Mass Effect/Heartwarming: Difference between revisions

** It's things like that that really make me feel like a hero.

* A heartwarming moment that doesn't really occur to you at first. For fifty thousand years, Vigil stood by, waiting to give the information to the people of the next cycle, knowing that there was a good chance that no one would ever connect the dots to a point where they'd make it to Ilos in time. He speaks of how he'd had to shut down portions of the facility over that time to save power, and, indeed, by the next game, he's gone completely offline, perhaps even not long after you spoke to him. In just speaking to him, you made his existence mean something and worth it all.

 

== Mass Effect 2 ==

** Shepard finally seeing Tali's face for the first time is just golden.

*** All of Tali's romance is adorable. Her stuttering and [[Motor Mouth]] tendencies when you first start showing an interest in her, all the way through to her determination to show herself to you, even if it means her suffering allergic reactions to...everything.

** Also during Tali's romance, she explains part of her why she fell so head-over-heels in love with Shepard, which is absolutely ''awesome'' as a Paragon type. It also shows that, while the [[Rescue Romance]] aspect of their relationship kickstarted her feelings for him, there's [[Iron Woobie|plenty to love him for anyway.]]

{{quote| '''Shepard:''' And if you weren't jeopardizing anything?<br />

** To those of you who don't know Legion very well: Shepard basically managed to win the love of an "entity" actually composed of over a thousand of incorporeal, mathematical data beings... Before s/he even met [[Pronoun Trouble|it. him. her. whatever Legion is. Probably "them".]]

* Joker and EDI spend the entire game bickering [[Like an Old Married Couple]]. At the end of the game, Joker is forced to {{spoiler|remove all the blocks preventing EDI from assuming full control over the ship. They immediately warm up to each other, Joker begins referring to EDI as her and she, and EDI even starts [[First-Name Basis|calling him "Jeff"]]. You see, Joker always loved the ship, and now that EDI ''is'' the ship...}}

'''EDI''': [[It Got Worse|"Message away. Are you feeling well, Jeff?"]] }}

* Speaking of Joker, despite being a not-so [[Covert Pervert]] [[Disabled Snarker]], he shows genuine distress every time someone dies. First shown with {{spoiler|Ash/Alenko}} on Virmire. In the sequel, if Shepard {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real|dies]] a second time}}, his reaction is bordering on [[Tear Jerker]].

* I always liked the conversation with Jacob after his loyalty mission.

{{quote| '''Jacob:'''"I'm good, Shepard. Ready for anything! We live, we'll get loud, spill some drinks on the Citadel." * Manly Hug / Fist Bump* }}

* If Garrus is with you on Horizon, he'll get pissed and yell back at {{spoiler|Ash/Kaidan when they start berating you about Cerberus}}. Just one of the many little moments that remind you that he ''always'' has your back, no matter what kind of crazy situations you drag him into.

** If you take him into the quarantine zone: "It's your call, Shepard. If you need me, [[Determinator|I'm not going to let]] [[Undying Loyalty|a cough keep me back]]."

{{quote| '''Shepard:''' When I find Mordin, I'll tell him about you. If he has a cure, I'll make sure someone gets it to you.<br />

'''Sick Batarian:''' Thank you. My time is running short, but at least you have given me a flicker of hope to brighten the darkness of my final hours. }}

{{quote| '''Shepard:''' Remember this the next time you're about to judge our species.<br />

'''Sick Batarian:''' I was wrong about you, human. I was wrong... about a lot of things. }}

* While walking around the ''Normandy'', you can hear a crewmember talking about the possibility of his family being kidnapped by the Collectors with another crewmember. ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' being [[Darker and Edgier]], it seems unlikely that they'll survive, and the conversations eventually culminate in their colony being attacked by the Collectors. The next time you walk in... they're living in [[San Francisco]], safe and well. Listen one more time, and you hear that he's listening to his baby giggle over and over. It's a bright spot in a fairly bleak game.

** In fact, he mentions being unable to see his baby because of the suicide mission. Any [[Genre Savvy]] troper would probably assume that he's going to die or the family is. When he doesn't... yeah.

* A very strange one, but nonetheless one that moved this troper a bit, during the last conversation with Legion. The reasoning for {{spoiler|the geth building a megastructure to house every geth program in existence is apparently that "no geth will be alone when it is done."}} Sure, it's logical, and sure, they have no concept of emotions as we do, but ''d'aww.''

* A bit of a loose one but if {{spoiler|everyone survives the Suicide Mission, the scene of Shepard walking along and turned to see his/her team, the sight of Jack, Garrus, Grunt and Legion looking proudly with acknowledgement of their leader really brings home the fact, you saved them against the odds and they truly look up to you. It's put further into perspective considering Grunt and Jack's attitudes when you first got them.}}

* Speaking of Jack's [[Character Development]], if you remain romantically faithful to Jack, she'll openly kiss you in front of everyone, even her students. Considering her [[Backstory]], her willingness to show genuine open displays of love and affection (while realizing it doesn't detract from her rough-edged charm and lethality) really says something. Heck, her students nicknaming her "The Psychotic Biotic" and imitating her combat bark "I WILL DESTROY YOU" is a CMOH.

{{quote| '''Rodriguez:''' I will destroy you! <br />

** Grissom was what Jack could feel really at home. And learning from Cerberus and how the previous time one of the biotics was murdered by Kai Leng after her father died being the prototype Cerberus assault trooper and how they had a hand in the Ascension project. It was the ideal place to stick it to the Illusive Man by protecting them from another Pragia.

** While the interactions between Kahlee Sanders and Jack are few there is a respect there that Jack doesn't show to anyone else except Shepard. The letter intercepted by Liara has them conversing as friends and colleagues and it made me smile to think that they may have a quasi-familial relationship like Anderson and Shepard do. Keep in mind how hard it it for Jack to respect ''anyone'' and, well...

{{quote| '''Shepard''': It does. It does feel right. After all this time. You and me.}}

** Hell, Kaidan in general is this. Especially for a female Shepard who has loved him since ME1, it becomes very apparent just how much he's her rock, the [[Only Sane Man]] who can offer her advice and comfort in the direst and darkest of days.

{{quote| '''Cerberus Scientist:''' Sir, Shepard is clinically brain-dead. After that much trauma, that long with no oxygen... We cannot overcome nature.<br />

'''Shepard:''' [watching the video] I didn't realize it was that bad.<br />