#c: geth

[gethprime]

[wingsofthesun]

Instead of Shepard dragging Garrus around everywhere in ME1 because she wants to take him under her wing and teach him, I think it'd be a lot funnier if she drags him around everywhere because he comes pre-trained.

I mean, think about it. By the end of the first visit to the Citadel, besides Ashley and Kaidan (who are full members of the Alliance military), she has/is heading to recruit the following:

Wrex, a krogan mercenary who definitely doesn't have a file and who later admits mainly works alone and/or in very small groups, and has definitely not been part of any formal military structure or anything even remotely similar

Tali, who is a very wonderful person and very knowledgeable about the geth, but is only ~22 (her birth year is 2161 apparently), is on her people's rite of passage, and has never been formally attached to any kind of command nor has had any formal training as far as we know

Matriarch Benezia's daughter, Liara, who they know very little about at the moment other than she's an archaeologist who specializes in the Protheans and has never had any commando training, nor do they know if she even knows anything about her mother's actions

I love them, but they're not exactly on the level someone that's been part of a military for years would be.

By contrast, you have:

Garrus, who's not that much younger than Shepard herself, was part of the turian military for a few years (and had at least one ship posting from what we know from 2), and has also been part of C-Sec for awhile given he's a full fledged detective, so he's used to working in teams and being under someone's command

I feel like Shepard would have taken a look at his file and breathed a sigh of relief because there's at least one person that she won't have to worry will accidentally undermine her authority. He even comes with amazing sniping skills and tech expertise! Of course she's going to drag him around everywhere!

[dragonflight203]

I’ve been spinning how galaxy wide threats are treated in Mass Effect in my mind for a while now and I still don’t have a satisfactory handle on it.

The rachni, the krogans, and the reapers all threatened the entire galaxy at one point. But the krogans are notably treated very differently from the rachni and the reapers, and I feel there’s something more there worth pulling at.

Note: I’m excluding the geth and the quarians because that was a war strictly between them. My interest here is how galaxy-wide threats are handled.

Disclaimer: I’m pulling some of the specifics (dates, etc.) from the Mass Effect wiki, so it’s possible some of that is wrong.

What the three have in common is that they threatened the known galaxy. C-Space scrambled to resist them and very nearly succumbed, before turning it around and permanently ending the threat:

-The Rachni Wars started around 1 CE. The salarians finally resorted to uplifting the krogans to end the wars. The krogans wiped out the rachni completely, and they were believed extinct.

The krogans were rewarded with various planets.

-The Krogan Rebellions started around 700 CE. The recently met turians (before the rebellions started? after? unclear) took the lead in fighting them, and the salarians developed the genophage to restrict their reproduction. The fighting continued for sometime after the turians deployed the genophage.

The turians were rewarded a place on the Citadel Council for their service.

-The Reaper War started in 2186. Shepard eventually ends it via destroy/control/synthesis. One of these is a genocide (multiple, if you count the geth and Edi), one is arguably brainwashing, and no one knows what the hell synthesis is.

But what interests me is how the game treats these:

-The rachni genocide is treated as matter of fact.

If I recall there’s a mention that the salarians would have preferred they not be wiped out so they could be studied, but no one is actively lamenting their death.

The krogans are proud of their part in it and frequently remind others they won the Rachni Wars.

The rachni queen, to Bioware’s credit, is a very sympathetic character. She’s also a very minor one and gets very little screentime to endear her people to the player.

If Shepard spares the rachni queen, they are criticized or at least side-eyed by nearly everyone.

Then in ME3 Shepard gets to decide the fate of the rachni a second time.

The rachni race can be wiped out twice in the games. And yet the games barely touch upon their culture. There’s never a prominent rachni character the player can speak to and learn more about the rachni from.

The games treat the rachni primarily as a plot device, not a people.

-The krogan genophage is treated as a more complex issue.

Society in general is grateful for it. No one besides the krogans are looking for a cure. The salarians, in particular, are extremely attentive to genophage and take steps to ensure it continues. The dalatrass is willing to walk away from an alliance in ME3 rather than even consider curing the genophage.

The main narrative, however, is far more sympathetic. Wrex and Grunt are popular squadmates. Bakara is portrayed as wise and Shepard can have heart felt conversations her. Mordin’s part in perpetuating the genophage is implicitly criticized through ME2, and he has a change of heart by ME3.

The counterpart to the above is primarily Wreav: If he’s in charge in ME2 and ME3, the krogans are far more sinister. Other krogans express… concerning sentiments through the games as well, but they’re generally background characters that the player may not notice and probably won’t remember.

Most players, however, play paragon and will experience Wrex on at least their first playthrough.

-The reaper genocide is barely acknowledged to be a genocide.

The sentiment by nearly everyone aware of the reaper threat is that they must be destroyed.

The minority opinion is that they should be controlled instead.

That reapers are people, and that this is the destruction or enslavement of a species is never contemplated. The reapers are a threat and they must be eliminated; that’s all that matters.

(And yes, the reapers are people – Sovereign, Harbinger, and the Rannoch reaper all had individual personalities. Those three are awful people, but can we say that for the entire species? Could there be reapers that only participate in the ‘harvests’ because if they do not they’ll be harvested?

We don’t know and the game doesn’t ask. Because it doesn’t matter. The reapers are a threat to the galaxy and must be eliminated.)

Even Shepard’s final choice ignores that personhood of reapers – if you take control of the reapers, are you brainwashing them? If you choose synthesis, are you rewriting another species to bend them to your will?

It doesn’t matter. They’re threats and must be dealt with.

I find this interesting, because the reapers are probably how the galaxy viewed rachni and krogans during their respective wars:

-The rachni were a threat. They had to be eliminated. They’re gone and that’s that.

-The krogans were a threat. They had to be eliminated. The genophage stopped them.

-And now the reapers are a threat. They must be eliminated. The cost doesn’t matter.

Except… It’s not quite that clear cut for the krogans now.

The krogans were a threat. The genophage stopped the threat. And now the krogans are victims of the genophage.

And that suddenly makes the krogans more complicated.

If the genophage had wiped the krogans out as the krogans wiped the rachni out, I doubt there would be any debate. No one discusses if the krogans were right to wipe out the rachni; the rachni are gone as a result of the Rachni Wars and that’s it.

If the genophage had destroyed the krogans outright, they would be just another footnote in history.

