#and that zaeed gets like 4 whole points

[clericofshadows]

dialogue tag game

tagged by the lovely @rotschopf-thedrow

rules: pick up to 10 characters and share one of your favorite lines of dialogue you have ever written for them!

this is cruel I have so much dialogue how can I choose favorites? this is definitely one of those things where I will give completely different answers if I'm asked about this again :)

choosing just one bit of dialogue for Regis Shepard is so hard, but a snarky one I've liked is from feeling numb, lost in time. Some of my favorite moments with Regis are when he's fucking with people.

“What story?” Regis asked with a smirk, realizing he could fuck with him. Regis and Joker have never had anything more than a barely civil relationship, but there were times they could mess around with each other without too much hostility on the other’s part. Regis figured this could be one of those times. “The one where Kaidan and I met Zaeed while on leave and learned a hell of a lot more about where our tastes lie?”

2. Vikram T'Lara, Regis's asari matriach uncle, from feeling numb, lost in time, in which Vik inevitably gets in contact with Regis while he's with Cerberus.

Vik rolled their eyes.  “Goddess, Reggie, you knew what I meant.  You know, seeing you grow up has been some of the best memories of my long life.  I’m very grateful to have been part of your family.”

3. Jeff "Joker" Moreau, in don't ask about Ryuusei, in which they try to figure out the deal behind their "emails."

“Wait a minute, you messaged me.  For a second, I thought it was a prank.  I mean, hello–” he gestured around.  “I know you.  This is your personal hell, but maybe you decided to let that all go to celebrate your favorite pilot.”

4. Kaidan Alenko from you got me in a chokehold, a flashback to after Alchera.

"Couldn't have controlled? No, you just couldn't stand being wrong about anything involving the Normandy! But it doesn't matter anymore, now does it? You might've saved the ship a few precious seconds, but Regis didn't get any!" Ashley stepped between them, interrupting whatever Joker was going to say next. "This is not the time to be fighting! God, it's a terrible day when I'm the fucking mediator. Joker, you knew what the orders were. Both of you, walk away before things get more ruined than they already are." "You aren't going to call out Alenko for prioritizing his boyfriend over the rest of the crew?" Kaidan felt his biotic corona roar to life. "Go fuck yourself Joker and remember that Regis died for you! He was never going to leave anyone behind! And he chose you."

5. Admiral Steven Hackett, from so let love reign.

"Did [Zaeed] tell you to ask me about the Frozen Pyjak?" [Hackett] chuckled.

6. Zaeed Massani, from a WIP fic of the aftermath of his loyalty mission. I hate that this is one of my favorites, but it hit exactly the way I wanted it to.

Zaeed spun around, pointing a finger in Regis's direction, his face twisted with anger. "What the fuck was that, Regis?" "I could ask you the same damn thing. We wouldn't even be in this fucking situation if you weren't so consumed by revenge and just slowed down and listened," Regis replied, his tone flat, carefully keeping his expression neutral. "That's fucking rich." Zaeed laughed, laced with bitterness and anger. "The whole reason why you're even playing nice with Cerberus is so you can tear them apart. You're biding your time to get back at T'Soni as we speak. But the moment I get the chance to get what I have spent years working towards, you throw it all away for a few extra lives. How about that, Butcher?"

7. Ashley Williams, from late night conversations. In which she and Regis chat about things.

“And now you’re here, abusing your Spectre benefits so you two can share a bed together,” she echoed, nudging his arm.  “I would offer to go ring shopping with you, but something tells me you already have that figured out.”

8. Nyx Shepard, from the story of a weapon. I'm still trying to figure this bastard out, but he's already had his moments.

Nyx's intense purple eyes watched Kaidan closely as he examined the dagger.  "You've been in my goddamn bed," Nyx finally stated, a small grin playing on his lips. "So, you've seen a lot of me. But not many have been close enough to see this blade on neutral ground.” Kaidan felt a flush of warmth creeping up his cheeks, but he didn't shy away from Nyx's probing gaze. "Well, I'd say it's quite an honor," he replied, his tone playful, though tinged with a sense of curiosity. "Your bed and now this?  What’s next…” “You tell me,” He chuckled.  “Every weapon has a story.  What is mine?  You get one question, the rest you try to figure out on your own.”

I think that's about it... I could try to do a few more but I like what I have here.

tagging anyone who sees this and wants to participate! tag me if you do :)

[moonybadger]

In all the times I’ve messed up on the collector base attack in ME2, it’s ALWAYS Tali I end up getting killed, usually cause I always end up forgetting who I need to leave on the final door 😔

[zilllathegod]

Mass Effect Trilogy Mission Order

With the release of the Mass Effect Legendary edition I decided to gather a mission list so I can guide myself through the games efficiently. This guide should include the base missions and the DLC. Through the years I have glanced at list like this during my playthroughs so I figured if it was useful for me it may be useful for the internet also.

*Planet scanning between missions

Eden Prime

Therum

Feros

Noveria

UNC Side Missions - Citadel side missions (loads of cool stuff) - (Garrus/Tali/Wrex) specific missions

DLC: Bring Down the Sky

Virmire

Ilos/Endgame

*Planet scanning between missions

Prologue / Freedom's Progress

Citadel - Pick up Kasumi from DLC

Omega - Pick up Zaeed from DLC

Omega: The Scientist

Kasumi: Stolen Memory - Kasumi's loyalty mission rewards you with the Locust SMG, a really nice SMG.

Dossier: Archangel

Dossier: The Convict

Dossier: The Warlord

Horizon - will automatically trigger. Don't miss the Particle Beam weapon on the ground about halfway through the level, it's really nice for dealing with the Praetorian enemies.

Recruit Tali

Dossier: The Justicar - While on Ilium, you can talk to Liara to get some help but don't start the Lair of the Shadow Broker stuff yet.

Dossier: The Assassin

-- Now you've got all your recruits, so start doing loyalty missions.--

Tuchanka: Mordin's Loyalty - I always recommend keeping the data, as it opens up way more branches of story in ME3, but it's ultimately up to you.

Tuchanka: Grunt's Loyalty

Collector Vessel - This triggers after you complete Horizon and then 5 other missions. So now.

Illium - Miranda's Loyalty

Aeia: Jacob's Loyalty

Citadel: Garrus's Loyalty

Citadel: Thane's Loyalty

Illium: Samara's Loyalty

Zaeed's Loyalty - Warning: If you want to go Paragon during this mission you've got to beat a really high Charm check to keep his loyalty. I usually just look the other way on this one and hate myself for it later, to make sure he stays on board.

-- The next missions all involve high Paragon/Renegade checks, so we save them for now --

Pragia: Jack's Loyalty - Afterwards, you'll need to break up a fight. Use your Paragon or Renegade option to keep both characters loyal.

Quarian Fleet: Tali's Loyalty - This mission has a big impact in ME3. To keep her loyal, use Paragon/Renegade options whenever possible, and don't use the data to defend her innocence. If you sent Veetor with Tali back on Freedom's Progress, and Kal'Reegar survived Tali's recruitment mission, you can successfully use the "Rally the Crowd" option to get the best outcome here. Otherwise, you'll need to use Paragon/Renegade all the way through to make it happen. Hopefully your scores are high enough for that, which is why we saved it for here.

DLC: Overlord - This is a good point to put this in. You've just killed a lot of geth, so let's go kill some more!

DLC: Normandy Crash Site - If you picked this up, now is a good time for a nostalgic flashback before you head off on a suicide mission. -- POINT OF NO RETURN: Make sure everyone is loyal and you've done any side missions that you want to --

Mnemosyne: Reaper IFF

Geth Base: Legion's Loyalty - Take Tali for interesting dialogue. This mission's decision also plays heavily into ME3. Afterwards, you'll need to break up another fight. Just like last time, use Paragon/Renegade to keep both characters loyal.

Normandy Interlude

Omega 4: Suicide Mission - The following composition always gets everyone out alive for me, but again, it's your call, and I know there are other workable options as well: Fire Team Leader (Garrus), Tech Expert (Tali), Escort (Mordin), Biotic Expert (Samara). Take Miranda to the final fight for some interesting dialogue, and be sure to always leave Grunt, Zaeed, and Garrus to hold the line. They have a higher internal success score for that job, so it'll help make sure your whole team makes it out.

DLC: Lair of the Shadow Broker - This should be played right here, as the information you get from it is integral to ME3

DLC: Arrival - Very last, as ME3 picks up right afterwards

Prologue: Earth

Priority: Mars

Priority: Citadel I - During this mission, players can visit Ashley or Kaidan and Thane at the hospital, recruit the reporter Diana Allers, and recruit either Dr. Chakwas or Dr. Michel.

