Poll: Mass Effect 2: Tali or Jack

[Souplex]

I went with Miranda, but of the two, I'd go with Tali. I utterly hated Jack.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

The bullet isn't what caused the problem though. The tiny hole created in his suit because of the bullet wound that exposed him to infection was the issue. If it weren't for Quarian immune systems being nonexistent, he wouldn't have been down for an entire week. So to a Quarian, the resulting infection is more dangerous than whatever damage the bullet itself causes.

So yes, Tali having sex with Shepard is stupid since that leaves Tali completely exposed. The Normandy is not a sterile environment, so the whole thing doesn't make sense. I wouldn't be so opposed to this romance if it was a blatant violation of lore established in both games. They could have made it far more interesting if it had to be a platonic relationship, but instead the writers took the easy route.

I'm thinking that Quarians have vaccines. It'd make sense to vaccinate against other species' just being in contact with them, no? They do have immune systems, they're just weak.

And don't you go through the decontamination chamber every time you enter the ship? Surely that would make it sterile?

Besides, we don't see them having sex, just making out. It's not that a big a deal. =P

Why would the Quarians, a species that has been isolated from the rest of the galaxy for 300 years, have vaccines specifically designed for the purpose of curing diseases transmitted by other species? Romance with other species is definitely not something I would see the Quarian government promoting. This seems a like a very niche group to be developing incredibly advanced vaccines for. Plus if the Quarians could produce magical cure-all vaccines, their suits being ruptured would not be an issue.

And yes the ship has limited decontamination, but it's not perfect. And it is said that the Normandy is not a completley sterile environment. Plus that wouldn't rid you of all the germs crawling around inside your body. And when you make out there is enough exchange of body fluids to cause problems.


Nothing anyone says can convince me this wasn't a poorly written romance since the writers evidently can't come up with a romance that doesn't end in sex. It screws with lore while providing no good explanation for it, but we're just supposed to accept that for the sake of Quarian tits. It pisses me off when writers butcher their own work for this kind of crap. I was worried about them doing that in Mass Effect 2 when I heard about the Tali romance, and that's exactly what they did.

Well for a start Quarians can't get diseases from Humans, as they have different amino acids (that's how the game explains it). The problem is the cross-species fluid contact, which causes the Quarian immune system to go nuts and produce an intense fever afterwards (Quarians don't have weak immune systems, just immune systems which don't have a clue what they're supposed to fight or ignore). So seeing as there is actually less chance of infection from a Human to a Quarian than from Quarian to Quarian, the sexual relation could work. After all, Quarians must be able to have sexual relations with each other.

However, I do agree with you that a platonic relation would be far more interesting in the game.

 

[khiliani]

i picked tali becuase she is the most interesting character in the cgame, and cause jack pisses me off to no end. bioware realy wants you to feel sorry for her, and frankly i couldnt give damn.

Geo Da Sponge is mostly right, quarians are only immunosuppressed, if they didnt have an immune system, they would be killed by their own microflora. and they cant get other races diseases, cause diseases are species or family specific. as the game says they only get an allergic reaction, hayhfeaver. so Scientifically, or as scientific as you can get in a sci-fi atleast, its possible. and no im not talking out of my arse, im a major in microbiology and immunology.
the stuff about amino acids is a bit bullshit though

 

[Dr. Awesome Face]

I can't remember how exactly but I really pissed off Jack and now she just tells me "Fuck Off!" everytime I try to talk to her. Eh....I already found out all the interesting stuff and if i forget there's always wikipedia. Anyway Tali is way better.

I chose Tali because I wanted to see her face, and then... yeah.

Fuck you, camera. Fuck you.

Pretty much what I was going to say. I choose to believe that she has a fully designed and rendered face that has always been there but Bioware is just gonna keep fucking with us until Mass Effect 27.

 

[Jackalb]

Jack, because y'know SHE'S HUMAN!

 

[AllLagNoFrag]

Out of the both of them, Tali, Jack is damaged goods to me (who knows what went on in the facility she was in).