But the genophage didn’t destroy the krogans. Over a millennia later, they still persist. Their numbers are slowly dwindling, but they maintain their culture and their pride and are a still a force on the galactic scene.

And that makes them sympathetic. It makes their species’ slow death tragic. It makes their defiance of the galaxy’s wish for them to just die almost noble. They won’t just lay down and give in.

It makes curing the genophage a rational choice to many players, in at least some circumstances.

And I find that fascinating.

The rachni and the reapers get very little sympathy in the game.

The rachni barely have an opportunity to argue their worth. The reapers are the main antagonists and their personhood is ignored.

But the krogans… The krogans get to be squadmates. Their homeworld gets to be a hubworld. Their genocide is discussed extensively in game. Its merit is questioned.

The krogans are treated as a species with a right to exist.

Realistically, this is a side effect of game development.

The krogans get to be people because the rachni were already extenict and their revival (or lack there of) was a plot point in ME1. Bioware couldn’t afford to spend much time developing them when they might be extinct again in ME2 or ME3.

The reapers were the antagonists and Bioware didn’t have a plan for them at any point. Their primary development is in the Leviathan DLC, which was developed after the backlash against the ME3 endings.

But Wrex was a squadmate in ME1 and Grunt was a squadmate in ME2. From there expanding upon the krogans as a people was a natural consequence.

Still, the way the genocide of the rachni and the reapers is glossed over doesn’t sit right with me. Bioware proved they were willing to explore the topic with the krogans. If they were going to raise it with the rachni and the reapers, I wish they had done more with it.

[thatwildwolfwrites]

—in which turians gossip.

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian's youngest?

His son? Yeah. Apparently he got detention again. It's the fifth time this week. I don't know why that child keeps talking back. It's like he has no respect for authority.

Well, they'll beat that out of him at bootcamp. He'll fall in line eventually.

Why can't he just be normal? All the other kids his age understand this already. Maybe something's wrong with him...

I wonder. He's not growing up into a good turian... Poor Castis.

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian's son?

--

Yes. What a waste. I heard he ranked at the very top in all sharpshooting and hand to hand combat tests... and all of that for nothing.

What's wrong with him? 

He will never make a good turian.

Spirits, poor Castis. First the accident, and now that son of his...

--

What about his son? I thought he was normal now. Didn't he find a job, outside the military?

He did. Citadel Security, like his father. Easier outlet for that... passion of his. You know. All that talk of justice and right and wrong... Castis hoped working at C-Sec would help him get it out of his system. Start being normal. Maybe he would finally burn through that... energy.

Did it work?

He's constantly fighting with his superiors. Disobeying orders. Questioning their judgement. I hear he's just as much trouble out there as he ever was down here.

I don't envy Castis right now. Hearing about your son constantly failing at the job you excelled at... It's got to do something to you.

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian's son? I heard he actually quit C-Sec now. Couldn't even conform to that. Now he's left the Citadel on a whim, with some human, on an impulse...

--

Poor Castis.

Poor Castis.

I heard Castis Vakarian's son was part of that mess at the Citadel, with the geth.

--

Apparently he's aiming to be a Spectre now. I don't know how his father is going to take that.

I wouldn't want to be in his plates right now.

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian's son? He dropped out of the Spectre training program.

--

Have you heard? He's gone mad.

I heard he finally snapped. Had some sort of identity crisis, left spirits know where without saying anything.

I suppose it was always a matter of time. There's always been something wrong with that boy. Still, his poor family...

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian's son? 

--

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian? Yeah, he has kis kids staying over.

I heard. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse. Working with a terrorist organisation. Human supremacists, too... I can't imagine what his father's going through right now.

--

I heard it's a difficult family situation, yes. The mother's dying, and he... At least he still has his daughter, not like that good for nothing son of his.

Have you seen him? What a disgrace. Half his body covered in scars like that. Wearing his failures right on his face... His family must be so ashamed.

Heard he's saying he's fallen in love with an alien. A human of all species. 

Disgusting.

That's just adding insult to injury. His poor family.

Poor Castis.

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian's son?

--

Isn't he the one in charge of that refugee camp on the Citadel? Who even decided to put him in a leadership role?

I don't know. I heard he's friends with the new Primarch. I heard he failed upwards. I heard he's in an important position now, in charge of helping with that war summit.

This damn war. They'll promote anyone as long as they're still alive.

--

--

--

Have you seen? Commander Shepard's written a private account about the Reaper War. Have you read this? 

--

Incredible.

Heartwarming.

Inspiring.

Unbelievable.

Beautiful.

She wrote about Garrus Vakarian.

They were close. He was her lieutenant. Her closest aide. Her best friend.

He held her up when she stumbled. He asked her to take care of herself. He checked in with her. He cared. When everyone else saw the Commander, he was the only one who saw a person. He was the only one who asked how she was doing. He was the only one who supported her.

She wrote about everything he did for her.

He's the only reason she had the strength to win that war.

He saved the world.

--

--

Have you heard about Castis Vakarian?

--

You mean Garrus Vakarian's father? Yeah. I heard. He must be so proud.

[ladykailitha]

Of Butterflies and Backstrokes Part 9

Hello! This story is moving right along. I'm not sure how much longer it will be but I've finally gotten to the competition part of the story and then we slowly ramp up to the Olympics where the real fun begins.

Some really juicy plot twists at the Olympics I can't wait for you to read. And the ending which I am vibrating to write for you.

In this we have a good therapy session, Max joins the team, and Eddie is a sweetheart. (Which we all knew).

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

~

Steve knew he should have gone to therapy after the first time he tried to get into the water and had a fucking panic attack. But he was newly off his dad’s money and having to work for the first time in his life, he just didn’t have the time or the money to do it.

But now that he was getting paid a lot more as a coach and Dr. Hughes being willing to do the sessions after hours and therefor off the clock made it easier to try.

He wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into that neat office that Tuesday afternoon, but it certainly wasn’t a forty-something man with neat wire rimmed glasses and curly hair. He had a round face and pleasant smile. He was wearing a nice vest over a blue button up shirt.

Steve smiled and slid into one of the chairs in front of the desk Dr. Hughes was sitting behind. “I thought tweed jackets were standard issue for therapists.”

Dr. Hughes snapped his fingers. “Shucks, I knew there was something I forgot to do!”

Steve laughed and was immediately put at ease. “Eddie said you're the dad of one of his friends...”

