thedragonaspect

[thedragonaspect]

Day 3 - Love, Day 4 - Home, and Day 5 - Struggle.

From my to-write list, this is the start of Kaidan's POV in between ME2 and 3. He explores the stripped-back ship during the overhaul from Cerberus to Alliance.

The SR-2 is not Normandy, and never will be. Kaidan wants to make that very clear, but there’s no one to tell. Shepard isn’t here. With the way the ship has been gutted, there’s no sign that she ever was.

What he doesn't know is how much that's an echo of what Darcy woke up to. Separated by six months, they both step onto that ship and feel the absence of home.

A little something for the Mass Effect Trilogy Appreciation Week.

Day 1 - Family, and Day 2 - Friendships have a lot of overlap centered on one OC and the impetus for my first Mass Effect fic. And she wasn't planned in the slightest.

It started with revisiting ME3, reaching the 'Lola' scene, and wondering if and why my Darcy Shepard would tolerate that nickname. Then, the notion that she'd had worse nicknames - and that left the empty space of 'who from?' Enter the OC.

Her surname, Graves, came first, then Kayla - she just kept mentally turning up during my commute, familiar like she'd always been part of the story. There was a physicality and attitude, all forming with inexplicable clarity. In hindsight, I've figured out a few of the influences, but it remains the most forcible manifestation of an OC ever I've experienced.

Mikayla Graves is a spunky, non-combat L2 biotic and Darcy's best friend and de facto adopted sister, making a family of 3 with Hannah. Because Darcy isn't a biotic, it's Kaidan and Kayla who provide the lens to flesh out the muddy history of biotics and L2s - Kaidan as a (mostly) success story, and Kayla as the could-have-been-worse civilian. I've got so much more to say for my fic interpretation of ME, and hopefully there'll be time for it one day.

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Tagged by @swaps55 to post a gif from 10 12 favorite films without naming them.

In trying to narrow these down, I realized a lot of my favourites are heavily influenced by a good soundtrack. For context, I got into Star Wars as The Phantom Menace came out - I was never primed to hate it, and really enjoyed the prequel trilogy. And the Mustafar duel was so good - choreography, cinematic location, and epic music.

Avatar is frustratingly flawed (and a huge time commitment), but the music does so much for it. I have the soundtrack for At World's End, and Drink Up Me Hearties was such a perfect musical close to the trilogy.

Ophelia makes the honorable mentions because of my favourite negative movie review of all time. Someone who attended "Ophelia", with the tagline, "Hamlet Through Her Eyes," and left a review complaining "I didn't like it, it's just Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view." I mean, yeah, that's exactly what the film advertised itself as...

And Cowboys vs Aliens, I love for committing to exactly what it said in the title, and it was one of the first films I saw with my husband.

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Just wanted to say, regarding female characters - one of the strengths of Opus is the combination of Aslany and Pendergrass. One of my pet peeves is the rule of The Trio - almost exclusively, two guys and one girl. Han, Luke and Leia. Harry, Ron and Hermione. Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Aang, Katara and Sokka. Ash, Misty and Brock. Every 3-man cell in Naruto. And so on. There's some overlap with love triangles - Bella, Edward and Jacob, for example - but the upshot is that the main character relationships can only explore how the guys get along with each other, and how they get along with the girl. How girls relate to each other is skipped over entirely because there's only one girl.

Then, the one girl is often relegated to being The Girl. Answerable for all womanhood. Like when Ron gets offside with his friends, it's because he's being a dick. But if Hermione does, it's because girls are weird. It perpetuates the two genders of Normal and Girl, and the reader is invited to sympathize with how hard it is for the Normals to relate to the feminine mystique of girls. But of course, girls are mysterious when they're never portrayed together, just existing. Normally.

Opus has two wonderful lead female characters who aren't so easily pigeonholed, and the story is as invested in how they play off each other as how any of the others interact. The thoughtfulness in what makes all the characters tick, and how they serve the story really comes through and makes it more engaging. And then there's Hannah, a powerhouse of a minor character in just a few scenes, you know she's my fave.