Normandy: First Visit

N7: Cerberus Labs & Citadel: Alien Medi-Gel Formula

Priority: Palaven - Following this mission, return to the Citadel to deliver items.

Aria: Blood Pack

Aria: Blue Suns

Aria: Eclipse

Citadel: Hanar Diplomat (Kasumi)

Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation (Jack) & Citadel: Biotic Amp Interfaces - This mission must be completed ahead of Priority: Citadel II or there are dire consequences. Players can also choose to complete this mission as soon as they receive it.

Priority: Eden Prime (From the Ashes DLC) - Players can recruit Javik as a squadmate.

Meet the Diplomats & Priority: Sur'Kesh (Mordin)

Attican Traverse: Krogan Team (Grunt) & Citadel: Krogan Dying Message

Tuchanka: Turian Platoon - Players need to be careful, as three missions will be available on Tuchanka. They should not choose Priority: Tuchanka yet. Immediately following this mission, players need to go straight to the next mission to avoid disastrous consequences.

Tuchanka: Bomb & Citadel: Cerberus Automated Turret Schematics

N7: Cerberus Attack & Citadel: Improved Power Grid

N7: Cerberus Abductions & Benning: Evidence

Priority: Tuchanka

Players can find items for characters on the Citadel in the following systems: Apien Crest: Banner of the First Regiment Kite's Nest: Pillars of Strength Ismar Frontier: Prototype Components Shrike Abyssal: Prothean Obelisk

N7: Cerberus Fighter Base & Citadel: Heating Unit Stabilizers

Priority: Citadel II - Players should make sure they have spoken to Thane at the hospital ahead of this mission.

Mesana: Distress Signal

Ardat-Yakshi Monastery (Samara) & Citadel: Asari Widow

Citadel: Aria T'Loak (Omega DLC) - Once players choose to join Aria's fleet at the Citadel, they will not have the option to return until the full DLC is completed.

Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists (Jacob) & Citadel: Cerberus Turian Poison

Citadel: Volus Ambassador (Zaeed)

Priority: Perseus Veil

Priority: Geth Dreadnought

Rannoch: Admiral Koris & Citadel: Target Jamming Technology - When landing on Rannoch, players need to be careful not to choose Priority: Rannoch. Players need to make sure to rescue the Admiral, no matter what, to have the best chance at a compromise between the Geth and Quarians.

Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons (Legion) & Citadel: Reaper Code Fragments

N7: Fuel Reactors & Citadel: Chemical Treatment - Players should be sure not to confuse this mission with the one to Destroy the Reaper Base. Following this, Shepard can return to the Citadel to deliver items.

Priority: Rannoch - To broker peace between the Geth and Quarians, the following conditions must have been met: Tali and Legion must both be alive; Tali was not exiled in Mass Effect 2; Legion's loyalty mission was completed, and the Heretics must have been destroyed; Shepard must have broken up the fight between Legion and Tali in Mass Effect 2 without taking sides (i.e., using Charm/Intimidate); Shepard must have four bars of Reputation; Koris must have been rescued on Rannoch; Shepard must have completed Geth Fighter Squadrons. If any of these conditions were not met, players will be forced to choose a side.

Players can find items for characters on the Citadel in the following systems:

Nimbus Cluster: Library of Asha Athena Nebula: Hesperia-Period Statue Irune: Book of Plenix Valhallan Threshold: Prothean Data Drives Argos Rho: Kaklisaur Fossil Silean Nebula: Rings of Alune Dekuuna: Elcor Extraction Dekuuna: Code of the Ancients Hades Nexus: Obelisk of Karza Hades Nexus: Prothean Sphere

Priority: Citadel III

Priority: Thessia - Bring Javik and Liara for additional lore and a few important discoveries.

N7 Communication Hub & Citadel: Cerberus Ciphers

Priority: Horizon - To ensure Miranda survives, players need to do the following: Shepard must talk to Miranda on the Citadel Docks; they must warn her about Kai Leng in the Specter office; Shepard must have met with Miranda in the apartment on the Citadel and given her access to Alliance resources.

Citadel: Dr. Bryson (Leviathan DLC)

Citadel: Shore Leave (Citadel DLC) - Avoid leaving the Citadel until after the party

Priority: Cerberus Headquarters - This is the Point of No Return. Following this mission, players will go straight into the endgame.

Priority: Earth  - For the best possible outcome, players need 3,100 EMS prior to this mission.

[eezominer]

100 Days of Writing Day 52

@the-wip-project

Pick an idea and write a short “shopping list” of what will happen in the story.

*sigh* alright time to start another WIP lmfao I have no self control. So the longest idea I have that could conceivably have a 'plot' is for a Post-Destroy FemShep/Zaeed romance, but I don't want to stretch myself too hard so I'm going to do a smaller list of 4 instead of 10. Also I'm less concerned with specific actions as I am with including certain moments so I'll substitute those where I think it's appropriate.

1. FemShep is severely injured from having the Citadel fall on her. Her crew is stranded and Zaeed was on Earth when the finale happened so he gets to be the one to find her, stays at her bedside constantly etc.

Setup a never romanced Shepard

Zaeed was in London, so when the Crucible fires and he knows Shepard did it, he goes looking for her and then finds her.

Dude's paranoid and also probably a little bit traumatized too, refuses to leave her side. He got shot in the face and was probably all alone in the hospital for that, so maybe seeing FemShep injured like that is giving him flashbacks.

Someone on Shepard's medical team tells him that she might still be able to hear since she's in a coma, so he talks to her. Include reflections on their relationship throughout ME2 and ME3, include hints at attraction between the two during those games.

Probably include something about the state of his loyalty mission. [Might be interesting to make it a paragon route but have him completely disinterested in revenge by the time it occurs to him again]

2. Miranda and Kasumi (and maybe whoever else wasn't on the Normandy when it crashed) get wind of Shepard, they help guard her and take care of her.

Miranda arrives next, Zaeed's relieved and realizes that the only people he really trusts like this are the ones he met on the SR-2.

They take shifts guarding Shepard, but she's more useful helping with the medical side of things so Zaeed's still basically spending every waking moment with her until. . .

Kasumi feels kind of bad about blowing Shepard off when it came to helping with the war effort - She got the hell out of dodge once the Crucible was finished - and it's pretty obvious to her what's going on with Zaeed and his feelings for FemShep. She helps guard FemShep because everybody's still paranoid about Cerberus and whatnot, encourages Zaeed to take care of himself.

Kasumi talks about Keiji in a not so subtle way, basically she tries to prompt Zaeed to explain what exactly was between him and FemShep.

3. Shepard recovers to a point where the situation isn't quite as dire.

She's relieved to have Zaeed, Miranda, and Kasumi with her, but still concerned about her crew.

She's mobile and conscious enough that she could probably handle herself just fine, but Zaeed doesn't leave like at all. They talk, a lot. It's pretty obvious she enjoys spending time with him, and relates to him on a personal level even more than Miranda and Kasumi.

The Normandy comes back! Everyone's alive, she can finally relax about that.

Zaeed's feels kind of out of place at the Citadel party if you don't invite Javik, Wrex, or Grunt so maybe he feels insecure about his place in her life with the whole crew back in town. He pulls back because he feels like she'd be closer and more comfortable with them. In the Shadow Broker dossier we see that he doesn't have any real retirement plans, so maybe he just feels like he's not useful anymore but doesn't want to make a big deal about it.

Shepard is hurt by this, expresses that she genuinely enjoys his company. He stops pulling back but still has no idea where the relationship stands from her perspective.

4. Shepard recovers enough to where she can leave the hospital.

Zaeed offers to let her stay with him and she jumps at the chance.

They move in together. Things are still at that awkward gray stage where they haven't kissed or said anything *explicitly* romantic but it's obvious they're in love with each other.

Something has to give, which one of them will make the first move? I'm thinking FemShep for now

They live happily ever after (and fuck a lot probably)

[kenshi-vakarian7]

Leather & Lace ‘19 - Fic 4 of 14

Event hosted by @alyssalenko @vorchagirl and @starsandskies

This one ended up a little longer than my intended challenge.

---

“Ogling”

Prompt - Watching the other and getting caught by someone else.

Late into the evening, Jack was about to eat her dinner, grateful for the alone time she had in the mess hall.  Well, she was grateful until Commander Jason Shepard appeared from around the corner and walked towards the kitchen area.

Fuck... she thought, her hopes for solitude dashed. She turned to Shepard with the intention to glare at him, her way of telling him that she wanted to be alone.  When she caught his eye, he had the audacity to smile at her – that nice, charming smile that always had a way to both confuse her and make her heart flutter and-

What the - stop thinking about this romance shit!

