the body recovery thing. Like... Liara just isn't given much exploration as a character (and, by extension, isn't given much to hang commonalities between them on) in ME1, and the dynamic SCREAMS that it's an adrenaline-fueled fling, not eternal love, but the writing tries SO. HARD. to convince us it's the latter...

Yeah, it is definitely not everyone's cup of tea! I similarly am not a fan of the dynamic of several of the other romances (and some of them I like seeing playing out with other people's Shepards but not mine XD).

The body recovery issue sure is a Thing and I feel like it works better in a romance and especially if Shepard's not a Spacer (because Hannah). I can absolutely see why people don't like it. I am glad there is at least the one option for Shepard to get mad about it (and take that and run with it in Merrick's case) and it would have been nice if there were more.

Part of the ME1 trouble is that she only gets fewer conversations than Ash or Kaidan do and so the flirting kicks in on conversation #1. The writing on her last conversation also is mostly about how great asari bonding is, which....sure is a choice.

It does improve in 2 and 3 (a lot!) and I adore the romance version of LotSB and I'm really into the sweeping trilogy-long romances. There are some interesting things going on with it that make it pretty different from Ash or Kaidan's romance (differing lifespans + Shepard being unable to throw a rock in ME2 without hitting a random asari coping with the lifespan difference between her current/deceased husband, Liara being a civilian + Shepard being career military) which are fun to play around with even if the writing doesn't explore them very much.

I'm certainly having fun with Liara's romance; part of my fun with the ME1 romance consists of a lot of poking at it to make my odd little version of it (true love!) work in my head.

[stormikins]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagged by @nowandthane thank you!! Warning I ramble a bit in this lol

I am a fan since: 2017, I got it for Christmas in 2016 so I always just say '17

Favorite Game of the series: By virtue of simply replaying it the most, three. I really love the combat in it so I've played it near thirty times? But all time fave would have to 1 because of the aesthetic, tone, and story. There's something about first discovering a world which is what me1 is about.

MShep or Femshep? Gotta go with Femshep. I have played both, its just hard to capture the male shepard image I have in my head in the character creator so Femshep it is.

Earthborn, Colonist, or Spacer: earthborn! My main Shepard Jenn is earthborn so that's what I'm going with. Though, I have numerous Shepard's are various background combinations. I have feelings about each background trust me

Biotics or tech: Both! Though I really do love biotics, you can do some cool stuff with them, setting up and detonating both biotic and tech explosions.

Paragon or Renegade: I have to repeat what nowandthane said, paragon choices, renegade dialogue.

Favorite Class: Sentinel. I love the versatility of the class, but I do have an affection for Infiltrator because that's what got me through me2 on insanity.

Favorite Companion: Tali. By story value, Javik. He's like one of the most important characters

Least Favorite Companion: Javik, throw your attitude out the airlock. IM JOKING! (he has every reason to be like he is. I love him very much) Liara is my answer though only because I don't like some of the story choices the devs did with her. (ex: why does she have Shepard's armor in a display case when i didn't even romance her??? I can't mention this at all??)

My squad selection: For Jenn's playthrough: Wrex/Tali in me1. Garrus/Mordin/Miranda generally in me2. Thane and Miranda/Samara for the collector base. Kaidan/Javik/James in me3. Of course, I mix it up based on story aspects and the difficulty settings. But me3 is pretty fixed bc I always play on insanity.

Favorite in-game Romance: Tali and Garrus. I'm a sucker for awkward, wet cat of a man like Garrus is. But Tali's romance man.... her parting line to Shepard during the beam run "I have a home" makes me insane actually

Other pairings I like: Obligatory Nihlus/Shepard/Kal (and the duos within in this throuple) mention here. Other than that, Joker/Miranda and Joker/James, Ashley/Garrus, and Shepard/Wrex, I could list a whole lot so I'll keep it to those ships lol

Favorite NPC: Nihlus and Kal'Reegar for sure. Victus and of course Niftu Cal our favorite biotic god.

Favorite Antagonist: Saren. He's the best one that we get in all three games (Harby could have been number one if they did anything with him in three but that's a rant for another time lmao)

Favorite Mission: Haestrom/Tali's Loyalty mission because that's when I get to see Kal <3 and blow up a colossus with the Cain. Also, the Collector Ship mission I have to mention because it's frankly the only mission besides the two previously stated where I've loaded up the save to play it on insanity when I'm bored. It's fun. Of course, this is with the Infiltrator.

Favorite Loyalty Mission: Tali for numerous reasons. Kal mention here. But I love the insight into Quarian culture we get. Also we see that fire in her when she's talking to the Board which I always appreciate. Along with her dialogue at the end, "I got better, Shepard. I got you." and then on the ship afterwards, "I don't think life is about what we deserve." I love her so much.

Favorite DLC: Leviathan. Only because of the horror aspect.

Control, Sythesis, or Destroy? Destroy. I have so many issues with the ending and that's the least worst option in my opinion so. (I too ignore that it wipes out the Geth and Edi fuck that)

Favorite Weapon: The M-90 Cain or the M-99 Saber aka the "Big Iron". Lancer in three was my favorite weapon before I found the Saber. Special mention to my bud the Mattock, I have been convinced of its glory. I do not think the Harrier is better anymore lol which my brother would be happy to hear

Favorite Place: me1 Citadel my BELOVED.