Dr. Hughes’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “And you want to know how the son of a psychiatrist and licensed therapist is friends with the local drug dealer?” Steve blushed but nodded anyway. “I have two sons. Twins. My Gethin is everything a white, upper middle class parent could want. He’s quiet, smart, does particularly well in school, straight, dresses neatly. Popular at school, well liked by his teachers. His mother and I are very proud.”

“I’m guess your other son isn’t all that?” Steve huffed, flopping against the back of the chair. He could just picture this kid. Loud and angry and messy. A little bit like Eddie. God, he hoped the kid had some really good friends, because if he knew anything, he knew what it felt like to never be good enough in your parents eyes.

Dr. Hughes chuckled. “My son, Gareth is more like my wife. Loud, fierce, and vibrant. We got him his first drum set when was eight to help him work out his energy and it worked. He’s very good at it. He doesn’t get the grades Geth does, but we go to all his band’s shows, we celebrate his passing his classes. While doesn’t have as many friends as his brother, Gareth has a tight knit group that he can rely on for anything.”

Steve blinked at him with his mouth open.

“I do specialize in behavior analysis after all,” Dr. Hughes said with a tender smile, “I’d be a shit therapist and worse father if I didn’t at least follow what my profession says on the matter.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Steve said after snapping his jaw shut. “I guess I’ve just never seen a parent treat their kids equally before. One parent always has preference especially if one doesn’t fit inside their perfect box.”

“Ah ha!” Dr. Hughes said, leaning back in his chair and gripping the arms of his chair. “The perks about a patient one can look up on the internet is knowing a bit about them before hand. Did you not fit into the box your parents made for you?”

Steve snorted. “Tell you the truth, Dr. Hughes,” he said picking at the skin around his nails, “I don’t think they cared enough to build the fucking box in the first place. My mom was always off with her charities and her clubs and my dad was only there to make sure I made them look good. But nothing was ever enough for them.”

“Do you think that your feelings of abandonment contributed to your trauma in the pool?”

Steve stare at him for a moment, head cocked to the side. He scratched his cheek nervously. “I guess I never really thought about it. I always assumed it was just getting hurt.”

“Trauma is rarely so black and white,” Dr. Hughes said gently. “We’re not going to dive straight into what happened at the Olympics. This first session is really about getting to know each other and deciding we’re the right fit for each other.”

Steve nodded and they got to talking about sports and somehow ended up on Eddie.

“He’s a good kid,” Dr. Hughes said. “A bit rough around the edges, but that is more to due to his circumstances and less to do to his actual personality.”

“I really don’t know him that well,” Steve admitted.

“And yet you offered to train him for the Olympics,” Dr. Hughes pointed out.

Steve snorted. “What’s something you’re good at that isn’t this job?”

“I’m really good at math. Particularly complex equations. My calculus teacher thought I should have been a mathematician.”

Steve nodded again. “So imagine you’re picking one of your sons from school and you pass by the classroom being used for dentition, and the teacher isn’t there. But instead of drawing dick pics on the white board, he’s correcting the teacher’s math. Correctly, I might add. Would you not want to jump in and help him achieve greatness if you could?”

Dr. Hughes pressed his lips together tightly. “And you saw that greatness in Eddie?”

“Oh yeah,” Steve said seriously. “If he had been swimming in ‘08, he would have been on the US team; no doubt.”

Dr. Hughes blinked at him for a moment. “You told me you didn’t know him very well, but I think you know him better than you think you do.”

Steve blushed.

~

He arrived at the pool to find Eddie and Robin waiting for him in front of the rec center. As soon as he stepped onto the curb, Robin threw her arms around him.

“How did your first session go?” she asked anxiously. “Was it hard, are you okay? Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

Steve laughed and spun them both around. “It was fine. It was more about getting to know each other. Testing the water as it were. It was good. He was nice.”

Eddie grinned. “I’m glad you guys got along. Dr. Hughes was telling me and Gare that not every therapist is a fit for every person and we weren’t sure what we were going to do if it didn’t work out between you.”

“Suffer.”

Robin and Eddie laughed as Steve grinned at them.

“It’s my lot in life,” Steve huffed as he let go of Robin and started walking to the door.

“It’s not a lot,” Robin said.

“But it’s my life!” Eddie finished.

Steve’s grin turned into a fond smile. Yeah, he couldn’t get in the water now and maybe not ever, but he had Robin. And if everything turned out well, maybe Eddie, too.

When they got in to the dressing rooms to change, the other coaches and athletes were conspicuously absent. When Steve asked a passing Joyce about it when they got out, she said with a smile.

“I convinced them to use the other dressing rooms on the other side,” she said brightly. “After all they are closer to the pool they were supposed to be using.”

She patted him on the shoulder and went back to where every it was she was going.

Steve rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He cocked his head back and forth. If that was the case...

He walked up to Robin and Eddie and clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “All right guys, a slight change of plans. As soon as Max gets here, we’ll be using the second main pool today.”

“Where is the goon squad today?” Robin asked.

Steve just grinned. “Not here.”

Max came running up to him in a panic. “I can’t fit my hair under the cap! I don’t want to get chlorine in it. Trust me when I say that red hair and chlorine don’t mix.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide and his hand went shakily to the top of his head. He ran his fingers through his curls nervously. “You don– they wouldn’t make me shave my head, would they?”

Steve’s jaw hardened. “If they try and make you, I will drown them personally. Shaving a man’s hair is fucking pointless because it’s going to be under the cap. If you weren’t swimming with one, then I could see it. But as you won’t, there is no need to do it. Robin will help Max do her hair, and I’ll help you do yours, okay?”

Eddie sat down on the edge of the pool and Steve began braiding Eddie’s hair and gently weaving it. He put the cap on Eddie’s head, starting from the back. Eddie adjusted it so that it sat perfectly over the tips of his ears.

Eddie turned back to thank him, but gulped when he realized how close Steve was. “Right. Um... thanks.”

Steve blushed, stepping away to let Eddie slide into the pool. Robin and Max followed close behind. Steve got up on the lifeguard chair and pulled out his clipboard.

“Since Max is going to be learning the different types of strokes,” he said brightly, “we’ll have Eddie demonstrate each one and then I’ll rate them. And while I’m talking to Eddie, Robin can help Max learn the first one.”

“Sure thing!” Eddie chirped happily. He tussled Max’s cap and she pushed him off of her. “Just you watch me, Red. I’ve got this in the bag.” He looked up at Steve. “Which one do you wanna try out first, Coach?”

