#my gender is [missing codex entry]

[thelostgirl21]

For those of you still arguing that Kaidan does not outrank Shepard as an Alliance Officer during the Citadel Coup...

...he does.

Actually, being a Staff Commander in ME2, Kaidan Alenko was already outranking Shepard when they met on Horizon.

First, it is important to understand that, while inspired by it, the Human Systems Alliance does not use the exact same ranking system as the U.S. Navy / Marines. [Edit: I've fixed some (hopefully, most!) of the "he/him/himself" pronouns I'd missed the first time around... And that was... like... 90% of the time I was referring to Shepard. *Facepalms* Sorry about that! I'm so used to writing for M!Shep, that I instinctively say "he/him/himself" when referring to them (and my brain does the weird French thing of including the feminine into the masculine while proofreading, apparently!). If you still spot a non gender-neutral pronoun in there, please feel free to let me know.]

Therefore, according to the System’s Alliance’s own ranking system (that can be found in the game’s codex entries; I’ve also added that information at the bottom of this post, with in-game examples) the rank of Major (and, in ME2, Staff Commander) is above that of a Lieutenant Commander (Shepard’s own Alliance military rank) within the Alliance.

It is the rank of an Alliance Captain (Navy), not that of an Alliance [Lieutenant] Commander (Navy & Marines), that is considered as being the equivalent of that of an Alliance Major (Marines).

Meaning that, by the beginning of ME3, Major Alenko has now risen through the ranks to the point where he holds a similar level of responsibility within the Systems Alliance as Captain Anderson used to hold in ME1. At the very beginning of ME1, Captain Anderson was a Navy Captain, and the Commanding Officer (C.O.) of the SSV Normandy.

Lieutenant Commander Shepard was his Executive Officer (X.O.).

And Staff Lieutenant Alenko was head of the ship's Marine detail*

By the beginning of ME3, Major Alenko is now a Marine Major, and the Commanding Officer (C.O.) of the 1st Special Operations Biotic Company, a covert operations unit of the Systems Alliance.

*Note: I just discovered yesterday what “Marine detail” means, and I just have to say Kaidan’s position on the Normandy is ridiculously cool! 

Basically, it’s Kaidan’s job to determine which personnel position, assignment, or duty station each Marine should have on the Normandy.  While basing his decisions on the person’s professional milestones, taking into consideration the Marine’s personal aspirations and stated preferences, considering their marital status / family lives and responsibilities outside of the military, evaluating whether they have the proper qualifications for the job or require further training, looking at performance reviews...

They are described as the Marine’s “advocate”, trying to make sure that not only are they the “best Marine” for what their actual job requires, but that it’s the job that will bring said Marine the greater level of work satisfaction / align with their needs and personal ambitions.

So basically, after Jenkins was KIA at the beginning of ME1, it was Kaidan’s job to find a suitable replacement to take over his duties on the ship.

So, after Shepard wakes up in the medbay, and expresses that they’re glad that Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was still on the Normandy, because she’s a good soldier that deserves it, and Captain Anderson answers them: “Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you.  THAT’S WHY I added her to our crew.”

He literally means “After seeing her in action, Lieutenant Alenko reviewed her file, checked her qualifications, past performance reviews, family status, her documented professional aspirations and stated preferences, numerous past (denied) applications for a transfer to a shipboard posting, and based on his very own assessment of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, determined that she was the single best Marine in the System’s Alliance for the open position we now had on the ship.”

I’d always assumed that Kaidan had more or less informally gone “Gunnery Chief Williams was really impressive down there!  Maybe we could use her!”

And Captain Anderson had essentially gone: “Sure!  Why not?  We’ve got an open position.  Let’s keep her!”

But I’d all but forgotten that, with Nihlus dead, there was absolutely no Spectre on board that ship at that point in the story, and they were thus likely bound by the System’s Alliance rules and protocols when it came to handing out assignments to fill the vacant positions available on the Normandy.

It’s therefore highly likely that whoever was in charge of the ship’s Marine detail (in this case, Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko), would have had access to a list of applications of suitable candidates that had expressed an interest in serving on that ship.

And that, whenever there was a position vacancy, or a need to add a new position on the Normandy, then the head of the ship’s detail would have the responsibility of taking a good look at those candidatures, and selecting the very best suited Marine for the job.

As a Spectre, Commander Shepard might have had the level of authority required to spontaneously go: “they followed me home, I’m keeping them!”

But Captain Anderson most certainly did not. And, while he was the Normandy’s C.O. (meaning that he’d likely have the final say on whether or not Ashley got the position)...

Well, the person  officially in charge of finding someone to fill the position left vacant after Jenkin’s passing - after having carefully reviewed Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams candidature against those of other potentially qualified System’s Alliance soldiers - was literally Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko.

And one would assume that the reason why Kaidan got his own position as head of the ship’s Marine detail, would be because he’d be considered as being very proficient at determining whether or not a given soldier is going to be the right fit for their job, and the best asset for their team.