Fanfic is an adjustment after conventional fiction - it's more diverse, and the sheer novelty can provoke a kneejerk "why did they make that character [anything other than straight cis white]?" Not because there's anything wrong with it, but because it's new. But in sci fi especially, there's a verisimilitude to diversity.

This unexpectedly turned into a bit of novel, sorry! Aslany and Pendergrass are great!

Oh gosh, thank you!!!

Aslany and Pendergrass are so much fun and so very important to me, and it's absolutely incredible that they strike such a chord with others. I share your frustration on how often a solitary female character is expected to represent all women. "The Two Genders: Normal and Girl" is an amazing way to put it.

I've probably mentioned it before, but I have rules in Opus when it comes to supporting and background characters: they cannot be cis, white, male unless I have a good argument for why they should be, and to combat my biases when it comes to defaulting to male background characters (and BioWare's inability to conceive of female alien who aren't a sex fantasy), I try to start with female as default and then argue for why someone should be male.

And Opus, of course, is a story centered around a male/male relationship, which means I need to make a concerted effort to include women and their stories around that central through line. I wanted some of Sam's primary influences - good and bad - to be women. Hence Hannah Shepard, Guthra Tulak, and Anya Oseguera.

When it came to the 'Yang, I knew I already had two male lead characters, so I wanted to balance them out. Of the primary 'Yang OCs, only Clay Beaudoin is male, and he isn't white.

Okay, there's Wong, but because he's a plot device and effectively got fridged, I wanted him to be male. XD

Hannah Shepard is a lot of fun (I love how much you love her SO MUCH) because she takes so much blame for things most male characters don't. In many ways she's a parallel to Thane, who never takes much flak for being an absent father. Now, that's not something the reader should be blamed for: the ME2 narrative centers around Thane's perspective, which makes you sympathetic to him, while Opus very much looks at Hannah through Sam's lens, which makes her very unsympathetic. Which is why I so enjoy her occasional POVs when you realize that the world looks very different through her eyes, and maybe everything you're led to believe about her isn't the whole picture.

But Aslany and Pendergrass are really special, with their own motivations and complexities and strengths and flaws that, while sometimes making Opus more challenging to write, make it better. I'm really glad people have latched onto them, because it gives me more freedom to expand their role in the overall narrative.

[thedragonaspect]

A little something for the Mass Effect Trilogy Appreciation Week.

Day 1 - Family, and Day 2 - Friendships have a lot of overlap centered on one OC and the impetus for my first Mass Effect fic. And she wasn't planned in the slightest.

It started with revisiting ME3, reaching the 'Lola' scene, and wondering if and why my Darcy Shepard would tolerate that nickname. Then, the notion that she'd had worse nicknames - and that left the empty space of 'who from?' Enter the OC.

Her surname, Graves, came first, then Kayla - she just kept mentally turning up during my commute, familiar like she'd always been part of the story. There was a physicality and attitude, all forming with inexplicable clarity. In hindsight, I've figured out a few of the influences, but it remains the most forcible manifestation of an OC ever I've experienced.

Mikayla Graves is a spunky, non-combat L2 biotic and Darcy's best friend and de facto adopted sister, making a family of 3 with Hannah. Because Darcy isn't a biotic, it's Kaidan and Kayla who provide the lens to flesh out the muddy history of biotics and L2s - Kaidan as a (mostly) success story, and Kayla as the could-have-been-worse civilian. I've got so much more to say for my fic interpretation of ME, and hopefully there'll be time for it one day.

[thedragonaspect]

There's a fundamental break between Darcy and Joker in ME2. He gets the Normandy back. He loves the SR-2. Darcy hates it, it's not the Normandy and never will be. Everyone else has finished their mourning for the SR-1 before she's even started. But since they have a mission to accomplish and there's nothing to gain in wallowing, it stays unspoken.

[Weird parallel to being a player who loved ME1 far more than the sequels which were celebrated for being better.]