A quote I like Quotes I Like: The ENTIRETY of Sovereign's dialogue on Virmire GOD ITS SO GOOD!!!! / "Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer." / "Does this unit have a soul?" / "Just followed your example, Shepard. Yell loud enough and eventually someone will come over to see what all the fuss is about." / "I won't let fear compromise who I am." / "I MADE A MISTAKE!" / "Help me out here, Shepard. The line between friend and foe is getting a little blurry from where I stand." / There are so many great quotes in these games I could go on and on but I'll stop myself

No pressure tags: @spacebunshep @jtownnn

[nowandthane]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagged by @menacingmetal thank you!!!! <3

tagging @grim-starling @stormikins @vakariansvixen @westernlarch @illusivesoul @drelldreams @xoshepard (i know you already got tagged but tag me in yours too if u do it i wanna see it xD) <3 and anyone else who wants to do this!!

I am a fan since: I first played in September 2022 and it's consumed my life since! I had the OT since like 2018/19??? but i couldnt play because it gave me motion sickness kjdfhgkdf then I got MELE free cause amazon was doing a thing and by that point i had friends who taught me to mod the game and i can play with relatively few issues now :3

Favourite game of the series?: oooh idk i love them all and i played them first time all in a row so theyre kind of like one game to me... probably me2?

MShep or FShep?: femshep. ive yet to complete a game with anyone other than femshep. well, anyone other than sarani specifically lmao but hopefully that'll change xD

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: earthborn!! (sarani again xD)

Biotics or Tech: tech (again... sarani. she is not a biotic)

Paragon or Renegade: paragon choices, renegade dialogue xD

Favourite Class: infiltrator!! ive never played a class other than infiltrator (yes, you guessed it, sarani :3) but im trying out vanguard like anytime now so we'll see?

Favourite Companion:

Least favourite Companion:

you could put a gun to my head and i still wont answer those two i will not choose

My squad selection: i dont really have a main i think? it depends on who's narratively appropriate for the mission, then on who will help me most with their build. i try to make sure everyone has equal time cause i wanna see them all....

Favourite In-game romance: well it's def thane if youve known me a while youd know i used his name for like over a year while i was figuring out my gender stuff xD also garrus and tali ofc <3 but tbh they're all good!! with the exception of jacob cause bioware did him so dirty ugh

Other pairings I like: joker/edi, miranda/ashley, miranda/jack are some of my faves but tbh this world is my playground i WILL mix and match them xD

Favourite NPC: jenkins nihlus and aethyta, i kind of really want her to [liara shoots and kills me]

Favourite Antagonist: Saren for sure i need him to choke me

Favourite Mission: Priority: Tuchanka probably... i love mordin so much and his arc... beautiful

Favourite Loyalty Mission: Tali!!!

Favourite DLC: arrival. ok no lmao. omega probably!

Control, Synthesis or Destroy: destroy i guess but only because i pretend the geth and edi dont die lmao.

Favourite Weapon: black widow!!!!!

Favourite Place: Rannoch

A quote I like: Tali's 'The difference was you.' and 'I got better. I got you.' (very romance specific i know i love her okay) garrus's 'gray... i dont know what to do with gray.' legion's 'do these units have a soul?' kolyat saying 'the prayer was for you' when wrex says shepard is a sister to him

im gonna go cry now

[housewarningparty]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @coraniaid and @isagrimorie. thanks!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

45 stories

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

361,583 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Actively? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Life is Strange, Mass Effect, Avatar the Last Airbender, Warrior Nun. But i'd be down for other stuff!

Formerly: MTV Scream, She-Ra, Oxenfree

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

You Got Cool (She-Ra, 6,990 kudos)

Everybody Needs a Fence to Lean On (Life is Strange, 2,140 kudos)

Tear You Apart (Life is Strange, 1,918 kudos)

Every Other Freckle (Life is Strange, 1,579 kudos)

Dream Blue Haze (Life is Strange, 1,535 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I've been trying to more recently! But I'm not always great at it. At the very least when someone comments something detailed and thoughtful I try to reply - those comments always mean a lot to me.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Not fully intentionally but the place @holdsteady and I left our collaborative fic How to Live Here was basically right after a massive fight/breakup between characters that we fully planned to resolve and then just.... never did. Oops. Surprisingly, people are very rarely mean to us about this.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Body Language? Very much intended to have that one wrapped up with a bow.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not in a long time. Last time I really did was on some of my Life is Strange fics (either homophobic hate or bc i was writing a ship people didn't like).