So, when Captain Anderson tells Shepard that the reason he added her to the crew was because Lieutenant Alenko believed she was a good soldier that deserved a position on the Alliance’s most advanced starship, that was because it was Kaidan’s job to make such decisions.

He had to choose which Marine in the System’s Alliance would take over Jenkin’s duties, and he chose Ash.  Kaidan’s the reason Ashley was assigned to Captain Anderson (and later, Commander Shepard)’s ship.  He’s the one that made it happen and allowed her to advance in her career.

Should Commander Shepard have tried to do the same (i.e. be the one to request Gunnery Chief Williams assignation to the Normandy, in a context where Ashley wouldn’t already have been added to the team while they were out cold); then Captain Anderson’s most likely answer would have needed to be: “I’ll let Lieutenant Alenko know about your commendation, but he’s not done reviewing candidatures and making his choice among them yet.“

I don’t understand how anyone can call Kaidan “boring”. He's such a layered, fascinating character...

As he once told Shepard:

“I’m an enigma. I’ve got skills.”

Yes, yes you do... and, over 10 years later, I’m still discovering some skill-sets that you have that I’d never even suspected before!

And boy, am I pissed we'll never get to know about your run in with the vorcha mafia, five thousand credits, and a bottle of whiskey!

Still, no wonder Anderson was so adamant on Major Alenko being the one offered the Command of the 1st Special Operations Biotic Company.

Besides his very own unique history as a L2 and ability to relate to those kids, he apparently has an eye for military talents, and he likely trusted him to be a very good judge of character when it came to assessing whether those young biotics would be a good addition to the Company, and able to handle working with the rest of a team while on high risk missions without needlessly further endangering their teammates.

However, as a Spectre, when operating under Council authority, both Commander Shepard and Major Alenko are no longer bound by the Alliance military’s chain of command.

And it seems that most players do not realize it, but when Captain Anderson stepped down as the SSV Normandy’s C.O., Shepard did not receive a promotion within the Alliance military in terms of overall rank; but exclusively one regarding their position in regards to their assignment.

They went from being the ship’s Executive Officer (X.O.) to the ship’s Commanding Officer (C.O.), but they still remained an Alliance Lieutenant Commander, regardless of the position they held on the SSV Normandy itself.

I’m thus guessing that Shepard dying so shortly after the Battle of the Citadel, had prevented them from being promoted to the rank of Staff Commander (or even Captain / Major).

And then, in all of the investigations surrounding their claims of having been dead for 2 years, brought back to life through Cerberus technology, the time they spend working with them to hunt down the Collectors, Shepard destroying a batarian system (Arrival), the time they spent in detention between ME2 and ME3 after having been stripped of their rank, etc.  Well, I’m guessing the Systems Alliance never thought to offer them a promotion, either.

At the beginning of ME3, the Normandy SR-2 has been recovered by the Alliance, and is intended to be used by Admiral Anderson (who would have become the SR-2′s Commanding Officer).

With Earth and the Alliance Headquarters under Reapers attack, Admiral Anderson chooses to reinstate Commander Shepard’s rank as a Lieutenant Commander within the Systems Alliance instead, and puts them in charge of his ship (thus, stepping down, once more, as the Normandy’s C.O. in favor of Commander Shepard).

Therefore yes, Commander Shepard is not as highly ranked an Alliance Officer as Major Kaidan Alenko is. However, they were given an assignment as the Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2 by Admiral Anderson.

Meaning that, after the Citadel Coup, when Commander Shepard offers Major Alenko a position among the Normandy SR-2′s crew, accepting that position means agreeing to recognize, and respect, Shepard’s authority as the ship’s C.O. as well.

Regardless of Kaidan technically becoming the highest ranking Systems Alliance Officer on board the Normandy SR-2, the position as the Normandy’s C.O. was given to Commander Shepard by Admiral Anderson.

So, if Major Alenko has a problem working under the authority of a lesser ranked officer as part of a Lieutenant Commander’s crew, then it is his responsibility to either refuse the offer and request another assignment (something that Kaidan can do in the game, actually - he can be the one to turn down Shepard’s offer), or take it up with Admiral Anderson, to try to request a change in leardership.

What I also find particularly interesting, with how those scenes play out, is that in both versions where Kaidan doesn’t join the Normandy’s crew, he shakes Shepard’s hand, but does not salute them.

Otherwise, after the handshake, when Shepard tells him “Welcome aboard, Major”, Kaidan straightens up and tells them “Aye aye, sir / ma’am” with a military salute, therefore acknowledging Shepard’s position as his new C.O.

Essentially, Major Kaidan Alenko is not bound by rank to obey Commander Shepard’s orders or accept to serve on their ship...

It is only once he CHOOSES to join the Normandy’s crew and take that offered position that there is this obligation for him to respect that Commander Shepard is the acting C.O. of the Normandy, and that they report directly to Admirals Anderson and Hackett.

As a Spectre, they report directly to the Citadel Council.

And so does Kaidan.  I’m guessing that, should he ever wish to leave the Normandy, he’s got the required authority to do so, and would simply need to ask Admiral Anderson or Admiral Hackett for a new assignment.

