#MC: Pathfinder Ryder

[fleshofmensis]

holy shit.. mensis talking about something not (directly)bethesda or fromsoft?

I'M SORRY I HAVE TO.. i've been really into mass effect andromeda and the outer worlds lately and i'm so so distraught with all the shit those two games get???

i actually enjoy them both so very much. i just love space games done right .. AHEM.. not starfield. and i'm not sorry for saying that lmao starfield is so dogshit??? ANDROMEDA AND THE OUTER WORLDS IS WHAT STARFIELD COULD HAVE BEEN .. AND THOSE TWO GAMES WERE INCREDIBLY RUSHED FROM WHAT I KNOW, AND THEYRE STILL BETTER

the main problem i'm seeing from everyone with andromeda is like "ohh it's not like the main trilogy" NO SHIT?? ITS A DIFFERENT GAME?? AND THE MC IS NOTHING LIKE SHEPARD AND DOESNT HANDLE THINGS LIKE SHEPARD 😔 poor ryder, bro was just tossed into being pathfinder and is doing the best they can

i will admit, in some places the dialogue can be .. wonky or cringe but oh well?? i think the companion chrs are so personable and fun and likable (except cora.. i wanna throw cora into a volcano) AND THE CHRS ARE SO GOOD OH MY GOD.. i have a few in mind right now that i just ADORE

—

i will throw hands for the outer worlds.. i think it's so so fun and looks great.. esp the salty petty "from the creators of fallout" in their ads UHHH YES? you go obsidian

yeah sure some things are unfinished or not. continued but that's fine? i loved the story and i feel it progressed fine enough. i haven't played the dlcs but i really want to ughhhhh AND THE AFTER END CREDIT SCENE? SOBBED

it's a beautiful game that actually has INHABITED AND FUN TO EXPLORE PLANETS ahem.. STARFIELD TAKE A HINT (sorry i'm so.. i dislike starfield so bad. i feel like i wasted time playing that game lmao)

that's all for now.. might blab about my favorite chrs from andromeda later byeer

[mamamittens]

I branched back out into Mass Effect Andromeda fanfic and it sparked a memory of the OC I made for that game specifically.

I talked about her on here before but that was a long ass time ago and I can't find the damn posts or the art I did either so here's a small summary lol

The idea was basically formed by my love of making Bioware MCs kids cause it's fucking hilarious forcing these stubborn ass side characters to make decisions and you know... Cooperate together. In game you constantly have to make decisions between them and I get why, but sometimes it's like...

Why the fuck are you asking me this rn?!?? Do I not look busy enough??!? How are you the experts and requiring my input right now?!?

And anyway, there's a good bit of angst built in since it's Andromeda lol

Essentially, the idea is that of the Ryder twins, Sarah dies at birth and the couple unexpectedly have a third kid further down the line when they assumed Mrs. Ryder (cannot recall her name at the moment) was infertile after all that biotics shit. So they have a third (technically, grief is hard and childloss a messy topic) kid who has strong ass biotics but a crippling health issue.

My memory is fuzzy, but BB (Beatrice is her proper name but tbh, I'm probably changing it cause we already have PeeBee in game lol, but for the moment just know BB is this OCs name) basically ends up getting seizures anytime she gets too worked up. So she was pretty sheltered growing up with Alec's parents who were retired on earth.

She's a preteen when the Andromeda Initiative thing starts up and ultimately is slated to go with them since they fully expect the grandparents to be dead before she even graduates highschool. She goes to incredible lengths to prove she can 'handle' being on her father's team cause despite the emotional distance between all of them (less so her brother since he enjoyed calling often to talk), she was terrified of waking up totally alone in a new galaxy.

Helps that Alec and her mom(before she 'died') worked on improved biotic implants that would prevent her seizures. Anyway, she basically masters biotic step??? Uh, dodge mechanic essentially if memory serves, to 'earn her place' and Alec couldn't say no despite being a hard ass because he's actually got a massive weak spot for his family.

So Alec designates her as a scout and shoves as much defense and scan tech into her suit that he can because she IS NOT MEANT TO BE FIGHTING. HER WHOLE ARGUMENT WAS HOW GREAT SHE WOULD BE AT GETTING TF OUT OF DODGE.

So then plot happens, the game goes on as expected, but there's a reason her scanner is so impressive. Because it's literally her main job, to be using that shit as first boots on the ground. And when it comes to her father dying, it's actually because of a small... Requisition problem with her suit.

