#tali’zorah vas normandy romance

[frecklef0x]

Working on a Tali’zorah headcanon. Still a little in the works, but I like this direction. The top right is a paint-over of the official art from the ME Legendary Edition. She have pointy teef

[passiveaggressiveturkeys]

Not BioWare adding in emotionally charged goodbyes with your LI during the final run but it being only available for the LI’s who were on the SR1 and have already mourned Shepard once

[yagistoshinori]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Female Shepard & Liara T'Soni, Shepard & Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Female Shepard & Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, EDI & Female Shepard (Mass Effect), EDI & Shepard (Mass Effect), Shepard & Liara T'Soni, Javik/Liara T'Soni (mentioned), Feron/Liara T'soni (Mentioned) Characters: Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Shepard (Mass Effect), Liara T'Soni, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, EDI (Mass Effect), Garrus Vakarian, Feron (Mass Effect), Javik (Mass Effect) Additional Tags: It's a girls night y'all, I had this idea on a whim and decided yes I shall do this for my own sanity, yes i did spend too much time looking up canon turian genitalia, and yes i did have to google "duck penis", I will not apologise for any of it, Pls enjoy my ramblings, Fuck the bechdel test rn, bechdel who we only care about alien sex Summary:

“I’m not sure I understand, are you feeling ill, Shepard?”

The commander’s smile grew wider, then she finished off the last of her drink and reached out to hand it to Liara. She’d been in charge of bartending since she’d offered to host something of a “blow off some steam” night. Shepard was easy to mix for; anything with rum or whiskey- a lot of it- and a juice of some kind or another.

“She means her biology and the biology of… well, Garrus’s, um, fluids don’t agree with each other, EDI,” Liara said, pushing herself to her feet.

-

Liara thinks, "Hell, let's have a girls' night!" except she's spent the last two years either mourning Shepard or maintaining contact via messages. She'd, woefully, forgotten the lengths at which Lee will go to embarrass them all.

[brekkie-e]

I think the reason that the lack of multi-dimensional relationships within the party, and for Tav, is eating away at me so much recently is because it’s significantly affecting BG3’s replayableness for me. It’s a huge game, and I’m ever guilty of taking a completionist approach. Now, there are many branching narratives in BG3 which means there’s endless new content to explore by taking different approaches. Personally though, that’s not quite enough of a reason for me to want to keep revisiting a story. I don’t feel compelled to replay hundreds of hours worth of content just to see what happens to Sazza if you rescue her in Act 1 instead of leaving her in the cage. But if I’m invested in a story and the characters in it- I will replay a game 10,000 times just to rewatch my oc become ride or die besties and trauma bond with their companion. Thinking of Liara’s relationship with an unromanced Sheperd in ME3. Tali declaring herself Tali’zorah vas Normandy?? Gut wrenching. Garrus taking you out on a friend date and making fun of your go to catch phrase in the process? Iconic. Varric writing Cassandra a book to bury the hatchet between them? Unforgettable. Solas and Varric co-parenting a kid together? Can’t get enough of it. Those are the interactions that keep me coming back to replay a game over and over again. Seeing the effect my character has on the lives of their friends, and the effect their friends has on them. Absolutely, I adore the romance aspects of these kinds of rpg’s. It is also a reason I will replay a game. But I don’t want to replay a game as massive as BG3 if the only real significant connection my character develops during it is with their love interest. There’s too many hours that have to be invested to just be playing for a couple of scenes with their boo.

Same goes for trying different romances! If I want to try out the game taking a different approach, and exploring a different character’s romance- I’m dedicating a significant amount of time just to get a handful of scenes over the course of the entire game that focus on an emotional connection for my character. If replaying the game with a different oc meant that I could explore their friend dynamics differently as well? Heck yeah. But as it stands, it just feels like you pick your romance option and then have to stand awkwardly while you’re surrounded by acquaintances who want to bang you.

