wallwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wallwalker) wrote2010-11-24 03:31 pm
wallwalker) wrote2010-11-24 03:31 pm
Entry tags:
Things, and also stuff.
Several things make a post, or something.
- Eh. NaNoWriMo was a no-go. Losing those ten days in the middle of the month to frenzied house-cleaning and moving killed it. Maybe next year... I'm going to keep trying to finish something throughout the end of the year, assuming I can keep my head.
- Working on my story for the end of the month. I know how I want it to end; it's the getting there that's the problem. As usual. There are several other things I want to write, like a continuation of last year's tale for my recipient of last year. It'll depend on how long it takes me to finish my main story. One thing I like about how the exchange is set up this year, it makes it easy to write extra treats.
- (Mass Effect 2 Spoilers) So I got the Firewalker expansion not long ago and am currently running around in the Hammerhead. It's much nicer than the Mako. Less clunky, and while it's still hard to hit things with its weapons (it involves a lot of jumping and shooting at the same time) it's not impossible, as the Mako was often impossible because of how the gun was mounted. So yeah, I'd be totally cool with having something like this figure prominently in ME3.
- Also, I had a bit of an brainstorm relating to this game not long ago. Think about it. You're being sent on the most dangerous mission ever. No one expects you to survive it. The Illusive Man is passing you dossiers and basically telling you that they're the best in the galaxy, and that he's hand-picked all of them so they have to be good. But the galaxy is a big place, and let's face it - I'm sure there are plenty of other people out there who are as good at what they do, if not better. Why pick them?
Does anyone else get the distinct feeling that these people were picked less because they're good at what they do - which they are, of course - and more because Cerberus (or the Illusive Man himself) thinks that the galaxy would be better off without them for some reason? Every one of them, to a man, questions the Illusive Man's decision in the end if you spare the Collector Base - even Miranda. Maybe they're too smart, or too skilled, and they can't be controlled; they're all a threat to Cerberus somehow. And a disproportionate number of them are dangerous aliens; Shepard seems to collect them like commemorative plates. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think this, but it's an interesting theory. It will be interesting to look at the Shadow Broker's files (I have Lair of the Shadow Broker but haven't played it yet; my boyfriend wanted me to wait until he was out of town so that I don't spoil him) and see if any of this might actually be confirmed or denied.
(I have seen the theory that Udina wants Shepard dead - that he was somehow responsible for the Collectors showing up right at the location of the Normandy SR1 and obliterating it. That's an interesting possibility. Udina does pretty much come across in the first game as fearing Shepard's influence even as he discounts his fears about the coming invasion.)
- In RL news... Currently sitting at home, going back to work in a little bit. This is my workweek from hell, of course. Retail =/= fun. Also waiting to hear something from my boyfriend, who is on a plane right now and safely heading toward his destination, I hope. He said he'd let me know when he hit his first connecting airport, but he hasn't. I hate flying with an irrational passion and would feel a lot better if he'd just contact me soon.
(Edit: His phone's apparently dead; his sister just e-mailed me from her phone. They've gotten through the airlines. Now they get to drive up to their grandmother's house. And I get to go back to work.)
- And yes, I've heard about the new TSA safety regulations. The fact that one has to choose between potentially invasive patdowns and potentially dangerous scanners angers me. However, take that with a grain of salt; I haven't actually experienced either yet. Because I'm poor, and also hate flying.
- Eh. NaNoWriMo was a no-go. Losing those ten days in the middle of the month to frenzied house-cleaning and moving killed it. Maybe next year... I'm going to keep trying to finish something throughout the end of the year, assuming I can keep my head.
- Working on my story for the end of the month. I know how I want it to end; it's the getting there that's the problem. As usual. There are several other things I want to write, like a continuation of last year's tale for my recipient of last year. It'll depend on how long it takes me to finish my main story. One thing I like about how the exchange is set up this year, it makes it easy to write extra treats.
- (Mass Effect 2 Spoilers) So I got the Firewalker expansion not long ago and am currently running around in the Hammerhead. It's much nicer than the Mako. Less clunky, and while it's still hard to hit things with its weapons (it involves a lot of jumping and shooting at the same time) it's not impossible, as the Mako was often impossible because of how the gun was mounted. So yeah, I'd be totally cool with having something like this figure prominently in ME3.
- Also, I had a bit of an brainstorm relating to this game not long ago. Think about it. You're being sent on the most dangerous mission ever. No one expects you to survive it. The Illusive Man is passing you dossiers and basically telling you that they're the best in the galaxy, and that he's hand-picked all of them so they have to be good. But the galaxy is a big place, and let's face it - I'm sure there are plenty of other people out there who are as good at what they do, if not better. Why pick them?
Does anyone else get the distinct feeling that these people were picked less because they're good at what they do - which they are, of course - and more because Cerberus (or the Illusive Man himself) thinks that the galaxy would be better off without them for some reason? Every one of them, to a man, questions the Illusive Man's decision in the end if you spare the Collector Base - even Miranda. Maybe they're too smart, or too skilled, and they can't be controlled; they're all a threat to Cerberus somehow. And a disproportionate number of them are dangerous aliens; Shepard seems to collect them like commemorative plates. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think this, but it's an interesting theory. It will be interesting to look at the Shadow Broker's files (I have Lair of the Shadow Broker but haven't played it yet; my boyfriend wanted me to wait until he was out of town so that I don't spoil him) and see if any of this might actually be confirmed or denied.
