#the biggest problem with it is being *forced* to take liara with you

[edains]

ah back to thessia

i hate the thessia mission

[kaidans-alenko]

Wrote a thing for my very dear and extremely talented friend @confundere(who yall need to follow because she’s amazing and just all around a very sweet person <3)  with her oc Persephone and Aiden <3

Supposed to be for ockiss week but that didn’t happen pfftt 

“At least Lily is honest with me.” He fired back at Persephone, they had been going back and forth with each other all morning while Lily and Aiden ran around the strip, it was all harmless fun of course. 

“Oh just barely, you said the whole first year of your relationship you still couldn’t fully tell how she felt.” Persephone teased.

“Yeah well she’s more honest with me than you and Aiden are with each other.”

“It’s complicated, we were both on Mindoir during the raid.” was the only explanation she gave.

“Yeah?” he didn’t fully understand the relevance but he was willing to hear her out.

Persephone looked at the fireplace in the apartment’s living room.

“And if I'm to be honest, the biggest part of why I got engaged to Thomas was because he was one of my last connections to home. I don’t want to just be with Aiden for that same reason. It didn't exactly end well the first time.” She told him.

It wasn’t something she had really said out loud before but if there was anyone she felt like she could be honest with it was Kaidan.

“I get it but at the same time, is that really a bad thing?”

Persephone looked over at him “Huh?” 

“Look and don’t tell her I brought it up but Lily told me that I have some similarities with her late fiance and at first it kind of bothered me but I thought about it and realized it’s not really a bad thing.” 

“You don’t feel like a replacement at all?”

Kaidan shook his head “Lily loved him and I believe she still does a little bit and I could let it bother me sure but she loves me for the same reason she loved him and i’m not going to sit here and say I won out because i’m with her now, that’s not fair and I certainly don’t feel that way but what i’m trying to say is you two really care about each other. Lily and I both agree on that and if one of the things that brings you two together is a number of shared experiences or in my case shared traits, then what’s the problem? If it was the only reason you’re attracted to him, yeah it might be an issue but I don’t personally believe that is the only reason.” 

Persephone sighed, she focused so much on burying these feelings she never really took a step back to think about what she actually liked about him "I like that I can trust him. The one person who I was supposed to be able to trust outed me but Aiden just... understands. And there's that rush when you can charge into battle with someone you trust. Mindoir was a conservative colony. Biotics had to hide themselves. And there's a part of me that wishes we'd been closer back then because maybe then I wouldn't have felt so alone with it. It's more than that though. Past us being biotics, past us both being soldiers. I can be myself around him... it's been awhile since I felt like that about someone. I'm not scared, or guarded."

“Are you ever going to tell him that?” Kaidan asked.

“How long did it take you to tell Lily?”

“Hey, in my defense we didn’t have any obvious chemistry like you two do.” 

Persephone shook her head, she didn’t believe him or rather she didn’t want to believe him “He’s got a war to win, it’s not the time maybe if we survive, we’ll see.”

--------------

"So," Lily started as she stole a piece of nigiri off of Aiden's plate "how are you and Persephone?" She pried, causing his face to turn the same shade as the tuna on his plate. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said defensively, tugging at his scarf, suddenly feeling hot at the mention of her name.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes, mouth still full of sushi "You're the talk of the ship, I even started a betting poll." She told him as she swallowed.

"You what?!" Lily watched unfazed, sipping her all too sweet cocktail as he hopped out of his chair, a couple of guests glaring in their direction over the commotion Aiden was causing.

"I was bored and I figured 

 should be getting something out of this back and forth you two have going on." She shrugged, clearly not seeing a problem in what she just told him. 

Aiden ran a hand down his face as he fell back into his chair "What...exactly is written on the poll?"

"Oh nothing." She said, looking away from him.

"Lily, what does the poll say?"

Lily sighed, setting her glass down "what will happen first: the reapers wiping out the galaxy or Aiden and Persephone getting together?"

Aiden looked at her, eyes wide, he never got mad at his sister and he couldn't say he was now, it wasn't surprising behavior from her, he was simply mortified. Did Persephone know? God he hoped not.

"It's all harmless fun Ai." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Fine, but are you betting against me or for me?"

"Aiden! I'm appalled! Of course I'm betting for you, you're my brother."

 "What kind of money is on it anyway?" 

"Just a few thousand credits." She said nonchalantly.

"Thousand?!" Is the whole crew in on it?!" 