God The Normandy in Mass Effect 2 is almost spooky in how similar it is to Shepard's old ship. Seriously; I can't imagine Shepard feeling anything other than uncanny valley about it. The spaces are the same except not. The decorations are the same except not. It's bigger and your quarters are huge and there's an AI. Sometimes I bet it'd be easy to just....believe you were where you used to be. Except no. Where Kaiden stood there's now a kitchen. The AI core is where Liara should be sat. You made a home and now that home is back but it's slightly Off Slightly Wrong just like you.

[thedragonaspect]

After watching the Mighty Nein (again), I have this feeling that at some point in the future, someone will come to the Blooming Grove drowning in grief for who they have lost. And they will leave holding a little white cat who seems to understand.

[thedragonaspect]

How writing in 2025 is going so far

Not the smartest pup

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This is the magic lucky word count. Reblog for creativity juice. It might even work, who knows.

[thedragonaspect]

This run was the first time I got through that fight first try, where normally it takes a few goes. The necrotic resistance is important for this specific fight, but all the other tactics below are useful in most fights.

When you're high enough level, cast Heroes Feast every day. Immune to fear and poison, and advantage on Wisdom saves.

Prepare with resistance to necrotic on everyone - Elixir x3 for your character and two companions, and there's a heavy armor set called Protective Plate (found in the bottom of the House of Healing Morgue) that also grants resistance to necrotic. We (sis and I play on splitscreen) put that on Lae'zel, and gave her an Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength. We had Slizebeth (sis's druid), Lis (my rogue assassin), Lae'zel and Shadowheart. The Eversight Ring (also in House of Healing Morgue) is invaluable, as is the Eldritch Evocation Devil Sight to see through darkness.

Rogue: Oil of Diminution on her bow, then an Arrow of Many Targets to keep shrinking baddies (it's what the githyanki ambush in the Shadow-Cursed Lands uses against you).

Druid: Hypnotic Pattern - it takes half the board off the table for the first few rounds. She kept up concentration, and spent most of her turns casting Daylight to cancel their Darkness.

Shadowheart: Spirit Guardians (IMPORTANT - for this fight, you need the necrotic version, not radiant) and a Spiritual Weapon. Spiritual Weapon is useful for soaking up attacks, since they go for the floating axe instead of you.

Lae'zel: Battlemaster Fighter - use Disarming Strike on the big paladins. With the strength elixir, it was really reliable.

Baldur's Gate 3 rant below the cut! (I very much enjoy the game until the middle of act 3, so that's what this rant is about)

I play on explorer mode. So easy mode. I try to keep my gear upgraded. But I always hit a wall with the game, right around the time when you deal with Bhaal

The fights suddenly become overwhelmingly hard for me. ON EXPLORER MODE

My mom and I were just playing her game and we're on the House of Grief for Shadowheart. I completely wiped twice before I had to look at my mom and say, 'I will do this fight on my own and not waste anymore of your time. we'll pick back up once I'm through the fight'

And now she feels awful, because she could tell how frustrated I was with the fight and that I just couldn't get it done. And I'm left here sitting wondering how I must be the stupidest video game player not to be able to get through this fight

(But seriously. How are you supposed to survive when everyone is bone chilled and blind?)

I love the story and the characters, but the shear amount of frustration I have to go through to get to those wonderful moments is worth less and less these days

I think that's one of the reasons I don't talk about BG3 anymore. Because I have a policy of 'talk about what you love, and not what you hate.' Not that I hate the game, but when it's leaving me in tears because I'm so frustrated... Yeah. That's why this rant is behind a cut

I'll let it sit a few days and try again!

[thedragonaspect]

Anxious

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I feel weirdly like I might have manifested something.

War of the Rohirrim was an entertaining watch. Kinda unabashedly tropey, but elevated by the familiar Lord of the Rings music. And with it narrated by Miranda Otto, it was amusing to imagine it as Éowyn's storytelling with Héra as her free-spirited, trousers-wearing OC.