“Ran out of coffee in my quarters,” Shepard justified as he began to dig through the cabinets for the coffee packets.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly.  “Sure, whatever,” she replied before she bit into the sandwich she made for herself.

She was halfway done with her sandwich when Shepard finally closed the cabinet.  Jack simply turned to him... but only to make sure that he actually left the mess hall, nothing more.  Not because he'd been nice to her since they met and that smile and those gorgeous eyes and-

Fuck!  Stop it!

“That's not the entire stash, is it?” Jack ended up asking after noticing the small box he carried in his hands.  “Some of us also drink coffee here, not just you.”

“Oh really?” Shepard said with a little mirth in his voice.  “Well, it's a good thing I only took half the stash.  And it's a good thing we'll be in Illium tomorrow with plans to pick up more.  Aaaand it's a good thing I didn't take your favorite, the cinnamon flavored ones.”

Jack raised an eyebrow suspiciously.  “Okay, that’s a little creepy, Shepard.  How the hell did you know it's my favorite?”

Shepard chuckled a little.  “You don’t remember?  I was there during your first week on the ship when you accused Miranda of stealing the last packet of cinnamon flavored coffee.  Then, later that day, you nearly threw Zaeed into the garbage disposal in his room when you found out he was the real culprit.”

“Yeah, well... he would've had it coming if you hadn't stopped me.”

It was Shepard's turn to raise an eyebrow.  “Over coffee?”

“No!  For pissing me off.”

He smiled that damn smile again.  “That reminds me... ever since Pragia, you've been a bit more, how should I say it... affable, at least towards me.”

Jack raised her eyebrow again, wondering what he was getting at.  “Aaand?”

He was STILL smiling.  “Aaand I think it's well... pretty cool.”

There he goes with his charm again, always complimenting in ways she's never received before in her life.  Always sweet to her, always with that damn smile and-

Fucking stop with these shitty romantic thoughts!

Shepard gave her a small nod after a moment's pause.  “Goodnight, Jack.”

He started walking away before Jack had the chance to respond.  She found herself watching as he made his leave, her eyes following him until he turned the corner towards the elevator.  She scowled once he was gone.  What the hell was his game?  Why did he keep talking to her?  She was here to kill for him, nothing more... though she really appreciated how he took the time to plant a bomb at the facility that ruined her life.  Why he did have to be so... nice?  It would've been easier if he was just like all the others who-

“You were staring, Jack,” a voice suddenly spoke in the room.

Her eyes widening, Jack searched her surroundings, but there was no one else around.  “The hell-!”

Suddenly, Kasumi Goto seemed to manifest right in front of her as she uncloaked herself.  The thief was relaxed in the chair she sat in across from Jack, sipping from the canned drink she had in hand with a straw.  If not for the sly smirk on her face, Kasumi would've looked quite innocent of any wrongdoing.

A month ago, Jack would've thrown Kasumi across the room without a second thought.  Now though... she realized how soft she was getting since joining Shepard's crew.  Damn him...

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jack asked in annoyance, even thought she was well aware that she was caught eyeing the Commander while he had his back turned to her.

“Please, Jack,” Kasumi replied.  “Most of the crew might not notice, but I have.  I've seen the way you look at Shepard when he's not looking. It's what we call... ogling.”

Jack glared at her.  “You don't fucking know anything!”

“Oh yeah?  Then why are you blushing?”

“Shut the hell up!  I'm not blushing!”

“Then why are your cheeks red?”

“I-” Jack ended up growling.  She could already feel the familiar tingling in the back of her head; her biotics were staring to flare up.  “Fuck off!  I didn't ask for you to analyze me!”

Kasumi frowned as she placed her canned drink – iced tea, Jack noticed – down on the table.  “I wasn't analyzing you.  Actually, I was going to mention how much of a coincidence it is to see you ogling at him.”

Jack narrowed her eyes.  “So?”

“He stares at you when you're not looking, too, you know.”

Jack snorted.  “That's not a surprise.  In case you haven't noticed, anyone would with all the tattoos I don’t bother to cover most of the time, tits included!”

“No, not in that way!” Kasumi corrected.

“No? Then what the hell are you getting at?”  By now, Jack was even more annoyed and the back of her head was starting to itch.

“What I'm saying,” Kasumi started.  “Is that you two can find happiness with each other if you both let yourselves.  He's not like a lot of guys.  He's handsome, but not stuck up about it.  He's also confident, and when he's not taking down enemies... he's actually pretty sweet.”

Jack glared at her.  “If you think he's so sweet, then why don't you get in bed with him?”

“Because he likes you, Jack,” Kasumi pointed out without hesitation. “I’m pretty sure you already know his past since it’s common knowledge, but he's someone who's experienced the kind of loss I experienced. It's been years and he's no longer in mourning, but... there's only one reason someone who lost a loved one would look at someone else the way he looks at you with longing – because they are willing to open their heart and find happiness again.  In this case, he’s willing to open his heart to you.”

That... whole statement hit a tad bit closer to home than Jack wanted to admit.  Thoughts of the man who died for her – who loved and wanted a future with her – filled her mind.  The wound had long since scabbed over, but it had a tendency to open up once in a while, stinging her just as bad as the day he sent his final message to her.

Of course, no one, not even Shepard or Kasumi, knew that.  But she knew both their stories nevertheless.  Overhearing past conversations in the mess hall, Kasumi talked about her former partner, Keiji, quite often.  Her loss was fairly recent, so of course she was still in mourning.  As for Shepard, from some of the past interviews she watched of him, he did occasionally talk about his wife, who was KIA during the Skyllian Blitz, and how losing her – and his experience on Torfan – motivated him to become a better person and help those in need.  He wasn't angry over his loss, nor did he let himself drown in the memories of his late wife...

Not like she did occasionally when it came to her late fiancé ...

Jack glared at Kasumi, but... not as suspiciously as before.  “You... might have a point.  But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna run off and jump into his pants right this second.”

That got a laugh out of Kasumi.  “That's not a bad thing.  It's nice to take things slow.”

“...Maybe.”

Kasumi stood up from her seat.  “Well... I must admit, I never thought we'd have this kind of chat.  We should do it again soon!”

“Heeell no!” Jack called out despite the fact that she couldn't help but grin.  “The last thing I need is to have a girl talk over boys and make-up and crap like that.  Besides, I'm not into that girls' club shit.”

Kasumi laughed some more.  “Ah, that's a shame.  I would've loved to know how to put on eyeliner the way you do.”

Before Jack said any more, Kasumi went into cloak mode and disappeared as quickly as she appeared a few minutes ago.  Even better, Jack heard her footsteps head back towards the lounge.  Finally! Jack thought.  She was alone again and the itching in the back of her head started to fade... but she didn't grab for her remaining meal right away.

Instead, she thought of Shepard again – his charm, his wit, those eyes, that damn smile... and come to think it, no one had even been nice to her, not in his way at least.  After all, he invited her to join his crew despite being considered 'unstable,' he always helped her improve in her fighting capabilities, and he assisted her with no hesitation when it came to Pragia.  More importantly, he never once asked for anything in return beyond joining his team.

As these thoughts crossed Jack's mind, the corner of her lips tugging into a small smile.

[nihilnovisubsole]

oh hey it’s a shipping meme

kamibanani tagged me in this over a month ago, and i’ve been meaning to do it ever since, oops. time to take a stroll around the fandom block again

warning in advance, this is very long. i’ve contained the chaos under the cut!

1. Ultimate OTP

i already know this is a cop-out, but i really couldn’t pick one, because all the ships i’ve written have filled important roles in different parts of my life

nancy and butch were the first ship i let myself ship “in earnest,” instead of doing ship art and fanfic while loathing myself for it. in the same way, oleg and rosie went a long way toward getting rid of my sense of shame about doing shippy/romantic creative work. they’re an inherently ridiculous couple in an inherently ridiculous story, so i took it as a given that it was silly and pressed on.

zaeed and irina are kind of a reminder to myself that you have to let yourself be human to be in a relationship. you can’t be a marble statue. you have to be vulnerable. your partner will see you with no makeup, and find out what turns you on. they’re also in some ways about being embarrassed about who you’re attracted to, and struggling to reconcile who you are with who you think you should be. tgoed was another big, messy meatloaf about my relationship with men - how i love them but struggle with my fear of them hurting me, which makes jo snarky and dominant and sad and lonely all at once.

i can already tell this is going to be a monster of a post, so i’d better move on, oops

2. A ship you’ll always love

i still don’t want to make myself try to pick one, so it’s more a question of what relationship models i like

i like battle couples, i like snarky couples who play fight, i like couples who are understated about their affections for each other. any DINK couples will end up at least somewhere up there on my list, for many sappy reasons that i won’t bore you with. most of all, i like couples who know they don’t need each other, but they want to be with each other anyway, because it makes life that much better.

i also like when characters have a flaw that they’re able to overcome with love, because even if it’s not always realistic, it’s really satisfying to read. we may not be responsible for “fixing” our partners, but isn’t it nice when a relationship is a positive influence on someone? isn’t it nice to think that one character could bring out the best in another, and make the other want to do the same for them? again, i’m getting too deep here.