But out of all possible romances in ME2, its gotta be Miranda hands down (you cant not be attracted to Yvonne Strahovski)

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

I love how all the Tali hate focuses on a) her accent (awesomely superficial), b) the fact that she's an alien (moderately superficial given the setting), and c) her inability to play games or mince words (self-destructive tendencies masquerading as high-brow criticism).

Tali is friendly, humble, and self-deprecating without being weak or incompetent. You don't have to peel away layers or work for her affection because she's not ten tons of oversexualized baggage. I swear, guys (and gals) are just gluttons for punishment.

Sidebar: it's not hero-worship if it's mutual.

 

[Serioli]

If the Quarians had any technological breakthroughs, they certainly didn't have anything to do with immune-system boosting.

But but but...

And the Quarian marine who get shots once ends up being sick for a week. Despite having combat sealants and a massive amount of anti-biotics, a small infection still incapacitates him for an entire week.

Perhaps a bullet in a warzone is more dangerous than a decontaminated Shepard on a spaceship?

The bullet isn't what caused the problem though. The tiny hole created in his suit because of the bullet wound that exposed him to infection was the issue. If it weren't for Quarian immune systems being nonexistent, he wouldn't have been down for an entire week. So to a Quarian, the resulting infection is more dangerous than whatever damage the bullet itself causes.

So yes, Tali having sex with Shepard is stupid since that leaves Tali completely exposed. The Normandy is not a sterile environment, so the whole thing doesn't make sense. I wouldn't be so opposed to this romance if it was a blatant violation of lore established in both games. They could have made it far more interesting if it had to be a platonic relationship, but instead the writers took the easy route.

Does it actually say that it's the small hole that caused the problem? (I've played through once and am currently winging through ME1 on easy to get a different build up story. Rachni for the win!)

I ask because of the differences in situation. Imagine the following:
You take a real life round, rub it on youe skin, pass it under you nose while inhaling or even rub it on your sexual organs then leave it a week. Would you be likely to pick up any infections?
You take that exact same round, load it in a gun and shoot it through your calf which results in tiny particles of dirt, microbes etc being introduced directly into your blood stream and embedding in your calf (the dust, not the round itself). Say you're bandaged quickly and there are no issues of shock or blood loss etc but you have no access to anti-biotics for whatever reason. Even with your immune system it is extremely likely you will pick up infection.
I think with the marine it's less to do with suit sealing quickly or slowly eyc and more to do with a load of filth being practically injected into his bloodstream.

OT: I went with Miranda on my only playthrough so far. I'd probably go with Tali given the OP's choices though as psycho girls hit a little too close to home for me.

 

[Danny Ocean]

Nothing anyone says can convince me this wasn't a poorly written romance since the writers evidently can't come up with a romance that doesn't end in sex. It screws with lore while providing no good explanation for it, but we're just supposed to accept that for the sake of Quarian tits. It pisses me off when writers butcher their own work for this kind of crap. I was worried about them doing that in Mass Effect 2 when I heard about the Tali romance, and that's exactly what they did.

Huh? What Quarian tits?

It seems like this is one of those things where, if you're ok with it, you can easily justify it to yourself. However, if you're not, then there's no way someone else will be able to justify it to you.

Does it actually say that it's the small hole that caused the problem? (I've played through once and am currently winging through ME1 on easy to get a different build up story. Rachni for the win!)

I ask because of the differences in situation. Imagine the following:
You take a real life round, rub it on youe skin, pass it under you nose while inhaling or even rub it on your sexual organs then leave it a week. Would you be likely to pick up any infections?
You take that exact same round, load it in a gun and shoot it through your calf which results in tiny particles of dirt, microbes etc being introduced directly into your blood stream and embedding in your calf (the dust, not the round itself). Say you're bandaged quickly and there are no issues of shock or blood loss etc but you have no access to anti-biotics for whatever reason. Even with your immune system it is extremely likely you will pick up infection.
I think with the marine it's less to do with suit sealing quickly or slowly eyc and more to do with a load of filth being practically injected into his bloodstream.

This is what I meant. They may not have a good immune system, but they do have skin.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

I love how all the Tali hate focuses on a) her accent (awesomely superficial), b) the fact that she's an alien (moderately superficial given the setting), and c) her inability to play games or mince words (self-destructive tendencies masquerading as high-brow criticism).

