What did you do today in ME?

What makes it great is Harbinger. ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL. My Shepard likes him talking smack to her

Kind of funny that Tali is the most normal, well-adjusted person in the group!

If you want to have a little bit of fun at her expense, take her on Mordin's loyalty quest!

fraggle re: your last pic
I don't recall where I read it - probably some fan fic I came across at some point - but in it Shepard had just a wee bit of trouble transitioning from soldier to construction worker.

LOL, same. Sometimes I reloaded the Collector battles after beating them and ran around with tactical cloak hiding from Harbinger to see if I could get more of the smack. It's so weird how he says the same stuff over and over, and then will randomly and rarely say something different. I think I got "Neutralize Commander Shepard" once, and "I know you feel this" like 100000000000 times. Is there a trick to get him to say some of rarer stuff on the battle quotes list?  masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Harbinger_(Collector)/Battle_Quotes

I thought that generally interrupts are just there to help build up your reputation, it was like that in ME2 as well. In the final confrontation with TIM, the interrupt is only there to ensure that Shepard survives this encounter with TIM if you are not able to persuade him. I think I'd go so far as to say that this one is the odd one out among the interrupts, even though it's still a really cool one

None that I know of.

If playing as an adept, use pull on one of the collectors. If Harbinger possesses the collector when hit by pull, he will talk smack as he's floating in the air.

More Kathrine today.
Off the record she finished Miranda's loyalty mission and had enough renegade points to keep Jack's loyalty. Then she went clubbing for Samara. Beat up three Turians and helped a reporter to draw Mornith's attention. And amazingly, she had enough Paragon points to keep her wits about her when things got hot and heavy in her apartment. Which was good. Not like I had this big head canon of Samara swooping in to rescue her or anything.

She started this session with checking on Garrus and accepting his quests since Kelly requested it at least three times already. On the way to meet Fade she saw Joram Talid advertisement on the wall and realized that Mark Meer might have voiced the Turian who sells spices on the Citadel. Spicy!
Mission went fairly decently. Mech brothers were a bit of a hassle, but nothing the good old Arc Projector couldn't handle.
Since she was on the Citadel she decided to visit Councillor Anderson. Sadly the council was also there being all disappointed. She's dating Cerebus now Council, you just don't understand it!
But Kathrine was polite enough to keep her Spectre status, because of benefits. She also talked trash to Udina.
Another mission to cross off because she was in the area was Kasumi's loyalty mission. So she donned a tiny black dress and went to kick butt. Went well, even the gunship bit.

Checked her email after that. Michel has not been paying attention, since she thought that Mall cop had nearly died in the destruction of the Normandy. He wasn't even near it.
Also checked on Samara and Kathrine is on the talk where they nearly kiss. Kathrine is really pushy in it. Debating whether to go through with it now or flirt with someone else first.

Saw a new dialog option with Mordin about what to do with Maelon when he first brings up the quest. "Let him rot". I think Kathrine is getting how this play through is rolling. Did not let him rot, but he got shot, so that's something. Also toasted a lot of Krogan, love how incinerate just eats the armor up.

Ended the session by going to pick up Tali. Am currently stuck on the Colossus. Too many Geth on the dance floor and I just can't.

From the Journal of Ioan Shepard:

- Citadel, Silversun Strip: Invited Tali over to the apartment. She insisted we watch some romantic vid called "Fleet and Flotilla" about a star-crossed turian and quarian lovers. Tali thought the movie was amazing. I...was skeptical of that claim. And that's after I watched it.
- Then Liara stopped by. She knew how to play the piano and taught me a song she'd learned from another archaeologist on one of her first digs.
- Kolyat wanted to hold the memorial services for Thane at the apartment. I thought it was a good idea. In attendance were the salarian councilor, EDI, Garrus, Tali, Joker, Samara and Bailey. They all had fond memories of him. Kolyat had recovered some messages Thane had tried to send me while I was locked up on Earth. He was persistent. It didn't seem like he understood that I had no communications access.
- Met up with Jacob at Castle Arcade. He wanted me to play a game with him to entertain some kids who were temporarily in his care. I understood that these kids were looking up to him. As he had said, the kids already idolized me, so it didn't matter if I lost. He won fair and square but assumed I threw the game. I'm good at a lot of things but I haven't spent a lot of time playing games like Shattered Eezo.
- Ran into Wrex at the casino. He was tired. Bakara was really pushing for him to reproduce, not just with her but other krogan females. He even had to put a bag of ice down his pants to cool his "quad". They sure weren't wasting any time rebuilding their population. Plus side, this means any krogan who die in the war will have plenty to replace them. Not that I want them to do, but their race will continue to thrive.
- Had a chat with a C-Sec officer about Grunt. He got into a little trouble. I paid for it out of my pocket. Still, it was worthwhile. It's like watching a teenage son sowing his seeds. I was a little jealous.
- Samara came by for a visit. We had said goodbye already but Samara did drop me a message. We admired the view out the windows. I had also found old comics detailing her exploits, though Samara said they were somewhat exaggerated.
- Then Jack came by with her pet varren, which happened to also be biotic. Turns out biotic varren are unusually cranky and are abused for it. She named it Eezo. It was another chance for her to care for something so I was all for it.
- Invited Cortez and Vega over to watch a biotiball. It was the Human Sorcerers versus Asari Maestros. Cortez was for the Sorcerers and Vega for the Maestros. They wanted to know who I supported but I always went with the home team. They actually had a bet as to whether or not I'd pick the winner. I did and I guess that made Cortez some money.
- Traynor wanted to make up for the lunch we didn't have so I invited her to stop by. She gave herself a tour and was excited to find the hot tub. I told her to go ahead and use it. She let me know she was allergic to everything in the galaxy and had to take all kinds of medications for it. Turned out that one of her meds was nothing more than a sugar pill and I was doubting she really had these allergies.
- One more trip to the casino for a night out with Miranda. Never saw her dressed quite so girly with the slinky red dress. Quite attractive. Played some games, got a little drunk. Hard to believe that not too long ago I would have preferred to throw her out the airlock. Now I considered her to be a good friend. Glad we sorted everything out. It didn't hurt that she gave her resignation to TIM while we were still planting a bomb at the Collector Base. I actually got to see her laugh.
- I'd seen everyone I needed to see. Now it was time to have that promised party. Though I'd told Joker to hold back on the open invites, the truth was that I wanted everyone here. The people who couldn't be: Jenkins, Ash, Pressly, Mordin, Thane, Legion - even Anderson, who was holding the line on Earth. They'd be remembered. I'd toast to them all.
- I wanted to start things out quiet, if only to remember part of the evening. Though even Kaidan said he wouldn't mind it things got a little more exciting. So I turned up the music.
- Grunt did a great job playing bouncer. My party was the talk of the Citadel and everyone wanted in. But this was private. No civilians. I also had to weigh in on biotics versus muscle. As someone who was the best with both, I still sided with biotics. The amount of control it took to effectively use them was outstanding, and combining them with physical fitness even better. Hence, my love of biotic charge. Vega tried to put down Kaidan for L2 implants but Kaidan pointed out how he could now use Reave. Liara and Jacob were surprised but it just went to show that even with the "crippled" implant he could still go further than most. No surprise, I sided with my kind. I found EDI questioning Traynor about her attraction to EDI's voice. Tali found it awkward to listen to. Jack and Miranda were sniping at each other but pretending otherwise. When I suggested it was all sexual tension and they should just kiss and get it over with, they get incredibly embarrassed. Kasumi offering to record it made it worse but stopped the bickering.
- Then I told Glyph to give us some dancing music. I had to do some convincing to get Joker dancing with EDI. Not sure why. Saw him do it at Purgatory. Probably just not drunk enough. He laughed when I said I'd dance with her but caved in the end. I got to watch Liara levitate James off the ground. Not only did he like it but he was convinced about the power of biotics. Kaidan wanted to take things a little further but I said I needed the crew intact. Found Grunt passed out in the shower. Then I did a little dancing with Jack, Samara, Garrus, Tali, Cortez and Traynor.
- Lastly, we took a group photo near the couch. No matter what happened, I'd cherish this memory.
- In the morning, I woke up next to Kaidan. Before I went to check on the others, I found a datapad. It was from Mordin, apparently snuck in by STG some time during the night. He thought he might not survive and left some of his musical performances. I was grateful to have it, something to remember him by. Not that every krogan child born wouldn't be a reminder of his life. Javik was hung over and delusional. Garrus was fine, Liara was feeling it, and Samara was meditating. Tali was hurting bad, at least in part because she had eaten the wrong food, multiple times over. Toxins + intoxication was a bad combination. Jacob and Jack were exercising, as though nothing had happened last night. Jack said her overcharged biotic amp had something to do with her lack of hangover. I'd have to look into it. Grunt was in pain from headbutting Wrex. Miranda was fine, Kaidan enjoyed the evening and James was cooking eggs for everyone. EDI couldn't get a hangover but she still had bad jokes to tell. Cortez and Zaeed seemed fine. Wrex was happy. Joker was in sad shape. Traynor was convinced she must have done something embarrassing that would have been recorded and posted to the extranet.
- Then it was time to head back to the Normandy. All repairs had been made. We convened on Docking Bay D24. Kaidan and I exchanged a few words, happy for the time we'd had together, expressing belief that I'd find a way to win. Then we finally went back to the Normandy, back to the war.
- Normandy: Hackett ordered us to Cronos Station, since all intel said we'd find that Catalyst, that last piece of the Crucible puzzle. It would draw the attention of the Reapers but we had no choice. I couldn't sleep and kept going over reports. That's when Kaidan showed up, five minutes and a quick drink. I tried to resist but he wasn't having it. There was also no "five minutes". As soon as we kissed I knew I wasn't spending the night alone. Plus, he reminded me how "spectacular" the sex had been back aboard the SR1. Unfortunately, I did have another nightmare. One last time chasing after the kid. All the dead were there, even Legion. When I caught up to him, he ran into the arms of...me. Then, together, they went up in flames. When he awoke, Kaidan gave me what comfort he could, by telling him I'd done all I could and that I had a competent team with me.
- EDI insisted she come to Cronos Station since she had knowledge of Cerberus algorithms and the mech body had updated protocols. This was the central base of operations. I agreed. Joker didn't like it. I understood that, being separated, which was why I was bringing Kaidan.
- Cronos Station: We boarded the station and were immediately greeted by Cerberus forces. They tried to vent the shuttle bay but EDI was able to prevent it from happening. Proved her worth there already. They tried to launch a fighter at us but we were able to turn it around and fire it at the interior wall, granting us access. [To be continued...]