(I have seen the theory that Udina wants Shepard dead - that he was somehow responsible for the Collectors showing up right at the location of the Normandy SR1 and obliterating it. That's an interesting possibility. Udina does pretty much come across in the first game as fearing Shepard's influence even as he discounts his fears about the coming invasion.)
- In RL news... Currently sitting at home, going back to work in a little bit. This is my workweek from hell, of course. Retail =/= fun. Also waiting to hear something from my boyfriend, who is on a plane right now and safely heading toward his destination, I hope. He said he'd let me know when he hit his first connecting airport, but he hasn't. I hate flying with an irrational passion and would feel a lot better if he'd just contact me soon.
(Edit: His phone's apparently dead; his sister just e-mailed me from her phone. They've gotten through the airlines. Now they get to drive up to their grandmother's house. And I get to go back to work.)
- And yes, I've heard about the new TSA safety regulations. The fact that one has to choose between potentially invasive patdowns and potentially dangerous scanners angers me. However, take that with a grain of salt; I haven't actually experienced either yet. Because I'm poor, and also hate flying.
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And I will try! Apparently I'm mostly working as a zone associate, which means I wander the floor, straighten the racks (if there are any racks that AREN'T being shopped) and help whoever needs a break at the time. Not too bad, would be better if it wasn't a ten-hour day... still, Black Friday does usually go quickly, at least.
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...yet. :/
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About the writing you're having trouble with, are they from fandoms I'm involved in? If so, I can try to help with "plot doctoring", if you need it.
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As for ME2 - I never thought of it like that. I did think it was silly how "the best of the best" can't concentrate on saving the bleedin' galaxy unless Shepard fixes their ~*~daddy issues~*~ first.
...Sometimes they don't even know they have issues until several missions in. Thanks, Jacob, I'm sure you were so distracted by this incident from ten years ago that you couldn't learn Barrier, you lazy bastard. Not to mention Tali. I gave you that geth data in ME1! I saved Kal'Reegar! WHY ARE YOU NOT LOYAL. >:|
LotSB is fun. Some of the enemies actually do new things!
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"Loyal" really doesn't make the point that I think the game was trying to make, considering that half of your crew is only there out of loyalty to Shepard to begin with. "Focused" or "dedicated" might've been better. I mean, I can see why, say, Tali might not exactly be focused on the mission after her father has been utterly disgraced, but I have no doubt that she's loyal to begin with.
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Anyway, Barrier is biotic and supposedly benefits from biotic cooldown/duration boosts, while Fortification is neither tech nor biotic. Barrier is pretty much superior in every way (unless you really like the visual effects on Fort).
Tali doesn't find out about her father until some time after you recruit her. I'm not sure exactly how that mission triggers, but I did have a couple of conversations with her before that popped up. Sure, it would be a pretty big problem once she knows about it, but she doesn't have much of an excuse before that. I can somewhat understand most of the other characters (even if it's rather silly how the biggest badasses in the galaxy all think their daddy issues are more important than saving the universe), but Tali and Jacob bother me a bit.
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...I felt kinda bad romancing Tali as Renegade!Shepard. It just doesn't feel right. Poor girl.
I wonder how many will carry over to the third game. I am so excited for it now. Fffff.
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I am also excited! :D I've seen interviews (although I don't have links, will have to search) that basically say that Mass Effect 2 wasn't really too different no matter what your choices were because it was part of a planned trilogy and they couldn't change it too much for continuity purposes. Mass Effect 3 will apparently have an unheard-of amount of storyline variation depending on your choices, which is what I've been wanting more of in RPGs for years!
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Yeah, I made the poutiest face in the entire world at the paladin when he would suggest saying mean things to Tali. It was like YOU ARE HEARTLESS. Meaniepants :(
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And as someone planning to fly to America in April, I could be happier with the TSA right now. Probably if it comes to it I'll end up choosing the privacy-invading pat-down, because that's the one that seems least troubling, because I - luckily - have never dealt with any issues of sexual assault, regular assault, or abuse of authority. It's a good thing that everyone in the world can say that, isn't it? Otherwise this may have been a really bad idea.
I had two major reasons for commenting, though:
a) That is the best and most sensical ME2 theory ever and is now in my personal canon. Shepard tapped to lead a bunch of dangerous aliens and the members of Cerberus who are too smart and/or noble for their own good into Definite Death by Terrorist President Bartlet. ...Now I feel all the more smugly superior that my Shepard came back with no Collector base and no casualties.
b) I join with everyone else on the planet in saying "ugh Thanksgiving retail you have my far-away Internet support".
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Yes, seriously. And even for people who have, it's not like this could be traumatizing. Not at all. *sighs* (Again, though, I'm biased.)
My first playthrough was weird, in that I went mostly Paragon (in a non-imported game, though, so apparently I went mostly Renegade in the first game for all purposes) and got through the Base with no casualities... but kept the base intact. I'm on my second playthrough, in which it's going to be destroyed. Main motivation for keeping it - see what happens in ME3 with it still around. Should be interesting.
And yes, ugh. Thanks for the far-away Internet support. They're telling us to be there at 3:30 so that we can be sure to get parking spaces; I'm going to try to be there early, because I'm pretty sure the parking lot is already going to be full. I mean, my workplace isn't on par with the local electronics store; no one's been camping out there for days. But it still gets awfully crazy on Black Friday.