3. Your current obsession

hands down, marcus and livia, my favorite rogue girl and strong-eyebrowed boy. i’ve spent two years working with them for dangerous crowns and i still haven’t gotten tired of them.

i was talking to my mother about this over dinner the other night: marcus and livia know they’re at their best when they’re combined. marcus is the trope of the great general who’s bad at politics. i’ve said that before - he’s a shrewd tactician, but a blunt object at court. he’s also gotten everything in life by playing by the rules, so he’s squeamish about breaking them - and when he tries, the results can be unpredictable. livia, on the other hand, has enough guile for both of them. she can play courtiers like a fiddle, and has decades of spy skills to get her out of trouble. however, if she’s not careful, she gets too vigilante sometimes. she’s used to street justice, and marcus has to talk her down from some of her more drastic instincts.

neither one of them would be able to save histria by themselves. but together, they’re a serious threat, because they shield each other’s weak spots. and when things get dark and they do find themselves tilting toward a moral cliff, it’s their love for each other that pulls them back from the edge.

you know me, i could talk about marcus and livia all day. i don’t want to make the story out to be more than it is, but i put a lot of thought into them.

4. A ship you never thought you’d like

to be honest, i never saw myself getting into dragon age at all, in part because none of the love interests jumped out at me. and then i was like, “oh, who am i kidding? i write ships with unromanceable characters all the time.”

so, uh, congratulations, varric and carmine! you got me into a whole IP. sure, both my halfway-developed dragon age characters ended up being companion OCs instead of wardens, hawkes, or inquisitors, but whatever. since when have i enjoyed a game the way it was meant to be enjoyed

5. A ship you liked but don’t anymore

well, there was that kaidan/irina thing a few years ago. i know, i’m sorry, it’s the one i bring up every time.

kaidan and irina had the problem of being nice on paper, but thoroughly incompatible. kaidan is open with his affections. irina’s embarrassed by that. kaidan is casual. irina is formal to an infuriating fault. kaidan wants to keep the line of communication open at all times - he wants to talk about feelings, he wants you to be vulnerable so he can help. irina turns inward. she wants to suffer in private and come back in her own time. that would make kaidan pry further, which would make irina hide more, et cetera.

zaeed is more distant. that doesn’t sound healthy for her, but it’s actually what irina is more comfortable with. zaeed has been around enough to realize that she needs space, and also to know that her relationship demons have nothing to do with him. not how she needs to be perfect, not the shame she feels about sex, none of it. it’s not that he doesn’t care. it’s just that he knows better than to ask. zaeed has seen the weirdest, most strung-out parts of the galaxy. a woman who has trouble expressing her feelings is not that big a deal.

i feel bad for kaidan fans every time i talk about this one. i really don’t dislike him, the ship was just a bad fit. sometimes you write something thinking it’s going to be great, but the more you dig into it, the more you realize it doesn’t work.

6. A ship you think should be canon

i hate to admit it, but i prefer it when the few non-OC ships i like are never "confirmed onscreen,” and stay in the realm of unresolved tension. the payoff rarely satisfies me as much as what fans come up with. i think it’s the same principle people talk about with “showing the monster” in horror movies - the audience’s imagination is more effective than anything you can show them. [i’ve heard this attributed to hitchcock, but i can’t be sure it’s him.]

the ideal for me is when creators leave characters’ love lives blank, so i can smoosh an OC against them and thoroughly run away with it. my city now! my city now!! ｍｙ ｃｉｔｙ ｎｏｗ！！！

7. A canon ship you hate

bold of you to assume i’m actually going to say anything negative about the [various, but rare] canon ships i dislike that much

8. A ship you’ve shipped for years

at some point or other, i always come back to 47 and diana, mainly because they seem to pull through whatever challenges their franchise throws at them. i’ve already talked way too much about why i like their dynamic, so i’ll just link back to this post instead of putting you through another round of it!

9. A ship everyone loves but you don’t care about

going back to question 7, “a canon ship you hate,” this is what happens with like, almost every popular ship i see. it takes a lot of awfulness for me to sit up and go, “oh god, that ship.” either that, or it has to involve one of the tropes on my instant-kill list. even when a canon/canon ship is good - maybe even great! - i’m so used to “cooking my own food,” it has to really jump out at me for me to get attached to it.

99 times out of 100, ships float by me like a gentle breeze. it’s like that meme of the video game dad:

10. Favorite rare-pair

oh, come on, look at who you’re talking to 😂 this entire meme is rarepairs, i don’t know how to ship anything else!

[madara-fate]

How would you rank the Mass Effect squad mates as characters?

Hehe, I’ll keep this relevant to only the original trilogy, because Andromeda was such a colossal disappointment.

I’ll start off by listing them from least favourite to most favourite, then for the top 10 I’ll go into more detail as to why they placed where they did:

Zaeed Massani

Jacob Taylor

James Vega

Kaiden Alenko

Kasumi Goto

Samara

Legion

Thane Krios

Jack (Just missed out on the top 10)

Top 10:

10. Ashley Williams

I know that people often had issues with Ashley, not least due to her innate distrust for other species, but thankfully this list isn’t based on whether or not I think they’re a good person, just whether or not they’re a good character, and I think that Ashley ticks the relevant boxes. She provided an interesting contrast between her hardened soldier persona, and her sensitive human persona where she was an avid fan of poetry among other things.

9. Miranda Lawson

She started off as a very by the book, black and white kind of character. However, as you got to know her, she revealed all sorts of shades of grey to her personality which you wouldn’t have initially suspected were there. She has a very strong character, but she often shows chinks in her armour when it comes to her sister, and you, of course.

8. Urdnot Grunt

It was fascinating to see Grunt’s inner struggle as he tried to discover and come to terms with who he was, and his place within the Krogan. He was a complete anomaly when first awakened, but grew to show his worth in more ways than one. That, and the banter he provides is always top notch, ensuring that you’ll never be short of entertainment. What you see is always what you get with Grunt, he hides nothing from anyone, and that’s commendable.

7. EDI

Her initial form as nothing but a Cerberus AI which was linked to the ship always made me have my doubts regarding where her true loyalties lied. I initially had these niggling thoughts that she’d betray the crew to the Illusive Man, but as time went on she began to progressively display a very human side to herself, and this was captivating to witness; At times I even forgot that she used to be just an AI, but near the end of the 2nd game she had already endeared herself to many people. That, and her attempts at making jokes to lighten the mood were always very comical and appreciated.

6. Liara T’Soni

I always found it rather disconcerting that someone with such a baby face could in her words, “flay you alive, with [her] mind”. A lot of what Liara did and the useful knowledge that she so often possessed, regularly helped to drive the plot forward, so her significance in the story cannot be understated. Her innocent fascination with the Protheans was always fun to mess around with, especially after Javik’s recruitment, but more importantly, she often acted as that person you know will support you whenever you’re in need of it. Speaking of Javik…

5. Javik

It was always going to be interesting to have a Prothean in your squad, especially when considering the mystique surrounding their race that the series had been building up since the very start. Thankfully, Javik exceeded all expectations. The unique scenes and dialogue that he brings forth between the characters due to his abilities are reason enough to deem him to be a great character, but there’s just so much more to him. His attitude towards all the “primitives” that he’s apparently surrounded by was always good for a laugh, but then he demonstrates his superiority, and proves exactly why he holds those derogatory opinions in the first place - The guy is very good at what he does.

4. Mordin Solus

Without a doubt, the best new character introduced in the 2nd game in my opinion. Mordin was great, there was never a dull moment in his presence. His manner of speech, blunt personality and often amusing ways of getting his point across always ensured he had my undivided attention in everything he did. He’s funny and entertaining without trying to be - He’s just being himself, It’s just who he is, and that’s what makes him great. His entertainment factor comes so naturally. Contrast that with his “take no shit” approach on the battlefield, and well, you have a complete package right here.

3. Tali’Zorah vas Normandy

There’s just something about Tali that makes her so inexplicably adorable, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Her presence just makes the Normandy feel a whole lot more… fluffy. But that certainly doesn’t mean that she can’t kick just as much ass as everyone else, because she’s definitely just as capable. But Tali is just cute! I can listen to her call people “Bosh’tet” all day.

