#book:initiation

[omegastation]

When Cora talks about her biotics and people say they look at the camera like they're on The Office, I get it. I get it because it is really Office-like. It does not make sense. But this isn’t a Cora problem. It's a "protagonist is (this) or (that) but the game & companions won't act accordingly" problem. It's not even a specific Mass Effect problem. In Dragon Age Inquisition, you can play an elf who asks a human character who an elven god is. As an elf, it’s something you should already know. It's just wtf on many levels, but that's not something you can blame characters for. It's a writing issue. It's when writers believe information should be shared, even if it is at the expanse of character development and common sense. So when Cora makes comments about being a biotic and it looks like she's ignoring the fact that Ryder themselves is a biotic, it's hardly Cora's fault.

They've always had difficulties with their biotic!protag, even in the trilogy. We don't know how Shepard discovered they were a biotic, how they reacted, how they managed to control it. We're left with a lot of headcanoning to do and a messy timeline to deal with to see if it all makes sense.

And with Cora, I don't think for a second she thinks people who aren't biotics are beneath her. Self-doubt is a big part of her personality. She also doesn't show contempt for people who have different skills than her. She appreciates competency no matter the form it takes. And when she mentions that biotics aren't contagious and not to worry, it's linked to her (at least developed) past as a very poor teenager who lived in a very small ship and constantly feared that unleashing her biotic powers would kill everyone. It's canon the Alliance didn't know what to do what her biotics. They sent her to be trained by asari. She spent so much time with them that for four years she forgot what it's like to be around humans. Humans who have their own prejudices against biotics. So it's bound to make Cora want to reassure people. She does not want to appear as a threat. We see in the MEA book it's not an irrational fear. When she is about to use her biotics or when she uses it subconsciously, a lot of people look at her nervously because she could kill them in a second. Ryder could do the same and experience the same trouble with their biotics and sense of self, only the writers don't show it. Again: that’s a writing issue.

[omegastation]

Our fave is problematic - Cora Harper: Instead of using gender neutral terms for people she doesn't know the gender of, she defaults to assuming they're female. (Which, in retrospect, actually makes LESS sense as a knee-jerk reaction from being around Asari for so long, seeing as Andromeda confirmed Asari DO go by other pronouns, so dhskjadhjkas)

The reference for those wondering, from Initiation: 

“Mostly high-end mechs,” the Initiative VI said in its soft, androgynous voice, speaking into Cora’s earpiece. Four years on Thessia had taught her to assume the feminine gender in any situations of doubt, though Ryder had referred to the thing as “him” a few times, so she was trying to get used to thinking of it that way.

Bioware has no idea what the fuck is going with asari and gender and pronouns, right? Because in MEA they basically said asari appreciate when people don’t automatically use female pronouns, and Cora would take that into account immediately. 

[omegastation]

I'm done with Initiation. And it was so so so so good. Cora's relationship with SAM-E is truly beautiful, from beginning to end (expect a ship manifesto soon). And Cora is such a fascinating character. The book did justice to her character (showing us the good, the bad) and made me think, not for the first time, that we're VERY lucky to have her in the Mass Effect universe.

The only "negative" comment I can make: All the questions I had about the Initiative and its backstory, the reaction of the "major players" regarding SAM's existence, Alec's role in Cora's life and his decision not to make her the next Pathfinder- they were not answered in MEA like I had hoped. I thought, if not at the beginning of the game, surely at the end of it or in a DLC? But no. Months later, the book is the one to answer my questions. It does so really well but still... Another issue linked to this is the slight disconnect between book!canon and game!canon, starting with Nexus Uprising. You can see where it all fits, but there are cracks in the foundation.

[omegastation]

I just want to say (in case there was any doubt):

I LOVE CORA HARPER

[omegastation]

While not a proper excuse, and certainly not a fix, I will say I rather love Initiation's short explanation of "NOBODY knows what the Hell gender the Volus are, and the Volus refuse to tell anybody" ghjdksgajdgjshad

Oh yeah!!! That one was really great

If anyone is interested, @crapeaucrapeau posted the quote here

And the best part is that (the legend goes...) the STG is keeping an eye on them lol 

[omegastation]

You know, one little thing I LOVE about Initiation is the little in-universe news clippings/advertisements/production talks that happen at the start of each chapter. It seriously gives some real life to the universe! (I also just have the most hilarious image of Jacob getting scared shitless by the sudden sight of my Shepard rolling in her grave, AKA, rolling in her MEAT TUBES in protest of the Initiation trying to use her image for ADVERTISING dgsadghsja)

That part made me sad tbh... Because her last goodbye to us meant a lot, we took it to heart. I hate that it’s all a marketing plot and that Shepard themselves would want nothing to do with it :/

But agreed with everything else, I loved those lore little facts. I underlined in orange everything that is lore related and well. There are a lot of orange parts :D

[omegastation]

I don’t particularly like Khalisah but I recognize she’s just doing her job. My current Shepard refrains from punching her, and it breaks my heart when Shep lists off the names of the ships destroyed during the battle of the Citadel. But I do like that line too: “Keep asking the hard questions.” Khalisah knows some fishy stuff is up with both the Council and the Alliance. She can smell it like a bloodhound. She just calls it like she sees it.

I love her. She may be an annoying journalist and incredibly biased but she's an innocent civilian. And like you said, she always detects when things aren't alright. IDK, her methods aren't always as clever as she thinks they are and she can say or do shady stuff, but she is so FIERCE and FEARLESS when she does interviews. I think, based on ME1 and the book, that both Steven Hackett and Alec Ryder are a bit scared of her. It amuses me.

And I think it's clear in ME3 that she's on edge because she’s terrified of what will happen in the Reaper War and also tired of never getting the answers she wants. That’s why you can reassure her and tell her it's okay to ask those difficult questions. It's okay to want answers. 

[omegastation]

I want to thank Jemisin and Walters for clearing something up for us:

Aliens always thought of the Systems Alliance as the human government, and Earth as a unified political entity. For anyone present who didn't know, she added, "The Alliance is only the largest nations on the planet-about ten percent of the total number, really. (...)"

FINALLY!!!!!! Because we suspected it but I like that it’s flat out said here. ONLY 10%!!!! I am so going to use this the next time we have a lore discussion about Earth and how involved all the nations supposedly are.