Mass Effect - Blog Posts
[source (Senior Reporter at Kotaku), linked Kotaku article, two, 'FC 24's performance link', three, four, @/N7SeveranceDay (source of the last two images, "Account supporting BioWare employees laid off in 2023."), five, six, Polygon tweet, Polygon article]
"BioWare Continues to Refuse to Pay Severance" statement transcript:
“BioWare Continues to Refuse to Pay Severance On August 23 of this year, BioWare eliminated “approximately 50 roles at BioWare”. Following the layoffs, seven ex-BioWare employees engaged the services of R. Alex Kennedy to represent their interests, stating that the amount of severance offered was insufficient under Alberta common law. Counsel for the employees has attempted to reach a compromise that would avoid requiring lengthy court proceedings, but BioWare’s lawyers refused any offers to negotiate and settle out of court. The basis of Kennedy’s claim is that according to Alberta precedents and under Canadian law, these employees should be receiving approximately 1.7 months of severance per year of service they gave to BioWare. BioWare has now filed a Statement of Defence, which argues that the seven terminated employees are only entitled to two weeks of severance per year spent in service to BioWare, because of a contract provision that Kennedy says is not enforceable. The filing means BioWare will be taking these former employees to court rather than working towards finding an out of court resolution. The developers involved in the suit have expressed their disappointment: - “We are disappointed that BioWare prefers stalling and intimidation tactics to fair dealing with people who have given years, and in some cases decades, of dedication and hard work to the company.” - “We believe they are using intimidation and stalling tactics to try and get us to drop out. A lot of the more junior employees and those with families, who had more monetary pressure on them, could not risk waiting on a court case that may take many months more to resolve, and have already had to drop out.” - “At the time of the layoffs, BioWare offered us professional assistance in finding new employment, and an additional payment, but ONLY on the condition that we signed an agreement saying we cannot talk about any details of the settlement, and that we would completely waive any right to legal action or even to complain in any way about anyone associated with BioWare now or ever in the future. Tactics like that sure make me think that BioWare knows it is in the wrong.” - “Despite what they publicly announced when they laid us off, this process has been anything but empathetic, respectful, and communicative.” The latest BioWare layoffs were the third round so far this year, and many of the developers affected even in earlier rounds are still searching for work, though some have started to find new positions. Regardless of employment status, the members of the current lawsuit state they remain determined to pursue BioWare in court, regardless of their employment status: - “We strongly believe that if Dragon Age: Dreadwolf does not do as well as BioWare or EA wants at launch, there will be more, even larger layoffs. Therefore, regardless of our own well-being, we believe it is important to hold BioWare responsible and get a clear decision on what settlement amount is legal. We’re no longer part of the development team, so the best way we can help our former teammates now is to hold BioWare accountable and ensure that the next group who is laid off are not treated as poorly as we were.” November 7th marks “N7 Day”, which is a fan celebration of BioWare’s Mass Effect games featuring Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy. The developers involved in the lawsuit are hoping N7 Day this year will be a reminder to BioWare of the importance of loyalty to your crew, and hope fans can have a little fun and help express their support with memes and images using an #N7SeveranceDay hashtag. The ex-employees involved in the suit are all based in Canada and have an average of 14 years at BioWare.”
[source]
You can express your support using the hashtag #N7SeveranceDay.
Edit: [Part 2/update] [more on the Keywords topic]
I've said it before but I LOVE the way you draw Tali. 100% how I always imagine her behind the mask now.
@avadras aw thanks guys-- thank you from me and WIP tali:
while back i doodled a tali based on this concept sort of
saw some demasked alien tali … wanted 2 contribute for my sweet dorter
i was drawing tali and trying to make something to show off rachs trans headcanons but i dont exactly know how to convey it into a doodle yet (mostly bc i think that she can make herself Pretty passing anyway)
suffice to say that dmab tali is very very important to me and i hope you keep this in your thoughts
Some personal takes on Tali'Zorah ... way too much of her fanart doesn't account the fact that she is, in reality, a massive gremlin.