2. Garrus Vakarian

He along with Tali hold the distinction of being your squad mate for every single instalment of the original trilogy, and with good reason. Garrus is essentially like Shepard’s right hand man, that guy who you’ve been to hell and back with, and will surely be the first person who you’ll share a drink with once all is said and done. When I think “Squad mate”, Garrus is always the first in my head.

1. Urdnot Wrex

Wrex is The undisputed badass of the series, bar none. As soon as I laid eyes on Wrex, I knew that I wanted him on my team. But he’s also proven himself far more capable of using his head than the vast majority of other Krogan in the series. The manner in which he expressed his attitude towards the Genophage was highly understandable, and his perspective on how to cure it and recover their race was refreshing to say the least. But Wrex is still even more of a badass then every other Krogan. I can still remember a certain quote from just the 2nd scene that he was ever in during the original Mass Effect:

C-Sec Officer: “You want me to arrest you?”

Wrex: “I want you to try…”

That line alone was enough to consolidate Wrex’s position on my list 😀

[randomramblesandlearning]

10 Things I Loved About Mass Effect:Andromeda

Warning: Spoilers! And I wrote this on the spur, so there might be grammatical errors.

1.      I enjoyed the story. Yeah, people will say it recycles from the trilogy, but come on, people. Why are you surprised? Bioware recycles their plotlines all the time. It’s pretty much the same in all of their games. A protagonist gains special abilities and leads a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits team to defeat a big threat. And I’m not bothered by that. Sometimes familiarity in your franchise is good, just as long as you do new things to the formula, and I think they do.

What interested me the most was the theme of starting over. A lot of people in the Andromeda Initiative were former criminals or outcasts. The reason they joined was to start a new life, and it’s explored in the main questlines, the loyalty quests, and numerous side quests. I was worried about the game talking about colonization since humans are looking for a new home, but I was pleasantly surprised that the game made it clear that Andromeda is the angara’s home first, and humans and other Milky Way species will have to work with them. Thank god! No Mightey Whitey trope this time!

2.      Ryder as the player character. I honestly never thought I would love Ryder as much as I did when I played the game. Sure, no one will ever replace Commander Shepard, but Ryder isn’t meant to replace the Commander, rather show a different perspective in a new story. Commander Shepard is the hero we want to be while Ryder is more of a relatable character. Ryder has to learn through the entire game how to be a leader while going through the obstacles of their inexperience and youth so people will take them seriously. And it was compelling, uplifting, and at times amusing to see them become a hero in their own right and step out of their father’s shadow.

Also Sara and Scott felt like their own person. In the original trilogy, the player character is pretty much the same no matter what gender. But sometimes the dialogue can be different depending on if you play a male Ryder or a female Ryder. That’s because they are two different people who have had their own experiences and personalities. That really adds to the replay value!

3.      Female aliens everywhere! One of my major issues with the original trilogy was the lack of female Turians, krogans, and salarians. Sure we had asari an all-female race, and female quarians, but it felt weird that we met so many aliens with very few ladies. Not only do we get a female Turian squadmate, we also get plenty of lady alien NPCs gathered everywhere for random quests. We also have Kesh who works at the Nexus. And we get to see female salarians! And they kind of look the same as male salarians except with different voices. Thank god! It would’ve been horrifying to see salarians with boobs. Uh! And I’m pretty sure there were just as many female angara NPCs as there were males.

4.      The romances. Especially the queer ones. One of the things I love about Bioware games are the romance paths. Bonus points if there is a queer option. And as of patch 1.08, this game has the most number of queer romances in any Bioware game. I think my two favorite romance paths are with Sara and Vetra and Jaal and Scott. While representation for the LGBT community is improving in media, there’s no denying we still have a long way to go. And after again the crap year 2016 where we had a huge number of queer women characters die in tv shows, it was so wonderful to have a healthy and happy relationship between two women when I first played the game. And even if it wasn’t added until the patch, the romance between Jaal and Scott is absolutely sweet since we see two men show a lot of love and affection for each other which is rare to see in media.

5.      The Tempest Family. I adore every single character on the Tempest, and they really did feel like a family once you played further into the game. I am a sucker for found families, and to see these people who are trying to find a home ending up finding a home with each other just gives me so many feels!

Since there’s not really a huge crew in the ship like in the original trilogy when Shepard had an army of humans. In Andromeda, we have six squad mates, four additional crew members, and Ryder. And I think it made the family more intimate. It’s like our own little family lives on the Tempest.

Also I liked how there were more quests spread out throughout the game with the squad which I think was lacking in Inquisition. Plus. Movie Night is the best scene ever!

6.      In my opinion, the side quests were fun. I think this was one thing they improved from Inquisition. Inquisition side quests just felt like a bunch of fetch quests that got kind of boring pretty quick, and didn’t really add to the overall story. Some highlights from Andromeda were: Kadara, the angara reincarnation questline, the Turian jailed for murder, the anti-AI group, meeting Zaeed’s son, and those kids sending out a distress signal for a new light for their weed plant. HAHA!

They were compelling in their own right and included cut scenes instead of the Inquisitor going to some location like in Skyrim to do a thing come back to the quest giver saying, “I did the thing.” “Ok, good.”

7.      Unlike in Inquisition, there’s actual payoff for some of the quests you do. I don’t mean to be mean to Inquisition, I still love the game, but remember when we were promised that you had to build your forces up in order to defend against the main threat. Yeah, you built forces to get influence points to gain perks, and that’s it.

In Andromeda, while, yes. It’s not the same level as Mass Effect 2. When you actually complete quests and help out leaders, you can get different results during the final battle. Like, there’s a chance Captain Dunn may not survive.

Also, when you get 100% viability on all the planets, you get a special surprise on Habitat 7- being told that it will one day be habitable because of our efforts. Sure it was a side quest, but it just felt so rewarding!

8.      The climax was actually fulfilling and exciting. Again, something else Inquisition was lacking in. Seriously, when I first played Andromeda, I legit gasped when the archon was taking control of SAM node. The villain was actually living up to his threatening nature!

Just when we think we got everything under control, and are about to find Meridian, the Archon fucks shit up, and our sibling has to step up to save the day. Then we have to gather people we helped out and prepare for a final battle, and Ryder can finally prove themselves as a true Pathfinder and kick the Archon’s ass once and for all. People are saying the ending was as disappointing as ME3’s? Pfft…What are you even talking about?

9.      The angara. Bioware never fails to make me love an entire fictional species. Yeah, it feels a bit off that they pretty much have the same faces and the same 3 voice actors, but I really do love their culture. And I appreciate that they were clearly coded as POC while Andromeda didn’t go through with the whole Mighty Whitey Trope. The game wants you to respect their culture and to respect their home.

I love the angaran people are open about their feelings, I love how their religion believes in reincarnation, I love how we see angaran scientists, soldiers, merchants, mercenaries, and civilians. Also Aya and Hivraal are absolutely gorgeous!

And when Jaal finds out his people were created by the Kett, I was worried it was going to go the Dalish elves route, but Jaal points out that it doesn’t change anything about the angara. They are still their own people. And that was such an uplifting message.

10.  The overall light-hearted tone. I wrote a small post that got a good number of notes. (Probably the biggest number I’ve ever gotten), so to quote: “There was always this sense of hope and optimism about finding a new home. ‘Yeah, things may have gone totally wrong, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make them better’ was the overall message I got.

And really, with so many bad things happening in the world right now and too much of our entertainment supposedly being our escapism being dark for the sake of dark, this was something I think a lot of us needed.”

Mass Effect 3 had its light-hearted moments, and I love it, but man, that game was emotional draining.

It’s a bit discouraging to love something so much and get recommended videos on youtube pointing out the same flaws of that certain game, and why they thought it was a huge disappointment. Do I agree with some of their criticisms? Sure. Does the history behind the production explain the flaws? Oh absolutely.

           But people seem to forget that the original Mass Effect trilogy wasn’t without its flaws. I mean, sure everyone can agree on the Mass Effect 3 ending, but I could make a list of all the issues I have with the other Bioware games including Dragon Age: Inquisition (which despite winning Game of the Year, kind of suffers the same problems Andromeda had).

           So yeah, after the crap year of 2016, I was so excited to get a newly-released game that made me happy. And still makes me happy, and makes me in the mood to play another Ryder.

[mypunkpansexualtwin]

Mass Effect aND Fallout (whichever game you want or all of them) for that 'different fandom ask' thing

Probably just gonna stick with the original trilogy for Mass Effect and Fallout 4 since those are all the games I’ve played most.

EDIT: Fuck, I forgot one of the bullet points on both of those.