I am actually so serious I think it really messes with a childs creativity and joy to tell them to never make a mary sue OC. Like that unbridaled form of joy where you make a self insert OC who super cool and everyone loves them and they have every superpower in the world SHOULD be something a kid makes, it nourishes their ability to create things for fun and not be stifled by "oh but what if my character is too overpowered and cringey...". whatever

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[thedragonaspect]

I saw a post saying that Boromir looked too scruffy in FotR for a Captain of Gondor, and I tried to move on, but I’m hyperfixating. Has anyone ever solo backpacked? I have. By the end, not only did I look like shit, but by day two I was talking to myself. On another occasion I did fourteen days’ backcountry as the lone woman in a group of twelve men, no showers, no deodorant, and brother, by the end of that we were all EXTREMELY feral. You think we looked like heirs to the throne of anywhere? We were thirteen wolverines in ripstop.

My boy Boromir? Spent FOUR MONTHS in the wilderness! Alone! No roads! High floods! His horse died! I’m amazed he showed up to Imladris wearing clothes, let alone with a decent haircut. I’m fully convinced that he left Gondor looking like Richard Sharpe being presented to the Prince Regent in 1813

*electric guitar riff*

And then rocked up to Imladris a hundred ten days later like

[thedragonaspect]

I know my Hannah is Hannah Beverly Shepard, and at one point, I knew I had the right name for her closest friend. But it vanished into the ether when I woke up. I think it started with 'C'. 'Cecily' is a neat name, but too close to Beverly. So maybe Carol, Cheryl, I don't know. I'm hoping the name will find its way back to me in time.

Your Hannah is a delight whenever she shows up - maybe not to Sam, but definitely to me!

What is Hannah like out of the uniform? Does she have non-uniform formalwear?

Ooooh, what an excellent question!! I have spent some time recently wondering about her personal life, who her friends are, what her support system looks like.

As for her wardrobe, I see her as being someone who always looks put together out of a uniform. Not overly fancy, but unlike Sam she does give a shit about her appearance, even if it's more to communicate authority than style. I'd imagine her closet is very timeless - a moderate wardrobe that doesn't get updated often because it never goes out of style. A very tailored look, probably button down/collared shirts and turtlenecks. For a formal event, sheath type dresses that are not ostentatious but nevertheless grab your attention.

In general, I think she has a wide network of allies and people she trusts. She is well connected and extremely well respected, but only has a handful of friends or confidants. I think of her as very aromantic, which is part of why her relationship with Daniel ultimately failed, so any relationships she has are not romantic, though occasionally they are sexual, with men and women.

I haven't fully answered the question of, "who did she talk to after Sam died?" Though I have thought about it. I don't think she really processed his death at all, and has some very complicated feelings she hasn't sorted through yet.

I got an image in my head that I'm really compelled by of her with a woman who is perhaps the closest person she has to a confidant, and is also an occasional sexual partner. As the woman is getting ready to leave after one of their rendezvous, Hannah bursts into tears and admits that she's struggling to even understand what it means to her to be someone who's lost a husband and a child.

I really, really like the idea of that scene and what it could tell us about Hannah Shepard. Maybe it will make it into Mezzo, since I imagine the things she hasn't dealt with would hit her like a sledgehammer when Sam comes back. We'll see!

[thedragonaspect]

The revenge cupcakes remain the most enjoyable yet eloquent expression of dissatisfaction with a game I know of. That heartbreak was formative.

Real Life Romance Option: The game isn't even out yet! What are people mad about? How can you get so upset about it?! We haven't played it yet!

Me: Well we do hail from the fandom that sent revenge cupcakes to BioWare.

Real Life Romance Option: Yeah but the GAME WAS OUT.

Me:...okay you got me there. 🤣

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this is still the funniest way to start a romance in a video game possibly ever

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My sister tried to be nice to Kelly (but not too nice, since she didn't want to romance anyone). Gave her a hug and everything, but Kelly never volunteered to feed those poor fish.

another one floats to the surface (yeah)