So, since she's a kid, the helmet that actually is meant to fit the slightly smaller suit, isn't as sturdy as Alec's N-7 gear. Obviously. She WAS meant to have gear top to bottom almost as good as his, but the helmet was where it cheaped out and he didn't know. So it shatters in the incident beyond omnigel repair capabilities.

And, despite her better biotics and control, the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere is triggering her seizures. She WILL die if he tries swapping helmets back and forth.

The ONLY chance she has is if she gets his helmet AND SAM. The AI being so integrated was intentional because he gave SAM clearance to do literally whatever it took to save his daughter's life. This unfortunately means BB has Pathfinder clearance since all of SAM'S super impressive shit is locked behind that.

Cora is still pissed about the whole deal but it's like, so much worse because she can't argue against it since... That was Alec's last wish. To save his kid (maybe his last one since Scott is in a coma). And it's sort of... Her fault.

Cora is the reason the helmet wasn't up to snuff. She assumed Alec was putting in too many resources and credits for his kid's kit that she dropped the defense quality of the helmet since it was the last part and Alec was busy with other shit. If it had been to Alec's original design specs, it would have been fine. Maybe cracked, but definitely not shattered. Her attempt to curb what she viewed as favoritism for his youngest kid (after letting her join the expedition at that) ultimately ended up killing him.

And Cora now, technically, has to take orders from BB.

Obviously, she can't lead as a preteen. So BB is basically a glorified key holder for the Actual Important Shit. Outwardly, everyone knows Cora as the Pathfinder. Their bosses know, as they wanted to stuff BB back into cryo or at least onto the Nexus, but too much shit is locked behind Pathfinder clearance that the crew would be literally useless if they did.

SAM did end up saving BB, and is able to prevent most seizures after being installed properly, which is later revealed to low-key be Alec's plan. He WANTED to give BB an alt version of SAM at some point since her powerful Biotics was part of the damn problem and a super involved AI would be capable of slowing, if not stopping, seizures at the source. Medication only goes so far when you have electric superpowers coursing through your body in moments of heightened stress lol

Anyway, they keep her technical authority under wraps. As far as anyone knows, Cora has Loco Parentis until Scott wakes up at minimum and refuses to ice BB since her mentor/leader/friend's literal last wish was to have his daughter looked after. The fact that she has scanners and equipment ready built for her that are nearly as good as fully developed labs is a sorely needed bonus in these difficult times.

When it comes to Jaal, things get interesting cause... They kind of... Pretend that BB isn't a kid. They all dance around it but Jaal suspects something is off. He has no fucking idea what though for a long time.

I don't remember what I originally planned to give it away, but Jaal eventually realizes BB is a kid and is fucking shocked and horrified. BB is super upset to have failed again, they get cute bonding time. Everyone is low-key relieved to not pretend anymore cause it was rapidly getting out of hand lol

Ironically this does so much for relations cause like, they never saw KETT CHILDREN (they don't know yet that they never will cause... Yeah). And being so close to an 'alien child' and trusted around one is super impactful for them once word gets out. BB is, at the time, the youngest human in the entirety of Andromeda (super relieved when that one lady gives birth lmao, she HATED BEING THE YOUNGEST KID).

Uh, I remember planning that Kett facility going differently where they split up with BB setting up explosives even before they realize what the place does. That's right, I think it's stupid you can either save the Angaaran or blow it up, so she takes care of blowing it up but nearly gets left behind as everyone GTFOs before reinforcements arrive. Winding up on an Angaaran escape vessel and setting off the charge once they clear the building properly. Cause, you know... Making things explode from a safe distance is something humans have long since mastered and it's still SO DUMB YOU COULDNT DO BOTH.

Anyway, that might of been what cottoned Jaal onto BB being a kid cause everyone was fucking devastated and panicked before SAM patched her into the comms like

"Well, that was fun, but I think I'd like to not do that again if it's all the same to you guys" cause they thought she was caught in the explosions lol

Idk, maybe she ends up having to be dropped off with Jaal's folks since the refugees are taken straight to safety and the crew couldn't exactly... Demand otherwise without revealing their cards on open airwaves.

Maybe Jaal's family is basically watching BB awkwardly interact with them like

Because honestly, even galaxies a part, kids are going to act like kids. And BB is too tired and overwhelmed to throw ALL OF THEM off lol

So Jaal's mom is softly like "hey, precious son of mine... How TF did you get close to a human child??? This is a child??? Right??? I'm not crazy--thats a kid???!!? And they?!? Trusted you with them?!? Us with them?!?" And Jaal takes a moment to think about how weird the crew acts sometimes about BB. How small she is (they exaggerated the whole 'old people shrink' thing lol). They way she clings to comfort items. Her curiosity. The general, more fragile state of her being.