Lily thought about it as she shoved a sushi roll in her mouth "No...like about….eighty percent?"

"Eighty?!"

She shrugged "More or less, Aiden if I were any good at math I wouldn't be a marine okay?"

Aiden sighed, resting his head on the table, he wondered what Persephone thought of all this, if she even knew about it, he imagined Kaidan did but he wasn’t a gossip so he wasn’t concerned about her finding out from him “You’re the absolute worst.” he sighed.

----------------------

Lily sat on the counter in the mess hall kitchen, watching them like a hawk as Aiden and Persephone conversed over breakfast, she hadn’t the faintest clue to what they could be talking about but Persephone had been laughing quite a bit, it had to be her way of flirting, there was no way her brother was that funny and Lily of all people would know. “Hey babe.” She said, sipping her hot cocoa as she waited for Kaidan to finish making breakfast.

Kaidan looked over his shoulder “Yeah?” 

“I think i’m gonna add more money to the poll.” she told him, eyes still fixated on the pair.

Kaidan rolled his eyes “I still think it’s an invasion of privacy.” 

“Hush, and besides there was one for us on the SR-1.”

“You’re joking.” at least he hoped so.

Lily shook her head “Swear on my life, where do you think I got the idea?”

He sighed as he went back to cooking “Do they even know about it?” 

Lily plucked one of the marshmallows out of her mug and very elegantly placed it in her mouth “It’s a small ship.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“It’s a maybe.” 

“Well whatever,” Kaidan placed the contents of the pan onto a plate and handed it to her “here.” 

Lily smiled, “Perks of dating a canadian, they make the best bacon.”

“That’s a stereotype.” he said as he turned off the stove.

“Sure, like you putting canadian bacon on your pizza is a stereotype.” she said as she put whatever passed for syrup up in space on her bacon, Kaidan shuddering as he watched in disgust. 

“First of all it’s just ham, second of all that’s disgusting.”

“Why because it’s not maple syrup?” she gave him a playful wink as she sucked a stray drop off her finger.

Kaidan scoffed “No.” 

“Snob.” Lily teased as she exited the small kitchen, Kaidan following behind her. 

They sat at the other end of the table “Not sitting with your brother today?” Kaidan asked, a little surprised they only did that when they fought and they hardly ever fought.

Lily shook her head “Nope! I’m gonna let whatever that is play out.” she said smugly, as if them talking was her doing. Kaidan still didn’t think it was any of their business but when did Lily ever listen to him? “I know it might seem like meddling but I really just want them to be happy and it seems to me that they make each other happy, he’s had a crush on her since we were kids after all.” she watched them talk with a gentle smile on her face, there was one thing people forgot about her, something hidden behind her imp like behavior and it was that she actually had a good heart. She wasn’t callous just for the sake of it, if she cared about someone she wanted what was best for them and it may seem like meddling to people on the outside but she did care about Aiden and Persephone and wanted them both to be happy and if that happiness lay with each other then she wanted to help even if it was from the sidelines.

Lily smiled and she had just the idea “Kaidan, how hard would it be to overload one of the elevators in here?” 

“Edi might have some firewalls that prevent hacking but overloading it shouldn’t be-” he paused, she was up to something “why?”

“Oh...no reason.” If they wouldn’t deal with this on their own then she’d force their hand “just call it tough sibling love.”

---------------

Persephone arched her back, bringing her arm up as far as she could, her finger tips only barely brushing against the zipper to her under armor as she tried to pull it down but to no avail “Ugh!” she groaned looking around for someone to help when her eyes landed on Aiden who had the top part of his hanging around his waist as he worked on taking off his greaves. Don’t stare Persephone. Don’t. She repeated in her head but it was impossible, it was a wonder he didn’t already have someone waiting for him, she had heard from Lily he was with Liara briefly but not anymore. For someone as handsome and just down right charming as he was, she couldn’t believe it. 

Persephone cleared her throat “Aiden, could I get your help?” she asked as composed as she possibly could. 

Aiden looked up, his eyes peeking through the long black hair that had fallen out of his bun and into his face “Yeah?” did he even know how cute he was? Was it on purpose? He was driving her insane. 

“I can’t unzip my under armor, could you help me?” She tried not to make her voice sound like those girls in the extranet fetish vids joker kept on his hard drive but she was essentially asking him to undress her, it was gonna sound like that no matter what tone she used. Good thing she never was one for batting her eyelashes or this interaction would have a totally different connotation. 