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah! Femslash only.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I sometimes joke about/hc elaborate crossovers when I'm watching stuff with my friends, but I don't really have any interest in writing any. Or reading any, really, for that matter.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! Had one of my LiS fics translated to Vietnamese. That was cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yeah! I co-wrote How to Live Here with my best friend @holdsteady! That's the only one that's been published, at least. @nataliving adn @jewishsuperfam and i have worked on some stuff together too and that's been fun :)

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

I don't know if I actually can pick one but honest Buffy/Faith are all-timers and absolutely formative. Second to that would be Rachel/Max/Chloe from Life is Strange.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

God, How to Live Here absolutely haunts me. There's a few Mass Effect ones (Shepard/Liara arranged marriage AU and my Jack/Miranda series) that I would love to finish but probably never will. Those are the ones that probably have the most written for them that I just haven't wrapped up.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at a lot of it! I write pretty good smut, I'm good at character voice, I think my writing is pretty readable

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing lmao. I struggle with coming up with workable ideas. I intimidate myself out of projects a lot. I fall off stuff kinda easy too tbh. And I'm TERRIBLE at writing alone - for anything bigger than a oneshot I need someone to hype me up and hold my hand through it or else I get bored or lose confidence :?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Generally in favor of skipping the google translate stuff. It's usually pretty whack

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically digimon when i was a little kid and before I even knew what fanfic was. First i posted was Danny Phantom

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I think Body Language is probably my best fic but for sentimental reasons I really love How to Live Here, since i wrote it with my best friend.

tagging @nataliving, @holdsteady, @shittinggold, @earthenterran, @lafgl, @aliceinwondrbra,, @strangesmallbard, @areweunderscoreweare, @jewishsuperfam, @morningsound15

[menacingmetal]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagging my pookies @nowandthane @xoshepard :3

I am a fan since: I guess since early highschool era so 2013? i had played a bit before then tho

Favourite game of the series?: ahhh i rly like all of them, i guess me2 bc i like the vibe and updates to the game, but i do rly appreciate me1!!

MShep or FShep?: I love both of em but i've played femshep more.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: Colonist baybee. love that added trauma

Biotics or Tech: biotics are so fun but i play tech more?

Paragon or Renegade: Renegade voice lines can be extremely hilarious and badass, but I cannot be mean to video game characters so paragon ^^;

Favourite Class: i've been playing engineer recently and thats fun, but I do like vanguard and sentinel

Favourite Companion: you know its Legion

Least favourite Companion: Don't really have any bc I love them all, might have to say Jacob just bc of how bioware wrote him, and hes mean to tali, garrus and thane... and the fact he can cheat on you??? But its not fair, its not his fault they made his character like that. He deserved better. :/ (and also Liara SORRY just mainly bc of how much she is shoved into everything)

My squad selection: I have a soft spot of garrus & tali since you can have them in every game! but otherwise I mostly pick whoever would be good on the mission...

Favourite In-game romance: Garrus is what got me into Mass Effect but I dunno, I enjoy a lot of them. Jack and Thane's are very sweet, i'm a bit partial to Miranda bc she's my fav girl. Oh of course how can I forget Samantha, i love hers a lot!! Probably between her and Garrus!

Other pairings I like: Oh geez we will be here forever if i list them. But also I like almost everyone together lol. some top picks are Joker x Edi, Miranda x Jack, Shepard x Wrex, and Shepard x Legion of course lol

Favourite NPC: Kirrahe, Aethyta, Shiala, that smoking salarian lol

Favourite Antagonist: hmm... Bioware really got em right out of the park with Saren and Sovereign

Favourite Mission: I dunno they can be fun but then some parts can be annoying, i was literally gonna say the below answers but they're loyalty specific lol

Favourite Loyalty Mission: Kasumi, Thane and Samara, I love undercover mystery spy stuff. Legion bc well I like to spend more time with them even though the result in that is painful

Favourite DLC: Citadel obviously lol, lair of the shadow broker is also pretty good

Control, Synthesis or Destroy: you're not bioware you can't make me choose. (I do like synthesis personally only bc I wish I were a robot.)

Favourite Weapon: assault rifles, kassa locust and carnifex my beloveds

Favourite Place: wahhh everywhere, I wish I could actually go and live on the Citadel DESPERATELY, Illium is pretty, Ilos is gorgeous and I love the atmosphere

A quote I like: "Show me yours tough guy, I bet mine's bigger" Hot and badass femshep line. Of course anything from Legion, especially "Do these units have a soul" (not does this unit have a soul.)

[lirotation]

ppl you'd like to know better tag!

Tagged by @memoiandy thanks! Mine is quite boring though.

Three ships:

I am into Spock/Dr.McCoy from the very first star trek TOS. I just can't get over them <3

Anders/Female Amell from dragon age. I reject any other CP from that universe.

Javik/Liara from Mass effect 3

I'm not usually a shipper because it's rare for me to develop an affection for more than one character in a single fandom. Most of the time, my heart is captured by a solitary character, and I find myself yearning to pair them with my oc.

Last film:

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The art is amazing. I can't even.

Currently watching:

Star Trek: Lower Decks. Yeah, it's weird I am such a Star Trek fan yet I did almost no fanart in that fandom.

Currently reading:

urge I am reading Framed Ink by Marcos Mateu-Mestre and Figure Drawing by Andrew Loomis right now. I wish I have time for fanfictions.

Currently consuming:

Starfield. It's such a chill game. I play like 30min a week. I've once again fallen head over heels for a character who, unfortunately, isn't romanceable.

Currently craving:

Get all those Astarion stuff in my WIP folder done =( I am under his spell for almost 2 years now. I need to get as much progress as I can before I lose the passion.

Tagging @sillyliterature @tavdraws @alenkosx and anyone who is interested!