He may discuss his decision with Commander Shepard first, out of respect.  But I doubt that Commander Shepard could try to force him to stay and continue to work under the Command of a lesser ranked Alliance officer if he wished to leave the ship.

The only known people that could deny his request for a transfer within the Alliance would be either Anderson or Hackett.

And, as a Spectre, he could very well go “yeah, screw this!  I’m out!”

So yeah, his being willing to take orders from Commander Shepard, and join the Normandy as a member of his crew regardless of him being a higher ranked officer in the Systems Alliance, only highlight the amount of trust and respect he has in Commander Shepard’s abilities and leadership.

Knowing Kaidan, he likely values Commander Shepard as his C.O. based on the man’s actual military, leadership, combat qualifications and training, rather than rank.  Not to mention his ability to recognize their more personal, human qualities, how much they care for their crew, and Kaidan’s own willingness to help them share the burden that’s been put on their shoulders.

I think that, in order to gain Kaidan’s respect and have him gladly follow you, you need to use the power you’ve been given by whatever position or status you hold for the benefit of those serving under you, and/or those under your responsibility, rather than try to dominate and overpower others with it.

Kaidan won’t hesitate to call Udina “a bastard” for what he perceives as him “selling them out”, express dissent when a superior officer is out of line, question the motives of those in charge, and often flirt with insubordination.

He’s one of the most NEUTRAL good characters of the series - letting his integrity dictate his actions first and foremost, rather than being strictly and rigidly bound by ranks, rules, or protocols.

His main source of worry, when it comes to Shepard potentially cutting corners, appears to be the price that THEY may have to pay in the aftermath.

He seems more concerned about the Council or the Alliance openly using Shepard as a scapegoat if things go south, and/or disavowing their actions and leaving them without support, rather than over Shepard themselves breaking the law in such a way that they would make innocent people suffer.

I've always seen him as trying to make Shepard understand that they won't let them go down alone with the ship, figuratively (and perhaps event literally speaking... He sure tried in ME2 until Shepard reminded him that the rest of the crew were also in need of his assistance and counting on them to keep them safe) and share the responsibility of the decisions Shepard makes as long as he also supports them.

And yeah, Kaidan did put his own happiness first when it came to breaking the rules of fraternization.

He even says that the galaxy will just keep going and the only thing that will never happen again is them. And that they are what's most important in that moment.

If it wasn't for how very lucidly attached to the Alliance he is (he sees the flaws, but still considers that the Alliance does more good than harm overall, and is proud of being an Alliance soldier / officer), I'd almost have been tempted to put him into chaotic good territory.

He's dedicated to "doing what's right" (the principle of goodness itself) and acting with integrity, but not so much to "honoring human / citadel laws" or even moral codes per say.

His moral code is very much about remaining true to your own ideals and who you are in a way that promotes the greater good, and allows you to be at peace with your actions. And he's seen constantly questioning his perspective of good and wrong in the world, and adapting what acting with integrity truly means to him (for example, when he was trying to come to terms with the fact that Cerberus scientists could also be good people).

So, I very much consider him someone that is more Neutral (chaotic leaning) good, than Neutral (lawful leaning) good.

Rules and institutions need to make sense and serve a useful purpose to him, and avoid getting in the way of him doing what he believes to be right according to his own personal moral compass that no one dictates him but himself. Otherwise, screw the rules!

It may also be good to remember that Spectres have absolutely no command structure.  To prove themselves to the Council, they have to demonstrate both exceptional abilities and self-reliance.  If they thought that Major Kaidan Alenko would be the type to defer to Commander Shepard’s judgment based on seniority and rank alone, I’m guessing the Council never would have agreed to grant him Spectre status in the first place.

Yeah, Councillor Udina was the one that submitted his candidature, but he couldn’t have actually granted him Spectre status without the Asari, Turian, and Salarian Councillors’ approval.

Meaning that they all saw something in his service history that made them go “Yeah, this is a guy that can totally go rogue, disrespect orders, and do whatever must be done for the sake of the greater good of the galactic community if need be.”

People that see him as some sort of “whiny, Alliance lapdog” seem to forget that  we are talking about a 17-year-old kid that continuously got in trouble with Vyrnnus for talking back (to the point where he started punishing the other kids to get to him), found a way to hack communications on the station to secretly contact his parents on Earth, after having been explicitly forbidden to do so, and angrily stood up to Vyrnnus after Vyrnnus crossed a line while bullying more vulnerable than himself.

Commander Vyrnnus taught Kaidan that some would-be leaders only cared about holding power over others, and were not worthy of being respected nor followed.

Major Alenko simply is not someone that can easily be intimidated into obeying orders, and/or be impressed by power or rank.  What will make him “fall in line”, is the belief that the one giving the orders is the very best suited person for the job.

So, when it all come down to it, I’m pretty convinced that he could care less about Shepard “only being a Lieutenant Commander”.

He cares about Shepard doing the right thing, and about being able to trust their leadership and intents more than anything.

And, while Kaidan Alenko may have all the required qualifications and abilities to handle his own command, too...