Aiden felt his face flush, Persephone wanted him to….what? In reality it was just pulling her zipper down enough to where she could reach it herself but even still “Uh yeah, yeah of course.” 

Luckily she had to face away from him anyway because it was getting hard to keep her composure the closer he got to her “Just midway should be fine.” she told him, voice as cool as a cucumber.

“Gotcha” There was nothing sensual about this, just one soldier helping another with their zipper, nothing more nothing less. Aiden swallowed hard as he slowly pulled the zipper down her back, trying not to stare as he revealed more of that perfectly tan skin of hers. 

Persephone couldn’t breath, her mind was going a mile a minute thinking of all the possible scenarios where the context of him undressing her would be much different and she needed to stop. To think of anything other than what his hands would feel like on her skin, the scent of the cologne he wore that had long worn off by now and what his stubble would feel like on her- “Okay, there you go.” he said snapping her out of her thoughts. 

“Oh...uh right, thank you.” Persephone reached her hand back, finally able to reach the zipper and part of her wanted to undress in front of him but it was still fraternization and in the middle of a war who was really paying attention, Lily and Kaidan being a prime example of that and at this point it was just a convenient excuse for her to use to deny what she actually wanted. 

Aiden turned and walked away to finish taking off his own armor, doing his best not to look at Persephone as he did.

“Ya know Persephone you should really invest in a catsuit like me.” Lily suggested, half teasing. 

“A catsuit?”

Lily nodded “Yup, zipper in the front so when you’re done you can just slide it right off no problem and it's also pretty comfy.” 

“Those offer no damage protection and not only that, the alliance doesn’t allow them for obvious reasons.” Aiden interjected as he tried not to imagine her in a catsuit.

“Yeah well the handbook says we can wear what we want if N7 is written somewhere on it and,” Lily pointed at her “she’s part of the club like us so technically if she wanted to she could.” 

Persephone giggled “I’ll take it into consideration Lily, thank you.” 

“See Aiden, I was only trying to help my friend.” She said with a smirk.

Aiden rolled his eyes ‘Sure.” she couldn’t fool him but he really hoped Persephone didn’t take her advice, he wasn’t sure he’d survive seeing her in a catsuit even if for one mission. 

The four of them walked to the elevator, Lily grabbing Kaidan’s wrist and pulling him back as she overloaded the elevator, the doors closing and locking Aiden and Persephone in together. “Did you just do what I think you did?” Kaidan asked.

“Yup and they aren’t leaving until they’ve kissed at least.” She stated matter of fact as she sat on the unoccupied weapons bench.

Kaidan sighed, in reality he could’ve just as easily gotten them out of there but he knew if he did Lily wouldn’t be too happy with him and the cons of that out weighed the pros unfortunately.

“Did she just?” Persephone asked, baffled.

“Yup.” Aiden nodded.

“Why?” she asked again. 

“Who knows.” He sure as hell couldn’t read his sister’s mind no matter how hard he tried and he has tried. 

Brown eyes met ocean blue and god it was such a cliche but he could’ve drowned in them, not just her eyes either, everything about her was beautiful, he thought he had gotten over his crush but the more he was around her the more these feelings he harbored for her so long ago came back but even stronger now. It was stupid to hope for anything, there was a war and she had ended her egagement not too long ago and he didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for her if he said anything and he cetianlly wasn’t about to set himself up just to be rejected. 

 “Commander, I have something I want to say to you.” it was stupid to call him by his rank just to tell him about her feelings for him but she was nervous and her brain automatically defaulted back to work.

Aiden went fully into commander mode “Of course, now’s as good a time as any.” 

“Listen Aiden, I like you.”

Aiden blinked at her, his brain short circuiting as he processed what she just said “I like you too Persephone, you’re a valuable crew member and friend.” that had to be what she meant right?

She sighed “Aiden what I mean is, I like you, like really like you.” 

Aiden was in full panic mode, did she mean…? No, No of course not! Couldn’t be “As a friend?” 

“No Aiden,” god he was dense, beautiful, but so very dense “I mean I have feelings for you.” she bluntly told him “romantic feelings.” 

“O-oh…” He said, his voice cracking “that’s uh...that’s great…” 

“Great?” She raised an eyebrow at him, she thought he felt the same, had she been wrong?

“Yeah, I mean...yeah!” Aiden had never been a smooth talker, he got flustered way too easily and some people found it endearing other’s not so much. Hopefully Persephone wasn’t the latter.