It makes too much sense suddenly.

There's a whole thing about someone in Jaal's family complaining about BB trying to steal him away like the Kett stole so much already and BB gets to whip out her Tragic Backstory ™ and they're all super horrified she's got such a small family. Kinda takes the wind out of their sails a bit lol, would elaborate more but I'm getting really damn tired so...

Yeah lol, a whole thing with BB. Better name pending.

[dukeofriven]

In order to make Sara Ryder relatable, MEA goes out of its way to make sure she's an idiot. Doctor who travelled 600 Years to explore a whole a whole new galaxy: I'd love a specimen of the kett: dead is fine live would be best. Ryder: Duhhhh, why would you want that? Scientist: I wrote my thesis on soil do you want to read about all the fascinating elements of soil composition in the cluster? Ryder: Lol. Soil. Fuckin' stupid nerd. Doctor: I specialized in krogan reproductive organs and the distinctive nature of their aggression, virility, and the effects of a war crime on their reproduction. Ryder: Why the fuck would you study BALLS—you some kind of faggot? MEA does this presumably so that the COD bros who picked up the game for the shooty multiplayer feel at home, but it is, in a word, exhausting. It's MEA's stupid writing in a nutshell. The pathfinder team should mostly be scientists: a [xeno] botanist, zoologist, biologist, chemist, geologist, meteorologist, anthropologist, psychologist, astrophysicist, and that's just off of my head. All these people are crucial to do the initial work before passing it back to bigger initiative teams: all these people and their expertise are the frontline of a Pathfinder's works. But instead, the OG Pathfinder team is idiot jarheads, from uptight know-nothing Cora, to forgettable shooty-bros Kirkland and friends, to lunatic Liam who defaces corpses with an assault rifle because he can't handle his emotions like an adult and is a danger to the whole team. You replace some of them with... a mercenary, a mercenary, a soldier, and whatever Pissbee is supposed to be (I think just some kind of amateur gun nut roboticist? It's not clear.) You do this because, well, when the game was scrapped and started over with a tight deadline they panicked and just did Mass Effect 1-3 again, even though this makes no sense in context and just makes Alec Ryder, Enormous Idiot And Bad Dad, seem even less qualified to be a pathfinder than he does normally. And so, because 'dumb jarheads' is MEAs comfort zone, Ryder joined the Initiative because.. he dad made her, basically. Certainly she seems to think exploring strange new worlds is for dumb nerds, given her total contempt for science. And that would be a valid character choice if you were allowed to do anything else, but you're not. The wild thing about MEA ditching the Paragon/Renegade system is that it made the MC less distinctive, not more. Paragon Shepard, Renegade Shepard, and even neutral Shepard are all different people with different worldviews. One is very casual about genocide, one is not. That's... that makes a difference. But you can pick random dialogue options through all of MEA and get the same Sara Ryder every time.

[loveydoveymerrillsabrae]

Got my PS4 save to work correctly again; got some more ‘caps of my girl Cierra Ryder! Tbh, I love her so much,,

[pip-n-flinx]

Long-Post-No-One-Asked-For

Because I am Tired of seeing Mass Effect Andromeda hate. We’re gonna do an analysis of why its a beautiful successor to the Mass Effect Trilogy under the cut.

Oh also spoilers. Just.... In case that wasn’t clear....

Mass Effect Andromeda definitely has a more ME1 classic RPG vibe to it, so most comparisons will be drawn from ME1 to MEA. However... MEA has the best combat system and character customization of any Mass Effect game. This isn’t entirely fair to the trilogy since its a newer game. But the addition of the jump jets, evades, and the vertical integration of the maps? Stunning. The ability to not only research rare items from the shop, build them yourself and install modifications at creation? Masterstroke. You’re telling me I can start incorporating alien tech into Initiative tech? AND VICE VERSA? Brilliant. You’re character customization can impact other characters in your family/you can customize your twin? I love it!!!! Phenomenal addition to the story telling bits the trilogy was working with.