Tali’Zorah Mass Effect vas Normandy’s in-game unmasked portrait (even the new revised one) is a letdown and an insult against me personally, so here’s my own re-imagining of this sweet alien girl with a heart of gold and an immune system of wet tissue paper.
(inspired by this fanart and certain pieces of concept art)
hell yeah thank you!! Hey gamers SMASH that like button if you believe in sick alien Tali supremacy
quarians are like onions… they have layers… and… sharp little teeth?
(a recent Tali sketch sampler)
I love the way you draw Tali!!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
lol thank you!! I think Tali might want to yell sometimes too, here she is joining in
anyway also, Tali and Shepard are girlfriends and they love each other very much.
(also available in ✨NEW✨Renegade flavor!)
/blows off a cassette hand-labeled "headcanon Tali" and slams it into the tape deck
if the boy quarians at least get to have those cool bundles of cables coming out of the backs of their helmets, surely the girl quarians have something similar under the hoods they wear. The way I draw Tali and her people might be stubbornly different from canon in some ways, but I can believe it's not too far off.
Funnily enough I prefer YOUR Tali over bioshocks in ME3 I think? She actually properly looks like an alien from a planet where they didn't adapt an immune system
thank you! (and lol I'll assume you meant Bioware-- although a steampunk-aesthetic Tali is a very cool mental image.)
some things about how my Tali looks are definitely a result of living nearly her whole life sealed inside an exosuit and dealing with regular bouts of minor illness (at one point she mentions working while having a fever like it's something quarians just deal with). Pre-exile quarians, and post-canon quarians who have had some time to get re-acclimated to their home planet's ecosystem, would look a bit different. I did a couple lil sketches to hypothesize about some differences between my Tali during the games' timeline, and a post-canon Tali who's spent a few years on Rannoch:
there's no place like home.
(the spots of pigment on her face are made more colorful, and even softly bioluminescent, by harmless symbiotic bacteria found only on Rannoch. After the quarians fled into space after the Geth War, the bacteria died out in a generation; for over two hundred years, the only quarians with colorful faces were ancestors in old vids and pictures.)
“But, right now… I have this.”
Tali and Shepard catch the sunset on Rannoch. 🌅
recent asks 'n' vibes got me in the mood to toss some loose shading and colors onto a few old Tali sketches. The top drawing is an old framed picture (uh, I mean... framed... hologram) that Rael'Zorah has on his work desk where he does dangerous taboo science.
Can I have an OC fact? As a treat? Pick one you wanna talk about most right now and... fun lil trivia? I love your characters so much and can't pick a favorite to request
Aw thank you! (Also lol thank you to everyone who did ask me about my OCs, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer your asks!)
Since I just drew them again yesterday in that lil comic, I'll share another fun trivia about Kesh'Vataar nar Zakah, my nonbinary quarian OC. This is what they look like under their helmet!
my quarians have very subtle facial features, but I still don't want to let that make me slip into drawing them all with the same face. I wanted Kesh to look "cooler" than how I draw Tali, so they have narrower eyes and a more oval face with prominent cheekbones-- but also a cute spray of “freckles” across their nose.
also, I think I mentioned this a long time ago, but their outfit is a mix of elements from male and female quarian outfits in-game. I feel like even though we only saw binary-presenting quarians in the series, there's no reason why there can't be other quarian genders. Kesh isn't unusual among their people-- at least, not for their gender identity. The having-a-crush-on-a-volus thing is definitely unusual.
This isn’t really a question but I can’t find the right button, I just really wanted to tell you that I’m going NUTS over your Tali redesign!!! She’s so!! Squishy!!!!! Your artstyle is supremely soft and I am in love with it!!!
aw thank you so much!! I'm so glad you like my interpretation of her. We stan an alien babe with no immune system and no eyebrows.