 “Do you not like me?”

“No I do!” He exclaimed, shocking them both “I uh...I always have.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You and Thomas were so close and you’re gorgeous and as you can see i’m incredibly awkward with these things and I didn’t think I even had a chance so….” 

This time it was her turn to be surprised “You’ve had feelings for me since we were kids?”

Aiden nodded “Yeah, I thought they went away and when I saw you again and got to spend more time with you they all came back, I don’t know if it’s because we’re both survivors of the raid or because you’re a vanguard like me but they’re different from the boyish crush I had on you years ago.” he confessed. 

Persephone couldn’t help herself, after hearing how he truly felt, that after all these years he still had feelings for her, it was almost a miracle, she didn’t believe in soul mates but what were the odds that after all these years they’d find each other again and that he’d still have feelings for her. Persephone pushed Aiden back against the wall of the elevator, kissing him, he was taller than her but her heels made kissing him a much easier feat as opposed to if she was Lily’s height. 

Aiden’s eyes widened in surprise, every muscle tensed at the feelings of her lips on his, he could hardly believe this was happening, guess he had to thank his sister later. He wrapped one arm around her waist and tangled a hand in her blonde hair as they kissed, both intoxicated by each other as soon as the elevator was working they were going straight to the captain's cabin there was no denying that, it was just a question of who hit the button first.

Suddenly the elevator started moving again, pulling them apart, a message from Lily pinging his omni-tool.

“You’re welcome ;)”

Was all it said and he rolled his eyes “That brat…” he said under his breath, he couldn’t be too mad considering how it turned out but that wasn’t the point. 

Suddenly the elevator stopped and Persephone was dragging him into the cabin “Think you still have some energy after that mission soldier?” she winked.

Aiden smirked, picking her up, making her giggle as he carried her the rest of the way “Aye aye ma’am.” 

[aion-rsa]

Mass Effect: Every Legendary Edition Squad Companion Ranked

https://ift.tt/3tH2zJa

Along with the promise that our decisions would have galaxy-wide consequences (which turned out to be…mostly true), one of Mass Effect‘s biggest selling points was the ability to command a ship and assemble a squad of companions that would join us on our journeys and help us fulfill our Star Trek dreams.

While Shepard is the star of the Mass Effect trilogy, it’s hard to deny that some of the game’s most compelling characters are the ones who serve alongside him aboard the Normandy and stand by his side during the game’s most dangerous adventures. Many Mass Effect players know their crew better than they know their family, which is both a testament to the quality of the game’s characters and a testament to the quality of awkward Thanksgiving dinner guests everywhere.

Which squad member is the best, though? As you’ve probably guessed, that’s the question that we’ll try to answer as we rank the various companions that Shepard can add to his away crew at various points in the game. While characters that couldn’t be added to your away team at some point in the game weren’t eligible for consideration (sorry Joker), we hope this list will remind you of your own Mass Effect adventures and the friends you made along the way.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

22. Kaidan Alenko

To be fair to Kaidan, someone had to fill the “standard human dude” squad companion spot in the original Mass Effect, and Kaidan is nothing if not a seat filler.

By and large, though, there’s just not much interesting about Kaidan. He rarely rises above “serviceable” despite clear attempts at making him more interesting.

21. Jacob Taylor

Honestly, the only things that elevate Jacob above Kaidan are a few lines that may be unintentionally hilarious but at least help you remember him.

Other than that, Jacob stands as another sad example of how the Mass Effect team sometimes struggled to make human companions as exciting as their alien alternatives.

20. Nyreen Kandros

Nyreen doesn’t make her (in-game) appearance until Mass Effect 3’s Omega DLC, which means that it’s kind of hard to rank a character who appears so late in the game and only serves as a squadmate for a brief period of time.

This self-sacrificing leader of a mercenary group might have been more interesting if she hung around a little longer, but she’s just not around enough to make a lasting impression.

19. Morinth

Maybe this placement is just a tad harsh on Morinth, but because she essentially replaces someone I’d consider to be a much more interesting character, it’s hard to rank her much higher than this. 

Her introduction is interesting and the results of her romance storyline are tragically hilarious, but the ways that Morinth could have been a much more well-rounded character are just never explored as often as they should have been. 

18. James Vega

Vega’s “meathead” moments and pretty good (if incredibly brief) eventual romance storyline elevate him over Kaidan and Jacob, but it’s understandable if you struggled to recall who, exactly, James Vega is.

