can't anthropomorphize galaxy, but can think of favorite nephew

[earwen_neruda]

Yeah, so. Extremely compromised doesn't even begin to cover my reaction to Mass Effect 2. I am so mad at everyone who endorsed my decision to buy these games. Friends don't let friends compromise their mental stability like this. You're all on my shit list, assholes.

Comments

[shecrows]

My main struggle during ME2 was that every squad member was fabulous and i wanted to bring them all along, but i also didn't wanna miss any Garrus commentary during missions, that shit's my lifeblood.

S A M E omg it's gotten to the point where i've played the game so many times that i am JUST NOW starting to be able to not bring garrus everywhere for that exact reason. like, five or six complete playthroughs later. (not so for ME3, though, i need garrus with me on EVERY MISSION because augh some of his little one liners to shep during that game are actually on par with some of their cut scenes in terms of their SOMEONE TIE MY HANDS I AM ABOUT TO CLAW THESE FEELINGS OUT OF MY SOUL content.) but like tragicomically i know where all of garrus's best lines are, so i'll bring him on those missions without question (ex. "we can disobey suicidal orders? why wasn't i told?" and "hospitals aren't fun to fight through" "what is fun to fight through?" "gardens, electronic shops. antique stores, but only if they're classy." GARRUS PLEASE). also i have purposely not brought miranda on some missions bc if she and garrus are both there, she'll usually get the best lines? and i'll be there shouting NOPE I NEED TO RESTART THIS MISSION THAT IS GARRUS'S LINE.

this got away from me. point is: i feel you.

augh fuck, ruth, your feelings about garrus's loyalty are all my feelings YOU KNOW THIS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS but yes, god, everything. also just the fact that you know shepard would tear the fucker apart if he'd betrayed her and gotten any team of hers killed, so she knows what garrus must be feeling, and yet she trusts him to rein all of that in, stands there with crosshairs trained on the back of her skull like it's nothing. NOT THAT SHE WOULD EVER THINK GARRUS WOULD SHOOT (although a renegade shep just might), but something about it tears me up anyway? garrus is a sniper, that's what he does, that's where he's deadliest, and in that moment she's utterly vulnerable in a way she rarely is. that point, to me, illustrates one of the biggest differences i see between paragon and renegade shep, with regard to the their capacity for trust, and the quality thereof; blocking the shot isn't an option for the latter, because i don't think she could have stood still in garrus's sights long enough to talk him down.

I'M SO GLAD YOU ROMANCED GARRUS. prepare yourself, though, because in ME2 it's all ha ha lighthearted jokes!!!! awkward innuendos etc but in ME3? IT'S SO MUCH MORE. which i actually like? in this game, garrus has grown up so much, and their relationship grows in accordance with that. he's not a rookie anymore, looking up to shep, deferring wholly to her judgment, even though he still probably has her on a bit of a pedestal (i mean, she's shepard). this game equalizes that relationship a lot, steering them away from the commander and subordinate dynamic, which i think is why a romance between them here works. AND IT'S JUST SO LIKE THEM TO BE LIKE WHATEVER BLOWING OFF STEAM IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL about it, because emotionally constipated assholes is my whole business, and then in ME3 realizng that wait oh god there's??? a lot more here????? i might love you, and maybe have this whole time??????????? yeah.

[shecrows]

hahahaha jacob is everyone's least favorite, INCLUDING BIOWARE, they give him such a shit storyline in ME3. also if shep romances him in ME2, it GOES ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOWHERE in 3, so many people were pissed. then again, you could say the same for thane. (EVEN MORE PEOPLE WERE PISSED oh god thane baby why, why didn't you let shepard hit that while the getting was good.)

And every time Jack showed some form of affection i emoted like a loser.

SO FUCK YOU, AND THANKS FOR ASKING. i fucking love jack so much. you are going to LOVE what they do with her in ME3.

