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In Semi-Defense of Liara

Now, if it’s not clear then it probably will be but I am extremely Liara Critical in Mass Effect. I am not a fan of her shift in characterization between Mass Effect 1 and 2, I’m not a fan of how shoved down my throat she is and I’m not a fan of her forced sexualization (appears in all games. Seriously, what is up with her ‘lets rub all over my body’ thing she does when standing still for too long in ME1 or in the elevator?)

The weird thing is: I actually like Liara.

Or more accurately I should say that I like Liara in Mass Effect 1.

I feel that Mass Effect 2 and 3 Liara is too different to be fully considered the same person (and all of it happened off screen which I think is a sign of improper handling of a characters growth. It should appear in the main media, not in secondary offshoot media that may or may not be taken in by the vast majority). Mass Effect 1 Liara sets the stage, and I’m all there for it. Mass Effect 2 Liara suffers from a weird ‘she must be bigger and badder and look at how much of a badass she is now she’s not that little girl on Therum anymore’ and like…what was wrong with that archeologist on Therum? Why did she need to shift into Miranda in order to suddenly be worthy? Why couldn’t she have stayed on a pathway that would have made sense for what was given instead of shifting to a whole new dynamic? Mass Effect 3 Liara is just the worst and I have no positive things to say about her. She is the Dev’s little darling who is shoved down your throat every five seconds and it’s obnoxious. It feels like Mass Effect just did a slow character assassination of Liara from one and it just went downhill from there.

I also have dislike for the character for the obvious favoritism and the obvious ‘She’s the Canon Love Interest and We’re Gonna Make Sure You Know It’ bullshit that happens with her. It irritates me that when I play a Liara Romance playthrough the whole game feels like it makes sense. It feels whole and complete and like there’s no real strange step offs (except Jacob and James for Fem Shep, but we’re gonna pretend they just don’t exist) in the storyline. It is cohesive, it is satisfying.

But when I play a non-romance playthrough or a playthrough where I romance any other character? Well the game is just going to keep coming in and letting me know how I’m wrong. It’s going to keep shoving Liara at Shepard and Shepard is going to always respond positively to her regardless of anything else. Forced hugs, forced awestruck name calling, forced putting her feelings above your own, forced parent interactions where they still make it seem like you’re obsessed with Liara regardless of anything, forced ‘required companion’ shit that no other character but Tali will get (and it makes sense for her to be on the Dreadnaught mission) but Liara will get multiple. Forced cutscenes, forced closeness – this is exceedingly frustrating in the Citadel DLC where the game even takes away your ability to NOT INVITE LIARA to the party. The fact that it forces her in with the new guys makes no sense but will allow you to invite no one else. Why? Just truly tell me why? Her fill ins on scenes if others are gone or there is no secondary option (once again, Citadel DLC where if you are unromanced BAM HERE’S LIARA! And she’s going to flirt with you too and you’re just gonna accept it).

So honestly, Liara is not my favorite character when attempting anything outside of what Bioware has demanded the RPG (Obviously they forgot what that means) experience be which is being in love with their perfect little blue alien. You’re wrong if you’re not.

And that’s why I dislike Liara, but the sad part is that I don’t feel the actual character should have had it happen to them. This is on the writers, but still in the end it happened and I will still react negatively to it. 

#mass effect #mass effect legendary edition #mass effect 1 #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #mass effect liara #liara t'soni #liara critical

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Your POV

Your Companions’ POV

The Dramatic Reenactment

#mass effect legendary edition

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What could go wrong?

#mass effect #ashley williams #kaidan alenko

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« Our influence will stop Saren! in the battle today, we will hold the line! »

A kind of poster for the Virmire mission. My favorite quest from the first game! So iconic. Now I thought that the picture shows the characters that can die during this task. So much responsibility on Shepard!

#mass effect #artwork #ashley williams #kaidan alenko #urdnot wrex

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When You Realize You’ve Made the Game 1000% Better in Spite of the Dev’s.