“Backstroke is what you’re best at,” Steve said with a smile. “Go on, showoff. I know you want to.”

Eddie grinned and then wadded over to the second line, ducking under the floaties. He pulled his goggles over his eyes, then looked up at Steve, giving him a thumbs up. Steve blew the whistle and off Eddie went. Robin talked Max through everything Eddie was doing and the mechanics of it all. When Eddie touched the return plate he looked up at Steve.

Steve pressed the button on his stopwatch. “Not a bad time and your form was really good.” He then gave Eddie scores on his technique and style, Eddie nodding along.

“Translate!” Max snapped at Robin, causing the two men to snap their heads up to look at her.

Steve blushed in embarrassment as Eddie grinned at her.

“Sorry, Max,” Steve murmured. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a person to talk swim with since– well, since before Tommy decided to shove a stick up his ass.”

Max’s eyes went wide with gleeful surprise at Steve swearing. He wasn’t allowed swear at children so the kids had never heard his more colorful language.

“Steve!” she said in awe. “There are children present.”

Steve laughed. “Like you don’t swear the worst of them. Well, all except Dustin. That kid has the worst potty mouth.”

“Oof,” Robin said with a wince. “I’d say he swears like a sailor, but I think even sailors would blush at his language.”

Max cocked her head to side and then nodded. “Yeah okay. He’s worse than I am. But barely. Like I’m better at coming up with insults then he is. He usually just resorts to ‘your mom!’ when he can’t think of anything.”

“That’s a preeetty piss poor insult,” Eddie cackled. “Like does he even know your mom?”

“I think he does it because his mom is a literal saint,” Robin said solemnly. “Like she always brings us donuts or homemade muffins. No one would dare say it back to him lest the lose access to the most delicious baked goods in existence.”

Eddie eyes went wide. “Those triple chocolate muffins were hers?”

“Oh yeah,” Steve said, nodding. “She can’t decorate for shit, so her cakes aren’t pretty to look at but they are so good you forget the icing was starting to slip off one side a bit.”

“That’s because she gets too excited to share it,” Max said with a fond eye roll, “so she doesn’t wait for it to cool down enough before she starts frosting anything.”

“Right, right,” Eddie said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “note to self never insult Dustin’s mom. Got it.”

Steve nodded seriously. They got back to swimming and were wrapping up when the goon squad arrived.

They were on their way out, laughing and talking. About what Steve couldn’t make out. Then someone bumped Steve’s hip sending him toward the pool. He let out a shriek of unequivocal terror and squeezed his eyes shut, fearing the absolute worst.

But the splash never came. There was no rushing of water, no feeling of enveloped and choked by the waves. All he felt was cold arms holding him tightly to a broad, flat chest. One that as very wet and very, very naked. His arms were trapped between his chest and the person holding him, but he didn’t struggle.

He leaned into the touch, his eyes still squeezed shut, his heart racing behind his ribs. The arms began moving gently to stroke his back as muttered phrases slowly brought him round again.

He opened his eyes to stare directly into the warmest brown eyes he had ever seen. It was like when he woke up from his panic attack.

“There you are, big boy,” Eddie murmured. “I’ve got you.” He brushed Steve’s hair gently out of his face.

That’s when he realized that there was screaming going on around them.

“I don’t care who your father is, Hannah,” Joyce was shouting, “until he signs my paychecks, I’m in charge here and had Steve fallen in, he could have you charged with assault.” The girl turned pale and immediately everyone shut up. “That’s right, pushing someone in a pool is so dangerous Steve would have every right to have you arrested. Now get out of here.”

After everyone made sure Steve was okay, Robin walked him to the car and shoved him into the passenger side. As she slid behind the wheel she said, “It’s a good thing Eddie had such fast reflexes.”

“Yeah.” And all the way home, Steve thought about those arms wrapped around him, keeping him safe.

~

Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15

Tag List: CLOSED

1-@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @chameleonhair @sadisticaltarts @dreamercec @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mac-attack19

10- @aol19 @eriquin @tartarusknight @gloomysoup @morallyundefined

[persephoneggsy]

so i did this a while back, finally remembered it, and now i'm posting it

Mass Effect x Dragon Age AU

I did one of these already, sort of, for ME: Andromeda, but this one is set in the Milky Way.

Elaborations below:

Merrill is a quarian who was exiled from the Migrant Fleet. She's looking for a way not to destroy the geth, but to bring them back under quarian control, thinking they're too valuable a resource to just get rid of. Unfortunately, this made many quarians view her as dangerous, and she was exiled for the crime of experimental geth research. Making Merrill a quarian was the first choice I did for this AU, I think it fits really well.

Aveline is an asari. I'd considered krogan or turian, or simply keeping her human, but in the end I went with asari mostly because Aveline always struck me as condescending in the same way many asari are, lol. She's a commando who later moved to the Citadel to join C-SEC.

Isabela is a turian. She's a barefaced turian, meaning she has no association to a colony. Instead of following the typical turian tradition of proudly serving in the Hierarchy's military, Isabela instead ran off to become a space pirate, specializing in smuggling. She frequents the bars around Omega and has earned herself a fearsome reputation among the mercenaries.

Bethany remains a human; she grew up on a colony world with her siblings, and had a relatively peaceful childhood, despite the Alliance constantly badgering her parents to send her and her older sister to their biotic training program.

Marian, also a human, eventually ran away from home to become a mercenary. She resented her father for forbidding her and her siblings from joining the Alliance - not because she was particularly patriotic, but she felt like her father's grudge against the Alliance prevented her and her siblings from receiving the best training possible. Her powerful biotics made her both an asset and a target, and she soon caught the eye of a certain Council Spectre...

Fenris is a drell. He was raised under the Compact, an agreement between the drell and the hanar, and his purpose was to become a bodyguard... And then his training group was attacked by batarian slavers and he was taken captive. For many years, Fenris suffered under the batarians' rule, until he finally managed to escape. Unwilling to return home, he instead roams the galaxy, taking out as many batarian slaving operations as he can.

Anders is a human who escaped from a biotic testing facility run by Cerberus. Though this left him with a grudge against Cerberus, he also hates the Alliance, whom he sees as no better and will also use biotic children as weapons. He dreams of establishing a safe haven for biotics, and is willing to go to increasingly drastic measures to see that dream become a reality.