I AM SO FUCKING CLOSE TO SPRINTING AROUND MY ROOM SCREAMING RIGHT NOW AT YOUR KAIDAN PARAGRAPH?! REALLY FUCKING EMBARRASSINGLY CLOSE OH MY GOD ALL OF IT, ALL OF THOSE THOUGHTS, I ECHO THEM 10000000000000%. oh man, ruth, i am... i honestly need to take a moment to, like, breathe after reading that paragraph, holy shit, i think i've been waiting all my life for you to get into mass effect. basically: yes to the unanticipated and frankly overwhelming feelings about shep and kaidan, FUCK YES to bickering exes who are cursed with a terminal case of caring deeply for each other but clash over ideological differences, YESSSSSSSSSSSS to that distinction between kaidan and garrus, i.e. that garrus may frequently clash ideologically with shep (and it's so funny, bc his renegade streak is tempered by shep's paragon one, but it's sort of the opposite with kaidan), but he will always, always follow her into hell, regardless.

paragon Shepard is good, but she sometimes does this thing where she pees on every rule that she considers to be in the way of doing the right thing and i like to imagine Kaidan hyperventilating in the background, maybe sobbing

[HYPERVENTILATING IN THE BACKGROUND, DEFINITELY SOBBING] oh my god, this is it, this is my head canon for and preferred version of them, how are you real, ruth, HOW ARE YOU SO ON MY LEVEL. i promise you there is MUCH MORE BICKERING TO COME BTW it actually happens really early on in ME3? I CANNOT FUCKING WAIT FOR YOU TO EXPERIENCE THE UNPARALLELED JOY THAT IS KAIDAN AND SHEPARD SNIPING AT EACH OTHER ENDLESSLY ON MARS (meanwhile liara is sitting there thinking not even my asari wisdom is enough to get me through this shit right now).

Thane's appeal is a legitimate problem

there are no words for how badly i want to be that smooth drell motherfucker's siho. omg what does joker call him? "the strong, sensitive, murdering type"? put it on my tombstone.

if mordin got you bad in this game... just. prepare yourself. i'll be here to give you moral support, you're gonna need it.

are you planning on getting any downloadable content for ME3, btw? most of them you have to pay for, but you should DEFINITELY get the "extended ending" one, which is free for download and very, VERY much worth it. i would also recommend (ranked best loved first): the omega dlc (MORE ARIA!!!!!!! jesus himself lovingly handcrafted every second of that DLC i s2g), the citadel dlc (shore leave with the entire enterprise crew, you know you want to), and the leviathan dlc. OH, AND JAVIK, or the 'from ashes' dlc, you need javik in your life.

[earwen_neruda]

I've heard there are people who don't like Shepard and Garrus as a romantic couple because they're so awkward at first, but that's normal! that usually happens during the transition from friends to something more! and you know Garrus hadn't consciously thought about her like that until that very moment, when he's like "SHEPARD??? ROMANCE????????????". It's beautiful to see him screaming internally, truly. But the foundations are there, the mutual respect and little bit of devotion between them, but also the arguing and head-butting. Shepard asks if she's forcing him to do something he doesn't wanna do, and Garrus doesn't hesitate before answering that no, he's just nervous, this is new. Augh Camille, i can't wait to see how they're gonna develop during ME3, it's gonna tear me apart but i know it'll be worth it.

I didn't even thought about the possibility of Garrus shooting her when she's blocking Sidonis, like, paragon Shepard relies so much on him that it must not even compute for her, she just trusts him implicitly. That's their relationship in a nutshell, and also the reason why i said that's probably my favorite scene of the games. They're arguing, pretty much presenting the paragon/renegade points of view of the situation --they're both right in their own way, and the only thing that can make them consider the other option is their trust in one another.

Not gonna lie, knowing that romancing Thane gets you virtually nowhere is helping me cope with this attraction a little bit, that and the blessed audio post you shared on twitter. I don't think i'd be able to go there in future playthroughs if that meant not getting to romance Garrus, but i have to say i'm curious to know what happens if you stay "faithful" to Kaidan. I can imagine, though, and i am making the Nick Miller's patented turtle face right now. NO THANK. I'll take Shepard and Kaidan bickering over them confessing their undying love as they hold hands and make googly eyes at each other any time.

(Let's be honest, Kaidan would be Archer's Cyril if anyone actually liked Cyril.)

WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT FIC. I READ IT, IT WAS PERFECT, I THEN PROCEEDED TO DIE INSIDE. THE END.