Melody Shepard, Colonist/Sole Survivor/Infiltrator, ME3 Insanity:

The mission plan for the liberation of Rannoch involved sending a ground team to paint the Reaper installation with a targeting laser, enabling the Normandy to make a precision strike. Melody and Tali took a shuttle to the surface, along with Garrus as backup, and Legion who would be responsible for disabling security and procuring an escape vehicle. Legion confessed to possessing a copy of the Reaper upgrade code, enhancing its intelligence and ensuring that it would be able to hack the security. It had proven itself trustworthy on several occasions, so Melody did not challenge its decision.

As the Normandy squad began their infiltration, Melody kept her hardsuit's radio tuned to quarian frequencies, monitoring the fleet battle raging high above them. She was pleased to hear the admirals working effectively together. The Reaper installation was heavily defended by Reaper-controlled geth infantry, but the team made steady progress and did not encounter any real difficulty; not even being triple-teamed by Primes was able to stop them. (No player deaths, pleasingly).

In a quiet moment, Garrus expressed scepticism about Legion's decision to self-augment with the Reaper upgrades. Tali spoke in its favour, convinced that it was genuinely an ally. Melody privately recalled Tali's standoff with Legion following the destruction of Heretic Station, proud that the young quarian had overcome her mistrust and was able to willingly fight alongside their synthetic ally.

As the Normandy unleashed its bombs, the Reaper installation literally sprung into life: it proved to be an actual Reaper. Determining that the iris of its main gun was the weak spot, Melody aimed the targeting laser at it (took me a few attempts as I expected it would). The full force of the Normandy and the quarian Heavy Fleet was unleashed. As the Reaper lay dying, it babbled something about the harvest being salvation for organics; that the cycle was necessary; and that organics and synthetics could never coexist.

With the Reaper destroyed, the augmented geth were dead in space, no longer receiving instructions from their former master. Fearing that the Heavy Fleet would obliterate them, Legion proposed uploading its copy of the augmentation code into the consensus, upgrading the geth into true individuals, able to choose peaceful coexistence with the quarians. Melody instructed it to proceed, advising Tali to convince Gerrel to cease fire so that the geth no longer perceived their Creators as a threat. However, Gerrel declined to take instruction from a mere exile. Melody got on the comm and yelled at him, warning him that if he didn't stand down, the consequences would be catastrophic...

...and, amazingly, he complied.

As the quarian fleet stood down, Legion completed the upgrade by disseminating its own 1,183 runtimes throughout the consensus. The last thing it heard was Creator Zorah affirmatively answering the question that started the Morning War. Sensing no hostility from the Migrant Fleet, the upgraded geth also stood down, bringing a three-century conflict to a peaceful conclusion.

The squad returned to the Normandy, leaving Admiral Shala'Raan vas Rannoch conversing with some Primes about the best place for a settlement. Melody allowed herself a moment of satisfaction; after betraying the krogan, she had feared for what this war was forcing her to become. The events on Rannoch gave her some hope for the galaxy's future, and for her own conscience.