On to Ryder, and their relative youth n such. They’re a relatively young whippersnapper with family ties to the Alliance. All these are available as options to Shepard. Wishing you could have your colonist background instead? F!Ryder has experience working on digs and can be played to be estranged from her family, in a brilliant parallel to Liara from ME1. Want to be a hardass/bootlicker mission comes first type MC? Take either Ryder twin’s time in the Alliance Military and make them nostalgic about it. Make them angry Alec ruined their career. And here, we have a beautiful Ashley Williams parallel. Want a more tragic backstory yet? Just wait til you finish Habitat-7. If two dead(sort of!) parents and a comatose twin doesn’t strike your fancy, I’m not sure how much more Bioware could have done! Also, unlike ME1 they didn’t break the show-don’t-tell rule of story telling. Shepard’s backstory is buried in the codex, while Ryder’s is out in the open. Shepard themselves is startlingly young to take commando of the SR1 at only 29 years old, replacing Space-Dad Anderson who would’ve been about 46 y/o during the events of ME1. Much like Ryder, Shepard is thrown into a position of leadership that they’re only nominally qualified for (because what could possibly prepare you for the beacon and the Reapers?!) And now both Shepard and Ryder have something of incredibly value stuck inside their head. SAM and the beacon are the initial plot drivers for MEA and ME1 respectively.

You’re first mission, while the game is still teaching you the mechanics, you lose a squadmate, as well as several side characters casualties to a bewildering and alien threat. Bioware didn’t pull any punches with those opening scenes, but I would argue Andromeda does a better job of setting up the Pathfinder team so that it hurts when you lose Kirkland. Certainly I was more attached to the Pathfinder team than I was to the 212 (Sorry Ash! Wish y’all had gotten more screen time!) But it really does a good job setting Ryder to struggle with their command. We know Sole Survivor was traumatic enough to require a pysch write up for Shepard, and certainly losing two members of the Pathfinder team (one of which is your Dad) and with Hayes and Fischer as casualties while also having the worst possible first contact will set you off kilter mentally.

Now let’s get big picture, thematic if you will. Where the Trilogy has set up AI or technology (Reapers) as the climactic extinction-event-messianic-death-cult-supervillain, Andromeda has set up the perfection/genetics-obsessed Kett as your new extinction-event-messianic-death-cult-supervillain. Which is both timely given the resurgence of racist xenophobic rhetoric all round the world (yea political commentary!) but also a classic story telling reversal. Flip the script on the original trilogy, don’t just rehash the same old shit!

Both the Trilogy and Andromeda do a reasonably good job of muddying the moral-tale. Only some of the Geth wish to worship the Reapers and extinguish organic life. The Quarians certainly didn’t give the Geth a fair chance before trying to destroy their creations. Similarly, while the Initiative relies on the SAM’s and the Pathfinder team more broadly, the Fire Fighters are more than willing to destroy their own tool, even when survival is uncertain, based solely on Knight’s experience with Project Overlord. Racial tensions abound in all the Mass Effect games, but Andromeda frequently goes out of the way to expose them as out of date. While the Trilogy does occasionaly subvert racial stereotypes Andromeda has a laundry list of characters who do so. Vetra Nyx, Nakmor Kesh, Sarissa Theris, Nilken Rensus, just off the top of my head. Kallo Jath is a Salarian haunted by the past, and Peebee is finally a good look at a less stoic Asari Maiden. Cora Harper is a great example of a xenophilic human, a stark contrast to the Ashley from ME1 (thank god that girl got some character development. her banter on the citadel doesn’t win her many fans...)

I’ll also never understand why people complained about the update to the Paragon/Renegade system. Bioware has long fallen into the trap of the false dichotomy, especially in their sci-fi games. With the Star Wars games, it can be forgiven because George Lucas and Disney have positioned the Lightside and Darkside as comical caricatures of a black and white morality. Space Opera. We get it. But finally getting and update to that model? I know Americans are brainwashed into binary choice by our two-party system, but surely gamers from parliamentary governments should be able to see that four directions is better than two? Only complaint is they have little in-game impact. And you know what, you got me there. At least ME1 provides in-game rewards for character behavior.

So when some butt-hurt fan says they still don’t like Mass Effect Andromeda, what they’re really saying is they hate how it defied their expectations. I know it exceeded mine. Bioware set out to make a spiritual successor to the Trilogy and I’ll be damned if Andromeda isn’t my favorite Mass Effect game yet. I really hope we get a second game in Andromeda. All of this is not to say I support crunch in the game development sector or that a AAA game released by one of the largest game developers should have visual glitches upon release. If you charge AAA prices, it shouldn’t need a patch for the VFX. I do think people who make that criticism overlook how wonky some of the old graphics in ME1-2 were, but I totally agree we should hold EA at least to higher standards on game release. The whole game industry dropping the ball (I’m looking at you Bethesda) doesn’t excuse it.