[sparatus]

4 & 7 for that one ask game and then 12 so you can rant about grandpa I already know that’s the answer

you know me so well

choose violence🔥

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

genderbending saren to make kryterius m/f like a fucking coward*. tagged me in wip games featuring her sharterius work when i am very openly and vocally an aggressive hater of that ship and also wrote saren horrifically ooc. other annoying crimes. finally rbed a post from me and tagged it as being about "milf saren" and i lost it and blocked goodbye

*note: i enjoy a good gb fic myself, there's a few from ye olde kmeme that i still like, but she ONLY wrote kryterius as gb m/f and didn't ever interact with my stuff for them that was m/m which reeks of bad implications to me. go away straight

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

kaidan. kaidan kaidan kaidan. the ONLY way i managed to save him for myself was retreating from fandom and finding a few sane shenko mutuals (they know who they are). he's a good fun character! i enjoy writing him! he's my friend! but my god shenkos (and frankly ESPECIALLY mshenkos) make me hate him so much.

garrus also started to suffer this fate but tragically there are no sane shakarians only ex-shakarians who migrated to the niche corner (mwah) so instead i had to just ship him in a rarepair nobody likes but me, quite literally i'm making the fucking tag, that's the only thing that's saved him and tbh i still kinda worry im not writing him in character

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

i mean really. is there any other character i COULD talk about. look at my entire brand here.

the councilors in general have WAY more character than they're given credit for, especially the original three who have 3 games of dialogue to work with instead of just 1 for the replacement three, and i could honestly do an entire essay for each of them, but let's stick to grandpa for now. putting this under a cut i went insane

this man is the ONLY councilor who's actually DOING HIS FUCKING JOB CORRECTLY. he's the one who's always trying to stick to the law and uphold it, tevos's hand-wringing about diplomacy be damned, especially in the first game. he's a representative of the people and he CARES about the people, every SINGLE time he scolds you in the first game and when he makes his dramatic entrance in udina's office in the third he's specifically concerned with the public at large:

after feros he's concerned that you only intervened because it's a human colony, and wants to be certain you aren't going to just ignore non-humans and will protect the galaxy at large, not just humans

after therum he's reasonably worried that liara is working with her mother and you've just helped a huge threat to the galaxy walk free

after noveria, if you killed the rachni queen he's reasonably concerned about why you just acted without any sort of "yo heads up" call or advice, whereas if you saved her. YEAH NO SHIT HE'S WORRIED ABOUT THAT ACTUALLY did you hear all the reasons the rachni returning should be a much bigger deal than the game treats it of course he's like "that's extremely fucked up why would you do that"

at the start of me3 he is the ONLY one of all 4 councilors to actively, directly state that people are scared and it's their duty as galactic leaders to stay calm and protect their people, indirectly calling out udina for calling him a coward because udina demanding help for earth and ignoring the alien worlds is doing the exact same thing he's complaining about them doing in turn

keep in mind that from his perspective in me1 YOU ARE LITERALLY A POLITICAL POWER PLAY. you literally get the job because udina wants a human spectre and it's convenient to send you after saren, you didn't actually go through the proper process to be vetted and confirmed, for all they know you're every inch as human-centric and unconcerned with aliens as every other alliance twat they've met at this point. and the alliance, via hackett and anderson's attitudes, REGULARLY prove that all they care about is having somebody who can ignore the law! and depending on how you play the game you can in fact confirm that you shouldn't have been given this authority and are just doing shady shit for hackett that he can't do on the level! you can in fact PROVE SPARKY RIGHT! high-renegade shepard actually fucking proves why sparky was right to vote no on you i will die on this hill

he's also the only one to actually fucking help you in the third game right away. literally goes behind the others' backs to do it. they just voted "nah we have to worry about our own people first" and he swooces right around with a solid first step for you to take and a clear understanding that everyone has to work together regardless of udina being a lil bitch. everyone who likes those mods/edits of doing air quotes and "ah yes, reapers"-ing him back to mock him in this scene is my enemy and also a fucking idiot you don't mock the person who is 1) actively trying to help you and 2) YOUR LITERAL BOSS SHUT UPPPPP

speaking of ah yes reapers. he's justified in saying that. i dont care what whiny little princesses your shepards are. he's been dealing with anderson for TWO FUCKING YEARS who has literally not shut the fuck up about it, when inciting galactic panic is the LAST thing they should be doing. of course he's tired. of course he's annoyed this is coming up again. the man has been putting up with this for two fucking years he wants to go back to bed.

ALSO in the opening scroll in 2 it's in fact strongly implied they DO believe you but are keeping quiet to avoid a panic ("the official story") and then the archives in citadel dlc confirm it with the secret spectres-only edition of sovereign's entry. they're not fucking ignoring you or dismissing the threat they're trying to avoid GALAXY-WIDE PANIC YOU FUCKING MORONS

also he has some BITCHING quotes, these two are my favorites they're burned into my brain:

[in response to udina saying he and the council are scared and trying to save their own asses] "Our people are scared, and we're looking out for them the best we know how."

[if you save the rachni queen on noveria] "I hope you're right, Shepard. Our children's children will pay the price if you're not."

also his facial scarring is badass and implies there's so much more to him than just "consummate politician" like bioware's little bio of him implies, and his "children's children" line strongly implies he actually has children's children which lines up with him being visibly older and more aged than the turians we're usually running into in the games and im sure ill think of more stuff later on but that's my unhinged rant for the day

also if you ship him with shepard i am loading my shotgun

[clericofshadows]

2023 Year-End Fic Round Up

I was tagged by the lovely @rotschopf-thedrow <3

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!): I'll just note my published count, since I don't feel like counting up all my WIPs and paused WIPs, which is 116,111. A whole lot more than I thought lol

Smut scenes written (if applicable): Again, going off of published works: 5 (I think) which is way more than I ever expected, and I find it very fun to write. Just need to actually write my triad(s) together instead of just couples at one point...