I adore your Tali design and I wanna give her headpats. I'm curious though, does she by any chance have sharp teeth?
thank you-- and yes, she does!
there's no speculative biology reason behind it, I just thought sharp little teeth would look cute.
I drew Vetra, but I don’t feel like inking her so here’s this.
It’s my first giveaway, and since I’ve been wanting to do one for a while. I decided to make this the best one I can! Thank you to everyone who’s been following me, and thank you to my awesome mutuals who I’ve come to think of as friends!
The rules are the same as most other giveaways: just like or reblog this post and if you’re following me, you’re automatically entered! Every additional reblog adds one extra entry for you. You need to be following me to enter, but new followers are welcome. Just please only follow me if you’re genuinely interested in the content I post.
Now, the good stuff! Prizes! There will be three winners, picked randomly using a number generator.
First prize: One OTP-based oneshot written by me and one aesthetic board for an OTP or OC of your choice.
Second prize: One OTP-based oneshot written by me.
Third place: One aesthetic board for an OTP or OC of your choice.
Some examples of my writing are here, here, and here. As a quick list of fandoms I can write for is below, starting with what I can be the most versatile with:
Fallout 1, 2, and 3
Dragon Age: Origins, Awakening, II, and Inquisition
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and V: Skyrim
Fable I, II, and III
Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3
As far as aesthetic boards are concerned, I have no limitations. I can make boards for any character, even characters from original stories! Some of my boards are here, here, here, and here.
The giveaway ends on August 20th! Good luck!
Hey all! A nice anon suggested a post a neater list of fandoms at the top of my blog so here it is!
I am a writer with open requests here are the fandoms I write for:
Star Wars
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Dragon age- all games
Mass Effect- all games
Obey Me!
Our Lives: Beginning and Always
Stardew Valley
The Witcher- TV show and wild hunt
Demon Slayer- anime only
BatFamily
The Hunger games
Percy Jackson- all the way through Hammer of Thor.
Haikyu
Vox Machina- cartoon only
*
Rules of interaction:
-Please be respectful, I don’t do this regularly so I may be a little slow to respond.
-If you don’t see your fandom you are welcome to send an ask and I will answer
-I am by no means a great writer but I want to do this for fun. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please be kind 😭
-You may ask for headcanons or a short ficlet.
First time seeing EDI in her new body must've been a big moment...
Finally finished for N7 day ! :''D
Updated:
I no longer wish to write about Harry Potter and Naruto
I am adding Mass Effect 3 and Andromeda
Stardew Valley
Hello everyone,
As some of you know I’m an aspiring author, but I want to practice writing short stories. So I’m asking for requests, these will be short one page stories and may take a little while to be written.
Here is a list of fandoms I can write for:
Percy Jackson (riodenverse from the the lightning thief to the hammer of Thor)
Harry Potter
Voltron
Avatar: The Last Airbender ( + legend of Korra seasons 1-2)
Fullmetal Alchemist
Naruto
Yuri on Ice
Ouron High School Host Club
Demon Slayer
More bay be added later. If your fandom isn’t on here you are welcome to ask I may have forgotten one.
I’m adding dragon age all games
The Witcher (tv +wild hunt game)
Star Wars (most media types)
Mass effect( 1+2)
Hello everyone,
As some of you know I’m an aspiring author, but I want to practice writing short stories. So I’m asking for requests, these will be short one page stories and may take a little while to be written.
Here is a list of fandoms I can write for:
Percy Jackson (riodenverse from the the lightning thief to the hammer of Thor)
Harry Potter
Voltron
Avatar: The Last Airbender ( + legend of Korra seasons 1-2)
Fullmetal Alchemist
Naruto
Yuri on Ice
Ouron High School Host Club
Demon Slayer
More bay be added later. If your fandom isn’t on here you are welcome to ask I may have forgotten one.
A drawing of the most awesome turian in the universe! Garrus Vakarian on his favourite spot on Citadel!
That’s the last ME piece from me today :) happy N7day everyone!
I played a little with quarian clothing :D