[obvidalous]

Study: Fears

Thanks for the tag @rpgwarrior4824 and @wickedwitchofthewilds !  I'll do this for both my Pathfinders, hope you don’t mind ;)

Rules: Bold whatever your MC is afraid of. 

And I tag @kenshi-vakarian7 @stitchzin @slothssassin @ripley95things and @natsora if you want!

PATHFINDER SARA RYDER

the dark ~ fire ~ open water ~ deep water ~ being alone ~ crowded spaces ~ confined spaces ~ change ~ failure ~ war ~ loss of control ~ powerlessness~ prison ~ blood ~ drowning ~ suffocation ~ public speaking ~ natural animals ~ the supernatural ~ heights ~ death ~ dying ~ intimacy ~ rejection ~ abandonment ~ loss ~ the unknown ~ the future ~ not being good enough ~ scary stories ~ speaking to new people ~ poverty ~ loud noises ~ being touched ~ forgetting ~ being forgotten ~ hospitals

PATHFINDER REYES VIDAL

the dark ~ fire ~ open water ~ deep water ~ being alone ~ crowded spaces ~ confined spaces ~ change ~ failure ~ war ~ loss of control ~ powerlessness~ prison ~ blood ~ drowning ~ suffocation ~ public speaking ~ natural animals ~ the supernatural ~ heights ~ death ~ dying ~ intimacy ~ rejection ~ abandonment ~ loss ~ the unknown ~ the future ~ not being good enough ~ scary stories ~ speaking to new people ~ poverty ~ loud noises ~ being touched ~ forgetting ~ being forgotten ~ hospitals

[hunnybadgerv]

Rambling on Enemies-to-Lovers, or Why I Struggle with this Trope

twistedsinews replied to your post “I want to learn to write enemies to lovers. Every time I see John Seed...”

i don't know if i can point directly to any fic that would interest you but maybe i can help you what do you need other than that?

I can write the like good vs. evil, for lack of a better phrase. I can write that conflict between the two sides, but I’m not sure how to get those two people that see each other as “OTHER” to see each other differently. 

I mean once one internalizes that this person is the enemy, it seems like it is one of those lines you can’t easily crossover. 

I’ll give one thing, with John Seed though, from his point of view at least I can see a path toward it. Because there’s that interaction in the first capture where Joseph tells him that he has to love those he’s trying to save and that he shouldn’t let his own sin taint his mission of “saving” the deputy and other converts.

But that element is not always present in those types of relationships. And in my head it is kind of tough to walk past the ... this person’s trying to kill another (potentially) or somehow hurting people or things dear to the MC/Protag and doing bad things (at least in the protagonist’s definition of the world). How does that vast conflict twist into something else?

Additionally, once that relationship twists, how can the storyline continue unaltered? I think that’s probably the biggest hang up for me. Though I realize that loving a person does not mean loving their actions, but when their actions directly impact the life of that other person in a negative way, how can their relationship remain unphased by either of their actions?

I mean with the example I used earlier. The Deputy keeps taking apart the cult, how can John who is working in tandem with his family for a certain goal that the deputy is aligned completely against forgive and forget about the destruction of this thing he’s committed his life and energy, too? And on the other side, how can the deputy who is trying to rescue her associates from within the grips of John’s family look past their actions and plans to see John as anything other than an adversary? 

There’s a logic line that I just can’t follow without warping what feels like the master motivations of these characters. And it’s similar in most stories I’ve come across. I mean even if it was an original fic, that’s the question that comes to mind. How can two people on different sides with conflicting drives and goals align themselves? Because when your drive is to destroy everything that person your character might claim to love or at least care for is dedicated too, how can that dichotomy be dealt with in a believable manner that makes sense for the storyline? I guess that’s the issue I struggle with.

Maybe it’s my definition of “love” that is the problem. I see it as supportive and considerate. And if you love a person you would help them, not tear everything around them down to the bare foundation. 

That or you have one person that perhaps might have to compromise their values. Take Reyes and Ryder. If you set Ryder up as a character that values truth and honesty as a virtue, it is difficult to reconcile a relationship with Reyes who lies to Ryder throughout the story and could be seen as using his association with the Pathfinder as a way to assassinate a dictatorial leader, who may or may not pose a potential threat to the Initiative. But if this is a core value for Ryder, what does it say of their character if they just ignore Reyes actions and let their emotional connection to him overwrite this part of them.