New things I tried: This whole fic writing thing is new to me, so technically everything, especially more explicit scenes.

Fic I spent the most time on: feeling numb, lost in time, my Regis and Kaidan ME2 reunion fic. Took me ages to write, one of my longest word counts, and is probably one of my favorites just because of how much it fixes some of the many, many problems I have with ME2.

Fic I spent the least time on: temptations, I wrote it like in a day, and it was also the first time I just wrote PWP. I can never look at Zaeed's ME3 cameo the same ever again lol.

Favorite thing I wrote: Just one? Hmm... don't ask about ryuusei. Again, turning some things I wasn't a fan of in ME3 into my own preferred thing, filled with Masshenko goodness, Zaeed and Kaidan rescuing Regis, and Regis being a snarky shit to Joker, which is always fun.

Favorite thing I read: Easy. Situational Awareness by @threewhiskeylunch. It led me to shipping Regis/Zaeed/Kaidan together and I wouldn't have it any other way. Just a fun, lovely fic with great art too.

Writing goals for next year: Try to develop Nyx Shepard some more and write more of Regis's ME2 canon (such exactly as what establishes the lack of Liara in ME3 and maybe some more insight into his indifference of Vakarian, Grunt, and Legion aka his suicide mission deaths, as well as Arrival and all that fun stuff) and how I want to approach some parts of ME3. Also, I want to explore more of my Subject Zero!Kaidan AU and getting something more substantial for that. A lot of goals lol.

Tagging anyone who sees this and wants to participate!

[mumms-the-word]

OC Meme

I got tagged by @elspethdekarios to do this meme and I desperate need something other than a deep dive to distract me so ima do it :')

Free tag! Snag this meme and do it for yourself!

B A S I C S

Full name: Meridan Zavrai (but she prefers Dani, and also now she's a Dekarios )

Gender: Female

Sexuality: bi as hell but as a weakness specifically for witty/silly men

Pronouns: she/her

O T H E R

Birthplace: Baldur's Gate, Outer City, Stonyeyes district

Job: Bard stuff, you know, roving, playing, acting, stealing, singing

Phobias: giant spiders, losing her loved ones (is that a phobia)

Guilty pleasures: sweet snacks and smutty books

Hobbies: learning new music, playing her fiddle, singing, reading (not just smutty books but mostly smutty books)

M O R A L S

Alignment: chaotic good

Sins: greed

Virtues: humility (no, really, but perhaps not in the way you'd think)

T H I S O R T H A T

Introvert / Extrovert

Organized / Disorganized / In between

Close-minded / Open-minded

Calm / Anxious / Restless

Disagreeable / Agreeable / In between

Cautious / Reckless / In between (she likes a good heist)

Patient / Impatient / In between

Outspoken / Reserved / In between

Leader / Follower / Flexible

Empathetic / Unempathetic / In between

Optimist / Pessimist / Realist (maybe a little optimistic too?)

Traditional / Modern / In between

Hard-working / Lazy (yes, both, depends lol)

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

OTP: Gale and Dani! ship name is...uh...bardweave?? idk

Acceptable Ships: She's DTF Karlach and Astarion but Gale captured her heart first. Karlach would have been her second choice, if Gale had turned her down.

OT3: Um, Gale, her, and Tara, obviously (that's a joke, the real answer is she would respect Gale's desire to be exclusive because she loves him and she's a bit of a romantic at heart)

Brotp: Karlach 100000% but Astarion is also a very good buddy and I feel like she's have a fun brotp dynamic with Wyll too

Notp: Dani and Halsin. Halsin's love of nature is VERY at odds with Dani's obsession with her chaotic crazy city home. She appreciates his insight and thinks he gives A+ hugs, but she could never be romantic with him when their dreams are so far apart

B A C K S T O R Y

Dani is the daughter of a single mother (Maeva) in the Outer City and some deadbeat bard dad who she's never met and doesn't care to meet. Her mother works as a seamtress and laundress now, but she was a barmaid at a tavern when she met Dani's father. Maeva was still working as a barmaid (this time with a very young infant daughter) when she crossed paths with Brannon Rufford, the human leader of a small band called the Merry Rovers.

Brann's wife, also a Rover, went into labor while they were performing at Maeva's tavern. Maeva helped a little with the birth, but Brann's wife died. She agreed to look after the baby, named Liara, while Brann worked to get enough money to support and feed her. Ever since then, Brann and Liara have considered themselves family with Maeva and Dani.

Though Brann eventually took to roving and barding again once Liara was old enough to join him, he and Liara continued to return again and again to drop in on Maeva and Dani. When Dani was 10, she met her new best friend, a dragonborn bard named Paraxxel who was performing as a street drummer when he got jumped by a small gang. (I have a fic about this lol) She convinced him to join up with Brann and Liara as part of their band. Later, a half-elf named Kellen joined up too (and Liara instantly fell in love with him and swore she'd marry him).