BioWare has said that Vega was meant to be something of a new player surrogate, which is kind of odd given his relatively late debut and the ways that design decision ultimately makes him come across as somewhat vacant.

17. Aria T’Loak

Aria gets a slight nod over Nyreen by virtue of her “Pirate Queen” title (which is awesome) and for being one of the best parts of Mass Effect 3’s DLC.

However, the truth of the matter is that Aria just isn’t around enough as a squadmate to comfortably rank her above some of the regulars who better define this series.

16. Zaeed Massani

As a battle-tested veteran turned mercenary who always has a story to tell and a scar to show, Zaeed really should be more interesting than he ultimately is. 

Unfortunately, Zaeed rarely rises above the level of standard tough guy. He feels like he belongs as a side character in a Gears of War game, and he never really has that defining moment that elevates him above the level of serviceable archetype.

15. EDI

EDI’s highly sexualized design is sometimes a point of contention, as is this A.I.’s story arc which sometimes tried too hard to examine the philosophical implications of its eventual physical existence.

Having said all of that, the relationship between Joker and EDI is often too good to ignore. EDI may fall a bit short of being as complete a character as they could have been, but they’re often a tremendous source of comedic relief.

14. Javik

Ranking Javik is tough. As the last of the Protheans, Javik is an inherently interesting character whose bitter and combative personality is genuinely hilarious most of the time.

It’s just a shame that Javik is introduced so late in the franchise. He’s not really given the time to develop that a character like him needs, and it just feels like the writers sometimes struggled to work his character into the bigger plot points. 

13. Samara

I completely understand if Samara’s quiet nature and sometimes cold vibes make her one of your least favorite characters. She’s certainly not for everyone.

However, there’s something to be said about Samara’s strict moral code and how it allows her to offer a consistent point of view whenever you’re struggling between decisions. Samara’s incredible backstory and always functioning (if sometimes strange) moral compass makes her a compelling companion.

12. Grunt

In a lot of ways, Grunt is the better version of Zaeed Masani. As a kind of “Alpha Krogan,” Grunt is practically a tank who talks. It’s often hilarious to watch him boil down complex issues into whatever solution allows him to employ the most force. 

Grunt kind of gets lost in the shuffle a bit after Mass Effect 2, but his hilarious appearance in Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC helps ensure the character “ends” on a high note.

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11. Miranda Lawson

Miranda Lawson proves to be something of a mixed bag as far as squad companions go. At the very least, her mysterious intentions and potentially heated romance storyline make her one of Mass Effect 2’s most interesting additions.

While it feels like Mass Effect 3 could have found more room to expand Miranda’s story, she ends up being a pretty fleshed out (no pun…ah, never mind) character at the end of the day, and the events of Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC certainly go a long way towards offering her a more satisfying “conclusion” than she would have otherwise received. 

10. Liara T’Soni

I’d argue that Liara benefits from one of the most complete and satisfying character arcs, but there are certainly some who feel that Liara’s intentionally disconnected nature and surprising (some say unlikely) plot twists make her hard to like.

In any case, the thing that really puts Liara over-the-top is her optional romance storyline and the events of Mass Effect 2‘s Shadow Broker DLC. If you take the time to get to know her, you’ll likely find that Liara is one of the most complete and fascinating companions in the Mass Effect trilogy. 

9. Kasumi Goto

I’ll say right away that the biggest problem with Kasumi is that there’s just not enough of her. That’s kind of a compliment, but it’s a detriment when you consider that many Mass Effect players may decide to stick with other companions and ignore most of Goto’s relatively short arc. 

With that out of the way, it must be said that Goto is an incredible character. She’s basically a rogue in the Mass Effect universe, which not only makes her a pretty cool squadmate from a storytelling perspective but grants her a unique set of combat abilities. I also have to give a shoutout to her Stolen Memory DLC appearance which is one of the best Mass Effect adventures ever.

8. Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams has to be the most divisive major companion in the Mass Effect trilogy. Not only is she initially somewhat underdeveloped, but her hostility towards multiple alien races has led some to call her xenophobic and sometimes something worse.

However, there’s something to be said for how Willaims has always come across as one of the most complete companions in the Mass Effect universe from a storytelling perspective. She feels like someone who exists even and lives a life even when Shepard isn’t interacting with her, and her appearance in Mass Effect 3 shows just how much she’s grown over the years by virtue of her (and your) adventures.