Varric is a volus. Unlike his business-minded brother, Varric does not spend his days negotiating trade agreements or doing finance consultations. Spending his days at the Afterlife bar on Omega, he's an information broker, and a pretty damn good one at that. With his specially crafted weapon Bianca, he's not too bad in a fight, either.

Carver, much like his older sister, left home to seek out his own path, and ended up joining the Alliance against his parents' wishes. He thrived in the military, quickly climbing the ranks due to his strength and competency. He's being primed for N7 training under the wathcful eye of Spectre Sebastian Vael.

Sebastian is a human, and a Council Spectre (I'm imagining this AU as a sort of nebulous period where humanity isn't as looked down upon as they were at the start of ME1, and there are a fair number of human Spectres running around). A wild child in his youth, his parents sent him to the Alliance to straighten him out, and to their relief, it worked like a charm. He specializes in covert missions and favors sniper rifles and tech powers.

[solaris2183]

honestly yeah. the fleshed out characters and their relationships with one another, the incredibly detailed lore, the interspecies politics - all of it could've been just as interesting without the reapers. this is proven by the comics, for one thing; a lot of them do have to do with the events of the games and the stuff leading up to the war, but a lot of them are just looking into the lives of the characters we love. at no point reading those comics do you go, "man, i could use some reaper action right about now. let's give these guys some more life-or-death stress."

**Hot take alert!**

As mentioned ^^, I too agree that the ME trilogy was hamstrung by the need to revolve the narrative around the Reapers.

One of the many reasons that I believe ME2 remains the best in the entire series to date, is that it went beyond the limitations of the reaper centric series narrative, which allowed for more room to highlight the characters' individual stories, thus letting the crew take center stage.

[in-faithwe-conquer]

Garrus: Shepard, you just knew the Geth would figure into this war somehow. Shepard: Because Reapers weren't enough. Garrus: Still, it's good to have Tali here. This is as much her fight as ours.

[ Full transcript ⇩ ]

Garrus: Shepard, you just knew the Geth would figure into this war somehow. Shepard: Because Reapers weren't enough. Garrus: Still, it's good to have Tali here. This is as much her fight as ours. Shepard: Any word from Palavan? Garrus: Some, and I don't like what I'm hearing. The krogan are there in force, but they're just slowing the Reapers down. Not stopping them. I'm not sure it's going to be enough. Shepard: You hear anything from your family? Garrus: But I did hear from Primark Victus. He wanted my advice on fleet strength when the Crucible is ready. Still can't get used to people asking me things like that. Shepard: [What did you tell Victus?]: What did you say? Garrus: I said at some point we're going to have to decide if our fleets keep defending Palaven or we go on the offensive. Shepard: Can't do both? Garrus: Not with the beating we're taking. Like I said, not the sort of questions I'm used to answering. Shepard: [Why not? You're a good leader]: You know what you're doing, Garrus. Trust me. Everyone can see that. Garrus: Maybe, but you spend so much time on the outside trying to get in, and when you do, it's not what I expected. Shepard: How so? Garrus: All the questions... and every one of them with a million lives riding on the answer. Shepard: You do the best you can with what you know, It's no different than your days at C-Sec. Garrus: You're right. Though I'm starting to understand why the galaxy needs cold-hearted dictators every now and then. Shepard: They get things done? Garrus: They don't give a damn about the consequences. Suppose that's what it's going to take, Shepard: the ruthless calculus of war. Ten billion people over here die so twenty billion over there can live. Are we up for that? Are you? Shepard: [That's not acceptable]: If we reduce this war to arithmetic, we're no better than Reapers. Garrus: A nice sentiment. Let's hope we can live by it.

[cinnabun-faerie]

FFXIV Sexy man Bracket 2025

Hi! Welcome to the ffxiv sexyman bracket tournament! I have never done one of these but I'm excited.

NOTE: It's not your typical sexyman tournament. I guess it's more of "who do you think is the sexiest/who is the top sexyman/ Which character do you like more and want to win". It's just meant to be a bunch of characters compiled for fun.

It'll be running alongside the FFXIV Sexywoman Bracket.

Rules: - WARNING: SPOILERS FOR MSQ & RAIDS - Canon Characters only - Meme picks (ffxiv characters) are welcome - You can nominated up to 5 characters per submission (here) - This is just for fun, so please be nice/respectful - but feel free to be chaotic & feral (propaganda is allowed) - This should go without saying, by underage characters are not allowed - Please know that spelling errors on my part will most likely happen. Apologies in advance

Depending on how many characters are requested will depend on how many brackets there will be. So if you want a character to be listed, please nominate them

I'm not sure of what "sexyman" means usually in these type of tournament, but I just wanted to include as many characters and see what the outcome is

Brackets will start on May 28th and happen every Wednesday & Thursday, giving at least a week for votes

There's so many characters here so I'll be breaking it down into sections (the other half of the pictures, I'll put up soon, I just wanted to geth this started)

First Round

Round 1A & B

Round 1C & D

Round E

Second Round

Round 2A, B & C

Third Round

05/13/25

[gammaraydeath]

what about just bros being bros 👀

HEEHEE you guys are spoiling mee

bros being bros covers ro when she's pulled back to the citadel between the first and second games. she's already dropped off tali, wrex, and garrus, and garry boy is back at c-sec. she's been off "eliminating pockets of geth resistance", except she hasn't actually been doing that, and has been focusing her efforts on the reapers. the council catches wind and orders her back for an in-person meeting. so she already knows going in that it's not going to be good news. they threaten to revoke her spectre status if she doesn't drop the reaper thing, and are only giving her this chance as a favor for her saving them (recurring theme with them, innit). anderson is absent from the meeting, and when she catches up with him afterward, he says that he couldn't be there as he presented a "conflict of interest". totally barred from the meeting. while he couldn't stand up for her then, he does give her a lead to go check out the amada system

well, ro had already scheduled the crew for a bit of shore leave, so she'll ship out to sweep that sector in the morning. they've been working nonstop for a few weeks with little downtime. she had already reached out to garrus and arranged to meet him after he got off his shift - they're both mad when they meet up, her about the council, him about some bullshit that happened down in the wards that day. he's also uh.. got some other stuff going on with his family :( he doesn't tell ro, so all she picks up on is that he seems a bit sad - has been since shortly before ilos, in fact. all that to say is, they both have steam to blow off and promptly drink the night away. at a point when they were definitely way too drunk to be within reach of any kind of gun, ro takes him to a shooting range - uses her spectre status to unlock the good stuff. makes his fucking night to let him play with the big, expensive rifles. then at the end of the night (early in the morning), having had a ton of fun forgetting their troubles together, they go their separate ways. garrus to his shitty little apartment, ro to the normandy, where she will promptly be blown the fuck up in about four days

and tbh, ro's into him, wants to shoot her shot now that she's not his boss anymore, but can't gauge his interest - if there is any - and the goal is promptly forgotten in favor of just having fun together a couple hours in :) she hasn't yet learned that the direct approach works best with him. garrus is in that weird sort of position where i can't say that he sees her as more than a friend - and yet he's not opposed to having her hang off him when they're both utterly smashed hehe

[gethprime]

Geth Armature | Quadruped all-terrain heavy weapons platform. Armatures are sentient, synthetic lifeforms capable of independent decision-making, and learning. Equipped with heavy kinetic barriers, and siege pulse assault cannons.