When Dani was around 15, her mother took seriously ill and was bed-ridden for weeks. She worked as best she could to afford healing costs for her mother, but it wasn't enough. Her mother's legs are now permanently weakened and she requires a healer to help restore some vitality to them about once a month.

Because of this, Dani begged to join the Merry Rovers, as they would make more money than she could alone or working as a laundress. Maeva reluctantly agreed, and for the last ten years Dani has been wandering with the Merry Rovers as their main fiddle player, sending money back to her mother as often as she can and thoroughly enjoying the rover's life. To her, the Rovers are as much her family as her own flesh-and-blood mother.

She was out roving and performing with them the day she was taken by the nautiloid. Paraxxel was snatched too. If Dani were a companion and not the player character, part of her questline would be trying to find Paraxxel and rescue him from being a slave of the Absolute.

[lilmissnatcat24]

omg thank you so much for the tag my gorgeous @milkywayes i ADORE getting tagged in stuff like this

When did you post your first ever fanfic?

i think it was like in 2014? something like that? i was in high school

First Character(s) you wrote?

i don't want to talk about it (self insert fanfiction with the guy who plays voldemort in a very potter musical)

Main Character(s) you’re currently writing?

femshep/garrus

Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan to write about soon?

i'm dying to write a jack/miranda fic, and if i dip my toe into red dead i'll post arthur/charles, and if i write cyberpunk 2077 i'll write v/judy

Fandom(s) you’re currently writing?

mass effect, planning on red dead 2, cyberpunk 2077, and sword catcher (because that book is changing my life)

Platonic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

shepard/liara and garrus/wrex. both beautiful dynamics (my hottest take is that i just really don't care for liara's romance, i much prefer her as your bff)

Romantic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

lil bit of shakarian, lil bit of shrios

Your top AO3 tags?

one bed, fluff and smut, whump, dom garrus vakarian

Current platform you use for posting?

used to be wattpad, but i'm on the ao3 grind now because i reect myself

Snippet of the WIP you are currently working on?

this is going in this week's chapter, i can't tell you how pumped i am for this

She’d never officially learned how to warp something. She’d tried, obviously, back in the Alliance. She’d drill all day until she would collapse on the ground, had to be spoon fed electrolyte water mixed with protein powder until she at least got the energy to vomit the sludge up. There was just something that never clicked, she could never figure it out. 

Until now. She knew exactly what was missing. 

Fucking vengeance. 

She channeled her biotic field in the dead center of the krogan’s chest. She imagined ripping his gullet open and filling it with acid. He stopped in his tracks, as if he were put in a stasis. But blood started to pool from his chest. She felt a tug pulling at her jaw, threatening to throw her forward. But she kept going, kept finding every little nerve and blood capsule in the krogan’s body and dismantling it. He fell to his knees and she rose to her feet. Her ears were roaring, her chest was tightening and tightening, but she didn’t dare stop because if she stopped then Garrus would be in danger-- 

“Shepard!” She vaguely heard Garrus call her name, but he was entirely in another plane of existence. The krogan was still moving, his eyelids still fluttered, his limbs still convulsed. It wasn’t enough, it was never enough. She extended out her other arm, she imagined her biotic forces forming into a javelin that would strike his chest and tear him apart, tear him in half, tear him like she tied his limbs to threshers and made them pull him until he was nothing more than blood and guts-- 

“Shepard!” Garrus took her shoulders in his hands. She dropped the krogan instantly, meeting his eyes. And for the first time, when Garrus looked at her, she saw fear. Genuine fear. Shepard took a gulping, quivering breath. Her head pounded like the worst hangover she’d ever experienced in her life, her teeth chattered. “He’s dead, okay! You can stop now, he’s dead.” 

She dared to look down at the krogan. He looked as though his entire body had been leached from blood, pooling around him as if his body were suddenly poisonous. Shepard did that. Shepard did that. She wanted to throw up, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to curl up and cry under her sheets. 

“Fuck,” she whispered to herself, her voice sounding unfamiliar to her own ears. 

“Since when have you been able to warp something like that?” Garrus asked incredulously, a hint of awe in his voice. 

“I-- I’ve never…” She felt as though someone had replaced her brain with sand, and it was pouring out of her eyes and her ears and her nose. Bile rose in her throat, she forced herself to swallow it down. 

“Crap, Del, why did you choose now to test it out?” 

Shepard looked at Garrus. The fear, the trepidation hadn’t entirely left his expression. What could she say? Garrus was in danger, that krogan was going to kill him? She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him, not after all of this time. So what if she molecularly decimated a lumbering alien at point-blank range? Garrus was okay, he was alive, he was breathing-- 

“I just…” she gave a little shake of her head. “I just did.” 

Garrus swallowed, not breaking eye contact with Shepard. He took a step towards her and cupped her face in his hands. His hands were so big, his palms rested entirely on her cheeks, his thumbs on her jaw. She could feel his subvocals from his touch, she was desperate to know what they meant. For a wild moment, Shepard thought he was about to kiss her. Surrounded by a pile of dead bodies, Fist waiting for them in his backrooms, and Garrus Vakarian was about to kiss her--

But he just traced a finger gingerly underneath both of her eyes. “Your eyes are bleeding…” he whispered, almost so quietly she couldn’t hear it. She squeezed them, feeling the blood inch down her cheeks. They didn’t feel any different than tears.

for the tag don't at all feel pressured to do it but here ya go @carnivorousbelvedere @otemporanerys @westernlarch

[messydiabolical]

Hey if you‘re up for a tag game (Just ignore this is not) my questions are here :)

🧡 - Favorite non-Shepard pairings? Why do you love this/those pairing(s)?