[tempest-ssv]

Cool I got polls now so guess what im doing

(Honorable mention to Steve Cortez, tumblr won’t let me do more than 10 options and it was him or Sam (I still love you Steve))

[spurious]

why did you choose to romance tali

what makes tali so great in general

do you love tali more than me

also why 200 pull-ups with freddie prince jnr that seems homoerotic THINK OF TALI

TALI’ZORAH VAS NORMANDY!!!!!!!!

Look at her!!!!!!

1. So my first playthrough of Mass Effect I am playing as Jon Shepard because that’s funny to me. And I’m generally roleplaying as John Sheppard most of the time so my first thought was “which man can I get gay with” but unfortunately you can’t have m/m romance until ME3.

And then Tali shows up on my ship and she’s an engineer and a nerd and I’m like. Ok. This works 🙃 and then I pined through the whole first game because she’s not available to romance in it!!!!

2. In general she’s a good squadmate to have in battles because she has drones and she can hack enemy mechs and stuff, I take her and Garrus a lot because Garrus is my best bro obviously. Her storyline is great, and the way the romance line unfolds is soooo sweet and charming, and when she showed up in ME3 and just started flirting with Shepard it’s like. It’s just so cute. I love her she’s never done anything wrong in her life!!! I’m buying her bishoujo figurine with my winter bonus!!!!

3. I do not love her more than you

4. THE PULL UPS I…..I didn’t know what I was getting into but then I’d committed and I thought I might get an achievement out of it or something but. Nope. Futility.

[detectivelokis]

top 5 video game characters

Thank you, Mika! Again, another hard one.

1. Rafe Adler (Uncharted 4) - The most obvious choice for number one. The most babiest of boys.

2. Tali’Zorah vas Normandy (Mass Effect) - I know everyone probably assumes it’s Miranda, but I loved Tali and not being able to romance her broke my heart.

3. Jess Riley (Until Dawn) - You already know my feelings about her, but the fact that she’s so hard to save is the bane of my existence.

4. Joseph Seed (Far Cry 5) - Beloved cult leader daddy.

5. John Doe/Joker (Telltale Batman Games) - One of my favorite Jokers tbh. I haven’t played the games in ages, but I wanted him and Bruce to be besties so badly.

[ceo-of-sloppy-men]

I don't want Shepard alive for the sake of the next mass effect protagonist. I want Shepard alive because they've earned retirement. Because their love interests have earned the right to love them without war.

[halesshepardn7]

I love the photo mode in this game! Here’s a little Kaidan love!

[the-drowsy-captains-art]

Recently finished male!shep play through! It was a super fun game. I did a Tali romance for this play and I’m starting a fem!shep for Garrus next!

The quarian & turian kids are Shepard’s adopted little ones. Since I’m doing a Tali/Garrus route (respectively) they visited their home worlds to assist in rebuilding. This lead to them learning that a lot of children were displaced because of the war and ended up adopting two with Tali and Garrus.

The two tattoos featured are a compass on his arm that’s been there since pre-game, and a metal tubing to remember the loss of the geth race & Legion. The scars are from various battles, but the largest across their eye and neck is from the human reaper in the collector base.

Respectively, Tali took the photo early morning in the apartment on the rebuilt citadel.

[maybe-monster]

so,,, i have another wip 👉🏻👈🏻 doing school online and at home is kicking my ass so i decided to play through the whole trilogy for the first time in awhile. and of course i used mara bc she’s my baby and i love her with my whole heart so playing her through romancing garrus again is what my soul needed. i forgot all of the little things that change from carrying over games and the message from Toombs kills me, and would probably make Mara feel the same so i started writing this!! 

The debrief after returning from Haestrom with Tali had wrapped hours ago. It hadn’t been as tense as Shepard was expecting it to be, although she was thankful that Miranda was still patching up down in the medbay as Tali offered her the grenade. Tali had every right to distrust Cerberus, hell, Shepard was working for them and she didn’t trust them.