Mass Effect

lowkey otp:

Kaidan/Cortez actually. I feel like they’d be good together. 

(I also really like the Samara/Zaeed/Shep poly ship, despite the fact that it’s got a couple of the big things that make me complain about my notps.)

highkey notp:

I’ve seen some shit, primarily the stuff that bugs me is shippy stuff between Shep and the big antagonists in each game. Saren, Illusive Man, Kai Leng. Or Miranda with those latter two. Just don’t. 

[softly] don’t notp: 

I’m with you on Talibrations. Throwing Garrus and Tali together felt lazy and last minute. No buildup, they were basically throwing the two dextro characters on the ship together just because.

highkey otp but I’m scared of saying it because it’s not a very popular choice:

I’m not scared of saying it but I love Kelly Chambers/Jack with every fiber of my being. It’s one of my rarest of rarepairs, and that’s fuckin saying something cause I’ve got a few. (It’s no Thane/Mama Shep, but it’s up there.)

highkey otp and anyone on my tumblr knows it:

I wouldn’t say everyone on my tumblr knows it cause I don’t post a lot of my own game opinions, but I love Shakarian with all my heart. 

Fallout 4

lowkey otp:

Danse and a complete character arc? The multiple characters with Dead Wife Syndrome and better writing? (Although that’s for Fallout as a franchise, not just 4.)

But in all seriousness, Piper/Ellie. I feel like they’d be a good fit, plus it’d be good for Nat to have someone that’s almost always home. (I traveled with Piper a lot and accidentally sent her to the wrong settlement instead of back to Diamond City and I felt bad.)

highkey notp:

Maxson and Danse. Just no. Besides the whole “Superior Officer/Subordinate” thing that wigs me out, there’s the whole thing with Blind Betrayal and just. Ugh. No.

[softly] don’t notp:

I’ve seen a few ships that are synths shipped with Father or the other Institute scientists. That shit is squicky. Also Nick or SoSu with Kellogg??? No. Bad.

highkey otp but I’m scared of saying it because it’s not a very popular choice:

I think I’ve just been using this option for my rarepairs tbh. Which would be Kent Connolly and Curie. With Curie I worry about a lot of pairings falling victim to the weird groom-y vibe of the Born Sexy Yesterday trope, but with Kent I feel like it’d be a gradual enough thing that you wouldn’t get that. Plus they’re so fuckin cute I die my dude.

highkey otp ot3 and anyone on my tumblr knows it:

My girl Maya and her husbands, Nick and Hancock. I love them all, my nerds in hats.

Bonus notp rule:

Basically if it’s a ship born of “they antagonize/hate each other, it must be sexual tension,” chances are I hate it. Jack/Miranda, Tali/Legion, Danse/Hancock, Piper/Hancock, etc.

[cactuarkitty]

Random DA:O Thoughts - Part 4.

At the first camp while Norua was having the bad dream about the dragon… Alistair was watching her sleep. ;) Awwww.

I love all the interactions between my companions and doggo. :) Except when they’re mean to him. Like Morrigan wasn’t very nice.

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I love Alistair’s puppy talk to the doggo.

Haha I just heard Dr Chakwas’ voice. :D

Omg I just heard Zaeed’s voice!

At Redcliff now. I spoke to the Earl Eamon’s brother (I think he is - he said he was the Brother to someone but now I can’t remember haha) and we seriously had a flirty conversation lmao. I asked if he was married. Haha love this game!

I love the travelling Dwarf Father and Son. They are very cute!

“Enchantment!” ^^ hehe

I enchanted Alistair’s sword with 2+ lightning.

Alistair just told me he is sorta a prince. That whole convo was just hilarious cause I picked the jokey flirty options. :D

Then I had to load when I spoke to him again cause I misunderstood the meaning of one of the responses. It ended up hurting his feelings, so I lost 10 approval points. Yikes!

I finally discovered how to give gifts. Just to be silly I gave Alistair about 10 gifts in a row, which gave him 47 approval points. I loaded though. Some of them he wasn’t too impressed with. Like the found cake my doggo Rufus found ahaha.

I did a lot of the Redcliff area but when I did the battle… omg it was so hard and basically all the Knights died. I managed to get past the zombie horde but I think more died. I wondered if I could save them so googled it a bit. Apparently it is quite hard and should be done around level 10… well I’m level 7. :O So yeah I loaded.

Now I’m at the circle mage area instead. I’m hoping once I go to the battle I will be better prepared by then. Also I read Wynn is pretty essential for that mission cause she heals everyone. I dunno, I just don’t want the Knights to die… but if I do it again and they die, I think I’ll just move on. Since this IS my first playthrough.

Speaking of Wynn, she is lovely! I really like her. :)

I dunno why but I just had this image pop into my head of her and Duncan having a relationship. I ship them! lol

Morrigan didn’t like Wynn very much... uh oh!

I keep running out of space in my inventory. Time to give Alistair more gifts I guess. :D

I also gave Morrigan a silver bracelet; she liked that. I then gave Leliana a tribal necklace. Trying not to give all the gifts to Alistair even though he’s hard to resist. <3

It cracks me up how Sten likes it if you are kinda meaner to him, or pick options where you’re frustrated/annoyed at him haha. I actually got 7 approval points for being annoyed at him.

I love the humour in this game. Mostly everyone is sassy. Maybe it should be called the Sass Age.

Omg I just remembered I had a gold bar gift. Maybe Alistair would like that. I know he likes arcane or archaeological gifts.

[shepardluvsgarrus]

Shakarain Drabble - Chapter 4; And Then There Were Three

((A new chapter in wrote for my Shakarian collection. https://m.fanfiction.net/u/265733/Ryoko-Metallium )) Almost 18 hours. That's how long, he ventured to guess, it took for her to give birth to their son. Half of that time was spent coaching his wife through what he could only guess was the pain imaginable while she screamed at him how she wanted to rethink the whole idea of being a mother. By the time it was all over, it was well past midnight and Shepard was beyond exhausted. The nurses thankfully weren't stingy with the pain-killers, giving her enough to help her sleep. Which gave Garrus plenty of time to sit and reflect on the days events. He had a son. He was a father. Well-wishers had come and gone, giving their congratulations to the new parents. The maternity floor waiting room had been taken over by crew members just itching to celebrate. At some point the hospital staff was probably getting nervous at the growing rowd. The new father indulged them when the baby came, taking part in the human custom of sharing a cigar with James and Zaeed (and a brotherly head-butt with Wrex). Nothing was more amusing than watching a former krogan mercenary making goo-goo faces at a newborn. His father had come as well, much to Garrus' surprise. He had long accepted his marriage to Shepard, but there was still hesitation at the notion of him starting a family. Turian stubbornness was as easy to overcome as he thought. His father didn't stay very long, just enough to congratulate his son and asked to give his best to Shepard as well as his new grandchild. It was about as much as Garrus could hope for his father. Thankfully his approval didn't matter that much to Garrus. Honestly there was hardly anything that could ruin the good mood he was in. Garrus kept a close vigil on Shepard at her bedside as she slept. Propped up on pillows and a blanket covering her lower half, she snored lightly. Garrus smiled and chuckled at the sight of his wife with drool down her chin. Thankfully her snores weren't enough to wake their son sleeping beside them. He reached out to stroke her cheek tenderly, whispering, "You did good, Shepard." Shifting his attention from Shepard, Garrus looked over at the newborn sleeping soundly in the bassist. His son. Garrus found himself repeating the phrase over in his head as if to confirm the notion that he was a father now. The reality of it all was taking some time to set in. Truth be told, both he and Shepard had very little experience when it came to babies. Hell, the idea of parenthood was such a foreign concept to the both of them that no amount of advice from any manual seemed to be enough to prepare them for it. And yet , here they were. Not so much Shepard and Vakarian anymore, but now Mom and Dad. The baby was swaddled tightly in a blanket with a cap atop his tiny head. He was red and wrinkly with a scrunched-up almost angry looking face. He was small, almost fragile to the touch. It worried Garrus at first. Neither him or Shepard were expecting him for another four weeks. Yet the nurses had assured him several times that everything was normal, even for one as early as him. Garrus should have expected it as much though. Leave it to any offspring of Commander Shepard wanting to do things his own way. The baby began to fidget In the confides of his blanket. Making the softest sounds of annoyance, his tiny little arms and legs squirmed their way free before his gentle coos began to gradually grow into full on cries of distress. "Oh crap," Garrus muttered under his breath, swiftly standing to his feet and quickly plotting the best course of action. "Okay, alright, no big deal. Just...pick him up. Easy enough. Just like in the vids." Being extremely mindful of his talons, Garrus ever so carefully reached into the bassinet and scooped up his wailing child, blankets and all. He weighted to almost nothing, which only made Garrus all the more mindful not to panic. It was a juggling act trying to find a good position with his long, clumsy arms. With one hand cupping his head and other cradling his bottom, he sat back on the bed resting the baby on his knee while he continued to squirm and fuss. 'Okay...that parts over. Now what?' "Need some help there Dad?" The sudden of Shepard's voice caught him off guard and his breath caught in his throat. He looked up and saw her watching him sleepily. Her eyes were droopy as if she were fighting the urge to fall back asleep. She looked worn out but he could still see the faintest glimmer of a smile nonetheless. "He just started crying. I figured maybe if I'd hold him and try to get him to calm down but," the baby wiggled like a fish in his hands, making his father all the more anxious trying to balance him with just three fingers . "I...uh...I don't think I'm doing this right." "Did you try rocking him? Or better yet, not hold him like he's a nuclear device ready to explode?" she joked. His mandibles flickered in a sort of smirk. Readjusting the baby, he nestled the infant in the crook of his arm, securing his flailing arms back into the warm security of his blanket. The baby's cries began to soften as his father shushed him. The turian sub-harmonics hummed and purred soothingly as Garrus held the newborn close against his carapace until finally the baby went silent and calm. "See? Not that hard at all." "Yea, well, I'm sure you'll forgive my lack of knowledge when it comes to infant care. Never been a parent before." Shepard chuckled wearily. "I know the feeling. You only get to use that excuse once by the way. Next time you won't get off so easily." "Next time, huh? Already making plans for an encore Shepard?" She groaned into her pillow, arching her sore back into a new position. "Just ignore me. I'm high as kite right now and possibly delirious." The two shared a laugh before falling silent for a moment, their attention returning to the baby. "How are you feeling? Need anything?" "Nah, I'm okay. Just tired mostly. Did everyone leave already?" "Yeah. I think the cafeteria food scared them off. It's just us now." Shepard sat silently, resting her cheek into her pillow, watching her husband hold their newborn. The baby looked content in his father's arms, cooing ever so softly. Garrus looked just as content. His earlier anxiety and nervousness had ebbed away and he looked more at ease and happy. She watched as he took the baby's hands in his, as if comparing them to the size of his. The look of amazement in his eyes when the baby curled around his long fingers was probably the sweetest thing she ever saw. Blinking back tears, she held out her arms. "Let me have a turn?" Rising from the bed, Garrus past off the bundle to Shepard, settling him into her arms easily. She pulled back the blanket to get a good look at him, to touch his face and count all his fingers and toes. She kissed his cheek lightly, inhaling his wonderful scent. He was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Shepard's shoulders shook as she fought to hold back the tears. Garrus seated himself at her side resting on his hip and leaning in close and pulling Shepard in close, protectively. "You're not going to get all gooey on me, Shepard?" "Blame it on the hormones, Vakarian." Garrus nuzzled the side of her head with his mandible, purring soothingly. "Think we can do this, Garrus?" He held her tighter. "Oh yeah, we got this."