I mean sure, it’s a very human thing. But then I have to wonder--I am a believer in building relationships on trust--if Ryder cannot trust Reyes, then how can they possibly find a way to make that work?

Perhaps I’m clinging too close to an old quote, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Life is crazy, but fiction has to make sense.” Sure real life is messy, but when one writes fiction that’s a mess and has loose ends just dangling everywhere like fraying hems, readers get frustrated and feel cheated. There has to be some, let’s say, logic to a story. I guess that expectation exists because our lives are complete messes and it’s nice to see something tie up nicely. 

That is probably my issue with enemies to lovers, because I cannot see a happily ever after for these types of relationships. Not that every relationship should or could have this, though it is a satisfying conclusion for readers. And for me as a writer. I like to see these connections between people have futures, and it’s a little sad and feels cruel to build this thing up only to destroy it in the end.

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

Dragon Age / Mass Effect / Cyberpunk 2077 / Baldur's Gate 3

Main blog: tarraxahum

I loved the Veilguard, before that I loved Inquisition, and I also rather enjoyed Andromeda, none of you can hurt me in a way that matters <3

VEILGUARD SPOILER TAG: # datv spoilers

I'm a one-main-repetitive-playthrough kinda creature, so list of main MCs under the cut!

DRAGON AGE

ORIGINS:

RINE TABRIS

Warrior / Sword & Dagger / Berserk/ Power of Blood / Reaver

Morrigan romance (went through the eluvian)

Circle mages saved, Connor and Isolde alive, werewolves curse broken, Bhelen on the throne, Anora rules solo (with some... influence), Dark Ritual complete, Shianni is bann of the Denerim alienage, Amaranthine saved, Keep held on and companions there survived

DA 2:

NORA HAWKE

Warrior / Two-handed sword / Berserk / Reaver

Isabela & Merrill romance (aka Merrihawkebela)

Bethany is (was?) in the Circle, Hawke sided with mages, miraculously didn't lose anyone, spared Anders

INQUISITION:

KINARA TREVELYAN

Rogue / Daggers / Tempest

Sera romance (married)

Mages in Inquisiton (as allies), Briala rules through Gaspard, Alistair in the Fade (Wardens in Inquisition), Morrigan drank from the well, divine Leliana, Inquisition disbanded

THE VEILGUARD:

DANKA LAIDIR (Veilguard spoilers down below!)

Warrior / Two-handed hammer / Slayer

Harding romance

Took Harding to stop the ritual / Saved Minrathous / Lost Davrin / Bellara blighted / Punched Solas

BALDUR'S GATE 3

VICE

Asmodeus tiefling

Urchin / Barbarian Berserk

Karlach romance

Destroyed the Brain, is currently fighting her way through Avernus.

MASS EFFECT

OG TRILOGY / LE:

ROBYN SHEPARD

Spacer / Ruthless

Renegon

Vanguard

Liara romance

Ashley saved on Virmire, Council saved, Genophage cured, Geth and Quarians united, Red ending (survived)

ANDROMEDA:

TRISHA RYDER

Peebee romance

Sloane saved, Exhaltation facility destroyed, Vederia is asari's Pathfinder, Captain Dunn alive

CYBERPUNK 2077

V (VALERIE)

Nomad

Melee fist-fighter build / Berserk

Judy romance

Star ending

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

INES MORENO | SAINTS ROW

(not an RPG, but it is TO ME)

TERRY TUCKER | FALLOUT 4

(Cait romance, blew up the Institute, Minutemen faction)

ELENA DE SARDET | GREEDFALL

(Siorra romance, sided with the natives, left the big land to deal with their own bullshit)

[whevater]

Finished the 10-hour trial

So...why not write something while waiting for launch?

Not much has progressed story-wise, the most eventful stuff was all packed in the first 2 hours, and the first mission after the prologue got cut off right before things got real so no point in discussing the story just yet. 

The one thing that I want to say is - I absolutely love playing as Ryder. It’s quite refreshing to have a relatively inexperienced MC. The strange thing is, usually in the first playthrough I’d just play a self-insert character but with MEA I don’t know why I suddenly want to role play as Sara Ryder the girl who always looks up to her father, who’s a bit of a nerd, who struggles in the role of being a Pathfinder, etc. And the new dialogue system (from DAI?) actually allows me to do this. I mean in the OT whether it’s paragon or renegade Shepard, they were essentially the same...?