7. Legion

Legion initially comes across as a cheap nod to Star Trek: TNG’s Borg (mixed with a little Data and some other sci-fi characters), but spend a little time with this Geth, and you’ll find that they’re so much more than that.

Legion’s attempts at understanding the nature of its existence is less of a Pinnochio situation and more the result of its ability to process incredible amounts of data and turn that information into new outlooks. It’s tough to say whether Legion is more philosophical or analytical, but it’s that dynamic that makes it so compelling.

6. Thane

As an expert assassin who feels morally conflicted about almost every kill, Thane’s “samurai-like” lifestyle and complex views are more than enough to make him one of the companions that you’ll often want by your side.

Yet, it’s Thane’s disease that makes him a truly classic companion. What could have been a cheap emotional ploy instead becomes the storytelling device that strengthens Thane’s internal debates and regrets over how his actions will affect his distant son (among others). He’s just a great character.

5. Jack 

I love how Jack is a fundamentally damaged person whose life is the product of one bad turn after another, but I understand if you feel that her earliest hours are trying too hard to present her as an overly edgy character.

However, Jack grows in a way that showcases just how talented the Mass Effect writers were at the top of their games. She warms up to the rest of the party as she comes to terms with the events of her life, but she never magically becomes an entirely different person. She’s also ridiculously powerful in the best way.

4. Mordin Solus

In some ways, Mordin Solus is Mass Effect’s Spock. Both are highly intelligent, both sometimes suffer from a “detached” view of others, and both are funny in a way that no other person around them quite is.

The biggest differences are that Solus is a hell of a singer who almost always has a tune in his head, and he’s partially responsible for countless deaths. It’s when you realize that Mordin’s “quirky” nature is the product of a darker mind than you could ever imagine that he becomes one of the franchise’s best characters, but Mordin is almost always entertaining no matter how much time you spend with them.

3. Tali

I could talk about Tali’s incredible backstory, great design, or even how she’s the co-star of one of Mass Effect’s best romances, but the thing about Tali that ultimately stands out is how she has one of the few stories that remain compelling across all three games in the Mass Effect trilogy.

There’s been a lot of talk about how Mass Effect 3 failed to end the series in a way that satisfyingly built on more of the player’s decisions, but Tali’s story showed that the Mass Effect team was more than capable of utilizing the trilogy’s ambitious format to weave a complex story across multiple entries.

2. Garrus

I’ve never met the Mass Effect player who doesn’t at least kind of like Garrus, and I’m not sure I ever will. He is not only Shepard’s right-hand man through much of the trilogy; he’s one of Mass Effect’s most complicated characters. 

Many of the things that are so easy to love about Garrus don’t change throughout the trilogy, but as Garrus’ situations change wildly across those three games, we get to see him shine in a variety of roles as we learn more about how one of the coolest characters in the galaxy often struggles to find where he belongs if he’s not by the player’s side.

1. Urdnot Wrex

At the risk of making too many Star Trek comparisons, it has to be said that Wrex will remind many players of one of TNG’s best characters: Worf. Both are members of a seemingly violent alien race whose intelligence, warmth, and leadership immediately leave most players to realize that the assumptions they made about them may not be entirely fair. 

Not only is Wrex one of the clearest early examples that the Mass Effect universe is more complicated than you maybe thought it would be, but he’s one of the few companions in the first game whose incredible backstory and various conflicts may leave you wondering if he should have been the star of this impressive show.

The post Mass Effect: Every Legendary Edition Squad Companion Ranked appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[acequeenking]

Thoughts on the Andromeda Crew

I've done two more missions in ME:A, one on Voeld and one on Havarl. Thoughts on the crew thus far below the cut:

CREW

At this point in the game, it's become clear that your crew (and the Andromeda initiative as a whole) might have had good reasons to flee the Milky Way galaxy. Besides the incoming, machine-orchestrated apocalypse, I mean. None of these guys quite “belong” in their home cultures, and all of them are misfits to some degree or another.I like that, and how, in many ways, these aren't carbon copies of Tali/Garrus/etc. It's a risk, but I think it pays off. Mostly. Liam is super-emotional, and at times this can make him unprofessional. He loves a lot, definitively an extrovert. Liam is basically the “Deanna Troi”, less in terms of psychological well-being, but more in terms of being the peacemaker of the Andromeda crew. Liam is consistently the one who who worries about making sure everyone gets along, who wants to bond not only with the milky way crew but goes out of his way to bring in Jaal as well. Not only does Liam reject our ideal of toxic masculinity, but he actually takes on a very traditionally feminine role in the group. No wonder he didn't exactly fit in in a police force made up of men like Harkin. Disaster response is closer to what his calling is, but I still think it’s wrong. Honestly, I think Liam would make a great teacher or social services provider; he cares, sometimes too much, but he cares. I also like how the game does point out this is both a positive trait and a negative one; his over-kill on the kett at Habitat 7, his arguments with Cora. It adds balance to his character. My one question: Liam, what is up with those media recommendations on your emails? It must take you a while to set those up and with everything going wrong you'd honestly think he'd focus on something greater than titles of books relating to community.

Cora, like Liam, is a rejection of traditional gender roles. She's clinical, precise, but also pig-headed. She has an almost masculine amount of confidence; she calls it how she sees it, and that's...it. Yet at the same time she has a lot of reverence for the female-coded people in her life; the girl who isn’t like the other girl, she isn’t. 

This leads to a lot of conflict with...just about everyone, actually. She's savage to Peebee for not caring about what she cares about; she doesn't get Drack, and mistrusts him even when he's pretty harmless. She doesn't get Liam, she doesn't get Jaal, and she doesn't get Vetra. Cora butts heads with literally just about everyone who doesn't believe what she does. This makes her character difficult to like, for me, personally. She's very focused on the asari, to the point of almost being an asari otaku (tm @buhnebeest). It's an ironic twist, a human who you would think, from the name, would be all “human rights forever!!!” to be pretty much in love with the asari. It's clear she believes in asari culture in asari religion, in asari strategies. She doesn't belong with humanity anymore; one gets the sense she would have rather been on the asari arc. 

Peebee is an asari with commitment issues a mile long. She's very much the anti-Liara; whereas Liara constantly wanted to get closer to Shepard, Peebee is constantly pushing Ryder away. She doesn't want to commit, tells you up front she's only here to get what she wants and then she's leaving, free-bird style. Peebee would never be so devoted to a friend/lover that she'd go on a one-woman mission to rescue their corpse, I'm saying. Despite that, Peebee is a charming girl; she's clever, smart as a whip, and you can tell she really is passionate about the remnant tech she studies. For Peebee life is all about the new and the now, and you get the feeling that there's no place she'd rather be than the frontier. Of all the people on your team, Peebs best encapsulates the “trail blazer” persona. 

Vetra is, like Peebee, very much the Anti-Garrus. Garrus was a Palaven homeboy, from the capital no less. He came from a position of turian privilege, and it's very evident, particularly in Mass Effect, that he doesn't know how to relate to the others. He started off wary of humans, absolutely cruel to Tali. (Thankfully, he got better.) Vetra is also from Palaven, but has pretty much the opposite sort of backstory: her family life was chaotic, her parents basically unsupportive. She was forced to scrap and save for her sister from a young age. Garrus ran from his family, Vetra is absolutely attached to her sister at the hip. Vetra's my favorite cast member, and while I feel like I'm becoming somewhat of a stereotype by tending to focus on turians (TURIANS!), I think she'd be my favorite even if she wasn't a spiky bird. She's kind, adaptable; I adore the way she makes decisions focused on giving people what they want. She's also intense as fuck, which is something I'm generally into in characters (if you uh, haven't noticed, which...you almost certainly have). Also her addition to dextro cereal is absolutely endearing. Vetra is almost certainly the one I'll romance my first go; I've been flirting with everyone, but I like her best, and some of her dialogue in her romance is so good. “I've got a good feeling about you, Ryder,” said in a soft, but affectionate tone; “It's nice to be appreciated”. Oh Vetra. 10/10 will fanfic forever. I can't wait until Scott wakes up and sees his two new, slightly raptor-like sisters. (I honestly couldn't think of a better way for him to wake up than having Sid squealing about him and how she's heard so much about him from Sara, and did he really break his arm climbing a tree and did it grow back or is it a robot arm???)