So, playing Mass Effect Legendary with the sole intention to avoid Liara in game 1 and 2 makes 3 make NO SENSE whatsoever. So I had it that I played the entire game in Mass Effect 1, grabbing Liara right before the push to Ilos. There is no connection between Liara and Shepard if you do this because they don’t bloody know each other. I didn’t talk to her on the ship, I figured she’s just some civilian currently under protection and does not require the coddling of the commanding officer.

Then in Mass Effect 2 I made the specific choice to not talk to Liara on Illium. I did Miranda’s mission and ran off as fast as possible. Now that did mean that I missed out on recruiting Samara and Thane, but I figured the small sacrifices for the greater good demanded it.

That does mean though – what the heck is Liara’s purpose in 3? Her forced ‘Oh I’ve been here since Eden Prime I MUST go on this mission’ – um…no? Even in a playthrough where I go get you first thing…you still weren’t there for Eden Prime. You are actually the LAST companion to be gotten which means why the hell is 3 telling me you are a required person for this mission? Because you’re an archeologist? I’m sorry, Lara Croft you are not and that makes no bloody sense to bring you. But then to have none of the ‘I gave your body to Cerberus because I JUST COULDN’T LET YOU GO’ (lady, lady, chill out we only knew each other for like a week and I never talked to you.) and her whole ‘Ashley would call it target practice’ uh…nope. Apparently when you forced yourself on Shepard for that ‘mind connection thing’ (which no one will ever convince me wasn’t Liara’s grabby little hands reaching for shit that wasn’t hers to have and that there were hundreds of other ways that Shepard should reasonably have the location of Ilos by that point in the game without relying on some random 3rd party archeologist to just magically recognize some images) you stole information about Ashley and are pretending you knew her because she was already long dead by the time you came aboard.

But also, why the heck are you constantly coming into my quarters? Do I not have a lock? Does the elevator not have a ‘authorized personnel only’ setting? How does she keep getting in? Also – how the hell did she get that equipment onto my ship and why does she have the fancy giant room but everyone else just sleeps on couches basically? Uh, nope. Get out. To the basement with you. No special treatment for a NOBODY on MY SHIP.

Not to mention her whole ‘Shepard that’s my homeworld I have to go!’

No. No you do not. And it actually makes no sense that I would take you if you’re already showing signs of not being rational or ready to do the mission. She’s the most obnoxious person in existence that whole mission. I would have dropped her ass off on the Citadel (if she was even lucky enough to get me to go out of my way and not just drop her off at the nearest taxi station) and not even waved goodbye.

Her little breakdown? Oh my god. I wanted to slap her upside the head. Oh, poor widdle blue baby, your planet has been attacked? Yeah, here’s your tiny little violin on the ship with the people who have all lost their planets before you. I hate how we’re all forced to CODDLE her and for what bloody reason? No reason, absolutely no reason. Forget that, she’d be gone. Can’t suck it up and do what needs to be done? Then get the hell off of a warship that you shouldn’t have been on in the first place.

But let me say – Mass Effect 2 became loads better without the forced Liara scenes. And Mass Effect 1? Nothing is funnier to me than her little temper tantrum that she throws when she gets on the ship.

Do I intentionally not get enough war assets and make sure she’s in the group with EDI with me when I make that final run? …Yup. Almost every. single. time.

Supposed to be a sad moment I think? It’s not. It’s supremely satisfying. It took me 3 games to finally manage it. No more Dev’s Girlfriend Plot Armor protecting her for that scene and it is GLORIOUS.

#mass effect #mass effect legendary edition #mass effect 1 #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #mass effect liara #liara t'soni #liara critical #anti liara #I am sad I have to sacrifice Samara and Thane to defeat the evil #But we do what we have to do

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Female Shepard Woes

I’m not going to lie – I want to be able to play as Female Shepard but each time I go to, I’m smacked in the face with ridiculous sexism, harassment and other forms of forced sexualizing in ways that I did not agree to or want or even want to experience.

And it ONLY happens to Female Shepard. None of it happens to Male Shepard. 

Harkin in Mass Effect 1 with his ‘sit on my lap princess’ comment? Great, just great. Totally necessary addition there Bioware. 