🎗️- Something you would have liked to see more of in the games?

Fave pairings> Kolfer and Kriortez, aka Kolyat x Feron, and Thane Krios x Steve Cortez. (Also Pavan and Mickey, which are two total OC's, Blaise Shepard's dads.) They are all heavy headcanoning, I think that's what appeals to me about rarepairs so much though. You've got some bare bones to work with and then can adapt the stories and flesh out the characters to fit your own tastes. I'll try to give a brief overview. kolFer is: tall pouty prickly lad who is an introverted nerd annoyed to find he's fallen for the charms of short muscly extroverted flirty king, even more shocked to discover Feron isn't just a big old flirt but genuinely adores the ever loving shit out of him and they fall wildly in love. The more Kol pouts, the more Fer loves him. They work together as agents of the shadowbroker Liara. Kriortez: No one will ever sum it up better than @zet-sway did: "I'm just imagining their relationship. Both of them, professional as fuck. House is impeccably clean. They're well spoken and dependable. And the moment their spark is lit they're on each other like white on rice, handprints on the windshield, clothes on the floor, [redacted to keep this SFW lol] Heart eyes for days." I actually spend way more time thinking about non Shepard pairings than I do Shepard pairings. Like don't get me wrong I adore Shepard and my two Keahi and Blaise are my special blorbos, but I think the freedom of having less strict storyline beats with KolFer lets my imagination really go down a rabbithole (which is also probably why my Shepards are both pretty AU compared to the games). Something I'd like to see more of? More interactions that don't involve the main character. Those moments in 3 where you'd find squadmates chatting. The conversations in the rover in andromeda. All the interesting NPC's on the citadel. That stuff sparks the imagination and fleshes out the world so much and I love it, can't get enough, and would love to see more. Especially with the less explored species. Give me that juicy hanar lore, some elcor drama. A world that adapts and changes over time is always incredible too, though I know engine limitations are a thing. Andromeda hinted at that being a thing, but really all you saw was empty planet, then inhabited planet. Would be awesome to see some stages in between, growth and change each time you visit a place, some consequences to your actions.

(and sorry it took a while to answer this@drelldreams! Thank you for the asks <3)

[aleiocus]

Thank you for the tag @mynerdylordship! :3 <333

Name 10 of your favorite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people to do the same.

1. Hanna Falk Cross (Hanna is NOT a Boy's Name)

2. The Captain (Ghosts BBC)

3. Morrigan (Dragon Age)

4. Dick Grayson (DC)

5. Jim (Our Flag Means Death)

6. Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

7. Peter Parker (Marvel)

8. Aziraphale (Good Omens)

9. Daisy Tonner (The Magnus Archives)

10. Liara T'Soni (Mass Effect)

I tried to diversify who and what I listed and go for some stuff I haven't in similar past tagging gamessss

I have no idea who has or hasn't been tagged at this point so I'm going to stare very lovingly and aggressively at any and all mutuals who cross this post.

[aroaceaaah]

Mehn, síd, áŕá͡úyê͡î!

Writer ask thingy: 3, 8, 15, 20 !

Dia daoibh, fucker.

3.) What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need?

Everything I want to write for the WIP is Coming So Help Me God. If it doesn't fit but is still Mass Effect it's going in a supplimentary little oneshots catch all thing. That's been most of the brain atm, I've got some DW WIPs but I'm totally gonna get back to them I promise.

That Does Not Mean I have Never had half assed ideas I didn't write.

I wanted to make my DBH fic longer, I wanted it to be a whole thing about Connor getting super overwhelmed with being a Deviant and everything that entails and it was all a super thinly veiled metaphor for autistic burnout. I also briefly thought I would recreate the whole of DBH as a text-adventure that was naive hah.

I wanted to write a She-Ra fic focusing on what if Adora just let Catra come with her when she sneaked out of the horde to go find the sword in the first episode. It was gonna be a big long AU and basically everything would be different if that one thing changed. They were gonna be gay way earlier

I have a whole original thing I have never written much of at all but I do have ideas!! I also have Assignmence and Autism Special Interests which take precident a lot of the time.

8.) Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

This is a fun one because mostly no? Depends on how specific you get. I write fanfic, I read a lot of fanfic. In terms of genre, I love writing angst, if I do not feel 1000% confident that the angst will be held properly (no big dramatic plot twists or OOC stuff for drama or fuckin cliffhangers, dickhead) then I will just simply not read it. No. I do like when it's funny and nonsense and I write a lot of that, but I also like when random americans write about fucking Calculus man idk what I like that's between me, god, and a team of psychologists.