Jaal, like Liam, and Drack, rejects the idea of toxic masculinity; so much of Jaal's story is about his emotions, how he must express what he feels. Jaal is a soldier, but he is unquestionably a lover of a great many things: not just people, but places. Jaal I think honestly does love Andromeda; he takes great pride in talking to people everywhere and really reminds me of no one quite so much as Piper from Fallout 4 in terms of connection to the game world. Jaal was the biggest turn around in expectations for me. I don't think his look is particularly attractive and nothing about the pre-release info about him excited me.  I love him and I will definitively romance him second go. He's so emotionally powerful but also kind-hearted; he is absolutely dedicated to his people and turning things around for them. Also, his voice sounds like Javik's which is A+ for me. I will write several fics where he has eight millionty babies he adopts with Ryder. I want to write a bunch of cross-cultural fic, as the angara are interesting; a culture-heavy race long focused to be at war. Plus the reincarnation thing is just...oomph. Def. Space husband.

Drack is a rebel. He's definitively not your standard Krogan; he likes war, sure, but he's far more into family. No one in the party is as much a care-taker as Drack, expect perhaps Vetra. (Whose relationship, as an aside, I find fascinating because it's not how a turian and krogan relationship should go according to the milky way rules; Drack and Vetra not only get along like a house on fire, but Drack is presented as the expert and Vetra as the lesser-experienced.) Drack is very emotional, and it's obvious he loves his granddaughter Kesh and also that he cares about you. I was shocked – in a good way – when he sent Sara an email commiserating with her about her dad and trying to cheer her up with pictures of guns. He's astonishingly emotional, paternal even. I wish you could romance Drack because I would ride that old man's quad. He's gruff and grumpy but also incredibly caring and like Liam, someone focused on unity. He's lived a lot and seen a lot and he's old and jaded but somehow still hopeful and secretly soft as hell and I love him.  It's obvious why Gil didn't really fit in in the milky way; he admits cheerfully that he “lacks purpose” and just kind of drifted from one place to the next. He wants to find this purpose in Andromeda. I have to admit I really do not like Gil at all; I think he's a bit of an asshole. I hate his interactions with Kallo, because Gil just comes off as a jerk who thinks he knows better than the ship's builders. His modifications don't tend to be better than what we already have and as Kallo points out, often cause problems. Worse, he doesn't tell the crew he's going to be doing them, then is offended when they don't work or set off alarms that inconvenience others.

I met him for Poker on the nexus and he seemed more charming from that, as is his poker table book (although it made me wonder why Ryder doesn't get invited to the poker games when Jaal does, and he's only been on the ship for six seconds).  His friend Jill sounds hideous and gross and I absolutely hate how any attempt to tell him that her “U GOTTA MAKE A BABY BRO” speech is inappropriate is met with you don't know her, it's how we do. Yeah making someone feel bad for a sexual orientation they can't help is abuse, not friendship.

Suvi. Suvi I love, on a brighter spot; definitively space wife material, and again, a character I will run through to romance at some point. She's so bright and smart, and while I feel like a lot of people won't like her religious viewpoints, I really do. Religious characters are rare, and I glom onto them like hydrogen to oxygen, baby. I think the dichotomy she feels between being forced to choose to marvel at nature or be forced to explain it is interesting; it gives her depth. I wish Ryder had more ways to talk to her other than “I agree” or “You're shit also your religion is shit” but I do enjoy that Suvi is not an atheist. She's a profound believer in something bigger. 

I think this is what enables her to go to Andromeda, because that's not welcome in an area so soon after first contact, when so many religions on earth must have been shaken by the knowledge that we weren't alone, that there were more belief structures in the universe than we'd accounted for.  She is very much a rejection of the absoluteness of science; interestingly, she somewhat echoes Mordin, who also held some religious viewpoints and took comfort in them in regards to his work on the genophage. Also, she licks rocks, and there's nothing cuter than a girl that licks rocks. Her voice is nice as well, though I'm not sure where the accent is supposed to put her (Irish? Scottish?).

Kallo is probably the closest to fitting in with his species' general stereotype. He's another bright spot for me; Salarians really are bringing it in this game. I like him a lot. He's bright and brave but also a bit of a stick in the mud. It's clear that he expects things to run to spec, and doesn't have a lot of patience for people meddling with his stuff. (I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt in the conversation however, mainly because he isn't furthering the conflict 99% of the time with Gil, and his reasons for...wanting to know what's happening on his ship…are reasonable). Like Joker, he loves the Tempest, but he loves it in a less romantic way. He has more pride in it than emotional love. 

Lexi is...there. And I can’t honestly say much more about her? She doesn’t seem to have half the personality that Chakwas did, but hopefully she’ll get a scene to shine soon. Right now she seems like a waste of a rather famous VA.