thedragonaspect

[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. 🤣

[thedragonaspect]

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

[thedragonaspect]

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)

[thedragonaspect]

Stickers! Who doesn't love them, and what's better than buying stickers? Buying them from an amateur artist and supporting a new business

Keep an eye out on my page as I will be launching a new etsy store soon with over 20 different designs available in the first month

[thedragonaspect]

Mass Effect 1 is really special to me, and this is just lovely

Finally, before the end of 2014, I’ve drawed through Shepard and the original squad members with anime style. It took me about eleven months to complete them, thanks to Wrex’s heavy armor so complex, it took longer hours then I expect to finish them.

Even the trilogy was over for a long time, sometimes I’ve imagined :

“What if Mass Effect looks like if someone makes them into TV anime.”

I guess this wish will never come to real life.

*

終於，趕在2014年結束前把Shepard和原始隊員們以動畫風格的方式畫了一遍。花了大約11個月去繪製，託Wrex那身複雜設計的重甲的福，完成時間比預估的時間要長上許多。

即使三部曲已經結束了很久，我總是時不時地幻想：

『如果Mass Effect製作成電視動畫的話會是什麼模樣？』

我猜這願望永遠也不會實現。

[thedragonaspect]

[thedragonaspect]

In the end, getting off Akuze alive comes down to math.

The equation is simple.

One broken distress beacon, shot through and shorted out by a random, panicked bullet. One shattered M-29 Grizzly, armor plates cracked and smoking with corrosive acid. One malfunctioning Kessler II with a single thermal charge left, blinking out glaring red warning lights. One blood-spattered medi-gel pack.

Three kilometers to the landing zone, where the only working radio on this fucking planet is.

Forty-nine dead marines, and two dying ones: Bethany Shepard and Marian Luo. Both are as close to death as they have been to each other since the day they met in basic training. Luo is closer, but only by meters not by miles.

Only one of them makes it out, minus the medi-gel pack and the pistol. 

Shepard has to live with it afterward.

Luo doesn’t.

[thedragonaspect]

I wanted the Adventurer's Guide to the Sword Coast for the lore - but it also includes the Banneret, arguably one of the weakest subclasses in DnD 5e. It mainly gives you the ability to give your allies small boosts.

Which led to a character concept I want to play sometime. A young guy, kinda weedy for a fighter, recruited to join the subclass via a traveling seminar. Sold on the sales pitch that as a Banneret, you will have the power to empower your allies. And if you recruit 5 more Bannerets, they will empower you fivefold in turn! And if each of them recruits 5 more Bannerets, you'd be even more powerful...and so on.

Yeah, he's a down-on-his-luck adventurer who spent all his money to join a pyramid scheme. And he has a ton of little flags left to hand out.

[thedragonaspect]

Near, but not quite in, a tiny lake in North-East Alaska.

Latitude: 67.60896, Longitude: -142.88555

go to this random coordinates generator and say in the tags how you would fare if you were dropped where it generates without warning. i’ll go first i’d be dropped in the middle of the fucking south atlantic ocean and perish

[thedragonaspect]

Ah, so glad to find this here! It's been years at this point, but that one panel of Revan's pouty little face still comes to mind from time to time, and I just discovered it's gone from dA (fair enough).

Another fan comic blast from the past, this time of KOTOR from 2007!

This was meant to be a longer piece, but I lost interest after the Revan-canonized-as-male business. So alas, the Revan & Dustil-centric comic ends as is ;3;

I always imagine Raphael Sbarge’s voice reading the Carth lines, and all is good ^3^

[thedragonaspect]

"Pull over." - Shepard, exiting the vehicle to fight a Reaper on foot.

(or to finish off a thresher maw/colossus for higher exp in ME1)

Please tell me all about it in the tags!

[thedragonaspect]

From @keriweird

List the First Line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

Long Shot (Mass Effect)

At first glance it looks tropical, but the steamy haze filling the canyon is close to boiling and the lush green on the walls is a heat-resistant algae.

Dead End (Mass Effect)

Even in death, Private Callahan couldn’t seem to shut up.

Re-construct (Mass Effect)

“Oh, you fucker!”

Downtime (Mass Effect)

It took a minute to register that someone was calling her by name.

Llathasa (Skyrim)

"Sleep well?"

[thedragonaspect]

"You should listen to me. I made hundreds of plans in my life and only one of them got me killed." - Jason Mendoza Commander Shepard

[thedragonaspect]

Sharjila is one of my favourite chapters for perfect pacing, each sequence setting up the next with tension and drive. It's definitely one to read in a sitting, hard to put down.

...also, I do spreadsheets for a living, and I am fascinated by what one for a fic would look like. I've done them for timelines and character ages before.

Ha, so I am cleaning out my tumblr drafts to avoid writing, and I just found this dated February of 2020.

I'm still stuck on this story, which now involves a stream-of-consciousness brainstorming doc and a GODDAMMED SPREADSHEET. It's ONE CHAPTER. Please kill me. But don't, because if I can pull it off it's gonna be great. But in the meantime, to avoid defenestration I need a distraction. If I asked for prompts, would anyone be willing to send me one? Looking for mshenko, or mshenko-adjacent (I love writing about friendships), something simple and flexible?

The draft I was stuck on was Sharjila, I definitely wound up asking for prompts, and the "simple" distraction wound up being Sonata.

[thedragonaspect]

Going from Baldur's Gate 3 to Mass Effect 1 (original)...oh boy, are the 17 year old graphics showing their age.

I miss BG3's quick save function and nigh unlimited save files.

But Shepard as a voiced protagonist has so much more presence than the largely silent Tav. Even Noble 6, minimally voiced, has a persona in each of their less-is-more lines, plus the enigmatic helmeted head-tilt.

BG3's companions are so vibrant, it highlights the weird blank of Tav.