I guess I got bored playing as heroes. I don’t know if it’s the writing or the voice acting or something else but I wasn’t half as attached to my inquisitor orz

BTW Cora’s kinda like Gwynn in Vindictus, I like Gwynn

[yes-this-is-sam]

WIP MEME

List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on. This can be writing, art, vids, gifsets - anything at all!

I was tagged by the extraordinary @sexy-salmon thank you hun!

Aight.... shoot, gotta collect all my notes.

1) Escaping Ostagar:

This one is my only current Dragon Age fic. It’s... been a labour of love. My baby Melisande is a bit of a self-insert, I was maybe trying to use her to get a hold on my own PTSD. Maybe I cared way too much about this damn story. I’ve been working on it since Dec 2016 and it was the very first of my own writing I ever tried to share with anyone. Twice now I’ve given up on it despite having the last 12 chapters planned out. I still want to finish it but... I gotta get to a point where it doesn’t hurt that it got little attention. Like I said, I invested way too much into it. 

2) I Have To Try:

WOOO Currently my most progressed new story-child. Probably going to start posting it soon. Set in Andromeda, it follows none other than a bedraggled Avitus Rix in his new and initially unwelcome role as Pathfinder and the creation of his Pathfinding team. I didn’t like that we didn’t even hear news or anything playing about the other Pathfinder’s efforts to make their own colonies and help in whatever ways they could. A couple cameos where they take back seat to Ryder, which is unfair to ALL of the Pathfinders. Why put the other races and the entire Initiative on Ryder’s shoulders when the others have more experience and just as many resources? Kaetus gets dragged along for the ride, as well as an APEX team led by the fierce ex-Cabal Vitetoria Digeris. 

3) Though This Be Madness:

Hehehe this one certainly lives up to its name more than I expected. The story focuses around the blog’s namesake Samantha Curtis along with her wayward AI OPI, her adopted Batarian family Ragar and Ecetia, and the Krogan she knows way too much about Ganar Jirr. This one I'm taking a step back on to rethink how I'm gonna set it up. Originally it started right before the Initiative left for Andromeda and followed Sam taking on both an incurable illness and the Kett she needs to stay alive AND trying to outrun every faction now after them both.... BUT THEN SAM FELL IN LOVE. She met Rexis Sarex, an adorable troublemaker created by @masseffectoc and now I can’t write them apart. I got permission to include her characters in the story too and IT WILL BE GLORIOUS SHENANIGANS. If I start at the same place I was going to, it’ll still work but miss a lot of character and relationship building. SO I’ll either back up and start from farther back and end up with something as long as goddamn GRRM’s books, or I’ll split it into 2 and make a prequel where Sam and Rex meet and all the characters come together and decide to go with them to Andromeda or not. At least..... the ones who survive. Mwahahaha.

4) Chronicles of Jirr:

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit it. Ganar Jirr was originally just a nameless NPC I randomly created to give Sam a funny story to tell and amuse Rexis. Now he is one of my most dynamic characters I’ve ever made, I think. Affectionately nicknamed Krogan James Bond, by myself, this will be a series of stories told alternate BY him or about him. The ones told by him will probably be ridiculously exaggerated or entirely made up, fair warning. 

5) Blast Off:

This is gonna be a surprise for masseffectoc for her birthdaaaaaay so I'm not gonna say more than I told her. Which is that it’s an addition to Having A Blast, a silly fic pair I made for Sam and Rexis and his obsession with Blasto. 

6) Untitled (thus far):

I recently heard of a 10k word count challenge for the month of March, held by @mebigbang and I’m thinking of doing something for it. It sounds mildly terrifying but an excellent challenge and one I know I can hit the word count on (HA) if my other fics are of any indication. I tagged their blog here so if any artists or authors are interested (there’s an art part as well to Mass Effect Big Bang) you can check it out. I’ve got a couple ideas floating around but given that there’s a level of anonymity I won’t describe them just yet. I don’t wanna break the rules before I decide if I even can jump in. 

7) Post ME3 - currently untitled:

My take on the end of ME3 and how the people I care about make it through, a Garrus/Shep fic. It’s pretty amorphous atm since my OC fics have been taking up much more of my time. 

8) Halfsies:

Alright, this one is... urk. It’s the most conceptualized original idea I’ve had yet to date. It’s one I’ve put together enough to potentially go through on. I just don’t know if I’m good enough to get published and I’ve been so stressed with life stuff going on the last few years I’m still at concept stage. Anyway, premise... let me see if I can even describe this right.