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mass effect 2 xbox 360

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mass effect 2 xbox 360

Mass Effect 2 cheats & more for Xbox 360 (X360)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Achievements

Get the updated and latest Mass Effect 2 cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, achievements, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for Xbox 360 (X360). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the Xbox 360 cheats we have available for Mass Effect 2.

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Genre: Role-Playing, First-Person Action RPG

Developer: BioWare

Publisher: Electronic Arts

ESRB Rating: Mature

Release Date: January 26, 2010

Hints

Gun Locations

Every gun is spread throughout the game and can be found almost very easily, but you could be missing one or two cause you ran over them and didn’t look. You first find your Predator Heavy Pistol in the locker at the beginning of the game, later in that same mission you come to an lift and beside it is the grenade launcher. After you complete this mission you get the Avenger Assault Rifle, Katana Combat Shotgun, Mantis Sniper Rifle, or the Shurikan SMG in the opening of the next mission. Later on in the game you can get Vindicator Battle Rifle, which is located in the mission you go to get Archangel (a.k.a. Garrus) when you meet him there is a bench in the room he is in it is sitting on it. Next the Canifex Hand Cannon is found in the mission you go to find Mordin, when you meet Mordin in his clinic he hands you the Hand Cannon. The Viper Sniper Rifle can be found all throughout the mission you go to find Thane the Assassin, next to a terminal where Nassana is talking, next to the bridge you take to switch towers, and on a u-turn next to an elevator which brings down a mini-boss. The Schimitar Assault Shotgun is found in the mission you go to get Samara, it is found on a desk on the right hand side of the room near a weapons locker, sorry don’t remember fight that occurred right before this. Next you find the Tempest SMG in the mission you go to find Tali, it located next to a dead Geth Hunter, some Geth Troopers, some Quarian soldiers, and a radio where you communicate to a Quarian captain, I don’t remember his name sorry. Also the Geth Pulse Rifle is found in the same mission you go after Tali, it is found at the end after you fight the Geth Colossus and before you talk to Tali, there is a large Geth dead on the floor through the door and on him is the Pulse Rifle. Almost every heavy weapon is a Tech Lab Prototype, but the flamethrower (not including grenade launcher cause you have to pick it up) is found in Zaeed’s loyalty mission you must have the Cerberus Network to get this, it is on the floor after you have entered Vido’s base after you are finish talking with the civilian who says they are trapped. The Locust SMG is also found in a downloadable content with Stolen Memory, Kasumi’s loyalty mission once you get to the Graybox sitting next to it is the Kassa Locust. Then the Revenant Machine Gun, Claymore Heavy Shotgun, and Widow Anti-Material Rifle are all found in the Collector Ship once you finish the scene when you find out the Collectors were once Protheans you automatically have to pick one up.

Husksicles

Here’s a very easy way to take down husks. What you have to do is use your heavy pistol and equip it with the cryo ammo ability. One shot then it freezes and blow up. When your up against a lot of husks like when your on the derelict reaper to aquire its iff it really comes in handy.

How To Keep Jack And Miranda Alive

When you gain the loyalty of both Jack and Miranda they will have a fight. Tell Miranda to back off (this will cause her to not be loyal). At the suicide mission don’t put Miranda on any of your teams. This trick will only work for people who don’t have enough Paragon or Renagade points.

Insanity Fighting

Fighting on Insanity seems easy for the first mission, because its like every other difficutly, but when you reach the first mission that you get guns other than the Predator Heavy Pistol and the Grenade Launcher, things get tricky. Enemies now have ridiculous amounts of health, standard mechs no longer just have health they have a layer of amour too. Things are a little bit harder there, and they eliminate your sheilds in two to three bursts of their Shurikens. Also the dog mechs get armour as well. This mission you start out with a shotgun, assault rifle, sniper rifle, and/or sub-machine gun (or the one you do when right after you meet the Illusive Man, but before you meet Joker) is the hardest mission in the game, because you have no upgrades and the worst guns in the game for this difficulty. Once you pass this mission the game gets easier, I promise, mainly if you imported this character so you have more guns once you get on the Normandy SR2. Personnally for this difficulty I would suggest using the Soldier Class too, two main reasons: five weapons you hold at once and ADRENALINE RUSH! Use Adrenaline Rush like crazy get this evolved in your stats, it will save your life! Also if you have the points I would suggest both the Firepower Pack and the Aegis Pack for this game, because the new armor, assault rifle, sniper rifle, shotgun, and pistol are too good to give up. Trust me that name is what it is FIREPOWER! Don’t just quit after that second mission the rest of the game is a breeze compared to that. Just remember: Don’t ever be the big hero, sit back relax and Adrenaline Rush use it, you’ll eliminate your enemies so fast they won’t know what happened, also switch your ammo types even if their health is going down, you will have more ammo later, when you’ll need it.

Advanced Weaponry

You know the part in the game were you board the disabled collector ship? Well about 5 minuets into the mission you come across a dead collector on some kind of dissection table or something like that. After that you walk up to a pile of advanced weapons. If your a soldier class you have 3 advanced weapon choices the claymore shotgun, revanant machine gun, and the M-98 widow sniper rifle. Choose wisely.

A Hard Choice

You know Samara the asari justicar? Well on her loyalty mission were you have to help her kill morinth the ardat-yakshi, when you get to the part when you and morinth are alone in her apartment, (make sure you have a lot of paragon points) then samara walks in there is a pause in the battle two speech options appear. One says kill morinth the other says kill samara if you choose the kill samara option morinth will take her place.

Shred The Compatition!

Want to know a very useful ability? Shredder Ammo. Shredder Ammo is very effective against organic hostiles which are who your shooting at most of the game (except the geth of course). Also when you get up to the point where you can evolve Shredder Ammo I recommend the Squad Shredder Ammo choice because that gives your entire squad Shredder Ammo abilities.