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

I am simply built different these are all easy hahhaa. I am shit at suggesting titles for others writing but for me I just title everything either a joke or a song lyric and wham done. Idk if they're catchy or enticing I have no idea I just want it to all line up so you can scroll and sing a really weird disjointed version of a song weeee

20.) Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

WELL!! You are gonna read this and be like "none of this was new information to me" but idc I'm saying it anyway (SPOILERS FOR MY MASS EFFECT FIC LOL)

ROBOT SHEPARD. I adored that as a concept, it literally wasn't my goal with Tis Grace I have notes from the beginning trying to focus on the, like, social implictations of being dead for a while but it wasn't holding water and then I was like what about the physical implications and then I was like WHAT IF SHE'S AN AI

it was great and there is SO much coming for that, there's stuff in my ME3 one that revolves around that and I'm so excited for. It's all foreshadowed and set up and it's fun because a lot of it happened almost accidentally. In terms of relationships, I obviously love the title lesbians, I swear I do even though they have been together for maybe 15 minutes in the fic but look. I wanted an explanation for why Liara isn't with you in ME2 and I could not think of a cheery one for that. I also didn't expect to be as obsessed with Jack as I am but honestly herself and Shepard genuinely having a close friendship? Miranda gets roped in for dramatic tension? They should have let me write the games idc that I was 10 years old

Anyway if you want a clue as to what happens next listen to the playlist it's. Fairly explicitly stated tbh.

[dutyworn]

Wren full playthrough part 2. Notable mods in use for this part: Saren Stages (full modlist linked under the cut along with other generic information about this playthrough)

Link for Youtube playlist // link for tumblr masterpost (welp I forgot to make this editing later you can find first part under the ; havu gaming tag for now.)

Highlights and timestamps:

00:00 Saren and Nihlus chat, Nihlus death scene.

01:22 Combat.

02:46 Chat with farmers. Fun fact, I've only ever gotten the second persuasion check (blue/red dialogue wheel) on a renegade run where I happened to have enough intimidate points XD

05:35 Brief equipment screen.

06:05 Finding Nihlus' body, chat with the farmer who was allegedly napping.

09:31 Combat again.

13:05 Taking the train, Saren being dramatic, disarming charges. It's funny how I can tell editing when I am having trouble navigating the map (YOU WOULD THINK BY THIS POINT I WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN THIS BUT I HAVE ZERO NAVI SKILLS) what with looking/briefly walking wrong direction in the middle of a battle.

19:00 Touching a random ancient beacon? Why not!

20:17 Saren being a dramatic bitch with Benezia.

21:14 Normandy med-bay, chat with Chakwas and Kaidan, Beacon aftermath.

23:05 Chat with Anderson.

26:49 Chat with Kaidan. Which I think I may have fucked up not picking the "how are you holding up" dialogue but in my defense I'm used to mods making that placement for an option the romance dialogue and keeping the one next to it the platonic alternative, so I didn't wanna start unsolicited flirting with him, and I still don't know if it would've been a romance line... I don't think I have that mod/it exists for the first game??? (I've romanced Kaidan for Wren before, but I'm romancing Liara this run on ME1 and Garrus later; on default for the blog there's no romance.)

28:17 Chat with Chakwas.

30:12 Chat with Ashley. The hilarious pause of "do I clicky the how are you doing dialogue or is it romance???" before doing it because I have the same gender romances mod and need to beware unintentionally flirting with Ash as well as Kaidan here (I should have disabled it since I kept Kaidan as Beacon-toucher and am romancing Liara anyway but NAH).

General disclaimer: This is not meant to be a 1:1 to my roleplay portrayal, even if it can be used as a reference for choices and just as a general "people can watch this if they are interested/wanna know Wren/the game more" fun thing. In gameplay, I tend to exhaust dialogue options; for a lot of asking questions, Wren actually would already be aware of the answers so sometimes it's more about wanting to show the dialogue (for people not familiar with the game) and gaining XP, other times (mostly when conversing with people about their personal experiences) she asks about things she is aware of because she wants the story from the person themselves, and to show care. Also, gaming dynamics obviously have their limits.

I record everything. I edit out reduntant getting lost on the map (happens a lot more you'd expect), repeat dialogue, and/or speed through leveling up, modding equipment, etc. If I am reading something while playing, I keep the text in my edits for long enough for me to be able to read (I'm a slow reader). Stuff less relevant to the story, such as planet descriptions, I keep in the video but only very briefly so that the information is there and readable if the video is paused.

I mainly record for my own reference/screencapping etc. purposes.That's why there also are no subtitles, though I will record clips I specifically want to share with subtitles on.

You may use my videos freely for anything you wish, such as screencapping your muse if you play someone from the games etc.

I play with a galore of mods! Here's my list of mods I currently use in this playthrough for the first game.

I always include clickable timestamps on Youtube, if you want to watch, but want to skip some parts.

[tenleaguesbeneath]

I’ve been tagged by @cowthropologist ​ to share whatever's in my WIP folder.

The rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

I don’t really have a WIP folder (I sort my stuff by what it’s for rather than finished/in progress/dead) but I do have a bunch of word documents open, so I’ll post the titles of those (or at least the ones that are for fic)

KateChloe Stepsisters Marshrich Draft 3

Post Breakdown

Find of a Lifetime

Ardatyakshi Liara AU

BT-ME Crossover

Pricemarsh babysitting draft 1

I tag @incomprehensiblelentils , @a-lil-bit-oooo-jessica, and @butchcraftmacncheese. Tag me if you play!

[lickingtheflames]

Me: I should develop Liara more

Me, shoving stuff into her aesthetic tag: this is development