...this is not what makes him the happiest.

He’s a soldier.  He likes getting his hands dirty.  He likes being right in the center of the action, and making a tangible difference.

My own partner, whose personality often reminds me of Kaidan (or, actually, Kaidan’s personality often reminds me of him!), has been offered countless of times the job of a team supervisor or coordinator in his work as a computer programmer (systems architect).

Sure, it would come with a salary increase and some advantages...

And sure, he’s a rather assertive guy, with a talent for seeing the greater picture, quickly noticing people’s own individual strengths and resources in a team, finding ways to take full advantage of said strengths and resources while organizing the work to complement every skill-sets they have, and thinking about creative solutions to a problem that others might be missing...

But what he loves most about his work is the coding itself.

He’ll gladly offer his input (actually, nothing you do or say will stop him from voicing his opinions, suggestions, and solutions to an issue...  especially if he thinks you’re being inefficient in the way you’re approaching it, and/or overlooking some variables), but the thought of actually being in charge of the whole working team all the frakking time, and having to manage complaints, conflicts, etc. - when his time would better be used in front of the computer, figuring out why something isn’t working properly - is enough to drive him insane.

He has everything it takes to be a good, efficient, more than qualified supervisor and coordinator...

...except the interest and motivation.

The things that make him happiest at the work he does, lie within the programming itself.

Similarly, I very much perceive Kaidan Alenko as being someone that has every required qualifications, skills, and abilities to be in Command of his own ship or his own squad...

...but typically prefers being a soldier, getting out there in the field and doing his work without having to handle what everyone else has to be doing on top of it.

He made an exception for Admiral Anderson by indulging him, and eventually agreeing to assume Command of the 1st Special Operations Biotic Company.  And, from the way he speaks about his students, it seems that the nature of his job, and his ability to connect with what they are going through and nurture their potential as soldiers, fellow “freaks”, and human beings, ended up making that command worthwhile and an overall positive and stimulating experience for him.

This is one of the many reasons why I lament the lack of interaction between Kaidan and Jack.  They are both powerful biotics that were abused in the hopes of getting results and making their powers stronger.  They both share a deep seated hatred of Cerberus.  And they both ended up becoming teachers and mentors to younger generations of human biotics.

Beyond the potential for humor and entertainment, I think it would have been interesting to see how they might have related to each other, talked about their students, shared a few tips, etc.

But otherwise, Kaidan seems to be happiest while doing his own thing (ex: being sent to investigate certain situations for the Alliance / Council), or serving on a ship while using his skills to offer his support to his Commander, rather than being the one in charge of everybody else.

Given how he tends to be more task than ego oriented, I therefore really don’t think that he has any issues following the leadership of a Lieutenant Commander regardless of his own rank.

As long as he can trust Shepard to be a good leader and get things done, he’ll gladly let them assume command.

But during the attack on the Citadel, Commander Shepard is not Major Alenko’s C.O., as Admiral Anderson never officially assigned him to the Normandy, and after they left Earth in a hurry and headed for Mars to retrieve data, he ended up in the hospital.

If we want to argue that Major Kaidan Alenko was showing any kind of disrespect towards Commander Shepard by refusing to stand down in front of a superior officer during the Citadel coup (an argument that’s occasionally been brought up by those that highly disapprove of the confrontation)...

Well, I hate to break this to you, but per Systems Alliance military protocol, Shepard should have been the one to salute Kaidan, not the other way around.

But it simply doesn’t matter either way.

Because that confrontation was not an “Alliance Lieutenant Commander vs Alliance Major” issue.

This was very much “Spectre vs Spectre” issue.

You simply had two highly trained, experienced, and dangerous Spectre operatives that were interacting on absolutely equal footing, outside of the Alliance’s chain of command.

And they both had the exact same objective: Protect the council from Cerberus.

In the end, it all boils down to trust.  And to whether or not Commander Shepard has the required empathy to understand that Kaidan Alenko has every right to be human, to have doubts, to question people’s motives - regardless of how much he loves them - and to be scared to make mistakes based on his personal feelings towards them.

Kaidan (and Ashley) have the most realistic, healthy, and human reactions that one could possibly have to someone being brought back from the dead by a terrorist organization.

On Mars, he wasn’t trying to attack or hurt Shepard.

What he clearly told them was “I’m confused, I’m scared, I do want to trust you, but I don’t know how.  I’ve seen some of the abject horrors of what Cerberus is capable of doing, and the thought that they might have been using you, or are still planning to use you, against the rest of the Galaxy terrifies me.  I need to know it’s really you - that you haven’t been cloned, brainwashed, or they didn’t plant a chip in your head or something -  and I’m at a loss at where to even start.”

(I’m thinking that should they have discovered that Shepard had been altered in some way and/or was being manipulated by Cerberus, but was still in there somewhere, then Kaidan would have wanted to do anything he could to help free them from Cerberus’ grasp, too.)

And he has every right to feel that way, to be afraid, to be concerned, and to express it.

Actually no one owes any of their friends their “blind trust”.