Have you ever seen something out of the corner of your eye and for an instant you know it’s real and you HAVE to look at it but then as soon as you do you explain it away? Oh that was just the shadow off the vase. Damn, my cat scared the shit out of me. Those are Halfsies. Halfsies live halfway been this realm and another and have no form until they’re fully Recognised. They WANT to be Recognised. It is the only driving need they have and they fight viciously for it, to be made Real. Our main character makes a game out of trying to trick herself into believing what startles her is real instead of explaining it away automatically and one day she accidentally makes one Real. The form it takes is exactly what the MC imagined so it’s rather cartoonish and surreal looking, but it immediately grabs the MC and tells it to stop. That ALL of the Halfsies, literally there are no ways to count them because they don’t have form and always create more, now know the MC can make them Real, Recognise them. And they ALL are after the MC now and will do anything, drive them insane if they have to, in order to be made Real. And the MC has to rely on their befriended Halfsie and a few other friends to escape. 

Alright, I know I have more. I ALWAYS have more. But these are the only ones coming to mind right now. 

Tagging @shekissesturians @isharaytaoshay @daddyvictus and @ithewriter

[kaedeichinose]

touchtheowl replied to your post: the mc’s title in me:a being pathfinder sounds...

I think that’s a real maritime term?

it is but the way characters use it makes it feel really short of it being “chosen one”. I dont even think it fits the situation any way other than metaphorically unless ryder makes fucking maps by hand 

[mamamittens]

On the fence about my original plan years back in killing off Sara Ryder to keep the sibling count to 2 and putting Scott on ice in a coma for extra angst points.

But, if I kept them both alive, I could have it play out as originally really sweet. Like, Scott as the oldest promised to be there when Mia woke up, Sara wanting to sleep in (jokingly). So his cryo went fine. And Sara's the one that goes into a coma.

There's a running joke nickname between them (don't have one for Sara yet besides maybe Sleeping Beauty lol) where Scott, in an attempt to fill the void Alec left in his usual fashion while Mia grew up, called her often. In his academy days he used Mia as a rubber duck (usually in coding, you'd talk through an issue with a rubber duck and it apparently really helps), so Scott calls her "Ducky" and she usually makes jokes about "Beam me up, Scotty" when they see each other as a way to ask for a hug.

Anyway, if he's awake, he's got Feelings about his twin being in a coma and being the "man of the house" so to speak, grieving their father while taking care of... The literal everything else going on. And SAM may not be able to lie, so Scott's a good cover if anyone asks after the Pathfinder since he usually calls the MC "Pathfinder/Ryder" and no one would assume the 12 year old is the one he means lol

I also get to have fun with the two bonding, arguing, and generally getting into shenanigans as they work to fix the galaxy.

Extra funny idea that they still hide Mia's child status from Jaal in the beginning and for the longest time he just thinks "little sister/big brother" is a very literal translation and not an age thing. Also maybe thinks that human females/women are naturally just super short/slender compared to men since Scott is BUILT like a damn COD soldier lol

Which, Jaal isn't... Super wrong??? But not to the level he thinks it is lol

I redesigned "BB" or as she is now known as, "Mia" (very firmly as a nickname for "Andromeda" with every ounce of tween angst she's capable of, having moved to said galaxy unexpectedly)

Here's the pic I made... All the way in 2017? I believe at least lol

I do like how much effort I put into that background. This was before I moved to Clip Studio, ngl

Ultimately, I decided that the dark hair was a bit too close to Liam's, so I changed it. Also for an opportunity to make the Ryders the literal Blond Heroes. Real poster models of exploration. I almost gave her blue eyes and I might change my mind, but I did like the idea of later having her eyes compared to forests. That and it feels less... Yeah. No blue eyed blond haired MC I think. Sorry blue eyed, blond babes, her family is literally hyper military and out to colonize a new galaxy, I don't think we need faint Nazi vibes.

Kett got that covered low-key, I think

So overall she stands out from the other human characters we regularly see without being too much.

She's supposed to be a bit more tan, but she does actually look young and I love how her hair came out (one of the reasons I don't usually have blond characters, it's a really hard color to get right digitally. That and pink lol). Thought it would be nice if she got into the habit of dying the ends of her hair, which Cora allows because she feels bad and also it would be hypocritical otherwise.

Also, lmfao, space buns. A nice compromise since I think most humans have short hair so the helmets fit better. Can't imagine how annoying it would be to get hair in your face or mouth in space lol