Easy Way To Become A Tatician

You know the Tactician Achievement? Well here’s the easiest way to earn it. Before I tell you what to do the best soldier type to use to unlock the achievement would be an Adebt. OK first get one of the biotic members of your team like Samara, Jacob, Miranda, Jack, or Thane to use the ability Biotic Pull then have your character use Biotic Throw. Do that 20 times and you Unlock the Tactician Achievement.

Squad Survives Suicide Mission

In order for your squad to survive the suicide mission you should do the following. First, send Legion to open the door to the central chamber (first choice), Second, send Samara to escort Dr. Chacquas back to the Normandy (second choice), Third, have Garus lead the diversion team (third choice). Last but not least have Mordin Solus in your party when you initiate the final step in either destroying or capturing the collector base beyond the Omega 4 relay. Good Hunting.

Paramour

After the suicide mission talk to tali (quarian) she will talk non-sence just keep saying your interested and stuff like that then go do a mission for loyalty on anyone if you didn’t do all of them then go talk to her again and say you only want her then sit back and enjoy the scene.

How To Gain More Resources

To resources en masse, you have to scan unexplored planets and launch probes when you find some. To scan you have to enter orbit around the unexplored planet, and hold LT to scan around the planet. When you feel you controller vibrate, hit RT and launch a probe. The more your controller vibrates the more resources you will get.

Minning Tips

The first one is crude but it is effective. Look for spots that don’t mesh with the landscape, random craters, oceans, ice caps, belts, ect. This is where most large spikes are. The second one is more tedious but nets more income.

1. Place the target on the very edge of the planet with out turning it.

2. Start scanning and use both thumb sticks to move the planet and the scanner.

3. Do this to coat the whole planet, yes it takes time.

4. When done in that row, move up or down the diameter of the target.

5. Repeat as needed.

Take Down The Boss Collecters Easy

When the Collector in front of you turns into a Harbinger You have signed a real date with death. This is a quick guide to take them down fast. Take Garrus or someone else with concussive shot and anyone else, even two concussive shot guys help. Use these to drop the Biotic Barriers that it puts up, then open up his chest cavity with a load of armor-piercing ammunition. If you have the Widow, use it, one head shot and he’s down for the count. Note that it is unadvised to take one of these guys head on. If you are using an infiltrator, use incinerate between sniper shots to maintain ammo. This will weaken its armor, just watch out for his little fire balls too, they hurt more than a level 4 fire ball.

Cheats

Anomalies

Scan the following planets to find anomalies:

Caleston Rift, Solveig, SinmaraCaleston Rift, Talava, TaitusCrescent Nebula, Lusarn, TarithCrescent Nebula, Zelene, HelymeEagle Nebula, Amun, NeithEagle Nebula, Strabo, Jarrahe StationHades Nexus, Sheol, Gei HinHourGlass Nebula, Faryar, DaratarHourGlass Nebula, Ploitari, ZanethuMinos Wasteland, Fortis, AequitasOmega Nebula, Ariniarkan, MSV Strontium MuleOmega Nebula, Fathar, LorekPylos Nebula, Dirada, CanalusPylos Nebula, Nariph, MSV Broken ArrowRosetta Nebula, Enoch, JoabThe Shrike Nebula, Xe Cha, Zada BanSigurd's Cradle, Decoris, SanctumSigurd's Cradle, Skepsis, FranklinTitan Nebula, Haskins, Capek

Unlockables

Shepard Bonus Power Unlockables

Armor Piercing Ammo : Complete Archangel’s Loyalty Mission

Barrier : Complete Jacob’s Loyalty Mission

Dominate : Side with Morinth in Samara’s Loyalty Mission

Flashbang Grenade : Complete Kasumi’s Loyalty Mission

Fortification : Complete Grunt’s Loyalty Mission

Geth Shield Boost : Complete Legion’s Loyalty Mission

Inferno Grenade : Complete Zaeed’s Loyalty Mission.

Neural Shock : Complete Mordin’s Loyalty Mission.

Reave : Side with Samara in Samara’s Loyalty Mission.

Shield Drain : Complete Tali’s Loyalty Mission.

Shredder Ammo : Complete Thane’s Loyalty Mission.

Slam : Complete Miranda’s Loyalty Mission.

Stasis : Complete the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC.

Warp Ammo : Complete Jack’s Loyalty Mission.

New Game + (Plus Mode)

To unlock New Game+, complete/clear the Suicide Mission, watch the credits, andthen start a new game and select the “Import ME2 Character” option and select thesave file you cleared the Suicide mission on. In New Game+ your current Level,Class, Skills, Weapons Training, and Equipment from your previous save file willbe carried over to the new file. in addition, you also gain 50,000 of eachresource and a 200,000 Credit Bonus. Your upgrades do not carry over and yourKarma/Squad Loyalty is reset in New Game+)

Completion Bonuses

25% Experience Boost : Start a new game after beating the game once.

Start with 200,000 Credits : Start a new game after beating the game once.

Start with 50,000 of Each Resource : Start a new game after beating the gameonce.

+25% Bonus Experience

Beat the game.

200k Credits + 50k each Resource.

Start a new game after one play-through.

Revenge! Achievement

Gain the loyalty of the mercenary. (15)

Unlock Loyalty Skills

Complete the Loyalty missions for each of your party members to unlock their individuals skills.

Unlock New Colors for Party Members

Complete a party member’s loyalty mission.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Mass Effect 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Mass Effect 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently no guide available.

Currently no guide available.

Currently no guide available.

Achievements

Achievement List

Missing in Action (5) Save your crew from an overwhelming attackVery Elusive (10) Return to active dutyThe Convict (10) Successfully recruit the biotic ConvictThe Krogan (10) Successfully recruit the kroganThe Archangel (10) Successfully recruit ArchangelThe Professor (10) Successfully recruit the ProfessorThe Quarian (10) Successfully recruit the quarianThe Justicar (10) Successfully recruit the JusticarThe Assassin (10) Successfully recruit the AssassinFriend or Foe (10) Obtain geth technologyColony Defense (25) Defend a human colony from attackThe Prodigal (10) Gain the loyalty of the Cerberus OfficerGhost of the Father (10) Gain the loyalty of the Cerberus OperativeCatharsis (10) Gain the loyalty of the biotic ConvictBattlemaster (10) Gain the loyalty of the kroganFade Away (10) Gain the loyalty of ArchangelThe Cure (10) Gain the loyalty of the ProfessorTreason (10) Gain the loyalty of the quarianDoppelganger (10) Help the Justicar resolve her missionCat's in the Cradle (10) Gain the loyalty of the AssassinA House Divided (10) Hack a geth collectiveGhost Ship (25) Complete the investigation of a derelict alien vesselSuicide Mission (50) Use the Omega 4 RelayMission Accomplished (125) Save humanity throughout the galaxy from certain annihilationAgainst All Odds (15) Survive suicide missionInsanity (75) Complete the game on the "Insanity" difficulty level without changing the settingNo One Left Behind (75) Keep your team alive through the suicide missionLong Service Medal (75) Complete Mass Effect 2 twice, or complete it once with a character imported from Mass Effect 1Paramour (50) Successfully pursue a relationship with a teammateHead Hunter (10) Perform 30 headshot kills with any weapon on humanoid targetsBrawler (10) Shoot and kill 20 enemies while they're knocked back by a punchBig Game Hunter (10) Thresher Maw defeatedTactician (10) Hit 20 different targets with multiple biotic powers to combine the effectsMaster at Arms (15) Kill enemies with 5 different heavy weapons during the gameMerciless (10) Make 20 enemies scream as they fall or are set on fireOverload Specialist (15) Disrupt the shields of 25 enemiesWarp Specialist (15) Warp the barriers of 25 enemiesIncineration Specialist (15) Incinerate the armor of 25 enemiesOperative (15) Complete a mission discovered by scanning an unexplored worldAgent (50) Complete 5 missions discovered by scanning unexplored worldsProspector (5) Retrieve mineral resources by scanning and probing a planet in the galaxy mapExplorer (10) Visit 100% of the planets in an unexplored clusterPower Gamer (10) Reach Level 30 with one characterScholar (15) Unlock 15 new Mass Effect 2 codex entriesTechnician (15) Obtain 10 technology upgradesWeapon Specialist (15) Fully upgrade a weaponScientist (10) Complete any research project in the Normandy's laboratoryFashionista (5) Personalize your armor in your quarters on the NormandyPower Full (15) Evolve any powerHighly Trained (15) View all advanced combat training videos at Shepard's private terminal.