That Batarian in Mass Effect 2 with his ‘Strippers’ comment about Shepard when she goes to sign up for the Archangel mission. You’re telling me not one woman has signed up at that post before now? Or does he say that to every single woman who comes up?

The ABSOLUTELY BULLSHIT FORCED FLIRTING that exists with Jacob and James. It’s DISGUSTING.

I actually really dislike that I feel like I have to play Male Shepard if I don’t want to get harassed in a bloody video game for being a woman. Why am I not actually shooting these people? Or punching them? I can punch a reporter for no damn good reason other than she’s upsetting me with her tabloid crap but these assholes I just have to take it from? Notice how the reporter is a woman doing it, so it’s okay because she’s annoying – but all of the guys making inappropriate comments you just have to make subtle or snide comments at best but accept it.

And you have to accept that you’re gonna just be thirsty for two of the blandest and most disrespectful and unimpressive men there are on the ship. Right.

#mass effect #mass effect legendary edition #mass effect 1 #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #commander shepard #james vega #jacob taylor #bioware critical

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Zhu's Hope

#other's pictures #black and white #mass effect 3 #kaidan alenko #commander shepard

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Mass Effect: Shadow Broker Liara was a Bad Move

I might be in the minority here, but I’m going to be honest when I say that I have never accepted or liked the path that the Dev’s took with Liara’s character from Mass Effect 1 to what I consider her ‘New Incarnation’ in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

The sudden shift from Liara going from an archeologist obsessed with the Protheans to an Information Broker turning into Shadow Broker always fell flat with me and felt disingenuous to the character as a whole. I severely disliked the idea that Liara who is over 100 years old and has spent all that time chasing the Protheans would suddenly turn around and abandon all of that to chase after Shepard’s body to be the one to hand it over to a human supremacy group (even more fucked up if Shepard is sole survivor Shepard) ((and a thousand times creepier if not romanced)) and then turn into some wanna-be 2-bit super spy/agent trying to be a sexy badass.

Not to mention – she’s absolutely terrible at it.

Mass Effect 2 tries to play off that she’s got the mind of a computer somehow, just miraculously knowing all the information about two of the randomest people on Illium to just outright lay it all out for Shepard. Actually, I’ll forgive her knowing about Samara because of Samara being a Justicar and the asari fascination and fear of them – but a random drell assassin? No. I won’t give that. There’s plot convenient (of which Liara is Mass Effect’s baby when it comes to that) and then there’s that level of bullshit that I cannot and will not accept. Ever.

But Liara is actually terrible as the Shadow Broker? The Shadow Broker in Mass Effect 1 was portrayed as this threatening all-knowing force, then Mass Effect 2 this follows this belief – but then Liara gets ahold of it and honestly? It becomes a joke. Everyone and anyone knows she’s the Shadow Broker. Hackett knows and just outright approaches her about it. Wrex knows and mocks her about it. He even knows things that she doesn’t!!! How does she not know about the female krogan who are immune to the genophage? Do you really think the old Shadow Broker wouldn’t have had that information on speed dial?  

Liara as the Shadow Broker was by far the biggest misstep I felt of the whole game outside of their ‘Both Virmire Survivors are so interchangeable that they’ll have the SAME LINES for 2 games! Because that makes perfect sense! (rant for another day)’. I felt that it made zero sense that Liara would abandon her life’s purpose (for over 100 years) of studying the Protheans, especially after finding Ilos and the actual pods full of Protheans and potential other working relics like Vigil to go be an information broker. Her little comment about ‘it paying the bills’ makes no sense either. She is asari. Her mother was Benezia who was recognized as a very influential and powerful asari. You’re going to tell me Liara has no money at the end of the day? Heck no. She’s loaded and we know it. The whole thing is just so horrible and destroys the groundwork of what could have been a great character. 

Instead they murdered Liara and replaced her with Miranda Lite. 

What a waste. 

#mass effect #mass effect legendary edition #mass effect 1 #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #lair of the shadow broker #shadow broker #mass effect liara #liara #liara t'soni #liara critical