Miranda and the Illusive Man could explain away every nasty evil thing that had Cerberus’ name attached to it. A rogue sector, purposeful misinterpretation, the greater good of humanity; bullshit, all of it was bullshit. At least three living examples of Cerberus’s crimes were on this ship. Jack pacing in the bottom of the ship itching to get to Pragia as soon Shepard could get them there. Tali adjusting to the new Normandy in the engine bay ready to jump down the throat of any crew member that muttered half a word about herself or her people. And Shepard just as tense herself in the privacy of the Captain’s Quarters.

She was sat at the front desk which she had designated as the paperwork desk, the other was piled high with her tinkerings and weapon adjustments. Miranda had assured Shepard that once the initial report was turned in after missions she could handle passing it along to the Illusive Man herself. She assured Miranda it was no problem, that it eased her nerves to go over paperwork post-mission, but in reality, she has duplicating every word of the reports onto the cheap tablet bought on Omega that she had jail-broken within the first week with Cerberus. Every mission report and every bit of Cerberus data she could find was copied and sent to the Alliance. As angry as she was that the Alliance and the Council would do nothing to help stop the Collectors, she knew that Cerberus deserved to pay for the crimes they committed along the way. If she was going to sell her soul to a devil, like the Illusive Man, she’d dig her heels in every step of the way.

Suddenly the message alert pinged. Two new messages. The first clearly from the Quarian Admiralty Board, approval for Tali’s transfer to Shepard’s command temporarily. The message, sent by Admiral Rael’Zorah, was signed off with the threat of a father who clearly cared more for his daughter than Tali ever let on; and Shepard steeled herself once more that she would not let this be a suicide mission for her crew.

But the steeliness and nerve fell away at the sight of the second message, signed by Toombs. He felt betrayed, that she’d lied to him on Ontarom and become one of Cerberus’ dogs. This message was also signed with a threat, one she couldn’t dispute any more than Rael’s.

She thought for a moment about responding and explaining everything to him, how much she despised Cerberus, every classified detail about the Collectors to show why she was teamed with a terrorist organization, how she kept a constant eye over her shoulder when on the field with Miranda or Jacob, just how many nights she woke in a cold sweat with the scream of thresher maws in her ears, how much she hated herself since she woke up from her two-year sleep. But she thought better of it. He had every right to be angry, and if she were in her shoes she would feel the same.

She sat there in a daze for who knows how long, until her omnitool buzzed with a direct com message. Garrus was beeping her for dinner. Even while she was starting to trust more of the crew, especially those she had recruited herself, Shepard still had a harder time socializing with the new Cerberus-hired people. She understood the want to save humanity, especially when it felt the Alliance didn’t do much for anybody even itself, but she couldn’t make herself trust people that willingly chose to sign on with a terrorist organization. And she didn’t particularly care if that made her a hypocrite. So she and Garrus had started taking dinner in the front battery with very few visitors.

Brain still in a fog she made her way down the elevator to the crew deck and towards the mess. Garrus was leaning on the island chatting to Mess Sergeant Gardner, a tray of Dextro food in one hand and a tray of Levo food on the counter next to him. They were deep into a conversation about the differences between the different diets and the seasoning styles that accompanied them.

[groundrunner100]

Why Tali’Zorah Is BETTER Than Liara T’Soni

Liara T’Soni versus Tali’Zorah: the dream cat fight of ALL Mass Effect fans.

It’s easily a difficult choice: the biotic Asari bombshell, or the beautifully shy Quarian masked beauty. But in all honesty, the best choice is Tali’Zorah, hands down. Tali’Zorah is often considered to be better than Liara T’Soni in the department of romance in the Mass Effect trilogy, & this post will explain why.