Current EMS: 2149.

(Well, this did not go as I expected. I didn't think it was possible for peace to be brokered if Tali was exiled, so I was fully anticipating that Melody would end up shooting Legion to save the quarians. I'm pleased that things worked out rather better; it's made me happier about the direction this playthrough is going, actually).

Lots of pics (fitting, given that this has turned out to be an unexpected highlight of this playthrough) and video:

"Hm, I think around that time... yes. We headed for Eden Prime next. Cerberus had gotten their hands on a prothean artifact and we went in to retrieve it. It was not the kind of artifact I expected. It was a pod with an actual Prothean in it. Alive."
"Oh, right. I heard. He was this Javik guy, wasn't he?"
"Yes. A tiny wonder he survived in a pod for 50,000 years. Amazing, really. And we were lucky Cerberus hadn't managed to open his pod yet. You should've seen what they had done to the colony, ma. Bastards."
"But you drove them away, didn't you? And you had a new team member. What was he like?"
"Different than I had imagined. Quite ruthless. But the more I talked to him, the more I understood why he is that way. The only thing he ever knew was war. He was born into the Reaper mess of their cycle and saw the end of his people... hard to imagine what that feels like."
"Yes. Sounds absolutely terrifying. What became of him?"
"In London he told me he had plans to write a book with Liara."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. And I'm glad he found something else to focus on after the war. See a time of peace..."
"It's a good thing he has this chance. I hope he finds comfort in it."
"Me, too. Well, after this we headed to Tuchanka again. I still hadn't investigated the crashed turian ship, but I wanted to keep my promise to the primarch. On the way, we stopped some more Cerberus activity. They were too wide-spread for my liking and we had to do something about them. They were present on Tuchanka too, but not for long. Then we headed for the crash site, and we learned that the turian platoon that went down with the ship was commanded by none other than the primarch's son."
"No way. So that's why he asked you to investigate?"
"Well, not exactly... when we reached Victus and his men, he told me what they actually were doing on Tuchanka."
"Hm, yes, turians there sounds strange."
"They were on a mission to stop a bomb from exploding in the Kelphic Valley. Cerberus had dug it out."
"Oh my, them again..."
"But the thing is, it wasn't actually their bomb. The turians had placed it there centuries ago as a safeguard after the Krogan Rebellions. No idea how Cerberus had gotten wind of this, but you can imagine what would've happened had this bomb gone off."
"All the krogan there... and the alliance you formed between them and the turians..."
"Exactly. Time was of the essence, and I helped Victus and his men. This mission was too important. My team and I fought Cerberus while Victus bypassed the firewall Cerberus had set up around the trigger mechanism, but just as Victus had done it, Cerberus managed to hack the mechanism. The bomb was set to detonate. Disarming wasn't possible, so Victus climbed the bomb to separate it from the trigger. It worked, but it cost him his life in the process. Together with the outer shell of the bomb he crashed into the dig site... he died as a brave man. He saved the krogan, and the krogan-turian alliance."
"I see. His father must've been devastated."
"Couldn't have been easy, but he was proud of what his son had done."
"Of course. I'd be, too."
"After all this we headed back to the Citadel. Wanted to take care of some things there. But after some unexpected events, things got a little crazy."
"Oh. That sounds like something big is coming up."
"You don't even know how big..."

Piiics


That was from yesterday and today. I died once during the Turian Platoon mission, killed by Harvester fire even though I could swear I was in cover Then I failed to save Victus because for some reason the Atlas would not focus on me Then I died in the same section after being almost done by a frigging grenade
I now bought the Wraith and will check it out for the first time on the next mission

But the personality does.

I had a lot (for my standards that is) of playing time over the weekend, so I got to make some progress. Completed loyalty missions for Tali, Miranda, Thane and Garrus. More importantly I confessed my feelings for Jack and she told me she needed some time, so I have to be carefull not to talk to Miranda and Tali to much, I don't want to accidentally romance them (although after Miranda's loyalty mission, I got to admire her body, and I have to say, it's very admirable ).

While on Illium I also recruited Samara, which let to the mandatory collecter ship mission, I was afraid that would lock me into the suicide mission, but I think I can keep doing loyalty / side missions as long as I don't go retrieve the repear IFF thingy.

Still having a blast with this game, enjoying the conversations, and while I still have a lot to do (I skipped most side missions, and still need to do Zaeed, Samara, Jacob, Grunt, Mordin and Kasumi's loyalty missions) I am looking forward to ME3.

Also I am running low on credits (that is I can't buy every upgrade available in the various shops) so I'm thinking of prioritizing some sidemissions to fund my research.