phoeberaven

[phoeberaven]

If no adult calls another adult "baby" ever again, IRL or in fiction, the world will be a better place. #somanyothertermsofendearment #becreative #itreallyirksme

[phoeberaven]

The N Program

I’ve done a LOT of thinking and headcanoning about the N program, so for N7 day, I thought I’d share them for anyone who might be interested. :D

The fact that Shepard is a badass is something we all take for granted, because of COURSE Shepard is a badass. But I wanted to really take a close look at the N program to understand why and how, because it’s never really a focus in the trilogy aside from the really fucking kickass N7 logo.

I used the codex entry about the N program as a starting point, and filled in the gaps by doing some basic research on US spec-ops programs and extrapolating it to space.

I made the N training modular, undergone at spaced out intervals instead of all at once. This means that it would take over a year, if not longer, to go from N1 to N7.

As my Shepard is a biotic, I did a lot of poking at what it would be like to undergo such rigorous and brutal training in which food deprivation is standard as someone whose body requires significantly higher calorie counts than most humans. Given the rarity of human biotics, and the even greater scarcity of functional human biotics who would be of combat age, I also liked the idea that the Alliance doesn’t know what to do with human biotics. When Shepard goes through the program, the general line of thinking is just…survive it. It is only once more biotics attempt the N program - many of whom wash out - that the Alliance starts trying to integrate them. Kaidan Alenko is a key driver of the biotics training that eventually gets added to the N4 specialization course.

Since I have written heavily about N1 and N7 specifically, I put a lot of thought into what those particular programs look like in detail.

For N1 this meant developing an incredibly advanced Armax Arena-style simulator technology, nicknamed the Can, that sits off the coast of Brazil. This simulator, which is lined with gravitic plates that can raise and lower gravity in any plane, allows for elaborate recreations of alien environments, zero g and high g scenarios, and space combat, along with VI hostiles of any alien species.

For N7, I adopted Anderson’s description of the N7 asteroid test rather than the original codex account that states N7 is more or less awarded when a candidate proves themselves in combat, because I didn’t like the notion that N7 functioned more like a medal earned by random chance than something that could be earned via consistently administered and scored criteria. But I also didn’t like the idea that the asteroid test was basically a measure of how long you could hold your breath in vacuum. So I set it up as a skills test: candidates are dropped behind “enemy lines” in the asteroid belt, and told to survive as long as possible with limited supplies while being pursued by “hostiles” (other Ns). The idea is that candidates have to use everything they’ve learned about combat, survival, and zero-G to make the cut.

The document linked below includes my notes on what training is provided at each N level, where said training takes place, and its duration. I chose Ihla Grande, an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, as the actual location of the Villa.

This was a ton of fun to develop, and a lot of fun to write about. 

The N Program  

If you want to see fic that puts it in action, here is where I have written about it:

N1: Hope In These Wires, from Fugue.

N5: Fall From Your Ladder, from Cantata

N7: Facing Giants, from Cantata.

And just for fun, here’s the fic celebrating Shepard’s N7 achievement, with kissing.

The Words That Change Us

Happy N7 Day!!!

[phoeberaven]

Space Prince Jaal and my Malcolm Ryder. Cutie pies.

[phoeberaven]

#i love him so much #Steve is the best and you know it

[phoeberaven]

Commission of my Shepard and Cortez by the wonderful @beemot! THANK YOU. Here they are, at the Citadel party, being all cute and stuff!

[phoeberaven]

So, I wrote my first One Shot and because I am wordy, it ended up with 10k+ words, and it might not stay a One Shot. Prompted by a friend who wanted to read about James Vega on a first date that included some smut. I delivered, please enjoy. :)

[phoeberaven]

Commissioning some artwork for #Shortez, so y'all better stay tuned. They deserve so much more love.

[phoeberaven]

Steve is the best and you know it. The bestest man there ever was.

[phoeberaven]

Hear me out though, what if Shepard agreed to a reality TV show type deal a la The Kardashians ahead of his and Steve's wedding and in the process of filming, Steve becomes everyone's favorite Space Husband, because, well, he's Steve and he's the best, and no one even cares about Shepard that much anymore, but Steve Cortez-Shepard becomes the extranet's darling, has his own cooking show or talk show, maybe an advice segment on how to tune your tech and upgrade your home and Shepard just appears sometimes, floats in and out or appears in special episodes, but really Steve is the star and everyone loves them and they are the galaxy's First Couple and only good things happen to them? What about that? Someone needs to write that. It won't be me, I only do darkness and pain.

[phoeberaven]

Happy N7 Day, everyone. I can't draw to save my life, so have a snippet of my Shortez fanfic that mentions how proud Shepard is of being an N7...

“I have given you full access, any time you want,” he finally explained.

Steve was taken aback. He knew this was the one place Shepard allowed himself to relax – other than the apartment on the Citadel – and where he kept everything close to his heart. His fish, his hamster, his model ships, a picture of his graduation from the N7 program, and random bits and pieces of memorabilia he had collected along the way. And now he had access to this refuge whenever he wanted.

[phoeberaven]

Anything for you! #ShortezForever

Inktober 8 & 9 - Shep & Cortez

Reference used

[phoeberaven]

[phoeberaven]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's "fentanyl", not " fentanol".

Spelling ain't gonna save a life, but it's driving me bonkers how many people say/spell it wrong.

[phoeberaven]

I write other things than fan fiction. You can read the full piece on my blog, Phoebe's Pond.

[phoeberaven]

Get to know me...

10 mutuals I'd like to know better

Tagged by @westernlarch. 😍

Last song I listened to: My Mind - Ryan Harris

Favorite content to watch: give me high end TV shows all day long. I love spending lots of time with characters, really getting to know them.

Also: my fav streamers on Twitch.

Favorite games: Mass Effect trilogy, ME multiplayer... did I say Mass Effect? Oh, also Subnautica.

Favorite color: navy blue

Favorite animals: all the cats

Favorite food: my grandma's baked cheesecake

Sweet, spicy, or savory: sweet

Current obsessions: Making jams and jelly, my Shortez ME fanfic, hiking

Last book I read: books are still a thing? Have started many. not finished one in years.

Last thing I googled: how much pectin to add to set runny jelly

Relationship: single and poly

Fun fact: I've lived in three countries, I've hosted a sports radio show and I once took the secret underground rail into the US Congress.

Don't have that many mutuals, I am new to Tumblr, but tagging @serendipitys-teapot and @olivethemushrooms. Feel free to ignore if you don't have time.

[phoeberaven]

Like I know it's been over a decade but I'm still like: but why did the Normandy FTL jump at the end? Where to? Hackett ordered everyone to the rendezvous point. Surely that wasn't an FTL jump away. And surely they wouldn't just abandon Shepard, the crew (Joker especially) would circle back around to save Shepard, since they don't know that 2 out of 3 options mean Shepard dies. Heck, they don't even know there are options at that point. What's that garden planet anyway they land on and why, if the ship is perfectly capable of flying?

It just makes no sense and it's making it too hard to write my fanfic post ending and I'm mad about it, okay?

[phoeberaven]

This is why I'm writing a Shortez fic right now. Because Steve is best.

In case you forgot why Steve is the best and why he deserves so much more love and recognition from the fandom