[ageless-aislynn]

I finished ME2 on Normal! (And did not die in the entire final section from when the Normandy crash-landed until the Freaky Deaky Human Reaper was officially tossed in the trash can! I'm actually very proud of that, considering how many times I died on Casual last time. 😱☺️)

Successfully romanced Jack, who really does have such a sweet romance once you get through her angry exterior. 🤗

I changed to the Cerberus armor for the final fight because I liked the stats it provided, namely a bump in health and heavy weapons' ammo. Hated not looking like my handsome N7 self, though. BUT I POWERED THROUGH THE PAIN OF BEING LESS FASHIONABLE.

😜I also played a little more Paragrade this time, always picking Paragon for the interrupts and major decisions but allowed myself a few Renegade dialogue options every so often, as a treat. 😉 I mean, Grunt in particular seemed to really enjoy getting the occasional Renegade pep talk, lol!

Some random caps I took along the way:

I adore Samara's eyes! 😍 I also really love her relationship with Shepard, how you can feel that she respects you and considers you her friend, and that's something pretty rare for her. You can tell that she's so lonely and so bound by her Code that it's hard for her to connect to anybody else. I love that moment in ME3's Citadel Shore Leave where she'll tell you that she just wants to sit quietly with you for a moment. It just feels special and nice and it never fails to make me glad to be playing Shep as (mostly) Paragon. 🤗

Legion doing a little head tilt in the menu just made me d'awwwww at him. Who's a good Geth boi? Who's the bestest, goodest Geth boi EVAH? Yes, it's Legion, it is! 🤗🤗🤗

And I should add that the team of Legion and Zaeed proved to be very strong and capable in this run. I was impressed! It's such a shame that we meet Legion so very late in the game that we really don't get the chance to take him on many missions.

And speaking of missions, my experiment proved that no, you don't have to do the Lair of the Shadow Broker, Overlord or Arrival missions to still reach the end of the game. So I'll definitely be skipping those on Insanity just to try to cut down the amount of combat you have to do.

Annnnd speaking of Insanity: I was planning on doing another run to try out a different class but I think I'm going to try Insanity as a Sentinel first. If I fail miserably, can't advance, etc., then I'll start over with a new class back down on Normal and try that out. I'm thinking maybe Infiltrator or even just Soldier, but I really want to give Sentinel a try first. I like the Warp, Overload and Energy Drain powers and I think they'll come in handy when all enemies have shields and barriers. 😬

That's just so unnecessary, IMO. 😑

Anyway, being a Sentinel also helps me to feel closer to my fella.

*wistful sigh* 💖💖💖

And speaking of my boo, I didn't realize until I actually saw it in a Shiara vid, where Liara was there with Femshep at the start as the Normandy was being destroyed, that if Shepard has a love interest, THAT'S who appears to try to get you to evacuate. Both times I've gone through the ME2 opening, I was coming from a ME1 run where I didn't romance anyone and so, therefore, the game knew my true heart and gave me and Maleshep our guy to be with us in our time of need. *nodnods so seriously right now I can't even*

Okay, yeah, so probably Kaidan is Shep's second in command at this point? Or it's a rank thing that the game is using in lieu of a love interest? No, it's the POWAH OF MSHENKO LOVE, friends, it just cannot be denied! 💖💖💖😉

I know that it's not wise to do ME2's Insanity as a New Game+ because your enemies scale to your level, which will be high, but you have to earn all of your talent/power points again, I believe? So you'll be weak against even stronger enemies, yikes! Could be wrong but that's my best understanding at the moment.

Anyway, I'll be just returning back and importing in my previous ME1 Adept Shep and then choosing for Cerberus to rebuild him as a Sentinel. I think I'll try Miranda's romance while I'm here, too. I know I'll lose Jack or Miranda's romance in ME3, depending on which ME2 Shepard I then import, but I'd like to eventually playthrough as some of the other classes, so I'll be sure to romance one of them again in 2 and 3 so to get their couple of scenes, particularly those from the Citadel Shore Leave DLC.

Wish me luck, friends, as I gird my loins for the Insanity battle! 😱😱😱🤗😉

[edains]

lil arden update: i took his eye*

quick rundown:

in arden's canon during me2 and the reaper IFF mission he has kal'reegar and jacob with him (his usual team) when they run into the geth [legion]

kal'reegar kinda loses it when seeing it and basically bum rushes it (he later confesses to arden that he couldn't help but see all the people he lost on haestrom - and all the other quarians lost to the geth)

[the geth unit] had raised his rifle to defend itself and arden seeing that kal was in danger shoved him out of the way and got shot in the eye

in the chaos the geth unit slips away and they meet it again as per usual

back on the ship arden decides to give it to the quarians for research purposes (it took a lot for him to deny reegar's request to pull it apart and use it as a target practice and zann agreeing with jacob to throw it out the airlock)

but! this is the catalyst for him and kal'reegar getting together b/c they realized that they really did care for each other - kal was upset at hearing the geth speak to arden and arden having a moment of panic when he saw kal was in danger

so lost an eye, gained a boyfriend

*its a cybernetic eye so he can see out of it - it does require some regular maintenance and care

he takes the cybernetic eye that miranda offers b/c "might as well take any advantage i can get" and also b/c he wants a reminder of what happened [also b/c i think it looks cool lbr]

mods shown:

Cleric's Bomber Jackets for Male Shepard (LE3)

Cyber Shep 2 - New Scars and Cybernetics For Shepard

Halcyon Hairpack (LE3)

Primitives - A Facial Appearance Overhaul

Wraith Eyes

[timptoe]

And I Know It

For @bigplaceexchange this year, I got to write for the lovely Viggorrah on Ao3 about Ashley and Kaidan and how much I love their friendship. This fic is based on a tumblr post I saw once and stupidly didn't save that's stuck with me; ping me if you know the one I'm talking about.