Family - Tali lost both her parents at different points in her life, whereas Liara only lost 1 parent; both have reacted in PRETTY different ways, one is natural, the other is borderline baffling. Tali lost her mother, and as a result, her father became more focused on his work for the Quarian Flotilla. Tali knows that her father cares for her, & she knows he has a difficult way of showing it. When she loses her father, she reacts as any normal being would: sad, in tears, & heartbroken. Seeing Tali like this MAKES you WANT to trigger the Paragon interrupt during her loyalty mission. Liara, on the other hand, reacts to her mother’s death as you’d expect from someone cut off from reality, & devoid of personality. After Noveria, while she expresses her thoughts on her mother’s death, she has a surprising way of showing it: with no crying, or tears. Either Liara T’Soni was taught PRETTY GREAT how to cope with loss, or her being a loner has caused her to shrug off HER OWN MOTHER’S DEATH as if it doesn’t concern her...

Personality - Being stuck in an enviromental suit has made Tali (as well as her entire species) very sociable individual, whereas Liara T’Soni prefers to be by herself, away from people. Tali strives to make sure the needs/wellbeing of the Normandy crew is up to snuff; if they aren’t: something may happen to them. After Liara has several run-ins with the infamous Shadow Broker (one of which includes recovering Commander Shepard’s body), she has pretty much made it her life’s mission to hunt him down, and that she doesn’t care what happens around her to accomplish her goal (the mission on Illium is proof of this). A concerned, caring, social female Quarian, or a borderline stone-cold Asari loner: who do YOU feel comfortable around?

Love - The thing that compels attraction to these two ladies. To the average joe, Liara T’Soni pretty much breaks the love bank with her looks, but it’s personality that backs up the income of love; in which case, Tali may as well be a millionaire. Tali’s concern for those around her, & her feelings for those close to her make her someone we all fall in love with, and want to protect with our lives. Liara however, is business before pleasure, and when it IS time for pleasure, it’s often difficult to enjoy given the fact that her voice is as monotone, as kin to that of a robot (harsh, but it’s true).

In closing, there’s a reason why we all depict a cat fight between these two alien beauties in our dreams. But at the end of it all, Tali is perhaps the BEST paramour for a male Commander Shepard, & Liara T’Soni was just a stand-in until he realized. Her desire to help those around her, her social outlook on life, & Tali’Zorah trumps Liara T’Soni every time.

Also. Tali’s goods are BETTER than Liara’s...😎

[smokeybrand]

Reap What You Sow

Finally finished Mass Effect Legendary Edition and gearing up for a second run. Before that, though, i wanted to stop and reflect on how well this game holds up, how ell this story is told. I’ve been playing these games since Mass Effect 2 was released on the PS3 over a decade ago and i haven’t regretted even a second of that time spent. I love these games. I loved these titles. And Legendary gave me an opportunity to experience the entire narrative, on one system, with a gorgeous face lift This makes me want Bioware to take another shot at Andromeda because, holy sh*t, can they deliver when they’re not hindered by corporate bullsh*t and it looks like EA is starting to accept that as fact and policy, rather than just the gripes of fans. I love these games and before i get back to it, i wanted to highlight my favorite companions because Mass Effect is nothing without those who run headfirst into the fire with you.

Urdnot Wrex

I hate the first Mass Effect but that’s because i’m a Sony shill so i started wit the best one of the franchise and had to double back. It was a poor experience by comparison but Wrex was f*cking delight. I loved this dude but his time on the throne in 2 and his limited time with the squad in 3 is what that sealed it for me. Uncle Urdnot is a goddamn joy to play with and even more hilarious as an NPC. If you romance Liara, definitely talk to him during the Cure the Genophage mission in 3. You wont regret it.

Aria T’Loak

I’ve been a fan of Aria since the first time she introduced herself in Afterlife. “Don’t f*ck with Aria.” Yeah, she definitely made an impression. Mostly an NPC in the second game, she really came into her in the third. The extended time we spent with her in the Omega DLC was exceptional. I loved that side of her we got to see and, if you play Paragon, you get to see an interesting evolution in her character. Not as dope as getting that awkward kiss at the end but still just as rewarding.