If someone I strongly care about is doing something stupid or I disagree with, I fully reserve the right to oppose their actions and let them know I’m not on board with it.

I can trust that they are a good person and believe in them.  But I can also occasionally distrust their judgment and whether the decisions they are making are the right ones.

So by openly verbalizing his fears and doubts, what Kaidan is actually doing is letting Shepard in.  He’s reaching out for that connection they share, not shutting them down.

He’s almost desperate to try to explain to them how he feels, so they can open the dialogue and start figuring these things out together, rather than remaining alone in their little corner while allowing those fears and doubts to fester and take root.

If Shepard is able to understand that.  If they can reach back towards Kaidan, show interest in getting to know each other again, rebuild trust, and work through those issues, then as I’ve already demonstrated a little while ago, getting Kaidan to stand down is so ridiculously easy it’s almost laughable.

If they do cut themselves off from Kaidan following Mars, and never reach back towards him, then they are allowing all those doubts and fears to keep on growing...  thus leading to tragedy during the coup.

But yeah, anyone reasonably expecting Kaidan to just step aside the moment those doors opened (when he was fully expecting to see Cerberus operatives come out of the elevator shaft) - especially based on supposed “higher ranked offircer superiority” - is having utterly unrealistic expectations regarding Major Alenko’s personality and behavior.

Either they were too quick to dismiss him as whiny and boring, and thus kept him out out of every mission, skipped conversations, and/or quickly rushed through them without really listening and seeking to understand the character...

They are unable to perceive videogame characters as well-rounded people, but are rather exclusively seeking to immerse themselves in some fantasy world where every single person they encounter either automatically adores them or fears their superior power and influence; and those characters are something that should solely exist for their own entertainment (unlike reality, where they can more easily recognize that each of their friends have personal aspirations, opinions, thoughts, careers and dreams that exist entirely outside of themselves; and they never would realistically expect one of said friends to “drop everything” they are doing on the fly in order to blindly follow them into a private jet that’s being borrowed from a well-known right-wing terrorists organization instead).

Or, they literally have a God complex.

----------

Systems Alliance: Military Ranks (Mass Effect)

The Alliance uses a modified version of the ranking system that has been used for hundreds of years. Soldiers are classified into rank-and-file enlisted personal, experienced non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and specially trained officers.

The divide between naval personnel and ground forces (“marines”) is small. Ground units are a specialized branch of the fleet, just as fighter squadrons are. This unity of command is imposed by the futility of fighting without control of orbit; without the navy, any army is pointless. The marines, as a matter of pride, maintain some of their traditional rank titles; for example, marines have Privates and Corporals instead of Servicemen.

In ascending order of responsibility, the ranks of the Alliance are:

ENLISTED

Serviceman 3rd Class/Private 2nd Class

Serviceman 2nd Class/Private 1st Class

Serviceman 1st Class/Corporal

NCOs

Service Chief

Gunnery Chief [ex: Gunnery Chief Williams (ME1)]

Operations Chief [ex: Operations Chief Williams (ME2)]

OFFICERS

2nd Lieutenant

1st Lieutenant

Staff Lieutenant [ex: Lieutenant Alenko (ME1)]

Lieutenant Commander [ex: Commander Shepard (ME1, ME2, ME3),  Commander Williams (ME3)]

Staff Commander [ex: Commander Alenko (ME2)]

Captain/Major [ex: Major Alenko (ME3); Captain Anderson (ME1)]

Rear Admiral/General [ex: Admiral Hackett (ME1)]

Admiral [ex: Admiral Hacket (ME2), Admiral Anderson (ME3)]

Fleet Admiral [ex: Admiral Hackett (ME3)]

[poisonhemloc]

Okay I’m rambling for a bit about Masquerada and since I can’t tell if I’m being pretentious or not I’m putting it here rather than on the Discord channel. 

Some spoilers for the game under the cut, also this turned out huge.

Basically for some unknown reason after finishing the game again I got a subplot from 1984 stuck in my head cause I think it applies to Ombre pretty well. Specifically, the “cutting down the language” bit.

Those of you who have played the game might know where I’m going with this; Kalden, aka the only responsible parent of the group who Does Not Deserve What Happens/Happened To Him, is Talios; in game, this is the single overarching term for Masquerada who do not bear blood related children to continue their Legacies. And obviously in Ombric culture it’s seen as extremely bad (Side note: I don’t think the Contadani are included in the whole “Ombre dislikes people who are Talios” thing; they don’t get Legacies or really seem to have as much of a reason to carry on family lines like Masquerada so I don’t think they care as much).