Because sometimes, the way forward is a silly t-shirt, a good friend, and a little bit of Latin.

----

We headed to the bar, baby Don’t be nervous No shoes, no shirt And I still get service Watch

 - LMFAO, “Sexy and I Know It”

——

“What.”

“Hm?”

Kaidan pops his head up out of his reverie, turning to look at whatever it is that’s pissing Ashley off in this particular moment. 

“What. Is. That.”

Her flat growl immediately puts him on high alert. He scans for threats in a quick, sharp glance around the area. The salarian working that kiosk? Looks harmless. The batarians reading at that tea shop? Maybe, but they seem pretty engaged in their books. That guy crossing the promenade with the mustache? Tacky, but non-threatening.

He furrows his brow. Nothing in particular stands out to him amongst the crowds and bric-a-brac of Zakera Ward. 

Focus, Alenko. Put Eletania out of your mind. You’re an officer, never off duty. Try again.

He sweeps their surroundings again in an instant, coming up empty. But the look on Ashley’s frozen, gobsmacked face is unmistakable. What is he missing?

“Williams, what’s—“

She pushes past him, rushing toward the kiosk, and for a fraction of a second, he preps for combat. He squares his shoulders, plants his feet, feels the hair on the back of neck stand up as he begins reaching for the biotic energy inside him. Whatever that salarian’s up to, he’s got Ashley’s back.

And then she turns around, and he sees the unrestrained glee on her face.

“LT, look! Look at this!”

She waves him over. The blue aura around his fingertips fades as he walks forward, utterly confused. The kiosk itself isn't particularly remarkable, reminding him of those kitschy, ticky-tacky souvenir stands in every mall in Vancouver. Apparently some things are universal. Mugs with asari quotes he guesses are famous, keychains with turian names that must be common, hats of various sizes to fit the heads of various species all gathered together in a garish display of consumerism and unnecessary excess.

But Ashley is focused on a single shirt.

She holds it up proudly, looking at it in wonder. “What is this?” she squeaks. Actually squeaks. He hasn’t known her that long, but he would’ve bet the Normandy itself that Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was incapable of squeaking in something like pure delight. She turns it around, holding it up to her torso to show it off. Dark blue background, bright gold letters. At first he thinks it’s a misprint. “SEC-C?” he says cautiously, brow furrowing.

All at once, the pun hits him like a geth stalker falling from the ceiling.

“SEC-C!” Ashley shouts with laughter.

Kaidan groans.

“Oh, c’mon LT,” she says, impish mischief all over her face. “Get your head outta whatever funk it’s been since we left the planet of the apes and bask in the glorious mess of this shirt with me.”

He rolls his eyes, not at all in the mood for this. “‘Mess’ is the right word.”

She sticks her tongue out at him.

“And surely that pun doesn’t translate, I mean do turians even have—“

“That one’s been pretty popular with our human patrons, sir,” pipes up the annoyingly helpful salarian. “Shall I ring it up for you?”

“No.”

“Yes,” Ashley says enthusiastically, pushing between them and eagerly proffering her omnitool. 

In moments, the transaction completed, the pair are standing in the center of the promenade, alternately admiring and abhorring the piece of fabric in Ashley’s hands.

“Is this not the greatest thing you’ve ever seen?” Ashley says, voice full of awe.

Kaidan levels a look at her. “You can’t be serious.”

“It’s incredible,” she murmurs, taking in every inch of her prize.

“Please tell me you’re not going to wear it.”

Without a word, she strips off her regulation uniform tunic, throwing it over Kaidan’s shoulder. He barely has time to blush, avert his eyes, decide if he even should avert his eyes, before she dons the new shirt. She pulls at it, testing the fit, the feel, the way it drapes over her lithe, solid shoulders.

“Something’s not quite right.”

“No kidding,” he mutters, idly folding her uniform tunic and tucking it under one arm.

She ignores him, looking down at the shirt with a critical, almost tactical eye. Suddenly, she snaps her fingers, nodding once.

And without a word, she reaches up and tears off both sleeves.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Kaidan says.

Ashley strikes a pose, bare arms flexing with her balled-up fists on her hips. “What do you think?”

He won’t deny that she looks good. Really good. Well, he won’t deny it to himself, but out loud? Absolutely. “You look ridiculous.”

She grins, dangerous sparkle in her eye. “C’mon. Don’t you think I look—“

“Please don’t say—“

“SEC-C?”

The sound of his deep sigh is thoroughly drowned out by her joyous, I-am-too-pleased-with-myself cackle.

He sits down on a nearby bench, watching his fellow soldier delight in accosting random passers-by with manic enthusiasm. His exasperation is mostly feigned, if he’s honest with himself. It’s good to see Ashley happy, unburdened, for even just a moment on this tour. So much of what they’ve seen, the evil they’re up against, is hard to process. Might as well enjoy the little spaces of joy they can find.

He watches in horror as Shepard, wide eyes unseeing, crumples to the ground.

Kaidan takes a deep breath, willing the panic tightening his chest to ease. Shepard’s fine, he’s up in the Council chambers. Stop it.

“C’mon. Your turn.”

He snaps his head up, Ashley’s outstretched hand dominating his field of vision. “Huh?”

She pauses for a second, and when he doesn’t take her hand fast enough, she reaches down, grabs his arm, and roughly hauls him to his feet. “Your turn,” she repeats.

“For what?”

“This was for me,” she says, gesturing to the ridiculous shirt. “Now we do something for you.”

He shakes his head. “No, we don’t—“

“That wasn’t a suggestion, LT.” Her grip on his arm tightens. 

He purses his lips, bemused. “You know I outrank you, right,” he says flatly.

She shrugs. “Fuck that. We’re off duty.”

“Ashley—“

“You need a drink. More than one.” She tugs his arm, not letting go, but with little enough force that he could easily stand his ground if he wanted to. My choice, he realizes, genuinely touched by the veiled tenderness of the gesture.

So he allows her to move him. A little. A grin lights up her face, infectious in a different way from the one at the kiosk.

He can’t help but grin back.

Read the rest on Ao3.