Javik

Good ol’ Prothy the Prothean. I don’t really bring him on missions in 3 but i make sure to check in after every major battle because dude is a f*cking fountain of snark. I do, however, make sure to take him on the Thessia mission because the banter he and Liara have n that temple is very compelling. Their dynamic is one of the highlights in Mass Effect 3 and i absolutely adore that sh*t. It never gets old and it never disappoints. I’ve played this game dozens of times over the years and i have never once deviated from these two, on that mission, since the first time i took them into that battle together. Plus, Javik in the Citadel is a whole ass delight. Make sure to check your bathroom when you wake up the next day. There’s a surprised in there for you!

EDI

EDI is a ray of sunshine in such ire circumstances. Long before she got Eva’s body, EDI was a full member of the Normandy crew. Her banter after becoming unshackled was brilliant in 2 and even more dynamic in 3. Seeing her becoming more and more “alive, over the course of that last title, was a real pleasure and i hated seeing her name on that board at the end. I almost always pick Destruction because that’s the only one where Shepard survives but it’s always a struggle. Me or EDI? My life or Hers? I hate having to make that choice but the time spent with her until that point, is always so much fun.

Urdnot Grunt

Grunt is MY Wrex. He’s the Krogan i was introduced to first and he’s definitely be the one i have the most love toward. I basically raised this dude in-game during 2 and seeing him finally come into his own in 3, is a big moment for those who are as invested in this series as i am. Not only is he an absolute unit on my squad, but the kid is hilarious. Some of the best banter in 3 comes from Grunt and it makes me wish i got to play with him more. Similar to Jack who is definitely going to make an appearance later down this list, you only get fleeting time with him but that time spent hunting Rachni is one of the funniest missions in all of Mass Effect 3.

Miranda Lawson

My darling Cerberus Cheerleader Princess. Miranda is never my first choice on a mission and was, like, my last romance option originally but, upon running threw these titles a decade later, she’s a lot stronger a character than i remember. Seriously, the growth she shows throughout Mass Effect 2 is real and is presented with a proper focus in her driven resolve during her solo mission in 3. Miranda Lawson is one of the most complete, best written characters in the entire franchise and I'm frustrated with myself that it took a whole ass decade to finally see that. Plus, i mean, she got a fat ass, too, so...

Mordin Solus

Listen, I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. Mordin is amazing and if you didn’t feel something when he did what he did in 3, f*ck you.

Kasumi Goto

Oh, Ms. Goto, i do enjoy you so very, very, much. Kasumi is like the mascot of my squad, the ship cat who keeps knocking sh*t of the table. She is an absolute disaster but i still love her anyway. She has some of the best lines in the entire franchise and i dearly missed her snark on my ship in 3. Tat lone mission with the Hanar was not enough time with the galaxy’s best thief but it had to be because Kasumi is nobody’s fool. She was like, “No galactic war with eldritch space horrors for me, sir.” but she made up for it in the Citadel DLC.

Liara T’Soni

Now we’re getting into the meat. Liara is a mainstay in my squad during Mass Effect 3. She is dub overpowered, especially with that Singularity, and i rarely go into a boss fight without it. Beyond her fighting abilities, Liara just has such a sweet relationship with Shepard that spans the entire trilogy. She opted not to be an official part of the team in 2, later taking up the mantle of the Shadow Broker, but more than makes up for that in 3. Liara is a principal character in Mass Effect 3 and her relationship with Shepard in that game, specifically, is fantastic to experience. If you romance her, it’s even more rewarding.

Garrus Vakarian

Garrus is one third of my Death Lineup. He and Tali stay in my squad in 2 and alternate with Liara in 3. Dude is, for lack of a better term, a straight up killer. I’ve only played mShep so i never actually romances Garrus but dude is easily one of the best companions in the entire game. The relation he has with Shepard and the way it develops over those three games, is only topped by one other character and she’s the premier on this list. Garrus is hilarious and a real force in the game but, more than that, he’s arguably Shepards’ best friend and a solid foundation they can rely on as dude shapes the history of an entire galaxy.