Tali is friendly, humble, and self-deprecating without being weak or incompetent. You don't have to peel away layers or work for her affection because she's not ten tons of oversexualized baggage. I swear, guys (and gals) are just gluttons for punishment.

Sidebar: it's not hero-worship if it's mutual.

I have never seen any of the hate come from your a) or c) points, and the only reason I've seen stuff for b) is people saying that Bioware is providing fanservice while ignoring stuff they've previously outlined in the canon. And Tali's not oversexualised? She wears form fitting space-latex and has purposefully exaggerated female characteristics (wide hips, narrow waist). This is justified in game of course, but it's not exactly subtle.

And having to help Jack through her problems to win her affection makes me a glutton for punishment? What happend to character development? If you're just looking for 'Quarian tits' as Internet Kraken puts it, fine by me.

 

[imaloony]

Pick Tali. Her romance scene is a bit of a kick in that 'nads (Not literally!), but she's still much cooler than Jack.

 

[Valkyrie101]

I don't really like Tali, but Jack? No contest.

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

Jack needs hair.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Does it actually say that it's the small hole that caused the problem?

Yes. He says that a bullet punctured his suit, and despite combat sealants and heavy doses of antibiotics, he was still incapacitated for a week. From one hole.

I ask because of the differences in situation. Imagine the following:
You take a real life round, rub it on youe skin, pass it under you nose while inhaling or even rub it on your sexual organs then leave it a week. Would you be likely to pick up any infections?

You take that exact same round, load it in a gun and shoot it through your calf which results in tiny particles of dirt, microbes etc being introduced directly into your blood stream and embedding in your calf (the dust, not the round itself). Say you're bandaged quickly and there are no issues of shock or blood loss etc but you have no access to anti-biotics for whatever reason. Even with your immune system it is extremely likely you will pick up infection.
I think with the marine it's less to do with suit sealing quickly or slowly eyc and more to do with a load of filth being practically injected into his bloodstream.

Not entirely sure what your point is, but I'll try and respond anyways. The bullets in Mass Effect are incredibly hot, so the bullet itself couldn't transmit infection because it would kill any germs on it due to the heat. Any resulting infection would have to come from foreign objects entering the open wound. Now Heastrom was a planet bathed in intense heat and radiation, so that further limits the number of microboes that could actually survive on this planet. Yet when a Quarian had an exposed wound for only a short period of time, he still managed to get such a bad infection that he was incapacitated for a week. That's how much Quarian immune systems suck. That's what the game has been saying since the beginning.

Nothing anyone says can convince me this wasn't a poorly written romance since the writers evidently can't come up with a romance that doesn't end in sex. It screws with lore while providing no good explanation for it, but we're just supposed to accept that for the sake of Quarian tits. It pisses me off when writers butcher their own work for this kind of crap. I was worried about them doing that in Mass Effect 2 when I heard about the Tali romance, and that's exactly what they did.

Huh? What Quarian tits?

It seems like this is one of those things where, if you're ok with it, you can easily justify it to yourself. However, if you're not, then there's no way someone else will be able to justify it to you.

I was referring to the sex.

I love how all the Tali hate focuses on a) her accent (awesomely superficial), b) the fact that she's an alien (moderately superficial given the setting), and c) her inability to play games or mince words (self-destructive tendencies masquerading as high-brow criticism).

Tali is friendly, humble, and self-deprecating without being weak or incompetent. You don't have to peel away layers or work for her affection because she's not ten tons of oversexualized baggage. I swear, guys (and gals) are just gluttons for punishment.

Sidebar: it's not hero-worship if it's mutual.

That's not true. I hate Tali because she is a selfish ***** that wants to genocide an entire species and sacrifice countless live to fulfill her own selfish desires. At least, that's the impression I got from listening to her dialogue. And this is because of the romance to. When you do her loyalty mission, she talks about how life as a Quarian sucks so much because you can never take of your suit. And you know what, I could tolerate that. I can understand how being incapable of enjoying even the most simple pleasures of life, such as holding hands with someone you love, would make someone be irrational.