So, here’s my thing; Talios is the single overarching term for people who will not continue their families Legacies, and we see it applied to a gay man. And the only information we get for it throughout the game is all in the context of “Kalden, who is a man attracted to other men, is Talios.” But, the codex entry says it applies to anyone who doesn’t have blood related children, meaning that gay/lesbian people fall under that umbrella, and so do bi and pan people who do not have a different sex partner (see the below bit about trans/genderfluid/agender folks below, it got too long), or ace people who don’t have or want a partner, or anyone who is infertile or cannot have kids for medical reasons. That’s a big list and I know I’m missing people in that. And there is one single word: Talios. That all being said, Kalden was in a devoted relationship with another man, ran an orphanage, and basically was the father to eleven kids. He has a family, and judging by Vint, his oldest, they all consider him and Jaxus as their dads. But they are not related by blood so he (and Jaxus) are Talios. His brother Razitof, on the other hand, had no partner (he never mentions anyone in his journal) had no children, and never seemed to want any, but is not considered Talios. So it’s possible that Cicero was tiptoeing around the actual definition of Talios in his codex entry with “will not continue the family’s Legacy” and it is the only term for Ombre’s queer citizens; but since I’d have to ask the development team that directly and I don’t want to right now, whether Cicero was beating around the bush or not is something we can also discuss, since that’s an interesting possibility.

So, to go back to 1984, no one under the Talios label can talk about their experiences specifically. You have one word to try and fit a dozen separate identities and some of them are because you’re queer and we can argue that some of them are because you don’t want kids or because you can’t have kids but the one word covers it all. In 1984, language is being cut down so that you cannot express ideas the state determines to be dangerous; it doesn’t matter if previously something was terrible, awful, a serious threat to one’s health, and so on; now it is all double plus ungood and none of those other words exist. In Ombre, there is only has one word to start with but there is no interest in expanding the vocabulary. If you have someone who is attracted to multiple genders and someone attracted to the same gender and someone who isn’t attracted to anyone and lump them under a single label with, and this is important, no other words to use, they are going to have a hard time talking about their experiences. As an example, it would be like if the only word we had to describe every identity and orientation was queer. Now, currently queer is a useful umbrella term; if you don’t want to explain to someone you’re a genderfluid panromantic asexual because that explanation will take a while if they don’t know the terms, queer covers it all handily. But if queer is the only word, and it’s covering you and you haven’t changed, but also it’s the only word for the man who is only into other men across the road and also the only word for the woman two houses down who doesn't do romantic or sexual attraction at all and all of you are very different but you are queer and that’s it? None of you can talk about your different experiences because there’s just the one term.

I’m not entirely sure where I want to go with this, beyond a deep wish to sit down with Kalden (...and Cicero, honestly, dude’s not straight. I’ve seen people say he’s aro/ace and I think he’s closer to homoromantic ace everyone’s head cannon is valid here) and talk about the words we have, if only so someone has the vocabulary to talk about this stuff and tell other.

Now, the trans* bit I promised: We don’t know how trans people are treated in Ombre. They are not brought up in game at all, which, I understand you’re not gonna out yourself while the Inspetorre is running around chasing Fey, but no mention in the slightest unless I missed some side characters talking to each other. Personally I’m leaning towards trans(and nonbinary, and agender, and gender fluid, and if I’m missing groups of people please tell me) people get a don’t say anything kinda situation and as long as you have kids you’re good, if you’re in the Masquerada. Honestly I think the Contadani and Mask Runners are going to have different views on everything compared to what the Masquerada think, if only because they don’t have Legacies to uphold and therefore, why care? Especially with no religious anything to misinterpret and use to attack people. They might have their own words, meet up places, their own culture but since we play the game with four members of the Masquerada and a (former) Mask Runner, we don’t get to see that.

[kinlochhold]

kh mods her game: DAO, Part 14 - Fixes, tweaks and some miscellaneous mods

These are largely mods to repair and restore broken dialogue and plottish things, gameplay fixes and tweaks, with a few small equipment and visual tweaks, and some voice set edits. (Note: Awakening-specific bug fixes are covered here.)

Dialogue/quest fixes, tweaks, and overhauls

The following mods restore, repair, or tweak numerous instances of bugged and broken dialogue and plot flags. All of them can be used together, after making the necessary adjustments outlined in the various ReadMe documents and comparing files to eliminate conflicts. (And so I recommend using manual override versions in all cases.)

Improved Romance Scenes and Fixes - Alistair [mirror] by cmessaz. Even if not romancing Alistair, this is, IMO, an an essential mod, for the many fixes and lore-sensitive tweaks, and the restored Ostagar content.

Morrigan Restoration Patch Dialog Fixpack [mirror] by Terra_Ex. In addition to repairing issues with Morrigan’s dialogue and plot flags, this mod restores several scenes that were fully voiced, but omitted from the released game. (Be sure to grab the campfire texture fix from the optional files as well!) ZDF Dialog Fix - formerly Zevran Dialog Fix [mirror] by ejoslin. Repairs dialogue-related bugs and broken plot flags for numerous NPCs throughout the campaign. Also restores some ‘lost’ banter and fixes the broken epilogue slides.

Magenta Emerald by Jengonthanda. Dialogue, plot flag, logic and script fixes.

Fixed Political Support in 'A Paragon of Her Kind' by firepanda. Overhauls and bug fixes the main Orzammar quest line.

Dialogue Tweaks by Avaraen. Mostly fixes for Leliana and Zevran.

