jetpack_monkey_ljarchive

Doing my "Bad Decision Bear" playthrough where I get as many people killed or pissed at me as possible. Including shooting Wrex on Virmire. Saaaad. I just finished the first game, which is pretty straightforward in how to screw people over. Mass Effect 2 will be trickier, as I'm going to have to be kind to some people like Mordin and Jack so I can really f**k them over later. I should make a list.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is that I had a moment of terror during this playthrough. That moment when Sovereign, a Reaper and representative of all things Other, docks with the shining spire of the Citadel's Council chambers, the gleaming representation of our powerful and advanced civilization... and Sovereign aligns perfectly. It's such a powerful moment, realizing just how screwed we are.

So, um, I fell down a fannish rabbit hole called Mass Effect. I talked a little about this back in March, but let's just say that I'm on my second playthrough right now. Dude!Shep has grown on me, but I'm still a solid Fem!Shep supporter. I want to go through and do a playthrough where I make all the bad calls and see where that puts me at the end of the game.

And it's not just that I enjoy playing the game. I am obsessive about the universe. The characters, the alien races, the history. The philosophical questions posed by the series and the questions it should be posing. I track things like when characters got a major writing upgrade (Garrus in ME1 was kind of bland, but Garrus in ME2 is AMAZING and I want to be friends forever). I haven't delved into the side media too much, but that's my next stop.

It's been cutting into my vidding time a bit. The further I get into the game, the more I want to play it. It's like a novel where you've become really invested and you just can't put it down. I care about these characters, I care about this universe. I care about the infinite options that spread before me and the consequences of the decisions I make.

Also, I am amazing with a sniper rifle. Boom.

I will take any fic, meta, or vid recs that you folks have. Lay it on me.

I leave you with this clip, which is from the Citadel DLC and the funniest stupid thing I've seen in a while (although it makes more, um, sense if you've played the game):

My last entry totally failed to mention what's consuming most of my brain these days -- Mass Effect. Specifically Mass Effect 2. Which, you know, I wasn't super fond of the combat or inventory systems in Mass Effect, but Mass Effect 2 made combat so much harder and also just completely did away with the inventory system entirely, which seems a little extreme.

I complain more about Mass Effect 2, but I'm also playing it more obsessively. Every time I run into someone with whom I formed a relationship in Mass Effect the 1st or receive an email updating me on their status, I get a little shot of serotonin in the brain. I really wish I'd done more side missions in ME1, but I bought into the game's sense of extreme urgency and rushed headlong for the finish line. Not making that same mistake twice.

I need to finish ME2 soon, though, because I have Bioshock Infinite on preorder (digital, download-only preorder -- welcome to the future).