[dragonflight203]

Some thoughts as I replay Mass Effect 1:

-Hackett is one of the ones to recommend Shepard as a spectre. No wonder he feels comfortable calling them up for missions through the game. He probably feels Shepard owes them a few.

-One of Joker's first lines is that he doesn't like having spectres on board. That tune changes quite quickly.

-The game eases into aliens. For the few couple of hours the player only interacts with humans and one turian. Another turian is shown in a cutscene. Geth, which are basically advanced robots, are enemies you can kill without guilt. It's not until the citadel that the game really embraces alien diversity. Bioware's wariness on how comfortable players would be about aliens shows very clearly.

-During the Eden Prime drop scene Kaidan is the one to ask about survivors. Of course he is. Kaidan, you paragon.

-Everyone learned about aliens in school. Everyone is an adult. First contact was 30 odd years ago. How exactly did the curriculum get updated so quickly that everyone learned about this in school? Bioware, your timelines make me cry.

-Manuel definitely got hit by the beacon at some point. Interesting that he also saw Saren, but his speech is so confusing no one realizes he's talking about a second turian.

-Nihlus may feel differently about humans than Saren, but he is Saren's student. He skipped all the survivors and made a beeline to the beacon. He's not cruel, but he is efficient. The beacon is the priority.

-Nihlus, we hardly knew ya. Every time I replay it's always surprising how short his screen time is. And those faces when he interacts with Saren... Bioware did a very good job on making him nonhuman but still recognizably expressive. The difference in facial expressions between ME1 and MEA are light years.

-Benezia is clearly used to Saren's tantrums. She dodged like it's something she does on a regular basis.

-Kaidan, about informing the Council about Saren: "Makes sense. They'd probably like to know he's not working for them anymore." Love this man.

-Kaidan only gets migraines. Having experienced one recently, that's a big only. And he's soldier that's frequently in combat. I hope the future has excellent pain killers.

-For this playthrough I'm planning to have Tali and Liara as companions, so I'm skipping everything on the Citadel that isn't necessary or unique to the first visit until I pick them up. It makes the game feel quite different. I usually spend hours on the Citadel during my first visit; this time I'm leaving quite quickly.

-Pallin's skepticism about humanity makes more sense when Harkin is considered. Harkin was the first human in C-Sec, he's corrupt as hell, and humanity did a lot behind the scenes to protect him. Pallin's big on following the law no matter what. No wonder he's not impressed by humanity.

-Anderson has extreme tunnel vision about Saren. From the minute he's mentioned he's convinced Saren's behind it and he's doing it solely out of hatred of humanity. He repeatedly brings this up.

Meanwhile, in the game I get the vibe that Saren doesn't care about humanity too much. He doesn't like them, he might antagonize them if the opportunity comes up, but they're not worth the bother to put actual effort into tormenting. Humanity just isn't that important to him.

-Love those silent interactions between council members where they just look at each other. Again, the difference between ME1 and MEA is stark.

-Going by the Geth core Tali retrieved, Saren considers Eden Prime a victory. The tantrum he threw indicates otherwise. Does he really consider it a victory, or is that just a speech he gave to motivate the Geth?

-At this time, I'm not convinced Anderson believes in the Reapers. He still thinks it's Saren, he just doesn't think it's worth debating Shepard on it.

-I genuinely like Udina as a character. I'd hate to be around him, but he's determined to do a good job, pragmatic, and truly devoted to humanity. Also nice to have someone around who pushes back against Shepard. ME3 wastes him.

-Garrus mentions that he rose in the ranks through C-Sec. What was his actual rank? Detective or the like, I presume. Pallin knows who he is, and that's impressive considering the number of officers there are. Even with Castis as a father.

-Tali mentions Quarian overseers to the Geth when speaking to Shepard. The game definitely pushes the slavery parallels with the Geth, even in ME1. "Overseer" is not the first term I'd use for supervising machinery. Or maybe that's the American cultural bias showing through.

-Everyone info dumps in ME1. Everyone. Enjoyable, but a bit exhausting at the start of the game when it feels continuous.

-Liara in ME1 is a completely different character than in ME2 and ME3. I'm hesitant to consider the change natural growth. It's a shame, because ME1 Liara has quite a bit of potential. They didn't need to rework her character for the later games.

-First time playing on Insanity, and I'm surprised at the lack of trouble I've had so far. Everyone says the battle with the krogan at the end of Therum is difficult, but I only died once. I might regret this later, when I get to the Uncharted worlds...

Edit: Fix spellings

[zoeysloane]

The Space Between: The Precipice

UNC: Rogue VI

“I don’t get it,” Ashley said, crossing one leg over another as she leaned into the weapons table, her ear nearly resting against her shoulder. “If there’s this possibility that VIs turn into AIs, why would anyone give a VI so much power?”

Tali closed her locker and sighed. “It’s like Hackett said: VIs can do things that organics can’t. With the right restraints, that kind of software can confer enormous benefits in training.”

“So, you think it’s worth the risk?”

“Yes—no. I mean, there shouldn’t have been a risk in the first place. When my people created the geth, it was a thousand small modifications that eventually led to their collective consciousness. There was a crucial moment when we realized what they’d become, but there was no single, crucial change.” She shook her head. “We’re talking about a single AI—a single consciousness. It should have been far easier to monitor. I don’t understand how it spontaneously went rogue like that. It’s suspicious…”

“And so close to Earth, too,” Ashley muttered. “Can you imagine what would happen if Avina went rogue?”

“That’s not likely, Ash,” Kaidan said, shifting his weight from one hip to another as he crossed his arms. “Avina’s functions are far more limited than the VI on Luna.”

She shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Avina might have reduced functionality, but it’s used across the entire Citadel. Because of that, it likely records more experiences and could be prone to tampering, not to mention the vast amounts of information it has to extract and interpret from across the Citadel network,” Tali cautioned.

“C-Sec cybersecurity does frequent checks of Avina’s systems,” Garrus added, looking up from his terminal across the room. “Avina’s terminals are frequently tampered with, especially in some… select regions of the wards, and officers are required to report any suspicious activity or damage to them.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Kaidan said, without looking at Garrus.

Williams noticed and raised an eyebrow. Kadian shook his head.

The Space Between is a three-part (2/3 finished) read-as-you-play Shakarian fanfic with a paragon spacer femshep. Each chapter is read as a companion to the missions outlined in the fic's guide. Part 1, The Precipice, is Garrus's POV. Read it here.