More options for girl Wardens to tell Jory off Removes a (IMO, unnecessary) gender check from a male-only dialogue option during the Joining.

Sandbox Assessment by Ninivekha. Loghain will comment on how pretty all female PCs are, when speaking with him at his tent during the Prelude. Vanity, thy name is Warden! [Not using this.]

Gameplay fixes and tweaks

Again, my preference for modular packages which allow me to choose which files to install (or not).

Just Another Fixpack by ovi187. This large fix pack which deals solely with gameplay bugs is the ‘base’ I build on. It has a modular, manual install, and again, I review each file and omit any components which are undesirable or which conflict with other mods/tweaks.

Dain’s Fixes by dainbramage. An assortment of bugfixes and tweaks.

Tainted Blood Fix by trcvrs. A fix for the Tainted Blood ability which is bugged when by the Dual Weapon Expert passive ability. Second Drain life bug fix by Dread Wolf. Fixes a bug in Return to Ostagar in which a second Drain Life spell line can appear. Critical Hit Chance Quickfix by JOG. Fixes a bug in which the player character has a base critical hit chance of 0.0% while everyone else has 3.0%. (Only needs to be enabled briefly on a per character basis to repair the base value.) Plus Healing Received Fix [mirror] by Dennis Lee. Fixes the vanilla bug in which equipment with the +Healing Received attribute had no effect. The mod can be removed/disabled after all companions have been recruited and ‘fixed’, though leaving it installed has no detrimental effect. (Or Nukenin's +Healing Received Fix, which addresses the same issue.) Dual Striking fix by ultramailman. Fixes the bugged RNG for one of the  Dual Striking animations always resulting in a missed hit. Item Sets Fix by didymos1120. Keeps item set bonuses active, even through party changes and in camp. (Uses EventManager and thus may contribute to buggy behaviour  of certain quests - i.e., Redcliffe zombie battle, Captured! Landsmeet and Broken Circle Fade quests can break, Rescue the Queen disguises may not work.) Nukenin’s Stealing Fix by Nukenin. Fixes a stealing glitch introduced by the v1.03 patch, which made it impossible to steal random items from creatures if the PC had any coin. Also includes a few convenience tweaks (floaty notifications, optional cooldown reduction).

Golem Registry and Shaper’s Life Reward Fix by Dennis Lee. Fixes the bugged rewards of two quests.

Some fixes I’ve used in the past that are incorporated into Just Another Fixpack: Ancient Elven Boots Fix (or Ancient Elven Boots) to add the errant boots either to the Lothering chantry as intended, or spawn them directly to inventory. Gazarath Sword Drop fixes a vanilla item drop bug. (Scroll down to Misc. section for the file.)

Visual and item appearance consistency

Bergens Honor Fix [mirror] by Falryu. Changes the model of the helmet to the appearance used for its icon.

Templar Armour Fixes Unifies the material and tiering of vanilla Dragon Age: Origins templar armour parts, and assigns a model to the invisible templar boots.

WTF, Lyrium Dust? A clumsy hack that recolours the pink-ish Lyrium Dust inventory icon to blue.

Annoyance fixes and QoL tweaks

A Fallen Templar Quest Fix by Freedon Nadd. Logic fixes to Ser Henric’s quest in  Lothering. (Makes the ‘templar’ corpse a knight, and renames the quest to ‘ A Fallen Knight’.)

Dead Templar and Fade Qunari Fix by valerie1972. Fixes inaccurate labels on several templar corpses, and gives the Qunari in Sten’s Fade dream floaty text reflective of their dialogue.

Gloves During the Joining by b-lighted. Prevents the removal of the player character’s gloves during the Joining cutscene.

Tiny Fixes by danexuslurker. A floaty-text consistency fix for Lord Vollney, and a bugfix for the Dalish Camp statue of Ghilan'nain remaining interactive, even after the relevant codex entry has been obtained.

A good nug is a quiet nug by Phaenan. Shuts up Schmooples (and all the other squeaky idle nugs) without any bloodshed.

Power of Blood For All by Dennis Lee. Makes the Warden’s Keep Power of Blood abilities available to companions. (Note this mod merely unlocks the abilities, which need to be enabled on a per companion basis via the developer console and then acquired through the expenditure of talent points.)

Dexterity Light Armor by Noslen. Changes the base attribute requirement for light armours from Strength to Dexterity. (Note the No Helmet and No Armor hacks require a compatibility patch if using this tweak.)

Damage Statistic Fix by RustyBlade. Raises the player Damage Dealt and party Damage Dealt statistical maximum to 99,999,999 and fixes the player’s “Damage Dealt” statistic and “Contribution to Party Damage” percentage to accurately reflect the amounts accrued if/when the player goes beyond the 999,999 damage points.

Statistic Fix - Bosses Killed by Jake Zahn. Changes the “Bosses Killed” statistic to actually count killed bosses (Unique and ‘Orange’ creatures), and shifts non-boss ogre and dragon kills to their base creature group stat.