Jack

Oh, my darling Jacqueline Night. You were SO close to the top spot on this list and only missed it because you were introduced in the second game. That’s it. Jack is dope, one of the most complete characters in the entire franchise, and definitely a great romance option. I adore this chick for all of the reasons but mostly because of how realized she becomes by the end of 3. Her growth from “Psychotic Biotic” into maternal teacher for a bunch of biotic kids, was a turn i didn’t expect but loved to see. I love Mass Effect 2′s version of Jack, for sure, but her appearance in Mass Effect 3 is head-and-shoulders better than her initial introduction. It hurts we never got to actually got to play with her in an actual fight but her appearances were still outstanding.

Tali’Zorah vas Normandy

Tali is the best f*cking thing about this franchise and I'll fight you to the death over it. Listen, Tali, for me, is best girl, best character, best development, best everything! I adore Tali. She made that first game bearable but really came into her own in the second. By the third, she was the premier supporting character in the entire franchise for me. Literally her and Garrus stay in my party and for good reason. Tali’s romance is so goddamn saccharine that it gave me diabetes but her maturation as that narrative continues is exceptionally written. Being one of two squad mates who has ridden with Shep through the entire trilogy really gives Tali room to grow and it shows. She is the best companion in the game and i almost never leave her behind.

Look, all of the squadmates hold a special place in my heart but these twelve, specifically, always seem to find their way into my onsite shenanigans more often than not. Obviously, just because you didn’t make this list, doesn’t mean you didn’t have your moments and Aria being on here instead of, say, Thane, is not a knock against him at all. Aria was just hilarious and i enjoyed what little time we shared. Everyone on the Normandy is dope and i cannot wait until my next mission to save the galaxy from the Reapers with them. Not Kaidan, though. Never Kaidan. F*ck that guy, specifically.

[viviae]

Tali’Zorah Vas Normandy should’ve been bi. If we get a remaster don’t change a thing about her romance just make her bi and you’ll get some of the best wlw rep

[nobloodneeded]

I think the funniest thing about the Tali romance is her “I will risk death for this dick” mentality. Tali’zorah “I misunderstood the phrase ride or die” vas Normandy. 

[transmortifried]

so i’m playing mass effect 3 for the first time for the second time (made some bad choices on my first run, starting over) and i’ve got some hot takes i want to raise about the “story and mission-based companion-focused rpg” genre

1. companion quests make any game with companions better by their inclusion. not all companion quests are good obviously, but it’s definitely something i miss in 3 that i loved in 2, where it was a prominent and vital part of the game. (there’s like 3 or 4 missions total in 2 that aren’t recruiting a new party member or solving their deep-rooted personal problems.)

2. how games let you romance your companions has problems.

2a. for one, hey devs i don’t give a SHIT if you think nobody wants to romance the awful crab alien or the robot detective, i GUARANTEE that your players do. (although i would personally hate a javik romance b/c he’s awful and terrible, the bit where you bang him in the citadel DLC is fucking HILARIOUS). also bioware, where’s the krogan romance options? if we can figure out how to bang the cute quarian without killing her with our terribly filthy human germs and incompatible amino acids, we can figure out how to bang a krogan without dying

2b. no het-only romance options pls. i’m okay with same-gender-exclusive romance options purely on the grounds of we (the gays (me)) are starving so badly for gay romance options, but you look at me and tell me that garrus vakarian wouldn’t bust it wide open for “one-man-cybernetically-augmented-superman” mshep or tali’zorah “hero-worship-sublimated-to-romantic-feelings” vas normandy wouldn’t let femshep turn that suit into a full-body dental dam then you are a coward. also jack is the most bisexual woman i’ve ever seen and bioware is too chicken to acknowledge it.

2b, subheading a. that said, i hate the bethesda route of “playersexual npcs” where the romance routes are totally identical regardless of player gender, but with mad libs style fill-in-the-blank-with-your-pronouns-here writing. idk if there’s an easy compromise to make here.