But it's complete bullshit. Tali lies about the limitations of Quarians. Sure they are still stuck in their suits, but they can take them off and interact with others with only minor repercussions, as shown in the game. This makes a huge difference since it means Quarians are not as isolated and alone as she said. So she is just being selfish. It's almost like the loyalty missions and the romances were written by two different people separated from one another, because the latter completley screws up the former.

Jack needs hair.

I actually don't think Jack's lack of hair makes her unattractive. For me, it has more to do with her psychopathic tendencies and stupid outfit.

 

[Jedamethis]

The only consequences of having sex with Jack are.....well you had sex with Jack. What the hell is wrong with you?

Name: Jedamethis
Cause of Death: Laughed so hard he fell off his chair

OT:

Tali: Incompatible, Tali gets sick.
Jack: Shepard gets an STD.
Miranda: Shepard's kid, which we will inevitably play with in ME15 or so inherits both his general awesomeness and all of Miranda's genetic enhancements and becomes even more awesome.

What he/she said.

"Her uniform always makes me stand to attention!" - Engineer Ken Donelly

 

[Serioli]

SNIP

Ah, first bit was me explaining poorly. I was agreeing with you and saying the hole itself was irrelevent.

The round itself (a paint chip sized thing if I remember my ME lore) may be extremely hot for the fraction of a second before it hits a person but that heat may not be there for long enough to transfer through dust particles sufficiently to kill everything. (non-disposable surgical/dental instruments are heated to about 135 degrees C for a number of minutes to ensure they are sterilised, this is after cleaning all residue/dust/whatever off of them).

When it hits the target it fragments, penetrates shield (doesn't matter? I always imagine shield having no real friction for things to stick to them but....), armour (with a potential layer of dirt), clothing (maybe dirt) and skin (no dirt on Quarians?). it then drags all these things, armour, clothing, dust, sweat, skin & microbes, with it into the blood stream. On humans you also have to worry about non-harmful bugs becoming harmful when they change environment. (Again not sure if it matters with Quarians). E.g. microbes that exist on the surface of your skin can cause real problems if they get in your blood. Or, there is usually a report (about once a year here in UK) of guys that start fights, punch a guy in the face then get massive infections in their hands because of bugs in the victims (punchees?) mouth getting in cuts in the hands.

The sun/radiation thing is a very good point though, in the story it is a recent thing so microbes may not have had a chance to adapt (Although many real life microbes have an incredibly fast reproduction and mutation rate so maybe?) I will happily concede that one.

Short version: I always imagined it was crap from numerous sources forced into the wound that caused problems, not infection from a hole that he himself said was sealed extremely quickly.

 

[Madkipz]

We all know its garrus who is the real smexy guy to seduce, but i guess if you did not pick fem shep for those amaZIING dialog options and over all bad assery (fem sep = xena the warrior princess or something insane like that).

Dont really see why you would want to bed either of those chicks unless there is achivement somewhere since i have to pick one or the other i would pick Tali.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Kind tech geek that is funny and shy or a physcopath?

Choices... choices...

 

[L4hlborg]

How about you go for neither? Frankly I hate both of them. Though I guess that's just my opinion, but hey you asked for it.

You should pick the one that you want. Just keep in mind that Tali is a Quarian, and as such having sex with her will probably have repercussions at some point in the third game. Oh and it's inter-species, you have no idea what she looks like, it's fucking creepy etc. At least that's what I think. The only consequences of having sex with Jack are.....well you had sex with Jack. What the hell is wrong with you?

You could also romance with Miranda or Kelly (I think).

I was actually hoping they would have chosen a nonsexual relationship there. IMO, Tali is the best character out of the bunch, Jack being, well you pointed it out already, Miranda is basically there to display her ass and Kelly is a bit of a ridiculous flirting machine.

Yes, they could have worked on the idea a lot more. But I wanna point out that she does get sick. Besides Kal Reegar (the marine) didn't immediately get sick so it's understandable that it doesn't affect the outcome of the suicide mission.

 

[Awake-]

double post snip