Rejuvenate Tweak [mirror] by Dennis Lee. Allows casting Rejuvenate on Self. Primarily for use with Advanced Tactics, to avoid a potential situation in which a caster might get stuck trying to cast the spell on Self (as an Ally).

Dragon Age Mutator [mirror] by TheMutator. An external utility that enables various gameplay changes. (I’ve only used the banter trigger, and the Chain Lightning and monetary gain tweaks.)

Voices (and the lack of them) Human Female Cocky Voice by thecatisout. Restores the omitted Female Human ‘Cocky’ voice set to the available options during chargen. Universal Voices [mirror] by Kesaru. Removes the race restrictions on voice sets, allowing any sex appropriate voice to be selected during character generation, with Elf voices designated as ‘High’; Human voices as ‘Medium’, and Dwarf as ‘Low’. (Can be disabled after chargen.) PC Voice Set Edits WIP by cmessaz. Removes a lot of annoying, repetitive battle cries. I toss this in my override at the point when hearing “Desperation is an ugly perfume!” makes me grit my teeth and ball my fists. (I also use the edited voice set for Leliana to keep her from yammering about locks and such.)

Silent PC by JOG. Adds a no-voice option to chargen, for a truly silent protagonist. NPC equipment refinements

Full disclosure: I’ve replaced the next three mods with my own, larger NPC equipment overhaul, but I do recommend them for anyone disinclined to devote hours reviewing and revising character files in the toolset rather than actually playing the the game. (I think they are called ‘sane people’.)

Clothed Prisoners by danscott84. Adds appropriate garb to all those prisoners, dead bodies and other NPCs who would normally be wearing smallclothes but instead turn up nekkid when a nude body replacer is installed. (Note that the Cailan tweak is glitchy, and he’ll probably be 'alive' and idling after the initial cutscene.) [No longer using this.] NPC Equipment Refinement by Ali Bengali. Gives more appropriate armour, weapons and clothing to some NPCs. Optional file to put Redcliffe Teagan in armour. [No longer using this.] True Dalish by Ali Bengali. Similar to NPC Equipment Refinement, but focused solely on the Dalish camps. Some of the alterations it makes are fine, but others seem like changes-for-the-sake-of-change. [No longer using this.]

And a smattering of my own NPC gear tweaks and fixes:

The King is Dead A non-glitchy fix for naked!RTO!Cailan. (He’ll wear noble clothing and stay dead after interacting with his body.)

Better Bannhammer Equips Bann Teagan in all his appearances with consistent and (more) appropriate gear. Also addresses the variations in his descriptive floaty text.

Her Hammer is her… uh… never mind The Proving Master warns the Warden, “watch out for Myaja’s hammer.” But Myaja doesn’t wield a hammer/maul, she fights with a mace and shield. I gave her a hammer with nearly equivalent stats (swapping her Aeducan Mace for Trian’s Maul), and an appropriate two-handed AI package.

Connor isn’t an Elf! Epilogue Fix For all things epilogue, Connor is incorrectly assigned a morph from a random Dalish camp elf boy. I’ve replaced it with an edited version of his vanilla morph, sans the bruising/discoloration and heavy makeup.

Jowan and another different Jowan fix Replaces the morph of Jowan’s doppelganger in the Jowan’s Intention quest, because one Jowan is plenty.

Better Gear for Fergus A lore-appropriate adjustment to Fergus Cousland’s equipment, both in the origin arc, and for the post-coronation/epilogue scenes, replacing his ordinary Heavy Chainmail with the Ceremonial armour set.

A Sword for Ser Donall Ser Donall, the Redcliffe knight encountered in the Lothering chantry, is equipped with a kite shield, but no sword. That seemed… silly, so now he also has a Longsword.

More Believable Fade!Duncan Equips the Lost in Dreams iteration of Duncan with Oathkeeper-and-dagger, rather than a sword-and-shield, with a corresponding alteration to his AI package. (Optionally, buffs Duncan’s rank from Critter, for a slightly more challenging encounter.)

Elfy Ghost!Boy The distraught ghost child in the Brecilian Forest Lower Ruins is human in appearance, despite his babbling in elvhen and the overwhelming evidence in his toolset character file that he was intended to be elven; I’ve altered his morph to be more elfy. Elora is a Mage Elora, the Halla Keeper in the Brecilian Forest Dalish camp, is a mage with a full battery of Primal spells. To reflect this, I’ve changed her attire to the Chasind Robes. Aldous isn’t a Tranquil Aldous, the scholar in the Human Noble origin, wears the robes of a Tranquil. I’ve replaced them with the non-magical, non-religious vanilla ‘Robes’ (or an alternate version which equips ‘Brother Aldous’ with Chantry robes). Ostagar NPC Tweaks (Ser Jory and nurse) Some tweaks to the appearances of Ser Jory (equipping him with Heavy Chain armour) and the Ostagar nurse (replacing her incongruent, brightly coloured noble dress with something more practical). Includes an optional replacement morph for the nurse. Better Mages, Better Templars, WTF Tranquil? (for DAO) A small, modular collection of vanilla equipment tweaks for Templar and Mage NPCs, to address logic and continuity issues.